登陆注册
5218100000015

第15章 THE HUNTING PARSON(2)

Anonyma,as we were told the other day,may show herself;but if so,she rides alone.The young man must be a brazen sinner,too far gone for hunting to hurt him,who will ride with Anonyma in the field.I know no vice which hunting either produces or renders probable,except the vice of extravagance;and to that,if a man be that way given,every pursuit in life will equally lead him A seat for a Metropolitan borough,or a love of ortolans,or a taste even for new boots will ruin a man who puts himself in the way of ruin.The same may be said of hunting,the same and no more.

But not the less is the general feeling very strong against the hunting parson;and not the less will it remain so in spite of anything that I may say.Under these circumstances our friend the hunting parson usually rides as though he were more or less under a cloud.The cloud is not to be seen in a melancholy brow or a shamed demeanour;for the hunting parson will have lived down those feelings,and is generally too forcible a man to allow himself to be subjected to such annoyances;nor is the cloud to be found in any gentle tardiness of his motions,or an attempt at suppressed riding;for the hunting parson generally rides hard.

Unless he loved hunting much he would not be there.But the cloud is to be perceived and heard in the manner in which he speaks of himself and his own doings.He is never natural in his self-talk as is any other man.He either flies at his own cloth at once,marring some false apology for his presence,telling you that he is there just to see the hounds,and hinting to you his own know ledge that he has no business to ride after them;or else he drops his profession altogether,and speaks to you in a tone which makes you feel that you would not dare to speak to him about his parish.You can talk to the banker about his banking,the brewer about his brewing,the farmer about his barley,or the landlord about his land;but to a hunting parson of this latter class,you may not say a word about his church.

There are three modes in which a hunting parson may dress himself for hunting,the variations having reference solely to the nether man.As regards the upper man there can never be a difference.A chimney-pot hat,a white neckerchief,somewhat broad in its folds and strong with plentiful starch,a stout black coat,cut rather shorter than is common with clergymen,and a modest,darksome waistcoat that shall attract no attention,these are all matters of course.But the observer,if he will allow his eye to descend below these upper garments,will perceive that the clergyman may be comfortable and bold in breeches,or he may be uncomfortable and semi-decorous in black trowsers.And there is another mode of dress open to him,which Ican assure my readers is not an unknown costume,a tertium quid,by which semi-decorum and comfort are combined.The hunting breeches are put on first,and the black trowsers are drawn over them.

But in whatever garb the hunting parson may ride,he almost invariably rides well,and always enjoys the sport.If he did not,what would tempt him to run counter,as he does,to his bishop and the old ladies ?And though,when the hounds are first dashing out of covert,and when the sputtering is beginning and the eager impetuosity of the young is driving men three at a time into the same gap,when that wild excitement of a fox just away is at its height,and ordinary sportsmen are rushing for places,though at these moments the hunting parson may be able to restrain himself,and to declare by his momentary tranquillity that he is only there to see the hounds,he will ever be found,seeing the hounds also,when many of that eager crowd have lagged behind,altogether out of sight of the last tail of them.He will drop into the running,as it were out of the clouds,when the select few have settled down steadily to their steady work;and the select few will never look upon him as one who,after that,is likely to fall out of their number.He goes on certainly to the kill,and then retires a little out of the circle,as though he had trotted in at that spot from his ordinary parochial occupations,just to see the hounds.

For myself I own that I like the hunting parson.I generally find him to be about the pleasantest man in the field,with the most to say for himself,whether the talk be of hunting,of politics,of literature,or of the country.He is never a hunting man unalloyed,unadulterated,and unmixed,a class of man which is perhaps of all classes the most tedious and heavy in hand.The tallow-chandler who can talk only of candles,or the barrister who can talk only of his briefs,is very bad;but the hunting man who can talk only of his runs,is,I think,worse even than the unadulterated tallow-chandler,or the barrister unmixed.Let me pause for a moment here to beg young sportsmen not to fall into this terrible mistake.Such bores in the field are,alas,too common;but the hunting parson never sins after that fashion.

Though a keen sportsman,he is something else besides a sportsman,and for that reason,if for no other,is always a welcome addition to the crowd.

But still I must confess at the end of this paper,as I hinted also at the beginning of it,that the hunting parson seems to have made a mistake.He is kicking against the pricks,and running counter to that section of the world which should be his section.He is making himself to stink in the nostrils of his bishop,and is becoming a stumbling-block,and a rock of offence to his brethren.It is bootless for him to argue,as I have here argued,that his amusement is in itself innocent,and that some open-air recreation is necessary to him.Grant him that the bishops and old ladies are wrong and that he is right in principle,and still he will not be justified.Whatever may be our walk in life,no man can walk well who does not walk with the esteem of his fellows.Now those little walks by the covert sides,those pleasant little walks of which I am writing,are not,unfortunately,held to be estimable,or good for themselves,by English clergymen in general.

