Urith: A Tale of DartmoorBaring-Gould, S. (Sabine)
General
Urith: A Tale of Dartmoor
Baring-Gould, S. (Sabine)
Dartmoor (England) -- Fiction
Was that the same Anthony she had loved and admired? This dejected, sad
man, with his head bowed, his face pale, and lined with trouble? it was
certain that he was vastly altered. Her woman's eye detects a
difference in his clothing. Formerly he had been ever dapper; without
foppishness, his dress always of the best and well cared for; now it was
old and worn, in places threadbare. Nor was it, though poor, yet with
the merit of being attended to. Timely stitches had not been given where
they had been needed, nor tags and buttons added that had fallen off.
His boots were shabby and trodden down at the heel. The wet and dirt
undoubtedly gave to them a special shabbiness on that day, but Julian
could see that they were out of shape and past their best days. The
trimness and gloss had gone out of Anthony's outer case and his spirit
within had lost as much, if not more. There was none of the ancient
merriment, none of the self-conscious swagger, none of the old assurance
of manner in him. He had become morose, peevish; he showed a diffidence
which was the reverse of his former self. It was a diffidence mingled
with resentment, the product of his consciousness that the world was
turned against him, and of his bitterness at knowing this. Anthony's
nature was one that required sunshine, as a peacock demands it that its
beauty and splendour may appear. Come rain, and how the feathers clog
and droop and draggle--how squalid a fowl it appears! So was Anthony
now--a faded disconsolate shadow of his old self, without the nerve to
bear up against what depressed him, the adaptability to shape himself to
his new surroundings.
As Julian looked at him she pitied him. Her love for him warmed her, and
made her forget the cruelty of the part she was playing. The child of
impulse, feeling this qualm of compassion, she rose and gently came
across the room to him.
He heard her not, coming in her light slippers on the carpet, so
engrossed was he in his wretched thoughts. Every one had turned against
him--every one in whom he had trusted. His friend Fox, the only man who
had seemed not to be affected by the general adverse tone of opinion, he
had given him the most stinging blow of all. He was now at variance with
his father, with his friend--if Bessie consented to take Fox, he could
never regard her with esteem again; at home he had quarrelled with Uncle
Solomon, and raised his hand against him; he had alienated from him his
wife; his aunt was in league against him; the servants at Willsworthy
would take sides with their mistress. What wretchedness! what
hopelessness was his! There was no one--no one but Julian who had a word
of kindness, a spark of feeling for him. He heard the rustle of her gown
and looked up.
She was standing by him, looking down on his ruffled hair, that hung
over his hands, clasped upon his forehead. He hastily brushed away the
scattered locks.
"Oh, Anthony!" she said, "what have you been doing here? What drawn on
the glass?"
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.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account