CHAPTER 45

 Trumpets¹ were blowing in Avalon of the Twelve Towers, echoing through the valley where the sun shone upon the woods, the sere² leaves glittering like golden byzants as they fell. The sky was a clear canopy³, drawn⁴ as blue silk from height to height, tenting the green meadows. Avalon's towers rose black and strong above the sheen of her quiet waters.

 

From Gambrevault came the Lord Flavian to claim his wife once more. Through the brief days of autumn Aurelius of Gilderoy had decreed him an exile from the Isle⁵ of Orchards⁶, pleading for the girl's frail⁷ breath and her lily soul that might fade if set too soon in the noon of love. In Gambrevault the Lord Flavian had moped like a prisoned falcon⁸, listening to the far cry of the war, hungry for the touch of a woman's hand. Modred had snatched the Madonna of the Pine Forest from burning Gilderoy. She had been throned at last above the tides of violence and wrong.

 

That day the Lord Flavian rode in state for Avalon, even as an Arthurian, prince coming with splendour from some high-souled quest. The woods had blazoned⁹ their banners for his march. Trumpets hailed him from the towers and battlements. The sun, like a great patriarch, smoothed his gold beard and beamed upon the world.

 

Over the bridge and beneath the gate, Modred led his master's horse. The garrison¹⁰ had gathered in the central court; they tossed their swords, and cheered for Gambrevault. Trumpets set the wild woods wailing¹¹. Bombards thundered from the towers.

 

In the court, amid the panoply¹² of arms, Flavian dismounted, took Modred's hand, leant upon the great man's shoulder.

 

"Old friend, is she well?"

 

"Ah, sire, youth turns to youth."

 

"Let my minstrels play below the stair some old song of Tristan and Iseult. And now I go to her. Lead on."

 

In dead Duessa's bower¹³ a drooping¹⁴ figure knelt before a crucifix in prayer. Foreshadowings of misery¹⁵ and woe¹⁶ were stirring in the woman's heart. She had heard the bray¹⁷ of trumpets on the towers, the thunder of cannon¹⁸, the shouts of strong men cheering in the court. She heard lute¹⁹, viol, and flute²⁰ strike up from afar a mournful melody sweet with an antique woe.

 

Time seemed to crawl like a wounded snake in the grass. The figures on the arras gestured and grimaced²¹; the jewelled glass in the oriel burnt in through the dark lattice of her veil. She heard footsteps on the stairs; Modred's deep voice, joyous²² and strangely tender. A hand fumbled²³ at the latch²⁴. Starting up, she ran towards the shadows, and hid her face in the folds of the arras.

 

The door had closed and all was silent.

 

"Yeoland."

 

The cry smote²⁵ through her like joy barbed with bitterness. She shuddered²⁶ and caught her breath, swayed as she stood with the arras hiding her face.

 

"Wife, wife."

 

With sudden strength, compelling herself, she peered round, and saw a figure standing²⁷ in the shadow, a man with white face turned towards the light, his hands stretched out like a little child's. She stood motionless, breathing fast with short, convulsive breaths, her lips quivering beneath her veil.

 

"I am here," she said to him, husky, tremulous, and faint.

 

"Yeoland."

 

"Ah!"

 

"I hear your voice; come near to me."

 

She wavered forward three steps into the room, stood staring strangely at the figure by the door.

 

"Yeoland, are you near?"

 

"My God!"

 

"I give myself to you, a broken man. Ah, where are your hands?"

 

Sudden comprehension seized her; she went very near to him, gazing in his face.

 

"Speak."

 

"Wife, I shall never see the sky again, nor watch the stars at night, nor the moon, nor the sea. I shall never look on Avalon, her green woods and her lilies, and her sleeping mere²⁸. I shall never behold²⁹ your face again. I am blind, I am blind."

 

She gave a great cry, tore the veil from her face, and cast it far from her.

 

"Husband, I come to you."

 

His hands were groping in the dark, groping like souls that sought the light. She went near him, weeping, caught his fingers, kissed them with her lips. The man's arms circled her; she hung therein, and buried her head in his bosom³⁰.

 

"My love, my own."

