Any person who recollects2 the history of the absurd outbreak of Strasburg, in which Prince Louis Napoleon Bonaparte figured, three years ago, must remember that, however silly the revolt was, however, foolish its pretext4, however doubtful its aim, and inexperienced its leader, there was, nevertheless, a party, and a considerable one in France, that were not unwilling5 to lend the new projectors6 their aid. The troops who declared against the Prince, were, it was said, all but willing to declare for him; and it was certain that, in many of the regiments7 of the army, there existed a strong spirit of disaffection, and an eager wish for the return of the imperial system and family.
As to the good that was to be derived9 from the change, that is another question. Why the Emperor of the French should be better than the King of the French, or the King of the French better than the King of France and Navarre, it is not our business to inquire; but all the three monarchs10 have no lack of supporters; republicanism has no lack of supporters; St. Simoninnism was followed by a respectable body of admirers; Robespierrism has a select party of friends. If, in a country where so many quacks11 have had their day, Prince Louis Napoleon thought he might renew the imperial quackery12, why should he not? It has recollections with it that must always be dear to a gallant13 nation; it has certain claptraps in its vocabulary that can never fail to inflame14 a vain, restless, grasping, disappointed one.
In the first place, and don’t let us endeavor to disguise it, they hate us. Not all the protestations of friendship, not all the wisdom of Lord Palmerston, not all the diplomacy16 of our distinguished17 plenipotentiary, Mr. Henry Lytton Bulwer — and let us add, not all the benefit which both countries would derive8 from the alliance — can make it, in our times at least, permanent and cordial. They hate us. The Carlist organs revile18 us with a querulous fury that never sleeps; the moderate party, if they admit the utility of our alliance, are continually pointing out our treachery, our insolence19, and our monstrous20 infractions of it; and for the Republicans, as sure as the morning comes, the columns of their journals thunder out volleys of fierce denunciations against our unfortunate country. They live by feeding the natural hatred21 against England, by keeping old wounds open, by recurring22 ceaselessly to the history of old quarrels, and as in these we, by God’s help, by land and by sea, in old times and late, have had the uppermost, they perpetuate23 the shame and mortification25 of the losing party, the bitterness of past defeats, and the eager desire to avenge26 them. A party which knows how to exploiter this hatred will always be popular to a certain extent; and the imperial scheme has this, at least, among its conditions.
Then there is the favorite claptrap of the “natural frontier.” The Frenchman yearns27 to be bounded by the Rhine and the Alps; and next follows the cry, “Let France take her place among nations, and direct, as she ought to do, the affairs of Europe.” These are the two chief articles contained in the new imperial programme, if we may credit the journal which has been established to advocate the cause. A natural boundary — stand among the nations — popular development — Russian alliance, and a reduction of la perfide Albion to its proper insignificance29. As yet we know little more of the plan: and yet such foundations are sufficient to build a party upon, and with such windy weapons a substantial Government is to be overthrown30!
In order to give these doctrines32, such as they are, a chance of finding favor with his countrymen, Prince Louis has the advantage of being able to refer to a former great professor of them — his uncle Napoleon. His attempt is at once pious33 and prudent34; it exalts35 the memory of the uncle, and furthers the interests of the nephew, who attempts to show what Napoleon’s ideas really were; what good had already resulted from the practice of them; how cruelly they had been thwarted36 by foreign wars and difficulties; and what vast benefits WOULD have resulted from them; ay, and (it is reasonable to conclude) might still, if the French nation would be wise enough to pitch upon a governor that would continue the interrupted scheme. It is, however, to be borne in mind that the Emperor Napoleon had certain arguments in favor of his opinions for the time being, which his nephew has not employed. On the 13th Vendemiaire, when General Bonaparte believed in the excellence38 of a Directory, it may be remembered that he aided his opinions by forty pieces of artillery39, and by Colonel Murat at the head of his dragoons. There was no resisting such a philosopher; the Directory was established forthwith, and the sacred cause of the minority triumphed, in like manner, when the General was convinced of the weakness of the Directory, and saw fully40 the necessity of establishing a Consulate41, what were his arguments? Moreau, Lannes, Murat, Berthier, Leclerc, Lefebvre — gentle apostles of the truth! — marched to St. Cloud, and there, with fixed43 bayonets, caused it to prevail. Error vanished in an instant. At once five hundred of its high-priests tumbled out of windows, and lo! three Consuls44 appeared to guide the destinies of France! How much more expeditious45, reasonable, and clinching46 was this argument of the 18th Brumaire, than any one that can be found in any pamphlet! A fig3 for your duodecimos and octavos! Talk about points, there are none like those at the end of a bayonet; and the most powerful of styles is a good rattling47 “article” from a nine-pounder.
