【英文读物】Bessy Rane.docx

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1、【英文读物】Bessy RanePART THE FIRST. CHAPTER I. THE ANONYMOUS LETTER.It was an intensely dark night. What with the mist that hung around from below, and the unusual gloom above, Dr. Rane began to think he might have done well to bring a lantern with him, to guide his steps up Ham Lane, when he should tur

2、n into it. He would not be able to spare time to pick his way there. A gentleman-so news had been brought to him-was lying in sudden extremity, and his services as a medical man were being waited for.Straight down, on the road before him, at only half-a-mile distance, lay the village of Dallory; so

3、called after the Dallory family, who had been of importance in the neighbourhood in the years gone by. This little off-shoot was styled Dallory Ham. The latter name had given rise to disputes amidst antiquarians. Some maintained that the word Ham was only a contraction of hamlet, and that the correc

4、t name would be Dallory Hamlet: others asserted that the appellation arose from the circumstance that the public green, or common, was in the shape of a ham. As both sides brought logic and irresistible proof to bear on their respective opinions, contention never flagged. At no very remote period th

5、e Ham had been a grassy waste, given over to stray donkeys, geese, and gipsies. They were done away with now that houses encircled it; pretty villas of moderate dimensions, some cottages and a few shops: the high-road ran, as it always had done, straight through the middle of it. Dallory Ham had gro

6、wn to think itself of importance, especially since the time when two doctors had established themselves in it: Dr. Rane and Mr. Alexander. Both lived in what might be called the neck of the Ham, which was nearest to Dallory proper.Standing with your face towards Dallory (in the direction the doctor

7、was hastening), his house was on the right-hand side. He had only now turned out of it. Dallory Hall, to which place Dr. Rane had been summoned, stood a little beyond the entrance to the Ham, lying back on the right in its grounds, and completely hidden by trees. It was inhabited by Mr. North.Oliver

8、 Rane had come forth in haste and commotion. He could not understand the message, excepting the one broad fact that Edmund North, Mr. Norths eldest son, was supposed to be dying. The servant, who brought it, did not seem to understand it either. He spoke of an anonymous letter that had been received

9、 by Mr. North, of disturbance thereupon, of a subsequent encounter-a sharp, brief quarrel-between Edmund North and Mr. Alexander, the surgeon; and of some sort of fit in which Edmund North was now lying senseless.Dr. Rane was a gentlemanly man of middle height and slender frame, his age about thirty

10、. The face in its small regular features might have been held to possess a dash of effeminacy, but for the resolute character of the firm mouth and the pointed chin. His eyes-rather too close together-whiskers and hair, were of a reddish brown, the latter worn brushed aside from the forehead; his te

11、eth were white and even: altogether a good-looking man; but one of rather too silent manners, of too inscrutable a countenance to be very pleasing.An anonymous letter! Dr. Rane had repeated to himself, with a sort of groan, hastening from his house as one greatly startled, and pursued his course dow

12、n the Ham. Glancing across at Mr. Alexanders house, he felt a momentary temptation to go over and learn particulars-if, haply, the surgeon should be at home. The messenger had said that Mr. Alexander flung out of Dallory Hall in a passion, right in the middle of the quarrel; hence the summons for Dr

13、. Rane. For Mr. Alexander, not Dr. Rane, was the Halls medical attendant: this was the first time the latter had been so called upon.They had come to Dallory within a day of each other, these two doctors, in consequence of the sudden death of its old practitioner; each hoping to secure the practice

14、for himself. It was Mr. Alexander who chiefly gained it. Both were clever men; and it might have been at least an even race between them, but for the fact that Mrs. North, of Dallory Hall, set her face resolutely against Dr. Rane. The reason was inexplicable, since he had been led to believe that he

15、 should have the countenance of Mr. and Mrs. North. She did her best in a covert way to prevent his obtaining practice, pushing his rival-whom she really despised, and did not care a tittle for-into favour. Her object might not be to drive Oliver Rane from the spot, but it certainly seemed to look l

16、ike it. So Mr. Alexander had obtained the lions share of the practice in the best families, Dr. Rane but little; as to the poor, they were divided between them pretty equally. Both acted as general practitioners, and Mr. Alexander dispensed his own medicines. The rivals were outwardly cordial with e

