Part 5 The Second Wedding Chapter 5

The tenth of September came. How swiftly the days flew by!

　　One morning, a true autumn morning, with cold mist falling over theearth, in the rising sun, she sat under the porch of the chapel¹ of theshipwrecked mariners², where the widows go to pray, with eyes fixed³ andglassy, throbbing⁴ temples tightened⁵ as by an iron hand.

　　These sad morning mists had begun two days before, and on thisparticular day Gaud had awakened⁶ with a still more bitter uneasiness,caused by the forecast of advancing winter. Why did this day, thishour, this very moment, seem to her more painful than the preceding?

　　Often ships are delayed a fortnight, even a month, for that matter.

　　But surely there was something different about this particularmorning, for she had come to-day for the first time to sit in theporch of this chapel and read the names of the dead sailors, perishedin their prime.

　　"In memory ofGAOS, YVON,Lost at seaNear the Norden-Fjord."Like a great shudder⁷, a gust⁸ of wind rose from the sea, and at thesame time something fell like rain upon the roof above. It was onlythe dead leaves though; many were blown in at the porch; the old wind-tossed trees of the graveyard⁹ were losing their foliage¹⁰ in this risinggale, and winter was marching nearer.

　　"Lost at sea,Near the Norden-Fjord,In the storm of the 4th and 5th of August, 1880."She read mechanically under the arch of the doorway¹¹; her eyes soughtto pierce the distance over the sea. That morning it was untraceableunder the gray mist, and a dragging drapery of clouds overhung thehorizon like a mourning veil.

　　Another gust of wind, and other leaves danced in in whirls. A strongergust still, as if the western storm that had strewn those dead overthe sea, wished to deface the very inscriptions¹² that remembered theirnames to the living.

　　Gaud looked with involuntary persistency¹³ at an empty space upon thewall that seemed to yawn expectant. By a terrible impression she waspursued, the thought of a fresh slab¹⁴ which might soon, perhaps, beplaced there, with another name which she did not even dare to thinkof in such a spot.

　　She felt cold, and remained seated on the granite¹⁵ bench, her headreclining against the stone wall.

　　* * * * * * * * * * *. . . . . . . "near the Norden-Fjord,In the storm of the 4th and 5th of August,At the age of 23 years,/Requiescat in pace/!"Then Iceland loomed¹⁶ up before her, with its little cemetery¹⁷ lighted upfrom below the sea-line by the midnight sun. Suddenly in the sameempty space on the wall, with horrifying¹⁸ clearness she saw the freshslab she was thinking of; a clear white one, with a skull¹⁹ and cross-bones, and in a flash of foresight²⁰, a name--the worshipped name of"Yann Gaos!" Then she suddenly and fearfully drew herself up straightand stiff, with a hoarse²¹, wild cry in her throat like a mad creature.

　　Outside the gray mist of the dawn fell over the land, and the deadleaves were again blown dancingly into the porch.

　　Steps on the footpath²²? Somebody was coming? She rose and quicklysmoothed down her cap and composed her face. Nearer drew the steps.

　　She assumed the air of one who might be there by chance; for, aboveall, she did not wish to appear yet, like the widow of a shipwreckedmariner.

　　It happened to be Fante Floury, the wife of the second mate of the/Leopoldine/. She understood immediately what Gaud was doing there; itwas useless to dissemble with her. At first each woman stoodspeechless before the other. They were angry and almost hated eachother for having met with a like sentiment of apprehension²³.

　　"All the men of Treguier and Saint Brieuc have been back this week,"said Fante at last, in a pitiless, muffled²⁴, half-irritated voice.

　　She carried a blessed taper²⁵ in her hand, to offer up a prayer. Gauddid not wish yet to resort to that extreme resource of despairingwives. Yet silently she entered the chapel behind Fante, and theyknelt down together side by side, like two sisters.

　　To the "Star of the Sea" they offered ardent²⁶ imploring²⁷ prayers, withtheir whole soul in them. A sound of sobbing²⁸ was alone heard, as theirrapid tears swiftly fell upon the floor. They rose together, moreconfident and softened²⁹. Fante held up Gaud, who staggered, and takingher in her arms, kissed her.

