When most I wink1, then do mine eyes best see,
For all the day they view things unrespected;
But when I sleep, in dreams they look on thee,
And, darkly bright, are bright in dark directed.
Shakespeare.
Zanoni followed the young Neapolitan into her house; Gionetta vanished,— they were left alone.
Alone, in that room so often filled, in the old happy days, with the wild melodies of Pisani; and now, as she saw this mysterious, haunting, yet beautiful and stately stranger, standing3 on the very spot where she had sat at her father’s feet, thrilled and spellbound,— she almost thought, in her fantastic way of personifying her own airy notions, that that spiritual Music had taken shape and life, and stood before her glorious in the image it assumed. She was unconscious all the while of her own loveliness. She had thrown aside her hood4 and veil; her hair, somewhat disordered, fell over the ivory neck which the dress partially5 displayed; and as her dark eyes swam with grateful tears, and her cheek flushed with its late excitement, the god of light and music himself never, amidst his Arcadian valleys, wooed, in his mortal guise6, maiden7 or nymph more fair.
Zanoni gazed at her with a look in which admiration8 seemed not unmingled with compassion9. He muttered a few words to himself, and then addressed her aloud.
“Viola, I have saved you from a great peril10; not from dishonour11 only, but perhaps from death. The Prince di —, under a weak despot and a venal12 administration, is a man above the law. He is capable of every crime; but amongst his passions he has such prudence13 as belongs to ambition; if you were not to reconcile yourself to your shame, you would never enter the world again to tell your tale. The ravisher has no heart for repentance14, but he has a hand that can murder. I have saved you, Viola. Perhaps you would ask me wherefore?” Zanoni paused, and smiled mournfully, as he added, “You will not wrong me by the thought that he who has preserved is not less selfish than he who would have injured. Orphan15, I do not speak to you in the language of your wooers; enough that I know pity, and am not ungrateful for affection. Why blush, why tremble at the word? I read your heart while I speak, and I see not one thought that should give you shame. I say not that you love me yet; happily, the fancy may be roused long before the heart is touched. But it has been my fate to fascinate your eye, to influence your imagination. It is to warn you against what could bring you but sorrow, as I warned you once to prepare for sorrow itself, that I am now your guest. The Englishman, Glyndon, loves thee well,— better, perhaps, than I can ever love; if not worthy16 of thee, yet, he has but to know thee more to deserve thee better. He may wed2 thee, he may bear thee to his own free and happy land,— the land of thy mother’s kin18. Forget me; teach thyself to return and deserve his love; and I tell thee that thou wilt19 be honoured and be happy.”
Viola listened with silent, inexpressible emotion, and burning blushes, to this strange address, and when he had concluded, she covered her face with her hands, and wept. And yet, much as his words were calculated to humble20 or irritate, to produce indignation or excite shame, those were not the feelings with which her eyes streamed and her heart swelled21. The woman at that moment was lost in the child; and AS a child, with all its exacting23, craving24, yet innocent desire to be loved, weeps in unrebuking sadness when its affection is thrown austerely25 back upon itself,— so, without anger and without shame, wept Viola.
Zanoni contemplated26 her thus, as her graceful27 head, shadowed by its redundant28 tresses, bent29 before him; and after a moment’s pause he drew near to her, and said, in a voice of the most soothing30 sweetness, and with a half smile upon his lip,—
“Do you remember, when I told you to struggle for the light, that I pointed31 for example to the resolute32 and earnest tree? I did not tell you, fair child, to take example by the moth17, that would soar to the star, but falls scorched33 beside the lamp. Come, I will talk to thee. This Englishman —”
Viola drew herself away, and wept yet more passionately34.
“This Englishman is of thine own years, not far above thine own rank. Thou mayst share his thoughts in life,— thou mayst sleep beside him in the same grave in death! And I— but THAT view of the future should concern us not. Look into thy heart, and thou wilt see that till again my shadow crossed thy path, there had grown up for this thine equal a pure and calm affection that would have ripened35 into love. Hast thou never pictured to thyself a home in which thy partner was thy young wooer?”
