CHAPTER X WHAT DOES IT MATTER?

 The days immediately following the receipt of three remarkable¹ letters by the Blaisdell family were nerve-racking for all concerned. Held by Mrs. Jane's insistence² that they weren't sure yet that the thing was true, the family steadfastly³ refused to give out any definite information. Even the eager Harriet yielded to Jane on this point, acknowledging that it WOULD be mortifying⁴, of course, if they SHOULD talk, and nothing came of it.

 

Their enigmatic answers to questions, and their expressive⁵ shrugs⁶ and smiles, however, were almost as exciting as the rumors⁷ themselves; and the Blaisdells became at once a veritable storm center of surmises⁸ and gossip—a state of affairs not at all unpleasing to some of them, Mrs. Harriet in particular.

 

Miss Maggie Duff, however, was not so well pleased. To Mr. Smith, one day, she freed her mind—and Miss Maggie so seldom freed her mind that Mr. Smith was not a little surprised.

 

"I wish," she began, "I do wish that if that Chicago lawyer is coming, he'd come, and get done with it! Certainly the present state of affairs is almost unbearable⁹."

 

"It does make it all the harder for you, to have it drag along like this, doesn't it?" murmured Mr. Smith uneasily.

 

"For—ME?"

 

"That you are not included in the bequest¹⁰, I mean."

 

She gave an impatient gesture.

 

"I didn't mean that. I wasn't thinking of myself. Besides, as I've told you before, there is no earthly reason why I should have been included. It's the delay, I mean, for the Blaisdells—for the whole town, for that matter. This eternal 'Did you know?' and 'They say' is getting on my nerves!"

 

"Why, Miss Maggie, I didn't suppose you HAD any nerves," bantered¹¹ the man.

 

She threw him an expressive glance.

 

"Haven't I!" she retorted. Then again she gave the impatient gesture. "But even the gossip and the questioning aren't the worst. It's the family themselves. Between Hattie's pulling one way and Jane the other, I feel like a bone between two quarrelsome puppies. Hattie is already house-hunting, on the sly, and she's bought Bessie an expensive watch and a string of gold beads¹². Jane, on the other hand, insists that Mr. Fulton will come back and claim the money, so she's running her house now on the principle that she's LOST a hundred thousand dollars, and so must economize¹³ in every possible way. You can imagine it!"

 

"I don't have to—imagine it," murmured the man.

 

Miss Maggie laughed.

 

"I forgot. Of course you don't. You do live there, don't you? But that isn't all. Flora¹⁴, poor soul, went into a restaurant the other day and ordered roast turkey, and now she's worrying for fear the money won't come and justify¹⁵ her extravagance. Mellicent, with implicit¹⁶ faith that the hundred thousand is coming wants to wear her best frocks every day. And, as if she were not already quite excited enough, young Pennock has very obviously begun to sit up and take notice."

 

"You don't mean he is trying to come back—so soon!" disbelieved Mr.

Smith.

"Well, he's evidently caught the glitter of the gold from afar," smiled

Miss Maggie. "At all events, he's taking notice."

"And—Miss Mellicent?" There was a note of anxiety in Mr. Smith's voice.

 

"Doesn't see him, APPARENTLY¹⁷. But she comes and tells me his every last move (and he's making quite a number of them just now!), so I think she does see—a little."

 

"The young rascal¹⁸! But she doesn't—care?"

 

"I think not—really. She's just excited now, as any young girl would be; and I'm afraid she's taking a little wicked pleasure in—not seeing him."

 

"Humph! I can imagine it," chuckled¹⁹ Mr. Smith.

 

"But it's all bad—this delay," chafed²⁰ Miss Maggie again. "Don't you see? It's neither one thing nor another. That's why I do wish that lawyer would come, if he's coming."

 

"I reckon he'll be here before long," murmured Mr. Smith, with an elaborately casual air. "But—I wish you were coming in on the deal." His kindly²¹ eyes were gazing straight into her face now.

 

She shook her head.

 

"I'm a Duff, not a Blaisdell—except when they want—" She bit her lip. A confused red suffused²² her face. "I mean, I'm not a Blaisdell at all," she finished hastily.

