chapter eight

 Mr. Withersq was already digging at the last of his second egg with rather a cross face, as he really preferred duck’s eggs as being more sustaining, when she entered their private eating apartment at whose door stood a chef sent to watch over their food by the hotel manager.

 

“Hello dearie” cried he rising and casting the gloom off his face, as he had learnt to rise for ladys by now. “We have a treat in store for to-day.” And he nodded to the chef to bring Selia her breakfast, which the good man with his white hat did and then retired¹ out of the room.

 

“Oh Harold what is it?” she cried settling her new brown gown, “is it a better kind of party?”

 

84 “Well hardly” said Mr. Withersq resuming his egg, “it is to go to a trial.”

 

“Oh! How delishus” said Selia in glee, “is it a murder?”

 

“No” said Mr. Withersq, “it is much better, it is a divorce, murders being a little vulgar. But the very cream go to divorces, and were it not for my having this morning before you rose purchaced a good half of the Daily Pull and put the editor in my pocket I do not think even we should have got in.”

 

“Oh so now you have a newspaper” chirped² his love.

 

“Yes” said Mr. Withersq hortily “and as it is we have seats in the front.”

 

Truly pleased by this thoughtful and lucky idea Selia fell to and despatched her food after which they stepped into a taxi and rode to the law court.

 

It was a dark forboding place somewhat square. A crowd of poor jostled without. 85The photos of Selia and her Harold were taken as they left the taxi to enter, at which Selia bridled³ a little but not her Harold. For a flash he feared they were mistaken for the guilty partys but it was not so only his fame.

 

Inside was a great dark hall like church and the ten comandments in frames at the top, between which sat a juge in scarlet⁴ and ermin with a white wig⁵, who was on a carved chair, with lawyers on one side in a row and jurys on the other in a pew and the lawyers were all lean and busy with papers, but the jurys were all plump and did nothing but sit.

 

A stir occurred as our heroes entered and were led by a beadel to the front row at which the judge beat his little hammer on the desk of his throne and cried “Ordre” very stern for all present were twisting and craning to get a better view of our pair, more so the ladys of whom there were many with lunsheon baskets seated around.

 

86 “This is not a school of poetry,” said the judge aside and drew a laugh, so Mr. Withersq knew at once this must be the famous Judge Crop the well-known wit. So they both sat down and settled.

 

The buss died down and silence came as a door at the side opened and amid a murmur⁶ of pity the partys to the divorce were led in, pale-faced and dismally⁷ clanking the handcuffs on their wrists, and the injured husband led the way. There were three in all, the lady and the villian with meek⁸ look following after, and the lady was very soberly dressed in black coat and skirt as befitted her position.

 

A policeman led them to stand in a row before the Judge, and they all three stood mum while the lawyers began to rise one by one and muter and muter and rasple their papers, and bow now and then to the Judge who seemed to sleep nevertheless he opened an eye from time to time.

 

87 Selia was a bit vexed⁹ for she found it dull and it was very hot, and they were so squashed, so she laid back a good bit against her Harold, and attemted to list.

 

“Ha” cried the Judge suddenly waking, “and what have you to say for yourself” as he glared at the villian, so the Wife fell to sobbing¹⁰, and all the audience were greatly moved. But poor Selia was so sleepy with stuffiness¹¹ that she dropped off without hearing more and only woke in time to hear the worst. The Villian and Wife had exprest their regrets, the jurys had talked the matter over, and the Judge was sitting on them, with a black cap on his head.

 

In slow and solemn words he drorled forth¹² his mind and the end of it all was that he condemned¹³ the Wife and the Villian both to prison for six months to learn to mend their ways, at which the Husband rubbed hands of glee and the wicked Wife and the terrible 88Villian trailed out to their sad fate, at which the meeting broke up, and some were heard to say it had not been much fun. But Harold said it was a good show, as the Judge had made four jokes. So they pushed out through the throng¹⁴ to the taxi still waiting and poured quietly back home as Harold was to write some more that day about how to make a splash in socierty for the front page of his newspaper.

 

1 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

2 chirped   

鸟叫，虫鸣( chirp的过去式 )

参考例句：

• So chirped fiber gratings have broad reflection bandwidth. 所以chirped光纤光栅具有宽的反射带宽，在反射带宽内具有渐变的群时延等其它类型的光纤光栅所不具备的特点。
• The crickets chirped faster and louder. 蟋蟀叫得更欢了。

3 bridled   

给…套龙头( bridle的过去式和过去分词 )； 控制； 昂首表示轻蔑（或怨忿等）； 动怒，生气

参考例句：

• She bridled at the suggestion that she was lying. 她对暗示她在说谎的言论嗤之以鼻。
• He bridled his horse. 他给他的马套上笼头。

4 scarlet   

n.深红色，绯红色，红衣；adj.绯红色的

参考例句：

• The scarlet leaves of the maples contrast well with the dark green of the pines.深红的枫叶和暗绿的松树形成了明显的对比。
• The glowing clouds are growing slowly pale,scarlet,bright red,and then light red.天空的霞光渐渐地淡下去了，深红的颜色变成了绯红，绯红又变为浅红。

5 wig   

n.假发

参考例句：

• The actress wore a black wig over her blond hair.那个女演员戴一顶黑色假发罩住自己的金黄色头发。
• He disguised himself with a wig and false beard.他用假发和假胡须来乔装。

6 murmur   

n.低语，低声的怨言；v.低语，低声而言

参考例句：

• They paid the extra taxes without a murmur.他们毫无怨言地交了附加税。
• There was a low murmur of conversation in the hall.大厅里有窃窃私语声。

7 dismally   

adv.阴暗地，沉闷地

参考例句：

• Fei Little Beard assented dismally. 费小胡子哭丧着脸回答。 来自子夜部分
• He began to howl dismally. 它就凄凉地吠叫起来。 来自辞典例句

8 meek   

adj.温顺的，逆来顺受的

参考例句：

• He expects his wife to be meek and submissive.他期望妻子温顺而且听他摆布。
• The little girl is as meek as a lamb.那个小姑娘像羔羊一般温顺。

9 vexed   

adj.争论不休的；（指问题等）棘手的；争论不休的问题；烦恼的v.使烦恼( vex的过去式和过去分词 )；使苦恼；使生气；详细讨论

参考例句：

• The conference spent days discussing the vexed question of border controls. 会议花了几天的时间讨论边境关卡这个难题。
• He was vexed at his failure. 他因失败而懊恼。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

10 sobbing   

<主方>Ⅰ adj.湿透的

参考例句：

• I heard a child sobbing loudly. 我听见有个孩子在呜呜地哭。
• Her eyes were red with recent sobbing. 她的眼睛因刚哭过而发红。

11 stuffiness   

n.不通风，闷热；不通气

参考例句：

• Open the windows. We cannot stand the stuffiness of the room. 把窗子打开。我们不能忍受这间屋子里的窒闷。 来自互联网
• Chest pain and stuffiness, palpitation, ischemia of coronary artery, asthma, hiccup, etc. 胸痛、胸闷、心悸、冠状动脉供血不足，哮喘、呃逆等。 来自互联网

12 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

13 condemned   

adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He condemned the hypocrisy of those politicians who do one thing and say another. 他谴责了那些说一套做一套的政客的虚伪。
• The policy has been condemned as a regressive step. 这项政策被认为是一种倒退而受到谴责。

14 throng   

n.人群，群众；v.拥挤，群集

参考例句：

• A patient throng was waiting in silence.一大群耐心的人在静静地等着。
• The crowds thronged into the mall.人群涌进大厅。