His son succeeded him, and failed to profit by the paternal7 example: that is to say, he made the fatal mistake of fighting for other people instead of fighting for himself.
In the rebellion of Forty-Five, this northern squire8 sided to serious purpose with Prince Charles and the Highlanders. He lost his head; and his children lost their inheritance. In the lapse9 of years, the confiscated10 property fell into the hands of strangers; the last of whom (having a taste for the turf) discovered, in course of time, that he was in want of money. A retired11 merchant, named Delvin (originally of French extraction), took a liking12 to the wild situation, and purchased the tower. His wife—already in failing health—had been ordered by the doctors to live a quiet life by the sea. Her husband’s death left her a rich and lonely widow; by day and night alike, a prisoner in her room; wasted by disease, and having but two interests which reconciled her to life—writing poetry in the intervals13 of pain, and paying the debts of a reverend brother who succeeded in the pulpit, and prospered14 nowhere else.
In the later days of its life, the tower had been greatly improved as a place of residence. The contrast was remarkable15 between the dreary16 gray outer walls, and the luxuriously17 furnished rooms inside, rising by two at a time to the lofty eighth story of the building. Among the scattered18 populace of the country round, the tower was still known by the odd name given to it in the bygone time—“The Clink.” It had been so called (as was supposed) in allusion19 to the noise made by loose stones, washed backward and forward at certain times of the tide, in hollows of the rock on which the building stood.
On the evening of her arrival at Mrs. Delvin’s retreat, Emily retired at an early hour, fatigued20 by her long journey. Mirabel had an opportunity of speaking with his sister privately21 in her own room.
“Send me away, Agatha, if I disturb you,” he said, “and let me know when I can see you in the morning.”
“My dear Miles, have you forgotten that I am never able to sleep in calm weather? My lullaby, for years past, has been the moaning of the great North Sea, under my window. Listen! There is not a sound outside on this peaceful night. It is the right time of the tide, just now—and yet, ‘the clink’ is not to be heard. Is the moon up?”
Mirabel opened the curtains. “The whole sky is one great abyss of black,” he answered. “If I was superstitious22, I should think that horrid23 darkness a bad omen24 for the future. Are you suffering, Agatha?”
“Not just now. I suppose I look sadly changed for the worse since you saw me last?”
But for the feverish25 brightness of her eyes, she would have looked like a corpse26. Her wrinkled forehead, her hollow cheeks, her white lips told their terrible tale of the suffering of years. The ghastly appearance of her face was heightened by the furnishing of the room. This doomed27 woman, dying slowly day by day, delighted in bright colors and sumptuous28 materials. The paper on the walls, the curtains, the carpet presented the hues29 of the rainbow. She lay on a couch covered with purple silk, under draperies of green velvet30 to keep her warm. Rich lace hid h er scanty31 hair, turning prematurely32 gray; brilliant rings glittered on her bony fingers. The room was in a blaze of light from lamps and candles. Even the wine at her side that kept her alive had been decanted33 into a bottle of lustrous34 Venetian glass. “My grave is open,” she used to say; “and I want all these beautiful things to keep me from looking at it. I should die at once, if I was left in the dark.”
Her brother sat by the couch, thinking “Shall I tell you what is in your mind?” she asked.
Mirabel humored the caprice of the moment. “Tell me!” he said.
“You want to know what I think of Emily,” she answered. “Your letter told me you were in love; but I didn’t believe your letter. I have always doubted whether you were capable of feeling true love—until I saw Emily. The moment she entered the room, I knew that I had never properly appreciated my brother. You are in love with her, Miles; and you are a better man than I thought you. Does that express my opinion?”
Mirabel took her wasted hand, and kissed it gratefully.
“What a position I am in!” he said. “To love her as I love her; and, if she knew the truth, to be the object of her horror—to be the man whom she would hunt to the scaffold, as an act of duty to the memory of her father!”
“You have left out the worst part of it,” Mrs. Delvin reminded him. “You have bound yourself to help her to find the man. Your one hope of persuading her to become your wife rests on your success in finding him. And you are the man. There is your situation! You can’t submit to it. How can you escape from it?”
“You are trying to frighten me, Agatha.”
“I am trying to encourage you to face your position boldly.”
“I am doing my best,” Mirabel said, with sullen35 resignation. “Fortune has favored me so far. I have, really and truly, been unable to satisfy Emily by discovering Miss Jethro. She has left the place at which I saw her last—there is no trace to be found of her—and Emily knows it.”
