手机浏览器扫描二维码访问
eets in search of adventure。
Returning from some of these junketings—of which there were many stories told at the time; as; that she fought a duel; served on one of the King’s ships as a captain; was seen to dance naked on a balcony; and fled with a certain lady to the Low Countries where the lady’s husband followed them—but of the truth or otherwise of these stories; we express no opinion—returning from whatever her occupation may have been; she made a point sometimes of passing beneath the windows of a coffee house; where she could see the wits without being seen; and thus could fancy from their gestures what wise; witty; or spiteful things they were saying without hearing a word of them; which was perhaps an advantage; and once she stood half an hour watching three shadows on the blind drinking tea together in a house in Bolt Court。
Never was any play so absorbing。 She wanted to cry out; Bravo! Bravo! For; to be sure; what a fine drama it was—what a page torn from the thickest volume of human life! There was the little shadow with the pouting lips; fidgeting this way and that on his chair; uneasy; petulant; officious; there was the bent female shadow; crooking a finger in the cup to feel how deep the tea was; for she was blind; and there was the Roman–looking rolling shadow in the big armchair—he who twisted his fingers so oddly and jerked his head from side to side and swallowed down the tea in such vast gulps。 Dr Johnson; Mr Boswell; and Mrs Williams;—those were the shadows’ names。 So absorbed was she in the sight; that she forgot to think how other ages would have envied her; though it seems probable that on this occasion they would。 She was content to gaze and gaze。 At length Mr Boswell rose。 He saluted the old woman with tart asperity。 But with what humility did he not abase himself before the great Roman shadow; who now rose to its full height and rocking somewhat as he stood there rolled out the most magnificent phrases that ever left human lips; so Orlando thought them; though she never heard a word that any of the three shadows said as they sat there drinking tea。
At length she came home one night after one of these saunterings and mounted to her bedroom。 She took off her laced coat and stood there in shirt and breeches looking out of the window。 There was something stirring in the air which forbade her to go to bed。 A white haze lay over the town; for it was a frosty night in midwinter and a magnificent vista lay all round her。 She could see St Paul’s; the Tower; Westminster Abbey; with all the spires and domes of the city churches; the smooth bulk of its banks; the opulent and ample curves of its halls and meeting–places。 On the north rose the smooth; shorn heights of Hampstead; and in the west the streets and squares of Mayfair shone out in one clear radiance。 Upon this serene and orderly prospect the stars looked down; glittering; positive; hard; from a cloudless sky。 In the extreme clearness of the atmosphere the line of every roof; the cowl of every chimney; was perceptible; even the cobbles in the streets showed distinct one from another; and Orlando could not help paring this orderly scene with the irregular and huddled purlieus which had been the city of London in the reign of Queen Elizabeth。 Then; she remembered; the city; if such one could call it; lay crowded; a mere huddle and conglomeration of houses; under her windows at Blackfriars。 The stars reflected themselves in deep pits of stagnant water which lay in the middle of the streets。 A black shadow at the corner where the wine shop used to stand was; as likely as not; the corpse of a murdered man。 She could remember the cries of many a one wounded in such night brawlings; when she was a little boy; held to the diamond–paned window in her nurse’s arms。 Troops of ruffians; men and women; unspeakably interlaced; lurched down the streets; trolling out wild songs with jewels flashing in their ears; and knives gleaming in their fists。 On such a night as this the impermeable tangle of the forests on Highgate and Hampstead would be outlined; writhing in contorted intricacy against the sky。 Here and there; on one of the hills which rose above London; was a stark gallows tree; with a corpse nailed to rot or parch on its cross; for danger and insecurity; lust and violence; poetry and filth swarmed over the tortuous Elizabethan highways and buzzed and stank—Orlando could remember even now the smell of them on a hot night—in the little rooms and narrow pathways of the city。 Now—she leant out of her window—all was light; order; and serenity。 There was the faint rattle of a coach on the cobbles。 She heard the far–away cry of the night watchman—’Just twelve o’clock on a frosty morning’。 No sooner had the words left his lips than the first stroke of midnight sounded。 Orlando then for the first time noticed a small cloud gathered behind the dome of St Paul’s。 As the strokes sounded; the cloud increased; and she saw it darken and spread with extraordinary speed。 At the same time a light breeze rose and by the time the sixth stroke of midnight had struck the whole of the eastern sky was covered with an irregular moving darkness; though the sky to the west and north stayed clear as ever。 Then the cloud spread north。 Height upon height above the city was engulfed by it。 Only Mayfair; with all its lights shining。 burnt more brilliantly than ever by contrast。 With the eighth stroke; some hurrying tatters of cloud sprawled over Piccadilly。 They seemed to mass themselves and to advance with extraordinary rapidity towards the west end。 As the ninth; tenth; and eleventh strokes struck; a huge blackness sprawled over the whole of London。 With the twelfth stroke of midnight; the darkness was plete。 A turbulent welter of cloud covered the city。 All was darkness; all was doubt; all was confusion。 The Eighteenth century was over; the Nieenth century had begun。
