CHAPTER 31 CONCLUSION

The Herewards, Señor Zuniga and Mrs. Downie, according to arrangement, lived on in the house in the Champs Elysées during the month of the Prince and Princess Gherardini’s bridal tour.

 

In that month they saw—they even became familiar with—all that was most worth seeing in Paris.

 

They also made excursions to all places of interest in easy reach of the city.

 

328To well-read persons like the Herewards and Zuniga, who from books were prepared for all things, there could be no surprise; but to Aunt Sophie every day was a new life, every scene a new world, so that she came into a chronic¹ state of amazement².

 

At the end of the month the Prince and Princess Gherardini returned to Paris.

 

As Mr. Hereward had still a few days of leisure left, his host and hostess insisted on his spending those days as their guest in Paris.

 

Mrs. Downie was easily persuaded to stay as long as Lilith should stay.

 

The Prince and Princess gave a series of brilliant entertainments at the commencement of the Paris season.

 

Mr. and Mrs. Tudor Hereward always assisted them in receiving. And the Paris world whispered together:

 

“So that was the distinguished³ statesman to whom Madame Wyvil was betrothed—Monsieur Hereward, of the American Legation at the Court of ——.”

 

Mrs. Downie, in the same black satin dress, trimmed with black Brussels lace and black bugles⁵, with a white point lace cap on her head—all of which had been presented to her by the princess to be worn at her wedding—was always present with the receiving party, dodging⁶ a little behind whenever a great dignitary, covered with stars, crosses and orders, or a grande dame⁴ blazing with diamonds, approached the circle; yet so thoroughly⁷ enjoying the splendid pageant⁸ that at length she grew really alarmed as to her spiritual condition, and privately⁹ spoke¹⁰ her mind to Lilith, as follows:

 

“I never was drunk in my life, honey, and I never seed anybody else drunk, but I have read and I hearn a heap about drunk; and I do think, for the last week or so, since the princess have been giving these 329high parties, and I mixed up into it all, I must feel just like people do when they are crazy drunk. I ain’t myself, honey! I ain’t indeed! I donno what Brother Perkins or Brother More would think if they knew the state I’m in. I don’t indeed! Why, child when I go up into my room and shut the door and begin my prayers with reciting my hymn¹¹:

 

‘Fading, still fading, the last ray is shining,

Father in Heaven, the day is declining—

Safety and innocence¹² fly with the light,

Temptation and danger walk forth¹³ with the night,’

instead of the music of that comforting hymn, there is sounding through my brain—

 

‘Tooty-loo-loo! Tooty-loo-loo! Tooty-loo-loo!’

or some such sinful tune¹⁴ as them there misguided young men and women waltz around to, with their heads on each other’s shoulders and their arms around each other’s waists in a way I can’t approve of. And so, honey, I think when you and Mr. Hereward leave here, I shall go home and try to get back my sober senses.”

 

“But you have enjoyed it, Aunt Sophie,” urged Lilith.

 

“That’s the worst of it, honey! I have enjoyed it too much! It is a temptation and a snare¹⁵! A deluding¹⁶ snare.

 

‘Tooty-loo-loo! Tooty-loo-loo! Tooty-loo-loo!’

There I am again with the waltz whirling round in my old Methodist brain! Yes, honey, I am going home!”

 

“But, Aunt Sophie, you must go first with Mr. Hereward and myself to our home in ——. I know you would like to see for yourself where I am to live, so that you may be able to picture me in my home.”

 

330“Oh, yes! indeed I should, but——”

 

“But you will go! My father is to go home with us for a visit—and afterwards he also is to go back to America. And now don’t you see that he who brought you out here should also take you home?”

 

“Oh, yes! Well, if the ‘sinner’ is going back so soon as you say, it would be worth my while to stay and go along with him. So I reckon I will.”

 

At the end of the month of festivity, Tudor, Lilith and Aunt Sophie bade good-bye to their hospitable¹⁷ host and hostess, and left Paris for ——.

