Back again, Tavern-crawling near the Wharves2 upon Delaware, Ale-stuporous, the Surveyors enter The Crook'd Finger Inn,— "We both know what it is, Dixon," Mason is instructing his Partner, "— your hour is come, your Innings, for Retributive Poultrification,— at last, you must prepare, mustn't you, for all that Expression of Jesuit Interest so long-deferr'd,— this next Commission being, after all, the one they were engi?neering all along, isn't it, yes, another Degree of Latitude3 to put with the others they've appropriated, this is what it all's been leading to, correct? Wondrous4! Now shall you,— at least,— finally learn, perhaps even via the Jesuit Telegraph, why you are here,— a Blessing6 extended to how few. Anything I can do to help, of course.—
"Eeh, but whah's the use, the fuckin' use?" Dixon resting his head briefly7 tho' audibly upon the Table. "It's over...? Nought8 left to us but Paper-work... ?" Their task has shifted, from Direct Traverse upon the Line to Pen-and-Paper Representation of it, in the sober Day-Light of Philadel?phia, strain'd thro' twelve-by-twelve Sash-work, as in the spectreless Light of the Candles in their Rooms, suffering but the fretful Shadows of Dixon at the Drafting Table, and Mason, seconding now, reading from Entries in the Field-Book, as Dixon once minded the Clock for him. Finally, one day, Dixon announces, "Well,— won't thee at least have a look... ?"
Mason eagerly rushes to inspect the Map of the Boundaries, almost instantly boggling, for there bold as a Pirate's Flag is an eight-pointed Star, surmounted10 by a Fleur-de-Lis.
"What's this thing here? pointing North? Wasn't the l'Grand flying one of these? Doth it not signify, England's most inveterately11 hated Rival? France?"
"All respect, Mason,— among Brother and Sister Needle-folk in ev'ry Land, 'tis known universally, as the 'Flower-de-Luce.' A Magnetickal Term."
' 'Flower of Light'? Light, hey? Sounds Encyclopedistick to me, per?haps5 even Masonick," says Mason.
A Surveyor's North-Point, Dixon explains, by long Tradition, is his own, which he may draw, and embellish12, in any way he pleases, so it point where North be. It becomes his Hall-Mark, personal as a Silver-Smith's, representative of his Honesty and Good Name. Further, as with many Glyphs, 'tis important ever to keep Faith with it,— for an often enormous Investment of Faith, and Will, lies condens'd within, giving it a Potency13 in the World that the Agents of Reason care little for.
' 'Tis an ancient Shape, said to go back to the earliest Italian Wind-Roses," says Dixon, "— originally, at the North, they put the Letter T, for Tramontane, the Wind that blew down from the Alps...? Over the years, as ever befalls such frail14 Bric-a-Brack as Letters of the Alphabet, it was beaten into a kind of Spear-head,— tho' the kinder-hearted will aver1 it a Lily, and clash thy Face, do tha deny it."
"Yet some, finding it upon a new Map, might also take it as a reasser-tion of French claims to Ohio," Mason pretends to remind him.
"Aye, tha've found me out, I confess,— 'tis a secret Message to all who conspire15 in the Dark! Eeh! The old Jesuit Canard16 again!"
At which Armand runs in looking anxious. "The Duck is doing some?thing. .. autoerotique, now?" They re-phrase,— unconsol'd, Armand wan17?ders away. Becoming reaccustom'd to this City's Angular Momentum18 is costing him daily Struggle. He appears to miss the West Line, and the Duck it has captur'd and denied him.
"Perhaps, for this Map alone," it occurs to Mason, "as East and West are of the Essence, North need hardly be indicated at all, need it? Or, suppose you were to sketch19 in something...less politickal?"
"This has been my North Point," Dixon declares, "since the first Map I ever drew. I cannot very readily forswear it, now, Sir, for some temporary Tradesman's Sign. It does not generally benefit the Surveyor to debase the Value of his North Point, by lending it to ends Politickal. 'Twould be to betray my Allegiance to Earth's Magnetism20, Earth Her?self if tha like, which my Flower-de-Luce stands faithfully as the Emblem21 of...?"
Making no more sense of this than he ever may, Mason shrugs22. "It may sit less comfortably with the Proprietors23, than with me."
"Oh, they're as happy to twit a King, when they may, as the next Lad— "
"Hahr! So that is it!"
"Thy uncritical Worship of Kings, with my inflexible24 Hatred25 of 'em,— taken together, we equal one latter-day English Subject."
"Much more likely Twins, ever in Dispute,— as the Indians once told us the Beginning of the World."
"Huz? I'm far too jolly a soul ever to fight with thee for long... ?"
