It was the outcome of a long and intimate conversation. Alice Madden, aged2 nineteen, a plain, shy, gentle-mannered girl, short of stature3, and in movement something less than graceful4, wore a pleased look as she glanced at her father’s face and then turned her eyes across the blue channel to the Welsh hills. She was flattered by the confidence reposed5 in her, for Dr. Madden, reticent7 by nature, had never been known to speak in the domestic circle about his pecuniary8 affairs. He seemed to be the kind of man who would inspire his children with affection: grave but benign9, amiably10 diffident, with a hint of lurking11 mirthfulness about his eyes and lips. And today he was in the best of humours; professional prospects12, as he had just explained to Alice, were more encouraging than hitherto; for twenty years he had practised medicine at Clevedon, but with such trifling13 emolument14 that the needs of his large family left him scarce a margin15 over expenditure16; now, at the age of forty-nine — it was 1872 — he looked forward with a larger hope. Might he not reasonably count on ten or fifteen more years of activity? Clevedon was growing in repute as a seaside resort; new houses were rising; assuredly his practice would continue to extend.
‘I don’t think girls ought to be troubled about this kind of thing,’ he added apologetically. ‘Let men grapple with the world; for, as the old hymn17 says, “’tis their nature to.” I should grieve indeed if I thought my girls would ever have to distress18 themselves about money matters. But I find I have got into the habit, Alice, of talking to you very much as I should talk with your dear mother if she were with us.’
Mrs. Madden, having given birth to six daughters, had fulfilled her function in this wonderful world; for two years she had been resting in the old churchyard that looks upon the Severn sea. Father and daughter sighed as they recalled her memory. A sweet, calm, unpretending woman; admirable in the domesticities; in speech and thought distinguished19 by a native refinement20, which in the most fastidious eyes would have established her claim to the title of lady. She had known but little repose6, and secret anxieties told upon her countenance21 long before the final collapse22 of health.
‘And yet,’ pursued the doctor — doctor only by courtesy — when he had stooped to pluck and examine a flower, ‘I made a point of never discussing these matters with her. As no doubt you guess, life has been rather an uphill journey with us. But the home must be guarded against sordid23 cares to the last possible moment; nothing upsets me more than the sight of those poor homes where wife and children are obliged to talk from morning to night of how the sorry earnings24 shall be laid out. No, no; women, old or young, should never have to think about money.
The magnificent summer sunshine, and the western breeze that tasted of ocean, heightened his natural cheeriness. Dr. Madden fell into a familiar strain of prescience.
‘There will come a day, Alice, when neither man nor woman is troubled with such sordid care. Not yet awhile; no, no; but the day will come. Human beings are not destined25 to struggle for ever like beasts of prey26. Give them time; let civilization grow. You know what our poet says: “There the common sense of most shall hold a fretful realm in awe27 —”’
He quoted the couplet with a subdued28 fervour which characterized the man and explained his worldly lot. Elkanah Madden should never have entered the medical profession; mere29 humanitarianism30 had prompted the choice in his dreamy youth; he became an empiric, nothing more. ‘Our poet,’ said the doctor; Clevedon was chiefly interesting to him for its literary associations. Tennyson he worshipped; he never passed Coleridge’s cottage without bowing in spirit. From the contact of coarse actualities his nature shrank.
When he and Alice returned from their walk it was the hour of family tea. A guest was present this afternoon; the eight persons who sat down to table were as many as the little parlour could comfortably contain. Of the sisters, next in age to Alice came Virginia, a pretty but delicate girl of seventeen. Gertrude, Martha, and Isabel, ranging from fourteen to ten, had no physical charm but that of youthfulness; Isabel surpassed her eldest sister in downright plainness of feature. The youngest, Monica, was a bonny little maiden31 only just five years old, dark and bright-eyed.
