Thou bear’st a precious burden, gentle post,
Nitre and sulphur — See that it explode not!
Old Play.
“I have received your two long letters, my dear Etherington, with equal surprise and interest; for what I knew of your Scottish adventures before, was by no means sufficient to prepare me for a statement so perversely1 complicated. The Ignis Fatuus which, you say, governed your father, seems to have ruled the fortunes of your whole house, there is so much eccentricity2 in all that you have told me. But n’importe, Etherington, you were my friend — you held me up when I was completely broken down; and, whatever you may think, my services are at your command much more from reflections on the past, than hopes for the future. I am no speechmaker, but this you may rely on while I continue to be Harry3 Jekyl. You have deserved some love at my hands, Etherington, and you have it.
“Perhaps I love you the better since your perplexities have become known to me; for, my dear Etherington, you were before too much an object of envy to be entirely4 an object of affection. What a happy fellow! was the song of all who named you. Bank, and a fortune to maintain it — luck sufficient to repair all the waste that you could make in your income, and skill to back that luck, or supply it should it for a moment fail you. — The cards turning up as if to your wish — the dice5 rolling, it almost seemed, at your wink6 — it was rather your look than the touch of your cue that sent the ball into the pocket. You seemed to have fortune in chains, and a man of less honour would have been almost suspected of helping7 his luck by a little art. — You won every bet; and the instant that you were interested, one might have named the winning horse — it was always that which you were to gain most by. — You never held out your piece but the game went down — and then the women! — with face, manners, person, and, above all, your tongue — what wild work have you made among them! — Good heaven! and have you had the old sword hanging over your head by a horsehair all this while? — Has your rank been doubtful? — Your fortune unsettled? — And your luck, so constant in every thing else, has that, as well as your predominant influence with the women, failed you, when you wished to form a connexion for life, and when the care of your fortune required you to do so? — Etherington, I am astonished! — The Mowbray scrape I always thought an inconvenient8 one, as well as the quarrel with this same Tyrrel, or Martigny; but I was far from guessing the complicated nature of your perplexities.
“But I must not run on in a manner which, though it relieves my own marvelling9 mind, cannot be very pleasant to you. Enough, I look on my obligations to you as more light to be borne, now I have some chance of repaying them to a certain extent; but, even were the full debt paid, I would remain as much attached to you as ever. It is your friend who speaks, Etherington; and, if he offers his advice in somewhat plain language, do not, I entreat10 you, suppose that your confidence has encouraged an offensive familiarity, but consider me as one who, in a weighty matter, writes plainly, to avoid the least chance of misconstruction.
“Etherington, your conduct hitherto has resembled anything rather than the coolness and judgment11 which are so peculiarly your own when you choose to display them. I pass over the masquerade of your marriage — it was a boy’s trick, which could hardly have availed you much, even if successful; for what sort of a wife would you have acquired, had this same Clara Mowbray proved willing to have accepted the change which you had put upon her, and transferred herself, without repugnance12, from one bridegroom to another? — Poor as I am, I know that neither Nettlewood nor Oakendale should have bribed13 me to marry such a —— I cannot decorously fill up the blank.
“Neither, my dear Etherington, can I forgive you the trick you put on the clergyman, in whose eyes you destroyed the poor girl’s character to induce him to consent to perform the ceremony, and have thereby14 perhaps fixed15 an indelible stain on her for life — this was not a fair ruse16 de guerre. — As it is, you have taken little by your stratagem17 — unless, indeed, it should be difficult for the young lady to prove the imposition put upon her — for that being admitted, the marriage certainly goes for nothing. At least, the only use you can make of it, would be to drive her into a more formal union, for fear of having this whole unpleasant discussion brought into a court of law; and in this, with all the advantages you possess, joined to your own arts of persuasion18, and her brother’s influence, I should think you very likely to succeed. All women are necessarily the slaves of their reputation. I have known some who have given up their virtue19 to preserve their character, which is, after all, only the shadow of it. I therefore would not conceive it difficult for Clara Mowbray to persuade herself to become a countess, rather than be the topic of conversation for all Britain, while a lawsuit20 betwixt you is in dependence21; and that may be for the greater part of both your lives.
