"You are going the wrong time of the year," was the reiterated1 warning of friends who heard that I was to make a Southern trip. Experience proved them to be as far astray as if they had warned one from going North in June; for the May of the South is the June of the North. Nature was revelling2 in her fullest dress, making a symphony in green,—all shades, from the pale tint3 of the chinquapin and persimmon, to the deep indigo4 of the long-leafed pine, and the tender purple green of the distant hills,—a perfect extravaganza of vegetable growth.
The weather was delicious; from the south and east came the ocean air, and from the north and west the balsam-laden ozone5 of the mountains, every turn in[92] the road revealing new beauties. The cool Southern homes, with their wide verandas6 covered with honeysuckle, and great hallways running right through the house, often revealing some of the daintiest little pictures of light and shade, from apple or china tree varied7 with the holly8, the Cape9 jasmine, and scuppernong vines, the latter often covering a half-acre of land, while chanticleer and his seraglio strutted10 in proud content, monarch11 of all he surveyed. High on a pole hung the hollowed gourds12, homes for the martins and swallows. The mistress sat at her sewing in the shady porch, while out beyond, under a giant oak, with gracefully13 twined turban and brilliant dress, the sable14 washerwoman hung out her many-colored pieces, making altogether a scene of rural beauty seldom surpassed.
What joy to sit in the ample porch and look over the great cotton-fields with their regular rows of bluish green, variegated15 by the tender hue16 of the young[93] corn, and a dozen shades of as many species of oak, while the brilliant tulip-tree and the distant hills, now of softest blue, contrasting with the rich, red ochre of the soil, make up a picture never to be forgotten. Cooled by the breezes that sweep through the porch, one dozes17 away an hour of enchantment18. The negroes with their mules20, in the distance, in almost every field, add to its piquancy21, and often, floating on the wind, come wild snatches in weird22 minor23 notes the broken rhythm of their old Virginia reel, performed with the rollicking exuberance24 of the race.
The reader must not suppose that all Southern homes answer to the above description. Thousands of houses are without a porch or any shade save that which nature gives. The chimneys are built on the outside, sometimes of stone, sometimes of brick or of clay, while layers of one-inch slats hold the chimney together; but, as a rule, so prodigal25 is nature that a vine of some kind will[94] entwine around their otherwise bare and severe outlines, and make them, like some dogs, homely26 enough to be handsome.
Although these poorer houses are devoid27 of all artificial attempts to beautify, they are frequently built near a great oak and the dense28 china-tree for shade, while wild fruits of many kinds grow promiscuously29 about. In every hedgerow, and within a stone's throw of nearly every country home, will be found partridges, wild pigeons, and all sorts of small game, with plenty of foxes to keep it in reasonable bounds, while every household has a number of hounds and curs for the foxes. But with all the varied beauty of the scene, the New Englander constantly misses the well-kept lawn,—for here bare ground always takes the place of grass,—and there are no village green and fine shaded roads, and that general neatness which distinguishes the rural scenes of "the Pilgrim land."
A few words about the people. They are as warm-hearted as their climate;[95] the stranger is greeted with such invitations as these: "Come in;" "Take a chair;" "Have some of the fry;" "Have some fresh water." They are up with the sun—family prayer by five, A.M.; breakfast half an hour later; dinner at one; supper at seven; to bed by dark. The churches are plain, costing seldom more than eight hundred or one thousand dollars; doors on all sides opposite each other to allow for a good circulation of air. A pail of water stands on a form near the pulpit. The church generally stands in a grove30 or the forest itself.
The people are very fond of preaching. The whole family, from the oldest to the youngest, go; and one may often see the mother at the communion with a little one at the breast. Sometimes eleven or more of a family will occupy a wagon31 filled with oak-splint chairs.
It takes one back thirty years ago to the West, as one stands at the church-door and sees the people flocking in through winding32 roads in the woods, the[96] sunlight and shadow dancing upon the moving teams that shine like satin in the bright morning air. The dogs are wild with delight as they start a covey of partridges, and make music in the deep shadows of the woods. Here a group of young men and maidens33 are drinking at the spring.
The preacher often is a jack-of-all-trades—sometimes a doctor, getting his degree from the family medicine-book; and strange to say, though an ardent34 believer in faith-cure, and with marvellous accounts of cures in answer to prayer, yet prescribing a liver invigorator when that organ is in trouble. Some of these men are natural orators35, and with their bursts of eloquence36 often hush37 their hearers to holy awe38 and inspiration. They have one book, and believe it. No doubts trouble them. Higher criticism has never reached them. Mosaic39 origin of the Pentateuch is unquestioned. Moses and no other, to them, wrote the five books, including the account of his own burial.[97] They know nothing of pre-exilic Psalms40 or Greek periods of Daniel; but all preach Jesus, no matter whence they draw their text. In an instant they make a short cut for Calvary.
