Instead of trying to still his fears, he encouraged them, with that superstitious impression which clings to us all, that if we expect evil very strongly it is the less likely to come; and when he heard a horse approaching at a trot, and saw a hat rising above a hedge beyond an angle of the lane, he felt as if his conjuration had succeeded.

他没有设法平息恐惧，反而助长它，怀着我们人人都难免有的迷信：越是强烈地担心坏事，坏事就越不容易发生；因此，当他听见马匹小跑而来，看见巷道拐角外的树篱上方露出一顶帽子时，便觉得自己的咒语仿佛奏效了。