The Age of Innocence · Parallel

01

Easy English

Old-fashioned New York dined at seven, and after dinner people still paid calls. Archer's set laughed at the custom, but most people kept it.

The young man walked up the long, almost empty Fifth Avenue from Waverley Place. Carriages waited before the Reggie Chiverses', where a dinner for the Duke was going on. At times an elderly gentleman passed in heavy overcoat and muffler, a thick warm neck-cloth. Each climbed a brown stone doorstep and disappeared into a gas-lit hall.

So in Washington Square Archer noted old Mr. du Lac calling on his cousins the Dagonets. At West Tenth Street, Mr. Skipworth of his own firm was clearly on his way to the Miss Lannings.

Farther up, Beaufort appeared on his own doorstep, dark against a blaze of light. He came down to his private brougham and rolled away to some secret place, the kind one does not name.

It was not an Opera night, and no one was giving a party. The trip was surely secret. Archer thought of a little house beyond Lexington Avenue. Flower-boxes and pretty new curtains now showed at its windows. Before its freshly painted door, Miss Fanny Ring's yellow brougham often stood waiting.

Source English

Old-fashioned New York dined at seven, and the habit of after-dinner calls, though derided in Archer's set, still generally prevailed. As the young man strolled up Fifth Avenue from Waverley Place, the long thoroughfare was deserted but for a group of carriages standing before the Reggie Chiverses' (where there was a dinner for the Duke), and the occasional figure of an elderly gentleman in heavy overcoat and muffler ascending a brownstone doorstep and disappearing into a gas-lit hall. Thus, as Archer crossed Washington Square, he remarked that old Mr. du Lac was calling on his cousins the Dagonets, and turning down the corner of West Tenth Street he saw Mr. Skipworth, of his own firm, obviously bound on a visit to the Miss Lannings. A little farther up Fifth Avenue, Beaufort appeared on his doorstep, darkly projected against a blaze of light, descended to his private brougham, and rolled away to a mysterious and probably unmentionable destination. It was not an Opera night, and no one was giving a party, so that Beaufort's outing was undoubtedly of a clandestine nature. Archer connected it in his mind with a little house beyond Lexington Avenue in which beribboned window curtains and flower-boxes had recently appeared, and before whose newly painted door the canary-coloured brougham of Miss Fanny Ring was frequently seen to wait.

02

Easy English

Mrs. Archer's world was a small and slippery pyramid — wide below, sharp on top. Beyond it lay an almost unmapped quarter, home of the artists, the musicians, and "people who wrote."

These scattered human beings showed no wish to mix with society. Their ways were odd, but mostly respectable, people said. They kept to themselves.

Medora Manson, in her rich days, once started a "literary salon," an evening gathering for writers and talk. But the writers did not come, and it soon died.

Source English

Beyond the small and slippery pyramid which composed Mrs. Archer's world lay the almost unmapped quarter inhabited by artists, musicians and "people who wrote." These scattered fragments of humanity had never shown any desire to be amalgamated with the social structure. In spite of odd ways they were said to be, for the most part, quite respectable; but they preferred to keep to themselves. Medora Manson, in her prosperous days, had inaugurated a "literary salon"; but it had soon died out owing to the reluctance of the literary to frequent it.

03

Easy English

Others tried too. One household was the Blenkers' — a mother full of feeling, never silent, and three untidy daughters who copied her. There one met Edwin Booth, Patti, William Winter, and the new Shakespearian actor George Rignold. And one met the men of the magazines and the judges of new music and books.

Source English

Others had made the same attempt, and there was a household of Blenkers--an intense and voluble mother, and three blowsy daughters who imitated her--where one met Edwin Booth and Patti and William Winter, and the new Shakespearian actor George Rignold, and some of the magazine editors and musical and literary critics.

04

Easy English

Mrs. Archer's group felt a certain fear of these persons — odd, uncertain, with unknown things in their background.

Yet the Archer set deeply respected literature and art. Mrs. Archer often told her children how much finer society once was. It included Washington Irving, Fitz-Greene Halleck, and the poet of "The Culprit Fay." The most famous authors of that generation were "gentlemen."

The unknown men who came after perhaps had gentlemanly feelings. But their origin, their appearance, their hair, and their closeness to the stage and the Opera set them apart. The old New York measures did not fit them.

