Twice a year the Auld11 Lichts went demented. The occasion was the fast-day at Tilliedrum; when its inhabitants, instead of crowding reverently12 to the kirk, swooped13 profanely14 down in their scores and tens of scores on our God-fearing town, intent on making a day of it. Then did the weavers15 rise as one man, and go forth16 to show the ribald crew the errors of their way. All denominations17 were represented, but Auld Lichts led. An Auld Licht would have taken no man's blood without the conviction that he would be the better morally for the bleeding; and if Tammas Lunan's case gave an impetus18 to the blows, it can only have been because it opened wider Auld Licht eyes to Tilliedrum's desperate condition. Mr. Dishart's predecessor19 more than once remarked that at the Creation the devil put forward a claim for Thrums, but said he would take his chance of Tilliedrum; and the statement was generally understood to be made on the authority of the original Hebrew.
The mustard-seed of a feud20 between the two parishes shot into a tall tree in a single night, when Davit Lunan's father went to a tattie roup at Tilliedrum and thoughtlessly died there. Twenty-four hours afterward21 a small party of staid Auld Lichts, carrying long white poles, stepped out of various wynds and closes and picked their solemn way to the house of mourning. Nanny Low, the widow, received them dejectedly, as one oppressed by the knowledge that her man's death at such an inopportune place did not fulfil the promise of his youth; and her guests admitted bluntly that they were disappointed in Tammas. Snecky Hobart's father's unusually long and impressive prayer was an official intimation that the deceased, in the opinion of the session, sorely needed everything of the kind he could get; and then the silent driblet of Auld Lichts in black stalked off in the direction of Tilliedrum. Women left their spinning-wheels and pirns to follow them with their eyes along the Tenements23, and the minister was known to be holding an extra service at the manse. When the little procession reached the boundary-line between the two parishes, they sat down on a dyke24 and waited.
By-and-bye half a dozen men drew near from the opposite direction, bearing on poles the remains25 of Tammas Lunan in a closed coffin26. The coffin was brought to within thirty yards of those who awaited it, and then roughly lowered to the ground. Its bearers rested morosely27 on their poles. In conveying Lunan's remains to the borders of his own parish they were only conforming to custom; but Thrums and Tilliedrum differed as to where the boundary-line was drawn28, and not a foot would either advance into the other's territory.
For half a day the coffin lay unclaimed, and the two parties sat scowling29 at each other. Neither dared move. Gloaming had stolen into the valley when Dite Deuchars, of Tilliedrum, rose to his feet and deliberately30 spat31 upon the coffin. A stone whizzed through the air; and then the ugly spectacle was presented, in the gray night, of a dozen mutes fighting with their poles over a coffin. There was blood on the shoulders that bore Tammas' remains to Thrums.
After that meeting Tilliedrum lived for the fast-day. Never, perhaps, was there a community more given up to sin, and Thrums felt “called” to its chastisement32. The insult to Lunan's coffin, however, dispirited their weavers for a time, and not until the suicide of Pitlums did they put much fervor33 into their prayers. It made new men of them. Tilliedrum's sins had found it out. Pitlums was a farmer in the parish of Thrums, but he had been born at Tilliedrum; and Thrums thanked Providence34 for that, when it saw him suspended between two hams from his kitchen rafters. The custom was to cart suicides to the quarry35 at the Galla pond and bury them near the cairn that had supported the gallows36; but on this occasion not a farmer in the parish would lend a cart, and for a week the corpse37 lay on the sanded floor as it had been cut down—an object of awestruck interest to boys who knew no better than to peep through the darkened window. Tilliedrum bit its lips at home. The Auld Licht minister, it was said, had been approached on the subject; but, after serious consideration, did not see his way to offering up a prayer. Finally old Hobart and two others tied a rope round the body, and dragged it from the farm to the cairn, a distance of four miles. Instead of this incident's humbling38 Tilliedrum into attending church, the next fast-day saw its streets deserted39. As for the Thrums Auld Lichts, only heavy wobs prevented their walking erect40 like men who had done their duty. If no prayer was volunteered for Pitlums before his burial, there was a great deal of psalm-singing after it.
