Now came the day of the Great Folk-mote, and there was much thronging3 from everywhere to the Mote-stead, but most from Burgstead itself, whereas few of the Dale-dwellers who had been at the Fair had gone back home. Albeit4 some of the Shepherds and of the Dalesmen of the westernmost Dale had brought light tents, and tilted5 themselves in in the night before the Mote down in the meadows below the Mote-stead. From early morning there had been a stream of folk on the Portway setting westward6; and many came thus early that they might hold converse7 with friends and well-wishers; and some that they might disport8 them in the woods. Men went in no ordered bands, as the Burgstead men at least had done on the day of the Weapon-show, save that a few of them who were arrayed the bravest gathered about the banners, and went with them to the Mote-stead; for all the banners must needs be there.
The Folk-mote was to be hallowed-in three hours before noon, as all men knew; therefore an hour before that time were all men of the Dale and the Shepherds assembled that might be looked for, save the Alderman and the chieftains with the banner of the Burg, and these were not like to come many minutes before the Hallowing. Folk were gathered on the Field in such wise, that the men-at-arms made a great ring round about the Doom-ring, (albeit there were many old men there, girt with swords that they should never heave up again in battle), so that without that ring there was nought9 save women and children. But when all the other Houses were assembled, men looked around, and beheld10 the place of the Woodlanders that it was empty; and they marvelled11 that they were thus belated. For now all was ready, and a watcher had gone up to the Tower on the height, and had with him the great Horn of Warning, which could be heard past the Mote-stead and a great way down the Dale: and if he saw foes12 coming from the East he should blow one blast; if from the South, two; if from the West, three; if from the North, four.
So half an hour from the appointed time of Hallowing rose the rumour13 that the Alderman was on the road, and presently they of the women who were on the outside of the throng2, by drawing nigh to the edge of the sheer rock, could behold14 the Banner of the Burg on the Portway, and soon after could see the wain, done about with green boughs15, wherein sat the chieftains in their glittering war-gear. Speedily they spread the tidings, and a confused shout went up into the air; and in a little while the wain stayed on Wildlake’s Way at the bottom of the steep slope that went up to the Mote-stead, and the banner of the Burg came on proudly up the hill. Soon all men beheld it, and saw that the tall Hall-face bore it in front of his brother Face-of-god, who came on gleaming in war-gear better than most men had seen; which was indeed of his father’s fashioning, and his father’s gift to him that morning.
After Face-of-god came the Alderman, and with him Folk-might leading the Sun-beam by the hand, and then Stone-face and the Elder of the Dale-wardens16; and then the six Burg-wardens: as to the other Dale-wardens, they were in their places on the Field.
So now those who had been standing17 up turned their faces toward the Altar of the Gods, and those who had been sitting down sprang to their feet, and the confused rumour of the throng rose into a clear shout as the chieftains went to their places, and sat them down on the turf-seats amidst the Doom-ring facing the Speech-hill and the Altar of the Gods. Amidmost sat the Alderman, on his right hand Face-of-god, and out from him Hall-face, and then Stone-face and three of the Wardens; but on his left hand sat first the two Guests, then the Elder of the Dale-wardens, and then the other three Burg-wardens; as for the Banner of the Burg, its staff was stuck into the earth behind them, and the Banner raised itself in the morning wind and flapped and rippled18 over their heads.
There then they sat, and folk abided, and it still lacked some minutes of the due time, as the Alderman wotted by the shadow of the great standing-stone betwixt him and the Altar. Therewithal came the sound of a great horn from out of the wood on the north side, and men knew it for the horn of the Woodland Carles, and were glad; for they could not think why they should be belated; and now men stood up a-tiptoe and on other’s shoulders to look over the heads of the women and children to behold their coming; but their empty place was at the southwest corner of the ring of men.
