首页 >出版文学> The Way of All Flesh>第68章
  “IremityouaPostOfficeorderforyourfare,andwillpayyourreturnjourney。
  “Ifyouwantclothestocomein,orderwhatyouconsidersuitable,anddesirethatthebillbesenttome;Iwillpayitimmediately,toanamountnotexceedingeightorninepounds,andifyouwillletmeknowwhattrainyouwillcomeby,Iwillsendthecarriagetomeetyou。Believeme,Youraffectionatefather,T。PONTIFEX。”
  OfcoursetherecouldbenohesitationonErnest’spart。Hecouldaffordtosmilenowathisfather’sofferingtopayforhisclothes,andhissendinghimaPostOfficeorderfortheexactpriceofasecond-classticket,andhewasofcourseshockedatlearningthestatehismotherwassaidtobein,andtouchedatherdesiretoseehim。Hetelegraphedthathewouldcomedownatonce。Isawhimalittlebeforehestarted,andwaspleasedtoseehowwellhistailorhaddonebyhim。Towneleyhimselfcouldnothavebeenappointedmorebecomingly。Hisportmanteau,hisrailwaywrapper,everythinghehadabouthim,wasinkeeping。Ithoughthehadgrownmuchbetter-lookingthanhehadbeenattwoorthreeandtwenty。Hisyearandahalfofpeacehadeffacedalltheilleffectsofhisprevioussuffering,andnowthathehadbecomeactuallyrichtherewasanairofinsoucianceandgoodhumouruponhisface,asofamanwithwhomeverythingwasgoingperfectlyright,whichwouldhavemadeamuchplainermangood-looking。Iwasproudofhimanddelightedwithhim。“Iamsure。”Isaidtomyself,“thatwhateverelsehemaydo,hewillnevermarryagain。”
  Thejourneywasapainfulone。Ashedrewneartothestationandcaughtsightofeachfamiliarfeature,sostrongwastheforceofassociationthathefeltasthoughhiscomingintohisaunt’smoneyhadbeenadream,andhewereagainreturningtohisfather’shouseashehadreturnedtoitfromCambridgeforthevacations。Dowhathewould,theolddullweightofhome-sicknessbegantooppresshim,hisheartbeatfastashethoughtofhisapproachingmeetingwithhisfatherandmother,“andIshallhave。”hesaidtohimself,“tokissCharlotte。”
  Wouldhisfathermeethimatthestation?Wouldhegreethimasthoughnothinghadhappened,orwouldhebecoldanddistant?How,again,wouldhetakethenewsofhisson’sgoodfortune?Asthetraindrewuptotheplatform,Ernest’seyeranhurriedlyoverthefewpeoplewhowereinthestation。Hisfather’swell-knownformwasnotamongthem,butontheothersideofthepalingswhichdividedthestationyardfromtheplatform,hesawtheponycarriage,looking,ashethought,rathershabby,andrecognisedhisfather’scoachman。InafewminutesmorehewasinthecarriagedrivingtowardsBattersby。Hecouldnothelpsmilingashesawthecoachmangivealookofsurpriseatfindinghimsomuchchangedinpersonalappearance。ThecoachmanwasthemoresurprisedbecausewhenErnesthadlastbeenathomehehadbeendressedasaclergyman,andnowhewasnotonlyalayman,butalaymanwhowasgotupregardlessofexpense。ThechangewassogreatthatitwasnottillErnestactuallyspoketohimthatthecoachmanknewhim。
  “Howaremyfatherandmother?”heaskedhurriedly,ashegotintothecarriage。“TheMaster’swell,sir。”wastheanswer,“buttheMissisisverysadly。”Thehorseknewthathewasgoinghomeandpulledhardatthereins。Theweatherwascoldandraw——theveryidealofaNovemberday;inonepartoftheroadthefloodswereout,andnearheretheyhadtopassthroughanumberofhorsemenanddogs,forthehoundshadmetthatmorningataplacenearBattersby。
  Ernestsawseveralpeoplewhomheknew,buttheyeither,asismostlikely,didnotrecognisehim,ordidnotknowofhisgoodluck。
  WhenBattersbychurchtowerdrewnear,andhesawtheRectoryonthetopofthehill,itschimneysjustshowingabovetheleaflesstreeswithwhichitwassurrounded,hethrewhimselfbackinthecarriageandcoveredhisfacewithhishands。
  Itcametoanend,aseventheworstquartersofanhourdo,andinafewminutesmorehewasonthestepsinfrontofhisfather’shouse。Hisfather,hearingthecarriagearrive,camealittlewaydownthestepstomeethim。LikethecoachmanhesawataglancethatErnestwasappointedasthoughmoneywereabundantwithhim,andthathewaslookingrobustandfullofhealthandvigour。
