The towns around the Golden Valley didn't think much of one another,— as if combin'd in a League, not for Trade, but for purposes of Envy, Spite, and Vendetta1. Living in a Paradise, they chose to enact2 a Purgatory3, where the new Mill-Money flowing in seem'd not to preserve the Equi?librium of Meanness and Stultification4 they all thought they'd reach'd, so much as to knock all lop-sided again. The precise Geography of the Water-shed was now primary,— where Races might go, for Wheels to be driven and Workshops to be run from them...'twas like coming before the Final Judge and discovering that good and useful Lives, innocence5 of Wrong-doing, purity of Character, count for far less, than what He really wishes of us, something we have no more suspected than anyone in the Valley had ever imagin'd that the Flow of Water through Nature, along a Gradient provided free by the same Deity6, might be re-shap'd to drive a Row of Looms7, each working thousands of Yarns8 in strictest right-angularity,— as far from Earthly forms as possible,— nor that ev'ry stage of the 'Morphosis, would have its equivalent in Pounds, Shillings, and Pence.
"Yet some will wish but to flee,— to Gloucester, to London, to Amer?ica,— anywhere but this Sink of village bickering9." So, at least, did Charles represent his Needs for a future outside the Valley. Rebekah gazed back, an enigma10 to him, Eve in paradise,— or Eurydice in hell, yet to learn, after it was too late, where she'd been.. .his mind rac'd with ancient stories. How could he allow that she might have her own story? How could he not choose the easier road, and refer her to some male character, the love-crazy Poet, the tempted11 Innocent? Was he supposed to light a pipe, pick her up, settle back, and read her all at one sitting? Was this what women wanted? Whom could he ask?
Had he gone to his father, already retreating into the unstirr'd Labyrinths12 of deafness (though they'd been shouting at each other all their lives), had the elder Charles for once showed some sympathy, who knows where they might have taken it? Instead, accepting that he must not love this young man as he had once, secretly, with all the mindless surrender of a mother, loved Charlie the baby, taking Charles Jr.'s arm, he would have steered13 him down a gradient of noise till they could shout comfortably. They'd be standing14 by the little pond, ducks drifting, gnats15 aswarm— "Is she yawny then, too? Nobody's going to marry you, you young fool, unless there's something really wrong with her. What do women want? A good provider, not some stargazer who won't grow up."
"If the Position at Greenwich—
"Sam Peach is not your friend. For every effort he makes on yen-behalf, there will be a price, and you may not enjoy paying it when it falls due."
All subjunctive, of course,— had young Mason gone to his father, this might have been the conversation likely to result.
They found a Hill-Top and pick-nick'd. Mason, she had already notic'd, search'd ever in the smoky distance, beyond the Observatory16, and the winding17 of the River, for the East India Docks. "Do you dream of the far Indies?" she ask'd finally. "I do. I wish we might go."
He'd been in fact just about to tell her. It delighted him, this wordless Transgression18 of Cause and Effect. Aloud, "So we might." And her face turn'd to him. "What are you doing on the sixth of June 1761?"
Innocently expectant, "Oh, I'd have to look in my Calendar of
Engagements Are you inviting19 me off to the Indies, then?"
"Sumatra, if we're lucky."
"If we're not?"
"Dunno. Hounslow Heath?"
"I meant,— would you go alone? Leave me here?”
'"Twould have to be together."
She was looking at him closely. He meant something else, but she couldn't quite see what. "Would we sail in an Indiaman?"
"Halfway20 'round the world."
"Aye, and back,— and would we be Nabobs?"
"Alas21, my 'Bekah, nor even chicken Nabobs,— though we might put aside enough to bespeak22 an Orrery, perhaps find employment as Opera?tors, appearing in Public Rooms up and down the Coaching Routes."
"You won't have this job any more? Stargazer's Apprentice23, or what?ever it be."
"The Work has to go on," he told her. "Down here, the Rivalry24 with France, keen as ever,— out There, the Timeless, ev'rything upon the Move, no pattern ever to repeat itself.... Someone at Greenwich, ev'ry Night the Sky allows, must open the Shutters25 to its Majesty26, and go in again to the unforgiving Snout and secure the Obs. If not me. someone."
"I can't believe Dr. Bradley wouldn't want you back."
"You see how he is,— his Age how merciless. By the time we return'd, we might no longer be able to look to his support."