The parents had omitted no care in shepherding their fold. Partly at home, and partly in local schools, the young ladies had received instruction suitable to their breeding, and the elder ones were disposed to better this education by private study. The atmosphere of the house was intellectual; books, especially the poets, lay in every room. But it never occurred to Dr. Madden that his daughters would do well to study with a professional object. In hours of melancholy32 he had of course dreaded33 the risks of life, and resolved, always with postponement34, to make some practical provision for his family; in educating them as well as circumstances allowed, he conceived that he was doing the next best thing to saving money, for, if a fatality35 befell, teaching would always be their resource. The thought, however, of his girls having to work for money was so utterly36 repulsive37 to him that he could never seriously dwell upon it. A vague piety38 supported his courage. Providence39 would not deal harshly with him and his dear ones. He enjoyed excellent health; his practice decidedly improved. The one duty clearly before him was to set an example of righteous life, and to develop the girls’ minds — in every proper direction. For, as to training them for any path save those trodden by English ladies of the familiar type, he could not have dreamt of any such thing. Dr. Madden’s hopes for the race were inseparable from a maintenance of morals and conventions such as the average man assumes in his estimate of women.
The guest at table was a young girl named Rhoda Nunn. Tall, thin, eager-looking, but with promise of bodily vigour40, she was singled at a glance as no member of the Madden family. Her immaturity41 (but fifteen, she looked two years older) appeared in nervous restlessness, and in her manner of speaking, childish at times in the hustling42 of inconsequent thoughts, yet striving to imitate the talk of her seniors. She had a good head, in both senses of the phrase; might or might not develop a certain beauty, but would assuredly put forth43 the fruits of intellect. Her mother, an invalid44, was spending the summer months at Clevedon, with Dr. Madden for medical adviser45, and in this way the girl became friendly with the Madden household. Its younger members she treated rather condescendingly; childish things she had long ago put away, and her sole pleasure was in intellectual talk. With a frankness peculiar46 to her, indicative of pride, Miss Nunn let it be known that she would have to earn her living, probably as a school teacher; study for examinations occupied most of her day, and her hours of leisure were frequently spent either at the Maddens or with a family named Smithson — people, these latter, for whom she had a profound and somewhat mysterious admiration47. Mr. Smithson, a widower48 with a consumptive daughter, was a harsh-featured, rough-voiced man of about five-and-thirty, secretly much disliked by Dr. Madden because of his aggressive radicalism49; if women’s observation could be trusted, Rhoda Nunn had simply fallen in love with him, had made him, perhaps unconsciously, the object of her earliest passion. Alice and Virginia commented on the fact in their private colloquy51 with a shamefaced amusement; they feared that it spoke52 ill for the young lady’s breeding. None the less they thought Rhoda a remarkable53 person, and listened to her utterances54 respectfully.
‘And what is your latest paradox55, Miss Nunn?’ inquired the doctor, with grave facetiousness56, when he had looked round the young faces at his board.
‘Really, I forget, doctor. Oh, but I wanted to ask you, Do you think women ought to sit in Parliament?’
‘Why, no,’ was the response, as if after due consideration. ‘If they are there at all they ought to stand.’
‘Oh, I can’t get you to talk seriously,’ rejoined Rhoda, with an air of vexation, whilst the others were good-naturedly laughing. ‘Mr. Smithson thinks there ought to be female members of Parliament.
‘Does he? Have the girls told you that there’s a nightingale in Mr. Williams’s orchard57?’
It was always thus. Dr. Madden did not care to discuss even playfully the radical50 notions which Rhoda got from her objectionable friend. His daughters would not have ventured to express an opinion on such topics when he was present; apart with Miss Nunn, they betrayed a timid interest in whatever proposition she advanced, but no gleam of originality58 distinguished their arguments.
