先生は寧ろ機嫌がよかつた。然し奧さんの調子は更によかつた。今しがた奧さんの美くしい眼のうちに溜つた涙の光と、それから黒い眉毛の根に寄せられた八の字を記憶してゐた私は、其變化を異常なものとして注意深く眺めた。もしそれが詐りでなかつたならば、（實際それは詐りとは思へなかつたが）、今迄の奧さんの訴へは感傷を玩ぶためにとくに私を相手に拵へた、徒らな女性の遊戲と取れない事もなかつた。尤も其時の私には奧さんをそれ程批評的に見る氣は起らなかつた。私は奧さんの態度の急に輝やいて來たのを見て、寧ろ安心した。是ならばさう心配する必要もなかつたんだと考へ直した。
translation
Sensei was rather in a good mood. But Oku-san's condition was even better. Memorizing the light of tears that had just gathered in her beautiful eyes, and the figure of eight drawn to the roots of her black eyebrows, I looked at the change with great care as something extraordinary. If it weren't a fraud (actually, I didn't think it was a fraud), I would have thought that my wife's allegations up until now had been made especially for me in order to play sentimental. There was nothing that could not be taken as a game of a woman. Of course, at that time I didn't feel like looking at Okusan so critically. On the contrary, I was relieved to see that Oku-san's attitude had suddenly changed. Then I reconsidered that there was no need to worry.
kanji (pronunciations & definitions)
| 先生: teacher (せんせい), instructor, master, sensei, title or form of address for a teacher, master, doctor, lawyer, etc. | 寧: rather (むしろ), better, instead, if anything | 機嫌: humour (きげん), humor, temper, mood, spirits | 然: -like (ぜん), so (さ), like that, in that way, like that (しか) |
| 調子: tune (ちょうし), tone, key, pitch, time | 更: alternately (こもごも), in succession, one-fifth of the night (approx. 2 hours) (こう), growing late (ふけ), latening | 今: now (いま), the present time, just now, soon, immediately | 美: beauty (び), august (み), beautiful |
| 涙: tear (なだ), tear (なみた), tear (なみだ), tear (なんだ), tears | 光: light (ひかり), illumination, ray, beam, gleam | 黒: black (くろ), black stone, guilt, guilty person | 眉毛: eyebrow (まゆげ) |
| 八: eight (はち), eight (や), 8, 8, eight (パー) | 字: section of village (あざ), character (esp. kanji) (じ), letter, written text, handwriting | 記憶: memory (きおく), recollection, remembrance, memory, storage | 私: I (わたし), me, I (あたくし), I (あたし), I (アタシ) |
| 注意: attention (ちゅうい), notice, heed, care, caution | 深: august (み), beautiful, growing late (ふけ), latening | 今迄: until now (いままで), so far, up to the present | 感傷: sentiment (かんしょう), sentimentality |
| 徒: party (と), set, gang, company, person | 女性: woman (じょせい), woman (にょしょう), female, female, feminine gender | 取: taking (とり), taker, collecting, collector, remover | 事: thing (こと), thing (こん), matter, matter, incident |
| 見: looking (み), viewing, (please) try (to), view (of life, etc.) (けん), outlook | 氣: spirit (き), mind, heart, nature, disposition | 起: source (おこり), origin, cause, beginning, genesis | 態度: attitude (たいど), manner, behaviour, demeanour, bearing |
| 安心: peace of mind (あんしん), relief, (sense of) security, safety, assurance | 是: here (ここ), this place, this point, here, now | 心配: worry (しんぱい), concern, anxiety, uneasiness, fear | 必要: necessary (ひつよう), needed, essential, indispensable, necessity |
| 直: straight (なお), ordinary, common, doing nothing, earnestly (ひた) |