Mr. Furnival was a lawyer—I mean a barrister—belonging to Lincoln's Inn, and living at the time at which our story is supposed to commence in Harley Street. But he had not been long a resident in Harley Street, having left the less fashionable neighbourhood of Russell Square only two or three years before that period. On his marriage he had located himself in a small house in Keppel Street, and had there remained till professional success, long waited for, enabled him to move further west, and indulge himself with the comforts of larger rooms and more servants. At the time of which I am now speaking Mr. Furnival was known, and well known, as a successful man; but he had struggled long and hard before that success had come to him, and during the earliest years of his married life had found the work of keeping the wolf from the door to be almost more than enough for his energies.
Mr. Furnival practised at the common law bar, and early in life had attached himself to the home circuit. I cannot say why he obtained no great success till he was nearer fifty than forty years of age. At that time I fancy that barristers did not come to their prime till a period of life at which other men are supposed to be in their decadence2. Nevertheless, he had married on nothing, and had kept the wolf from the door. To do this he had been constant at his work in season and out of season, during the long hours of day and the long hours of night. Throughout his term times he had toiled3 in court, and during the vacations he had toiled out of court. He had reported volumes of cases, having been himself his own short-hand writer,—as it is well known to most young lawyers, who as a rule always fill an upper shelf in their law libraries with Furnival and Staples4' seventeen volumes in calf5. He had worked for the booksellers, and for the newspapers, and for the attorneys,—always working, however, with reference to the law; and though he had worked for years with the lowest pay, no man had heard him complain. That no woman had heard him do so, I will not say; as it is more than probable that into the sympathising ears of Mrs. Furnival he did pour forth6 plaints as to the small wages which the legal world meted7 out to him in return for his labours. He was a constant, hard, patient man, and at last there came to him the full reward of all his industry. What was the special case by which Mr. Furnival obtained his great success no man could say. In all probability there was no special case. Gradually it began to be understood that he was a safe man, understanding his trade, true to his clients, and very damaging as an opponent. Legal gentlemen are, I believe, quite as often bought off as bought up. Sir Richard and Mr. Furnival could not both be required on the same side, seeing what a tower of strength each was in himself; but then Sir Richard would be absolutely neutralized9 if Mr. Furnival were employed on the other side. This is a system well understood by attorneys, and has been found to be extremely lucrative10 by gentlemen leading at the bar.
Mr. Furnival was now fifty-five years of age, and was beginning to show in his face some traces of his hard work. Not that he was becoming old, or weak, or worn; but his eye had lost its fire—except the fire peculiar11 to his profession; and there were wrinkles in his forehead and cheeks; and his upper lip, except when he was speaking, hung heavily over the lower; and the loose skin below his eye was forming into saucers; and his hair had become grizzled; and on his shoulders, except when in court, there was a slight stoop. As seen in his wig12 and gown he was a man of commanding presence,—and for ten men in London who knew him in this garb13, hardly one knew him without it. He was nearly six feet high, and stood forth prominently, with square, broad shoulders and a large body. His head also was large; his forehead was high, and marked strongly by signs of intellect; his nose was long and straight, his eyes were very gray, and capable to an extraordinary degree both of direct severity and of concealed14 sarcasm15. Witnesses have been heard to say that they could endure all that Mr. Furnival could say to them, and continue in some sort to answer all his questions, if only he would refrain from looking at them. But he would never refrain; and therefore it was now well understood how great a thing it was to secure the services of Mr. Furnival. "Sir," an attorney would say to an unfortunate client doubtful as to the expenditure16, "your witnesses will not be able to stand in the box if we allow Mr. Furnival to be engaged on the other side." I am inclined to think that Mr. Furnival owed to this power of his eyes his almost unequalled perfection in that peculiar branch of his profession. His voice was powerful, and not unpleasant when used within the precincts of a court, though it grated somewhat harshly on the ears in the smaller compass of a private room. His flow of words was free and good, and seemed to come from him without the slightest effort. Such at least was always the case with him when standing8 wigged17 and gowned before a judge. Latterly, however, he had tried his eloquence18 on another arena19, and not altogether with equal success. He was now in Parliament, sitting as member for the Essex Marshes20, and he had not as yet carried either the country or the House with him, although he had been frequently on his legs. Some men said that with a little practice he would yet become very serviceable as an honourable21 and learned member; but others expressed a fear that he had come too late in life to these new duties.
