章节正文
father's, John, first of the dynasty, a great man in his day.
Among other collections were all the papers of the
Durrisdeers.'
'The Durrisdeers!' cried I. 'My dear fellow, these may be of
the greatest interest. One of them was out in the '45; one
had some strange passages with the devil - you will find a
note of it in Law's MEMORIALS, I think; and there was an
unexplained tragedy, I know not what, much later, about a
hundred years ago - '
'More than a hundred years ago,' said Mr. Thomson. 'In
1783.'
'How do you know that? I mean some death.'
'Yes, the lamentable deaths of my lord Durrisdeer and his
brother, the Master of Ballantrae (attainted in the
troubles),' said Mr. Thomson with something the tone of a man
quoting. 'Is that it?'
'To say truth,' said I, 'I have only seen some dim reference
to the things in memoirs; and heard some traditions dimmer
still, through my uncle (whom I think you knew). My uncle
lived when he was a boy in the neighbourhood of St. Bride's;
he has often told me of the avenue closed up and grown over
with grass, the great gates never opened, the last lord and
his old maid sister who lived in the back parts of the house,
a quiet, plain, poor, hum-drum couple it would seem - but
pathetic too, as the last of that stirring and brave house -
and, to the country folk, faintly terrible from some deformed
traditions.'
'Yes,' said Mr. Thomson. Henry Graeme Durie, the last lord,
died in 1820; his sister, the Honourable Miss Katherine
Durie, in '27; so much I know; and by what I have been going
over the last few days, they were what you say, decent, quiet
people and not rich. To say truth, it was a letter of my
lord's that put me on the search for the packet we are going
to open this evening. Some papers could not be found; and he
wrote to Jack M'Brair suggesting they might be among those
sealed up by a Mr. Mackellar. M'Brair answered, that the
papers in question were all in Mackellar's own hand, all (as
the writer understood) of a purelynarrativecharacter; and
besides, said he, "I am bound not to open them before the
year 1889." You may fancy if these words struck me: I
instituted a hunt through all the M'Brair repositories; and
at last hit upon that packet which (if you have had enough
wine) I propose to show you at once.'
In the smoking-room, to which my host now led me, was a
packet, fastened with many seals and enclosed in a single
sheet of strong paper thus endorsed:-
Papers relating to the lives and lamentable deaths of the
late Lord Durisdeer, and his elder brother James, commonly
called Master of Ballantrae, attainted in the troubles:
entrusted into the hands of John M'Brair in the Lawnmarket of
Edinburgh, W.S.; this 20th day of September Anno Domini 1789;
by him to be kept secret until the revolution of one hundred
years complete, or until the 20th day of September 1889: the
same compiled and written by me,
EPHRAIM MACKELLAR,
FOR NEAR FORTY YEARS LAND STEWARD ON THE
ESTATES OF HIS LORDSHIP.
As Mr. Thomson is a married man, I will not say what hour had
struck when we laid down the last of the following pages; but
I will give a few words of what ensued.
'Here,' said Mr. Thomson, 'is a novel ready to your hand:
all you have to do is to work up the scenery, develop the
characters, and improve the style.'
'My dear fellow,' said I, 'they are just the three things
that I would rather die than set my hand to. It shall be
published as it stands.'
'But it's so bald,' objected Mr. Thomson.
'I believe there is nothing so noble as baldness,' replied I,
'and I am sure there is nothing so interesting. I would have
all literature bald, and all authors (if you like) but one.'
'Well, well,' said Mr. Thomson, 'we shall see.'
Footnotes:
(1) First published in the Contemporary Review, April 1885
(2) Milton.
(3) Milton.
(4) Milton.
(5) As PVF will continue to haunt us through our English
examples, take, by way of comparison, this Latin verse, of
which it forms a chief adornment, and do not hold me
answerable for the all too Roman freedom of the sense: 'Hanc
volo, quae facilis, quae palliolata vagatur.'
(6) Coleridge.
(7) Antony and Cleopatra.
(8) Cymbeline.
(9) The V is in 'of.'
(10) Troilus and Cressida.
(11) First published in the FORTNIGHTLY REVIEW, April 1881.
