'I thocht, Mr Russell,' he said, 'that you were satisfied wi' the job;' and he placed his hat on Betty's kitchen dresser, fastened a button in his coat, and stood on the defensive5.
'And I am pleased with the job, Boyes,' I replied. 'You and your men have worked well, and—and whistled well,' I added, with a laugh; 'and in attending to this work just now you have suited my convenience.'
'Well—but—does it no' look as if ye werena pleased when ye're payin' me so soon?'
'No, no, Boyes, you mustn't think that. I happen just now to have the money beside me, and now that the work is completed it is yours, not mine.'
'Oh, that puts a different complexion6 on the face o't, as the monkey said when he pented the cat green;' and he gave a cough of relief, and surreptitiously bit off a chew of brown twist. 'It's no' often that money's put doon on my pastin'-table, as it were, an' it's braw an' welcome, I assure you. I'll no' forget ye wi' leebral discoont, let me tell ye.' When he came back to receipt the account he borrowed a penny stamp from Betty, and with great deliberation and no little ceremony drew his pen several times through the pence column, completely obliterating7 the 8-1/2d. 'Ye see, sir, when a gentleman treats me weel, I'm no' feart. We'll let the eichtpence ha'penny go to the deevil, an' that'll be five pounds six shillin's—nate, as it were.' He stowed the notes away down in his trousers-pocket, unbuttoned and rebuttoned his coat, and jocosely8 informed me that the price of liquid drier was on the rise, and he would now lay in a stock before the market was too high. An hour afterwards I saw him emerge from the side-door of the inn, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, and the term 'liquid drier' was to me stripped of any technical vagueness it had previously9 possessed10.
I have rearranged all the old dining-room pictures so that, without discarding any of them, I shall have sufficient space for the painting of Nith Bridge which the Laurieston minister looked upon as a valuable asset to his bazaar11. One day, when I was confined to bed upstairs, I pencilled a note to my confidential12 clerk in Edinburgh, asking him to find out in which of the five Lauriestons, noted13 in the Post-Office Directory, a bazaar was to be held, and to make sure of purchasing thereat a certain oil-painting of which I gave full particulars. Ormskirk is a cute, long-headed chap; and, knowing the man well, I was really not surprised when, yesterday morning, I received a letter from him advising me that, without any difficulty, he had 'struck' the right Laurieston, and that through our corresponding agent in Falkirk the picture in question had been secured. Following out my instructions, he is getting it suitably framed; so I trust shortly to see the space filled which I am reserving for it.
Poor Betty has put herself to no end of trouble over the modernising of this room. She has planned and worked unceasingly; and as she couldn't be in two places or do two things at once, Nathan and I these last few days have been in a manner neglected. I was sorry to know of her toiling14 on late and early, and I told her to get a woman in to help her; but all she said, and that with a sniff15, too, was, 'It may happen;' and for the first time I saw Betty's nose in the air. And now that everything is done that she recommended, she is regretting all the expense I have been put to, and bewailing the fact that 'efter a' it was hardly worth while.' 'It's a braw, braw room, Maister Weelum,' she said, as she surveyed it for the twentieth time from the doorway—'a braw room indeed, and I trust ye'll lang be spared to enjoy it. Ay, I do that;' and she sighed.
I looked keenly and quickly at her.
'No, no, Maister Weelum, I dinna mean that. I'm no' a dabbler16 amang leaf-mould;' and she laughed cheerily. 'A' the same, an' jokin' apairt, I trust ye'll live to get the guid o' a' your ootlay. At ony rate, ye'll be gey bien here ower the winter. An' when ye're weel again, an' away back to yer wark in Embro', ye'll no' forget that ye have sic a place here. Somewey, I think ye'll get marrit sune—hoo I think sae I canna tell, but the look's comin' to your e'e—an' whaever the lucky leddy may be, ye needna be feart to bring her here, for it's a room fit for a duchess.'
The early fall of snow, which I shall ever associate with the doctor's love-story, was, after all, very slight, and except in the uplands, where it lies in the crevices17 gleaming white in the wintry sun, it has almost entirely18 disappeared. I have been allowed outside again, and, but for a little stiffness, due, the doctor says, to inaction, I am feeling wonderfully strong and even vigorous.
