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CHAPTER XVII THE DREAM
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 My hand has never touched your hand, I have not seen your face,
 
No sound of any spoken word has passed between us two—
 
Yet night by night I come to you in some unearthly place,
 
And all my dreams of day and night are dreams of love and you.
 
The moon has never shone on us together in our sleep,
 
The sun has never seen us kiss beneath the arch of day,
 
Your eyes have never looked in mine—your soul has looked so deep,
 
That all the sundering1 veils of sense are drawn2 and done away.
 
My lids are sealed with more than sleep, but I am lapped in light,
 
Your soul draws near, and yet more near, till both our souls are one,
 
In that strange place of our content is neither day nor night,
 
No end and no beginning, whilst the timeless æons run.
 
David came home after his month’s holiday as hard and healthy as a man may be. Elizabeth was well content. She and David were friends. He liked her company, he ate and slept, he was well, and he laughed sometimes as the old David had laughed.
 
 
“Don’t you think your master looks well, Mrs. Havergill?” she said quite gaily3.
 
Mrs. Havergill sighed.
 
“He do look well,” she admitted; “but there, ma’am, there’s no saying—it isn’t looks as we can go by. In my own family now, there was my sister Sarah. She was a fine, fresh-looking woman. Old Dr. Jones he met her out walking, as it might be on the Thursday.
 
“‘Well, Miss Sarah, you do look well,’ he says—and there, ’tweren’t but the following Tuesday as she was took. ‘Who’d ha’ thought it,’ he says. ‘In the midst of life we are in death,’ and that’s a true word. And my brother ’Enry now, ’e never look so well in all ’is life as when he was laying in ’is coffin4.”
 
Elizabeth could afford to laugh.
 
“Oh, Mrs. Havergill, do be cheerful,” she implored5; “it would be so much better for you.”
 
Mrs. Havergill looked injured.
 
“I don’t see as we’re sent into this world to be cheerful,” she said, with the air of one who reproves unchristian levity6.
 
“Oh, but we are—we really are,” said Elizabeth.
 
Mrs. Havergill shook her head.
 
“Let them be cheerful as has no troubles,” she remarked. “I’ve ’ad mine, and a-plenty,” and she went out of the room, sighing.
 
Mary ran in to see her sister quite early on the morning after their return.
 
“Well, Liz—no, let me look at you—I’ll kiss you in a minute. Are you happy—you wrote dreadful guide-book letters, that I tore up and put in the fire.”
 
“Oh, Molly.”
 
“Yes, they were—exactly like Baedeker, only worse. All about mountains and flowers and the nice air, and ‘David is quite well again.’ As if anyone wanted to hear about mountains and flowers from a person on her honeymoon8. Are you happy, Liz?”
 
“Don’t I look happy?” said Elizabeth laughing.
 
“Yes, you do.” Mary looked at her considering. “You do. Is it all right, Liz, really all right?”
 
“Yes, it’s really all right, Molly,” said Elizabeth, and then she began to talk of other things.
 
Mary kissed her very affectionately when she went away, but at the door she turned, frowning.
 
“I expect you wrote reams to Agneta,” she said, and then shut the door quickly before Elizabeth had time to answer.
 
David was out when Mary came, and it so happened that for two or three days they did not meet. He had come to dread7 the meeting. His passion for Mary was dead. He was afraid lest her presence, her voice, should raise the dead and bring it forth9 again in its garment of glamour10 and pain. Then on Sunday he came in to find Mary sitting there with Elizabeth in the twilight11. She jumped up as he came in, and held out her hand.
 
“Well, David, you are a nice brother—never to have come and seen me. Busy? Yes, of course you’ve been busy, but you might have squeezed in a visit to me, amongst all the visits to sick old ladies and naughty little boys. Oh, do you know, Katie Ellerton has gone away? She took Ronnie to Brighton for a change, and then wrote and said she wasn’t coming back. I believe she is going to live with a brother who is a solicitor12 down there. And she’s selling her furniture, so if you want extra things you might get them cheap.”
 
