“I give you my honour, Miss Etherage,” said he, placing himself beside Miss Agnes, “I mistook you yesterday, for Lady Fanny Mersey. Charming person she is, and I need not say, perfectly2 lovely.” A little arch bow gave its proper point to the compliment. “She has gone, however, I understand; left Llwynan yesterday. Is that young Verney’s boat? No, oh no — nothing like so sharp. He’s a very nice fellow, young Verney.”
This was put rather interrogatively, and Miss Agnes, thinking that she had blushed a little, blushed more, to her inexpressible chagrin3, for she knew that Captain Shrapnell was watching her with the interest of a gossip.
“Nice? I dare say. But I really know him so very slightly,” said Miss Agnes.
“Come, come; that won’t do,” said the Captain, very archly. “You forget that I was sitting in our club window, yesterday evening, when a certain party were walking up and down. Ha, ha, you do. We’re tolerably clear-sighted up there, and old Rogers keeps our windows rubbed; and the glass is quite brilliantly transparent4, ha, ha, ha! hey?”
“I think your windows are made of multiplying glasses, and magnifying glasses, and every kind of glass that distorts and discolours,” said Miss Agnes, a little pettishly5. “I don’t know how else it is that you all see such wonderful sights as you do, through them.”
“Well, they do, certainly. Some of our friends do colour a little,” said the Captain, with a waggish6 yet friendly grin, up at the great bow window. “But in this case, you’ll allow there was no great opportunity for colour, the tints7 of nature are so beautiful,” and Shrapnell fired off this little saying, with his bow and smile of fascination8. “Nor, by Jove! for the multiplying glasses either, for more than three in that party would have quite spoiled it; now, wouldn’t it, hey? ha, ha, ha! The two principals, and a gooseberry, eh? Ha, ha, ha!”
“What is a gooseberry?” inquired Miss Charity, peremptorily9.
“A delightful10 object in the garden, Miss Etherage, a delightful object everywhere. The delight of the young especially, hey, Miss Agnes? ha, ha! hey? and one of the sweetest products of nature Eh, Miss Agnes? ha, ha, ha! Miss Etherage, I give you my honour every word I say is true.”
“I do declare, Captain Shrapnell, it seems to me you have gone perfectly mad!” said Miss Charity, who was out-spoken and emphatic12.
“Always a mad fellow, Miss Etherage, ha, ha, ha! Very true; that’s my character, hey? ha, ha, ha, egad! So the ladies tell me,” said the gay, young Captain. “Wish I’d a guinea for every time they’ve called me mad, among them. I give you my honour I’d be a rich fellow this moment.”
“Now, Captain Shrapnell,” said Miss Charity, with a frank stare with her honest goggle13 eyes, “you are talking the greatest nonsense I ever heard in my life.”
“Miss Agnes, here, does not think so, hey?” giggled15 the Captain. “Now, come, Miss Agnes, what do you think of young Verney, hey? There’s a question.”
How Miss Agnes hated the gibing16, giggling17 wretch18, and detested19 the club of whose prattle20 and gossip he was the inexhaustible spokesman; and would at that moment have hailed the appearance of a ship-of-war with her broadside directed upon the bow window of that haunt, with just, of course, such notice to her worthy21 father, whose gray head was visible in it, as was accorded to the righteous Lot — under orders, with shot, shell, rockets, and marlin-spikes, to blow the entire concern into impalpable dust.
It must be allowed that Miss Agnes was unjust; that it would not have been fair to visit upon the harmless and, on the whole, good-natured persons who congregated22 in that lively receptacle, and read the Times through their spectacles there, the waggeries and exaggerations of the agreeable captain, and to have reached that incorrigible23 offender24, and demolished25 his stronghold at so great a waste of human life.
“Come, now; I won’t let you off, Miss Aggie26. I say, there’s a question. What do you say? Come, now, you really must tell us. What do you think of young Verney?”
“If you wish to know what I think,” interposed Miss Charity, “I think he’s the very nicest man I ever spoke11 to. He’s so nice about religion. Wasn’t he, Aggie?”
Here the Captain exploded.
“Religion! egad — do you really mean to tell me — ha, ha, ha! Upon my soul, that’s the richest thing! — now, really!”
“My goodness! How frightfully wicked you are,” exclaimed Miss Charity.
“True bill, egad! upon my soul, I’m afraid — ha, ha, ha!”
“Now, Captain Shrapnell, you shall not walk with us, if you swear,” said Miss Charity.
“Swear! I didn’t swear, did I? Very sorry if I did, upon my — I give you my word,” said the Captain, politely.