“Never!” said Viola, with sudden energy,—“never but to feel that such was not the fate ordained36 me. And, oh!” she continued, rising suddenly, and, putting aside the tresses that veiled her face, she fixed37 her eyes upon the questioner,—“and, oh! whoever thou art that thus wouldst read my soul and shape my future, do not mistake the sentiment that, that —” she faltered38 an instant, and went on with downcast eyes,—“that has fascinated my thoughts to thee. Do not think that I could nourish a love unsought and unreturned. It is not love that I feel for thee, stranger. Why should I? Thou hast never spoken to me but to admonish,— and now, to wound!” Again she paused, again her voice faltered; the tears trembled on her eyelids40; she brushed them away and resumed. “No, not love,— if that be love which I have heard and read of, and sought to simulate on the stage,— but a more solemn, fearful, and, it seems to me, almost preternatural attraction, which makes me associate thee, waking or dreaming, with images that at once charm and awe41. Thinkest thou, if it were love, that I could speak to thee thus; that,” she raised her looks suddenly to his, “mine eyes could thus search and confront thine own? Stranger, I ask but at times to see, to hear thee! Stranger, talk not to me of others. Forewarn, rebuke42, bruise43 my heart, reject the not unworthy gratitude44 it offers thee, if thou wilt, but come not always to me as an omen22 of grief and trouble. Sometimes have I seen thee in my dreams surrounded by shapes of glory and light; thy looks radiant with a celestial45 joy which they wear not now. Stranger, thou hast saved me, and I thank and bless thee! Is that also a homage46 thou wouldst reject?” With these words, she crossed her arms meekly47 on her bosom48, and inclined lowlily before him. Nor did her humility49 seem unwomanly or abject50, nor that of mistress to lover, of slave to master, but rather of a child to its guardian51, of a neophyte52 of the old religion to her priest. Zanoni’s brow was melancholy53 and thoughtful. He looked at her with a strange expression of kindness, of sorrow, yet of tender affection, in his eyes; but his lips were stern, and his voice cold, as he replied,—
“Do you know what you ask, Viola? Do you guess the danger to yourself — perhaps to both of us — which you court? Do you know that my life, separated from the turbulent herd54 of men, is one worship of the Beautiful, from which I seek to banish55 what the Beautiful inspires in most? As a calamity56, I shun57 what to man seems the fairest fate,— the love of the daughters of earth. At present I can warn and save thee from many evils; if I saw more of thee, would the power still be mine? You understand me not. What I am about to add, it will be easier to comprehend. I bid thee banish from thy heart all thought of me, but as one whom the Future cries aloud to thee to avoid. Glyndon, if thou acceptest his homage, will love thee till the tomb closes upon both. I, too,” he added with emotion,—“I, too, might love thee!”
“You!” cried Viola, with the vehemence58 of a sudden impulse of delight, of rapture59, which she could not suppress; but the instant after, she would have given worlds to recall the exclamation60.
“Yes, Viola, I might love thee; but in that love what sorrow and what change! The flower gives perfume to the rock on whose heart it grows. A little while, and the flower is dead; but the rock still endures,— the snow at its breast, the sunshine on its summit. Pause,— think well. Danger besets61 thee yet. For some days thou shalt be safe from thy remorseless persecutor62; but the hour soon comes when thy only security will be in flight. If the Englishman love thee worthily63, thy honour will be dear to him as his own; if not, there are yet other lands where love will be truer, and virtue64 less in danger from fraud and force. Farewell; my own destiny I cannot foresee except through cloud and shadow. I know, at least, that we shall meet again; but learn ere then, sweet flower, that there are more genial65 resting-places than the rock.”
He turned as he spoke39, and gained the outer door where Gionetta discreetly66 stood. Zanoni lightly laid his hand on her arm. With the gay accent of a jesting cavalier, he said,—
“The Signor Glyndon woos your mistress; he may wed her. I know your love for her. Disabuse67 her of any caprice for me. I am a bird ever on the wing.”
He dropped a purse into Gionetta’s hand as he spoke, and was gone.
