|
||||||||
growl on the greediness and futility of her conduct; till Eppie relented, caressed them both, and divided the morsel between them. But at last Eppie, glancing at the clock, checked the play, and said, O daddy, youre wanting to go into the sunshine to smoke your pipe. But I must clear away first, so as the house may be tidy when godmother comes. Ill make haste; I wont be long. Silas had taken to smoking a pipe daily during the last two years, having been strongly urged to it by the sages of Raveloe, as a practice good for the fits; and this advice was sanctioned by Dr. Kimble, on the ground that it was as well to try what could do no harma principle which was made to answer for a great deal of work in that gentlemans medical practice. Silas did not highly enjoy smoking, and often wondered how his neighbours could be so fond of it; but a humble sort of acquiescence in what was held to be good had become a strong habit of that new self which had been developed in him since he had found Eppie on his hearth. It had been the only clue his bewildered mind could hold by in cherishing this young life that had been sent to him out of the darkness into which his gold had departed. By seeking what was needful for Eppie, by sharing the effect that everything produced on her, he had himself come to appropriate the forms of custom and belief which were the mould of Raveloe life; and as, with reawakening sensibilities, memory also reawakened, he had begun to ponder over the elements of his old faith, and blend them with his new impressions, till he recovered a consciousness of unity between his past and present. The sense of presiding goodness and the human trust which come with all pure peace and joy had given him a dim impression that there had been some error, some mistake, which had thrown that dark shadow over the days of his best years; and as it grew more and more easy to him to open his mind to Dolly Winthrop, he gradually communicated to her all he could describe of his early life. The communication was necessarily a slow and difficult process, for Silass meagre power of explanation was not aided by any readiness of interpretation in Dolly, whose narrow outward experience gave her no key to strange customs, and made every novelty a source of wonder that arrested them at every step of the narrative. It was only by fragments, and at intervals which left Dolly time to revolve what she had heard till it acquired some familiarity for her, that Silas at last arrived at the climax of the sad storythe drawing of lots, and its false testimony concerning him; and this had to be repeated in several interviews, under new questions on her part as to the nature of this plan for detecting the guilty and clearing the innocent. And yourns the same Bibleyoure sure o that, Master Marnerthe Bible as you brought wi you from that country; its the same as what theyve got at church, and what Eppies a-learning to read in? Yes, said Silas, every bit the same; and theres drawing o lots in the Bible, mind you, he added in a lower tone. Oh dear, dear, said Dolly in a grieved voice, as if she were hearing an unfavourable report of a sick mans case. She was silent for some minutes; at last she said, Theres wise folks, happen, as know how it all is; the parson knows, Ill be bound; but it takes big words to tell them things, and such as poor folks cant make much out on. I can never rightly know the meaning o what I hear at church, only a bit here and there; but I know its good wordsI do. But what lies upo your mindits this, Master Marner: as, if Them above had done the right thing by you, Theyd never ha let you be turned out for a wicked thief when you was innicent. Ah! said Silas, who had now come to understand Dollys phraseology, that was what fell on me like as if it had been red-hot iron; because, you see, there was nobody as cared for me or clave to me above nor below. And him as Id gone out and in wi for ten year and more, since when we was lads and went halves, mine own familiar friend in whom I trusted, had lifted up his heel again me, and worked to ruin me. Eh, but he was a bad un; I cant think as theres another such, said Dolly. But Im oercome, Master Marner; Im like as if Id waked and didnt know whether it was night or morning. I feel somehow as sure |
||||||||
|
||||||||
|
||||||||
Copyright: All texts on Bibliomania are © Bibliomania.com Ltd, and may not be reproduced in any form without our written permission. See our FAQ for more details. | ||||||||