章节正文
other place; really, our opinions were so exactly the same,
it was quite ridiculous! There was not a single point in
which we differed; I would not have had you by for the world;
you are such a sly thing, I am sure you would have made
some droll remark or other about it."
"No, indeed I should not."
"Oh, yes you would indeed; I know you better than you
know yourself. You would have told us that we seemed
born for each other, or some nonsense of that kind,
which would have distressed me beyond conception;
my cheeks would have been as red as your roses; I would
not have had you by for the world."
"Indeed you do me injustice; I would not have made
so improper a remark upon any account; and besides,
I am sure it would never have entered my head."
Isabella smiled incredulously and talked the rest
of the evening to James.
Catherine's resolution of endeavouring to meet Miss
Tilney again continued in full force the next morning;
and till the usual moment of going to the pump-room, she
felt some alarm from the dread of a second prevention.
But nothing of that kind occurred, no visitors appeared
to delay them, and they all three set off in good time
for the pump-room, where the ordinary course of events
and conversation took place; Mr. Allen, after drinking
his glass of water, joined some gentlemen to talk over
the politics of the day and compare the accounts of
their newspapers; and the ladies walked about together,
noticing every new face, and almost every new bonnet
in the room. The female part of the Thorpe family,
attended by James Morland, appeared among the crowd in less
than a quarter of an hour, and Catherine immediately took
her usual place by the side of her friend. James, who was
now in constant attendance, maintained a similar position,
and separating themselves from the rest of their party,
they walked in that manner for some time, till Catherine
began to doubt the happiness of a situation which,
confining her entirely to her friend and brother,
gave her very little share in the notice of either.
They were always engaged in some sentimental" target="_blank" title="a.感伤的；多愁善感的">sentimental discussion
or livelydispute, but their sentiment was conveyed
in such whispering voices, and their vivacity attended
with so much laughter, that though Catherine's supporting
opinion was not unfrequently called for by one or the other,
she was never able to give any, from not having heard a word
of the subject. At length however she was empowered to
disengage herself from her friend, by the avowed necessity
of speaking to Miss Tilney, whom she most joyfully saw
just entering the room with Mrs. Hughes, and whom she
instantly joined, with a firmer determination to be acquainted,
than she might have had courage to command, had she
not been urged by the disappointment of the day before.
Miss Tilney met her with great civility, returned her
advances with equal goodwill, and they continued talking
together as long as both parties remained in the room;
and though in all probability not an observation was made,
nor an expression used by either which had not been made
and used some thousands of times before, under that roof,
in every Bath season, yet the merit of their being spoken
with simplicity and truth, and without personal conceit,
might be something uncommon.
"How well your brother dances!" was an artless exclamation
of Catherine's towards the close of their conversation,
which at once surprised and amused her companion.
"Henry!" she replied with a smile. "Yes, he does
dance very well."
"He must have thought it very odd to hear me say I
was engaged the other evening, when he saw me sitting down.
But I really had been engaged the whole day to Mr. Thorpe."
Miss Tilney could only bow. "You cannot think,"
added Catherine after a moment's silence, "how surprised I
was to see him again. I felt so sure of his being quite
gone away."
"When Henry had the pleasure of seeing you before,
he was in Bath but for a couple of days. He came only
to engage lodgings for us."
"That never occurred to me; and of course,
not seeing him anywhere, I thought he must be gone.
Was not the young lady he danced with on Monday a Miss Smith?"
"Yes, an acquaintance of Mrs. Hughes."
"I dare say she was very glad to dance. Do you
think her pretty?" "Not very."
"He never comes to the pump-room, I suppose?"
"Yes, sometimes; but he has rid out this morning with
my father."
Mrs. Hughes now joined them, and asked Miss Tilney
if she was ready to go. "I hope I shall have the
pleasure of seeing you again soon," said Catherine.
"Shall you be at the cotillion ball tomorrow?"
"Perhaps we-- Yes, I think we certainly shall."
"I am glad of it, for we shall all be there."
This civility was duly returned; and they parted--on
Miss Tilney's side with some knowledge of her new
acquaintance's feelings, and on Catherine's, without
the smallest consciousness of having explained them.
She went home very happy. The morning had answered
all her hopes, and the evening of the following day
was now the object of expectation, the future good.
What gown and what head-dress she should wear on the
occasion became her chief concern. She cannot be justified
in it. Dress is at all times a frivolous distinction,
and excessive solicitude about it often destroys its own aim.
