CHAPTER XIX. A MODERN SHYLOCK.

 "I believe your interest falls due to-day, Mr. Nelson," said the squire¹, when he found himself alone with his debtor².

 

"Yes," answered the farmer, slowly. It was not very likely to slip his mind.

 

"I suppose you have the money ready," continued the squire, who supposed no such thing.

 

"I have a part of it ready," said Mark Nelson, with an effort.

 

"A part," repeated his creditor³, with a frown.

 

"Yes; I can give you thirty-six dollars to-day."

 

"Only thirty-six dollars! The amount due is sixty-six."

 

"I know it, Squire Hudson; but this has been a bad year for the farmers, as you probably know. Owing to the drought, my crops fell off at least one quarter."[Pg 178]

 

"I can't help that," said the squire, coldly.

 

"If you will be a little patient," said Mr. Nelson, uneasily.

 

"Neighbor Nelson," said his creditor, interrupting him, "I wish to ask you one question. When I lent you money on mortgage was there a stipulation⁴ that if there was a drought I was to wait for my just interest?"

 

"No, Squire Hudson."

 

"To be sure not; I would not of course lend you money on any such terms. It was understood that my interest was to be paid semi-annually,—was it not so?"

 

"Yes, but—"

 

"Wait a moment. You must certainly agree that I am entitled to prompt payment. A bargain is a bargain."

 

"I don't dispute it, Squire Hudson, and I have tried to be ready for you; but in spite of all my efforts I am thirty dollars short."

 

"Do you expect me to be content with this explanation?"

 

"I think you are rather hard on me, squire.[Pg 179] It isn't as if I had the money and objected to pay. I am a poor man, but no one ever lost a dollar by me; and I don't mean that any one shall, while I have my life and strength."

 

"That's all very well, but it won't make up the thirty dollars in which you are delinquent⁵."

 

"What would you have me do? I cannot make money."

 

"I wouldn't give much for an investment when the interest is delayed. It is no longer worth its face. If any of my railroad bonds defer⁶ their usual interest they at once drop in value."

 

"I know very little of railroad bonds, never having any money to invest in them; but I think my farm will be full security for all the money I owe you."

 

"Suppose I should foreclose—you would consider it an unkind thing and a great hardship, wouldn't you?"

 

"It would take away my means of supporting my family. I don't think you would go to extremes, for the sake of thirty dollars."

 

"It isn't the amount of money, neighbor Nelson, that[Pg 180] is to be considered. It is the principle that is involved."

 

This is a very common pretext⁷ with men who have made up their minds to do a mean thing. Generally speaking it is false, and the money is the first consideration.

 

"Will you give me two months to pay the balance of interest?" asked Mark Nelson.

 

"What better prospect⁸ have you of being able to pay me then?"

 

"As soon as Tom has any money to send, he will remit⁹ to me. I think it probable that I shall hear from him in the course of two months."

 

"If that is your reliance," said the squire, shrugging his shoulders, "I am afraid you are leaning upon a broken reed. I know boys pretty well, and I fancy Tom will find a use for all the money he earns."

 

"You don't know him, Squire Hudson. He is a very conscientious¹⁰ boy, and understands very well the sacrifice I made in raising money to send him to California. He is not very likely to forget that."[Pg 181]

 

"It seems to me that the sacrifice was mine," said the squire, with a half sneer¹¹. "If I remember rightly, I advanced the money which he took away with him."

 

Mark Nelson flushed, and he answered warmly, "You did advance the money, Squire Hudson, but I gave you security for it."

 

"And the very first interest that has come due you are not prepared to meet. You can't blame me for feeling a little doubt as to the wisdom of my advance."

 

"Are you very much in need of the thirty dollars?" asked Mr. Nelson, nettled¹² at the squire's tone.

 

"What do you mean, sir?"

 

"Is it subjecting you to any great inconvenience to wait a couple of months for it? That is what I mean."

 

"My circumstances are not such," returned the squire, haughtily¹³, "as to make me feel even the loss of thirty dollars."

 

"I wish I could say the same, but I cannot. Since, then, it will occasion you no inconvenience,[Pg 182] I ask you as a favor that you will let the balance rest for two months."

 

Squire Hudson saw that he was cornered; but none the less was he disposed to yield the point. He even felt provoked with the farmer for having forced from him an acknowledgment that he did not need the money he so persistently¹⁴ demanded.