By early morn on their fast-day the Tilliedrummers were straggling into Thrums, and the weavers, already at their looms41, read the clattering43 of feet and carts aright. To convince themselves, all they had to do was to raise their eyes; but the first triumph would have been to Tilliedrum if they had done that. The invaders44—the men in Aberdeen blue serge coats, velvet45 knee-breeches, and broad blue bonnets47, and the wincey gowns of the women set off with hooded48 cloaks of red or tartan—tapped at the windows and shouted insultingly as they passed; but, with pursed lips, Thrums bent49 fiercely over its wobs, and not an Auld Licht showed outside his door. The day wore on to noon, and still ribaldry was master of the wynds. But there was a change inside the houses. The minister had pulled down his blinds; moody50 men had left their looms for stools by the fire; there were rumors51 of a conflict in Andra Gowrie's close, from which Kitty McQueen had emerged with her short gown in rags; and Lang Tammas was going from door to door. The austere52 precentor admonished53 fiery54 youth to beware of giving way to passion; and it was a proud day for the Auld Lichts to find their leading elder so conversant55 with apt Scripture56 texts. They bowed their heads reverently while he thundered forth that those who lived by the sword would perish by the sword; and when he had finished they took him ben to inspect their bludgeons. I have a vivid recollection of going the round of the Auld Licht and other houses to see the sticks and the wrists in coils of wire.
A stranger in the Tenements in the afternoon would have noted57 more than one draggled youth in holiday attire58, sitting on a doorstep with a wet cloth to his nose; and, passing down the commonty, he would have had to step over prostrate59 lumps of humanity from which all shape had departed. Gavin Ogilvy limped heavily after his encounter with Thrummy Tosh—a struggle that was looked forward to eagerly as a bi-yearly event; Christy Davie's development of muscle had not prevented her going down before the terrible onslaught of Joe the miller60, and Lang Tammas' plasters told a tale. It was in the square that the two parties, leading their maimed and blind, formed in force; Tilliedrum thirsting for its opponents' blood, and Thrums humbly61 accepting the responsibility of punching the fast-day breakers into the ways of rectitude. In the small, ill-kept square the invaders, to the number of about a hundred, were wedged together at its upper end, while the Thrums people formed in a thick line at the foot. For its inhabitants the way to Tilliedrum lay through this threatening mass of armed weavers. No words were bandied between the two forces; the centre of the square was left open, and nearly every eye was fixed62 on the town-house clock. It directed operations and gave the signal to charge. The moment six o'clock struck, the upper mass broke its bonds and flung itself on the living barricade63. There was a clatter42 of heads and sticks, a yelling and a groaning64, and then the invaders, bursting through the opposing ranks, fled for Tilliedrum. Down the Tanage brae and up the Brae-head they skurried, half a hundred avenging spirits in pursuit. On the Tilliedrum fast-day I have tasted blood myself. In the godless place there is no Auld Licht kirk, but there are two Auld Lichts in it now who walk to Thrums to church every Sabbath, blow or rain as it lists. They are making their influence felt in Tilliedrum.
The Auld Lichts also did valorous deeds at the Battle of Cabbylatch. The farm land so named lies a mile or more to the south of Thrums. You have to go over the rim65 of the cut to reach it. It is low-lying and uninteresting to the eye, except for some giant stones scattered66 cold and naked through the fields. No human hands reared these bowlders, but they might be looked upon as tombstones to the heroes who fell (to rise hurriedly) on the plain of Cabbylatch.
The fight of Cabbylatch belongs to the days of what are now but dimly remembered as the Meal Mobs. Then there was a wild cry all over the country for bread (not the fine loaves that we know, but something very much coarser), and hungry men and women, prematurely67 shrunken, began to forget the taste of meal. Potatoes were their chief sustenance68, and, when the crop failed, starvation gripped them. At that time the farmers, having control of the meal, had the small towns at their mercy, and they increased its cost. The price of the meal went up and up, until the famishing people swarmed69 up the sides of the carts in which it was conveyed to the towns, and, tearing open the sacks, devoured70 it in handfuls. In Thrums they had a stern sense of justice, and for a time, after taking possession of the meal, they carried it to the square and sold it at what they considered a reasonable price. The money was handed over to the farmers. The honesty of this is worth thinking about, but it seems to have only incensed71 the farmers the more; and when they saw that to send their meal to the town was not to get high prices for it, they laid their heads together and then gave notice that the people who wanted meal and were able to pay for it must come to the farms. In Thrums no one who cared to live on porridge and bannocks had money to satisfy the farmers; but, on the other hand, none of them grudged72 going for it, and go they did. They went in numbers from farm to farm, like bands of hungry rats, and throttled73 the opposition74 they not infrequently encountered. The raging farmers at last met in council, and, noting that they were lusty men and brave, resolved to march in armed force upon the erring75 people and burn their town. Now we come to the Battle of Cabbylatch.
