CHAPTER XXVIII

 Then whilst his throbbing¹ veins² beat high

With every impulse of delight,

Dash from his lips the cup of joy,

And shroud³ the scene in shades of night;

And let despair, with wizard light,

Disclose the yawning gulf⁴ below,

And pour incessant⁵ on his sight,

Her spectred ills and shapes of woe⁶.

For some moments Robert sat there, apparently⁷ dead to his surroundings. He had not looked up or moved as the door closed upon the retreating figures. He seemed to be in a state of complete exhaustion⁸ of mind and body. Presently the sound of the carriage rolling over the swishing, muddy driveway roused him from his lethargy. Raising his head he looked wildly around the room—then paused and listened—he was as one in a dream, realizing nothing plainly. He could hardly remember what had taken place during the past few minutes; he could grasp nothing tangible⁹ in thought or memory, till with a wild start he seemed to awake, as the rattle¹⁰ of the passing wheels brought back recollection. He staggered to the window and, throwing back the lattice, gazed out at the rapidly retreating blur¹¹ of moving wheels and horses and shapeless figures, and watched it till it was lost to sight. As he stood there a soft[394] change, a delicate transparency, swept over the dark bosom¹² of the sky. Pale pink streaks¹³ glittered on the dusky horizon—darts of light began to climb upward into the clouds, and to plunge¹⁴ downward upon the waving field of hay; the radiance spread swiftly, till suddenly the whole heavens were bathed in the glorious light, and the last cloud, fading into nothingness, revealed the sun in all its matchless glory, hanging low in the sky just above the hills, behind which it would soon drop in stately splendor¹⁵. Slowly the watcher sank down to his knees and leaned his tired head against the sash, his eyes closed and sunken.

“She is gone, gone,” he murmured brokenly, “an’ I am left all alone noo, all alone.” Jean bent¹⁶ over him with pathetic tenderness, and taking his limp hand in her own warm palm, she said with timid reproach:

“Not alone, Robert, while you have your—bairns—and me.” She feared to call his attention to herself in the midst of his grief, lest he might revile¹⁷ her for standing¹⁸ between him and happiness; but he did not hear.

“Oh, Jean, how can I take up the burden of life again?” he cried weakly, clinging to her hand with despairing strength. It thrilled her strangely to feel the grasp of his hand, to feel his weakness, his sudden dependence¹⁹, the appeal in his dark, mournful eyes raised to hers so pitifully; she knelt beside him and drew his head down on her heaving bosom.

[395]

“Ye must be brave,” she told him, her voice trembling with a new-found happiness, a sudden joy. He needed her now, needed her love and care more than ever. Then she continued softly, her voice vibrating with thrilling intensity²⁰, “Ye have much to live for yet, lad. Ye must be strong, ye must be brave. Pluck up your courage! I’ll help ye.”

He looked at her wonderingly, then he slowly bowed his head. “Yes, Jean,” he said humbly²¹, “I will be strong; I’ll try to be brave.”

She helped him to his chamber²², and placed him beside the window, where he could no longer watch the road, and left him. For a while he gazed out over the fields in apathetic²³ calm, his mind a blank. Across the field he could see Souter Johnny at work in his garden. Suddenly he straightened up and listened. Souter was singing.

“O where, an’ O where is my Highland²⁴ laddie gone?”

came the old cracked voice. He closed his eyes wearily, but he could not shut out the sound.

“Oh, Mary, my lost Highland Mary,” he whispered under his breath.

THE END

 

1 throbbing   

a. 跳动的,悸动的

参考例句：

• My heart is throbbing and I'm shaking. 我的心在猛烈跳动，身子在不住颤抖。
• There was a throbbing in her temples. 她的太阳穴直跳。

2 veins   

n.纹理；矿脉( vein的名词复数 )；静脉；叶脉；纹理

参考例句：

• The blood flows from the capillaries back into the veins. 血从毛细血管流回静脉。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I felt a pleasant glow in all my veins from the wine. 喝过酒后我浑身的血都热烘烘的，感到很舒服。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 shroud   

n.裹尸布，寿衣；罩，幕；vt.覆盖，隐藏

参考例句：

• His past was enveloped in a shroud of mystery.他的过去被裹上一层神秘色彩。
• How can I do under shroud of a dark sky?在黑暗的天空的笼罩下，我该怎么做呢？

4 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

5 incessant   

adj.不停的，连续的

参考例句：

• We have had incessant snowfall since yesterday afternoon.从昨天下午开始就持续不断地下雪。
• She is tired of his incessant demands for affection.她厌倦了他对感情的不断索取。