 

"I told you before," he said, "that it was not the amount of money, but the principle, that I care for. You cannot have forgotten this."

 

"I don't see how any principle is involved, Squire Hudson."

 

"You look at the matter solely¹⁵ from a debtor's point of view. If you held the mortgage, instead of myself, you would change your view very quickly."

 

"I don't think I should," said the farmer, slowly. "I would be considerate to a poor neighbor, even if it did inconvenience me a little."

 

"The poor neighbor should not have borrowed money on which he was unable to pay interest," said Squire Hudson, severely¹⁶.

 

"How could I anticipate the drought that has[Pg 183] diminished my crops?" said Mark Nelson, with spirit.

 

"That is neither here nor there. You knew that the interest must be paid, drought or no drought, crop or no crop."

 

"I cannot argue with you further, since you refuse to consider circumstances over which I have had no control. You refuse to grant me any delay?"

 

"I do."

 

"Since I have not the money to pay you, will you tell me what you require?"

 

"How many cows do you keep?"

 

"Three."

 

"You can give me one of these, and I will consider it an equivalent for the thirty dollars."

 

"Do you require this?" asked the farmer, uneasily.

 

"Yes; unless you have some other satisfactory arrangement to propose."

 

"I am afraid I have nothing else which you would regard as satisfactory. The loss of a cow will diminish my income. Instead of three, I[Pg 184] ought to have four or five. I shouldn't like to be reduced to two."

 

"Very likely not; but an honest man is willing to make a sacrifice in order to meet his just liabilities. Besides, you expect to have the money, you say, in a couple of months. When it has come, you may have your cow back, on paying two months' interest on the deferred¹⁷ payment. That is only fair."

 

"Say no more, Squire Hudson," said the farmer. "I must, of course, consent to this arrangement since you insist upon it. How soon do you wish for the cow?"

 

"You had better let your son Walter drive it over this afternoon."

 

"He is losing no time," thought Mark Nelson, bitterly. "He does not even appear to be willing that I should have the benefit of this night's milking."

 

"You may send me Whiteface," continued Squire Hudson, who knew that this was the most valuable of the three cows.

 

"That is my best cow," protested the farmer[Pg 185] "That makes little difference, as you expect to redeem¹⁸ it in two months."

 

Mark Nelson was silent. He felt indignant with Squire Hudson for his cruel exaction¹⁹; but he felt that he was in his power, and that he must submit to his exactions.

 

"You will attend to this matter?" asked the squire, as he rose and prepared to go.

 

"Yes," answered the farmer, coldly.

 

When his creditor was gone he went into the kitchen and acquainted the family with what had passed. Great were the grief and indignation of the children, and Walter expressed a desire that Squire Hudson might lose all his property as a fitting reward for his meanness.

 

"Heaven help me if I can't meet the next interest!" said Mark Nelson, later in the day, to his wife.

 

"Don't be too much troubled about the future, Mark," said his wife, who was of a more hopeful temperament²⁰ than her husband; "I am sure that you will get some help from Tom before six months are over."[Pg 186]

 

"I hope so," answered her husband; but for the rest of the day he was very grave.

 

Walter drove over Whiteface, at his father's request; but he came near crying, stout²¹ boy as he was, at the loss of the faithful animal which his father had reared from a calf²².

1 squire   

n.护卫, 侍从, 乡绅

参考例句：

• I told him the squire was the most liberal of men.我告诉他乡绅是世界上最宽宏大量的人。
• The squire was hard at work at Bristol.乡绅在布里斯托尔热衷于他的工作。

2 debtor   

n.借方，债务人

参考例句：

• He crowded the debtor for payment.他催逼负债人还债。
• The court granted me a lien on my debtor's property.法庭授予我对我债务人财产的留置权。

3 creditor   

n.债仅人，债主，贷方

参考例句：

• The boss assigned his car to his creditor.那工头把自己的小汽车让与了债权人。
• I had to run away from my creditor whom I made a usurious loan.我借了高利贷不得不四处躲债。

