Part 4 Yann's First Wedding Chapter 1

All sweethearts like to sit on the bench at their cottage door, whennight falls.

　　Yann and Gaud did that likewise. Every evening they sat out togetherbefore the Moans' cottage, on the old granite¹ seat, and talked love.

　　Others have the spring-time, the soft shadow of the trees, balmyevenings, and flowering rosebushes; they had only the Februarytwilight, which fell over the sea-beaten land, strewn with eel-grassand stones. There was no branch of verdure above their heads or aroundthem; nothing but the immense sky, over which passed the slowlywandering mists. And their flowers were brown sea-weeds, drawn² up fromthe beach by the fishers, as they dragged their nets along.

　　The winters are not very severe in this part of the country, beingtempered by currents of the sea; but, notwithstanding that, thegloaming was often laden⁴ with invisible icy rain, which fell upontheir shoulders as they sat together. But they remained there, feelingwarm and happy. The bench, which was more than a hundred years old,did not seem in the least surprised at their love, having seen manyother pairs in its time; it had listened to many soft words, which arealways the same on the lips of the young, from generation togeneration; and it had become used to seeing lovers sit upon it again,when they returned to it old and trembling; but in the broad day, thistime, to warm themselves in the last sun they would see.

　　From time to time Granny Moan would put her head out at the door tohave a look at them, and try to induce them to come in. "You'll catchcold, my good children," said she, "and then you'll fall ill--Lordknows, it really isn't sensible to remain out so late."Cold! they cold? Were they conscious of anything else besides thebliss of being together.

　　The passers-by in the evening down their pathway, heard the softmurmur of two voices mingling⁵ with the voice of the sea, down below atthe foot of the cliffs. It was a most harmonious⁶ music; Gaud's sweet,fresh voice alternated with Yann's, which had soft, caressing⁷ notes inthe lower tones. Their profiles could be clearly distinguished⁸ on thegranite wall against which they reclined; Gaud with her white headgearand slender black-robed figure, and beside her the broad, squareshoulders of her beloved. Behind and above rose the ragged³ dome⁹ of thestraw thatch¹⁰, and the darkening, infinite, and colourless waste of thesea and sky floated over all.

　　Finally, they did go in to sit down by the hearth¹¹, whereupon oldYvonne immediately nodded off to sleep, and did not trouble the twolovers very much. So they went on communing in a low voice, having tomake up for two years of silence; they had to hurry on their courtshipbecause it was to last so short a time.

　　It was arranged that they were to live with Granny Moan, who wouldleave them the cottage in her will; for the present, they made noalterations in it, for want of time, and put off their plan forembellishing their poor lonely home until the fisherman's return fromIceland.

1 granite   

adj.花岗岩，花岗石

参考例句：

• They squared a block of granite.他们把一块花岗岩加工成四方形。
• The granite overlies the older rocks.花岗岩躺在磨损的岩石上面。

2 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

3 ragged   

adj.衣衫褴褛的，粗糙的，刺耳的

参考例句：

• A ragged shout went up from the small crowd.这一小群人发出了刺耳的喊叫。
• Ragged clothing infers poverty.破衣烂衫意味着贫穷。

4 laden   

adj.装满了的；充满了的；负了重担的；苦恼的

参考例句：

• He is laden with heavy responsibility.他肩负重任。
• Dragging the fully laden boat across the sand dunes was no mean feat.将满载货物的船拖过沙丘是一件了不起的事。

5 mingling   

adj.混合的

参考例句：

• There was a spring of bitterness mingling with that fountain of sweets. 在这个甜蜜的源泉中间，已经掺和进苦涩的山水了。
• The mingling of inconsequence belongs to us all. 这场矛盾混和物是我们大家所共有的。

6 harmonious   

adj.和睦的，调和的，和谐的，协调的

参考例句：

• Their harmonious relationship resulted in part from their similar goals.他们关系融洽的部分原因是他们有着相似的目标。
• The room was painted in harmonious colors.房间油漆得色彩调和。

7 caressing   

爱抚的，表现爱情的，亲切的

参考例句：

• The spring wind is gentle and caressing. 春风和畅。
• He sat silent still caressing Tartar, who slobbered with exceeding affection. 他不声不响地坐在那里，不断抚摸着鞑靼，它由于获得超常的爱抚而不淌口水。

8 distinguished   

adj.卓越的，杰出的，著名的

参考例句：

• Elephants are distinguished from other animals by their long noses.大象以其长长的鼻子显示出与其他动物的不同。
• A banquet was given in honor of the distinguished guests.宴会是为了向贵宾们致敬而举行的。

9 dome   

n.圆屋顶，拱顶

参考例句：

• The dome was supported by white marble columns.圆顶由白色大理石柱支撑着。
• They formed the dome with the tree's branches.他们用树枝搭成圆屋顶。

10 thatch   

vt.用茅草覆盖…的顶部；n.茅草(屋)

参考例句：

• They lit a torch and set fire to the chapel's thatch.他们点着一支火把，放火烧了小教堂的茅草屋顶。
• They topped off the hut with a straw thatch. 他们给小屋盖上茅草屋顶。

11 hearth   

n.壁炉炉床，壁炉地面

参考例句：

• She came and sat in a chair before the hearth.她走过来，在炉子前面的椅子上坐下。
• She comes to the hearth,and switches on the electric light there.她走到壁炉那里，打开电灯。