It is remarkable1 what a little thing will draw even the most regular and serious people from the deep groove2 of their habits. One morning in March, a boneshaker, an affair on two equal wooden wheels joined by a bar of iron, in the middle of which was a wooden saddle, disturbed the gravity of St. Luke's Square. True, it was probably the first boneshaker that had ever attacked the gravity of St. Luke's Square. It came out of the shop of Daniel Povey, the confectioner and baker3, and Samuel Povey's celebrated4 cousin, in Boulton Terrace. Boulton Terrace formed nearly a right angle with the Baines premises5, and at the corner of the angle Wedgwood Street and King Street left the Square. The boneshaker was brought forth6 by Dick Povey, the only son of Daniel, now aged7 eleven years, under the superintendence of his father, and the Square soon perceived that Dick had a natural talent for breaking- in an untrained boneshaker. After a few attempts he could remain on the back of the machine for at least ten yards, and his feats8 had the effect of endowing St. Luke's Square with the attractiveness of a circus. Samuel Povey watched with candid10 interest from the ambush11 of his door, while the unfortunate young lady assistants, though aware of the performance that was going on, dared not stir from the stove. Samuel was tremendously tempted12 to sally out boldly, and chat with his cousin about the toy; he had surely a better right to do so than any other tradesman in the Square, since he was of the family; but his diffidence prevented him from moving. Presently Daniel Povey and Dick went to the top of the Square with the machine, opposite Holl's, and Dick, being carefully installed in the saddle, essayed to descend13 the gentle paven slopes of the Square. He failed time after time; the machine had an astonishing way of turning round, running uphill, and then lying calmly on its side. At this point of Dick's life-history every shop-door in the Square was occupied by an audience. At last the boneshaker displayed less unwillingness14 to obey, and lo! in a moment Dick was riding down the Square, and the spectators held their breath as if he had been Blondin crossing Niagara. Every second he ought to have fallen off, but he contrived15 to keep upright. Already he had accomplished16 twenty yards--thirty yards! It was a miracle that he was performing! The transit17 continued, and seemed to occupy hours. And then a faint hope rose in the breast of the watchers that the prodigy18 might arrive at the bottom of the Square. His speed was increasing with his 'nack.' But the Square was enormous, boundless19. Samuel Povey gazed at the approaching phenomenon, as a bird at a serpent, with bulging20, beady eyes. The child's speed went on increasing and his path grew straighter. Yes, he would arrive; he would do it! Samuel Povey involuntarily lifted one leg in his nervous tension. And now the hope that Dick would arrive became a fear, as his pace grew still more rapid. Everybody lifted one leg, and gaped21. And the intrepid22 child surged on, and, finally victorious23, crashed into the pavement in front of Samuel at the rate of quite six miles an hour.
Samuel picked him up, unscathed. And somehow this picking up of Dick invested Samuel with importance, gave him a share in the glory of the feat9 itself.
Daniel Povey same running and joyous24. "Not so bad for a start, eh?" exclaimed the great Daniel. Though by no means a simple man, his pride in his offspring sometimes made him a little naive25.
Father and son explained the machine to Samuel, Dick incessantly26 repeating the exceedingly strange truth that if you felt you were falling to your right you must turn to your right and vice27 versa. Samuel found himself suddenly admitted, as it were, to the inner fellowship of the boneshaker, exalted28 above the rest of the Square. In another adventure more thrilling events occurred. The fair-haired Dick was one of those dangerous, frenzied29 madcaps who are born without fear. The secret of the machine had been revealed to him in his recent transit, and he was silently determining to surpass himself. Precariously30 balanced, he descended31 the Square again, frowning hard, his teeth set, and actually managed to swerve32 into King Street. Constance, in the parlour, saw an incomprehensible winged thing fly past the window. The cousins Povey sounded an alarm and protest and ran in pursuit; for the gradient of King Street is, in the strict sense, steep. Half-way down King Street Dick was travelling at twenty miles an hour, and heading straight for the church, as though he meant to disestablish it and perish. The main gate of the churchyard was open, and that affrighting child, with a lunatic's luck, whizzed safely through the portals into God's acre. The cousins Povey discovered him lying on a green grave, clothed in pride. His first words were: "Dad, did you pick my cap up?" The symbolism of the amazing ride did not escape the Square; indeed, it was much discussed.
