A few weeks after the return of our hero Mary and Mrs. Burns were seated in the living-room, Mrs. Burns as usual busy at her wheel, while Mary[50] sat sewing at the window, where she could look out across the fields and see her sweetheart, who, with a white sheet containing his seed corn slung12 across his shoulder, was scattering13 the grain in the earth. She sang dreamily as she sewed, her sweet face beaming with love and happiness. No presentiment14 warned her of the approaching tragedy that was soon to cast its blighting15 shadow over that happy household—a tragedy that was inevitable16. The guilty one had sown to the flesh, he must reap corruption17. The seed had been sown carelessly, recklessly, and now the harvest time had come, and such a harvest! The pity of it was that the grim reaper18 must with his devouring19 sickle20 ruthlessly cut down such a tender, sweet, and innocent flower as she who sat there so happy and so blissfully unconscious of her impending21 doom22.
Suddenly, with an exclamation23 of astonishment24, she jumped excitedly to her feet. “Mistress Burns,” she cried breathlessly, “here are grand lookin’ strangers comin’ up the path. City folk, too, I ken25. Look.”
Hastily the good dame26 ran to the window. “Sure as death, Mary; they’re comin’ here,” she cried in amazement27. “Oh, lack a day, an’ I’m na dressed to receive the gentry28.” A look of comical dismay clouded her anxious face as she hurriedly adjusted her cap and smoothed out her apron29. “Is my cap on straight, Mary?” she nervously30 inquired. Mary[51] nodded her head reassuringly31. “Oh, dear, whatever can they want?” Steps sounded without. “Ye open the door, Mary,” she whispered sibilantly as the peremptory32 knock sounded loudly through the room. Timidly Mary approached the door. “Hist, wait,” called Mrs. Burns in sudden alarm. “My ’kerchief isna’ pinned.” Hastily she pinned the loose end in place, then folding her hands, she said firmly, “Noo let them enter.” Mary slowly opened the door, which, swinging inward, concealed33 her from the three strangers, who entered with ill-concealed impatience34 on the part of the two ladies who were being laughingly chided by their handsome escort. With a wondering look of admiration35 at the richly dressed visitors, Mary quietly stole out and softly shut the door behind her.
With a murmur36 of disgust the younger of the two ladies, who was about nineteen, walked to the fireplace, and raising her quilted blue petticoat, which showed beneath the pale pink overdress with its Watteau plait, she daintily held her foot to the blaze. A disfiguring frown marred37 the dark beauty of her face as her bold black eyes gazed about her impatiently.
“It’s a monstrous38 shame,” she flashed angrily, “to have an accident happen within a few miles of home. Will it delay us long, think you?” she inquired anxiously, addressing her companion.
“It depends on the skill of the driver to repair[52] the injury,” replied the other lady indifferently. She appeared the elder of the two by some few years, and was evidently a lady of rank and fashion. She looked distinctly regal and commanding in her large Gainsborough hat tilted39 on one side of her elaborately dressed court wig40. A look of amused curiosity came over her patrician41 face as she calmly surveyed the interior of the cottage. She inclined her head graciously to Mrs. Burns, who with a deep courtesy stood waiting their pleasure.
“We have just met with an accident, guidwife,” laughingly said the gentleman, who stood in the doorway42 brushing the dust from his long black cloak. He was a scholarly looking man of middle age, dressed in the height of taste and fashion. “While crossing the old bridge yonder,” he continued, smiling courteously43 at Mrs. Burns, “our coach had the misfortune to cast a wheel, spilling us all willy-nilly, on the ground, and we must crave44 your hospitality, guidwife.”
“Ye are a’ welcome,” quickly answered Mrs. Burns with another courtesy. “Sit doon, please,” and she placed a chair for the lady, who languidly seated herself thereon with a low murmur of thanks.
“Allow me to introduce myself,” continued the gentleman, coming into the room, his cloak over his arm. “I am Lord Glencairn of Edinburgh. This is Lady Glencairn, and yonder lady is Mistress Jean Armour45 of Mauchline.”
[53]
The young lady in question, who was still standing46 by the fireplace, flashed him a look of decided47 annoyance48. She seemed greatly perturbed49 at the enforced delay of the journey. She started violently as she heard Mrs. Burns say, “And I am Mrs. Burns, your lordship.” Then she hurried to the old lady’s side, a startled look in her flashing eyes.
