【英文读物】The Young Musician or, Fighting His Way.docx

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1、【英文读物】The Young Musician or, Fighting His WayCHAPTER I. A CANDIDATE FOR THE POORHOUSE. “As for the boy,” said Squire Pope, with his usual autocratic air, “I shall place him in the poorhouse.”“But, Benjamin,” said gentle Mrs. Pope, who had a kindly and sympathetic heart, “isnt that a little hard?”“Ha

2、rd, Almira?” said the squire, arching his eyebrows. “I fail to comprehend your meaning.”“You know Philip has been tenderly reared, and has always had a comfortable home”“He will have a comfortable home now, Mrs. Pope. Probably you are not aware that it cost the town two thousand dollars last year to

3、 maintain the almshouse. I can show you the item in the town report.”“I dont doubt it at all, husband,” said Mrs. Pope gently. “Of course you know all about it, being a public man.”Squire Pope smiled complacently. It pleased him to be spoken of as a public man.“Ahem! Well, yes, I believe I have no i

4、nconsiderable influence in town affairs,” he responded. “I am on the board of selectmen, and am chairman of the overseers of the poor, and in that capacity I shall convey Philip Gray to the comfortable and well-ordered institution which the town has set apart for the relief of paupers.”“I dont like

5、to think of Philip as a pauper,” said Mrs. Pope, in a deprecating tone.“What else is he?” urged her husband. “His father hasnt left a cent. He never was a good manager.”“Wont the furniture sell for something, Benjamin?”“It will sell for about enough to pay the funeral expenses and outstanding debts-

6、that is all.”“But it seems so hard for a boy well brought up to go to the poorhouse.”“You mean well, Almira, but you let your feelings run away with you. You may depend upon it, it is the best thing for the boy. But I must write a letter in time for the mail.”Squire Pope rose from the breakfast-tabl

7、e and walked out of the room with his usual air of importance. Not even in the privacy of the domestic circle did he forget his social and official importance.Who was Squire Pope?We already know that he held two important offices in the town of Norton. He was a portly man, and especially cultivated

8、dignity of deportment. Being in easy circumstances, and even rich for the resident of a village, he was naturally looked up to and credited with a worldly sagacity far beyond what he actually possessed.At any rate, he may be considered the magnate of Norton. Occasionally he visited New York, and had

9、 been very much annoyed to find that his rural importance did not avail him there, and that he was treated with no sort of deference by those whom he had occasion to meet. Somehow, the citizens of the commercial metropolis never suspected for a single moment that he was a great man.When Squire Pope

10、had finished his letter, he took his hat, and with measured dignity, walked to the village post-office.He met several of his neighbors there, and greeted them with affable condescension. He was polite to those of all rank, as that was essential to his retaining the town offices, which he would have

11、been unwilling to resign.From the post-office the squire, as he remembered the conversation which had taken place at the breakfast-table, went to make an official call on the boy whose fate he had so summarily decided.Before the call, it may be well to say a word about Philip Gray, our hero, and the

12、 circumstances which had led to his present destitution.His father had once been engaged in mercantile business, but his health failed, his business suffered, and he found it best-indeed, necessaryto settle up his affairs altogether and live in quiet retirement in Norton.The expenses of living there

13、 were small, but his resources were small, also, and he lived just long enough to exhaust them.It was this thought that gave him solicitude on his death-bed, for he left a boy of fifteen wholly unprovided for.Let us go back a week and record what passed at the last interview between Philip and his f

14、ather before the latter passed into the state of unconsciousness which preceded death.“Are you in pain, father?” asked Philip, with earnest sympathy, as his father lay outstretched on the bed, his face overspread by the deathly pallor which was the harbinger of dissolution.“Not of the body, Philip,”

15、 said Mr. Gray. “That is spared me, but I own that my mind is ill at ease.”“Do you mind telling me why, father!”“No; for it relates to you, my son, or, rather, to your future. When my affairs are settled, I fear there will be nothing left for your support. I shall leave you penniless.”“If that is al

16、l, father, dont let that trouble you.”“I am afraid, Philip, you dont realize what it is to be thrown upon the cold charities of the world.”“I shall work for my living,” said Philip confidently.“You will have to do that, Im afraid, Philip.”“But I am not afraid to work, father. Didnt you tell me one d

