Thus their lives rolled on till a day of public rejoicing was suggested to the country at large in celebration of a national event that had recently taken place.
For some time Casterbridge, by nature slow, made no response. Then one day Donald Farfrae broached4 the subject to Henchard by asking if he would have any objection to lend some rick-cloths to himself and a few others, who contemplated5 getting up an entertainment of some sort on the day named, and required a shelter for the same, to which they might charge admission at the rate of so much a head.
"Have as many cloths as you like," Henchard replied.
When his manager had gone about the business Henchard was fired with emulation6. It certainly had been very remiss7 of him, as Mayor, he thought, to call no meeting ere this, to discuss what should be done on this holiday. But Farfrae had been so cursed quick in his movements as to give oldfashioned people in authority no chance of the initiative. However, it was not too late; and on second thoughts he determined8 to take upon his own shoulders the responsibility of organizing some amusements, if the other Councilmen would leave the matter in his hands. To this they quite readily agreed, the majority being fine old crusted characters who had a decided9 taste for living without worry.
So Henchard set about his preparations for a really brilliant thing--such as should be worthy10 of the venerable town. As for Farfrae's little affair, Henchard nearly forgot it; except once now and then when, on it coming into his mind, he said to himself, "Charge admission at so much a head--just like a Scotchman!--who is going to pay anything a head?" The diversions which the Mayor intended to provide were to be entirely11 free.
He had grown so dependent upon Donald that he could scarcely resist calling him in to consult. But by sheer selfcoercion he refrained. No, he thought, Farfrae would be suggesting such improvements in his damned luminous12 way that in spite of himself he, Henchard, would sink to the position of second fiddle13, and only scrape harmonies to his manager's talents.
Everybody applauded the Mayor's proposed entertainment, especially when it became known that he meant to pay for it all himself.
Close to the town was an elevated green spot surrounded by an ancient square earthwork--earthworks square and not square, were as common as blackberries hereabout--a spot whereon the Casterbridge people usually held any kind of merry-making, meeting, or sheep-fair that required more space than the streets would afford. On one side it sloped to the river Froom, and from any point a view was obtained of the country round for many miles. This pleasant upland was to be the scene of Henchard's exploit.
He advertised about the town, in long posters of a pink colour, that games of all sorts would take place here; and set to work a little battalion14 of men under his own eye. They erected15 greasy-poles for climbing, with smoked hams and local cheeses at the top. They placed hurdles16 in rows for jumping over; across the river they laid a slippery pole, with a live pig of the neighbourhood tied at the other end, to become the property of the man who could walk over and get it. There were also provided wheelbarrows for racing17, donkeys for the same, a stage for boxing, wrestling, and drawing blood generally; sacks for jumping in. Moreover, not forgetting his principles, Henchard provided a mammoth18 tea, of which everybody who lived in the borough19 was invited to partake without payment. The tables were laid parallel with the inner slope of the rampart, and awnings21 were stretched overhead.
Passing to and fro the Mayor beheld22 the unattractive exterior23 of Farfrae's erection in the West Walk, rick-cloths of different sizes and colours being hung up to the arching trees without any regard to appearance. He was easy in his mind now, for his own preparations far transcended24 these.
The morning came. The sky, which had been remarkably25 clear down to within a day or two, was overcast26, and the weather threatening, the wind having an unmistakable hint of water in it. Henchard wished he had not been quite so sure about the continuance of a fair season. But it was too late to modify or postpone27, and the proceedings28 went on. At twelve o'clock the rain began to fall, small and steady, commencing and increasing so insensibly that it was difficult to state exactly when dry weather ended or wet established itself. In an hour the slight moisture resolved itself into a monotonous29 smiting30 of earth by heaven, in torrents31 to which no end could be prognosticated.
