Two o'clock in the morning.
It was at night, especially, that she kept attentive1 to approachingfootsteps; at the slightest rumour2 or unaccustomed noise her templesvibrated; by dint3 of being strained to outward things, they had becomefearfully sensitive.
Two o'clock in the morning. On this night as on others, with her handsclasped and her eyes wide open in the dark, she listened to the wind,sweeping in never-ending tumult5 over the heath.
Suddenly a man's footsteps hurried along the path! At this hour whowould pass now? She drew herself up, stirred to the very soul, herheart ceasing to beat.
Some one stopped before the door, and came up the small stone steps.
He!--O God!--he! Some one had knocked--it could be no other than he!
She was up now, barefooted; she, so feeble for the last few days, hadsprung up as nimbly as a kitten, with her arms outstretched to windround her darling. Of course the /Leopoldine/ had arrived at night,and anchored in Pors-Even Bay, and he had rushed home; she arrangedall this in her mind with the swiftness of lightning. She tore theflesh off her fingers in her excitement to draw the bolt, which hadstuck.
"Eh?"She slowly moved backward, as if crushed, her head falling on herbosom. Her beautiful insane dream was over. She just could grasp thatit was not her husband, her Yann, and that nothing of him, substantialor spiritual, had passed through the air; she felt plunged6 again intoher deep abyss, to the lowest depths of her terrible despair.
Poor Fantec, for it was he, stammered7 many excuses, his wife was veryill, and their child was stifling8 in its cot, suddenly attacked with amalignant sore throat; so he had run over to beg for assistance on theroad to fetch the doctor from Paimpol.
What did all this matter to her? She had gone mad in her own distress9,and could give no thoughts to the troubles of others. Huddled10 on abench, she remained before him with fixed11, glazed12 eyes, like a deadwoman's; without listening to him or even answering at random13 orlooking at him. What to her was the speech the man was making?
He understood it all; and guessed why the door had been opened soquickly to him, and feeling pity for the pain he had unwittinglycaused, he stammered out an excuse.
"Just so; he never had ought to have disturbed her--her inparticular.""I!" ejaculated Gaud, quickly, "why should I not be disturbedparticularly, Fantec?"Life had suddenly come back to her; for she did not wish to appear indespair before others. Besides, she pitied him now; she dressed toaccompany him, and found the strength to go and see to his littlechild.
At four o'clock in the morning, when she returned to throw herself onthe bed, sleep subdued14 her, for she was tired out. But that moment ofexcessive joy had left an impression on her mind, which, in spite ofall, was permanent; she awoke soon with a shudder15, rising a little andpartially recollecting--she knew not what. News had come to herconcerning her Yann. In the midst of her confusion of ideas, shesought rapidly in her mind what it could be, but there was nothingsave Fantec's interruption.
For the second time she fell back into her terrible abyss, nothingchanged in her morbid16, hopeless waiting.
Yet in that short, hopeful moment she had felt him so near to her,that it was as if his spirit had floated over the sea unto her, whatis called a foretoken (/pressigne/) in Breton land; and she listenedstill more attentively17 to the steps outside, trusting that some onemight come to her to speak of him.
Just as the day broke Yann's father entered. He took off his cap, andpushed back his splendid white locks, which were in curls like Yann's,and sat down by Gaud's bedside.
His heart ached fully4, too, for Yann, his tall, handsome Yann, was hisfirst-born, his favourite and his pride; but he did not despair yet.
He comforted Gaud in his own blunt, affectionate way; to begin with,those who had last returned from Iceland spoke18 of the increasing densefogs that might well have delayed the vessel19; and then, too, an ideastruck him; they might possibly have stopped at the distant FaroeIslands on their homeward course, whence letters were so long intravelling. This had happened to him once forty years ago, and his ownpoor dead and gone mother had had a mass said for his soul. The/Leopoldine/ was such a good boat, next to new, and her crew were suchable-bodied seamen20.
Granny Moan stood by them shaking her head; the distress of hergranddaughter had almost given her back her own strength and reason;she tidied up the place, glancing from time to time at the fadedportrait of Sylvestre, which hung upon the granite21 wall with itsanchor emblems22 and mourning-wreath of black bead-work. Ever since thesea had robbed her of her own last offspring she believed no longer insafe returns; she only prayed through fear, bearing Heaven a grudge23 inthe bottom of her heart.
