1ST CITIZEN Sir, there’s a hurry in the veins1 of youth
That makes a vice2 of virtue3 by excess.
2ND CITIZEN What if the coolness of our tardier4 veins
Be loss of virtue?
1ST CITIZEN All things cool with time —
The sun itself, they say, till heat shall find
A general level, nowhere in excess.
2ND CITIZEN ’Tis a poor climax5, to my weaker thought,
That future middlingness.
IN the evening, when Mr Lyon was expecting the knock at the door that would announce Felix Holt, he occupied his cushionless arm-chair in the sitting-room6, and was skimming rapidly, in his short-sighted way, by the light of one candle, the pages of a missionary7 report, emitting occasionally a slight ‘Hm-m’ that appeared to be expressive8 of criticism rather than of approbation9. The room was dismally10 furnished, the only objects indicating an intention of ornament11 being a bookcase, a map of the Holy Land, an engraved12 portrait of Dr Doddridge, and a black bust13 with a coloured face, which for some reason or other was covered with green gauze. Yet any one whose attention was quite awake must have been aware, even on entering, of certain things that were incongruous with the general air of sombreness and privation. There was a delicate scent14 of dried rose-leaves; the light by which the minister was reading was a wax-candle in a white earthenware15 candlestick, and the table on the opposite side of the fireplace held a dainty work-basket frilled with blue satin.
Felix Holt, when he entered, was not in an observant mood; and when, after seating himself, at the minister’s invitation, near the little table which held the work-basket, he stared at the wax-candle opposite to him, he did so without any wonder or consciousness that the candle was not of tallow. But the minister’s sensitiveness gave another interpretation16 to the gaze which he divined rather than saw; and in alarm lest this inconsistent extravagance should obstruct17 his usefulness, he hastened to say —
‘You are doubtless amazed to see me with a wax-light, my young friend; but this undue18 luxury is paid for with the earnings19 of my daughter, who is so delicately framed that the smell of tallow is loathsome20 to her.’
‘I heeded21 not the candle, sir. I thank Heaven I am not a mouse to have a nose that takes note of wax or tallow.’
The loud abrupt22 tones made the old man vibrate a little. He had been stroking his chin gently before, with a sense that he must be very quiet and deliberate in his treatment of the eccentric young man; but now, quite unreflectingly, he drew forth23 a pair of spectacles, which he was in the habit of using when he wanted to observe his interlocutor more closely than usual.
‘And I myself, in fact, am equally indifferent,’ he said, as he opened and adjusted his glasses, ‘so that I have a sufficient light on my book.’ Here his large eyes looked discerningly through the spectacles.
’Tis the quality of the page you care about, not of the candle,’ said Felix, smiling pleasantly enough at his inspector24. ‘You’re thinking that you have a roughly-written page before you now.’
That was true. The minister, accustomed to the respectable air of provincial25 townsmen, and especially to the sleek27 well-clipped gravity of his own male congregation, felt a slight shock as his glasses made perfectly28 clear to him the shaggy-headed, large-eyed, strong-limbed person of this questionable29 young man, without waistcoat or cravat30. But the possibility, supported by some of Mrs Holt’s words, that a disguised work of grace might be going forward in the son of whom she complained so bitterly, checked any hasty interpretations31.
‘I abstain32 from judging by the outward appearance only,’ he answered, with his usual simplicity33. ‘I myself have experienced that when the spirit is much exercised it is difficult to remember neckbands and strings34 and such small accidents of our vesture, which are nevertheless decent and needful so long as we sojourn35 in the flesh. And you too, my young friend, as I gather from your mother’s troubled and confused report, are undergoing some travail36 of mind. You will not, I trust, object to open yourself fully37 to me, as to an aged38 pastor39 who has himself had much inward wrestling, and has especially known much temptation from doubt.’
‘As to doubt,’ said Felix, loudly and brusquely as before, ‘if it is those absurd medicines and gulling40 advertisements that my mother has been talking of to you — and I suppose it is — I’ve no more doubt about them than I have about pocket-picking. I know there’s a stage of speculation41 in which a man may doubt whether a pickpocket42 is blame-worthy — but I’m not one of your subtle fellows who keep looking at the world through their own legs. If I allowed the sale of those medicines to go on, and my mother to live out of the proceeds when I can keep her by the honest labour of my hands, I’ve not the least doubt that I should be a rascal43.’
‘I would fain inquire more particularly into your objection to these medicines,’ said Mr Lyon, gravely. Notwithstanding his conscientiousness44 and a certain originality45 in his own mental disposition46, he was too little used to high principle quite dissociated from sectarian phraseology to be as immediately in sympathy with it as he would otherwise have been. ‘I know they have been well reported of, and many wise persons have tried remedies providentially discovered by those who are not regular physicians, and have found a blessing48 in the use of them. I may mention the eminent49 Mr Wesley, who, though I hold not altogether with his Arminian doctrine50, nor with the usages of his institution, was nevertheless a man of God; and the journals of various Christians52 whose names have left a sweet savour might be cited in the same sense. Moreover, your father, who originally concocted53 these medicines and left them as a provision for your mother, was, as I understand, a man whose walk was not unfaithful.’
‘My father was ignorant,’ said Felix, bluntly. ‘He knew neither the complication of the human system, nor the way in which drugs counteract54 each other. Ignorance is not so damnable as humbug55, but when it prescribes pills it may happen to do more harm. I know something about these things. I was ‘prentice for five miserable56 years to a stupid brute57 of a country apothecary58 — my poor father left money for that — he thought nothing could be finer for me. No matter: I know that the Cathartic59 Pills are a drastic compound which may be as bad as poison to half the people who swallow them — that the Elixir60 is an absurd farrago of a dozen incompatible61 things; and that the Cancer Cure might as well be bottled ditch-water.’
