And cheeks, that should have been on soft pillows
Lying, were reflected in deep mirrors;
Where locks were braiding, and gems1 arranging,
And plumes2 were waving, for the coming day.”
By the time the sisters had completed the task of adorning3, the whole house was one blaze of light and decoration.
They walked through the yet vacant apartments, almost lost in the universal brightness. They were soon joined by Lord L. On arrivals commencing, he gave to each an arm,[119] and stood with them near the entrance of the first of the suit of rooms destined4 for the reception of company.
Crowds poured in. Lord L. felt not a little of the most amiable5, and most pardonable species of pride, as each fresh party that approached evinced, either by words or expression of countenance6, as the degrees of intimacy7 permitted, their extravagant8 admiration9 of his daughters.
The thunder of knocks, peal10 on peal, still echoed and re-echoed. Julia and Frances were more accustomed to that which reverberated11 from Skiddaw to the Screes: for though they had, as we have seen, entered some very gay circles in the country, they had not experienced any thing on this great scale before: besides, they were conscious, that they were now the especial objects of[120] notice; and at each loud sound, they shrunk closer to their father. He felt the involuntary movement; and, in a whisper, warned them not to be foolish.
Meanwhile, the first and second reception rooms had filled to overflowing12; and many of the company were finding their own way into other of the apartments. A number of people had already, for coolness, entered the ball-room; and thither13 we shall, for the present, accompany them.
After walking up and down for a time, some began to express impatience14 for the commencement of dancing; and others, to conjecture15 with whom Lady Julia L. would open the ball. This led to observations upon, praises by some, and criticism by others, of their youthful hostesses; for who, that is worthy16 of praise, can escape criticism? so true is it, that a young[121] woman cannot, with perfect impunity17, be remarkable18 even for her merits. No one could deny that they were beautiful; a motion to that effect was therefore carried, by a clamorous19 and unanimous vote, on the part of the gentlemen. A crowd pressing towards the dancing room, caused all eyes to turn in the direction whence it approached.
“Who is that leading Lady Julia L. towards the head of the room?” exclaimed one voice. “Who is Lady Julia L. going to dance with?” cried another. “Who is that Lady Julia L. is leaning on?” said a third. “Who is it? Who is it? Who is he? Who is he?” was repeated by many. “He is very handsome!” said the ladies. “Do you know him?” inquired the gentlemen. These questions were telegraphed from the outskirts20 of the standing21 group into the centre of the[122] moving crowd, and the answer, by numerous voices, telegraphed back: “Lord Fitz-Ullin!” “Lord Fitz-Ullin!” “Lord Fitz-Ullin!”
“Did not the papers say that Fitz-Ullin had shot himself?” inquired a gentleman.
“Yes, but it was contradicted again,” observed his neighbour.
“They say it was his friend, the Captain Montgomery, one hears so much of, who shot himself,” observed a third.
“For love, was it not?” asked a young lady.
“Oh yes, of course,” drawled out her destined partner, dropping a sleepy glance out of the corner of his eye, without turning his head; for he was an exquisite22; “You ladies are the cause of every mischief23, you know. You drive us poor men to distraction24, and then blame us for the rash actions[123] which your own charms have caused us to commit.”
“It was not the lady’s fault!” said his partner; “she could not marry them both, you know.”
“And so she made the best division she could, you think, in accepting the one as a lover, and the other as a husband?” retorted the gentleman.
“Nonsense!” said the young lady: “but as the papers said that Captain Montgomery was the favoured lover, why should he shoot himself?”
“Cannot say, really. The quadrilles are forming; we had better take our place.”
“Lady Julia L. is vastly lovely! Is she not?” he proceeded, after they had secured their ground. The lady was wondering how Captain Montgomery, or any body else, could have been[124] preferred to Lord Fitz-Ullin, he was so handsome; and only answered, “Yes, very pretty indeed: and what a beautiful dress she has on!”
Several sets of quadrilles were now arranged, and were on the point of commencing.
“What a very handsome young man Lord Fitz-Ullin is!” said another young lady, to an ugly, stiff, old partner; who had once, of course, been young, and, by accident, the fashion; but who, by thinking himself a prize too long, had lost both those advantages.
“Possibly,” he replied; “but I was looking at the lady. Lady Julia L. is really almost beautiful enough to tempt25 a man to sacrifice his liberty!”