After tea the little company fell into groups — some out of doors beneath the apple-trees, others near the piano at which Virginia was playing Mendelssohn. Monica ran about among them with her five-year-old prattle59, ever watched by her father, who lounged in a canvas chair against the sunny ivied wall, pipe in mouth. Dr. Madden was thinking how happy they made him, these kind, gentle girls; how his love for them seemed to ripen60 with every summer; what a delightful61 old age his would be, when some were married and had children of their own, and the others tended him — they whom he had tended. Virginia would probably be sought in marriage; she had good looks, a graceful demeanour, a bright understanding. Gertrude also, perhaps. And little Monica — ah, little Monica! she would be the beauty of the family. When Monica had grown up it would be time for him to retire from practice; by then he would doubtless have saved money.
He must find more society for them; they had always been too much alone, whence their shyness among strangers. If their mother had but lived!
‘Rhoda wishes you to read us something, father,’ said his eldest girl, who had approached whilst he was lost in dream.
He often read aloud to them from the poets; Coleridge and Tennyson by preference. Little persuasion62 was needed. Alice brought the volume, and he selected ‘The Lotus–Eaters.’ The girls grouped themselves about him, delighted to listen. Many an hour of summer evening had they thus spent, none more peaceful than the present. The reader’s cadenced63 voice blended with the song of a thrush.
‘“Let us alone. Time driveth onward64 fast, And in a little while our lips are dumb. Let us alone. What is it that will last? All thing’ are taken from us —”’
There came an interruption, hurried, peremptory65. A farmer over at Kingston Seymour had been seized with alarming illness; the doctor must come at once.
‘Very sorry, girls. Tell James to put the horse in, sharp as he can.
In ten minutes Dr. Madden was driving at full speed, alone in his dog-cart, towards the scene of duty.
About seven o’clock Rhoda Nunn took leave, remarking with her usual directness, that before going home she would walk along the sea-front in the hope of a meeting with Mr. Smithson and his daughter. Mrs. Nunn was not well enough to leave the house today; but, said Rhoda, the invalid preferred being left alone at such times.
‘Are you sure she prefers it?’ Alice ventured to ask. The girl gave her a look of surprise.
‘Why should mother say what she doesn’t mean?’
It was uttered with an ingenuousness66 which threw some light on Rhoda’s character.
By nine o’clock the younger trio of sisters had gone to bed; Alice, Virginia, and Gertrude sat in the parlour, occupied with books, from time to time exchanging a quiet remark. A tap at the door scarcely drew their attention, for they supposed it was the maid-servant coming to lay supper. But when the door opened there was a mysterious silence; Alice looked up and saw the expected face, wearing, however, so strange an expression that she rose with sudden fear.
‘Can I speak to you, please, miss?’
The dialogue out in the passage was brief. A messenger had just arrived with the tidings that Dr. Madden, driving back from Kingston Seymour, had been thrown from his vehicle and lay insensible at a roadside cottage.
For some time the doctor had been intending to buy a new horse; his faithful old roadster was very weak in the knees. As in other matters, so in this, postponement became fatality; the horse stumbled and fell, and its driver was flung head forward into the road. Some hours later they brought him to his home, and for a day or two there were hopes that he might rally. But the sufferer’s respite67 only permitted him to dictate68 and sign a brief will; this duty performed, Dr. Madden closed his lips for ever.