I have spoken of Mr. Furnival's great success in that branch of his profession which required from him the examination of evidence, but I would not have it thought that he was great only in this, or even mainly in this. There are gentlemen at the bar, among whom I may perhaps notice my old friend Mr. Chaffanbrass as the most conspicuous22, who have confined their talents to the browbeating23 of witnesses,—greatly to their own profit, and no doubt to the advantage of society. But I would have it understood that Mr. Furnival was by no means one of these. He had been no Old Bailey lawyer, devoting himself to the manumission of murderers, or the security of the swindling world in general. He had been employed on abstruse24 points of law, had been great in will cases, very learned as to the rights of railways, peculiarly apt in enforcing the dowries of married women, and successful above all things in separating husbands and wives whose lives had not been passed in accordance with the recognised rules of Hymen. Indeed there is no branch of the Common Law in which he was not regarded as great and powerful, though perhaps his proficiency25 in damaging the general characters of his opponents has been recognised as his especial forte26. Under these circumstances I should grieve to have him confounded with such men as Mr. Chaffanbrass, who is hardly known by the profession beyond the precincts of his own peculiar court in the City. Mr. Furnival's reputation has spread itself wherever stuff gowns and horsehair wigs27 are held in estimation.
Mr. Furnival when clothed in his forensic28 habiliments certainly possessed29 a solemn and severe dignity which had its weight even with the judges. Those who scrutinised his appearance critically might have said that it was in some respects pretentious30; but the ordinary jurymen of this country are not critical scrutinisers of appearance, and by them he was never held in light estimation. When in his addresses to them, appealing to their intelligence, education, and enlightened justice, he would declare that the property of his clients was perfectly31 safe in their hands, he looked to be such an advocate as a litigant32 would fain possess when dreading33 the soundness of his own cause. Any cause was sound to him when once he had been feed for its support, and he carried in his countenance34 his assurance of this soundness,—and the assurance of unsoundness in the cause of his opponent. Even he did not always win; but on the occasion of his losing, those of the uninitiated who had heard the pleadings would express their astonishment35 that he should not have been successful.
When he was divested36 of his wig his appearance was not so perfect. There was then a hard, long straightness about his head and face, giving to his countenance the form of a parallelogram, to which there belonged a certain meanness of expression. He wanted the roundness of forehead, the short lines, and the graceful37 curves of face which are necessary to unadorned manly38 comeliness39. His whiskers were small, grizzled, and ill grown, and required the ample relief of his wig. In no guise40 did he look other than a clever man; but in his dress as a simple citizen he would perhaps be taken as a clever man in whose tenderness of heart and cordiality of feeling one would not at first sight place implicit41 trust.
As a poor man Mr. Furnival had done his duty well by his wife and family,—for as a poor man he had been blessed with four children. Three of these had died as they were becoming men and women, and now, as a rich man, he was left with one daughter, an only child. As a poor man Mr. Furnival had been an excellent husband, going forth in the morning to his work, struggling through the day, and then returning to his meagre dinner and his long evenings of unremitting drudgery42. The bodily strength which had supported him through his work in those days must have been immense, for he had allowed himself no holidays. And then success and money had come,—and Mrs. Furnival sometimes found herself not quite so happy as she had been when watching beside him in the days of their poverty.
