"And slight, withal, may be the things that bring Back on the heart the weight which it would fling Aside forever; it may be a sound, A flower, the wind, the ocean, which shall wound,-Striking the electric chain wherewith we're darkly bound." CHILDE HAROLD'S PILGRIMAGE, CAN. 4.
The sitting-room1 of Legree's establishment was a large, long room, with a wide, ample fireplace. It had once been hung with a showy and expensive paper, which now hung mouldering2, torn and discolored, from the damp walls. The place had that peculiar3 sickening, unwholesome smell, compounded of mingled4 damp, dirt and decay, which one often notices in close old houses. The wall-paper was defaced, in spots, by slops of beer and wine; or garnished5 with chalk memorandums, and long sums footed up, as if somebody had been practising arithmetic there. In the fireplace stood a brazier full of burning charcoal6; for, though the weather was not cold, the evenings always seemed damp and chilly7 in that great room; and Legree, moreover, wanted a place to light his cigars, and heat his water for punch. The ruddy glare of the charcoal displayed the confused and unpromising aspect of the room,--saddles, bridles8, several sorts of harness, riding-whips, overcoats, and various articles of clothing, scattered9 up and down the room in confused variety; and the dogs, of whom we have before spoken, had encamped themselves among them, to suit their own taste and convenience.
Legree was just mixing himself a tumbler of punch, pouring his hot water from a cracked and broken-nosed pitcher10, grumbling11, as he did so,
"Plague on that Sambo, to kick up this yer row between me and the new hands! The fellow won't be fit to work for a week, now,--right in the press of the season!"
"Yes, just like you," said a voice, behind his chair. It was the woman Cassy, who had stolen upon his soliloquy.
"Hah! you she-devil! you've come back, have you?"
"Yes, I have," she said, coolly; "come to have my own way, too!"
"You lie, you jade12! I'll be up to my word. Either behave yourself, or stay down to the quarters, and fare and work with the rest."
"I'd rather, ten thousand times," said the woman, "live in the dirtiest hole at the quarters, than be under your hoof13!"
"But you _are_ under my hoof, for all that," said he, turning upon her, with a savage14 grin; "that's one comfort. So, sit down here on my knee, my dear, and hear to reason," said he, laying hold on her wrist.
"Simon Legree, take care!" said the woman, with a sharp flash of her eye, a glance so wild and insane in its light as to be almost appalling16. "You're afraid of me, Simon," she said, deliberately17; "and you've reason to be! But be careful, for I've got the devil in me!"
The last words she whispered in a hissing18 tone, close to his ear.
"Get out! I believe, to my soul, you have!" said Legree, pushing her from him, and looking uncomfortably at her. "After all, Cassy," he said, "why can't you be friends with me, as you used to?"
"Used to!" said she, bitterly. She stopped short,--a word of choking feelings, rising in her heart, kept her silent.
Cassy had always kept over Legree the kind of influence that a strong, impassioned woman can ever keep over the most brutal19 man; but, of late, she had grown more and more irritable20 and restless, under the hideous21 yoke22 of her servitude, and her irritability23, at times, broke out into raving24 insanity25; and this liability made her a sort of object of dread26 to Legree, who had that superstitious27 horror of insane persons which is common to coarse and uninstructed minds. When Legree brought Emmeline to the house, all the smouldering embers of womanly feeling flashed up in the worn heart of Cassy, and she took part with the girl; and a fierce quarrel ensued between her and Legree. Legree, in a fury, swore she should be put to field service, if she would not be peaceable. Cassy, with proud scorn, declared she _would_ go to the field. And she worked there one day, as we have described, to show how perfectly28 she scorned the threat.
Legree was secretly uneasy, all day; for Cassy had an influence over him from which he could not free himself. When she presented her basket at the scales, he had hoped for some concession29, and addressed her in a sort of half conciliatory, half scornful tone; and she had answered with the bitterest contempt.
The outrageous30 treatment of poor Tom had roused her still more; and she had followed Legree to the house, with no particular intention, but to upbraid31 him for his brutality32.
"I wish, Cassy," said Legree, "you'd behave yourself decently."
"_You_ talk about behaving decently! And what have you been doing?--you, who haven't even sense enough to keep from spoiling one of your best hands, right in the most pressing season, just for your devilish temper!"
"I was a fool, it's a fact, to let any such brangle come up," said Legree; "but, when the boy set up his will, he had to be broke in."
"I reckon you won't break _him_ in!"
"Won't I?" said Legree, rising, passionately33. "I'd like to know if I won't? He'll be the first nigger that ever came it round me! I'll break every bone in his body, but he _shall_ give up!"
