MRS. DASHWOOD'S visit to Middleton took place the next day, and two of her daughters went with her; but Marianne excused herself from being of the party, under some trifling1 pretext2 of employment; and her mother, who concluded that a promise had been made by Willoughby the night before of calling on her while they were absent, was perfectly3 satisfied with her remaining at home. On their return from the Park they found Willoughby's curricle and servant in waiting at the cottage, and Mrs. Dashwood was convinced that her conjecture4 had been just. So far it was all as she had foreseen; but on entering the house she beheld5 what no foresight6 had taught her to expect. They were no sooner in the passage than Marianne came hastily out of the parlour apparently7 in violent affliction, with her handkerchief at her eyes, and without noticing them ran up stairs. Surprised and alarmed, they proceeded directly into the room she had just quitted, where they found only Willoughby, who was leaning against the mantel-piece with his back towards them. He turned round on their coming in, and his countenance8 showed that he strongly partook of the emotion which overpowered Marianne. "Is anything the matter with her?" cried Mrs. Dashwood, as she entered:- "is she ill?" "I hope not," he replied, trying to look cheerful; and with a forced smile presently added, "It is I who may rather expect to be ill- for I am now suffering under a very heavy disappointment!" "Yes, for I am unable to keep my engagement with you. Mrs. Smith has this morning exercised the privilege of riches upon a poor, dependent cousin, by sending me on business to London. I have just received my despatches, and taken my farewell of Allenham; and by way of exhilaration I am now come to take my farewell of you." "To London!- and are you going this morning?" "Almost this moment." "This is very unfortunate. But Mrs. Smith must be obliged; and her business will not detain you from us long, I hope." He coloured as he replied, "You are very kind; but I have no idea of returnin
g into Devonshire immediately. My visits to Mrs. Smith are never repeated within the twelvemonth." "And is Mrs. Smith your only friend? Is Allenham the only house in the neighbourhood to which you will be welcome? For shame, Willoughby, can you wait for an invitation here?" His colour increased; and, with his eyes fixed9 on the ground, he only replied, "You are too good." Mrs. Dashwood looked at Elinor with surprise. Elinor felt equal amazement10. For a few moments every one was silent. Mrs. Dashwood first spoke11. "I have only to add, my dear Willoughby, that at Barton cottage you will always be welcome; for I will not press you to return here immediately, because you only can judge how far that might be pleasing to Mrs. Smith; and on this head I shall be no more disposed to question your judgment12 than to doubt your inclination13." "My engagements at present," replied Willoughby, confusedly, "are of such a nature- that- I dare not flatter myself-" He stopt. Mrs. Dashwood was too much astonished to speak, and another pause succeeded. This was broken by Willoughby, who said, with a faint smile, "It is folly14 to linger in this manner. I will not torment15 myself any longer by remaining among friends whose society it is impossible for me now to enjoy." He then hastily took leave of them all, and left the room. They saw him step into his carriage, and in a minute it was out of sight. Mrs. Dashwood felt too much for speech, and instantly quitted the parlour to give way in solitude16 to the concern and alarm which this sudden departure occasioned.
Elinor's uneasiness was at least equal to her mother's. She thought of what had just passed with anxiety and distrust. Willoughby's behaviour in taking leave of them, his embarrassment17, and affection of cheerfulness, and, above all, his unwillingness18 to accept her mother's invitation, a backwardness so unlike a lover, so unlike himself, greatly disturbed her. One moment she feared that no serious design had ever been formed on his side; and the next that some unfortunate quarrel had taken place between him and her sister:- the distress19 in which Marianne had quitted the room was such as a serious quarrel could most reasonably account for, though, when she considered what Marianne's love for him was, a quarrel seemed almost impossible.
But whatever might be the particulars of their separation, her sister's affliction was indubitable; and she thought with the tenderest compassion20 of that violent sorrow which Marianne was in all probability not merely giving way to as a relief, but feeding and encouraging as a duty.