The equal mind,—as mortal Delius was bidden to remember, and as Mr. Furnival might also have remembered had time been allowed him to cultivate the classics,—the equal mind should be as sedulously43 maintained when things run well, as well as when they run hardly; and perhaps the maintenance of such equal mind is more difficult in the former than in the latter stage of life. Be that as it may, Mr. Furnival could now be very cross on certain domestic occasions, and could also be very unjust. And there was worse than this,—much worse behind. He, who in the heyday44 of his youth would spend night after night poring over his books, copying out reports, and never asking to see a female habiliment brighter or more attractive than his wife's Sunday gown, he, at the age of fifty-five, was now running after strange goddesses! The member for the Essex Marshes, in these his latter days, was obtaining for himself among other successes the character of a Lothario; and Mrs. Furnival, sitting at home in her genteel drawing-room near Cavendish Square, would remember with regret the small dingy45 parlour in Keppel Street.
Mrs. Furnival in discussing her grievances46 would attribute them mainly to port wine. In his early days Mr. Furnival had been essentially47 an abstemious48 man. Young men who work fifteen hours a day must be so. But now he had a strong opinion about certain Portuguese49 vintages, was convinced that there was no port wine in London equal to the contents of his own bin50, saving always a certain green cork51 appertaining to his own club, which was to be extracted at the rate of thirty shillings a cork. And Mrs. Furnival attributed to these latter studies not only a certain purple hue52 which was suffusing53 his nose and cheeks, but also that unevenness54 of character and those supposed domestic improprieties to which allusion55 has been made. It may, however, be as well to explain that Mrs. Ball, the old family cook and housekeeper56, who had ascended57 with the Furnivals in the world, opined that made-dishes did the mischief58. He dined out too often, and was a deal too particular about his dinner when he dined at home. If Providence59 would see fit to visit him with a sharp attack of the gout, it would—so thought Mrs. Ball—be better for all parties.
Whether or no it may have been that Mrs. Furnival at fifty-five—for she and her lord were of the same age—was not herself as attractive in her husband's eyes as she had been at thirty, I will not pretend to say. There can have been no just reason for any such change in feeling, seeing that the two had grown old together. She, poor woman, would have been quite content with the attentions of Mr. Furnival, though his hair was grizzled and his nose was blue; nor did she ever think of attracting to herself the admiration60 of any swain whose general comeliness might be more free from all taint61 of age. Why then should he wander afield—at the age of fifty-five? That he did wander afield, poor Mrs. Furnival felt in her agony convinced; and among those ladies whom on this account she most thoroughly62 detested63 was our friend Lady Mason of Orley Farm. Lady Mason and the lawyer had first become acquainted in the days of the trial, now long gone by, on which occasion Mr. Furnival had been employed as the junior counsel; and that acquaintance had ripened64 into friendship, and now flourished in full vigour,—to Mrs. Furnival's great sorrow and disturbance65.
Mrs. Furnival herself was a stout66, solid woman, sensible on most points, but better adapted, perhaps, to the life in Keppel Street than that to which she had now been promoted. As Kitty Blacker she had possessed feminine charms which would have been famous had they been better known. Mr. Furnival had fetched her from farther East—from the region of Great Ormond street and the neighbourhood of Southampton Buildings. Her cherry cheeks, and her round eye, and her full bust67, and her fresh lip, had conquered the hard-tasked lawyer; and so they had gone forth to fight the world together. Her eye was still round, and her cheek red, and her bust full,—there had certainly been no falling off there; nor will I say that her lip had lost its freshness. But the bloom of her charms had passed away, and she was now a solid, stout, motherly woman, not bright in converse68, but by no means deficient69 in mother-wit, recognizing well the duties which she owed to others, but recognizing equally well those which others owed to her. All the charms of her youth—had they not been given to him, and also all her solicitude70, all her anxious fighting with the hard world? When they had been poor together, had she not patched and turned and twisted, sitting silently by his side into the long nights, because she would not ask him for the price of a new dress? And yet now, now that they were rich—? Mrs. Furnival, when she put such questions within her own mind, could hardly answer this latter one with patience. Others might be afraid of the great Mr. Furnival in his wig and gown; others might be struck dumb by his power of eye and mouth; but she, she, the wife of his bosom71, she could catch him without his armour72. She would so catch him and let him know what she thought of all her wrongs. So she said to herself many a day, and yet the great deed, in all its explosiveness, had never yet been done. Small attacks of words there had been many, but hitherto the courage to speak out her griefs openly had been wanting to her.
