After an anxious consideration of the painful and embarrassing position in which he was placed, Nicholas decided2 that he ought to lose no time in frankly3 stating it to the kind brothers. Availing himself of the first opportunity of being alone with Mr. Charles Cheeryble at the close of next day, he accordingly related Smike’s little history, and modestly but firmly expressed his hope that the good old gentleman would, under such circumstances as he described, hold him justified4 in adopting the extreme course of interfering5 between parent and child, and upholding the latter in his disobedience; even though his horror and dread6 of his father might seem, and would doubtless be represented as, a thing so repulsive7 and unnatural8, as to render those who countenanced10 him in it, fit objects of general detestation and abhorrence11.
‘So deeply rooted does this horror of the man appear to be,’ said Nicholas, ‘that I can hardly believe he really is his son. Nature does not seem to have implanted in his breast one lingering feeling of affection for him, and surely she can never err13.’
‘My dear sir,’ replied brother Charles, ‘you fall into the very common mistake of charging upon Nature, matters with which she has not the smallest connection, and for which she is in no way responsible. Men talk of Nature as an abstract thing, and lose sight of what is natural while they do so. Here is a poor lad who has never felt a parent’s care, who has scarcely known anything all his life but suffering and sorrow, presented to a man who he is told is his father, and whose first act is to signify his intention of putting an end to his short term of happiness, of consigning14 him to his old fate, and taking him from the only friend he has ever had—which is yourself. If Nature, in such a case, put into that lad’s breast but one secret prompting which urged him towards his father and away from you, she would be a liar16 and an idiot.’
Nicholas was delighted to find that the old gentleman spoke17 so warmly, and in the hope that he might say something more to the same purpose, made no reply.
‘The same mistake presents itself to me, in one shape or other, at every turn,’ said brother Charles. ‘Parents who never showed their love, complain of want of natural affection in their children; children who never showed their duty, complain of want of natural feeling in their parents; law-makers who find both so miserable18 that their affections have never had enough of life’s sun to develop them, are loud in their moralisings over parents and children too, and cry that the very ties of nature are disregarded. Natural affections and instincts, my dear sir, are the most beautiful of the Almighty’s works, but like other beautiful works of His, they must be reared and fostered, or it is as natural that they should be wholly obscured, and that new feelings should usurp19 their place, as it is that the sweetest productions of the earth, left untended, should be choked with weeds and briers. I wish we could be brought to consider this, and remembering natural obligations a little more at the right time, talk about them a little less at the wrong one.’
After this, brother Charles, who had talked himself into a great heat, stopped to cool a little, and then continued:
‘I dare say you are surprised, my dear sir, that I have listened to your recital20 with so little astonishment21. That is easily explained. Your uncle has been here this morning.’
Nicholas coloured, and drew back a step or two.
‘Yes,’ said the old gentleman, tapping his desk emphatically, ‘here, in this room. He would listen neither to reason, feeling, nor justice. But brother Ned was hard upon him; brother Ned, sir, might have melted a paving-stone.’
‘He came to—’ said Nicholas.
‘To complain of you,’ returned brother Charles, ‘to poison our ears with calumnies22 and falsehoods; but he came on a fruitless errand, and went away with some wholesome23 truths in his ear besides. Brother Ned, my dear Mr. Nickleby—brother Ned, sir, is a perfect lion. So is Tim Linkinwater; Tim is quite a lion. We had Tim in to face him at first, and Tim was at him, sir, before you could say “Jack Robinson.”’
‘How can I ever thank you for all the deep obligations you impose upon me every day?’ said Nicholas.
‘By keeping silence upon the subject, my dear sir,’ returned brother Charles. ‘You shall be righted. At least you shall not be wronged. Nobody belonging to you shall be wronged. They shall not hurt a hair of your head, or the boy’s head, or your mother’s head, or your sister’s head. I have said it, brother Ned has said it, Tim Linkinwater has said it. We have all said it, and we’ll all do it. I have seen the father—if he is the father—and I suppose he must be. He is a barbarian24 and a hypocrite, Mr. Nickleby. I told him, “You are a barbarian, sir.” I did. I said, “You’re a barbarian, sir.” And I’m glad of it, I am very glad I told him he was a barbarian, very glad indeed!’
By this time brother Charles was in such a very warm state of indignation, that Nicholas thought he might venture to put in a word, but the moment he essayed to do so, Mr. Cheeryble laid his hand softly upon his arm, and pointed25 to a chair.
‘The subject is at an end for the present,’ said the old gentleman, wiping his face. ‘Don’t revive it by a single word. I am going to speak upon another subject, a confidential27 subject, Mr. Nickleby. We must be cool again, we must be cool.’
After two or three turns across the room he resumed his seat, and drawing his chair nearer to that on which Nicholas was seated, said:
‘I am about to employ you, my dear sir, on a confidential and delicate mission.’
‘You might employ many a more able messenger, sir,’ said Nicholas, ‘but a more trustworthy or zealous28 one, I may be bold to say, you could not find.’
