Through tops of the high trees she did descry1
A little smoke, whose vapour, thin and light,
Reeking2 aloft, uprolled to the sky,
Which cheerful sign did send unto her sight,
That in the same did wonne some living wight.
SPENSER.
LUCY acted as her father’s guide, for he was too much engrossed3 with his political labours, or with society, to be perfectly4 acquainted with his own extensive domains5, and, moreover, was generally an inhabitant of the city of Edinburgh; and she, on the other hand, had, with her mother, resided the whole summer in Ravenswood, and, partly from taste, partly from want of any other amusement, had, by her frequent rambles6, learned to know each lane, alley7, dingle, or bushy dell,
And every bosky bourne from side to side.
We have said that the Lord Keeper was not indifferent to the beauties of nature; and we add, in justice to him, that he felt them doubly when pointed8 out by the beautiful, simple, and interesting girl who, hanging on his arm with filial kindness, now called him to admire the size of some ancient oak, and now the unexpected turn where the path, developing its maze9 from glen or dingle, suddenly reached an eminence10 commanding an extensive view of the plains beneath them, and then gradually glided11 away from the prospect12 to lose itself among rocks and thickets13, and guide to scenes of deeper seclusion14.
It was when pausing on one of those points of extensive and commanding view that Lucy told her father they were close by the cottage of her blind protegee; and on turning from the little hill, a path which led around it, worn by the daily steps of the infirm inmate15, brought them in sight of the hut, which, embosomed in a deep and obscure dell, seemed to have been so situated17 purposely to bear a correspondence with the darkened state of its inhabitant.
The cottage was situated immediately under a tall rock, which in some measure beetled18 over it, as if threatening to drop some detached fragment from its brow on the frail19 tenement20 beneath. The hut itself was constructed of turf and stones, and rudely roofed over with thatch21, much of which was in a dilapidated condition. The thin blue smoke rose from it in a light column, and curled upward along the white face of the incumbent22 rock, giving the scene a tint24 of exquisite25 softness. In a small and rude garden, surrounded by straggling elder-bushes, which formed a sort of imperfect hedge, sat near to the beehives, by the produce of which she lived, that “woman old” whom Lucy had brought her father hither to visit.
Whatever there had been which was disastrous26 in her fortune, whatever there was miserable27 in her dwelling28, it was easy to judge by the first glance that neither years, poverty, misfortune, nor infirmity had broken the spirit of this remarkable29 woman.
She occupied a turf seat, placed under a weeping birch of unusual magnitude and age, as Judah is represented sitting under her palm-tree, with an air at once of majesty31 and of dejection. Her figure was tall, commanding, and but little bent23 by the infirmities of old age. Her dress, though that of a peasant, was uncommonly32 clean, forming in that particular a strong contrast to most of her rank, and was disposed with an attention to neatness, and even to taste, equally unusual. But it was her expression of countenance33 which chiefly struck the spectator, and induced most persons to address her with a degree of deference34 and civility very inconsistent with the miserable state of her dwelling, and which, nevertheless, she received with that easy composure which showed she felt it to be her due. She had once been beautiful, but her beauty had been of a bold and masculine cast, such as does not survive the bloom of youth; yet her features continued to express strong sense, deep reflection, and a character of sober pride, which, as we have already said of her dress, appeared to argue a conscious superiority to those of her own rank. It scarce seemed possible that a face, deprived of the advantage of sight, could have expressed character so strongly; but her eyes, which were almost totally closed, did not, by the display of their sightless orbs35, mar30 the countenance to which they could add nothing. She seemed in a ruminating36 posture37, soothed38, perhaps, by the murmurs39 of the busy tribe around her to abstraction, though not to slumber40.
Lucy undid41 the latch42 of the little garden gate, and solicited43 the old woman’s attention. “My father, Alice, is come to see you.”
“He is welcome, Miss Ashton, and so are you,” said the old woman, turning and inclining her head towards her visitors.
“This is a fine morning for your beehives, mother,” said the Lord Keeper, who, struck with the outward appearance of Alice, was somewhat curious to know if her conversation would correspond with it.
“I believe so, my lord,” she replied; “I feel the air breathe milder than of late.”
“You do not,” resumed the statesman, “take charge of these bees yourself, mother? How do you manage them?”
“By delegates, as kings do their subjects,” resumed Alice; “and I am fortunate in a prime minister. Here, Babie.”