"This sounds like Politics, 'Heart. I thought you gaz'd at Stars, and thought higher thoughts, you people."
"Arh, Arh! Alas,— not exactly. Astronomy is as soil'd at the hands of the Pelhamites as ev'ry other Business in this Kingdom,— and we ever at the mercy of Place-jobbery, as much as any Nincompoop at Court."
"Why, Disgruntlement. I had no idea."
Neither had he. "Kiss me anyway."
"Never kiss'd a.. .Placeman before."
"Play your Cards handsomely, ye shall have what we call the New?castle Special."
"Humm.... And I shall learn Malay, Hindoo, Chinese, too. I'll be like one of those talking parrots. Oh, Mopery, you think I talk too much now, but Eastward27 bound, I shall never give those patient Ears a moment of rest, and you, unfortunate Lord, must suffer it, tho' count it a blessing28 my Wish was not to take lessons upon the Bag-pipes...."
As if this middle-aged29 Gothicism of Mason's were but some of the Residue30, darken'd and sour'd, of an earlier and more hopeful Bottling of Self, he tells Dixon of how, one night near the Solstice, courting, they
decided to ride South, to view Stonehenge by moonlight,— she close and snug31 upon the Pillion, wind rushing by, those expressive32 arms, all his back a-shiver and fingers aching,— presently falling in with the ancient Welsh cattle route call'd the Calfway, that ran from Bisley down to Chal-ford and up the other side of the Valley, toward the Salisbury Plain,— a day, a night, love beneath Hedges, sleep, another day,— arriving a few hours before sunset upon Midsummer Eve.
She was restless. She mov'd closer to him. "Charlie. It's very old, isn't it. What is it?"
"The old stargazers us'd it."
"It's too familiar. I've this feeling.. .1 know the place, and it knows me. Could it be our ancestors? even so long ago, in your family, or mine?"
"Oh, we've been millers33 and bakers34 forever,— yet it might be some o' yours."
"We did have relations hereabouts."
"Then depend upon it,— if you mark the mass of these Stones, there must've once been full employment 'round here, and for many Years,— some of yours were bound to've been in on it...but dear oh dear, now won't Tongues be a-wag from Bisley to Stroud,— 'Lord in thy Mercy, he's married a Druid!''
Their rhythm suddenly laps'd, hearing him speak the Verb lately so much upon her mind,— and more so than upon her lips,— having left her, for a moment, abash'd.
He snapp'd his Fingers. "But of course, you are Druid, aren't you,— frightfully awkward, tho' how would I've known, you don't look Druid particularly,— not as if I'd examin'd you as to religious beliefs or any?thing, is it.... So! Druid! Well, well,— do you still, ehm, put people in those wicker things, and set them on fire? hmm? or have you had a Reformation of your Faith as well?" He was smiling companionably, as if expecting some reply to this.
By surprize, she allow'd herself a merry laugh, made a fist, and slowly but meaningfully brought it to his Mouth. "And in Sapperton they'll say, 'Lord in thy Mercy, she's married an Idiot.''
And as they ascended36 for the first time to the Observatory, she gave Charlie another of her open-handed smacks37 upon the Wig38-top. "Druids! You have the Presumption39 to quiz with me about Druids!"
"Don't fancy it much, hey?" He stood with Bags and Boxes, already aching from the climb, yet aware that this was exactly how he'd prefer to come breezing into his new Position, helplessly burden'd and under affectionate assault by this handsome Lass, this particular one.
"Well look at it? It's peculiar40 isn't it? Are ye taking me to one of these sinister41 Castles, oh I've read about them,— secret Rituals, Folk in Capes42 and Hoods43? Sex? Torture? Nuns44 and Monks45? Why Charlie, the Idea."
"Hold, I never said,— excuse me, you've read about what?"
"And Night falling as well." They had heard an early Owl35. "And what might go on in that part, there?"
"An ancient Well,— old as Stonehenge, anyway. Flamsteed us'd it for Obs in the Day-time. I'll show you it tomorrow, if I may."
And what sorts of Looks will she and Susannah be exchanging there in the courtyard of the Observatory, across the wind that bears away ev'rything spoken?— steps from the Zero Meridian46 of the World, the young Mistress in her Door-way, the Sorcerer's Apprentice's lower-born Wife, with her head inclin'd out of politeness, yet her eyes gazing out of Curiosity.... When does Rebekah begin to suspect that she is there to guarantee her husband's behavior?