A number of people had heroically gathered in the field but by three o'clock Henchard discerned that his project was doomed32 to end in failure. The hams at the top of the poles dripped watered smoke in the form of a brown liquor, the pig shivered in the wind, the grain of the deal tables showed through the sticking tablecloths33, for the awning20 allowed the rain to drift under at its will, and to enclose the sides at this hour seemed a useless undertaking34. The landscape over the river disappeared; the wind played on the tent-cords in aeolian improvisations, and at length rose to such a pitch that the whole erection slanted35 to the ground those who had taken shelter within it having to crawl out on their hands and knees.
But towards six the storm abated36, and a drier breeze shook the moisture from the grass bents. It seemed possible to carry out the programme after all. The awning was set up again; the band was called out from its shelter, and ordered to begin, and where the tables had stood a place was cleared for dancing.
"But where are the folk?" said Henchard, after the lapse37 of half-an-hour, during which time only two men and a woman had stood up to dance. "The shops are all shut. Why don't they come?"
"They are at Farfrae's affair in the West Walk," answered a Councilman who stood in the field with the Mayor.
"A few, I suppose. But where are the body o 'em?"
"All out of doors are there."
"Then the more fools they!"
Henchard walked away moodily38. One or two young fellows gallantly39 came to climb the poles, to save the hams from being wasted; but as there were no spectators, and the whole scene presented the most melancholy40 appearance Henchard gave orders that the proceedings were to be suspended, and the entertainment closed, the food to be distributed among the poor people of the town. In a short time nothing was left in the field but a few hurdles, the tents, and the poles.
Henchard returned to his house, had tea with his wife and daughter, and then walked out. It was now dusk. He soon saw that the tendency of all promenaders was towards a particular spot in the Walks, and eventually proceeded thither41 himself. The notes of a stringed band came from the enclosure that Farfrae had erected--the pavilion as he called it--and when the Mayor reached it he perceived that a gigantic tent had been ingeniously constructed without poles or ropes. The densest42 point of the avenue of sycamores had been selected, where the boughs43 made a closely interlaced vault44 overhead; to these boughs the canvas had been hung, and a barrel roof was the result. The end towards the wind was enclosed, the other end was open. Henchard went round and saw the interior.
In form it was like the nave45 of a cathedral with one gable removed, but the scene within was anything but devotional. A reel or fling of some sort was in progress; and the usually sedate46 Farfrae was in the midst of the other dancers in the costume of a wild Highlander47, flinging himself about and spinning to the tune48. For a moment Henchard could not help laughing. Then he perceived the immense admiration49 for the Scotchman that revealed itself in the women's faces; and when this exhibition was over, and a new dance proposed, and Donald had disappeared for a time to return in his natural garments, he had an unlimited50 choice of partners, every girl being in a coming-on disposition51 towards one who so thoroughly52 understood the poetry of motion as he.
All the town crowded to the Walk, such a delightful53 idea of a ballroom54 never having occurred to the inhabitants before. Among the rest of the onlookers55 were Elizabeth and her mother--the former thoughtful yet much interested, her eyes beaming with a longing56 lingering light, as if Nature had been advised by Correggio in their creation. The dancing progressed with unabated spirit, and Henchard walked and waited till his wife should be disposed to go home. He did not care to keep in the light, and when he went into the dark it was worse, for there he heard remarks of a kind which were becoming too frequent:
"Mr. Henchard's rejoicings couldn't say good morning to this," said one. "A man must be a headstrong stunpoll to think folk would go up to that bleak57 place to-day."
The other answered that people said it was not only in such things as those that the Mayor was wanting. "Where would his business be if it were not for this young fellow? 'Twas verily Fortune sent him to Henchard. His accounts were like a bramblewood when Mr. Farfrae came. He used to reckon his sacks by chalk strokes all in a row like garden-palings, measure his ricks by stretching with his arms, weigh his trusses by a lift, judge his hay by a chaw, and settle the price with a curse. But now this accomplished58 young man does it all by ciphering and mensuration. Then the wheat-that sometimes used to taste so strong o' mice when made into bread that people could fairly tell the breed--Farfrae has a plan for purifying, so that nobody would dream the smallest four-legged beast had walked over it once. O yes, everybody is full of him, and the care Mr. Henchard has to keep him, to be sure!" concluded this gentleman.
