WHAT MIGHT HAVE BEEN

 Unfortunately it was Sunday; therefore the gardeners could not be ordered to shift the long row of flower pots from the side of the terrace next the house, where Dolly had ordered them to be put, to the side remote from the house, where Dolly now wished them to stand. Yet Dolly could not think of living with the pots where they were till Monday. It would kill her, she said. So Archie left the cool shade of the great trees, where Dolly sat doing nothing, and Nellie Phaeton sat splicing¹ the gig whip, and I lay in a deck chair with something iced beside me. Outside the sun was broiling² hot and poor Archie mopped his brow at every weary journey across the broad terrace.

 

“It’s a burning’ shame, Dolly,” said Miss Phaeton. “I wouldn’t do it if I were him.”

 

“Oh, yes, you would, dear,” said Dolly. “The pots looked atrocious on that side.”

 

I took a long sip³ from my glass, and observed in a meditative⁵ tone:

 

“There but for the grace of woman, goes Samuel Travers Carter.”

 

Dolly’s lazy lids half lifted. Miss Phaeton mumbled⁶ (Her mouth was full of twine⁷):

 

“What DO you mean?”

 

“Nemo omnibus horis sapit,” said I apologetically.

 

“I don’t know what that means either.”

 

“Nemo—everybody,” I translated, “sapit—has been in love—omnibus—once—horis—at least.”

 

“Oh, and you mean she wouldn’t have you?” asked Nellie, with blunt directness.

 

“Not quite that,” said I. “They—”

 

“THEY?” murmured Dolly, with half-lifted lids.

 

“THEY,” I pursued, “regretfully recognized my impossibility. Hence I am not carrying pots across a broad terrace under a hot sun.”

 

“Why did they think you impossible?” asked Miss Phaeton, who takes much interest in this sort of question.

 

“A variety of reasons: for one, I was too clever, for another, too stupid; for others, too good—or too bad; too serious—or too frivolous⁸; too poor or—”

 

“Well, no one objected to your money, I suppose?” interrupted Nellie.

 

“Pardon me. I was about to say ‘or not rich enough.’”

 

“But that’s the same thing.”

 

“The antithesis⁹ is certainly imperfect,” I admitted.

 

“Mr. Gay,” said Nellie, introducing the name with some timidity, “you know who I mean?—the poet—once said to me that man was essentially¹⁰ imperfect until he was married.”

 

“It is true,” I agreed. “And woman until she is dead.”

 

“I don’t think he meant it quite in that sense,” said Nellie, rather puzzled.

 

“I don’t think he meant it in any sense,” murmured Dolly, a little unkindly.

 

We might have gone on talking in this way for ever so long had not Archie at this point dropped a large flower pot and smashed it to bits. He stood looking at the bits for a moment, and then came towards us and sank into a chair.

 

“I’m off!” he announced.

 

“And half are on one side, and half on the other,” said Dolly, regretfully.

 

A sudden impulse seized me. I got up, put on my straw hat, took off my coat, walked out into the sun, and began to move flower pots across the broad terrace. I heard a laugh from Archie, a little cry from Dolly, and from Nellie Phaeton, “Goodness, what’s he doing that for?” I was not turned from my purpose. The luncheon¹¹ bell rang. Miss Phaeton, whip and twine in hand, walked into the house. Archie followed her, saying as he passed that he hoped I shouldn’t find it warm. I went on shifting the flower pots. They were very heavy. I broke two, but I went on. Presently Dolly put up her parasol and came out from the shade to watch me. She stood there for a moment or two. Then, she said:

 

“Well, do you think you’d like it, Mr. Carter?”

 

“Wait till I’ve finished,” said I, waving my hand.

 

Another ten minutes saw the end of my task. Panting and hot I sought the shade, and flung myself onto my deck chair again. I also lit a cigarette.

 

“I think they looked better on the other side, after all,” said Dolly meditatively¹².

 

“Of course you do,” said I urbanely¹³. “You needn’t tell me that”

 

“Perhaps you’d like to move them back,” she suggested.

 

“No,” said I. “I’ve done enough to create the impression.”

 

“And how did you like it?”

