登陆注册
5363000000028

第28章

Bread, and a slice of cold fat boiled bacon. He wrapped them in his handkerchief, put them in the crown of his hat and said--"Come, let's be going." "Going--art thou going to work this time o' day?" "No stupid, to be sure not. Going to see the fellow thou spoke on." So they put on their hats and set out. On the way Wilson said Davenport was a good fellow, though too much of the Methodee; that his children were too young to work, but not too young to be cold and hungry; that they had sunk lower and lower, and pawned thing after thing, and that they now lived in a cellar in Berry Street, off Shore Street. Barton growled inarticulate words of no benevolent import to a large class of mankind, and so they went along till they arrived in Berry Street. It was unpaved; and down the middle a gutter forced its way, every now and then forming pools in the holes with which the street abounded. Never was the old Edinburgh cry of "Gardez l'eau!" more necessary than in this street. As they passed, women from their doors tossed household slops of every description into the gutter; they ran into the next pool, which over-flowed and stagnated.

Heaps of ashes were the stepping-stones, on which the passer-by, who cared in the least for cleanliness, took care not to put his foot. Our friends were not dainty, but even they picked their way, till they got to some steps leading down into a small area, where a person standing would have his head about one foot below the level of the street, and might at the same time, without the least motion of his body, touch the window of the cellar and the damp muddy wall right opposite. You went down one step even from the foul area into the cellar in which a family of human beings lived.

It was very dark inside. The window-panes were many of them broken and stuffed with rags, which was reason enough for the dusky light that pervaded the place even at mid-day. After the account I have given of the state of the street, no one can be surprised that on going into the cellar inhabited by Davenport, the smell was so fetid as almost to knock the two men down.

Quickly recovering themselves, as those inured to such things do, they began to penetrate the thick darkness of the place, and to see three or four little children rolling on the damp, nay wet, brick floor, through which the stagnant, filthy moisture of the street oozed up; the fireplace was empty and black; the wife sat on her husband's lair, and cried in the dank loneliness. "See, missis, I'm back again. --Hold your noise, children, and don't mither your mammy for bread; here's a chap as has got some for you." In that dim light, which was darkness to strangers, they clustered round Barton, and tore from him the food he had brought with him. It was a large hunch of bread, but it vanished in an instant. "We mun do summut for 'em," said he, to Wilson. "Yo stop here, and I'll be back in half-an-hour." So he strode, and ran, and hurried home. He emptied into the ever-useful pocket handkerchief the little meal remaining in the mug. Mary would have her tea at Miss Simmonds'; her food for the day was safe. Then he went upstairs for his better coat, and his one, gay red-and-yellow silk pocket handkerchief--his jewels, his plate, his valuables these were. He went to the pawnshop; he pawned them for five shillings; he stopped not, nor stayed, till he was once more in London Road, within five minutes' walk of Berry Street--then he loitered in his gait, in order to discover the shops he wanted. He bought meat, and a loaf of bread, candles, chips, and from a little retail yard he purchased a couple of hundredweights of coal.

Some money still remained--all destined for them, but he did not yet know how best to spend it. Food, light, and warmth, he had instantly seen were necessary; for luxuries he would wait. Wilson's eyes filled with tears when he saw Barton enter with his purchases. He understood it all, and longed to be once more in work that he might help in some of these material ways, without feeling that he was using his son's money. But though "silver and gold he had none," he gave heart-service, and love-works of far more value. Nor was John Barton behind in these. "The fever" was (as it usually is in Manchester) of a low, putrid, typhoid kind; brought on by miserable living, filthy neighbourhood, and great depression of mind and body. It is virulent, malignant, and highly infectious. But the poor are fatalists with regard to infection; and well for them it is so, for in their crowded dwellings no invalid can be isolated. Wilson asked Barton if he thought he should catch it, and was laughed at for his idea. The two men, rough, tender nurses as they were, lighted the fire, which smoked and puffed into the room as if it did not know the way up the damp, unused chimney. The very smoke seemed purifying and healthy in the thick clammy air. The children clamoured again for bread; but this time Barton took a piece first to the poor, helpless, hopeless woman, who still sat by the side of her husband, listening to his anxious miserable mutterings.

