farbige wand wohnzimmer
chapter i 1801.--i have just returned from a visit tomy landlord--the solitary neighbour that i shall be troubled with.this is certainly abeautiful country! in all england, i do not believe that icould have fixed on a situation so completely removed from the stir ofsociety. a perfect misanthropist's heaven: and mr.heathcliff and i are such a suitable pair to divide the desolation between us.a capital fellow! he little imagined how my heart warmedtowards him when i beheld his black eyes withdraw so suspiciously under their brows,as i rode up, and when his fingers
sheltered themselves, with a jealous resolution, still further in his waistcoat,as i announced my name. 'mr. heathcliff?'i said. a nod was the answer. 'mr. lockwood, your new tenant, sir. i do myself the honour of calling as soonas possible after my arrival, to express the hope that i have not inconvenienced youby my perseverance in soliciting the occupation of thrushcross grange: i heardyesterday you had had some thoughts--' 'thrushcross grange is my own, sir,' heinterrupted, wincing.
'i should not allow any one toinconvenience me, if i could hinder it-- walk in!' the 'walk in' was uttered with closedteeth, and expressed the sentiment, 'go to the deuce:' even the gate over which heleant manifested no sympathising movement to the words; and i think that circumstance determined me to accept the invitation: ifelt interested in a man who seemed more exaggeratedly reserved than myself. when he saw my horse's breast fairlypushing the barrier, he did put out his hand to unchain it, and then sullenlypreceded me up the causeway, calling, as we
entered the court,--'joseph, take mr.lockwood's horse; and bring up some wine.' 'here we have the whole establishment ofdomestics, i suppose,' was the reflection suggested by this compound order. 'no wonder the grass grows up between theflags, and cattle are the only hedge- cutters.'joseph was an elderly, nay, an old man: very old, perhaps, though hale and sinewy. 'the lord help us!' he soliloquised in anundertone of peevish displeasure, while relieving me of my horse: looking,meantime, in my face so sourly that i charitably conjectured he must have need of
divine aid to digest his dinner, and hispious ejaculation had no reference to my unexpected advent.wuthering heights is the name of mr. heathcliff's dwelling. 'wuthering' being a significant provincialadjective, descriptive of the atmospheric tumult to which its station is exposed instormy weather. pure, bracing ventilation they must have upthere at all times, indeed: one may guess the power of the north wind blowing overthe edge, by the excessive slant of a few stunted firs at the end of the house; and by a range of gaunt thorns all stretchingtheir limbs one way, as if craving alms of
the sun. happily, the architect had foresight tobuild it strong: the narrow windows are deeply set in the wall, and the cornersdefended with large jutting stones. before passing the threshold, i paused toadmire a quantity of grotesque carving lavished over the front, and especiallyabout the principal door; above which, among a wilderness of crumbling griffins and shameless little boys, i detected thedate '1500,' and the name 'hareton earnshaw.' i would have made a few comments, andrequested a short history of the place from
the surly owner; but his attitude at thedoor appeared to demand my speedy entrance, or complete departure, and i had no desire to aggravate his impatience previous toinspecting the penetralium. one stop brought us into the familysitting-room, without any introductory lobby or passage: they call it here 'thehouse' pre-eminently. it includes kitchen and parlour, generally;but i believe at wuthering heights the kitchen is forced to retreat altogetherinto another quarter: at least i distinguished a chatter of tongues, and a clatter of culinary utensils, deep within;and i observed no signs of roasting,
boiling, or baking, about the hugefireplace; nor any glitter of copper saucepans and tin cullenders on the walls. one end, indeed, reflected splendidly bothlight and heat from ranks of immense pewter dishes, interspersed with silver jugs andtankards, towering row after row, on a vast oak dresser, to the very roof. the latter had never been under-drawn: itsentire anatomy lay bare to an inquiring eye, except where a frame of wood ladenwith oatcakes and clusters of legs of beef, mutton, and ham, concealed it. above the chimney were sundry villainousold guns, and a couple of horse-pistols:
and, by way of ornament, three gaudily-painted canisters disposed along its ledge. the floor was of smooth, white stone; thechairs, high-backed, primitive structures, painted green: one or two heavy black oneslurking in the shade. in an arch under the dresser reposed ahuge, liver-coloured bitch pointer, surrounded by a swarm of squealing puppies;and other dogs haunted other recesses. the apartment and furniture would have beennothing extraordinary as belonging to a homely, northern farmer, with a stubborncountenance, and stalwart limbs set out to advantage in knee-breeches and gaiters. such an individual seated in his arm-chair,his mug of ale frothing on the round table
before him, is to be seen in any circuit offive or six miles among these hills, if you go at the right time after dinner. but mr. heathcliff forms a singularcontrast to his abode and style of living. he is a dark-skinned gipsy in aspect, indress and manners a gentleman: that is, as much a gentleman as many a country squire:rather slovenly, perhaps, yet not looking amiss with his negligence, because he has an erect and handsome figure; and rathermorose. possibly, some people might suspect him ofa degree of under-bred pride; i have a sympathetic chord within that tells me itis nothing of the sort: i know, by