She whistled on a small silver call which ung around her neck, and which at that time was sometimes used to summon domestics, and Babie, a girl of fifteen, made her appearance from the hut, not altogether so cleanly arrayed as she would probably have been had Alice had the use of her yees, but with a greater air of neatness than was upon the whole to have been expected.
“Babie,” said her mistress, “offer some bread and honey to the Lord Keeper and Miss Ashton; they will excuse your awkwardness if you use cleanliness and despatch44.”
Babie performed her mistress’s command with the grace which was naturally to have been expected, moving to and fro with a lobster-like gesture, her feet and legs tending one way, while her head, turned in a different direction, was fixed45 in wonder upon the laird, who was more frequently heard of than seen by his tenants46 and dependants47. The bread and honey, however, deposited on a plantain leaf, was offered and accepted in all due courtesy. The Lord Keeper, still retaining the place which he had occupied on the decayed trunk of a fallen tree, looked as if he wished to prolong the interview, but was at a loss how to introduce a suitable subject.
“You have been long a resident on this property?” he said, after a pause.
“It is now nearly sixty years since I first knew Ravenswood,” answered the old dame48, whose conversation, though perfectly civil and respectful, seemed cautiously limited to the unavoidable and necessary task of replying to Sir William.
“You are not, I should judge by your accent, of this country originally?” said the Lord Keeper, in continuation.
“No; I am by birth an Englishwoman.” “Yet you seem attached to this country as if it were your own.”
“It is here,” replied the blind woman, “that I have drank the cup of joy and of sorrow which Heaven destined49 for me. I was here the wife of an upright and affectionate husband for more than twenty years; I was here the mother of six promising50 children; it was here that God deprived me of all these blessings51; it was here they died, and yonder, by yon ruined chapel52, they lie all buried. I had no country but theirs while they lived; I have none but theirs now they are no more.”
“But your house,” said the Lord Keeper, looking at it, “is miserably53 ruinous?”
“Do, my dear father,” said Lucy, eagerly, yet bashfully, catching54 at the hint, “give orders to make it better; that is, if you think it proper.”
“It will last my time, my dear Miss Lucy,” said the blind woman; “I would not have my lord give himself the least trouble about it.”
“But,” said Lucy, “you once had a much better house, and were rich, and now in your old age to live in this hovel!”
“It is as good as I deserve, Miss Lucy; if my heart has not broke with what I have suffered, and seen others suffer, it must have been strong enough, adn the rest of this old frame has no right to call itself weaker.”
“You have probably witnessed many changes,” said the Lord Keeper; “but your experience must have taught you to expect them.”
“It has taught me to endure them, my lord,” was the reply.
“Yet you knew that they must needs arrive in the course of years?” said the statesman.
“Ay; as I knew that the stump55, on or beside which you sit, once a tall and lofty tree, must needs one day fall by decay, or by the axe56; yet I hoped my eyes might not witness the downfall of the tree which overshadowed my dwelling.”
“Do not suppose,” said the Lord Keeper, “that you will lose any interest with me for looking back with regret to the days when another family possessed57 my estates. You had reason, doubtless, to love them, and I respect your gratitude58. I will order some repairs in your cottage, and I hope we shall live to be friends when we know each other better.” “Those of my age,” returned the dame, “make no new friends. I thank you for your bounty59, it is well intended undoubtedly60; but I have all I want, and I cannot accept more at your lordship’s hand.”
“Well, then,” continued the Lord Keeper, “at least allow me to say, that I look upon you as a woman of sense and education beyond your appearance, and that I hope you will continue to reside on this property of mine rent-free for your life.”
“I hope I shall,” said the old dame, composedly; “I believe that was made an article in the sale of Ravenswood to your lordship, though such a trifling61 circumstance may have escaped your recollection.”
“I remember — I recollect,” said his lordship, somewhat confused. “I perceive you are too much attached to your old friends to accept any benefit from their successor.”
“Far from it, my lord; I am grateful for the benefits which I decline, and I wish I could pay you for offering them, better than what I am now about to say.” The Lord Keeper looked at her in some surprise, but said not a word. “My lord,” she continued, in an impressive and solemn tone, “take care what you do; you are on the brink62 of a precipice63.”
“Indeed?” said the Lord Keeper, his mind reverting64 to the political circumstances of the country. “Has anything come to your knowledge — any plot or conspiracy65?”
