The date is between twenty and thirty years ago. The place is an English sea-port. The time is night. And the business of the moment is — dancing.
The Mayor and Corporation of the town are giving a grand ball, in celebration of the departure of an Arctic expedition from their port. The ships of the expedition are two in number — the Wanderer and the Sea-mew. They are to sail (in search of the Northwest Passage) on the next day, with the morning tide.
Honor to the Mayor and Corporation! It is a brilliant ball. The band is complete. The room is spacious1. The large conservatory2 opening out of it is pleasantly lighted with Chinese lanterns, and beautifully decorated with shrubs3 and flowers. All officers of the army and navy who are present wear their uniforms in honor of the occasion. Among the ladies, the display of dresses (a subject which the men don’t understand) is bewildering — and the average of beauty (a subject which the men do understand) is the highest average attainable4, in all parts of the room.
For the moment, the dance which is in progress is a quadrille. General admiration5 selects two of the ladies who are dancing as its favorite objects. One is a dark beauty in the prime of womanhood — the wife of First Lieutenant6 Crayford, of the Wanderer. The other is a young girl, pale and delicate; dressed simply in white; with no ornament7 on her head but her own lovely brown hair. This is Miss Clara Burnham — an orphan8. She is Mrs. Crayford’s dearest friend, and she is to stay with Mrs. Crayford during the lieutenant’s absence in the Arctic regions. She is now dancing, with the lieutenant himself for partner, and with Mrs. Crayford and Captain Helding (commanding officer of the Wanderer) for vis-a-vis — in plain English, for opposite couple.
The conversation between Captain Helding and Mrs. Crayford, in one of the intervals10 of the dance, turns on Miss Burnham. The captain is greatly interested in Clara. He admires her beauty; but he thinks her manner — for a young girl — strangely serious and subdued11. Is she in delicate health?
Mrs. Crayford shakes her head; sighs mysteriously; and answers,
“In very delicate health, Captain Helding.”
“Consumptive?”
“Not in the least.”
“I am glad to hear that. She is a charming creature, Mrs. Crayford. She interests me indescribably. If I was only twenty years younger — perhaps (as I am not twenty years younger) I had better not finish the sentence? Is it indiscreet, my dear lady, to inquire what is the matter with her?”
“It might be indiscreet, on the part of a stranger,” said Mrs. Crayford. “An old friend like you may make any inquiries12. I wish I could tell you what is the matter with Clara. It is a mystery to the doctors themselves. Some of the mischief13 is due, in my humble14 opinion, to the manner in which she has been brought up.”
“Ay! ay! A bad school, I suppose.”
“Very bad, Captain Helding. But not the sort of school which you have in your mind at this moment. Clara’s early years were spent in a lonely old house in the Highlands of Scotland. The ignorant people about her were the people who did the mischief which I have just been speaking of. They filled her mind with the superstitions15 which are still respected as truths in the wild North — especially the superstition16 called the Second Sight.”
“God bless me!” cried the captain, “you don’t mean to say she believes in such stuff as that? In these enlightened times too!”
Mrs. Crayford looked at her partner with a satirical smile.
“In these enlightened times, Captain Helding, we only believe in dancing tables, and in messages sent from the other world by spirits who can’t spell! By comparison with such superstitions as these, even the Second Sight has something — in the shape of poetry — to recommend it, surely? Estimate for yourself,” she continued seriously, “the effect of such surroundings as I have described on a delicate, sensitive young creature — a girl with a naturally imaginative temperament17 leading a lonely, neglected life. Is it so very surprising that she should catch the infection of the superstition about her? And is it quite incomprehensible that her nervous system should suffer accordingly, at a very critical period of her life?”
“Not at all, Mrs. Crayford — not at all, ma’am, as you put it. Still it is a little startling, to a commonplace man like me, to meet a young lady at a ball who believes in the Second Sight. Does she really profess18 to see into the future? Am I to understand that she positively19 falls into a trance, and sees people in distant countries, and foretells20 events to come? That is the Second Sight, is it not?”
“That is the Second Sight, captain. And that is, really and positively, what she does.”
“The young lady who is dancing opposite to us?”
“The young lady who is dancing opposite to us.”
The captain waited a little — letting the new flood of information which had poured in on him settle itself steadily21 in his mind. This process accomplished22, the Arctic explorer proceeded resolutely23 on his way to further discoveries.
“May I ask, ma’am, if you have ever seen her in a state of trance with your own eyes?” he inquired.
