Chronicles the further Proceedings1 of the NicklebyFamily, and the Sequel of the Adventure of theGentleman in the Small-clothes.
While Nicholas, absorbed in the one engrossing3 subject ofinterest which had recently opened upon him, occupiedhis leisure hours with thoughts of Madeline Bray4, andin execution of the commissions which the anxiety of brotherCharles in her behalf imposed upon him, saw her again and again,and each time with greater danger to his peace of mind and amore weakening effect upon the lofty resolutions he had formed,Mrs Nickleby and Kate continued to live in peace and quiet,agitated by no other cares than those which were connected withcertain harassing5 proceedings taken by Mr Snawley for therecovery of his son, and their anxiety for Smike himself, whosehealth, long upon the wane6, began to be so much affected7 byapprehension and uncertainty8 as sometimes to occasion both themand Nicholas considerable uneasiness, and even alarm.
It was no complaint or murmur9 on the part of the poor fellowhimself that thus disturbed them. Ever eager to be employed insuch slight services as he could render, and always anxious torepay his benefactors10 with cheerful and happy looks, less friendlyeyes might have seen in him no cause for any misgiving11. But therewere times, and often too, when the sunken eye was too bright, thehollow cheek too flushed, the breath too thick and heavy in itscourse, the frame too feeble and exhausted12, to escape their regard and notice.
There is a dread13 disease which so prepares its victim, as it were,for death; which so refines it of its grosser aspect, and throwsaround familiar looks unearthly indications of the coming change;a dread disease, in which the struggle between soul and body is sogradual, quiet, and solemn, and the result so sure, that day by day,and grain by grain, the mortal part wastes and withers14 away, sothat the spirit grows light and sanguine15 with its lightening load,and, feeling immortality16 at hand, deems it but a new term ofmortal life; a disease in which death and life are so strangelyblended, that death takes the glow and hue17 of life, and life thegaunt and grisly form of death; a disease which medicine nevercured, wealth never warded18 off, or poverty could boast exemptionfrom; which sometimes moves in giant strides, and sometimes at atardy sluggish19 pace, but, slow or quick, is ever sure and certain.
It was with some faint reference in his own mind to thisdisorder, though he would by no means admit it, even to himself,that Nicholas had already carried his faithful companion to aphysician of great repute. There was no cause for immediatealarm, he said. There were no present symptoms which could bedeemed conclusive20. The constitution had been greatly tried andinjured in childhood, but still it might not be—and that was all.
But he seemed to grow no worse, and, as it was not difficult tofind a reason for these symptoms of illness in the shock andagitation he had recently undergone, Nicholas comforted himselfwith the hope that his poor friend would soon recover. This hopehis mother and sister shared with him; and as the object of theirjoint solicitude21 seemed to have no uneasiness or despondency forhimself, but each day answered with a quiet smile that he felt better than he had upon the day before, their fears abated22, and thegeneral happiness was by degrees restored.
Many and many a time in after years did Nicholas look back tothis period of his life, and tread again the humble23 quiet homelyscenes that rose up as of old before him. Many and many a time, inthe twilight24 of a summer evening, or beside the flickering25 winter’sfire—but not so often or so sadly then—would his thoughtswander back to these old days, and dwell with a pleasant sorrowupon every slight remembrance which they brought crowdinghome. The little room in which they had so often sat long after itwas dark, figuring such happy futures26; Kate’s cheerful voice andmerry laugh; how, if she were from home, they used to sit andwatch for her return scarcely breaking silence but to say how dullit seemed without her; the glee with which poor Smike would startfrom the darkened corner where he used to sit, and hurry to admither, and the tears they often saw upon his face, half wondering tosee them too, and he so pleased and happy; every little incident,and even slight words and looks of those old days little heededthen, but well remembered when busy cares and trials were quiteforgotten, came fresh and thick before him many and many a time,and, rustling27 above the dusty growth of years, came back greenboughs of yesterday.
But there were other persons associated with theserecollections, and many changes came about before they hadbeing. A necessary reflection for the purposes of these adventures,which at once subside28 into their accustomed train, and shunningall flighty anticipations29 or wayward wanderings, pursue theirsteady and decorous course.
If the brothers Cheeryble, as they found Nicholas worthy30 of trust and confidence, bestowed31 upon him every day some new andsubstantial mark of kindness, they were not less mindful of thosewho depended on him. Various little presents to Mrs Nickleby,always of the very things they most required, tended in no slightdegree to the improvement and embellishment of the cottage.
Kate’s little store of trinkets became quite dazzling; and forcompany! If brother Charles and brother Ned failed to look in forat least a few minutes every Sunday, or one evening in the week,there was Mr Tim Linkinwater (who had never made half-a-dozenother acquaintances in all his life, and who took such delight in hisnew friends as no words can express) constantly coming and goingin his evening walks, and stopping to rest; while Mr FrankCheeryble happened, by some strange conjunction ofcircumstances, to be passing the door on some business or other atleast three nights in the week.
‘He is the most attentive32 young man I ever saw, Kate,’ said MrsNickleby to her daughter one evening, when this last-namedgentleman had been the subject of the worthy lady’s eulogium forsome time, and Kate had sat perfectly33 silent.
‘Attentive, mama!’ rejoined Kate.