But Gaud listened eagerly to these consoling reasonings; her largesunken eyes looked with deep tenderness out upon this old sire, who somuch resembled her beloved one; merely to have him near her was like ahostage against death having taken the younger Gaos; and she feltreassured, nearer to her Yann. Her tears fell softly and silently, andshe repeated again her passionate24 prayers to the "Star of the Sea."A delay out at those islands to repair damages was a very likelyevent. She rose and brushed her hair, and then dressed as if she mightfairly expect him. All then was not lost, if a seaman25, his own father,did not yet despair. And for a few days, she resumed looking out forhim again.
Autumn at last arrived, a late autumn too, its gloomy evenings makingall things appear dark in the old cottage, and all the land lookedsombre, too.
The very daylight seemed crepuscular26; immeasurable clouds, passingslowly overhead, darkened the whole country at broad noon. The windblew constantly with the sound of a great cathedral organ at adistance, but playing profane27, despairing dirges28; at other times thenoise came close to the door, like the howling of wild beasts.
She had grown pale, aye, blanched29, and bent30 more than ever, as if oldage had already touched her with its featherless wing. Often did shefinger the wedding clothes of her Yann, folding and unfolding themagain and again like some maniac31, especially one of his blue woolenjerseys, which still had preserved his shape; when she threw it gentlyon the table, it fell with the shoulders and chest well defined; soshe placed it by itself on a shelf of their wardrobe, and left itthere, so that it might for ever rest unaltered.
Every night the cold mists sank upon the land, as she gazed over thedepressing heath through her little window, and watched the paltrypuffs of white smoke arise from the chimneys of other cottagesscattered here and there on all sides. There the husbands hadreturned, like wandering birds driven home by the frost. Before theirblazing hearths32 the evenings passed, cosy33 and warm; for the spring-time of love had begun again in this land of North Sea fishermen.
Still clinging to the thought of those islands where he might perhapshave lingered, she was buoyed34 up by a kind hope and expected him homeany day.
收听单词发音 |
1
attentive
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| adj.注意的，专心的；关心(别人)的，殷勤的 | |
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rumour
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| n.谣言，谣传，传闻 | |
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dint
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| n.由于，靠；凹坑 | |
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fully
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| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
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tumult
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| n.喧哗；激动，混乱；吵闹 | |
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plunged
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| v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降 | |
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stammered
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| v.结巴地说出( stammer的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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stifling
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| a.令人窒息的 | |
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distress
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| n.苦恼，痛苦，不舒适；不幸；vt.使悲痛 | |
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huddled
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| 挤在一起（huddle的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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glazed
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| adj.光滑的，像玻璃的；上过釉的；呆滞无神的v.装玻璃( glaze的过去式)；上釉于，上光；（目光）变得呆滞无神 | |
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random
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| adj.随机的；任意的；n.偶然的(或随便的)行动 | |
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subdued
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| adj. 屈服的，柔和的，减弱的 动词subdue的过去式和过去分词 | |
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shudder
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| v.战粟，震动，剧烈地摇晃；n.战粟，抖动 | |
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morbid
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| adj.病的；致病的；病态的；可怕的 | |
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attentively
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| adv.聚精会神地；周到地；谛；凝神 | |
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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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vessel
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| n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管 | |
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seamen
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| n.海员 | |
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granite
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| adj.花岗岩，花岗石 | |
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emblems
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| n.象征，标记( emblem的名词复数 ) | |
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grudge
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| n.不满，怨恨，妒嫉；vt.勉强给，不情愿做 | |
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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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seaman
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| n.海员，水手，水兵 | |
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crepuscular
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| adj.晨曦的；黄昏的；昏暗的 | |
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profane
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| adj.亵神的，亵渎的；vt.亵渎，玷污 | |
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dirges
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| n.挽歌( dirge的名词复数 )；忧伤的歌，哀歌 | |
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blanched
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| v.使变白( blanch的过去式 )；使（植物）不见阳光而变白；酸洗（金属）使有光泽；用沸水烫（杏仁等）以便去皮 | |
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bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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maniac
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| n.精神癫狂的人；疯子 | |
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32
hearths
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| 壁炉前的地板，炉床，壁炉边( hearth的名词复数 ) | |
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33
cosy
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| adj.温暖而舒适的，安逸的 | |
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buoyed
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| v.使浮起( buoy的过去式和过去分词 )；支持；为…设浮标；振奋…的精神 | |
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