CHAPTER IX. HERE AND THERE.

 Five days later the bailiffs were upon the premises¹, and a week afterwards I was put down in the inventory² and catalogue of an auctioneer as Lot 96. Everything was to be sold off, for Mr. Benjamin Bunter had told the truth when he informed his wife that he was a ruined man. Always a careless liver, he had allowed debt to accumulate, and when the pinch came, sought to retrieve³ his position by gambling⁴. The result was what any sane⁵ man might have expected—he made matters worse, adding disgrace to his misfortunes.

 

Several of the neighbours came to look at me, and I heard many of them speak with great censure⁶ upon the fact of my master having so near his bankruptcy⁷ wasted his money upon the race-course; but with all of them the sin lay with the betting so near his bankruptcy—against betting itself they said not a word; indeed I found this fearful evil had taken very deep root among the people, and that most of them, both high and low, indulged much or little in the baneful⁸ habit.

 

Benjamin Bunter and his wife and children disappeared. I heard it stated that they were living in a small street near the Borough⁹ Market, and that Bunter was working as a labourer 66there; whether it was true or not I cannot say—I never saw them again.

 

The day of the sale came on, and I was knocked down to a horse dealer—just such another man as brought me from Upton—for fifteen pounds, and he, even while he was paying the money, loudly declared that I was a bad bargain to any man for eight: this is a habit of his class, and I felt in nowise hurt by the declaration. He took me home, had my coat trimmed, physicked me a little, and then, as before, I figured in a general sale.

 

A publican named Newman bought me, but I was with him only a week—I was too slow, he said—and then he tried to sell me. Several men came to his stable, but none cared to strike a bargain, so the publican got up a raffle¹⁰, with forty members at ten shillings per head. The humiliation¹¹ of being disposed of in this way has haunted me ever since, but like other things I have learnt to bear it. A Mr. Somerfield won me; but he was a railway clerk, without either the accommodation for keeping or the time to use a horse, and I was sold again at once to a chimney sweep.

 

He took me home, and put me into a stable with a tall bony horse belonging to a carrier who worked between Hornsey and London. I tried to make friends with this horse at once, and found that I had no easy task ahead of me, for my companion, naturally rather inclined to be grumpy, was furthermore suffering from a very bad cold.

 

Kind words and patience, however, are capital things, and within an hour we were chatting confidentially¹² together. From him I learned that the life of a carrier’s horse was a very hard one—out all weathers, standing¹³ about in the cold and wet, and journeying a long way with very heavy loads to drag, and sometimes, especially about Christmas time, the work of the day was not over until past midnight.

 

‘They don’t think much about our welfare,’ concluded my companion with a sigh; ‘when one horse is worn-out they buy another, and work him to death in his turn.’

 

‘Are worn-out carriers’ horses taken to the—the—ahem!—the knackers?’ I inquired.

 

67I knew I was upon delicate ground, and tried to put the question as pleasantly as possible. My companion answered with perfect freedom.

 

‘Some go to the knacker’s,’ he replied. ‘But very few of us are entirely¹⁴ worn-out; there is a little life left in us yet, and we go to the cab proprietors¹⁵ generally for night work.’

 

‘To run in the night cabs?’

 

‘Just so.’

 

‘What sort of work is that?’ I asked.

 

‘Don’t ask me,’ was the reply, given with a shudder¹⁶. ‘If it ever be your lot you will know all about it; if you escape it, better remain in ignorance of its horrible misery¹⁷.’

 

A strange quiver ran through my frame. I did not know then what I know now, that it was a sympathetic foreshadowing of the life that was to be.

 

I remained in the stable four days, and during that time saw many people who were looking after a horse. I was, however, not the horse they wanted, and none of them were the style of master I wished; so it happily fell out that I was still on hand at the end of the four days, when an elderly gentleman came to look at me.

 

I saw in an instant that this was the master for me. His age was about sixty, and his face was radiant with love and goodwill¹⁸; there was a tenderness in the very way he looked at me, and my heart warmed towards him the moment he entered the stable.

 

A man who had charge of the stable came with him, and expressed his readiness to trot¹⁹ me up and down to show off my action or speed.

 

‘No, no,’ said the old gentleman; ‘there is no need for that; I can see it is the horse I want, patient and quiet. My daughter is a great invalid²⁰, and this is just the thing to suit her. I know the price, and the price will suit me. What is his name?’

 

‘Blossom,’ replied the man.

 

‘Poor Blossom,’ returned the old gentleman, patting me tenderly; ‘long passed the spring-time of life, but a good creature, I warrant, still. Send him to Maythorn Lodge²¹ tonight. Graham is my name.’

 

68As he left the stable my heart bounded with joy at the prospect²² of such a master. Here at last was a hope of a long-encouraged dream to be realized—a home where I could end my old days in happiness and peace. I lay among the straw revolving²³ this bright, pleasant hope again and again within my mind, half sleeping, half waking, with a sense of being at rest. I pondered thus until the evening drew nigh, and a stableboy made his appearance to take me home.

 

The lad bore a distant resemblance to his master; but it was in expression and not in feature. The kindness of the employer had set a seal upon the employed, and I read contentment and happiness upon every feature. If any confirmation²⁴ was wanted as to the nature of the home I was going to, this gave it to me; and with a heart fast beating with joy and hope, I stepped out lightly close behind my guide.