Source English

Mrs. Archer and her group felt a certain timidity concerning these persons. They were odd, they were uncertain, they had things one didn't know about in the background of their lives and minds. Literature and art were deeply respected in the Archer set, and Mrs. Archer was always at pains to tell her children how much more agreeable and cultivated society had been when it included such figures as Washington Irving, Fitz-Greene Halleck and the poet of "The Culprit Fay." The most celebrated authors of that generation had been "gentlemen"; perhaps the unknown persons who succeeded them had gentlemanly sentiments, but their origin, their appearance, their hair, their intimacy with the stage and the Opera, made any old New York criterion inapplicable to them.

05

Easy English

"When I was a girl," Mrs. Archer used to say, "we knew everybody between the Battery and Canal Street. And only the people one knew had carriages. It was easy then to place anyone. Now one cannot tell, and I prefer not to try."

Source English

"When I was a girl," Mrs. Archer used to say, "we knew everybody between the Battery and Canal Street; and only the people one knew had carriages. It was perfectly easy to place any one then; now one can't tell, and I prefer not to try."

06

Easy English

Only old Catherine Mingott, perhaps, could bridge that deep space. She judged nobody's morals, and cared as little for fine social lines as a newcomer risen from nothing. But she never opened a book or looked at a picture.

She liked music only for its memories of grand nights at the Italiens, the Paris opera house. Those were her great days at the Tuileries, the French court.

Beaufort, her match in daring, could perhaps bring the two worlds together. But his grand house made easy, friendly visiting impossible. So did his footmen in silk stockings, the long fine socks of grand servants.

Besides, Beaufort read as little as old Mrs. Mingott — that is, not at all. To him, "fellows who wrote" were the paid servants of rich men's pleasures. No one rich enough to change his opinion ever questioned it.

Source English

Only old Catherine Mingott, with her absence of moral prejudices and almost parvenu indifference to the subtler distinctions, might have bridged the abyss; but she had never opened a book or looked at a picture, and cared for music only because it reminded her of gala nights at the Italiens, in the days of her triumph at the Tuileries. Possibly Beaufort, who was her match in daring, would have succeeded in bringing about a fusion; but his grand house and silk-stockinged footmen were an obstacle to informal sociability. Moreover, he was as illiterate as old Mrs. Mingott, and considered "fellows who wrote" as the mere paid purveyors of rich men's pleasures; and no one rich enough to influence his opinion had ever questioned it.

07

Easy English

Archer grew up knowing all this. It was part of his universe. But he knew of societies where things went the other way. There, painters and poets, writers, men of science, and even great actors were wanted as eagerly as Dukes.

He often pictured life in drawing-rooms where Mérimée led the talk. His "Lettres à une Inconnue" — "Letters to an Unknown Woman" — was a book Archer kept near him. There one might hear Thackeray, Browning, or William Morris. But in New York such things were unthinkable, and unsettling to think of.

Archer knew most of the "fellows who wrote," and the musicians and painters. He met and enjoyed them at the Century, or at the little new clubs of music and theater. At the Blenkers' he was bored, for eager and badly dressed women passed the artists around like rare caught things.

Even after his best talks with Ned Winsett, he came away feeling the same thing. If his world was small, theirs was too. Only a new stage of manners, joining the two, could make either larger.

Source English

Newland Archer had been aware of these things ever since he could remember, and had accepted them as part of the structure of his universe. He knew that there were societies where painters and poets and novelists and men of science, and even great actors, were as sought after as Dukes; he had often pictured to himself what it would have been to live in the intimacy of drawing-rooms dominated by the talk of Mérimée (whose "Lettres à une Inconnue" was one of his inseparables), of Thackeray, Browning or William Morris. But such things were inconceivable in New York, and unsettling to think of. Archer knew most of the "fellows who wrote," the musicians and the painters: he met them at the Century, or at the little musical and theatrical clubs that were beginning to come into existence. He enjoyed them there, and was bored with them at the Blenkers', where they were mingled with fervid and dowdy women who passed them about like captured curiosities; and even after his most exciting talks with Ned Winsett he always came away with the feeling that if his world was small, so was theirs, and that the only way to enlarge either was to reach a stage of manners where they would naturally merge.

08

Easy English

All this came back as he tried to picture the society where the Countess Olenska once lived and suffered. Perhaps she also tasted strange joys there.

She once told him, amused, that her grandmother Mingott and the Wellands objected to her street. She was living, they said, in a "Bohemian" quarter, given over to "people who wrote." Bohemian meant the free, poor, careless world of artists.

But her family did not dislike the danger of that world. They disliked the poverty. That fine shade escaped her. She thought they found literature itself shameful.

Source English

He was reminded of this by trying to picture the society in which the Countess Olenska had lived and suffered, and also--perhaps--tasted mysterious joys. He remembered with what amusement she had told him that her grandmother Mingott and the Wellands objected to her living in a "Bohemian" quarter given over to "people who wrote." It was not the peril but the poverty that her family disliked; but that shade escaped her, and she supposed they considered literature compromising.

