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CHAPTER IX. A SUDDEN RESOLVE.
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Now, then, young gentlemen, choose your partners!' Mr. Plantagenet murmured with a bland2 and inane3 smile. ('Strike up the violin, Maud!' aside.) 'Bow, and fall into places. Eight bars before beginning. No, not yet, Miss Tradescant. Explain to this young lady, if you please, Miss Tudor, that she must always wait eight bars—eight bars exactly—before she begins to chasser. That's right. Just so! Advance in couples—right, left—right, left—right, left—down the middle. Very nicely done, indeed: very nicely, very nicely. Now!—yes—that's it. Change hands, and over again!'

A year and more had passed, and Mr. Plantagenet's face bore distincter signs than ever of his ruling passion. It was coarse and red under the bland exterior4. Maud watched him intently now on the morning of lesson days to see he didn't slink away unobserved into the bar of the White Horse before the appointed hour for the meeting in the Assembly Rooms. Once let him cross the threshold of the inn, except to enter the big hall where he received his pupils, and all was up with him. On such occasions Maud was compelled with grief and shame to stick a notice on the door: 'Mr. Plantagenet is indisposed to-day, and will be unable to meet his usual classes.' Nobody else ever knew what agony those notices cost the poor shrinking girl; but on the next appointed afternoon Mr. Plantagenet would be at his place again as if nothing had happened, and would murmur1 plaintively5, with one hand on his left breast and the other on the bow of his faithful violin:

'My old complaint, ladies and gentlemen—my old complaint! I suffer so much from my heart. I regret I was unable to receive you on Wednesday.' Everybody in Chiddingwick knew quite well the real nature of Mr. Plantagenet's 'old complaint,' but he was an institution of the place, and everybody pretended to believe in it and to sympathize with him.

On this particular day, however, in the middle of November, Mr. Plantagenet seemed even more consequential6 and more dignified7 than usual, if such a thing were possible. He received Lady Agatha's little girls with princely condescension8. Maud, who stood by trembling, and watching him with dismay, as he fiddled10 with a will on his well-tried violin, wondered to herself, with a mute feeling of terror in her heart, what on earth could have put her father into such visible good humour. She didn't discover the secret till the end of the lesson. Then Mr. Plantagenet, rising with great importance and a conscious smirk11, observed in his suavest12 and most professional tone:

'I am sorry to say, young ladies and gentlemen—and you, Miss Tudor—I won't be able to give the usual lessons next Tuesday and Wednesday. The fact of the matter is, I shall be away from Chiddingwick. It doesn't often happen that I take a holiday; but on this occasion I shall be away from Chiddingwick. Long and close attention to the duties of a harassing13 and wearisome task has undermined my constitution; you can sympathize with my feelings, and next week I propose to give myself a well-earned repose14 in order to visit my dear son at the University of Oxford15.'

It was a perfect bombshell. To Maud, sitting by wearily, with her small violin clasped in her bloodless hands, the announcement came like a thunderbolt. He was going to Oxford! She turned deadly pale at once, and clutched the bow of her instrument with a spasmodic action. Mary Tudor, sitting near, noticed the pallor on her cheek, and guessed the cause of it instantly. The two girls looked up; for a second their eyes met, then Maud let hers drop suddenly. Though on that one dearest point Dick had never taken her into his confidence, Maud had guessed the whole truth during last Christmas vacation, and if anything could make the cup of her bitterness even bitterer than it was, 'twas the thought that Dick's friend, Dick's future wife, perhaps, should see and understand the full depths of her misery16.

Mary had tact17 enough and feeling enough, however, not to press her sympathy upon the poor wounded creature. With a hasty side-glance she hurried her charges out of the room as quick as she could, and motioned to the other governesses to do the same for theirs with all possible expedition. Two minutes later the big hall was fairly cleared, and father and daughter stood face to face in silence.

If Maud had followed only the prompting of her own personal feelings, she would have sat down where she was, covered her face with her hands, and cried long and bitterly.

But her sense of duty towards her father prevented her from so giving way. She couldn't bear to let him see how deeply, for Dick's sake, she dreaded18 the idea of his going to Oxford. All she could do was to look up at him with a scared white face, and murmur in a terrified, half-articulate tone: 'Oh, father, father, you never told me of this! What on earth do you mean by it?'

Mr. Plantagenet eyed his daughter askance out of the corner of his eyes. He was more afraid of Maud than of anyone else on earth; in point of fact, she was his domestic keeper. But he tried to assume his jaunty19, happy-go-lucky air, for all that.

