The Book Of The Bush by George Dunderdale (top fiction books of all time .TXT) 📖

On Another Moment."

 

Philip's First Blow Was Dodged By The Kangaroo,  But The Second Fell

Fairly On The Skull; He Fell Down,  And Ossian,  A Big And Powerful

Hound,  Seized Him Instantly By The Throat And Held On.  The Three Men

Mounted Their Horses And Rode Away,  But Philip's Mare Was,  As Usual,

Shying At Every Tree.  As He Came Near One Which Had A Large Branch,

Growing Horizontally From The Trunk,  His Mare Spring Aside,  Carried

Him Under The Limb,  Which Struck His Head,  And Threw Him To The

Ground.  He Never Spoke Again.

 

After The Funeral,  Mccarthy Rode Over To The Rocky Waterholes To Make

Some Enquiries.  He Called At Mrs. Martin's Residence,  And He Said:

 

"Mr. Philip Told Us He Was Married The Day Before The Accident,  But

It Seemed So Strange,  We Could Not Believe It; So I Thought I Would

Just Ride Over And Enquire About It,  For,  Of Course,  If He Had A

Wife,  She Will Be Entitled To Whatever Little Property He Left Behind

Him."

 

"Yes,  It's Quite True," Said Mrs. Martin.  "They Were Married Sure

Enough.  He Called Here At Christmas,  And Said He Would Like To See

Miss Edgeworth; But She Was Away On A Visit To Some Friends.  I Asked

Him If He Had Any Message To Leave For Her,  But He Said,  'Oh,  No;

Only I Thought I Should Like To See How She Is Getting Along.  That's

All,  Thank You.  I Might Call Again At Easter.'  So He Went Away.  On

Last Easter Monday He Came Again.  Of Course I Had Told Miss

Edgeworth,  About His Calling At Christmas And Enquiring About Her,

And It Made Me Rather Suspicious When He Came Again.  As You May

Suppose,  I Could Not Help Taking Notice; But For Two Days,  Nor,  In

Fact,  For The Whole Week,  Was There The Slightest Sign Of Anything

Like Lovemaking Between Them.  No Private Conversation,  No Walking

Out Together,  Nothing But Commonplace Talk And Solemn Looks.  I Said

To Myself,  'If There Is Anything Between Them,  They Keep It Mighty

Close To Be Sure.'  On The Tuesday Evening,  However,  He Spoke To Me.

He Said:

 

"'I Hope You Won't Mention It,  Mrs. Martin,  But I Would Like To Have

A Little Advice From You,  If You Would Be So Kind As To Give It.

Miss Edgeworth Has Been Living With You For Some Time,  And You Must

Be Well Acquainted With Her.  I Am Thinking Of Making A Proposal,  But

Our Intercourse Has Been So Slight,  That I Should Be Pleased First To

Have Your Opinion On The Matter.'

 

"'Mr. Philip,' I Said,  'You Really Must Not Ask Me To Say Anything

One Way Or The Other,  For Or Against.  I Have My Own Sentiments,  Of

Course; But Nobody Shall Ever Say That I Either Made A Match Or

Marred One.'

 

"Nothing Happened Until The Next Day.  In The Afternoon Miss

Edgeworth Was Alone In This Room,  When I Heard Mr. Philip Walking

Down The Passage,  And Stopping At The Door,  Which Was Half Open.  I

Peeped Out,  And Then Put Off My Slippers,  And Stepped A Little

Nearer,  Until Through The Little Opening Between The Door And The

Story 6 ( The Two Shepherds.) Pg 128

Door-Post,  I Could Both See And Hear Them.  He Was Sitting On The

Table,  Dangling His Boots To And Fro Just Above The Floor,  And She

Was Sitting On A Low Rocking-Chair About Six Feet Distant.  He Did

Not Beat About The Bush,  As The Saying Is; Did Not Say,  'My Dear,' Or

'By Your Leave,  Miss,' Or 'Excuse Me,' Or Anything Nice,  As One Would

Expect From A Gentleman On A Delicate Occasion Of The Kind,  But He

Said,  Quite Abruptly:

 

"'How Would You Like To Live At Nyalong,  Miss Edgeworth?'

