Of the hack-cabs seen about, but few were Hansoms; for at that season men who want to go quickly, and don't mind paying a shilling a mile, are at a discount. Now and then a sun-tanned swell13, whose portmanteau atop nearly obstructed14 the driver's sight, and who himself was but dimly visible among gun-cases, hat-boxes, and railway-rugs, might have been encountered, passing from one terminus to another; but the "reg'lar riders,"--the lawyer's clerk, with the tape-tied bundle of papers, who charges his cab to "the office;" the lounging swell; the M.P. dashing down to the House; the smug-faced capitalist, whose brain is full of calculation, and who sits the whole way to the City smiling at all and seeing none; the impecunious15 speculator, who rides in a cab because he cannot afford to be seen in an omnibus,--all these were away from London. And the four-wheelers, though laden16, had but dreary17 burdens: the fortnight at Margate is over; no more morning dips, no more afternoon rambles18 on the sands, no donkey-backs, no pleasure-boats, no Pegwell Bay now! Paterfamilias is once more Hobbs and Motchkin's out-door at thirty shillings a week; the eight-roomed house in Navarino Terrace, Camden Town, resumes its wonted appearance; the children return to the "curriculum" of education at Miss Gimp's in the Crescent; and save the sand-covered little wooden spades which hang from the hat-pegs in the passage, naught19 remains20 of their maritime21 excursion.
Dreary, dreary, every where! Dreary down in old country mansions22, where, while the men are pheasant-shooting in the woods, the ladies look dismally23 on what was lately the croquet-ground, where the gardeners are now busy sweeping24 up the leaves, and pressing them into huge barrows, and wheeling them away; where the trees stand out gaunt and brown, and where the evergreens25 bordering the pleasant walks rustle26 with the autumnal winds; where the cracks, and flaws, and dampnesses of old country mansions begin to make themselves unpleasantly conspicuous27; and where the servants, town-bred, commence to be colded, sniffy, to have shivers and "creeps." Dreary at the seaside, where the storm-soaked, worm-eaten jetty, lately echoing to the pattering feet of children, or the sturdy tread of the visitor taking his constitutional, is now given over to its normal frequenters--tarry-trousered men in blue jerseys28 and oilskin sou'-wester hats, who are always looking out for some boat that never arrives, or some storm which always comes when they do not expect it; bills are stuck on the pleasant plate-glass bow windows so lately filled with pretty girls, rosy29 children, and parents who dined at two o'clock, and enjoyed their nuts and port-wine "looking over the sea;" and the proprietors30 of the lodging-houses, who have lived in damp back-kitchens since June, are once more seen above-ground. Dreary in Continental31 towns, where home-returning English are finding out that they have spent too much money on their trip, and bewailing the Napoleons left as a tribute to the managers of the Homburgh Bank; where the discomforts32 of the return sea-passage first assert themselves, and where couriers and innkeepers are going in for their last grand turn of robbery and swindle. Dreary, dreary, every where! but specially34 dreary in Hyde Park, at the Piccadilly gates, at which Mr. Prescott leaves his Hansom, and strolls into Rotten Row.
A blank desert of posts and rails and dry dusty gravel35; a long strip of iron-enclosed sand and grit36, with half a dozen figures in the three-quarter mile range to break the dull monotony. As Prescott mooned drearily37 along, at five-minute intervals38 he would hear the sound of a horse's hoofs39, and turning rapidly, would find some easy-going steed doing its quiet sanitary40 business for its owner, a man who, either from circumstances or disposition41, never quitted London, but was to be seen at some time or other of the day in the Row, no matter what might be the time of year. Interspersed42 with these were grooms43, riding in that groomy undress of wide-awake hat, short, stiff shirt-collar, and tight-fitting, yellow-clay-coloured trousers, trying the wind and bottom of some that were meant to be flyers in the approaching hunting-season; beasts with heavy, strong quarters, long backs, short, sharp heads, and rolling eyes, with a preponderance of white always showing. Country-bred Mr. Prescott, and cannot therefore divest44 himself of a certain canniness45 in the matter of horseflesh: now and then he leans over the rail to follow the progress of a horseman flying past, with his hands well down, and every muscle of his steed brought into splendid play; or the healthy gymnastics of a valetudinarian46, who had learned exactly the utmost amount of exercise to be derived47 from his horse as compared with the least amount of discomfort33 to be endured by himself. But these do not rivet48 his attention; and he passes on until he is nearly abreast49 of the Serpentine50, when, looking back, he sees a blue skirt fluttering in the wind, and in an instant recognising its wearer, pulls up by the rails and waits her advent51.