At least this is our interpretation48 of the manner in which were always propagated the Idées Napoléoniennes. Not such, however, is Prince Louis’s belief; and, if you wish to go along with him in opinion, you will discover that a more liberal, peaceable, prudent Prince never existed: you will read that “the mission of Napoleon” was to be the “testamentary executor of the revolution;” and the Prince should have added the legatee; or, more justly still, as well as the EXECUTOR, he should be called the EXECUTIONER, and then his title would be complete. In Vendemiaire, the military Tartuffe, he threw aside the Revolution’s natural heirs, and made her, as it were, ALTER HER WILL; on the 18th of Brumaire he strangled her, and on the 19th seized on her property, and kept it until force deprived him of it. Illustrations, to be sure, are no arguments, but the example is the Prince’s, not ours.
In the Prince’s eyes, then, his uncle is a god; of all monarchs, the most wise, upright, and merciful. Thirty years ago the opinion had millions of supporters; while millions again were ready to avouch49 the exact contrary. It is curious to think of the former difference of opinion concerning Napoleon; and, in reading his nephew’s rapturous encomiums of him, one goes back to the days when we ourselves were as loud and mad in his dispraise. Who does not remember his own personal hatred and horror, twenty-five years ago, for the man whom we used to call the “bloody50 Corsican upstart and assassin?” What stories did we not believe of him? — what murders, rapes51, robberies, not lay to his charge? — we who were living within a few miles of his territory, and might, by books and newspapers, be made as well acquainted with his merits or demerits as any of his own countrymen.
Then was the age when the Idées Napoléoniennes might have passed through many editions; for while we were thus outrageously52 bitter, our neighbors were as extravagantly53 attached to him by a strange infatuation — adored him like a god, whom we chose to consider as a fiend; and vowed54 that, under his government, their nation had attained55 its highest pitch of grandeur56 and glory. In revenge there existed in England (as is proved by a thousand authentic57 documents) a monster so hideous58, a tyrant59 so ruthless and bloody, that the world’s history cannot show his parallel. This ruffian’s name was, during the early part of the French revolution, Pittetcobourg. Pittetcobourg’s emissaries were in every corner of France; Pittetcobourg’s gold chinked in the pockets of every traitor60 in Europe; it menaced the life of the godlike Robespierre; it drove into cellars and fits of delirium61 even the gentle philanthropist Marat; it fourteen times caused the dagger62 to be lifted against the bosom63 of the First Consul42, Emperor, and King — that first, great, glorious, irresistible64, cowardly, contemptible65, bloody hero and fiend, Bonaparte, before mentioned.
On our side of the Channel we have had leisure, long since, to re-consider our verdict against Napoleon; though, to be sure, we have not changed our opinion about Pittetcobourg. After five-and-thirty years all parties bear witness to his honesty, and speak with affectionate reverence66 of his patriotism67, his genius, and his private virtue68. In France, however, or, at least among certain parties in France, there has been no such modification69 of opinion. With the Republicans, Pittetcobourg is Pittetcobourg still — crafty70, bloody, seeking whom he may devour71; and perfide Albion more perfidious72 than ever. This hatred is the point of union between the Republic and the Empire; it has been fostered ever since, and must be continued by Prince Louis, if he would hope to conciliate both parties.
