CHAPTER IX.—SHE WITNESSES THE END

 April 20.  Milan, 10.30 p.m.—We are thus far on our way homeward.  I, being decidedly de trop, travel apart from the rest as much as I can.  Having dined at the hotel here, I went out by myself; regardless of the proprieties¹, for I could not stay in.  I walked at a leisurely² pace along the Via Allesandro Manzoni till my eye was caught by the grand Galleria Vittorio Emanuele, and I entered under the high glass arcades³ till I reached the central octagon, where I sat down on one of a group of chairs placed there.  Becoming accustomed to the stream of promenaders, I soon observed, seated on the chairs opposite, Caroline and Charles.  This was the first occasion on which I had seen them en tête-à-tête since my conversation with him.  She soon caught sight of me; averted⁴ her eyes; then, apparently⁵ abandoning herself to an impulse, she jumped up from her seat and came across to me.  We had not spoken to each other since the meeting in Venice.

 

‘Alicia,’ she said, sitting down by my side, ‘Charles asks me to forgive you, and I do forgive you.’

 

I pressed her hand, with tears in my eyes, and said, ‘And do you forgive him?’

 

‘Yes,’ said she, shyly.

 

‘And what’s the result?’ said I.

 

‘We are to be married directly we reach home.’

 

This was almost the whole of our conversation; she walked home with me, Charles following a little way behind, though she kept turning her head, as if anxious that he should overtake us.  ‘Honour and not love’ seemed to ring in my ears.  So matters stand.  Caroline is again happy.

 

April 25.—We have reached home, Charles with us.  Events are now moving in silent speed, almost with velocity⁶, indeed; and I sometimes feel oppressed by the strange and preternatural ease which seems to accompany their flow.  Charles is staying at the neighbouring town; he is only waiting for the marriage licence; when obtained he is to come here, be quietly married to her, and carry her off.  It is rather resignation than content which sits on his face; but he has not spoken a word more to me on the burning subject, or deviated⁷ one hair’s breadth from the course he laid down.  They may be happy in time to come: I hope so.  But I cannot shake off depression.

 

May 6.—Eve of the wedding.  Caroline is serenely⁸ happy, though not blithe⁹.  But there is nothing to excite anxiety about her.  I wish I could say the same of him.  He comes and goes like a ghost, and yet nobody seems to observe this strangeness in his mien¹⁰.

 

I could not help being here for the ceremony; but my absence would have resulted in less disquiet¹¹ on his part, I believe.  However, I may be wrong in attributing causes: my father simply says that Charles and Caroline have as good a chance of being happy as other people.  Well, to-morrow settles all.

 

May 7.—They are married: we have just returned from church.  Charles looked so pale this morning that my father asked him if he was ill.  He said, ‘No: only a slight headache;’ and we started for the church.

 

There was no hitch¹² or hindrance¹³; and the thing is done.

 

4 p.m.—They ought to have set out on their journey by this time; but there is an unaccountable delay.  Charles went out half-an-hour ago, and has not yet returned.  Caroline is waiting in the hall; but I am dreadfully afraid they will miss the train.  I suppose the trifling¹⁴ hindrance is of no account; and yet I am full of misgivings¹⁵ . . .

 

Sept. 14.—Four months have passed; only four months!  It seems like years.  Can it be that only seventeen weeks ago I set on this paper the fact of their marriage?  I am now an aged¹⁶ woman by comparison!

 

On that never to be forgotten day we waited and waited, and Charles did not return.  At six o’clock, when poor little Caroline had gone back to her room in a state of suspense¹⁷ impossible to describe, a man who worked in the water-meadows came to the house and asked for my father.  He had an interview with him in the study.  My father then rang his bell, and sent for me.  I went down; and I then learnt the fatal news.  Charles was no more.  The waterman had been going to shut down the hatches of a weir¹⁸ in the meads when he saw a hat on the edge of the pool below, floating round and round in the eddy¹⁹, and looking into the pool saw something strange at the bottom.  He knew what it meant, and lowering the hatches so that the water was still, could distinctly see the body.  It is needless to write particulars that were in the newspapers at the time.  Charles was brought to the house, but he was dead.

 

We all feared for Caroline; and she suffered much; but strange to say, her suffering was purely²⁰ of the nature of deep grief which found relief in sobbing²¹ and tears.  It came out at the inquest that Charles had been accustomed to cross the meads to give an occasional half-crown to an old man who lived on the opposite hill, who had once been a landscape painter in an humble²² way till he lost his eyesight; and it was assumed that he had gone thither²³ for the same purpose to-day, and to bid him farewell.  On this information the coroner’s jury found that his death had been caused by misadventure; and everybody believes to this hour that he was drowned while crossing the weir to relieve the old man.  Except one: she believes in no accident.  After the stunning²⁴ effect of the first news, I thought it strange that he should have chosen to go on such an errand at the last moment, and to go personally, when there was so little time to spare, since any gift could have been so easily sent by another hand.  Further reflection has convinced me that this step out of life was as much a part of the day’s plan as was the wedding in the church hard by.   They were the two halves of his complete intention when he gave me on the Grand Canal that assurance which I shall never forget: ‘Very well, then; honour shall be my word, not love.  If she says “Yes,” the marriage shall be.’

 

I do not know why I should have made this entry at this particular time; but it has occurred to me to do it—to complete, in a measure, that part of my desultory²⁵ chronicle which relates to the love-story of my sister and Charles.  She lives on meekly²⁶ in her grief; and will probably outlive it; while I—but never mind me.