‘Bless my heart, Kate!’ cried Mrs Nickleby, with her wontedsuddenness, ‘what a colour you have got; why, you’re quiteflushed!’
‘Oh, mama! what strange things you fancy!’
‘It wasn’t fancy, Kate, my dear, I’m certain of that,’ returnedher mother. ‘However, it’s gone now at any rate, so it don’t muchmatter whether it was or not. What was it we were talking about?
Oh! Mr Frank. I never saw such attention in my life, never.’
‘Surely you are not serious,’ returned Kate, colouring again; and this time beyond all dispute.
‘Not serious!’ returned Mrs Nickleby; ‘why shouldn’t I beserious? I’m sure I never was more serious. I will say that hispoliteness and attention to me is one of the most becoming,gratifying, pleasant things I have seen for a very long time. Youdon’t often meet with such behaviour in young men, and it strikesone more when one does meet with it.’
‘Oh! attention to you, mama,’ rejoined Kate quickly—‘oh yes.’
‘Dear me, Kate,’ retorted Mrs Nickleby, ‘what an extraordinarygirl you are! Was it likely I should be talking of his attention toanybody else? I declare I’m quite sorry to think he should be inlove with a German lady, that I am.’
‘He said very positively34 that it was no such thing, mama,’
returned Kate. ‘Don’t you remember his saying so that very firstnight he came here? Besides,’ she added, in a more gentle tone,‘why should we be sorry if it is the case? What is it to us, mama?’
‘Nothing to us, Kate, perhaps,’ said Mrs Nickleby, emphatically;‘but something to me, I confess. I like English people to bethorough English people, and not half English and half I don’tknow what. I shall tell him point-blank next time he comes, that Iwish he would marry one of his own country-women; and see whathe says to that.’
‘Pray don’t think of such a thing, mama,’ returned Kate, hastily;‘not for the world. Consider. How very—’
‘Well, my dear, how very what?’ said Mrs Nickleby, opening hereyes in great astonishment35.
Before Kate had returned any reply, a queer little double knockannounced that Miss La Creevy had called to see them; and whenMiss La Creevy presented herself, Mrs Nickleby, though strongly disposed to be argumentative on the previous question, forgot allabout it in a gush36 of supposes about the coach she had come by;supposing that the man who drove must have been either the manin the shirt-sleeves or the man with the black eye; that whoever hewas, he hadn’t found that parasol she left inside last week; that nodoubt they had stopped a long while at the Halfway37 House, comingdown; or that perhaps being full, they had come straight on; and,lastly, that they, surely, must have passed Nicholas on the road.
‘I saw nothing of him,’ answered Miss La Creevy; ‘but I saw thatdear old soul Mr Linkinwater.’
‘Taking his evening walk, and coming on to rest here, before heturns back to the city, I’ll be bound!’ said Mrs Nickleby.
‘I should think he was,’ returned Miss La Creevy; ‘especially asyoung Mr Cheeryble was with him.’
‘Surely that is no reason why Mr Linkinwater should be cominghere,’ said Kate.
‘Why I think it is, my dear,’ said Miss La Creevy. ‘For a youngman, Mr Frank is not a very great walker; and I observe that hegenerally falls tired, and requires a good long rest, when he hascome as far as this. But where is my friend?’ said the little woman,looking about, after having glanced slyly at Kate. ‘He has not beenrun away with again, has he?’
‘Ah! where is Mr Smike?’ said Mrs Nickleby; ‘he was here thisinstant.’ Upon further inquiry38, it turned out, to the good lady’sunbounded astonishment, that Smike had, that moment, goneupstairs to bed.
‘Well now,’ said Mrs Nickleby, ‘he is the strangest creature!
Last Tuesday—was it Tuesday? Yes, to be sure it was; yourecollect, Kate, my dear, the very last time young Mr Cheeryble was here—last Tuesday night he went off in just the same strangeway, at the very moment the knock came to the door. It cannot bethat he don’t like company, because he is always fond of peoplewho are fond of Nicholas, and I am sure young Mr Cheeryble is.
And the strangest thing is, that he does not go to bed; therefore itcannot be because he is tired. I know he doesn’t go to bed, becausemy room is the next one, and when I went upstairs last Tuesday,hours after him, I found that he had not even taken his shoes off;and he had no candle, so he must have sat moping in the dark allthe time. Now, upon my word,’ said Mrs Nickleby, ‘when I come tothink of it, that’s very extraordinary!’
As the hearers did not echo this sentiment, but remainedprofoundly silent, either as not knowing what to say, or as beingunwilling to interrupt, Mrs Nickleby pursued the thread of herdiscourse after her own fashion.
‘I hope,’ said that lady, ‘that this unaccountable conduct maynot be the beginning of his taking to his bed and living there all hislife, like the Thirsty Woman of Tutbury, or the Cock-lane Ghost, orsome of those extraordinary creatures. One of them had someconnection with our family. I forget, without looking back to someold letters I have upstairs, whether it was my great-grandfatherwho went to school with the Cock-lane Ghost, or the ThirstyWoman of Tutbury who went to school with my grandmother.
Miss La Creevy, you know, of course. Which was it that didn’tmind what the clergyman said? The Cock-lane Ghost or theThirsty Woman of Tutbury?’
‘The Cock-lane Ghost, I believe.’
