CHAPTER XI

 Distinction between would & should

 

ORCAS, who continued very ill all this Day, began thereafter to amend¹, and was able to take the sole Night-watch. But the Watchman would not let me go forth², though he would send my Messages to Violet, and give me the Packages of Clothing and so forth that Violet sent me. However, one Day a Doctor called, and gave as his Reason for not coming before, that he had been ill himself. And he said both my Patients were in such a fair Way of Recovery, that he thought in another Week I might leave the House 198without Danger to myself or others, only attending to the proper Fumigations.

Master Blower now sat up in his easy Chair, half wakeful, half dozing³, for he was too weak to read much. But he liked me to read to him, which I did for Hours together; and the Subject-matter of the Book often gave Rise to much pleasant Talk, insomuch that I began to be secretly and selfishly sorry that the Time was so near at Hand when he would be well enough to do without me.

At other Times I got him to talk to me about the Country-house of his Brother, the Squire⁴, wherein he himself had been born, and had spent all his boyish Days. And when I heard him tell about the little ivy-covered Church, and the pretty Churchyard planted with Flowers, and the rustic⁵ Congregation in 199their red Cloaks and white Frocks, and the Village Choir⁶ with their Pipes and Rebecks, it seemed to me I would rather, a thousand Times, be Vicar or even Curate of such a Place as that than have ever such a large, grand Living in Whitechapel. And so I told him.

At other Times I sat sewing quite silent by the Window, leaving him to doze⁷ if he could; and sometimes I could see without looking up, that his Eye would rest on me for a good While at a Time. I did not care a Pin about it, and made as though I took no Notice.

“Cherry,” says he, after one of these Ruminations, “what have the Men been about that you have never got married?”

I plucked up my Spirit on this; and, “Sir,” said I, “if you can tell me of any suitable Answer I can possibly make to such a Question as that, I’ll 200be much obliged to you for it, and will make Use of it!”

“Well!” says he, “it was a queer Question ... only, the Thing seems so wonderful to me! Such a pretty Girl as you were when I first knew you!”

“Ah, that was a long While ago, Sir,” said I, threading my Needle.

“It was!” said he, decidedly; and then looking at me in an amused Kind of Way, to see how I took it. “A long While ago, as you say, Cherry! And, do you know, I think exactly the same of you now, that I did then!”

“I am very much obliged to you, Sir,” said I; and went to make him a Bread-pudding.

Another Time, we fell to talking about the Awfulness of the Visitation, which, he said, he feared would make no lasting⁸ 201Impression on the People. And he spoke⁹ much about individual Sins helping¹⁰ to bring down national Chastisements; and individual Intercessions and Supplications inviting¹¹ Forgiveness of general Transgressions¹²; quoting Daniel, and Abraham, and Jeremiah, “Run ye to and fro through the Streets of Jerusalem, and see now and know, and seek in the broad Places thereof, if ye can find a Man that executeth Judgment¹³, that seeketh the Truth; and I will pardon it.”

Another Time, feeling weaker than common, he began to despond about getting down to his Brother the Squire’s. I said, “Dear Sir, if you are not equal to so long a Journey, you can come, for Change of Air, to your old Quarters on the Bridge.”

“Ah, Cherry,” said he, faintly smiling, “what would Folks say if I did that?”

202“Why, what should they say, Sir?” said I.

“I’m not considering what they should say,” said he; “what they would say, Cherry, would probably be, that I meant to marry you; or ought to mean it.”

I said I did not suppose they would or could say any such Thing; I being so long known on the Bridge,—and he of his Years——

“Humph!” said he, “I am but forty-four! To hear you talk, one might think I was a—” ... I forget what Sort of an Arian he called himself,—“Do you know what that means, Cherry?”

I said, I believed it was some Sort of a Dissenter¹⁴. On which he laughed outright¹⁵; and said it meant sixty or seventy Years of Age, I forget which.

“And I’m not quite such an old Codger as that,” said he, “so I won’t accept 203your kind Invitation, though I thank you heartily¹⁶ for it. But we must not let our Good be evil spoken of.”

All this was spoken in such a simple, genial¹⁷, attaching Sort of a Way,—for his Manners were always gentle and well-nurtured,—that it only went to make me like him more and more, and think what a Privilege it was to be thus in hourly Communion with Master Blower.

Parting Time came at last. It was my own Fault if I left not that House a wiser, better, and happier Woman. Dorcas and I saw him start off for Berkshire; and there was a Tear in my Eye, when he took my Hand to bid me Farewell.

