"Hullo, Joe! we want a lift," cries a brisk voice, and the couple of great steeds—they might have been Flanders mares or Clydesdale horses, so powerful were they over the shoulders, so mighty1 in the flanks—almost swerved2 out of their direct line and their decorum. Two fellows suddenly started up from a couch where they had lain at length on a hay-stack, slid down the height, crashed over an intervening bit of waste land, and arrested the waggoner in his smock-frock and clouted4 shoes.
"Get in, Will, and take possession. Ha! hum! here are ladies: where will we stow our feet? I declare Will is on their skirts already, with more green slime than is carried on the breast of a pond. I believe he thinks them baggage—lay figures, as they've turned aside their heads. Gentlefolks for a wager5! duchesses in disguise! I must make up to them, anyhow. Ladies, at your service; I humbly6 beg your pardon for having so much as thought [Page 114]of incommoding you, but indeed I was not aware of your presence. Come, Will, tumble out again instantly, and do not let us be so rude as to plague the ladies."
Poor Will! very stiff and tired, stared about him, disturbed and discomforted, and prepared to perform the behest of his more energetic companion.
Dulcie did a little of her "bridling," but said never a word; Clarissa lifted her large, rather languishing7 eyes, let them fall again on her mittens8, and remained dumb. They speak before they were spoken to? not they, they knew better. At the same time, when Will stumbled as he alighted on his weary feet, they were guilty of an inclination9 to titter, though the accident was excusable, and the point of the joke small.
"You are very polite, sirs," protested Cambridge, making round eyes, and reddening and blowing at being constituted the mouthpiece of the party on any interest save that of victuals10. "I vow11 it is very pretty behaviour; but as it is a public carriage, I don't think we are at liberty to deprive Joe of his money, and you, sirs, of your seats. What say you, Mistress Clary?"
"I decline to give an opinion," answered Clarissa with great dignity; in which she broke down a little by adding hastily, in half audible accents. "Be quiet, Dulcie!" for Dulcie's risible12 faculties13 had been excited in a lively degree. She had been crying so lately that there was a hysterical14 turn in her mirth, and having once given way to it she could not restrain herself, but was making all sorts of ridiculous faces and spasms15 in her throat without effect. You see, these were two ordinary, happy young girls; and [Page 115]the stiff starch16 of their manners and pretensions17 only brought out in a stronger light, and with a broader contrast, their youthful frolicsomeness18.
"I think, sirs, you may come in—that is, if you keep your distance," Mistress Cambridge decided19, with solemn reservation. With a multitude of apologies and thanks, the two young men, more considerate and courteous20 in their forward and backward fashion than many a fine gentleman of the time, clambered up, and coiled themselves into corners, leaving a respectful void between them and the original occupants of the waggon3.
Tranquillity21 settled down on the travellers—a tranquillity only broken by the drowsy22 rumble23 of the waggon-wheels, and the perennial24 whistle of the stooping, grizzled waggoner. Dulcie was just thinking that they might have been Turks, they were so silent, when Mistress Cambridge stirred the still atmosphere by the inquiry25—
"Pray, sirs, have you happened to fall in with any stubble chickens in your walk; I think you said you had been walking hereabouts?" affording Clarissa an opportunity of complaining afterwards, in the retirement26 of the little inn's private room, that these young fellows would judge them a set of gluttons27 or farmers' daughters abroad for a holiday, aping gentlewomen, instead of being duchesses in disguise.
Although the girls never lifted their eyes, yet, by a magic only known to such philosophers, they had taken as complete an inventory28 of the young men, beginning at their wardrobes, as if they had looked at them coolly from head to foot for a whole half-hour. They were aware that [Page 116]the fellows were in plain suits, though one of them was not without the air of being fine on occasions. Their coats were cloth, not brocade or velvet29; their ruffles30 were cambric, not lace; their shoe-buckles were only silver; their hats were trimmed with braid, and neither with gold nor silver edging. They were not my lords; they were not in regimentals; they did not rap out oaths; they had not the university air; they showed no parson's bands; they were not plain country bumpkins—what were they?
