WE ARE PEDLARS
The Cigarette returned with good news. There were beds to be had some ten minutes' walk from where we were, at a place called Pont. We stowed the canoes in a granary, and asked among the children for a guide. The circle at once widened round us, and our offers of reward were received in dispiriting silence. We were plainly a pair of Bluebeards to the children; they might speak to us in public places, and where they had the advantage of numbers; but it was another thing to venture off alone with two uncouth1 and legendary2 characters, who had dropped from the clouds upon their hamlet this quiet afternoon, sashed and be-knived, and with a flavour of great voyages. The owner of the granary came to our assistance, singled out one little fellow and threatened him with corporalities; or I suspect we should have had to find the way for ourselves. As it was, he was more frightened at the granary man than the strangers, having perhaps had some experience of the former. But I fancy his little heart must have been going at a fine rate; for he kept trotting3 at a respectful distance in front, and looking back at us with scared eyes. Not otherwise may the children of the young world have guided Jove or one of his Olympian compeers on an adventure.
A miry lane led us up from Quartes with its church and bickering4 windmill. The hinds5 were trudging6 homewards from the fields. A brisk little woman passed us by. She was seated across a donkey between a pair of glittering milk-cans; and, as she went, she kicked jauntily7 with her heels upon the donkey's side, and scattered8 shrill9 remarks among the wayfarers10. It was notable that none of the tired men took the trouble to reply. Our conductor soon led us out of the lane and across country. The sun had gone down, but the west in front of us was one lake of level gold. The path wandered a while in the open, and then passed under a trellis like a bower11 indefinitely prolonged. On either hand were shadowy orchards12; cottages lay low among the leaves, and sent their smoke to heaven; every here and there, in an opening, appeared the great gold face of the west.
I never saw the Cigarette in such an idyllic13 frame of mind. He waxed positively14 lyrical in praise of country scenes. I was little less exhilarated myself; the mild air of the evening, the shadows, the rich lights and the silence, made a symphonious accompaniment about our walk; and we both determined15 to avoid towns for the future and sleep in hamlets.
At last the path went between two houses, and turned the party out into a wide muddy high-road, bordered, as far as the eye could reach on either hand, by an unsightly village. The houses stood well back, leaving a ribbon of waste land on either side of the road, where there were stacks of firewood, carts, barrows, rubbish- heaps, and a little doubtful grass. Away on the left, a gaunt tower stood in the middle of the street. What it had been in past ages, I know not: probably a hold in time of war; but now-a-days it bore an illegible16 dial-plate in its upper parts, and near the bottom an iron letter-box.
The inn to which we had been recommended at Quartes was full, or else the landlady17 did not like our looks. I ought to say, that with our long, damp india-rubber bags, we presented rather a doubtful type of civilisation18: like rag-and-bone men, the Cigarette imagined. 'These gentlemen are pedlars?--Ces messieurs sont des marchands?'--asked the landlady. And then, without waiting for an answer, which I suppose she thought superfluous19 in so plain a case, recommended us to a butcher who lived hard by the tower, and took in travellers to lodge20.
Thither21 went we. But the butcher was flitting, and all his beds were taken down. Or else he didn't like our look. As a parting shot, we had 'These gentlemen are pedlars?'
It began to grow dark in earnest. We could no longer distinguish the faces of the people who passed us by with an inarticulate good- evening. And the householders of Pont seemed very economical with their oil; for we saw not a single window lighted in all that long village. I believe it is the longest village in the world; but I daresay in our predicament every pace counted three times over. We were much cast down when we came to the last auberge; and looking in at the dark door, asked timidly if we could sleep there for the night. A female voice assented22 in no very friendly tones. We clapped the bags down and found our way to chairs.
The place was in total darkness, save a red glow in the chinks and ventilators of the stove. But now the landlady lit a lamp to see her new guests; I suppose the darkness was what saved us another expulsion; for I cannot say she looked gratified at our appearance. We were in a large bare apartment, adorned23 with two allegorical prints of Music and Painting, and a copy of the law against public drunkenness. On one side, there was a bit of a bar, with some half-a-dozen bottles. Two labourers sat waiting supper, in attitudes of extreme weariness; a plain-looking lass bustled24 about with a sleepy child of two; and the landlady began to derange25 the pots upon the stove, and set some beefsteak to grill26.
