Toilers of Babylon: A NovelFarjeon, B. L. (Benjamin Leopold)
General
Toilers of Babylon: A Novel
Farjeon, B. L. (Benjamin Leopold)
Inheritance and succession -- Fiction
"I have not written for an hour. I have been thinking, thinking,
thinking, and I should have gone on thinking, just as if I was in a
waking trance, if it had not been for my father talking in his sleep.
'Nansie, Nansie!' he called, and I went in to him, but he was fast
asleep, and his forehead was quite damp. I wiped it softly, but it did
not wake him, and he kept on murmuring my name and yours, and calling
on the angels to guard us. Dear father! we have not been a great deal
together, but he loves me truly, and I think he is reproaching himself
for not having been with me more. I could not love him more than I do,
but I might have known him better. He is a good man, Kingsley, and I
think if he had been rich he would have made a name in the world.
There! I have written 'if he had been rich.' To be happy it is not
necessary to be rich, is it, dear? Father says not. That is when he is
awake. What did he mean by saying in his sleep: 'Money is a blessing
and a curse?' Well, yes, I can understand it. It depends upon how it
is used. Oh, Kingsley, I hope your father is not very rich. By my
father's side was his favorite book, 'William Browne.' I took it away
to my room. Before I go to bed I will put it back, for it is like meat
and wine to him. More precious than those, I am sure. What are you
doing at this very moment, Kingsley?
"There again. I have been in dreamland for an hour and more. And then,
waking up, I read a little of 'William Browne', and took my pen in my
hand to go on writing, but I did not know what to say. Kingsley, dear,
the errand you have gone upon haunts me. So much do I fear that I
hardly know what to think. Even my favorite saying that father does
not consider wisdom, 'Everything will come right,' does not comfort me
somehow. I don't know why, except it is that we are not together.
Suspense is dreadful, is it not, dear? And just now everything seems
in suspense. Oh, hark! The nightingale! It is an omen of joy and
gladness. Thank God for all sweet sounds, for all that is sweet and
good--and the world is full of sweetness and gladness. And I was
reading of it in 'William Browne:'
"'But the nightingale i' th' dark
Singing, woke the mountain lark;
She records her love.
The sun hath not with his beams
Gilded yet our crystal streams,
Rising from the sea;
Mists do crown the mountain-tops,
And each pretty myrtle drops;
'Tis but newly day.'
"There, my dear love, I have copied it exactly, apostrophes and all,
and it seems to bring me nearer to you. How wonderful is the gift of
poetry! ''Tis but newly day.' It is day in my heart. Yes, everything
will come right. Good-night, dear love, with a thousand kisses. I send
them from my window through the night, which soon will be day. Heaven
shield you....
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account