章节正文
and to flit from one feature to another, suggesting
the idea of remoteness, and a feeling of
hopeless strangeness to the world and all its
concerns.
"Do I inconvenience you, madam?" were the
first words he uttered, as Aasa in her usual
abrupt manner stayed her laughter, turned her
back on him, and hastily started for the house.
"Inconvenience?" said she, surprised, and
again slowly turned on her heel; "no, not that
I know."
"Then tell me if there are people living here
in the neighborhood, or if the light deceived
me, which I saw from the other side of the river."
"Follow me," answered Aasa, and she navely
reached him her hand; "my father's name is
Lage Ulfson Kvaerk; he lives in the large house
you see straight before you, there on the hill;
and my mother lives there too."
And hand in hand they walked together,
where a path had been made between two
adjoining rye-fields; his serious smile seemed to
grow milder and happier, the longer he lingered
at her side, and her eye caught a ray of more
human intelligence, as it rested on him.
"What do you do up here in the long winter?"
asked he, after a pause.
"We sing," answered she, as it were at ran-
dom, because the word came into her mind;
"and what do you do, where you come from?"
"I gather song."
"Have you ever heard the forest sing?"
asked she, curiously.
"That is why I came here."
And again they walked on in silence.
It was near midnight when they entered the
large hall at Kvaerk. Aasa went before, still
leading the young man by the hand. In the
twilight which filled the house, the space
between the black, smoky rafters opened a vague
vista into the region of the fabulous, and every
object in the room loomed forth from the dusk
with exaggerated form and dimensions. The
room appeared at first to be but the haunt of
the spirits of the past; no human voice, no human
footstep, was heard; and the stranger
instinctively pressed the hand he held more
tightly; for he was not sure but that he was
standing on the boundary of dream-land, and some
elfin maiden had reached him her hand to lure
him into her mountain, where he should live
with her forever. But the illusion was of brief
duration; for Aasa's thoughts had taken a
widely different course; it was but seldom she
had found herself under the necessity of making
a decision; and now it evidently devolved upon
her to find the stranger a place of rest for the
night; so instead of an elf-maid's kiss and a
silver palace, he soon found himself huddled into
a dark little alcove in the wall, where he was
told to go to sleep, while Aasa wandered over
to the empty cow-stables, and threw herself down
in the hay by the side of two sleeping milkmaids.
III.
There was not a little astonishment manifested
among the servant-maids at Kvaerk the
next morning, when the huge, gaunt figure
of a man was seen to launch forth from Aasa's
alcove, and the strangest of all was, that Aasa
herself appeared to be as much astonished as
the rest. And there they stood, all gazing at
the bewildered traveler, who indeed was no less
startled than they, and as utterly unable to
account for his own sudden apparition. After a
long pause, he summoned all his courage, fixed
his eyes intently on the group of the girls, and
with a few rapid steps advanced toward Aasa,
whom he seized by the hand and asked, "Are
you not my maiden of yester-eve?"
She met his gaze firmly, and laid her hand on
her forehead as if to clear her thoughts; as the
memory of the night flashed through her mind,
a bright smile lit up her features, and she
answered, "You are the man who gathers song.
Forgive me, I was not sure but it was all a
dream; for I dream so much."
Then one of the maids ran out to call Lage
Ulfson, who had gone to the stables to harness
the horses; and he came and greeted the unknown
man, and thanked him for last meeting,
as is the wont of Norse peasants, although they
had never seen each other until that morning.
But when the stranger had eaten two meals in
Lage's house, Lage asked him his name and his
father's occupation; for old Norwegian
hospitality forbids the host to learn the guest's
name before he has slept and eaten under his
roof. It was that same afternoon, when they
sat together smoking their pipes under the huge
old pine in the yard,--it was then Lage inquired
about the young man's name and family; and
the young man said that his name was Trond
Vigfusson, that he had graduated at the
University of Christiania, and that his father had
been a lieutenant in the army; but both he and
Trond's mother had died, when Trond was only
a few years old. Lage then told his guest
Vigfusson something about his family, but of
the legend of Asathor and Saint Olaf he spoke
not a word. And while they were sitting there
talking together, Aasa came and sat down at
Vigfusson's feet; her long golden hair flowed in
a waving stream down over her back and
shoulders, there was a fresh, healthful glow on
her cheeks, and her blue, fathomless eyes had a
strangely joyous, almost triumphant expression.
