国外英文文学系列 A Son of the Soil.docx

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1、国外英文文学系列 A Son of the SoilTitle: A Son of the SoilAuthor: Mrs. Margaret OliphantCHAPTER I.“I say, you boy, it always rains here, doesnt it?or whiles snawsas the aborigines say. Youre a native, arnt you? When do you think the rain will go off?do you ever have any fine weather here? I dont see the goo

2、d of a fine country when it rains for ever and ever! What do you do with yourselves, you people, all the year round in such a melancholy place?”“You see we know no better”said the farmer of Ramore, who came in at this moment to the porch of his house, where the young gentleman was standing, confront

3、ed by young Colin, who would have exploded in boyish rage before now, if he had not been restrained by the knowledge that his mother was within hearing“and, wet or dry, the country-side comes natural to them it belongs to. If it werena for a twinge o the rheumatics noo and thenand my lads are ower y

4、oung for thatits a grand country. If its nae great comfort to the purse, its aye a pleasure to the ee. Come in to the fire, and take a seat till the rain blows by. My lads,” said Colin of Ramore, with a twinkle of approbation in his eye, “take little heed whether its rain or shine.”“Im of a differen

5、t opinion,” said the stranger, “I dont like walking up to the ankles in those filthy roads.” He was a boy of fifteen or so, the same age as young Colin, who stood opposite him breathing hard with opposition and natural enmity; but the smart Etonian considered himself much more a man of the world and

6、 of experience than Colin the elder, and looked on the boy with calm contempt. “Ill be glad to dry my boots if youll let me,” he said, holding up a foot which beside young Colins sturdy hoof looked preternaturally small and dainty.“A fit like a lassies!” the country boy said to himself2 with respons

7、ive disdain. Young Colin laughed half aloud as his natural enemy followed his father into the house.“Hes feared to wet his feet,” said the lad, with a chuckle of mockery, holding forth his own, which to his consciousness were never dry. Any moralist, who had happened to be at hand, might have sugges

8、ted to Colin that a faculty for acquiring and keeping up wet feet during every hour of the twenty-four which he did not spend in bed was no great matter to brag of: but then moralists did not flourish at Ramore. The boy made a rush out through the soft-falling incessant rain, dashed down upon the sh

9、ingly beach with an impetuosity which dispersed the wet pebbles on all sides of him, and jumping into the boat, pushed out upon the loch, not for any particular purpose, but to relieve a little his indignation and boyish discomfiture. The boat was clumsy enough, and young Colins “style” in rowing wa

10、s not of a high order, but it caught the quick eye of the Eton lad, as he glanced out from the window.“That fellow can row,” he said to himself, but aloud, with the nonchalance of his race, as he went forward, passing the great cradle which stood on one side of the fire, to the chair which the farme

11、rs wife had placed for him. She received with many kindly homely invitations and welcomes the serene young potentate as he approached her fireside throne.“Come awacome in to the fire. The roads are past speaking o in this soft weather. Maybe the young gentleman would like to change his feet,” said t

12、he soft-voiced woman, who sat in a wicker-work easy chair, with a very small baby, and cheeks still pale from its recent arrival. She had soft, dark, beaming eyes, and the softest pink flush coming and going over her face, and was wrapped in a shawl, and evidently considered an invalidwhich, for the

13、 mother of five or six children, and the mistress of Ramore Farm, was an honourable but inconvenient luxury. “I could bring you a pair of my Colins stockings in a moment. I dare say theyre about your sizeor if you would like to gang ben the house into the spare room, and change them”“Oh, thanks; but

14、 there is no need for that,” said the visitor, with a slight blush, being conscious, as even an Eton boy could not help being, of the humorous observation of the farmer, who had come in behind him, and in whose eyes it was evident the experienced “man” of the fifth form was a less sublime personage

15、than he gave himself credit for being. “I am living down at the Castle,” he added, hastily; “I lost my way on the hills, and got dreadfully wet; otherwise I dont mind the rain.3” And he held the dainty boots, which steamed in the heat, to the fire.“But you maunna gang out to the hills in such slight

16、 things again,” said Mrs. Campbell, looking at them compassionately; “Ill get you a pair of my Colins strong shoes and stockings thatll keep your feet warm. Ill just lay the wean in the cradle, and you can slip them off the time Im away,” said the good woman, with a passing thought for the boys bash

