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time. And all the evening, as he sat in his loneliness by his dull fire, he leaned his elbows on his knees, and clasped his head with his hands, and moaned very lownot as one who seeks to be heard. And yet he was not utterly forsaken in his trouble. The repulsion Marner had always created in his neighbours was partly dissipated by the new light in which this misfortune had shown him. Instead of a man who had more cunning than honest folks could come by, and, what was worse, had not the inclination to use that cunning in a neighbourly way, it was now apparent that Silas had not cunning enough to keep his own. He was generally spoken of as a poor mushed creatur; and that avoidance of his neighbours, which had before been referred to his ill-will and to a probable addiction to worse company, was now considered mere craziness. This change to a kindlier feeling was shown in various ways. The odour of Christmas cooking being on the wind, it was the season when superfluous pork and black puddings are suggestive of charity in well-to-do families; and Silass misfortune had brought him uppermost in the memory of housekeepers like Mrs. Osgood. Mr. Crackenthorp too, while he admonished Silas that his money had probably been taken from him because he thought too much of it and never came to church, enforced the doctrine by a present of pigs pettitoes, well calculated to dissipate unfounded prejudices against the clerical character. Neighbours who had nothing but verbal consolation to give showed a disposition not only to greet Silas and discuss his misfortune at some length when they encountered him in the village, but also to take the trouble of calling at his cottage and getting him to repeat all the details on the very spot; and then they would try to cheer him by saying, Well, Master Marner, youre no worse off nor other poor folks, after all; and if you was to be crippled, the parish ud give you a lowance. I suppose one reason why we are seldom able to comfort our neighbours with our words is that our good will gets adulterated, in spite of ourselves, before it can pass our lips. We can send black puddings and pettitoes without giving them a flavour of our own egoism; but language is a stream that is almost sure to smack of a mingled soil. There was a fair proportion of kindness in Raveloe; but it was often of a beery and bungling sort, and took the shape least allied to the complimentary and hypocritical. Mr. Macey, for example, coming one evening expressly to let Silas know that recent events had given him the advantage of standing more favourably in the opinion of a man whose judgment was not formed lightly, opened the conversation by saying, as soon as he had seated himself and adjusted his thumbs, Come, Master Marner; why, youve no call to sit a-moaning. Youre a deal better off to ha lost your money nor to ha kep it by foul means. I used to think, when you first come into these parts, as you were no better nor you should be; you were younger a deal than what you are now; but you were allays a staring, white-faced creatur, partly like a bald-faced calf, as I may say. But theres no knowing; it isnt every queer-looksed thing as Old Harrys had the making ofI mean, speaking o toads and such; for theyre often harmless, and useful against varmin. And its pretty much the same wi you, as fur as I can see. Though as to the yarbs and stuff to cure the breathing, if you brought that sort o knowledge from distant parts, you might ha been a bit freer of it. And if the knowledge wasnt well come by, why, you might ha made up for it by coming to church reglar; for as for the children as the Wise Woman charmed, Ive been at the christening of em again and again, and they took the water just as well. And thats reasonable; for if Old Harrys a mind to do a bit o kindness for a holiday, like, whos got anything against it? Thats my thinking; and Ive been clerk o this parish forty year, and I know, when the parson and me does the cussing of a Ash Wednesday, theres no cussing o folks as have a mind to be cured without a doctor, let Kimble say what he will. And so, Master Marner, as I was sayingfor theres windings i things as they may carry you to the fur end o the prayer-book afore you get back to emmy advice is as you keep up your sperrits; for as for thinking youre a deep un, and ha got more inside you nor ull bear daylight, Im not o that opinion at all, and so I tell the neighbours. For, says I, you talk o Master Marner making out a tale; why, its nonsense, that is: it ud take a cute man to make a tale like that; and, says I, he looked as scared as a rabbit. |
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