第 14 节
作者:随便看看      更新:2021-02-25 00:46      字数:9322
  own valley; where you will buy a property; and settle down; and try
  to recover your language; sir; and your health; sir; for you are
  not the person you pretend to be; sir:  I know you very well; and
  shall be happy to work for you。〃
  〃Well;〃 said I; 〃if I ever settle down here; I shall be happy to
  employ you。  Farewell。〃
  I went back the way I had come; till I reached the little hamlet。
  Seeing a small public…house; I entered it。  A good…looking woman;
  who met me in the passage; ushered me into a neat sanded kitchen;
  handed me a chair and inquired my commands; I sat down; and told
  her to bring me some ale; she brought it; and then seated herself
  by a bench close by the door。
  〃Rather a quiet place this;〃 said I; 〃I have seen but two faces
  since I came over the hill; and yours is one。〃
  〃Rather too quiet; sir;〃 said the good woman; 〃one would wish to
  have more visitors。〃
  〃I suppose;〃 said I; 〃people from Llangollen occasionally come to
  visit you。〃
  〃Sometimes; sir; for curiosity's sake; but very rarely … the way is
  very steep。〃
  〃Do the Tylwyth Teg ever pay you visits?〃
  〃The Tylwyth Teg; sir?〃
  〃Yes; the fairies。  Do they never come to have a dance on the green
  sward in this neighbourhood?〃
  〃Very rarely; sir; indeed; I do not know how long it is since they
  have been seen。〃
  〃You have never seen them?〃
  〃I have not; sir; but I believe there are people living who have。〃
  〃Are corpse candles ever seen on the bank of that river?〃
  〃I have never heard of more than one being seen; sir; and that was
  at a place where a tinker was drowned a few nights after … there
  came down a flood; and the tinker in trying to cross by the usual
  ford was drowned。〃
  〃And did the candle prognosticate; I mean foreshow his death?〃
  〃It did; sir。  When a person is to die his candle is seen a few
  nights before the time of his death。〃
  〃Have you ever seen a corpse candle?〃
  〃I have; sir; and as you seem to be a respectable gentleman; I will
  tell you all about it。  When I was a girl I lived with my parents a
  little way from here。  I had a cousin; a very good young man; who
  lived with his parents in the neighbourhood of our house。  He was
  an exemplary young man; sir; and having a considerable gift of
  prayer; was intended for the ministry; but he fell sick; and
  shortly became very ill indeed。  One evening when he was lying in
  this state; as I was returning home from milking; I saw a candle
  proceeding from my cousin's house。  I stood still and looked at it。
  It moved slowly forward for a little way; and then mounted high in
  the air above the wood; which stood not far in front of the house;
  and disappeared。  Just three nights after that my cousin died。〃
  〃And you think that what you saw was his corpse candle?〃
  〃I do; sir! what else should it be?〃
  〃Are deaths prognosticated by any other means than corpse candles?〃
  〃They are; sir; by the knockers; and by a supernatural voice heard
  at night。〃
  〃Have you ever heard the knockers; or the supernatural voice?〃
  〃I have not; sir; but my father and mother; who are now dead; heard
  once a supernatural voice; and knocking。  My mother had a sister
  who was married like herself; and expected to be confined。  Day
  after day; however; passed away; without her confinement taking
  place。  My mother expected every moment to be summoned to her
  assistance; and was so anxious about her that she could not rest at
  night。  One night; as she lay in bed; by the side of her husband;
  between sleeping and waking; she heard of a sudden a horse coming
  stump; stump; up to the door。  Then there was a pause … she
  expected every moment to hear some one cry out; and tell her to
  come to her sister; but she heard no farther sound; neither voice
  nor stump of horse。  She thought she had been deceived; so; without
  awakening her husband; she tried to go to sleep; but sleep she
  could not。  The next night; at about the same time; she again heard
  a horse's feet come stump; stump; up to the door。  She now waked
  her husband and told him to listen。  He did so; and both heard the
  stumping。  Presently; the stumping ceased; and then there was a
  loud 〃Hey!〃 as if somebody wished to wake them。  〃Hey!〃 said my
  father; and they both lay for a minute expecting to hear something
  more; but they heard nothing。  My father then sprang out of bed;
  and looked out of the window; it was bright moonlight; but he saw
  nothing。  The next night; as they lay in bed both asleep; they were
  suddenly aroused by a loud and terrible knocking。  Out sprang my
