Chapter 31 Aunt Miranda's Apology

    When Rebecca alighted from the trainat Maplewood and hurried to the post-office where the stage was standing,what was her joy to see uncle Jerry Cobb holdingthe horses' heads.

　　"The reg'lar driver 's sick," he explained, "andwhen they sent for me, thinks I to myself, mydrivin' days is over, but Rebecky won't let the grassgrow under her feet when she gits her aunt Jane'sletter, and like as not I'll ketch her to-day; or, ifshe gits delayed, to-morrow for certain. So here Ibe jest as I was more 'n six year ago. Will you bea real lady passenger, or will ye sit up in frontwith me?"Emotions of various sorts were all strugglingtogether in the old man's face, and the two orthree bystanders were astounded¹ when they sawthe handsome, stately girl fling herself on Mr.

　　Cobb's dusty shoulder crying like a child. "Oh,uncle Jerry!" she sobbed²; "dear uncle Jerry! It'sall so long ago, and so much has happened, andwe've grown so old, and so much is going to happenthat I'm fairly frightened.""There, there, lovey," the old man whisperedcomfortingly, "we'll be all alone on the stage, andwe'll talk things over 's we go along the road an'

　　mebbe they won't look so bad."Every mile of the way was as familiar to Rebeccaas to uncle Jerry; every watering-trough, grindstone,red barn, weather-vane, duck-pond, and sandybrook. And all the time she was looking backwardto the day, seemingly so long ago, when she sat onthe box seat for the first time, her legs dangling³ inthe air, too short to reach the footboard. She couldsmell the big bouquet⁴ of lilacs, see the pink-flouncedparasol, feel the stiffness of the starched⁵ buff calicoand the hated prick⁶ of the black and yellow porcupinequills. The drive was taken almost in silence,but it was a sweet, comforting silence both touncle Jerry and the girl.

　　Then came the sight of Abijah Flagg shellingbeans in the barn, and then the Perkins attic⁷ windowswith a white cloth fluttering from them. Shecould spell Emma Jane's loving thought and welcomein that little waving flag; a word and a messagesent to her just at the first moment whenRiverboro chimneys rose into view; something towarm her heart till they could meet.

　　The brick house came next, looking just as ofyore; though it seemed to Rebecca as if deathshould have cast some mysterious spell over it.

　　There were the rolling meadows, the stately elms,all yellow and brown now; the glowing maples,the garden-beds bright with asters, and the hollyhocks,rising tall against the parlor⁸ windows; onlyin place of the cheerful pinks and reds of thenodding stalks, with their gay rosettes of bloom,was a crape scarf holding the blinds together, andanother on the sitting-room⁹ side, and another onthe brass¹⁰ knocker of the brown-painted door.

　　"Stop, uncle Jerry! Don't turn in at the side;hand me my satchel¹¹, please; drop me in the roadand let me run up the path by myself. Then driveaway quickly."At the noise and rumble¹² of the approachingstage the house door opened from within, just asRebecca closed the gate behind her. Aunt Janecame down the stone steps, a changed woman,frail and broken and white. Rebecca held out herarms and the old aunt crept into them feebly, asshe did on that day when she opened the grave ofher buried love and showed the dead face, just foran instant, to a child. Warmth and strength andlife flowed into the aged¹³ frame from the young one.

　　"Rebecca," she said, raising her head, "beforeyou go in to look at her, do you feel any bitternessover anything she ever said to you?"Rebecca's eyes blazed reproach, almost anger, asshe said chokingly: "Oh, aunt Jane! Could youbelieve it of me? I am going in with a heart brimfulof gratitude¹⁴!""She was a good woman, Rebecca; she had aquick temper and a sharp tongue, but she wantedto do right, and she did it as near as she could.

　　She never said so, but I'm sure she was sorry forevery hard word she spoke¹⁵ to you; she didn't take'em back in life, but she acted so 't you'd know herfeeling when she was gone.""I told her before I left that she'd been the makingof me, just as mother says," sobbed Rebecca"She wasn't that," said Jane. "God made youin the first place, and you've done considerable yourselfto help Him along; but she gave you the wherewithalto work with, and that ain't to be despised;specially when anybody gives up her own luxuriesand pleasures to do it. Now let me tell you something,Rebecca. Your aunt Mirandy 's willed all thisto you,--the brick house and buildings and furniture,and the land all round the house, as far 's youcan see."Rebecca threw off her hat and put her hand toher heart, as she always did in moments of intenseexcitement. After a moment's silence she said:

　　"Let me go in alone; I want to talk to her; I wantto thank her; I feel as if I could make her hear andfeel and understand!"Jane went back into the kitchen to the inexorabletasks that death has no power, even for a day, toblot from existence. He can stalk through dwellingafter dwelling¹⁶, leaving despair and desolation behindhim, but the table must be laid, the dishes washed,the beds made, by somebody.

　　Ten minutes later Rebecca came out from theGreat Presence looking white and spent, but chastenedand glorified¹⁷. She sat in the quiet doorway,shaded from the little Riverboro world by theoverhanging elms. A wide sense of thankfulness andpeace possessed¹⁸ her, as she looked at the autumnlandscape, listened to the rumble of a wagon¹⁹ on thebridge, and heard the call of the river as it dashedto the sea. She put up her hand softly and touchedfirst the shining brass knocker and then the redbricks, glowing in the October sun.

