The Withered Arm Chapter 9

It was one o'clock on Saturday. Gertrude Lodge¹, having beenadmitted to the jail as above described, was sitting in a waiting-room within the second gate, which stood under a classic archway ofashlar, then comparatively modern, and bearing the inscription,'COVNTY JAIL: 1793.' This had been the facade² she saw from theheath the day before. Near at hand was a passage to the roof onwhich the gallows³ stood.

　　The town was thronged⁴, and the market suspended; but Gertrude hadseen scarcely a soul. Having kept her room till the hour of theappointment, she had proceeded to the spot by a way which avoidedthe open space below the cliff where the spectators had gathered;but she could, even now, hear the multitudinous babble⁵ of theirvoices, out of which rose at intervals⁶ the hoarse⁷ croak⁸ of a singlevoice uttering the words, 'Last dying speech and confession⁹!' Therehad been no reprieve¹⁰, and the execution was over; but the crowdstill waited to see the body taken down.

　　Soon the persistent¹¹ girl heard a trampling¹² overhead, then a handbeckoned to her, and, following directions, she went out and crossedthe inner paved court beyond the gatehouse, her knees trembling sothat she could scarcely walk. One of her arms was out of itssleeve, and only covered by her shawl.

　　On the spot at which she had now arrived were two trestles, andbefore she could think of their purpose she heard heavy feetdescending stairs somewhere at her back. Turn her head she wouldnot, or could not, and, rigid¹³ in this position, she was conscious ofa rough coffin¹⁴ passing her shoulder, borne by four men. It wasopen, and in it lay the body of a young man, wearing the smockfrockof a rustic¹⁵, and fustian¹⁶ breeches. The corpse¹⁷ had been thrown intothe coffin so hastily that the skirt of the smockfrock was hangingover. The burden was temporarily deposited on the trestles.

　　By this time the young woman's state was such that a gray mistseemed to float before her eyes, on account of which, and the veilshe wore, she could scarcely discern anything: it was as though shehad nearly died, but was held up by a sort of galvanism.

　　'Now!' said a voice close at hand, and she was just conscious thatthe word had been addressed to her.

　　By a last strenuous¹⁸ effort she advanced, at the same time hearingpersons approaching behind her. She bared her poor curst arm; andDavies, uncovering the face of the corpse, took Gertrude's hand, andheld it so that her arm lay across the dead man's neck, upon a linethe colour of an unripe¹⁹ blackberry, which surrounded it.

　　Gertrude shrieked²¹: 'the turn o' the blood,' predicted by theconjuror, had taken place. But at that moment a second shriek²⁰ rentthe air of the enclosure: it was not Gertrude's, and its effectupon her was to make her start round.

　　Immediately behind her stood Rhoda Brook²², her face drawn²³, and hereyes red with weeping. Behind Rhoda stood Gertrude's own husband;his countenance²⁴ lined, his eyes dim, but without a tear.

　　'D-n you! what are you doing here?' he said hoarsely²⁵.

　　'Hussy--to come between us and our child now!' cried Rhoda. 'Thisis the meaning of what Satan showed me in the vision! You are likeher at last!' And clutching the bare arm of the younger woman, shepulled her unresistingly back against the wall. Immediately Brookhad loosened her hold the fragile young Gertrude slid down againstthe feet of her husband. When he lifted her up she was unconscious.

　　The mere²⁶ sight of the twain had been enough to suggest to her thatthe dead young man was Rhoda's son. At that time the relatives ofan executed convict had the privilege of claiming the body forburial, if they chose to do so; and it was for this purpose thatLodge was awaiting the inquest with Rhoda. He had been summoned byher as soon as the young man was taken in the crime, and atdifferent times since; and he had attended in court during thetrial. This was the 'holiday' he had been indulging in of late.

　　The two wretched parents had wished to avoid exposure; and hence hadcome themselves for the body, a waggon²⁷ and sheet for its conveyanceand covering being in waiting outside.

　　Gertrude's case was so serious that it was deemed advisable to callto her the surgeon who was at hand. She was taken out of the jailinto the town; but she never reached home alive. Her delicatevitality, sapped perhaps by the paralyzed arm, collapsed²⁸ under thedouble shock that followed the severe strain, physical and mental,to which she had subjected herself during the previous twenty-fourhours. Her blood had been 'turned' indeed--too far. Her death tookplace in the town three days after.

　　Her husband was never seen in Casterbridge again; once only in theold market-place at Anglebury, which he had so much frequented, andvery seldom in public anywhere. Burdened at first with moodinessand remorse²⁹, he eventually changed for the better, and appeared as achastened and thoughtful man. Soon after attending the funeral ofhis poor young wife he took steps towards giving up the farms inHolmstoke and the adjoining parish, and, having sold every head ofhis stock, he went away to Port-Bredy, at the other end of thecounty, living there in solitary³⁰ lodgings³¹ till his death two yearslater of a painless decline. It was then found that he hadbequeathed the whole of his not inconsiderable property to areformatory for boys, subject to the payment of a small annuity³² toRhoda Brook, if she could be found to claim it.