He wants to dream for her a Resurrection, nothing Gothic, nor even Scriptural,— rather, a pleasant, pretty Ascent47, some breezy forenoon, out of the tended Patch before the Stone, St. Kenelm's in the sunlight, Painted Ladies buffeted48 among swaying wild-flowers, all then rushing downward in a spectral49 blur50 as she rises above the valley, into the Wind, the shape of Sapperton in finish'd purity below, the Ridgeline behind her, cold, etch'd, that should have kept them from Oxford51 and Bradleys and all that came after.
He must keep reminding himself not to search the Boys' Faces too intently for Rebekah's. It makes them squirm, which gives him little Joy. Upon Days when he knows he will see them, he stares into his Mirror, memorizing his own face well enough to filter it out of Willy's and Doc's, leaving, if the Trick succeed, Rebekah's alone, her dear living Face,— tho' at about half the optickal Resolution, he guesses. When the time comes, he finds he cannot remember what he looks like. Withal, their Faces are their own, unsortably,— and claim the Moment.
"Will there be savages52?" William asks. "Will you be afraid?”
"Yes,— and maybe."
"Will you have a Rifle?"
"I'll have a Telescope."
"Maybe they'll think it's a Rifle."
"Going where Mama go?" asks Doctor Isaac.
Someday, Mason almost replies. "Don't know." He picks the boy up, turns him upside down, and holds him by his feet. "Now then, what's this?"
"Me too!" cries Will.
One in each Arm, "I'll need to be at least this strong, in America." Each time he bids them farewell and rides away, he pretends there'll be at least one more Visit. They watch him depart, smaller in the Doorway53 than in his embrace, and at the Turn of the Road, hand in hand, go dash?ing off.
London is chang'd. There's less welcome than he discovers he's been wishing for. Ev'rywhere he looks are Squalid Mementoes of his History in the Town,— one Station after another upon a Progress Melancholick.
Mason has pimp'd for Maskelyne, that is his sin, what they whisper of even before his trailing Boot-sole has left the Carpet of the Foyer,— he has acquiesc'd in an elaborate Seduction of not only the Soprano within, but the comickal Basso at the Door as well. He knows what is happen?ing. Yet at the same time, how can he know,— isn't he but a simple lad from the Country? Here comes this sly Cambridge Mathematician54. By the time Mason smoaks his Game, 'tis too late, and he is all but pack'd off to America and well out of the way, whilst the interloper stops at home, making briskly what Interest he may.
That would be the Text of it, anyhow,— with Sermons upon it a-plenty, no doubt, to follow. The Pilgrim, however long or crooked55 his Road, may keep ever before him the Holy Place he must by his Faith seek, as the American Ranger56, however indeterminate or unposted his Wilderness57, may enjoy, ever at his Back, the Impulse of Duty he must, by his Honor, attend. Mason, not quite grown undeceiv'd as to Places that may no longer exist, nor yet quite reluctant enough, to be push'd into someone else's Notion of Futurity, is thus restricted to the outer
Suburbs that ring the Earthly City,— the Capital at the Heart of his Time,— not altogether banish'd from, tho' as little welcom'd into, that distant Splendor58. By this Formula, any visit he makes with Maskelyne is fated to add a public component59 to what, in private, is already prov?ing unendurable.
"Penance," Mason declares. They meet in London, Summer '63, at Mun Maskelyne's Rooms near New Bond Street, with Mason waiting to hear about the Engagement in America, and Nevil Maskelyne on the Eve of sailing off upon the Barbados Trials of Mr. Harrison's bothersome Watch. The eminent60 young Lalande, who has recently (in '62) succeeded J. N. Delisle in the chair of astronomy in the College de France, is like?wise in town to view trials of the Chronometer61, and to dine at The Mitre Club as well.
"He's but my age," remarks Maskelyne, "— adjunct Astronomer62 at the Paris Observatory before he was twenty-one. You, by contrast, were,— was it twenty-eight?— when you went to work for Bradley?"
"Withal, I am six years older than him to begin with," grunts63 Mason. "That gives him a jump of.. .what,— thirteen? fourteen years,— better get cracking, hadn't we.— Regard this, we're talking about Lalande again."
"For a Frenchman, he doesn't seem that difficult. Rather idolizes me, 's a matter of fact, tho' I can't imagine why—"
Mason ought to reply, "Because he's too young to judge Character," but instead grimaces64 diplomatically.
