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
  • 温宿县分防柯坪乡土志

    温宿县分防柯坪乡土志

    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。
  • 沙弥律仪要略述义

    沙弥律仪要略述义

    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。
  • 寒山子诗集

    寒山子诗集

    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。
  • 江南别录

    江南别录

    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。
  • 正一法文法箓部仪

    正一法文法箓部仪

    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
  • 大妖狐

    大妖狐

    少年夭折身首分离,却灵魂出窍与妖狐之躯相融,随后卷入妖族纷争,慢慢的成长为一代强者。
  • Biographical Study of A. W. Kinglake

    Biographical Study of A. W. Kinglake

    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。
  • 超级菜农

    超级菜农

    家传古画,随身仙境。休学之后再返校园,只为种出一手好菜。有人说我是新时代的袁隆平,药膳界的李时珍。我说:他说得对!
  • 反串女影帝

    反串女影帝

    最近娱乐圈爆出几件大事。一、被腐女整天YY的邹云,云翼两位影帝真的要结婚了。二、以上两人并非公开出柜。三、国民老公邹云其实是个妹纸。众人:槽多无口。
  • 犹太人的智慧

    犹太人的智慧

    本书通过精彩的故事和案例,全面而简练地展示了犹太民族在赚钱、经营、营销、博弈、冒险、理财、谈判、管理、教子等方面的智慧。这些智慧法则都是犹太人经过多年实践总结出来的,在犹太人中流传甚广,也日益引起世界其他民族学习和研究犹太人智慧法则的兴趣。希望大家读过本书,从中了解犹太人的历史,掌握犹太人的成功智慧,在工作中有所借鉴和帮助。
  • 爱恋五千年

    爱恋五千年

    《爱恋五千年》是一部融爱情、亲情、民族情于一体,诗文井茂的爱情史诗。该书通过近百个爱情历史故事,歌颂婚姻自由、男女平等、夫妻互爱、情侣忠……
  • 变奏

    变奏

    语言在生活中就像是寻求光的一种形式,使暗处闪亮或者使刺目的光变成柔光。诗在我这里,它对生活是一种矫正、一种修补、一种抚慰;同时,生活对诗歌,不仅是装着诗歌原材料的一种器物、一些媒质,也是一种引导、一种启示。我所说的生活既是生活的,又是诗歌的;而诗歌,既是诗歌的,又是生活的。我把这视作生活本身。形式上似乎是一种生活启发另一种生活,一种生活安慰另一种生活,实际上是两种生活融为一种生活。这就是我说的诗生活。
  • 肥婆大作战:冷漠皇帝不好惹

    肥婆大作战:冷漠皇帝不好惹

    “胖女人,你想死吗?”君北羽好奇的问道她,他真的不知道是她的胆子太大了,还是脑子有些问题竟然敢这么对他说话。陌上花陪笑道“当然怕死啊”不过心里道:要不是有那么庞大的家族和太后给我撑腰,我敢怎么惹你啊,除非我找死。他淡定、寂寥、安静。她高傲、胆识、聪明。她陌上花其实有些想知道的是:五百次的回眸才换一次擦肩而过,那她和他得需要多大的修炼才能让她穿越到这里与他对视。他君北羽其实有些想知道的是:她为什么比她还要懂得他心里所想的?本以为迷失了自己,本以为在也找不到喜欢的人,可她....当他喜欢上了胖胖的她的时候他不敢承认,也否认了自己内心中的想法。谁知他要向她表明心意的时候,他心仪的那个她带着满腔热血拜见他的时候。她会是怎样的心情?她恨那名叫叶海花的女子....
  • 翻天鼠

    翻天鼠

    人有人道,鼠有鼠道。但是,当阡陌联通之际,会发生怎样人生险途呢?让我们一起去感受这世间的冷暖与都市的兴衰,不同的人生将经历怎样的爱恨情仇与艰难险阻呢?
  • 女王崛起:极品元素师

    女王崛起:极品元素师

    现代称霸蔚蓝大海的傲娇女王,一朝重生成为异世大陆冷家九小姐。谁料到,所谓废材居然是顶级元素师的绝世天才!天赋过人却扮猪吃虎,背靠大树隐藏实力。当家族遭遇灭顶之灾,是谁力挽狂澜、重振声望?当顶级元素学校前来招生,是谁惊艳四座、震撼全场?当大陆选拔天赋测试,是谁打破记录、荣耀登顶?一把剑,一本书,绝妙风姿无双容颜。偏偏当她遇到他,女王碰上君王,干柴撞到烈火,熊熊燃烧的爱情之花跨越万年。他说:“若世人欺你,辱你,蔑你,我便灭世!”