cunctation.”—SIR THOMAS BROWNE.
Gwendolen, we have seen, passed her time abroad in the new excitement of gambling1, and in imagining herself an empress of luck, having brought from her late experience a vague impression that in this confused world it signified nothing what any one did, so that they amused themselves. We have seen, too, that certain persons, mysteriously symbolized2 as Grapnell & Co., having also thought of reigning3 in the realm of luck, and being also bent4 on amusing themselves, no matter how, had brought about a painful change in her family circumstances; whence she had returned home—carrying with her, against her inclination5, a necklace which she had pawned6 and some one else had redeemed7.
While she was going back to England, Grandcourt was coming to find her; coming, that is, after his own manner—not in haste by express straight from Diplow to Leubronn, where she was understood to be; but so entirely8 without hurry that he was induced by the presence of some Russian acquaintances to linger at Baden-Baden and make various appointments with them, which, however, his desire to be at Leubronn ultimately caused him to break. Grandcourt’s passions were of the intermittent10, flickering11 kind: never flaming out strongly. But a great deal of life goes on without strong passion: myriads12 of cravats13 are carefully tied, dinners attended, even speeches made proposing the health of august personages without the zest14 arising from a strong desire. And a man may make a good appearance in high social positions—may be supposed to know the classics, to have his reserves on science, a strong though repressed opinion on politics, and all the sentiments of the English gentleman, at a small expense of vital energy. Also, he may be obstinate15 or persistent16 at the same low rate, and may even show sudden impulses which have a false air of daemonic strength because they seem inexplicable17, though perhaps their secret lies merely in the want of regulated channels for the soul to move in—good and sufficient ducts of habit without which our nature easily turns to mere18 ooze19 and mud, and at any pressure yields nothing but a spurt20 or a puddle21.
Grandcourt had not been altogether displeased22 by Gwendolen’s running away from the splendid chance he was holding out to her. The act had some piquancy23 for him. He liked to think that it was due to resentment24 of his careless behavior in Cardell Chase, which, when he came to consider it, did appear rather cool. To have brought her so near a tender admission, and then to have walked headlong away from further opportunities of winning the consent which he had made her understand him to be asking for, was enough to provoke a girl of spirit; and to be worth his mastering it was proper that she should have some spirit. Doubtless she meant him to follow her, and it was what he meant too. But for a whole week he took no measures toward starting, and did not even inquire where Miss Harleth was gone. Mr. Lush felt a triumph that was mingled25 with much distrust; for Grandcourt had said no word to him about her, and looked as neutral as an alligator26; there was no telling what might turn up in the slowly-churning chances of his mind. Still, to have put off a decision was to have made room for the waste of Grandcourt’s energy.
The guests at Diplow felt more curiosity than their host. How was it that nothing more was heard of Miss Harleth? Was it credible27 that she had refused Mr. Grandcourt? Lady Flora28 Hollis, a lively middle-aged29 woman, well endowed with curiosity, felt a sudden interest in making a round of calls with Mrs. Torrington, including the rectory, Offendene, and Quetcham, and thus not only got twice over, but also discussed with the Arrowpoints, the information that Miss Harleth was gone to Leubronn, with some old friends, the Baron30 and Baroness31 von Langen; for the immediate32 agitation33 and disappointment of Mrs. Davilow and the Gascoignes had resolved itself into a wish that Gwendolen’s disappearance34 should not be interpreted as anything eccentric or needful to be kept secret. The rector’s mind, indeed, entertained the possibility that the marriage was only a little deferred35, for Mrs. Davilow had not dared to tell him of the bitter determination with which Gwendolen had spoken. And in spite of his practical ability, some of his experience had petrified36 into maxims37 and quotations38. Amaryllis fleeing desired that her hiding-place should be known; and that love will find out the way “over the mountain and over the wave” may be said without hyperbole in this age of steam. Gwendolen, he conceived, was an Amaryllis of excellent sense but coquettish daring; the question was whether she had dared too much.
