登陆注册
15702000000008

第8章

The first day we had an easy time, following up the great flats by the river side, which had already been twice burned, so that there was no dense undergrowth to check us, though the ground was often rough, and we had to go a good deal upon the riverbed. Towards nightfall we had made a matter of some five-and-twenty miles, and camped at the point where the river entered upon the gorge.

The weather was delightfully warm, considering that the valley in which we were encamped must have been at least two thousand feet above the level of the sea. The river-bed was here about a mile and a half broad and entirely covered with shingle over which the river ran in many winding channels, looking, when seen from above, like a tangled skein of ribbon, and glistening in the sun. We knew that it was liable to very sudden and heavy freshets; but even had we not known it, we could have seen it by the snags of trees, which must have been carried long distances, and by the mass of vegetable and mineral debris which was banked against their lower side, showing that at times the whole river-bed must be covered with a roaring torrent many feet in depth and of ungovernable fury. At present the river was low, there being but five or six streams, too deep and rapid for even a strong man to ford on foot, but to be crossed safely on horseback. On either side of it there were still a few acres of flat, which grew wider and wider down the river, till they became the large plains on which we looked from my master's hut. Behind us rose the lowest spurs of the second range, leading abruptly to the range itself; and at a distance of half a mile began the gorge, where the river narrowed and became boisterous and terrible. The beauty of the scene cannot be conveyed in language. The one side of the valley was blue with evening shadow, through which loomed forest and precipice, hillside and mountain top; and the other was still brilliant with the sunset gold. The wide and wasteful river with its ceaseless rushing--the beautiful water-birds too, which abounded upon the islets and were so tame that we could come close up to them--the ineffable purity of the air--the solemn peacefulness of the untrodden region--could there be a more delightful and exhilarating combination?

We set about making our camp, close to some large bush which came down from the mountains on to the flat, and tethered out our horses upon ground as free as we could find it from anything round which they might wind the rope and get themselves tied up. We dared not let them run loose, lest they might stray down the river home again. We then gathered wood and lit the fire. We filled a tin pannikin with water and set it against the hot ashes to boil. When the water boiled we threw in two or three large pinches of tea and let them brew.

We had caught half a dozen young ducks in the course of the day--an easy matter, for the old birds made such a fuss in attempting to decoy us away from them--pretending to be badly hurt as they say the plover does--that we could always find them by going about in the opposite direction to the old bird till we heard the young ones crying: then we ran them down, for they could not fly though they were nearly full grown. Chowbok plucked them a little and singed them a good deal. Then we cut them up and boiled them in another pannikin, and this completed our preparations.

When we had done supper it was quite dark. The silence and freshness of the night, the occasional sharp cry of the wood-hen, the ruddy glow of the fire, the subdued rushing of the river, the sombre forest, and the immediate foreground of our saddles packs and blankets, made a picture worthy of a Salvator Rosa or a Nicolas Poussin. I call it to mind and delight in it now, but I did not notice it at the time. We next to never know when we are well off: but this cuts two ways,--for if we did, we should perhaps know better when we are ill off also; and I have sometimes thought that there are as many ignorant of the one as of the other. He who wrote, "O fortunatos nimium sua si bona norint agricolas," might have written quite as truly, "O infortunatos nimium sua si mala norint"; and there are few of us who are not protected from the keenest pain by our inability to see what it is that we have done, what we are suffering, and what we truly are. Let us be grateful to the mirror for revealing to us our appearance only.

We found as soft a piece of ground as we could--though it was all stony--and having collected grass and so disposed of ourselves that we had a little hollow for our hip-bones, we strapped our blankets around us and went to sleep. Waking in the night I saw the stars overhead and the moonlight bright upon the mountains. The river was ever rushing; I heard one of our horses neigh to its companion, and was assured that they were still at hand; I had no care of mind or body, save that I had doubtless many difficulties to overcome;there came upon me a delicious sense of peace, a fulness of contentment which I do not believe can be felt by any but those who have spent days consecutively on horseback, or at any rate in the open air.