The farmers were not less than eighty strong, and chiefly consisted of cavalry76. Armed with pitchforks and cumbrous scythes77 where they were not able to lay their hands on the more orthodox weapons of war, they presented a determined78 appearance; the few foot-soldiers who had no cart-horses at their disposal bearing in their arms bundles of firewood. One memorable79 morning they set out to avenge80 their losses; and by and by a halt was called, when each man bowed his head to listen. In Thrums, pipe and drum were calling the inhabitants to arms. Scouts81 rushed in with the news that the farmers were advancing rapidly upon the town, and soon the streets were clattering with feet. At that time Thrums had its piper and drummer (the bellman of a later and more degenerate82 age); and on this occasion they marched together through the narrow wynds, firing the blood of haggard men and summoning them to the square. According to my informant's father, the gathering83 of these angry and startled weavers, when he thrust his blue bonnet46 on his head and rushed out to join them, was an impressive and solemn spectacle. That bloodshed was meant there can be no doubt; for starving men do not see the ludicrous side of things. The difference between the farmers and the town had resolved itself into an ugly and sullen84 hate, and the wealthier townsmen who would have come between the people and the bread were fiercely pushed aside. There was no nominal85 leader, but every man in the ranks meant to fight for himself and his belongings86; and they are said to have sallied out to meet the foe in no disorder87. The women they would fain have left behind them; but these had their own injuries to redress88, and they followed in their husbands' wake carrying bags of stones. The men, who were of various denominations, were armed with sticks, blunderbusses, anything they could snatch up at a moment's notice; and some of them were not unacquainted with fighting. Dire22 silence prevailed among the men, but the women shouted as they ran, and the curious army moved forward to the drone and squall of drum and pipe. The enemy was sighted on the level land of Cabbylatch, and here, while the intending combatants glared at each other, a well-known local magnate galloped89 his horse between them and ordered them in the name of the king to return to their homes. But for the farmers that meant further depredation90 at the people's hands, and the townsmen would not go back to their gloomy homes to sit down and wait for sunshine. Soon stones (the first, it is said, cast by a woman) darkened the air. The farmers got the word to charge, but their horses, with the best intentions, did not know the way. There was a stampeding in different directions, a blind rushing of one frightened steed against another; and then the townspeople, breaking any ranks they had hitherto managed to keep, rushed vindictively91 forward. The struggle at Cabbylatch itself was not of long duration; for their own horses proved the farmers' worst enemies, except in the cases where these sagacious animals took matters into their own ordering and bolted judiciously92 for their stables. The day was to Thrums.
Individual deeds of prowess were done that day. Of these not the least fondly remembered by her descendants were those of the gallant93 matron who pursued the most obnoxious94 farmer in the district even to his very porch with heavy stones and opprobrious95 epithets96. Once when he thought he had left her far behind did he alight to draw breath and take a pinch of snuff, and she was upon him like a flail97. With a terror stricken cry he leaped once more upon his horse and fled, but not without leaving his snuff-box in the hands of the derisive98 enemy. Meggy has long gone to the kirk-yard, but the snuff-mull is still preserved.
Some ugly cuts were given and received, and heads as well as ribs99 were broken; but the townsmen's triumph was short-lived. The ringleaders were whipped through the streets of Perth, as a warning to persons thinking of taking the law into their own hands; and all the lasting100 consolation101 they got was that, some time afterward, the chief witness against them, the parish minister, met with a mysterious death. They said it was evidently the hand of God; but some people looked suspiciously at them when they said it.