Lady Flora, coming back charged with news about Miss Harleth, saw no good reason why she should not try whether she could electrify39 Mr. Grandcourt by mentioning it to him at the table; and in doing so shot a few hints of a notion having got abroad that he was a disappointed adorer. Grandcourt heard with quietude, but with attention; and the next day he ordered Lush to bring about a decent reason for breaking up the party at Diplow by the end of another week, as he meant to go yachting to the Baltic or somewhere—it being impossible to stay at Diplow as if he were a prisoner on parole, with a set of people whom he had never wanted. Lush needed no clearer announcement that Grandcourt was going to Leubronn; but he might go after the manner of a creeping billiard-ball and stick on the way. What Mr. Lush intended was to make himself indispensable so that he might go too, and he succeeded; Gwendolen’s repulsion for him being a fact that only amused his patron, and made him none the less willing to have Lush always at hand.
This was how it happened that Grandcourt arrived at the Czarina on the fifth day after Gwendolen had left Leubronn, and found there his uncle, Sir Hugo Mallinger, with his family, including Deronda. It is not necessarily a pleasure either to the reigning power or the heir presumptive when their separate affairs—a touch of gout, say, in the one, and a touch of willfulness in the other—happen to bring them to the same spot. Sir Hugo was an easy-tempered man, tolerant both of differences and defects; but a point of view different from his own concerning the settlement of the family estates fretted40 him rather more than if it had concerned Church discipline or the ballot41, and faults were the less venial42 for belonging to a person whose existence was inconvenient43 to him. In no case could Grandcourt have been a nephew after his own heart; but as the presumptive heir to the Mallinger estates he was the sign and embodiment of a chief grievance44 in the baronet’s life—the want of a son to inherit the lands, in no portion of which had he himself more than a life-interest. For in the ill-advised settlement which his father, Sir Francis, had chosen to make by will, even Diplow with its modicum45 of land had been left under the same conditions as the ancient and wide inheritance of the two Toppings—Diplow, where Sir Hugo had lived and hunted through many a season in his younger years, and where his wife and daughters ought to have been able to retire after his death.
This grievance had naturally gathered emphasis as the years advanced, and Lady Mallinger, after having had three daughters in quick succession, had remained for eight years till now that she was over forty without producing so much as another girl; while Sir Hugo, almost twenty years older, was at a time of life when, notwithstanding the fashionable retardation46 of most things from dinners to marriages, a man’s hopefulness is apt to show signs of wear, until restored by second childhood.
In fact, he had begun to despair of a son, and this confirmation47 of Grandcourt’s interest in the estates certainly tended to make his image and presence the more unwelcome; but, on the other hand, it carried circumstances which disposed Sir Hugo to take care that the relation between them should be kept as friendly as possible. It led him to dwell on a plan which had grown up side by side with his disappointment of an heir; namely, to try and secure Diplow as a future residence for Lady Mallinger and her daughters, and keep this pretty bit of the family inheritance for his own offspring in spite of that disappointment. Such knowledge as he had of his nephew’s disposition48 and affairs encouraged the belief that Grandcourt might consent to a transaction by which he would get a good sum of ready money, as an equivalent for his prospective49 interest in the domain50 of Diplow and the moderate amount of land attached to it. If, after all, the unhoped-for son should be born, the money would have been thrown away, and Grandcourt would have been paid for giving up interests that had turned out good for nothing; but Sir Hugo set down this risk as nil51, and of late years he had husbanded his fortune so well by the working of mines and the sale of leases that he was prepared for an outlay52.
Here was an object that made him careful to avoid any quarrel with Grandcourt. Some years before, when he was making improvements at the Abbey, and needed Grandcourt’s concurrence53 in his felling an obstructive mass of timber on the demesne54, he had congratulated himself on finding that there was no active spite against him in his nephew’s peculiar55 mind; and nothing had since occurred to make them hate each other more than was compatible with perfect politeness, or with any accommodation that could be strictly56 mutual57.
