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Chapter 4 A Night-Piece
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There came a night when the husband was alone in that street waiting. He can do nothing for you now, little nursery governess, you must fight it out by yourself; when there are great things to do in the house the man must leave. Oh, man, selfish, indelicate, coarse-grained at the best, thy woman’s hour has come; get thee gone.

He slouches from the house, always her true lover I do believe, chivalrous1, brave, a boy until to-night; but was he ever unkind to her? It is the unpardonable sin now; is there the memory of an unkindness to stalk the street with him to-night? And if not an unkindness, still might he not sometimes have been a little kinder?

Shall we make a new rule of life from to-night: always to try to be a little kinder than is necessary?

Poor youth, she would come to the window if she were able, I am sure, to sign that the one little unkindness is long forgotten, to send you a reassuring2 smile till you and she meet again; and, if you are not to meet again, still to send you a reassuring, trembling smile.

Ah, no, that was for yesterday; it is too late now. He wanders the streets thinking of her to-night, but she has forgotten him. In her great hour the man is nothing to the woman; their love is trivial now.

He and I were on opposite sides of the street, now become familiar ground to both of us, and divers3 pictures rose before me in which Mary A---- walked. Here was the morning after my only entry into her house. The agent had promised me to have the obnoxious4 notice-board removed, but I apprehended5 that as soon as the letter announcing his intention reached her she would remove it herself, and when I passed by in the morning there she was on a chair and a footstool pounding lustily at it with a hammer. When it fell she gave it such a vicious little kick.

There were the nights when her husband came out to watch for the postman. I suppose he was awaiting some letter big with the fate of a picture. He dogged the postman from door to door like an assassin or a guardian6 angel; never had he the courage to ask if there was a letter for him, but almost as it fell into the box he had it out and tore it open, and then if the door closed despairingly the woman who had been at the window all this time pressed her hand to her heart. But if the news was good they might emerge presently and strut7 off arm in arm in the direction of the pork emporium.

One last picture. On summer evenings I had caught glimpses of them through the open window, when she sat at the piano singing and playing to him. Or while she played with one hand, she flung out the other for him to grasp. She was so joyously8 happy, and she had such a romantic mind. I conceived her so sympathetic that she always laughed before he came to the joke, and I am sure she had filmy eyes from the very start of a pathetic story.

And so, laughing and crying, and haunted by whispers, the little nursery governess had gradually become another woman, glorified9, mysterious. I suppose a man soon becomes used to the great change, and cannot recall a time when there were no babes sprawling10 in his Mary’s face.

I am trying to conceive what were the thoughts of the young husband on the other side of the street. “If the barrier is to be crossed to-night may I not go with her? She is not so brave as you think her. When she talked so gaily11 a few hours ago, O my God, did she deceive even you?”

Plain questions to-night. “Why should it all fall on her? What is the man that he should be flung out into the street in this terrible hour? You have not been fair to the man.”

Poor boy, this wife has quite forgotten him and his trumpery12 love. If she lives she will come back to him, but if she dies she will die triumphant13 and serene14. Life and death, the child and the mother, are ever meeting as the one draws into harbour and the other sets sail. They exchange a bright “All’s well,” and pass on.

But afterward15?

The only ghosts, I believe, who creep into this world, are dead young mothers, returned to see how their children fare. There is no other inducement great enough to bring the departed back. They glide16 into the acquainted room when day and night, their jailers, are in the grip, and whisper, “How is it with you, my child?” but always, lest a strange face should frighten him, they whisper it so low that he may not hear. They bend over him to see that he sleeps peacefully, and replace his sweet arm beneath the coverlet, and they open the drawers to count how many little vests he has. They love to do these things.

What is saddest about ghosts is that they may not know their child. They expect him to be just as he was when they left him, and they are easily bewildered, and search for him from room to room, and hate the unknown boy he has become. Poor, passionate17 souls, they may even do him an injury. These are the ghosts that go wailing18 about old houses, and foolish wild stories are invented to explain what is all so pathetic and simple. I know of a man who, after wandering far, returned to his early home to pass the evening of his days in it, and sometimes from his chair by the fire he saw the door open softly and a woman’s face appear. She always looked at him very vindictively19, and then vanished. Strange things happened in this house. Windows were opened in the night. the curtains of his bed were set fire to. A step on the stair was loosened. The covering of an old well in a corridor where he walked was cunningly removed. And when he fell ill the wrong potion was put in the glass by his bedside, and he died. How could the pretty young mother know that this grizzled interloper was the child of whom she was in search?