‘Then I have no doubt,’ said Mrs Nickleby, ‘that it was with himmy great-grandfather went to school; for I know the master of his school was a dissenter39, and that would, in a great measure,account for the Cock-lane Ghost’s behaving in such an impropermanner to the clergyman when he grew up. Ah! Train up aGhost—child, I mean—’
Any further reflections on this fruitful theme were abruptly40 cutshort by the arrival of Tim Linkinwater and Mr Frank Cheeryble;in the hurry of receiving whom, Mrs Nickleby speedily lost sight ofeverything else.
‘I am so sorry Nicholas is not at home,’ said Mrs Nickleby.
‘Kate, my dear, you must be both Nicholas and yourself.’
‘Miss Nickleby need be but herself,’ said Frank. ‘I—if I mayventure to say so—oppose all change in her.’
‘Then at all events she shall press you to stay,’ returned MrsNickleby. ‘Mr Linkinwater says ten minutes, but I cannot let yougo so soon; Nicholas would be very much vexed42, I am sure. Kate,my dear!’
In obedience43 to a great number of nods, and winks44, and frownsof extra significance, Kate added her entreaties45 that the visitorswould remain; but it was observable that she addressed themexclusively to Tim Linkinwater; and there was, besides, a certainembarrassment in her manner, which, although it was as far fromimpairing its graceful47 character as the tinge48 it communicated toher cheek was from diminishing her beauty, was obvious at aglance even to Mrs Nickleby. Not being of a very speculativecharacter, however, save under circumstances when herspeculations could be put into words and uttered aloud, thatdiscreet matron attributed the emotion to the circumstance of herdaughter’s not happening to have her best frock on: ‘though Inever saw her look better, certainly,’ she reflected at the same time. Having settled the question in this way, and being mostcomplacently satisfied that in this, and in all other instances, herconjecture could not fail to be the right one, Mrs Nicklebydismissed it from her thoughts, and inwardly congratulatedherself on being so shrewd and knowing.
Nicholas did not come home nor did Smike reappear; butneither circumstance, to say the truth, had any great effect uponthe little party, who were all in the best humour possible. Indeed,there sprung up quite a flirtation49 between Miss La Creevy andTim Linkinwater, who said a thousand jocose50 and facetious51 things,and became, by degrees, quite gallant52, not to say tender. LittleMiss La Creevy, on her part, was in high spirits, and rallied Timon having remained a bachelor all his life with so much success,that Tim was actually induced to declare, that if he could getanybody to have him, he didn’t know but what he might changehis condition even yet. Miss La Creevy earnestly recommended alady she knew, who would exactly suit Mr Linkinwater, and had avery comfortable property of her own; but this latter qualificationhad very little effect upon Tim, who manfully protested thatfortune would be no object with him, but that true worth andcheerfulness of disposition53 were what a man should look for in awife, and that if he had these, he could find money enough for themoderate wants of both. This avowal54 was considered sohonourable to Tim, that neither Mrs Nickleby nor Miss La Creevycould sufficiently55 extol56 it; and stimulated57 by their praises, Timlaunched out into several other declarations also manifesting thedisinterestedness of his heart, and a great devotion to the fair sex:
which were received with no less approbation58. This was done andsaid with a comical mixture of jest and earnest, and, leading to a great amount of laughter, made them very merry indeed.
Kate was commonly the life and soul of the conversation athome; but she was more silent than usual upon this occasion(perhaps because Tim and Miss La Creevy engrossed59 so much ofit), and, keeping aloof60 from the talkers, sat at the window watchingthe shadows as the evening closed in, and enjoying the quietbeauty of the night, which seemed to have scarcely less attractionsto Frank, who first lingered near, and then sat down beside, her.
No doubt, there are a great many things to be said appropriate to asummer evening, and no doubt they are best said in a low voice, asbeing most suitable to the peace and serenity61 of the hour; longpauses, too, at times, and then an earnest word or so, and thenanother interval62 of silence which, somehow, does not seem likesilence either, and perhaps now and then a hasty turning away ofthe head, or drooping63 of the eyes towards the ground, all theseminor circumstances, with a disinclination to have candlesintroduced and a tendency to confuse hours with minutes, aredoubtless mere64 influences of the time, as many lovely lips canclearly testify. Neither is there the slightest reason why MrsNickleby should have expressed surprise when, candles being atlength brought in, Kate’s bright eyes were unable to bear the lightwhich obliged her to avert65 her face, and even to leave the room forsome short time; because, when one has sat in the dark so long,candles are dazzling, and nothing can be more strictly66 naturalthan that such results should be produced, as all well-informedyoung people know. For that matter, old people know it too, or didknow it once, but they forget these things sometimes, and more’sthe pity.
The good lady’s surprise, however, did not end here. It was greatly increased when it was discovered that Kate had not theleast appetite for supper: a discovery so alarming that there is noknowing in what unaccountable efforts of oratory67 Mrs Nickleby’sapprehensions might have been vented68, if the general attentionhad not been attracted, at the moment, by a very strange anduncommon noise, proceeding2, as the pale and trembling servantgirl affirmed, and as everybody’s sense of hearing seemed toaffirm also, ‘right down’ the chimney of the adjoining room.