Grandcourt, on his side, thought his uncle a superfluity and a bore, and felt that the list of things in general would be improved whenever Sir Hugo came to be expunged58. But he had been made aware through Lush, always a useful medium, of the baronet’s inclinations59 concerning Diplow, and he was gratified to have the alternative of the money in his mind: even if he had not thought it in the least likely that he would choose to accept it, his sense of power would have been flattered by his being able to refuse what Sir Hugo desired. The hinted transaction had told for something among the motives60 which had made him ask for a year’s tenancy of Diplow, which it had rather annoyed Sir Hugo to grant, because the excellent hunting in the neighborhood might decide Grandcourt not to part with his chance of future possession;—a man who has two places, in one of which the hunting is less good, naturally desiring a third where it is better. Also, Lush had thrown out to Sir Hugo the probability that Grandcourt would woo and win Miss Arrowpoint, and in that case ready money might be less of a temptation to him. Hence, on this unexpected meeting at Leubronn, the baronet felt much curiosity to know how things had been going on at Diplow, was bent on being as civil as possible to his nephew, and looked forward to some private chat with Lush.
Between Deronda and Grandcourt there was a more faintly-marked but peculiar relation, depending on circumstances which have yet to be made known. But on no side was there any sign of suppressed chagrin61 on the first meeting at the table d’hôte, an hour after Grandcourt’s arrival; and when the quartette of gentlemen afterward62 met on the terrace, without Lady Mallinger, they moved off together to saunter through the rooms, Sir Hugo saying as they entered the large saal,
“Did you play much at Baden, Grandcourt?”
“No; I looked on and betted a little with some Russians there.”
“Had you luck?”
“What did I win, Lush?”
“You brought away about two hundred,” said Lush.
“You are not here for the sake of the play, then?” said Sir Hugo.
“No; I don’t care about play now. It’s a confounded strain,” said Grandcourt, whose diamond ring and demeanor63, as he moved along playing slightly with his whisker, were being a good deal stared at by rouged64 foreigners interested in a new milord.
“The fact is, somebody should invent a mill to do amusements for you, my dear fellow,” said Sir Hugo, “as the Tartars get their praying done. But I agree with you; I never cared for play. It’s monotonous—knits the brain up into meshes65. And it knocks me up to watch it now. I suppose one gets poisoned with the bad air. I never stay here more than ten minutes. But where’s your gambling beauty, Deronda? Have you seen her lately?”
“An uncommonly67 fine girl, a perfect Diana,” said Sir Hugo, turning to Grandcourt again. “Really worth a little straining to look at her. I saw her winning, and she took it as coolly as if she had known it all beforehand. The same day Deronda happened to see her losing like wildfire, and she bore it with immense pluck. I suppose she was cleaned out, or was wise enough to stop in time. How do you know she’s gone?”
“Oh, by the Visitor-list,...” said Deronda, with a scarcely perceptible shrug68. “Vandernoodt told me her name was Harleth, and she was with the Baron and Baroness von Langen. I saw by the list that Miss Harleth was no longer there.”
This held no further information for Lush than that Gwendolen had been gambling. He had already looked at the list, and ascertained69 that Gwendolen had gone, but he had no intention of thrusting this knowledge on Grandcourt before he asked for it; and he had not asked, finding it enough to believe that the object of search would turn up somewhere or other.
But now Grandcourt had heard what was rather piquant70, and not a word about Miss Harleth had been missed by him. After a moment’s pause he said to Deronda,
“Do you know those people—the Langens?”
“I have talked with them a little since Miss Harleth went away. I knew nothing of them before.”
“Where is she gone—do you know?”
“She is gone home,” said Deronda, coldly, as if he wished to say no more. But then, from a fresh impulse, he turned to look markedly at Grandcourt, and added, “But it is possible you know her. Her home is not far from Diplow: Offendene, near Winchester.”
Deronda, turning to look straight at Grandcourt, who was on his left hand, might have been a subject for those old painters who liked contrasts of temperament71. There was a calm intensity72 of life and richness of tint73 in his face that on a sudden gaze from him was rather startling, and often made him seem to have spoken, so that servants and officials asked him automatically, “What did you say, sir?” when he had been quite silent. Grandcourt himself felt an irritation74, which he did not show except by a slight movement of the eyelids75, at Deronda’s turning round on him when he was not asked to do more than speak. But he answered, with his usual drawl, “Yes, I know her,” and paused with his shoulder toward Deronda, to look at the gambling.
“What of her, eh?” asked Sir Hugo of Lush, as the three moved on a little way. “She must be a new-comer at Offendene. Old Blenny lived there after the dowager died.”
