Stockdale now began to notice more particularly a feature in thelife of his fair landlady1, which he had casually2 observed butscarcely ever thought of before. It was that she was markedlyirregular in her hours of rising. For a week or two she would betolerably punctual, reaching the ground-floor within a few minutesof half-past seven. Then suddenly she would not be visible tilltwelve at noon, perhaps for three or four days in succession; andtwice he had certain proof that she did not leave her room tillhalf-past three in the afternoon. The second time that this extremelateness came under his notice was on a day when he had particularlywished to consult with her about his future movements; and heconcluded, as he always had done, that she had a cold, headache, orother ailment3, unless she had kept herself invisible to avoidmeeting and talking to him, which he could hardly believe. Theformer supposition was disproved, however, by her innocently saying,some days later, when they were speaking on a question of health,that she had never had a moment's heaviness, headache, or illness ofany kind since the previous January twelvemonth.
'I am glad to hear it,' said he. 'I thought quite otherwise.'
'What, do I look sickly?' she asked, turning up her face to show theimpossibility of his gazing on it and holding such a belief for amoment.
'Not at all; I merely thought so from your being sometimes obligedto keep your room through the best part of the day.'
'O, as for that--it means nothing,' she murmured, with a look whichsome might have called cold, and which was the worst look that heliked to see upon her. 'It is pure sleepiness, Mr. Stockdale.'
'Never!'
'It is, I tell you. When I stay in my room till half-past three inthe afternoon, you may always be sure that I slept soundly tillthree, or I shouldn't have stayed there.'
'It is dreadful,' said Stockdale, thinking of the disastrous5 effectsof such indulgence upon the household of a minister, should itbecome a habit of everyday occurrence.
'But then,' she said, divining his good and prescient thoughts, 'itonly happens when I stay awake all night. I don't go to sleep tillfive or six in the morning sometimes.'
'Ah, that's another matter,' said Stockdale. 'Sleeplessness6 to suchan alarming extent is real illness. Have you spoken to a doctor?'
'O no--there is no need for doing that--it is all natural to me.'
And she went away without further remark.
Stockdale might have waited a long time to know the real cause ofher sleeplessness, had it not happened that one dark night he wassitting in his bedroom jotting7 down notes for a sermon, whichoccupied him perfunctorily for a considerable time after the othermembers of the household had retired8. He did not get to bed tillone o'clock. Before he had fallen asleep he heard a knocking at thefront door, first rather timidly performed, and then louder. Nobodyanswered it, and the person knocked again. As the house stillremained undisturbed, Stockdale got out of bed, went to his window,which overlooked the door, and opening it, asked who was there.
A young woman's voice replied that Susan Wallis was there, and thatshe had come to ask if Mrs. Newberry could give her some mustard tomake a plaster with, as her father was taken very ill on the chest.
The minister, having neither bell nor servant, was compelled to actin person. 'I will call Mrs. Newberry,' he said. Partly dressinghimself; he went along the passage and tapped at Lizzy's door. Shedid not answer, and, thinking of her erratic10 habits in the matter ofsleep, he thumped11 the door persistently12, when he discovered, by itsmoving ajar under his knocking, that it had only been gently pushedto. As there was now a sufficient entry for the voice, he knockedno longer, but said in firm tones, 'Mrs. Newberry, you are wanted.'
The room was quite silent; not a breathing, not a rustle13, came fromany part of it. Stockdale now sent a positive shout through theopen space of the door: 'Mrs. Newberry!'--still no answer, ormovement of any kind within. Then he heard sounds from the oppositeroom, that of Lizzy's mother, as if she had been aroused by hisuproar though Lizzy had not, and was dressing9 herself hastily.
Stockdale softly closed the younger woman's door and went on to theother, which was opened by Mrs. Simpkins before he could reach it.
She was in her ordinary clothes, and had a light in her hand.
'What's the person calling about?' she said in alarm.
Stockdale told the girl's errand, adding seriously, 'I cannot wakeMrs. Newberry.'
'It is no matter,' said her mother. 'I can let the girl have whatshe wants as well as my daughter.' And she came out of the room andwent downstairs.
Stockdale retired towards his own apartment, saying, however, toMrs. Simpkins from the landing, as if on second thoughts, 'I supposethere is nothing the matter with Mrs. Newberry, that I could notwake her?'
