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Chapter 9
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 AND in this difficult time of spiritual distress1, made more trying perhaps because of the blazing midsummer days, and long, pent feverish2 nights, Mademoiselle de Nazianzi turned in her tribulation3 towards religion.
 
The Ecclesiastical set at Court, composed of some six, or so, ex-Circes, under the command of the Countess Yvorra, were only too ready to welcome her, and invitations to meet Monsignor this, or “Father” that, who constantly were being coaxed4 from their musty sacristies and wan-faced acolytes5 in the capital, in order that they might officiate at Masses, Confessions6 and Breakfast-parties à la fourchette, were lavished8 daily upon the bewildered girl.
 
Messages, and hasty informal lightly-pencilled notes, too, would frequently reach her; such as: “I shall be pouring out cocoa after dinner in bed. Bring your 135 biscuits and join me!” ... or a rat-a-tat from a round-eyed page and: “The Countess’ comp’ts and she’d take it a Favour if you can make a ‘Station’ with her in chapel9 later on,” or: “The Marchioness will be birched to-morrow, and not to-day.”
 
O, the charm, the flavour of the religious world! Where match it for interest or variety!
 
An emotion approaching sympathy had arisen, perhaps a trifle incongruously, between the injured girl and the Countess Yvorra, and before long, to the amusement of the sceptical element of the Court, the Countess and her Confessor, Father Nostradamus, might often be observed in her society.
 
“I need a cage-companion, Father, for my little bird,” the Countess one evening said, as they were ambling10, all the three of them before Office up and down the perfectly11 tended paths: “ought it to be of the same species and sex, or does it matter? For as I said to myself just now (while listening to a thrush), All birds are His creatures.”
 
The priest discreetly12 coughed. 136
 
“Your question requires reflection,” he said: “What is the bird?”
 
“A hen canary!—and with a voice, Father! Talk of soul!!”
 
“H—m ... a thrush and a canary, I would not myself advise.”
 
Mademoiselle de Nazianzi tittered.
 
“Why not let it go?” she asked, turning her eyes towards the window-panes of the palace, that glanced like rows of beaten-gold in the evening sun.
 
“A hawk13 might peck it!” the Countess returned, looking up as if for one, into a sky as imaginative, and as dazzling as Shelley poetry.
 
“Even the Court,” Father Nostradamus ejaculated wryly14, “will peck at times.”
 
The Countess’ shoulder-blades stiffened15.
 
“After over thirty years,” she said, “I find Court-life pathetic....”
 
“Pathetic?”
 
“Tragically pathetic....”
 
Mademoiselle de Nazianzi considered wistfully the wayward outline of the hills.
 
“I would like to escape from it all for a while,” she said, “and travel.” 137
 
“I must hunt you out a pamphlet, by and by, dear child, on the ‘Dangers of Wanderlust.’”
 
“The Great Wall of China and the Bay of Naples! It seems so frightful16 never to have seen them!”
 
“I have never seen the Great Wall, either,” the Countess said, “and I don’t suppose, my dear, I ever shall; though I once did spend a fortnight in Italy.”
 
“Tell me about it.”
 
The Countess became reminiscent.
 
“In Venice,” she said, “the indecent movements of the Gondolieri quite affected17 my health, and, in consequence, I fell a prey18 to a sharp nervous fever. My temperature rose and it rose, ah, yes ... until I became quite ill. At last I said to my maid (she was an English girl from Wales, and almost equally as sensitive as me): ‘Pack.... Away!’ And we left in haste for Florence. Ah, and Florence, too, I regret to say I found very far from what it ought to have been!!! I had a window giving on the Arno, and so I could observe.... I used to see some curious sights! I would not care 138 to scathe19 your ears, my Innocent, by an inventory20 of one half of the wantonness that went on; enough to say the tone of the place forced me to fly to Rome, where beneath the shadow of dear St Peter’s I grew gradually less distressed21.”
 
“Still, I should like, all the same, to travel!” Mademoiselle de Nazianzi exclaimed, with a sad little snatch of a smile.
 
“We will ask the opinion of Father Geordie Picpus, when he comes again.”
 