“A little too much of her,” said Lush, in a low, significant tone; not sorry to let Sir Hugo know the state of affairs.
“He has been on the brink78 of marrying her,” Lush went on. “But I hope it’s off now. She’s a niece of the clergyman—Gascoigne—at Pennicote. Her mother is a widow with a brood of daughters. This girl will have nothing, and is as dangerous as gunpowder79. It would be a foolish marriage. But she has taken a freak against him, for she ran off here without notice, when he had agreed to call the next day. The fact is, he’s here after her; but he was in no great hurry, and between his caprice and hers they are likely enough not to get together again. But of course he has lost his chance with the heiress.”
Grandcourt joining them said, “What a beastly den9 this is!—a worse hole than Baden. I shall go back to the hotel.”
When Sir Hugo and Deronda were alone, the baronet began,
“Rather a pretty story. That girl has something in her. She must be worth running after—has de l’imprévu. I think her appearance on the scene has bettered my chance of getting Diplow, whether the marriage comes off or not.”
“I should hope a marriage like that would not come off,” said Deronda, in a tone of disgust.
“What! are you a little touched with the sublime80 lash81?” said Sir Hugo, putting up his glasses to help his short sight in looking at his companion. “Are you inclined to run after her?”
“On the contrary,” said Deronda, “I should rather be inclined to run away from her.”
“Why, you would easily cut out Grandcourt. A girl with her spirit would think you the finer match of the two,” said Sir Hugo, who often tried Deronda’s patience by finding a joke in impossible advice. (A difference of taste in jokes is a great strain on the affections.)
“I suppose pedigree and land belong to a fine match,” said Deronda, coldly.
“The best horse will win in spite of pedigree, my boy. You remember Napoleon’s mot—Je suis un ancêtre” said Sir Hugo, who habitually82 undervalued birth, as men after dining well often agree that the good of life is distributed with wonderful equality.
“I am not sure that I want to be an ancestor,” said Deronda. “It doesn’t seem to me the rarest sort of origination.”
“You won’t run after the pretty gambler, then?” said Sir Hugo, putting down his glasses.
“Decidedly not.”
This answer was perfectly83 truthful84; nevertheless it had passed through Deronda’s mind that under other circumstances he should have given way to the interest this girl had raised in him, and tried to know more of her. But his history had given him a stronger bias85 in another direction. He felt himself in no sense free.
该作者的其它作品
米德尔马契 Middlemarch
该作者的其它作品
米德尔马契 Middlemarch
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1
gambling
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| n.赌博；投机 | |
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symbolized
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| v.象征，作为…的象征( symbolize的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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reigning
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| adj.统治的，起支配作用的 | |
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bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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inclination
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| n.倾斜；点头；弯腰；斜坡；倾度；倾向；爱好 | |
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pawned
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| v.典当，抵押( pawn的过去式和过去分词 )；以（某事物）担保 | |
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redeemed
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| adj. 可赎回的，可救赎的 动词redeem的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
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entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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den
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| n.兽穴；秘密地方；安静的小房间，私室 | |
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intermittent
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| adj.间歇的，断断续续的 | |
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flickering
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| adj.闪烁的，摇曳的，一闪一闪的 | |
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myriads
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| n.无数，极大数量( myriad的名词复数 ) | |
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cravats
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| n.（系在衬衫衣领里面的）男式围巾( cravat的名词复数 ) | |
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zest
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| n.乐趣；滋味，风味；兴趣 | |
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obstinate
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| adj.顽固的，倔强的，不易屈服的，较难治愈的 | |
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persistent
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| adj.坚持不懈的，执意的；持续的 | |
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inexplicable
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| adj.无法解释的，难理解的 | |
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mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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ooze
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| n.软泥，渗出物；vi.渗出，泄漏；vt.慢慢渗出，流露 | |
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spurt
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| v.喷出；突然进发；突然兴隆 | |
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puddle
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| n.(雨)水坑，泥潭 | |
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displeased
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| a.不快的 | |
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piquancy
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| n.辛辣，辣味，痛快 | |
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resentment
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| n.怨愤，忿恨 | |
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mingled
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| 混合，混入( mingle的过去式和过去分词 )； 混进，与…交往[联系] | |
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alligator
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| n.短吻鳄(一种鳄鱼) | |
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credible
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| adj.可信任的，可靠的 | |
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flora
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| n.(某一地区的)植物群 | |
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middle-aged
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| adj.中年的 | |
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baron
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| n.男爵；(商业界等)巨头，大王 | |
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baroness
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| n.男爵夫人，女男爵 | |
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immediate
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| adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的 | |
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agitation
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| n.搅动；搅拌；鼓动，煽动 | |
