CHAPTER V

 The letter moved Raye considerably¹ when it reached him.  The intelligence itself had affected² him less than her unexpected manner of treating him in relation to it.  The absence of any word of reproach, the devotion to his interests, the self-sacrifice apparent in every line, all made up a nobility of character that he had never dreamt of finding in womankind.

 

‘God forgive me!’ he said tremulously.  ‘I have been a wicked wretch³.  I did not know she was such a treasure as this!’

 

He reassured⁴ her instantly; declaring that he would not of course desert her, that he would provide a home for her somewhere.  Meanwhile she was to stay where she was as long as her mistress would allow her.

 

But a misfortune supervened in this direction.  Whether an inkling of Anna’s circumstances reached the knowledge of Mrs. Harnham’s husband or not cannot be said, but the girl was compelled, in spite of Edith’s entreaties⁵, to leave the house.  By her own choice she decided⁶ to go back for a while to the cottage on the Plain.  This arrangement led to a consultation⁷ as to how the correspondence should be carried on; and in the girl’s inability to continue personally what had been begun in her name, and in the difficulty of their acting⁸ in concert as heretofore, she requested Mrs. Harnham—the only well-to-do friend she had in the world—to receive the letters and reply to them off-hand, sending them on afterwards to herself on the Plain, where she might at least get some neighbour to read them to her, if a trustworthy one could be met with.  Anna and her box then departed for the Plain.

 

Thus it befel that Edith Harnham found herself in the strange position of having to correspond, under no supervision⁹ by the real woman, with a man not her husband, in terms which were virtually those of a wife, concerning a condition that was not Edith’s at all; the man being one for whom, mainly through the sympathies involved in playing this part, she secretly cherished a predilection¹⁰, subtle and imaginative truly, but strong and absorbing.  She opened each letter, read it as if intended for herself, and replied from the promptings of her own heart and no other.

 

Throughout this correspondence, carried on in the girl’s absence, the high-strung Edith Harnham lived in the ecstasy¹¹ of fancy; the vicarious intimacy¹² engendered¹³ such a flow of passionateness¹⁴ as was never exceeded.  For conscience’ sake Edith at first sent on each of his letters to Anna, and even rough copies of her replies; but later on these so-called copies were much abridged¹⁵, and many letters on both sides were not sent on at all.

 

Though selfish, and, superficially at least, infested¹⁶ with the self-indulgent vices¹⁷ of artificial society, there was a substratum of honesty and fairness in Raye’s character.  He had really a tender regard for the country girl, and it grew more tender than ever when he found her apparently¹⁸ capable of expressing the deepest sensibilities in the simplest words.  He meditated¹⁹, he wavered; and finally resolved to consult his sister, a maiden²⁰ lady much older than himself, of lively sympathies and good intent.  In making this confidence he showed her some of the letters.

 

‘She seems fairly educated,’ Miss Raye observed.  ‘And bright in ideas.  She expresses herself with a taste that must be innate²³.’

 

‘Yes.  She writes very prettily²⁴, doesn’t she, thanks to these elementary schools?’

 

‘One is drawn²⁵ out towards her, in spite of one’s self, poor thing.’

 

The upshot of the discussion was that though he had not been directly advised to do it, Raye wrote, in his real name, what he would never have decided to write on his own responsibility; namely that he could not live without her, and would come down in the spring and shelve her looming²⁶ difficulty by marrying her.

 

This bold acceptance of the situation was made known to Anna by Mrs. Harnham driving out immediately to the cottage on the Plain.  Anna jumped for joy like a little child.  And poor, crude directions for answering appropriately were given to Edith Harnham, who on her return to the city carried them out with warm intensification²⁷.

 

‘O!’ she groaned²⁸, as she threw down the pen.  ‘Anna—poor good little fool—hasn’t intelligence enough to appreciate him!  How should she?  While I—don’t bear his child!’

