First, Gervase was conscious of being nettled2 by the distance which existed between him and Diana. And certainly, to be sensible of his arm being arrested by an unseen obstacle when he thought to put it round his own wife's waist, to collapse3 in the mere4 idea of asking her to give him a kiss, never to have felt so fully5 the dissipated, degraded fool he had been, as he felt then, was not a pleasant sensation. It may sound immoral6, but it seemed as if, had Gervase been more depraved, there would have been more hope for him, since he would have appreciated the gulf7 between him and his guardian8 less.
Then the old craving9 returned like a death thirst. The old, wild, worthless, low companions, were cognisant, as if by instinct, of a relapse. Eager to hail its signs, and profit by them, they waylaid10 him at the 'Spreading Ash,' with "Hey, don't you dare to swallow a single glass in your own village, to give custom to your villager, man?" They waylaid and gathered round him in the market-place of Market Hesketh, with "Well met, Mr. Gervase Norgate. Lord! are you alive still? for we had doubted it. Don't speak to him to detain him, you fellows; don't you see Mrs. Gervase has her eye upon him, and is craning her neck to discover what is keeping him? Off with you, sir, since you are a husband, a reformed rake, and a church-goer. If you had gone and joined the Methodists, you might have been a preacher yourself by this time. Oh! we don't want to spoil sport and balk11 your good intentions; but, by George, Gervase, we never thought you would [Page 318]have been the man to be tied so tight to a woman's apron-string. You must spare us one more carouse12 for old friendship's sake, my boy, just to try what it is like again, and hear all the news. Ah! your teeth are watering; come along; Madam is not to swallow you up entirely13."
They got him away from his wife, and made him leave her sitting an hour in the carriage, with a pair of young horses pawing and rearing and endangering her very life in the yard of the 'Crown.' They made him send her home without him, and kept him till they had nothing more to say than "Heave the poor devil into a gig, and drive him up to his own door and put him down there. It is the best you can do for him,—the fool was always so easily upset; and it will do for her at the same time—give her something to hold her cursed high white head in the air and turn up her nose for; serve her impudence14 right for taking it upon her to act as private policeman to Jarvie." They sent him home to her, a beast who had been with wild beasts. They did it for the most part heedlessly, in jollity and jeering15; but they did it not the less effectually. The wild beast of sensuality had him again; not one devil, but seven, had entered into him; and reigning16 king over the others, an insensate devil of cruel jealousy17 of his wife, of his gaoler, resenting her efforts, defying her pains.
Diana did not take Gervase Norgate's backsliding to her very heart, was not wounded to death by it as if she had loved him. But she did not give him up. She was a tenacious18 woman, and Gervase Norgate's salvation19 was her one chance of moral redemption from the base barter20 [Page 319]of her marriage. She did not reproach him: she was too proud a woman, too cold to him, to goad21 and sting him by reproaches. They might have served her end better than the terrible aggravation22 of her silence. She was just too, and she did not accuse him unduly23. She said to herself, "He is a poor, misguided fellow, a brute24 where drink is concerned: when I married him, that was as clear as day. I have no right to complain, though he resume his bad courses." Still she left no stone unturned; she was prepared, as before, to ride and walk and play with him at all hours; she ignored his frequent absences and the condition in which he came back, as far as possible. She abetted25 old Miles in clearing away, silently and swiftly, the miserable26 evidences of mischief27. She smuggled28 out of sight, and huddled29 into oblivion, battered30 hats, broken pipes and sticks, stopperless flasks31, cracked, smoky lanterns—concealing them with a decent, decorous, sacred duplicity even from Aunt Tabby, who trotted32 across the country on her father's old trotting33 mare34, took her observations, and departed, shaking her head and moralizing on the text, "Cast not your pearls before swine."