09

Easy English

She herself had no fear of it. Books lay all about her drawing-room, where they were usually thought "out of place." Most were novels. Their new names made Archer curious: Paul Bourget, Huysmans, and the Goncourt brothers.

He turned these things over as he came to her door. Once more he felt how strangely she turned his values upside down. To be of use in her present trouble, he must think himself into conditions wholly unlike his own.

Source English

She herself had no fears of it, and the books scattered about her drawing-room (a part of the house in which books were usually supposed to be "out of place"), though chiefly works of fiction, had whetted Archer's interest with such new names as those of Paul Bourget, Huysmans, and the Goncourt brothers. Ruminating on these things as he approached her door, he was once more conscious of the curious way in which she reversed his values, and of the need of thinking himself into conditions incredibly different from any that he knew if he were to be of use in her present difficulty.

10

Easy English

Nastasia opened the door with a strange little smile. On the bench lay a heavy overcoat lined with dark, costly fur.

On it sat a tall opera hat of dull silk, the kind made to fold flat. Inside it, the letters J. B. stood in gold. Beside them lay a white silk muffler.

There was no mistaking it. These costly things were Julius Beaufort's.

Source English

Nastasia opened the door, smiling mysteriously. On the bench in the hall lay a sable-lined overcoat, a folded opera hat of dull silk with a gold J. B. on the lining, and a white silk muffler: there was no mistaking the fact that these costly articles were the property of Julius Beaufort.

11

Easy English

Archer was so angry that he nearly wrote a word on his card and left. Then he remembered his own note. Out of too much delicacy, he had not said that he wished to see her alone. He could blame only himself if her door stood open to others.

He walked in with one firm plan: to make Beaufort feel unwanted, and to stay after him.

Source English

Archer was angry: so angry that he came near scribbling a word on his card and going away; then he remembered that in writing to Madame Olenska he had been kept by excess of discretion from saying that he wished to see her privately. He had therefore no one but himself to blame if she had opened her doors to other visitors; and he entered the drawing-room with the dogged determination to make Beaufort feel himself in the way, and to outstay him.

12

Easy English

The banker stood leaning against the shelf above the fireplace. Over the shelf hung an old cloth with fine sewn patterns. Heavy candle holders kept it in place, with real church candles, yellow with age.

Beaufort pushed out his chest, his shoulders against the shelf, his weight on one large, shining shoe. As Archer entered, he was smiling down at the lady of the house.

Madame Olenska sat on a sofa at a right angle to the fireplace. Behind it, a table banked with flowers made a screen. Archer knew those orchids and azaleas, rich flowers from Beaufort's hot-houses. Hot-houses were warm glass houses for flowers.

Against them she sat half-lying, head resting on one hand, her wide sleeve leaving the arm bare to the elbow.

Source English

The banker stood leaning against the mantelshelf, which was draped with an old embroidery held in place by brass candelabra containing church candles of yellowish wax. He had thrust his chest out, supporting his shoulders against the mantel and resting his weight on one large patent-leather foot. As Archer entered he was smiling and looking down on his hostess, who sat on a sofa placed at right angles to the chimney. A table banked with flowers formed a screen behind it, and against the orchids and azaleas which the young man recognised as tributes from the Beaufort hot-houses, Madame Olenska sat half-reclined, her head propped on a hand and her wide sleeve leaving the arm bare to the elbow.

13

Easy English

Ladies who received in the evening usually wore "simple dinner dresses." This meant a tight, stiff dress of silk, slightly open at the neck, with lace filling the small opening. The tight sleeves ended in a fold, showing just enough wrist. On the wrist shone an old-style gold band, or a band of velvet.

But Madame Olenska paid no attention to tradition. She wore a long dress of red velvet, edged about the chin and down the front with shining black fur.

Archer remembered a picture seen in Paris, by the new painter Carolus Duran. His pictures were the talk of the Salon, the great yearly Paris art show. In it, a lady wore one of these bold, close-wrapping dresses, her chin soft in fur.

Something in it was wrong in a daring way — fur worn in the evening, in a heated room. A covered throat, and bare arms. But the effect, without question, was pleasing.

