When he arrived at the top of the building he stood aside for the only remaining passenger to step out before him. It was the Miss Heydinger who had addressed him, the owner of that gilt-edged book in the cover of brown paper. No one else had come all the way up from the ground floor. The rest of the load in the lift had emerged at the "astronomical1" and "chemical" floors, but these two had both chosen "zoology2" for their third year of study, and zoology lived in the attics3. She stepped into the light, with a rare touch of colour springing to her cheeks in spite of herself. Lewisham perceived an alteration4 in her dress. Perhaps she was looking for and noticed the transitory surprise in his face.
The previous session--their friendship was now nearly a year old--it had never once dawned upon him that she could possibly be pretty. The chief thing he had been able to recall with any definiteness during the vacation was, that her hair was not always tidy, and that even when it chanced to be so, she was nervous about it; she distrusted it. He remembered her gesture while she talked, a patting exploration that verged5 on the exasperating6. From that he went on to remember that its colour was, on the whole, fair, a light brown. But he had forgotten her mouth, he had failed to name the colour of her eyes. She wore glasses, it is true. And her dress was indefinite in his memory--an amorphous7 dinginess8.
And yet he had seen a good deal of her. They were not in the same course, but he had made her acquaintance on the committee of the school Debating Society. Lewisham was just then discovering Socialism. That had afforded a basis of conversation--an incentive9 to intercourse10. She seemed to find something rarely interesting in his peculiar11 view of things, and, as chance would have it, he met her accidentally quite a number of times, in the corridors of the schools, in the big Education Library, and in the Art Museum. After a time those meetings appear to have been no longer accidental.
Lewisham for the first time in his life began to fancy he had conversational12 powers. She resolved to stir up his ambitions--an easy task. She thought he had exceptional gifts and that she might serve to direct them; she certainly developed his vanity. She had matriculated at the London University and they took the Intermediate Examination in Science together in July--she a little unwisely--which served, as almost anything will serve in such cases, as a further link between them. She failed, which in no way diminished Lewisham's regard for her. On the examination days they discoursed13 about Friendship in general, and things like that, down the Burlington Arcade14 during the lunch time--Burlington Arcade undisguisedly amused by her learned dinginess and his red tie--and among other things that were said she reproached him for not reading poetry. When they parted in Piccadilly, after the examination, they agreed to write, about poetry and themselves, during the holidays, and then she lent him, with a touch of hesitation15, Rossetti's poems. He began to forget what had at first been very evident to him, that she was two or three years older than he.
Lewisham spent the vacation with an unsympathetic but kindly16 uncle who was a plumber17 and builder. His uncle had a family of six, the eldest18 eleven, and Lewisham made himself agreeable and instructive. Moreover he worked hard for the culminating third year of his studies (in which he had decided19 to do great things), and he learnt to ride the Ordinary Bicycle. He also thought about Miss Heydinger, and she, it would seem, thought about him.
He argued on social questions with his uncle, who was a prominent local Conservative. His uncle's controversial methods were coarse in the extreme. Socialists20, he said, were thieves. The object of Socialism was to take away what a man earned and give it to "a lot of lazy scoundrels." Also rich people were necessary. "If there weren't well-off people, how d'ye think I'd get a livin'? Hey? And where'd _you_ be then?" Socialism, his uncle assured him, was "got up" by agitators21. "They get money out of young Gabies like you, and they spend it in champagne22." And thereafter he met Mr. Lewisham's arguments with the word "Champagne" uttered in an irritating voice, followed by a luscious23 pantomime of drinking.
Naturally Lewisham felt a little lonely, and perhaps he laid stress upon it in his letters to Miss Heydinger. It came to light that she felt rather lonely too. They discussed the question of True as distinguished24 from Ordinary Friendship, and from that they passed to Goethe and Elective Affinities25. He told her how he looked for her letters, and they became more frequent. Her letters were Indisputably well written. Had he been a journalist with a knowledge of "_per thou_." he would have known each for a day's work. After the practical plumber had been asking what he expected to make by this here science of his, re-reading her letters was balsamic. He liked Rossetti--the exquisite26 sense of separation in "The Blessed Damozel" touched him. But, on the whole, he was a little surprised at Miss Heydinger's taste in poetry. Rossetti was so sensuous27 ... so florid. He had scarcely expected that sort of thing.
