From Mr. Pedgift, Senior (Thorpe Ambrose), to Mr. Pedgift, Junior (Paris) .
“High Street, December 20th.
“My Dear AUGUSTUS— Your letter reached me yesterday. You seem to be making the most of your youth (as you call it) with a vengeance1. Well! enjoy your holiday. I made the most of my youth when I was your age; and, wonderful to relate, I haven’t forgotten it yet!
“You ask me for a good budget of news, and especially for more information about that mysterious business at the Sanitarium.
“Curiosity, my dear boy, is a quality which (in our profession especially) sometimes leads to great results. I doubt, however, if you will find it leading to much on this occasion. All I know of the mystery of the Sanitarium, I know from Mr. Armadale: and he is entirely2 in the dark on more than one point of importance. I have already told you how they were entrapped3 into the house, and how they passed the night there. To this I can now add that something did certainly happen to Mr. Midwinter, which deprived him of consciousness; and that the doctor, who appears to have been mixed up in the matter, carried things with a high hand, and insisted on taking his own course in his own Sanitarium. There is not the least doubt that the miserable4 woman (however she might have come by her death) was found dead — that a coroner’s inquest inquired into the circumstances — that the evidence showed her to have entered the house as a patient — and that the medical investigation5 ended in discovering that she had died of apoplexy. My idea is that Mr. Midwinter had a motive6 of his own for not coming forward with the evidence that he might have given. I have also reason to suspect that Mr. Armadale, out of regard for him, followed his lead, and that the verdict at the inquest (attaching no blame to anybody) proceeded, like many other verdicts of the same kind, from an entirely superficial investigation of the circumstances.
“The key to the whole mystery is to be found, I firmly believe, in that wretched woman’s attempt to personate the character of Mr. Armadale’s widow when the news of his death appeared in the papers. But what first set her on this, and by what inconceivable process of deception8 she can have induced Mr. Midwinter to marry her (as the certificate proves) under Mr. Armadale’s name, is more than Mr. Armadale himself knows. The point was not touched at the inquest, for the simple reason that the inquest only concerned itself with the circumstances attending her death. Mr. Armadale, at his friend’s request, saw Miss Blanchard, and induced her to silence old Darch on the subject of the claim that had been made relating to the widow’s income. As the claim had never been admitted, even our stiff-necked brother practitioner9 consented for once to do as he was asked. The doctor’s statement that his patient was the widow of a gentleman named Armadale was accordingly left unchallenged, and so the matter has been hushed up. She is buried in the great cemetery10, near the place where she died. Nobody but Mr. Midwinter and Mr. Armadale (who insisted on going with him) followed her to the grave; and nothing has been inscribed11 on the tombstone but the initial letter of her Christian12 name and the date of her death. So, after all the harm she has done, she rests at last; and so the two men whom she has injured have forgiven her.
“Is there more to say on this subject before we leave it? On referring to your letter, I find you have raised one other point, which may be worth a moment’s notice.
“You ask if there is reason to suppose that the doctor comes out of the matter with hands which are really as clean as they look? My dear Augustus, I believe the doctor to have been at the bottom of more of this mischief13 than we shall ever find out; and to have profited by the self-imposed silence of Mr. Midwinter and Mr. Armadale, as rogues14 perpetually profit by the misfortunes and necessities of honest men. It is an ascertained15 fact that he connived16 at the false statement about Miss Milroy, which entrapped the two gentlemen into his house; and that one circumstance (after my Old Bailey experience) is enough for me . As to evidence against him, there is not a jot17; and as to Retribution overtaking him, I can only say I heartily18 hope Retribution may prove, in the long run, to be the more cunning customer of the two. There is not much prospect19 of it at present. The doctor’s friends and admirers are, I understand, about to present him with a Testimonial, ‘expressive of their sympathy under the sad occurrence which has thrown a cloud over the opening of his Sanitarium, and of their undiminished confidence in his integrity and ability as a medical man.’ We live, Augustus, in an age eminently20 favorable to the growth of all roguery which is careful enough to keep up appearances. In this enlightened nineteenth century, I look upon the doctor as one of our rising men.
“To turn now to pleasanter subjects than Sanitariums, I may tell you that Miss Neelie is as good as well again, and is, in my humble21 opinion, prettier than ever. She is staying in London under the care of a female relative; and Mr. Armadale satisfies her of the fact of his existence (in case she should forget it) regularly every day. They are to be married in the spring, unless Mrs. Milroy’s death causes the ceremony to be postponed22. The medical men are of opinion that the poor lady is sinking at last. It may be a question of weeks or a question of months, they can say no more. She is greatly altered — quiet and gentle, and anxiously affectionate with her husband and her child. But in her case this happy change is, it seems, a sign of approaching dissolution, from the medical point of view. There is a difficulty in making the poor old, major understand this. He only sees that she has gone back to the likeness23 of her better self when he first married her; and he sits for hours by her bedside now, and tells her about his wonderful clock.
