I bathed my heated head, undressed myself, and got into bed, considering what I should say to the police when I went next morning to communicate my suspicions. And it is worthy6 of remark, as well as somewhat ludicrously self-betraying, that no sooner did I mentally see myself in the presence of the police, and was thus forced to confront my suspicions with some appearance of evidence, than the whole fabric7 of my vision rattled8 to the ground. What had I to say to the police? Simply that, on the evening of the night when Lieschen was murdered, I had passed in a public thoroughfare a man whom I could not identify, but who as I could not help fancying, seemed to recognize me. This man, I had persuaded myself, was the murderer; for which persuasion9 I was unable to adduce a tittle of evidence. It was uncolored by the remotest possibility. It was truly and simply the suggestion of my vagrant10 fancy, which had mysteriously settled itself into a conviction; and having thus capriciously identified the stranger with Lieschen's murderer, I now, upon evidence quite as preposterous11, identified Bourgonef with the stranger.
The folly12 became apparent even to myself. If Bourgonef had in his possession a rouge-pot and false beard, I could not but acknowledge that he made no attempt to conceal13 them, nor had he manifested any confusion on their appearance. He had quietly characterized them as masquerading follies14. Moreover, I now began to remember distinctly that the stranger did carry a walking-stick in his right hand; and as Bourgonef had lost his right arm, that settled the point.
Into such complications, would the tricks of imagination lead me! I blushed mentally, and resolved to let it serve as a lesson in future. It is needless, however, to say that the lesson was lost, as such lessons always are lost; a strong tendency in any direction soon disregards all the teachings of experience. I am still not the less the victim of my constructive imagination, because I have frequently had to be ashamed of its vagaries15.
The next morning I awoke with a lighter16 breast, rejoicing in the caution which had delayed me from any rash manifestation17 of suspicions now seen to be absurd. I smiled as the thought arose: what if this suspected stranger should also be pestered18 by an active imagination, and should entertain similar suspicions of me? He must have seen in my eyes the look of recognition which I saw in his. On hearing of the murder, our meeting may also have recurred19 to him; and his suspicions would have this color, wanting to mine, that I happen to inherit with my Italian blood a somewhat truculent20 appearance, which has gained for me among my friends the playful sobriquet21 of "the brigand22."
Anxious to atone23 at once for my folly, and to remove from my mind any misgiving—if it existed—at my quitting him so soon after the disclosures of the masquerading details, I went to Bourgonef as soon as I was dressed and proposed a ramble24 till the diligence started for Munich. He was sympathetic in his inquiries25 about my colic, which I assured him had quite passed away, and out we went. The sharp morning air of March made us walk briskly, and gave a pleasant animation26 to our thoughts. As he discussed the acts of the provisional government, so wise, temperate27, and energetic, the fervor28 and generosity29 of his sentiments stood out in such striking contrast with the deed I had last night recklessly imputed30 to him that I felt deeply ashamed, and was nearly carried away by mingled31 admiration33 and self-reproach to confess the absurd vagrancy34 of my thoughts and humbly35 ask his pardon. But you can understand the reluctance36 at a confession37 so insulting to him, so degrading to me. It is at all times difficult to tell a man, face to face, eye to eye, the evil you have thought of him, unless the recklessness of anger seizes on it as a weapon with which to strike; and I had now so completely unsaid to myself all that I once had thought of evil, that to put it in words seemed a gratuitous38 injury to me and insult to him.
A day or two after our arrival in Munich a reaction began steadily39 to set in. Ashamed as I was of my suspicions, I could not altogether banish40 from my mind the incident which had awakened41 them. The image of that false beard would mingle32 with my thoughts. I was vaguely42 uncomfortable at the idea of Bourgonef's carrying about with him obvious materials of disguise. In itself this would have had little significance; but coupled with the fact that his devoted43 servant was—in spite of all Bourgonef's eulogies— repulsively44 ferocious45 in aspect, capable, as I could not help believing, of any brutality,—the suggestion was unpleasant. You will understand that having emphatically acquitted46 Bourgonef in my mind, I did not again distinctly charge him with any complicity in the mysterious murder; on the contrary, I should indignantly have repelled47 such a thought; but the uneasy sense of some mystery about him, coupled with the accessories of disguise, and the aspect of the servant, gave rise to dim, shadowy forebodings which ever and anon passed across my mind.