“Mistress Burns of Mossgiel Farm?” she inquired in a trembling voice.
“Yes, my lady,” replied Mrs. Burns. The young lady’s face went white as she walked nervously back to the fireplace.
“My dear Jean, whatever is the matter?” asked Lady Glencairn lazily, as she noticed Jean’s perturbation. “Is there anything in the name of Burns to frighten you?”
“No, your ladyship,” replied Jean falteringly50, turning her face away so that her large Gainsborough hat completely shielded her quivering features. “I—I am still a trifle nervous from the upset, that is all.” She seemed strangely agitated51.
“Was it not unlucky?” replied Lady Glencairn in her rich vibrating contralto. “’Twill be a most wearisome wait, I fear, but we simply must endure it with the best possible grace,” and she unfastened her long cloak of black velvet52 and threw it off her shoulders, revealing her matchless form in its tightly fitting gown of amber53 satin, with all its alluring54 lines and sinuous55 curves, to the utmost advantage.
[54]
“It willna’ be long noo, your ladyship,” replied Mrs. Burns, smiling complacently56. She had quietly left the room while the two were talking, and seeing Souter hovering57 anxiously around, trying to summon up courage to enter, she had commanded him to go to the fields and tell the lads of the accident, which he had reluctantly done.
“My lads will soon fix it for ye,” she continued proudly. “Robert is a very handy lad, ye ken. He is my eldest58 son, who has just returned from Mauchline,” she explained loquaciously59 in answer to Lord Glencairn’s questioning look.
Jean nervously clutched at the neck of her gown, her face alternately flushing and paling. “Your son is here now?” she asked eagerly, turning to Mrs. Burns.
“Aye, he’s out yonder in the fields,” she answered simply.
“Oh, then you know the young man?” interrogated60 Lady Glencairn, glancing sharply at Jean.
“Yes, I know him,” she answered with averted61 gaze. “We met occasionally in Mauchline at dancing school, where we fell acquainted.”
Lady Glencairn looked at her with half-closed eyes for a moment, then she smilingly said, “And I’ll wager62 your love for coquetting prompted you to make a conquest of the innocent rustic63, eh, Jean?”
Jean tossed her head angrily and walked to the window.
[55]
“There, there, Jean, you’re over prudish65. I vow66 ’twould be no crime,” her ladyship calmly returned. “I’ll wager this young farmer was a gay Lothario while in Mauchline,” she continued mockingly.
“Oh, no, your ladyship,” interrupted Mrs. Burns simply. “He was a flax dresser.”
“Truly a more respectable occupation, madame,” gravely responded Lord Glencairn with a suspicious twinkle in his eye.
“Thank ye, my lord,” answered Mrs. Burns with a deep courtesy. “My lad is a good lad, if I do say so, and he has returned to us as pure minded as when he went awa’ a year ago.”
Lady Glencairn raised her delicately arched eyebrows67 in amused surprise. Turning to Jean, she murmured drily, “And away from home a year, too! He must be a model of virtue68, truly.”
Jean gazed at her with startled eyes. “Can she suspect aught?” she asked herself fearfully.
“Could I be getting ye a cup of milk?” asked Mrs. Burns hospitably69. “’Tis a’ I have to offer, but ’tis cool and refreshing70.”
“Fresh milk,” repeated Lady Glencairn, rising with delight. “I vow it would be most welcome, guidwife.”
“Indeed it would,” responded her husband. And Mrs. Burns with a gratified smile hurried from the room.
[56]
“My dear, don’t look so tragic,” drawled Lady Glencairn carelessly, as she noticed Jean’s pale face and frightened eyes. “We’ll soon be in Mauchline. Although why you are in such a monstrous hurry to reach that lonesome village after your delightful71 sojourn72 in the capital, is more than I can conjecture,” and her keen eyes noted73 with wonder the flush mount quickly to the girl’s cheek.
“It is two months since I left my home, your ladyship,” faltered74 Jean hesitatingly. “It’s only natural I should be anxious to see my dear parents again.” She dropped her eyes quickly before her ladyship’s penetrating75 gaze.
