Personally, I make no claim to artistic excellence,—it would be neither becoming nor tactful for me to do so,—but I may mention that the circulation of the Weekly Observer doubled, and then trebled; also that as a result of the popularity of Uncle Benny it soon became necessary to copyright each instalment in advance of publication to prevent unauthorized copying by exchanges. I have noticed that to some authors is given the art of writing so that their work appeals to their fellow-creatures at a certain stage of development; others,[Pg 185] again, have that broad human sympathy that puts them in touch with young and old, cultured and uncultured, wise and foolish. I had no wish to add to the sum of human wisdom and culture, but it was a delight to me that Uncle Benny made people merrier. Paul, at the age of seven, William Wedder, three score years older, were equally infatuated. On Saturday mornings Paul would insist upon having Uncle Benny read aloud to him during breakfast, then he would carry off the paper to peruse12 it himself at leisure, while William could ill conceal13 his impatience14 at having to await his turn. Most authors read their own works aloud, in public, to their friends, or in the family circle; I do not. It is only fair to state that I might not have reached this exalted15 plane but for my wife. It was she who made me understand the injustice16, the blind selfishness, the distressing17 egotism that permits an author, revelling18 in the enjoyment19 of his own imaginings, to inflict20 them upon a helpless listener whose capacity for appreciation is so infinitesimal in comparison. It was she who showed me[Pg 186] that Rossetti's sketch4 of Tennyson reading Maud was not merely a crude picture of the great poet by his friend, but a revelation of the long pent-up sufferings of one who was doomed21 to sit in an attitude of attention, under the watchful22 eye of The Author Who Reads His Own Works, ready to respond at a glance with a nod, a smile or a tear.
Therefore it was Marion who read Uncle Benny to Paul and Aunt Sophy and the author; it was I who, one morning during the reading, heard an unusual sound from the kitchen. Fearing that William, who was taking his breakfast there, had at last miscalculated his swallowing capacity and needed help, I quietly withdrew from the table and opened the door into the kitchen. To my amazement23 it collided with William's head, and he straightened himself up when he had recovered his equilibrium24 and looked at me with flushed cheeks and a foolish smile, making no attempt at explanation. Did I ask for one? Certainly not. I begged his pardon and hastened to get the liniment as if it was a most reprehensible25 act of mine to open the door without [Pg 187]warning. I felt angry and humiliated26 that he had placed me in such an awkward position, but I could not be brutal27 enough to show my resentment28 by accusing him of eavesdropping29, especially when it appeared to be the case. When he had recovered his speech and remarked incidentally that he was in the act of picking up his hard-boiled egg which had rolled in front of the door, I expressed the keenest regret for my carelessness and assured him I would be more cautious in future.
Yet the revelation of his depravity was a distinct shock to us until I found that it was the reading of Uncle Benny that had attracted the dear old man, and that he could not resist the impulse to get within earshot.
"I may as well own up," he confessed, at last, "that the way the missis reads them stories is as refreshin' to my mind as raspberry pies is to my stomach. She do read most beautiful, and when I hear Master Paul chippin' in with them odd sayin's and you and that old lady laughin' so cheery I jest can't help listenin'."
William's spontaneous appreciation was[Pg 188] delightful30, and I found his admiration for my fictitious31 Uncle Benny most amusing, considering how unconscious he was that I was the author, and that he cordially detested32 the original of the character, Peter Waydean. But I ceased to enjoy his enthusiasm when it threatened to become a mania33, for he unbosomed himself one day of a plan he had made to go to the city to make the personal acquaintance of Uncle Benny at the Observer office. I tried to dislodge this idea, showing him the absurdity34 of looking for a person who probably didn't exist, but I was mistaken in thinking my arguments effective, for in a few days I found a letter at my office addressed to Uncle Benny in William's crooked35 handwriting. I read it with rising indignation.
"Dear Uncle Benny," he wrote. "I am unknown to you and you to me but your writings has made me feel as if we was old chums. I wanted to go to the city to have a chat with you but the boss he kicked. He says I might be took up for a lunatic if I went to the Observer asking for you. He[Pg 189] says there aint no such person and if there was he would be some young whip snap that would call the devil and the hoist36 man to run me out for thinking he was a old man like me. He says it aint none of my business how old you be and what you look like. He says your blame curiosity William might land you in the police cells. Now as far as I can make out you must be well up in years and you write darn good stories. Now I got one or two good stories about the boss that is too good to keep. He aint a regular farmer and he don't know much about working land. He says the way to make the farm pay is to keep from paying out money on it and when I tell him we need a implement37 he asks how much will it cost and when I tell him he puts that much in the bank and says we can do without. There aint a implement on the place but three. That shows what kind of a man he is but I ain't going to let him scare me off if you drop me a line to say you want to hear them stories.
