He did not think it quite prudent3 to stop in the High Street to solace5 himself with any worldly comforts, although he saw several public-houses very temptingly open, but passing right on, he descended6 Red Lion Hill, and paused at a little inn at the foot of it, that is to say, on the London side of the pretty village.
Brandy was Todd's request, and he was met by a prompt, "Yes, sir;" but Todd had, among his varied7 experiences, to find out what Hampstead brandy was, and the moment he placed a portion of it in his mouth, his eyes goggled8 furiously, and spitting it out, he said, in a voice of anger—
"This is some mistake."
"Mistake, sir?"
"Yes; I asked for brandy, and you have given me the rinsings of some bottles and dirty glasses."
"Oh, dear no, sir; that brandy is the very best that you will get in all Hampstead."
"I assure you, sir, it is considered to be very good."
"Considered?" said Todd. "Then, my friend, there's your money, and as the brandy is considered to be so good, you can drink it; but having some respect, from old companionship, for my inside, I decline it. Good evening."
With these words, Todd laid a shilling upon the bar, and strode away.
"Well," said the publican, "how singular! that's the eighth person who has refused that one quartern of brandy and paid for it. Here, wife, put this back into the bottle again, and shake it up well."
Todd pursued his route down Haverstock Hill, until he came to the then straggling district of Camden Town, and there he did find a house at which he got just a tolerable glass of brandy, and feeling very much invigorated by the drop, he walked on more rapidly still; and a thought took possession of him, which, although it was perhaps not unattended with danger, might turn out to be a very felicitous10 one.
During his career in the shop in Fleet Street, he had collected a number of watches from the pockets of the murdered persons, but he had always been afraid to attempt the disposal of the best of them.
The fact was, that at that time everybody had not a watch as at present. It was an expensive article, and Mr. So-and-so's watch was as well known as Mr. So-and-so himself; so that it would have been one of the most hazardous11 things possible for Todd to have brought suspicion upon himself by going about disposing of the watches of his victims. It was the same, too, with some other costly12 articles, such as rings, lockets, and so on; and as he had realised as much money as he could previous to his arrangements for leaving England, Todd had left some of this description of property to perish in the fire, which he hoped to be the means of igniting in old Fleet Street upon his departure.
"If," he muttered, "I could only get into my late house in Fleet Street, I know where to lay my hand upon portable property, which was not worth my consideration while I had thousands of pounds in gold, but which now would be a fortune to me in my reduced circumstances. If I could but lay my hand upon it!"
The more Todd thought over this proposition, the more pleased he was with it; and by the time he had indulged himself with two more glasses of brandy, it began to assume, to his mind, a much more tangible14 shape.
"It may be done," he said, "it surely may be done. If I could only make my way in the church it might be done well, and surely one of these picklocks that I have about me might enable me to do that."
The picklock he alluded15 to was one that he had put in his pocket to accommodate Mr. Lupin, when they were both so intent upon their escape from Newgate, and when Mr. Lupin was foolish enough to believe that Todd really had two thousand pounds buried in Caen Wood, Hampstead. There was one thing, however, which made Todd pause. He did not think he was sufficiently16 disguised to venture into the locality of his old residence, and, unfortunately for him, he was rather a peculiar-looking man. His great chance, however, was, that in Fleet Street surely no one would now think of looking for Sweeney Todd.
"I must be bold," he said, "I must be bold and resolute17. It will not do to shrink now. I will buy a knife."
This was a pleasant idea to Todd. Buying a knife seemed almost like getting half-way to his revenge, and he went into an obscure cutler's shop, and bought a long double-edged knife, for which he gave two shillings. He then carefully concealed19 it in his clothing.
After this, he hit upon a plan of operations which he thought would have the effect of disguising him. At that period, wigs20 were so commonly worn that it was nothing at all particular for a person to go into a wig21-makers, and select one—put it on—pay for it—and go away!
"Yes," said Todd, "I will buy a wig; for I have art enough and knowledge of wigs to enable me to do so—as shall produce the greatest possible change in my appearance. A wig, a wig will be the thing."
