Those two girls, Constance and Sophia Baines, paid no heed1 to the manifold interest of their situation, of which, indeed, they had never been conscious. They were, for example, established almost precisely2 on the fifty-third parallel of latitude3. A little way to the north of them, in the creases4 of a hill famous for its religious orgies, rose the river Trent, the calm and characteristic stream of middle England. Somewhat further northwards, in the near neighbourhood of the highest public-house in the realm, rose two lesser5 rivers, the Dane and the Dove, which, quarrelling in early infancy6, turned their backs on each other, and, the one by favour of the Weaver7 and the other by favour of the Trent, watered between them the whole width of England, and poured themselves respectively into the Irish Sea and the German Ocean. What a county of modest, unnoticed rivers! What a natural, simple county, content to fix its boundaries by these tortuous8 island brooks9, with their comfortable names--Trent, Mease, Dove, Tern, Dane, Mees, Stour, Tame, and even hasty Severn! Not that the Severn is suitable to the county! In the county excess is deprecated. The county is happy in not exciting remark. It is content that Shropshire should possess that swollen10 bump, the Wrekin, and that the exaggerated wildness of the Peak should lie over its border. It does not desire to be a pancake like Cheshire. It has everything that England has, including thirty miles of Watling Street; and England can show nothing more beautiful and nothing uglier than the works of nature and the works of man to be seen within the limits of the county. It is England in little, lost in the midst of England, unsung by searchers after the extreme; perhaps occasionally somewhat sore at this neglect, but how proud in the instinctive11 cognizance of its representative features and traits!
Constance and Sophia, busy with the intense preoccupations of youth, recked not of such matters. They were surrounded by the county. On every side the fields and moors12 of Staffordshire, intersected by roads and lanes, railways, watercourses and telegraph-lines, patterned by hedges, ornamented13 and made respectable by halls and genteel parks, enlivened by villages at the intersections14, and warmly surveyed by the sun, spread out undulating. And trains were rushing round curves in deep cuttings, and carts and waggons15 trotting16 and jingling17 on the yellow roads, and long, narrow boats passing in a leisure majestic18 and infinite over the surface of the stolid19 canals; the rivers had only themselves to support, for Staffordshire rivers have remained virgin20 of keels to this day. One could imagine the messages concerning prices, sudden death, and horses, in their flight through the wires under the feet of birds. In the inns Utopians were shouting the universe into order over beer, and in the halls and parks the dignity of England was being preserved in a fitting manner. The villages were full of women who did nothing but fight against dirt and hunger, and repair the effects of friction21 on clothes. Thousands of labourers were in the fields, but the fields were so broad and numerous that this scattered22 multitude was totally lost therein. The cuckoo was much more perceptible than man, dominating whole square miles with his resounding23 call. And on the airy moors heath-larks played in the ineffaceable mule- tracks that had served centuries before even the Romans thought of Watling Street. In short, the usual daily life of the county was proceeding24 with all its immense variety and importance; but though Constance and Sophia were in it they were not of it.
The fact is, that while in the county they were also in the district; and no person who lives in the district, even if he should be old and have nothing to do but reflect upon things in general, ever thinks about the county. So far as the county goes, the district might almost as well be in the middle of the Sahara. It ignores the county, save that it uses it nonchalantly sometimes as leg-stretcher on holiday afternoons, as a man may use his back garden. It has nothing in common with the county; it is richly sufficient to itself. Nevertheless, its self-sufficiency and the true salt savour of its life can only be appreciated by picturing it hemmed25 in by county. It lies on the face of the county like an insignificant26 stain, like a dark Pleiades in a green and empty sky. And Hanbridge has the shape of a horse and its rider, Bursley of half a donkey, Knype of a pair of trousers, Longshaw of an octopus27, and little Turnhill of a beetle28. The Five Towns seem to cling together for safety. Yet the idea of clinging together for safety would make them laugh. They are unique and indispensable. From the north of the county right down to the south they alone stand for civilization, applied29 science, organized manufacture, and the century--until you come to Wolverhampton. They are unique and indispensable because you cannot drink tea out of a teacup without the aid of the Five Towns; because you cannot eat a meal in decency30 without the aid of the Five Towns. For this the architecture of the Five Towns is an architecture of ovens and chimneys; for this its atmosphere is as black as its mud; for this it burns and smokes all night, so that Longshaw has been compared to hell; for this it is unlearned in the ways of agriculture, never having seen corn except as packing straw and in quartern loaves; for this, on the other hand, it comprehends the mysterious habits of fire and pure, sterile31 earth; for this it lives crammed32 together in slippery streets where the housewife must change white window-curtains at least once a fortnight if she wishes to remain respectable; for this it gets up in the mass at six a.m., winter and summer, and goes to bed when the public-houses close; for this it exists--that you may drink tea out of a teacup and toy with a chop on a plate. All the everyday crockery used in the kingdom is made in the Five Towns--all, and much besides. A district capable of such gigantic manufacture, of such a perfect monopoly--and which finds energy also to produce coal and iron and great men-- may be an insignificant stain on a county, considered geographically33, but it is surely well justified34 in treating the county as its back garden once a week, and in blindly ignoring it the rest of the time.
