HOLY GHOST CHAPEL8
We have seen how Old Basing became of prime military importance from its situation at the point where many roads from the south and west of England converged9 and fell into one great highway to London; and from the same cause is due the commercial prosperity of Basingstoke. Basingstoke, with a record as a town going back to the time when the Domesday Book was compiled, is yet a mere11 modern settlement compared with the mother-parish of Old Basing; but it was an important place in the sixteenth century, when silks and woollens were manufactured here. At later periods this junction12 of the roads brought a great coaching trade, and has finally made Basingstoke a railway junction. Silks and woollens have given place to engineering works and machine-shops, and the town, with its modern reputation for the manufacture of agricultural{123} machinery13, bids fair at no distant date to become to Hampshire what Colchester and Ipswich are to Essex and Suffolk.
When the Parliamentary Generals were engaged in the long business of besieging14 Basing House, it may well be supposed that the town suffered greatly at the hands of their soldiery. They, who were experts at wrecking15 churches and cathedrals in a few hours, had ample opportunities for destruction in the four years that business was about. Their handiwork may be seen to this day—together with that of modern Toms, Dicks, and Harrys, who have not the excuse of being fanatics—in the ruined walls of Holy Ghost Chapel on the northern outskirts16 of the town. Within the roofless walls of the chapel, unroofed by those Roundheads for the sake of their leaden covering, are two recumbent effigies17, sadly mutilated. Perhaps Sergeant18 Humility-before-the-Lord Mawworm slashed19 them with his pike in his hatred20 of worldly pomp; but his zeal21 did not do the damage wrought22 on the marble by the recording23 penknives of the past fifty years. A stained-glass window, pieced together from the fragments of those destroyed here, is still to be seen in Basingstoke Parish Church.
The Exeter Road leaves Basingstoke at its southwestern end, where a fork of the highway gives a choice to the traveller of continuing to Andover on the right, or making on the left to Winchester. The first village on the way to Exeter is Worting, below the shoulder of Battle Down, a village—nay, a hamlet, let us call it—of a Sundayfied stillness.{124} Yet Worting has had its bustling24 times, for here was one of the most famous coaching inns on the road, the ‘White Hart.’ Another ‘White Hart,’ at Whitchurch, is scarcely less celebrated25 in the annals of the road. In fact, the ‘White Harts’ are so many and so notable on this road that the historian of the highways becomes almost as ashamed of mentioning them as of recounting the places which Cromwell stormed, or where Charles the Second hid; the houses in which Queen Elizabeth slept, or the inns where Pepys made merry.
OVERTON
Worting is followed in quick succession by the outskirts of Oakley, Clerken Green, Deane, Ashe, and Overton. Except Overton, which is a picturesque26 village lining27 the road, of the old coaching, or ‘thoroughfare’ type, these places are all shy and retiring, tucked away up bye-lanes, with great parks on their borders, in whose midst are very vast, very hideous28 country mansions29 where dwell the local J.P.’s, like so many Rogers de Coverley in miniature, with churches rebuilt or restored to their glory and the glory of God, and a general air of patronage30 bestowed31 upon the villagers and wayfarers32 from the outside world by those august partners. These parks, with their mile after mile of palings bordering the road, and their dense33 foliage34 overhanging it, are given over to solitude35. An occasional gamekeeper, or a much more than occasional rabbit or hare, are the only signs of life, with perhaps the hoarse36 ‘crock’ of a pheasant’s call from the neighbouring coverts37. The air beneath the overarching trees along the road is stale and stagnant38, and typical of the life{125} here, like the green damp on the entrance lodges39 of Hall Place, where heraldic lions, sitting on their rumps and holding what at a distance look like quart-pots from the country inn opposite, scowl40 at one another across the gravelled drive.
It is a relief to emerge from this stifling41 atmosphere upon the open road where Overton stands. We are fully42 entered here into the valley of the Test, or Anton, a sparkling little stream whose course we follow henceforward as far as Hurstbourne Priors. Fishermen love Overton and this valley well, for there is royal sport here among the trout43 and grayling, and in the village a choice of those old inns which the angler appreciates as much as any one. Picturesque Overton is a doubly ruined village, for it has lost its silk industry, together with the coaching interest; but like the splendid bankrupts of modern high finance who fail for millions and continue to live like princes, it continues cheerful. Perhaps every one in the place made a competency before the crash, and put it away where no one could touch it!
