CHAPTER IV

When Jane Bloom’s husband took his lady out of Postbridge, so that she might live down a connubial¹ scandal and pursue her cleansing² occupation elsewhere, it was supposed that the deadly and famous quarrel between Avisa and Honor would be healed.  The gossips of Postbridge all prophesied³ a speedy return to friendship between the two widows, and not a few well-meaning women set to work to play peacemaker.  But their efforts met no response.  Both Avisa and Honor made it clear that arbitration⁴ must be in vain, since this tragic⁵ matter went deeper than plummet⁶ of peacemaker could ever sound.  Neither woman would make the first move; but Mrs. Mogridge was prepared to welcome any overture⁷ from the other.  She accepted the inevitable⁸ with considerable philosophy; rightly appreciated the significance of the position; perceived how the idlest, least malignant⁹ word may sometimes fall like a scourge¹⁰ upon the back of the careless speaker.  She held herself punished, and quite deservedly punished, for a very foolish error.  She mourned the event, and with secret tears recalled the wisdom of her dead partner.  Mrs. p. 317Haycraft, on the other hand, nursed her wrath¹¹ and kept it warm.  Her little boy justified¹² the bygone criticism, and he grew less and less personable.  But how could she know that?  To her eyes he was beautiful above the children of men.  Daily he grew more like his father; daily his little weak eyes reflected more of the blue of the sky.

Then he fell very sick and died.

A night of agony hid Honor, and in that darkness her tears descended¹³ like winter rain.  Hopeless, helpless, red-eyed, she sat by the small body; and women came to comfort her, but she cursed both God and them, and bade them depart and leave her alone with grief greater than daughter of man had yet suffered.

The day before the funeral the mother took no food, and entered upon that nervous, neurotic¹⁴ period common to the time.  She never sat down.  She roamed for miles in the narrow space of the house and garden.  She arranged and rearranged the flowers on the coffin¹⁵; she magnified small griefs and temporary inconveniences.  She quarrelled bitterly with the undertaker that the lining¹⁶ of the little box was cheaper than she had directed.  She found a small flaw also upon the lid.  This was concealed¹⁷ with putty, and Honor called down the wrath of the Everlasting¹⁸ upon the carpenter who had made it.

A master sorrow in the minor¹⁹ sort now fell p. 318upon her.  There is a belief on Dartmoor that if a little boy dies, he should be carried to his grave by little girls, and when a small maid passes it is thought good if boys are her bearers.  Honor hugged this tradition as a precious and seemly observance; but it chanced that of small girls in Postbridge there were then but four, and the task she desired to set them would need six pairs of hands.  The misfortune swiftly mounted into a tragedy when viewed from her distracted standpoint.  Her unrestrained grief grew voluble; she mourned her lot to any who would listen.  From the first storm of weeping and the first desire for peace and loneliness she became talkative, and, in a condition of sustained incoherence, chattered²⁰, light-headed, from morning until night.  She was rude to the clergyman when he came to see her.  Her friends suggested that two more little girls should be obtained from Princetown, or some neighbouring hamlet; but the poor soul explained that this rite²¹ allowed of no such deviation²².  The children must be those who had known her dead baby, and actually played with him.  Others would not answer the proper purpose.

Upon the night before the funeral the undertaker went home a shattered man, for the matter of this tiny corpse²³ had troubled him, and such failure to satisfy the parent hurt his professional feelings.

“There wasn’t half the difficulties when us laid p. 319by His Honour, Lord Champernowne, Peer of the Realm and J.P., an’ ten coaches, an’ a letter of thanks after from the steward,” he grumbled²⁴ to his wife.  But she comforted him.

“The woman’s stark²⁵, staring mad, my dear.  Don’t think no more about her.  If you’d lined the casket with shining gold, her’d have grumbled because there weren’t no diamonds in it.  An’ all for two pound, ten.  ’Twas like your big heart to use elm, when any other man would have made deal do very nice.”

