The Wandering Jew — Complete
a generous mark of sincerity and love, by making himself a ridiculous
spectacle with a creature unworthy of him. What incurable wounds for
Adrienne's pride! It mattered little, whether Djalma knew or not, that
she would be a spectator of the indignity. But when she saw herself
recognized by the prince, when he carried the insult so far as to look
full at her, and, at the same time, raise to his lips the creature's
bouquet who accompanied him, Adrienne was seized with noble indignation,
and felt sufficient courage to remain: instead of closing her eyes to
evidence, she found a sort of barbarous pleasure in assisting at the
agony and death of her pure and divine love. With head erect, proud and
flashing eye, flushed cheek, and curling lip, she looked in her turn at
the prince with disdainful steadiness. It was with a sardonic smile that
she said to the marchioness, who, like many others of the spectators
was occupied with what was passing in the stage-box: "This revolting
exhibition of savage manners is at least in accordance with the rest of
the performance."
"Certainly," said the marchioness; "and my dear uncle will have lost,
perhaps, the most amusing part."
"Montbron?" said Adrienne, hastily, with hardly repressed bitterness;
"yes, he will regret not having seen all. I am impatient for his
arrival. Is it not to him that I am indebted for his charming evening?"
Perhaps Madame de Morinval would have remarked the expression of bitter
irony, that Adrienne could not altogether dissemble, if suddenly a
hoarse and prolonged roar had net attracted her attention, as well
as that of the rest of the audience, who had hitherto been quite
indifferent to the scenes intended for an introduction to the appearance
of Morok. Every eye was now turned instinctively towards the cavern
situated to the left of the stage, just below Mdlle. de Cardoville's
box; a thrill of curiosity ran through the house. A second roar, deeper
and more sonorous, and apparently expressive of more irritation than
the first, now rose from the cave, the mouth of which was half-hidden
by artificial brambles, made so as to be easily put on one side. At this
sound, the Englishman stood up in his little box, leaned half over the
front, and began to rub his hands with great energy; then, remaining
perfectly motionless, he fixed his large, green, glittering eyes on the
mouth of the cavern.
At these ferocious howlings, Djalma also had started, notwithstanding
the frenzy of love, hate, and jealousy, to which he was a prey. The
sight of this forest, and the roarings of the panther, filled him with
deep emotion, for they recalled the remembrance of his country, and of
those great hunts which, like war, have their own terrible excitement.
Had he suddenly heard the horns and gongs of his father's army sounding
to the charge, he could not have been transported with more savage
ardor. And now deep growls, like distant thunder, almost drowned the
roar of the panther. The lion and tiger, Judas and Cain answered her
from their dens at the back of the stage. On this frightful concert,
with which his ears had been familiar in the midst of the solitudes of
India, when he lay encamped, for the purposes of the chase or of war,
Djalma's blood boiled in his veins. His eyes sparkled with a wild ardor.
Leaning a little forward, with both hands pressed on the front of the
box, his whole body trembled with a convulsive shudder. The audience,
the theatre, Adrienne herself no longer existed for him; he was in a
forest of his own lands, tracking the tiger.
Then there mingled with his beauty so intrepid and ferocious an
expression, that Rose-Pompon looked at him with a sort of terror and
passionate admiration. For the first time in her life, perhaps, her
pretty blue eyes, generally so gay and mischievous; expressed a serious
emotion. She could not explain what she felt; but her heart seemed
frightened, and beat violently, as though some calamity were at hand.
Yielding to a movement of involuntary fear, she seized Djalma by the
arm, and said to him: "Do not stare so into that cavern; you frighten
me."
Djalma did not hear what she said.
"Here he is! here he is!" murmured the crowd, almost with one voice, as
Morok appeared at the back of the stage.
Dressed as we have described, Morok now carried in addition a bow and
a long quiver full of arrows. He slowly descended the line of painted
rocks, which came sloping down towards the centre of the stage. From
time to time, he stopped as if to listen, and appeared to advance with
caution. Looking from one side to the other, his eyes involuntarily
encountered the large, green eyes of the Englishman, whose box was close
to the cavern. Instantly the lion-tamer's countenance was contracted in
so frightful a manner, that Lady Morinval, who was examining him closely
with the aid of an excellent glass, said hastily to Adrienne: "My dear,
the man is afraid. Some misfortune will happen."
"How can accidents happen," said Adrienne, with a sardonic smile,
"in the midst of this brilliant crowd, so well dressed and full of
animation! Misfortunes here, this evening! why, dear Julia, you do not
think it. It is in darkness and solitude that misfortunes come--never in
the midst of a joyous crowd, and in all this blaze of light."
"Good gracious, Adrienne! take care!" cried the marchioness, unable to
repress an exclamation of alarm, and seizing her arm, as if to draw her
closer; "do you not see it?" And with a trembling hand, she pointed to
the cavern's mouth. Adrienne hastily bent forward, and looked in that
direction. "Take care, do not lean so forward!" exclaimed Lady Morinval.
"Your terrors are nonsensical, my dear," said the marquis to his wife.
"The panther is securely chained; and even were it to break its chains
(which is impossible), we are here beyond its reach."
