06-04-苔丝 [21]
of girls．’．
‘Well， it wasn't her fault． She was forced into it that night in The Chase． People heard her sobbing． A certain gentleman might have been punished if somebody had passed by and seen them．’
‘It was a pity it happened to her，the prettiest in the village．But that's how it happens！The ugly ones are as safe as houses，aren't they， Jenny？’and the speaker turned to one who was certainly not beautiful．
Tess sat there，unaware of their conversation． Her mouth was like a flower， and her eyes were large and soft， sometimes black，blue or grey， sometimes all three colours together． She had spent months regretting her experience and crying over it， but suddenly decided that the past was the past．In a few years her shame，and she herself，would be forgotten． Meanwhile the trees were just as green， and the sun shone just as brightly，as before．Life went on．
She most feared what people thought of her， and imagined that they talked constantly about her behind her back．In fact she was not often discussed，and even her friends only thought about her occasionally． Other things of more importance took up their time．If there had been no people around her，Tess would not have made herself so unhappy． She would have accepted the situation as it was．She was miserable，not because she felt unhappy，but because she imagined herself rejected by society．
Now she wanted to be useful again， and to work． So she dressed neatly，and helped in the harvest，and looked people calmly in the face，even when holding her baby in her arms．
Having eaten her lunch quickly， Tess went back to work with the harvesters in the cornfield until it was dark．They all came home on one of the largest waggons，singing and laughing together．
But when Tess reached home， she discovered that the baby had fallen ill that afternoon．He was so small and weak that illness was to be expected，but this still came as a shock to Tess．She forgot the shame surrounding his birth， and only wished passionately to keep him alive．However，it became clear that he was dying．Now Tess had a greater problem． Her baby had not been baptized．
Her ideas on religion were not very developed． She had more or less accepted that she would go to hell for her crime，and did not much care what would happen to her after death． But fo her baby it was different． He was dying，and must be saved from hell．
It was nearly bedtime， but she rushed downstairs and asked if she could send for the parson． Her father had just returned from the public house， and was at his most sensitive to the shame brought upon his noble name by Tess．He refused to allow the parson in， and locked the door．
The family went to sleep．As the night passed， Tess realized，in great misery，that the baby was close to death． She walked feverishly up and down the room，until an idea came to her．
‘Ah！Perhaps baby can be saved！Perhaps it will be just the same！’
She lit a candle，and woke her young brothers and sisters． Having poured some water into a bowl，she made them kneel around，with their hands together as in church．The children were hardly awake and watched Tess with big round eyes．
She looked tall in her long white nightdress， her long dark hair hanging down her back to her waist． Her enthusiasm lit up her face， giving it a beautiful purity—the face which had caused her shame．
She picked up the baby． One of the children asked，‘Are you really going to baptize him， Tess？ What's his name going to be？’
She had not thought of that， but remembered the story of Adam and Eve in the Bible．Because they did wrong together， God said they would live in sorrow for the rest of their lives．
She said firmly，‘SORROW，I baptize you in the name of the Father，and of the Son，and of the Holy Ghost．’
She splashed some water on the child
‘Well， it wasn't her fault． She was forced into it that night in The Chase． People heard her sobbing． A certain gentleman might have been punished if somebody had passed by and seen them．’
‘It was a pity it happened to her，the prettiest in the village．But that's how it happens！The ugly ones are as safe as houses，aren't they， Jenny？’and the speaker turned to one who was certainly not beautiful．
Tess sat there，unaware of their conversation． Her mouth was like a flower， and her eyes were large and soft， sometimes black，blue or grey， sometimes all three colours together． She had spent months regretting her experience and crying over it， but suddenly decided that the past was the past．In a few years her shame，and she herself，would be forgotten． Meanwhile the trees were just as green， and the sun shone just as brightly，as before．Life went on．
She most feared what people thought of her， and imagined that they talked constantly about her behind her back．In fact she was not often discussed，and even her friends only thought about her occasionally． Other things of more importance took up their time．If there had been no people around her，Tess would not have made herself so unhappy． She would have accepted the situation as it was．She was miserable，not because she felt unhappy，but because she imagined herself rejected by society．
Now she wanted to be useful again， and to work． So she dressed neatly，and helped in the harvest，and looked people calmly in the face，even when holding her baby in her arms．
Having eaten her lunch quickly， Tess went back to work with the harvesters in the cornfield until it was dark．They all came home on one of the largest waggons，singing and laughing together．
But when Tess reached home， she discovered that the baby had fallen ill that afternoon．He was so small and weak that illness was to be expected，but this still came as a shock to Tess．She forgot the shame surrounding his birth， and only wished passionately to keep him alive．However，it became clear that he was dying．Now Tess had a greater problem． Her baby had not been baptized．
Her ideas on religion were not very developed． She had more or less accepted that she would go to hell for her crime，and did not much care what would happen to her after death． But fo her baby it was different． He was dying，and must be saved from hell．
It was nearly bedtime， but she rushed downstairs and asked if she could send for the parson． Her father had just returned from the public house， and was at his most sensitive to the shame brought upon his noble name by Tess．He refused to allow the parson in， and locked the door．
The family went to sleep．As the night passed， Tess realized，in great misery，that the baby was close to death． She walked feverishly up and down the room，until an idea came to her．
‘Ah！Perhaps baby can be saved！Perhaps it will be just the same！’
She lit a candle，and woke her young brothers and sisters． Having poured some water into a bowl，she made them kneel around，with their hands together as in church．The children were hardly awake and watched Tess with big round eyes．
She looked tall in her long white nightdress， her long dark hair hanging down her back to her waist． Her enthusiasm lit up her face， giving it a beautiful purity—the face which had caused her shame．
She picked up the baby． One of the children asked，‘Are you really going to baptize him， Tess？ What's his name going to be？’
She had not thought of that， but remembered the story of Adam and Eve in the Bible．Because they did wrong together， God said they would live in sorrow for the rest of their lives．
She said firmly，‘SORROW，I baptize you in the name of the Father，and of the Son，and of the Holy Ghost．’
She splashed some water on the child