20 лучших повестей на английском / 20 Best Short Novels

The Duke and Duchess, after the honeymoon was over, went down to Canterville Chase, and on the day after their arrival they walked over in the afternoon to the lonely churchyard by the pine-wood. There had been a great deal of difficulty at first about the inscription on Sir Simon’s tombstone, but finally it had been decided to engrave on it simply the initials of the old gentleman’s name, and the verse from the library window. The Duchess had brought with her some lovely roses, which she strewed upon the grave, and after they had stood by it for some time they strolled into the ruined chancel of the old abbey. There the Duchess sat down on a fallen pillar, while her husband lay at her feet smoking a cigarette and looking up at her beautiful eyes. Suddenly he threw his cigarette away, took hold of her hand, and said to her, ‘Virginia, a wife should have no secrets from her husband.’

‘Dear Cecil! I have no secrets from you.’

‘Yes, you have,’ he answered, smiling, ‘you have never told me what happened to you when you were locked up with the ghost.’

‘I have never told any one, Cecil,’ said Virginia gravely.

‘I know that, but you might tell me.’

‘Please don’t ask me, Cecil, I cannot tell you. Poor Sir Simon! I owe him a great deal. Yes, don’t laugh, Cecil, I really do. He made me see what Life is, and what Death signifies, and why Love is stronger than both.’

The Duke rose and kissed his wife lovingly.

‘You can have your secret as long as I have your heart,’ he murmured.

‘You have always had that, Cecil.’

‘And you will tell our children some day, won’t you?’

Virginia blushed.

Примечания

1

Oxford Street  – one of the main streets in central London, a shopping centre of London

2

pot-boy  – a boy who works in a pub

3

phenomena  – pl. from phenomenon – an unusual or remarkable thing, event, person, etc.

4

coroner  – an official who investigates the cause of death if the circumstances of it seem unnatural

5

the Company  – the East India Company formed in 1600 for the development of trade with India and Southeast Asia; later the Company became involved in politics as a British agent in the region

6

bureau  – a writing desk with drawers

7

Macaulay  – Thomas Bebington Macaulay (1800–1859); an English politician, historian and essayist; he is best known for his ‘History of England’

8

jugglers  – persons who perform tricks to amuse people

9

attics  – an attic is a space under the roof of the house

10

balusters  – construction details supporting a handrail

11

hydrophobia  – strong fear of water

12

medium  – a person who is able to receive information from the spirits of the dead

13

mesmerizm  – a sort of hypnotism; named after Franz Mesmer (1734–1815) who was the first to use hypnotic trance in medical treatment

14

mesmerize = hypnotize

15

mesmerizer = hypnotizer

16

Will-o’-the Wisp  – a meteorological effect, a mysterious light seen over marshes due to ignition of methane, produced by the decomposition of plants

17

simulacra  – pl. from simulacrum  – shadowy likeness that is deceiving

18

phantasm  – a phantom

19

phantom  – a ghost, or smth. seen in a vision

20

larvae  – insects in the first stage of their life cycle

21

Liverpool  – a city and port in the historic county of Lancashire in northwestern England

22

Melbourne  – an important city and port on the southeastern coast of Australia

23

Walworth  – a historic village in Southwark, an inner borough of London; a borough is an incorporated town or district with special privileges.

24

mesmeric  – hypnotic

25

rapport = relationship

26

en rapport = in close relationship

27

Paracelsus (1493–15410) – a Swiss doctor and alchemist who was the first to widely use the achievements of chemistry for treating patients

28

eidolon  – a ghost or phantom ( Greek )

29

Bacon  – Francis Bacon (1561–1626), a famous English philosopher, statesman, essayist and speaker

30

Plato (428 BC–348 BC) – an ancient Greek philosopher, founder of the Academy; he was the pupil of Socrates and the teacher of Aristotle.

31

the Almighty = God

32

crotchet  – a strange and unreasonable idea

33

hobgoblins  – in English and Scottish folklore, small malicious fairies which inhabit houses, mislead travelers, frighten people, spoil things, etc.

34

pentacle  – a magic geometrical figure

35

vellum  – parchment

36

anathema  – a formal declaration of the Church condemning smb. or smth.; a curse

37

Somersetshire  – a historic county in the southwest of England

38

Methodist  – a member of the Methodist Church which separated from the Church of England in the 18th century and later developed into an autonomous church

39

chaise  – a low carriage with two or four wheels

40

Cambridgeshire  – a historic county in eastern England

41

brogue  – a local way of speaking English; a dialect

42