All our notions about ghosts are wrong. It is nothing so petty as lost wills or deeds of violence that brings them back, and we are not nearly so afraid of them as they are of us.

One by one the lights of the street went out, but still a lamp burned steadily20 in the little window across the way. I know not how it happened, whether I had crossed first to him or he to me, but, after being for a long time as the echo of each other’s steps, we were together now, I can have had no desire to deceive him, but some reason was needed to account for my vigil, and I may have said something that he misconstrued, for above my words he was always listening for other sounds. but however it came about he had conceived the idea that I was an outcast for a reason similar to his own, and I let his mistake pass, it seemed to matter so little and to draw us together so naturally. We talked together of many things, such as worldly ambition. For long ambition has been like an ancient memory to me, some glorious day recalled from my springtime, so much a thing of the past that I must make a railway journey to revisit it as to look upon the pleasant fields in which that scene was laid. But he had been ambitious yesterday.

I mentioned worldly ambition. “Good God!” he said, with a shudder21.

There was a clock hard by that struck the quarters, and one o’clock passed and two. What time is it now? Twenty past two. And now? It is still twenty past two.

I asked him about his relatives, and neither he nor she had any. “We have a friend--” he began and paused, and then rambled22 into a not very understandable story about a letter and a doll’s house and some unknown man who had bought one of his pictures, or was supposed to have done so, in a curiously23 clandestine24 manner. I could not quite follow the story.

“It is she who insists that it is always the same person,” he said. “She thinks he will make himself known to me if anything happens to her.” His voice suddenly went husky. “She told me,” he said, “if she died and I discovered him, to give him her love.”

At this point we parted abruptly25, as we did at intervals26 throughout the night, to drift together again presently. He tried to tell me of some things she had asked him to do should she not get over this, but what they were I know not, for they engulfed27 him at the first step. He would draw back from them as ill-omened things, and next moment he was going over them to himself like a child at lessons. A child! In that short year she had made him entirely28 dependent on her. It is ever thus with women: their first deliberate act is to make their husband helpless. There are few men happily married who can knock in a nail.

But it was not of this that I was thinking. I was wishing I had not degenerated29 so much.

Well, as you know, the little nursery governess did not die. At eighteen minutes to four we heard the rustle30 of David’s wings. He boasts about it to this day, and has the hour to a syllable31 as if the first thing he ever did was to look at the clock.

An oldish gentleman had opened the door and waved congratulations to my companion, who immediately butted32 at me, drove me against a wall, hesitated for a second with his head down as if in doubt whether to toss me, and then rushed away. I followed slowly. I shook him by the hand, but by this time he was haw-haw-hawing so abominably33 that a disgust of him swelled34 up within me, and with it a passionate desire to jeer35 once more at Mary A----.

“It is little she will care for you now,” I said to the fellow; “I know the sort of woman; her intellectuals (which are all she has to distinguish her from the brutes) are so imperfectly developed that she will be a crazy thing about that boy for the next three years. She has no longer occasion for you, my dear sir; you are like a picture painted out.”

But I question whether he heard me. I returned to my home. Home! As if one alone can build a nest. How often as I have ascended36 the stairs that lead to my lonely, sumptuous37 rooms, have I paused to listen to the hilarity38 of the servants below. that morning I could not rest: I wandered from chamber39 to chamber, followed by my great dog, and all were alike empty and desolate40. I had nearly finished a cigar when I thought I heard a pebble41 strike the window, and looking out I saw David’s father standing42 beneath. I had told him that I lived in this street, and I suppose my lights had guided him to my window.

“I could not lie down,” he called up hoarsely43, “until I heard your news. Is it all right?”

For a moment I failed to understand him. Then I said sourly: “Yes, all is right.”

“Both doing well?” he inquired.

“Both,” I answered, and all the time I was trying to shut the window. It was undoubtedly44 a kindly45 impulse that had brought him out, but I was nevertheless in a passion with him.

“Boy or girl?” persisted the dodderer with ungentlemanlike curiousity.

“Boy,” I said, very furiously.

“Splendid,” he called out, and I think he added something else, but by that time I had closed the window with a slam.


