‘There were three ladies in a hall—
With a heigh-ho! and a lily gay,
There came a lord among them all—
—The Cruel Brother.
Willie Beresford has come to Pettybaw, and that Arcadian village has received the last touch that makes it Paradise.
We are exploring the neighbourhood together, and whichever path we take we think it lovelier than the one before. This morning we drove to Pettybaw Sands, Francesca and Salemina following by the footpath2 and meeting us on the shore. It is all so enchantingly fresh and green on one of these rare bright days: the trig lass bleaching3 her ‘claes’ on the grass by the burn near the little stone bridge; the wild partridges whirring about in pairs; the farm-boy seated on the clean straw in the bottom of his cart, and cracking his whip in mere4 wanton joy at the sunshine; the pretty cottages; and the gardens with rows of currant and gooseberry bushes hanging thick with fruit that suggests jam and tart5 in every delicious globule. It is a love-coloured landscape, we know it full well; and nothing in the fair world about us is half as beautiful as what we see in each other’s eyes. Ah, the memories of these first golden mornings together after our long separation. I shall sprinkle them with lavender and lay them away in that dim chamber6 of the heart where we keep precious things. We all know the chamber. It is fragrant7 with other hidden treasures, for all of them are sweet, though some are sad. That is the reason why we put a finger on the lip and say ‘Hush,’ if we open the door and allow any one to peep in.
We tied the pony8 by the wayside and alighted: Willie to gather some sprays of the pink veronica and blue speedwell, I to sit on an old bench and watch him in happy idleness. The ‘white-blossomed slaes’ sweetened the air, and the distant hills were gay with golden whin and broom, or flushed with the purply-red of the bell heather.
We heard the note of the cushats from a neighbouring bush. They used to build their nests on the ground, so the story goes, but the cows trampled9 them. Now they are wiser and build higher, and their cry is supposed to be a derisive10 one, directed to their ancient enemies. ‘Come noo, Coo, Coo! Come noo!’
A hedgehog crept stealthily along the ground, and at a sudden sound curled himself up like a wee brown bear. There were women working in the fields near by,—a strange sight to our eyes at first, but nothing unusual here, where many of them are employed on the farms all the year round, sowing weeding, planting, even ploughing in the spring, and in winter working at threshing or in the granary.
An old man, leaning on his staff, came tottering12 feebly along, and sank down on the bench beside me. He was dirty, ragged13, unkempt, and feeble, but quite sober, and pathetically anxious for human sympathy.
“I’m achty-sax year auld14,’ he maundered, apropos15 of nothing, “achty-sax year auld. I’ve seen five lairds o’ Pettybaw, sax placed meenisters, an’ seeven doctors. I was a mason, an’ a stoot mon i’ thae days, but it’s a meeserable life noo. Wife deid, bairns deid! I sit by my lane, an’ smoke my pipe, wi’ naebody to gi’e me a sup o’ water. Achty-sax is ower auld for a mon,—ower auld.”
These are the sharp contrasts of life one cannot bear to face when one is young and happy. Willie gave him a half-crown and some tobacco for his pipe, and when the pony trotted16 off briskly, and we left the shrunken figure alone on his bench as he was lonely in his life, we kissed each other and pledged ourselves to look after him as long as we remain in Pettybaw; for what is love worth if it does not kindle17 the flames of spirit, open the gates of feeling, and widen the heart to shelter all the little loves and great loves that crave18 admittance?
As we neared the tiny fishing-village on the sands we met a fishwife brave in her short skirt and eight petticoats, the basket with its two hundred pound weight on her head, and the auld wife herself knitting placidly19 as she walked along. They look superbly strong, these women; but, to be sure, the ‘weak anes dee,’ as one of them told me.
When the boats come in sae early;
When the lift is blue an’ the herring-nets fu’,
And the sun glints in a’ things rarely.’
The silvery shoals of fish no longer come so near the shore as they used in the olden time, for then the kirk bell of St. Monan’s had its tongue tied when the ‘draive’ was off the coast, lest its knell22 should frighten away the shining myriads23 of the deep.