 

On their arrival at that city Mr. Hereward took them at once to the handsomely furnished house he had engaged, near the Royal Palace.

 

It was afternoon when they arrived.

 

And here a glad surprise awaited Lilith. As she entered the hall, led in by her husband, a great black beast flew to meet her and rolled joyously¹⁸ at her feet!

 

It was Lion, her faithful Newfoundland dog, who had followed her to the railway station, and from whom she had parted on that dreadful night of her banishment¹⁹ from her home, as she had supposed, forever.

 

Her joy at meeting her favorite was scarcely less than his own. She welcomed, caressed²⁰ and talked to him.

 

“Loyal old Lion! We will never part again! Never again, dear old Lion! until death takes one or the other,” said Lilith, as at last she disengaged herself from him and went upstairs to her room, conducted by Hereward.

 

Here another surprise awaited her.

 

As she entered the room her old nurse, housekeeper²¹ and lady’s maid, Nancy, came to meet her; but almost instantly became inarticulate in her words of welcome, and then burst into happy, hysterical²² tears.

 

When these had subsided²³, and Lilith and Aunt 331Sophie, having laid off their wraps, were seated around the blazing wood fire of the bed-room, with Lion stretched on the rug before them, and Nancy standing²⁴ leaning her head against the mantelpiece, Hereward explained:

 

“On the day after I met you in Paris, Lilith, five weeks ago, I wrote to Oxley, at Cloud Cliffs, to send Stephen, Alick, Nancy, and the Newfoundland dog, Lion, out to me by one of the French line of steamers that sail direct for Havre. I gave him minute instructions to see the party all the way from Cloud Cliffs to New York, and on to the ship by which they would sail. I directed him to carry out all these instructions without loss of time. And I inclosed a bill of exchange to cover all expenses. He acted so promptly²⁵ and intelligently on my orders that the whole party reached here four days ago.”

 

“But I can’t get it out’n my head, Miss Lilif, as you and me has died and waked up in t’other world! I’m thankful it ain’t the bad place; but it don’t look quite like heaven nuther! And that’s what puzzles ob me,” said Nancy.

 

“Never mind, you will come around quite right in a few days,” replied Lilith, consolingly.

 

Señor Zuniga stayed until after Christmas with the Herewards, and then, about the middle of January, sailed for New York.

 

Señor Zuniga succeeded beyond his sanguine²⁶ hopes in recovering his patrimonial²⁷ estates. He sold them for all they were worth and invested the money in West Virginia land near Frosthill.

 

Then he married his devoted²⁸ admirer, Harriet Miles, who was never tired of telling her friends that she always knew that he was a young nobleman in disguise who was only playing at play acting²⁹ for his own amusement.

 

Madame Zuniga’s stepfather, old Jab Jordon, is a 332very much subdued³⁰ old man. First, he is “set upon” by Mrs. Jab, and secondly³¹ by Master Jab, their only son and heir.

 

Mr. Rufus Hilary wonders that his brother-in-law should ever have left the exciting and glorious life of a “world-renowned” dramatic artist, to settle down into a merely respectable farmer and father of a family. Mr. Rufus Hilary is still an ardent³² admirer and liberal patron of the stage; he is still unmarried, and his pretty young sister, Miss Emily Miles, keeps his house.

 

The Herewards are still abroad—Mr. Hereward filling a very important diplomatic position at one of the highest courts in Europe, and Mrs. Hereward, at last his deeply loved wife, his companion in domestic life, his helper in official life, is one of the most brilliant and admired among les grandes dames³³ who add lustre³⁴ to the drawing-rooms of the empress.

