Chapter 14. — In The Hospital

I was four weeks in the Adelaide Hospital, but of the first days I remember very little. The earliest memory that I have is of waking up and thinking I was in a church. It was night and my eyes opened to the dimness of great high walls. It was almost still, but there was the far-away whispering, as of people at their prayers. I was in great pain and I could hear that I groaned¹.

Immediately a white-clad figure glided³ up, and something icy cold went on my head. Then I felt the prick⁴ of a needle and the shadows deepened and everything faded quickly away.

Then I was in a great deep pit fighting with a lot of devils; I thought I was being killed, but a grave-eyed man jumped down into the pit and threw me up over the side. I seemed to have a lot to do with that man in those days. He was cold and stern to look at, but when he touched me — his touch was the touch of a lover. He seemed always to be my master, deciding whether he should give me life or death.

Then one day — oh day, glorious to remember! — I awakened⁵ to spring and sunshine and the smell of beautiful flowers. I was getting better.

The great surgeon who had operated on me — I learnt afterwards I had fractured my skull⁶ in falling from the wall — came and sat by my bed and talked very kindly⁷ to me. He told me I was going to get quite well and strong again. I had had a very near shave, he said, but there was no reason now why I should not be as well again as I had ever been in my life. He told me I had been a very good patient and he smiled on me like a judge who had forgiven me my sins.

Directly I was well enough a lot of people came to see me. First there was the Chief Commissioner⁸ of the Police. He gave me all the news. He smiled whimsically and, in mock relief, informed me the special constables⁹ had all been disbanded, and he hoped he might never see them again. He was very nice and friendly and told me he would sure be coming to my wedding.

Oh, yes — all the world knew I was going to be married, and there would be no church or chapel¹⁰ large enough in Adelaide to hold all who wanted to come. Then he grinned broadly and asked me if I would like to have Meadows for my best man. When I declined laughingly, he got up to go with the final promise that if I couldn’t get anyone else — he’d be best man himself.

Then there was Sir Bartle Elkin. He was kind and chatty.

“You know, Mr. Wacks,” he said. “I don’t suppose I shall ever strike a more interesting study than yourself. All along you have interested me, and right up to the very last, you have given me things to think about and problems to solve. The hallucinations of your delirium¹¹, for instance, were most peculiar¹².

“If you remember, the last image to strike upon your retina before you became unconscious was that of the man you shot. Probably at the moment of his falling you would have noted¹³ the immediate² effect of your bullet on his chest. Well, all the time you were delirious¹⁴ that last impression of yours was uppermost in your mind to the exclusion¹⁵ of everything else. The color seemed absolutely to obsess¹⁶ you.

“Somehow you confused it with a paste, but it was always red paste you kept referring to. Red paste, everything with you was red. The redness of blood was the last thing you saw, and through all your wanderings, through all your delirium, that color was always in your thoughts. Everything else was wiped out. It is most interesting to me that this last impression was the only one to survive. I must have another talk about it with you later.”

I was very glad when the great man left — and privately¹⁷ determined¹⁸ in future to give him a wide berth¹⁹. He would be bringing up to me the very things I wanted to forget.

Then there was Matthew Brickett.

He came in breathing very hard, ponderous²⁰, paternal²¹ and in his Sunday black. He took a solemn interested stare at one of the nurses who was very pretty, and then settled down to a careful scrutiny²² of my appearance.

“You’re looking better than I should have thought, Peter,” he said at length, “but I do hope they’re not giving you anything that isn’t strictly²³ teetotal. It I could see the doctor now for a few minutes I could put him in possession of some facts that would prove absolutely that alcohol is a curse. Is he anywhere about, do you know?”

Fortunately I was able to say with truth that the doctor never visited us at that time of the day and, much to Brickett’s disgust, he had to be content with the delivery of a long homily to the patient in the next bed. The man was almost stone deaf, but he seemed to me very gratified with the attention he was receiving, for he shook old Brickett warmly by the hand when at last he got up to go.

