For six days they were husband and wife. In this time of leave-takingthe preparations for the Iceland season occupied everybody. The womenheaped up the salt for the pickle1 in the holds of the vessels2; the mensaw to the masts and rigging. Yann's mother and sisters worked frommorning till night at the making of the sou'westers and oilskinwaterproofs.
The weather was dull, and the sea, forefeeling the approach of theequinoctial gales3, was restless and heaving.
Gaud went through these inexorable preparations with agony; countingthe fleeting4 hours of the day, and looking forward to the night, whenthe work was over, and she would have her Yann to herself.
Would he leave her every year in this way?
She hoped to be able to keep him back, but she did not dare to speakto him about this wish as yet. He loved her passionately5, too; henever had known anything like this affection before; it was such afresh, trusting tenderness that the same caresses6 and fondlings alwaysseemed as if novel and unknown heretofore; and their intoxication7 oflove continued to increase, and never seemed--never was satiated.
What charmed and surprised her in her mate was his tenderness andboyishness. This the Yann in love, whom she had sometimes seen atPaimpol most contemptuous towards the girls. On the contrary, to herhe always maintained that kindly8 courtesy that seemed natural to him,and she adored that beautiful smile that came to him whenever theireyes met. Among these simple folk there exists the feeling of absoluterespect for the dignity of the wife; there is an ocean between her andthe sweetheart. Gaud was essentially9 the wife. She was sorely troubledin her happiness, however, for it seemed something too unhoped for, asunstable as a joyful10 dream. Besides, would this love be lasting11 inYann? She remembered sometimes his former flames, his fancies anddifferent love adventures, and then she grew fearful. Would he alwayscherish that infinite tenderness and sweet respect for her?
Six days of a wedded12 life, for such a love as theirs, was nothing;only a fevered instalment taken from the married life term, whichmight be so long before them yet! They had scarcely had leisure to betogether at all and understand that they really belonged to oneanother. All their plans of life together, of peaceful joy, andsettling down, was forcedly put off till the fisherman's return.
No! at any price she would stop him from going to this dreadfulIceland another year! But how should she manage? And what could theydo for a livelihood13, being both so poor? Then again he so dearly lovedthe sea. But in spite of all, she would try and keep him home anotherseason; she would use all her power, intelligence, and heart to do so.
Was she to be the wife of an Icelander, to watch each spring-tideapproach with sadness, and pass the whole summer in painful anxiety?
no, now that she loved him, above everything that she could imagine,she felt seized with an immense terror at the thought of years to comethus robbed of the better part.
They had one spring day together--only one. It was the day before thesailing; all the stores had been shipped, and Yann remained the wholeday with her. They strolled along, arm-in-arm, through the lanes, likesweethearts again, very close to one another, murmuring a thousandtender things. The good folk smiled, as they saw them pass, saying:
"It's Gaud, with long Yann from Pors-Even. They were married onlyt'other day!"This last day was really spring. It was strange and wonderful tobehold this universal serenity14. Not a single cloud marred15 the latelyflecked sky. The wind did not blow anywhere. The sea had become quitetranquil, and was of a pale, even blue tint16. The sun shone withglaring white brilliancy, and the rough Breton land seemed bathed inits light, as in a rare, delicate ether; it seemed to brighten andrevive even in the utmost distance. The air had a delicious, balmyscent, as of summer itself, and seemed as if it were always going toremain so, and never know any more gloomy, thunderous days. The capesand bays over which the changeful shadows of the clouds no longerpassed, were outlined in strong steady lines in the sunlight, andappeared to rest also in the long-during calm. All this made theirloving festival sweeter and longer drawn17 out. The early flowersalready appeared: primroses18, and frail19, scentless20 violets grew alongthe hedgerows.
When Gaud asked: "How long then are you going to love me, Yann?"He answered, surprisedly, looking at her full in the face with hisfrank eyes: "Why, for ever, Gaud."That word, spoken so simply by his fierce lips, seemed to have itstrue sense of eternity22.
She leaned on his arm. In the enchantment23 of her realized dream, shepressed close to him, always anxious, feeling that he was as flightyas a wild sea-bird. To-morrow he would take his soaring on the opensea. And it was too late now, she could do nothing to stop him.
From the cliff-paths where they wandered, they could see the whole ofthis sea-bound country; which seems almost treeless, strewn with low,stunted bush and boulders24. Here and there fishers' huts were scatteredover the rocks, their high battered26 thatches27 made green by thecropping up of new mosses28; and in the extreme distance, the sea, likea boundless29 transparency, stretched out in a never-ending horizon,which seemed to encircle everything.
She enjoyed telling him about all the wonderful things she had seen inParis, but he was very contemptuous, and was not interested.
"It's so far from the coast," said he, "and there is so much landbetween, that it must be unhealthy. So many houses and so many people,too, about! There must be lots of ills and ails30 in those big towns;no, I shouldn't like to live there, certain sure!"She smiled, surprised to see this giant so simple a fellow.
Sometimes they came across hollows where trees grew and seemed to defythe winds. There was no view here, only dead leaves scattered25 beneaththeir feet and chilly31 dampness; the narrow way, bordered on both sidesby green reeds, seemed very dismal32 under the shadow of the branches;hemmed in by the walls of some dark, lonely hamlet, rotting with oldage, and slumbering33 in this hollow.
