第33章

类别:其他 作者:Thomas Hardy字数:9499更新时间:19/01/07 14:37:59
\"Youmighthaveaskedhimtocomein,Ithink,Tamsie。 Hehasbeenverykindtoyoufirstandlast。\" \"Iwillnow,\"shesaid;and,actingontheimpulse,wentthroughthewickettowhereVennstoodundertheMaypole。 \"ItisMr。Venn,Ithink?\"sheinquired。 Vennstartedasifhehadnotseenher——artfulmanthathewas——andsaid,\"Yes。\" \"Willyoucomein?\" \"IamafraidthatI——\" \"Ihaveseenyoudancingthisevening,andyouhadtheverybestofthegirlsforyourpartners。Isitthatyouwon’tcomeinbecauseyouwishtostandhere,andthinkoverthepasthoursofenjoyment?\" \"Well,that’spartlyit,\"saidMr。Venn,withostentatioussentiment。\"ButthemainreasonwhyIambidingherelikethisisthatIwanttowaittillthemoonrises。\" \"ToseehowprettytheMaypolelooksinthemoonlight?\" \"No。Tolookforaglovethatwasdroppedbyoneofthemaidens。\" Thomasinwasspeechlesswithsurprise。Thatamanwhohadtowalksomefourorfivemilestohishomeshouldwaithereforsuchareasonpointedtoonlyoneconclusion——themanmustbeamazinglyinterestedinthatglove’sowner。 \"Wereyoudancingwithher,Diggory?\"sheasked,inavoicewhichrevealedthathehadmadehimselfconsiderablymoreinterestingtoherbythisdisclosure。 \"No,\"hesighed。 \"Andyouwillnotcomein,then?\" \"Nottonight,thankyou,ma’am。\" \"ShallIlendyoualanterntolookfortheyoungperson’sglove,Mr。Venn?\" \"Ono;itisnotnecessary,Mrs。Wildeve,thankyou。 Themoonwillriseinafewminutes。\" Thomasinwentbacktotheporch。\"Ishecomingin?\" saidClym,whohadbeenwaitingwhereshehadlefthim。 \"Hewouldrathernottonight,\"shesaid,andthenpassedbyhimintothehouse;whereuponClymtooretiredtohisownrooms。 WhenClymwasgoneThomasincreptupstairsinthedark,and,justlisteningbythecot,toassureherselfthatthechildwasasleep,shewenttothewindow,gentlyliftedthecornerofthewhitecurtain,andlookedout。Vennwasstillthere。 Shewatchedthegrowthofthefaintradianceappearingintheskybytheeasternhill,tillpresentlytheedgeofthemoonburstupwardsandfloodedthevalleywithlight。 Diggory’sformwasnowdistinctonthegreen;hewasmovingaboutinabowedattitude,evidentlyscanningthegrassforthepreciousmissingarticle,walkinginzigzagsrightandlefttillheshouldhavepassedovereveryfootoftheground。 \"Howveryridiculous!\"Thomasinmurmuredtoherself,inatonewhichwasintendedtobesatirical。\"Tothinkthatamanshouldbesosillyastogomooningaboutlikethatforagirl’sglove!Arespectabledairyman,too,andamanofmoneyasheisnow。Whatapity!\" AtlastVennappearedtofindit;whereuponhestoodupandraisedittohislips。Thenplacingitinhisbreastpocket——thenearestreceptacletoaman’sheartpermittedbymodernraiment——heascendedthevalleyinamathematicallydirectlinetowardshisdistanthomeinthemeadows。 2—ThomasinWalksinaGreenPlacebytheRomanRoadClymsawlittleofThomasinforseveraldaysafterthis; andwhentheymetshewasmoresilentthanusual。Atlengthheaskedherwhatshewasthinkingofsointently。 \"Iamthoroughlyperplexed,\"shesaidcandidly。 \"IcannotformylifethinkwhoitisthatDiggoryVennissomuchinlovewith。NoneofthegirlsattheMaypoleweregoodenoughforhim,andyetshemusthavebeenthere。\" ClymtriedtoimagineVenn’schoiceforamoment; butceasingtobeinterestedinthequestionhewentonagainwithhisgardening。 Noclearingupofthemysterywasgrantedherforsometime。 ButoneafternoonThomasinwasupstairsgettingreadyforawalk,whenshehadoccasiontocometothelandingandcall\"Rachel。