Mr Lyon rose and walked up and down the room. His simplicity was strongly mixed with sagacity as well as sectarian prejudice, and he did not rely at once on a loud-spoken integrity — Satan might have flavoured it with ostentation63. Presently he asked in a rapid low tone, ‘How long have you known this, young man?’
‘Well put, sir,’ said Felix. ‘I’ve known it a good deal longer than I’ve acted on it, like plenty of other things. But you believe in conversion64?’
‘Yea, verily.’
‘So do I. I was converted by six weeks’ debauchery.’
The minister started. ‘Young man,’ he said, solemnly, going up close to Felix and laying a hand on his shoulder, ‘speak not lightly of the divine operations, and restrain unseemly words.’
‘I’m not speaking lightly,’ said Felix. ‘If I had not seen that I was making a hog65 of myself very fast, and that pig wash, even if could have got plenty of it, was a poor sort of thing, I should never have looked life fairly in the face to see what was to be done with it. I laughed out loud at last to think of a poor devil like me, in a Scotch66 garret, with my stockings out at heel and a shilling or two to be dissipated upon, with a smell of raw haggis mounting from below, and old women breathing gin as they passed me on the stairs — wanting to turn my life into easy pleasure. Then I began to see what else it could be turned into. Not much, perhaps. This world is not a very fine place for a good many of the people in it. But I’ve made up my mind it shan’t be the worse for me, if I can help it. They may tell me I can’t alter the world — that there must be a certain number of sneaks67 and robbers in it, and if I don’t lie and filch68 somebody else will. Well, then, somebody else shall, for I won’t. That’s the upshot of my conversion, Mr Lyon, if you want to know it.’
Mr Lyon removed his hand from Felix’s shoulder and walked about again. ‘Did you sit under any preacher at Glasgow, young man?’
‘No: I heard most of the preachers once, but I never wanted to hear them twice.’
The good Rufus was not without a slight rising of resentment69 at this young man’s want of reverence70. It was not yet plain whether he wanted to hear twice the preacher in Malthouse Yard. But the resentful feeling was carefully repressed: a soul in so peculiar71 a condition must be dealt with delicately.
‘And now, may I ask,’ he said, ‘what course you mean to take, after hindering your mother from making and selling these drugs? I speak no more in their favour after what you have said. God forbid that I should strive to hinder you from seeking whatsoever72 things are honest and honourable73. But your mother is advanced in years; she needs comfortable sustenance74; you have doubtless considered how you may make her amends75? “He that provideth not for his own —” I trust you respect the authority that so speaks. And I will not suppose that, after being tender of conscience towards strangers, you will be careless towards your mother. There be indeed some who, taking a mighty76 charge on their shoulders, must perforce leave their households to Providence77, and to the care of humbler brethren, but in such a case the call must be clear.’
‘I shall keep my mother as well — nay78, better — than she has kept herself. She has always been frugal79. With my watch and clock cleaning, and teaching one or two little chaps that I’ve got to come to me, I can earn enough. As for me, I can live on bran porridge. I have the stomach of a rhinoceros80.’
‘But for a young man so well furnished as you, who can questionless write a good hand and keep books, were it not well to seek some higher situation as clerk or assistant? I could speak to Brother Muscat, who is well acquainted with all such openings. Any place in Pendrell’s Bank, I fear, is now closed against such as are not Churchmen. It used not to be so, but a year ago he discharged Brother Bodkin, although he was a valuable servant. Still, something might be found. There are ranks and degrees — and those who can serve in the higher must not unadvisedly change what seems to be a providential appointment. Your poor mother is not altogether —’
‘Excuse me, Mr Lyon; I’ve had all that out with my mother, and I may as well save you any trouble by telling you that my mind has been made up about that a long while ago. I’ll take no employment that obliges me to prop82 up my chin with a high cravat, and wear straps83, and pass the live-long day with a set of fellows who spend their spare money on shirt-pins. That sort of work is really lower than many handicrafts; it only happens to be paid out of proportion. That’s why I set myself to learn the watchmaking trade. My father was a weaver84 first of all. It would have been better for him if he had remained a weaver. I came home through Lancashire and saw an uncle of mine who is a weaver still. I mean to stick to the class I belong to — people who don’t follow the fashions.’
Mr Lyon was silent a few moments. This dialogue was far from plain sailing; he was not certain of his latitude85 and longitude86. If the despiser of Glasgow preachers had been arguing in favour of gin and Sabbath-breaking, Mr Lyon’s course would have been clearer. ‘Well, well,’ he said, deliberately87, ‘it is true that St Paul exercised the trade of tent-making, though he was learned in all the wisdom of the Rabbis.’
‘St Paul was a wise man,’ said Felix. ‘Why should I want to get into the middle class because I have some learning? The most of the middle class are as ignorant as the working people about everything that doesn’t belong to their own Brummagem life. That’s how the working men are left to foolish devices and keep worsening themselves: the best heads among them forsake88 their born comrades, and go in for a house with a high door-step and a brass89 knocker.’
Mr Lyon stroked his mouth and chin, perhaps because he felt some disposition to smile; and it would not be well to smile too readily at what seemed but a weedy resemblance of Christian51 unworldliness. On the contrary, there might be a dangerous snare90 in an unsanctified outstepping of average Christian practice.
‘Nevertheless,’ he observed, gravely, ‘it is by such self-advancement that many have been enabled to do good service to the cause of liberty and to the public wellbeing. The ring and the robe of Joseph were no objects for a good man’s ambition, but they were the signs of that credit which he won by his divinely-inspired skill, and which enabled him to act as a saviour91 to his brethren.’
‘O yes, your ringed and scented92 men of the people! — I won’t be one of them. Let a man once throttle93 himself with a satin stock, and he’ll get new wants and new motives94. Metamorphosis will have begun at his neck-joint, and it will go on till it has changed his likings first and then his reasoning, which will follow his likings as the feet of a hungry dog follow his nose. I’ll have none of your clerkly gentility. I might end by collecting greasy96 pence from poor men to buy myself a fine coat and a glutton’s dinner, on pretence97 of serving the poor men. I’d sooner be Paley’s fat pigeon than a demagogue all tongue and stomach, though’ — here Felix changed his voice a little — ‘I should like well enough to be another sort of demagogue, if I could.’