Source English

It was usual for ladies who received in the evenings to wear what were called "simple dinner dresses": a close-fitting armour of whale-boned silk, slightly open in the neck, with lace ruffles filling in the crack, and tight sleeves with a flounce uncovering just enough wrist to show an Etruscan gold bracelet or a velvet band. But Madame Olenska, heedless of tradition, was attired in a long robe of red velvet bordered about the chin and down the front with glossy black fur. Archer remembered, on his last visit to Paris, seeing a portrait by the new painter, Carolus Duran, whose pictures were the sensation of the Salon, in which the lady wore one of these bold sheath-like robes with her chin nestling in fur. There was something perverse and provocative in the notion of fur worn in the evening in a heated drawing-room, and in the combination of a muffled throat and bare arms; but the effect was undeniably pleasing.

14

Easy English

"Lord love us — three whole days at Skuytercliff!" Beaufort was saying loudly, unkindly, as Archer entered. "You'd better take all your furs, and a hot-water-bottle."

Source English

"Lord love us--three whole days at Skuytercliff!" Beaufort was saying in his loud sneering voice as Archer entered. "You'd better take all your furs, and a hot-water-bottle."

15

Easy English

"Why? Is the house so cold?" she asked. She held out her left hand to Archer, as if she strangely expected him to kiss it.

Source English

"Why? Is the house so cold?" she asked, holding out her left hand to Archer in a way mysteriously suggesting that she expected him to kiss it.

16

Easy English

"No. But the missus is," said Beaufort, with a careless nod at Archer. "The missus" was his rude word for the lady of the house.

Source English

"No; but the missus is," said Beaufort, nodding carelessly to the young man.

17

Easy English

"But I thought her so kind. She came herself to invite me. Granny says I must go."

Source English

"But I thought her so kind. She came herself to invite me. Granny says I must certainly go."

18

Easy English

"Granny would, of course. And it's a shame. You're going to miss the little oyster supper I planned for you at Delmonico's next Sunday. Campanini and Scalchi will be there, and a lot of amusing people."

Source English

"Granny would, of course. And I say it's a shame you're going to miss the little oyster supper I'd planned for you at Delmonico's next Sunday, with Campanini and Scalchi and a lot of jolly people."

19

Easy English

She looked from the banker to Archer, in doubt.

Source English

She looked doubtfully from the banker to Archer.

20

Easy English

"Ah — that is hard to refuse! Except for one evening at Mrs. Struthers's, I have not met a single artist since I came here."

Source English

"Ah--that does tempt me! Except the other evening at Mrs. Struthers's I've not met a single artist since I've been here."

21

Easy English

"What kind of artists? I know one or two painters, very good fellows. I could bring them to see you, if you'd allow me," Archer said. It was daring, for him.

Source English

"What kind of artists? I know one or two painters, very good fellows, that I could bring to see you if you'd allow me," said Archer boldly.

22

Easy English

"Painters? Are there painters in New York?" asked Beaufort. His tone said plainly that there could be none, since he did not buy their pictures.

Madame Olenska turned to Archer with her quiet, serious smile. "That would be charming. But I really meant artists of the theater — singers, actors, musicians. My husband's house was always full of them."

Source English

"Painters? Are there painters in New York?" asked Beaufort, in a tone implying that there could be none since he did not buy their pictures; and Madame Olenska said to Archer, with her grave smile: "That would be charming. But I was really thinking of dramatic artists, singers, actors, musicians. My husband's house was always full of them."

23

Easy English

She said the words "my husband" as if nothing dark hung about them. Her tone seemed almost to sigh over the lost joys of her married life. Was it lightness in her, Archer wondered, or was she hiding what she felt? She was risking her good name to break with her past. Yet she touched it so easily.

Source English

She said the words "my husband" as if no sinister associations were connected with them, and in a tone that seemed almost to sigh over the lost delights of her married life. Archer looked at her perplexedly, wondering if it were lightness or dissimulation that enabled her to touch so easily on the past at the very moment when she was risking her reputation in order to break with it.

24

Easy English

"I do think the imprévu adds to one's pleasure," she said to both men. Imprévu is French for "the unexpected." "It is perhaps a mistake to see the same people every day."

Source English

"I do think," she went on, addressing both men, "that the imprévu adds to one's enjoyment. It's perhaps a mistake to see the same people every day."

25

Easy English

"It is deadly dull, anyhow. New York is dying of dullness," said Beaufort, annoyed. "And when I try to wake it up for you, you turn your back on me."

He pressed on. "Come — think again! Sunday is your last chance, for Campanini leaves next week for Baltimore and Philadelphia. I have a private room, and a Steinway piano. They'll sing all night for me."

Source English

"It's confoundedly dull, anyhow; New York is dying of dullness," Beaufort grumbled. "And when I try to liven it up for you, you go back on me. Come--think better of it! Sunday is your last chance, for Campanini leaves next week for Baltimore and Philadelphia; and I've a private room, and a Steinway, and they'll sing all night for me."

