Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë, CHAPTER XVIII

CHAPTER XVIII

Merry days were these at Thornfield Hall; and busy days too: how different from the first three months of stillness, monotony, and solitude I had passed beneath its roof! All sad feelings seemed now driven from the house, all gloomy associations forgotten: there was life everywhere, movement all day long. You could not now traverse the gallery, once so hushed, nor enter the front chambers, once so tenantless, without encountering a smart lady's-maid or a dandy valet. The kitchen, the butler's pantry, the servants' hall, the entrance hall, were equally alive; and the saloons were only left void and still when the blue sky and halcyon sunshine of the genial spring weather called their occupants out into the grounds. Even when that weather was broken, and continuous rain set in for some days, no damp seemed cast over enjoyment: indoor amusements only became more lively and varied, in consequence of the stop put to outdoor gaiety. I wondered what they were going to do the first evening a change of entertainment was proposed: they spoke of “playing charades,” but in my ignorance I did not understand the term. The servants were called in, the dining-room tables wheeled away, the lights otherwise disposed, the chairs placed in a semicircle opposite the arch. While Mr. Rochester and the other gentlemen directed these alterations, the ladies were running up and down stairs ringing for their maids. Mrs. Fairfax was summoned to give information respecting the resources of the house in shawls, dresses, draperies of any kind; and certain wardrobes of the third storey were ransacked, and their contents, in the shape of brocaded and hooped petticoats, satin sacques, black modes, lace lappets, &c., were brought down in armfuls by the abigails; then a selection was made, and such things as were chosen were carried to the boudoir within the drawing-room. Meantime, Mr. Rochester had again summoned the ladies round him, and was selecting certain of their number to be of his party. “Miss Ingram is mine, of course,” said he: afterwards he named the two Misses Eshton, and Mrs. Dent. He looked at me: I happened to be near him, as I had been fastening the clasp of Mrs. Dent's bracelet, which had got loose. “Will you play?” he asked.

I shook my head. He did not insist, which I rather feared he would have done; he allowed me to return quietly to my usual seat. He and his aids now withdrew behind the curtain: the other party, which was headed by Colonel Dent, sat down on the crescent of chairs. One of the gentlemen, Mr. Eshton, observing me, seemed to propose that I should be asked to join them; but Lady Ingram instantly negatived the notion. “No,” I heard her say: “she looks too stupid for any game of the sort.”

Ere long a bell tinkled, and the curtain drew up.

Its second rising displayed a more elaborately prepared scene than the last. The drawing-room, as I have before observed, was raised two steps above the dining-room, and on the top of the upper step, placed a yard or two back within the room, appeared a large marble basin—which I recognised as an ornament of the conservatory—where it usually stood, surrounded by exotics, and tenanted by gold fish—and whence it must have been transported with some trouble, on account of its size and weight. Seated on the carpet, by the side of this basin, was seen Mr. Rochester, costumed in shawls, with a turban on his head. His dark eyes and swarthy skin and Paynim features suited the costume exactly: he looked the very model of an Eastern emir, an agent or a victim of the bowstring. Presently advanced into view Miss Ingram. She, too, was attired in oriental fashion: a crimson scarf tied sash-like round the waist: an embroidered handkerchief knotted about her temples; her beautifully-moulded arms bare, one of them upraised in the act of supporting a pitcher, poised gracefully on her head. Both her cast of form and feature, her complexion and her general air, suggested the idea of some Israelitish princess of the patriarchal days; and such was doubtless the character she intended to represent. She approached the basin, and bent over it as if to fill her pitcher; she again lifted it to her head. The personage on the well-brink now seemed to accost her; to make some request:—“She hasted, let down her pitcher on her hand, and gave him to drink.” From the bosom of his robe he then produced a casket, opened it and showed magnificent bracelets and earrings; she acted astonishment and admiration; kneeling, he laid the treasure at her feet; incredulity and delight were expressed by her looks and gestures; the stranger fastened the bracelets on her arms and the rings in her ears. It was Eliezer and Rebecca: the camels only were wanting. The divining party again laid their heads together: apparently they could not agree about the word or syllable the scene illustrated. Colonel Dent, their spokesman, demanded “the tableau of the whole;” whereupon the curtain again descended. On its third rising only a portion of the drawing-room was disclosed; the rest being concealed by a screen, hung with some sort of dark and coarse drapery. The marble basin was removed; in its place, stood a deal table and a kitchen chair: these objects were visible by a very dim light proceeding from a horn lantern, the wax candles being all extinguished. Amidst this sordid scene, sat a man with his clenched hands resting on his knees, and his eyes bent on the ground. I knew Mr. Rochester; though the begrimed face, the disordered dress (his coat hanging loose from one arm, as if it had been almost torn from his back in a scuffle), the desperate and scowling countenance, the rough, bristling hair might well have disguised him. As he moved, a chain clanked; to his wrists were attached fetters. “Bridewell!” exclaimed Colonel Dent, and the charade was solved. A sufficient interval having elapsed for the performers to resume their ordinary costume, they re-entered the dining-room. Mr. Rochester led in Miss Ingram; she was complimenting him on his acting. “Do you know,” said she, “that, of the three characters, I liked you in the last best?

Oh, had you but lived a few years earlier, what a gallant gentleman-highwayman you would have made!” “Is all the soot washed from my face?” he asked, turning it towards her. “Alas!

yes: the more's the pity! Nothing could be more becoming to your complexion than that ruffian's rouge.” “You would like a hero of the road then?”

“An English hero of the road would be the next best thing to an Italian bandit; and that could only be surpassed by a Levantine pirate.” “Well, whatever I am, remember you are my wife; we were married an hour since, in the presence of all these witnesses.” She giggled, and her colour rose. “Now, Dent,” continued Mr. Rochester, “it is your turn.” And as the other party withdrew, he and his band took the vacated seats. Miss Ingram placed herself at her leader's right hand; the other diviners filled the chairs on each side of him and her. I did not now watch the actors; I no longer waited with interest for the curtain to rise; my attention was absorbed by the spectators; my eyes, erewhile fixed on the arch, were now irresistibly attracted to the semicircle of chairs. What charade Colonel Dent and his party played, what word they chose, how they acquitted themselves, I no longer remember; but I still see the consultation which followed each scene: I see Mr. Rochester turn to Miss Ingram, and Miss Ingram to him; I see her incline her head towards him, till the jetty curls almost touch his shoulder and wave against his cheek; I hear their mutual whisperings; I recall their interchanged glances; and something even of the feeling roused by the spectacle returns in memory at this moment. I have told you, reader, that I had learnt to love Mr. Rochester: I could not unlove him now, merely because I found that he had ceased to notice me—because I might pass hours in his presence, and he would never once turn his eyes in my direction—because I saw all his attentions appropriated by a great lady, who scorned to touch me with the hem of her robes as she passed; who, if ever her dark and imperious eye fell on me by chance, would withdraw it instantly as from an object too mean to merit observation. I could not unlove him, because I felt sure he would soon marry this very lady—because I read daily in her a proud security in his intentions respecting her—because I witnessed hourly in him a style of courtship which, if careless and choosing rather to be sought than to seek, was yet, in its very carelessness, captivating, and in its very pride, irresistible. There was nothing to cool or banish love in these circumstances, though much to create despair. Much too, you will think, reader, to engender jealousy: if a woman, in my position, could presume to be jealous of a woman in Miss Ingram's. But I was not jealous: or very rarely;—the nature of the pain I suffered could not be explained by that word. Miss Ingram was a mark beneath jealousy: she was too inferior to excite the feeling. Pardon the seeming paradox; I mean what I say. She was very showy, but she was not genuine: she had a fine person, many brilliant attainments; but her mind was poor, her heart barren by nature: nothing bloomed spontaneously on that soil; no unforced natural fruit delighted by its freshness. She was not good; she was not original: she used to repeat sounding phrases from books: she never offered, nor had, an opinion of her own. She advocated a high tone of sentiment; but she did not know the sensations of sympathy and pity; tenderness and truth were not in her. Too often she betrayed this, by the undue vent she gave to a spiteful antipathy she had conceived against little Adèle: pushing her away with some contumelious epithet if she happened to approach her; sometimes ordering her from the room, and always treating her with coldness and acrimony. Other eyes besides mine watched these manifestations of character—watched them closely, keenly, shrewdly. Yes; the future bridegroom, Mr. Rochester himself, exercised over his intended a ceaseless surveillance; and it was from this sagacity—this guardedness of his—this perfect, clear consciousness of his fair one's defects—this obvious absence of passion in his sentiments towards her, that my ever-torturing pain arose. I saw he was going to marry her, for family, perhaps political reasons, because her rank and connections suited him; I felt he had not given her his love, and that her qualifications were ill adapted to win from him that treasure. This was the point—this was where the nerve was touched and teased—this was where the fever was sustained and fed: she could not charm him . If she had managed the victory at once, and he had yielded and sincerely laid his heart at her feet, I should have covered my face, turned to the wall, and (figuratively) have died to them. If Miss Ingram had been a good and noble woman, endowed with force, fervour, kindness, sense, I should have had one vital struggle with two tigers—jealousy and despair: then, my heart torn out and devoured, I should have admired her—acknowledged her excellence, and been quiet for the rest of my days: and the more absolute her superiority, the deeper would have been my admiration—the more truly tranquil my quiescence. But as matters really stood, to watch Miss Ingram's efforts at fascinating Mr. Rochester, to witness their repeated failure—herself unconscious that they did fail; vainly fancying that each shaft launched hit the mark, and infatuatedly pluming herself on success, when her pride and self-complacency repelled further and further what she wished to allure—to witness this , was to be at once under ceaseless excitation and ruthless restraint. Because, when she failed, I saw how she might have succeeded. Arrows that continually glanced off from Mr. Rochester's breast and fell harmless at his feet, might, I knew, if shot by a surer hand, have quivered keen in his proud heart—have called love into his stern eye, and softness into his sardonic face; or, better still, without weapons a silent conquest might have been won. “Why can she not influence him more, when she is privileged to draw so near to him?” I asked myself. “Surely she cannot truly like him, or not like him with true affection! If she did, she need not coin her smiles so lavishly, flash her glances so unremittingly, manufacture airs so elaborate, graces so multitudinous. It seems to me that she might, by merely sitting quietly at his side, saying little and looking less, get nigher his heart. I have seen in his face a far different expression from that which hardens it now while she is so vivaciously accosting him; but then it came of itself: it was not elicited by meretricious arts and calculated manoeuvres; and one had but to accept it—to answer what he asked without pretension, to address him when needful without grimace—and it increased and grew kinder and more genial, and warmed one like a fostering sunbeam. How will she manage to please him when they are married? I do not think she will manage it; and yet it might be managed; and his wife might, I verily believe, be the very happiest woman the sun shines on.” I have not yet said anything condemnatory of Mr. Rochester's project of marrying for interest and connections. It surprised me when I first discovered that such was his intention: I had thought him a man unlikely to be influenced by motives so commonplace in his choice of a wife; but the longer I considered the position, education, &c., of the parties, the less I felt justified in judging and blaming either him or Miss Ingram for acting in conformity to ideas and principles instilled into them, doubtless, from their childhood. All their class held these principles: I supposed, then, they had reasons for holding them such as I could not fathom. It seemed to me that, were I a gentleman like him, I would take to my bosom only such a wife as I could love; but the very obviousness of the advantages to the husband's own happiness offered by this plan convinced me that there must be arguments against its general adoption of which I was quite ignorant: otherwise I felt sure all the world would act as I wished to act. But in other points, as well as this, I was growing very lenient to my master: I was forgetting all his faults, for which I had once kept a sharp look-out. It had formerly been my endeavour to study all sides of his character: to take the bad with the good; and from the just weighing of both, to form an equitable judgment. Now I saw no bad. The sarcasm that had repelled, the harshness that had startled me once, were only like keen condiments in a choice dish: their presence was pungent, but their absence would be felt as comparatively insipid. And as for the vague something—was it a sinister or a sorrowful, a designing or a desponding expression?—that opened upon a careful observer, now and then, in his eye, and closed again before one could fathom the strange depth partially disclosed; that something which used to make me fear and shrink, as if I had been wandering amongst volcanic-looking hills, and had suddenly felt the ground quiver and seen it gape: that something, I, at intervals, beheld still; and with throbbing heart, but not with palsied nerves. Instead of wishing to shun, I longed only to dare—to divine it; and I thought Miss Ingram happy, because one day she might look into the abyss at her leisure, explore its secrets and analyse their nature. Meantime, while I thought only of my master and his future bride—saw only them, heard only their discourse, and considered only their movements of importance—the rest of the party were occupied with their own separate interests and pleasures. The Ladies Lynn and Ingram continued to consort in solemn conferences, where they nodded their two turbans at each other, and held up their four hands in confronting gestures of surprise, or mystery, or horror, according to the theme on which their gossip ran, like a pair of magnified puppets. Mild Mrs. Dent talked with good-natured Mrs. Eshton; and the two sometimes bestowed a courteous word or smile on me. Sir George Lynn, Colonel Dent, and Mr. Eshton discussed politics, or county affairs, or justice business. Lord Ingram flirted with Amy Eshton; Louisa played and sang to and with one of the Messrs. Lynn; and Mary Ingram listened languidly to the gallant speeches of the other. Sometimes all, as with one consent, suspended their by-play to observe and listen to the principal actors: for, after all, Mr. Rochester and—because closely connected with him—Miss Ingram were the life and soul of the party. If he was absent from the room an hour, a perceptible dulness seemed to steal over the spirits of his guests; and his re-entrance was sure to give a fresh impulse to the vivacity of conversation. The want of his animating influence appeared to be peculiarly felt one day that he had been summoned to Millcote on business, and was not likely to return till late. The afternoon was wet: a walk the party had proposed to take to see a gipsy camp, lately pitched on a common beyond Hay, was consequently deferred. Some of the gentlemen were gone to the stables: the younger ones, together with the younger ladies, were playing billiards in the billiard-room. The dowagers Ingram and Lynn sought solace in a quiet game at cards. Blanche Ingram, after having repelled, by supercilious taciturnity, some efforts of Mrs. Dent and Mrs. Eshton to draw her into conversation, had first murmured over some sentimental tunes and airs on the piano, and then, having fetched a novel from the library, had flung herself in haughty listlessness on a sofa, and prepared to beguile, by the spell of fiction, the tedious hours of absence. The room and the house were silent: only now and then the merriment of the billiard-players was heard from above. It was verging on dusk, and the clock had already given warning of the hour to dress for dinner, when little Adèle, who knelt by me in the drawing-room window-seat, suddenly exclaimed— “Voilà, Monsieur Rochester, qui revient!” I turned, and Miss Ingram darted forwards from her sofa: the others, too, looked up from their several occupations; for at the same time a crunching of wheels and a splashing tramp of horse-hoofs became audible on the wet gravel. A post-chaise was approaching. “What can possess him to come home in that style?” said Miss Ingram.