(12) Mr. James Payn.
(13) A footnote, at least, is due to the admirable example
set before all young writers in the width of literary
sympathy displayed by Mr. Swinburne. He runs forth to
welcome merit, whether in Dickens or Trollope, whether in
Villon, Milton, or Pope. This is, in criticism, the attitude
we should all seek to preserve; not only in that, but in
every branch of literary work.
(14) First published in the BRITISH WEEKLY, May 13, 1887.
(15) Of the BRITISH WEEKLY.
(16) First published in the MAGAZINE OF ART in 1883.
(17) First published in the IDLER, August 1894.
(18) NE PAS CONFONDRE. Not the slim green pamphlet with the
imprint of Andrew Elliot, for which (as I see with amazement
from the book-lists) the gentlemen of England are willing to
pay fancy prices; but its predecessor, a bulky historical
romance without a spark of merit, and now deleted from the
world.
(19) 1889.
The End
Among other collections were all the papers of the
Durrisdeers.'
'The Durrisdeers!' cried I. 'My dear fellow, these may be of
the greatest interest. One of them was out in the '45; one
had some strange passages with the devil - you will find a
note of it in Law's MEMORIALS, I think; and there was an
unexplained tragedy, I know not what, much later, about a
hundred years ago - '
'More than a hundred years ago,' said Mr. Thomson. 'In
1783.'
'How do you know that? I mean some death.'
'Yes, the lamentable deaths of my lord Durrisdeer and his
brother, the Master of Ballantrae (attainted in the
troubles),' said Mr. Thomson with something the tone of a man
quoting. 'Is that it?'
'To say truth,' said I, 'I have only seen some dim reference
to the things in memoirs; and heard some traditions dimmer
still, through my uncle (whom I think you knew). My uncle
lived when he was a boy in the neighbourhood of St. Bride's;
he has often told me of the avenue closed up and grown over
with grass, the great gates never opened, the last lord and
his old maid sister who lived in the back parts of the house,
a quiet, plain, poor, hum-drum couple it would seem - but
pathetic too, as the last of that stirring and brave house -
and, to the country folk, faintly terrible from some deformed
traditions.'
'Yes,' said Mr. Thomson. Henry Graeme Durie, the last lord,
died in 1820; his sister, the Honourable Miss Katherine
Durie, in '27; so much I know; and by what I have been going
over the last few days, they were what you say, decent, quiet
people and not rich. To say truth, it was a letter of my
lord's that put me on the search for the packet we are going
to open this evening. Some papers could not be found; and he
wrote to Jack M'Brair suggesting they might be among those
sealed up by a Mr. Mackellar. M'Brair answered, that the
papers in question were all in Mackellar's own hand, all (as
the writer understood) of a purelynarrativecharacter; and
besides, said he, "I am bound not to open them before the
year 1889." You may fancy if these words struck me: I
instituted a hunt through all the M'Brair repositories; and
at last hit upon that packet which (if you have had enough
wine) I propose to show you at once.'
In the smoking-room, to which my host now led me, was a
packet, fastened with many seals and enclosed in a single
sheet of strong paper thus endorsed:-
Papers relating to the lives and lamentable deaths of the
late Lord Durisdeer, and his elder brother James, commonly
called Master of Ballantrae, attainted in the troubles:
entrusted into the hands of John M'Brair in the Lawnmarket of
Edinburgh, W.S.; this 20th day of September Anno Domini 1789;
by him to be kept secret until the revolution of one hundred
years complete, or until the 20th day of September 1889: the
same compiled and written by me,
EPHRAIM MACKELLAR,
FOR NEAR FORTY YEARS LAND STEWARD ON THE
ESTATES OF HIS LORDSHIP.
As Mr. Thomson is a married man, I will not say what hour had
struck when we laid down the last of the following pages; but
I will give a few words of what ensued.
'Here,' said Mr. Thomson, 'is a novel ready to your hand:
all you have to do is to work up the scenery, develop the
characters, and improve the style.'
'My dear fellow,' said I, 'they are just the three things
that I would rather die than set my hand to. It shall be
published as it stands.'
'But it's so bald,' objected Mr. Thomson.