“Dear parents, indeed,” sniffed76 Lady Glencairn to herself suspiciously as she followed their hostess to the door of the “ben.”
With a nervous little laugh Jean rose quickly from her chair by the window and walked toward the door through which they had entered. “The accident has quite upset me, Lady Glencairn,” she said constrainedly77. “Would you mind if I stroll about the fields until my nerves are settled?” she asked with a forced laugh.
“No, child, go by all means,” replied her ladyship indolently. “The air will do you good, no doubt.”
“I warn you not to wander too far from the house,” interposed Lord Glencairn with a kindly78 smile. “We will not be detained much longer.”[57] With a smile of thanks she hastily left the room just as Mrs. Burns entered from the “ben” bearing a large blue pitcher79 filled with foaming80 milk, which she placed on the table before her smiling visitors.
Jean breathed a sigh of relief as she closed the door behind her. She felt in another moment she would have screamed aloud in her nervousness. That fate should have brought her to the very home of the man she had thought still in Mauchline, and to see whom she had hurriedly left Edinburgh, filled her with wonder and dread81. “I must see him before we leave,” she said nervously, clasping and unclasping her hands. But where should she find him? She walked quickly down the path and gazed across the fields, where in the distance she could see several men at work, repairing the disabled coach. Anxiously she strained her eyes to see if the one she sought was among them, but he was not there. Quickly she retraced82 her steps. “I must find him. I must speak with him this day,” she said determinedly83. As she neared the cottage she turned aside and walked toward the high stone fence which enclosed the house and yard. Swiftly mounting the old stile, she looked about her. Suddenly she gave a sharp little exclamation, and her heart bounded violently, for there before her, coming across the field, was the man she sought, his hands clasped behind him, his head bent84 low in the deepest meditation85. With a sigh of relief she sank down on the step and calmly awaited his approach.
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1
monotonously
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| adv.单调地，无变化地 | |
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homely
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| adj.家常的，简朴的；不漂亮的 | |
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labor
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| n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦 | |
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4
plowed
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| v.耕( plow的过去式和过去分词 )；犁耕；费力穿过 | |
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laborious
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| adj.吃力的，努力的，不流畅 | |
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6
toil
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| vi.辛劳工作，艰难地行动；n.苦工，难事 | |
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7
scraps
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| 油渣 | |
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8
scattered
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| adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的 | |
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disorder
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| n.紊乱，混乱；骚动，骚乱；疾病，失调 | |
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mused
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| v.沉思，冥想( muse的过去式和过去分词 )；沉思自语说（某事） | |
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tranquillity
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| n. 平静, 安静 | |
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12
slung
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| 抛( sling的过去式和过去分词 )； 吊挂； 遣送； 押往 | |
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13
scattering
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| n.[物]散射；散乱，分散；在媒介质中的散播adj.散乱的；分散在不同范围的；广泛扩散的；（选票）数量分散的v.散射(scatter的ing形式)；散布；驱散 | |
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14
presentiment
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| n.预感，预觉 | |
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15
blighting
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| 使凋萎( blight的现在分词 )； 使颓丧； 损害； 妨害 | |
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16
inevitable
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| adj.不可避免的，必然发生的 | |
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corruption
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| n.腐败，堕落，贪污 | |
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18
reaper
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| n.收割者，收割机 | |
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19
devouring
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| 吞没( devour的现在分词 )； 耗尽； 津津有味地看； 狼吞虎咽地吃光 | |
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20
sickle
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| n.镰刀 | |
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21
impending
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| a.imminent, about to come or happen | |
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22
doom
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| n.厄运，劫数；v.注定，命定 | |
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23
exclamation
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| n.感叹号，惊呼，惊叹词 | |
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24
astonishment
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| n.惊奇，惊异 | |
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25
ken
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| n.视野，知识领域 | |
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dame
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| n.女士 | |
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amazement
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| n.惊奇，惊讶 | |
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gentry
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| n.绅士阶级，上层阶级 | |
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apron
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| n.围裙；工作裙 | |
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30
nervously
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| adv.神情激动地，不安地 | |
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reassuringly
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| ad.安心，可靠 | |
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32
peremptory
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| adj.紧急的，专横的，断然的 | |
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33
concealed
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| a.隐藏的，隐蔽的 | |
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34
impatience
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| n.不耐烦，急躁 | |
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35
admiration
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| n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕 | |
