The trouble betwixt us seems to have been this: that whereas I (since I had first set eyes on his great hat) thought singly of James More, his return and suspicions, she made so little of these that I may say she scarce remarked them, and all her troubles and doings regarded what had passed between us in the night before. This is partly to be explained by the innocence and boldness of her character; and partly because James More, having sped so ill in his interview with me, or had his mouth closed by my invitation, said no word to her upon the subject. At the breakfast, accordingly, it soon appeared we were at cross purposes. I had looked to find her in clothes of her own: I found her (as if her father were forgotten) wearing some of the best that I had bought for her and which she knew (or thought) that I admired her in. I had looked to find her imitate my affectation of distance, and be most precise and formal; instead I found her flushed and wild-like, with eyes extraordinary bright, and a painful and varying expression, calling me by name with a sort of appeal of tenderness, and referring and deferring8 to my thoughts and wishes like an anxious or a suspected wife.
But this was not for long. As I beheld9 her so regardless of her own interests, which I had jeopardised [pg 337]and was now endeavoring to recover, I redoubled my own boldness in the manner of a lesson to the girl. The more she came forward, the further I drew back; the more she betrayed the closeness of our intimacy10, the more pointedly11 civil I became, until even her father (if he had not been so engrossed12 with eating) might have observed the opposition13. In the midst of which, of a sudden, she became wholly changed, and I told myself, with a good deal of relief, that she had took the hint at last.
All day I was at my classes or in quest of my new lodging14; and though the hour of our customary walk hung miserably15 on my hands, I cannot say but I was happy on the whole to find my way cleared, the girl again in proper keeping, the father satisfied or at least acquiescent16, and myself free to prosecute17 my love with honour. At supper, as at all our meals, it was James More that did the talking. No doubt but he talked well, if anyone could have believed him. But I will speak of him presently more at large. The meal at an end, he rose, got his great coat, and looking (as I thought) at me, observed he had affairs abroad. I took this for a hint that I was to be going also, and got up; whereupon the girl, who had scarce given me greeting at my entrance, turned her eyes on me wide open, with a look that bade me stay. I stood between them like a fish out of water, turning from one to the other; neither seemed to observe me, she gazing on the floor, he buttoning [pg 338]his coat: which vastly swelled18 my embarrassment19. This appearance of indifferency argued, upon her side, a good deal of anger very near to burst out. Upon his, I thought it horribly alarming; I made sure there was a tempest brewing20 there; and considering that to be the chief peril21, turned towards him and put myself (so to speak) in the man's hands.
"Can I do anything for you, Mr. Drummond?" says I.
He stifled22 a yawn, which again I thought to be duplicity. "Why, Mr. David," said he, "since you are so obliging as to propose it, you might show me the way to a certain tavern23" (of which he gave the name) "where I hope to fall in with some old companions in arms."
There was no more to say, and I got my hat and cloak to bear him company.
"And as for you," he says to his daughter, "you had best go to your bed. I shall be late home, and Early to bed and early to rise, gars bonny lasses have bright eyes."
Whereupon he kissed her with a good deal of tenderness, and ushered24 me before him from the door. This was so done (I thought on purpose) that it was scarce possible there should be any parting salutation; but I observed she did not look at me, and set it down to terror of James More.
It was some distance to that tavern. He talked all [pg 339]the way of matters which did not interest me the smallest, and at the door dismissed me with empty manners. Thence I walked to my new lodging, where I had not so much as a chimney to hold me warm, and no society but my own thoughts. These were still bright enough; I did not so much as dream that Catriona was turned against me; I thought we were like folk pledged; I thought we had been too near and spoke25 too warmly to be severed26, least of all by what were only steps in a most needful policy. And the chief of my concern was only the kind of father-in-law that I was getting, which was not at all the kind I would have chosen: and the matter of how soon I ought to speak to him, which was a delicate point on several sides. In the first place, when I thought how young I was, I blushed all over, and could almost have found it in my heart to have desisted; only that if once I let them go from Leyden without explanation, I might lose her altogether. And in the second place, there was our very irregular situation to be kept in view, and the rather scant27 measure of satisfaction I had given James More that morning. I concluded, on the whole, that delay would not hurt anything, yet I would not delay too long neither; and got to my cold bed with a full heart.
