“Oh, the woes1 of having a learned father!” she sighed. “Here is Joe’s letter, telling me how everything is starting up at home; and here am I, Nancy Howard, buried in this picturesque2, polyglot3 wilderness4, just because my sire feels himself moved to take a vacation from medicine in order to study history at first hand! I wish he would let his stupid monograph5 go to the winds, and take me home in time for the Leighton’s dinner, next week.”
She picked up the scattered6 sheets of her letter and ran them over once more, holding up her left hand, as she did so, to cut off the dazzling sunshine from the white paper. It was a pretty hand, slim, strong and tapering7. Prettier still was her head, erect8 and crowned with piles of reddish-brown hair. It was not without apparent reason that Nancy Howard had been, for the past year, one of the most popular girls of her social circle at home.
At the third page, her brows wrinkled thoughtfully. Dropping the loose sheets into her lap, she once more fell to musing9 aloud.
“It does seem to me that Joe is seeing a good deal of Persis Routh. I never thought he liked her especially well. But anyway I am out of all the fun. Space isn’t the only thing that makes distance. Up here, I am at least two hundred years away from home. How long have I been here? Eight, no, nine days.” Suddenly she laughed. “At least, it has been a period of fasting and meditation10. I believe I’ll count it as a novena to the Good Sainte Anne. Perhaps she will manufacture a miracle in my behalf, and get up a little excitement for me. Fancy an excitement in this place!”
“B’jour, mam’selle.”
Nancy turned alertly, as the voice broke in upon her musings.
“Bon jour, madame,” she answered, with a painstaking12 French which laid careful stress upon each silent letter and separated the words into an equal number of distinct sentences. At present, it was her latest linguistic13 accomplishment14, and she aired it with manifest pride.
Pausing midway over the stile, the old woman brushed her face with the apron15 that hung above her tucked-up skirt.
“Why not you go to the church?” she asked.
Nancy breathed a sigh of relief, as the talk lapsed16 into her mother tongue. Like most Americans, she preferred that conversational17 eccentricities18 should be entirely19 upon the other side, and she questioned how far she could go upon the strength of her own three words. Nevertheless, she framed her reply on the idioms of her companion.
“Why for should I go?”
The woman set down her pail of water on the top step of the stile. Then she planted herself just below it, with her coarse boots resting on the crisp brown turf.
“We go to church, all the days,” she admonished20 Nancy sternly.
The girl smiled irrepressibly.
“So I have noticed,” she said, half under her breath. Then she added hastily, “But we do not.”
“Are you Catholique?”
Nancy shook her head.
“Too bad! But surely you can pray in any church.”
“No. No?” The second no was plainly interrogative. “But the Good Sainte Anne only does those miracle to them that pray without ceasing.”
The girl faced about sharply.
“Madame Gagnier, have you ever seen a miracle?”
“A real, true miracle?”
“Yes, so many.”
“Hh! I’d like to see one.”
Two keen old eyes peered up at her from beneath the wide hat.
“Mam’selle does not believe?”
There was reproach in the accent; but the girl answered undauntedly,—
“Not one bit. I’ll wait till I have seen one.”
“How shall you see, having no eyes at all?”
Nancy’s brown eyes snapped in defiant26 contradiction of the slight put upon them. It was no part of her plan to be drawn27 into theological discussion. However, theological discussion being forced upon her, she had no mind to give way. Motherless from her childhood, Nancy Howard had never been trained in the purely28 feminine grace of suppressing her opinions.
“I not only have eyes; but I have a little common sense,” she answered aggressively.
The next instant, she was conscious of a sudden wave of contrition29. Madame Gagnier unclasped her wrinkled hands and crossed herself devoutly30.
“Then may the Good Sainte Anne open your eyes!” she responded, with gentle simplicity31. “You carry her name. Pray that she take you under her protection, and work this miracle in your behalf. She is all-gracious, and her goodness has not any limits at all.”
Impulsively32 the girl rose from her seat on the ground, crossed to the stile and dropped down on its lowest step.
“Madame Gagnier, I was very rude,” she said, with equal simplicity.