 

“It was,” said I, “in its way a pleasant enough illusion.” And I shrugged¹⁴ my shoulders, and blew a ring of smoke.

 

To my very considerable gratification, Dolly’s tone manifested some annoyance¹⁵ as she asked:

 

“Why do you say, ‘in its way’?”

 

“Because, in spite of the momentary¹⁶ pleasure I gained from feeling myself a married man, I could not banish¹⁷ the idea that we should not permanently¹⁸ suit one another.”

 

“Oh, you thought that?” said Dolly, smiling again.

 

“I must confess it,” said I. “The fault, I know, would be mine.”

 

“I’m sure of that,” said Dolly.

 

“But the fact is that I can’t exist in too high altitudes. The rarefaction of the moral atmosphere—”

 

“Please don’t use all those long words.”

 

“Well, then, to put it plainly,” said I, with a pleasant smile, “I felt all the time that Mrs. Hilary would be too good for me.”

 

It is not very often that it falls to my humble¹⁹ lot to startle Lady Mickleham out of her composure. But at this point she sat up quite straight in her chair; her cheek flushed, and her eyelids²⁰ ceased to droop²¹ in indolent insouciance²².

 

“Mrs. Hilary!” she said. “What has Mrs. Hilary—?

 

“I really thought you understood,” said I, “the object of my experiment.”

 

Dolly glanced at me. I believe that my expression was absolutely innocent—and I am, of course sure that hers expressed mere²³ surprise.

 

“I thought,” she said, after a pause, “that you were thinking of Nellie Phaeton.”

 

“Oh, I see,” cried I smiling. “A natural mistake, to be sure.”

 

“She thought so too,” pursued Dolly, biting her lip.

 

“Did she though?”

 

“And I’m sure she’d be quite annoyed if she thought you were thinking of Mrs. Hilary.”

 

“As a matter of fact,” I observed, “she didn’t understand what I was doing at all.”

 

Dolly leant back. The relics²⁴ of a frown still dwelt on her brow; presently, however, she began to swing her hat on her forefinger²⁵, and she threw a look at me. I immediately looked up toward the branches above my head.

 

“We might as well go in to lunch,” said Dolly.

 

“By all means,” I acquiesced²⁶, with alacrity²⁷.

 

We went out into the sunshine, and came where the pots were. Suddenly Dolly said:

 

“Go back and sit down again, Mr. Carter.”

 

“I want my lunch,” I ventured to observe.

 

“Do as I tell you,” said Dolly, stamping her foot; whereat, much intimidated²⁸, I went back, and stretched myself once more on the deck chair.

 

Dolly approached a flower pot. She stooped down, exerting her strength, lifted it, and carried it, not without effort, across the terrace.

 

Again she did the like. I sat smoking and watching. She lifted a third pot, but dropped it half way. Then, dusting her hands against one another, she came back slowly into the shade and sat down. I made no remark.

 

Dolly glanced at me.

 

“Well?” she said.

 

“Woman—woman—woman!” said I sadly.

 

“Must I carry some more?” asked Dolly, in a humble, yet protesting, tone.

 

“Mrs. Hilary,” I began, “is an exceedingly attractive—”

 

Dolly rose with a sigh.

 

“Where are you going?” I asked.

 

“More pots,” said Dolly, standing²⁹ opposite me. “I must go on, you see.”

 

“Till when, Lady Mickleham?”

 

“Till you tell the truth,” said Dolly, and she suddenly burst into a little laugh.

 

“Woman—woman—woman!” said I again. “Let’s go in to lunch.”

 

“I’m going to carry the pots,” said Dolly. “It’s awfully³⁰ hot, Mr. Carter—and look at my poor hands!”

 

She held them out to me.

 

“Lunch!” said I.

 

“Pots!” said Dolly, with infinite firmness.

 

The window of the dining room opened and Archie put his head out.

 

“Come along, you two,” he called. “Everything’s getting cold.”

 

Dolly turned an appealing glance on me.

 

“How obstinate³¹ you are!” she said. “You know perfectly³² well—”

 

I began to walk towards the house.

 

“I’m going in to lunch,” said I.