 

"I am blind; your hair bathes my face."

 

"Ah, you are blind, mine eyes are yours, and I your wife will be your sun. No more pain shall compass you; there shall be no more grieving, no more tears."

 

"Yeoland."

 

"Husband."

 

"God in heaven, I give Thee thanks for this."


该作者其它作品
《The Red Saint》

1 trumpets   

喇叭( trumpet的名词复数 )； 小号； 喇叭形物； （尤指）绽开的水仙花

参考例句：

• A wreath was laid on the monument to a fanfare of trumpets. 在响亮的号角声中花圈被献在纪念碑前。
• A fanfare of trumpets heralded the arrival of the King. 嘹亮的小号声宣告了国王驾到。

2 sere   

adj.干枯的；n.演替系列

参考例句：

• The desert was edged with sere vegetation.沙漠周围零星地长着一些干枯的植被。
• A sere on uncovered rock is a lithosere.在光秃岩石上的演替系列是岩生演替系列。

3 canopy   

n.天篷，遮篷

参考例句：

• The trees formed a leafy canopy above their heads.树木在他们头顶上空形成了一个枝叶茂盛的遮篷。
• They lay down under a canopy of stars.他们躺在繁星点点的天幕下。

4 drawn   

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。

5 isle   

n.小岛，岛

参考例句：

• He is from the Isle of Man in the Irish Sea.他来自爱尔兰海的马恩岛。
• The boat left for the paradise isle of Bali.小船驶向天堂一般的巴厘岛。

6 orchards   

（通常指围起来的）果园( orchard的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They turned the hills into orchards and plains into granaries. 他们把山坡变成了果园，把平地变成了粮仓。
• Some of the new planted apple orchards have also begun to bear. 有些新开的苹果园也开始结苹果了。

7 frail   

adj.身体虚弱的；易损坏的

参考例句：

• Mrs. Warner is already 96 and too frail to live by herself.华纳太太已经九十六岁了，身体虚弱，不便独居。
• She lay in bed looking particularly frail.她躺在床上，看上去特别虚弱。

8 falcon   

n.隼，猎鹰

参考例句：

• The falcon was twice his size with pouted feathers.鹰张开羽毛比两只鹰还大。
• The boys went hunting with their falcon.男孩子们带着猎鹰出去打猎了。

9 blazoned   

v.广布( blazon的过去式和过去分词 )；宣布；夸示；装饰

参考例句：

• The villages were blazoned with autumnal color. 山谷到处点缀着秋色。 来自辞典例句
• The "National Enquirer" blazoned forth that we astronomers had really discovered another civilization. 《国民询问者》甚至宣称，我们天文学家已真正发现了其它星球上的文明。 来自辞典例句

10 garrison   

n.卫戍部队；驻地，卫戍区；vt.派(兵)驻防

参考例句：

• The troops came to the relief of the besieged garrison.军队来援救被围的守备军。
• The German was moving to stiffen up the garrison in Sicily.德军正在加强西西里守军之力量。

11 wailing   

v.哭叫，哀号( wail的现在分词 )；沱

参考例句：

• A police car raced past with its siren wailing. 一辆警车鸣着警报器飞驰而过。
• The little girl was wailing miserably. 那小女孩难过得号啕大哭。

12 panoply   

n.全副甲胄，礼服

参考例句：

• But all they had added was the trappings and panoply of applied science.但是他们所增添的一切,不过是实用科学的装饰和甲胄罢了。
• The lakes were surrounded By a panoply of mountains.群湖为壮丽的群山所环抱。

13 bower   

n.凉亭，树荫下凉快之处；闺房；v.荫蔽

参考例句：

• They sat under the leafy bower at the end of the garden and watched the sun set.他们坐在花园尽头由叶子搭成的凉棚下观看落日。
• Mrs. Quilp was pining in her bower.奎尔普太太正在她的闺房里度着愁苦的岁月。

14 drooping   

adj. 下垂的，无力的 动词droop的现在分词

参考例句：

• The drooping willows are waving gently in the morning breeze. 晨风中垂柳袅袅。
• The branches of the drooping willows were swaying lightly. 垂柳轻飘飘地摆动。