'These gentlemen are pedlars?' she asked sharply. And that was all the conversation forthcoming. We began to think we might be pedlars after all. I never knew a population with so narrow a range of conjecture27 as the innkeepers of Pont-sur-Sambre. But manners and bearing have not a wider currency than bank-notes. You have only to get far enough out of your beat, and all your accomplished28 airs will go for nothing. These Hainaulters could see no difference between us and the average pedlar. Indeed we had some grounds for reflection while the steak was getting ready, to see how perfectly29 they accepted us at their own valuation, and how our best politeness and best efforts at entertainment seemed to fit quite suitably with the character of packmen. At least it seemed a good account of the profession in France, that even before such judges we could not beat them at our own weapons.
At last we were called to table. The two hinds (and one of them looked sadly worn and white in the face, as though sick with over- work and under-feeding) supped off a single plate of some sort of bread-berry, some potatoes in their jackets, a small cup of coffee sweetened with sugar-candy, and one tumbler of swipes. The landlady, her son, and the lass aforesaid, took the same. Our meal was quite a banquet by comparison. We had some beefsteak, not so tender as it might have been, some of the potatoes, some cheese, an extra glass of the swipes, and white sugar in our coffee.
You see what it is to be a gentleman--I beg your pardon, what it is to be a pedlar. It had not before occurred to me that a pedlar was a great man in a labourer's ale-house; but now that I had to enact31 the part for an evening, I found that so it was. He has in his hedge quarters somewhat the same pre-eminency as the man who takes a private parlour in an hotel. The more you look into it, the more infinite are the class distinctions among men; and possibly, by a happy dispensation, there is no one at all at the bottom of the scale; no one but can find some superiority over somebody else, to keep up his pride withal.
We were displeased32 enough with our fare. Particularly the Cigarette, for I tried to make believe that I was amused with the adventure, tough beefsteak and all. According to the Lucretian maxim33, our steak should have been flavoured by the look of the other people's bread-berry. But we did not find it so in practice. You may have a head-knowledge that other people live more poorly than yourself, but it is not agreeable--I was going to say, it is against the etiquette34 of the universe--to sit at the same table and pick your own superior diet from among their crusts. I had not seen such a thing done since the greedy boy at school with his birthday cake. It was odious35 enough to witness, I could remember; and I had never thought to play the part myself. But there again you see what it is to be a pedlar.
There is no doubt that the poorer classes in our country are much more charitably disposed than their superiors in wealth. And I fancy it must arise a great deal from the comparative indistinction of the easy and the not so easy in these ranks. A workman or a pedlar cannot shutter36 himself off from his less comfortable neighbours. If he treats himself to a luxury, he must do it in the face of a dozen who cannot. And what should more directly lead to charitable thoughts? . . . Thus the poor man, camping out in life, sees it as it is, and knows that every mouthful he puts in his belly37 has been wrenched38 out of the fingers of the hungry.
But at a certain stage of prosperity, as in a balloon ascent39, the fortunate person passes through a zone of clouds, and sublunary matters are thenceforward hidden from his view. He sees nothing but the heavenly bodies, all in admirable order, and positively as good as new. He finds himself surrounded in the most touching40 manner by the attentions of Providence41, and compares himself involuntarily with the lilies and the skylarks. He does not precisely42 sing, of course; but then he looks so unassuming in his open landau! If all the world dined at one table, this philosophy would meet with some rude knocks.
PONT-SUR-SAMBRE
THE TRAVELLING MERCHANT
Like the lackeys43 in Moliere's farce44, when the true nobleman broke in on their high life below stairs, we were destined45 to be confronted with a real pedlar. To make the lesson still more poignant46 for fallen gentlemen like us, he was a pedlar of infinitely47 more consideration than the sort of scurvy48 fellows we were taken for: like a lion among mice, or a ship of war bearing down upon two cock-boats. Indeed, he did not deserve the name of pedlar at all: he was a travelling merchant.