 

“Ask them to keep some for me,” said Dolly, and she turned up the sleeves of her gown, till her wrists were free.

 

“It’s most unfair,” said I indignantly.

 

“I don’t care if it is,” said Dolly, stooping down to lift a pot.

 

I watched her strain to lift it. She had chosen the largest and heaviest; she sighed delicately and delicately she panted. She also looked at her hands, and held them up for me to see the lines of brown on the pink. I put my hands in my pockets and said most sulkily, as I turned away towards the house:

 

“All right. It wasn’t Mrs. Hilary then.”

 

Dolly rose up, seized me by the arm, and made me run to the house.

 

“Mr. Carter,” she cried, “would stop for those wretched pots. He’s moved all except two, but he’s broken three. Isn’t he stupid?”

 

“You are an old ass⁴, Carter,” said Archie.

 

“I believe you’re right, Archie,” said I.

1 splicing   

n.编接（绳）；插接；捻接；叠接v.绞接( splice的现在分词 )；捻接（两段绳子）；胶接；粘接（胶片、磁带等）

参考例句：

• An ultra_low _loss splicing without conventional power monitoring could be achieved. 焊接最低损耗在非常规能源运作下将可能做到。 来自互联网
• Film, tissue backing. For splicing, holding in shoe and general purpose use. 具有薄膜、棉纸基材，适用于铭版、皮革及一般性双面贴合。 来自互联网

2 broiling   

adj.酷热的，炽热的，似烧的v.（用火）烤（焙、炙等）( broil的现在分词 )；使卷入争吵；使混乱；被烤（或炙）

参考例句：

• They lay broiling in the sun. 他们躺在太阳底下几乎要晒熟了。
• I'm broiling in this hot sun. 在太阳底下，我感到热极了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 sip   

v.小口地喝，抿，呷；n.一小口的量

参考例句：

• She took a sip of the cocktail.她啜饮一口鸡尾酒。
• Elizabeth took a sip of the hot coffee.伊丽莎白呷了一口热咖啡。

4 ass   

n.驴；傻瓜，蠢笨的人

参考例句：

• He is not an ass as they make him.他不象大家猜想的那样笨。
• An ass endures his burden but not more than his burden.驴能负重但不能超过它能力所负担的。

5 meditative   

adj.沉思的，冥想的

参考例句：

• A stupid fellow is talkative;a wise man is meditative.蠢人饶舌，智者思虑。
• Music can induce a meditative state in the listener.音乐能够引导倾听者沉思。

6 mumbled   

含糊地说某事，叽咕，咕哝( mumble的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He mumbled something to me which I did not quite catch. 他对我叽咕了几句话，可我没太听清楚。
• George mumbled incoherently to himself. 乔治语无伦次地喃喃自语。

7 twine   

v.搓，织，编饰；（使）缠绕

参考例句：

• He tied the parcel with twine.他用细绳捆包裹。
• Their cardboard boxes were wrapped and tied neatly with waxed twine.他们的纸板盒用蜡线扎得整整齐齐。

8 frivolous   

adj.轻薄的；轻率的

参考例句：

• This is a frivolous way of attacking the problem.这是一种轻率敷衍的处理问题的方式。
• He spent a lot of his money on frivolous things.他在一些无聊的事上花了好多钱。

9 antithesis   

n.对立；相对

参考例句：

• The style of his speech was in complete antithesis to mine.他和我的讲话方式完全相反。
• His creation was an antithesis to academic dogmatism of the time.他的创作与当时学院派的教条相对立。

10 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

11 luncheon   

n.午宴，午餐，便宴

参考例句：

• We have luncheon at twelve o'clock.我们十二点钟用午餐。
• I have a luncheon engagement.我午饭有约。

12 meditatively   

adv.冥想地

参考例句：

• The old man looked meditatively at the darts board. 老头儿沉思不语，看着那投镖板。 来自英汉文学
• "Well,'said the foreman, scratching his ear meditatively, "we do need a stitcher. “这--"工头沉思地搔了搔耳朵。 "我们确实需要一个缝纫工。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

