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首页 » 经典英文小说 » The Fortunate Calamity » CHAPTER VIII DERRICK FORMAN, THIRD
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CHAPTER VIII DERRICK FORMAN, THIRD
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IT WAS after the lesson for the next day had been carefully gone over and argued out, and while Aunt Elsie was debating with herself as to the wisdom of referring to their former conversation, that Derrick asked a question which settled the point.
 
"Aunt Elsie, do you mean that Uncle Derrick never came home at all, after that time when he went away, a boy?"
 
"Yes, I mean that; he never saw the old home again. Before the cloud was lifted from his name he said he didn't want to come. You see, he thought that nobody believed in him. Afterwards, when he might have come, father was gone, and he felt as though he couldn't bear it, to come back and miss him. It was about that time that your uncle began to write to me, regularly. Oh, dear, how I did enjoy those letters! I want to show you some of them, some time; especially that one he wrote about the boy who ruined his life, or at least did what he could toward it; nobody can ruin a life that has been given to the Lord, as his was."
 
"Was he—different from other boys about that, Aunt Elsie?" questioned the seventeen-year-old boy, with a shade of embarrassment3. He did not know just how to frame a question on such a subject. "I mean, he always a—well, a church member?"
 
"Oh, no, he wasn't; he was a good, noble-minded boy who tried about as hard as any of them to do right; but he said it was his trouble and the dreadful sense of loneliness which grew upon him, that led him at last to accept the friendship of Jesus. He told me all about it a little while afterward1. I guess nobody ever before wrote to just a sister such long, beautiful letters as he did to me; but you see I was all he had; father and mother and all the rest of them narrowed down to just me. It seems too bad. If your father—well, if they two had only understood each other, it would have been a great blessing4 to both. I thought it would break my heart altogether when those letters stopped coming. It was different with me from what it is with most girls; he was the only one who ever loved me much, except, of course, mother and father; but I was lame5 from my very babyhood, you may say, and homely6, and shy; I wasn't a bit like your Aunt Caroline, ever; and he, being alone, and taking a homesick sort of liking8 to the first real letter I wrote him, just adopted me in place of all his other kin7, except you."
 
"Except me!" exclaimed the astonished boy.
 
"Yes, he took the most amazing interest in you from the very first time he heard of you. Every little thing I could gather about you from any source I had to repeat to him. It was your name that especially interested him at first, and also one or two little things that I wrote about you; when you were just a tiny baby you used to remind us of your grandfather; and as you grew older you had a quaint9 little way of tossing back your hair and lifting up your chin, that was so exactly like him it was funny to see. I described it all to your uncle, and it seemed as though he could never hear enough. Then, of course, he was naturally interested in Joseph's boy; he loved your father, Derrick, with the kind of love that brothers do not often get, and he seemed to include you in the same feeling. He began, before you were two years old, to dream out your life for you, and pray it out. I can show you letters that will go straight to your heart. Since I have seen you here in your home and have grown to feel that I really know you, I have wondered if your Uncle Derrick didn't understand you a little better than any one else does."
 
Her eyes had softened10 and taken on a dreamy, tender look. Young Derrick, studying her face, respected the silence into which she had dropped. When she spoke11 again her voice was lower and showed a stronger effort at self-control.
 
"He sent me gifts, some of them very nice, and after he was gone, there was a box sent to me of treasures that he had gathered through the years; but I would have given them all up in a minute for the sake of a little while with him. I was to go out to him, Derrick, to live. The plans were all made, even to the day that I was to start. I was to join friends of his at Chicago, and he had the route all mapped out; the places where I would stop on the way, and every detail arranged for my comfort. I have never told anybody about this before. He wanted it so. That is, he advised me not to explain anything to the others until a day or two before I was to start. They were all gone from the old place at that time, every one but me; I was living there alone with my good companion and friend, Hannah Potter. I think Derrick had a feeling that some of the family would try to persuade me out of going, if they knew it long before, but they couldn't have done it; I was in eager haste to go; I thought about it day and night. He was quite a few years older than I, but he never seemed so to me; being separated from him when he was just a boy, he seemed to me always to stay so, while I knew that I had grown old fast. I think I had some such feeling as a mother might have; I looked forward to helping12 him; doing for him in all kinds of little ways; I knew I could make a home for him, and that was what he had missed. Then came the awful accident; and, after that, the end. Our Father in heaven had 'made home' for him, but I was left outside. I felt that I had lost the only one in the world who would ever love me."
 
