第306页
《简·爱(英文版)》章节:第306页,宠文网网友提供全文无弹窗免费在线阅读。!
him better. Well may he eschew the calm of domestic life; it is not
his element: there his faculties stagnate- they cannot develop or
appear to advantage. It is in scenes of strife and danger- where
courage is proved, and energy exercised, and fortitude tasked- that he
will speak and move, the leader and superior. A merry child would have
the advantage of him on this hearth. He is right to choose a
missionary's career- I see it now.'
'They are coming! they are coming!' cried Hannah, throwing open the
parlour door. At the same moment old Carlo barked joyfully. Out I ran.
It was now dark; but a rumbling of wheels was audible. Hannah soon had
a lantern lit. The vehicle had stopped at the wicket; the driver
opened the door: first one well-known form, then another, stepped out.
In a minute I had my face under their bonnets, in contact first with
Mary's soft cheek, then with Diana's flowing curls. They laughed-
kissed me- then Hannah: patted Carlo, who was half wild with
delight; asked eagerly if all was well; and being assured in the
affirmative, hastened into the house.
They were stiff with their long and jolting drive from Whitcross,
and chilled with the frosty night air; but their pleasant countenances
expanded to the cheerful firelight. While the driver and Hannah
brought in the boxes, they demanded St. John. At this moment he
advanced from the parlour. They both threw their arms round his neck
at once. He gave each one quiet kiss, said in a low tone a few words
of welcome, stood a while to be talked to, and then, intimating that
he supposed they would soon rejoin him in the parlour, withdrew
there as to a place of refuge.
I had lit their candles to go upstairs, but Diana had first to give
hospitable orders respecting the driver; this done, both followed
me. They were delighted with the renovation and decorations of their
rooms; with the new drapery, and fresh carpets, and rich tinted
china vases: they expressed their gratification ungrudgingly. I had
the pleasure of feeling that my arrangements met their wishes exactly,
and that what I had done added a vivid charm to their joyous return
home.
Sweet was that evening. My cousins, full of exhilaration, were so
eloquent in narrative and comment, that their fluency covered St.
John's taciturnity: he was sincerely glad to see his sisters; but in
their glow of fervour and flow of joy he could not sympathise. The
event of the day- that is, the return of Diana and Mary- pleased
him; but the accompaniments of that event, the glad tumult, the
garrulous glee of reception irked him: I saw he wished the calmer
morrow was come. In the very meridian of the night's enjoyment,
about an hour after tea, a rap was heard at the door. Hannah entered
with the intimation that 'a poor lad was come, at that unlikely
time, to fetch Mr. Rivers to see his mother, who was drawing away.'
'Where does she live, Hannah?'
'Clear up at Whitcross Brow, almost four miles off, and moor and