同类推荐
  • 圆顿宗眼

    圆顿宗眼

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 净土资粮全集

    净土资粮全集

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 西湖杂记

    西湖杂记

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 观自在菩萨随心咒经

    观自在菩萨随心咒经

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 接骨手法

    接骨手法

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
热门推荐
  • 地下城神兵团

    地下城神兵团

    厉云拥有账号里剑魂角色的战力,80段足以争霸天下,他从胆怯到勇敢,从低调到高傲,人类国家都想拉拢这个无敌之人,然而时空裂缝带来了天帷巨兽、十六鬼神、十个使徒,世界再次出现能与之抗衡的力量,天界的出现揭开了穿越的奥秘,面对同样穿越而来的玩家,他是否还会无敌?
  • 梦里朱颜改

    梦里朱颜改

    葛薇大学毕业后孤身来到上海,因为工作努力且为人沉稳,受到公司总经理程浩然的赏识,一路做到了康捷公司的业务主管。后来因为工作上的原因结识了供应商方子俊,并对其渐生感情。但方已经早有家室,葛因此只能将感情放在心里,决定尽量少和他接触。
  • 闯关东年画

    闯关东年画

    中国老百姓,从前过年家家贴年画。年画都以木版印制,所以又叫木版年画。在中国民间,提起木版年画产地,大家往往都能数出天津的杨柳青,河北的武强,山东的潍坊,河南的朱仙镇,陕西的凤翔等。可是谁能想到,东北的吉林也曾经是木版年画的产地。这里的年画,被称为闯关东年画……清末,在山东济南府的历城县也是出名的大响马程咬金的老家斑鸠屯,有一户老李家。这家人家老爷子领着三个儿子过日子。其中老二叫李祥。他从小就好动脑筋琢磨事儿。爹老了,为了让李家祖上出人头地,小时就送李祥到济南府一所私塾学堂读四书五经。
  • 我的zz男友

    我的zz男友

    这是一个关于大学恋爱的故事,这是一个关于雪儿自己的故事,这是一个关于青春的故事。“狗子你不爱我了。”“狗子你变了。”“狗子我们该讲睡前故事了。”
  • Messer Marco Polo

    Messer Marco Polo

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 戴高乐(名人传奇故事丛书)

    戴高乐(名人传奇故事丛书)

    本书以戴高乐将军奇峰迭起的一生传奇为主轴,通过对他在第二次世界大战中种种亲身经历的逼真摹写,全景式再现,并充分塑造了戴高乐将军坚忍不拔、锋芒毕露的“军人政治家”形象。
  • 异世界的东方帝国

    异世界的东方帝国

    东方文化与异世界的碰撞,世界观之间的交汇,不一样的战斗,不一样交流,不一样经历。华夏武将与二次元武士的战斗!华夏儿郎宁有种乎!?(随缘更新,QWQ)
  • 和你在一起都很甜

    和你在一起都很甜

    【甜宠文】初中的她在学校广播台大声的对着他说出了自己的心声:“ILOVEYOU.”而他却没有回应。高中时的她在广告牌上写着大大的字:ILOVEYOU却遭到他的批评,说她破坏公物,在墙壁上乱贴广告。大学的她已经是万人瞩目的当红明星,她站在大屏幕上大声的对着全世界说出了那句话:“ILOVEYOU.”而等到的却是男人的999朵玫瑰,和他那低沉悦耳的声音,“终于等到你在全世界的人面前说我是你的男人了。”【喜欢的就加入书架哦,保证不坑!每天日更!熟话说女追男隔成纱!可在苏念笙的眼里明明就是扯淡,她追了他那么久,一点儿的动静都没有!?(~ ̄△ ̄)~】
  • 君雁南飞

    君雁南飞

    90年代末,年轻人的奋斗,与互联网一起成长,他们的爱情,他们的生活,不是神话。
  • 每天给心灵放个假:秋

    每天给心灵放个假:秋

    生活也许不能每天都是艳阳高照,人生也许不是每天都能如意顺畅,但是我们完全可以:每天给生活一缕清风,每天给心灵一次放假,每天给生命一帖处方,每天给人生一个惊喜,每天给自己一片阳光……