It was not a satisfactory situation. Mr. Wilkins had given his son an education and tastes beyond his position. He could not associate with either profit or pleasure with the doctor or the brewer1 of Hamley; the vicar was old and deaf, the curate a raw young man, half frightened at the sound of his own voice. Then, as to matrimony--for the idea of his marriage was hardly more present in Edward's mind than in that of his father--he could scarcely fancy bringing home any one of the young ladies of Hamley to the elegant mansion2, so full of suggestion and association to an educated person, so inappropriate a dwelling3 for an ignorant, uncouth4, ill-brought-up girl. Yet Edward was fully5 aware, if his fond father was not, that of all the young ladies who were glad enough of him as a partner at the Hamley assemblies, there was not of them but would have considered herself affronted6 by an offer of marriage from an attorney, the son and grandson of attorneys. The young man had perhaps received many a slight and mortification7 pretty quietly during these years, which yet told upon his character in after life. Even at this very time they were having their effect. He was of too sweet a disposition8 to show resentment9, as many men would have done. But nevertheless he took a secret pleasure in the power which his father's money gave him. He would buy an expensive horse after five minutes' conversation as to the price, about which a needy10 heir of one of the proud county families had been haggling11 for three weeks. His dogs were from the best kennels12 in England, no matter at what cost; his guns were the newest and most improved make; and all these were expenses on objects which were among those of daily envy to the squires13 and squires' sons around. They did not much care for the treasures of art, which report said were being accumulated in Mr. Wilkins's house. But they did covet14 the horses and hounds he possessed15, and the young man knew that they coveted16, and rejoiced in it.
By-and-by he formed a marriage, which went as near as marriages ever do towards pleasing everybody. He was desperately17 in love with Miss Lamotte, so he was delighted when she consented to be his wife. His father was delighted in his delight, and, besides, was charmed to remember that Miss Lamotte's mother had been Sir Frank Holster's younger sister, and that, although her marriage had been disowned by her family, as beneath her in rank, yet no one could efface18 her name out of the Baronetage, where Lettice, youngest daughter of Sir Mark Holster, born 1772, married H. Lamotte, 1799, died 1810, was duly chronicled. She had left two children, a boy and a girl, of whom their uncle, Sir Frank, took charge, as their father was worse than dead--an outlaw19 whose name was never mentioned. Mark Lamotte was in the army; Lettice had a dependent position in her uncle's family; not intentionally20 made more dependent than was rendered necessary by circumstances, but still dependent enough to grate on the feelings of a sensitive girl, whose natural susceptibilty to slights was redoubled by the constant recollection of her father's disgrace. As Mr. Wilkins well knew, Sir Frank was considerably21 involved; but it was with very mixed feelings that he listened to the suit which would provide his penniless niece with a comfortable, not to say luxurious22, home, and with a handsome, accomplished23 young man of unblemished character for a husband. He said one or two bitter and insolent24 things to Mr. Wilkins, even while he was giving his consent to the match; that was his temper, his proud, evil temper; but he really and permanently25 was satisfied with the connection, though he would occasionally turn round on his nephew-in-law, and sting him with a covert26 insult, as to his want of birth, and the inferior position which he held, forgetting, apparently27, that his own brother-in-law and Lettice's father might be at any moment brought to the bar of justice if he attempted to re-enter his native country.
Edward was annoyed at all this; Lettice resented it. She loved her husband dearly, and was proud of him, for she had discernment enough to see how superior he was in every way to her cousins, the young Holsters, who borrowed his horses, drank his wines, and yet had caught their father's habit of sneering28 at his profession. Lettice wished that Edward would content himself with a purely29 domestic life, would let himself drop out of the company of the ---shire squirearchy, and find his relaxation30 with her, in their luxurious library, or lovely drawing-room, so full of white gleaming statues, and gems31 of pictures. But, perhaps, this was too much to expect of any man, especially of one who felt himself fitted in many ways to shine in society, and who was social by nature. Sociality in that county at that time meant conviviality32. Edward did not care for wine, and yet he was obliged to drink--and by-and-by he grew to pique33 himself on his character as a judge of wine. His father by this time was dead; dead, happy old man, with a contented34 heart--his affairs flourishing, his poorer neighbours loving him, his richer respecting him, his son and daughter-in-law, the most affectionate and devoted35 that ever man had, and his healthy conscience at peace with his God.