Did it ever occur to you, reader, to reflect on the depths of deceit which lie still and dark even in the honestest minds? Society reposes48 on a thin crust of convention, underneath49 which lie fathomless50 possibilities of crime, and consequently suspicions of crime. Friendship, however close and dear, is not free from its reserves, unspoken beliefs, more or less suppressed opinions. The man whom you would indignantly defend against any accusation51 brought by another, so confident are you in his unshakable integrity, you may yourself momentarily suspect of crimes far exceeding those which you repudiate52. Indeed, I have known sagacious men hold that perfect frankness in expressing the thoughts is a sure sign of imperfect friendship; something is always suppressed; and it is not he who loves you that "tells you candidly53 what he thinks" of your person, your pretensions55, your children, or your poems. Perfect candor56 is dictated57 by envy, or some other unfriendly feeling, making friendship a stalking-horse, under cover of which it shoots the arrow which will rankle58. Friendship is candid54 only when the candor is urgent—meant to avert59 impending60 danger or to rectify61 an error. The candor which is an impertinence never springs from friendship. Love is sympathetic.
I do not, of course, mean to intimate that my feeling for Bourgonef was of that deep kind which justifies62 the name of friendship. I only want to say that in our social relations we are constantly hiding from each other, under the smiles and courtesies of friendly interest, thoughts which, if expressed, would destroy all possible communion—and that, nevertheless, we are not insincere in our smiles and courtesies; and therefore there is nothing paradoxical in my having felt great admiration for Bourgonef, and great pleasure in his society, while all the time there was deep down in the recesses63 of my thoughts an uneasy sense of a dark mystery which possibly connected him with a dreadful crime.
This feeling was roused into greater activity by an incident which now occurred. One morning I went to Bourgonef's room, which was at some distance from mine on the same floor, intending to propose a visit to the sculpture at the Glyptothek. To my surprise I found Ivan the serf standing64 before the closed door. He looked at me like a mastiff about to spring; and intimated by significant gestures that I was not allowed to enter the room. Concluding that his master was occupied in some way, and desired not to be disturbed, I merely signified by a nod that my visit was of no consequence, and went out. On returning about an hour afterwards I saw Ivan putting three pink letters into the letter-box of the hotel. I attached no significance to this very ordinary fact at the time, but went up to my room and began writing my letters, one of which was to my lawyer, sending him an important receipt. The dinner-bell sounded before I had half finished this letter; but I wrote on, determined65 to have done with it at once, in case the afternoon should offer any expedition with Bourgonef.
At dinner he quietly intimated that Ivan had informed him of my visit, and apologized for not having been able to see me. I, of course, assured him that no apology was necessary, and that we had plenty of time to visit sculpture together without intruding66 on his private hours. He informed me that he was that afternoon going to pay a visit to Schwanthaler, the sculptor67, and if I desired it, he would ask permission on another occasion to take me with him. I jumped at the proposal, as may be supposed.
Dinner over, I strolled into the Englische Garten, and had my coffee and cigar there. On my return I was vexed68 to find that in the hurry of finishing my letters I had sealed the one to my lawyer, and had not enclosed the receipt which had been the object of writing. Fortunately it was not too late. Descending69 to the bureau of the hotel, I explained my mistake to the head-waiter, who unlocked the letter-box to search for my letter. It was found at once, for there were only seven or eight in the box. Among these my eye naturally caught the three pink letters which I had that morning seen Ivan drop into the box; but although they were SEEN by me they were not NOTICED at the time, my mind being solely70 occupied with rectifying71 the stupid blunder I had made.