Meantime, at the hour of gloaming, as Dartmoor vanished fold upon fold into the purple of night, did Avisa Mogridge pluck heart, and cross the high road, and enter her neighbour’s house.  She did not knock, but lifted the latch²⁶ boldly, walked in and stood before Honor, where the unhappy mother sat and worked upon a black bonnet²⁷ by candle-light.

“You!  You to come!  You, as may be a witch an’ overlooked my li’l darling, for all I know!” she cried, leaping to her feet.

“Yes, ’tis me, Mrs. Haycraft; but no witch.  Only a woman as have seed sorrow too—though no sorrow like your sorrow just now.  I’ve come to tell ’e I love ’e still, an’ I can’t bide²⁸ away from ’e no more, an’ I won’t.  You shan’t drive me off.”

Honor breathed hard.

“Everything do happen all to once,” she said.

p. 320“Maybe I didn’t ought to have intruded²⁹; but I’m older than you, an’ I thought—”

“You be safe.  I’m too weak to bear malice³⁰ against you.  My darling’s screwed down now.  If you’d seed him yesterday, you’d have called back your wicked word, Avisa Mogridge.  He weren’t ugly after he died—he—oh, God, an’ not one sound of his little noise in the house.  It’s killing³¹ me.”

“To be frank with you, Honor, you must marry again.  You’m only twenty-three.  Yes, I know you be.  An’ ’twas my little girls put them flowers ’pon your window-sill last June on your birthday morning.  They done it afore daybreak.  An’—an’—oh, woman, I be broken-hearted for ’e; God’s my judge if I ban’t.”

Mrs. Haycraft was rocking herself backward and forward, and crying.

Suddenly she rose up.

“Come an’ see the coffin,” she said.  “Several of the gentry³² have sent greenhouse flowers to me.  There’s a butivul smell to ’em.”

“I will come; an’ I want to say this.  My girls—do ’e let ’em help with the thing you want.  They’d make six with t’other children.  Do ’e let ’em, Honor.”

“’Tis too late; they can’t get black now.”

“You forget my old mother died last Christmas.”

p. 321“Ah! so her did—that’s lucky,” said Mrs. Haycraft.

After the funeral the widows walked together.  They left their friends at Postbridge, then returned home side by side.

As they ascended³³ the hill, with Avisa’s two little girls marching together behind them, a robin³⁴ suddenly sang out sharp and clear.

“Thank the Lord I’ve heard that,” said Honor, very earnestly, alluding³⁵ to an ancient fable³⁶.

Her reconciled friend nodded.

“I be very glad also,” she said.  “To hear redbreast singing after a child is buried do mean the little one’s safe in Heaven; though, all the same, God only knows where the babbies should go to, if not to Him.”

1 connubial   

adj.婚姻的，夫妇的

参考例句：

• She had brought about danger to Edward's connubial happiness.她已经给爱德华幸福的婚姻带来危险。
• Hogan told me he had tasted the joys of connubial bliss.霍根告诉我他已经尝到了比翼双飞的快乐。

2 cleansing   

n. 净化(垃圾) adj. 清洁用的 动词cleanse的现在分词

参考例句：

• medicated cleansing pads for sensitive skin 敏感皮肤药物清洗棉
• Soap is not the only cleansing agent. 肥皂并不是唯一的清洁剂。

3 prophesied   

v.预告，预言( prophesy的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She prophesied that she would win a gold medal. 她预言自己将赢得金牌。
• She prophesied the tragic outcome. 她预言有悲惨的结果。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 arbitration   

n.调停，仲裁

参考例句：

• The wage disagreement is under arbitration.工资纠纷正在仲裁中。
• Both sides have agreed that the arbitration will be binding.双方都赞同仲裁具有约束力。

5 tragic   

adj.悲剧的，悲剧性的，悲惨的

参考例句：

• The effect of the pollution on the beaches is absolutely tragic.污染海滩后果可悲。
• Charles was a man doomed to tragic issues.查理是个注定不得善终的人。