"But he won't do it for long, good-now," said the other.
"No!" said Henchard to himself behind the tree. "Or if he do, he'll be honeycombed clean out of all the character and standing59 that he's built up in these eighteen year!"
He went back to the dancing pavilion. Farfrae was footing a quaint60 little dance with Elizabeth-Jane--an old country thing, the only one she knew, and though he considerately toned down his movements to suit her demurer gait, the pattern of the shining little nails in the soles of his boots became familiar to the eyes of every bystander. The tune had enticed61 her into it; being a tune of a busy, vaulting62, leaping sort--some low notes on the silver string of each fiddle, then a skipping on the small, like running up and down ladders--"Miss M'Leod of Ayr" was its name, so Mr. Farfrae had said, and that it was very popular in his own country.
It was soon over, and the girl looked at Henchard for approval; but he did not give it. He seemed not to see her. "Look here, Farfrae," he said, like one whose mind was elsewhere, "I'll go to Port-Bredy Great Market to-morrow myself. You can stay and put things right in your clothesbox, and recover strength to your knees after your vagaries63." He planted on Donald an antagonistic64 glare that had begun as a smile.
Some other townsmen came up, and Donald drew aside. "What's this, Henchard," said Alderman Tubber, applying his thumb to the corn-factor like a cheese-taster. "An opposition65 randy to yours, eh? Jack's as good as his master, eh? Cut ye out quite, hasn't he?"
"You see, Mr. Henchard," said the lawyer, another goodnatured friend, "where you made the mistake was in going so far afield. You should have taken a leaf out of his book, and have had your sports in a sheltered place like this. But you didn't think of it, you see; and he did, and that's where he's beat you."
"He'll be top-sawyer soon of you two, and carry all afore him," added jocular Mr. Tubber.
"No," said Henchard gloomily. "He won't be that, because he's shortly going to leave me." He looked towards Donald, who had come near. "Mr. Farfrae's time as my manager is drawing to a close--isn't it, Farfrae?"
The young man, who could now read the lines and folds of Henchard's strongly-traced face as if they were clear verbal inscriptions66, quietly assented67; and when people deplored68 the fact, and asked why it was, he simply replied that Mr. Henchard no longer required his help.
Henchard went home, apparently69 satisfied. But in the morning, when his jealous temper had passed away, his heart sank within him at what he had said and done. He was the more disturbed when he found that this time Farfrae was determined to take him at his word.
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1
lodgings
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| n. 出租的房舍, 寄宿舍 | |
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solitary
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| adj.孤独的，独立的，荒凉的；n.隐士 | |
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3
confinement
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| n.幽禁，拘留，监禁；分娩；限制，局限 | |
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4
broached
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| v.谈起( broach的过去式和过去分词 )；打开并开始用；用凿子扩大（或修光）；（在桶上）钻孔取液体 | |
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5
contemplated
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| adj. 预期的 动词contemplate的过去分词形式 | |
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6
emulation
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| n.竞争；仿效 | |
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7
remiss
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| adj.不小心的，马虎 | |
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8
determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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9
decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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10
worthy
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| adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的 | |
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11
entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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12
luminous
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| adj.发光的，发亮的；光明的；明白易懂的；有启发的 | |
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13
fiddle
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| n.小提琴；vi.拉提琴；不停拨弄，乱动 | |
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14
battalion
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| n.营；部队；大队(的人) | |
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15
ERECTED
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| adj. 直立的，竖立的，笔直的 vt. 使 ... 直立，建立 | |
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16
hurdles
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| n.障碍( hurdle的名词复数 )；跳栏；（供人或马跳跃的）栏架；跨栏赛 | |
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17
racing
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| n.竞赛，赛马；adj.竞赛用的，赛马用的 | |
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18
mammoth
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| n.长毛象；adj.长毛象似的，巨大的 | |
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19
borough
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| n.享有自治权的市镇；(英)自治市镇 | |
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20
awning
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| n.遮阳篷；雨篷 | |
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21
awnings
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| 篷帐布 | |
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22
beheld
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| v.看，注视( behold的过去式和过去分词 )；瞧；看呀；（叙述中用于引出某人意外的出现）哎哟 | |
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23
exterior
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| adj.外部的，外在的；表面的 | |
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24
transcended
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| 超出或超越（经验、信念、描写能力等）的范围( transcend的过去式和过去分词 )； 优于或胜过… | |
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25
remarkably
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| ad.不同寻常地，相当地 | |
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26
overcast
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| adj.阴天的，阴暗的，愁闷的；v.遮盖，（使）变暗，包边缝；n.覆盖，阴天 | |