Catherine knew all this very well; her great aunt had read
her a lecture on the subject only the Christmas before;
and yet she lay awake ten minutes on Wednesday night
debating between her spotted and her tamboured muslin,
and nothing but the shortness of the time prevented her
buying a new one for the evening. This would have been
an error in judgment, great though not uncommon, from which
one of the other sex rather than her own, a brother rather
than a great aunt, might have warned her, for man only can
be aware of the insensibility of man towards a new gown.
It would be mortifying to the feelings of many ladies,
could they be made to understand how little the heart of
man is affected by what is costly or new in their attire;
how little it is biased by the texture of their muslin,
and how unsusceptible of peculiartenderness towards
the spotted, the sprigged, the mull, or the jackonet.
Woman is fine for her own satisfaction alone. No man will
admire her the more, no woman will like her the better
for it. Neatness and fashion are enough for the former,
and a something of shabbiness or impropriety will be most
endearing to the latter. But not one of these grave
reflections troubled the tranquillity of Catherine.
She entered the rooms on Thursday evening with feelings
very different from what had attended her thither the
Monday before. She had then been exulting in her engagement
to Thorpe, and was now chieflyanxious to avoid his sight,
lest he should engage her again; for though she could not,
dared not expect that Mr. Tilney should ask her a third
time to dance, her wishes, hopes, and plans all centred
in nothing less. Every young lady may feel for my
heroine in this critical moment, for every young lady
has at some time or other known the same agitation.
All have been, or at least all have believed themselves to be,
in danger from the pursuit of someone whom they wished
to avoid; and all have been anxious for the attentions
of someone whom they wished to please. As soon as they
were joined by the Thorpes, Catherine's agony began;
she fidgeted about if John Thorpe came towards her,
hid herself as much as possible from his view,
and when he spoke to her pretended not to hear him.
The cotillions were over, the country-dancing beginning,
and she saw nothing of the Tilneys.
"Do not be frightened, my dear Catherine,"
whispered Isabella, "but I am really going to dance with your
brother again. I declare positively it is quite shocking.
I tell him he ought to be ashamed of himself, but you
and John must keep us in countenance. Make haste,
my dear creature, and come to us. John is just walked off,
but he will be back in a moment."
Catherine had neither time nor inclination to answer.
The others walked away, John Thorpe was still in view,
and she gave herself up for lost. That she might
not appear, however, to observe or expect him, she kept
her eyes intently fixed on her fan; and a self-condemnation
for her folly, in supposing that among such a crowd they
should even meet with the Tilneys in any reasonable time,
had just passed through her mind, when she suddenly
found herself addressed and again solicited to dance,
by Mr. Tilney himself. With what sparkling eyes and ready
motion she granted his request, and with how pleasing
a flutter of heart she went with him to the set,
may be easily imagined. To escape, and, as she believed,
so narrowly escape John Thorpe, and to be asked,
so immediately on his joining her, asked by Mr. Tilney,
as if he had sought her on purpose!--it did not appear
to her that life could supply any greater felicity.
Scarcely had they worked themselves into the quiet
possession of a place, however, when her attention
was claimed by John Thorpe, who stood behind her.
"Heyday, Miss Morland!" said he. "What is the meaning
of this? I thought you and I were to dance together."
"I wonder you should think so, for you never asked me."
"That is a good one, by Jove! I asked you as soon
as I came into the room, and I was just going to ask
you again, but when I turned round, you were gone! This
is a cursed shabby trick! I only came for the sake of
dancing with you, and I firmly believe you were engaged
to me ever since Monday. Yes; I remember, I asked you
while you were waiting in the lobby for your cloak.
And here have I been telling all my acquaintance that I
was going to dance with the prettiest girl in the room;
and when they see you standing up with somebody else,
they will quiz me famously."
"Oh, no; they will never think of me, after such
a description as that."
"By heavens, if they do not, I will kick them out
of the room for blockheads. What chap have you there?"
Catherine satisfied his curiosity. "Tilney," he repeated.
"Hum--I do not know him. A good figure of a man; well put
together. Does he want a horse? Here is a friend of mine,
Sam Fletcher, has got one to sell that would suit anybody.
A famous clever animal for the road--only forty guineas.
I had fifty minds to buy it myself, for it is one of my
maxims always to buy a good horse when I meet with one;
but it would not answer my purpose, it would not do for
the field. I would give any money for a real good hunter.
I have three now, the best that ever were backed.
I would not take eight hundred guineas for them.
Fletcher and I mean to get a house in Leicestershire,
it was quite ridiculous! There was not a single point in
which we differed; I would not have had you by for the world;
you are such a sly thing, I am sure you would have made
some droll remark or other about it."