Once more in my own room a sudden revelation startled me. Everyone knows what it is to have details come under the eye which the mind first interprets long after the eye ceases to rest upon them. The impressions are received passively; but they are registered, and can be calmly read whenever the mind is in activity. It was so now. I suddenly, as if now for the first time, saw that the addresses on Bourgonef's letters were written in a fluent, masterly hand, bold in character, and with a certain sweep which might have come from a painter. The thrill which this vision gave will be intelligible72 when you remember that Bourgonef had lost or pretended to have lost his right arm, and was, as I before intimated, far from dexterous73 with his left. That no man recently thrown upon the use of a left hand could have written those addresses was too evident. What, then, was the alternative? The empty sleeve was an imposture74! At once the old horrible suspicion returned, and this time with tenfold violence, and with damnatory confirmation75.
Pressing my temples between my hands, I tried to be calm and to survey the evidence without precipitation; but for some time the conflict of thoughts was too violent. Whatever might be the explanation, clear it was that Bourgonef, for some purposes, was practising a deception76, and had, as I knew, other means of disguising his appearance. This, on the most favorable interpretation77, branded him with suspicion. This excluded him from the circle of honest men.
But did it connect him with the murder of Lieschen Lehfeldt? In my thought it did so indubitably; but I was aware of the difficulty of making this clear to anyone else.
点击
收听单词发音
收听单词发音 |
1
conjectures
|
|
| 推测，猜想( conjecture的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
2
exhausted
|
|
| adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
3
constructive
|
|
| adj.建设的，建设性的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
4
outrageous
|
|
| adj.无理的，令人不能容忍的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
5
riotously
|
|
| adv.骚动地，暴乱地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
6
worthy
|
|
| adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
7
fabric
|
|
| n.织物，织品，布；构造，结构，组织 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
8
rattled
|
|
| 慌乱的，恼火的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
9
persuasion
|
|
| n.劝说；说服；持有某种信仰的宗派 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
10
vagrant
|
|
| n.流浪者，游民；adj.流浪的，漂泊不定的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
11
preposterous
|
|
| adj.荒谬的，可笑的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
12
folly
|
|
| n.愚笨，愚蠢，蠢事，蠢行，傻话 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
13
conceal
|
|
| v.隐藏，隐瞒，隐蔽 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
14
follies
|
|
| 罪恶，时事讽刺剧； 愚蠢，蠢笨，愚蠢的行为、思想或做法( folly的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
15
vagaries
|
|
| n.奇想( vagary的名词复数 )；异想天开；异常行为；难以预测的情况 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
16
lighter
|
|
| n.打火机，点火器；驳船；v.用驳船运送；light的比较级 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
17
manifestation
|
|
| n.表现形式；表明；现象 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
18
pestered
|
|
| 使烦恼，纠缠( pester的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
19
recurred
|
|
| 再发生，复发( recur的过去式和过去分词 )； 治愈 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
20
truculent
|
|
| adj.野蛮的，粗野的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
21
sobriquet
|
|
| n.绰号 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
22
brigand
|
|
| n.土匪，强盗 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
23
atone
|
|
| v.赎罪，补偿 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
24
ramble
|
|
| v.漫步，漫谈，漫游；n.漫步，闲谈，蔓延 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
25
inquiries
|
|
| n.调查( inquiry的名词复数 )；疑问；探究；打听 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
26
animation
|
|
| n.活泼，兴奋，卡通片／动画片的制作 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
27
temperate
|
|
| adj.温和的，温带的，自我克制的，不过分的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
28
fervor
|
|
| n.热诚；热心；炽热 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
29
generosity
|
|
| n.大度，慷慨，慷慨的行为 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
30
imputed
|
|
| v.把（错误等）归咎于( impute的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
31
mingled
|
|
