Latest / Classic Adventure Books - Daily / 01 - Kidnapped - Robert Louis Stevenson

Transcript

01 - Kidnapped - Robert Louis Stevenson · Classic Adventure Books - Daily

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Chapter one, I set off upon my journey to the
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: house of Shaws. I will begin the story of my
• 0:09
  Speaker 1: adventures with a certain morning, early in the month of June,
• 0:12
  Speaker 1: the year of Grace, seventeen fifty one, when I took
• 0:16
  Speaker 1: the key for the last time out of the door
• 0:18
  Speaker 1: of my father's house. The sun began to shine upon
• 0:21
  Speaker 1: the summit of the hills as I went down the road,
• 0:24
  Speaker 1: and by the time I had come as far as
• 0:26
  Speaker 1: the manse, the blackbirds were whistling in the garden lilacs,
• 0:30
  Speaker 1: and the mist that hung around the valley in the
• 0:32
  Speaker 1: time of the dawn was beginning to arise and die away.
• 0:36
  Speaker 1: Mister Campbell, the Minister of Essendean, was waiting for me
• 0:40
  Speaker 1: by the garden gate. Good man, he asked me if
• 0:43
  Speaker 1: I had breakfasted, and, hearing that I lacked for nothing,
• 0:46
  Speaker 1: he took my hand in both of his and clapt
• 0:49
  Speaker 1: it kindly under his arm. Well, davy lad said he,
• 0:54
  Speaker 1: I will go with you as far as the ford
• 0:56
  Speaker 1: set you. On the way, we began to walk forward
• 0:59
  Speaker 1: in silence. Are you sorry to leave Essendean, said he
• 1:04
  Speaker 1: after a while, Why, Sir, said I If I knew
• 1:08
  Speaker 1: where I was going, or what was likely to become
• 1:11
  Speaker 1: of me. I would tell you candidly. Essendean is a
• 1:14
  Speaker 1: good place, indeed, and I have been very happy there.
• 1:17
  Speaker 1: But then I have never been anywhere else my father
• 1:21
  Speaker 1: and mother, since they are both dead, I shall be
• 1:23
  Speaker 1: no nearer to in Essendean than in the Kingdom of Hungary.
• 1:27
  Speaker 1: And to speak truth, if I thought I had a
• 1:29
  Speaker 1: chance to better myself where I was going, I would
• 1:32
  Speaker 1: go with a good will, I said, mister Campbell. Very well, Davy,
• 1:39
  Speaker 1: then it behooves me to tell your fortune, or so
• 1:41
  Speaker 1: far as I may. When your mother was gone and
• 1:45
  Speaker 1: your father, the worthy Christian man began to sicken for
• 1:48
  Speaker 1: his end, he gave me in charge a certain letter,
• 1:52
  Speaker 1: which he said was your inheritance. So soon, says he,
• 1:56
  Speaker 1: as I am gone, and house is read up, and
• 1:59
  Speaker 1: the gear disposed of all which Davy hath been done,
• 2:03
  Speaker 1: give my boy this letter into his hand, and start
• 2:06
  Speaker 1: him off to the house of Shaws, not far from Krement.
• 2:10
  Speaker 1: That is the place I came from, he said, And
• 2:13
  Speaker 1: it's where it befits that my boy should return. He
• 2:16
  Speaker 1: is a steady lad, your father said, and a canny goer.
• 2:20
  Speaker 1: And I doubt not he will come safe and be
• 2:22
  Speaker 1: well liked where he goes the house of Shaw's. I cried,
• 2:28
  Speaker 1: what had my poor father to do with the house
• 2:30
  Speaker 1: of Shaws. Nay, said mister Campbell, who can tell that
• 2:35
  Speaker 1: for a surety? But the name of that family, Davy boy,
• 2:38
  Speaker 1: is the name you bear. Balfours of Shaw's, an ancient, honest,
• 2:43
  Speaker 1: reputable house peradventure in these latter days decayed. Your father
• 2:48
  Speaker 1: too was a man of learning, as befitted his position.
• 2:52
  Speaker 1: No man more plausibly conducted school, nor had he the
• 2:55
  Speaker 1: man a roar of the speech of a common domini.
