4级1-8织工马南Silas Mraner8-10

4级1-8织工马南Silas Mraner8-10 8 Eppie has grown up It was a bright autumn Sunday，sixteen years after Silas had found Eppie in his cottage(The Raveloe church bells were ringing，and people were coming out of church after the morning service(First came the new squire，Godfrey Cass，looking a little heavier now，but with a straight back and a firm step(On his arm was his wife Nancy， still a pretty woman(Just behind them came Mr Lammeter and Priscilla(They all went into the Red House( 'You and Priscilla will stay for tea，won't you,Nancy asked her father( 'My dear，you must ask Priscilla，'replied Mr Lammeter with a smile('She manages me and the farm as well(' 'Well，it's better for your health if I manage everything，fa ther，'said Priscilla('Then there's nothing for you to worry about(No，Nancy dear，we must go home now( But you and I can have a walk round the garden while the servants are get ting the horses ready( When the sisters were alone in the garden，Priscilla said，'My dear，I'm very glad you're going to have a dairy(Making your own butter will give you something to think about all the time(You'll never be sad when you've got a dairy('And she put her arm through her sister's( 'Dear Priscilla，'said Nancy gratefully('I'm only ever sad when Godfrey is(I could be happy if he could accept our life as it is(But it's more difficult for a man (' 'Men～'cried Priscilla impatiently('They're always wanting something new～Never happy with what they've got～I'm glad I was too ugly to get married～I'm much happier with fa,ther～' ' Oh Priscilla，'said Nancy('Don't be angry with Godfrey—he's a very good husband( But of course he's disappointed that we haven't had children—he wanted them so much(' 'Well，father is waiting for me—I'd better go now(Goodbye，my dear('And the sisters kissed goodbye When Priscilla and her father had left，Godfrey said，'Nancy， I think I'll just go and look at some of the fields we're draining near the old quarry (' 'You'll be back by tea-time，dear,' 'Oh yes，I'll be back in an hour(' This was a habit of Godfrey's on Sunday afternoons(He en,joyed walking round the fields that belonged to him now(So Nancy often had a quiet hour at about this time，which she spent reading，or sometimes just thinking. She remembered all the little things that had happened to her，especially during her marriage，in the last fifteen years (The great sadness of her married life had been the death of her only baby(Like most women，she had looked forward to be, coming a mother very much(But when the baby died soon af,ter it was born，she made herself accept the fact( She did not allow herself to think about it，or to wish for anything different(Godfrey，however，had been terribly disappointed，es,pecially when it seemed likely Nancy's religion was extremely important to her(She firmly believed that people should accept whatever happened to them in life，because it was God who decided everything(But she un-derstood how difficult it was for Godfrey to accept that their marriage would be childless('Was I right，'she wondered for the hundredth time， 'to refuse him，when he said we should adopt a child,I believe that if God hasn't given us a child，it's because God doesn't want us to have one(I'm sure I'm right(But poor Godfrey～It's worse for him than for me(I've got him， and the house，and now the dairy to think about( But although he's always