Chapter 3
第三章

W hen Lord Arthur woke it was twelve o'clock, and the mid-day sun was streaming through the ivory-silk curtains of his room. He got up and looked out of the window. A dim haze of heat was hanging over the great city, and the roofs of the houses were like dull silver. In the flickering green of the square below some children were flitting about like white butterflies, and the pavement was crowded with people on their way to the park. Never had life seemed lovelier to him, never had the things of evil seemed more remote.

Then his valet brought him a cup of chocolate on a tray. After he had drunk it, he drew aside a heavy portière of peach-coloured plush, and passed into the bathroom. The light stole softly from above, through thin slabs of transparent onyx, and the water in the marble tank glimmered like a moonstone. He plunged hastily in, till the cool ripples touched throat and hair, and then dipped his head right under, as though he would have wiped away the stain of some shameful memory. When he stepped out he felt almost at peace. The exquisite physical conditions of the moment had dominated him, as indeed often happens in the case of very finely wrought natures, for the senses, like fire, can purify as well as destroy.

十二点钟的时候，亚瑟勋爵醒了过来，正午的阳光透过象牙色的丝质窗帘照进了房间。他起身望向窗外，只见这座庞大城市的上空悬着一片炎热的模糊雾气，一幢幢房子的屋顶就像没有光泽的银块。窗子下方的广场绿意盎然，孩子们像白蝴蝶一般穿梭其间，人行道上挤满了往海德公园去的人。他觉得生活从未像此时此刻这般可爱，而诸般邪恶也从未像此时此刻这般遥远。

男仆用盘子给他端来了一杯巧克力。喝完之后，他拉开一道沉重的桃红色丝绒门帘，走进了浴室。光线穿过顶上透明的缟玛瑙薄板轻柔地洒下来，大理石面盆里的水像月亮石一般闪着光芒。他一头扎进面盆，让凉水沾湿自己的喉头和头发，接着又把整个脑袋浸到水里，似乎是想洗去某个耻辱记忆留下的污迹。走出浴室的时候，他觉得自己已经差不多平静了。此时此刻，他已经被精致美好的物质环境所控制。事实上，像他这样教养高贵的人往往会如此，因为人的各种官能正如火焰，兼具净化与毁灭的功用。

After breakfast, he flung himself down on a divan, and lit a cigarette. On the mantelshelf, framed in dainty old brocade, stood a large photograph of Sibyl Merton, as he had seen her first at Lady Noel's ball. The small, exquisitely shaped head drooped slightly to one side, as though the thin, reed-like throat could hardly bear the burden of so much beauty; the lips were slightly parted, and seemed made for sweet music; and all the tender purity of girlhood looked out in wonder from the dreaming eyes. With her soft, clinging dress of crêpe-de-chine, and her large leaf-shaped fan, she looked like one of those delicate little figures men find in the olive-woods near Tanagra ⁽¹⁹⁾ and there was a touch of Greek grace in her pose and attitude. Yet she was not petite. She was simply perfectly proportioned—a rare thing in an age when so many women are either over life-size or insignificant.

Now as Lord Arthur looked at her, he was filled with the terrible pity that is born of love. He felt that to marry her, with the doom of murder hanging over his head, would be a betrayal like that of Judas, a sin worse than any the Borgia ⁽²⁰⁾ had ever dreamed of. What happiness could there be for them, when at any moment he might be called upon to carry out the awful prophecy written in his hand? What manner of life would be theirs while Fate still held this fearful fortune in the scales? The marriage must be postponed, at all costs. Of this he was quite resolved. Ardently though he loved the girl—and the mere touch of her fingers, when they sat together, made each nerve of his body thrill with exquisite joy—he recognised none the less clearly where his duty lay, and was fully conscious of the fact that he had no right to marry until he had committed the murder. This done, he could stand before the altar with Sibyl Merton, and give his life into her hands without terror of wrongdoing. This done, he could take her to his arms, knowing that she would never have to blush for him, never have to hang her head in shame. But done it must be first; and the sooner the better for both.