点击收听单词发音
1 loom | |
n.织布机,织机;v.隐现,(危险、忧虑等)迫近 | |
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2 avenging | |
adj.报仇的,复仇的v.为…复仇,报…之仇( avenge的现在分词 );为…报复 | |
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3 smite | |
v.重击;彻底击败;n.打;尝试;一点儿 | |
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4 slay | |
v.杀死,宰杀,杀戮 | |
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5 foe | |
n.敌人,仇敌 | |
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6 scudding | |
n.刮面v.(尤指船、舰或云彩)笔直、高速而平稳地移动( scud的现在分词 ) | |
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7 nemesis | |
n.给以报应者,复仇者,难以对付的敌手 | |
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8 justified | |
a.正当的,有理的 | |
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9 revolving | |
adj.旋转的,轮转式的;循环的v.(使)旋转( revolve的现在分词 );细想 | |
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10 psalms | |
n.赞美诗( psalm的名词复数 );圣诗;圣歌;(中的) | |
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11 auld | |
adj.老的,旧的 | |
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12 reverently | |
adv.虔诚地 | |
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13 swooped | |
俯冲,猛冲( swoop的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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14 profanely | |
adv.渎神地,凡俗地 | |
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15 weavers | |
织工,编织者( weaver的名词复数 ) | |
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16 forth | |
adv.向前;向外,往外 | |
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17 denominations | |
n.宗派( denomination的名词复数 );教派;面额;名称 | |
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18 impetus | |
n.推动,促进,刺激;推动力 | |
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19 predecessor | |
n.前辈,前任 | |
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20 feud | |
n.长期不和;世仇;v.长期争斗;世代结仇 | |
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21 afterward | |
adv.后来;以后 | |
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22 dire | |
adj.可怕的,悲惨的,阴惨的,极端的 | |
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23 tenements | |
n.房屋,住户,租房子( tenement的名词复数 ) | |
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24 dyke | |
n.堤,水坝,排水沟 | |
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25 remains | |
n.剩余物,残留物;遗体,遗迹 | |
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26 coffin | |
n.棺材,灵柩 | |
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27 morosely | |
adv.愁眉苦脸地,忧郁地 | |
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28 drawn | |
v.拖,拉,拔出;adj.憔悴的,紧张的 | |
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29 scowling | |
怒视,生气地皱眉( scowl的现在分词 ) | |
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30 deliberately | |
adv.审慎地;蓄意地;故意地 | |
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31 spat | |
n.口角,掌击;v.发出呼噜呼噜声 | |
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32 chastisement | |
n.惩罚 | |
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33 fervor | |
n.热诚;热心;炽热 | |
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34 providence | |
n.深谋远虑,天道,天意;远见;节约;上帝 | |
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35 quarry | |
n.采石场;v.采石;费力地找 | |
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36 gallows | |
n.绞刑架,绞台 | |
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37 corpse | |
n.尸体,死尸 | |
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38 humbling | |
adj.令人羞辱的v.使谦恭( humble的现在分词 );轻松打败(尤指强大的对手);低声下气 | |
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39 deserted | |
adj.荒芜的,荒废的,无人的,被遗弃的 | |
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40 erect | |
n./v.树立,建立,使竖立;adj.直立的,垂直的 | |
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41 looms | |
n.织布机( loom的名词复数 )v.隐约出现,阴森地逼近( loom的第三人称单数 );隐约出现,阴森地逼近 | |
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42 clatter | |
v./n.(使)发出连续而清脆的撞击声 | |
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43 clattering | |
发出咔哒声(clatter的现在分词形式) | |
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44 invaders | |
入侵者,侵略者,侵入物( invader的名词复数 ) | |
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45 velvet | |
n.丝绒,天鹅绒;adj.丝绒制的,柔软的 | |
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46 bonnet | |
n.无边女帽;童帽 | |
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47 bonnets | |
n.童帽( bonnet的名词复数 );(烟囱等的)覆盖物;(苏格兰男子的)无边呢帽;(女子戴的)任何一种帽子 | |
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48 hooded | |
adj.戴头巾的;有罩盖的;颈部因肋骨运动而膨胀的 | |
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49 bent | |
n.爱好,癖好;adj.弯的;决心的,一心的 | |
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50 moody | |
adj.心情不稳的,易怒的,喜怒无常的 | |
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51 rumors | |
n.传闻( rumor的名词复数 );[古]名誉;咕哝;[古]喧嚷v.传闻( rumor的第三人称单数 );[古]名誉;咕哝;[古]喧嚷 | |