 

"Humph! That's exactly it!" Mr. Smith was sitting energetically erect²³.

"You're not a Blaisdell—except when they want something of you!"

"Oh PLEASE, I didn't mean to say—I DIDN'T say—THAT," cried Miss

Maggie, in very genuine distress²⁴.

"No, I know you didn't, but I did," flared²⁵ the man. "Miss Maggie, it's a downright shame—the way they impose on you sometimes."

 

"Nonsense! I like to have them—I mean, I like to do what I can for them," she corrected hastily, laughing in spite of herself.

 

"You like to get all tired out, I suppose."

 

"I get rested—afterward."

 

"And it doesn't matter, anyway, of course," he gibed²⁶.

 

"Not a bit," she smiled.

 

"Yes, I suspected that." Mr. Smith was still sitting erect, still speaking with grim terseness²⁷. "But let me tell you right here and now that I don't approve of that doctrine²⁸ of yours."

 

"'Doctrine'?"

 

"That 'It-doesn't-matter' doctrine of yours. I tell you it's very pernicious—very! I don't approve of it at all."

 

There was a moment's silence.

 

"No?" Miss Maggie said then, demurely²⁹. "Oh, well—it doesn't matter—if you don't."

 

He caught the twinkle in her eyes and threw up his hands despairingly.

 

"You are incorrigible³⁰!"

 

With a sudden businesslike air of determination Miss Maggie faced him.

 

"Just what is the matter with that doctrine, please, and what do you mean?" she smiled.

 

"I mean that things DO matter, and that we merely shut our eyes to the real facts in the case when we say that they don't. War, death, sin, evil—the world is full of them, and they do matter."

 

"They do matter, indeed." Miss Maggie was speaking very gravely now. "They matter—woefully. I never say 'It doesn't matter' to war, or death, or sin, or evil. But there are other things—"

 

"But the other things matter, too," interrupted the man irritably³¹. "Right here and now it matters that you don't share in the money; it matters that you slave half your time for a father who doesn't anywhere near appreciate you; it matters that you slave the rest of the time for every Tom and Dick and Harry³² and Jane and Mehitable in Hillerton that has run a sliver³³ under a thumb, either literally³⁴ or metaphorically³⁵. It matters that—"

 

But Miss Maggie was laughing merrily. "Oh, Mr. Smith, Mr. Smith, you don't know what you are saying!"

 

"I do, too. It's YOU who don't know what you are saying!"

 

"But, pray, what would you have me say?" she smiled.

 

"I'd have you say it DOES matter, and I'd have you insist on having your rights, every time."

 

"And what if I had?" she retaliated³⁶ sharply. "My rights, indeed!"

 

The man fell back, so sudden and so astounding³⁷ was the change that had come to the woman opposite him. She was leaning forward in her chair, her lips trembling, her eyes a smouldering flame.

 

"What if I had insisted on my rights, all the way up?" she quivered. "Would I have come home that first time from college? Would I have stepped into Mother Blaisdell's shoes and kept the house? Would I have swept and baked and washed and ironed, day in and day out, to make a home for father and for Jim and Frank and Flora? Would I have come back again and again, when my beloved books were calling, calling, always calling? Would I have seen other girls love and marry and go to homes of their own, while I—Oh, what am I saying, what am I saying?" she choked, covering her eyes with the back of her hand, and turning her face away. "Please, if you can, forget what I said. Indeed, I NEVER—broke out like that—before. I am so—ashamed!"

 

"Ashamed! Well, you needn't be." Mr. Smith, on his feet, was trying to work off his agitation³⁸ by tramping up and down the small room.

 

"But I am ashamed," moaned Miss Maggie, her face still averted³⁹. "And I can't think why I should have been so—so wild. It was just something that you said—about my rights, I think. You see—all my life I've just HAD to learn to say 'It doesn't matter,' when there were so many things I wanted to do, and couldn't. And—don't you see?—I found out, after a while, that it didn't really matter, half so much—college and my own little wants and wishes as that I should do—what I had to do, willingly and pleasantly at home."

 

"But, good Heavens, how could you keep from tearing 'round and throwing things?"

