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(单词翻译:双击或拖选)
CHAPTER 5
The Jackal
THOSE were drinking days, and moot1 men drank hard. So very great is the improvement Time has brought about in such habits, that a moderate statement of the quantity of wine and punch which one man would swallow in the course of a night, without any detriment2 to his reputation as a perfect gentleman, would seem, in these days, a ridiculous exaggeration. The learned profession of the law was certainly not behind any other learned profession in its Bacchanalian3 Propensities4; neither was Mr. Stryver, already fast shouldering his way to a large and lucrative5 practice, behind his compeers in this particular, any more than in the drier parts of the legal race.
A favourite at the Old Bailey, and eke6 at the Sessions, Mr. Stryver had begun cautiously to hew7 away the lower staves of the ladder on which he mounted. Sessions and Old Bailey had now to summon their favourite, specially8, to their longing9 arms; and shouldering itself towards the visage of the Lord Chief Justice in the Court of King's Bench, the florid countenance10 of Mr. Stryver might be daily seen, bursting out of the bed of wigs11, like a great sunflower pushing its way at the sun from among a rank garden full of flaring12 companions.
ad once been noted13 at the Bar, that while Mr. Stryver was a glib14 man, and an unscrupulous, and a ready, and a bold, he had not that faculty15 of extracting the essence from a heap of statements, which is among the most striking and necessary of the advocate's accomplishments16. But a remarkable17 improvement came upon him as to this. The more business he got, the greater his power seemed to grow of getting at its pith and marrow18; and however late at night he sat carousing19 with Sydney Carton, he always had his points at his fingers' ends in the morning.
Sydney Carton, idlest and most unpromising of men, was Stryver's great ally. What the two drank together, between Hilary Term and Michaelmas, might have floated a king's ship. Stryver never had a case in hand, anywhere, but Carton was there, with his hands in his pockets, staring at the ceiling of the court; they went the same Circuit, and even there they prolonged their usual orgies late into the night, and Carton was rumoured20 to be seen at broad day, going home stealthily and unsteadily to his lodgings21, like a dissipated cat. At last, it began to get about, among such as were interested in the matter, that although Sydney Carton would never be a lion, he was an amazingly good jackal, and that he rendered suit and service to Stryver in that humble22 capacity.
`Ten o'clock, sir,' said the man at the tavern23, whom he had charged to wake him--'ten o'clock, sir.'
`What's the matter?'
`Ten o'clock, sir.'
`What do you mean? Ten o'clock at night?'
`Yes, sir. Your honour told me to call you.'
`Oh! I remember. Very well, very well.'
After a few dull efforts to get to sleep again, which the man dexterously24 combated by stirring the fire continuously for five minutes, he got up, tossed his hat on, and walked out. He turned into the Temple, and, having revived himself by twice pacing the pavements of King's Bench-walk and Paper-buildings, turned into the Stryver chambers26.
The Stryver clerk, who never assisted at these conferences, had gone home, and the Stryver principal opened the door. He had his slippers27 on, and a loose bed-gown, and his throat was bare for his greater ease. He had that rather wild, strained, seared marking about the eyes, which may be observed in all free livers of his class, from the portrait of Jeffries downward, and which can be traced, under various disguises of Art, through the portraits of every Drinking Age.
`You are a little late, Memory,' said Stryver.
`About the usual time; it may be a quarter of an hour later.'
They went into a dingy28 room lined with books and littered with papers, where there was a blazing fire. A kettle steamed upon the hob, and in the midst of the wreck29 of papers a table shone, with plenty of wine upon it, and brandy, and rum, and sugar, and lemons.
`You have had your bottle, I perceive, Sydney.'
`Two to-night, I think. I have been dining with the day's client; or seeing him dine--it's all one!'
`That was a rare point, Sydney, that you brought to bear upon the identification. How did you come by it? When did it strike you?'