Just then the door opened, and Sambo entered. He came forward, bowing, and holding out something in a paper.
"What's that, you dog?" said Legree.
"It's a witch thing, Mas'r!"
"A what?"
"Something that niggers gets from witches. Keeps 'em from feelin' when they 's flogged. He had it tied round his neck, with a black string."
Legree, like most godless and cruel men, was superstitious. He took the paper, and opened it uneasily.
There dropped out of it a silver dollar, and a long, shining curl of fair hair,--hair which, like a living thing, twined itself round Legree's fingers.
"Damnation!" he screamed, in sudden passion, stamping on the floor, and pulling furiously at the hair, as if it burned him. "Where did this come from? Take it off!--burn it up!--burn it up!" he screamed, tearing it off, and throwing it into the charcoal. "What did you bring it to me for?"
Sambo stood, with his heavy mouth wide open, and aghast with wonder; and Cassy, who was preparing to leave the apartment, stopped, and looked at him in perfect amazement35.
"Don't you bring me any more of your devilish things!" said he, shaking his fist at Sambo, who retreated hastily towards the door; and, picking up the silver dollar, he sent it smashing through the window-pane, out into the darkness.
Sambo was glad to make his escape. When he was gone, Legree seemed a little ashamed of his fit of alarm. He sat doggedly36 down in his chair, and began sullenly37 sipping38 his tumbler of punch.
Cassy prepared herself for going out, unobserved by him; and slipped away to minister to poor Tom, as we have already related.
And what was the matter with Legree? and what was there in a simple curl of fair hair to appall15 that brutal man, familiar with every form of cruelty? To answer this, we must carry the reader backward in his history. Hard and reprobate39 as the godless man seemed now, there had been a time when he had been rocked on the bosom40 of a mother,--cradled with prayers and pious41 hymns,--his now seared brow bedewed with the waters of holy baptism. In early childhood, a fair-haired woman had led him, at the sound of Sabbath bell, to worship and to pray. Far in New England that mother had trained her only son, with long, unwearied love, and patient prayers. Born of a hard-tempered sire, on whom that gentle woman had wasted a world of unvalued love, Legree had followed in the steps of his father. Boisterous43, unruly, and tyrannical, he despised all her counsel, and would none of her reproof44; and, at an early age, broke from her, to seek his fortunes at sea. He never came home but once, after; and then, his mother, with the yearning45 of a heart that must love something, and has nothing else to love, clung to him, and sought, with passionate34 prayers and entreaties46, to win him from a life of sin, to his soul's eternal good.
That was Legree's day of grace; then good angels called him; then he was almost persuaded, and mercy held him by the hand. His heart inly relented,--there was a conflict,--but sin got the victory, and he set all the force of his rough nature against the conviction of his conscience. He drank and swore,--was wilder and more brutal than ever. And, one night, when his mother, in the last agony of her despair, knelt at his feet, he spurned47 her from him,--threw her senseless o. the floor, and, with brutal curses, fled to his ship. The next Legree heard of his mother was, when, one night, as he was carousing48 among drunken companions, a letter was put into his hand. He opened it, and a lock of long, curling hair fell from it, and twined about his fingers. The letter told him his mother was dead, and that, dying, she blest and forgave him.
There is a dread, unhallowed necromancy49 of evil, that turns things sweetest and holiest to phantoms50 of horror and affright. That pale, loving mother,--her dying prayers, her forgiving love,--wrought in that demoniac heart of sin only as a damning sentence, bringing with it a fearful looking for of judgment51 and fiery52 indignation. Legree burned the hair, and burned the letter; and when he saw them hissing and crackling in the flame, inly shuddered53 as he thought of everlasting54 fires. He tried to drink, and revel55, and swear away the memory; but often, in the deep night, whose solemn stillness arraigns56 the bad soul in forced communion with herself, he had seen that pale mother rising by his bedside, and felt the soft twining of that hair around his fingers, till the cold sweat would roll down his face, and he would spring from his bed in horror. Ye who have wondered to hear, in the same evangel, that God is love, and that God is a consuming fire, see ye not how, to the soul resolved in evil, perfect love is the most fearful torture, the seal and sentence of the direst despair?
"Blast it!" said Legree to himself, as he sipped57 his liquor; "where did he get that? If it didn't look just like--whoo! I thought I'd forgot that. Curse me, if I think there's any such thing as forgetting anything, any how,--hang it! I'm lonesome! I mean to call Em. She hates me--the monkey! I don't care,--I'll _make_ her come!"
Legree stepped out into a large entry, which went up stairs, by what had formerly58 been a superb winding59 staircase; but the passage-way was dirty and dreary60, encumbered61 with boxes and unsightly litter. The stairs, uncarpeted, seemed winding up, in the gloom, to nobody knew where! The pale moonlight streamed through a shattered fanlight over the door; the air was unwholesome and chilly, like that of a vault62.