Todd had hardly well made this declaration than he came upon a wig-makers, and in he went. Pointing to a wig that was on a block, and which had a very clerical kind of look, he inquired the price of it.
"Oh, my dear sir," said the wig-maker, "that is much too old looking a perriwig for you. Let me recommend you a much younger wig. Now, sir, here's one that will take a matter of ten years off your age in a moment."
Todd had discretion22 enough to know well that he could not make up young, so he merely pointed23 to the wig again and enquired24 the price.
"Well, sir, it is a couple of guineas, but—"
Without another word, Todd laid down the couple of guineas, and putting the wig upon his head he left the shop, certainly having given the wig-maker an impression that he was the oddest customer he had had for some time; but little did he suspect that that odd customer was the criminal with whose name all London was ringing, and upon whose head—with or without a wig—so heavy a price was set.
After this, Todd made his way to a shop where second-hand25 clothing was bought and sold, and there he got accommodated with an old gray coat that reached down to the calves26 of his legs, and he bought likewise a very voluminous white cravat27; and when he got into the street with these articles, and purchased at another shop a walking cane28, with a great silver top to it, and put one hand behind his back and stooped very much, and moved along as if he were afflicted29 with all the corns and bunions that his toes could carry, and by bending his knees, decreased his height six inches, no one could have known him.
At least, so Todd flattered himself.
In this way he tottered30 on until he got to the immediate31 neighbourhood of Fleet Street. To be sure, with all his coolness and courage, he could not help shaking a little when he came to that well remembered neighbourhood.
"And I," he thought to himself, "and I by this time hoped and expected to be far over the sea, instead of being such a wretch32 as I am now, crawling about, as it were, amid pitfalls33 and all sorts of dangers! Alas34! alas!"
He really shook now, and it was quite astonishing how, with his old wig, and his old gray coat and his stick, and his stooping posture35, old and venerable, yes, positively36 venerable, Sweeney Todd actually looked.
"Ain't you well, sir?" said a respectable man, stepping up to him. "Can I assist you?"
Todd perpetrated about half a dozen wheezing37 coughs, and then, not sorry for an opportunity of trying his powers of imitation of age, he replied in a tremulous voice—
"Ah, sir! Yes—old age—old age, sir—eugh!—eugh!—oh, dear me, I feel that I am on my last legs, and that they are on the shake—old age, sir, will come on; but it's a comfort to look back upon a long life well spent in deeds of charity!"
"Not a doubt of it," said the stranger. "I was only afraid, sir, you were taken suddenly ill, as you stood there."
"Oh, no—no—eugh!—no. Thank you, sir."
"Good evening, sir."
"Good evening, my good sir. Oh, if I had you only in my old shop with a razor at your throat, wouldn't I polish you off!" muttered Todd, as the stranger left him.
In the course of another minute, Todd was on the Fleet Street side of Temple Bar.
He could almost see his old house—that house in which he had passed years of deep iniquity38, and which he had hoped, ere that time, would have been a heap of ruins. There it was, tall, dismal39, and gaunt looking. The clock of St. Dunstan's struck eleven.
"Eleven," he muttered. "A good hour. The streets are getting deserted40 now, and no one will know me. I will stoop yet more, and try to look older—older still."
Todd a little over acted his part, as he tottered down Fleet Street, so that some individuals turned to look after him, which was a thing he certainly did not wish, as his great object was to escape all observation if possibly he could; so he corrected that, and went on rather more strongly; and finally he came exactly opposite to his own house, and getting partially41 into a door-way, he looked long and fixedly42 at it.
What thoughts, at that time, chased each other through the guilty mind of that man, it is hard to say; but he stood like a statue, fixing his regards upon the house for the space of about a quarter of an hour.
It was lucky for Todd that no one saw him just then, or they would have thought him rather an extraordinary old man.
The house was perfectly45 dark from top to bottom. The shutters46 of the shop, of course, were all up, and the shutters of the first-floor windows were likewise closed. The other windows had their old dingy47 blinds all down; and, to all outward appearance, that den4 of murder was deserted.
