Hallblithe wondered and laughed, and said: “Who art thou that deemest me so dear?”
Said the man: “Short is thy memory, Son of the Raven3, that thou in so little space hast forgotten thy shipmate and thy faring-fellow; who gave thee meat and drink and good rede in the Hall of the Ravagers.” Therewith he laughed joyously4 and turned about to the three maidens5 and took them by the hands and kissed their lips, while they fawned7 upon him lovingly.
Then said Hallblithe: “Hast thou verily gotten thy youth again, which thou badest me wish thee?”
“Yea, in good sooth,” said the red-bearded man; “I am the Sea-eagle of old days; and I have gotten my youth, and love therewithal, and somewhat to love moreover.”
Therewith he turned to the fairest of the damsels, and she was white-skinned and fragrant8 as the lily, rose-cheeked and slender, and the wind played with the long locks of her golden hair, which hung down below her knees; so he cast his arms about her and strained her to his bosom9, and kissed her face many times, and she nothing loth, but caressing10 him with lips and hand. But the other two damsels stood by smiling and joyous: and they clapped their hands together and kissed each other for joy of the new lover; and at last fell to dancing and skipping about them like young lambs in the meadows of Spring-tide. But amongst them all, stood up Hallblithe leaning on his spear with smiling lips and knitted brow; for he was pondering in his mind in what wise he might further his quest.
But after they had danced a while the Sea-eagle left his love that he had chosen and took a hand of either of the two damsels, and led them tripping up to Hallblithe, and cried out: “Choose thou, Raven’s baby, which of these twain thou wilt11 have to thy mate; for scarcely shalt thou see better or fairer.”
But Hallblithe looked on them proudly and sternly, and the black-haired damsel hung down her head before him and said softly: “Nay12, nay, sea-warrior13; this one is too lovely to be our mate. Sweeter love abides14 him, and lips more longed for.”
Then stirred Hallblithe’s heart within him and he said: “O Eagle of the Sea, thou hast thy youth again: what then wilt thou do with it? Wilt thou not weary for the moonlit main, and the washing of waves and the dashing of spray, and thy fellows all glistening15 with the brine? Where now shall be the alien shores before thee, and the landing for fame, and departure for the gain of goods? Wilt thou forget the ship’s black side, and the dripping of the windward oars16, as the squall falleth on when the sun hath arisen, and the sail tuggeth hard on the sheet, and the ship lieth over and the lads shout against the whistle of the wind? Has the spear fallen from thine hand, and hast thou buried the sword of thy fathers in the grave from which thy body hath escaped? What art thou, O Warrior, in the land of the alien and the King? Who shall heed17 thee or tell the tale of thy glory, which thou hast covered over with the hand of a light woman, whom thy kindred knoweth not, and who was not born in a house wherefrom it hath been appointed thee from of old to take the pleasure of woman? Whose thrall18 art thou now, thou lifter of the spoil, thou scarer of the freeborn? The bidding of what lord or King wilt thou do, O Chieftain, that thou mayst eat thy meat in the morning and lie soft in thy bed in the evening?”
“O Warrior of the Ravagers, here stand I, Hallblithe of the Raven, and I am come into an alien land beset19 with marvels20 to seek mine own, and find that which is dearest to mine heart; to wit, my troth-plight maiden6 the Hostage of the Rose, the fair woman who shall lie in my bed, and bear me children, and stand by me in field and fold, by thwart21 and gunwale, before the bow and the spear, by the flickering22 of the cooking-fire, and amidst the blaze of the burning hall, and beside the bale-fire of the warrior of the Raven. O Sea-eagle, my guester amongst the foemen, my fellow-farer and shipmate, say now once for all whether thou wilt help me in my quest, or fall off from me as a dastard23?”
Again the maidens shrank before his clear and high-raised voice, and they trembled and grew pale.
But the Sea-eagle laughed from a countenance24 kind with joy, and said: “Child of the Raven, thy words are good and manly25: but it availeth nought26 in this land, and I wot not how thou wilt fare, or why thou hast been sent amongst us. What wilt thou do? Hadst thou spoken these words to the Long-hoary, the Grandfather, yesterday, his ears would have been deaf to them; and now that thou speakest them to the Sea-eagle, this joyous man on the Glittering Plain, he cannot do according to them, for there is no other land than this which can hold him. Here he is strong and stark28, and full of joy and love; but otherwhere he would be but a gibbering ghost drifting down the wind of night. Therefore in whatsoever29 thou mayst do within this land I will stand by thee and help thee; but not one inch beyond it may my foot go, whether it be down into the brine of the sea, or up into the clefts30 of the mountains which are the wall of this goodly land.
“Thou hast been my shipmate and I love thee, I am thy friend; but here in this land must needs be the love and the friendship. For no ghost can love thee, no ghost may help thee. And as to what thou sayest concerning the days gone past and our joys upon the tumbling sea, true it is that those days were good and lovely; but they are dead and gone like the lads who sat on the thwart beside us, and the maidens who took our hands in the hall to lead us to the chamber31. Other days have come in their stead, and other friends shall cherish us. What then? Shall we wound the living to pleasure the dead, who cannot heed it? Shall we curse the Yuletide, and cast foul32 water on the Holy Hearth33 of the winter feast, because the summer once was fair and the days flit and the times change? Now let us be glad! For life liveth.”