 

"I couldn't—all the time. I—I smashed a bowl once, and two cups." She laughed shamefacedly, and met his eyes now. "But I soon found—that it didn't make me or anybody else—any happier, and that it didn't help things at all. So I tried—to do the other way. And now, please, PLEASE say you'll forget all this—what I've been saying. Indeed, Mr. Smith I am very much ashamed."

 

"Forget it!" Mr. Smith turned on his heel and marched up and down the room again. "Confound that man!"

 

"What man?"

 

"Mr. Stanley G. Fulton, if you must know, for not giving you any of that money."

 

"Money, money, money!" Miss Maggie threw out both her hands with a gesture of repulsion. "If I've heard that word once, I've heard it a hundred times in the last week. Sometimes I wish I might never hear it again."

 

"You don't want to be deaf, do you? Well, you'd have to be, to escape hearing that word."

 

"I suppose so. But—" again she threw out her hands.

 

"You don't mean—" Mr. Smith was regarding her with curious interest.

"Don't you WANT—money, really?"

She hesitated; then she sighed.

 

"Oh, yes, of course. We all want money. We have to have money, too; but

I don't think it's—everything in the world, by any means."

"You don't think it brings happiness, then?"

 

"Sometimes. Sometimes not."

 

"Most of—er—us would be willing to take the risk."

 

"Most of us would."

 

"Now, in the case of the Blaisdells here—don't you think this money is going to bring happiness to them?"

 

There was no answer. Miss Maggie seemed to be thinking.

 

"Miss Maggie," exclaimed Mr. Smith, with a concern all out of proportion to his supposed interest in the matter, "you don't mean to say you DON'T think this money is going to bring them happiness!"

 

Miss Maggie laughed a little.

 

"Oh, no! This money'll bring them happiness all right, of course,—particularly to some of them. But I was just wondering; if you don't know how to spend five dollars so as to get the most out of it, how will you spend five hundred, or five hundred thousand—and get the most out of that?"

 

"What do you mean?"

 

But Miss Maggie shook her head.

 

"Nothing. I was just thinking," she said.

1 remarkable   

adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的

参考例句：

• She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
• These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。

2 insistence   

n.坚持；强调；坚决主张

参考例句：

• They were united in their insistence that she should go to college.他们一致坚持她应上大学。
• His insistence upon strict obedience is correct.他坚持绝对服从是对的。

3 steadfastly   

adv.踏实地，不变地；岿然；坚定不渝

参考例句：

• So he sat, with a steadfastly vacant gaze, pausing in his work. 他就像这样坐着，停止了工作，直勾勾地瞪着眼。 来自英汉文学 - 双城记
• Defarge and his wife looked steadfastly at one another. 德伐日和他的妻子彼此凝视了一会儿。 来自英汉文学 - 双城记

4 mortifying   

adj.抑制的，苦修的v.使受辱( mortify的现在分词 )；伤害（人的感情）；克制；抑制（肉体、情感等）

参考例句：

• I've said I did not love her, and rather relished mortifying her vanity now and then. 我已经说过我不爱她，而且时时以伤害她的虚荣心为乐。 来自辞典例句
• It was mortifying to know he had heard every word. 知道他听到了每一句话后真是尴尬。 来自互联网

5 expressive   

adj.表现的，表达…的，富于表情的

参考例句：

• Black English can be more expressive than standard English.黑人所使用的英语可能比正式英语更有表现力。
• He had a mobile,expressive,animated face.他有一张多变的，富于表情的，生动活泼的脸。

6 shrugs   

n.耸肩（以表示冷淡，怀疑等）( shrug的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Hungarian Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsany shrugs off this criticism. 匈牙利总理久尔恰尼对这个批评不以为然。 来自互联网
• She shrugs expressively and takes a sip of her latte. 她表达地耸肩而且拿她的拿铁的啜饮。 来自互联网

7 rumors   

n.传闻( rumor的名词复数 )；[古]名誉；咕哝；[古]喧嚷v.传闻( rumor的第三人称单数 )；[古]名誉；咕哝；[古]喧嚷

参考例句：

• Rumors have it that the school was burned down. 有谣言说学校给烧掉了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Rumors of a revolt were afloat. 叛变的谣言四起。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 surmises   

v.臆测，推断( surmise的第三人称单数 )；揣测；猜想

参考例句：

• The detective is completely correct in his surmises. 这个侦探所推测的完全正确。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• As the reader probably surmises, a variety of interest tables exists. 正如读者可能推测的那样，存在着各种各样的利息表。 来自辞典例句

