章节正文
woman of forty-five," answered Werner. "She
has a splendid digestion, but her blood is out of
order -- there are red spots on her cheeks. She
has spent the latter half of her life in Moscow,
and has grown stout from leading an inactive life
there. She loves spicy stories, and sometimes
says improper things herself when her daughter is
out of the room. She has declared to me that her
daughter is as innocent as a dove. What does
that matter to me? . . . I was going to answer
that she might be at her ease, because I would
never tell anyone. Princess Ligovski is taking the
cure for her rheumatism, and the daughter, for
goodness knows what. I have ordered each of
them to drink two tumblers a day of sulphurous
water, and to bathe twice a week in the diluted
bath. Princess Ligovski is apparently unac-
customed to giving orders. She cherishes respect
for the intelligence and attainments of her
daughter, who has read Byron in English and
knows algebra: in Moscow, evidently, the ladies
have entered upon the paths of erudition -- and
a good thing, too! The men here are generally so
unamiable, that, for a clever woman, it must be
intolerable to flirt with them. Princess Ligovski
is very fond of young people; Princess Mary looks
on them with a certain contempt -- a Moscow
habit! In Moscow they cherish only wits of
not less than forty."
"You have been in Moscow, doctor?"
"Yes, I had a practice there."
"Continue."
"But I think I have told everything. . .
No, there is something else: Princess Mary, it
seems, loves to discuss emotions, passions, etcetera.
She was in Petersburg for one winter, and disliked
it -- especially the society: no doubt she was
coldly received."
"You have not seen anyone with them to-
day?"
"On the contrary, there was an aide-de-camp,
a stiff guardsman, and a lady -- one of the latest
arrivals, a relation of Princess Ligovski on the
husband's side -- very pretty, but apparently
very ill. . . Have you not met her at the well?
She is of mediumheight, fair, with regular
features; she has the complexion of a con-
sumptive, and there is a little black mole on her
right cheek. I was struck by the expressiveness
of her face."
"A mole!" I muttered through my teeth.
"Is it possible?"
The doctor looked at me, and, laying his hand
on my heart, said triumphantly:
"You know her!"
My heart was, in fact, beating more violently
than usual.
"It is your turn, now, to triumph," I said.
"But I rely on you: you will not betray me.
I have not seen her yet, but I am convinced that
I recognise from your portrait a woman whom I
loved in the old days. . . Do not speak a word
to her about me; if she asks any questions, give
a bad report of me."
"Be it so!" said Werner, shrugging his
shoulders.
When he had departed, my heart was com-
pressed with terrible grief. Has destiny brought
us together again in the Caucasus, or has she come
hither on purpose, knowing that she would meet
me? . . . And how shall we meet? . . . And
then, is it she? . . . My presentiments have
never deceived me. There is not a man in the
world over whom the past has acquired such a
power as over me. Every recollection of bygone
grief or joy strikes my soul with morbid effect,
and draws forth ever the same sounds. . . I
am stupidly constituted: I forget nothing -- no-
thing!
After dinner, about six o'clock, I went on to the
boulevard. It was crowded. The two princesses
were sitting on a bench, surrounded by young
men, who were vying with each other in paying
them attention. I took up my position on another
bench at a little distance off, stopped two Dragoon
officers whom I knew, and proceeded to tell them
something. Evidently it was amusing, because
they began to laugh loudly like a couple of mad-
men. Some of those who were surrounding
Princess Mary were attracted to my side by
curiosity, and gradually all of them left her and
joined my circle. I did not stop talking; my
anecdotes were clever to the point of absurdity,
my jests at the expense of the queer people
passing by, malicious to the point of frenzy. I
continued to entertain the public till sunset.
Princess Mary passed by me a few times, arm-in-
arm with her mother, and accompanied by a
certain lame old man. A few times her glance
as it fell upon me expressed vexation, while en-
deavouring to express indifference. . .
"What has he been telling you?" she in-
quired of one of the young men, who had gone
back to her out of politeness. "No doubt
a most interesting story -- his own exploits in
battle?" . . .