1 proprieties   

n.礼仪，礼节；礼貌( propriety的名词复数 )；规矩；正当；合适

参考例句：

• "Let us not forget the proprieties due. "咱们别忘了礼法。 来自英汉文学 - 败坏赫德莱堡
• Be careful to observe the proprieties. 注意遵守礼仪。 来自辞典例句

2 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。

3 arcades   

n.商场( arcade的名词复数 )；拱形走道（两旁有商店或娱乐设施）；连拱廊；拱形建筑物

参考例句：

• Clothes are on sale in several shopping arcades these days. 近日一些服装店的服装正在大减价。 来自轻松英语会话---联想4000词(下)
• The Plaza Mayor, with its galleries and arcades, is particularly impressive. 市长大厦以其别具风格的走廊和拱廊给人留下十分深刻的印象。 来自互联网

4 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。

5 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。

6 velocity   

n.速度，速率

参考例句：

• Einstein's theory links energy with mass and velocity of light.爱因斯坦的理论把能量同质量和光速联系起来。
• The velocity of light is about 300000 kilometres per second.光速约为每秒300000公里。

7 deviated   

v.偏离，越轨( deviate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• On this occasion the plane deviated from its usual flight path. 这一次那架飞机偏离了正常的航线。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• His statements sometimes deviated from the truth. 他的陈述有时偏离事实。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 serenely   

adv.安详地，宁静地，平静地

参考例句：

• The boat sailed serenely on towards the horizon.小船平稳地向着天水交接处驶去。
• It was a serenely beautiful night.那是一个宁静美丽的夜晚。

9 blithe   

adj.快乐的，无忧无虑的

参考例句：

• Tonight,however,she was even in a blithe mood than usual.但是，今天晚上她比往常还要高兴。
• He showed a blithe indifference to her feelings.他显得毫不顾及她的感情。

10 mien   

n.风采；态度

参考例句：

• He was a Vietnam veteran with a haunted mien.他是个越战老兵，举止总有些惶然。
• It was impossible to tell from his mien whether he was offended.从他的神态中难以看出他是否生气了。

11 disquiet   

n.担心，焦虑

参考例句：

• The disquiet will boil over in the long run.这种不安情绪终有一天会爆发的。
• Her disquiet made us uneasy too.她的忧虑使我们也很不安。

12 hitch   

v.免费搭(车旅行)；系住；急提；n.故障；急拉

参考例句：

• They had an eighty-mile journey and decided to hitch hike.他们要走80英里的路程，最后决定搭便车。
• All the candidates are able to answer the questions without any hitch.所有报考者都能对答如流。

13 hindrance   

n.妨碍，障碍

参考例句：

• Now they can construct tunnel systems without hindrance.现在他们可以顺利地建造隧道系统了。
• The heavy baggage was a great hindrance to me.那件行李成了我的大累赘。

14 trifling   

adj.微不足道的；没什么价值的

参考例句：

• They quarreled over a trifling matter.他们为这种微不足道的事情争吵。
• So far Europe has no doubt, gained a real conveniency,though surely a very trifling one.直到现在为止,欧洲无疑地已经获得了实在的便利，不过那确是一种微不足道的便利。

15 misgivings   

n.疑虑，担忧，害怕；疑虑，担心，恐惧( misgiving的名词复数 )；疑惧

参考例句：

• I had grave misgivings about making the trip. 对于这次旅行我有过极大的顾虑。
• Don't be overtaken by misgivings and fear. Just go full stream ahead! 不要瞻前顾后， 畏首畏尾。甩开膀子干吧！ 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

16 aged   

adj.年老的，陈年的

参考例句：

• He had put on weight and aged a little.他胖了，也老点了。
• He is aged,but his memory is still good.他已年老，然而记忆力还好。

17 suspense   

n.（对可能发生的事）紧张感，担心，挂虑

参考例句：

• The suspense was unbearable.这样提心吊胆的状况实在叫人受不了。
• The director used ingenious devices to keep the audience in suspense.导演用巧妙手法引起观众的悬念。

18 weir   

n.堰堤，拦河坝

参考例句：

• The discharge from the weir opening should be free.从堰开口处的泻水应畅通。
• Big Weir River,restraining tears,has departed!大堰河，含泪地去了！

19 eddy   

n.漩涡，涡流

参考例句：

• The motor car disappeared in eddy of dust.汽车在一片扬尘的涡流中不见了。
• In Taylor's picture,the eddy is the basic element of turbulence.在泰勒的描述里，旋涡是湍流的基本要素。

20 purely   

adv.纯粹地，完全地

参考例句：

• I helped him purely and simply out of friendship.我帮他纯粹是出于友情。
• This disproves the theory that children are purely imitative.这证明认为儿童只会单纯地模仿的理论是站不住脚的。

21 sobbing   

<主方>Ⅰ adj.湿透的

参考例句：

• I heard a child sobbing loudly. 我听见有个孩子在呜呜地哭。
• Her eyes were red with recent sobbing. 她的眼睛因刚哭过而发红。

22 humble   

adj.谦卑的，恭顺的；地位低下的；v.降低，贬低

参考例句：

• In my humble opinion,he will win the election.依我拙见，他将在选举中获胜。
• Defeat and failure make people humble.挫折与失败会使人谦卑。

23 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。

24 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。

25 desultory   

adj.散漫的，无方法的

参考例句：

• Do not let the discussion fragment into a desultory conversation with no clear direction.不要让讨论变得支离破碎，成为没有明确方向的漫谈。
• The constables made a desultory attempt to keep them away from the barn.警察漫不经心地拦着不让他们靠近谷仓。

26 meekly   

adv.温顺地，逆来顺受地

参考例句：

• He stood aside meekly when the new policy was proposed. 当有人提出新政策时，他唯唯诺诺地站 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He meekly accepted the rebuke. 他顺从地接受了批评。 来自《简明英汉词典》