The next morning, after a comfortable breakfast, the doctor set out on his walk home. His young friend accompanied him part of the way, and did not part with him till he had obtained a promise of another and longer visit.
The doctor, as usual, soliloquised as he walked. 'No doubt these are Vestals. The purity of the establishment is past question. This young gentleman has every requisite2 which her dearest friends would desire in a husband for Miss Gryll.
And she is in every way suited to him. But these seven damsels interpose themselves, like the sevenfold shield of Ajax. There is something very attractive in these damsels:
Faciès non omnibus una,
Nec diversa tamen: qualem decet esse sororum.{1}
1 Though various features did the sisters grace,
Addison: Ovid. Met. 1. ii.
If I had such an establishment, I should be loath4 to break it up. It is original, in these days of monotony. It is satisfactory, in these days of uncongenial relations between master and servant It is effective, in the admirable arrangements of the household. It is graceful5, in the personal beauty and tasteful apparel of the maidens6. It is agreeable, in their manners, in their accomplishments7, in their musical skill. It is like an enchanted8 palace. Mr. Gryll, who talks so much of Circe, would find himself at home; he might fancy himself waited on by her handmaids, the daughters of fountains, groves9, and rivers. Miss Gryll might fancy herself in the dwelling10 of her namesake, Morgana. But I fear she would be for dealing11 with it as Orlando did with Morgana, breaking the talisman12 and dissolving the enchantment13 This would be a pity; but it would also be a pity that these two young persons should not come together. But why should I trouble myself with matchmaking? It is always a thankless office. If it turns out well, your good service is forgotten. If it turns out ill, you are abused by both parties.'
The doctor's soliloquy was cut short by a sound of lamentation14, which, as he went on, came to him in louder and louder bursts. He was attracted to the spot whence the sounds proceeded, and had some difficulty in discovering a doleful swain, who was ensconced in a mass of fern, taller than himself if he had been upright; and but that, by rolling over and over in the turbulence15 of his grief, he had flattened16 a large space down to the edge of the forest brook17 near which he reclined, he would have remained invisible in his lair18. The tears in his eyes, and the passionate19 utterances20 of his voice, contrasted strangely with a round russetin face, which seemed fortified21 by beef and ale against all possible furrows22 of care; but against love, even beef and ale, mighty23 talismans24 as they are, are feeble barriers. Cupid's arrows had pierced through the os triplex of treble X, and the stricken deer lay mourning by the stream.
The doctor approaching kindly25 inquired, 'What is the matter?' but was answered only by a redoubled burst of sorrow, and an emphatic26 rejection27 of all sympathy.
'You can't do me any good.'
'You do not know that,' said the doctor. 'No man knows what good another can do him till he communicates his trouble.'
For some time the doctor could obtain no other answer than the repetition of 'You can't do me any good.' But at length the patience and kind face of the inquirer had their effect on the sad shepherd, and he brought out with a desperate effort and a more clamorous28 explosion of grief—
'She won't have me!'
'Who won't have you?'
'Well, if you must know,' said the swain, 'you must. It's one of the young ladies up at the Folly29.'
'Young ladies?' said the doctor.
'Servants they call themselves,' said the other; 'but they are more like ladies, and hold their heads high enough, when one of them won't have me. Father's is one of the best farms for miles round, and it's all his own. He's a true old yeoman, father is. And there's nobody but him and me. And if I had a nice wife, that would be a good housekeeper30 for him, and play and sing to him of an evening—for she can do anything, she can—read, write, and keep accounts, and play and sing—I've heard her—and make a plum-pudding—I've seen her—we should be as happy as three crickets—four, perhaps, at the year's end: and she won't have me!'
'You have put the question?' said the doctor.
'Plump,' said the other. 'And she looked at first as if she was going to laugh. She didn't, though. Then she looked serious, and said she was sorry for me. She said she saw I was in earnest She knew I was a good son, and deserved a good wife; but she couldn't have me. Miss, said I, do you like anybody better? No, she said very heartily31.'
'That is one comfort,' said the doctor.
'What comfort,' said the other, 'when she won't have me?'
'She may alter her mind,' said the doctor, 'if she does not prefer any one else. Besides, she only says she can't.'
'Can't,' said the other, 'is civil for won't. That's all.'
'Does she say why she can't?' said the doctor.
'Yes,' said the other. 'She says she and her sisters won't part with each other and their young master.'
'Now,' said the doctor, 'you have not told me which of the seven sisters is the one in question.'
'It's the third,' said the other. 'What they call the second cook. There's a housekeeper and two cooks, and two housemaids and two waiting maids. But they only manage for the young master. There are others that wait on them.
'And what is her name?' said the doctor.