“Can that be Lord Fitz-Ullin?” said Lady D. to a certain gay Colonel, who, emerging[125] from the part of the crowd which had lately entered the room, approached her ladyship.
The Colonel was, or thought himself, handsome; and we hope, for his own sake, he was not mistaken; as, excepting his personal attractions, he had nothing but his half-pay; not even professional prospects26, having taken the difference from whole to half-pay for the discharge of debts. His aspirations27 were now, therefore, limited to that last resource of the desperate—matrimony! Lady D. was a showy, rich, and not very old widow; a dasher, and a professed28 admirer of handsome men: on which last trait in her ladyship’s character the Colonel founded very brilliant hopes.
“I have seen Lord Ormond in his father’s life-time,” pursued Lady D.; “but I had no recollection of his being half so handsome! Is that really Lord Fitz-Ullin?”
[126]
“If your ladyship means the gentleman who is standing at the head of the first quadrille with Lady Julia L.,” replied the Colonel, “he is, undoubtedly29, Lord Fitz-Ullin.”
“He is a thousand times handsomer,” said the lady, looking again, “a thousand times handsomer than I thought Lord Ormond at the time, though now I do remember thinking him a pleasing looking young man. What a difference three or four years have made (it was six or seven, but the lady did not choose to say so); he has now so much more character of countenance, and so fine a figure!”
The Colonel, not a little mortified30, answered, “The fellow looks as if he were going to be hanged! and that, with such an angel for a partner, is quite unpardonable.”
“As the lady’s whole attention seems occupied[127] by the chalking of the floor,” said Lady D., “it is no wonder she cannot animate31 her partner.”
“If I am any judge of physiognomy,” said the Colonel, “his Lordship’s want of animation32 does not proceed from want of admiration: and, as to the lady, if she does not look up and smile, she looks down and blushes; and that is quite as encouraging, you know.”
“She is certainly too demurely-looking,” persisted Lady D.
“Her adorer probably prefers,” argued the Colonel, assuming what he intended for a very graceful33 attitude, “possessing this monopoly of his fair enslaver’s attention, to the danger of her Ladyship’s admiring other Adonises, as might possibly be the case, were she to dispense34 her glances more freely.”
“Oh,” replied Lady D., with quickness,[128] “in the case of the partner of Lord Fitz-Ullin, there can be no danger of that!”
The Colonel fell back, bit his lip, and said to a gentleman near him, in a loud and conceited35 tone, drawing up his eyebrows36, and looking down at his own legs, “Lady D. thinks, that where Lord Fitz-Ullin appears, no one else has a chance of being looked at!—eh?”
“It is fortunate,” replied the gentleman addressed, who was also an acquaintance of her Ladyship’s, “that all ladies are not of Lady D.’s opinion. In a late very public affair his Lordship was, ’tis said, successfully rivalled by a Captain Montgomery, with whose name the papers have resounded37 for some time.”
“By the bye,” asked Lady D., “was it not said that Captain Montgomery, or Lord Fitz-Ullin, or somebody, had shot themselves, or something?”
[129]
A gentleman, on whose breast appeared the stars and garters of renown38, now coming up, said dryly (for he too seemed of Lady D.’s coterie), “Your Ladyship is speaking of Captain Montgomery? His wounds, you perceive, have not been mortal.”
The lady looked her want of comprehension.
“Why,” continued the man of stars, “he is now standing at the head of the first quadrille with Lady Julia L. Don’t look for a moment, or they will see that we are speaking of them.”
“I beg your pardon, sir,” interrupted the Colonel, “that is Lord Fitz-Ullin!—if you mean the gentleman who is dancing with Lady Julia L.”
“Are you personally acquainted with Lord Fitz-Ullin?” asked the Admiral, for such was the rank of the starred speaker.
[130]
“No, sir, but I saw him enter the room, and heard him announced as Lord Fitz-Ullin.”
“Then, sir, give me leave to say, that Captain Montgomery served with me when he was a lieutenant39; and to repeat that he now stands at the head of the room with Lady Julia L.”
“The gentleman at the head of the room, dancing with Lady Julia L.,” said a consequential40 looking elderly man in black, pressing forward through the crowd, and nodding to Lady D., “is Lord Fitz-Ullin”——
“Sir?” said the Admiral, with a look of defiance41.
“Yes, sir,” said the gentleman in black, smiling in the angry face of his opponent; “I had this very day the honour of dining with his Lordship at his own house, in company with the Dowager Lady Fitz-Ullin, Lady[131] Oswald, an aunt of his Lordship, and the very beautiful young lady, whose affair has, unfortunately, been of late the subject of so much discussion.”
