All that night I seemed to dream, my mind working eternally round the data of the day; hundreds of different relationships between Gormala, Lauchlane Macleod, Lammas-tide, the moon and the secrets of the sea revolved11 before me. It was grey morning before I fell asleep to the occasional chirping12 of the earliest birds.
As sometimes happens after a night of uneasy dreaming of some disturbing topic, the reaction of the morning carried oblivion with it. It was well into the afternoon when all at once I remembered the existence of the witch-woman—for as such I was beginning to think of Gormala. The thought came accompanied by a sense of oppression which was not of fear, but which was certainly of uneasiness. Was it possible that the woman had in some way, or to some degree, hypnotised me. I remembered with a slightly nervous feeling how the evening before I had stopped on the roadway obedient to her will, and how I had lost the identity of my surroundings in her presence. A sudden idea struck me; I went to the window and looked out. For an instant my heart seemed to be still.
Just opposite the house stood Gormala, motionless. I went out at once and joined her, and instinctively13 we turned our steps toward the sand-hills. As we walked along I said to her:
“Where did you disappear to last night?”
“About that which is to be done!” Her lips and her face were set; I knew it was no use following up that branch of the subject, so I asked again:
[25]
“What did you mean by those verses which you told me?” Her answer was given in a solemn tone:
“Them that made them alone can tell; until the time shall come!”
“Who made them?”
“Then how did you come to know them?” There was a distinct note of pride in her answer. Such a note as might be expected from a prince speaking of his ancestry15:
“They hae come doon to me through centuries. Frae mither to dochter, and from mither to dochter again, wi’ never a break in the lang line o’ the tellin’. Know ye, young master, that I am o’ a race o’ Seers. I take my name from that Gormala o’ Uist who through long years foresaw the passing o’ mony a one. That Gormala who throughout the islands of the west was known and feared o’ all men; that Gormala whose mither’s mither, and mither’s mither again, away back into the darkness o’ time when coracles crept towards the sunset ower the sea and returned not, held the fates o’ men and women in their han’s and ruled the Mysteries o’ the Sea.” As it was evident that Gormala must have in her own mind some kind of meaning of the prophecy, or spell, or whatever it was, I asked her again:
“But you must understand something of the meaning, or you would not attach so much importance to it?”
“I ken16 naught17 but what is seen to ma een, and to that inner e’e which telleth tae the soul that which it seeth!”
“Then why did you warn me that Lammas-tide was near at hand?” The grim woman actually smiled as she replied:
“Did ye no hearken to the words spoken of the Lammas floods, which be of the Powers that rule the Spell?”
[26]
“Well, the fact is that I don’t know anything of ‘Lammas-tide!’ We do not keep it in the Church of England,” I added as an afterthought, explanatory of my ignorance. Gormala was clever enough to take advantage of having caught me in a weak place; so she took advantage of it to turn the conversation into the way she wished herself:
“What saw ye, when Lauchlane Macleod grew sma’ in yer een, and girt again?”
“Simply, that he seemed to be all at once a tiny image of himself, seen against a waste of ripe corn.” Then it struck me that I had not as yet told her or any one else of what I had seen. How then did she know it? I was annoyed and asked her. She answered scornfully:
“How kent I it, an’ me a Seer o’ a race o’ Seers! Are ma wakin’ een then so dim or so sma’ that I canna read the thochts o’ men in the glances o’ their een. Did I no see yer een look near an’ far as quick as thocht? But what saw ye after, when ye looked rapt and yer een peered side to side, as though at one lyin’ prone18?” I was more annoyed than ever and answered her in a sort of stupor19:
“I saw him lying dead on a rock, with a swift tide running by; and over the waters the broken track of a golden moon.” She made a sound which was almost a cry, and which recalled me to myself as I looked at her. She was ablaze20. She towered to her full height with an imperious, exultant21 mien22; the light in her eyes was more than human as she said:
“Dead, as I masel’ saw him an’ ’mid the foam23 o’ the tide race! An’ gowd, always gowd ahint him in the een of this greater Seer. Gowden corn, and gowden moon, and gowden sea! Aye! an’ I see it now, backie-bird that I hae been; the gowden mon indeed, wi’ his[27] gowden een an’ his gowden hair and all the truth o’ his gowden life!” Then turning to me she said fiercely:
“Why did I warn ye that Lammas-tide was near? Go ask those that value the months and days thereof, when be Lammas and what it means to them that hae faith. See what they are; learn o’ the comin’ o’ the moon and o’ the flowin’ o’ the tides that follow!”