With that last word her voice broke, and again there was silence in the room. Derrick swallowed hard and tried to speak, but at first no words would come. He had never been so moved in his life; the pathetic story of his uncle's wronged, desolate13, loveless life, and the sudden realization14 of his own part in the injustice15 done even to his memory had made a profound impression. The boy had gone about with it on his mind for two days; now here was this added touch in the heart-break of a lame old woman with whitening hair, who said that she had lost the only one in the world who would ever love her. Not much she hadn't! She should never have a chance to say that again, anyhow. Suddenly he burst forth16 with words:
 
"I say, Aunt Elsie, can't you take me for your boy? I'll do my level best to make up to you for—for everything; and I'll try with all my might to be the kind of man Uncle Derrick was, honor bright, I will."
 
Said Aunt Elsie to herself as she limped to her room that night, "The dear boy! I'll give him the book to-morrow."
 
It was left for Jean to do a little scoffing17 in a good-natured way. "The entire family gone wild over Aunt Elsie," she said, talking to Ray, but for the special benefit of Florence and Derrick; the latter stood with his hands in his pockets, whistling softly at intervals18 while he waited for Ray to sew on a button. "You and mother adopted her, from principle, of course, before she got here; no one expected anything else of you two; then Florence tumbled headlong after her as soon as it was found that she could hem2 invisibly, and darn, and pucker19, and do no end of wonderful things with her needle, not to speak of her bits of choice old lace to be borrowed on occasion. And here's Derrick her devoted20 slave on account of Latin! Also because she studied 'Moral Science,' whatever that was, in her girlhood; but what am I to do? I've no dresses to make over, or good enough to be adorned21, and I don't have Latin this year."
 
They laughed, of course; there seemed to be no other reply for such folly22; though Florence, with a touch of indignation, protested against being accused of self-interest; for her part, she did not see how anybody could help loving Aunt Elsie; such a cheery, capable, self-forgetful—
 
Jean interrupted: "Hear her use up the adjectives; there will be none left for my prize essay. But there is only one thing left for me to do in this family: I must plan something extraordinary; an elopement would be nice if I only knew how to bring my part about; I could be rescued at the last moment from the jaws23 of the tempter—is that a good simile24, Ray?—by the ubiquitous Aunt Elsie; and years afterward, when I learned that the man was a forger25, and burglar, and several other villainous things, I should fall on my knees before her in gratitude26, and adore her forever after; that is the way they do in books. Dick, if Aunt Elsie approves, you might call for me at Sherwin's about four, and we can make that promised call on the Arden girls, about the programme you know; be sure you ask Aunt Elsie first, though."
 
With this parting thrust Jean vanished, laughing as she went, and was presently seen hurrying down the street.
 
 
Derrick echoed her laugh, although there was a heightened color on his face; but Florence spoke her annoyance27:
 
"I can't think what has happened to Jean; when Aunt Elsie first came she got on with her much better than I did, and now she is really almost rude to her sometimes. Aunt Elsie takes it so patiently, too, and is always bright and pleasant with her. I don't know how to account for the way the child acts."
 
Derrick had already departed; there was no one to reply but Ray, who said, by way of excuse, that Jean had to have her fun, and that it must be remembered that she did not mean more than half she said, when she was in one of her semi-sarcastic moods. But Ray, too, was puzzled; she had been the first to notice the change in Jean; certainly her present line of action was very unlike her.
 
Aunt Elsie had now been a member of the family long enough for all to get their bearings, and, with the exception of Jean, they had not only ceased to sigh over the family upheaval28, but openly rejoiced in the new member's presence. "What would we do without Aunt Elsie!" was a sentiment that in varying forms of expression was now constantly heard in the household, but never from Jean.
 
That young woman, as she waited at the corner for her car, on the afternoon in question, shook herself irritably29, as if to shake off some annoyance. It was her way of expressing dissatisfaction with herself. As often as she was betrayed into expressions of annoyance, thinly veiled in playfulness over the present state of things in her home, she was ashamed of it.
 
"I need not have said that to Dick," she told herself. "I need not have said any of it, for that matter," and it humiliated30 her to think that she had again broken the resolution to "hold her tongue."
 
