CHAPTER XX A VITAL QUESTION

A whalebone Anastasia brought a second cup for “this gentleman.” She heard well enough the trace of guilt¹ in Father Maloney’s voice, knew also well enough who the gentleman was, of that you may be very sure. You cannot, believe me, pass two days, or even one day, in Malford without the majority of the population becoming fully² and miraculously³ acquainted with your whole previous history and antecedents. I’ll not vouch⁴ for the entire accuracy of the information; to do so would be mere⁵ rashness on my part, but certain it is that the information collected by Anastasia was more than sufficient to account for her whalebone rigidity⁶ of bearing, and also for an unpleasant little sniff⁷ on receiving Father Maloney’s order.

 

If she imagined that this obvious disapproval⁸ of manner would affect Father Maloney, she was vastly mistaken, at all events as to the manner [Pg 157]of effect produced. You might have imagined that twelve years in his service might have gained her some experience. But not a bit of it. Her own preconceived notions of what should be were infinitely⁹ too deeply engraven to be eradicated¹⁰ by what was. If I desired to be trite¹¹, I might discourse¹² for a chapter and more on this common state of affairs.

 

Father Maloney’s sitting-room¹³ was a small, shabby place. There was nothing artistic¹⁴ about it; there was nothing even particularly comfortable, with the exception of two large armchairs, which, having been much sat in, had become remarkably¹⁵ adapted to the human form. Anastasia having had a field day therein that morning, it smelt¹⁶ both clean and bare. It had that peculiar¹⁷, tidy, empty smell of a newly cleaned room.

 

After such a day, Father Maloney uttered inward prayers for patience. Long experience had shown him that it was useless to inform her that a desk was specially¹⁸ constructed to hold scattered¹⁹ papers; that chairs were an infinitely preferable receptacle for books than the top shelf of a lofty bookcase; that a tobacco jar was intended[Pg 158] to stand on the piano, rather than in a cupboard behind a waste-paper basket, a coal-scuttle, a broken chair, and a screen; that the bottom drawer of a bureau, which opened only by sheer physical force, was not the place he would ordinarily choose for his pipes. Such information fell on ears as deaf as the ears of the proverbial adder²⁰, despite the wise charm of its utterance²¹. Therefore, having in view Anastasia’s other, and excellent, qualities, Father Maloney merely prayed for patience, as I have indicated.

 

David looked round the room. In a manner of speaking, he weighed, judged and appraised²² the mental atmosphere from that which he noted²³.

 

Firstly, he observed the shabbiness, which I have mentioned; secondly²⁴, he smelt the almost aggressive cleanliness, which I have also mentioned; thirdly, he noted a curiously²⁵ combined homeliness²⁶ and discomfort²⁷; fourthly, he took in various details,—a prie-dieu in one corner, with a cheap Crucifix above it; a large framed photogravure of Pope Pius X over the mantelpiece; a small, badly coloured statue of the Sacred Heart on one wooden bracket, and an equally badly coloured statue of Our Lady on another; gilt²⁸-framed [Pg 159]oleographs of saints scattered about the walls, the gilt poor and rubbed, the oleographs horribly crude; a thumbed office-book lying on a crimson²⁹ plush-covered sofa, the broken corner of a lace-edged card protruding³⁰ from it.

 

It was all amazingly artificial, and yet—well, it was real. There was the extraordinary paradox³¹. On one side the artificiality was utterly³² apparent; on the other it stood for something, and that something was neither artificial, imaginary, nor even commonplacely real, but vividly³³, vitally real. It was like recognizing a soul in a wax-work, or finding life in a daguerreotype³⁴.

 

David sniffed³⁵ the mental atmosphere, so to speak, vainly endeavouring to arrive at an understanding thereof, gave it up as a bad job, and then suddenly received a flash of illumination.

 

“It’s because it’s all real to him,” he concluded. But felt, nevertheless, that somehow the conclusion did not absolutely reach the mark.

 

Arriving at his second cup of tea, David spoke³⁶. The conversation so far had been more or less trivial. Here, it would appear, was a weightier matter.

 

“I’ve been asked to dine at the Castle on Thursday.”

 

[Pg 160]

 

“Yes?” From Father Maloney’s voice one might have judged the information as not altogether a surprise.

 

“I’ve accepted,” said David.

 

“Yes?” said Father Maloney again. He perceived that there was something further to come.

 

David reddened slightly beneath his tan.

 

“The fact is,” he blurted³⁷ out, “I’d forgotten all about dress clothes. I know people do wear the things. I haven’t got such a suit to my name.”

 

Father Maloney cut a slice of cake.

 

“Sure, such things are not obligatory³⁸ in the country at all, they are not,” quoth he calmly. “In the town now—but the country, ’tis quite another matter.” He looked straight at David’s anxious eyes.

