Living, as Macpherson did, almost entirely19 among his native mountains, his time was very happily as well as prudently20 divided between the chase of the red-deer, in which he particularly delighted, and those attentions which he found it necessary to bestow22 on the concerns of his landed territory; in looking to the well-being23 of his people, and the health, prosperity, and multiplication24 of those large herds25 of cattle which spread themselves over the broad sides of his hills, and brushed through the ancient fir forests or the birchen groves27 that shaded his glens. In this way his worldly means so increased, that he became an object of no inconsiderable solicitude28 to such of the [105]neighbouring lairds and ladies as happened to have unmarried daughters; and so many were the fair parties presented to his choice, that, being attracted in all directions, he remained hanging, like a bunch of ripe grapes, in the fluctuating breezes of doubt and indecision, that threatened in time to dry and shrivel him up into an old bachelor.
Whilst Macpherson was still in this negative condition, he happened to visit the castle of a certain chief. The company were assembling in the great hall to wait for the banquet, and he stood ensconced within the deep recess29 of one of its antique windows, where he had vainly endeavoured to retreat from the assaults of some three or four most agreeable spinsters, who, being of a certain age, less scrupulously30 adopted measures which were much too bold for their younger rivals to have ventured upon. Having brought him to bay in a place whence he could not retreat without rudeness, each commenced the discharge of her own independent fire against him, whilst, at the same time, little spiteful shots of malice31, both from their tongues and their eyes, were every now and then interchanged from one fair competitor to another. This scene was going on, much to the amusement of the spectators, but very much to the annoyance32 of the victim of this persecution33, when a sudden buzz from the company directed Macpherson’s attention to the door of the hall, where entered a lady of surprising beauty and grace of mien34. By a natural impulse, which he could neither explain nor command, Macpherson burst unceremoniously from among his tormentors, and stepped forward to gaze upon her as she moved easily up the hall. The intelligent eyes of the lovely stranger fell upon him, and fixed35 themselves upon him with a species of fascination36 which touched him to the soul. He was sensibly conscious of the resistless power of this influence, but at the same time he felt that it was a fascination of much too agreeable a nature for him to allow himself to struggle against it. He at once abandoned his heart to all its ecstasies37, as a thirsty fly would yield itself up to the delicious temptation of quaffing38 the nectar from the cup of some beauteous and fragrant39 flower; and he gazed on her face with a rapture40 which he had never before experienced. Nor was all this very surprising, for she who thus attracted him had been born and educated in the metropolis,[106]—had even mixed in the gay and splendid scenes of a court, and her dress and manners lent so dazzling an air to the lustre41 of her natural charms, that, compared to her, the native beauties congregated42 from all parts of the vast strath of the Spey, fresh and lovely, graceful43 and intelligent, as fame has ever held its ladies to be, appeared before her as so many dim and feeble fixed stars in the path of some brilliant and glorious planet.
Invereshie’s natural modesty44 made him shrink from asking for that very introduction for which his whole heart burned. But the lady was the niece of his host; she had recently arrived with the intention of residing with him for some months, and the introduction came in the ordinary course of etiquette46. He was seated by her during the greater part of that evening. Something more than mortal as she at first appeared to be in his eyes, he soon found, on a nearer approach, that she had nothing about her either overawing or repulsive47. He listened to her Syren tongue with an eagerness which until then had been quite a stranger to him. The hours flew like minutes. He suddenly perceived that every guest was gone but himself. He hurried away in confusion, and rode home in a delirium48 of delight so perfectly49 novel to him, that he two or three times seriously questioned himself by the way whether reason was still really holding her dominion50 over his brain, and the continual presence of the lady’s image there almost convinced him that she had usurped51 the throne of that judicious52 goddess.
Macpherson was soon drawn53 back to the castle of his friend by an attraction which was quite irresistible54. The impression made upon him by a first acquaintance was powerfully strengthened by a second meeting,—a third and a fourth visit soon succeeded,—and their interviews became more and more frequent, as he began to perceive, with a certain air of triumph, that his attentions, offered at first with becoming deference56, were much more graciously received than those which came from any of his brother lairds. His hunting expeditions became less numerous, and even his wonted prudential daily superintendence of his rural concerns gave way to a new and much more seductive occupation. He gradually became almost a constant inmate58 in his friend’s castle. But, in devoting so much of his time to attendance on her who had thus gained [107]so overwhelming a dominion over his heart, he consoled himself for this unusual neglect of his affairs, by reflecting that the prize he coveted59 was so rare as to be universally considered beyond all price—a gem60 far richer than any of those that adorned61 his brooch; and that besides all its glitter and sparkle, it was not without considerable intrinsic value also, seeing that, in addition to her other advantages, the lady’s tocher was such as might well satisfy a much more avaricious62 man than he knew himself to be.
As for the lady, I have only to say of her, that she was a woman. There are few of the fair sex whose bosoms64 have not been visited by a certain spirit of romance at one period or other, and, indeed, it may be matter of doubt whether those who have altogether escaped from this visitation are much to be envied. It is that which makes many a town-bred girl sigh for love and a cottage, until such fancies are extinguished by maturer judgment65. The soul of her of whom I speak had been deeply embued with this poetry of life, and as yet she had seen no good reason for ridding herself of it. She was all enthusiasm. Invereshie’s gay white tartan—his plumed66 bonnet67 and jewelled ornaments—his gallant68, though unobtrusive, bearing—his firm tread and independent gait—the resolute and heroic character that sat upon his brow, and yielded a calm illumination to his pensive69 eye—and, above all, the enchanting70 scenery of his river—the sparkling Feshie—its wild glen, and the prospective71 witchery of a Highland life, painted as it was with all the glowing colours of her fervid72 fancy, and with a thousand adventitious73 attractions which that fancy threw around it, had conspired74 to do as much execution on her heart as her manifold charms had wrought75 upon his. The visions of town gaiety and grandeur76, which had hitherto filled her young mind, speedily melted away. Rural circumstances and rural imagery occupied it entirely. She suddenly became fond of moonlight walks, of wandering on the banks of the magnificent river that wound majestically77 through the wide vale where she then resided, and of musing78 amid the checkered79 shadows which evening threw over the ruins of an ancient chapel80 and burial-ground, embraced by one bold and beautiful sweep of the stream at no great distance from the castle.
She was one night seated on a grey moss-covered stone, one of the many frail81 memorials of the dead which were [108]scattered82 through this retired83 spot, her eyes now lifted in admiration84 of the glorious orb85 that silently held its way through the skies above, and now thrown downwards86 to its image trembling in the mimic87 heaven then floating on the broad bosom63 of the stream below, when Invereshie, who had been called away by some express affair, was returning at a late hour to the castle. These were times, be it again remembered, when superstition88 held all mankind under her thrall89, and when the boldest Highlander, who would have fearlessly rushed on death in the battlefield, would have quailed90 before the idle phantoms91 of his own imagination.
Invereshie’s nurse had early embued his mind with a firm faith in all the wildest of these imaginings, and with him this belief, then so common to all, had grown with his growth and strengthened with his strength. The horse that he rode started aside and snorted with affright when, on bursting from the deep shade of the grove26 that partly embosomed the burial-ground, he first saw the white figure of the lady before him; and it argued a more than common courage in the horseman, therefore, that he should have checked the flight of the terrified animal in order to ascertain92 the nature of the object he beheld93. The moonbeams shone fully55 and clearly on a face which he could not for a moment mistake; yet their pale light shed so chilling and unearthly a lustre over its well-known features, that, taken in combination with the hour and the place, it made him hesitate for a moment whether he really beheld the form of her whom he so much loved, or whether that which presented itself to him was one of those unsubstantial appearances which he believed evil spirits had power to assume for the bewilderment and destruction of mortals. But the sound of the trampling94 of his horse’s hoof95 had fallen upon the lady’s ear while it was yet afar off; as it drew nearer, the fluttering of her heart had whispered to her that it was Invereshie who came; and ere he had recovered from his surprise, she arose and saluted96 him in that voice which had now become as music to his ear. His blood, chilled and arrested as it had for a moment been by superstitious11 dread97, now went dancing to his heart in a rushing tide of joy. He sprang from his horse, and eagerly availing himself of so favourable98 an opportunity, where all eyes but those of God were absent, he made a full and [109]animated confession99 of his passion; and that little solitary100 field of the dead, which had been accustomed for so many ages to scenes of woe101 and bereavement102 alone, was now once more doomed103 to witness the pure effusions of two as happy hearts as had ever been united together before its neighbouring altar, now so long dilapidated.
