Slowly came over Sybil the consciousness of the dreadful eve that was past. She remained for some time on her knees in silent prayer: then stepping lightly, she approached the window. It was barred. The room which she inhabited was a high story of the house; it looked down upon one of those half tawdry, half squalid streets that one finds in the vicinities of our theatres; some wretched courts, haunts of misery15 and crime, blended with gin palaces and slang taverns16, burnished17 and brazen18; not a being was stirring. It was just that single hour of the twenty-four when crime ceases, debauchery is exhausted, and even desolation finds a shelter.
It was dawn, but still grey. For the first time since she had been a prisoner, Sybil was alone. A prisoner, and in a few hours to be examined before a public tribunal! Her heart sank. How far her father had committed himself was entirely19 a mystery to her; but the language of Morley, and all that she had witnessed, impressed her with the conviction that he was deeply implicated20. He had indeed spoken in their progress to the police office with confidence as to the future, but then he had every motive21 to encourage her in her despair, and to support her under the overwhelming circumstances in which she was so suddenly involved. What a catastrophe22 to all his high aspirations23! It tore her heart to think of him! As for herself, she would still hope that ultimately she might obtain justice, but she could scarcely flatter herself that at the first any distinction would be made between her case and that of the other prisoners. She would probably be committed for trial; and though her innocence24 on that occasion might be proved, she would have been a prisoner in the interval25, instead of devoting all her energies in freedom to the support and assistance of her father. She shrank, too, with all the delicacy26 of a woman, from the impending27 examination in open court before the magistrate28. Supported by her convictions, vindicating29 a sacred principle, there was no trial perhaps to which Sybil would not have been superior, and no test of her energy and faith which she would not have triumphantly30 encountered; but to be hurried like a criminal to the bar of a police office, suspected of the lowest arts of sedition31, ignorant even of what she was accused, without a conviction to support her or the ennobling consciousness of having failed at least in a great cause; all these were circumstances which infinitely32 disheartened and depressed33 her. She felt sometimes that she should be unable to meet the occasion: had it not been for Gerard she could almost have wished that death might release her from its base perplexities.
Was there any hope? In the agony of her soul she had confided34 last night in one; with scarcely a bewildering hope that he could save her. He might not have the power, the opportunity, the wish. He might shrink from mixing himself up with such characters and such transactions; he might not have received her hurried appeal in time to act upon it, even if the desire of her soul were practicable. A thousand difficulties, a thousand obstacles now occurred to her; and she felt her hopelessness.
Yet notwithstanding her extreme sorrow, and the absence of all surrounding objects to soothe8 and to console her, the expanding dawn revived and even encouraged Sybil. In spite of the confined situation, she could still partially36 behold37 a sky dappled with rosy38 hues39; a sense of freshness touched her: she could not resist endeavouring to open the window and feel the air, notwithstanding all her bars. The wife of the inspector stirred, and half slumbering, murmured, “Are you up? It cannot be more than five o’clock. If you open the window we shall catch cold; but I will rise and help you to dress.”
This woman, like her husband, was naturally kind, and at once influenced by Sybil. They both treated her as a superior being; and if, instead of the daughter of a lowly prisoner and herself a prisoner, she had been the noble child of a captive minister of state, they could not have extended to her a more humble40 and even delicate solicitude41.
It had not yet struck seven, and the wife of the inspector suddenly stopping and listening, said, “They are stirring early:” and then, after a moment’s pause, she opened the door, at which she stood for some time endeavouring to catch the meaning of the mysterious sounds. She looked back at Sybil, and saying, “Hush42, I shall be back directly,” she withdrew, shutting the door.
In little more than two hours, as Sybil had been informed, she would be summoned to her examination. It was a sickening thought. Hope vanished as the catastrophe advanced. She almost accused herself for having without authority sought out her father; it had been as regarded him a fruitless mission, and, by its results on her, had aggravated43 his present sorrows and perplexities. Her mind again recurred44 to him whose counsel had indirectly45 prompted her rash step, and to whose aid in her infinite hopelessness she had appealed. The woman who had all this time been only standing35 on the landing-place without the door, now re-entered with a puzzled and curious air, saying, “I cannot make it out; some one has arrived.”
“Some one has arrived.” Simple yet agitating46 words. “Is it unusual,” enquired47 Sybil in a trembling tone, “for persons to arrive at this hour?”
“Yes,” said the wife of the inspector. “They never bring them from the stations until the office opens. I cannot make it out. Hush!” and at this moment some one tapped at the door.
The woman returned to the door and reopened it, and some words were spoken which did not reach Sybil, whose heart beat violently as a wild thought rushed over her mind. The suspense48 was so intolerable, her agitation49 so great, that she was on the point of advancing and asking if—when the door was shut and she was again left alone. She threw herself on the bed. It seemed to her that she had lost all control over her intelligence. All thought and feeling merged50 in that deep suspense when the order of our being seems to stop and quiver as it were upon its axis51.
