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CHAPTER VI
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 Soon Raye wrote about the wedding.  Having decided1 to make the best of what he feared was a piece of romantic folly2, he had acquired more zest3 for the grand experiment.  He wished the ceremony to be in London, for greater privacy.  Edith Harnham would have preferred it at Melchester; Anna was passive.  His reasoning prevailed, and Mrs. Harnham threw herself with mournful zeal4 into the preparations for Anna’s departure.  In a last desperate feeling that she must at every hazard be in at the death of her dream, and see once again the man who by a species of telepathy had exercised such an influence on her, she offered to go up with Anna and be with her through the ceremony—‘to see the end of her,’ as her mistress put it with forced gaiety; an offer which the girl gratefully accepted; for she had no other friend capable of playing the part of companion and witness, in the presence of a gentlemanly bridegroom, in such a way as not to hasten an opinion that he had made an irremediable social blunder.
 
It was a muddy morning in March when Raye alighted from a four-wheel cab at the door of a registry-office in the S.W. district of London, and carefully handed down Anna and her companion Mrs. Harnham.  Anna looked attractive in the somewhat fashionable clothes which Mrs. Harnham had helped her to buy, though not quite so attractive as, an innocent child, she had appeared in her country gown on the back of the wooden horse at Melchester Fair.
 
Mrs. Harnham had come up this morning by an early train, and a young man—a friend of Raye’s—having met them at the door, all four entered the registry-office together.  Till an hour before this time Raye had never known the wine-merchant’s wife, except at that first casual encounter, and in the flutter of the performance before them he had little opportunity for more than a brief acquaintance.  The contract of marriage at a registry is soon got through; but somehow, during its progress, Raye discovered a strange and secret gravitation between himself and Anna’s friend.
 
The formalities of the wedding—or rather ratification5 of a previous union—being concluded, the four went in one cab to Raye’s lodgings6, newly taken in a new suburb in preference to a house, the rent of which he could ill afford just then.  Here Anna cut the little cake which Raye had bought at a pastrycook’s on his way home from Lincoln’s Inn the night before.  But she did not do much besides.  Raye’s friend was obliged to depart almost immediately, and when he had left the only ones virtually present were Edith and Raye who exchanged ideas with much animation7.  The conversation was indeed theirs only, Anna being as a domestic animal who humbly8 heard but understood not.  Raye seemed startled in awakening9 to this fact, and began to feel dissatisfied with her inadequacy10.
 
At last, more disappointed than he cared to own, he said, ‘Mrs. Harnham, my darling is so flurried that she doesn’t know what she is doing or saying.  I see that after this event a little quietude will be necessary before she gives tongue to that tender philosophy which she used to treat me to in her letters.’
 
They had planned to start early that afternoon for Knollsea, to spend the few opening days of their married life there, and as the hour for departure was drawing near Raye asked his wife if she would go to the writing-desk in the next room and scribble11 a little note to his sister, who had been unable to attend through indisposition, informing her that the ceremony was over, thanking her for her little present, and hoping to know her well now that she was the writer’s sister as well as Charles’s.
 
‘Say it in the pretty poetical12 way you know so well how to adopt,’ he added, ‘for I want you particularly to win her, and both of you to be dear friends.’
 
Anna looked uneasy, but departed to her task, Raye remaining to talk to their guest.  Anna was a long while absent, and her husband suddenly rose and went to her.
 
He found her still bending over the writing-table, with tears brimming up in her eyes; and he looked down upon the sheet of note-paper with some interest, to discover with what tact14 she had expressed her good-will in the delicate circumstances.  To his surprise she had progressed but a few lines, in the characters and spelling of a child of eight, and with the ideas of a goose.
 
‘Anna,’ he said, staring; ‘what’s this?’
 
‘It only means—that I can’t do it any better!’ she answered, through her tears.
 
‘Eh?  Nonsense!’
 
‘I can’t!’ she insisted, with miserable15, sobbing16 hardihood.  ‘I—I—didn’t write those letters, Charles!  I only told her what to write!  And not always that!  But I am learning, O so fast, my dear, dear husband!  And you’ll forgive me, won’t you, for not telling you before?’  She slid to her knees, abjectly17 clasped his waist and laid her face against him.
 
He stood a few moments, raised her, abruptly18 turned, and shut the door upon her, rejoining Edith in the drawing-room.  She saw that something untoward19 had been discovered, and their eyes remained fixed20 on each other.
 
‘Do I guess rightly?’ he asked, with wan13 quietude.  ‘You were her scribe through all this?’
 
‘It was necessary,’ said Edith.
 
‘Did she dictate21 every word you ever wrote to me?’
 
‘Not every word.’
 
‘In fact, very little?’
 
‘Very little.’
 