CHAPTER 5。
The great cloud which hung; not only over London; but over the whole of the British Isles on the first day of the nieenth century stayed; or rather; did not stay; for it was buffeted about constantly by blustering gales; long enough to have extraordinary consequences upon those who lived beneath its shadow。 A change seemed to have e over the climate of England。 Rain fell frequently; but only in fitful gusts; which were no sooner over than they began again。 The sun shone; of course; but it was so girt about with clouds and the air was so saturated with water; that its beams were discoloured and purples; oranges; and reds of a dull sort took the place of the more positive landscapes of the eighteenth century。 Under this bruised and sullen canopy the green of the cabbages was less intense; and the white of the snow was muddied。 But what was worse; damp now began to make its way into every house—damp; which is the most insidious of all enemies; for while the sun can be shut out by blinds; and the frost roasted by a hot fire; damp steals in while we sleep; damp is silent; imperceptible; ubiquitous。 Damp swells the wood; furs the kettle; rusts the iron; rots the stone。 So gradual is the process; that it is not until we pick up some chest of drawers; or coal scuttle; and the whole thing drops to pieces in our hands; that we suspect even that the disease is at work。
Thus; stealthily and imperceptibly; none marking the exact day or hour of the change; the constitution of England was altered and nobody knew it。 Everywhere the effects were felt。 The hardy country gentleman; who had sat down gladly to a meal of ale and beef in a room designed; perhaps by the brothers Adam; with classic dignity; now felt chilly。 Rugs appeared; beards were grown; trousers were fastened tight under the instep。 The chill which he felt in his legs the country gentleman soon transferred to his house; furniture was muffled; walls and tables were covered; nothing was left bare。 Then a change of diet became essential。 The muffin was invented and the crumpet。 Coffee supplanted the after–dinner port; and; as coffee led to a drawing–room in which to drink it; and a drawing–room to glass cases; and glass cases to artificial flowers; and artificial flowers to mantelpieces; and mantelpieces to pianofortes; and pianofortes to drawing–room ballads; and drawing–room ballads (skipping a stage or two) to innumerable little dogs; mats; and china ornaments; the home—which had bee extremely important—was pletely altered。
Outside the house—it was another effect of the damp—ivy grew in unparalleled profusion。 Houses that had been of bare stone were smothered in greenery。 No garden; however formal its original design; lacked a shrubbery; a wilderness; a maze。 What light perated to the bedrooms where children were born was naturally of an obfusc green; and what light perated to the drawing–rooms where grown men and women lived came through curtains of brown and purple plush。 But the change did not stop at outward things。 The damp struck within。 Men felt the chill in their hearts; the damp in their minds。 In a desperate effort to snuggle their feelings into some sort of warmth one subterfuge was tried after another。 Love; birth; and death were all swaddled in a variety of fine phrases。 The sexes drew further and further apart。 No open conversation was tolerated。 Evasions and concealments were sedulously practised on both sides。 And just as the ivy and the evergreen rioted in the damp earth outside; so did the same fertility show itself within。 The life of the average woman was a succession of childbirths。 She married at nieen and had fifteen or eighteen children by the time she was thirty; for twins abounded。 Thus the British Empire came into existence; and thus—for there is no stopping damp; it gets into the inkpot as it gets into the woodwork—sentences swelled; adjectives multiplied; lyrics became epics; and little trifles that had been essays a column long were now encyclopaedias in ten or twenty volumes。 But Eusebius Chubb shall be our witness to the effect this all had upon the mind of a sensitive man who could do nothing to stop it。 There is a passage towards the end of his memoirs where he describes how; after writing thirty–five folio pages one morning ‘all about nothing’ he screwed the lid of his inkpot and went for a turn in his garden。 Soon he found himself involved in the shrubbery。 Innumerable leaves creaked and glistened above his head。 He seemed to himself ‘to crush the mould of a million more under his feet’。 Thick smoke exuded from a damp bonfire at the end of the garden。 He reflected that no fire on earth could ever hope to consume that vast vegetable encumbrance。 Wherever he looked; vegetation was rampant。 Cucumbers ‘came scrolloping across the grass to his feet’。 Giant cauliflowers towered deck above deck till they rivalled; to his disordered imagination; the elm trees themselves。 Hens laid incessantly eggs of no special tint。 Then; remembering with a sigh his own fecundity and his poor wife Jane; now in the throes of her fifteenth confinement indoors; how; he asked himself; could he blame the fowls? He looked upwards into the sky。 Did not heaven itself; or that great frontispiece of heaven; which is the sky; indicate the assent; indeed; the instigation of the heavenly hierarchy? For there; winter
从八百只麻雀开始肝成神明 现在,发现你的优势 拍遍全网糊咖醉姐终于火了陈醉周望全集免费阅读 红色之翼 冥仙未世 战锤:这不是草原争霸吗? 五胡烽火录 女性经理人打造术:跟王熙凤学管理 冷血悍将 在中国做事(全文阅读) - 黄夏君 双子变变变 要塞-中世纪领主 蹉跎岁月女人花 上门姐夫楚天舒乔诗媛最新更新章节免费阅读 唯爱成神 梨园往事 演讲论辩技巧 重生后,真少爷回村带妻女发家致富 血色使命 销售人员职业教程
关于宠妻不腻顾少,超给力宠妻不腻顾少,超给力她被人算计,稀里糊涂地和陌生男人沉沦了一夜,醒来本想迅速逃离的她,却不幸惨遭禁锢。求你放开我,昨晚你看错人了!男人薄唇微抿,浑身上下散发着诡异阴鸷的气息。既然错了,不妨再错一次!...