收听单词发音 |
1
wink
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| n.眨眼，使眼色，瞬间；v.眨眼，使眼色，闪烁 | |
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wed
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| v.娶，嫁，与…结婚 | |
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standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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hood
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| n.头巾，兜帽，覆盖；v.罩上，以头巾覆盖 | |
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partially
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| adv.部分地，从某些方面讲 | |
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guise
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| n.外表，伪装的姿态 | |
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maiden
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| n.少女，处女；adj.未婚的，纯洁的，无经验的 | |
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admiration
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| n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕 | |
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compassion
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| n.同情，怜悯 | |
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10
peril
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| n.(严重的)危险；危险的事物 | |
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11
dishonour
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| n./vt.拒付（支票、汇票、票据等）；vt.凌辱，使丢脸；n.不名誉，耻辱，不光彩 | |
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12
venal
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| adj.唯利是图的，贪脏枉法的 | |
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13
prudence
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| n.谨慎，精明，节俭 | |
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14
repentance
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| n.懊悔 | |
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15
orphan
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| n.孤儿；adj.无父母的 | |
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16
worthy
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| adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的 | |
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17
moth
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| n.蛾，蛀虫 | |
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18
kin
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| n.家族，亲属，血缘关系；adj.亲属关系的，同类的 | |
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wilt
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| v.(使)植物凋谢或枯萎；(指人)疲倦，衰弱 | |
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humble
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| adj.谦卑的，恭顺的；地位低下的；v.降低，贬低 | |
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21
swelled
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| 增强( swell的过去式和过去分词 )； 肿胀； （使）凸出； 充满（激情） | |
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22
omen
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| n.征兆，预兆；vt.预示 | |
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23
exacting
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| adj.苛求的，要求严格的 | |
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24
craving
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| n.渴望,热望 | |
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25
austerely
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| adv.严格地，朴质地 | |
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26
contemplated
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| adj. 预期的 动词contemplate的过去分词形式 | |
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27
graceful
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| adj.优美的，优雅的；得体的 | |
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28
redundant
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| adj.多余的，过剩的；(食物)丰富的；被解雇的 | |
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29
bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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30
soothing
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| adj.慰藉的；使人宽心的；镇静的 | |
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31
pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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32
resolute
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| adj.坚决的，果敢的 | |
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33
scorched
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| 烧焦，烤焦( scorch的过去式和过去分词 )； 使（植物）枯萎，把…晒枯； 高速行驶； 枯焦 | |
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34
passionately
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| ad.热烈地，激烈地 | |
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35
ripened
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| v.成熟，使熟( ripen的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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36
ordained
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| v.任命（某人）为牧师( ordain的过去式和过去分词 )；授予（某人）圣职；（上帝、法律等）命令；判定 | |
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37
fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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38
faltered
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| （嗓音）颤抖( falter的过去式和过去分词 )； 支吾其词； 蹒跚； 摇晃 | |
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39
spoke
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| 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 | |
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40
eyelids
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| n.眼睑( eyelid的名词复数 )；眼睛也不眨一下；不露声色；面不改色 | |
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41
awe
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| n.敬畏，惊惧；vt.使敬畏，使惊惧 | |
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42
rebuke
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| v.指责，非难，斥责 [反]praise | |
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43
bruise
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| n.青肿，挫伤；伤痕；vt.打青；挫伤 | |
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44
gratitude
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| adj.感激，感谢 | |
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45
celestial
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| adj.天体的；天上的 | |
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46
homage
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| n.尊敬，敬意，崇敬 | |
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47
meekly
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| adv.温顺地，逆来顺受地 | |
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48
bosom
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| n.胸，胸部；胸怀；内心；adj.亲密的 | |
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49
humility
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| n.谦逊，谦恭 | |
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50
abject
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| adj.极可怜的，卑屈的 | |
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51
guardian
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| n.监护人；守卫者，保护者 | |
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52
neophyte
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| n.新信徒；开始者 | |
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53
melancholy
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| n.忧郁，愁思；adj.令人感伤（沮丧）的，忧郁的 | |
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54
herd
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| n.兽群，牧群；vt.使集中，把…赶在一起 | |
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55
banish
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| vt.放逐，驱逐；消除，排除 | |
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56
calamity
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| n.灾害，祸患，不幸事件 | |
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57
shun
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| vt.避开，回避，避免 | |
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58
vehemence
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| n.热切；激烈；愤怒 | |
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59
rapture
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| n.狂喜；全神贯注；着迷；v.使狂喜 | |
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60
exclamation
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| n.感叹号，惊呼，惊叹词 | |
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61
besets
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| v.困扰( beset的第三人称单数 )；不断围攻；镶；嵌 | |
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62
persecutor
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| n. 迫害者 | |
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63
worthily
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| 重要地，可敬地，正当地 | |
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64
virtue
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| n.德行，美德；贞操；优点；功效，效力 | |
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65
genial
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| adj.亲切的，和蔼的，愉快的，脾气好的 | |
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66
discreetly
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| ad.(言行)审慎地，慎重地 | |
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67
disabuse
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| v.解惑；矫正 | |
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