第30章
加入书架 A- A+
点击下载App,搜索"Love Eternal",免费读到尾

  “Lackingproof,Idonotacceptthesestoriesasfacts,although,asthereisnosmokewithoutfire,Ithinkitprobablethatthereissomethinginthemandthatyouaredriftingintoundesirablecompanionships。AtanyrateIamsurethatthetimehascomeforyoutoreturnhomeandtocommenceyourstudiesfortheChurch。I

  havetorequest,therefore,thatyouwilldothisatonceasIamenteringyournameatmyowncollegeforthenexttermandhavesoinformedthetrusteesunderMissOgilvy’swill,whowillnodoubtmeettheexpenseandgiveyouasuitableallowance。IamwritingtothePasteurBoisettothesameeffect。Lookingforwardtoseeingyou,whenwecandiscussallthesemattersinmoredetail,——Iam,youraffectionatefather,“RichardKnight。“

  IndismayGodfreytookthislettertothePasteur。ForthelastthingGodfreywishedtodowastoleaveKleindorfandthehouseinwhichhewassowelcomeandsowelltreated,inordertoreturntothestonybosomofMonk’sAcreAbbey。

  “Ihavealsoreceivedaletter,“saidMonsieurBoiset;“itseemsthatyouandIalwaysreceivedisagreeableletterstogether。Thelastwerefromthewitch-womanRiennes,andthesearefromyourfather。Hehasanunpleasantwayofwriting,thisfatherofyours,althoughheisagoodman,forherehesuggeststhatIamtryingtotrapyouforason-

  in-law,whereinIseethefatfingerofthatwitchRiennes,whohassogreatapassionfortheanonymousepistle。Well,ifhehadsaidthatI

  wishedtotrapyouforason,hewouldhaveshotnearertothebulls’-

  eye,butforason-in-law,asyouknow,itisnotso。Still,youmustgo;indeed,itistimethatyouwent,nowthatyoutalkFrenchsowell,andhave,Ihope,learntotherthingsalso,youtowhomthebigworldopens。Butsee,yourfathertalksofyourenteringtheChurch。

  Tellme,isthisso?Ifso,ofcourse,Ishallbehappy。“

  “No,“saidGodfrey,shakinghishead。

  “Then,“repliedthePasteur,“ImaysaythatIamequallyhappy。Itisnoteveryonethathasacallforthisvocation,andtherearemorewaysofdoinggoodintheworldthanfromthefloorofapulpit。

  Myself,Ihavewonderedsometimes——butletthatbe;itisthelotofcertainofus,whothinkinourvanitythatwecouldhavedonegreatthings,tobeobligedtodothesmallthings,becauseGodhassodecreed。TooneHegivesthetentalents,totheotheronlyonetalent,orevenbutafranc。Whateveritbe,ofitwemustmakethebest,andsolongaswedonotburyit,wehavedonewell。IcanonlysaythatIhavetriedtousemyfranc,ormyfiftycentimes,tosuchadvantageasIcould,andhopethatinsomeotherplaceandtimeImaybeentrustedwithalargersum。Oh!myboy,weareallofusdrawnbythehorsesofCircumstance,but,asIbelieve,thosehorseshaveadriverwhoknowswhitherheisguidingus。“

  AfewdayslaterGodfreywent。HislastmiddaymealattheMaisonBlanche,beforehedepartedtocatchthenighttrainforParis,wasratheramelancholyfunction。Madame,whohadgrownfondofhiminhersomewhatfrivolousway,openlydroppedtearsintohersoup。Juliettelookedsadand/distraite/,thoughinwardlysupportedbytheknowledgethatherdistantcousin,thenotaryJules,wasarrivingonthemorrowtospendhisvacationattheMaisonBlanche,sothatGodfrey’sroomwouldnotbewithoutanoccupant。Indeed,inherprettylittleheadshewasalreadyplanningcertainalterationsinthearrangementofthefurniture,tomakeitmorecomfortabletotheverydifferenttastesofthenewcomer。