With regard to the Emperor, then, Prince Louis erects73 to his memory as fine a monument as his wits can raise. One need not say that the imperial apologist’s opinion should be received with the utmost caution; for a man who has such a hero for an uncle may naturally be proud of and partial to him; and when this nephew of the great man would be his heir likewise, and, hearing his name, step also into his imperial shoes, one may reasonably look for much affectionate panegyric74. “The empire was the best of empires,” cries the Prince; and possibly it was; undoubtedly75, the Prince thinks it was; but he is the very last person who would convince a man with the proper suspicious impartiality76. One remembers a certain consultation77 of politicians which is recorded in the Spelling-book; and the opinion of that patriotic78 sage79 who avowed80 that, for a real blameless constitution, an impenetrable shield for liberty, and cheap defence of nations, there was nothing like leather.
Let us examine some of the Prince’s article. If we may be allowed humbly81 to express an opinion, his leather is not only quite insufficient82 for those vast public purposes for which he destines it, but is, moreover, and in itself, very BAD LEATHER. The hides are poor, small, unsound slips of skin; or, to drop this cobbling metaphor83, the style is not particularly brilliant, the facts not very startling, and, as for the conclusions, one may differ with almost every one of them. Here is an extract from his first chapter, “on governments in general:"—
“I speak it with regret, I can see but two governments, at this day, which fulfil the mission that Providence84 has confided85 to them; they are the two colossi at the end of the world; one at the extremity86 of the old world, the other at the extremity of the new. Whilst our old European centre is as a volcano, consuming itself in its crater87, the two nations of the East and the West, march without hesitation88, towards perfection; the one under the will of a single individual, the other under liberty.
“Providence has confided to the United States of North America the task of peopling and civilizing89 that immense territory which stretches from the Atlantic to the South Sea, and from the North Pole to the Equator. The Government, which is only a simple administration, has only hitherto been called upon to put in practice the old adage90, Laissez faire, laissez passer, in order to favor that irresistible instinct which pushes the people of America to the west.
In Russia it is to the imperial dynasty that is owing all the vast progress which, in a century and a half, has rescued that empire from barbarism. The imperial power must contend against all the ancient prejudices of our old Europe: it must centralize, as far as possible, all the powers of the state in the hands of one person, in order to destroy the abuses which the feudal91 and communal92 franchises93 have served to perpetuate. The last alone can hope to receive from it the improvements which it expects.
“But thou, France of Henry IV., of Louis XIV., of Carnot, of Napoleon — thou, who wert always for the west of Europe the source of progress, who possessest in thyself the two great pillars of empire, the genius for the arts of peace and the genius of war — hast thou no further mission to fulfil? Wilt94 thou never cease to waste thy force and energies in intestine95 struggles? No; such cannot be thy destiny: the day will soon come, when, to govern thee, it will be necessary to understand that thy part is to place in all treaties thy sword of Brennus on the side of civilization.”
These are the conclusions of the Prince’s remarks upon governments in general; and it must be supposed that the reader is very little wiser at the end than at the beginning. But two governments in the world fulfil their mission: the one government, which is no government; the other, which is a despotism. The duty of France is IN ALL TREATIES to place her sword of Brennus in the scale of civilization. Without quarrelling with the somewhat confused language of the latter proposition, may we ask what, in heaven’s name, is the meaning of all the three? What is this épée de Brennus? and how is France to use it? Where is the great source of political truth, from which, flowing pure, we trace American republicanism in one stream, Russian despotism in another? Vastly prosperous is the great republic, if you will: if dollars and cents constitute happiness, there is plenty for all: but can any one, who has read of the American doings in the late frontier troubles, and the daily disputes on the slave question, praise the GOVERNMENT of the States? — a Government which dares not punish homicide or arson96 performed before its very eyes, and which the pirates of Texas and the pirates of Canada can brave at their will? There is no government, but a prosperous anarchy97; as the Prince’s other favorite government is a prosperous slavery. What, then, is to be the épée de Brennus government? Is it to be a mixture of the two? “Society,” writes the Prince, axiomatically98, “contains in itself two principles — the one of progress and immortality99, the other of disease and disorganization.” No doubt; and as the one tends towards liberty, so the other is only to be cured by order: and then, with a singular felicity, Prince Louis picks us out a couple of governments, in one of which the common regulating power is as notoriously too weak, as it is in the other too strong, and talks in rapturous terms of the manner in which they fulfil their “providential mission!”