6 plummet   

vi.(价格、水平等)骤然下跌；n.铅坠；重压物

参考例句：

• Mengniu and Yili have seen their shares plummet since the incident broke.自事件发生以来，蒙牛和伊利的股票大幅下跌。
• Even if rice prices were to plummet,other brakes on poverty alleviation remain.就算大米价格下跌，其它阻止导致贫困的因素仍然存在。

7 overture   

n.前奏曲、序曲，提议，提案，初步交涉

参考例句：

• The opera was preceded by a short overture.这部歌剧开始前有一段简短的序曲。
• His overture led to nothing.他的提议没有得到什么结果。

8 inevitable   

adj.不可避免的，必然发生的

参考例句：

• Mary was wearing her inevitable large hat.玛丽戴着她总是戴的那顶大帽子。
• The defeat had inevitable consequences for British policy.战败对英国政策不可避免地产生了影响。

9 malignant   

adj.恶性的，致命的；恶意的，恶毒的

参考例句：

• Alexander got a malignant slander.亚历山大受到恶意的诽谤。
• He started to his feet with a malignant glance at Winston.他爬了起来，不高兴地看了温斯顿一眼。

10 scourge   

n.灾难，祸害；v.蹂躏

参考例句：

• Smallpox was once the scourge of the world.天花曾是世界的大患。
• The new boss was the scourge of the inefficient.新老板来了以后，不称职的人就遭殃了。

11 wrath   

n.愤怒，愤慨，暴怒

参考例句：

• His silence marked his wrath. 他的沉默表明了他的愤怒。
• The wrath of the people is now aroused. 人们被激怒了。

12 justified   

a.正当的，有理的

参考例句：

• She felt fully justified in asking for her money back. 她认为有充分的理由要求退款。
• The prisoner has certainly justified his claims by his actions. 那个囚犯确实已用自己的行动表明他的要求是正当的。

13 descended   

a.为...后裔的，出身于...的

参考例句：

• A mood of melancholy descended on us. 一种悲伤的情绪袭上我们的心头。
• The path descended the hill in a series of zigzags. 小路呈连续的之字形顺着山坡蜿蜒而下。

14 neurotic   

adj.神经病的，神经过敏的；n.神经过敏者，神经病患者

参考例句：

• Nothing is more distracting than a neurotic boss. 没有什么比神经过敏的老板更恼人的了。
• There are also unpleasant brain effects such as anxiety and neurotic behaviour.也会对大脑产生不良影响，如焦虑和神经质的行为。

15 coffin   

n.棺材，灵柩

参考例句：

• When one's coffin is covered,all discussion about him can be settled.盖棺论定。
• The coffin was placed in the grave.那口棺材已安放到坟墓里去了。

16 lining   

n.衬里，衬料

参考例句：

• The lining of my coat is torn.我的外套衬里破了。
• Moss makes an attractive lining to wire baskets.用苔藓垫在铁丝篮里很漂亮。

17 concealed   

a.隐藏的，隐蔽的

参考例句：

• The paintings were concealed beneath a thick layer of plaster. 那些画被隐藏在厚厚的灰泥层下面。
• I think he had a gun concealed about his person. 我认为他当时身上藏有一支枪。

18 everlasting   

adj.永恒的，持久的，无止境的

参考例句：

• These tyres are advertised as being everlasting.广告上说轮胎持久耐用。
• He believes in everlasting life after death.他相信死后有不朽的生命。

19 minor   

adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修

参考例句：

• The young actor was given a minor part in the new play.年轻的男演员在这出新戏里被分派担任一个小角色。
• I gave him a minor share of my wealth.我把小部分财产给了他。

20 chattered   

（人）喋喋不休( chatter的过去式 )； 唠叨； （牙齿）打战； （机器）震颤

参考例句：

• They chattered away happily for a while. 他们高兴地闲扯了一会儿。
• We chattered like two teenagers. 我们聊着天，像两个十多岁的孩子。

