有声名著之双城记Book2 Chapter07

　　有声名著之双城记

       CHAPTER VIHundreds of People

       THE quiet lodgings 1 of Doctor Manette were in a quiet street-corner not far from Soho-square. On the afternoon of a certainfine Sunday when the waves of four months had rolled over thetrial for treason, and carried it, as to the public interestand memory, far out to sea, Mr. Jarvis Lorry walked along thesunny streets from Clerkenwell where he lived, on his way todine with the Doctor. After several relapses into business-absorption, Mr. Lorry had become the Doctor's friend, and thequiet street-corner was the sunny part of his life.

On this certain fine Sunday, Mr. Lorry walked towards Soho,early in the afternoon, for three reasons of habit. Firstly,because, on fine Sundays, he often walked out, before dinner,with the Doctor and Lucie; secondly 2, because, on unfavourableSundays, he was accustomed to be with them as the familyfriend, talking, reading, looking out of window, and generallygetting through the day; thirdly, because he happened to havehis own little shrewd doubts to solve, and knew how the waysof the Doctor's household pointed 3 to that time as a likelytime for solving them.

A quainter 4 corner than the corner where the Doctor lived, wasnot to be found in London. There was no way through it, andthe front windows of the Doctor's lodgings commanded apleasant little vista 5 of street that had a congenial air ofretirement on it. There were few buildings then, north of theOxford-road, and forest-trees flourished, and wild flowersgrew, and the hawthorn 6 blossomed, in the now vanished fields.

As a consequence, country airs circulated in Soho withvigorous freedom, instead of languishing 7 into the parish likestray paupers 8 without a settlement; and there was many a goodsouth wall, not far off, on which the peaches ripened 9 in theirseason.

The summer light struck into the corner brilliantly in theearlier part of the day; but, when the streets grew hot, thecorner was in shadow, though not in shadow so remote but thatyou could see beyond it into a glare of brightness. It was acool spot, staid but cheerful, a wonderful place for echoes,and a very harbour from the raging streets.

There ought to have been a tranquil 10 bark in such ananchorage, and there was. The Doctor occupied two floors of alarge still house, where several callings purported 11 to bepursued by day, but whereof little was audible any day, andwhich was shunned 12 by all of them at night. In a building atthe back, attainable 13 by a court-yard' where a plane-treerustled its green leaves, church-organs claimed to be made,and silver to be chased, and likewise gold to be beaten bysome mysterious giant who had a golden arm starting out of thewall of the front hall--as if he had beaten himself precious,and menaced a similar conversion 15 of all visitors. Very littleof these trades, or of a lonely lodger 16 rumoured 17 to live up-stairs, or of a dim coach-trimming maker 18 asserted to have acounting-house below, was ever heard or seen. Occasionally, astray workman putting his coat on, traversed the hall, or astranger peered about there, or a distant clink was heardacross the court-yard, or a thump 19 from the golden giant.

These, how-ever, were only the exceptions required to provethe rule that the sparrows in the plane-tree behind the house,and the echoes in the corner before it, had their own way fromSunday morning unto Saturday night.

Doctor Manette received such patients here as his oldreputation, and its revival 20 in the floating whispers of hisstory, brought him. His scientific knowledge, and hisvigilance and skill in conducting ingenious experiments,brought him other-wise into moderate request, and he earned a,much as he wanted.