‘Of that I am well assured,’ returned brother Charles, ‘well assured. You will give me credit for thinking so, when I tell you that the object of this mission is a young lady.’
‘A young lady, sir!’ cried Nicholas, quite trembling for the moment with his eagerness to hear more.
‘A very beautiful young lady,’ said Mr. Cheeryble, gravely.
‘Pray go on, sir,’ returned Nicholas.
‘I am thinking how to do so,’ said brother Charles; sadly, as it seemed to his young friend, and with an expression allied29 to pain. ‘You accidentally saw a young lady in this room one morning, my dear sir, in a fainting fit. Do you remember? Perhaps you have forgotten.’
‘Oh no,’ replied Nicholas, hurriedly. ‘I—I—remember it very well indeed.’
‘She is the lady I speak of,’ said brother Charles. Like the famous parrot, Nicholas thought a great deal, but was unable to utter a word.
‘She is the daughter,’ said Mr. Cheeryble, ‘of a lady who, when she was a beautiful girl herself, and I was very many years younger, I—it seems a strange word for me to utter now—I loved very dearly. You will smile, perhaps, to hear a grey-headed man talk about such things. You will not offend me, for when I was as young as you, I dare say I should have done the same.’
‘I have no such inclination30, indeed,’ said Nicholas.
‘My dear brother Ned,’ continued Mr. Cheeryble, ‘was to have married her sister, but she died. She is dead too now, and has been for many years. She married her choice; and I wish I could add that her after-life was as happy as God knows I ever prayed it might be!’
A short silence intervened, which Nicholas made no effort to break.
‘If trial and calamity31 had fallen as lightly on his head, as in the deepest truth of my own heart I ever hoped (for her sake) it would, his life would have been one of peace and happiness,’ said the old gentleman calmly. ‘It will be enough to say that this was not the case; that she was not happy; that they fell into complicated distresses32 and difficulties; that she came, twelve months before her death, to appeal to my old friendship; sadly changed, sadly altered, broken-spirited from suffering and ill-usage, and almost broken-hearted. He readily availed himself of the money which, to give her but one hour’s peace of mind, I would have poured out as freely as water—nay, he often sent her back for more—and yet even while he squandered33 it, he made the very success of these, her applications to me, the groundwork of cruel taunts35 and jeers36, protesting that he knew she thought with bitter remorse37 of the choice she had made, that she had married him from motives38 of interest and vanity (he was a gay young man with great friends about him when she chose him for her husband), and venting39 in short upon her, by every unjust and unkind means, the bitterness of that ruin and disappointment which had been brought about by his profligacy40 alone. In those times this young lady was a mere41 child. I never saw her again until that morning when you saw her also, but my nephew, Frank—’
Nicholas started, and indistinctly apologising for the interruption, begged his patron to proceed.
‘—My nephew, Frank, I say,’ resumed Mr. Cheeryble, ‘encountered her by accident, and lost sight of her almost in a minute afterwards, within two days after he returned to England. Her father lay in some secret place to avoid his creditors43, reduced, between sickness and poverty, to the verge44 of death, and she, a child,—we might almost think, if we did not know the wisdom of all Heaven’s decrees—who should have blessed a better man, was steadily45 braving privation, degradation46, and everything most terrible to such a young and delicate creature’s heart, for the purpose of supporting him. She was attended, sir,’ said brother Charles, ‘in these reverses, by one faithful creature, who had been, in old times, a poor kitchen wench in the family, who was then their solitary47 servant, but who might have been, for the truth and fidelity48 of her heart—who might have been—ah! the wife of Tim Linkinwater himself, sir!’
Pursuing this encomium49 upon the poor follower50 with such energy and relish51 as no words can describe, brother Charles leant back in his chair, and delivered the remainder of his relation with greater composure.
It was in substance this: That proudly resisting all offers of permanent aid and support from her late mother’s friends, because they were made conditional52 upon her quitting the wretched man, her father, who had no friends left, and shrinking with instinctive53 delicacy54 from appealing in their behalf to that true and noble heart which he hated, and had, through its greatest and purest goodness, deeply wronged by misconstruction and ill report, this young girl had struggled alone and unassisted to maintain him by the labour of her hands. That through the utmost depths of poverty and affliction she had toiled55, never turning aside for an instant from her task, never wearied by the petulant56 gloom of a sick man sustained by no consoling recollections of the past or hopes of the future; never repining for the comforts she had rejected, or bewailing the hard lot she had voluntarily incurred57. That every little accomplishment58 she had acquired in happier days had been put into requisition for this purpose, and directed to this one end. That for two long years, toiling59 by day and often too by night, working at the needle, the pencil, and the pen, and submitting, as a daily governess, to such caprices and indignities60 as women (with daughters too) too often love to inflict61 upon their own sex when they serve in such capacities, as though in jealousy62 of the superior intelligence which they are necessitated63 to employ,—indignities, in ninety-nine cases out of every hundred, heaped upon persons immeasurably and incalculably their betters, but outweighing64 in comparison any that the most heartless blackleg would put upon his groom—that for two long years, by dint65 of labouring in all these capacities and wearying in none, she had not succeeded in the sole aim and object of her life, but that, overwhelmed by accumulated difficulties and disappointments, she had been compelled to seek out her mother’s old friend, and, with a bursting heart, to confide26 in him at last.