21 rite   

n.典礼，惯例，习俗

参考例句：

• This festival descends from a religious rite.这个节日起源于宗教仪式。
• Most traditional societies have transition rites at puberty.大多数传统社会都为青春期的孩子举行成人礼。

22 deviation   

n.背离，偏离；偏差，偏向；离题

参考例句：

• Deviation from this rule are very rare.很少有违反这条规则的。
• Any deviation from the party's faith is seen as betrayal.任何对党的信仰的偏离被视作背叛。

23 corpse   

n.尸体，死尸

参考例句：

• What she saw was just an unfeeling corpse.她见到的只是一具全无感觉的尸体。
• The corpse was preserved from decay by embalming.尸体用香料涂抹以防腐烂。

24 grumbled   

抱怨( grumble的过去式和过去分词 )； 发牢骚； 咕哝； 发哼声

参考例句：

• He grumbled at the low pay offered to him. 他抱怨给他的工资低。
• The heat was sweltering, and the men grumbled fiercely over their work. 天热得让人发昏，水手们边干活边发着牢骚。

25 stark   

adj.荒凉的；严酷的；完全的；adv.完全地

参考例句：

• The young man is faced with a stark choice.这位年轻人面临严峻的抉择。
• He gave a stark denial to the rumor.他对谣言加以完全的否认。

26 latch   

n.门闩，窗闩；弹簧锁

参考例句：

• She laid her hand on the latch of the door.她把手放在门闩上。
• The repairman installed an iron latch on the door.修理工在门上安了铁门闩。

27 bonnet   

n.无边女帽；童帽

参考例句：

• The baby's bonnet keeps the sun out of her eyes.婴孩的帽子遮住阳光，使之不刺眼。
• She wore a faded black bonnet garnished with faded artificial flowers.她戴着一顶褪了色的黑色无边帽，帽上缀着褪了色的假花。

28 bide   

v.忍耐；等候；住

参考例句：

• We'll have to bide our time until the rain stops.我们必须等到雨停。
• Bide here for a while. 请在这儿等一会儿。

29 intruded   

n.侵入的，推进的v.侵入，侵扰，打扰( intrude的过去式和过去分词 )；把…强加于

参考例句：

• One could believe that human creatures had never intruded there before. 你简直会以为那是从来没有人到过的地方。 来自辞典例句
• The speaker intruded a thin smile into his seriousness. 演说人严肃的脸上掠过一丝笑影。 来自辞典例句

30 malice   

n.恶意，怨恨，蓄意；[律]预谋

参考例句：

• I detected a suggestion of malice in his remarks.我觉察出他说的话略带恶意。
• There was a strong current of malice in many of his portraits.他的许多肖像画中都透着一股强烈的怨恨。

31 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

32 gentry   

n.绅士阶级，上层阶级

参考例句：

• Landed income was the true measure of the gentry.来自土地的收入是衡量是否士绅阶层的真正标准。
• Better be the head of the yeomanry than the tail of the gentry.宁做自由民之首，不居贵族之末。

33 ascended   

v.上升，攀登( ascend的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He has ascended into heaven. 他已经升入了天堂。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The climbers slowly ascended the mountain. 爬山运动员慢慢地登上了这座山。 来自《简明英汉词典》

34 robin   

n.知更鸟，红襟鸟

参考例句：

• The robin is the messenger of spring.知更鸟是报春的使者。
• We knew spring was coming as we had seen a robin.我们看见了一只知更鸟，知道春天要到了。

35 alluding   

提及，暗指( allude的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• He didn't mention your name but I was sure he was alluding to you. 他没提你的名字，但是我确信他是暗指你的。
• But in fact I was alluding to my physical deficiencies. 可我实在是为自己的容貌寒心。

36 fable   

n.寓言；童话；神话

参考例句：

• The fable is given on the next page. 这篇寓言登在下一页上。
• He had some motive in telling this fable. 他讲这寓言故事是有用意的。