With flashing eyes and a swelling2 heart, struck dumb with unutterable indignation, the beautiful girl stood fixed3 in the attitude in which his last words had reached her, while the enraged4 and unmanly old fop hobbled away, with the ease and grace with which a crippled ape might move over a hot griddle. He had disappeared for some minutes before she had recovered herself sufficiently5 to think or speak.
"If he were by my side," she said, "this noble lord dared not have used me thus. Edmond would have died a thousand deaths first. But oh! God look upon me, for his love is gone from me, and I am now a poor, grieved, desolate6 creature, with none to help me."
Thus saying, she sate herself down upon the grass bank, beneath the tall and antique trees, and wept with all the bitter and devoted7 abandonment of hopeless sorrow. From this unrestrained transport of grief she was at length aroused by the pressure of a hand, gently and kindly8 laid upon her shoulder.
"What vexes9 you, Mary, my little girl?" inquired Major O'Leary, for he it was that stood by her. "Come, darling, don't fret10, but tell your old uncle the whole business, and twenty to one, he has wit enough in his old noddle yet to set matters to rights. So, so, my darling, dry your pretty eyes—wipe the tears away; why should they wet your young cheeks, my poor little doat, that you always were. It is too early yet for sorrow to come on you. Wouldn't I throw myself between my little pet and all grief and danger? Then trust to me, darling; wipe away the tears, or by —— I'll begin to cry myself. Dry your eyes, and see if I can't help you one way or another."
The mellow11 brogue of the old major had never fallen before with such a tender pathos12 upon the ear of his beautiful niece, as now that its rich current bore full upon her heart the unlooked-for words of kindness and comfort.
"Were not you always my pet," continued he, with the same tenderness and pity in his tone, "from the time I first took you upon my knee, my poor little Mary? And were not you fond of your old rascally13 uncle O'Leary? Usedn't I always to take your part, right or wrong; and do you think I'll desert you now? Then tell it all to me—ain't I your poor old uncle, the same as ever? Come, then, dry the tears—there's a darling—wipe them away."
While thus speaking, the warm-hearted old man took her hand, with a touching14 mixture of gallantry, pity, and affection, and kissed it again and again, with a thousand accompanying expressions of endearment15, such as in the days of her childhood he had been wont16 to lavish17 upon his little favourite. The poor girl, touched by the kindness of her early friend, whose good-natured sympathy was not to be mistaken, gradually recovered her composure, and yielding to the urgencies of the major, who clearly perceived that something extraordinarily18 distressing19 must have occurred to account for her extreme agitation20, she at length told him the immediate21 cause of her grief and excitement. The major listened to the narrative22 with growing indignation, and when it had ended, he inquired, in a tone, about whose unnatural23 calmness there was something infinitely24 more formidable than in the noisiest clamour of fury,—
"Which way, darling, did his lordship go when he left you?"
The girl looked in his face, and saw his deadly purpose there.
"Uncle, my own dear uncle," she cried distractedly, "for God's sake do not follow him—for God's sake—I conjure25 you, I implore—" She would have cast herself at his feet, but the major caught her in his arms.
"Well, well, my darling." he exclaimed, "I'll not kill him, well as he deserves it—I'll not: you have saved his life. I pledge you my honour, as a gentleman and a soldier, I'll not harm him for what he has said or done this day—are you satisfied?"
"I am, I am! Thank God, thank God!" exclaimed the poor girl, eagerly.
"But, Mary, I must see him," rejoined the major; "he has threatened to set Sir Richard upon you—I must see him; you don't object to that, under the promise I have made? I want to—to reason with him. He shall not get you into trouble with the baronet; for though Richard and I came of the same mother, we are not of the same marriage, nor of the same mould—I would not for a cool hundred that he told his story to your father."
"Indeed, indeed, dear uncle," replied the girl, "I fear me there is little hope of escape or ease for me. My father must know what has passed; he will learn it inevitably26, and then it needs no colouring or misrepresentation to call down upon me his heaviest displeasure; his anger I must endure as best I may. God help me. But neither threats nor violence shall make me retract27 the answer I have given to Lord Aspenly, nor ever yield consent to marry him—nor any other now."
