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首页 » 经典英文小说 » Beyond the City城市之上17章节 » CHAPTER VIII. SHADOWS BEFORE.
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CHAPTER VIII. SHADOWS BEFORE.
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 Mrs. Westmacott's great meeting for the enfranchisement1 of woman had passed over, and it had been a triumphant2 success. All the maids and matrons of the southern suburbs had rallied at her summons, there was an influential3 platform with Dr. Balthazar Walker in the chair, and Admiral Hay Denver among his more prominent supporters. One benighted4 male had come in from the outside darkness and had jeered5 from the further end of the hall, but he had been called to order by the chair, petrified6 by indignant glances from the unenfranchised around him, and finally escorted to the door by Charles Westmacott. Fiery8 resolutions were passed, to be forwarded to a large number of leading statesmen, and the meeting broke up with the conviction that a shrewd blow had been struck for the cause of woman.
 
But there was one woman at least to whom the meeting and all that was connected with it had brought anything but pleasure. Clara Walker watched with a heavy heart the friendship and close intimacy9 which had sprung up between her father and the widow. From week to week it had increased until no day ever passed without their being together. The coming meeting had been the excuse for these continual interviews, but now the meeting was over, and still the Doctor would refer every point which rose to the judgment10 of his neighbor. He would talk, too, to his two daughters of her strength of character, her decisive mind, and of the necessity of their cultivating her acquaintance and following her example, until at last it had become his most common topic of conversation.
 
All this might have passed as merely the natural pleasure which an elderly man might take in the society of an intelligent and handsome woman, but there were other points which seemed to Clara to give it a deeper meaning. She could not forget that when Charles Westmacott had spoken to her one night he had alluded13 to the possibility of his aunt marrying again. He must have known or noticed something before he would speak upon such a subject. And then again Mrs. Westmacott had herself said that she hoped to change her style of living shortly and take over completely new duties. What could that mean except that she expected to marry? And whom? She seemed to see few friends outside their own little circle. She must have alluded to her father. It was a hateful thought, and yet it must be faced.
 
One evening the Doctor had been rather late at his neighbor's. He used to go into the Admiral's after dinner, but now he turned more frequently in the other direction. When he returned Clara was sitting alone in the drawing-room reading a magazine. She sprang up as he entered, pushed forward his chair, and ran to fetch his slippers14.
 
“You are looking a little pale, dear,” he remarked.
 
“Oh, no, papa, I am very well.”
 
“All well with Harold?”
 
“Yes. His partner, Mr. Pearson, is still away, and he is doing all the work.”
 
“Well done. He is sure to succeed. Where is Ida?”
 
“In her room, I think.”
 
“She was with Charles Westmacott on the lawn not very long ago. He seems very fond of her. He is not very bright, but I think he will make her a good husband.”
 
“I am sure of it, papa. He is very manly15 and reliable.”
 
“Yes, I should think that he is not the sort of man who goes wrong. There is nothing hidden about him. As to his brightness, it really does not matter, for his aunt, Mrs. Westmacott, is very rich, much richer than you would think from her style of living, and she has made him a handsome provision.”
 
“I am glad of that.”
 
“It is between ourselves. I am her trustee, and so I know something of her arrangements. And when are you going to marry, Clara?”
 
“Oh, papa, not for some time yet. We have not thought of a date.”
 
“Well, really, I don't know that there is any reason for delay. He has a competence16 and it increases yearly. As long as you are quite certain that your mind is made up——”
 
“Oh, papa!”
 
“Well, then, I really do not know why there should be any delay. And Ida, too, must be married within the next few months. Now, what I want to know is what I am to do when my two little companions run away from me.” He spoke12 lightly, but his eyes were grave as he looked questioningly at his daughter.
 
“Dear papa, you shall not be alone. It will be years before Harold and I think of marrying, and when we do you must come and live with us.”
 
“No, no, dear. I know that you mean what you say, but I have seen something of the world, and I know that such arrangements never answer. There cannot be two masters in a house, and yet at my age my freedom is very necessary to me.”
 
“But you would be completely free.”
 
“No, dear, you cannot be that if you are a guest in another man's house. Can you suggest no other alternative?”
 
“That we remain with you.”
 
“No, no. That is out of the question. Mrs. Westmacott herself says that a woman's first duty is to marry. Marriage, however, should be an equal partnership17, as she points out. I should wish you both to marry, but still I should like a suggestion from you, Clara, as to what I should do.”
 
“But there is no hurry, papa. Let us wait. I do not intend to marry yet.”
 
