The children, therefore, all loved Philip, and yet they turned with delight, when out-door pleasures were in hand, to the strong and adroit4 Harry5. Philip inclined to the daintier exercises, fencing, billiards6, riding; but Harry’s vigorous physique enjoyed hard work. He taught all the household to swim, for instance. Jenny, aged7 five, a sturdy, deep-chested little thing, seemed as amphibious as himself. She could already swim alone, but she liked to keep close to him, as all young animals do to their elders in the water, not seeming to need actual support, but stronger for the contact. Her favorite position, however, was on his back, where she triumphantly8 clung, grasping his bathing-dress with one hand, swinging herself to and fro, dipping her head beneath the water, singing and shouting, easily shifting her position when he wished to vary his, and floating by him like a little fish, when he was tired of supporting her. It was pretty to see the child in her one little crimson9 garment, her face flushed with delight, her fair hair glistening10 from the water, and the waves rippling11 and dancing round her buoyant form. As Harry swam farther and farther out, his head was hidden from view by her small person, and she might have passed for a red seabird rocking on the gentle waves. It was one of the regular delights of the household to see them bathe.
Kate came in to Aunt Jane’s room, one August morning, to say that they were going to the water-side. How differently people may enter a room! Hope always came in as the summer breeze comes, quiet, strong, soft, fragrant12, resistless. Emilia never seemed to come in at all; you looked up, and she had somehow drifted where she stood, pleading, evasive, lovely. This was especially the case where one person was awaiting her alone; with two she was more fearless, with a dozen she was buoyant, and with a hundred she forgot herself utterly13 and was a spirit of irresistible14 delight.
But Kate entered any room, whether nursery or kitchen, as if it were the private boudoir of a princess and she the favorite maid of honor. Thus it was she came that morning to Aunt Jane.
“We are going down to see the bathers, dear,” said Kate. “Shall you miss me?”
“I miss you every minute,” said her aunt, decisively. “But I shall do very well. I have delightful15 times here by myself. What a ridiculous man it was who said that it was impossible to imagine a woman’s laughing at her own comic fancies. I sit and laugh at my own nonsense very often.”
“It is a shame to waste it,” said Kate.
“It is a blessing16 that any of it is disposed of while you are not here,” said Aunt Jane. “You have quite enough of it.”
“We never have enough,” said Kate. “And we never can make you repeat any of yesterday’s.”
“Of course not,” said Aunt Jane. “Nonsense must have the dew on it, or it is good for nothing.”
“So you are really happiest alone?”
“Not so happy as when you are with me,—you or Hope. I like to have Hope with me now; she does me good. Really, I do not care for anybody else. Sometimes I think if I could always have four or five young kittens by me, in a champagne-basket, with a nurse to watch them, I should be happier. But perhaps not; they would grow up so fast!”
“Then I will leave you alone without compunction,” said Kate.
“I am not alone,” said Aunt Jane; “I have my man in the boat to watch through the window. What a singular being he is! I think he spends hours in that boat, and what he does I can’t conceive. There it is, quietly anchored, and there is he in it. I never saw anybody but myself who could get up so much industry out of nothing. He has all his housework there, a broom and a duster, and I dare say he has a cooking-stove and a gridiron. He sits a little while, then he stoops down, then he goes to the other end. Sometimes he goes ashore18 in that absurd little tub, with a stick that he twirls at one end.”
“That is called sculling,” interrupted Kate.
“Sculling! I suppose he runs for a baked potato. Then he goes back. He is Robinson Crusoe on an island that never keeps still a single instant. It is all he has, and he never looks away, and never wants anything more. So I have him to watch. Think of living so near a beaver19 or a water-rat with clothes on! Good-by. Leave the door ajar, it is so warm.”
And Kate went down to the landing. It was near the “baptismal shore,” where every Sunday the young people used to watch the immersions; they liked to see the crowd of spectators, the eager friends, the dripping convert, the serene20 young minister, the old men and girls who burst forth21 in song as the new disciple22 rose from the waves. It was the weekly festival in that region, and the sunshine and the ripples23 made it gladdening, not gloomy. Every other day in the week the children of the fishermen waded24 waist-deep in the water, and played at baptism.
Near this shore stood the family bathing-house; and the girls came down to sit in its shadow and watch the swimming. It was late in August, and on the first of September Emilia was to be married.
Nothing looked cool, that day, but the bay and those who were going into it. Out came Hope from the bathing-house, in a new bathing-dress of dark blue, which was evidently what the others had come forth to behold25.
“Hope, what an imposter you are!” cried Kate instantly. “You declined all my proffers26 of aid in cutting that dress, and now see how it fits you! You never looked so beautifully in your life. There is not such another bathing-dress in Oldport, nor such a figure to wear it.”
And she put both her arms round that supple27, stately waist, that might have belonged to a Greek goddess, or to some queen in the Nibelungen Lied.