“Macpherson!” said the lady, with that enthusiasm which so strongly characterised her, “never forget this solemn hour and place, and let the image of that bright moon be ever in your memory; for it has witnessed your vows104, and beheld thee pledge thyself to me for ever!”
“Never! never can I forget it, lady!” replied Invereshie, with a depth of feeling equal to her own.
“Tis well!” said the lady. “And now it were better to shun105 the observation of prying106 eyes. This private converse107 of ours, at the witching hour of night, when none but spirits of the moon are abroad, might be misinterpreted. We must part here!” And ere he wist, she had disappeared among the brushwood.
“The witching hour of night!” muttered Invereshie to himself, as he stood rivetted to the spot, overpowered by the surprise in which he was left by the strange and sudden manner in which she had vanished from his sight. There was something, he thought, marvellous and supernatural in it. His eyes wandered round the silent churchyard where he had found her seated. A thousand superstitious tales connected with that spot rushed upon his memory. It was there that in popular belief the wicked spirit of the waters often appeared to bewilder lated travellers, and to lure108 them to their destruction. He thought of the power which evil beings were supposed to have in re-animating109 the remains110 of the dead, or of thrusting forth111 human souls from their earthly habitations, in order that they might themselves become the tenants112 of the fairest and most angelic forms. His reason and his judgment were in vain opposed to these terrific phantoms of the brain.
The hand which he had but a moment before so warmly pressed, and which had sent a fever of joy through every fibre of his frame, now seemed to have conveyed to him an icy chillness that ran through every vein114 till it froze his very heart; and as he hurriedly and almost unconsciously [110]mounted his horse to prosecute115 his way towards the castle, his mind was perplexed116 and tortured by strange and mysterious doubts and misgivings117, which continued to haunt both his waking and his sleeping dreams during the remainder of that eventful night.
But as the dawn of morning swept away the fogs which hung upon the mountain-tops, so did it dissipate the gloomy visions which had thus for a few hours shrouded118 the lofty soul of Invereshie. Reason resumed her judgment-seat, and a little calm reflection brought a blush of shame into his cheek, occasioned by what he was now disposed to believe to have been his own weakness. Every manly119 feeling within him was aroused. Arraying himself in his richest attire120, he sought for an audience of his friend the chief, and readily gained from him an uncle’s and a guardian121’s consent to his union with her to whom his vows of love had been so recently plighted122. Overjoyed at Invereshie’s disclosure, the chief led him to the great hall, at that time thronged123 with guests, and having taken his seat to preside over the morning’s meal, he called for a grace cup, and, drinking to the health of the happy pair, he publicly announced the alliance which had been that morning agreed on.
All eyes were instantly turned on her to whom the flowing goblet124 had been so joyfully125 drained. But whether it was from the sudden swelling127 of those emotions naturally enough arising from this public declaration, or whether it was owing to some fortuitous cause altogether unconnected with what was then passing, no one could say; but, whatever might be the cause, her brilliant eyes had become fixed and glazed129, the roses had fled from her cheeks, and she fell gently back in her chair, her lovely features exhibiting the ghastly hue130 of death. A chill shudder131 came over Invereshie’s heart. Pushing back the seat in which he sat, he gazed with horror upon the spectacle before him. Again was his mind unmanned, and a vision of the unearthly appearance which the lady had presented to him when he first beheld her seated among the graves beneath the moonlight of the previous night rushed upon his imagination. Overpowered by his feelings, he remained as if unconscious of what was passing around him. Nor was he at all observed amidst the general panic. The women shrieked132, the guests arose [111]in confusion, they crowded around the lady, and she was borne off to her apartment by the attendants.
For several hours the lady lay on her couch so perfectly exanimate, that every individual in the castle believed that she was dead, and mournful preparations were begun to be made for the funereal134 obsequies of her in whose animating smiles they had so recently rejoiced, and in whose bridal festivities they had anticipated that they were so soon to participate. Eloquent135 was the silence of that grief which reigned everywhere within the walls, unbroken save by the sobbing136 of those who hung around the couch of her who had already lived long enough among them to have gained the hearts of all who had approached her. But ere long it happily gave way to unrestrained joy; for, to the amazement137 of her attendants, the warm blush of life gradually began to revisit her cheeks,—the heaving of her bosom gently returned,—her eyelids138 slowly unsealed themselves,—the pulse resumed its former action,—the tide of life speedily carried renewed vigour139 into every limb,—her eyes regained140 their wonted brightness,—and, to the unspeakable surprise and delight of every one, she returned to the hall with a light and airy step, and with a sensible accession to her usual gaiety of heart, apparently141 resulting from its temporary slumber142.
But hers was a gaiety that touched no responsive chords in Macpherson’s bosom. He had stood as it were appalled143, a motionless spectator of the various wonderful changes which had been so strangely produced upon her; and he remained for some time sunk in silent abstraction, ill befitting an ardent144 lover who had thus had his soul’s idol145 so miraculously146 restored to him from the very jaws147 of the grave. Those who were about him marvelled148 and whispered together. But his moody149 musings were quickly overcome by the lady’s enchanting voice of gladness. The laughing sunshine that darted150 from her eyes soon dissipated those sombre clouds that overshadowed his brow. He again became the willing slave of every word and glance that fell from her. The fascination under which he was held increased every moment; and not many days went by ere the Laird of Invereshie, surrounded by a great gathering151 of his clansmen and followers152, and proudly riding by her bridle-rein, led her home as his bride to the blithe153 sound of the bagpipe154. [112]
As he approached the mansion155 of his fathers, Invereshie was met by crowds of women and children and old men, who thronged about the cavalcade156 with eager curiosity to behold157 their future lady, whom they greeted with shouts of gratulation that suffused158 her lovely cheek with blushes of joy, and flushed her husband’s brow with a pride which he had never felt before. An event so interesting to all his dependants159 had made even the most aged160 and infirm to leave their humble161 dwellings162. Some of those who had come from great distances were mounted on the shaggy little horses common to the country. The creatures were caparisoned in the rudest and most characteristic manner; and they formed many picturesque163 groups, which every now and then called forth expressions of surprise and delight from her who was the fair cause of their assemblage. One of these was peculiarly striking.
Under an old twisted mountain ash stood a ragged164 red-headed boy, holding the withy that served as a halter to a pony165, whose bones, exhibiting many an angle beneath his rough white skin, showed that he had arrived at an age but rarely reached by any of his long-lived race. From either side of the wooden saddle that filled his hollow back hung a huge pannier of the coarsest kind of wicker-work, and from each of these arose the plaided head and pale parchment features of an old woman. So very withered166 were these ancient crones, that, worn down and weak as was the animal that bore them, their wasted frames seemed scarcely to add anything, in his estimation, to the weight of the baskets that contained them. There was something, at first sight, indescribably ludicrous in the picture they presented; and the bride, who was by no means insensible to such emotions, could not resist giving way for an instant to the laughter which it excited in her as she drew near to them. It so happened that the line of march of the procession brought her close past the tree under which these strange figures were stationed. No sooner had she come opposite to it, than one of them, remarkable167 for the length of her grey elf-like locks, which streamed from beneath the uncouth168 mutch that covered her head, reared herself up from amidst the heap of tartan stuff that enveloped169 her person. Stretching out her bare and skeleton arm, her red and gummy eyelids expanded [113]themselves so as to bring fully into action a pair of piercing black eyes that flashed with a fire which even extreme age had been unable to tame, and which now lent a fearful animation170 to her otherwise spectral171 features. She glared into the lady’s face with a fixed gaze and a wild expression that blenched172 her cheek, and at once banished173 everything like mirth or joy from her bosom. In vain did the lady try to avert174 her eyes from an object which was now to her terrific,—they seemed as if enchained to it by a power like that of the basilisk; and to add to her misery175 some accidental obstacle created at that very moment a stop in their onward176 march. Anxiously did she wish to have taken refuge in conversation with her husband, but he was just then employed in replying to the warm compliments of some humble well-wisher, who addressed him from the opposite side of the way. Meanwhile the bony and toothless jaws of the old woman seemed to be moved by a temporary palsy, created by her anxiety to utter something which the lady dreaded177 to hear. But her very eagerness apparently deprived her of the power of speech; for though her skinny lips were seen to move, no sound proceeded from them except an inarticulate muttering, the import of which was lost amidst the din45 and bustle178 of the crowd. But although the lady gathered not the sense, the lurid179 lightnings that shot from the eyes of this miserable180 looking wretch181 told her that the words, if words they were, could have conveyed no prayer of benediction182. A sudden failure of nature came over the lady, and she must have dropped from her saddle to the ground, had not her husband’s attention been recalled to her at that moment by the renewal183 of the onward movement of the march. Altogether unconscious of what had caused this apparent faintness, nor indeed being quite aware of the full extent of it, his arm was ready to uphold her. Her vital spirits rallied at his touch. She recovered her seat, and then calling his attention to the object of her alarm, who was by this time left some short way behind them,—
“Tell me,” said she, “tell me, I entreat184 thee, who is that fearful looking old woman under yonder tree?”