　　It was home; her roof, her garden, her greenacres, her dear trees; it was shelter for the littlefamily at Sunnybrook; her mother would have oncemore the companionship of her sister and the friendsof her girlhood; the children would have teachersand playmates.

　　And she? Her own future was close-folded still;folded and hidden in beautiful mists; but she leanedher head against the sun-warmed door, and closingher eyes, whispered, just as if she had been achild saying her prayers: "God bless aunt Miranda;God bless the brick house that was; God bless thebrick house that is to be!"

The End

1 astounded   

v.使震惊(astound的过去式和过去分词)；愕然；愕；惊讶

参考例句：

• His arrogance astounded her. 他的傲慢使她震惊。
• How can you say that? I'm absolutely astounded. 你怎么能说出那种话？我感到大为震惊。

2 sobbed   

哭泣，啜泣( sob的过去式和过去分词 )； 哭诉，呜咽地说

参考例句：

• She sobbed out the story of her son's death. 她哭诉着她儿子的死。
• She sobbed out the sad story of her son's death. 她哽咽着诉说她儿子死去的悲惨经过。

3 dangling   

悬吊着( dangle的现在分词 )； 摆动不定； 用某事物诱惑…； 吊胃口

参考例句：

• The tooth hung dangling by the bedpost, now. 结果，那颗牙就晃来晃去吊在床柱上了。
• The children sat on the high wall,their legs dangling. 孩子们坐在一堵高墙上，摇晃着他们的双腿。

4 bouquet   

n.花束，酒香

参考例句：

• This wine has a rich bouquet.这种葡萄酒有浓郁的香气。
• Her wedding bouquet consisted of roses and ivy.她的婚礼花篮包括玫瑰和长春藤。

5 starched   

adj.浆硬的，硬挺的，拘泥刻板的v.把（衣服、床单等）浆一浆( starch的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• My clothes are not starched enough. 我的衣服浆得不够硬。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The ruffles on his white shirt were starched and clean. 白衬衫的褶边浆过了，很干净。 来自辞典例句

6 prick   

v.刺伤，刺痛，刺孔；n.刺伤，刺痛

参考例句：

• He felt a sharp prick when he stepped on an upturned nail.当他踩在一个尖朝上的钉子上时，他感到剧烈的疼痛。
• He burst the balloon with a prick of the pin.他用针一戳，气球就爆了。

7 attic   

n.顶楼，屋顶室

参考例句：

• Leakiness in the roof caused a damp attic.屋漏使顶楼潮湿。
• What's to be done with all this stuff in the attic?顶楼上的材料怎么处理？

8 parlor   

n.店铺，营业室；会客室，客厅

参考例句：

• She was lying on a small settee in the parlor.她躺在客厅的一张小长椅上。
• Is there a pizza parlor in the neighborhood?附近有没有比萨店？

9 sitting-room   

n.（BrE）客厅，起居室

参考例句：

• The sitting-room is clean.起居室很清洁。
• Each villa has a separate sitting-room.每栋别墅都有一间独立的起居室。

10 brass   

n.黄铜；黄铜器，铜管乐器

参考例句：

• Many of the workers play in the factory's brass band.许多工人都在工厂铜管乐队中演奏。
• Brass is formed by the fusion of copper and zinc.黄铜是通过铜和锌的熔合而成的。

11 satchel   

n.(皮或帆布的)书包

参考例句：

• The school boy opened the door and flung his satchel in.那个男学生打开门，把他的书包甩了进去。
• She opened her satchel and took out her father's gloves.打开书箱，取出了她父亲的手套来。

12 rumble   

n.隆隆声；吵嚷；v.隆隆响；低沉地说

参考例句：

• I hear the rumble of thunder in the distance.我听到远处雷声隆隆。
• We could tell from the rumble of the thunder that rain was coming.我们根据雷的轰隆声可断定，天要下雨了。

13 aged   

adj.年老的，陈年的

参考例句：

• He had put on weight and aged a little.他胖了，也老点了。
• He is aged,but his memory is still good.他已年老，然而记忆力还好。

14 gratitude   

adj.感激，感谢

参考例句：

• I have expressed the depth of my gratitude to him.我向他表示了深切的谢意。
• She could not help her tears of gratitude rolling down her face.她感激的泪珠禁不住沿着面颊流了下来。

15 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

16 dwelling   

n.住宅，住所，寓所

参考例句：

• Those two men are dwelling with us.那两个人跟我们住在一起。
• He occupies a three-story dwelling place on the Park Street.他在派克街上有一幢3层楼的寓所。

17 glorified   

美其名的，变荣耀的

参考例句：

• The restaurant was no more than a glorified fast-food cafe. 这地方美其名曰餐馆，其实只不过是个快餐店而已。
• The author glorified the life of the peasants. 那个作者赞美了农民的生活。

18 possessed   

adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的

参考例句：

• He flew out of the room like a man possessed.他像着了魔似地猛然冲出房门。
• He behaved like someone possessed.他行为举止像是魔怔了。

19 wagon   

n.四轮马车，手推车，面包车；无盖运货列车

参考例句：

• We have to fork the hay into the wagon.我们得把干草用叉子挑进马车里去。
• The muddy road bemired the wagon.马车陷入了泥泞的道路。