At last, amid general grief, Uncle Mark was carried to his last home.
The Brethren, with solemn faces, bore him to his grave; and when the simple service was over, one of them stood forward, and, with tears in his eyes, chanted forth4 the words of the simple hymn5 which he had sung to Brother Mark as he passed away.
Up to this Mrs. Peartree, who stood with the men at the grave, had borne her burthen well, but no sooner did she hear the hymn which had ceased, as it were, with her husband’s dying breath, than she wailed6 and broke down. For a time all the bitterness of that sudden parting came back upon her; she clasped the hand of little Madeline, who stood by her, and burst into passionate7 tears.
But she could not indulge her stormy grief for long; troubles and necessities clamoured like wolves around her, and turned her soul sick with a new fear. Now that her strong husband was gone, the whole weight of their little household was upon her; and no sooner was he in his grave than she had to speculate upon the future. The verdict of the jury destroyed all chance of receiving any compensation from the owners of the tug, and indeed Mrs. Peartree never dreamed of putting in any claim. Her husband’s earnings8 had been small, but she had managed to save a little, enough to keep her for a week or so—‘to turn herself round,’ as she expressed it—while she decided9 what was best to be done.
That Luke Peartree was thrown upon her hands she knew from the moment of her husband’s death. As we have said, he was generally regarded as a kind of natural; and everybody knew that had it not been for his brother he would never have got work at all. Mark Peartree had been a skilful11 bargeman, and in order to secure his services the barge-owners had been quite willing that he should sail with his brother as mate. Consequently, Mrs. Pear-tree knew that it was quite useless for him to seek for work alone. For a time she was at her wits’ end to know what to do with him.
Suddenly she remembered that he had a cousin across the river in Kent who might be willing to give him work on a riverside farm.
She wrote, and got for answer that Joss Peartree wanted an odd hand, and would be glad, for kinship’s sake, to take on ‘Cousin Luke.’
Luke cried like a child when the news was told him, and Mrs. Peartree cried a bit too. It was like another death, this thought of parting with simple Luke, but what was she to do? She could not keep him; it was as much as she could do to keep herself—and the only prospect12 she saw of doing this was to go out as a monthly nurse, a post for which she was specially13 suited. Meantime her little store of money was rapidly diminishing, and each coin that was taken out warned her that her household must break up soon.
After she had cried silently for a time, she resolutely14 dried her eyes, and set about comforting Uncle Luke. She promised that if he would only try to be happy she would try to visit him once or twice a year—and after she had earned a little, she would try to rent a small room in Gray-fleet, and make it a home where Luke could come and stop again with her. This assurance comforted Luke a good deal; at the same time it made him more keenly alive to what was taking place, and he asked, suddenly—
‘Be you a-going to give up the house then, mother?’
‘Ay, Luke—where be my means to keep it on?’
‘And to sell the bit o’ furniture?’
‘Yes, mate.’
‘Then what’ll become o’ little Madlin?’
Mrs. Peartree glanced uneasily at the child, who was seated on a footstool by her side; then motioning Luke to be silent, she said hurriedly—
‘Oh, I’ll look after Madlin, never fear.’
But a day or so later, when Madeline was gone to school, Mrs. Peartree went on with the subject as if it had never been stopped.
‘I’ve been thinking about Madlin, Luke, and I’ve decided to send her away too.’
‘What! part wi’ Madlin?’ cried Luke, aghast, and for a moment it seemed to him that Mrs. Peartree was growing very hard-hearted, but when he looked up he saw that her eyes were dim with tears.
‘Ay, mate, part wi’ our Madlin,’ she said, sorrowfully. ‘It a’most broke my heart when I thought on’t first, but I’m past that now. ’Twill be for the child’s good too. If she stopped wi’ us, she’d get but a poor bringing-up at best, bless her; but if she goes to him he’ll make a lady on her.’
‘Him, mother?’
‘Mr. White, that first brought her to us, and pays to this day for her keep. He’s not her father, nor yet much kin10 of hers at all; but for all that he’s a good gentleman, and will do his duty by her. We’ll try him, anyways. If he takes her it will be a sore day for me, but a lucky chance for little Madlin.’
Uncle Luke listened quietly, and soon endorsed15 Aunt Jane’s opinion, that the very best they could do for Madeline was to take her up to London and hand her over to the care of her natural guardian—the benevolent-looking gentleman who left her at the cottage when an infant, and had contributed to her maintenance ever since.