But Todd could not believe such to be the case. In his own mind, he felt fully18 sure, that Sir Richard Blunt was not the man to leave the house without some sort of custody48; and he quite settled with himself, that there was some one or more persons minding it, and, no doubt, by order, sitting there in one of the back rooms, so that no light should show in front.
"Curses on them all!" he muttered.
"Ah! you are looking at old Todd's house, sir?" said a voice.
Todd started; and close to him was a person smoking a pipe, and looking as jolly as possible.
"Yes—yes," stammered49 Todd, for he was taken by surprise rather. "Oh, yes, sir. I am amazed at the great wickedness of human nature."
"You may well, sir—you may well! Lord bless me! I never thought him a good looking man, but I never thought any ill of him neither, and I have seen him lots of times."
"Indeed, sir? Pray, what sort of man was he? I never saw him, as I live in Soho; and I am so much in years now, that in the bustling50 day-time I don't care to come into streets like this; for you see, sir, I can't move about as I could sixty years ago; and the people—God help them—are all in such a hurry now, and they push me here and there in such a way, that my failing breath and limbs won't stand it; and—and—eugh!—eugh! Oh, dear."
"A matter of eighty-nine, sir. It's an old age to get to, but I—I am younger than my brother, yet—Ha! ha! Oh dear, if it wasn't now for the rheumatism52 and the lumbago and a pain in my shoulder, and a few other little things, I should get on very well."
"Not a doubt of it. But you asked me what Todd was like, and I'll tell you, sir. He was nigh upon six feet high, and his face was two feet of it. He was just as ugly as any one you would wish to see for a pattern in that way, and that's his house where he murdered all the people."
"Peace be to their souls!"
"Amen! And there are underground places that lead right away through the vaults53 of St. Dunstan's to Bell-yard, where Mrs. Lovett's pie-shop was, you know, sir."
"I have heard. Ah, dear—dear, I have heard. A very wicked woman, indeed—very wicked; and yet, sir, it is to be hoped she has found mercy in another world."
"There would need be plenty of it," said the man with the pipe, "if Mrs. Lovett is to be accommodated with any."
"And so must I, for my pipe's out. I shall turn in, now. Good night, sir, and a pleasant walk home to you."
"Thank you, sir, thank you—eugh! eugh! I think if it were not for my cough, I should do very well."
Todd hobbled away, and the man, who lived in Bouverie Street, went home. Todd had not got any real information from this man; but the brief conversation he had had with him, had given him a sort of confidence in his disguise, and in his power of acting55, that he had not had before, so that, upon the whole, he was not sorry for the little incident.
And now it was quite evident that the streets were getting very much deserted. During the whole length of Fleet Street there was not half a dozen persons to be seen at all, and Todd, after casting a rapid glance around him to note if he were observed, suddenly crossed the way, and boldly went up to the door of old St. Dunstan's Church.
When once close to the door of the old building, he was so much in shadow that he felt tolerably secure from observation, but still he lingered a little, for he did not want to do anything so hastily as to rob it of its caution.
With his back against the church-door he glanced right and left, and then for the space of five minutes he bent56 all his faculties57 to the one task of ascertaining58 if any one was sufficiently near to watch him, and he got perfectly satisfied that such was not the case. He stood securely against the old church-door.
"So far," he muttered, "I am safe—quite safe."