'Well, my dear,' he said, examining the strings20 of his fiddle9 with profound attention, 'I haven't had a holiday for a very long time, away from Chiddingwick, and I'm tired with the duties—the duties of my very exacting21 profession—and I felt I needed a change, and I haven't been up to Oxford since your brother Richard entered into residence as a member of the University. Now, I naturally feel a desire to see my son in that position in life which a Plantagenet ought to occupy. And so, the long and the short of it is,' Mr. Plantagenet went on, shuffling22 about, and glancing up at her anxiously, 'the long and the short of it is, as you heard me inform my class just now, I think next week of allowing myself the luxury of a trip to Oxford.'

Maud rose and seized his arm. His grandeur23 and indefiniteness positively24 alarmed her. Did he think she would be taken in by such grandiose25 words?

'Now, father,' she said boldly, 'that sort of talk won't do between us two, you know, at a serious crisis. This is important, very. You must tell me quite plainly what you mean by it all. Does Dick know you're coming, and why do you want to go to him?'

Mr. Plantagenet, thus attacked, produced from his pocket a rather dirty silk handkerchief, and began to whimper. 'Has it come to this, then?' he cried with theatrical26 pathos27; 'has it come to this, I ask you, that I, the head of all the Plantagenets, have to beg leave and make explanations to my own eldest28 daughter before I can go to visit my own son at Oxford?' and he hid his face in the pocket-handkerchief with a studied burst of emotion.

But Maud was inexorable. Dick's happiness was at stake. Not for worlds, if she could help it, would she have him shamed by the appearance before all the world of Oxford of that shabby, degraded, disreputable old man in the guise29 of his father.

'We must be practical,' she said coldly, taking no notice of his hysterics. 'You must explain what this means. I want to know all about it. How have you got money to go up to Oxford with—and all those bills unpaid—and Mrs. Waite still dunning us for the rent from last quarter? And where are you going to stop? And does Richard know you're coming? And have you proper things to go in? Why, I should think the very pride of a Plantagenet ought to prevent you from going to a place where your son lives like a gentleman, as he is, unless you can afford to go in such clothes as won't disgrace him!'

Thus put upon his mettle30, Mr. Plantagenet, deeply moved, at first admitted by slow degrees that he had taken proper steps to replenish31 his wardrobe for this important occasion. He had ordered a suit of good clothes—very good clothes—at Wilkins's. And they would be paid for, too, the Head of the House added proudly. Oh, he wasn't quite so devoid32 of friends and resources in his old age as his undutiful daughter appeared to imagine. He could sometimes do a thing or two on his own account without asking her assistance. He had money in hand—loads—plenty of money for the journey!

'The more high-flown and enigmatical Mr. Plantagenet grew, the more terribly was poor Maud distressed33 and frightened. At last she could stand it no longer. Plantagenet though she was, and as proud as Heaven makes them, she couldn't prevent the tears from stealing through and betraying her. She flung herself into a chair and took her face in her hands.

'Now, father,' she said simply, giving way at last, 'you must tell me what you mean by it. You must explain the whole thing. Where did you get this money?'

Then, bit by bit, hard pressed, Mr. Plantagenet admitted, with many magnificent disclaimers and curious salves to his offended dignity, how he had become seized of a sum of unexpected magnitude. When he took the last rent of the Assembly Rooms, for the afternoon dancing-lessons, to the landlord of the White Horse, a fortnight earlier, the landlord had given him a receipt in full, and then, to his great surprise, had handed him back the money.

'You've been an old customer to me, Mr. Plantagenet,' Barnes had said—'with real feeling, my dear—I assure you, with very real feeling'—'and a good customer, too, and a customer one could reckon upon, both for the Rooms and the parlour; and I feel, sir, now your son's gone up to Oxford College, and you a gentleman born, and so brought up, in the manner of speaking, it 'ud be a comfort to you, and a comfort to him, if you was to go up and see him. This 'ere little matter of the quarter's rent ain't nothing to me: you've brought me in as much and more in your time, as I says to my missus, with your conversational34 faculties35. It draws people to the house, that it do, when they know there's a gent there of your conversational faculties.'

So, in the end, Mr. Plantagenet, after some decent parley36, had accepted the gift, 'in the spirit in which it was offered, my dear—in the spirit in which it was offered,' and had resolved to apply it to the purpose which the donor37 indicated, as a means of paying a visit to Bichard at Oxford.