`I thought he was rather a handsome fellow, and I thought I should have been much the same sort of fellow, if I had had any luck.'
Mr. Stryver laughed till he shook his precocious30 paunch.
`You and your luck, Sydney! Get to work, get to work.' Sullenly31 enough, the jackal loosened his dress, went into an adjoining room, and came back with a large jug32 of cold water, a basin, and a towel or two. Steeping the towels in the water, and partially33 wringing34 them out, he folded them on his head in a manner hideous35 to behold36, sat down at the table, and said, `Now I am ready!'
`Not much boiling down to be done to-night, Memory,' said Mr. Stryver, gaily37, as he looked among his papers.
`How much?'
`Only two sets of them.'
`Give me the worst first.'
`There they are, Sydney. Fire away!'
The lion then composed himself on his back on a sofa on one side of the drinking-table, while the jackal sat at his own Paper bestrewn table proper, on the other side of it, with the bottles and glasses ready to his hand. Both resorted to the drinking-table without stint38, but each in a different way; the lion for the most part reclining with his hands in his waistband, looking at the fire, or occasionally flirting39 with some lighter40 document; the jackal, with knitted brows and intent face, so deep in his task, that his eyes did not even follow the hand he stretched out for his glass--which often groped about, for a minute or more, before it found the glass for his lips. Two or three times, the matter in hand became so knotty41, that the jackal found it imperative42 on him to get up, and steep his towels anew. From these pilgrimages to the jug and basin, he returned with such eccentricities43 of damp headgear as no words can describe; which were made the more ludicrous by his anxious gravity.
At length the jackal had got together a compact repast for the lion, and proceeded to offer it to him. The lion took it with care and caution, made his selections from it, and his remarks upon it, and the jackal assisted both. When the repast was fully44 discussed, the lion put his hands in his waistband again, and lay down to meditate45. The jackal then invigorated himself with a bumper46 for his throttle47, and a fresh application to his head, and applied48 himself to the collection of a second meal; this was administered to the lion in the same manner, and was not disposed of until the clocks struck three in the morning.
`And now we have done, Sydney, fill a bumper of punch,' said Mr. Stryver.
The jackal removed the towels from his head, which had been steaming again, shook himself, yawned, shivered, and complied.
`You were very sound, Sydney, in the matter of those crown witnesses to-day. Every question told.'
`I always am sound; am I not?'
`I don't gainsay49 it. What has roughen'ed your temper? Put some punch to it and smooth it again.
With a deprecatory grunt50, the jackal again complied.
`The old Sydney Carton of old Shrewsbury School,' said Stryver, nodding his head over him as he reviewed him in the present and the past, `the old seesaw51 Sydney. Up one minute and down the next; now in spirits and now in despondency!'
`Ah!' returned the other, sighing: `yes! The same Sydney, with the same luck. Even then, I did exercises for other boys, and seldom did my own.'
`And why not?' `God knows. It was my way, I suppose.'
He sat, with his hands in his pockets and his legs stretched out before him, looking at the fire.
`Carton,' said his friend, squaring himself at him with a bullying52 air, as if the fire-grate had been the furnace in which sustained endeavour was forged, and the one delicate thing to be done for the old Sydney Carton of old Shrewsbury School was to shoulder him into it, `your way is, and always was, a lame53 way. You summon no energy and purpose. Look at me.
`Oh, botheration!' returned Sydney, with a lighter and more good-humoured laugh, `don't *you be moral!'
`How have I done what I have done?' said Stryver; `how do I do what I do?'
`Partly through paying me to help you, I suppose. But it's not worth your while to apostrophise me, or the air, about it; what you want to do, you do. You were always in the front rank, and I was always behind.'
`I had to get into the front rank; I was not born there, was I?'
`I was not present at the ceremony; but my opinion is you were,' said Carton. At this, he laughed again, and they both laughed.