So presently men beheld them marching toward their place, cleaving19 the throng of the women and children, a great company; for besides that they had with them two score more of men under weapons than on the day of the Weapon-show, all their little ones and women and outworn elders were with them, some on foot, some riding on oxen and asses20. In their forefront went the two signs of the Battle-shaft and the War-spear. But moreover, in front of all was borne a great staff with the cloth of a banner wrapped round about it, and tied up with a hempen21 yarn22 that it might not be seen.
Stark23 and mighty24 men they looked; tall and lean, broad-shouldered, dark-faced. As they came amongst the throng the voice of their horn died out, and for a few moments they fared on with no sound save the tramp of their feet; then all at once the man who bare the hidden banner lifted up one hand, and straightway they fell to singing, and with that song they came to their place. And this is some of what they sang:
O white, white Sun, what things of wonder
Hast thou beheld from thy wall of the sky!
All the Roofs of the Rich and the grief thereunder,
As the fear of the Earl-folk flitteth by!
Thou hast seen the Flame steal forth25 from the Forest
To slay26 the slumber27 of the lands,
As the Dusky Lord whom thou abhorrest
Clomb up to thy Burg unbuilt with hands.
Thou lookest down from thy door the golden,
Nor batest thy wide-shining mirth,
As the ramparts fall, and the roof-trees olden
Lie smouldering low on the burning earth.
When flitteth the half-dark night of summer
From the face of the murder great and grim,
‘Tis thou thyself and no new-comer
Shines golden-bright on the deed undim.
Art thou our friend, O Day-dawn’s Lover?
Full oft thine hand hath sent aslant28
Bright beams athwart the Wood-bear’s cover,
Where the feeble folk and the nameless haunt.
Thou hast seen us quail29, thou hast seen us cower30,
Thou hast seen us crouch31 in the Green Abode32,
While for us wert thou slaying33 slow hour by hour,
And smoothing down the war-rough road.
Yea, the rocks of the Waste were thy Dawns upheaving,
To let the days of the years go through;
And thy Noons the tangled34 brake were cleaving
The slow-foot seasons’ deed to do.
Then gaze adown on this gift of our giving,
For the WOLF comes wending frith and ford35,
And the Folk fares forth from the dead to the living,
For the love of the Lief by the light of the Sword.
Then ceased the song, and the whole band of the Woodlanders came pouring tumultuously into the space allotted36 them, like the waters pouring over a river-dam, their white swords waving aloft in the morning sunlight; and wild and strange cries rose up from amidst them, with sobbing37 and weeping of joy. But soon their troubled front sank back into ordered ranks, their bright blades stood upright in their hands before them, and folk looked on their company, and deemed it the very Terror of battle and Render of the ranks of war. Right well were they armed; for though many of their weapons were ancient and somewhat worn, yet were they the work of good smiths of old days; and moreover, if any of them lacked good war-gear of his own, that had the Alderman and his sons made good to them.
But before the hedge of steel stood the two tall men who held in their hands the war-tokens of the Battle-shaft and the War-spear, and betwixt them stood one who was indeed the tallest man of the whole assembly, who held the great staff of the hidden banner. And now he reached up his hand, and plucked at the yarn that bound it, which of set purpose was but feeble, and tore it off, and then shook the staff aloft with both hands, and shouted, and lo! the Banner of the Wolf with the Sun-burst behind him, glittering-bright, new-woven by the women of the kindred, ran out in the fresh wind, and flapped and rippled before His warriors38 there assembled.
Then from all over the Mote-stead arose an exceeding great shout, and all men waved aloft their weapons; but the men of Shadowy Vale who were standing amidst the men of the Face knew not how to demean themselves, and some of them ran forth into the Field and leapt for joy, tossing their swords into the air, and catching39 them by the hilts as they fell: and amidst it all the Woodlanders now stood silent, unmoving, as men abiding40 the word of onset41.