I can now allow myself but a small space to say a few words of Sophia Furnival, and yet in that small space must be confined all the direct description which can be given of one of the principal personages of this story. At nineteen Miss Furnival was in all respects a young woman. She was forward in acquirements, in manner, in general intelligence, and in powers of conversation. She was a handsome, tall girl, with expressive73 gray eyes and dark-brown hair. Her mouth, and hair, and a certain motion of her neck and turn of her head, had come to her from her mother, but her eyes were those of her father: they were less sharp perhaps, less eager after their prey74; but they were bright as his had been bright, and sometimes had in them more of absolute command than he was ever able to throw into his own.
Their golden days had come on them at a period of her life which enabled her to make a better use of them than her mother could do. She never felt herself to be struck dumb by rank or fashion, nor did she in the drawing-rooms of the great ever show signs of an Eastern origin. She could adapt herself without an effort to the manners of Cavendish Square;—ay, and if need were, to the ways of more glorious squares even than that. Therefore was her father never ashamed to be seen with her on his arm in the houses of his new friends, though on such occasions he was willing enough to go out without disturbing the repose75 of his wife. No mother could have loved her children with a warmer affection than that which had warmed the heart of poor Mrs. Furnival; but under such circumstances as these was it singular that she should occasionally become jealous of her own daughter?
Sophia Furnival was, as I have said, a clever, attractive girl, handsome, well-read, able to hold her own with the old as well as with the young, capable of hiding her vanity if she had any, mild and gentle to girls less gifted, animated76 in conversation, and yet possessing an eye that could fall softly to the ground, as a woman's eye always should fall upon occasions.
Nevertheless she was not altogether charming. "I don't feel quite sure that she is real," Mrs. Orme had said of her, when on a certain occasion Miss Furnival had spent a day and a night at The Cleeve.
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1
undertaking
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| n.保证，许诺，事业 | |
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2
decadence
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| n.衰落，颓废 | |
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3
toiled
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| 长时间或辛苦地工作( toil的过去式和过去分词 )； 艰难缓慢地移动，跋涉 | |
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staples
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| n.（某国的）主要产品( staple的名词复数 )；钉书钉；U 形钉；主要部份v.用钉书钉钉住( staple的第三人称单数 ) | |
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calf
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| n.小牛，犊，幼仔，小牛皮 | |
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forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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meted
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| v.（对某人）施以，给予（处罚等）( mete的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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8
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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9
neutralized
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| v.使失效( neutralize的过去式和过去分词 )；抵消；中和；使（一个国家）中立化 | |
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10
lucrative
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| adj.赚钱的，可获利的 | |
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peculiar
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| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
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12
wig
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| n.假发 | |
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garb
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| n.服装，装束 | |
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concealed
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| a.隐藏的，隐蔽的 | |
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15
sarcasm
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| n.讥讽，讽刺，嘲弄，反话 （adj.sarcastic） | |
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expenditure
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| n.(时间、劳力、金钱等)支出；使用，消耗 | |
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wigged
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| adj.戴假发的 | |
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eloquence
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| n.雄辩；口才，修辞 | |
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arena
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| n.竞技场，运动场所；竞争场所，舞台 | |
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marshes
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| n.沼泽，湿地( marsh的名词复数 ) | |
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honourable
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| adj.可敬的；荣誉的，光荣的 | |
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conspicuous
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| adj.明眼的，惹人注目的；炫耀的，摆阔气的 | |
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browbeating
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| v.（以言辞或表情）威逼，恫吓( browbeat的现在分词 ) | |
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abstruse
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| adj.深奥的，难解的 | |
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proficiency
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| n.精通，熟练，精练 | |
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forte
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| n.长处，擅长；adj.(音乐)强音的 | |
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wigs
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| n.假发，法官帽( wig的名词复数 ) | |
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forensic
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| adj.法庭的，雄辩的 | |
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possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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pretentious
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| adj.自命不凡的，自负的，炫耀的 | |
