And these lanes and solitary14 bypaths which have been my schoolroom are becoming daily more interesting, more insistent15 in their appeal. They are now providing something fresh and pleasing every day. I must walk slowly and quietly, so that I may see and hear every titbit of their store. A country walk at the rate of four miles an hour is very invigorating, to those in good health very pleasurable; but such is not possible on my byway at this season of the year, except to the Philistines16. Even Bang and Jip do not exceed the half-mile limit; and as for myself—well, Dr Grierson has oftener than once accompanied me down the Gillfoot road, and I know he doesn't gauge17 the progress of my recovery by my rate of locomotion18. No; if I must see and hear aright I have to walk slowly, and when the mavis is singing at close o' day I must halt altogether if I would listen as I ought.
For many mornings past a blackbird from the top of the apple-tree in our garden has been challenging Tom Jardine to a trial of song; and, much as I love to lie and listen to my neighbour's pure tenor19 voice in 'The Lea Rig' or 'Flow gently, sweet Afton,' I have not been sorry when, as if acknowledging defeat, he has stopped to hearken to his feathered rival in the old apple-tree.
Now that Tom has got over all his worries, and the sun is rising earlier, his heart is becoming attuned21, and the familiar old Scots airs are accompanying the different items of his morning duties just as they used to do when first I came to stay with Betty. I hear the gray mare's whinny, the turning of the key in the stable door, the lid of the corn-bin creaking on its rusty22 hinges—these are all as they used to be. But, alas23! all is quiet in Betty's kitchen now, and I miss the cheery sounds of the early breakfast preparations, for Nathan is lying prostrate24 in the back-room, and poor Betty's rest is too much disturbed to permit of her rising with the dawn.
Every Friday evening since I came here I have given Nathan an envelope enclosing my weekly contribution toward the household expenses—that is, of course, in accordance with the arrangement I made with Betty; and at first I often used to wonder if she had fully25 explained the matter to him, because he always took the packet from me in a hesitating, doubtful way, very much as a debtor26 would accept a summons. Later he just smiled, and without a word put it in his trousers-pocket, looking sideways at me and inclining his head toward Betty wherever she happened to be at the time.
Last Friday night, when I was at his bedside, I handed him the envelope as usual. He didn't hold out his hand for it; so I laid it down on the coverlet, and nothing was said for a time. Then, nodding toward a wooden box in the corner of the room, he said, 'Maister Weelum, will ye open the lid o' that kist, if ye please, an' bring me the wee tin box that's lyin' at the left-haun side?'
I did as he requested. It was an old, battered27, black japanned receptacle without a lock, and only secured against accidental opening by a wooden peg28 inserted through the catch. Withdrawing the peg and placing it between his teeth, he took off the lid, and there—some clean, others crumpled29 and dirty—was every envelope I had given him, and all of them unopened, as I had put them into his hand.
'Maister Weelum,' he said, after a pause, 'I mak' nae great shape at speakin' or explainin'; but I've been thinkin', as ye've been idle an' aff yer wark sae lang, ye'll mebbe no' ha'e muckle comin' in the noo, an'—an'——Auch! I was gaun to say something mair, an' I've forgot it; but ye can tak' it a' back if it's ony use to ye.'
'Nathan,' I said, in astonishment30, 'I—I don't quite understand. Why should you offer me these?'
He gave a wee bit quiet laugh. 'I dinna ken20 what kind o' a job ye ha'e, Maister Weelum. Betty never telt me, an' I never asked; but wi' us yins doon here it's nae wark, nae pey. Ye've been idle a lang time, as I've said, an' I thocht mebbe it micht come in handy. Of coorse, if ye dinna need it—weel, there's nae hairm dune31.'
I didn't know very well what to say, but I thanked him, and assured him that I didn't require money, explaining that it came to me whether I was working or not. This last bit of information roused Nathan's interest.
'Comes in to ye whether ye're workin' or no'! Imphm! Ye maun be connec'it wi' meenisters somewey, then,' he said.
'No, Nathan; I'm connected with law.'
'Oh, imphm!'
'I'm astonished that Betty never told you I was a lawyer, Nathan.'
'Mebbe she wadna like, man. Betty's very discreet32.' Then he added by way of sympathetic encouragement, 'Dinna think ocht aboot it; there maun be fouk for a' kinds o' jobs, ye ken, Maister Weelum.'
