Miss Phyllis Carmagee was remarkable10 for the utter unfitness of her Christian11 name, and for the divine placidity13 that contrasted with her brother’s waspishness. A big, moon-faced, ponderous14 woman, she was a rock of composure, a species of human banyan-tree under whose blessed branches a hundred fretful mortals might rest in the shade. Her detractors, and they were few, asserted that she was a mere15 mass of amiable16 and phlegmatic17 fat. Miss Carmagee was blessed with a very happy sense of humor; she had a will of her own, a will that was formidable by reason of its stubborn inertia18 when once it had come to rest.
Some six years had passed since Miss Carmagee had deposited herself as a supporter of James Murchison on his professional platform. Her pleasant stolidity19 had done him service, for Miss Carmagee impressed her convictions on people by sitting down with the serene20 look of one who never argues. She was a woman who stated her opinions with a buxom21 frankness, and who sat on opposition22 as though it were a cushion. She was perhaps the only woman who gave no sparks to the flint of Mrs. Steel’s aggressive vivacity23. Miss Carmagee’s placidity was unassailable. To attack her was like throwing pease against a pyramid.
“Well, my dear, so you have furnished the cottage.”
She lay back contentedly24 in her basket-chair—chairs were the few things that nourished grievances25 against her—and beamed on Catherine Murchison, who sat shaded by the leaves of a young lime. The tea-table stood between them. Miss Carmagee liked basking26 in the sun like some sleek27, fat spaniel.
“It is such a dear little place.” And the young wife’s eyes were full of tenderness. “I want James to keep the gray hairs from coming too fast. I shall lure28 him away to Marley Down, one day in seven, if I can.”
“Of course, my dear, you can persuade him.”
“Jim has such an obstinate29 conscience. He gives his best to people, and naturally they overwork him. We have rivals, too, to consider. I know that Betty Steel is jealous of us, but then—”
A touch of wistfulness on Catherine’s face brought Miss Carmagee’s optimism to the rescue.
“You need not fear the Steels, my dear.”
“No, perhaps not.”
“Many people—I, for one—don’t trust them. The woman is too thin to be sincere,” and Miss Carmagee’s bust30 protested the fact.
“Betty’s kind enough in her way.”
“When she gets her way, my dear. But tell me about the cottage. Are the drains quite safe, and are there plenty of cupboards?”
Catherine was launched into multitudinous details—the staining of floors, the choosing of tapestries31, the latest bargains in old furniture. It eased her to talk to this placid12 woman, for, despite her courage, her heart was sad in her and full of forebodings for her husband. The truth had become as a girdle of thorns about her, worn both day and night. She bore the smart of it without a flicker32 of the lids, and carried her head bravely before the world.
The strip of garden, with its prim34 and old-fashioned atmosphere, was invaded abruptly35 by the rising generation. There was a flutter of feet round the laurel hedge bordering the path to the front gate, and Mr. Porteus pranced36 into view, a veritable light-opera lawyer with youth at either elbow.
“Hello, godma! may I have some strawberries?”
Master Jack37 Murchison plumped himself emphatically into Miss Carmagee’s lap, oblivious38 of the fact that he was sitting on her spectacles.
“Jack, dear, you must not be so rough.”
Mr. Porteus crossed the grass with the more dignified39 and less voracious40 Dutch bonnet41 beside him. Miss Gwen and the bachelor always treated each other with a species of stately yet twinkling civility. The lawyer’s wrinkles turned into smile wreaths in the child’s presence, and there was less perking42 up of his critical eyebrows43.
“Here’s a handful for you, Kate; I was ambuscaded and captured round the corner. Who said strawberries? Will Miss Gwendolen Murchison deign44 to deprive the blackbirds of a few?”
“Do you grow stawberries for the blackbirds, godpa?”
“Do I, Miss Innocent! No, not exactly.”
Catherine had removed her son and heir from Miss Carmagee’s lap. The fat lady looked cheerful and unperturbed. Master Jack was suffered to ruffle45 her best skirts with impunity46.
“Don’t let them eat too much, Porteus.”