“But, in Miss Mowbray’s state of mind, it may require time to bring her to such a conclusion; and I fear you will be thwarted22 in your operations by your rival — I will not offend you by calling him your brother. Now, it is here that I think with pleasure I may be of some use to you — under this special condition, that there shall be no thoughts of farther violence taking place between you. However you may have smoothed over your rencontre to yourself, there is no doubt that the public would have regarded any accident which might have befallen on that occasion, as a crime of the deepest dye, and that the law would have followed it with the most severe punishment. And for all that I have said of my serviceable disposition23, I would fain stop short on this side of the gallows24 — my neck is too long already. Without a jest, Etherington, you must be ruled by counsel in this matter. I detect your hatred25 to this man in every line of your letter, even when you write with the greatest coolness; even where there is an affectation of gaiety, I read your sentiments on this subject; and they are such as — I will not preach to you — I will not say a good man — but such as every wise man — every man who wishes to live on fair terms with the world, and to escape general malediction26, and perhaps a violent death, where all men will clap their hands and rejoice at the punishment of the fratricide — would, with all possible speed, eradicate27 from his breast. My services therefore, if they are worth your acceptance, are offered on the condition that this unholy hatred be subdued28 with the utmost force of your powerful mind, and that you avoid every thing which can possibly lead to such a catastrophe29 as you have twice narrowly escaped. I do not ask you to like this man, for I know well the deep root which your prejudices hold in your mind; I merely ask you to avoid him, and to think of him as one, who, if you do meet him, can never be the object of personal resentment30.
“On these conditions, I will instantly join you at your Spa, and wait but your answer to throw myself into the post-chaise. I will seek out this Martigny for you, and I have the vanity to think I shall be able to persuade him to take the course which his own true interest, as well as yours, so plainly points out — and that is, to depart and make us free of him. You must not grudge31 a round sum of money, should that prove necessary — we must make wings for him to fly with, and I must be empowered by you to that purpose. I cannot think you have any thing serious to fear from a lawsuit. Your father threw out this sinister32 hint at a moment when he was enraged33 at his wife, and irritated by his son; and I have little doubt that his expressions were merely flashes of anger at the moment, though I see they have made a deep impression on you. At all events, he spoke34 of a preference to his illegitimate son, as something which it was in his own power to give or to withhold35; and he has died without bestowing36 it. The family seem addicted37 to irregular matrimony, and some left-handed marriage there may have been used to propitiate38 the modesty39, and save the conscience, of the French lady; but, that any thing of the nature of a serious and legal ceremony took place, nothing but the strongest proof can make me believe.
“I repeat, then, that I have little doubt that the claims of Martigny, whatever they are, may be easily compounded, and England made clear of him. This will be more easily done, if he really entertains such a romantic passion, as you describe, for Miss Clara Mowbray. It would be easy to show him, that whether she is disposed to accept your lordship’s hand or not, her quiet and peace of mind must depend on his leaving the country. Rely on it, I shall find out the way to smooth him down, and whether distance or the grave divide Martigny and you, is very little to the purpose; unless in so far as the one point can be attained40 with honour and safety, and the other, if attempted, would only make all concerned the subject of general execration41 and deserved punishment. — Speak the word, and I attend you, as your truly grateful and devoted42
“HENRY JEKYL.”
