He had given up his free, uncriticised bachelor life; his yacht was no longer seen off the coast in summer; his tours to England and the south had ceased; nay1, he was rarely to be found even at his club in Christiania. His gigantic figure was never seen in the doorways2; he was failing.
Bandy-legged he had always been, but this defect had increased; his herculean back was rounded, and he stooped a little. His forehead, always of the broadest—no one else's hat would fit him—was now one of the highest, that is to say, he had lost all his hair, except a ragged3 lock over each ear and a thin fringe behind. He was beginning also to lose his teeth, which were strong though small, and blackened by tobacco; and now, instead of "deuce take it" he said "deush take it."
He had always held his hands half closed as though grasping something; now they had stiffened4 so that he could never open them fully5. The little finger of his left hand had been bitten off "in gratitude6" by an adversary7 whom he had knocked down: according to Harald's version of the story, he had compelled the fellow to swallow the piece on the spot.
He was fond of caressing9 the stump10, and it often served as an introduction to the history of his exploits, which became greater and greater as he grew older and quieter.
His small sharp eyes were deep set and looked at one with great intensity11. There was power in his individuality, and, besides shrewd sense, he possessed12 a considerable gift for mechanics. His boundless13 self-esteem was not devoid14 of greatness, and the emphasis with which both body and soul proclaimed themselves made him one of the originals of the country.
Why was he nothing more?
He lived on his estate, Hellebergene, whose large woods skirted the coast, while numerous leasehold15 farms lay along the course of the river. At one time this estate had belonged to the Kurt family, and had now come back to them, in so far as that Harald's father, as every one knew, was not a Kaas at all, but a Kurt; it was he who had got the estate together again; a book might be written about the ways and means that he had employed.
The house looked out over a bay studded with islands; farther out were more islands and the open sea. An immensely long building, raised on an old and massive foundation, its eastern wing barely half furnished, the western inhabited by Harald Kaas, who lived his curious life here.
These wings were connected by two covered galleries, one above the other, with stairs at each end.
Curiously16 enough, these galleries did not face the sea, that is, the south, but the fields and woods to the north. The portion of the house between the two wings was a neutral territory—namely, a large dining-room with a ballroom17 above it, neither of which was used in later years.
Harald Kaas's suite18 of rooms was distinguished19 from without by a mighty20 elk's head with its enormous antlers, which was set up over the gallery.
In the gallery itself were heads of bear, wolf, fox and lynx, with stuffed birds from land and sea. Skins and guns hung on the walls of the anteroom, the inner rooms were also full of skins and impregnated with the smell of wild animals and tobacco-smoke. Harald himself called it "Man-smell;" no one who had once put his nose inside could ever forget it.
Valuable and beautiful skins hung on the walls and covered the floors; his very bed was nothing else; Harald Kaas lay, and sat, and walked on skins, and each one of them was a welcome subject of conversation, for he had shot and flayed21 every single animal himself. To be sure, there were those who hinted that most of the skins had been bought from Brand and Company, of Bergen, and that only the stories were shot and flayed at home.
I for my part think that this was an exaggeration; but be that as it may, the effect was equally thrilling when Harald Kaas, seated in his log chair by the fireside, his feet on the bearskin, opened his shirt to show us the scars on his hairy chest (and what scars they were!) which had been made by the bear's teeth, when he had driven his knife, right up to the haft, into the monster's heart. All the queer tankards, and cupboards, and carved chairs listened with their wonted impassiveness.
Harald Kaas was sixty, when, in the month of July, he sailed into the bay accompanied by four ladies whom he had brought from the steamer—an elderly lady and three young ones, all related to him. They were to stay with him until August.
They occupied the upper storey. From it they could hear him walking about and grunting22 below them. They began to feel a little nervous. Indeed, three of them had had serious misgivings23 about accepting the invitation; and these misgivings were not diminished when, next morning, they saw Kaas composedly strolling up from the sea stark24 naked!
They screamed, and, gathering25 together, still in their nightgowns, held a council of war as to the advisability of leaving at once; but when one of them cried "You should not have called us, Aunt, and then we should not have seen him," they could not help laughing, and therewith the whole affair ended. Certainly they were a little stiff at breakfast; but when Harold Kaas began a story about an old black mare26 of his which was in love with a young brown horse over at the Dean's, and which plunged27 madly if any other horse came near her, but, on the other hand, put her head coaxingly28 on one side and whinnied "like a dainty girl" whenever the parson's horse came that way—well, at that they had to give in, as well first as last.
If they had strayed here out of curiosity they must just put up with the "NIGHT side of nature," as Harald Kaas expressed it, with the stress on the first word.