早餐之后，他一屁股坐到沙发上，点上了一根雪茄。壁炉架上立着一个用精美的古旧织锦做的相框，里面是一张西比尔·默顿的大照片，照片里的她正是他们在诺埃尔夫人的舞会上初次相见时的模样。她那线条优美的小脑袋稍稍偏向一边，仿佛是因为她那芦苇般纤细的颈项无法负担如此惊人的美丽；双唇微启，似乎是正要吐露美妙的乐声；蒙的双眼里带着惊奇，尽情诉说着她那少女的温柔与纯真。她穿着柔软的绉纱紧身裙，拿着一把叶子形状的大扇子，看着就像塔那格拉附近橄榄树林中的一尊精致的小雕像，而她的姿态与神情中也的确有一种希腊式的优雅。不过，她的身材并不纤弱娇小，只是拥有完美的比例——如今这可是件稀罕的事，因为有那么多女性的体型要么是大得过了头，要么就小到了可以忽略不计的地步。

看着她的相片，亚瑟勋爵心里充满了从爱意中生出的巨大憾恨。他觉得，在自己面临谋杀罪行的此时此刻，娶她过门无异于犹太的出卖行径，是连博尔吉亚家族都做不出来的罪恶勾当。如今他随时都可能奉召去执行写在手上的那个可怕预言，他们又哪里会有什么幸福呢？当命运的天平上还压着这个可怕砝码的时候，他们的生活又会是什么样子呢？不管怎样，婚期一定得往后推，这一点他已经决定了。他深深地爱着这个女孩，他们坐在一起的时候，碰碰她的手指都会让他的每一根神经快乐得颤抖。尽管如此，他仍然十分清楚自己的责任所在，也完全明白自己在完成谋杀之前是没有权利去娶她的。做完这件事情，他就可以西比尔·默顿一起站到圣坛之前，将自己的生命交到她的手里，不再有步入歧途的恐惧。做完这件事情，他就可以将她拥入怀中，确信她永远不会因他而感到羞愧，永远不会在耻辱中垂下头颅。不过，首先得把这件事情做完，而且对他们两个人来说，都是越快做完越好。

Many men in his position would have preferred the primrose path of dalliance to the steep heights of duty; but Lord Arthur was too conscientious to set pleasure above principle. There was more than mere passion in his love; and Sibyl was to him a symbol of all that is good and noble. For a moment he had a natural repugnance against what he was asked to do, but it soon passed away. His heart told him that it was not a sin, but a sacrifice; his reason reminded him that there was no other course open. He had to choose between living for himself and living for others, and terrible though the task laid upon him undoubtedly was, yet he knew that he must not suffer selfishness to triumph over love. Sooner or later we are all called upon to decide on the same issue—of us all, the same question is asked. To Lord Arthur it came early in life—before his nature had been spoiled by the calculating cynicism of middle-age, or his heart corroded by the shallow, fashionable egotism of our day, and he felt no hesitation about doing his duty. Fortunately also, for him, he was no mere dreamer, or idle dilettante. Had he been so, he would have hesitated, like Hamlet, and let irresolution mar his purpose. But he was essentially practical. Life to him meant action, rather than thought. He had that rarest of all things, common sense.