“It would be more fitting,” Father Nostradamus murmured (professional rivalry22 leaping to his eye), “if Father Picpus kept himself free of the limelight a trifle more!”
 
“Often I fear our committees would be corvés without him....”
 
“Tchut.”
 
“He is very popular ... too popular, perhaps ...” the Countess admitted. “I remember on one occasion in the Blue Jesus, witnessing the Duchess of Quaranta and Madame Ferdinand Fishbacher, fight like wild cats as to which should gain his ear—(any girl might envy Father Geordie his ear)—at Confession7 next. The odds23 139 seemed fairly equal, until the Duchess gave the Fishbacher-woman, such a violent push—(well down from behind, in the crick of the joints)—that she overturned The Confessional Box, with Father Picpus within: and when we scared ladies, standing24 by, had succeeded in dragging him out, he was too shaken, naturally as you can gather, to absolve25 anyone else that day.”
 
“He has been the object of so many unseemly incidents, that one can scarcely recall them all,” Father Nostradamus exclaimed, stooping to pick up a dropped pocket-handkerchief with “remembrance” knots tied to three of the corners.
 
“Alas.... Court life is not uplifting,” the Countess said again, contemplating26 her muff of self-made lace, with a half-vexed forehead. What that muff contained was a constant problem for conjecture27; but it was believed by more than one of the maids-in-waiting to harbour “goody” books and martyrs’ bones.
 
“By generous deeds and Brotherly love,” Father Nostradamus exclaimed, “we should endeavour to rise above it!” 140
 
With the deftness28 of a virtuoso29, the Countess seized, and crushed with her muff, a pale-winged passing gnat30.
 
“Before Life,” she murmured, “that saddest thing of all, was thrust upon us, I believe I was an angel....”
 
Father Nostradamus passed a musing31 hand across his brow.
 
“It may be,” he replied, “and it very well may be,” he went on, “that our ante-nativity was a little more brilliant, a little more h—m ...; and there is nothing unorthodox in thinking so.”
 
“O what did I do then to lose my wings?? What did I ever say to Them?! Father, Father. How did I annoy God? Why did He put me here?”
 
“My dear child, you ask me things I do not know; but it may be you were the instrument appointed above to lead back to Him our neighbour yonder,” Father Nostradamus answered, pointing with his breviary in the direction of St Helena.
 
“Never speak to me of that wretched old man.”
 
For despite the ablest tactics, the most 141 diplomatic angling, Count Cabinet had refused to rally.
 
“We followed the sails of your skiff to-day,” Mademoiselle de Nazianzi sighed, “until the hazes32 hid them!”
 
“I had a lilac passage.”
 
“You delivered the books?”
 
The Countess shrugged33.
 
“I shall never forget this afternoon,” she said. “He was sitting in the window over a decanter of wine when I floated down upon him; but no sooner did he see me, than he gave a sound, like a bleat34 of a goat, and disappeared: I was determined35 however to call! There is no bell to the villa36, but two bronze door-knockers, well out of reach, are attached to the front-door. These with the ferrule of my parasol I tossed and I rattled37, until an adolescent, with Bougainvillea at his ear, came and looked out with an insolent38 grin, and I recognised Peter Passer from the Blue Jesus grown quite fat.”
 
“Eh mon Dieu!” Father Nostradamus half-audibly sighed.
 
“Eh mon Dieu ...” Mademoiselle de 142 Nazianzi echoed, her gaze roving over the palace, whose long window-panes in the setting sun gleamed like sumptuous39 tissues.
 
“So that,” the Countess added, “I hardly propose to venture again.”
 
“What a site for a Calvary!” Father Nostradamus replied, indicating with a detached and pensive40 air the cleft41 in the White Mountain’s distant peaks.
 
“I adore the light the hills take on when the sun drops down,” Mademoiselle de Nazianzi declared.
 
“It must be close on Salut....”
 
It was beneath the dark colonnades42 by the Court Chapel door that they received the news from the lips of a pair of vivacious43 dowagers that the Prince was to leave the Summer-Palace on the morrow to attend “the Man?uvres,” after which it was expected his Royal Highness would proceed “to England.”