For all that they were nearly frightened out of their wits the very next night, when he discharged his gun right under their windows. The aunt even asserted that he had shot through her open casement29. She screamed loudly, and the others, starting from their sleep, were out on the floor before they knew where they were. Then they crouched30 in the windows and peeped out, although their aunt declared that they would certainly be shot—they really must see what it was.
Yes! there they saw him among the cherry and apple trees, gun in hand, and they could hear him swearing. In the greatest trepidation32 they crept back into bed again. Next morning they learned that he had shot at some night prowlers, one of whom had got "half the charge in his leg, that he had, Deush take him! It ain't the prowling I mind, but that he should prowl here. We bachelors will have no one poaching on our preserves."
The four ladies sat as stiff as four church candles, till at length one of them sprang up with a scream, the others joining in chorus.
The visitors were not bored; Harald Kaas dealt too much in the unexpected for that. There was a charm, too, in the great woods, where there had been no felling since he had come into the property, and there were merry walks by the riverside and plenty of fish in the river.
They bathed, they took delightful33 sails in the cutter and drives about the neighbourhood, though certainly the turn-out was none of the smartest.
The youngest of the girls, Kristen Ravn, presently became less eager to join in these expeditions. She had fallen in love with the disused east wing of the house, and there she spent many a long hour, alone by the open window, gazing out at the great lime-trees which stood straggling, gaunt, and mysterious.
"You ought to build a balcony here, out towards the sea," she said.
"Look how the water glitters between the limes."
When once she had hit upon a plan, Kristen Ravn never relinquished34 it, and when she had suggested it some four or five times, he promised that it should be done. But on the heels of this scheme came another.
"Below the first balcony there must be another wider one," said she in her soft voice, "and it must have steps at each end down to the lawn—the lawn is so lovely just here."
The unheard-of presumption35 of her demand inoculated36 him with the idea, and at length he consented to this as well.
"The rooms must be refurnished," she gravely commanded. "The one next to the balcony which is to be built under here shall be in yellow pine, and the floor must be polished." She pointed37 with her long delicate hand. "ALL the floors must be polished. I will give you the design for the room above, I have thought it carefully out." And in imagination she papered the walls, arranged the furniture, and hung up curtains of wondrous38 patterns.
"I know, too, how the other rooms are to be done," she added. And she went from one to the other, remaining a little while in each. He followed, like an old horse led by the bridle39.
Before their visit was half over he most coolly neglected three out of his four guests.
His deep-set eyes twinkled with the liveliest admiration40 whenever she approached. He sought in the faces of the others the admiration which he himself felt: he would amble41 round her like an old photographic camera which had the power of setting itself up.
But from the day when she took down from his bookshelf a French work on mechanics, a subject with which she was evidently acquainted and for which she declared that she had a natural aptitude42, it was all over with him. From that day forward, if she were present, he effaced43 himself both in word and action.
In the mornings when he met her in one of her characteristic costumes he laughed softly, or gazed and gazed at her, and then glanced towards the others. She did not talk much, but every word that she uttered aroused his admiration. But he was most of all captivated when she sat quietly apart, heedless of every one: at such times he resembled an old parrot expectant of sugar.
His linen45 had always been snowy white, but beyond this he had taken no special pains with his toilet; but now he strutted46 about in a Tussore silk coat, which he had bought in Algiers, but had at once put aside because it was too tight—he looked like a clipt box hedge in it.
Now, who was this lion-tamer of twenty-one, who, without in the least wishing to do so, unconsciously even (she was the quietest of the party), had made the monarch47 of the forest crouch31 at her feet and gaze at her in abject48 humility49?
Look at her, as she sits there, with her loose shining hair of the prettiest shade of dark red; look at her broad forehead and prominent nose, but more than all at those large wondering eyes; look at her throat and neck, her tall slight figure; notice especially the Renaissance50 dress which she wears, its style and colour, and your curiosity will still remain unsatisfied, for she has an individuality all her own.
Kristen Ravn had lost her mother at her birth and her father when she was five years old. The latter left her a handsome fortune, with the express condition that the investments should not be changed, and that the income should be for her own use whether she married or not. He hoped by this means to form her character. She was brought up by three different members of her wide-branching family, a family which might more properly be termed a clan51, although they had no common characteristics beyond a desire to go their own way.
When two Ravns meet they, as a rule, differ on every subject; but as a race they hold religiously together—indeed, in their eyes there is no other family which is "amusing," the favourite adjective of the Ravns.
Kristen had a receptive nature; she read everything, and remembered what she read; that is say, she had a logical mind, for a retentive52 memory implies an orderly brain. She was consequently NUMBER ONE in everything which she took up. This, coupled with the fact that she lived among those who regarded her somewhat as a speculation53, and consequently flattered her, had early made an impression on her nature, quite as great, indeed, as the possession of money.