"Well, well, little Mary," rejoined the major, "I like your spirit. Stand to that, and you'll never be sorry for it. In the meantime, I'll venture to exercise his lordship's conversational28 powers in a brief conference of a few minutes, and if I find him as reasonable as I expect, you'll have no cause to regret my interposition. Don't look so frightened—haven't I promised, on the honour of a gentleman, that I will not pink him for anything said or done in his conference with you? To send a small sword through a bolster29 or a bailiff," he continued, meditatively30, "is an indifferent action; but to spit such a poisonous, crawling toad31 as the respectable old gentleman in question, would be nothing short of meritorious—it is an act that 'ud tickle32 the fancy of every saint in heaven, and, if there's justice on earth, would canonize myself. But never mind, I'll let it alone—the little thing shall escape, since you wish it—Major O'Leary has said it, so let no doubt disturb you. Good-bye, my little darling, dry your eyes, and let me see you, before an hour, as merry as in the merriest days that are gone."
So saying, Major O'Leary patted her cheek, and taking her hand affectionately in both his, he added,—
"Sure I am, that there is more in all this than you care to tell me, my little pet. I am sorely afraid there is something beyond my power to remedy, to change your light-hearted nature so mournfully. What it is, I will not inquire, but remember, darling, whenever you want a friend, you'll find a sure one in me."
Thus having spoken, he turned from her, and strode rapidly down the walk, until the thick, formal hedges concealed33 his retreating form behind their impenetrable screens of darksome verdure.
Odd as were the manner and style of the major's professions, there was something tender, something of heartiness34, in his speech, which assured her that she had indeed found a friend in him—rash, volatile35, and violent it might be, but still one on whose truth and energy she might calculate. That there was one being who felt with her and for her, was a discovery which touched her heart and moved her generous spirit, and she now regarded the old major, whose spoiled favourite in childhood she had been, but whom, before, she had never known capable of a serious feeling, with emotions of affection and gratitude36, stronger and more ardent37 than he had ever earned from any other being. Agitated38, grieved, and excited, she hurriedly left the scene of this interview, and sought relief for her overcharged feelings in the quiet and seclusion39 of her chamber40.
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1
sate
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| v.使充分满足 | |
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swelling
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| n.肿胀 | |
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3
fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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enraged
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| 使暴怒( enrage的过去式和过去分词 )； 歜； 激愤 | |
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sufficiently
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| adv.足够地，充分地 | |
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desolate
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| adj.荒凉的，荒芜的；孤独的，凄凉的；v.使荒芜，使孤寂 | |
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devoted
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| adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的 | |
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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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vexes
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| v.使烦恼( vex的第三人称单数 )；使苦恼；使生气；详细讨论 | |
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10
fret
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| v.(使)烦恼；(使)焦急；(使)腐蚀，(使)磨损 | |
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11
mellow
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| adj.柔和的；熟透的；v.变柔和；(使)成熟 | |
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12
pathos
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| n.哀婉，悲怆 | |
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rascally
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| adj. 无赖的，恶棍的 adv. 无赖地，卑鄙地 | |
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14
touching
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| adj.动人的，使人感伤的 | |
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15
endearment
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| n.表示亲爱的行为 | |
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16
wont
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| adj.习惯于；v.习惯；n.习惯 | |
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17
lavish
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| adj.无节制的；浪费的；vt.慷慨地给予，挥霍 | |
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18
extraordinarily
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| adv.格外地；极端地 | |
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19
distressing
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| a.使人痛苦的 | |
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agitation
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| n.搅动；搅拌；鼓动，煽动 | |
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21
immediate
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| adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的 | |
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narrative
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| n.叙述，故事；adj.叙事的，故事体的 | |
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23
unnatural
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| adj.不自然的；反常的 | |
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infinitely
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| adv.无限地，无穷地 | |
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conjure
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| v.恳求，祈求；变魔术，变戏法 | |
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inevitably
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| adv.不可避免地；必然发生地 | |
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27
retract
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| vt.缩回，撤回收回，取消 | |
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28
conversational
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| adj.对话的，会话的 | |
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29
bolster
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| n.枕垫；v.支持，鼓励 | |
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30
meditatively
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| adv.冥想地 | |
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31
toad
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| n.蟾蜍，癞蛤蟆 | |
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32
tickle
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| v.搔痒，胳肢；使高兴；发痒；n.搔痒，发痒 | |
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33
concealed
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| a.隐藏的，隐蔽的 | |
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34
heartiness
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| 诚实，热心 | |
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35
volatile
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| adj.反复无常的，挥发性的，稍纵即逝的，脾气火爆的；n.挥发性物质 | |
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36
gratitude
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| adj.感激，感谢 | |
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37
ardent
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| adj.热情的，热烈的，强烈的，烈性的 | |
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agitated
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| adj.被鼓动的，不安的 | |
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39
seclusion
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| n.隐遁，隔离 | |
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chamber
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| n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所 | |
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