THE WOMAN AND THE EXILE Chapter 1

 Peter Mowbray first saw her at the corner of Palace Square nearest the river. He was not in the least the kind of young man who appraises¹ passing women, very far from a starer. At the instant their eyes met, his thoughts had been occupied with work matters and the trickery of events. In fact, there was so much to do that he resented the intrusion, found himself hoping in the first flash that she would show some flaw to break the attraction.

 

It may have been that her eyes were called to the passer-by just as his had been, without warning or volition². In any event their eyes met full, leisurely³ in that stirring silence before the consciousness of self, time, place and convention rushes in. ... Though she seemed very poor, there was something about her beyond reach in nobility. He was left with the impression of the whitest skin, the blackest hair and the reddest lips, but mainly of a gray-eyed girl—eyes that had become wider and wider, and had filled with sudden amazement⁴ (doubtless at her own answering look) before they turned away.

 

Desolation was abroad in Warsaw after this encounter. Mowbray thought of New York with loneliness, the zest⁵ gone from all present activity. Presently with curious grip his thoughts returned to a certain luncheon⁶ in New York with a tired literary man who had talked about women with the air of a connoisseur⁷. The pith of the writer's observations was restored to his mind in this form:

 

“If I were to marry again it would be to a Latin woman—French, Italian, even Spanish—a close-to-nature woman born and bred in one of the Mediterranean⁸ countries. Not a blue-blood, for that has to do with decadence⁹, but a woman of the people. They are passionate¹⁰ but pure, as Poe would say. If they find a man of any value, he becomes their world. They are strong natural mothers—mothering their children and their husband, too,—and immune to common sicknesses. Given a little food, they know enough to prepare it with art. If a man has a bit of a dream left, such a woman will either make him forget it painlessly, or she will make it come true.”

 

There was no apparent relation, and none that proved afterward¹¹. What he had seen at the corner of Palace Square nearest the Vistula was not the face of a Latin woman, nor was any looseness of common birth evident in it. The key might have had to do with the little hat she wore, just a hat for wearing on the head, a protection against sun and rain, and with the austerely¹² simple black dress; but these weathered exteriors¹³ again were effective in contrast to the vivid freshness of her natural coloring. As for what remained of the literary man's picture of the ideal woman to marry, it was the last word of decadence—the eminent¹⁴ selfishness of a man willing to accept the luxury of a woman who asks little to be happy. ... The next day at the same time and place Mowbray was there, and saw her coming from afar.

 

She seemed both afraid and angry, stopped abruptly¹⁵ and asked in Polish what he wanted. He was startled. It was a hard moment. He explained with difficulty that her language was as yet an inconvenient¹⁶ vehicle for him.

 

“You are not Russian?” she said in French.

 

He shook his head. She seemed to be relieved and he wondered why.

 

“What do you want?” she asked, though not quite with the original asperity¹⁷.

 

“It did not occur to me you would notice,” he said in the language she had ventured. “I saw you yesterday. You made me think of New York. As I was near to-day, I hoped to see you again—-”

 

“You are American?” She spoke¹⁸ now in English, and with a still softer intonation¹⁹.

 

“Yes,—you speak English, too?”

 

“I like it. It is—-” she checked herself and asked with just a shade of coldness, “Is there anything I can do for you?”

 

It might be construed²⁰ as a courtesy to a stranger from one who lived in Warsaw. Peter liked it, a certain vista²¹ opening. However, there was no answer within reach except the truth, and he plunged²²:

 

“I should like to know you better.”

 

The red lower lip disappeared beneath the other. Her gray eyes grew very wide; something intrepid²³ and exquisite²⁴ in her manner as she searched his face. Whatever she knew of the world, she dared still to trust her intuition—this was something of the revelation he drew.

 

“Why?”

 

Many people were passing. He looked toward the quieter center of the Square.

 

“Will you walk with me there?” he asked. “It is not easy to explain this sort of thing—-”

 

“No. I must go on. You may walk a little way.”

 

“You are very good.... You see, I cannot tell just why—as you asked. If I knew you well, I could tell you. Yesterday I was quite unromantic—-”

 

She made it hard for him and did not let him see her smile. “You mean you are romantic to-day?”

 

Peter laughed. “What a trap—and I was trying so hard to tell you.”

 

“You were trying—-”

 

“I don't need to tell you. All there is to say is that I want you to be my friend.”

 

“I should have to think,” she answered.

 

“Of course. ... Do you pass here every day?”

 

“I should have to think,” she said.

 

It was the third day afterward that she passed again.

