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首页 » 经典英文小说 » Poor Blossom » CHAPTER XI. ANOTHER LOSS AND A DISAPPOINTMENT.
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CHAPTER XI. ANOTHER LOSS AND A DISAPPOINTMENT.
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 What I felt that night I do not care to tell—the sorrow of the time was too deep for words. I loved my mistress; she had come upon me like sunshine after storm—her very touch was balm to my wounded spirit—and she was gone! Roberts made a deal of noise over his sorrow, and I have no doubt he felt the loss; but his wound was not so deep as mine, I warrant you.
 
They buried my mistress quietly, as she wished; and then another misfortune came upon me. Mr. Graham was taken ill. Mr. Archibald did not go back to college, but remained with his father; and from this I argued that the illness was of a very serious nature. Then came a dread1 upon me of what was to come, and I was very unhappy indeed.
 
I saw very little of Mr. Archibald, and what I did see was not pleasing to me. He appeared to be very proud and imperious, and talked to everybody in a very commanding way. As for me, he only came once into the stable, and then he positively2 laughed at me, called me a ‘broken-down hack,’ and asked Roberts why I was not sent to the knacker’s.
 
76‘Miss Nellie was very fond of Blossom, sir,’ replied Roberts; ‘he ain’t much to look at, but he ain’t a bad horse—he is very willing, sir.’
 
This recommendation made no impression upon Mr. Archibald, who laughed contemptuously and went away; but I felt very grateful to the boy Roberts, who preferred speaking the truth to toadying3 to the disparaging4 opinions of his young master. Mr. Graham was very ill, suffering from brain fever, the result of many months of anxiety and watchfulness5 over his daughter. The illness had long been pending6, and descended7 upon him with terrible force. He became delirious8, raving9 night and day, until nature was exhausted10, and a calm settling upon him, he followed his daughter to the grave.
 
This second blow, following so closely upon the first, fairly broke me down; a gloom settled upon the house, but nowhere so darkly as upon me. I not only grieved deeply for the great loss I had sustained, but there was the weight of a dark uncertain future hanging over me.
 
I saw nobody but Roberts until the second funeral was over; and a few days after the event, Mr. Archibald, Roberts, and another servant in livery entered the stable. The latter person seemed to be very deferential11 to Mr. Archibald, and I saw at once that he was his own servant—a man I had heard Roberts speak of as Mr. Archibald’s Hoskins.
 
‘There, that’s the nag12, Hoskins,’ said Mr. Archibald; ‘I make you a present of him, instead of a Christmas box by-and-by. He will fetch something for cats’-meat, if for nothing else.’
 
This unmerited insult was received with an approving laugh from Hoskins; but Roberts, with tears in his eyes, stepped forward and said,—
 
‘If you please, Mr. Archibald, Miss Nellie always said Blossom was not to be sold.’
 
‘Did she?’ returned Mr. Archibald. ‘And pray what was to be done with him?’
 
‘Master said he would keep him while he lived, and leave enough money to keep him at grass in his old days, if he died before him.’
 
Oh, kind mistress and worthy13 master! you have the thanks 77a horse can give for the noble thought; but alas14, it was never to be!
 
‘There was nothing of the sort in his will,’ said Mr. Archibald; ‘and I do not feel called upon to carry out such a sentimental15 scheme upon your bare assertion, my lad. Hoskins, the animal is yours; get him out of the way as soon as you can, for I want the stable for my own horses.’
 
Having thus sealed my fate, he turned upon his heel and went his way. The cold, selfish sentence of Mr. Archibald Graham was carried out. I will make no comment upon the character of this young man, but leave my readers to judge his conduct for themselves. A few hours later I left him and Maythorn Lodge16 behind me.
 
Hoskins took me down to Smithfield, where he sold me to the proprietor17 of an advertising18 van; and for four months I dragged behind me a huge unsightly structure of light boarding, whereon was pasted the advertisements my master was employed to make known.
 
