Gallows1 and knock are too powerful on the highway
Winter’s Tale.
The hint of the hospitable2 farmer was not lost on Brown. But while he paid his reckoning he could not avoid repeatedly fixing his eyes on Meg Merrilies. She was in all respects the same witch-like figure as when we first introduced her at Ellangowan Place. Time had grizzled her raven3 locks and added wrinkles to her wild features, but her height remained erect4, and her activity was unimpaired. It was remarked of this woman, as of others of the same description, that a life of action, though not of labour, gave her the perfect command of her limbs and figure, so that the attitudes into which she most naturally threw herself were free, unconstrained, and picturesque5. At present she stood by the window of the cottage, her person drawn6 up so as to show to full advantage her masculine stature7, and her head somewhat thrown back, that the large bonnet8 with which her face was shrouded9 might not interrupt her steady gaze at Brown. At every gesture he made and every tone he uttered she seemed to give an almost imperceptible start. On his part, he was surprised to find that he could not look upon this singular figure without some emotion. ‘Have I dreamed of such a figure?’ he said to himself, ‘or does this wild and singular-looking woman recall to my recollection some of the strange figures I have seen in our Indian pagodas10?’
While he embarrassed himself with these discussions, and the hostess was engaged in rummaging11 out silver in change of half-a — guinea, the gipsy suddenly made two strides and seized Brown’s hand. He expected, of course, a display of her skill in palmistry, but she seemed agitated12 by other feelings.
‘Tell me,’ she said, ‘tell me, in the name of God, young man, what is your name, and whence you came?’
‘My name is Brown, mother, and I come from the East Indies.’
‘From the East Indies!’ dropping his hand with a sigh; ‘it cannot be then. I am such an auld13 fool, that everything I look on seems the thing I want maist to see. But the East Indies! that cannot be. Weel, be what ye will, ye hae a face and a tongue that puts me in mind of auld times. Good day; make haste on your road, and if ye see ony of our folk, meddle14 not and make not, and they’ll do you nae harm.’
Brown, who had by this time received his change, put a shilling into her hand, bade his hostess farewell, and, taking the route which the farmer had gone before, walked briskly on, with the advantage of being guided by the fresh hoof-prints of his horse. Meg Merrilies looked after him for some time, and then muttered to herself, ‘I maun see that lad again; and I maun gang back to Ellangowan too. The Laird’s dead! aweel, death pays a’ scores; he was a kind man ance. The Sheriff’s flitted, and I can keep canny15 in the bush; so there’s no muckle hazard o’ scouring16 the cramp17 — ring. I would like to see bonny Ellangowan again or I die.’
Brown meanwhile proceeded northward18 at a round pace along the moorish19 tract20 called the Waste of Cumberland. He passed a solitary21 house, towards which the horseman who preceded him had apparently22 turned up, for his horse’s tread was evident in that direction. A little farther, he seemed to have returned again into the road. Mr. Dinmont had probably made a visit there either of business or pleasure. ‘I wish,’ thought Brown, ‘the good farmer had staid till I came up; I should not have been sorry to ask him a few questions about the road, which seems to grow wilder and wilder.’
In truth, nature, as if she had designed this tract of country to be the barrier between two hostile nations, has stamped upon it a character of wildness and desolation. The hills are neither high nor rocky, but the land is all heath and morass23; the huts poor and mean, and at a great distance from each other. Immediately around them there is generally some little attempt at cultivation25; but a half-bred foal or two, straggling about with shackles26 on their hind27 legs, to save the trouble of inclosures, intimate the farmer’s chief resource to be the breeding of horses. The people, too, are of a ruder and more inhospitable class than are elsewhere to be found in Cumberland, arising partly from their own habits, partly from their intermixture with vagrants28 and criminals, who make this wild country a refuge from justice. So much were the men of these districts in early times the objects of suspicion and dislike to their more polished neighbours, that there was, and perhaps still exists, a by-law of the corporation of Newcastle prohibiting any freeman of that city to take for apprentice29 a native of certain of these dales. It is pithily30 said, ‘Give a dog an ill name and hang him’; and it may be added, if you give a man, or race of men, an ill name they are very likely to do something that deserves hanging. Of this Brown had heard something, and suspected more, from the discourse31 between the landlady32, Dinmont, and the gipsy; but he was naturally of a fearless disposition33, had nothing about him that could tempt24 the spoiler, and trusted to get through the Waste with daylight. In this last particular, however, he was likely to be disappointed. The way proved longer than he had anticipated, and the horizon began to grow gloomy just as he entered upon an extensive morass.
