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首页 » 经典英文小说 » The King of Elfland's Daughter34章节 » CHAPTER IX Lirazel Blows Away
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CHAPTER IX Lirazel Blows Away
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 And the days went by, the Summer passed over Erl, the sun that had travelled northward1 fared South again, it was near to the time when the swallows left those eaves, and Lirazel had not learnt anything. She had not prayed to the stars again, or supplicated2 their images, but she had learned no human customs, and could not see why her love and gratitude3 must remain unexpressed to the stars. And Alveric did not know that the time must come when some simple trivial thing would divide them utterly4.
 
And then one day, hoping still, he took her with him to the house of the Freer to teach her how to worship his holy things. And gladly the good man brought his candle and bell, and the eagle of brass5 that held up his book when he read, and a little symbolic6 bowl that had scented7 water, and the silver snuffers that put his candle out. And he told her clearly and simply, as he had told her before, the origin, meaning and mystery of all these things, and why the bowl was of brass and the snuffer of silver, and what the symbols were that were carved on the bowl. With fitting courtesy he told her these things, even with kindness; and yet there was something in his voice as he told, a little distant from her; and she knew that he spoke8 as one that walked safe on shore calling far to a mermaid9 amid dangerous seas.
 
As they came back to the castle the swallows were grouped to go, sitting in lines along the battlements. And Lirazel had promised to worship the holy things of the Freer, like the simple bell-fearing folk of the valley of Erl: and a late hope was shining in Alveric's mind that even yet all was well. And for many days she remembered all that the Freer had told her.
 
And one day walking late from the nursery, past tall windows to her tower, and looking out on the evening, remembering that she must not worship the stars, she called to mind the holy things of the Freer, and tried to remember all she was told of them. It seemed so hard to worship them just as she should. She knew that before many hours the swallows would all be gone; and often when they left her her mood would change; and she feared that she might forget, and never remember more, how she ought to worship the holy things of the Freer.
 
So she went out into the night again over the grasses to where a thin brook10 ran, and drew out some great flat pebbles11 that she knew where to find, turning her face away from the images of the stars. By day the stones shone beautifully in the water, all ruddy and mauve; now they were all dark. She drew them out and laid them in the meadow: she loved these smooth flat stones, for somehow they made her remember the rocks of Elfland.
 
She laid them all in a row, this for the candlestick, this for the bell, that for the holy bowl. "If I can worship these lovely stones as things ought to be worshipped," she said, "I can worship the things of the Freer."
 
Then she kneeled down before the big flat stones and prayed to them as though they were Christom things.
 
And Alveric seeking her in the wide night, wondering what wild fancy had carried her whither, heard her voice in the meadow, crooning such prayers as are offered to holy things.
 
When he saw the four flat stones to which she prayed, bowed down before them in the grass, he said that no worse than this were the darkest ways of the heathen. And she said "I am learning to worship the holy things of the Freer."
 
"It is the art of the heathen," he said.
 
Now of all things that men feared in the valley of Erl they feared most the arts of the heathen, of whom they knew nothing but that their ways were dark. And he spoke with the anger which men always used when they spoke there of the heathen. And his anger went to her heart, for she was but learning to worship his holy things to please him, and yet he had spoken like this.
 
And Alveric would not speak the words that should have been said, to turn aside anger and soothe12 her; for no man, he foolishly thought, should compromise in matters touching13 on heathenesse. So Lirazel went alone all sadly back to her tower. And Alveric stayed to cast the four flat stones afar.
 
And the swallows left, and unhappy days went by. And one day Alveric bade her worship the holy things of the Freer, and she had quite forgotten how. And he spoke again of the arts of heathenesse. The day was shining and the poplars golden and all the aspens red.
 
Then Lirazel went to her tower and opened the casket, that shone in the morning with the clear autumnal light, and took in her hand the rune of the King of Elfland, and carried it with her across the high vaulted14 hall, and came to another tower and climbed its steps to the nursery.
 
