I had met her in September. The house my father lived in is about twelve miles away from your mother's home at Ridinghanger, and I was taken over by Percy Restall in his motor-car. Restall had just become a convert to this new mode of locomotion2, and he was very active with a huge, malignant-looking French car that opened behind, and had a kind of poke3 bonnet4 and all sorts of features that have since disappeared from the automobile5 world. He took everyone that he could lay hands upon for rides,—he called it extending their range, and he called upon everyone else to show off the car; he was responsible for more introduction and social admixture in that part of Surrey than had occurred during the previous century. We punctured6 in the Ridinghanger drive, Restall did his own repairs, and so it was we stayed for nearly four hours and instead of a mere7 caller I became a familiar friend of the family.
Your mother then was still not eighteen, a soft white slip of being, tall, slender, brown-haired and silent, with very still deep dark eyes. She and your three aunts formed a very gracious group of young women indeed; Alice then as now the most assertive8, with a gay initiative and a fluent tongue; Molly already a sun-brown gipsy, and Norah still a pig-tailed thing of lank9 legs and wild embraces and the pinkest of swift pink blushes; your uncle Sidney, with his shy lank moodiness10, acted the brotherly part of a foil. There were several stray visitors, young men and maidens11, there were always stray visitors in those days at Ridinghanger, and your grandmother, rosy12 and bright-eyed, maintained a gentle flow of creature comforts and kindly13 but humorous observations. I do not remember your grandfather on this occasion; probably he wasn't there.
There was tea, and we played tennis and walked about and occasionally visited Restall, who was getting dirtier and dirtier, and crosser and crosser at his repairs, and spreading a continually more remarkable14 assemblage of parts and instruments over the grass about him. He looked at last more like a pitch in the Caledonian market than a decent country gentleman paying an afternoon call. And then back to more tennis and more talk. We fell into a discussion of Tariff15 Reform as we sat taking tea. Two of the visitor youths were strongly infected by the new teachings which were overshadowing the outlook of British Imperialism16. Some mean phrase about not conquering Africa for the German bagman, some ugly turn of thought that at a touch brought down Empire to the level of a tradesman's advantage, fell from one of them, and stirred me to sudden indignation. I began to talk of things that had been gathering17 in my mind for some time.
I do not know what I said. It was in the vein18 of my father's talk no doubt. But I think that for once I may have been eloquent19. And in the midst of my demand for ideals in politics that were wider and deeper than artful buying and selling, that looked beyond a vulgar aggression20 and a churl's dread21 and hatred22 of foreign things, while I struggled to say how great and noble a thing empire might be, I saw Rachel's face. This, it was manifest, was a new kind of talk to her. Her dark eyes were alight with a beautiful enthusiasm for what I was trying to say, and for what in the light of that glowing reception I seemed to be.
I felt that queer shame one feels when one is taken suddenly at the full value of one's utmost expressions. I felt as though I had cheated her, was passing myself off for something as great and splendid as the Empire of my dreams. It is hard to dissociate oneself from the fine things to which one aspires23. I stopped almost abruptly24. Dumbly her eyes bade me go on, but when I spoke25 again it was at a lower level....
That look in Rachel's eyes remained with me. My mind had flashed very rapidly from the realization26 of its significance to the thought that if one could be sure of that, then indeed one could pitch oneself high. Rachel, I felt, had something for me that I needed profoundly, without ever having known before that I needed it. She had the supreme27 gifts of belief and devotion; in that instant's gleam it seemed she held them out to me.
Never before in my life had it seemed credible28 to me that anyone could give me that, or that I could hope for such a gift of support and sacrifice. Love as I had known it had been a community and an alliance, a frank abundant meeting; but this was another kind of love that shone for an instant and promised, and vanished shyly out of sight as I and Rachel looked at one another.
Some interruption occurred. Restall came, I think, blackened by progress, to drink a cup of tea and negotiate the loan of a kitchen skewer29. A kitchen skewer it appeared was all that was needed to complete his reconstruction30 in the avenue. Norah darted31 off for a kitchen skewer, while Restall drank. And then there was a drift to tennis, and Rachel and I were partners. All this time I was in a state of startled attention towards her, full of this astounding32 impression that something wonderful and unprecedented33 had flowed out from her towards my life, full too of doubts now whether that shining response had ever occurred, whether some trick of light and my brain had not deceived me. I wanted tremendously to talk to her, and did not know how to begin in any serious fashion. Beyond everything I wanted to see again that deep onset34 of belief....