good to me，I know he's unhappy —he wants children so much～' From the first moment Godfrey had spoken of adopting a child，he had mentioned Eppie's name(She had always been the child he wanted to adopt(He had no idea that Silas would rather die than lose Eppie，and he imagined that the weaver would be glad if the child were adopted by the Cass family('After all，the girl will have a much better life with us，'he told himself('I can't be really happy if we don't have a child(And I can never tell Nancy the truth about Eppie—I'm afraid she'll hate me for it(' While Nancy was sitting quietly in the Red House，thinking about her husband， Silas and Eppie were sitting outside their cottage near the quarry They had been to church too，which they did every week，like the Casses and most of the villagers Silas had started taking Eppie to church when she was very young，because Dolly Winthrop had persuaded him that every child should have some religious training(Because of Eppie，Silas was completely accepted in Raveloe now(Nobody thought he was strange any more;in fact，he was almost a popular fig-ure in the village( He was older now，and could not work as hard as he used to(Recently，as he had more time to think，he had begun to re-member the past，and his old friends at the Light Street chapel(He realized how his once lonely life had changed since Eppie had come to him Now he had friends，and trusted people，and was happy( And he began to see that the God in the Raveloe church was the same God he had been so angry with， the last time he had been to the chapel(It seemed to him that there had been some mistake in his past，which had thrown a dark shadow over his early life Perhaps now he would never know whether Mr Paston，the chapel minister，still thought he was guilty of stealing(And he would never dis,cover why the drawing of the lots had seemed to prove his guilt('But there must be a Good of goodness in this world，'he thought， 'because He sent Eppie to me(I must just trust，and believe that He is right.' He had told Eppie how her mother had died in the snow，and he had given her the dead woman's wedding ring(Eppie was not at all interested in who her real fat 'Father，'she said gently，'if I get married，do you think I should wear my mother's ring,' 'Oh，Eppie～'said Silas，surprised('Are you thinking of get,ting married， then,' 'Well，Aaron was talking to me about it，'replied Eppie，blushing('You know he's nearly twenty-four now，and is earning good money， and he'd like to marry soon(' 'And who would he like to marry,'asked Silas with rather a sad smile( 'Why，me，of course，daddy～'said Eppie，laughing and kiss,ing her father('He won't want to marry anyone else～' 'And you'd like to marry him，would you,'asked Silas( 'Yes，one day(I don't know when(Aaron says everyone's married some time(But I told him that's not true，because you haven't ever been married，have you，daddy, ' 'No，child，'said Silas('I was a lonely man before you were sent to me(' 'But you'll never be lonely again，father，'said Eppie loving,ly('That's what Aaron said(He doesn't want to take me away from you(He wants us all to live together， and he'll do all the work，and you needn't work at all，father(He'll be like a son to you(' 'Well，my child，you're young to be married，'said Silas('But he's a good young man(We'll ask his mother what we should do(She always gives us good advice(You see，Eppie，I'm getting older，and I'd like to think of you with a strong young husband to take care of you for the rest of your life(Yes，we'll ask Dolly Winthrop for her opinion(' 8 埃比长大了 这是西拉斯在小屋找到埃比16年后的秋天的一个晴朗的礼拜日。