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36
murmur
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| n.低语，低声的怨言；v.低语，低声而言 | |
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37
marred
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| adj. 被损毁, 污损的 | |
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38
monstrous
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| adj.巨大的；恐怖的；可耻的，丢脸的 | |
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39
tilted
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| v. 倾斜的 | |
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wig
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| n.假发 | |
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41
patrician
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| adj.贵族的，显贵的；n.贵族；有教养的人；罗马帝国的地方官 | |
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42
doorway
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| n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径 | |
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43
courteously
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| adv.有礼貌地，亲切地 | |
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44
crave
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| vt.渴望得到，迫切需要，恳求，请求 | |
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45
armour
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| （=armor）n.盔甲；装甲部队 | |
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46
standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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47
decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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48
annoyance
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| n.恼怒，生气，烦恼 | |
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49
perturbed
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| adj.烦燥不安的v.使（某人）烦恼，不安( perturb的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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50
falteringly
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| 口吃地，支吾地 | |
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51
agitated
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| adj.被鼓动的，不安的 | |
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52
velvet
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| n.丝绒，天鹅绒；adj.丝绒制的，柔软的 | |
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53
amber
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| n.琥珀；琥珀色；adj.琥珀制的 | |
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54
alluring
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| adj.吸引人的，迷人的 | |
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55
sinuous
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| adj.蜿蜒的，迂回的 | |
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56
complacently
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| adv. 满足地, 自满地, 沾沾自喜地 | |
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57
hovering
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| 鸟( hover的现在分词 )； 靠近（某事物）； （人）徘徊； 犹豫 | |
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58
eldest
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| adj.最年长的，最年老的 | |
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59
loquaciously
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60
interrogated
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| v.询问( interrogate的过去式和过去分词 )；审问；（在计算机或其他机器上）查询 | |
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61
averted
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| 防止，避免( avert的过去式和过去分词 )； 转移 | |
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62
wager
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| n.赌注；vt.押注，打赌 | |
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63
rustic
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| adj.乡村的，有乡村特色的；n.乡下人，乡巴佬 | |
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64
haughtily
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| adv. 傲慢地, 高傲地 | |
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65
prudish
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| adj.装淑女样子的，装规矩的，过分规矩的；adv.过分拘谨地 | |
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66
vow
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| n.誓(言)，誓约；v.起誓，立誓 | |
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67
eyebrows
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| 眉毛( eyebrow的名词复数 ) | |
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68
virtue
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| n.德行，美德；贞操；优点；功效，效力 | |
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69
hospitably
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| 亲切地，招待周到地，善于款待地 | |
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70
refreshing
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| adj.使精神振作的，使人清爽的，使人喜欢的 | |
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71
delightful
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| adj.令人高兴的，使人快乐的 | |
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72
sojourn
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| v./n.旅居，寄居；逗留 | |
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73
noted
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| adj.著名的，知名的 | |
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74
faltered
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| （嗓音）颤抖( falter的过去式和过去分词 )； 支吾其词； 蹒跚； 摇晃 | |
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75
penetrating
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| adj.（声音）响亮的，尖锐的adj.（气味）刺激的adj.（思想）敏锐的，有洞察力的 | |
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76
sniffed
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| v.以鼻吸气，嗅，闻( sniff的过去式和过去分词 )；抽鼻子（尤指哭泣、患感冒等时出声地用鼻子吸气）；抱怨，不以为然地说 | |
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77
constrainedly
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| 不自然地，勉强地，强制地 | |
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78
kindly
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| adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地 | |
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79
pitcher
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| n.(有嘴和柄的)大水罐；(棒球)投手 | |
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80
foaming
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| adj.布满泡沫的；发泡 | |
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81
dread
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| vt.担忧，忧虑；惧怕，不敢；n.担忧，畏惧 | |
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82
retraced
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| v.折回( retrace的过去式和过去分词 )；回忆；回顾；追溯 | |
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83
determinedly
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| adv.决意地；坚决地，坚定地 | |
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84
bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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85
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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