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首页 » 经典英文小说 » A Changed Man and Other Tales浪子回头与其它故事 » CHAPTER III.—HER GLOOM LIGHTENS A LITTLE
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CHAPTER III.—HER GLOOM LIGHTENS A LITTLE
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 September 10.—I have inserted nothing in my diary for more than a fortnight.  Events have been altogether too sad for me to have the spirit to put them on paper.  And yet there comes a time when the act of recording1 one’s trouble is recognized as a welcome method of dwelling2 upon it . . .
 
My dear mother has been brought home and buried here in the parish.  It was not so much her own wish that this should be done as my father’s, who particularly desired that she should lie in the family vault3 beside his first wife.  I saw them side by side before the vault was closed—two women beloved by one man.  As I stood, and Caroline by my side, I fell into a sort of dream, and had an odd fancy that Caroline and I might be also beloved of one, and lie like these together—an impossibility, of course, being sisters.  When I awoke from my reverie Caroline took my hand and said it was time to leave.
 
September 14.—The wedding is indefinitely postponed4.  Caroline is like a girl awakening6 in the middle of a somnambulistic experience, and does not realize where she is, or how she stands.  She walks about silently, and I cannot tell her thoughts, as I used to do.  It was her own doing to write to M. de la Feste and tell him that the wedding could not possibly take place this autumn as originally planned.  There is something depressing in this long postponement7 if she is to marry him at all; and yet I do not see how it could be avoided.
 
October 20.—I have had so much to occupy me in consoling Caroline that I have been continually overlooking my diary.  Her life was much nearer to my mother’s than mine was.  She has never, as I, lived away from home long enough to become self-dependent, and hence in her first loss, and all that it involved, she drooped8 like a rain-beaten lily.  But she is of a nature whose wounds soon heal, even though they may be deep, and the supreme9 poignancy10 of her sorrow has already passed.
 
My father is of opinion that the wedding should not be delayed too long.  While at Versailles he made the acquaintance of M. de la Feste, and though they had but a short and hurried communion with each other, he was much impressed by M. de la Feste’s disposition11 and conduct, and is strongly in favour of his suit.  It is odd that Caroline’s betrothed12 should influence in his favour all who come near him.  His portrait, which dear Caroline has shown me, exhibits him to be of a physique that partly accounts for this: but there must be something more than mere13 appearance, and it is probably some sort of glamour14 or fascinating power—the quality which prevented Caroline from describing him to me with any accuracy of detail.  At the same time, I see from the photograph that his face and head are remarkably15 well formed; and though the contours of his mouth are hidden by his moustache, his arched brows show well the romantic disposition of a true lover and painter of Nature.  I think that the owner of such a face as this must be tender and sympathetic and true.
 
October 30.—As my sister’s grief for her mother becomes more and more calmed, her love for M. de la Feste begins to reassume its former absorbing command of her.  She thinks of him incessantly16, and writes whole treatises17 to him by way of letters.  Her blank disappointment at his announcement of his inability to pay us a visit quite so soon as he had promised, was quite tragic18.  I, too, am disappointed, for I wanted to see and estimate him.  But having arranged to go to Holland to seize some aerial effects for his pictures, which are only to be obtained at this time of the autumn, he is obliged to postpone5 his journey this way, which is now to be made early in the new year.  I think myself that he ought to have come at all sacrifices, considering Caroline’s recent loss, the sad postponement of what she was looking forward to, and her single-minded affection for him.  Still, who knows; his professional success is important.  Moreover, she is cheerful, and hopeful, and the delay will soon be overpast.