She was by no means proud, it was not in the Ravn nature to be so; but at ten years old she had left off playing; she preferred to wander in the woods and compose ballads54. At twelve she insisted on wearing silk dresses, and, in the teeth of an aunt all curls and lace and with a terrible flow of words, she carried her point. She held herself erect55 and prim56 in her silks, and still remained NUMBER ONE. She composed verses about Sir Adge and Maid Else, about birds and flowers and sad things.
On reaching the age at which other girls, who have the means, begin to wear silk dresses, she left them off. She was tired, she said, of the "smooth and glossy57."
She now grew enthusiastic for fine wool and expensive velvet58 of every shade. Dresses in the Renaissance style became her favourites, and the subject of her studies. She puffed59 out her bodices like those in Leonardo's and Rafael's portraits of women, and tried in other ways as well to resemble them.
She left off writing verses, and wrote stories instead; the style was good, though they were anything rather than spontaneous.
They were short, with a more or less clear pointe. Stories by a girl of eighteen do not as a general rule make a sensation, but these were particularly audacious. It was evident that their only object was to scandalise. Instead of her own name she used the nom-de-plume of "Puss." This, however, was only to postpone60 the announcement that the author who scandalised her readers most, and that at a time when every author strove to do so, was a girl of eighteen belonging to one of the first families in the country.
Soon every one knew that "Puss" was she of the tumbled red locks, "the tall Renaissance figure with the Titian hair."
Her hair was abundant, glossy, and slightly curling; she still wore it hanging loose over her neck and shoulders, as she had done as a child. Her great eyes seemed to look out upon a new world; but one felt that the lower part of her face was scarcely in harmony with the upper. The cheeks fell in a little; the prominent nose made the mouth look smaller than it actually was; her neck seemed only to lead the eye downward to her bosom61, which almost appeared to caress8 her throat, especially when her head was bent62 forward, as was generally the case. And very beautiful the throat was, delicate in colour, superb in contour, and admirably set upon the bust63. For this reason she could never find in her heart to hide this full white neck, but always kept it uncovered. Her finely moulded bust surmounting64 a slender waist and small hips65, her rounded arms, her long hands, her graceful66 carriage, in her tightly-fitting dress, formed such a striking picture that one did more than look—one was obliged to study her, When the elegance67 and beauty of her dress were taken into account, one realised how much intelligence and artistic68 taste had here been exercised.
She was friendly in society, natural and composed, always occupied with something, always with that wondering expression. She spoke69 very little, but her words were always well chosen.
All this, and her general disposition70, made people chary71 of opposing her, more especially those who knew how intelligent she was and how much knowledge she possessed.
She had no friends of her own, but her innumerable relations supplied her with society, gossip, and flattery, and were at once her friends and body-guard. She would have had to go abroad to be alone.
Among these relations she was a princess: they not only paid her homage72, but had sworn by "Life and Death" that she must marry without more ado, which was absolutely against her wish.
From her childhood she had been laying by money, but the amount of her savings73 was far less than her relations supposed. This rather mythical74 fortune contributed not a little to the fact that "every one" was in love with her. Not only the bachelors of the family, that was a matter of course, but artists and amateurs, even the most blase75, swarmed76 round her, la jeunesse doree (which is homely77 enough in Norway), without an exception. A living work of art, worth more or less money, piquante and admired, how each longed to carry her home, to gloat over her, to call her his own!
There was surely more intensity of feeling near her than near others, a losing of oneself in one only; that unattainable dream of the world-weary.
With her one could lead a thoroughly78 stylish79 life, full of art and taste and comfort. She was highly cultivated, and absolutely emancipated—our little country did not, in those days, possess a more alluring80 expression.
When face to face with her they were uncertain how to act, whether to approach her diffidently or boldly, smile or look serious, talk or be silent.
What these idle wooers gleaned81 from her stories, her characteristic dress, her wondering eyes, and her quiet dreaminess, was not the highest, but they expended82 their energy thereon; so that their unbounded discomfiture83 may be imagined when, in the autumn, the news spread that Fruken Kristen Ravn was married to Harald Kaas.
They burst into peals84 of derisive85 laughter they scoffed86, they exclaimed; the only explanation they could offer was that they had too long hesitated to try their fortune.
There were others, who both knew and admired her, who were no less dismayed. They were more than disappointed—the word is too weak; to many of them it seemed simply deplorable. How on earth could it have happened? Every one, herself excepted, knew that it would ruin her life.
On Kristen Ravn's independent position, her strong character, her rare courage, on her knowledge, gifts, and energy, many, especially women, had built up a future for the cause of Woman. Had she not already written fearlessly for it? Her tendency towards eccentricity87 and paradox88 would soon have worn off, they thought, as the struggle carried her forward, and at last she might have become one of the first champions of the cause. All that was noblest and best in Kristen must predominate in the end.
