CHAPTER XXV.

The evening following this conversation, Seth Dumbrick, going out while the Duchess was still at home, watched for her at the corner of a convenient street, and when she appeared, followed her so as not to be observed. It was a fine dry evening, and the Duchess walked swiftly towards the west of London. At the Mansion¹ House she entered an omnibus, and Seth climbed to the top. She alighted at Charing² Cross, and tripped over to Trafalgar Square, where she was immediately greeted by a man whose face Seth, being compelled to keep at a safe distance, could not distinguish. There was no difficulty in following the pair; and it needed only ordinary caution to prevent being detected. The Duchess and her companion walked onwards through the Haymarket to Regent Street, pausing frequently at shop-windows, and once they entered a café, Seth waiting for them in the street. Resuming their walk they strolled to Oxford³ Street, and then turned back towards the Strand⁴. It was half-past seven by the time they reached that wonderful thoroughfare, down which they strolled, until they came to the door of the Strand Theatre. This they entered, and were lost to Seth's sight. Noticing which way they turned, he followed, and asked the price of admission. A gentleman in a white tie, who was standing⁵ by the small window where the money was taken, loftily informed Seth that the pit and gallery were round the corner.

"But," said Seth, "I want to go where the lady and gentleman who have just passed through have gone."

"To the stalls?" inquired the gentleman in the white tie, in a tone of surprise.

"Yes, to the stalls," replied Seth.

"Can't admit you," was the rejoinder.

"Why?"

"Not dressed."

Seth glanced at his common clothes, and with a slight shrug⁶ and a little ironical⁷ smile, pardonable under the circumstances, took the indicated direction to the pit and gallery. He paid for admission to the pit, and, soon after he entered, succeeded in discovering where the Duchess was seated. She was in the stalls with her companion, and their backs were towards him. When Seth entered the pit, he found it very full, and he could only obtain standing room; necessarily, therefore, his discovery of the Duchess was made with some difficulty, and from where he stood it was impossible for him to observe her closely. Indeed, from the surging of the audience, and the goings to and fro, she was often not visible to him. He had no heart for the performance, which caused a running fire of laughter and merriment in all parts of the theatre, and before its termination he left the place, afraid lest in the last crush he should miss the Duchess. He lingered patiently in the Strand, near the box entrance of the theatre, until the people came out, and was successful in catching⁸ sight of the Duchess and her companion, whose evening dress was covered by a light overcoat. When they had disengaged themselves from the throng⁹, they paused, and from the opposite side of the street Seth noted¹⁰ that a discussion was taking place between them, the man persuading, the Duchess refusing. At length the Duchess cut short the disputed point by running away from her companion with a light laugh. He hastened immediately after her, and arm-in-arm they wended their way to Rosemary Lane, followed warily¹¹ by Seth. There they parted, after more than one kiss, which caused Seth to knit his brows ominously¹². When he was alone, the man took from his pocket a cigar case, which, notwithstanding the distance that separated them, Seth observed was made of silver. Lighting¹³ a cigar, the Duchess's lover strolled leisurely¹⁴ along until he came to a cab-rank, whence he hailed a cab. This was what Seth feared. Quickly hailing another, he gave the driver instructions to follow, without laying himself open to observation, promising¹⁵ extra payment if this were done. His cab pulled up in one of the most fashionable quarters of the west of London. As he was paying the fare, he asked the driver the name of the street, and saw his girl's lover walk on a few yards, and pause at a great house, which he presently entered. Then Seth walked up the steps, and noted the number.

His labours for that night were almost at an end; there was still a small matter to be attended to. He waited until he heard the policeman's measured footfall, and falling in by his side in a natural manner, struck up a conversation. He did not find it difficult, being in some respects a shrewd actor in the busy world, to ingratiate himself into the good graces of the official It was a cold night, and he proposed a friendly glass, The policeman, who knew an honest man when he came across one, and who was generally luckier than Diogenes, affably entertained the proposition. Over the friendly glass the conversation was continued, and sufficiently¹⁶ mellowed¹⁷, the policeman took possession of his beat again, accompanied by Seth. They passed the house which the Duchess's lover had entered. Seth had artfully directed the conversation into the desired channel, and as they passed the house, he asked:

"Who lives there? A great man, I should say."

