The great tidal wave of bricks and mortar2 which has since flooded the green fields of Finchley was yet far away, and the country round about my new master’s home was very beautiful—almost as beautiful as the place where I spent the first days of my life. London was not far away it is true; but we had green trees on one side to shut out the view of the dismal3 smoke, and from the other the wind came over Hampstead Heath, bearing on its bosom4 the untainted perfume of green meadows and sweet fields. I had a small, well-kept stable for a residence, and all my wants were attended to by a lad of fourteen years of age, who in addition to this helped the gardener in his work. A few words in passing respecting this boy. I gathered from what I heard that he had been originally one 70of the ragged5 unfortunates of the London streets, and that Mr. Graham had taken him home as an experiment, to see what could be done with those wretched outcasts. The experiment was on the whole satisfactory. The boy—who went by the name of Roberts—was devotedly6 attached to his master, and although he had bickerings with the other servants, especially with the gardener, who most injudiciously cast reflections upon his origin, he was on the whole a well-conducted youth. For my own part, I must say he was an excellent lad to me, and we became very much attached to each other.
Mr. Graham and his daughter were the only members of the household at home; but there was a son at college, who, as far as reports were concerned, was a very fine dashing young fellow—an object of great interest to all in Maythorn Lodge. Miss Graham was, as her father had declared, a great invalid7. It was in the month of May that I took up my residence at the Lodge, and the weather, warm and balmy as it was, seemed to be too keen for the delicate frame. I remember her appearing at the door as I drew up, with her fragile form wrapped up in cloaks and furs, as if there were no sun shining in the heavens, and the keen cutting blasts of winter were sweeping8 up from the adjoining heath. Her face was beautiful, and there was a colour upon her cheeks which rivalled the blush on a May-born rose; her eyes—blue, clear, and thoughtful—were in harmony with the rich mass of golden hair which clustered o’er her forehead, and fell in masses over her shoulders. But beneath it all there lay something indefinable, something without a name, which told me that the young life was fleeting9. I read this in her face, and I saw it plainer in the tender solicitude10 of the father, and the anxious, sorrowful look he wore when her face was turned from his. She came down, and before getting into the carriage stroked me upon the neck. The touch, feather-like as it was, sent a thrill through my frame—it was different to anything I had known for years.
‘It is an old horse,’ said Mr. Graham, ‘but a very quiet one. You want air more than exercise, Nellie dear.’
‘It is a very nice horse, and will suit me,’ she said quietly.
Then they got into the carriage.
I felt by the touch that Miss Graham was driving me—a little experience soon tells a horse who is behind him; and we soon entered upon a quiet part of the road, when the gentle strain relaxed, and I was allowed to have my own way. I trotted11 on, with an occasional walk, for an hour or more, and then the reins12 tightened13, and I was turned towards home.
All the way Nellie prattled14 to her father, and all her talk was what she would do next summer. Next summer she would be so well and happy. Archibald—that was her brother—would take his degree and be home for a holiday; and Harry,—here her voice quivered a little—who loved her, and was over the sea, would be back again. Next summer was to be everything to her;—but she had entered upon her last summer here! To all this Mr. Graham said little; but in every word he uttered I detected a ring of sorrow and compassion15: he knew what many others knew—that with her the day was far spent, and the night coming on. Oh, how I pitied them both! and I pitied them the more for the love I bore them—so kind, so gentle, so tender to me, who had known the rough road of life, and felt the thorns and briars which grow on every side. This day was but the type of many. If the sun shone and the wind was soft we invariably went out: not always the same road, but at all times seeking quiet thoroughfares, where I was allowed to travel as I pleased. A happy time for me—I had indeed fallen upon pleasant places. Well fed, well cared for, tenderly spoken to, treated as a horse should be, the days passed like hours, and the weeks like days, and so the summer fled. With the autumn came a change: our drives soon decreased in number, and at last entirely16 stopped. This was what I had feared—what I had looked forward to with dread17 and sorrow. My young mistress’s days were numbered, and she was—to use one of the tenderest expressions from the lips of man—going home. Her father knew, and all around her knew, that there was no hope; but this doctor was sent for, and that doctor was sent for, and took their fees, until the last. The only exercise I got was with Roberts, who took me out for a canter two or three times a week; and it was through the neighbours, who stopped the lad, to inquire how Miss Nellie was, that I 74learnt what I did about her. The death so long threatening came at last. The time is scored deep upon my memory, and the night my darling mistress passed away I shall never forget. Her brother—who was studying hard, so they said—was kept in ignorance of her condition almost to the last. It was her wish, I believe—one of the many unselfish thoughts of hers to which I could bear witness; and so when he came, the poor flickering18 flame of life was nearly gone. In the afternoon of the well-remembered day I heard Roberts tell the gardener that Miss Nellie was not expected to live throughout the night. This aroused my already absorbing interest, and touching19 with a ruder touch than I had known before the cores of my heart, kept me alive to every word and movement around me. The evening passed on, and the sun set amidst a mass of wind-tossed clouds, and with the night came storm and rain. It raged until midnight, and then the heavens cleared, and the stars came out with their twinkling faces looking down upon the wondering earth, emblems20 of peace, and rest, and hope. I was gazing at them through my half-open stable door, when Roberts came in and threw himself upon the straw, weeping bitterly; and the sorrow of the boy told me that all was over!
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1
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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2
mortar
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| n.灰浆，灰泥；迫击炮；v.把…用灰浆涂接合 | |
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3
dismal
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| adj.阴沉的，凄凉的，令人忧郁的，差劲的 | |
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4
bosom
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| n.胸，胸部；胸怀；内心；adj.亲密的 | |
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5
ragged
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| adj.衣衫褴褛的，粗糙的，刺耳的 | |
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6
devotedly
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| 专心地； 恩爱地； 忠实地； 一心一意地 | |
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7
invalid
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| n.病人，伤残人；adj.有病的，伤残的；无效的 | |
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8
sweeping
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| adj.范围广大的，一扫无遗的 | |
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9
fleeting
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| adj.短暂的，飞逝的 | |
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10
solicitude
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| n.焦虑 | |
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11
trotted
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| 小跑，急走( trot的过去分词 )； 匆匆忙忙地走 | |
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12
reins
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| 感情，激情； 缰( rein的名词复数 )； 控制手段； 掌管； （成人带着幼儿走路以防其走失时用的）保护带 | |
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13
tightened
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| 收紧( tighten的过去式和过去分词 )； （使）变紧； （使）绷紧； 加紧 | |
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14
prattled
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| v.（小孩般）天真无邪地说话( prattle的过去式和过去分词 )；发出连续而无意义的声音；闲扯；东拉西扯 | |
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15
compassion
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| n.同情，怜悯 | |
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16
entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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17
dread
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| vt.担忧，忧虑；惧怕，不敢；n.担忧，畏惧 | |
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18
flickering
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| adj.闪烁的，摇曳的，一闪一闪的 | |
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19
touching
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| adj.动人的，使人感伤的 | |
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20
emblems
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| n.象征，标记( emblem的名词复数 ) | |
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