It is doubtful if she understood herself any better than her family did. Had she realized that her uncomfortable frame of mind sprang from an ugly root named "Jealousy," she would have been appalled31; had any one told her this she would probably have indignantly denied it; yet in plain prose, she was jealous of her aunt's influence over Dick, who had always seemed to belong almost exclusively to her. The two were so nearly of an age that they had taken their daily outings in the same baby carriage at the same time; and had been all but inseparable ever since. The fact that Jean was a few months older had seemed to give her a kind of dominance over her brother; at least he had followed her lead or fallen into line with her good-naturedly when their views crossed, nearly all his life. This, until very lately; she could not understand the change in him; within a few weeks on two or three notable occasions he had not only differed from her entirely32, but persisted in carrying out his own ways, even when they ran directly athwart hers. This he did with such cheerful assurance as to exasperate33 his sister still further. Not knowing how else to account for it, she decided34 to attribute it all to the influence of the aunt of whom he had suddenly become so fond; and she resented it.
 
"It is so ridiculous!" she said, with an angry toss of her head, as the tardy35 car still kept her waiting. "He seems to be actually infatuated with that lame old woman whom he called, when she first came, 'the homeliest critter he ever looked at!' Ray and Florence think he is 'so changed'; I should think he was! Of course, I am glad for some things; it is nice that he doesn't want to stay out nights any more, nor go to places that father does not like; but—couldn't he have done that for all our sakes, I should like to know! Just as though she was the only person in the world who cared for him! I believe I shall end by—" but here she suddenly checked herself; she had almost said she would end by hating that old woman! She did not mean that, of course; she was not even going to let herself think it for a moment; Aunt Elsie was all right enough for those who liked her; and there seemed to be plenty of them! Well, she had no objections; why should she have? But as for bowing down herself, to worship at the same shrine36, she was never going to do it, and they need not expect it; not if Aunt Elsie should say, every hour in the day, that "Jean had a voice she loved to listen to." What did she know about voices? The only thing she wanted of her was to let Dick alone.
 
As a matter of fact, it was altogether another influence that was dominating her brother's life and working its inevitable37 change in his character. Long before this time he had received his book, and read and re-read it. The smile with which he had first received it at his aunt's hand, after having heard its story, had in it a touch of superiority.
 
It was pathetic to see how much she thought of that diary of Uncle Derrick's; he would take the greatest possible care never to let her see that it couldn't by any possibility mean so much to him. It was fine, of course, to have a whole book written solely38 for one's self, and if his uncle had known how to write half so well as Aunt Elsie thought he did, there would be interesting things in it about the new country and the pioneer times in which he lived; but as for its being so very wonderful, why, of course—Here he shrugged39 his shoulders and laughed a little. All the same, trust him for helping Aunt Elsie to think that he considered it the most wonderful book that was ever written.
 
This, before he had read a line of it. Before he had read half a dozen pages he had begun to realize that at least it was different from any book of which he had ever heard.