| 混合，混入( mingle的过去式和过去分词 )； 混进，与…交往[联系] | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
32
mingle
|
|
| vt.使混合，使相混；vi.混合起来；相交往 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
33
admiration
|
|
| n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
34
vagrancy
|
|
| （说话的，思想的）游移不定； 漂泊； 流浪； 离题 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
35
humbly
|
|
| adv. 恭顺地，谦卑地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
36
reluctance
|
|
| n.厌恶，讨厌，勉强，不情愿 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
37
confession
|
|
| n.自白，供认，承认 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
38
gratuitous
|
|
| adj.无偿的，免费的；无缘无故的，不必要的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
39
steadily
|
|
| adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
40
banish
|
|
| vt.放逐，驱逐；消除，排除 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
41
awakened
|
|
| v.（使）醒( awaken的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）觉醒；弄醒；（使）意识到 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
42
vaguely
|
|
| adv.含糊地，暖昧地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
43
devoted
|
|
| adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
44
repulsively
|
|
| adv.冷淡地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
|
45
ferocious
|
|
| adj.凶猛的，残暴的，极度的，十分强烈的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
46
acquitted
|
|
| 宣判…无罪( acquit的过去式和过去分词 )； 使（自己）作出某种表现 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
47
repelled
|
|
| v.击退( repel的过去式和过去分词 )；使厌恶；排斥；推开 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
48
reposes
|
|
| v.将（手臂等）靠在某人（某物）上( repose的第三人称单数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
49
underneath
|
|
| adj.在...下面，在...底下；adv.在下面 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
50
fathomless
|
|
| a.深不可测的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
51
accusation
|
|
| n.控告，指责，谴责 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
52
repudiate
|
|
| v.拒绝，拒付，拒绝履行 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
53
candidly
|
|
| adv.坦率地，直率而诚恳地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
54
candid
|
|
| adj.公正的，正直的；坦率的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
55
pretensions
|
|
| 自称( pretension的名词复数 )； 自命不凡； 要求； 权力 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
56
candor
|
|
| n.坦白，率真 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
57
dictated
|
|
| v.大声讲或读( dictate的过去式和过去分词 )；口授；支配；摆布 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
58
rankle
|
|
| v.（怨恨，失望等）难以释怀 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
59
avert
|
|
| v.防止，避免；转移(目光、注意力等) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
60
impending
|
|
| a.imminent, about to come or happen | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
61
rectify
|
|
| v.订正，矫正，改正 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
62
justifies
|
|
| 证明…有理( justify的第三人称单数 )； 为…辩护； 对…作出解释； 为…辩解（或辩护） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
63
recesses
|
|
| n.壁凹( recess的名词复数 )；（工作或业务活动的）中止或暂停期间；学校的课间休息；某物内部的凹形空间v.把某物放在墙壁的凹处( recess的第三人称单数 )；将（墙）做成凹形，在（墙）上做壁龛；休息，休会，休庭 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
64
standing
|
|
| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
65
determined
|
|
| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
66
intruding
|
|
| v.侵入，侵扰，打扰( intrude的现在分词)；把…强加于 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
67
sculptor
|
|
| n.雕刻家，雕刻家 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
68
vexed
|
|
| adj.争论不休的；（指问题等）棘手的；争论不休的问题；烦恼的v.使烦恼( vex的过去式和过去分词 )；使苦恼；使生气；详细讨论 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
69
descending
|
|
| n. 下行 adj. 下降的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
70
solely
|
|
| adv.仅仅，唯一地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
71
rectifying
|
|
| 改正，矫正( rectify的现在分词 )； 精馏； 蒸流； 整流 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
72
intelligible
|
|
| adj.可理解的，明白易懂的，清楚的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
73
dexterous
|
|
| adj.灵敏的；灵巧的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
74
imposture
|
|
| n.冒名顶替，欺骗 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
75
confirmation
|
|
| n.证实，确认，批准 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
76
deception
|
|
| n.欺骗，欺诈；骗局，诡计 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
77
interpretation
|
|
| n.解释，说明，描述；艺术处理 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
| 欢迎访问英文小说网 |