It does not take long for that chestnut52 mare53 to cover the distance, albeit54 she is being ridden from side to side, and is evidently receiving her "finishing" in the elegancies of the manège In less than two minutes she is pulled up short by the rails where Prescott is standing55, and her rider, Kate Mellon, with the colour flushing in her cheeks, with her eyes aglow56, with her hair a trifle dishevelled from the exercise, is sitting bolt upright, and with the handle of her riding-whip giving the young gentleman a mock salute57.
"Servant, colonel!" says she.
"How do you do, Kate?" says Prescott, leaning forward and touching58 the neat little white cuff59 on her wrist; "I thought I should find you here."
"More than I thought of you!" says the lady. "Why ain't you counting up those figures, and adding and subtracting, and all the rest of it you do in your office, eh?"
"To-day's a half-holiday, Kitty--Saturday, you know," says Prescott, with rather a grim smile; for he does not like that rough description of his official duties.
"Oh, ah!" says the lady, with great simplicity60; "Saturday, ah! Confounded nuisance sometimes! Lost my net veil one Saturday afternoon here in the Row; went to Marshall and Snelgrove's on my way home; all shut up tight as wax!"
"You're better than you were yesterday, at the station?"
"Oh, yes; I'm all right; I shall do well enough! Wo-ho! steady, old lady!" (this to the mare). "I'm always better in town. Don't let's stand here; I can't hold this mare quiet, and that's the truth; she frets61 on the curb62 most awful."
"Well, most awfully, if you like it better. Steady, Poll! Walk along by my side. Who are you, I should like to know, to pull me up about my talking? What right have you to lecture me about my grammar and that?"
"What right?" asks Prescott, suddenly turning white; "none, save the fact of my loving you, Kitty. You know it well enough, though I've never told you in so many words. You know that I do love you! You can't have seen me hanging about you during the last season, making excuses to come to your place, first there and last to go, hating every man who had more chances of talking to you than I had,--you can't have seen all this without knowing that I loved you, Kitty!"
The mare is pulled suddenly up; there is no one near them in the blank desert of the Row; and her rider says, "And suppose I did know it,--what then?"
"Have you ever had one word of encouragement from me? Have you ever seen a look of mine which has led you on? Can you say that, suppose I tell you to let me hear no more of this,--as I do tell you at once and for ever,--I have deceived or thrown you over in any one way?"
"Never!"
"Thank God for that!" says the girl, with some bitterness; "for that's a chalk in my favour, at least. Now look here! I know you, James Prescott; and I know that you're too good a man--too well brought up and fond of home and that sort of thing--to hint any thing but what's right towards me."
"Kitty!"
"There--I know it. Don't break a blood-vessel with your emotion," she added, gently tapping him on the shoulder with her riding-whip. "All right. Well, suppose we were married, you'd feel very jolly, wouldn't you, while you were down at your office doing your sums and things, which you got so riled when I spoke65 of just now, to think that Tom Orme, and Claverhouse, and De Bonnet66, and a whole lot of fellows, were mooning about this place with me?"
"Exactly. But you see, if you wrung68 their necks, they would not send their wives and sisters and daughters to be taught riding at The Den10; they would not commission me to look out for ladies' hacks69, to break them, and bring them into order; and my trade would be gone. And we couldn't live on the twopence-halfpenny a-year you get from your office, Jim, old fellow."