 

It was now February.  The correspondence had continued altogether for four months; and the next letter from Raye contained incidentally a statement of his position and prospects³⁰.  He said that in offering to wed²² her he had, at first, contemplated³¹ the step of retiring from a profession which hitherto had brought him very slight emolument³², and which, to speak plainly, he had thought might be difficult of practice after his union with her.  But the unexpected mines of brightness and warmth that her letters had disclosed to be lurking³³ in her sweet nature had led him to abandon that somewhat sad prospect²⁹.  He felt sure that, with her powers of development, after a little private training in the social forms of London under his supervision, and a little help from a governess if necessary, she would make as good a professional man’s wife as could be desired, even if he should rise to the woolsack.  Many a Lord Chancellor’s wife had been less intuitively a lady than she had shown herself to be in her lines to him.

 

‘O—poor fellow, poor fellow!’ mourned Edith Harnham.

 

Her distress³⁴ now raged as high as her infatuation.  It was she who had wrought³⁵ him to this pitch—to a marriage which meant his ruin; yet she could not, in mercy to her maid, do anything to hinder his plan.  Anna was coming to Melchester that week, but she could hardly show the girl this last reply from the young man; it told too much of the second individuality that had usurped³⁶ the place of the first.

 

Anna came, and her mistress took her into her own room for privacy.  Anna began by saying with some anxiety that she was glad the wedding was so near.

 

‘O Anna!’ replied Mrs. Harnham.  ‘I think we must tell him all—that I have been doing your writing for you?—lest he should not know it till after you become his wife, and it might lead to dissension and recriminations—’

 

‘O mis’ess, dear mis’ess—please don’t tell him now!’ cried Anna in distress.  ‘If you were to do it, perhaps he would not marry me; and what should I do then?  It would be terrible what would come to me!  And I am getting on with my writing, too.  I have brought with me the copybook you were so good as to give me, and I practise every day, and though it is so, so hard, I shall do it well at last, I believe, if I keep on trying.’

 

Edith looked at the copybook.  The copies had been set by herself, and such progress as the girl had made was in the way of grotesque³⁷ facsimile of her mistress’s hand.  But even if Edith’s flowing caligraphy were reproduced the inspiration would be another thing.

 

‘You do it so beautifully,’ continued Anna, ‘and say all that I want to say so much better than I could say it, that I do hope you won’t leave me in the lurch³⁸ just now!’

 

‘Very well,’ replied the other.  ‘But I—but I thought I ought not to go on!’

 

‘Why?’

 

Her strong desire to confide²¹ her sentiments led Edith to answer truly:

 

‘Because of its effect upon me.’

 

‘But it can’t have any!’

 

‘Why, child?’

 

‘Because you are married already!’ said Anna with lucid³⁹ simplicity⁴⁰.

 

‘Of course it can’t,’ said her mistress hastily; yet glad, despite her conscience, that two or three outpourings still remained to her.  ‘But you must concentrate your attention on writing your name as I write it here.’

该作者的其它作品
《忧郁的双眸 A Pair of Blue Eyes》
《韦塞克斯的故事 Wessex Tales》
《无名的裘德 Jude the Obscure》
《Tess of the D‘Urbervilles德伯家的苔丝》

1 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。

2 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

3 wretch   

n.可怜的人，不幸的人；卑鄙的人

参考例句：

• You are really an ungrateful wretch to complain instead of thanking him.你不但不谢他，还埋怨他，真不知好歹。
• The dead husband is not the dishonoured wretch they fancied him.死去的丈夫不是他们所想象的不光彩的坏蛋。

4 reassured   

adj.使消除疑虑的；使放心的v.再保证，恢复信心( reassure的过去式和过去分词)

参考例句：

• The captain's confidence during the storm reassured the passengers. 在风暴中船长的信念使旅客们恢复了信心。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• The doctor reassured the old lady. 医生叫那位老妇人放心。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 entreaties   

n.恳求，乞求( entreaty的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He began with entreaties and ended with a threat. 他先是恳求，最后是威胁。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The tyrant was deaf to the entreaties of the slaves. 暴君听不到奴隶们的哀鸣。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

