“I thought it was madness,” he said, as he replaced the obnoxious6 paper in the safe, “and now I begin to fear it is disgrace.”
With that he blew out his candle, put on a greatcoat, and set forth7 in the direction of Cavendish Square, that citadel8 of medicine, where his friend, the great Dr. Lanyon, had his house and received his crowding patients. “If anyone knows, it will be Lanyon,” he had thought.
The solemn butler knew and welcomed him; he was subjected to no stage of delay, but ushered9 direct from the door to the dining-room where Dr. Lanyon sat alone over his wine. This was a hearty10, healthy, dapper, red-faced gentleman, with a shock of hair prematurely11 white, and a boisterous12 and decided13 manner. At sight of Mr. Utterson, he sprang up from his chair and welcomed him with both hands. The geniality14, as was the way of the man, was somewhat theatrical15 to the eye; but it reposed17 on genuine feeling. For these two were old friends, old mates both at school and college, both thorough respectors of themselves and of each other, and what does not always follow, men who thoroughly18 enjoyed each other’s company.
After a little rambling19 talk, the lawyer led up to the subject which so disagreeably preoccupied20 his mind.
“I suppose, Lanyon,” said he, “you and I must be the two oldest friends that Henry Jekyll has?”
“I wish the friends were younger,” chuckled21 Dr. Lanyon. “But I suppose we are. And what of that? I see little of him now.”
“Indeed?” said Utterson. “I thought you had a bond of common interest.”
“We had,” was the reply. “But it is more than ten years since Henry Jekyll became too fanciful for me. He began to go wrong, wrong in mind; and though of course I continue to take an interest in him for old sake’s sake, as they say, I see and I have seen devilish little of the man. Such unscientific balderdash,” added the doctor, flushing suddenly purple, “would have estranged22 Damon and Pythias.”
This little spirit of temper was somewhat of a relief to Mr. Utterson. “They have only differed on some point of science,” he thought; and being a man of no scientific passions (except in the matter of conveyancing), he even added: “It is nothing worse than that!” He gave his friend a few seconds to recover his composure, and then approached the question he had come to put. “Did you ever come across a protege of his—one Hyde?” he asked.
“Hyde?” repeated Lanyon. “No. Never heard of him. Since my time.”
That was the amount of information that the lawyer carried back with him to the great, dark bed on which he tossed to and fro, until the small hours of the morning began to grow large. It was a night of little ease to his toiling23 mind, toiling in mere24 darkness and beseiged by questions.
Six o’clock struck on the bells of the church that was so conveniently near to Mr. Utterson’s dwelling25, and still he was digging at the problem. Hitherto it had touched him on the intellectual side alone; but now his imagination also was engaged, or rather enslaved; and as he lay and tossed in the gross darkness of the night and the curtained room, Mr. Enfield’s tale went by before his mind in a scroll26 of lighted pictures. He would be aware of the great field of lamps of a nocturnal city; then of the figure of a man walking swiftly; then of a child running from the doctor’s; and then these met, and that human Juggernaut trod the child down and passed on regardless of her screams. Or else he would see a room in a rich house, where his friend lay asleep, dreaming and smiling at his dreams; and then the door of that room would be opened, the curtains of the bed plucked apart, the sleeper27 recalled, and lo! there would stand by his side a figure to whom power was given, and even at that dead hour, he must rise and do its bidding. The figure in these two phases haunted the lawyer all night; and if at any time he dozed28 over, it was but to see it glide29 more stealthily through sleeping houses, or move the more swiftly and still the more swiftly, even to dizziness, through wider labyrinths30 of lamplighted city, and at every street corner crush a child and leave her screaming. And still the figure had no face by which he might know it; even in his dreams, it had no face, or one that baffled him and melted before his eyes; and thus it was that there sprang up and grew apace in the lawyer’s mind a singularly strong, almost an inordinate31, curiosity to behold32 the features of the real Mr. Hyde. If he could but once set eyes on him, he thought the mystery would lighten and perhaps roll altogether away, as was the habit of mysterious things when well examined. He might see a reason for his friend’s strange preference or bondage33 (call it which you please) and even for the startling clause of the will. At least it would be a face worth seeing: the face of a man who was without bowels34 of mercy: a face which had but to show itself to raise up, in the mind of the unimpressionable Enfield, a spirit of enduring hatred35.
From that time forward, Mr. Utterson began to haunt the door in the by-street of shops. In the morning before office hours, at noon when business was plenty, and time scarce, at night under the face of the fogged city moon, by all lights and at all hours of solitude36 or concourse, the lawyer was to be found on his chosen post.
“If he be Mr. Hyde,” he had thought, “I shall be Mr. Seek.”
