神鸟电子书 > 文学名著电子书 > [夜与日].(night.and.day).(英)弗吉尼亚·伍尔芙.文字版 >

第28部分

[夜与日].(night.and.day).(英)弗吉尼亚·伍尔芙.文字版-第28部分


按键盘上方向键 ← 或 → 可快速上下翻页,按键盘上的 Enter 键可回到本书目录页,按键盘上方向键 ↑ 可回到本页顶部!
————未阅读完?加入书签已便下次继续阅读!




“They must have been good friends at heart;” she resumed; 
“because she used to sing his songs。 Ah; how did 
it go?” and Mrs。 Hilbery; who had a very sweet voice; 
trolled out a famous lyric of her father’s which had been 
set to an absurdly and charmingly sentimental air by some 
early Victorian poser。 

“It’s the vitality of them!” she concluded; striking her 
fist against the table。 “That’s what we haven’t got! We’re 
virtuous; we’re earnest; we go to meetings; we pay the 
poor their wages; but we don’t live as they lived。 As often 
as not; my father wasn’t in bed three nights out of the 
seven; but always fresh as paint in the morning。 I hear 
him now; e singing up the stairs to the nursery; and 
tossing the loaf for breakfast on his swordstick; and then 
off we went for a day’s pleasuring—Richmond; Hampton 
Court; the Surrey Hills。 Why shouldn’t we go; Katharine? 
It’s going to be a fine day。” 

At this moment; just as Mrs。 Hilbery was examining the 
weather from the window; there was a knock at the door。 

99 



Night and Day 

A slight; elderly lady came in; and was saluted by 
Katharine; with very evident dismay; as “Aunt Celia!” She 
was dismayed because she guessed why Aunt Celia had 
e。 It was certainly in order to discuss the case of Cyril 
and the woman who was not his wife; and owing to her 
procrastination Mrs。 Hilbery was quite unprepared。 Who 
could be more unprepared? Here she was; suggesting that 
all three of them should go on a jaunt to Blackfriars to 
inspect the site of Shakespeare’s theater; for the weather 
was hardly settled enough for the country。 

To this proposal Mrs。 Milvain listened with a patient 
smile; which indicated that for many years she had accepted 
such eccentricities in her sisterinlaw with bland 
philosophy。 Katharine took up her position at some distance; 
standing with her foot on the fender; as though by 
so doing she could get a better view of the matter。 But; 
in spite of her aunt’s presence; how unreal the whole 
question of Cyril and his morality appeared! The difficulty; 
it now seemed; was not to break the news gently to 
Mrs。 Hilbery; but to make her understand it。 How was one 
to lasso her mind; and tether it to this minute; unimpor


tant spot? A matteroffact statement seemed best。 

“I think Aunt Celia has e to talk about Cyril; mother;” 
she said rather brutally。 “Aunt Celia has discovered that 
Cyril is married。 He has a wife and children。” 

“No; he is not married;” Mrs。 Milvain interposed; in low 
tones; addressing herself to Mrs。 Hilbery。 “He has two 
children; and another on the way。” 

Mrs。 Hilbery looked from one to the other in bewilderment。 


“We thought it better to wait until it was proved before 
we told you;” Katharine added。 

“But I met Cyril only a fortnight ago at the National 
Gallery!” Mrs。 Hilbery exclaimed。 “I don’t believe a word 
of it;” and she tossed her head with a smile on her lips at 
Mrs。 Milvain; as though she could quite understand her 
mistake; which was a very natural mistake; in the case of 
a childless woman; whose husband was something very 
dull in the Board of Trade。 

“I didn’t wish to believe it; Maggie;” said Mrs。 Milvain。 
“For a long time I couldn’t believe it。 But now I’ve seen; 
and I have to believe it。” 

100 



Virginia Woolf 

“Katharine;” Mrs。 Hilbery demanded; “does your father 
know of this?” 

Katharine nodded。 

“Cyril married!” Mrs。 Hilbery repeated。 “And never telling 
us a word; though we’ve had him in our house since he was 
a child—noble William’s son! I can’t believe my ears!” 