“He rode Mesrour (the black horse), did he not, when he went out? and Pilot was with him:—what has he done with the animals?” As she said this, she approached her tall person and ample garments so near the window, that I was obliged to bend back almost to the breaking of my spine: in her eagerness she did not observe me at first, but when she did, she curled her lip and moved to another casement. The post-chaise stopped; the driver rang the door-bell, and a gentleman alighted attired in travelling garb; but it was not Mr. Rochester; it was a tall, fashionable-looking man, a stranger. “How provoking!” exclaimed Miss Ingram: “you tiresome monkey!” (apostrophising Adèle), “who perched you up in the window to give false intelligence?” and she cast on me an angry glance, as if I were in fault. Some parleying was audible in the hall, and soon the new-comer entered.

He bowed to Lady Ingram, as deeming her the eldest lady present. “It appears I come at an inopportune time, madam,” said he, “when my friend, Mr. Rochester, is from home; but I arrive from a very long journey, and I think I may presume so far on old and intimate acquaintance as to instal myself here till he returns.” His manner was polite; his accent, in speaking, struck me as being somewhat unusual,—not precisely foreign, but still not altogether English: his age might be about Mr. Rochester's,—between thirty and forty; his complexion was singularly sallow: otherwise he was a fine-looking man, at first sight especially. On closer examination, you detected something in his face that displeased, or rather that failed to please. His features were regular, but too relaxed: his eye was large and well cut, but the life looking out of it was a tame, vacant life—at least so I thought. The sound of the dressing-bell dispersed the party.

It was not till after dinner that I saw him again: he then seemed quite at his ease. But I liked his physiognomy even less than before: it struck me as being at the same time unsettled and inanimate. His eye wandered, and had no meaning in its wandering: this gave him an odd look, such as I never remembered to have seen. For a handsome and not an unamiable-looking man, he repelled me exceedingly: there was no power in that smooth-skinned face of a full oval shape: no firmness in that aquiline nose and small cherry mouth; there was no thought on the low, even forehead; no command in that blank, brown eye. As I sat in my usual nook, and looked at him with the light of the girandoles on the mantelpiece beaming full over him—for he occupied an arm-chair drawn close to the fire, and kept shrinking still nearer, as if he were cold, I compared him with Mr. Rochester. I think (with deference be it spoken) the contrast could not be much greater between a sleek gander and a fierce falcon: between a meek sheep and the rough-coated keen-eyed dog, its guardian. He had spoken of Mr. Rochester as an old friend.

A curious friendship theirs must have been: a pointed illustration, indeed, of the old adage that “extremes meet.” Two or three of the gentlemen sat near him, and I caught at times scraps of their conversation across the room. At first I could not make much sense of what I heard; for the discourse of Louisa Eshton and Mary Ingram, who sat nearer to me, confused the fragmentary sentences that reached me at intervals. These last were discussing the stranger; they both called him “a beautiful man.” Louisa said he was “a love of a creature,” and she “adored him;” and Mary instanced his “pretty little mouth, and nice nose,” as her ideal of the charming. “And what a sweet-tempered forehead he has!” cried Louisa,—“so smooth—none of those frowning irregularities I dislike so much; and such a placid eye and smile!” And then, to my great relief, Mr. Henry Lynn summoned them to the other side of the room, to settle some point about the deferred excursion to Hay Common. I was now able to concentrate my attention on the group by the fire, and I presently gathered that the new-comer was called Mr. Mason; then I learned that he was but just arrived in England, and that he came from some hot country: which was the reason, doubtless, his face was so sallow, and that he sat so near the hearth, and wore a surtout in the house. Presently the words Jamaica, Kingston, Spanish Town, indicated the West Indies as his residence; and it was with no little surprise I gathered, ere long, that he had there first seen and become acquainted with Mr. Rochester. He spoke of his friend's dislike of the burning heats, the hurricanes, and rainy seasons of that region. I knew Mr. Rochester had been a traveller: Mrs. Fairfax had said so; but I thought the continent of Europe had bounded his wanderings; till now I had never heard a hint given of visits to more distant shores. I was pondering these things, when an incident, and a somewhat unexpected one, broke the thread of my musings.

Mr. Mason, shivering as some one chanced to open the door, asked for more coal to be put on the fire, which had burnt out its flame, though its mass of cinder still shone hot and red. The footman who brought the coal, in going out, stopped near Mr. Eshton's chair, and said something to him in a low voice, of which I heard only the words, “old woman,”—“quite troublesome.” “Tell her she shall be put in the stocks if she does not take herself off,” replied the magistrate.

“No—stop!” interrupted Colonel Dent.

“Don't send her away, Eshton; we might turn the thing to account; better consult the ladies.” And speaking aloud, he continued—“Ladies, you talked of going to Hay Common to visit the gipsy camp; Sam here says that one of the old Mother Bunches is in the servants' hall at this moment, and insists upon being brought in before ‘the quality,' to tell them their fortunes. Would you like to see her?” “Surely, colonel,” cried Lady Ingram, “you would not encourage such a low impostor? Dismiss her, by all means, at once!” “But I cannot persuade her to go away, my lady,” said the footman; “nor can any of the servants: Mrs. Fairfax is with her just now, entreating her to be gone; but she has taken a chair in the chimney-corner, and says nothing shall stir her from it till she gets leave to come in here.” “What does she want?” asked Mrs. Eshton.

“‘To tell the gentry their fortunes,' she says, ma'am; and she swears she must and will do it.” “What is she like?” inquired the Misses Eshton, in a breath.

“A shockingly ugly old creature, miss; almost as black as a crock.” “Why, she's a real sorceress!” cried Frederick Lynn. “Let us have her in, of course.” “To be sure,” rejoined his brother; “it would be a thousand pities to throw away such a chance of fun.” “My dear boys, what are you thinking about?” exclaimed Mrs. Lynn. “I cannot possibly countenance any such inconsistent proceeding,” chimed in the Dowager Ingram. “Indeed, mama, but you can—and will,” pronounced the haughty voice of Blanche, as she turned round on the piano-stool; where till now she had sat silent, apparently examining sundry sheets of music. “I have a curiosity to hear my fortune told: therefore, Sam, order the beldame forward.” “My darling Blanche!

recollect—” “I do—I recollect all you can suggest; and I must have my will—quick, Sam!” “Yes—yes—yes!” cried all the juveniles, both ladies and gentlemen. “Let her come—it will be excellent sport!” The footman still lingered.

“She looks such a rough one,” said he. “Go!” ejaculated Miss Ingram, and the man went. Excitement instantly seized the whole party: a running fire of raillery and jests was proceeding when Sam returned.

“She won't come now,” said he.

“She says it's not her mission to appear before the ‘vulgar herd' (them's her words). I must show her into a room by herself, and then those who wish to consult her must go to her one by one.” “You see now, my queenly Blanche,” began Lady Ingram, “she encroaches. Be advised, my angel girl—and—” “Show her into the library, of course,” cut in the “angel girl.” “It is not my mission to listen to her before the vulgar herd either: I mean to have her all to myself. Is there a fire in the library?” “Yes, ma'am—but she looks such a tinkler.” “Cease that chatter, blockhead!

and do my bidding.” Again Sam vanished; and mystery, animation, expectation rose to full flow once more. “She's ready now,” said the footman, as he reappeared. “She wishes to know who will be her first visitor.” “I think I had better just look in upon her before any of the ladies go,” said Colonel Dent. “Tell her, Sam, a gentleman is coming.”

Sam went and returned.

“She says, sir, that she'll have no gentlemen; they need not trouble themselves to come near her; nor,” he added, with difficulty suppressing a titter, “any ladies either, except the young, and single.” “By Jove, she has taste!” exclaimed Henry Lynn. Miss Ingram rose solemnly: “I go first,” she said, in a tone which might have befitted the leader of a forlorn hope, mounting a breach in the van of his men.

“Oh, my best!

oh, my dearest! pause—reflect!” was her mama's cry; but she swept past her in stately silence, passed through the door which Colonel Dent held open, and we heard her enter the library. A comparative silence ensued.

Lady Ingram thought it “le cas” to wring her hands: which she did accordingly. Miss Mary declared she felt, for her part, she never dared venture. Amy and Louisa Eshton tittered under their breath, and looked a little frightened. The minutes passed very slowly: fifteen were counted before the library-door again opened. Miss Ingram returned to us through the arch. Would she laugh?

Would she take it as a joke? All eyes met her with a glance of eager curiosity, and she met all eyes with one of rebuff and coldness; she looked neither flurried nor merry: she walked stiffly to her seat, and took it in silence. “Well, Blanche?” said Lord Ingram.

“What did she say, sister?” asked Mary.

“What did you think?