This incident led to a friendship between the cousins. They formed a habit of meeting in the Square for a chat. The meetings were the subject of comment, for Samuel's relations with the greater Daniel had always been of the most distant. It was understood that Samuel disapproved33 of Mrs. Daniel Povey even, more than the majority of people disapproved of her. Mrs. Daniel Povey, however, was away from home; probably, had she not been, Samuel would not even have gone to the length of joining Daniel on the neutral ground of the open Square. But having once broken the ice, Samuel was glad to be on terms of growing intimacy34 with his cousin. The friendship flattered him, for Daniel, despite his wife, was a figure in a world larger than Samuel's; moreover, it consecrated35 his position as the equal of no matter what tradesman (apprentice though he had been), and also he genuinely liked and admired Daniel, rather to his own astonishment36.
Every one liked Daniel Povey; he was a favourite among all ranks. The leading confectioner, a member of the Local Board, and a sidesman at St. Luke's, he was, and had been for twenty-five years, very prominent in the town. He was a tall, handsome man, with a trimmed, greying beard, a jolly smile, and a flashing, dark eye. His good humour seemed to be permanent. He had dignity without the slightest stiffness; he was welcomed by his equals and frankly37 adored by his inferiors. He ought to have been Chief Bailiff, for he was rich enough; but there intervened a mysterious obstacle between Daniel Povey and the supreme38 honour, a scarcely tangible39 impediment which could not be definitely stated. He was capable, honest, industrious40, successful, and an excellent speaker; and if he did not belong to the austerer section of society, if, for example, he thought nothing of dropping into the Tiger for a glass of beer, or of using an oath occasionally, or of telling a facetious41 story--well, in a busy, broad-minded town of thirty thousand inhabitants, such proclivities42 are no bar whatever to perfect esteem43. But--how is one to phrase it without wronging Daniel Povey? He was entirely44 moral; his views were unexceptionable. The truth is that, for the ruling classes of Bursley, Daniel Povey was just a little too fanatical a worshipper of the god Pan. He was one of the remnant who had kept alive the great Pan tradition from the days of the Regency through the vast, arid45 Victorian expanse of years. The flighty character of his wife was regarded by many as a judgment46 upon him for the robust47 Rabelaisianism of his more private conversation, for his frank interest in, his eternal preoccupation with, aspects of life and human activity which, though essential to the divine purpose, are not openly recognized as such--even by Daniel Poveys. It was not a question of his conduct; it was a question of the cast of his mind. If it did not explain his friendship with the rector of St. Luke's, it explained his departure from the Primitive48 Methodist connexion, to which the Poveys as a family had belonged since Primitive Methodism was created in Turnhill in 1807.
Daniel Povey had a way of assuming that every male was boiling over with interest in the sacred cult49 of Pan. The assumption, though sometimes causing inconvenience at first, usually conquered by virtue50 of its inherent truthfulness51. Thus it fell out with Samuel. Samuel had not suspected that Pan had silken cords to draw him. He had always averted52 his eyes from the god--that is to say, within reason. Yet now Daniel, on perhaps a couple of fine mornings a week, in full Square, with Fan sitting behind on the cold stones, and Mr. Critchlow ironic53 at his door in a long white apron54, would entertain Samuel Povey for half an hour with Pan's most intimate lore55, and Samuel Povey would not blench56. He would, on the contrary, stand up to Daniel like a little man, and pretend with all his might to be, potentially, a perfect arch-priest of the god. Daniel taught him a lot; turned over the page of life for him, as it were, and, showing the reverse side, seemed to say: "You were missing all that." Samuel gazed upwards57 at the handsome long nose and rich lips of his elder cousin, so experienced, so agreeable, so renowned58, so esteemed59, so philosophic60, and admitted to himself that he had lived to the age of forty in a state of comparative boobyism. And then he would gaze downwards61 at the faint patch of flour on Daniel's right leg, and conceive that life was, and must be, life.
Not many weeks after his initiation62 into the cult he was startled by Constance's preoccupied63 face one evening. Now, a husband of six years' standing64, to whom it has not happened to become a father, is not easily startled by such a face as Constance wore. Years ago he had frequently been startled, had frequently lived in suspense65 for a few days. But he had long since grown impervious66 to these alarms. And now he was startled again--but as a man may be startled who is not altogether surprised at being startled. And seven endless days passed, and Samuel and Constance glanced at each other like guilty things, whose secret refuses to be kept. Then three more days passed, and another three. Then Samuel Povey remarked in a firm, masculine, fact-fronting tone:
"Oh, there's no doubt about it!"