26

Easy English

"How lovely! May I think it over, and write to you tomorrow morning?"

Source English

"How delicious! May I think it over, and write to you tomorrow morning?"

27

Easy English

She spoke in a friendly way, yet with the smallest hint that he should go. Beaufort felt it. No one ever sent him away. He stood staring, a hard line between his eyes.

Source English

She spoke amiably, yet with the least hint of dismissal in her voice. Beaufort evidently felt it, and being unused to dismissals, stood staring at her with an obstinate line between his eyes.

28

Easy English

"Why not now?"

Source English

"Why not now?"

29

Easy English

"It is too serious a question to decide at this late hour."

Source English

"It's too serious a question to decide at this late hour."

30

Easy English

"Do you call it late?"

Source English

"Do you call it late?"

31

Easy English

She returned his look coolly. "Yes. Because I still have to talk business with Mr. Archer for a little while."

Source English

She returned his glance coolly. "Yes; because I have still to talk business with Mr. Archer for a little while."

32

Easy English

"Ah," said Beaufort sharply. There was no arguing with her tone. He lifted his shoulders, recovered his calm, and kissed her hand with a practiced air.

From the doorway he called back. "I say, Newland — persuade the Countess to stay in town, and of course you're included in the supper." Then he left the room with his heavy, important step.

Source English

"Ah," Beaufort snapped. There was no appeal from her tone, and with a slight shrug he recovered his composure, took her hand, which he kissed with a practised air, and calling out from the threshold: "I say, Newland, if you can persuade the Countess to stop in town of course you're included in the supper," left the room with his heavy important step.

33

Easy English

For a moment Archer thought Mr. Letterblair had told her of his coming. But her next words had nothing to do with it, and he changed his mind.

Source English

For a moment Archer fancied that Mr. Letterblair must have told her of his coming; but the irrelevance of her next remark made him change his mind.

34

Easy English

"You know painters, then? You live in their milieu?" she asked, her eyes full of interest. Milieu is French for the world one lives in.

Source English

"You know painters, then? You live in their milieu?" she asked, her eyes full of interest.

35

Easy English

"Oh, not exactly. I don't know that the arts have a milieu here at all. They are more like a thin, half-empty edge of the town."

Source English

"Oh, not exactly. I don't know that the arts have a milieu here, any of them; they're more like a very thinly settled outskirt."

36

Easy English

"But you care for such things?"

Source English

"But you care for such things?"

37

Easy English

"Greatly. When I am in Paris or London, I never miss a show of new pictures. I try to keep up."

Source English

"Immensely. When I'm in Paris or London I never miss an exhibition. I try to keep up."

38

Easy English

She looked down at the tip of the small shining boot under her long dress.

Source English

She looked down at the tip of the little satin boot that peeped from her long draperies.

39

Easy English

"I used to care greatly too. My life was full of such things. But now I want to try not to."

Source English

"I used to care immensely too: my life was full of such things. But now I want to try not to."

40

Easy English

"You want to try not to?"

Source English

"You want to try not to?"

41

Easy English

"Yes. I want to cast off my old life, all of it. I want to become just like everybody else here."

Source English

"Yes: I want to cast off all my old life, to become just like everybody else here."

42

Easy English

Archer went red. "You will never be like everybody else," he said.

Source English

Archer reddened. "You'll never be like everybody else," he said.

43

Easy English

She raised her straight eyebrows a little. "Ah, don't say that. If you knew how I hate to be different!"

Source English

She raised her straight eyebrows a little. "Ah, don't say that. If you knew how I hate to be different!"

44

Easy English

Her face grew as dark and still as a tragic mask, the sad fixed face of old plays. She leaned forward, holding her knee in her thin hands, and looked past him into far dark distance.

Source English

Her face had grown as sombre as a tragic mask. She leaned forward, clasping her knee in her thin hands, and looking away from him into remote dark distances.

45

Easy English

"I want to get away from it all," she said again.

Source English

"I want to get away from it all," she insisted.

46

Easy English

He waited, and cleared his throat. "I know. Mr. Letterblair has told me."

Source English

He waited a moment and cleared his throat. "I know. Mr. Letterblair has told me."

47

Easy English

"Ah?"

Source English

"Ah?"

48

Easy English

"That is why I have come. He asked me to — you see, I am in the firm."

Source English

"That's the reason I've come. He asked me to--you see I'm in the firm."

