Jane Eyre 简爱 Chapter 25

THE month of courtship had wasted: its very last hours were being numbered. There was no putting off the day that advanced- the bridal day; and all preparations for its arrival were complete. I, at least, had nothing more to do: there were my trunks, packed, locked, corded, ranged in a row along the wall of my little chamber ¹; to-morrow, at this time, they would be far on their road to London: and so should I (D.V.),- or rather, not I, but one Jane Rochester, a person whom as yet I knew not. The cards of address alone remained to nail on: they lay, four little squares, in the drawer. Mr. Rochester had himself written the direction, 'Mrs. Rochester,- Hotel, London,' on each: I could not persuade myself to affix ² them, or to have them affixed ³. Mrs. Rochester! She did not exist: she would not be born till to-morrow, some time after eight o'clock A.M.; and I would wait to be assured she had come into the world alive before I assigned to her all that property. It was enough that in yonder closet, opposite my dressing-table, garments said to be hers had already displaced my black stuff Lowood frock and straw bonnet ⁴: for not to me appertained that suit of wedding raiment; the pearl-coloured robe, the vapoury veil pendent from the usurped ⁵ portmanteau. I shut the closet to conceal ⁶ the strange, wraith-like apparel it contained;, ,which, at this evening hour- nine o'clock- gave out certainly a most ghostly shimmer ⁷ through the shadow of my apartment. 'I will leave you by yourself, white dream,' I said. 'I am feverish ⁸: I hear the wind blowing: I will go out of doors and feel it.', ,It was not only the hurry of preparation that made me feverish; not only the anticipation ¹⁰ of the great change- the new life which was to commence to-morrow: both these circumstances had their share, doubtless, in producing that restless, excited mood which hurried me forth ¹¹ at this late hour into the darkening grounds: but a third cause influenced my mind more than they., , ,I sought the orchard ¹⁷, driven to its shelter by the wind, which all day had blown strong and full from the south, without, however, bringing a speck ¹⁸ of rain. Instead of subsiding ¹⁹ as night drew on, it seemed to augment ²⁰ its rush and deepen its roar: the trees blew steadfastly ²¹ one way, never writhing ²² round, and scarcely tossing back their boughs ²³ once in an hour; so continuous was the strain bending their branchy heads northward- the clouds drifted from pole to pole, fast following, mass on mass: no glimpse of blue sky had been visible that July day., ,It was not without a certain wild pleasure I ran before the wind, delivering my trouble of mind to the measureless air-torrent thundering through space. Descending ²⁴ the laurel walk, I faced the wreck ²⁵ of the chestnut-tree; it stood up black and riven: the trunk, split down the centre, gaped ²⁶ ghastly. The cloven halves were not broken from each other, for the firm base and strong roots kept them unsundered below; though community of vitality ²⁷ was destroyed- the sap could flow no more: their great boughs on each side were dead, and next winter's tempests would be sure to fell one or both to earth: as yet, however, they might be said to form one tree- a ruin, but an entire ruin., ,The chamber was ablaze with light.会议厅里灯火辉煌。,Please affix your signature to the document. 请你在这个文件上签字 。