THE three sisters were retired1, at night, to another council in the room of Camilla, when Molly Mill, with a look of dismay, burst in upon them, bringing, with the answer of Sir Sedley, news that Tommy Hodd, by an accident he could not help, had rode the horse she had borrowed for him of the under-groom to death.
The dismay, now, spread equally to them all. What a tale would this misfortune unfold to Sir Hugh, to Edgar, to the whole house! The debt of Lionel, the correspondence with Sir Sedley, the expectations of the young baronet.... Camilla could not support it; she sent for Jacob to own to him the affair, and beg his assistance.
Jacob, though getting into bed, obeyed the call. He was, however, so much irritated at the loss of the horse, and the boldness of the under-groom, in lending him without leave, that, at first, he would listen to no entreaties2, and protested that both the boy and Molly Mill should be complained of to his master. The eloquence3, however, of his three young mistresses, for so all the nieces of Sir Hugh were called by the servants at Cleves, soon softened4 his ire; he almost adored his master, and was affectionately attached to the young family. They begged him, therefore, to buy another horse, as like it as possible, and to contrive5 not to employ it when Sir Hugh was in sight, till they were able to clear up the history to their uncle themselves: this would not be difficult, as the baronet rarely visited his stables since his fall, from the melancholy6 with which he was filled by the sight of his horses.
There was to be a fair for cattle in the neighbourhood the next day, and Jacob promised to ride over to see what bargain he could make for them.
They then inquired about what money would be necessary for the purchase.
The cost, he said, of poor Tom Jones was 40l.
Camilla held up her hands, almost screaming. Eugenia, with more presence of mind, said they would see him again in the morning before he went, and then told Molly Mill to wait for her in her own room.
‘What can I now do?’ cried Camilla; ‘I would not add the history of this dreadful expence to the sad tale I have already to relate to Edgar for the universe! To begin my career by such a string of humiliations would be insupportable. Already I owe five guineas to Mrs. Arlbery, which the tumult7 of my mind since my return has prevented me from naming to my uncle; and I have left debts at Tunbridge that will probably take up all my next quarter’s allowance!’
‘As far as these three guineas will go,’ said Lavinia, taking out her purse, ‘here, my dearest Camilla, they are;... but how little that is! I never before thought my pittance8 too small! yet how well we all know my dear father cannot augment9 it.’
Eugenia, who, in haste, had stept to her own room, now came back, and putting twenty guineas into the hand of Camilla, said: ‘This, my beloved sister, is all I now have by me; but Jacob is rich and good, and will rejoice to pay the rest for us at present; and I shall very soon reimburse10 him, for my uncle has insisted upon making me a very considerable present, which I shall, now, no longer refuse.’
Camilla burst into tears, and, hanging about their necks: ‘O my sisters,’ she cried, ‘what goodness is yours! but how can I avail myself of it with any justice? Your three guineas, my Lavinia, your little all... how can I bear to take?’
‘Do not teach me to repine, my dear Camilla, that I have no more! I am sure of being remembered by my uncle on the approaching occasions, and I can never, therefore, better spare my little store.’
‘You are all kindness! and you my dear Eugenia, though you have more, have claims upon that more, and are both expected and used to answer them....’
‘Yes, I have indeed more!’ interrupted Eugenia, ‘which only sisters good as mine could pardon; but because my uncle has made me his heiress, has he made me a brute11? No! whatever I have, must be amongst us all in common, not only now, but....’ She stopt, affrighted at the idea she was presenting to herself, and fervently12 clasping her hands, exclaimed: ‘O long... long may it be ere I can shew my sisters all I feel for them! they will believe it, I am sure... and that is far happier!’
The idea this raised struck them all, at the same moment, to the heart. Not one of them had dry eyes, and with a sadness overpowering every other consideration, they sighed as heavily, and with looks as disconsolate13, as if the uncle so dear to them were already no more.
The influence of parts, the predominance of knowledge, the honour of learning, the captivation of talents, and even the charm of fame itself, all shrink in their effects before the superior force of goodness, even where most simple and uncultivated, for power over the social affections.
* * *
At an early hour, the next morning the commission, with the twenty guineas in hand, and the promise of the rest in a short time, were given to Jacob; and Camilla, then, begged permission of her father, and the carriage of her uncle, to visit Mrs. Arlbery, who, she had heard, was just returned to the Grove14.
Concluding she wished to be the messenger of her own affairs to that lady, they made no opposition15, and she set off before eight o’clock, without entering the parlour, where Edgar, she was informed, was already arrived for breakfast.
The little journey was terrible to her; scenes of disappointment and despair on the part of Sir Sedley, were anticipated by her alarmed imagination, and she reproached herself for every word she had ever spoken, every look she had ever given, that could have raised any presumption16 of her regard.
The last note was written in the style of all the others, and not one ever expressed the smallest doubt of success; how dreadful then to break to him such news, at the very moment he might imagine she came to meet him with partial pleasure!