17、ay that many of our most successful men had to work their way up from early poverty!”“Yes, that is true; but a boy cannot always get the chance to earn his living. Of one thing I am glad; you have a good education for a boy of your age. That is always a help.”“Thanks to you, father.”“Yes; though an

18、invalid, I have, at all events, been able to give private attention to your education, and to do better for you than the village school would have done. I wish I had some relative to whom I might consign you, but you will be alone in the world.”“Have I no relatives?” asked Philip.“Your mother was an

19、 only child, and I had but one brother.”“What became of him, father?”“He got into trouble when he was a young man, and left the country. Where he went to I have no idea. Probably he went first to Europe, and I heard a rumor, at one time, that he had visited Australia. But that was twenty years ago,

20、and as I have heard nothing of him since, I think it probable that he is dead. Even if he were living, and I knew where he was, I am not sure whether he would make a safe guardian for you.”“Have you any advice to give me, father?” asked Philip, after a pause. “Whatever your wishes may be, I will try

21、 to observe them.”“I do not doubt it, Philip. You have always been an obedient son, and have been considerate of my weakness. I will think it over, and try to give you some directions which may be of service to you. Perhaps I may be able to think of some business friend to whom I can commend you.”“Y

22、ou have talked enough, father,” said Philip, noticing his fathers increasing pallor and the evident exertion with which he spoke. “Rest now, and to-morrow we can talk again.”Mr. Gray was evidently in need of rest. He closed his eyes and apparently slept. But he never awoke to consciousness. The conv

23、ersation above recorded was the last he was able to hold with his son. For two days he remained in a kind of stupor, and at the end of that time he died.Philips grief was not violent. He had so long anticipated his fathers death that it gave him only a mild shock.Friends and neighbors made the neces

24、sary arrangements for the funeral, and the last services were performed. Then, at length, Philip realized that he had lost his best earthly friend, and that he was henceforth alone in the world. He did not as yet know that Squire Pope had considerately provided him with a home in the village poorhou

25、se.CHAPTER II. PHILIP AT HOME. When the funeral was over, Frank Dunbar, whom Philip regarded as his most intimate friend, came up to him.“Philip,” he said, “my mother would like to have you spend a few days with us while you are deciding what to do.”“Thank you, Frank!” answered Philip. “But until th

26、e auction I shall remain at home. I shall soon enough be without a home.”“But it will be very lonely for you,” objected Frank.“No; I shall have my thoughts for company. When I am alone I can think best of my future plans.”“Wont you come to our house to meals, then?”“Thank you, Frank! I will do that.

27、”“When is the auction to be?”“To-day is Monday. It is appointed for Thursday.”“I hope there will be something left for you.”“There will be about enough left to pay my fathers small debts and his funeral expenses. I would not like to have him indebted to others for those. I dont think there will be a

28、nything over.”Frank looked perplexed.“I am sorry for you, Phil,” he said. “I wish we were rich, instead of having hard work to make both ends meet. You would not lack for anything then.”“Dear Frank,” said Philip earnestly, “I never doubted your true friendship. But I am not afraid that I shall suffe

29、r. I am sure I can earn my living.”“But why do you shut yourself up alone, Philip?” asked Frank, not satisfied to leave his friend in what he considered the gloomy solitude of a house just visited by death.“I want to look over my fathers papers. I may find out something that I ought to know, and aft

30、er the auction it will be too late. Father had some directions to give me, but he did not live long enough to do it. For three days I have the house to myself. After that I shall perhaps never visit it again.”“Dont be downhearted, Philip,” said Frank, pressing his hand with boyish sympathy.“I dont m

31、ean to be, Frank. I am naturally cheerful and hopeful. I shall miss my poor father sadly: but grieving will not bring him back. I must work for my living, and as I have no money to depend upon, I cannot afford to lose any time in forming my plans.”“You will come over to our house and take your meals

32、!”“Yes, Frank.”Frank Dunbars father was a small farmer, who, as Frank had said, found it hard work to make both ends meet. Among all the village boys, he was the one whom Philip liked best, though there were many others whose fathers were in hotter circumstances. For this, however, Philip cared litt