Legree stopped at the foot of the stairs, and heard a voice singing. It seemed strange and ghostlike in that dreary old house, perhaps because of the already tremulous state of his nerves. Hark! what is it?
A wild, pathetic voice, chants a hymn42 common among the slaves:
"O there'll be mourning, mourning, mourning, O there'll be mourning, at the judgment-seat of Christ!"
"Blast the girl!" said Legree. "I'll choke her.--Em! Em!" he called, harshly; but only a mocking echo from the walls answered him. The sweet voice still sung on:
"Parents and children there shall part! Parents and children there shall part! Shall part to meet no more!"
And clear and loud swelled63 through the empty halls the refrain,
"O there'll be mourning, mourning, mourning, O there'll be mourning, at the judgment-seat of Christ!"
Legree stopped. He would have been ashamed to tell of it, but large drops of sweat stood on his forehead, his heart beat heavy and thick with fear; he even thought he saw something white rising and glimmering64 in the gloom before him, and shuddered to think what if the form of his dead mother should suddenly appear to him.
"I know one thing," he said to himself, as he stumbled back in the sitting-room, and sat down; "I'll let that fellow alone, after this! What did I want of his cussed paper? I b'lieve I am bewitched, sure enough! I've been shivering and sweating, ever since! Where did he get that hair? It couldn't have been _that!_ I burnt _that_ up, I know I did! It would be a joke, if hair could rise from the dead!"
Ah, Legree! that golden tress _was_ charmed; each hair had in it a spell of terror and remorse65 for thee, and was used by a mightier66 power to bind67 thy cruel hands from inflicting68 uttermost evil on the helpless!
"I say," said Legree, stamping and whistling to the dogs, "wake up, some of you, and keep me company!" but the dogs only opened one eye at him, sleepily, and closed it again.
"I'll have Sambo and Quimbo up here, to sing and dance one of their hell dances, and keep off these horrid69 notions," said Legree; and, putting on his hat, he went on to the verandah, and blew a horn, with which he commonly summoned his two sable70 drivers.
Legree was often wont71, when in a gracious humor, to get these two worthies72 into his sitting-room, and, after warming them up with whiskey, amuse himself by setting them to singing, dancing or fighting, as the humor took him.
It was between one and two o'clock at night, as Cassy was returning from her ministrations to poor Tom, that she heard the sound of wild shrieking73, whooping74, halloing, and singing, from the sitting-room, mingled with the barking of dogs, and other symptoms of general uproar75.
She came up on the verandah steps, and looked in. Legree and both the drivers, in a state of furious intoxication76, were singing, whooping, upsetting chairs, and making all manner of ludicrous and horrid grimaces77 at each other.
She rested her small, slender hand on the window-blind, and looked fixedly78 at them;--there was a world of anguish79, scorn, and fierce bitterness, in her black eyes, as she did so. "Would it be a sin to rid the world of such a wretch80?" she said to herself.
She turned hurriedly away, and, passing round to a back door, glided81 up stairs, and tapped at Emmeline's door.
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sitting-room
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| n.（BrE）客厅，起居室 | |
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mouldering
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| v.腐朽( moulder的现在分词 )；腐烂，崩塌 | |
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peculiar
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| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
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mingled
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| 混合，混入( mingle的过去式和过去分词 )； 混进，与…交往[联系] | |
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garnished
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| v.给（上餐桌的食物）加装饰( garnish的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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charcoal
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| n.炭，木炭，生物炭 | |
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chilly
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| adj.凉快的，寒冷的 | |
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bridles
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| 约束( bridle的名词复数 )； 限动器； 马笼头； 系带 | |
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scattered
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| adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的 | |
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pitcher
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| n.(有嘴和柄的)大水罐；(棒球)投手 | |
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grumbling
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| adj. 喃喃鸣不平的, 出怨言的 | |
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jade
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| n.玉石；碧玉；翡翠 | |
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hoof
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| n.(马，牛等的)蹄 | |
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savage
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| adj.野蛮的；凶恶的，残暴的；n.未开化的人 | |
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appall
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| vt.使惊骇，使大吃一惊 | |
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appalling
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| adj.骇人听闻的，令人震惊的，可怕的 | |
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deliberately
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| adv.审慎地；蓄意地；故意地 | |
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hissing
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| n. 发嘶嘶声, 蔑视 动词hiss的现在分词形式 | |
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brutal
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| adj.残忍的，野蛮的，不讲理的 | |
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irritable
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| adj.急躁的；过敏的；易怒的 | |
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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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yoke
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| n.轭；支配；v.给...上轭，连接，使成配偶 | |
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irritability
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raving
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insanity
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| n.疯狂，精神错乱；极端的愚蠢，荒唐 | |
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dread
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| vt.担忧，忧虑；惧怕，不敢；n.担忧，畏惧 | |
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superstitious
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| adj.迷信的 | |
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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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concession
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| n.让步，妥协；特许(权) | |
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outrageous
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| adj.无理的，令人不能容忍的 | |