Sometimes we puffed19 a patent pill, warranted to cure every form of suffering known to man; at another time we vaunted the merits of some low wretched comic singer, who did his best nightly to degrade already fallen man; and then this gave way to a wholesale20 outfitter’s declaration that he was the best of tailors; and so we went on, until an Act of Parliament swept advertising vans from the public streets, and my master’s trade was ruined.
 
This was a very wretched time for me: I was badly stabled, badly fed; I was never once decently groomed21 all the time I was with this man. Sometimes, it is true, he scratched my back with a bit of a curry-comb, and threw a pail or two of water over my legs; but this was all, and what with the life I led, and the wet weather and the dirt of the streets, I sank down very low and became a poor wretched object indeed.
 
I was sold again for so small a sum that I will not name it—none who knew poor Blossom in his earliest days would have dreamt that he could have come to such a pass. This buyer was Mr. Crabbe, livery stable keeper and cab proprietor of Hackney Marsh—the last master I shall ever know.
 
78He kept about a dozen horses—eight of them young and in good condition; the rest were pitiable objects like myself, and we were reserved for night work.
 
I need not tell you that our position in the stable was anything but an enviable one. The young horses turned up their noses at us, and upon the strength of being better fed and better cared for than our wretched selves, treated us with the greatest possible contempt. Mr. Crabbe himself seemed to have no thought or care for us, and never once, from the hour I became his property to the present moment, did he ever bestow23 a kind word or a caress24 upon me.
 
As for my duty—my work as night cab horse—I will speak more of that presently; but just now I must tell of an incident which occurred in the stable, as it bears upon the fate of a friend who is very dear to me—I mean Rip, the noble, handsome Rip.
 
One day, late in the afternoon, Mr. Crabbe brought home a new horse, a young thing about four years of age, which he put in the stall next to mine. I just glanced at him, but made no attempt to open a conversation, as I had endured so many insults and snubbings from the better horses of our stable; and after a time forgetting him, fell into a musing25 mood. My fancy carried me back, as it often did, to my place of birth, and the paddock and the surrounding scene rose up before me. For a moment the quietude of the sweet place was upon me, and bowing my head I murmured, ‘Oh, Upton, Upton! would that I could take these old bones down to your green fields! Would that I could lie down beside your sweet river and give up my life!’
 
‘Who talks of Upton?’ said a voice near me; and turning my head I saw the stranger look at me with an inquisitive26 face.
 
‘I do,’ I replied; ‘do you know the place?’
 
‘I ought to,’ replied the other; ‘for I have only just left it, and a bad leave it is for me, I fear. I was reared on Mr. Bayne’s farm, and a kinder master never lived.’
 
I could barely speak for the tumultuous throbbing27 of my heart, but I managed to stammer28 out, ‘Tell me all you know; is Mr. Bayne alive?’ And then I asked for my mother, and the stranger told me what I expected to hear, that she had lived to a good old age, and had died a year ago.
 
79
THE TALK IN THE STABLE.
 
81‘And Mr. Bayne?’ I asked again.
 
‘He is getting into years, but hale and hearty29 still,’ replied my informant. ‘But just before I came away a sad accident happened to a farmer named Martin. Boxer30 was his horse, who used to bring him home from market when he had been drinking; but Boxer was getting old and blind, I suppose, and walked out of the road into the mill-pond. Be it as it may, Mr. Martin and Boxer were found drowned together.’
 
I expressed my sorrow for both master and horse, and then with a palpitating heart I inquired after my old friend Rip.
 
‘Rip, Rip, let me see,’ said my companion, thoughtfully; ‘an old horse belonging to the Tracey family, is it not?’
 
It seemed so odd to hear any one speaking of Rip as an old horse: but time had flown since we met, and he, like me, was past his prime. But he could not be so worn-out as I was—his lot had fallen upon smoother places than mine; still he was old, there was no disputing that.
 