John Kellock the butcher is the nominal19 owner of an old bobtailed collie which rejoices in the name of Bang. Bang carries with him into old age many mementos20 of his pugilistic days, not the least obvious of which are a tattered21 and limp ear and a short, deformed22 foreleg. He is long past active service, and only barks now from the shop-door when sheep pass along the village street; but he dearly loves a quiet saunter down the pavement and along the country road with any one who has a mind to chum with him and can keep step with his. John Sterling23 the shoemaker is also the nominal owner of a dog, a Dandie Dinmont named Jip, which was long a doughty24 antagonist25 of Bang, but he is now on the pension list too, and glad of congenial company of limited locomotive capabilities26. So the three of us—all more or less 'crocks,' and mutually sympathetic—take a constitutional together almost every day. I have mentioned Jip last, but really it was he who made friends with me first. His master made no demur27 to Jip's frequent strolls with me, as the shoemaker himself leads a sedentary life, and no man knows better than he that a dog should get exercise; but since Jip has on more than one occasion taken French leave and remained overnight with me, I am afraid jealousy28 is springing up in the shoemaker's breast. Bang noted the ripening29 acquaintanceship, and girned disapproval30 as we passed the butcher's shop; but I never neglected an opportunity of scratching his shaggy underjaw and talking coaxingly31 in a 'doggie' way to him, and so it came to pass that after following us bit by bit, day by day, he agreed with Jip to bury the hatchet32, and we are now a happy trio and the very best of friends.
As companions in a country walk I prefer Bang and Jip to any man I know. I can be silent and meditative33, and they don't feel neglected or out of it; and when I am minded to talk, they, in the wag of the tail and the intelligent look of the eye, respond and approve. But they never trespass34 upon my attention or disturb my vein35 of thought.
At first, after our walk, when I reached Betty's door, I asked them to come inside, but they stood with a dubious36 look in their eyes and with heads turned sideways. Then Jip evidently remembered that John Sterling had paid his license37, and that he was in duty bound to make some show of recognition, so he walked sedately38 and with fixed39 purpose across the street; while Bang, with recurrent memories of truant40 acts associated with ash-plants, limped his way to Kellock's door. Now, however, they have both flung discretion41 and fears to the winds, and accompany me to my fireside with an 'at home' sort of air, and just as if Betty's abode42 were their own.
Betty has a cat, a very nice, comfortable-looking cat, with a glossy43, well-cared-for fur, and a strong masculine face; and she often wonders why I take no notice of Jessie, as she, in her simplicity44, misnames him. The truth is, God's creatures, great and small, interest and appeal to me, but I cannot love cats. I admire their graceful45 movements, their agility46, their cleanliness so far as their fur is concerned; but their eyes cannot draw me lovingly to them as a dog's can, and I have the feeling that they are capable of loving only those who minister to their wants, and that they are putting up with domesticity because it assures them of food and shelter without putting them to the trouble and inconvenience of seeking it for themselves. I am sorry I cannot love Jessie, but it can't be helped. Jessie, I know, never loved me; and since Bang and Jip have got entry to the house I know 'she' positively47 hates me.
This afternoon Bang and Jip accompanied me as usual in my stroll, and after I had leisurely48 surveyed all the countryside around, and the two dogs had to their hearts' content explored every rat-run in the roots of the bordering hedgerows, we turned for home. For a little while I halted at Hastie's gate, and watched with interest the northward49 rush of the afternoon express. I remembered how, when a boy, I used to stand at this coign of vantage, with my eyes riveted50 on the speeding trains, following them in imagination and desire through distant fields and woods, past towns I knew of only through my geography, on and away to the busy, bustling51 terminus on the Clyde, with its big houses, its long streets, and attractive shops. How I envied the driver on the footplate, and how I longed to be a passenger with him en route to the city which was then to me unknown and unexplored! Experientia docet; the express in its flight was as interesting to me as it was then, but the desire and longing52 to be in it were lacking. 'No, no,' I said to myself; 'no bustling city for me at present. Here around me is life without veneer53; here is the peace I crave54; here, I feel, is the goal.' The sound of approaching footsteps cut short my reverie. I turned my head, and for the second time I looked into the eyes of my dream-lady.