49

Easy English

She looked surprised, and then her eyes grew bright. "You mean you can manage it for me? I can talk to you instead of Mr. Letterblair? Oh, that will be so much easier!"

Source English

She looked slightly surprised, and then her eyes brightened. "You mean you can manage it for me? I can talk to you instead of Mr. Letterblair? Oh, that will be so much easier!"

50

Easy English

Her tone touched him, and his confidence grew along with his satisfaction in himself. He saw now that she had spoken of business to Beaufort only to get rid of him. It felt like winning the field.

Source English

Her tone touched him, and his confidence grew with his self-satisfaction. He perceived that she had spoken of business to Beaufort simply to get rid of him; and to have routed Beaufort was something of a triumph.

51

Easy English

"I am here to talk about it," he said again.

Source English

"I am here to talk about it," he repeated.

52

Easy English

She sat silent, her head resting on the sofa's back. Her face looked pale, its light put out by the rich red of her dress. All at once she struck Archer as a sad, even pitiful figure.

Source English

She sat silent, her head still propped by the arm that rested on the back of the sofa. Her face looked pale and extinguished, as if dimmed by the rich red of her dress. She struck Archer, of a sudden, as a pathetic and even pitiful figure.

53

Easy English

"Now we are coming to hard facts," he thought. He felt himself pull back, deep inside — the very habit he blamed in his mother and her generation.

He had almost no practice with unusual situations. Even the words for them felt foreign — words from novels and the stage. Before what was coming he felt like a boy, unsure of every word.

Source English

"Now we're coming to hard facts," he thought, conscious in himself of the same instinctive recoil that he had so often criticised in his mother and her contemporaries. How little practice he had had in dealing with unusual situations! Their very vocabulary was unfamiliar to him, and seemed to belong to fiction and the stage. In face of what was coming he felt as awkward and embarrassed as a boy.

54

Easy English

After a pause, Madame Olenska broke out with sudden force. "I want to be free. I want to wipe out all the past."

Source English

After a pause Madame Olenska broke out with unexpected vehemence: "I want to be free; I want to wipe out all the past."

55

Easy English

"I understand that."

Source English

"I understand that."

56

Easy English

Her face grew warm. "Then you'll help me?"

Source English

Her face warmed. "Then you'll help me?"

57

Easy English

"First—" He paused. "Perhaps I ought to know a little more."

Source English

"First--" he hesitated--"perhaps I ought to know a little more."

58

Easy English

She seemed surprised. "You know about my husband — my life with him?"

Source English

She seemed surprised. "You know about my husband--my life with him?"

59

Easy English

He nodded.

Source English

He made a sign of assent.

60

Easy English

"Well — then — what more is there? Does this country accept such things? I am a Protestant. In such cases as mine, our church allows divorce."

Source English

"Well--then--what more is there? In this country are such things tolerated? I'm a Protestant--our church does not forbid divorce in such cases."

61

Easy English

"Certainly not."

Source English

"Certainly not."

62

Easy English

They were silent again. Archer felt between them the ghost of Count Olenski's letter, making its ugly face. The letter filled only half a page. It was, as he told Mr. Letterblair, the vague charge of an angry blackguard.

But how much truth lay behind it? Only Count Olenski's wife could tell.

Source English

They were both silent again, and Archer felt the spectre of Count Olenski's letter grimacing hideously between them. The letter filled only half a page, and was just what he had described it to be in speaking of it to Mr. Letterblair: the vague charge of an angry blackguard. But how much truth was behind it? Only Count Olenski's wife could tell.

63

Easy English

"I have looked through the papers you gave Mr. Letterblair," he said at last.

Source English

"I've looked through the papers you gave to Mr. Letterblair," he said at length.

64

Easy English

"Well — can there be anything more hateful?"

Source English

"Well--can there be anything more abominable?"

65

Easy English

"No."

Source English

"No."

66

Easy English

She changed her position slightly, lifting a hand to screen her eyes.

Source English

She changed her position slightly, screening her eyes with her lifted hand.

67

Easy English

"Of course you know," Archer went on, "that if your husband fights the case — as he threatens to—"

Source English

"Of course you know," Archer continued, "that if your husband chooses to fight the case--as he threatens to--"

68

Easy English

"Yes—?"

Source English

"Yes--?"

69

Easy English

"He can say things — things that might be unpl— might be painful for you. He can say them publicly, so that the talk spreads and harms you. Even if—"

Source English

"He can say things--things that might be unpl--might be disagreeable to you: say them publicly, so that they would get about, and harm you even if--"

70

Easy English

"If—?"

Source English

"If--?"

