登陆注册
5291400000001

第1章 CHAPTER I.(1)

The rambler who, for old association or other reasons, should trace the forsaken coach-road running almost in a meridional line from Bristol to the south shore of England, would find himself during the latter half of his journey in the vicinity of some extensive woodlands, interspersed with apple-orchards. Here the trees, timber or fruit-bearing, as the case may be, make the way- side hedges ragged by their drip and shade, stretching over the road with easeful horizontality, as if they found the unsubstantial air an adequate support for their limbs. At one place, where a hill is crossed, the largest of the woods shows itself bisected by the high-way, as the head of thick hair is bisected by the white line of its parting. The spot is lonely.

The physiognomy of a deserted highway expresses solitude to a degree that is not reached by mere dales or downs, and bespeaks a tomb-like stillness more emphatic than that of glades and pools.

The contrast of what is with what might be probably accounts for this. To step, for instance, at the place under notice, from the hedge of the plantation into the adjoining pale thoroughfare, and pause amid its emptiness for a moment, was to exchange by the act of a single stride the simple absence of human companionship for an incubus of the forlorn.

At this spot, on the lowering evening of a by-gone winter's day, there stood a man who had entered upon the scene much in the aforesaid manner. Alighting into the road from a stile hard by, he, though by no means a "chosen vessel" for impressions, was temporarily influenced by some such feeling of being suddenly more alone than before he had emerged upon the highway.

It could be seen by a glance at his rather finical style of dress that he did not belong to the country proper; and from his air, after a while, that though there might be a sombre beauty in the scenery, music in the breeze, and a wan procession of coaching ghosts in the sentiment of this old turnpike-road, he was mainly puzzled about the way. The dead men's work that had been expended in climbing that hill, the blistered soles that had trodden it, and the tears that had wetted it, were not his concern; for fate had given him no time for any but practical things.

He looked north and south, and mechanically prodded the ground with his walking-stick. A closer glance at his face corroborated the testimony of his clothes. It was self-complacent, yet there was small apparent ground for such complacence. Nothing irradiated it; to the eye of the magician in character, if not to the ordinary observer, the expression enthroned there was absolute submission to and belief in a little assortment of forms and habitudes.

At first not a soul appeared who could enlighten him as he desired, or seemed likely to appear that night. But presently a slight noise of laboring wheels and the steady dig of a horse's shoe-tips became audible; and there loomed in the notch of the hill and plantation that the road formed here at the summit a carrier's van drawn by a single horse. When it got nearer, he said, with some relief to himself, "'Tis Mrs. Dollery's--this will help me."

The vehicle was half full of passengers, mostly women. He held up his stick at its approach, and the woman who was driving drew rein.

"I've been trying to find a short way to Little Hintock this last half-hour, Mrs. Dollery," he said. "But though I've been to Great Hintock and Hintock House half a dozen times I am at fault about the small village. You can help me, I dare say?"

She assured him that she could--that as she went to Great Hintock her van passed near it--that it was only up the lane that branched out of the lane into which she was about to turn--just ahead.

"Though," continued Mrs. Dollery, "'tis such a little small place that, as a town gentleman, you'd need have a candle and lantern to find it if ye don't know where 'tis. Bedad! I wouldn't live there if they'd pay me to. Now at Great Hintock you do see the world a bit."

He mounted and sat beside her, with his feet outside, where they were ever and anon brushed over by the horse's tail.

This van, driven and owned by Mrs. Dollery, was rather a movable attachment of the roadway than an extraneous object, to those who knew it well. The old horse, whose hair was of the roughness and color of heather, whose leg-joints, shoulders, and hoofs were distorted by harness and drudgery from colthood--though if all had their rights, he ought, symmetrical in outline, to have been picking the herbage of some Eastern plain instead of tugging here-- had trodden this road almost daily for twenty years. Even his subjection was not made congruous throughout, for the harness being too short, his tail was not drawn through the crupper, so that the breeching slipped awkwardly to one side. He knew every subtle incline of the seven or eight miles of ground between Hintock and Sherton Abbas--the market-town to which he journeyed-- as accurately as any surveyor could have learned it by a Dumpy level.

