A walk of half a mile across the marsh brought them to the river side, and within view of a sort of pendant to the upper village, in the shape of a row of tiny red-tiled cottages on the very bank. Here there was a ferry-house, with a licence ‘to sell ale and tobacco.’
As they turned into the river path, the ferry-boat was crossing leisurely8, with a freight of country girls on their way home from Grayfleet.
Uncle Luke trotted9 cheerfully along, still holding Madeline by the hand. Her eyes were now on the shining river and the drifting ferry-boat, and she had almost forgotten her scene with the Rector.
They were a curious pair. The girl was a slender slight thing, wild as some wayside weed. Her form was curiously10 light and graceful11; her face, with its large passionate12 eyes, very wistful and sad. The common cotton frock and coarse country shoes and stockings became her well, though her limbs were somewhat long and shapeless as yet. And if the girl was not a little fairylike, Uncle Luke would certainly have passed well for a Gnome13, or say rather, one of those quaint14 Trolls whose task it was, according to Scandinavian legend, to work busily in the bowels15 of the earth.
All the week long Uncle Luke did work, on the black river barge16 of which he was mate and his brother captain. From Monday to Saturday his figure was clad in blue jersey17, red cap, and rough tarpaulin18 trousers, and he helped to work the barge on its short journeys up and down the crowded river. But on the present occasion, it being a holiday, his attire19 was radiant—a high chimney-pot hat, very broad at the brim, and large enough to descend20 to his ears, a blue pilot coat, a white waistcoat, and a coloured cotton shirt, blue navy trousers, and lace-up boots. For Uncle Luke loved splendour, and nothing suited him better than to shine glorious in the eyes of his neighbours; though Uncle Mark, who was his elder brother, and strictly21 pious22, disapproved23 of all these vanities of apparel.
It may be admitted, without further preamble24, that Uncle Luke, though able-bodied, was mentally deficient25; indeed, in the estimation of many sober and wiser people, a simple fool, or, in the local parlance26, little better than a natural. Yet his shortcomings were by no means upon the surface, and it would have taken a very wise man to understand them at a glance. He was harmless, industrious27, and in some respects particularly shrewd. He knew how many pence make a shilling, and how many shillings a pound, as well as most men, and he had a sharp intuitive perception of human character. With all this he was simple beyond measure, and his reasoning faculties28 were absolutely infinitesimal.
Great as was his good nature, he strongly resented any imputation29 on his sagacity. His brother Mark had secured him work at a very low wage, on the understanding that he was weak and easily tired; and there on the barge, under his brother’s eye, he laboured cheerfully, save when some one was cruel enough to take advantage of his weakness or to deride31 his infirmity. At such times, he was subject to wild fits of passion. When these were over, he would creep into the cabin, cry like a child, and perhaps take to his hammock for days.
But to-day he looked happy enough, partly on account of his lucky escape from the Rector, and partly because Madeline had promised him the unparalleled treat of cutting open her bright new money-box.
This was a kind of temptation he never could resist. Had he possessed32 a watch, he would have taken it to pieces to examine the works; and he had been languishing33 with curiosity for days, puzzling his head, as many a child has done, to know what was inside the money-box labelled ‘Savings’ Bank,’ with its front pointed34 like a town hall, and a slit35 in its top for the reception of vagrant36 pence.
Having come in sight of the ferry, the two walked on quickly. The sun blazed down on them with golden splendour, and from beneath their feet the dust arose in a cloud. Neither spoke37; Madeline continued to impress an occasional kiss on the hand which she still held fondly in hers—and to each of these exhibitions of feeling her companion replied by a broad grin. Suddenly, however, he gave a start and, looking down at his flushed and dusty companion, said quickly—
‘I say, Madlin, you’d best put on your Sunday hat. There be Uncle Mark at the garden gate!’
Without a word, Madeline obeyed. She took the hat, which for coolness and comfort she had swung on her arm, and tied it carefully on her head. Then regaining38 possession of her uncle’s hand, she walked decorously up to one of the little green cottage gates, on the other side of which stood, indeed, her Uncle Mark.
Though Luke and Mark were brothers, they were as unlike one another as two men could possibly be. Mark Peartree stood six feet in his shoes; he was very thin, and he stooped slightly at the shoulders. His hair was grey, his face red as a Ripston pippin, but his cheeks were sunken, perhaps from the loss of many teeth.
The cottage was one of a row of red brick, with creepers crawling over the front, a small plot of garden facing the river, enclosed by green wooden railings and a green wooden gate. Upon one of the gates now leaned Uncle Mark, clad, too, in his Sunday best, but much less gaudily39 than Luke, and looking down the road with impatience40 marked on every lineament of his face.
‘Here you be at last,’ he said, when the vagrant pair came up. ‘Why, mate alive, can’t you be home at meal times? Mother’s in a powerful rage. Brother Brown be coming this afternoon, and he’ll be here afore we can get our wittles done!’
At this speech the smile faded from Luke’s face; but, before he could utter a word in reply, another voice, evidently that of a female, chimed in from the cottage—
‘I’m sure, father, it be like you to be asking Brother Brown and the Brethren here of a Good Friday, as if we didn’t get enough of them every day i’ the year. However, coming they be, but we shan’t get the dinner over any the quicker with you standing30 racketing there!’
The speaker stood in the doorway41, the red brick and the green creepers framing her as she stood. A comfortable looking woman, dressed in a clean cotton gown, with a coarse white apron42 tied round her waist. She was short and stout43, with a brown good-humoured face and glossy44 black hair. She wore a cap the long ends of which were thrown over her shoulders and pinned behind, as if for freedom; her sleeves were rolled up nearly to the elbow, and her hands and arms were mottled brown and red with constant work in soap and water.