13 urbanely   

adv.都市化地，彬彬有礼地，温文尔雅地

参考例句：

• Don't let the repoter spook you, and you have to behave urbanely. 别让记者缠住你，而你还得举止文雅。 来自互联网

14 shrugged   

vt.耸肩（shrug的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• Sam shrugged and said nothing. 萨姆耸耸肩膀，什么也没说。
• She shrugged, feigning nonchalance. 她耸耸肩，装出一副无所谓的样子。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 annoyance   

n.恼怒，生气，烦恼

参考例句：

• Why do you always take your annoyance out on me?为什么你不高兴时总是对我出气？
• I felt annoyance at being teased.我恼恨别人取笑我。

16 momentary   

adj.片刻的，瞬息的；短暂的

参考例句：

• We are in momentary expectation of the arrival of you.我们无时无刻不在盼望你的到来。
• I caught a momentary glimpse of them.我瞥了他们一眼。

17 banish   

vt.放逐，驱逐；消除，排除

参考例句：

• The doctor advised her to banish fear and anxiety.医生劝她消除恐惧和忧虑。
• He tried to banish gloom from his thought.他试图驱除心中的忧愁。

18 permanently   

adv.永恒地，永久地，固定不变地

参考例句：

• The accident left him permanently scarred.那次事故给他留下了永久的伤疤。
• The ship is now permanently moored on the Thames in London.该船现在永久地停泊在伦敦泰晤士河边。

19 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。

20 eyelids   

n.眼睑( eyelid的名词复数 )；眼睛也不眨一下；不露声色；面不改色

参考例句：

• She was so tired, her eyelids were beginning to droop. 她太疲倦了，眼睑开始往下垂。
• Her eyelids drooped as if she were on the verge of sleep. 她眼睑低垂好像快要睡着的样子。 来自《简明英汉词典》

21 droop   

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。

22 insouciance   

n.漠不关心

参考例句：

• He replied with characteristic insouciance:"So what?"他以一贯的漫不经心回答道：“那又怎样？”
• What explains this apparent insouciance?用什么能够解释这种视而不见呢？

23 mere   

adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过

参考例句：

• That is a mere repetition of what you said before.那不过是重复了你以前讲的话。
• It's a mere waste of time waiting any longer.再等下去纯粹是浪费时间。

24 relics   

[pl.］n.遗物，遗迹，遗产；遗体，尸骸

参考例句：

• The area is a treasure house of archaeological relics. 这个地区是古文物遗迹的宝库。
• Xi'an is an ancient city full of treasures and saintly relics. 西安是一个有很多宝藏和神圣的遗物的古老城市。

25 forefinger   

n.食指

参考例句：

• He pinched the leaf between his thumb and forefinger.他将叶子捏在拇指和食指之间。
• He held it between the tips of his thumb and forefinger.他用他大拇指和食指尖拿着它。

26 acquiesced   

v.默认，默许( acquiesce的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Senior government figures must have acquiesced in the cover-up. 政府高级官员必然已经默许掩盖真相。
• After a lot of persuasion,he finally acquiesced. 经过多次劝说，他最终默许了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

27 alacrity   

n.敏捷，轻快，乐意

参考例句：

• Although the man was very old,he still moved with alacrity.他虽然很老，动作仍很敏捷。
• He accepted my invitation with alacrity.他欣然接受我的邀请。

28 intimidated   

v.恐吓；威胁adj.害怕的；受到威胁的

参考例句：

• We try to make sure children don't feel intimidated on their first day at school. 我们努力确保孩子们在上学的第一天不胆怯。
• The thief intimidated the boy into not telling the police. 这个贼恫吓那男孩使他不敢向警察报告。 来自《简明英汉词典》

29 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

30 awfully   

adv.可怕地，非常地，极端地

参考例句：

• Agriculture was awfully neglected in the past.过去农业遭到严重忽视。
• I've been feeling awfully bad about it.对这我一直感到很难受。

31 obstinate   

adj.顽固的，倔强的，不易屈服的，较难治愈的

参考例句：

• She's too obstinate to let anyone help her.她太倔强了，不会让任何人帮她的。
• The trader was obstinate in the negotiation.这个商人在谈判中拗强固执。

32 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。