第 28 节
作者:指环王      更新:2021-02-19 21:05      字数:9322
  got with educational intent; and it served its purpose so well; and
  the boys knew their business so practically; that when the summer
  was at an end; Fleeming; Mrs。 Jenkin; Frewen the engineer; Bernard
  the stoker; and Kenneth Robertson a Highland seaman; set forth in
  her to make the passage south。  The first morning they got from
  Loch Broom into Gruinard bay; where they lunched upon an island;
  but the wind blowing up in the afternoon; with sheets of rain; it
  was found impossible to beat to sea; and very much in the situation
  of castaways upon an unknown coast; the party landed at the mouth
  of Gruinard river。  A shooting lodge was spied among the trees;
  there Fleeming went; and though the master; Mr。 Murray; was from
  home; though the two Jenkin boys were of course as black as
  colliers; and all the castaways so wetted through that; as they
  stood in the passage; pools formed about their feet and ran before
  them into the house; yet Mrs。 Murray kindly entertained them for
  the night。  On the morrow; however; visitors were to arrive; there
  would be no room and; in so out…of…the…way a spot; most probably no
  food for the crew of the PURGLE; and on the morrow about noon; with
  the bay white with spindrift and the wind so strong that one could
  scarcely stand against it; they got up steam and skulked under the
  land as far as Sanda Bay。  Here they crept into a seaside cave; and
  cooked some food; but the weather now freshening to a gale; it was
  plain they must moor the launch where she was; and find their way
  overland to some place of shelter。  Even to get their baggage from
  on board was no light business; for the dingy was blown so far to
  leeward every trip; that they must carry her back by hand along the
  beach。  But this once managed; and a cart procured in the
  neighbourhood; they were able to spend the night in a pot…house on
  Ault Bea。  Next day; the sea was unapproachable; but the next they
  had a pleasant passage to Poolewe; hugging the cliffs; the falling
  swell bursting close by them in the gullies; and the black scarts
  that sat like ornaments on the top of every stack and pinnacle;
  looking down into the PURGLE as she passed。  The climate of
  Scotland had not done with them yet:  for three days they lay
  storm…stayed in Poolewe; and when they put to sea on the morning of
  the fourth; the sailors prayed them for God's sake not to attempt
  the passage。  Their setting out was indeed merely tentative; but
  presently they had gone too far to return; and found themselves
  committed to double Rhu Reay with a foul wind and a cross sea。
  From half…past eleven in the morning until half…past five at night;
  they were in immediate and unceasing danger。  Upon the least
  mishap; the PURGLE must either have been swamped by the seas or
  bulged upon the cliffs of that rude headland。  Fleeming and
  Robertson took turns baling and steering; Mrs。 Jenkin; so violent
  was the commotion of the boat; held on with both hands; Frewen; by
  Robertson's direction; ran the engine; slacking and pressing her to
  meet the seas; and Bernard; only twelve years old; deadly sea…sick;
  and continually thrown against the boiler; so that he was found
  next day to be covered with burns; yet kept an even fire。  It was a
  very thankful party that sat down that evening to meat in the Hotel
  at Gairloch。  And perhaps; although the thing was new in the
  family; no one was much surprised when Fleeming said grace over
  that meal。  Thenceforward he continued to observe the form; so that
  there was kept alive in his house a grateful memory of peril and
  deliverance。  But there was nothing of the muff in Fleeming; he
  thought it a good thing to escape death; but a becoming and a
  healthful thing to run the risk of it; and what is rarer; that
  which he thought for himself; he thought for his family also。  In
  spite of the terrors of Rhu Reay; the cruise was persevered in and
  brought to an end under happier conditions。
  One year; instead of the Highlands; Alt Aussee; in the Steiermark;
  was chosen for the holidays; and the place; the people; and the
  life delighted Fleeming。  He worked hard at German; which he had
  much forgotten since he was a boy; and what is highly
  characteristic; equally hard at the patois; in which he learned to
  excel。  He won a prize at a Schutzen…fest; and though he hunted
  chamois without much success; brought down more interesting game in