“That’s Elizabeth’s department,” said David, laughing.
 
“Well, this is for you both. When will you come to dinner? On Tuesday? Yes, do. Talk about being busy. Edward’s busy, if you like. I never see him, and he’s quite worried. Liz, you remember Jack13 Webster? Well, you know he’s on the West Coast, and he’s sent Edward a whole case of things—frightfully exciting specimens14, two centipedes he’s wanted for ever so long, and a spider that Jack says is new. And Edward has never even had time to open the case. That shows you! It’s accounts, I believe. Edward does hate accounts.”
 
When she had gone David sat silent for a long time. It was the old Mary, and prettier than ever. He had never seen her looking prettier, but his feeling for her was gone. He could look at her quite dispassionately, and wonder over the old unreasoning thrill. And what a chatterbox she was. Thank Heaven, she had had the sense to marry Edward, who was really not such a bad sort. Poor Edward. He laughed aloud suddenly, and Elizabeth looked up and asked:
 
“What is it?”
 
“Edward and the case he can’t open, and the centipedes he can’t play with,” he said, still laughing. “Poor old Edward! What it is to have a conscience. I wonder he doesn’t have a midnight orgy with the centipedes, but I suppose Mary sees to that.”
 
 
It was that night that David dreamed his dream again. All these months it had never come to him. Amongst the many dreams that had haunted his sick brain, there had been no hint of this one. He had wondered about it sometimes. And now it returned. In the first deep sleep that comes to a healthy man he dreamed it.
 
He heard the wind blowing—that was the beginning of it. It came from the far distances of space, and it passed on again to the far distances beyond. David heard it blow, but his eyes were darkened. Then suddenly he saw. His feet were on the shining sand, the sand that shone because a golden moon looked down upon it from a clear sky, and the tide had left it wet.
 
David stood upon the shining sand, and saw the Woman of the Dream stand where the moon-track ceased at the sea’s rim15. The moon was behind her head, and the wind blew out her hair. He stood as he had stood a hundred times, and as he had longed a hundred times to see the Woman’s face, so he longed now. He moved to go to her, and the wind blew about him in his dream.
 
Elizabeth had sat late in her room. There was a book in her hand, but after a time she did not read. The night was very warm. She got up and opened the window wide. The moon was low and nearly full, and a wind blew out of the west—such a warm wind, full of the scent16 of green, growing things. Elizabeth put out the light and stood by the window, drawing long breaths. It seemed as if the wind were blowing right through her. It beat upon her uncovered throat, and the touch of it was like something alive. It sang in her ears, and Elizabeth’s blood sang too.
 
And then, quite suddenly, she heard a sound that stopped her heart. She heard the handle of the door between her room and David’s turn softly, and she heard a step upon the threshold. All her life was at her heart, waiting. She could neither move, nor speak, nor draw her breath. And the wind blew out her long white dress, and the wind blew out her hair. As in a trance between one world and the next, she heard a voice in the room. It was David’s voice, and yet not David’s voice, and it shook the very foundations of her being.
 
“Turn round and let me see your face, Woman of my Dream,” said David Blake.
 
Elizabeth stood quite still. Only her breath came again. The wind brought it back to her, and as she drew it in, the step came nearer and David said again:
 
“Show me your face—your face; I have never seen your face.”
 
She turned then, very slowly—in obedience17 to an effort, that left her drained of strength.
 
David was standing18 in the middle of the room. His feet were bare, as he had risen from his bed, but his eyes were open, and they looked not at, but through Elizabeth, to the place where she walked in his dream.
 
“Ah!” said David on a long, slow, sudden breath.
 
He came nearer—nearer. Now he stood beside her, and the wind swept suddenly between them, and eddying19, drove a great swathe of her unfastened hair across his breast. David put up his hand and touched the hair.
 
