第70章

Thestrangerrose；’No，myyoungfriend，’saidhe，smiling，’thatwouldscarcebefair。Itismyturnnow-praydomethefavourtogohomewithme，andacceptwhathospitalitymypoorroofcanoffer；totellyouthetruth，Iwishtohavesomeparticulardiscoursewithyouwhichwouldhardlybepossibleinthisplace。

Asforwine，Icangiveyousomemuchbetterthanyoucangethere：

thelandlordisanexcellentfellow，butheisaninnkeeperafterall。Iamgoingoutforamoment，andwillsendhimin，sothatyoumaysettleyouraccount；Itrustyouwillnotrefuseme，Ionlyliveabouttwomilesfromhere。’

Ilookedinthefaceofthestranger-itwasafineintelligentface，withacastofmelancholyinit。’Sir，’saidI，’Iwouldgowithyouthoughyoulivedfourmilesinsteadoftwo。’

’Whoisthatgentleman？’saidItothelandlord，afterIhadsettledhisbill；’Iamgoinghomewithhim。’

’IwishIweregoingtoo，’saidthefatlandlord，layinghishanduponhisstomach。’Younggentleman，Ishallbealoserbyhishonour’stakingyouaway；but，afterall，thetruthisthetruth-

therearefewgentlemeninthesepartslikehishonour，eitherforlearningorwelcominghisfriends。Younggentleman，Icongratulateyou。’

CHAPTERLXIV

Newacquaintance-OldFrenchstyle-Theportrait-Taciturnity-

Theevergreentree-Thedarkhour-Theflash-Ancestors-A

fortunateman-Aposthumouschild-Antagonistideas-Thehawks-

Flaws-Thepony-Irresistibleimpulse-Favourablecrisis-Thetopmostbranch-Twentyfeet-Heartilyashamed。

IFOUNDthestrangerawaitingmeatthedooroftheinn。’Likeyourself，Iamfondofwalking，’saidhe，’andwhenanylittlebusinesscallsmetothisplaceIgenerallycomeonfoot。’

Weweresoonoutofthetown，andinaverybeautifulcountry。

Afterproceedingsomedistanceonthehigh-road，weturnedoff，andwerepresentlyinoneofthosemazesoflanesforwhichEnglandisfamous；thestrangeratfirstseemedinclinedtobetaciturn；afewobservations，however，whichImadeappearedtorousehim，andhesoonexhibitednotonlyconsiderablepowersofconversation，butstoresofinformationwhichsurprisedme。SopleaseddidIbecomewithmynewacquaintancethatIsoonceasedtopaytheslightestattentioneithertoplaceordistance。Atlengththestrangerwassilent，andIperceivedthatwehadarrivedatahandsomeirongateandalodge；thestrangerhavingrungabell，thegatewasopenedbyanoldman，andweproceededalongagravelpath，whichinaboutfiveminutesbroughtustoalargebrickhouse，builtsomethingintheoldFrenchstyle，havingaspaciouslawnbeforeit，andimmediatelyinfrontapondinwhichweregoldenfish，andinthemiddleastoneswandischargingquantitiesofwaterfromitsbill。

Weascendedaspaciousflightofstepstothedoor，whichwasatonceflungopen，andtwoservantswithpowderedhairandinliveryofblueplushcameoutandstoodoneoneithersideaswepassedthethreshold。Weenteredalargehall，andthestranger，takingmebytheha