After all, it was scarcely worth inquiry whether the newcomers belonged to law or physic; for the young women in their pride and petulance31 felt bound not to consider the investigation32 worth the trouble. The lad who was the leader, and who was unquestionably of gentle enough nurture33, was a plain little fellow, sallow and homely-featured, although a good-natured person might suppose from his smiling sagacity that in animated34 conversation it would be quite possible to forget his face in his countenance35. The other was ruddy, with a face as sharply cut as a girl's, and delicate features not fitting his long limbs—clearly he was no better than a nincompoop. Yes, the girls were perfectly36 justifiable37 in whispering as the waggon stopped to bait at the "Nine Miles House," and they got out to bait also—
"What a pair!"
"Such a fright, the little fellow, Clary!"
"Such a goose, the tall fellow, Dulcie!"
It is a sad truth that foolish young women will judge by the exterior38, leap at conclusions, and be guilty of rude and cruel remarks.
[Page 117]What would come of it if the silly, sensitive hearts were in earnest, or if they did not reserve to themselves the indefeasible right of changing their opinions?
At the "Nine Miles House" the wayfarers39 rested, either in the sanded parlour, or the common kitchen of the ale-house. Mistress Clarissa and her party had the sanded parlour for themselves; the young men, with their cramped40 legs, stumbled into the flitch-hung kitchen, the more entertaining room of the two, and had plates of beans and bacon, a toast and a tankard; for the day was in September, and the wind was already bracing41 both to body and appetite. Mistress Clarissa carried her private stores, and Cambridge laid out her slices of roasts and broils42, plates of buns and comforts, and cruets with white wines. But when did a heroine remain in a sanded parlour in an inn, when she could stroll over the country and lose her way, and get run at by wild cattle, and stared at by naughty gentlemen? Clary was not so mean-spirited, though she was physically43 lazier than Dulcie; she was eager to scamper44 across the stubble fields (where Cambridge expected chickens to roam in flocks), and to wander, book in hand, by yon brook45 with the bewitching pollards.
Dulcie could not accompany her. Dulcie being a practical woman, a needle in innocent sharpness, had peeped about the waggon to inspect their luggage, and had found to her horror that one of her boxes had burst its fastenings—that very box with her respected mother's watered tabby, and her one lace head on the place of honour on the top. So she and Cambridge had an earnest consultation46 on the accident, which resulted in their proceeding47 to tuck up [Page 118]their skirts, empty the receptacle with the greatest care and tenderness, and repack it with such skill that a rope would replace its rent hinges. Dulcie was not for walking.
Clarissa was thus forced to saunter alone, and after she had got to the brook and the pollards, she sat down, and leant her arms on the bars of an old farm gate. Soon tiring of looking about her, staring at the minnows and the late orange coltsfoot and white wild ranunculus, and the straw-coloured willow-leaves drooping48 into the water, she took out of her pocket that little brown French classic, Pharamond, and started again to accompany the French storyteller, advancing on the very tallest of stilts49 that storyteller ever mounted. It was a wonder truly that Clary on her mossy bank, and by a rustic50 stile, had not preferred the voices of the winds and the waters, the last boom of the beetle51, the last screech52 of the martin, the last loud laugh of the field-workers borne over a hedge or two on the breeze, to the click and patter of these absurd Frenchmen's tongues.
At last Clarissa bethought her of the hour, sprang up, carefully put away her volume—volumes and verses were precious then—and began to pick her steps homewards. Ah! there had been a wretch53 of a man looking at her—actually drawing her in his portfolio—the ugly fellow in the waggon. Thank goodness, he could not have recognized her as his fellow-traveller; he had copied the old farm-gate from the other side, and he could only have got a glimpse of her figure through the bars with not so much as the crown of her hat above them. He had only put her in faithfully by a line or two, and three dots, and he [Page 119]did not observe her now as she passed behind him and scanned his performance ere she scampered54 off. But what a risk she had run of having her likeness55 taken without her knowledge or consent, and carried about the country by a walking gentleman!