“That,” replied he, “is my old nurse Elspeth Macpherson, one who is believed by all to be gifted with more than mortal powers.” [114]
“Her eye is indeed terrible!” replied the lady shuddering185.
“Why shouldst thou be afraid of her?” said Macpherson, in a graver tone. “She can never be terrible to thee? Great as her wisdom and great as her powers undoubtedly186 are, they can never come to me or to mine but to succour and to bless. From my cradle upwards187 hath she been as a guardian spirit to me, averting188 all misfortunes that might have assailed189 me; and, twined as thy future fate now is with mine, my love,” continued he with a forced smile, “trust me, dearest, that her searching eye will be continually over it and on it.”
An involuntary tremor191 seized the lady at the very thought of her fate being under the control of an eye the piercing and unfriendly influence of which was still so strong upon her mind. She forebore to reply; but she could not exclude a train of very unpleasant reflections, which even the rapidly succeeding circumstances of the gay Highland pageant192, in which she performed so prominent a part, failed for a while in removing. For some time, too, her husband rode by her side wrapped up in silence and abstraction, till rousing himself from what appeared to be a dreaming fit, he addressed to her some kind expressions, which fell on her soul like balm, and by degrees regaining193 her wonted cheerfulness, she at length rode onwards distributing sunshine and sweetness on all sides, in return for the many warm welcomes that were showered on her, till she was finally lifted from her saddle at the door of her future home, by the nervous arm of the enraptured194 Invereshie, amidst the deafening195 shouts of his friends and retainers.
Invereshie’s hospitable196 board was spread with more than its usual liberality on this joyful126 occasion; and, according to the custom of the time, its feast and revelry endured for many days. As his lady’s previous nurture197 and education had accustomed her to much nicety of domestic arrangement, and to many luxuries then altogether unknown in the Highlands, he exerted himself to the utmost to lessen198 the disagreeable effect of that change which he was conscious she must experience on her first entrance into his family. He strove to anticipate every wish; and when he had failed in anticipating her wishes, he spared neither pains nor expense to gratify them the moment [115]she had breathed them. He procured199 comforts and rarities of all sorts from great distances, and at a cost which he would have considered most alarming, had he not trusted that it would cease with the departure of the guests who thronged his house to welcome his newly married wife. But time wore on, and the lady seemed to have no inclination200 to get rid of either.
There is a prudent21 and useful old saying—“begin with a wife as you mean to end with her.” It would have been well for Macpherson that he had acted upon this principle. Instead of boldly bringing down his lady’s ideas at once to that pitch which would have been in rational harmony with his own habits, as well as with his circumstances, to which her strong attachment201 to him would have most probably insured her ready submission202, he had himself done all in his power to give a false colour to things, which he now felt it a very delicate and difficult matter to attempt to remove. Meanwhile she went innocently enough on in obedience203 to that bent204 which her education had given her, in the full persuasion205 that she was only doing that which her duty, as his wife, prescribed to her. Yielding to her resistless importunity206 and attractions, the neighbouring gentry207 were drawn around her, as if by some magic spell; and many of them became, in a manner, domesticated208 at her husband’s hearth209. Then every succeeding day brought to the old house some new friend from afar, whom she had been dying to make acquainted with that man of whom she was so proud, and to whom her whole heart was now devoted210, that she might prove how much she had gained by relinquishing211 the world for a prize so inestimable; and for the entertainment of persons so cultivated as these were, it naturally followed that more refined schemes of pleasure and amusement were devised which, whilst they gratified Invereshie at the time, by exciting universal admiration at the tasteful genius of his lady who had conceived them, made him afterwards wince212 at the large and repeated demands which were made on his treasury213, for purposes altogether foreign to the whole pursuits of his former life, and which the whole tenour of it had led him to consider as vain and unprofitable. He wondered that her ingenuity214 could be so enduring, and still comforting himself with the hope that each particular instance of it that occurred must necessarily be the last, [116]he was still doomed to be astonished every succeeding day by new and yet more expensive projects. Amidst all this bustle and occupation, her speech was ever of the delights of her Highland Solitude215, as she called their residence, whilst her thoughts seemed to be unceasingly employed in endeavours to invent means of depriving it of all claim to any such title, by filling it with as large a portion as she could of the gay crowd and vanities of a city. Of all these vanities none were so galling216 to the honest heart of Invereshie as the arrival of a certain knot of gallant rufflers from the court—men of broad hats jauntingly cocked to one side, and balanced by long feathers of various hues—who flaunted217 it in silken cloaks, and strutted218 it in long-piked shoes; all of which, in his eyes, seemed to sort but ill with the manly Celtic garb219 worn by himself and his Highland friends. But much as it irked him to be compelled to receive such popinjays as these, and irritated as he frequently was by their unblushing impudence220, he submitted calmly to that which the rules of hospitality dictated221, and even repressed all outward appearance of his dissatisfaction; and he was rendered the more ready to impose this restraint on himself, by the reflection that most of these gay gallants were in some way or other related to or connected with his wife; and he felt that, as her kinsmen222 or friends, they claimed the full extent of a Highland welcome. But these southern summerfly cousins were no sooner gone than they were succeeded by clouds of fresh and yet more thirsty insects of the same genus; and these tormentors not only contributed, in their own persons, largely to augment223 the consumption of those luxuries which had been so recently introduced into his house, and to the promotion224 of those extravagancies which were conceived and executed more especially for their amusement; but the more simple natives of the glens also were soon taught by their infectious example to relish225 them quite as much as they did.
Invereshie was long silent under all this; but he did not suffer the less deeply in secret on that account. The ardent love with which he adored his wife, and that certain mistaken chivalrous226 notion of delicacy227, which has been already noticed as operating so strongly on his feelings, long prevented him from attempting to restrain the [117]expenses of so fascinating a woman, who had brought him money enough to furnish at least some apology for the expenditure228 she occasioned. But ample as her tocher had once appeared to him, he soon began to see that it was melting rapidly away under those immense drains which she was daily applying to it; and at length, with more of love than of chiding229 in his tone, he ventured to speak to her on the painful subject which had so long oppressed him. But alas230! whilst he did speak to her, her very eye unmanned him, and what he did bring himself to say was couched in terms so gentle and so general, as neither to convey to her any very useful or impressive lesson, nor even any very definite idea of the extent to which she had erred231. The lady flung her snowy arms around his neck, bedewed his face with her tears, and made many earnest and sincere protestations, all of which she sincerely intended most sacredly to fulfil. Macpherson was enraptured. He blamed himself for what he called his severity—kissed away the precious drops from her eyes with a more than ordinary glow of affection. They were the happiest pair in the universe, and in a few days her extravagance was going on at its usual rapid pace, whilst she was all the while in the most perfect belief that she was giving the fullest attention to his wishes.