点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 distress 3llzX     
n.苦恼,痛苦,不舒适;不幸;vt.使悲痛
参考例句:
  • Nothing could alleviate his distress.什么都不能减轻他的痛苦。
  • Please don't distress yourself.请你不要忧愁了。
2 feverish gzsye     
adj.发烧的,狂热的,兴奋的
参考例句:
  • He is too feverish to rest.他兴奋得安静不下来。
  • They worked with feverish haste to finish the job.为了完成此事他们以狂热的速度工作着。
3 tribulation Kmywb     
n.苦难,灾难
参考例句:
  • Even in our awful tribulation we were quite optimistic.即使在极端痛苦时,我们仍十分乐观。
  • I hate the tribulation,I commiserate the sorrow brought by tribulation.我厌恶别人深重的苦难,怜悯苦难带来的悲哀。
4 coaxed dc0a6eeb597861b0ed72e34e52490cd1     
v.哄,用好话劝说( coax的过去式和过去分词 );巧言骗取;哄劝,劝诱
参考例句:
  • She coaxed the horse into coming a little closer. 她哄着那匹马让它再靠近了一点。
  • I coaxed my sister into taking me to the theatre. 我用好话哄姐姐带我去看戏。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
5 acolytes 2d95a6b207a08c631dcce3cfc11c730b     
n.助手( acolyte的名词复数 );随从;新手;(天主教)侍祭
参考例句:
  • To his acolytes, he is known simply as 'the Boss'. 他被手下人简称为“老板”。 来自辞典例句
  • Many of the acolytes have been in hiding amongst the populace. 许多寺僧都隐藏在平民当中。 来自互联网
6 confessions 4fa8f33e06cadcb434c85fa26d61bf95     
n.承认( confession的名词复数 );自首;声明;(向神父的)忏悔
参考例句:
  • It is strictly forbidden to obtain confessions and to give them credence. 严禁逼供信。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
  • Neither trickery nor coercion is used to secure confessions. 既不诱供也不逼供。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
7 confession 8Ygye     
n.自白,供认,承认
参考例句:
  • Her confession was simply tantamount to a casual explanation.她的自白简直等于一篇即席说明。
  • The police used torture to extort a confession from him.警察对他用刑逼供。
8 lavished 7f4bc01b9202629a8b4f2f96ba3c61a8     
v.过分给予,滥施( lavish的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • I lavished all the warmth of my pent-up passion. 我把憋在心里那一股热烈的情感尽量地倾吐出来。 来自辞典例句
  • An enormous amount of attention has been lavished on these problems. 在这些问题上,我们已经花费了大量的注意力。 来自辞典例句
9 chapel UXNzg     
n.小教堂,殡仪馆
参考例句:
  • The nimble hero,skipped into a chapel that stood near.敏捷的英雄跳进近旁的一座小教堂里。
  • She was on the peak that Sunday afternoon when she played in chapel.那个星期天的下午,她在小教堂的演出,可以说是登峰造极。
10 ambling 83ee3bf75d76f7573f42fe45eaa3d174     
v.(马)缓行( amble的现在分词 );从容地走,漫步
参考例句:
  • At that moment the tiger commenced ambling towards his victim. 就在这时,老虎开始缓步向它的猎物走去。 来自辞典例句
  • Implied meaning: drinking, ambling, the people who make golf all relatively succeed. 寓意:喝酒,赌博,打高尔夫的人都比较成功。 来自互联网
11 perfectly 8Mzxb     
adv.完美地,无可非议地,彻底地
参考例句:
  • The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
  • Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。
12 discreetly nuwz8C     
ad.(言行)审慎地,慎重地
参考例句:
  • He had only known the perennial widow, the discreetly expensive Frenchwoman. 他只知道她是个永远那么年轻的寡妇,一个很会讲排场的法国女人。
  • Sensing that Lilian wanted to be alone with Celia, Andrew discreetly disappeared. 安德鲁觉得莉莲想同西莉亚单独谈些什么,有意避开了。
13 hawk NeKxY     