It being quite plain to the comprehension of all present that,however extraordinary and improbable it might appear, the noisedid nevertheless proceed from the chimney in question; and thenoise (which was a strange compound of various shuffling69, sliding,rumbling, and struggling sounds, all muffled70 by the chimney) stillcontinuing, Frank Cheeryble caught up a candle, and TimLinkinwater the tongs71, and they would have very quicklyascertained the cause of this disturbance72 if Mrs Nickleby had notbeen taken very faint, and declined being left behind, on anyaccount. This produced a short remonstrance73, which terminatedin their all proceeding to the troubled chamber74 in a body,excepting only Miss La Creevy, who, as the servant girlvolunteered a confession75 of having been subject to fits in herinfancy, remained with her to give the alarm and applyrestoratives, in case of extremity76.
Advancing to the door of the mysterious apartment, they werenot a little surprised to hear a human voice, chanting with a highlyelaborated expression of melancholy77, and in tones of suffocationwhich a human voice might have produced from under five or sixfeather-beds of the best quality, the once popular air of ‘Has shethen failed in her truth, the beautiful maid I adore?’ Nor, on bursting into the room without demanding a parley78, was theirastonishment lessened79 by the discovery that these romanticsounds certainly proceeded from the throat of some man up thechimney, of whom nothing was visible but a pair of legs, whichwere dangling80 above the grate; apparently81 feeling, with extremeanxiety, for the top bar whereon to effect a landing.
A sight so unusual and unbusiness-like as this, completelyparalysed Tim Linkinwater, who, after one or two gentle pinchesat the stranger’s ankles, which were productive of no effect, stoodclapping the tongs together, as if he were sharpening them foranother assault, and did nothing else.
‘This must be some drunken fellow,’ said Frank. ‘No thiefwould announce his presence thus.’
As he said this, with great indignation, he raised the candle toobtain a better view of the legs, and was darting82 forward to pullthem down with very little ceremony, when Mrs Nickleby,clasping her hands, uttered a sharp sound, something between ascream and an exclamation83, and demanded to know whether themysterious limbs were not clad in small-clothes and grey worstedstockings, or whether her eyes had deceived her.
‘Yes,’ cried Frank, looking a little closer. ‘Small-clothescertainly, and—and—rough grey stockings, too. Do you know him,ma’am?’
‘Kate, my dear,’ said Mrs Nickleby, deliberately84 sitting herselfdown in a chair with that sort of desperate resignation whichseemed to imply that now matters had come to a crisis, and alldisguise was useless, ‘you will have the goodness, my love, toexplain precisely85 how this matter stands. I have given him noencouragement—none whatever—not the least in the world. You know that, my dear, perfectly well. He was very respectful,exceedingly respectful, when he declared, as you were a witnessto; still at the same time, if I am to be persecuted86 in this way, ifvegetable what’s-his-names and all kinds of garden-stuff are tostrew my path out of doors, and gentlemen are to come choking upour chimneys at home, I really don’t know—upon my word I donot know—what is to become of me. It’s a very hard case—harderthan anything I was ever exposed to, before I married your poordear papa, though I suffered a good deal of annoyance87 then—butthat, of course, I expected, and made up my mind for. When I wasnot nearly so old as you, my dear, there was a young gentlemanwho sat next us at church, who used, almost every Sunday, to cutmy name in large letters in the front of his pew while the sermonwas going on. It was gratifying, of course, naturally so, but still itwas an annoyance, because the pew was in a very conspicuousplace, and he was several times publicly taken out by the beadlefor doing it. But that was nothing to this. This is a great dealworse, and a great deal more embarrassing. I would rather, Kate,my dear,’ said Mrs Nickleby, with great solemnity, and an effusionof tears: ‘I would rather, I declare, have been a pig-faced lady, thanbe exposed to such a life as this!’
Frank Cheeryble and Tim Linkinwater looked, in irrepressibleastonishment, first at each other and then at Kate, who felt thatsome explanation was necessary, but who, between her terror atthe apparition88 of the legs, her fear lest their owner should besmothered, and her anxiety to give the least ridiculous solution ofthe mystery that it was capable of bearing, was quite unable toutter a single word.
‘He gives me great pain,’ continued Mrs Nickleby, drying her eyes, ‘great pain; but don’t hurt a hair of his head, I beg. On noaccount hurt a hair of his head.’
It would not, under existing circumstances, have been quite soeasy to hurt a hair of the gentleman’s head as Mrs Nicklebyseemed to imagine, inasmuch as that part of his person was somefeet up the chimney, which was by no means a wide one. But, asall this time he had never left off singing about the bankruptcy89 ofthe beautiful maid in respect of truth, and now began not only tocroak very feebly, but to kick with great violence as if respirationbecame a task of difficulty, Frank Cheeryble, without furtherhesitation, pulled at the shorts and worsteds with such heartinessas to bring him floundering into the room with greaterprecipitation than he had quite calculated upon.
‘Oh! yes, yes,’ said Kate, directly the whole figure of thissingular visitor appeared in this abrupt41 manner. ‘I know who it is.
Pray don’t be rough with him. Is he hurt? I hope not. Oh, pray seeif he is hurt.’
‘He is not, I assure you,’ replied Frank, handling the object ofhis surprise, after this appeal, with sudden tenderness andrespect. ‘He is not hurt in the least.’
‘Don’t let him come any nearer,’ said Kate, retiring as far as shecould.
‘Oh, no, he shall not,’ rejoined Frank. ‘You see I have himsecure here. But may I ask you what this means, and whether youexpected, this old gentleman?’