同类推荐
  • 商山夜闻泉

    商山夜闻泉

    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。
  • 赤崁集

    赤崁集

    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。
  • 竹林寺女科

    竹林寺女科

    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。
  • 佛说顶生王因缘经

    佛说顶生王因缘经

    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。
  • 山家义苑

    山家义苑

    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
  • 毒妃倾城:废柴大小姐

    毒妃倾城:废柴大小姐

    她,本是二十一世纪莫家的继承人,因飞机失误穿越成了莫幽国的废材大小姐,想安稳过日子,却不想老是有想渣渣找虐!小白莲说自己是个念力废材,那她就让他们看看,自己是如何碾压他们一路飙升的。小渣渣说炼药师很金贵,拿着一颗晋级丹炫耀,那不好意思,我家喂狗的丹药都是天玄级别的。白莲花得了一只九玄蛇,在她面前挑衅,莫月染表示,关门~放小白!小剧场某日,走在大街上,渣男回头,说许她王妃之位,她回眸一笑,渣男瞬间被拍飞,紧接着,某妖孽无耻的举着胳膊跑到她身边,一脸求爱抚的模样。“小月儿,本王被人欺负了~手疼~你给吹吹~”莫月染看着无耻的莫妖孽,翻了一百眼:得!这货,得了便宜还卖乖。
  • 魔医之女药师

    魔医之女药师

    何为魔医?就是可以仅凭一针就轻松越上世间顶峰的天才;何为药师?就是随便扔个药丸就可以让魔界人界相互争夺的香馍馍。沧澜大陆,以武为尊,不能修炼武力的都是废物。慕容樱托着下巴,练武算什么?废物又怎么了?我修的可是灵力,比你们武力强一千倍不止的灵力。可是谁能告诉她,不过是刚穿越过来抢了一件衣服穿,那个傲娇魔王怎么就从此赖上她了?魔王说,天命师曾预言,能穿上我这件衣服的就是我的宿世伴侣,你是赖不掉的了。慕容樱四十五度角望天,这台词,有点耳熟!可是没钱你跟老娘说个毛啊!从此,沧澜大陆多了一个魔医门,欲求一颗丹药简直难如天;从此,沧澜大陆多了千家各色客栈,云仙公子成了众人口中的土豪;从此,天魔海迎来一位“可亲可敬”的魔后,称霸人魔两界指日可待。精彩赏析:《贪财篇》“跟我走。”某男嚣张地说。“不要!”慕容樱果断转头。某男无奈,看来只有使用杀手锏了,变魔术似得拿出一袋金币。慕容樱强忍住想扑上前的冲动,环抱双手,“别以为一袋金币就可以收买我。”某男无奈,伸出手,只见一枚可以收容无限量金币的金卡出现在手里,“我的以后就是你的…”于是某女像狗一样动了动鼻子扑过去,“这个不错!”《狂傲篇》那兰:“听说你天生废材,呆在沧澜国简直就是浪费粮食。”慕王爷:“听说你桀骜不驯,简直就是慕容家的耻辱…”…一阵阵不满声不绝于耳。慕容樱掏掏耳朵,手指不知不觉的滑动。围观的众人呆了,那兰家公子的手突然残了,慕王爷突然掉到水里去了。“有些人,开始是个神话,后来成了笑话;有些人开始是个笑话,后来成了神话,很明显的,我属于后者,而你们,属于前者…”慕容樱拍拍衣袖,无视围观的众人那惊诧的表情,淡然自若的离开。《溺宠篇》慕容樱:听说月柳城有不少金矿……魔王:我马上派人挖了送过来。慕容樱:听说修灵岛很多宝贝……魔王:我马上派人端了给你送来。慕容樱:你这天魔海似乎也不错……魔王:只要你想的,我都会满足你,甚至是我的命……女强,宠文,傲娇楠竹有木有,不变的一对一,不喜慎入。
  • 郎咸平说:萧条下的希望

