Chapter 23 CHAPTER THREE THE FIRST ACT OF AN OLD PLAY

It was a fine afternoon, and Yeobright wandered for an hour on the moor with his mother.When they came to the tall ridge that separated the valley where Hualuo Village was located from the adjacent valley, they stopped and looked around.Looking in one direction, you can see the lady's shop on the edge of the wasteland lowlands, and in the other direction, farther away, Misty Hill stands tall. Would you like to see Thomasy?he asked. Yes.But this time you don't have to go.his mother said. In that case, Mom, I'm going to break up here.I want to go to Mist Hill. Mrs. Yeobright turned her face inquiringly.

I wanted to help them get up the bucket that the old captain had dropped in the well, he went on. The well was very deep, and I might be able to help.I would have liked to see Miss Veil too, not because of her beauty, but for other reasons. Do you have to go?his mother asked. I thought about going. So they broke up.There's nothing to do about it, Clem murmured his mother as he pulled away.They must be meeting each other.It would have been nice if Sam had brought the news to someone else instead of my house. As Climb walked all the way, his figure became smaller and smaller as the hills rose and fell.He was so soft-hearted that Mrs Yeobright, looking at him, said to herself, Otherwise, it wouldn't matter.Look at the way he walks in such a hurry!

Indeed, he walked with a determination, walking straight through the brambles, as if it were deciding his life.His mother gave up the idea of ​​visiting Thomasy with a long sigh, and turned away to go home.At this time, the evening mist began to turn the valleys into hazy pictures, but there were still slanted rays of light cast by the setting sun on the high ground. When Clem walked forward in this way, every hare around Wada Tsugumi stared at him, and the setting sun shone on him, casting a long shadow in front of him. As he approached the gorse-grown earthen embankments and ditches that surrounded the old captain's house, he heard voices within that indicated that the operation for the buckets had begun.He stopped at the side door and looked around.

From the mouth of the well, there are five or six strong men lined up, holding a rope, and the rope is lowered straight down the well through the winch frame.A thinner rope was tied to Fareway, one end of which was firmly tied to a well post in case of accidents. rope. All right, be quiet, guys, said Fairway. The voice fell silent, and Fareway shook the rope in a circle, as if stirring the custard.A minute later there was a muffled echo from the bottom of the well, and he swung the rope, which wobbled round and round down to the grapple below. pull!The rest of the men who held the rope began to pull it along the windlass, bringing it up little by little, said Faherway.

I think we're hooked on something.said a man pulling the rope. Then hold it steady and lift it up.Fareway said. They pulled more and more ropes until they could hear the unhurried dripping of water from below.The sound became softer as the bucket rose higher and higher, and by this time a hundred and fifty feet of rope had been drawn. So Fareway lit a lantern, tied it to another rope, and began lowering it down the well next to the first rope.Climb stepped forward and looked down the well.As the lantern was lowered, it revealed strange leaves and grotesque mosses on the sides of the well, which were always wet all year round; A mess of rope and the bucket.

We're just hooking on the rim of the barrel For goodness sake, hold on!Fareway said. They tugged at the rope with the most deliberate gestures, and at last the sodden bucket emerged, about two yards from them, as if a dead friend had been brought to light.Three or four hands stretched out, the rope shook suddenly, the pulley slid, and the two people pulling the rope at the front fell on their backs, only the sound of something falling all the way down from the wall of the well. It fell, and then there was a thunderous sound from the bottom of the well, and the bucket fell again. The damn bucket!Fareway said.

Let the rope down again, Sam said. I've been bent over for so long that I'm as stiff as a ram's horns.Fareway stood up as he spoke, stretching his body, clucking his joints. Take a break, Timothy, said Yeobright, and I'll take your place. The grapple was lowered again.The crisp sound it made as it fell to the surface of the deep well reached their ears only as a chuckle, and Yeobright dropped to his knees, bent over the mouth of the well, and started a lap like Fayway's. Turn the grapple in a circle. It would be dangerous to tie a rope around his waist!From somewhere above them came a soft but anxious cry.

Everyone turned around together.It was a woman who was speaking, and was looking down on the group from an upstairs window whose lattices shone in the western glow.Her lips parted, as if for a moment she forgot where she was. So he tied a rope around his waist, and the work of scooping up the bucket went on.This time the weight of the rope pulling up was not as heavy as the previous time. It turned out that they only hooked one of the loops of the rope that was originally tied to the bucket.The tangled rope was thrown into the back yard.Humphrey replaced Yeobright again, and the grappling hook was dropped again.

