When the twilight had fallen Denise went out into the little grass close before the cell, a close that was shut in by a high thorn hedge. She carried with her a jar of water that Abbot Reginald had blessed, a napkin, a vial of perfumed oil, and a pure white shift and tunic7, given by the devout8. No one could see her there, and Denise stripped off her old clothes, washed her body from head to foot, dried it, and anointed it with oil.
Now the warmth of her bosom9 made the perfume of the oil rise up into her nostrils10, and the perfume seemed to steal straight into Denise’s heart. The night was very still, save for the song of the nightingales. Dew had fallen on the grass, yet a sweet warmth rose out of the earth, a warmth that is rare in the month of May. There was the moon yonder, and far hills faint under a mysterious sky. And Denise who a moment ago had felt miserable11 and weary of soul, in one breath was blushing as red as a rose, her whole body quivering in the moonlight, her eyes full of some inward fire.
A call from the unknown had come to her, and her heart had answered it, and for the moment she stood transfigured. The night seemed magical, a-whisper with mystery. She felt that she must steal away into the sweet green gloom of the woods, taking all hazards, dreaming a great love. She stretched her arms above her head, so their white and anointed sheen caught the faint light of the moon. Then as a white flame leaps and falls again into the darkness, so Denise’s arms fell suddenly across her bosom. The warmth and the perfume had gone again, and she felt cold in body and in heart.
What could it avail her that she was a woman and could dream dreams? The torch was quenched12, the wine spilt from the jar. There was no other path than this even though it was strewn with thorns. She must follow it to the end, forgetting that other life, and yet remembering it, hating the world, yet thinking of one heart that might have stood for the whole world. If she escaped bitterness and shame, surely she should be grateful, and contented13 with such mercies. There was no other life for her but this one of self-renunciation.
Slowly, and very sadly she put on the white shift and tunic, emblems14 of what the world believed in. She bound up her hair and the touch of it brought back the memory of that night, a memory that stung like an asp at the breast. When she had dressed herself, she knelt on the threshold to pray until the midnight offering. But her misery15 fled forth16 into other ways, and she thought of man before she thought of God.
Hours had passed, and there was a sense of stir somewhere over yonder where the abbey lay. A bell began to toll17, slowly and sonorously18, the first clang of its clapper sounding a note of dismal19 sanctity. Torches were being lit, for a faint glare began to rise above the orchards20 and the thickets21, and Denise, kneeling on the bare stones, knew that the hour of her renunciation was near.
The sound of their coming was still a sound in the distance when Denise heard the trampling22 of a horse along the road that ran not very far from her cell. It ceased suddenly, and a murmur23 of voices came up to her in the darkness. Then all was still again save for the tolling24 of the bell, and the solemn chanting which told her that Dom Silvius and the Brethren who had charge of her were coming with torches over the hill.
Now Denise had risen and gone out into the green close when the trampling of hoofs25 came along the thorn hedge with the creaking of harness, and the snorting of a horse. Denise stood still, holding her breath as she listened. The moon had gone, and the only light was the glare of the torches that were topping the hill.
Denise heard a voice calling.
“Denise,” it said; “Sancta Denise.”
The trampling of hoofs had ceased, and there was silence save for the chanting of the monks26 upon the hill top. Something moved beyond the hedge, and Denise heard the latch28 of the gate lifted. The heart stood still in her a moment. Someone was near her in the close, for she heard the sound of breathing, and the rustling29 of feet in the grass.
A man’s whisper came to her out of the dark.
“Denise!”
In a moment, she knew not how, the warm silence of the night grew full of love and life. He was close to her with a white, passionate30 face looking into hers, questioning her very soul. Perhaps their hands touched. It was like the tumult31 and yearning32 of waters in a dark and narrow place.
Denise was trembling from head to foot. Aymery had touched her hand, no more than that, yet nothing but a thin film of darkness seemed to hold the two apart. Denise heard the outpouring of his words, a man’s words, poignant33 and tender, striking her very heart. What could she say to him, with this renunciation of hers so near.
“Denise, why have you left us?”
She covered her face with her arms.
“Lord, lord, was it not you who told me to seek a surer refuge?”
His hands were straining back, and straining forward, as though to touch her, and not to touch.
“Yes, but that was a while ago. Things happen in this world, when a man is tied to his bed. If all has been well with you——”
She let her arms fall from before her face, and there, above them, the dark hillside was seamed with a stream of light. And in the flare34 of the torches she could see many shadowy figures moving, and the outline of a great cross carried in the van.
Aymery had seemed blind to all save the white figure before him. But the torch flare struck across his face, and he seemed suddenly to understand.
“They are coming for me,” she said. “To-night, I offer myself at the high altar. They must not find you here.”
He did not answer her for the moment, but stood looking at the torches, almost stupidly, like a man stunned36. Then he bowed his head before her, spoke her name, and went out into the night.
Aymery remembered all that followed as a man remembers few things in the course of his life. He hid his horse in a thicket, and followed on foot when the cross and the torches turned back towards the abbey. The abbey town seemed full of strange curious faces, of shadowy figures that jostled him, of the light of torches, of folk whispering together. There were many people moving under the gate, and on towards the abbey church. Aymery moved with them, silently, dully, like one carried along in the midst of a stream. They flowed in at the doors, these people, and on between pillars that towered up into darkness, and along aisles37 that were shadowy and dim. The high altar alone was lit with many waxen candles. The Brethren were in their stalls, the sound of chanting came from somewhere out of the dusk.