    郎咸平说:萧条下的希望

    中国当下经济到底怎么了,大家众说纷纭,官员、企业家和老百姓大多一片迷茫。郎咸平教授在本书中明确告诉各位读者:中国经济萧条已经到来,这就是我们今天面临的惨状。萧条也意味着希望,如果没有“次货危机”,美国经济就不会像今天这样健康。郎咸平教授经过认真研究和分析认为:政府推动的所谓调整结构,转型升级,其实都是伪命题。政府需要做的是管好自己那只好动的“手”,营造好的营商环境,才该是应该做的。今天的萧条,就是政府造成的。要走出萧条,政府也必须束缚自己那只好动的“手”。郎咸平教授在本书总结道:只有砸碎束缚中国经济发展的十大枷锁,中国改革的的新红利才能实现,中国经济才有走出萧条的希望。
  • 朗月行

    朗月行

    六年前这样结束,果然不是真的结束。醒来之后,白冉月还是觉得,那是她这辈子做的最正确的决定,她从来不会后悔。真的,手牵手,阳光普照,真的很好。
  • 漕船志

    漕船志

    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。
  • 流浪的教育:谁来拯救农民工子女的教育

    流浪的教育:谁来拯救农民工子女的教育

    大量农民工子女随父母进入城市生活,而城市并没有做好接纳他们的准备。这些孩子被城市教育体系排斥在外,他们无法真正融入城市,也无法接受稳定的教育。他们被城市边缘化的趋势难以逆转,平等的教育起点遥不可及。城市化政策的顶层设计和长远规划刻不容缓,孩子们的上学梦等不起。
  • 坐吃等死的穿越人生:玉儿传

    坐吃等死的穿越人生:玉儿传

    【本文纯属虚构】她坐车怕撞、过桥怕倒、走草地怕蛇咬、怕楼塌、怕天压…最大的心愿,就是活到自然死!可她只顾向老天祷告,忘记跟鬼差交好。当某鬼差很不负责的将她勾进地府,她只能哀怨的看着他…“我还你一命,再给你一个补偿!”判官无奈…而她,带着补偿的特异功能,穿越去也
  • The Anger of Achilles

    The Anger of Achilles

    The war between the Greeks and the Trojans has reached a fever pitch. Offended by Agamemnon, the great Greek warrior Achilles is in his tent, refusing to fight. But then Trojan prince Hector slaughters Patroclus, Achilles' close friend. Willing or not, Achilles must take revenge for his friend's death, even if it will result in his own.The Anger of Achilles is a novelized interpretation of Homer's Iliad, told by noted classicist and historical novelist Robert Graves. In this innovative take on the classic tale, Achilles comes to life in all his vivid rage, bravery, passion, and lust for battle. Combining his advanced expertise in ancient Greek warfare and culture with a talent for telling a compelling story, Robert Graves is the ideal translator to bring this ancient epic of war to a modern audience.
  • 仙炉.A

    仙炉.A

    天生石障者,经脉不通,法力不存,终身难以踏上修炼之途!顺行成人,逆行成仙,且看一名天生石障者在得到一个神奇的火炉之后如何倒转乾坤,逆乱阴阳,焚遍诸天万界!
  • 跟我说爱我

    跟我说爱我

    在异乡的城市街头,一对多年不见的师生意外重逢,岁月把一切固有的秩序打乱,甚至颠覆了师生关系。《跟我说爱我》交叉写了两种截然不同的命途。一个务虚的诗人。一个务实的商人。他们一同成长,彼此有个约定,一个求学,一个求财,看谁跑得更快。这注定是一场无法等值换算的比赛,而三位女性的出现,使得原本泾渭分明的命途不断博弈,两败俱伤,三位女性也先后沦为牺牲品。而新的背叛与救赎还在上演,直至殊途同归。