9 unbearable   

adj.不能容忍的；忍受不住的

参考例句：

• It is unbearable to be always on thorns.老是处于焦虑不安的情况中是受不了的。
• The more he thought of it the more unbearable it became.他越想越觉得无法忍受。

10 bequest   

n.遗赠；遗产，遗物

参考例句：

• In his will he made a substantial bequest to his wife.在遗嘱里他给妻子留下了一大笔遗产。
• The library has received a generous bequest from a local businessman.图书馆从当地一位商人那里得到了一大笔遗赠。

11 bantered   

v.开玩笑，说笑，逗乐( banter的过去式和过去分词 )；（善意地）取笑，逗弄

参考例句：

• We bantered Nick on the subject of marriage. 我们就婚姻问题取笑尼克。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The rival team members bantered before the game. 双方队员在比赛前互相说笑。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 beads   

n.（空心）小珠子( bead的名词复数 )；水珠；珠子项链

参考例句：

• a necklace of wooden beads 一条木珠项链
• Beads of perspiration stood out on his forehead. 他的前额上挂着汗珠。

13 economize   

v.节约，节省

参考例句：

• We're going to have to economize from now on. 从现在开始，我们不得不节约开支。
• We have to economize on water during the dry season. 我们在旱季不得不节约用水。

14 flora   

n.(某一地区的)植物群

参考例句：

• The subtropical island has a remarkably rich native flora.这个亚热带岛屿有相当丰富的乡土植物种类。
• All flora need water and light.一切草木都需要水和阳光。

15 justify   

vt.证明…正当(或有理)，为…辩护

参考例句：

• He tried to justify his absence with lame excuses.他想用站不住脚的借口为自己的缺席辩解。
• Can you justify your rude behavior to me?你能向我证明你的粗野行为是有道理的吗？

16 implicit   

a.暗示的，含蓄的，不明晰的，绝对的

参考例句：

• A soldier must give implicit obedience to his officers. 士兵必须绝对服从他的长官。
• Her silence gave implicit consent. 她的沉默表示默许。

17 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

18 rascal   

n.流氓；不诚实的人

参考例句：

• If he had done otherwise,I should have thought him a rascal.如果他不这样做，我就认为他是个恶棍。
• The rascal was frightened into holding his tongue.这坏蛋吓得不敢往下说了。

19 chuckled   

轻声地笑( chuckle的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She chuckled at the memory. 想起这件事她就暗自发笑。
• She chuckled softly to herself as she remembered his astonished look. 想起他那惊讶的表情，她就轻轻地暗自发笑。

20 chafed   

v.擦热（尤指皮肤）( chafe的过去式 )；擦痛；发怒；惹怒

参考例句：

• Her wrists chafed where the rope had been. 她的手腕上绳子勒过的地方都磨红了。
• She chafed her cold hands. 她揉搓冰冷的双手使之暖和。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

21 kindly   

adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地

参考例句：

• Her neighbours spoke of her as kindly and hospitable.她的邻居都说她和蔼可亲、热情好客。
• A shadow passed over the kindly face of the old woman.一道阴影掠过老太太慈祥的面孔。

22 suffused   

v.（指颜色、水气等）弥漫于，布满( suffuse的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Her face was suffused with colour. 她满脸通红。
• Her eyes were suffused with warm, excited tears. 她激动地热泪盈眶。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

23 erect   

n./v.树立，建立，使竖立；adj.直立的，垂直的

参考例句：

• She held her head erect and her back straight.她昂着头，把背挺得笔直。
• Soldiers are trained to stand erect.士兵们训练站得笔直。

24 distress   

n.苦恼，痛苦，不舒适；不幸；vt.使悲痛

参考例句：

• Nothing could alleviate his distress.什么都不能减轻他的痛苦。
• Please don't distress yourself.请你不要忧愁了。

