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[夜与日].(night.and.day).(英)弗吉尼亚·伍尔芙.文字版-第31部分


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watch birds in it? The street does all right for hoops。 And 
if children can’t be trusted in the streets; their mothers 
should keep them at home。” 

Mary made no answer to this remark; but frowned。 

She leant back on the seat and looked about her at the 
great houses breaking the soft grayblue sky with their 
chimneys。 

“Ah; well;” she said; “London’s a fine place to live in。 I 
believe I could sit and watch people all day long。 I like 
my fellowcreatures… 。” 

Ralph sighed impatiently。 

“Yes; I think so; when you e to know them;” she 
added; as if his disagreement had been spoken。 

“That’s just when I don’t like them;” he replied。 “Still; I 
don’t see why you shouldn’t cherish that illusion; if it 
pleases you。” He spoke without much vehemence of agreement 
or disagreement。 He seemed chilled。 

“Wake up; Ralph! You’re half asleep!” Mary cried; turning 
and pinching his sleeve。 “What have you been doing 
with yourself? Moping? Working? Despising the world; as 
usual?” 

As he merely shook his head; and filled his pipe; she 
went on: 

“It’s a bit of a pose; isn’t it?” 

“Not more than most things;” he said。 

“Well;” Mary remarked; “I’ve a great deal to say to you; 
but I must go on—we have a mittee。” She rose; but 
hesitated; looking down upon him rather gravely。 “You 
don’t look happy; Ralph;” she said。 “Is it anything; or is 
it nothing?” 

He did not immediately answer her; but rose; too; and 
walked with her towards the gate。 As usual; he did not 
speak to her without considering whether what he was 
about to say was the sort of thing that he could say to her。 

137 



Night and Day 

“I’ve been bothered;” he said at length。 “Partly by work; 
and partly by family troubles。 Charles has been behaving 
like a fool。 He wants to go out to Canada as a farmer—” 

“Well; there’s something to be said for that;” said Mary; 
and they passed the gate; and walked slowly round the 
Fields again; discussing difficulties which; as a matter of 
fact; were more or less chronic in the Denham family; and 
only now brought forward to appease Mary’s sympathy; 
which; however; soothed Ralph more than he was aware 
of。 She made him at least dwell upon problems which 
were real in the sense that they were capable of solution; 
and the true cause of his melancholy; which was not susceptible 
to such treatment; sank rather more deeply into 
the shades of his mind。 

Mary was attentive; she was helpful。 Ralph could not 
help feeling grateful to her; the more so; perhaps; because 
he had not told her the truth about his state; and 
when they reached the gate again he wished to make 
some affectionate objection to her leaving him。 But his 
affection took the rather uncouth form of expostulating 
with her about her work。 

“What d’you want to sit on a mittee for?” he asked。 
“It’s waste of your time; Mary。” 

“I agree with you that a country walk would benefit the 
world more;” she said。 “Look here;” she added suddenly; 
“why don’t you e to us at Christmas? It’s almost the 
best time of year。” 

“e to you at Disham?” Ralph repeated。 

“Yes。 We won’t interfere with you。 But you can tell me 
later;” she said; rather hastily; and then started off in the 
direction of Russell Square。 She had invited him on the 
impulse of the moment; as a vision of the country came 
before her; and now she was annoyed with herself for 
having done so; and then she was annoyed at being annoyed。 


“If I can’t face a walk in a field alone with Ralph;” she 
reasoned; “I’d better buy a cat and live in a lodging at 
Ealing; like Sally Seal —and he won’t e。 Or did he 
mean that he would e?” 

She shook her head。 She really did not know what he 
had meant。 She never felt quite certain; but now she was 
more than usually baffled。 Was he concealing something 

138 



Virginia Woolf 

from her? His manner had been odd; his deep absorption 
had impressed her; there was something in him that she 
had not fathomed; and the mystery of his nature laid 
more of a spell upon her than she liked。 Moreover; she 
could not prevent herself from doing now what she had 
often blamed others of her sex for doing—from endowing 
her friend with a kind of heavenly fire; and passing 
her life before it for his sanction。 

Under this process; the mittee rather dwindled in 
importance; the Suffrage shrank; she vowed she would 
work harder at the Italian language; she thought she would 
take up the study of birds。 But this program for a perfect 
life threatened to bee so absurd that she very soon 
caught herself out in the evil habit; and was rehearsing 
her speech to the mittee by the time the chestnut
colored bricks of Russell Square came in sight。 Indeed; 
she never noticed them。 She ran upstairs as usual; and 
was pletely awakened to reality by the sight of Mrs。 
Seal; on the landing outside the office; inducing a very 
large dog to drink water out of a tumbler。 

“Miss Markham has already arrived;” Mrs。 Seal remarked; 

with due solemnity; “and this is her dog。” 