The valley broadens out delightfully44 beyond Overton, and the road, reaching Laverstoke, commands beautiful views over the water-meadows, and the open park in whose midst stands Laverstoke House, clearly seen in passing. In this village, in the neat and clean paper-mill by the road, is made the paper for Bank of England notes. It was so far back as 1719 that this industry was established here by the Portal family, French Protestants emigrating from their country for conscience’ sake. Cobbett, who hated paper-money as much as he did the ‘Wen’ in{126} which it is chiefly current, passed this spot in a fury. He says, with a sad lack of the prophetic faculty45, ‘We passed the mill where the Mother-Bank paper is made! Thank God! this mill is likely soon to want employment. Hard by is a pretty park and house, belonging to “’Squire” Portal, the paper-maker. The country people, who seldom want for sarcastic46 shrewdness, call it “Rag Hall!”’ And again, ‘I hope the time will come when a monument will be erected47 where that mill stands, and when on that monument will be inscribed48 “the Curse of England.” This spot ought to be held accursed in all time henceforth and for evermore. It has been the spot from which have sprung more and greater mischief49 than ever plagued mankind before.’
Unhappily for Cobbett’s wishes and predictions, the mill is still in existence and is busier than it was when he wrote in 1821. There are as many as two hundred and fifty people now employed here in the making of the ‘accursed’ paper.
Now comes Freefolk village, with a wayside drinking-fountain and a tall cross, with stone seat, furnished with some pious50 inscription51; the whole erected by a Portal in 1870, and intended to further the honour and glory of that family. There is plenty water everywhere around, in the river and its many runlets amid the water-meadows, but the fountain is dry. Passing tramps are properly sarcastic, and the dry fountain and its texts, so far from leading in the paths of temperance and godliness, are the occasion of much blasphemy52. But the pious Portals have their advertisement.{127}
NEWMAN AT WHITCHURCH
Whitchurch, two miles down the road, is approached past the much-quarried hills that rise on the right hand and shelter that decayed little town from the buffetings of the north-easterly winds. If there be those who are curious to learn what a decayed old coaching town is like, let them journey to Whitchurch. After much tiresome53 railway travelling, and changing at junctions54, they will arrive in the fulness of time at Whitchurch station, whence the omnibus of the ‘White Hart’ will drive them, rumbling55 over the stone-pitched streets of the town, to the door of that quaint56 inn, in one of whose rooms the future Cardinal57 Newman wrote the beginning of the Lyra Apostolica:—
Are these the tracks of some unearthly friend?
2nd December 1832, while waiting for the mail to Falmouth. He had come from Oxford58 that morning by the Oxford-Southampton coach.
‘Here I am,’ he says, writing to his mother, ‘from one till eleven,’ waiting for the down Exeter mail. Think, modern railway traveller, what would you say were it your lot to wait ten hours, say at Templecombe Junction, for a connection! Moreover, a bore claiming to be the brother of an acquaintance claimed to share his room and his society at the ‘White Hart,’ and eventually journeyed to Exeter with him. The future Cardinal did not like this. He writes: ‘I am practising for the first time the duty of a traveller, which is sorely against the grain, and have been talkative and agreeable without end,’ adding (one can almost imagine the sigh of the retiring scholar!), ‘Now{128} that I have set up for a man of the world, it is my vocation59.’
The latter part of his journey was accomplished60 at night. Travelling thus through Devonshire and Cornwall is, he remarks, ‘very striking for its mysteriousness.’ It was a beautiful night, ‘clear, frosty, and bright, with a full moon. Mere richness of vegetation is lost by night, but bold features remain. As I came along, I had the whole train of pictures so vividly61 upon my mind that I could have written a most interesting account of it in the most approved picturesque style of modern composition, but it has all gone from me now, like a dream.’
‘The night was enlivened by what Herodotus calls a “night engagement” with a man, called by courtesy a gentleman, on the box. The first act ended by his calling me a d——d fool. The second by his insisting on two most hearty62 shakes of the hand, with the protest that he certainly did think me very injudicious and ill-timed. I had opened by telling him he was talking great nonsense to a silly goose of a maidservant stuck atop of the coach; so I had no reason to complain of his giving me the retort uncourteous.’