33、le. Rich or poor, Frank suited him, and they had always been known as chums, to adopt the term used by the boys in the village.It may be thought that as Philips circumstances were no better, such an intimacy was natural enough. But Philip Gray possessed special gifts, which made his company sought a

34、fter. He was a fine singer, and played with considerable skill on the violinan accomplishment derived from his father, who had acted as his teacher. Then he was of a cheerful temperament, and this is a gift which usually renders the possessor popular, unless marred by positive defects or bad qualiti

35、es. There were two or three young snobs in the village who looked down upon Philip on account of his fathers poverty, but most were very glad to associate with our hero, and have him visit their homes. He was courteous to all, but madeno secret of his preference for Frank Dunbar.When Philip parted f

36、rom Frank, and entered the humble dwelling which had been his own and his fathers home for years, there was a sense of loneliness and desolation which came over him at first.His father was the only relative whom he knew, and his death, therefore, left the boy peculiarly, alone in the world. Everythi

37、ng reminded him of his dead father. But he did not allow himself to dwell upon thoughts that would depress his spirits and unfit him for the work that lay before him.He opened his fathers desk and began to examine his papers. There was no will, for there was nothing to leave, but in one compartment

38、of the desk was a thick wallet, which he opened.In it, among some receipted bills, was an envelope, on which was written, in his fathers well-known hand:“The contents of this envelope are probably of no value, but it will be as well to preserve the certificate of stock. There is a bare possibility t

39、hat it may some day be worth a trifle.”Philip opened the envelope and found a certificate for a hundred shares of the Excelsior Gold Mine, which appeared to be located in California. He had once heard his father speak of it in much the same terms as above.“I may as well keep it,” reflected Philip. “

40、It will probably amount to nothing, but there wont be much trouble in carrying around the envelope.” He also found a note of hand for a thousand dollars, signed by Thomas Graham.Attached to it was a slip of paper, on which he read, also in his fathers writing:“This note represents a sum of money len

41、t to Thomas Graham, when I was moderately prosperous. It is now outlawed, and payment could not be enforced, even if Graham were alive and possessed the ability to pay. Five years since, he left this part of the country for some foreign country, and is probably dead, and I have heard nothing from hi

42、m in all that time. It will do no harm, and probably no good, to keep his note.”“I will keep it,” decided Philip. “It seems that this and the mining shares are all that father had to leave me. They will probably never yield me a cent, but I will keep them in remembrance of him.”Phillip found his fat

43、hers watch. It was an old-fashioned gold watch, but of no great value even when new. Now, after twenty years use, it would command a very small price at the coming sale.Ever since Philip had been old enough to notice anything, he remembered this watch, which was so closely identified with his father

44、 that more than anything else it called him to mind. Philip looked at it wistfully as it lay in his hand. “I wish I could keep it,” he said to himself. “No one else will value it much, but it would always speak to me of my father. I wonder if I might keep it?”Philip had a mind to put it into his poc

45、ket, but the spirit of honesty forbade.“It must be sold,” he said, with a sigh. “Without it there wouldnt be enough to pay what we owe, and when I leave Norton, I dont want any one to say that my father died in his debt.”There was nothing else in the desk which called for particular notice or appear

46、ed to be of any special value. After a careful examination, Philip closed it and looked around at the familiar furniture of the few rooms which the house contained.There was one object which he personally valued more than anything else. This was his violin, on which he had learned all that he knew o

47、f playing. His father had bought it for him four years before. It was not costly, but it was of good tone, and Philip had passed many pleasant hours in practicing on it.“I can take this violin, at any rate,” said Philip to himself. “It belongs to me, and no one else has a claim on it. I think I will

48、 take it with me and leave it at Frank Dunbars, so that it neednt get into the sale.”He put back the violin into the case and laid it on one side. Then he sat down in the arm-chair, which had been his fathers favorite seat, and tried to fix his mind upon the unknown future which lay before him.He ha

49、d sat there for half an hour, revolving in his mind various thoughts and plans, when he heard a tap on the window, and looking up, saw through the pane the coarse, red face of Nick Holden, a young fellow of eighteen, the son of the village butcher.“Let me in!” said Nick; “I want to see you on business.”CHAPTER III. NICK HOLDENS CALL. Philip had never liked Nick Hold