《福尔摩斯探案集·斑点带子案》第7节
“When Dr. Roylott was in India he married my mother, Mrs. Stoner, the young widow of Major-General Stoner, of the Bengal Artillery. My sister Julia and I were twins, and we were only two years old at the time of my mother’s re-marriage. She had a considerable sum of money—not less than £ 1000 a year—and this she bequeathed to Dr. Roylott entirely while we resided with him, with a provision that a certain annual sum should be allowed to each of us in the event of our marriage. Shortly after our return to England my mother died—she was killed eight years ago in a railway accident near Crewe. Dr. Roylott then abandoned his attempts to establish himself in practice in London and took us to live with him in the old ancestral house at Stoke Moran. The money which my mother had left was enough for all our wants, and there seemed to be no obstacle to our happiness. “But a terrible change came over our stepfather about this time. Instead of making friends and exchanging visits with our neighbours, who had at first been overjoyed to see a Roylott of Stoke Moran back in the old family seat, he shut himself up in his house and seldom came out save to indulge in ferocious quarrels with whoever might cross his path. Violence of temper approaching to mania has been hereditary in the men of the family, and in my stepfather’s case it had, I believe, been intensified by his long residence in the tropics. A series of disgraceful brawls took place, two of which ended in the police-court, until at last he became the terror of the village, and the folks would fly at his approach, for he is a man of immense strength, and absolutely uncontrollable in his anger.
注释摘要
海伦·斯通纳在此处为她的家庭史画出了一幅清晰的财政与法律地图，而这幅地图正是整个事件的真正地基。她说，母亲再嫁时拥有一笔相当可观的资产——每年不少于一千英镑的收入。这个数字对于今天的读者而言或许只是一串模糊的货币单位，但在维多利亚时代，一千镑年金意味着一笔相当巨大的本金，足以让一个家庭跻身上流中产，维持体面的马车、仆人和乡间宅邸。这笔钱被全部遗赠给了罗伊洛…