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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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32
litigant
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| n.诉讼当事人；adj.进行诉讼的 | |
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dreading
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| v.害怕，恐惧，担心( dread的现在分词 ) | |
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34
countenance
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| n.脸色，面容；面部表情；vt.支持，赞同 | |
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astonishment
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| n.惊奇，惊异 | |
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36
divested
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| v.剥夺( divest的过去式和过去分词 )；脱去（衣服）；2。从…取去…；1。（给某人）脱衣服 | |
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graceful
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| adj.优美的，优雅的；得体的 | |
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manly
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| adj.有男子气概的；adv.男子般地，果断地 | |
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comeliness
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| n. 清秀, 美丽, 合宜 | |
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40
guise
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| n.外表，伪装的姿态 | |
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41
implicit
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| a.暗示的，含蓄的，不明晰的，绝对的 | |
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42
drudgery
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| n.苦工，重活，单调乏味的工作 | |
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43
sedulously
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| ad.孜孜不倦地 | |
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heyday
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| n.全盛时期，青春期 | |
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45
dingy
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| adj.昏暗的，肮脏的 | |
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46
grievances
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| n.委屈( grievance的名词复数 )；苦衷；不满；牢骚 | |
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47
essentially
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| adv.本质上，实质上，基本上 | |
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abstemious
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| adj.有节制的，节俭的 | |
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49
Portuguese
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| n.葡萄牙人；葡萄牙语 | |
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50
bin
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| n.箱柜；vt.放入箱内；[计算机] DOS文件名:二进制目标文件 | |
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51
cork
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| n.软木，软木塞 | |
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52
hue
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| n.色度；色调；样子 | |
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53
suffusing
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| v.（指颜色、水气等）弥漫于，布满( suffuse的现在分词 ) | |
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54
unevenness
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| n. 不平坦，不平衡，不匀性 | |
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55
allusion
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| n.暗示，间接提示 | |
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housekeeper
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| n.管理家务的主妇，女管家 | |
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ascended
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| v.上升，攀登( ascend的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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mischief
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| n.损害，伤害，危害；恶作剧，捣蛋，胡闹 | |
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59
providence
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| n.深谋远虑，天道，天意；远见；节约；上帝 | |
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60
admiration
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| n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕 | |
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61
taint
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| n.污点；感染；腐坏；v.使感染；污染 | |
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62
thoroughly
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| adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地 | |
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63
detested
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| v.憎恶，嫌恶，痛恨( detest的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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ripened
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| v.成熟，使熟( ripen的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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65
disturbance
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| n.动乱，骚动；打扰，干扰；(身心)失调 | |
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67
bust
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| vt.打破；vi.爆裂；n.半身像；胸部 | |
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converse
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| vi.谈话，谈天，闲聊；adv.相反的，相反 | |
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69
deficient
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| adj.不足的，不充份的，有缺陷的 | |
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70
solicitude
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| n.焦虑 | |
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71
bosom
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| n.胸，胸部；胸怀；内心；adj.亲密的 | |
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72
armour
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| （=armor）n.盔甲；装甲部队 | |
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73
expressive
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| adj.表现的，表达…的，富于表情的 | |
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74
prey
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| n.被掠食者，牺牲者，掠食；v.捕食，掠夺，折磨 | |
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75
repose
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| v.(使)休息；n.安息 | |
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76
animated
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| adj.生气勃勃的，活跃的，愉快的 | |
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