There are corridors in the ‘White Hart’ with up and down twilight63 passages, in which the guests of another day lost themselves with promptitude and despatch64. There is also a barbarically coloured coffee-room, snug65 and comfortable, which looks as though Washington Irving could have written an eloquent66 essay around it; and, more essential than anything else in days of old, a capacious yard with huge yawning stables. For Whitchurch is at the cross{129}
BRIBERY67 AND CORRUPTION68
Image unavailable: WHITCHURCH.
WHITCHURCH.
{130}
{131}
roads, along which in one direction went the Exeter mails, while at right angles goes the road between Southampton, Winchester, Newbury, Didcot, and Oxford, little used now, but once an important route. Whitchurch, in the gay old times when few men had votes but every voter had his price, used to send two members to Parliament. Horrid69 Reform and Bribery Acts which, together with the extension of the franchise70 and the adoption71 of secret voting, have brought about the disfranchising of rotten boroughs72 and the decay of such home industries as electoral corruption, personation, and the like, have taken away much of the prosperity of the town, which, like Andover, used to live royally from one election to another on the venality73 of the ‘free and independent.’ But the last visit of the ‘Man in the Moon’ was paid to Whitchurch very many years ago, and not even the oldest inhabitant can recollect74 the days when cash was given for votes and the electors, gloriously and incapably75 drunk, were herded76 together to plump for the candidate with the longest purse.
When it is said that Whitchurch is a tiny town of very steep, narrow, and crooked77 streets, that it still boasts some vestiges78 of its old silk industry, and that it is a ‘Borough by prescription,’ all its salient points have been exhausted79. Reform has not only reformed away the Parliamentary representation of the town, but has also swept away the municipal authority. Mayor and bailiff are both elected every year, but the offices carry no power nowadays.
Leaving Whitchurch, the road presently comes to the village of Hurstbourne Priors, which stands in a{132} hollow on the Bourne, an affluent80 of the Anton, and on the verge10 of the Ancient and Royal Forest of Harewood. Not only does the village stand on the banks of the stream and the edge of the woods, but it also derives81 the first of its two names from these circumstances, ‘Hurstbourne’ being obviously descriptive of woodlands and brooklet82, while the ‘Priors’ is a relic83 of its old lords of the manor84, the abbots of Saint Swithun’s at Winchester. These historic and geographical85 facts, however, are apt to be lost in the local corruption of the place-name, and that of Hurstbourne Tarrant, a few miles higher up the stream; for they are, according to Hampshire speech, respectively ‘Up Husband’ and ‘Down Husband.’
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1
noted
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| adj.著名的，知名的 | |
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favourable
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| adj.赞成的，称赞的，有利的，良好的，顺利的 | |
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peal
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| n.钟声；v.鸣响 | |
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shrieking
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| v.尖叫( shriek的现在分词 ) | |
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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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hem
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| n.贴边，镶边；vt.缝贴边；(in)包围，限制 | |
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eastward
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| adv.向东；adj.向东的；n.东方，东部 | |
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chapel
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| n.小教堂，殡仪馆 | |
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converged
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| v.（线条、运动的物体等）会于一点( converge的过去式 )；（趋于）相似或相同；人或车辆汇集；聚集 | |
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verge
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| n.边，边缘；v.接近，濒临 | |
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mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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junction
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| n.连接，接合；交叉点，接合处，枢纽站 | |
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machinery
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| n.(总称)机械，机器；机构 | |
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besieging
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| 包围，围困，围攻( besiege的现在分词 ) | |
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wrecking
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| 破坏 | |
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outskirts
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| n.郊外，郊区 | |
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effigies
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| n.（人的）雕像，模拟像，肖像( effigy的名词复数 ) | |
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sergeant
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| n.警官，中士 | |
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slashed
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| v.挥砍( slash的过去式和过去分词 )；鞭打；割破；削减 | |
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hatred
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| n.憎恶，憎恨，仇恨 | |
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zeal
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| n.热心，热情，热忱 | |
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wrought
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| v.引起；以…原料制作；运转；adj.制造的 | |
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recording
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| n.录音，记录 | |
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bustling
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| adj.喧闹的 | |
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celebrated
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| adj.有名的，声誉卓著的 | |
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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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lining
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| n.衬里，衬料 | |
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hideous
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| adj.丑陋的，可憎的，可怕的，恐怖的 | |
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mansions
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| n.宅第，公馆，大厦( mansion的名词复数 ) | |
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patronage
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| n.赞助，支援，援助；光顾，捧场 | |
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bestowed
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| 赠给，授予( bestow的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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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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dense
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| a.密集的，稠密的，浓密的；密度大的 | |
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foliage