Nathan is capable of unconsciously starting many different emotions. I was touched by his kindness and unselfishness, and amused at his reflection on my profession. But I couldn't find words to thank him for the former, and I dared not laugh at his serious remarks on the latter. Then I bethought me of my plan to relieve him of his long, weary walks, and to find something to take up his attention nearer home. I asked him if he wouldn't give up his present work and take to the cultivation33 of tomatoes, and I outlined my little scheme as clearly as I could. Somehow, I didn't succeed in making it plain to him, for after I had finished, and when I asked him what he thought of it, all he said was, 'It has nae attraction for me, Maister Weelum, for I never could eat a tomato a' my life.'
'But, Nathan,' I said, 'you needn't eat them unless you like. You've to grow them, and then you sell them. There might be money in it for you, and for your goodness of heart in offering me all these envelopes I want to pay for the putting up of the glass-houses and stoves and piping; that will be a small return for all your kindness to me. You know all about the growing of tomatoes?'
'Ay, brawly.'
'And what do you think about it, then, Nathan?'
'What would Betty say, think ye?'
'I don't know,' I said, 'but we'll soon hear.'
Betty was baking soda-scones, and when she was free to leave her girdle she came in, and I told her all I had told Nathan. She looked from me to Nathan, and then, answering a sign, she went up and leaned over his bedside. I heard a throttled35 sob36 and a whispered word or two. Thinking they wished to talk it over by themselves, I slipped into the kitchen.
In a minute Betty was with me. 'Maister Weelum,' she said, and her lip trembled, 'Nathan, puir falla, broke doon there. He didna want you to see. He says he's obleeged to ye, but—but—but—it's no' worth while.'
I laid my hand on her shoulder in silent sympathy. Without a word she turned to her bakeboard, and I went into my room and quietly closed the door.
Last night, just after I had lit the gas and settled myself down for an hour's perusal37 of M'Crie's Vindication38, Betty opened my door and came quietly in. 'Maister Weelum,' she said with a trembling lip, 'Nathan's a wee mair relieved. Him an' me ha'e had a closer he'rt-to-he'rt crack than ever we had in a' oor lives. I'm gled, in a wey; but—but I canna help thinkin' it'll be oor last.' She wiped her cheek with her apron39. 'Hoots40! hoots!' she said as the tears continued to flow; 'it's—it's no' like me to be a' begrutten like this; I'm gettin' awfu' soft-he'rted; but, oh, Maister Weelum, I'm awfu', awfu' sair-he'rted!'
I was at her side in a moment. 'There noo,' she said, 'I've dune;' and she choked down a sob. 'What I wanted to tell ye was that Nathan's very anxious to see ye; he wants to speak to ye aboot something. It's the first time he's speirt for onybody, an' I'm gled it's you. I ha'ena to gang in wi' ye, for he wants to see ye your lane.'
I pulled in my big chair nearer to the fire, put my mother's kirk hassock in front of it, and after I had seated Betty comfortably I went ben to Nathan's back-room.
A week or two ago, at his request, we had turned the bed round so that from where he lay he could see into the garden. I was present when Joe and Deacon Webster made the alteration41; and when Nathan and I were alone and he had looked his 'e'efill' on the scene of his lifelong labour of love, he said, 'I'll no' weary noo, Maister Weelum. The flo'ers and the yirth ha'e aye a hamely look to me.'
And to-night, when I approached his bed, his eyes were fixed42 on the darkened shadowy plots outside. I didn't speak for a minute, and neither did he. Then, thinking he was unaware43 of my presence, I said, 'Nathan, I am here, beside you.'
'Ay, I ken.'
'Shall I bring in your lamp? It's getting dark now.'
'No, no, if ye please, dinna licht the lamp. I want to see—to see oot as lang as I can.'
I sat down beside him, and together we watched in silence the shadow of the night's wing creeping around bush and tree. And when everything was shrouded44, and nothing was visible through the blue-black window-panes, Nathan's head turned on the pillow toward me. 'Man, Maister Weelum,' he said, 'it's quiet, quiet wark that. I'll never see it again—no, never again. Ye dinna mind sittin' in the dark?'
'No, Nathan.'
