Even they could not make him imposing; he was a little, wizened(消瘦的) man, with tired eyes, a long upper lip, and a thin mouth;
a facetious(爱逗乐的) photographer had told him to look pleasant, but he had succeeded only in looking severe.
It was on this account, for as a rule the down-turned corners of his mouth and the dejection(忧郁) of his eyes gave him an air of mild depression, that Mrs. Garstin, thinking it made him look judicial, had chosen it from among the proofs.
The expense of the election was borne(承担) by the party, but here again her parsimony balked her ambition, and she could not bring herself to spend enough money to nurse the constituency.
A bird in the hand was worth two in the bush, he told her, to which she retorted that a proverb was the last refuge of the mentally destitute(贫乏的).
His daughters had never looked upon him as anything but a source of income;
it had always seemed perfectly natural that he should lead a dog’s life in order to provide them with board and lodging, clothes, holidays and money for odds and ends;
and now, understanding that through his fault money was less plentiful, the indifference they had felt for him was tinged(略带一点的) with an exasperated(恼火的) contempt
she must marry in the first flush of her maidenhood(少女时期).
she dreamed ambitious dreams; it was not a good marriage she aimed at for her daughter, but a brilliant on
Her first season passed without the perfect suitor(追求者) presenting himself, and the second also; but she was young and could afford to wait.
She was glad to have an opportunity to laugh a little, for on that fine, sunny day the air about them seemed on a sudden heavy with foreboding(不详的预感).
She was a little frightened, but she was elated(得意洋洋的) also.
His impassivity(冷淡) was vaguely impressive.
“You must give me
He gave her a look and she felt her eyes drawn to his.
They had a tenderness which she had never seen in them before, but there was something beseeching(恳求的) in them, like a dog’s that has been whipped, which slightly exasperated(使...更紧张) her.
she well knew the effect of.
“If I were so rash as to say I’d marry you, when would you want to marry me?”
He gave a sudden gasp of delight, and his white cheeks flushed.
Nor did their conjugal(配偶的) relations draw her closer to him.
He was passionate then, fierce, oddly hysterical too, and sentimental.
It disconcerted(使困惑) her to realize how emotional he really was.
She had offended him bitterly once by laughing and telling him that he was talking the most fearful slush(无聊的言情故事).
He could not bring himself to play the round games which Kitty with her high spirits found such a lark(玩乐).
But if nobody spoke unless he had something to say, Kitty reflected, with a smile, the human race would very soon lose the use of speech.
She immediately felt at ease and the sense of hostility vanished from her bosom(内心).
It was not the first time that Walter’s moderation(中庸态度) had exasperated(惹恼) her.
He never let red tape 繁文缛节interfere with him.
it must have been the way he said it: there was a caressing(亲切的) sound in his deep, rich voice, a delightful expression in his kind, shining blue eyes, which made you feel very much at home with him.
Her happiness, sometimes almost more than she could bear, renewed her beauty.
She was like a rosebud(玫瑰花苞) that is beginning to turn yellow at the edges of the petals(花瓣), and then suddenly she was a rose in full bloom.
Her starry eyes gained a more significant expression;
her skin (that feature which had always been her greatest pride and most anxious care) was dazzling: it could not be compared to the peach or to the flower; it was they that demanded comparison with it.
She looked eighteen once more.
She was at the height of her glowing loveliness.
It was impossible not to remark it and her women friends asked her in little friendly asides if she was going to have a baby.