To this admonitory epistle, the writer received, in the course of post, the following answer:—
“My truly grateful and devoted Henry Jekyl has adopted a tone, which seems to be exalted43 without any occasion. Why, thou suspicious monitor, have I not repeated a hundred times that I repent44 sincerely of the foolish rencontre, and am determined45 to curb46 my temper, and be on my guard in future — And what need you come upon me, with your long lesson about execration, and punishment, and fratricide, and so forth47? — You deal with an argument as a boy does with the first hare he shoots, which he never thinks dead till he has fired the second barrel into her. What a fellow you would have been for a lawyer! how long you would have held forth upon the plainest cause, until the poor bothered judge was almost willing to decide against justice, that he might be revenged on you. If I must repeat what I have said twenty times, I tell you I have no thoughts of proceeding48 with this fellow as I would with another. If my father’s blood be in his veins49, it shall save the skin his mother gave him. And so come, without more parade, either of stipulation50 or argument. Thou art, indeed, a curious animal! One would think, to read your communication, that you had yourself discovered the propriety51 of acting52 as a negotiator, and the reasons which might, in the course of such a treaty, be urged with advantage to induce this fellow to leave the country — Why, this is the very course chalked out in my last letter! You are bolder than the boldest gipsy, for you not only steal my ideas, and disfigure them that they may pass for yours, but you have the assurance to come a-begging with them to the door of the original parent! No man like you for stealing other men’s inventions, and cooking them up in your own way. However, Harry, bating a little self-conceit and assumption, thou art as honest a fellow as ever man put faith in-clever, too, in your own style, though not quite the genius you would fain pass for. — Come on thine own terms, and come as speedily as thou canst. I do not reckon the promise I made the less binding53, that you very generously make no allusion54 to it.
“Thine, “ETHERINGTON.
“P.S. One single caution I must add — do not mention my name to any one at Harrowgate, or your prospect55 of meeting me, or the route which you are about to take. On the purpose of your journey, it is unnecessary to recommend silence. I know not whether such doubts are natural to all who have secret measures to pursue, or whether nature has given me an unusual share of anxious suspicion; but I cannot divest56 myself of the idea, that I am closely watched by some one whom I cannot discover. Although I concealed57 my purpose of coming hither from all mankind but you, whom I do not for an instant suspect of blabbing, yet it was known to this Martigny, and he is down here before me. Again, I said not a word — gave not a hint to any one of my views towards Clara, yet the tattling people here had spread a report of a marriage depending between us, even before I could make the motion to her brother. To be sure, in such society there is nothing talked of but marrying and giving in marriage; and this, which alarms me, as connected with my own private purposes, may be a bare rumour58, arising out of the gossip of the place — Yet I feel like the poor woman in the old story, who felt herself watched by an eye that glared upon her from behind the tapestry59.
“I should have told you in my last, that I had been recognised at a public entertainment by the old clergyman, who pronounced the matrimonial blessing60 on Clara and me, nearly eight years ago. He insisted upon addressing me by the name of Valentine Bulmer, under which I was then best known. It did not suit me at present to put him into my confidence, so I cut him, Harry, as I would an old pencil. The task was the less difficult, that I had to do with one of the most absent men that ever dreamed with his eyes open. I verily believe he might be persuaded that the whole transaction was a vision, and that he had never in reality seen me before. Your pious61 rebuke62, therefore, about what I told him formerly63 concerning the lovers, is quite thrown away. After all, if what I said was not accurately64 true, as I certainly believe it was an exaggeration, it was all Saint Francis of Martigny’s fault, I suppose. I am sure he had love and opportunity on his side.
“Here you have a postscript65, Harry, longer than the letter, but it must conclude with the same burden — Come, and come quickly.”