Diana sat at her forlorn post in the billiard-room, or by the cribbage-board, or at the piano which Gervase had got for her. She had some small skill to play and sing to him, and was indefatigable35 in learning the simple tunes36 and songs he liked. And night after night she was left alone, unapproached, uncalled for; or else Gervase stumbled in from the dining-room or from an adjournment37 to the village tavern38, where he was the acknowledged king and emperor, bemussed, befumed, giddy, hilarious39, piteously [Page 320]maudlin, or deliriously40 furious. She stooped to smile and answer his random41 ravings and to comply with his demands. If she escaped actual outrage42 and injury in his house and hers, it was not because she did not provoke him, for there was nothing in his wife which Gervase hated so heartily43, resented so keenly, as her refraining from contradicting him. But below the grossness and sin of the poor lout44 and caitiff there was a fund of sullen45, latent manliness46 and kindness, which held him back from insulting the defenceless woman—for all her pride and purity—who was his wife, just as it had held him back from dallying47 with and caressing48 her as his mistress.
The neighbourhood which had furnished both a dress-circle and a pit to witness Diana's spectacle, was not astonished at the fate of the adventure. Its success would have been little short of a miracle, and these were not the days of faith in miracles; so the neighbourhood did not pity Mrs. Gervase Norgate, for she had been foolhardy at the best, and her fortune or misfortune had only been what ought to have been expected. For that matter Mrs. Gervase Norgate would not have thanked the world for its pity, though it had been lavishly49 vouchsafed50.
There was one point on which Diana did not hesitate to contradict Gervase, and persisted in contradicting him. She would not suffer him, if she could help it, to frequent Newton-le-Moor, or to consort51 with Mr. Baring. For to go to Newton-le-Moor was to go among the Philistines52; and lawless as Gervase was in his own person, it should never be with his wife's consent that he should go and be plundered53 by her own flesh and blood—his errors rendering54 him but a safer and a surer prey55.
[Page 321]Gervase was standing56 restless and indignant by the low bow-window of his wife's drawing-room, opening on the flower-garden, which had been laid out in their honeymoon57, and in which she continued to take pleasure, though the wealth of glowing autumn geraniums and verbenas had given place to the few frosted winter chrysanthemums58. It was but the middle of the day, and he had risen and had his cup of tea laced with brandy and crowned with brandy, so that the jaded59 man was comparatively fresh, but irritable60 to the last nerve, each jarring nerve twanging like harpstrings, sending electric thrills of vexation and rage over his whole body at the cross of every straw.
Diana, who had been up and busy for hours, was sitting at her desk; her brow, whatever cares lurked61 behind it, unruffled and white; a seemly, reasonable, refined woman, aggrieved62 every day she lived, but scorning to betray a knowledge of the grievance63.
"Don't go to Newton, above all by yourself, Gervase," the wife was entreating64, gravely and earnestly. "I am afraid my father may take the opportunity of trying to get money from you. He has entered horses for the Thorpe stakes: he will seek to make you enter them, and you told me yourself May and Highflyer were not fit to run this year. Or he will seek to lead you into some other transaction in horse-flesh, or have you into the house to play billiards65 and remain to dinner and cards all night, and there is always high play at Newton. My father is a needy66 man, and needy men are tempted67 to be unscrupulous; at least his code implies few scruples68, where the letter of the laws of honour is complied with."
[Page 322]"It comes ill off your hand to say so," observed Gervase harshly. Undoubtedly69 he spoke70 no more than the truth, and such a life as Gervase Norgate's was not a school for magnanimity.
Die winced71 a little; and she was a woman whose fair cheek so rarely blushed, that her blushing was like another woman's crying. Die never cried; Gervase Norgate had never wrung72 a tear from her, or seen her shed a tear.
"Well, it was hard for me to say it," she admitted, with an accent of reproach in her equable tones; "but there the wrong and the shame are, and I owe it to myself and to you to warn you."
"I wonder how much I owe your being here to Newton-le-Moor being little better than a not very reputable gambling-house," exclaimed Gervase rudely.
She looked at him with her wide-open eyes, as if she had been struck, but did not care to own the blow.
