if for a festivity; the dinner was exquisite. For the

grey-headed Vidame the Duchess displayed all the brilliancy of



her wit; she was more charming than she had ever been before. At

first the Vidame tried to look on all these preparations as a



young woman's jest; but now and again the attempted illusion

faded, the spell of his fair cousin's charm was broken. He



detected a shudder caused by some kind of sudden dread, and once

she seemed to listen during a pause.



"What is the matter?" he asked.

"Hush!" she said.



At seven o'clock the Duchess left him for a few minutes. When

she came back again she was dressed as her maid might have



dressed for a journey. She asked her guest to be her escort,

took his arm, sprang into a hackney coach, and by a quarter to



eight they stood outside M. de Montriveau's door.

Armand meantime had been reading the following letter:--



"MY FRIEND,--I went to your rooms for a few minutes without your

knowledge; I found my letters there, and took them away. This



cannot be indifference, Armand, between us; and hatred would show

itself quite differently. If you love me, make an end of this



cruel play, or you will kill me, and afterwards, learning how

much you were loved, you might be in despair. If I have not



rightly understood you, if you have no feeling towards me but

aversion, which implies both contempt and disgust, then I give up



all hope. A man never recovers from those feelings. You will

have no regrets. Dreadful though that thought may be, it will



comfort me in my long sorrow. Regrets? Oh, my Armand, may I

never know of them; if I thought that I had caused you a single



regret----But, no, I will not tell you what desolation I should

feel. I should be living still, and I could not be your wife; it



would be too late!

"Now that I have given myself wholly to you in thought, to whom



else should I give myself?--to God. The eyes that you loved for

a little while shall never look on another man's face; and may



the glory of God blind them to all besides. I shall never hear

human voices more since I heard yours--so gentle at the first, so



terrible yesterday; for it seems to me that I am still only on

the morrow of your vengeance. And now may the will of God



consume me. Between His wrath and yours, my friend, there will

be nothing left for me but a little space for tears and prayers.



"Perhaps you wonder why I write to you? Ah! do not think ill of

me if I keep a gleam of hope, and give one last sigh to happy



life before I take leave of it forever. I am in a hideous

position. I feel all the inward serenity that comes when a great



resolution has been taken, even while I hear the last growlings

of the storm. When you went out on that terrible adventure which



so drew me to you, Armand, you went from the desert to the oasis

with a good guide to show you the way. Well, I am going out of



the oasis into the desert, and you are a pitiless guide to me.

And yet you only, my friend, can understand how melancholy it is



to look back for the last time on happiness--to you, and you

only, I can make moan without a blush. If you grant my entreaty,



I shall be happy; if you are inexorable, I shall expiate the

wrong that I have done. After all, it is natural, is it not,



that a woman should wish to live, invested with all noble

feelings, in her friend's memory? Oh! my one and only love, let



her to whom you gave life go down into the tomb in the belief

that she is great in your eyes. Your harshness led me to



reflect; and now that I love you so, it seems to me that I am

less guilty than you think. Listen to my justification, I owe it



to you; and you that are all the world to me, owe me at least a

moment's justice.



"I have learned by my own anguish all that I made you suffer by

my coquetry; but in those days I was utterly ignorant of love.



YOU know what the torture is, and you mete it out to me! During

those first eight months that you gave me you never roused any



feeling of love in me. Do you ask why this was so, my friend? I

can no more explain it than I can tell you why I love you now.



Oh! certainly it flattered my vanity that I should be the subject

of your passionate" target="_blank" title="a.易动情的；易怒的">passionate talk, and receive those burning glances of



yours; but you left me cold. No, I was not a woman; I had no

conception of womanly devotion and happiness. Who was to blame?



You would have despised me, would you not, if I had given myself

without the impulse of passion? Perhaps it is the highest height



to which we can rise--to give all and receive no joy; perhaps

• vanity [´væniti] n.虚荣；自负；空虚 (初中英语单词)


• soften [´sɔfən] v.使(变)软(柔和) (初中英语单词)


• henceforth [´hens´fɔ:θ] ad.今后；从今以后 (初中英语单词)


• thoroughly [´θʌrəli] ad.完全地，彻底地 (初中英语单词)


• forehead [´fɔrid] n.额，前部 (初中英语单词)


• forbid [fə´bid] vt.禁止，不许，阻止 (初中英语单词)


• disguise [dis´gaiz] vt.假装；隐瞒 n.伪装 (初中英语单词)


• graceful [´greisfəl] a.优美的，流畅的 (初中英语单词)


• carriage [´kæridʒ] n.马车；客车；货运 (初中英语单词)


• character [´kæriktə] n.特性；性质；人物；字 (初中英语单词)


• bullet [´bulit] n.子弹 (初中英语单词)


• apartment [ə´pɑ:tmənt] n.一套房间 (初中英语单词)


• downstairs [,daun´steəz] ad.在楼下 a.楼下的 (初中英语单词)


