to be polite, my niece."

The girl rose to her feet and turned towards the new comers. She



moved all of a piece; and shame and exhaustion were expressed in

every line of her fresh young body; and she held her head down and



kept her eyes upon the pavement, as she came slowly forward. In

the course of her advance, her eyes fell upon Denis de Beaulieu's



feet - feet of which he was justly vain, be it remarked, and wore

in the most elegant accoutrement even while travelling. She paused



- started, as if his yellow boots had conveyed some shocking

meaning - and glanced suddenly up into the wearer's countenance.



Their eyes met; shame gave place to horror and terror in her looks;

the blood left her lips; with a piercingscream she covered her



face with her hands and sank upon the chapel floor.

"That is not the man!" she cried. "My uncle, that in not the man!"



The Sire de Maletroit chirped agreeably. "Of course not," he said;

"I expected as much. It was so unfortunate you could not remember



his name."

"Indeed," she cried, "indeed, I have never seen this person till



this moment - I have never so much as set eyes upon him - I never

wish to see him again. Sir," she said, turning to Denis, "if you



are a gentleman, you will bear me out. Have I ever seen you - have

you ever seen me - before this accursed hour?"



"To speak for myself, I have never had that pleasure," answered the

young man. "This is the first time, messire, that I have met with



your engaging niece."

The old gentleman shrugged his shoulders.



"I am distressed to hear it," he said. "But it is never too late

to begin. I had little more acquaintance with my own late lady ere



I married her; which proves," he added with a grimace, "that these

impromptu marriages may often produce an excellent understanding in



the long-run. As the bridegroom is to have a voice in the matter,

I will give him two hours to make up for lost time before we



proceed with the ceremony." And he turned towards the door,

followed by the clergyman.



The girl was on her feet in a moment. "My uncle, you cannot be in

earnest," she said. "I declare before God I will stab myself



rather than be forced on that young man. The heart rises at it;

God forbids such marriages; you dishonour your white hair. Oh, my



uncle, pity me! There is not a woman in all the world but would

prefer death to such a nuptial. Is it possible," she added,



faltering - "is it possible that you do not believe me - that you

still think this" - and she pointed at Denis with a tremor of anger



and contempt - "that you still think THIS to be the man?"

"Frankly," said the old gentleman, pausing on the threshold, "I do.



But let me explain to you once for all, Blanche de Maletroit, my

way of thinking about this affair. When you took it into your head



to dishonour my family and the name that I have borne, in peace and

war, for more than three-score years, you forfeited, not only the



right to question my designs, but that of looking me in the face.

If your father had been alive, he would have spat on you and turned



you out of doors. His was the hand of iron. You may bless your

God you have only to deal with the hand of velvet, mademoiselle.



It was my duty to get you married without delay. Out of pure

goodwill, I have tried to find your own gallant for you. And I



believe I have succeeded. But before God and all the holy angels,

Blanche de Maletroit, if I have not, I care not one jack-straw. So



let me recommend you to be polite to our young friend; for upon my

word, your next groom may be less appetising."



And with that he went out, with the chaplain at his heels; and the

arras fell behind the pair.



The girl turned upon Denis with flashing eyes.

"And what, sir," she demanded, "may be the meaning of all this?"



"God knows," returned Denis gloomily. "I am a prisoner in this

house, which seems full of mad people. More I know not; and



nothing do I understand."

"And pray how came you here?" she asked.



He told her as briefly as he could. "For the rest," he added,

"perhaps you will follow my example, and tell me the answer to all



these riddles, and what, in God's name, is like to be the end of

it."

• surprising [sə´praiziŋ] a.惊人的；意外的 (初中英语单词)


• aspect [´æspekt] n.面貌；神色；方向 (初中英语单词)


• statue [´stætʃu:] n.塑像，雕像 (初中英语单词)


• silently [´sailəntli] ad.寂静地；沉默地 (初中英语单词)


• partly [´pɑ:tli] ad.部分地；不完全地 (初中英语单词)


• musical [´mju:zikəl] a.音乐的；悦耳的 (初中英语单词)


• observation [,ɔbzə´veiʃən] n.观测；注意；意义 (初中英语单词)


• disgust [dis´gʌst] n.厌恶 vt.令(人)作呕 (初中英语单词)


• confusion [kən´fju:ʒən] n.混乱(状态)；骚乱 (初中英语单词)


• contrary [´kɔntrəri] a.相反的 n.相反 (初中英语单词)


• complicated [´kɔmplikeitid] a.结构复杂的；难懂的 (初中英语单词)


• account [ə´kaunt] vi.说明 vt.认为 n.帐目 (初中英语单词)


• acquaintance [ə´kweintəns] n.相识；熟人，相识的人 (初中英语单词)


• differ [´difə] vi.不同；有差别 (初中英语单词)


• distinguish [di´stiŋgwiʃ] v.区分；识别；立功 (初中英语单词)


• chapel [´tʃæpəl] n.小教堂 (初中英语单词)


• meanwhile [´mi:n´wail] n.&ad.其间；同时 (初中英语单词)


• laughter [´lɑ:ftə] n.笑，笑声 (初中英语单词)


• violent [´vaiələnt] a.强暴的；猛烈的 (初中英语单词)


• flatter [´flætə] vt.阿谀，奉承；胜过 (初中英语单词)


• employment [im´plɔimənt] n.工作；职业；雇用 (初中英语单词)


• absurd [əb´sə:d] a.荒谬的，可笑的 (初中英语单词)


