MEANTIME Feeble Phoebe Day was driving her father's horse up to the Mills to bring Cephas Cole home. It was a thrilling moment, a sort of outward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual tie, for their banns were to be published the next day, so what did it matter if the community, nay1, if the whole universe, speculated as to why she was drawing her beloved back from his daily toil2? It had been an eventful autumn for Cephas. After a third request for the hand of Miss Patience Baxter, and a refusal of even more than common decision and energy, Cephas turned about face and employed the entire month of September in a determined3 assault upon the affections of Miss Lucy Morrill, but with no better avail. His heart was not ardently5 involved in this second wooing, but winter was approaching, he had moved his mother out of her summer quarters back to the main house, and he doggedly6 began papering the ell and furnishing the kitchen without disclosing to his respected parents the identity of the lady for whose comfort he was so hospitably7 preparing.
Cephas's belief in the holy state of matrimony as being the only one proper for a man, really ought to have commended him to the opposite (and ungrateful) sex more than it did, and Lucy Morrill held as respectful an opinion of the institution and its manifold advantages as Cephas himself, but she was in a very unsettled frame of mind and not at all susceptible8 to wooing. She had a strong preference for Philip Perry, and held an opinion, not altogether unfounded in human experience, that in course of time, when quite deserted9 by Patty Baxter, his heart might possibly be caught on the rebound10. It was only a chance, but Lucy would almost have preferred remaining unmarried, even to the withering11 age of twenty-five, rather than not be at liberty to accept Philip Perry in case she should be asked.
Cephas therefore, by the middle of October, could be picturesquely12 and alliteratively described as being raw from repeated rejections13. His bruised14 heart and his despised ell literally15 cried out for the appreciation16 so long and blindly withheld17. Now all at once Phoebe disclosed a second virtue18; her first and only one, hitherto, in the eyes of Cephas, having been an ability to get on with his mother, a feat19 in which many had made an effort and few indeed had succeeded. Phoebe, it seems, had always secretly admired, respected, and loved Cephas Cole! Never since her pale and somewhat glassy blue eye had opened on life had she beheld20 a being she could so adore if encouraged in the attitude.
The moment this unusual and unexpected poultice was really applied21 to Cephas's wounds, they began to heal. In the course of a month the most ordinary observer could have perceived a physical change in him. He cringed no more, but held his head higher; his back straightened; his voice developed a gruff, assertive22 note, like that of a stern Roman father; he let his moustache grow, and sometimes, in his most reckless moments, twiddled the end of it. Finally he swaggered; but that was only after Phoebe had accepted him and told him that if a girl traversed the entire length of the Saco River (which she presumed to be the longest in the world, the Amazon not being familiar to her), she could not hope to find his equal as a husband.
And then congratulations began to pour in! Was ever marriage so fortuitous! The Coles' farm joined that of the Days and the union between the two only children would cement the friendship between the families. The fact that Uncle Bart was a joiner, Cephas a painter, and Abel Day a mason and bricklayer made the alliance almost providential in its business opportunities. Phoebe's Massachusetts aunt sent a complete outfit23 of gilt-edged china, a clock, and a mahogany chamber24 set. Aunt Abby relinquished25 to the young couple a bedroom and a spare chamber in the "main part," while the Days supplied live-geese feathers and table and bed-linen with positive prodigality26. Aunt Abby trod the air like one inspired. "Balmy" is the only adjective that could describe her.
"If only I could 'a' looked ahead," smiled Uncle Bart quizzically to himself, "I'd 'a' had thirteen sons and daughters an' married off one of 'em every year. That would 'a' made Abby's good temper kind o' permanent."
Cephas was content, too. There was a good deal in being settled and having "the whole doggoned business" off your hands. Phoebe looked a very different creature to him in these latter days. Her eyes were just as pale, of course, but they were brighter, and they radiated love for him, an expression in the female eye that he had thus far been singularly unfortunate in securing. She still held her mouth slightly open, but Cephas thought that it might be permissible27, perhaps after three months of wedded28 bliss29, to request her to be more careful in closing it. He believed, too, that she would make an effort to do so just to please him; whereas a man's life or property would not be safe for a single instant if he asked Miss Patience Baxter to close her mouth, not if he had been married to her for thirty times three months!
Cephas did not think of Patty any longer with bitterness, in these days, being of the opinion that she was punished enough in observing his own growing popularity and prosperity.
"If she should see that mahogany chamber set going into the ell I guess she'd be glad enough to change her tune30!" thought Cephas, exultingly31; and then there suddenly shot through his mind the passing fancy--"I wonder if she would!" He promptly32 banished33 the infamous34 suggestion however, reinforcing his virtue with the reflection that the chamber set was Phoebe's, anyway, and the marriage day appointed, and the invitations given out, and the wedding-cake being baked, a loaf at a time, by his mother and Mrs. Day.