若是身处亚瑟勋爵的位置，许多男人都会选择轻浮放荡的享乐之路，不会去攀爬陡峭险峻的责任之峰。然而，亚瑟勋爵有着非常强烈的责任感，不能将享受置于原则之上。他的爱不只是一种激情，对他来说西比尔是一切美好高贵事物的象征。他一度对自己受命去做的事产生了本能的抗拒，但那种感觉很快就过去了。他的心告诉他这并不是一桩罪行，而是一种牺牲，而他的理性也提醒了他，眼前已经没有别的路可走。他必须得在为己而活和为人而活之间做出选择，肩上的任务无疑十分艰巨，但他知道自己不能让自私战胜爱情。或迟或早，我们都得对同样的问题做出回答——同样的问题终将摆在我们所有人的面前。对亚瑟勋爵而言，这个问题来得比较早——他的天性还没有被中年时期的斤斤计较和愤世嫉俗所污染，他的心也还没有被这时代那种浅薄的自大时尚所腐蚀，因此他对于履行自己的责任没有半点犹豫。他还有一点幸运之处，那就是他并不是一个只会空想的人，也不是什么游手好闲的半吊子。若非如此，他就会像哈姆雷特一样踌躇不决，在优柔寡断之中断送自己的目标。好在他有着脚踏实地的本性，生活对他来说意味着行动而非思考。此外，他还拥有一样最最稀罕的财富：常识。

The wild, turbid feelings of the previous night had by this time completely passed away, and it was almost with a sense of shame that he looked back upon his mad wanderings from street to street, his fierce emotional agony. The very sincerity of his sufferings made them seem unreal to him now. He wondered how he could have been so foolish as to rant and rave about the inevitable. The only question that seemed to trouble him was, whom to make away with; for he was not blind to the fact that murder, like the religions of the pagan world, requires a victim as well as a priest. Not being a genius, he had no enemies, and indeed he felt that this was not the time for the gratification of any personal pique or dislike, the mission in which he was engaged being one of great and grave solemnity. He accordingly made out a list of his friends and relatives on a sheet of notepaper, and after careful consideration, decided in favour of Lady Clementina Beauchamp, a dear old lady who lived in Curzon Street, and was his own second cousin by his mother's side. He had always been very fond of Lady Clem, as everyone called her, and as he was very wealthy himself, having come into all Lord Rugby's property when he came of age, there was no possibility of his deriving any vulgar monetary advantage by her death. In fact, the more he thought over the matter, the more she seemed to him to be just the right person, and, feeling that any delay would be unfair to Sibyl, he determined to make his arrangements at once.

到了这个时候，昨夜的狂乱与困惑已经完全消失了。回头想想自己当时走街串巷的疯狂举动以及情感上的巨大痛苦，他不由得感到有点儿羞愧。当时的痛苦是那样的真切，而正是那种真切感让现在的他觉得难以想象。他不能理解为何自己会蠢到如此地步，竟至于对着无法避免的命运徒劳叫嚷。如今他只剩下一个问题，那就是该把谁置于死地，因为他很清楚，谋杀跟异教世界里的那些宗教仪式一样，既需要祭师也需要祭品。他不是什么天才，因此便没有敌人，何况这也不是发泄私愤的时机，因为他将要完成的使命无比庄严、无比神圣。于是，他在一张信笺上列出了自己的朋友和亲戚，经过慎重考虑之后选中了克莱门蒂娜·比彻姆夫人。那位可敬的老夫人住在克尔宋街，是他的二表姐，大家都管她叫克莱姆夫人。他一直都很喜欢她，此外，由于他一成年便继承了拉格比勋爵的全部财产，本身十分富有，也没有人会认为他会因她的死而获得什么粗鄙庸俗的经济利益。事实上，他越想越觉得她就是最合适的人选。考虑到任何拖延对西比尔来说都是不公平的事情，他决定立刻着手安排这次行动。

The first thing to be done was, of course, to settle with the chiromantist; so he sat down at a small Sheraton ⁽²¹⁾ writing-table that stood near the window, drew a cheque for ￡105 ⁽²²⁾ payable to the order of Mr Septimus Podgers, and, enclosing it in an envelope, told his valet to take it to West Moon Street. He then telephoned to the stables for his hansom, and dressed to go out. As he was leaving the room he looked back at Sibyl Merton's photograph, and swore that, come what may, he would never let her know what he was doing for her sake, but would keep the secret of his self-sacrifice hidden always in his heart.