And now the few who seek to explain life's perplexities rather than to condemn89 them discovered—Some of them, that the defiant90 tone of her writings and her love of opposition91 bespoke92 a degree of vanity sufficient to have led her into fallacy. Others maintained that hers was essentially93 a romantic nature which might cause her to form a false estimate both of her own powers and of the circumstances of life. Others, again, had heard something of how this husband and wife lived, one in each wing of the house, with different staffs of servants, and with separate incomes; that she had furnished her side in her own way, at her own expense, and had apparently94 conceived the idea of a new kind of married life. Some people declared that the great lime-trees near the mansion95 at Hellebergene were alone responsible for the marriage. They soughed so wondrously96 in the summer evenings, and the sea beneath their branches told such enthralling97 stories. Those grand old woods, the like of which were hardly to be found in impoverished98 Norway, were far dearer to her than was her husband. Her imagination had been taken captive by the trees, and thus Harald Kaas had taken HER. The estate, the climate, the exclusive possession of her part of the house: this was the bait which she had chosen. Harald Kaas was only a kind of Puck who had to be taken along with it. But it is doubtful whether this conjecture99 was any nearer the truth. No one ever really knew. She was not one of those whom it is easy to catechise.
Every one wearies at last of trying to solve even the most interesting of enigmas100. No one could tolerate the sound of her name when, four months after her marriage, she was seen in a stall at the Christiania Theatre just as in old days, though looking perhaps a little paler. Every opera-glass was levelled at her. She wore a light, almost white, dress, cut square as usual. She did not hide her face behind her fan. She looked about her with her wondering eyes, as though she was quite unconscious that there were other people in the theatre or that any one could be looking at her. Even the most pertinacious101 were forced to concede that she was both physically102 and mentally unique, with a charm all her own.
But just as she had become once more the subject of general conversation, she disappeared. It afterwards transpired103 that her husband had fetched her away, though hardly any one had seen him. It was concluded that they must have had their first quarrel over it.
Accurate information about their joint104 life was never obtained. The attempts of her relations to force themselves upon them were quite without result, except that they found out that she was enceinte, notwithstanding her utmost efforts to conceal106 the fact.
She sent neither letter nor announcement; but in the summer, when she was next seen in Christiania, she was wheeling a perambulator along Karl Johan Street, her eyes as wondering as though some one had just put it between her hands. She looked handsomer and more blooming than ever.
In the perambulator lay a boy with his mother's broad forehead, his mother's red hair. The child was charmingly dressed, and he, as well as the perambulator, was so daintily equipped, so completely in harmony with herself, that every one understood the reply that she gave, when, after the usual congratulations, her acquaintances inquired, "Shall we soon have a new story from you?"—she answered, "A new story? Here it is!"
But, notwithstanding the unalloyed happiness which she displayed here, it could no longer be concealed107 that more often than not she was absent from home, and that she never mentioned her husband's name. If any one spoke of him to her, she changed the subject. By the time that the boy was a year old, it had become evident that she contemplated108 leaving Hellebergene entirely109. She had been in Christiania for some time and had gone home to make arrangements, saying that she should come back in a few days.
But she never did so.
The day after her return home, while the numerous servants at Hellebergene, as well as the labourers with their wives and children, were all assembled at the potato digging, Harald Kaas appeared, carrying his wife under his left arm like a sack. He held her round the waist, feet first, her face downwards110 and hidden by her hair, her hands convulsively clutching his left thigh111, her legs sometimes hanging down, sometimes straight out. He walked composedly out with her, holding in his right hand a bunch of long fresh birch twigs112. A little way from the gallery he paused, and laying her across his left knee, he tore off some of her clothes, and beat her until the blood flowed. She never uttered a sound. When he put her from him, she tremblingly rearranged—first her hair, thus displaying her face just as the blood flowed back from it, leaving it deadly white. Tears of pain and shame rolled down her cheeks; but still not a sound. She tried to rearrange her dress, but her tattered113 garments trailed behind her as she went back to the house. She shut the door after her, but had to open it again; her torn clothes had caught fast in it.
The women stood aghast; some of the children screamed with fright: this infected the rest, and there was a chorus of sobs114. The men, most of whom had been sitting smoking their pipes, but who had sprung to their feet again, stood filled with shame and indignation.
It had not been without a pang115 that Harald Kaas had done this, his face and manner had shown it for a long time and still did so; but he had expected that a roar of laughter would greet his extraordinary vagary116. This was evident from the composure with which he had carried his wife out; and still more from the glance of gratified revenge with which he looked round him afterwards. But there was only dead stillness, succeeded by weeping, sobbing117, and indignation. He stood there for a moment, quite overcome, then went indoors again, a defeated, utterly118 broken man.
