CHAPTER III

 The calendar at Melchester had been light, occupying the court only a few hours; and the assizes at Casterbridge, the next county-town on the Western Circuit, having no business for Raye, he had not gone thither¹.  At the next town after that they did not open till the following Monday, trials to begin on Tuesday morning.  In the natural order of things Raye would have arrived at the latter place on Monday afternoon; but it was not till the middle of Wednesday that his gown and grey wig², curled in tiers, in the best fashion of Assyrian bas-reliefs, were seen blowing and bobbing behind him as he hastily walked up the High Street from his lodgings³.  But though he entered the assize building there was nothing for him to do, and sitting at the blue baize table in the well of the court, he mended pens with a mind far away from the case in progress.  Thoughts of unpremeditated conduct, of which a week earlier he would not have believed himself capable, threw him into a mood of dissatisfied depression.

 

He had contrived⁴ to see again the pretty rural maiden⁵ Anna, the day after the fair, had walked out of the city with her to the earthworks of Old Melchester, and feeling a violent fancy for her, had remained in Melchester all Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday; by persuasion⁶ obtaining walks and meetings with the girl six or seven times during the interval⁷; had in brief won her, body and soul.

 

He supposed it must have been owing to the seclusion⁸ in which he had lived of late in town that he had given way so unrestrainedly to a passion for an artless creature whose inexperience had, from the first, led her to place herself unreservedly in his hands.  Much he deplored⁹ trifling¹⁰ with her feelings for the sake of a passing desire; and he could only hope that she might not live to suffer on his account.

 

She had begged him to come to her again; entreated¹¹ him; wept.  He had promised that he would do so, and he meant to carry out that promise.  He could not desert her now.  Awkward as such unintentional connections were, the interspace of a hundred miles—which to a girl of her limited capabilities¹² was like a thousand—would effectually hinder this summer fancy from greatly encumbering¹³ his life; while thought of her simple love might do him the negative good of keeping him from idle pleasures in town when he wished to work hard.  His circuit journeys would take him to Melchester three or four times a year; and then he could always see her.

 

The pseudonym¹⁴, or rather partial name, that he had given her as his before knowing how far the acquaintance was going to carry him, had been spoken on the spur of the moment, without any ulterior intention whatever.  He had not afterwards disturbed Anna’s error, but on leaving her he had felt bound to give her an address at a stationer’s not far from his chambers¹⁵, at which she might write to him under the initials ‘C. B.’

 

In due time Raye returned to his London abode¹⁶, having called at Melchester on his way and spent a few additional hours with his fascinating child of nature.  In town he lived monotonously¹⁷ every day.  Often he and his rooms were enclosed by a tawny¹⁸ fog from all the world besides, and when he lighted the gas to read or write by, his situation seemed so unnatural¹⁹ that he would look into the fire and think of that trusting girl at Melchester again and again.  Often, oppressed by absurd fondness for her, he would enter the dim religious nave²⁰ of the Law Courts by the north door, elbow other juniors habited like himself, and like him unretained; edge himself into this or that crowded court where a sensational²¹ case was going on, just as if he were in it, though the police officers at the door knew as well as he knew himself that he had no more concern with the business in hand than the patient idlers at the gallery-door outside, who had waited to enter since eight in the morning because, like him, they belonged to the classes that live on expectation.  But he would do these things to no purpose, and think how greatly the characters in such scenes contrasted with the pink and breezy Anna.

 

An unexpected feature in that peasant maiden’s conduct was that she had not as yet written to him, though he had told her she might do so if she wished.  Surely a young creature had never before been so reticent²² in such circumstances.  At length he sent her a brief line, positively²³ requesting her to write.  There was no answer by the return post, but the day after a letter in a neat feminine hand, and bearing the Melchester post-mark, was handed to him by the stationer.