On his way to the Buckingham, he stopped at a florist's, and sent Sibyl a beautiful basket of narcissi, with lovely white petals and staring pheasants' eyes, and on arriving at the club, went straight to the library, rang the bell, and ordered the waiter to bring him a lemon and soda, and a book on toxicology. He had fully decided that poison was the best means to adopt in this troublesome business. Anything like personal violence was extremely distasteful to him, and besides, he was very anxious not to murder Lady Clementina in any way that might attract public attention, as he hated the idea of being lionised at Lady Windermere's, or seeing his name figuring in the paragraphs of vulgar society-newspapers. He had also to think of Sibyl's father and mother, who were rather old-fashioned people, and might possibly object to the marriage if there was anything like a scandal, though he felt certain that if he told them the whole facts of the case they would be the very first to appreciate the motives that had actuated him. He had every reason, then, to decide in favour of poison. It was safe, sure and quiet, and did away with any necessity for painful scenes, to which, like most Englishmen, he had a rooted objection.

首先要做的事情当然是打发那个手相师，于是他在窗边一张小小的谢拉顿写字台前坐下来，开了张一百零五镑的支票，抬头是塞普蒂默斯·波杰斯先生。他把支票装进一个信封，叫男仆送去威斯特穆恩街，然后打电话去马房叫了自己的马车，穿好衣服出了门。走出房门的时候，他回头看了看西比尔·默顿的相片，暗自发誓无论如何都不能让她知晓自己为她所做的事情，要让这次自我牺牲成为永埋自己心底的秘密。

去白金汉俱乐部的路上，他在一个花店停了一下，给西比尔送去了一篮子水仙花。花儿有着可爱的白色花瓣和惹眼的雉眼状斑点。一到俱乐部，他便径直去了图书室，摇响唤人铃，叫侍者给他拿一杯柠檬苏打水和一本毒物学书籍。他已经完全确定，毒药是处理这件麻烦事情的最好办法。与身体暴力相关的一切东西都让他极其厌恶，而他也绝对不想采用可能引起公众注意的方法来谋杀克莱门蒂娜夫人，因为他不愿成为温德米尔夫人那些聚会上的谈资，也不愿看到自己的名字出现在那些低俗的大众报纸上。此外，他还得考虑西比尔父母的感受，他们都是非常老派的人，要是听到什么丑闻的话，就很可能会反对这桩婚事，尽管他确信只要他把整件事情讲清楚，他们会第一个对他的动机表示赞赏。这样一来，毒药就成了他最好的选择。这东西安全、可靠、无声无息，让他完全不用面对什么令人痛苦的场景。跟大多数英国绅士一样，他对那样的场景是深恶痛绝的。

Of the science of poisons, however, he knew absolutely nothing, and as the waiter seemed quite unable to find anything in the library but Ruff's Guide ⁽²³⁾ and Bailey's Magazine ⁽²⁴⁾ he examined the bookshelves himself, and finally came across a handsomely-bound edition of the Pharmacopoeia, and a copy of Erskine's Toxicology, edited by Sir Matthew Reid, the President of the Royal College of Physicians, and one of the oldest members of the Buckingham, having been elected in mistake for somebody else; a contretemps that so enraged the Committee, that when the real man came up they black-balled him unanimously. Lord Arthur was a good deal puzzled at the technical terms used in both books, and had begun to regret that he had not paid more attention to his classics ⁽²⁵⁾ at Oxford, when in the second volume of Erskine, he found a very complete account of the properties of aconitine, written in fairly clear English. It seemed to him to be exactly the poison he wanted. It was swift—indeed, almost immediate, in its effect—perfectly painless, and when taken in the form of a gelatine capsule, the mode recommended by Sir Matthew, not by any means unpalatable. He accordingly made a note, upon his shirt-cuff, of the amount necessary for a fatal dose, put the books back in their places, and strolled up St James's Street to Pestle and Humbey's, the great chemists. Mr Pestle, who always attended personally on the aristocracy, was a good deal surprised at the order, and in a very deferential manner murmured something about a medical certificate being necessary. However, as soon as Lord Arthur explained to him that it was for a large Norwegian mastiff that he was obliged to get rid of, as it showed signs of incipient rabies, and had already bitten the coachman twice in the calf of the leg, he expressed himself as being perfectly satisfied, complimented Lord Arthur on his wonderful knowledge of toxicology, and had the prescription made up immediately.