And they glanced at each other like conspirators67 who have lighted a fuse and cannot take refuge in flight. Their eyes said continually, with a delicious, an enchanting68 mixture of ingenuous69 modesty70 and fearful joy:
"Well, we've gone and done it!"
There it was, the incredible, incomprehensible future--coming!
Samuel had never correctly imagined the manner of its heralding71. He had imagined in his early simplicity72 that one day Constance, blushing, might put her mouth to his ear and whisper--something positive. It had not occurred in the least like that. But things are so obstinately73, so incurably74 unsentimental.
"I think we ought to drive over and tell mother, on Sunday," said Constance.
His impulse was to reply, in his grand, offhand75 style: "Oh, a letter will do!"
But he checked himself and said, with careful deference76: "You think that will be better than writing?"
All was changed. He braced77 every fibre to meet destiny, and to help Constance to meet it.
The weather threatened on Sunday. He went to Axe78 without Constance. His cousin drove him there in a dog-cart, and he announced that he should walk home, as the exercise would do him good. During the drive Daniel, in whom he had not confided79, chattered80 as usual, and Samuel pretended to listen with the same attitude as usual; but secretly he despised Daniel for a man who has got something not of the first importance on the brain. His perspective was truer than Daniel's.
He walked home, as he had decided81, over the wavy82 moorland of the county dreaming in the heart of England. Night fell on him in mid- career, and he was tired. But the earth, as it whirled through naked space, whirled up the moon for him, and he pressed on at a good speed. A wind from Arabia wandering cooled his face. And at last, over the brow of Toft End, he saw suddenly the Five Towns a- twinkle on their little hills down in the vast amphitheatre. And one of those lamps was Constance's lamp--one, somewhere. He lived, then. He entered into the shadow of nature. The mysteries made him solemn. What! A boneshaker, his cousin, and then this!
"Well, I'm damned! Well, I'm damned!" he kept repeating, he who never swore.
收听单词发音 |
1
remarkable
|
|
| adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
2
groove
|
|
| n.沟，槽；凹线，（刻出的）线条，习惯 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
3
baker
|
|
| n.面包师 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
4
celebrated
|
|
| adj.有名的，声誉卓著的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
5
premises
|
|
| n.建筑物，房屋 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
6
forth
|
|
| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
7
aged
|
|
| adj.年老的，陈年的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
8
feats
|
|
| 功绩，伟业，技艺( feat的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
9
feat
|
|
| n.功绩；武艺，技艺；adj.灵巧的，漂亮的，合适的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
10
candid
|
|
| adj.公正的，正直的；坦率的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
11
ambush
|
|
| n.埋伏(地点)；伏兵；v.埋伏；伏击 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
12
tempted
|
|
| v.怂恿（某人）干不正当的事；冒…的险（tempt的过去分词） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
13
descend
|
|
| vt./vi.传下来，下来，下降 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
14
unwillingness
|
|
| n. 不愿意，不情愿 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
15
contrived
|
|
| adj.不自然的，做作的；虚构的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
16
accomplished
|
|
| adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
17
transit
|
|
| n.经过，运输；vt.穿越，旋转；vi.越过 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
18
prodigy
|
|
| n.惊人的事物，奇迹，神童，天才，预兆 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
19
boundless
|
|
| adj.无限的；无边无际的；巨大的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
20
bulging
|
|
| 膨胀； 凸出（部）； 打气； 折皱 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
21
gaped
|
|
| v.目瞪口呆地凝视( gape的过去式和过去分词 )；张开，张大 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
22
intrepid
|
|
| adj.无畏的，刚毅的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
23
victorious
|
|
| adj.胜利的，得胜的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
24
joyous
|
|
| adj.充满快乐的；令人高兴的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
25
naive
|
|
| adj.幼稚的，轻信的；天真的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
26
incessantly
|
|
| ad.不停地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
27
vice
|
|
| n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
28
exalted
|
|
| adj.(地位等)高的，崇高的；尊贵的，高尚的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
29
frenzied
|
|
| a.激怒的；疯狂的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
30
precariously
|
|
| adv.不安全地；危险地；碰机会地；不稳定地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