Mrs. Arlbery was not yet risen. Camilla inquired, stammering17, if any company were at the house. None, was the answer. She then begged leave to walk in the garden till Mrs. Arlbery came down stairs.
She was not sorry to miss her; she dreaded18 her yet more than Sir Sedley himself, and hoped to see him alone.
Nevertheless, she remained a full hour in waiting, ruminating19 upon the wonder her disappearance20 would give to Edgar, and nearly persuaded some chance had anticipated her account to Sir Sedley, whose rage and grief were too violent to suffer him to keep his appointment.
This idea served but to add to her perturbation, when, at last, she saw him enter the garden.
All presence of mind then forsook21 her; she looked around to see if she could escape, but his approach was too quick for avoidance. Her eyes, unable to encounter his, were bent22 upon the ground, and she stood still, and even trembling, till he reached her.
To the prepossessed notions and vain character of Sir Sedley, these were symptoms by no means discouraging; with a confidence almost amounting to arrogance23 he advanced, pitying her distress24, yet pitying himself still more for the snare25 in which it was involving him. He permitted his eyes for a moment to fasten upon her, to admire her, and to enjoy triumphantly26 her confusion in silence: ‘Ah, beauteous tyrant27!’ he then cried; ‘if this instant were less inappreciable, in what language could I upbraid28 thy unexampled abuse of power? Thy lacerating barbarity?’
He then, almost by force, took her hand; she struggled eagerly to recover it, but ‘No,’ he cried, ‘fair torturer! It is now my prisoner, and must be punished for its inhuman29 sins, in the congealing30 and unmerciful lines it has portrayed31 for me.’
And then, regardless of her resistance, which he attributed to mere32 bashfulness, he obstinately33 and incessantly34 devoured35 it with kisses, in defiance36 of opposition, supplication37, or anger, till, suddenly and piercingly, she startled him with a scream and snatched it away with a force irresistible38.
Amazed, he stared at her. Her face was almost convulsed with emotion; but her eyes, which appeared to be fixed39, directed him to the cause. At the bottom of the walk, which was only a few yards distant, stood Mandlebert.
Pale and motionless, he looked as if bereft40 of strength and faculties41. Camilla had seen him the moment she raised her eyes, and her horror was uncontrollable. Sir Sedley, astonished at what he beheld42, astonished what to think, drew back, with a supercilious43 kind of bow. Edgar, recalled by what he thought insolence44 to is recollection, advanced a few steps, and addressing himself to Camilla, said: ‘I had the commands of Sir Hugh to pursue you, Miss Tyrold, to give you immediate45 notice that Mr. Lynmere is arrived.’ He added no more, deigned46 not a look at Sir Sedley, but rapidly retreated, remounted his horse, and galloped47 off.
Camilla looked after him till he was out of sight, with uplifted hands and eyes, deploring48 his departure, his mistake, and his resentment49, without courage to attempt stopping him.
Sir Sedley stood suspended, how to act, what to judge. If Edgar’s was the displeasure of a discarded lover, why should it so affect Camilla? if of a successful one why came she to meet him? why had she received and answered his notes?
Finding she attempted neither to speak nor move, he again approached her, and saying, ‘Fair Incomprehensible!...’ would again have taken her hand; but rousing to a sense of her situation, she drew back, and with some dignity, but more agitation50, cried: ‘Sir Sedley, I blush if I am culpable51 of any part of your mistake but suffer me now to be explicit52, and let me be fully53, finally, and not too late understood. You must write to me no more; I cannot answer nor read your letters. You must speak to me no more, except in public society; you must go further, Sir Sedley... you must think of me no more.’
‘Horrible!’ cried he, starting back; ‘you distress me past measure!’
‘No, no, you will soon... easily... readily forget me.’
‘Inhuman! you make me unhappy past thought!’
‘Indeed I am inexpressibly concerned; but the whole affair...’
‘You shock, you annihilate54 me, you injure me in the tenderest point!’
Camilla now, amazed, cried ‘what is it you mean, sir?’
‘By investing me, fair barbarian55, with the temerity56 of forming any claim that can call for repulse57!’
Utterly58 confounded by so unexpected a disclaiming59 of all design, she again, though from far different sensations, cast up her eyes and hands. And is it, she thought, for a trifler such as this, so unmeaning, so unfeeling, I have risked my whole of hope and happiness?
She said, however, no more; for what more could be said? She coloured, past him, and hastily quitting the garden, told the footman to apologise to Mrs. Arlbery for her sudden departure, by informing her that a near relation was just arrived from abroad; and then got into the carriage and drove back to Cleves.
Sir Sedley followed carelessly, yet without aiming at overtaking her, and intreated, negligently60, to be heard, yet said nothing which required the smallest answer.