In every encounter with this delicate creature the giant had been worsted.
After this, however, she never went beyond the grounds. For the first few years she was only seen by the people about the estate, and by them but seldom. Sometimes she would take her boy out in his little carriage, or, as time went on, would lead him by the hand, sometimes she was alone. She was generally wrapped in a big shawl, a different one for each dress she wore, and which she always held tightly round her. This was so characteristic of her that to this day I hear people from the neighbourhood talk about it as though she were never seen otherwise.
What then did she do? She studied; she had given up writing: for more than one reason it had become distasteful to her. She had changed roles with her husband, giving herself up to mathematics, chemistry, and physics, she made calculations and analyses—sending for books and materials for these objects. The people on the estate saw nothing extraordinary in all this. From the first they had admired her delicacy119 and beauty. Every one admired her; it was only the manner and degree that varied120.
Little by little she came to be regarded as one whose life and thoughts were beyond their comprehension.
She sought no one, but to those who came to her she never refused help—more or less. She made herself well acquainted with the facts of each case; no one could ever deceive her. Whether she gave much or little, she imposed no conditions, she never lectured them. Her opinion was expressed by the amount that she gave.
Her husband's behaviour towards her was such that, had she not been very popular, she could not have remained at Hellebergene; that is to say, he opposed and thwarted121 her in every way he could; but every one took her part.
The boy! Could not he have been a bond of union? On the contrary, there were those who declared that it was from the time of his birth that things had gone amiss between the parents. The first time that his father saw him the nurse reported that he "came in like a lord and went out like a beggar!" The mother lay down again and laughed; the nurse had never seen the like of it before. Had he expected that his child must of necessity resemble him, only to find it the image of its mother?
When the boy was old enough he loved to wander across to his father's rooms where there were so many curious things to see; his father always received him kindly122, talking in a way suited to his childish intelligence, but he would take occasion to cut away a quantity of his hair. His mother let it grow free and long like her own, and his father perpetually cut it. The boy would have been glad enough to be rid of it, but when he grew a little older, he comprehended his father's motive123, and thenceforth he was on his guard.
When the people on the estate had told him something of his father's highly-coloured histories of his feats124 of strength and his achievements by land and water, the boy began to feel a shy admiration for him, but at the same time he felt all the more strongly the intolerable yoke125 which he laid upon them—upon every living being on the estate. It became a secret religion with him to oppose his father and help his mother, for it was she who suffered. He would resemble her even to his hair, he would protect her, he would make it all up to her. It was a positive delight to him when his father made him suffer: he absolutely felt proud when he called him Rafaella, instead of Rafael, the name which his mother had chosen for him; it was the one that she loved best.
No one was allowed to use the boats or the carriage, no one might walk through the woods, which had been fenced in, the horses were never taken out. No repairs were undertaken; if Fru Kaas attempted to have anything done at her own expense, the workmen were ordered off: there could no longer be any doubt about it, he wished everything to go to rack and ruin. The property went from bad to worse, and the woods—well! It was no secret, every one on the place talked about it—the timber was being utterly ruined. The best and largest trees were already rotten; by degrees the rest would become so.
At twelve years of age Rafael began to receive religious teaching from the Dean: the only subject in which his mother did not instruct him. He shared these lessons with Helene, the Dean's only child, who was four years younger than Rafael and of whom he was devotedly126 fond.
The Dean told them the story of David. The narrative127 was unfolded with additions and explanations; the boy made a picture of it to himself; his mother had taught him everything in this way.
Assyrian warriors128 with pointed beards, oblique129 eyes, and oblong shields, had to represent the Israelites; they marched by in an endless procession. He saw the blue-green of the vineyards on the hillside, the shadow of the dusty palm-trees upon the dusty road. Then a wood of aromatic130 trees into which all the warriors fled.
Then followed the story of Absalom.
"Absalom rebelled against his father, what a dreadful thing to think of," said the Dean. "A grown-up man to rebel against his father." He chanced to look towards Rafael, who turned as red as fire.
The thought which was constantly in his mind was that when he was grown up he should rebel against his father.
"But Absalom was punished in a marvellous manner," continued the Dean. "He lost the battle, and as he fled through the woods, his long hair caught in a tree, the horse ran away from under him, and he was left hanging there until he was run through by a spear."
Rafael could see Absalom hanging there, not in the long Assyrian garments, not with a pointed beard. No! Slender and young, in Rafael's tight-fitting breeches and stockings, and with his own red hair! Ah! how distinctly he saw it! The horse galloping131 far away—the grey one at home which he used to ride by stealth when his father was asleep after dinner. He could see the tall, slender lad, dangling132 and swaying, with a spear through his body. Distinctly! Distinctly!
