CHAPTER III

 At the chapel-of-ease attended by the troops there arose above the edge of the pulpit one Sunday an unknown face.  This was the face of a new curate.  He placed upon the desk, not the familiar sermon book, but merely a Bible.  The person who tells these things was not present at that service, but he soon learnt that the young curate was nothing less than a great surprise to his congregation; a mixed one always, for though the Hussars occupied the body of the building, its nooks and corners were crammed¹ with civilians², whom, up to the present, even the least uncharitable would have described as being attracted thither³ less by the services than by the soldiery.

 

Now there arose a second reason for squeezing into an already overcrowded church.  The persuasive⁴ and gentle eloquence⁵ of Mr. Sainway operated like a charm upon those accustomed only to the higher and dryer⁶ styles of preaching, and for a time the other churches of the town were thinned of their sitters.

 

At this point in the nineteenth century the sermon was the sole reason for churchgoing amongst a vast body of religious people.  The liturgy⁷ was a formal preliminary, which, like the Royal proclamation in a court of assize, had to be got through before the real interest began; and on reaching home the question was simply: Who preached, and how did he handle his subject?  Even had an archbishop officiated in the service proper nobody would have cared much about what was said or sung.  People who had formerly⁸ attended in the morning only began to go in the evening, and even to the special addresses in the afternoon.

 

One day when Captain Maumbry entered his wife’s drawing-room, filled with hired furniture, she thought he was somebody else, for he had not come upstairs humming the most catching⁹ air afloat in musical circles or in his usual careless way.

 

‘What’s the matter, Jack¹⁰?’ she said without looking up from a note she was writing.

 

‘Well—not much, that I know.’

 

‘O, but there is,’ she murmured as she wrote.

 

‘Why—this cursed new lath in a sheet—I mean the new parson!  He wants us to stop the band-playing on Sunday afternoons.’

 

Laura looked up aghast.

 

‘Why, it is the one thing that enables the few rational beings hereabouts to keep alive from Saturday to Monday!’

 

‘He says all the town flock to the music and don’t come to the service, and that the pieces played are profane¹¹, or mundane¹², or inane¹³, or something—not what ought to be played on Sunday.  Of course ’tis Lautmann who settles those things.’

 

Lautmann was the bandmaster.

 

The barrack-green on Sunday afternoons had, indeed, become the promenade¹⁴ of a great many townspeople cheerfully inclined, many even of those who attended in the morning at Mr. Sainway’s service; and little boys who ought to have been listening to the curate’s afternoon lecture were too often seen rolling upon the grass and making faces behind the more dignified¹⁵ listeners.

 

Laura heard no more about the matter, however, for two or three weeks, when suddenly remembering it she asked her husband if any further objections had been raised.

 

‘O—Mr. Sainway.  I forgot to tell you.  I’ve made his acquaintance.  He is not a bad sort of man.’

 

Laura asked if either Maumbry or some others of the officers did not give the presumptuous¹⁶ curate a good setting down for his interference.

 

‘O well—we’ve forgotten that.  He’s a stunning¹⁷ preacher, they tell me.’

 

The acquaintance developed apparently¹⁸, for the Captain said to her a little later on, ‘There’s a good deal in Sainway’s argument about having no band on Sunday afternoons.  After all, it is close to his church.  But he doesn’t press his objections unduly¹⁹.’

 

‘I am surprised to hear you defend him!’

 

‘It was only a passing thought of mine.  We naturally don’t wish to offend the inhabitants of the town if they don’t like it.’

 

‘But they do.’

 

The invalid²⁰ in the oriel never clearly gathered the details of progress in this conflict of lay and clerical opinion; but so it was that, to the disappointment of musicians, the grief of out-walking lovers, and the regret of the junior population of the town and country round, the band-playing on Sunday afternoons ceased in Casterbridge barrack-square.

 

By this time the Maumbrys had frequently listened to the preaching of the gentle if narrow-minded curate; for these light-natured, hit-or-miss, rackety people went to church like others for respectability’s sake.  None so orthodox as your unmitigated worldling.  A more remarkable²¹ event was the sight to the man in the window of Captain Maumbry and Mr. Sainway walking down the High Street in earnest conversation.  On his mentioning this fact to a caller he was assured that it was a matter of common talk that they were always together.