Yeobright retreated to the pile of fished rope, thinking about it.He had no doubt that the lady's voice was that of the melancholy masquerade.How much she thinks of others!he said to himself. Seeing that her exclamation had attracted the attention of the group below, Eustacia blushed and retreated into the window, no matter how much Yeobright glanced there reluctantly, she never Saw her show her face.While he stood there, the men at the well managed to catch the bucket without letting it fall off the hook again.One of them went to ask the old captain what his instructions were for fixing the derrick.The old captain was not at home; Eustacia appeared at the door, and she came out.She has become very calm, showing a very reserved composure, and has completely lost the tone of deep concern she used to worry about Clem's safety.

Can I fetch water tonight?she asked. No, miss; the bottom of the bucket is all knocked off.There's nothing more we can do at the moment, we must go and come back tomorrow morning. There was no water.she murmured, turning away. I can bring you some water from Hualuo Village.Clem said.When the others were gone, he stepped forward and raised the brim of his hat. Yeobright and Eustacia looked at each other, as if both of them were simultaneously thinking of the short time they had spent under that month.With this glance, the composure that hung on her face sublimated into an expression of grace and warmth: it was as if, in an instant, a brilliant noonday had turned into a majestic sunset.

Thanks, no need to do that at all.she replied. But what if you have no water to use? Oh, that's just me saying there's no water, she said, blushing and raising her long eyelashes as if she needed to think about it.But according to what my grandfather said, there is enough water.I'll let you see what's going on. She took a few steps, and Clem followed.She went to the corner of the yard where there were steps to climb up the barrier earthen embankment, which her movements had been languid with before at the well, but now she ascended the earthen embankment with strange ease.It also inadvertently suggests that her seeming lethargy doesn't really mean she's weak. Clem followed her up the embankment, noticing a ring of burn marks on the top of the embankment.Ash?he asks. Yes, said Eustacia, we had a little bonfire here on the 5th of November, and this is what it left. It was on this spot that she lit a bonfire to call Wildoff. That's our water, she went on, throwing a stone into the pond just outside the embankment, like a pupilless white eye.The pebbles fell into the water, but Wildef did not appear on the other side of the pond, as had happened the previous time.My grandfather said he lived at sea for more than twenty years and drank twice as much water as this pond, and she went on to say that he thought the water here was good enough for us in an emergency . This is true, in fact, there are no impurities in the water in the pond at this time of the year.Only rain falls in it. She shook her head.I try my best to live in a wild place, but I can't drink the water from the pond, she said. Clem looked towards the well. There was no one there now. Everyone had gone home.It's a long walk to get water from the spring, he said after a moment of silence.But since you don't like to drink from this pond, I'll try to get you some.He went back to the well.Yes, I think I can tie this pail with a rope to bring some water up. But since I don't want to bother those people to fetch water, I can't bother you in good conscience. I don't care about the hassle at all. He tied the pail securely to the long coil of rope, looped the rope around the windlass, and slid the rope through his hand and down the well.Before letting go much, he checked the rope. I must fasten the end of the rope first, or we might lose the whole rope, he said to Eustacia, who was approaching.Can you hold on to the rope for a while so I can tie it up or shall I send your servant? I can hold it.said Eustacia; and he put the rope into her hand, and went to pull the other end. I wonder if I can put the rope down?she asked. My advice is not to overdo it, said Clem.You will find that the rope will become much heavier. Eustacia, however, was already beginning to let down the rope.When he was tying the end of the rope she cried, No, I can't hold it! Clem ran to her and found that he had to wrap the unslack length of the rope around the upright to stop it from slipping down, and this finally brought the rope to a halt with a jerk.Are you hurt? Yes, she replied. Is it great? No, I don't think it's very strong, she spread her hands.One of the hands was bleeding and the rope had torn the skin.Eustacia wrapped her hand in her handkerchief. You just let it slide, said Yeobright, why don't you let go? You said I was going to pull it and this is my second injury today. Oh yes; I heard that.I really blush for my fellow Aytons.Miss Veil, were you badly stabbed in church? There was so much sympathy in Clem's voice that Eustacia rolled up her sleeves slowly, revealing her round, white arms.There is a bright red blood spot on the smooth skin, just like Paros [Note: An island in the Greek Aegean Sea, known for its rich white marble. 