How do you feel?—Is she a real fortune-teller?” demanded the Misses Eshton. “Now, now, good people,” returned Miss Ingram, “don't press upon me. Really your organs of wonder and credulity are easily excited: you seem, by the importance of you all—my good mama included—ascribe to this matter, absolutely to believe we have a genuine witch in the house, who is in close alliance with the old gentleman. I have seen a gipsy vagabond; she has practised in hackneyed fashion the science of palmistry and told me what such people usually tell. My whim is gratified; and now I think Mr. Eshton will do well to put the hag in the stocks to-morrow morning, as he threatened.” Miss Ingram took a book, leant back in her chair, and so declined further conversation. I watched her for nearly half-an-hour: during all that time she never turned a page, and her face grew momently darker, more dissatisfied, and more sourly expressive of disappointment. She had obviously not heard anything to her advantage: and it seemed to me, from her prolonged fit of gloom and taciturnity, that she herself, notwithstanding her professed indifference, attached undue importance to whatever revelations had been made her. Meantime, Mary Ingram, Amy and Louisa Eshton, declared they dared not go alone; and yet they all wished to go. A negotiation was opened through the medium of the ambassador, Sam; and after much pacing to and fro, till, I think, the said Sam's calves must have ached with the exercise, permission was at last, with great difficulty, extorted from the rigorous Sibyl, for the three to wait upon her in a body. Their visit was not so still as Miss Ingram's had been: we heard hysterical giggling and little shrieks proceeding from the library; and at the end of about twenty minutes they burst the door open, and came running across the hall, as if they were half-scared out of their wits. “I am sure she is something not right!” they cried, one and all. “She told us such things! She knows all about us!” and they sank breathless into the various seats the gentlemen hastened to bring them. Pressed for further explanation, they declared she had told them of things they had said and done when they were mere children; described books and ornaments they had in their boudoirs at home: keepsakes that different relations had presented to them. They affirmed that she had even divined their thoughts, and had whispered in the ear of each the name of the person she liked best in the world, and informed them of what they most wished for. Here the gentlemen interposed with earnest petitions to be further enlightened on these two last-named points; but they got only blushes, ejaculations, tremors, and titters, in return for their importunity. The matrons, meantime, offered vinaigrettes and wielded fans; and again and again reiterated the expression of their concern that their warning had not been taken in time; and the elder gentlemen laughed, and the younger urged their services on the agitated fair ones. In the midst of the tumult, and while my eyes and ears were fully engaged in the scene before me, I heard a hem close at my elbow: I turned, and saw Sam. “If you please, miss, the gipsy declares that there is another young single lady in the room who has not been to her yet, and she swears she will not go till she has seen all. I thought it must be you: there is no one else for it. What shall I tell her?” “Oh, I will go by all means,” I answered: and I was glad of the unexpected opportunity to gratify my much-excited curiosity. I slipped out of the room, unobserved by any eye—for the company were gathered in one mass about the trembling trio just returned—and I closed the door quietly behind me. “If you like, miss,” said Sam, “I'll wait in the hall for you; and if she frightens you, just call and I'll come in.” “No, Sam, return to the kitchen: I am not in the least afraid.” Nor was I; but I was a good deal interested and excited.

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CHAPTER XVIII KAPITOLA XVIII KAPITEL XVIII CAPÍTULO XVIII 第十八章 ГЛАВА XVIII 第十八章

Merry days were these at Thornfield Hall; and busy days too: how different from the first three months of stillness, monotony, and solitude I had passed beneath its roof! Les jours joyeux étaient ceux-ci à Thornfield Hall; et des journées bien remplies aussi: combien différent des trois premiers mois d'immobilité, de monotonie et de solitude que j'avais passés sous son toit! All sad feelings seemed now driven from the house, all gloomy associations forgotten: there was life everywhere, movement all day long. All sad feelings seemed now driven from the house, all gloomy associations forgotten: there was life everywhere, movement all day long. Tous les sentiments tristes semblaient maintenant chassés de la maison, toutes les associations lugubres oubliées: il y avait de la vie partout, du mouvement toute la journée. You could not now traverse the gallery, once so hushed, nor enter the front chambers, once so tenantless, without encountering a smart lady’s-maid or a dandy valet. You could not now traverse the gallery, once so hushed, nor enter the front chambers, once so tenantless, without encountering a smart lady's-maid or a dandy valet. Vous ne pouviez plus traverser la galerie, autrefois si silencieuse, ni entrer dans les chambres avant, autrefois sans locataire, sans rencontrer une femme de chambre intelligente ou un valet dandy. The kitchen, the butler’s pantry, the servants' hall, the entrance hall, were equally alive; and the saloons were only left void and still when the blue sky and halcyon sunshine of the genial spring weather called their occupants out into the grounds. The kitchen, the butler's pantry, the servants' hall, the entrance hall, were equally alive; and the saloons were only left void and still when the blue sky and halcyon sunshine of the genial spring weather called their occupants out into the grounds. La cuisine, le garde-manger du majordome, le hall des domestiques, le hall d'entrée étaient également vivants; et les salons étaient seulement laissés vides et immobiles quand le ciel bleu et le soleil de halcyon du temps de printemps génial appelèrent leurs occupants dans le parc. Even when that weather was broken, and continuous rain set in for some days, no damp seemed cast over enjoyment: indoor amusements only became more lively and varied, in consequence of the stop put to outdoor gaiety. |||||||||||||||||||||amusements|||||||in|||||||| Même quand ce temps était cassé et que la pluie continuait à s'installer pendant quelques jours, aucune humidité ne semblait couler sur la jouissance: les divertissements intérieurs ne devenaient que plus vifs et variés, par suite de l'arrêt mis à la gaieté extérieure. I wondered what they were going to do the first evening a change of entertainment was proposed: they spoke of “playing charades,” but in my ignorance I did not understand the term. Je me suis demandé ce qu'ils allaient faire le premier soir un changement d'animation a été proposé: ils parlaient de «jouer aux charades», mais dans mon ignorance je n'ai pas compris le terme. The servants were called in, the dining-room tables wheeled away, the lights otherwise disposed, the chairs placed in a semicircle opposite the arch. Les domestiques furent appelés, les tables de la salle à manger roulées, les lumières disposées autrement, les chaises disposées en demi-cercle en face de l'arc. While Mr. Rochester and the other gentlemen directed these alterations, the ladies were running up and down stairs ringing for their maids. Pendant que M. Rochester et les autres messieurs dirigeaient ces modifications, les dames montaient et descendaient les escaliers en sonnant pour leurs femmes de chambre. Mrs. Fairfax was summoned to give information respecting the resources of the house in shawls, dresses, draperies of any kind; and certain wardrobes of the third storey were ransacked, and their contents, in the shape of brocaded and hooped petticoats, satin sacques, black modes, lace lappets, &c., were brought down in armfuls by the abigails; then a selection was made, and such things as were chosen were carried to the boudoir within the drawing-room. |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||down|in|armfuls||||||||||||||||||||||| Mme Fairfax fut sommée de donner des informations sur les ressources de la maison en châles, robes, draperies de toute sorte; et certaines armoires du troisième étage furent saccagées, et leur contenu, en forme de jupons brocardés et cerclés, de sacques de satin, de modes noirs, de lappets de dentelle, etc., fut abattu par brassées par les abigails; puis une sélection a été faite, et les choses qui ont été choisies ont été portées au boudoir dans le salon. Meantime, Mr. Rochester had again summoned the ladies round him, and was selecting certain of their number to be of his party. Meantime, Mr. Rochester had again summoned the ladies round him, and was selecting certain of their number to be of his party. En attendant, M. Rochester avait de nouveau convoqué les dames autour de lui, et choisissait certaines de leur nombre pour être de son parti. “Miss Ingram is mine, of course,” said he: afterwards he named the two Misses Eshton, and Mrs. Dent. “Miss Ingram is mine, of course,” said he: afterwards he named the two Misses Eshton, and Mrs. Dent. He looked at me: I happened to be near him, as I had been fastening the clasp of Mrs. Dent’s bracelet, which had got loose. Il me regarda: je me trouvais près de lui, car j'avais attaché le fermoir du bracelet de Mme Dent, qui s'était détaché. “Will you play?” he asked.

I shook my head. He did not insist, which I rather feared he would have done; he allowed me to return quietly to my usual seat. Il n'insista pas, ce que je craignais plutôt qu'il n'eût fait; il m'a permis de retourner tranquillement à mon siège habituel. He and his aids now withdrew behind the curtain: the other party, which was headed by Colonel Dent, sat down on the crescent of chairs. Lui et ses aides se retiraient maintenant derrière le rideau: l'autre parti, dirigé par le colonel Dent, s'assit sur le croissant de chaises. One of the gentlemen, Mr. Eshton, observing me, seemed to propose that I should be asked to join them; but Lady Ingram instantly negatived the notion. Un des messieurs, M. Eshton, m'observant, a semblé proposer qu'on me demande de me joindre à eux; mais Lady Ingram a immédiatement rejeté l'idée. “No,” I heard her say: “she looks too stupid for any game of the sort.”

Ere long a bell tinkled, and the curtain drew up. Bientôt une cloche tinta et le rideau se leva.

Within the arch, the bulky figure of Sir George Lynn, whom Mr. Rochester had likewise chosen, was seen enveloped in a white sheet: before him, on a table, lay open a large book; and at his side stood Amy Eshton, draped in Mr. Rochester’s cloak, and holding a book in her hand. Dans l'arc, on voyait la silhouette volumineuse de Sir George Lynn, que M. Rochester avait également choisie, enveloppée d'un drap blanc: devant lui, sur une table, était ouvert un grand livre; et à ses côtés se tenait Amy Eshton, drapée dans le manteau de M. Rochester, et tenant un livre à la main. Somebody, unseen, rang the bell merrily; then Adèle (who had insisted on being one of her guardian’s party), bounded forward, scattering round her the contents of a basket of flowers she carried on her arm. Somebody, unseen, rang the bell merrily; then Adèle (who had insisted on being one of her guardian's party), bounded forward, scattering round her the contents of a basket of flowers she carried on her arm. Quelqu'un, invisible, sonna joyeusement la cloche; puis Adèle (qui avait insisté pour faire partie du groupe de sa gardienne) bondit en avant, éparpillant autour d'elle le contenu d'un panier de fleurs qu'elle portait sur son bras. Then appeared the magnificent figure of Miss Ingram, clad in white, a long veil on her head, and a wreath of roses round her brow; by her side walked Mr. Rochester, and together they drew near the table. Then appeared the magnificent figure of Miss Ingram, clad in white, a long veil on her head, and a wreath of roses round her brow; by her side walked Mr. Rochester, and together they drew near the table. Alors apparut la magnifique silhouette de miss Ingram, vêtue de blanc, un long voile sur la tête et une couronne de roses autour de son front; à ses côtés marchait M. Rochester, et ensemble ils se sont approchés de la table. They knelt; while Mrs. Dent and Louisa Eshton, dressed also in white, took up their stations behind them. A ceremony followed, in dumb show, in which it was easy to recognise the pantomime of a marriage. A ceremony followed, in dumb show, in which it was easy to recognise the pantomime of a marriage. Une cérémonie a suivi, en spectacle muet, dans laquelle il était facile de reconnaître la pantomime d'un mariage. At its termination, Colonel Dent and his party consulted in whispers for two minutes, then the Colonel called out— À sa fin, le colonel Dent et son parti se sont consultés à voix basse pendant deux minutes, puis le colonel a appelé: “Bride!” Mr. Rochester bowed, and the curtain fell. Mariée||||||| A considerable interval elapsed before it again rose. Un intervalle considérable s'est écoulé avant qu'il ne se soulève de nouveau.