15 misery   

n.痛苦，苦恼，苦难；悲惨的境遇，贫苦

参考例句：

• Business depression usually causes misery among the working class.商业不景气常使工薪阶层受苦。
• He has rescued me from the mire of misery.他把我从苦海里救了出来。

16 woe   

n.悲哀，苦痛，不幸，困难；int.用来表达悲伤或惊慌

参考例句：

• Our two peoples are brothers sharing weal and woe.我们两国人民是患难与共的兄弟。
• A man is well or woe as he thinks himself so.自认祸是祸，自认福是福。

17 bray   

n.驴叫声, 喇叭声；v.驴叫

参考例句：

• She cut him off with a wild bray of laughter.她用刺耳的狂笑打断了他的讲话。
• The donkey brayed and tried to bolt.这头驴嘶叫着试图脱缰而逃。

18 cannon   

n.大炮，火炮；飞机上的机关炮

参考例句：

• The soldiers fired the cannon.士兵们开炮。
• The cannon thundered in the hills.大炮在山间轰鸣。

19 lute   

n.琵琶，鲁特琴

参考例句：

• He idly plucked the strings of the lute.他漫不经心地拨弄着鲁特琴的琴弦。
• He knows how to play the Chinese lute.他会弹琵琶。

20 flute   

n.长笛；v.吹笛

参考例句：

• He took out his flute, and blew at it.他拿出笛子吹了起来。
• There is an extensive repertoire of music written for the flute.有很多供长笛演奏的曲目。

21 grimaced   

v.扮鬼相，做鬼脸( grimace的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He grimaced at the bitter taste. 他一尝那苦味，做了个怪相。
• She grimaced at the sight of all the work. 她一看到这么多的工作就皱起了眉头。 来自《简明英汉词典》

22 joyous   

adj.充满快乐的；令人高兴的

参考例句：

• The lively dance heightened the joyous atmosphere of the scene.轻快的舞蹈给这场戏渲染了欢乐气氛。
• They conveyed the joyous news to us soon.他们把这一佳音很快地传递给我们。

23 fumbled   

（笨拙地）摸索或处理（某事物）( fumble的过去式和过去分词 )； 乱摸，笨拙地弄； 使落下

参考例句：

• She fumbled in her pocket for a handkerchief. 她在她口袋里胡乱摸找手帕。
• He fumbled about in his pockets for the ticket. 他（瞎）摸着衣兜找票。

24 latch   

n.门闩，窗闩；弹簧锁

参考例句：

• She laid her hand on the latch of the door.她把手放在门闩上。
• The repairman installed an iron latch on the door.修理工在门上安了铁门闩。

25 smote   

v.猛打，重击，打击( smite的过去式 )

参考例句：

• Figuratively, he could not kiss the hand that smote him. 打个比方说，他是不能认敌为友。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
• \"Whom Pearl smote down and uprooted, most unmercifully.\" 珠儿会毫不留情地将这些\"儿童\"踩倒，再连根拔起。 来自英汉 - 翻译样例 - 文学

26 shuddered   

v.战栗( shudder的过去式和过去分词 )；发抖；（机器、车辆等）突然震动；颤动

参考例句：

• He slammed on the brakes and the car shuddered to a halt. 他猛踩刹车，车颤抖着停住了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I shuddered at the sight of the dead body. 我一看见那尸体就战栗。 来自《简明英汉词典》

27 standing   

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。

28 mere   

adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过

参考例句：

• That is a mere repetition of what you said before.那不过是重复了你以前讲的话。
• It's a mere waste of time waiting any longer.再等下去纯粹是浪费时间。

29 behold   

v.看，注视，看到

参考例句：

• The industry of these little ants is wonderful to behold.这些小蚂蚁辛勤劳动的样子看上去真令人惊叹。
• The sunrise at the seaside was quite a sight to behold.海滨日出真是个奇景。

30 bosom   

n.胸，胸部；胸怀；内心；adj.亲密的

参考例句：

• She drew a little book from her bosom.她从怀里取出一本小册子。
• A dark jealousy stirred in his bosom.他内心生出一阵恶毒的嫉妒。