71

Easy English

"I mean, no matter how empty of truth they are."

Source English

"I mean: no matter how unfounded they were."

72

Easy English

Her pause was long. He looked away from her shaded face, down at her other hand, the one on her knee. He learned by heart its shape, and the three rings on her fourth and fifth fingers.

A wedding ring, he noticed, was not among them.

Source English

She paused for a long interval; so long that, not wishing to keep his eyes on her shaded face, he had time to imprint on his mind the exact shape of her other hand, the one on her knee, and every detail of the three rings on her fourth and fifth fingers; among which, he noticed, a wedding ring did not appear.

73

Easy English

"What harm could such charges do me here, even if he made them publicly?"

Source English

"What harm could such accusations, even if he made them publicly, do me here?"

74

Easy English

The words that rose to his lips were, "My poor child — far more harm here than anywhere else!" He did not say them. He answered instead, in a voice that sounded to him like Mr. Letterblair's.

"New York society is a very small world, compared with the one you lived in. And whatever it looks like, a few people with — well, rather old-fashioned ideas rule it."

Source English

It was on his lips to exclaim: "My poor child--far more harm than anywhere else!" Instead, he answered, in a voice that sounded in his ears like Mr. Letterblair's: "New York society is a very small world compared with the one you've lived in. And it's ruled, in spite of appearances, by a few people with--well, rather old-fashioned ideas."

75

Easy English

She said nothing, and he went on. "Our ideas about marriage and divorce are especially old-fashioned. Our laws favour divorce. Our social customs do not."

Source English

She said nothing, and he continued: "Our ideas about marriage and divorce are particularly old-fashioned. Our legislation favours divorce--our social customs don't."

76

Easy English

"Never?"

Source English

"Never?"

77

Easy English

"Well — not if the woman has appearances against her, even in the smallest degree. She may be injured. She may be blameless. But if any free, unusual act of hers has laid her open to ugly hints, to insulting talk—"

Source English

"Well--not if the woman, however injured, however irreproachable, has appearances in the least degree against her, has exposed herself by any unconventional action to--to offensive insinuations--"

78

Easy English

She let her head sink a little lower. He waited, hoping hard for a flash of anger, or at least one quick cry of "Not true!"

None came.

Source English

She drooped her head a little lower, and he waited again, intensely hoping for a flash of indignation, or at least a brief cry of denial. None came.

79

Easy English

A little travelling clock sounded softly at her elbow. A piece of wood broke in the fire, and bright points flew up. The quiet room seemed to hold its breath with Archer.

Source English

A little travelling clock ticked purringly at her elbow, and a log broke in two and sent up a shower of sparks. The whole hushed and brooding room seemed to be waiting silently with Archer.

80

Easy English

"Yes," she said at last, very low. "That is what my family tell me."

Source English

"Yes," she murmured at length, "that's what my family tell me."

81

Easy English

The words gave him a small, quick pain. "It is natural enough—"

Source English

He winced a little. "It's not unnatural--"

82

Easy English

"Our family," she corrected herself, and Archer went red. "For you will be my cousin soon," she said gently.

Source English

"Our family," she corrected herself; and Archer coloured. "For you'll be my cousin soon," she continued gently.

83

Easy English

"I hope so."

Source English

"I hope so."

84

Easy English

"And you take their view?"

Source English

"And you take their view?"

85

Easy English

He stood up and wandered across the room. He stared with empty eyes at a picture on the old red cloth of the wall. Then he came back, unable to decide anything. How could he say, "Yes — if what your husband hints is true, or if you cannot prove it false"?

Source English

He stood up at this, wandered across the room, stared with void eyes at one of the pictures against the old red damask, and came back irresolutely to her side. How could he say: "Yes, if what your husband hints is true, or if you've no way of disproving it?"

86

Easy English

"Honestly—" she broke in, as he was about to speak.

Source English

"Sincerely--" she interjected, as he was about to speak.

87

Easy English

He looked down into the fire. "Honestly, then — what would you gain? Would it pay for the talk that might come? No — that would surely come."

Source English

He looked down into the fire. "Sincerely, then--what should you gain that would compensate for the possibility--the certainty--of a lot of beastly talk?"

88

Easy English

"But my freedom — is that nothing?"

Source English

"But my freedom--is that nothing?"

89

Easy English

At that instant a thought flashed across him. The charge in the letter was true, and she hoped to marry the partner of her guilt. If that plan lay in her heart, the laws of the State stood firmly against it.

How was he to tell her? The mere thought made him hard and impatient toward her.