“No, my lord; those who traffic in such commodities do not call to their councils the old, blind, and infirm. My warning is of another kind. You have driven matters hard with the house of Ravenswood. Believe a true tale: they are a fierce house, and there is danger in dealing66 with men when they become desperate.”
“Tush,” answered the Keeper; “what has been between us has been the work of the law, not my doing; and to the law they must look, if they would impugn67 my proceedings68.”
“Ay, but they may think otherwise, and take the law into their own hand, when they fail of other means of redress69.”
“What mean you?” said the Lord Keeper. “Young Ravenswood would not have recourse to personal violence?”
“God forbid I should say so! I know nothing of the youth but what is honourable70 and open. Honourable and open, said I? I should have added, free, generous, noble. But he is still a Ravenswood, and may bide71 his time. Remember the fate of Sir George Lockhart.”
The Lord Keeper started as she called to his recollection a tragedy so deep and so recent. The old woman proceeded: “Chiesley, who did the deed, was a relative of Lord Ravenswood. In the hall of Ravenswood, in my presence and in that of others, he avowed72 publicly his determination to do the cruelty which he afterwards committed. I could not keep silence, though to speak it ill became my station. ‘You are devising a dreadful crime,’ I said, ‘for which you must reckon before the judgment73 seat.’ Never shall I forget his look, as he replied, ‘I must reckon then for many things, and will reckon for this also.’ Therefore I may well say, beware of pressing a desperate man with the hand of authority. There is blood of Chiesley in the veins74 of Ravenswood, and one drop of it were enough to fire him in the circumstances in which he is placed. I say, beware of him.”
The old dame had, either intentionally75 or by accident, harped76 aright the fear of the Lord Keeper. The desperate and dark resource of private assassination77, so familiar to a Scottish baron78 in former times, had even in the present age been too frequently resorted to under the pressure of unusual temptation, or where the mind of the actor was prepared for such a crime. Sir William Ashton was aware of this; as also that young Ravenswood had received injuries sufficient to prompt him to that sort of revenge, which becomes a frequent though fearful consequence of the partial administration of justice. He endeavoured to disguise from Alice the nature of the apprehensions79 which he entertained; but so ineffectually, that a person even of less penetration80 than nature had endowed her with must necessarily have been aware that the subject lay near his bosom16. His voice was changed in its accent as he replied to her, “That the Master of Ravenswood was a man of honour; and, were it otherwise, that the fate of Chiesley of Dalry was a sufficient warning to any one who should dare to assume the office of avenger81 of his own imaginary wrongs.” And having hastily uttered these expressions, he rose and left the place without waiting for a reply.
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1
descry
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| v.远远看到；发现；责备 | |
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2
reeking
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| v.发出浓烈的臭气( reek的现在分词 )；散发臭气；发出难闻的气味 (of sth)；明显带有（令人不快或生疑的跡象） | |
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3
engrossed
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| adj.全神贯注的 | |
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4
perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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5
domains
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| n.范围( domain的名词复数 )；领域；版图；地产 | |
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rambles
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| （无目的地）漫游( ramble的第三人称单数 )； （喻）漫谈； 扯淡； 长篇大论 | |
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7
alley
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| n.小巷，胡同；小径，小路 | |
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8
pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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9
maze
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| n.迷宫，八阵图，混乱，迷惑 | |
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10
eminence
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| n.卓越，显赫；高地，高处；名家 | |
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11
glided
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| v.滑动( glide的过去式和过去分词 )；掠过；（鸟或飞机 ） 滑翔 | |
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12
prospect
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| n.前景，前途；景色，视野 | |
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13
thickets
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| n.灌木丛( thicket的名词复数 )；丛状物 | |
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14
seclusion
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| n.隐遁，隔离 | |
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15
inmate
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| n.被收容者；(房屋等的)居住人；住院人 | |
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16
bosom
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| n.胸，胸部；胸怀；内心；adj.亲密的 | |
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17
situated
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| adj.坐落在...的，处于某种境地的 | |
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18
beetled
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| v.快速移动( beetle的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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19
frail
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| adj.身体虚弱的；易损坏的 | |
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20
tenement
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| n.公寓；房屋 | |
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21
thatch
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| vt.用茅草覆盖…的顶部；n.茅草(屋) | |
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22
incumbent
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| adj.成为责任的，有义务的；现任的，在职的 | |
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23
bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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24
tint
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| n.淡色，浅色；染发剂；vt.着以淡淡的颜色 | |
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25
exquisite
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| adj.精美的；敏锐的；剧烈的，感觉强烈的 | |
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26
disastrous
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| adj.灾难性的，造成灾害的；极坏的，很糟的 | |
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27
miserable
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| adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的 | |
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28
dwelling
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| n.住宅，住所，寓所 | |
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29
remarkable
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| adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的 | |
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30
mar
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| vt.破坏，毁坏，弄糟 | |