4 stipulation   

n.契约，规定，条文；条款说明

参考例句：

• There's no stipulation as to the amount you can invest. 没有关于投资额的规定。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The only stipulation the building society makes is that house must be insured. 建屋互助会作出的唯一规定是房屋必须保险。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 delinquent   

adj.犯法的，有过失的；n.违法者

参考例句：

• Most delinquent children have deprived backgrounds.多数少年犯都有未受教育的背景。
• He is delinquent in paying his rent.他拖欠房租。

6 defer   

vt.推迟，拖延；vi.(to)遵从，听从，服从

参考例句：

• We wish to defer our decision until next week.我们希望推迟到下星期再作出决定。
• We will defer to whatever the committee decides.我们遵从委员会作出的任何决定。

7 pretext   

n.借口，托词

参考例句：

• He used his headache as a pretext for not going to school.他借口头疼而不去上学。
• He didn't attend that meeting under the pretext of sickness.他以生病为借口，没参加那个会议。

8 prospect   

n.前景，前途；景色，视野

参考例句：

• This state of things holds out a cheerful prospect.事态呈现出可喜的前景。
• The prospect became more evident.前景变得更加明朗了。

9 remit   

v.汇款，汇寄；豁免（债务），免除（处罚等）

参考例句：

• I hope you'll remit me the money in time.我希望你能及时把钱汇寄给我。
• Many immigrants regularly remit money to their families.许多移民定期给他们的家人汇款。

10 conscientious   

adj.审慎正直的，认真的，本着良心的

参考例句：

• He is a conscientious man and knows his job.他很认真负责，也很懂行。
• He is very conscientious in the performance of his duties.他非常认真地履行职责。

11 sneer   

v.轻蔑；嘲笑；n.嘲笑，讥讽的言语

参考例句：

• He said with a sneer.他的话中带有嘲笑之意。
• You may sneer,but a lot of people like this kind of music.你可以嗤之以鼻，但很多人喜欢这种音乐。

12 nettled   

v.拿荨麻打，拿荨麻刺（nettle的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• My remarks clearly nettled her. 我的话显然惹恼了她。
• He had been growing nettled before, but now he pulled himself together. 他刚才有些来火，但现在又恢复了常态。 来自英汉文学 - 金银岛

13 haughtily   

adv. 傲慢地, 高傲地

参考例句：

• She carries herself haughtily. 她举止傲慢。
• Haughtily, he stalked out onto the second floor where I was standing. 他傲然跨出电梯，走到二楼，我刚好站在那儿。

14 persistently   

ad.坚持地；固执地

参考例句：

• He persistently asserted his right to a share in the heritage. 他始终声称他有分享那笔遗产的权利。
• She persistently asserted her opinions. 她果断地说出了自己的意见。

15 solely   

adv.仅仅，唯一地

参考例句：

• Success should not be measured solely by educational achievement.成功与否不应只用学业成绩来衡量。
• The town depends almost solely on the tourist trade.这座城市几乎完全靠旅游业维持。

16 severely   

adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地

参考例句：

• He was severely criticized and removed from his post.他受到了严厉的批评并且被撤了职。
• He is severely put down for his careless work.他因工作上的粗心大意而受到了严厉的批评。

17 deferred   

adj.延期的，缓召的v.拖延，延缓，推迟( defer的过去式和过去分词 )；服从某人的意愿，遵从

参考例句：

• The department deferred the decision for six months. 这个部门推迟了六个月才作决定。
• a tax-deferred savings plan 延税储蓄计划

18 redeem   

v.买回，赎回，挽回，恢复，履行（诺言等）

参考例句：

• He had no way to redeem his furniture out of pawn.他无法赎回典当的家具。
• The eyes redeem the face from ugliness.这双眼睛弥补了他其貌不扬之缺陷。

19 exaction   

n.强求，强征；杂税

参考例句：

• The aged leader was exhausted by the exaction of a pitiless system.作为年迈的领导人，冷酷无情制度的苛求使他心力交瘁。
• The exaction was revived by Richard I.这种苛捐杂税被查理一世加以恢复。

20 temperament   

n.气质，性格，性情

参考例句：

• The analysis of what kind of temperament you possess is vital.分析一下你有什么样的气质是十分重要的。
• Success often depends on temperament.成功常常取决于一个人的性格。

22 calf   

n.小牛，犊，幼仔，小牛皮

参考例句：

• The cow slinked its calf.那头母牛早产了一头小牛犊。
• The calf blared for its mother.牛犊哞哞地高声叫喊找妈妈。