"But are you not as free as air already?" he answered. "Who can touch you? Mr. Letterblair tells me the money question is settled—"

Source English

It flashed across him at that instant that the charge in the letter was true, and that she hoped to marry the partner of her guilt. How was he to tell her that, if she really cherished such a plan, the laws of the State were inexorably opposed to it? The mere suspicion that the thought was in her mind made him feel harshly and impatiently toward her. "But aren't you as free as air as it is?" he returned. "Who can touch you? Mr. Letterblair tells me the financial question has been settled--"

90

Easy English

"Oh, yes," she said flatly.

Source English

"Oh, yes," she said indifferently.

91

Easy English

"Well, then — is it worth the risk? What may come could be endlessly painful. Think of the newspapers — how low and dirty they are! It is all stupid and narrow and unjust. But one cannot remake society."

Source English

"Well, then: is it worth while to risk what may be infinitely disagreeable and painful? Think of the newspapers--their vileness! It's all stupid and narrow and unjust--but one can't make over society."

92

Easy English

"No," she agreed. Her voice was so small and lost that he felt sudden shame for his hard thoughts.

Source English

"No," she acquiesced; and her tone was so faint and desolate that he felt a sudden remorse for his own hard thoughts.

93

Easy English

"In such cases, society nearly always sacrifices the single person. That person is given up, like an offering, for what people call the good of all. People hold on to any custom that keeps the family together. Any custom that protects the children, if there are children," he went on, and could not stop.

He poured out the old ready-made phrases. Her silence seemed to lay some ugly truth bare, and he burned to cover it over.

She would not, or could not, say the one word that would clear the air. So he must not seem to dig at her secret. Better to stay on the surface, in the careful old New York way. Better that than to uncover a wound he could not heal.

Source English

"The individual, in such cases, is nearly always sacrificed to what is supposed to be the collective interest: people cling to any convention that keeps the family together--protects the children, if there are any," he rambled on, pouring out all the stock phrases that rose to his lips in his intense desire to cover over the ugly reality which her silence seemed to have laid bare. Since she would not or could not say the one word that would have cleared the air, his wish was not to let her feel that he was trying to probe into her secret. Better keep on the surface, in the prudent old New York way, than risk uncovering a wound he could not heal.

94

Easy English

He went on. "It is my business, you know, to help you see these things as your own people see them. The Mingotts, the Wellands, the van der Luydens — all your friends and relations. I mean the people who love you best."

Source English

"It's my business, you know," he went on, "to help you to see these things as the people who are fondest of you see them. The Mingotts, the Wellands, the van der Luydens, all your friends and relations: if I didn't show you honestly how they judge such questions, it wouldn't be fair of me, would it?" He spoke insistently, almost pleading with her in his eagerness to cover up that yawning silence.

95

Easy English

"If I did not show you honestly how they judge such questions, it would not be fair of me. Would it?" He pressed the words on her, almost begging, eager to cover that wide-open silence.

She said slowly, "No. It would not be fair."

Source English

She said slowly: "No; it wouldn't be fair."

96

Easy English

By now the fire was sinking into grey. One of the lamps made a small sound, asking for attention. Madame Olenska rose, wound it up, and returned to the fire. But she did not sit down again.

Source English

The fire had crumbled down to greyness, and one of the lamps made a gurgling appeal for attention. Madame Olenska rose, wound it up and returned to the fire, but without resuming her seat.

97

Easy English

Her standing seemed to mean there was nothing more to say. Archer stood up too.

Source English

Her remaining on her feet seemed to signify that there was nothing more for either of them to say, and Archer stood up also.

98

Easy English

"Very well. I will do what you wish," she said suddenly.

The blood rushed to his forehead. She gave way so suddenly that it shook him. He caught her two hands in his, hardly knowing what he did.

Source English

"Very well; I will do what you wish," she said abruptly. The blood rushed to his forehead; and, taken aback by the suddenness of her surrender, he caught her two hands awkwardly in his.

99

Easy English

"I — I do want to help you," he said.

Source English

"I--I do want to help you," he said.

100

Easy English

"You do help me. Good night, my cousin."

Source English

"You do help me. Good night, my cousin."

101

Easy English

He bent and laid his lips on her hands. They were cold and without life. She drew them away.

He turned to the door, found his coat and hat under the weak gas-light, and pushed into the winter night. And now, too late, the words came — a whole flood of them. They burst up in a man who could not speak when speaking mattered.

Source English

He bent and laid his lips on her hands, which were cold and lifeless. She drew them away, and he turned to the door, found his coat and hat under the faint gas-light of the hall, and plunged out into the winter night bursting with the belated eloquence of the inarticulate.