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第121章

[夜与日].(night.and.day).(英)弗吉尼亚·伍尔芙.文字版-第121章


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precisely it was。 

“I find Cassandra;” she repeated。 

“She missed her train;” Katharine interposed; seeing 
that Cassandra was unable to speak。 

“Life;” began Mrs。 Hilbery; drawing inspiration from the 
portraits on the wall apparently; “consists in missing trains 
and in finding—” But she pulled herself up and remarked 
that the kettle must have boiled pletely over everything。 


To Katharine’s agitated mind it appeared that this kettle 
was an enormous kettle; capable of deluging the house 
in its incessant showers of steam; the enraged representative 
of all those household duties which she had neglected。 
She ran hastily up to the drawingroom; and the 
rest followed her; for Mrs。 Hilbery put her arm round 
Cassandra and drew her upstairs。 They found Rodney ob


serving the kettle with uneasiness but with such absence 
of mind that Katharine’s catastrophe was in a fair way to 
be fulfilled。 In putting the matter straight no greetings 
were exchanged; but Rodney and Cassandra chose seats 
as far apart as possible; and sat down with an air of 
people making a very temporary lodgment。 Either Mrs。 
Hilbery was impervious to their disfort; or chose to 
ignore it; or thought it high time that the subject was 
changed; for she did nothing but talk about Shakespeare’s 
tomb。 

“So much earth and so much water and that sublime 
spirit brooding over it all;” she mused; and went on to 
sing her strange; halfearthly song of dawns and sunsets; 
of great poets; and the unchanged spirit of noble loving 
which they had taught; so that nothing changes; and 
one age is linked with another; and no one dies; and we 
all meet in spirit; until she appeared oblivious of any one 
in the room。 But suddenly her remarks seemed to contract 
the enormously wide circle in which they were soaring 
and to alight; airily and temporarily; upon matters of 
more immediate moment。 

432 



Virginia Woolf 

“Katharine and Ralph;” she said; as if to try the sound。 
“William and Cassandra。” 

“I feel myself in an entirely false position;” said William 
desperately; thrusting himself into this breach in her 
reflections。 “I’ve no right to be sitting here。 Mr。 Hilbery 
told me yesterday to leave the house。 I’d no intention of 
ing back again。 I shall now—” 

“I feel the same too;” Cassandra interrupted。 “After what 
Uncle Trevor said to me last night—” 

“I have put you into a most odious position;” Rodney 
went on; rising from his seat; in which movement he was 
imitated simultaneously by Cassandra。 “Until I have your 
father’s consent I have no right to speak to you—let 
alone in this house; where my conduct”—he looked at 
Katharine; stammered; and fell silent—”where my conduct 
has been reprehensible and inexcusable in the extreme;” 
he forced himself to continue。 “I have explained 
everything to your mother。 She is so generous as to try 
and make me believe that I have done no harm—you 
have convinced her that my behavior; selfish and weak as 
it was—selfish and weak—” he repeated; like a speaker 

who has lost his notes。 

Two emotions seemed to be struggling in Katharine; 
one the desire to laugh at the ridiculous spectacle of 
William making her a formal speech across the teatable; 
the other a desire to weep at the sight of something 
childlike and honest in him which touched her inexpressibly。 
To every one’s surprise she rose; stretched out her 
hand; and said: 

“You’ve nothing to reproach yourself with—you’ve been 
always—” but here her voice died away; and the tears 
forced themselves into her eyes; and ran down her cheeks; 
while William; equally moved; seized her hand and pressed 
it to his lips。 No one perceived that the drawingroom 
door had opened itself sufficiently to admit at least half 
the person of Mr。 Hilbery; or saw him gaze at the scene 
round the teatable with an expression of the utmost 
disgust and expostulation。 He withdrew unseen。 He paused 
outside on the landing trying to recover his selfcontrol 
and to decide what course he might with most dignity 
pursue。 It was obvious to him that his wife had entirely 
confused the meaning of his instructions。 She had plunged 

433 



Night and Day 

them all into the most odious confusion。 He waited a 
moment; and then; with much preliminary rattling of the 
handle; opened the door a second time。 They had all regained 
their places; some incident of an absurd nature 
had now set them laughing and looking under the table; 
so that his entrance passed momentarily unperceived。 
Katharine; with flushed cheeks; raised her head and said: 

“Well; that’s my last attempt at the dramatic。” 

“It’s astonishing what a distance they roll;” said Ralph; 
stooping to turn up the corner of the hearthrug。 

“Don’t trouble—don’t bother。 We shall find it—” Mrs。 
Hilbery began; and then saw her husband and exclaimed: 
“Oh; Trevor; we’re looking for Cassandra’s engagement
ring!” 

Mr。 Hilbery looked instinctively at the carpet。 Remarkably 
enough; the ring had rolled to the very point where 
he stood。 He saw the rubies touching the tip of his boot。 
Such is the force of habit that he could not refrain from 
stooping; with an absurd little thrill of pleasure at being 
the one to find what others were looking for; and; picking 
the ring up; he presented it; with a bow that was 

courtly in the extreme; to Cassandra。 Whether the making 
of a bow released automatically feelings of plaisance 
and urbanity; Mr。 Hilbery found his resentment pletely 
washed away during the second in which he bent and 
straightened himself。 Cassandra dared to offer her cheek 
and received his embrace。 He nodded with some degree 
of stiffness to Rodney and Denham; who had both risen 
upon seeing him; and now altogether sat down。 Mrs。 
Hilbery seemed to have been waiting for the entrance of 
her husband; and for this precise moment in order to put 
to him a question which; from the ardor with which she 
announced it; had evidently been pressing for utterance 
for some time past。 

“Oh; Trevor; please tell me; what was the date of the 
first performance of ‘Hamlet’?” 

In order to answer her Mr。 Hilbery had to have recourse 
to the exact scholarship of William Rodney; and before he 
had given his excellent authorities for believing as he 
believed; Rodney felt himself admitted once more to the 
society of the civilized and sanctioned by the authority 
of no less a person than Shakespeare himself。 The power 

434 



Virginia Woolf 

of literature; which had temporarily deserted Mr。 Hilbery; 
now came back to him; pouring over the raw ugliness of 
human affairs its soothing balm; and providing a form 
into which such passions as he had felt so painfully the 
night before could be molded so that they fell roundly 
from the tongue in shapely phrases; hurting nobody。 He 
was sufficiently sure of his mand of language at length 
to look at Katharine and again at Denham。 All this talk 
about Shakespeare had acted as a soporific; or rather as 
an incantation upon Katharine。 She leaned back in her 
chair at the head of the teatable; perfectly silent; looking 
vaguely past them all; receiving the most generalized 
ideas of human heads against pictures; against yellow
tinted walls; against curtains of deep crimson velvet。 
Denham; to whom he turned next; shared her immobility 
under his gaze。 But beneath his restraint and calm it was 
possible to detect a resolution; a will; set now with unalterable 
tenacity; which made such turns of speech as Mr。 
Hilbery had at mand appear oddly irrelevant。 At any 
rate; he said nothing。 He respected the young man; he 
was a very able young man; he was likely to get his own 

way。 He could; he thought; looking at his still and very 
dignified head; understand Katharine’s preference; and; 
as he thought this; he was surprised by a pang of acute 
jealousy。 She might have married Rodney without causing 
him a twinge。 This man she loved。 Or what was the 
state of affairs between them? An extraordinary confusion 
of emotion was beginning to get the better of him; 

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