The next day, as James More seemed a little on the complaining hand in the matter of my chamber28, I offered to have in more furniture; and coming in the afternoon, with porters bringing chairs and tables, [pg 340]found the girl once more left to herself. She greeted me on my admission civilly, but withdrew at once to her own room, of which she shut the door. I made my disposition29, and paid and dismissed the men so that she might hear them go, when I supposed she would at once come forth5 again to speak to me. I waited yet awhile, then knocked upon her door.
"Catriona!" said I.
The door was opened so quickly, even before I had the word out, that I thought she must have stood behind it listening. She remained there in the interval30 quite still; but she had a look that I cannot put a name on, as of one in a bitter trouble.
"I am thanking you," said she. "I will not be caring much to walk, now that my father is come home."
"But I think he has gone out himself and left you here alone," said I.
"It was not unkindly meant," I replied. "What ails33 you, Catriona? What have I done to you that you should turn from me like this?"
"I do not turn from you at all," she said, speaking very carefully. "I will ever be grateful to my friend that was good to me; I will ever be his friend in all that [pg 341]I am able. But now that my father James More is come again, there is a difference to be made, and I think there are some things said and done that would be better to be forgotten. But I will ever be your friend in all that I am able, and if that is not all that . . . if it is not so much. . . . Not that you will be caring! But I would not have you think of me too hard. It was true what you said to me, that I was too young to be advised, and I am hoping you will remember I was just a child. I would not like to lose your friendship, at all events."
She began this very pale; but before she was done, the blood was in her face like scarlet34, so that not her words only, but her face and the trembling of her very hands, besought35 me to be gentle. I saw for the first time, how very wrong I had done to place the child in that position, where she had been entrapped36 into a moment's weakness, and now stood before me like a person shamed.
"Miss Drummond," I said, and stuck, and made the same beginning once again, "I wish you could see into my heart," I cried. "You would read there that my respect is undiminished. If that were possible, I should say it was increased. This is but the result of the mistake we made; and had to come; and the less said of it now the better. Of all of our life here, I promise you it shall never pass my lips; I would like to promise you too that I would never think of it, but it's a memory [pg 342]that will be always dear to me. And as for a friend, you have one here that would die for you."
"I am thanking you," said she.
We stood awhile silent, and my sorrow for myself began to get the upper hand; for here were all my dreams come to a sad tumble, and my love lost, and myself alone again in the world as at the beginning.
"Well," said I, "we shall be friends always, that's a certain thing. But this is a kind of a farewell too: it's a kind of a farewell after all; I shall always ken37 Miss Drummond, but this is a farewell to my Catriona."
I looked at her; I could hardly say I saw her, but she seemed to grow great and brighten in my eyes; and with that I suppose I must have lost my head, for I called out her name again and made a step at her with my hands reached forth.
She shrank back like a person struck, her face flamed; but the blood sprang no faster up into her cheeks, than what it flowed back upon my own heart, at sight of it, with penitence38 and concern. I found no words to excuse myself, but bowed before her very deep, and went my ways out of the house with death in my bosom39.
I think it was about five days that followed without any change. I saw her scarce ever but at meals, and then of course in the company of James More. If we were alone even for a moment, I made it my devoir to behave the more distantly and to multiply respectful attentions, having always in my mind's eye that picture of [pg 343]the girl shrinking and flaming in a blush, and in my heart more pity for her than I could depict40 in words. I was sorry enough for myself, I need not dwell on that, having fallen all my length and more than all my height in a few seconds; but, indeed, I was near as sorry for the girl, and sorry enough to be scarce angry with her save by fits and starts. Her plea was good: she was but a child; she had been placed in an unfair position; if she had deceived herself and me, it was no more than was to have been looked for.