Altogether he had returned to the schools decidedly more interested in her than when they had parted. And the curious vague memories of her appearance as something a little frayed28 and careless, vanished at sight of her emerging from the darkness of the lift. Her hair was in order, as the light glanced through it it looked even pretty, and she wore a well-made, dark-green and black dress, loose-gathered as was the fashion in those days, that somehow gave a needed touch of warmth to her face. Her hat too was a change from the careless lumpishness of last year, a hat that, to a feminine mind, would have indicated design. It suited her--these things are past a male novelist's explaining.
"I have this book of yours, Miss Heydinger," he said.
"I am glad you have written that paper on Socialism," she replied, taking the brown-covered volume.
They walked along the little passage towards the biological laboratory side by side, and she stopped at the hat pegs29 to remove her hat. For that was the shameless way of the place, a girl student had to take her hat off publicly, and publicly assume the holland apron30 that was to protect her in the laboratory. Not even a looking-glass!
"I shall come and hear your paper," she said.
"I hope you will like it," said Lewisham at the door of the laboratory.
"And in the vacation I have been collecting evidence about ghosts--you remember our arguments. Though I did not tell you in my letters."
"I'm sorry you're still obdurate," said Lewisham. "I thought that was over."
"And have you read 'Looking Backward'?"
"I want to."
"I have it here with my other books, if you'd care for me to lend it to you. Wait till I reach my table. My hands are so full."
They entered the laboratory together, Lewisham holding the door open courtly-wise, Miss Heydinger taking a reassuring31 pat at her hair. Near the door was a group of four girls, which group Miss Heydinger joined, holding the brown-covered book as inconspicuously as possible. Three of them had been through the previous two years with her, and they greeted her by her Christian32 name. They had previously33 exchanged glances at her appearance in Lewisham's company.
A morose34 elderly young demonstrator brightened momentarily at the sight of Lewisham. "Well, we've got one of the decent ones anyhow," said the morose elderly young demonstrator, who was apparently35 taking an inventory36, and then brightening at a fresh entry. "Ah! and here's Smithers."
收听单词发音 |
1
astronomical
|
|
| adj.天文学的，（数字）极大的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
2
zoology
|
|
| n.动物学，生态 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
3
attics
|
|
| n. 阁楼 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
4
alteration
|
|
| n.变更，改变；蚀变 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
5
verged
|
|
| 接近，逼近（verge的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
6
exasperating
|
|
| adj. 激怒的 动词exasperate的现在分词形式 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
7
amorphous
|
|
| adj.无定形的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
8
dinginess
|
|
| n.暗淡，肮脏 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
9
incentive
|
|
| n.刺激；动力；鼓励；诱因；动机 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
10
intercourse
|
|
| n.性交；交流，交往，交际 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
11
peculiar
|
|
| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
12
conversational
|
|
| adj.对话的，会话的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
13
discoursed
|
|
| 演说（discourse的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
14
arcade
|
|
| n.拱廊；(一侧或两侧有商店的)通道 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
15
hesitation
|
|
| n.犹豫，踌躇 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
16
kindly
|
|
| adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
17
plumber
|
|
| n.(装修水管的)管子工 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
18
eldest
|
|
| adj.最年长的，最年老的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
19
decided
|
|
| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
20
socialists
|
|
| 社会主义者( socialist的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
21
agitators
|
|
| n.（尤指政治变革的）鼓动者( agitator的名词复数 )；煽动者；搅拌器；搅拌机 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
22
champagne
|
|
| n.香槟酒；微黄色 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
23
luscious
|
|
| adj.美味的；芬芳的；肉感的，引与性欲的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
24
distinguished
|
|
| adj.卓越的，杰出的，著名的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
25
affinities
|
|
| n.密切关系( affinity的名词复数 )；亲近；（生性）喜爱；类同 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
26
exquisite
|
|
| adj.精美的；敏锐的；剧烈的，感觉强烈的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
27
sensuous
|
|
| adj.激发美感的；感官的，感觉上的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
28
frayed
|
|
| adj.磨损的v.（使布、绳等）磨损，磨破( fray的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
29
pegs
|
|
| n.衣夹( peg的名词复数 )；挂钉；系帐篷的桩；弦钮v.用夹子或钉子固定( peg的第三人称单数 )；使固定在某水平 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
30
apron
|
|
| n.围裙；工作裙 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
31
reassuring
|
|
| a.使人消除恐惧和疑虑的，使人放心的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
32
Christian
|
|
| adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
33
previously
|
|
| adv.以前，先前（地） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
34
morose
|
|
| adj.脾气坏的，不高兴的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
35
apparently
|
|
| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
36
inventory
|
|
| n.详细目录，存货清单 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
| 欢迎访问英文小说网 |