【英文读物】Memoirs of Doctor Burney

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1、英文读物】Memoirs of Doctor BurneyMRS. BRIGHTWEN IN HER GARDEN.To a true lover of nature hardly anything can be more thoroughly enjoyable than a quiet hourspent in some shady spot early on a summer s morning, whilst the dew is still upon the flowers,and before any sounds can be heard except those made by

2、 happy birds and insects.In my garden there is a little dell embowered by trees, where I often spend an hour or two beforebreakfast for the special purpose of enjoying the company of my pet wild creatures.On one side are five arches, formed possibly some hundreds of years ago, since the great stones

3、are grey with age and picturesquely moss-grown and ivy-clad. Young trees, too, are growing hereand there out of the crevices into which the wind has wafted their seeds.In an open space before me are groups of stately foxgloves of every tint, ranging from purplethrough rose-colour to pure white. Some

4、 of them have stems fully seven feet in height, eachbearing not fewer than a hundred and forty or fifty flowers.Not only amongst these foxgloves, but in the lime branches overhead innumerable bees keep upa continuous murmuring sound as610they busily gather their morning store of honey.Various tall g

5、rasses are sending up their feathery plumes, and in a special bed where only wildflowers are allowed to grow, teasel, hypericum, valerian, and bog-myrtle are delighting my eyesby the free, graceful way in which they make themselves at home as if in their native habitat.Under one of the arches the bi

6、rds always find an abundance of food, which I strew for themseveral times in the day.There I see young blackbirds, chaffinches, hedge-sparrows, wrens, and titmice feasting andflitting about, quite regardless of my presence. One advantage of this retreat is that nohouse-sparrows come here to annoy th

7、e more timid birds.The quietness and peace of this secluded spot is in marked contrast to the scenes I witness nearthe house. There sparrows reign supreme. They come down in flocks to gorge themselves andtheir offspring upon the sopped bread, rudely driving away many other kinds of birds that I woul

8、dfain encourage.It may be observed that I have not spoken of robins feeding under the archway, because only onehaunts this spot, and he is my special pet, and elects to sit on a bough close to me warbling hissweet low song, and occasionally accepting some choice morsel from my hand.When he was a bro

9、wn-coated youngster I began to feed and attract him, and in one week hegained so much confidence as to alight on my hand.He is now my devoted adherent, flying to meet me in different parts of the garden as soon as hehears my voice.I am much interested, and I think he is also, in the development of t

10、he little scarlet waistcoatwhich marks his arrival at maturity. I saw the first red feather appear, just a mere tinge of colouramongst the rest, and now daily I see the hue is deepening. If bathing and pluming will tend tomake him a handsome robin, he bids fair to outshine his compeers, for he is al

11、ways busy abouthis toilet, first fluttering in a large clam-shell, which contains water, and then becoming absorbeddoor closed with a hilarious bang, fleet feet mounted the area steps as if by two at a time, andthe area gate clanged to the sound of a merry whistle.Jane, with the supper-tray, seemed

12、more alert than usual, almost officious in her endeavour todo of her own accord little things of which Mrs. Chailoner generally had to remind her.Next week, when the same evening came round, and the kitchen voices were again audible, itchanced that Lucy found she had left her housekeeping book on th

13、e kitchen dresser. She thoughtto herself that she would not ring for it, but would fetch it herself, and so take opportunity ofkeeping in touch with the domestic idyll whose new developments were beginning to interesther.But when she opened the kitchen door she started and almost cried out.(To be co

14、ntinued.)THE HOUSE WITH THE VERANDAH.By ISABELLA FYVIE MAYO, Author of “Other People s Stairs,” “Her Object in Life,” etc.CHAPTER XIII.STARTLED!hen once Lucy s work began at the Institute her days were very full. She rose early, gave hersimple household orders, and prepared Hugh for the Kindergarten

15、, where she left him while sheheld her classes. Hugh took his lunch with him, for he stayed at the Kindergarten rather longerthan the other children, so as to wait till his mother fetched him. Lucy had explained her peculiarposition to the Kindergarten governess, a Miss Foster, and that lady had rea