“Where you may have dined, sir, or with whom, are not points for me to dispute; but,” persisted our naval42 hero, “the gentleman dancing with Lady Julia L. is Captain Montgomery!”
“Is Lord Fitz-Ullin,” repeated the man in black: “Pray, sir, give me leave, sir, and”——
“I will give no man leave, sir, to contradict me! I have distinctly asserted that I am personally acquainted with Captain Montgomery; and that the gentleman dancing with Lady Julia L. is Captain Montgomery: whoever asserts that he is not Captain Montgomery, gives me the lie!”
[132]
“My good friend! my good friend! why so fierce?” exclaimed a new addition to the circle, offering his hand to the Admiral as he came up.
Lady D. explained the cause of dispute; and the Admiral’s friend, laughing heartily43, said, “Five minutes since, I saw Lord L. present the young man now dancing with Lady Julia L. to both his daughters, as Lord Fitz-Ullin.”
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1
gems
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| growth； economy； management； and customer satisfaction 增长 | |
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2
plumes
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| 羽毛( plume的名词复数 )； 羽毛饰； 羽毛状物； 升上空中的羽状物 | |
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3
adorning
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| 修饰，装饰物 | |
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4
destined
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| adj.命中注定的；(for)以…为目的地的 | |
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5
amiable
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| adj.和蔼可亲的，友善的，亲切的 | |
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6
countenance
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| n.脸色，面容；面部表情；vt.支持，赞同 | |
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7
intimacy
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| n.熟悉，亲密，密切关系，亲昵的言行 | |
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8
extravagant
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| adj.奢侈的；过分的；(言行等)放肆的 | |
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9
admiration
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| n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕 | |
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10
peal
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| n.钟声；v.鸣响 | |
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11
reverberated
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| 回响，回荡( reverberate的过去式和过去分词 )； 使反响，使回荡，使反射 | |
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12
overflowing
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| n. 溢出物,溢流 adj. 充沛的，充满的 动词overflow的现在分词形式 | |
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13
thither
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| adv.向那里；adj.在那边的，对岸的 | |
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14
impatience
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| n.不耐烦，急躁 | |
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15
conjecture
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| n./v.推测，猜测 | |
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16
worthy
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| adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的 | |
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17
impunity
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| n.(惩罚、损失、伤害等的)免除 | |
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18
remarkable
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| adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的 | |
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19
clamorous
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| adj.吵闹的，喧哗的 | |
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20
outskirts
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| n.郊外，郊区 | |
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21
standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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22
exquisite
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| adj.精美的；敏锐的；剧烈的，感觉强烈的 | |
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23
mischief
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| n.损害，伤害，危害；恶作剧，捣蛋，胡闹 | |
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24
distraction
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| n.精神涣散，精神不集中，消遣，娱乐 | |
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25
tempt
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| vt.引诱，勾引，吸引，引起…的兴趣 | |
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26
prospects
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| n.希望，前途(恒为复数) | |
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27
aspirations
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| 强烈的愿望( aspiration的名词复数 )； 志向； 发送气音； 发 h 音 | |
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28
professed
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| 公开声称的，伪称的，已立誓信教的 | |
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29
undoubtedly
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| adv.确实地，无疑地 | |
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30
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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31
animate
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| v.赋于生命，鼓励；adj.有生命的，有生气的 | |
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32
animation
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| n.活泼，兴奋，卡通片／动画片的制作 | |
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33
graceful
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| adj.优美的，优雅的；得体的 | |
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34
dispense
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| vt.分配，分发；配(药)，发(药)；实施 | |
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35
conceited
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| adj.自负的，骄傲自满的 | |
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36
eyebrows
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| 眉毛( eyebrow的名词复数 ) | |
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37
resounded
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| v.（指声音等）回荡于某处( resound的过去式和过去分词 )；产生回响；（指某处）回荡着声音 | |
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38
renown
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| n.声誉，名望 | |
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39
lieutenant
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| n.陆军中尉，海军上尉；代理官员，副职官员 | |
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40
consequential
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| adj.作为结果的，间接的；重要的 | |
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41
defiance
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| n.挑战，挑衅，蔑视，违抗 | |
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42
naval
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| adj.海军的，军舰的，船的 | |
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43
heartily
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| adv.衷心地，诚恳地，十分，很 | |
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