 

"She Was Looking On The Floor,  And Her Fingers Were Playing With A

Bit Of Ribbon,  And She Was So Nice And Winsome,  And Well Dressed,  You

Couldn't Have Helped Giving Her A Kiss.  She Never Raised Her Eyes To

His Face,  But I Think She Just Looked As High As His Boots,  Which

Were Stained And Dusty.  The Silly Man Was Waiting For Her To Say

Something; But She Hung Down Her Head,  And Said Nothing.  At Last He

Said:

 

"'I Suppose You Know What I Mean,  Miss Edgeworth?'

 

"'Yes,' She Said,  In A Low Voice.  'I Know What You Mean,  Thank You.'

 

"Then There Was Silence For I Don't Know How Long; It Was Really

Dreadful,  And I Couldn't Think How It Was Going To End.  At Last He

Heaved A Big Sigh,  And Said:

 

"'Well,  Miss Edgeworth,  There Is No Need To Hurry; Take Time To Think

About It.  I Am Going To Ride Out,  And Perhaps You Will Be Good

Enough To Let Me Know Your Mind When I Come Back.'

 

"Then He Just Shook Her Hand,  And I Hurried Away From The Door.  It

Was Rather Mean Of Me To Be Listening To Them,  But I Took As Much

Interest In Miss Edgeworth As If She Were My Own Daughter.

 

"'There Is No Need To Hurry,' He Had Said,  But In My Opinion There

Was Too Much Hurry,  For They Were Married On The Saturday,  And He

Rode Away The Same Morning Having To Open School Again On Monday.

 

"Of Course,  Miss Edgeworth Was A Good Deal Put About When We Heard

What Had Happened,  Through The Papers,  But I Comforted Her As Much As

Possible.  I Said,  'As For Myself,  I Had Never Liked The Look Of The

Poor Man With His Red Hair And Freckles.  I Am Sure He Had A Bad

Temper At Bottom,  For Red-Haired Men Are Always Hasty; And Then He

Had A High,  Thin Nose,  And Men Of That Kind Are Always Close And

Stingy,  And The Stingiest Man I Ever Knew Was A Dublin Man.  Then His

Manners,  You Must Remember,  Were Anything But Nice; He Didn't Wasteany

Compliments On You Before You Married Him,  So You May Just Fancy What

Kind Of Compliments You Would Have Had To Put Up With Afterwards.

And Perhaps You Have Forgotten What You Said Yourself About Him At

Bendigo.  You Were Sure He Was A Severe Master,  You Could See

Sternness On His Brow.  And However You Could Have Consented To Go To

The Altar With Such A Man I Cannot Understand To This Day.  I Am Sure

It Was A Very Bad Match,  And By-And-By You Will Thank Your Stars That

You Are Well Out Of It.'

Story 6 ( The Two Shepherds.) Pg 129

 

"I Must Acknowledge That Miss Edgeworth Did Not Take What I Said To

Comfort Her Very Kindly,  And She 'Gave Me Fits,' As The Saying Is;

But Bless Your Soul,  She'll Soon Get Over It,  And Will Do Better Next

Time."

