Good young man BrownWord格式.docx

1、Then God bless youe! said Faith, with the pink ribbons; and may you find all well whn you come back.Amen! cried Goodman Brown. Say thy prayers, dear Faith, and go to bed at dusk, and no harm will come to thee.So they parted; and the young man pursued his way until, being about to turn the corner by

2、the meeting-house, he looked back and saw the head of Faith still peeping after him with a melancholy air, in spite of her pink ribbons.Poor little Faith! thought he, for his heart smote him. What a wretch am I to leave her on such an errand! She talks of dreams, too. Methought as she spoke there wa

3、s trouble in her face, as if a dream had warned her what work is to be done tonight. But no, no; t would kill her to think it. Well, shes a blessed angel on earth; and after this one night Ill cling to her skirts and follow her to heaven.With this excellent resolve for the future, Goodman Brown felt

4、 himself justified in making more haste on his present evil purpose. He had taken a dreary road, darkened by all the gloomiest trees of the forest, which barely stood aside to let the narrow path creep through, and closed immediately behind. It was all as lonely as could be; and there is this peculi

5、arity in such a solitude, that the traveller knows not who may be concealed by the innumerable trunks and the thick boughs overhead; so that with lonely footsteps he may yet be passing through an unseen multitude.There may be a devilish Indian behind every tree, said Goodman Brown to himself; and he

6、 glanced fearfully behind him as he added, What if the devil himself should be at my very elbow!His head being turned back, he passed a crook of the road, and, looking forward again, beheld the figure of a man, in grave and decent attire, seated at the foot of an old tree. He arose at Goodman Browns

7、 approach and walked onward side by side with him. You are late, Goodman Brown, said he. The clock of the Old South was striking as I came through Boston, and that is full fifteen minutes agone.Faith kept me back a while, replied the young man, with a tremor in his voice, caused by the sudden appear

8、ance of his companion, though not wholly unexpected.It was now deep dusk in the forest, and deepest in that part of it where these two were journeying. As nearly as could be discerned, the second traveller was about fifty years old, apparently in the same rank of life as Goodman Brown, and bearing a

9、 considerable resemblance to him, though perhaps more in expression than features. Still they might have been taken for father and son. And yet, though the elder person was as simply clad as the younger, and as simple in manner too, he had an indescribable air of one who knew the world, and who woul

10、d not have felt abashed at the governors dinner table or in King Williams court, were it possible that his affairs should call him thither. But the only thing about him that could be fixed upon as remarkable was his staff, which bore the likeness of a great black snake, so curiously wrought that it

11、might almost be seen to twist and wriggle itself like a living serpent. This, of course, must have been an ocular deception, assisted by the uncertain light.Come, Goodman Brown, cried his fellow-traveller, this is a dull pace for the beginning of a journey. Take my staff, if you are so soon weary.Fr

12、iend, said the other, exchanging his slow pace for a full stop, having kept covenant by meeting thee here, it is my purpose now to return whence I came. I have scruples touching the matter thou wotst of.Sayest thou so? replied he of the serpent, smiling apart. Let us walk on, nevertheless, reasoning

13、 as we go; and if I convince thee not thou shalt turn back. We are but a little way in the forest yet. Too far! too far! exclaimed the goodman, unconsciously resuming his walk. My father never went into the woods on such an errand, nor his father before him. We have been a race of honest men and goo

14、d Christians since the days of the martyrs; and shall I be the first of the name of Brown that ever took this path and keptSuch company, thou wouldst say, observed the elder person, interpreting his pause. Well said, Goodman Brown! I have been as well acquainted with your family as with ever a one a

15、mong the Puritans; and thats no trifle to say. I helped your grandfather, the constable, when he lashed the Quaker woman so smartly through the streets of Salem; and it was I that brought your father a pitch-pine knot, kindled at my own hearth, to set fire to an Indian village, in King Philips war.

16、They were my good friends, both; and many a pleasant walk have we had along this path, and returned merrily after midnight. I would fain be friends with you for their sake.If it be as thou sayest, replied Goodman Brown, I marvel they never spoke of these matters; or, verily, I marvel not, seeing tha

17、t the least rumor of the sort would have driven them from New England. We are a people of prayer, and good works to boot, and abide no such wickedness.Wickedness or not, said the traveller with the twisted staff, I have a very general acquaintance here in New England. The deacons of many a church ha

18、ve drunk the communion wine with me; the selectmen of divers towns make me their chairman; and a majority of the Great and General Court are firm supporters of my interest. The governor and I, too-But these are state secrets.Can this be so? cried Goodman Brown, with a stare of amazement at his undis

19、turbed companion. Howbeit, I have nothing to do with the governor and council; they have their own ways, and are no rule for a simple husbandman like me. But, were I to go on with thee, how should I meet the eye of that good old man, our minister, at Salem village? Oh, his voice would make me trembl

20、e both Sabbath day and lecture day.Thus far the elder traveller had listened with due gravity; but now burst into a fit of irrepressible mirth, shaking himself so violently that his snake-like staff actually seemed to wriggle in sympathy.Ha! ha! shouted he again and again; then composing himself, We

21、ll, go on, Goodman Brown, go on; but, prithee, dont kill me with laughing.Well, then, to end the matter at once, said Goodman Brown, considerably nettled, there is my wife, Faith. It would break her dear little heart; and Id rather break my own.Nay, if that be the case, answered the other, een go th

22、y ways, Goodman Brown. I would not for twenty old women like the one hobbling before us that Faith should come to any harm.As he spoke he pointed his staff at a female figure on the path, in whom Goodman Brown recognized a very pious and exemplary dame, who had taught him his catechism in youth, and

23、 was still his moral and spiritual adviser, jointly with the minister and Deacon Gookin.A marvel, truly, that Goody Cloyse should be so far in the wilderness at nightfall,But with your leave, friend, I shall take a cut through the woods until we have left this Christian woman behind. Being a strange

24、r to you, she might ask whom I was consorting with and whither I was going.Be it so, said his fellow-traveller. Betake you to the woods, and let me keep the path.Accordingly the young man turned aside, but took care to watch his companion, who advanced softly along the road until he had come within

25、a staffs length of the old dame. She, meanwhile, was making the best of her way, with singular speed for so aged a woman, and mumbling some indistinct words-a prayer, doubtless-as she went. The traveller put forth his staff and touched her withered neck with what seemed the serpents tail. The devil!

26、 screamed the pious old lady.Then Goody Cloyse knows her old friend? observed the traveller, confronting her and leaning on his writhing stick.Ah, forsooth, and is it your worship indeed? cried the good dame. Yea, truly is it, and in the very image of my old gossip, Goodman Brown, the grandfather of

27、 the silly fellow that now is. But-would your worship believe it?-my broomstick hath strangely disappeared, stolen, as I suspect, by that unhanged witch, Goody Cory, and that, too, when I was all anointed with the juice of smallage, and cinquefoil, and wolfs baneMingled with fine wheat and the fat o

28、f a new-born babe, said the shape of old Goodman Brown.Ah, your worship knows the recipe, cried the old lady, cackling aloud. So, as I was saying, being all ready for the meeting, and no horse to ride on, I made up my mind to foot it; for they tell me there is a nice young man to be taken into commu

29、nion to-night. But now your good worship will lend me your arm, and we shall be there in a twinkling.That can hardly be, answered her friend. I may not spare you my arm, Goody Cloyse; but here is my staff, if you will.So saying, he threw it down at her feet, where, perhaps, it assumed life, being one of the rods which its owner had formerly lent to th