"You'd say right," replied the policeman. "That's Mr. Temple's house."

"Hasn't he an estate in the country, called Springfield? I was in that quarter some time since, and I heard it belonged to the great Mr. Temple."

"I've heard as much myself. Yes, Springfield's the name of his country seat, now you mention it. I wish I was as well off as him."

"I wish so, too," said Seth Dumbrick, as he walked away. "Goodnight."

1 mansion   

n.大厦，大楼；宅第

参考例句：

• The old mansion was built in 1850.这座古宅建于1850年。
• The mansion has extensive grounds.这大厦四周的庭园广阔。

2 charing   

n.炭化v.把…烧成炭，把…烧焦( char的现在分词 )；烧成炭，烧焦；做杂役女佣

参考例句：

• We married in the chapel of Charing Cross Hospital in London. 我们是在伦敦查令十字医院的小教堂里结的婚。 来自辞典例句
• No additional charge for children under12 charing room with parents. ☆十二岁以下小童与父母同房不另收费。 来自互联网

3 Oxford   

n.牛津（英国城市）

参考例句：

• At present he has become a Professor of Chemistry at Oxford.他现在已是牛津大学的化学教授了。
• This is where the road to Oxford joins the road to London.这是去牛津的路与去伦敦的路的汇合处。

4 strand   

vt.使（船）搁浅，使（某人）困于（某地）

参考例句：

• She tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ears.她把一缕散发夹到了耳后。
• The climbers had been stranded by a storm.登山者被暴风雨困住了。

5 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

6 shrug   

v.耸肩(表示怀疑、冷漠、不知等)

参考例句：

• With a shrug,he went out of the room.他耸一下肩，走出了房间。
• I admire the way she is able to shrug off unfair criticism.我很佩服她能对错误的批评意见不予理会。

7 ironical   

adj.讽刺的，冷嘲的

参考例句：

• That is a summary and ironical end.那是一个具有概括性和讽刺意味的结局。
• From his general demeanour I didn't get the impression that he was being ironical.从他整体的行为来看，我不觉得他是在讲反话。

8 catching   

adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住

参考例句：

• There are those who think eczema is catching.有人就是认为湿疹会传染。
• Enthusiasm is very catching.热情非常富有感染力。

9 throng   

n.人群，群众；v.拥挤，群集

参考例句：

• A patient throng was waiting in silence.一大群耐心的人在静静地等着。
• The crowds thronged into the mall.人群涌进大厅。

10 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

11 warily   

adv.留心地

参考例句：

• He looked warily around him,pretending to look after Carrie.他小心地看了一下四周，假装是在照顾嘉莉。
• They were heading warily to a point in the enemy line.他们正小心翼翼地向着敌人封锁线的某一处前进。

12 ominously   

adv.恶兆地，不吉利地；预示地

参考例句：

• The wheels scooped up stones which hammered ominously under the car. 车轮搅起的石块，在车身下发出不吉祥的锤击声。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Mammy shook her head ominously. 嬷嬷不祥地摇着头。 来自飘（部分）

13 lighting   

n.照明，光线的明暗，舞台灯光

参考例句：

• The gas lamp gradually lost ground to electric lighting.煤气灯逐渐为电灯所代替。
• The lighting in that restaurant is soft and romantic.那个餐馆照明柔和而且浪漫。

14 leisurely   

adj.悠闲的；从容的，慢慢的

参考例句：

• We walked in a leisurely manner,looking in all the windows.我们慢悠悠地走着，看遍所有的橱窗。
• He had a leisurely breakfast and drove cheerfully to work.他从容的吃了早餐，高兴的开车去工作。

15 promising   

adj.有希望的，有前途的

参考例句：

• The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。
• We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。

16 sufficiently   

adv.足够地，充分地

参考例句：

• It turned out he had not insured the house sufficiently.原来他没有给房屋投足保险。
• The new policy was sufficiently elastic to accommodate both views.新政策充分灵活地适用两种观点。

17 mellowed   

（使）成熟( mellow的过去式和过去分词 )； 使色彩更加柔和，使酒更加醇香

参考例句：

• She's mellowed over the years. 这些年来他变得成熟了。
• The colours mellowed as the sun went down. 随着太阳的落去，色泽变得柔和了。