\"Rachelwasagirlaboutthirteen,whocarriedthebabyoutforairings;andshecameupstairsatthecall。 \"Haveyouseenoneofmylastnewglovesaboutthehouse,Rachel?\"inquiredThomasin。\"Itisthefellowtothisone。\" Racheldidnotreply。 \"Whydon’tyouanswer?\"saidhermistress。 \"Ithinkitislost,ma’am。\" \"Lost?Wholostit?Ihaveneverwornthembutonce。\" Rachelappearedasonedreadfullytroubled,andatlastbegantocry。\"Please,ma’am,onthedayoftheMaypoleIhadnonetowear,andIseedyoursonthetable,andIthoughtIwouldborrow’em。Ididnotmeantohurt’ematall,butoneofthemgotlost。 Somebodygavemesomemoneytobuyanotherpairforyou,butIhavenotbeenabletogoanywheretoget’em。\" \"Who’ssomebody?\" \"Mr。Venn。\" \"Didheknowitwasmyglove?\" \"Yes。Itoldhim。\" Thomasinwassosurprisedbytheexplanationthatshequiteforgottolecturethegirl,whoglidedsilentlyaway。 Thomasindidnotmovefurtherthantoturnhereyesuponthegrass—platwheretheMaypolehadstood。 Sheremainedthinking,thensaidtoherselfthatshewouldnotgooutthatafternoon,butwouldworkhardatthebaby’sunfinishedlovelyplaidfrock,cutonthecrossinthenewestfashion。Howshemanagedtoworkhard,andyetdonomorethanshehaddoneattheendoftwohours,wouldhavebeenamysterytoanyonenotawarethattherecentincidentwasofakindlikelytodivertherindustryfromamanualtoamentalchannel。 Nextdayshewentherwaysasusual,andcontinuedhercustomofwalkingintheheathwithnoothercompanionthanlittleEustacia,nowoftheagewhenitisamatterofdoubtwithsuchcharacterswhethertheyareintendedtowalkthroughtheworldontheirhandsorontheirfeet; sothattheygetintopainfulcomplicationsbytryingboth。 ItwasverypleasanttoThomasin,whenshehadcarriedthechildtosomelonelyplace,togiveheralittleprivatepracticeonthegreenturfandshepherd’s—thyme,whichformedasoftmattofallheadlonguponthemwhenequilibriumwaslost。 Once,whenengagedinthissystemoftraining,andstoopingtoremovebitsofstick,fern—stalks,andothersuchfragmentsfromthechild’spath,thatthejourneymightnotbebroughttoanuntimelyendbysomeinsuperablebarrieraquarterofaninchhigh,shewasalarmedbydiscoveringthatamanonhorsebackwasalmostclosebesideher,thesoftnaturalcarpethavingmuffledthehorse’stread。 Therider,whowasVenn,wavedhishatintheairandbowedgallantly。 \"Diggory,givememyglove,\"saidThomasin,whosemanneritwasunderanycircumstancestoplungeintothemidstofasubjectwhichengrossedher。 Vennimmediatelydismounted,puthishandinhisbreastpocket,andhandedtheglove。 \"Thankyou。Itwasverygoodofyoutotakecareofit。\" \"Itisverygoodofyoutosayso。\" \"Ono。Iwasquitegladtofindyouhadit。EverybodygetssoindifferentthatIwassurprisedtoknowyouthoughtofme。\" \"IfyouhadrememberedwhatIwasonceyouwouldn’thavebeensurprised。\" \"Ah,no,\"shesaidquickly。\"Butmenofyourcharacteraremostlysoindependent。\" \"Whatismycharacter?\"heasked。 \"Idon’texactlyknow,\"saidThomasinsimply,\"exceptitistocoverupyourfeelingsunderapracticalmanner,andonlytoshowthemwhenyouarealone。\" \"Ah,howdoyouknowthat?\"saidVennstrategically。 \"Because,\"saidshe,stoppingtoputthelittlegirl,whohadmanagedtogetherselfupsidedown,rightendupagain,\"becauseIdo。\" \"Youmustn’tjudgebyfolksingeneral,\"saidVenn。 \"StillIdon’tknowmuchwhatfeelingsarenowadays。 Ihavegotsomixedupwithbusinessofonesortandt’otherthatmysoftsentimentsaregoneoffinvapourlike。 Yes,Iamgivenupbodyandsoultothemakingofmoney。 Moneyisallmydream。\" \"ODiggory,howwicked!