同类推荐
  • 太上济度章赦

    太上济度章赦

    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。
  • 皇览辑本

    皇览辑本

    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。
  • 送卢郎中赴金州

    送卢郎中赴金州

    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。
  • 孙威敏征南录

    孙威敏征南录

    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。
  • 達紀

    達紀

    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
  • 自卑与超越

    自卑与超越

    《自卑与超越》是阿德勒从个体心理学观点出发,阐明人生道路和人生意义的通俗性读物,同时又蕴含着极深的哲理和巨大的学术价值。在《自卑与超越》中,作者提出:我们生活在与他人的联系之中,假如因自卑而将自己孤立,我们必将自取灭亡。因此我们必将超越自卑。
  • 人间词话删稿

    人间词话删稿

    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。
  • 敲天堂的门

    敲天堂的门

    她,单纯迟钝,相貌平凡,却职场情场两得意,收获最美的桃花。她是空姐戴小花。他,狡黠如狼,坏得有格调,好得有原则,霸道控兼温柔控。他是腹黑男丁下柳。人生不是一帆风顺的,空姐进化的路上伴随着争斗、内幕、暗流、潜规则……“话说背靠大树好乘凉,一名优秀的女子一定要有一个华丽的靠山。”一个情人节的玩笑,让两个看似毫无交集的人走在了一起。在这场华丽盛宴里,主控节奏的人,永远是他。被秒杀无数次之后,小花把持不住了,在无数的白眼下,在各种羡慕嫉妒恨中,掉进了帅气老板的甜蜜陷阱。浪漫正在进行,噩耗突然袭来,只好被迫分开。他们的爱情,究竟将何去何从?
  • 逍遥忧

    逍遥忧

    一把纸扇,一双妙手,探恩怨情仇,寻世间不平,演绎一段真正的江湖。
  • 六十种曲青衫记

    六十种曲青衫记

    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。
  • 重生大原始

    重生大原始

    一场海难后,李青来到一个恐龙、凶兽、人类并存的原始世界。故事……就从这里开始!
  • 狂武霸帝

    狂武霸帝

    新书《龙血圣帝》已发!【爽歪歪】这一世我要掀翻九天,屠戮神魔,执宰轮回,成为全宇宙最强男人!从萧阳穿越到异世的那一刻,一个不朽传奇便开始书写,美女导师,女神院长……各色绝世妖娆接踵而来,且看萧阳一剑光寒十九州,一刀破碎十方天域,成为霸绝天地的无上帝皇。书友群已建:【464385556】
  • 绝代无双:废柴大小姐

    绝代无双:废柴大小姐

    刑场上,重斧落下,腰斩重生。重生之后的叶罗瑶本想跳出所有是是非非,不料还是被卷入明争暗斗之中。幸运的事,因为她的‘未卜先知’让她占尽先机。……小时候意外救了个小包子,没想到他竟然就是后来世人敬仰的大星司。分离了十年,他一直在寻她,只希望在他仅有的一年寿命里找到她。终于,他找到了她,他惜她如宝,宠她入骨……然而,时间不多了,他的生命不断的在流逝…………叶罗瑶不相信,救得了他一次,还救不了他第二次!
  • 至尊圣神

    至尊圣神

    英雄,人在江湖,身不由己。顾长风一江湖中人,聚集灵气化为自身内功真气,辅助帝王之业,时逢妖兽肆虐,又踏上修道之路,这修道之人和那江湖中人又有什么区别?机缘巧合得到无字天书,窥得天机,这世间是否真乃那仙人手中玩物?各种隐藏在深处的妖兽,邪魔,正派人士,诸多道术、阵法、宝物,群魔乱舞。看这顾长风如何以一人之力对抗魔道,妖族,走出属于自己的修道之路。
  • 老烟台风情

    老烟台风情

    本书记录了烟台历史的片片断断,这些从不同的侧面反映烟台历史的文章,均是从烟台浩瀚的历史海洋中“垂钓”上来的。我们不要小看了文章中介绍的只是某一条街、某一座建筑、某一件文物、某一幅古画、某一处遗址、某一个老字号、某一段往事和传说,这些都是历史的印记,不但对当代人有意义,对未来更有意义。