CHAPTER XXXII

 WE COME HOME—MRS. BUNDLE QUITS SERVICE

The day my wife and I returned from our wedding trip to Dacrefield was a very happy one. We had a triumphal welcome from the tenants¹, my dear father was beaming, the Rector no less so, and good old Nurse Bundle showered blessings² on the head of my bride.

 

Frances was a great favourite with her. She was devoted³ to the old woman, and her delicate tact⁴ made her adapt herself to all Mrs. Bundle's peculiarities⁵. She sat with her in the nursery that night till nearly dinner-time.

 

"I must take her away, Nursey," said I, coming in; "she'll be late for dinner."

 

"Go with your husband, my dear," said Nurse Bundle, "and the Lord bless you both."

 

"I'll come back, Nursey," said Frances; "you'll soon see me again."

 

"Turn your face, my dear," said Nurse Bundle. "Hold up the candle, Master Reginald. Ay, ay, that'll do, my deary. I'll see you again."

 

We were still at dessert with my father, when Bowles came hastily into the room with a pale face, and went up to my wife.

 

"Did you send for Mrs. Bundle, ma'am, since you came down to dinner?" he asked.[235]

 

"Oh, dear no," said my wife.

 

"Cook was going upstairs, and met Missis Bundle a little way out of her room," Bowles explained; "and Missis Bundle she says, 'Don't stop me,' says she, 'Mrs. Dacre wants me,' she says, and on she goes; and cook waits and waits in her room for her, and at last she comes down to me, and she says—"

 

"But where is Mrs. Bundle?" cried my father.

 

"That's circumstantially what nobody knows, sir," said Bowles with a distracted air.

 

We all three rushed upstairs. Mrs. Bundle was not to be found. My father was frantic⁶; my wife with tears lamented⁷ that some chance word of hers might have led the half-childish old lady to fancy that she wanted her.

 

But a sudden conviction had seized upon me.

 

"You need not trouble yourself, my darling," said I; "you are not the Mrs. Dacre Nurse Bundle went to seek."

 

I ran to my father's dressing-room. It was as I thought.

 

Below my mother's portrait, on the spot where years before she had held me in her arms with tears, I, weeping also, held her now in mine—quite dead.

THE END

1 tenants   

n.房客( tenant的名词复数 )；佃户；占用者；占有者

参考例句：

• A number of tenants have been evicted for not paying the rent. 许多房客因不付房租被赶了出来。
• Tenants are jointly and severally liable for payment of the rent. 租金由承租人共同且分别承担。

2 blessings   

n.（上帝的）祝福( blessing的名词复数 )；好事；福分；因祸得福

参考例句：

• Afflictions are sometimes blessings in disguise. 塞翁失马，焉知非福。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• We don't rely on blessings from Heaven. 我们不靠老天保佑。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

3 devoted   

adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的

参考例句：

• He devoted his life to the educational cause of the motherland.他为祖国的教育事业贡献了一生。
• We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。

4 tact   

n.机敏，圆滑，得体

参考例句：

• She showed great tact in dealing with a tricky situation.她处理棘手的局面表现得十分老练。
• Tact is a valuable commodity.圆滑老练是很有用处的。

5 peculiarities   

n. 特质, 特性, 怪癖, 古怪

参考例句：

• the cultural peculiarities of the English 英国人的文化特点
• He used to mimic speech peculiarities of another. 他过去总是模仿别人讲话的特点。

6 frantic   

adj.狂乱的，错乱的，激昂的

参考例句：

• I've had a frantic rush to get my work done.我急急忙忙地赶完工作。
• He made frantic dash for the departing train.他发疯似地冲向正开出的火车。

7 lamented   

adj.被哀悼的，令人遗憾的v.（为…）哀悼，痛哭，悲伤( lament的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• her late lamented husband 她那令人怀念的已故的丈夫
• We lamented over our bad luck. 我们为自己的不幸而悲伤。 来自《简明英汉词典》