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31
majesty
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| n.雄伟，壮丽，庄严，威严；最高权威，王权 | |
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32
uncommonly
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| adv. 稀罕(极，非常) | |
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33
countenance
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| n.脸色，面容；面部表情；vt.支持，赞同 | |
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34
deference
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| n.尊重，顺从；敬意 | |
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35
orbs
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| abbr.off-reservation boarding school 在校寄宿学校n.球，天体，圆形物( orb的名词复数 ) | |
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36
ruminating
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| v.沉思( ruminate的现在分词 )；反复考虑；反刍；倒嚼 | |
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37
posture
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| n.姿势，姿态，心态，态度；v.作出某种姿势 | |
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38
soothed
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| v.安慰( soothe的过去式和过去分词 )；抚慰；使舒服；减轻痛苦 | |
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murmurs
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| n.低沉、连续而不清的声音( murmur的名词复数 )；低语声；怨言；嘀咕 | |
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40
slumber
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| n.睡眠，沉睡状态 | |
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41
Undid
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| v. 解开, 复原 | |
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42
latch
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| n.门闩，窗闩；弹簧锁 | |
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43
solicited
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| v.恳求( solicit的过去式和过去分词 )；（指娼妇）拉客；索求；征求 | |
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44
despatch
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| n./v.(dispatch)派遣；发送；n.急件；新闻报道 | |
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45
fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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46
tenants
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| n.房客( tenant的名词复数 )；佃户；占用者；占有者 | |
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dependants
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| 受赡养者，受扶养的家属( dependant的名词复数 ) | |
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48
dame
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| n.女士 | |
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49
destined
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| adj.命中注定的；(for)以…为目的地的 | |
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50
promising
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| adj.有希望的，有前途的 | |
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51
blessings
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| n.（上帝的）祝福( blessing的名词复数 )；好事；福分；因祸得福 | |
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52
chapel
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| n.小教堂，殡仪馆 | |
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53
miserably
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| adv.痛苦地；悲惨地；糟糕地；极度地 | |
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54
catching
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| adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住 | |
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55
stump
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| n.残株，烟蒂，讲演台；v.砍断，蹒跚而走 | |
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axe
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| n.斧子；v.用斧头砍，削减 | |
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57
possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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58
gratitude
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| adj.感激，感谢 | |
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bounty
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| n.慷慨的赠予物，奖金；慷慨，大方；施与 | |
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undoubtedly
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| adv.确实地，无疑地 | |
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61
trifling
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| adj.微不足道的；没什么价值的 | |
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brink
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| n.(悬崖、河流等的)边缘，边沿 | |
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63
precipice
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| n.悬崖，危急的处境 | |
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64
reverting
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| 恢复( revert的现在分词 )； 重提； 回到…上； 归还 | |
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65
conspiracy
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| n.阴谋，密谋，共谋 | |
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dealing
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| n.经商方法，待人态度 | |
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impugn
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| v.指责，对…表示怀疑 | |
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proceedings
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| n.进程，过程，议程；诉讼(程序)；公报 | |
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redress
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| n.赔偿，救济，矫正；v.纠正，匡正，革除 | |
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70
honourable
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| adj.可敬的；荣誉的，光荣的 | |
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71
bide
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| v.忍耐；等候；住 | |
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72
avowed
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| adj.公开声明的，承认的v.公开声明，承认( avow的过去式和过去分词) | |
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73
judgment
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| n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见 | |
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74
veins
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| n.纹理；矿脉( vein的名词复数 )；静脉；叶脉；纹理 | |
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75
intentionally
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| ad.故意地，有意地 | |
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76
harped
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| vi.弹竖琴（harp的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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77
assassination
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| n.暗杀；暗杀事件 | |
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78
baron
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| n.男爵；(商业界等)巨头，大王 | |
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79
apprehensions
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| 疑惧 | |
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80
penetration
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| n.穿透，穿人，渗透 | |
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81
avenger
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| n. 复仇者 | |
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