  the shape of the Styrian peasants; and in particular of his gillie;
  Joseph。  This Joseph was much of a character; and his appreciations
  of Fleeming have a fine note of their own。  The bringing up of the
  boys he deigned to approve of:  'FAST SO GUT WIE EIN BAUER;' was
  his trenchant criticism。  The attention and courtly respect with
  which Fleeming surrounded his wife; was something of a puzzle to
  the philosophic gillie; he announced in the village that Mrs。
  Jenkin … DIE SILBERNE FRAU; as the folk had prettily named her from
  some silver ornaments … was a 'GEBORENE GRAFIN' who had married
  beneath her; and when Fleeming explained what he called the English
  theory (though indeed it was quite his own) of married relations;
  Joseph; admiring but unconvinced; avowed it was 'GAR SCHON。'
  Joseph's cousin; Walpurga Moser; to an orchestra of clarionet and
  zither; taught the family the country dances; the Steierisch and
  the Landler; and gained their hearts during the lessons。  Her
  sister Loys; too; who was up at the Alp with the cattle; came down
  to church on Sundays; made acquaintance with the Jenkins; and must
  have them up to see the sunrise from her house upon the Loser;
  where they had supper and all slept in the loft among the hay。  The
  Mosers were not lost sight of; Walpurga still corresponds with Mrs。
  Jenkin; and it was a late pleasure of Fleeming's to choose and
  despatch a wedding present for his little mountain friend。  This
  visit was brought to an end by a ball in the big inn parlour; the
  refreshments chosen; the list of guests drawn up; by Joseph; the
  best music of the place in attendance; and hosts and guests in
  their best clothes。  The ball was opened by Mrs。 Jenkin dancing
  Steierisch with a lordly Bauer; in gray and silver and with a
  plumed hat; and Fleeming followed with Walpurga Moser。
  There ran a principle through all these holiday pleasures。  In
  Styria as in the Highlands; the same course was followed:  Fleeming
  threw himself as fully as he could into the life and occupations of
  the native people; studying everywhere their dances and their
  language; and conforming; always with pleasure; to their rustic
  etiquette。  Just as the ball at Alt Aussee was designed for the
  taste of Joseph; the parting feast at Attadale was ordered in every
  particular to the taste of Murdoch the Keeper。  Fleeming was not
  one of the common; so…called gentlemen; who take the tricks of
  their own coterie to be eternal principles of taste。  He was aware;
  on the other hand; that rustic people dwelling in their own places;
  follow ancient rules with fastidious precision; and are easily
  shocked and embarrassed by what (if they used the word) they would
  have to call the vulgarity of visitors from town。  And he; who was
  so cavalier with men of his own class; was sedulous to shield the
  more tender feelings of the peasant; he; who could be so trying in
  a drawing…room; was even punctilious in the cottage。  It was in all
  respects a happy virtue。  It renewed his life; during these
  holidays; in all particulars。  It often entertained him with the
  discovery of strange survivals; as when; by the orders of Murdoch;
  Mrs。 Jenkin must publicly taste of every dish before it was set
  before her guests。  And thus to throw himself into a fresh life and
  a new school of manners was a grateful exercise of Fleeming's
  mimetic instinct; and to the pleasures of the open air; of
  hardships supported; of dexterities improved and displayed; and of
  plain and elegant society; added a spice of drama。
  II。
  Fleeming was all his life a lover of the play and all that belonged
  to it。  Dramatic literature he knew fully。  He was one of the not
  very numerous people who can read a play:  a knack; the fruit of
  much knowledge and some imagination; comparable to that of reading
  score。  Few men better understood the artificial principles on
  which a play is good or bad; few more unaffectedly enjoyed a piece
  of any merit of construction。  His own play was conceived with a
  double design; for he had long been filled with his theory of the
  true story of Griselda; used to gird at Father Chaucer for his
  misconception; and was; perhaps first of all; moved by the desire
  to do justice to the Marquis of Saluces; and perhaps only in the
  second place; by the wish to treat a story (as he phrased it) like
  a sum in arithmetic。  I do not think he quite succeeded; but I must
  own myself no fit judge。  Fleeming and I w