6 woe   

n.悲哀，苦痛，不幸，困难；int.用来表达悲伤或惊慌

参考例句：

• Our two peoples are brothers sharing weal and woe.我们两国人民是患难与共的兄弟。
• A man is well or woe as he thinks himself so.自认祸是祸，自认福是福。

7 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

8 exhaustion   

n.耗尽枯竭，疲惫，筋疲力尽，竭尽，详尽无遗的论述

参考例句：

• She slept the sleep of exhaustion.她因疲劳而酣睡。
• His exhaustion was obvious when he fell asleep standing.他站着睡着了，显然是太累了。

9 tangible   

adj.有形的，可触摸的，确凿的，实际的

参考例句：

• The policy has not yet brought any tangible benefits.这项政策还没有带来任何实质性的好处。
• There is no tangible proof.没有确凿的证据。

10 rattle   

v.飞奔，碰响；激怒；n.碰撞声；拨浪鼓

参考例句：

• The baby only shook the rattle and laughed and crowed.孩子只是摇着拨浪鼓，笑着叫着。
• She could hear the rattle of the teacups.她听见茶具叮当响。

11 blur   

n.模糊不清的事物；vt.使模糊，使看不清楚

参考例句：

• The houses appeared as a blur in the mist.房子在薄雾中隐隐约约看不清。
• If you move your eyes and your head,the picture will blur.如果你的眼睛或头动了，图像就会变得模糊不清。

12 bosom   

n.胸，胸部；胸怀；内心；adj.亲密的

参考例句：

• She drew a little book from her bosom.她从怀里取出一本小册子。
• A dark jealousy stirred in his bosom.他内心生出一阵恶毒的嫉妒。

13 streaks   

n.（与周围有所不同的）条纹( streak的名词复数 )；（通常指不好的）特征（倾向）；（不断经历成功或失败的）一段时期v.快速移动( streak的第三人称单数 )；使布满条纹

参考例句：

• streaks of grey in her hair 她头上的绺绺白发
• Bacon has streaks of fat and streaks of lean. 咸肉中有几层肥的和几层瘦的。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

14 plunge   

v.跳入，(使)投入，(使)陷入；猛冲

参考例句：

• Test pool's water temperature before you plunge in.在你跳入之前你应该测试水温。
• That would plunge them in the broil of the two countries.那将会使他们陷入这两国的争斗之中。

15 splendor   

n.光彩；壮丽，华丽；显赫，辉煌

参考例句：

• Never in his life had he gazed on such splendor.他生平从没有见过如此辉煌壮丽的场面。
• All the splendor in the world is not worth a good friend.人世间所有的荣华富贵不如一个好朋友。

16 bent   

n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的

参考例句：

• He was fully bent upon the project.他一心扑在这项计划上。
• We bent over backward to help them.我们尽了最大努力帮助他们。

17 revile   

v.辱骂，谩骂

参考例句：

• No man should reproach,revile,or slander another man.人们不应羞辱，辱骂或诽谤他人。|||Some Muslim communities in East Africa revile dogs because they believe that canines ate the body of the Prophet Muhammad.一些东非的穆斯林团体会辱骂狗，因为他们相信是它们吃了先知穆罕默德的尸体。

18 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

19 dependence   

n.依靠，依赖；信任，信赖；隶属

参考例句：

• Doctors keep trying to break her dependence of the drug.医生们尽力使她戒除毒瘾。
• He was freed from financial dependence on his parents.他在经济上摆脱了对父母的依赖。

20 intensity   

n.强烈，剧烈；强度；烈度

参考例句：

• I didn't realize the intensity of people's feelings on this issue.我没有意识到这一问题能引起群情激奋。
• The strike is growing in intensity.罢工日益加剧。

21 humbly   

adv. 恭顺地，谦卑地

参考例句：

• We humbly beg Your Majesty to show mercy. 我们恳请陛下发发慈悲。
• "You must be right, Sir,'said John humbly. “你一定是对的，先生，”约翰恭顺地说道。

22 chamber   

n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所

参考例句：

• For many,the dentist's surgery remains a torture chamber.对许多人来说，牙医的治疗室一直是间受刑室。
• The chamber was ablaze with light.会议厅里灯火辉煌。

23 apathetic   

adj.冷漠的，无动于衷的

参考例句：

• I realised I was becoming increasingly depressed and apathetic.我意识到自己越来越消沉、越来越冷漠了。
• You won't succeed if you are apathetic.要是你冷淡，你就不能成功。

24 highland   

n.(pl.)高地，山地

参考例句：

• The highland game is part of Scotland's cultural heritage.苏格兰高地游戏是苏格兰文化遗产的一部分。
• The highland forests where few hunters venture have long been the bear's sanctuary.这片只有少数猎人涉险的高山森林，一直都是黑熊的避难所。