Without another word she turned and left me.
I went back to the hotel at once, determined24 to post myself as to Lammas-tide; its facts and constitutions, and the beliefs and traditions that hung around it. Also to learn the hours of the tides, and the age of the moon about the time of Lammas-tide. Doubtless I could have found out all I wanted from some of the ministers of the various houses of religion which hold in Cruden; but I was not wishful to make public, even so far, the mystery which was closing around me. My feeling was partly a saving sense of humour, or the fear of ridicule25, and partly a genuine repugnance26 to enter upon the subject with any one who might not take it as seriously as I could wish. From which latter I gather that the whole affair was becoming woven into the structure of my life.
Possibly it was, that some trait, or tendency, or power which was individual to me was beginning to manifest itself and to find its means of expression. In my secret heart I not only believed but knew that some instinct within me was guiding my thoughts in some strange way. The sense of occult power which is so vital a part of divination27 was growing within me and asserting its masterdom, and with it came an equally forceful desire of secrecy28. The Seer in me, latent so long, was becoming conscious of his strength, and jealous of it.
At this time, as the feeling of strength and consciousness grew, it seemed to lose something of its power from this very cause. Gradually it was forced upon me that[28] for the full manifestation of such faculty29 as I might possess, some kind of abstraction or surrender of self was necessary. Even a few hours of experience had taught me much; for now that my mind was bent30 on the phenomena31 of Second Sight the whole living and moving world around me became a veritable diorama of possibilities. Within two days from the episode at the Pier head I had had behind me a larger experience of effort of occult force than generally comes to a man in a lifetime. When I look back, it seems to me that all the forces of life and nature became exposed to my view. A thousand things which hitherto I had accepted in simple faith as facts, were pregnant with new meanings. I began to understand that the whole earth and sea, and air—all that of which human beings generally ordinarily take cognisance, is but a film or crust which hides the deeper moving powers or forces. With this insight I began to understand the grand guesses of the Pantheists, pagan and christian32 alike, who out of their spiritual and nervous and intellectual sensitiveness began to realise that there was somewhere a purposeful cause of universal action. An action which in its special or concrete working appeared like the sentience33 of nature in general, and of the myriad34 items of its cosmogony.
I soon learned that Lammas day is the first of August and is so often accompanied by heavy weather that Lammas floods are almost annually35 recurrent. The eve of the day is more or less connected with various superstitions36.
This made me more eager for further information, and by the aid of a chance friend, I unearthed38 at Aberdeen a learned professor who gave me offhand39 all the information which I desired. In fact he was so full of astronomical40 learning that I had to stop him now and again in order to elucidate41 some point easily explainable to those[29] who understood his terminology42, but which wrapped my swaddling knowledge in a mystery all its own. I have a sneaking43 friendliness44 even now for anyone to whom the word ‘syzygy’ carries no special meaning.
I got at the bases of facts, however, and understood that on the night of July 31, which was the eve of Lammas-tide, the moon would be full at midnight. I learned also that from certain astronomical reasons the tide which would ostensibly begin its flow a little after midnight would in reality commence just on the stroke. As these were the points which concerned me I came away with a new feeling of awe45 upon me. It seemed as though the heavens as well as the earth were bending towards the realisation or fulfillment of the old prophecy. At this time my own connection with the mystery, or how it might affect me personally, did not even enter my head. I was content to be an obedient item in the general scheme of things.