"It was not to much profit where you were concerned," he continued, in an infatuation of brutality73; "it did not get you so much as a pocket-handkerchief, or a flower-garden like that down there, or," glancing round him, "trumpery74 hangings and mirrors, and a new gown or two, or any other of the miserable trash for which women sell themselves."
She neither spoke nor stirred.
He had worked himself into a blindness of rage, in which he could see nothing before him but the possibility of moving her, of breaking down and destroying her calm front.
"And I wonder how much you owe your being here [Page 323]to my being a prodigal75 clutching at any respite76? You may well come down lightly on my faults, Madam; they have made you the mistress of Ashpound in the present, and won for you its widow's jointure in the future. If I had known all beforehand, I might not have encumbered77 myself in vain. As it is, I do not think it becomes you to lecture me on keeping company with your own father."
She got up and left the room.
It was time, when all was lost, even honour. If he had not been himself, she might have passed over his taunts78 with simple shame and disgust; but given, as they were, when she held that he knew what he was saying—as a proof that he had not a particle of respect and regard for her after their months of wedlock79, they were a certain indication of his ruin and her reward.
点击收听单词发音
1 overcast | |
adj.阴天的,阴暗的,愁闷的;v.遮盖,(使)变暗,包边缝;n.覆盖,阴天 | |
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2 nettled | |
v.拿荨麻打,拿荨麻刺(nettle的过去式与过去分词形式) | |
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3 collapse | |
vi.累倒;昏倒;倒塌;塌陷 | |
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4 mere | |
adj.纯粹的;仅仅,只不过 | |
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5 fully | |
adv.完全地,全部地,彻底地;充分地 | |
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6 immoral | |
adj.不道德的,淫荡的,荒淫的,有伤风化的 | |
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7 gulf | |
n.海湾;深渊,鸿沟;分歧,隔阂 | |
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8 guardian | |
n.监护人;守卫者,保护者 | |
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9 craving | |
n.渴望,热望 | |
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10 waylaid | |
v.拦截,拦路( waylay的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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11 balk | |
n.大方木料;v.妨碍;不愿前进或从事某事 | |
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12 carouse | |
v.狂欢;痛饮;n.狂饮的宴会 | |
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13 entirely | |
ad.全部地,完整地;完全地,彻底地 | |
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14 impudence | |
n.厚颜无耻;冒失;无礼 | |
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15 jeering | |
adj.嘲弄的,揶揄的v.嘲笑( jeer的现在分词 ) | |
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16 reigning | |
adj.统治的,起支配作用的 | |
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17 jealousy | |
n.妒忌,嫉妒,猜忌 | |
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18 tenacious | |
adj.顽强的,固执的,记忆力强的,粘的 | |
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19 salvation | |
n.(尤指基督)救世,超度,拯救,解困 | |
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20 barter | |
n.物物交换,以货易货,实物交易 | |
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21 goad | |
n.刺棒,刺痛物;激励;vt.激励,刺激 | |
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22 aggravation | |
n.烦恼,恼火 | |
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23 unduly | |
adv.过度地,不适当地 | |
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24 brute | |
n.野兽,兽性 | |
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25 abetted | |
v.教唆(犯罪)( abet的过去式和过去分词 );煽动;怂恿;支持 | |
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26 miserable | |
adj.悲惨的,痛苦的;可怜的,糟糕的 | |
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27 mischief | |
n.损害,伤害,危害;恶作剧,捣蛋,胡闹 | |
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28 smuggled | |
水货 | |
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29 huddled | |
挤在一起(huddle的过去式与过去分词形式) | |
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30 battered | |
adj.磨损的;v.连续猛击;磨损 | |
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31 flasks | |
n.瓶,长颈瓶, 烧瓶( flask的名词复数 ) | |
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32 trotted | |
小跑,急走( trot的过去分词 ); 匆匆忙忙地走 | |
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33 trotting | |
小跑,急走( trot的现在分词 ); 匆匆忙忙地走 | |
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34 mare | |
n.母马,母驴 | |
