The dark waters of Loch Goil were glimmering3 just before him ere he arrested his steps; he had climbed and descended4 the hill without knowing how; he was drenched5 to the skin, beaten by the wind, wild, half crazed with the multitude of his thoughts; all his new-born sense of power, all his confidence in his changed condition, were gone. He was a man abandoned by hope, and at the same time a prophet forsaken6 of the Lord. It had been not quite six o’clock when he left the Glebe. It was nearly midnight now when he forced his way through the tough stalks of the heather, crushing them down with his feet, stumbling into the forests of whins, going wildly through the yellowing brackens. Wild creatures rushed out of their coverts7 as he crossed the braes; it was too dark to see any path, even had he cared to confine himself to it. All was silent and black when he drew near the first inhabited place, the little cluster of cottages above the Manse to which he directed his steps. It was there that Ailie Macfarlane, his co-adjutatrix and predecessor8, lived with her father and mother. Not a light was visible in any window. The little congregation of souls, wrapt in the kind protecting darkness, slept and took no note of all the surrounding mysteries of the night. Mr. John went up to Ailie’s door and knocked, waking echoes which seemed to go over all the parish, and rousing the dogs at Lochhead out of the light sleep of their vigilance. It was some time before he had any reply. Then the lattice window, which was on a level with the door, was softly opened. It was Ailie herself who looked out, her fair locks braided about her head like a saint in a picture.
‘Who are ye? what do ye want?’ she said, with a certain anxiety in her voice. ‘Is it a summons to me too?’
Mr. John was too much pre-occupied to observe what she said, but he discerned the signs of some emotion, and took it for fear.
‘Fear me not,’ he said, ‘I’ve come, from wrestling with{95} the Lord upon the hill—and, Ailie, I have a message from Him to you. Fear me not.’
‘I’m fearing nothing,’ said the girl, with momentary10 surprise—for even had she not been protected by her exceptional character, to speak with ‘a friend’ from a chamber11 window, even in the middle of the night, was counted no sin on Loch Diarmid. ‘I’m fearing nothing,’ she repeated, steadily12, ‘but my heart’s sore and my een are heavy. Say quick what you have to say.’
‘It must be said to-night,’ he said; ‘I speak not of my will, and I will not ask you what is yours. Ailie, the Lord has revealed to me that you and I must go forth13 together to His work, bound together like Christ and His Church. You cannot go alone for you’re young and weak. He has appointed me to you for a protector. He has said unto me, O man, fear not to take unto thee thy wife! Ailie, this word is to me and to thee. Prepare! I would go forth, if that were possible, as soon as it is day.’
Then there was a pause. The clouds parted, driven by the angry wind, and the sky lightened faintly with a pale gleam which showed the man’s worn face and wild aspect as he stood before the window.
‘Oh, no, no,’ she cried; ‘we must wait. There will be clearer light. If such a thing as this is to be, it will be established in the mouth of two or three witnesses. I wouldna trust to myself, my lane. Oh, no, no; we must wait for clearer light.’
‘Take heed14 that ye perish not from lack of faith,’ said Mr. John. ‘Take heed that you despise not the Lord’s message. Ailie Macfarlane, hear the Word of the Lord! and see ye sin not against the Holy Ghost.’
A shudder15 ran through Ailie’s sensitive frame. ‘No,’ she cried, ‘no, no, never that. I’m His handmaid to do His pleasure. But oh, there’s nought16 can be done this night. The night’s for rest and thought and prayer. It may be the Lord will show His will to me too. And there’s my father and my mother,’ cried Ailie with a little gush17 of tears.
‘Let the dead bury their dead,’ said her extraordinary suitor, in a voice which seemed to ring round the house like a groan18. And then he added with a tone of authority which struck chill to Ailie’s heart: ‘Hitherto you have been a law to yourself, and no man has been set over you; but the wife must take the Lord’s will through her husband who is her head.’
Ailie fell down on her knees trembling, and held fast by the sill of the window.