16、dily entered into thisarrangement.It was a great relief to Lucy to find that Hugh was soon quite happy among his new surroundings,returning home with plenty of wonders to tell, and being always eager for next day s start. MissFoster often came to the door to see Lucy and to deliver over her pupil. S

17、he was loud in praise ofthe little boy, confiding to Lucy that his state of mental development was so different from that oftoo many of her pupils. They had generally been left so much in the care of servants and nurses.A little one who is generally in the company of its mother, or of somebody who r

18、eally cares forit, may be said to enjoy all the advantages of kindergarten from its very cradle,” she remarked.Tts education has been going on happily and unconsciously all the while. Its little brain andhands have found occupation in imitating the work or doings it sees. It is not left to gape ands

19、tare at the things around一all wonders to it一but it is encouraged to ask questions, and it getsits questions cheerfully and patiently answered.v“ I suppose that is a very important item, ” said Lucy.“Yes, indeed,” said Miss Foster. UA careless nurse may often answer a question, but she doesthis snapp

20、ily, perhaps with a hasty shake or a cross remark that the child is 6 a silly, little worrit/That encourages no further inquiry, and the baby-mind often closes over ridiculously wrongimpressions, which can only confuse and blur its mind and all its processes. ”Lucy smiled.“Yes, she answered, T can u

21、nderstand that, for children generally want a second answer toexplain the first. I remember Hugh once asked me as we walked past some burial ground what itwas used for. I told him to put people, s bodies in when they die. He said Oh! and walkedalong quietly, but looking puzzled. I felt sure he had s

22、ome afterthought, so I said, You havelearned what a burial ground is now, Hughie, haven t you? To put people s bodies in when theydie., Hughie snuggled up to me and whispered the confidential question, If they only put theirbodies there, what do they do with their heads? What an idea he would have c

23、arried away ifhis second question had not been drawn out! ”Miss Foster laughed.Such things occur constantly,n she said. I daresay we have all heard the story of the little girlwho said she liked to go to church when they sang the hymn about the bear. No? Well, it runsthat she made this remark to her

24、 mother, who was more interested in her child s preferencesthan it is likely any servant would have been. So she asked, Which hymn is that, my dear? Oh,the one about the bear that squints. The bear that squints! said the mother; surprised, andknowing at once that something was wrong. What does this

25、mean? She could not ask thechild to show the hymn, for she could not yet read. But instead of saying Don t be silly! shepursued the inquiry. What makes you think there is anything about a bear that squints? Oh,r ve heard you sing it often/ replied the child. You sing “the consecrated cross-eye bear!

26、”They both laughed.“That may be apocryphal, commented Miss Foster, “ but if so it is a fable which covers a greatdeal of fact/“ It need not be apocryphal, returned Lucy. A distinguished preacher once told me that as achild he learned the lines一“ Satan trembles when he seesThe weakest saint upon his

27、knees.Surely a beautiful image, and one which to the adult mind it seems impossible to misunderstand.But from the standpoint of the child, accustomed himself constantly to sit on people s knees, theidea presented itself differently. He fancied that it was the saint, s sitting on Satans knees whichca

28、used Satan s agitation! It never occurred to him that there could be any other meaning, andhis puzzle was not over any doubt on that head, but only concerning what, in such acircumstance, was the cause of Satan s dismay, for he knew that if he himself sat on anybody sknees, he was rather in that per

29、son s power, and could be easily got rid of. He went on sayingand singing that hymn for years, the wonderment always recurring. He told me that the truth didnot dawn on him till he was a grown youth attending theological classes. Then he said it camewith such a lightning-flash that it nearly made hi

30、m cry out in chapel! ”“There is even a more serious aspect of this kind of misunderstanding, said Miss Foster,u which may really lead to a wrong stratum of character if children are not encouraged to speakout and show how they take things. Grown-up people sometimes say hasty or playful wordswhich no

31、 other grown-up would take literally, but children do. It often seems to me as if,though the little folk are themselves ready to make believe to any extent, yet they cannotcredit any make believe in others. Let me tell you a story in illustration.“A friend has lately bought a house, on whose stairca

