Life Models
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Old Parson Raynes (Le vieux pasteur Raynes)
- Notice
- Document associé
- Argument
| Titre | 4. HE WOULD SIT FOR HOURS LOST IN THOUGHT |
|---|---|
| Distributeur d'origine | Riley Brothers |
| Fabricant | York & Son |
| Époque | Fin du XIXème siècle |
| Lieu de fabrication | Angleterre (Lancaster Road, Notting Hill, Londres) |
| Description technique | life models, photographie rehaussée de couleurs, plaque carrée fixe |
| Dimensions | L. 82 mm l. 82 mm |
| Cote | PLM-00077-004 (Coll. Cinémathèque française) |
- Old Parson Rayne - livret
- At home he would sit for hours lost in thought, heeding not Janet, who tried to coax him out of his service, or to tempt him to the table with the old Scotch dishes she could cook so well, which once the master had relished so much.
It was sad and weary work for the good soul as the years went by, and the dear old master grew daily more feeble, more absent-minded, and more lost in the past. His white face, watching from the window for the son that never came, grew familiar sight to the folks of Audrey End, and the children coming home from school would look askance as they passed the house, for it was whispered that the parson was "queer" and "odd", and "not right", and the little ones, catching the whispered remarks, grew to look upon the minister as something uncanny, and to be avoided.
At last the talk of the strangeness of Parson Rayne spread in wider circles, and all the county beard it, and the gossips at the village ale-house carried the story from place to place with ever-growing additions, until the old minister of Audrey End was known far and near as the Mad Parson.
Janet heard it in the village on the afternoon of Christmas Eve, and she shuttered. She had hidden the worst from herself. She had tried to think that she was mistake, that the master was only fretting and absent-minded; but now everybody saw it, she could be blind no longer. What would they do with the poor dear if he went quite out of his mind?
They would take him away to some horrible place, where strangers would be cruel to him, and he would end his days in misery - a prisoner, tended by harsh keepers.
Old Janet hurried out of the shop where the thoughtless words had been spoken, and her eyes were red and swollen when she reached the Parsonage. She had known for months what must be the end, and yet she had never realized it as she did now.
For months the Rev. Eric Rayne had not officiated. The curate had done all the work latterly, and hard work it was, for the church at Audrey End was the church for half-a-dozen outlying hamlets, and visiting the parishioners meant a considerable amount of physical exertion.
George R. Sims, "Old Parson Rayne", in Theatre of life (1881)
Un jour, une dispute éclate entre le pasteur et son fils et celui ci décide de quitter la maison familiale (plaques 1 et 2), laissant son père seul avec la domestique de la maison (plaque 3). Cette absence est difficile à vivre pour le pasteur, qui passe des heures devant le portrait de son fils et affirme tous les soirs que celui-ci va rentrer (plaques 4 et 5). Petit à petit, la raison de l'homme est bouleversée par sa tristesse. Il se terre dans un silence et attend inlassablement devant sa fenêtre (plaques 6 et 7).
Un soir, la domestique reçoit la visite du nouveau pasteur accompagné d'une femme et d'un jeune garçon (plaque 8).
La domestique reconnaît de suite l'enfant qui a les traits du fils parti si brutalement sans jamais donner de nouvelles. La femme qui se tient devant elle lui apprend que cet enfnt est le petit-fils du pasteur. Hélas, le fils du pasteur est mort, laissant un enfant et une veuve. Sur son lit de mort, le fils du pasteur a demandé à sa femme de retourner dans sa maison familiale, afin que le jeune garçon puisse connaître son grand-père (plaque 9).
La domestique sait que la raison de vieux pasteur est vacillante et décide de lui présenter l'enfant seul (plaque 10). Comme l'avait pensé la domestique, le pasteur prend l'enfant pour son propre fils (plaque 11) avant de réaliser que c'est son petit-fils. Finalement l'homme retrouve la raison et profite de joyeux moments en compagnie de ce petit-fils qu'il n'espérait plus (plaque 12).
