Magical American forest monster第一节.docx

1、Magical American forest monster第一节Chapter 15 Bell YardWhile we were in London Mr. Jarndyce was constantly beset by thecrowd of excitable ladies and gentlemen whose proceedings had somuch astonished us. Mr. Quale, who presented himself soon afterour arrival, was in all such excitements. He seemed to

2、projectthose two shining knobs of temples of his into everything that wenton and to brush his hair farther and farther back, until the veryroots were almost ready to fly out of his head in inappeasablephilanthropy. All objects were alike to him, but he was alwaysparticularly ready for anything in th

3、e way of a testimonial to anyone. His great power seemed to be his power of indiscriminateadmiration. He would sit for any length of time, with the utmostenjoyment, bathing his temples in the light of any order ofluminary. Having first seen him perfectly swallowed up inadmiration of Mrs. Jellyby, I

4、had supposed her to be the absorbingobject of his devotion. I soon discovered my mistake and found himto be train-bearer and organ-blower to a whole procession ofpeople.Mrs. Pardiggle came one day for a subscription to something, andwith her, Mr. Quale. Whatever Mrs. Pardiggle said, Mr. Qualerepeate

5、d to us; and just as he had drawn Mrs. Jellyby out, he drewMrs. Pardiggle out. Mrs. Pardiggle wrote a letter of introductionto my guardian in behalf of her eloquent friend Mr. Gusher. WithMr. Gusher appeared Mr. Quale again. Mr. Gusher, being a flabbygentleman with a moist surface and eyes so much t

6、oo small for hismoon of a face that they seemed to have been originally made forsomebody else, was not at first sight prepossessing; yet he wasscarcely seated before Mr. Quale asked Ada and me, not inaudibly,whether he was not a great creature-which he certainly was,flabbily speaking, though Mr. Qua

7、le meant in intellectual beauty-and whether we were not struck by his massive configuration ofbrow. In short, we heard of a great many missions of various sortsamong this set of people, but nothing respecting them was half soclear to us as that it was Mr. Quales mission to be in ecstasieswith everyb

8、ody elses mission and that it was the most popularmission of all.Mr. Jarndyce had fallen into this company in the tenderness of hisheart and his earnest desire to do all the good in his power; butthat he felt it to be too often an unsatisfactory company, wherebenevolence took spasmodic forms, where

9、charity was assumed as aregular uniform by loud professors and speculators in cheapnotoriety, vehement in profession, restless and vain in action,servile in the last degree of meanness to the great, adulatory ofone another, and intolerable to those who were anxious quietly tohelp the weak from faili

10、ng rather than with a great deal of blusterand self-laudation to raise them up a little way when they weredown, he plainly told us. When a testimonial was originated to Mr.Quale by Mr. Gusher (who had already got one, originated by Mr.Quale), and when Mr. Gusher spoke for an hour and a half on thesu

11、bject to a meeting, including two charity schools of small boysand girls, who were specially reminded of the widows mite, andrequested to come forward with halfpence and be acceptablesacrifices, I think the wind was in the east for three whole weeks.I mention this because I am coming to Mr. Skimpole

12、 again. Itseemed to me that his off-hand professions of childishness andcarelessness were a great relief to my guardian, by contrast withsuch things, and were the more readily believed in since to findone perfectly undesigning and candid man among many opposites couldnot fail to give him pleasure. I

13、 should be sorry to imply that Mr.Skimpole divined this and was politic; I really never understoodhim well enough to know. What he was to my guardian, he certainlywas to the rest of the world.He had not been very well; and thus, though he lived in London, wehad seen nothing of him until now. He appe

14、ared one morning in hisusual agreeable way and as full of pleasant spirits as ever.Well, he said, here he was! He had been bilious, but rich men wereoften bilious, and therefore he had been persuading himself that hewas a man of property. So he was, in a certain point of view-inhis expansive intenti

15、ons. He had been enriching his medicalattendant in the most lavish manner. He had always doubled, andsometimes quadrupled, his fees. He had said to the doctor, Now,my dear doctor, it is quite a delusion on your part to suppose thatyou attend me for nothing. I am overwhelming you with money-in myexpa

16、nsive intentions-if you only knew it! And really (he said)he meant it to that degree that he thought it much the same asdoing it. If he had had those bits of metal or thin paper to whichmankind attached so much importance to put in the doctors hand, hewould have put them in the doctors hand. Not hav

17、ing them, hesubstituted the will for the deed. Very well! If he really meantit-if his will were genuine and real, which it was-it appeared tohim that it was the same as coin, and cancelled the obligation.It may be, partly, because I know nothing of the value of money,said Mr. Skimpole, but I often f