瑞福洛教堂的钟声响了，做完晨祷的人们陆续走出教堂。走在最前面的是新的乡绅戈弗雷?凯斯，他比以前胖了一些，可是背很直，步伐也很坚定。他的太太南茜挽着他的胳膊。南茜仍然那么漂亮。在他们后面的是拉默特先生和普丽西拉。大家一起走进了红屋。 “你和普丽西拉会在这儿喝茶吧,”南茜问自己的父亲。 “亲爱的，那得问问普丽西拉，”拉默特先生笑着说，“她既管着农场，也管着我。” “一切由我来管对你有好处，爸爸。”普丽西拉说，“这样你就不用为各种事操心了。不，亲爱的南茜，我们得回家去了。不过咱们可以趁用人备马的时候到花园里去走一走。” 姐妹两人单独在花园里的时候，普丽西拉说:“我亲爱的，我真高兴你就要有牛奶厂了。自己做奶酪，你就会整天有事可想了。有了牛奶厂，你就再不会发愁了。”她挽起妹妹的胳膊。 “亲爱的普丽西拉 “男人～”普丽西拉不耐烦地说，“他们总想要新鲜的东西，从不会对得到的东西感到满意～我真幸运太丑了嫁不出去～我和爸爸在一起要快乐得多。” “哦，普丽西拉，”南茜说，“你别怪戈弗雷——他是个很好的丈夫。当然他因为我们没有孩子失望——他太想要孩子了。” “好了，爸爸在等我——我得走了。再见，亲爱的～”姐妹俩互相吻别。 普丽西拉和她父亲走后，戈弗雷说:“南茜，我想我得去看看那几片靠近采石场的正在排水的地。” “你会回来喝茶吗,亲爱的,” “会，我一小时后回来。” 这是戈弗雷在礼拜日下午的习惯，他喜欢绕着那些现在属于他的土地走一走。南茜会利用这安静的一小时看看书，或是想想事。 她记得以前发生过的所有小事，尤其是结婚15年来的情形。唯一的孩子的夭折是她婚姻生活中最大的痛苦。和大部分女人一样，她渴望着做一个母亲，但她的孩子降生后不久就死了，于是她强迫自己接受了这个事实。她不许自己去想这件事，也不许自己去做其他的设想。然而戈弗雷极其失望，尤其当看到南茜很可能不能再要孩子的时候。 宗教信仰对南茜非常重要，她坚信人们应当接受命运赋予他们的一切，因为那是上帝安排的，但她知道戈弗雷是多么难以接受他们没有孩子的婚姻。“我这样对吗,”南茜第100次问自己，“拒绝按他说的去收养一个孩子,我想上帝没给我们孩子是因为他不想让我们有孩子。我想我是对的。可是可怜的戈弗雷，他比我要痛苦，我拥有了他，拥有了房子，又将有牛奶厂，可他虽然对我一直很好，可我知道他并不开心——他太想要孩子了。” 戈弗雷第一次提起收养孩子的时候就讲到了埃比的名字。他一直很想收养她，没有想到西拉斯宁可死也不愿意失去埃比，只认为织布匠会为埃比被凯斯家收养而高兴。“不管怎样，小姑娘跟着我们会过得好得多。”他对自己说。“没有孩子我不会真的幸福。可我又不能说出关于埃比的实情——南茜一定会因此而恨我的。” 南茜静静地坐在家里想着她丈夫的时候，西拉斯和埃比正坐在他们采石场旁边的小屋前面。像平时一样。他们也同凯斯一家和其他村民一道做了礼拜。因为多莉劝西拉斯说每个孩子都应该接受宗教教育，所以西拉斯在埃比很小的时候就开始带她去教堂。由于埃比的原因，西拉斯现在完完全全被瑞福洛的人们所接受了。没人 西拉斯年龄大了，不能像原来那样拚命干活了。最近，因为有了更多的思考的时间，他开始回忆过去，回忆日光街小教堂的老朋友们。他意识到了自己一度寂寞的生活是怎么因为埃比而改变的。他现在有朋友，信任别人而且幸福。他开始觉得瑞福洛的这个上帝和最后一次去日光街小教堂时他曾气恼过的那个上帝是同一个上帝。他认为自己可能前世做过什么错事，给自己的前半生罩上了一层阴影。可能他永远无法知道小教堂的牧师帕斯通先生是不是仍认为他犯了偷窃罪，他也永远无法发现为什么抽签会证明他有罪。“但这世上一定有一个好的上帝，”他想，“因为他把埃比送给了我。我必须相信他是对的。” 他对埃比讲了她母亲是怎么死在雪地上的，并把她妈妈的结婚戒指给了她。埃比一点儿也不关心她的亲生父亲是谁，因为她觉得自己已经有了一个世界上最好的爸爸。这会儿她正紧挨着西拉斯坐在门外晒太阳。两人都沉默了一会儿。 “爸爸，”埃比轻声说，“如果我结婚，我要不要戴妈妈的戒指,” “什么，埃比，”西拉斯吓了一跳，“你想结婚了吗,” “阿荣对我谈起了，”埃比的脸红了，“你知道他都快二十四岁了，而且也挣钱了，他想早点儿结婚。” “他想娶谁,”西拉斯笑得很悲伤。 “当然是我了，爸爸～”埃比笑着吻了她的父亲，“他除了我谁也不娶。” “你想嫁给他，是吗,”西拉斯问。 “是的，有一天会的。我也不知道会是哪一天。阿荣说人总要结婚，我说那可不一定，你就没结过婚，对吧，爸爸,” “是的，孩子，”西拉斯说，“在你来到我身边之前，我一直是一个孤独的人。” “不过你不会再孤独了，爸爸，”埃比深情地说，“阿荣也这么说，他不想把我从你身边夺走，他想我们大家生活在一起，他干所有的活儿，你不用再工作了，他会像儿子那样孝敬你。” “可是，我的孩子，你太小了还不该结婚，”西拉斯说，“可他确实是个好小伙子。咱们问问他妈妈，看看该怎么做。她总能帮我们。你看，埃比，我老了，我也希望你有个年轻强壮的丈夫来照顾你以后的生活。好吧，我们去问问多莉?温思罗普的意见。” 9 Godfrey confesses at last At the Red House Nancy was waiting patiently for God,frey to come home to tea(Suddenly one of the servants ran into the sitting-room，crying excitedly，'Madam，there are lots of people in the street～They're all running the same way，towards the quarry～Perhap 'Jane，don't get so excited，'replied Nancy calmly('I ex-pect it's nothing serious(Go and get the tea ready(Mr Godfrey will be back soon('But secretly she was saying to herself，'I hope nothing's happened to Godfrey～' So when he came into the room，a few minutes later，she was very relieved('My dear，I'm so thankful you've come，'she said，going towards him('I was beginning to think—' She stopped suddenly when she saw Godfrey's shaking hands and white face(She put her hand on his arm，but he did not seem to notice，and threw himself into a chair( 'Sit down—Nancy，'he said with difficulty('I came back as soon as I could，to prevent anyone telling you except me( It's terrible news for me， but I'm more worried about how you will feel about it(' 'It isn't father or Priscilla,'said Nancy，trying to