The Black Tulip ALEXANDRE DUMAS CHAPTER 12 Đây là một tác phẩm anh ngữ nổi tiếng với những từ vựng nâng cao chuyên ngành văn chương. Nhằm giúp các bạn yêu thich tiếng anh luyện tập và củng cố thêm kỹ năng đọc tiếng anh . | The Black Tulip ALEXANDRE DUMAS CHAPTER 12 12. The Execution Cornelius had not three hundred paces to walk outside the prison to reach the foot of the scaffold. At the bottom of the staircase the dog quietly looked at him whilst he was passing Cornelius even fancied he saw in the eyes of the monster a certain expression as it were of compassion. The dog perhaps knew the condemned prisoners and only bit those who left as free men. The shorter the way from the door of the prison to the foot of the scaffold the more fully of course it was crowded with curious people. These were the same who not satisfied with the blood which they had shed three days before were now craving for a new victim. And scarcely had Cornelius made his appearance than a fierce groan ran through the whole street spreading all over the yard and re-echoing from the streets which led to the scaffold and which were likewise crowded with spectators. The scaffold indeed looked like an islet at the confluence of several rivers. In the midst of these threats groans and yells Cornelius very likely in order not to hear them had buried himself in his own thoughts. And what did he think of in his last melancholy journey Neither of his enemies nor of his judges nor of his executioners. He thought of the beautiful tulips which he would see from heaven above at Ceylon or Bengal or elsewhere when he would be able to look with pity on this earth where John and Cornelius de Witt had been murdered for having thought too much of politics and where Cornelius van Baerle was about to be murdered for having thought too much of tulips. It is only one stroke of the axe said the philosopher to himself and my beautiful dream will begin to be realised. Only there was still a chance just as it had happened before to M. de Chalais to M. de Thou and other slovenly executed people that the headsman might inflict more than one stroke that is to say more than one martyrdom on the poor tulip-fancier. Yet notwithstanding all this .