This vision, which he never mentioned to a soul, he could not get rid of. To be left hanging there by his hair—what a strange punishment for rebelling against his father!
Certainly he already knew the history, but till now he had paid no special heed44 to it.
It was on a Friday that this great impression had been made on him, and on the following Thursday morning he awoke to see his mother standing105 over him with her most wondering expression. Her hair still as she had plaited it for the night; one plait had touched him on the nose and awoke him before she spoke. She stood bending over him, in her long white nightgown with its dainty lace trimming, and with bare feet. She would never have come in like that if something terrible had not happened. Why did she not speak? only look and look—or was she really frightened?
"Mother!" he cried, sitting up.
Then she bent close down to him. "THE MAN IS DEAD," she whispered. It was his father whom she called "the man," she never spoke of him otherwise.
Rafael did not comprehend what she said, or perhaps it paralysed him. She repeated it again louder and louder, "The man is dead, the man is dead."
Then she stood upright, and putting out her bare feet from under her nightgown, she began to dance—only a few steps; and then she slipped away through the door which stood half open. He jumped up and ran after her; there she lay on the sofa, sobbing. She felt that he was behind her, she raised herself quickly, and, still sobbing, pressed him to her heart.
Even when they stood together beside the body, the hand which he had in his shook so that he threw his arms round her, thinking that she would fall.
Later in life, when he recalled this, he understood what she had silently endured, what an unbending will she had brought to the struggle, but also what it had cost her.
At the time he did not in the least comprehend it. He imagined that she suffered from the horror of the moment as he himself did.
There lay the giant, in wretchedness and squalor! He who had once boasted of his cleanliness, and expected the like in others, lay there, dirty and unshaven, under dirty bed clothes, in linen so ragged and filthy133 that no workman on the estate had worse. The clothes which he had worn the day before lay on a chair beside the bed, miserably134 threadbare, foul135 with dirt, sweat, and tobacco, and stinking136 like everything else. His mouth was distorted, his hands tightly clenched137; he had died of a stroke.
And how forlorn and desolate138 was all around him! Why had his son never noticed this before? Why had he never felt that his father was lonely and forsaken139? To how great an extent no words could express.
Rafael burst into tears; louder and louder grew his sobbing, until it sounded through all the rooms. The people from the estate came in one by one. They wished to satisfy their curiosity.
The boy's crying, unconsciously to himself, influenced them all: they saw everything in a new light. How unfortunate, how desolate, how helpless had he been who now lay there. Lord, have mercy on us all!
When the corpse140 of Harald Kaas had been laid out, the face shaved, and the eyes closed, the distortion was less apparent. They could trace signs of suffering, but the expression was still virile141. It seemed a handsome face to them now.
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| adv.不；n.反对票，投反对票者 | |
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doorways
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| n.门口，门道( doorway的名词复数 ) | |
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ragged
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| adj.衣衫褴褛的，粗糙的，刺耳的 | |
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stiffened
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fully
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| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
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gratitude
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adversary
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caress
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| vt./n.爱抚，抚摸 | |
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9
caressing
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| 爱抚的，表现爱情的，亲切的 | |
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10
stump
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| n.残株，烟蒂，讲演台；v.砍断，蹒跚而走 | |
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11
intensity
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| n.强烈，剧烈；强度；烈度 | |
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12
possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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13
boundless
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| adj.无限的；无边无际的；巨大的 | |
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14
devoid
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| adj.全无的，缺乏的 | |
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15
leasehold
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| n.租赁，租约，租赁权，租赁期，adj.租(来)的 | |
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16
curiously
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| adv.有求知欲地；好问地；奇特地 | |
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17
ballroom
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| n.舞厅 | |
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18
suite
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| n.一套(家具)；套房；随从人员 | |
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19
distinguished
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| adj.卓越的，杰出的，著名的 | |
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20
mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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21
flayed
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| v.痛打( flay的过去式和过去分词 )；把…打得皮开肉绽；剥（通常指动物）的皮；严厉批评 | |
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22
grunting
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| 咕哝的，呼噜的 | |
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23
misgivings
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| n.疑虑，担忧，害怕；疑虑，担心，恐惧( misgiving的名词复数 )；疑惧 | |
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24
stark
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| adj.荒凉的；严酷的；完全的；adv.完全地 | |
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25
gathering
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| n.集会，聚会，聚集 | |
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26
mare
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| n.母马，母驴 | |
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27
plunged
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| v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降 | |
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28
coaxingly
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| adv. 以巧言诱哄，以甘言哄骗 | |
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29
casement
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| n.竖铰链窗；窗扉 | |
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30
crouched
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| v.屈膝，蹲伏( crouch的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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31
crouch
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| v.蹲伏，蜷缩，低头弯腰；n.蹲伏 | |
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32
trepidation
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| n.惊恐，惶恐 | |
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33
delightful
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| adj.令人高兴的，使人快乐的 | |
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34
relinquished
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| 交出，让给( relinquish的过去式和过去分词 )； 放弃 | |
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35