`Before Shrewsbury, and at Shrewsbury, and ever since Shrewsbury,' pursued Carton, `you have fallen into your rank, and I have fallen into mine. Even when we were fellow students in the Student-Quarter of Paris, picking up French, and French law, and other French crumbs54 that we didn't get much good of, you were always somewhere, and I was always--nowhere.'
`And whose fault was that?'
`Upon my soul, I am not sure that it was not yours. You were always driving and riving and shouldering and pressing, to that restless degree that I had no chance for my life but in rust55 and repose56. It's a gloomy thing, however, to talk about one's Own past, with the day breaking. Turn me in some other direction before I go.'
`Well then! Pledge me to the pretty witness,' said Stryver, holding up his glass. `Are you turned in a pleasant direction?'
Apparently57 not, for he became gloomy again.
`Pretty witness,' he muttered, looking down into his glass. `I have had enough of witnesses to-day and to-night; who's your pretty witness?'
`The picturesque58 doctor's daughter, Miss Manette.'
`She pretty?'
`Is she not?'
`No.'
`Why, man alive, she was the admiration59 of the whole Court!'
`Rot the admiration of the whole Court! Who made the Old Bailey a judge of beauty? She was a golden-haired doll!'
`Do you know, Sydney,' said Mr. Stryver, looking at him with sharp eyes, and slowly drawing a hand across his florid face: `do you know, I rather thought, at the time, that you sympathised with the golden-haired doll, and were quick to see what= happened to the golden-haired doll?'
`Quick to see what happened! If a girl, doll or no doll, swoons within a yard or two of a man's nose, he can see it without a perspective-glass. I pledge you, but I deny the beauty. And now I'll have no more drink; I'll get to bed.'
When his host followed him out on the staircase with a candle, to light him down the stairs, the day was coldly looking in through its grimy windows. When he got out of the house, the air was cold and sad, the dull sky overcast60, the river dark and dim, the whole scene like a lifeless desert. And wreaths of dust were spinning round and round before the morning blast, as if the desert-sand had risen far away, and the first spray of it in its advance had begun to overwhelm the city.
Waste forces within him, and a desert' all around, this man stood still on his way across a silent terrace, and saw for a moment, lying in the wilderness61 before him, a mirage62 of honourable63 ambition, self-denial, and perseverance64. In the fair city of this vision, there were airy galleries from which the loves and graces looked upon him, gardens in which the fruits of life hung ripening65, waters of Hope that sparkled in his sight. A moment, and it was gone. Climbing to a high chamber25 in a well of houses, he threw himself down in his clothes on a neglected bed, and its pillow was wet with wasted tears.
Sadly, sadly, the sun rose; it rose upon no sadder sight than the man of good abilities and good emotions, incapable66 of their directed exercise, incapable of his own help and his own happiness, sensible of the blight67 on him, and resigning him-self to let it cat him away.
