Part 2 Chapter 10

    Then indeed peace had come. Messages of peace breathed from the seato the shore. Never to break its sleep any more, to lull¹ it rather moredeeply to rest, and whatever the dreamers dreamt holily, dreamt wisely,to confirm—what else was it murmuring—as Lily Briscoe laid her headon the pillow in the clean still room and heard the sea. Through the openwindow the voice of the beauty of the world came murmuring, too softlyto hear exactly what it said—but what mattered if the meaning wereplain? entreating² the sleepers³ (the house was full again; Mrs Beckwithwas staying there, also Mr Carmichael), if they would not actually comedown to the beach itself at least to lift the blind and look out. Theywould see then night flowing down in purple; his head crowned; hissceptre jewelled; and how in his eyes a child might look. And if they stillfaltered (Lily was tired out with travelling and slept almost at once; butMr Carmichael read a book by candlelight), if they still said no, that itwas vapour, this splendour of his, and the dew had more power than he,and they preferred sleeping; gently then without complaint, or argument,the voice would sing its song. Gently the waves would break (Lilyheard them in her sleep); tenderly the light fell (it seemed to comethrough her eyelids). And it all looked, Mr Carmichael thought, shuttinghis book, falling asleep, much as it used to look.

　　Indeed the voice might resume, as the curtains of dark wrapped themselvesover the house, over Mrs Beckwith, Mr Carmichael, and LilyBriscoe so that they lay with several folds of blackness on their eyes, whynot accept this, be content with this, acquiesce⁴ and resign? The sigh of allthe seas breaking in measure round the isles⁵ soothed⁶ them; the nightwrapped them; nothing broke their sleep, until, the birds beginning andthe dawn weaving their thin voices in to its whiteness, a cart grinding, adog somewhere barking, the sun lifted the curtains, broke the veil ontheir eyes, and Lily Briscoe stirring in her sleep. She clutched at herblankets as a faller clutches at the turf on the edge of a cliff. Her eyesopened wide. Here she was again, she thought, sitting bold upright inbed. Awake.

1 lull   

v.使安静，使入睡，缓和，哄骗；n.暂停，间歇

参考例句：

• The drug put Simpson in a lull for thirty minutes.药物使辛普森安静了30分钟。
• Ground fighting flared up again after a two-week lull.经过两个星期的平静之后，地面战又突然爆发了。

2 entreating   

恳求，乞求( entreat的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• We have not bound your feet with our entreating arms. 我们不曾用恳求的手臂来抱住你的双足。
• The evening has come. Weariness clings round me like the arms of entreating love. 夜来到了，困乏像爱的恳求用双臂围抱住我。

3 sleepers   

n.卧铺（通常以复数形式出现）；卧车( sleeper的名词复数 )；轨枕；睡觉（呈某种状态）的人；小耳环

参考例句：

• He trod quietly so as not to disturb the sleepers. 他轻移脚步，以免吵醒睡着的人。 来自辞典例句
• The nurse was out, and we two sleepers were alone. 保姆出去了，只剩下我们两个瞌睡虫。 来自辞典例句

4 acquiesce   

vi.默许，顺从，同意

参考例句：

• Her parents will never acquiesce in such an unsuitable marriage.她的父母决不会答应这门不相宜的婚事。
• He is so independent that he will never acquiesce.他很有主见，所以绝不会顺从。

5 isles   

岛( isle的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• the geology of the British Isles 不列颠群岛的地质
• The boat left for the isles. 小船驶向那些小岛。

6 soothed   

v.安慰( soothe的过去式和过去分词 )；抚慰；使舒服；减轻痛苦

参考例句：

• The music soothed her for a while. 音乐让她稍微安静了一会儿。
• The soft modulation of her voice soothed the infant. 她柔和的声调使婴儿安静了。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》