  Thiswasnotwhathehadbargainedfor。HewantedErnesttoreturn,buthewastoreturnasanyrespectable,well-regulatedprodigaloughttoreturn——abject,broken-hearted,askingforgivenessfromthetenderestandmostlong-sufferingfatherinthewholeworld。Ifheshouldhaveshoesandstockingsandwholeclothesatall,itshouldbeonlybecauseabsoluteragsandtattershadbeengraciouslydispensedwith,whereasherehewasswaggeringinagreyulsterandablueandwhiteneck-tie,andlookingbetterthanTheobaldhadeverseenhiminhislife。Itwasunprincipled。WasitforthisthathehadbeengenerousenoughtooffertoprovideErnestwithdecentclothesinwhichtocomeandvisithismother’sdeath-bed?CouldanyadvantagebemeanerthantheonewhichErnesthadtaken?Well,hewouldnotgoapennybeyondtheeightorninepoundswhichhehadpromised。Itwasfortunatehehadgivenalimit。Whyhe,Theobald,hadneverbeenabletoaffordsuchaportmanteauinhislife。HewasstillusinganoldonewhichhisfatherhadturnedovertohimwhenhewentuptoCambridge。Besides,hehadsaidclothes,notaportmanteau。
  Ernestsawwhatwaspassingthroughhisfather’smind,andfeltthatheoughttohavepreparedhiminsomewayforwhathenowsaw;buthehadsenthistelegramsoimmediatelyonreceivinghisfather’sletter,andhadfolloweditsopromptlythatitwouldnothavebeeneasytodosoevenifhehadthoughtofit。Heputouthishandandsaidlaughingly,“Oh,it’sallpaidfor——IamafraidyoudonotknowthatMrOvertonhashandedovertomeAuntAlethea’smoney。”
  Theobaldflushedscarlet。“Butwhy。”hesaid,andthesewerethefirstwordsthatactuallycrossedhislips——“ifthemoneywasnothistokeep,didhenothanditovertomybrotherJohnandme?”Hestammeredagooddealandlookedsheepish,buthegotthewordsout。
  “Because,mydearfather。”saidErneststilllaughing,“myauntleftittohimintrustforme,notintrusteitherforyouorformyUncleJohn——andithasaccumulatedtillitisnowover70,000
  pounds。Buttellmehowismymother?”
  “No,Ernest。”saidTheobaldexcitedly,“themattercannotresthere,Imustknowthatthisisallopenandaboveboard。”
  ThishadthetrueTheobaldringandinstantlybroughtthewholetrainofideaswhichinErnest’smindwereconnectedwithhisfather。Thesurroundingsweretheoldfamiliarones,butthesurroundedwerechangedalmostbeyondpowerofrecognition。HeturnedsharplyonTheobaldinamoment。Iwillnotrepeatthewordsheused,fortheycameoutbeforehehadtimetoconsiderthem,andtheymightstrikesomeofmyreadersasdisrespectful;therewerenotmanyofthem,buttheywereeffectual。Theobaldsaidnothing,butturnedalmostofanashencolour;heneveragainspoketohissoninsuchawayastomakeitnecessaryforhimtorepeatwhathehadsaidonthisoccasion。Ernestquicklyrecoveredhistemperandagainaskedafterhismother。Theobaldwasgladenoughtotakethisopeningnow,andrepliedatonceinthetonehewouldhaveassumedtowardsonehemostparticularlydesiredtoconciliate,thatshewasgettingrapidlyworseinspiteofallhehadbeenabletodoforher,andconcludedbysayingshehadbeenthecomfortandmainstayofhislifeformorethanthirtyyears,butthathecouldnotwishitprolonged。
  ThepairthenwentupstairstoChristina’sroom,theoneinwhichErnesthadbeenborn。Hisfatherwentbeforehimandpreparedherforherson’sapproach。Thepoorwomanraisedherselfinbedashecametowardsher,andweepingassheflungherarmsaroundhim,cried:“Oh,Iknewhewouldcome,Iknew,Iknewhecouldcome。”
  Ernestbrokedownandweptashehadnotdoneforyears。
  “Oh,myboy,myboy。”shesaidassoonasshecouldrecoverhervoice。“Haveyouneverreallybeennearusforalltheseyears?
  Ah,youdonotknowhowwehavelovedyouandmournedoveryou,papajustasmuchasIhave。Youknowheshowshisfeelingsless,butI
  cannevertellyouhowvery,verydeeplyhehasfeltforyou。
  SometimesatnightIhavethoughtIhaveheardfootstepsinthegarden,andhavegotquietlyoutofbedlestIshouldwakehim,andgonetothewindowtolookout,buttherehasbeenonlydarkorthegreynessofthemorning,andIhavegonecryingbacktobedagain。
  StillIthinkyouhavebeennearusthoughyouweretooproudtoletusknow——andnowatlastIhaveyouinmyarmsoncemore,mydearest,dearestboy。”
  Howcruel,howinfamouslyunfeelingErnestthoughthehadbeen。
  “Mother。”hesaid,“forgiveme——thefaultwasmine,Ioughtnottohavebeensohard;Iwaswrong,verywrong“;thepoorblubberingfellowmeantwhathesaid,andhisheartyearnedtohismotherashehadneverthoughtthatitcouldyearnagain。“Buthaveyounever。”
  shecontinued,“comealthoughitwasinthedarkandwedidnotknowit——oh,letmethinkthatyouhavenotbeensocruelaswehavethoughtyou。Tellmethatyoucameifonlytocomfortmeandmakemehappier。”
  Ernestwasready。“Ihadnomoneytocomewith,mother,tilljustlately。”
  ThiswasanexcuseChristinacouldunderstandandmakeallowancefor;“Oh,thenyouwouldhavecome,andIwilltakethewillforthedeed——andnowthatIhaveyousafeagain,saythatyouwillnever,neverleaveme——nottill——nottill——oh,myboy,havetheytoldyouI
  amdying?”Sheweptbitterly,andburiedherheadinherpillow。