Lady Annabel had promised the children that they should some day ride together to Marringhurst, the rectory of Dr. Masham, to eat strawberries and cream. This was to be a great festival, and was looked forward to with corresponding interest. Her ladyship had kindly5 offered to accompany Mrs. Cadurcis in the carriage, but that lady was an invalid6 and declined the journey; so Lady Annabel, who was herself a good horsewoman, mounted her jennet with Venetia and Plantagenet.
Marringhurst was only five miles from Cherbury by a cross-road, which was scarcely passable for carriages. The rectory house was a substantial, square-built, red brick mansion7, shaded by gigantic elms, but the southern front covered with a famous vine, trained over it with elaborate care, and of which, and his espaliers, the Doctor was very proud. The garden was thickly stocked with choice fruit-trees; there was not the slightest pretence8 to pleasure grounds; but there was a capital bowling-green, and, above all, a grotto9, where the Doctor smoked his evening pipe, and moralised in the midst of his cucumbers and cabbages. On each side extended the meadows of his glebe, where his kine ruminated10 at will. It was altogether a scene as devoid11 of the picturesque12 as any that could be well imagined; flat, but not low, and rich, and green, and still.
His expected guests met as warm a reception as such a hearty13 friend might be expected to afford. Dr. Masham was scarcely less delighted at the excursion than the children themselves, and rejoiced in the sunny day that made everything more glad and bright. The garden, the grotto, the bowling-green, and all the novelty of the spot, greatly diverted his young companions; they visited his farmyard, were introduced to his poultry14, rambled15 over his meadows, and admired his cows, which he had collected with equal care and knowledge. Nor was the interior of this bachelor’s residence devoid of amusement. Every nook and corner was filled with objects of interest; and everything was in admirable order. The goddess of neatness and precision reigned16 supreme17, especially in his hall, which, though barely ten feet square, was a cabinet of rural curiosities. His guns, his fishing-tackle, a cabinet of birds stuffed by himself, a fox in a glass-case that seemed absolutely running, and an otter18 with a real fish in its mouth, in turn delighted them; but chiefly, perhaps, his chimney-corner of Dutch tiles, all Scriptural subjects, which Venetia and Plantagenet emulated19 each other in discovering.
Then his library, which was rare and splendid, for the Doctor was one of the most renowned20 scholars in the kingdom, and his pictures, his prints, and his gold fish, and his canary birds; it seemed they never could exhaust such sources of endless amusement; to say nothing of every other room in the house, for, from the garret to the dairy, his guests encouraged him in introducing them to every thing, every person, and every place.
‘And this is the way we old bachelors contrive21 to pass our lives,’ said the good Doctor; ‘and now, my dear lady, Goody Blount will give us some dinner.’
The Doctor’s repast was a substantial one; he seemed resolved, at one ample swoop22, to repay Lady Annabel for all her hospitality; and he really took such delight in their participation23 of it, that his principal guest was constrained24 to check herself in more than one warning intimation that moderation was desirable, were it only for the sake of the strawberries and cream. All this time his housekeeper25, Goody Blount, as he called her, in her lace cap and ruffles26, as precise and starch27 as an old picture, stood behind his chair with pleased solemnity, directing, with unruffled composure, the movements of the liveried bumpkin who this day was promoted to the honour of ‘waiting at table.’
‘Come,’ said the Doctor, as the cloth was cleared, ‘I must bargain for one toast, Lady Annabel: “Church and State.”’
‘What is Church and State?’ said Venetia.
‘As good things. Miss Venetia, as strawberries and cream,’ said the Doctor, laughing; ‘and, like them, always best united.’
After their repast, the children went into the garden to amuse themselves. They strolled about some time, until Plantagenet at length took it into his head that he should like to learn to play at bowls; and he said, if Venetia would wait in the grotto, where they then were talking, he would run back and ask the Doctor if the servant might teach him. He was not long absent; but appeared, on his return, a little agitated28. Venetia inquired if he had been successful, but he shook his head, and said he had not asked.
‘Why did you not?’ said Venetia.
‘I did not like,’ he replied, looking very serious; ‘something happened.’
‘What could have happened?’ said Venetia.
‘Something strange,’ was his answer.
‘Oh, do tell me, Plantagenet!’
‘Why,’ said he, in a low voice, ‘your mamma is crying.’