Poor Maud! she sat there heart-broken. She didn't know what to do. Pure filial feeling made her shrink from acknowledging, even to her own wounded soul, how ashamed she was of her father; far more did it prevent her from letting the poor broken old drunkard himself too plainly perceive it. All she could do was to sit there in blank despair, her hands folded before her, and reflect how all the care and pains she had taken to keep the rent-money sacred from his itching38 hands had only resulted at last in this supreme39 discomfiture40. It was terrible—terrible! And Dick, she knew, had had social difficulties to contend with at Oxford at first, and was now just overcoming them, and beginning to be recognised as odd, very odd, but a decent sort of fellow. Mr. Plantagenet's visit would put an end to all that. He couldn't be kept sober for three days at a stretch; and he would disgrace dear Dick before the whole University.

However, Maud saw at once remonstrance41 was impossible. All she could conceivably do was to warn Dick beforehand. Forewarned is forearmed. She must warn Dick beforehand. Sorrowfully she went off by herself towards the post-office in the High Street. She would send a telegram. And then, even as she thought it, the idea came over her, how could she ever allow that fuzzy-headed Miss Janson at the Chiddingwick office to suspect the depth of the family disgrace? and another plan suggested itself. The third-class fare to Broughton, the next town of any size, was eightpence-ha'penny return: telegram would be sixpence; one and twopence-ha'penny in all: that was a lot of money! But still, for Dick's sake, she must venture upon the extravagance. With a beating heart in her breast, she hurried down to the station and took a ticket for Broughton. All the way there she was occupied in making up a telegram that should not compromise Richard; for she imagined to herself that a scholar of Durham would be a public personage of such distinction at Oxford that the telegraph clerks would be sure to note and retail42 whatever was said to him. At last, after infinite trials, she succeeded in satisfying herself.

'Plantagenet: Durham College, Oxford.—E. P. visits Oxford to-morrow as surprise. Take precautions.—Maud.'

That came to sevenpence. But try as she would, she couldn't make it any shorter. Not for worlds would she describe E. P.'s relationship to the Scholar of Durham. And she blushed to herself as she handed it in to think she should have to ask the brother of whom she was so proud to take precautions against a visit from their own father!