Choosing his steps with care and deliberation, the young officer proceeded along a path that sometimes sunk between two broken black banks of moss34 earth, sometimes crossed narrow but deep ravines filled with a consistence between mud and water, and sometimes along heaps of gravel35 and stones, which had been swept together when some torrent36 or waterspout from the neighbouring hills overflowed37 the marshy38 ground below. He began to ponder how a horseman could make his way through such broken ground; the traces of hoofs39, however, were still visible; he even thought he heard their sound at some distance, and, convinced that Mr. Dinmont’s progress through the morass must be still slower than his own, he resolved to push on, in hopes to overtake him and have the benefit of his knowledge of the country. At this moment his little terrier sprung forward, barking most furiously.
Brown quickened his pace, and, attaining40 the summit of a small rising ground, saw the subject of the dog’s alarm. In a hollow about a gunshot below him a man whom he easily recognised to be Dinmont was engaged with two others in a desperate struggle. He was dismounted, and defending himself as he best could with the butt41 of his heavy whip. Our traveller hastened on to his assistance; but ere he could get up a stroke had levelled the farmer with the earth, and one of the robbers, improving his victory, struck him some merciless blows on the head. The other villain42, hastening to meet Brown, called to his companion to come along, ‘for that one’s content,’ meaning, probably, past resistance or complaint. One ruffian was armed with a cutlass, the other with a bludgeon; but as the road was pretty narrow, ‘bar fire-arms,’ thought Brown, ‘and I may manage them well enough.’ They met accordingly, with the most murderous threats on the part of the ruffians. They soon found, however, that their new opponent was equally stout44 and resolute46; and, after exchanging two or three blows, one of them told him to ‘follow his nose over the heath, in the devil’s name, for they had nothing to say to him.’
Brown rejected this composition as leaving to their mercy the unfortunate man whom they were about to pillage47, if not to murder outright48; and the skirmish had just recommenced when Dinmont unexpectedly recovered his senses, his feet, and his weapon, and hastened to the scene of action. As he had been no easy antagonist49, even when surprised and alone, the villains50 did not choose to wait his joining forces with a man who had singly proved a match for them both, but fled across the bog51 as fast as their feet could carry them, pursued by Wasp52, who had acted gloriously during the skirmish, annoying the heels of the enemy, and repeatedly effecting a moment’s diversion in his master’s favour.
‘Deil, but your dog’s weel entered wi’ the vermin now, sir!’ were the first words uttered by the jolly farmer as he came up, his head streaming with blood, and recognised his deliverer and his little attendant.
‘I hope, sir, you are not hurt dangerously?’
‘O, deil a bit, my head can stand a gay clour; nae thanks to them, though, and mony to you. But now, hinney, ye maun help me to catch the beast, and ye maun get on behind me, for we maun off like whittrets before the whole clanjamfray be doun upon us; the rest o’ them will no be far off.’ The galloway was, by good fortune, easily caught, and Brown made some apology for overloading53 the animal.
‘Deil a fear, man,’ answered the proprietor54; ‘Dumple could carry six folk, if his back was lang eneugh; but God’s sake, haste ye, get on, for I see some folk coming through the slack yonder that it may be just as weel no to wait for.’
