A Tale of Two Cities-CHAPTER 24 DRAWN TO THE LOADSTONE ROCK

DRAWN¹ TO THE LOADSTONE ROCK,In such risings of fire and risings of sea—the firm earth shaken by the rushes of an angry ocean which had now no ebb ², but was always on the flow, higher and higher, to the terror and wonder of the beholders on the shore—three years of tempest were consumed. Three more birthdays of little Lucie had been woven by the golden thread into the peaceful tissue of the life of her home.,Many a night and many a day had its inmates ⁴ listened to the echoes in the corner, with hearts that failed them when they heard the thronging ⁵ feet. For, the footsteps had become to their minds as the footsteps of a people, tumultuous under a red flag and with their country declared in danger, changed into wild beasts, by terrible enchantment ⁶ long persisted in.,Monseigneur, as a class, had dissociated himself from the phenomenon of his not being appreciated: of his being so little wanted in France, as to incur ⁷ considerable danger of receiving his dismissal from it, and this life together. Like the fabled ⁸ rustic ⁹ who raised the Devil with infinite pains, and was so terrified at the sight of him that he could ask the Enemy no question, but immediately fled; so, Monseigneur, after boldly reading the Lord’s Prayer backwards ¹⁰ for a great number of years, and performing many other potent ¹¹ spells for compelling the Evil One, no sooner beheld ¹² him in his terrors than he took to his noble heels.,The shining Bull’s Eye of the Court was gone, or it would have been the mark for a hurricane of national bullets. It had never been a good eye to see with—had long had the mote ¹³ in it of Lucifer’s pride, Sardanapalus’s luxury, and a mole’s blindness— but it had dropped out and was gone. The Court, from that exclusive inner circle to its outermost ¹⁴ rotten ring of intrigue ¹⁵, corruption ¹⁶, and dissimulation ¹⁷, was all gone together. Royalty ¹⁸ was gone; had been besieged ¹⁹ in its Palace and ‘suspended,’ when the last tidings came over.,The August of the year one thousand seven hundred and ninety-two was come, and Monseigneur was by this time scattered ²⁰ far and wide.,On a steamy, misty ²⁸ afternoon, Mr. Lorry sat at his desk, and Charles Darnay stood leaning on it, talking with him in a low voice. The penitential den ³ once set apart for interviews with the House, was now the news Exchange, and was filled to overflowing ²⁹. It was within half an hour or so of the time of closing.,“But, although you are the youngest man that ever lived,” said Charles Darnay, rather hesitating, “I must still suggest to you— ”,“I understand. That I am too old?
” said Mr. Lorry.,“Unsettled weather, a long journey, uncertain means of travelling, a disorganised country, a city that may not be even safe for you.”,“My dear Charles, ” said Mr. Lorry, with cheerful confidence, “you touch some of the reasons for my going: not for my staying away. It is safe enough for me; nobody will care to interfere ³⁰ with an old fellow of hard upon fourscore when there are so many people there much better worth interfering ³¹ with. As to its being a disorganised city, if it were not a disorganised city there would be no occasion to send somebody from our House here to our House there, who knows the city and the business, of old, and is in Tellson’s confidence. As to the uncertain travelling, the long journey, and the winter weather, if I were not prepared to submit myself to a few inconveniences for the sake of Tellson’s, after all these years, who ought to be?
”,Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。,The flood and ebb tides alternates with each other.涨潮和落潮交替更迭 。