第70章BOOKTHESECOND：THEGOLDENTHREAD(53)

第70章bookthesecond：thegoldenthread(53)

'ibelieve，'returneddoctormanette，'thattherehadbeenastrongandextraordinaryrevivalofthetrainofthoughtandremembrancethatwasthefirstcauseofthemalady.someintenseassociationsofthemostdistressingnaturewerevividlyrecalled，ithink.itisprobablethattherehadlongbeenadreadlurkinginhismind，thatthoseassociationswouldberecalled—say，undercertaincircumstances—say，onaparticularoccasion.hetriedtopreparehimselfinvain；perhapstheefforttopreparehimselfmadehimlessabletobearit.'

'wouldherememberwhattookplaceintherelapse？'askedmr.lorrywithnaturalhesitation.

thedoctorlookeddesolatelyroundtheroom，shookhishead，andanswered，inalowvoice，'notatall.'

'now，astothefuture，'hintedmr.lorry.

'astothefuture，'saidthedoctor，recoveringfirmness，'ishouldhavegreathope.asitpleasedheaveninitsmercytorestorehimsosoon，ishouldhavegreathope.he，yieldingunderthepressureofacomplicatedsomething，longdreadedandlongvaguelyforeseenandcontendedagainst，andrecoveringafterthecloudhadburstandpassed，ishouldhopetheworstwasover.'

'well，well！that'sgoodcomfort.iamthankful！'saidmr.lorry.

'iamthankful！'repeatedthedoctor，bendinghisheadwithreverence.

'therearetwootherpoints，'saidmr.lorry，'onwhichiamanxioustobeinstructed.imaygoon？'

'youcannotdoyourfriendabetterservice.'thedoctorgavehimhishand.

'tothefirst，then.heisofastudioushabit，andunusuallyenergetic；heapplieshimselfwithgreatardourtotheacquisitionofprofessionalknowledge，totheconductingofexperiments，tomanythings.now，doeshedotoomuch？'

'ithinknot.itmaybethecharacterofhismind，tobealwaysinsingularneedofoccupation.thatmaybe，inpart，naturaltoit；inpart，theresultofaffliction.thelessitwasoccupiedwithhealthythings，themoreitwouldbeindangerofturningintheunhealthydirection.hemayhaveobservedhimself，andmadethediscovery.'

'youaresurethatheisnotundertoogreatastrain？'

'ithinkiamquitesureofit.'

'mydearmanette，ifhewereoverworkednow—'

'mydearlorry，idoubtifthatcouldeasilybe.therehasbeenaviolentstressinonedirection，anditneedsacounterweight.'

'excuseme，asapersistentmanofbusiness.assuming，foramoment，thathewasoverworked；itwouldshowitselfinsomerenewalofthisdisorder？'

'idonotthinkso.idonotthink，'saiddoctormanettewiththefirmnessofself-conviction，'thatanythingbuttheonetrainofassociationwouldrenewit.ithinkthat，henceforth，nothingbutsomeextraordinaryjarringofthatchordcouldrenewit.afterwhathashappened，andafterhisrecovery，ifinditdifficulttoimagineanysuchviolentsoundingofthatstringagain.itrust，andialmostbelieve，thatthecircumstanceslikelytorenewitareexhausted.'

hespokewiththediffidenceofamanwhoknewhowslightathingwouldoversetthedelicateorganisationofthemind，andyetwiththeconfidenceofamanwhohadslowlywonhisassuranceoutofpersonalenduranceanddistress.itwasnotforhisfriendtoabatethatconfidence.heprofessedhimselfmorerelievedandencouragedthanhereallywas，andapproachedhissecondandlastpoint.hefeltittobethemostdifficultofall；but，rememberinghisoldsundaymorningconversationwithmisspross，andrememberingwhathehadseeninthelastninedays，heknewthathemustfaceit.

'theoccupationresumedundertheinfluenceofthispassingafflictionsohappilyrecoveredfrom，'saidmr.lorry，clearinghisthroat，'wewillcallblacksmith'swork，blacksmith'swork.wewillsay，toputacaseandforthesakeofillustration，thathehadbeenused，inhisbadtime，toworkatalittleforge.wewillsaythathewasunexpectedlyfoundathisforgeagain.isitnotapitythatheshouldkeepitbyhim？'

thedoctorshadedhisforeheadwithhishand，andbeathisfootnervouslyontheground.

'youdonotfinditeasytoadviseme？'saidmr.lorry.'iquiteunderstandittobeanicequestion.andyetithink—'andthereheshookhishead，andstopped.

'yousee，'saiddoctormanette，turningtohimafteranuneasypause，'itisveryhardtoexplain，consistently，theinnermostworkingsofthispoorman'smind.heonceyearnedsofrightfullyforthatoccupation，anditwassowelcomewhenitcame；nodoubtitrelievedhispainsomuch，bysubstitutingtheperplexityofthefingersfortheperplexityofthebrain，andbysubstituting，ashebecamemorepractised，theingenuityofthehands，fortheingenuityofthementaltorture；thathehasneverbeenabletobearthethoughtofputtingitquiteoutofhisreach.evennow，whenibelieveheismorehopefulofhimselfthanhehaseverbeen，andevenspeaksofhimselfwithakindofconfidence，theideathathemightneedthatoldemployment，andnotfindit，giveshimasuddensenseofterror，likethatwhichonemayfancystrikestotheheartofalostchild.'

helookedlikehisallusionasheraisedhiseyestomr.lorry'sface.

'butmaynot—mind！iaskforinformation，asaploddingmanofbusinesswhoonlydealswithsuchmaterialobjectsasguineas，shillings，andbanknotes—maynottheretentionofthethinginvolvetheretentionoftheidea？ifthethingweregone，mydearmanette，mightnotthefeargowithit？inshort，isitnotaconcessiontothemisgiving，tokeeptheforge？'

therewasanothersilence.

'yousee，too，'saidthedoctor，tremulously，'itissuchanoldcompanion.'

'iwouldnotkeepit，'saidmr.lorry，shakinghishead；forhegainedinfirmnessashesawthedoctordisquieted.'iwouldrecommendhimtosacrificeit.ionlywantyourauthority.iamsureitdoesnogood.come！givemeyourauthority，likeadeargoodman.forhisdaughter'ssake，mydearmanette！'

verystrangetoseewhataletherewaswithinhim！