‘If I had been poor,’ said brother Charles, with sparkling eyes; ‘if I had been poor, Mr. Nickleby, my dear sir, which thank God I am not, I would have denied myself (of course anybody would under such circumstances) the commonest necessaries of life, to help her. As it is, the task is a difficult one. If her father were dead, nothing could be easier, for then she should share and cheer the happiest home that brother Ned and I could have, as if she were our child or sister. But he is still alive. Nobody can help him; that has been tried a thousand times; he was not abandoned by all without good cause, I know.’
‘Cannot she be persuaded to—’ Nicholas hesitated when he had got thus far.
‘To leave him?’ said brother Charles. ‘Who could entreat66 a child to desert her parent? Such entreaties67, limited to her seeing him occasionally, have been urged upon her—not by me—but always with the same result.’
‘True kindness, considerate self-denying kindness, is not in his nature,’ returned Mr. Cheeryble. ‘Such kindness as he knows, he regards her with, I believe. The mother was a gentle, loving, confiding69 creature, and although he wounded her from their marriage till her death as cruelly and wantonly as ever man did, she never ceased to love him. She commended him on her death-bed to her child’s care. Her child has never forgotten it, and never will.’
‘Have you no influence over him?’ asked Nicholas.
‘I, my dear sir! The last man in the world. Such are his jealousy and hatred70 of me, that if he knew his daughter had opened her heart to me, he would render her life miserable with his reproaches; although—this is the inconsistency and selfishness of his character—although if he knew that every penny she had came from me, he would not relinquish71 one personal desire that the most reckless expenditure72 of her scanty73 stock could gratify.’
‘An unnatural scoundrel!’ said Nicholas, indignantly.
‘We will use no harsh terms,’ said brother Charles, in a gentle voice; ‘but accommodate ourselves to the circumstances in which this young lady is placed. Such assistance as I have prevailed upon her to accept, I have been obliged, at her own earnest request, to dole74 out in the smallest portions, lest he, finding how easily money was procured75, should squander34 it even more lightly than he is accustomed to do. She has come to and fro, to and fro, secretly and by night, to take even this; and I cannot bear that things should go on in this way, Mr. Nickleby, I really cannot bear it.’
Then it came out by little and little, how that the twins had been revolving76 in their good old heads manifold plans and schemes for helping77 this young lady in the most delicate and considerate way, and so that her father should not suspect the source whence the aid was derived79; and how they had at last come to the conclusion, that the best course would be to make a feint of purchasing her little drawings and ornamental81 work at a high price, and keeping up a constant demand for the same. For the furtherance of which end and object it was necessary that somebody should represent the dealer82 in such commodities, and after great deliberation they had pitched upon Nicholas to support this character.
‘He knows me,’ said brother Charles, ‘and he knows my brother Ned. Neither of us would do. Frank is a very good fellow—a very fine fellow—but we are afraid that he might be a little flighty and thoughtless in such a delicate matter, and that he might, perhaps—that he might, in short, be too susceptible83 (for she is a beautiful creature, sir; just what her poor mother was), and falling in love with her before he knew well his own mind, carry pain and sorrow into that innocent breast, which we would be the humble84 instruments of gradually making happy. He took an extraordinary interest in her fortunes when he first happened to encounter her; and we gather from the inquiries85 we have made of him, that it was she in whose behalf he made that turmoil86 which led to your first acquaintance.’
Nicholas stammered87 out that he had before suspected the possibility of such a thing; and in explanation of its having occurred to him, described when and where he had seen the young lady himself.
‘Well; then you see,’ continued brother Charles, ‘that he wouldn’t do. Tim Linkinwater is out of the question; for Tim, sir, is such a tremendous fellow, that he could never contain himself, but would go to loggerheads with the father before he had been in the place five minutes. You don’t know what Tim is, sir, when he is aroused by anything that appeals to his feelings very strongly; then he is terrific, sir, is Tim Linkinwater, absolutely terrific. Now, in you we can repose88 the strictest confidence; in you we have seen—or at least I have seen, and that’s the same thing, for there’s no difference between me and my brother Ned, except that he is the finest creature that ever lived, and that there is not, and never will be, anybody like him in all the world—in you we have seen domestic virtues89 and affections, and delicacy of feeling, which exactly qualify you for such an office. And you are the man, sir.’
‘The young lady, sir,’ said Nicholas, who felt so embarrassed that he had no small difficulty in saying anything at all—‘Does—is—is she a party to this innocent deceit?’
‘Yes, yes,’ returned Mr. Cheeryble; ‘at least she knows you come from us; she does not know, however, but that we shall dispose of these little productions that you’ll purchase from time to time; and, perhaps, if you did it very well (that is, very well indeed), perhaps she might be brought to believe that we—that we made a profit of them. Eh? Eh?’
