1. slip 3. Davie would be attracted into a similar dialect, as he is later — e.g., with Doig, chapter XIX. This is truly Scottish.
4, to lightly; correct; ‘to lightly’ is a good regular Scots verb.
15. See Allan Ramsay’s works.
15, 16. Ay, and that is one of the pigments1 with which I am trying to draw the character of Prestongrange. ’Tis a most curious thing to render that kind, insignificant2 mask. To make anything precise is to risk my effect. And till the day he died, Davie was never sure of what P. was after. Not only so; very often P. didn’t know himself. There was an element of mere3 liking4 for Davie; there was an element of being determined5, in case of accidents, to keep well with him. He hoped his Barbara would bring him to her feet, besides, and make him manageable. That was why he sent him to Hope Park with them. But Davie cannot know; I give you the inside of Davie, and my method condemns6 me to give only the outside both of Prestongrange and his policy.
— I’ll give my mind to the technicalities. Yet to me they seem a part of the story, which is historical, after all.
— I think they wanted Alan to escape. But when or where to say so? I will try.
— 20, Dean. I’ll try and make that plainer.
CHAP. XIII., I fear it has to go without blows. If I could get the pair — No, can’t be.
— XIV. All right, will abridge7.
— XV. I’d have to put a note to every word; and he who can’t read Scots can never enjoy Tod Lapraik.
— XVII. Quite right. I can make this plainer, and will.
— XVIII. I know, but I have to hurry here; this is the broken back of my story; some business briefly8 transacted10, I am leaping for Barbara’s apron-strings.
slip 57. Quite right again; I shall make it plain.
CHAP. XX. I shall make all these points clear. About Lady Prestongrange (not Lady Grant, only Miss Grant, my dear, though Lady Prestongrange, quoth the dominie) I am taken with your idea of her death, and have a good mind to substitute a featureless aunt.
Slip 78. I don’t see how to lessen11 this effect. There is really not much said of it; and I know Catriona did it. But I’ll try.
— 89. I know. This is an old puzzle of mine. You see C.‘s dialect is not wholly a bed of roses. If only I knew the Gaelic. Well, I’ll try for another expression.
The End. I shall try to work it over. James was at Dunkirk ordering post-horses for his own retreat. Catriona did have her suspicions aroused by the letter, and, careless gentleman, I told you so — or she did at least. — Yes, the blood money, I am bothered about the portmanteau; it is the presence of Catriona that bothers me; the rape12 of the pockmantie is historic . . . .
To me, I own, it seems in the proof a very pretty piece of workmanship. David himself I refuse to discuss; he is. The Lord Advocate I think a strong sketch13 of a very difficult character, James More, sufficient; and the two girls very pleasing creatures. But O dear me, I came near losing my heart to Barbara! I am not quite so constant as David, and even he — well, he didn’t know it, anyway! Tod Lapraik is a piece of living Scots: if I had never writ14 anything but that and Thrawn Janet, still I’d have been a writer. The defects of D.B. are inherent, I fear. But on the whole, I am far indeed from being displeased15 with the tailie. They want more Alan? Well, they can’t get it.
I found my fame much grown on this return to civilisation16. digito monstrari is a new experience; people all looked at me in the streets in Sydney; and it was very queer. Here, of course, I am only the white chief in the Great House to the natives; and to the whites, either an ally or a foe17. It is a much healthier state of matters. If I lived in an atmosphere of adulation, I should end by kicking against the pricks18. O my beautiful forest, O my beautiful shining, windy house, what a joy it was to behold19 them again! No chance to take myself too seriously here.
The difficulty of the end is the mass of matter to be attended to, and the small time left to transact9 it in. I mean from Alan’s danger of arrest. But I have just seen my way out, I do believe.
Easter Sunday.