A long murmur of trembling curiosity here ran through the house, and
every eye was intently fixed on the cavern. From amongst the artificial
brambles, which she abruptly pushed aside with her broad chest, the
black panther suddenly appeared. Twice she stretched forth her flat
head, illumined by yellow, flaming eyes; then, half-opening her
blood-red jaws, she uttered another roar, and exhibited two rows of
formidable fangs. A double iron chain, and a collar also of iron,
painted black, blended with the ebon shades of her hide, and with the
darkness of the cavern. The illusion was complete, and the terrible
animal seemed to be at liberty in her den.
"Ladies," said the marquis, suddenly, "look at those Indians. Their
emotion makes them superb!"
In fact, the sight of the panther had raised the wild ardor of Djalma
to its utmost pitch. His eyes sparkled in their pearly orbits like two
black diamonds; his upper lip was curled convulsively with an expression
of animal ferocity, as if he were in a violent paroxysm of rage.
Faringhea, now leaning on the front of the box, was also greatly
excited, by reason of a strange coincidence. "That black panther of so
rare a breed," thought he, "which I see here at Paris, upon the stage,
must be the very one that the Malay"--the Thug who had tatooed Djalma
at Java during his sleep--"took quite young from his den, and sold to a
European captain. Bowanee's power is everywhere!" added the Thug, in his
sanguinary superstition.
"Do you not think," resumed the marquis, addressing Adrienne, "that
those Indians are really splendid in their present attitude?"
"Perhaps they may have seen such a hunt in their own country," said
Adrienne, as if she would recall and brave the most cruel remembrances.
"Adrienne," said the marchioness, suddenly, in an agitated voice, "the
lion-tamer has now come nearer--is not his countenance fearful to look
at?--I tell you he is afraid."
"In truth," observed the marquis, this time very seriously, "he is
dreadfully pale, and seems to grow worse every minute, the nearer he
approaches this side. It is said that, were he to lose his presence of
mind for a single moment, he would run the greatest danger."
"O! it would be horrible!" cried the marchioness, addressing Adrienne,
"if he were wounded--there--under our eyes!"
"Every wound does not kill," replied her friend, with an accent of such
cold indifference, that the marchioness looked at her with surprise, and
said to her: "My dear girl, what you say there is cruel!"
"It is the air of the place that acts on me," answered Adrienne, with an
icy smile.
"Look! look! the lion-tamer is about to shoot his arrow at the panther,"
said the marquis, suddenly. "No doubt, he will next perform the hand to
hand grapple."
Morok was at this moment in front of the stage, but he had yet to
traverse its entire breadth to reach the cavern's mouth. He stopped an
instant, adjusted an arrow to the string, knelt down behind a mass of
rock, took deliberate aim--and then the arrow hissed across the stage,
and was lost in the depths of the cavern, into which the panther
had retired, after showing for a moment her threatening head to the
audience. Hardly had the arrow disappeared, than Death, purposely
irritated by Goliath (who was invisible) sent forth a howl of rage, as
if she had been really wounded. Morok's actions became so expressive,
he evinced so naturally his joy at having hit the wild beast, that
a tempest of applause burst from every quarter of the house. Then,
throwing away his bow, he drew a dagger from his girdle, took it between
his teeth, and began to crawl forward on hands and knees, as though he
meant to surprise the wounded panther in his den. To render the illusion
perfect, Death, again excited by Goliath, who struck him with an iron
bar, sent forth frightful howlings from the depths of the cavern.
The gloomy aspect of the forest, only half-lighted with a reddish glare,
was so effective--the howlings of the panther were so furious--the
gestures, attitude, and countenance of Morok were so expressive of
terror, that the audience, attentive and trembling, now maintained a
profound silence. Every one held his breath, and a kind of shudder came
over the spectators, as though they expected some horrible event. What
gave such a fearful air of truth to the pantomime of Morok, was that,
as he approached the cavern step by step, he approached also the
Englishman's box. In spite of himself, the lion-tamer, fascinated by
terror, could not take his eyes from the large green eyes of this man,
and it seemed as if every one of the abrupt movements which he made in
crawling along, was produced by a species of magnetic attraction, caused
by the fixed gaze of the fatal wagerer. Therefore, the nearer Morok
approached, the more ghastly and livid he became. At sight of this
pantomime, which was no longer acting, but the real expression of
intense fear, the deep and trembling silence which had reigned in the
theatre was once more interrupted by acclamations, with which were
mingled the roarings of the panther, and the distant growls of the lion
and tiger.
The Englishman leaned almost out of his box, with a frightful sardonic
smile on his lip, and with his large eyes still fixed, panted for
breath. The perspiration ran down his bald red forehead, as if he had
really expended an incredible amount of magnetic power in attracting
Morok, whom he now saw close to the cavern entrance. The moment was
decisive. Crouching down with his dagger in his hand, following with eye
and gesture Death's every movement, who, roaring furiously, and opening
wide her enormous jaws, seemed determined to guard the entrance of
her den, Morok waited for the moment to rush upon her. There is such
fascination in danger, that Adrienne shared, in spite of herself, the
feeling of painful curiosity, mixed with terror, that thrilled through