This was said rather loudly, and probably with
the intention of stinging me.
"Aha!" I thought to myself. "You are
downright angry, my dear Princess. Wait awhile,
there is more to follow."
Grushnitski kept following her like a beast of
prey, and would not let her out of his sight. I
wager that to-morrow he will ask somebody to
present him to Princess Ligovski. She will be
glad, because she is bored.
CHAPTER III
16th May.
IN the course of two days my affairs have
gained ground tremendously. Princess Mary
positively hates me. Already I have had repeated
to me two or three epigrams on the subject of
myself -- rather caustic, but at the same time
very flattering. She finds it exceedingly strange
that I, who am accustomed to good society, and
am so intimate with her Petersburg cousins and
aunts, do not try to make her acquaintance.
Every day we meet at the well and on the boule-
vard. I exert all my powers to entice away her
adorers, glittering aides-de-camp, pale-faced
visitors from Moscow, and others -- and I almost
always succeed. I have always hated entertaining
guests: now my house is full every day; they
dine, sup, gamble, and alas! my champagne
triumphs over the might of Princess Mary's
magnetic eyes!
I met her yesterday in Chelakhov's shop. She
was bargaining for a marvellous Persian rug, and
implored her mother not to be niggardly: the
rug would be such an ornament to her boudoir. . .
I outbid her by forty rubles, and bought it over
her head. I was rewarded with a glance in which
the most delightful fury sparkled. About dinner-
time, I ordered my Circassian horse, covered with
that very rug, purposely to be led past her
windows. Werner was with the princesses at the
time, and told me that the effect of the scene
was most dramatic. Princess Mary wishes to
preach a crusade against me, and I have even
noticed that, already, two of the aides-de-camp
salute me very coldly, when they are in her pre-
sence -- they dine with me every day, however.
Grushnitski has assumed an air of mystery; he
walks with his arms folded behind his back and
does not recognise anyone. His foot has got well
all at once, and there is hardly a sign of a limp.
He has found an opportunity of entering into
conversation with Princess Ligovski and of
paying Princess Mary some kind of a compliment.
The latter is evidently not very fastidious, for,
ever since, she answers his bow with a most
charming smile.
"Are you sure you do not wish to make the
Ligovskis' acquaintance?" he said to me yester-
day.
"Positive."
"Good gracious! The pleasantest house at the
waters! All the best society of Pyatigorsk is to
be found there" . . .
"My friend, I am terribly tired of even other
society than that of Pyatigorsk. So you visit the
Ligovskis?"
"Not yet. I have spoken to Princess Mary
once or twice, but that is all. You know it is
rather awkward to go and visit them without
being invited, although that is the custom here. . .
It would be a different matter if I was wearing
epaulettes" . . .
"Good heavens! Why, you are much more
interesting as it is! You simply do not know how
to avail yourself of your advantageous position. . .
Why, that soldier's cloak makes a hero and a
martyr of you in the eyes of any lady of senti-
ment!"
Grushnitski smiled complacently.
"What nonsense!" he said.
"I am convinced," I continued, "that Princess
Mary is in love with you already."
He blushed up to the ears and looked big.
Oh, vanity! Thou art the lever with which
Archimedes was to lift the earthly sphere! . . .
"You are always jesting!" he said, pretending
to be angry. "In the first place, she knows so
little of me as yet" . . .
"Women love only those whom they do not
know!"