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disappearance
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| n.消失，消散，失踪 | |
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deferred
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| adj.延期的，缓召的v.拖延，延缓，推迟( defer的过去式和过去分词 )；服从某人的意愿，遵从 | |
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petrified
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| adj.惊呆的；目瞪口呆的v.使吓呆，使惊呆；变僵硬；使石化(petrify的过去式和过去分词) | |
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maxims
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| n.格言，座右铭( maxim的名词复数 ) | |
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quotations
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| n.引用( quotation的名词复数 )；[商业]行情（报告）；（货物或股票的）市价；时价 | |
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electrify
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| v.使充电；使电气化；使触电；使震惊；使兴奋 | |
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fretted
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| 焦躁的，附有弦马的，腐蚀的 | |
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ballot
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| n.（不记名）投票，投票总数，投票权；vi.投票 | |
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venial
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| adj.可宽恕的；轻微的 | |
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inconvenient
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| adj.不方便的，令人感到麻烦的 | |
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grievance
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| n.怨愤，气恼，委屈 | |
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modicum
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| n.少量，一小份 | |
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retardation
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| n.智力迟钝，精神发育迟缓 | |
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confirmation
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| n.证实，确认，批准 | |
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disposition
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| n.性情，性格；意向，倾向；排列，部署 | |
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prospective
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| adj.预期的，未来的，前瞻性的 | |
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domain
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| n.(活动等)领域，范围；领地，势力范围 | |
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nil
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| n.无，全无，零 | |
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outlay
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| n.费用，经费，支出；v.花费 | |
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concurrence
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| n.同意；并发 | |
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demesne
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| n.领域，私有土地 | |
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peculiar
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| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
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strictly
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| adv.严厉地，严格地；严密地 | |
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mutual
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| adj.相互的，彼此的；共同的，共有的 | |
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expunged
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| v.擦掉( expunge的过去式和过去分词 )；除去；删去；消除 | |
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inclinations
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| 倾向( inclination的名词复数 )； 倾斜； 爱好； 斜坡 | |
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motives
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| n.动机，目的( motive的名词复数 ) | |
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chagrin
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| n.懊恼；气愤；委屈 | |
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afterward
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demeanor
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| n.行为；风度 | |
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rouged
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| 胭脂，口红( rouge的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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meshes
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| 网孔( mesh的名词复数 )； 网状物； 陷阱； 困境 | |
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curtly
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| adv.简短地 | |
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uncommonly
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| adv. 稀罕(极，非常) | |
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shrug
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| v.耸肩(表示怀疑、冷漠、不知等) | |
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ascertained
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| v.弄清，确定，查明( ascertain的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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piquant
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| adj.辛辣的，开胃的，令人兴奋的 | |
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temperament
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| n.气质，性格，性情 | |
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intensity
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| n.强烈，剧烈；强度；烈度 | |
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tint
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| n.淡色，浅色；染发剂；vt.着以淡淡的颜色 | |
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irritation
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| n.激怒，恼怒，生气 | |
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eyelids
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| n.眼睑( eyelid的名词复数 )；眼睛也不眨一下；不露声色；面不改色 | |
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salon
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| n.[法]沙龙；客厅；营业性的高级服务室 | |
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promenade
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| n./v.散步 | |
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brink
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| n.(悬崖、河流等的)边缘，边沿 | |
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gunpowder
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| n.火药 | |
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sublime
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| adj.崇高的，伟大的；极度的，不顾后果的 | |
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lash
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| v.系牢；鞭打；猛烈抨击；n.鞭打；眼睫毛 | |
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habitually
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| ad.习惯地，通常地 | |
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perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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truthful
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| adj.真实的，说实话的，诚实的 | |
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bias
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| n.偏见，偏心，偏袒；vt.使有偏见 | |
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