'Breeze, bird, and flower confess the hour.'
The rain had ceased since the sunset, but it was a cloudy night; and the light of the moon, softened1 and dispersed2 by its misty3 veil, was distributed over the land in pale gray.
A dark figure stepped from the doorway4 of John Smith's river-side cottage, and strode rapidly towards West Endelstow with a light footstep. Soon ascending5 from the lower levels he turned a corner, followed a cart-track, and saw the tower of the church he was in quest of distinctly shaped forth6 against the sky. In less than half an hour from the time of starting he swung himself over the churchyard stile.
The wild irregular enclosure was as much as ever an integral part of the old hill. The grass was still long, the graves were shaped precisely7 as passing years chose to alter them from their orthodox form as laid down by Martin Cannister, and by Stephen's own grandfather before him.
A sound sped into the air from the direction in which Castle Boterel lay. It was the striking of the church clock, distinct in the still atmosphere as if it had come from the tower hard by, which, wrapt in its solitary8 silentness, gave out no such sounds of life.
'One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine.' Stephen carefully counted the strokes, though he well knew their number beforehand. Nine o'clock. It was the hour Elfride had herself named as the most convenient for meeting him.
Stephen stood at the door of the porch and listened. He could have heard the softest breathing of any person within the porch; nobody was there. He went inside the doorway, sat down upon the stone bench, and waited with a beating heart.
The faint sounds heard only accentuated9 the silence. The rising and falling of the sea, far away along the coast, was the most important. A minor10 sound was the scurr of a distant night-hawk. Among the minutest where all were minute were the light settlement of gossamer11 fragments floating in the air, a toad12 humbly13 labouring along through the grass near the entrance, the crackle of a dead leaf which a worm was endeavouring to pull into the earth, a waft14 of air, getting nearer and nearer, and expiring at his feet under the burden of a winged seed.
Among all these soft sounds came not the only soft sound he cared to hear--the footfall of Elfride.
For a whole quarter of an hour Stephen sat thus intent, without moving a muscle. At the end of that time he walked to the west front of the church. Turning the corner of the tower, a white form stared him in the face. He started back, and recovered himself. It was the tomb of young farmer Jethway, looking still as fresh and as new as when it was first erected15, the white stone in which it was hewn having a singular weirdness16 amid the dark blue slabs17 from local quarries18, of which the whole remaining gravestones were formed.
He thought of the night when he had sat thereon with Elfride as his companion, and well remembered his regret that she had received, even unwillingly19, earlier homage20 than his own. But his present tangible21 anxiety reduced such a feeling to sentimental22 nonsense in comparison; and he strolled on over the graves to the border of the churchyard, whence in the daytime could be clearly seen the vicarage and the present residence of the Swancourts. No footstep was discernible upon the path up the hill, but a light was shining from a window in the last-named house.
Stephen knew there could be no mistake about the time or place, and no difficulty about keeping the engagement. He waited yet longer, passing from impatience23 into a mood which failed to take any account of the lapse24 of time. He was awakened25 from his reverie by Castle Boterel clock.
One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, TEN .
One little fall of the hammer in addition to the number it had been sharp pleasure to hear, and what a difference to him!
He left the churchyard on the side opposite to his point of entrance, and went down the hill. Slowly he drew near the gate of her house. This he softly opened, and walked up the gravel26 drive to the door. Here he paused for several minutes.
At the expiration27 of that time the murmured speech of a manly28 voice came out to his ears through an open window behind the corner of the house. This was responded to by a clear soft laugh. It was the laugh of Elfride.
Stephen was conscious of a gnawing29 pain at his heart. He retreated as he had come. There are disappointments which wring30 us, and there are those which inflict31 a wound whose mark we bear to our graves. Such are so keen that no future gratification of the same desire can ever obliterate32 them: they become registered as a permanent loss of happiness. Such a one was Stephen's now: the crowning aureola of the dream had been the meeting here by stealth; and if Elfride had come to him only ten minutes after he had turned away, the disappointment would have been recognizable still.
When the young man reached home he found there a letter which had arrived in his absence. Believing it to contain some reason for her non-appearance, yet unable to imagine one that could justify33 her, he hastily tore open the envelope.