17、ach other; but Dr. Rane, no doubt, felt an inward smart at his want of success.The temptation to dash over to Mr. Alexanders passed with the thought; there was no time for it. Dr. Rane pursued his course until he came to Ham Lane, an opening on the right, into which he turned, for it was a nearer wa

18、y to the Hall. A narrow lane, green and lovely in early summer, with wild flowers nestling on its banks, dog-roses and honeysuckles clustering in its hedges. Here was the need of the lantern. But Dr. Rane sped on without regard to inadvertent steps that might land him in the ditch. Some excitement a

19、ppeared to be upon him, far beyond any that might arise from the simple fact of being called out to a gentleman in a fit; yet he was by temperament very self-possessed, one of the calmest-mannered men living. A stile in the hedge on the left, which he found as if by instinct, took him at once into t

20、he grounds of Dallory Hall; whence there came wafting to him the scent of hyacinths, daffodils, and other spring flowers in delicious sweetness, spite of the density of the night-air. Not that Dr. Rane derived much advantage from the sweetness; nothing could seem delicious to him just then.It was mo

21、re open here, as compared with the lane, and not so intensely dark. Three minutes of the same heedless pace in and out of the winding walks, when he turned a point, and the old stone mansion was before him. A long, grey, sensible-looking house, of only two stories high, suggesting spacious rooms wit

22、hin. Lights shone from some of the windows and through the fan-light over the entrance-door. One of the gardeners crossed Dr. Ranes path.Is that you, Williams? Do you know how young Mr. North is?Ive not been told, sir. Theres something wrong with him, we hear.Is this blight? called back the doctor,

23、alluding to the curiously dark mist.Not it, sir. Its nothing but the vapour rising from the days heat. It have been hot for the first day o May.The door yielded to Dr. Ranes hand, and he went into the hall it was of fair size, and paved with stone. On the left were the drawing-rooms, on the right th

24、e dining-room, and also a room that was called Mr. Norths parlour; a handsome staircase of stone wound up at the back. All the doors were closed; and as Dr. Rane stood for a moment in hesitation, a young lady in grey silk came swiftly and silently down the stairs. Her figure was small and slight, he

25、r face fair, pale, gentle, with the meekest look in her dove-like grey eyes. Her smooth, fine hair, of an exceedingly light brown, was worn in curls all round the head, after the manner of girls in a bygone time. It made her look very young, but she was in reality thirty years of age; three months y

26、ounger than Dr. Rane. Miss North was very simple in tastes and habits, and adhered to many customs of her girlhood. Moreover, since an illness seven years ago, her hair had never grown very long or thick. She saw Dr. Rane, and came swiftly to him. Their hands met in silence.What is this trouble, Bes

27、sy?Oh, I am so glad you are here! she exclaimed, in the soft, subdued tones characteristic of dangerous sickness in a house. He is lying as though he were dead. Papa is with him. Will you come?One moment, he whispered. Tell me, in a word, what it all is. The cause, I mean, not the illness.It was cau

28、sed by an anonymous letter to papa. Edmund-But how could any anonymous letter to your papa have caused illness to Edmund? he interrupted. And the tone of his voice was so sharp, and the dropping of her hand, clasped until then, so sudden, that Miss North thought he was angry with her, and glanced up

29、wards through her tears.I beg your pardon, Bessy. My dear, I feel so grieved and confounded at this, that I am scarcely myself. It is to me utterly incomprehensible. What were the contents of the letter? he continued, as they hastened upstairs to the sick-chamber. And Bessy North told him in a whisp

30、er as much as she knew.The facts of the case were these. By the six oclock post that same evening, Mr. North received an anonymous letter, reflecting on his son Edmund. His first wife, dead now just eight-and-twenty years, had left him three children, Edmund, Richard, and Bessy. When the letter arri

31、ved, the family had sat down to dinner, and Mr. North did not open it until afterwards. He showed it to his son Edmund, as soon as they were left alone. The charges it contained were true, and Edmund North jumped to the conclusion that only one man in the whole world could have written it, and that

32、was Alexander, the surgeon. He went into a frightful passion; he was given to doing so on occasions; and he had, besides, taken rather more wine at dinner than was good for him-which also he was somewhat addicted to. As ill fate had it, Mr. Alexander called just at the moment, and Mr. North, a timid

33、 man in nervous health, grew frightened at the torrent of angry words, and left them together in the dining-room. There was a short, sharp storm. Mr. Alexander came out almost immediately, saying, You are mad; you are mad. I will talk to you when you are calmer. I would rather be mad than bad, shout