And for another thing she was now very much alone. Her father, when he was by, was rather a caressing41 parent; but he was very easy led away by his affairs and pleasures, neglected her without compunction or remark, spent his nights in taverns42 when he had the money, which was more often than I could at all account for; and even in the course of these few days, failed once to come to a meal, which Catriona and I were at last compelled to partake of without him. It was the evening meal, and I left immediately that I had eaten, observing I supposed she would prefer to be alone; to which she agreed and (strange as it may seem) I quite believed her. Indeed, I thought myself but an eyesore to the girl, and a reminder43 of a moment's weakness that she now abhorred44 to think of. So she must sit alone in that room where she and I had been so merry, and in the blink of that chimney whose light had shone upon our many difficult and tender moments. There she [pg 344]must sit alone, and think of herself as of a maid who had most unmaidenly proffered45 her affections and had the same rejected. And in the meanwhile I would be alone some other place, and reading myself (whenever I was tempted46 to be angry) lessons upon human frailty47 and female delicacy48. And altogether I suppose there were never two poor fools made themselves more unhappy in a greater misconception.
As for James, he paid not so much heed49 to us, or to anything in nature but his pocket, and his belly50, and his own prating51 talk. Before twelve hours were gone he had raised a small loan of me; before thirty, he had asked for a second and been refused. Money and refusal he took with the same kind of high good-nature. Indeed, he had an outside air of magnanimity that was very well fitted to impose upon a daughter; and the light in which he was constantly presented in his talk, and the man's fine presence and great ways went together pretty harmoniously52. So that a man that had no business with him, and either very little penetration53 or a furious deal of prejudice, might almost have been taken in. To me, after my first two interviews, he was as plain as print; I saw him to be perfectly54 selfish, with a perfect innocency55 in the same; and I would harken to his swaggering talk (of arms, and "an old soldier," and "a poor Highland56 gentleman," and "the strength of my country and my friends") as I might to the babbling57 of a parrot.
[pg 345]The odd thing was that I fancy he believed some part of it himself, or did at times; I think he was so false all through that he scarce knew when he was lying; and for one thing, his moments of dejection must have been wholly genuine. There were times when he would be the most silent, affectionate, clinging creature possible, holding Catriona's hand like a big baby, and begging of me not to leave if I had any love to him; of which, indeed, I had none, but all the more to his daughter. He would press and indeed beseech58 us to entertain him with our talk, a thing very difficult in the state of our relations; and again break forth in pitiable regrets for his own land and friends, or into Gaelic singing.
"This is one of the melancholy59 airs of my native land," he would say. "You may think it strange to see a soldier weep, and indeed it is to make a near friend of you," says he. "But the notes of this singing are in my blood, and the words come out of my heart. And when I mind upon my red mountains and the wild birds calling there, and the brave streams of water running down, I would scarce think shame to weep before my enemies." Then he would sing again, and translate to me pieces of the song, with a great deal of boggling and much expressed contempt against the English language. "It says here," he would say, "that the sun is gone down, and the battle is at an end, and the brave chiefs are defeated. And it tells [pg 346]here how the stars see them fleeing into strange countries or lying dead on the red mountain; and they will never more shout the call of battle or wash their feet in the streams of the valley. But if you had only some of this language, you would weep also because the words of it are beyond all expression, and it is mere60 mockery to tell you it in English."
Well, I thought there was a good deal of mockery in the business, one way and another; and yet, there was some feeling too, for which I hated him, I think, the worst of all. And it used to cut me to the quick to see Catriona so much concerned for the old rogue61, and weeping herself to see him weep, when I was sure one-half of his distress62 flowed from his last night's drinking in some tavern. There were times when I was tempted to lend him a round sum, and see the last of him for good; but this would have been to see the last of Catriona as well, for which I was scarcely so prepared; and besides, it went against my conscience to squander63 my good money on one who was so little of a husband.