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收听单词发音
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1
picturesque
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| adj.美丽如画的，（语言）生动的，绘声绘色的 | |
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retired
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| adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的 | |
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prudent
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| adj.谨慎的，有远见的，精打细算的 | |
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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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solace
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| n.安慰；v.使快乐；vt.安慰(物)，缓和 | |
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descended
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| a.为...后裔的，出身于...的 | |
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7
varied
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| adj.多样的，多变化的 | |
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goggled
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| adj.戴护目镜的v.睁大眼睛瞪视， （惊讶的）转动眼珠( goggle的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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9
groan
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| vi./n.呻吟，抱怨；(发出)呻吟般的声音 | |
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10
felicitous
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| adj.恰当的，巧妙的；n.恰当，贴切 | |
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11
hazardous
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| adj.(有)危险的，冒险的；碰运气的 | |
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12
costly
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| adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的 | |
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13
mused
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| v.沉思，冥想( muse的过去式和过去分词 )；沉思自语说（某事） | |
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14
tangible
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| adj.有形的，可触摸的，确凿的，实际的 | |
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15
alluded
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| 提及，暗指( allude的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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16
sufficiently
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| adv.足够地，充分地 | |
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17
resolute
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| adj.坚决的，果敢的 | |
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18
fully
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| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
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19
concealed
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| a.隐藏的，隐蔽的 | |
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20
wigs
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| n.假发，法官帽( wig的名词复数 ) | |
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21
wig
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| n.假发 | |
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discretion
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| n.谨慎；随意处理 | |
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23
pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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24
enquired
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| 打听( enquire的过去式和过去分词 )； 询问； 问问题； 查问 | |
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25
second-hand
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| adj.用过的，旧的，二手的 | |
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26
calves
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| n.(calf的复数)笨拙的男子，腓；腿肚子( calf的名词复数 )；牛犊；腓；小腿肚v.生小牛( calve的第三人称单数 )；（冰川）崩解；生（小牛等），产（犊）；使（冰川）崩解 | |
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27
cravat
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| n.领巾，领结；v.使穿有领结的服装，使结领结 | |
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28
cane
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| n.手杖，细长的茎，藤条；v.以杖击，以藤编制的 | |
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29
afflicted
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| 使受痛苦，折磨( afflict的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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30
tottered
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| v.走得或动得不稳( totter的过去式和过去分词 )；踉跄；蹒跚；摇摇欲坠 | |
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31
immediate
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| adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的 | |
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wretch
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| n.可怜的人，不幸的人；卑鄙的人 | |
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33
pitfalls
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| （捕猎野兽用的）陷阱( pitfall的名词复数 )； 意想不到的困难，易犯的错误 | |
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34
alas
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| int.唉(表示悲伤、忧愁、恐惧等) | |
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35
posture
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| n.姿势，姿态，心态，态度；v.作出某种姿势 | |
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36
positively
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| adv.明确地，断然，坚决地；实在，确实 | |
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37
wheezing
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| v.喘息，发出呼哧呼哧的喘息声( wheeze的现在分词 )；哮鸣 | |
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38
iniquity
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| n.邪恶；不公正 | |
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39
dismal
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| adj.阴沉的，凄凉的，令人忧郁的，差劲的 | |
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40
deserted
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| adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的 | |
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41
partially
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| adv.部分地，从某些方面讲 | |
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42
fixedly
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| adv.固定地；不屈地，坚定不移地 | |
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43
savage
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| adj.野蛮的；凶恶的，残暴的；n.未开化的人 | |
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44
growl
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| v.（狗等）嗥叫，（炮等）轰鸣；n.嗥叫，轰鸣 | |
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45
perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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46
shutters
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| 百叶窗( shutter的名词复数 )； （照相机的）快门 | |
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47
dingy
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| adj.昏暗的，肮脏的 | |
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48
custody
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| n.监护，照看，羁押，拘留 | |
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49
stammered
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| v.结巴地说出( stammer的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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50
bustling
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| adj.喧闹的 | |
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51
liking
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| n.爱好；嗜好；喜欢 | |
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52
rheumatism
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| n.风湿病 | |
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53
vaults
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| n.拱顶( vault的名词复数 )；地下室；撑物跳高；墓穴 | |
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54
profane
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| adj.亵神的，亵渎的；vt.亵渎，玷污 | |
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55
acting
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| n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的 | |
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56
bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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57
faculties
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| n.能力( faculty的名词复数 )；全体教职员；技巧；院 | |
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58
ascertaining
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| v.弄清，确定，查明( ascertain的现在分词 ) | |
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