】A piece of ruby ​​on white marble. Here, here it is, she said, pointing to the blood spot. It was a cowardly act of womanhood, said Clem, and Captain Vee didn't punish her? That's why he went out.I didn't know I was such a witch What about reputation? You fainted?Clem asked, looking at the little bright red spot like he really wanted to kiss it to get better soon. Yeah, it really freaked me out.I haven't been to church for a long time.From now on I will not go again for a long time or never.I couldn't face their gaze after what happened.Don't you find this too humiliating?For hours after that, I wished I had died, but now I don't give a damn. I'm here to get rid of these cobwebs, said Yeobright, will you help me?Come teach senior classes.We may be able to teach them a lot. I don't want to do it at all.I don't like my kind very much.Sometimes I really hate them. But I think if you'd listen to my plan, you might be interested in it.It's no use hating people. If you hate something, you should hate what caused it. Do you mean nature?I hate it too.But I'd be happy to hear about your plans any day. At this time, the situation is very clear, and the next logical thing is that it is time for the two to break up.Clem understood this very well, and Eustacia made a gesture of parting; Clem was still staring at her, as if he had something to say.If he had never lived in Paris, this might never have happened. We've met before, he said, and he looked at her more interested than he should have been under the circumstances. I don't admit it, said Eustacia, with a restrained and calm air. But I still want to think so. certainly. You are very lonely here. I can't stand the wilderness, except in the season when it's colorful.This wilderness is my foreman who ruthlessly oversees me. Can you say that?he asks.In my heart, it is the most exciting thing for me, giving me strength and comfort.I'd rather live among these mountains than anywhere else in the world. It's good enough here for artists, but I'm not going to learn to draw at all. There's a very curious piece of Druidian time there. 】 of the stone.He threw a pebble in that direction.Do you often visit? I didn't even know there was such a curious druid stone there.All I know is that there are boulevards in Paris. Yeobright looked at the ground thoughtfully.That said a lot, he said. Indeed, said Eustacia. I remember that there was a time when I also yearned for the hustle and bustle of the city.But five years in a big city is enough to cure it. I wish God could give me this opportunity for treatment!Well, Mr. Yeobright, I must go inside to put some ointment on my wounded hand. They parted, and Eustacia faded into the growing night.She was full of all sorts of charms.Her past is a blank, her life has begun.The impact of this meeting on Climb was not fully realized until some time passed.As he walked home, the clearest feeling he had was that his plan had somehow gained some luster.A beautiful woman has been woven into the plan. Arriving at home, he immediately went upstairs to the room which was intended to be his study, and spent the evening taking his books from the boxes, and arranging them on the shelves.From another box he took a lamp and a jar of oil.He wiped and fixed the lamp, set the table, and said, OK, I'm ready to start. The next morning he got up very early, and before breakfast he read by the oil lamp for two hours and read the whole morning, and all afternoon, when the sun was about to set, he felt tired eyes and leaned back. He fell back on the chair. His room overlooked the front of the house, and the moor valley beyond.The low afterglow of the winter day fell on the house, casting its shadow over the fence, across the edge of the moor meadow, and down to the far valley floor, where the chimney chimneys fell, and the shadows of the treetops around the house, They all became the shadows of long pointed forks stretching forward.Sitting and reading like this all day, he decided to change his taste before dark and go for a walk on the mountain. He left the house and walked straight across the wasteland towards Misty Hill. An hour and a half had passed by the time he returned to the gate of the courtyard.The shutters of the house were all closed, and Christine, who had loaded fertilizer into the garden for a day,Kanter has also gone home.As soon as he entered the door, he found that his mother had already finished dinner after waiting for him for a long time. Where have you been, Clem?she asked immediately.Why don't you tell me first when you want to go out? I went to the wasteland. If you go there, you'll meet Eustacia.Vey's. Clem was silent for a moment.Yes, I ran into her tonight, he said, and from the way he said it he said it purely to be honest. I was just wondering if you've met her already. Not an appointment. Yes, this kind of meeting is never invited. You're not mad, are you, Mom? I can hardly say I'm not throwing a fit.angry?No.But it disturbs me when I consider that such seductions usually fail the world of promising men. Mom, it's good for you to feel that way.But you can rest assured that you don't need to worry about me at all. But when I think of you and all your whims,' said Mrs Yeobright, emphatically, I am naturally less comfortable, as I was a year ago.I find it hard to believe that a man who is used to the charming women of Paris and other such places could be so easily swayed by a girl from the moor.You could have walked the other way. I read the book all day. Oh, yes, she said with some hope, I have been thinking that since you are really determined to abandon your past career, you can also seek development as a teacher. Yeobright didn't want to contradict her idea that, while he had a plan to educate young people, it had nothing to do with it as a route to high society.He had no hope of that.A young man has reached a stage in his life's journey when for the first time he has