Many were the scenes of this description that afterwards, from time to time, took place between Invereshie and his lady. The kind of life into which he was now so unwittingly and unwillingly233 plunged234, allowed him few moments for sober reflection. But when such moments did occur, they were bitter ones indeed. At such times gloomy and harrowing recollections, and dreadful and appalling235 doubts would steal over his soul, putting his very reason to flight before them, and his flesh would creep, and his hair would bristle236, whilst his mind was thus yielding to its own speculative237 misgivings as to the mysterious nature of that fascination which could thus drag him on to certain ruin in despite of his own better judgment. But resolute as was his natural character, and deep as were his determinations at such times, they were all put to flight at once by the first bewitching love-glance of his lady’s eye.
Things had gone on in this way for months, growing worse and worse every day, when Invereshie, oppressed [118]by that gloom which now clung more frequently and more closely to him, set out one morning very early to join some of his neighbours in a distant chase of the deer. He was that day more than usually successful; and his attendants having been left behind to bring home the spoils, he was compelled to return in the evening alone. The sun was getting low as he came down into the upper part of his own deep and precipitous Glen Feshie, and the shaggy faces of its eastern mountains were broadly lighted up by its rays, thus rendering238 the crags on its western side, and the shadows they threw across the wooded bottom, doubly obscured by the blazing contrast. As the laird advanced, he came suddenly in view of a cottage perched on the summit of a little knoll239, and sheltered by one huge twisted and scathed240 pine alone, the bared limbs of which permitted the spot to be gladdened by a lingering sunbeam, to which the dense241 forest that surrounded it forbade all entrance elsewhere. This was the habitation of his nurse, whose strange appearance has been already described. She and the old crone her sister, who was believed to be scarcely less gifted than herself, were seated on settles at the door, availing themselves of what yet remained of the glowing light to twine190 a thrifty242 thread with distaff and spindle. The laird seldom passed this way without visiting old Elspeth; and on this occasion he turned from his direct path the more readily, because his conscience accused him that he had somewhat neglected her of late. The continual round of dissipation in which he had been for some time whirled, had not permitted him once to see her since that accidental glance he had had of her on the day she appeared at his marriage pageant. On that occasion, too, he felt that she should have been a guest at that table where his humbler friends were entertained; but he remembered that although she had been invited, she did not appear. The recollection of that joyous243 day shot across his mind like the gleaming lightning of a summer night, only to be succeeded by a deeper gloom, arising from the recurrence244 of all that had passed since. Unperceived by the frail owners of the cottage, he wound his way towards it with a sinking heart. In approaching it, he was compelled by the nature of the ground to make a half circuit around the knoll, which thus brought him [119]up in rear of it; and he was about to discover himself to the two old women, by turning the angle of the gable of the little building, when his steps were almost unconsciously arrested by hearing his own name pronounced, and he halted for a moment. It was his nurse who was speaking to her sister emphatically and energetically in Gaelic; and that which he heard might have been nearly interpreted thus:—
“Och hone, Invereshie!” exclaimed she in a shrill245 tone of lament246, as if she had been apostrophising him in his own presence. “Och hone! what but the black art of hell itself could have so cast the glamour247 o’er thee, my bonny bairn, that thou shouldst sit and see thy newly-chartered hills and glens melt from thy grasp as calmly and silently as yonder pine-clad rock beholds248 the sunshine creep away from its bosom, and never once come to seek counsel, as thou wert wont57, from these lips which never lied to thine ear.”
“Witchcraft249!” muttered her sister; “wicked witchcraft is at work with him.”
“Witchcraft!” cried the nurse with an emotion so violent as fearfully to agitate250 her whole frame; “witchcraft, said ye? The prince of darkness is himself at work with him. The foul251 fiend, in a woman’s form, is linked to him. Bethink thee of her moonlight wanderings by the waters,—her unhallowed midnight orgies among the graves of the dead, where they say she is still seen to walk while he is sleeping,—her sudden death, for death it was, on that ill-starred morning which proclaimed their union,—the strange reanimation of the corpse252 by the foul fiend that now possesses it,—the momentary253 sinking, and terror, and confusion of that wicked spirit when he quailed before the gaze of mine own gifted eye, shot from beneath the shade of the spell-dispersing rowan-tree;—bethink thee of these things, sister Marion, and wonder not that mine unwilling232 lips should have been urged to mutter a curse where my heart would have fain poured forth a blessing254.”
“I saw, I saw,” replied the other crone, “thine eye was, indeed, then most potently256 gifted, sister, and thy will was not thine own.”
“Och hone, och hone!” wailed257 out the nurse again, “that I should live to see my soul’s darling thus rent away from the care of Heaven, handed over to the powers of hell, [120]and doomed to destruction both here and hereafter! Och hone, willingly would I give my worthless life if I could yet save him! Och hone, if I could but pour my burning words into his ear, so that his eyes might be opened, and that he might stent his heart-strings to the stern work of his own salvation258.”
The unhappy laird had already heard enough. He felt as if the deadly juice of upas had found its way into his veins259. His whole frame was, as it were, paralysed. He leaned against the gable of the cottage for some moments, during which he was almost unconscious of thought or of existence; and then, with his limbs failing under him, he staggered, giddy and confused, down the side of the knoll into the pathway below, and sank exhausted260 upon a mossy bank, where he lay for a time in a state nearly approaching to insensibility. Starting up at last with an unnatural261 effort which he had no reason left to guide, and regardless of all pathway, he hurried along by the brink262 of the stream with a fury as wild as that which impelled263 its rushing waters. Slackening his pace by degrees, as his bewildered recollection began to return to him, he at length stopped, and resting against a rock, his scattered thoughts returned thickly upon him. At first he resolved to go back to hold converse with his nurse, but ere he had well conceived this idea, he rejected it as an idle waste of time; for the fresh recurrence to his recollection of all she had uttered flashed conviction too strongly on his mind to render any further question necessary. Those dark and mysterious doubts which had so long tortured him from time to time during his moody musings, now reared themselves into one gigantic, horrible, and overwhelming certainty, to dwell on which, even for an instant, filled him with an agony that brought large drops of cold perspiration264 to his brow. His jaws chattered265 against each other, and a cold shudder ran through his whole system, like that which precedes the last shiver of death. Again, a burning fever seized his brain, and he struck his forehead with the palm of his hand, and he wept and groaned aloud. Relieved by this sudden burst of affliction, he started from his resting-place, and knocking violently on his breast, as if to summon up all of man that was yet left within him,—
“Invereshie!” cried he, addressing himself in unconscious soliloquy, “Invereshie! where is thy boasted resolution? [121]Whither hath thy courage fled? But it shall come to thee now!” said he, setting his teeth together, and clenching266 his hands. “Hah! nor mortal nor demon17 shall keep me in this unhallowed state of enchantment267, if it be in the power of fire or of water to break the spell. Let me think,” said he again, striking his forehead, as if to rouse up his sharpest intellect; and then after a pause, during which he strode for a few turns backwards268 and forwards beneath the deep shadow of the rock, “I have it!” he exclaimed, and he urged on his steps with reckless haste towards his home.
The distant murmurs269 of its mirth and its revelry came on his ears whilst he was yet above a bowshot off,—an arrow itself could not have rent his heart more cruelly. He flew forward, and brushing almost unnoticed through the crowd of serving-men in gay attire that obstructed270 his entrance, he sought a lonely chamber271, where, in darkness and in silence, he sat brooding over his misery, and nursing the terrible purpose that possessed272 him. Every now and then his soul was stung to madness by the shouts of mirth, the music, and the other sounds of jollity which, from time to time, arose from the festal hall below, until, unable longer to bear the torture he suffered, he rushed forth again into the woods. There he wandered for some hours to and fro, torn by his contending passions; for love was still powerful within him, and would, even yet, often rise up for a time to wrestle273 hard with the wizard Superstition, who had now so irrecoverably entangled274 and bemeshed his judgment. But ever as the recurrence of the tender emotion was felt within him, he summoned up his sterner nature to exorcise it forth as something unholy. At length the broad moon arose, lighted up the bold front of the lofty Craigmigavie, spread its beams over the far-stretched surface of Loch Inch, shed a pale lustre on the distant Craigou, the Macpherson’s watch-hill, and fully illuminated275 the wild scenery and the sparkling waters of the Feshie, and the noble birches that wept over its roaring rapids, and its deep and pellucid276 pools.