点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 chivalrous 0Xsz7     
adj.武士精神的;对女人彬彬有礼的
参考例句:
  • Men are so little chivalrous now.现在的男人几乎没有什么骑士风度了。
  • Toward women he was nobly restrained and chivalrous.对于妇女,他表现得高尚拘谨,尊敬三分。
2 reassuring vkbzHi     
a.使人消除恐惧和疑虑的,使人放心的
参考例句:
  • He gave her a reassuring pat on the shoulder. 他轻拍了一下她的肩膀让她放心。
  • With a reassuring pat on her arm, he left. 他鼓励地拍了拍她的手臂就离开了。
3 divers hu9z23     
adj.不同的;种种的
参考例句:
  • He chose divers of them,who were asked to accompany him.他选择他们当中的几个人,要他们和他作伴。
  • Two divers work together while a standby diver remains on the surface.两名潜水员协同工作,同时有一名候补潜水员留在水面上。
4 obnoxious t5dzG     
adj.极恼人的,讨人厌的,可憎的
参考例句:
  • These fires produce really obnoxious fumes and smoke.这些火炉冒出来的烟气确实很难闻。
  • He is the most obnoxious man I know.他是我认识的最可憎的人。
5 apprehended a58714d8af72af24c9ef953885c38a66     
逮捕,拘押( apprehend的过去式和过去分词 ); 理解
参考例句:
  • She apprehended the complicated law very quickly. 她很快理解了复杂的法律。
  • The police apprehended the criminal. 警察逮捕了罪犯。
6 guardian 8ekxv     
n.监护人;守卫者,保护者
参考例句:
  • The form must be signed by the child's parents or guardian. 这张表格须由孩子的家长或监护人签字。
  • The press is a guardian of the public weal. 报刊是公共福利的卫护者。
7 strut bGWzS     
v.肿胀,鼓起;大摇大摆地走;炫耀;支撑;撑开;n.高视阔步;支柱,撑杆
参考例句:
  • The circulation economy development needs the green science and technology innovation as the strut.循环经济的发展需要绿色科技创新生态化作为支撑。
  • Now we'll strut arm and arm.这会儿咱们可以手挽着手儿,高视阔步地走了。
8 joyously 1p4zu0     
ad.快乐地, 高兴地
参考例句:
  • She opened the door for me and threw herself in my arms, screaming joyously and demanding that we decorate the tree immediately. 她打开门,直扑我的怀抱,欣喜地喊叫着要马上装饰圣诞树。
  • They came running, crying out joyously in trilling girlish voices. 她们边跑边喊,那少女的颤音好不欢快。 来自名作英译部分
9 glorified 74d607c2a7eb7a7ef55bda91627eda5a     
美其名的,变荣耀的
参考例句:
  • The restaurant was no more than a glorified fast-food cafe. 这地方美其名曰餐馆,其实只不过是个快餐店而已。
  • The author glorified the life of the peasants. 那个作者赞美了农民的生活。
10 sprawling 3ff3e560ffc2f12f222ef624d5807902     
adj.蔓生的,不规则地伸展的v.伸开四肢坐[躺]( sprawl的现在分词 );蔓延;杂乱无序地拓展;四肢伸展坐着(或躺着)
参考例句:
  • He was sprawling in an armchair in front of the TV. 他伸开手脚坐在电视机前的一张扶手椅上。
  • a modern sprawling town 一座杂乱无序拓展的现代城镇
11 gaily lfPzC     
adv.欢乐地,高兴地
参考例句:
  • The children sing gaily.孩子们欢唱着。
  • She waved goodbye very gaily.她欢快地挥手告别。
12 trumpery qUizL     
n.无价值的杂物;adj.(物品)中看不中用的
参考例句:
  • The thing he bought yesterday was trumpery.他昨天买的只是一件没有什么价值的东西。
  • The trumpery in the house should be weeded out.应该清除房子里里无价值的东西。
13 triumphant JpQys     
adj.胜利的,成功的;狂欢的,喜悦的
参考例句:
  • The army made a triumphant entry into the enemy's capital.部队胜利地进入了敌方首都。
  • There was a positively triumphant note in her voice.她的声音里带有一种极为得意的语气。
14 serene PD2zZ     
adj. 安详的,宁静的,平静的
参考例句:
  • He has entered the serene autumn of his life.他已进入了美好的中年时期。
  • He didn't speak much,he just smiled with that serene smile of his.他话不多,只是脸上露出他招牌式的淡定的微笑。
15 afterward fK6y3     
adv.后来;以后
参考例句:
  • Let's go to the theatre first and eat afterward. 让我们先去看戏,然后吃饭。