Brown was of opinion that this apparition55 of five or six men, with whom the other villains seemed to join company, coming across the moss towards them, should abridge56 ceremony; he therefore mounted Dumple en croupe, and the little spirited nag43 cantered away with two men of great size and strength as if they had been children of six years old. The rider, to whom the paths of these wilds seemed intimately known, pushed on at a rapid pace, managing with much dexterity57 to choose the safest route, in which he was aided by the sagacity of the galloway, who never failed to take the difficult passes exactly at the particular spot, and in the special manner, by which they could be most safely crossed. Yet, even with these advantages, the road was so broken, and they were so often thrown out of the direct course by various impediments, that they did not gain much on their pursuers. ‘Never mind,’ said the undaunted Scotchman to his companion, ‘if we were ance by Withershins’ Latch58, the road’s no near sae soft, and we’ll show them fair play for’t.’
They soon came to the place he named, a narrow channel, through which soaked, rather than flowed, a small stagnant59 stream, mantled60 over with bright green mosses61. Dinmont directed his steed towards a pass where the water appeared to flow with more freedom over a harder bottom; but Dumple backed from the proposed crossing-place, put his head down as if to reconnoitre the swamp more nearly, stretching forward his fore-feet, and stood as fast as if he had been cut out of stone.
‘Had we not better,’ said Brown, ‘dismount, and leave him to his fate; or can you not urge him through the swamp?’
‘Na, na,’ said his pilot, ‘we maun cross Dumple at no rate, he has mair sense than mony a Christian62.’ So saying, he relaxed the reins63, and shook them loosely. ‘Come now, lad, take your ain way o’t, let’s see where ye’ll take us through.’
Dumple, left to the freedom of his own will, trotted65 briskly to another part of the latch, less promising66, as Brown thought, in appearance, but which the animal’s sagacity or experience recommended as the safer of the two, and where, plunging67 in, he attained68 the other side with little difficulty.
‘I’m glad we’re out o’ that moss,’ said Dinmont, ‘where there’s mair stables for horses than change-houses for men; we have the Maiden-way to help us now, at ony rate.’ Accordingly, they speedily gained a sort of rugged69 causeway so called, being the remains70 of an old Roman road which traverses these wild regions in a due northerly direction. Here they got on at the rate of nine or ten miles an hour, Dumple seeking no other respite71 than what arose from changing his pace from canter to trot64. ‘I could gar him show mair action,’ said his master, ‘but we are twa lang-legged chields after a’, and it would be a pity to stress Dumple; there wasna the like o’ him at Staneshiebank Fair the day.’
Brown readily assented72 to the propriety73 of sparing the horse, and added that, as they were now far out of the reach of the rogues74, he thought Mr. Dintnont had better tie a handkerchief round his head, for fear of the cold frosty air aggravating75 the wound.
‘What would I do that for?’ answered the hardy76 farmer; ‘the best way’s to let the blood barken upon the cut; that saves plasters, hinney.’
Brown, who in his military profession had seen a great many hard blows pass, could not help remarking, ‘he had never known such severe strokes received with so much apparent indifference77.’
‘Hout tout45, man! I would never be making a humdudgeon about a scart on the pow; but we’ll be in Scotland in five minutes now, and ye maun gang up to Charlie’s Hope wi’ me, that’s a clear case.’
Brown readily accepted the offered hospitality. Night was now falling when they came in sight of a pretty river winding78 its way through a pastoral country. The hills were greener and more abrupt79 than those which Brown had lately passed, sinking their grassy80 sides at once upon the river. They had no pretensions81 to magnificence of height, or to romantic shapes, nor did their smooth swelling82 slopes exhibit either rocks or woods. Yet the view was wild, solitary, and pleasingly rural. No inclosures, no roads, almost no tillage; it seemed a land which a patriarch would have chosen to feed his flocks and herds83. The remains of here and there a dismantled84 and ruined tower showed that it had once harboured beings of a very different description from its present inhabitants; those freebooters, namely, to whose exploits the wars between England and Scotland bear witness.