Doctor Walker looked disappointed. “Well, Clara, if you can suggest nothing, I suppose that I must take the initiative myself,” said he.
 
“Then what do you propose, papa?” She braced18 herself as one who sees the blow which is about to fall.
 
He looked at her and hesitated. “How like your poor dear mother you are, Clara!” he cried. “As I looked at you then it was as if she had come back from the grave.” He stooped towards her and kissed her. “There, run away to your sister, my dear, and do not trouble yourself about me. Nothing is settled yet, but you will find that all will come right.”
 
Clara went upstairs sad at heart, for she was sure now that what she had feared was indeed about to come to pass, and that her father was going to take Mrs. Westmacott to be his wife. In her pure and earnest mind her mother's memory was enshrined as that of a saint, and the thought that any one should take her place seemed a terrible desecration19. Even worse, however, did this marriage appear when looked at from the point of view of her father's future. The widow might fascinate him by her knowledge of the world, her dash, her strength, her unconventionality—all these qualities Clara was willing to allow her—but she was convinced that she would be unendurable as a life companion. She had come to an age when habits are not lightly to be changed, nor was she a woman who was at all likely to attempt to change them. How would a sensitive man like her father stand the constant strain of such a wife, a woman who was all decision, with no softness, and nothing soothing20 in her nature? It passed as a mere11 eccentricity21 when they heard of her stout22 drinking, her cigarette smoking, her occasional whiffs at a long clay pipe, her horsewhipping of a drunken servant, and her companionship with the snake Eliza, whom she was in the habit of bearing about in her pocket. All this would become unendurable to her father when his first infatuation was past. For his own sake, then, as well as for her mother's memory, this match must be prevented. And yet how powerless she was to prevent it! What could she do? Could Harold aid her? Perhaps. Or Ida? At least she would tell her sister and see what she could suggest.
 
Ida was in her boudoir, a tiny little tapestried23 room, as neat and dainty as herself, with low walls hung with Imari plaques24 and with pretty little Swiss brackets bearing blue Kaga ware25, or the pure white Coalport china. In a low chair beneath a red shaded standing26 lamp sat Ida, in a diaphanous27 evening dress of mousseline de soie, the ruddy light tinging28 her sweet childlike face, and glowing on her golden curls. She sprang up as her sister entered, and threw her arms around her.
 
“Dear old Clara! Come and sit down here beside me. I have not had a chat for days. But, oh, what a troubled face! What is it then?” She put up her forefinger29 and smoothed her sister's brow with it.
 
Clara pulled up a stool, and sitting down beside her sister, passed her arm round her waist. “I am so sorry to trouble you, dear Ida,” she said. “But I do not know what to do.
 
“There's nothing the matter with Harold?”
 
“Oh, no, Ida.”
 
“Nor with my Charles?”
 
“No, no.”
 
Ida gave a sigh of relief. “You quite frightened me, dear,” said she. “You can't think how solemn you look. What is it, then?”
 
“I believe that papa intends to ask Mrs. Westmacott to marry him.”
 
Ida burst out laughing. “What can have put such a notion into your head, Clara?”
 
“It is only too true, Ida. I suspected it before, and he himself almost told me as much with his own lips to-night. I don't think that it is a laughing matter.”
 
“Really, I could not help it. If you had told me that those two dear old ladies opposite, the Misses Williams, were both engaged, you would not have surprised me more. It is really too funny.”
 
“Funny, Ida! Think of any one taking the place of dear mother.”
 
But her sister was of a more practical and less sentimental30 nature. “I am sure,” said she, “that dear mother would like papa to do whatever would make him most happy. We shall both be away, and why should papa not please himself?”
 
“But think how unhappy he will be. You know how quiet he is in his ways, and how even a little thing will upset him. How could he live with a wife who would make his whole life a series of surprises? Fancy what a whirlwind she must be in a house. A man at his age cannot change his ways. I am sure he would be miserable31.”
 
Ida's face grew graver, and she pondered over the matter for a few minutes. “I really think that you are right as usual,” said she at last. “I admire Charlie's aunt very much, you know, and I think that she is a very useful and good person, but I don't think she would do as a wife for poor quiet papa.”
 
“But he will certainly ask her, and I really think that she intends to accept him. Then it would be too late to interfere32. We have only a few days at the most. And what can we do? How can we hope to make him change his mind?”
 
Again Ida pondered. “He has never tried what it is to live with a strong-minded woman,” said she. “If we could only get him to realize it in time. Oh, Clara, I have it; I have it! Such a lovely plan!” She leaned back in her chair and burst into a fit of laughter so natural and so hearty33 that Clara had to forget her troubles and to join in it.
 
