Judethendroppedbehind,waitedafewminutestorecoverbreath,andwenthomewithaconsciousnessofhavingstruckablowforChristminster。
Throughtheinterveningfortnightheranaboutandsmiledoutwardlyathisinwardthoughts,asiftheywerepeoplemeetingandnoddingtohim-smiledwiththatsingularlybeautifulirradiationwhichisseentospreadonyoungfacesattheinceptionofsomegloriousidea,asifasupernaturallampwereheldinsidetheirtransparentnatures,givingrisetotheflatteringfancythatheavenliesaboutthemthen。
Hehonestlyperformedhispromisetothemanofmanycures,inwhomhenowsincerelybelieved,walkingmileshitherandthitheramongthesurroundinghamletsasthePhysician’sagentinadvance。Ontheeveningappointedhestoodmotionlessontheplateau,attheplacewherehehadpartedfromVilbert,andthereawaitedhisapproach。Theroad-physicianwasfairlyuptotime;but,tothesurpriseofJudeonstrikingintohispace,whichthepedestriandidnotdiminishbyasingleunitofforce,thelatterseemedhardlytorecognizehisyoungcompanion,thoughwiththelapseofthefortnighttheeveningshadgrownlight。Judethoughtitmightperhapsbeowingtohiswearinganotherhat,andhesalutedthephysicianwithdignity。
`Well,myboy?’saidthelatterabstractedly。
`I’vecome,’saidJude。
`You?whoareyou?Ohyes-tobesure!Gotanyorders,lad?’
`Yes。’AndJudetoldhimthenamesandaddressesofthecottagerswhowerewillingtotestthevirtuesoftheworld-renownedpillsandsalve。
Thequackmentallyregisteredthesewithgreatcare。
`AndtheLatinandGreekgrammars?’Jude’svoicetrembledwithanxiety。
`Whataboutthem?’
`Youweretobringmeyours,thatyouusedbeforeyoutookyourdegree。’
`Ah,yes,yes!Forgotallaboutit-all!Somanylivesdependingonmyattention,yousee,myman,thatIcan’tgivesomuchthoughtasIwouldliketootherthings。’
Judecontrolledhimselfsufficientlylongtomakesureofthetruth;andherepeated,inavoiceofdrymisery,`Youhaven’tbrought’em!’
`No。Butyoumustgetmesomemoreordersfromsickpeople,andI’llbringthegrammarsnexttime。’
Judedroppedbehind。Hewasanunsophisticatedboy,butthegiftofsuddeninsightwhichissometimesvouchsafedtochildrenshowedhimallatoncewhatshoddyhumanitythequackwasmadeof。Therewastobenointellectuallightfromthissource。Theleavesdroppedfromhisimaginarycrownoflaurel;heturnedtoagate,leantagainstit,andcriedbitterly。
Thedisappointmentwasfollowedbyanintervalofblankness。Hemight,perhaps,haveobtainedgrammarsfromAlfredston,buttodothatrequiredmoney,andaknowledgeofwhatbookstoorder;andthoughphysicallycomfortable,hewasinsuchabsolutedependenceastobewithoutafarthingofhisown。
AtthisdateMr。Phillotsonsentforhispianoforte,anditgaveJudealead。Whyshouldhenotwritetotheschoolmaster,andaskhimtobesokindastogethimthegrammarsinChristminster?Hemightslipaletterinsidethecaseoftheinstrument,anditwouldbesuretoreachthedesiredeyes。Whynotaskhimtosendanyoldsecond-handcopies,whichwouldhavethecharmofbeingmellowedbytheuniversityatmosphere?
