In Which the Reader Is Again Introduced to Captain Armine, during His Visit to London.
MISS GRANDISON had resolved upon taking a house in London for the season, and had obtained a promise from her uncle and aunt to be her guests. Lady Armine’s sister was to join them from Bath. As for Ferdinand, the spring had gradually restored him to health, but not to his former frame of mind. He remained moody1 and indolent, incapable2 of exertion3, and a prey4 to the darkest humours; circumstances, however, occurred which rendered some energy on his part absolutely necessary. His creditors5 grew importunate6, and the arrangement of his affairs or departure from his native land was an alternative now inevitable7. The month of April, which witnessed the arrival of the Temples and Lord Montfort in England, welcomed also to London Miss Grandison and her guests. A few weeks after, Ferdinand, who had evaded8 the journey with his family, and who would not on any account become a guest of his cousin, settled himself down at a quiet hotel in the vicinity of Grosvenor-square; but not quite alone, for almost at the last hour Glastonbury had requested permission to accompany him, and Ferdinand, who duly valued the society of the only person with whom he could converse9 about his broken fortunes and his blighted10 hopes without reserve, acceded11 to his wish with the greatest satisfaction.
A sudden residence in a vast metropolis12, after a life of rural seclusion13, has without doubt a very peculiar14 effect upon the mind. The immense population, the multiplicity of objects, the important interests hourly impressed upon the intelligence, the continually occurring events, the noise, the bustle15, the general and widely-spread excitement, all combine to make us keenly sensible of our individual insignificance16; and those absorbing passions that in our solitude17, fed by our imagination, have assumed such gigantic and substantial shapes, rapidly subside18, by an almost imperceptible process, into less colossal19 proportions, and seem invested, as it were, with a more shadowy aspect. As Ferdinand Armine jostled his way through the crowded streets of London, urged on by his own harassing20 and inexorable affairs, and conscious of the impending21 peril22 of his career, while power and wealth dazzled his eyes in all directions, he began to look back upon the passionate23 past with feelings of less keen sensation than heretofore, and almost to regret that a fatal destiny or his impetuous soul had entailed24 upon him so much anxiety, and prompted him to reject the glittering cup of fortune that had been proffered25 to him so opportunely26. He sighed for enjoyment27 and repose28; the memory of his recent sufferings made him shrink from that reckless indulgence of the passions, of which the consequences had been so severe.
It was in this mood, exhausted29 by a visit to his lawyer, that he stepped into a military club and took up a newspaper. Caring little for politics, his eye wandered over, uninterested, its pugnacious30 leading articles and tedious parliamentary reports; and he was about to throw it down when a paragraph caught his notice which instantly engrossed31 all his attention. It was in the ‘Morning Post’ that he thus read:
‘The Marquis of Montfort, the eldest32 son of the Duke of———, whose return to England we recently noticed, has resided for several years in Italy. His lordship is considered one of the most accomplished33 noblemen of the day, and was celebrated34 at Rome for his patronage35 of the arts. Lord Montfort will shortly be united to the beautiful Miss Temple, the only daughter of the Right Honourable36 Pelham Temple. Miss Temple is esteemed37 one of the richest heiresses in England, as she will doubtless inherit the whole of the immense fortune to which her father so unexpectedly acceded. Mr. Temple is a widower38, and has no son. Mr. Temple was formerly39 our minister at several of the German Courts, where he was distinguished40 by his abilities and his hospitality to his travelling countrymen. It is said that the rent-roll of the Yorkshire estates of the late Sir Temple Devereux is not less than 15,000L. per annum. The personal property is also very considerable. We understand that Mr. Temple has purchased the mansion41 of the Duke of ———, in Grosvenor-square. Lord Montfort accompanied Mr. Temple and his amiable42 daughter to this country.’
What a wild and fiery43 chaos44 was the mind of Ferdinand Armine when he read this paragraph. The wonders it revealed succeeded each other with such rapidity that for some time he was deprived of the power of reflection. Henrietta Temple in England! Henrietta Temple one of the greatest heiresses in the country! Henrietta Temple about to be immediately married to another! His Henrietta Temple, the Henrietta Temple whom he adored, and by whom he had been worshipped! The Henrietta Temple whose beautiful lock of hair was at this very moment on his heart! The Henrietta Temple for whom he had forfeited45 fortune, family, power, almost life!