32、se is a beautiful stained glass window; butits value is rather spoiled for her by the fact that in its centre are the initials of the late owners ofthe house, not interesting people in any way, but very commonplace folk who made money byspeculations. One day a little boy-visitor was admiring the win

33、dow, and asked about the initials.My friend explained them to him, and then, turning to another visitor, laughingly said, We mustget somebody to throw a stone through that pane/ Presently she noticed that the little boy keptvery closely to her side, and by-and-by he whispered, Mrs. Gray, I can hit v

34、ery well. I II throw astone at that window. I II do it to-day if you like/ Oh, my dear/ she said, that would neverdo at all. We must get it done properly some other time/ He was disappointed, but said nomore then. When he was taking leave, however, he whispered, Mrs. Gray, when do you wantthat stone

35、 thrown? You II ask me, won t you? You won t let anybody else do it? Now if he hadnot been a child accustomed to free speech, he might have taken that lady s jest in earnest andhave thrown the stone, which would likely have missed its aim and done incalculable mischief.Mrs. Gray would have quite for

36、gotten her remark. Overwhelmed by his failure and by censuresunaccountable to him which would have fallen upon him, he would, according to all theprecedents of childish criminals, have 4reserved his defence, and he would have been setdown as a mischievous monkey, if not a malignant little wretch, fo

37、r making such return forpleasant hospitality.vT suppose too, said Lucy, “that every time we let a child talk a matter out and help it tofollow the explanations we give, we are really unconsciously training its mind to think out thingsfor itself, and not to rest content at any point where it is not r

38、eally satisfied.”uExactly so,” answered Miss Foster. The facts which a child learns are always of littleimportance compared with the exercise of its mind in grasping them. That is why learninganything by rote is useless save as an exercise of memory, and that explains, too, why somepeople who are sa

39、id to have no book-learning are far keener observers and arrive at morejudicious conclusions612than do pedants. The plainer folk have probably learned to use their minds upon the work oftheir hands. It is with minds as it is with bodies: unless the digestion is in order, food does notnourish, is not

40、 assimilated, and only results in disease. So though there is more knowledge inthe world to-day than ever before, and though it is more widely distributed, yet at every turn thepublic mindwith its violent prejudices, its unreasonable fluctuations, and its inability to lookbelow any surface conclusio

41、ns that are offered to it一proves that the Hebrew prophety scomplaint that the people do not consider is as true as ever it was. Probably in face ofpresent day opportunities and issues it is even truer. I often think that it will remain so till parentstake more interest in their children s society be

42、fore they are eight years old.“ I hear that many school children have so many home lessons that they can t have much timefor home talk, said Lucy.“That is so, consented Miss Foster, and in my opinion, during the regular school age homelessons ought to be almost unknown. All the time at home is neede

43、d for home society and homeusefulness if the child is to have a good all-round development. The worst cases I have known ofthis kind of loss and defect have been among the children of modish women, who had socialduties which they preferred to walking out and talking with their little ones. If women

44、can thave patience and pleasure in their own children, why should they expect it in their nursemaids?And they don t get it. I have often seen children dragging along, silent, listless, gaping, with anirritable or indifferent nurse, and a few minutes after I have met mamma driving out to payher calls

45、.”T am always so sorry for widows who have to leave their children to others simply that theymay discharge other duties to their children themselves, observed Lucy. A woman cannot atonce play with her babies and earn their bread. I, m afraid we don t think enough about thehardships which beset some

46、lives. Perhaps they seldom press on our attention till we feel a touchof them ourselves.”I think a creche is a very useful form of charity, answered Miss Foster, “provided that rulesare carefully made not to encourage married women to think of becoming wage-earners as ifthat was the proper thing whe

47、n their husbands can and should be working for them. ”Lucy smiled a little sadly.“ I am not thinking only of the class who can be helped by a creche, ” she said. I was thinkingof another type of widowed women who uphold their homes by being authors or artists, or bymanaging shops or businesses. They

48、 are forced to leave their children so much under otherinfluences, and it is so sad if, after bravely playing a father s part for years, it ends in thedisappointment of their mother-heart and the frustration of their best hopes. ”“Ay, I quite agree with you!” cried Miss Foster heartily, “and I congr