“A very fine dog; too;” said Mary; patting him on the 
head。 

“Yes。 A magnificent fellow; Mrs。 Seal agreed。 “A kind of 
St。 Bernard; she tells me—so like Kit to have a St。 Bernard。 
And you guard your mistress well; don’t you; Sailor? 
You see that wicked men don’t break into her larder when 
she’s out at HER work—helping poor souls who have lost 
their way… 。 But we’re late—we must begin!” and scattering 
the rest of the water indiscriminately over the floor; 
she hurried Mary into the mitteeroom。 

139 



Night and Day 

CHAPTER XIV 


Mr。 Clacton was in his glory。 The machinery which he had 
perfected and controlled was now about to turn out its 
bimonthly product; a mittee meeting; and his pride 
in the perfect structure of these assemblies was great。 
He loved the jargon of mitteerooms; he loved the 
way in which the door kept opening as the clock struck 
the hour; in obedience to a few strokes of his pen on a 
piece of paper; and when it had opened sufficiently often; 
he loved to issue from his inner chamber with documents 
in his hands; visibly important; with a preoccupied 
expression on his face that might have suited a Prime 
Minister advancing to meet his Cabi。 By his orders the 
table had been decorated beforehand with six sheets of 
blottingpaper; with six pens; six inkpots; a tumbler and 
a jug of water; a bell; and; in deference to the taste of 
the lady members; a vase of hardy chrysanthemums。 He 
had already surreptitiously straightened the sheets of 
blottingpaper in relation to the inkpots; and now stood 
in front of the fire engaged in conversation with Miss 

Markham。 But his eye was on the door; and when Mary 
and Mrs。 Seal entered; he gave a little laugh and observed 
to the assembly which was scattered about the 
room: 

“I fancy; ladies and gentlemen; that we are ready to 
mence。” 

So speaking; he took his seat at the head of the table; 
and arranging one bundle of papers upon his right and 
another upon his left; called upon Miss Datchet to read 
the minutes of the previous meeting。 Mary obeyed。 A keen 
observer might have wondered why it was necessary for 
the secretary to knit her brows so closely over the tolerably 
matteroffact statement before her。 Could there be 
any doubt in her mind that it had been resolved to circularize 
the provinces with Leaflet No。 3; or to issue a statistical 
diagram showing the proportion of married women 
to spinsters in New Zealand; or that the  profits of 
Mrs。 Hipsley’s Bazaar had reached a total of five pounds 
eight shillings and twopence halfpenny? 

Could any doubt as to the perfect sense and propriety 
of these statements be disturbing her? No one could have 

140 



Virginia Woolf 

guessed; from the look of her; that she was disturbed at 
all。 A pleasanter and saner woman than Mary Datchet 
was never seen within a mitteeroom。 She seemed a 
pound of the autumn leaves and the winter sunshine; 
less poetically speaking; she showed both gentleness and 
strength; an indefinable promise of soft maternity blending 
with her evident fitness for honest labor。 Nevertheless; 
she had great difficulty in reducing her mind to 
obedience; and her reading lacked conviction; as if; as 
was indeed the case; she had lost the power of visualizing 
what she read。 And directly the list was pleted; 
her mind floated to Lincoln’s Inn Fields and the fluttering 
wings of innumerable sparrows。 Was Ralph still enticing 
the baldheaded cocksparrow to sit upon his hand? 
Had he succeeded? Would he ever succeed? She had meant 
to ask him why it is that the sparrows in Lincoln’s Inn 
Fields are tamer than the sparrows in Hyde Park—perhaps 
it is that the passersby are rarer; and they e to 
recognize their benefactors。 For the first halfhour of the 
mittee meeting; Mary had thus to do battle with the 
skeptical presence of Ralph Denham; who threatened to 

have it all his own way。 Mary tried half a dozen methods 
of ousting him。 She raised her voice; she articulated distinctly; 
she looked firmly at Mr。 Clacton’s bald head; she 
began to write a note。 To her annoyance; her pencil drew 
a little round figure on the blottingpaper; which; she 
could not deny; was really a baldheaded cocksparrow。 
She looked again at Mr。 Clacton; yes; he was bald; and so 
are cocksparrows。 Never was a secretary tormented by 
so many unsuitable suggestions; and they all came; alas! 
with something ludicrously grotesque about them; which 
might; at any moment; provoke her to such flippancy as 
would shock her colleagues for ever。 The thought of what 
she might say made her bite her lips; as if her lips would 
protect her。 

But all these suggestions were but flotsam and jetsam 
cast to the surface by a more profound disturbance; which; 
as she could not consider it at present; manifested its 
existence by these grotesque nods and beckonings。 Consider 
it; she must; when the mittee was over。 Meanwhile; 
she was behaving scandalously; she was looking 
out of the window; and thinki

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