It is not for me to say what were these mysterious associations which came over the mind of Invereshie as he beheld the ample disc of the glorious luminary277 arise over the mountain top, and launch itself upward to hold its silent and undisturbed way through the immensity of [122]ethereal space. They seemed to bring an artificial calm to his bosom. But it was the calm of a mind irrevocably wound up to a determined purpose. And now, with his arms folded with convulsive tightness over his breast, as if to prevent the possibility of that purpose escaping thence, he stalked with a steady and resolute step towards the house.
It was now midnight. The revelry which had raged within its walls was silent, and the guests, wearied with the feast and the dance, and the tired servants, were alike buried in sleep. John of Invereshie stole to his lady’s chamber. She, too, had retired to rest, and that deep and quiet sleep which results from purity and innocence278 of soul had shed its balm upon her pillow. Her lamp was extinguished, but the moonbeams shone full through the casement279 directly on the bed where her beautiful form was disposed, and touched her lovely features with the pale polished glaze128 of marble. Had it not been for her long dark eyelashes, and those raven280 ringlets that, escaping from their confinement281, had strayed over her snowy neck, she might, in very deed, have been mistaken for some exquisitely282 sculptured monumental figure. For one moment Invereshie’s purpose was shaken. But it was for one moment only; for as memory brought back to him the lonely churchyard, her appeal to the moon, the mysterious events that followed their nocturnal meeting, and all those after circumstances which had combined to produce that awful and to him infallible judgment which accident had led him to hear his old nurse pronounce, his dread purpose became firmly restored to his mind. He stretched forth his hand and griped the wrist of the delicately moulded arm that lay upon her bosom. The lady awoke in alarm, but instantly recognising her husband, her fears were at once tranquillised, and springing from her recumbent posture283, she threw herself on his neck. Surprised thus unexpectedly into her embrace, Invereshie stood silent and motionless. Love thrilled through every fibre with one last expiring effort. Aware of the potency284 of its influence over his heart, he threw his eyes upwards, and—ignorant and unhappy man!—blinded by the dark and bewildering mists of the wild superstition that had dominion over him, he actually prayed to Heaven to give him power to go through with his work; and then, with a [123]fixed composure, gained from that fancied aid which he imagined he was thus experiencing, he calmly and quietly turned to the lady.
“Dost thou see yonder moon?” said he; “never was there sky so fair, or scene so glorious. The night, too, is soft and balmy. Say, will ye wander forth with me a little while to note how the eddies285 of the Feshie are distilled286 into liquid silver by her beams?”
“Let me but wrap me in my robe and my velvet287 mantle288, and I will forth with you with good will,” replied the lady, quite overjoyed to be thus gratified by her husband in the indulgence of her romantic propensity289 for such walks. “How kind in you, my love, to think thus of my fancies when rest must be so needful for you.” And having hastily protected her person from the night air, she slipped her arm within her husband’s, and with a short light step, that but ill accorded with the solemn and funereal stride of him on whom she leaned, she tripped with him down stairs and across the dewy lawn.
“It is, indeed, a most glorious scene!” exclaimed the enraptured lady. “But, in truth, thou saidst not well, Invereshie, in saying that never was there sky so fair or scene so glorious.” Then smiling in his face, and sportively kissing his cheek, she innocently added, “I trust thou art no traitor290.”
“Traitor!” exclaimed Invereshie, with a sudden start that might have betrayed him to any one less unsuspicious.
“Aye, traitor in very deed!” replied the lady laughing. “Traitor truly art thou if thou canst forget the lonely churchyard where you bound yourself to me for ever, and that broad moon which then shed over us her magic influence!”
“Alas! are you unwell, my dearest?” earnestly exclaimed his anxious and affectionate wife. “I fear you have already done too much to-day; and your kindness to me would make thee thus expose thyself when thou wouldst most need repose292. See yonder dark cloud, too, pregnant with storm. Look how it careers towards the moon; might not one fancy that some demon of the air bestrode it? Had we not better return to bed? Thou art not well, my love. Come, come, let us return.” [124]
“No!” replied Invereshie, in a tone calculated to disguise his feelings as much as possible. “I shall get better in the air. A sickness, a slight sickness only; a little farther walk will rid me of my malady293.”
The lady said no more; and Invereshie walked onwards with a slow, firm, but somewhat convulsive step, treading through the checkered wood by a path that wound among green knolls294 covered with birches of stupendous growth, and that led them to the rocky banks of the Feshie. There they reached a crag that projected over a deep and rapid part of the stream. Its waves were dancing in all the glories of that silver light which they borrowed from the bright luminary that still rode sublimely295 within a pure haven296 in the lowering sky, its brilliancy increased by contrast with the dense, and pitchy, and portentous297 cloud that came sailing sublimely down upon it, like a huge winged continent.
“Invereshie!” cried the lady, her feelings strongly excited by the grandeur and beauty of the scene; and bursting forth in rapturous ecstacy, “do we not seem like the beings of another world as we stand on this giddy point, with the moon thus pouring out upon us all its potent255 enchantment?”
“Now God and Jesu be my guides but I will try thine enchantment!” cried Invereshie.
Steeling up his heart to the deed, and nerving his muscular arms to the utmost, he lifted the light and sylph-like form of his lady. One piercing shriek133 burst from her as he poised298 her aloft,—a benighted299 traveller heard it at a distance, crossed himself, and hurried onwards with trembling limbs,—and ere the lady had uttered another scream, Invereshie had thrown her, like a breeze-borne snow-wreath, far amid the bosom of the waves. The wretched man bent forward from the rock, his fingers clenched300, his teeth set together, and his eyeballs stretching after the object which his hands had but just parted with.
“Holy Virgin301, she floats!” cried he as he beheld her, by the light of the moonbeam playing on the ripple302 that followed her form as it was hurried down the stream, supported by her widespread mantle.
“Help! oh help! my love! my lord!—’twas madness!—’twas accident!—but oh! mercy and save me!—save or I am lost for ever!” [125]
“She floats!” hoarsely303 muttered Invereshie, drawing his breath rapidly, and with a croaking304 sound in his throat that spoke305 the agonising torture he was enduring. “Ha! she floats! by Saint Mary then was the old woman right! Ha! she struggles at yonder tree!” He sprang from the rock to the margin306 of the stream, and scrambled307 towards the spot whither the eddy308 had whirled the already sinking lady. She had caught with a death-grasp by one frail twig309 of an alder310 sapling, though her strength was fast failing. Invereshie’s eyes glared over her face as her head and her long dripping hair half emerged from the water.
“Help!—oh save!—oh help!” was now all she could faintly utter, whilst her expiring looked fixed itself upon her husband.
“Help, saidst thou? thou canst well help thyself by thy foul enchantments311!” cried Invereshie. “Blessed Saint Michael be mine aid! thou hadst well-nigh taken from me my all, fiend that thou art; thou may’st e’en take that twig with thee, too!” and drawing from his belt his skian dhu, he sternly divided the sapling at its very root. As it parted from its hold, the lady disappeared amid the rough surges of the rapid stream, and the blindness which superstition had thrown over him fell at once from her distracted husband.
“Holy angels, she sank!” exclaimed Invereshie with a maddening yell that overwhelmed for a moment the very roar of the flood. “My love! my wife! O murderer! murderer!”
He rushed wildly among the waters to save her. But the impenetrable cloud which had been all this time careering onwards, at that very instant blotted312 out the moon from the firmament313, and left his soul to the midnight darkness of remorse314 and despair.