'O no,' said the old lady hastily. 'Nothing at all.'
Still the minister was not satisfied. 'Will you go in and see?' hesaid. 'I should be much more at ease.'
Mrs. Simpkins returned up the staircase, went to her daughter'sroom, and came out again almost instantly. 'There is nothing at allthe matter with Lizzy,' she said; and descended14 again to attend tothe applicant15, who, having seen the light, had remained quiet duringthis interval16.
Stockdale went into his room and lay down as before. He heardLizzy's mother open the front door, admit the girl, and then themurmured discourse17 of both as they went to the store-cupboard forthe medicament required. The girl departed, the door was fastened,Mrs. Simpkins came upstairs, and the house was again in silence.
Still the minister did not fall asleep. He could not get rid of asingular suspicion, which was all the more harassing18 in being, iftrue, the most unaccountable thing within his experience. ThatLizzy Newberry was in her bedroom when he made such a clamour at thedoor he could not possibly convince himself; notwithstanding that hehad heard her come upstairs at the usual time, go into her chamber,and shut herself up in the usual way. Yet all reason was so muchagainst her being elsewhere, that he was constrained19 to go backagain to the unlikely theory of a heavy sleep, though he had heardneither breath nor movement during a shouting and knocking loudenough to rouse the Seven Sleepers20.
Before coming to any positive conclusion he fell asleep himself, anddid not awake till day. He saw nothing of Mrs. Newberry in themorning, before he went out to meet the rising sun, as he liked todo when the weather was fine; but as this was by no means unusual,he took no notice of it. At breakfast-time he knew that she was notfar off by hearing her in the kitchen, and though he saw nothing ofher person, that back apartment being rigorously closed against hiseyes, she seemed to be talking, ordering, and bustling21 about amongthe pots and skimmers in so ordinary a manner, that there was noreason for his wasting more time in fruitless surmise22.
The minister suffered from these distractions23, and his extemporizedsermons were not improved thereby24. Already he often said Romans forCorinthians in the pulpit, and gave out hymns25 in strange crampedmetres, that hitherto had always been skipped, because thecongregation could not raise a tune26 to fit them. He fully27 resolvedthat as soon as his few weeks of stay approached their end he wouldcut the matter short, and commit himself by proposing a definiteengagement, repenting28 at leisure if necessary.
With this end in view, he suggested to her on the evening after hermysterious sleep that they should take a walk together just beforedark, the latter part of the proposition being introduced that theymight return home unseen. She consented to go; and away they wentover a stile, to a shrouded29 footpath30 suited for the occasion. But,in spite of attempts on both sides, they were unable to infuse muchspirit into the ramble31. She looked rather paler than usual, andsometimes turned her head away.
'Lizzy,' said Stockdale reproachfully, when they had walked insilence a long distance.
'Yes,' said she.
'You yawned--much my company is to you!' He put it in that way, buthe was really wondering whether her yawn could possibly have more todo with physical weariness from the night before than mentalweariness of that present moment. Lizzy apologized, and owned thatshe was rather tired, which gave him an opening for a directquestion on the point; but his modesty32 would not allow him to put itto her; and he uncomfortably resolved to wait.
The month of February passed with alternations of mud and frost,rain and sleet33, east winds and north-westerly gales34. The hollowplaces in the ploughed fields showed themselves as pools of water,which had settled there from the higher levels, and had not yetfound time to soak away. The birds began to get lively, and asingle thrush came just before sunset each evening, and sanghopefully on the large elm-tree which stood nearest to Mrs.
Newberry's house. Cold blasts and brittle35 earth had given place toan oozing36 dampness more unpleasant in itself than frost; but itsuggested coming spring, and its unpleasantness was of a bearablekind.
Stockdale had been going to bring about a practical understandingwith Lizzy at least half-a-dozen times; but, what with the mysteryof her apparent absence on the night of the neighbour's call, andher curious way of lying in bed at unaccountable times, he felt acheck within him whenever he wanted to speak out. Thus they stilllived on as indefinitely affianced lovers, each of whom hardlyacknowledged the other's claim to the name of chosen one. Stockdalepersuaded himself that his hesitation37 was owing to the postponementof the ordained38 minister's arrival, and the consequent delay in hisown departure, which did away with all necessity for haste in hiscourtship; but perhaps it was only that his discretion39 wasreasserting itself, and telling him that he had better get clearerideas of Lizzy before arranging for the grand contract of his lifewith her. She, on her part, always seemed ready to be urged furtheron that question than he had hitherto attempted to go; but she wasnone the less independent, and to a degree which would have keptfrom flagging the passion of a far more mutable man.