Her brother cocked a birdlike eye at Miss Gwen.
“Sixpence for the biggest strawberry brought back unnibbled. Off with you. And don’t trample47 on the plants, John Murchison, Esq.”
The pair raced for the fruit-garden, Master Jack’s enthusiasm rendering48 him oblivious to the crime of taking precedence of a lady. Gwen relinquished49 the van to him, and dropped to a demure50 toddle51. Her brother’s flashing legs suggested the thought to her that it was undignified to be greedy.
“Pardon me, Kate, I think you are wanted over the way.”
Mr. Carmagee’s sudden soberness of manner brought the color to Catherine’s cheeks. The lawyer was rattling52 the keys in his pocket, and blinking irritably53 at space. Intuition warned her that he was more concerned than he desired her to imagine. She rose instantly, as though her thoughts were already in her home.
“Good-bye; you will excuse me—”
She bent54 over Miss Carmagee and kissed her, her heart beating fast under the silks of her blouse.
“I’ll bring the youngsters over presently, Kate.”
“Thank you so much.”
“And send some fruit with them.”
“You are always spoiling us.”
And Porteus Carmagee accompanied her to the gate.
The lawyer rejoined his sister under the lime-tree, biting at his gray mustache, and still rattling the keys in his trousers pocket. He walked with a certain jerkiness that was peculiar55 to him, the spasmodic and irritable habit of a man whose nerve-force seemed out of proportion to his body.
“Murchison’s an ass—a damned ass,” and he flashed a look over his shoulder in the direction of the fruit-garden.
Familiarity had accustomed Miss Carmagee to her brother’s forcible methods of expression. He detonated over the most trivial topics, and the stout56 lady took the splutterings of his indignation as a matter of course.
“Well?” and she examined her bent spectacles forgivingly.
“Murchison’s been overworking himself.”
“So Kate told me.”
“The man’s a fool.”
“A conscientious57 fool, Porteus.”
Mr. Carmagee sniffed58, and expelled a sigh through his mustache.
“I’ve warned him over and over again. Idiot! He’ll break down. They had to bring him home in a cab from Mill Lane half an hour ago.”
His sister’s face betrayed unusual animation59.
“What is the matter?”
“Heat stroke, or fainting fit. I saw the cab at the door, and collared the youngsters as they were coming round the corner with the nurse. Poor little beggars. I shall tell Murchison he’s an infernal fool unless he takes two months’ rest.”
Miss Carmagee knew where her brother’s heart lay. He generally abused his friends when he was most in earnest for their salvation60.
“Kate will persuade him, Porteus.”
“The woman’s a treasure. The man ought to consider her and the children before he addles61 himself for a lot of thankless and exacting62 sluts. Conscience! Conscience be damned. Why, only last week the man must sit up half the night with a sweep’s child that had diphtheria. Conscience! I call it nonsense.”
Miss Carmagee smiled like the moon coming from behind a cloud.
“You approve of Parker Steel’s methods?”
“That little snob63!” and the lawyer’s coat-tails gave an expressive64 flick33.
“James Murchison only wants rest. Leave him to Kate; wives are the best physicians often.”
Mr. Carmagee’s keys applauded the remark.
“Taken a cottage on Marley Down, have they?”
“Yes.”
“I’ll recommend a renewal65 of the honeymoon66. Hallo, here comes the sunlight.”
Mr. Porteus romped67 across the grass to poke68 his wrinkled face into the oval of the Dutch bonnet.
“Hallo, who says senna to-night? What! Miss Gwendolen Murchison approves of senna!”
“I’ve won that sixpence, godpa.”
“Indeed, sir, I think not.”
“Jack can have the sixpence; it’s his buffday to-morrow.”
“A lady who likes senna and renounces69 sixpences! Go to, Master John, you must run to Mr. Parsons, the clockmaker, and buy godma a pair of new spectacles.”
“Spectacles!” and Master Jack mouthed his scorn.
“A sad day for us, Miss Carmagee, when babies sit upon our infirmities!”