“Oh, it is beautiful!” she gasped34 at last. “Poor papa! What a time he will have! But it's all for his own good, as he used to say when we had to be punished when we were little. Oh, Clara, I do hope your heart won't fail you.”
 
“I would do anything to save him, dear.”
 
“That's it. You must steel yourself by that thought.”
 
“But what is your plan?”
 
“Oh, I am so proud of it. We will tire him for ever of the widow, and of all emancipated35 women. Let me see, what are Mrs. Westmacott's main ideas? You have listened to her more than I. Women should attend less to household duties. That is one, is it not?”
 
“Yes, if they feel they have capabilities36 for higher things. Then she thinks that every woman who has leisure should take up the study of some branch of science, and that, as far as possible, every woman should qualify herself for some trade or profession, choosing for preference those which have been hitherto monopolized37 by men. To enter the others would only be to intensify38 the present competition.”
 
“Quite so. That is glorious!” Her blue eyes were dancing with mischief39, and she clapped her hands in her delight. “What else? She thinks that whatever a man can do a woman should be allowed to do also—does she not?”
 
“She says so.”
 
“And about dress? The short skirt, and the divided skirt are what she believes in?”
 
“Yes.”
 
“We must get in some cloth.”
 
“Why?”
 
“We must make ourselves a dress each. A brand-new, enfranchised7, emancipated dress, dear. Don't you see my plan? We shall act up to all Mrs. Westmacott's views in every respect, and improve them when we can. Then papa will know what it is to live with a woman who claims all her rights. Oh, Clara, it will be splendid.”
 
Her milder sister sat speechless before so daring a scheme. “But it would be wrong, Ida!” she cried at last.
 
“Not a bit. It is to save him.”
 
“I should not dare.”
 
“Oh, yes, you would. Harold will help. Besides, what other plan have you?”
 
“I have none.”
 
“Then you must take mine.”
 
“Yes. Perhaps you are right. Well, we do it for a good motive40.”
 
“You will do it?”
 
“I do not see any other way.”
 
“You dear good Clara! Now I will show you what you are to do. We must not begin too suddenly. It might excite suspicion.”
 
“What would you do, then?”
 
“To-morrow we must go to Mrs. Westmacott, and sit at her feet and learn all her views.”
 
“What hypocrites we shall feel!”
 
“We shall be her newest and most enthusiastic converts. Oh, it will be such fun, Clara! Then we shall make our plans and send for what we want, and begin our new life.”
 
“I do hope that we shall not have to keep it up long. It seems so cruel to dear papa.”
 
“Cruel! To save him!”
 
“I wish I was sure that we were doing right. And yet what else can we do? Well, then, Ida, the die is cast, and we will call upon Mrs. Westmacott tomorrow.”

