Mrs. Dewsbury darted9 round her the restless eye of a hostess, to see upon whom she could socially bestow10 him. "Oh, come this way," she said, sweeping11 across the lawn towards a girl in a blue dress at the opposite corner. "You must know our new-comer. I want to introduce you to Miss Barton, from Cambridge. She's SUCH a nice girl too,—the Dean of Dunwich's daughter."
Alan Merrick drew back with a vague gesture of distaste. "Oh, thank you," he replied; "but, do you know, I don't think I like deans, Mrs. Dewsbury." Mrs. Dewsbury's smile was recondite12 and diplomatic. "Then you'll exactly suit one another," she answered with gay wisdom. "For, to tell you the truth, I don't think SHE does either."
The young man allowed himself to be led with a passive protest in the direction where Mrs. Dewsbury so impulsively13 hurried him. He heard that cultivated voice murmuring in the usual inaudible tone of introduction, "Miss Barton, Mr. Alan Merrick." Then he raised his hat. As he did so, he looked down at Herminia Barton's face with a sudden start of surprise. Why, this was a girl of most unusual beauty!
She was tall and dark, with abundant black hair, richly waved above the ample forehead; and she wore a curious Oriental-looking navy-blue robe of some soft woollen stuff, that fell in natural folds and set off to the utmost the lissome14 grace of her rounded figure. It was a sort of sleeveless sack, embroidered15 in front with arabesques16 in gold thread, and fastened obliquely17 two inches below the waist with a belt of gilt18 braid, and a clasp of Moorish19 jewel-work. Beneath it, a bodice of darker silk showed at the arms and neck, with loose sleeves in keeping. The whole costume, though quite simple in style, a compromise either for afternoon or evening, was charming in its novelty, charming too in the way it permitted the utmost liberty and variety of movement to the lithe20 limbs of its wearer. But it was her face particularly that struck Alan Merrick at first sight. That face was above all things the face of a free woman. Something so frank and fearless shone in Herminia's glance, as her eye met his, that Alan, who respected human freedom above all other qualities in man or woman, was taken on the spot by its perfect air of untrammelled liberty. Yet it was subtle and beautiful too, undeniably beautiful. Herminia Barton's features, I think, were even more striking in their way in later life, when sorrow had stamped her, and the mark of her willing martyrdom for humanity's sake was deeply printed upon them. But their beauty then was the beauty of holiness, which not all can appreciate. In her younger days, as Alan Merrick first saw her, she was beautiful still with the first flush of health and strength and womanhood in a free and vigorous English girl's body. A certain lofty serenity21, not untouched with pathos22, seemed to strike the keynote. But that was not all. Some hint of every element in the highest loveliness met in that face and form,—physical, intellectual, emotional, moral.
"You'll like him, Herminia," Mrs. Dewsbury said, nodding. "He's one of your own kind, as dreadful as you are; very free and advanced; a perfect firebrand. In fact, my dear child, I don't know which of you makes my hair stand on end most." And with that introductory hint, she left the pair forthwith to their own devices.
Mrs. Dewsbury was right. It took those two but little time to feel quite at home with one another. Built of similar mould, each seemed instinctively23 to grasp what each was aiming at. Two or three turns pacing up and down the lawn, two or three steps along the box-covered path at the side, and they read one another perfectly24. For he was true man, and she was real woman.
"Then you were at Girton?" Alan asked, as he paused with one hand on the rustic25 seat that looks up towards Leith Hill, and the heather-clad moorland.
"Yes, at Girton," Herminia answered, sinking easily upon the bench, and letting one arm rest on the back in a graceful26 attitude of unstudied attention. "But I didn't take my degree," she went on hurriedly, as one who is anxious to disclaim27 some too great honor thrust upon her. "I didn't care for the life; I thought it cramping28. You see, if we women are ever to be free in the world, we must have in the end a freeman's education. But the education at Girton made only a pretence29 at freedom. At heart, our girls were as enslaved to conventions as any girls elsewhere. The whole object of the training was to see just how far you could manage to push a woman's education without the faintest danger of her emancipation30."