  • Afterward,the boy became a very famous artist.后来,这男孩成为一个很有名的艺术家。
16 glide 2gExT     
n./v.溜,滑行;(时间)消逝
参考例句:
  • We stood in silence watching the snake glide effortlessly.我们噤若寒蝉地站着,眼看那条蛇逍遥自在地游来游去。
  • So graceful was the ballerina that she just seemed to glide.那芭蕾舞女演员翩跹起舞,宛如滑翔。
17 passionate rLDxd     
adj.热情的,热烈的,激昂的,易动情的,易怒的,性情暴躁的
参考例句:
  • He is said to be the most passionate man.据说他是最有激情的人。
  • He is very passionate about the project.他对那个项目非常热心。
18 wailing 25fbaeeefc437dc6816eab4c6298b423     
v.哭叫,哀号( wail的现在分词 );沱
参考例句:
  • A police car raced past with its siren wailing. 一辆警车鸣着警报器飞驰而过。
  • The little girl was wailing miserably. 那小女孩难过得号啕大哭。
19 vindictively qe6zv3     
adv.恶毒地;报复地
参考例句:
  • He plotted vindictively against his former superiors. 他策划着要对他原来的上司进行报复。 来自互联网
  • His eyes snapped vindictively, while his ears joyed in the sniffles she emitted. 眼睛一闪一闪放出惩罚的光,他听见地抽泣,心里更高兴。 来自互联网
20 steadily Qukw6     
adv.稳定地;不变地;持续地
参考例句:
  • The scope of man's use of natural resources will steadily grow.人类利用自然资源的广度将日益扩大。
  • Our educational reform was steadily led onto the correct path.我们的教学改革慢慢上轨道了。
21 shudder JEqy8     
v.战粟,震动,剧烈地摇晃;n.战粟,抖动
参考例句:
  • The sight of the coffin sent a shudder through him.看到那副棺材,他浑身一阵战栗。
  • We all shudder at the thought of the dreadful dirty place.我们一想到那可怕的肮脏地方就浑身战惊。
22 rambled f9968757e060a59ff2ab1825c2706de5     
(无目的地)漫游( ramble的过去式和过去分词 ); (喻)漫谈; 扯淡; 长篇大论
参考例句:
  • We rambled through the woods. 我们漫步走过树林。
  • She rambled on at great length but she didn't get to the heart of the matter. 她夹七夹八地说了许多话也没说到点子上。
23 curiously 3v0zIc     
adv.有求知欲地;好问地;奇特地
参考例句:
  • He looked curiously at the people.他好奇地看着那些人。
  • He took long stealthy strides. His hands were curiously cold.他迈着悄没声息的大步。他的双手出奇地冷。
24 clandestine yqmzh     
adj.秘密的,暗中从事的
参考例句:
  • She is the director of clandestine operations of the CIA.她是中央情报局秘密行动的负责人。
  • The early Christians held clandestine meetings in caves.早期的基督徒在洞穴中秘密聚会。
25 abruptly iINyJ     
adv.突然地,出其不意地
参考例句:
  • He gestured abruptly for Virginia to get in the car.他粗鲁地示意弗吉尼亚上车。
  • I was abruptly notified that a half-hour speech was expected of me.我突然被通知要讲半个小时的话。
26 intervals f46c9d8b430e8c86dea610ec56b7cbef     
n.[军事]间隔( interval的名词复数 );间隔时间;[数学]区间;(戏剧、电影或音乐会的)幕间休息
参考例句:
  • The forecast said there would be sunny intervals and showers. 预报间晴,有阵雨。
  • Meetings take place at fortnightly intervals. 每两周开一次会。
27 engulfed 52ce6eb2bc4825e9ce4b243448ffecb3     
v.吞没,包住( engulf的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • He was engulfed by a crowd of reporters. 他被一群记者团团围住。
  • The little boat was engulfed by the waves. 小船被波浪吞没了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
28 entirely entirely     
ad.全部地,完整地;完全地,彻底地
参考例句:
  • The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
  • His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。
29 degenerated 41e5137359bcc159984e1d58f1f76d16     
衰退,堕落,退化( degenerate的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • The march degenerated into a riot. 示威游行变成了暴动。