\"saidThomasinreproachfully,andlookingathiminexactbalancebetweentakinghiswordsseriouslyandjudgingthemassaidtoteaseher。 \"Yes,’tisratherarumcourse,\"saidVenn,intheblandtoneofonecomfortablyresignedtosinshecouldnolongerovercome。 \"You,whousedtobesonice!\" \"Well,that’sanargumentIratherlike,becausewhatamanhasoncebeenhemaybeagain。\"Thomasinblushed。 \"Exceptthatitisratherhardernow,\"Venncontinued。 \"Why?\"sheasked。 \"Becauseyoubericherthanyouwereatthattime。\" \"Ono——notmuch。Ihavemadeitnearlyallovertothebaby,asitwasmydutytodo,exceptjustenoughtoliveon。\" \"Iamrathergladofthat,\"saidVennsoftly,andregardingherfromthecornerofhiseye,\"foritmakesiteasierforustobefriendly。\" Thomasinblushedagain,and,whenafewmorewordshadbeensaidofanotunpleasingkind,Vennmountedhishorseandrodeon。 ThisconversationhadpassedinahollowoftheheathneartheoldRomanroad,aplacemuchfrequentedbyThomasin。 AnditmighthavebeenobservedthatshedidnotinfuturewalkthatwaylessoftenfromhavingmetVenntherenow。 WhetherornotVennabstainedfromridingthitherbecausehehadmetThomasininthesameplacemighteasilyhavebeenguessedfromherproceedingsabouttwomonthslaterinthesameyear。 3—TheSeriousDiscourseofClymwithHisCousinThroughoutthisperiodYeobrighthadmoreorlessponderedonhisdutytohiscousinThomasin。Hecouldnothelpfeelingthatitwouldbeapitifulwasteofsweetmaterialifthetender—naturedthingshouldbedoomedfromthisearlystageofherlifeonwardstodribbleawayherwinsomequalitiesonlonelygorseandfern。 Buthefeltthisasaneconomistmerely,andnotasalover。 HispassionforEustaciahadbeenasortofconserveofhiswholelife,andhehadnothingmoreofthatsupremequalitylefttobestow。SofartheobviousthingwasnottoentertainanyideaofmarriagewithThomasin,eventoobligeher。 Butthiswasnotall。Yearsagotherehadbeeninhismother’smindagreatfancyaboutThomasinandhimself。 Ithadnotpositivelyamountedtoadesire,butithadalwaysbeenafavouritedream。Thattheyshouldbemanandwifeingoodtime,ifthehappinessofneitherwereendangeredthereby,wasthefancyinquestion。 Sothatwhatcoursesaveonewastherenowleftforanysonwhoreverencedhismother’smemoryasYeobrightdid?Itisanunfortunatefactthatanyparticularwhimofparents,whichmighthavebeendispersedbyhalfanhour’sconversationduringtheirlives,becomessublimatedbytheirdeathsintoafiatthemostabsolute,withsuchresultstoconscientiouschildrenasthoseparents,hadtheylived,wouldhavebeenthefirsttodecry。 HadonlyYeobright’sownfuturebeeninvolvedhewouldhaveproposedtoThomasinwithareadyheart。Hehadnothingtolosebycarryingoutadeadmother’shope。 ButhedreadedtocontemplateThomasinweddedtothemerecorpseofaloverthathenowfelthimselftobe。 Hehadbutthreeactivitiesaliveinhim。Onewashisalmostdailywalktothelittlegraveyardwhereinhismotherlay,another,hisjustasfrequentvisitsbynighttothemoredistantenclosurewhichnumberedhisEustaciaamongitsdead;thethirdwasself—preparationforavocationwhichaloneseemedlikelytosatisfyhiscravings——thatofanitinerantpreacheroftheeleventhcommandment。 ItwasdifficulttobelievethatThomasinwouldbecheeredbyahusbandwithsuchtendenciesasthese。 Yetheresolvedtoaskher,andletherdecideforherself。 Itwasevenwithapleasantsenseofdoinghisdutythathewentdownstairstoheroneeveningforthispurpose,whenthesunwasprintingonthevalleythesamelongshadowofthehousetopthathehadseenlyingtheretimesoutofnumberwhilehismotherlived。 