"Aha! Here he comes now!"
"Nevil,— Cher Ma?tre!" They are at one another's cheeks. Mason immediately suspects that Maskelyne has hir'd an Actor, a quasi-amateur Stroller at that, to impersonate the fam'd Philosophe.
"Dr. Bradley was the Lumina of our little Constellation65 of As?tronomers, Sir," the Frenchman, to appearance sincere, greets Mason. "Lemonnier, my Mentor66, worship'd him."
There is a Crash and a great voic'd Roar. A Woman shrieks67, and sev?eral sets of footsteps hasten away. "Ah, and you'll get to meet Mun," his Brother in a Curatickal murmur68.
Who now comes thumping69 in. "Just down from Bath, Nevil, need a good sleep to wake me up. Met this Herschel fella at the Octagon
Chapel70, rather your sort of indiv., I'd imagine, Astrologer like your?self, frightfully damn'd talented Organist as well, goes without saying. Doo-doo doodley, doodley doodley doodley,— well you get the Idea.— Hul-lo, J.J., still in Town?— Who's this? Looks like he forgot where the Punch Bowl went. All in fun, Sir, and let us see what Nevil did give you to drink? Ah!" He pretends to back away in Terror from Mason's Cup. "The Lad means well, of course,— but he has no idea of Hospitality. Come along."
"I'll go along with you," says J. J. Lalande, "I'm off to Drury Lane to see Florizel and Perdita."
"Both of them, eh?" Mun shaking his head in admiration71. "You French,— say."
The next thing Mason knows, Night has fallen and he is in a Quarter of the City previously72 unknown to him. Fans of violet light, from Lan-thorns of tinted73 glass, reveal silent Crowds of hastening men and women. Odd Screams now and then break the determin'd Rush of Footfalls. Mun seems unconcern'd at the firmness of the Mobility's Grip upon them, once they have enter'd the Current. Soon he has vanish'd, leaving Mason to find his way back, tho' by now 'tis unclear if, thro' an Agency yet to be discover'd, he has not already, Wig and Waistcoat, been not so much transported as translated, to a congruent Street somewhere in America.
收听单词发音 |
1
vendetta
|
|
| n.世仇，宿怨 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
2
enact
|
|
| vt.制定(法律)；上演，扮演 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
3
purgatory
|
|
| n.炼狱；苦难；adj.净化的，清洗的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
4
stultification
|
|
| n.使显得愚笨，使变无效 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
5
innocence
|
|
| n.无罪；天真；无害 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
6
deity
|
|
| n.神，神性；被奉若神明的人(或物) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
7
looms
|
|
| n.织布机( loom的名词复数 )v.隐约出现，阴森地逼近( loom的第三人称单数 )；隐约出现，阴森地逼近 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
8
yarns
|
|
| n.纱( yarn的名词复数 )；纱线；奇闻漫谈；旅行轶事 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
9
bickering
|
|
| v.争吵( bicker的现在分词 )；口角；（水等）作潺潺声；闪烁 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
10
enigma
|
|
| n.谜，谜一样的人或事 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
11
tempted
|
|
| v.怂恿（某人）干不正当的事；冒…的险（tempt的过去分词） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
12
labyrinths
|
|
| 迷宫( labyrinth的名词复数 )； （文字，建筑）错综复杂的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
13
steered
|
|
| v.驾驶( steer的过去式和过去分词 )；操纵；控制；引导 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
14
standing
|
|
| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
15
gnats
|
|
| n.叮人小虫( gnat的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
16
observatory
|
|
| n.天文台，气象台，瞭望台，观测台 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
17
winding
|
|
| n.绕，缠，绕组，线圈 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
18
transgression
|
|
| n.违背；犯规；罪过 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
19
inviting
|
|
| adj.诱人的，引人注目的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
20
halfway
|
|
| adj.中途的，不彻底的，部分的；adv.半路地，在中途，在半途 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
21
alas
|
|
| int.唉(表示悲伤、忧愁、恐惧等) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
22
bespeak
|
|
| v.预定；预先请求 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
23
apprentice
|
|
| n.学徒，徒弟 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
24
rivalry
|
|
| n.竞争，竞赛，对抗 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
25
shutters
|
|
| 百叶窗( shutter的名词复数 )； （照相机的）快门 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
26
majesty
|
|
| n.雄伟，壮丽，庄严，威严；最高权威，王权 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
27
eastward