‘You wrote a great part of those pages every week from your own conceptions, though in her name!’
 
‘Yes.’
 
‘Perhaps you wrote many of the letters when you were alone, without communication with her?’
 
‘I did.’
 
He turned to the bookcase, and leant with his hand over his face; and Edith, seeing his distress22, became white as a sheet.
 
‘You have deceived me—ruined me!’ he murmured.
 
‘O, don’t say it!’ she cried in her anguish23, jumping up and putting her hand on his shoulder.  ‘I can’t bear that!’
 
‘Delighting me deceptively!  Why did you do it—why did you!’
 
‘I began doing it in kindness to her!  How could I do otherwise than try to save such a simple girl from misery24?  But I admit that I continued it for pleasure to myself.’
 
Raye looked up.  ‘Why did it give you pleasure?’ he asked.
 
‘I must not tell,’ said she.
 
He continued to regard her, and saw that her lips suddenly began to quiver under his scrutiny25, and her eyes to fill and droop26.  She started aside, and said that she must go to the station to catch the return train: could a cab be called immediately?
 
But Raye went up to her, and took her unresisting hand.  ‘Well, to think of such a thing as this!’ he said.  ‘Why, you and I are friends—lovers—devoted lovers—by correspondence!’
 
‘Yes; I suppose.’
 
‘More.’
 
‘More?’
 
‘Plainly more.  It is no use blinking that.  Legally I have married her—God help us both!—in soul and spirit I have married you, and no other woman in the world!’
 
Hush27!’
 
‘But I will not hush!  Why should you try to disguise the full truth, when you have already owned half of it?  Yes, it is between you and me that the bond is—not between me and her!  Now I’ll say no more.  But, O my cruel one, I think I have one claim upon you!’
 
She did not say what, and he drew her towards him, and bent28 over her.  ‘If it was all pure invention in those letters,’ he said emphatically, ‘give me your cheek only.  If you meant what you said, let it be lips.  It is for the first and last time, remember!’
 
She put up her mouth, and he kissed her long.  ‘You forgive me?’ she said crying.
 
‘Yes.’
 
‘But you are ruined!’
 
‘What matter!’ he said shrugging his shoulders.  ‘It serves me right!’
 
She withdrew, wiped her eyes, entered and bade good-bye to Anna, who had not expected her to go so soon, and was still wrestling with the letter.  Raye followed Edith downstairs, and in three minutes she was in a hansom driving to the Waterloo station.
 
He went back to his wife.  ‘Never mind the letter, Anna, to-day,’ he said gently.  ‘Put on your things.  We, too, must be off shortly.’
 
The simple girl, upheld by the sense that she was indeed married, showed her delight at finding that he was as kind as ever after the disclosure.  She did not know that before his eyes he beheld29 as it were a galley30, in which he, the fastidious urban, was chained to work for the remainder of his life, with her, the unlettered peasant, chained to his side.
 
Edith travelled back to Melchester that day with a face that showed the very stupor31 of grief; her lips still tingling32 from the desperate pressure of his kiss.  The end of her impassioned dream had come.  When at dusk she reached the Melchester station her husband was there to meet her, but in his perfunctoriness and her preoccupation they did not see each other, and she went out of the station alone.
 
She walked mechanically homewards without calling a fly.  Entering, she could not bear the silence of the house, and went up in the dark to where Anna had slept, where she remained thinking awhile.  She then returned to the drawing-room, and not knowing what she did, crouched33 down upon the floor.
 
‘I have ruined him!’ she kept repeating.  ‘I have ruined him; because I would not deal treacherously34 towards her!’
 
In the course of half an hour a figure opened the door of the apartment.
 
‘Ah—who’s that?’ she said, starting up, for it was dark.
 
‘Your husband—who should it be?’ said the worthy35 merchant.
 
‘Ah—my husband!—I forgot I had a husband!’ she whispered to herself.
 
‘I missed you at the station,’ he continued.  ‘Did you see Anna safely tied up?  I hope so, for ’twas time.’
 
‘Yes—Anna is married.’
 
Simultaneously36 with Edith’s journey home Anna and her husband were sitting at the opposite windows of a second-class carriage which sped along to Knollsea.  In his hand was a pocket-book full of creased37 sheets closely written over.  Unfolding them one after another he read them in silence, and sighed.
 
‘What are you doing, dear Charles?’ she said timidly from the other window, and drew nearer to him as if he were a god.
 
‘Reading over all those sweet letters to me signed “Anna,”’ he replied with dreary38 resignation.
 
Autumn 1891.