Then there was Lucy. Dear little Lucy — she came to me without a word and, not minding who saw, flung her arms round my neck. I thought I had never seen her look so pretty. She whispered tenderly to me of the anxious times she had been having, but how all now would so soon be forgotten in the glorious days that were to come. With much blushing, she told me she wanted to be married at once so that she could take me away for a long holiday to get well and strong again.

She said that all that happened that last morning at Grange had caused a tremendous sensation in the city, and, directly it was known I was going to get better, over ten thousand pounds had been raised by public subscription²⁴ to be given me for a wedding present. Also Mrs. Matthew Russell, now that her husband was dead, was going back to her people in England and she had made over to me, completely and just as it stood, their beautiful little home at Victor Harbor. We were to go there, Lucy said, for our honeymoon²⁵.

I hardly like to remember exactly what my thoughts were after Lucy left me, but in the end I know I silenced my conscience by insisting to myself that after all it was only Fate again, and that everything was happening just as it had been ordained²⁶ it should happen right from the very beginning of the world. I was only a pawn²⁷, again I told myself, but this time a very happy and a very fortunate one. I made up my mind not to bother any more but just to take what the gods were giving me. I should only live once.

1 groaned   

v.呻吟( groan的过去式和过去分词 )；发牢骚；抱怨；受苦

参考例句：

• He groaned in anguish. 他痛苦地呻吟。
• The cart groaned under the weight of the piano. 大车在钢琴的重压下嘎吱作响。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

3 glided   

v.滑动( glide的过去式和过去分词 )；掠过；（鸟或飞机 ） 滑翔

参考例句：

• The President's motorcade glided by. 总统的车队一溜烟开了过去。
• They glided along the wall until they were out of sight. 他们沿着墙壁溜得无影无踪。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 prick   

v.刺伤，刺痛，刺孔；n.刺伤，刺痛

参考例句：

• He felt a sharp prick when he stepped on an upturned nail.当他踩在一个尖朝上的钉子上时，他感到剧烈的疼痛。
• He burst the balloon with a prick of the pin.他用针一戳，气球就爆了。

5 awakened   

v.（使）醒( awaken的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）觉醒；弄醒；（使）意识到

参考例句：

• She awakened to the sound of birds singing. 她醒来听到鸟的叫声。
• The public has been awakened to the full horror of the situation. 公众完全意识到了这一状况的可怕程度。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 skull   

n.头骨；颅骨

参考例句：

• The skull bones fuse between the ages of fifteen and twenty-five.头骨在15至25岁之间长合。
• He fell out of the window and cracked his skull.他从窗子摔了出去，跌裂了颅骨。

7 kindly   

adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地

参考例句：

• Her neighbours spoke of her as kindly and hospitable.她的邻居都说她和蔼可亲、热情好客。
• A shadow passed over the kindly face of the old woman.一道阴影掠过老太太慈祥的面孔。

8 commissioner   

n.（政府厅、局、处等部门）专员，长官，委员

参考例句：

• The commissioner has issued a warrant for her arrest.专员发出了对她的逮捕令。
• He was tapped for police commissioner.他被任命为警务处长。

9 constables   

n.警察( constable的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The constables made a desultory attempt to keep them away from the barn. 警察漫不经心地拦着不让他们靠近谷仓。 来自辞典例句
• There were also constables appointed to keep the peace. 城里也有被派来维持治安的基层警员。 来自互联网

10 chapel   

n.小教堂，殡仪馆

参考例句：

• The nimble hero,skipped into a chapel that stood near.敏捷的英雄跳进近旁的一座小教堂里。
• She was on the peak that Sunday afternoon when she played in chapel.那个星期天的下午，她在小教堂的演出，可以说是登峰造极。

11 delirium   

n. 神智昏迷,说胡话;极度兴奋

参考例句：

• In her delirium, she had fallen to the floor several times. 她在神志不清的状态下几次摔倒在地上。
• For the next nine months, Job was in constant delirium.接下来的九个月，约伯处于持续精神错乱的状态。