'Ay, the licht hurts my een; an'—an' I've never said muckle a' my life, but I've often thocht oot lang screeds in the darkness, an' mebbe it'll help me oot wi' what I've to say to ye the noo. Ay, the Hebrons dinna speak muckle, Maister Weelum; but this is a forby time wi' me, an' I've something to ask o' ye. I hardly expec'it the ca' at this time o' the year. The back-en's the time o' liftin'. I aye thocht, somewey, that when my time cam' it wad be when the growth was a' by, the aipples pu'd, and the tatties pitted; and it seems awfu' queer that I should ha'e to gang when the buds are burstin', an'—an' the gairden delvin' on—imphm!—but it's His wull. "The young may, the auld45 must."—Imphm!—Ay, are ye listenin', Maister Weelum?'
I rose from my chair, and I stroked the gray hair back from his forehead. 'Yes, Nathan, I'm listening; but you must not give up hope; you're really not an old man, and'——
'No' an auld man! Imphm! I've—I've been an auld man a' my days. I canna mind o' ever bein' young. I was ten—only ten—when my faither was ta'en awa', an' I had to mak' the handle o' his spade fit my wee bit haun. Ay, I had to, for the weans had to be brocht up, an'—an', thank God, I managed it! But it killed the youth that was in me. Ay, an', as I was gaun to say, I'm seein' things differently lyin' here. Coontin' the times ye've been at the kirk'll no' quieten your fears. Thinkin' o' the guid ye've dune or tried to do micht, an' my crap o' that's a very sma' yin. Still, I maun ha'e pleased the Almichty in some wey, or He wadna ha'e been sae kind to me; He wadna ha'e gi'en me Betty. Oh, man, Maister Weelum, I wish I could tell ye a' that Betty's been to me! I'm vexed46 I canna. I'm a Hebron, an' I needna try; but ye ken yoursel' in a sma' wey. She nursed ye—ay, an'—an' noo this is what I want to ask ye—when I'm away, Maister Weelum, will ye see that my—that Betty's a' richt—eh? Is that askin' an awfu' lot?'
'Oh, Nathan,' I said, and I knelt down at his bedside and took his softened47 hand in mine, 'Betty is to me a sacred trust, and if it be God's will that you must leave her, I will be with her till she goes out to meet you again.'
He pressed my hand. 'Thank ye, Maister Weelum. I—I thocht ye would; but I juist wanted to mak' sure. That's a', I think—a' at least as far as this world's concerned. There's a lot—an awfu' lot I should do, but I canna. I doot I've been careless. I've left the want to come at the wab's en', an' I ha'e nae time to mak' it guid noo. I maun juist leave it to Him. Guid-nicht, Maister Weelum, an' ye'll tell her—ye ken whae I mean—that I was gled a Hebron was o' service to her. Guid-nicht. God bless ye, man! Guid-bye.'
'Guid-nicht—God bless ye!—Guid-bye.' These words kept ringing in my ears as I sat by my fire, and during the quiet hours my sorrowing thoughts strayed again and again into that wee back-room where Betty sat watching, and where Nathan lay dying.
Long after the village folks had gone to bed I heard the street door open quietly, and the doctor's shuffling48 footsteps in the lobby. He went through the kitchen into Nathan's room; then he came in and sat down in the big chair opposite me. 'I told Betty I would be here if I were needed, William,' he said, and he took out his old clay pipe and smoked in silence.
Just when the night was on the turn he opened the door and went quietly across to his patient. I followed him into the kitchen, and there, by a cheerless fire, sat Mrs Jardine in Betty's chair, and, poor, hard-working soul, she was asleep, with her head resting on Tom's encircling arm. I put my hand on his shoulder and thanked him for his presence. Then I went back into my room, and, sitting down in my chair, closed my eyes, for their lids felt heavy and weary.
'William, Betty wants you.' The voice seemed far away. I rose hurriedly and rubbed my eyes. The sparrows were twittering in the lime-tree, and the gray light of a March morning was lying cold in the room. The doctor was standing49 with his hand on the handle of the half-open door. 'Betty wants you, William,' he said in a whisper; and I passed him without a word, and with a heavy, apprehensive50 heart.