 

The observer would soon have learnt this with his own eyes if he had not been told.  They began to pass together nearly every day.  Hitherto Mrs. Maumbry, in fashionable walking clothes, had usually been her husband’s companion; but this was less frequent now.  The close and singular friendship between the two men went on for nearly a year, when Mr. Sainway was presented to a living in a densely-populated town in the midland counties.  He bade the parishioners of his old place a reluctant farewell and departed, the touching²² sermon he preached on the occasion being published by the local printer.  Everybody was sorry to lose him; and it was with genuine grief that his Casterbridge congregation learnt later on that soon after his induction²³ to his benefice, during some bitter weather, he had fallen seriously ill of inflammation of the lungs, of which he eventually died.

 

We now get below the surface of things.  Of all who had known the dead curate, none grieved for him like the man who on his first arrival had called him a ‘lath in a sheet.’  Mrs. Maumbry had never greatly sympathized with the impressive parson; indeed, she had been secretly glad that he had gone away to better himself.  He had considerably²⁴ diminished the pleasures of a woman by whom the joys of earth and good company had been appreciated to the full.  Sorry for her husband in his loss of a friend who had been none of hers, she was yet quite unprepared for the sequel.

 

‘There is something that I have wanted to tell you lately, dear,’ he said one morning at breakfast with hesitation²⁵.  ‘Have you guessed what it is?’

 

She had guessed nothing.

 

‘That I think of retiring from the army.’

 

‘What!’

 

‘I have thought more and more of Sainway since his death, and of what he used to say to me so earnestly.  And I feel certain I shall be right in obeying a call within me to give up this fighting trade and enter the Church.’

 

‘What—be a parson?’

 

‘Yes.’

 

‘But what should I do?’

 

‘Be a parson’s wife.’

 

‘Never!’ she affirmed.

 

‘But how can you help it?’

 

‘I’ll run away rather!’ she said vehemently²⁶;

 

‘No, you mustn’t,’ Maumbry replied, in the tone he used when his mind was made up.  ‘You’ll get accustomed to the idea, for I am constrained²⁷ to carry it out, though it is against my worldly interests.  I am forced on by a Hand outside me to tread in the steps of Sainway.’

 

‘Jack,’ she asked, with calm pallor and round eyes; ‘do you mean to say seriously that you are arranging to be a curate instead of a soldier?’

 

‘I might say a curate is a soldier—of the church militant²⁸; but I don’t want to offend you with doctrine²⁹.  I distinctly say, yes.’

 

Late one evening, a little time onward³⁰, he caught her sitting by the dim firelight in her room.  She did not know he had entered; and he found her weeping.  ‘What are you crying about, poor dearest?’ he said.

 

She started.  ‘Because of what you have told me!’  The Captain grew very unhappy; but he was undeterred.

 

In due time the town learnt, to its intense surprise, that Captain Maumbry had retired³¹ from the ---th Hussars and gone to Fountall Theological College to prepare for the ministry³².

1 crammed   

adj.塞满的，挤满的；大口地吃；快速贪婪地吃v.把…塞满；填入；临时抱佛脚( cram的过去式)

参考例句：

• He crammed eight people into his car. 他往他的车里硬塞进八个人。
• All the shelves were crammed with books. 所有的架子上都堆满了书。

2 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

3 thither   

adv.向那里；adj.在那边的，对岸的

参考例句：

• He wandered hither and thither looking for a playmate.他逛来逛去找玩伴。
• He tramped hither and thither.他到处流浪。

4 persuasive   

adj.有说服力的，能说得使人相信的

参考例句：

• His arguments in favour of a new school are very persuasive.他赞成办一座新学校的理由很有说服力。
• The evidence was not really persuasive enough.证据并不是太有说服力。

5 eloquence   

n.雄辩；口才，修辞

参考例句：

• I am afraid my eloquence did not avail against the facts.恐怕我的雄辩也无补于事实了。
• The people were charmed by his eloquence.人们被他的口才迷住了。

6 dryer   

n.干衣机，干燥剂

参考例句：

• He bought a dryer yesterday.他昨天买了一台干燥机。
• There is a washer and a dryer in the basement.地下室里有洗衣机和烘干机。

7 liturgy   

n.礼拜仪式

参考例句：

• A clergyman read the liturgy from the prayer-book.一名牧师照着祈祷书念祷文。
• The mass is the church a kind of liturgy.弥撒是教会的一种礼拜仪式。

8 formerly   

adv.从前，以前

参考例句：

• We now enjoy these comforts of which formerly we had only heard.我们现在享受到了过去只是听说过的那些舒适条件。
• This boat was formerly used on the rivers of China.这船从前航行在中国内河里。