"No, indeed I should not."
"Oh, yes you would indeed; I know you better than you
know yourself. You would have told us that we seemed
born for each other, or some nonsense of that kind,
which would have distressed me beyond conception;
my cheeks would have been as red as your roses; I would
not have had you by for the world."
"Indeed you do me injustice; I would not have made
so improper a remark upon any account; and besides,
I am sure it would never have entered my head."
Isabella smiled incredulously and talked the rest
of the evening to James.
Catherine's resolution of endeavouring to meet Miss
Tilney again continued in full force the next morning;
and till the usual moment of going to the pump-room, she
felt some alarm from the dread of a second prevention.
But nothing of that kind occurred, no visitors appeared
to delay them, and they all three set off in good time
for the pump-room, where the ordinary course of events
and conversation took place; Mr. Allen, after drinking
his glass of water, joined some gentlemen to talk over
the politics of the day and compare the accounts of
their newspapers; and the ladies walked about together,
noticing every new face, and almost every new bonnet
in the room. The female part of the Thorpe family,
attended by James Morland, appeared among the crowd in less
than a quarter of an hour, and Catherine immediately took
her usual place by the side of her friend. James, who was
now in constant attendance, maintained a similar position,
and separating themselves from the rest of their party,
they walked in that manner for some time, till Catherine
began to doubt the happiness of a situation which,
confining her entirely to her friend and brother,
gave her very little share in the notice of either.
They were always engaged in some sentimental" target="_blank" title="a.感伤的；多愁善感的">sentimental discussion
or livelydispute, but their sentiment was conveyed
in such whispering voices, and their vivacity attended
with so much laughter, that though Catherine's supporting
opinion was not unfrequently called for by one or the other,
she was never able to give any, from not having heard a word
of the subject. At length however she was empowered to
disengage herself from her friend, by the avowed necessity
of speaking to Miss Tilney, whom she most joyfully saw
just entering the room with Mrs. Hughes, and whom she
instantly joined, with a firmer determination to be acquainted,
than she might have had courage to command, had she
not been urged by the disappointment of the day before.
Miss Tilney met her with great civility, returned her
advances with equal goodwill, and they continued talking
together as long as both parties remained in the room;
and though in all probability not an observation was made,
nor an expression used by either which had not been made
and used some thousands of times before, under that roof,
in every Bath season, yet the merit of their being spoken
with simplicity and truth, and without personal conceit,
might be something uncommon.
"How well your brother dances!" was an artless exclamation
of Catherine's towards the close of their conversation,
which at once surprised and amused her companion.
"Henry!" she replied with a smile. "Yes, he does
dance very well."
"He must have thought it very odd to hear me say I
was engaged the other evening, when he saw me sitting down.
But I really had been engaged the whole day to Mr. Thorpe."
Miss Tilney could only bow. "You cannot think,"
added Catherine after a moment's silence, "how surprised I
was to see him again. I felt so sure of his being quite
gone away."
"When Henry had the pleasure of seeing you before,
he was in Bath but for a couple of days. He came only
to engage lodgings for us."
"That never occurred to me; and of course,
not seeing him anywhere, I thought he must be gone.
Was not the young lady he danced with on Monday a Miss Smith?"
"Yes, an acquaintance of Mrs. Hughes."
"I dare say she was very glad to dance. Do you
think her pretty?" "Not very."
"He never comes to the pump-room, I suppose?"
"Yes, sometimes; but he has rid out this morning with
my father."
Mrs. Hughes now joined them, and asked Miss Tilney
if she was ready to go. "I hope I shall have the
pleasure of seeing you again soon," said Catherine.
"Shall you be at the cotillion ball tomorrow?"
"Perhaps we-- Yes, I think we certainly shall."
"I am glad of it, for we shall all be there."
This civility was duly returned; and they parted--on
Miss Tilney's side with some knowledge of her new
acquaintance's feelings, and on Catherine's, without
the smallest consciousness of having explained them.
She went home very happy. The morning had answered
all her hopes, and the evening of the following day
was now the object of expectation, the future good.
What gown and what head-dress she should wear on the
occasion became her chief concern. She cannot be justified
in it. Dress is at all times a frivolous distinction,
and excessive solicitude about it often destroys its own aim.
Catherine knew all this very well; her great aunt had read
her a lecture on the subject only the Christmas before;
and yet she lay awake ten minutes on Wednesday night
debating between her spotted and her tamboured muslin,
and nothing but the shortness of the time prevented her
buying a new one for the evening. This would have been
an error in judgment, great though not uncommon, from which
one of the other sex rather than her own, a brother rather
than a great aunt, might have warned her, for man only can
be aware of the insensibility of man towards a new gown.