From these considerations on things in general, the Prince conducts us to Napoleon in particular, and enters largely into a discussion of the merits of the imperial system. Our author speaks of the Emperor’s advent100 in the following grandiose101 way:—
“Napoleon, on arriving at the public stage, saw that his part was to be the TESTAMENTARY EXECUTOR of the Revolution. The destructive fire of parties was extinct; and when the Revolution, dying, but not vanquished103, delegated to Napoleon the accomplishment104 of her last will, she said to him, ‘Establish upon solid bases the principal result of my efforts. Unite divided Frenchmen. Defeat feudal Europe that is leagued against me. Cicatrize my wounds. Enlighten the nations. Execute that in width, which I have had to perform in depth. Be for Europe what I have been for France. And, even if you must water the tree of civilization with your blood — if you must see your projects misunderstood, and your sons without a country, wandering over the face of the earth, never abandon the sacred cause of the French people. Insure its triumph by all the means which genius can discover and humanity approve.’
“This grand mission Napoleon performed to the end. His task was difficult. He had to place upon new principles a society still boiling with hatred and revenge; and to use, for building up, the same instruments which had been employed for pulling down.
“The common lot of every new truth that arises, is to wound rather than to convince — rather than to gain proselytes, to awaken105 fear. For, oppressed as it long has been, it rushes forward with additional force; having to encounter obstacles, it is compelled to combat them, and overthrow31 them; until, at length, comprehended and adopted by the generality, it becomes the basis of new social order.
“Liberty will follow the same march as the Christian106 religion. Armed with death from the ancient society of Rome, it for a long while excited the hatred and fear of the people. At last, by force of martyrdoms and persecutions, the religion of Christ penetrated107 into the conscience and the soul; it soon had kings and armies at its orders, and Constantine and Charlemagne bore it triumphant108 throughout Europe. Religion then laid down her arms of war. It laid open to all the principles of peace and order which it contained; it became the prop28 of Government, as it was the organizing element of society. Thus will it be with liberty. In 1793 it frightened people and sovereigns alike; then, having clothed itself in a milder garb109, IT INSINUATED110 ITSELF EVERYWHERE IN THE TRAIN OF OUR BATTALIONS111. In 1815 all parties adopted its flag, and armed themselves with its moral force — covered themselves with its colors. The adoption112 was not sincere, and liberty was soon obliged to reassume its warlike accoutrements. With the contest their fears returned. Let us hope that they will soon cease, and that liberty will soon resume her peaceful standards, to quit them no more.
“The Emperor Napoleon contributed more than any one else towards accelerating the reign37 of liberty, by saving the moral influence of the revolution, and diminishing the fears which it imposed. Without the Consulate and the Empire, the revolution would have been only a grand drama, leaving grand revolutions but no traces: the revolution would have been drowned in the counter-revolution. The contrary, however, was the case. Napoleon rooted the revolution in France, and introduced, throughout Europe, the principal benefits of the crisis of 1789. To use his own words, ‘He purified the revolution, he confirmed kings, and ennobled people.’ He purified the revolution, in separating the truths which it contained from the passions that, during its delirium, disfigured it. He ennobled the people in giving them the consciousness of their force, and those institutions which raise men in their own eyes. The Emperor may be considered as the Messiah of the new ideas; for — and we must confess it — in the moments immediately succeeding a social revolution, it is not so essential to put rigidly113 into practice all the propositions resulting from the new theory, but to become master of the regenerative genius, to identify one’s self with the sentiments of the people, and boldly to direct them towards the desired point. To accomplish such a task YOUR FIBRE SHOULD RESPOND TO THAT OF THE PEOPLE, as the Emperor said; you should feel like it, your interests should be so intimately raised with its own, that you should vanquish102 or fall together.”