点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 afterward fK6y3     
adv.后来;以后
参考例句:
  • Let's go to the theatre first and eat afterward. 让我们先去看戏,然后吃饭。
  • Afterward,the boy became a very famous artist.后来,这男孩成为一个很有名的艺术家。
2 hem 7dIxa     
n.贴边,镶边;vt.缝贴边;(in)包围,限制
参考例句:
  • The hem on her skirt needs sewing.她裙子上的褶边需要缝一缝。
  • The hem of your dress needs to be let down an inch.你衣服的折边有必要放长1英寸。
3 embarrassment fj9z8     
n.尴尬;使人为难的人(事物);障碍;窘迫
参考例句:
  • She could have died away with embarrassment.她窘迫得要死。
  • Coughing at a concert can be a real embarrassment.在音乐会上咳嗽真会使人难堪。
4 blessing UxDztJ     
n.祈神赐福;祷告;祝福,祝愿
参考例句:
  • The blessing was said in Hebrew.祷告用了希伯来语。
  • A double blessing has descended upon the house.双喜临门。
5 lame r9gzj     
adj.跛的,(辩解、论据等)无说服力的
参考例句:
  • The lame man needs a stick when he walks.那跛脚男子走路时需借助拐棍。
  • I don't believe his story.It'sounds a bit lame.我不信他讲的那一套。他的话听起来有些靠不住。
6 homely Ecdxo     
adj.家常的,简朴的;不漂亮的
参考例句:
  • We had a homely meal of bread and cheese.我们吃了一顿面包加乳酪的家常便餐。
  • Come and have a homely meal with us,will you?来和我们一起吃顿家常便饭,好吗?
7 kin 22Zxv     
n.家族,亲属,血缘关系;adj.亲属关系的,同类的
参考例句:
  • He comes of good kin.他出身好。
  • She has gone to live with her husband's kin.她住到丈夫的亲戚家里去了。
8 liking mpXzQ5     
n.爱好;嗜好;喜欢
参考例句:
  • The word palate also means taste or liking.Palate这个词也有“口味”或“嗜好”的意思。
  • I must admit I have no liking for exaggeration.我必须承认我不喜欢夸大其词。
9 quaint 7tqy2     
adj.古雅的,离奇有趣的,奇怪的
参考例句:
  • There were many small lanes in the quaint village.在这古香古色的村庄里,有很多小巷。
  • They still keep some quaint old customs.他们仍然保留着一些稀奇古怪的旧风俗。
10 softened 19151c4e3297eb1618bed6a05d92b4fe     
(使)变软( soften的过去式和过去分词 ); 缓解打击; 缓和; 安慰
参考例句:
  • His smile softened slightly. 他的微笑稍柔和了些。
  • The ice cream softened and began to melt. 冰淇淋开始变软并开始融化。
11 spoke XryyC     
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。
12 helping 2rGzDc     
n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的,辅助的
参考例句:
  • The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
  • By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。
13 desolate vmizO     
adj.荒凉的,荒芜的;孤独的,凄凉的;v.使荒芜,使孤寂
参考例句:
  • The city was burned into a desolate waste.那座城市被烧成一片废墟。
  • We all felt absolutely desolate when she left.她走后,我们都觉得万分孤寂。
14 realization nTwxS     
n.实现;认识到,深刻了解
参考例句:
  • We shall gladly lend every effort in our power toward its realization.我们将乐意为它的实现而竭尽全力。
  • He came to the realization that he would never make a good teacher.他逐渐认识到自己永远不会成为好老师。
15 injustice O45yL     
n.非正义,不公正,不公平,侵犯(别人的)权利
参考例句:
  • They complained of injustice in the way they had been treated.他们抱怨受到不公平的对待。
  • All his life he has been struggling against injustice.他一生都在与不公正现象作斗争。
16 forth Hzdz2     
adv.向前;向外,往外
参考例句:
  • The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
  • He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。
17 scoffing scoffing     
n. 嘲笑, 笑柄, 愚弄 v. 嘲笑, 嘲弄, 愚弄, 狼吞虎咽
参考例句:
  • They were sitting around the table scoffing. 他们围坐在桌子旁狼吞虎咽地吃着。
  • He the lid and showed the wonderful the scoffing visitors. 他打开盖子给嘲笑他们的老人看这些丰富的收获。
18 intervals f46c9d8b430e8c86dea610ec56b7cbef     
n.[军事]间隔( interval的名词复数 );间隔时间;[数学]区间;(戏剧、电影或音乐会的)幕间休息
参考例句:
  • The forecast said there would be sunny intervals and showers. 预报间晴,有阵雨。
  • Meetings take place at fortnightly intervals. 每两周开一次会。
19 pucker 6tJya     
v.撅起,使起皱;n.(衣服上的)皱纹,褶子
参考例句:
  • She puckered her lips into a rosebud and kissed him on the nose.她双唇努起犹如一朵玫瑰花蕾,在他的鼻子上吻了一下。
  • Toby's face puckered.托比的脸皱了起来。
20 devoted xu9zka     
adj.忠诚的,忠实的,热心的,献身于...的
参考例句:
  • He devoted his life to the educational cause of the motherland.他为祖国的教育事业贡献了一生。