n.鹰,骗子;鹰派成员
参考例句:
  • The hawk swooped down on the rabbit and killed it.鹰猛地朝兔子扑下来,并把它杀死。
  • The hawk snatched the chicken and flew away.老鹰叼了小鸡就飞走了。
14 wryly 510b39f91f2e11b414d09f4c1a9c5a1a     
adv. 挖苦地,嘲弄地
参考例句:
  • Molly smiled rather wryly and said nothing. 莫莉苦笑着,一句话也没说。
  • He smiled wryly, then closed his eyes and gnawed his lips. 他狞笑一声,就闭了眼睛,咬着嘴唇。 来自子夜部分
15 stiffened de9de455736b69d3f33bb134bba74f63     
加强的
参考例句:
  • He leaned towards her and she stiffened at this invasion of her personal space. 他向她俯过身去,这种侵犯她个人空间的举动让她绷紧了身子。
  • She stiffened with fear. 她吓呆了。
16 frightful Ghmxw     
adj.可怕的;讨厌的
参考例句:
  • How frightful to have a husband who snores!有一个发鼾声的丈夫多讨厌啊!
  • We're having frightful weather these days.这几天天气坏极了。
17 affected TzUzg0     
adj.不自然的,假装的
参考例句:
  • She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
  • His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。
18 prey g1czH     
n.被掠食者,牺牲者,掠食;v.捕食,掠夺,折磨
参考例句:
  • Stronger animals prey on weaker ones.弱肉强食。
  • The lion was hunting for its prey.狮子在寻找猎物。
19 scathe ZDczv     
v.损伤;n.伤害
参考例句:
  • The child scathe its fingers while playing with a match.那孩子玩火柴时把手指烧伤了。
  • He scathe his opponent's honor with rumor.他用谣言破坏对手的名誉。
20 inventory 04xx7     
n.详细目录,存货清单
参考例句:
  • Some stores inventory their stock once a week.有些商店每周清点存货一次。
  • We will need to call on our supplier to get more inventory.我们必须请供应商送来更多存货。
21 distressed du1z3y     
痛苦的
参考例句:
  • He was too distressed and confused to answer their questions. 他非常苦恼而困惑,无法回答他们的问题。
  • The news of his death distressed us greatly. 他逝世的消息使我们极为悲痛。
22 rivalry tXExd     
n.竞争,竞赛,对抗
参考例句:
  • The quarrel originated in rivalry between the two families.这次争吵是两家不和引起的。
  • He had a lot of rivalry with his brothers and sisters.他和兄弟姐妹间经常较劲。
23 odds n5czT     
n.让步,机率,可能性,比率;胜败优劣之别
参考例句:
  • The odds are 5 to 1 that she will win.她获胜的机会是五比一。
  • Do you know the odds of winning the lottery once?你知道赢得一次彩票的几率多大吗?
24 standing 2hCzgo     
n.持续,地位;adj.永久的,不动的,直立的,不流动的
参考例句:
  • After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
  • They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。
25 absolve LIeyN     
v.赦免,解除(责任等)
参考例句:
  • I absolve you,on the ground of invincible ignorance.鉴于你不可救药的无知,我原谅你。
  • They agree to absolve you from your obligation.他们同意免除你的责任。
26 contemplating bde65bd99b6b8a706c0f139c0720db21     
深思,细想,仔细考虑( contemplate的现在分词 ); 注视,凝视; 考虑接受(发生某事的可能性); 深思熟虑,沉思,苦思冥想
参考例句:
  • You're too young to be contemplating retirement. 你考虑退休还太年轻。
  • She stood contemplating the painting. 她站在那儿凝视那幅图画。
27 conjecture 3p8z4     
n./v.推测,猜测
参考例句:
  • She felt it no use to conjecture his motives.她觉得猜想他的动机是没有用的。
  • This conjecture is not supported by any real evidence.这种推测未被任何确切的证据所证实。
28 deftness de3311da6dd1a06e55d4a43af9d7b4a3     
参考例句:
  • Handling delicate instruments requires deftness. 使用精巧仪器需要熟练。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