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52 austere | |
adj.艰苦的;朴素的,朴实无华的;严峻的 | |
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53 admonished | |
v.劝告( admonish的过去式和过去分词 );训诫;(温和地)责备;轻责 | |
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54 fiery | |
adj.燃烧着的,火红的;暴躁的;激烈的 | |
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55 conversant | |
adj.亲近的,有交情的,熟悉的 | |
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56 scripture | |
n.经文,圣书,手稿;Scripture:(常用复数)《圣经》,《圣经》中的一段 | |
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57 noted | |
adj.著名的,知名的 | |
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58 attire | |
v.穿衣,装扮[同]array;n.衣着;盛装 | |
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59 prostrate | |
v.拜倒,平卧,衰竭;adj.拜倒的,平卧的,衰竭的 | |
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60 miller | |
n.磨坊主 | |
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61 humbly | |
adv. 恭顺地,谦卑地 | |
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62 fixed | |
adj.固定的,不变的,准备好的;(计算机)固定的 | |
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63 barricade | |
n.路障,栅栏,障碍;vt.设路障挡住 | |
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64 groaning | |
adj. 呜咽的, 呻吟的 动词groan的现在分词形式 | |
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65 rim | |
n.(圆物的)边,轮缘;边界 | |
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66 scattered | |
adj.分散的,稀疏的;散步的;疏疏落落的 | |
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67 prematurely | |
adv.过早地,贸然地 | |
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68 sustenance | |
n.食物,粮食;生活资料;生计 | |
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69 swarmed | |
密集( swarm的过去式和过去分词 ); 云集; 成群地移动; 蜜蜂或其他飞行昆虫成群地飞来飞去 | |
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70 devoured | |
吞没( devour的过去式和过去分词 ); 耗尽; 津津有味地看; 狼吞虎咽地吃光 | |
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71 incensed | |
盛怒的 | |
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72 grudged | |
怀恨(grudge的过去式与过去分词形式) | |
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73 throttled | |
v.扼杀( throttle的过去式和过去分词 );勒死;使窒息;压制 | |
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74 opposition | |
n.反对,敌对 | |
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75 erring | |
做错事的,错误的 | |
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76 cavalry | |
n.骑兵;轻装甲部队 | |
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77 scythes | |
n.(长柄)大镰刀( scythe的名词复数 )v.(长柄)大镰刀( scythe的第三人称单数 ) | |
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78 determined | |
adj.坚定的;有决心的 | |
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79 memorable | |
adj.值得回忆的,难忘的,特别的,显著的 | |
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80 avenge | |
v.为...复仇,为...报仇 | |
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81 scouts | |
侦察员[机,舰]( scout的名词复数 ); 童子军; 搜索; 童子军成员 | |
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82 degenerate | |
v.退步,堕落;adj.退步的,堕落的;n.堕落者 | |
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83 gathering | |
n.集会,聚会,聚集 | |
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84 sullen | |
adj.愠怒的,闷闷不乐的,(天气等)阴沉的 | |
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85 nominal | |
adj.名义上的;(金额、租金)微不足道的 | |
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86 belongings | |
n.私人物品,私人财物 | |
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87 disorder | |
n.紊乱,混乱;骚动,骚乱;疾病,失调 | |
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88 redress | |
n.赔偿,救济,矫正;v.纠正,匡正,革除 | |
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89 galloped | |
(使马)飞奔,奔驰( gallop的过去式和过去分词 ); 快速做[说]某事 | |
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90 depredation | |
n.掠夺,蹂躏 | |
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91 vindictively | |
adv.恶毒地;报复地 | |
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92 judiciously | |
adv.明断地,明智而审慎地 | |
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93 gallant | |
adj.英勇的,豪侠的;(向女人)献殷勤的 | |
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94 obnoxious | |
adj.极恼人的,讨人厌的,可憎的 | |
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95 opprobrious | |
adj.可耻的,辱骂的 | |
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96 epithets | |
n.(表示性质、特征等的)词语( epithet的名词复数 ) | |
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97 flail | |
v.用连枷打;击打;n.连枷(脱粒用的工具) | |
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98 derisive | |
adj.嘲弄的 | |
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99 ribs | |
n.肋骨( rib的名词复数 );(船或屋顶等的)肋拱;肋骨状的东西;(织物的)凸条花纹 | |
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100 lasting | |
adj.永久的,永恒的;vbl.持续,维持 | |
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101 consolation | |
n.安慰,慰问 | |
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