The paper contained not a word from Elfride. It was the deposit- note for his two hundred pounds. On the back was the form of a cheque, and this she had filled up with the same sum, payable34 to the bearer.
Stephen was confounded. He attempted to divine her motive35. Considering how limited was his knowledge of her later actions, he guessed rather shrewdly that, between the time of her sending the note in the morning and the evening's silent refusal of his gift, something had occurred which had caused a total change in her attitude towards him.
He knew not what to do. It seemed absurd now to go to her father next morning, as he had purposed, and ask for an engagement with her, a possibility impending36 all the while that Elfride herself would not be on his side. Only one course recommended itself as wise. To wait and see what the days would bring forth; to go and execute his commissions in Birmingham; then to return, learn if anything had happened, and try what a meeting might do; perhaps her surprise at his backwardness would bring her forward to show latent warmth as decidedly as in old times.
This act of patience was in keeping only with the nature of a man precisely of Stephen's constitution. Nine men out of ten would perhaps have rushed off, got into her presence, by fair means or foul37, and provoked a catastrophe38 of some sort. Possibly for the better, probably for the worse.
He started for Birmingham the next morning. A day's delay would have made no difference; but he could not rest until he had begun and ended the programme proposed to himself. Bodily activity will sometimes take the sting out of anxiety as completely as assurance itself.
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1
softened
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| （使）变软( soften的过去式和过去分词 )； 缓解打击； 缓和； 安慰 | |
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dispersed
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| adj. 被驱散的, 被分散的, 散布的 | |
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misty
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| adj.雾蒙蒙的，有雾的 | |
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doorway
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| n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径 | |
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ascending
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| adj.上升的，向上的 | |
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forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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precisely
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| adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地 | |
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solitary
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| adj.孤独的，独立的，荒凉的；n.隐士 | |
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accentuated
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| v.重读( accentuate的过去式和过去分词 )；使突出；使恶化；加重音符号于 | |
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minor
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| adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修 | |
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gossamer
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| n.薄纱，游丝 | |
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toad
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| n.蟾蜍，癞蛤蟆 | |
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humbly
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| adv. 恭顺地，谦卑地 | |
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waft
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| v.飘浮，飘荡；n.一股；一阵微风；飘荡 | |
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15
ERECTED
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| adj. 直立的，竖立的，笔直的 vt. 使 ... 直立，建立 | |
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weirdness
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| n.古怪，离奇，不可思议 | |
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slabs
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| n.厚板，平板，厚片( slab的名词复数 )；厚胶片 | |
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quarries
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| n.（采）石场( quarry的名词复数 )；猎物（指鸟，兽等）；方形石；（格窗等的）方形玻璃v.从采石场采得( quarry的第三人称单数 )；从（书本等中）努力发掘（资料等）；在采石场采石 | |
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unwillingly
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| adv.不情愿地 | |
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homage
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| n.尊敬，敬意，崇敬 | |
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tangible
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| adj.有形的，可触摸的，确凿的，实际的 | |
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sentimental
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| adj.多愁善感的，感伤的 | |
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impatience
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| n.不耐烦，急躁 | |
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24
lapse
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| n.过失，流逝，失效，抛弃信仰，间隔；vi.堕落，停止，失效，流逝；vt.使失效 | |
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awakened
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| v.（使）醒( awaken的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）觉醒；弄醒；（使）意识到 | |
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gravel
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| n.砂跞；砂砾层；结石 | |
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expiration
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| n.终结，期满，呼气，呼出物 | |
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manly
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| adj.有男子气概的；adv.男子般地，果断地 | |
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gnawing
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| a.痛苦的，折磨人的 | |
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30
wring
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| n.扭绞；v.拧，绞出，扭 | |
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31
inflict
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| vt.(on)把…强加给，使遭受，使承担 | |
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32
obliterate
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| v.擦去，涂抹，去掉...痕迹，消失，除去 | |
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justify
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| vt.证明…正当(或有理)，为…辩护 | |
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payable
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| adj.可付的，应付的，有利益的 | |
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motive
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| n.动机，目的；adv.发动的，运动的 | |
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impending
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| a.imminent, about to come or happen | |
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foul
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| adj.污秽的；邪恶的；v.弄脏；妨害；犯规；n.犯规 | |
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38
catastrophe
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| n.大灾难，大祸 | |
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