‘Oh, no,’ said Kate, ‘of course not; but he—mama does not thinkso, I believe—but he is a mad gentleman who has escaped fromthe next house, and must have found an opportunity of secretinghimself here.’
‘Kate,’ interposed Mrs Nickleby with severe dignity, ‘I amsurprised at you.’
‘Dear mama,’ Kate gently remonstrated90.
‘I am surprised at you,’ repeated Mrs Nickleby; ’upon my word,Kate, I am quite astonished that you should join the persecutors ofthis unfortunate gentleman, when you know very well that theyhave the basest designs upon his property, and that that is thewhole secret of it. It would be much kinder of you, Kate, to ask MrLinkinwater or Mr Cheeryble to interfere91 in his behalf, and seehim righted. You ought not to allow your feelings to influence you;it’s not right, very far from it. What should my feelings be, do yousuppose? If anybody ought to be indignant, who is it? I, of course,and very properly so. Still, at the same time, I wouldn’t commitsuch an injustice92 for the world. No,’ continued Mrs Nickleby,drawing herself up, and looking another way with a kind ofbashful stateliness; ‘this gentleman will understand me when I tellhim that I repeat the answer I gave him the other day; that Ialways will repeat it, though I do believe him to be sincere when Ifind him placing himself in such dreadful situations on myaccount; and that I request him to have the goodness to go awaydirectly, or it will be impossible to keep his behaviour a secretfrom my son Nicholas. I am obliged to him, very much obliged tohim, but I cannot listen to his addresses for a moment. It’s quiteimpossible.’
While this address was in course of delivery, the old gentleman,with his nose and cheeks embellished93 with large patches of soot,sat upon the ground with his arms folded, eyeing the spectators inprofound silence, and with a very majestic94 demeanour. He did notappear to take the smallest notice of what Mrs Nickleby said, but when she ceased to speak he honoured her with a long stare, andinquired if she had quite finished.
‘I have nothing more to say,’ replied that lady modestly. ‘I reallycannot say anything more.’
‘Very good,’ said the old gentleman, raising his voice, ‘thenbring in the bottled lightning, a clean tumbler, and a corkscrew.’
Nobody executing this order, the old gentleman, after a shortpause, raised his voice again and demanded a thunder sandwich.
This article not being forthcoming either, he requested to beserved with a fricassee of boot-tops and goldfish sauce, and thenlaughing heartily95, gratified his hearers with a very long, very loud,and most melodious96 bellow97.
But still Mrs Nickleby, in reply to the significant looks of allabout her, shook her head as though to assure them that she sawnothing whatever in all this, unless, indeed, it were a slight degreeof eccentricity98. She might have remained impressed with theseopinions down to the latest moment of her life, but for a slighttrain of circumstances, which, trivial as they were, altered thewhole complexion99 of the case.
It happened that Miss La Creevy, finding her patient in no verythreatening condition, and being strongly impelled100 by curiosity tosee what was going forward, bustled101 into the room while the oldgentleman was in the very act of bellowing102. It happened, too, thatthe instant the old gentleman saw her, he stopped short, skippedsuddenly on his feet, and fell to kissing his hand violently: achange of demeanour which almost terrified the little portraitpainter out of her senses, and caused her to retreat behind TimLinkinwater with the utmost expedition.
‘Aha!’ cried the old gentleman, folding his hands, and squeezing them with great force against each other. ‘I see her now; I see hernow! My love, my life, my bride, my peerless beauty. She is comeat last—at last—and all is gas and gaiters!’
Mrs Nickleby looked rather disconcerted for a moment, butimmediately recovering, nodded to Miss La Creevy and the otherspectators several times, and frowned, and smiled gravely, givingthem to understand that she saw where the mistake was, andwould set it all to rights in a minute or two.
‘She is come!’ said the old gentleman, laying his hand upon hisheart. ‘Cormoran and Blunderbore! She is come! All the wealth Ihave is hers if she will take me for her slave. Where are grace,beauty, and blandishments, like those? In the Empress ofMadagascar? No. In the Queen of Diamonds? No. In MrsRowland, who every morning bathes in Kalydor for nothing? No.
Melt all these down into one, with the three Graces, the nineMuses, and fourteen biscuit-bakers’ daughters from Oxford103 Street,and make a woman half as lovely. Pho! I defy you.’
After uttering this rhapsody, the old gentleman snapped hisfingers twenty or thirty times, and then subsided104 into an ecstaticcontemplation of Miss La Creevy’s charms. This affording MrsNickleby a favourable105 opportunity of explanation, she went aboutit straight.
‘I am sure,’ said the worthy lady, with a prefatory cough, ‘thatit’s a great relief, under such trying circumstances as these, tohave anybody else mistaken for me—a very great relief; and it’s acircumstance that never occurred before, although I have severaltimes been mistaken for my daughter Kate. I have no doubt thepeople were very foolish, and perhaps ought to have known better,but still they did take me for her, and of course that was no fault of mine, and it would be very hard indeed if I was to be maderesponsible for it. However, in this instance, of course, I must feelthat I should do exceedingly wrong if I suffered anybody—especially anybody that I am under great obligations to—to bemade uncomfortable on my account. And therefore I think it myduty to tell that gentleman that he is mistaken, that I am the ladywho he was told by some impertinent person was niece to theCouncil of Paving-stones, and that I do beg and entreat46 of him togo quietly away, if it’s only for,’ here Mrs Nickleby simpered andhesitated, ‘for my sake.’