"But I have no pretensions whatsoever to
pleasing her. I simply wish to make the ac-
quaintance of an agreeable household; and it
would be extremelyridiculous if I were to cherish
the slightest hope. . . With you, now, for instance,
has a splendid digestion, but her blood is out of
order -- there are red spots on her cheeks. She
has spent the latter half of her life in Moscow,
and has grown stout from leading an inactive life
there. She loves spicy stories, and sometimes
says improper things herself when her daughter is
out of the room. She has declared to me that her
daughter is as innocent as a dove. What does
that matter to me? . . . I was going to answer
that she might be at her ease, because I would
never tell anyone. Princess Ligovski is taking the
cure for her rheumatism, and the daughter, for
goodness knows what. I have ordered each of
them to drink two tumblers a day of sulphurous
water, and to bathe twice a week in the diluted
bath. Princess Ligovski is apparently unac-
customed to giving orders. She cherishes respect
for the intelligence and attainments of her
daughter, who has read Byron in English and
knows algebra: in Moscow, evidently, the ladies
have entered upon the paths of erudition -- and
a good thing, too! The men here are generally so
unamiable, that, for a clever woman, it must be
intolerable to flirt with them. Princess Ligovski
is very fond of young people; Princess Mary looks
on them with a certain contempt -- a Moscow
habit! In Moscow they cherish only wits of
not less than forty."
"You have been in Moscow, doctor?"
"Yes, I had a practice there."
"Continue."
"But I think I have told everything. . .
No, there is something else: Princess Mary, it
seems, loves to discuss emotions, passions, etcetera.
She was in Petersburg for one winter, and disliked
it -- especially the society: no doubt she was
coldly received."
"You have not seen anyone with them to-
day?"
"On the contrary, there was an aide-de-camp,
a stiff guardsman, and a lady -- one of the latest
arrivals, a relation of Princess Ligovski on the
husband's side -- very pretty, but apparently
very ill. . . Have you not met her at the well?
She is of mediumheight, fair, with regular
features; she has the complexion of a con-
sumptive, and there is a little black mole on her
right cheek. I was struck by the expressiveness
of her face."
"A mole!" I muttered through my teeth.
"Is it possible?"
The doctor looked at me, and, laying his hand
on my heart, said triumphantly:
"You know her!"
My heart was, in fact, beating more violently
than usual.
"It is your turn, now, to triumph," I said.
"But I rely on you: you will not betray me.
I have not seen her yet, but I am convinced that
I recognise from your portrait a woman whom I
loved in the old days. . . Do not speak a word
to her about me; if she asks any questions, give
a bad report of me."
"Be it so!" said Werner, shrugging his
shoulders.
When he had departed, my heart was com-
pressed with terrible grief. Has destiny brought
us together again in the Caucasus, or has she come
hither on purpose, knowing that she would meet
me? . . . And how shall we meet? . . . And
then, is it she? . . . My presentiments have
never deceived me. There is not a man in the
world over whom the past has acquired such a
power as over me. Every recollection of bygone
grief or joy strikes my soul with morbid effect,
and draws forth ever the same sounds. . . I
am stupidly constituted: I forget nothing -- no-
thing!
After dinner, about six o'clock, I went on to the
boulevard. It was crowded. The two princesses
were sitting on a bench, surrounded by young
men, who were vying with each other in paying
them attention. I took up my position on another
bench at a little distance off, stopped two Dragoon
officers whom I knew, and proceeded to tell them
something. Evidently it was amusing, because
they began to laugh loudly like a couple of mad-
men. Some of those who were surrounding
Princess Mary were attracted to my side by
curiosity, and gradually all of them left her and
joined my circle. I did not stop talking; my
anecdotes were clever to the point of absurdity,
my jests at the expense of the queer people
passing by, malicious to the point of frenzy. I
continued to entertain the public till sunset.
Princess Mary passed by me a few times, arm-in-
arm with her mother, and accompanied by a
certain lame old man. A few times her glance
as it fell upon me expressed vexation, while en-
deavouring to express indifference. . .
"What has he been telling you?" she in-
quired of one of the young men, who had gone
back to her out of politeness. "No doubt
a most interesting story -- his own exploits in
battle?" . . .
This was said rather loudly, and probably with
the intention of stinging me.
"Aha!" I thought to myself. "You are
downright angry, my dear Princess. Wait awhile,
there is more to follow."
Grushnitski kept following her like a beast of
prey, and would not let her out of his sight. I
wager that to-morrow he will ask somebody to
present him to Princess Ligovski. She will be
glad, because she is bored.
CHAPTER III
16th May.