O Woman, Woman! Put not thy trust in woman! And yet, could he reproach her? Did she not believe herself trifled with by him, outraged46, deceived, deluded47, deserted48? And did she, could she love another? Was there another to whom she had poured forth49 her heart as to him, and all that beautiful flow of fascinating and unrivalled emotion? Was there another to whom she had pledged her pure and passionate soul? Ah, no! he would not, he could not believe it. Light and false Henrietta could never be. She had been seen, she had been admired, she had been loved: who that saw her would not admire and love? and he was the victim of her pique50, perhaps of her despair.
But she was not yet married. They were, according to these lines, to be soon united. It appeared they had travelled together; that thought gave him a pang51. Could he not see her? Could he not explain all? Could he not prove that his heart had ever been true and fond? Could he not tell her all that had happened, all that he had suffered, all the madness of his misery52; and could she resist that voice whose accents had once been her joy, that glance which had once filled her heart with rapture53? And when she found that Ferdinand, her own Ferdinand, had indeed never deceived her, was worthy54 of her choice affection, and suffering even at this moment for her sweet sake, what were all the cold-blooded ties in which she had since involved herself? She was his by an older and more ardent55 bond. Should he not claim his right? Could she deny it?
Claim what? The hand of an heiress. Should it be said that an Armine came crouching56 for lucre57, where he ought to have commanded for love? Never! Whatever she might think, his conduct had been faultless to her. It was not for Henrietta to complain. She was not the victim, if one indeed there might chance to be. He had loved her, she had returned his passion; for her sake he had made the greatest of sacrifices, forfeited a splendid inheritance, and a fond and faithful heart. When he had thought of her before, pining perhaps in some foreign solitude, he had never ceased reproaching himself for his conduct, and had accused himself of deception58 and cruelty; but now, in this moment of her flush prosperity, ‘esteemed one of the richest heiresses in England’ (he ground his teeth as he recalled that phrase), and the affianced bride of a great noble (his old companion, Lord Montfort, too; what a strange thing is life!), proud, smiling, and prosperous, while he was alone, with a broken heart and worse than desperate fortunes, and all for her sake, his soul became bitter: he reproached her with want of feeling; he pictured her as void of genuine sensibility; he dilated59 on her indifference60 since they had parted; her silence, so strange, now no longer inexplicable61; the total want of interest she had exhibited as to his career; he sneered62 at the lightness of her temperament63; he cursed her caprice; he denounced her infernal treachery; in the distorted phantom64 of his agonised imagination she became to him even an object of hatred65.
Poor Ferdinand Armine! it was the first time he had experienced the maddening pangs66 of jealousy67.
Yet how he had loved this woman! How he had doated on her! And now they might have been so happy! There is nothing that depresses a man so much as the conviction of bad fortune. There seemed, in this sudden return, great wealth, and impending marriage of Henrietta Temple, such a combination, so far as Ferdinand Armine was concerned, of vexatious circumstances; it would appear that he had been so near perfect happiness and missed it, that he felt quite weary of existence, and seriously meditated68 depriving himself of it.
It so happened that he had promised this day to dine at his cousin’s; for Glastonbury, who was usually his companion, had accepted an invitation this day to dine with the noble widow of his old patron. Ferdinand, however, found himself quite incapable of entering into any society, and he hurried to his hotel to send a note of excuse to Brook-street. As he arrived, Glastonbury was just about to step into a hackney-coach, so that Ferdinand had no opportunity of communicating his sorrows to his friend, even had he been inclined.