9 catching   

adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住

参考例句：

• There are those who think eczema is catching.有人就是认为湿疹会传染。
• Enthusiasm is very catching.热情非常富有感染力。

10 jack   

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

• I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
• He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。

11 profane   

adj.亵神的，亵渎的；vt.亵渎，玷污

参考例句：

• He doesn't dare to profane the name of God.他不敢亵渎上帝之名。
• His profane language annoyed us.他亵渎的言语激怒了我们。

12 mundane   

adj.平凡的；尘世的；宇宙的

参考例句：

• I hope I can get an interesting job and not something mundane.我希望我可以得到的是一份有趣的工作，而不是一份平凡无奇的。
• I find it humorous sometimes that even the most mundane occurrences can have an impact on our awareness.我发现生活有时挺诙谐的，即使是最平凡的事情也能影响我们的感知。

13 inane   

adj.空虚的，愚蠢的，空洞的

参考例句：

• She started asking me inane questions.她开始问我愚蠢的问题。
• Such comments are inane because they don't help us solve our problem.这种评论纯属空洞之词，不能帮助我们解决问题。

14 promenade   

n./v.散步

参考例句：

• People came out in smarter clothes to promenade along the front.人们穿上更加时髦漂亮的衣服，沿着海滨散步。
• We took a promenade along the canal after Sunday dinner.星期天晚饭后我们沿着运河散步。

15 dignified   

a.可敬的，高贵的

参考例句：

• Throughout his trial he maintained a dignified silence. 在整个审讯过程中，他始终沉默以保持尊严。
• He always strikes such a dignified pose before his girlfriend. 他总是在女友面前摆出这种庄严的姿态。

16 presumptuous   

adj.胆大妄为的，放肆的，冒昧的，冒失的

参考例句：

• It would be presumptuous for anybody to offer such a view.任何人提出这种观点都是太放肆了。
• It was presumptuous of him to take charge.他自拿主张，太放肆了。

17 stunning   

adj.极好的；使人晕倒的

参考例句：

• His plays are distinguished only by their stunning mediocrity.他的戏剧与众不同之处就是平凡得出奇。
• The finished effect was absolutely stunning.完工后的效果非常美。

18 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。

19 unduly   

adv.过度地，不适当地

参考例句：

• He did not sound unduly worried at the prospect.他的口气听上去对前景并不十分担忧。
• He argued that the law was unduly restrictive.他辩称法律的约束性有些过分了。

20 invalid   

n.病人，伤残人；adj.有病的，伤残的；无效的

参考例句：

• He will visit an invalid.他将要去看望一个病人。
• A passport that is out of date is invalid.护照过期是无效的。

21 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。

22 touching   

adj.动人的，使人感伤的

参考例句：

• It was a touching sight.这是一幅动人的景象。
• His letter was touching.他的信很感人。

23 induction   

n.感应，感应现象

参考例句：

• His induction as a teacher was a turning point in his life.他就任教师工作是他一生的转折点。
• The magnetic signals are sensed by induction coils.磁信号由感应线圈所检测。

24 considerably   

adv.极大地；相当大地；在很大程度上

参考例句：

• The economic situation has changed considerably.经济形势已发生了相当大的变化。
• The gap has narrowed considerably.分歧大大缩小了。

25 hesitation   

n.犹豫，踌躇

参考例句：

• After a long hesitation, he told the truth at last.踌躇了半天，他终于直说了。
• There was a certain hesitation in her manner.她的态度有些犹豫不决。

26 vehemently   

adv. 热烈地

参考例句：

• He argued with his wife so vehemently that he talked himself hoarse. 他和妻子争论得很激烈，以致讲话的声音都嘶哑了。
• Both women vehemently deny the charges against them. 两名妇女都激烈地否认了对她们的指控。

27 constrained   

adj.束缚的,节制的

参考例句：

• The evidence was so compelling that he felt constrained to accept it. 证据是那样的令人折服，他觉得不得不接受。
• I feel constrained to write and ask for your forgiveness. 我不得不写信请你原谅。

28 militant   

adj.激进的，好斗的；n.激进分子，斗士

参考例句：

• Some militant leaders want to merge with white radicals.一些好斗的领导人要和白人中的激进派联合。
• He is a militant in the movement.他在那次运动中是个激进人物。

29 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。

30 onward   

adj.向前的，前进的；adv.向前，前进，在先

参考例句：

• The Yellow River surges onward like ten thousand horses galloping.黄河以万马奔腾之势滚滚向前。
• He followed in the steps of forerunners and marched onward.他跟随着先辈的足迹前进。

31 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

32 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。