章节正文
文章总共2页
"It is very spacious and airy," said the doctor; "as for the
lower part of the house, you would find no company there, so you
can't want to go to it."
"No company!" I repeated faintly.
"No. My daughter went away this morning for change of air and
scene, accompanied by my housekeeper. You look astonished, my
dear sir--let me frankly explain myself. While you were the
respectable son of Doctor Softly, and grandson of Lady
Malkinshaw, I was ready enough to let my daughter associate with
you, and should not have objected if you had married her off my
hands into a highly-connected family. Now, however, when you are
nothing but one of the workmen in my manufactory of money, your
social position is seriously altered for the worse; and, as I
could not possibly think of you for a son-in-law, I have
considered it best to prevent all chance of your communicating
with Alicia again, by sending her away from this house while you
are in it. You will be in it until I have completed certain
business arrangements now in a forward state of progress--after
that, you may go away if you please. Pray remember that you have
to thank yourself for the position you now stand in; and do me
the justice to admit that my conduct toward you is remarkably
straightforward, and perfectly natural under all the
circumstances."
These words fairly overwhelmed me. I did not even make an attempt
to answer them. The hard trials to my courage, endurance, and
physical strength, through which I had passed within the last
twelve hours, had completely exhausted all my powers of
resistance. I went away speechless to my own room; and when I
found myself alone there, burst out crying. Childish, was it not?
When I had been rested and strengthened by a few hours' sleep, I
found myself able to confront the future with tolerable calmness.
What would it be best for me to do? Ought I to attempt to make my
escape? I did not despair of succeeding; but when I began to
think of the consequences of success, I hesitated. My chief
object now was, not so much to secure my own freedom, as to find
my way to Alicia. I had never been so deeply and desperately in
love with her as I was now, when I knew she was separated from
me. Suppose I succeeded in escaping from the clutches of Doctor
Dulcifer--might I not be casting myself uselessly on the world,
without a chance of finding a single clew to trace her by?
Suppose, on the other hand, that I remained for the present in
the red-brick house--should I not by that course of conduct be
putting myself in the best position for making discoveries?
In the first place, there was the chance that Alicia might find
some secret means of communicating with me if I remained where I
was. In the second place, the doctor would, in all probability,
have occasion to write to his daughter, or would be likely to
receive letters from her; and, if I quieted all suspicion on my
account, by docile behavior, and kept my eyes sharply on the
lookout, I might find opportunities of surprising the secrets of
his writing-desk. I felt that I need be under no restraints of
honor with a man who was keeping me a prisoner, and who had made
an accomplice of me by threatening my life. Accordingly, while
resolving to show outwardly an amiablesubmission to my fate, I
determined at the same time to keep secretly on the watch, and to
take the very first chance of outwitting Doctor Dulcifer that
might happen to present itself. When we next met I was perfectly
civil to him. He was too well-bred a man not to match me on the
common ground of courtesy.
"Permit me to congratulate you," he said, "on the improvement in
your manner and appearance. You are beginning well, Francis. Go
on as you have begun."
CHAPTER X.
MY first few days' experience in my new position satisfied me
that Doctor Dulcifer preserved himself from betrayal by a system
of surveillance worthy of the very worst days of the Holy
Inquisition itself.
lower part of the house, you would find no company there, so you
can't want to go to it."
"No company!" I repeated faintly.
"No. My daughter went away this morning for change of air and
scene, accompanied by my housekeeper. You look astonished, my
dear sir--let me frankly explain myself. While you were the
respectable son of Doctor Softly, and grandson of Lady
Malkinshaw, I was ready enough to let my daughter associate with
you, and should not have objected if you had married her off my
hands into a highly-connected family. Now, however, when you are
nothing but one of the workmen in my manufactory of money, your
social position is seriously altered for the worse; and, as I
could not possibly think of you for a son-in-law, I have
considered it best to prevent all chance of your communicating
with Alicia again, by sending her away from this house while you
are in it. You will be in it until I have completed certain
business arrangements now in a forward state of progress--after
that, you may go away if you please. Pray remember that you have
to thank yourself for the position you now stand in; and do me
the justice to admit that my conduct toward you is remarkably
straightforward, and perfectly natural under all the
circumstances."
These words fairly overwhelmed me. I did not even make an attempt
to answer them. The hard trials to my courage, endurance, and
physical strength, through which I had passed within the last
twelve hours, had completely exhausted all my powers of
resistance. I went away speechless to my own room; and when I
found myself alone there, burst out crying. Childish, was it not?
When I had been rested and strengthened by a few hours' sleep, I
found myself able to confront the future with tolerable calmness.
What would it be best for me to do? Ought I to attempt to make my
escape? I did not despair of succeeding; but when I began to
think of the consequences of success, I hesitated. My chief
object now was, not so much to secure my own freedom, as to find
my way to Alicia. I had never been so deeply and desperately in
love with her as I was now, when I knew she was separated from
me. Suppose I succeeded in escaping from the clutches of Doctor
Dulcifer--might I not be casting myself uselessly on the world,
without a chance of finding a single clew to trace her by?