The party watched the swimmers as they struck out over the clear expanse. It was high noon; the fishing-boats were all off, but a few pleasure-boats swung different ways at their moorings, in the perfect calm. The white light-house stood reflected opposite, at the end of its long pier17; a few vessels29 lay at anchor, with their sails up to dry, but with that deserted30 look which coasters in port are wont31 to wear. A few fishes dimpled the still surface, and as the three swam out farther and farther, their merry voices still sounded close at hand. Suddenly they all clapped their hands and called; then pointed32 forward to the light-house, across the narrow harbor.
“They are going to swim across,” said Kate. “What creatures they are! Hope and little Jenny have always begged for it, and now Harry thinks it is so still a day they can safely venture. It is more than half a mile. See! he has called that boy in a boat, and he will keep near them. They have swum farther than that along the shore.”
So the others went away with no fears.
Hope said afterwards that she never swam with such delight as on that day. The water seemed to be peculiarly thin and clear, she said, as well as tranquil33, and to retain its usual buoyancy without its density34. It gave a delicious sense of freedom; she seemed to swim in air, and felt singularly secure. For the first time she felt what she had always wished to experience,—that swimming was as natural as walking, and might be indefinitely prolonged. Her strength seemed limitless, she struck out more and more strongly; she splashed and played with little Jenny, when the child began to grow weary of the long motion. A fisherman’s boy in a boat rowed slowly along by their side.
Nine tenths of the distance had been accomplished35, when the little girl grew quite impatient, and Hope bade Harry swim on before her, and land his charge. Light and buoyant as the child was, her tightened36 clasp had begun to tell on him.
“It tires you, Hal, to bear that weight so long, and you know I have nothing to carry. You must see that I am not in the least tired, only a little dazzled by the sun. Here, Charley, give me your hat, and then row on with Mr. Harry.” She put on the boy’s torn straw hat, and they yielded to her wish. People almost always yielded to Hope’s wishes when she expressed them,—it was so very seldom.
Somehow the remaining distance seemed very great, as Hope saw them glide37 away, leaving her in the water alone, her feet unsupported by any firm element, the bright and pitiless sky arching far above her, and her head burning with more heat than she had liked to own. She was conscious of her full strength, and swam more vigorously than ever; but her head was hot and her ears rang, and she felt chilly38 vibrations39 passing up and down her sides, that were like, she fancied, the innumerable fringing oars40 of the little jelly-fishes she had so often watched. Her body felt almost unnaturally41 strong, and she took powerful strokes; but it seemed as if her heart went out into them and left a vacant cavity within. More and more her life seemed boiling up into her head; queer fancies came to her, as, for instance, that she was an inverted42 thermometer with the mercury all ascending43 into a bulb at the top. She shook her head and the fancy cleared away, and then others came.
She began to grow seriously anxious, but the distance was diminishing; Harry was almost at the steps with the child, and the boy had rowed his skiff round the breakwater out of sight; a young fisherman leaned over the railing with his back to her, watching the lobster-catchers on the other side. She was almost in; it was only a slight dizziness, yet she could not see the light-house. Concentrating all her efforts, she shut her eyes and swam on, her arms still unaccountably vigorous, though the rest of her body seemed losing itself in languor44. The sound in her ear had grown to a roar, as of many mill-wheels. It seemed a long distance that she thus swam with her eyes closed. Then she half opened her eyes, and the breakwater seemed all in motion, with tier above tier of eager faces looking down on her. In an instant there was a sharp splash close beside her, and she felt herself grasped and drawn45 downwards46, with a whirl of something just above her, and then all consciousness went out as suddenly as when ether brings at last to a patient, after the roaring and the tumult47 in his brain, its blessed foretaste of the deliciousness of death.
When Hope came again to consciousness, she found herself approaching her own pier in a sail-boat, with several very wet gentlemen around her, and little Jenny nestled close to her, crying as profusely48 as if her pretty scarlet49 bathing-dress were being wrung50 out through her eyes. Hope asked no questions, and hardly felt the impulse to inquire what had happened. The truth was, that in the temporary dizziness produced by her prolonged swim, she had found herself in the track of a steamboat that was passing the pier, unobserved by her brother. A young man, leaping from the dock, had caught her in his arms, and had dived with her below the paddle-wheels, just as they came upon her. It was a daring act, but nothing else could have saved her. When they came to the surface, they had been picked up by Aunt Jane’s Robinson Crusoe, who had at last unmoored his pilot-boat and was rounding the light-house for the outer harbor.
