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lavengro-第11部分
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play with one or two that I tame;' said the old man; 'but I hunt
them mostly for the fat which they contain; out of which I make
unguents which are good for various sore troubles; especially for
the rheumatism。' 'And do you get your living by hunting these
creatures?' I demanded。 'Not altogether;' said the old man;
'besides being a viper…hunter; I am what they call a herbalist; one
who knows the virtue of particular herbs; I gather them at the
proper season; to make medicines with for the sick。' 'And do you
live in the neighbourhood?' I demanded。 'You seem very fond of
asking questions; child。 No; I do not live in this neighbourhood
in particular; I travel about; I have not been in this
neighbourhood till lately for some years。'
From this time the old man and myself formed an acquaintance; I
often accompanied him in his wanderings about the neighbourhood;
and; on two or three occasions; assisted him in catching the
reptiles which he hunted。 He generally carried a viper with him
which he had made quite tame; and from which he had extracted the
poisonous fangs; it would dance and perform various kinds of
tricks。 He was fond of telling me anecdotes connected with his
adventures with the reptile species。 'But;' said he one day;
sighing; 'I must shortly give up this business; I am no longer the
man I was; I am become timid; and when a person is timid in viper…
hunting; he had better leave off; as it is quite clear his virtue
is leaving him。 I got a fright some years ago; which I am quite
sure I shall never get the better of; my hand has been shaky more
or less ever since。' 'What frightened you?' said I。 'I had better
not tell you;' said the old man; 'or you may be frightened too;
lose your virtue; and be no longer good for the business。' 'I
don't care;' said I; 'I don't intend to follow the business: I
daresay I shall be an officer; like my father。' 'Well;' said the
old man; 'I once saw the king of the vipers; and since then … '
'The king of the vipers!' said I; interrupting him; 'have the
vipers a king?' 'As sure as we have;' said the old man … 'as sure
as we have King George to rule over us; have these reptiles a king
to rule over them。' 'And where did you see him?' said I。 'I will
tell you;' said the old man; 'though I don't like talking about the
matter。 It may be about seven years ago that I happened to be far
down yonder to the west; on the other side of England; nearly two
hundred miles from here; following my business。 It was a very
sultry day; I remember; and I had been out several hours catching
creatures。 It might be about three o'clock in the afternoon; when
I found myself on some heathy land near the sea; on the ridge of a
hill; the side of which; nearly as far down as the sea; was heath;
but on the top there was arable ground; which had been planted; and
from which the harvest had been gathered … oats or barley; I know
not which … but I remember that the ground was covered with
stubble。 Well; about three o'clock; as I told you before; what
with the heat of the day and from having walked about for hours in
a lazy way; I felt very tired; so I determined to have a sleep; and
I laid myself down; my head just on the ridge of the hill; towards
the field; and my body over the side down amongst the heath; my
bag; which was nearly filled with creatures; lay at a little
distance from my face; the creatures were struggling in it; I
remember; and I thought to myself; how much more comfortably off I
was than they; I was taking my ease on the nice open hill; cooled
with the breezes; whilst they were in the nasty close bag; coiling
about one another; and breaking their very hearts; all to no
purpose: and I felt quite comfortable and happy in the thought;
and little by little closed my eyes; and fell into the sweetest
snooze that ever I was in in all my life; and there I lay over the
hill's side; with my head half in the field; I don't know how long;
all dead asleep。 At last it seemed to me that I heard a noise in
my sleep; something like a thing moving; very faint; however; far
away; then it died; and then it came again upon my ear as I slept;
and now it appeared almost as if I heard crackle; crackle; then it
died again; or I became yet more dead asleep than before; I know
not which; but I certainly lay some time without hearing it。 All
of a sudden I became awake; and there was I; on the ridge of the
hill; with my cheek on the ground towards the stubble; with a noise
in my ear like that of something moving towards me amongst the
stubble of the field; well; I lay a moment or two listening to the
noise; and then I became frightened; for I did not like the noise
at all; it sounded so odd; so I rolled myself on my belly; and
looked towards the stubble。 Mercy upon us! there was a huge snake;
or rather a dreadful viper; for it was all yellow and gold; moving
towards me; bearing its head about a foot and a half above the
ground; the dry stubble crackling beneath its outrageous belly。 It
might be about five yards off when I first saw it; making straight
towards me; child; as if it would devour me。 I lay quite still;
for I was stupefied with horror; whilst the creature came still
nearer; and now it was nearly upon me; when it suddenly drew back a
little; and then … what do you think? … it lifted its head and
chest high in the air; and high over my face as I looked up;
flickering at me with its tongue as if it would fly at my face。
Child; what I felt at that moment I can scarcely say; but it was a
sufficient punishment for all the sins I ever committed; and there
we two were; I looking up at the viper; and the viper looking down
upon me; flickering at me with its tongue。 It was only the
kindness of God that saved me: all at once there was a loud noise;
the report of a gun; for a fowler was shooting at a covey of birds;
a little way off in the stubble。 Whereupon the viper sunk its
head; and immediately made off over the ridge of the hill; down in
the direction of the sea。 As it passed by me; however … and it
passed close by me … it hesitated a moment; as if it was doubtful
whether it should not seize me; it did not; however; but made off
down the hill。 It has often struck me that he was angry with me;
and came upon me unawares for presuming to meddle with his people;
as I have always been in the habit of doing。'
'But;' said I; 'how do you know that it was the king of the
vipers?'
'How do I know!' said the old man; 'who else should it be? There
was as much difference between it and other reptiles as between
King George and other people。'
'Is King George; then; different from other people?' I demanded。
'Of course;' said the old man; 'I have never seen him myself; but I
have heard people say that he is a ten times greater man than other
folks; indeed; it stands to reason that he must
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