“But I can’t see your face,” he said, in a strange, complaining note. “The moon shines on your hair, but not upon your face. Show me your face—your face——”
 
She moved, and the moon shone on her. Her face was as white as ivory. Her eyes wide and dark—as dark as the darkening sky. They stood in silence, and the moon sank low.
 
Then David put out his hands and touched her on the breast.
 
“Now I have seen your face,” he said. “Now I am content because I have seen your face. I have gone hungry for the sight of it, and have gone thirsty for the love of you, and all the years I have never seen your face.”
 
“And now——?”
 
Elizabeth’s voice came in a whisper.
 
“Now I am content.”
 
“Why?”
 
“Your face is the face of Love,” said David Blake.
 
His hands still held her hair. They lay against her heart, and moved a little as she breathed.
 
A sudden terror raised its head and peered at Elizabeth. Mary—oh, God—if he took her for Mary. The thought struck her as with a spear of ice. It burned as ice burns, and froze her as ice freezes. Her lips were stiff as she forced out the words:
 
“Who am I? Say.”
 
His hands were warm. He answered her at once.
 
 
“We are in the Dream, you and I. You are the Woman of the Dream. Your face is the face of Love, and your hair—your floating hair—” He paused.
 
“My hair—what colour is my hair?” whispered Elizabeth.
 
“Your hair—” He lifted a strand20 of it. The wind played through it, and it brushed his cheek, then fell again upon her breast. His hand closed down upon it.
 
“What colour is my hair?” said Elizabeth very quietly. Mary’s hair was dark. Even in the moonlight, Mary’s hair would be dark. If he said dark hair, dark like the night which would close upon them when that low moon was gone—what should she do—oh, God, what should she do?
 
“Your hair is gold—moon gold, which is pale as a dream,” said David Blake. And a great shudder21 ran through Elizabeth from head to foot as the ice went from her heart.
 
“Like moon gold,” repeated David, and his hands were warm against her breast.
 
And then all at once they were in the dark together, for the moon went out suddenly like a blown candle. She had dropped into a bank of clouds that rose from the clouding west. The wind blew a little chill, and as suddenly as the light had gone, David, too, was gone. One moment, so near—touching her in the darkness—and the next, gone—gone noiselessly, leaving her shaking, quivering.
 
When she could move, she lit a candle and looked in through the open door. David lay upon his side, with one hand under his cheek. He was sleeping like a child.
 
Elizabeth shut the door.
 