Its second rising displayed a more elaborately prepared scene than the last. Son deuxième soulèvement montrait une scène plus élaborée que la précédente. The drawing-room, as I have before observed, was raised two steps above the dining-room, and on the top of the upper step, placed a yard or two back within the room, appeared a large marble basin—which I recognised as an ornament of the conservatory—where it usually stood, surrounded by exotics, and tenanted by gold fish—and whence it must have been transported with some trouble, on account of its size and weight. The drawing-room, as I have before observed, was raised two steps above the dining-room, and on the top of the upper step, placed a yard or two back within the room, appeared a large marble basin—which I recognised as an ornament of the conservatory—where it usually stood, surrounded by exotics, and tenanted by gold fish—and whence it must have been transported with some trouble, on account of its size and weight. Le salon, comme je l'ai déjà observé, était surélevé de deux marches au-dessus de la salle à manger, et sur le dessus de la marche supérieure, placé un mètre ou deux en arrière dans la pièce, apparaissait un grand bassin de marbre - que je reconnus comme un ornement de la véranda - où il se trouvait habituellement, entouré d'exotiques et occupé par des poissons d'or - et d'où il a dû être transporté avec quelque peine, à cause de sa taille et de son poids. Seated on the carpet, by the side of this basin, was seen Mr. Rochester, costumed in shawls, with a turban on his head. His dark eyes and swarthy skin and Paynim features suited the costume exactly: he looked the very model of an Eastern emir, an agent or a victim of the bowstring. His dark eyes and swarthy skin and Paynim features suited the costume exactly: he looked the very model of an Eastern emir, an agent or a victim of the bowstring. Ses yeux sombres, sa peau basanée et ses traits Paynim convenaient parfaitement au costume: il ressemblait au modèle même d'un émir oriental, d'un agent ou d'une victime de la corde de l'arc. Presently advanced into view Miss Ingram. Présentement avancé en vue Mlle Ingram. She, too, was attired in oriental fashion: a crimson scarf tied sash-like round the waist: an embroidered handkerchief knotted about her temples; her beautifully-moulded arms bare, one of them upraised in the act of supporting a pitcher, poised gracefully on her head. |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||upraised|||||||||||| Elle aussi était vêtue à la mode orientale: une écharpe cramoisie nouée comme une ceinture autour de la taille: un mouchoir brodé noué autour de ses tempes; ses bras magnifiquement moulés nus, l'un d'eux levé dans le fait de soutenir un pichet, posé gracieusement sur sa tête. Both her cast of form and feature, her complexion and her general air, suggested the idea of some Israelitish princess of the patriarchal days; and such was doubtless the character she intended to represent. Both her cast of form and feature, her complexion and her general air, suggested the idea of some Israelitish princess of the patriarchal days; and such was doubtless the character she intended to represent. Ses formes et ses traits, son teint et son air général suggéraient l'idée d'une princesse israélite des jours patriarcaux; et tel était sans doute le personnage qu'elle entendait représenter. She approached the basin, and bent over it as if to fill her pitcher; she again lifted it to her head. Elle s'approcha du bassin et se pencha dessus comme pour remplir sa cruche; elle le porta de nouveau à sa tête. The personage on the well-brink now seemed to accost her; to make some request:—“She hasted, let down her pitcher on her hand, and gave him to drink.” From the bosom of his robe he then produced a casket, opened it and showed magnificent bracelets and earrings; she acted astonishment and admiration; kneeling, he laid the treasure at her feet; incredulity and delight were expressed by her looks and gestures; the stranger fastened the bracelets on her arms and the rings in her ears. ||||||||||||||||hasted|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| Le personnage au bord du puits semblait maintenant l'aborder; pour faire une requête: - «Elle se hâta, laissa tomber sa cruche sur sa main, et lui donna à boire. Du sein de sa robe, il sortit alors un cercueil, l'ouvrit et montra de magnifiques bracelets et boucles d'oreilles; elle a agi d'étonnement et d'admiration; à genoux, il déposa le trésor à ses pieds; l'incrédulité et la joie étaient exprimées par ses regards et ses gestes; l'étranger a attaché les bracelets sur ses bras et les anneaux dans ses oreilles. It was Eliezer and Rebecca: the camels only were wanting. C'était Eliezer et Rebecca: seuls les chameaux manquaient. The divining party again laid their heads together: apparently they could not agree about the word or syllable the scene illustrated. |divining||||||||||||||||||| Le parti divinateur a de nouveau couché la tête: apparemment, ils ne pouvaient pas s'entendre sur le mot ou la syllabe illustrée par la scène. Colonel Dent, their spokesman, demanded “the tableau of the whole;” whereupon the curtain again descended. Le colonel Dent, leur porte-parole, a exigé «le tableau de l'ensemble»; sur quoi le rideau descendit de nouveau. On its third rising only a portion of the drawing-room was disclosed; the rest being concealed by a screen, hung with some sort of dark and coarse drapery. À sa troisième levée, on ne découvrit qu'une partie du salon; le reste étant caché par un écran, accroché à une sorte de draperie sombre et grossière. The marble basin was removed; in its place, stood a deal table and a kitchen chair: these objects were visible by a very dim light proceeding from a horn lantern, the wax candles being all extinguished. Le bassin de marbre a été enlevé; à sa place, se tenaient une table à manger et une chaise de cuisine: ces objets étaient visibles par une lumière très faible provenant d'une lanterne en corne, les bougies en cire étant toutes éteintes. Amidst this sordid scene, sat a man with his clenched hands resting on his knees, and his eyes bent on the ground. Amidst this sordid scene, sat a man with his clenched hands resting on his knees, and his eyes bent on the ground. Au milieu de cette scène sordide, était assis un homme, les mains crispées posées sur ses genoux, et les yeux pliés sur le sol. I knew Mr. Rochester; though the begrimed face, the disordered dress (his coat hanging loose from one arm, as if it had been almost torn from his back in a scuffle), the desperate and scowling countenance, the rough, bristling hair might well have disguised him. ||||||begrimed|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| I knew Mr. Rochester; though the begrimed face, the disordered dress (his coat hanging loose from one arm, as if it had been almost torn from his back in a scuffle), the desperate and scowling countenance, the rough, bristling hair might well have disguised him. Je connaissais M. Rochester; bien que le visage en colère, la robe désordonnée (son manteau suspendu à un bras, comme s'il avait été presque arraché de son dos dans une bagarre), le visage désespéré et renfrogné, les cheveux rugueux et hérissés auraient bien pu le déguiser. As he moved, a chain clanked; to his wrists were attached fetters. As he moved, a chain clanked; to his wrists were attached fetters. Pendant qu'il bougeait, une chaîne cliquetait; à ses poignets étaient attachées des fers. “Bridewell!” exclaimed Colonel Dent, and the charade was solved. “Bridewell!” exclaimed Colonel Dent, and the charade was solved. «Bridewell! s'écria le colonel Dent, et la mascarade fut résolue. A sufficient interval having elapsed for the performers to resume their ordinary costume, they re-entered the dining-room. A sufficient interval having elapsed for the performers to resume their ordinary costume, they re-entered the dining-room. Un intervalle suffisant s'étant écoulé pour que les interprètes reprennent leur costume ordinaire, ils rentrèrent dans la salle à manger. Mr. Rochester led in Miss Ingram; she was complimenting him on his acting. ||brought|||||||||| M. Rochester a dirigé Miss Ingram; elle le complimentait sur son jeu. “Do you know,” said she, “that, of the three characters, I liked you in the last best? «Savez-vous,» dit-elle, «que, des trois personnages, je vous ai aimé en dernier lieu?

Oh, had you but lived a few years earlier, what a gallant gentleman-highwayman you would have made!” Oh, had you but lived a few years earlier, what a gallant gentleman-highwayman you would have made!” Oh! Si vous aviez vécu quelques années plus tôt, quel brave gentilhomme-bandit que vous auriez fait! “Is all the soot washed from my face?” he asked, turning it towards her. «Est-ce que toute la suie est lavée de mon visage?» demanda-t-il en le tournant vers elle. “Alas!

yes: the more’s the pity! oui: plus c'est dommage! Nothing could be more becoming to your complexion than that ruffian’s rouge.” Rien de plus convenable pour votre teint que le rouge de ce voyou. “You would like a hero of the road then?” «Vous aimeriez un héros de la route alors?»