Descending85 by a path towards a well-known ford86, Dumple crossed the small river, and then, quickening his pace, trotted about a mile briskly up its banks, and approached two or three low thatched houses, placed with their angles to each other, with a great contempt of regularity87. This was the farm-steading of Charlie’s Hope, or, in the language of the country, ‘the town.’ A most furious barking was set up at their approach by the whole three generations of Mustard and Pepper, and a number of allies, names unknown. The farmer12 made his well-known voice lustily heard to restore order; the door opened, and a half — dressed ewe-milker, who had done that good office, shut it in their faces, in order that she might run ‘ben the house’ to cry ‘Mistress, mistress, it’s the master, and another man wi’ him.’ Dumple, turned loose, walked to his own stable-door, and there pawed and whinnied for admission, in strains which were answered by his acquaintances from the interior. Amid this bustle88 Brown was fain to secure Wasp from the other dogs, who, with ardour corresponding more to their own names than to the hospitable temper of their owner, were much disposed to use the intruder roughly.
In about a minute a stout labourer was patting Dumple, and introducing him into the stable, while Mrs. Dinmont, a well — favoured buxom89 dame90, welcomed her husband with unfeigned rapture91. ‘Eh, sirs! gudeman, ye hae been a weary while away!’
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gallows
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| n.绞刑架，绞台 | |
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hospitable
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| adj.好客的；宽容的；有利的，适宜的 | |
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raven
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| n.渡鸟，乌鸦；adj.乌亮的 | |
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erect
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| n./v.树立，建立，使竖立；adj.直立的，垂直的 | |
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picturesque
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| adj.美丽如画的，（语言）生动的，绘声绘色的 | |
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drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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stature
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| n.（高度）水平，（高度）境界，身高，身材 | |
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bonnet
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| n.无边女帽；童帽 | |
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shrouded
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| v.隐瞒( shroud的过去式和过去分词 )；保密 | |
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pagodas
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| 塔，宝塔( pagoda的名词复数 ) | |
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rummaging
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| 翻找，搜寻( rummage的现在分词 )； 海关检查 | |
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agitated
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| adj.被鼓动的，不安的 | |
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auld
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| adj.老的，旧的 | |
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meddle
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| v.干预，干涉，插手 | |
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canny
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| adj.谨慎的，节俭的 | |
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scouring
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| 擦[洗]净，冲刷，洗涤 | |
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cramp
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| n.痉挛；[pl.](腹)绞痛；vt.限制，束缚 | |
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northward
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| adv.向北；n.北方的地区 | |
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moorish
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| adj.沼地的，荒野的，生[住]在沼地的 | |
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tract
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| n.传单，小册子，大片(土地或森林) | |
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solitary
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| adj.孤独的，独立的，荒凉的；n.隐士 | |
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apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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morass
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| n.沼泽，困境 | |
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tempt
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| vt.引诱，勾引，吸引，引起…的兴趣 | |
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cultivation
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| n.耕作，培养，栽培（法），养成 | |
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shackles
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| 手铐( shackle的名词复数 )； 脚镣； 束缚； 羁绊 | |
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hind
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| adj.后面的，后部的 | |
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vagrants
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| 流浪者( vagrant的名词复数 )； 无业游民； 乞丐； 无赖 | |
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apprentice
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| n.学徒，徒弟 | |
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pithily
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| adv.有力地，简洁地 | |
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discourse
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| n.论文，演说；谈话；话语；vi.讲述，著述 | |
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landlady
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| n.女房东，女地主 | |
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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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moss
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| n.苔，藓，地衣 | |
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gravel
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| n.砂跞；砂砾层；结石 | |
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torrent
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| n.激流，洪流；爆发，(话语等的)连发 | |
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overflowed
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| 溢出的 | |
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marshy
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| adj.沼泽的 | |
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hoofs
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| n.（兽的）蹄，马蹄( hoof的名词复数 )v.（兽的）蹄，马蹄( hoof的第三人称单数 ) | |
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attaining
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| （通常经过努力）实现( attain的现在分词 )； 达到； 获得； 达到（某年龄、水平、状况） | |
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butt
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| n.笑柄；烟蒂；枪托；臀部；v.用头撞或顶 | |
