A Tale of Two Cities-CHAPTER 14 THE HONEST TRADESMAN

THE HONEST TRADESMAN,To the eyes of Mr. Jeremiah Cruncher, sitting on his stool in Fleet Street with his grisly urchin ¹ beside him, a vast number and variety of objects in movement were every day presented. Who could sit upon anything in Fleet Street during the busy hours of the day, and not be dazed and deafened ² by two immense processions, one ever tending westward ³ with the sun, the other ever tending eastward ⁴ from the sun, both ever tending to the plains beyond the range of red and purple where the sun goes down! With his straw in his mouth, Mr. Cruncher sat watching the two streams, like the heathen rustic ⁵ who has for several centuries been on duty watching one stream—saving that Jerry had no expectation of their ever running dry. Nor would it have been an expectation of a hopeful kind, since a small part of his income was derived ⁶ from the pilotage of timid women (mostly of a full habit and past the middle term of life) from Tellson’s side of the tides to the opposite shore. Brief as such companionship was in every separate instance. Mr. Cruncher never failed to become so interested in the lady as to express a strong desire to have the honour of drinking her very good health. And it was from the gifts bestowed ⁷ upon him towards the execution of this benevolent ⁸ purpose, that he recruited his finances, as just now observed.,Time was, when a poet sat upon a stool in a public place, and mused ⁹ in the sight of men. Mr. Cruncher, sitting on a stool in a public place, but not being a poet, mused as little as possible, and looked about him.,It fell out that he was thus engaged in a season when crowds were few, and belated women few, and when his affairs in general were so unprosperous as to awaken ¹⁰ a strong suspicion in his breast that Mrs. Cruncher must have been “ flopping ¹¹” in some pointed ¹³ manner, when an unusual concourse pouring down Fleet Street westward, attracted his attention. Looking that way, Mr. Cruncher made out that some kind of funeral was coming along, and that there was popular objection to this funeral, which engendered ¹⁴ uproar ¹⁵.,“Young Jerry, ” said Mr. Cruncher, turning to his offspring, “it’s a buryin’.
”,“Hooroar, father!” cried Young Jerry.,“What d’ye mean? What are you hooroaring at? What do you want to conwey to your own father, you young Rip! This boy is a getting too many for me! ” said Mr. Cruncher, surveying him. “Him and his hooroars! Don’t let me hear no more of you, or you shall feel some more of me. D’ye hear?”,“I warn’t doing no harm,
” Young Jerry protested, rubbing his cheek.,“Drop it then,” said Mr. Cruncher; “I won’t have none of your no harms. Get a top of that there seat, and look at the crowd. ”,His son obeyed, and the crowd approached; they were bawling ¹⁸ and hissing ¹⁹ round a dingy ²⁰ hearse and dingy mourning coach, in which mourning coach there was only one mourner, dressed in the dingy trappings that were considered essential to the dignity of the position. The position appeared by no means to please him, however, with an increasing rabble ²¹ surrounding the coach, deriding ²² him, making grimaces ²³ at him, and incessantly ²⁴ groaning ²⁵ and calling out: “Yah! Spies! Tst! Yaha! Spies!
” with many compliments too numerous and forcible to repeat.,Funerals had at all times a remarkable ²⁶ attraction for Mr. Cruncher; he always pricked ²⁷ up his senses, and became excited, when a funeral passed Tellson’s. Naturally, therefore, a funeral with this uncommon ²⁸ attendance excited him greatly, and he asked of the first man who ran against him:,He is a most wicked urchin.他是个非常调皮的顽童。,A hard blow on the ear deafened him for life. 耳朵上挨的一记猛击使他耳聋了一辈子 。