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eugene pickering-第12章

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He was flushed; excited; a trifle irritated。



〃Evidently;〃 I said; 〃you have read your letter。〃



〃It is proper I should tell you what is in it;〃 he answered。  〃When I

gave it to you a month ago; I did my friends injustice。〃



〃You called it a 'summons;' I remember。〃



〃I was a great fool!  It's a release!〃



〃From your engagement?〃



〃From everything!  The letter; of course; is from Mr。 Vernor。  He

desires to let me know at the earliest moment that his daughter;

informed for the first time a week before of what had been expected

of her; positively refuses to be bound by the contract or to assent

to my being bound。  She had been given a week to reflect; and had

spent it in inconsolable tears。  She had resisted every form of

persuasion! from compulsion; writes Mr。 Vernor; he naturally shrinks。

The young lady considers the arrangement 'horrible。'  After accepting

her duties cut and dried all her life; she pretends at last to have a

taste of her own。  I confess I am surprised; I had been given to

believe that she was stupidly submissive; and would remain so to the

end of the chapter。  Not a bit of it。  She has insisted on my being

formally dismissed; and her father intimates that in case of non…

compliance she threatens him with an attack of brain fever。  Mr。

Vernor condoles with me handsomely; and lets me know that the young

lady's attitude has been a great shock to his nerves。  He adds that

he will not aggravate such regret as I may do him the honour to

entertain; by any allusions to his daughter's charms and to the

magnitude of my loss; and he concludes with the hope that; for the

comfort of all concerned; I may already have amused my fancy with

other 'views。'  He reminds me in a postscript that; in spite of this

painful occurrence; the son of his most valued friend will always be

a welcome visitor at his house。  I am free; he observes; I have my

life before me; he recommends an extensive course of travel。  Should

my wanderings lead me to the East; he hopes that no false

embarrassment will deter me from presenting myself at Smyrna。  He can

promise me at least a friendly reception。  It's a very polite

letter。〃



Polite as the letter was; Pickering seemed to find no great

exhilaration in having this famous burden so handsomely lifted from

his spirit。  He began to brood over his liberation in a manner which

you might have deemed proper to a renewed sense of bondage。  〃Bad

news;〃 he had called his letter originally; and yet; now that its

contents proved to be in flat contradiction to his foreboding; there

was no impulsive voice to reverse the formula and declare the news

was good。  The wings of impulse in the poor fellow had of late been

terribly clipped。  It was an obvious reflection; of course; that if

he had not been so stiffly certain of the matter a month before; and

had gone through the form of breaking Mr。 Vernor's seal; he might

have escaped the purgatory of Madame Blumenthal's sub…acid

blandishments。  But I left him to moralise in private; I had no

desire; as the phrase is; to rub it in。  My thoughts; moreover; were

following another train; I was saying to myself that if to those

gentle graces of which her young visage had offered to my fancy the

blooming promise; Miss Vernor added in this striking measure the

capacity for magnanimous action; the amendment to my friend's career

had been less happy than the rough draught。  Presently; turning

about; I saw him looking at the young lady's photograph。  〃Of course;

now;〃 he said; 〃I have no right to keep it!〃  And before I could ask

for another glimpse of it; he had thrust it into the fire。



〃I am sorry to be saying it just now;〃 I observed after a while; 〃but

I shouldn't wonder if Miss Vernor were a charming creature。〃



〃Go and find out;〃 he answered; gloomily。  〃The coast is clear。  My

part is to forget her;〃 he presently added。  〃It ought not to be

hard。  But don't you think;〃 he went on suddenly; 〃that for a poor

fellow who asked nothing of fortune but leave to sit down in a quiet

corner; it has been rather a cruel pushing about?〃



Cruel indeed; I declared; and he certainly had the right to demand a

clean page on the book of fate and a fresh start。  Mr。 Vernor's

advice was sound; he should amuse himself with a long journey。  If it

would be any comfort to him; I would go with him on his way。

Pickering assented without enthusiasm; he had the embarrassed look of

a man who; having gone to some cost to make a good appearance in a

drawing…room; should find the door suddenly slammed in his face。  We

started on our journey; however; and little by little his enthusiasm

returned。  He was too capable of enjoying fine things to remain

permanently irresponsive; and after a fortnight spent among pictures

and monuments and antiquities; I felt that I was seeing him for the

first time in his best and healthiest mood。  He had had a fever; and

then he had had a chill; the pendulum had swung right and left in a

manner rather trying to the machine; but now; at last; it was working

back to an even; natural beat。  He recovered in a measure the

generous eloquence with which he had fanned his flame at Homburg; and

talked about things with something of the same passionate freshness。

One day when I was laid up at the inn at Bruges with a lame foot; he

came home and treated me to a rhapsody about a certain meek…faced

virgin of Hans Memling; which seemed to me sounder sense than his

compliments to Madame Blumenthal。  He had his dull days and his

sombre moodshours of irresistible retrospect; but I let them come

and go without remonstrance; because I fancied they always left him a

trifle more alert and resolute。  One evening; however; he sat hanging

his head in so doleful a fashion that I took the bull by the horns

and told him he had by this time surely paid his debt to penitence;

and that he owed it to himself to banish that woman for ever from his

thoughts。



He looked up; staring; and then with a deep blush〃That woman?〃 he

said。  〃I was not thinking of Madame Blumenthal!〃



After this I gave another construction to his melancholy。  Taking him

with his hopes and fears; at the end of six weeks of active

observation and keen sensation; Pickering was as fine a fellow as

need be。  We made our way down to Italy and spent a fortnight at

Venice。  There something happened which I had been confidently

expecting; I had said to myself that it was merely a question of

time。  We had passed the day at Torcello; and came floating back in

the glow of the sunset; with measured oar…strokes。  〃I am well on the

way;〃 Pickering said; 〃I think I will go!〃



We had not spoken for an hour; and I naturally asked him; Where?  His

answer was delayed by our getting into the Piazzetta。  I stepped

ashore first and then turned to help him。  As he took my hand he met

my eyes; consciously; and it came。  〃To Smyrna!〃



A couple of days later he started。  I had risked the conjecture that

Miss Vernor was a charming creature; and six months afterwards he

wrote me that I was right。









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