On the evening of the first of March he went casually into hisbedroom about dusk, and noticed lying on a chair a greatcoat, hat,and breeches. Having no recollection of leaving any clothes of hisown in that spot, he went and examined them as well as he could inthe twilight40, and found that they did not belong to him. He pausedfor a moment to consider how they might have got there. He was theonly man living in the house; and yet these were not his garments,unless he had made a mistake. No, they were not his. He called upMartha Sarah.
'How did these things come in my room?' he said, flinging theobjectionable articles to the floor.
Martha said that Mrs. Newberry had given them to her to brush, andthat she had brought them up there thinking they must be Mr.
Stockdale's, as there was no other gentleman a-lodging there.
'Of course you did,' said Stockdale. 'Now take them down to yourmis'ess, and say they are some clothes I have found here and knownothing about.'
As the door was left open he heard the conversation downstairs.
'How stupid!' said Mrs. Newberry, in a tone of confusion. 'Why,Marther Sarer, I did not tell you to take 'em to Mr. Stockdale'sroom?'
'I thought they must be his as they was so muddy,' said Marthahumbly.
'You should have left 'em on the clothes-horse,' said the youngmistress severely41; and she came upstairs with the garments on herarm, quickly passed Stockdale's room, and threw them forcibly into acloset at the end of a passage. With this the incident ended, andthe house was silent again.
There would have been nothing remarkable42 in finding such clothes ina widow's house had they been clean; or moth-eaten, or creased43, ormouldy from long lying by; but that they should be splashed withrecent mud bothered Stockdale a good deal. When a young pastor44 isin the aspen stage of attachment45, and open to agitation46 at themerest trifles, a really substantial incongruity47 of this complexionis a disturbing thing. However, nothing further occurred at thattime; but he became watchful48, and given to conjecture49, and wasunable to forget the circumstance.
One morning, on looking from his window, he saw Mrs. Newberryherself brushing the tails of a long drab greatcoat, which, if hemistook not, was the very same garment as the one that had adornedthe chair of his room. It was densely50 splashed up to the hollow ofthe back with neighbouring Nether-Moynton mud, to judge by itscolour, the spots being distinctly visible to him in the sunlight.
The previous day or two having been wet, the inference wasirresistible that the wearer had quite recently been walking someconsiderable distance about the lanes and fields. Stockdale openedthe window and looked out, and Mrs. Newberry turned her head. Herface became slowly red; she never had looked prettier, or moreincomprehensible, he waved his hand affectionately, and said good-morning; she answered with embarrassment51, having ceased heroccupation on the instant that she saw him, and rolled up the coathalf-cleaned.
Stockdale shut the window. Some simple explanation of herproceeding was doubtless within the bounds of possibility; but hehimself could not think of one; and he wished that she had placedthe matter beyond conjecture by voluntarily saying something aboutit there and then.
But, though Lizzy had not offered an explanation at the moment, thesubject was brought forward by her at the next time of theirmeeting. She was chatting to him concerning some other event, andremarked that it happened about the time when she was dusting someold clothes that had belonged to her poor husband.
'You keep them clean out of respect to his memory?' said Stockdaletentatively.
'I air and dust them sometimes,' she said, with the most charminginnocence in the world.
'Do dead men come out of their graves and walk in mud?' murmured theminister, in a cold sweat at the deception52 that she was practising.
'What did you say?' asked Lizzy.
'Nothing, nothing,' said he mournfully. 'Mere4 words--a phrase thatwill do for my sermon next Sunday.' It was too plain that Lizzy wasunaware that he had seen actual pedestrian splashes upon the skirtsof the tell-tale overcoat, and that she imagined him to believe ithad come direct from some chest or drawer.