然而，他对与毒物有关的科学一无所知。鉴于侍者似乎没法从图书室里找出《拉夫指南》和《贝利杂志》之外的东西，他便亲自去书架上翻寻，最终撞上了一本装帧漂亮的《药典》，外加一本厄斯金所著的《毒物学》。后一本书的编者是皇家医学院院长马修·里德爵士，他是白金汉俱乐部最早的会员之一，因为被错认成别人才当选了院长。这一意外事故令选举委员会大为光火，因此便在真人现身的时候一致投票取消了那人的候选资格。这两本书里的术语都让亚瑟勋爵很是头疼，他不禁有些后悔自己在牛津读书时没好好学古典学。就在此时，他在厄斯金著作的第二卷里找到了一篇关于乌头碱特性的详尽记述，文字是相当明白易懂的英语。看起来，乌头碱正是符合他要求的那种毒药。它很快就会发作——事实上，简直可以说是立竿见影——发作时完全没有痛苦，而且，要是按照马修爵士推荐的方法，把它装进胶囊服用的话，味道也绝对不算太差。他随即在袖口上记下足以致命的剂量，把书放回原位，然后溜达到圣詹姆斯街，去了著名药剂师佩斯透和哈姆比的店铺。佩斯透先生总是亲自为贵族顾客服务，听说他的要求后感到相当惊讶，接着便毕恭毕敬地叨咕了几句，说是得有什么诊断书才行。亚瑟勋爵向他做了一番解释，说自己有头挪威大獒显现出了早期狂犬病的征候，已经在马车夫的小腿上咬了两口，因此他不得不除掉这只畜生。听闻此言，佩斯透先生立刻表示完全理解，还恭维了一下亚瑟勋爵渊深的毒物学知识，随后按他的方子配好了药物。

Lord Arthur put the capsule into a pretty little silver bonbon-nière that he saw in a shop window in Bond Street, threw away Pestle and Humbey's ugly pill-box, and drove off at once to Lady Clementina's.

'Well, monsieur le mauvais sujet,' cried the old lady, as he entered the room, 'why haven't you been to see me all this time?'

'My dear Lady Clem, I never have a moment to myself,' said Lord Arthur, smiling.

'I suppose you mean that you go about all day long with Miss Sibyl Merton, buying chiffons and talking nonsense? I cannot understand why people make such a fuss about being married. In my day we never dreamed of billing and cooing in public, or in private for that matter.'

'I assure you I have not seen Sibyl for twenty-four hours, Lady Clem. As far as I can make out, she belongs entirely to her milliners.'

'Of course; that is the only reason you come to see an ugly old woman like myself. I wonder you men don't take warning. On a fait des folies pour moi, and here I am, a poor rheumatic creature, with a false front and a bad temper. Why, if it were not for dear Lady Jansen, who sends me all the worst French novels she can find, I don't think I could get through the day. Doctors are no use at all, except to get fees out of one. They can't even cure my heartburn.'