One brother, over eighty years of age, walks fifteen miles, and preaches three times. Some of his sermons take two hours in delivery, without the aid of a scrap41 of note; and the talk for days after is on the sermon. No quarterlies, monthlies, or weeklies lie at home to divert. No lecturer strays to that region. Here and there is a village house with an organ or a piano, and, of course, a paper.
I am speaking of the rural South,—and nearly all the South is rural, nearly all American, even the cities, with few exceptions, and the operatives are Southern, and mostly from the farms; so that one may find a city whose operatives live in another State, across a river, in a community numbering nearly seven thousand souls, and most of them keeping pigs and a cow (or, rather, not keeping them,[98] for they roam at their own sweet will down grassy42, ungraded streets). In such a place one meets old ladies of quite respectable appearance, with the little snuffing-stick in their mouths, or a pipe; and here one small grocery shop may sell two hundred dozen of little tin snuff-boxes in a month! There are cities in the South where you will find as fine hotels and stores as any on the continent. But from any such city it is only a step to the most primitive43 conditions.
Let me describe a characteristic night scene near a large city. My friend met me at the depot44 with his little light wagon and diminutive45 mule19, and we started for the homestead. Our road lay between banks of honeysuckle that saturated46 the air with its rich perfume; wild-goose plum, persimmon, bullice, and chinquapin (the latter somewhat like a chestnut47, but smaller), huckleberries on bushes twelve feet high, called currants there, lined the road on either side. The house was surrounded by the débris of former corn-cribs[99] and present ones; stables were scattered48 here and there in picturesque49 confusion. One end of the house was open, and had been waiting for years for its chimney; there was shrubbery of every kind all about. I had the usual hearty50 welcome and supper, and then attended the inevitable51 meeting in the grove.
In the glare of the setting sun everything seemed indescribably wretched; but it was May, and night came on apace. The stars in the deep blue glowed like gems52; and then the queen of night on her sable throne threw her glamour53 over the scene, and the stencil-marked ground became a fairy scene. High perched upon a mighty54 oak the mistress of the grove rained music on the cool night air,—first a twitter like a chaffinch, then an aria55 worthy56 of Patti, then the deep notes of the blackbird, then a whip-poor-will, then a grand chorus of all the night-birds.
A short breathing-spell, and off on another chorus, and so the whole night through. When we awoke the music[100] still poured from that wondrous57 throat of the American mocking-bird. How calm, how peaceful, was the scene, how pure the air! The lights went out from neighboring cots, and the heavenly hosts seemed to sing together once more the song of Bethlehem—but alas58! Herod plots while angels sing. Not far off is another little house with its small outbuildings. This night it is occupied by a mother and three children. The father is away attending a religious meeting. The servant who usually sleeps in the house when the man is away gives a trifling59 excuse and sleeps in the shed. Before retiring she quietly unfastens the pin which holds the shutter60. At midnight the mother is awakened61 from her troubled sleep and sees the shadow of a man, and then another shadow, and still another. The children shrink to the back of their bunk62. Oh, what a triple crime was enacted63 under that peaceful sky! Morning came. The mocking-bird still sang, and cheered the returning husband.[101] But alas, it was a mocking song for him; for instead of pleasant welcomes, he found his wife delirious64, and his children cowering65 like hunted partridges in a neighbor's house. The frenzied66 husband, soon joined by friends made furious by the atrocious crime (so common in the South), soon hunted the ravishers of the little home; and when the moon arose the next night, the beauty of the scene was marred67 by three black corpses68 swinging from a bridge.