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1
perversely
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| adv. 倔强地 | |
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2
eccentricity
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| n.古怪，反常，怪癖 | |
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3
harry
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| vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼 | |
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4
entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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5
dice
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| n.骰子；vt.把（食物）切成小方块，冒险 | |
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6
wink
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| n.眨眼，使眼色，瞬间；v.眨眼，使眼色，闪烁 | |
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7
helping
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| n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的 | |
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8
inconvenient
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| adj.不方便的，令人感到麻烦的 | |
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9
marvelling
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| v.惊奇，对…感到惊奇( marvel的现在分词 ) | |
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10
entreat
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| v.恳求，恳请 | |
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11
judgment
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| n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见 | |
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12
repugnance
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| n.嫌恶 | |
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13
bribed
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| v.贿赂( bribe的过去式和过去分词 )；向（某人）行贿，贿赂 | |
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14
thereby
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| adv.因此，从而 | |
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fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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16
ruse
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| n.诡计，计策；诡计 | |
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17
stratagem
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| n.诡计，计谋 | |
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18
persuasion
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| n.劝说；说服；持有某种信仰的宗派 | |
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19
virtue
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| n.德行，美德；贞操；优点；功效，效力 | |
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20
lawsuit
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| n.诉讼，控诉 | |
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21
dependence
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| n.依靠，依赖；信任，信赖；隶属 | |
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22
thwarted
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| 阻挠( thwart的过去式和过去分词 )； 使受挫折； 挫败； 横过 | |
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23
disposition
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| n.性情，性格；意向，倾向；排列，部署 | |
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24
gallows
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| n.绞刑架，绞台 | |
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25
hatred
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| n.憎恶，憎恨，仇恨 | |
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26
malediction
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| n.诅咒 | |
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27
eradicate
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| v.根除，消灭，杜绝 | |
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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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29
catastrophe
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| n.大灾难，大祸 | |
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30
resentment
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| n.怨愤，忿恨 | |
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31
grudge
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| n.不满，怨恨，妒嫉；vt.勉强给，不情愿做 | |
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32
sinister
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| adj.不吉利的，凶恶的，左边的 | |
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33
enraged
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| 使暴怒( enrage的过去式和过去分词 )； 歜； 激愤 | |
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34
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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35
withhold
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| v.拒绝，不给；使停止，阻挡 | |
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36
bestowing
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| 砖窑中砖堆上层已烧透的砖 | |
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37
addicted
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| adj.沉溺于....的，对...上瘾的 | |
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38
propitiate
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| v.慰解，劝解 | |
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modesty
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| n.谦逊，虚心，端庄，稳重，羞怯，朴素 | |
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40
attained
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| （通常经过努力）实现( attain的过去式和过去分词 )； 达到； 获得； 达到（某年龄、水平、状况） | |
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41
execration
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| n.诅咒，念咒，憎恶 | |
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42
devoted
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| adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的 | |
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43
exalted
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| adj.(地位等)高的，崇高的；尊贵的，高尚的 | |
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44
repent
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| v.悔悟，悔改，忏悔，后悔 | |
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45
determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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46
curb
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| n.场外证券市场，场外交易；vt.制止，抑制 | |
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47
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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48
proceeding
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| n.行动，进行，(pl.)会议录，学报 | |
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49
veins
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| n.纹理；矿脉( vein的名词复数 )；静脉；叶脉；纹理 | |
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50
stipulation
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| n.契约，规定，条文；条款说明 | |
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51
propriety
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| n.正当行为；正当；适当 | |
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52
acting
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| n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的 | |
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53
binding
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| 有约束力的，有效的，应遵守的 | |
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54
allusion
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| n.暗示，间接提示 | |
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55
prospect
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| n.前景，前途；景色，视野 | |
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56
divest
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| v.脱去，剥除 | |
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57
concealed
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| a.隐藏的，隐蔽的 | |
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58
rumour
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| n.谣言，谣传，传闻 | |
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59
tapestry
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| n.挂毯，丰富多采的画面 | |
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60
blessing
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| n.祈神赐福；祷告；祝福，祝愿 | |
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61
pious
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| adj.虔诚的；道貌岸然的 | |
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62
rebuke
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| v.指责，非难，斥责 [反]praise | |
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63
formerly
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| adv.从前，以前 | |
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64
accurately
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| adv.准确地，精确地 | |
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65
postscript
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| n.附言，又及；(正文后的)补充说明 | |
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