A Tale of Two Cities-CHAPTER 12 A COTHE FELLOW OF DELICACYMP

THE FELLOW OF DELICACY¹,Mr. Stryver having made up his mind to that magnanimous bestowal ² of good fortune on the Doctor’s daughter, resolved to make her happiness known to her before he left town for the Long Vacation. After some mental debating of the point, he came to the conclusion that it would be as well to get all the preliminaries done with, and they could then arrange at their leisure whether he should give her his hand a week or two before Michaelmas Term, or in the little Christmas vacation between it and Hilary. As to the strength of his case, he had not a doubt about it, but clearly saw his way to the verdict. Argued with the jury on substantial worldly grounds—the only grounds ever worth taking into account—it was a plain case, and had not a weak spot in it. He called himself for the plaintiff, there was no getting over his evidence, the counsel for the defendant ⁴ threw up his brief, and the jury did not even turn to consider. After trying it, Stryver, C.J., was satisfied that no plainer case could be.,Accordingly, Mr. Stryver inaugurated the Long Vacation with a formal proposal to take Miss Manette to Vauxhall Gardens; that failing, to Ranelagh; that unaccountably failing too, it behoved him to present himself in Soho, and there declare his noble mind.,Towards Soho, therefore, Mr. Stryver shouldered his way from the Temple, while the bloom of the Long Vacation’s infancy ⁵ was still upon it. Anybody who had seen him projecting himself into Soho while he was yet on St. Dunstan’s side of Temple Bar, bursting in his full-blown way along the pavement, to the jostlement of all weaker people, might have seen how safe and strong he was.,His way taking him past Tellson’s, and he both banking ⁶ at Tellson’s and knowing Mr. Lorry as the intimate friend of the Manettes, it entered Mr. Stryver’s mind to enter the bank, and reveal to Mr. Lorry the brightness of the Soho horizon. So, he pushed open the door with the weak rattle ⁷ in its throat, stumbled down the two steps, got past the two ancient cashiers, and shouldered himself into the musty back closet where Mr. Lorry sat at great books ruled for figures, with perpendicular ⁸ iron bars to his window as if that was ruled for figures too, and everything under the clouds were a sum.,“Halloa!” said Mr. Stryver, “How do you do? I hope you are well! ”,The discreet ¹³ Mr. Lorry said, in a sample tone of the voice he would recommend under the circumstances, “How do you do, Mr. Stryver? How do you do, sir?
” and shook hands. There was a peculiarity in his manner of shaking hands, always to be seen in any clerk at Tellson’s who shook hands with a customer when the House pervaded ¹⁴ the air. He shook in a self-abnegating way, as one who shook for Tellson & Co.,“Can I do anything for you, Mr. Stryver?” asked Mr. Lorry, in his business character.,“Why, no, thank you; this is a private visit to yourself, Mr. Lorry; I have come for a private word. ”,“Oh indeed!” said Mr. Lorry, bending down his ear, while his eye strayed to the House afar off.,“I am going,
” said Mr. Stryver, leaning his arms confidently on the desk: whereupon, although it was a large double one, there appeared to be not half desk enough for him: “I am going to make an offer of myself in marriage to your agreeable little friend, Miss Manette, Mr. Lorry.”,He sensed the delicacy of the situation.他感觉到了形势的微妙 。,The years of ineffectual service count big in the bestowal of rewards. 几年徒劳无益的服务 ，在论功行赏时就大有关系
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