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第5章

the purcell papers-2-第5章

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with a view to his amusement or to some

more serious advantage; were so obviously

and perseveringly directed to me; that

young and inexperienced as I was; even _I_

could not be ignorant of his preference。 I

felt more provoked by this odious persecution

than I can express; and discouraged

him with so much vigour; that I employed

even rudeness to convince him that his

assiduities were unwelcome; but all in

vain。



This had gone on for nearly a twelve…

month; to my infinite annoyance; when one

day as I was sitting at some needle…work

with my companion Emily; as was my

habit; in the parlour; the door opened;

and my cousin Edward entered the room。

There was something; I thought; odd in

his mannera kind of struggle between

shame and impudencea kind of flurry

and ambiguity which made him appear;

if possible; more than ordinarily disagreeable。



'Your servant; ladies;' he said; seating

himself at the same time; 'sorry to spoil

your tete…a…tete; but never mind; I'll only

take Emily's place for a minute or two;

and then we part for a while; fair cousin。

Emily; my father wants you in the corner

turret。 No shilly…shally; he's in a hurry。'

She hesitated。 'Be offtramp; march!'

he exclaimed; in a tone which the poor girl

dared not disobey。



She left the room; and Edward followed

her to the door。 He stood there for a

minute or two; as if reflecting what he

should say; perhaps satisfying himself

that no one was within hearing in the

hall。



At length he turned about; having closed

the door; as if carelessly; with his foot; and

advancing slowly; as if in deep thought; he

took his seat at the side of the table

opposite to mine。



There was a brief interval of silence;

after which he said:



'I imagine that you have a shrewd

suspicion of the object of my early visit; but

I suppose I must go into particulars。

Must I?'



'I have no conception;' I replied; 'what

your object may be。'



'Well; well;' said he; becoming more at

his ease as he proceeded; 'it may be told in

a few words。 You know that it is totally

impossiblequite out of the question

that an offhand young fellow like me; and

a good…looking girl like yourself; could

meet continually; as you and I have done;

without an attachmenta liking growing

up on one side or other; in short; I think

I have let you know as plain as if I spoke

it; that I have been in love with you

almost from the first time I saw

you。'



He paused; but I was too much horrified

to speak。 He interpreted my silence

favourably。



'I can tell you;' he continued; 'I'm

reckoned rather hard to please; and very

hard to HIT。 I can't say when I was taken

with a girl before; so you see fortune

reserved me'



Here the odious wretch wound his arm

round my waist。 The action at once

restored me to utterance; and with the most

indignant vehemence I released myself

from his hold; and at the same time

said:



'I have not been insensible; sir; of your

most disagreeable attentionsthey have

long been a source of much annoyance to

me; and you must be aware that I have

marked my disapprobationmy disgust

as unequivocally as I possibly could; without

actual indelicacy。'



I paused; almost out of breath from the

rapidity with which I had spoken; and

without giving him time to renew the

conversation; I hastily quitted the room;

leaving him in a paroxysm of rage and

mortification。 As I ascended the stairs;

I heard him open the parlour…door with

violence; and take two or three rapid strides

in the direction in which I was moving。 I

was now much frightened; and ran the

whole way until I reached my room; and

having locked the door; I listened breathlessly;

but heard no sound。 This relieved

me for the present; but so much had I

been overcome by the agitation and annoyance

attendant upon the scene which I had

just gone through; that when my cousin

Emily knocked at my door; I was weeping

in strong hysterics。



You will readily conceive my distress;

when you reflect upon my strong dislike to

my cousin Edward; combined with my

youth and extreme inexperience。 Any

proposal of such a nature must have

agitated me; but that it should have come

from the man whom of all others I most

loathed and abhorred; and to whom I had;

as clearly as manner could do it; expressed

the state of my feelings; was almost too

overwhelming to be borne。 It was a calamity;

too; in which I could not claim the sym…

pathy of my cousin Emily; which had

always been extended to me in my minor

grievances。 Still I hoped that it might

not be unattended with good; for I

thought that one inevitable and most

welcome consequence would result from

this painful eclaircissment; in the

discontinuance of my cousin's odious

persecution。



When I arose next morning; it was with

the fervent hope that I might never again

behold the face; or even hear the name; of

my cousin Edward; but such a consummation;

though devoutly to be wished; was

hardly likely to occur。 The painful

impressions of yesterday were too vivid to

be at once erased; and I could not help

feeling some dim foreboding of coming

annoyance and evil。



To expect on my cousin's part anything

like delicacy or consideration for me; was

out of the question。 I saw that he had

set his heart upon my property; and that

he was not likely easily to forego such an

acquisitionpossessing what might have

been considered opportunities and facilities

almost to compel my compliance。



I now keenly felt the unreasonableness

of my father's conduct in placing me to

reside with a family of all whose members;

with one exception; he was wholly

ignorant; and I bitterly felt the helplessness

of my situation。 I determined; however;

in case of my cousin's persevering in

his addresses; to lay all the particulars

before my uncle; although he had never in

kindness or intimacy gone a step beyond

our first interview; and to throw myself

upon his hospitality and his sense of honour

for protection against a repetition of such

scenes。



My cousin's conduct may appear to have

been an inadequate cause for such serious

uneasiness; but my alarm was caused

neither by his acts nor words; but entirely

by his manner; which was strange and even

intimidating to excess。 At the beginning

of the yesterday's interview there was a

sort of bullying swagger in his air; which

towards the end gave place to the brutal

vehemence of an undisguised ruffiana

transition which had tempted me into a belief

that he might seek even forcibly to extort

from me a consent to his wishes; or by

means still more horrible; of which I

scarcely dared to trust myself to think;

to possess himself of my property。



I was early next day summoned to attend

my uncle in his private room; which lay in

a corner turret of the old building; and

thither I accordingly went; wondering all

the way what this unusual measure might

prelude。 When I entered the room; he

did not rise in his usual courteous way to

greet me; but simply pointed to a chair

opposite to his own。 This boded nothing

agreeable。 I sat down; however; silently

waiting until he should open the conversation。



'Lady Margaret;' at length he said; in a

tone of greater sternness than I thought

him capable of using; 'I have hitherto

spoken to you as a friend; but I have not

forgotten that I am also your guardian;

and that my authority as such gives me a

right to control your conduct。 I shall

put a question to you; and I expect and

will demand a plain; direct answer。 Have

I rightly been informed that you have con…

temptuously rejected the suit and hand of

my son Edward?'



I stammered forth with a good deal of

trepidation:



'I believethat is; I have; sir; rejected

my cousin's proposals; and my coldness

and discouragement might have

convinced hi

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