It might have been expected that the old gentleman would havebeen penetrated106 to the heart by the delicacy107 and condescension108 ofthis appeal, and that he would at least have returned a courteousand suitable reply. What, then, was the shock which Mrs Nicklebyreceived, when, accosting109 her in the most unmistakable manner,he replied in a loud and sonourous voice: ‘Avaunt! Cat!’
‘Sir!’ cried Mrs Nickleby, in a faint tone.
‘Cat!’ repeated the old gentleman. ‘Puss, Kit110, Tit, Grimalkin,Tabby, Brindle! Whoosh111!’ with which last sound, uttered in ahissing manner between his teeth, the old gentleman swung hisarms violently round and round, and at the same time alternatelyadvanced on Mrs Nickleby, and retreated from her, in that speciesof savage112 dance with which boys on market-days may be seen tofrighten pigs, sheep, and other animals, when they give outobstinate indications of turning down a wrong street.
Mrs Nickleby wasted no words, but uttered an exclamation ofhorror and surprise, and immediately fainted away.
‘I’ll attend to mama,’ said Kate, hastily; ‘I am not at allfrightened. But pray take him away: pray take him away!’
Frank was not at all confident of his power of complying withthis request, until he bethought himself of the stratagem113 ofsending Miss La Creevy on a few paces in advance, and urging theold gentleman to follow her. It succeeded to a miracle; and hewent away in a rapture114 of admiration115, strongly guarded by TimLinkinwater on one side, and Frank himself on the other.
‘Kate,’ murmured Mrs Nickleby, reviving when the coast wasclear, ‘is he gone?’
She was assured that he was.
‘I shall never forgive myself, Kate,’ said Mrs Nickleby. ‘Never!
That gentleman has lost his senses, and I am the unhappy cause.’
‘You the cause!’ said Kate, greatly astonished.
‘I, my love,’ replied Mrs Nickleby, with a desperate calmness.
‘You saw what he was the other day; you see what he is now. I toldyour brother, weeks and weeks ago, Kate, that I hoped adisappointment might not be too much for him. You see what awreck he is. Making allowance for his being a little flighty, youknow how rationally, and sensibly, and honourably116 he talked,when we saw him in the garden. You have heard the dreadfulnonsense he has been guilty of this night, and the manner inwhich he has gone on with that poor unfortunate little old maid.
Can anybody doubt how all this has been brought about?’
‘I should scarcely think they could,’ said Kate mildly.
‘I should scarcely think so, either,’ rejoined her mother. ‘Well! ifI am the unfortunate cause of this, I have the satisfaction ofknowing that I am not to blame. I told Nicholas, I said to him,“Nicholas, my dear, we should be very careful how we proceed.”
He would scarcely hear me. If the matter had only been properlytaken up at first, as I wished it to be! But you are both of you so like your poor papa. However, I have my consolation117, and thatshould be enough for me!’
Washing her hands, thus, of all responsibility under this head,past, present, or to come, Mrs Nickleby kindly118 added that shehoped her children might never have greater cause to reproachthemselves than she had, and prepared herself to receive theescort, who soon returned with the intelligence that the oldgentleman was safely housed, and that they found his custodians,who had been making merry with some friends, wholly ignorant ofhis absence.
Quiet being again restored, a delicious half-hour—so Frankcalled it, in the course of subsequent conversation with TimLinkinwater as they were walking home—was spent inconversation, and Tim’s watch at length apprising119 him that it washigh time to depart, the ladies were left alone, though not withoutmany offers on the part of Frank to remain until Nicholas arrived,no matter what hour of the night it might be, if, after the lateneighbourly irruption, they entertained the least fear of being leftto themselves. As their freedom from all further apprehension,however, left no pretext120 for his insisting on mounting guard, hewas obliged to abandon the citadel121, and to retire with the trustyTim.
Nearly three hours of silence passed away. Kate blushed tofind, when Nicholas returned, how long she had been sitting alone,occupied with her own thoughts.
‘I really thought it had not been half an hour,’ she said.
‘They must have been pleasant thoughts, Kate,’ rejoinedNicholas gaily122, ‘to make time pass away like that. What were theynow?’
Kate was confused; she toyed with some trifle on the table,looked up and smiled, looked down and dropped a tear.
‘Why, Kate,’ said Nicholas, drawing his sister towards him andkissing her, ‘let me see your face. No? Ah! that was but a glimpse;that’s scarcely fair. A longer look than that, Kate. Come—and I’llread your thoughts for you.’
There was something in this proposition, albeit123 it was saidwithout the slightest consciousness or application, which soalarmed his sister, that Nicholas laughingly changed the subject todomestic matters, and thus gathered, by degrees, as they left theroom and went upstairs together, how lonely Smike had been allnight—and by very slow degrees, too; for on this subject also, Kateseemed to speak with some reluctance124.
‘Poor fellow,’ said Nicholas, tapping gently at his door, ‘whatcan be the cause of all this?’
Kate was hanging on her brother’s arm. The door being quicklyopened, she had not time to disengage herself, before Smike, verypale and haggard, and completely dressed, confronted them.
‘And have you not been to bed?’ said Nicholas.
