When I reflect on all thathappened later, I ask myself if I was thick-witted not to see that there was inCharles Strickland at least something out of the common. Perhaps. I think thatI have gathered in the years that intervene between then and now a fairknowledge of mankind, but even if when I first met the Stricklands /ai/ had theexperience which I have now, I do not believe that I should have judged themdifferently. But because I have learnt that man is incalculable, I should notat this time of day be so surprised by the news that reached me when in theearly autumn I returned to London.

I had not been back twenty-fourhours before I ran across Rose Waterford in Jermyn Street.

"You look very gay andsprightly, " I said. "What's the matter with you?"

She smiled, and her eyesshone with a malice I knew already. It meant that she had heard some scandalabout one of her friends, and the instinct of the literary woman was all alert.

"You did meet CharlesStrickland, didn't you?"

Not only her face, but herwhole body, gave a sense of alacrity. I nodded. I wondered if the poor devilhad been hammered on the Stock Exchange or run over by an omnibus.

"Isn't it dreadful?He's run away from his wife. "

当我想到后来发生的种种事情时，不禁自问：是不是当初我过于迟钝，没有看出查理斯·思特里克兰德身上与常人不同的地方啊？也许是这样的。从那个时候起到现在已经过了这么多年，在此期间我对人情世故知道了不少东西，但是即使当初我认识他们夫妇时就已经有了今天的阅历，我也不认为我对他们的判断就有所不同。只不过有一点会和当年不一样：在我了解到人是多么玄妙莫测之后，我今天决不会象那年初秋我刚刚回到伦敦时那样，在听到那个消息以后会那样大吃一惊了。

回到伦敦还不到二十四小时，我就在杰尔敏大街上遇见了柔斯·瓦特尔芙德。

“看你今天这么喜气洋洋的样子，”我说，“有什么开心的事啊？”

她笑了起来，眼睛流露出一道我早已熟悉的幸灾乐祸的闪光。这意味着她又听到她的某个朋友的一件丑闻，这位女作家的直觉已经处于极度警觉状态。

“你看见过查理斯·思特里克兰德，是不是？”

不仅她的面孔，就连她的全身都变得非常紧张。我点了点头。我怀疑这个倒霉鬼是不是在证券交易所蚀了老本儿，要不就是让公共汽车轧伤了。

“你说，是不是太可怕了？他把他老婆扔了，跑掉了。”