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1
highlander
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| n.高地的人，苏格兰高地地区的人 | |
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highland
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| n.(pl.)高地，山地 | |
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melancholy
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| n.忧郁，愁思；adj.令人感伤（沮丧）的，忧郁的 | |
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countenance
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| n.脸色，面容；面部表情；vt.支持，赞同 | |
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instructor
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| n.指导者，教员，教练 | |
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intercourse
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| n.性交；交流，交往，交际 | |
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determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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juncture
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| n.时刻，关键时刻，紧要关头 | |
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9
resolute
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| adj.坚决的，果敢的 | |
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peculiar
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| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
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superstitious
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| adj.迷信的 | |
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superstitiously
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| 被邪教所支配 | |
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semblance
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| n.外貌，外表 | |
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ominous
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| adj.不祥的，不吉的，预兆的，预示的 | |
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portent
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| n.预兆；恶兆；怪事 | |
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16
fables
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| n.寓言( fable的名词复数 )；神话，传说 | |
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17
demon
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| n.魔鬼，恶魔 | |
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18
reigned
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| vi.当政，统治（reign的过去式形式） | |
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19
entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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20
prudently
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| adv. 谨慎地，慎重地 | |
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prudent
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| adj.谨慎的，有远见的，精打细算的 | |
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22
bestow
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| v.把…赠与，把…授予；花费 | |
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23
well-being
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| n.安康，安乐，幸福 | |
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24
multiplication
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| n.增加，增多，倍增；增殖，繁殖；乘法 | |
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25
herds
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| 兽群( herd的名词复数 )； 牧群； 人群； 群众 | |
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grove
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| n.林子，小树林，园林 | |
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groves
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| 树丛，小树林( grove的名词复数 ) | |
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28
solicitude
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| n.焦虑 | |
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recess
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| n.短期休息，壁凹（墙上装架子，柜子等凹处） | |
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30
scrupulously
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| adv.一丝不苟地；小心翼翼地，多顾虑地 | |
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31
malice
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| n.恶意，怨恨，蓄意；[律]预谋 | |
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annoyance
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| n.恼怒，生气，烦恼 | |
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persecution
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| n. 迫害,烦扰 | |
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34
mien
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| n.风采；态度 | |
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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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fascination
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| n.令人着迷的事物，魅力，迷恋 | |
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37
ecstasies
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| 狂喜( ecstasy的名词复数 )； 出神； 入迷； 迷幻药 | |
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38
quaffing
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| v.痛饮( quaff的现在分词 )；畅饮；大口大口将…喝干；一饮而尽 | |
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fragrant
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| adj.芬香的，馥郁的，愉快的 | |
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rapture
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| n.狂喜；全神贯注；着迷；v.使狂喜 | |
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lustre
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| n.光亮，光泽；荣誉 | |
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42
congregated
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| （使）集合，聚集( congregate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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graceful
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| adj.优美的，优雅的；得体的 | |
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modesty
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| n.谦逊，虚心，端庄，稳重，羞怯，朴素 | |
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45
din
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| n.喧闹声，嘈杂声 | |
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46
etiquette
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| n.礼仪，礼节；规矩 | |
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47
repulsive
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| adj.排斥的，使人反感的 | |
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48
delirium
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| n. 神智昏迷,说胡话;极度兴奋 | |
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49
perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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50
dominion
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| n.统治，管辖，支配权；领土，版图 | |
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51
usurped
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| 篡夺，霸占( usurp的过去式和过去分词 )； 盗用； 篡夺，篡权 | |
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52
judicious
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| adj.明智的，明断的，能作出明智决定的 | |
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53
drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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54
irresistible
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| adj.非常诱人的，无法拒绝的，无法抗拒的 | |
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55
fully
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| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
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56
deference
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| n.尊重，顺从；敬意 | |
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57
wont
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| adj.习惯于；v.习惯；n.习惯 | |
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58
inmate
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| n.被收容者；(房屋等的)居住人；住院人 | |
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59
coveted
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| adj.令人垂涎的；垂涎的，梦寐以求的v.贪求，觊觎(covet的过去分词)；垂涎；贪图 | |
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60
gem
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| n.宝石，珠宝；受爱戴的人 [同]jewel | |
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61
adorned
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| [计]被修饰的 | |
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62
avaricious
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| adj.贪婪的，贪心的 | |
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63
bosom
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| n.胸，胸部；胸怀；内心；adj.亲密的 | |
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64
bosoms
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| 胸部( bosom的名词复数 )； 胸怀； 女衣胸部（或胸襟）； 和爱护自己的人在一起的情形 | |
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65
judgment
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| n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见 | |
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66
plumed
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| 饰有羽毛的 | |
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67
bonnet
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| n.无边女帽；童帽 | |
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68
gallant
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| adj.英勇的，豪侠的；(向女人)献殷勤的 | |
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69
pensive
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| a.沉思的,哀思的,忧沉的 | |
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70
enchanting
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| a.讨人喜欢的 | |
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71
prospective
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| adj.预期的，未来的，前瞻性的 | |
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72
fervid
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| adj.热情的；炽热的 | |
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73
adventitious
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| adj.偶然的 | |
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74
conspired
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| 密谋( conspire的过去式和过去分词 )； 搞阴谋； （事件等）巧合； 共同导致 | |
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75
wrought
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| v.引起；以…原料制作；运转；adj.制造的 | |
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76
grandeur
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| n.伟大，崇高，宏伟，庄严，豪华 | |
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77
majestically
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| 雄伟地； 庄重地； 威严地； 崇高地 | |
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78
musing
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| n. 沉思，冥想 adj. 沉思的, 冥想的 动词muse的现在分词形式 | |
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79
checkered
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| adj.有方格图案的 | |
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80
chapel
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| n.小教堂，殡仪馆 | |
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81
frail
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| adj.身体虚弱的；易损坏的 | |
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82
scattered
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| adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的 | |
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83
retired
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| adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的 | |
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84
admiration
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| n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕 | |
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85
orb
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| n.太阳；星球；v.弄圆；成球形 | |
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86
downwards
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| adj./adv.向下的（地），下行的（地） | |
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87
mimic
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| v.模仿，戏弄；n.模仿他人言行的人 | |
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88
superstition
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| n.迷信，迷信行为 | |
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89
thrall
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| n.奴隶；奴隶制 | |
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90
quailed
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| 害怕，发抖，畏缩( quail的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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91
phantoms
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| n.鬼怪，幽灵( phantom的名词复数 ) | |
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92
ascertain
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| vt.发现，确定，查明，弄清 | |
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93
beheld
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| v.看，注视( behold的过去式和过去分词 )；瞧；看呀；（叙述中用于引出某人意外的出现）哎哟 | |
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94
trampling
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| 踩( trample的现在分词 )； 践踏； 无视； 侵犯 | |
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95
hoof
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| n.(马，牛等的)蹄 | |
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96
saluted
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| v.欢迎，致敬( salute的过去式和过去分词 )；赞扬，赞颂 | |
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97
dread
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| vt.担忧，忧虑；惧怕，不敢；n.担忧，畏惧 | |
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98
favourable
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| adj.赞成的，称赞的，有利的，良好的，顺利的 | |
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99
confession
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| n.自白，供认，承认 | |
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100
solitary
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| adj.孤独的，独立的，荒凉的；n.隐士 | |
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101
woe
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| n.悲哀，苦痛，不幸，困难；int.用来表达悲伤或惊慌 | |
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102
bereavement
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| n.亲人丧亡，丧失亲人，丧亲之痛 | |
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103
doomed
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| 命定的 | |
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104
vows
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| 誓言( vow的名词复数 )； 郑重宣布，许愿 | |
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105
shun
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| vt.避开，回避，避免 | |
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106
prying
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| adj.爱打听的v.打听，刺探（他人的私事）( pry的现在分词 )；撬开 | |
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107
converse
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| vi.谈话，谈天，闲聊；adv.相反的，相反 | |
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108
lure
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| n.吸引人的东西，诱惑物；vt.引诱，吸引 | |