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35 indefatigable | |
adj.不知疲倦的,不屈不挠的 | |
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36 tunes | |
n.曲调,曲子( tune的名词复数 )v.调音( tune的第三人称单数 );调整;(给收音机、电视等)调谐;使协调 | |
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37 adjournment | |
休会; 延期; 休会期; 休庭期 | |
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38 tavern | |
n.小旅馆,客栈;小酒店 | |
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39 hilarious | |
adj.充满笑声的,欢闹的;[反]depressed | |
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40 deliriously | |
adv.谵妄(性);发狂;极度兴奋/亢奋;说胡话 | |
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41 random | |
adj.随机的;任意的;n.偶然的(或随便的)行动 | |
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42 outrage | |
n.暴行,侮辱,愤怒;vt.凌辱,激怒 | |
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43 heartily | |
adv.衷心地,诚恳地,十分,很 | |
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44 lout | |
n.粗鄙的人;举止粗鲁的人 | |
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45 sullen | |
adj.愠怒的,闷闷不乐的,(天气等)阴沉的 | |
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46 manliness | |
刚毅 | |
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47 dallying | |
v.随随便便地对待( dally的现在分词 );不很认真地考虑;浪费时间;调情 | |
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48 caressing | |
爱抚的,表现爱情的,亲切的 | |
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49 lavishly | |
adv.慷慨地,大方地 | |
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50 vouchsafed | |
v.给予,赐予( vouchsafe的过去式和过去分词 );允诺 | |
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51 consort | |
v.相伴;结交 | |
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52 philistines | |
n.市侩,庸人( philistine的名词复数 );庸夫俗子 | |
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53 plundered | |
掠夺,抢劫( plunder的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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54 rendering | |
n.表现,描写 | |
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55 prey | |
n.被掠食者,牺牲者,掠食;v.捕食,掠夺,折磨 | |
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56 standing | |
n.持续,地位;adj.永久的,不动的,直立的,不流动的 | |
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57 honeymoon | |
n.蜜月(假期);vi.度蜜月 | |
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58 chrysanthemums | |
n.菊花( chrysanthemum的名词复数 ) | |
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59 jaded | |
adj.精疲力竭的;厌倦的;(因过饱或过多而)腻烦的;迟钝的 | |
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60 irritable | |
adj.急躁的;过敏的;易怒的 | |
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61 lurked | |
vi.潜伏,埋伏(lurk的过去式与过去分词形式) | |
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62 aggrieved | |
adj.愤愤不平的,受委屈的;悲痛的;(在合法权利方面)受侵害的v.令委屈,令苦恼,侵害( aggrieve的过去式);令委屈,令苦恼,侵害( aggrieve的过去式和过去分词) | |
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63 grievance | |
n.怨愤,气恼,委屈 | |
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64 entreating | |
恳求,乞求( entreat的现在分词 ) | |
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65 billiards | |
n.台球 | |
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66 needy | |
adj.贫穷的,贫困的,生活艰苦的 | |
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67 tempted | |
v.怂恿(某人)干不正当的事;冒…的险(tempt的过去分词) | |
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68 scruples | |
n.良心上的不安( scruple的名词复数 );顾虑,顾忌v.感到于心不安,有顾忌( scruple的第三人称单数 ) | |
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69 undoubtedly | |
adv.确实地,无疑地 | |
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70 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 | |
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71 winced | |
赶紧避开,畏缩( wince的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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72 wrung | |
绞( wring的过去式和过去分词 ); 握紧(尤指别人的手); 把(湿衣服)拧干; 绞掉(水) | |
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73 brutality | |
n.野蛮的行为,残忍,野蛮 | |
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74 trumpery | |
n.无价值的杂物;adj.(物品)中看不中用的 | |
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75 prodigal | |
adj.浪费的,挥霍的,放荡的 | |
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76 respite | |
n.休息,中止,暂缓 | |
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77 encumbered | |
v.妨碍,阻碍,拖累( encumber的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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78 taunts | |
嘲弄的言语,嘲笑,奚落( taunt的名词复数 ) | |
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79 wedlock | |
n.婚姻,已婚状态 | |
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