“Mr. Midwinter, of whom you will next expect me to say something, is improving rapidly. After causing some anxiety at first to the medical men (who declared that he was suffering from a serious nervous shock, produced by circumstances about which their patient’s obstinate24 silence kept them quite in the dark), he has rallied, as only men of his sensitive temperament25 (to quote the doctors again) can rally. He and Mr. Armadale are together in a quiet lodging26. I saw him last week when I was in London. His face showed signs of wear and tear, very sad to see in so young a man. But he spoke27 of himself and his future with a courage and hopefulness which men of twice his years (if he has suffered as I suspect him to have suffered) might have envied. If I know anything of humanity, this is no common man; and we shall hear of him yet in no common way.
“You will wonder how I came to be in London. I went up, with a return ticket (from Saturday to Monday), about that matter in dispute at our agent’s. We had a tough fight; but, curiously28 enough, a point occurred to me just as I got up to go; and I went back to my chair, and settled the question in no time. Of course I stayed at Our Hotel in Covent Garden. William, the waiter, asked after you with the affection of a father; and Matilda, the chamber-maid, said you almost persuaded her that last time to have the hollow tooth taken out of her lower jaw29. I had the agent’s second son (the young chap you nicknamed Mustapha, when he made that dreadful mess about the Turkish Securities) to dine with me on Sunday. A little incident happened in the evening which may be worth recording30, as it connected itself with a certain old lady who was not ‘at home’ when you and Mr. Armadale blundered on that house in Pimlico in the bygone time.
“Mustapha was like all the rest of you young men of the present day — he got restless after dinner. ‘Let’s go to a public amusement, Mr. Pedgift,’ says he. ‘Public amusement? Why, it’s Sunday evening!’ says I. ‘All right, sir,’ says Mustapha. ‘They stop acting31 on the stage, I grant you, on Sunday evening — but they don’t stop acting in the pulpit. Come and see the last new Sunday performer of our time.’ As he wouldn’t have any more wine, there was nothing else for it but to go.
“We went to a street at the West End, and found it blocked up with carriages. If it hadn’t been Sunday night, I should have thought we were going to the opera. ‘What did I tell you?’ says Mustapha, taking me up to an open door with a gas star outside and a bill of the performance. I had just time to notice that I was going to one of a series of ‘Sunday Evening Discourses32 on the Pomps and Vanities of the World, by A Sinner Who Has Served Them,’ when Mustapha jogged my elbow, and whispered, ‘Half a crown is the fashionable tip.’ I found myself between two demure33 and silent gentlemen, with plates in their hands, uncommonly34 well filled already with the fashionable tip. Mustapha patronized one plate, and I the other. We passed through two doors into a long room, crammed35 with people. And there, on a platform at the further end, holding forth36 to the audience, was — not a man, as I had expected — but a Woman, and that woman, MOTHER OLDERSHAW! You never listened to anything more eloquent37 in your life. As long as I heard her she was never once at a loss for a word anywhere. I shall think less of oratory38 as a human accomplishment39, for the rest of my days, after that Sunday evening. As for the matter of the sermon, I may describe it as a narrative40 of Mrs. Oldershaw’s experience among dilapidated women, profusely41 illustrated42 in the pious43 and penitential style. You will ask what sort of audience it was. Principally Women, Augustus — and, as I hope to be saved, all the old harridans44 of the world of fashion whom Mother Oldershaw had enameled45 in her time, sitting boldly in the front places, with their cheeks ruddled with paint, in a state of devout46 enjoyment47 wonderful to see! I left Mustapha to hear the end of it. And I thought to myself, as I went out, of what Shakespeare says somewhere, ‘Lord, what fools we mortals be!’
“Have I anything more to tell you before I leave off? Only one thing that I can remember.
“That wretched old Bashwood has confirmed the fears I told you I had about him when he was brought back here from London. There is no kind of doubt that he has really lost all the little reason he ever had. He is perfectly48 harmless, and perfectly happy. And he would do very well if we could only prevent him from going out in his last new suit of clothes, smirking49 and smiling and inviting50 everybody to his approaching marriage with the handsomest woman in England. It ends of course in the boys pelting51 him, and in his coming here crying to me, covered with mud. The moment his clothes are cleaned again he falls back into his favorite delusion52, and struts53 about before the church gates, in the character of a bridegroom, waiting for Miss Gwilt. We must get the poor wretch7 taken care of somewhere for the rest of the little time he has to live. Who would ever have thought of a man at his age falling in love? And who would ever have believed that the mischief that woman’s beauty has done could have reached as far in the downward direction as our superannuated54 old clerk?