　　For some time she could not be found; but eventually she reappearedin her old parish,--absolutely refusing, however, to have anythingto do with the provision made for her. Her monotonous³³ milking atthe dairy was resumed, and followed for many long years, till herform became bent³⁴, and her once abundant dark hair white and wornaway at the forehead--perhaps by long pressure against the cows.

　　Here, sometimes, those who knew her experiences would stand andobserve her, and wonder what sombre thoughts were beating insidethat impassive, wrinkled brow, to the rhythm of the alternatingmilk-streams.

　　('Blackwood's Magazine,' January 1888.)

1 lodge   

v.临时住宿，寄宿，寄存，容纳；n.传达室，小旅馆

参考例句：

• Is there anywhere that I can lodge in the village tonight?村里有我今晚过夜的地方吗？
• I shall lodge at the inn for two nights.我要在这家小店住两个晚上。

2 facade   

n.(建筑物的)正面，临街正面；外表

参考例句：

• The entrance facade consists of a large full height glass door.入口正面有一大型全高度玻璃门。
• If you look carefully,you can see through Bob's facade.如果你仔细观察，你就能看穿鲍勃的外表。

3 gallows   

n.绞刑架，绞台

参考例句：

• The murderer was sent to the gallows for his crimes.谋杀犯由于罪大恶极被处以绞刑。
• Now I was to expiate all my offences at the gallows.现在我将在绞刑架上赎我一切的罪过。

4 thronged   

v.成群，挤满( throng的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Mourners thronged to the funeral. 吊唁者蜂拥着前来参加葬礼。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The department store was thronged with people. 百货商店挤满了人。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

5 babble   

v.含糊不清地说，胡言乱语地说，儿语

参考例句：

• No one could understand the little baby's babble. 没人能听懂这个小婴孩的话。
• The babble of voices in the next compartment annoyed all of us.隔壁的车厢隔间里不间歇的嘈杂谈话声让我们都很气恼。

6 intervals   

n.[军事]间隔( interval的名词复数 )；间隔时间；[数学]区间；（戏剧、电影或音乐会的）幕间休息

参考例句：

• The forecast said there would be sunny intervals and showers. 预报间晴，有阵雨。
• Meetings take place at fortnightly intervals. 每两周开一次会。

7 hoarse   

adj.嘶哑的，沙哑的

参考例句：

• He asked me a question in a hoarse voice.他用嘶哑的声音问了我一个问题。
• He was too excited and roared himself hoarse.他过于激动，嗓子都喊哑了。

8 croak   

vi.嘎嘎叫，发牢骚

参考例句：

• Everyone seemed rather out of sorts and inclined to croak.每个人似乎都有点不对劲，想发发牢骚。
• Frogs began to croak with the rainfall.蛙随着雨落开始哇哇叫。

9 confession   

n.自白，供认，承认

参考例句：

• Her confession was simply tantamount to a casual explanation.她的自白简直等于一篇即席说明。
• The police used torture to extort a confession from him.警察对他用刑逼供。

10 reprieve   

n.暂缓执行（死刑）；v.缓期执行；给…带来缓解

参考例句：

• He was saved from the gallows by a lastminute reprieve.最后一刻的缓刑令把他从绞架上解救了下来。
• The railway line, due for closure, has been granted a six-month reprieve.本应停运的铁路线获准多运行6 个月。

11 persistent   

adj.坚持不懈的，执意的；持续的

参考例句：

• Albert had a persistent headache that lasted for three days.艾伯特连续头痛了三天。
• She felt embarrassed by his persistent attentions.他不时地向她大献殷勤，使她很难为情。

12 trampling   

踩( trample的现在分词 )； 践踏； 无视； 侵犯

参考例句：

• Diplomats denounced the leaders for trampling their citizens' civil rights. 外交官谴责这些领导人践踏其公民的公民权。
• They don't want people trampling the grass, pitching tents or building fires. 他们不希望人们踩踏草坪、支帐篷或生火。

13 rigid   

adj.严格的，死板的；刚硬的，僵硬的

参考例句：

• She became as rigid as adamant.她变得如顽石般的固执。
• The examination was so rigid that nearly all aspirants were ruled out.考试很严，几乎所有的考生都被淘汰了。

14 coffin   

n.棺材，灵柩

参考例句：

• When one's coffin is covered,all discussion about him can be settled.盖棺论定。
• The coffin was placed in the grave.那口棺材已安放到坟墓里去了。

15 rustic   

adj.乡村的，有乡村特色的；n.乡下人，乡巴佬

参考例句：

• It was nearly seven months of leisurely rustic living before Michael felt real boredom.这种悠闲的乡村生活过了差不多七个月之后,迈克尔开始感到烦闷。
• We hoped the fresh air and rustic atmosphere would help him adjust.我们希望新鲜的空气和乡村的氛围能帮他调整自己。