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| n.叶子，树叶，簇叶 | |
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solitude
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| n. 孤独; 独居,荒僻之地,幽静的地方 | |
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hoarse
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| adj.嘶哑的，沙哑的 | |
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coverts
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| n.隐蔽的，不公开的，秘密的( covert的名词复数 )；复羽 | |
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stagnant
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| adj.不流动的，停滞的，不景气的 | |
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lodges
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| v.存放( lodge的第三人称单数 )；暂住；埋入；（权利、权威等）归属 | |
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scowl
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| vi.(at)生气地皱眉，沉下脸，怒视；n.怒容 | |
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stifling
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| a.令人窒息的 | |
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fully
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| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
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trout
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| n.鳟鱼；鲑鱼(属) | |
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delightfully
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| 大喜，欣然 | |
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faculty
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| n.才能；学院，系；(学院或系的)全体教学人员 | |
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sarcastic
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| adj.讥讽的，讽刺的，嘲弄的 | |
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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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inscribed
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| v.写，刻( inscribe的过去式和过去分词 )；内接 | |
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mischief
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| n.损害，伤害，危害；恶作剧，捣蛋，胡闹 | |
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pious
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| adj.虔诚的；道貌岸然的 | |
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inscription
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| n.（尤指石块上的）刻印文字，铭文，碑文 | |
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blasphemy
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| n.亵渎，渎神 | |
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tiresome
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| adj.令人疲劳的，令人厌倦的 | |
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junctions
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| 联结点( junction的名词复数 )； 会合点； （公路或铁路的）交叉路口； （电缆等的）主结点 | |
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rumbling
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| n. 隆隆声, 辘辘声 adj. 隆隆响的 动词rumble的现在分词 | |
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quaint
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| adj.古雅的，离奇有趣的，奇怪的 | |
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cardinal
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| n.(天主教的)红衣主教；adj.首要的，基本的 | |
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Oxford
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| n.牛津（英国城市） | |
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vocation
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| n.职业，行业 | |
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accomplished
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| adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的 | |
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vividly
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| adv.清楚地，鲜明地，生动地 | |
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hearty
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| adj.热情友好的；衷心的；尽情的，纵情的 | |
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twilight
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| n.暮光，黄昏；暮年，晚期，衰落时期 | |
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despatch
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| n./v.(dispatch)派遣；发送；n.急件；新闻报道 | |
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snug
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| adj.温暖舒适的，合身的，安全的；v.使整洁干净，舒适地依靠，紧贴；n.（英）酒吧里的私房 | |
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eloquent
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| adj.雄辩的，口才流利的；明白显示出的 | |
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bribery
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| n.贿络行为，行贿，受贿 | |
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corruption
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| n.腐败，堕落，贪污 | |
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horrid
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| adj.可怕的；令人惊恐的；恐怖的；极讨厌的 | |
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franchise
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| n.特许，特权，专营权，特许权 | |
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adoption
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| n.采用，采纳，通过；收养 | |
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boroughs
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| （尤指大伦敦的）行政区( borough的名词复数 )； 议会中有代表的市镇 | |
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venality
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| n.贪赃枉法，腐败 | |
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recollect
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| v.回忆，想起，记起，忆起，记得 | |
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incapably
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| adj.无能力的，不会的；不能的；[法]没有资格的；不舞之鹤 | |
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herded
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| 群集，纠结( herd的过去式和过去分词 )； 放牧； （使）向…移动 | |
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crooked
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| adj.弯曲的；不诚实的，狡猾的，不正当的 | |
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vestiges
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| 残余部分( vestige的名词复数 )； 遗迹； 痕迹； 毫不 | |
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exhausted
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| adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的 | |
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affluent
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| adj.富裕的，富有的，丰富的，富饶的 | |
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derives
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| v.得到( derive的第三人称单数 )；（从…中）得到获得；源于；（从…中）提取 | |
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82
brooklet
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| n. 细流, 小河 | |
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83
relic
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| n.神圣的遗物，遗迹，纪念物 | |
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84
manor
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| n.庄园，领地 | |
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85
geographical
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| adj.地理的；地区(性)的 | |
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