clearly grasped the severity of life as a whole;In France it is not uncommon to commit suicide at this stage, and in England it may be better or worse, depending on the circumstances. Strangely, at this point, the affectionate love between the young man and his mother was lost.Perhaps it can be said that the more the lack of that kind of worldly affection, the less this kind of family love will appear to be exposed.And when this love has reached an absolutely indestructible degree, it acquires a depth such that any expression of it is painful.Right now, the two of them are in this situation.How indifferent they were to each other, he would have said, had anyone overheard their conversation! Mrs. Yeobright had been impressed by his theories, and by his desires, that he intended to devote his future to teaching.In fact, he was a part of her body, and their conversation seemed to be the same person's left hand and right hand talking. In this case, how could she not be impressed?He had given up trying to convince her by argument; suddenly he had the discovery that he felt he could influence her with an attraction that was stronger than words, as words were far more powerful than shouts. Same. Oddly enough, he was now beginning to feel that convincing his mother (and best friend) that this relative poverty was in fact a nobler cause for him was akin to convincing her that he It's not going to be a very difficult thing.From a forward-looking perspective, his mother was undoubtedly right, which made him feel that although he could persuade her, he didn't feel very good inside. She has her own unique insights into life, but she has never experienced life well.There are those who, though they do not have a clear understanding of the things they criticize, nonetheless have a clear view of their interrelationship.Blacklock [Note: Scottish poet, blinded by smallpox at six months of age. ] was born blind, but can describe various objects that can be seen by eyesight with keen and vivid brushstrokes; ], also blind, can give brilliant lectures on color, and can elevate to theory and teach others the vision that others have but he doesn't.In the sphere of social life, these gifted beings are mostly women; they can see through a world they have never seen, and can estimate forces that they have only heard about.We call this ability intuition. What is this vast world in Mrs. Yeobright's eyes?It is a large group of people whose inclinations can be discerned, but whose substance is difficult to grasp.She sees groups of people from a distance; she sees them as we observe Charlaert, Van.Elsroot [Note: Both are Flemish painters. ], and the large crowds shown in the oil paintings of others of their school, are nothing more than dense crowds crowded and zigzagging in one direction. They were all mere mortals indistinguishable from each other. As the story progresses to this point, we can see that her life is not flawed in terms of thinking.The philosophizing of her nature, and the limits of that philosophizing, which are determined by her circumstances, are almost always expressed in her demeanor.They have a great foundation, though the acts themselves are far from being great; and though they themselves are not so sure, they have a sure foundation.Her once brisk gait had grown slow and heavy with the passage of time, owing to her age, and to a certain restraint of her natural pride in life. A few days later, the development of Climb's fate was slightly touched again.There was an ancient tomb on the heath being excavated, and Yebright went to see it, and he stayed there for a few hours. At that time, I didn't read a book.In the afternoon, when Christine came back from that direction, Mrs. Yeobright asked him. They dug a hole, Mrs. Yeobright, and they found something like an upside-down flower pot; in it was the real ossuary.They brought these pots out, and sent them to people's houses; but I would not like to sleep where these bones lie.Everyone knows that the dead come back and claim this is their place.Mr. Yeobright got a jar of bones and was going to take it home, but the skeletons got lost somewhere else.He thought it over a while, and put down the pot of bones and the others, and you'll be relieved to hear that; Mrs Yeobright, think of the wind that night, it was a blessing. Did he drop that thing? Yes, to Miss Vey.It appears she has a bloody penchant for this churchyard decoration. Miss Veil is there too? Well, I think she is there. It wasn't long before Clem arrived home, and his mother said in a strange tone, You gave someone else that urn you wanted to bring to me? Yeobright made no answer; her emotion was too obvious for him to admit it at the moment. The first few weeks of the year passed.It was true that Yeobright was home reading all the time, but he also went out for walks a lot, and he always followed one of the paths that ran between Misty Heights and Rain Mounds. By March, the moors showed the first signs of waking up from hibernation.This awakening came quietly, almost indistinctly.When a stranger came making a noise and looked at the pond outside Eustacia's embankment, it seemed to him that it looked as lifeless and desolate as ever, but if he calmed down and took a good look After a while, you will see that the pond gradually reveals a vibrant and active scene.The season has come, and a small animal world has revived.The tadpoles and polyps began to spit out small bubbles in the water and chased them back and forth under the water; the toads uttered duckling-like calls, and crawled towards the shore in twos