‘Then you have a strong interest in the great political movements of these times?’ said Mr Lyon, with a perceptible flashing of the eyes.
‘I should think so. I despise every man who has not — or, having it, doesn’t try to rouse it in other men.’
‘Right, my young friend, right,’ said the minister, in a deep cordial tone. Inevitably98 his mind was drawn99 aside from the immediate47 consideration of Felix Holt’s spiritual interest by the prospect100 of political sympathy. In those days so many instruments of God’s cause in the fight for religious and political liberty held creeds101 that were painfully wrong, and, indeed, irreconcilable103 with salvation104! ‘That is my own view, which I maintain in the face of some opposition105 from brethren who contend that a share in public movements is a hindrance106 to the closer walk, and that the pulpit is no place for teaching men their duties as members of the common-wealth. I have had much puerile107 blame cast upon me because I have uttered such names as Brougham and Wellington in the pulpit. Why not Wellington as well as Rabshakeh? and why not Brougham as well as Balaam?’ Does God know less of men than He did in the days of Hezekiah and Moses? — is His arm shortened, and is the world become too wide for His providence? But, they say, there are no politics in the New Testament108 —’
‘Well, they’re right enough there,’ said Felix, with his usual unceremoniousness.
‘What! you are of those who hold that a Christian minister should not meddle109 with public matters in the pulpit?’ said Mr Lyon, colouring. ‘I am ready to join issue on that point.’
‘Not I, sir,’ said Felix; ‘I should say, teach any truth you can, whether it’s in the Testament or out of it. It’s little enough anybody can get hold of, and still less what he can drive into the skulls110 of a pence-counting, parcel-tying gcneration, such as mostly fill your chapels112.’
‘Young man,’ said Mr Lyon, pausing in front of Felix. He spoke62 rapidly, as he always did, except when his words were specially26 weighted with emotion: he overflowed113 with matter, and in his mind matter was always completely organised into words. ‘I speak not on my own behalf, for not only have I no desire that any man should think of me above that which he seeth me to be, but I am aware of much that should make me patient under a disesteem resting even on too hasty a construction. I speak not as claiming reverence for my own age and office — not to shame you, but to warn you. It is good that you should use plainness of speech, and I am not of those who would enforce a submissive silence on the young, that they themselves, being elders, may be heard at large; for Elihu was the youngest of Job’s friends, yet was there a wise rebuke114 in his words; and the aged Eli was taught by a revelation to the boy Samuel. I have to keep a special watch over myself in this matter, inasmuch as I have a need of utterance115 which makes the thought within me seem as a pent-up fire, until I have shot it forth, as it were, in arrowy words, each one hitting its mark. Therefore I pray for a listening spirit, which is a great mark of grace. Nevertheless, my young friend, I am bound, as I said, to warn you. The temptations that most beset116 those who have great natural gifts, and are wise after the flesh, are pride and scorn, more particularly towards those weak things of the world which have been chosen to confound the things which are mighty. The scornful nostril117 and the high head gather not the odours that lie on the track of truth The mind that is too ready at contempt and reprobation118 is —’
Here the door opened, and Mr Lyon paused to look round, but seeing only Lyddy with the tea-tray, he went on:
‘Is, I may say, as a clenched120 fist that can give blows, but is shut up from receiving and holding ought that is precious — though it were heaven-sent manna.’
‘I understand you, sir,’ said Felix, good-humouredly, putting out his hand to the little man, who had come close to him as he delivered the last sentence with sudden emphasis and slowness. ‘But I’m not inclined to clench119 my fist at you.’ ‘Well, well,’ said Mr Lyon, shaking the proffered121 hand, ‘we shall see more of each other, and I trust shall have much profitable communing. You will stay and have a dish of tea with us: we take the meal late on Thursdays, because my daughter is detained by giving a lesson in the French tongue. But she is doubtless returned now, and will presently come and pour out tea for us.’
‘Thank you; I’ll stay,’ said Felix, not from any curiosity to see the minister’s daughter, but from a liking95 for the society of the minister himself — for his quaint81 looks and ways, and the transparency of his talk, which gave a charm even to his weaknesses. The daughter was probably some prim122 Miss, neat, sensible, pious123, but all in a small feminine way, in which Felix was no more interested than in Dorcas meetings, biographies of devout124 women, and that amount of ornamental125 knitting which was not inconsistent with Nonconforming seriousness.
‘I’m perhaps a little too fond of banging and smashing,’ he went on; ‘a phrenologist at Glasgow told me I had large veneration126; another man there, who knew me, laughed out and said I was the most blasphemous127 iconoclast128 living. “That,” says my phrenologist, “is because of his large Ideality, which prevents him from finding anything perfect enough to be venerated129.” Of course I put my ears down and wagged my tail at that stroking.’
‘Yes, yes; I have had my own head explored with somewhat similar results. It is, I fear, but a vain show of fulfilling the heathen precept130, “Know thyself”, and too often leads to a self-estimate which will subsist131 in the absence of that fruit by which alone the quality of the tree is made evident. Nevertheless — Esther, my dear, this is Mr Holt, whose acquaintance I have even now been making with more than ordinary interest. He will take tea with us.’
Esther bowed slightly as she walked across the room to fetch the candle and place it near her tray. Felix rose and bowed, also with an air of indifference132, which was perhaps exaggerated by the fact that he was inwardly surprised. The minister’s daughter was not the sort of person he expected. She was quite incongruous with his notion of ministers’ daughters in general; and though he had expected something nowise delightful133, the incongruity134 repelled135 him. A very delicate scent, the faint suggestion of a garden, was wafted136 as she went. He would not observe her, but he had a sense of an elastic137 walk, the tread of small feet, a long neck and a high crown of shining brown plaits with curls that floated backward — things, in short, that suggested a fine lady to him, and determined138 him to notice her as little as possible. A fine lady was always a sort of spun-glass affair — not natural, and with no beauty for him as art; but a fine lady as the daughter of this rusty139 old Puritan was especially offensive.
