It was evening at Emminster Vicarage. The two customary candles were burning under their green shades in the Vicar's study, but he had not been sitting there. Occasionally he came in, stirred the small fire which sufficed for the increasing mildness of the spring, and went out again; sometimes pausing at the front door, going on to the drawing-room, then returning again to the front door.

It faced westward¹, and though gloom prevailed inside, there was still light enough without to see with distinctness. Mrs Clare, who had been sitting in the drawing-room, followed him hither.

`Plenty of time yet,' said the Vicar. `He doesn't reach Chalk-Newton till six, even if the train should be punctual, and ten miles of country-road, five of them in Crimmercrock Lane, are not jogged over in a hurry by our old horse.'

`But he has done it in an hour with us, my dear.'

`Years ago.'

Thus they passed the minutes, each well knowing that this was only waste of breath, the one essential being simply to wait.

At length there was a slight noise in the lane, and the old pony-chaise appeared indeed outside the railings. They saw alight therefrom a form which they affected² to recognize, but would actually have passed by in the street without identifying had he not got out of their carriage at the particular moment when a particular person was due.

Mrs Clare rushed through the dark passage to the door, and her husband came more slowly after her.

The new arrival, who was just about to enter, saw their anxious faces in the doorway³ and the gleam of the west in their spectacles because they confronted the last rays of day; but they could only see his shape against the light.

`O, my boy, my boy - home again at last!' cried Mrs Clare, who cared no more at that moment for the stains of heterodoxy which had caused all this separation than for the dust upon his clothes. What woman, indeed, among the most faithful adherents⁴ of the truth, believes the promises and threats of the Word in the sense in which she believes in her own children, or would not throw her theology to the wind if weighed against their happiness? As soon as they reached the room where the candies were lighted she looked at his face.

`O, it is not Angel - not my son - the Angel who went away!' she cried in all the

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1 westward
n.西方，西部；adj.西方的，向西的；adv.向西
参考例句：
We live on the westward slope of the hill.我们住在这座山的西山坡。 Explore westward or wherever.向西或到什么别的地方去勘探。

2 affected
adj.不自然的，假装的
参考例句：
She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。 His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

3 doorway
n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径
参考例句：
They huddled in the shop doorway to shelter from the rain.他们挤在商店门口躲雨。 Mary suddenly appeared in the doorway.玛丽突然出现在门口。

4 adherents
n.支持者，拥护者( adherent的名词复数 )；党羽；徒子徒孙
参考例句：
He is a leader with many adherents. 他是个有众多追随者的领袖。 来自《简明英汉词典》 The proposal is gaining more and more adherents. 该建议得到越来越多的支持者。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 irony
n.反语，冷嘲；具有讽刺意味的事，嘲弄
参考例句：
She said to him with slight irony.她略带嘲讽地对他说。 In her voice we could sense a certain tinge of irony.从她的声音里我们可以感到某种讥讽的意味。

6 morbid
adj.病的；致病的；病态的；可怕的
参考例句：
Some people have a morbid fascination with crime.一些人对犯罪有一种病态的痴迷。 It's morbid to dwell on cemeteries and such like.不厌其烦地谈论墓地以及诸如此类的事是一种病态。

7 hue
n.色度；色调；样子
参考例句：
The diamond shone with every hue under the sun.金刚石在阳光下放出五颜六色的光芒。 The same hue will look different in different light.同一颜色在不同的光线下看起来会有所不同。

8 waned
v.衰落( wane的过去式和过去分词 )；（月）亏；变小；变暗淡
参考例句：
However,my enthusiasm waned.The time I spent at exercises gradually diminished. 然而，我的热情减退了。我在做操上花的时间逐渐减少了。 来自《用法词典》 The bicycle craze has waned. 自行车热已冷下去了。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

9 aged
adj.年老的，陈年的
参考例句：
He had put on weight and aged a little.他胖了，也老点了。 He is aged,but his memory is still good.他已年老，然而记忆力还好。

10 reign
n.统治时期，统治，支配，盛行；v.占优势
参考例句：
The reign of Queen Elizabeth lapped over into the seventeenth century.伊丽莎白王朝延至17世纪。 The reign of Zhu Yuanzhang lasted about 31 years.朱元璋统治了大约三十一年。

11 mere
adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过
参考例句：
That is a mere repetition of what you said before.那不过是重复了你以前讲的话。 It's a mere waste of time waiting any longer.再等下去纯粹是浪费时间。

12 scrawl
vt.潦草地书写；n.潦草的笔记，涂写
参考例句：
His signature was an illegible scrawl.他的签名潦草难以辨认。 Your beautiful handwriting puts my untidy scrawl to shame.你漂亮的字体把我的潦草字迹比得见不得人。

13 monstrously
参考例句：
There is a class of men in Bristol monstrously prejudiced against Blandly. 布里斯托尔有那么一帮人为此恨透了布兰德利。 You are monstrously audacious, how dare you misappropriate public funds? 你真是狗胆包天，公家的钱也敢挪用？