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1 recording UktzJj     
n.录音,记录
参考例句:
  • How long will the recording of the song take?录下这首歌得花多少时间?
  • I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。
2 dwelling auzzQk     
n.住宅,住所,寓所
参考例句:
  • Those two men are dwelling with us.那两个人跟我们住在一起。
  • He occupies a three-story dwelling place on the Park Street.他在派克街上有一幢3层楼的寓所。
3 vault 3K3zW     
n.拱形圆顶,地窖,地下室
参考例句:
  • The vault of this cathedral is very high.这座天主教堂的拱顶非常高。
  • The old patrician was buried in the family vault.这位老贵族埋在家族的墓地里。
4 postponed 9dc016075e0da542aaa70e9f01bf4ab1     
vt.& vi.延期,缓办,(使)延迟vt.把…放在次要地位;[语]把…放在后面(或句尾)vi.(疟疾等)延缓发作(或复发)
参考例句:
  • The trial was postponed indefinitely. 审讯无限期延迟。
  • The game has already been postponed three times. 这场比赛已经三度延期了。
5 postpone rP0xq     
v.延期,推迟
参考例句:
  • I shall postpone making a decision till I learn full particulars.在未获悉详情之前我得从缓作出决定。
  • She decided to postpone the converastion for that evening.她决定当天晚上把谈话搁一搁。
6 awakening 9ytzdV     
n.觉醒,醒悟 adj.觉醒中的;唤醒的
参考例句:
  • the awakening of interest in the environment 对环境产生的兴趣
  • People are gradually awakening to their rights. 人们正逐渐意识到自己的权利。
7 postponement fe68fdd7c3d68dcd978c3de138b7ce85     
n.推迟
参考例句:
  • He compounded with his creditors for a postponement of payment. 他与债权人达成协议延期付款。
  • Rain caused the postponement of several race-meetings. 几次赛马大会因雨延期。
8 drooped ebf637c3f860adcaaf9c11089a322fa5     
弯曲或下垂,发蔫( droop的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • Her eyelids drooped as if she were on the verge of sleep. 她眼睑低垂好像快要睡着的样子。
  • The flowers drooped in the heat of the sun. 花儿晒蔫了。
9 supreme PHqzc     
adj.极度的,最重要的;至高的,最高的
参考例句:
  • It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
  • He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。
10 poignancy xOMx3     
n.辛酸事,尖锐
参考例句:
  • As she sat in church her face had a pathos and poignancy. 当她坐在教堂里时,脸上带着一种哀婉和辛辣的表情。
  • The movie, "Trains, Planes, and Automobiles" treats this with hilarity and poignancy. 电影“火车,飞机和汽车”是以欢娱和热情庆祝这个节日。
11 disposition GljzO     
n.性情,性格;意向,倾向;排列,部署
参考例句:
  • He has made a good disposition of his property.他已对财产作了妥善处理。
  • He has a cheerful disposition.他性情开朗。
12 betrothed betrothed     
n. 已订婚者 动词betroth的过去式和过去分词
参考例句:
  • She is betrothed to John. 她同约翰订了婚。
  • His daughter was betrothed to a teacher. 他的女儿同一个教师订了婚。
13 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。
14 glamour Keizv     
n.魔力,魅力;vt.迷住
参考例句:
  • Foreign travel has lost its glamour for her.到国外旅行对她已失去吸引力了。
  • The moonlight cast a glamour over the scene.月光给景色增添了魅力。
15 remarkably EkPzTW     
ad.不同寻常地,相当地
参考例句:
  • I thought she was remarkably restrained in the circumstances. 我认为她在那种情况下非常克制。
  • He made a remarkably swift recovery. 他康复得相当快。
16 incessantly AqLzav     
ad.不停地
参考例句:
  • The machines roar incessantly during the hours of daylight. 机器在白天隆隆地响个不停。
  • It rained incessantly for the whole two weeks. 雨不间断地下了整整两个星期。
17 treatises 9ff9125c93810e8709abcafe0c3289ca     
n.专题著作,专题论文,专著( treatise的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • Many treatises in different languages have been published on pigeons. 关于鸽类的著作,用各种文字写的很多。 来自辞典例句
  • Many other treatises incorporated the new rigor. 许多其它的专题论文体现了新的严密性。 来自辞典例句
18 tragic inaw2     
adj.悲剧的,悲剧性的,悲惨的
参考例句:
  • The effect of the pollution on the beaches is absolutely tragic.污染海滩后果可悲。
  • Charles was a man doomed to tragic issues.查理是个注定不得善终的人。


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