"You are right," Alan answered briskly, for the point was a pet one with him. "I was an Oxford31 man myself, and I know that servitude. When I go up to Oxford now and see the girls who are being ground in the mill at Somerville, I'm heartily32 sorry for them. It's worse for them than for us; they miss the only part of university life that has educational value. When we men were undergraduates, we lived our whole lives, lived them all round, developing equally every fibre of our natures. We read Plato, and Aristotle, and John Stuart Mill, to be sure,—and I'm not quite certain we got much good from them; but then our talk and thought were not all of books, and of what we spelt out in them. We rowed on the river, we played in the cricket-field, we lounged in the billiard-rooms, we ran up to town for the day, we had wine in one another's rooms after hall in the evening, and behaved like young fools, and threw oranges wildly at one another's heads, and generally enjoyed ourselves. It was all very silly and irrational33, no doubt, but it was life, it was reality; while the pretended earnestness of those pallid34 Somerville girls is all an affectation of one-sided culture."
"That's just it," Herminia answered, leaning back on the rustic seat like David's Madame Recamier. "You put your finger on the real blot35 when you said those words, developing equally every fibre of your natures. That's what nobody yet wants us women to do. They're trying hard enough to develop us intellectually; but morally and socially they want to mew us up just as close as ever. And they won't succeed. The zenana must go. Sooner or later, I'm sure, if you begin by educating women, you must end by emancipating36 them."
"So I think too," Alan answered, growing every moment more interested. "And for my part, it's the emancipation, not the mere37 education, that most appeals to me."
"Yes, I've always felt that," Herminia went on, letting herself out more freely, for she felt she was face to face with a sympathetic listener. "And for that reason, it's the question of social and moral emancipation that interests me far more than the mere political one,—woman's rights as they call it. Of course I'm a member of all the woman's franchise38 leagues and everything of that sort,—they can't afford to do without a single friend's name on their lists at present; but the vote is a matter that troubles me little in itself, what I want is to see women made fit to use it. After all, political life fills but a small and unimportant part in our total existence. It's the perpetual pressure of social and ethical39 restrictions40 that most weighs down women."
Alan paused and looked hard at her. "And they tell me," he said in a slow voice, "you're the Dean of Dunwich's daughter!"
Herminia laughed lightly,—a ringing girlish laugh. Alan noticed it with pleasure. He felt at once that the iron of Girton had not entered into her soul, as into so many of our modern young women's. There was vitality41 enough left in her for a genuine laugh of innocent amusement. "Oh yes," she said, merrily; "that's what I always answer to all possible objectors to my ways and ideas. I reply with dignity, 'I was brought up in the family of a clergyman of the Church of England.'"
"And what does the Dean say to your views?" Alan interposed doubtfully.
Herminia laughed again. If her eyes were profound, two dimples saved her. "I thought you were with us," she answered with a twinkle; "now, I begin to doubt it. You don't expect a man of twenty-two to be governed in all things, especially in the formation of his abstract ideas, by his father's opinions. Why then a woman?"
"Why, indeed?" Alan answered. "There I quite agree with you. I was thinking not so much of what is right and reasonable as of what is practical and usual. For most women, of course, are—well, more or less dependent upon their fathers."
"But I am not," Herminia answered, with a faint suspicion of just pride in the undercurrent of her tone. "That's in part why I went away so soon from Girton. I felt that if women are ever to be free, they must first of all be independent. It is the dependence42 of women that has allowed men to make laws for them, socially and ethically43. So I wouldn't stop at Girton, partly because I felt the life was one-sided,—our girls thought and talked of nothing else on earth except Herodotus, trigonometry, and the higher culture,—but partly also because I wouldn't be dependent on any man, not even my own father. It left me freer to act and think as I would. So I threw Girton overboard, and came up to live in London."
"I see," Alan replied. "You wouldn't let your schooling44 interfere45 with your education. And now you support yourself?" he went on quite frankly46.
Herminia nodded assent47.
"Yes, I support myself," she answered; "in part by teaching at a high school for girls, and in part by doing a little hack-work for newspapers."