 

The fact alone of its arrival was sufficient to satisfy his imaginative sentiment.  He was not anxious to open the epistle, and in truth did not begin to read it for nearly half-an-hour, anticipating readily its terms of passionate²⁴ retrospect²⁵ and tender adjuration²⁶.  When at last he turned his feet to the fireplace and unfolded the sheet, he was surprised and pleased to find that neither extravagance nor vulgarity was there.  It was the most charming little missive he had ever received from woman.  To be sure the language was simple and the ideas were slight; but it was so self-possessed; so purely²⁷ that of a young girl who felt her womanhood to be enough for her dignity that he read it through twice.  Four sides were filled, and a few lines written across, after the fashion of former days; the paper, too, was common, and not of the latest shade and surface.  But what of those things?  He had received letters from women who were fairly called ladies, but never so sensible, so human a letter as this.  He could not single out any one sentence and say it was at all remarkable²⁸ or clever; the ensemble²⁹ of the letter it was which won him; and beyond the one request that he would write or come to her again soon there was nothing to show her sense of a claim upon him.

 

To write again and develop a correspondence was the last thing Raye would have preconceived as his conduct in such a situation; yet he did send a short, encouraging line or two, signed with his pseudonym, in which he asked for another letter, and cheeringly promised that he would try to see her again on some near day, and would never forget how much they had been to each other during their short acquaintance.

1 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。

2 wig   

n.假发

参考例句：

• The actress wore a black wig over her blond hair.那个女演员戴一顶黑色假发罩住自己的金黄色头发。
• He disguised himself with a wig and false beard.他用假发和假胡须来乔装。

3 lodgings   

n. 出租的房舍, 寄宿舍

参考例句：

• When he reached his lodgings the sun had set. 他到达公寓房间时，太阳已下山了。
• I'm on the hunt for lodgings. 我正在寻找住所。

4 contrived   

adj.不自然的，做作的；虚构的

参考例句：

• There was nothing contrived or calculated about what he said.他说的话里没有任何蓄意捏造的成分。
• The plot seems contrived.情节看起来不真实。

5 maiden   

n.少女，处女；adj.未婚的，纯洁的，无经验的

参考例句：

• The prince fell in love with a fair young maiden.王子爱上了一位年轻美丽的少女。
• The aircraft makes its maiden flight tomorrow.这架飞机明天首航。

6 persuasion   

n.劝说；说服；持有某种信仰的宗派

参考例句：

• He decided to leave only after much persuasion.经过多方劝说，他才决定离开。
• After a lot of persuasion,she agreed to go.经过多次劝说后，她同意去了。

7 interval   

n.间隔，间距；幕间休息，中场休息

参考例句：

• The interval between the two trees measures 40 feet.这两棵树的间隔是40英尺。
• There was a long interval before he anwsered the telephone.隔了好久他才回了电话。

8 seclusion   

n.隐遁，隔离

参考例句：

• She liked to sunbathe in the seclusion of her own garden.她喜欢在自己僻静的花园里晒日光浴。
• I live very much in seclusion these days.这些天我过着几乎与世隔绝的生活。

9 deplored   

v.悲叹，痛惜，强烈反对( deplore的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• They deplored the price of motor car, textiles, wheat, and oil. 他们悲叹汽车、纺织品、小麦和石油的价格。 来自辞典例句
• Hawthorne feels that all excess is to be deplored. 霍桑觉得一切过分的举动都是可悲的。 来自辞典例句

10 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。

11 entreated   

恳求，乞求( entreat的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• They entreated and threatened, but all this seemed of no avail. 他们时而恳求，时而威胁，但这一切看来都没有用。
• 'One word,' the Doctor entreated. 'Will you tell me who denounced him?' “还有一个问题，”医生请求道，“你可否告诉我是谁告发他的？” 来自英汉文学 - 双城记

12 capabilities   

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

13 encumbering   

v.妨碍，阻碍，拖累( encumber的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• She had helped Mr. Gryce to bestow his encumbering properties beneath the table. 她帮着古莱斯先生把他那些乱堆着的提包安置在桌子底下。 来自辞典例句