Totellhisauntofhisintentionwouldbetodefeatit。Itwasnecessarytoactalone。
Afterafurtherconsiderationofafewdayshedidact,andonthedayofthepiano’sdeparture,whichhappenedtobehisnextbirthday,clandestinelyplacedtheletterinsidethepacking-case,directedtohismuch-admiredfriend,beingafraidtorevealtheoperationtohisauntDrusilla,lestsheshoulddiscoverhismotive,andcompelhimtoabandonhisscheme。
Thepianowasdespatched,andJudewaiteddaysandweeks,callingeverymorningatthecottagepostofficebeforehisgreat-auntwasstirring。
Atlastapacketdidindeedarriveatthevillage,andhesawfromtheendsofitthatitcontainedtwothinbooks。Hetookitawayintoalonelyplace,andsatdownonafelledelmtoopenit。
EversincehisfirstecstasyorvisionofChristminsteranditspossibilities,Judehadmeditatedmuchandcuriouslyontheprobablesortofprocessthatwasinvolvedinturningtheexpressionsofonelanguageintothoseofanother。Heconcludedthatagrammaroftherequiredtonguewouldcontain,primarily,arule,prescription,orclueofthenatureofasecretcipher,which,onceknown,wouldenablehim,bymerelyapplyingit,tochangeatwillallwordsofhisownspeechintothoseoftheforeignone。Hischildishideawas,infact,apushingtotheextremityofmathematicalprecisionwhatiseverywhereknownasGrimm’sLaw-anaggrandizementofroughrulestoidealcompleteness。Thusheassumedthatthewordsoftherequiredlanguagewerealwaystobefoundsomewherelatentinthewordsofthegivenlanguagebythosewhohadthearttouncoverthem,suchartbeingfurnishedbythebooksaforesaid。
When,therefore,havingnotedthatthepacketborethepostmarkofChristminster,hecutthestring,openedthevolumes,andturnedtotheLatingrammar,whichchancedtocomeuppermost,hecouldscarcelybelievehiseyes。
Thebookwasanoldone-thirtyyearsold,soiled,scribbledwantonlyoverwithastrangenameineveryvarietyofenmitytotheletterpress,andmarkedatrandomwithdatestwentyyearsearlierthanhisownday。
ButthiswasnotthecauseofJude’samazement。Helearntforthefirsttimethattherewasnolawoftransmutation,asinhisinnocencehehadsupposedtherewas,insomedegree,butthegrammariandidnotrecognizeit,butthateverywordinbothLatinandGreekwastobeindividuallycommittedtomemoryatthecostofyearsofplodding。
Judeflungdownthebooks,laybackwardalongthebroadtrunkoftheelm,andwasanutterlymiserableboyforthespaceofaquarterofanhour。Ashehadoftendonebefore,hepulledhishatoverhisfaceandwatchedthesunpeeringinsidiouslyathimthroughtheintersticesofthestraw。ThiswasLatinandGreek,then,wasitthisgranddelusion!
ThecharmhehadsupposedinstoreforhimwasreallyalabourlikethatofIsraelinEgypt。
WhatbrainstheymusthaveinChristminsterandthegreatschools,hepresentlythought,tolearnwordsonebyoneuptotensofthousands!
Therewerenobrainsinhisheadequaltothisbusiness;andasthelittlesun-rayscontinuedtostreaminthroughhishatathim,hewishedhehadneverseenabook,thathemightneverseeanother,thathehadneverbeenborn。
Somebodymighthavecomealongthatwaywhowouldhaveaskedhimhistrouble,andmighthavecheeredhimbysayingthathisnotionswerefurtheradvancedthanthoseofhisgrammarian。Butnobodydidcome,becausenobodydoes;andunderthecrushingrecognitionofhisgiganticerrorJudecontinuedtowishhimselfoutoftheworld。
JudetheObscureChapter05I-vDuringthethreeorfoursucceedingyearsaquaintandsingularvehiclemighthavebeendiscernedmovingalongthelanesandby-roadsnearMarygreen,driveninaquaintandsingularway。
InthecourseofamonthortwoafterthereceiptofthebooksJudehadgrowncalloustotheshabbytrickplayedhimbythedeadlanguages。
Infact,hisdisappointmentatthenatureofthosetongueshad,afterawhile,beenthemeansofstillfurtherglorifyingtheeruditionofChristminster。
Toacquirelanguages,departedorlivinginspiteofsuchobstinaciesashenowknewtheminherentlytopossess,wasaherculeanperformancewhichgraduallyledhimontoagreaterinterestinitthaninthepresupposedpatentprocess。Themountain-weightofmaterialunderwhichtheideaslayinthosedustyvolumescalledtheclassicspiquedhimintoadogged,mouselikesubtletyofattempttomoveitpiecemeal。