  • We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。
21 adorned 1e50de930eb057fcf0ac85ca485114c8     
[计]被修饰的
参考例句:
  • The walls were adorned with paintings. 墙上装饰了绘画。
  • And his coat was adorned with a flamboyant bunch of flowers. 他的外套上面装饰着一束艳丽刺目的鲜花。
22 folly QgOzL     
n.愚笨,愚蠢,蠢事,蠢行,傻话
参考例句:
  • Learn wisdom by the folly of others.从别人的愚蠢行动中学到智慧。
  • Events proved the folly of such calculations.事情的进展证明了这种估计是愚蠢的。
23 jaws cq9zZq     
n.口部;嘴
参考例句:
  • The antelope could not escape the crocodile's gaping jaws. 那只羚羊无法从鱷鱼张开的大口中逃脱。
  • The scored jaws of a vise help it bite the work. 台钳上有刻痕的虎钳牙帮助它紧咬住工件。
24 simile zE0yB     
n.直喻,明喻
参考例句:
  • I believe this simile largely speaks the truth.我相信这种比拟在很大程度上道出了真实。
  • It is a trite simile to compare her teeth to pearls.把她的牙齿比做珍珠是陈腐的比喻。
25 forger ji1xg     
v.伪造;n.(钱、文件等的)伪造者
参考例句:
  • He admitted seven charges including forging passports.他承认了7项罪名,其中包括伪造护照。
  • She alleged that Taylor had forged her signature on the form.她声称泰勒在表格上伪造了她的签名。
26 gratitude p6wyS     
adj.感激,感谢
参考例句:
  • I have expressed the depth of my gratitude to him.我向他表示了深切的谢意。
  • She could not help her tears of gratitude rolling down her face.她感激的泪珠禁不住沿着面颊流了下来。
27 annoyance Bw4zE     
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。
28 upheaval Tp6y1     
n.胀起,(地壳)的隆起;剧变,动乱
参考例句:
  • It was faced with the greatest social upheaval since World War Ⅱ.它面临第二次世界大战以来最大的社会动乱。
  • The country has been thrown into an upheaval.这个国家已经陷入动乱之中。
29 irritably e3uxw     
ad.易生气地
参考例句:
  • He lost his temper and snapped irritably at the children. 他发火了,暴躁地斥责孩子们。
  • On this account the silence was irritably broken by a reproof. 为了这件事,他妻子大声斥责,令人恼火地打破了宁静。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
30 humiliated 97211aab9c3dcd4f7c74e1101d555362     
感到羞愧的
参考例句:
  • Parents are humiliated if their children behave badly when guests are present. 子女在客人面前举止失当,父母也失体面。
  • He was ashamed and bitterly humiliated. 他感到羞耻,丢尽了面子。
31 appalled ec524998aec3c30241ea748ac1e5dbba     
v.使惊骇,使充满恐惧( appall的过去式和过去分词)adj.惊骇的;丧胆的
参考例句:
  • The brutality of the crime has appalled the public. 罪行之残暴使公众大为震惊。
  • They were appalled by the reports of the nuclear war. 他们被核战争的报道吓坏了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
32 entirely entirely     
ad.全部地,完整地;完全地,彻底地
参考例句:
  • The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
  • His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。
33 exasperate uiOzX     
v.激怒,使(疾病)加剧,使恶化
参考例句:
  • He shouted in an exasperate voice.他以愤怒的声音嚷着。
  • The sheer futility of it all exasperates her.它毫无用处,这让她很生气。
34 decided lvqzZd     
adj.决定了的,坚决的;明显的,明确的
参考例句:
  • This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
  • There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。
35 tardy zq3wF     
adj.缓慢的,迟缓的
参考例句:
  • It's impolite to make a tardy appearance.晚到是不礼貌的。
  • The boss is unsatisfied with the tardy tempo.老板不满于这种缓慢的进度。
36 shrine 0yfw7     
n.圣地,神龛,庙;v.将...置于神龛内,把...奉为神圣
参考例句:
  • The shrine was an object of pilgrimage.这处圣地是人们朝圣的目的地。
  • They bowed down before the shrine.他们在神龛前鞠躬示敬。
37 inevitable 5xcyq     
adj.不可避免的,必然发生的
参考例句:
  • Mary was wearing her inevitable large hat.玛丽戴着她总是戴的那顶大帽子。
  • The defeat had inevitable consequences for British policy.战败对英国政策不可避免地产生了影响。
38 solely FwGwe     
adv.仅仅,唯一地
参考例句:
  • Success should not be measured solely by educational achievement.成功与否不应只用学业成绩来衡量。
  • The town depends almost solely on the tourist trade.这座城市几乎完全靠旅游业维持。
39 shrugged 497904474a48f991a3d1961b0476ebce     
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》


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