We climbed the shoulder of a great green cliff until we could sit on the rugged24 rocks at the top and overlook the sea. The bluff25 is well named Nirly Scaur, and a wild desolate26 spot it is, with grey lichen-clad boulders27 and stunted28 heather on its summit. In a storm here, the wind buffets29 and slashes30 and scourges31 one like invisible whips, and below the sea churns itself into foaming32 waves, driving its ‘infinite squadrons of wild white horses’ eternally toward the shore. It was calm and blue to-day, and no sound disturbed the quiet save the incessant33 shriek34 and scream of the rock birds, the kittiwakes, black-headed gulls35, and guillemots that live on the sides of these high sheer craigs. Here the mother guillemot lays her single egg, and here, on these narrow shelves of precipitous rock, she holds it in place with her foot until the warmth of her leg and overhanging body hatches it into life, when she takes it on her back and flies down to the sea. Motherhood under difficulties, it would seem, and the education of the baby guillemot is carried forward on Spartan36 principles; for the moment he is out of the shell he is swept downward hundreds of feet and plunged37 into a cold ocean, where he can sink or swim as instinct serves him. In a life so fraught38 with anxieties, exposures, and dangers, it is not strange that the guillemots keeps up a ceaseless clang of excited conversation, a very riot and wrangle39 of altercation40 and argument which the circumstances seem to warrant. The prospective41 father is obliged to take turns with the prospective mother, and hold the one precious egg on the rock while she goes for a fly, a swim, a bite, and a sup. As there are five hundred other parents on the same rock, and the eggs look to be only a couple of inches apart, the scene must be distracting, and I have no doubt we should find, if statistics were gathered, that thousands of guillemots die of nervous prostration42.
Willie and I interpreted the clamour somewhat as follows:—
[Between parent birds.]
“I am going to take my foot off. Are you ready to put yours on? Don’t be clumsy! Wait a minute, I’m not ready. I’M NOT READY, I TELL YOU! NOW!!”
[Between rival mothers.]
“Your egg is so close to mine that I can’t breathe—-”
“Move your egg, then, I can’t move mine!”
“You’re sitting so close, I can’t stretch my wings.”
“Neither can I. You’ve got as much room as I have.”
“I shall tumble if you crowd me.”
“Go ahead and tumble, then! There is plenty of room in the sea.”
[From one father to another ceremoniously.]
“Pardon me, but I’m afraid I shoved your wife off the rock last night.”
“Don’t mention it. I remember I shoved off your wife’s mother last year.”
We walked among the tiny whitewashed43 low-roofed cots, each with its silver-skinned fishes tacked44 invitingly45 against the door-frame to dry, until we came to my favourite, the corner cottage in the row. It has beautiful narrow garden strips in front,—solid patches of colour in sweet gillyflower bushes, from which the kindly46 housewife plucked a nosegay for us. Her white columbines she calls ‘granny’s mutches’; and indeed they are not unlike those fresh white caps. Dear Robbie Burns, ten inches high in plaster, stands in the sunny window in a tiny box of blossoming plants surrounded by a miniature green picket47 fence. Outside, looming48 white among the gillyflowers, is Sir Walter, and near him is still another and a larger bust20 on a cracked pedestal a foot high, perhaps. We did not recognise the head at once, and asked the little woman who it was.
“Homer, the graund Greek poet,” she answered cheerily; “an’ I’m to have anither o’ Burns, as tall as Homer, when my daughter comes hame frae E’nbro’.”
If the shade of Homer keeps account of his earthly triumphs, I think he is proud of his place in that humble49 Scotchwoman’s gillyflower garden, with his head under the drooping51 petals52 of granny’s white mutches.
What do you think her ‘mon’ is called in the village! John o’ Mary! But he is not alone in his meekness53, for there are Jock o’ Meg, Willie o’ Janet, Jem o’ Tibby, and a dozen others. These primitive54 fishing-villages are the places where all the advanced women ought to congregate55, for the wife is head of the house; the accountant, the treasurer56, the auditor57, the chancellor58 of the exchequer59; and though her husband does catch the fish for her to sell, that is accounted apparently60 as a detail too trivial for notice.
When we passed Mary’s cottage on our way to the sands next day, Burns’s head had been accidentally broken off by the children, and we felt as though we had lost a friend; but Scotch50 thrift61, and loyalty62 to the dear Ploughman Poet, came to the rescue, and when we returned, Robert’s plaster head had been glued to his body. He smiled at us again from between the two scarlet63 geraniums, and a tendril of ivy64 had been gently curled about his neck to hide the cruel wound.
After such long, lovely mornings as this, there is a late luncheon65 under the shadow of a rock with Salemina and Francesca, an idle chat, or the chapter of a book, and presently Lady Ardmore and her daughter Elizabeth drive down to the sands. They are followed by Robin66 Anstruther, Jamie, and Ralph on bicycles, and before long the stalwart figure of Ronald Macdonald appears in the distance, just in time for a cup of tea, which we brew67 in Lady Ardmore’s bath-house on the beach.