‘Nevertheless,’ continued Mr Lyon, who rarely let drop any thread of discourse140, ‘that phrenological science is not irreconcilable with the revealed dispensations. And it is undeniable that we have our varying native dispositions141 which even grace will not obliterate142. I myself, from my youth up, have been given to question too curiously143 concerning the truth — to examine and sift144 the medicine of the soul rather than to apply it.’
‘If your truth happens to be such medicine as Holt’s Pills and Elixir, the less you swallow of it the better,’ said Felix. ‘But truth-vendors and medicine-vendors usually recommend swallowing. When a man sees his livelihood145 in a pill or a proposition, he likes to have orders for the dose, and not curious inquiries146.’
This speech verged147 on rudeness, but it was delivered with a brusque openness that implied the absence of any personal intention. The minister’s daughter was now for the first time startled into looking at Felix. But her survey of this unusual speaker was soon made, and she relieved her father from the need to reply by saying —
‘The tea is poured out, father.’
That was the signal for Mr Lyon to advance towards the table, raise his right hand, and ask a blessing at sufficient length for Esther to glance at the visitor again. There seemed to be no danger of his looking at her; he was observing her father. She had time to remark that he was a peculiar-looking person, but not insignificant148, which was the quality that most hopelessly consigned149 a man to perdition. He was massively built. The striking points in his face were large clear grey eyes and full lips. ‘Will you draw up to the table, Mr Holt?’ said the minister.
In the act of rising, Felix pushed back his chair too suddenly against the rickety table close by him, and down went the blue-frilled work-basket, flying open, and dispersing150 on the floor reels, thimble, muslin work, a small sealed bottle of atta of rose, and something heavier than these — a duodecimo volume which fell close to him between the table and the fender.
‘O my stars!’ said Felix, ‘I beg your pardon.’ Esther had already started up, and with wonderful quickness had picked up half the small rolling things while Felix was lifting the basket and the book. This last had opened, and had its leaves crushed in falling; and, with the instinct of a bookish man, he saw nothing more pressing to be done than to flatten151 the corners of the leaves.
‘Byron’s Poems!’ he said, in a tone of disgust, while Esther was recovering all the other articles. ‘ “The Dream” — he’d better have been asleep and snoring. What! do you stuff your memory with Byron, Miss Lyon?’
Felix, on his side, was led at last to look straight at Esther, but it was with a strong denunciatory and pedagogic intention. Of course he saw more clearly than ever that she was a fine lady.
She reddened, drew up her long neck, and said, as she retreated to her chair again —
‘I have a great admiration152 for Byron.’
Mr Lyon had paused in the act of drawing his chair to the tea-table, and was looking on at this scene, wrinkling the corners of his eyes with a perplexed153 smile. Esther would not have wished him to know anything about the volume of Byron, but she was too proud to show any concern.
‘He is a worldly and vain writer, I fear,’ said Mr Lyon. He knew scarcely anything of the poet, whose books embodied154 the faith and ritual of many young ladies and gentlemen.
‘A misanthropic155 debauchee,’ said Felix, lifting a chair with one hand, and holding the book open in the other, ‘whose notion of a hero was that he should disorder156 his stomach and despise mankind. His corsairs and renegades, his Alps and Manfreds, are the most paltry157 puppets that were ever pulled by the strings of lust158 and pride.’
‘Hand the book to me,’ said Mr Lyon.
‘Let me beg of you to put it aside till after tea, father,’ said Esther. ‘However objectionable Mr Holt may find its pages, they would certainly be made worse by being greased with bread-and-butter.’
‘That is true, my dear,’ said Mr Lyon, laying down the book on the small table behind him. He saw that his daughter was angry.
‘Ho, ho!’ thought Felix, ‘her father is frightened at her. How came he to have such a nice-stepping, long-necked peacock for his daughter? but she shall see that I am not frightened.’ Then he said aloud, ‘I should like to know how you will justify159 your admiration for such a writer, Miss Lyon.’
‘I should not attempt it with you, Mr Holt,’ said Esther. ‘You have such strong words at command, that they make the smallest argument seem formidable. If I had ever met the giant Cormoran, I should have made a point of agreeing with him in his literary opinions.’
Esther had that excellent thing in woman, a soft voice with a clear fluent utterance. Her sauciness160 was always charming, because it was without emphasis, and was accompanied with graceful161 little turns of the head.
Felix laughed at her thrust with young heartiness162.
‘My daughter is a critic of words, Mr Holt,’ said the minister, smiling complacently163, ‘and often corrects mine on the ground of niceties, which I profess164 are as dark to me as if they were the reports of a sixth sense which I possess not. I am an eager seeker for precision, and would fain find language subtle enough to follow the utmost intricacies of the soul’s pathways, but I see not why a round word that means some object, made and blessed by the Creator, should be branded and banished165 as a malefactor166.’
‘O, your niceties — I know what they are,’ said Felix, in his usual fortissimo. ‘They all go on your system of make-believe. “Rottenness” may suggest what is unpleasant, so you’d better say “sugar-plums”, or something else such a long way off the fact that nobody is obliged to think of it. Those are your round-about euphuisms that dress up swindling till it looks as well as honesty, and shoot with boiled pease instead of bullets. I hate your gentlemanly speakers.’
‘Then you would not like Mr Jermyn, I think,’ said Esther. ‘That reminds me, father, that today, when I was giving Miss Louisa Jermyn her lesson, Mr Jermyn came in and spoke to me with grand politeness, and asked me at what times you were likely to be disengaged, because he wished to make your better acquaintance, and consult you on matters of importance. He never took the least notice of me before. Can you guess the reason of his sudden ceremoniousness?’