Then began in that great church the last episode of Dom Silvius’s pageant38. Aymery, leaning against a pillar in the darkness, saw Denise kneeling before the altar, Reginald of Brecon near her, and two of the most aged39 of the monks. A bell rang; a strong and strident voice spoke some prayer; then the chanting soared and rolled into the far vaultings of the roof. Heads were bowed everywhere; the monks in the choir40 had their faces hidden. But Aymery’s eyes were turned towards the altar where the candles flickered41 and the smoke of incense42 seemed to curl and ascend43.
He saw Denise rise, drop her white tunic and shift, and kneel naked upon the altar steps. An old monk27 bent44 over her, and clipped away her hair so that it fell like light about her body. She bent before the altar with outstretched arms, and holy water was sprinkled upon her body and her clothes. A voice sounded. She rose slowly and re-arrayed herself. One long murmur seemed to pass like a wind through the darkened church.
The year of a novitiate had begun, a season of probation45 that should pass before more solemn and final vows46 should be put upon her. Silvius, shrewd man, had advised Denise guardedly for the sake of the honour of his “house.” There should be a ceremony, a kneeling before the altar. That would please the people, and bring her more solemnly before their eyes. Then let Denise prove herself as a child of miracles, and they could talk of the greater and more lasting47 vows.
Then the aisles seemed alive with swirling48 water. The people were moving forth with lowered heads, while Denise knelt again before the high altar with its candles. Aymery went with the people, looking back but once when he had reached the western door. The night struck warm after the cold air of the great church. He found himself in the abbey town, walking aimlessly in the midst of many moving, whispering figures.
Then a great hunger to be alone seized him. He almost ran through the straggling town, up past Mountjoye to where he had hidden his horse. And when the first grey of the dawn came he was galloping49 northwards along the forest roads as though trying to distance the memories of the past night.
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1
twilight
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| n.暮光，黄昏；暮年，晚期，衰落时期 | |
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thicket
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| n.灌木丛，树林 | |
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chaste
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| adj.贞洁的；有道德的；善良的；简朴的 | |
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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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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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virtue
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| n.德行，美德；贞操；优点；功效，效力 | |
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7
tunic
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| n.束腰外衣 | |
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devout
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| adj.虔诚的，虔敬的，衷心的 (n.devoutness) | |
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bosom
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| n.胸，胸部；胸怀；内心；adj.亲密的 | |
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nostrils
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| 鼻孔( nostril的名词复数 ) | |
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miserable
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| adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的 | |
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quenched
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| 解（渴）( quench的过去式和过去分词 )； 终止（某事物）； （用水）扑灭（火焰等）； 将（热物体）放入水中急速冷却 | |
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contented
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| adj.满意的，安心的，知足的 | |
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emblems
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| n.象征，标记( emblem的名词复数 ) | |
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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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forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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toll
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| n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟) | |
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sonorously
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| adv.圆润低沉地；感人地；堂皇地；朗朗地 | |
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dismal
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| adj.阴沉的，凄凉的，令人忧郁的，差劲的 | |
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orchards
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| （通常指围起来的）果园( orchard的名词复数 ) | |
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thickets
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| n.灌木丛( thicket的名词复数 )；丛状物 | |
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trampling
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| 踩( trample的现在分词 )； 践踏； 无视； 侵犯 | |
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murmur
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| n.低语，低声的怨言；v.低语，低声而言 | |
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24
tolling
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| [财]来料加工 | |
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hoofs
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| n.（兽的）蹄，马蹄( hoof的名词复数 )v.（兽的）蹄，马蹄( hoof的第三人称单数 ) | |
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monks
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| n.修道士，僧侣( monk的名词复数 ) | |
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monk
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| n.和尚，僧侣，修道士 | |
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latch
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| n.门闩，窗闩；弹簧锁 | |
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rustling
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| n. 瑟瑟声，沙沙声 adj. 发沙沙声的 | |
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30
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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tumult
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| n.喧哗；激动，混乱；吵闹 | |
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yearning
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| a.渴望的；向往的；怀念的 | |
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poignant
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| adj.令人痛苦的，辛酸的，惨痛的 | |
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flare
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| v.闪耀，闪烁；n.潮红；突发 | |
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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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stunned
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| adj. 震惊的，惊讶的 动词stun的过去式和过去分词 | |
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37
aisles
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| n. (席位间的)通道, 侧廊 | |
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38
pageant
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| n.壮观的游行；露天历史剧 | |
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aged
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| adj.年老的，陈年的 | |
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40
choir
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| n.唱诗班，唱诗班的席位，合唱团，舞蹈团；v.合唱 | |
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41
flickered
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| （通常指灯光）闪烁，摇曳( flicker的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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42
incense
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| v.激怒；n.香，焚香时的烟，香气 | |
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43
ascend
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| vi.渐渐上升，升高；vt.攀登，登上 | |
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44
bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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45
probation
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| n.缓刑(期)，(以观后效的)察看；试用(期) | |
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46
vows
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| 誓言( vow的名词复数 )； 郑重宣布，许愿 | |
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47
lasting
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| adj.永久的，永恒的；vbl.持续，维持 | |
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48
swirling
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| v.旋转，打旋( swirl的现在分词 ) | |
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49
galloping
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| adj. 飞驰的, 急性的 动词gallop的现在分词形式 | |
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