18、eel this. It seems so reasonable!My butcher says to me he wants that little bill. Its a part ofthe pleasant unconscious poetry of the mans nature that he alwayscalls it a little bill-to make the payment appear easy to bothof us. I reply to the butcher, My good friend, if you knew it,you are paid. Yo

19、u havent had the trouble of coming to ask for thelittle bill. You are paid. I mean it.But, suppose, said my guardian, laughing, he had meant the meatin the bill, instead of providing it?My dear Jarndyce, he returned, you surprise me. You take thebutchers position. A butcher I once dealt with occupie

20、d that veryground. Says he, Sir, why did you eat spring lamb at eighteenpence a pound? Why did I eat spring lamb at eighteen-pence apound, my honest friend? said I, naturally amazed by the question.I like spring lamb! This was so far convincing. Well, sir,says he, I wish I had meant the lamb as you

21、mean the money! Mygood fellow, said I, pray let us reason like intellectual beings.How could that be? It was impossible. You HAD got the lamb, and Ihave NOT got the money. You couldnt really mean the lamb withoutsending it in, whereas I can, and do, really mean the money withoutpaying it! He had not

22、 a word. There was an end of the subject.Did he take no legal proceedings? inquired my guardian.Yes, he took legal proceedings, said Mr. Skimpole. But in thathe was influenced by passion, not by reason. Passion reminds me ofBoythorn. He writes me that you and the ladies have promised him ashort visi

23、t at his bachelor-house in Lincolnshire.He is a great favourite with my girls, said Mr. Jarndyce, and Ihave promised for them.Nature forgot to shade him off, I think, observed Mr. Skimpole toAda and me. A little too boisterous-like the sea. A little toovehement-like a bull who has made up his mind t

24、o consider everycolour scarlet. But I grant a sledge-hammering sort of merit inhim!I should have been surprised if those two could have thought veryhighly of one another, Mr. Boythorn attaching so much importance tomany things and Mr. Skimpole caring so little for anything.Besides which, I had notic

25、ed Mr. Boythorn more than once on thepoint of breaking out into some strong opinion when Mr. Skimpolewas referred to. Of course I merely joined Ada in saying that wehad been greatly pleased with him.He has invited me, said Mr. Skimpole; and if a child may trusthimself in such hands-which the present

26、 child is encouraged to do,with the united tenderness of two angels to guard him-I shall go.He proposes to frank me down and back again. I suppose it willcost money? Shillings perhaps? Or pounds? Or something of thatsort? By the by, Coavinses. You remember our friend Coavinses,Miss Summerson?He aske

27、d me as the subject arose in his mind, in his graceful,light-hearted manner and without the least embarrassment.Oh, yes! said I.Coavinses has been arrested by the Great Bailiff, said Mr.Skimpole. He will never do violence to the sunshine any more.It quite shocked me to hear it, for I had already rec

28、alled withanything but a serious association the image of the man sitting onthe sofa that night wiping his head.His successor informed me of it yesterday, said Mr. Skimpole.His successor is in my house now-in possession, I think he callsit. He came yesterday, on my blue-eyed daughters birthday. I pu

29、tit to him, This is unreasonable and inconvenient. If you had ablue-eyed daughter you wouldnt like ME to come, uninvited, on HERbirthday? But he stayed.Mr. Skimpole laughed at the pleasant absurdity and lightly touchedthe piano by which he was seated.And he told me, he said, playing little chords wh

30、ere I shall putfull stops, The Coavinses had left. Three children. No mother.And that Coavinses profession. Being unpopular. The risingCoavinses. Were at a considerable disadvantage.Mr. Jarndyce got up, rubbing his head, and began to walk about.Mr. Skimpole played the melody of one of Adas favourite

31、 songs.Ada and I both looked at Mr. Jarndyce, thinking that we knew whatwas passing in his mind.After walking and stopping, and several times leaving off rubbinghis head, and beginning again, my guardian put his hand upon thekeys and stopped Mr. Skimpoles playing. I dont like this,Skimpole, he said

32、thoughtfully.Mr. Skimpole, who had quite forgotten the subject, looked upsurprised.The man was necessary, pursued my guardian, walking backward andforward in the very short space between the piano and the end ofthe room and rubbing his hair up from the back of his head as if ahigh east wind had blown it into that form. If we make such mennecessary by our faults and follies, or by our want of worldlyknowledge, or by our misfortunes, we must not revenge ourselvesupon them. Ther