At sight of this figure, no other indeed than Mrs. Mark Peartree, or, as Madeline called her, ‘Aunt Jane,’ the good-humoured grin again took possession of Uncle Luke’s face. Passing through the little gate he made for the door and at once entered the house, while Madeline transferred her attentions to Uncle Mark.
‘It wasn’t any fault o’ Uncle Luke’s,’ she said, looking up into the weather-beaten face, ‘indeed, Uncle Mark, ’twas all on account o’ me that he was so long—I was up there with Polly Lowther, looking at the graves.’
In her eagerness to excuse her favourite, Madeline might have revealed the dreaded45 secret of the dance, but Uncle Mark, who had his own reasons for wishing to get the dinner quickly disposed of, patted her hand and said—
‘All right, Madlin, my lass;’ and, taking her small hot hand in his big horny first, led her into the house.
It was a very small house. A long narrow passage led from the front door to the back, and midway in the passage was a flight of narrow carpetless stairs. On the right opened out two rooms—a kitchen, and a parlour, as it was called. During the week, while the men were at work on the river, the parlour was carefully closed up. No fire was ever lit in it—it was dark, well polished, and genteel, with a bit of drugget for a carpet, a china shepherd and shepherdess, and several shells on the mantelpiece, and on the walls two highly illuminated46 pictures, one representing the Prodigal47 Son, the other Susannah and the Elders. But in the centre of the mantelpiece stood the crowning glory of the apartment—a small ‘weather-cottage’ made of wood, formed in the shape of a roofed shed, and containing two figures, one of ‘Darby’ and another of ‘Joan,’ standing on either side of a piece of wood, suspended in the centre by a quicksilver pole. When the weather was fine, Joan swung out, with her basket on her arm, as if going to market, and left Darby under cover; when it was wet, Joan retreated, and Darby emerged to brave the elements like a man. This weather-cottage was a miracle of art in Madeline’s eyes, and was regarded with no little reverence48 by all the members of the house. Indeed, the parlour altogether was a sanctuary49, full of a pious clamminess and darkness, and even Mrs. Peartree never entered it without a certain awe50, tempered with a sense of increased respectability. From week’s end to week’s end they remained in the red-tiled kitchen, while on Sunday evening, and indeed on every festive51 occasion like the present, the parlour was thrown open for the family use.
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1
dwellings
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| n.住处，处所( dwelling的名词复数 ) | |
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footpath
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| n.小路，人行道 | |
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marsh
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| n.沼泽，湿地 | |
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marshes
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| n.沼泽，湿地( marsh的名词复数 ) | |
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hovered
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| 鸟( hover的过去式和过去分词 )； 靠近（某事物）； （人）徘徊； 犹豫 | |
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tempted
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| v.怂恿（某人）干不正当的事；冒…的险（tempt的过去分词） | |
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7
plunder
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| vt.劫掠财物，掠夺；n.劫掠物，赃物；劫掠 | |
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8
leisurely
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| adj.悠闲的；从容的，慢慢的 | |
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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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curiously
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| adv.有求知欲地；好问地；奇特地 | |
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graceful
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| adj.优美的，优雅的；得体的 | |
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12
passionate
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| adj.热情的，热烈的，激昂的，易动情的，易怒的，性情暴躁的 | |
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13
gnome
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| n.土地神；侏儒，地精 | |
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quaint
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| adj.古雅的，离奇有趣的，奇怪的 | |
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bowels
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| n.肠，内脏，内部；肠( bowel的名词复数 )；内部，最深处 | |
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16
barge
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| n.平底载货船，驳船 | |
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jersey
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| n.运动衫 | |
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tarpaulin
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| n.涂油防水布，防水衣，防水帽 | |
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attire
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| v.穿衣，装扮[同]array；n.衣着；盛装 | |
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descend
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| vt./vi.传下来，下来，下降 | |
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strictly
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| adv.严厉地，严格地；严密地 | |
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pious
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| adj.虔诚的；道貌岸然的 | |
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disapproved
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| v.不赞成( disapprove的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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preamble
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| n.前言；序文 | |
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deficient
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| adj.不足的，不充份的，有缺陷的 | |
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parlance
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| n.说法；语调 | |
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industrious
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| adj.勤劳的，刻苦的，奋发的 | |
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faculties
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| n.能力( faculty的名词复数 )；全体教职员；技巧；院 | |
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29
imputation
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| n.归罪，责难 | |
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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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deride
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| v.嘲弄，愚弄 | |
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32
possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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languishing
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| a. 衰弱下去的 | |
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pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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slit
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| n.狭长的切口；裂缝；vt.切开，撕裂 | |
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vagrant
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| n.流浪者，游民；adj.流浪的，漂泊不定的 | |
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spoke
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| 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 | |
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38
regaining
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| 复得( regain的现在分词 )； 赢回； 重回； 复至某地 | |
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gaudily
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| adv.俗丽地 | |
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40
impatience
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| n.不耐烦，急躁 | |
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41
doorway
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| n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径 | |
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42
apron
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| n.围裙；工作裙 | |
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44
glossy
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| adj.平滑的；有光泽的 | |
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45
dreaded
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| adj.令人畏惧的；害怕的v.害怕，恐惧，担心( dread的过去式和过去分词) | |
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46
illuminated
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| adj.被照明的；受启迪的 | |
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47
prodigal
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| adj.浪费的，挥霍的，放荡的 | |
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48
reverence
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| n.敬畏，尊敬，尊严；Reverence:对某些基督教神职人员的尊称；v.尊敬，敬畏，崇敬 | |
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49
sanctuary
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| n.圣所，圣堂，寺庙；禁猎区，保护区 | |
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50
awe
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| n.敬畏，惊惧；vt.使敬畏，使惊惧 | |
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51
festive
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| adj.欢宴的，节日的 | |
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