"I know that, Kitty," said poor Prescott; "I know all that; but--"
"Hold on half a second!" interrupted Kate; "let us look the thing straight in the face, and have it out, Jim, now and for ever. I know you--know you're a thoroughgoing good fellow, straight as an arrow, and know that if you married me, you'd stick to me till you dropped. But you'd have a hard time, Jim--an awful hard time!"
"I should not mind that, Kitty. I'd work for you--"
"Oh, it isn't in that way I mean. But how would you stand having to break off with your own people for your wife's sake? How could you take me down to your governor's parsonage, and introduce me there? How would my manners and my talk please your mother and sisters? It's madness, Jim,--it's worse than madness,--to talk of such a scheme. Shake hands, and let's be always good friends--the best of friends. If you ever want a good turn that I can do, you know where I'm to be found. God bless you, old boy; but never mention this subject again!"
James Prescott gave a great gulp70 at a lump which was rising in his throat, and warmly grasped Kate Mellon's proffered71 hand. As she raised her eyes he noticed her colour fade, and saw a troubled expression in her face.
"Good by, Jim," the said hurriedly. "Just strike down that path, will you? Get away quickly; here's some one coming; and--and I don't want to be seen talking to you. Quick! there's a good fellow. Good by."
She touched her horse with her slight whip, and cantered off at once. Prescott looked in the direction she had indicated, and saw Mr. Simnel, mounted on a handsome thoroughbred, calmly curveting up the Row.
What could there be between Kate Mellon and Robert Simnel?
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1
strand
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| vt.使（船）搁浅，使（某人）困于（某地） | |
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divers
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| adj.不同的；种种的 | |
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commissioners
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| n.专员( commissioner的名词复数 )；长官；委员；政府部门的长官 | |
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sewers
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| n.阴沟，污水管，下水道( sewer的名词复数 ) | |
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erect
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| n./v.树立，建立，使竖立；adj.直立的，垂直的 | |
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6
hideous
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| adj.丑陋的，可憎的，可怕的，恐怖的 | |
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deserted
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| adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的 | |
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eddying
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| 涡流，涡流的形成 | |
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gusts
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| 一阵强风( gust的名词复数 )； （怒、笑等的）爆发； （感情的）迸发； 发作 | |
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den
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| n.兽穴；秘密地方；安静的小房间，私室 | |
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11
creased
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| （使…）起折痕，弄皱( crease的过去式和过去分词 )； （皮肤）皱起，使起皱纹； 皱皱巴巴 | |
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perusal
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| n.细读，熟读；目测 | |
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13
swell
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| vi.膨胀，肿胀；增长，增强 | |
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14
obstructed
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| 阻塞( obstruct的过去式和过去分词 )； 堵塞； 阻碍； 阻止 | |
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15
impecunious
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| adj.不名一文的，贫穷的 | |
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laden
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| adj.装满了的；充满了的；负了重担的；苦恼的 | |
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dreary
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| adj.令人沮丧的，沉闷的，单调乏味的 | |
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18
rambles
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| （无目的地）漫游( ramble的第三人称单数 )； （喻）漫谈； 扯淡； 长篇大论 | |
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naught
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| n.无，零 [=nought] | |
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remains
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| n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹 | |
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21
maritime
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| adj.海的，海事的，航海的，近海的，沿海的 | |
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22
mansions
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| n.宅第，公馆，大厦( mansion的名词复数 ) | |
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dismally
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| adv.阴暗地，沉闷地 | |
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24
sweeping
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| adj.范围广大的，一扫无遗的 | |
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25
evergreens
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| n.常青树，常绿植物，万年青( evergreen的名词复数 ) | |
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26
rustle
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| v.沙沙作响；偷盗(牛、马等)；n.沙沙声声 | |
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27
conspicuous
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| adj.明眼的，惹人注目的；炫耀的，摆阔气的 | |
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28
jerseys
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| n.运动衫( jersey的名词复数 ) | |
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rosy
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| adj.美好的，乐观的，玫瑰色的 | |
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proprietors