"Because you know how your Shins would suffer...." Mason is able to inspect the long Map, fragrant26, elegantly cartouch'd with Indians and Instruments, at last. Ev'ry place they ran it, ev'ry House pass'd by, Road cross'd, the Ridge-lines and Creeks28, Forests and Glades29, Water ev'ry-where, and the Dragon nearly visible. "So,— so. This is the Line as all shall see it after its Copper-Plate 'Morphosis,— and all History remem?ber? This is what ye expect me to sign off on?"
"Not the worst I've handed in. And had they wish'd to pay for Color?ing? Why, tha'd scarcely knaah the Place...?"
"This is beauteous Work. Emerson was right, Jeremiah. You were fly?ing, all the time."
Dixon, his face darken'd by the Years of Weather, may be allowing himself to blush in safety. "Could have us'd a spot of Orpiment, all the same. Some Lapis...?"
"It is possible," here comments the Revd Cherrycoke, "that for some couples, however close, Love is simply not in the cards. So must they pursue other projects, instead,— sometimes together, sometimes apart. I believe now, that their Third Interdiction30 came when, at the end of the eight-Year Traverse, Mason and Dixon could not cross the perilous31 Boundaries between themselves.”
Whatever happen'd at the Warrior-Path, the Partners are to remain amicably32 together, among the cheerless Bogs33 of Delaware, thro' nearly another Year, busy with the Royal Society's Degree of Latitude, chaining a Meridian34 over the same ground as the Tangent Line, shivering in the Damp of Morning after Morning, both fending35 off the Ague with the miraculous36 willow-bark powder discover'd by the Revd Mr. Edmund Stone, of Chipping Norton,— return'd to the vegetational Horizons, the Sumach whose Touch brings misery37, the deadly water-snakes coil'd together like the Rugae of a single great Brain, the gray and even illumi?nation from the Sky.
Their Agreement to un-couple may easily have come, not after all dur?ing the crisis of the Year before, at the Warrior-Path, but rather here, somewhere upon this Peninsula, wrapp'd in the lambent Passing of any forgotten day of mild Winds, the Day as ever, little to distinguish it from others before and after but the values enter'd for Miles, Chains, and Links,— and why not here, especially with leisure and opportunity at last to talk of Plans for the second Transit38, the possibility of return to America...?
The Story among Dixon's Descendants will be that Uncle Jeremiah wish'd to emigrate and settle here, and that his Partner did not,— tho' in the Field-Book, as late as June 9, Mason is to be found rhapsodizing in writing about Mr. Twiford's seat upon Nanticoke, as he does thro'out the Book as to other Homes, other Rivers, or Towns upon them. To Dixon,— "Aye how pleasing in all ways. Yet address any of it too intently, and like Dreams just at the Crepuscule, 'twill all vanish, unrecoverably."
"Shakespearean, correct?"
"Nay39, Transcendence,— 'twas but Masonick."
Dixon gazes at the River, the gentle points and Coves41 in the mist, the willows42 and Loblolly Pines, desiring, whilst humiliated43 at how impossi?ble it is to desire any Terrain44 in its interminable unfolding, ev'ry last Peb?ble, dip, and rain-path. For Mason, the Year of Delaware is all passing like a Dream. He can believe in this Degree they are measuring but in the way he believes in Ghosts,— for all its massless Suggestion, Number is yet more sensible to him, than this America that haunts his Progress. "Stay? Here? Christ, no, Dixon.— 'Twas an Odyssey,— now must I return to the Destiny ever waiting for me,— faithfully,— her Loom45 now mine to sit and toil46 at, to the end of days, whilst she's out, no doubt, with any number of Suitors, roaring and merry."
("Well," suggests Uncle Lomax, "It's Pope and Lady Montague all over again, isn't it? A touchy47 race, the Brits, unfathomable, apt to take offense48 at anything, disputes can go on for years."
"Yet 'twas never that cold," declares the Revd.) Each seem'd to be con9?tent in postponing49 a return to England, and thereby50 to what others there expected. Measuring the Degree, they may have intended to hide somehow, inside the Work-day,— surrendering, as openly as they ever could, into a desire to transcend40 their differently discomforted lives, through what, at the end of the Day, would be but Ranks and Files of Numerals, ever in the Darkness of Pages unopen'd and unturn'd, Ink already begun to fade, from Type since melted and re-cast numberless times,— all but Oblivion,— The Delaware country their Refuge,— no steep grades,— "as level for 82 Miles," they wrote to the Royal Society, "as if it had been formed by Art," a phrase later to be found in Maskelyne's introduction to their publish'd Observations (1769),— no hostile Indians, fresh food, Cities in easy reach, Obs themselves straight-forward and not even all that many,— to the World's Eye, two veteran Wise-Men, coasting along between Transits51 of Venus, soon to be off again for more glamorous52 foreign duty where the See-ing's perfect and the Food never less than exquisite53, and Adventures ever ahead and unforeseen, Boscovich and Maire all over again,— a Godly pur?suit, and profitable withal, if only in the Value of Commissions to come."