The woman returned; her countenance52 was glad. Perceiving the agitation of Sybil, she said, “You may dry your eyes my dear. There is nothing like a friend at court; there’s a warrant from the Secretary of State for your release.”
“No, no,” said Sybil springing from her chair. “Is he here?”
“What the Secretary of State!” said the woman.
“No, no! I mean is any one here?”
“There is a coach waiting for you at the door with the messenger from the office, and you are to depart forthwith. My husband is here, it was he who knocked at the door. The warrant came before the office was opened.”
“My father! I must see him.”
The inspector at this moment tapped again at the door and then entered. He caught the last request of Sybil, and replied to it in the negative. “You must not stay,” he said; “you must be off immediately. I will tell all to your father. And take a hint; this affair may be bailable54 or it may not be. I can’t give an opinion, but it depends on the evidence. If you have any good man you know—I mean a householder long established and well to do in the world—I advise you to lose no time in looking him up. That will do your father much more good than saying good bye and all that sort of thing.”
Bidding farewell to his kind wife, and leaving many weeping messages for her father, Sybil descended55 the stairs with the inspector. The office was not opened: a couple of policemen only were in the passage, and as she appeared one of them went forth53 to clear the way for Sybil to the coach that was waiting for her. A milkwoman or two, a stray chimney-sweep, a pieman with his smoking apparatus56, and several of those nameless nothings that always congregate57 and make the nucleus58 of a mob—probably our young friends who had been passing the night in Hyde Park—had already gathered round the office door. They were dispersed59, and returned again and took up their position at a more respectful distance, abusing with many racy execrations that ancient body that from a traditionary habit they still called the New Police.
A man in a loose white great coat, his countenance concealed60 by a shawl which was wound round his neck and by his slouched hat, assisted Sybil into the coach, and pressed her hand at the same time with great tenderness. Then he mounted the box by the driver and ordered him to make the best of his way to Smith’s Square.
With a beating heart, Sybil leant back in the coach and clasped her hands. Her brain was too wild to think: the incidents of her life during the last four-and-twenty hours had been so strange and rapid that she seemed almost to resign any quality of intelligent control over her fortunes, and to deliver herself up to the shifting visions of the startling dream. His voice had sounded in her ear as his hand had touched hers. And on those tones her memory lingered, and that pressure had reached her heart. What tender devotion! What earnest fidelity61! What brave and romantic faith! Had she breathed on some talisman62, and called up some obedient genie63 to her aid, the spirit could not have been more loyal, nor the completion of her behest more ample and precise.
She passed the towers of the church of St John: of the saint who had seemed to guard over her in the exigency64 of her existence. She was approaching her threshold; the blood left her cheek, her heart palpitated. The coach stopped. Trembling and timid she leant upon his arm and yet dared not look upon his face. They entered the house; they were in the room where two months before he had knelt to her in vain, which yesterday had been the scene of so many heart-rending passions.
As in some delicious dream, when the enchanted65 fancy has traced for a time with coherent bliss66 the stream of bright adventures and sweet and touching67 phrase, there comes at last some wild gap in the flow of fascination68, and by means which we cannot trace, and by an agency which we cannot pursue, we find ourselves in some enrapturing69 situation that is as it were the ecstasy70 of our life; so it happened now, that while in clear and precise order there seemed to flit over the soul of Sybil all that had passed, all that he had done, all that she felt—by some mystical process which memory could not recall, Sybil found herself pressed to the throbbing71 heart of Egremont, nor shrinking from the embrace which expressed the tenderness of his devoted72 love!