 

1 appraises   

v.估价( appraise的第三人称单数 )；估计；估量；评价

参考例句：

• Section five appraises and summarizes the design work of performance management system. 第五部分对CITC公司绩效管理系统的设计工作进行评估和总结。 来自互联网
• Individual achievement is in all American values appraises of highest values. 个人成就是所有美国人价值观中评价最高的价值之一。 来自互联网

2 volition   

n.意志；决意

参考例句：

• We like to think that everything we do and everything we think is a product of our volition.我们常常认为我们所做和所想的一切都出自自己的意愿。
• Makin said Mr Coombes had gone to the police of his own volition.梅金说库姆斯先生是主动去投案的。

3 leisurely   

adj.悠闲的；从容的，慢慢的

参考例句：

• We walked in a leisurely manner,looking in all the windows.我们慢悠悠地走着，看遍所有的橱窗。
• He had a leisurely breakfast and drove cheerfully to work.他从容的吃了早餐，高兴的开车去工作。

4 amazement   

n.惊奇，惊讶

参考例句：

• All those around him looked at him with amazement.周围的人都对他投射出惊异的眼光。
• He looked at me in blank amazement.他带着迷茫惊诧的神情望着我。

5 zest   

n.乐趣；滋味，风味；兴趣

参考例句：

• He dived into his new job with great zest.他充满热情地投入了新的工作。
• He wrote his novel about his trip to Asia with zest.他兴趣浓厚的写了一本关于他亚洲之行的小说。

6 luncheon   

n.午宴，午餐，便宴

参考例句：

• We have luncheon at twelve o'clock.我们十二点钟用午餐。
• I have a luncheon engagement.我午饭有约。

7 connoisseur   

n.鉴赏家，行家，内行

参考例句：

• Only the real connoisseur could tell the difference between these two wines.只有真正的内行才能指出这两种酒的区别。
• We are looking for a connoisseur of French champagne.我们想找一位法国香槟酒品酒专家。

8 Mediterranean   

adj.地中海的；地中海沿岸的

参考例句：

• The houses are Mediterranean in character.这些房子都属地中海风格。
• Gibraltar is the key to the Mediterranean.直布罗陀是地中海的要冲。

9 decadence   

n.衰落，颓废

参考例句：

• The decadence of morals is bad for a nation.道德的堕落对国家是不利的。
• His article has the power to turn decadence into legend.他的文章具有化破朽为神奇的力量。

10 passionate   

adj.热情的，热烈的，激昂的，易动情的，易怒的，性情暴躁的

参考例句：

• He is said to be the most passionate man.据说他是最有激情的人。
• He is very passionate about the project.他对那个项目非常热心。

11 afterward   

adv.后来；以后

参考例句：

• Let's go to the theatre first and eat afterward. 让我们先去看戏，然后吃饭。
• Afterward,the boy became a very famous artist.后来，这男孩成为一个很有名的艺术家。

12 austerely   

adv.严格地，朴质地

参考例句：

• The austerely lighted garage was quiet. 灯光黯淡的车库静悄悄的。 来自辞典例句
• Door of Ministry of Agriculture and produce will be challenged austerely. 农业部门及农产品将受到严重的挑战。 来自互联网

13 exteriors   

n.外面( exterior的名词复数 )；外貌；户外景色图

参考例句：

• You mustn't judge people by their exteriors. 你不能以貌取人。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Some artists only paint exteriors. 有些艺术家只画户外景色。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 eminent   

adj.显赫的，杰出的，有名的，优良的

参考例句：

• We are expecting the arrival of an eminent scientist.我们正期待一位著名科学家的来访。
• He is an eminent citizen of China.他是一个杰出的中国公民。

15 abruptly   

adv.突然地，出其不意地

参考例句：

• He gestured abruptly for Virginia to get in the car.他粗鲁地示意弗吉尼亚上车。
• I was abruptly notified that a half-hour speech was expected of me.我突然被通知要讲半个小时的话。

16 inconvenient   

adj.不方便的，令人感到麻烦的

参考例句：

• You have come at a very inconvenient time.你来得最不适时。
• Will it be inconvenient for him to attend that meeting?他参加那次会议会不方便吗？

17 asperity   

n.粗鲁，艰苦

参考例句：

• He spoke to the boy with asperity.他严厉地对那男孩讲话。
• The asperity of the winter had everybody yearning for spring.严冬之苦让每个人都渴望春天。

18 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

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

19 intonation   

n.语调，声调；发声

参考例句：

• The teacher checks for pronunciation and intonation.老师在检查发音和语调。
• Questions are spoken with a rising intonation.疑问句是以升调说出来的。

20 construed   

v.解释（陈述、行为等）( construe的过去式和过去分词 )；翻译，作句法分析

参考例句：

• He considered how the remark was to be construed. 他考虑这话该如何理解。
• They construed her silence as meaning that she agreed. 他们把她的沉默解释为表示赞同。 来自《简明英汉词典》

21 vista   

n.远景，深景，展望，回想

参考例句：

• From my bedroom window I looked out on a crowded vista of hills and rooftops.我从卧室窗口望去，远处尽是连绵的山峦和屋顶。
• These uprisings come from desperation and a vista of a future without hope.发生这些暴动是因为人们被逼上了绝路，未来看不到一点儿希望。

22 plunged   

v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降

参考例句：

• The train derailed and plunged into the river. 火车脱轨栽进了河里。
• She lost her balance and plunged 100 feet to her death. 她没有站稳，从100英尺的高处跌下摔死了。

23 intrepid   

adj.无畏的，刚毅的

参考例句：

• He is not really satisfied with his intrepid action.他没有真正满意他的无畏行动。
• John's intrepid personality made him a good choice for team leader.约翰勇敢的个性适合作领导工作。

24 exquisite   

adj.精美的；敏锐的；剧烈的，感觉强烈的

参考例句：

• I was admiring the exquisite workmanship in the mosaic.我当时正在欣赏镶嵌画的精致做工。
• I still remember the exquisite pleasure I experienced in Bali.我依然记得在巴厘岛所经历的那种剧烈的快感。