Let us take breath after these big phrases — grand round figures of speech — which, when put together, amount like certain other combinations of round figures to exactly 0. We shall not stop to argue the merits and demerits of Prince Louis’s notable comparison between the Christian religion and the Imperial-revolutionary system. There are many blunders in the above extract as we read it; blundering metaphors114, blundering arguments, and blundering assertions; but this is surely the grandest blunder of all; and one wonders at the blindness of the legislator and historian who can advance such a parallel. And what are we to say of the legacy115 of the dying revolution to Napoleon? Revolutions do not die, and, on their death-beds, making fine speeches, hand over their property to young officers of artillery. We have all read the history of his rise. The constitution of the year III. was carried. Old men of the Montagne, disguised royalists, Paris sections, PITTETCOBOURG, above all, with his money-bags, thought that here was a fine opportunity for a revolt, and opposed the new constitution in arms: the new constitution had knowledge of a young officer who would not hesitate to defend its cause, and who effectually beat the majority. The tale may be found in every account of the revolution, and the rest of his story need not be told. We know every step that he took: we know how, by doses of cannon-balls promptly116 administered, he cured the fever of the sections — that fever which another camp-physician (Menou) declined to prescribe for; we know how he abolished the Directory; and how the Consulship117 came; and then the Empire; and then the disgrace, exile, and lonely death. Has not all this been written by historians in all tongues? — by memoir-writing pages, chamberlains, marshals, lackeys118, secretaries, contemporaries, and ladies of honor? Not a word of miracle is there in all this narration119; not a word of celestial120 missions, or political Messiahs. From Napoleon’s rise to his fall, the bayonet marches alongside of him: now he points it at the tails of the scampering121 “five hundred,”— now he charges with it across the bloody planks122 of Arcola — now he flies before it over the fatal plain of Waterloo.
Unwilling, however, as he may be to grant that there are any spots in the character of his hero’s government, the Prince is, nevertheless, obliged to allow that such existed; that the Emperor’s manner of rule was a little more abrupt123 and dictatorial124 than might possibly be agreeable. For this the Prince has always an answer ready — it is the same poor one that Napoleon uttered a million of times to his companions in exile — the excuse of necessity. He WOULD have been very liberal, but that the people were not fit for it; or that the cursed war prevented him — or any other reason why. His first duty, however, says his apologist, was to form a general union of Frenchmen, and he set about his plan in this wise:—
“Let us not forget, that all which Napoleon undertook, in order to create a general fusion125, he performed without renouncing126 the principles of the revolution. He recalled the émigrés, without touching127 upon the law by which their goods had been confiscated128 and sold as public property. He reestablished the Catholic religion at the same time that he proclaimed the liberty of conscience, and endowed equally the ministers of all sects129. He caused himself to be consecrated130 by the Sovereign Pontiff, without conceding to the Pope’s demand any of the liberties of the Gallican church. He married a daughter of the Emperor of Austria, without abandoning any of the rights of France to the conquests she had made. He reestablished noble titles, without attaching to them any privileges or prerogatives132, and these titles were conferred on all ranks, on all services, on all professions. Under the empire all idea of caste was destroyed; no man ever thought of vaunting his pedigree — no man ever was asked how he was born, but what he had done.
“The first quality of a people which aspires133 to liberal government, is respect to the law. Now, a law has no other power than lies in the interest which each citizen has to defend or to contravene134 it. In order to make a people respect the law, it was necessary that it should be executed in the interest of all, and should consecrate131 the principle of equality in all its extension. It was necessary to restore the prestige with which the Government had been formerly135 invested, and to make the principles of the revolution take root in the public manners. At the commencement of a new society, it is the legislator who makes or corrects the manners; later, it is the manners which make the law, or preserve it from age to age intact.”