IN the course of two days my affairs have
gained ground tremendously. Princess Mary
positively hates me. Already I have had repeated
to me two or three epigrams on the subject of
myself -- rather caustic, but at the same time
very flattering. She finds it exceedingly strange
that I, who am accustomed to good society, and
am so intimate with her Petersburg cousins and
aunts, do not try to make her acquaintance.
Every day we meet at the well and on the boule-
vard. I exert all my powers to entice away her
adorers, glittering aides-de-camp, pale-faced
visitors from Moscow, and others -- and I almost
always succeed. I have always hated entertaining
guests: now my house is full every day; they
dine, sup, gamble, and alas! my champagne
triumphs over the might of Princess Mary's
magnetic eyes!
I met her yesterday in Chelakhov's shop. She
was bargaining for a marvellous Persian rug, and
implored her mother not to be niggardly: the
rug would be such an ornament to her boudoir. . .
I outbid her by forty rubles, and bought it over
her head. I was rewarded with a glance in which
the most delightful fury sparkled. About dinner-
time, I ordered my Circassian horse, covered with
that very rug, purposely to be led past her
windows. Werner was with the princesses at the
time, and told me that the effect of the scene
was most dramatic. Princess Mary wishes to
preach a crusade against me, and I have even
noticed that, already, two of the aides-de-camp
salute me very coldly, when they are in her pre-
sence -- they dine with me every day, however.
Grushnitski has assumed an air of mystery; he
walks with his arms folded behind his back and
does not recognise anyone. His foot has got well
all at once, and there is hardly a sign of a limp.
He has found an opportunity of entering into
conversation with Princess Ligovski and of
paying Princess Mary some kind of a compliment.
The latter is evidently not very fastidious, for,
ever since, she answers his bow with a most
charming smile.
"Are you sure you do not wish to make the
Ligovskis' acquaintance?" he said to me yester-
day.
"Positive."
"Good gracious! The pleasantest house at the
waters! All the best society of Pyatigorsk is to
be found there" . . .
"My friend, I am terribly tired of even other
society than that of Pyatigorsk. So you visit the
Ligovskis?"
"Not yet. I have spoken to Princess Mary
once or twice, but that is all. You know it is
rather awkward to go and visit them without
being invited, although that is the custom here. . .
It would be a different matter if I was wearing
epaulettes" . . .
"Good heavens! Why, you are much more
interesting as it is! You simply do not know how
to avail yourself of your advantageous position. . .
Why, that soldier's cloak makes a hero and a
martyr of you in the eyes of any lady of senti-
ment!"
Grushnitski smiled complacently.
"What nonsense!" he said.
"I am convinced," I continued, "that Princess
Mary is in love with you already."
He blushed up to the ears and looked big.
Oh, vanity! Thou art the lever with which
Archimedes was to lift the earthly sphere! . . .
"You are always jesting!" he said, pretending
to be angry. "In the first place, she knows so
little of me as yet" . . .
"Women love only those whom they do not
know!"