Hehadendeavouredtomakehispresencetolerabletohiscrustymaidenauntbyassistinghertothebestofhisability,andthebusinessofthelittlecottagebakeryhadgrowninconsequence。Anagedhorsewithahangingheadhadbeenpurchasedforeightpoundsatasale,acreakingcartwithawhity-browntiltobtainedforafewpoundsmore,andinthisturn-outitbecameJude’sbusinessthriceaweektocarryloavesofbreadtothevillagersandsolitarycottersimmediatelyroundMarygreen。
Thesingularityaforesaidlay,afterall,lessintheconveyanceitselfthaninJude’smannerofconductingitalongitsroute。ItsinteriorwasthesceneofmostofJude’seducationby`privatestudy。’Assoonasthehorsehadlearnttheroadandthehousesatwhichhewastopauseawhile,theboy,seatedinfront,wouldslipthereinsoverhisarm,ingeniouslyfixopen,bymeansofastrapattachedtothetilt,thevolumehewasreading,spreadthedictionaryonhisknees,andplungeintothesimplerpassagesfromCaesar,Virgil,orHorace,asthecasemightbe,inhispurblindstumblingway,andwithanexpenditureoflabourthatwouldhavemadeatender-heartedpedagogueshedtears;yetsomehowgettingatthemeaningofwhatheread,anddiviningratherthanbeholdingthespiritoftheoriginal,whichoftentohismindwassomethingelsethanthatwhichhewastaughttolookfor。
TheonlycopieshehadbeenabletolayhandsonwereoldDelphineditions,becausetheyweresuperseded,andthereforecheap。But,badforidleschoolboys,itdidsohappenthattheywerepassablygoodforhim。
Thehamperedandlonelyitinerantconscientiouslycoveredupthemarginalreadings,andusedthemmerelyonpointsofconstruction,ashewouldhaveusedacomradeortutorwhoshouldhavehappenedtobepassingby。AndthoughJudemayhavehadlittlechanceofbecomingascholarbytheseroughandreadymeans,hewasinthewayofgettingintothegroovehewishedtofollow。
Whilehewasbusiedwiththeseancientpages,whichhadalreadybeenthumbedbyhandspossiblyinthegrave,diggingoutthethoughtsofthesemindssoremoteyetsonear,thebonyoldhorsepursuedhisrounds,andJudewouldbearousedfromthewoesofDidobythestoppageofhiscartandthevoiceofsomeoldwomancrying,`Twoto-day,baker,andI
returnthisstaleone。’
Hewasfrequentlymetinthelanesbypedestriansandotherswithouthisseeingthem,andbydegreesthepeopleoftheneighbourhoodbegantotalkabouthismethodofcombiningworkandplaysuchtheyconsideredhisreadingtobe,which,thoughprobablyconvenientenoughtohimself,wasnotaltogetherasafeproceedingforothertravellersalongthesameroads。Thereweremurmurs。Thenaprivateresidentofanadjoiningplaceinformedthelocalpolicemanthatthebaker’sboyshouldnotbeallowedtoreadwhiledriving,andinsistedthatitwastheconstable’sdutytocatchhimintheact,andtakehimtothepolicecourtatAlfredston,andgethimfinedfordangerouspracticesonthehighway。ThepolicemanthereuponlayinwaitforJude,andonedayaccostedhimandcautionedhim。
AsJudehadtogetupatthreeo’clockinthemorningtoheattheoven,andmixandsetinthebreadthathedistributedlaterintheday,hewasobligedtogotobedatnightimmediatelyafterlayingthesponge;sothatifhecouldnotreadhisclassicsonthehighwayshecouldhardlystudyatall。Theonlythingtobedonewas,therefore,tokeepasharpeyeaheadandaroundhimaswellashecouldinthecircumstances,andslipawayhisbooksassoonasanybodyloomedinthedistance,thepolicemaninparticular。Todothatofficialjustice,hedidnotputhimselfmuchinthewayofJude’sbread-cart,consideringthatinsuchalonelydistrictthechiefdangerwastoJudehimself,andoftenonseeingthewhitetiltoverthehedgeshewouldmoveinanotherdirection。
OnadaywhenFawleywasgettingquiteadvanced,beingnowaboutsixteen,andhadbeenstumblingthroughthe`CarmenSaeculare,’onhiswayhome,hefoundhimselftobepassingoverthehighedgeoftheplateaubytheBrownHouse。Thelighthadchanged,anditwasthesenseofthiswhichhadcausedhimtolookup。Thesunwasgoingdown,andthefullmoonwasrisingsimultaneouslybehindthewoodsintheoppositequarter。Hismindhadbecomesoimpregnatedwiththepoemthat,inamomentofthesameimpulsiveemotionwhichyearsbeforehadcausedhimtokneelontheladder,hestoppedthehorse,alighted,andglancingroundtoseethatnobodywasinsight,kneltdownontheroadsidebankwithopenbook。Heturnedfirsttotheshinygoddess,whoseemedtolooksosoftlyandcriticallyathisdoings,thentothedisappearingluminaryontheotherhand,ashebegan:
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