"Come again," said your grandmother to me, "come again!" after she had tried in vain to make Restall stay for an informal supper. I was all for staying, but Restall said darkly, "There are the Lamps."
"But they will be all right," said Mrs. More.
"I can't trust 'em," said Restall, with a deepening gloom. "Not after that." The motor-car looked self-conscious and uncomfortable, but said nothing by way of excuse, and Restall took me off in it like one whose sun has set for ever. "I wouldn't be surprised," said Restall as we went down the drive, "if the damned thing turned a somersault. It might do—anything." Those were the brighter days of motoring.
The next time I went over released from Restall's limitations, and stayed to a jolly family supper. I found remarkably35 few obstacles in my way to a better acquaintance with Rachel. You see I was an entirely36 eligible37 and desirable young man in Mrs. More's eyes....
点击收听单词发音
1 revival | |
n.复兴,复苏,(精力、活力等的)重振 | |
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2 locomotion | |
n.运动,移动 | |
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3 poke | |
n.刺,戳,袋;vt.拨开,刺,戳;vi.戳,刺,捅,搜索,伸出,行动散慢 | |
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4 bonnet | |
n.无边女帽;童帽 | |
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5 automobile | |
n.汽车,机动车 | |
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6 punctured | |
v.在(某物)上穿孔( puncture的过去式和过去分词 );刺穿(某物);削弱(某人的傲气、信心等);泄某人的气 | |
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7 mere | |
adj.纯粹的;仅仅,只不过 | |
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8 assertive | |
adj.果断的,自信的,有冲劲的 | |
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9 lank | |
adj.瘦削的;稀疏的 | |
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10 moodiness | |
n.喜怒无常;喜怒无常,闷闷不乐;情绪 | |
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11 maidens | |
处女( maiden的名词复数 ); 少女; 未婚女子; (板球运动)未得分的一轮投球 | |
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12 rosy | |
adj.美好的,乐观的,玫瑰色的 | |
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13 kindly | |
adj.和蔼的,温和的,爽快的;adv.温和地,亲切地 | |
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14 remarkable | |
adj.显著的,异常的,非凡的,值得注意的 | |
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15 tariff | |
n.关税,税率;(旅馆、饭店等)价目表,收费表 | |
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16 imperialism | |
n.帝国主义,帝国主义政策 | |
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17 gathering | |
n.集会,聚会,聚集 | |
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18 vein | |
n.血管,静脉;叶脉,纹理;情绪;vt.使成脉络 | |
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19 eloquent | |
adj.雄辩的,口才流利的;明白显示出的 | |
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20 aggression | |
n.进攻,侵略,侵犯,侵害 | |
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21 dread | |
vt.担忧,忧虑;惧怕,不敢;n.担忧,畏惧 | |
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22 hatred | |
n.憎恶,憎恨,仇恨 | |
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23 aspires | |
v.渴望,追求( aspire的第三人称单数 ) | |
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24 abruptly | |
adv.突然地,出其不意地 | |
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25 spoke | |
n.(车轮的)辐条;轮辐;破坏某人的计划;阻挠某人的行动 v.讲,谈(speak的过去式);说;演说;从某种观点来说 | |
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26 realization | |
n.实现;认识到,深刻了解 | |
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27 supreme | |
adj.极度的,最重要的;至高的,最高的 | |
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28 credible | |
adj.可信任的,可靠的 | |
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29 skewer | |
n.(烤肉用的)串肉杆;v.用杆串好 | |
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30 reconstruction | |
n.重建,再现,复原 | |
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31 darted | |
v.投掷,投射( dart的过去式和过去分词 );向前冲,飞奔 | |
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32 astounding | |
adj.使人震惊的vt.使震惊,使大吃一惊astound的现在分词) | |
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33 unprecedented | |
adj.无前例的,新奇的 | |
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34 onset | |
n.进攻,袭击,开始,突然开始 | |
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35 remarkably | |
ad.不同寻常地,相当地 | |
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36 entirely | |
ad.全部地,完整地;完全地,彻底地 | |
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37 eligible | |
adj.有条件被选中的;(尤指婚姻等)合适(意)的 | |
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