“An English hero of the road would be the next best thing to an Italian bandit; and that could only be surpassed by a Levantine pirate.” “An English hero of the road would be the next best thing to an Italian bandit; and that could only be surpassed by a Levantine pirate.” «Un héros anglais de la route serait la prochaine meilleure chose à un bandit italien; et cela ne pouvait être surpassé que par un pirate levantin. “Well, whatever I am, remember you are my wife; we were married an hour since, in the presence of all these witnesses.” She giggled, and her colour rose. “Well, whatever I am, remember you are my wife; we were married an hour since, in the presence of all these witnesses.” She giggled, and her colour rose. "Eh bien, quoi que je sois, souviens-toi que tu es ma femme ; nous nous sommes mariés il y a une heure, en présence de tous ces témoins". Elle gloussa, et son teint se colora. “Now, Dent,” continued Mr. Rochester, “it is your turn.” And as the other party withdrew, he and his band took the vacated seats. Miss Ingram placed herself at her leader’s right hand; the other diviners filled the chairs on each side of him and her. |||||||||||diviners|||||||||| Miss Ingram se plaça à la droite de son chef; les autres devins remplissaient les chaises de chaque côté d'elle et de lui. I did not now watch the actors; I no longer waited with interest for the curtain to rise; my attention was absorbed by the spectators; my eyes, erewhile fixed on the arch, were now irresistibly attracted to the semicircle of chairs. |||||||||||||||||||||||||||formerly||||||||||||| Je ne regardais plus les acteurs maintenant; Je n'attendais plus avec intérêt que le rideau se lève; mon attention a été absorbée par les spectateurs; mes yeux, jadis fixés sur l'arche, étaient maintenant irrésistiblement attirés par le demi-cercle de chaises. What charade Colonel Dent and his party played, what word they chose, how they acquitted themselves, I no longer remember; but I still see the consultation which followed each scene: I see Mr. Rochester turn to Miss Ingram, and Miss Ingram to him; I see her incline her head towards him, till the jetty curls almost touch his shoulder and wave against his cheek; I hear their mutual whisperings; I recall their interchanged glances; and something even of the feeling roused by the spectacle returns in memory at this moment. Quelle mascarade le colonel Dent et son parti ont joué, quel mot ils ont choisi, comment ils se sont acquittés, je ne m'en souviens plus; mais je vois encore la consultation qui suivit chaque scène: je vois M. Rochester se tourner vers Mlle Ingram, et Mlle Ingram vers lui; Je la vois incliner la tête vers lui, jusqu'à ce que les boucles de la jetée touchent presque son épaule et ondulent contre sa joue; J'entends leurs chuchotements mutuels; Je me souviens de leurs regards échangés; et quelque chose même du sentiment suscité par le spectacle revient en mémoire à ce moment. I have told you, reader, that I had learnt to love Mr. Rochester: I could not unlove him now, merely because I found that he had ceased to notice me—because I might pass hours in his presence, and he would never once turn his eyes in my direction—because I saw all his attentions appropriated by a great lady, who scorned to touch me with the hem of her robes as she passed; who, if ever her dark and imperious eye fell on me by chance, would withdraw it instantly as from an object too mean to merit observation. ||||||||||||||||||||||découvrais||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||scorned|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| I have told you, reader, that I had learnt to love Mr. Rochester: I could not unlove him now, merely because I found that he had ceased to notice me—because I might pass hours in his presence, and he would never once turn his eyes in my direction—because I saw all his attentions appropriated by a great lady, who scorned to touch me with the hem of her robes as she passed; who, if ever her dark and imperious eye fell on me by chance, would withdraw it instantly as from an object too mean to merit observation. Je vous ai dit, lecteur, que j'avais appris à aimer M. Rochester : Je ne pouvais pas le désaimer maintenant, simplement parce que je constatais qu'il avait cessé de me remarquer - parce que je pouvais passer des heures en sa présence, et qu'il ne tournait jamais les yeux dans ma direction - parce que je voyais toutes ses attentions accaparées par une grande dame, qui dédaignait de me toucher avec le bord de sa robe en passant ; qui, si jamais son œil sombre et impérieux tombait sur moi par hasard, le retirait instantanément comme d'un objet trop insignifiant pour mériter d'être observé. I could not unlove him, because I felt sure he would soon marry this very lady—because I read daily in her a proud security in his intentions respecting her—because I witnessed hourly in him a style of courtship which, if careless and choosing rather to be sought than to seek, was yet, in its very carelessness, captivating, and in its very pride, irresistible. Je ne pouvais pas le désaimer, parce que je sentais qu'il épouserait bientôt cette même dame - parce que je lis quotidiennement en elle une fierté fière de ses intentions la respectant - parce que j'assistais toutes les heures en lui à un style de fréquentation qui, si négligent et choisissant plutôt être cherché que chercher était pourtant, dans son insouciance même, captivant et dans son orgueil même, irrésistible. There was nothing to cool or banish love in these circumstances, though much to create despair. There was nothing to cool or banish love in these circumstances, though much to create despair. Il n'y avait rien pour refroidir ou bannir l'amour dans ces circonstances, bien que cela puisse créer le désespoir. Much too, you will think, reader, to engender jealousy: if a woman, in my position, could presume to be jealous of a woman in Miss Ingram’s. |||||||engender|||||||||||||||||| Beaucoup aussi, vous penserez, lecteur, engendrer la jalousie: si une femme, à ma place, pouvait se présumer jalouse d'une femme chez Miss Ingram. But I was not jealous: or very rarely;—the nature of the pain I suffered could not be explained by that word. But I was not jealous: or very rarely;—the nature of the pain I suffered could not be explained by that word. Mais je n'étais pas jaloux: ou très rarement; - la nature de la douleur que j'ai subie ne pouvait s'expliquer par ce mot. Miss Ingram was a mark beneath jealousy: she was too inferior to excite the feeling. Miss Ingram was a mark beneath jealousy: she was too inferior to excite the feeling. Miss Ingram était une marque sous la jalousie: elle était trop inférieure pour exciter le sentiment. Pardon the seeming paradox; I mean what I say. Pardonnez le paradoxe apparent; Je pense ce que je dis. She was very showy, but she was not genuine: she had a fine person, many brilliant attainments; but her mind was poor, her heart barren by nature: nothing bloomed spontaneously on that soil; no unforced natural fruit delighted by its freshness. ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||unforced|||||| Elle était très voyante, mais elle n'était pas authentique: elle avait une bonne personne, de nombreuses réalisations brillantes; mais son esprit était pauvre, son cœur stérile par nature: rien ne fleurissait spontanément sur ce sol; pas de fruit naturel non forcé ravi par sa fraîcheur. She was not good; she was not original: she used to repeat sounding phrases from books: she never offered, nor had, an opinion of her own. She was not good; she was not original: she used to repeat sounding phrases from books: she never offered, nor had, an opinion of her own. Elle n'était pas bonne; elle n'était pas originale: elle avait l'habitude de répéter des phrases sonores de livres: elle n'offrait ni n'avait une opinion qui lui était propre. She advocated a high tone of sentiment; but she did not know the sensations of sympathy and pity; tenderness and truth were not in her. She advocated a high tone of sentiment; but she did not know the sensations of sympathy and pity; tenderness and truth were not in her. Elle a préconisé un ton élevé de sentiment; mais elle ne connaissait pas les sensations de sympathie et de pitié; la tendresse et la vérité n'étaient pas en elle. Too often she betrayed this, by the undue vent she gave to a spiteful antipathy she had conceived against little Adèle: pushing her away with some contumelious epithet if she happened to approach her; sometimes ordering her from the room, and always treating her with coldness and acrimony. |||||||undue||||||spiteful||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||acrimony Too often she betrayed this, by the undue vent she gave to a spiteful antipathy she had conceived against little Adèle: pushing her away with some contumelious epithet if she happened to approach her; sometimes ordering her from the room, and always treating her with coldness and acrimony. Trop souvent, elle le trahit, par le vide indu qu'elle donna à une antipathie méchante qu'elle avait conçue contre la petite Adèle: la repoussant avec une épithète contumélieuse si elle venait à l'approcher; parfois lui ordonnant de sortir de la pièce et la traitant toujours avec froideur et acrimonie. Other eyes besides mine watched these manifestations of character—watched them closely, keenly, shrewdly. Other eyes besides mine watched these manifestations of character—watched them closely, keenly, shrewdly. D'autres yeux que le mien observaient ces manifestations de caractère - les regardaient de près, avec acuité, finesse. Yes; the future bridegroom, Mr. Rochester himself, exercised over his intended a ceaseless surveillance; and it was from this sagacity—this guardedness of his—this perfect, clear consciousness of his fair one’s defects—this obvious absence of passion in his sentiments towards her, that my ever-torturing pain arose. |||||||||||||surveillance||||||sagacity||guardedness||||||||||||||||||||||||||| Oui; le futur marié, M. Rochester lui-même, exerçait sur son intention une surveillance incessante; et c'est de cette sagacité, de sa garde, de cette parfaite conscience claire des défauts de sa belle, de cette évidente absence de passion dans ses sentiments envers elle, que ma douleur toujours torturante est née. I saw he was going to marry her, for family, perhaps political reasons, because her rank and connections suited him; I felt he had not given her his love, and that her qualifications were ill adapted to win from him that treasure. J'ai vu qu'il allait l'épouser, pour des raisons familiales, peut-être politiques, parce que son rang et ses relations lui convenaient; Je sentais qu'il ne lui avait pas donné son amour, et que ses qualifications étaient mal adaptées pour gagner de lui ce trésor. This was the point—this was where the nerve was touched and teased—this was where the fever was sustained and fed: she could not charm him . C'était le point - c'était là que le nerf était touché et taquiné - c'était là que la fièvre était entretenue et nourrie: elle ne pouvait pas le charmer. If she had managed the victory at once, and he had yielded and sincerely laid his heart at her feet, I should have covered my face, turned to the wall, and (figuratively) have died to them. Si elle avait réussi la victoire à la fois, et qu'il avait cédé et posé sincèrement son cœur à ses pieds, j'aurais dû me couvrir le visage, me tourner vers le mur et (au sens figuré) leur être mort. If Miss Ingram had been a good and noble woman, endowed with force, fervour, kindness, sense, I should have had one vital struggle with two tigers—jealousy and despair: then, my heart torn out and devoured, I should have admired her—acknowledged her excellence, and been quiet for the rest of my days: and the more absolute her superiority, the deeper would have been my admiration—the more truly tranquil my quiescence. |||||||||||||fervor|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| Si Mlle Ingram avait été une femme bonne et noble, douée de force, de ferveur, de gentillesse, de sens, j'aurais eu une lutte vitale avec deux tigres - la jalousie et le désespoir: alors, mon cœur déchiré et dévoré, j'aurais dû l'admirer - a reconnu son excellence et a été tranquille pour le reste de mes jours: et plus sa supériorité était absolue, plus mon admiration aurait été profonde - plus ma tranquillité était vraiment tranquille. But as matters really stood, to watch Miss Ingram’s efforts at fascinating Mr. Rochester, to witness their repeated failure—herself unconscious that they did fail; vainly fancying that each shaft launched hit the mark, and infatuatedly pluming herself on success, when her pride and self-complacency repelled further and further what she wished to allure—to witness this , was to be at once under ceaseless excitation and ruthless restraint. |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||infatuatedly|pluming|||||||||complacency|||||||||allure|||||||||||||| Mais dans l'état actuel des choses, regarder les efforts de Miss Ingram pour fasciner M. Rochester, être témoin de leur échec répété - elle-même inconsciente qu'ils ont échoué; Vainement imaginer que chaque manche lancé atteignait la cible, et se vanter avec enthousiasme du succès, quand sa fierté et sa suffisance de soi repoussaient de plus en plus ce qu'elle voulait séduire - en être témoin, c'était être à la fois sous une excitation incessante et une retenue impitoyable. Because, when she failed, I saw how she might have succeeded. Arrows that continually glanced off from Mr. Rochester’s breast and fell harmless at his feet, might, I knew, if shot by a surer hand, have quivered keen in his proud heart—have called love into his stern eye, and softness into his sardonic face; or, better still, without weapons a silent conquest might have been won. Des flèches qui continuaient de jaillir de la poitrine de M. Rochester et qui tombaient inoffensives à ses pieds, auraient pu, je le savais, si elles avaient été tirées par une main plus sûre, avoir frémi dans son cœur fier - avoir appelé l'amour dans son œil sévère et la douceur dans son sardonique. visage; ou, mieux encore, sans armes, une conquête silencieuse aurait pu être gagnée. “Why can she not influence him more, when she is privileged to draw so near to him?” I asked myself. «Pourquoi ne peut-elle pas l'influencer davantage, alors qu'elle a le privilège de s'approcher si près de lui? Je me suis demandé. “Surely she cannot truly like him, or not like him with true affection! If she did, she need not coin her smiles so lavishly, flash her glances so unremittingly, manufacture airs so elaborate, graces so multitudinous. |||||||||||||||without pause|||||||numerous Si elle le faisait, elle n'avait pas besoin de créer ses sourires si somptueusement, d'éclairer ses regards si inlassablement, de fabriquer des airs si élaborés, des grâces si innombrables. It seems to me that she might, by merely sitting quietly at his side, saying little and looking less, get nigher his heart. ||||||||||||||||||||to or nearer|| Il me semble qu'elle pourrait, en s'asseyant simplement tranquillement à ses côtés, en disant peu et en regardant moins, se ressaisir. I have seen in his face a far different expression from that which hardens it now while she is so vivaciously accosting him; but then it came of itself: it was not elicited by meretricious arts and calculated manoeuvres; and one had but to accept it—to answer what he asked without pretension, to address him when needful without grimace—and it increased and grew kinder and more genial, and warmed one like a fostering sunbeam. |||||||||||||||||||||accosting|||||||||||||meretricious||||||||||||||||||pretension|||||||||||||||||||||||sunbeam I have seen in his face a far different expression from that which hardens it now while she is so vivaciously accosting him; but then it came of itself: it was not elicited by meretricious arts and calculated manoeuvres; and one had but to accept it—to answer what he asked without pretension, to address him when needful without grimace—and it increased and grew kinder and more genial, and warmed one like a fostering sunbeam. J'ai vu sur son visage une expression bien différente de celle qui le durcit maintenant alors qu'elle l'aborde avec tant de vivacité; mais alors il est venu de lui-même: il n'a pas été suscité par les arts mérétriques et les manœuvres calculées; et il n'y avait qu'à l'accepter - répondre à ce qu'il demandait sans prétention, s'adresser à lui quand c'était nécessaire sans grimace - et cela augmentait et devenait plus gentil et plus gentil, et réchauffait comme un rayon de soleil stimulant. How will she manage to please him when they are married? I do not think she will manage it; and yet it might be managed; and his wife might, I verily believe, be the very happiest woman the sun shines on.” Je ne pense pas qu'elle y parviendra; et pourtant il pourrait être géré; et sa femme pourrait, je crois vraiment, être la femme la plus heureuse sur laquelle brille le soleil. I have not yet said anything condemnatory of Mr. Rochester’s project of marrying for interest and connections. ||||||||||projet|||||| ||||||condemnatory|||||||||| Je n'ai encore rien dit de condamnable du projet de M. Rochester de se marier par intérêt et par relations. It surprised me when I first discovered that such was his intention: I had thought him a man unlikely to be influenced by motives so commonplace in his choice of a wife; but the longer I considered the position, education, &c., of the parties, the less I felt justified in judging and blaming either him or Miss Ingram for acting in conformity to ideas and principles instilled into them, doubtless, from their childhood. It surprised me when I first discovered that such was his intention: I had thought him a man unlikely to be influenced by motives so commonplace in his choice of a wife; but the longer I considered the position, education, &c., of the parties, the less I felt justified in judging and blaming either him or Miss Ingram for acting in conformity to ideas and principles instilled into them, doubtless, from their childhood. Cela m'a surpris lorsque j'ai découvert pour la première fois que telle était son intention: je l'avais pensé être un homme peu susceptible d'être influencé par des motifs si banals dans le choix d'une épouse; mais plus je considérais longtemps la position, l'éducation, etc., des partis, moins je me sentais justifié de juger et de blâmer soit lui, soit Mlle Ingram, d'avoir agi conformément aux idées et aux principes qui leur avaient été inculqués, sans doute, depuis leur enfance. All their class held these principles: I supposed, then, they had reasons for holding them such as I could not fathom. All their class held these principles: I supposed, then, they had reasons for holding them such as I could not fathom. Toute leur classe tenait ces principes: je supposais donc qu'ils avaient des raisons de les retenir telles que je ne pouvais pas comprendre. It seemed to me that, were I a gentleman like him, I would take to my bosom only such a wife as I could love; but the very obviousness of the advantages to the husband’s own happiness offered by this plan convinced me that there must be arguments against its general adoption of which I was quite ignorant: otherwise I felt sure all the world would act as I wished to act. Il me semblait que, si j'étais un gentleman comme lui, je ne prendrais dans mon sein qu'une telle femme que je pourrais aimer; mais l'évidence même des avantages pour le bonheur du mari qu'offrait ce plan me convainquit qu'il devait y avoir des arguments contre son adoption générale dont j'ignorais tout à fait: sinon je sentais que tout le monde agirait comme je le voulais. But in other points, as well as this, I was growing very lenient to my master: I was forgetting all his faults, for which I had once kept a sharp look-out. But in other points, as well as this, I was growing very lenient to my master: I was forgetting all his faults, for which I had once kept a sharp look-out. Mais sur d'autres points, en plus de celui-ci, je devenais très indulgent envers mon maître: j'oubliais tous ses fautes, pour lesquelles j'avais jadis veillé. It had formerly been my endeavour to study all sides of his character: to take the bad with the good; and from the just weighing of both, to form an equitable judgment. It had formerly been my endeavour to study all sides of his character: to take the bad with the good; and from the just weighing of both, to form an equitable judgment. J'avais autrefois tenté d'étudier tous les aspects de son caractère: prendre le mal avec le bien; et de la juste pondération des deux, pour former un jugement équitable. Now I saw no bad. Now I saw no bad. The sarcasm that had repelled, the harshness that had startled me once, were only like keen condiments in a choice dish: their presence was pungent, but their absence would be felt as comparatively insipid. ||||||||||||||||condiments||||||||||||||||| Le sarcasme qui avait repoussé, la dureté qui m'avait fait sursauter une fois, n'étaient que des condiments acérés dans un plat de choix: leur présence était piquante, mais leur absence serait ressentie comme relativement insipide. And as for the vague something—was it a sinister or a sorrowful, a designing or a desponding expression?—that opened upon a careful observer, now and then, in his eye, and closed again before one could fathom the strange depth partially disclosed; that something which used to make me fear and shrink, as if I had been wandering amongst volcanic-looking hills, and had suddenly felt the ground quiver and seen it gape: that something, I, at intervals, beheld still; and with throbbing heart, but not with palsied nerves. |||||||||||||||||desponding|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| Et quant au quelque chose de vague - était-ce un sinistre ou un triste, un dessin ou une expression découragée? - qui s'ouvrait sur un observateur attentif, de temps en temps, dans son œil, et se refermait avant que l'on puisse sonder l'étrange profondeur partiellement révélée ; ce quelque chose qui me faisait peur et me faisait rétrécir, comme si j'avais erré parmi les collines à l'aspect volcanique, et que j'avais soudain senti le sol trembler et l'avoir vu bailler: ce quelque chose, je le voyais par intervalles encore; et avec un cœur palpitant, mais pas avec des nerfs paralysés. Instead of wishing to shun, I longed only to dare—to divine it; and I thought Miss Ingram happy, because one day she might look into the abyss at her leisure, explore its secrets and analyse their nature. Au lieu de vouloir fuir, je désirais seulement oser - le deviner; et je trouvais Miss Ingram heureuse, parce qu'un jour elle pourrait explorer l'abîme à loisir, explorer ses secrets et analyser leur nature. Meantime, while I thought only of my master and his future bride—saw only them, heard only their discourse, and considered only their movements of importance—the rest of the party were occupied with their own separate interests and pleasures. Meantime, while I thought only of my master and his future bride—saw only them, heard only their discourse, and considered only their movements of importance—the rest of the party were occupied with their own separate interests and pleasures. Pendant ce temps, tandis que je ne pensais qu'à mon maître et à sa future épouse - ne voyais qu'eux, n'entendais que leur discours, et ne considérais que leurs mouvements importants - le reste du parti était occupé de leurs propres intérêts et plaisirs séparés. The Ladies Lynn and Ingram continued to consort in solemn conferences, where they nodded their two turbans at each other, and held up their four hands in confronting gestures of surprise, or mystery, or horror, according to the theme on which their gossip ran, like a pair of magnified puppets. Les dames Lynn et Ingram ont continué à se marier dans des conférences solennelles, où elles ont hoché la tête leurs deux turbans l'une à l'autre, et ont levé leurs quatre mains dans des gestes confrontés de surprise, ou de mystère, ou d'horreur, selon le thème sur lequel couraient leurs ragots, comme une paire de marionnettes agrandies. Mild Mrs. Dent talked with good-natured Mrs. Eshton; and the two sometimes bestowed a courteous word or smile on me. Mild Mrs. Dent talked with good-natured Mrs. Eshton; and the two sometimes bestowed a courteous word or smile on me. Mild Mme Dent a parlé avec Mme Eshton de bonne humeur; et les deux m'accordaient parfois un mot courtois ou un sourire. Sir George Lynn, Colonel Dent, and Mr. Eshton discussed politics, or county affairs, or justice business. Sir George Lynn, Colonel Dent, and Mr. Eshton discussed politics, or county affairs, or justice business. Lord Ingram flirted with Amy Eshton; Louisa played and sang to and with one of the Messrs. Lord Ingram flirted with Amy Eshton; Louisa played and sang to and with one of the Messrs. Lord Ingram a flirté avec Amy Eshton; Louisa a joué et chanté avec et avec l'un des MM. Lynn; and Mary Ingram listened languidly to the gallant speeches of the other. Lynn; and Mary Ingram listened languidly to the gallant speeches of the other. Sometimes all, as with one consent, suspended their by-play to observe and listen to the principal actors: for, after all, Mr. Rochester and—because closely connected with him—Miss Ingram were the life and soul of the party. Sometimes all, as with one consent, suspended their by-play to observe and listen to the principal actors: for, after all, Mr. Rochester and—because closely connected with him—Miss Ingram were the life and soul of the party. Parfois, tous, comme d'un seul consentement, suspendaient leur pièce secondaire pour observer et écouter les principaux acteurs: car, après tout, M. Rochester et - parce que étroitement lié à lui - Mlle Ingram étaient la vie et l'âme du parti. If he was absent from the room an hour, a perceptible dulness seemed to steal over the spirits of his guests; and his re-entrance was sure to give a fresh impulse to the vivacity of conversation. S'il était absent de la chambre une heure, une matité perceptible semblait voler sur les esprits de ses invités; et sa rentrée ne manquait pas de donner une nouvelle impulsion à la vivacité de la conversation. The want of his animating influence appeared to be peculiarly felt one day that he had been summoned to Millcote on business, and was not likely to return till late. The want of his animating influence appeared to be peculiarly felt one day that he had been summoned to Millcote on business, and was not likely to return till late. Le manque de son influence animatrice semblait être particulièrement ressenti un jour qu'il avait été convoqué à Millcote pour affaires et qu'il ne reviendrait probablement que tard. The afternoon was wet: a walk the party had proposed to take to see a gipsy camp, lately pitched on a common beyond Hay, was consequently deferred. L'après-midi était humide: une promenade que le groupe avait proposé de faire pour voir un camp de gitans, installé récemment sur une commune au-delà de Hay, a été par conséquent différée. Some of the gentlemen were gone to the stables: the younger ones, together with the younger ladies, were playing billiards in the billiard-room. Some of the gentlemen were gone to the stables: the younger ones, together with the younger ladies, were playing billiards in the billiard-room. Certains messieurs étaient allés aux écuries: les plus jeunes jouaient au billard dans la salle de billard avec les plus jeunes. The dowagers Ingram and Lynn sought solace in a quiet game at cards. The dowagers Ingram and Lynn sought solace in a quiet game at cards. Les douairières Ingram et Lynn ont cherché du réconfort dans un jeu de cartes silencieux. Blanche Ingram, after having repelled, by supercilious taciturnity, some efforts of Mrs. Dent and Mrs. Eshton to draw her into conversation, had first murmured over some sentimental tunes and airs on the piano, and then, having fetched a novel from the library, had flung herself in haughty listlessness on a sofa, and prepared to beguile, by the spell of fiction, the tedious hours of absence. |||||||taciturnity|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||beguile|||||||||| Blanche Ingram, après avoir repoussé, par taciturnité sourde, quelques efforts de Mme Dent et Mme Eshton pour la faire parler, avait d'abord murmuré sur quelques airs et airs sentimentaux au piano, puis, après avoir récupéré un roman à la bibliothèque. , s'était jetée dans une apathie hautaine sur un canapé, et se préparait à séduire, par le charme de la fiction, les heures fastidieuses de l'absence. The room and the house were silent: only now and then the merriment of the billiard-players was heard from above. The room and the house were silent: only now and then the merriment of the billiard-players was heard from above. La salle et la maison étaient silencieuses : on entendait seulement de temps en temps la gaieté des joueurs de billard. It was verging on dusk, and the clock had already given warning of the hour to dress for dinner, when little Adèle, who knelt by me in the drawing-room window-seat, suddenly exclaimed— It was verging on dusk, and the clock had already given warning of the hour to dress for dinner, when little Adèle, who knelt by me in the drawing-room window-seat, suddenly exclaimed— Il était presque au crépuscule, et l'horloge avait déjà annoncé l'heure de s'habiller pour le dîner, quand la petite Adèle, qui s'agenouilla près de moi dans la banquette du salon, s'écria tout à coup: “Voilà, Monsieur Rochester, qui revient!” I turned, and Miss Ingram darted forwards from her sofa: the others, too, looked up from their several occupations; for at the same time a crunching of wheels and a splashing tramp of horse-hoofs became audible on the wet gravel. I turned, and Miss Ingram darted forwards from her sofa: the others, too, looked up from their several occupations; for at the same time a crunching of wheels and a splashing tramp of horse-hoofs became audible on the wet gravel. Je me tournai, et miss Ingram s'élança de son canapé: les autres aussi levèrent les yeux de leurs diverses occupations; car en même temps un grincement de roues et un claquement de sabots de cheval se faisaient entendre sur le gravier mouillé. A post-chaise was approaching. Une chaise de poste approchait. “What can possess him to come home in that style?” said Miss Ingram. “What can possess him to come home in that style?” said Miss Ingram. «Qu'est-ce qui peut le posséder pour rentrer à la maison dans ce style?» dit miss Ingram.

