The Salamanca Corpus: Yeoman Fleetwood (1900 ... - Gredos

The Salamanca Corpus: Yeoman Fleetwood (1900)
PART II. The Tree...page 61
[1]
YEOMAN FLEETWOOD.
PART I.
THE BENDING OF THE TWIG.
CHAPTER I.
Heaven lies about us in our infancy,
Shades of the prison-house begin to close
Upon the growing boy. —Wordsworth.
In all little Simon Fleetwood's world there was no such hero as his father. His organ of
veneration was largely developed, and he had a profound respect for many of the people
with whom he came in contact. Squire Charnock, for instance, was, no doubt, a very
remarkable personage; when he drove past in his chaise and four, or when he went a-
hunting, sitting up so straight on his powerful horse, and looking so well in his red coat,
Simon thought Squire Charnock a very fine man indeed, but not nearly so fine a man as
his father. His father, to begin with, out-topped the Squire by a head, and had such
broad shoulders, and such a loud, cheery voice, and such strong arms, and such
beautiful white hair — not like the Squire's hair, which was sometimes white and
sometimes brown, and on Sunday mornings had a patchy, streaky appearance, as though
besprinkled with salt, for Mr. Charnock loved to lie abed when it was not a hunting day,
and his churchgoing
[2]
toilet was hastily and perfunctorily made in consequence. Mr. Fleetwood had also long,
well-shaped legs, on one of which it was Simon's privilege to ride; on these occasions
the boy was hoisted up and down to his own infinite delight and with apparently no