Feeling that the burden of proof was laid upon her; Mrs。 
Milvain now proceeded with her story。 She was elderly 
and fragile; but her childlessness seemed always to impose 
these painful duties on her; and to revere the family; 
and to keep it in repair; had now bee the chief 
object of her life。 She told her story in a low; spasmodic; 
and somewhat broken voice。 

“I have suspected for some time that he was not happy。 
There were new lines on his face。 So I went to his rooms; 
when I knew he was engaged at the poor men’s college。 
He lectures there—Roman law; you know; or it may be 
Greek。 The landlady said Mr。 Alardyce only slept there 
about once a fortnight now。 He looked so ill; she said。 
She had seen him with a young person。 I suspected something 
directly。 I went to his room; and there was an en


velope on the mantelpiece; and a letter with an address 
in Seton Street; off the Kennington Road。” 

Mrs。 Hilbery fidgeted rather restlessly; and hummed fragments 
of her tune; as if to interrupt。 

“I went to Seton Street;” Aunt Celia continued firmly。 
“A very low place—lodginghouses; you know; with canaries 
in the window。 Number seven just like all the others。 
I rang; I knocked; no one came。 I went down the 
area。 I am certain I saw some one inside—children—a 
cradle。 But no reply—no reply。” She sighed; and looked 
straight in front of her with a glazed expression in her 
halfveiled blue eyes。 

“I stood in the street;” she resumed; “in case I could 
catch a sight of one of them。 It seemed a very long time。 
There were rough men singing in the publichouse round 
the corner。 At last the door opened; and some one—it 
must have been the woman herself—came right past me。 
There was only the pillarbox between us。” 

“And what did she look like?” Mrs。 Hilbery demanded。 

“One could see how the poor boy had been deluded;” was 
all that Mrs。 Milvain vouchsafed by way of description。 

101 



Night and Day 

“Poor thing!” Mrs。 Hilbery exclaimed。 

“Poor Cyril!” Mrs。 Milvain said; laying a slight emphasis 
upon Cyril。 

“But they’ve got nothing to live upon;” Mrs。 Hilbery 
continued。 “If he’d e to us like a man;” she went on; 
“and said; ‘I’ve been a fool;’ one would have pitied him; 
one would have tried to help him。 There’s nothing so 
disgraceful after all— But he’s been going about all these 
years; pretending; letting one take it for granted; that he 
was single。 And the poor deserted little wife—” 

“She is not his wife;” Aunt Celia interrupted。 

“I’ve never heard anything so detestable!” Mrs。 Hilbery 
wound up; striking her fist on the arm of her chair。 As she 
realized the facts she became thoroughly disgusted; although; 
perhaps; she was more hurt by the concealment 
of the sin than by the sin itself。 She looked splendidly 
roused and indignant; and Katharine felt an immense relief 
and pride in her mother。 It was plain that her indignation 
was very genuine; and that her mind was as perfectly 
focused upon the facts as any one could wish— 
more so; by a long way; than Aunt Celia’s mind; which 

seemed to be timidly circling; with a morbid pleasure; in 
these unpleasant shades。 She and her mother together 
would take the situation in hand; visit Cyril; and see the 
whole thing through。 

“We must realize Cyril’s point of view first;” she said; 
speaking directly to her mother; as if to a contemporary; 
but before the words were out of her mouth; there was 
more confusion outside; and Cousin Caroline; Mrs。 Hilbery’s 
maiden cousin; entered the room。 Although she was by 
birth an Alardyce; and Aunt Celia a Hilbery; the plexities 
of the family relationship were such that each was at 
once first and second cousin to the other; and thus aunt 
and cousin to the culprit Cyril; so that his misbehavior 
was almost as much Cousin Caroline’s affair as Aunt Celia’s。 
Cousin Caroline was a lady of very imposing height and 
circumference; but in spite of her size and her handsome 
trappings; there was something exposed and unsheltered 
in her expression; as if for many summers her thin red 
skin and hooked nose and reduplication of chins; so much 
resembling the profile of a cockatoo; had been bared to 
the weather; she was; indeed; a single lady; but she had; 

102 



Virginia Woolf 

it was the habit to say; “made a life for herself;” and was 
thus entitled to be heard with respect。 

“This unhappy business;” she began; out

返回目录 上一页 下一页 回到顶部 0 0

你可能喜欢的