Yet at the same time, silently parallel to the Pleasantries of team?work, runs their effort to convince themselves that whatever they have left upon the last ridge-top, just above the last stone cairn, as if left burn?ing, as if left exhibited in chains before the contempt of all who pass, will find an end to its torment54, and fragment by fragment across the seasons be taken back into the Tales preserv'd in Memory, among Wind-gusts, subterranean55 Fires, Over-Creatures of the Wild, Floods and Freezes... until one day 'twill all be gone, re-assum'd, only its silence left there to be clamor'd into by something else, something younger, without memory of, or respect for, what was once, across the third Turning of Dunkard Creek27, brought to a halt....
But it does not die. It comes out at nightfall and visits, singly obsess56'd with a task left undone57. Newcomers choose other Ridge-lines to settle in the Shadows of, Indian Priests proclaim it forbidden Ground, even unto the Lead-Mines beneath,— Smugglers of Tobacco, Dye-stuffs, and edg'd Implements58 flee their Storage-Cabins in the middle of the night, leaving behind Inventories59 whose odd scavengers prove as little able to with?stand the disconsolate60 spirit prevailing61 here, as if 'twere the Point upon which was being daily projected, some great linear summing of Human Incompletion,— fail'd Arrivals, Departures too soon, mis-stated Inten?tions, truncations of Desire. Even the uncommonly62 stolid63 Stig feels it, in his Perplexity resorting more and more often to the Handle of his Ax for Re-assurance,— Captain Zhang each night in his Tent, shivering, con?tinues to express concern as to the Sha Situation. "Returning from here will be not much better. In Sha there is no up- nor down-Stream,— rather a Flow at all points sensible, equally harmful, east or west. Our Sorrows shall persist and obsess for as long as we continue upon this ill-omen'd Line."
Too often, back here, they find themselves chaining through wet?lands, the water usually a foot and a half to two feet deep,— Daylight somewhere above them, indifferent, the Gloom in here forcing them to shorter sights, more set-ups, closer Quarters. As they stand in the muck of the Cypress64 Swamp, black and thinly crusted, each Step breaking through to release a Smell of Generations of Deaths, something in it, some principle of untaught Mechanicks, tugging65 at their ankles, voice?less, importunate,— a moment arrives, when one of them smacks66 his Pate67 for something other than a Mosquitoe.
"Ev'rywhere they've sent us,— the Cape68, St. Helena, America,— what's the Element common to all?"
"Long Voyages by Sea," replies Mason, blinking in Exhaustion69 by now chronick. "Was there anything else?"
"Slaves. Ev'ry day at the Cape, we lived with Slavery in our faces,— more of it at St. Helena,— and now here we are again, in another Colony,
this time having drawn70 them a Line between their Slave-Keepers, and
their Wage-Payers, as if doom'd to re-encounter thro' the World this pub?
lic Secret, this shameful71 Core Pretending it to be ever somewhere
else, with the Turks, the Russians, the Companies, down there, down where it smells like warm Brine and Gunpowder72 fumes73, they're murder?ing and dispossessing thousands untallied, the innocent of the World,
passing daily into the Hands of Slave-owners and Torturers, but oh, never in Holland, nor in England, that Garden of Fools...? Christ, Mason."
"Christ, what? What did I do?"
"Huz. Didn't we take the King's money, as here we're taking it again? whilst Slaves waited upon us, and we neither one objected, as little as we have here, in certain houses south of the Line,— Where does it end? No matter where in it we go, shall we find all the World Tyrants74 and Slaves? America was the one place we should not have found them."
"Yet we're not Slaves, after all,— we're Hirelings."
"I don't trust this King, Mason. I don't think anybody else does, either. Tha saw Lord Ferrers take the Drop at Tyburn. They execute their own. What may they be willing to do to huz?”