点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 enfranchisement enfranchisement     
选举权
参考例句:
  • It is not true that the enfranchisement of all will result in racial domination. 给予全体人民以公民权将导致种族统治,这种观点是不正确的。 来自互联网
2 triumphant JpQys     
adj.胜利的,成功的;狂欢的,喜悦的
参考例句:
  • The army made a triumphant entry into the enemy's capital.部队胜利地进入了敌方首都。
  • There was a positively triumphant note in her voice.她的声音里带有一种极为得意的语气。
3 influential l7oxK     
adj.有影响的,有权势的
参考例句:
  • He always tries to get in with the most influential people.他总是试图巴结最有影响的人物。
  • He is a very influential man in the government.他在政府中是个很有影响的人物。
4 benighted rQcyD     
adj.蒙昧的
参考例句:
  • Listen to both sides and you will be enlightened,heed only one side and you will be benighted.兼听则明,偏信则暗。
  • Famine hit that benighted country once more.饥荒再次席卷了那个蒙昧的国家。
5 jeered c6b854b3d0a6d00c4c5a3e1372813b7d     
v.嘲笑( jeer的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • The police were jeered at by the waiting crowd. 警察受到在等待的人群的嘲弄。
  • The crowd jeered when the boxer was knocked down. 当那个拳击手被打倒时,人们开始嘲笑他。 来自《简明英汉词典》
6 petrified 2e51222789ae4ecee6134eb89ed9998d     
adj.惊呆的;目瞪口呆的v.使吓呆,使惊呆;变僵硬;使石化(petrify的过去式和过去分词)
参考例句:
  • I'm petrified of snakes. 我特别怕蛇。
  • The poor child was petrified with fear. 这可怜的孩子被吓呆了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
7 enfranchised 74b74ea0ab1ca31ad2a4af4c03795bde     
v.给予选举权( enfranchise的过去式和过去分词 );(从奴隶制中)解放
参考例句:
  • The slaves were enfranchised. 奴隶们被释放了。 来自互联网
  • In Britain women were enfranchised in 1918. 1918年英国妇女获得议会选举权。 来自互联网
8 fiery ElEye     
adj.燃烧着的,火红的;暴躁的;激烈的
参考例句:
  • She has fiery red hair.她有一头火红的头发。
  • His fiery speech agitated the crowd.他热情洋溢的讲话激动了群众。
9 intimacy z4Vxx     
n.熟悉,亲密,密切关系,亲昵的言行
参考例句:
  • His claims to an intimacy with the President are somewhat exaggerated.他声称自己与总统关系密切,这有点言过其实。
  • I wish there were a rule book for intimacy.我希望能有个关于亲密的规则。
10 judgment e3xxC     
n.审判;判断力,识别力,看法,意见
参考例句:
  • The chairman flatters himself on his judgment of people.主席自认为他审视人比别人高明。
  • He's a man of excellent judgment.他眼力过人。
11 mere rC1xE     
adj.纯粹的;仅仅,只不过
参考例句:
  • That is a mere repetition of what you said before.那不过是重复了你以前讲的话。
  • It's a mere waste of time waiting any longer.再等下去纯粹是浪费时间。
12 spoke XryyC     
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。
13 alluded 69f7a8b0f2e374aaf5d0965af46948e7     
提及,暗指( allude的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • In your remarks you alluded to a certain sinister design. 在你的谈话中,你提到了某个阴谋。
  • She also alluded to her rival's past marital troubles. 她还影射了对手过去的婚姻问题。
14 slippers oiPzHV     
n. 拖鞋
参考例句:
  • a pair of slippers 一双拖鞋
  • He kicked his slippers off and dropped on to the bed. 他踢掉了拖鞋,倒在床上。
15 manly fBexr     
adj.有男子气概的;adv.男子般地,果断地
参考例句:
  • The boy walked with a confident manly stride.这男孩以自信的男人步伐行走。
  • He set himself manly tasks and expected others to follow his example.他给自己定下了男子汉的任务,并希望别人效之。
16 competence NXGzV     
n.能力,胜任,称职
参考例句:
  • This mess is a poor reflection on his competence.这种混乱情况说明他难当此任。
  • These are matters within the competence of the court.这些是法院权限以内的事。
17 partnership NmfzPy     
n.合作关系,伙伴关系
参考例句:
  • The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
  • Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。
18 braced 4e05e688cf12c64dbb7ab31b49f741c5     
adj.拉牢的v.支住( brace的过去式和过去分词 );撑牢;使自己站稳;振作起来
参考例句:
  • They braced up the old house with balks of timber. 他们用梁木加固旧房子。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The house has a wooden frame which is braced with brick. 这幢房子是木结构的砖瓦房。 来自《简明英汉词典》
19 desecration desecration     
n. 亵渎神圣, 污辱
参考例句:
  • Desecration, and so forth, and lectured you on dignity and sanctity. 比如亵渎神圣等。想用尊严和神圣不可侵犯之类的话来打动你们。
  • Desecration: will no longer break stealth. 亵渎:不再消除潜行。
20 soothing soothing     
adj.慰藉的;使人宽心的;镇静的
参考例句:
  • Put on some nice soothing music.播放一些柔和舒缓的音乐。
  • His casual, relaxed manner was very soothing.他随意而放松的举动让人很快便平静下来。