and threes; overhead, bumblebees flew back and forth in the increasingly intense sunlight Every now and then, their humming comes and goes, like the sound of gongs. On such an evening, Yeobright left the pond and walked along the hillside into the valley of Hualuo Village.He stood silently with the other by that pool for a long, long time, long enough to hear this slight commotion of natural revival; but he heard nothing.His steps were quick and light as he descended the valley.Before entering his mother's house, he stopped to take a breath.The light from the window fell on him.The face was flushed, and the eyes were shining.What the light didn't reveal was something that had settled on his lips like a brand and stayed there.The lingering presence of the mark was so real that he dared not go into the house, for his mother seemed to ask, what is that bright red mark on your mouth? After a while, however, he entered the house.Tea was ready, and he sat down opposite his mother.She didn't say much; as for him, he had just done something on the mountain and said something that prevented him from starting a casual chat with his mother.This silence from his mother was certainly an ominous sign, but he didn't seem to care at all.He knew why she said so little, but he couldn't get rid of her thinking about him.This kind of almost silent sitting between them is very common nowadays.Finally, Yeobright spoke up, intending to settle the matter once and for all. It's been five days since we just sat and ate without talking.What's the use of that, Mom? Not useful, she said in a whining tone, but too useful for a reason. It's useless when you know everything.I've been waiting for an opportunity to say this, and I'm glad it's finally being brought up.The reason, of course, was Eustacia.vey.Well, I admit I've seen her recently, and seen her a lot. Yes, yes; and I know where it will come.This disturbs me, Clem.You're wasting your youth here; you're doing it all for her sake.If it weren't for this woman, you wouldn't even consider this teaching project. Clem stared hard at his mother.You know perfectly well that's not the case, he said. Well, I know you made up your mind to do it before you met her; but it would have ended again according to your wishes.That kind of thing is nice to talk about, but it's absurd to actually do it.I fully expect that after you've been doing it for a month or two, you'll see how stupid the self-sacrifice is, and then you'll go back to Paris and do some business.I can understand why you don't want to be in the jewelry business. I really kept thinking that that kind of business might not be right for the life of a man like you, even though it might make you a millionaire.But now that I see how you got that girl wrong, it really makes me wonder if you can see anything else right. How did I miss her? She was lazy and dissatisfied.But that's not all.If she's as good as any girl you can find she sure isn't that kind of girl why would you want to tie your fate to anyone right now? Oh, there are many objective reasons, Clem said, and then he stopped talking because he felt strongly that his reasons were not sufficient and would be refuted at once. If I run a school, one educated An educated woman would be useful, and she can be a helper to me. What!Do you really want to marry her? It is premature to speak so bluntly on this issue.However, given all the obvious advantages, that is also feasible.she Don't think she has any money.She has nothing. She was well educated and would have made an excellent matron of a boarding school.To be frank, I have changed my mind a little on account of you, and that will please you.I no longer insisted on my original plan to go to the lowest class to give the first class in person.I can do better.I can run a private school for farmers' sons, I don't have to close the school, I can manage to pass the exams.In this way, with the help of a wife like her Oh Clem! I hope I can eventually become a principal in one of the best schools in the county. Yeobright articulated the word hers in a voice full of emotion, which would be too flippant to bring out in a conversation with a mother.Under such circumstances, it was impossible for every mother in the world to see this untimely inflection for a new woman without being irritated. You're blind, Clem, she said vehemently, and the day you first saw her was a bad day.Your plan is nothing more than a deliberate castle in the air, which is a total proof that it is a stupid idea that has taken hold of your heart, because you are now in a situation where you are losing your mind, and you are just trying to comfort your conscience. Mom, that's not the case.he replied emphatically. All I hope is to get you out of your depression, can you be sure that what I'm sitting here telling isn't the truth?What a shame, Clem!But it's all because that woman is a frivolous woman! Climb blushed and stood up.He put his hand on his mother's shoulder and said in a strange, almost pleading and commanding tone, I'm not going to listen to that.Perhaps I cannot help answering you in a way that we both regret. His mother opened her mouth to say more passionate truths, but seeing the look on his face, she swallowed them all.Yeobright walked up and down the room once or twice, and then went out abruptly.It was eleven o'clock when he returned to the house.He didn't go far, and stayed in the yard.Mother is already in bed.A lamp was still burning on the table, where the supper was also set.He didn't stop to eat, but closed all the doors tightly, and went upstairs.