收听单词发音 |
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aver
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| v.极力声明；断言；确证 | |
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wharves
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| n.码头，停泊处( wharf的名词复数 ) | |
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latitude
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| n.纬度，行动或言论的自由(范围)，(pl.)地区 | |
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wondrous
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| adj.令人惊奇的，奇妙的；adv.惊人地；异乎寻常地；令人惊叹地 | |
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haps
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| n.粗厚毛披巾；偶然，机会，运气( hap的名词复数 ) | |
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blessing
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| n.祈神赐福；祷告；祝福，祝愿 | |
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briefly
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| adv.简单地，简短地 | |
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nought
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| n.／adj.无，零 | |
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con
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| n.反对的观点，反对者，反对票，肺病；vt.精读，学习，默记；adv.反对地，从反面；adj.欺诈的 | |
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surmounted
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| 战胜( surmount的过去式和过去分词 )； 克服（困难）； 居于…之上； 在…顶上 | |
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inveterately
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| adv.根深蒂固地，积习地 | |
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embellish
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| v.装饰，布置；给…添加细节，润饰 | |
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potency
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| n. 效力，潜能 | |
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frail
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| adj.身体虚弱的；易损坏的 | |
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conspire
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| v.密谋，（事件等）巧合，共同导致 | |
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canard
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| n.虚报；谣言；v.流传 | |
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wan
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| (wide area network)广域网 | |
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momentum
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| n.动力，冲力，势头；动量 | |
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sketch
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| n.草图；梗概；素描；v.素描；概述 | |
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magnetism
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| n.磁性，吸引力，磁学 | |
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emblem
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| n.象征，标志；徽章 | |
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shrugs
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| n.耸肩（以表示冷淡，怀疑等）( shrug的名词复数 ) | |
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proprietors
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| n.所有人，业主( proprietor的名词复数 ) | |
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inflexible
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| adj.不可改变的，不受影响的，不屈服的 | |
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hatred
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| n.憎恶，憎恨，仇恨 | |
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fragrant
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| adj.芬香的，馥郁的，愉快的 | |
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creek
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| n.小溪，小河，小湾 | |
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creeks
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| n.小湾( creek的名词复数 )；小港；小河；小溪 | |
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glades
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| n.林中空地( glade的名词复数 ) | |
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interdiction
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| n.禁止；封锁 | |
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perilous
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| adj.危险的，冒险的 | |
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amicably
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| adv.友善地 | |
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bogs
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| n.沼泽，泥塘( bog的名词复数 )；厕所v.（使）陷入泥沼， （使）陷入困境( bog的第三人称单数 )；妨碍，阻碍 | |
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meridian
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| adj.子午线的；全盛期的 | |
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fending
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| v.独立生活，照料自己( fend的现在分词 )；挡开，避开 | |
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miraculous
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| adj.像奇迹一样的，不可思议的 | |
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misery
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| n.痛苦，苦恼，苦难；悲惨的境遇，贫苦 | |
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transit
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| n.经过，运输；vt.穿越，旋转；vi.越过 | |
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nay
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| adv.不；n.反对票，投反对票者 | |
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transcend
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| vt.超出，超越(理性等)的范围 | |
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coves
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| n.小海湾( cove的名词复数 )；家伙 | |
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willows
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| n.柳树( willow的名词复数 )；柳木 | |
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humiliated
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| 感到羞愧的 | |
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terrain
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| n.地面，地形，地图 | |
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loom
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| n.织布机，织机；v.隐现，(危险、忧虑等)迫近 | |
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toil
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| vi.辛劳工作，艰难地行动；n.苦工，难事 | |
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touchy
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| adj.易怒的；棘手的 | |
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offense
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| n.犯规，违法行为；冒犯，得罪 | |
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postponing
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| v.延期，推迟( postpone的现在分词 ) | |
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thereby
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| adv.因此，从而 | |
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transits
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| 通过（transit的复数形式） | |
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glamorous
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| adj.富有魅力的；美丽动人的；令人向往的 | |
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exquisite
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| adj.精美的；敏锐的；剧烈的，感觉强烈的 | |
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torment
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| n.折磨；令人痛苦的东西(人)；vt.折磨；纠缠 | |
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subterranean
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| adj.地下的，地表下的 | |
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obsess
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| vt.使着迷，使心神不定，（恶魔）困扰 | |
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undone
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| a.未做完的，未完成的 | |
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implements
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| n.工具( implement的名词复数 )；家具；手段；[法律]履行（契约等）v.实现( implement的第三人称单数 )；执行；贯彻；使生效 | |
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inventories
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| n.总结( inventory的名词复数 )；细账；存货清单（或财产目录）的编制 | |
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disconsolate
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| adj.忧郁的，不快的 | |
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prevailing
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| adj.盛行的；占优势的；主要的 | |
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uncommonly
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| adv. 稀罕(极，非常) | |
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stolid
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| adj.无动于衷的，感情麻木的 | |
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cypress
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| n.柏树 | |
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tugging
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| n.牵引感v.用力拉，使劲拉，猛扯( tug的现在分词 ) | |
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smacks
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| 掌掴（声）( smack的名词复数 )； 海洛因； （打的）一拳； 打巴掌 | |
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pate
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| n.头顶；光顶 | |
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cape
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| n.海角，岬；披肩，短披风 | |
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exhaustion
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| n.耗尽枯竭，疲惫，筋疲力尽，竭尽，详尽无遗的论述 | |
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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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shameful
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| adj.可耻的，不道德的 | |
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72
gunpowder
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| n.火药 | |
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73
fumes
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| n.(强烈而刺激的)气味，气体 | |
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74
tyrants
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| 专制统治者( tyrant的名词复数 )； 暴君似的人； （古希腊的）僭主； 严酷的事物 | |
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