“Don’t forget,” Mrs. Delvin replied, “that there is a trace to be found of Mrs. Rook, and that Emily expects you to follow it.”
Mirabel shuddered36. “I am surrounded by dangers, whichever way I look,” he said. “Do what I may, it turns out to be wrong. I was wrong, perhaps, when I brought Emily here.”
“No!”
“I could easily make an excuse,” Mirabel persisted “and take her back to London.”
“And for all you know to the contrary,” his wiser sister replied, “Mrs. Rook may go to London; and you may take Emily back in time to receive her at the cottage. In every way you are safer in my old tower. And—don’t forget—you have got my money to help you, if you want it. In my belief, Miles, you will want it.”
“You are the dearest and best of sisters! What do you recommend me to do?”
“What you would have been obliged to do,” Mrs. Delvin answered, “if you had remained in London. You must go to Redwood Hall tomorrow, as Emily has arranged it. If Mrs. Rook is not there, you must ask for her address in Scotland. If nobody knows the address, you must still bestir yourself in trying to find it. And, when you do fall in with Mrs. Rook—”
“Well?”
“Take care, wherever it may be, that you see her privately.”
Mirabel was alarmed. “Don’t keep me in suspense,” he burst out. “Tell me what you propose.”
“Never mind what I propose, to-night. Before I can tell you what I have in my mind, I must know whether Mrs. Rook is in England or Scotland. Bring me that information to-morrow, and I shall have something to say to you. Hark! The wind is rising, the rain is falling. There is a chance of sleep for me—I shall soon hear the sea. Good-night.”
“Good-night, dearest—and thank you again, and again!”
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收听单词发音
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1
picturesque
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| adj.美丽如画的，（语言）生动的，绘声绘色的 | |
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vices
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| 缺陷( vice的名词复数 )； 恶习； 不道德行为； 台钳 | |
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joyously
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| ad.快乐地, 高兴地 | |
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atrocities
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| n.邪恶，暴行( atrocity的名词复数 )；滔天大罪 | |
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penitent
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| adj.后悔的；n.后悔者；忏悔者 | |
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outraged
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| a.震惊的，义愤填膺的 | |
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7
paternal
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| adj.父亲的，像父亲的，父系的，父方的 | |
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squire
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| n.护卫, 侍从, 乡绅 | |
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lapse
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| n.过失，流逝，失效，抛弃信仰，间隔；vi.堕落，停止，失效，流逝；vt.使失效 | |
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10
confiscated
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| 没收，充公( confiscate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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retired
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| adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的 | |
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12
liking
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| n.爱好；嗜好；喜欢 | |
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13
intervals
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| n.[军事]间隔( interval的名词复数 )；间隔时间；[数学]区间；（戏剧、电影或音乐会的）幕间休息 | |
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14
prospered
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| 成功，兴旺( prosper的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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15
remarkable
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| adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的 | |
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16
dreary
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| adj.令人沮丧的，沉闷的，单调乏味的 | |
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17
luxuriously
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| adv.奢侈地，豪华地 | |
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18
scattered
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| adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的 | |
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allusion
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| n.暗示，间接提示 | |
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fatigued
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| adj. 疲乏的 | |
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privately
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| adv.以私人的身份，悄悄地，私下地 | |
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superstitious
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| adj.迷信的 | |
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horrid
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| adj.可怕的；令人惊恐的；恐怖的；极讨厌的 | |
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24
omen
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| n.征兆，预兆；vt.预示 | |
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feverish
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| adj.发烧的，狂热的，兴奋的 | |
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corpse
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| n.尸体，死尸 | |
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doomed
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| 命定的 | |
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sumptuous
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| adj.豪华的，奢侈的，华丽的 | |
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29
hues
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| 色彩( hue的名词复数 )； 色调； 信仰； 观点 | |
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30
velvet
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| n.丝绒，天鹅绒；adj.丝绒制的，柔软的 | |
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31
scanty
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| adj.缺乏的，仅有的，节省的，狭小的，不够的 | |
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prematurely
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| adv.过早地，贸然地 | |
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decanted
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| v.将（酒等）自瓶中倒入另一容器( decant的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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34
lustrous
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| adj.有光泽的；光辉的 | |
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sullen
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| adj.愠怒的，闷闷不乐的，(天气等)阴沉的 | |
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36
shuddered
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| v.战栗( shudder的过去式和过去分词 )；发抖；（机器、车辆等）突然震动；颤动 | |
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