CHAPTER XIX. A TASK ACCOMPLISHED.

The next morning Mr. W—— sent one of his house-servants to the residence of Mr. Legare with the portfolio¹ of drawings, but without any message, for he knew the old gentleman would come to the bindery to hear how he had fared in his mission, and he could better tell him by word of mouth than on paper.

 

But the two sketches—the caricature of himself and foreman and the mountain scene—he took out, and carried them with him when he went down to the bindery. He went through the shop, as usual, after his arrival, and saw all the hands at their various benches and tables, and noticed with a sigh that Hattie Butler, her hair neatly³ bound up, sat in her plain, but becoming, dress at her table, apparently⁴ unconscious of everything but the work before her.

 

She did not even start and blush, as she had done once before, when he spoke⁵ to her, as he now bade her “good-morning,” but responded in a quiet, lady-like way—cheerfully, too—“good-morning, Mr. W——”

 

“Will you have the kindness to step into the office by and by, Miss Hattie, when you are most at leisure? I have something to show you,” he said.

 

“Certainly, Mr. W——. I have only ten more pages to arrange in this volume, and it will take me but a little while. Then I will come.”

 

Mr. W—— moved on around the room, speaking to one employee here and there till he saw her start[94] for the office, and he entered it a moment before she did.

 

“I have taken a liberty, I fear,” said he, “but in looking over your portfolio I found this sketch² by a different hand, and thinking you might not wish to part with it to Mr. Legare, I took it from the portfolio before sending it.”

 

“Oh, thank you—thank you, Mr. W——. I would not have parted with it for a world. I did not know it was in there. I thought I had restored it to the envelope in which it was sent to me by ——, a very dear friend.”

 

She blushed, and seemed confused as she spoke thus, rapidly, holding out her hand, and taking the sketch.

 

“And on another point I have taken a liberty,” he added, kindly⁶ looking away, that she might recover from her agitation⁷. “I found a very fine portrait of myself and one of Mr. Jones, our foreman, and, remembering well the scene, felt a desire to preserve it. Will you allow me to purchase it?”

 

And he exhibited the sketch which had made him and his sisters so merry the night before.

 

Hattie blushed to the very temples.

 

“Oh, forgive me, Mr. W——, I had forgotten that I ever made that sketch. If I had only thought of it I would have taken it out of the portfolio. But I was in a hurry, and perhaps agitated⁸ in my mind, when I got it and brought it down to you. Please let me tear it up; it was a thoughtless sketch, taken on the moment.”

 

“I would not have it torn up on any account, Miss Hattie. It is perfect and truthful⁹. I want to frame it, and hang it up where I can see it every day. It will teach me not to lose my temper, as I[95] did that day, with an old and a faithful employee. Please sell it to me.”

 

“I will not sell it to you, Mr. W——, but if you attach any value to it, please keep it as a welcome gift.”

 

“I thank you, Miss Hattie—from my heart I thank you. I will strive to make you a suitable return in some way.”

 

“I need none, Mr. W——. Is this all you require of me?”

 

“All at present, Miss Hattie. There is something I would like to talk with you about, but I will put it off to a time when I can speak and you listen thoughtfully.”

 

Hattie bowed, and went out to her work, after folding up that mountain sketch.

 

“I wonder who that very dear friend can be who sent her that sketch,” muttered Mr. W——, after Hattie had gone. “How she blushed when she spoke of whence it came, and took it from my hand. Oh, I hope and pray her heart is not already gone. If it is, what have I to hope for? For I love her—madly love her. I must know if her heart is disengaged. I dare not trust myself to ask her; I should break down in the attempt. I’ll write to her. Yes, on paper I may be able to express my thoughts.”

 

And going out to Mr. Jones, he gave directions that he was not to be disturbed by any one, except on the most unavoidable business, for the next hour.

 

And then he sat down at his desk to try to write out his hopes and his wishes, not asking now, as he had once before, “What will the world say about it?”

 

It seemed a hard task, for three times he filled a[96] sheet of paper and then burned it. It seemed as if he couldn’t get his thoughts together to suit him.

 

But at last he completed his letter, sealed and directed it, and made up his mind to hand it to Hattie just as she was leaving work at night.