 

“Sure?” demanded David.

 

“It’s dead certain I am,” returned Father Maloney.

 

David fetched a big sigh.

 

“I’m awfully³⁹ glad I mentioned it to you,” he responded. “The matter was sitting on my chest a bit.”

 

“Glory be to God!” laughed Father Maloney.

 

1 guilt   

n.犯罪；内疚；过失，罪责

参考例句：

• She tried to cover up her guilt by lying.她企图用谎言掩饰自己的罪行。
• Don't lay a guilt trip on your child about schoolwork.别因为功课责备孩子而使他觉得很内疚。

2 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

3 miraculously   

ad.奇迹般地

参考例句：

• He had been miraculously saved from almost certain death. 他奇迹般地从死亡线上获救。
• A schoolboy miraculously survived a 25 000-volt electric shock. 一名男学生在遭受2.5 万伏的电击后奇迹般地活了下来。

4 vouch   

v.担保；断定；n.被担保者

参考例句：

• They asked whether I was prepared to vouch for him.他们问我是否愿意为他作担保。
• I can vouch for the fact that he is a good worker.我保证他是好员工。

5 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。

6 rigidity   

adj.钢性，坚硬

参考例句：

• The rigidity of the metal caused it to crack.这金属因刚度强而产生裂纹。
• He deplored the rigidity of her views.他痛感她的观点僵化。

7 sniff   

vi.嗅…味道；抽鼻涕；对嗤之以鼻，蔑视

参考例句：

• The police used dogs to sniff out the criminals in their hiding - place.警察使用警犬查出了罪犯的藏身地点。
• When Munchie meets a dog on the beach, they sniff each other for a while.当麦奇在海滩上碰到另一条狗的时候，他们会彼此嗅一会儿。

8 disapproval   

n.反对，不赞成

参考例句：

• The teacher made an outward show of disapproval.老师表面上表示不同意。
• They shouted their disapproval.他们喊叫表示反对。

9 infinitely   

adv.无限地，无穷地

参考例句：

• There is an infinitely bright future ahead of us.我们有无限光明的前途。
• The universe is infinitely large.宇宙是无限大的。

10 eradicated   

画着根的

参考例句：

• Polio has been virtually eradicated in Brazil. 在巴西脊髓灰质炎实际上已经根除。
• The disease has been eradicated from the world. 这种疾病已在全世界得到根除。

11 trite   

adj.陈腐的

参考例句：

• The movie is teeming with obvious and trite ideas.这部电影充斥着平铺直叙的陈腐观点。
• Yesterday,in the restaurant,Lorraine had seemed trite,blurred,worn away.昨天在饭店里，洛兰显得庸俗、堕落、衰老了。

12 discourse   

n.论文，演说；谈话；话语；vi.讲述，著述

参考例句：

• We'll discourse on the subject tonight.我们今晚要谈论这个问题。
• He fell into discourse with the customers who were drinking at the counter.他和站在柜台旁的酒客谈了起来。

13 sitting-room   

n.（BrE）客厅，起居室

参考例句：

• The sitting-room is clean.起居室很清洁。
• Each villa has a separate sitting-room.每栋别墅都有一间独立的起居室。

14 artistic   

adj.艺术(家)的，美术(家)的；善于艺术创作的

参考例句：

• The picture on this screen is a good artistic work.这屏风上的画是件很好的艺术品。
• These artistic handicrafts are very popular with foreign friends.外国朋友很喜欢这些美术工艺品。

15 remarkably   

ad.不同寻常地，相当地

参考例句：

• I thought she was remarkably restrained in the circumstances. 我认为她在那种情况下非常克制。
• He made a remarkably swift recovery. 他康复得相当快。

16 smelt   

v.熔解，熔炼；n.银白鱼，胡瓜鱼

参考例句：

• Tin is a comparatively easy metal to smelt.锡是比较容易熔化的金属。
• Darby was looking for a way to improve iron when he hit upon the idea of smelting it with coke instead of charcoal.达比一直在寻找改善铁质的方法，他猛然想到可以不用木炭熔炼，而改用焦炭。

17 peculiar   

adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的

参考例句：

• He walks in a peculiar fashion.他走路的样子很奇特。
• He looked at me with a very peculiar expression.他用一种很奇怪的表情看着我。

18 specially   

adv.特定地；特殊地；明确地

参考例句：

• They are specially packaged so that they stack easily.它们经过特别包装以便于堆放。
• The machine was designed specially for demolishing old buildings.这种机器是专为拆毁旧楼房而设计的。

19 scattered   

adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的

参考例句：

• Gathering up his scattered papers,he pushed them into his case.他把散乱的文件收拾起来，塞进文件夹里。