 

THE END

1 chronic   

adj.(疾病)长期未愈的，慢性的；极坏的

参考例句：

• Famine differs from chronic malnutrition.饥荒不同于慢性营养不良。
• Chronic poisoning may lead to death from inanition.慢性中毒也可能由虚弱导致死亡。

2 amazement   

n.惊奇，惊讶

参考例句：

• All those around him looked at him with amazement.周围的人都对他投射出惊异的眼光。
• He looked at me in blank amazement.他带着迷茫惊诧的神情望着我。

3 distinguished   

adj.卓越的，杰出的，著名的

参考例句：

• Elephants are distinguished from other animals by their long noses.大象以其长长的鼻子显示出与其他动物的不同。
• A banquet was given in honor of the distinguished guests.宴会是为了向贵宾们致敬而举行的。

4 dame   

n.女士

参考例句：

• The dame tell of her experience as a wife and mother.这位年长妇女讲了她作妻子和母亲的经验。
• If you stick around,you'll have to marry that dame.如果再逗留多一会，你就要跟那个夫人结婚。

5 bugles   

妙脆角，一种类似薯片但做成尖角或喇叭状的零食； 号角( bugle的名词复数 )； 喇叭； 匍匐筋骨草； （装饰女服用的）柱状玻璃（或塑料）小珠

参考例句：

• Blow, bugles, blow, set the wild echoes flying. "响起来，号角，响起来，让激昂的回声在空中震荡"。
• We hear the silver voices of heroic bugles. 我们听到了那清亮的号角。

6 dodging   

n.避开，闪过，音调改变v.闪躲( dodge的现在分词 )；回避

参考例句：

• He ran across the road, dodging the traffic. 他躲开来往的车辆跑过马路。
• I crossed the highway, dodging the traffic. 我避开车流穿过了公路。 来自辞典例句

7 thoroughly   

adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地

参考例句：

• The soil must be thoroughly turned over before planting.一定要先把土地深翻一遍再下种。
• The soldiers have been thoroughly instructed in the care of their weapons.士兵们都系统地接受过保护武器的训练。

8 pageant   

n.壮观的游行；露天历史剧

参考例句：

• Our pageant represented scenes from history.我们的露天历史剧上演一幕幕的历史事件。
• The inauguration ceremony of the new President was a splendid pageant.新主席的就职典礼的开始是极其壮观的。

9 privately   

adv.以私人的身份，悄悄地，私下地

参考例句：

• Some ministers admit privately that unemployment could continue to rise.一些部长私下承认失业率可能继续升高。
• The man privately admits that his motive is profits.那人私下承认他的动机是为了牟利。

10 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。

11 hymn   

n.赞美诗，圣歌，颂歌

参考例句：

• They sang a hymn of praise to God.他们唱着圣歌，赞美上帝。
• The choir has sung only two verses of the last hymn.合唱团只唱了最后一首赞美诗的两个段落。

12 innocence   

n.无罪；天真；无害

参考例句：

• There was a touching air of innocence about the boy.这个男孩有一种令人感动的天真神情。
• The accused man proved his innocence of the crime.被告人经证实无罪。

13 forth   

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。

14 tune   

n.调子；和谐，协调；v.调音，调节，调整

参考例句：

• He'd written a tune,and played it to us on the piano.他写了一段曲子，并在钢琴上弹给我们听。
• The boy beat out a tune on a tin can.那男孩在易拉罐上敲出一首曲子。

15 snare   

n.陷阱，诱惑，圈套；（去除息肉或者肿瘤的）勒除器；响弦，小军鼓；vt.以陷阱捕获，诱惑

参考例句：

• I used to snare small birds such as sparrows.我曾常用罗网捕捉麻雀等小鸟。
• Most of the people realized that their scheme was simply a snare and a delusion.大多数人都认识到他们的诡计不过是一个骗人的圈套。

16 deluding   

v.欺骗，哄骗( delude的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• They used Teresa's desolation as another proof that believers are deluding themselves. 他们用德肋撒嬷嬷的孤寂再一次论证信徒们是在蒙蔽自己。 来自互联网
• There is, for instance, a self-deluding interpretation of the contemporary world situation. 比如说有一些对当代世界时局自我欺骗式的阐释。 来自互联网