The father's gaze dwelt fondly upon her, and
the collegian was but conscious of one thought:
that she was wondrously beautiful. And still
so great was his natural timidity and awkwardness
in the presence of women, that it was only
with the greatest difficulty he could master his
first impulse to find some excuse for leaving
her. She, however, was aware of no such restraint.
"You said you came to gather song," she
said; "where do you find it? for I too should
like to find some new melody for my old
thoughts; I have searched so long."
"I find my songs on the lips of the people,"
answered he, "and I write them down as the
maidens or the old men sing them."
She did not seem quite to comprehend that.
"Do you hear maidens sing them?" asked she,
astonished. "Do you mean the troll-virgins
and the elf-maidens?"
"By troll-virgins and elf-maidens, or what the
legends call so, I understand the hidden and still
audible voices of nature, of the dark pine forests,
the legend-haunted glades, and the silent
tarns; and this was what I referred to when I
answered your question if I had ever heard the
forest sing."
"Oh, oh!" cried she, delighted, and clapped
her hands like a child; but in another moment
she as suddenly grew serious again, and sat
steadfastly gazing into his eye, as if she were
trying to look into his very soul and there to
find something kindred to her own lonely heart.
A minute ago her presence had embarrassed
him; now, strange to say, he met her eye, and
smiled happily as he met it.
"Do you mean to say that you make your
living by writing songs?" asked Lage.
"The trouble is," answered Vigfusson, "that
I make no living at all; but I have invested a
large capital, which is to yield its interest in the
future. There is a treasure of song hidden in
every nook and corner of our mountains and
forests, and in our nation's heart. I am one of
the miners who have come to dig it out before
time and oblivion shall have buried every trace
of it, and there shall not be even the will-o'-the-
wisp of a legend to hover over the spot, and
keep alive the sad fact of our loss and our
blamable negligence."
Here the young man paused; his eyes gleamed,
his pale cheeks flushed, and there was a
warmth and an enthusiasm in his words which
alarmed Lage, while on Aasa it worked like the
most potent charm of the ancient mystic runes;
she hardly comprehended more than half of the
speaker's meaning, but his fire and eloquence
were on this account none the less powerful.
"If that is your object," remarked Lage, "I
think you have hit upon the right place in
coming here. You will be able to pick up many an
odd bit of a story from the servants and others
hereabouts, and you are welcome to stay here
with us as long as you choose."
Lage could not but attribute to Vigfusson the
merit of having kept Aasa at home a whole day,
and that in the month of midsummer. And
while he sat there listening to their conversation,
while he contemplated the delight that
beamed from his daughter's countenance and, as
he thought, the really intelligent expression of
her eyes, could he conceal from himself the pa-
ternal hopes that swelled his heart? She was
all that was left him, the life or the death of his
mighty race. And here was one who was likely
to understand her, and to whom she seemed
willing to yield all the affection of her warm
but wayward heart. Thus ran Lage Ulfson's
reflections; and at night he had a little consultation
with Elsie, his wife, who, it is needless to
add, was no less sanguine than he.
"And then Aasa will make an excellent housewife,
you know," observed Elsie. "I will speak
to the girl about it to-morrow."
"No, for Heaven's sake, Elsie!" exclaimed
Lage, "don't you know your daughter better
the idea of remoteness, and a feeling of
hopeless strangeness to the world and all its
concerns.
"Do I inconvenience you, madam?" were the
first words he uttered, as Aasa in her usual
abrupt manner stayed her laughter, turned her
back on him, and hastily started for the house.