As for that brother and sister: the Sun-beam flushed red all over her face, and pressed her hands to her bosom42, and then the passion of tears over-mastered her, and her breast heaved, and the tears gushed43 out of her eyes, and her body was shaken with weeping. But Folk-might sat still, looking straight before him, his eyes glittering, his teeth set, his right hand clutching hard at the hilts of his sword, which lay naked across his knees. And the Bride, who stood clad in her begemmed and glittering war-array in the forefront of the Men of the Steer44, nigh unto the seats of the chieftains, beheld Folk-might, and her face flushed and brightened, and still she looked upon him. The Alderman’s face was as of one pleased and proud; yet was its joy shadowed as it were by a cloud of compassion45. Face-of-god sat like the very image of the War-god, and stirred not, nor looked toward the Sun-beam; for still the thought of the after-grief of battle, and the death of friends and folk that loved him, lay heavy on his heart, for all that it beat wildly at the shouting of the men.
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1
mote
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| n.微粒；斑点 | |
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2
throng
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| n.人群，群众；v.拥挤，群集 | |
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thronging
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| v.成群，挤满( throng的现在分词 ) | |
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albeit
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| conj.即使；纵使；虽然 | |
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tilted
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| v. 倾斜的 | |
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westward
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| n.西方，西部；adj.西方的，向西的；adv.向西 | |
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converse
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| vi.谈话，谈天，闲聊；adv.相反的，相反 | |
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8
disport
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| v.嬉戏，玩 | |
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9
nought
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| n.／adj.无，零 | |
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10
beheld
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| v.看，注视( behold的过去式和过去分词 )；瞧；看呀；（叙述中用于引出某人意外的出现）哎哟 | |
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11
marvelled
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| v.惊奇，对…感到惊奇( marvel的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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12
foes
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| 敌人，仇敌( foe的名词复数 ) | |
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rumour
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| n.谣言，谣传，传闻 | |
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14
behold
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| v.看，注视，看到 | |
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15
boughs
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| 大树枝( bough的名词复数 ) | |
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16
wardens
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| n.看守人( warden的名词复数 )；管理员；监察员；监察官 | |
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17
standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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rippled
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| 使泛起涟漪（ripple的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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cleaving
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| v.劈开，剁开，割开( cleave的现在分词 ) | |
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asses
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| n. 驴，愚蠢的人，臀部 adv. (常用作后置)用于贬损或骂人 | |
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hempen
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| adj. 大麻制的, 大麻的 | |
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22
yarn
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| n.纱，纱线，纺线；奇闻漫谈，旅行轶事 | |
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23
stark
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| adj.荒凉的；严酷的；完全的；adv.完全地 | |
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24
mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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25
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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26
slay
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| v.杀死，宰杀，杀戮 | |
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slumber
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| n.睡眠，沉睡状态 | |
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28
aslant
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| adv.倾斜地；adj.斜的 | |
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29
quail
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| n.鹌鹑；vi.畏惧，颤抖 | |
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30
cower
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| v.畏缩，退缩，抖缩 | |
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31
crouch
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| v.蹲伏，蜷缩，低头弯腰；n.蹲伏 | |
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32
abode
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| n.住处，住所 | |
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33
slaying
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| 杀戮。 | |
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34
tangled
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| adj. 纠缠的，紊乱的 动词tangle的过去式和过去分词 | |
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35
Ford
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| n.浅滩，水浅可涉处；v.涉水，涉过 | |
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36
allotted
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| 分配，拨给，摊派( allot的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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37
sobbing
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| <主方>Ⅰ adj.湿透的 | |
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38
warriors
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| 武士，勇士，战士( warrior的名词复数 ) | |
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39
catching
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| adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住 | |
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40
abiding
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| adj.永久的，持久的，不变的 | |
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41
onset
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| n.进攻，袭击，开始，突然开始 | |
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42
bosom
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| n.胸，胸部；胸怀；内心；adj.亲密的 | |
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43
gushed
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| v.喷，涌( gush的过去式和过去分词 )；滔滔不绝地说话 | |
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44
steer
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| vt.驾驶，为…操舵；引导；vi.驾驶 | |
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45
compassion
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| n.同情，怜悯 | |
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