“Yes, you did; and it’s extremely wicked,” said Miss Charity.
“Well, I won’t; I swear to you I won’t,” vowed27 the Captain, a little inconsistently; “but now about Master Cleve Verney, Miss Agnes. I said I would not let you off, and I won’t. I give you my honour, you shall say what you think of him, or, by Jove! — I conclude you can’t trust yourself on the subject, ha, ha, ha! Hey?”
“You are mad, Captain Shrapnell,” interposed Miss Charity, with weight.
“I can’t say, really, I’ve formed any particular opinion. I think he is rather agreeable,” answered Miss Agnes, under this pressure.
“Well, so do I” acquiesced28 the Captain.
“Master Cleve can certainly be agreeable when he chooses; and you think him devilish good-looking — don’t you?”
“I really can’t say — he has very good features — but ——”
“But what? Why every one allows that Verney’s as good-looking a fellow as you’ll meet with anywhere,” persisted the Captain.
“I think him perfectly be-autiful!” said Miss Charity, who never liked people by halves.
“Well — yes — he may be handsome,” said Miss Agnes. “I’m no very great critic; but I can’t conceive any girl falling in love with him.”
“Oh! as to that— but —why?” said Captain Shapnell.
“His face, I think, is so selfish — somehow,” she said.
“Is it now, really? —how?” asked the Captain. “I’m am-azed at you!” exclaimed Miss Charity.
“Well, there’s a selfish hook — no, not a hook, a curve— of his nose, and a cruel crook29 of his shoulder,” said Miss Agnes, in search of faults.
“You’re determined30 to hit him by hook or by crook — ha, ha, ha — I say,” pursued the Captain.
“A hook!” exclaimed Miss Charity, almost angrily; “there’s no hook! I wonder at you — I really think, sometimes, Agnes, you’re the greatest fool I ever met in the whole course of my life!”
“Well, I can’t help thinking what I think,” said Agnes.
“But you don’t think that— you know you don’t — you can’t think it,” decided31 her elder sister.
“No more she does,” urged the Captain, with his teazing giggle14; “she doesn’t think it. You always know, when a girl abuses a man, she likes him; she does, by Jove! And I venture to say she thinks Master Cleve one of the very handsomest and most fascinating fellows she ever beheld,” said the agreeable Captain.
“I really think what I said,” replied Agnes, and her pretty face showed a brilliant colour, and her eyes had a handsome fire in them, for she was vexed32; “though it is natural to think in a place like this, where all the men are more or less old and ugly, that any young man, even tolerably good-looking, should be thought a wonder.”
“Ha, ha, ha! very good,” said the Captain, plucking out his whisker a little, and twiddling his moustache, and glancing down at his easy waistcoat, and perhaps ever so little put out; but he also saw over his shoulder Cleve crossing the Green towards them from the jetty, and not perhaps being quite on terms to call him “Master Cleve” to his face, he mentioned a promise to meet young Owen of Henlwyd in the billiard-room for a great game of pyramid, and so took off his hat gracefully33 to the ladies, and, smirking34, and nodding, and switching his cane35, swaggered swiftly away toward the point of rendezvous36.
So Cleve arrived, and joined the young ladies, and walked beside Agnes, chatting upon all sorts of subjects, and bearing some occasional reproofs37 and protests from Miss Charity with great submission38 and gaiety, and when Miss Charity caught a glimpse of “the Admiral’s” bath-chair, with that used-up officer in it, en route for the Hazelden Road, and already near the bridge, she plucked her watch from her belt, with a slight pallor in her cheek, and “declared” she had not an idea how late it was. Cleve Verney accompanied the ladies all the way to Hazelden, and even went in, when bidden, and drank a cup of tea, at their early meal, and obeyed also a summons to visit the “Admiral” in his study.
“Very glad to see you, sir — very happy, Mr. Verney,” said Mr. Vane Etherage, with his fez upon his head, and lowering his pipe with the gravity of a Turk. “I wish you would come and dine at three o’clock — the true hour for dinner, sir — I’ve tried every hour, in my time, from twelve to half-past eight — at three o’clock, sir, some day — any day — tomorrow. The Welsh mutton is the best on earth, and the Hazelden mutton is the best in Wales!” The “Admiral” always looked in the face of the person whom he harangued39, with an expression of cool astonishment40, which somehow aided the pomp of his delivery. “An unfortunate difference, Mr. Verney — a dispute, sir — has arisen between me and your uncle; but that, Mr. Verney, need not extend to his nephew; no, sir, it need not; no need it should. Shall we say tomorrow, Mr. Verney?”