Suppose, on the other hand, that I remained for the present in
the red-brick house--should I not by that course of conduct be
putting myself in the best position for making discoveries?
In the first place, there was the chance that Alicia might find
some secret means of communicating with me if I remained where I
was. In the second place, the doctor would, in all probability,
have occasion to write to his daughter, or would be likely to
receive letters from her; and, if I quieted all suspicion on my
account, by docile behavior, and kept my eyes sharply on the
lookout, I might find opportunities of surprising the secrets of
his writing-desk. I felt that I need be under no restraints of
honor with a man who was keeping me a prisoner, and who had made
an accomplice of me by threatening my life. Accordingly, while
resolving to show outwardly an amiablesubmission to my fate, I
determined at the same time to keep secretly on the watch, and to
take the very first chance of outwitting Doctor Dulcifer that
might happen to present itself. When we next met I was perfectly
civil to him. He was too well-bred a man not to match me on the
common ground of courtesy.
"Permit me to congratulate you," he said, "on the improvement in
your manner and appearance. You are beginning well, Francis. Go
on as you have begun."
CHAPTER X.
MY first few days' experience in my new position satisfied me
that Doctor Dulcifer preserved himself from betrayal by a system
of surveillance worthy of the very worst days of the Holy
Inquisition itself.
- downstairs [,daun´steəz]
ad.在楼下 a.楼下的 (初中英语单词) - pistol [´pistl] n.手枪 vt.用手枪射击 (初中英语单词)
- desperate [´despərit] a.拼死的；绝望的 (初中英语单词)
- spoken [´spəukən] speak的过去分词 (初中英语单词)
- hesitate [´heziteit] vi.犹豫，踌躇 (初中英语单词)
- consideration [kən,sidə´reiʃən] n.考虑；原因；体谅 (初中英语单词)
- injury [´indʒəri] n.伤害；毁坏；侮辱 (初中英语单词)
- character [´kæriktə] n.特性；性质；人物；字 (初中英语单词)
- pointed [´pɔintid] a.尖(锐)的；中肯的 (初中英语单词)
- complain [kəm´plein] vi.抱怨，叫屈；控诉 (初中英语单词)
- existence [ig´zistəns] n.存在；生存；生活 (初中英语单词)
- perish [´periʃ] v.灭亡；消灭；(使)死去 (初中英语单词)
- softly [´sɔftli] ad.软化地；柔和地 (初中英语单词)
- professional [prə´feʃənəl] a.职业的 n.自由职业 (初中英语单词)
- chemistry [´kemistri] n.化学 (初中英语单词)
- therefore [´ðeəfɔ:] ad.&conj.因此；所以 (初中英语单词)
- handwriting [´hænd,raitiŋ] n.笔迹；书法 (初中英语单词)
- thereby [´ðeəbai] ad.因此，由此 (初中英语单词)
- whenever [wen´evə] conj.&ad.无论何时 (初中英语单词)
- considerable [kən´sidərəbəl] a.重要的；值得重视 (初中英语单词)
- instruct [in´strʌkt] vt.教育；指导；通知 (初中英语单词)
- wicked [´wikid] a.邪恶的；不道德的 (初中英语单词)
- useless [´ju:sləs] a.无用的，无价值的 (初中英语单词)
- midnight [´midnait] n.午夜；漆黑 (初中英语单词)
- whatever [wɔt´evə] pron.&a.无论什么 (初中英语单词)
- philosophy [fi´lɔsəfi] n.哲学；人生观 (初中英语单词)
- equally [´i:kwəli] ad.相等地；平等地 (初中英语单词)
- absolutely [´æbsəlu:tli] ad.绝对地；确实 (初中英语单词)
- honestly [´ɔnistli] ad.诚实地，老实地 (初中英语单词)
- safely [´seifli] ad.安全地；平安地 (初中英语单词)
- interrupt [,intə´rʌpt] v.中断；打扰 (初中英语单词)
- seriously [´siəriəsli] ad.严肃；严重，重大 (初中英语单词)
