CHAPTER XLII.

 CONCLUSION.

 

A south-west wind is blowing over the plains.  It drives the “messengers” over the sky, and the sails of the windmill, and makes the dead leaves dance upon the graves.  It does much to dispel¹ the evil effects of the foul² smells and noxious³ gases, which are commoner yet in the little village than one might suppose.  (But it is a long time, you see, since the fever was here.)  It shows the silver lining⁴ of the willow⁵ leaves by the little river, and bends the flowers which grow in one glowing mass—like some gorgeous Eastern carpet—on Master Swift’s grave.  It rocks Jan’s sign in mid-air above the Heart of Oak, where Master Chuter is waiting upon a newly arrived guest.

 

It is the man of business.  Long has he promised to try the breezes of the plains for what he calls dyspepsia, and the artist calls “money-grubbing-on-the-brain,” but he never could find leisure, until a serious attack obliged him to do so.  But at that moment the painter could not leave London, and he is here alone.  He has not said that he knows Jan, for it amuses him to hear the little innkeeper ramble⁶ on with anecdotes⁷ of the great painter’s childhood.

 

“This ale is fine,” says the man of business.  “I never can touch beer at home.  The painter is married, you say?”

 

“He’ve been married these two year,” Master Chuter replies.  “And they do say Miss Amabel have been partial to him from a child.  He come down here, sir, soon after his father took to him, and he draad out Miss Amabel’s old white horse for her; and the butler have told me, sir, that it hangs in the library now.  It be more fit for an inn sign, sartinly, it be, but the gentry⁸ has their whims⁹, sir, and Miss Amabel was a fine young lady.  The Squire¹⁰’s moral image she be; affable and free, quite different to her ladyship.  Coffee, sir?  No, sir?  Dined, sir?  It be a fine evening, sir, if you’d like to see the church.  I’d be glad to show it you, myself, sir.  Old Solomon have got the key.”

 

In the main street of the village even the man of business strolls.  There is no hurrying in this atmosphere.  It is a matter of time to find Old Solomon, and of more time to make him hear when he is found, and of most time for him to find the key when he hears.  But time is not money to the merchant just now, and he watches the western sky patiently, and is made sleepy by the breeze.  When at last they saunter under the shadow of the gray church tower, his eye is caught by the mass of color, out of which springs a high cross of white marble, whose top is just flushed by the setting sun.  It is of fine design and workmanship, and marks the grave where the great man’s schoolmaster sleeps near his wife and child.  Hard by, Master Chuter shows the “fever monument,” and the names of Master Lake’s children.  And then, as Daddy Solomon has fumbled¹¹ the door open, they pass into the church.  The east end has been restored, the innkeeper says, by the Squire, under the advice of his son-in-law.

 

And then they turn to look at the west window,—the new window, the boast of the parish,—at which even old Solomon strains his withered¹² eyes with a sense of pride.  The man of business stands where Jan used to sit.  The unchanged faces look down on him from the old window.  But it is not the old window that he looks at, it is the new one.  The glory of the setting sun illumines it, and throws crimson¹³ lights from the vesture of the principal figure—like stains of blood—upon the pavement.

 

“It be the Good Shepherd,” Master Chuter explains, but his guest is silent.  The pale-faced, white-haired angels in the upper lights seem all ablaze¹⁴, and Old Solomon cannot look at them.

 

“Them sheep be beautiful,” whispers the innkeeper; but the stranger heeds¹⁵ him not.  He is reading the inscription:—

 

To the Glory of GOD,

And in pious¹⁶ memory of Abel, my dear foster-brother:

I, who designed this window,

Dedicate it.

 

HE shall gather the lambs into His arms.