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1
deference
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| n.尊重，顺从；敬意 | |
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innocence
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| n.无罪；天真；无害 | |
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allay
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| v.消除，减轻(恐惧、怀疑等) | |
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caresses
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| 爱抚，抚摸( caress的名词复数 ) | |
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forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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6
entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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7
repentant
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| adj.对…感到悔恨的 | |
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8
deferring
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| v.拖延，延缓，推迟( defer的现在分词 )；服从某人的意愿，遵从 | |
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9
beheld
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| v.看，注视( behold的过去式和过去分词 )；瞧；看呀；（叙述中用于引出某人意外的出现）哎哟 | |
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10
intimacy
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| n.熟悉，亲密，密切关系，亲昵的言行 | |
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pointedly
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| adv.尖地，明显地 | |
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engrossed
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| adj.全神贯注的 | |
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opposition
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| n.反对，敌对 | |
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14
lodging
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| n.寄宿，住所；(大学生的)校外宿舍 | |
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miserably
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| adv.痛苦地；悲惨地；糟糕地；极度地 | |
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16
acquiescent
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| adj.默许的，默认的 | |
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prosecute
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| vt.告发；进行；vi.告发，起诉，作检察官 | |
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18
swelled
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| 增强( swell的过去式和过去分词 )； 肿胀； （使）凸出； 充满（激情） | |
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embarrassment
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| n.尴尬；使人为难的人(事物)；障碍；窘迫 | |
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20
brewing
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| n. 酿造, 一次酿造的量 动词brew的现在分词形式 | |
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peril
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| n.(严重的)危险；危险的事物 | |
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stifled
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| （使）窒息， （使）窒闷( stifle的过去式和过去分词 )； 镇压，遏制； 堵 | |
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tavern
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| n.小旅馆，客栈；小酒店 | |
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ushered
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| v.引，领，陪同( usher的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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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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26
severed
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| v.切断，断绝( sever的过去式和过去分词 )；断，裂 | |
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scant
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| adj.不充分的，不足的；v.减缩，限制，忽略 | |
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28
chamber
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| n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所 | |
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disposition
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| n.性情，性格；意向，倾向；排列，部署 | |
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30
interval
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| n.间隔，间距；幕间休息，中场休息 | |
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31
faltered
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| （嗓音）颤抖( falter的过去式和过去分词 )； 支吾其词； 蹒跚； 摇晃 | |
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32
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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33
ails
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| v.生病( ail的第三人称单数 )；感到不舒服；处境困难；境况不佳 | |
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34
scarlet
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| n.深红色，绯红色，红衣；adj.绯红色的 | |
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35
besought
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| v.恳求，乞求（某事物）( beseech的过去式和过去分词 )；(beseech的过去式与过去分词) | |
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36
entrapped
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| v.使陷入圈套，使入陷阱( entrap的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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ken
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| n.视野，知识领域 | |
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38
penitence
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| n.忏悔，赎罪；悔过 | |
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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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40
depict
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| vt.描画，描绘；描写，描述 | |
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41
caressing
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| 爱抚的，表现爱情的，亲切的 | |
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42
taverns
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| n.小旅馆，客栈，酒馆( tavern的名词复数 ) | |
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43
reminder
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| n.提醒物，纪念品；暗示，提示 | |
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44
abhorred
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| v.憎恶( abhor的过去式和过去分词 )；（厌恶地）回避；拒绝；淘汰 | |
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45
proffered
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| v.提供，贡献，提出( proffer的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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46
tempted
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| v.怂恿（某人）干不正当的事；冒…的险（tempt的过去分词） | |
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47
frailty
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| n.脆弱；意志薄弱 | |
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48
delicacy
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| n.精致，细微，微妙，精良；美味，佳肴 | |
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49
heed
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| v.注意，留意；n.注意，留心 | |
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50
belly
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| n.肚子，腹部；(像肚子一样)鼓起的部分，膛 | |
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51
prating
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| v.（古时用语）唠叨，啰唆( prate的现在分词 ) | |
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52
harmoniously
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| 和谐地，调和地 | |
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53
penetration
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| n.穿透，穿人，渗透 | |
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54
perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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55
innocency
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| 无罪，洁白 | |
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56
highland
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| n.(pl.)高地，山地 | |
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57
babbling
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| n.胡说，婴儿发出的咿哑声adj.胡说的v.喋喋不休( babble的现在分词 )；作潺潺声（如流水）；含糊不清地说话；泄漏秘密 | |
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58
beseech
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| v.祈求，恳求 | |
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59
melancholy
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| n.忧郁，愁思；adj.令人感伤（沮丧）的，忧郁的 | |
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60
mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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61
rogue
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| n.流氓；v.游手好闲 | |
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62
distress
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| n.苦恼，痛苦，不舒适；不幸；vt.使悲痛 | |
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63
squander
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| v.浪费，挥霍 | |
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