Piqued61 completely, and mortified62 to the quick, by the conviction which now broke in upon him of the superior ascendance of Mandlebert, he could not brook63 to have been thought in earnest when he saw he should not have been accepted, nor pardon his own vanity the affront64 it had brought upon his pride. He sung aloud an opera air till the carriage of Sir Hugh was out of sight, and then drove his phaeton to Clarendel Place, where he instantly ordered his post-chaise, and in less than an hour, set off on a tour to the Hebrides.
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1
retired
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| adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的 | |
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entreaties
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| n.恳求，乞求( entreaty的名词复数 ) | |
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eloquence
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| n.雄辩；口才，修辞 | |
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4
softened
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| （使）变软( soften的过去式和过去分词 )； 缓解打击； 缓和； 安慰 | |
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contrive
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| vt.谋划，策划；设法做到；设计，想出 | |
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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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tumult
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| n.喧哗；激动，混乱；吵闹 | |
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pittance
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| n.微薄的薪水，少量 | |
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augment
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| vt.(使)增大，增加，增长，扩张 | |
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10
reimburse
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| v.补偿，付还 | |
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brute
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| n.野兽，兽性 | |
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fervently
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| adv.热烈地，热情地，强烈地 | |
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disconsolate
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| adj.忧郁的，不快的 | |
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14
grove
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| n.林子，小树林，园林 | |
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opposition
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| n.反对，敌对 | |
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presumption
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| n.推测，可能性，冒昧，放肆，[法律]推定 | |
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stammering
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| v.结巴地说出( stammer的现在分词 ) | |
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dreaded
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| adj.令人畏惧的；害怕的v.害怕，恐惧，担心( dread的过去式和过去分词) | |
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ruminating
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| v.沉思( ruminate的现在分词 )；反复考虑；反刍；倒嚼 | |
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20
disappearance
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| n.消失，消散，失踪 | |
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21
forsook
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| forsake的过去式 | |
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22
bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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arrogance
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| n.傲慢，自大 | |
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distress
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| n.苦恼，痛苦，不舒适；不幸；vt.使悲痛 | |
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snare
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| 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 | |
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26
triumphantly
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| ad.得意洋洋地；得胜地；成功地 | |
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tyrant
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| n.暴君，专制的君主，残暴的人 | |
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upbraid
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| v.斥责，责骂，责备 | |
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inhuman
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| adj.残忍的，不人道的，无人性的 | |
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30
congealing
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| v.使凝结，冻结( congeal的现在分词 )；（指血）凝结 | |
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31
portrayed
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| v.画像( portray的过去式和过去分词 )；描述；描绘；描画 | |
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32
mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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obstinately
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| ad.固执地，顽固地 | |
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incessantly
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| ad.不停地 | |
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35
devoured
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| 吞没( devour的过去式和过去分词 )； 耗尽； 津津有味地看； 狼吞虎咽地吃光 | |
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defiance
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| n.挑战，挑衅，蔑视，违抗 | |
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supplication
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| n.恳求，祈愿，哀求 | |
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irresistible
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| adj.非常诱人的，无法拒绝的，无法抗拒的 | |
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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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bereft
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| adj.被剥夺的 | |
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faculties
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| n.能力( faculty的名词复数 )；全体教职员；技巧；院 | |
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42
beheld
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| v.看，注视( behold的过去式和过去分词 )；瞧；看呀；（叙述中用于引出某人意外的出现）哎哟 | |
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43
supercilious
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| adj.目中无人的，高傲的；adv.高傲地；n.高傲 | |
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44
insolence
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| n.傲慢；无礼；厚颜；傲慢的态度 | |
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45
immediate
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| adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的 | |
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46
deigned
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| v.屈尊，俯就( deign的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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47
galloped
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| （使马）飞奔，奔驰( gallop的过去式和过去分词 )； 快速做[说]某事 | |
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48
deploring
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| v.悲叹，痛惜，强烈反对( deplore的现在分词 ) | |
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resentment
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| n.怨愤，忿恨 | |
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50
agitation
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| n.搅动；搅拌；鼓动，煽动 | |
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51
culpable
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| adj.有罪的，该受谴责的 | |
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52
explicit
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| adj.详述的，明确的；坦率的；显然的 | |
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53
fully
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| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
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54
annihilate
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| v.使无效；毁灭；取消 | |
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barbarian
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| n.野蛮人；adj.野蛮(人)的；未开化的 | |
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56
temerity
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| n.鲁莽，冒失 | |
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57
repulse
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| n.击退，拒绝；vt.逐退，击退，拒绝 | |
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58
utterly
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| adv.完全地，绝对地 | |
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59
disclaiming
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| v.否认( disclaim的现在分词 ) | |
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60
negligently
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61
piqued
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| v.伤害…的自尊心( pique的过去式和过去分词 )；激起（好奇心） | |
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62
mortified
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| v.使受辱( mortify的过去式和过去分词 )；伤害（人的感情）；克制；抑制（肉体、情感等） | |
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brook
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| n.小河，溪；v.忍受，容让 | |
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affront
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| n./v.侮辱，触怒 | |
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