Parker Steel dropped into his Roxton tailor’s that same afternoon to have a summer suit fitted. The proprietor70, an urbane71 and bald-headed person with the deportment of a diplomat72, rubbed his hands and remarked that professional duties must be very exacting in the heat of June.
“Your colleague, I understand, sir—Dr. Murchison, sir—has had an attack from overwork; sunstroke, they say.”
“What! Sunstroke?”
“So I have been informed, sir.”
“Indeed!”
“Or an attack of faintness. Dr. Murchison is a most laborious73 worker. Four buttons, thank you; a breast-pocket, as before, certainly. Any fancy vestings to-day, doctor? No! Greatly obliged, sir, I’m sure,” and the diplomat dodged74 to the door and swung it open with a bow.
Parker Steel found his wife reading under the Indian cedar75 in the garden. She was dressed in white, with a red rose in her bosom76, the green shadows of the trees and shrubs77 about her casting a sleek sheen over her olive face and dusky hair. Poets might have written odes to her, hailing the slim sweetness of her womanliness, using the lily as a symbol of her beauty and the Madonna-like radiance of her spiritual face.
She glanced up at her husband as he came spruce and complacent78, like any Agag, over the grass.
“Murchison has had a sunstroke.”
“What! Who told you?”
“Rudyard, the tailor.”
The book was lying deprecatingly at Mrs. Betty’s feet. Her eyes swept from her husband to dwell reflectively on the scarlet79 pomp of the Oriental poppies.
“Do you think it was a sunstroke, Parker?”
Her husband glanced at his neat boots and whistled.
“What a melodramatic mind you have,” he said.
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1
laurels
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| n.桂冠，荣誉 | |
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arid
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| adj.干旱的；(土地)贫瘠的 | |
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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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fuming
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| 愤怒( fume的现在分词 )； 大怒； 发怒； 冒烟 | |
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grievance
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| n.怨愤，气恼，委屈 | |
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irritable
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| adj.急躁的；过敏的；易怒的 | |
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radicals
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| n.激进分子( radical的名词复数 )；根基；基本原理；[数学]根数 | |
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8
truculent
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| adj.野蛮的，粗野的 | |
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9
capers
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| n.开玩笑( caper的名词复数 )；刺山柑v.跳跃，雀跃( caper的第三人称单数 ) | |
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remarkable
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| adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的 | |
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Christian
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| adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒 | |
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placid
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| adj.安静的，平和的 | |
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placidity
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| n.平静，安静，温和 | |
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14
ponderous
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| adj.沉重的，笨重的，(文章)冗长的 | |
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15
mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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16
amiable
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| adj.和蔼可亲的，友善的，亲切的 | |
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17
phlegmatic
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| adj.冷静的，冷淡的，冷漠的，无活力的 | |
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18
inertia
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| adj.惰性，惯性，懒惰，迟钝 | |
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19
stolidity
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| n.迟钝，感觉麻木 | |
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20
serene
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| adj. 安详的，宁静的，平静的 | |
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21
buxom
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| adj.（妇女）丰满的，有健康美的 | |
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22
opposition
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| n.反对，敌对 | |
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vivacity
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| n.快活，活泼，精神充沛 | |
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24
contentedly
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| adv.心满意足地 | |
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25
grievances
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| n.委屈( grievance的名词复数 )；苦衷；不满；牢骚 | |
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26
basking
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| v.晒太阳，取暖( bask的现在分词 )；对…感到乐趣；因他人的功绩而出名；仰仗…的余泽 | |
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27
sleek
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| adj.光滑的，井然有序的；v.使光滑，梳拢 | |
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28
lure
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| n.吸引人的东西，诱惑物；vt.引诱，吸引 | |
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29
obstinate
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| adj.顽固的，倔强的，不易屈服的，较难治愈的 | |
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30
bust
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| vt.打破；vi.爆裂；n.半身像；胸部 | |
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31
tapestries
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| n.挂毯( tapestry的名词复数 )；绣帷，织锦v.用挂毯（或绣帷）装饰( tapestry的第三人称单数 ) | |
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32
flicker
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| vi./n.闪烁，摇曳，闪现 | |
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33
flick
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| n.快速的轻打，轻打声，弹开；v.轻弹，轻轻拂去，忽然摇动 | |
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34
prim
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| adj.拘泥形式的，一本正经的；n.循规蹈矩，整洁；adv.循规蹈矩地，整洁地 | |