And at last his patience was rewarded. It was a fine dry night; frost in the air; the streets as clean as a ballroom37 floor; the lamps, unshaken by any wind, drawing a regular pattern of light and shadow. By ten o’clock, when the shops were closed the by-street was very solitary38 and, in spite of the low growl39 of London from all round, very silent. Small sounds carried far; domestic sounds out of the houses were clearly audible on either side of the roadway; and the rumour40 of the approach of any passenger preceded him by a long time. Mr. Utterson had been some minutes at his post, when he was aware of an odd light footstep drawing near. In the course of his nightly patrols, he had long grown accustomed to the quaint41 effect with which the footfalls of a single person, while he is still a great way off, suddenly spring out distinct from the vast hum and clatter42 of the city. Yet his attention had never before been so sharply and decisively arrested; and it was with a strong, superstitious43 prevision of success that he withdrew into the entry of the court.
The steps drew swiftly nearer, and swelled out suddenly louder as they turned the end of the street. The lawyer, looking forth from the entry, could soon see what manner of man he had to deal with. He was small and very plainly dressed and the look of him, even at that distance, went somehow strongly against the watcher’s inclination44. But he made straight for the door, crossing the roadway to save time; and as he came, he drew a key from his pocket like one approaching home.
Mr. Utterson stepped out and touched him on the shoulder as he passed. “Mr. Hyde, I think?”
Mr. Hyde shrank back with a hissing45 intake46 of the breath. But his fear was only momentary47; and though he did not look the lawyer in the face, he answered coolly enough: “That is my name. What do you want?”
“I see you are going in,” returned the lawyer. “I am an old friend of Dr. Jekyll’s—Mr. Utterson of Gaunt Street—you must have heard of my name; and meeting you so conveniently, I thought you might admit me.”
“You will not find Dr. Jekyll; he is from home,” replied Mr. Hyde, blowing in the key. And then suddenly, but still without looking up, “How did you know me?” he asked.
“On your side,” said Mr. Utterson “will you do me a favour?”
“With pleasure,” replied the other. “What shall it be?”
“Will you let me see your face?” asked the lawyer.
Mr. Hyde appeared to hesitate, and then, as if upon some sudden reflection, fronted about with an air of defiance48; and the pair stared at each other pretty fixedly49 for a few seconds. “Now I shall know you again,” said Mr. Utterson. “It may be useful.”
“Yes,” returned Mr. Hyde, “It is as well we have met; and apropos50, you should have my address.” And he gave a number of a street in Soho.
“Good God!” thought Mr. Utterson, “can he, too, have been thinking of the will?” But he kept his feelings to himself and only grunted51 in acknowledgment of the address.
“And now,” said the other, “how did you know me?”
“By description,” was the reply.
“Whose description?”
“We have common friends,” said Mr. Utterson.
“Common friends,” echoed Mr. Hyde, a little hoarsely52. “Who are they?”
“Jekyll, for instance,” said the lawyer.
“He never told you,” cried Mr. Hyde, with a flush of anger. “I did not think you would have lied.”
“Come,” said Mr. Utterson, “that is not fitting language.”
The other snarled53 aloud into a savage54 laugh; and the next moment, with extraordinary quickness, he had unlocked the door and disappeared into the house.
The lawyer stood awhile when Mr. Hyde had left him, the picture of disquietude. Then he began slowly to mount the street, pausing every step or two and putting his hand to his brow like a man in mental perplexity. The problem he was thus debating as he walked, was one of a class that is rarely solved. Mr. Hyde was pale and dwarfish55, he gave an impression of deformity without any nameable malformation, he had a displeasing56 smile, he had borne himself to the lawyer with a sort of murderous mixture of timidity and boldness, and he spoke57 with a husky, whispering and somewhat broken voice; all these were points against him, but not all of these together could explain the hitherto unknown disgust, loathing58 and fear with which Mr. Utterson regarded him. “There must be something else,” said the perplexed59 gentleman. “There is something more, if I could find a name for it. God bless me, the man seems hardly human! Something troglodytic60, shall we say? or can it be the old story of Dr. Fell? or is it the mere radiance of a foul61 soul that thus transpires62 through, and transfigures, its clay continent? The last, I think; for, O my poor old Harry63 Jekyll, if ever I read Satan’s signature upon a face, it is on that of your new friend.”
Round the corner from the by-street, there was a square of ancient, handsome houses, now for the most part decayed from their high estate and let in flats and chambers64 to all sorts and conditions of men; map-engravers, architects, shady lawyers and the agents of obscure enterprises. One house, however, second from the corner, was still occupied entire; and at the door of this, which wore a great air of wealth and comfort, though it was now plunged65 in darkness except for the fanlight, Mr. Utterson stopped and knocked. A well-dressed, elderly servant opened the door.
“Is Dr. Jekyll at home, Poole?” asked the lawyer.
