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- Чарльз Диккенс
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- Крошка Доррит
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- Стр. 1/761
Little Dorrit
Thirty
years
ago
,
Marseilles
lay
burning
in
the
sun
,
one
day
.
A
blazing
sun
upon
a
fierce
August
day
was
no
greater
rarity
in
southern
France
then
,
than
at
any
other
time
,
before
or
since
.
Everything
in
Marseilles
,
and
about
Marseilles
,
had
stared
at
the
fervid
sky
,
and
been
stared
at
in
return
,
until
a
staring
habit
had
become
universal
there
.
Strangers
were
stared
out
of
countenance
by
staring
white
houses
,
staring
white
walls
,
staring
white
streets
,
staring
tracts
of
arid
road
,
staring
hills
from
which
verdure
was
burnt
away
.
The
only
things
to
be
seen
not
fixedly
staring
and
glaring
were
the
vines
drooping
under
their
load
of
grapes
.
These
did
occasionally
wink
a
little
,
as
the
hot
air
barely
moved
their
faint
leaves
.
There
was
no
wind
to
make
a
ripple
on
the
foul
water
within
the
harbour
,
or
on
the
beautiful
sea
without
.
The
line
of
demarcation
between
the
two
colours
,
black
and
blue
,
showed
the
point
which
the
pure
sea
would
not
pass
;
but
it
lay
as
quiet
as
the
abominable
pool
,
with
which
it
never
mixed
.
Boats
without
awnings
were
too
hot
to
touch
;
ships
blistered
at
their
moorings
;
the
stones
of
the
quays
had
not
cooled
,
night
or
day
,
for
months
.
Hindoos
,
Russians
,
Chinese
,
Spaniards
,
Portuguese
,
Englishmen
,
Frenchmen
,
Genoese
,
Neapolitans
,
Venetians
,
Greeks
,
Turks
,
descendants
from
all
the
builders
of
Babel
,
come
to
trade
at
Marseilles
,
sought
the
shade
alike
—
taking
refuge
in
any
hiding
-
place
from
a
sea
too
intensely
blue
to
be
looked
at
,
and
a
sky
of
purple
,
set
with
one
great
flaming
jewel
of
fire
.
The
universal
stare
made
the
eyes
ache
.
Towards
the
distant
line
of
Italian
coast
,
indeed
,
it
was
a
little
relieved
by
light
clouds
of
mist
,
slowly
rising
from
the
evaporation
of
the
sea
,
but
it
softened
nowhere
else
.
Far
away
the
staring
roads
,
deep
in
dust
,
stared
from
the
hill
-
side
,
stared
from
the
hollow
,
stared
from
the
interminable
plain
.
Far
away
the
dusty
vines
overhanging
wayside
cottages
,
and
the
monotonous
wayside
avenues
of
parched
trees
without
shade
,
drooped
beneath
the
stare
of
earth
and
sky
.
So
did
the
horses
with
drowsy
bells
,
in
long
files
of
carts
,
creeping
slowly
towards
the
interior
;
so
did
their
recumbent
drivers
,
when
they
were
awake
,
which
rarely
happened
;
so
did
the
exhausted
labourers
in
the
fields
.
Everything
that
lived
or
grew
,
was
oppressed
by
the
glare
;
except
the
lizard
,
passing
swiftly
over
rough
stone
walls
,
and
the
cicala
,
chirping
his
dry
hot
chirp
,
like
a
rattle
.
The
very
dust
was
scorched
brown
,
and
something
quivered
in
the
atmosphere
as
if
the
air
itself
were
panting
.
Blinds
,
shutters
,
curtains
,
awnings
,
were
all
closed
and
drawn
to
keep
out
the
stare
.
Grant
it
but
a
chink
or
keyhole
,
and
it
shot
in
like
a
white
-
hot
arrow
.
The
churches
were
the
freest
from
it
.
To
come
out
of
the
twilight
of
pillars
and
arches
—
dreamily
dotted
with
winking
lamps
,
dreamily
peopled
with
ugly
old
shadows
piously
dozing
,
spitting
,
and
begging
—
was
to
plunge
into
a
fiery
river
,
and
swim
for
life
to
the
nearest
strip
of
shade
.
So
,
with
people
lounging
and
lying
wherever
shade
was
,
with
but
little
hum
of
tongues
or
barking
of
dogs
,
with
occasional
jangling
of
discordant
church
bells
and
rattling
of
vicious
drums
,
Marseilles
,
a
fact
to
be
strongly
smelt
and
tasted
,
lay
broiling
in
the
sun
one
day
.
In
Marseilles
that
day
there
was
a
villainous
prison
.
In
one
of
its
chambers
,
so
repulsive
a
place
that
even
the
obtrusive
stare
blinked
at
it
,
and
left
it
to
such
refuse
of
reflected
light
as
it
could
find
for
itself
,
were
two
men
.
Besides
the
two
men
,
a
notched
and
disfigured
bench
,
immovable
from
the
wall
,
with
a
draught
-
board
rudely
hacked
upon
it
with
a
knife
,
a
set
of
draughts
,
made
of
old
buttons
and
soup
bones
,
a
set
of
dominoes
,
two
mats
,
and
two
or
three
wine
bottles
.
That
was
all
the
chamber
held
,
exclusive
of
rats
and
other
unseen
vermin
,
in
addition
to
the
seen
vermin
,
the
two
men
.
It
received
such
light
as
it
got
through
a
grating
of
iron
bars
fashioned
like
a
pretty
large
window
,
by
means
of
which
it
could
be
always
inspected
from
the
gloomy
staircase
on
which
the
grating
gave
.
There
was
a
broad
strong
ledge
of
stone
to
this
grating
where
the
bottom
of
it
was
let
into
the
masonry
,
three
or
four
feet
above
the
ground
.
Upon
it
,
one
of
the
two
men
lolled
,
half
sitting
and
half
lying
,
with
his
knees
drawn
up
,
and
his
feet
and
shoulders
planted
against
the
opposite
sides
of
the
aperture
.
The
bars
were
wide
enough
apart
to
admit
of
his
thrusting
his
arm
through
to
the
elbow
;
and
so
he
held
on
negligently
,
for
his
greater
ease
.
