CHAPTER XII

 Along the highway

 

July 17th.

 

Thornycroft Farm seems to be the musical centre of the universe.

 

When I wake very early in the morning I lie in a drowsy¹ sort of dream, trying to disentangle, one from the other, the various bird notes, trills, coos, croons, chirps², chirrups, and warbles.  Suddenly there falls on the air a delicious, liquid, finished song; so pure, so mellow³, so joyous⁴, that I go to the window and look out at the morning world, half awakened⁵, like myself.

 

There is I know not what charm in a window that does not push up, but opens its lattices out into the greenness.  And mine is like a little jewelled door, for the sun is shining from behind the chimneys and lighting⁶ the tiny diamond panes⁷ with amber⁸ flashes.

 

A faint delicate haze⁹ lies over the meadow, and rising out of it, and soaring toward the blue is the lark¹⁰, flinging out that matchless matin song, so rich, so thrilling, so lavish¹¹!  As the blithe¹² melody fades away, I hear the plaintive¹³ ballad-fragments of the robin¹⁴ on a curtsying branch near my window; and there is always the liquid pipe of the thrush, who must quaff¹⁵ a fairy goblet¹⁶ of dew between his songs, I should think, so fresh and eternally young is his note.

 

There is another beautiful song that I follow whenever I hear it, straining my eyes to the treetops, yet never finding a bird that I can identify as the singer.  Can it be the—

 

    “Ousel-cock so black of hue¹⁷,

    With orange-tawny bill”?

 

He is called the poet-laureate of the primrose¹⁸ time, but I don’t know whether he sings in midsummer, and I have not seen him hereabouts.  I must write and ask my dear Man of the North.  The Man of the North, I sometimes think, had a Fairy Grandmother who was a robin; and perhaps she made a nest of fresh moss¹⁹ and put him in the green wood when he was a wee bairnie, so that he waxed wise in bird-lore without knowing it.  At all events, describe to him the cock of a head, the glance of an eye, the tip-up of a tail, or the sheen of a feather, and he will name you the bird.  Near-sighted he is, too, the Man of the North, but that is only for people.

 

The Square Baby and I have a new game.

 

I bought a doll’s table and china tea-set in Buffington.  We put it under an apple-tree in the side garden, where the scarlet²⁰ lightning grows so tall and the Madonna lilies stand so white against the flaming background.  We built a little fence around it, and every afternoon at tea-time we sprinkle seeds and crumbs²¹ in the dishes, water in the tiny cups, drop a cherry in each of the fruit-plates, and have a thé chantant for the birdies.  We sometimes invite an “invaleed” duckling, or one of the baby rabbits, or the peacock, in which case the cards read:—

 

    Thornycroft Farm.

    The pleasure of your company is requested

    at a

    Thé Chantant

    Under the Apple Tree.

    Music at five.

 

It is a charming game, as I say, but I’d far rather play it with the Man of the North; he is so much younger than the Square Baby, and so much more responsive, too.

 

The scent²² of the hay

 

Thornycroft Farm is a sweet place, too, of odours as well as sounds.  The scent of the hay is for ever in the nostrils²³, the hedges are thick with wild honeysuckle, so deliciously fragrant²⁴, the last of the June roses are lingering to do their share, and blackberry blossoms and ripening²⁵ fruit as well.

 

I have never known a place in which it is so easy to be good.  I have not said a word, nor scarcely harboured a thought, that was not lovely and virtuous²⁶ since I entered these gates, and yet there are those who think me fantastic, difficult, hard to please, unreasonable²⁷!

 

The last of June

 

I believe the saints must have lived in the country mostly (I am certain they never tried Hydropathic hotels), and why anybody with a black heart and natural love of wickedness should not simply buy a poultry²⁸ farm and become an angel, I cannot understand.

 

A place in which it is so easy to be good

 

Living with animals is really a very improving and wholesome²⁹ kind of life, to the person who will allow himself to be influenced by their sensible and high-minded ideals.  When you come to think about it, man is really the only animal that ever makes a fool of himself; the others are highly civilised, and never make mistakes.  I am going to mention this when I write to somebody, sometime; I mean if I ever do.  To be sure, our human life is much more complicated than theirs, and I believe when the other animals notice our errors of judgment³⁰ they make allowances.  The bee is as busy as a bee, and the beaver³¹ works like a beaver, but there their responsibility ends.  The bee doesn’t have to go about seeing that other bees are not crowded into unsanitary tenements³² or victimised by the sweating system.  When the beaver’s day of toil³³ is over he doesn’t have to discuss the sphere, the rights, or the voting privileges of beaveresses; all he has to do is to work like a beaver, and that is comparatively simple.