"WILLIAM WEDDER."
[Pg 190]
It was well that I was not within reach of William when I read his epistle, for my wrath38 would have descended39 upon him, but having time to think it over before I reached home I concluded to preserve my incognito40 by ignoring the matter; besides, I was exceptionally busy that week as Aunt Sophy's wedding was near at hand, and I could not afford to risk the loss of his services at such a time.
As I neared the house that afternoon I heard loud voices in the yard, and when I got within sight I saw my hired man and Peter Waydean walking around each other in the attitude of quarrelsome dogs about to spring.
"I tell you," snarled41 Peter, "them darn hens has been living on my field peas, and I believe you drove them over there in the first place."
"And I tell you," snapped William, "your cattle has broke down the fence and got into my corn twice this week, and your blame hogs42——"
At this point I intervened. Peter claimed that his crop of peas had been so destroyed[Pg 191] by fowls43 that it couldn't be harvested; he hadn't actually seen my hens at work, he admitted, but they must have done the damage. In rebuttal, William contended that our fowls were honest well-conducted stay-at-homes; they weren't driven away to forage44 on other people's garden stuff like some cattle and hogs.
"What's a few corn-stalks?" shouted Peter.
"What's a few peas?" retorted William.
Again I interposed, but I had to send William away to milk before my landlord could be placated45 enough to lower his voice to a reasonable pitch, then my anger suddenly flamed to a white heat. I had intended to soothe46 his ruffled47 feelings by paying for the damage, but instead, I found myself resenting the imputation48 that my hens, brought up from the shell to habits of virtue49 and propriety50, could be guilty of such dishonesty. Still, my tone was calm and my manner patronizing as I challenged him to prove his charge; then before he had recovered from his astonishment51 I advised him to overcome the besetting52 sin of avarice[Pg 192] that prompted him to swindle me in every possible way.
I saw that he knew his own weakness, he was so stung by my words; but there was more of malicious53 triumph than of blind anger in the ring of his voice. "Proof!" he ejaculated contemptuously. "The kind of proof you'll get is to have them hens come home without their feathers on if I catch them in my fields. I've a bit of news for you," he went on, with a grin of satisfaction. "I've had two good offers to sell the place and I was going to give you the chance of topping them, but now that you've broke out into insulting language I wouldn't sell to you if you offered me ten thousand dollars."
It was with difficulty that I repressed my amusement; he was so obviously unsuspicious that I was a bidder54, and when I assured him that the news didn't cause me any concern he grew still more angry.
"I'll go to the city to-morrow," he threatened me, "and I'll sell to whichever of them two men wants to live on the place, and you'll have to move when your lease is up."
[Pg 193]
Again I smiled; nothing he could do would suit me better than to have him hurry up in closing the bargain, but I tried to look as if my smile were forced to hide my disappointment. Peter glanced at me suspiciously as he turned away.
It is quite an ordinary occurrence to have one's chickens come home to roost, but not without their feathers, as two of mine did the next day. I could not look at them without a shudder55, yet I could not keep from looking at them, and until Marion clothed them in two tiny shirts that Paul had worn in his infancy56 I could not smile at the fascinating absurdity of their appearance and the consternation57 of their friends and relatives. It was only too clear why Peter had not carried out his threat of going to the city that day to close the sale of the place; he had been lying in wait for my unfortunate chickens in his pea-field. My blood boiled at the thought of how the malevolent58 rascal59 must be chuckling60 over the way he had proved his case, but my anger was trifling61 in comparison with William's.
"I tell you, Mr. Carton," he affirmed,[Pg 194] "I'll pay him back. I'll make him the laughin' stock of the county. Let me catch one of his critters on this side of the fence, and he won't be able to tell whether it's a bird of the air or a beast of the field when it goes home."