亚瑟勋爵在邦德街上的一个橱窗里看到一个漂亮的银制小糖果盒，将它买了下来。他把毒药胶囊装进糖果盒，扔掉佩斯透和哈姆比药店给的丑陋药盒，紧接着便坐车去了克莱门蒂娜夫人那里。

“啊，无赖先生，”他一进屋，老夫人便叫道，“你怎么这么久都不来看我呢？”

“亲爱的克莱姆夫人，我根本就没有自己的时间啊，”亚瑟勋爵笑着说道。

“照我的理解，你是说你一天到晚都在跟西比尔·默顿小姐一起挑衣服、说傻话，是吗？我真不明白，人们干吗要把结婚这件事情搞得那么复杂。在我那个年代，我们根本不敢在公共场合大肆宣扬这件事情，私底下也不行。”

“我向你保证，我已经有二十四小时没见西比尔了，克莱姆夫人。就我所知，她的时间都让那些卖帽子的人给占了。”

“当然喽，就因为这样你才会来看像我这样又老又丑的女人。要我说，你们这些男人都不懂得提高警惕。我都快要疯了，看看我，一个风湿缠身的可怜虫，装模作样，脾气糟糕。唉，要不是有亲爱的詹森夫人，要不是她把所有那些最蹩脚的法国小说找来给我，我都不知道该怎么打发时间。那些医生全都是废物，就知道收钱。他们连我的心口疼都治不好。”

'I have brought you a cure for that, Lady Clem,' said Lord Arthur gravely. 'It is a wonderful thing, invented by an American.'

'I don't think I like American inventions, Arthur. I am quite sure I don't. I read some American novels lately, and they were quite nonsensical.'

'Oh, but there is no nonsense at all about this, Lady Clem! I assure you it is a perfect cure. You must promise to try it; 'and Lord Arthur brought the little box out of his pocket, and handed it to her.

'Well, the box is charming, Arthur. Is it really a present? That is very sweet of you. And is this the wonderful medicine? It looks like a bonbon. I' ll take it at once.'

'Good heavens! Lady Clem,' cried Lord Arthur, catching hold of her hand, 'you mustn't do anything of the kind. It is a homoeopathic medicine, and if you take it without having heartburn, it might do you no end of harm. Wait till you have an attack, and take it then. You will be astonished at the result.'

'I should like to take it now,' said Lady Clementina, holding up to the light the little transparent capsule, with its floating bubble of liquid aconitine. 'I am sure it is delicious. The fact is that, though I hate doctors, I love medicines. However, I' ll keep it till my next attack.'

'And when will that be?' asked Lord Arthur eagerly. 'Will it be soon?'

'I hope not for a week. I had a very bad time yesterday morn-ing with it. But one never knows.'

“我给你带了治这种病的药，克莱姆夫人，”亚瑟勋爵一本正经地说。“这药是个美国人发明的，非常不错。”

“我恐怕不怎么喜欢美国人的发明，亚瑟。应该说就是不喜欢。最近我读了一些美国小说，简直荒唐得要命。”

“哦，不过这可不是什么荒唐的东西，克莱姆夫人！我保证它能把你的病治好。你得答应我，要试一试这种药。”说着，亚瑟勋爵从口袋里掏出那个小盒子，把它递给了她。

“呃，盒子挺漂亮的，亚瑟。你真要把它送给我吗？你可真体贴。这就是你说的神奇药吗？看着跟一块小糖果似的。我现在就吃。”

“天哪！克莱姆夫人，”亚瑟勋爵叫道，抓住了她的手，“你可千万别这么做。这是种顺势疗法药物，要是在没犯心口疼的时候吃，就会对你造成极大的伤害。等你发病的时候再吃吧，效果会让你大吃一惊的。”

“我还是想现在就吃，”克莱门蒂娜夫人一边说，一边把透明的小胶囊举到灯下，胶囊里的液体乌头碱晃来晃去。“我敢肯定它味道不错。说真的，我虽然讨厌医生，但却喜欢药品。不过，我还是把它留到下次发病的时候好了。”

“什么时候会发病呢？”亚瑟勋爵急切地问。“快吗？”

“我看一个星期之内不会。昨天早上刚发过一次，搞得我难受极了。不过这也没准儿。”

亚瑟勋爵掏出一个小盒子，把它递给了克莱门蒂娜夫人。

'You are sure to have one before the end of the month then, Lady Clem?'