17、fulness. But the farmer caught her by the arm and kept her in her chair.“I suppose theres mair folk than you about the house, Jeannie?” said her husband, “though youre so positive about doing everything yoursel. Ill tell the lass; and I advise you, young gentleman, not to be shamefaced, but take the

18、 wifes advice. Its a great quality o hers to ken whats good for other folk.”“I ken by mysel,” said the gentle-voiced wife, with a smileand she got up and went softly to the window, while the young stranger took her counsel. “Theres Colin out in the boat again, in a perfect pour of rain,” she said to

19、 herself, with a gentle sigh“hell get his death o cauld; but, to be sure, if he had been to get his death that gate, it would have come afore now. Theres a great deal of rain in this country, youll be thinking?a the strangers say sae; but I canna see that they bide away for a that, though theyre aye

20、 grumbling. And if youre fond o the hills, youll get reconciled to the rain. Ive seen mony an afternoon when there was scarce an hour without two or three rainbows, and the mist liftin and droppin again, as if it was set to music. I canna say I have any experience mysel, but so far as ane can imagin

21、e, a clear sky and a shining sun, day after day, would be awfu monotonouslike a face wi a set smile. I tell the bairns its as guid as a fairy-tale to watch the cloudsand its no common sunshine when it does come, but a kind o wistful light, as if he couldna tell whether he ever might see you again; b

22、ut its awfu when the crops are out, as they are the noothe Lord forgive me for speaking as if I liked the rain!”And by this time her boy-visitor, having succeeded, much to his comfort and disgust, in replacing his wet chaussures by Colins dry, warm stockings and monstrous shoes, Mrs. Campbell came b

23、ack to her seat and lifted her baby again on her knee. The baby was of angelic disposition, and perfectly disposed to make itself comfortable in its cradle, but the usually active mother evidently made it a kind of excuse to herself for her compulsory repose.“The wife gets easy to her poetry,” said

24、the farmer, with a4 smile, “which is pleasant enough to hear, though it doesnt keep the grain from sprouting. Youre fond o the hills, you Southland folk? Youll be from level land yoursel, I reckon?where a the craps were safe housed afore the weather broke? We have nae particular reason to complain y

25、et, if we could but make sure o a week or twas dry weather. Itll be the holidays still with you?”“Yes,” said young Frankland, slightly disgusted at being so calmly set down as a schoolboy.“I hear theres some grand schools in England,” said Mrs. Campbell; “no that theyre to compare wi Edinburgh, I su

26、ppose? Colin, theres some sherry wine in the press; I think a glass wouldna harm the young gentleman after his wetting. Hell take something any-way, if you would tell Jess. Its hungry work climbing our hills for a laddie like youat least if I may reckon by my ain laddies that are aye ready at meal t

27、imes,” said the farmers wife, with a gracious smile that would not have misbecome a duchess. “Youll be at ane o the great schools, I suppose? I aye like to learn what I can when theres ony opportunity. I would like my Colin to get a the advantages, for hes well worthy o a good education, though were

28、 rather out of the way of it here.”“I am at Eton,” said the English boy, who could scarcely refrain from a little ridicule at the idea of sharing “a the advantages” of that distinguished foundation with a colt like young Colin; “but I should think you would find it too far off to send your son there

29、,” he added, all his good breeding being unable to smother a slight laugh as he looked round the homely apartment, and wondered what “all the fellows” would say to a schoolfellow from Ramore.“Nae occasion to laugh, young gentleman,” said Colin the elder; “theres been Lord Chancellors o England, and

30、generals o a the forces, that have come out of houses nae better than this. I am just as ye find me, but I wouldna say what might befall our Colin. In this country theres nae law to bind a man, to the same line o life as his fathers. Despise naebody, my man, or you may live to be despised in your tu

31、rn.”“I beg your pardon,” said young Frankland, blushing hotly, and feeling Colins shoes weigh upon his feet like lead; “I did not intend”“No, no,” said Mrs. Campbell, soothingly; “its the maister that takes up fancies; but nae doubt Eton is far ower expensive for the like of us, and a bit callant li

32、ke you may laugh without5 ony offence. When Colin comes to be a man hell make his ain company, or Im mistaen; but Ive no wish to pit him amang lords and gentlemens sons that would jeer at his homely ways. And they tell me theres schules in Edinburgh far afore onything thats kent in Englandbesides th