And there all day she stayed and played with her child, with the scroll15 still tight in her hand: and, merrily though she played at whiles, yet there were strange calms in her eyes, which Ziroonderel watched while she wondered. And when the sun was low and she had put the child to bed she sat beside him all solemn as she told him childish tales. And Ziroonderel, the wise witch, watched; and for all her wisdom only guessed how it would be, and knew not how to make it otherwise.
 
And before sunset Lirazel kissed the boy and unrolled the Elf King's scroll. It was but a petulance16 that had made her take it from the coffer in which it lay, and the petulance might have passed and she might not have unrolled the scroll, only that it was there in her hand. Partly petulance, partly wonder, partly whims17 too idle to name, drew her eyes to the Elf King's words in their coal-black curious characters.
 
And whatever magic there was in the rune of which I cannot tell (and dreadful magic there was), the rune was written with love that was stronger than magic, till those mystical characters glowed with the love that the Elf King had for his daughter, and there were blended in that mighty18 rune two powers, magic and love, the greatest power there is beyond the boundary of twilight19 with the greatest power there is in the fields we know. And if Alveric's love could have held her he should have trusted alone to that love, for the Elf King's rune was mightier20 than the holy things of the Freer.
 
No sooner had Lirazel read the rune on the scroll than fancies from Elfland began to pour over the border. Some came that would make a clerk in the City to-day leave his desk at once to dance on the sea-shore; and some would have driven all the men in a bank to leave doors and coffers open and wander away till they came to green open land and the heathery hills; and some would have made a poet of a man, all of a sudden as he sat at his business. They were mighty fancies that the Elf King summoned by the force of his magical rune. And Lirazel sat there with the rune in her hand, helpless amongst this mass of tumultuous fancies from Elfland. And as the fancies raged and sang and called, more and more over the border, all crowding on one poor mind, her body grew lighter21 and lighter. Her feet half rested half floated, upon the floor; Earth scarcely held her down, so fast was she becoming a thing of dreams. No love of hers for Earth, or of the children of Earth for her, had any longer power to hold her there.
 
And now came memories of her ageless childhood beside the tarns22 of Elfland, by the deep forest's border, by those delirious23 lawns, or in the palace that may not be told of except only in song. She saw those things as clearly as we see small shells in water, looking through clear ice down to the floor of some sleeping lake, a little dimmed in that other region across the barrier of ice; so too her memories shone a little dimly from across the frontier of Elfland. Little queer sounds of elfin creatures came to her, scents24 swam from those miraculous25 flowers that glowed by the lawns she knew, faint sounds of enchanted26 songs blew over the border and reached her seated there, voices and melodies and memories came floating through the twilight, all Elfland was calling. Then measured and resonant27, and strangely near, she heard her father's voice.
 
She rose at once, and now Earth had lost on her the grip that it only has on material things, and a thing of dreams and fancy and fable28 and phantasy she drifted from the room; and Ziroonderel had no power to hold her with any spell, nor had she herself the power even to turn, even to look at her boy as she drifted away.
 
And at that moment a wind came out of the north-west, and entered the woods and bared the golden branches, and danced on over the downs, and led a company of scarlet29 and golden leaves, that had dreaded30 this day but danced now it had come; and away with a riot of dancing and glory of colour, high in the light of the sun that had set from the sight of the fields, went wind and leaves together. With them went Lirazel.