Even the majestic thought that whenever and wherever in all England a woman washes up, she washes up the product of the district; that whenever and wherever in all England a plate is broken the fracture means new business for the district--even this majestic thought had probably never occurred to either of the girls. The fact is, that while in the Five Towns they were also in the Square, Bursley and the Square ignored the staple35 manufacture as perfectly36 as the district ignored the county. Bursley has the honours of antiquity37 in the Five Towns. No industrial development can ever rob it of its superiority in age, which makes it absolutely sure in its conceit38. And the time will never come when the other towns--let them swell39 and bluster40 as they may--will not pronounce the name of Bursley as one pronounces the name of one's mother. Add to this that the Square was the centre of Bursley's retail41 trade (which scorned the staple as something wholesale42, vulgar, and assuredly filthy), and you will comprehend the importance and the self-isolation of the Square in the scheme of the created universe. There you have it, embedded43 in the district, and the district embedded in the county, and the county lost and dreaming in the heart of England!
The Square was named after St. Luke. The Evangelist might have been startled by certain phenomena44 in his square, but, except in Wakes Week, when the shocking always happened, St. Luke's Square lived in a manner passably saintly--though it contained five public-houses. It contained five public-houses, a bank, a barber's, a confectioner's, three grocers', two chemists', an ironmonger's, a clothier's, and five drapers'. These were all the catalogue. St. Luke's Square had no room for minor45 establishments. The aristocracy of the Square undoubtedly46 consisted of the drapers (for the bank was impersonal); and among the five the shop of Baines stood supreme47. No business establishment could possibly be more respected than that of Mr. Baines was respected. And though John Baines had been bedridden for a dozen years, he still lived on the lips of admiring, ceremonious burgesses as 'our honoured fellow-townsman.' He deserved his reputation.
The Baines's shop, to make which three dwellings48 had at intervals49 been thrown into one, lay at the bottom of the Square. It formed about one-third of the south side of the Square, the remainder being made up of Critchlow's (chemist), the clothier's, and the Hanover Spirit Vaults50. ("Vaults" was a favourite synonym51 of the public-house in the Square. Only two of the public-houses were crude public-houses: the rest were "vaults.") It was a composite building of three storeys, in blackish-crimson brick, with a projecting shop-front and, above and behind that, two rows of little windows. On the sash of each window was a red cloth roll stuffed with sawdust, to prevent draughts52; plain white blinds descended53 about six inches from the top of each window. There were no curtains to any of the windows save one; this was the window of the drawing-room, on the first floor at the corner of the Square and King Street. Another window, on the second storey, was peculiar54, in that it had neither blind nor pad, and was very dirty; this was the window of an unused room that had a separate staircase to itself, the staircase being barred by a door always locked. Constance and Sophia had lived in continual expectation of the abnormal issuing from that mysterious room, which was next to their own. But they were disappointed. The room had no shameful55 secret except the incompetence56 of the architect who had made one house out of three; it was just an empty, unemployable room. The building had also a considerable frontage on King Street, where, behind the shop, was sheltered the parlour, with a large window and a door that led directly by two steps into the street. A strange peculiarity57 of the shop was that it bore no signboard. Once it had had a large signboard which a memorable58 gale59 had blown into the Square. Mr. Baines had decided60 not to replace it. He had always objected to what he called "puffing61," and for this reason would never hear of such a thing as a clearance62 sale. The hatred63 of "puffing" grew on him until he came to regard even a sign as "puffing." Uninformed persons who wished to find Baines's must ask and learn. For Mr. Baines, to have replaced the sign would have been to condone64, yea, to participate in, the modern craze for unscrupulous self-advertisement. This abstention of Mr. Baines's from indulgence in signboards was somehow accepted by the more thoughtful members of the community as evidence that the height of Mr. Baines's principles was greater even than they had imagined.
Constance and Sophia were the daughters of this credit to human nature. He had no other children.