‘N-n-no,’ was the reply.
Nicholas gently detained his sister, who made an effort toretire; and asked, ‘Why not?’
‘I could not sleep,’ said Smike, grasping the hand which hisfriend extended to him.
‘You are not well?’ rejoined Nicholas.
‘I am better, indeed. A great deal better,’ said Smike quickly.
‘Then why do you give way to these fits of melancholy?’
inquired Nicholas, in his kindest manner; ‘or why not tell us thecause? You grow a different creature, Smike.’
‘I do; I know I do,’ he replied. ‘I will tell you the reason one day,but not now. I hate myself for this; you are all so good and kind.
But I cannot help it. My heart is very full; you do not know howfull it is.’
He wrung125 Nicholas’s hand before he released it; and glancing,for a moment, at the brother and sister as they stood together, as ifthere were something in their strong affection which touched himvery deeply, withdrew into his chamber, and was soon the onlywatcher under that quiet roof.
收听单词发音 |
1
proceedings
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| n.进程，过程，议程；诉讼(程序)；公报 | |
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proceeding
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| n.行动，进行，(pl.)会议录，学报 | |
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engrossing
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| adj.使人全神贯注的，引人入胜的v.使全神贯注( engross的现在分词 ) | |
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bray
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| n.驴叫声, 喇叭声；v.驴叫 | |
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harassing
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| v.侵扰，骚扰( harass的现在分词 )；不断攻击（敌人） | |
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wane
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| n.衰微，亏缺，变弱；v.变小，亏缺，呈下弦 | |
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affected
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| adj.不自然的，假装的 | |
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uncertainty
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| n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物 | |
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murmur
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| n.低语，低声的怨言；v.低语，低声而言 | |
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benefactors
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| n.捐助者，施主( benefactor的名词复数 )；恩人 | |
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misgiving
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| n.疑虑，担忧，害怕 | |
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exhausted
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| adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的 | |
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dread
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| vt.担忧，忧虑；惧怕，不敢；n.担忧，畏惧 | |
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withers
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| 马肩隆 | |
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sanguine
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| adj.充满希望的，乐观的，血红色的 | |
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immortality
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| n.不死，不朽 | |
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hue
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| n.色度；色调；样子 | |
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warded
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| 有锁孔的，有钥匙榫槽的 | |
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sluggish
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| adj.懒惰的，迟钝的，无精打采的 | |
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conclusive
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| adj.最后的，结论的；确凿的，消除怀疑的 | |
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solicitude
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| n.焦虑 | |
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abated
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| 减少( abate的过去式和过去分词 )； 减去； 降价； 撤消（诉讼） | |
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humble
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| adj.谦卑的，恭顺的；地位低下的；v.降低，贬低 | |
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twilight
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| n.暮光，黄昏；暮年，晚期，衰落时期 | |
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flickering
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| adj.闪烁的，摇曳的，一闪一闪的 | |
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futures
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| n.期货，期货交易 | |
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rustling
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| n. 瑟瑟声，沙沙声 adj. 发沙沙声的 | |
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subside
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| vi.平静，平息；下沉，塌陷，沉降 | |
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anticipations
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| 预期( anticipation的名词复数 )； 预测； （信托财产收益的）预支； 预期的事物 | |
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worthy
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| adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的 | |
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bestowed
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| 赠给，授予( bestow的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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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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perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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positively
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| adv.明确地，断然，坚决地；实在，确实 | |
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astonishment
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| n.惊奇，惊异 | |
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gush
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| v.喷，涌；滔滔不绝(说话)；n.喷，涌流；迸发 | |
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halfway
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| adj.中途的，不彻底的，部分的；adv.半路地，在中途，在半途 | |
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inquiry
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| n.打听，询问，调查，查问 | |
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dissenter
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| n.反对者 | |
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abruptly
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| adv.突然地，出其不意地 | |
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abrupt
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| adj.突然的，意外的；唐突的，鲁莽的 | |
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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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43
obedience
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| n.服从，顺从 | |
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winks
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| v.使眼色( wink的第三人称单数 )；递眼色（表示友好或高兴等）；（指光）闪烁；闪亮 | |
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entreaties
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| n.恳求，乞求( entreaty的名词复数 ) | |
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entreat
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| v.恳求，恳请 | |
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47
graceful
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| adj.优美的，优雅的；得体的 | |
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48
tinge
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| vt.(较淡)着色于，染色；使带有…气息；n.淡淡色彩，些微的气息 | |
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49
flirtation
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| n.调情，调戏，挑逗 | |
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50
jocose
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| adj.开玩笑的，滑稽的 | |
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51
facetious
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| adj.轻浮的，好开玩笑的 | |
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52
gallant
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| adj.英勇的，豪侠的；(向女人)献殷勤的 | |
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53
disposition
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| n.性情，性格；意向，倾向；排列，部署 | |
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54
avowal
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| n.公开宣称，坦白承认 | |
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55
sufficiently
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| adv.足够地，充分地 | |
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56
extol
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| v.赞美，颂扬 | |
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57
stimulated
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| a.刺激的 | |
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58
approbation
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| n.称赞；认可 | |
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59
engrossed
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| adj.全神贯注的 | |
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60
aloof
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| adj.远离的；冷淡的，漠不关心的 | |
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61
serenity
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| n.宁静，沉着，晴朗 | |