点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 sundering ee55e203f638b8a916aff56de5f748ed     
v.隔开,分开( sunder的现在分词 )
参考例句:
  • Where were now her discreet plans for sundering their lives for ever? 现在,她那个考虑周到的永远斩断他们之间生活联系的计划哪里去了呢? 来自辞典例句
2 drawn MuXzIi     
v.拖,拉,拔出;adj.憔悴的,紧张的
参考例句:
  • All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
  • Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。
3 gaily lfPzC     
adv.欢乐地,高兴地
参考例句:
  • The children sing gaily.孩子们欢唱着。
  • She waved goodbye very gaily.她欢快地挥手告别。
4 coffin XWRy7     
n.棺材,灵柩
参考例句:
  • When one's coffin is covered,all discussion about him can be settled.盖棺论定。
  • The coffin was placed in the grave.那口棺材已安放到坟墓里去了。
5 implored 0b089ebf3591e554caa381773b194ff1     
恳求或乞求(某人)( implore的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • She implored him to stay. 她恳求他留下。
  • She implored him with tears in her eyes to forgive her. 她含泪哀求他原谅她。
6 levity Q1uxA     
n.轻率,轻浮,不稳定,多变
参考例句:
  • His remarks injected a note of levity into the proceedings.他的话将一丝轻率带入了议事过程中。
  • At the time,Arnold had disapproved of such levity.那时候的阿诺德对这种轻浮行为很看不惯。
7 dread Ekpz8     
vt.担忧,忧虑;惧怕,不敢;n.担忧,畏惧
参考例句:
  • We all dread to think what will happen if the company closes.我们都不敢去想一旦公司关门我们该怎么办。
  • Her heart was relieved of its blankest dread.她极度恐惧的心理消除了。
8 honeymoon ucnxc     
n.蜜月(假期);vi.度蜜月
参考例句:
  • While on honeymoon in Bali,she learned to scuba dive.她在巴厘岛度蜜月时学会了带水肺潜水。
  • The happy pair are leaving for their honeymoon.这幸福的一对就要去度蜜月了。
9 forth Hzdz2     
adv.向前;向外,往外
参考例句:
  • The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
  • He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。
10 glamour Keizv     
n.魔力,魅力;vt.迷住
参考例句:
  • Foreign travel has lost its glamour for her.到国外旅行对她已失去吸引力了。
  • The moonlight cast a glamour over the scene.月光给景色增添了魅力。
11 twilight gKizf     
n.暮光,黄昏;暮年,晚期,衰落时期
参考例句:
  • Twilight merged into darkness.夕阳的光辉融于黑暗中。
  • Twilight was sweet with the smell of lilac and freshly turned earth.薄暮充满紫丁香和新翻耕的泥土的香味。
12 solicitor vFBzb     
n.初级律师,事务律师
参考例句:
  • The solicitor's advice gave me food for thought.律师的指点值得我深思。
  • The solicitor moved for an adjournment of the case.律师请求将这个案件的诉讼延期。
13 jack 53Hxp     
n.插座,千斤顶,男人;v.抬起,提醒,扛举;n.(Jake)杰克
参考例句:
  • I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
  • He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。
14 specimens 91fc365099a256001af897127174fcce     
n.样品( specimen的名词复数 );范例;(化验的)抽样;某种类型的人
参考例句:
  • Astronauts have brought back specimens of rock from the moon. 宇航员从月球带回了岩石标本。
  • The traveler brought back some specimens of the rocks from the mountains. 那位旅行者从山上带回了一些岩石标本。 来自《简明英汉词典》
15 rim RXSxl     
n.(圆物的)边,轮缘;边界
参考例句:
  • The water was even with the rim of the basin.盆里的水与盆边平齐了。
  • She looked at him over the rim of her glass.她的目光越过玻璃杯的边沿看着他。
16 scent WThzs     
n.气味,香味,香水,线索,嗅觉;v.嗅,发觉
参考例句:
  • The air was filled with the scent of lilac.空气中弥漫着丁香花的芬芳。
  • The flowers give off a heady scent at night.这些花晚上散发出醉人的芳香。
17 obedience 8vryb     
n.服从,顺从
参考例句:
  • Society has a right to expect obedience of the law.社会有权要求人人遵守法律。
  • Soldiers act in obedience to the orders of their superior officers.士兵们遵照上级军官的命令行动。
18 standing 2hCzgo     
n.持续,地位;adj.永久的,不动的,直立的,不流动的
参考例句:
  • After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
  • They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。
19 eddying 66c0ffa4a2e8509b312eb4799fd0876d     
涡流,涡流的形成
参考例句:
  • The Rhine flowed on, swirling and eddying, at six or seven miles an hour. 莱茵河不断以每小时六、七哩的速度,滔滔滚流,波涛起伏。
20 strand 7GAzH     
vt.使(船)搁浅,使(某人)困于(某地)
参考例句:
  • She tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ears.她把一缕散发夹到了耳后。
  • The climbers had been stranded by a storm.登山者被暴风雨困住了。
21 shudder JEqy8     
v.战粟,震动,剧烈地摇晃;n.战粟,抖动
参考例句:
  • The sight of the coffin sent a shudder through him.看到那副棺材,他浑身一阵战栗。
  • We all shudder at the thought of the dreadful dirty place.我们一想到那可怕的肮脏地方就浑身战惊。


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