‘Crying!’ exclaimed Venetia; ‘my dear mamma crying! I must go to her directly.’
‘Hush!’ said Plantagenet, shaking his head, ‘you must not go.’
‘I must.’
‘No, you must not go, Venetia,’ was his reply; ‘I am sure she does not want us to know she is crying.’
‘What did she say to you?’
‘She did not see me; the Doctor did, and he gave me a nod to go away.’
‘I never saw mamma cry,’ said Venetia.
‘Don’t you say anything about it, Venetia,’ said Plantagenet, with a manly29 air; ‘listen to what I say.’
‘I do, Plantagenet, always; but still I should like to know what mamma can be crying about. Do tell me all about it.’
‘Why, I came to the room by the open windows, and your mamma was standing30 up, with her back to me, and leaning on the mantel-piece, with her face in her handkerchief; and the Doctor was standing up too, only his back was to the fireplace; and when he saw me, he made me a sign to go away, and I went directly.’
‘Are you sure mamma was crying?’
‘I heard her sob31.’
‘I think I shall cry,’ said Venetia.
‘You must not; you must know nothing about it. If you let your mamma know that I saw her crying, I shall never tell you anything again.’
‘What do you think she was crying about, Plantagenet?’
‘I cannot say; perhaps she had been talking about your papa. I do not want to play at bowls now,’ added Plantagenet; ‘let us go and see the cows.’
In the course of half an hour the servant summoned the children to the house. The horses were ready, and they were now to return. Lady Annabel received them with her usual cheerfulness.
‘Well, dear children,’ said she, ‘have you been very much amused?’
Venetia ran forward, and embraced her mother with even unusual fondness. She was mindful of Plantagenet’s injunctions, and was resolved not to revive her mother’s grief by any allusion32 that could recall the past; but her heart was, nevertheless, full of sympathy, and she could not have rode home, had she not thus expressed her love for her mother.
With the exception of this strange incident, over which, afterwards, Venetia often pondered, and which made her rather serious the whole of the ride home, this expedition to Marringhurst was a very happy day.
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1
pony
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| adj.小型的；n.小马 | |
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groom
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| vt.给（马、狗等）梳毛，照料，使...整洁 | |
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3
adviser
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| n.劝告者，顾问 | |
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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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kindly
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| adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地 | |
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invalid
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| n.病人，伤残人；adj.有病的，伤残的；无效的 | |
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7
mansion
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| n.大厦，大楼；宅第 | |
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8
pretence
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| n.假装，作假；借口，口实；虚伪；虚饰 | |
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grotto
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| n.洞穴 | |
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10
ruminated
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| v.沉思( ruminate的过去式和过去分词 )；反复考虑；反刍；倒嚼 | |
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11
devoid
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| adj.全无的，缺乏的 | |
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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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13
hearty
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| adj.热情友好的；衷心的；尽情的，纵情的 | |
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14
poultry
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| n.家禽，禽肉 | |
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15
rambled
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| （无目的地）漫游( ramble的过去式和过去分词 )； （喻）漫谈； 扯淡； 长篇大论 | |
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16
reigned
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| vi.当政，统治（reign的过去式形式） | |
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supreme
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| adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的 | |
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18
otter
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| n.水獭 | |
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19
emulated
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| v.与…竞争( emulate的过去式和过去分词 )；努力赶上；计算机程序等仿真；模仿 | |
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renowned
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| adj.著名的，有名望的，声誉鹊起的 | |
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21
contrive
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| vt.谋划，策划；设法做到；设计，想出 | |
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swoop
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| n.俯冲，攫取；v.抓取，突然袭击 | |
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23
participation
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| n.参与，参加，分享 | |
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24
constrained
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| adj.束缚的,节制的 | |
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housekeeper
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| n.管理家务的主妇，女管家 | |
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26
ruffles
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| 褶裥花边( ruffle的名词复数 ) | |
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27
starch
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| n.淀粉；vt.给...上浆 | |
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28
agitated
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| adj.被鼓动的，不安的 | |
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29
manly
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| adj.有男子气概的；adv.男子般地，果断地 | |
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30
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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31
sob
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| n.空间轨道的轰炸机；呜咽，哭泣 | |
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32
allusion
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| n.暗示，间接提示 | |
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