Part 4 Yann's First Wedding Chapter 4

One evening as these lovers sat out on their stone bench in thesolitude over which the night fell, they suddenly perceived a hawthornbush, which grew solitarily¹ between the rocks, by the side of theroad, covered with tiny flowered tufts.

　　"It looks as if 'twas in bloom," said Yann.

　　They drew near to inspect it. It was in full flower, indeed. As theycould not see very well in the twilight², they touched the tiny blooms,wet with mist. Then the first impression of spring came to them at thesame time they noticed this; the days had already lengthened³, the airwas warmer, and the night more luminous⁴. But how forward thisparticular bush was! They could not find another like it anywherearound, not one! It had blossomed, you see, expressly for them, forthe celebration of their loving plight⁵.

　　"Oh! let us gather some more," said Yann.

　　Groping in the dark, he cut a nosegay with the stout⁶ sailor's knifethat he always wore in his belt, and paring off all the thorns, heplaced it in Gaud's bosom⁷.

　　"You look like a bride now," said he, stepping back to judge of theeffect, notwithstanding the deepening dusk.

　　At their feet the calm sea rose and fell over the shingle⁸ with anintermittent swash, regular as the breathing of a sleeper⁹; for itseemed indifferent or ever favourable¹⁰ to the love-making going on hardby.

　　In expectation of these evenings the days appeared long to them, andwhen they bade each other good-bye at ten o'clock, they felt a kind ofdiscouragement, because it was all so soon over.

　　They had to hurry with the official documents for fear of not beingready in time, and of letting their happiness slip by until theautumn, or even uncertainty¹¹.

　　Their evening courtship in that mournful spot, lulled¹² by the continualeven wash of the sea, with that feverish¹³ impression of the flight oftime, was almost gloomy and ominous¹⁴. They were like no lovers; moreserious and restless were they in their love than the common run.

　　Yet Yann never told her what mysterious thing had kept him away fromher for these two lonely years; and after he returned home of a night,Gaud grew uneasy as before, although he loved her perfectly--this sheknew. It is true that he had loved her all along, but not as now; lovegrew stronger in his heart and mind, like a tide rising andoverbrimming. He never had known this kind of love before.

　　Sometimes on their stone seat he lay down, resting his head in Gaud'slap like a caressing¹⁵ child, till, suddenly remembering propriety¹⁶, hewould draw himself up erect¹⁷. He would have liked to lie on the veryground at her feet, and remain there with his brow pressed to the hemof her garments. Excepting the brotherly kiss he gave her when he cameand went, he did not dare to embrace her. He adored that invisiblespirit in her, which appeared in the very sound of her pure, tranquilvoice, the expression of her smile, and in her clear eye.

1 solitarily   

adv.独自一人地，寂寞地

参考例句：

• I paced and down on the crossroad, seeing my shadow walking solitarily! 我徘徊在十字街口，看着影子孤独的行走！ 来自互联网
• A hermit chooses to live solitarily. 隐士选择独自一人生活。 来自互联网

2 twilight   

n.暮光，黄昏；暮年，晚期，衰落时期

参考例句：

• Twilight merged into darkness.夕阳的光辉融于黑暗中。
• Twilight was sweet with the smell of lilac and freshly turned earth.薄暮充满紫丁香和新翻耕的泥土的香味。

3 lengthened   

（时间或空间）延长，伸长( lengthen的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The afternoon shadows lengthened. 下午影子渐渐变长了。
• He wanted to have his coat lengthened a bit. 他要把上衣放长一些。

4 luminous   

adj.发光的，发亮的；光明的；明白易懂的；有启发的

参考例句：

• There are luminous knobs on all the doors in my house.我家所有门上都安有夜光把手。
• Most clocks and watches in this shop are in luminous paint.这家商店出售的大多数钟表都涂了发光漆。

5 plight   

n.困境，境况，誓约，艰难；vt.宣誓，保证，约定

参考例句：

• The leader was much concerned over the plight of the refugees.那位领袖对难民的困境很担忧。
• She was in a most helpless plight.她真不知如何是好。

7 bosom   

n.胸，胸部；胸怀；内心；adj.亲密的

参考例句：

• She drew a little book from her bosom.她从怀里取出一本小册子。
• A dark jealousy stirred in his bosom.他内心生出一阵恶毒的嫉妒。

8 shingle   

n.木瓦板；小招牌(尤指医生或律师挂的营业招牌)；v.用木瓦板盖（屋顶）；把（女子头发）剪短

参考例句：

• He scraped away the dirt,and exposed a pine shingle.他刨去泥土，下面露出一块松木瓦块。
• He hung out his grandfather's shingle.他挂出了祖父的行医招牌。

9 sleeper   

n.睡眠者，卧车，卧铺

参考例句：

• I usually go up to London on the sleeper. 我一般都乘卧车去伦敦。
• But first he explained that he was a very heavy sleeper. 但首先他解释说自己睡觉很沉。

10 favourable   

adj.赞成的，称赞的，有利的，良好的，顺利的

参考例句：

• The company will lend you money on very favourable terms.这家公司将以非常优惠的条件借钱给你。
• We found that most people are favourable to the idea.我们发现大多数人同意这个意见。

11 uncertainty   

n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物

参考例句：

• Her comments will add to the uncertainty of the situation.她的批评将会使局势更加不稳定。
• After six weeks of uncertainty,the strain was beginning to take its toll.6个星期的忐忑不安后，压力开始产生影响了。

12 lulled   

vt.使镇静，使安静（lull的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• They lulled her into a false sense of security. 他们哄骗她，使她产生一种虚假的安全感。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The movement of the train lulled me to sleep. 火车轻微的震动催我进入梦乡。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 feverish   

adj.发烧的，狂热的，兴奋的

参考例句：

• He is too feverish to rest.他兴奋得安静不下来。
• They worked with feverish haste to finish the job.为了完成此事他们以狂热的速度工作着。

14 ominous   

adj.不祥的，不吉的，预兆的，预示的

参考例句：

• Those black clouds look ominous for our picnic.那些乌云对我们的野餐来说是个不祥之兆。
• There was an ominous silence at the other end of the phone.电话那头出现了不祥的沉默。

15 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。

16 propriety   

n.正当行为；正当；适当

参考例句：

• We hesitated at the propriety of the method.我们对这种办法是否适用拿不定主意。
• The sensitive matter was handled with great propriety.这件机密的事处理得极为适当。

17 erect   

n./v.树立，建立，使竖立；adj.直立的，垂直的

参考例句：

• She held her head erect and her back straight.她昂着头，把背挺得笔直。
• Soldiers are trained to stand erect.士兵们训练站得笔直。