Thomasinwasnotinherroom,andhefoundherinthefrontgarden。\"Ihavelongbeenwanting,Thomasin,\" hebegan,\"tosaysomethingaboutamatterthatconcernsbothourfutures。\" \"Andyouaregoingtosayitnow?\"sheremarkedquickly,colouringasshemethisgaze。\"Dostopaminute,Clym,andletmespeakfirst,foroddlyenough,Ihavebeenwantingtosaysomethingtoyou。\" \"Byallmeanssayon,Tamsie。\" \"Isupposenobodycanoverhearus?\"shewenton,castinghereyesaroundandloweringhervoice。\"Well,firstyouwillpromisemethis——thatyouwon’tbeangryandcallmeanythingharshifyoudisagreewithwhatIpropose?\" Yeobrightpromised,andshecontinued:\"WhatIwantisyouradvice,foryouaremyrelation——Imean,asortofguardiantome——aren’tyou,Clym?\" \"Well,yes,IsupposeIam;asortofguardian。Infact,Iam,ofcourse,\"hesaid,altogetherperplexedastoherdrift。 \"Iamthinkingofmarrying,\"shethenobservedblandly。 \"ButIshallnotmarryunlessyouassuremethatyouapproveofsuchastep。Whydon’tyouspeak?\" \"Iwastakenratherbysurprise。But,nevertheless,Iamverygladtohearsuchnews。Ishallapprove,ofcourse,dearTamsie。Whocanitbe?Iamquiteatalosstoguess。 NoIamnot——’tistheolddoctor!——notthatImeantocallhimold,forheisnotveryoldafterall。Ah——Inoticedwhenheattendedyoulasttime!\" \"No,no,\"shesaidhastily。\"’TisMr。Venn。\" Clym’sfacesuddenlybecamegrave。 \"There,now,youdon’tlikehim,andIwishIhadn’tmentionedhim!\"sheexclaimedalmostpetulantly。 \"AndIshouldn’thavedoneit,either,onlyhekeepsonbotheringmesotillIdon’tknowwhattodo!\" Clymlookedattheheath。\"IlikeVennwellenough,\" heansweredatlast。\"Heisaveryhonestandatthesametimeastuteman。Heisclevertoo,asisprovedbyhishavinggotyoutofavourhim。Butreally,Thomasin,heisnotquite——\" \"Gentlemanenoughforme?ThatisjustwhatIfeel。 IamsorrynowthatIaskedyou,andIwon’tthinkanymoreofhim。AtthesametimeImustmarryhimifImarryanybody——thatIWILLsay!\" \"Idon’tseethat,\"saidClym,carefullyconcealingeverycluetohisowninterruptedintention,whichsheplainlyhadnotguessed。\"Youmightmarryaprofessionalman,orsomebodyofthatsort,bygoingintothetowntoliveandformingacquaintancesthere。\" \"Iamnotfitfortownlife——soveryruralandsillyasIalwayshavebeen。Donotyouyourselfnoticemycountrifiedways?\" \"Well,whenIcamehomefromParisIdid,alittle; butIdon’tnow。\" \"That’sbecauseyouhavegotcountrifiedtoo。O,Icouldn’tliveinastreetfortheworld!Egdonisaridiculousoldplace;butIhavegotusedtoit,andIcouldn’tbehappyanywhereelseatall。\" \"NeithercouldI,\"saidClym。 \"ThenhowcouldyousaythatIshouldmarrysometownman? Iamsure,saywhatyouwill,thatImustmarryDiggory,ifImarryatall。Hehasbeenkindertomethananybodyelse,andhashelpedmeinmanywaysthatIdon’tknowof!\" Thomasinalmostpoutednow。 \"Yes,hehas,\"saidClyminaneutraltone。\"Well,I wishwithallmyheartthatIcouldsay,marryhim。 ButIcannotforgetwhatmymotherthoughtonthatmatter,anditgoesratheragainstmenottorespectheropinion。 Thereistoomuchreasonwhyweshoulddothelittlewecantorespectitnow。\" \"Verywell,then,\"sighedThomasin。\"Iwillsaynomore。\" \"Butyouarenotboundtoobeymywishes。ImerelysaywhatIthink。\" \"Ono——Idon’twanttoberebelliousinthatway,\" shesaidsadly。\"Ihadnobusinesstothinkofhim——I oughttohavethoughtofmyfamily。Whatdreadfullybadimpulsesthereareinme!\"Herlipstrembled,andsheturnedawaytohideatear。 