Four days later, he set off for home. His coach rolled quickly along the soft cross-road. There had been no rain for a fortnight; a fine milk mist was diffused1 in the air and hung over the distant woods; a smell of burning came from it. A multitude of darkish clouds with blurred2 edges were creeping across the pale blue sky; a fairly strong breeze blew a dry and steady gale3, without dispelling4 the heat. Leaning back with his head on the cushion and his arms crossed on his breast, Lavretsky watched the furrowed5 fields unfolding like a fan before him, the willow6 bushes as they slowly came into sight, and the dull ravens7 and rooks, who looked sidelong with stupid suspicion at the approaching carriage, the long ditches, overgrown with mugwort, wormwood, and mountain ash; and as he watched the fresh fertile wilderness8 and solitude9 of this steppe country, the greenness, the long slopes, and valleys with stunted10 oak bushes, the grey villages, and scant11 birch trees,— the whole Russian landscape, so long unseen by him, stirred emotion at once pleasant, sweet and almost painful in his heart, and he felt weighed down by a kind of pleasant oppression. Slowly his thoughts wandered; their outlines were as vague and indistinct as the outlines of the clouds which seemed to be wandering at random12 overhead. He remembered his childhood, his mother; he remembered her death, how they had carried him in to her, and how, clasping his head to her bosom13, she had begun to wail14 over him, then had glanced at Glafira Petrovna — and checked herself. He remembered his father, at first vigorous, discontented with everything, with strident voice; and later, blind, tearful, with unkempt grey beard; he remembered how one day after drinking a glass too much at dinner, and spilling the gravy15 over his napkin, he began to relate his conquests, growing red in the face, and winking16 with his sightless eyes; he remember Varvara Pavlovna,— and involuntarily shuddered17, as a man shudders18 from a sudden internal pain, and shook his head. Then his! thoughts came to a stop at Lisa.
“There,” he thought, “Is a new creature, only just entering on life. A nice girl, what will become of her? She is good-looking too. A pale, fresh face, mouth and eyes so serious, and an honest innocent expression. It is a pity she seems a little enthusiastic. A good figure, and she moves so lightly, and a soft voice. I like the way she stops suddenly, listens attentively19, without a smile, then grows thoughtful and shakes back her hair. I fancy, too, that Panshin is not good enough for her. What’s amiss with him, though? And besides, what business have I to wonder about it? She will go along the same road as all the rest. I had better go to sleep.” And Lavretsky closed his eyes.
He could not sleep, but he sank into the drowsy20 numbness21 of a journey. Images of the past rose slowly as before, floated in his soul, mixed and tangled22 up with other fancies. Lavretsky, for some unknown reason, began to think about Robert Peel, . . . about French history — of how he would gain a battle, if he were a general; he fancied the shots and the cries . . . . His head slipped on one side, he opened his eyes. The same fields, the same steppe scenery; the polished shoes of the trace-horses flashed alternately through the driving dust; the coachman’s shirt, yellow with red gussets, was puffed23 out by the wind . . . . “A nice home-coming!” glanced through Lavretsky’s brain; and he cried, “Get on!” wrapped himself in his cloak and pressed close into the cushion. The carriage jolted24; Lavretsky sat up and opened his eyes wide. On the slope before him stretched a small hamlet; a little to the right could be seen an ancient manor25 house of small size, with closed shutters26! and a winding27 flight of steps; nettles28, green and thick as hemp29, grew over the wide courtyard from the very gates; in it stood a storehouse built of oak, still strong. This was Vassilyevskoe.
The coachman drove to the gates and drew up; Lavretsky’s groom30 stood up on the box and as though in preparation for jumping down, shouted, “Hey!” There was a sleepy, muffled31 sound of barking, but not even a dog made its appearance; the groom again made ready for a jump, and again shouted “Hey!” The feeble barking was repeated, and an instant after a man from some unseen quarter ran into the courtyard, dressed in a nankeen coat, his head as white as snow; he stared at the coach, shading his eyes from the sun; all at once he slapped his thighs32 with both hands, ran to and fro a little, then rushed to open the gates. The coach drove into the yard, crushing the nettles with the wheels, and drew up at the steps. The white-headed man, who seemed very alert, was already standing33 on the bottom step, his legs bent34 and wide apart. he unfastened the apron35 of the carriage, holding back the strap36 with a jerk and aiding his master to alight; he kissed his hand.