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1
primrose
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| n.樱草，最佳部分， | |
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footpath
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| n.小路，人行道 | |
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bleaching
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| 漂白法，漂白 | |
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mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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tart
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| adj.酸的；尖酸的，刻薄的；n.果馅饼；淫妇 | |
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chamber
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| n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所 | |
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fragrant
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| adj.芬香的，馥郁的，愉快的 | |
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pony
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| adj.小型的；n.小马 | |
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trampled
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| 踩( trample的过去式和过去分词 )； 践踏； 无视； 侵犯 | |
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derisive
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| adj.嘲弄的 | |
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din
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| n.喧闹声，嘈杂声 | |
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tottering
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| adj.蹒跚的，动摇的v.走得或动得不稳( totter的现在分词 )；踉跄；蹒跚；摇摇欲坠 | |
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13
ragged
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| adj.衣衫褴褛的，粗糙的，刺耳的 | |
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auld
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| adj.老的，旧的 | |
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apropos
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| adv.恰好地；adj.恰当的；关于 | |
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16
trotted
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| 小跑，急走( trot的过去分词 )； 匆匆忙忙地走 | |
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17
kindle
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| v.点燃，着火 | |
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crave
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| vt.渴望得到，迫切需要，恳求，请求 | |
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19
placidly
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| adv.平稳地，平静地 | |
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20
bust
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| vt.打破；vi.爆裂；n.半身像；胸部 | |
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bustle
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| v.喧扰地忙乱，匆忙，奔忙；n.忙碌；喧闹 | |
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22
knell
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| n.丧钟声；v.敲丧钟 | |
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myriads
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| n.无数，极大数量( myriad的名词复数 ) | |
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24
rugged
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| adj.高低不平的，粗糙的，粗壮的，强健的 | |
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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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26
desolate
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| adj.荒凉的，荒芜的；孤独的，凄凉的；v.使荒芜，使孤寂 | |
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27
boulders
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| n.卵石( boulder的名词复数 )；巨砾；（受水或天气侵蚀而成的）巨石；漂砾 | |
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28
stunted
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| adj.矮小的；发育迟缓的 | |
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buffets
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| （火车站的）饮食柜台( buffet的名词复数 )； （火车的）餐车； 自助餐 | |
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30
slashes
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| n.（用刀等）砍( slash的名词复数 )；（长而窄的）伤口；斜杠；撒尿v.挥砍( slash的第三人称单数 )；鞭打；割破；削减 | |
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31
scourges
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| 带来灾难的人或东西，祸害( scourge的名词复数 )； 鞭子 | |
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32
foaming
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| adj.布满泡沫的；发泡 | |
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incessant
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| adj.不停的，连续的 | |
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shriek
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| v./n.尖叫，叫喊 | |
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35
gulls
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| n.鸥( gull的名词复数 )v.欺骗某人( gull的第三人称单数 ) | |
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spartan
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| adj.简朴的，刻苦的；n.斯巴达；斯巴达式的人 | |
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plunged
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| v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降 | |
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38
fraught
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| adj.充满…的，伴有(危险等)的；忧虑的 | |
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wrangle
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| vi.争吵 | |
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40
altercation
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| n.争吵，争论 | |
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41
prospective
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| adj.预期的，未来的，前瞻性的 | |
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42
prostration
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| n. 平伏, 跪倒, 疲劳 | |
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43
whitewashed
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| 粉饰，美化，掩饰( whitewash的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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44
tacked
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| 用平头钉钉( tack的过去式和过去分词 )； 附加，增补； 帆船抢风行驶，用粗线脚缝 | |
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invitingly
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| adv. 动人地 | |
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46
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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picket
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| n.纠察队；警戒哨；v.设置纠察线；布置警卫 | |
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48
looming
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| n.上现蜃景（光通过低层大气发生异常折射形成的一种海市蜃楼）v.隐约出现，阴森地逼近( loom的现在分词 )；隐约出现，阴森地逼近 | |
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49
humble
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| adj.谦卑的，恭顺的；地位低下的；v.降低，贬低 | |
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50
scotch
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| n.伤口，刻痕；苏格兰威士忌酒；v.粉碎，消灭，阻止；adj.苏格兰(人)的 | |
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51
drooping
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| adj. 下垂的，无力的 动词droop的现在分词 | |
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52
petals
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| n.花瓣( petal的名词复数 ) | |
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53
meekness
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| n.温顺，柔和 | |
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54
primitive
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| adj.原始的；简单的；n.原(始)人，原始事物 | |
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congregate
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| v.(使)集合，聚集 | |
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56
treasurer
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| n.司库，财务主管 | |
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auditor
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| n.审计员，旁听着 | |
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chancellor
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| n.(英)大臣；法官；(德、奥)总理；大学校长 | |
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exchequer
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| n.财政部；国库 | |
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apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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thrift
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| adj.节约，节俭；n.节俭，节约 | |
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loyalty
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| n.忠诚，忠心 | |
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63
scarlet
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| n.深红色，绯红色，红衣；adj.绯红色的 | |
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64
ivy
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| n.常青藤，常春藤 | |
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65
luncheon
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| n.午宴，午餐，便宴 | |
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66
robin
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| n.知更鸟，红襟鸟 | |
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brew
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| v.酿造，调制 | |
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