She and the child were soon landed, and given over to the ladies. Due attention was paid to her young rescuer, whose dripping garments seemed for the moment as glorious as a blood-stained flag. He seemed a simple, frank young fellow of French or German origin, but speaking English remarkably51 well; he was not high-bred, by any means, but had apparently52 the culture of an average German of the middle class. Harry fancied that he had seen him before, and at last traced back the impression of his features to the ball for the French officers. It turned out, on inquiry53, that he had a brother in the service, and on board the corvette; but he himself was a commercial agent, now in America with a view to business, though he had made several voyages as mate of a vessel28, and would not object to some such berth54 as that. He promised to return and receive the thanks of the family, read with interest the name on Harry’s card, seemed about to ask a question, but forbore, and took his leave amid the general confusion, without even giving his address. When sought next day, he was not to be found, and to the children he at once became as much a creature of romance as the sea-serpent or the Flying Dutchman.
Even Hope’s strong constitution felt the shock of this adventure. She was confined to her room for a week or two, but begged that there might be no postponement55 of the wedding, which, therefore, took place without her. Her illness gave excuse for a privacy that was welcome to all but the bridesmaids, and suited Malbone best of all.
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1
devoted
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| adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的 | |
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stature
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| n.（高度）水平，（高度）境界，身高，身材 | |
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virtue
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| n.德行，美德；贞操；优点；功效，效力 | |
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adroit
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| adj.熟练的，灵巧的 | |
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harry
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| vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼 | |
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billiards
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| n.台球 | |
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7
aged
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| adj.年老的，陈年的 | |
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8
triumphantly
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| ad.得意洋洋地；得胜地；成功地 | |
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crimson
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| n./adj.深(绯)红色(的)；vi.脸变绯红色 | |
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10
glistening
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| adj.闪耀的，反光的v.湿物闪耀，闪亮( glisten的现在分词 ) | |
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11
rippling
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| 起涟漪的，潺潺流水般声音的 | |
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fragrant
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| adj.芬香的，馥郁的，愉快的 | |
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13
utterly
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| adv.完全地，绝对地 | |
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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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15
delightful
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| adj.令人高兴的，使人快乐的 | |
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16
blessing
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| n.祈神赐福；祷告；祝福，祝愿 | |
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17
pier
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| n.码头；桥墩，桥柱；[建]窗间壁，支柱 | |
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ashore
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| adv.在(向)岸上，上岸 | |
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beaver
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| n.海狸，河狸 | |
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20
serene
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| adj. 安详的，宁静的，平静的 | |
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forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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disciple
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| n.信徒，门徒，追随者 | |
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ripples
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| 逐渐扩散的感觉( ripple的名词复数 ) | |
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waded
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| （从水、泥等）蹚，走过，跋( wade的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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behold
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| v.看，注视，看到 | |
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proffers
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| v.提供，贡献，提出( proffer的第三人称单数 ) | |
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supple
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| adj.柔软的，易弯的，逢迎的，顺从的，灵活的；vt.使柔软，使柔顺，使顺从；vi.变柔软，变柔顺 | |
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28
vessel
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| n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管 | |
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vessels
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| n.血管( vessel的名词复数 )；船；容器；（具有特殊品质或接受特殊品质的）人 | |
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30
deserted
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| adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的 | |
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wont
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| adj.习惯于；v.习惯；n.习惯 | |
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pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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tranquil
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| adj. 安静的, 宁静的, 稳定的, 不变的 | |
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density
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| n.密集，密度，浓度 | |
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accomplished
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| adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的 | |
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36
tightened
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| 收紧( tighten的过去式和过去分词 )； （使）变紧； （使）绷紧； 加紧 | |
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glide
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| n./v.溜，滑行；(时间)消逝 | |
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chilly
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| adj.凉快的，寒冷的 | |
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vibrations
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| n.摆动( vibration的名词复数 )；震动；感受；（偏离平衡位置的）一次性往复振动 | |
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40
oars
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| n.桨，橹( oar的名词复数 )；划手v.划（行）( oar的第三人称单数 ) | |
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41
unnaturally
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| adv.违反习俗地；不自然地；勉强地；不近人情地 | |
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42
inverted
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| adj.反向的，倒转的v.使倒置，使反转( invert的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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43
ascending
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| adj.上升的，向上的 | |
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languor
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| n.无精力，倦怠 | |
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45
drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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46
downwards
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| adj./adv.向下的（地），下行的（地） | |
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47
tumult
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| n.喧哗；激动，混乱；吵闹 | |
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48
profusely
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| ad.abundantly | |
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49
scarlet
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| n.深红色，绯红色，红衣；adj.绯红色的 | |
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50
wrung
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| 绞( wring的过去式和过去分词 )； 握紧（尤指别人的手）； 把（湿衣服）拧干； 绞掉（水） | |
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51
remarkably
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| ad.不同寻常地，相当地 | |
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52
apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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53
inquiry
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| n.打听，询问，调查，查问 | |
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54
berth
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| n.卧铺，停泊地，锚位；v.使停泊 | |
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55
postponement
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| n.推迟 | |
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