49、atulate you warmly onbeing one of those whose light affliction, lasting but a little while, suffices to open new and widersympathies. I hope you are always getting the best news of Mr. Challoner?” she added. For Lucyhad told the little teacher how she was placed at the present time.“The very best of

50、 news, thank you, Lucy answered. For Charlie s ship letter had been followedby others, posted at various ports, and all telling the same good tidings of revived health andstrength. Indeed, the very last letter had hinted that the improvement was so marked and sostable that Charlie was sorely tempted

51、 to shorten his absence and return home by steamer. Hewrote that he had suggested this to Grant, who “seemed very much cut up about it, but hadraised no difficulty.”In reply to that letter Lucy had written at once, urging her husband not to think of such a thing.The better he was, the better reason

52、was there for carrying through the original plan. Becausethe foundation is so good, there is the brighter prospect in building on it, she said. And besides,Lucy confided to Charlie that Captain Grant, s wife, in writing to her, had said that the fee forCharlie s trip would just enable her husband to

53、 pay off the last of his father s debts, which hehad honestly taken upon himself. And when they have brought us such good luck in enablingyou to take this voyage, wrote Lucy, we must not spoil any good luck that our share in thematter may have brought them. Let us be wise and patient, wrote Lucy, cr

54、ushing back asneaking hope that Charlie might even have started homeward before he could get her reply tohis letter. In that case we must pay the Grants all the same,” she reflected, “though I amafraid they would not take it. Then she proved to herself the sincerity of her counsels to Charlieby stil

55、l resolutely withholding the story of her domestic changes, which she had meant to tell himat this time when she had pulled through so far. But if she did so, it might add the last link to theyearning that was pulling him home, and she would do nothing to strengthen a temptationwhose force was revea

56、led in her own heart.She walked home rather soberly after her little conversation with the Kindergarten mistress.Certainly it strengthened her in the resolutions she had formed and had steadily carried out. Butshe could not refuse to know that she was living under considerable strain. Her teaching a

57、t theInstitute was strenuous and exacting. Apart from the mental exertion, she was on her feet all thetime. By the time she reached home, she was thoroughly exhausted, and was really fit fornothing but a nap, or at least an afternoon s repose on the sofa, half dreaming over some simplebook. But ther

58、e could be no such rest for her. For this was the only time when Hugh could have awalk, and so off they went together. She often wondered whether he noticed that she was notquite so lively as she used to be, not so ready for a run, or so good at a game of ball. But a littlechild takes much on trust.

59、 Then they came home to tea, which generally refreshed herconsiderably. After that, Hugh sat at her side, with his bricks, his picture books, or histransparent slate, ” while she did all the household mending. Jane Smith never put a finger tothis, not because she refused to do so, but because when s

60、he attempted it on one occasion, sheruined a pair of fine grey woollen hand-knitted stockings, by drawing a slightly-worn heeltogether with coarse white worsted, showing that she had not the most rudimentary idea ofwhat darning should be.Now this is just the kind of household work for which it would

61、 be a waste of time and power tohire help, especially in such a small family. Then as the washing was no longer done at home,Lucy had to prepare the account for the laundry, and to see that the things were sent homecorrectly, which as they scarcely ever were, led to correspondence and general worry.

62、By the time all these inevitable little tasks were accomplished, it was generally time for Hugh togo to bed. After that Lucy was free. Of course, in the winter nights, painting was impossible. Butthrough the art dealers, Lucy had heard of an opening for pen-and-ink sketches, and it was thiseventide

63、that she had hoped to give to this work. She could reckon on about two hours solitude,and yet retire to rest early. She soon found out, however, that leisure is of little avail for suchpursuits if energies and spirits are exhausted beforehand.Yet Jane Smith was the very last person with whom Lucy co

64、uld relax her vigilance in keeping Hughto herself. She often shuddered to think how, had Mrs. Morison s fair appearances held out alittle longer, she might have been tempted to trust her boy with the nice motherly-looking widowa misplaced confidence which might have ended in a terrible catastrophe. But Jane Smithoffered no such temptation. She was so plainly nothing but the common professional servant,who does her work as well as any work can be done without genuine interest or any sense ofwh