点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 decided lvqzZd     
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。
2 folly QgOzL     
n.愚笨,愚蠢,蠢事,蠢行,傻话
参考例句:
  • Learn wisdom by the folly of others.从别人的愚蠢行动中学到智慧。
  • Events proved the folly of such calculations.事情的进展证明了这种估计是愚蠢的。
3 zest vMizT     
n.乐趣;滋味,风味;兴趣
参考例句:
  • He dived into his new job with great zest.他充满热情地投入了新的工作。
  • He wrote his novel about his trip to Asia with zest.他兴趣浓厚的写了一本关于他亚洲之行的小说。
4 zeal mMqzR     
n.热心,热情,热忱
参考例句:
  • Revolutionary zeal caught them up,and they joined the army.革命热情激励他们,于是他们从军了。
  • They worked with great zeal to finish the project.他们热情高涨地工作,以期完成这个项目。
5 ratification fTUx0     
n.批准,认可
参考例句:
  • The treaty is awaiting ratification.条约正等待批准。
  • The treaty is subject to ratification.此条约经批准后才能生效。
6 lodgings f12f6c99e9a4f01e5e08b1197f095e6e     
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。
7 animation UMdyv     
n.活泼,兴奋,卡通片/动画片的制作
参考例句:
  • They are full of animation as they talked about their childhood.当他们谈及童年的往事时都非常兴奋。
  • The animation of China made a great progress.中国的卡通片制作取得很大发展。
8 humbly humbly     
adv. 恭顺地,谦卑地
参考例句:
  • We humbly beg Your Majesty to show mercy. 我们恳请陛下发发慈悲。
  • "You must be right, Sir,'said John humbly. “你一定是对的,先生,”约翰恭顺地说道。
9 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。
10 inadequacy Zkpyl     
n.无法胜任,信心不足
参考例句:
  • the inadequacy of our resources 我们的资源的贫乏
  • The failure is due to the inadequacy of preparations. 这次失败是由于准备不足造成的。
11 scribble FDxyY     
v.潦草地书写,乱写,滥写;n.潦草的写法,潦草写成的东西,杂文
参考例句:
  • She can't write yet,but she loves to scribble with a pencil.她现在还不会写字,但她喜欢用铅笔乱涂。
  • I can't read this scribble.我看不懂这种潦草的字。
12 poetical 7c9cba40bd406e674afef9ffe64babcd     
adj.似诗人的;诗一般的;韵文的;富有诗意的
参考例句:
  • This is a poetical picture of the landscape. 这是一幅富有诗意的风景画。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • John is making a periphrastic study in a worn-out poetical fashion. 约翰正在对陈腐的诗风做迂回冗长的研究。 来自辞典例句
13 wan np5yT     
(wide area network)广域网
参考例句:
  • The shared connection can be an Ethernet,wireless LAN,or wireless WAN connection.提供共享的网络连接可以是以太网、无线局域网或无线广域网。
14 tact vqgwc     
n.机敏,圆滑,得体
参考例句:
  • She showed great tact in dealing with a tricky situation.她处理棘手的局面表现得十分老练。
  • Tact is a valuable commodity.圆滑老练是很有用处的。
15 miserable g18yk     
adj.悲惨的,痛苦的;可怜的,糟糕的
参考例句:
  • It was miserable of you to make fun of him.你取笑他,这是可耻的。
  • Her past life was miserable.她过去的生活很苦。
16 sobbing df75b14f92e64fc9e1d7eaf6dcfc083a     
<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。
17 abjectly 9726b3f616b3ed4848f9898b842e303b     
凄惨地; 绝望地; 糟透地; 悲惨地
参考例句:
  • She shrugged her shoulders abjectly. 她无可奈何地耸了耸肩。
  • Xiao Li is abjectly obedient at home, as both his wife and daughter can "direct" him. 小李在家里可是个听话的顺民,妻子女儿都能“领导”他。
18 abruptly iINyJ     
adv.突然地,出其不意地
参考例句:
  • He gestured abruptly for Virginia to get in the car.他粗鲁地示意弗吉尼亚上车。
  • I was abruptly notified that a half-hour speech was expected of me.我突然被通知要讲半个小时的话。
19 untoward Hjvw1     
adj.不利的,不幸的,困难重重的
参考例句:
  • Untoward circumstances prevent me from being with you on this festive occasion.有些不幸的事件使我不能在这欢庆的时刻和你在一起。
  • I'll come if nothing untoward happens.我要是没有特殊情况一定来。
20 fixed JsKzzj     
adj.固定的,不变的,准备好的;(计算机)固定的
参考例句:
  • Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗?
  • Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定,我们就不应该随意改变。
21 dictate fvGxN     
v.口授;(使)听写;指令,指示,命令
参考例句:
  • It took him a long time to dictate this letter.口述这封信花了他很长时间。
  • What right have you to dictate to others?你有什么资格向别人发号施令?
22 distress 3llzX     
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。
23 anguish awZz0     
n.(尤指心灵上的)极度痛苦,烦恼
参考例句:
  • She cried out for anguish at parting.分手时,她由于痛苦而失声大哭。
  • The unspeakable anguish wrung his heart.难言的痛苦折磨着他的心。
24 misery G10yi     
n.痛苦,苦恼,苦难;悲惨的境遇,贫苦
参考例句:
  • Business depression usually causes misery among the working class.商业不景气常使工薪阶层受苦。
  • He has rescued me from the mire of misery.他把我从苦海里救了出来。
25 scrutiny ZDgz6     
n.详细检查,仔细观察
参考例句:
  • His work looks all right,but it will not bear scrutiny.他的工作似乎很好,但是经不起仔细检查。
  • Few wives in their forties can weather such a scrutiny.很少年过四十的妻子经得起这么仔细的观察。
26 droop p8Zyd     
v.低垂,下垂;凋萎,萎靡
参考例句:
  • The heavy snow made the branches droop.大雪使树枝垂下来。
  • Don't let your spirits droop.不要萎靡不振。
27 hush ecMzv     
int.嘘,别出声;n.沉默,静寂;v.使安静
参考例句:
  • A hush fell over the onlookers.旁观者们突然静了下来。
  • Do hush up the scandal!不要把这丑事声张出去!
28 bent QQ8yD     
n.爱好,癖好;adj.弯的;决心的,一心的
参考例句:
  • He was fully bent upon the project.他一心扑在这项计划上。
  • We bent over backward to help them.我们尽了最大努力帮助他们。
29 beheld beheld     
v.看,注视( behold的过去式和过去分词 );瞧;看呀;(叙述中用于引出某人意外的出现)哎哟
参考例句:
  • His eyes had never beheld such opulence. 他从未见过这样的财富。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The soul beheld its features in the mirror of the passing moment. 灵魂在逝去的瞬间的镜子中看到了自己的模样。 来自英汉文学 - 红字
30 galley rhwxE     
n.(飞机或船上的)厨房单层甲板大帆船;军舰舰长用的大划艇;
参考例句:
  • The stewardess will get you some water from the galley.空姐会从厨房给你拿些水来。
  • Visitors can also go through the large galley where crew members got their meals.游客还可以穿过船员们用餐的厨房。
31 stupor Kqqyx     
v.昏迷;不省人事
参考例句:
  • As the whisky took effect, he gradually fell into a drunken stupor.随着威士忌酒力发作,他逐渐醉得不省人事。
  • The noise of someone banging at the door roused her from her stupor.梆梆的敲门声把她从昏迷中唤醒了。
32 tingling LgTzGu     
v.有刺痛感( tingle的现在分词 )
参考例句:
  • My ears are tingling [humming; ringing; singing]. 我耳鸣。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
  • My tongue is tingling. 舌头发麻。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
33 crouched 62634c7e8c15b8a61068e36aaed563ab     
v.屈膝,蹲伏( crouch的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • He crouched down beside her. 他在她的旁边蹲了下来。
  • The lion crouched ready to pounce. 狮子蹲下身,准备猛扑。
34 treacherously 41490490a94e8744cd9aa3f15aa49e69     
背信弃义地; 背叛地; 靠不住地; 危险地
参考例句:
  • The mountain road treacherously. 山路蜿蜒曲折。
  • But they like men have transgressed the covenant: there have they dealt treacherously against me. 他们却如亚当背约,在境内向我行事诡诈。
35 worthy vftwB     
adj.(of)值得的,配得上的;有价值的
参考例句:
  • I did not esteem him to be worthy of trust.我认为他不值得信赖。
  • There occurred nothing that was worthy to be mentioned.没有值得一提的事发生。
36 simultaneously 4iBz1o     
adv.同时发生地,同时进行地
参考例句:
  • The radar beam can track a number of targets almost simultaneously.雷达波几乎可以同时追着多个目标。
  • The Windows allow a computer user to execute multiple programs simultaneously.Windows允许计算机用户同时运行多个程序。
37 creased b26d248c32bce741b8089934810d7e9f     
(使…)起折痕,弄皱( crease的过去式和过去分词 ); (皮肤)皱起,使起皱纹; 皱皱巴巴
参考例句:
  • You've creased my newspaper. 你把我的报纸弄皱了。
  • The bullet merely creased his shoulder. 子弹只不过擦破了他肩部的皮肤。
38 dreary sk1z6     
adj.令人沮丧的,沉闷的,单调乏味的
参考例句:
  • They live such dreary lives.他们的生活如此乏味。
  • She was tired of hearing the same dreary tale of drunkenness and violence.她听够了那些关于酗酒和暴力的乏味故事。


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