‘A sad accident happened to this Rip,’ continued my informant; ‘a careless groom22 drove him against another carriage, and a splinter entering his leg, he was lamed31 for life.’
 
‘And what has become of him?’ I asked softly, my thoughts running upon knives and guns in an instant.
 
‘The family with whom he lives are very kind to horses,’ was the reply—‘especially the elder branches. Rip has served them well, I believe, and they have rewarded him by making arrangements for him to end his days in the paddock where he lived when young. His leg will never be of any real service again, but it has ceased to pain him, and he limps about as happy and contented32 as a horse can be.’
 
Oh, Rip, my friend, this is good news of you. Long may you live to enjoy your well-earned rest and ease! There was a choking feeling in my throat as I thought of our different lots, but I hope it was not the result of envy. Envy is as bad in a horse as it is in a man.
 
‘Did he ever speak of a horse named Blossom?’ I ventured to ask softly, after a pause.
 
82‘Very often,’ replied my companion—‘wondering what had become of him—and always in terms of the greatest compassion33. I fancy that Blossom is rather an unfortunate horse. Do you know him?’
 
I did not answer, for my heart was full, and my brain was busy with thinking of my dear old friend, high-spirited noble Rip—and generous too, for he could think of me—poor, simple, vulgar Blossom. I felt very sorry for having neighed so loudly when I met him on the race-course; but he forgave me, and what more could I want?
 
I ought to have been sleeping that afternoon; but the news concerning Rip drove all thoughts of rest from my brain, and I had not closed my eyes when the ostler came in to harness me for my nightly work.
 