　　Wiping their eyes, and smoothing their dishevelled hair, they brushedoff the salt dust from the flagstones, soiling their gowns, and theywent away in opposite directions, without another word.

1 chapel   

n.小教堂，殡仪馆

参考例句：

• The nimble hero,skipped into a chapel that stood near.敏捷的英雄跳进近旁的一座小教堂里。
• She was on the peak that Sunday afternoon when she played in chapel.那个星期天的下午，她在小教堂的演出，可以说是登峰造极。

2 mariners   

海员，水手（mariner的复数形式）

参考例句：

• Mariners were also able to fix their latitude by using an instrument called astrolabe. 海员们还可使用星盘这种仪器确定纬度。
• The ancient mariners traversed the sea. 古代的海员漂洋过海。

3 fixed   

adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的

参考例句：

• Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？
• Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。

4 throbbing   

a. 跳动的,悸动的

参考例句：

• My heart is throbbing and I'm shaking. 我的心在猛烈跳动，身子在不住颤抖。
• There was a throbbing in her temples. 她的太阳穴直跳。

5 tightened   

收紧( tighten的过去式和过去分词 )； （使）变紧； （使）绷紧； 加紧

参考例句：

• The rope holding the boat suddenly tightened and broke. 系船的绳子突然绷断了。
• His index finger tightened on the trigger but then relaxed again. 他的食指扣住扳机，然后又松开了。

6 awakened   

v.（使）醒( awaken的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）觉醒；弄醒；（使）意识到

参考例句：

• She awakened to the sound of birds singing. 她醒来听到鸟的叫声。
• The public has been awakened to the full horror of the situation. 公众完全意识到了这一状况的可怕程度。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 shudder   

v.战粟，震动，剧烈地摇晃；n.战粟，抖动

参考例句：

• The sight of the coffin sent a shudder through him.看到那副棺材，他浑身一阵战栗。
• We all shudder at the thought of the dreadful dirty place.我们一想到那可怕的肮脏地方就浑身战惊。

8 gust   

n.阵风，突然一阵（雨、烟等），（感情的）迸发

参考例句：

• A gust of wind blew the front door shut.一阵大风吹来，把前门关上了。
• A gust of happiness swept through her.一股幸福的暖流流遍她的全身。

9 graveyard   

n.坟场

参考例句：

• All the town was drifting toward the graveyard.全镇的人都象流水似地向那坟场涌过去。
• Living next to a graveyard would give me the creeps.居住在墓地旁边会使我毛骨悚然。

10 foliage   

n.叶子，树叶，簇叶

参考例句：

• The path was completely covered by the dense foliage.小路被树叶厚厚地盖了一层。
• Dark foliage clothes the hills.浓密的树叶覆盖着群山。

11 doorway   

n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径

参考例句：

• They huddled in the shop doorway to shelter from the rain.他们挤在商店门口躲雨。
• Mary suddenly appeared in the doorway.玛丽突然出现在门口。

12 inscriptions   

（作者）题词( inscription的名词复数 )； 献词； 碑文； 证劵持有人的登记

参考例句：

• Centuries of wind and rain had worn away the inscriptions on the gravestones. 几个世纪的风雨已磨损了墓碑上的碑文。
• The inscriptions on the stone tablet have become blurred with the passage of time. 年代久了，石碑上的字迹已经模糊了。

13 persistency   

n. 坚持(余辉, 时间常数)

参考例句：

• I was nettled by her persistency. 我被她的固执惹恼了。
• We should stick to and develop the heritage of persistency. 我们应坚持和发扬坚忍不拔的传统。

14 slab   

n.平板，厚的切片；v.切成厚板，以平板盖上

参考例句：

• This heavy slab of oak now stood between the bomb and Hitler.这时笨重的橡木厚板就横在炸弹和希特勒之间了。
• The monument consists of two vertical pillars supporting a horizontal slab.这座纪念碑由两根垂直的柱体构成，它们共同支撑着一块平板。