12 peculiar   

adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的

参考例句：

• He walks in a peculiar fashion.他走路的样子很奇特。
• He looked at me with a very peculiar expression.他用一种很奇怪的表情看着我。

13 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

14 delirious   

adj.不省人事的，神智昏迷的

参考例句：

• He was delirious,murmuring about that matter.他精神恍惚，低声叨念着那件事。
• She knew that he had become delirious,and tried to pacify him.她知道他已经神志昏迷起来了，极力想使他镇静下来。

15 exclusion   

n.拒绝，排除，排斥，远足，远途旅行

参考例句：

• Don't revise a few topics to the exclusion of all others.不要修改少数论题以致排除所有其他的。
• He plays golf to the exclusion of all other sports.他专打高尔夫球，其他运动一概不参加。

16 obsess   

vt.使着迷，使心神不定，（恶魔）困扰

参考例句：

• I must admit that maps obsess me.我得承认我对地图十分着迷。
• A string of scandals is obsessing America.美国正被一系列丑闻所困扰。

17 privately   

adv.以私人的身份，悄悄地，私下地

参考例句：

• Some ministers admit privately that unemployment could continue to rise.一些部长私下承认失业率可能继续升高。
• The man privately admits that his motive is profits.那人私下承认他的动机是为了牟利。

18 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

19 berth   

n.卧铺，停泊地，锚位；v.使停泊

参考例句：

• She booked a berth on the train from London to Aberdeen.她订了一张由伦敦开往阿伯丁的火车卧铺票。
• They took up a berth near the harbor.他们在港口附近找了个位置下锚。

20 ponderous   

adj.沉重的，笨重的，(文章)冗长的

参考例句：

• His steps were heavy and ponderous.他的步伐沉重缓慢。
• It was easy to underestimate him because of his occasionally ponderous manner.由于他偶尔现出的沉闷的姿态，很容易使人小看了他。

21 paternal   

adj.父亲的，像父亲的，父系的，父方的

参考例句：

• I was brought up by my paternal aunt.我是姑姑扶养大的。
• My father wrote me a letter full of his paternal love for me.我父亲给我写了一封充满父爱的信。

22 scrutiny   

n.详细检查，仔细观察

参考例句：

• His work looks all right,but it will not bear scrutiny.他的工作似乎很好，但是经不起仔细检查。
• Few wives in their forties can weather such a scrutiny.很少年过四十的妻子经得起这么仔细的观察。

23 strictly   

adv.严厉地，严格地；严密地

参考例句：

• His doctor is dieting him strictly.他的医生严格规定他的饮食。
• The guests were seated strictly in order of precedence.客人严格按照地位高低就座。

24 subscription   

n.预订，预订费，亲笔签名，调配法，下标（处方）

参考例句：

• We paid a subscription of 5 pounds yearly.我们按年度缴纳5英镑的订阅费。
• Subscription selling bloomed splendidly.订阅销售量激增。

25 honeymoon   

n.蜜月（假期）；vi.度蜜月

参考例句：

• While on honeymoon in Bali,she learned to scuba dive.她在巴厘岛度蜜月时学会了带水肺潜水。
• The happy pair are leaving for their honeymoon.这幸福的一对就要去度蜜月了。

26 ordained   

v.任命（某人）为牧师( ordain的过去式和过去分词 )；授予（某人）圣职；（上帝、法律等）命令；判定

参考例句：

• He was ordained in 1984. 他在一九八四年被任命为牧师。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He was ordained priest. 他被任命为牧师。 来自辞典例句

27 pawn   

n.典当，抵押，小人物，走卒；v.典当，抵押

参考例句：

• He is contemplating pawning his watch.他正在考虑抵押他的手表。
• It looks as though he is being used as a political pawn by the President.看起来他似乎被总统当作了政治卒子。