“My sister and I both saw her in the trance, little more than a month since,” Mrs. Crayford replied. “She had been nervous and irritable24 all the morning; and we took her out into the garden to breathe the fresh air. Suddenly, without any reason for it, the color left her face. She stood between us, insensible to touch, insensible to sound; motionless as stone, and cold as death in a moment. The first change we noticed came after a lapse25 of some minutes. Her hands began to move slowly, as if she was groping in the dark. Words dropped one by one from her lips, in a lost, vacant tone, as if she was talking in her sleep. Whether what she said referred to past or future I cannot tell you. She spoke26 of persons in a foreign country — perfect strangers to my sister and to me. After a little interval9, she suddenly became silent. A momentary27 color appeared in her face, and left it again. Her eyes closed — her feet failed her — and she sank insensible into our arms.”
“Sank insensible into your arms,” repeated the captain, absorbing his new information. “Most extraordinary! And — in this state of health — she goes out to parties, and dances. More extraordinary still!”
“You are entirely28 mistaken,” said Mrs. Crayford. “She is only here to-night to please me; and she is only dancing to please my husband. As a rule, she shuns29 all society. The doctor recommends change and amusement for her. She won’t listen to him. Except on rare occasions like this, she persists in remaining at home.”
Captain Helding brightened at the allusion30 to the doctor. Something practical might be got out of the doctor. Scientific man. Sure to see this very obscure subject under a new light. “How does it strike the doctor now?” said the captain. “Viewed simply as a Case, ma’am, how does it strike the doctor?”
“He will give no positive opinion,” Mrs. Crayford answered. “He told me that such cases as Clara’s were by no means unfamiliar31 to medical practice. ‘We know,’ he told me, ‘that certain disordered conditions of the brain and the nervous system produce results quite as extraordinary as any that you have described — and there our knowledge ends. Neither my science nor any man’s science can clear up the mystery in this case. It is an especially difficult case to deal with, because Miss Burnham’s early associations dispose her to attach a superstitious32 importance to the malady33 — the hysterical34 malady as some doctors would call it — from which she suffers. I can give you instructions for preserving her general health; and I can recommend you to try some change in her life — provided you first relieve her mind of any secret anxieties that may possibly be preying35 on it.’”
The captain smiled self-approvingly. The doctor had justified36 his anticipations37. The doctor had suggested a practical solution of the difficulty.
“Ay! ay! At last we have hit the nail on the head! Secret anxieties. Yes! yes! Plain enough now. A disappointment in love — eh, Mrs. Crayford?”
“I don’t know, Captain Helding; I am quite in the dark. Clara’s confidence in me — in other matters unbounded — is, in this matter of her (supposed) anxieties, a confidence still withheld39. In all else we are like sisters. I sometimes fear there may indeed be some trouble preying secretly on her mind. I sometimes feel a little hurt at her incomprehensible silence.”
Captain Helding was ready with his own practical remedy for this difficulty.
“Encouragement is all she wants, ma’am. Take my word for it, this matter rests entirely with you. It’s all in a nutshell. Encourage her to confide38 in you — and she will confide.”
“I am waiting to encourage her, captain, until she is left alone with me — after you have all sailed for the Arctic seas. In the meantime, will you consider what I have said to you as intended for your ear only? And will you forgive me, if I own that the turn the subject has taken does not tempt40 me to pursue it any further?”
The captain took the hint. He instantly changed the subject; choosing, on this occasion, safe professional topics. He spoke of ships that were ordered on foreign service; and, finding that these as subjects failed to interest Mrs. Crayford, he spoke next of ships that were ordered home again. This last experiment produced its effect — an effect which the captain had not bargained for.
“Do you know,” he began, “that the Atalanta is expected back from the West Coast of Africa every day? Have you any acquaintances among the officers of that ship?”
As it so happened, he put those questions to Mrs. Crayford while they were engaged in one of the figures of the dance which brought them within hearing of the opposite couple. At the same moment — to the astonishment41 of her friends and admirers — Miss Clara Burnham threw the quadrille into confusion by making a mistake! Everybody waited to see her set the mistake right. She made no attempt to set it right — she turned deadly pale and caught her partner by the arm.
“The heat!” she said, faintly. “Take me away — take me into the air!”
Lieutenant Crayford instantly led her out of the dance, and took her into the cool and empty conservatory, at the end of the room. As a matter of course, Captain Helding and Mrs. Crayford left the quadrille at the same time. The captain saw his way to a joke.