Lettice could have lived to herself and her husband and children. Edward daily required more and more the stimulus36 of society. His wife wondered how he could care to accept dinner invitations from people who treated him as "Wilkins the attorney, a very good sort of fellow," as they introduced him to strangers who might be staying in the country, but who had no power to appreciate the taste, the talents, the impulsive37 artistic38 nature which she held so dear. She forgot that by accepting such invitations Edward was occasionally brought into contact with people not merely of high conventional, but of high intellectual rank; that when a certain amount of wine had dissipated his sense of inferiority of rank and position, he was a brilliant talker, a man to be listened to and admired even by wandering London statesmen, professional diners-out, or any great authors who might find themselves visitors in a ---shire country-house. What she would have had him share from the pride of her heart, she should have warned him to avoid from the temptations to sinful extravagance which it led him into. He had begun to spend more than he ought, not in intellectual--though that would have been wrong--but in purely sensual things. His wines, his table, should be such as no squire's purse or palate could command. His dinner-parties--small in number, the viands39 rare and delicate in quality, and sent up to table by an Italian cook--should be such as even the London stars should notice with admiration40. He would have Lettice dressed in the richest materials, the most delicate lace; jewellery, he said, was beyond their means; glancing with proud humility41 at the diamonds of the elder ladies, and the alloyed gold of the younger. But he managed to spend as much on his wife's lace as would have bought many a set of inferior jewellery. Lettice well became it all. If as people said, her father had been nothing but a French adventurer, she bore traces of her nature in her grace, her delicacy42, her fascinating and elegant ways of doing all things. She was made for society; and yet she hated it. And one day she went out of it altogether and for evermore. She had been well in the morning when Edward went down to his office in Hamley. At noon he was sent for by hurried trembling messengers. When he got home breathless and uncomprehending, she was past speech. One glance from her lovely loving black eyes showed that she recognised him with the passionate43 yearning44 that had been one of the characteristics of her love through life. There was no word passed between them. He could not speak, any more than could she. He knelt down by her. She was dying; she was dead; and he knelt on immovable. They brought him his eldest45 child, Ellinor, in utter despair what to do in order to rouse him. They had no thought as to the effect on her, hitherto shut up in the nursery during this busy day of confusion and alarm. The child had no idea of death, and her father, kneeling and tearless, was far less an object of surprise or interest to her than her mother, lying still and white, and not turning her head to smile at her darling.
"Mamma! mamma!" cried the child, in shapeless terror. But the mother never stirred; and the father hid his face yet deeper in the bedclothes, to stifle46 a cry as if a sharp knife had pierced his heart. The child forced her impetuous way from her attendants, and rushed to the bed. Undeterred by deadly cold or stony47 immobility, she kissed the lips and stroked the glossy48 raven49 hair, murmuring sweet words of wild love, such as had passed between the mother and child often and often when no witnesses were by; and altogether seemed so nearly beside herself in an agony of love and terror, that Edward arose, and softly taking her in his arms, bore her away, lying back like one dead (so exhausted50 was she by the terrible emotion they had forced on her childish heart), into his study, a little room opening out of the grand library, where on happy evenings, never to come again, he and his wife were wont51 to retire to have coffee together, and then perhaps stroll out of the glass-door into the open air, the shrubbery, the fields--never more to be trodden by those dear feet. What passed between father and child in this seclusion52 none could tell. Late in the evening Ellinor's supper was sent for, and the servant who brought it in saw the child lying as one dead in her father's arms, and before he left the room watched his master feeding her, the girl of six years of age, with as tender care as if she had been a baby of six months.