On the little round table was an open Bible which I knew well, and a pair of spectacles lay across the flattened-out leaves. Betty was standing at the bedside, her dimmed eyes fixed on Nathan's long, wan34 face. She didn't turn her head when I came in, but she held out her hand to me, and together we watched. Suddenly he raised his head from the pillow and his sunken, sightless eyes turned toward the window. 'Ay, imphm!—weel, Betty lass, it's aboot time I was daunerin'. It—it's a nice mornin' for the road; the birds'll be whusslin' bonny in the Gillfit wood, an'—an' the sunshine will be on the hawthorn. No, I'll no' mak' a noise. I'll open the door canny51, and I'll no' wauken Maister Weelum. I'll—I'll juist slip oot quietly. Ay'——
And Betty and I watched Nathan slipping out quietly—oh, how quietly!—into the sunshine of God's own everlasting52 morning.
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1
hawthorn
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| 山楂 | |
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2
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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kindly
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| adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地 | |
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genial
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| adj.亲切的，和蔼的，愉快的，脾气好的 | |
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chestnut
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| n.栗树，栗子 | |
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assertiveness
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| n.过分自信 | |
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promising
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| adj.有希望的，有前途的 | |
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bulging
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| 膨胀； 凸出（部）； 打气； 折皱 | |
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throbbing
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| a. 跳动的,悸动的 | |
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10
sanctuary
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| n.圣所，圣堂，寺庙；禁猎区，保护区 | |
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11
humbled
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| adj. 卑下的，谦逊的，粗陋的 vt. 使 ... 卑下，贬低 | |
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faculty
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| n.才能；学院，系；(学院或系的)全体教学人员 | |
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brooks
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| n.小溪( brook的名词复数 ) | |
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solitary
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| adj.孤独的，独立的，荒凉的；n.隐士 | |
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insistent
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| adj.迫切的，坚持的 | |
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philistines
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| n.市侩，庸人( philistine的名词复数 )；庸夫俗子 | |
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17
gauge
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| v.精确计量；估计；n.标准度量；计量器 | |
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18
locomotion
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| n.运动，移动 | |
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tenor
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| n.男高音（歌手），次中音（乐器），要旨，大意 | |
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ken
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| n.视野，知识领域 | |
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attuned
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| v.使协调( attune的过去式和过去分词 )；调音 | |
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rusty
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| adj.生锈的；锈色的；荒废了的 | |
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alas
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| int.唉(表示悲伤、忧愁、恐惧等) | |
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prostrate
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| v.拜倒，平卧，衰竭；adj.拜倒的，平卧的，衰竭的 | |
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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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debtor
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| n.借方，债务人 | |
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battered
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| adj.磨损的；v.连续猛击；磨损 | |
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peg
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| n.木栓，木钉；vt.用木钉钉，用短桩固定 | |
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crumpled
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| adj. 弯扭的, 变皱的 动词crumple的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
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astonishment
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| n.惊奇，惊异 | |
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dune
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| n.(由风吹积而成的)沙丘 | |
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discreet
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| adj.(言行)谨慎的；慎重的；有判断力的 | |
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cultivation
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| n.耕作，培养，栽培（法），养成 | |
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wan
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| (wide area network)广域网 | |
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throttled
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| v.扼杀( throttle的过去式和过去分词 )；勒死；使窒息；压制 | |
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sob
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| n.空间轨道的轰炸机；呜咽，哭泣 | |
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perusal
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| n.细读，熟读；目测 | |
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vindication
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| n.洗冤，证实 | |
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apron
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| n.围裙；工作裙 | |
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hoots
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| 咄，啐 | |
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alteration
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| n.变更，改变；蚀变 | |
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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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unaware
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| a.不知道的，未意识到的 | |
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shrouded
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| v.隐瞒( shroud的过去式和过去分词 )；保密 | |
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auld
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| adj.老的，旧的 | |
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vexed
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| adj.争论不休的；（指问题等）棘手的；争论不休的问题；烦恼的v.使烦恼( vex的过去式和过去分词 )；使苦恼；使生气；详细讨论 | |
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47
softened
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| （使）变软( soften的过去式和过去分词 )； 缓解打击； 缓和； 安慰 | |
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48
shuffling
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| adj. 慢慢移动的, 滑移的 动词shuffle的现在分词形式 | |
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49
standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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50
apprehensive
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| adj.担心的，恐惧的，善于领会的 | |
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canny
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| adj.谨慎的，节俭的 | |
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52
everlasting
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| adj.永恒的，持久的，无止境的 | |
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