The woman's face had approached in our direction until it was twice
the size of life. The first thing that struck us was the cap, which
was that of a nurse, with the head-band tightly drawn over the
forehead and the veil around the head. The features, handsome and
regular and still young, wore that look of almost divine dignity which
the primitive painters used to give to the saints who are suffering or
about to suffer martyrdom, a nobility compounded of pain and ecstasy,
of resignation and hope, of smiles and tears. Bathed in that light
which really seemed to be an inward flame, the woman opened, upon a
scene invisible to us, a pair of large dark eyes which, though filled
with nameless terror, _nevertheless were not afraid_. The contrast was
remarkable: her resignation was defiant; her fear was full of pride.
"Oh," stammered my uncle, "I seem to observe the same expression as in
the Three Eyes which were there just now. Do you see: the same
dignity, the same gentleness . . . and also the same dread?"
"Yes," I replied, "it's the same expression, the same sequence of
expressions."
And, while I spoke and while the woman still remained in the
foreground, outside the frame of the picture, I felt certain
recollections arise within me, as at the sight of the portrait of a
person whose features are not entirely unfamiliar. My uncle received
the same impression, for he said:
"I seem to remember . . ."
But at that moment the strange face withdrew to the plane which it
occupied at first. The mists that created a halo round it, drifted
away. The shoulders came into view, followed by the whole body. We now
saw a woman standing, fastened by bonds that gripped her bust and
waist to a post the upper end of which rose a trifle above her head.
Then all this, which hitherto had given the impression of fixed
outlines, like the outlines of a photograph, for instance, suddenly
became alive, like a picture developing into a reality, a statue
stepping straight into life. The bust moved. The arms, tied behind,
and the imprisoned shoulders were struggling against the cords that
were hurting them. The head turned slightly. The lips spoke. It was no
longer an image presented for us to gaze at: it was life, moving and
living life. It was a scene taking place in space and time. A whole
background came into being, filled with people moving to and fro.
Other figures were writhing, bound to posts. I counted eight of them.
A squad of soldiers marched up, with shouldered rifles. They wore
spiked helmets.
My uncle observed:
"Edith Cavell."
"Yes," I said, with a start, "I recognize her: Edith Cavell; the
execution of Edith Cavell."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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