31
descended
|
|
| a.为...后裔的，出身于...的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
32
swerve
|
|
| v.突然转向，背离；n．转向，弯曲，背离 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
33
disapproved
|
|
| v.不赞成( disapprove的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
34
intimacy
|
|
| n.熟悉，亲密，密切关系，亲昵的言行 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
35
consecrated
|
|
| adj.神圣的，被视为神圣的v.把…奉为神圣，给…祝圣( consecrate的过去式和过去分词 )；奉献 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
36
astonishment
|
|
| n.惊奇，惊异 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
37
frankly
|
|
| adv.坦白地，直率地；坦率地说 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
38
supreme
|
|
| adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
39
tangible
|
|
| adj.有形的，可触摸的，确凿的，实际的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
40
industrious
|
|
| adj.勤劳的，刻苦的，奋发的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
41
facetious
|
|
| adj.轻浮的，好开玩笑的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
42
proclivities
|
|
| n.倾向，癖性( proclivity的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
43
esteem
|
|
| n.尊敬，尊重；vt.尊重，敬重；把…看作 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
44
entirely
|
|
| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
45
arid
|
|
| adj.干旱的；(土地)贫瘠的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
46
judgment
|
|
| n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
47
robust
|
|
| adj.强壮的，强健的，粗野的，需要体力的，浓的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
48
primitive
|
|
| adj.原始的；简单的；n.原(始)人，原始事物 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
49
cult
|
|
| n.异教，邪教；时尚，狂热的崇拜 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
50
virtue
|
|
| n.德行，美德；贞操；优点；功效，效力 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
51
truthfulness
|
|
| n. 符合实际 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
52
averted
|
|
| 防止，避免( avert的过去式和过去分词 )； 转移 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
53
ironic
|
|
| adj.讽刺的，有讽刺意味的，出乎意料的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
54
apron
|
|
| n.围裙；工作裙 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
55
lore
|
|
| n.传说；学问，经验，知识 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
56
blench
|
|
| v.退缩，畏缩 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
57
upwards
|
|
| adv.向上，在更高处...以上 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
58
renowned
|
|
| adj.著名的，有名望的，声誉鹊起的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
59
esteemed
|
|
| adj.受人尊敬的v.尊敬( esteem的过去式和过去分词 )；敬重；认为；以为 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
60
philosophic
|
|
| adj.哲学的，贤明的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
61
downwards
|
|
| adj./adv.向下的（地），下行的（地） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
62
initiation
|
|
| n.开始 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
63
preoccupied
|
|
| adj.全神贯注的，入神的；被抢先占有的；心事重重的v.占据（某人）思想，使对…全神贯注，使专心于( preoccupy的过去式) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
64
standing
|
|
| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
65
suspense
|
|
| n.（对可能发生的事）紧张感，担心，挂虑 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
66
impervious
|
|
| adj.不能渗透的，不能穿过的，不易伤害的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
67
conspirators
|
|
| n.共谋者，阴谋家( conspirator的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
68
enchanting
|
|
| a.讨人喜欢的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
69
ingenuous
|
|
| adj.纯朴的，单纯的；天真的；坦率的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
70
modesty
|
|
| n.谦逊，虚心，端庄，稳重，羞怯，朴素 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
71
heralding
|
|
| v.预示( herald的现在分词 )；宣布（好或重要） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
72
simplicity
|
|
| n.简单，简易；朴素；直率，单纯 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
73
obstinately
|
|
| ad.固执地，顽固地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
74
incurably
|
|
| ad.治不好地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
75
offhand
|
|
| adj.临时，无准备的；随便，马虎的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
76
deference
|
|
| n.尊重，顺从；敬意 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
77
braced
|
|
| adj.拉牢的v.支住( brace的过去式和过去分词 )；撑牢；使自己站稳；振作起来 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
78
axe
|
|
| n.斧子；v.用斧头砍，削减 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
79
confided
|
|
| v.吐露（秘密，心事等）( confide的过去式和过去分词 )；（向某人）吐露（隐私、秘密等） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
80
chattered
|
|
| （人）喋喋不休( chatter的过去式 )； 唠叨； （牙齿）打战； （机器）震颤 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
81
decided
|
|
| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
82
wavy
|
|
| adj.有波浪的，多浪的，波浪状的，波动的，不稳定的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
| 欢迎访问英文小说网 |