In this guileless and most kind simplicity90, brother Charles was so happy, and in this possibility of the young lady being led to think that she was under no obligation to him, he evidently felt so sanguine91 and had so much delight, that Nicholas would not breathe a doubt upon the subject.
All this time, however, there hovered92 upon the tip of his tongue a confession93 that the very same objections which Mr. Cheeryble had stated to the employment of his nephew in this commission applied94 with at least equal force and validity to himself, and a hundred times had he been upon the point of avowing95 the real state of his feelings, and entreating96 to be released from it. But as often, treading upon the heels of this impulse, came another which urged him to refrain, and to keep his secret to his own breast. ‘Why should I,’ thought Nicholas, ‘why should I throw difficulties in the way of this benevolent97 and high-minded design? What if I do love and reverence98 this good and lovely creature. Should I not appear a most arrogant99 and shallow coxcomb100 if I gravely represented that there was any danger of her falling in love with me? Besides, have I no confidence in myself? Am I not now bound in honour to repress these thoughts? Has not this excellent man a right to my best and heartiest101 services, and should any considerations of self deter1 me from rendering102 them?’
Asking himself such questions as these, Nicholas mentally answered with great emphasis ‘No!’ and persuading himself that he was a most conscientious103 and glorious martyr104, nobly resolved to do what, if he had examined his own heart a little more carefully, he would have found he could not resist. Such is the sleight105 of hand by which we juggle106 with ourselves, and change our very weaknesses into stanch107 and most magnanimous virtues!
Mr. Cheeryble, being of course wholly unsuspicious that such reflections were presenting themselves to his young friend, proceeded to give him the needful credentials108 and directions for his first visit, which was to be made next morning; and all preliminaries being arranged, and the strictest secrecy109 enjoined110, Nicholas walked home for the night very thoughtfully indeed.
The place to which Mr. Cheeryble had directed him was a row of mean and not over-cleanly houses, situated111 within ‘the Rules’ of the King’s Bench Prison, and not many hundred paces distant from the obelisk112 in St George’s Fields. The Rules are a certain liberty adjoining the prison, and comprising some dozen streets in which debtors113 who can raise money to pay large fees, from which their creditors do not derive78 any benefit, are permitted to reside by the wise provisions of the same enlightened laws which leave the debtor114 who can raise no money to starve in jail, without the food, clothing, lodging115, or warmth, which are provided for felons116 convicted of the most atrocious crimes that can disgrace humanity. There are many pleasant fictions of the law in constant operation, but there is not one so pleasant or practically humorous as that which supposes every man to be of equal value in its impartial117 eye, and the benefits of all laws to be equally attainable118 by all men, without the smallest reference to the furniture of their pockets.
To the row of houses indicated to him by Mr. Charles Cheeryble, Nicholas directed his steps, without much troubling his head with such matters as these; and at this row of houses—after traversing a very dirty and dusty suburb, of which minor119 theatricals120, shell-fish, ginger-beer, spring vans, greengrocery, and brokers’ shops, appeared to compose the main and most prominent features—he at length arrived with a palpitating heart. There were small gardens in front which, being wholly neglected in all other respects, served as little pens for the dust to collect in, until the wind came round the corner and blew it down the road. Opening the rickety gate which, dangling121 on its broken hinges before one of these, half admitted and half repulsed122 the visitor, Nicholas knocked at the street door with a faltering123 hand.
It was in truth a shabby house outside, with very dim parlour windows and very small show of blinds, and very dirty muslin curtains dangling across the lower panes124 on very loose and limp strings125. Neither, when the door was opened, did the inside appear to belie12 the outward promise, as there was faded carpeting on the stairs and faded oil-cloth in the passage; in addition to which discomforts126 a gentleman Ruler was smoking hard in the front parlour (though it was not yet noon), while the lady of the house was busily engaged in turpentining the disjointed fragments of a tent-bedstead at the door of the back parlour, as if in preparation for the reception of some new lodger127 who had been fortunate enough to engage it.
Nicholas had ample time to make these observations while the little boy, who went on errands for the lodgers128, clattered129 down the kitchen stairs and was heard to scream, as in some remote cellar, for Miss Bray130’s servant, who, presently appearing and requesting him to follow her, caused him to evince greater symptoms of nervousness and disorder131 than so natural a consequence of his having inquired for that young lady would seem calculated to occasion.
Upstairs he went, however, and into a front room he was shown, and there, seated at a little table by the window, on which were drawing materials with which she was occupied, sat the beautiful girl who had so engrossed132 his thoughts, and who, surrounded by all the new and strong interest which Nicholas attached to her story, seemed now, in his eyes, a thousand times more beautiful than he had ever yet supposed her.
But how the graces and elegancies which she had dispersed133 about the poorly-furnished room went to the heart of Nicholas! Flowers, plants, birds, the harp134, the old piano whose notes had sounded so much sweeter in bygone times; how many struggles had it cost her to keep these two last links of that broken chain which bound her yet to home! With every slender ornament80, the occupation of her leisure hours, replete135 with that graceful136 charm which lingers in every little tasteful work of woman’s hands, how much patient endurance and how many gentle affections were entwined! He felt as though the smile of Heaven were on the little chamber137; as though the beautiful devotion of so young and weak a creature had shed a ray of its own on the inanimate things around, and made them beautiful as itself; as though the halo with which old painters surround the bright angels of a sinless world played about a being akin15 in spirit to them, and its light were visibly before him.