1 drowsy   

adj.昏昏欲睡的，令人发困的

参考例句：

• Exhaust fumes made him drowsy and brought on a headache.废气把他熏得昏昏沉沉，还引起了头疼。
• I feel drowsy after lunch every day.每天午饭后我就想睡觉。

2 chirps   

鸟叫，虫鸣( chirp的第三人称单数 )； 啾； 啾啾

参考例句：

• The linnet chirps her vernal song. 红雀吱喳鸣叫着她春天的歌。
• She heard nothing but the chirps and whirrs of insects. 除了虫的鸣叫声外，她什么也没听见。

3 mellow   

adj.柔和的；熟透的；v.变柔和；(使)成熟

参考例句：

• These apples are mellow at this time of year.每年这时节，苹果就熟透了。
• The colours become mellow as the sun went down.当太阳落山时，色彩变得柔和了。

4 joyous   

adj.充满快乐的；令人高兴的

参考例句：

• The lively dance heightened the joyous atmosphere of the scene.轻快的舞蹈给这场戏渲染了欢乐气氛。
• They conveyed the joyous news to us soon.他们把这一佳音很快地传递给我们。

5 awakened   

v.（使）醒( awaken的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）觉醒；弄醒；（使）意识到

参考例句：

• She awakened to the sound of birds singing. 她醒来听到鸟的叫声。
• The public has been awakened to the full horror of the situation. 公众完全意识到了这一状况的可怕程度。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 lighting   

n.照明，光线的明暗，舞台灯光

参考例句：

• The gas lamp gradually lost ground to electric lighting.煤气灯逐渐为电灯所代替。
• The lighting in that restaurant is soft and romantic.那个餐馆照明柔和而且浪漫。

7 panes   

窗玻璃( pane的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The sun caught the panes and flashed back at him. 阳光照到窗玻璃上，又反射到他身上。
• The window-panes are dim with steam. 玻璃窗上蒙上了一层蒸汽。

8 amber   

n.琥珀；琥珀色；adj.琥珀制的

参考例句：

• Would you like an amber necklace for your birthday?你过生日想要一条琥珀项链吗？
• This is a piece of little amber stones.这是一块小小的琥珀化石。

9 haze   

n.霾，烟雾；懵懂，迷糊；vi.(over)变模糊

参考例句：

• I couldn't see her through the haze of smoke.在烟雾弥漫中，我看不见她。
• He often lives in a haze of whisky.他常常是在威士忌的懵懂醉意中度过的。

10 lark   

n.云雀，百灵鸟；n.嬉戏，玩笑；vi.嬉戏

参考例句：

• He thinks it cruel to confine a lark in a cage.他认为把云雀关在笼子里太残忍了。
• She lived in the village with her grandparents as cheerful as a lark.她同祖父母一起住在乡间非常快活。

11 lavish   

adj.无节制的；浪费的；vt.慷慨地给予，挥霍

参考例句：

• He despised people who were lavish with their praises.他看不起那些阿谀奉承的人。
• The sets and costumes are lavish.布景和服装极尽奢华。

12 blithe   

adj.快乐的，无忧无虑的

参考例句：

• Tonight,however,she was even in a blithe mood than usual.但是，今天晚上她比往常还要高兴。
• He showed a blithe indifference to her feelings.他显得毫不顾及她的感情。

13 plaintive   

adj.可怜的，伤心的

参考例句：

• Her voice was small and plaintive.她的声音微弱而哀伤。
• Somewhere in the audience an old woman's voice began plaintive wail.观众席里，一位老太太伤心地哭起来。

14 robin   

n.知更鸟，红襟鸟

参考例句：

• The robin is the messenger of spring.知更鸟是报春的使者。
• We knew spring was coming as we had seen a robin.我们看见了一只知更鸟，知道春天要到了。

15 quaff   

v.一饮而尽；痛饮

参考例句：

• We quaffed wine last night.我们昨晚畅饮了一次酒。
• He's quaffed many a glass of champagne in his time.他年轻时曾经开怀畅饮过不少香槟美酒。

16 goblet   

n.高脚酒杯

参考例句：

• He poured some wine into the goblet.他向高脚酒杯里倒了一些葡萄酒。
• He swirled the brandy around in the huge goblet.他摇晃着高脚大玻璃杯使里面的白兰地酒旋动起来。

