CHAPTER XLIII THE CORONATION

When he arrived, there was no light in the house: all had gone to rest. Unwilling¹ to disturb the father and mother, he rode quietly to the back of the house, where Kirsty’s room looked on the garden. He called her softly. In a moment she peeped out, then opened her window.

 

‘Cud ye come doon a minute, Kirsty?’ said Francis.

 

‘I’ll be wi’ ye in less time,’ she replied; and he had hardly more than dismounted, when she was by his side.

 

He told her what had passed between him and his mother since she left them.

 

‘It’s a rael bonny nicht!’ said Kirsty, ‘and we’ll jist tak oor time to turn the thing ower—that is, gien ye bena tired, Francie. Come, we’ll put the beastie up first.’

 

She led the horse into the dark stable, took his bridle² off, put a halter on him, slackened his girths, and gave him a feed of corn—all in the dark; which things done, she and her lover set out for the Horn.

 

The whole night seemed thinking of the day that was gone. All doing seemed at an end, yea God himself to be resting and thinking. The peace of it sank into their bosoms⁴, and filled them so, that they walked a long way without speaking. There was no wind, and no light but the starlight. The air was like the clear dark inside some diamonds. The only sound that broke the stillness as they went was the voice of Kirsty, sweet and low—and it was as if the dim starry⁵ vault⁶ thought, rather than she uttered, the words she quoted:—

 

‘Summer Night, come from God,

On your beauty, I see,

A still wave has flowed

Of Eternity⁷!’

At a certain spot on the ridge⁸ of the Horn, Francis stopped.

 

‘This is whaur ye left me this time last year, Kirsty,’ he said; ‘—left me wi’ my Maker⁹ to mak a man o’ me. It was ’maist makin me ower again!’

 

There was a low stone just visible among the heather; Kirsty seated herself upon it. Francis threw himself among the heather, and lay looking up in her face.

 

‘That mother o’ yours is ’maist ower muckle for ye, Francie!’ said Kirsty.

 

‘It’s no aften, Kirsty, ye tell me what I ken³ as weel ’s yersel!’ returned Francis.

 

‘Weel, Francie, ye maun tell me something the night!—Gien it wudna mismuve ye, I wad fain ken hoo ye wan¹⁰ throu that day we pairtit here.’

 

Without a moment’s hesitation¹¹, Francis began the tale—giving her to know, however, that in what took place there was much he did not understand so as to tell it again.

 

When he made an end, Kirsty rose and said,

 

‘Wad ye please to sit upo’ that stane, Francie!’

 

In pure obedience¹² he rose from the heather, and sat upon the stone.

 

She went behind him, and clasped his head, round the temples, with her shapely, strong, faithful hands.

 

‘I ken ye noo for a man, Francis. Ye hae set yersel to du his wull, and no yer ain: ye’re a king; and for want o’ a better croon, I croon ye wi my twa han’s.’

 

Little thought Kirsty how near she came, in word and deed, to the crowning of Dante by Virgil, as recorded toward the close of the ‘Purgatorio.’

 

Then she came round in front of him, he sitting bewildered and taking no part in the solemn ceremony save that of submission¹³, and knelt slowly down before him, laying her head on his knees, and saying,—

 

‘And here’s yer kingdom, Francis—my heid and my hert! Du wi’ me what ye wull.’

 

‘Come hame wi’ me, and help save my mother,’ he answered, in a voice choked with emotion.

 

‘I wull,’ she said, and would have risen; but he laid his hands on her head, and thus they remained for a time in silence. Then they rose, and went.

 

They had gone about half-way to the farm before either spoke¹⁴. Then Kirsty said,—

 

‘Francie, there’s ae thing I maun beg o’ ye, and but ane—’at ye winna desire me to tak the heid o’ yer table. I canna but think it an ungracious thing ’at a young wuman like me, the son’s wife, suld put the man’s ain mother, his father’s wife, oot o’ the place whaur his father set her. I’m layin doon no prenciple; I’m sayin only hoo it affecs me. I want to come hame as her dochter, no as mistress o’ the hoose in her stead. And ye see, Francie, that’ll gie ye anither haud o’ her, agen disgracin o’ hersel! Promise me, Francie, and I’ll sune tak the maist pairt o’ the trouble o’ her aff o’ yer han’s.’

 

‘Ye’re aye richt, Kirsty!’ answered Francis. ‘As ye wull.’

1 unwilling   

adj.不情愿的

参考例句：

• The natives were unwilling to be bent by colonial power.土著居民不愿受殖民势力的摆布。
• His tightfisted employer was unwilling to give him a raise.他那吝啬的雇主不肯给他加薪。

2 bridle   

n.笼头，束缚；vt.抑制，约束；动怒

参考例句：

• He learned to bridle his temper.他学会了控制脾气。
• I told my wife to put a bridle on her tongue.我告诉妻子说话要谨慎。

3 ken   

n.视野，知识领域

参考例句：

• Such things are beyond my ken.我可不懂这些事。
• Abstract words are beyond the ken of children.抽象的言辞超出小孩所理解的范围.

4 bosoms   

胸部( bosom的名词复数 )； 胸怀； 女衣胸部（或胸襟）； 和爱护自己的人在一起的情形

参考例句：

• How beautifully gold brooches glitter on the bosoms of our patriotic women! 金光闪闪的别针佩在我国爱国妇女的胸前，多美呀！
• Let us seek out some desolate shade, and there weep our sad bosoms empty. 我们寻个僻静的地方，去痛哭一场吧。

5 starry   

adj.星光照耀的, 闪亮的

参考例句：

• He looked at the starry heavens.他瞧着布满星星的天空。
• I like the starry winter sky.我喜欢这满天星斗的冬夜。

6 vault   

n.拱形圆顶，地窖，地下室

参考例句：

• The vault of this cathedral is very high.这座天主教堂的拱顶非常高。
• The old patrician was buried in the family vault.这位老贵族埋在家族的墓地里。

7 eternity   

n.不朽，来世；永恒，无穷

参考例句：

• The dull play seemed to last an eternity.这场乏味的剧似乎演个没完没了。
• Finally,Ying Tai and Shan Bo could be together for all of eternity.英台和山伯终能双宿双飞，永世相随。

8 ridge   

n.山脊；鼻梁；分水岭

参考例句：

• We clambered up the hillside to the ridge above.我们沿着山坡费力地爬上了山脊。
• The infantry were advancing to attack the ridge.步兵部队正在向前挺进攻打山脊。

9 maker   

n.制造者，制造商

参考例句：

• He is a trouble maker，You must be distant with him.他是个捣蛋鬼，你不要跟他在一起。
• A cabinet maker must be a master craftsman.家具木工必须是技艺高超的手艺人。

10 wan   

(wide area network)广域网

参考例句：

• The shared connection can be an Ethernet,wireless LAN,or wireless WAN connection.提供共享的网络连接可以是以太网、无线局域网或无线广域网。

11 hesitation   

n.犹豫，踌躇

参考例句：

• After a long hesitation, he told the truth at last.踌躇了半天，他终于直说了。
• There was a certain hesitation in her manner.她的态度有些犹豫不决。

12 obedience   

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。

13 submission   

n.服从，投降；温顺，谦虚；提出

参考例句：

• The defeated general showed his submission by giving up his sword.战败将军缴剑表示投降。
• No enemy can frighten us into submission.任何敌人的恐吓都不能使我们屈服。

14 spoke   

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。