Clym,thoughvexedatwhatseemedherunaccountabletaste,wasinameasurerelievedtofindthatatanyratethemarriagequestioninrelationtohimselfwasshelved。 Throughseveralsucceedingdayshesawheratdifferenttimesfromthewindowofhisroommopingdisconsolatelyaboutthegarden。HewashalfangrywithherforchoosingVenn;thenhewasgrievedathavingputhimselfinthewayofVenn’shappiness,whowas,afterall,ashonestandperseveringayoungfellowasanyonEgdon,sincehehadturnedoveranewleaf。Inshort,Clymdidnotknowwhattodo。 Whennexttheymetshesaidabruptly,\"Heismuchmorerespectablenowthanhewasthen!\" \"Who?Oyes——DiggoryVenn。\" \"Auntonlyobjectedbecausehewasareddleman。\" \"Well,Thomasin,perhapsIdon’tknowalltheparticularsofmymother’swish。Soyouhadbetteruseyourowndiscretion。\" \"YouwillalwaysfeelthatIslightedyourmother’smemory。\" \"No,Iwillnot。Ishallthinkyouareconvincedthat,hadsheseenDiggoryinhispresentposition,shewouldhaveconsideredhimafittinghusbandforyou。 Now,that’smyrealfeeling。Don’tconsultmeanymore,butdoasyoulike,Thomasin。Ishallbecontent。\" ItistobesupposedthatThomasinwasconvinced; forafewdaysafterthis,whenClymstrayedintoapartoftheheaththathehadnotlatelyvisited,Humphrey,whowasatworkthere,saidtohim,\"IamgladtoseethatMrs。WildeveandVennhavemadeitupagain,seemingly。\" \"Havethey?\"saidClymabstractedly。 \"Yes;andhedocontrivetostumbleuponherwhenevershewalksoutonfinedayswiththechiel。But,Mr。Yeobright,Ican’thelpfeelingthatyourcousinoughttohavemarriedyou。’Tisapitytomaketwochimleycornerswherethereneedbeonlyone。Youcouldgetherawayfromhimnow,’tismybelief,ifyouwereonlytosetaboutit。\" \"HowcanIhavetheconsciencetomarryafterhavingdriventwowomentotheirdeaths?Don’tthinksuchathing,Humphrey。AftermyexperienceIshouldconsiderittoomuchofaburlesquetogotochurchandtakeawife。 InthewordsofJob,’Ihavemadeacovenantwithmineeyes; whenthenshouldIthinkuponamaid?’\" \"No,Mr。Clym,don’tfancythataboutdrivingtwowomentotheirdeaths。Youshouldn’tsayit。\" \"Well,we’llleavethatout,\"saidYeobright。\"ButanyhowGodhassetamarkuponmewhichwouldn’tlookwellinalove—makingscene。Ihavetwoideasinmyhead,andnoothers。Iamgoingtokeepanight—school; andIamgoingtoturnpreacher。Whathaveyougottosaytothat,Humphrey?\" \"I’llcomeandhear’eewithallmyheart。\" \"Thanks。’TisallIwish。\" AsClymdescendedintothevalleyThomasincamedownbytheotherpath,andmethimatthegate。 \"WhatdoyouthinkIhavetotellyou,Clym?\"shesaid,lookingarchlyoverhershoulderathim。 \"Icanguess,\"hereplied。 Shescrutinizedhisface。\"Yes,youguessright。 Itisgoingtobeafterall。HethinksImayaswellmakeupmymind,andIhavegottothinksotoo。 Itistobeonthetwenty—fifthofnextmonth,ifyoudon’tobject。\" \"Dowhatyouthinkright,dear。Iamonlytoogladthatyouseeyourwaycleartohappinessagain。Mysexowesyoueveryamendsforthetreatmentyoureceivedindaysgoneby。\"* *ThewritermaystateherethattheoriginalconceptionofthestorydidnotdesignamarriagebetweenThomasinandVenn。Hewastohaveretainedhisisolatedandweirdcharactertothelast,andtohavedisappearedmysteriouslyfromtheheath,nobodyknowingwhither——Thomasinremainingawidow。Butcertaincircumstancesofserialpublicationledtoachangeofintent。 Readerscanthereforechoosebetweentheendings,andthosewithanaustereartisticcodecanassumethemoreconsistentconclusiontobethetrueone。 