I suppose it was about half-past eight when this worthy49, Monsieur Hector Gilliard of Maubeuge, turned up at the ale-house door in a tilt50 cart drawn51 by a donkey, and cried cheerily on the inhabitants. He was a lean, nervous flibbertigibbet of a man, with something the look of an actor, and something the look of a horse-jockey. He had evidently prospered52 without any of the favours of education; for he adhered with stern simplicity53 to the masculine gender54, and in the course of the evening passed off some fancy futures55 in a very florid style of architecture. With him came his wife, a comely56 young woman with her hair tied in a yellow kerchief, and their son, a little fellow of four, in a blouse and military kepi. It was notable that the child was many degrees better dressed than either of the parents. We were informed he was already at a boarding- school; but the holidays having just commenced, he was off to spend them with his parents on a cruise. An enchanting57 holiday occupation, was it not? to travel all day with father and mother in the tilt cart full of countless58 treasures; the green country rattling59 by on either side, and the children in all the villages contemplating60 him with envy and wonder? It is better fun, during the holidays, to be the son of a travelling merchant, than son and heir to the greatest cotton-spinner in creation. And as for being a reigning61 prince--indeed I never saw one if it was not Master Gilliard!
While M. Hector and the son of the house were putting up the donkey, and getting all the valuables under lock and key, the landlady warmed up the remains62 of our beefsteak, and fried the cold potatoes in slices, and Madame Gilliard set herself to waken the boy, who had come far that day, and was peevish63 and dazzled by the light. He was no sooner awake than he began to prepare himself for supper by eating galette, unripe64 pears, and cold potatoes--with, so far as I could judge, positive benefit to his appetite.
The landlady, fired with motherly emulation65, awoke her own little girl; and the two children were confronted. Master Gilliard looked at her for a moment, very much as a dog looks at his own reflection in a mirror before he turns away. He was at that time absorbed in the galette. His mother seemed crestfallen66 that he should display so little inclination67 towards the other sex; and expressed her disappointment with some candour and a very proper reference to the influence of years.
Sure enough a time will come when he will pay more attention to the girls, and think a great deal less of his mother: let us hope she will like it as well as she seemed to fancy. But it is odd enough; the very women who profess30 most contempt for mankind as a sex, seem to find even its ugliest particulars rather lively and high-minded in their own sons.
The little girl looked longer and with more interest, probably because she was in her own house, while he was a traveller and accustomed to strange sights. And besides there was no galette in the case with her.
All the time of supper, there was nothing spoken of but my young lord. The two parents were both absurdly fond of their child. Monsieur kept insisting on his sagacity: how he knew all the children at school by name; and when this utterly68 failed on trial, how he was cautious and exact to a strange degree, and if asked anything, he would sit and think--and think, and if he did not know it, 'my faith, he wouldn't tell you at all--foi, il ne vous le dira pas': which is certainly a very high degree of caution. At intervals69, M. Hector would appeal to his wife, with his mouth full of beefsteak, as to the little fellow's age at such or such a time when he had said or done something memorable70; and I noticed that Madame usually pooh-poohed these inquiries71. She herself was not boastful in her vein72; but she never had her fill of caressing73 the child; and she seemed to take a gentle pleasure in recalling all that was fortunate in his little existence. No schoolboy could have talked more of the holidays which were just beginning and less of the black school-time which must inevitably74 follow after. She showed, with a pride perhaps partly mercantile in origin, his pockets preposterously75 swollen76 with tops and whistles and string. When she called at a house in the way of business, it appeared he kept her company; and whenever a sale was made, received a sou out of the profit. Indeed they spoiled him vastly, these two good people. But they had an eye to his manners for all that, and reproved him for some little faults in breeding, which occurred from time to time during supper.