“I will see, Mr. Utterson,” said Poole, admitting the visitor, as he spoke, into a large, low-roofed, comfortable hall paved with flags, warmed (after the fashion of a country house) by a bright, open fire, and furnished with costly66 cabinets of oak. “Will you wait here by the fire, sir? or shall I give you a light in the dining-room?”
“Here, thank you,” said the lawyer, and he drew near and leaned on the tall fender. This hall, in which he was now left alone, was a pet fancy of his friend the doctor’s; and Utterson himself was wont67 to speak of it as the pleasantest room in London. But tonight there was a shudder68 in his blood; the face of Hyde sat heavy on his memory; he felt (what was rare with him) a nausea69 and distaste of life; and in the gloom of his spirits, he seemed to read a menace in the flickering70 of the firelight on the polished cabinets and the uneasy starting of the shadow on the roof. He was ashamed of his relief, when Poole presently returned to announce that Dr. Jekyll was gone out.
“I saw Mr. Hyde go in by the old dissecting71 room, Poole,” he said. “Is that right, when Dr. Jekyll is from home?”
“Quite right, Mr. Utterson, sir,” replied the servant. “Mr. Hyde has a key.”
“Your master seems to repose16 a great deal of trust in that young man, Poole,” resumed the other musingly72.
“Yes, sir, he does indeed,” said Poole. “We have all orders to obey him.”
“I do not think I ever met Mr. Hyde?” asked Utterson.
“O, dear no, sir. He never dines here,” replied the butler. “Indeed we see very little of him on this side of the house; he mostly comes and goes by the laboratory.”
“Well, good-night, Poole.”
“Good-night, Mr. Utterson.”
And the lawyer set out homeward with a very heavy heart. “Poor Harry Jekyll,” he thought, “my mind misgives73 me he is in deep waters! He was wild when he was young; a long while ago to be sure; but in the law of God, there is no statute74 of limitations. Ay, it must be that; the ghost of some old sin, the cancer of some concealed75 disgrace: punishment coming, PEDE CLAUDO, years after memory has forgotten and self-love condoned76 the fault.” And the lawyer, scared by the thought, brooded awhile on his own past, groping in all the corners of memory, least by chance some Jack-in-the-Box of an old iniquity77 should leap to light there. His past was fairly blameless; few men could read the rolls of their life with less apprehension78; yet he was humbled79 to the dust by the many ill things he had done, and raised up again into a sober and fearful gratitude80 by the many he had come so near to doing yet avoided. And then by a return on his former subject, he conceived a spark of hope. “This Master Hyde, if he were studied,” thought he, “must have secrets of his own; black secrets, by the look of him; secrets compared to which poor Jekyll’s worst would be like sunshine. Things cannot continue as they are. It turns me cold to think of this creature stealing like a thief to Harry’s bedside; poor Harry, what a wakening! And the danger of it; for if this Hyde suspects the existence of the will, he may grow impatient to inherit. Ay, I must put my shoulders to the wheel—if Jekyll will but let me,” he added, “if Jekyll will only let me.” For once more he saw before his mind’s eye, as clear as transparency, the strange clauses of the will.
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1
relish
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| n.滋味，享受，爱好，调味品；vt.加调味料，享受，品味；vi.有滋味 | |
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2
endorsed
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| vt.& vi.endorse的过去式或过去分词形式v.赞同( endorse的过去式和过去分词 )；在（尤指支票的）背面签字；在（文件的）背面写评论；在广告上说本人使用并赞同某产品 | |
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3
benefactor
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| n. 恩人，行善的人，捐助人 | |
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4
sane
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| adj.心智健全的，神志清醒的，明智的，稳健的 | |
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5
swelled
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| 增强( swell的过去式和过去分词 )； 肿胀； （使）凸出； 充满（激情） | |
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6
obnoxious
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| adj.极恼人的，讨人厌的，可憎的 | |
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7
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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8
citadel
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| n.城堡；堡垒；避难所 | |
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9
ushered
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| v.引，领，陪同( usher的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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10
hearty
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| adj.热情友好的；衷心的；尽情的，纵情的 | |
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prematurely
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| adv.过早地，贸然地 | |
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12
boisterous
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| adj.喧闹的，欢闹的 | |
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13
decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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14
geniality
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| n.和蔼，诚恳；愉快 | |
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15
theatrical
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| adj.剧场的，演戏的；做戏似的，做作的 | |
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16
repose
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| v.(使)休息；n.安息 | |
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17
reposed
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| v.将（手臂等）靠在某人（某物）上( repose的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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18
thoroughly
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| adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地 | |
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19
rambling
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| adj.[建]凌乱的，杂乱的 | |
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20
preoccupied
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| adj.全神贯注的，入神的；被抢先占有的；心事重重的v.占据（某人）思想，使对…全神贯注，使专心于( preoccupy的过去式) | |
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21
chuckled
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| 轻声地笑( chuckle的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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22
estranged
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| adj.疏远的，分离的 | |
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23
toiling
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| 长时间或辛苦地工作( toil的现在分词 )； 艰难缓慢地移动，跋涉 | |
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24
mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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dwelling
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| n.住宅，住所，寓所 | |
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26
scroll
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| n.卷轴，纸卷；(石刻上的)漩涡 | |
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sleeper
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| n.睡眠者，卧车，卧铺 | |
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28
dozed
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| v.打盹儿，打瞌睡( doze的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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glide