"Then you're just down here for your holidays, I suppose?" Alan put in, leaning forward.
"Yes, just down here for my holidays. I've lodgings48 on the Holmwood, in such a dear old thatched cottage; roses peep in at the porch, and birds sing on the bushes. After a term in London, it's a delicious change for one."
"But are you alone?" Alan interposed again, still half hesitating.
Herminia smiled once more; his surprise amused her. "Yes, quite alone," she answered. "But if you seem so astonished at that, I shall believe you and Mrs. Dewsbury have been trying to take me in, and that you're not really with us. Why shouldn't a woman come down alone to pretty lodgings in the country?"
"Why not, indeed?" Alan echoed in turn. "It's not at all that I disapprove50, Miss Barton; on the contrary, I admire it; it's only that one's surprised to find a woman, or for the matter of that anybody, acting51 up to his or her convictions. That's what I've always felt; 'tis the Nemesis52 of reason; if people begin by thinking rationally, the danger is that they may end by acting rationally also."
Herminia laughed. "I'm afraid," she answered, "I've already reached that pass. You'll never find me hesitate to do anything on earth, once I'm convinced it's right, merely because other people think differently on the subject."
Alan looked at her and mused49. She was tall and stately, but her figure was well developed, and her form softly moulded. He admired her immensely. How incongruous an outcome from a clerical family! "It's curious," he said, gazing hard at her, "that you should be a dean's daughter."
"On the contrary," Herminia answered, with perfect frankness, "I regard myself as a living proof of the doctrine53 of heredity."
"How so?" Alan inquired.
"Well, my father was a Senior Wrangler," Herminia replied, blushing faintly; "and I suppose that implies a certain moderate development of the logical faculties55. In HIS generation, people didn't apply the logical faculties to the grounds of belief; they took those for granted; but within his own limits, my father is still an acute reasoner. And then he had always the ethical and social interests. Those two things—a love of logic54, and a love of right—are the forces that tend to make us what we call religious. Worldly people don't care for fundamental questions of the universe at all; they accept passively whatever is told them; they think they think, and believe they believe it. But people with an interest in fundamental truth inquire for themselves into the constitution of the cosmos56; if they are convinced one way, they become what we call theologians; if they are convinced the other way, they become what we call free-thinkers. Interest in the problem is common to both; it's the nature of the solution alone that differs in the two cases."
"That's quite true," Alan assented57. "And have you ever noticed this curious corollary, that you and I can talk far more sympathetically with an earnest Catholic, for example, or an earnest Evangelical, than we can talk with a mere ordinary worldly person."
"Oh dear, yes," Herminia answered with conviction. "Thought will always sympathize with thought. It's the unthinking mass one can get no further with."
Alan changed the subject abruptly58. This girl so interested him. She was the girl he had imagined, the girl he had dreamt of, the girl he had thought possible, but never yet met with. "And you're in lodgings on the Holmwood here?" he said, musing59. "For how much longer?"
"For, six weeks, I'm glad to say," Herminia answered, rising.
"At what cottage?"
"Mrs. Burke's,—not far from the station."
"May I come to see you there?"
Herminia's clear brown eyes gazed down at him, all puzzlement. "Why, surely," she answered; "I shall be delighted to see you!" She paused for a second. "We agree about so many things," she went on; "and it's so rare to find a man who can sympathize with the higher longings60 in women."
"When are you likeliest to be at home?" Alan asked.
"In the morning, after breakfast,—that is, at eight o'clock," Herminia answered, smiling; "or later, after lunch, say two or thereabouts."
"Six weeks," Alan repeated, more to himself than to her. Those six week were precious. Not a moment of them must be lost. "Then I think," he went on quietly, "I shall call tomorrow."
A wave of conscious pleasure broke over Herminia's cheek, blush rose on white lily; but she answered nothing. She was glad this kindred soul should seem in such a hurry to renew her acquaintance.