20 adder   

n.蝰蛇；小毒蛇

参考例句：

• The adder is Britain's only venomous snake.蝰蛇是英国唯一的一种毒蛇。
• An adder attacked my father.一条小毒蛇攻击了我父亲。

21 utterance   

n.用言语表达，话语，言语

参考例句：

• This utterance of his was greeted with bursts of uproarious laughter.他的讲话引起阵阵哄然大笑。
• My voice cleaves to my throat,and sob chokes my utterance.我的噪子哽咽，泣不成声。

22 appraised   

v.估价( appraise的过去式和过去分词 )；估计；估量；评价

参考例句：

• The teacher appraised the pupil's drawing. 老师评价了那个学生的画。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He appraised the necklace at ￡1000. 据他估计，项链价值1000英镑。 来自《简明英汉词典》

23 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

24 secondly   

adv.第二，其次

参考例句：

• Secondly,use your own head and present your point of view.第二，动脑筋提出自己的见解。
• Secondly it is necessary to define the applied load.其次，需要确定所作用的载荷。

25 curiously   

adv.有求知欲地；好问地；奇特地

参考例句：

• He looked curiously at the people.他好奇地看着那些人。
• He took long stealthy strides. His hands were curiously cold.他迈着悄没声息的大步。他的双手出奇地冷。

26 homeliness   

n.简朴，朴实；相貌平平

参考例句：

• Fine clothes could not conceal the girl's homeliness. 华丽的衣服并不能掩盖这个女孩的寻常容貌。 来自《简明英汉词典》

27 discomfort   

n.不舒服，不安，难过，困难，不方便

参考例句：

• One has to bear a little discomfort while travelling.旅行中总要忍受一点不便。
• She turned red with discomfort when the teacher spoke.老师讲话时她不好意思地红着脸。

28 gilt   

adj.镀金的；n.金边证券

参考例句：

• The plates have a gilt edge.这些盘子的边是镀金的。
• The rest of the money is invested in gilt.其余的钱投资于金边证券。

29 crimson   

n./adj.深(绯)红色(的)；vi.脸变绯红色

参考例句：

• She went crimson with embarrassment.她羞得满脸通红。
• Maple leaves have turned crimson.枫叶已经红了。

30 protruding   

v.（使某物）伸出，（使某物）突出( protrude的现在分词 )；凸

参考例句：

• He hung his coat on a nail protruding from the wall. 他把上衣挂在凸出墙面的一根钉子上。
• There is a protruding shelf over a fireplace. 壁炉上方有个突出的架子。 来自辞典例句

31 paradox   

n.似乎矛盾却正确的说法；自相矛盾的人(物)

参考例句：

• The story contains many levels of paradox.这个故事存在多重悖论。
• The paradox is that Japan does need serious education reform.矛盾的地方是日本确实需要教育改革。

32 utterly   

adv.完全地，绝对地

参考例句：

• Utterly devoted to the people,he gave his life in saving his patients.他忠于人民，把毕生精力用于挽救患者的生命。
• I was utterly ravished by the way she smiled.她的微笑使我完全陶醉了。

33 vividly   

adv.清楚地，鲜明地，生动地

参考例句：

• The speaker pictured the suffering of the poor vividly.演讲者很生动地描述了穷人的生活。
• The characters in the book are vividly presented.这本书里的人物写得栩栩如生。

34 daguerreotype   

n.银板照相

参考例句：

• The inventor of the daguerreotype is a French artist.银版照相的发明者是位法国艺术家。
• The image was taken by louis daguerre who invented the daguerreotype-one of the earliest methods of photography.这张照片是由路易斯达盖尔拍摄，他发明了银版照相法-摄影的最早方法之一。

35 sniffed   

v.以鼻吸气，嗅，闻( sniff的过去式和过去分词 )；抽鼻子（尤指哭泣、患感冒等时出声地用鼻子吸气）；抱怨，不以为然地说

参考例句：

• When Jenney had stopped crying she sniffed and dried her eyes. 珍妮停止了哭泣，吸了吸鼻子，擦干了眼泪。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The dog sniffed suspiciously at the stranger. 狗疑惑地嗅着那个陌生人。 来自《简明英汉词典》

36 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。

37 blurted   

v.突然说出，脱口而出( blurt的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She blurted it out before I could stop her. 我还没来得及制止，她已脱口而出。
• He blurted out the truth, that he committed the crime. 他不慎说出了真相，说是他犯了那个罪。 来自《简明英汉词典》

38 obligatory   

adj.强制性的，义务的，必须的

参考例句：

• It is obligatory for us to obey the laws.我们必须守法。
• It is obligatory on every citizen to safeguard our great motherland.保卫我们伟大的祖国是每一个公民应尽的义务。

39 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。