There Were Cattle
Browsing Where They Could, But To My Eyes It Seemed As Though They Had
But Poor Times Of It.
So we continued to climb, panting and broiling in
the afternoon sun, and much admiring the lovely view beneath.
At last
we near the top, and look down upon the plain, bounded by the distant
Apennines, that run through the middle of the island. Near at hand, at
the foot of the hill, we saw a few pretty little box-like houses in
trim, pretty little gardens, stacks of corn and fields, a little river
with a craft or two lying near a wharf, whilst the nearer country was
squared into many-coloured fields. But, after all, the view was rather
of the "long stare" description. There was a great extent of country,
but very few objects to attract the eye and make it rest any while in
any given direction. The mountains wanted outlines; they were not
broken up into fine forms like the Carnarvonshire mountains, but were
rather a long, blue, lofty, even line, like the Jura from Geneva or the
Berwyn from Shrewsbury. The plains, too, were lovely in colouring, but
would have been wonderfully improved by an object or two a little nearer
than the mountains. I must confess that the view, though undoubtedly
fine, rather disappointed me. The one in the direction of the harbour
was infinitely superior.
At the bottom of the hill we met the car to Christ Church; it halted
some time at a little wooden public-house, and by and by at another,
where was a Methodist preacher, who had just been reaping corn for two
pounds an acre. He showed me some half-dozen stalks of gigantic size,
but most of that along the roadside was thin and poor. Then we reached
Christ Church on the little river Avon; it is larger than Lyttelton and
more scattered, but not so pretty. Here, too, the men are shaggy,
clear-complexioned, brown, and healthy-looking, and wear exceedingly
rowdy hats. I put up at Mr. Rowland Davis's; and as no one during the
evening seemed much inclined to talk to me, I listened to the
conversation.
The all-engrossing topics seemed to be sheep, horses, dogs, cattle,
English grasses, paddocks, bush, and so forth. From about seven o'clock
in the evening till about twelve at night I cannot say that I heard much
else. These were the exact things I wanted to hear about, and I
listened till they had been repeated so many times over that I almost
grew tired of the subject, and wished the conversation would turn to
something else. A few expressions were not familiar to me. When we
should say in England "Certainly not," it is here "No fear," or "Don't
YOU believe it." When they want to answer in the affirmative they say
"It is SO," "It does SO." The word "hum," too, without pronouncing the
U, is in amusing requisition. I perceived that this stood either for
assent, or doubt, or wonder, or a general expression of comprehension
without compromising the hummer's own opinion, and indeed for a great
many more things than these; in fact, if a man did not want to say
anything at all he said "hum hum." It is a very good expression, and
saves much trouble when its familiar use has been acquired.
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