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1
velvet
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| n.丝绒，天鹅绒；adj.丝绒制的，柔软的 | |
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forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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ridge
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| n.山脊；鼻梁；分水岭 | |
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limestone
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| n.石灰石 | |
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misty
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| adj.雾蒙蒙的，有雾的 | |
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haze
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| n.霾，烟雾；懵懂，迷糊；vi.(over)变模糊 | |
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phantoms
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| n.鬼怪，幽灵( phantom的名词复数 ) | |
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verge
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| n.边，边缘；v.接近，濒临 | |
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darted
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| v.投掷，投射( dart的过去式和过去分词 )；向前冲，飞奔 | |
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bestow
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| v.把…赠与，把…授予；花费 | |
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sweeping
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| adj.范围广大的，一扫无遗的 | |
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recondite
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| adj.深奥的，难解的 | |
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impulsively
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| adv.冲动地 | |
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lissome
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| adj.柔软的；敏捷的 | |
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embroidered
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| adj．绣花的 | |
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arabesques
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| n.阿拉伯式花饰( arabesque的名词复数 )；错综图饰；阿拉伯图案；阿拉贝斯克芭蕾舞姿（独脚站立，手前伸，另一脚一手向后伸） | |
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obliquely
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| adv.斜； 倾斜； 间接； 不光明正大 | |
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gilt
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| adj.镀金的；n.金边证券 | |
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moorish
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| adj.沼地的，荒野的，生[住]在沼地的 | |
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lithe
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| adj.(指人、身体)柔软的，易弯的 | |
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serenity
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| n.宁静，沉着，晴朗 | |
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pathos
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| n.哀婉，悲怆 | |
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instinctively
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| adv.本能地 | |
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perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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rustic
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| adj.乡村的，有乡村特色的；n.乡下人，乡巴佬 | |
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graceful
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| adj.优美的，优雅的；得体的 | |
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disclaim
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| v.放弃权利，拒绝承认 | |
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cramping
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| 图像压缩 | |
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pretence
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| n.假装，作假；借口，口实；虚伪；虚饰 | |
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emancipation
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| n.（从束缚、支配下）解放 | |
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Oxford
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| n.牛津（英国城市） | |
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heartily
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| adv.衷心地，诚恳地，十分，很 | |
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irrational
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| adj.无理性的，失去理性的 | |
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pallid
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| adj.苍白的，呆板的 | |
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blot
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| vt.弄脏（用吸墨纸）吸干；n.污点，污渍 | |
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36
emancipating
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| v.解放某人（尤指摆脱政治、法律或社会的束缚）( emancipate的现在分词 ) | |
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mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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franchise
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| n.特许，特权，专营权，特许权 | |
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ethical
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| adj.伦理的，道德的，合乎道德的 | |
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restrictions
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| 约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则） | |
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vitality
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| n.活力，生命力，效力 | |
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42
dependence
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| n.依靠，依赖；信任，信赖；隶属 | |
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ethically
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| adv.在伦理上，道德上 | |
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schooling
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| n.教育；正规学校教育 | |
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45
interfere
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| v.(in)干涉，干预；(with)妨碍，打扰 | |
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frankly
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| adv.坦白地，直率地；坦率地说 | |
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assent
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| v.批准，认可；n.批准，认可 | |
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lodgings
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| n. 出租的房舍, 寄宿舍 | |
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49
mused
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| v.沉思，冥想( muse的过去式和过去分词 )；沉思自语说（某事） | |
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50
disapprove
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| v.不赞成，不同意，不批准 | |
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51
acting
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| n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的 | |
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52
nemesis
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| n.给以报应者，复仇者，难以对付的敌手 | |
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53
doctrine
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| n.教义；主义；学说 | |
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54
logic
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| n.逻辑(学)；逻辑性 | |
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55
faculties
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| n.能力( faculty的名词复数 )；全体教职员；技巧；院 | |
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56
cosmos
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| n.宇宙；秩序，和谐 | |
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57
assented
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| 同意，赞成( assent的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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abruptly
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| adv.突然地，出其不意地 | |
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59
musing
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| n. 沉思，冥想 adj. 沉思的, 冥想的 动词muse的现在分词形式 | |
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60
longings
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| 渴望，盼望( longing的名词复数 ) | |
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