• countenance [´kauntinəns] n.面部表情；脸色；面容 (初中英语单词)


• priest [pri:st] n.教士；牧师；神父 (初中英语单词)


• waiting [´weitiŋ] n.等候；伺候 (初中英语单词)


• arrival [ə´raivəl] n.到达；到达的人(物) (初中英语单词)


• assistance [ə´sistəns] n.协作；援助；帮助 (初中英语单词)


• considerable [kən´sidərəbəl] a.重要的；值得重视 (初中英语单词)


• sprang [spræŋ] spring 的过去式 (初中英语单词)


• ornament [´ɔ:nəmənt] n.装饰(物) vt.装饰 (初中英语单词)


• relief [ri´li:f] n.救济；援救；减轻 (初中英语单词)


• freely [´fri:li] ad.自由地；慷慨地 (初中英语单词)


• costume [´kɔstju:m] n.服装(试样)；女装 (初中英语单词)


• desperate [´despərit] a.拼死的；绝望的 (初中英语单词)


• conclusion [kən´klu:ʒən] n.结束；结论；推论 (初中英语单词)


• thrust [θrʌst] v.&n.猛推；冲；刺；挤进 (初中英语单词)


• polite [pə´lait] a.有礼貌的；温和的 (初中英语单词)


• horror [´hɔrə] n.恐怖；战栗 (初中英语单词)


• terror [´terə] n.恐怖；惊骇 (初中英语单词)


• scream [skri:m] v.&n.尖叫(声) (初中英语单词)


• unfortunate [ʌn´fɔ:tʃunit] a.不幸的，运气差的 (初中英语单词)


• pointed [´pɔintid] a.尖(锐)的；中肯的 (初中英语单词)


• velvet [´velvit] n.&a.天鹅绒(般的) (初中英语单词)


• gallant [´gælənt, gə´lænt] a.英勇的；华丽的 (初中英语单词)


• recommend [,rekə´mend] vt.推荐；使受欢迎 (初中英语单词)


• briefly [´bri:fli] ad.简短地；简略地 (初中英语单词)


• perfectly [´pə:fiktli] ad.理想地；完美地 (高中英语单词)


• martyr [´mɑ:tə] n.烈士；殉难者 (高中英语单词)


• intense [in´tens] a.强烈的；紧张的 (高中英语单词)


• startling [´stɑ:tliŋ] a.惊人的 (高中英语单词)


• patiently [´peiʃəntli] ad.有耐心地；坚韧地 (高中英语单词)


• treacherous [´tretʃərəs] a.虚伪的；不忠的 (高中英语单词)


• courteous [´kə:tiəs] a.有礼貌的；殷勤的 (高中英语单词)


• inclination [,inkli´neiʃən] n.倾斜；爱好；天资 (高中英语单词)


• shudder [´ʃʌdə] n.&vi.震颤；发抖 (高中英语单词)


• persist [pə´sist] vi.坚持；固执；持续 (高中英语单词)


• hurried [´hʌrid] a.仓促的，慌忙的 (高中英语单词)


• politely [pə´laitli] ad.温和地；文雅地 (高中英语单词)


• decent [´di:sənt] a.体面的，正派的 (高中英语单词)


• dealing [´di:liŋ] n.交易；来往 (高中英语单词)


• pavement [´peivmənt] n.路面；铺筑材料 (高中英语单词)


• elegant [´eligənt] a.文雅的；优美的 (高中英语单词)


• contempt [kən´tempt] n.轻蔑；受辱；不顾 (高中英语单词)


• threshold [´θreʃhəuld] n.门槛；入门；开端 (高中英语单词)


• desirous [di´zaiərəs] a.渴望的；想往的 (英语四级单词)


• countryside [´kʌntrisaid] n.乡下，农村 (英语四级单词)


• tapestry [´tæpistri] n.挂毯 (英语四级单词)


• contrivance [kən´traivəns] n.发明，设计(的才能) (英语四级单词)


• trying [´traiiŋ] a.难堪的；费劲的 (英语四级单词)


• impatience [im´peiʃəns] n.不耐烦，急躁 (英语四级单词)


• speedily [´spi:dili] ad.迅速地 (英语四级单词)


• richly [´ritʃli] ad.富裕地；浓厚地 (英语四级单词)


• exhaustion [ig´zɔ:stʃən] n.用完；精疲力尽 (英语四级单词)


• justly [´dʒʌstli] ad.公正地，正当地 (英语四级单词)


• accursed [ə´kə:sid] a.被诅咒的；可憎的 (英语四级单词)


• bridegroom [´braidgru:m] n.新郎 (英语四级单词)


• chaplain [´tʃæplin] n.本堂神父；专职教士 (英语四级单词)


• marrow [´mærəu] n.(骨)髓；精华；活力 (英语六级单词)


• reluctance [ri´lʌktəns] n.不愿；勉强 (英语六级单词)


• lunatic [´lu:nətik] a.精神错乱的 n.疯子 (英语六级单词)


• vehemence [´vi:iməns] n.激烈，猛烈；热烈 (英语六级单词)


• madman [´mædmən] n.疯子；狂人 (英语六级单词)


• devout [di´vaut] a.虔诚的；热心的 (英语六级单词)


• piercing [´piəsiŋ] a.刺(贯)穿的；尖刻的 (英语六级单词)


• nuptial [´nʌpʃəl] a.婚姻的 n.婚礼 (英语六级单词)


• gloomily [´glu:mili] adv.忧郁的 (英语六级单词)