control her trembling lips( 'No，it's nobody living，'said Godfrey('It's Dunstan，my brother，who left home sixteen years ago and never came back(We've found him„found his body—all that's left of it—in the old quarry( Nancy felt calmer now(That was not terrible news( 'You know the men have been draining our fields near the quarry(Well，as a result， the quarry has suddenly gone dry，and we've found him lying at the bottom( We know it's him be,cause he's wearing his watch and his rings(' Godfrey paused(It was not easy to say what came next( 'Do you think he drowned himself,'asked Nancy，wonder,ing why her husband was so shaken by the death of a brother he had never loved( 'No，he fell in，'replied Godfrey in a low voice('Dunstan was the man who robbed Silas Marner(The bags of gold were found with his body(' 'Oh Godfrey～I am sorry～'said Nancy(She understood how ashamed her husband must be(The Casses were so proud of their family name( 'I had to tell you(I couldn't keep it from you，'Godfrey continued，and then stopped，looking at the ground for two long minutes(Nancy knew that he had something more to say(Finally Godfrey lifted his eyes to her face，and said，'Every,body's secrets are discovered sooner or later，Nancy(I've lived with a secret ever since I married you，but I'm going to confess it now(I don't want you to discover it from someone else，or hear about it when I'm dead，I was weak and hesitating when I was younger—I'm going to be firm with myself now(' Nancy could not speak(She stared at her husband in horror(What secret could he possibly have from her, 'Nancy，'said Godfrey slowly，'when I married you，I hid something from you—I was wrong not to tell you(That woman Silas Marner found dead in the snow—Eppie's moth er—that poor woman—was my wife(Eppie is my child(' He paused，looking worriedly at Nancy(But she sat quite st Perhaps you won't be able to love me any more，'he said，his voice trembling a little( She was silent( I was wrong，I know I was wrong to marry Molly and then to keep it a secret(But I loved you，Nancy，I only ever wanted to marry you( Still Nancy was silent，looking down at her hands(And God frey almost expected her to get up and say she would leave him and go to live with her father and sister(She was so religious，and so firm in her ideas of right and wrong～ But at last she lifted her eyes to his and spoke(She did not sound angry，but only sad('Oh Godfrey，why didn't you tell me this long ago, I didn't know Eppie was yours and so I re fused to adopt her(Of course I'd accept your child into our home～But—oh，Godfrey—how sad to think we've spent all these years with no children～ Why didn't you confess the truth before we married,We could be so happy now，with a beautiful daughter，who would love me as her mother～'tears were running down Nancy's face But Nancy，'cried Godfrey，bitterly angry with himself，' I couldn't tell you everything～I was in danger of losing you if I told you the truth～' 'I don't know about that，Godfrey(I certainly never want,ed to marry anyone else But it wasn't worth doing wrong just so that you could marry me(And our marriage hasn't been as happy for you as you thought it would be There was a sad smile on Nancy's face as she said the last words( 'Can you ever forgive me for what I've done，Nancy, You have only hurt me a little，Godfrey，and you've been a good husband to me for fifteen years But it's the