I have now got as far as slip 28, and finished the chapter of the law technicalities. Well, these seemed to me always of the essence of the story, which is the story of a cause celebre; moreover, they are the justification20 of my inventions; if these men went so far (granting Davie sprung on them) would they not have gone so much further? But of course I knew they were a difficulty; determined to carry them through in a conversation; approached this (it seems) with cowardly anxiety; and filled it with gabble, sir, gabble. I have left all my facts, but have removed 42 lines. I should not wonder but what I’ll end by re-writing it. It is not the technicalities that shocked you, it was my bad art. It is very strange that X. should be so good a chapter and IX. and XI. so uncompromisingly bad. It looks as if XI. also would have to be re-formed. If X. had not cheered me up, I should be in doleful dumps, but X. is alive anyway, and life is all in all.
Thursday, April 5th.
Well, there’s no disguise possible; Fanny is not well, and we are miserably21 anxious . . . .
Friday, 7th.
I am thankful to say the new medicine relieved her at once. A crape has been removed from the day for all of us. To make things better, the morning is ah! such a morning as you have never seen; heaven upon earth for sweetness, freshness, depth upon depth of unimaginable colour, and a huge silence broken at this moment only by the far-away murmur22 of the Pacific and the rich piping of a single bird. You can’t conceive what a relief this is; it seems a new world. She has such extraordinary recuperative power that I do hope for the best. I am as tired as man can be. This is a great trial to a family, and I thank God it seems as if ours was going to bear it well. And O! if it only lets up, it will be but a pleasant memory. We are all seedy, bar Lloyd: Fanny, as per above; self nearly extinct; Belle23, utterly24 overworked and bad toothache; Cook, down with a bad foot; Butler, prostrate25 with a bad leg. Eh, what a faim’ly!
Sunday.
Grey heaven, raining torrents26 of rain; occasional thunder and lightning. Everything to dispirit; but my invalids27 are really on the mend. The rain roars like the sea; in the sound of it there is a strange and ominous28 suggestion of an approaching tramp; something nameless and measureless seems to draw near, and strikes me cold, and yet is welcome. I lie quiet in bed today, and think of the universe with a good deal of equanimity29. I have, at this moment, but the one objection to it; the fracas30 with which it proceeds. I do not love noise; I am like my grandfather in that; and so many years in these still islands has ingrained the sentiment perhaps. Here are no trains, only men pacing barefoot. No carts or carriages; at worst the rattle31 of a horse’s shoes among the rocks. Beautiful silence; and so soon as this robustious rain takes off, I am to drink of it again by oceanfuls.
April 16th.
Several pages of this letter destroyed as beneath scorn; the wailings of a crushed worm; matter in which neither you nor I can take stock. Fanny is distinctly better, I believe all right now; I too am mending, though I have suffered from crushed wormery, which is not good for the body, and damnation to the soul. I feel to-night a baseless anxiety to write a lovely poem a propos des bottes de ma grandmere. I see I am idiotic32. I’ll try the poem.
17TH.
The poem did not get beyond plovers33 and lovers. I am still, however, harassed34 by the unauthentic Muse35; if I cared to encourage her — but I have not the time, and anyway we are at the vernal equinox. It is funny enough, but my pottering verses are usually made (like the God-gifted organ voice’s) at the autumnal; and this seems to hold at the Antipodes. There is here some odd secret of Nature. I cannot speak of politics; we wait and wonder. It seems (this is partly a guess) Ide won’t take the C. J. ship, unless the islands are disarmed36; and that England hesitates and holds off. By my own idea, strongly corroborated37 by Sir George, I am writing no more letters. But I have put as many irons in against this folly38 of the disarming39 as I could manage. It did not reach my ears till nearly too late. What a risk to take! What an expense to incur40! And for how poor a gain! Apart from the treachery of it. My dear fellow, politics is a vile41 and a bungling42 business. I used to think meanly of the plumber43; but how he shines beside the politician!
Thursday.
A general, steady advance; Fanny really quite chipper and jolly — self on the rapid mend, and with my eye on forests that are to fall — and my finger on the axe44, which wants stoning.
Saturday, 22.