15 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。

16 loomed   

v.隐约出现，阴森地逼近( loom的过去式和过去分词 )；隐约出现，阴森地逼近

参考例句：

• A dark shape loomed up ahead of us. 一个黑糊糊的影子隐隐出现在我们的前面。
• The prospect of war loomed large in everyone's mind. 战事将起的庞大阴影占据每个人的心。 来自《简明英汉词典》

17 cemetery   

n.坟墓，墓地，坟场

参考例句：

• He was buried in the cemetery.他被葬在公墓。
• His remains were interred in the cemetery.他的遗体葬在墓地。

18 horrifying   

a.令人震惊的，使人毛骨悚然的

参考例句：

• He went to great pains to show how horrifying the war was. 他极力指出战争是多么的恐怖。
• The possibility of war is too horrifying to contemplate. 战争的可能性太可怕了，真不堪细想。

19 skull   

n.头骨；颅骨

参考例句：

• The skull bones fuse between the ages of fifteen and twenty-five.头骨在15至25岁之间长合。
• He fell out of the window and cracked his skull.他从窗子摔了出去，跌裂了颅骨。

20 foresight   

n.先见之明，深谋远虑

参考例句：

• The failure is the result of our lack of foresight.这次失败是由于我们缺乏远虑而造成的。
• It required a statesman's foresight and sagacity to make the decision.作出这个决定需要政治家的远见卓识。

21 hoarse   

adj.嘶哑的，沙哑的

参考例句：

• He asked me a question in a hoarse voice.他用嘶哑的声音问了我一个问题。
• He was too excited and roared himself hoarse.他过于激动，嗓子都喊哑了。

22 footpath   

n.小路，人行道

参考例句：

• Owners who allow their dogs to foul the footpath will be fined.主人若放任狗弄脏人行道将受处罚。
• They rambled on the footpath in the woods.他俩漫步在林间蹊径上。

23 apprehension   

n.理解，领悟；逮捕，拘捕；忧虑

参考例句：

• There were still areas of doubt and her apprehension grew.有些地方仍然存疑，于是她越来越担心。
• She is a girl of weak apprehension.她是一个理解力很差的女孩。

24 muffled   

adj.（声音）被隔的；听不太清的；（衣服）裹严的；蒙住的v.压抑，捂住( muffle的过去式和过去分词 )；用厚厚的衣帽包着（自己）

参考例句：

• muffled voices from the next room 从隔壁房间里传来的沉闷声音
• There was a muffled explosion somewhere on their right. 在他们的右面什么地方有一声沉闷的爆炸声。 来自《简明英汉词典》

25 taper   

n.小蜡烛，尖细，渐弱；adj.尖细的；v.逐渐变小

参考例句：

• You'd better taper off the amount of time given to rest.你最好逐渐地减少休息时间。
• Pulmonary arteries taper towards periphery.肺动脉向周围逐渐变细。

26 ardent   

adj.热情的，热烈的，强烈的，烈性的

参考例句：

• He's an ardent supporter of the local football team.他是本地足球队的热情支持者。
• Ardent expectations were held by his parents for his college career.他父母对他的大学学习抱着殷切的期望。

27 imploring   

恳求的，哀求的

参考例句：

• Those calm, strange eyes could see her imploring face. 那平静的，没有表情的眼睛还能看得到她的乞怜求情的面容。
• She gave him an imploring look. 她以哀求的眼神看着他。

28 sobbing   

<主方>Ⅰ adj.湿透的

参考例句：

• I heard a child sobbing loudly. 我听见有个孩子在呜呜地哭。
• Her eyes were red with recent sobbing. 她的眼睛因刚哭过而发红。

29 softened   

（使）变软( soften的过去式和过去分词 )； 缓解打击； 缓和； 安慰

参考例句：

• His smile softened slightly. 他的微笑稍柔和了些。
• The ice cream softened and began to melt. 冰淇淋开始变软并开始融化。