On the whole, I was not much hurt at being taken for a pedlar. I might think that I ate with greater delicacy77, or that my mistakes in French belonged to a different order; but it was plain that these distinctions would be thrown away upon the landlady and the two labourers. In all essential things we and the Gilliards cut very much the same figure in the ale-house kitchen. M. Hector was more at home, indeed, and took a higher tone with the world; but that was explicable on the ground of his driving a donkey-cart, while we poor bodies tramped afoot. I daresay, the rest of the company thought us dying with envy, though in no ill sense, to be as far up in the profession as the new arrival.
And of one thing I am sure: that every one thawed78 and became more humanised and conversible as soon as these innocent people appeared upon the scene. I would not very readily trust the travelling merchant with any extravagant79 sum of money; but I am sure his heart was in the right place. In this mixed world, if you can find one or two sensible places in a man--above all, if you should find a whole family living together on such pleasant terms--you may surely be satisfied, and take the rest for granted; or, what is a great deal better, boldly make up your mind that you can do perfectly well without the rest; and that ten thousand bad traits cannot make a single good one any the less good.
It was getting late. M. Hector lit a stable lantern and went off to his cart for some arrangements; and my young gentleman proceeded to divest80 himself of the better part of his raiment, and play gymnastics on his mother's lap, and thence on to the floor, with accompaniment of laughter.
'Are you going to sleep alone?' asked the servant lass.
'There's little fear of that,' says Master Gilliard.
'You sleep alone at school,' objected his mother. 'Come, come, you must be a man.'
But he protested that school was a different matter from the holidays; that there were dormitories at school; and silenced the discussion with kisses: his mother smiling, no one better pleased than she.
There certainly was, as he phrased it, very little fear that he should sleep alone; for there was but one bed for the trio. We, on our part, had firmly protested against one man's accommodation for two; and we had a double-bedded pen in the loft81 of the house, furnished, beside the beds, with exactly three hat-pegs and one table. There was not so much as a glass of water. But the window would open, by good fortune.
Some time before I fell asleep the loft was full of the sound of mighty82 snoring: the Gilliards, and the labourers, and the people of the inn, all at it, I suppose, with one consent. The young moon outside shone very clearly over Pont-sur-Sambre, and down upon the ale-house where all we pedlars were abed.
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uncouth
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| adj.无教养的，粗鲁的 | |
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legendary
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| adj.传奇（中）的，闻名遐迩的；n.传奇（文学） | |
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trotting
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| 小跑，急走( trot的现在分词 )； 匆匆忙忙地走 | |
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bickering
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| v.争吵( bicker的现在分词 )；口角；（水等）作潺潺声；闪烁 | |
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hinds
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| n.（常指动物腿）后面的( hind的名词复数 )；在后的；（通常与can或could连用）唠叨不停；滔滔不绝 | |
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trudging
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| vt.& vi.跋涉，吃力地走（trudge的现在分词形式） | |
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jauntily
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| adv.心满意足地；洋洋得意地；高兴地；活泼地 | |
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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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shrill
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| adj.尖声的；刺耳的；v尖叫 | |
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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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bower
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| n.凉亭，树荫下凉快之处；闺房；v.荫蔽 | |
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orchards
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| （通常指围起来的）果园( orchard的名词复数 ) | |
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idyllic
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| adj.质朴宜人的，田园风光的 | |
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positively
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| adv.明确地，断然，坚决地；实在，确实 | |
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determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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illegible
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| adj.难以辨认的，字迹模糊的 | |
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landlady
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| n.女房东，女地主 | |
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civilisation
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| n.文明，文化，开化，教化 | |
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superfluous
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| adj.过多的，过剩的，多余的 | |
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lodge
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| v.临时住宿，寄宿，寄存，容纳；n.传达室，小旅馆 | |
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thither
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| adv.向那里；adj.在那边的，对岸的 | |
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assented
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| 同意，赞成( assent的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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adorned
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| [计]被修饰的 | |
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bustled
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| 闹哄哄地忙乱，奔忙( bustle的过去式和过去分词 )； 催促 | |
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derange
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| v.使精神错乱 | |
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grill
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| n.烤架，铁格子，烤肉；v.烧，烤，严加盘问 | |
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conjecture
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| n./v.推测，猜测 | |
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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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perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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profess
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| v.声称，冒称，以...为业，正式接受入教，表明信仰 | |
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enact
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| vt.制定(法律)；上演，扮演 | |
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displeased
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| a.不快的 | |