“Good-by, for the present, my dear boy. If you see a particularly handsome snuff-box in Paris, remember — though your father scorns Testimonials — he doesn’t object to receive a present from his son.
“Yours affectionately,
A. PEDGIFT, Sen.
“POSTSCRIPT.— I think it likely that the account you mention in the French papers, of a fatal quarrel among some foreign sailors in one of the Lipari Islands, and of the death of their captain, among others, may really have been a quarrel among the scoundrels who robbed Mr. Armadale and scuttled55 his yacht. Those fellows, luckily for society, can’t always keep up appearances; and, in their case, Rogues and Retribution do occasionally come into collision with each other.”
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vengeance
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| n.报复，报仇，复仇 | |
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entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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entrapped
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| v.使陷入圈套，使入陷阱( entrap的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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miserable
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| adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的 | |
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investigation
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| n.调查，调查研究 | |
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motive
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| n.动机，目的；adv.发动的，运动的 | |
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wretch
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| n.可怜的人，不幸的人；卑鄙的人 | |
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deception
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| n.欺骗，欺诈；骗局，诡计 | |
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practitioner
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| n.实践者，从事者；(医生或律师等)开业者 | |
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cemetery
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| n.坟墓，墓地，坟场 | |
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inscribed
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| v.写，刻( inscribe的过去式和过去分词 )；内接 | |
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Christian
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| adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒 | |
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mischief
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| n.损害，伤害，危害；恶作剧，捣蛋，胡闹 | |
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rogues
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| n.流氓( rogue的名词复数 )；无赖；调皮捣蛋的人；离群的野兽 | |
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ascertained
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| v.弄清，确定，查明( ascertain的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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connived
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| v.密谋 ( connive的过去式和过去分词 )；搞阴谋；默许；纵容 | |
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jot
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| n.少量；vi.草草记下；vt.匆匆写下 | |
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heartily
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| adv.衷心地，诚恳地，十分，很 | |
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prospect
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| n.前景，前途；景色，视野 | |
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eminently
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| adv.突出地；显著地；不寻常地 | |
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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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postponed
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| vt.& vi.延期，缓办，（使）延迟vt.把…放在次要地位；[语]把…放在后面（或句尾）vi.（疟疾等）延缓发作（或复发） | |
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likeness
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| n.相像，相似（之处） | |
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obstinate
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| adj.顽固的，倔强的，不易屈服的，较难治愈的 | |
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temperament
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| n.气质，性格，性情 | |
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lodging
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| n.寄宿，住所；(大学生的)校外宿舍 | |
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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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curiously
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| adv.有求知欲地；好问地；奇特地 | |
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jaw
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| n.颚，颌，说教，流言蜚语；v.喋喋不休，教训 | |
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recording
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| n.录音，记录 | |
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acting
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| n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的 | |
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discourses
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| 论文( discourse的名词复数 )； 演说； 讲道； 话语 | |
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demure
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| adj.严肃的；端庄的 | |
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uncommonly
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| adv. 稀罕(极，非常) | |
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crammed
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| adj.塞满的，挤满的；大口地吃；快速贪婪地吃v.把…塞满；填入；临时抱佛脚( cram的过去式) | |
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forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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eloquent
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| adj.雄辩的，口才流利的；明白显示出的 | |
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oratory
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| n.演讲术；词藻华丽的言辞 | |
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accomplishment
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| n.完成，成就，（pl.）造诣，技能 | |
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narrative
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| n.叙述，故事；adj.叙事的，故事体的 | |
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profusely
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| ad.abundantly | |
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illustrated
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| adj. 有插图的，列举的 动词illustrate的过去式和过去分词 | |
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pious
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| adj.虔诚的；道貌岸然的 | |
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harridans
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| n.脾气暴躁的老妇人，老泼妇( harridan的名词复数 ) | |
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enameled
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| 涂瓷釉于，给…上瓷漆，给…上彩饰( enamel的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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devout
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| adj.虔诚的，虔敬的，衷心的 (n.devoutness) | |
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enjoyment
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| n.乐趣；享有；享用 | |
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perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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smirking
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| v.傻笑( smirk的现在分词 ) | |
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inviting
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| adj.诱人的，引人注目的 | |
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pelting
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| 微不足道的，无价值的，盛怒的 | |
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delusion
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| n.谬见，欺骗，幻觉，迷惑 | |
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struts
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| （框架的）支杆( strut的名词复数 )； 支柱； 趾高气扬的步态； （尤指跳舞或表演时）卖弄 | |
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superannuated
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| adj.老朽的，退休的；v.因落后于时代而废除，勒令退学 | |
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scuttled
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| v.使船沉没( scuttle的过去式和过去分词 )；快跑，急走 | |
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