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1
brewer
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| n. 啤酒制造者 | |
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2
mansion
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| n.大厦，大楼；宅第 | |
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dwelling
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| n.住宅，住所，寓所 | |
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uncouth
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| adj.无教养的，粗鲁的 | |
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5
fully
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| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
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6
affronted
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| adj.被侮辱的，被冒犯的v.勇敢地面对( affront的过去式和过去分词 )；相遇 | |
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7
mortification
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| n.耻辱，屈辱 | |
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8
disposition
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| n.性情，性格；意向，倾向；排列，部署 | |
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resentment
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| n.怨愤，忿恨 | |
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needy
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| adj.贫穷的，贫困的，生活艰苦的 | |
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11
haggling
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| v.讨价还价( haggle的现在分词 ) | |
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12
kennels
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| n.主人外出时的小动物寄养处，养狗场；狗窝( kennel的名词复数 )；养狗场 | |
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13
squires
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| n.地主，乡绅( squire的名词复数 ) | |
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covet
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| vt.垂涎；贪图(尤指属于他人的东西) | |
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15
possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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16
coveted
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| adj.令人垂涎的；垂涎的，梦寐以求的v.贪求，觊觎(covet的过去分词)；垂涎；贪图 | |
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17
desperately
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| adv.极度渴望地，绝望地，孤注一掷地 | |
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efface
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| v.擦掉，抹去 | |
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outlaw
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| n.歹徒，亡命之徒；vt.宣布…为不合法 | |
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intentionally
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| ad.故意地，有意地 | |
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considerably
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| adv.极大地；相当大地；在很大程度上 | |
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22
luxurious
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| adj.精美而昂贵的；豪华的 | |
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23
accomplished
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| adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的 | |
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insolent
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| adj.傲慢的，无理的 | |
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permanently
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| adv.永恒地，永久地，固定不变地 | |
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covert
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| adj.隐藏的；暗地里的 | |
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apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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28
sneering
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| 嘲笑的，轻蔑的 | |
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29
purely
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| adv.纯粹地，完全地 | |
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30
relaxation
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| n.松弛，放松；休息；消遣；娱乐 | |
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31
gems
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| growth； economy； management； and customer satisfaction 增长 | |
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32
conviviality
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| n.欢宴，高兴，欢乐 | |
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33
pique
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| v.伤害…的自尊心，使生气 n.不满，生气 | |
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34
contented
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| adj.满意的，安心的，知足的 | |
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35
devoted
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| adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的 | |
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stimulus
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| n.刺激，刺激物，促进因素，引起兴奋的事物 | |
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impulsive
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| adj.冲动的，刺激的；有推动力的 | |
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artistic
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| adj.艺术(家)的，美术(家)的；善于艺术创作的 | |
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viands
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| n.食品，食物 | |
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40
admiration
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| n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕 | |
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41
humility
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| n.谦逊，谦恭 | |
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42
delicacy
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| n.精致，细微，微妙，精良；美味，佳肴 | |
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43
passionate
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| adj.热情的，热烈的，激昂的，易动情的，易怒的，性情暴躁的 | |
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44
yearning
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| a.渴望的；向往的；怀念的 | |
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45
eldest
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| adj.最年长的，最年老的 | |
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46
stifle
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| vt.使窒息；闷死；扼杀；抑止，阻止 | |
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47
stony
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| adj.石头的，多石头的，冷酷的，无情的 | |
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48
glossy
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| adj.平滑的；有光泽的 | |
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49
raven
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| n.渡鸟，乌鸦；adj.乌亮的 | |
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50
exhausted
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| adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的 | |
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51
wont
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| adj.习惯于；v.习惯；n.习惯 | |
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52
seclusion
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| n.隐遁，隔离 | |
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