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maxim
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| n.格言，箴言 | |
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etiquette
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| n.礼仪，礼节；规矩 | |
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odious
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| adj.可憎的，讨厌的 | |
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shutter
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| n.百叶窗；(照相机)快门；关闭装置 | |
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belly
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| n.肚子，腹部；(像肚子一样)鼓起的部分，膛 | |
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wrenched
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| v.（猛力地）扭( wrench的过去式和过去分词 )；扭伤；使感到痛苦；使悲痛 | |
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ascent
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| n.(声望或地位)提高；上升，升高；登高 | |
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touching
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| adj.动人的，使人感伤的 | |
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providence
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| n.深谋远虑，天道，天意；远见；节约；上帝 | |
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precisely
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| adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地 | |
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lackeys
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| n.听差( lackey的名词复数 )；男仆（通常穿制服）；卑躬屈膝的人；被待为奴仆的人 | |
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farce
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| n.闹剧，笑剧，滑稽戏；胡闹 | |
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destined
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| adj.命中注定的；(for)以…为目的地的 | |
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poignant
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| adj.令人痛苦的，辛酸的，惨痛的 | |
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infinitely
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| adv.无限地，无穷地 | |
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scurvy
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| adj.下流的，卑鄙的，无礼的；n.坏血病 | |
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worthy
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| adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的 | |
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tilt
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| v.(使)倾侧；(使)倾斜；n.倾侧；倾斜 | |
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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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prospered
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| 成功，兴旺( prosper的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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simplicity
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| n.简单，简易；朴素；直率，单纯 | |
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gender
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| n.（生理上的）性，（名词、代词等的）性 | |
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futures
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| n.期货，期货交易 | |
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comely
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| adj.漂亮的，合宜的 | |
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enchanting
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| a.讨人喜欢的 | |
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countless
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| adj.无数的，多得不计其数的 | |
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rattling
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| adj. 格格作响的, 活泼的, 很好的 adv. 极其, 很, 非常 动词rattle的现在分词 | |
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contemplating
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| 深思，细想，仔细考虑( contemplate的现在分词 )； 注视，凝视； 考虑接受（发生某事的可能性）； 深思熟虑，沉思，苦思冥想 | |
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reigning
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| adj.统治的，起支配作用的 | |
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remains
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| n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹 | |
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peevish
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| adj.易怒的，坏脾气的 | |
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unripe
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| adj.未成熟的；n.未成熟 | |
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emulation
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| n.竞争；仿效 | |
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66
crestfallen
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| adj. 挫败的，失望的，沮丧的 | |
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inclination
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| n.倾斜；点头；弯腰；斜坡；倾度；倾向；爱好 | |
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utterly
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| adv.完全地，绝对地 | |
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intervals
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| n.[军事]间隔( interval的名词复数 )；间隔时间；[数学]区间；（戏剧、电影或音乐会的）幕间休息 | |
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70
memorable
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| adj.值得回忆的，难忘的，特别的，显著的 | |
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inquiries
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| n.调查( inquiry的名词复数 )；疑问；探究；打听 | |
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vein
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| n.血管，静脉；叶脉，纹理；情绪；vt.使成脉络 | |
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caressing
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| 爱抚的，表现爱情的，亲切的 | |
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inevitably
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| adv.不可避免地；必然发生地 | |
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preposterously
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| adv.反常地；荒谬地；荒谬可笑地；不合理地 | |
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swollen
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| adj.肿大的，水涨的；v.使变大，肿胀 | |
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77
delicacy
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| n.精致，细微，微妙，精良；美味，佳肴 | |
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thawed
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| 解冻 | |
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79
extravagant
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| adj.奢侈的；过分的；(言行等)放肆的 | |
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80
divest
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| v.脱去，剥除 | |
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81
loft
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| n.阁楼，顶楼 | |
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mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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