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27
postpone
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| v.延期，推迟 | |
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28
proceedings
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| n.进程，过程，议程；诉讼(程序)；公报 | |
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monotonous
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| adj.单调的，一成不变的，使人厌倦的 | |
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30
smiting
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| v.猛打，重击，打击( smite的现在分词 ) | |
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31
torrents
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| n.倾注；奔流( torrent的名词复数 )；急流；爆发；连续不断 | |
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32
doomed
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| 命定的 | |
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33
tablecloths
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| n.桌布，台布( tablecloth的名词复数 ) | |
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34
undertaking
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| n.保证，许诺，事业 | |
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35
slanted
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| 有偏见的； 倾斜的 | |
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36
abated
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| 减少( abate的过去式和过去分词 )； 减去； 降价； 撤消（诉讼） | |
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37
lapse
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| n.过失，流逝，失效，抛弃信仰，间隔；vi.堕落，停止，失效，流逝；vt.使失效 | |
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38
moodily
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| adv.喜怒无常地；情绪多变地；心情不稳地；易生气地 | |
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39
gallantly
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| adv. 漂亮地，勇敢地，献殷勤地 | |
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40
melancholy
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| n.忧郁，愁思；adj.令人感伤（沮丧）的，忧郁的 | |
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41
thither
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| adv.向那里；adj.在那边的，对岸的 | |
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42
densest
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| 密集的( dense的最高级 )； 密度大的； 愚笨的； （信息量大得）难理解的 | |
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43
boughs
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| 大树枝( bough的名词复数 ) | |
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44
vault
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| n.拱形圆顶，地窖，地下室 | |
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45
nave
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| n.教堂的中部；本堂 | |
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46
sedate
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| adj.沉着的，镇静的，安静的 | |
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47
highlander
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| n.高地的人，苏格兰高地地区的人 | |
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48
tune
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| n.调子；和谐，协调；v.调音，调节，调整 | |
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49
admiration
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| n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕 | |
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50
unlimited
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| adj.无限的，不受控制的，无条件的 | |
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51
disposition
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| n.性情，性格；意向，倾向；排列，部署 | |
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52
thoroughly
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| adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地 | |
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53
delightful
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| adj.令人高兴的，使人快乐的 | |
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54
ballroom
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| n.舞厅 | |
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55
onlookers
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| n.旁观者，观看者( onlooker的名词复数 ) | |
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56
longing
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| n.（for）渴望 | |
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57
bleak
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| adj.(天气)阴冷的；凄凉的；暗淡的 | |
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58
accomplished
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| adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的 | |
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59
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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60
quaint
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| adj.古雅的，离奇有趣的，奇怪的 | |
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61
enticed
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| 诱惑，怂恿( entice的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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62
vaulting
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| n.（天花板或屋顶的）拱形结构 | |
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63
vagaries
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| n.奇想( vagary的名词复数 )；异想天开；异常行为；难以预测的情况 | |
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64
antagonistic
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| adj.敌对的 | |
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65
opposition
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| n.反对，敌对 | |
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66
inscriptions
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| （作者）题词( inscription的名词复数 )； 献词； 碑文； 证劵持有人的登记 | |
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67
assented
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| 同意，赞成( assent的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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68
deplored
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| v.悲叹，痛惜，强烈反对( deplore的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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69
apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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