• 2:58
  Speaker 1: But as ye will you say self, remember, I took
• 3:01
  Speaker 1: eye a pleasure to have him to the mats to
• 3:03
  Speaker 1: meet the gentry, and those of my own house. Campbell
• 3:06
  Speaker 1: of Kilrennett, Gampbell of Dunswire, Gampbell of Minch, and others,
• 3:11
  Speaker 1: all well kenned gentlemen, had pleasure in his society. Lastly,
• 3:17
  Speaker 1: to put all the elements of this affair before you,
• 3:20
  Speaker 1: here is the testamentary letter itself superscribed by the own
• 3:24
  Speaker 1: hand of our departed brother. He gave me the letter
• 3:28
  Speaker 1: which was addressed in these words to the hands of
• 3:32
  Speaker 1: Ebenezer Balfour, esquire of Shaws, in his house of Shaws.
• 3:37
  Speaker 1: These will be delivered by my son David Balfour. My
• 3:41
  Speaker 1: heart was beating hard at this great prospect now suddenly
• 3:45
  Speaker 1: opening before a lad of seventeen years of age, the
• 3:48
  Speaker 1: son of a poor country Dominie in the forest of Etrich.
• 3:52
  Speaker 1: Mister Campbell, I stammered, and if you were in my shoes,
• 3:57
  Speaker 1: would you go? Of a surety? Said the minister, that
• 4:02
  Speaker 1: would I? And without pause, a pretty lad like you
• 4:05
  Speaker 1: should get the Cramond, which is near in by Edinburgh,
• 4:08
  Speaker 1: in two days of walk. If the worst come to
• 4:11
  Speaker 1: the worst, and your high relations, as I cannot but
• 4:14
  Speaker 1: suppose them to be somewhat of your blood, should put
• 4:17
  Speaker 1: you to the door, you can but walk the two
• 4:20
  Speaker 1: days back again and risp at the man's door. But
• 4:23
  Speaker 1: I would rather hope that ye should be well received
• 4:26
  Speaker 1: as your poor father forecast for you, and for anything
• 4:29
  Speaker 1: that I can come to be a great man in time.
• 4:33
  Speaker 1: And here davy Laddie, he resumed, it lies near upon
• 4:37
  Speaker 1: my conscience to improve this parting and set you on
• 4:40
  Speaker 1: the right guard against the dangers of the world. Here
• 4:44
  Speaker 1: he cast about for a comfortable seat, lighted on a
• 4:47
  Speaker 1: big boulder under a birch by the track side, sat
• 4:50
  Speaker 1: down upon it with a very long, serious upper lip,
• 4:53
  Speaker 1: and the sun now shining in upon us between two peaks,
• 4:57
  Speaker 1: put his pocket handkerchief over his cocktail to shelter him there. Then,
• 5:02
  Speaker 1: with uplifted forefinger, he first put me on my guard
• 5:06
  Speaker 1: against a considerable number of heresies to which I had
• 5:09
  Speaker 1: no temptation, and urged upon me to be instant in
• 5:12
  Speaker 1: my prayers and reading of the Bible. That done, he
• 5:16
  Speaker 1: drew a picture of the great house that I was
• 5:18
  Speaker 1: bound to, and how I should conduct myself with its inhabitants.
• 5:23
  Speaker 1: Be suple davy in things immaterial. Said he bear ye
• 5:28
  Speaker 1: this in mind, that though gentle born, ye have a
• 5:31
  Speaker 1: country rearing den a sham us davy, den a sham
• 5:35
  Speaker 1: us in yon great muckle house, with all these domestics
• 5:39
  Speaker 1: upper and under, show yourself as nice as circumspect, as
• 5:44
  Speaker 1: quick at the conception, and as slow of speech as
• 5:47
  Speaker 1: any asked for the laird. Remember he's the laird. I
• 5:52
  Speaker 1: say no more honor to whom honor it's a pleasure
• 5:56
  Speaker 1: to obey allard, or should be to the young well sir,
• 6:01
  Speaker 1: said I it may be, and I'll promise you I'll
• 6:05
  Speaker 1: try to make it so. Why very well, said replied
• 6:10
  Speaker 1: mister Campbell heartily. And now to come to the material,
• 6:14
  Speaker 1: or to make a quibble to the immaterial, I have
• 6:17
  Speaker 1: here a little packet which contains four things. He tugged
• 6:21
  Speaker 1: it as he spoke and with some great difficulty, from
• 6:24
  Speaker 1: the skirt pocket of his coat. Of these four things,
• 6:27
  Speaker 1: the first is your legal do the little pickle money
• 6:30
  Speaker 1: for your father's books implenishing, which I have bought, as
• 6:34
  Speaker 1: I explained from the first, in the design of reselling
• 6:37
  Speaker 1: at a profit to the incoming dominie. The other three
• 6:41
  Speaker 1: are gifties that missus Campbell and myself would be blithe
• 6:44
  Speaker 1: of your acceptance. The first, which is round, will likely
• 6:48
  Speaker 1: please your best at the first off, go but o
• 6:51
  Speaker 1: davy laddie. It's but a drop of water in the sea.