14 injustice
n.非正义，不公正，不公平，侵犯（别人的）权利
参考例句：
They complained of injustice in the way they had been treated.他们抱怨受到不公平的对待。 All his life he has been struggling against injustice.他一生都在与不公正现象作斗争。

15 dubbed
v.给…起绰号( dub的过去式和过去分词 )；把…称为；配音；复制
参考例句：
Mathematics was once dubbed the handmaiden of the sciences. 数学曾一度被视为各门科学的基础。 Is the movie dubbed or does it have subtitles? 这部电影是配音的还是打字幕的？ 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 retired
adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的
参考例句：
The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。 Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

17 passionate
adj.热情的，热烈的，激昂的，易动情的，易怒的，性情暴躁的
参考例句：
He is said to be the most passionate man.据说他是最有激情的人。 He is very passionate about the project.他对那个项目非常热心。

18 inquiry
n.打听，询问，调查，查问
参考例句：
Many parents have been pressing for an inquiry into the problem.许多家长迫切要求调查这个问题。 The field of inquiry has narrowed down to five persons.调查的范围已经缩小到只剩5个人了。

19 embarrassment
n.尴尬；使人为难的人(事物)；障碍；窘迫
参考例句：
She could have died away with embarrassment.她窘迫得要死。 Coughing at a concert can be a real embarrassment.在音乐会上咳嗽真会使人难堪。

20 biding
v.等待，停留( bide的现在分词 )；居住；（过去式用bided）等待；面临
参考例句：
He was biding his time. 他正在等待时机。 来自辞典例句 Applications:used in carbide alloy, diamond tools, biding admixture, high-temperature alloy, rechargeable cell. 用作硬质合金，磁性材料，金刚石工具，高温合金，可充电池等。 来自互联网

21 apparently
adv.显然地；表面上，似乎
参考例句：
An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。 He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

22 reticence
n.沉默，含蓄
参考例句：
He breaks out of his normal reticence and tells me the whole story.他打破了平时一贯沈默寡言的习惯，把事情原原本本都告诉了我。 He always displays a certain reticence in discussing personal matters.他在谈论个人问题时总显得有些保留。

23 distress
n.苦恼，痛苦，不舒适；不幸；vt.使悲痛
参考例句：
Nothing could alleviate his distress.什么都不能减轻他的痛苦。 Please don't distress yourself.请你不要忧愁了。

24 alteration
n.变更，改变；蚀变
参考例句：
The shirt needs alteration.这件衬衣需要改一改。 He easily perceived there was an alteration in my countenance.他立刻看出我的脸色和往常有些不同。

25 corporeal
adj.肉体的，身体的；物质的
参考例句：
The body is the corporeal habitation of the soul.身体为灵魂之有形寓所。 He is very religious;corporeal world has little interest for him.他虔信宗教，对物质上的享受不感兴趣。

26 constructively
ad.有益的，积极的
参考例句：
Collecting, by occupying spare time so constructively, makes a person contented, with no time for boredom. 如此富有意义地利用业余时间来进行收藏，会使人怡然自得，无暇烦恼。 The HKSAR will continue to participate constructively in these activities. 香港会继续积极参与这些活动。

27 indirectly
adv.间接地，不直接了当地
参考例句：
I heard the news indirectly.这消息我是间接听来的。 They were approached indirectly through an intermediary.通过一位中间人，他们进行了间接接触。

28 perused
v.读（某篇文字）( peruse的过去式和过去分词 )；（尤指）细阅；审阅；匆匆读或心不在焉地浏览（某篇文字）
参考例句：
I remained under the wall and perused Miss Cathy's affectionate composition. 我就留在墙跟底下阅读凯蒂小姐的爱情作品。 来自辞典例句 Have you perused this article? 你细读了这篇文章了吗？ 来自互联网

29 bide
v.忍耐；等候；住
参考例句：
We'll have to bide our time until the rain stops.我们必须等到雨停。 Bide here for a while. 请在这儿等一会儿。

30 determined
adj.坚定的；有决心的
参考例句：
I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。 He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

31 applied
adj.应用的；v.应用，适用
参考例句：
She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。 This cream is best applied to the face at night.这种乳霜最好晚上擦脸用。

32 reprobates
n.道德败坏的人，恶棍( reprobate的名词复数 )
参考例句：

33 simplicity
n.简单，简易；朴素；直率，单纯
参考例句：
She dressed with elegant simplicity.她穿着朴素高雅。 The beauty of this plan is its simplicity.简明扼要是这个计划的一大特点。

34 engendered
v.产生（某形势或状况），造成，引起( engender的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句：
The issue engendered controversy. 这个问题引起了争论。 The meeting engendered several quarrels. 这次会议发生了几次争吵。 来自《简明英汉词典》