“How do you do, how do you do, brother?” began Lavretsky. “Your name’s Anton, I think? You are still alive, then?” The old man bowed without speaking, and ran off for the keys. While he went, the coachman sat motionless, sitting sideways and staring at the closed door, but Lavretsky’s groom stood as he had leaped down in a picturesque37 pose with one arm thrown back on the box. The old man brought the keys, and, quite needlessly, twisting about like a snake, with his elbows raised high, he opened the door, stood on one side, and again bowed to the earth.
“So here I am at home, here I am back again,” thought Lavretsky, as he walked into the diminutive38 passage, while one after another the shutters were being opened with much creaking and knocking, and the light of day poured into the deserted39 rooms.
1 diffused | |
散布的,普及的,扩散的 | |
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2 blurred | |
v.(使)变模糊( blur的过去式和过去分词 );(使)难以区分;模模糊糊;迷离 | |
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3 gale | |
n.大风,强风,一阵闹声(尤指笑声等) | |
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4 dispelling | |
v.驱散,赶跑( dispel的现在分词 ) | |
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5 furrowed | |
v.犁田,开沟( furrow的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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6 willow | |
n.柳树 | |
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7 ravens | |
n.低质煤;渡鸦( raven的名词复数 ) | |
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8 wilderness | |
n.杳无人烟的一片陆地、水等,荒漠 | |
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9 solitude | |
n. 孤独; 独居,荒僻之地,幽静的地方 | |
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10 stunted | |
adj.矮小的;发育迟缓的 | |
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11 scant | |
adj.不充分的,不足的;v.减缩,限制,忽略 | |
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12 random | |
adj.随机的;任意的;n.偶然的(或随便的)行动 | |
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13 bosom | |
n.胸,胸部;胸怀;内心;adj.亲密的 | |
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14 wail | |
vt./vi.大声哀号,恸哭;呼啸,尖啸 | |
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15 gravy | |
n.肉汁;轻易得来的钱,外快 | |
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16 winking | |
n.瞬眼,目语v.使眼色( wink的现在分词 );递眼色(表示友好或高兴等);(指光)闪烁;闪亮 | |
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17 shuddered | |
v.战栗( shudder的过去式和过去分词 );发抖;(机器、车辆等)突然震动;颤动 | |
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18 shudders | |
n.颤动,打颤,战栗( shudder的名词复数 )v.战栗( shudder的第三人称单数 );发抖;(机器、车辆等)突然震动;颤动 | |
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19 attentively | |
adv.聚精会神地;周到地;谛;凝神 | |
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20 drowsy | |
adj.昏昏欲睡的,令人发困的 | |
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21 numbness | |
n.无感觉,麻木,惊呆 | |
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22 tangled | |
adj. 纠缠的,紊乱的 动词tangle的过去式和过去分词 | |
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23 puffed | |
adj.疏松的v.使喷出( puff的过去式和过去分词 );喷着汽(或烟)移动;吹嘘;吹捧 | |
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24 jolted | |
(使)摇动, (使)震惊( jolt的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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25 manor | |
n.庄园,领地 | |
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26 shutters | |
百叶窗( shutter的名词复数 ); (照相机的)快门 | |
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27 winding | |
n.绕,缠,绕组,线圈 | |
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28 nettles | |
n.荨麻( nettle的名词复数 ) | |
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29 hemp | |
n.大麻;纤维 | |
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30 groom | |
vt.给(马、狗等)梳毛,照料,使...整洁 | |
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31 muffled | |
adj.(声音)被隔的;听不太清的;(衣服)裹严的;蒙住的v.压抑,捂住( muffle的过去式和过去分词 );用厚厚的衣帽包着(自己) | |
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32 thighs | |
n.股,大腿( thigh的名词复数 );食用的鸡(等的)腿 | |
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33 standing | |
n.持续,地位;adj.永久的,不动的,直立的,不流动的 | |
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34 bent | |
n.爱好,癖好;adj.弯的;决心的,一心的 | |
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35 apron | |
n.围裙;工作裙 | |
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36 strap | |
n.皮带,带子;v.用带扣住,束牢;用绷带包扎 | |
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37 picturesque | |
adj.美丽如画的,(语言)生动的,绘声绘色的 | |
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38 diminutive | |
adj.小巧可爱的,小的 | |
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39 deserted | |
adj.荒芜的,荒废的,无人的,被遗弃的 | |
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