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upbraid
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| v.斥责，责骂，责备 | |
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brutality
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| n.野蛮的行为，残忍，野蛮 | |
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passionately
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| ad.热烈地，激烈地 | |
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passionate
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| adj.热情的，热烈的，激昂的，易动情的，易怒的，性情暴躁的 | |
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amazement
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| n.惊奇，惊讶 | |
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doggedly
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| adv.顽强地，固执地 | |
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sullenly
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| 不高兴地，绷着脸，忧郁地 | |
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sipping
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| v.小口喝，呷，抿( sip的现在分词 ) | |
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reprobate
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| n.无赖汉；堕落的人 | |
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bosom
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| n.胸，胸部；胸怀；内心；adj.亲密的 | |
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pious
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| adj.虔诚的；道貌岸然的 | |
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hymn
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| n.赞美诗，圣歌，颂歌 | |
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boisterous
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| adj.喧闹的，欢闹的 | |
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reproof
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| n.斥责，责备 | |
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yearning
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| a.渴望的；向往的；怀念的 | |
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entreaties
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| n.恳求，乞求( entreaty的名词复数 ) | |
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spurned
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| v.一脚踢开，拒绝接受( spurn的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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carousing
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| v.痛饮，闹饮欢宴( carouse的现在分词 ) | |
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necromancy
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| n.巫术；通灵术 | |
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phantoms
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| n.鬼怪，幽灵( phantom的名词复数 ) | |
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judgment
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| n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见 | |
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fiery
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| adj.燃烧着的，火红的；暴躁的；激烈的 | |
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shuddered
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| v.战栗( shudder的过去式和过去分词 )；发抖；（机器、车辆等）突然震动；颤动 | |
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everlasting
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| adj.永恒的，持久的，无止境的 | |
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revel
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| vi.狂欢作乐，陶醉；n.作乐，狂欢 | |
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arraigns
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| v.告发( arraign的第三人称单数 )；控告；传讯；指责 | |
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sipped
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| v.小口喝，呷，抿( sip的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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formerly
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| adv.从前，以前 | |
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winding
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| n.绕，缠，绕组，线圈 | |
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dreary
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| adj.令人沮丧的，沉闷的，单调乏味的 | |
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encumbered
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| v.妨碍，阻碍，拖累( encumber的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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vault
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| n.拱形圆顶，地窖，地下室 | |
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swelled
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| 增强( swell的过去式和过去分词 )； 肿胀； （使）凸出； 充满（激情） | |
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glimmering
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| n.微光，隐约的一瞥adj.薄弱地发光的v.发闪光，发微光( glimmer的现在分词 ) | |
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remorse
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| n.痛恨，悔恨，自责 | |
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mightier
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| adj. 强有力的，强大的，巨大的 adv. 很，极其 | |
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bind
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| vt.捆，包扎；装订；约束；使凝固；vi.变硬 | |
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inflicting
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| 把…强加给，使承受，遭受( inflict的现在分词 ) | |
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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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sable
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| n.黑貂；adj.黑色的 | |
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wont
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| adj.习惯于；v.习惯；n.习惯 | |
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72
worthies
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| 应得某事物( worthy的名词复数 )； 值得做某事； 可尊敬的； 有（某人或事物）的典型特征 | |
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73
shrieking
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| v.尖叫( shriek的现在分词 ) | |
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74
whooping
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| 发嗬嗬声的，发咳声的 | |
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75
uproar
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| n.骚动，喧嚣，鼎沸 | |
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76
intoxication
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| n.wild excitement;drunkenness；poisoning | |
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77
grimaces
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| n.（表蔑视、厌恶等）面部扭曲，鬼脸( grimace的名词复数 )v.扮鬼相，做鬼脸( grimace的第三人称单数 ) | |
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78
fixedly
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| adv.固定地；不屈地，坚定不移地 | |
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79
anguish
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| n.(尤指心灵上的)极度痛苦，烦恼 | |
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80
wretch
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| n.可怜的人，不幸的人；卑鄙的人 | |
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81
glided
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| v.滑动( glide的过去式和过去分词 )；掠过；（鸟或飞机 ） 滑翔 | |
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