It was quite an adventure; yet how could Clary think it so when an earthquake and a whole town burnt to ashes were nothing in her French novels! But, still true to the instinct of personality which causes us to think a molehill in reference to our dear selves a world more momentous56 and interesting than a mountain in reference to a princess of the blood-royal, stately Clarissa flew off like a lapwing to tell Dulcie that she had just had such an escape, and hit on such a discovery—she had found out all about the two fellows; they were a couple of painters. Marry! it was a marvel57 to see the one so hearty58, and the other so rosy59. Doubtless they did not have an odd penny in their purse between them.
Clarissa came too late; she encountered Dulcie running out to meet her, all alive with the same news, only gathered in a more orthodox manner. The fair, soft lad, whom they had reckoned a nincompoop, had shaken himself up in his companion's absence, and had offered his landlady60 a drawing for his share of the dinner, "if you will score the value off the bill." And the landlady had repeated the story to Cambridge and Dulcie when she showed the picture to them, and expressed her conviction that the lad was far gone in the spleen—he seemed always in a brown study; too quiet-like for a lad. She should have no peace in her mind about him if she were in any [Page 120]way related to him. Bless her heart! he would sell another for something much less than a crown.
Dulcie, all in a glow, had actually been chaffering with the painter for one of those wonderful groups of luscious61 peaches, mellow62 pears, July flowers, and striped balsamine, singing birds and fluttering insects, full of extravagant63 beauty. In the business, too, Dulcie had been by far the more overcome of the two. The painter, roused to a job, had not cheated her; on the contrary, he had been as usual a conscientious64 spendthrift of his powers. He had conducted the negotiation65 in the plainest, manliest66 spirit, looking the eager girl in the face with his blue eyes, and receiving her crown-piece in his hand, which was nobler than his face, inasmuch as it was seamed with the action of his paints and tools, without a notion of anything unbecoming or degrading.
The brother painter shook his head when he returned, and found what Will had been about in his absence.
"Man, man, didn't I bargain that I was to pay for your company, and haven't I put you in the worst bed, and allowed you the burnt meat and the sodden68 bread, and the valise to carry twice as often as I took it myself, to satisfy your plaguy scruples69? And yet you could go and scurvily70 steal a march upon me the moment you were out of my sight! But," brightening immeasurably, and bowing low, "you have certainly contrived71 what I had not the face to attempt—an introduction to the ladies—although, no doubt, it was very simply done, and you are a very modest man, as I do not need to tell them. Ladies, I am Sam Winnington, son of the late gallant72 Captain Winnington, though [Page 121]I should not call him so; and this is Will Locke, the vagrant73 child of an excellent man, engaged, I believe, in the bookselling and stationery74 trade. We are painters, if it please you, on a tour in search of sketches75 and commissions. I beg to assure you, that I do portraits on a great scale as well as a small, and Will sometimes does lions in the jungle, as well as larks76 in a tuft of grass."
Cambridge was more posed than ever by the fresh advance included in this merry speech; but the girls were quite of another mind, and took the matter forthwith into their own hands, as is usual with the class, and bore down caution and experience, particularly when it proceeded from their housekeeper77. They liked the young man's congenial sense and spirit, they secretly hankered after his vivacity78; they were, with their dear woman's romance, all afire in three minutes about pictures, gods, and goddesses, historic scenes, and even scratches in Indian ink. A true woman and a painter are hand and glove at a moment's warning in any age. Cambridge could but drop naturally into the background, and regard the constant puzzle, "How girls can talk with fellows!"