“Cherry,” said he, still holding my Hand, and looking at me with great Goodness and Sweetness, “I shall never forget that to you, under Heaven, I owe my Life. And, by the Way, there 204is Something I have often thought of naming to you, only that it never occurred to me at the proper Time ... a very odd Circumstance.—When I escaped to Holland, and, as some People thought, was in Want of Money, I found seven gold Pieces in the Inside of one of my Slippers¹⁸! Who could have put them there, do you think? Ah, Cherry!—There! God bless you!”

1 amend   

vt.修改，修订，改进；n.[pl.]赔罪，赔偿

参考例句：

• The teacher advised him to amend his way of living.老师劝他改变生活方式。
• You must amend your pronunciation.你必须改正你的发音。

2 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。

3 dozing   

v.打瞌睡,假寐 n.瞌睡

参考例句：

• The economy shows no signs of faltering. 经济没有衰退的迹象。
• He never falters in his determination. 他的决心从不动摇。

4 squire   

n.护卫, 侍从, 乡绅

参考例句：

• I told him the squire was the most liberal of men.我告诉他乡绅是世界上最宽宏大量的人。
• The squire was hard at work at Bristol.乡绅在布里斯托尔热衷于他的工作。

5 rustic   

adj.乡村的，有乡村特色的；n.乡下人，乡巴佬

参考例句：

• It was nearly seven months of leisurely rustic living before Michael felt real boredom.这种悠闲的乡村生活过了差不多七个月之后,迈克尔开始感到烦闷。
• We hoped the fresh air and rustic atmosphere would help him adjust.我们希望新鲜的空气和乡村的氛围能帮他调整自己。

6 choir   

n.唱诗班，唱诗班的席位，合唱团，舞蹈团；v.合唱

参考例句：

• The choir sang the words out with great vigor.合唱团以极大的热情唱出了歌词。
• The church choir is singing tonight.今晚教堂歌唱队要唱诗。

7 doze   

v.打瞌睡；n.打盹，假寐

参考例句：

• He likes to have a doze after lunch.他喜欢午饭后打个盹。
• While the adults doze,the young play.大人们在打瞌睡，而孩子们在玩耍。

8 lasting   

adj.永久的，永恒的；vbl.持续，维持

参考例句：

• The lasting war debased the value of the dollar.持久的战争使美元贬值。
• We hope for a lasting settlement of all these troubles.我们希望这些纠纷能获得永久的解决。

9 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

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

10 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

11 inviting   

adj.诱人的，引人注目的

参考例句：

• An inviting smell of coffee wafted into the room.一股诱人的咖啡香味飘进了房间。
• The kitchen smelled warm and inviting and blessedly familiar.这间厨房的味道温暖诱人，使人感到亲切温馨。

12 transgressions   

n.违反，违法，罪过( transgression的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Many marine transgressions occur across coastal plains. 许多海运是横越滨海平原。 来自辞典例句
• For I know my transgressions, and my sin always before me. 因为我知道我的过犯，我的罪常在我面前。 来自互联网

13 judgment   

n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见

参考例句：

• The chairman flatters himself on his judgment of people.主席自认为他审视人比别人高明。
• He's a man of excellent judgment.他眼力过人。

14 dissenter   

n.反对者

参考例句：

• The role of the dissenter is not for the weak-kneed.反对者的角色不是软弱之人所能够担当的。
• The Party does not tolerate dissenters in its ranks.该政党不允许其成员中存在异见分子。

15 outright   

adv.坦率地；彻底地；立即；adj.无疑的；彻底的

参考例句：

• If you have a complaint you should tell me outright.如果你有不满意的事，你应该直率地对我说。
• You should persuade her to marry you outright.你应该彻底劝服她嫁给你。

16 heartily   

adv.衷心地，诚恳地，十分，很

参考例句：

• He ate heartily and went out to look for his horse.他痛快地吃了一顿，就出去找他的马。
• The host seized my hand and shook it heartily.主人抓住我的手，热情地和我握手。

17 genial   

adj.亲切的，和蔼的，愉快的，脾气好的

参考例句：

• Orlando is a genial man.奥兰多是一位和蔼可亲的人。
• He was a warm-hearted friend and genial host.他是个热心的朋友，也是友善待客的主人。

18 slippers   

n. 拖鞋

参考例句：

• a pair of slippers 一双拖鞋
• He kicked his slippers off and dropped on to the bed. 他踢掉了拖鞋，倒在床上。