14 pseudonym   

n.假名，笔名

参考例句：

• Eric Blair wrote under the pseudonym of George Orwell.埃里克·布莱尔用乔治·奧威尔这个笔名写作。
• Both plays were published under the pseudonym of Philip Dayre.两个剧本都是以菲利普·戴尔的笔名出版的。

15 chambers   

n.房间( chamber的名词复数 )；（议会的）议院；卧室；会议厅

参考例句：

• The body will be removed into one of the cold storage chambers. 尸体将被移到一个冷冻间里。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Mr Chambers's readable book concentrates on the middle passage: the time Ransome spent in Russia. Chambers先生的这本值得一看的书重点在中间：Ransome在俄国的那几年。 来自互联网

16 abode   

n.住处，住所

参考例句：

• It was ten months before my father discovered his abode.父亲花了十个月的功夫，才好不容易打听到他的住处。
• Welcome to our humble abode!欢迎光临寒舍！

17 monotonously   

adv.单调地，无变化地

参考例句：

• The lecturer phrased monotonously. 这位讲师用词单调。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The maid, still in tears, sniffed monotonously. 侍女还在哭，发出单调的抽泣声。 来自辞典例句

18 tawny   

adj.茶色的，黄褐色的；n.黄褐色

参考例句：

• Her black hair springs in fine strands across her tawny,ruddy cheek.她的一头乌发分披在健康红润的脸颊旁。
• None of them noticed a large,tawny owl flutter past the window.他们谁也没注意到一只大的、褐色的猫头鹰飞过了窗户。

19 unnatural   

adj.不自然的；反常的

参考例句：

• Did her behaviour seem unnatural in any way?她有任何反常表现吗？
• She has an unnatural smile on her face.她脸上挂着做作的微笑。

20 nave   

n.教堂的中部；本堂

参考例句：

• People gathered in the nave of the house.人们聚拢在房子的中间。
• The family on the other side of the nave had a certain look about them,too.在中殿另一边的那一家人，也有着自己特有的相貌。

21 sensational   

adj.使人感动的，非常好的，轰动的，耸人听闻的

参考例句：

• Papers of this kind are full of sensational news reports.这类报纸满是耸人听闻的新闻报道。
• Their performance was sensational.他们的演出妙极了。

22 reticent   

adj.沉默寡言的；言不如意的

参考例句：

• He was reticent about his opinion.他有保留意见。
• He was extremely reticent about his personal life.他对自己的个人生活讳莫如深。

23 positively   

adv.明确地，断然，坚决地；实在，确实

参考例句：

• She was positively glowing with happiness.她满脸幸福。
• The weather was positively poisonous.这天气着实讨厌。

24 passionate   

adj.热情的，热烈的，激昂的，易动情的，易怒的，性情暴躁的

参考例句：

• He is said to be the most passionate man.据说他是最有激情的人。
• He is very passionate about the project.他对那个项目非常热心。

25 retrospect   

n.回顾，追溯；v.回顾，回想，追溯

参考例句：

• One's school life seems happier in retrospect than in reality.学校生活回忆起来显得比实际上要快乐。
• In retrospect,it's easy to see why we were wrong.回顾过去就很容易明白我们的错处了。

26 adjuration   

n.祈求，命令

参考例句：

• With this hurried adjuration, he cocked his blunderbuss, and stood on the offensive. 他仓促地叫了一声，便扳开几支大口径短抢的机头，作好防守准备。 来自英汉文学 - 双城记
• Her last adjuration to daughter was to escape from dinginess if she could. 她对女儿最后的叮嘱是要竭尽全力摆脱这种困难。 来自辞典例句

27 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。

28 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。

29 ensemble   

n.合奏(唱)组；全套服装；整体，总效果

参考例句：

• We should consider the buildings as an ensemble.我们应把那些建筑物视作一个整体。
• It is ensemble music for up to about ten players,with one player to a part.它是最多十人演奏的合奏音乐，每人担任一部分。