33、e college,” said the mother, with a little pride; “our Colins done with his schuling. Education takes longer wi the like of you. After Martinmas hes gaun in to Glasgow to begin his course.”To this proud intimation the young visitor listened in silence, not being able to connect the roughshod lad in

34、the boat with a University, whatever might be its form. He addressed himself instead to the scones and butter which Jess the servant, a handsome, powerful woman of five feet eight or so, had set before him on the table. Jess lingered a little, ere she left the room, to pinch the babys cheeks, and sa

35、y, “Bless the lamb! eh, what a guid bairn!” with patriarchal friendly familiarity. Meanwhile the farmer sat down, with a thump which made it creak, upon the large old haircloth sofa which filled up one end of the room.“Ive heard theres a great difference between our colleges and the colleges in Engl

36、and,” said Colin. “Wi you they dinna train a lad to onything in particular; wi us its a for a profession,the kirk, or the law, or physic, as it may be,a far mair sensible system. Im no sure its just civil, though,” said the farmer, with a quaint mingling of Scotch complacency and Scotch politeness,

37、“to talk to a stranger of naething but the inferiority o his ain country. It may be a true enough, but theres pleasanter topics o discourse. The Castles a bonnie situation? and if youre fond o the water, yachting, and boating, and that kind o thing, theres grand opportunity amang our lochs.”“Weve go

38、t a yacht,” said the boy, who found the scones much to his taste, and began to feel a glow of comfort diffusing itself through his inner man“the fastest sailer I know. We made a little run yesterday down to the Kyles; but Sir Thomas prefers the grouse, though its awfully hard work, I can tell you, g

39、oing up those hills. Its so beastly wet,” said the young hero. “I never was down here before; but Sir Thomas comes every year to the Highlands; he likes ithes as strong as a horsebut I prefer the yacht, for my part.”“And whos Sir Thomas, if ane may speersome friend?” said the farmers wife.“Ohhes my

40、father!” said the Etonian; and a natural flush of shamefacedness at acknowledging such a relationship rose upon the countenance of the British boy.6“Your father?” said Mrs. Campbell, with some amazement, “thats an awfu queer way to speak of your father; and have you ony brothers and sisters that you

41、re this lang distance off your lane,and your mamma maybe anxious about you?” continued the kind mother, with a wistful look of inquiry. She was prepared to be sorry for him, concluding that a boy who spoke of his father in such terms, must be motherless, and a neglected child. It was the most tender

42、 kind of curiosity which animated the good woman. She formed a theory about the lad on the spot, as women do, and concluded that his cruel father paid no regard to him, and that the boys heart had been hardened by neglect and want of love. “Figure our Colin caing the maister Mr. Campbell!” she said

43、to herself, and looked very pitifully at young Frankland, who ate his scone without any consciousness of her amiable imaginations.“Oh, Im not afraid,” said the calm youth. “She knows better; theres ten of us, and some one of the family comes to grief most days, you know. Shes used to that. Besides,

44、Ill get home long before Sir Thomas. Its only four now, and I suppose one could walk down from herehow soon?” All this time he went on so steadily at the scones and the milk, that the heart of the farmers wife warmed to the possessor of such a frank and appreciative appetite.“You might put the horse

45、 in the gig and drive the young gentleman down,” said the soft-hearted woman; “or Colin could row him in the boat as far as the pier. Its a lang walk for such a callant, and youre no thrang. Its awfu to think o the rain, how its taking the bread out of us poor folks mouths; but to be sure its the Lo

46、rds willif it be na,” said the homely speculator, “that the weathers ane of the things that has been permitted, for wise reasons, to fa into Ither Hands; and Im sure, judging by the way it comes just when its no wanted, ane might think so, mony a time, in this country side. But ah! its sinfu to spea

47、k,and look at yon bonnie rainbow,” she continued, turning to the window with her baby in her arms.Young Frankland got up slowly as he finished his scone. He was only partially sensible of the extreme beauty of the scene before him; but the farmers wife stood with her baby in her arms, with hidden li

48、ghts kindling in her soft eyes, expanding and beaming over the lovely landscape. It did her good like a cordial; though even Colin, her sensible husband, looked on, with a smile upon his good-humoured countenance, and was a little amused and much puzzled, as he had been a hundred7 times beforeseeing his wifes pleasure in those common and every-day processes of nature, to know why.Young Colin in the boat understood better,he was lying on his oars gazing at it the same moment; arrested in his petulant boyish thoughts, as she had been in her anxieties,