“He rode Mesrour (the black horse), did he not, when he went out? «Il a monté Mesrour (le cheval noir), n'est-ce pas, quand il est sorti? and Pilot was with him:—what has he done with the animals?” As she said this, she approached her tall person and ample garments so near the window, that I was obliged to bend back almost to the breaking of my spine: in her eagerness she did not observe me at first, but when she did, she curled her lip and moved to another casement. As she said this, she approached her tall person and ample garments so near the window, that I was obliged to bend back almost to the breaking of my spine: in her eagerness she did not observe me at first, but when she did, she curled her lip and moved to another casement. En disant cela, elle s'approcha de sa grande personne et de ses vêtements amples si près de la fenêtre, que je fus obligé de me pencher presque jusqu'à la rupture de ma colonne vertébrale: dans son empressement elle ne m'observa pas au début, mais quand enroula sa lèvre et se déplaça vers un autre battant. The post-chaise stopped; the driver rang the door-bell, and a gentleman alighted attired in travelling garb; but it was not Mr. Rochester; it was a tall, fashionable-looking man, a stranger. The post-chaise stopped; the driver rang the door-bell, and a gentleman alighted attired in travelling garb; but it was not Mr. Rochester; it was a tall, fashionable-looking man, a stranger. La chaise de poste s'arrêta; le chauffeur sonna à la porte, et un monsieur descendit vêtu d'un habit de voyage; mais ce n'était pas M. Rochester; c'était un homme grand et à la mode, un étranger. “How provoking!” exclaimed Miss Ingram: “you tiresome monkey!” (apostrophising Adèle), “who perched you up in the window to give false intelligence?” and she cast on me an angry glance, as if I were in fault. «Quelle provocation! s'écria Miss Ingram: «espèce de singe ennuyeux!» (apostrophisant Adèle), "qui vous a perché dans la fenêtre pour donner de faux renseignements?" et elle me jeta un regard de colère, comme si j'étais en faute. Some parleying was audible in the hall, and soon the new-comer entered. Some parleying was audible in the hall, and soon the new-comer entered. Un peu de persil se fit entendre dans la salle, et bientôt le nouveau venu entra.

He bowed to Lady Ingram, as deeming her the eldest lady present. He bowed to Lady Ingram, as deeming her the eldest lady present. Il s'inclina devant Lady Ingram, la jugeant la dame aînée présente. “It appears I come at an inopportune time, madam,” said he, “when my friend, Mr. Rochester, is from home; but I arrive from a very long journey, and I think I may presume so far on old and intimate acquaintance as to instal myself here till he returns.” ||||||inopportune||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| “It appears I come at an inopportune time, madam,” said he, “when my friend, Mr. Rochester, is from home; but I arrive from a very long journey, and I think I may presume so far on old and intimate acquaintance as to instal myself here till he returns.” «Il semble que je viens à un moment inopportun, madame, dit-il, alors que mon ami, M. Rochester, est de chez lui; mais j'arrive d'un très long voyage, et je pense que je peux supposer si loin sur une vieille et intime connaissance pour m'installer ici jusqu'à son retour. His manner was polite; his accent, in speaking, struck me as being somewhat unusual,—not precisely foreign, but still not altogether English: his age might be about Mr. Rochester’s,—between thirty and forty; his complexion was singularly sallow: otherwise he was a fine-looking man, at first sight especially. sa|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| His manner was polite; his accent, in speaking, struck me as being somewhat unusual,—not precisely foreign, but still not altogether English: his age might be about Mr. Rochester's,—between thirty and forty; his complexion was singularly sallow: otherwise he was a fine-looking man, at first sight especially. Ses manières étaient polies; son accent, en parlant, me parut un peu inhabituel, - pas précisément étranger, mais pas tout à fait anglais: son âge pouvait être environ celui de M. Rochester, - entre trente et quarante; son teint était singulièrement pâle: sinon c'était un bel homme, surtout à première vue. On closer examination, you detected something in his face that displeased, or rather that failed to please. ||||||||||displeased|||||| On closer examination, you detected something in his face that displeased, or rather that failed to please. En y regardant de plus près, vous avez détecté sur son visage quelque chose qui déplaisait, ou plutôt qui ne plaisait pas. His features were regular, but too relaxed: his eye was large and well cut, but the life looking out of it was a tame, vacant life—at least so I thought. His features were regular, but too relaxed: his eye was large and well cut, but the life looking out of it was a tame, vacant life—at least so I thought. Ses traits étaient réguliers, mais trop détendus: son œil était grand et bien coupé, mais la vie qui le regardait était une vie apprivoisée et vide - du moins je le pensais. The sound of the dressing-bell dispersed the party. The sound of the dressing-bell dispersed the party.