The chance companions were once more packed into the waggon, pleasantly mixed together this time, and away they trundled yet many weary miles by the sunset and the light of the moon. The boughs79 in the horses' collars dangled80 brown, Cambridge and the waggoner nodded drowsily81; but, divine privilege of youth! the spirits of the lads and lasses only freshened as the long day waned82 and they neared the goal. They were dramatis personæ on a moving stage, jesting like country folks going to a fair. [Page 122]Even Will Locke was roused and lively as he answered Dulcie's pertinacious83, pertinent84 questions about the animal and vegetable life he loved so well; while Dulcie, furtively85 remembering the landlady's suggestion, wondered, kind heart! if she could use the freedom to mention to him that ground ivy86 was all but infallible in early stages of the spleen, and that turnip87 broth67 might be relied on to check every incipient88 cough. Clarissa was coquettish, Sam Winnington was gallant. With all the girls' mock heroism89, and all their arrogance90 and precision, trust me, girls and lads formed a free and friendly company in the end.
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1
mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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swerved
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| v.（使）改变方向，改变目的( swerve的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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waggon
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| n.运货马车，运货车；敞篷车箱 | |
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clouted
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| adj.缀补的，凝固的v.（尤指用手）猛击，重打( clout的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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wager
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| n.赌注；vt.押注，打赌 | |
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humbly
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| adv. 恭顺地，谦卑地 | |
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languishing
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| a. 衰弱下去的 | |
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mittens
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| 不分指手套 | |
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inclination
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| n.倾斜；点头；弯腰；斜坡；倾度；倾向；爱好 | |
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victuals
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| n.食物；食品 | |
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vow
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| n.誓(言)，誓约；v.起誓，立誓 | |
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risible
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| adj.能笑的；可笑的 | |
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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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hysterical
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| adj.情绪异常激动的，歇斯底里般的 | |
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spasms
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| n.痉挛( spasm的名词复数 )；抽搐；（能量、行为等的）突发；发作 | |
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16
starch
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| n.淀粉；vt.给...上浆 | |
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pretensions
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| 自称( pretension的名词复数 )； 自命不凡； 要求； 权力 | |
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frolicsomeness
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decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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courteous
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| adj.彬彬有礼的，客气的 | |
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tranquillity
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| n. 平静, 安静 | |
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drowsy
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| adj.昏昏欲睡的，令人发困的 | |
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rumble
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| n.隆隆声；吵嚷；v.隆隆响；低沉地说 | |
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perennial
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| adj.终年的；长久的 | |
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inquiry
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| n.打听，询问，调查，查问 | |
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retirement
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| n.退休，退职 | |
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gluttons
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| 贪食者( glutton的名词复数 )； 贪图者； 酷爱…的人； 狼獾 | |
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inventory
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| n.详细目录，存货清单 | |
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velvet
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| n.丝绒，天鹅绒；adj.丝绒制的，柔软的 | |
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ruffles
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| 褶裥花边( ruffle的名词复数 ) | |
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petulance
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| n.发脾气，生气，易怒，暴躁，性急 | |
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investigation
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| n.调查，调查研究 | |
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nurture
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| n.养育，照顾，教育；滋养，营养品；vt.养育，给与营养物，教养，扶持 | |
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animated
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| adj.生气勃勃的，活跃的，愉快的 | |
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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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perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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justifiable
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| adj.有理由的，无可非议的 | |
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exterior
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| adj.外部的，外在的；表面的 | |
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wayfarers
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| n.旅人，（尤指）徒步旅行者( wayfarer的名词复数 ) | |
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cramped
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| a.狭窄的 | |
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bracing
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| adj.令人振奋的 | |
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broils
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| v.（用火）烤（焙、炙等）( broil的第三人称单数 )；使卷入争吵；使混乱；被烤（或炙） | |
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physically