  • The wide paved road degenerated into a narrow bumpy track. 铺好的宽阔道路渐渐变窄,成了一条崎岖不平的小径。
30 rustle thPyl     
v.沙沙作响;偷盗(牛、马等);n.沙沙声声
参考例句:
  • She heard a rustle in the bushes.她听到灌木丛中一阵沙沙声。
  • He heard a rustle of leaves in the breeze.他听到树叶在微风中发出的沙沙声。
31 syllable QHezJ     
n.音节;vt.分音节
参考例句:
  • You put too much emphasis on the last syllable.你把最后一个音节读得太重。
  • The stress on the last syllable is light.最后一个音节是轻音节。
32 butted 6cd04b7d59e3b580de55d8a5bd6b73bb     
对接的
参考例句:
  • Two goats butted each other. 两只山羊用角顶架。
  • He butted against a tree in the dark. 他黑暗中撞上了一棵树。
33 abominably 71996a6a63478f424db0cdd3fd078878     
adv. 可恶地,可恨地,恶劣地
参考例句:
  • From her own point of view Barbara had behaved abominably. 在她看来,芭芭拉的表现是恶劣的。
  • He wanted to know how abominably they could behave towards him. 他希望能知道他们能用什么样的卑鄙手段来对付他。
34 swelled bd4016b2ddc016008c1fc5827f252c73     
增强( swell的过去式和过去分词 ); 肿胀; (使)凸出; 充满(激情)
参考例句:
  • The infection swelled his hand. 由于感染,他的手肿了起来。
  • After the heavy rain the river swelled. 大雨过后,河水猛涨。
35 jeer caXz5     
vi.嘲弄,揶揄;vt.奚落;n.嘲笑,讥评
参考例句:
  • Do not jeer at the mistakes or misfortunes of others.不要嘲笑别人的错误或不幸。
  • The children liked to jeer at the awkward students.孩子们喜欢嘲笑笨拙的学生。
36 ascended ea3eb8c332a31fe6393293199b82c425     
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》
37 sumptuous Rqqyl     
adj.豪华的,奢侈的,华丽的
参考例句:
  • The guests turned up dressed in sumptuous evening gowns.客人们身着华丽的夜礼服出现了。
  • We were ushered into a sumptuous dining hall.我们被领进一个豪华的餐厅。
38 hilarity 3dlxT     
n.欢乐;热闹
参考例句:
  • The announcement was greeted with much hilarity and mirth.这一项宣布引起了热烈的欢呼声。
  • Wine gives not light hilarity,but noisy merriment.酒不给人以轻松的欢乐,而给人以嚣嚷的狂欢。
39 chamber wnky9     
n.房间,寝室;会议厅;议院;会所
参考例句:
  • For many,the dentist's surgery remains a torture chamber.对许多人来说,牙医的治疗室一直是间受刑室。
  • The chamber was ablaze with light.会议厅里灯火辉煌。
40 desolate vmizO     
adj.荒凉的,荒芜的;孤独的,凄凉的;v.使荒芜,使孤寂
参考例句:
  • The city was burned into a desolate waste.那座城市被烧成一片废墟。
  • We all felt absolutely desolate when she left.她走后,我们都觉得万分孤寂。
41 pebble c3Rzo     
n.卵石,小圆石
参考例句:
  • The bird mistook the pebble for egg and tried to hatch it.这只鸟错把卵石当蛋,想去孵它。
  • The pebble made a ripple on the surface of the lake.石子在湖面上激起一个涟漪。
42 standing 2hCzgo     
n.持续,地位;adj.永久的,不动的,直立的,不流动的
参考例句:
  • After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
  • They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。
43 hoarsely hoarsely     
adv.嘶哑地
参考例句:
  • "Excuse me," he said hoarsely. “对不起。”他用嘶哑的嗓子说。
  • Jerry hoarsely professed himself at Miss Pross's service. 杰瑞嘶声嘶气地表示愿为普洛丝小姐效劳。 来自英汉文学 - 双城记
44 undoubtedly Mfjz6l     
adv.确实地,无疑地
参考例句:
  • It is undoubtedly she who has said that.这话明明是她说的。
  • He is undoubtedly the pride of China.毫无疑问他是中国的骄傲。
45 kindly tpUzhQ     
adj.和蔼的,温和的,爽快的;adv.温和地,亲切地
参考例句:
  • Her neighbours spoke of her as kindly and hospitable.她的邻居都说她和蔼可亲、热情好客。
  • A shadow passed over the kindly face of the old woman.一道阴影掠过老太太慈祥的面孔。


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