4—CheerfulnessAgainAssertsItselfatBlooms—End,andClymFindsHisVocationAnybodywhohadpassedthroughBlooms—Endabouteleveno’clockonthemorningfixedfortheweddingwouldhavefoundthat,whileYeobright’shousewascomparativelyquiet,soundsdenotinggreatactivitycamefromthedwellingofhisnearestneighbour,TimothyFairway。Itwaschieflyanoiseoffeet,brisklycrunchinghitherandthitheroverthesandedfloorwithin。Onemanonlywasvisibleoutside,andheseemedtobelateratanappointmentthanhehadintendedtobe,forhehasteneduptothedoor,liftedthelatch,andwalkedinwithoutceremony。 Thescenewithinwasnotquitethecustomaryone。 StandingabouttheroomwasthelittleknotofmenwhoformedthechiefpartoftheEgdoncoterie,therebeingpresentFairwayhimself,GrandferCantle,Humphrey,Christian,andoneortwoturf—cutters。Itwasawarmday,andthemenwereasamatterofcourseintheirshirtsleeves,exceptChristian,whohadalwaysanervousfearofpartingwithascrapofhisclothingwheninanybody’shousebuthisown。 Acrossthestoutoaktableinthemiddleoftheroomwasthrownamassofstripedlinen,whichGrandferCantlehelddownononeside,andHumphreyontheother,whileFairwayrubbeditssurfacewithayellowlump,hisfacebeingdampandcreasedwiththeeffortofthelabour。 \"Waxingabed—tick,souls?\"saidthenewcomer。 \"Yes,Sam,\"saidGrandferCantle,asamantoobusytowastewords。\"ShallIstretchthiscornerashadetighter,Timothy?\" Fairwayreplied,andthewaxingwentonwithunabatedvigour。 \"’Tisgoingtobeagoodbed,bythelooko’t,\"continuedSam,afteranintervalofsilence。\"Whomayitbefor?\" \"’Tisapresentforthenewfolksthat’sgoingtosetuphousekeeping,\"saidChristian,whostoodhelplessandovercomebythemajestyoftheproceedings。 \"Ah,tobesure;andavaluableone,’ab’lieve。\" \"Bedsbedeartofokesthatdon’tkeepgeese,bain’tthey,MisterFairway?\"saidChristian,astoanomniscientbeing。 \"Yes,\"saidthefurze—dealer,standingup,givinghisforeheadathoroughmopping,andhandingthebeeswaxtoHumphrey,whosucceededattherubbingforthwith。 \"Notthatthiscouplebeinwantofone,but’twaswelltoshow’emabitoffriendlinessatthisgreatracketingvagaryoftheirlives。Isetupbothmyowndaughtersinonewhentheywasmarried,andtherehavebeenfeathersenoughforanotherinthehousethelasttwelvemonths。 Nowthen,neighbours,Ithinkwehavelaidonenoughwax。 GrandferCantle,youturntheticktherightwayoutwards,andthenI’llbegintoshakeinthefeathers。\" WhenthebedwasinpropertrimFairwayandChristianbroughtforwardvastpaperbags,stuffedtothefull,butlightasballoons,andbegantoturnthecontentsofeachintothereceptaclejustprepared。Asbagafterbagwasemptied,airytuftsofdownandfeathersfloatedabouttheroominincreasingquantitytill,throughamishapofChristian’s,whoshookthecontentsofonebagoutsidethetick,theatmosphereoftheroombecamedensewithgiganticflakes,whichdescendedupontheworkerslikeawindlesssnowstorm。 \"Ineversawsuchaclumsychapasyou,Christian,\" saidGrandferCantleseverely。\"Youmighthavebeenthesonofamanthat’sneverbeenoutsideBlooms—Endinhislifeforallthewityouhave。Reallyallthesoldieringandsmartnessintheworldinthefatherseemstocountfornothinginformingthenateroftheson。 AsfarasthatchiefChristianisconcernedImightaswellhavestayedathomeandseednothing,likealltherestofyehere。Though,asfarasmyselfisconcerned,adashingspirithascountedforsommat,tobesure!\" \"Don’tyeletmedownso,Father;Ifeelnobiggerthananinepinafterit。I’vemadebutabrucklehit,I’mafeard。\" \"Come,come。Neverpitchyerselfinsuchalowkeyasthat,Christian;youshouldtrymore,\"saidFairway。