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109
animating
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| v.使有生气( animate的现在分词 )；驱动；使栩栩如生地动作；赋予…以生命 | |
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110
remains
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| n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹 | |
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111
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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112
tenants
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| n.房客( tenant的名词复数 )；佃户；占用者；占有者 | |
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113
groaned
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| v.呻吟( groan的过去式和过去分词 )；发牢骚；抱怨；受苦 | |
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114
vein
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| n.血管，静脉；叶脉，纹理；情绪；vt.使成脉络 | |
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115
prosecute
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| vt.告发；进行；vi.告发，起诉，作检察官 | |
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116
perplexed
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| adj.不知所措的 | |
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117
misgivings
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| n.疑虑，担忧，害怕；疑虑，担心，恐惧( misgiving的名词复数 )；疑惧 | |
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118
shrouded
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| v.隐瞒( shroud的过去式和过去分词 )；保密 | |
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119
manly
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| adj.有男子气概的；adv.男子般地，果断地 | |
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120
attire
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| v.穿衣，装扮[同]array；n.衣着；盛装 | |
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121
guardian
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| n.监护人；守卫者，保护者 | |
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122
plighted
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| vt.保证，约定（plight的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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123
thronged
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| v.成群，挤满( throng的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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124
goblet
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| n.高脚酒杯 | |
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125
joyfully
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| adv. 喜悦地, 高兴地 | |
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126
joyful
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| adj.欢乐的，令人欢欣的 | |
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127
swelling
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| n.肿胀 | |
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128
glaze
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| v.因疲倦、疲劳等指眼睛变得呆滞，毫无表情 | |
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129
glazed
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| adj.光滑的，像玻璃的；上过釉的；呆滞无神的v.装玻璃( glaze的过去式)；上釉于，上光；（目光）变得呆滞无神 | |
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130
hue
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| n.色度；色调；样子 | |
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131
shudder
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| v.战粟，震动，剧烈地摇晃；n.战粟，抖动 | |
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132
shrieked
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| v.尖叫( shriek的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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133
shriek
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| v./n.尖叫，叫喊 | |
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134
funereal
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| adj.悲哀的；送葬的 | |
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135
eloquent
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| adj.雄辩的，口才流利的；明白显示出的 | |
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136
sobbing
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| <主方>Ⅰ adj.湿透的 | |
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137
amazement
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| n.惊奇，惊讶 | |
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138
eyelids
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| n.眼睑( eyelid的名词复数 )；眼睛也不眨一下；不露声色；面不改色 | |
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139
vigour
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| （=vigor）n.智力，体力，精力 | |
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140
regained
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| 复得( regain的过去式和过去分词 )； 赢回； 重回； 复至某地 | |
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141
apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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142
slumber
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| n.睡眠，沉睡状态 | |
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143
appalled
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| v.使惊骇，使充满恐惧( appall的过去式和过去分词)adj.惊骇的；丧胆的 | |
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144
ardent
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| adj.热情的，热烈的，强烈的，烈性的 | |
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145
idol
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| n.偶像，红人，宠儿 | |
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146
miraculously
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| ad.奇迹般地 | |
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147
jaws
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| n.口部；嘴 | |
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148
marvelled
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| v.惊奇，对…感到惊奇( marvel的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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149
moody
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| adj.心情不稳的，易怒的，喜怒无常的 | |
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150
darted
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| v.投掷，投射( dart的过去式和过去分词 )；向前冲，飞奔 | |
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151
gathering
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| n.集会，聚会，聚集 | |
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152
followers
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| 追随者( follower的名词复数 )； 用户； 契据的附面； 从动件 | |
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153
blithe
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| adj.快乐的，无忧无虑的 | |
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154
bagpipe
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| n.风笛 | |
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155
mansion
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| n.大厦，大楼；宅第 | |
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156
cavalcade
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| n.车队等的行列 | |
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157
behold
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| v.看，注视，看到 | |
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158
suffused
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| v.（指颜色、水气等）弥漫于，布满( suffuse的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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159
dependants
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| 受赡养者，受扶养的家属( dependant的名词复数 ) | |
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160
aged
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| adj.年老的，陈年的 | |
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161
humble
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| adj.谦卑的，恭顺的；地位低下的；v.降低，贬低 | |
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162
dwellings
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| n.住处，处所( dwelling的名词复数 ) | |
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163
picturesque
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| adj.美丽如画的，（语言）生动的，绘声绘色的 | |
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164
ragged
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| adj.衣衫褴褛的，粗糙的，刺耳的 | |
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165
pony
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| adj.小型的；n.小马 | |
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166
withered
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| adj. 枯萎的，干瘪的，（人身体的部分器官）因病萎缩的或未发育良好的 动词wither的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
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167
remarkable
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| adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的 | |
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168
uncouth
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| adj.无教养的，粗鲁的 | |
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169
enveloped
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| v.包围，笼罩，包住( envelop的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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170
animation
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| n.活泼，兴奋，卡通片／动画片的制作 | |
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171
spectral
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| adj.幽灵的，鬼魂的 | |
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172
blenched
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| v.（因惊吓而）退缩，惊悸( blench的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）变白，（使）变苍白 | |
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173
banished
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| v.放逐，驱逐( banish的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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174
avert
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| v.防止，避免；转移(目光、注意力等) | |
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175
misery
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| n.痛苦，苦恼，苦难；悲惨的境遇，贫苦 | |
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176
onward
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| adj.向前的，前进的；adv.向前，前进，在先 | |
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177
dreaded
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| adj.令人畏惧的；害怕的v.害怕，恐惧，担心( dread的过去式和过去分词) | |
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178
bustle
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| v.喧扰地忙乱，匆忙，奔忙；n.忙碌；喧闹 | |
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179
lurid
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| adj.可怕的；血红的；苍白的 | |
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180
miserable
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| adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的 | |
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181
wretch
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| n.可怜的人，不幸的人；卑鄙的人 | |
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182
benediction
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| n.祝福；恩赐 | |
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183
renewal
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| adj.(契约)延期，续订，更新，复活，重来 | |
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184
entreat
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| v.恳求，恳请 | |
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185
shuddering
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| v.战栗( shudder的现在分词 )；发抖；（机器、车辆等）突然震动；颤动 | |
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186
undoubtedly
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| adv.确实地，无疑地 | |
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187
upwards
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| adv.向上，在更高处...以上 | |
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188
averting
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| 防止，避免( avert的现在分词 )； 转移 | |
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189
assailed
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| v.攻击( assail的过去式和过去分词 )；困扰；质问；毅然应对 | |
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190
twine
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| v.搓，织，编饰；（使）缠绕 | |
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191
tremor
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| n.震动，颤动，战栗，兴奋，地震 | |
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192
pageant
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| n.壮观的游行；露天历史剧 | |
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193
regaining
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| 复得( regain的现在分词 )； 赢回； 重回； 复至某地 | |
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194
enraptured
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| v.使狂喜( enrapture的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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195
deafening
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| adj. 振耳欲聋的, 极喧闹的 动词deafen的现在分词形式 | |
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196
hospitable
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| adj.好客的；宽容的；有利的，适宜的 | |
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197
nurture
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| n.养育，照顾，教育；滋养，营养品；vt.养育，给与营养物，教养，扶持 | |
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198
lessen
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| vt.减少，减轻；缩小 | |
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199
procured
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| v.（努力）取得， （设法）获得( procure的过去式和过去分词 )；拉皮条 | |
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200
inclination
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| n.倾斜；点头；弯腰；斜坡；倾度；倾向；爱好 | |
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201
attachment
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| n.附属物，附件；依恋；依附 | |
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202
submission
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| n.服从，投降；温顺，谦虚；提出 | |
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203
obedience
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| n.服从，顺从 | |
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204
bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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205
persuasion
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| n.劝说；说服；持有某种信仰的宗派 | |
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206
importunity
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| n.硬要，强求 | |
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207
gentry
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| n.绅士阶级，上层阶级 | |
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208
domesticated
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| adj.喜欢家庭生活的；（指动物）被驯养了的v.驯化( domesticate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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209
hearth
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| n.壁炉炉床，壁炉地面 | |
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210
devoted
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| adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的 | |