1 premises   

n.建筑物，房屋

参考例句：

• According to the rules,no alcohol can be consumed on the premises.按照规定，场内不准饮酒。
• All repairs are done on the premises and not put out.全部修缮都在家里进行，不用送到外面去做。

2 inventory   

n.详细目录，存货清单

参考例句：

• Some stores inventory their stock once a week.有些商店每周清点存货一次。
• We will need to call on our supplier to get more inventory.我们必须请供应商送来更多存货。

3 retrieve   

vt.重新得到，收回；挽回，补救；检索

参考例句：

• He was determined to retrieve his honor.他决心恢复名誉。
• The men were trying to retrieve weapons left when the army abandoned the island.士兵们正试图找回军队从该岛撤退时留下的武器。

4 gambling   

n.赌博；投机

参考例句：

• They have won a lot of money through gambling.他们赌博赢了很多钱。
• The men have been gambling away all night.那些人赌了整整一夜。

5 sane   

adj.心智健全的，神志清醒的，明智的，稳健的

参考例句：

• He was sane at the time of the murder.在凶杀案发生时他的神志是清醒的。
• He is a very sane person.他是一个很有头脑的人。

6 censure   

v./n.责备；非难；责难

参考例句：

• You must not censure him until you know the whole story.在弄清全部事实真相前不要谴责他。
• His dishonest behaviour came under severe censure.他的不诚实行为受到了严厉指责。

7 bankruptcy   

n.破产；无偿付能力

参考例句：

• You will have to pull in if you want to escape bankruptcy.如果你想避免破产，就必须节省开支。
• His firm is just on thin ice of bankruptcy.他的商号正面临破产的危险。

8 baneful   

adj.有害的

参考例句：

• His baneful influence was feared by all.人们都担心他所造成的有害影响。
• Lower share prices have baneful effect for companies too.更低的股价同样会有损各企业。

9 borough   

n.享有自治权的市镇；(英)自治市镇

参考例句：

• He was slated for borough president.他被提名做自治区主席。
• That's what happened to Harry Barritt of London's Bromley borough.住在伦敦的布罗姆利自治市的哈里.巴里特就经历了此事。

10 raffle   

n.废物，垃圾，抽奖售卖；v.以抽彩出售

参考例句：

• The money was raised by the sale of raffle tickets.这笔款子是通过出售购物彩券筹集的。
• He won a car in the raffle.他在兑奖售物活动中赢得了一辆汽车。

11 humiliation   

n.羞辱

参考例句：

• He suffered the humiliation of being forced to ask for his cards.他蒙受了被迫要求辞职的羞辱。
• He will wish to revenge his humiliation in last Season's Final.他会为在上个季度的决赛中所受的耻辱而报复的。

12 confidentially   

ad.秘密地，悄悄地

参考例句：

• She was leaning confidentially across the table. 她神神秘秘地从桌子上靠过来。
• Kao Sung-nien and Wang Ch'u-hou talked confidentially in low tones. 高松年汪处厚两人低声密谈。

13 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

14 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

15 proprietors   

n.所有人，业主( proprietor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• These little proprietors of businesses are lords indeed on their own ground. 这些小业主们，在他们自己的行当中，就是真正的至高无上的统治者。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
• Many proprietors try to furnish their hotels with antiques. 许多经营者都想用古董装饰他们的酒店。 来自辞典例句

16 shudder   

v.战粟，震动，剧烈地摇晃；n.战粟，抖动

参考例句：

• The sight of the coffin sent a shudder through him.看到那副棺材，他浑身一阵战栗。
• We all shudder at the thought of the dreadful dirty place.我们一想到那可怕的肮脏地方就浑身战惊。

17 misery   

n.痛苦，苦恼，苦难；悲惨的境遇，贫苦

参考例句：

• Business depression usually causes misery among the working class.商业不景气常使工薪阶层受苦。
• He has rescued me from the mire of misery.他把我从苦海里救了出来。

18 goodwill   

n.善意，亲善，信誉，声誉

参考例句：

• His heart is full of goodwill to all men.他心里对所有人都充满着爱心。
• We paid ￡10,000 for the shop,and ￡2000 for its goodwill.我们用一万英镑买下了这家商店，两千英镑买下了它的信誉。

19 trot   

n.疾走，慢跑；n.老太婆；现成译本；(复数）trots:腹泻（与the 连用）；v.小跑，快步走，赶紧

参考例句：

• They passed me at a trot.他们从我身边快步走过。
• The horse broke into a brisk trot.马突然快步小跑起来。

20 invalid   

n.病人，伤残人；adj.有病的，伤残的；无效的

参考例句：

• He will visit an invalid.他将要去看望一个病人。
• A passport that is out of date is invalid.护照过期是无效的。

21 lodge   

v.临时住宿，寄宿，寄存，容纳；n.传达室，小旅馆

参考例句：

• Is there anywhere that I can lodge in the village tonight?村里有我今晚过夜的地方吗？
• I shall lodge at the inn for two nights.我要在这家小店住两个晚上。

22 prospect   

n.前景，前途；景色，视野

参考例句：

• This state of things holds out a cheerful prospect.事态呈现出可喜的前景。
• The prospect became more evident.前景变得更加明朗了。

23 revolving   

adj.旋转的，轮转式的；循环的v.（使）旋转( revolve的现在分词 )；细想

参考例句：

• The theatre has a revolving stage. 剧院有一个旋转舞台。
• The company became a revolving-door workplace. 这家公司成了工作的中转站。

24 confirmation   

n.证实，确认，批准

参考例句：

• We are waiting for confirmation of the news.我们正在等待证实那个消息。
• We need confirmation in writing before we can send your order out.给你们发送订购的货物之前，我们需要书面确认。