酷兔英语

章节正文

the shores. The washerwomen hailed us laughingly; and the noise of

trees and water made an accompaniment to our dozing thoughts, as we
fleeted down the stream.

The great volume, the indefatigable purpose of the river, held the
mind in chain. It seemed now so sure of its end, so strong and

easy in its gait, like a grown man full of determination. The surf
was roaring for it on the sands of Havre.

For my own part, slipping along this moving thoroughfare in my
fiddle-case of a canoe, I also was beginning to grow aweary for my

ocean. To the civilised man, there must come, sooner or later, a
desire for civilisation. I was weary of dipping the paddle; I was

weary of living on the skirts of life; I wished to be in the thick
of it once more; I wished to get to work; I wished to meet people

who understood my own speech, and could meet with me on equal
terms, as a man, and no longer as a curiosity.

And so a letter at Pontoise decided us, and we drew up our keels
for the last time out of that river of Oise that had faithfully

piloted them, through rain and sunshine, for so long. For so many
miles had this fleet and footless beast of burthen charioted our

fortunes, that we turned our back upon it with a sense of
separation. We had made a long detour out of the world, but now we

were back in the familiar places, where life itself makes all the
running, and we are carried to meet adventure without a stroke of

the paddle. Now we were to return, like the voyager in the play,
and see what rearrangements fortune had perfected the while in our

surroundings; what surprises stood ready made for us at home; and
whither and how far the world had voyaged in our absence. You may

paddle all day long; but it is when you come back at nightfall, and
look in at the familiar room, that you find Love or Death awaiting

you beside the stove; and the most beautiful adventures are not
those we go to seek.

End



文章标签:名著  

章节正文