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1
heed
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| v.注意，留意；n.注意，留心 | |
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precisely
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| adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地 | |
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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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creases
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| （使…）起折痕，弄皱( crease的第三人称单数 )； （皮肤）皱起，使起皱纹 | |
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lesser
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| adj.次要的，较小的；adv.较小地，较少地 | |
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infancy
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| n.婴儿期；幼年期；初期 | |
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weaver
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| n.织布工；编织者 | |
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tortuous
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| adj.弯弯曲曲的，蜿蜒的 | |
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brooks
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| n.小溪( brook的名词复数 ) | |
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swollen
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| adj.肿大的，水涨的；v.使变大，肿胀 | |
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instinctive
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| adj.(出于)本能的；直觉的；(出于)天性的 | |
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moors
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| v.停泊，系泊（船只）( moor的第三人称单数 ) | |
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ornamented
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| adj.花式字体的v.装饰，点缀，美化( ornament的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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intersections
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| n.横断( intersection的名词复数 )；交叉；交叉点；交集 | |
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waggons
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| 四轮的运货马车( waggon的名词复数 )； 铁路货车； 小手推车 | |
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trotting
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| 小跑，急走( trot的现在分词 )； 匆匆忙忙地走 | |
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jingling
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| 叮当声 | |
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majestic
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| adj.雄伟的，壮丽的，庄严的，威严的，崇高的 | |
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stolid
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| adj.无动于衷的，感情麻木的 | |
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virgin
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| n.处女，未婚女子；adj.未经使用的；未经开发的 | |
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friction
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| n.摩擦，摩擦力 | |
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scattered
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| adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的 | |
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resounding
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| adj. 响亮的 | |
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proceeding
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| n.行动，进行，(pl.)会议录，学报 | |
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hemmed
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| 缝…的褶边( hem的过去式和过去分词 )； 包围 | |
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insignificant
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| adj.无关紧要的，可忽略的，无意义的 | |
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octopus
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| n.章鱼 | |
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beetle
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| n.甲虫，近视眼的人 | |
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29
applied
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| adj.应用的；v.应用，适用 | |
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30
decency
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| n.体面，得体，合宜，正派，庄重 | |
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31
sterile
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| adj.不毛的，不孕的，无菌的，枯燥的，贫瘠的 | |
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32
crammed
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| adj.塞满的，挤满的；大口地吃；快速贪婪地吃v.把…塞满；填入；临时抱佛脚( cram的过去式) | |
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33
geographically
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| adv.地理学上，在地理上，地理方面 | |
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justified
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| a.正当的，有理的 | |
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staple
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| n.主要产物，常用品，主要要素，原料，订书钉，钩环；adj.主要的，重要的；vt.分类 | |
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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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antiquity
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| n.古老；高龄；古物，古迹 | |
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conceit
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| n.自负，自高自大 | |
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39
swell
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| vi.膨胀，肿胀；增长，增强 | |
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40
bluster
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| v.猛刮；怒冲冲的说；n.吓唬，怒号；狂风声 | |
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41
retail
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| v./n.零售；adv.以零售价格 | |
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42
wholesale
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| n.批发；adv.以批发方式；vt.批发，成批出售 | |
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embedded
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| a.扎牢的 | |
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phenomena
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| n.现象 | |
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45
minor
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| adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修 | |
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undoubtedly
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| adv.确实地，无疑地 | |
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47
supreme
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| adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的 | |
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48
dwellings
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| n.住处，处所( dwelling的名词复数 ) | |
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49
intervals
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| n.[军事]间隔( interval的名词复数 )；间隔时间；[数学]区间；（戏剧、电影或音乐会的）幕间休息 | |
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50
vaults
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| n.拱顶( vault的名词复数 )；地下室；撑物跳高；墓穴 | |
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51
synonym
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| n.同义词，换喻词 | |
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52
draughts
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| n. <英>国际跳棋 | |
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53
descended
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| a.为...后裔的，出身于...的 | |
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54
peculiar
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| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
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55
shameful
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| adj.可耻的，不道德的 | |
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56
incompetence
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| n.不胜任，不称职 | |
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57
peculiarity
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| n.独特性，特色；特殊的东西；怪癖 | |
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58
memorable
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| adj.值得回忆的，难忘的，特别的，显著的 | |
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59
gale
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| n.大风，强风，一阵闹声（尤指笑声等） | |
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60
decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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61
puffing
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| v.使喷出( puff的现在分词 )；喷着汽（或烟）移动；吹嘘；吹捧 | |
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62
clearance
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| n.净空；许可(证)；清算；清除，清理 | |
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63
hatred
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| n.憎恶，憎恨，仇恨 | |
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64
condone
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| v.宽恕；原谅 | |
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