"Inconvenience?" said she, surprised, and
again slowly turned on her heel; "no, not that
I know."
"Then tell me if there are people living here
in the neighborhood, or if the light deceived
me, which I saw from the other side of the river."
"Follow me," answered Aasa, and she navely
reached him her hand; "my father's name is
Lage Ulfson Kvaerk; he lives in the large house
you see straight before you, there on the hill;
and my mother lives there too."
And hand in hand they walked together,
where a path had been made between two
adjoining rye-fields; his serious smile seemed to
grow milder and happier, the longer he lingered
at her side, and her eye caught a ray of more
human intelligence, as it rested on him.
"What do you do up here in the long winter?"
asked he, after a pause.
"We sing," answered she, as it were at ran-
dom, because the word came into her mind;
"and what do you do, where you come from?"
"I gather song."
"Have you ever heard the forest sing?"
asked she, curiously.
"That is why I came here."
And again they walked on in silence.
It was near midnight when they entered the
large hall at Kvaerk. Aasa went before, still
leading the young man by the hand. In the
twilight which filled the house, the space
between the black, smoky rafters opened a vague
vista into the region of the fabulous, and every
object in the room loomed forth from the dusk
with exaggerated form and dimensions. The
room appeared at first to be but the haunt of
the spirits of the past; no human voice, no human
footstep, was heard; and the stranger
instinctively pressed the hand he held more
tightly; for he was not sure but that he was
standing on the boundary of dream-land, and some
elfin maiden had reached him her hand to lure
him into her mountain, where he should live
with her forever. But the illusion was of brief
duration; for Aasa's thoughts had taken a
widely different course; it was but seldom she
had found herself under the necessity of making
a decision; and now it evidently devolved upon
her to find the stranger a place of rest for the
night; so instead of an elf-maid's kiss and a
silver palace, he soon found himself huddled into
a dark little alcove in the wall, where he was
told to go to sleep, while Aasa wandered over
to the empty cow-stables, and threw herself down
in the hay by the side of two sleeping milkmaids.
III.
There was not a little astonishment manifested
among the servant-maids at Kvaerk the
next morning, when the huge, gaunt figure
of a man was seen to launch forth from Aasa's
alcove, and the strangest of all was, that Aasa
herself appeared to be as much astonished as
the rest. And there they stood, all gazing at
the bewildered traveler, who indeed was no less
startled than they, and as utterly unable to
account for his own sudden apparition. After a
long pause, he summoned all his courage, fixed
his eyes intently on the group of the girls, and
with a few rapid steps advanced toward Aasa,
whom he seized by the hand and asked, "Are
you not my maiden of yester-eve?"
She met his gaze firmly, and laid her hand on
her forehead as if to clear her thoughts; as the
memory of the night flashed through her mind,
a bright smile lit up her features, and she
answered, "You are the man who gathers song.
Forgive me, I was not sure but it was all a
dream; for I dream so much."
Then one of the maids ran out to call Lage
Ulfson, who had gone to the stables to harness
the horses; and he came and greeted the unknown
man, and thanked him for last meeting,
as is the wont of Norse peasants, although they
had never seen each other until that morning.
But when the stranger had eaten two meals in
Lage's house, Lage asked him his name and his
father's occupation; for old Norwegian
hospitality forbids the host to learn the guest's
name before he has slept and eaten under his
roof. It was that same afternoon, when they
sat together smoking their pipes under the huge
old pine in the yard,--it was then Lage inquired
about the young man's name and family; and
the young man said that his name was Trond
Vigfusson, that he had graduated at the
University of Christiania, and that his father had
been a lieutenant in the army; but both he and
Trond's mother had died, when Trond was only
a few years old. Lage then told his guest
Vigfusson something about his family, but of
the legend of Asathor and Saint Olaf he spoke
not a word. And while they were sitting there
talking together, Aasa came and sat down at
Vigfusson's feet; her long golden hair flowed in
a waving stream down over her back and
shoulders, there was a fresh, healthful glow on
her cheeks, and her blue, fathomless eyes had a
strangely joyous, almost triumphant expression.