instinct, his reserve springs from an aversion to showy displays of feeling--tomanifestations of mutual kindliness. he'll love and hate equally under cover,and esteem it a species of impertinence to be loved or hated again. no, i'm running on too fast: i bestow myown attributes over-liberally on him. mr. heathcliff may have entirely dissimilarreasons for keeping his hand out of the way when he meets a would-be acquaintance, tothose which actuate me. let me hope my constitution is almostpeculiar: my dear mother used to say i should never have a comfortable home; andonly last summer i proved myself perfectly
unworthy of one. while enjoying a month of fine weather atthe sea-coast, i was thrown into the company of a most fascinating creature: areal goddess in my eyes, as long as she took no notice of me. i 'never told my love' vocally; still, iflooks have language, the merest idiot might have guessed i was over head and ears: sheunderstood me at last, and looked a return- -the sweetest of all imaginable looks. and what did i do? i confess it with shame--shrunk icily intomyself, like a snail; at every glance
retired colder and farther; till finallythe poor innocent was led to doubt her own senses, and, overwhelmed with confusion at her supposed mistake, persuaded her mammato decamp. by this curious turn of disposition i havegained the reputation of deliberate heartlessness; how undeserved, i alone canappreciate. i took a seat at the end of the hearthstoneopposite that towards which my landlord advanced, and filled up an interval ofsilence by attempting to caress the canine mother, who had left her nursery, and was sneaking wolfishly to the back of my legs,her lip curled up, and her white teeth
watering for a snatch.my caress provoked a long, guttural gnarl. 'you'd better let the dog alone,' growledmr. heathcliff in unison, checking fiercer demonstrations with a punch of his foot.'she's not accustomed to be spoiled--not kept for a pet.' then, striding to a side door, he shoutedagain, 'joseph!' joseph mumbled indistinctly in the depthsof the cellar, but gave no intimation of ascending; so his master dived down to him,leaving me vis-a-vis the ruffianly bitch and a pair of grim shaggy sheep-dogs, who shared with her a jealous guardianship overall my movements.
not anxious to come in contact with theirfangs, i sat still; but, imagining they would scarcely understand tacit insults, iunfortunately indulged in winking and making faces at the trio, and some turn of my physiognomy so irritated madam, that shesuddenly broke into a fury and leapt on my knees.i flung her back, and hastened to interpose the table between us. this proceeding aroused the whole hive:half-a-dozen four-footed fiends, of various sizes and ages, issued from hidden dens tothe common centre. i felt my heels and coat-laps peculiarsubjects of assault; and parrying off the
larger combatants as effectually as i couldwith the poker, i was constrained to demand, aloud, assistance from some of thehousehold in re-establishing peace. mr. heathcliff and his man climbed thecellar steps with vexatious phlegm: i don't think they moved one second faster thanusual, though the hearth was an absolute tempest of worrying and yelping. happily, an inhabitant of the kitchen mademore despatch: a lusty dame, with tucked-up gown, bare arms, and fire-flushed cheeks,rushed into the midst of us flourishing a frying-pan: and used that weapon, and her tongue, to such purpose, that the stormsubsided magically, and she only remained,
heaving like a sea after a high wind, whenher master entered on the scene. 'what the devil is the matter?' he asked,eyeing me in a manner that i could ill endure, after this inhospitable treatment.'what the devil, indeed!' i muttered. 'the herd of possessed swine could have hadno worse spirits in them than those animals of yours, sir.you might as well leave a stranger with a brood of tigers!' 'they won't meddle with persons who touchnothing,' he remarked, putting the bottle before me, and restoring the displacedtable.
'the dogs do right to be vigilant. take a glass of wine?''no, thank you.' 'not bitten, are you?''if i had been, i would have set my signet on the biter.' heathcliff's countenance relaxed into agrin. 'come, come,' he said, 'you are flurried,mr. lockwood. here, take a little wine. guests are so exceedingly rare in thishouse that i and my dogs, i am willing to own, hardly know how to receive them.your health, sir?'
i bowed and returned the pledge; beginningto perceive that it would be foolish to sit sulking for the misbehaviour of a pack ofcurs; besides, i felt loth to yield the fellow further amusement at my expense;since his humour took that turn. he--probably swayed by prudentialconsideration of the folly of offending a good tenant--relaxed a little in thelaconic style of chipping off his pronouns and auxiliary verbs, and introduced what he supposed would be a subject of interest tome,--a discourse on the advantages and disadvantages of my present place ofretirement. i found him very intelligent on the topicswe touched; and before i went home, i was
encouraged so far as to volunteer anothervisit to-morrow. he evidently wished no repetition of myintrusion. i shall go, notwithstanding.it is astonishing how sociable i feel myself compared with him.