7 consultation   

n.咨询；商量；商议；会议

参考例句：

• The company has promised wide consultation on its expansion plans.该公司允诺就其扩展计划广泛征求意见。
• The scheme was developed in close consultation with the local community.该计划是在同当地社区密切磋商中逐渐形成的。

8 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

9 supervision   

n.监督，管理

参考例句：

• The work was done under my supervision.这项工作是在我的监督之下完成的。
• The old man's will was executed under the personal supervision of the lawyer.老人的遗嘱是在律师的亲自监督下执行的。

10 predilection   

n.偏好

参考例句：

• He has a predilection for rich food.他偏好油腻的食物。
• Charles has always had a predilection for red-haired women.查尔斯对红头发女人一直有偏爱。

11 ecstasy   

n.狂喜，心醉神怡，入迷

参考例句：

• He listened to the music with ecstasy.他听音乐听得入了神。
• Speechless with ecstasy,the little boys gazed at the toys.小孩注视着那些玩具，高兴得说不出话来。

12 intimacy   

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。

13 engendered   

v.产生（某形势或状况），造成，引起( engender的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The issue engendered controversy. 这个问题引起了争论。
• The meeting engendered several quarrels. 这次会议发生了几次争吵。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 passionateness   

参考例句：

15 abridged   

削减的，删节的

参考例句：

• The rights of citizens must not be abridged without proper cause. 没有正当理由，不能擅自剥夺公民的权利。
• The play was abridged for TV. 剧本经过节略，以拍摄电视片。

16 infested   

adj.为患的，大批滋生的（常与with搭配）v.害虫、野兽大批出没于( infest的过去式和过去分词 )；遍布于

参考例句：

• The kitchen was infested with ants. 厨房里到处是蚂蚁。
• The apartments were infested with rats and roaches. 公寓里面到处都是老鼠和蟑螂。

17 vices   

缺陷( vice的名词复数 )； 恶习； 不道德行为； 台钳

参考例句：

• In spite of his vices, he was loved by all. 尽管他有缺点，还是受到大家的爱戴。
• He vituperated from the pulpit the vices of the court. 他在教堂的讲坛上责骂宫廷的罪恶。

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 meditated   

深思，沉思，冥想( meditate的过去式和过去分词 )； 内心策划，考虑

参考例句：

• He meditated for two days before giving his answer. 他在作出答复之前考虑了两天。
• She meditated for 2 days before giving her answer. 她考虑了两天才答复。

20 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。

21 confide   

v.向某人吐露秘密

参考例句：

• I would never readily confide in anybody.我从不轻易向人吐露秘密。
• He is going to confide the secrets of his heart to us.他将向我们吐露他心里的秘密。

22 wed   

v.娶，嫁，与…结婚

参考例句：

• The couple eventually wed after three year engagement.这对夫妇在订婚三年后终于结婚了。
• The prince was very determined to wed one of the king's daughters.王子下定决心要娶国王的其中一位女儿。

23 innate   

adj.天生的，固有的，天赋的

参考例句：

• You obviously have an innate talent for music.你显然有天生的音乐才能。
• Correct ideas are not innate in the mind.人的正确思想不是自己头脑中固有的。

24 prettily   

adv.优美地；可爱地

参考例句：

• It was prettily engraved with flowers on the back.此件雕刻精美，背面有花饰图案。
• She pouted prettily at him.她冲他撅着嘴，样子很可爱。

25 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

26 looming   

n.上现蜃景（光通过低层大气发生异常折射形成的一种海市蜃楼）v.隐约出现，阴森地逼近( loom的现在分词 )；隐约出现，阴森地逼近

参考例句：

• The foothills were looming ahead through the haze. 丘陵地带透过薄雾朦胧地出现在眼前。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Then they looked up. Looming above them was Mount Proteome. 接着他们往上看，在其上隐约看到的是蛋白质组山。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 回顾与展望