‘Nay, child,’ said the minister, ponderingly.
‘Politics, of course,’ said Felix. ‘He’s on some committee. An election is coming. Universal peace is declared, and the foxes have a sincere interest in prolonging the lives of the poultry167. Eh, Mr Lyon? Isn’t that it?’
‘Nay, not so. He is the close ally of the Transome family, who are blind hereditary168 Tories like the Debarrys, and will drive their tenants169 to the poll as if they were sheep. And it has even been hinted that the heir who is coming from the East may be another Tory candidate, and coalesce170 with the younger Debarry. It is said that he has enormous wealth, and could purchase every vote in the county that has a price.’
‘He is come,’ said Esther. ‘I heard Miss Jermyn tell her sister that she had seen him going out of her father’s room.’
‘ ’Tis strange,’ said Mr Lyon.
‘Something extraordinary must have happened,’ said Esther, ‘for Mr Jermyn to intend courting us. Miss Jermyn said to me only the other day that she could not think how I came to be so well educated and ladylike. She always thought Dissenters171 were ignorant, vulgar people. I said, so they were, usually, and Church people also in small towns. She considers herself a judge of what is ladylike, and she is vulgarity personified — with large feet, and the most odious172 scent on her handkerchief, and a bonnet173 that looks like “The Fashion” printed in capital letters.’
‘One sort of fine ladyism is as good as another,’ said Felix.
‘No, indeed. Pardon me,’ said Esther. ‘A real fine-lady does not wear clothes that flare174 in people’s eyes, or use importunate175 scents176, or make a noise as she moves: she is something refined, and graceful, and charming, and never obtrusive177.’
‘O yes,’ said Felix, contemptuously. ‘And she reads Byron also, and admires Childe Harold — gentlemen of unspeakable woes178, who employ a hairdresser, and look seriously at themselves in the glass.’
Esther reddened, and gave a little toss. Felix went on triumphantly179. ‘A fine lady is a squirrel-headed thing, with small airs and small notions, about as applicable to the business of life as a pair of tweezers180 to the clearing of a forest. Ask your father what those old persecuted181 emigrant182 Puritans would have done with fine-lady wives and daughters.’
‘O there is no danger of such misalliances,’ said Esther. ‘Men who are unpleasant companions and make frights of themselves, are sure to get wives tasteless enough to suit them.’
‘Esther, my dear,’ said Mr Lyon, ‘let not your playfulness betray you into disrespect towards those venerable pilgrims. They struggled and endured in order to cherish and plant anew the seeds of scriptural doctrine and of a pure discipline.’
‘Yes, I know,’ said Esther, hastily, dreading183 a discourse on the pilgrim fathers.
‘O they were an ugly lot!’ Felix burst in, making Mr Lyon start. ‘Miss Medora wouldn’t have minded if they had all been put into the pillory184 and lost their ears. She would have said, “Their ears did stick out so.” I shouldn’t wonder if that’s a bust of one of them.’ Here Felix, with sudden keenness of observation, nodded at the black bust with the gauze over its coloured face.
‘No,’ said Mr Lyon; ‘that is the eminent George Whitfield, who, you well know, had a gift of oratory185 as of one on whom the tongue of flame had rested visibly. But Providence — doubtless for wise ends in relation to the inner man, for I would not inquire too closely into minutiae186 which carry too many plausible187 interpretations for any one of them to be stable — Providence, I say, ordained188 that the good man should squint189; and my daughter has not yet learned to bear with this infirmity.’
‘So she has put a veil over it. Suppose you had squinted190 yourself?’ said Felix, looking at Esther.
‘Then, doubtless, you could have been more polite to me, Mr Holt,’ said Esther, rising and placing herself at her worktable. ‘You seem to prefer what is unusual and ugly.’
‘A peacock!’ thought Felix. ‘I should like to come and scold her every day, and make her cry and cut her fine hair off.’
Felix rose to go, and said, ‘I will not take up more of your valuable time, Mr Lyon. I know that you have not many spare evenings.’
‘That is true, my young friend; for I now go to Sproxton one evening in the week. I do not despair that we may some day need a chapel111 there, though the hearers do not multiply save among the women, and there is no work as yet begun among the miners themselves. I shall be glad of your company in my walk thither191 tomorrow at five o’clock, if you would like to see how that population has grown of late years.’
‘O, I’ve been to Sproxton already several times. I had a congregation of my own there last Sunday evening.’
‘What! do you preach?’ said Mr Lyon, with a brightened glance
‘Not exactly. I went to the ale-house.’
Mr Lyon started. ‘I trust you are putting a riddle192 to me, young man, even as Samson did to his companions. From what you said but lately, it cannot be that you are given to tippling and to taverns193.’
‘O, I don’t drink much. I order a pint194 of beer, and I get into talk with the fellows over their pots and pipes. Somebody must take a little knowledge and common sense to them in this way, else how are they to get it? I go for educating the non-electors, so I put myself in the way of my pupils — my academy is the beer-house. I’ll walk with you tomorrow with great pleasure.’
‘Do so, do so,’ said Mr Lyon, shaking hands with his old acquaintance. ‘We shall understand each other better by-and-by, I doubt not.’
‘I wish you good-evening, Miss Lyon.’
Esther bowed very slightly, without speaking.
‘That is a singular young man, Esther,’ said the minister, walking about after Felix was gone. ‘I discern in him a love for whatsoever things are honest and true, which I would fain believe to be an earnest of further endowment with the wisdom that is from on high. It is true that, as the traveller in the desert is often lured195, by a false vision of water and freshness, to turn aside from the track which leads to the tried and established fountains, so the Evil One will take advantage of a natural yearning196 towards the better, to delude197 the soul with a self-flattering belief in a visionary virtue, higher than the ordinary fruits of the Spirit. But I trust it is not so here. I feel a great enlargement in this young man’s presence, notwithstanding a certain licence in his language, which I shall use my efforts to correct.’