  father from the bed; flung open the window; and looked out; but
  there was no one at the door。  The next morning; however; a
  messenger arrived with the intelligence that my aunt had had a
  dreadful confinement with twins in the night; and that both she and
  the babes were dead。〃
  〃Thank you;〃 said I; and paying for my ale; I returned to
  Llangollen。
  CHAPTER XII
  A Calvinistic…Methodist … Turn for Saxon … Our Congregation … Pont
  y Cyssyltau … Catherine Lingo。
  I HAD inquired of the good woman of the house; in which we lived;
  whether she could not procure a person to accompany me occasionally
  in my walks; who was well acquainted with the strange nooks and
  corners of the country; and who could speak no language but Welsh;
  as I wished to increase my knowledge of colloquial Welsh by having
  a companion who would be obliged; in all he had to say to me; to
  address me in Welsh; and to whom I should perforce have to reply in
  that tongue。  The good lady had told me that there was a tenant of
  hers who lived in one of the cottages; which looked into the
  perllan; who; she believed; would be glad to go with me; and was
  just the kind of man I was in quest of。  The day after I had met
  with the adventures; which I have related in the preceding chapter;
  she informed me that the person in question was awaiting my orders
  in the kitchen。  I told her to let me see him。  He presently made
  his appearance。  He was about forty…five years of age; of middle
  stature; and had a good…natured open countenance。  His dress was
  poor; but clean。
  〃Well;〃 said I to him in Welsh; 〃are you the Cumro who can speak no
  Saxon?〃
  〃In truth; sir; I am。〃
  〃Are you sure that you know no Saxon?〃
  〃Sir!  I may know a few words; but I cannot converse in Saxon; nor
  understand a conversation in that tongue。〃
  〃Can you read Cumraeg?〃
  〃In truth; sir; I can。〃
  〃What have you read in it?〃
  〃I have read; sir; the Ysgrythyr…lan; till I have it nearly at the
  ends of my fingers。〃
  〃Have you read anything else besides the holy Scripture?〃
  〃I read the newspaper; sir; when kind friends lend it to me。〃
  〃In Cumraeg?〃
  〃Yes; sir; in Cumraeg。  I can read Saxon a little but not
  sufficient to understand a Saxon newspaper。〃
  〃What newspaper do you read?〃
  〃I read; sir; Yr Amserau。〃
  〃Is that a good newspaper?〃
  〃Very good; sir; it is written by good men。〃
  〃Who are they?〃
  〃They are our ministers; sir。〃
  〃Of what religion are you?〃
  〃A Calvinistic Methodist; sir。〃
  〃Why are you of the Methodist religion?〃
  〃Because it is the true religion; sir。〃
  〃You should not be bigoted。  If I had more Cumraeg than I have; I
  would prove to you that the only true religion is that of the
  Lloegrian Church。〃
  〃In truth; sir; you could not do that; had you all the Cumraeg in
  Cumru you could not do that。〃
  〃What are you by trade?〃
  〃I am a gwehydd; sir。〃
  〃What do you earn by weaving?〃
  〃About five shillings a week; sir。〃
  〃Have you a wife?
  〃I have; sir。〃
  〃Does she earn anything?〃
  〃Very seldom; sir; she is a good wife; but is generally sick。〃
  〃Have you children?〃
  〃I have three; sir。〃
  〃Do they earn anything?〃
  〃My eldest son; sir; sometimes earns a few pence; the others are
  very small。〃
  〃Will you sometimes walk with me; if I pay you?〃
  〃I shall be always glad to walk with you; sir; whether you pay me
  or not。〃
  〃Do you think it lawful to walk with one of the Lloegrian Church?〃
  〃Perhaps; sir; I ought to ask the gentleman of the Lloegrian Church
  whether he thinks it lawful to walk with the poor Methodist
  weaver。〃
  〃Well; I think we may venture to walk with one another。  What is
  your name?〃
  〃John Jones; sir。〃
  〃Jones! Jones!  I was walking with a man of that name the other
  night。〃
  〃The man with whom you walked the other night is my brother; sir;
  and what he said to me about you made me wish to walk with you
  also。〃
  〃But he spoke very good English。〃
  〃My brother had a turn for Saxon; sir; I had not。  Some people have
  a turn for the Saxon; others have not。  I have no Saxon; sir; my
  wife has digon iawn … my two youngest children speak good Saxon;
  sir; my eldest son not a word。〃
  〃Well; shall we set out?〃
  〃If you please; sir。〃
  〃To what place shall we go?〃
  〃Shall we go to the Pont y Cyssylltau; sir?〃
  〃What is that?〃
  〃A mighty bridge; sir; which carries the Camlas over a valley on
  its back。〃
  〃Good! let us go and see the bridge of the junction; for that I
  think is the meaning in Saxon of Pont y Cyssylltau。〃
  We set out; my guide conducted me along the bank of the Camlas in