Innocent Birds by T.F. Powys

Author:T.F. Powys
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Tags: Literary, British Literature, Fiction
ISBN: 9780571279043
Publisher: Faber Faber
Published: 1926-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter xvii

THE AMERICANS SEE A CROSS

OF DOOM IN THE SKY

MR. SOLLY came down from Madder hill in a more hopeful mood than when he climbed up.

He had gone up Madder hill to look at the sky, because one of his Americans had seen a huge cross in the heavens, which told him of coming and inevitable doom. After reading about the cross, Mr. Solly had at once climbed the hill in order to see if the cross was still there.

‘He had seen enough already,’ he thought, ‘without that cross coming.’

When Solly reached the summit he looked anxiously upwards, but he only saw the blue heavens, that were clearer than usual. He sighed, and permitted his eyes to view the country around instead of the sky. He saw all the clean cool lands shining in the clear light of day. Everywhere there was colour and shadow—deep colour and deep shade. There were large wide spaces of green, and the further downs and heath were rich dark purple. A little cloud, like a skipping goat, covered the sun for a moment, and Solly watched the clear black body of its shadow running over the earth.

Clean beauty in form and line affected Solly in a different way than his pinks and columbines. They were but little women, and naughty ones at that, at least the pinks were; but these other wonders of the earth and heaven moved nearer to the living God. Mr. Solly was not ashamed to pray to Him from whom all life comes. He knelt down upon the grass of that place and prayed that God might show him one day what the gift was that He intended to give to Polly Wimple and to Fred Pim.

Solly wasn’t more inquisitive than any other simple gentleman resident in the west of England, but he knew that his Aunt Crocker would like him to see what the gift was, as well as to know to whom it was to be given. When Mr. Solly had finished his prayer, and was come down from the hill, he crossed the little brook, noticing that there were still forget-me-nots in flower, and went along the lane near to the church gates.

Susy was walking up the church path with a new broom, that had been presented to her only a little while before by Mr. Thomas Tucker. Susy was walking in her usual flat-footed and bulky manner, dragging the broom behind her as if she were a product of the older world and possessed a long lizard’s tail.

Solly watched Susy to see what happened to her, for Eva Billy still complained to everybody that her Sunday frock got more soiled by the pews, than by any green grassy bank that she chanced to lie down upon when she walked out with Sam Peach of Dodderdown. When Susy was quite near the church door she let go the broom and went into God’s house, leaving her tail—more lizard’s than lamb’s—behind her.

‘Perhaps Susy only means to set a mouse-trap to-day,’ Solly thought.

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