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| n.所有人，业主( proprietor的名词复数 ) | |
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continental
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| adj.大陆的，大陆性的，欧洲大陆的 | |
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32
discomforts
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| n.不舒适( discomfort的名词复数 )；不愉快，苦恼 | |
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discomfort
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| n.不舒服，不安，难过，困难，不方便 | |
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specially
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| adv.特定地；特殊地；明确地 | |
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gravel
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| n.砂跞；砂砾层；结石 | |
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grit
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| n.沙粒，决心，勇气；v.下定决心，咬紧牙关 | |
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37
drearily
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| 沉寂地，厌倦地，可怕地 | |
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38
intervals
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| n.[军事]间隔( interval的名词复数 )；间隔时间；[数学]区间；（戏剧、电影或音乐会的）幕间休息 | |
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39
hoofs
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| n.（兽的）蹄，马蹄( hoof的名词复数 )v.（兽的）蹄，马蹄( hoof的第三人称单数 ) | |
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40
sanitary
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| adj.卫生方面的，卫生的，清洁的，卫生的 | |
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41
disposition
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| n.性情，性格；意向，倾向；排列，部署 | |
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42
interspersed
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| adj.[医]散开的；点缀的v.intersperse的过去式和过去分词 | |
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43
grooms
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| n.新郎( groom的名词复数 )；马夫v.照料或梳洗（马等）( groom的第三人称单数 )；使做好准备；训练；（给动物）擦洗 | |
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44
divest
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| v.脱去，剥除 | |
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45
canniness
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| 精明 | |
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46
valetudinarian
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| n.病人；健康不佳者 | |
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47
derived
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| vi.起源；由来；衍生；导出v.得到( derive的过去式和过去分词 )；（从…中）得到获得；源于；（从…中）提取 | |
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48
rivet
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| n.铆钉；vt.铆接，铆牢；集中(目光或注意力) | |
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49
abreast
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| adv.并排地；跟上(时代)的步伐，与…并进地 | |
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50
serpentine
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| adj.蜿蜒的，弯曲的 | |
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51
advent
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| n.(重要事件等的)到来，来临 | |
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52
chestnut
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| n.栗树，栗子 | |
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53
mare
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| n.母马，母驴 | |
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54
albeit
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| conj.即使；纵使；虽然 | |
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55
standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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56
aglow
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| adj.发亮的；发红的；adv.发亮地 | |
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57
salute
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| vi.行礼，致意，问候，放礼炮；vt.向…致意，迎接，赞扬；n.招呼，敬礼，礼炮 | |
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58
touching
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| adj.动人的，使人感伤的 | |
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59
cuff
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| n.袖口；手铐；护腕；vt.用手铐铐；上袖口 | |
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60
simplicity
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| n.简单，简易；朴素；直率，单纯 | |
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61
frets
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| 基质间片； 品丝（吉他等指板上定音的）( fret的名词复数 ) | |
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62
curb
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| n.场外证券市场，场外交易；vt.制止，抑制 | |
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63
awfully
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| adv.可怕地，非常地，极端地 | |
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64
shrugs
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| n.耸肩（以表示冷淡，怀疑等）( shrug的名词复数 ) | |
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65
spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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66
bonnet
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| n.无边女帽；童帽 | |
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67
wring
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| n.扭绞；v.拧，绞出，扭 | |
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68
wrung
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| 绞( wring的过去式和过去分词 )； 握紧（尤指别人的手）； 把（湿衣服）拧干； 绞掉（水） | |
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69
hacks
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| 黑客 | |
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70
gulp
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| vt.吞咽，大口地吸（气）；vi.哽住；n.吞咽 | |
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71
proffered
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| v.提供，贡献，提出( proffer的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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