点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 murmur EjtyD     
n.低语,低声的怨言;v.低语,低声而言
参考例句:
  • They paid the extra taxes without a murmur.他们毫无怨言地交了附加税。
  • There was a low murmur of conversation in the hall.大厅里有窃窃私语声。
2 bland dW1zi     
adj.淡而无味的,温和的,无刺激性的
参考例句:
  • He eats bland food because of his stomach trouble.他因胃病而吃清淡的食物。
  • This soup is too bland for me.这汤我喝起来偏淡。
3 inane T4mye     
adj.空虚的,愚蠢的,空洞的
参考例句:
  • She started asking me inane questions.她开始问我愚蠢的问题。
  • Such comments are inane because they don't help us solve our problem.这种评论纯属空洞之词,不能帮助我们解决问题。
4 exterior LlYyr     
adj.外部的,外在的;表面的
参考例句:
  • The seed has a hard exterior covering.这种子外壳很硬。
  • We are painting the exterior wall of the house.我们正在给房子的外墙涂漆。
5 plaintively 46a8d419c0b5a38a2bee07501e57df53     
adv.悲哀地,哀怨地
参考例句:
  • The last note of the song rang out plaintively. 歌曲最后道出了离别的哀怨。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • Birds cry plaintively before they die, men speak kindly in the presence of death. 鸟之将死,其鸣也哀;人之将死,其言也善。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
6 consequential caQyq     
adj.作为结果的,间接的;重要的
参考例句:
  • She was injured and suffered a consequential loss of earnings.她受了伤因而收入受损。
  • This new transformation is at least as consequential as that one was.这一新的转变至少和那次一样重要。
7 dignified NuZzfb     
a.可敬的,高贵的
参考例句:
  • Throughout his trial he maintained a dignified silence. 在整个审讯过程中,他始终沉默以保持尊严。
  • He always strikes such a dignified pose before his girlfriend. 他总是在女友面前摆出这种庄严的姿态。
8 condescension JYMzw     
n.自以为高人一等,贬低(别人)
参考例句:
  • His politeness smacks of condescension. 他的客气带有屈尊俯就的意味。
  • Despite its condescension toward the Bennet family, the letter begins to allay Elizabeth's prejudice against Darcy. 尽管这封信对班纳特家的态度很高傲,但它开始消除伊丽莎白对达西的偏见。
9 fiddle GgYzm     
n.小提琴;vi.拉提琴;不停拨弄,乱动
参考例句:
  • She plays the fiddle well.她小提琴拉得好。
  • Don't fiddle with the typewriter.不要摆弄那架打字机了。
10 fiddled 3b8aadb28aaea237f1028f5d7f64c9ea     
v.伪造( fiddle的过去式和过去分词 );篡改;骗取;修理或稍作改动
参考例句:
  • He fiddled the company's accounts. 他篡改了公司的账目。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • He began with Palestrina, and fiddled all the way through Bartok. 他从帕勒斯春纳的作品一直演奏到巴塔克的作品。 来自辞典例句
11 smirk GE8zY     
n.得意地笑;v.傻笑;假笑着说
参考例句:
  • He made no attempt to conceal his smirk.他毫不掩饰自鸣得意的笑容。
  • She had a selfsatisfied smirk on her face.她脸上带着自鸣得意的微笑。
12 suavest 26d9f8dcce42a21a8690628b4cd915ff     
adj.平滑的( suave的最高级 );有礼貌的;老于世故的
参考例句:
13 harassing 76b352fbc5bcc1190a82edcc9339a9f2     
v.侵扰,骚扰( harass的现在分词 );不断攻击(敌人)
参考例句:
  • The court ordered him to stop harassing his ex-wife. 法庭命令他不得再骚扰前妻。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • It was too close to be merely harassing fire. 打得这么近,不能完全是扰乱射击。 来自辞典例句
14 repose KVGxQ     
v.(使)休息;n.安息
参考例句:
  • Don't disturb her repose.不要打扰她休息。
  • Her mouth seemed always to be smiling,even in repose.她的嘴角似乎总是挂着微笑,即使在睡眠时也是这样。
15 Oxford Wmmz0a     
n.牛津(英国城市)
参考例句:
  • At present he has become a Professor of Chemistry at Oxford.他现在已是牛津大学的化学教授了。
  • This is where the road to Oxford joins the road to London.这是去牛津的路与去伦敦的路的汇合处。
16 misery G10yi     
n.痛苦,苦恼,苦难;悲惨的境遇,贫苦
参考例句:
  • Business depression usually causes misery among the working class.商业不景气常使工薪阶层受苦。
  • He has rescued me from the mire of misery.他把我从苦海里救了出来。
17 tact vqgwc     
n.机敏,圆滑,得体
参考例句:
  • She showed great tact in dealing with a tricky situation.她处理棘手的局面表现得十分老练。
  • Tact is a valuable commodity.圆滑老练是很有用处的。
18 dreaded XuNzI3     
adj.令人畏惧的;害怕的v.害怕,恐惧,担心( dread的过去式和过去分词)
参考例句:
  • The dreaded moment had finally arrived. 可怕的时刻终于来到了。
  • He dreaded having to spend Christmas in hospital. 他害怕非得在医院过圣诞节不可。 来自《用法词典》
19 jaunty x3kyn     
adj.愉快的,满足的;adv.心满意足地,洋洋得意地;n.心满意足;洋洋得意
参考例句:
  • She cocked her hat at a jaunty angle.她把帽子歪戴成俏皮的样子。
  • The happy boy walked with jaunty steps.这个快乐的孩子以轻快活泼的步子走着。
20 strings nh0zBe     
n.弦
参考例句:
  • He sat on the bed,idly plucking the strings of his guitar.他坐在床上,随意地拨着吉他的弦。
  • She swept her fingers over the strings of the harp.她用手指划过竖琴的琴弦。
21 exacting VtKz7e     
adj.苛求的,要求严格的
参考例句:
  • He must remember the letters and symbols with exacting precision.他必须以严格的精度记住每个字母和符号。
  • The public has been more exacting in its demands as time has passed.随着时间的推移,公众的要求更趋严格。
22 shuffling 03b785186d0322e5a1a31c105fc534ee     