Had I had time to gather my wits and consider the situation, I should probably have recognised her presence by merely raising my hat, but this was denied me; and, acting55 on a sudden impulse, I went forward to meet her with my hand outstretched. With a look of surprise and, I imagined, annoyance56, she stopped and regarded me earnestly for a moment. In a flash it came to me that we had never been introduced, and I blushed awkwardly and retreated a step, muttering an incoherent apology. Then ensued a long pause, an awkward silence. It was Bang who came to the rescue, and saved the situation. Wagging his scraggy apology for a tail, he sidled up to her, and in an ingratiating, wheedling57 way which only a dog possesses, he claimed her attention. She spoke58 to him, and stroked his shaggy head. Then Jip ventured forward, demanding his share of her favours, and she bent59 down and asked him his name. I remained tongue-tied and ill at ease, and was wishing myself a hundred miles away, when she suddenly looked toward me and smiled.
'I consider a collie and a Dandie Dinmont ideal companions,' she said. 'They are evidently very much attached to you, and old friends are the best friends.'
'Friends, yes; but they don't belong to me,' I replied. 'Bang here is an old pensioner60 of the village butcher, and wee Jip is the apple of our local shoemaker's eye. We've been good chums since I came down here, and I seldom go for a walk without them.'
'They weren't with you that day in Nithbank Wood?'
'No.'
'By the way,' she hastily interposed, as if glad of an opening, 'I am pleased to have met you again, and to see you are none the worse of your indiscretion in venturing so far when you weren't feeling fit. You have only one walking-stick now, instead of two; so I argue you are making good progress. Do you know,' she continued, and she gave me a look which set my heart thumping61, 'I have, time and again, reproached myself for leaving you as I did. You acknowledged you had attempted too much, and you looked so helpless, so—so'——and she hesitated. 'What is that very expressive62 Scots word, now? So'——
'Forfaughten,' I hazarded.
'That's it—forfaughten; and you must have felt forfaughten, otherwise the word wouldn't have appealed to you as suitable.'
'Well, I admit now, I was, but at the time I didn't wish you, a lady and a stranger, to know it. Besides, you had already done a good deal for me, which, allow me to repeat, I shall not readily forget.'
I was gradually regaining63 the confidence I had lost, and felt inclined to say more, and to tell her of my dream and what her presence meant to me; but I restrained myself; and, pointing to the paint-box she carried, I changed the subject by asking her if she was finding much inspiration in our beautiful surroundings.
'Yes—oh yes!' she replied; 'it is a beautiful countryside, and the longer I live in it the more I see in it to admire. A wooded locality, such as this, looks at its best—at least from an artist's standpoint—in the late autumn, when sufficient foliage64 is shed to allow the gray-purple of the branches to mingle65 with the yellow and russet of the leaves. I am fortunate in being here at this particular time, and I have made quite a number of sketches66, which I may work up later. But I am not really an artist. I am only a humble67 amateur, though I may to an extent have the eye of an artist—to appreciate all the beautiful sights, you know, and that, after all, is something. But I must be going. Good-afternoon; and I'm glad that you are getting on so nicely.—Good-bye, Bang.—Good-bye, Jip;' and she gave them a parting pat, and with a smile on her face which I long remembered, she walked slowly away.
It is a very slender hair to make a tether with, but somehow the fact of her remembering the dogs by name is a consoling thought, and a source of peculiar68 satisfaction to me.