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| n./v.溜，滑行；(时间)消逝 | |
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30
labyrinths
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| 迷宫( labyrinth的名词复数 )； （文字，建筑）错综复杂的 | |
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31
inordinate
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| adj.无节制的；过度的 | |
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32
behold
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| v.看，注视，看到 | |
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33
bondage
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| n.奴役，束缚 | |
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34
bowels
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| n.肠，内脏，内部；肠( bowel的名词复数 )；内部，最深处 | |
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hatred
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| n.憎恶，憎恨，仇恨 | |
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36
solitude
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| n. 孤独; 独居,荒僻之地,幽静的地方 | |
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ballroom
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| n.舞厅 | |
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38
solitary
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| adj.孤独的，独立的，荒凉的；n.隐士 | |
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39
growl
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| v.（狗等）嗥叫，（炮等）轰鸣；n.嗥叫，轰鸣 | |
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40
rumour
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| n.谣言，谣传，传闻 | |
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41
quaint
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| adj.古雅的，离奇有趣的，奇怪的 | |
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42
clatter
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| v./n.(使)发出连续而清脆的撞击声 | |
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43
superstitious
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| adj.迷信的 | |
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44
inclination
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| n.倾斜；点头；弯腰；斜坡；倾度；倾向；爱好 | |
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45
hissing
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| n. 发嘶嘶声, 蔑视 动词hiss的现在分词形式 | |
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46
intake
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| n.吸入，纳入；进气口，入口 | |
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47
momentary
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| adj.片刻的，瞬息的；短暂的 | |
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48
defiance
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| n.挑战，挑衅，蔑视，违抗 | |
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49
fixedly
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| adv.固定地；不屈地，坚定不移地 | |
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50
apropos
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| adv.恰好地；adj.恰当的；关于 | |
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51
grunted
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| （猪等）作呼噜声( grunt的过去式和过去分词 )； （指人）发出类似的哼声； 咕哝着说 | |
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52
hoarsely
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| adv.嘶哑地 | |
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53
snarled
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| v.（指狗）吠，嗥叫， （人）咆哮( snarl的过去式和过去分词 )；咆哮着说，厉声地说 | |
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54
savage
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| adj.野蛮的；凶恶的，残暴的；n.未开化的人 | |
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55
dwarfish
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| a.像侏儒的，矮小的 | |
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56
displeasing
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| 不愉快的，令人发火的 | |
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57
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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58
loathing
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| n.厌恶，憎恨v.憎恨，厌恶( loathe的现在分词)；极不喜欢 | |
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59
perplexed
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| adj.不知所措的 | |
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60
troglodytic
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| [昆] 全土栖的 | |
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61
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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62
transpires
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| （事实，秘密等）被人知道( transpire的第三人称单数 )； 泄露； 显露； 发生 | |
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63
harry
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| vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼 | |
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64
chambers
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| n.房间( chamber的名词复数 )；（议会的）议院；卧室；会议厅 | |
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65
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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66
costly
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| adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的 | |
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67
wont
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| adj.习惯于；v.习惯；n.习惯 | |
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68
shudder
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| v.战粟，震动，剧烈地摇晃；n.战粟，抖动 | |
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69
nausea
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| n.作呕，恶心；极端的憎恶(或厌恶) | |
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70
flickering
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| adj.闪烁的，摇曳的，一闪一闪的 | |
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71
dissecting
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| v.解剖（动物等）( dissect的现在分词 )；仔细分析或研究 | |
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72
musingly
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| adv.沉思地，冥想地 | |
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73
misgives
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| v.使（某人的情绪、精神等）疑虑，担忧，害怕( misgive的第三人称单数 ) | |
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74
statute
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| n.成文法，法令，法规；章程，规则，条例 | |
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75
concealed
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| a.隐藏的，隐蔽的 | |
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76
condoned
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| v.容忍，宽恕，原谅( condone的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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77
iniquity
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| n.邪恶；不公正 | |
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78
apprehension
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| n.理解，领悟；逮捕，拘捕；忧虑 | |
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79
humbled
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| adj. 卑下的，谦逊的，粗陋的 vt. 使 ... 卑下，贬低 | |
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80
gratitude
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| adj.感激，感谢 | |
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