16 fustian   

n.浮夸的；厚粗棉布

参考例句：

• Fustian can't disguise the author's meager plot.浮夸的文章掩饰不住这个作者的贫乏情节。
• His fustian shirt,sanguineflowered,trembles its Spanish tassels at his secrets.他身上穿的是件印有血红色大花的粗斜纹布衬衫，每当他吐露秘密时，西班牙式的流苏就颤悠。

17 corpse   

n.尸体，死尸

参考例句：

• What she saw was just an unfeeling corpse.她见到的只是一具全无感觉的尸体。
• The corpse was preserved from decay by embalming.尸体用香料涂抹以防腐烂。

18 strenuous   

adj.奋发的，使劲的；紧张的；热烈的，狂热的

参考例句：

• He made strenuous efforts to improve his reading. 他奋发努力提高阅读能力。
• You may run yourself down in this strenuous week.你可能会在这紧张的一周透支掉自己。

19 unripe   

adj.未成熟的；n.未成熟

参考例句：

• I was only ill once and that came of eating an unripe pear.我唯一一次生病是因为吃了未熟的梨。
• Half of the apples are unripe.一半的苹果不熟。

20 shriek   

v./n.尖叫，叫喊

参考例句：

• Suddenly he began to shriek loudly.突然他开始大声尖叫起来。
• People sometimes shriek because of terror,anger,or pain.人们有时会因为恐惧，气愤或疼痛而尖叫。

21 shrieked   

v.尖叫( shriek的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She shrieked in fright. 她吓得尖叫起来。
• Li Mei-t'ing gave a shout, and Lu Tzu-hsiao shrieked, "Tell what? 李梅亭大声叫，陆子潇尖声叫：“告诉什么？ 来自汉英文学 - 围城

22 brook   

n.小河，溪；v.忍受，容让

参考例句：

• In our room we could hear the murmur of a distant brook.在我们房间能听到远处小溪汩汩的流水声。
• The brook trickled through the valley.小溪涓涓流过峡谷。

23 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

24 countenance   

n.脸色，面容；面部表情；vt.支持，赞同

参考例句：

• At the sight of this photograph he changed his countenance.他一看见这张照片脸色就变了。
• I made a fierce countenance as if I would eat him alive.我脸色恶狠狠地，仿佛要把他活生生地吞下去。

25 hoarsely   

adv.嘶哑地

参考例句：

• "Excuse me," he said hoarsely. “对不起。”他用嘶哑的嗓子说。
• Jerry hoarsely professed himself at Miss Pross's service. 杰瑞嘶声嘶气地表示愿为普洛丝小姐效劳。 来自英汉文学 - 双城记

26 mere   

adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过

参考例句：

• That is a mere repetition of what you said before.那不过是重复了你以前讲的话。
• It's a mere waste of time waiting any longer.再等下去纯粹是浪费时间。

27 waggon   

n.运货马车，运货车；敞篷车箱

参考例句：

• The enemy attacked our waggon train.敌人袭击了我们的运货马车队。
• Someone jumped out from the foremost waggon and cried aloud.有人从最前面的一辆大车里跳下来，大声叫嚷。

28 collapsed   

adj.倒塌的

参考例句：

• Jack collapsed in agony on the floor. 杰克十分痛苦地瘫倒在地板上。
• The roof collapsed under the weight of snow. 房顶在雪的重压下突然坍塌下来。

29 remorse   

n.痛恨，悔恨，自责

参考例句：

• She had no remorse about what she had said.她对所说的话不后悔。
• He has shown no remorse for his actions.他对自己的行为没有任何悔恨之意。

30 solitary   

adj.孤独的，独立的，荒凉的；n.隐士

参考例句：

• I am rather fond of a solitary stroll in the country.我颇喜欢在乡间独自徜徉。
• The castle rises in solitary splendour on the fringe of the desert.这座城堡巍然耸立在沙漠的边际，显得十分壮美。

31 lodgings   

n. 出租的房舍, 寄宿舍

参考例句：

• When he reached his lodgings the sun had set. 他到达公寓房间时，太阳已下山了。
• I'm on the hunt for lodgings. 我正在寻找住所。

32 annuity   

n.年金；养老金

参考例句：

• The personal contribution ratio is voluntary in the annuity program.企业年金中个人缴费比例是自愿的。
• He lives on his annuity after retirement.他退休后靠退休金维生。

33 monotonous   

adj.单调的，一成不变的，使人厌倦的

参考例句：

• She thought life in the small town was monotonous.她觉得小镇上的生活单调而乏味。
• His articles are fixed in form and monotonous in content.他的文章千篇一律，一个调调儿。

34 bent   

n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的

参考例句：

• He was fully bent upon the project.他一心扑在这项计划上。
• We bent over backward to help them.我们尽了最大努力帮助他们。