'I am afraid so. But how sympathetic you are today, Arthur! Really, Sibyl has done you a great deal of good. And now you must run away, for I am dining with some very dull people, who won't talk scandal, and I know that if I don't get my sleep now I shall never be able to keep awake during dinner. Goodbye, Arthur, give my love to Sibyl, and thank you so much for the American medicine.'

'You won't forget to take it, Lady Clem, will you?' said Lord Arthur, rising from his seat.

'Of course I won't, you silly boy. I think it is most kind of you to think of me, and I shall write and tell you if I want any more.'

Lord Arthur left the house in high spirits, and with a feeling of immense relief.

That night he had an interview with Sibyl Merton. He told her how he had been suddenly placed in a position of terrible difficulty, from which neither honour nor duty would allow him to recede. He told her that the marriage must be put off for the present, as until he had got rid of his fearful entanglements, he was not a free man. He implored her to trust him, and not to have any doubts about the future. Everything would come right, but patience was necessary.

The scene took place in the conservatory of Mr Merton's house, in Park Lane, where Lord Arthur had dined as usual. Sibyl had never seemed more happy, and for a moment Lord Arthur had been tempted to play the coward's part, to write to Lady Clementina for the pill, and to let the marriage go on as if there was no such person as Mr Podgers in the world. His better nature, however, soon asserted itself, and even when Sibyl flung herself weeping into his arms, he did not falter. The beauty that stirred his senses had touched his conscience also. He felt that to wreck so fair a life for the sake of a few months' pleasure would be a wrong thing to do.

“这么说，你肯定月底之前就会发作一次吧，克莱姆夫人？”

“多半会吧。今天你可真有同情心啊，亚瑟！没错，西比尔已经让你大有改观了。好了，现在你该走了，因为我等下要跟一些特别无聊的人吃饭。他们是不聊八卦的，要是我现在不去睡一会儿的话，吃饭的时候就该打瞌睡了。再见，亚瑟，替我给西比尔带个好，万分感谢你送我的美国药。”

“你不会忘了吃吧，克莱姆夫人？”亚瑟勋爵一边起身，一边问道。

“当然不会，你这个傻孩子。你还能想到我，真是不错。要是我还想要的话，会写信告诉你的。”

亚瑟勋爵兴高采烈地离开了夫人家，心里觉得无比轻松。

当天晚上，他跟西比尔·默顿见了面。他告诉她，自己突然间遇上了巨大的麻烦，可为了荣誉和责任又不能选择逃避。他还说，他们的婚事必须暂时搁下，因为他要到这个可怕的麻烦解决之后才能获得自由。他恳请她相信自己，不要对他们的未来产生任何疑问。一切都会走上正轨，只是需要一点儿耐心。

这幕场景发生在公园巷默顿先生家的暖房里，亚瑟勋爵照例去了那里吃饭。西比尔显得比以往任何时候都要高兴，亚瑟勋爵一时间不禁产生了缴械投降的冲动，打算写信向克莱门蒂娜夫人要回那粒药、让婚事继续进行、就当这世上没有波杰斯先生这么个人。不过，他天性中更好的一面很快就占了上风，即便是在西比尔投入他的怀抱开始哭泣的时候，他也没有动摇。西比尔的美丽不仅令他感官眩惑，同时也触动了他的良知。他意识到，自己绝不能为了区区几个月的快乐就去伤害如此美好的一个生命。

He stayed with Sibyl till nearly midnight, comforting her and being comforted in turn, and early the next morning he left for Venice, after writing a manly, firm letter to Mr Merton about the necessary postponement of the marriage.

他和西比尔一起呆到了将近午夜的时候，一边抚慰她，一边接受她的抚慰。第二天清早，他给默顿先生写了一封豪气冲天、措辞坚决的信，说明了推迟婚事的必要性，然后就去了威尼斯。 qL5twIOrWdQ2E/Ar2PTPm0Q5S3n3I0xzUWkibpQck1Xe/Mqpk57C5fZpKghVTxQ0