- frankly [´fræŋkli] ad.直率地；慷慨地 (初中英语单词)
- associate [ə´səuʃieit] v.联合a.同伴的n.伙伴 (初中英语单词)
- childish [´tʃaildiʃ] a.孩子的；幼稚的 (初中英语单词)
- despair [di´speə] vi.&n.绝望 (初中英语单词)
- uselessly [´ju:zlisli] ad.无用地；徒劳地 (初中英语单词)
- suspicion [sə´spiʃən] n.怀(猜)疑；嫌疑 (初中英语单词)
- sharply [´ʃɑ:pli] ad.锋利地；剧烈地 (初中英语单词)
- surprising [sə´praiziŋ] a.惊人的；意外的 (初中英语单词)
- accordingly [ə´kɔ:diŋli] ad.因此；从而；依照 (初中英语单词)
- improvement [im´pru:vmənt] n.改进，改善，进步 (初中英语单词)
- beginning [bi´giniŋ] n.开始，开端；起源 (初中英语单词)
- worthy [´wə:ði] a.有价值的；值得的 (初中英语单词)
- retort [ri´tɔ:t] n.&v.报复；反击；反驳 (高中英语单词)
- repeated [ri´pi:tid] a.反复的；重复的 (高中英语单词)
- respectable [ri´spektəbəl] a.可敬的；有身价的 (高中英语单词)
- recruit [ri´kru:t] n.新兵 v.征募(新兵) (高中英语单词)
- inspection [in´spekʃən] n.检查；视察；参观 (高中英语单词)
- repose [ri´pəuz] v.&n.(使)休息；安息 (高中英语单词)
- distrust [dis´trʌst] n.&vt.不信任，怀疑 (高中英语单词)
- vainly [´veinli] ad.虚荣地；自负地 (高中英语单词)
- forthwith [fɔ:θ´wið] ad.立刻 (高中英语单词)
- kindred [´kindrid] n.亲属关系；同源关系 (高中英语单词)
- skilled [skild] a.有技能的，熟练的 (高中英语单词)
- fatigue [fə´ti:g] n.&vt.(使)疲劳(劳累) (高中英语单词)
- saying [´seiŋ, ´sei-iŋ] n.言语；言论；格言 (高中英语单词)
- literally [´litərəli] ad.逐字地；实际上 (高中英语单词)
- luggage [´lʌgidʒ] n.行李；皮箱 (高中英语单词)
- hospitality [,hɔspi´tæliti] n.好客，殷勤 (高中英语单词)
- spacious [´speiʃəs] a.广阔的，宽敞的 (高中英语单词)
- housekeeper [´haus,ki:pə] n.主妇，女管家 (高中英语单词)
- perfectly [´pə:fiktli] ad.理想地；完美地 (高中英语单词)
- endurance [in´djuərəns] n.忍受(耐)；耐力 (高中英语单词)
- confront [kən´frʌnt] vt.(使)面对；正视 (高中英语单词)
- desperately [´despəritli] ad.绝望地；拼命地 (高中英语单词)
- finding [´faindiŋ] n.发现物；判断；结果 (高中英语单词)
- behavior [bi´heiviə] n.举止，行为 (高中英语单词)
- secretly [´si:kritli] ad.秘密地；隐蔽地 (高中英语单词)
- congratulate [kən´grætjuleit] vt.祝贺 (高中英语单词)
- adventurous [əd´ventʃərəs] a.冒险的；惊险的 (英语四级单词)
- setting [´setiŋ] n.安装；排字；布景 (英语四级单词)
- alternative [ɔ:l´tə:nətiv] a.二中选一的 n.选择 (英语四级单词)
- contradiction [,kɔntrə´dikʃən] n.矛盾；反驳；抵触 (英语四级单词)
- sinister [´sinistə] a.阴险的；不吉的 (英语四级单词)
- workshop [´wə:kʃɔp] n.车间；工场；创作室 (英语四级单词)
- workmen [´wə:kmen] n.workman的复数 (英语四级单词)
- winning [´winiŋ] n.&a.胜利(的) (英语四级单词)
- schoolmaster [´sku:l,mɑ:stə] n.教练；(男)教师 (英语四级单词)
- lookout [´lukaut] n.警戒；景色；前途 (英语四级单词)
- grandson [´grænsʌn] n.孙子；外孙子 (英语四级单词)
- speechless [´spi:tʃləs] a.说不出话的 (英语四级单词)
- amiable [´eimiəbəl] a.亲切的，温和的 (英语四级单词)
- submission [səb´miʃən] n.屈服；谦恭 (英语四级单词)
- coolness [´ku:lnis] n.凉，凉爽；冷静 (英语六级单词)
- humane [hju:´mein] a.有人情的，高尚的 (英语六级单词)
- darkly [´dɑ:kli] adv.暗，黑；暗中 (英语六级单词)
- taking [´teikiŋ] a.迷人的 n.捕获物 (英语六级单词)
- footman [´futmən] n.侍应员；男仆 (英语六级单词)
- nickname [´nikneim] n.绰号 vt.给…起绰口 (英语六级单词)
- vocation [vəu´keiʃən] n.职业；使命；天职 (英语六级单词)
- calling [´kɔ:liŋ] n.点名；职业；欲望 (英语六级单词)
- abandoned [ə´bændənd] a.被抛弃的；无约束的 (英语六级单词)
- well-being [´wel´bi:iŋ] n.幸福；健康；福利 (英语六级单词)
- discreet [di´skri:t] a.谨慎的，考虑周到的 (英语六级单词)
- confinement [kən´fainmənt] n.限制；监禁；分娩 (英语六级单词)
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章节正文
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