'Dorothy,' said the other; 'her name is Dorothy. Their names follow, like ABC, only that A comes last. Betsey, Catherine, Dorothy, Eleanor, Fanny, Grace, Anna. But they told me it was not the alphabet they were christened from; it was the key of A minor32, if you know what that means.'
'I think I do,' said the doctor, laughing. 'They were christened from the Greek diatonic scale, and make up two conjunct tetrachords, if you know what that means.'
'I can't say I do,' said the other, looking bewildered.
'And so,' said the doctor, 'the young gentleman, whose name is Algernon, is the Proslambanomenos, or key-note, and makes up the octave. His parents must have designed it as a foretelling33 that he and his seven foster-sisters were to live in harmony all their lives. But how did you become acquainted?'
'Why,' said the other, 'I take a great many things to the house from our farm, and it's generally she that takes them in.'
'I know the house well,' said the doctor, 'and the master, and the maids. Perhaps he may marry, and they may follow the example. Live in hope. Tell me your name.'
'Why, yes,' said the doctor; 'they are all good-looking.'
'And she won't have me,' cried the other, but with a more subdued35 expression. The doctor had consoled him, and given him a ray of hope. And they went on their several ways.
The doctor resumed his soliloquy.
'Here is the semblance36 of something towards a solution of the difficulty. If one of the damsels should marry, it would break the combination. One will not by herself. But what if seven apple-faced Hedgerows should propose simultaneously37, seven notes in the key of A minor, an octave below? Stranger things have happened. I have read of six brothers who had the civility to break their necks in succession, that the seventh, who was the hero of the story, might inherit an estate. But, again and again, why should I trouble myself with matchmaking? I had better leave things to take their own course.'
Still in his interior speculum the doctor could not help seeing a dim reflection of himself pronouncing the nuptial38 benediction39 on his two young friends.
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1
Forsaken
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| adj. 被遗忘的, 被抛弃的 动词forsake的过去分词 | |
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2
requisite
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| adj.需要的，必不可少的；n.必需品 | |
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3
likeness
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| n.相像，相似（之处） | |
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4
loath
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| adj.不愿意的；勉强的 | |
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5
graceful
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| adj.优美的，优雅的；得体的 | |
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6
maidens
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| 处女( maiden的名词复数 )； 少女； 未婚女子； （板球运动）未得分的一轮投球 | |
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7
accomplishments
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| n.造诣；完成( accomplishment的名词复数 )；技能；成绩；成就 | |
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8
enchanted
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| adj. 被施魔法的，陶醉的，入迷的 动词enchant的过去式和过去分词 | |
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9
groves
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| 树丛，小树林( grove的名词复数 ) | |
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10
dwelling
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| n.住宅，住所，寓所 | |
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11
dealing
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| n.经商方法，待人态度 | |
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12
talisman
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| n.避邪物，护身符 | |
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13
enchantment
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| n.迷惑，妖术，魅力 | |
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14
lamentation
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| n.悲叹，哀悼 | |
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15
turbulence
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| n.喧嚣，狂暴，骚乱，湍流 | |
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16
flattened
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| [医]（水）平扁的，弄平的 | |
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17
brook
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| n.小河，溪；v.忍受，容让 | |
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18
lair
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| n.野兽的巢穴；躲藏处 | |
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19
passionate
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| 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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20
utterances
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| n.发声( utterance的名词复数 )；说话方式；语调；言论 | |
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21
fortified
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| adj. 加强的 | |
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22
furrows
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| n.犁沟( furrow的名词复数 )；（脸上的）皱纹v.犁田，开沟( furrow的第三人称单数 ) | |
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23
mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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24
talismans
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| n.护身符( talisman的名词复数 )；驱邪物；有不可思议的力量之物；法宝 | |
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25
kindly
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| adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地 | |
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26
emphatic
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| adj.强调的，着重的；无可置疑的，明显的 | |
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27
rejection
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| n.拒绝，被拒，抛弃，被弃 | |
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28
clamorous
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| adj.吵闹的，喧哗的 | |
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29
folly
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| n.愚笨，愚蠢，蠢事，蠢行，傻话 | |
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30
housekeeper
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| n.管理家务的主妇，女管家 | |
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31
heartily
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| adv.衷心地，诚恳地，十分，很 | |
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32
minor
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| adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修 | |
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33
foretelling
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| v.预言，预示( foretell的现在分词 ) | |
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34
harry
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| vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼 | |
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35
subdued
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| adj. 屈服的，柔和的，减弱的 动词subdue的过去式和过去分词 | |
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36
semblance
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| n.外貌，外表 | |
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37
simultaneously
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| adv.同时发生地，同时进行地 | |
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38
nuptial
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| adj.婚姻的，婚礼的 | |
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39
benediction
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| n.祝福；恩赐 | |
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