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1
waned
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| v.衰落( wane的过去式和过去分词 )；（月）亏；变小；变暗淡 | |
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slumber
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| n.睡眠，沉睡状态 | |
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slumbering
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| 微睡，睡眠（slumber的现在分词形式） | |
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exhausted
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| adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的 | |
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bonnet
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| n.无边女帽；童帽 | |
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mantle
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| n.斗篷，覆罩之物，罩子；v.罩住，覆盖，脸红 | |
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7
soothed
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| v.安慰( soothe的过去式和过去分词 )；抚慰；使舒服；减轻痛苦 | |
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soothe
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| v.安慰；使平静；使减轻；缓和；奉承 | |
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9
jeers
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| n.操纵帆桁下部（使其上下的）索具；嘲讽( jeer的名词复数 )v.嘲笑( jeer的第三人称单数 ) | |
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10
brutal
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| adj.残忍的，野蛮的，不讲理的 | |
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11
sufficiently
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| adv.足够地，充分地 | |
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spacious
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| adj.广阔的，宽敞的 | |
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inspector
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| n.检查员，监察员，视察员 | |
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embroidery
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| n.绣花，刺绣；绣制品 | |
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15
misery
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| n.痛苦，苦恼，苦难；悲惨的境遇，贫苦 | |
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16
taverns
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| n.小旅馆，客栈，酒馆( tavern的名词复数 ) | |
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17
burnished
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| adj.抛光的，光亮的v.擦亮（金属等），磨光( burnish的过去式和过去分词 )；被擦亮，磨光 | |
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18
brazen
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| adj.厚脸皮的，无耻的，坚硬的 | |
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19
entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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20
implicated
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| adj.密切关联的；牵涉其中的 | |
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21
motive
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| n.动机，目的；adv.发动的，运动的 | |
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catastrophe
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| n.大灾难，大祸 | |
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23
aspirations
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| 强烈的愿望( aspiration的名词复数 )； 志向； 发送气音； 发 h 音 | |
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24
innocence
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| n.无罪；天真；无害 | |
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interval
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| n.间隔，间距；幕间休息，中场休息 | |
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26
delicacy
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| n.精致，细微，微妙，精良；美味，佳肴 | |
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impending
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| a.imminent, about to come or happen | |
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magistrate
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| n.地方行政官，地方法官，治安官 | |
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29
vindicating
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| v.澄清（某人/某事物）受到的责难或嫌疑( vindicate的现在分词 )；表明或证明（所争辩的事物）属实、正当、有效等；维护 | |
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30
triumphantly
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| ad.得意洋洋地；得胜地；成功地 | |
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31
sedition
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| n.煽动叛乱 | |
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32
infinitely
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| adv.无限地，无穷地 | |
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33
depressed
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| adj.沮丧的，抑郁的，不景气的，萧条的 | |
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34
confided
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| v.吐露（秘密，心事等）( confide的过去式和过去分词 )；（向某人）吐露（隐私、秘密等） | |
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35
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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partially
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| adv.部分地，从某些方面讲 | |
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behold
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| v.看，注视，看到 | |
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rosy
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| adj.美好的，乐观的，玫瑰色的 | |
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39
hues
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| 色彩( hue的名词复数 )； 色调； 信仰； 观点 | |
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40
humble
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| adj.谦卑的，恭顺的；地位低下的；v.降低，贬低 | |
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41
solicitude
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| n.焦虑 | |
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42
hush
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| int.嘘，别出声；n.沉默，静寂；v.使安静 | |
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43
aggravated
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| 使恶化( aggravate的过去式和过去分词 )； 使更严重； 激怒； 使恼火 | |
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44
recurred
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| 再发生，复发( recur的过去式和过去分词 )； 治愈 | |
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45
indirectly
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| adv.间接地，不直接了当地 | |
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46
agitating
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| 搅动( agitate的现在分词 )； 激怒； 使焦虑不安； （尤指为法律、社会状况的改变而）激烈争论 | |
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47
enquired
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| 打听( enquire的过去式和过去分词 )； 询问； 问问题； 查问 | |
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48
suspense
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| n.（对可能发生的事）紧张感，担心，挂虑 | |
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49
agitation
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| n.搅动；搅拌；鼓动，煽动 | |
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50
merged
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| （使）混合( merge的过去式和过去分词 )； 相融； 融入； 渐渐消失在某物中 | |
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51
axis
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| n.轴，轴线，中心线；坐标轴，基准线 | |
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52
countenance
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| n.脸色，面容；面部表情；vt.支持，赞同 | |
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53
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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54
bailable
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| adj.可保释的，可交保的 | |
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55
descended
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| a.为...后裔的，出身于...的 | |
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56
apparatus
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| n.装置，器械；器具，设备 | |
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57
congregate
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| v.(使)集合，聚集 | |
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nucleus
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| n.核，核心，原子核 | |
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59
dispersed
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| adj. 被驱散的, 被分散的, 散布的 | |
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60
concealed
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| a.隐藏的，隐蔽的 | |
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61
fidelity
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| n.忠诚，忠实；精确 | |
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62
talisman
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| n.避邪物，护身符 | |
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63
genie
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| n.妖怪，神怪 | |
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64
exigency
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| n.紧急；迫切需要 | |
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65
enchanted
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| adj. 被施魔法的，陶醉的，入迷的 动词enchant的过去式和过去分词 | |
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66
bliss
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| n.狂喜，福佑，天赐的福 | |
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67
touching
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| adj.动人的，使人感伤的 | |
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68
fascination
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| n.令人着迷的事物，魅力，迷恋 | |
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69
enrapturing
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| v.使狂喜( enrapture的现在分词 ) | |
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70
ecstasy
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| n.狂喜，心醉神怡，入迷 | |
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71
throbbing
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| a. 跳动的,悸动的 | |
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72
devoted
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| adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的 | |
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