The father's gaze dwelt fondly upon her, and
the collegian was but conscious of one thought:
that she was wondrously beautiful. And still
so great was his natural timidity and awkwardness
in the presence of women, that it was only
with the greatest difficulty he could master his
first impulse to find some excuse for leaving
her. She, however, was aware of no such restraint.
"You said you came to gather song," she
said; "where do you find it? for I too should
like to find some new melody for my old
thoughts; I have searched so long."
"I find my songs on the lips of the people,"
answered he, "and I write them down as the
maidens or the old men sing them."
She did not seem quite to comprehend that.
"Do you hear maidens sing them?" asked she,
astonished. "Do you mean the troll-virgins
and the elf-maidens?"
"By troll-virgins and elf-maidens, or what the
legends call so, I understand the hidden and still
audible voices of nature, of the dark pine forests,
the legend-haunted glades, and the silent
tarns; and this was what I referred to when I
answered your question if I had ever heard the
forest sing."
"Oh, oh!" cried she, delighted, and clapped
her hands like a child; but in another moment
she as suddenly grew serious again, and sat
steadfastly gazing into his eye, as if she were
trying to look into his very soul and there to
find something kindred to her own lonely heart.
A minute ago her presence had embarrassed
him; now, strange to say, he met her eye, and
smiled happily as he met it.
"Do you mean to say that you make your
living by writing songs?" asked Lage.
"The trouble is," answered Vigfusson, "that
I make no living at all; but I have invested a
large capital, which is to yield its interest in the
future. There is a treasure of song hidden in
every nook and corner of our mountains and
forests, and in our nation's heart. I am one of
the miners who have come to dig it out before
time and oblivion shall have buried every trace
of it, and there shall not be even the will-o'-the-
wisp of a legend to hover over the spot, and
keep alive the sad fact of our loss and our
blamable negligence."
Here the young man paused; his eyes gleamed,
his pale cheeks flushed, and there was a
warmth and an enthusiasm in his words which
alarmed Lage, while on Aasa it worked like the
most potent charm of the ancient mystic runes;
she hardly comprehended more than half of the
speaker's meaning, but his fire and eloquence
were on this account none the less powerful.
"If that is your object," remarked Lage, "I
think you have hit upon the right place in
coming here. You will be able to pick up many an
odd bit of a story from the servants and others
hereabouts, and you are welcome to stay here
with us as long as you choose."
Lage could not but attribute to Vigfusson the
merit of having kept Aasa at home a whole day,
and that in the month of midsummer. And
while he sat there listening to their conversation,
while he contemplated the delight that
beamed from his daughter's countenance and, as
he thought, the really intelligent expression of
her eyes, could he conceal from himself the pa-
ternal hopes that swelled his heart? She was
all that was left him, the life or the death of his
mighty race. And here was one who was likely
to understand her, and to whom she seemed
willing to yield all the affection of her warm
but wayward heart. Thus ran Lage Ulfson's
reflections; and at night he had a little consultation
with Elsie, his wife, who, it is needless to
add, was no less sanguine than he.
"And then Aasa will make an excellent housewife,
you know," observed Elsie. "I will speak
to the girl about it to-morrow."