 

Soon After The Death Of Philip,  Major Chisholm And His Family Left

Nyalong,  And I Was Appointed Clerk To The Justices At Colac.  I Sat

Under Them For Twelve Years,  And During That Time I Wrote A Great

Quantity Of Criminal Literature.  When A Convict Of Good Conduct In

Pentridge Was Entitled To A Ticket-Of-Leave,  He Usually Chose The

Western District As The Scene Of His Future Labours,  So That The

Country Was Peopled With Old Jack Bartons And Young Ones.  Some Of

The Young Ones Had Been Philip's Scholars--Viz.,  The Boyles And The

Blakes.  They Were Friends Of The Bartons,  And Old John,  The

Ex-Flogger,  Trained Them In The Art Of Cattle-Lifting.  His Teaching

Was Far More Successful Than That Of Philip's,  And When In Course Of

Time Hugh Boyle Appeared In The Dock On A Charge Of Horse-Stealing,  I

Was Pained But Not Surprised.  Barton,  To Whose Farm The Stolen Horse

Had Been Brought By Hugh,  Was Summoned As Witness For The Crown,  But

He Organised The Evidence For The Defence So Well That The Prisoner

Was Discharged.

 

On The Next Occasion Both Hugh And His Brother James Were Charged

With Stealing A Team Of Bullocks,  But This Timhe Two Great

Men. Pestalozzi Was Diffident,  Acknowledged Freely His Mistakes,  And

Sometimes Blamed Himself For Them Bitterly; Froebel Never Thought

Himself In The Wrong,  If Anything Went Amiss Always Found Some External

Cause For The Failure,  And In Self-Confidence Sometimes Reached An

Extravagant Pitch.

 

[98] Either Froebel Or His Editor Has Made A Blunder Here. Froebel Went

To Göttingen In July 1811 (See P. 84),  And To Berlin In October 1812

(See P. 89).

 

[99] At This Time,  However,  The Symbols Of The Inorganic World Did Not

Appeal To Froebel With The Same Force As Those Of The Organic World. In

A Letter To Madame Von Holzhausen. 31st March,  1831,  He Writes: "It Is

The Highest Privilege Of Natural Forms Or Of Natural Life That They

Contain Agreement And Perfection Within Themselves As A Whole Class,

While Differing And Filled With Imperfection In Particular Individuals;

For Look At The Loveliest Blooming Fruit-Tree,  The Sweetest Rose,  The

Purest Lily,  And Your Eye Can Always Detect Deficiencies,  Imperfections,

Differences In Each One,  Regarded As A Single Phenomenon,  A Separate

Bloom; And,  Further,  The Same Want Of Perfection Appears Also In Every

Single Petal: On The Other Hand,  Wherever Mathematical Symmetry And

Precise Agreement Are Found,  _There Is Death_".

 

[100] Not A Figure Of Speech Altogether; For Froebel Did Really Decline

A Professorship Of Mineralogy Which Was Offered Him At This Time,  In

Order To Set Forth On His Educational Career.

 

[101] That Is,  Putting Development Into A Formula--

 

Story 6 ( The Two Shepherds.) Pg 130

Thesis-+-Antithesis

       |

   Synthesis.

 

The True Synthesis Is That Springing From The Thesis And Its Opposite,

The Antithesis. Another Type Of The Formula Is This--

 

Proposition-+-Counter-Proposition

            |

        Compromise.

 

Understanding By "Compromise" (_Vermittlung_) That Which Results From

The Union Of The Two Opposites,  That Which Forms Part Of Both And Which

Links Them Together. The Formula Expressed In Terms Of Human Life,  For

Example,  Is--

 

Father-+-Mother

       |

     Child.

 

Philosophic Readers Acquainted With Hegel And His School Will Recognise

A Familiar Friend In These Formulæ.

 

[102] Froebel Travelled From Berlin To Osterode,  And Took With Him Both

His Brother Christian's Sons,  Ferdinand And Wilhelm,  To Griesheim; There

To Educate Them Together With The Three Orphans Of His Brother

Christoph,  Who Had Died In 1813,  Of Hospital Fever,  Whilst Nursing The

French Soldiers. Of The Sons Of Christian,  Ferdinand Studied Philosophy,

And At His Death Was Director Of The Orphanage Founded By Froebel In

Burgdorf; Wilhelm,  Who Showed Great Talent,  And Was His Uncle's

Favourite Nephew,  Died