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1
meditations
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| 默想( meditation的名词复数 )； 默念； 沉思； 冥想 | |
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2
allude
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| v.提及，暗指 | |
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sketches
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| n.草图( sketch的名词复数 )；素描；速写；梗概 | |
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sketch
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| n.草图；梗概；素描；v.素描；概述 | |
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appreciation
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| n.评价；欣赏；感谢；领会，理解；价格上涨 | |
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admiration
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| n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕 | |
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heartily
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| adv.衷心地，诚恳地，十分，很 | |
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8
indifference
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| n.不感兴趣，不关心，冷淡，不在乎 | |
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adverse
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| adj.不利的；有害的；敌对的，不友好的 | |
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artistic
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| adj.艺术(家)的，美术(家)的；善于艺术创作的 | |
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11
excellence
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| n.优秀，杰出，(pl.)优点，美德 | |
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12
peruse
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| v.细读，精读 | |
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conceal
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| v.隐藏，隐瞒，隐蔽 | |
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14
impatience
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| n.不耐烦，急躁 | |
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15
exalted
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| adj.(地位等)高的，崇高的；尊贵的，高尚的 | |
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16
injustice
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| n.非正义，不公正，不公平，侵犯（别人的）权利 | |
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distressing
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| a.使人痛苦的 | |
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18
revelling
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| v.作乐( revel的现在分词 )；狂欢；着迷；陶醉 | |
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19
enjoyment
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| n.乐趣；享有；享用 | |
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20
inflict
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| vt.(on)把…强加给，使遭受，使承担 | |
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21
doomed
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| 命定的 | |
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watchful
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| adj.注意的，警惕的 | |
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amazement
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| n.惊奇，惊讶 | |
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equilibrium
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| n.平衡，均衡，相称，均势，平静 | |
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reprehensible
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| adj.该受责备的 | |
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humiliated
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| 感到羞愧的 | |
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brutal
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| adj.残忍的，野蛮的，不讲理的 | |
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resentment
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| n.怨愤，忿恨 | |
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eavesdropping
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| n. 偷听 | |
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30
delightful
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| adj.令人高兴的，使人快乐的 | |
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31
fictitious
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| adj.虚构的，假设的；空头的 | |
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32
detested
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| v.憎恶，嫌恶，痛恨( detest的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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33
mania
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| n.疯狂；躁狂症，狂热，癖好 | |
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34
absurdity
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| n.荒谬，愚蠢；谬论 | |
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35
crooked
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| adj.弯曲的；不诚实的，狡猾的，不正当的 | |
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36
hoist
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| n.升高，起重机，推动；v.升起，升高，举起 | |
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37
implement
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| n.(pl.)工具，器具；vt.实行，实施，执行 | |
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38
wrath
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| n.愤怒，愤慨，暴怒 | |
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39
descended
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| a.为...后裔的，出身于...的 | |
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40
incognito
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| adv.匿名地；n.隐姓埋名；adj.化装的，用假名的，隐匿姓名身份的 | |
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41
snarled
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| v.（指狗）吠，嗥叫， （人）咆哮( snarl的过去式和过去分词 )；咆哮着说，厉声地说 | |
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42
hogs
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| n.（尤指喂肥供食用的）猪( hog的名词复数 )；（供食用的）阉公猪；彻底地做某事；自私的或贪婪的人 | |
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43
fowls
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| 鸟( fowl的名词复数 )； 禽肉； 既不是这； 非驴非马 | |
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44
forage
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| n.(牛马的)饲料，粮草；v.搜寻，翻寻 | |
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45
placated
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| v.安抚，抚慰，使平静( placate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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46
soothe
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| v.安慰；使平静；使减轻；缓和；奉承 | |
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47
ruffled
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| adj. 有褶饰边的, 起皱的 动词ruffle的过去式和过去分词 | |
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48
imputation
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| n.归罪，责难 | |
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49
virtue
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| n.德行，美德；贞操；优点；功效，效力 | |
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50
propriety
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| n.正当行为；正当；适当 | |
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51
astonishment
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| n.惊奇，惊异 | |
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52
besetting
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| adj.不断攻击的v.困扰( beset的现在分词 )；不断围攻；镶；嵌 | |
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53
malicious
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| adj.有恶意的，心怀恶意的 | |
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54
bidder
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| n.(拍卖时的)出价人，报价人，投标人 | |
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55
shudder
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| v.战粟，震动，剧烈地摇晃；n.战粟，抖动 | |
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56
infancy
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| n.婴儿期；幼年期；初期 | |
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57
consternation
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| n.大为吃惊，惊骇 | |
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58
malevolent
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| adj.有恶意的，恶毒的 | |
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59
rascal
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| n.流氓；不诚实的人 | |
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60
chuckling
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| 轻声地笑( chuckle的现在分词 ) | |
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61
trifling
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| adj.微不足道的；没什么价值的 | |
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