• mistress [´mistris] n.女主人；情妇；女能手 (初中英语单词)


• glimpse [glimps] n.&v.瞥见 (初中英语单词)


• brilliant [´briliənt] a.灿烂的；杰出的 (初中英语单词)


• interview [´intəvju:] n.&vt.接见；会见；交谈 (初中英语单词)


• divine [di´vain] a.神圣的 v.预言 (初中英语单词)


• circle [´sə:kəl] n.圆圈 v.环绕；盘旋 (初中英语单词)


• relative [´relətiv] a.有关系的 n.亲属 (初中英语单词)


• whatever [wɔt´evə] pron.&a.无论什么 (初中英语单词)


• comment [´kɔment] n.&v.评论；评注；注意 (初中英语单词)


• charming [´tʃɑ:miŋ] a.可爱的；极好的 (初中英语单词)


• sprang [spræŋ] spring 的过去式 (初中英语单词)


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


• reading [´ri:diŋ] n.(阅)读；朗读；读物 (初中英语单词)


• hatred [´heitrid] n.憎恨，敌意 (初中英语单词)


• learning [´lə:niŋ] n.学习；学问；知识 (初中英语单词)


• despair [di´speə] vi.&n.绝望 (初中英语单词)


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


• dreadful [´dredful] a.可怕的；讨厌的 (初中英语单词)


• wholly [´həul-li] ad.完全，十足；统统 (初中英语单词)


• yesterday [´jestədi] n.&ad.昨天；前不久 (初中英语单词)


• guilty [´gilti] a.有罪的；心虚的 (初中英语单词)


• ignorant [´ignərənt] a.无知的，愚昧的 (初中英语单词)


• torture [´tɔ:tʃə] n.&vt.折磨；痛苦；拷问 (初中英语单词)


• devotion [di´vəuʃən] n.献身；忠诚；热爱 (初中英语单词)


• impulse [´impʌls] n.推动(力)；冲动；刺激 (初中英语单词)


• passion [´pæʃən] n.激情；激怒；恋爱 (初中英语单词)


• gratify [´grætifai] vt.使高兴；满足 (高中英语单词)


• duchess [´dʌtʃis] n.公爵夫人；女公爵 (高中英语单词)


• sweetheart [´swi:thɑ:t] n.爱人；情人 (高中英语单词)


• precisely [pri´saisli] ad.精确地；刻板地 (高中英语单词)


• courtesy [´kə:tisi] n.礼貌；殷勤；好意 (高中英语单词)


• sermon [´sə:mən] n.说教；训诫；讲道 (高中英语单词)


• scandal [´skændl] n.丑闻；耻辱；流言蜚语 (高中英语单词)


• consciousness [´kɔnʃəsnis] n.意识；觉悟；知觉 (高中英语单词)


• repeated [ri´pi:tid] a.反复的；重复的 (高中英语单词)


• learned [´lə:nid] a.有学问的，博学的 (高中英语单词)


• studied [´stʌdid] a.故意的；有计划的 (高中英语单词)


• exquisite [ik´skwizit] a.精巧的；敏锐的 (高中英语单词)


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


• indifference [in´difrəns] n.冷淡；无足轻重 (高中英语单词)


• differently [´difrentli] ad.不同地，有差别地 (高中英语单词)


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


• vengeance [´vendʒəns] n.报复，复仇 (高中英语单词)


• inward [´inwəd] a.向内的；心灵上的 (高中英语单词)


• melancholy [´melənkəli] n.忧郁 a.忧郁的 (高中英语单词)


• anguish [´æŋgwiʃ] n.(极度的)痛苦；苦恼 (高中英语单词)


• passionate [´pæʃənit] a.易动情的；易怒的 (高中英语单词)


• slander [´slɑ:ndə] vt.&n.诽谤(罪) (英语四级单词)


• triumphantly [trai´ʌmfəntli] ad.胜利地；洋洋得意地 (英语四级单词)


• preceding [pri(:)´si:diŋ] a.在先的；前面的 (英语四级单词)


• vinegar [´vinigə] n.醋 (英语四级单词)


• indulgence [in´dʌldʒəns] n.沉迷；宽容；恩惠 (英语四级单词)


• desolation [desə´leiʃ(ə)n] n.荒凉 (英语四级单词)


• morrow [´mɔrəu] n.翌日 (英语四级单词)


• despairing [di´speəriŋ] a.感到绝望的 (英语六级单词)


• poetic [pəu´etik] a.理想化了的 (英语六级单词)


• ordeal [ɔ:´di:l] n.严峻考验；折磨 (英语六级单词)


• festivity [fe´stiviti] n.节日；喜庆日；庆祝 (英语六级单词)


• pitiless [´pitiləs] a.无怜悯心的；无情的 (英语六级单词)


• justification [,dʒʌstifi´keiʃən] n.辩护；根据；缘故 (英语六级单词)