点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 dread Ekpz8     
vt.担忧,忧虑;惧怕,不敢;n.担忧,畏惧
参考例句:
  • We all dread to think what will happen if the company closes.我们都不敢去想一旦公司关门我们该怎么办。
  • Her heart was relieved of its blankest dread.她极度恐惧的心理消除了。
2 positively vPTxw     
adv.明确地,断然,坚决地;实在,确实
参考例句:
  • She was positively glowing with happiness.她满脸幸福。
  • The weather was positively poisonous.这天气着实讨厌。
3 toadying 9d70796d071d282bc6e046e4a6634780     
v.拍马,谄媚( toady的现在分词 )
参考例句:
  • He objected to the toadying to aristocracy. 他反对对于贵族阶级的奉承。 来自辞典例句
  • Her generosity encouraged toadying among her neighbours. 她的慷慨好施鼓励了她邻居们的谄媚奉承。 来自辞典例句
4 disparaging 5589d0a67484d25ae4f178ee277063c4     
adj.轻蔑的,毁谤的v.轻视( disparage的现在分词 );贬低;批评;非难
参考例句:
  • Halliday's comments grew daily more and more sparklingly disagreeable and disparaging. 一天天过去,哈里代的评论越来越肆无忌惮,越来越讨人嫌,越来越阴损了。 来自英汉文学 - 败坏赫德莱堡
  • Even with favorable items they would usually add some disparaging comments. 即使对好消息,他们也往往要加上几句诋毁的评语。 来自互联网
5 watchfulness 2ecdf1f27c52a55029bd5400ce8c70a4     
警惕,留心; 警觉(性)
参考例句:
  • The escort and the universal watchfulness had completely isolated him. 护送和普遍一致的监视曾经使他完全孤立。
  • A due watchfulness on the movements of the enemy was maintained. 他们对敌人的行动还是相当警惕的。
6 pending uMFxw     
prep.直到,等待…期间;adj.待定的;迫近的
参考例句:
  • The lawsuit is still pending in the state court.这案子仍在州法庭等待定夺。
  • He knew my examination was pending.他知道我就要考试了。
7 descended guQzoy     
a.为...后裔的,出身于...的
参考例句:
  • A mood of melancholy descended on us. 一种悲伤的情绪袭上我们的心头。
  • The path descended the hill in a series of zigzags. 小路呈连续的之字形顺着山坡蜿蜒而下。
8 delirious V9gyj     
adj.不省人事的,神智昏迷的
参考例句:
  • He was delirious,murmuring about that matter.他精神恍惚,低声叨念着那件事。
  • She knew that he had become delirious,and tried to pacify him.她知道他已经神志昏迷起来了,极力想使他镇静下来。
9 raving c42d0882009d28726dc86bae11d3aaa7     
adj.说胡话的;疯狂的,怒吼的;非常漂亮的;令人醉心[痴心]的v.胡言乱语(rave的现在分词)n.胡话;疯话adv.胡言乱语地;疯狂地
参考例句:
  • The man's a raving lunatic. 那个男子是个语无伦次的疯子。
  • When I told her I'd crashed her car, she went stark raving bonkers. 我告诉她我把她的车撞坏了时,她暴跳如雷。
10 exhausted 7taz4r     
adj.极其疲惫的,精疲力尽的
参考例句:
  • It was a long haul home and we arrived exhausted.搬运回家的这段路程特别长,到家时我们已筋疲力尽。
  • Jenny was exhausted by the hustle of city life.珍妮被城市生活的忙乱弄得筋疲力尽。
11 deferential jmwzy     
adj. 敬意的,恭敬的
参考例句:
  • They like five-star hotels and deferential treatment.他们喜欢五星级的宾馆和毕恭毕敬的接待。
  • I am deferential and respectful in the presence of artists.我一向恭敬、尊重艺术家。
12 nag i63zW     
v.(对…)不停地唠叨;n.爱唠叨的人
参考例句:
  • Nobody likes to work with a nag.谁也不愿与好唠叨的人一起共事。
  • Don't nag me like an old woman.别像个老太婆似的唠唠叨叨烦我。
13 worthy vftwB     
adj.(of)值得的,配得上的;有价值的
参考例句:
  • I did not esteem him to be worthy of trust.我认为他不值得信赖。
  • There occurred nothing that was worthy to be mentioned.没有值得一提的事发生。
14 alas Rx8z1     
int.唉(表示悲伤、忧愁、恐惧等)
参考例句:
  • Alas!The window is broken!哎呀!窗子破了!
  • Alas,the truth is less romantic.然而,真理很少带有浪漫色彩。
15 sentimental dDuzS     
adj.多愁善感的,感伤的
参考例句:
  • She's a sentimental woman who believes marriage comes by destiny.她是多愁善感的人,她相信姻缘命中注定。
  • We were deeply touched by the sentimental movie.我们深深被那感伤的电影所感动。
16 lodge q8nzj     
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。
17 proprietor zR2x5     
n.所有人;业主;经营者
参考例句:
  • The proprietor was an old acquaintance of his.业主是他的一位旧相识。