‘I think he is very coarse and rude,’ said Esther, with a touch of temper in her voice. ‘But he speaks better English than most of our visitors. What is his occupation?’
‘Watch and clock making, by which, together with a little teaching, as I understand, he hopes to maintain his mother, not thinking it right that she should live by the sale of medicines whose virtues198 he distrusts. It is no common scruple199.’
‘Dear me,’ said Esther, ‘I thought he was something higher than that.’ She was disappointed.
Felix, on his side, as he strolled out in the evening air, said to himself: ‘Now by what fine meshes200 of circumstance did that queer devout old man, with his awful creed102, which makes this world a vestibule with double doors to hell, and a narrow stair on one side whereby the thinner sort may mount to heaven — by what subtle play of flesh and spirit did he come to have a daughter so little in his own likeness201? Married foolishly, I suppose. I’ll never marry, though I should have to live on raw turnips202 to subdue203 my flesh. I’ll never look back and say, “I had a fine purpose once — I meant to keep my hands clean, and my soul upright, and to look truth in the face; but pray excuse me, I have a wife and children — I must lie and simper a little, else they’ll starve! ” or, “My wife is nice, she must have her bread well buttered, and her feelings will be hurt if she is not thought genteel.” That is the lot Miss Esther is preparing for some man or other. I could grind my teeth at such self-satisfied minxes, who think they can tell everybody what is the correct thing, and the utmost stretch of their ideas will not place them on a level with the intelligent fleas204. I should like to see if she could be made ashamed of herself.’
收听单词发音 |
1
veins
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| n.纹理；矿脉( vein的名词复数 )；静脉；叶脉；纹理 | |
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vice
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| n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的 | |
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virtue
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| n.德行，美德；贞操；优点；功效，效力 | |
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tardier
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| adj.行动缓慢的( tardy的比较级 )；缓缓移动的；晚的；迟的 | |
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climax
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| n.顶点；高潮；v.(使)达到顶点 | |
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sitting-room
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| n.（BrE）客厅，起居室 | |
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missionary
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| adj.教会的，传教(士)的；n.传教士 | |
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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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approbation
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| n.称赞；认可 | |
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dismally
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| adv.阴暗地，沉闷地 | |
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ornament
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| v.装饰，美化；n.装饰，装饰物 | |
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engraved
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| v.在（硬物）上雕刻（字，画等）( engrave的过去式和过去分词 )；将某事物深深印在（记忆或头脑中） | |
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bust
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| vt.打破；vi.爆裂；n.半身像；胸部 | |
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scent
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| n.气味，香味，香水，线索，嗅觉；v.嗅，发觉 | |
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earthenware
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| n.土器，陶器 | |
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interpretation
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| n.解释，说明，描述；艺术处理 | |
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obstruct
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| v.阻隔，阻塞(道路、通道等)；n.阻碍物，障碍物 | |
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undue
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| adj.过分的；不适当的；未到期的 | |
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earnings
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| n.工资收人；利润，利益，所得 | |
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loathsome
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| adj.讨厌的，令人厌恶的 | |
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heeded
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| v.听某人的劝告，听从( heed的过去式和过去分词 )；变平，使（某物）变平( flatten的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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abrupt
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| adj.突然的，意外的；唐突的，鲁莽的 | |
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forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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inspector
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| n.检查员，监察员，视察员 | |
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provincial
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| adj.省的，地方的；n．外省人，乡下人 | |
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specially
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| adv.特定地；特殊地；明确地 | |
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sleek
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| adj.光滑的，井然有序的；v.使光滑，梳拢 | |
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perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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questionable
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| adj.可疑的，有问题的 | |
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cravat
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| n.领巾，领结；v.使穿有领结的服装，使结领结 | |
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interpretations
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| n.解释( interpretation的名词复数 )；表演；演绎；理解 | |
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abstain
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| v.自制，戒绝，弃权，避免 | |
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simplicity
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| n.简单，简易；朴素；直率，单纯 | |
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strings
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| n.弦 | |
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sojourn
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| v./n.旅居，寄居；逗留 | |
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travail
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| n.阵痛；努力 | |
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fully
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| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
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aged
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| adj.年老的，陈年的 | |
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pastor
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| n.牧师，牧人 | |
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gulling
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| v.欺骗某人( gull的现在分词 ) | |
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speculation
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| n.思索，沉思；猜测；投机 | |
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42
pickpocket
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| n.扒手；v.扒窃 | |
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43
rascal
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| n.流氓；不诚实的人 | |
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conscientiousness
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| 责任心 | |
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originality
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| n.创造力，独创性；新颖 | |
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46
disposition
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| n.性情，性格；意向，倾向；排列，部署 | |
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immediate
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| adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的 | |
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48
blessing
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| n.祈神赐福；祷告；祝福，祝愿 | |
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eminent
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| adj.显赫的，杰出的，有名的，优良的 | |
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50
doctrine
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| n.教义；主义；学说 | |
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51
Christian
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| adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒 | |
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52
Christians
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| n.基督教徒( Christian的名词复数 ) | |
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53
concocted
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| v.将（尤指通常不相配合的）成分混合成某物( concoct的过去式和过去分词 )；调制；编造；捏造 | |
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54
counteract
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| vt.对…起反作用，对抗，抵消 | |
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55
humbug
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| n.花招，谎话，欺骗 | |
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56
miserable
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| adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的 | |
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57
brute
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| n.野兽，兽性 | |
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58
apothecary
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| n.药剂师 | |
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59
cathartic
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| adj.宣泄情绪的；n.泻剂 | |
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60
elixir
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| n.长生不老药，万能药 | |
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61
incompatible
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| adj.不相容的，不协调的，不相配的 | |
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62