adj. 慢慢移动的, 滑移的 动词shuffle的现在分词形式
参考例句:
  • Don't go shuffling along as if you were dead. 别像个死人似地拖着脚走。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
  • Some one was shuffling by on the sidewalk. 外面的人行道上有人拖着脚走过。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
23 grandeur hejz9     
n.伟大,崇高,宏伟,庄严,豪华
参考例句:
  • The grandeur of the Great Wall is unmatched.长城的壮观是独一无二的。
  • These ruins sufficiently attest the former grandeur of the place.这些遗迹充分证明此处昔日的宏伟。
24 positively vPTxw     
adv.明确地,断然,坚决地;实在,确实
参考例句:
  • She was positively glowing with happiness.她满脸幸福。
  • The weather was positively poisonous.这天气着实讨厌。
25 grandiose Q6CyN     
adj.宏伟的,宏大的,堂皇的,铺张的
参考例句:
  • His grandiose manner impressed those who met him for the first time.他那种夸大的举止给第一次遇见他的人留下了深刻的印象。
  • As the fog vanished,a grandiose landscape unfolded before the tourists.雾气散去之后,一幅壮丽的景观展现在游客面前。
26 theatrical pIRzF     
adj.剧场的,演戏的;做戏似的,做作的
参考例句:
  • The final scene was dismayingly lacking in theatrical effect.最后一场缺乏戏剧效果,叫人失望。
  • She always makes some theatrical gesture.她老在做些夸张的手势。
27 pathos dLkx2     
n.哀婉,悲怆
参考例句:
  • The pathos of the situation brought tears to our eyes.情况令人怜悯,看得我们不禁流泪。
  • There is abundant pathos in her words.她的话里富有动人哀怜的力量。
28 eldest bqkx6     
adj.最年长的,最年老的
参考例句:
  • The King's eldest son is the heir to the throne.国王的长子是王位的继承人。
  • The castle and the land are entailed on the eldest son.城堡和土地限定由长子继承。
29 guise JeizL     
n.外表,伪装的姿态
参考例句:
  • They got into the school in the guise of inspectors.他们假装成视察员进了学校。
  • The thief came into the house under the guise of a repairman.那小偷扮成个修理匠进了屋子。
30 mettle F1Jyv     
n.勇气,精神
参考例句:
  • When the seas are in turmoil,heroes are on their mettle.沧海横流,方显出英雄本色。
  • Each and every one of these soldiers has proved his mettle.这些战士个个都是好样的。
31 replenish kCAyV     
vt.补充;(把…)装满;(再)填满
参考例句:
  • I always replenish my food supply before it is depleted.我总是在我的食物吃完之前加以补充。
  • We have to import an extra 4 million tons of wheat to replenish our reserves.我们不得不额外进口四百万吨小麦以补充我们的储备。
32 devoid dZzzx     
adj.全无的,缺乏的
参考例句:
  • He is completely devoid of humour.他十分缺乏幽默。
  • The house is totally devoid of furniture.这所房子里什么家具都没有。
33 distressed du1z3y     
痛苦的
参考例句:
  • He was too distressed and confused to answer their questions. 他非常苦恼而困惑,无法回答他们的问题。
  • The news of his death distressed us greatly. 他逝世的消息使我们极为悲痛。
34 conversational SZ2yH     
adj.对话的,会话的
参考例句:
  • The article is written in a conversational style.该文是以对话的形式写成的。
  • She values herself on her conversational powers.她常夸耀自己的能言善辩。
35 faculties 066198190456ba4e2b0a2bda2034dfc5     
n.能力( faculty的名词复数 );全体教职员;技巧;院
参考例句:
  • Although he's ninety, his mental faculties remain unimpaired. 他虽年届九旬,但头脑仍然清晰。
  • All your faculties have come into play in your work. 在你的工作中,你的全部才能已起到了作用。 来自《简明英汉词典》
36 parley H4wzT     
n.谈判
参考例句:
  • The governor was forced to parley with the rebels.州长被迫与反叛者谈判。
  • The general held a parley with the enemy about exchanging prisoners.将军与敌人谈判交换战俘事宜。
37 donor dstxI     
n.捐献者;赠送人;(组织、器官等的)供体
参考例句:
  • In these cases,the recipient usually takes care of the donor afterwards.在这类情况下,接受捐献者以后通常会照顾捐赠者。
  • The Doctor transplanted the donor's heart to Mike's chest cavity.医生将捐赠者的心脏移植进麦克的胸腔。
38 itching wqnzVZ     
adj.贪得的,痒的,渴望的v.发痒( itch的现在分词 )
参考例句:
  • The itching was almost more than he could stand. 他痒得几乎忍不住了。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
  • My nose is itching. 我的鼻子发痒。 来自《简明英汉词典》
39 supreme PHqzc     
adj.极度的,最重要的;至高的,最高的
参考例句:
  • It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
  • He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。
40 discomfiture MlUz6     
n.崩溃;大败;挫败;困惑
参考例句:
  • I laughed my head off when I heard of his discomfiture. 听到别人说起他的狼狈相,我放声大笑。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • Without experiencing discomfiture and setbacks,one can never find truth. 不经过失败和挫折,便找不到真理。 来自《简明英汉词典》
41 remonstrance bVex0     
n抗议,抱怨
参考例句:
  • She had abandoned all attempts at remonstrance with Thomas.她已经放弃了一切劝戒托马斯的尝试。
  • Mrs. Peniston was at the moment inaccessible to remonstrance.目前彭尼斯顿太太没功夫听她告状。
42 retail VWoxC     
v./n.零售;adv.以零售价格
参考例句:
  • In this shop they retail tobacco and sweets.这家铺子零售香烟和糖果。
  • These shoes retail at 10 yuan a pair.这些鞋子零卖10元一双。


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