"But I have no pretensions whatsoever to
pleasing her. I simply wish to make the ac-
quaintance of an agreeable household; and it
would be extremelyridiculous if I were to cherish
the slightest hope. . . With you, now, for instance,
- innocent [´inəsənt]
a.无罪的；单纯的 (初中英语单词) - princess [,prin´ses] n.公主；王妃；亲王夫人 (初中英语单词)
- intelligence [in´telidʒəns] n.智力；消息 (初中英语单词)
- moscow [´mɔskəu] n.莫斯科 (初中英语单词)
- evidently [´evidəntli] ad.明显地 (初中英语单词)
- contrary [´kɔntrəri] a.相反的 n.相反 (初中英语单词)
- medium [´mi:diəm] n.中间；平均 a.中等的 (初中英语单词)
- height [hait] n.高度；顶点；卓越 (初中英语单词)
- betray [bi´trei] vt.背叛；辜负；暴露 (初中英语单词)
- knowing [´nəuiŋ] a.会意的，心照不宣的 (初中英语单词)
- circle [´sə:kəl] n.圆圈 v.环绕；盘旋 (初中英语单词)
- entertain [,entə´tein] vt.招待；娱乐；使高兴 (初中英语单词)
- intention [in´tenʃən] n.意图；打算；意义 (初中英语单词)
- intimate [´intimit] a.亲密的 n.知己 (初中英语单词)
- yesterday [´jestədi] n.&ad.昨天；前不久 (初中英语单词)
- persian [´pə:ʃən] a.波斯的 n.波斯人 (初中英语单词)
- ornament [´ɔ:nəmənt] n.装饰(物) vt.装饰 (初中英语单词)
- delightful [di´laitful] a.讨人喜欢的 (初中英语单词)
- dramatic [drə´mætik] a.戏剧的；戏剧般的 (初中英语单词)
- coldly [´kəuldli] ad.冷淡地 (初中英语单词)
- mystery [´mistəri] n.神秘；秘密；故弄玄虚 (初中英语单词)
- terribly [´terəbli] ad.可怕地 (初中英语单词)
- spoken [´spəukən] speak的过去分词 (初中英语单词)
- agreeable [ə´gri:əbəl] a.适合的；符合的 (初中英语单词)
- extremely [ik´stri:mli] ad.极端地；非常地 (初中英语单词)
- instance [´instəns] n.例子，实例，例证 (初中英语单词)
- apparently [ə´pærəntli] ad.显然，表面上地 (高中英语单词)
- contempt [kən´tempt] n.轻蔑；受辱；不顾 (高中英语单词)
- cherish [´tʃeriʃ] vt.珍爱；怀有(感情) (高中英语单词)
- complexion [kəm´plekʃən] n.肤色；情况；局面 (高中英语单词)
- portrait [´pɔ:trit] n.肖像；相片；雕像 (高中英语单词)
- destiny [´destini] n.命运 (高中英语单词)
- recollection [,rekə´lekʃən] n.回忆；追想；记忆力 (高中英语单词)
- crowded [´kraudid] a.充(拥)满了的 (高中英语单词)
- amusing [ə´mju:ziŋ] a.有趣的 (高中英语单词)
- indifference [in´difrəns] n.冷淡；无足轻重 (高中英语单词)
- flattering [´flætəriŋ] a.谄媚的；奉承的 (高中英语单词)
- exceedingly [ik´si:diŋli] ad.非常地，极度地 (高中英语单词)
- gamble [´gæmbəl] v.&n.赌博；投机；冒险 (高中英语单词)
- crusade [kru:´seid] n.改革运动 (高中英语单词)
- awkward [´ɔ:kwəd] a.笨拙的；为难的 (高中英语单词)
- earthly [´ə:θli] a.地球的；世俗的 (高中英语单词)
- ridiculous [ri´dikjuləs] a.荒谬的；可笑的 (高中英语单词)
- digestion [di´dʒestʃən] n.消化(力) (英语四级单词)
- rheumatism [´ru:mətizəm] n.风湿病 (英语四级单词)
- frenzy [´frenzi] n.&vt.(使)狂乱 (英语四级单词)
- tremendously [tri´mendəsli] ad.可怕地；极大地 (英语四级单词)
- entice [in´tais] vt.诱惑；怂恿 (英语四级单词)
- whatsoever [,wɔtsəu´evə] (强势语)=whatever (英语四级单词)
- inactive [in´æktiv] a.不活动的 (英语六级单词)
- improper [im´prɔpə] a.不恰当的；不正确的 (英语六级单词)
- taking [´teikiŋ] a.迷人的 n.捕获物 (英语六级单词)
- beating [´bi:tiŋ] n.敲；搅打；失败 (英语六级单词)
- departed [di´pɑ:tid] a.已往的；已故的 (英语六级单词)
- malicious [mə´liʃəs] a.恶意的；预谋的 (英语六级单词)
- vexation [vek´seiʃən] n.烦恼(的原因) (英语六级单词)
- politeness [pə´laitnis] n.礼貌；文雅；温和 (英语六级单词)
- advantageous [,ædvən´teidʒəs] a.有利的；有帮助的 (英语六级单词)
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章节正文
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