It was now the 28th July so, if it were to take place at the Lammas-tide of the current year, we should know soon the full measure of the denouêment. There was but one thing wanting to complete the conditions of the prophecy. The weather had been abnormally dry, and there might after all be no Lammas floods. To-day, however, the sky had been heavily overcast46. Great black clouds which seemed to roll along tumbling over and over, as the sail of a foundered47 boat does in a current, loomed48 up from the west. The air grew closer, and to breathe was an effort. A sort of shiver came over the wide stretch of open country. Darker and darker grew the sky, till it seemed so like night that the birds in the few low-lying coppices and the scanty49 hedgerows ceased to sing. The bleat50 of sheep and the low of cattle seemed to boom through the still air with a hollow sound, as if coming from a distance. The intolerable stillness which[30] precedes the storm became so oppressive that I, who am abnormally susceptible51 to the moods of nature, could almost have screamed out.
Then all at once the storm broke. There was a flash of lightning so vivid that it lit up the whole country away to the mountains which encircle Braemar. The fierce crash and wide roll of the thunder followed with incredible quickness. And then the hot, heavy-dropped summer rain fell in torrents52.
All that afternoon the rain fell, with only a few brief intervals53 of glowing sunshine. All night, too, it seemed to fall without ceasing, for whenever I woke—which I did frequently with a sense over me of something impending—I could hear the quick, heavy patter on the roof, and the rush and gurgle of the overcharged gutters54.
The next day was one of unmitigated gloom. The rain poured down ceaselessly. There was little wind, just sufficient to roll north-eastwards the great masses of rain-laden clouds piled up by the Gulf55 Stream against the rugged56 mountains of the western coast and its rocky islands. Two whole days there were of such rain, and then there was no doubt as to the strength of the Lammas floods this year. All the wide uplands of Buchan were glistening57 with runnels of water whenever the occasional glimpses of sunshine struck them. Both the Water of Cruden and the Back Burn were running bank high. On all sides it was reported that the Lammas floods were the greatest that had been known in memory.
All this time my own spiritual and intellectual uneasiness was perpetually growing. The data for the working of the prophecy were all fixed with remarkable58 exactness. In theatrical59 parlance60 ‘the stage was set’ and all ready for the action which was to come. As the hours wore on, my uneasiness changed somewhat and apprehension61 became merged62 in a curious mixture of[31] superstition37 and exaltation. I was growing eager to the coming time.
The afternoon of July 31 was fine. The sun shone brightly; the air was dry and, for the time of year, cool. It seemed as though the spell of wet weather was over and that fiery63 August was coming to its own again. The effects of the rainstorm were, however, manifest. Not only was every rill and stream and river in the North in spate64 but the bogs65 of the mountains were so saturated66 with wet that many days must elapse before they could cease to send their quota67 to swell68 the streams. The mountain valleys were generally lakes in miniature. As one went through the country the murmur69 or rush of falling water was forever in the ears. I suppose it was in my own case partly because I was concerned in the mere6 existence of Lammas floods that the whole of nature seemed so insistent70 on the subject. The sound of moving water in its myriad gamut71 was so perpetually in my ears that I could never get my mind away from it. I had a long walk that afternoon through roads still too wet and heavy for bicycling. I came back to dinner thoroughly72 tired out, and went to bed early.