 

And his heart was lighter¹¹ after the work was done. He had allowed himself to rise above the cold conventionalities of a callous¹², heartless world—to say to himself, “If she will but have me, I will wed¹⁰ worth, modesty¹³, purity, beauty, and virtue¹⁴, no matter how humble¹⁵ the source from whence all these attributes spring. I will not allow false pride or the opinions of others to chill the ardor¹⁶ of true and manly¹⁷ affection. I will be true to nature and nature’s God, and respond to the warm and noblest impulses which He alone can plant in the human breast.”

 

And it seemed as if a brighter light beamed in his eye when he left his office and came out among his work-people. There was surely a kindlier tone in his voice.

1 portfolio   

n.公事包；文件夹；大臣及部长职位

参考例句：

• He remembered her because she was carrying a large portfolio.他因为她带着一个大公文包而记住了她。
• He resigned his portfolio.他辞去了大臣职务。

2 sketch   

n.草图；梗概；素描；v.素描；概述

参考例句：

• My sister often goes into the country to sketch. 我姐姐常到乡间去写生。
• I will send you a slight sketch of the house.我将给你寄去房屋的草图。

3 neatly   

adv.整洁地，干净地，灵巧地，熟练地

参考例句：

• Sailors know how to wind up a long rope neatly.水手们知道怎样把一条大绳利落地缠好。
• The child's dress is neatly gathered at the neck.那孩子的衣服在领口处打着整齐的皱褶。

4 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。

5 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

6 kindly   

adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地

参考例句：

• Her neighbours spoke of her as kindly and hospitable.她的邻居都说她和蔼可亲、热情好客。
• A shadow passed over the kindly face of the old woman.一道阴影掠过老太太慈祥的面孔。

7 agitation   

n.搅动；搅拌；鼓动，煽动

参考例句：

• Small shopkeepers carried on a long agitation against the big department stores.小店主们长期以来一直在煽动人们反对大型百货商店。
• These materials require constant agitation to keep them in suspension.这些药剂要经常搅动以保持悬浮状态。

8 agitated   

adj.被鼓动的，不安的

参考例句：

• His answers were all mixed up,so agitated was he.他是那样心神不定，回答全乱了。
• She was agitated because her train was an hour late.她乘坐的火车晚点一个小时，她十分焦虑。

9 truthful   

adj.真实的，说实话的，诚实的

参考例句：

• You can count on him for a truthful report of the accident.你放心，他会对事故作出如实的报告的。
• I don't think you are being entirely truthful.我认为你并没全讲真话。

10 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。

11 lighter   

n.打火机，点火器；驳船；v.用驳船运送；light的比较级

参考例句：

• The portrait was touched up so as to make it lighter.这张画经过润色，色调明朗了一些。
• The lighter works off the car battery.引燃器利用汽车蓄电池打火。

12 callous   

adj.无情的，冷淡的，硬结的，起老茧的

参考例句：

• He is callous about the safety of his workers.他对他工人的安全毫不关心。
• She was selfish,arrogant and often callous.她自私傲慢，而且往往冷酷无情。

13 modesty   

n.谦逊，虚心，端庄，稳重，羞怯，朴素

参考例句：

• Industry and modesty are the chief factors of his success.勤奋和谦虚是他成功的主要因素。
• As conceit makes one lag behind,so modesty helps one make progress.骄傲使人落后，谦虚使人进步。

14 virtue   

n.德行，美德；贞操；优点；功效，效力

参考例句：

• He was considered to be a paragon of virtue.他被认为是品德尽善尽美的典范。
• You need to decorate your mind with virtue.你应该用德行美化心灵。

15 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。

16 ardor   

n.热情，狂热

参考例句：

• His political ardor led him into many arguments.他的政治狂热使他多次卷入争论中。
• He took up his pursuit with ardor.他满腔热忱地从事工作。

17 manly   

adj.有男子气概的；adv.男子般地，果断地

参考例句：

• The boy walked with a confident manly stride.这男孩以自信的男人步伐行走。
• He set himself manly tasks and expected others to follow his example.他给自己定下了男子汉的任务，并希望别人效之。