It would be mortifying to the feelings of many ladies,
could they be made to understand how little the heart of
man is affected by what is costly or new in their attire;
how little it is biased by the texture of their muslin,
and how unsusceptible of peculiartenderness towards
the spotted, the sprigged, the mull, or the jackonet.
Woman is fine for her own satisfaction alone. No man will
admire her the more, no woman will like her the better
for it. Neatness and fashion are enough for the former,
and a something of shabbiness or impropriety will be most
endearing to the latter. But not one of these grave
reflections troubled the tranquillity of Catherine.
She entered the rooms on Thursday evening with feelings
very different from what had attended her thither the
Monday before. She had then been exulting in her engagement
to Thorpe, and was now chieflyanxious to avoid his sight,
lest he should engage her again; for though she could not,
dared not expect that Mr. Tilney should ask her a third
time to dance, her wishes, hopes, and plans all centred
in nothing less. Every young lady may feel for my
heroine in this critical moment, for every young lady
has at some time or other known the same agitation.
All have been, or at least all have believed themselves to be,
in danger from the pursuit of someone whom they wished
to avoid; and all have been anxious for the attentions
of someone whom they wished to please. As soon as they
were joined by the Thorpes, Catherine's agony began;
she fidgeted about if John Thorpe came towards her,
hid herself as much as possible from his view,
and when he spoke to her pretended not to hear him.
The cotillions were over, the country-dancing beginning,
and she saw nothing of the Tilneys.
"Do not be frightened, my dear Catherine,"
whispered Isabella, "but I am really going to dance with your
brother again. I declare positively it is quite shocking.
I tell him he ought to be ashamed of himself, but you
and John must keep us in countenance. Make haste,
my dear creature, and come to us. John is just walked off,
but he will be back in a moment."
Catherine had neither time nor inclination to answer.
The others walked away, John Thorpe was still in view,
and she gave herself up for lost. That she might
not appear, however, to observe or expect him, she kept
her eyes intently fixed on her fan; and a self-condemnation
for her folly, in supposing that among such a crowd they
should even meet with the Tilneys in any reasonable time,
had just passed through her mind, when she suddenly
found herself addressed and again solicited to dance,
by Mr. Tilney himself. With what sparkling eyes and ready
motion she granted his request, and with how pleasing
a flutter of heart she went with him to the set,
may be easily imagined. To escape, and, as she believed,
so narrowly escape John Thorpe, and to be asked,
so immediately on his joining her, asked by Mr. Tilney,
as if he had sought her on purpose!--it did not appear
to her that life could supply any greater felicity.
Scarcely had they worked themselves into the quiet
possession of a place, however, when her attention
was claimed by John Thorpe, who stood behind her.
"Heyday, Miss Morland!" said he. "What is the meaning
of this? I thought you and I were to dance together."
"I wonder you should think so, for you never asked me."
"That is a good one, by Jove! I asked you as soon
as I came into the room, and I was just going to ask
you again, but when I turned round, you were gone! This
is a cursed shabby trick! I only came for the sake of
dancing with you, and I firmly believe you were engaged
to me ever since Monday. Yes; I remember, I asked you
while you were waiting in the lobby for your cloak.
And here have I been telling all my acquaintance that I
was going to dance with the prettiest girl in the room;
and when they see you standing up with somebody else,
they will quiz me famously."
"Oh, no; they will never think of me, after such
a description as that."
"By heavens, if they do not, I will kick them out
of the room for blockheads. What chap have you there?"
Catherine satisfied his curiosity. "Tilney," he repeated.
"Hum--I do not know him. A good figure of a man; well put
together. Does he want a horse? Here is a friend of mine,
Sam Fletcher, has got one to sell that would suit anybody.
A famous clever animal for the road--only forty guineas.
I had fifty minds to buy it myself, for it is one of my
maxims always to buy a good horse when I meet with one;
but it would not answer my purpose, it would not do for
the field. I would give any money for a real good hunter.
I have three now, the best that ever were backed.
I would not take eight hundred guineas for them.