It was not till after dinner that I saw him again: he then seemed quite at his ease. Ce n'est qu'après le dîner que je le revis: il parut alors tout à fait à son aise. But I liked his physiognomy even less than before: it struck me as being at the same time unsettled and inanimate. Mais j'aimais encore moins sa physionomie qu'avant: elle me paraissait à la fois instable et inanimée. His eye wandered, and had no meaning in its wandering: this gave him an odd look, such as I never remembered to have seen. His eye wandered, and had no meaning in its wandering: this gave him an odd look, such as I never remembered to have seen. Son œil vagabondait, et n'avait aucun sens dans son errance: cela lui donnait un regard étrange, tel que je ne me souvenais pas avoir vu. For a handsome and not an unamiable-looking man, he repelled me exceedingly: there was no power in that smooth-skinned face of a full oval shape: no firmness in that aquiline nose and small cherry mouth; there was no thought on the low, even forehead; no command in that blank, brown eye. ||||||unfriendly|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| Pour un homme beau et pas peu aimable, il me repoussait excessivement: il n'y avait pas de pouvoir dans ce visage à la peau lisse et de forme ovale pleine: pas de fermeté dans ce nez aquilin et cette petite bouche de cerise; il n'y avait aucune pensée sur le front bas, même; aucune commande dans cet œil brun et blanc. As I sat in my usual nook, and looked at him with the light of the girandoles on the mantelpiece beaming full over him—for he occupied an arm-chair drawn close to the fire, and kept shrinking still nearer, as if he were cold, I compared him with Mr. Rochester. As I sat in my usual nook, and looked at him with the light of the girandoles on the mantelpiece beaming full over him—for he occupied an arm-chair drawn close to the fire, and kept shrinking still nearer, as if he were cold, I compared him with Mr. Rochester. Alors que je m'assis dans mon coin habituel et que je le regardais avec la lumière des girandoles sur la cheminée rayonnant au-dessus de lui - car il occupait un fauteuil près du feu, et continuait à rétrécir de plus en plus, comme s'il avait froid , Je l'ai comparé à M. Rochester. I think (with deference be it spoken) the contrast could not be much greater between a sleek gander and a fierce falcon: between a meek sheep and the rough-coated keen-eyed dog, its guardian. Je pense (avec déférence que ce soit dit) que le contraste ne pourrait pas être beaucoup plus grand entre un regard élégant et un faucon féroce: entre un mouton doux et le chien aux yeux perçants à poil dur, son gardien. He had spoken of Mr. Rochester as an old friend.

A curious friendship theirs must have been: a pointed illustration, indeed, of the old adage that “extremes meet.” Une curieuse amitié doit avoir été la leur: une illustration pointue, en effet, du vieil adage selon lequel «les extrêmes se rencontrent». Two or three of the gentlemen sat near him, and I caught at times scraps of their conversation across the room. Two or three of the gentlemen sat near him, and I caught at times scraps of their conversation across the room. At first I could not make much sense of what I heard; for the discourse of Louisa Eshton and Mary Ingram, who sat nearer to me, confused the fragmentary sentences that reached me at intervals. At first I could not make much sense of what I heard; for the discourse of Louisa Eshton and Mary Ingram, who sat nearer to me, confused the fragmentary sentences that reached me at intervals. Au début, je ne pouvais pas vraiment comprendre ce que j'entendais; car le discours de Louisa Eshton et de Mary Ingram, qui était assise plus près de moi, confondait les phrases fragmentaires qui m'arrivaient par intervalles. These last were discussing the stranger; they both called him “a beautiful man.” Louisa said he was “a love of a creature,” and she “adored him;” and Mary instanced his “pretty little mouth, and nice nose,” as her ideal of the charming. ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||pointed out||||||||||||| These last were discussing the stranger; they both called him “a beautiful man.” Louisa said he was “a love of a creature,” and she “adored him;” and Mary instanced his “pretty little mouth, and nice nose,” as her ideal of the charming. Ces derniers discutaient de l'étranger; ils l'ont tous deux appelé «un homme magnifique». Louisa a dit qu'il était «un amour pour une créature», et elle «l'adorait»; et Mary instancia sa «jolie petite bouche et son joli nez», comme son idéal du charmant. “And what a sweet-tempered forehead he has!” cried Louisa,—“so smooth—none of those frowning irregularities I dislike so much; and such a placid eye and smile!” “And what a sweet-tempered forehead he has!” cried Louisa,—“so smooth—none of those frowning irregularities I dislike so much; and such a placid eye and smile!” «Et quel front doux il a! s'écria Louisa, - si douce - aucune de ces irrégularités froncées que je n'aime pas tant; et un œil et un sourire si placides! And then, to my great relief, Mr. Henry Lynn summoned them to the other side of the room, to settle some point about the deferred excursion to Hay Common. |||||||||||||||||||||||||excursion||| And then, to my great relief, Mr. Henry Lynn summoned them to the other side of the room, to settle some point about the deferred excursion to Hay Common. Et puis, à mon grand soulagement, M. Henry Lynn les a convoqués de l'autre côté de la salle, pour régler un point sur l'excursion différée à Hay Common. I was now able to concentrate my attention on the group by the fire, and I presently gathered that the new-comer was called Mr. Mason; then I learned that he was but just arrived in England, and that he came from some hot country: which was the reason, doubtless, his face was so sallow, and that he sat so near the hearth, and wore a surtout in the house. I was now able to concentrate my attention on the group by the fire, and I presently gathered that the new-comer was called Mr. Mason; then I learned that he was but just arrived in England, and that he came from some hot country: which was the reason, doubtless, his face was so sallow, and that he sat so near the hearth, and wore a surtout in the house. J'étais maintenant en mesure de concentrer mon attention sur le groupe près du feu, et je comprenais à présent que le nouveau venu s'appelait M. Mason; puis j'appris qu'il venait d'arriver en Angleterre et qu'il venait d'un pays chaud: ce qui était sans doute la raison pour laquelle son visage était si pâle, et qu'il était assis si près du foyer, et portait un surtout dans la maison . Presently the words Jamaica, Kingston, Spanish Town, indicated the West Indies as his residence; and it was with no little surprise I gathered, ere long, that he had there first seen and become acquainted with Mr. Rochester. Actuellement, les mots Jamaica, Kingston, Spanish Town, désignent les Antilles comme sa résidence; et ce ne fut pas sans surprise que je compris, avant longtemps, qu'il y avait vu et fait la connaissance de M. Rochester pour la première fois. He spoke of his friend’s dislike of the burning heats, the hurricanes, and rainy seasons of that region. Il a parlé de l'aversion de son ami pour les chaleurs brûlantes, les ouragans et les saisons des pluies de cette région. I knew Mr. Rochester had been a traveller: Mrs. Fairfax had said so; but I thought the continent of Europe had bounded his wanderings; till now I had never heard a hint given of visits to more distant shores. Je savais que M. Rochester avait voyagé: Mme Fairfax l'avait dit; mais je croyais que le continent européen avait délimité ses pérégrinations; jusqu'à présent, je n'avais jamais entendu la moindre allusion à des visites sur des rivages plus éloignés. I was pondering these things, when an incident, and a somewhat unexpected one, broke the thread of my musings. Je réfléchissais à ces choses, lorsqu'un incident, et un peu inattendu, a rompu le fil de mes réflexions.

Mr. Mason, shivering as some one chanced to open the door, asked for more coal to be put on the fire, which had burnt out its flame, though its mass of cinder still shone hot and red. |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||cinders||||| M. Mason, frissonnant quand quelqu'un a par hasard ouvert la porte, a demandé que plus de charbon soit mis sur le feu, qui avait brûlé sa flamme, bien que sa masse de cendres brillait encore chaude et rouge. The footman who brought the coal, in going out, stopped near Mr. Eshton’s chair, and said something to him in a low voice, of which I heard only the words, “old woman,”—“quite troublesome.” Le valet de pied qui apportait le charbon, en sortant, s'arrêta près de la chaise de M. Eshton et lui dit quelque chose à voix basse, dont je n'entendis que les mots «vieille femme» - «assez gênant». “Tell her she shall be put in the stocks if she does not take herself off,” replied the magistrate. “Tell her she shall be put in the stocks if she does not take herself off,” replied the magistrate. «Dites-lui qu'elle sera mise en stock si elle ne se décolle pas», répondit le magistrat.

“No—stop!” interrupted Colonel Dent.

“Don’t send her away, Eshton; we might turn the thing to account; better consult the ladies.” And speaking aloud, he continued—“Ladies, you talked of going to Hay Common to visit the gipsy camp; Sam here says that one of the old Mother Bunches is in the servants' hall at this moment, and insists upon being brought in before ‘the quality,' to tell them their fortunes. «Ne la renvoyez pas, Eshton; nous pourrions mettre la chose en compte; mieux vaut consulter les dames. Et parlant à haute voix, il continua: «Mesdames, vous avez parlé d'aller à Hay Common pour visiter le camp de gitans; Sam dit ici qu'une des vieilles grappes mères se trouve dans la salle des serviteurs en ce moment, et insiste pour être amené avant «la qualité», pour leur dire leur fortune. Would you like to see her?” “Surely, colonel,” cried Lady Ingram, “you would not encourage such a low impostor? ||||||||||||impostor «Sûrement, colonel, s'écria lady Ingram, vous n'encourageriez pas un imposteur aussi bas? Dismiss her, by all means, at once!” Renvoyez-la, par tous les moyens, à la fois! “But I cannot persuade her to go away, my lady,” said the footman; “nor can any of the servants: Mrs. Fairfax is with her just now, entreating her to be gone; but she has taken a chair in the chimney-corner, and says nothing shall stir her from it till she gets leave to come in here.” ||||||||||||||||||||||||||entreating|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| «Mais je ne peux pas la persuader de partir, ma dame,» dit le valet de pied; «Aucun des serviteurs non plus: Mme Fairfax est avec elle en ce moment, la suppliant de partir; mais elle a pris une chaise dans le coin de la cheminée, et dit que rien ne la remuera jusqu'à ce qu'elle soit autorisée à entrer ici. “What does she want?” asked Mrs. Eshton.

“‘To tell the gentry their fortunes,' she says, ma’am; and she swears she must and will do it.” «Pour dire à la gentry leur fortune, dit-elle, madame; et elle jure qu'elle doit le faire et qu'elle le fera. “What is she like?” inquired the Misses Eshton, in a breath. "À quoi ressemble-t-elle?" s'enquit les Misses Eshton, dans un souffle.

“A shockingly ugly old creature, miss; almost as black as a crock.” «Une vieille créature terriblement laide, mademoiselle; presque aussi noir qu'un pot. “Why, she’s a real sorceress!” cried Frederick Lynn. «Eh bien, c'est une vraie sorcière!» s'écria Frederick Lynn. “Let us have her in, of course.” «Laissez-la entrer, bien sûr. “To be sure,” rejoined his brother; “it would be a thousand pities to throw away such a chance of fun.” “To be sure,” rejoined his brother; “it would be a thousand pities to throw away such a chance of fun.” «Pour être sûr,» a rejoint son frère; «Ce serait mille pitié de gâcher une telle chance de s'amuser.» “My dear boys, what are you thinking about?” exclaimed Mrs. Lynn. “I cannot possibly countenance any such inconsistent proceeding,” chimed in the Dowager Ingram. |||||||||in||| “I cannot possibly countenance any such inconsistent proceeding,” chimed in the Dowager Ingram. "Je ne peux pas accepter une telle procédure incohérente", a sonné le douairier Ingram. “Indeed, mama, but you can—and will,” pronounced the haughty voice of Blanche, as she turned round on the piano-stool; where till now she had sat silent, apparently examining sundry sheets of music. ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||various||| «En effet, maman, mais tu peux - et tu le feras,» prononça la voix hautaine de Blanche en se retournant sur le tabouret de piano; où jusqu'à présent elle s'était assise silencieuse, examinant apparemment diverses feuilles de musique. “I have a curiosity to hear my fortune told: therefore, Sam, order the beldame forward.” |||||||||||||old woman| «J'ai une curiosité d'entendre ma fortune racontée: donc, Sam, ordonne au beldame d'avancer. “My darling Blanche!

recollect—” se rappeler-" “I do—I recollect all you can suggest; and I must have my will—quick, Sam!” «Oui, je me souviens de tout ce que vous pouvez suggérer; et je dois avoir ma volonté - vite, Sam! “Yes—yes—yes!” cried all the juveniles, both ladies and gentlemen. “Let her come—it will be excellent sport!” The footman still lingered.

“She looks such a rough one,” said he. «Elle a l'air si rude», dit-il. “Go!” ejaculated Miss Ingram, and the man went. Excitement instantly seized the whole party: a running fire of raillery and jests was proceeding when Sam returned. L'excitation s'empara instantanément de toute la fête: un feu de raillerie et de plaisanteries se déroulait lorsque Sam revint.

