第185页
《简·爱(英文版)》章节:第185页,宠文网网友提供全文无弹窗免费在线阅读。!
hated me- dying, she must hate me still.
The nurse now entered, and Bessie followed. I yet lingered half
an hour longer, hoping to see some sign of amity: but she gave none.
She was fast relapsing into stupor; nor did her mind again rally: at
twelve o'clock that night she died. I was not present to close her
eyes, nor were either of her daughters. They came to tell us the
next morning that all was over. She was by that time laid out. Eliza
and I went to look at her: Georgiana, who had burst out into loud
weeping, said she dared not go. There was stretched Sarah Reed's
once robust and active frame, rigid and still: her eye of flint was
covered with its cold lid; her brow and strong traits wore yet the
impress of her inexorable soul. A strange and solemn object was that
corpse to me. I gazed on it with gloom and pain: nothing soft, nothing
sweet, nothing pitying, or hopeful, or subduing did it inspire; only a
grating anguish for her woes- not my loss- and a sombre tearless
dismay at the fearfulness of death in such a form.
Eliza surveyed her parent calmly. After a silence of some minutes
she observed-
'With her constitution she should have lived to a good old age: her
life was shortened by trouble.' And then a spasm constricted her mouth
for an instant: as it passed away she turned and left the room, and so
did I. Neither of us had dropt a tear.
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CHAPTER XXII
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MR. ROCHESTER had given me but one week's leave of absence: yet a
month elapsed before I quitted Gateshead. I wished to leave
immediately after the funeral, but Georgiana entreated me to stay till
she could get off to London, whither she was now at last invited by
her uncle, Mr. Gibson, who had come down to direct his sister's
interment and settle the family affairs. Georgiana said she dreaded
being left alone with Eliza; from her she got neither sympathy in
her dejection, support in her fears, nor aid in her preparations; so I
bore with her feeble-minded wailings and selfish lamentations as
well as I could, and did my best in sewing for her and packing her
dresses. It is true, that while I worked, she would idle; and I
thought to myself, 'If you and I were destined to live always
together, cousin, we would commence matters on a different footing.
I should not settle tamely down into being the forbearing party; I
should assign you your share of labour, and compel you to accomplish
it, or else it should be left undone: I should insist, also, on your
keeping some of those drawling, half-insincere complaints hushed in
your own breast. It is only because our connection happens to be
very transitory, and comes at a peculiarly mournful season, that I
consent thus to render it so patient and compliant on my part.'
At last I saw Georgiana off; but now it was Eliza's turn to request