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35
abruptly
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| adv.突然地，出其不意地 | |
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36
pranced
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| v.（马）腾跃( prance的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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37
jack
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| n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克 | |
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38
oblivious
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| adj.易忘的，遗忘的，忘却的，健忘的 | |
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dignified
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| a.可敬的，高贵的 | |
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40
voracious
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| adj.狼吞虎咽的，贪婪的 | |
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41
bonnet
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| n.无边女帽；童帽 | |
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42
perking
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| （使）活跃( perk的现在分词 )； （使）增值； 使更有趣 | |
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43
eyebrows
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| 眉毛( eyebrow的名词复数 ) | |
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44
deign
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| v. 屈尊, 惠允 ( 做某事) | |
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45
ruffle
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| v.弄皱，弄乱；激怒，扰乱；n.褶裥饰边 | |
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46
impunity
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| n.(惩罚、损失、伤害等的)免除 | |
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47
trample
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| vt.踩，践踏；无视，伤害，侵犯 | |
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48
rendering
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| n.表现，描写 | |
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49
relinquished
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| 交出，让给( relinquish的过去式和过去分词 )； 放弃 | |
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50
demure
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| adj.严肃的；端庄的 | |
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51
toddle
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| v.（如小孩）蹒跚学步 | |
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52
rattling
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| adj. 格格作响的, 活泼的, 很好的 adv. 极其, 很, 非常 动词rattle的现在分词 | |
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53
irritably
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| ad.易生气地 | |
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54
bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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55
peculiar
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| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
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57
conscientious
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| adj.审慎正直的，认真的，本着良心的 | |
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58
sniffed
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| v.以鼻吸气，嗅，闻( sniff的过去式和过去分词 )；抽鼻子（尤指哭泣、患感冒等时出声地用鼻子吸气）；抱怨，不以为然地说 | |
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59
animation
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| n.活泼，兴奋，卡通片／动画片的制作 | |
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60
salvation
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| n.（尤指基督）救世，超度，拯救，解困 | |
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61
addles
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| v.使糊涂( addle的第三人称单数 )；使混乱；使腐臭；使变质 | |
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62
exacting
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| adj.苛求的，要求严格的 | |
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63
snob
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| n.势利小人，自以为高雅、有学问的人 | |
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64
expressive
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| adj.表现的，表达…的，富于表情的 | |
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65
renewal
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| adj.(契约)延期，续订，更新，复活，重来 | |
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66
honeymoon
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| n.蜜月（假期）；vi.度蜜月 | |
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67
romped
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| v.嬉笑玩闹( romp的过去式和过去分词 )；（尤指在赛跑或竞选等中）轻易获胜 | |
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68
poke
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| n.刺，戳，袋；vt.拨开，刺，戳；vi.戳，刺，捅，搜索，伸出，行动散慢 | |
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69
renounces
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| v.声明放弃( renounce的第三人称单数 )；宣布放弃；宣布与…决裂；宣布摒弃 | |
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70
proprietor
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| n.所有人；业主；经营者 | |
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71
urbane
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| adj.温文尔雅的，懂礼的 | |
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72
diplomat
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| n.外交官，外交家；能交际的人，圆滑的人 | |
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73
laborious
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| adj.吃力的，努力的，不流畅 | |
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74
dodged
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| v.闪躲( dodge的过去式和过去分词 )；回避 | |
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75
cedar
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| n.雪松，香柏(木) | |
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76
bosom
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| n.胸，胸部；胸怀；内心；adj.亲密的 | |
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77
shrubs
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| 灌木( shrub的名词复数 ) | |
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78
complacent
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| adj.自满的；自鸣得意的 | |
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scarlet
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| n.深红色，绯红色，红衣；adj.绯红色的 | |
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