Modern Prose And Poetry; For Secondary Schools - Edited With Notes, Study Helps, And Reading Lists by Various
page 78 of 377 (20%)
page 78 of 377 (20%)
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[_He buries his face in his hands._]
[_Enter_ MADAME _with dishes for the table; she continues passing in and out, preparing supper._] BISHOP. You have suffered much, sir-- JEAN (_nodding_). The red shirt, the ball on the ankle, a plank to sleep on, heat, cold, toil, the whip, the double chain for nothing, the cell for one word--even when sick in bed, still the chain! Dogs, dogs are happier! Nineteen years! and now the yellow passport! BISHOP. Yes, you have suffered. JEAN (_with violence_). I hate this world of laws and courts! I hate the men who rule it! For nineteen years my soul has had only thoughts of hate. For nineteen years I've planned revenge. Do you hear? Revenge--revenge! BISHOP. It is not strange that you should feel so. And if you continue to harbor those thoughts, you are only deserving of pity. But listen, my brother; if, in spite of all you have passed through, your thoughts could be of peace and love, you would be better than any one of us. [_Pause. Jean reflects._] JEAN (_speaking violently_). No, no! I do not belong to your world of men. I am apart--a different creature from you all. The galleys made me different. I'll have nothing to do with any of you! |
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