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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63
ostentation
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| n.夸耀，卖弄 | |
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conversion
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| n.转化，转换，转变 | |
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65
hog
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| n.猪；馋嘴贪吃的人；vt.把…占为己有，独占 | |
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66
scotch
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| n.伤口，刻痕；苏格兰威士忌酒；v.粉碎，消灭，阻止；adj.苏格兰(人)的 | |
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67
sneaks
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| abbr.sneakers (tennis shoes) 胶底运动鞋（网球鞋）v.潜行( sneak的第三人称单数 )；偷偷溜走；（儿童向成人）打小报告；告状 | |
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68
filch
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| v.偷窃 | |
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69
resentment
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| n.怨愤，忿恨 | |
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70
reverence
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| n.敬畏，尊敬，尊严；Reverence:对某些基督教神职人员的尊称；v.尊敬，敬畏，崇敬 | |
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71
peculiar
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| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
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72
whatsoever
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| adv.（用于否定句中以加强语气）任何；pron.无论什么 | |
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73
honourable
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| adj.可敬的；荣誉的，光荣的 | |
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74
sustenance
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| n.食物，粮食；生活资料；生计 | |
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75
amends
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| n. 赔偿 | |
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76
mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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77
providence
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| n.深谋远虑，天道，天意；远见；节约；上帝 | |
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78
nay
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| adv.不；n.反对票，投反对票者 | |
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79
frugal
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| adj.节俭的，节约的，少量的，微量的 | |
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80
rhinoceros
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| n.犀牛 | |
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81
quaint
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| adj.古雅的，离奇有趣的，奇怪的 | |
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82
prop
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| vt.支撑；n.支柱，支撑物；支持者，靠山 | |
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83
straps
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| n.带子( strap的名词复数 )；挎带；肩带；背带v.用皮带捆扎( strap的第三人称单数 )；用皮带抽打；包扎；给…打绷带 | |
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84
weaver
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| n.织布工；编织者 | |
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85
latitude
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| n.纬度，行动或言论的自由(范围)，(pl.)地区 | |
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86
longitude
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| n.经线，经度 | |
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87
deliberately
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| adv.审慎地；蓄意地；故意地 | |
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88
forsake
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| vt.遗弃，抛弃；舍弃，放弃 | |
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89
brass
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| n.黄铜；黄铜器，铜管乐器 | |
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90
snare
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| n.陷阱，诱惑，圈套；（去除息肉或者肿瘤的）勒除器；响弦，小军鼓；vt.以陷阱捕获，诱惑 | |
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91
saviour
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| n.拯救者，救星 | |
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92
scented
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| adj.有香味的；洒香水的；有气味的v.嗅到(scent的过去分词) | |
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93
throttle
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| n.节流阀，节气阀，喉咙；v.扼喉咙，使窒息，压 | |
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94
motives
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| n.动机，目的( motive的名词复数 ) | |
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95
liking
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| n.爱好；嗜好；喜欢 | |
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96
greasy
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| adj. 多脂的，油脂的 | |
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97
pretence
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| n.假装，作假；借口，口实；虚伪；虚饰 | |
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98
inevitably
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| adv.不可避免地；必然发生地 | |
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99
drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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100
prospect
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| n.前景，前途；景色，视野 | |
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101
creeds
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| （尤指宗教）信条，教条( creed的名词复数 ) | |
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102
creed
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| n.信条；信念，纲领 | |
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103
irreconcilable
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| adj.（指人）难和解的，势不两立的 | |
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104
salvation
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| n.（尤指基督）救世，超度，拯救，解困 | |
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105
opposition
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| n.反对，敌对 | |
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106
hindrance
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| n.妨碍，障碍 | |
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107
puerile
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| adj.幼稚的，儿童的 | |
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108
testament
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| n.遗嘱；证明 | |
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109
meddle
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| v.干预，干涉，插手 | |
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110
skulls
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| 颅骨( skull的名词复数 )； 脑袋； 脑子； 脑瓜 | |
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111
chapel
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| n.小教堂，殡仪馆 | |
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112
chapels
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| n.小教堂， （医院、监狱等的）附属礼拜堂( chapel的名词复数 )；（在小教堂和附属礼拜堂举行的）礼拜仪式 | |
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113
overflowed
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| 溢出的 | |
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114
rebuke
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| v.指责，非难，斥责 [反]praise | |
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115
utterance
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| n.用言语表达，话语，言语 | |
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116
beset
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| v.镶嵌；困扰，包围 | |
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117
nostril
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| n.鼻孔 | |
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118
reprobation
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| n.斥责 | |
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119
clench
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| vt.捏紧（拳头等），咬紧（牙齿等），紧紧握住 | |
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120
clenched
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| v.紧握，抓紧，咬紧( clench的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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121
proffered
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| v.提供，贡献，提出( proffer的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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122
prim
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| adj.拘泥形式的，一本正经的；n.循规蹈矩，整洁；adv.循规蹈矩地，整洁地 | |
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123
pious
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| adj.虔诚的；道貌岸然的 | |
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124
devout
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| adj.虔诚的，虔敬的，衷心的 (n.devoutness) | |
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125
ornamental
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| adj.装饰的；作装饰用的；n.装饰品；观赏植物 | |
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126
veneration
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| n.尊敬，崇拜 | |
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127
blasphemous
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| adj.亵渎神明的，不敬神的 | |
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128
iconoclast
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| n.反对崇拜偶像者 | |
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129
venerated
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| 敬重（某人或某事物），崇敬( venerate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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130
precept
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| n.戒律；格言 | |
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131
subsist
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| vi.生存，存在，供养 | |
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132
indifference
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| n.不感兴趣，不关心，冷淡，不在乎 | |
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133
delightful
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| adj.令人高兴的，使人快乐的 | |
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134
incongruity
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| n.不协调，不一致 | |
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135
repelled