And yet Nicholas was in the Rules of the King’s Bench Prison! If he had been in Italy indeed, and the time had been sunset, and the scene a stately terrace! But, there is one broad sky over all the world, and whether it be blue or cloudy, the same heaven beyond it; so, perhaps, he had no need of compunction for thinking as he did.
It is not to be supposed that he took in everything at one glance, for he had as yet been unconscious of the presence of a sick man propped138 up with pillows in an easy-chair, who, moving restlessly and impatiently in his seat, attracted his attention.
He was scarce fifty, perhaps, but so emaciated139 as to appear much older. His features presented the remains140 of a handsome countenance9, but one in which the embers of strong and impetuous passions were easier to be traced than any expression which would have rendered a far plainer face much more prepossessing. His looks were very haggard, and his limbs and body literally141 worn to the bone, but there was something of the old fire in the large sunken eye notwithstanding, and it seemed to kindle143 afresh as he struck a thick stick, with which he seemed to have supported himself in his seat, impatiently on the floor twice or thrice, and called his daughter by her name.
‘Madeline, who is this? What does anybody want here? Who told a stranger we could be seen? What is it?’
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‘I believe—’ the young lady began, as she inclined her head with an air of some confusion, in reply to the salutation of Nicholas.
‘You always believe,’ returned her father, petulantly144. ‘What is it?’
By this time Nicholas had recovered sufficient presence of mind to speak for himself, so he said (as it had been agreed he should say) that he had called about a pair of hand-screens, and some painted velvet145 for an ottoman, both of which were required to be of the most elegant design possible, neither time nor expense being of the smallest consideration. He had also to pay for the two drawings, with many thanks, and, advancing to the little table, he laid upon it a bank note, folded in an envelope and sealed.
‘See that the money is right, Madeline,’ said the father. ‘Open the paper, my dear.’
‘It’s quite right, papa, I’m sure.’
‘Here!’ said Mr. Bray, putting out his hand, and opening and shutting his bony fingers with irritable146 impatience147. ‘Let me see. What are you talking about, Madeline? You’re sure? How can you be sure of any such thing? Five pounds—well, is that right?’
‘Quite,’ said Madeline, bending over him. She was so busily employed in arranging the pillows that Nicholas could not see her face, but as she stooped he thought he saw a tear fall.
‘Ring the bell, ring the bell,’ said the sick man, with the same nervous eagerness, and motioning towards it with such a quivering hand that the bank note rustled148 in the air. ‘Tell her to get it changed, to get me a newspaper, to buy me some grapes, another bottle of the wine that I had last week—and—and—I forget half I want just now, but she can go out again. Let her get those first, those first. Now, Madeline, my love, quick, quick! Good God, how slow you are!’
‘He remembers nothing that she wants!’ thought Nicholas. Perhaps something of what he thought was expressed in his countenance, for the sick man, turning towards him with great asperity149, demanded to know if he waited for a receipt.
‘It is no matter at all,’ said Nicholas.
‘No matter! what do you mean, sir?’ was the tart42 rejoinder. ‘No matter! Do you think you bring your paltry150 money here as a favour or a gift; or as a matter of business, and in return for value received? D—n you, sir, because you can’t appreciate the time and taste which are bestowed151 upon the goods you deal in, do you think you give your money away? Do you know that you are talking to a gentleman, sir, who at one time could have bought up fifty such men as you and all you have? What do you mean?’
‘I merely mean that as I shall have many dealings with this lady, if she will kindly152 allow me, I will not trouble her with such forms,’ said Nicholas.
‘Then I mean, if you please, that we’ll have as many forms as we can, returned the father. ‘My daughter, sir, requires no kindness from you or anybody else. Have the goodness to confine your dealings strictly153 to trade and business, and not to travel beyond it. Every petty tradesman is to begin to pity her now, is he? Upon my soul! Very pretty. Madeline, my dear, give him a receipt; and mind you always do so.’
While she was feigning154 to write it, and Nicholas was ruminating155 upon the extraordinary but by no means uncommon156 character thus presented to his observation, the invalid157, who appeared at times to suffer great bodily pain, sank back in his chair and moaned out a feeble complaint that the girl had been gone an hour, and that everybody conspired158 to goad159 him.
‘When,’ said Nicholas, as he took the piece of paper, ‘when shall I call again?’
This was addressed to the daughter, but the father answered immediately.
‘When you’re requested to call, sir, and not before. Don’t worry and persecute160. Madeline, my dear, when is this person to call again?’
‘Oh, not for a long time, not for three or four weeks; it is not necessary, indeed; I can do without,’ said the young lady, with great eagerness.