• 6:54
  Speaker 1: It'll help you but a step and vanish like the morning.
• 6:58
  Speaker 1: The second, which is flat in square and written upon,
• 7:02
  Speaker 1: will stand by you through life like a good staff
• 7:04
  Speaker 1: for the road, and a good pillow to your head
• 7:07
  Speaker 1: in sickness. And as for the last, which is cubicle,
• 7:11
  Speaker 1: that'll see you. It's my prayerful wish into a better lad.
• 7:16
  Speaker 1: With that, he got upon his feet, took off his hat,
• 7:19
  Speaker 1: and prayed a little while aloud and in affecting terms
• 7:22
  Speaker 1: for a young man setting out into the world. Then
• 7:26
  Speaker 1: suddenly took me in his arms and embraced me very hard,
• 7:29
  Speaker 1: then help me at arm's length, looking at me with
• 7:32
  Speaker 1: his face all working with sorrow, and then whipped about
• 7:36
  Speaker 1: and crying good bye to me, set off backward by
• 7:39
  Speaker 1: the way that we had come, at a sort of
• 7:41
  Speaker 1: jogging run. It might have been laughable to another, but
• 7:46
  Speaker 1: I was in no mind to laugh. I watched him
• 7:49
  Speaker 1: as long as he was in sight, and he never
• 7:51
  Speaker 1: stopped hurrying, nor once looked back. Then it came in
• 7:55
  Speaker 1: upon my mind that this was all his sorrow at
• 7:58
  Speaker 1: my departure, and my conscience smote me hard and fast,
• 8:02
  Speaker 1: because I, for my part, was overjoyed to get out
• 8:06
  Speaker 1: of that quiet countryside and go to a great busy
• 8:10
  Speaker 1: house among rich and respected gentlefolk of my own name
• 8:13
  Speaker 1: and blood. Davy, Davy, I thought was ever seen such
• 8:19
  Speaker 1: black ingratitude? Can you forget old favors and old friends
• 8:23
  Speaker 1: at the mere whistle of a name? By by think shame?
• 8:29
  Speaker 1: And I sat down on the boulder. The good man
• 8:31
  Speaker 1: had just left and opened the parcel to see the
• 8:34
  Speaker 1: nature of my gifts. That which he had called cubicle
• 8:38
  Speaker 1: I had never had much doubt of. Sure enough, it
• 8:40
  Speaker 1: was a little bible to carry in a plaidnuc. That
• 8:44
  Speaker 1: which he had called round I found to be a
• 8:47
  Speaker 1: shilling piece. And the third, which was to help me
• 8:50
  Speaker 1: so wonderfully, both in health and sickness all the days
• 8:53
  Speaker 1: of my life, was a little piece of coarse yellow
• 8:56
  Speaker 1: paper written upon thus in red ink, to make lily
• 9:01
  Speaker 1: of the valley water. Take the flowers of lily of
• 9:04
  Speaker 1: the valley and distill them in sack, and drink a
• 9:07
  Speaker 1: spoonful or two, as there is occasion. It restores speech
• 9:11
  Speaker 1: to those that have the dumb palsy. It is good
• 9:14
  Speaker 1: against the gout. It comforts the heart and strengthens the memory.
• 9:18
  Speaker 1: And the flowers put into a glass, close, stopped, and
• 9:22
  Speaker 1: set into a hill of ants for a month. Then
• 9:24
  Speaker 1: take it out and you will find a liquor which
• 9:27
  Speaker 1: comes from the flowers, which keep in a vial. It
• 9:30
  Speaker 1: is good ill or well, and whether man or woman.
• 9:36
  Speaker 1: And then in the minister's own hand was added likewise
• 9:40
  Speaker 1: for sprains, rub it in and for the colck, a
• 9:43
  Speaker 1: great spoonful in the hour. To be sure, I laughed
• 9:47
  Speaker 1: over this, but it was rather tremulous laughter, and I
• 9:51
  Speaker 1: was glad to get my bundle on my staff's end,
• 9:53
  Speaker 1: and set out over the ford and up the hill
• 9:55
  Speaker 1: upon the farther side, till just as I came on
• 9:59
  Speaker 1: the green drove road, running wide through the heather, I
• 10:02
  Speaker 1: took my last look of kirk Essendean, the trees about
• 10:06
  Speaker 1: the manse, and the big rowans in the kirkyard where
• 10:09
  Speaker 1: my father and my mother lay. End of chapter