other wom,an who you've hurt the most，and I don't see how you can put that right(' But we can take Eppie into our home now，'said Godfrey( 'It'll be different now that she's grown up，'said Nancy，shaking her head sadly('It'll be more difficult for her to get used to us(But it's our duty to take care of your child，and I'll ask God to make her love me( Then we'll go to the weaver's cottage tonight，'said God,frey，'and talk to Marner and Eppie about it(' 9 戈弗雷终于坦白了 红屋里，南茜正在耐心地等着戈弗雷回家来喝茶，突然一个用人闯进客厅，兴奋地喊: “夫人，街上有好多人～大家全都在向采石场跑～可能出什么事儿了～” “简，别那么激动，”南茜平静地说，“我想不会有什么重要的事。去拿茶来，戈弗雷先 生快回来了。”可她心里对自己说，“千万别是戈弗雷有什么事儿～” 几分钟后，当戈弗雷进屋时，她长出了一口气。“亲爱的，谢天谢地，你回来了～”她走 上前，“我开始在想„„” 她猛地停了下来。她看到戈弗雷双手发抖，脸色惨白。南茜把手放在他 “坐下——南茜，”他艰难地说，“我尽可能快地赶回来，我真怕别人来告诉你。这对我 是个可怕的消息，可我更担心你会怎么想。” “是爸爸或普丽西拉吗,”南茜努力克制着嘴唇的抖动。 “不，不关活人的事儿，”戈弗雷说，“是我弟弟邓斯坦，他从16年前离家后一直没有回来。我们找到他了„„找到了他的尸体——所有剩下的部分——在采石场里。” 南茜平静多了，这并不是太可怕的消息。 “你知道我让人给我们采石场边上那几块地排水，结果采石场一下子被排干了，我们在坑底发现了他的尸体。我们从手表和戒指认出那是他。” 戈弗雷停了下来。要说出后面的事儿很不容易。 “他是自杀吗,”南茜不明白丈夫为什么会对那个他从来没喜欢过的弟弟的死而这样难过。 “不，他失足掉下去的，”戈弗雷低声说，“邓斯坦是那个偷西拉斯钱的人，从他身上找到了钱袋子。” “噢，戈弗雷～我太难过了～”她知道丈夫一定感到非常耻辱。凯斯家族的荣誉是至高无尚的。 “我得告诉你，我不能向你隐瞒，”戈弗雷停下来，眼睛盯着地板看了两分钟。南茜知道他还有话要说。终于戈弗雷抬起了眼看着南茜的脸，说:“每个人的秘密早晚都会被发现，南茜。我们结婚以后我一直隐藏着一个秘密，现在我要把它向你坦白。我不想让你从别人那里发现它，或是在我死了以后再听到它。年轻的时候我脆弱而且优柔寡断——现在我要坚强起来。” 南茜害怕地看着丈夫，什么也说不出。他会隐瞒了什么呢, “南茜，”戈弗雷慢慢地说，“娶你的时候，我隐瞒了些东西——我很不应该不告诉你。那个被西拉斯发现死在雪地上的可怜女人——埃比的妈妈——是我的妻子。埃比是我的孩子。” 他停下来，担心地看着南茜，可她仍然静静地坐着，只是脸更白了。 “你也许不会再爱我了。”他的声音有些发抖。 她沉默着。 “我错了，我知道我不该娶了莫丽而又不说出来。可我爱你，南茜，我只想娶你。” 南茜看着自己的手，仍然沉默着。戈弗雷想她一定会站起来说她要离开他去和父亲和姐姐生活在一起。她是那么的虔诚，那么的是非分明～ 但最后南茜抬眼看着戈弗雷，声音悲伤，但并不愤怒:“戈弗雷，你怎么能那么长时间不 告诉我呢,我不知道埃比是你的女儿，所以不同意领养她。我当然应当接纳你的孩子来我们 的家。哦，戈弗雷——这么多年没有孩子是多不容易呀～为什么结 “可是南茜，”戈弗雷对自己很气恼，“我不能告诉你这些～我怕说了实话我就会失去你～” “我也不知道，戈弗雷，我从没想过要嫁给别人，可你不值得为娶我而做错事，而且我 们的婚姻也不像你想的那么幸福。”说到最后南茜苦笑了一下。 “你能宽恕我所做的吗，南茜,” “你对我的伤害并不严重，况且你已经做了15年的好丈夫。可你对另一个女人的伤害最 重，我不知道你能怎么去弥补。” “我们可以去把埃比接到家里来。”戈弗雷说。 “这并不那么容易，因为她已经长大了，”南茜悲哀地摇着头，“接受我们对她更难。可我们有义务去照料你的孩子，我会求上帝让她爱我。” “那我们今晚就去织布匠的家，”戈弗雷说，“去对西拉斯和埃比说。” 10 Eppie has to decide That evening Silas was resting in his chair near the fire，after the excitement of the day(Eppie was sitting close to him，holding both his hands，and on the table was Silas's lost gold(He had put the coins in piles，as he used to( 'You see，that's all I ever did in the long evenings before you came to me， 'he was telling Eppie，'just count my gold(I was only half alive in those days(What a good thing the money was taken away from me～I was killing myself with working all day，and counting money half the night(It wasn't a healthy life(And when you came， with your yellow curls，I thought you were the gold，And then，when I began to love you，I didn't want my gold any more('He stopped talking for a moment and looked at the money('The gold doesn't mean anything to me now(But perhaps，if I ever lost you，Eppie，if you ever went away from me，I'd need my gold again(I'd feel lonely then，and I'd think God had forgotten me，and perhaps I'd go back to my bad old habits('there were tears in Eppie's beautiful eyes，but she did not have time to answer Silas，as just then there was a knock on the door(When she opened it，Mr and Mrs Godfrey Cass came in( Good evening，my dear，'said Nancy，taking Eppie's hand gently('We're sorry to come so late( ' 'Well，Marner，'said Godfrey，as he and Nancy sat down，'I'm glad you've got your money back，and I'm very sorry it was one of my family who stole it from you( Whatever I can do for you，I will，to