‘Why, how are we to do without?’ urged her father, not speaking above his breath. ‘Three or four weeks, Madeline! Three or four weeks!’
‘Then sooner, sooner, if you please,’ said the young lady, turning to Nicholas.
‘Three or four weeks!’ muttered the father. ‘Madeline, what on earth—do nothing for three or four weeks!’
‘It is a long time, ma’am,’ said Nicholas.
‘You think so, do you?’ retorted the father, angrily. ‘If I chose to beg, sir, and stoop to ask assistance from people I despise, three or four months would not be a long time; three or four years would not be a long time. Understand, sir, that is if I chose to be dependent; but as I don’t, you may call in a week.’
Nicholas bowed low to the young lady and retired161, pondering upon Mr. Bray’s ideas of independence, and devoutly162 hoping that there might be few such independent spirits as he mingling163 with the baser clay of humanity.
He heard a light footstep above him as he descended164 the stairs, and looking round saw that the young lady was standing142 there, and glancing timidly towards him, seemed to hesitate whether she should call him back or no. The best way of settling the question was to turn back at once, which Nicholas did.
‘I don’t know whether I do right in asking you, sir,’ said Madeline, hurriedly, ‘but pray, pray, do not mention to my poor mother’s dear friends what has passed here today. He has suffered much, and is worse this morning. I beg you, sir, as a boon165, a favour to myself.’
‘You have but to hint a wish,’ returned Nicholas fervently166, ‘and I would hazard my life to gratify it.’
‘You speak hastily, sir.’
‘Truly and sincerely,’ rejoined Nicholas, his lips trembling as he formed the words, ‘if ever man spoke truly yet. I am not skilled in disguising my feelings, and if I were, I could not hide my heart from you. Dear madam, as I know your history, and feel as men and angels must who hear and see such things, I do entreat you to believe that I would die to serve you.’
The young lady turned away her head, and was plainly weeping.
‘Forgive me,’ said Nicholas, with respectful earnestness, ‘if I seem to say too much, or to presume upon the confidence which has been intrusted to me. But I could not leave you as if my interest and sympathy expired with the commission of the day. I am your faithful servant, humbly167 devoted168 to you from this hour, devoted in strict truth and honour to him who sent me here, and in pure integrity of heart, and distant respect for you. If I meant more or less than this, I should be unworthy his regard, and false to the very nature that prompts the honest words I utter.’
She waved her hand, entreating him to be gone, but answered not a word. Nicholas could say no more, and silently withdrew. And thus ended his first interview with Madeline Bray.
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deter
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| vt.阻止，使不敢，吓住 | |
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decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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frankly
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| adv.坦白地，直率地；坦率地说 | |
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justified
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| a.正当的，有理的 | |
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interfering
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| adj. 妨碍的 动词interfere的现在分词 | |
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dread
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| vt.担忧，忧虑；惧怕，不敢；n.担忧，畏惧 | |
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repulsive
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unnatural
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| adj.不自然的；反常的 | |
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9
countenance
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| n.脸色，面容；面部表情；vt.支持，赞同 | |
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countenanced
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| v.支持，赞同，批准( countenance的过去式 ) | |
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11
abhorrence
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| n.憎恶；可憎恶的事 | |
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12
belie
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| v.掩饰，证明为假 | |
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13
err
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| vi.犯错误，出差错 | |
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14
consigning
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| v.把…置于（令人不快的境地）( consign的现在分词 )；把…托付给；把…托人代售；丟弃 | |
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15
akin
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| adj.同族的，类似的 | |
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16
liar
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| n.说谎的人 | |
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17
spoke
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| 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 | |
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18
miserable
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| adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的 | |
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19
usurp
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| vt.篡夺，霸占；vi.篡位 | |
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20
recital
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| n.朗诵，独奏会，独唱会 | |
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21
astonishment
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| n.惊奇，惊异 | |
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22
calumnies
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| n.诬蔑，诽谤，中伤（的话）( calumny的名词复数 ) | |
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23
wholesome
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| adj.适合；卫生的；有益健康的；显示身心健康的 | |
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24
barbarian
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| n.野蛮人；adj.野蛮(人)的；未开化的 | |
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25
pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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26
confide
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| v.向某人吐露秘密 | |
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27
confidential
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| adj.秘（机）密的，表示信任的，担任机密工作的 | |
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28
zealous
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| adj.狂热的，热心的 | |
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29
allied
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| adj.协约国的；同盟国的 | |
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30
inclination
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| n.倾斜；点头；弯腰；斜坡；倾度；倾向；爱好 | |
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31
calamity
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| n.灾害，祸患，不幸事件 | |
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32
distresses
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| n.悲痛( distress的名词复数 )；痛苦；贫困；危险 | |
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33
squandered
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| v.（指钱，财产等）浪费，乱花( squander的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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34
squander
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| v.浪费，挥霍 | |
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35
taunts
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| 嘲弄的言语，嘲笑，奚落( taunt的名词复数 ) | |
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36
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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37
remorse
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| n.痛恨，悔恨，自责 | |
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38
motives
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| n.动机，目的( motive的名词复数 ) | |
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39
venting
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| 消除； 泄去； 排去； 通风 | |
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40
profligacy
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| n.放荡，不检点，肆意挥霍 | |
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41
mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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42
tart
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| adj.酸的；尖酸的，刻薄的；n.果馅饼；淫妇 | |
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43
creditors
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| n.债权人，债主( creditor的名词复数 ) | |
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44
verge
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| n.边，边缘；v.接近，濒临 | |
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45
steadily
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| adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地 | |