27 intensification   

n.激烈化，增强明暗度；加厚

参考例句：

• The intensification of the immunological response represents the body's natural defense. 增强免疫反应代表身体的自然保卫。 来自辞典例句
• Agriculture in the developing nations is not irreversibly committed, to a particular pattern of intensification. 发展中国家的农业并没有完全为某种集约化形式所束缚。 来自辞典例句

28 groaned   

v.呻吟( groan的过去式和过去分词 )；发牢骚；抱怨；受苦

参考例句：

• He groaned in anguish. 他痛苦地呻吟。
• The cart groaned under the weight of the piano. 大车在钢琴的重压下嘎吱作响。 来自《简明英汉词典》

29 prospect   

n.前景，前途；景色，视野

参考例句：

• This state of things holds out a cheerful prospect.事态呈现出可喜的前景。
• The prospect became more evident.前景变得更加明朗了。

30 prospects   

n.希望，前途(恒为复数)

参考例句：

• There is a mood of pessimism in the company about future job prospects. 公司中有一种对工作前景悲观的情绪。
• They are less sanguine about the company's long-term prospects. 他们对公司的远景不那么乐观。

31 contemplated   

adj. 预期的 动词contemplate的过去分词形式

参考例句：

• The doctor contemplated the difficult operation he had to perform. 医生仔细地考虑他所要做的棘手的手术。
• The government has contemplated reforming the entire tax system. 政府打算改革整个税收体制。

32 emolument   

n.报酬，薪水

参考例句：

• The emolument of this profession is not satisfactory.此行业的报酬不令人满意。
• Emolument management occupies a significant part in HR.薪酬管理在人力资源管理活动中占据重要的地位。

33 lurking   

潜在

参考例句：

• Why are you lurking around outside my house? 你在我房子外面鬼鬼祟祟的，想干什么？
• There is a suspicious man lurking in the shadows. 有一可疑的人躲在阴暗中。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

34 distress   

n.苦恼，痛苦，不舒适；不幸；vt.使悲痛

参考例句：

• Nothing could alleviate his distress.什么都不能减轻他的痛苦。
• Please don't distress yourself.请你不要忧愁了。

35 wrought   

v.引起；以…原料制作；运转；adj.制造的

参考例句：

• Events in Paris wrought a change in British opinion towards France and Germany.巴黎发生的事件改变了英国对法国和德国的看法。
• It's a walking stick with a gold head wrought in the form of a flower.那是一个金质花形包头的拐杖。

36 usurped   

篡夺，霸占( usurp的过去式和过去分词 )； 盗用； 篡夺，篡权

参考例句：

• That magazine usurped copyrighted material. 那杂志盗用了版权为他人所有的素材。
• The expression'social engineering'has been usurped by the Utopianist without a shadow of light. “社会工程”这个词已被乌托邦主义者毫无理由地盗用了。

37 grotesque   

adj.怪诞的，丑陋的；n.怪诞的图案，怪人（物）

参考例句：

• His face has a grotesque appearance.他的面部表情十分怪。
• Her account of the incident was a grotesque distortion of the truth.她对这件事的陈述是荒诞地歪曲了事实。

38 lurch   

n.突然向前或旁边倒；v.蹒跚而行

参考例句：

• It has been suggested that the ground movements were a form of lurch movements.地震的地面运动曾被认为是一种突然倾斜的运动形式。
• He walked with a lurch.他步履蹒跚。

39 lucid   

adj.明白易懂的，清晰的，头脑清楚的

参考例句：

• His explanation was lucid and to the point.他的解释扼要易懂。
• He wasn't very lucid,he didn't quite know where he was.他神志不是很清醒，不太知道自己在哪里。

40 simplicity   

n.简单，简易；朴素；直率，单纯

参考例句：

• She dressed with elegant simplicity.她穿着朴素高雅。
• The beauty of this plan is its simplicity.简明扼要是这个计划的一大特点。