“Hush, child! There’s ill news in the house.”
Charley dropped his voice to an awe-struck whisper. “What is it, Judith? Is papa worse?”
“Child! there’s illness of mind as well as of body. I didn’t say sickness; I said ill news. I don’t rightly understand it; the mistress said a word to me, and I guessed the rest. And it was me that took in the letter! Me! I wish I had put it in my kitchen fire first!”
“Is it—Judith, is it news of the—the cause? Is it over?”
“It’s over, as I gathered. ‘Twas a London letter, and it came by the afternoon post. All the poor master’s hopes and dependencies for years have been wrested7 from him. And if they’d give me my way, I’d prosecute8 them postmen for bringing such ill luck to a body’s door.”
Charles stood something like a statue, the bright, sensitive colour deserting his cheek. One of those causes, Might versus9 Right, of which there are so many in the world, had been pending10 in the Channing family for years and years. It included a considerable amount of money, which ought, long ago, to have devolved peaceably to Mr. Channing; but Might was against him, and Might threw it into Chancery. The decision of the Vice-Chancellor11 had been given for Mr. Channing, upon which Might, in his overbearing power, carried it to a higher tribunal. Possibly the final decision, from which there could be no appeal, had now come.
“Judith,” Charles asked, after a pause, “did you hear whether—whether the letter—I mean the news—had anything to do with the Lord Chancellor?”
“Oh, bother the Lord Chancellor!” was Judith’s response. “It had to do with somebody that’s an enemy to your poor papa. I know that much. Who’s this?”
The hall door had opened, and Judith and Charles turned towards it. A gay, bright-featured young man of three and twenty entered, tall and handsome, as it was in the nature of the Channings to be. He was the eldest12 son of the family, James; or, as he was invariably styled, Hamish. He rose six foot two in his stockings, was well made, and upright. In grace and strength of frame the Yorkes and the Channings stood A1 in Helstonleigh.
“Now, then! What are you two concocting13? Is he coming over you again to let him make more toffy, Judy, and burn out the bottom of another saucepan?”
“Hamish, Judy says there’s bad news come in by the London post. I am afraid the Lord Chancellor has given judgment—given it against us.”
The careless smile, the half-mocking, expression left the lips of Hamish. He glanced from Judith to Charles, from Charles to Judith. “Is it sure?” he breathed.
“It’s sure that it’s awful news of some sort,” returned Judith; “and the mistress said to me that all was over now. They be all in there, but you two,” pointing with her finger to the parlour on the left of the hall; “and you had better go in to them. Master Hamish—”
“Well?” returned Hamish, in a tone of abstraction.
“You must every one of you just make the best of it, and comfort the poor master. You are young and strong; while he—you know what he is. You, in special, Master Hamish, for you’re the eldest born, and were the first of ‘em that I ever nursed upon my knee.”
“Of course—of course,” he hastily replied. “But, oh, Judith! you don’t know half the ill this must bring upon us! Come along, Charley; let us hear the worst.”
Laying his arm with an affectionate gesture round the boy’s neck, Hamish drew him towards the parlour. It was a square, light, cheerful room. Not the best room: that was on the other side the hall. On a sofa, underneath14 the window, reclined Mr. Channing, his head and shoulders partly raised by cushions. His illness had continued long, and now, it was feared, had become chronic15. A remarkably16 fine specimen17 of manhood he must have been in his day, his countenance18 one of thoughtful goodness, pleasant to look upon. Arthur, the second son, had inherited its thoughtfulness, its expression of goodness; James, its beauty; but there was a great likeness19 between all the four sons. Arthur, only nineteen, was nearly as tall as his brother. He stood bending over the arm of his father’s sofa. Tom, looking very blank and cross, sat at the table, his elbows leaning on it. Mrs. Channing’s pale, sweet face was bent20 towards her daughter’s, Constance, a graceful21 girl of one and twenty; and Annabel, a troublesome young lady of nearly fourteen, was surreptitiously giving twitches22 to Tom’s hair.
Arthur moved from the place next his father when Hamish entered, as if yielding him the right to stand there. A more united family it would be impossible to find. The brothers and sisters loved each other dearly, and Hamish they almost reverenced—excepting Annabel. Plenty of love the child possessed24; but of reverence23, little. With his gay good humour, and his indulgent, merry-hearted spirit, Hamish Channing was one to earn love as his right, somewhat thoughtless though he was. Thoroughly25 well, in the highest sense of the term, had the Channings been reared. Not of their own wisdom had Mr. and Mrs. Channing trained their children.
“What’s the matter, sir?” asked Hamish, smoothing his brow, and suffering the hopeful smile to return to his lips. “Judith says some outrageous26 luck has arrived; come express, by post.”
“Joke while you may, Hamish,” interposed Mrs. Channing, in a low voice; “I shrink from telling it you. Can you not guess the news?”
Hamish looked round at each, individually, with his sunny smile, and then let it rest upon his mother. “The very worst I can guess is not so bad. We are all here in our accustomed health. Had we sent Annabel up in that new balloon they are advertising27, I might fancy it had capsized with her—as it will some day. Annabel, never you be persuaded to mount the air in that fashion.”
“Hamish! Hamish!” gently reproved Mrs. Channing. But perhaps she discerned the motive28 which actuated him. Annabel clapped her hands. She would have thought it great fun to go up in a balloon.
“Well, mother, the worst tidings that the whole world could bring upon us cannot, I say, be very dreadful, while we can discuss them as we are doing now,” said Hamish. “I suppose the Lord Chancellor has pronounced against us?”
“Irrevocably. The suit is for ever at an end, and we have lost it.”