点击收听单词发音
1 reiterated | |
反复地说,重申( reiterate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
2 revelling | |
v.作乐( revel的现在分词 );狂欢;着迷;陶醉 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
3 tint | |
n.淡色,浅色;染发剂;vt.着以淡淡的颜色 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
4 indigo | |
n.靛青,靛蓝 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
5 ozone | |
n.臭氧,新鲜空气 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
6 verandas | |
阳台,走廊( veranda的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
7 varied | |
adj.多样的,多变化的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
8 holly | |
n.[植]冬青属灌木 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
9 cape | |
n.海角,岬;披肩,短披风 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
10 strutted | |
趾高气扬地走,高视阔步( strut的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
11 monarch | |
n.帝王,君主,最高统治者 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
12 gourds | |
n.葫芦( gourd的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
13 gracefully | |
ad.大大方方地;优美地 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
14 sable | |
n.黑貂;adj.黑色的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
15 variegated | |
adj.斑驳的,杂色的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
16 hue | |
n.色度;色调;样子 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
17 dozes | |
n.打盹儿,打瞌睡( doze的名词复数 )v.打盹儿,打瞌睡( doze的第三人称单数 ) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
18 enchantment | |
n.迷惑,妖术,魅力 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
19 mule | |
n.骡子,杂种,执拗的人 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
20 mules | |
骡( mule的名词复数 ); 拖鞋; 顽固的人; 越境运毒者 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
21 piquancy | |
n.辛辣,辣味,痛快 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
22 weird | |
adj.古怪的,离奇的;怪诞的,神秘而可怕的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
23 minor | |
adj.较小(少)的,较次要的;n.辅修学科;vi.辅修 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
24 exuberance | |
n.丰富;繁荣 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
25 prodigal | |
adj.浪费的,挥霍的,放荡的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
26 homely | |
adj.家常的,简朴的;不漂亮的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
27 devoid | |
adj.全无的,缺乏的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
28 dense | |
a.密集的,稠密的,浓密的;密度大的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
29 promiscuously | |
adv.杂乱地,混杂地 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
30 grove | |
n.林子,小树林,园林 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
31 wagon | |
n.四轮马车,手推车,面包车;无盖运货列车 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
32 winding | |
n.绕,缠,绕组,线圈 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
33 maidens | |
处女( maiden的名词复数 ); 少女; 未婚女子; (板球运动)未得分的一轮投球 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
34 ardent | |
adj.热情的,热烈的,强烈的,烈性的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
35 orators | |
n.演说者,演讲家( orator的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
36 eloquence | |
n.雄辩;口才,修辞 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
37 hush | |
int.嘘,别出声;n.沉默,静寂;v.使安静 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
38 awe | |
n.敬畏,惊惧;vt.使敬畏,使惊惧 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
39 mosaic | |
n./adj.镶嵌细工的,镶嵌工艺品的,嵌花式的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
40 psalms | |
n.赞美诗( psalm的名词复数 );圣诗;圣歌;(中的) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
41 scrap | |
n.碎片;废料;v.废弃,报废 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
42 grassy | |
adj.盖满草的;长满草的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
43 primitive | |
adj.原始的;简单的;n.原(始)人,原始事物 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
44 depot | |
n.仓库,储藏处;公共汽车站;火车站 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
45 diminutive | |
adj.小巧可爱的,小的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
46 saturated | |
a.饱和的,充满的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
47 chestnut | |
n.栗树,栗子 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
48 scattered | |
adj.分散的,稀疏的;散步的;疏疏落落的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
49 picturesque | |
adj.美丽如画的,(语言)生动的,绘声绘色的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
50 hearty | |
adj.热情友好的;衷心的;尽情的,纵情的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
51 inevitable | |
adj.不可避免的,必然发生的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
52 gems | |
growth; economy; management; and customer satisfaction 增长 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
53 glamour | |
n.魔力,魅力;vt.迷住 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
54 mighty | |
adj.强有力的;巨大的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
55 aria | |
n.独唱曲,咏叹调 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
56 worthy | |
adj.(of)值得的,配得上的;有价值的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
57 wondrous | |
adj.令人惊奇的,奇妙的;adv.惊人地;异乎寻常地;令人惊叹地 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
58 alas | |
int.唉(表示悲伤、忧愁、恐惧等) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
59 trifling | |
adj.微不足道的;没什么价值的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
60 shutter | |
n.百叶窗;(照相机)快门;关闭装置 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
61 awakened | |
v.(使)醒( awaken的过去式和过去分词 );(使)觉醒;弄醒;(使)意识到 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
62 bunk | |
n.(车、船等倚壁而设的)铺位;废话 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
63 enacted | |
制定(法律),通过(法案)( enact的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
64 delirious | |
adj.不省人事的,神智昏迷的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
65 cowering | |
v.畏缩,抖缩( cower的现在分词 ) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
66 frenzied | |
a.激怒的;疯狂的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
67 marred | |
adj. 被损毁, 污损的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
68 corpses | |
n.死尸,尸体( corpse的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
欢迎访问英文小说网 |