EPILOGUE

Three years later Bassett and Anne had a friend at dinner. He was a writer who had just returned from a successful lecture tour in Australia. On his way back he had ranged through the pleasant reaches of the South Seas and had fallen under their spell—a little more money in his pocket and for him it would be a plantation¹ on some isle² of enchantment³. Not the accessible places, they were already spoiled, steamers had come, jazz music, and tourists in pith helmets with red guidebooks were under your feet. It was the remoter islands, still out of the line of travel, where a trading schooner⁴ was the sole link with the world.

 

He had made a point of visiting some of these—hired an old tub with a native crew and gone batting about and had a glimpse of the real thing that Stevenson saw. And he enlarged on a particular[Pg 299] island, the endmost of a scattered⁵ group, where he had found an American and his wife running a copra plantation. Delightful⁶ people called Whittier, he’d stayed several days with them in a long bamboo house on the edge of a lagoon—you couldn’t imagine anything more beautiful.

 

Anne smiled at his enthusiasm and said she thought such a life might pall⁷, especially on the lady. But he was convinced of the contrary, in fact Mrs. Whittier had told him she never wanted to come back, she couldn’t stand the futile⁸ strain and bustle⁹ of the world. And it was not as if she were a person unused to the refinements¹⁰ of life, she was a pretty intelligent woman, cultivated and fond of the arts, especially the theater. She had asked him any amount of questions about plays and players—said it had been the thing she loved most in the old days. But she didn’t regret it; she had told him she regretted nothing but the separation from her friends.

 

After dinner, moving about in the sitting-room¹¹, [Pg 300]the guest had stopped before a photograph standing¹² on a side-table, picked it up and asked whose it was. Bassett had answered—a friend of his wife, now dead. But he would remember—it was Sybil Saunders who had met with such a tragic¹³ death some years ago. The guest nodded; of course he remembered, a horrible affair. Then after a last look at the photograph he turned to Anne:

 

“It’s like that Mrs. Whittier I was telling you about. Just the same eyes—quite remarkably¹⁴ like, only she’s a bit stouter¹⁵ and more mature. It might have been her picture when she was a girl.”

 

When the evening was over Bassett escorted the guest to the door. On his way back to the sitting-room he thought he would suggest to Anne that she put away the photograph—people noticed it and the subject kept coming up. It was evidently unbearably¹⁶ painful to her for she rarely spoke¹⁷ of it; that dark chapter in her life was a thing closed and sealed. He had the words on his lips as he entered the room and then saw [Pg 301]that she held the picture in her hands and was looking intently at it, softly smiling, her expression tranquil¹⁸, even happy. That was good—the wound had healed—so he said nothing.

1 plantation   

n.种植园，大农场

参考例句：

• His father-in-law is a plantation manager.他岳父是个种植园经营者。
• The plantation owner has possessed himself of a vast piece of land.这个种植园主把大片土地占为己有。

2 isle   

n.小岛，岛

参考例句：

• He is from the Isle of Man in the Irish Sea.他来自爱尔兰海的马恩岛。
• The boat left for the paradise isle of Bali.小船驶向天堂一般的巴厘岛。

3 enchantment   

n.迷惑，妖术，魅力

参考例句：

• The beauty of the scene filled us with enchantment.风景的秀丽令我们陶醉。
• The countryside lay as under some dread enchantment.乡村好像躺在某种可怖的魔法之下。

4 schooner   

n.纵帆船

参考例句：

• The schooner was driven ashore.那条帆船被冲上了岸。
• The current was bearing coracle and schooner southward at an equal rate.急流正以同样的速度将小筏子和帆船一起冲向南方。

5 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。

6 delightful   

adj.令人高兴的，使人快乐的

参考例句：

• We had a delightful time by the seashore last Sunday.上星期天我们在海滨玩得真痛快。
• Peter played a delightful melody on his flute.彼得用笛子吹奏了一支欢快的曲子。

7 pall   

v.覆盖，使平淡无味；n.柩衣，棺罩；棺材；帷幕

参考例句：

• Already the allure of meals in restaurants had begun to pall.饭店里的饭菜已经不像以前那样诱人。
• I find his books begin to pall on me after a while.我发觉他的书读过一阵子就开始对我失去吸引力。

8 futile   

adj.无效的，无用的，无希望的

参考例句：

• They were killed,to the last man,in a futile attack.因为进攻失败，他们全部被杀，无一幸免。
• Their efforts to revive him were futile.他们对他抢救无效。

9 bustle   

v.喧扰地忙乱，匆忙，奔忙；n.忙碌；喧闹

参考例句：

• The bustle and din gradually faded to silence as night advanced.随着夜越来越深，喧闹声逐渐沉寂。
• There is a lot of hustle and bustle in the railway station.火车站里非常拥挤。

10 refinements   

n.（生活）风雅；精炼( refinement的名词复数 )；改良品；细微的改良；优雅或高贵的动作

参考例句：

• The new model has electric windows and other refinements. 新型号有电动窗和其他改良装置。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• It is possible to add a few useful refinements to the basic system. 对基本系统进行一些有益的改良是可能的。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 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。

12 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。

13 tragic   

adj.悲剧的，悲剧性的，悲惨的

参考例句：

• The effect of the pollution on the beaches is absolutely tragic.污染海滩后果可悲。
• Charles was a man doomed to tragic issues.查理是个注定不得善终的人。

14 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。

15 stouter   

粗壮的( stout的比较级 )； 结实的； 坚固的； 坚定的

参考例句：

• Freddie was much stouter, more benevolent-looking, cheerful, and far more dandified. 弗烈特显得更魁伟，更善良、更快活，尤其更像花花公子。 来自教父部分
• Why hadn't she thought of putting on stouter shoes last night? 她昨天晚上怎么没想起换上一双硬些的鞋呢？

16 unbearably   

adv.不能忍受地，无法容忍地；慌

参考例句：

• It was unbearably hot in the car. 汽车里热得难以忍受。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She found it unbearably painful to speak. 她发现开口说话痛苦得令人难以承受。 来自《简明英汉词典》

17 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。

18 tranquil   

adj. 安静的, 宁静的, 稳定的, 不变的

参考例句：

• The boy disturbed the tranquil surface of the pond with a stick. 那男孩用棍子打破了平静的池面。
• The tranquil beauty of the village scenery is unique. 这乡村景色的宁静是绝无仅有的。