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1
decorative
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| adj.装饰的，可作装饰的 | |
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deferred
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| adj.延期的，缓召的v.拖延，延缓，推迟( defer的过去式和过去分词 )；服从某人的意愿，遵从 | |
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judgment
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| n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见 | |
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perplexed
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| adj.不知所措的 | |
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defensive
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| adj.防御的；防卫的；防守的 | |
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complexion
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| n.肤色；情况，局面；气质，性格 | |
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obliterating
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| v.除去( obliterate的现在分词 )；涂去；擦掉；彻底破坏或毁灭 | |
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jocosely
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| adv.说玩笑地，诙谐地 | |
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previously
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| adv.以前，先前（地） | |
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possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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bazaar
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| n.集市，商店集中区 | |
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confidential
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| adj.秘（机）密的，表示信任的，担任机密工作的 | |
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noted
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| adj.著名的，知名的 | |
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toiling
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| 长时间或辛苦地工作( toil的现在分词 )； 艰难缓慢地移动，跋涉 | |
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15
sniff
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| vi.嗅…味道；抽鼻涕；对嗤之以鼻，蔑视 | |
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16
dabbler
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| n. 戏水者, 业余家, 半玩半认真做的人 | |
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crevices
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| n.（尤指岩石的）裂缝，缺口( crevice的名词复数 ) | |
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entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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nominal
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| adj.名义上的；(金额、租金)微不足道的 | |
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mementos
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| 纪念品，令人回忆的东西( memento的名词复数 ) | |
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tattered
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| adj.破旧的，衣衫破的 | |
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deformed
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| adj.畸形的；变形的；丑的，破相了的 | |
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sterling
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| adj.英币的(纯粹的，货真价实的)；n.英国货币(英镑) | |
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doughty
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| adj.勇猛的，坚强的 | |
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antagonist
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| n.敌人，对抗者，对手 | |
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capabilities
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| n.能力( capability的名词复数 )；可能；容量；[复数]潜在能力 | |
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demur
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| v．表示异议，反对 | |
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jealousy
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| n.妒忌，嫉妒，猜忌 | |
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ripening
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| v.成熟，使熟( ripen的现在分词 )；熟化；熟成 | |
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disapproval
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| n.反对，不赞成 | |
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coaxingly
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| adv. 以巧言诱哄，以甘言哄骗 | |
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hatchet
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| n.短柄小斧；v.扼杀 | |
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meditative
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| adj.沉思的，冥想的 | |
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trespass
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| n./v.侵犯，闯入私人领地 | |
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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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dubious
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| adj.怀疑的，无把握的；有问题的，靠不住的 | |
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license
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| n.执照，许可证，特许；v.许可，特许 | |
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sedately
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| adv.镇静地，安详地 | |
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fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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truant
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| n.懒惰鬼，旷课者；adj.偷懒的，旷课的，游荡的；v.偷懒，旷课 | |
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41
discretion
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| n.谨慎；随意处理 | |
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42
abode
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| n.住处，住所 | |
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glossy
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| adj.平滑的；有光泽的 | |
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44
simplicity
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| n.简单，简易；朴素；直率，单纯 | |
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graceful
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| adj.优美的，优雅的；得体的 | |
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agility
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| n.敏捷，活泼 | |
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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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leisurely
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| adj.悠闲的；从容的，慢慢的 | |
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49
northward
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| adv.向北；n.北方的地区 | |
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50
riveted
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| 铆接( rivet的过去式和过去分词 )； 把…固定住； 吸引； 引起某人的注意 | |
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51
bustling
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| adj.喧闹的 | |
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52
longing
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| n.（for）渴望 | |
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53
veneer
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| n.(墙上的)饰面，虚饰 | |
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54
crave
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| vt.渴望得到，迫切需要，恳求，请求 | |
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55
acting
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| n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的 | |
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56
annoyance
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| n.恼怒，生气，烦恼 | |
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57
wheedling
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| v.骗取（某物），哄骗（某人干某事）( wheedle的现在分词 ) | |
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58
spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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59
bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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60
pensioner
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| n.领养老金的人 | |
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61
thumping
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| adj.重大的，巨大的；重击的；尺码大的；极好的adv.极端地；非常地v.重击(thump的现在分词)；狠打；怦怦地跳；全力支持 | |
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expressive
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| adj.表现的，表达…的，富于表情的 | |
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63
regaining
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| 复得( regain的现在分词 )； 赢回； 重回； 复至某地 | |
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foliage
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| n.叶子，树叶，簇叶 | |
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65
mingle
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| vt.使混合，使相混；vi.混合起来；相交往 | |
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sketches
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| n.草图( sketch的名词复数 )；素描；速写；梗概 | |
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67
humble
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| adj.谦卑的，恭顺的；地位低下的；v.降低，贬低 | |
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peculiar
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| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
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