H. G. Wells
The History of Mr. Polly
UUID: b3484976-e21a-11e6-a8a3-0f7870795abd
This ebook was created with StreetLib Writehttp://write.streetlib.com
Table of contents
Chapter the First
Chapter the Second
Chapter the Third
Chapter the Fourth
Chapter the Fifth
Chapter the Sixth
Chapter the Seventh
Chapter the Eighth
Chapter the Ninth
Chapter the Tenth
Chapter the First
Beginnings,
and the BazaarI
“Hole!”
said Mr. Polly, and then for a change, and with greatly increased
emphasis: “’Ole!” He paused, and then broke out with one of his
private and peculiar idioms. “Oh! Beastly Silly Wheeze of a Hole!”He
was sitting on a stile between two threadbare looking fields, and
suffering acutely from indigestion.He
suffered from indigestion now nearly every afternoon in his life, but
as he lacked introspection he projected the associated discomfort
upon the world. Every afternoon he discovered afresh that life as a
whole and every aspect of life that presented itself was “beastly.”
And this afternoon, lured by the delusive blueness of a sky that was
blue because the wind was in the east, he had come out in the hope of
snatching something of the joyousness of spring. The mysterious
alchemy of mind and body refused, however, to permit any joyousness
whatever in the spring.He
had had a little difficulty in finding his cap before he came out. He
wanted his cap—the new golf cap—and Mrs. Polly must needs fish
out his old soft brown felt hat. “’Ere’s
your ’at,” she said in a tone of insincere encouragement.He
had been routing among the piled newspapers under the kitchen
dresser, and had turned quite hopefully and taken the thing. He put
it on. But it didn’t feel right. Nothing felt right. He put a
trembling hand upon the crown of the thing and pressed it on his
head, and tried it askew to the right and then askew to the left.Then
the full sense of the indignity offered him came home to him. The hat
masked the upper sinister quarter of his face, and he spoke with a
wrathful eye regarding his wife from under the brim. In a voice thick
with fury he said: “I s’pose you’d like me to wear that silly
Mud Pie for ever, eh? I tell you I won’t. I’m sick of it. I’m
pretty near sick of everything, comes to that.... Hat!”He
clutched it with quivering fingers. “Hat!” he repeated. Then he
flung it to the ground, and kicked it with extraordinary fury across
the kitchen. It flew up against the door and dropped to the ground
with its ribbon band half off.
“Shan’t
go out!” he said, and sticking his hands into his jacket pockets
discovered the missing cap in the right one.There
was nothing for it but to go straight upstairs without a word, and
out, slamming the shop door hard.
“Beauty!”
said Mrs. Polly at last to a tremendous silence, picking up and
dusting the rejected headdress. “Tantrums,” she added. “I
’aven’t patience.” And moving with the slow reluctance of a
deeply offended woman, she began to pile together the simple
apparatus of their recent meal, for transportation to the scullery
sink.The
repast she had prepared for him did not seem to her to justify his
ingratitude. There had been the cold pork from Sunday and some nice
cold potatoes, and Rashdall’s Mixed Pickles, of which he was
inordinately fond. He had eaten three gherkins, two onions, a small
cauliflower head and several capers with every appearance of
appetite, and indeed with avidity; and then there had been cold suet
pudding to follow, with treacle, and then a nice bit of cheese. It
was the pale, hard sort of cheese he liked; red cheese he declared
was indigestible. He had also had three big slices of greyish baker’s
bread, and had drunk the best part of the jugful of beer.... But
there seems to be no pleasing some people.
“
“
“
“
“
“
“
“
“
“
“
“
“
“
“
“
“
“
“
“
“
“
“
“
“
“
“
“
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!