repay what I owe you—and I owe you a lot， Marner('silas was always uncomfortable with important people like the young Squire('You don't owe me anything，sir(You've already been very kind to me. And that money on the table is more than most working people can save in their whole Godfrey was impatient to explain why they had come('Yes，you've done well these last sixteen years，Marner，taking care of Eppie here(She looks pretty and healthy， but not very strong. Don't you think she should be a lady，not a working woman, Now Mrs Cass and I，you know;have no children，and we'd like to adopt a daughter to live with us in our beauti-ful home and enjoy all the good things we're used to(In fact，we'd like to have Eppie(I'm sure you'd be glad to see her be,come a lady， and of course we'd make sure you have every thing you need. And Eppie will come to see you very often，I expect(' Godfrey did not find it easy to say what he felt，and as a re,sult his words were not chosen sensitively(Silas was hurt，and afraid(His whole body trembled as he said quietly to Eppie af,ter a moment，'I won't stand in your way，my child(Thank Mr and Mrs Cass(It's very kind of them(' Eppie stepped forward She was blushing，but held her head high('Thank you， sir and madam(But I can't leave my father(And I don't want to be a lady， thank you('she went back to Silas's chair，and put an arm round his neck，brushing the tears from her eyes( Godfrey was extremely annoyed He wanted to do what he thought was his duty(And adopting Eppie would make him feel much less guilty about his past But，Eppie，you must agree，'he cried('You are my daughter～Marner，Eppie's my own child Her mother was my wife. Eppie's face went white( Silas，who had been relieved by hearing Eppie's answer to Godfrey，now felt angry('Then，sir，'he answered bitterly，'why didn't you confess this sixteen years ago，before I began to love her,Why do you come to take her away now，when it's like taking the heart out of my body,God gave her to me because you turned your back on her～ And He considers her mine～' I know I was wrong，and I'm sorry，'said Godfrey('But be sensible， Marner～ She'll be very near you and will often come to see you(She'll feel just the same towards you( 'Just the same,'said Silas more bitterly than ever('How can she feel the same, We're used to spending all our time to-gether～We need each other～ Godfrey thought the weaver was being very selfish('I think，Marner，'he said firmly，'that you should consider what's best for Eppie(You shouldn't stand in her way，when she could have a better life(I'm sorry，but I think it's my duty to take care of my own daughter(' Silas was silent for a moment(He was worried that perhaps Godfrey was right， and that it was selfish of him to keep Eppie(At last he made himself bring out the difficult words('All right(I'll say no more(Speak to the child(I won't pre, vent her from going(' Godfrey and Nancy were relieved to hear this，and thought that Eppie would now agree('Eppie， 'I've always wanted a daughter，my dear，'added Nancy in her gentle voice( But Eppie did not come forward this time(She stood by Silas's side，holding his hand in hers，and spoke almost coldly('Thank you，sir and madam， for your kind offer(But I wouldn't be happy if I left father(He'd have nobody if I weren't here(Nobody shall ever come between him and me～''But you must make sure，Eppie， 'said Silas worriedly，' that