Then silence dropped over them, the silence of the country and of the past. Forgetful of the letter she had let slip to the ground, forgetful of the coarse, mannish boots beside her own dainty ties, the girl allowed her gaze to wander back and forth33 across the view. It had grown so familiar to her during the last nine days, interminable days to the energetic, society-loving American girl who had chafed34 at her exile from the early gayeties of the awakening35 season in town.
Fifty feet away stood her temporary prison, a long, narrow stone house coated with shining white plaster. Above its single story, the pointed36 roof shot up sharply, broken by two dormer windows and topped with a chimney at either end, the one of stone, the other of brick. The palings in front of the house were white, dotted with their dark green posts; but, the house once passed, the neat palings promptly37 degenerated38 into a post-and-rail fence guiltless of paint and crossed with a stile at important strategic points connected with the barn. For one hundred feet in front of the house, the smooth-cropped lawn rolled gently downward. Then it dropped sharply from the crest39 of the bluff40 in an almost perpendicular41 grassy42 wall reaching down to the single long street of Beaupré, two hundred feet below. The crest of the bluff was dotted by an occasional farmhouse43, each reached by its zigzag44 trail up the slope; but, in the street beneath, the houses met in two continuous, unbroken lines, parallel to that other continuous line of the mighty45 river. The river was mud-colored, to-day; and the turf about her was browned by early frosts; but the Isle46 of Orleans lay blue in the middle distance, and, far to the north, Cap Tourmente rested in a purple haze47. At her feet, the white sail of a stray fishing-boat caught the sunlight and tossed it back to her, and, nearer still, the gray twin spires48 of Sainte Anne-de-Beaupré rose in the clear October air.
“Mother of the Holy Virgin49, protector of sailors, healer of the faithful, patron saint of the New France.” Dame11 Gagnier was rehearsing the attributes of the saint to herself in her own harsh patois50.
The girl interrupted her ruthlessly.
“What an enormous train!” she exclaimed.
“Eh?”
Nancy pointed to the long line of cars crawling up to the station beside the church.
“Long train. Many cars,” she explained slowly.
Dame Gagnier’s eyes followed the pointing finger.
“Yes. It is a pilgrimage,” she answered.
“Really? A pilgrimage! I thought it was too late in the season. Do you suppose there will be a miracle?” she questioned eagerly.
“Mam’selle does not believe in those miracle,” Madame Gagnier reminded her.
“I am always open to conviction,” she announced calmly.
“Eh?”
“I am going to see for myself.”
“Mam’selle will go to church?”
“Yes; that is, if you are sure it is a pilgrimage.”
“What else?” In her turn, Madame Gagnier pointed to the train whence a stream of humanity was pouring into the square courtyard of the Basilica.
“You are sure? I don’t want to break my neck for nothing, scrambling54 down your ancestral driveway.”
“Eh?”
For the thousandth time during the past nine days, Nancy felt an unreasoning rage against the deliberate monosyllable that checked her whimsical talk. In time, it becomes annoying to be obliged to explain all one’s figures of speech. Abruptly55 she pulled herself up and began again.
“Unless you are sure it is a pilgrimage, I do not wish to walk down the steep slope,” she amended56.
“Yes. It is a pilgrimage from Lake Saint John. My son told me. It is the last pilgrimage of the year.”
“Glory be!” she breathed fervently58. “I am in great luck, to-day, for they said that it was too late in the year to expect any more of them. The Good Sainte Anne is working in my behalf. Now, if she will only produce a miracle, I’ll be quite content. Good by, Madame Gagnier!”
Madame Gagnier nodded, as she looked after the alert, erect figure.
“Mam’selle does not believe in those miracle,” she said calmly. “Well, she shall see.”
The girl stooped to pick up her letters. Then swiftly she crossed the lawn and entered the house. Outside a closed door, she paused and tapped softly.
“Come in.” The answering voice was impersonal59, abstracted.
Pushing open the door, Nancy entered the little sitting-room60 and crossed to the desk by the sunny window looking out on the river.