白天在外边,秦九爷对着一群要勾引他的女人,活像个没断奶的孩子,我有亲亲老婆了,我都听她的,我老婆呢,我宝贝在哪?晚上回到家,秦九渊把洛夭夭禁锢在怀里,声音低哑,宝贝,白天我听话吗,所以给点奖励吧狐妖团子洛夭夭以为自己只是当个小小的炮灰女配,没想到竟然给男主大人们挡了所有的桃花?!挡就算了,她自己怎么还被拐跑了?!偏执总裁将她禁锢在怀,哑声低语,夭夭,你是我的解药。冷面将军一把把她抱进洞房,别扭着不满,难道你想让我娶外边的女人?超级偶像官宣婚讯,一脸宠溺,我是有老婆的人了,你们不能当我的老婆粉了。洛夭夭慌了,这,这可怎么办呀,她只是个工具人呀。秦九渊勾唇,深情一吻,你是我的心上人。洛夭夭被迫走上捋顺男神大人的路,却发现男神大人竟然还会黑化!看狐狸团子怎么降服各路大佬!成长为狐妖美人!1v1甜宠团宠双洁爽文如果您喜欢世界大佬的撒娇技能点满了,别忘记分享给朋友...
传闻中恶行昭著不知礼数的草包小姐被退了婚!世人议论纷纷,皆大欢喜。殊不知陆南枝为了退婚干出多少丧心病狂的事儿。众人耻笑没多久,这位怀文候府庶出小姐引得皇城世家公子个个上门求娶。众人悴。后来有一日,陆南枝和那位举世无双温润如玉的世子爷走在一起。霎时,可谓山崩地裂!陆南枝一生都在苦苦追求,研权谋学武艺弃闺阁入朝堂!一双素手掌棋局,抬眸便可定乾坤抒情版文案我把我的心给她,哪怕她撕碎了,踩烂了,也是我愿意的,你管不了,任何人也管不了!沈容煦他们杀人放火也好,灭我家国也罢,哪怕是一寸寸敲断我骨头,我都不会有这般滔天恨意!为何死后扒皮抽筋?挂头颅于城墙之上暴晒!为何死前凌辱?于一介弱女子梳洗之刑?谁若拦我,我便杀死!你若拦我,我便杀你!陆南枝PS男强女强,双洁一对一,简介仅供参考,详情请戳正文。如果您喜欢世子妃又野又甜,别忘记分享给朋友...
一觉醒来,廖子轩发现自己穿越到了坠神的游戏世界。正当他准备不给穿越者大军丢脸,立志要成为传奇大BOSS时对面被吓倒在地的乡下小姑娘,用瘦骨嶙峋的脏兮兮小手,颤颤巍巍地摸了摸他奶里奶气的小狼头。行吧!没能转生成人不说,还稀里糊涂成为了别人的召唤兽。但这点挫折可难不倒前世被称为神级陪玩的廖子轩。于是许多年后在游戏内,多出了一位永夜女王,灭世的恐怖魔女,元素神教圣巫女,堕渊要塞司令长,成为令各大势力与国家心惊胆颤的神秘存在。在游戏外,多出了一位被无数玩家视为传奇角色,贯穿每个版本的剧情主线,令无数死宅夜不能寐,狂热爱慕的超人气女神而这一切一切的背后,廖子轩欣慰的收起了耕耘的锄头。瞧见没,从当初傻里傻气的小村女,再到现在这颗水灵灵的超级大白菜老子养的!如果您喜欢我将炮灰NPC养成传奇魔女,别忘记分享给朋友...
人美花心女作家VSLOL职业选手温欣,网络人气女作家,肤白貌美,又浪又撩。她向来是万花丛中过片叶不沾身,直到某天乖乖跳进某人的枷锁,浪女回头,千金难买。周衍,LPL高岭之花,冷情又禁欲,却没想到栽在一只狡猾的小白兔手里。LPL豪门战队来了一个运营助理,助理小姐姐人美心善,天真单纯,仿佛仙女一般的存在。然而队员们都不知道,助理小姐姐每天琢磨的都是怎么拐走他们的队长大人。温欣的日常OS今天要不要撩队长呢?不可一世的你,恰好是我的最爱。最高明的猎手,往往是以猎物的姿态出现。如果您喜欢电竞大神太高冷,想撩!,别忘记分享给朋友...
穿越成了雅木茶,获得千倍回报系统。宿主完成一次锻炼,战斗力提升一百点,触发千倍回报,战斗力提升十万点宿主修行自在极意,达到入门,触发千倍回报,自在极意大成宇宙不该掌握在智商不到五岁儿童的全王手中,宇宙该在掌握在我的手中。如果您喜欢龙珠,同时穿越诸天万界,别忘记分享给朋友...