“She won’t come now,” said he.

“She says it’s not her mission to appear before the ‘vulgar herd' (them’s her words). «Elle dit que ce n'est pas sa mission de comparaître devant le« troupeau vulgaire »(ce sont ses mots). I must show her into a room by herself, and then those who wish to consult her must go to her one by one.” I must show her into a room by herself, and then those who wish to consult her must go to her one by one.” Je dois la montrer seule dans une pièce, puis ceux qui souhaitent la consulter doivent aller la voir un par un. “You see now, my queenly Blanche,” began Lady Ingram, “she encroaches. ||||||||||oversteps «Vous voyez maintenant, ma reine Blanche, commença lady Ingram, elle empiète. Be advised, my angel girl—and—” Soyez avisée, ma fille ange… et… » “Show her into the library, of course,” cut in the “angel girl.” “It is not my mission to listen to her before the vulgar herd either: I mean to have her all to myself. «Montrez-la dans la bibliothèque, bien sûr», coupa la «fille ange». «Ce n'est pas ma mission non plus de l'écouter devant le vulgaire troupeau: je veux l'avoir pour moi tout seul. Is there a fire in the library?” “Yes, ma’am—but she looks such a tinkler.” |||||||fool «Oui, madame, mais elle a l'air si bricoleuse. “Cease that chatter, blockhead! «Arrêtez ce bavardage, imbécile!

and do my bidding.” et||| |||bidding Again Sam vanished; and mystery, animation, expectation rose to full flow once more. Encore une fois, Sam disparut; et le mystère, l'animation, l'attente se sont à nouveau montrés à plein régime. “She’s ready now,” said the footman, as he reappeared. “She wishes to know who will be her first visitor.” “I think I had better just look in upon her before any of the ladies go,” said Colonel Dent. «Je pense que je ferais mieux de la regarder avant que l'une des dames ne parte», a déclaré le colonel Dent. “Tell her, Sam, a gentleman is coming.”

Sam went and returned.

“She says, sir, that she’ll have no gentlemen; they need not trouble themselves to come near her; nor,” he added, with difficulty suppressing a titter, “any ladies either, except the young, and single.” «Elle dit, monsieur, qu'elle n'aura pas de messieurs; ils n'ont pas besoin de s'inquiéter pour s'approcher d'elle; ni, »ajouta-t-il, réprimant difficilement un râle,« aucune femme non plus, sauf les jeunes et les célibataires. “By Jove, she has taste!” exclaimed Henry Lynn. «Par Jove, elle a du goût!» s'exclama Henry Lynn. Miss Ingram rose solemnly: “I go first,” she said, in a tone which might have befitted the leader of a forlorn hope, mounting a breach in the van of his men. |||||||||||||||||leader||||||||in||||| Miss Ingram rose solemnly: “I go first,” she said, in a tone which might have befitted the leader of a forlorn hope, mounting a breach in the van of his men. Miss Ingram se leva solennellement: «Je vais la première», dit-elle, d'un ton qui aurait pu convenir au chef d'un espoir désespéré, montant une brèche dans la camionnette de ses hommes.

“Oh, my best!

oh, my dearest! pause—reflect!” was her mama’s cry; but she swept past her in stately silence, passed through the door which Colonel Dent held open, and we heard her enter the library. pause - réfléchissez! était le cri de sa maman; mais elle passa devant elle dans un silence majestueux, passa la porte que le colonel Dent tenait ouverte, et nous l'entendîmes entrer dans la bibliothèque. A comparative silence ensued. Un silence comparatif s'ensuivit.

Lady Ingram thought it “le cas” to wring her hands: which she did accordingly. Lady Ingram a pensé qu'il était «le cas» de se tordre les mains: ce qu'elle a fait en conséquence. Miss Mary declared she felt, for her part, she never dared venture. Mlle Mary a déclaré qu'elle sentait, pour sa part, qu'elle n'osait jamais s'aventurer. Amy and Louisa Eshton tittered under their breath, and looked a little frightened. Amy et Louisa Eshton ricanèrent dans leur souffle et semblèrent un peu effrayées. The minutes passed very slowly: fifteen were counted before the library-door again opened. Les minutes s'écoulèrent très lentement: quinze furent comptées avant que la porte de la bibliothèque ne se rouvre. Miss Ingram returned to us through the arch. Would she laugh?

Would she take it as a joke? Prendrait-elle cela pour une blague ? All eyes met her with a glance of eager curiosity, and she met all eyes with one of rebuff and coldness; she looked neither flurried nor merry: she walked stiffly to her seat, and took it in silence. Tous les yeux la rencontrèrent avec un regard de curiosité avide, et elle rencontra tous les yeux avec un regard de rebuffade et de froideur; elle n'avait l'air ni agitée ni joyeuse: elle se dirigea avec raideur vers son siège et la prit en silence. “Well, Blanche?” said Lord Ingram.

“What did she say, sister?” asked Mary.

“What did you think?

How do you feel?—Is she a real fortune-teller?” demanded the Misses Eshton. Comment vous sentez-vous? - Est-elle une vraie diseuse de bonne aventure? demanda les Misses Eshton. “Now, now, good people,” returned Miss Ingram, “don’t press upon me. «Maintenant, maintenant, braves gens», répondit Miss Ingram, «ne me pressez pas. Really your organs of wonder and credulity are easily excited: you seem, by the importance of you all—my good mama included—ascribe to this matter, absolutely to believe we have a genuine witch in the house, who is in close alliance with the old gentleman. ||||||||||||||||||||||ascribe||||||||||||||||||||||| Vraiment vos organes d'émerveillement et de crédulité sont facilement excités: vous semblez, par l'importance de vous tous - ma bonne maman incluse - attribuer à cette question, absolument croire que nous avons une vraie sorcière dans la maison, qui est en étroite alliance avec le vieux monsieur. I have seen a gipsy vagabond; she has practised in hackneyed fashion the science of palmistry and told me what such people usually tell. J'ai vu un vagabond gitan; elle a pratiqué à la mode la science de la chiromancie et m'a dit ce que ces gens disent habituellement. My whim is gratified; and now I think Mr. Eshton will do well to put the hag in the stocks to-morrow morning, as he threatened.” Mon caprice est satisfait; et maintenant je pense que M. Eshton fera bien de mettre la sorcière dans les stocks demain matin, comme il l'a menacé. Miss Ingram took a book, leant back in her chair, and so declined further conversation. Miss Ingram prit un livre, se pencha en arrière sur sa chaise et refusa ainsi de poursuivre la conversation. I watched her for nearly half-an-hour: during all that time she never turned a page, and her face grew momently darker, more dissatisfied, and more sourly expressive of disappointment. Je l'ai regardée pendant près d'une demi-heure: pendant tout ce temps, elle n'a jamais tourné une page, et son visage est devenu momentanément plus sombre, plus insatisfait et plus aigrement exprimant la déception. She had obviously not heard anything to her advantage: and it seemed to me, from her prolonged fit of gloom and taciturnity, that she herself, notwithstanding her professed indifference, attached undue importance to whatever revelations had been made her. Elle n'avait manifestement rien entendu à son avantage: et il me semblait, par son accès prolongé de tristesse et de taciturnité, qu'elle-même, malgré son indifférence déclarée, attachait une importance indue aux révélations qui lui avaient été faites. Meantime, Mary Ingram, Amy and Louisa Eshton, declared they dared not go alone; and yet they all wished to go. Pendant ce temps, Mary Ingram, Amy et Louisa Eshton ont déclaré qu'elles n'osaient pas y aller seules; et pourtant ils voulaient tous partir. A negotiation was opened through the medium of the ambassador, Sam; and after much pacing to and fro, till, I think, the said Sam’s calves must have ached with the exercise, permission was at last, with great difficulty, extorted from the rigorous Sibyl, for the three to wait upon her in a body. Une négociation a été ouverte par l'intermédiaire de l'ambassadeur, Sam; et après bien des allées et venues, jusqu'à ce que, je pense, les mollets dudit Sam aient dû faire mal avec l'exercice, la permission fut enfin, avec beaucoup de difficulté, extorquée à la rigoureuse Sibylle, pour que les trois l'attendent en corps. Their visit was not so still as Miss Ingram’s had been: we heard hysterical giggling and little shrieks proceeding from the library; and at the end of about twenty minutes they burst the door open, and came running across the hall, as if they were half-scared out of their wits. Leur visite ne fut pas aussi calme que celle de Mlle Ingram: nous entendîmes des rires hystériques et des petits cris venant de la bibliothèque; et au bout de vingt minutes environ, ils firent sauter la porte et traversèrent le couloir en courant, comme s'ils étaient à moitié effrayés. “I am sure she is something not right!” they cried, one and all. «Je suis sûr que quelque chose ne va pas!» ils ont pleuré, un et tous. “She told us such things! She knows all about us!” and they sank breathless into the various seats the gentlemen hastened to bring them. Elle sait tout sur nous! et ils tombèrent essoufflés dans les divers sièges que les messieurs s'empressèrent de leur apporter. Pressed for further explanation, they declared she had told them of things they had said and done when they were mere children; described books and ornaments they had in their boudoirs at home: keepsakes that different relations had presented to them. |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||keepsakes||||||| Pressés pour plus d'explications, ils ont déclaré qu'elle leur avait dit des choses qu'ils avaient dites et faites quand ils n'étaient que des enfants; décrit des livres et des ornements qu'ils avaient dans leurs boudoirs à la maison: des souvenirs que différentes relations leur avaient présentés. They affirmed that she had even divined their thoughts, and had whispered in the ear of each the name of the person she liked best in the world, and informed them of what they most wished for. |||||||||||||||||||||||||||world||||||||| Ils ont affirmé qu'elle avait même deviné leurs pensées, et avait murmuré à l'oreille de chacun le nom de la personne qu'elle aimait le plus au monde, et les avait informés de ce qu'ils souhaitaient le plus. Here the gentlemen interposed with earnest petitions to be further enlightened on these two last-named points; but they got only blushes, ejaculations, tremors, and titters, in return for their importunity. ||||||petitions||||||||||||||||||||||||importunity Ici, les messieurs s'interposèrent avec des pétitions sincères pour être davantage éclairés sur ces deux derniers points; mais ils n'ont eu que des rougeurs, des éjaculations, des tremblements et des tremblements, en échange de leur importunité. The matrons, meantime, offered vinaigrettes and wielded fans; and again and again reiterated the expression of their concern that their warning had not been taken in time; and the elder gentlemen laughed, and the younger urged their services on the agitated fair ones. ||||vinaigrettes|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| Les matrones, pendant ce temps, offraient des vinaigrettes et brandissaient des éventails; et ont réitéré à maintes reprises leur inquiétude quant au fait que leur avertissement n’avait pas été pris à temps; et les messieurs aînés ont ri, et les plus jeunes ont exhorté leurs services sur les blondes agitées. In the midst of the tumult, and while my eyes and ears were fully engaged in the scene before me, I heard a hem close at my elbow: I turned, and saw Sam. Au milieu du tumulte, et pendant que mes yeux et mes oreilles étaient pleinement engagés dans la scène devant moi, j'entendis un ourlet se refermer sur mon coude: je me retournai et vis Sam. “If you please, miss, the gipsy declares that there is another young single lady in the room who has not been to her yet, and she swears she will not go till she has seen all. ||||||||||||||||||||||||||jure||||||||| «S'il vous plaît, mademoiselle, la gitane déclare qu'il y a une autre jeune femme célibataire dans la chambre qui n'est pas encore allée chez elle, et elle jure qu'elle ne partira pas tant qu'elle n'aura pas tout vu. I thought it must be you: there is no one else for it. What shall I tell her?” Que dois-je lui dire ?" “Oh, I will go by all means,” I answered: and I was glad of the unexpected opportunity to gratify my much-excited curiosity. «Oh, j'irai par tous les moyens», répondis-je: et j'étais heureux de l'occasion inattendue de satisfaire ma curiosité très excitée. I slipped out of the room, unobserved by any eye—for the company were gathered in one mass about the trembling trio just returned—and I closed the door quietly behind me. “If you like, miss,” said Sam, “I’ll wait in the hall for you; and if she frightens you, just call and I’ll come in.” “No, Sam, return to the kitchen: I am not in the least afraid.” Nor was I; but I was a good deal interested and excited. «Non, Sam, retourne dans la cuisine: je n'ai pas le moins du monde peur. Moi non plus; mais j'étais très intéressée et excitée.