‘I am no man’s wife,’ she cried; ‘and I’m feared and bewildered, and see naething clear. Oh, for the Lord’s sake, gang away from me for this night!{96}’
Mr. John turned his eyes which had been fixed19 on the pale opening in the clouds to her face. ‘Yes,’ he said, ‘I’ll go; the flesh can bear no more. Go on your knees to Him, and not to me. And He may make it clear to you if He thinks fit; but in light or in darkness I call on you to obey. Is His servant to stand still because there is no light?’
‘I’ll pray!’ cried Ailie, with a gasp20. And he withdrew from the window, stumbling over the little flower-borders in the cottage-garden, and gazing vaguely21 up into the white break in the sky. His haggard, pale face fascinated her in its abstraction. She rose, and closed her window with nervous hands, still gazing at him; when suddenly another window opened—that of the attic9 over the cottage door.
‘Wha’s there?’ cried a voice. Instinctively22 Ailie shrank back, but yet kept her ear at the opening that she might hear. It was the voice of her mother, who had been roused by the conversation below.
‘Wha are ye, disturbing honest folk in the middle of the night, and what do you want here?’
‘It’s me,’ said Mr. John, raising his head listlessly. ‘I was sent to her with a word from the Lord.’
Old Janet Macfarlane uttered a hasty exclamation23. ‘I’m meaning no reproach to you, Mr. John; but I wish your words would come in the day.’
Mr. John made no answer. He stepped over the paling once more, and paused at the door immediately under the old woman’s window. Fatigue24 was beginning to tell upon him: his passion was dying out. He had no longer any strength to defend himself. Perhaps Janet’s heart smote25 her as she saw his listless step; or perhaps the natural rural impulse of communicating information was her only motive26. She paused a moment, searching in her mind something keen and sharp to say to him—but finding nothing, bent27 out from her window over the leafy, embowered porch.
‘Mr. John,’ she said, with solemnity; ‘nae doubt you’ve heard the news?’
‘What news?’
‘Margaret at the Glebe is wi’ her Saviour,’ said the old woman. ‘She died at ten o’clock. Good night.’
The noise of the window closing rang over all the silent Loch and silent heavens, and went echoing, echoing away into the hollows of the hills. It struck the man in his despair like the thunder of dissolving earth and Heaven.
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1
akin
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| adj.同族的，类似的 | |
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2
sweeping
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| adj.范围广大的，一扫无遗的 | |
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3
glimmering
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| n.微光，隐约的一瞥adj.薄弱地发光的v.发闪光，发微光( glimmer的现在分词 ) | |
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descended
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| a.为...后裔的，出身于...的 | |
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drenched
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| adj.湿透的；充满的v.使湿透( drench的过去式和过去分词 )；在某人（某物）上大量使用（某液体） | |
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6
Forsaken
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| adj. 被遗忘的, 被抛弃的 动词forsake的过去分词 | |
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7
coverts
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| n.隐蔽的，不公开的，秘密的( covert的名词复数 )；复羽 | |
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8
predecessor
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| n.前辈，前任 | |
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9
attic
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| n.顶楼，屋顶室 | |
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10
momentary
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| adj.片刻的，瞬息的；短暂的 | |
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11
chamber
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| n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所 | |
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12
steadily
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| adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地 | |
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13
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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14
heed
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| v.注意，留意；n.注意，留心 | |
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15
shudder
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| v.战粟，震动，剧烈地摇晃；n.战粟，抖动 | |
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16
nought
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| n.／adj.无，零 | |
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gush
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| v.喷，涌；滔滔不绝(说话)；n.喷，涌流；迸发 | |
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18
groan
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| vi./n.呻吟，抱怨；(发出)呻吟般的声音 | |
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19
fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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20
gasp
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| n.喘息，气喘；v.喘息；气吁吁他说 | |
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21
vaguely
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| adv.含糊地，暖昧地 | |
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22
instinctively
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| adv.本能地 | |
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23
exclamation
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| n.感叹号，惊呼，惊叹词 | |
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24
fatigue
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| n.疲劳，劳累 | |
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25
smote
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| v.猛打，重击，打击( smite的过去式 ) | |
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26
motive
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| n.动机，目的；adv.发动的，运动的 | |
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bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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