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第140章 公元1603~1881年的英格兰(48)

3.The besiegers meanwhile kept up a constant fire,mingled with continual shouting and the blowing of bugles.Brigadier Inglis,who had succeededaLawrencein directing the defence,fortunately had a skilful officer ofengineers,Captain Fulton,to assist him in destroying the mines with which the soil all round the Residency was bored like a piece of honeycomb.Now and then an explosion would stun the ears of the anxious garrison;but the genius of Fulton prevented the mining of the rebels from producing any very serious breach in the works.

4.As a specimen of the skill with which the rebels directed their fire,the following instance will serve.Upon a clock-tower which commanded the Residency,an African sharp-shooter established himself with his rifle and a telescope.There he sat perched on high,watching most patiently until he saw a man in an exposed position,when a little jet of smoke would issue from the loop-hole of the tower,and the object of his aim would stagger and fall,dead or desperately wounded.

5.This happened so often,that the artillery were desired to throw shells at the tower,for the special purpose of killing this marksman.A shell was thrown,and a little ring of smoke showed that it had burst just over the place where the negro was in the habit of standing;and yet,immediately after,a rifle-ball came whistling as usual from the loop-hole.Another shell was thrown,and another,and another-all with the same result.It seemed as if the man were shell-proof,for the firing was very exact,and it appeared to the besieged that he could not possibly escape the splinters.

6.The secret came out after the Residency was relieved.Whenever he saw,through his telescope,that a shell was about to be thrown,he went down a ladder into a cavern,which he had hollowed out as a place of refuge,and waited there until the shell had burst;then,climbing to his post again,he fired his rifle and brought down his man.He was killed at last,and was found lying dead,with his rifle and his telescope beside hum.

7.In September,Captain Fulton,the engineer,was killed by a cannon-ball which took off his head.But before that month had closed,a letter reached the besieged,telling them the welcome news that a force under Sir James Outrama Succeeded Lawrence.-Sir Henry Lawrence,the Governor of Oudh,had been killed while heading a sortie from the Residency.

was marching to relieve them;and next day a faint sound of cannon in the direction of Cawnpore seemed to announce the approach of their deliverers.

8.Great agitation and hurry among the enemy in the city confirmed this hope;and in the night that followed,the flashing of guns,seven miles off,was distinctly seen.Next day,officers in shooting coats and men in blue trousers were seen in the streets of Lucknow,fighting their way towards the Residency under a fire from every window and every roof.And then,at sight of their friends,cheers rose from every trench and battery within the shattered works of the Residency.

中文阅读

1.8月期间,勒克瑙总督官邸a的防卫场景是极为凄惨的,因为围攻者的炮弹将整个官邸夷为平地,许多人都死在自家的床上。一开始,物品甚至美食的供应都还充足,但是,随着时间一周周过去,食物开始短缺,被围困的人很快只能将生活水平降低到靠没有筛过的谷壳、光滑的黑扁豆为食,再佐以苦盐作为调料,而且第二天总是只能吃几盎司的糙牛肉。

2.由于无法供应肥皂,妇女和孩子们处在一种非常不舒服的状态,因为她们既无法将衣服洗干净,又无法好好洗个澡。腐烂的尸体使空气中弥漫着一股令人作呕的恶臭味,而且招来成群的黑蝇。它们聚集在一切能吃的东西上,而且无休止地叮咬着每个人,让他们受尽折磨。偶尔降落的一场大雨使城市得到片刻净化,但是,由于官邸里每天就有15至20个同病相怜的人被打死并被掩埋,这个封闭的场所很快便变成了一座人间地狱。

3.与此同时,围攻者仍在不停地开火,并夹杂以不断的喊叫声和军号声。接替劳伦斯b负责防卫作战的英格利斯准将,很幸运地拥有一个深谙工程的军官富尔顿上尉,来帮助他清除官邸周围地下埋着的、像蜂窝中各个小眼一样的地雷。爆炸声不时地响起,震着焦虑的守备部队的耳朵,不过,富尔顿的才华得以防止叛军的布雷造成防御工事出现任何严重的缺口。

4.作为有能力误导叛军指挥火力瞄准的一个范例,下面这个例子很能说明问题。在一个能够俯瞰整个官邸的钟楼上,一名非洲狙击手带着他的步枪和一架望远镜,在上面找了一个合适的位置。他高高地端坐在那里,极为耐心地观察着,只要看到在某个暴露的位置出现一个人,一股细烟就会从钟楼的射弹孔里喷出来,而他瞄准的目标就会摇晃着倒下去,不死也是重伤。

a“官邸”:英国奥德总督的官邸,周围有相互毗连的建筑物,由英军把守。b 亨利·劳伦斯爵士,即奥德总督,率队从官邸突围时被打死。

5.这种事经常发生,以至于敌人的炮兵打算向钟楼开炮,只为打死这个神枪手。一枚炮弹射出来了,一缕烟尘表明它只是在这个黑人习惯占据的位置正上方爆炸;然而,只过了片刻,一枚步枪子弹又像往常一样从那个射弹孔里呼啸而出。另一枚炮弹又射出去,再有一枚,再有一枚,但所有的炮弹都只达到了同样的效果。看似这个人刀枪不入,因为炮弹的射击非常精确,似乎他不可能逃脱弹片的杀伤。

6.在官邸得到解救之后,其中的奥秘才真相大白。当他通过望远镜看到一枚炮弹将要射出时,他就经过一架梯子向下跑到一个空洞里(那是他挖空后用来藏身的地方),在那里等到炮弹爆炸;然后,他再次爬上射击位置,用步枪开火,打死瞄准的人。他最后牺牲了,被人发现时死着躺在地上,旁边还放着他的步枪和望远镜。

7.到了9月,深谙工程的富尔顿上尉被一枚加农炮炮弹打掉头部而牺牲。但在这个月过完之前,一封信就来到了被围之地,告诉他们一个好消息:詹姆斯·奥特拉姆爵士率领的一支部队正赶来营救他们;第二天,坎普尔方向传来的微弱的炮声,似乎就宣告他们的援兵就要到来。

8.城市里敌人的极度焦躁和仓惶也证实了他们的希望。随后的那个晚上,7英里外枪炮射击的火光便已清晰可见。第二天,身穿射击服的军官和身穿蓝色裤子的人,在勒克瑙的大街小巷便可以见到。他们冒着从每个窗户和每个屋顶射来的子弹,一路杀向官邸。随后,一看到他们的同志,在官邸那严重损毁的工事中,每个堑壕和每个炮兵阵地,都传来欢呼声。

150

THE RELIEF OF LUCKNOW

解救勒克瑙

blockaded,shut in.

circuit,round-about march.concealed,hidden.continually,constantly.escorting,accompanying.manifest,clear.

reinforce,add to the number of his forces.

rescue,deliver.

sentinels,soldiers on guard.

spectacle,sight.

volunteered,offered of his own will.

1.The deliverers had started from Cawnpore,under General Havelock;but they had been obliged to retreat.Sir James Outram then came to reinforce him.As his superior officer,he might have superseded Havelock in the command;but Outram was too noble for this.Saying that it would be unfair to deprive Havelock of a glory for which he had toiled so hard,he placed himself under that general‘s orders,and together they set out with 2,500men.

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