Therewith he turned about to his damsel and kissed her on the mouth. But Hallblithe’s face was grown sad and stern, and he spake slowly and heavily: “So is it, shipmate, that whereas thou sayest that the days flit, for thee they shall flit no more; and the day may come for thee when thou shalt be weary, and know it, and long for the lost which thou hast forgotten. But hereof it availeth nought for me to speak any longer, for thine ears are deaf to these words, and thou wilt not hear them. Therefore I say no more save that I thank thee for thy help whatsoever it may be; and I will take it, for the day’s work lieth before me, and I begin to think that it may be heavy enough.”
The women yet looked downcast, and as if they would be gone out of earshot; but the Sea-eagle laughed as one who is well content, and said: “Thou thyself wilt make it hard for thyself after the wont34 of thy proud and haughty35 race; but for me nothing is hard any longer; neither thy scorn nor thy forebodings of evil. Be thou my friend as much as thou canst, and I will be thine wholly. Now ye women, whither will ye lead us? For I am ready to see any new thing ye will show us.”
Said his damsel: “We will take you to the King, that your hearts may be the more gladdened. And as for thy friend the Spearman, O Sea-warrior, let not his heart be downcast. Who wotteth but that these two desires, the desire of his heart, and the desire of a heart for him, may not be one and the same desire, so that he shall be fully36 satisfied?” As she spoke27 she looked sidelong at Hallblithe, with shy and wheedling37 eyes; and he wondered at her word, and a new hope sprang up in his heart that he was presently to be brought face to face with the Hostage, and that this was that love, sweeter than their love, which abode38 in him, and his heart became lighter39, and his visage cleared.
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1
stature
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| n.（高度）水平，（高度）境界，身高，身材 | |
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2
joyous
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| adj.充满快乐的；令人高兴的 | |
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raven
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| n.渡鸟，乌鸦；adj.乌亮的 | |
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4
joyously
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| ad.快乐地, 高兴地 | |
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5
maidens
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| 处女( maiden的名词复数 )； 少女； 未婚女子； （板球运动）未得分的一轮投球 | |
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6
maiden
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| n.少女，处女；adj.未婚的，纯洁的，无经验的 | |
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7
fawned
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| v.（尤指狗等）跳过来往人身上蹭以示亲热( fawn的过去式和过去分词 )；巴结；讨好 | |
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8
fragrant
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| adj.芬香的，馥郁的，愉快的 | |
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9
bosom
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| n.胸，胸部；胸怀；内心；adj.亲密的 | |
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caressing
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| 爱抚的，表现爱情的，亲切的 | |
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11
wilt
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| v.(使)植物凋谢或枯萎；(指人)疲倦，衰弱 | |
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12
nay
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| adv.不；n.反对票，投反对票者 | |
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13
warrior
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| n.勇士，武士，斗士 | |
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14
abides
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| 容忍( abide的第三人称单数 )； 等候； 逗留； 停留 | |
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15
glistening
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| adj.闪耀的，反光的v.湿物闪耀，闪亮( glisten的现在分词 ) | |
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16
oars
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| n.桨，橹( oar的名词复数 )；划手v.划（行）( oar的第三人称单数 ) | |
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17
heed
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| v.注意，留意；n.注意，留心 | |
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18
thrall
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| n.奴隶；奴隶制 | |
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19
beset
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| v.镶嵌；困扰，包围 | |
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20
marvels
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| n.奇迹( marvel的名词复数 )；令人惊奇的事物（或事例）；不平凡的成果；成就v.惊奇，对…感到惊奇( marvel的第三人称单数 ) | |
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21
thwart
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| v.阻挠，妨碍，反对；adj.横(断的) | |
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flickering
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| adj.闪烁的，摇曳的，一闪一闪的 | |
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23
dastard
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| n.卑怯之人，懦夫；adj.怯懦的，畏缩的 | |
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24
countenance
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| n.脸色，面容；面部表情；vt.支持，赞同 | |
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manly
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| adj.有男子气概的；adv.男子般地，果断地 | |
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26
nought
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| n.／adj.无，零 | |
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27
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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28
stark
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| adj.荒凉的；严酷的；完全的；adv.完全地 | |
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29
whatsoever
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| adv.（用于否定句中以加强语气）任何；pron.无论什么 | |
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30
clefts
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| n.裂缝( cleft的名词复数 )；裂口；cleave的过去式和过去分词；进退维谷 | |
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31
chamber
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| n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所 | |
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32
foul
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| adj.污秽的；邪恶的；v.弄脏；妨害；犯规；n.犯规 | |
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33
hearth
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| n.壁炉炉床，壁炉地面 | |
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34
wont
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| adj.习惯于；v.习惯；n.习惯 | |
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35
haughty
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| adj.傲慢的，高傲的 | |
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36
fully
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| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
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37
wheedling
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| v.骗取（某物），哄骗（某人干某事）( wheedle的现在分词 ) | |
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38
abode
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| n.住处，住所 | |
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39
lighter
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| n.打火机，点火器；驳船；v.用驳船运送；light的比较级 | |
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