'I believe there is nothing so noble as baldness,' replied I,
'and I am sure there is nothing so interesting. I would have
all literature bald, and all authors (if you like) but one.'
'Well, well,' said Mr. Thomson, 'we shall see.'
Footnotes:
(1) First published in the Contemporary Review, April 1885
(2) Milton.
(3) Milton.
(4) Milton.
(5) As PVF will continue to haunt us through our English
examples, take, by way of comparison, this Latin verse, of
which it forms a chief adornment, and do not hold me
answerable for the all too Roman freedom of the sense: 'Hanc
volo, quae facilis, quae palliolata vagatur.'
(6) Coleridge.
(7) Antony and Cleopatra.
(8) Cymbeline.
(9) The V is in 'of.'
(10) Troilus and Cressida.
(11) First published in the FORTNIGHTLY REVIEW, April 1881.
(12) Mr. James Payn.
(13) A footnote, at least, is due to the admirable example
set before all young writers in the width of literary
sympathy displayed by Mr. Swinburne. He runs forth to
welcome merit, whether in Dickens or Trollope, whether in
Villon, Milton, or Pope. This is, in criticism, the attitude
we should all seek to preserve; not only in that, but in
every branch of literary work.
(14) First published in the BRITISH WEEKLY, May 13, 1887.
(15) Of the BRITISH WEEKLY.
(16) First published in the MAGAZINE OF ART in 1883.
(17) First published in the IDLER, August 1894.
(18) NE PAS CONFONDRE. Not the slim green pamphlet with the
imprint of Andrew Elliot, for which (as I see with amazement
from the book-lists) the gentlemen of England are willing to
pay fancy prices; but its predecessor, a bulky historical
romance without a spark of merit, and now deleted from the
world.
(19) 1889.
The End
- tragedy [´trædʒidi]
n.悲剧；惨案；灾难 (初中英语单词) - honourable [´ɔnərəbəl] a.荣誉的；正直的 (初中英语单词)
- writer [´raitə] n.作者；作家 (初中英语单词)
- purely [´pjuəli] ad.仅仅；简单地 (初中英语单词)
- character [´kæriktə] n.特性；性质；人物；字 (初中英语单词)
- literature [´litərətʃə] n.文学；文献；著作 (初中英语单词)
- review [ri´vju:] v.&n.复习；回顾；检查 (初中英语单词)
- comparison [kəm´pærisən] n.比较；对照；比喻 (初中英语单词)
- criticism [´kritisizəm] n.批评；评论(文) (初中英语单词)
- preserve [pri´zə:v] v.保藏 n.保藏物 (初中英语单词)
- literary [´litərəri] a.文学(上)的 (初中英语单词)
- weekly [´wi:kli] a.&ad.每周一次(的) (初中英语单词)
- willing [´wiliŋ] a.情愿的，乐意的 (初中英语单词)
- faintly [´feintli] ad.微弱地，软弱无力的 (高中英语单词)
- decent [´di:sənt] a.体面的，正派的 (高中英语单词)
- narrative [´nærətiv] a.叙述的 n.记事 (高中英语单词)
- steward [´stju:əd] n.管家；服务员 (高中英语单词)
- scenery [´si:nəri] n.舞台布景 (高中英语单词)
- contemporary [kən´tempərəri] a.&n.同时代的(人) (高中英语单词)
- admirable [´ædmərəbəl] a.极佳的，值得赞美的 (高中英语单词)
- dynasty [´dinəsti] n.王朝；朝代 (英语四级单词)
- stirring [´stə:riŋ] a.活跃的；热闹的 (英语四级单词)
- packet [´pækit] n.盒 vt....打成小包 (英语四级单词)
- pamphlet [´pæmflit] n.小册子 (英语四级单词)
- predecessor [´pri:disesə] n.前任；前辈 (英语四级单词)
- lamentable [´læməntəbl, lə´mentəbl] a.可悲的 (英语六级单词)
- dickens [´dikinz] n.=devil 魔鬼 (英语六级单词)
- august [ɔ:´gʌst] a.尊严的；威严的 (英语六级单词)
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章节正文
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