presumption
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| n.推测，可能性，冒昧，放肆，[法律]推定 | |
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36
inoculated
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| v.给…做预防注射( inoculate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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37
pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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38
wondrous
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| adj.令人惊奇的，奇妙的；adv.惊人地；异乎寻常地；令人惊叹地 | |
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39
bridle
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| n.笼头，束缚；vt.抑制，约束；动怒 | |
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40
admiration
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| n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕 | |
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41
amble
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| vi.缓行，漫步 | |
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42
aptitude
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| n.(学习方面的)才能，资质，天资 | |
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43
effaced
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| v.擦掉( efface的过去式和过去分词 )；抹去；超越；使黯然失色 | |
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44
heed
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| v.注意，留意；n.注意，留心 | |
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45
linen
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| n.亚麻布，亚麻线，亚麻制品；adj.亚麻布制的，亚麻的 | |
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46
strutted
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| 趾高气扬地走，高视阔步( strut的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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47
monarch
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| n.帝王，君主，最高统治者 | |
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48
abject
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| adj.极可怜的，卑屈的 | |
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49
humility
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| n.谦逊，谦恭 | |
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50
renaissance
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| n.复活，复兴，文艺复兴 | |
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51
clan
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| n.氏族，部落，宗族，家族，宗派 | |
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52
retentive
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| v.保留的，有记忆的；adv.有记性地，记性强地；n.保持力 | |
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53
speculation
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| n.思索，沉思；猜测；投机 | |
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54
ballads
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| 民歌，民谣，特别指叙述故事的歌( ballad的名词复数 )； 讴 | |
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55
erect
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| n./v.树立，建立，使竖立；adj.直立的，垂直的 | |
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56
prim
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| adj.拘泥形式的，一本正经的；n.循规蹈矩，整洁；adv.循规蹈矩地，整洁地 | |
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57
glossy
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| adj.平滑的；有光泽的 | |
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58
velvet
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| n.丝绒，天鹅绒；adj.丝绒制的，柔软的 | |
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59
puffed
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| adj.疏松的v.使喷出( puff的过去式和过去分词 )；喷着汽（或烟）移动；吹嘘；吹捧 | |
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60
postpone
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| v.延期，推迟 | |
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61
bosom
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| n.胸，胸部；胸怀；内心；adj.亲密的 | |
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62
bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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63
bust
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| vt.打破；vi.爆裂；n.半身像；胸部 | |
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64
surmounting
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|
| 战胜( surmount的现在分词 )； 克服（困难）； 居于…之上； 在…顶上 | |
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65
hips
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| abbr.high impact polystyrene 高冲击强度聚苯乙烯，耐冲性聚苯乙烯n.臀部( hip的名词复数 )；[建筑学]屋脊；臀围（尺寸）；臀部…的 | |
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66
graceful
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|
| adj.优美的，优雅的；得体的 | |
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67
elegance
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| n.优雅；优美，雅致；精致，巧妙 | |
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68
artistic
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| adj.艺术(家)的，美术(家)的；善于艺术创作的 | |
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69
spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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70
disposition
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| n.性情，性格；意向，倾向；排列，部署 | |
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71
chary
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| adj.谨慎的，细心的 | |
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72
homage
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| n.尊敬，敬意，崇敬 | |
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73
savings
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| n.存款，储蓄 | |
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74
mythical
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|
| adj.神话的；虚构的；想像的 | |
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75
blase
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| adj.厌烦于享乐的 | |
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76
swarmed
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|
| 密集( swarm的过去式和过去分词 )； 云集； 成群地移动； 蜜蜂或其他飞行昆虫成群地飞来飞去 | |
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77
homely
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|
| adj.家常的，简朴的；不漂亮的 | |
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78
thoroughly
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| adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地 | |
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79
stylish
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| adj.流行的，时髦的；漂亮的，气派的 | |
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80
alluring
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| adj.吸引人的，迷人的 | |
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81
gleaned
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| v.一点点地收集（资料、事实）( glean的过去式和过去分词 )；（收割后）拾穗 | |
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82
expended
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| v.花费( expend的过去式和过去分词 )；使用（钱等）做某事；用光；耗尽 | |
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83
discomfiture
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| n.崩溃；大败；挫败；困惑 | |
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84
peals
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| n.（声音大而持续或重复的）洪亮的响声( peal的名词复数 )；隆隆声；洪亮的钟声；钟乐v.（使）（钟等）鸣响，（雷等）发出隆隆声( peal的第三人称单数 ) | |
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85
derisive
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| adj.嘲弄的 | |
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86
scoffed
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| 嘲笑，嘲弄( scoff的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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87
eccentricity
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| n.古怪，反常，怪癖 | |
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88