  Still,shewastrulysorrytoloseherfriendthe/Hibou/,althoughshehadnotbeenabletofulfilhermother’swish,andmakehimfallinlovewithher,oreventofallinlovewithhimherself。AssheexplainedtoMadameBoiset,itwasofnousetotry,sincebetweentheirnaturestherewerefixednotonlyagreatgulf,butseveralwholerangesoftheAlps,andwhereasthe/Hibou/satgazingatthestarsfromtheirtopmostpeak,shewaspickingflowersintheplainandsingingasshepickedthem。

  ThePasteurdidnotmakemattersbetterbytheextremelyforcedgaietyofhisdemeanour。HetoldstoriesandcrackedbadjokesintheintervalsofcongratulatingGodfreyathisreleasefromsodullaplaceasKleindorf。Godfreysaidlittleornothing,butreflectedtohimselfthatthePasteurdidnotknowMonk’sAcre。

  Atlastthemomentcame,andhedepartedwithaheavyheart,forhehadlearnedtolovethesesimple,kindlyfolk,especiallythePasteur。

  Howgladhewaswhenitwasoverandhehadlostsightofthehandkerchiefsthatwerebeingwavedathimfromthegateasthehiredvehiclerolledaway。Notthatitwasquiteover,forthePasteuraccompaniedhimtothestation,inorder,ashesaid,totakehislastinstructionsabouttheVillaOgilvy,although,intruth,Godfreyhadnonetogive。

  “Pleasedowhatyouthinkbest,“wasallthathecouldsay。Also,whenseveralmilesfurtheron,theycametoaturnintheroad,there,pantingonarock,stoodJuliette,whohadreachedtheplace,runningatfullspeed,byashortcutthroughthewoods。Theyhadnotimetostop,becausethePasteurthoughtthattheywerelateforthetrain,which,asamatteroffact,didnotleaveforhalf-an-houraftertheyreachedthestation。Sotheycouldonlymakemutualsignalsofrecognitionandfarewell。Juliette,wholookedasthoughshewerecrying,kissedherhandtohim,callingout:

  “Adieu,adieu!/cherami/,“whilehesoughtrefugeintheEnglishman’susualexpedientoftakingoffhishat。

  “Itisnothing,nothing,“saidthePasteur,whohadalsonotedJuliette’stear-swolleneyes,“to-morrowshewillhaveJulestoconsoleher,amostworthyyoungman,thoughmehebores。“

  Here,itmaybeadded,thatJulesconsoledhersowell,thatwithinayeartheyweremarried,andmosthappily。

  YetGodfreywasdestinednevertoseethatgracefulfigureandgaylittlefaceagain,sincelongbeforeherevisitedLucerneJuliettediedonthebirthofherthirdchild。Andsoon,whothoughtofJulietteexceptperhapsGodfrey,forherhusbandmarriedagainveryshortly,asaworthyanddomesticpersonofthesortwoulddo。Herchildrenweretooyoungtorememberher,andhermother,notlongafterwards,wascarriedoffbyasuddenillness,pneumonia,tojoinherintheShades。ExceptthePasteurhimselfnonewasleft。

  Well,suchisthewayofthissadworldofchangeanddeath。ButGodfreyneverforgotthepictureofherstandingbreathlessontherockandkissingherslimhandtohim。Itwasoneofthoseincidentswhich,whentheyhappentoamaninhisyouth,remainindeliblyimpresseduponhismind。

  Atthestationthereweremorefarewells,forherewasthenotary,whohadmanagedMissOgilvy’sSwissaffairsandnow,underthedirectionofMonsieurBoiset,attendedtothoseofGodfrey。AlsosuchoftheservantswerepresentashadbeenkeptonattheVilla,whileamongthosewalkingabouttheplatformhesawBrotherJosiahSmithandProfessorPetersen,whohadcomeevidentlytoseethelastofhim,andmakereporttoacertainquarter。

  ThePasteurtalkedcontinually,inhishigh,thinvoice,tocoveruphisagitation,butwhatitwasallaboutGodfreycouldneverremember。

  Allherecollectedofthepartingwasbeingtakenintothoselongarms,embracedupontheforehead,andmostferventlyblessed。