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villain
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| n.反派演员，反面人物；恶棍；问题的起因 | |
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nag
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| v.(对…)不停地唠叨；n.爱唠叨的人 | |
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tout
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| v.推销，招徕；兜售；吹捧，劝诱 | |
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resolute
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| adj.坚决的，果敢的 | |
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pillage
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| v.抢劫；掠夺；n.抢劫，掠夺；掠夺物 | |
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outright
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antagonist
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| n.敌人，对抗者，对手 | |
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villains
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| n.恶棍( villain的名词复数 )；罪犯；（小说、戏剧等中的）反面人物；淘气鬼 | |
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bog
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| n.沼泽；室...陷入泥淖 | |
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wasp
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| n.黄蜂，蚂蜂 | |
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overloading
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| 过载，超载，过负载 | |
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proprietor
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| n.所有人；业主；经营者 | |
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apparition
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| n.幽灵，神奇的现象 | |
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abridge
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| v.删减，删节，节略，缩短 | |
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dexterity
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| n.(手的)灵巧，灵活 | |
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latch
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| n.门闩，窗闩；弹簧锁 | |
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stagnant
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| adj.不流动的，停滞的，不景气的 | |
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mantled
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| 披着斗篷的，覆盖着的 | |
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mosses
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| n. 藓类, 苔藓植物 名词moss的复数形式 | |
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Christian
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| adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒 | |
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reins
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| 感情，激情； 缰( rein的名词复数 )； 控制手段； 掌管； （成人带着幼儿走路以防其走失时用的）保护带 | |
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trot
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| n.疾走，慢跑；n.老太婆；现成译本；(复数）trots:腹泻（与the 连用）；v.小跑，快步走，赶紧 | |
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trotted
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| 小跑，急走( trot的过去分词 )； 匆匆忙忙地走 | |
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promising
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| adj.有希望的，有前途的 | |
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plunging
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| adj.跳进的，突进的v.颠簸( plunge的现在分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降 | |
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attained
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| （通常经过努力）实现( attain的过去式和过去分词 )； 达到； 获得； 达到（某年龄、水平、状况） | |
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rugged
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| adj.高低不平的，粗糙的，粗壮的，强健的 | |
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remains
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| n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹 | |
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respite
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| n.休息，中止，暂缓 | |
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assented
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| 同意，赞成( assent的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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propriety
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| n.正当行为；正当；适当 | |
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74
rogues
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| n.流氓( rogue的名词复数 )；无赖；调皮捣蛋的人；离群的野兽 | |
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aggravating
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| adj.恼人的，讨厌的 | |
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hardy
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| adj.勇敢的，果断的，吃苦的；耐寒的 | |
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indifference
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| n.不感兴趣，不关心，冷淡，不在乎 | |
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winding
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| n.绕，缠，绕组，线圈 | |
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abrupt
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| adj.突然的，意外的；唐突的，鲁莽的 | |
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grassy
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| adj.盖满草的；长满草的 | |
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pretensions
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| 自称( pretension的名词复数 )； 自命不凡； 要求； 权力 | |
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swelling
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| n.肿胀 | |
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herds
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| 兽群( herd的名词复数 )； 牧群； 人群； 群众 | |
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dismantled
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| 拆开( dismantle的过去式和过去分词 )； 拆卸； 废除； 取消 | |
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descending
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| n. 下行 adj. 下降的 | |
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Ford
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| n.浅滩，水浅可涉处；v.涉水，涉过 | |
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regularity
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| n.规律性，规则性；匀称，整齐 | |
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bustle
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| v.喧扰地忙乱，匆忙，奔忙；n.忙碌；喧闹 | |
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buxom
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| adj.（妇女）丰满的，有健康美的 | |
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dame
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| n.女士 | |
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rapture
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| n.狂喜；全神贯注；着迷；v.使狂喜 | |
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