“Daddy dear, are you going to come with me, for an hour or two?”
The figure before the desk lost its scholarly abstraction and came back to the present. The student of antiquity61 had changed to the adoring father of a most modern sort of American girl; and his eyes, leaving the musty ecclesiastical records, brightened with a wholly worldly pride in his pretty daughter.
“What now?”
“A pilgrimage. A great, big pilgrimage, the last one of the year,” she said eagerly. “I’m going down to see it. Surely you’ll go, too.”
He shook his head.
“Oh, do,” she urged. “You ought to see it, as a matter of history. It is worth more than tons of old records, this seeing middle-age miracles happening in these prosy modern days.”
“Sainte Anne-de-Beaupré isn’t Lourdes, Nancy,” he cautioned her.
“No; but the guide-books say it is only second to Lourdes,” she answered undauntedly. “Anyway, I want to see what is happening. Won’t you come, really, daddy?”
“Nancy, I am sixty-five years old, and that trail up the hill is worse than the Matterhorn. If you follow the zigzags63, you walk ten miles in order to accomplish one hundred feet; if you strike out across country, you have to wriggle64 up on all fours. I know, for I have tried it. It isn’t a seemly thing for a man of my years to come crawling home, flat on his stomach.”
She laughed, as she stood drumming idly on the table.
“I am sorry. It is so much more fun to have somebody to play with. Still, I shall go, even if I must go alone.”
She started towards the door; then turned to face him, as he added hastily,—
“And, if you see Père Félicien, ask him when I can examine those last records by Monseigneur Laval. I shall be here, tell him, about ten days longer.”
Nancy’s face fell.
“Ten mortal days! Oh, daddy!”
“Yes, I shall need as much time as that. I prefer to finish up my work here, before I go on to Quebec.”
“And how long do you mean to stay in Quebec?” she asked.
The minor65 cadence66 in her tone escaped her father’s ears. He patted the papers before him caressingly67.
“It is impossible to tell. Four or five weeks, I should say. That ought to give me time to gather my materials.”
Nancy loved her gay home life; but she also loved her father. She tossed him a kiss as she left the room; nevertheless, the smile that accompanied the kiss was rather forlorn and wavering. Once outside the door, however, she freed her mind.
“Ten more days here, and a month in that hole of a Quebec! It will be Thanksgiving, before we get home. Think of all the fun I shall be losing!” She pinned on her hat with a series of energetic pries68 and pushes. Then she added fervently, “Oh, Good Sainte Anne, do get up the greatest miracle of all, and produce something or somebody that shall add a little variety to my existence! I’ll give fifty cents to the souls in purgatory69, if you’ll only be good enough to rescue my soul from this absolute boredom70 of boredoms.”
Surely, never was more unorthodox prayer directed upward from any shrine71. However, the Good Sainte Anne chanced to be in a propitious72 mood, that day.
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1
woes
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| 困境( woe的名词复数 )； 悲伤； 我好苦哇； 某人就要倒霉 | |
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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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polyglot
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| adj.通晓数种语言的；n.通晓多种语言的人 | |
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wilderness
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| n.杳无人烟的一片陆地、水等，荒漠 | |
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monograph
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| n.专题文章，专题著作 | |
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scattered
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| adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的 | |
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7
tapering
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| adj.尖端细的 | |
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erect
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| n./v.树立，建立，使竖立；adj.直立的，垂直的 | |
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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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meditation
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| n.熟虑，（尤指宗教的）默想，沉思，（pl.）冥想录 | |
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dame
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| n.女士 | |
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painstaking
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| adj.苦干的；艰苦的，费力的，刻苦的 | |
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linguistic
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| adj.语言的，语言学的 | |
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accomplishment
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| n.完成，成就，（pl.）造诣，技能 | |
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apron
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| n.围裙；工作裙 | |
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16
lapsed
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| adj.流失的，堕落的v.退步( lapse的过去式和过去分词 )；陷入；倒退；丧失 | |
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17
conversational
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| adj.对话的，会话的 | |
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18
eccentricities
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| n.古怪行为( eccentricity的名词复数 )；反常；怪癖 | |
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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
admonished
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| v.劝告( admonish的过去式和过去分词 )；训诫；（温和地）责备；轻责 | |
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21
rebuke
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| v.指责，非难，斥责 [反]praise | |
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22
assented
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| 同意，赞成( assent的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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assent
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| v.批准，认可；n.批准，认可 | |
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24
shrugged
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| vt.耸肩（shrug的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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25
shrug
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| v.耸肩(表示怀疑、冷漠、不知等) | |
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defiant
