CHAPTER XXVII.

 Ham. Thou wouldst not think how ill's all here about my heart, but it is no matter.

 

Hor. Nay¹, good my lord——

 

Ham. It is but foolery; but it is such a kind of gain-giving as would perhaps trouble a woman.

 

Hor. If your mind dislike any thing, obey it.

 

Ham. Not a whit². We defy augury³.

 

Morton's day of departure came. It was a comfortless, savage⁴, gusty⁵ morning, an east wind blowing in from the bay. The hour to set sail was near; he should have been on board; but still he lingered with Edith Leslie. The secrecy⁶ on which her father insisted made it impossible for her to go with him to the ship.

 

Morton forced himself away; his hand was on the door, but his heart failed him, and he turned back again. On the mind of each there was something more than the pain of a year's separation. A dark foreboding, a cloud of dull and sullen⁷ portent⁸, hung over them both. The smooth and bright crusting with which habit and training had iced over the warm nature of Edith Leslie was broken and swept away; and as Morton seized her hands, she disengaged herself, and, throwing herself on his neck, sobbed⁹ convulsively. Morton pressed her to his heart, and buried his face in her clustering tresses; then, breaking from her, ran blindly from the house. He repaired to the house of Meredith, who met him at the door.

 

"You've no time to lose. Here's the carriage. Your trunks are all right. Come on."

 

They drove towards the wharf¹⁰.

 

"I'd give my head to change places with you," said Meredith.

 

"I wish you could."

 

There was so much pain and dejection in his look, that his friend could not fail to observe it.

 

"You don't want to go, then? I have noticed all along that you seemed devilish cool about it."

 

"Ned," said Morton, "I never used to think myself superstitious¹¹; but I begin now to change my mind. Heaven knows why, but I have strange notions running in my brain. My dog howled all last night; and not long ago, an owl¹² yelled over my head, and that, too, at a time—— But you'll think I have lost my wits."

 

Meredith, in truth, was greatly amazed at this betrayal of a weakness of which, long and closely as he had known his companion, he had never suspected him.

 

"Why, colonel, I have seen you set out on a journey as long and fifty times as hazardous¹³ as this, as carelessly as if you were going to a dinner party."

 

"I know it; but times are changed with me. I am not quite the child, though, that you may suppose."

 

"If you have such a feeling about going, I would give it up. It's not too late."

 

"No, I haven't sunk yet to that pass." And, as he spoke¹⁴, the carriage stopped at the pier¹⁵.

1 nay   

adv.不；n.反对票，投反对票者

参考例句：

• He was grateful for and proud of his son's remarkable,nay,unique performance.他为儿子出色的，不，应该是独一无二的表演心怀感激和骄傲。
• Long essays,nay,whole books have been written on this.许多长篇大论的文章，不，应该说是整部整部的书都是关于这件事的。

2 whit   

n.一点，丝毫

参考例句：

• There's not a whit of truth in the statement.这声明里没有丝毫的真实性。
• He did not seem a whit concerned.他看来毫不在乎。

3 augury   

n.预言，征兆，占卦

参考例句：

• Augury is the important part of Chinese traditional culture.占卜是中国传统文化中的一个重要组成部分。
• The maritime passage was a good augury for the aerial passage.顺利的航海仿佛也是航空的好预兆。

4 savage   

adj.野蛮的；凶恶的，残暴的；n.未开化的人

参考例句：

• The poor man received a savage beating from the thugs.那可怜的人遭到暴徒的痛打。
• He has a savage temper.他脾气粗暴。

5 gusty   

adj.起大风的

参考例句：

• Weather forecasts predict more hot weather,gusty winds and lightning strikes.天气预报预测高温、大风和雷电天气将继续。
• Why was Candlestick Park so windy and gusty? 埃德尔斯蒂克公园里为什么会有那么多的强劲阵风？

6 secrecy   

n.秘密，保密，隐蔽

参考例句：

• All the researchers on the project are sworn to secrecy.该项目的所有研究人员都按要求起誓保守秘密。
• Complete secrecy surrounded the meeting.会议在绝对机密的环境中进行。

7 sullen   

adj.愠怒的，闷闷不乐的，(天气等)阴沉的

参考例句：

• He looked up at the sullen sky.他抬头看了一眼阴沉的天空。
• Susan was sullen in the morning because she hadn't slept well.苏珊今天早上郁闷不乐，因为昨晚没睡好。

8 portent   

n.预兆；恶兆；怪事

参考例句：

• I see it as a portent of things to come.我把它看作是将要到来的事物的前兆。
• As for her engagement with Adam,I would say the portents are gloomy.至于她和亚当的婚约，我看兆头不妙。

9 sobbed   

哭泣，啜泣( sob的过去式和过去分词 )； 哭诉，呜咽地说

参考例句：

• She sobbed out the story of her son's death. 她哭诉着她儿子的死。
• She sobbed out the sad story of her son's death. 她哽咽着诉说她儿子死去的悲惨经过。

10 wharf   

n.码头，停泊处

参考例句：

• We fetch up at the wharf exactly on time.我们准时到达码头。
• We reached the wharf gasping for breath.我们气喘吁吁地抵达了码头。

11 superstitious   

adj.迷信的

参考例句：

• They aim to deliver the people who are in bondage to superstitious belief.他们的目的在于解脱那些受迷信束缚的人。
• These superstitious practices should be abolished as soon as possible.这些迷信做法应尽早取消。

12 owl   

n.猫头鹰，枭

参考例句：

• Her new glasses make her look like an owl.她的新眼镜让她看上去像只猫头鹰。
• I'm a night owl and seldom go to bed until after midnight.我睡得很晚，经常半夜后才睡觉。

13 hazardous   

adj.(有)危险的，冒险的；碰运气的

参考例句：

• These conditions are very hazardous for shipping.这些情况对航海非常不利。
• Everybody said that it was a hazardous investment.大家都说那是一次危险的投资。

14 spoke   

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

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

15 pier   

n.码头；桥墩，桥柱；[建]窗间壁，支柱

参考例句：

• The pier of the bridge has been so badly damaged that experts worry it is unable to bear weight.这座桥的桥桩破损厉害，专家担心它已不能负重。
• The ship was making towards the pier.船正驶向码头。