登陆注册
5382100000120

第120章 CHAPTER XXV(1)

JEMIMA MAKES A DISCOVERY

Mr. Bradshaw had been successful in carrying his point. His member had been returned; his proud opponents mortified. So the public thought he ought to be well pleased; but the public were disappointed to see that he did not show any of the gratification they supposed him to feel. The truth was, that he met with so many small mortifications during the progress of the election, that the pleasure which he would otherwise have felt in the final success of his scheme was much diminished. He had more than tacitly sanctioned bribery; and now that the excitement was over, he regretted it: not entirely from conscientious motives, though he was uneasy from the slight sense of wrong-doing; but he was more pained, after all, to think that, in the eyes of some of his townsmen, his hitherto spotless character had received a blemish. He, who had been so stern and severe a censor on the undue influence exercised by the opposite party in all preceding elections, could not expect to be spared by their adherents now, when there were rumours that the hands of the scrupulous Dissenters were not clean. Before, it had been his beast that neither friend nor enemy could say one word against him; now, he was constantly afraid of an indictment for bribery, and of being compelled to appear before a committee to swear to his own share in the business. His uneasy, fearful consciousness made him stricter and sterner than ever;as if he would quench all wondering, slanderous talk about him in the town by a renewed austerity of uprightness: that the slack-principled Mr. Bradshaw of one month of ferment and excitement might not be confounded with the highly conscientious and deeply religious Mr. Bradshaw, who went to chapel twice a day, and gave a hundred pounds apiece to every charity in the town, as a sort of thank-offering that his end was gained. But he was secretly dissatisfied with Mr. Donne. In general, that gentleman had been rather too willing to act in accordance with any one's advice, no matter whose; as, if he had thought it too much trouble to weigh the wisdom of his friends, in which case Mr. Bradshaw's would have, doubtless, proved the most valuable. But now and then he unexpectedly, and utterly without reason, took the conduct of affairs into his own hands, as when he had been absent without leave only just before the day of nomination.

No one guessed whither he had gone; but the fact of his being gone was enough to chagrin Mr. Bradshaw, who was quite ready to have picked a quarrel on this very head if the election had not terminated favourably. As it was, he had a feeling of proprietorship in Mr. Donne which was not disagreeable.

He had given the new M.P. his seat; his resolution; his promptitude, his energy, had made Mr. Donne "our member;" and Mr. Bradshaw began to feel proud of him accordingly. But there had been no one circumstance during this period to bind Jemima and Mr. Farquhar together. They were still misunderstanding each other with all their power. The difference in the result was this Jemima loved him all the more, in spite of quarrels and coolness. He was growing utterly weary of the petulant temper of which he was never certain;of the reception which varied day after day, according to the mood she was in and the thoughts that were uppermost; and he was almost startled to find how very glad he was that the little girls and Mrs. Denbigh were coming home. His was a character to bask in peace; and lovely, quiet Ruth, with her low tones and soft replies, her delicate waving movements, appeared to him the very type of what a woman should be--a calm, serene soul, fashioning the body to angelic grace. It was, therefore, with no slight interest that Mr. Farquhar inquired daily after the health of little Leonard. He asked at the Bensons' house; and Sally answered him, with swollen and tearful eyes, that the child was very bad--very bad indeed. He asked at the doctor's; and the doctor told him, in a few short words, that "it was only a bad kind of measles and that the lad might have a struggle for it, but he thought he would get through.

Vigorous children carried their force into everything; never did things by halves; if they were ill, they were sure to be in a high fever directly;if they were well, there was no peace in the house for their rioting. For his part," continued the doctor, "he thought he was glad he had had no children; as far as he could judge, they were pretty much all plague and no profit." But as he ended his speech he sighed; and Mr. Farquhar was none the less convinced that common report was true, which represented the clever, prosperous surgeon of Eccleston as bitterly disappointed at his failure of offspring. While these various interests and feelings had their course outside the Chapel-house, within there was but one thought which possessed all the inmates. When Sally was not cooking for the little invalid, she was crying;for she had had a dream about green rushes, not three months ago, which, by some queer process of oneiromancy, she interpreted to mean the death of a child; and all Miss Benson's endeavours were directed to making her keep silence to Ruth about this dream. Sally thought that the mother ought to be told. What were dreams sent for but for warnings? But it was just like a pack of Dissenters, who would not believe anything like other folks.