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211
relinquishing
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| 交出，让给( relinquish的现在分词 )； 放弃 | |
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212
wince
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| n.畏缩，退避，（因痛苦，苦恼等)面部肌肉抽动；v.畏缩，退缩，退避 | |
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213
treasury
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| n.宝库；国库，金库；文库 | |
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214
ingenuity
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| n.别出心裁；善于发明创造 | |
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215
solitude
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| n. 孤独; 独居,荒僻之地,幽静的地方 | |
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216
galling
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| adj.难堪的,使烦恼的,使焦躁的 | |
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217
flaunted
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| v.炫耀，夸耀( flaunt的过去式和过去分词 )；有什么能耐就施展出来 | |
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218
strutted
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| 趾高气扬地走，高视阔步( strut的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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219
garb
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| n.服装，装束 | |
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220
impudence
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| n.厚颜无耻；冒失；无礼 | |
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221
dictated
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| v.大声讲或读( dictate的过去式和过去分词 )；口授；支配；摆布 | |
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222
kinsmen
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| n.家属，亲属( kinsman的名词复数 ) | |
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223
augment
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| vt.(使)增大，增加，增长，扩张 | |
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224
promotion
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| n.提升，晋级；促销，宣传 | |
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225
relish
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| n.滋味，享受，爱好，调味品；vt.加调味料，享受，品味；vi.有滋味 | |
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226
chivalrous
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| adj.武士精神的；对女人彬彬有礼的 | |
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227
delicacy
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| n.精致，细微，微妙，精良；美味，佳肴 | |
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228
expenditure
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| n.(时间、劳力、金钱等)支出；使用，消耗 | |
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229
chiding
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| v.责骂，责备( chide的现在分词 ) | |
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230
alas
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| int.唉(表示悲伤、忧愁、恐惧等) | |
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231
erred
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| 犯错误，做错事( err的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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232
unwilling
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| adj.不情愿的 | |
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233
unwillingly
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| adv.不情愿地 | |
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234
plunged
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| v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降 | |
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235
appalling
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| adj.骇人听闻的，令人震惊的，可怕的 | |
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236
bristle
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| v.（毛发）直立，气势汹汹，发怒；n.硬毛发 | |
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237
speculative
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| adj.思索性的，暝想性的，推理的 | |
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238
rendering
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| n.表现，描写 | |
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239
knoll
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| n.小山，小丘 | |
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240
scathed
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| v.伤害，损害（尤指使之枯萎）( scathe的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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241
dense
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| a.密集的，稠密的，浓密的；密度大的 | |
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242
thrifty
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| adj.节俭的；兴旺的；健壮的 | |
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243
joyous
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| adj.充满快乐的；令人高兴的 | |
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244
recurrence
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| n.复发，反复，重现 | |
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245
shrill
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| adj.尖声的；刺耳的；v尖叫 | |
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246
lament
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| n.悲叹，悔恨，恸哭；v.哀悼，悔恨，悲叹 | |
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247
glamour
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| n.魔力，魅力；vt.迷住 | |
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248
beholds
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| v.看，注视( behold的第三人称单数 )；瞧；看呀；（叙述中用于引出某人意外的出现）哎哟 | |
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249
witchcraft
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| n.魔法，巫术 | |
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250
agitate
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| vi.(for,against)煽动，鼓动；vt.搅动 | |
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251
foul
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| adj.污秽的；邪恶的；v.弄脏；妨害；犯规；n.犯规 | |
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252
corpse
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| n.尸体，死尸 | |
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253
momentary
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| adj.片刻的，瞬息的；短暂的 | |
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254
blessing
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| n.祈神赐福；祷告；祝福，祝愿 | |
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255
potent
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| adj.强有力的，有权势的；有效力的 | |
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256
potently
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257
wailed
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| v.哭叫，哀号( wail的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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258
salvation
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| n.（尤指基督）救世，超度，拯救，解困 | |
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259
veins
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| n.纹理；矿脉( vein的名词复数 )；静脉；叶脉；纹理 | |
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260
exhausted
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| adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的 | |
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261
unnatural
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| adj.不自然的；反常的 | |
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262
brink
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| n.(悬崖、河流等的)边缘，边沿 | |
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263
impelled
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| v.推动、推进或敦促某人做某事( impel的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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264
perspiration
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| n.汗水；出汗 | |
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265
chattered
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| （人）喋喋不休( chatter的过去式 )； 唠叨； （牙齿）打战； （机器）震颤 | |
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266
clenching
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| v.紧握，抓紧，咬紧( clench的现在分词 ) | |
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267
enchantment
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| n.迷惑，妖术，魅力 | |
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268
backwards
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| adv.往回地，向原处，倒，相反，前后倒置地 | |
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269
murmurs
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| n.低沉、连续而不清的声音( murmur的名词复数 )；低语声；怨言；嘀咕 | |
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270
obstructed
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| 阻塞( obstruct的过去式和过去分词 )； 堵塞； 阻碍； 阻止 | |
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271
chamber
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| n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所 | |
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272
possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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273
wrestle
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| vi.摔跤，角力；搏斗；全力对付 | |
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274
entangled
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| adj.卷入的；陷入的；被缠住的；缠在一起的v.使某人（某物/自己）缠绕，纠缠于（某物中），使某人（自己）陷入（困难或复杂的环境中）( entangle的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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275
illuminated
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| adj.被照明的；受启迪的 | |
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276
pellucid
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| adj.透明的，简单的 | |
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277
luminary
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| n.名人，天体 | |
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278
innocence
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| n.无罪；天真；无害 | |
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279
casement
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| n.竖铰链窗；窗扉 | |
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280
raven
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| n.渡鸟，乌鸦；adj.乌亮的 | |
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281
confinement
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| n.幽禁，拘留，监禁；分娩；限制，局限 | |
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282
exquisitely
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| adv.精致地；强烈地；剧烈地；异常地 | |
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283
posture
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| n.姿势，姿态，心态，态度；v.作出某种姿势 | |
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284
potency
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| n. 效力，潜能 | |
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285
eddies
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| （水、烟等的）漩涡，涡流( eddy的名词复数 ) | |
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286
distilled
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| adj.由蒸馏得来的v.蒸馏( distil的过去式和过去分词 )；从…提取精华 | |
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287
velvet
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| n.丝绒，天鹅绒；adj.丝绒制的，柔软的 | |
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288
mantle
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| n.斗篷，覆罩之物，罩子；v.罩住，覆盖，脸红 | |
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289
propensity
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| n.倾向；习性 | |
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290
traitor
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| n.叛徒，卖国贼 | |
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291
anguish
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| n.(尤指心灵上的)极度痛苦，烦恼 | |
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292
repose
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| v.(使)休息；n.安息 | |
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293
malady
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| n.病，疾病(通常做比喻) | |
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294
knolls
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| n.小圆丘，小土墩( knoll的名词复数 ) | |
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295
sublimely
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| 高尚地，卓越地 | |
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296
haven
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| n.安全的地方，避难所，庇护所 | |
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297
portentous
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| adj.不祥的，可怕的，装腔作势的 | |
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298
poised
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| a.摆好姿势不动的 | |
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299
benighted
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| adj.蒙昧的 | |
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300
clenched
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| v.紧握，抓紧，咬紧( clench的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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301
virgin
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| n.处女，未婚女子；adj.未经使用的；未经开发的 | |
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302
ripple
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| n.涟波，涟漪，波纹，粗钢梳；vt.使...起涟漪，使起波纹； vi.呈波浪状，起伏前进 | |
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303
hoarsely
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| adv.嘶哑地 | |
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304
croaking
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| v.呱呱地叫( croak的现在分词 )；用粗的声音说 | |
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305
spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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306
margin
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| n.页边空白；差额；余地，余裕；边，边缘 | |
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307
scrambled
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| v.快速爬行( scramble的过去式和过去分词 )；攀登；争夺；（军事飞机）紧急起飞 | |
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308
eddy
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| n.漩涡，涡流 | |
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309
twig
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| n.小树枝，嫩枝；v.理解 | |
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310
alder
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| n.赤杨树 | |
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311
enchantments
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| n.魅力( enchantment的名词复数 )；迷人之处；施魔法；着魔 | |
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312
blotted
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| 涂污( blot的过去式和过去分词 )； （用吸墨纸）吸干 | |
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313
firmament
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| n.苍穹；最高层 | |
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314
remorse
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| n.痛恨，悔恨，自责 | |
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