CHAPTER XI

 The candles on the mantelpiece were lighted and their gleam fell through the balcony-door over the square, as it had done every evening since the house was built.

 

Outside, the square shone with a thousand lights. There was a sound of carriages, but at a distance, for the house was thrust a long way back and its walls were as thick as the walls of a castle.

 

And, when time passed and night came, the noise died away and you could hear the rippling¹ of the fountain, which never begins and never stops, and cries, no one knowing what they are, solitary² steps that approach and retreat again.

 

[141]Cordt stood by the fireplace of the empty room.

 

He stared at the places where the quaint³ old things had stood which had seen his race pass through the room.

 

He remembered every single piece that had been brought there and looked at the empty spot where each had stood. He closed his eyes and saw everything in its place again ... the spinet⁴ sang ... Fru Adelheid’s white train rustled⁵ over the carpet.

 

He thought of the man who had built the house and the room and who had called it the soul of the house and its tradition and its secret chamber⁶. Of all those after him who had brought their wives in here ... of the day when he himself stood in the room for the first time.

 

And he went and opened the secret recess⁷ in the wall which hid the old, yellow[142] document on which each of them who took possession of the room had written his name and his wife’s.

 

He read the report of the builder of the house, with its plain, homely⁸ phrases.

 

And, when he had read it and read it again, he struck out his own name and Fru Adelheid’s and went away and left the door open behind him.

 

1 rippling   

起涟漪的，潺潺流水般声音的

参考例句：

• I could see the dawn breeze rippling the shining water. 我能看见黎明的微风在波光粼粼的水面上吹出道道涟漪。
• The pool rippling was caused by the waving of the reeds. 池塘里的潺潺声是芦苇摇动时引起的。

2 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。

3 quaint   

adj.古雅的，离奇有趣的，奇怪的

参考例句：

• There were many small lanes in the quaint village.在这古香古色的村庄里，有很多小巷。
• They still keep some quaint old customs.他们仍然保留着一些稀奇古怪的旧风俗。

4 spinet   

n.小型立式钢琴

参考例句：

• One afternoon,when I was better,I played the spinet.有天下午，我好了一点时，便弹奏钢琴。
• The spinet was too big for me to play.钢琴太大了不适合我弹。

5 rustled   

v.发出沙沙的声音( rustle的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He rustled his papers. 他把试卷弄得沙沙地响。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Leaves rustled gently in the breeze. 树叶迎着微风沙沙作响。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 chamber   

n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所

参考例句：

• For many,the dentist's surgery remains a torture chamber.对许多人来说，牙医的治疗室一直是间受刑室。
• The chamber was ablaze with light.会议厅里灯火辉煌。

7 recess   

n.短期休息，壁凹（墙上装架子，柜子等凹处）

参考例句：

• The chairman of the meeting announced a ten-minute recess.会议主席宣布休会10分钟。
• Parliament was hastily recalled from recess.休会的议员被匆匆召回开会。

8 homely   

adj.家常的，简朴的；不漂亮的

参考例句：

• We had a homely meal of bread and cheese.我们吃了一顿面包加乳酪的家常便餐。
• Come and have a homely meal with us,will you?来和我们一起吃顿家常便饭，好吗？