17 hospitable   

adj.好客的；宽容的；有利的，适宜的

参考例句：

• The man is very hospitable.He keeps open house for his friends and fellow-workers.那人十分好客，无论是他的朋友还是同事，他都盛情接待。
• The locals are hospitable and welcoming.当地人热情好客。

18 joyously   

ad.快乐地, 高兴地

参考例句：

• She opened the door for me and threw herself in my arms, screaming joyously and demanding that we decorate the tree immediately. 她打开门，直扑我的怀抱，欣喜地喊叫着要马上装饰圣诞树。
• They came running, crying out joyously in trilling girlish voices. 她们边跑边喊，那少女的颤音好不欢快。 来自名作英译部分

19 banishment   

n.放逐，驱逐

参考例句：

• Qu Yuan suffered banishment as the victim of a court intrigue. 屈原成为朝廷中钩心斗角的牺牲品，因而遭到放逐。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• He was sent into banishment. 他被流放。 来自辞典例句

20 caressed   

爱抚或抚摸…( caress的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• His fingers caressed the back of her neck. 他的手指抚摩着她的后颈。
• He caressed his wife lovingly. 他怜爱万分地抚摸着妻子。

21 housekeeper   

n.管理家务的主妇，女管家

参考例句：

• A spotless stove told us that his mother is a diligent housekeeper.炉子清洁无瑕就表明他母亲是个勤劳的主妇。
• She is an economical housekeeper and feeds her family cheaply.她节约持家，一家人吃得很省。

22 hysterical   

adj.情绪异常激动的，歇斯底里般的

参考例句：

• He is hysterical at the sight of the photo.他一看到那张照片就异常激动。
• His hysterical laughter made everybody stunned.他那歇斯底里的笑声使所有的人不知所措。

23 subsided   

v.（土地）下陷（因在地下采矿）( subside的过去式和过去分词 )；减弱；下降至较低或正常水平；一下子坐在椅子等上

参考例句：

• After the heavy rains part of the road subsided. 大雨过后，部分公路塌陷了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• By evening the storm had subsided and all was quiet again. 傍晚， 暴风雨已经过去，四周开始沉寂下来。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

24 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。

25 promptly   

adv.及时地，敏捷地

参考例句：

• He paid the money back promptly.他立即还了钱。
• She promptly seized the opportunity his absence gave her.她立即抓住了因他不在场给她创造的机会。

26 sanguine   

adj.充满希望的，乐观的，血红色的

参考例句：

• He has a sanguine attitude to life.他对于人生有乐观的看法。
• He is not very sanguine about our chances of success.他对我们成功的机会不太乐观。

27 patrimonial   

adj.祖传的

参考例句：

28 devoted   

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。

29 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

30 subdued   

adj. 屈服的，柔和的，减弱的 动词subdue的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He seemed a bit subdued to me. 我觉得他当时有点闷闷不乐。
• I felt strangely subdued when it was all over. 一切都结束的时候，我却有一种奇怪的压抑感。

31 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。

32 ardent   

adj.热情的，热烈的，强烈的，烈性的

参考例句：

• He's an ardent supporter of the local football team.他是本地足球队的热情支持者。
• Ardent expectations were held by his parents for his college career.他父母对他的大学学习抱着殷切的期望。

33 dames   

n.（在英国）夫人（一种封号），夫人（爵士妻子的称号）( dame的名词复数 )；女人

参考例句：

• Dames would not comment any further. Dames将不再更多的评论。 来自互联网
• Flowers, candy, jewelry, seemed the principal things in which the elegant dames were interested. 鲜花、糖果和珠宝看来是那些贵妇人的主要兴趣所在。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

34 lustre   

n.光亮，光泽；荣誉

参考例句：

• The sun was shining with uncommon lustre.太阳放射出异常的光彩。
• A good name keeps its lustre in the dark.一个好的名誉在黑暗中也保持它的光辉。