  Thenthetrainsteamedoff,andhefeltgladthatallwasover。

  Aboutforty-eighthourslaterGodfreyarriveddulyatthelittleEssexstationthreemilesfromMonk’sAcre。Therewasnobodytomeethim,whichwasnotstrange,asthehourofhiscomingwasunknown。Still,unreasonableasitmightbe,thecontrastbetweenthewarmthandaffectionthathaddistinguishedhisdeparture,andthecoldvacuumthatgreetedhisarrival,chilledhim。Hesaidafewwordstothegrumpyoldporterwhowasthesoleoccupantoftheplatform,butthatworthy,althoughheknewhimwellenough,didnotseemtorealisethathehadeverbeenaway。DuringtheyearinwhichsomanythingshadhappenedtoGodfreynothingatallhadhappenedtotheporter,andthereforehedidnotappreciatethelapseoftime。

  Leavinghisbaggagetobebroughtbythecarrier’scart,Godfreytookthealpenstockthat,inamomentofenthusiasm,theguidehadgivenhimasasouvenirofhisgreatadventure,andstartedforhome。Itwasaveryfamousalpenstock,whichthisguideandhisfatherbeforehimhadusedalltheirlives,onethathadbeenplantedinthetopmostsnowsofeverypeakinSwitzerland。Indeedthenamesofthemostunclimbableofthese,togetherwiththedatesoftheirconquestbyitsowners,sometimesfollowedbycrossestoshowthatonsuchorsuchanexpeditionlifehadbeenlost,wereburntintothetoughwoodwithahotiron。Asthefirstofthesedateswasasfarbackas1831,Godfreyvaluedthisstaffhighly,anddidnotliketoleaveittothechancesofthecarrier’scart。

  HisroadthroughthefieldsranpastHawk’sHall,ofwhichheobservedwithathrillofdismay,thattheblindsweredrawnasthoughinitsomeonelaydead。Therewasnoreasonwhyheshouldhavebeendismayed,sincehehadheardthatIsobelhadgoneawaytosomewherein“Ameriky,“asMrs。Parsonshadexpresseditinabriefandillspeltletter,andthatSirJohnwaslivingintown。Yetthesightdepressedhimstillfurtherwithitssuggestionofdeath,orofseparation,whichisalmostasbad,for,beitremembered,hewasatanagewhensuchimpressionscomehome。

  AfterleavingtheHallwithitsblindedandshutteredwindows,hisquickestroadtotheAbbeyHouseranthroughthechurchyard。Herethefirstthingthatconfrontedhimwasagiganticmonument,ofwhichthenewmarbleglitteredintheafternoonsun。Itwasaconfusedaffair,andallhemadeoutofit,withoutcloseexamination,wasalife-sizedangelwithanearly-Victoriancountenance,leaningagainstthebrokenstumpofanoaktreeandscatteringfromabasket,ofthekindthatisusedtocollectnutsorwindfallapples,ontoasarcophagusbeneathaprofusionofmarbleroses,someofwhichseemedtohavebeenarrestedandfrozeninmid-air。Heglancedattheinscriptioningoldletters。

  Itwas“TothebelovedmemoryofLadyJaneBlake,wifeofSirJohnBlake,Bart。,J。P。,anddaughteroftheRightHon。TheEarlofLynfield,whosebereavedhusbanderectedthismonument——’Herhusband……praisethher。’“

  Godfreylooked,andrememberingthegentlelittlewomanwhosecrumblingfleshlaybeneath,shiveredattheawfulandcrushingerectionabove。Inlife,asheknew,shehadbeenunhappy,butwhathadshedonetodeservesuchamemorialindeath?Still,shewasdead,ofthattherewasnodoubt,andoh!thesadnessofitall。

  HewentontotheAbbey,resistingaqueertemptationtoenterthechurchandlookatthetombofthePlantagenetladyandherunknownknight,whoslepttheresoquietlyfromyeartoyear,throughspring,summer,autumnandwinter,foreverandforever。Thefrontdoorwaslocked,soherangthebell。Itwasansweredbyanewservant,ratheraforbidding,middle-agedwomanwithalimp,whoinformedhimthatMr。

  Knightwasout,andnotwithstandinghisexplanations,declinedtoadmithimintothehouse。Doubtlessshethoughtthatayoungman,wearingaforeign-lookinghatandcarryingsuchastrangelongstick,mustbeathief,orworse。Theendofitwasthatsheslammedthedoorinhisfaceandshottheold-fashionedbolts。

点击下载App,搜索"Love Eternal",免费读到尾