21 eccentricity hrOxT     
n.古怪,反常,怪癖
参考例句:
  • I can't understand the eccentricity of Henry's behavior.我不理解亨利的古怪举止。
  • His eccentricity had become legendary long before he died.在他去世之前他的古怪脾气就早已闻名遐尔了。
23 tapestried 0b70f83ba57614082e48e89644f012b9     
adj.饰挂绣帷的,织在绣帷上的v.用挂毯(或绣帷)装饰( tapestry的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
24 plaques cc23efd076b2c24f7ab7a88b7c458b4f     
(纪念性的)匾牌( plaque的名词复数 ); 纪念匾; 牙斑; 空斑
参考例句:
  • Primary plaques were detectable in 16 to 20 hours. 在16到20小时内可查出原发溶斑。
  • The gondoliers wore green and white livery and silver plaques on their chests. 船夫们穿着白绿两色的制服,胸前别着银质徽章。
25 ware sh9wZ     
n.(常用复数)商品,货物
参考例句:
  • The shop sells a great variety of porcelain ware.这家店铺出售品种繁多的瓷器。
  • Good ware will never want a chapman.好货不须叫卖。
26 standing 2hCzgo     
n.持续,地位;adj.永久的,不动的,直立的,不流动的
参考例句:
  • After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
  • They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。
27 diaphanous uvdxK     
adj.(布)精致的,半透明的
参考例句:
  • She was wearing a dress of diaphanous silk.她穿着一件薄如蝉翼的绸服。
  • We have only a diaphanous hope of success.我们只有隐约的成功希望。
28 tinging 6c90573699ded26b10df724c1d4dd854     
v.(使)发丁丁声( ting的现在分词 )
参考例句:
29 forefinger pihxt     
n.食指
参考例句:
  • He pinched the leaf between his thumb and forefinger.他将叶子捏在拇指和食指之间。
  • He held it between the tips of his thumb and forefinger.他用他大拇指和食指尖拿着它。
30 sentimental dDuzS     
adj.多愁善感的,感伤的
参考例句:
  • She's a sentimental woman who believes marriage comes by destiny.她是多愁善感的人,她相信姻缘命中注定。
  • We were deeply touched by the sentimental movie.我们深深被那感伤的电影所感动。
31 miserable g18yk     
adj.悲惨的,痛苦的;可怜的,糟糕的
参考例句:
  • It was miserable of you to make fun of him.你取笑他,这是可耻的。
  • Her past life was miserable.她过去的生活很苦。
32 interfere b5lx0     
v.(in)干涉,干预;(with)妨碍,打扰
参考例句:
  • If we interfere, it may do more harm than good.如果我们干预的话,可能弊多利少。
  • When others interfere in the affair,it always makes troubles. 别人一卷入这一事件,棘手的事情就来了。
33 hearty Od1zn     
adj.热情友好的;衷心的;尽情的,纵情的
参考例句:
  • After work they made a hearty meal in the worker's canteen.工作完了,他们在工人食堂饱餐了一顿。
  • We accorded him a hearty welcome.我们给他热忱的欢迎。
34 gasped e6af294d8a7477229d6749fa9e8f5b80     
v.喘气( gasp的过去式和过去分词 );喘息;倒抽气;很想要
参考例句:
  • She gasped at the wonderful view. 如此美景使她惊讶得屏住了呼吸。
  • People gasped with admiration at the superb skill of the gymnasts. 体操运动员的高超技艺令人赞叹。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
35 emancipated 6319b4184bdec9d99022f96c4965261a     
adj.被解放的,不受约束的v.解放某人(尤指摆脱政治、法律或社会的束缚)( emancipate的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • Slaves were not emancipated until 1863 in the United States. 美国奴隶直到1863年才获得自由。
  • Women are still struggling to be fully emancipated. 妇女仍在为彻底解放而斗争。 来自《简明英汉词典》
36 capabilities f7b11037f2050959293aafb493b7653c     
n.能力( capability的名词复数 );可能;容量;[复数]潜在能力
参考例句:
  • He was somewhat pompous and had a high opinion of his own capabilities. 他有点自大,自视甚高。 来自辞典例句
  • Some programmers use tabs to break complex product capabilities into smaller chunks. 一些程序员认为,标签可以将复杂的功能分为每个窗格一组简单的功能。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓
37 monopolized 4bb724103eadd6536b882e4d6ba0c3f6     
v.垄断( monopolize的过去式和过去分词 );独占;专卖;专营
参考例句:
  • Men traditionally monopolized jobs in the printing industry. 在传统上,男人包揽了印刷行业中的所有工作。
  • The oil combine monopolized the fuel sales of the country. 这家石油联合企业垄断了这个国家的原油销售。 来自互联网
38 intensify S5Pxe     
vt.加强;变强;加剧
参考例句:
  • We must intensify our educational work among our own troops.我们必须加强自己部队的教育工作。
  • They were ordered to intensify their patrols to protect our air space.他们奉命加强巡逻,保卫我国的领空。
39 mischief jDgxH     
n.损害,伤害,危害;恶作剧,捣蛋,胡闹
参考例句:
  • Nobody took notice of the mischief of the matter. 没有人注意到这件事情所带来的危害。
  • He seems to intend mischief.看来他想捣蛋。
40 motive GFzxz     
n.动机,目的;adv.发动的,运动的
参考例句:
  • The police could not find a motive for the murder.警察不能找到谋杀的动机。
  • He had some motive in telling this fable.他讲这寓言故事是有用意的。


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