In about half an hour her mother returned, and though her eyes were red, her countenance was not uncheerful. "Our dear Willoughby is now some miles from Barton, Elinor," said she, as she sat down to work, "and with how heavy a heart does he travel?" "It is all very strange. So suddenly to be gone! It seems but the work of a moment. And last night he was with us so happy, so cheerful, so affectionate? And now, after only ten minutes' notice,gone, too, without intending to return!- something more than what be owned to us must have happened. He did not speak, he did not behave like himself. You must have seen the difference as well as I. What can it be? Can they have quarrelled? Why else should he have shown such unwillingness to accept your invitation here?" "It was not inclination that he wanted, Elinor; I could plainly see that. He had not the power of accepting it. I have thought it all over, I assure you, and I can perfectly account for everything that at first seemed strange to me as well as to you." "Can you, indeed!" "Yes. I have explained it to myself in the most satisfactory way; but you, Elinor, who love to doubt where you can- it will not satisfy you, I know; but you shall not talk me out of my trust in it. I am persuaded that Mrs. Smith suspects his regard for Marianne, disapproves21 of it (perhaps because she has other views for him), and on that account is eager to get him away; and that the business which she sends him off to transact22 is invented as an excuse to dismiss him. This is what I believe to have happened. He is, moreover, aware that she does dissapprove the connection; he dares not therefore at present confess to her his engagement with Marianne, and he feels himself obliged, from his dependent situation, to give in to her schemes, and absent himself from Devonshire for a while. You will tell me, I know, that this may or may not have happened; but I will listen to no cavil23, unless you can point out any other method of understanding the affair as satisfactory at this. And now, Elinor, what hav
e you to say?" "Nothing, for you have anticipated my answer." "Then you would have told me, that it might or might not have happened. Oh, Elinor, how incomprehensible are your feelings! You had rather take evil upon credit than good. You had rather look out for misery24 for Marianne, and guilt25 for poor Willoughby, than an apology for the latter. You are resolved to think him blamable, because be took leave of us with less affection than his usual behaviour has shown. And is no allowance to be made for inadvertence, or for spirits depressed26 by recent disappointment? Are no probabilities to be accepted, merely because they are not certainties? Is no thing due to the man whom we have all such reason to love, and no reason in the world to think ill of? To the possibility of motives27 unanswerable in themselves, though unavoidably secret for a while? And, after all, what is it you suspect him of?" "I can hardly tell myself. But suspicion of something unpleasant is the inevitable28 consequence of such an alteration29 as we just witnessed in him. There is great truth, however, in what you have now urged of the allowances which ought to be made for him, and it is my wish to be candid30 in my judgment of every body. Willoughby may, undoubtedly31, have very sufficient reasons for his conduct, and I will hope that he has. But it would have been more like Willoughby to acknowledge them at once. Secrecy32 may be advisable; but still I cannot help wondering at its being practiced by him." "Do not blame him, however, for departing from his character, where the deviation33 is necessary. But you really do admit the justice of what I have said in his defence am happy and he is acquitted34." "Not entirely35. It may be proper to conceal36 their engagement (if they are engaged) from Mrs. Smith; and if that is the case, it must be highly expedient37 for Willoughby to be but little in Devonshire at present. But this is no excuse for their concealing38 it from us." "Concealing it from us! my dear child, do you accuse Willoughby and Marianne, of concealment39? This
is strange, indeed, when your eyes have been reproaching them every day for incautiousness." "I want no proof of their affection," said Elinor, "but of their engagement I do." "I am perfectly satisfied of both." "Yet not a syllable40 has been said to you on the subject by either of them." "I have not wanted syllables41 where actions have spoken so plainly. Has not his behaviour to Marianne and to all of us, for at least the last fortnight, declared that he loved and considered her as his future wife, and that he felt for us the attachment42 of the nearest relation? Have we not perfectly understood each other? Has not my consent been daily asked by his looks, his manner, his attentive43 and affectionate respect? My Elinor, is it possible to doubt their engagement? How could such a thought occur to you? How is it to be supposed that Willoughby, persuaded as he must be of your sister's love, should leave her, and leave her perhaps for months, without telling her of his affection,- that they should part without a mutual44 exchange of confidence?" "I confess," replied Elinor, "that every circumstance except one, is in favour of their engagement; but that one is the total silence of both on the subject, and with me it almost outweighs45 every other." "How strange this is! You must think wretchedly indeed of Willoughby, if, after all that has openly passed between them, you can doubt the nature of the terms on which they are together. Has he been acting46 a part in his behaviour to your sister all this time? Do you suppose him really indifferent to her?" "No, I cannot think that. He must and does love her, I am sure." "But with a strange kind of tenderness, if he can leave her with such indifference47, such carelessness of the future, as you attribute to him." "You must remember, my dear mother, that I have never considered this matter as certain. I have had my doubts, I confess; but they are fainter than they were, and they may soon he entirely done away. If we find they correspond, every fear of mine will be removed." "A mighty48 conc
ession, indeed! If you were to see them at the altar, you would suppose they were going to be married. Ungracious girl! But I require no such proof. Nothing in my opinion has ever passed to justify50 doubt; no secrecy has been attempted; all has been uniformly open and unreserved. You cannot doubt your sister's wishes. It must be Willoughby, therefore, whom you suspect. But why? Is he not a man of honour and feeling? Has there been any inconsistency on his side to create alarm? can he be deceitful?" "I hope not, I believe not," cried Elinor. "I love Willoughby, sincerely love him; and suspicion of his integrity cannot be more painful to yourself than to me. It has been involuntary, and I will not encourage it. I was startled, I confess, by the alteration in his manners this morning: he did not speak like himself, and did not return your kindness with any cordiality. But all this may be explained by such a situation of his affairs as you have supposed. He had just parted from my sister, had seen her leave him in the greatest affliction; and if he felt obliged, from a fear of offending Mrs. Smith, to resist the temptation of returning here soon, and yet aware that by declining your invitation, by saying that he was going away for some time, he should seem to act an ungenerous, a suspicious part by our family, be might well be embarrassed and disturbed. In such a case, a plain and open avowal51 of his difficulties would have been more to his honour, I think, as well as more consistent with his general character;- but I will not raise objections against any one's conduct on so liberal a foundation, as a difference in judgment from myself, or a deviation from what I may think right and consistent." "You speak very properly. Willoughby certainly does not deserve to be suspected. Though we have not known him long, be is no stranger in this part of the world; and who has ever spoken to his disadvantage? Had he been in a situation to act independently and marry immediately, it might have been odd that he should leave us witho
ut acknowledging everything to me at once: but this is not the case. It is an engagement in some respects not prosperously begun, for their marriage must be at a very uncertain distance; and even secrecy, as far as it can be observed, may now be very advisable." They were interrupted by the entrance of Margaret; and Elinor was then at liberty to think over the representations of her mother, to acknowledge the probability of many, and hope for the justice of all.