34、ed Edmund North, coming after him. But the surgeon had already let himself out at the hall-door; and Edmund North went back to the dining-room, and shut himself in. Two of the servants, attracted by the sounds of dispute, had been lingering in the hall, and they saw and heard this. In a few minutes

35、Mr. North went in, and found his son lying on the ground, senseless, He was carried to his chamber, and medical men were sent for: Dr. Rane (as being the nearest), and two physicians from the more distant market town, Whitborough.Edmund North was not dead. Dr. Rane, bending over him, saw that. He ha

36、d not been well of late, and was under the care of Mr. Alexander. Only a week ago (as was to transpire later) he had gone to consult a physician in Whitborough, one of those now summoned to him. This gentleman suspected he had heart-disease, and warned him against excitement. But the family knew not

37、hing as yet of this; neither did Oliver Rane. Another circumstance Edmund North had not disclosed. When sojourning in London the previous winter, he had been attacked by a sort of fit. It had looked like apoplexy more than heart; and the doctors gave him sundry injunctions to be careful. This one al

38、so, Dr. Rane thought, knowing nothing of the former, looked like apoplexy. Edmund North was a very handsome man, but a great deal too stout.Is he dead, Oliver? asked the grieving father; who, when alone with the doctor, and unrestrained by the presence of his wife, often called him by his Christian

39、name.No; he is not dead.And, indeed, a spasm at that moment passed over the prostrate face. All the means that Oliver Rane could think of, and use, he tried with the best heart and efforts-hoping to recall the fast-fleeting life.But when the two doctors arrived from Whitborough, Oliver Rane found he

40、 was not wanted. They were professionals of long standing, men of note in their local arena; and showed themselves condescendingly patronizing to the young practitioner. Dr. Rane had rather a strong objection to be patronized: he withdrew, and went to Mr. Norths parlour. It was a dingy room; the sha

41、ded lamp on the table not sufficing to light it up. Red moreen curtains were drawn before the large French window that opened to the flower-garden at the side.Mr. North was standing before the fire. He was a little shrivelled man with stooping shoulders, his scanty hair smoothed across a low, broad

42、forehead, his lips thin and querulous; his eyes, worn and weary now, had once been mild and loving as his daughter Bessys. Time and care and (as some people said) his second wife, had changed him. Oliver Rane thought he had never seen him look so shrunken, nervous, and timid as to-night.What a pity

43、it was that you should have mentioned the letter to him, Mr. North! began the doctor, speaking at once of what lay uppermost in his thoughts.Mentioned the letter to him!-why, it concerned him, was the surprised answer. But I never gave a thought to its having this effect upon him.What was in the let

44、ter, sir? was the doctors next question, put with considerable gloom, and after a long silence.You can read it, Oliver.Opening the document, he handed it to Dr. Rane. It looked like any ordinary letter. The doctor took it to the lamp.Mr. North,Pardon a friend who ventures to give you a caution. Your

45、 eldest son is in some sort of embarrassment, and is drawing bills in conjunction with Alexander, the surgeon. Perhaps a word from you would arrest this: it is too frequently the first step of a mans downward career-and the writer would not like to see Edmund North enter on such.Thus, abruptly and w

46、ithout signature, ended the fatal letter. Dr. Rane slowly folded it, and left it on the table.Who could have written it? he murmured.Ah, there it is! rejoined Mr. North. Edmund said no one could have done it but Alexander.Standing over the fire, to which he had turned, Dr. Rane warmed his hands. The

47、 intensely hot day had given place to a cold night. His red-brown eyes took a dreamy gaze, as he mentally revolved facts and suppositions. In his private opinion, judging only from the contents of the letter, Mr. Alexander was the last man who would have been likely to write it.It is not like Alexan

48、ders writing, observed Mr. North.Not in the least.But of course this is in a thoroughly disguised hand.Most anonymous letters are so, I expect. Is it true that he and your son have been drawing bills together?I gather that they have drawn one; perhaps two, Edmunds passion was so fierce that I could

49、not question him. What I dont like is, Alexanders going off in the manner he did, without seeing me: it makes me think that perhaps he did write the letter. An innocent man would have remained to defend himself. It might have been written from a good motive, after all, Oliver! My poor son!-if he had only taken it qu