Still all for the best; but I am having a heart-breaking time over David. I have nearly all corrected. But have to consider The Heather on Fire, The Wood by Silvermills, and the last chapter. They all seem to me off colour; and I am not fit to better them yet. No proof has been sent of the title, contents, or dedication45.
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1
pigments
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| n.（粉状）颜料( pigment的名词复数 )；天然色素 | |
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2
insignificant
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| adj.无关紧要的，可忽略的，无意义的 | |
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3
mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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4
liking
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| n.爱好；嗜好；喜欢 | |
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determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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6
condemns
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| v.（通常因道义上的原因而）谴责( condemn的第三人称单数 )；宣判；宣布…不能使用；迫使…陷于不幸的境地 | |
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7
abridge
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| v.删减，删节，节略，缩短 | |
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8
briefly
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| adv.简单地，简短地 | |
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9
transact
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| v.处理；做交易；谈判 | |
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transacted
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| v.办理（业务等）( transact的过去式和过去分词 )；交易，谈判 | |
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11
lessen
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| vt.减少，减轻；缩小 | |
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12
rape
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| n.抢夺，掠夺，强奸；vt.掠夺，抢夺，强奸 | |
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13
sketch
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| n.草图；梗概；素描；v.素描；概述 | |
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14
writ
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| n.命令状，书面命令 | |
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15
displeased
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| a.不快的 | |
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civilisation
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| n.文明，文化，开化，教化 | |
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17
foe
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| n.敌人，仇敌 | |
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18
pricks
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| 刺痛( prick的名词复数 )； 刺孔； 刺痕； 植物的刺 | |
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19
behold
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| v.看，注视，看到 | |
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justification
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| n.正当的理由；辩解的理由 | |
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21
miserably
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| adv.痛苦地；悲惨地；糟糕地；极度地 | |
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22
murmur
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| n.低语，低声的怨言；v.低语，低声而言 | |
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23
belle
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| n.靓女 | |
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utterly
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| adv.完全地，绝对地 | |
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prostrate
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| v.拜倒，平卧，衰竭；adj.拜倒的，平卧的，衰竭的 | |
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26
torrents
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| n.倾注；奔流( torrent的名词复数 )；急流；爆发；连续不断 | |
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27
invalids
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| 病人，残疾者( invalid的名词复数 ) | |
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28
ominous
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| adj.不祥的，不吉的，预兆的，预示的 | |
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29
equanimity
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| n.沉着，镇定 | |
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fracas
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| n.打架；吵闹 | |
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31
rattle
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| v.飞奔，碰响；激怒；n.碰撞声；拨浪鼓 | |
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32
idiotic
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| adj.白痴的 | |
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33
plovers
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| n.珩，珩科鸟（如凤头麦鸡）( plover的名词复数 ) | |
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34
harassed
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| adj. 疲倦的，厌烦的 动词harass的过去式和过去分词 | |
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35
muse
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| n.缪斯（希腊神话中的女神），创作灵感 | |
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36
disarmed
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| v.裁军( disarm的过去式和过去分词 )；使息怒 | |
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corroborated
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| v.证实，支持（某种说法、信仰、理论等）( corroborate的过去式 ) | |
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38
folly
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| n.愚笨，愚蠢，蠢事，蠢行，傻话 | |
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39
disarming
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| adj.消除敌意的，使人消气的v.裁军( disarm的现在分词 )；使息怒 | |
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40
incur
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| vt.招致，蒙受，遭遇 | |
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41
vile
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| adj.卑鄙的，可耻的，邪恶的；坏透的 | |
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42
bungling
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| adj.笨拙的，粗劣的v.搞糟，完不成( bungle的现在分词 )；笨手笨脚地做；失败；完不成 | |
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43
plumber
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| n.(装修水管的)管子工 | |
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44
axe
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| n.斧子；v.用斧头砍，削减 | |
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45
dedication
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| n.奉献，献身，致力，题献，献辞 | |
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