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46
degradation
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| n.降级；低落；退化；陵削；降解；衰变 | |
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47
solitary
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| adj.孤独的，独立的，荒凉的；n.隐士 | |
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48
fidelity
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| n.忠诚，忠实；精确 | |
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49
encomium
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| n.赞颂；颂词 | |
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50
follower
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| n.跟随者；随员；门徒；信徒 | |
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51
relish
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| n.滋味，享受，爱好，调味品；vt.加调味料，享受，品味；vi.有滋味 | |
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52
conditional
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| adj.条件的，带有条件的 | |
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53
instinctive
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| adj.(出于)本能的；直觉的；(出于)天性的 | |
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54
delicacy
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| n.精致，细微，微妙，精良；美味，佳肴 | |
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55
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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56
petulant
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| adj.性急的，暴躁的 | |
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57
incurred
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| [医]招致的，遭受的； incur的过去式 | |
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58
accomplishment
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| n.完成，成就，（pl.）造诣，技能 | |
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59
toiling
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| 长时间或辛苦地工作( toil的现在分词 )； 艰难缓慢地移动，跋涉 | |
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60
indignities
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| n.侮辱，轻蔑( indignity的名词复数 ) | |
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61
inflict
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| vt.(on)把…强加给，使遭受，使承担 | |
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62
jealousy
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| n.妒忌，嫉妒，猜忌 | |
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63
necessitated
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| 使…成为必要，需要( necessitate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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64
outweighing
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| v.在重量上超过( outweigh的现在分词 )；在重要性或价值方面超过 | |
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65
dint
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| n.由于，靠；凹坑 | |
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66
entreat
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| v.恳求，恳请 | |
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67
entreaties
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| n.恳求，乞求( entreaty的名词复数 ) | |
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68
requite
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| v.报酬，报答 | |
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69
confiding
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|
| adj.相信人的，易于相信的v.吐露（秘密，心事等）( confide的现在分词 )；（向某人）吐露（隐私、秘密等） | |
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70
hatred
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| n.憎恶，憎恨，仇恨 | |
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71
relinquish
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| v.放弃，撤回，让与，放手 | |
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72
expenditure
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| n.(时间、劳力、金钱等)支出；使用，消耗 | |
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73
scanty
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| adj.缺乏的，仅有的，节省的，狭小的，不够的 | |
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74
dole
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| n.救济，（失业）救济金；vt.（out）发放，发给 | |
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75
procured
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| v.（努力）取得， （设法）获得( procure的过去式和过去分词 )；拉皮条 | |
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76
revolving
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|
| adj.旋转的，轮转式的；循环的v.（使）旋转( revolve的现在分词 )；细想 | |
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77
helping
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| n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的 | |
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78
derive
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| v.取得；导出；引申；来自；源自；出自 | |
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79
derived
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| vi.起源；由来；衍生；导出v.得到( derive的过去式和过去分词 )；（从…中）得到获得；源于；（从…中）提取 | |
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80
ornament
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| v.装饰，美化；n.装饰，装饰物 | |
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81
ornamental
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| adj.装饰的；作装饰用的；n.装饰品；观赏植物 | |
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82
dealer
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| n.商人，贩子 | |
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83
susceptible
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| adj.过敏的，敏感的；易动感情的，易受感动的 | |
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84
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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85
inquiries
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| n.调查( inquiry的名词复数 )；疑问；探究；打听 | |
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86
turmoil
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| n.骚乱，混乱，动乱 | |
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87
stammered
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| v.结巴地说出( stammer的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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88
repose
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| v.(使)休息；n.安息 | |
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89
virtues
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| 美德( virtue的名词复数 )； 德行； 优点； 长处 | |
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90
simplicity
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| n.简单，简易；朴素；直率，单纯 | |
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91
sanguine
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| adj.充满希望的，乐观的，血红色的 | |
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92
hovered
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| 鸟( hover的过去式和过去分词 )； 靠近（某事物）； （人）徘徊； 犹豫 | |
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93
confession
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| n.自白，供认，承认 | |
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94
applied
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| adj.应用的；v.应用，适用 | |
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95
avowing
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| v.公开声明，承认( avow的现在分词 ) | |
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96
entreating
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| 恳求，乞求( entreat的现在分词 ) | |
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97
benevolent
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| adj.仁慈的，乐善好施的 | |
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98
reverence
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| n.敬畏，尊敬，尊严；Reverence:对某些基督教神职人员的尊称；v.尊敬，敬畏，崇敬 | |
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99
arrogant
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| adj.傲慢的，自大的 | |
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100
coxcomb
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| n.花花公子 | |
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101
heartiest
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| 亲切的( hearty的最高级 )； 热诚的； 健壮的； 精神饱满的 | |
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102
rendering
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| n.表现，描写 | |
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103
conscientious
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| adj.审慎正直的，认真的，本着良心的 | |
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104
martyr
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| n.烈士，殉难者；vt.杀害，折磨，牺牲 | |
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105
sleight
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| n.技巧，花招 | |
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106
juggle
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| v.变戏法，纂改，欺骗，同时做；n.玩杂耍，纂改，花招 | |
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107
stanch
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| v.止住（血等）；adj.坚固的；坚定的 | |