They saw nothing of Marianne till dinner-time, when she entered the room and took her place at the table without saying a word. Her eyes were red and swollen52; and it seemed as if her tears were even then restrained with difficulty. She avoided the looks of them all, could neither eat nor speak, and after some time, on her mother's silently pressing her hand with tender compassion, her small degree of fortitude53 was quite overcome, she burst into tears, and left the room. This violent oppression of spirits continued the whole evening. She was without any power, because she was without any desire of command over herself. The slightest mention of anything relative to Willoughby overpowered her in an instant; and though her family were most anxiously attentive to her comfort, it was impossible for them, if they spoke at all, to keep clear of every subject which her feelings connected with him.
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trifling
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| adj.微不足道的；没什么价值的 | |
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pretext
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| n.借口，托词 | |
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perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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conjecture
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| n./v.推测，猜测 | |
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beheld
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| v.看，注视( behold的过去式和过去分词 )；瞧；看呀；（叙述中用于引出某人意外的出现）哎哟 | |
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foresight
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| n.先见之明，深谋远虑 | |
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apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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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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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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amazement
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| n.惊奇，惊讶 | |
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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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judgment
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| n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见 | |
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inclination
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| n.倾斜；点头；弯腰；斜坡；倾度；倾向；爱好 | |
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folly
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| n.愚笨，愚蠢，蠢事，蠢行，傻话 | |
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torment
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| n.折磨；令人痛苦的东西(人)；vt.折磨；纠缠 | |
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solitude
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| n. 孤独; 独居,荒僻之地,幽静的地方 | |
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embarrassment
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| n.尴尬；使人为难的人(事物)；障碍；窘迫 | |
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unwillingness
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| n. 不愿意，不情愿 | |
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distress
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| n.苦恼，痛苦，不舒适；不幸；vt.使悲痛 | |
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compassion
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| n.同情，怜悯 | |
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disapproves
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| v.不赞成( disapprove的第三人称单数 ) | |
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transact
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| v.处理；做交易；谈判 | |
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cavil
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| v.挑毛病，吹毛求疵 | |
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misery
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| n.痛苦，苦恼，苦难；悲惨的境遇，贫苦 | |
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guilt
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| n.犯罪；内疚；过失，罪责 | |
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depressed
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| adj.沮丧的，抑郁的，不景气的，萧条的 | |
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motives
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| n.动机，目的( motive的名词复数 ) | |
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inevitable
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| adj.不可避免的，必然发生的 | |
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alteration
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| n.变更，改变；蚀变 | |
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candid
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| adj.公正的，正直的；坦率的 | |
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undoubtedly
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| adv.确实地，无疑地 | |
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secrecy
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| n.秘密，保密，隐蔽 | |
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33
deviation
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| n.背离，偏离；偏差，偏向；离题 | |
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acquitted
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| 宣判…无罪( acquit的过去式和过去分词 )； 使（自己）作出某种表现 | |
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entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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conceal
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| v.隐藏，隐瞒，隐蔽 | |
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expedient
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| adj.有用的，有利的；n.紧急的办法，权宜之计 | |
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concealing
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| v.隐藏，隐瞒，遮住( conceal的现在分词 ) | |
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concealment
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| n.隐藏, 掩盖，隐瞒 | |
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syllable
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| n.音节；vt.分音节 | |
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syllables
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| n.音节( syllable的名词复数 ) | |
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42
attachment
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| n.附属物，附件；依恋；依附 | |
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attentive
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| adj.注意的，专心的；关心(别人)的，殷勤的 | |
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mutual
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| adj.相互的，彼此的；共同的，共有的 | |
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outweighs
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| v.在重量上超过( outweigh的第三人称单数 )；在重要性或价值方面超过 | |
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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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indifference
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| n.不感兴趣，不关心，冷淡，不在乎 | |
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mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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49
concession
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| n.让步，妥协；特许(权) | |
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50
justify
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| vt.证明…正当(或有理)，为…辩护 | |
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51
avowal
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| n.公开宣称，坦白承认 | |
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52
swollen
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| adj.肿大的，水涨的；v.使变大，肿胀 | |
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fortitude
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| n.坚忍不拔；刚毅 | |
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