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62
interval
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| n.间隔，间距；幕间休息，中场休息 | |
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63
drooping
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| adj. 下垂的，无力的 动词droop的现在分词 | |
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64
mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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65
avert
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| v.防止，避免；转移(目光、注意力等) | |
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66
strictly
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| adv.严厉地，严格地；严密地 | |
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67
oratory
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| n.演讲术；词藻华丽的言辞 | |
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68
vented
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| 表达，发泄（感情，尤指愤怒）( vent的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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69
shuffling
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| adj. 慢慢移动的, 滑移的 动词shuffle的现在分词形式 | |
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muffled
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| adj.（声音）被隔的；听不太清的；（衣服）裹严的；蒙住的v.压抑，捂住( muffle的过去式和过去分词 )；用厚厚的衣帽包着（自己） | |
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71
tongs
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| n.钳；夹子 | |
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disturbance
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| n.动乱，骚动；打扰，干扰；(身心)失调 | |
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remonstrance
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| n抗议，抱怨 | |
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74
chamber
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| n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所 | |
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75
confession
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| n.自白，供认，承认 | |
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76
extremity
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| n.末端，尽头；尽力；终极；极度 | |
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melancholy
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| n.忧郁，愁思；adj.令人感伤（沮丧）的，忧郁的 | |
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78
parley
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| n.谈判 | |
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79
lessened
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| 减少的，减弱的 | |
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80
dangling
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| 悬吊着( dangle的现在分词 )； 摆动不定； 用某事物诱惑…； 吊胃口 | |
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81
apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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82
darting
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| v.投掷，投射( dart的现在分词 )；向前冲，飞奔 | |
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83
exclamation
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| n.感叹号，惊呼，惊叹词 | |
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84
deliberately
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| adv.审慎地；蓄意地；故意地 | |
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precisely
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| adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地 | |
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persecuted
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| （尤指宗教或政治信仰的）迫害(~sb. for sth.)( persecute的过去式和过去分词 )； 烦扰，困扰或骚扰某人 | |
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87
annoyance
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| n.恼怒，生气，烦恼 | |
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apparition
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| n.幽灵，神奇的现象 | |
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bankruptcy
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| n.破产；无偿付能力 | |
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remonstrated
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| v.抗议( remonstrate的过去式和过去分词 )；告诫 | |
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interfere
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| v.(in)干涉，干预；(with)妨碍，打扰 | |
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injustice
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| n.非正义，不公正，不公平，侵犯（别人的）权利 | |
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embellished
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| v.美化( embellish的过去式和过去分词 )；装饰；修饰；润色 | |
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majestic
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| adj.雄伟的，壮丽的，庄严的，威严的，崇高的 | |
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heartily
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| adv.衷心地，诚恳地，十分，很 | |
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melodious
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| adj.旋律美妙的，调子优美的，音乐性的 | |
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bellow
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| v.吼叫，怒吼；大声发出，大声喝道 | |
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eccentricity
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| n.古怪，反常，怪癖 | |
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complexion
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| n.肤色；情况，局面；气质，性格 | |
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impelled
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| v.推动、推进或敦促某人做某事( impel的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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101
bustled
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| 闹哄哄地忙乱，奔忙( bustle的过去式和过去分词 )； 催促 | |
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bellowing
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| v.发出吼叫声，咆哮（尤指因痛苦）( bellow的现在分词 )；（愤怒地）说出（某事），大叫 | |
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Oxford
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| n.牛津（英国城市） | |
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subsided
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| v.（土地）下陷（因在地下采矿）( subside的过去式和过去分词 )；减弱；下降至较低或正常水平；一下子坐在椅子等上 | |
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105
favourable
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| adj.赞成的，称赞的，有利的，良好的，顺利的 | |
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penetrated
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| adj. 击穿的，鞭辟入里的 动词penetrate的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
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107
delicacy
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| n.精致，细微，微妙，精良；美味，佳肴 | |
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108
condescension
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| n.自以为高人一等，贬低(别人) | |
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accosting
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| v.走过去跟…讲话( accost的现在分词 )；跟…搭讪；（乞丐等）上前向…乞讨；（妓女等）勾搭 | |
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110
kit
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| n.用具包，成套工具；随身携带物 | |
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whoosh
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| v.飞快地移动，呼 | |
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112
savage
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| adj.野蛮的；凶恶的，残暴的；n.未开化的人 | |
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113
stratagem
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| n.诡计，计谋 | |
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114
rapture
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| n.狂喜；全神贯注；着迷；v.使狂喜 | |
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115
admiration
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| n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕 | |
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116
honourably
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| adv.可尊敬地，光荣地，体面地 | |
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117
consolation
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| n.安慰，慰问 | |
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118
kindly
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| adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地 | |
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119
apprising
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| v.告知，通知( apprise的现在分词 )；评价 | |
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120
pretext
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| n.借口，托词 | |
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121
citadel
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| n.城堡；堡垒；避难所 | |
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122
gaily
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| adv.欢乐地，高兴地 | |
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123
albeit
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| conj.即使；纵使；虽然 | |
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124
reluctance
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| n.厌恶，讨厌，勉强，不情愿 | |
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125
wrung
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| 绞( wring的过去式和过去分词 )； 握紧（尤指别人的手）； 把（湿衣服）拧干； 绞掉（水） | |
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