As a matter of fact Patty would have had no eyes for Phoebe's magnificent mahogany, even had the cart that carried it passed her on the hill where she and Mark Wilson were walking. Her promise to marry him was a few weeks old now, and his arm encircled her slender waist under the brown homespun cape35. That in itself was a new sensation and gave her the delicious sense of belonging to somebody who valued her highly, and assured her of his sentiments clearly and frequently, both by word and deed. Life, dull gray life, was going to change its hue36 for her presently, and not long after, she hoped, for Waitstill, too! It needed only a brighter, a more dauntless courage; a little faith that nettles38, when firmly grasped, hurt the hand less, and a fairer future would dawn for both of them. The Deacon was a sharper nettle37 than she had ever meddled39 with before, but in these days, when the actual contact had not yet occurred, she felt sure of herself and longed for the moment when her pluck should be tested and proved.
The "publishing" of Cephas and his third choice, their dull walk up the aisle40 of the meeting-house before an admiring throng41, on the Sunday when Phoebe would "appear bride," all this seemed very tame as compared with the dreams of this ardent4 and adventurous42 pair of lovers who had gone about for days harboring secrets greater and more daring, they thought, than had ever been breathed before within the hearing of Saco Water.
收听单词发音 |
1
nay
|
|
| adv.不；n.反对票，投反对票者 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
2
toil
|
|
| vi.辛劳工作，艰难地行动；n.苦工，难事 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
3
determined
|
|
| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
4
ardent
|
|
| adj.热情的，热烈的，强烈的，烈性的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
5
ardently
|
|
| adv.热心地，热烈地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
6
doggedly
|
|
| adv.顽强地，固执地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
7
hospitably
|
|
| 亲切地，招待周到地，善于款待地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
8
susceptible
|
|
| adj.过敏的，敏感的；易动感情的，易受感动的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
9
deserted
|
|
| adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
10
rebound
|
|
| v.弹回；n.弹回，跳回 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
11
withering
|
|
| 使人畏缩的，使人害羞的，使人难堪的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
12
picturesquely
|
|
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
13
rejections
|
|
| 拒绝( rejection的名词复数 )； 摒弃； 剔除物； 排斥 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
14
bruised
|
|
| [医]青肿的，瘀紫的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
15
literally
|
|
| adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
16
appreciation
|
|
| n.评价；欣赏；感谢；领会，理解；价格上涨 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
17
withheld
|
|
| withhold过去式及过去分词 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
18
virtue
|
|
| n.德行，美德；贞操；优点；功效，效力 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
19
feat
|
|
| n.功绩；武艺，技艺；adj.灵巧的，漂亮的，合适的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
20
beheld
|
|
| 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 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
21
applied
|
|
| adj.应用的；v.应用，适用 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
22
assertive
|
|
| adj.果断的，自信的，有冲劲的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
23
outfit
|
|
| n.（为特殊用途的）全套装备，全套服装 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
24
chamber
|
|
| n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
25
relinquished
|
|
| 交出，让给( relinquish的过去式和过去分词 )； 放弃 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
26
prodigality
|
|
| n.浪费，挥霍 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
27
permissible
|
|
| adj.可允许的，许可的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
28
wedded
|
|
| adj.正式结婚的；渴望…的，执著于…的v.嫁，娶，（与…）结婚( wed的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
29
bliss
|
|
| n.狂喜，福佑，天赐的福 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
30
tune
|
|
| n.调子；和谐，协调；v.调音，调节，调整 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
31
exultingly
|
|
| 兴高采烈地，得意地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
32
promptly
|
|
| adv.及时地，敏捷地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
33
banished
|
|
| v.放逐，驱逐( banish的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
34
infamous
|
|
| adj.声名狼藉的，臭名昭著的，邪恶的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
35
cape
|
|
| n.海角，岬；披肩，短披风 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
36
hue
|
|
| n.色度；色调；样子 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
37
nettle
|
|
| n.荨麻；v.烦忧，激恼 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
38
nettles
|
|
| n.荨麻( nettle的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
39
meddled
|
|
| v.干涉，干预（他人事务）( meddle的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
40
aisle
|
|
| n.（教堂、教室、戏院等里的）过道，通道 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
41
throng
|
|
| n.人群，群众；v.拥挤，群集 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
42
adventurous
|
|
| adj.爱冒险的；惊心动魄的，惊险的，刺激的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
| 欢迎访问英文小说网 |