  • I'm greatly impressed by your deftness in handling the situation. 你处理这个局面的机敏令我印象十分深刻。 来自高二英语口语
29 virtuoso VL6zK     
n.精于某种艺术或乐器的专家,行家里手
参考例句:
  • He was gaining a reputation as a remarkable virtuoso.作为一位技艺非凡的大师,他声誉日隆。
  • His father was a virtuoso horn player who belonged to the court orchestra.他的父亲是宫廷乐队中一个技巧精湛的圆号演奏家。
30 gnat gekzi     
v.对小事斤斤计较,琐事
参考例句:
  • Strain at a gnat and swallow a camel.小事拘谨,大事糊涂。
  • He's always straining at a gnat.他总是对小事很拘谨。
31 musing musing     
n. 沉思,冥想 adj. 沉思的, 冥想的 动词muse的现在分词形式
参考例句:
  • "At Tellson's banking-house at nine," he said, with a musing face. “九点在台尔森银行大厦见面,”他想道。 来自英汉文学 - 双城记
  • She put the jacket away, and stood by musing a minute. 她把那件上衣放到一边,站着沉思了一会儿。
32 hazes 71755b61dcb13e836dfab45a157fdd84     
n.(烟尘等的)雾霭( haze的名词复数 );迷蒙;迷糊;(尤指热天引起的)薄雾v.(使)笼罩在薄雾中( haze的第三人称单数 );戏弄,欺凌(新生等,有时作为加入美国大学生联谊会的条件)
参考例句:
  • Together we share fogs, flowing hazes and rainbows. 我们共享雾蔼、流岚、虹霓。 来自互联网
  • Our loves will blow away the hazes involved around childrens in the disaster areas. 我们的爱心,将驱散笼罩在灾区孩子心中的阴霾。 来自互联网
33 shrugged 497904474a48f991a3d1961b0476ebce     
vt.耸肩(shrug的过去式与过去分词形式)
参考例句:
  • Sam shrugged and said nothing. 萨姆耸耸肩膀,什么也没说。
  • She shrugged, feigning nonchalance. 她耸耸肩,装出一副无所谓的样子。 来自《简明英汉词典》
34 bleat OdVyE     
v.咩咩叫,(讲)废话,哭诉;n.咩咩叫,废话,哭诉
参考例句:
  • He heard the bleat of a lamb.他听到小羊的叫声。
  • They bleat about how miserable they are.他们诉说他们的生活是多么悲惨。
35 determined duszmP     
adj.坚定的;有决心的
参考例句:
  • I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
  • He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。
36 villa xHayI     
n.别墅,城郊小屋
参考例句:
  • We rented a villa in France for the summer holidays.我们在法国租了一幢别墅消夏。
  • We are quartered in a beautiful villa.我们住在一栋漂亮的别墅里。
37 rattled b4606e4247aadf3467575ffedf66305b     
慌乱的,恼火的
参考例句:
  • The truck jolted and rattled over the rough ground. 卡车嘎吱嘎吱地在凹凸不平的地面上颠簸而行。
  • Every time a bus went past, the windows rattled. 每逢公共汽车经过这里,窗户都格格作响。
38 insolent AbGzJ     
adj.傲慢的,无理的
参考例句:
  • His insolent manner really got my blood up.他那傲慢的态度把我的肺都气炸了。
  • It was insolent of them to demand special treatment.他们要求给予特殊待遇,脸皮真厚。
39 sumptuous Rqqyl     
adj.豪华的,奢侈的,华丽的
参考例句:
  • The guests turned up dressed in sumptuous evening gowns.客人们身着华丽的夜礼服出现了。
  • We were ushered into a sumptuous dining hall.我们被领进一个豪华的餐厅。
40 pensive 2uTys     
a.沉思的,哀思的,忧沉的
参考例句:
  • He looked suddenly sombre,pensive.他突然看起来很阴郁,一副忧虑的样子。
  • He became so pensive that she didn't like to break into his thought.他陷入沉思之中,她不想打断他的思路。
41 cleft awEzGG     
n.裂缝;adj.裂开的
参考例句:
  • I hid the message in a cleft in the rock.我把情报藏在石块的裂缝里。
  • He was cleft from his brother during the war.在战争期间,他与他的哥哥分离。
42 colonnades da198ab6b832309e5a00e73fc48f5991     
n.石柱廊( colonnade的名词复数 )
参考例句:
43 vivacious Dp7yI     
adj.活泼的,快活的
参考例句:
  • She is an artless,vivacious girl.她是一个天真活泼的女孩。
  • The picture has a vivacious artistic conception.这幅画气韵生动。


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