“Hamish is right,” interrupted Mr. Channing. “When the letter arrived, I was for a short time overwhelmed. But I begin to see it already in a less desponding light; and by to-morrow I dare say I shall be cheerful over it. One blessed thing—children, I say advisedly, a ‘blessed’ thing—the worry will be over.”
Charley lifted his head. “The worry, papa?”
“Ay, my boy. The agitation—the perpetual excitement—the sickening suspense29—the yearning30 for the end. You cannot understand this, Charley; you can none of you picture it, as it has been, for me. Could I have gone abroad, as other men, it would have shaken itself off amidst the bustle31 of the world, and have pressed upon me only at odd times and seasons. But here have I lain; suspense my constant companion. It was not right, to allow the anxiety so to work upon me: but I could not help it; I really could not.”
“We shall manage to do without it, papa,” said Arthur.
“Yes; after a bit, we shall manage very well. The worst is, we are behindhand in our payments; for you know how surely I counted upon this. It ought to have been mine; it was mine by full right of justice, though it now seems that the law was against me. It is a great affliction; but it is one of those which may be borne with an open brow.”
“What do you mean, papa?”
“Afflictions are of two kinds. The one we bring upon ourselves, through our own misconduct; the other is laid upon us by God for our own advantage. Yes, my boys, we receive many blessings32 in disguise. Trouble of this sort will only serve to draw out your manly33 energies, to make you engage vigorously in the business of life, to strengthen your self-dependence and your trust in God. This calamity34 of the lost lawsuit35 we must all meet bravely. One mercy, at any rate, the news has brought with it.”
“What is that?” asked Mrs. Channing, lifting her sad face.
“When I have glanced to the possibility of the decision being against me, I have wondered how I should pay its long and heavy costs; whether our home must not be broken up to do it, and ourselves turned out upon the world. But the costs are not to fall upon me; all are to be paid out of the estate.”
“That’s good news!” ejaculated Hamish, his face radiant, as he nodded around.
“My darling boys,” resumed Mr. Channing, “you must all work and do your best. I had thought this money would have made things easier for you; but it is not to be. Not that I would have a boy of mine cherish for a moment the sad and vain dream which some do—that of living in idleness. God has sent us all into the world to work; some with their hands, some with their heads; all according to their abilities and their station. You will not be the worse off,” Mr. Channing added with a smile, “for working a little harder than you once thought would be necessary.”
“Perhaps the money may come to us, after all, by some miracle,” suggested Charley.
“No,” replied Mr. Channing. “It has wholly gone from us. It is as much lost to us as though we had never possessed a claim to it.”
It was even so. This decision of the Lord Chancellor had taken it from the Channing family for ever.
“Never mind!” cried Tom, throwing up his trencher, which he had carelessly carried into the room with him. “As papa says, we have our hands and brains: and they often win the race against money in the long run.”
Yes. The boys had active hands and healthy brains—no despicable inheritance, when added to a firm faith in God, and an ardent36 wish to use, and not misuse37, the talents given to them.
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1
gravel
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| n.砂跞；砂砾层；结石 | |
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cloister
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| n.修道院；v.隐退，使与世隔绝 | |
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portico
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| n.柱廊，门廊 | |
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sitting-room
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| n.（BrE）客厅，起居室 | |
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antiquated
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| adj.陈旧的，过时的 | |
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apron
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| n.围裙；工作裙 | |
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wrested
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| （用力）拧( wrest的过去式和过去分词 )； 费力取得； （从…）攫取； （ 从… ） 强行取去… | |
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prosecute
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| vt.告发；进行；vi.告发，起诉，作检察官 | |
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versus
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| prep.以…为对手，对；与…相比之下 | |
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10
pending
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| prep.直到，等待…期间；adj.待定的；迫近的 | |
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chancellor
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| n.(英)大臣；法官；(德、奥)总理；大学校长 | |
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eldest
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| adj.最年长的，最年老的 | |
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13
concocting
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| v.将（尤指通常不相配合的）成分混合成某物( concoct的现在分词 )；调制；编造；捏造 | |
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14
underneath
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| adj.在...下面，在...底下；adv.在下面 | |
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chronic
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| adj.(疾病)长期未愈的，慢性的；极坏的 | |
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remarkably
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| ad.不同寻常地，相当地 | |
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specimen
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| n.样本，标本 | |
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countenance
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| n.脸色，面容；面部表情；vt.支持，赞同 | |
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likeness
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| n.相像，相似（之处） | |
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bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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graceful
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| adj.优美的，优雅的；得体的 | |
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twitches
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| n.（使）抽动， （使）颤动， （使）抽搐( twitch的名词复数 ) | |
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reverence
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| n.敬畏，尊敬，尊严；Reverence:对某些基督教神职人员的尊称；v.尊敬，敬畏，崇敬 | |
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possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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thoroughly
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| adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地 | |
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outrageous
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| adj.无理的，令人不能容忍的 | |
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advertising
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| n.广告业；广告活动 a.广告的；广告业务的 | |
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motive
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| n.动机，目的；adv.发动的，运动的 | |
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suspense
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| n.（对可能发生的事）紧张感，担心，挂虑 | |
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yearning
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| a.渴望的；向往的；怀念的 | |
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bustle
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| v.喧扰地忙乱，匆忙，奔忙；n.忙碌；喧闹 | |
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blessings
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| n.（上帝的）祝福( blessing的名词复数 )；好事；福分；因祸得福 | |
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manly
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| adj.有男子气概的；adv.男子般地，果断地 | |
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calamity
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| n.灾害，祸患，不幸事件 | |
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lawsuit
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| n.诉讼，控诉 | |
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ardent
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| adj.热情的，热烈的，强烈的，烈性的 | |
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misuse
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| n.误用，滥用；vt.误用，滥用 | |
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