A crucifix arose inevitably34 before them, among the dead branches, withits colossal35 image of Our Saviour36 in weather-worn wood, its featureswrung with His endless agony.
Then the pathway rose again, and they found themselves commanding theview of immense horizons--and breathed the bracing37 air of sea-heightsonce more.
He, to match her, spoke21 of Iceland, its pale, nightless summers andsun that never set. Gaud did not understand and asked him to explain.
"The sun goes all round," said he, waving his arm in the direction ofthe distant circle of the blue waters. "It always remains38 very low,because it has no strength to rise; at midnight, it drags a bitthrough the water, but soon gets up and begins its journey roundagain. Sometimes the moon appears too, at the other side of the sky;then they move together, and you can't very well tell one fromt'other, for they are much alike in that queer country."To see the sun at midnight! How very far off Iceland must be for suchmarvels to happen! And the fjords? Gaud had read that word severaltimes written among the names of the dead in the chapel39 of theshipwrecked, and it seemed to portend40 some grisly thing.
"The fjords," said Yann, "they are not broad bays, like Paimpol, forinstance; only they are surrounded by high mountains--so high thatthey seem endless, because of the clouds upon their tops. It's a sorrycountry, I can tell you, darling. Nothing but stones. The people ofIceland know of no such things as trees. In the middle of August, whenour fishery is over, it's quite time to return, for the nights beginagain then, and they lengthen41 out very quickly; the sun falls belowthe earth without being able to get up, and that night lasts all thewinter through. Talking of night," he continued, "there's a littleburying-ground on the coast in one of the fjords, for Paimpol men whohave died during the season or went down at sea; it's consecratedearth, just like at Pors-Even, and the dead have wooden crosses justlike ours here, with their names painted on them. The two Goazdiousfrom Ploubazlanec lie there, and Guillaume Moan, Sylvestre'sgrandfather."She could almost see the little churchyard at the foot of the solitarycapes, under the pale rose-coloured light of those never-ending days,and she thought of those distant dead, under the ice and dark windingsheets of the long night-like winters.
"Do you fish the whole time?" she asked, "without ever stopping?""The whole time, though we somehow get on with work on deck, for thesea isn't always fine out there. Well! of course we're dead beat whenthe night comes, but it gives a man an appetite--bless you, dearest,we regularly gobble down our meals.""Do you never feel sick of it?""Never," returned he, with an air of unshaken faith which pained her;"on deck, on the open sea, the time never seems long to a man--never!"She hung her head, feeling sadder than ever, and more and morevanquished by her only enemy, the sea.
收听单词发音 |
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pickle
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| n.腌汁，泡菜；v.腌，泡 | |
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vessels
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| n.血管( vessel的名词复数 )；船；容器；（具有特殊品质或接受特殊品质的）人 | |
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gales
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| 龙猫 | |
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fleeting
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| adj.短暂的，飞逝的 | |
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passionately
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| ad.热烈地，激烈地 | |
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caresses
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| 爱抚，抚摸( caress的名词复数 ) | |
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intoxication
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| n.wild excitement;drunkenness；poisoning | |
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kindly
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| adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地 | |
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essentially
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| adv.本质上，实质上，基本上 | |
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joyful
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| adj.欢乐的，令人欢欣的 | |
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lasting
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| adj.永久的，永恒的；vbl.持续，维持 | |
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wedded
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| adj.正式结婚的；渴望…的，执著于…的v.嫁，娶，（与…）结婚( wed的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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livelihood
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| n.生计，谋生之道 | |
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serenity
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| n.宁静，沉着，晴朗 | |
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marred
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| adj. 被损毁, 污损的 | |
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tint
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| n.淡色，浅色；染发剂；vt.着以淡淡的颜色 | |
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drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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primroses
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| n.报春花( primrose的名词复数 )；淡黄色；追求享乐（招至恶果） | |
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frail
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| adj.身体虚弱的；易损坏的 | |
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scentless
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| adj.无气味的，遗臭已消失的 | |
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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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eternity
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| n.不朽，来世；永恒，无穷 | |
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enchantment
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| n.迷惑，妖术，魅力 | |
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boulders
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| n.卵石( boulder的名词复数 )；巨砾；（受水或天气侵蚀而成的）巨石；漂砾 | |
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scattered
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| adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的 | |
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battered
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| adj.磨损的；v.连续猛击；磨损 | |
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thatches
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| n.（稻草、芦苇等盖的）茅草屋顶( thatch的名词复数 )；乱蓬蓬的头发，又脏又乱的头发 | |
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mosses
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| n. 藓类, 苔藓植物 名词moss的复数形式 | |
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boundless
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| adj.无限的；无边无际的；巨大的 | |
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ails
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| v.生病( ail的第三人称单数 )；感到不舒服；处境困难；境况不佳 | |
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chilly
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| adj.凉快的，寒冷的 | |
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dismal
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| adj.阴沉的，凄凉的，令人忧郁的，差劲的 | |
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slumbering
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| 微睡，睡眠（slumber的现在分词形式） | |
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inevitably
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| adv.不可避免地；必然发生地 | |
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colossal
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| adj.异常的，庞大的 | |
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saviour
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| n.拯救者，救星 | |
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bracing
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| adj.令人振奋的 | |
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remains
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| n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹 | |
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chapel
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| n.小教堂，殡仪馆 | |
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portend
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| v.预兆，预示；给…以警告 | |
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lengthen
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| vt.使伸长，延长 | |
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