 
The End

1 dispel   

vt.驱走，驱散，消除

参考例句：

• I tried in vain to dispel her misgivings.我试图消除她的疑虑，但没有成功。
• We hope the programme will dispel certain misconceptions about the disease.我们希望这个节目能消除对这种疾病的一些误解。

2 foul   

adj.污秽的；邪恶的；v.弄脏；妨害；犯规；n.犯规

参考例句：

• Take off those foul clothes and let me wash them.脱下那些脏衣服让我洗一洗。
• What a foul day it is!多么恶劣的天气！

3 noxious   

adj.有害的，有毒的；使道德败坏的，讨厌的

参考例句：

• Heavy industry pollutes our rivers with noxious chemicals.重工业产生的有毒化学品会污染我们的河流。
• Many household products give off noxious fumes.很多家用产品散发有害气体。

4 lining   

n.衬里，衬料

参考例句：

• The lining of my coat is torn.我的外套衬里破了。
• Moss makes an attractive lining to wire baskets.用苔藓垫在铁丝篮里很漂亮。

5 willow   

n.柳树

参考例句：

• The river was sparsely lined with willow trees.河边疏疏落落有几棵柳树。
• The willow's shadow falls on the lake.垂柳的影子倒映在湖面上。

6 ramble   

v.漫步，漫谈，漫游；n.漫步，闲谈，蔓延

参考例句：

• This is the best season for a ramble in the suburbs.这是去郊区漫游的最好季节。
• I like to ramble about the street after work.我下班后在街上漫步。

7 anecdotes   

n.掌故，趣闻，轶事( anecdote的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• amusing anecdotes about his brief career as an actor 关于他短暂演员生涯的趣闻逸事
• He related several anecdotes about his first years as a congressman. 他讲述自己初任议员那几年的几则轶事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 gentry   

n.绅士阶级，上层阶级

参考例句：

• Landed income was the true measure of the gentry.来自土地的收入是衡量是否士绅阶层的真正标准。
• Better be the head of the yeomanry than the tail of the gentry.宁做自由民之首，不居贵族之末。

9 WHIMS   

虚妄，禅病

参考例句：

• The mate observed regretfully that he could not account for that young fellow's whims. 那位伙伴很遗憾地说他不能说出那年轻人产生怪念头的原因。
• The rest she had for food and her own whims. 剩下的钱她用来吃饭和买一些自己喜欢的东西。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

10 squire   

n.护卫, 侍从, 乡绅

参考例句：

• I told him the squire was the most liberal of men.我告诉他乡绅是世界上最宽宏大量的人。
• The squire was hard at work at Bristol.乡绅在布里斯托尔热衷于他的工作。

11 fumbled   

（笨拙地）摸索或处理（某事物）( fumble的过去式和过去分词 )； 乱摸，笨拙地弄； 使落下

参考例句：

• She fumbled in her pocket for a handkerchief. 她在她口袋里胡乱摸找手帕。
• He fumbled about in his pockets for the ticket. 他（瞎）摸着衣兜找票。

12 withered   

adj. 枯萎的，干瘪的，（人身体的部分器官）因病萎缩的或未发育良好的 动词wither的过去式和过去分词形式

参考例句：

• The grass had withered in the warm sun. 这些草在温暖的阳光下枯死了。
• The leaves of this tree have become dry and withered. 这棵树下的叶子干枯了。

13 crimson   

n./adj.深(绯)红色(的)；vi.脸变绯红色

参考例句：

• She went crimson with embarrassment.她羞得满脸通红。
• Maple leaves have turned crimson.枫叶已经红了。

14 ablaze   

adj.着火的，燃烧的；闪耀的，灯火辉煌的

参考例句：

• The main street was ablaze with lights in the evening.晚上，那条主要街道灯火辉煌。
• Forests are sometimes set ablaze by lightning.森林有时因雷击而起火。

15 heeds   

n.留心，注意，听从( heed的名词复数 )v.听某人的劝告，听从( heed的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• You should never fight the band that heeds you. 从来不要攻击那些注意你行动的帮伙们。 来自互联网
• He who ignores discipline and shame, but whoever heeds correction is honored. 弃绝管教的、必致贫受辱．领受责备的、必得尊荣。 来自互联网

16 pious   

adj.虔诚的；道貌岸然的

参考例句：

• Alexander is a pious follower of the faith.亚历山大是个虔诚的信徒。
• Her mother was a pious Christian.她母亲是一个虔诚的基督教徒。