|
|
| adv.向东；adj.向东的；n.东方，东部 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
28
blessing
|
|
| n.祈神赐福；祷告；祝福，祝愿 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
29
middle-aged
|
|
| adj.中年的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
30
residue
|
|
| n.残余，剩余，残渣 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
31
snug
|
|
| adj.温暖舒适的，合身的，安全的；v.使整洁干净，舒适地依靠，紧贴；n.（英）酒吧里的私房 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
32
expressive
|
|
| adj.表现的，表达…的，富于表情的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
33
millers
|
|
| n.（尤指面粉厂的）厂主( miller的名词复数 )；磨房主；碾磨工；铣工 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
34
bakers
|
|
| n.面包师( baker的名词复数 )；面包店；面包店店主；十三 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
35
owl
|
|
| n.猫头鹰，枭 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
36
ascended
|
|
| v.上升，攀登( ascend的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
37
smacks
|
|
| 掌掴（声）( smack的名词复数 )； 海洛因； （打的）一拳； 打巴掌 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
38
wig
|
|
| n.假发 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
39
presumption
|
|
| n.推测，可能性，冒昧，放肆，[法律]推定 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
40
peculiar
|
|
| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
41
sinister
|
|
| adj.不吉利的，凶恶的，左边的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
42
capes
|
|
| 碎谷； 斗篷( cape的名词复数 )； 披肩； 海角； 岬 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
43
hoods
|
|
| n.兜帽( hood的名词复数 )；头巾；（汽车、童车等的）折合式车篷；汽车发动机罩v.兜帽( hood的第三人称单数 )；头巾；（汽车、童车等的）折合式车篷；汽车发动机罩 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
44
nuns
|
|
| n.（通常指基督教的）修女， （佛教的）尼姑( nun的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
45
monks
|
|
| n.修道士，僧侣( monk的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
46
meridian
|
|
| adj.子午线的；全盛期的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
47
ascent
|
|
| n.(声望或地位)提高；上升，升高；登高 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
48
buffeted
|
|
| 反复敲打( buffet的过去式和过去分词 )； 连续猛击； 打来打去； 推来搡去 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
49
spectral
|
|
| adj.幽灵的，鬼魂的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
50
blur
|
|
| n.模糊不清的事物；vt.使模糊，使看不清楚 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
51
Oxford
|
|
| n.牛津（英国城市） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
52
savages
|
|
| 未开化的人，野蛮人( savage的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
53
doorway
|
|
| n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
54
mathematician
|
|
| n.数学家 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
55
crooked
|
|
| adj.弯曲的；不诚实的，狡猾的，不正当的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
56
ranger
|
|
| n.国家公园管理员，护林员；骑兵巡逻队员 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
57
wilderness
|
|
| n.杳无人烟的一片陆地、水等，荒漠 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
58
splendor
|
|
| n.光彩；壮丽，华丽；显赫，辉煌 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
59
component
|
|
| n.组成部分，成分，元件；adj.组成的，合成的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
60
eminent
|
|
| adj.显赫的，杰出的，有名的，优良的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
61
chronometer
|
|
| n.精密的计时器 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
62
astronomer
|
|
| n.天文学家 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
63
grunts
|
|
| （猪等）作呼噜声( grunt的第三人称单数 )； （指人）发出类似的哼声； 咕哝着说； 石鲈 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
64
grimaces
|
|
| n.（表蔑视、厌恶等）面部扭曲，鬼脸( grimace的名词复数 )v.扮鬼相，做鬼脸( grimace的第三人称单数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
65
constellation
|
|
| n.星座n.灿烂的一群 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
66
mentor
|
|
| n.指导者，良师益友；v.指导 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
67
shrieks
|
|
| n.尖叫声( shriek的名词复数 )v.尖叫( shriek的第三人称单数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
68
murmur
|
|
| n.低语，低声的怨言；v.低语，低声而言 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
69
thumping
|
|
| adj.重大的，巨大的；重击的；尺码大的；极好的adv.极端地；非常地v.重击(thump的现在分词)；狠打；怦怦地跳；全力支持 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
70
chapel
|
|
| n.小教堂，殡仪馆 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
71
admiration
|
|
| n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
72
previously
|
|
| adv.以前，先前（地） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
73
tinted
|
|
| adj. 带色彩的 动词tint的过去式和过去分词 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
| 欢迎访问英文小说网 |