I forget what excuse Mr. Verney made; it was sufficient, however, and he was quite unable to name an immediate41 day, but lived in hope. So having won golden opinions, he took his leave. And the good people of Cardyllian, who make matches easily, began to give Mr. Cleve Verney to pretty Miss Agnes Etherage.
While this marrying and giving in marriage was going on over many tea-tables, that evening, in Cardyllian, Mr. Cleve Verney, the hero of this new romance, had got ashore42 a little below Malory, and at nightfall walked down the old road by Llanderris church, and so round the path that skirts the woods of Malory, and down upon the shore that winds before the front of the old house.
As he came full in sight of the shore, on a sudden, within little more than a hundred paces away, he saw, standing43 solitary44 upon the shingle45, a tall man, with a Tweed rug across his arm, awaiting a boat which was slowly approaching in the distance.
In this tall figure he had no difficulty in recognizing Sir Booth Fanshawe, whom he had confronted in other, and very different scenes, and who had passed so near him, in the avenue at Malory.
With one of those sudden and irresistible46 impulses, which, as they fail or succeed, are classed as freaks of madness, or inspirations of genius, he resolved to walk up to Sir Booth, and speak to him upon the subject then so near to his heart.
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1
jaunty
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| adj．愉快的，满足的；adv.心满意足地，洋洋得意地；n.心满意足；洋洋得意 | |
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2
perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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3
chagrin
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| n.懊恼；气愤；委屈 | |
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4
transparent
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| adj.明显的，无疑的；透明的 | |
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pettishly
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waggish
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| adj.诙谐的，滑稽的 | |
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7
tints
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| 色彩( tint的名词复数 )； 带白的颜色； （淡色）染发剂； 痕迹 | |
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8
fascination
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| n.令人着迷的事物，魅力，迷恋 | |
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peremptorily
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| adv.紧急地，不容分说地，专横地 | |
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10
delightful
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| adj.令人高兴的，使人快乐的 | |
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11
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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12
emphatic
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| adj.强调的，着重的；无可置疑的，明显的 | |
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13
goggle
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| n.瞪眼，转动眼珠，护目镜；v.瞪眼看，转眼珠 | |
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14
giggle
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| n.痴笑，咯咯地笑；v.咯咯地笑着说 | |
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15
giggled
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| v.咯咯地笑( giggle的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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gibing
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| adj.讥刺的，嘲弄的v.嘲笑，嘲弄( gibe的现在分词 ) | |
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17
giggling
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| v.咯咯地笑( giggle的现在分词 ) | |
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18
wretch
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| n.可怜的人，不幸的人；卑鄙的人 | |
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19
detested
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| v.憎恶，嫌恶，痛恨( detest的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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20
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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21
worthy
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| adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的 | |
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22
congregated
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| （使）集合，聚集( congregate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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incorrigible
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| adj.难以纠正的，屡教不改的 | |
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offender
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| n.冒犯者，违反者，犯罪者 | |
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25
demolished
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| v.摧毁( demolish的过去式和过去分词 )；推翻；拆毁（尤指大建筑物）；吃光 | |
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26
aggie
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| n.农校，农科大学生 | |
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27
vowed
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| 起誓，发誓（vow的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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28
acquiesced
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| v.默认，默许( acquiesce的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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29
crook
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| v.使弯曲；n.小偷，骗子，贼；弯曲(处) | |
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30
determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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31
decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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32
vexed
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| 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 | |
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33
gracefully
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| ad.大大方方地；优美地 | |
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34
smirking
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| v.傻笑( smirk的现在分词 ) | |
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35
cane
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| n.手杖，细长的茎，藤条；v.以杖击，以藤编制的 | |
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36
rendezvous
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| n.约会，约会地点，汇合点；vi.汇合，集合；vt.使汇合，使在汇合地点相遇 | |
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37
reproofs
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| n.责备，责难，指责( reproof的名词复数 ) | |
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38
submission
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| n.服从，投降；温顺，谦虚；提出 | |
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39
harangued
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| v.高谈阔论( harangue的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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40
astonishment
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| n.惊奇，惊异 | |
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41
immediate
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| adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的 | |
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42
ashore
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| adv.在(向)岸上，上岸 | |
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43
standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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44
solitary
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| adj.孤独的，独立的，荒凉的；n.隐士 | |
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45
shingle
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| n.木瓦板；小招牌(尤指医生或律师挂的营业招牌)；v.用木瓦板盖（屋顶）；把（女子头发）剪短 | |
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46
irresistible
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| adj.非常诱人的，无法拒绝的，无法抗拒的 | |
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