"No, for Heaven's sake, Elsie!" exclaimed
Lage, "don't you know your daughter better
- laughter [´lɑ:ftə]
n.笑，笑声 (初中英语单词) - hastily [´heistili] ad.急速地；草率地 (初中英语单词)
- neighborhood [´neibəhud] n.邻居；邻近；附近 (初中英语单词)
- intelligence [in´telidʒəns] n.智力；消息 (初中英语单词)
- midnight [´midnait] n.午夜；漆黑 (初中英语单词)
- boundary [´baundəri] n.界线，边界 (初中英语单词)
- maiden [´meidn] n.少女 a.未婚的 (初中英语单词)
- evidently [´evidəntli] ad.明显地 (初中英语单词)
- sleeping [´sli:piŋ] n.&a.睡着(的) (初中英语单词)
- astonishment [ə´stɔniʃmənt] n.吃惊；惊异 (初中英语单词)
- unable [ʌn´eibəl] a.不能的；无能为力的 (初中英语单词)
- advanced [əd´vɑ:nst] a.先进的；高级的 (初中英语单词)
- firmly [´fə:mli] ad.坚固地，稳定地 (初中英语单词)
- forehead [´fɔrid] n.额，前部 (初中英语单词)
- occupation [,ɔkju´peiʃən] a.职业的；军事占领的 (初中英语单词)
- lieutenant [lef´tenənt] n.陆军中尉；代理；副手 (初中英语单词)
- stream [stri:m] n.河 vi.流出；飘扬 (初中英语单词)
- conscious [´kɔnʃəs] a.意识的；自觉的 (初中英语单词)
- impulse [´impʌls] n.推动(力)；冲动；刺激 (初中英语单词)
- hidden [´hid(ə)n] hide 的过去分词 (初中英语单词)
- lonely [´ləunli] a.孤独的；无人烟的 (初中英语单词)
- writing [´raitiŋ] n.书写；写作；书法 (初中英语单词)
- enthusiasm [in´θju:ziæzəm] n.热心；狂热；爱好 (初中英语单词)
- account [ə´kaunt] vi.说明 vt.认为 n.帐目 (初中英语单词)
- welcome [´welkəm] a.受欢迎的；可喜的 (初中英语单词)
- attribute [ə´tribju:t] n.象征 vt.归因于 (初中英语单词)
- countenance [´kauntinəns] n.面部表情；脸色；面容 (初中英语单词)
- intelligent [in´telidʒənt] a.聪明的；理智的 (初中英语单词)
- conceal [kən´si:l] vt.藏；隐瞒 (初中英语单词)
- affection [ə´fekʃən] n.友爱；慈爱 (初中英语单词)
- illusion [i´lu:ʒən] n.幻觉；幻影；错觉 (高中英语单词)
- launch [lɔ:ntʃ] vt.发动 n.发射；汽艇 (高中英语单词)
- joyous [´dʒɔiəs] a.充满快乐的 (高中英语单词)
- melody [´melədi] n.悦耳的音调；乐曲 (高中英语单词)
- comprehend [,kɔmpri´hend] vt.了解；领会；包含 (高中英语单词)
- kindred [´kindrid] n.亲属关系；同源关系 (高中英语单词)
- needless [´ni:dləs] a.不必要的；无用的 (高中英语单词)
- inconvenience [,inkən´vi:niəns] n.不方便；打扰 (英语四级单词)
- intently [in´tentli] ad.专心地 (英语四级单词)
- healthful [´helθfəl] a.卫生的，有益健康的 (英语四级单词)
- triumphant [trai´ʌmfənt] a.胜利的；洋洋得意的 (英语四级单词)
- fondly [´fɔndli] ad.喜爱地；愚蠢地 (英语四级单词)
- delighted [di´laitid] a.高兴的；喜欢的 (英语四级单词)
- potent [´pəutənt] a.有(势)力的；烈性的 (英语四级单词)
- midsummer [´mid,sʌmə] n.仲夏；夏至 (英语四级单词)
- fabulous [´fæbjuləs] a.难以置信的；惊人的 (英语六级单词)
- apparition [,æpə´riʃən] n.(幽灵)出现；鬼；幻影 (英语六级单词)
- oblivion [ə´bliviən] n.(被)忘却；漠视 (英语六级单词)
- mystic [´mistik] a.神秘的；难以理解的 (英语六级单词)
- wayward [´weiwəd] a.任性的；不易控制的 (英语六级单词)
- sanguine [´sæŋgwin] a.血红的 n.血红色 (英语六级单词)
文章标签:名著
章节正文
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