17 hue   

n.色度；色调；样子

参考例句：

• The diamond shone with every hue under the sun.金刚石在阳光下放出五颜六色的光芒。
• The same hue will look different in different light.同一颜色在不同的光线下看起来会有所不同。

18 primrose   

n.樱草，最佳部分，

参考例句：

• She is in the primrose of her life.她正处在她一生的最盛期。
• The primrose is set off by its nest of green.一窝绿叶衬托着一朵樱草花。

19 moss   

n.苔，藓，地衣

参考例句：

• Moss grows on a rock.苔藓生在石头上。
• He was found asleep on a pillow of leaves and moss.有人看见他枕着树叶和苔藓睡着了。

20 scarlet   

n.深红色，绯红色，红衣；adj.绯红色的

参考例句：

• The scarlet leaves of the maples contrast well with the dark green of the pines.深红的枫叶和暗绿的松树形成了明显的对比。
• The glowing clouds are growing slowly pale,scarlet,bright red,and then light red.天空的霞光渐渐地淡下去了，深红的颜色变成了绯红，绯红又变为浅红。

21 crumbs   

int. (表示惊讶)哎呀 n. 碎屑 名词crumb的复数形式

参考例句：

• She stood up and brushed the crumbs from her sweater. 她站起身掸掉了毛衣上的面包屑。
• Oh crumbs! Is that the time? 啊，天哪！都这会儿啦？

22 scent   

n.气味，香味，香水，线索，嗅觉；v.嗅，发觉

参考例句：

• The air was filled with the scent of lilac.空气中弥漫着丁香花的芬芳。
• The flowers give off a heady scent at night.这些花晚上散发出醉人的芳香。

23 nostrils   

鼻孔( nostril的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Her nostrils flared with anger. 她气得两个鼻孔都鼓了起来。
• The horse dilated its nostrils. 马张大鼻孔。

24 fragrant   

adj.芬香的，馥郁的，愉快的

参考例句：

• The Fragrant Hills are exceptionally beautiful in late autumn.深秋的香山格外美丽。
• The air was fragrant with lavender.空气中弥漫薰衣草香。

25 ripening   

v.成熟，使熟( ripen的现在分词 )；熟化；熟成

参考例句：

• The corn is blossoming [ripening]. 玉米正在开花[成熟]。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• When the summer crop is ripening, the autumn crop has to be sowed. 夏季作物成熟时，就得播种秋季作物。 来自《简明英汉词典》

26 virtuous   

adj.有品德的，善良的，贞洁的，有效力的

参考例句：

• She was such a virtuous woman that everybody respected her.她是个有道德的女性，人人都尊敬她。
• My uncle is always proud of having a virtuous wife.叔叔一直为娶到一位贤德的妻子而骄傲。

27 unreasonable   

adj.不讲道理的，不合情理的，过度的

参考例句：

• I know that they made the most unreasonable demands on you.我知道他们对你提出了最不合理的要求。
• They spend an unreasonable amount of money on clothes.他们花在衣服上的钱太多了。

28 poultry   

n.家禽，禽肉

参考例句：

• There is not much poultry in the shops. 商店里禽肉不太多。
• What do you feed the poultry on? 你们用什么饲料喂养家禽?

29 wholesome   

adj.适合；卫生的；有益健康的；显示身心健康的

参考例句：

• In actual fact the things I like doing are mostly wholesome.实际上我喜欢做的事大都是有助于增进身体健康的。
• It is not wholesome to eat without washing your hands.不洗手吃饭是不卫生的。

30 judgment   

n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见

参考例句：

• The chairman flatters himself on his judgment of people.主席自认为他审视人比别人高明。
• He's a man of excellent judgment.他眼力过人。

31 beaver   

n.海狸，河狸

参考例句：

• The hat is made of beaver.这顶帽子是海狸毛皮制的。
• A beaver is an animals with big front teeth.海狸是一种长着大门牙的动物。

32 tenements   

n.房屋，住户，租房子( tenement的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Here were crumbling tenements, squalid courtyards and stinking alleys. 随处可见破烂的住房、肮脏的庭院和臭气熏天的小胡同。 来自辞典例句
• The tenements are in a poor section of the city. 共同住宅是在城中较贫苦的区域里。 来自辞典例句

33 toil   

vi.辛劳工作，艰难地行动；n.苦工，难事

参考例句：

• The wealth comes from the toil of the masses.财富来自大众的辛勤劳动。
• Every single grain is the result of toil.每一粒粮食都来之不易。