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1 northward YHexe     
adv.向北;n.北方的地区
参考例句:
  • He pointed his boat northward.他将船驶向北方。
  • I would have a chance to head northward quickly.我就很快有机会去北方了。
2 supplicated 6b2b934fceb4acde392200eb2df080f0     
v.祈求,哀求,恳求( supplicate的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • She supplicated the judge for protection. 她恳求法官保护。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • He supplicated the king for clemency. 他恳求国王开恩。 来自互联网
3 gratitude p6wyS     
adj.感激,感谢
参考例句:
  • I have expressed the depth of my gratitude to him.我向他表示了深切的谢意。
  • She could not help her tears of gratitude rolling down her face.她感激的泪珠禁不住沿着面颊流了下来。
4 utterly ZfpzM1     
adv.完全地,绝对地
参考例句:
  • Utterly devoted to the people,he gave his life in saving his patients.他忠于人民,把毕生精力用于挽救患者的生命。
  • I was utterly ravished by the way she smiled.她的微笑使我完全陶醉了。
5 brass DWbzI     
n.黄铜;黄铜器,铜管乐器
参考例句:
  • Many of the workers play in the factory's brass band.许多工人都在工厂铜管乐队中演奏。
  • Brass is formed by the fusion of copper and zinc.黄铜是通过铜和锌的熔合而成的。
6 symbolic ErgwS     
adj.象征性的,符号的,象征主义的
参考例句:
  • It is symbolic of the fighting spirit of modern womanhood.它象征着现代妇女的战斗精神。
  • The Christian ceremony of baptism is a symbolic act.基督教的洗礼仪式是一种象征性的做法。
7 scented a9a354f474773c4ff42b74dd1903063d     
adj.有香味的;洒香水的;有气味的v.嗅到(scent的过去分词)
参考例句:
  • I let my lungs fill with the scented air. 我呼吸着芬芳的空气。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The police dog scented about till he found the trail. 警犬嗅来嗅去,终于找到了踪迹。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
8 spoke XryyC     
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
参考例句:
  • They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
  • The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。
9 mermaid pCbxH     
n.美人鱼
参考例句:
  • How popular would that girl be with the only mermaid mom!和人鱼妈妈在一起,那个女孩会有多受欢迎!
  • The little mermaid wasn't happy because she didn't want to wait.小美人鱼不太高兴,因为她等不及了。
10 brook PSIyg     
n.小河,溪;v.忍受,容让
参考例句:
  • In our room we could hear the murmur of a distant brook.在我们房间能听到远处小溪汩汩的流水声。
  • The brook trickled through the valley.小溪涓涓流过峡谷。
11 pebbles e4aa8eab2296e27a327354cbb0b2c5d2     
[复数]鹅卵石; 沙砾; 卵石,小圆石( pebble的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • The pebbles of the drive crunched under his feet. 汽车道上的小石子在他脚底下喀嚓作响。
  • Line the pots with pebbles to ensure good drainage. 在罐子里铺一层鹅卵石,以确保排水良好。
12 soothe qwKwF     
v.安慰;使平静;使减轻;缓和;奉承
参考例句:
  • I've managed to soothe him down a bit.我想方设法使他平静了一点。
  • This medicine should soothe your sore throat.这种药会减轻你的喉痛。
13 touching sg6zQ9     
adj.动人的,使人感伤的
参考例句:
  • It was a touching sight.这是一幅动人的景象。
  • His letter was touching.他的信很感人。
14 vaulted MfjzTA     
adj.拱状的
参考例句:
  • She vaulted over the gate and ran up the path. 她用手一撑跃过栅栏门沿着小路跑去。
  • The formal living room has a fireplace and vaulted ceilings. 正式的客厅有一个壁炉和拱形天花板。
15 scroll kD3z9     
n.卷轴,纸卷;(石刻上的)漩涡
参考例句:
  • As I opened the scroll,a panorama of the Yellow River unfolded.我打开卷轴时,黄河的景象展现在眼前。
  • He was presented with a scroll commemorating his achievements.他被授予一幅卷轴,以表彰其所做出的成就。
16 petulance oNgxw     
n.发脾气,生气,易怒,暴躁,性急
参考例句:
  • His petulance made her impatient.他的任性让她无法忍受。
  • He tore up the manuscript in a fit of petulance.他一怒之下把手稿撕碎了。
17 WHIMS ecf1f9fe569e0760fc10bec24b97c043     
虚妄,禅病
参考例句:
  • The mate observed regretfully that he could not account for that young fellow's whims. 那位伙伴很遗憾地说他不能说出那年轻人产生怪念头的原因。
  • The rest she had for food and her own whims. 剩下的钱她用来吃饭和买一些自己喜欢的东西。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
18 mighty YDWxl     
adj.强有力的;巨大的
参考例句:
  • A mighty force was about to break loose.一股巨大的力量即将迸发而出。
  • The mighty iceberg came into view.巨大的冰山出现在眼前。
19 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。
20 mightier 76f7dc79cccb0a7cef821be61d0656df     
adj. 强有力的,强大的,巨大的 adv. 很,极其
参考例句:
  • But it ever rises up again, stronger, firmer, mightier. 但是,这种组织总是重新产生,并且一次比一次更强大,更坚固,更有力。 来自英汉非文学 - 共产党宣言
  • Do you believe that the pen is mightier than the sword? 你相信笔杆的威力大于武力吗?
21 lighter 5pPzPR     
n.打火机,点火器;驳船;v.用驳船运送;light的比较级
参考例句:
  • The portrait was touched up so as to make it lighter.这张画经过润色,色调明朗了一些。
  • The lighter works off the car battery.引燃器利用汽车蓄电池打火。
22 tarns db62b68c38c68c1cabc6bb9354c5a34f     
n.冰斗湖,山中小湖( tarn的名词复数 )
参考例句:
23 delirious V9gyj     
adj.不省人事的,神智昏迷的
参考例句:
  • He was delirious,murmuring about that matter.他精神恍惚,低声叨念着那件事。
  • She knew that he had become delirious,and tried to pacify him.她知道他已经神志昏迷起来了,极力想使他镇静下来。
24 scents 9d41e056b814c700bf06c9870b09a332     
n.香水( scent的名词复数 );气味;(动物的)臭迹;(尤指狗的)嗅觉
参考例句:
  • The air was fragrant with scents from the sea and the hills. 空气中荡漾着山和海的芬芳气息。
  • The winds came down with scents of the grass and wild flowers. 微风送来阵阵青草和野花的香气。 来自《简明英汉词典》
25 miraculous DDdxA     
adj.像奇迹一样的,不可思议的
参考例句:
  • The wounded man made a miraculous recovery.伤员奇迹般地痊愈了。
  • They won a miraculous victory over much stronger enemy.他们战胜了远比自己强大的敌人,赢得了非凡的胜利。
26 enchanted enchanted     
adj. 被施魔法的,陶醉的,入迷的 动词enchant的过去式和过去分词
参考例句:
  • She was enchanted by the flowers you sent her. 她非常喜欢你送给她的花。
  • He was enchanted by the idea. 他为这个主意而欣喜若狂。
27 resonant TBCzC     
adj.(声音)洪亮的,共鸣的
参考例句:
  • She has a resonant voice.她的嗓子真亮。
  • He responded with a resonant laugh.他报以洪亮的笑声。
28 fable CzRyn     
n.寓言;童话;神话
参考例句:
  • The fable is given on the next page. 这篇寓言登在下一页上。
  • He had some motive in telling this fable. 他讲这寓言故事是有用意的。
29 scarlet zD8zv     
n.深红色,绯红色,红衣;adj.绯红色的
参考例句:
  • The scarlet leaves of the maples contrast well with the dark green of the pines.深红的枫叶和暗绿的松树形成了明显的对比。
  • The glowing clouds are growing slowly pale,scarlet,bright red,and then light red.天空的霞光渐渐地淡下去了,深红的颜色变成了绯红,绯红又变为浅红。
30 dreaded XuNzI3     
adj.令人畏惧的;害怕的v.害怕,恐惧,担心( dread的过去式和过去分词)
参考例句:
  • The dreaded moment had finally arrived. 可怕的时刻终于来到了。
  • He dreaded having to spend Christmas in hospital. 他害怕非得在医院过圣诞节不可。 来自《用法词典》


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