you won't be sorry，if you decide to stay with poor people(You could have a much better life at the Red House(''I'll never be sorry， father，'said Eppie firmly('I don't want to be rich，if I can't live with the people I know and love(' Nancy thought she could help to persuade Eppie('What you say is natural，my dear child，'she said kindly('But there's a duty you owe to your lawful father(If he opens his home to you，you shouldn't turn your back on him(' 'But I can't think of any home except this one～'cried Eppie，tears running down her face('l've only ever known one father～And I've promised to marry a working man， who'll live with us，and help me take care of father～ Godfrey looked at Nancy Let's go，'he said to her bitterly，in a low voice( 'We won't talk of this any more，'said Nancy，getting up(We just want the best for you，Eppie my dear，and you too，Marner(Good night(' Nancy and Godfrey left the cottage and walked home in the moonlight(When they reached home，Godfrey dropped into a chair(Nancy stood near him，waiting for him to speak(After a few moments he looked up at her，and took her hand( 'That's ended～'he said sadly( She kissed him and then said，'Yes，I'm afraid we can't hope to adopt her，if she doesn't want to come to us( 'No，'said Godfrey，'it's too late now(I made mistakes in the past，and I can't put them right(I wanted to be childless once，Nancy，and now I'll always be childless(' He thought for a moment，and then spoke in a softer voice('But I got yon，Nancy， and yet I've been wanting something different all the time Perhaps from now on I'll be able to ac,cept our life better，and we'll be happier('The following spring， there was a wedding in Raveloe(The sun shone warmly as Eppie walked through the village towards the church，with Silas，Aaron and Dolly(Eppie was wearing the beautiful white wedding dress she had always dreamed of，which Nancy Cass had bought for her(She was walking arm in arm with her father，Silas( 'I promise nothing will change when I'm married，father，'she whispered to him as they entered the church('You know I'll never leave you( There was quite a crowd of villagers outside the chu 'Look，father～'cried Priscilla('How lucky～We're in time to see the weaver's daughter getting married～Doesn't she look lovely,I'm sorry Nancy couldn't find a pretty little or,phan girl like that to take care of( Yes，my dear，'agreed Mr Lammeter('Now that we're all getting older，it would be good to have a young one in the fam,ily(Unfortunately，it's too late now( They went into the Red House，where Nancy was waiting for them(They had come to spend the day with her，because Godfrey was away on business and she would perhaps be lonely without him(The Casses were not going to Eppie's wedding( When the little wedding group came out of the church，the villagers and Silas's family all went to the Rainbow(There a wonderful wedding lunch was waiting for them， which had been ordered and paid for by Godfrey Cass( 'It's very generous of the young Squire to pay for all this，'said the landlord as he refilled the beer glasses( 'Well，what would you expect,'replied old Mr Macey sharply('Remember，it was his own brother who stole the weaver's gold～And Mr Godfrey has always helped Master Marner，with furniture and clothes and so on，since young Ep-pie came to the cottage(Well，it's only right to help a man like Master Marner(And I'd like you all to remember—I