同类推荐
热门推荐
  • 永世神源

    永世神源

    ?他是神界的神皇,拥有至高无上的权力和力量;她是一个平凡不能再平凡的乡间女子;他们的相知相爱终究不平凡……六年后,一个缺少父爱的孩子横空出世,魔武大陆再一次掀起风浪……魔法、武学玩弄在鼓掌之中!
  • 笑面人传奇

    笑面人传奇

    一块来历不明的面具,降临在人类的领土里······从此,纷乱不止,杀戮无尽。少年出生于真武国境内武陵城里,在一次灾难中丧失了生命。然而,一切才刚刚开始······仗剑走天涯,愿为众生苦。踏平人间路,谈笑风云涌。这是一条没有尽头的救赎之路······
  • 梦里回童年

    梦里回童年

    中年大叔杨帆酒后梦回童年,凭着先知先觉和梦中获得的技能,不断地改变自己和周围人的命运,在逆境中一步步地成长崛起......
  • 狂妾重生:七夫人

    狂妾重生:七夫人

    性情冷淡的她想要一段平静的生活,阴错阳差穿越到这个莫名王朝,随心淡定的她却引起了众多男人的注意,王爷,天子,异国太子……他们为她痴迷,她本无心,兜兜转转一时间,最后,入了谁的怀。他,路王宇默然,有冷情王之称,不顾她怀有他的骨肉扔然置她于死地,只因他不爱她,而在她醒后偶然间看到了她不同的一面,不由得迷惑……他,睿智天子,有着精明的头脑,非凡的手段,没有什么事情能逃出他的掌握,原本对她的好奇,一次次出乎他的意料之外……
  • 传一曲神话

    传一曲神话

    中国神话传说,有千千万万,我也不能一一列举,故作此书
  • 重生一见钟情

    重生一见钟情

    他是患有自闭症的足球天才,空洞的世界,只有足球和她才能让他感到心安。因为她,他愿意走出自己的世界。他说:我从不相信一见钟情,但自从遇到你后,我第一次感觉到了自己的心跳。对他来说,她是他人生的完整。她重生归来,没有白莲花,没有绿茶婊,没有渣男,不为复仇,也没有多大的野心。对她来说遇见他,只是人生路上的意外。说好的重生大开金手指,结果空间,系统……有个屁,好像‘重生’的主角都不是她……【无原型,伪球迷,无原型,伪球迷,无原型,伪球迷,重要的事情说三遍。文中某些地方具体到时候会在评论中说明,请关注。】
  • 圆满人生不等待

    圆满人生不等待

    季羡林老人说:“不完满才是人生”,说的是“人有悲欢离合,月有阴晴圆缺”,人生的许多追求都是以遗憾和缺失而结束的。然而,人生固然注定不圆满,但我们对圆满的追求却不应该停止。事实上,圆满与否都是相对的,虽然一帆风顺非常美好,但经历过风浪之后到达彼岸反而会更加收获一种成熟之美。问题的关键在于,面对人生的风浪,我们是否能够抓紧时间,勇往直前。本书精选百余篇人生哲理美文,就是要告诉大家:圆满的人生不等待,我们不能因为可能不圆满的结果而放弃追求,其实在不断追求、不断探索的过程中,你就能够享受到人生的满足与惬意。
  • 力量觉醒之夜辉

    力量觉醒之夜辉

    千年前的世界大战形成了如今人类世界的统一,这段历史的起因被胜利者模糊化,甚至成为一个禁忌。主角夜辉在寻找凭空消失的母亲的过程中经历了尔虞我诈、爱情与友情、背叛与欺骗,还有许多光怪陆离的事,自身的星辰之力也逐渐觉醒,当夜辉揭开自己是来自异空间的身世秘密之后,发现了这个世界与异空间的巨大阴谋,处在阴谋漩涡中的夜辉又将会如何抉择?
  • 鹿晗之陪你从校服到婚纱

    鹿晗之陪你从校服到婚纱

    作者第一次写小说,希望大家多多支持,周一到周五更一到两章,周末更两到三章(若突然有事会少更,时间多会多更)
  • 山河剑雨

    山河剑雨

    一柄“无影剑”使得江湖武林血雨腥风!是谁?在茶毒武林!又是谁?辜负了侠义二字!