  • The proprietor of the corner grocery was a strange thing in my life.拐角杂货店店主是我生活中的一个怪物。
18 advertising 1zjzi3     
n.广告业;广告活动 a.广告的;广告业务的
参考例句:
  • Can you give me any advice on getting into advertising? 你能指点我如何涉足广告业吗?
  • The advertising campaign is aimed primarily at young people. 这个广告宣传运动主要是针对年轻人的。
19 puffed 72b91de7f5a5b3f6bdcac0d30e24f8ca     
adj.疏松的v.使喷出( puff的过去式和过去分词 );喷着汽(或烟)移动;吹嘘;吹捧
参考例句:
  • He lit a cigarette and puffed at it furiously. 他点燃了一支香烟,狂吸了几口。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • He felt grown-up, puffed up with self-importance. 他觉得长大了,便自以为了不起。 来自《简明英汉词典》
20 wholesale Ig9wL     
n.批发;adv.以批发方式;vt.批发,成批出售
参考例句:
  • The retail dealer buys at wholesale and sells at retail.零售商批发购进货物,以零售价卖出。
  • Such shoes usually wholesale for much less.这种鞋批发出售通常要便宜得多。
21 groomed 90b6d4f06c2c2c35b205c60916ba1a14     
v.照料或梳洗(马等)( groom的过去式和过去分词 );使做好准备;训练;(给动物)擦洗
参考例句:
  • She is always perfectly groomed. 她总是打扮得干净利落。
  • Duff is being groomed for the job of manager. 达夫正接受训练,准备当经理。 来自《简明英汉词典》
22 groom 0fHxW     
vt.给(马、狗等)梳毛,照料,使...整洁
参考例句:
  • His father was a groom.他父亲曾是个马夫。
  • George was already being groomed for the top job.为承担这份高级工作,乔治已在接受专门的培训。
23 bestow 9t3zo     
v.把…赠与,把…授予;花费
参考例句:
  • He wished to bestow great honors upon the hero.他希望将那些伟大的荣誉授予这位英雄。
  • What great inspiration wiII you bestow on me?你有什么伟大的灵感能馈赠给我?
24 caress crczs     
vt./n.爱抚,抚摸
参考例句:
  • She gave the child a loving caress.她疼爱地抚摸着孩子。
  • She feasted on the caress of the hot spring.她尽情享受着温泉的抚爱。
25 musing musing     
n. 沉思,冥想 adj. 沉思的, 冥想的 动词muse的现在分词形式
参考例句:
  • "At Tellson's banking-house at nine," he said, with a musing face. “九点在台尔森银行大厦见面,”他想道。 来自英汉文学 - 双城记
  • She put the jacket away, and stood by musing a minute. 她把那件上衣放到一边,站着沉思了一会儿。
26 inquisitive s64xi     
adj.求知欲强的,好奇的,好寻根究底的
参考例句:
  • Children are usually inquisitive.小孩通常很好问。
  • A pat answer is not going to satisfy an inquisitive audience.陈腔烂调的答案不能满足好奇的听众。
27 throbbing 8gMzA0     
a. 跳动的,悸动的
参考例句:
  • My heart is throbbing and I'm shaking. 我的心在猛烈跳动,身子在不住颤抖。
  • There was a throbbing in her temples. 她的太阳穴直跳。
28 stammer duMwo     
n.结巴,口吃;v.结结巴巴地说
参考例句:
  • He's got a bad stammer.他口吃非常严重。
  • We must not try to play off the boy troubled with a stammer.我们不可以取笑这个有口吃病的男孩。
29 hearty Od1zn     
adj.热情友好的;衷心的;尽情的,纵情的
参考例句:
  • After work they made a hearty meal in the worker's canteen.工作完了,他们在工人食堂饱餐了一顿。
  • We accorded him a hearty welcome.我们给他热忱的欢迎。
30 boxer sxKzdR     
n.制箱者,拳击手
参考例句:
  • The boxer gave his opponent a punch on the nose.这个拳击手朝他对手的鼻子上猛击一拳。
  • He moved lightly on his toes like a boxer.他像拳击手一样踮着脚轻盈移动。
31 lamed 4cb2455d428d600ac7151270a620c137     
希伯莱语第十二个字母
参考例句:
  • He was lamed in the earthquake when he was a little boy. 他还是小孩子时在地震中就变跛了。
  • The school was lamed by losses of staff. 学校因教职人员流失而开不了课。
32 contented Gvxzof     
adj.满意的,安心的,知足的
参考例句:
  • He won't be contented until he's upset everyone in the office.不把办公室里的每个人弄得心烦意乱他就不会满足。
  • The people are making a good living and are contented,each in his station.人民安居乐业。
33 compassion 3q2zZ     
n.同情,怜悯
参考例句:
  • He could not help having compassion for the poor creature.他情不自禁地怜悯起那个可怜的人来。
  • Her heart was filled with compassion for the motherless children.她对于没有母亲的孩子们充满了怜悯心。


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