paradox
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| n.似乎矛盾却正确的说法；自相矛盾的人(物) | |
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89
condemn
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| vt.谴责，指责；宣判(罪犯)，判刑 | |
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90
defiant
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| adj.无礼的，挑战的 | |
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91
opposition
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| n.反对，敌对 | |
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92
bespoke
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| adj.（产品）订做的；专做订货的v.预定( bespeak的过去式 )；订（货）；证明；预先请求 | |
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93
essentially
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| adv.本质上，实质上，基本上 | |
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94
apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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95
mansion
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| n.大厦，大楼；宅第 | |
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96
wondrously
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| adv.惊奇地，非常，极其 | |
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97
enthralling
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| 迷人的 | |
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98
impoverished
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| adj.穷困的，无力的，用尽了的v.使（某人）贫穷( impoverish的过去式和过去分词 )；使（某物）贫瘠或恶化 | |
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99
conjecture
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| n./v.推测，猜测 | |
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100
enigmas
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| n.难于理解的问题、人、物、情况等，奥秘( enigma的名词复数 ) | |
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101
pertinacious
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| adj.顽固的 | |
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102
physically
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| adj.物质上，体格上，身体上，按自然规律 | |
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103
transpired
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| （事实，秘密等）被人知道( transpire的过去式和过去分词 )； 泄露； 显露； 发生 | |
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104
joint
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| adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合 | |
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105
standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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106
conceal
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| v.隐藏，隐瞒，隐蔽 | |
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107
concealed
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| a.隐藏的，隐蔽的 | |
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108
contemplated
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| adj. 预期的 动词contemplate的过去分词形式 | |
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109
entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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110
downwards
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| adj./adv.向下的（地），下行的（地） | |
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111
thigh
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| n.大腿；股骨 | |
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112
twigs
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| 细枝，嫩枝( twig的名词复数 ) | |
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113
tattered
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| adj.破旧的，衣衫破的 | |
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114
sobs
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| 啜泣（声），呜咽（声）( sob的名词复数 ) | |
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115
pang
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| n.剧痛，悲痛，苦闷 | |
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116
vagary
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| n.妄想，不可测之事，异想天开 | |
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117
sobbing
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| <主方>Ⅰ adj.湿透的 | |
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118
utterly
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| adv.完全地，绝对地 | |
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119
delicacy
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| n.精致，细微，微妙，精良；美味，佳肴 | |
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120
varied
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| adj.多样的，多变化的 | |
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121
thwarted
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| 阻挠( thwart的过去式和过去分词 )； 使受挫折； 挫败； 横过 | |
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122
kindly
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| adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地 | |
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123
motive
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| n.动机，目的；adv.发动的，运动的 | |
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124
feats
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| 功绩，伟业，技艺( feat的名词复数 ) | |
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125
yoke
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| n.轭；支配；v.给...上轭，连接，使成配偶 | |
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126
devotedly
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| 专心地； 恩爱地； 忠实地； 一心一意地 | |
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127
narrative
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| n.叙述，故事；adj.叙事的，故事体的 | |
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128
warriors
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| 武士，勇士，战士( warrior的名词复数 ) | |
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129
oblique
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| adj.斜的，倾斜的，无诚意的，不坦率的 | |
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130
aromatic
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| adj.芳香的，有香味的 | |
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131
galloping
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| adj. 飞驰的, 急性的 动词gallop的现在分词形式 | |
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132
dangling
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| 悬吊着( dangle的现在分词 )； 摆动不定； 用某事物诱惑…； 吊胃口 | |
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133
filthy
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| adj.卑劣的；恶劣的，肮脏的 | |
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134
miserably
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| adv.痛苦地；悲惨地；糟糕地；极度地 | |
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135
foul
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| adj.污秽的；邪恶的；v.弄脏；妨害；犯规；n.犯规 | |
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136
stinking
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| adj.臭的，烂醉的，讨厌的v.散发出恶臭( stink的现在分词 )；发臭味；名声臭；糟透 | |
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137
clenched
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| v.紧握，抓紧，咬紧( clench的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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138
desolate
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| adj.荒凉的，荒芜的；孤独的，凄凉的；v.使荒芜，使孤寂 | |
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139
Forsaken
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| adj. 被遗忘的, 被抛弃的 动词forsake的过去分词 | |
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140
corpse
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| n.尸体，死尸 | |
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141
virile
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| adj.男性的；有男性生殖力的；有男子气概的；强有力的 | |
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