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| v.击退( repel的过去式和过去分词 )；使厌恶；排斥；推开 | |
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136
wafted
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| v.吹送，飘送，（使）浮动( waft的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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137
elastic
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| n.橡皮圈，松紧带；adj.有弹性的；灵活的 | |
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138
determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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139
rusty
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| adj.生锈的；锈色的；荒废了的 | |
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140
discourse
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| n.论文，演说；谈话；话语；vi.讲述，著述 | |
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141
dispositions
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| 安排( disposition的名词复数 )； 倾向； （财产、金钱的）处置； 气质 | |
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142
obliterate
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| v.擦去，涂抹，去掉...痕迹，消失，除去 | |
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143
curiously
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| adv.有求知欲地；好问地；奇特地 | |
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144
sift
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| v.筛撒，纷落，详察 | |
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145
livelihood
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| n.生计，谋生之道 | |
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146
inquiries
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| n.调查( inquiry的名词复数 )；疑问；探究；打听 | |
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147
verged
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| 接近，逼近（verge的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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148
insignificant
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| adj.无关紧要的，可忽略的，无意义的 | |
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149
consigned
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| v.把…置于（令人不快的境地）( consign的过去式和过去分词 )；把…托付给；把…托人代售；丟弃 | |
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150
dispersing
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| adj. 分散的 动词disperse的现在分词形式 | |
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151
flatten
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| v.把．．．弄平，使倒伏；使(漆等)失去光泽 | |
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152
admiration
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| n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕 | |
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153
perplexed
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| adj.不知所措的 | |
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154
embodied
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| v.表现( embody的过去式和过去分词 )；象征；包括；包含 | |
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155
misanthropic
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| adj.厌恶人类的，憎恶（或蔑视）世人的；愤世嫉俗 | |
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156
disorder
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| n.紊乱，混乱；骚动，骚乱；疾病，失调 | |
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157
paltry
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| adj.无价值的，微不足道的 | |
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158
lust
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| n.性(淫)欲；渴(欲)望；vi.对…有强烈的欲望 | |
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159
justify
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| vt.证明…正当(或有理)，为…辩护 | |
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160
sauciness
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| n.傲慢，鲁莽 | |
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161
graceful
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| adj.优美的，优雅的；得体的 | |
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162
heartiness
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| 诚实，热心 | |
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163
complacently
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| adv. 满足地, 自满地, 沾沾自喜地 | |
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164
profess
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| v.声称，冒称，以...为业，正式接受入教，表明信仰 | |
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165
banished
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| v.放逐，驱逐( banish的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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166
malefactor
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| n.罪犯 | |
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167
poultry
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| n.家禽，禽肉 | |
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168
hereditary
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| adj.遗传的，遗传性的，可继承的，世袭的 | |
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169
tenants
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| n.房客( tenant的名词复数 )；佃户；占用者；占有者 | |
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170
coalesce
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| v.联合，结合，合并 | |
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171
dissenters
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| n.持异议者，持不同意见者( dissenter的名词复数 ) | |
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172
odious
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| adj.可憎的，讨厌的 | |
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173
bonnet
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| n.无边女帽；童帽 | |
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174
flare
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| v.闪耀，闪烁；n.潮红；突发 | |
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175
importunate
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| adj.强求的；纠缠不休的 | |
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176
scents
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| n.香水( scent的名词复数 )；气味；（动物的）臭迹；（尤指狗的）嗅觉 | |
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177
obtrusive
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| adj.显眼的；冒失的 | |
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178
woes
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| 困境( woe的名词复数 )； 悲伤； 我好苦哇； 某人就要倒霉 | |
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179
triumphantly
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| ad.得意洋洋地；得胜地；成功地 | |
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180
tweezers
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| n.镊子 | |
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181
persecuted
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| （尤指宗教或政治信仰的）迫害(~sb. for sth.)( persecute的过去式和过去分词 )； 烦扰，困扰或骚扰某人 | |
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182
emigrant
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| adj.移居的，移民的；n.移居外国的人，移民 | |
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183
dreading
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| v.害怕，恐惧，担心( dread的现在分词 ) | |
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184
pillory
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| n.嘲弄；v.使受公众嘲笑；将…示众 | |
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185
oratory
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| n.演讲术；词藻华丽的言辞 | |
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186
minutiae
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| n.微小的细节，细枝末节；（常复数）细节，小事( minutia的名词复数 ) | |
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187
plausible
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| adj.似真实的，似乎有理的，似乎可信的 | |
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188
ordained
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| v.任命（某人）为牧师( ordain的过去式和过去分词 )；授予（某人）圣职；（上帝、法律等）命令；判定 | |
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189
squint
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| v. 使变斜视眼, 斜视, 眯眼看, 偏移, 窥视; n. 斜视, 斜孔小窗; adj. 斜视的, 斜的 | |
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190
squinted
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| 斜视( squint的过去式和过去分词 )； 眯着眼睛； 瞟； 从小孔或缝隙里看 | |
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191
thither
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| adv.向那里；adj.在那边的，对岸的 | |
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192
riddle
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| n.谜，谜语，粗筛；vt.解谜，给…出谜，筛，检查，鉴定，非难，充满于；vi.出谜 | |
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193
taverns
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| n.小旅馆，客栈，酒馆( tavern的名词复数 ) | |
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194
pint
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| n.品脱 | |
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195
lured
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| 吸引，引诱（lure的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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196
yearning
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| a.渴望的；向往的；怀念的 | |
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197
delude
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| vt.欺骗；哄骗 | |
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198
virtues
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| 美德( virtue的名词复数 )； 德行； 优点； 长处 | |
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199
scruple
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| n./v.顾忌，迟疑 | |
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200
meshes
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| 网孔( mesh的名词复数 )； 网状物； 陷阱； 困境 | |
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201
likeness
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| n.相像，相似（之处） | |
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202
turnips
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| 芜青( turnip的名词复数 )； 芜菁块根； 芜菁甘蓝块根； 怀表 | |
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203
subdue
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| vt.制服，使顺从，征服；抑制，克制 | |
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204
fleas
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| n.跳蚤( flea的名词复数 )；爱财如命；没好气地（拒绝某人的要求） | |
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