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1
eldest
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| adj.最年长的，最年老的 | |
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aged
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| adj.年老的，陈年的 | |
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stature
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| n.（高度）水平，（高度）境界，身高，身材 | |
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4
graceful
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| adj.优美的，优雅的；得体的 | |
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reposed
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| v.将（手臂等）靠在某人（某物）上( repose的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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repose
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| v.(使)休息；n.安息 | |
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reticent
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| adj.沉默寡言的；言不如意的 | |
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8
pecuniary
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| adj.金钱的；金钱上的 | |
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9
benign
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| adj.善良的，慈祥的；良性的，无危险的 | |
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10
amiably
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| adv.和蔼可亲地，亲切地 | |
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11
lurking
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| 潜在 | |
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prospects
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| n.希望，前途(恒为复数) | |
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13
trifling
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| adj.微不足道的；没什么价值的 | |
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emolument
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| n.报酬，薪水 | |
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margin
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| n.页边空白；差额；余地，余裕；边，边缘 | |
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expenditure
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| n.(时间、劳力、金钱等)支出；使用，消耗 | |
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17
hymn
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| n.赞美诗，圣歌，颂歌 | |
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18
distress
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| n.苦恼，痛苦，不舒适；不幸；vt.使悲痛 | |
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19
distinguished
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| adj.卓越的，杰出的，著名的 | |
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refinement
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| n.文雅；高尚；精美；精制；精炼 | |
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countenance
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| n.脸色，面容；面部表情；vt.支持，赞同 | |
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collapse
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| vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷 | |
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sordid
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| adj.肮脏的，不干净的，卑鄙的，暗淡的 | |
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earnings
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| n.工资收人；利润，利益，所得 | |
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destined
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| adj.命中注定的；(for)以…为目的地的 | |
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prey
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| n.被掠食者，牺牲者，掠食；v.捕食，掠夺，折磨 | |
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awe
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| n.敬畏，惊惧；vt.使敬畏，使惊惧 | |
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28
subdued
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| adj. 屈服的，柔和的，减弱的 动词subdue的过去式和过去分词 | |
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mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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humanitarianism
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| n.博爱主义；人道主义；基督凡人论 | |
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maiden
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| n.少女，处女；adj.未婚的，纯洁的，无经验的 | |
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melancholy
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| n.忧郁，愁思；adj.令人感伤（沮丧）的，忧郁的 | |
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dreaded
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| adj.令人畏惧的；害怕的v.害怕，恐惧，担心( dread的过去式和过去分词) | |
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postponement
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| n.推迟 | |
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fatality
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| n.不幸，灾祸，天命 | |
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utterly
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| adv.完全地，绝对地 | |
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repulsive
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| adj.排斥的，使人反感的 | |
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piety
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| n.虔诚，虔敬 | |
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providence
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| n.深谋远虑，天道，天意；远见；节约；上帝 | |
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vigour
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| （=vigor）n.智力，体力，精力 | |
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immaturity
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| n.不成熟；未充分成长；未成熟；粗糙 | |
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42
hustling
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| 催促（hustle的现在分词形式） | |
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43
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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invalid
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| n.病人，伤残人；adj.有病的，伤残的；无效的 | |
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adviser
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| n.劝告者，顾问 | |
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46
peculiar
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| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
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47
admiration
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| n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕 | |
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48
widower
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| n.鳏夫 | |
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49
radicalism
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| n. 急进主义, 根本的改革主义 | |
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50
radical
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| n.激进份子，原子团，根号；adj.根本的，激进的，彻底的 | |
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51
colloquy
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| n.谈话，自由讨论 | |
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52
spoke
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| 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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53
remarkable
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| adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的 | |
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utterances
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| n.发声( utterance的名词复数 )；说话方式；语调；言论 | |
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55
paradox
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| n.似乎矛盾却正确的说法；自相矛盾的人(物) | |
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56
facetiousness
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| n.滑稽 | |
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57
orchard
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| n.果园，果园里的全部果树，(美俚)棒球场 | |
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58
originality
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| n.创造力，独创性；新颖 | |
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59
prattle
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| n.闲谈；v.（小孩般）天真无邪地说话；发出连续而无意义的声音 | |
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60
ripen
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| vt.使成熟；vi.成熟 | |
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61
delightful
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| adj.令人高兴的，使人快乐的 | |
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62
persuasion
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| n.劝说；说服；持有某种信仰的宗派 | |
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63
cadenced
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| adj.音调整齐的，有节奏的 | |
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64
onward
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| adj.向前的，前进的；adv.向前，前进，在先 | |
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peremptory
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| adj.紧急的，专横的，断然的 | |
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66
ingenuousness
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| n.率直；正直；老实 | |
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67
respite
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| n.休息，中止，暂缓 | |
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dictate
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| v.口授；(使)听写；指令，指示，命令 | |
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