Fletcher and I mean to get a house in Leicestershire,
- account [ə´kaunt]
vi.说明 vt.认为 n.帐目 (初中英语单词) - resolution [,rezə´lu:ʃən] n.决心；坚决；果断 (初中英语单词)
- politics [´pɔlitiks] n.政治(学)；政治活动 (初中英语单词)
- female [´fi:meil] a.女(性)的 n.女人 (初中英语单词)
- constant [´kɔnstənt] a.坚定的；坚贞的 (初中英语单词)
- lively [´laivli] a.活泼的；热烈的 (初中英语单词)
- dispute [di´spju:t] v.&n.争论，辩论；争吵 (初中英语单词)
- sentiment [´sentimənt] n.情绪；多愁善感 (初中英语单词)
- laughter [´lɑ:ftə] n.笑，笑声 (初中英语单词)
- disappointment [,disə´pɔintmənt] n.失望；挫折 (初中英语单词)
- observation [,ɔbzə´veiʃən] n.观测；注意；意义 (初中英语单词)
- anywhere [´eniweə] ad.无论何处；任何地方 (初中英语单词)
- acquaintance [ə´kweintəns] n.相识；熟人，相识的人 (初中英语单词)
- wednesday [´wenzdi] n.星期三 (初中英语单词)
- costly [´kɔstli] a.昂贵的；费用大的 (初中英语单词)
- peculiar [pi´kju:liə] a.特有的；奇异的 (初中英语单词)
- satisfaction [,sætis´fækʃən] n.满意；满足 (初中英语单词)
- thither [´ðiðə] ad.到那里 a.那边的 (初中英语单词)
- chiefly [´tʃi:fli] ad.主要地；尤其 (初中英语单词)
- anxious [´æŋkʃəs] a.担忧的；渴望的 (初中英语单词)
- pursuit [pə´sju:t] n.追踪；追击；事务 (初中英语单词)
- ashamed [ə´ʃeimd] a.惭愧；不好意思 (初中英语单词)
- countenance [´kauntinəns] n.面部表情；脸色；面容 (初中英语单词)
- reasonable [´rizənəbəl] a.合理的；有理智的 (初中英语单词)
- flutter [´flʌtə] vi.飘扬；摆 n.拍动 (初中英语单词)
- firmly [´fə:mli] ad.坚固地，稳定地 (初中英语单词)
- waiting [´weitiŋ] n.等候；伺候 (初中英语单词)
- standing [´stændiŋ] n.持续 a.直立的 (初中英语单词)
- description [di´skripʃən] n.描写 (初中英语单词)
- curiosity [,kjuəri´ɔsiti] n.好奇；奇事；珍品 (初中英语单词)
- nonsense [´nɔnsəns] n.胡说 int.胡说!废话 (高中英语单词)
- injustice [in´dʒʌstis] n.不公正，不公平 (高中英语单词)
- determination [di,tə:mi´neiʃən] n.决心；决定 (高中英语单词)
- goodwill [,gud´wil] n.友好，亲善；信誉 (高中英语单词)
- probability [,prɔbə´biliti] n.或有；可能性 (高中英语单词)
- simplicity [sim´plisiti] n.简单；朴素 (高中英语单词)
- seeing [si:iŋ] see的现在分词 n.视觉 (高中英语单词)
- consciousness [´kɔnʃəsnis] n.意识；觉悟；知觉 (高中英语单词)
- expectation [,ekspek´teiʃən] n.期待(望)；预期 (高中英语单词)
- excessive [ik´sesiv] a.过分的；极端的 (高中英语单词)
- tenderness [´tendənis] n.娇嫩；柔软；温柔 (高中英语单词)
- critical [´kritikəl] a.批评的；关键性的 (高中英语单词)
- positively [´pɔzətivli] ad.确实；断然；绝对 (高中英语单词)
- inclination [,inkli´neiʃən] n.倾斜；爱好；天资 (高中英语单词)
- shabby [´ʃæbi] a.(衣服)破旧的 (高中英语单词)
- sentimental [,senti´mentl] a.感伤的；多愁善感的 (英语四级单词)
- joyfully [´dʒɔifuli] ad.高兴地，快乐地 (英语四级单词)
- civility [si´viliti] n.礼貌；礼仪 (英语四级单词)
- uncommon [ʌn´kɔmən] a.非常的，非凡的，罕见的 (英语四级单词)
- texture [´tekstʃə] n.(织物等的)质地 (英语四级单词)
- intently [in´tentli] ad.专心地 (英语四级单词)
- improper [im´prɔpə] a.不恰当的；不正确的 (英语六级单词)
- speaking [´spi:kiŋ] n.说话 a.发言的 (英语六级单词)
- frivolous [´frivələs] a.轻佻的 (英语六级单词)
- affected [ə´fektid] a.做作的；假装的 (英语六级单词)
- narrowly [´nærəuli] ad.勉强地；严密地 (英语六级单词)
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章节正文
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