1 moody | |
adj.心情不稳的,易怒的,喜怒无常的 | |
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2 incapable | |
adj.无能力的,不能做某事的 | |
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3 exertion | |
n.尽力,努力 | |
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4 prey | |
n.被掠食者,牺牲者,掠食;v.捕食,掠夺,折磨 | |
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5 creditors | |
n.债权人,债主( creditor的名词复数 ) | |
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6 importunate | |
adj.强求的;纠缠不休的 | |
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7 inevitable | |
adj.不可避免的,必然发生的 | |
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8 evaded | |
逃避( evade的过去式和过去分词 ); 避开; 回避; 想不出 | |
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9 converse | |
vi.谈话,谈天,闲聊;adv.相反的,相反 | |
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10 blighted | |
adj.枯萎的,摧毁的 | |
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11 acceded | |
v.(正式)加入( accede的过去式和过去分词 );答应;(通过财产的添附而)增加;开始任职 | |
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12 metropolis | |
n.首府;大城市 | |
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13 seclusion | |
n.隐遁,隔离 | |
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14 peculiar | |
adj.古怪的,异常的;特殊的,特有的 | |
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15 bustle | |
v.喧扰地忙乱,匆忙,奔忙;n.忙碌;喧闹 | |
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16 insignificance | |
n.不重要;无价值;无意义 | |
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17 solitude | |
n. 孤独; 独居,荒僻之地,幽静的地方 | |
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18 subside | |
vi.平静,平息;下沉,塌陷,沉降 | |
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19 colossal | |
adj.异常的,庞大的 | |
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20 harassing | |
v.侵扰,骚扰( harass的现在分词 );不断攻击(敌人) | |
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21 impending | |
a.imminent, about to come or happen | |
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22 peril | |
n.(严重的)危险;危险的事物 | |
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23 passionate | |
adj.热情的,热烈的,激昂的,易动情的,易怒的,性情暴躁的 | |
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24 entailed | |
使…成为必要( entail的过去式和过去分词 ); 需要; 限定继承; 使必需 | |
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25 proffered | |
v.提供,贡献,提出( proffer的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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26 opportunely | |
adv.恰好地,适时地 | |
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27 enjoyment | |
n.乐趣;享有;享用 | |
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28 repose | |
v.(使)休息;n.安息 | |
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29 exhausted | |
adj.极其疲惫的,精疲力尽的 | |
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30 pugnacious | |
adj.好斗的 | |
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31 engrossed | |
adj.全神贯注的 | |
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32 eldest | |
adj.最年长的,最年老的 | |
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33 accomplished | |
adj.有才艺的;有造诣的;达到了的 | |
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34 celebrated | |
adj.有名的,声誉卓著的 | |
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35 patronage | |
n.赞助,支援,援助;光顾,捧场 | |
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36 honourable | |
adj.可敬的;荣誉的,光荣的 | |
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37 esteemed | |
adj.受人尊敬的v.尊敬( esteem的过去式和过去分词 );敬重;认为;以为 | |
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38 widower | |
n.鳏夫 | |
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39 formerly | |
adv.从前,以前 | |
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40 distinguished | |
adj.卓越的,杰出的,著名的 | |
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41 mansion | |
n.大厦,大楼;宅第 | |
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42 amiable | |
adj.和蔼可亲的,友善的,亲切的 | |
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43 fiery | |
adj.燃烧着的,火红的;暴躁的;激烈的 | |
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44 chaos | |
n.混乱,无秩序 | |
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45 forfeited | |
(因违反协议、犯规、受罚等)丧失,失去( forfeit的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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46 outraged | |
a.震惊的,义愤填膺的 | |
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47 deluded | |
v.欺骗,哄骗( delude的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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48 deserted | |
adj.荒芜的,荒废的,无人的,被遗弃的 | |
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49 forth | |
adv.向前;向外,往外 | |
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50 pique | |
v.伤害…的自尊心,使生气 n.不满,生气 | |
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51 pang | |
n.剧痛,悲痛,苦闷 | |
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52 misery | |
n.痛苦,苦恼,苦难;悲惨的境遇,贫苦 | |
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53 rapture | |
n.狂喜;全神贯注;着迷;v.使狂喜 | |
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54 worthy | |
adj.(of)值得的,配得上的;有价值的 | |
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55 ardent | |
adj.热情的,热烈的,强烈的,烈性的 | |
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56 crouching | |
v.屈膝,蹲伏( crouch的现在分词 ) | |
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57 lucre | |
n.金钱,财富 | |
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58 deception | |
n.欺骗,欺诈;骗局,诡计 | |
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59 dilated | |
adj.加宽的,扩大的v.(使某物)扩大,膨胀,张大( dilate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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60 indifference | |
n.不感兴趣,不关心,冷淡,不在乎 | |
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61 inexplicable | |
adj.无法解释的,难理解的 | |
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62 sneered | |
讥笑,冷笑( sneer的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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63 temperament | |
n.气质,性格,性情 | |
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64 phantom | |
n.幻影,虚位,幽灵;adj.错觉的,幻影的,幽灵的 | |
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65 hatred | |
n.憎恶,憎恨,仇恨 | |
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66 pangs | |
突然的剧痛( pang的名词复数 ); 悲痛 | |
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67 jealousy | |
n.妒忌,嫉妒,猜忌 | |
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68 meditated | |
深思,沉思,冥想( meditate的过去式和过去分词 ); 内心策划,考虑 | |
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