25 Flared   

adj. 端部张开的, 爆发的, 加宽的, 漏斗式的 动词flare的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• The match flared and went out. 火柴闪亮了一下就熄了。
• The fire flared up when we thought it was out. 我们以为火已经熄灭，但它突然又燃烧起来。

26 gibed   

v.嘲笑，嘲弄( gibe的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• One of the other officers at the table gibed. 桌上有个军官挖苦他。 来自辞典例句
• They gibed at my mistakes. 他们嘲笑我的错误。 来自辞典例句

27 terseness   

简洁，精练

参考例句：

• If the main purpose of menus were to execute commands, terseness would be a virtue. 如果菜单的主要目的是执行命令，那么就应该精练。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓
• What strikes at a first reading is its vividness and terseness. 初读时它给人的印象是生动和简洁。

28 doctrine   

n.教义；主义；学说

参考例句：

• He was impelled to proclaim his doctrine.他不得不宣扬他的教义。
• The council met to consider changes to doctrine.宗教议会开会考虑更改教义。

29 demurely   

adv.装成端庄地，认真地

参考例句：

• "On the forehead, like a good brother,'she answered demurely. "吻前额，像个好哥哥那样，"她故作正经地回答说。 来自飘（部分）
• Punctuation is the way one bats one's eyes, lowers one's voice or blushes demurely. 标点就像人眨眨眼睛，低声细语，或伍犯作态。 来自名作英译部分

30 incorrigible   

adj.难以纠正的，屡教不改的

参考例句：

• Because he was an incorrigible criminal,he was sentenced to life imprisonment.他是一个死不悔改的罪犯，因此被判终生监禁。
• Gamblers are incorrigible optimists.嗜赌的人是死不悔改的乐天派。

31 irritably   

ad.易生气地

参考例句：

• He lost his temper and snapped irritably at the children. 他发火了，暴躁地斥责孩子们。
• On this account the silence was irritably broken by a reproof. 为了这件事，他妻子大声斥责，令人恼火地打破了宁静。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

32 harry   

vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼

参考例句：

• Today,people feel more hurried and harried.今天，人们感到更加忙碌和苦恼。
• Obama harried business by Healthcare Reform plan.奥巴马用医改掠夺了商界。

33 sliver   

n.裂片，细片，梳毛；v.纵切，切成长片，剖开

参考例句：

• There was only one sliver of light in the darkness.黑暗中只有一点零星的光亮。
• Then,one night,Monica saw a thin sliver of the moon reappear.之后的一天晚上，莫尼卡看到了一个月牙。

34 literally   

adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实

参考例句：

• He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
• Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。

35 metaphorically   

adv. 用比喻地

参考例句：

• It is context and convention that determine whether a term will be interpreted literally or metaphorically. 对一个词的理解是按字面意思还是隐喻的意思要视乎上下文和习惯。
• Metaphorically it implied a sort of admirable energy. 从比喻来讲，它含有一种令人赞许的能量的意思。

36 retaliated   

v.报复，反击( retaliate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• When he once teased her for her inexperience, she retaliated. 有一次，他讥讽她没有经验，她便反唇相讥。 来自辞典例句
• The terrorists retaliated by killing three policemen. 恐怖分子以杀死三名警察相报复。 来自辞典例句

37 astounding   

adj.使人震惊的vt.使震惊，使大吃一惊astound的现在分词)

参考例句：

• There was an astounding 20% increase in sales. 销售量惊人地增加了20%。
• The Chairman's remarks were so astounding that the audience listened to him with bated breath. 主席说的话令人吃惊，所以听众都屏息听他说。 来自《简明英汉词典》

38 agitation   

n.搅动；搅拌；鼓动，煽动

参考例句：

• Small shopkeepers carried on a long agitation against the big department stores.小店主们长期以来一直在煽动人们反对大型百货商店。
• These materials require constant agitation to keep them in suspension.这些药剂要经常搅动以保持悬浮状态。

39 averted   

防止，避免( avert的过去式和过去分词 )； 转移

参考例句：

• A disaster was narrowly averted. 及时防止了一场灾难。
• Thanks to her skilful handling of the affair, the problem was averted. 多亏她对事情处理得巧妙，才避免了麻烦。