“Is this the trance coming on?” he whispered. “If it is, as commander of the Arctic expedition, I have a particular request to make. Will the Second Sight oblige me by seeing the shortest way to the Northwest Passage, before we leave England?”
Mrs. Crayford declined to humor the joke. “If you will excuse my leaving you,” she said quietly, “I will try and find out what is the matter with Miss Burnham.”
At the entrance to the conservatory, Mrs. Crayford encountered her husband. The lieutenant was of middle age, tall and comely42. A man with a winning simplicity43 and gentleness in his manner, and an irresistible44 kindness in his brave blue eyes. In one word, a man whom everybody loved — including his wife.
“Don’t be alarmed,” said the lieutenant. “The heat has overcome her — that’s all.”
Mrs. Crayford shook her head, and looked at her husband, half satirically, half fondly.
“You dear old innocent!” she exclaimed, “that excuse may do for you. For my part, I don’t believe a word of it. Go and get another partner, and leave Clara to me.”
She entered the conservatory and seated herself by Clara’s side.
收听单词发音 |
1
spacious
|
|
| adj.广阔的，宽敞的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
2
conservatory
|
|
| n.温室，音乐学院；adj.保存性的，有保存力的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
3
shrubs
|
|
| 灌木( shrub的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
4
attainable
|
|
| a.可达到的，可获得的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
5
admiration
|
|
| n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
6
lieutenant
|
|
| n.陆军中尉，海军上尉；代理官员，副职官员 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
7
ornament
|
|
| v.装饰，美化；n.装饰，装饰物 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
8
orphan
|
|
| n.孤儿；adj.无父母的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
9
interval
|
|
| n.间隔，间距；幕间休息，中场休息 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
10
intervals
|
|
| n.[军事]间隔( interval的名词复数 )；间隔时间；[数学]区间；（戏剧、电影或音乐会的）幕间休息 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
11
subdued
|
|
| adj. 屈服的，柔和的，减弱的 动词subdue的过去式和过去分词 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
12
inquiries
|
|
| n.调查( inquiry的名词复数 )；疑问；探究；打听 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
13
mischief
|
|
| n.损害，伤害，危害；恶作剧，捣蛋，胡闹 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
14
humble
|
|
| adj.谦卑的，恭顺的；地位低下的；v.降低，贬低 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
15
superstitions
|
|
| 迷信，迷信行为( superstition的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
16
superstition
|
|
| n.迷信，迷信行为 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
17
temperament
|
|
| n.气质，性格，性情 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
18
profess
|
|
| v.声称，冒称，以...为业，正式接受入教，表明信仰 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
19
positively
|
|
| adv.明确地，断然，坚决地；实在，确实 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
20
foretells
|
|
| v.预言，预示( foretell的第三人称单数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
21
steadily
|
|
| adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
22
accomplished
|
|
| adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
23
resolutely
|
|
| adj.坚决地，果断地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
24
irritable
|
|
| adj.急躁的；过敏的；易怒的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
25
lapse
|
|
| n.过失，流逝，失效，抛弃信仰，间隔；vi.堕落，停止，失效，流逝；vt.使失效 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
26
spoke
|
|
| 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 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
27
momentary
|
|
| adj.片刻的，瞬息的；短暂的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
28
entirely
|
|
| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
29
shuns
|
|
| v.避开，回避，避免( shun的第三人称单数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
30
allusion
|
|
| n.暗示，间接提示 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
31
unfamiliar
|
|
| adj.陌生的，不熟悉的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
32
superstitious
|
|
| adj.迷信的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
33
malady
|
|
| n.病，疾病(通常做比喻) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
34
hysterical
|
|
| adj.情绪异常激动的，歇斯底里般的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
35
preying
|
|
| v.掠食( prey的现在分词 )；掠食；折磨；（人）靠欺诈为生 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
36
justified
|
|
| a.正当的，有理的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
37
anticipations
|
|
| 预期( anticipation的名词复数 )； 预测； （信托财产收益的）预支； 预期的事物 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
38
confide
|
|
| v.向某人吐露秘密 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
39
withheld
|
|
| withhold过去式及过去分词 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
40
tempt
|
|
| vt.引诱，勾引，吸引，引起…的兴趣 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
41
astonishment
|
|
| n.惊奇，惊异 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
42
comely
|
|
| adj.漂亮的，合宜的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
43
simplicity
|
|
| n.简单，简易；朴素；直率，单纯 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
44
irresistible
|
|
| adj.非常诱人的，无法拒绝的，无法抗拒的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
| 欢迎访问英文小说网 |