‘Don’t let her know nothing about it, Luke,’ added Mrs. Peartree, ‘or Lord only knows what she would do. After she’s growed up, bless her, she’d thank us for doin’ it, even if we could help it, which we can’t.’
This piece of logic16 pleased Uncle Luke unmeasurably, and he went to bed tolerably contented17 with Aunt Jane’s mode of working, and quite convinced that she was doing everything for the best.
The succeeding days were very sad ones in the cottage, and though Madeline was almost overwhelmed with her grief for Uncle Mark, she could not help wandering at the strange conduct of those whom he had left behind. If she happened to come within arm’s length of Aunt Jane she was certain to be caught up and kissed; if Uncle Luke’s eye fell upon her, he burst into tears; at meal times she had three times too much food crammed18 upon her plate; if she approached the fire, her chair was drawn19 so close as to almost scorch20 her. But the crowning point came when she was told one morning that she was to go to London, for a day’s ‘outing’ with Uncle Luke.
It was decided that Luke should take her. ‘He had seen a good deal of the city,’ Mrs. Peartree said, ‘and would do the errand better than she.’ Luke was quite contented, so it was settled forthwith.
Despite her bereavement21, Madeline could not help feeling glad at the thought of realising her dream at last. Childish griefs are not very enduring, and at another time a visit to London would have sent her mad with joy. But her pleasure was considerably22 damped when she saw Aunt Jane cry so, and Uncle Luke look so very sad.
‘Madlin, darlin’,’ cried Mrs. Peartree, embracing her for the twentieth time, ‘you’re a-going to see kind friends up in London; and maybe, if you’re a good girl, they’ll ask you to stay a bit, and see the wax-work, and all the fine sights. And if you stay, don’t forget your Aunt Jane that brung you up, and loves you so dear—God bless’ee, Madlin! God bless’ee, and make a lady of ye—my own little darling gel!’
Quite bewildered, the child suffered herself to be led away by Uncle Luke.
After ferrying across the river and walking a mile, they reached the railway station.
When she got into the train her contentment in a measure returned. She nestled up to Uncle Luke’s side, stealing her little hand into his, and looked with rapture23 at the fields gliding24 past her so rapidly—at the river with its shining bends. As she went on her wonder deepened, and her excitement grew—for she passed little towns, then big stations covered with shining pictures, like palaces—until at length when she felt deep in Dreamland, they glided25 under a great arch of glass, and Uncle Luke, exclaiming ‘Here we be,’ rose up and prepared to alight from the train.
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收听单词发音
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1
inquiry
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| n.打听，询问，调查，查问 | |
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tug
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| v.用力拖(或拉)；苦干；n.拖；苦干；拖船 | |
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entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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hymn
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| n.赞美诗，圣歌，颂歌 | |
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6
wailed
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| v.哭叫，哀号( wail的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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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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8
earnings
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| n.工资收人；利润，利益，所得 | |
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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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10
kin
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| n.家族，亲属，血缘关系；adj.亲属关系的，同类的 | |
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skilful
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| (=skillful)adj.灵巧的，熟练的 | |
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prospect
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| n.前景，前途；景色，视野 | |
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13
specially
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| adv.特定地；特殊地；明确地 | |
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resolutely
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| adj.坚决地，果断地 | |
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15
endorsed
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| vt.& vi.endorse的过去式或过去分词形式v.赞同( endorse的过去式和过去分词 )；在（尤指支票的）背面签字；在（文件的）背面写评论；在广告上说本人使用并赞同某产品 | |
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16
logic
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| n.逻辑(学)；逻辑性 | |
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contented
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| adj.满意的，安心的，知足的 | |
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crammed
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| adj.塞满的，挤满的；大口地吃；快速贪婪地吃v.把…塞满；填入；临时抱佛脚( cram的过去式) | |
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drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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scorch
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| v.烧焦，烤焦；高速疾驶；n.烧焦处，焦痕 | |
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21
bereavement
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| n.亲人丧亡，丧失亲人，丧亲之痛 | |
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considerably
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| adv.极大地；相当大地；在很大程度上 | |
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rapture
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| n.狂喜；全神贯注；着迷；v.使狂喜 | |
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24
gliding
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| v. 滑翔 adj. 滑动的 | |
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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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