The aspect of the case was now considerably53 darker. Stockdale wasso much depressed54 by it that he did not challenge her explanation,or threaten to go off as a missionary55 to benighted56 islanders, orreproach her in any way whatever. He simply parted from her whenshe had done talking, and lived on in perplexity, till by degreeshis natural manner became sad and constrained.
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landlady
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| n.女房东，女地主 | |
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casually
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| adv.漠不关心地，无动于衷地，不负责任地 | |
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ailment
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| n.疾病，小病 | |
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mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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disastrous
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| adj.灾难性的，造成灾害的；极坏的，很糟的 | |
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sleeplessness
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| n.失眠，警觉 | |
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jotting
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| n.简短的笔记，略记v.匆忙记下( jot的现在分词 )；草草记下，匆匆记下 | |
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retired
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| adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的 | |
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dressing
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| n.(食物)调料；包扎伤口的用品，敷料 | |
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erratic
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| adj.古怪的，反复无常的，不稳定的 | |
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thumped
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| v.重击， （指心脏）急速跳动( thump的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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persistently
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| ad.坚持地；固执地 | |
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rustle
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| v.沙沙作响；偷盗(牛、马等)；n.沙沙声声 | |
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descended
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| a.为...后裔的，出身于...的 | |
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applicant
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| n.申请人，求职者，请求者 | |
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interval
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| n.间隔，间距；幕间休息，中场休息 | |
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discourse
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| n.论文，演说；谈话；话语；vi.讲述，著述 | |
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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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constrained
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| adj.束缚的,节制的 | |
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sleepers
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| n.卧铺（通常以复数形式出现）；卧车( sleeper的名词复数 )；轨枕；睡觉（呈某种状态）的人；小耳环 | |
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bustling
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| adj.喧闹的 | |
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surmise
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| v./n.猜想，推测 | |
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distractions
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| n.使人分心的事[人]( distraction的名词复数 )；娱乐，消遣；心烦意乱；精神错乱 | |
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thereby
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hymns
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| n.赞美诗，圣歌，颂歌( hymn的名词复数 ) | |
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tune
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| n.调子；和谐，协调；v.调音，调节，调整 | |
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fully
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| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
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repenting
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| 对（自己的所为）感到懊悔或忏悔( repent的现在分词 ) | |
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shrouded
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| v.隐瞒( shroud的过去式和过去分词 )；保密 | |
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footpath
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| n.小路，人行道 | |
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ramble
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| v.漫步，漫谈，漫游；n.漫步，闲谈，蔓延 | |
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modesty
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| n.谦逊，虚心，端庄，稳重，羞怯，朴素 | |
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sleet
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| n.雨雪；v.下雨雪，下冰雹 | |
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gales
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| 龙猫 | |
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brittle
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| adj.易碎的；脆弱的；冷淡的；(声音)尖利的 | |
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oozing
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| v.（浓液等）慢慢地冒出，渗出( ooze的现在分词 )；使（液体）缓缓流出；（浓液）渗出，慢慢流出 | |
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hesitation
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| n.犹豫，踌躇 | |
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ordained
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| v.任命（某人）为牧师( ordain的过去式和过去分词 )；授予（某人）圣职；（上帝、法律等）命令；判定 | |
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discretion
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| n.谨慎；随意处理 | |
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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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severely
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| adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地 | |
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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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creased
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| （使…）起折痕，弄皱( crease的过去式和过去分词 )； （皮肤）皱起，使起皱纹； 皱皱巴巴 | |
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pastor
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| n.牧师，牧人 | |
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attachment
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| n.附属物，附件；依恋；依附 | |
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agitation
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| n.搅动；搅拌；鼓动，煽动 | |
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incongruity
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| n.不协调，不一致 | |
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watchful
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| adj.注意的，警惕的 | |
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conjecture
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| n./v.推测，猜测 | |
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densely
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| ad.密集地；浓厚地 | |
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embarrassment
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| n.尴尬；使人为难的人(事物)；障碍；窘迫 | |
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deception
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| n.欺骗，欺诈；骗局，诡计 | |
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considerably
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| adv.极大地；相当大地；在很大程度上 | |
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depressed
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| adj.沮丧的，抑郁的，不景气的，萧条的 | |
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missionary
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| adj.教会的，传教(士)的；n.传教士 | |
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benighted
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| adj.蒙昧的 | |
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