收听单词发音 |
1
moot
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| v.提出；adj.未决议的；n.大会；辩论会 | |
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detriment
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| n.损害；损害物，造成损害的根源 | |
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bacchanalian
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| adj.闹酒狂饮的；n.发酒疯的人 | |
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propensities
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| n.倾向，习性( propensity的名词复数 ) | |
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lucrative
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| adj.赚钱的，可获利的 | |
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eke
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| v.勉强度日，节约使用 | |
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hew
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| v.砍；伐；削 | |
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specially
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| adv.特定地；特殊地；明确地 | |
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longing
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| n.（for）渴望 | |
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countenance
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| n.脸色，面容；面部表情；vt.支持，赞同 | |
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wigs
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| n.假发，法官帽( wig的名词复数 ) | |
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flaring
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| a.火焰摇曳的，过份艳丽的 | |
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noted
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| adj.著名的，知名的 | |
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glib
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| adj.圆滑的，油嘴滑舌的 | |
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faculty
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| n.才能；学院，系；(学院或系的)全体教学人员 | |
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accomplishments
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| n.造诣；完成( accomplishment的名词复数 )；技能；成绩；成就 | |
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remarkable
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| adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的 | |
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marrow
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| n.骨髓；精华；活力 | |
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carousing
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| v.痛饮，闹饮欢宴( carouse的现在分词 ) | |
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rumoured
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| adj.谣传的；传说的；风 | |
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lodgings
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| n. 出租的房舍, 寄宿舍 | |
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humble
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| adj.谦卑的，恭顺的；地位低下的；v.降低，贬低 | |
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tavern
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| n.小旅馆，客栈；小酒店 | |
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dexterously
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| adv.巧妙地，敏捷地 | |
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chamber
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| n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所 | |
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chambers
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| n.房间( chamber的名词复数 )；（议会的）议院；卧室；会议厅 | |
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slippers
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| n. 拖鞋 | |
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dingy
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| adj.昏暗的，肮脏的 | |
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wreck
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| n.失事，遇难；沉船；vt.(船等)失事，遇难 | |
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precocious
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| adj.早熟的；较早显出的 | |
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sullenly
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| 不高兴地，绷着脸，忧郁地 | |
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jug
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| n.(有柄，小口，可盛水等的)大壶，罐，盂 | |
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partially
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| adv.部分地，从某些方面讲 | |
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wringing
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| 淋湿的，湿透的 | |
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hideous
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| adj.丑陋的，可憎的，可怕的，恐怖的 | |
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behold
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| v.看，注视，看到 | |
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gaily
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| adv.欢乐地，高兴地 | |
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stint
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| v.节省，限制，停止；n.舍不得化，节约，限制；连续不断的一段时间从事某件事 | |
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flirting
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| v.调情，打情骂俏( flirt的现在分词 ) | |
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lighter
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| n.打火机，点火器；驳船；v.用驳船运送；light的比较级 | |
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knotty
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| adj.有结的，多节的，多瘤的，棘手的 | |
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imperative
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| n.命令，需要；规则；祈使语气；adj.强制的；紧急的 | |
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eccentricities
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| n.古怪行为( eccentricity的名词复数 )；反常；怪癖 | |
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fully
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| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
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meditate
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| v.想，考虑，（尤指宗教上的）沉思，冥想 | |
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bumper
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| n.(汽车上的)保险杠；adj.特大的，丰盛的 | |
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throttle
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| n.节流阀，节气阀，喉咙；v.扼喉咙，使窒息，压 | |
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applied
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| adj.应用的；v.应用，适用 | |
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gainsay
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| v.否认，反驳 | |
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50
grunt
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| v.嘟哝；作呼噜声；n.呼噜声，嘟哝 | |
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seesaw
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| n.跷跷板 | |
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52
bullying
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| v.恐吓，威逼( bully的现在分词 )；豪；跋扈 | |
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lame
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| adj.跛的，(辩解、论据等)无说服力的 | |
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54
crumbs
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| int. (表示惊讶)哎呀 n. 碎屑 名词crumb的复数形式 | |
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55
rust
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| n.锈；v.生锈；(脑子)衰退 | |
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repose
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| v.(使)休息；n.安息 | |
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apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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picturesque
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| adj.美丽如画的，（语言）生动的，绘声绘色的 | |
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59
admiration
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| n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕 | |
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60
overcast
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| adj.阴天的，阴暗的，愁闷的；v.遮盖，（使）变暗，包边缝；n.覆盖，阴天 | |
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61
wilderness
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| n.杳无人烟的一片陆地、水等，荒漠 | |
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mirage
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| n.海市蜃楼，幻景 | |
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honourable
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| adj.可敬的；荣誉的，光荣的 | |
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perseverance
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| n.坚持不懈，不屈不挠 | |
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ripening
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| v.成熟，使熟( ripen的现在分词 )；熟化；熟成 | |
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incapable
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| adj.无能力的，不能做某事的 | |
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blight
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| n.枯萎病；造成破坏的因素；vt.破坏，摧残 | |
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