同类推荐
  • 华严经持验记

    华严经持验记

    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。
  • 小窗幽记

    小窗幽记

    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。
  • Penguin Island

    Penguin Island

    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。
  • 学佛考训

    学佛考训

    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。
  • 法界观披云集

    法界观披云集

    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。
热门推荐
  • 成为作家:编剧创作五讲

    成为作家:编剧创作五讲

    本书以电影作为案例,从自己的创作经验出发,分别从什么是好故事、好故事从什么地方开始、激烈的矛盾冲突设置等方面讲述了如何写好一个故事,成为一个好的作家。从故事的构思到故事的结束,作者循序渐进的为我们剖析了讲故事的秘诀。
  • Captain Stormfield's Visit to Heaven

    Captain Stormfield's Visit to Heaven

    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。
  • 我的AR女神

    我的AR女神

    别人家的AR都是增强现实,宫健的AR就是现实。带上AR眼镜女神便降临了,这是什么鬼?!不不,这是什么神?
  • 两个凶手

    两个凶手

    闽东沿海地区,民间活跃一种叫“互助会”的经济活动。互助会的组织者叫“会头”,会员叫“会咖”。互助会一般来说一个月标一次,也有半个月的,疯狂的时候,每天一次,叫“日日会”,这基本上已经离开了经济互助的本意,变成非法集资的陷阱。说说互助会的玩法。比如说五百块钱的互助会,会头组织了五十个会咖,每个月标一次,要五十个月,也就是四年零两个月才标完。第一个月每个会咖出五百元,整个两万五千元给会头,会头以后可以每个月还五百块,无利息。从第二个月开始,会咖开始竞标。
  • 酒神

    酒神

    国际巅峰调酒大师、品酒大师,有酒神之称的李解冻,为了品尝出土的汉代美酒而醉死于而立之年。当他一觉醒来时,却发现自己来到了一个名叫五行大陆的世界,变成了一个叫做姬动的小乞丐。在这里,有一种极其特殊的职业,名叫阴阳魔师,奇异的十系魔技令人叹为观止。每一名阴阳魔师都有一顶属于自己的由本属性凝聚而成的阴阳冕。一次偶然的机遇,让他认识了地底世界的火焰女王——烈焰,作为阴阳平衡体质的他,接受了阴阳极焰的传承,他的命运也从此走向了强者的道路。他的未来,只有他一个人创造……
  • 华倾寒世

    华倾寒世

    相传东华国太子凶狠残忍,嗜血成性,弑母杀父为天下第一不孝不仁之人。而东华国威武将军风姿卓绝,战功赫赫,温和如玉却独独与其交好,相较琴棋,共做诗词,据宫女笑称两人真是有断袖之义。乱世中,东华太子不知所踪,而威国将军守身如玉10年未娶。10年间群雄争霸,有人夺了国有人成了家,有人在皇权之间角逐,有人在暗处私谋,有人变幻了倾世的容颜,有人在九重之巅凝望,她统一五国受万民敬仰,却无力控制那个人的箫声如咽,黄土白骨。
  • 社交圈

    社交圈

    在中国生存,不懂点社交技巧几乎等同傻子。真正的聪明人,从来都是把社交放在第一要务,他们总是主动出击,不断地拓展自己的社交圈子。通过结交高层次的人脉关系,他们为自己的人生铺平了道路,也为自己的事业奠定了坚实的基础!这本书所提供的技巧,就是教你如何在社交圈里游刃有余、左右逢源,轻松获取高端人脉的超级指南。作者通过经典的案例、精练的社交技巧,生动地讲述和展示了社交圈里的各种知识、技巧和方法。如果你想成为一个富有的人,想让自己的事业经营得更大,就一定要对这些规则了如指掌、运用自如!
  • 妈咪快跑

    妈咪快跑

    这是一篇宠文,宠无下限,前期小虐,喜欢身心干净的抱走~四年前,男友挽着别的女人进入教堂,她转身决绝离开。四年后,他契约婚姻已满,回来时,却见她周围桃花朵朵~青梅竹马?面瘫冰山表哥?妖孽男?小叔?腹黑毒舌受?还有……?!
  • 普明禅师牧牛图颂

    普明禅师牧牛图颂

    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。
  • 重生抄动漫

    重生抄动漫

    姓名:陆格外貌:女性别:男(万幸)重生在另一个平行世界,这个世界没有倭国,那就抄抄漫画,制作几个恋爱文字游戏,写几首相关的音乐吧。......新书《女友有个系统》