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| adj.物质上，体格上，身体上，按自然规律 | |
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scamper
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| v.奔跑，快跑 | |
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brook
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| n.小河，溪；v.忍受，容让 | |
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consultation
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| n.咨询；商量；商议；会议 | |
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proceeding
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| n.行动，进行，(pl.)会议录，学报 | |
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drooping
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| adj. 下垂的，无力的 动词droop的现在分词 | |
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49
stilts
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| n.（支撑建筑物高出地面或水面的）桩子，支柱( stilt的名词复数 )；高跷 | |
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rustic
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| adj.乡村的，有乡村特色的；n.乡下人，乡巴佬 | |
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51
beetle
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| n.甲虫，近视眼的人 | |
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52
screech
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| n./v.尖叫；(发出)刺耳的声音 | |
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53
wretch
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| n.可怜的人，不幸的人；卑鄙的人 | |
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54
scampered
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| v.蹦蹦跳跳地跑，惊惶奔跑( scamper的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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55
likeness
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| n.相像，相似（之处） | |
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56
momentous
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| adj.重要的，重大的 | |
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57
marvel
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| vi.(at)惊叹vt.感到惊异；n.令人惊异的事 | |
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58
hearty
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| adj.热情友好的；衷心的；尽情的，纵情的 | |
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59
rosy
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| adj.美好的，乐观的，玫瑰色的 | |
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60
landlady
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| n.女房东，女地主 | |
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61
luscious
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| adj.美味的；芬芳的；肉感的，引与性欲的 | |
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62
mellow
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| adj.柔和的；熟透的；v.变柔和；(使)成熟 | |
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63
extravagant
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| adj.奢侈的；过分的；(言行等)放肆的 | |
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64
conscientious
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| adj.审慎正直的，认真的，本着良心的 | |
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negotiation
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| n.谈判，协商 | |
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manliest
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| manly（有男子气概的）的最高级形式 | |
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broth
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| n.原(汁)汤(鱼汤、肉汤、菜汤等) | |
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sodden
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| adj.浑身湿透的；v.使浸透；使呆头呆脑 | |
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69
scruples
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| n.良心上的不安( scruple的名词复数 )；顾虑，顾忌v.感到于心不安，有顾忌( scruple的第三人称单数 ) | |
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70
scurvily
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| 下流地，粗鄙地，无礼地 | |
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contrived
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| adj.不自然的，做作的；虚构的 | |
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72
gallant
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| adj.英勇的，豪侠的；(向女人)献殷勤的 | |
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vagrant
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| n.流浪者，游民；adj.流浪的，漂泊不定的 | |
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stationery
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| n.文具；(配套的)信笺信封 | |
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75
sketches
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| n.草图( sketch的名词复数 )；素描；速写；梗概 | |
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76
larks
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| n.百灵科鸟（尤指云雀）( lark的名词复数 )；一大早就起床；鸡鸣即起；（因太费力而不想干时说）算了v.百灵科鸟（尤指云雀）( lark的第三人称单数 )；一大早就起床；鸡鸣即起；（因太费力而不想干时说）算了 | |
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77
housekeeper
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| n.管理家务的主妇，女管家 | |
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78
vivacity
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| n.快活，活泼，精神充沛 | |
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79
boughs
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| 大树枝( bough的名词复数 ) | |
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80
dangled
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| 悬吊着( dangle的过去式和过去分词 )； 摆动不定； 用某事物诱惑…； 吊胃口 | |
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81
drowsily
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| adv.睡地，懒洋洋地，昏昏欲睡地 | |
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82
waned
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| v.衰落( wane的过去式和过去分词 )；（月）亏；变小；变暗淡 | |
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83
pertinacious
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| adj.顽固的 | |
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84
pertinent
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| adj.恰当的；贴切的；中肯的；有关的；相干的 | |
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85
furtively
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| adv. 偷偷地, 暗中地 | |
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86
ivy
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| n.常青藤，常春藤 | |
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87
turnip
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| n.萝卜，芜菁 | |
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88
incipient
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| adj.起初的，发端的，初期的 | |
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89
heroism
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| n.大无畏精神，英勇 | |
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90
arrogance
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| n.傲慢，自大 | |
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