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1
doomed
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| 命定的 | |
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2
manifestation
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| n.表现形式；表明；现象 | |
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momentary
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| adj.片刻的，瞬息的；短暂的 | |
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pier
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| n.码头；桥墩，桥柱；[建]窗间壁，支柱 | |
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sterling
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| adj.英币的(纯粹的，货真价实的)；n.英国货币(英镑) | |
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mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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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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fathoming
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| 测量 | |
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9
poise
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| vt./vi. 平衡，保持平衡；n.泰然自若，自信 | |
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10
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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revolved
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| v.（使）旋转( revolve的过去式和过去分词 )；细想 | |
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12
chirping
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| 鸟叫，虫鸣( chirp的现在分词 ) | |
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instinctively
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| adv.本能地 | |
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14
isles
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| 岛( isle的名词复数 ) | |
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15
ancestry
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| n.祖先，家世 | |
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ken
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| n.视野，知识领域 | |
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naught
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| n.无，零 [=nought] | |
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prone
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| adj.(to)易于…的，很可能…的；俯卧的 | |
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19
stupor
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| v.昏迷；不省人事 | |
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20
ablaze
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| adj.着火的，燃烧的；闪耀的，灯火辉煌的 | |
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21
exultant
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| adj.欢腾的，狂欢的，大喜的 | |
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mien
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| n.风采；态度 | |
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foam
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| v./n.泡沫，起泡沫 | |
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determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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ridicule
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| v.讥讽，挖苦；n.嘲弄 | |
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repugnance
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| n.嫌恶 | |
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divination
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| n.占卜，预测 | |
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28
secrecy
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| n.秘密，保密，隐蔽 | |
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29
faculty
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| n.才能；学院，系；(学院或系的)全体教学人员 | |
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30
bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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phenomena
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| n.现象 | |
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Christian
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| adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒 | |
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33
sentience
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| n.感觉性；感觉能力；知觉 | |
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myriad
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| adj.无数的；n.无数，极大数量 | |
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annually
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| adv.一年一次，每年 | |
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36
superstitions
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| 迷信，迷信行为( superstition的名词复数 ) | |
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superstition
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| n.迷信，迷信行为 | |
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unearthed
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| 出土的（考古） | |
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offhand
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| adj.临时，无准备的；随便，马虎的 | |
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40
astronomical
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| adj.天文学的，（数字）极大的 | |
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41
elucidate
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| v.阐明，说明 | |
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42
terminology
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| n.术语；专有名词 | |
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43
sneaking
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| a.秘密的，不公开的 | |
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44
friendliness
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| n.友谊，亲切，亲密 | |
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45
awe
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| n.敬畏，惊惧；vt.使敬畏，使惊惧 | |
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46
overcast
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| adj.阴天的，阴暗的，愁闷的；v.遮盖，（使）变暗，包边缝；n.覆盖，阴天 | |
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47
foundered
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| v.创始人( founder的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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48
loomed
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| v.隐约出现，阴森地逼近( loom的过去式和过去分词 )；隐约出现，阴森地逼近 | |
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49
scanty
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| adj.缺乏的，仅有的，节省的，狭小的，不够的 | |
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50
bleat
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| v.咩咩叫，(讲)废话，哭诉；n.咩咩叫，废话，哭诉 | |
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51
susceptible
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| adj.过敏的，敏感的；易动感情的，易受感动的 | |
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52
torrents
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| n.倾注；奔流( torrent的名词复数 )；急流；爆发；连续不断 | |
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53
intervals
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| n.[军事]间隔( interval的名词复数 )；间隔时间；[数学]区间；（戏剧、电影或音乐会的）幕间休息 | |
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54
gutters
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| （路边）排水沟( gutter的名词复数 )； 阴沟； （屋顶的）天沟； 贫贱的境地 | |
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55
gulf
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| n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂 | |
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56
rugged
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| adj.高低不平的，粗糙的，粗壮的，强健的 | |
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57
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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58
remarkable
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| adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的 | |
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59
theatrical
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| adj.剧场的，演戏的；做戏似的，做作的 | |
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60
parlance
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| n.说法；语调 | |
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61
apprehension
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| n.理解，领悟；逮捕，拘捕；忧虑 | |
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62
merged
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| （使）混合( merge的过去式和过去分词 )； 相融； 融入； 渐渐消失在某物中 | |
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63
fiery
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| adj.燃烧着的，火红的；暴躁的；激烈的 | |
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64
spate
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| n.泛滥，洪水，突然的一阵 | |
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65
bogs
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| n.沼泽，泥塘( bog的名词复数 )；厕所v.（使）陷入泥沼， （使）陷入困境( bog的第三人称单数 )；妨碍，阻碍 | |
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66
saturated
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| a.饱和的，充满的 | |
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67
quota
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| n.（生产、进出口等的）配额，（移民的）限额 | |
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68
swell
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| vi.膨胀，肿胀；增长，增强 | |
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69
murmur
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| n.低语，低声的怨言；v.低语，低声而言 | |
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70
insistent
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| adj.迫切的，坚持的 | |
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71
gamut
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| n.全音阶，(一领域的)全部知识 | |
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thoroughly
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| adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地 | |
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