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108
credentials
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| n.证明，资格，证明书，证件 | |
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109
secrecy
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| n.秘密，保密，隐蔽 | |
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110
enjoined
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| v.命令( enjoin的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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111
situated
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| adj.坐落在...的，处于某种境地的 | |
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112
obelisk
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| n.方尖塔 | |
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113
debtors
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| n.债务人，借方( debtor的名词复数 ) | |
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114
debtor
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| n.借方，债务人 | |
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115
lodging
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| n.寄宿，住所；(大学生的)校外宿舍 | |
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116
felons
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| n.重罪犯( felon的名词复数 )；瘭疽；甲沟炎；指头脓炎 | |
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117
impartial
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| adj.(in,to)公正的，无偏见的 | |
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118
attainable
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| a.可达到的，可获得的 | |
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119
minor
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| adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修 | |
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120
theatricals
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| n.（业余性的）戏剧演出，舞台表演艺术；职业演员；戏剧的( theatrical的名词复数 )；剧场的；炫耀的；戏剧性的 | |
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121
dangling
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| 悬吊着( dangle的现在分词 )； 摆动不定； 用某事物诱惑…； 吊胃口 | |
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122
repulsed
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| v.击退( repulse的过去式和过去分词 )；驳斥；拒绝 | |
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123
faltering
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| 犹豫的，支吾的，蹒跚的 | |
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124
panes
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| 窗玻璃( pane的名词复数 ) | |
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125
strings
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| n.弦 | |
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126
discomforts
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| n.不舒适( discomfort的名词复数 )；不愉快，苦恼 | |
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127
lodger
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| n.寄宿人，房客 | |
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128
lodgers
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| n.房客，租住者( lodger的名词复数 ) | |
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129
clattered
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| 发出咔哒声（clatter的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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130
bray
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| n.驴叫声, 喇叭声；v.驴叫 | |
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131
disorder
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| n.紊乱，混乱；骚动，骚乱；疾病，失调 | |
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132
engrossed
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| adj.全神贯注的 | |
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133
dispersed
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| adj. 被驱散的, 被分散的, 散布的 | |
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134
harp
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| n.竖琴；天琴座 | |
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135
replete
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| adj.饱满的，塞满的；n.贮蜜蚁 | |
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136
graceful
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| adj.优美的，优雅的；得体的 | |
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137
chamber
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| n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所 | |
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propped
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| 支撑，支持，维持( prop的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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emaciated
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| adj.衰弱的，消瘦的 | |
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140
remains
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| n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹 | |
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literally
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| adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实 | |
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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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143
kindle
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| v.点燃，着火 | |
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144
petulantly
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velvet
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| n.丝绒，天鹅绒；adj.丝绒制的，柔软的 | |
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146
irritable
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| adj.急躁的；过敏的；易怒的 | |
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impatience
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| n.不耐烦，急躁 | |
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148
rustled
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| v.发出沙沙的声音( rustle的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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asperity
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| n.粗鲁，艰苦 | |
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150
paltry
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| adj.无价值的，微不足道的 | |
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151
bestowed
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| 赠给，授予( bestow的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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152
kindly
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| adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地 | |
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strictly
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| adv.严厉地，严格地；严密地 | |
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154
feigning
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| 假装，伪装( feign的现在分词 )； 捏造（借口、理由等） | |
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ruminating
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| v.沉思( ruminate的现在分词 )；反复考虑；反刍；倒嚼 | |
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156
uncommon
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| adj.罕见的，非凡的，不平常的 | |
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invalid
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| n.病人，伤残人；adj.有病的，伤残的；无效的 | |
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158
conspired
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| 密谋( conspire的过去式和过去分词 )； 搞阴谋； （事件等）巧合； 共同导致 | |
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159
goad
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| n.刺棒，刺痛物；激励；vt.激励，刺激 | |
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persecute
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| vt.迫害，虐待；纠缠，骚扰 | |
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161
retired
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| adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的 | |
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devoutly
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| adv.虔诚地，虔敬地，衷心地 | |
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163
mingling
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| adj.混合的 | |
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164
descended
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| a.为...后裔的，出身于...的 | |
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165
boon
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| n.恩赐，恩物，恩惠 | |
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166
fervently
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| adv.热烈地，热情地，强烈地 | |
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167
humbly
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| adv. 恭顺地，谦卑地 | |
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168
devoted
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| adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的 | |
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