was the first to tell you I thought Master Marner was harmless—and I was right～Now let's drink to the health of the happy young couple～ 'And the villagers lifted their glasses and cried，' To Eppie and Aaron～' When the meal was over and the guests had begun to return to their homes，Silas， Eppie and her new husband walked slow-ly back to their cottage by the quarry(It had been enlarged by Godfrey Cass's workmen，and was looking lovely in the late af, ternoon sunshine( 'Oh father，'said Eppie('What a pretty home ours is～I think nobody could be happier than we are～ ' 10 埃比需要做出选择 晚上，一天的忙碌过后，西拉斯坐在炉火旁的椅子上休息，埃比拉着他的手坐在他旁边，西拉斯丢的金子放在桌子上。他像从前一样把金币码成一摞一摞的。 “你看，你来之前，我每天晚上就是这样做的，”他给埃比讲，“只是数我的金子。那时我只有半条生命。金子被偷走对我来说真是件好事～那时我在用整天工作，整晚上数钱的 方法 快递客服问题件处理详细方法山木方法pdf计算方法pdf华与华方法下载八字理论方法下载 自杀。那是不健康的生活。你来的时候，因为你的金黄的头发，我把你当成了金子。后来，当我开始爱你，我就不再想什么金子了。”他停了一会儿，看着金子，“现在金子对我毫无意义了，可是一旦失去你，埃比，或是你离我而去，我会重新需要金子。那时我会感到孤独，我会觉得自己被上帝抛弃了，可能我会 埃比美丽的眼睛里充满了泪水，可她还没来得及回答西拉斯就响起了敲门声。她打开门，戈弗雷?凯斯先生和太太进到屋里来。 “晚上好，亲爱的，”南茜轻轻拉着埃比的手，“抱歉我们这么晚来。” “你好，马南，”戈弗雷一边说，一边和南茜坐下来，“恭喜你找回你的钱。我很惭愧是我们家里的人偷了你的钱。我会尽一切力量去补偿你，马南，我欠你太多了。” 西拉斯一向不擅于和像年轻的乡绅这样重要的人物相处。“你不欠我什么，先生，你一直对我很好，桌上的钱已经比好多人一辈子攒的钱都多了，我和埃比并不需要很多东西。” 戈弗雷急着向西拉斯解释今天的来意。“是的，马南，你这16年来对埃比照顾得非常好，她又漂亮又健康，只是不太强壮。你难道不觉得她应该成为一个淑女而不是个整天干活的人吗,你知道凯斯太太和我没有孩子，我们想收养个女儿，让她和我们生活在一起，住漂亮的房子，享受所有的好东西。实际上我们想收养埃比，我想你会乐意看到埃比成为一位淑女，而且我保证给你你想要的一切，而且我想埃比也会经常回来看你的。” 戈弗雷一时不知用什么词语才能表达自己的感受，结果他用词很不慎重。西拉斯既气愤又害怕，过了一会儿，他全身颤抖着对埃比轻声说:“我不会挡你的路，我的孩子。谢谢凯斯先生和太太，他们的心地很好。” 埃比走上前。她的脸很红，可还是努力高昂着头。“谢谢你们，先生、太太，可我不能离开我的爸爸，而且我也不想做什么淑女。谢谢你们。”她说完走回到西拉斯的椅子旁，一只胳膊搂着西拉斯的脖子，拂去眼里的泪水。 戈弗雷被彻底搞烦了，他想履行他心目中自己的责任，而且收养埃比会减轻一些他对过去的负罪感。“可你必须同意，埃比，”他嚷了起来，“你是我的女儿～马南，她是我的孩子，她妈妈是我的妻子。” 埃比的脸变得惨白，刚刚为埃比的回答感到欣慰的西拉斯此时愤怒了。“那么先生，”他痛苦地说，“那你为什么不在16年前，我还没有开始爱她的时候承认,为什么你现在来把她带走，像挖走我的心一样,上帝把她给了我，因为你不要她～上帝认为她是我的～” “我知道我错了，我很抱歉，”戈弗雷说，“可你理智点儿，马南，她会离你很近而且会常来看你，她对你的感情也会和以前一样。” “一样,”西拉斯更痛苦了，“怎么会和以前一样,我们所有的时间都在一起，习惯了～我们不能分开～” 戈弗雷认为织布匠太自私了。“我认为， 西拉斯沉默了一会儿，他也担心或许戈弗雷是对的，自己留下埃比是不是太自私了。终于他艰难地说:“好吧，我不再说了，你对孩子说吧。她要走，我不会拦着。” 听到这些，戈弗雷和南茜舒了一口气，他们想这回埃比该同意了。“亲爱的埃比，”戈弗雷说，“我虽然以前没有做个好父亲，可我今后会尽所有努力对你好，我的妻子也会成为你最好的母亲。” “我一直想要一个女儿，亲爱的。”南茜轻声说。 这回埃比没有走上前。她站在西拉斯的旁边，拉着他的手，冷冷地说:“谢谢你们的好意，先生太太，可我离开爸爸就不会再感到幸福。我不在这儿，他就谁也没有了。没有人能把我们分开。” “但你必须肯定，埃比，”西拉斯担心地说，“你留下和穷人在一起不会后悔。到红屋你会过得好得多。” “我永远也不后悔，爸爸，”埃比坚决地说，“如果不能和我了解的、我爱的人在一起，我不会渴望富有。” 南茜想自己应当帮着劝劝埃比。“你说的很自然，我的孩子。”她慈爱地说，“可你对你的生父也有义务。他把家门为你打开，你不该不理睬他。” “可我除这儿之外没有别的家。”埃比泪流满面，“我只知道一个爸爸，而且我已经决定要嫁给一个普通人，他会和我们生活在一起，和我一起照料爸爸。” 戈弗雷看着南茜。“我们走吧～”他低声说，声音很苦涩。 “我们不会再提这件事，”南茜站起身，“我们只希望你们好，亲爱的埃比，还有你，马南。晚安～” 南茜和戈弗雷离开小屋，踏着月色回到家。一进家门，戈弗雷就跌坐在椅子里，南茜站在他旁边，等着他开口，过了一会儿，他抬起头，拉着她的手。 “全完了～”他伤心地说。 她吻了吻他，然后说:“是的，我想她不想和我们走，我们就不可能收养她了。” “现在太晚了，”戈弗雷说，“我过去做了错事，现在已经不可能弥补了，我曾希望没有孩子，南茜，但现在，我将永远没有孩子了。” 想了一会儿，戈弗雷用更轻柔的声音说:“可我得到了你，南茜，但我总想要更新鲜的东西。也许从现在起，我更能够接受我们的生活，我们会更快活。” 第二年春天，一个婚礼在瑞福洛举行。与西拉斯、阿荣和多莉一起，埃比在暖融融的阳光里穿过村子走向教堂。埃比穿着南茜?凯斯为她买来的、她一直梦想能穿的美丽洁白的 “我保证结婚后什么都不会变，爸爸，”进教堂时她对西拉斯耳语，“我永远不会离开你。” 教堂外面很多人来参加婚礼，这时拉默特先生和普丽西拉正乘车走进村子。 “看，父亲～”普丽西拉叫着，“多幸运～我们正赶上织布匠女儿的婚礼～她真可爱～可惜南茜没有收养到一个这样可爱的小孤女。” “是的，亲爱的。”拉默特应和道，“我们都老了，家里是应该有个小家伙。可惜现在太晚了。” 到红屋时，南茜正在等他们。他们来就是为了陪她。因为戈弗雷外出办事了，南茜也许会很寂寞。凯斯家的人没有参加埃比的婚礼。 仪式进行完，西拉斯一家人和村民们都从教堂出来走进了小酒馆。戈弗雷?凯斯在这里为他们订下了一桌丰盛的酒席。 “乡绅真大方，花钱办这酒席。”酒馆主人边添啤酒边说。 “你以为呢,”麦西先生尖刻地说，“记住，是他弟弟偷了人家织布匠的金子～而且自从埃比到了小屋，戈弗雷先生经常帮助马南师傅，给他衣服、家具什么的。帮助一个像马南师傅这样的人是对的。我想你们都应当记得是我最先说马南师傅不是坏人的——我是对的～现在让我们为新人的健康干杯～”村民们都举起杯喊:“为埃比和阿荣干杯～” 当酒席结束，客人们已开始回家的时候，西拉斯与埃比和她的新婚丈夫一起慢慢走回他们在采石场边上的小屋，小屋已经被戈弗雷?凯斯的工人们扩大了，在下午的阳光下显得格外可爱。 “哦，爸爸，”埃比说，“我们的家多么可爱呀～我想我们是世界上最幸福的人～”