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| adj.无礼的，挑战的 | |
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drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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28
purely
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| adv.纯粹地，完全地 | |
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contrition
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| n.悔罪，痛悔 | |
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devoutly
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| adv.虔诚地，虔敬地，衷心地 | |
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31
simplicity
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| n.简单，简易；朴素；直率，单纯 | |
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32
impulsively
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| adv.冲动地 | |
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forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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34
chafed
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| v.擦热（尤指皮肤）( chafe的过去式 )；擦痛；发怒；惹怒 | |
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35
awakening
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| n.觉醒，醒悟 adj.觉醒中的；唤醒的 | |
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36
pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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promptly
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| adv.及时地，敏捷地 | |
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38
degenerated
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| 衰退，堕落，退化( degenerate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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39
crest
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| n.顶点；饰章；羽冠；vt.达到顶点；vi.形成浪尖 | |
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40
bluff
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| v.虚张声势，用假象骗人；n.虚张声势，欺骗 | |
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41
perpendicular
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| adj.垂直的，直立的；n.垂直线，垂直的位置 | |
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42
grassy
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| adj.盖满草的；长满草的 | |
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43
farmhouse
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| n.农场住宅（尤指主要住房） | |
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44
zigzag
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| n.曲折，之字形；adj.曲折的，锯齿形的；adv.曲折地，成锯齿形地；vt.使曲折；vi.曲折前行 | |
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45
mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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46
isle
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| n.小岛，岛 | |
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47
haze
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| n.霾，烟雾；懵懂，迷糊；vi.(over)变模糊 | |
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48
spires
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| n.（教堂的） 塔尖，尖顶( spire的名词复数 ) | |
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49
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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50
patois
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| n.方言；混合语 | |
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51
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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52
puckered
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| v.（使某物）起褶子或皱纹( pucker的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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53
travesty
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| n.歪曲，嘲弄，滑稽化 | |
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54
scrambling
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| v.快速爬行( scramble的现在分词 )；攀登；争夺；（军事飞机）紧急起飞 | |
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55
abruptly
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| adv.突然地，出其不意地 | |
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56
Amended
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| adj. 修正的 动词amend的过去式和过去分词 | |
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57
rapture
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| n.狂喜；全神贯注；着迷；v.使狂喜 | |
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58
fervently
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| adv.热烈地，热情地，强烈地 | |
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59
impersonal
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| adj.无个人感情的，与个人无关的，非人称的 | |
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60
sitting-room
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| n.（BrE）客厅，起居室 | |
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61
antiquity
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| n.古老；高龄；古物，古迹 | |
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62
animated
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| adj.生气勃勃的，活跃的，愉快的 | |
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63
zigzags
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| n.锯齿形的线条、小径等( zigzag的名词复数 )v.弯弯曲曲地走路，曲折地前进( zigzag的第三人称单数 ) | |
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64
wriggle
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| v./n.蠕动，扭动；蜿蜒 | |
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65
minor
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| adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修 | |
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66
cadence
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| n.（说话声调的）抑扬顿挫 | |
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67
caressingly
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| 爱抚地，亲切地 | |
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68
pries
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| v.打听，刺探（他人的私事）( pry的第三人称单数 )；撬开 | |
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69
purgatory
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| n.炼狱；苦难；adj.净化的，清洗的 | |
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70
boredom
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| n.厌烦，厌倦，乏味，无聊 | |
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71
shrine
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| n.圣地，神龛，庙；v.将...置于神龛内，把...奉为神圣 | |
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72
propitious
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| adj.吉利的；顺利的 | |
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