The Tenant of Wildfell Hall Anne BrontĂ« (librera reader .txt) đ
- Author: Anne Brontë
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âYou are pouring the cream into your saucer, Mr. Grimsby.â
âAh! yes, I see, but weâre almost in darkness here. Hargrave, snuff those candles, will you?â
âTheyâre wax; they donât require snuffing,â said I.
âââThe light of the body is the eye,âââ observed Hargrave, with a sarcastic smile. âââIf thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light.âââ
Grimsby repulsed him with a solemn wave of the hand, and then turning to me, continued, with the same drawling tones and strange uncertainty of utterance and heavy gravity of aspect as before: âBut as I was saying, Mrs. Huntingdon, they have no head at all: they canât take half a bottle without being affected some way; whereas Iâ âwell, Iâve taken three times as much as they have tonight, and you see Iâm perfectly steady. Now that may strike you as very singular, but I think I can explain it: you see their brainsâ âI mention no names, but youâll understand to whom I alludeâ âtheir brains are light to begin with, and the fumes of the fermented liquor render them lighter still, and produce an entire lightheadedness, or giddiness, resulting in intoxication; whereas my brains, being composed of more solid materials, will absorb a considerable quantity of this alcoholic vapour without the production of any sensible resultâ ââ
âI think you will find a sensible result produced on that tea,â interrupted Mr. Hargrave, âby the quantity of sugar you have put into it. Instead of your usual complement of one lump, you have put in six.â
âHave I so?â replied the philosopher, diving with his spoon into the cup, and bringing up several half-dissolved pieces in confirmation of the assertion. âHum! I perceive. Thus, Madam, you see the evil of absence of mindâ âof thinking too much while engaged in the common concerns of life. Now, if I had had my wits about me, like ordinary men, instead of within me like a philosopher, I should not have spoiled this cup of tea, and been constrained to trouble you for another.â
âThat is the sugar-basin, Mr. Grimsby. Now you have spoiled the sugar too; and Iâll thank you to ring for some more, for here is Lord Lowborough at last; and I hope his lordship will condescend to sit down with us, such as we are, and allow me to give him some tea.â
His lordship gravely bowed in answer to my appeal, but said nothing. Meantime, Hargrave volunteered to ring for the sugar, while Grimsby lamented his mistake, and attempted to prove that it was owing to the shadow of the urn and the badness of the lights.
Lord Lowborough had entered a minute or two before, unobserved by anyone but me, and had been standing before the door, grimly surveying the company. He now stepped up to Annabella, who sat with her back towards him, with Hattersley still beside her, though not now attending to her, being occupied in vociferously abusing and bullying his host.
âWell, Annabella,â said her husband, as he leant over the back of her chair, âwhich of these three âbold, manly spiritsâ would you have me to resemble?â
âBy heaven and earth, you shall resemble us all!â cried Hattersley, starting up and rudely seizing him by the arm. âHallo, Huntingdon!â he shoutedâ ââIâve got him! Come, man, and help me! And dâ âžșâ n me, if I donât make him drunk before I let him go! He shall make up for all past delinquencies as sure as Iâm a living soul!â
There followed a disgraceful contest: Lord Lowborough, in desperate earnest, and pale with anger, silently struggling to release himself from the powerful madman that was striving to drag him from the room. I attempted to urge Arthur to interfere in behalf of his outraged guest, but he could do nothing but laugh.
âHuntingdon, you fool, come and help me, canât you!â cried Hattersley, himself somewhat weakened by his excesses.
âIâm wishing you Godspeed, Hattersley,â cried Arthur, âand aiding you with my prayers: I canât do anything else if my life depended on it! Iâm quite used up. Ohâ âoh!â and leaning back in his seat, he clapped his hands on his sides and groaned aloud.
âAnnabella, give me a candle!â said Lowborough, whose antagonist had now got him round the waist and was endeavouring to root him from the doorpost, to which he madly clung with all the energy of desperation.
âI shall take no part in your rude sports!â replied the lady coldly drawing back. âI wonder you can expect it.â But I snatched up a candle and brought it to him. He took it and held the flame to Hattersleyâs hands, till, roaring like a wild beast, the latter unclasped them and let him go. He vanished, I suppose to his own apartment, for nothing more was seen of him till the morning. Swearing and cursing like a maniac, Hattersley threw himself on to the ottoman beside the window. The door being now free, Milicent attempted to make her escape from the scene of her husbandâs disgrace; but he called her back, and insisted upon her coming to him.
âWhat do you want, Ralph?â murmured she, reluctantly approaching him.
âI want to know whatâs the matter with you,â said he, pulling her on to his knee like a child. âWhat are you crying for, Milicent?â âTell me!â
âIâm not crying.â
âYou are,â persisted he, rudely pulling her hands from her face. âHow dare you tell such a lie!â
âIâm not crying now,â pleaded she.
âBut you have been, and just this minute too; and I will know what for. Come, now, you shall tell me!â
âDo let me alone, Ralph! Remember, we are not at home.â
âNo matter: you shall answer my question!â exclaimed her tormentor; and he attempted to extort the confession by shaking her, and remorselessly crushing her slight arms in the grip of his powerful fingers.
âDonât let him treat your sister in that way,â said I to Mr. Hargrave.
âCome now, Hattersley, I canât allow that,â said that gentleman, stepping up to the ill-assorted couple. âLet my sister alone, if
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