Some of these fusions136 are amusing. No man in the empire was asked how he was born, but what he had done; and, accordingly, as a man’s actions were sufficient to illustrate137 him, the Emperor took care to make a host of new title-bearers, princes, dukes, barons138, and what not, whose rank has descended139 to their children. He married a princess of Austria; but, for all that, did not abandon his conquests — perhaps not actually; but he abandoned his allies, and, eventually, his whole kingdom. Who does not recollect1 his answer to the Poles, at the commencement of the Russian campaign? But for Napoleon’s imperial father-inlaw, Poland would have been a kingdom, and his race, perhaps, imperial still. Why was he to fetch this princess out of Austria to make heirs for his throne? Why did not the man of the people marry a girl of the people? Why must he have a Pope to crown him — half a dozen kings for brothers, and a bevy140 of aides-de-camp dressed out like so many mountebanks from Astley’s, with dukes’ coronets, and grand blue velvet141 marshals’ batons142? We have repeatedly his words for it. He wanted to create an aristocracy — another acknowledgment on his part of the Republican dilemma143 — another apology for the revolutionary blunder. To keep the republic within bounds, a despotism is necessary; to rally round the despotism, an aristocracy must be created; and for what have we been laboring144 all this while? for what have bastiles been battered145 down, and king’s heads hurled146, as a gage147 of battle, in the face of armed Europe? To have a Duke of Otranto instead of a Duke de la Tremouille, and Emperor Stork148 in place of King Log. O lame15 conclusion! Is the blessed revolution which is prophesied149 for us in England only to end in establishing a Prince Fergus O’Connor, or a Cardinal150 Wade151, or a Duke Daniel Whittle152 Harvey? Great as those patriots153 are, we love them better under their simple family names, and scorn titles and coronets.
At present, in France, the delicate matter of titles seems to be better arranged, any gentleman, since the Revolution, being free to adopt any one he may fix upon; and it appears that the Crown no longer confers any patents of nobility, but contents itself with saying, as in the case of M. de Pontois, the other day, “Le Roi trouve convenable154 that you take the title of,” &c.
To execute the legacy of the revolution, then; to fulfil his providential mission; to keep his place — in other words, for the simplest are always the best — to keep his place, and to keep his Government in decent order, the Emperor was obliged to establish a military despotism, to re-establish honors and titles; it was necessary, as the Prince confesses, to restore the old prestige of the Government, in order to make the people respect it; and he adds — a truth which one hardly would expect from him — “At the commencement of a new society, it is the legislator who makes and corrects the manners; later, it is the manners which preserve the laws.” Of course, and here is the great risk that all revolutionizing people run — they must tend to despotism; “they must personify themselves in a man,” is the Prince’s phrase; and, according as is his temperament155 or disposition156 — according as he is a Cromwell, a Washington, or a Napoleon — the revolution becomes tyranny or freedom, prospers157 or falls.
Somewhere in the St. Helena memorials, Napoleon reports a message of his to the Pope. “Tell the Pope,” he says to an archbishop, “to remember that I have six hundred thousand armed Frenchmen, qui marcheront avec moi, pour moi, et comme moi.” And this is the legacy of the revolution, the advancement158 of freedom! A hundred volumes of imperial special pleading will not avail against such a speech as this — one so insolent159, and at the same time so humiliating, which gives unwittingly the whole of the Emperor’s progress, strength, and weakness. The six hundred thousand armed Frenchmen were used up, and the whole fabric160 falls; the six hundred thousand are reduced to sixty thousand, and straightway all the rest of the fine imperial scheme vanishes: the miserable161 senate, so crawling and abject162 but now, becomes of a sudden endowed with a wondrous163 independence; the miserable sham24 nobles, sham empress, sham kings, dukes, princes, chamberlains, pack up their plumes164 and embroideries165, pounce166 upon what money and plate they can lay their hands on, and when the allies appear before Paris, when for courage and manliness167 there is yet hope, when with fierce marches hastening to the relief of his capital, bursting through ranks upon ranks of the enemy, and crushing or scattering168 them from the path of his swift and victorious169 despair, the Emperor at last is at home — where are the great dignitaries and the lieutenant-generals of the empire? Where is Maria Louisa, the Empress Eagle, with her little callow king of Rome? Is she going to defend her nest and her eaglet? Not she. Empress-queen, lieutenant-general, and court dignitaries, are off on the wings of all the winds — profligati sunt, they are away with the money-bags, and Louis Stanislas Xavier rolls into the palace of his fathers.
With regard to Napoleon’s excellences170 as an administrator171, a legislator, a constructor of public works, and a skilful172 financier, his nephew speaks with much diffuse173 praise, and few persons, we suppose, will be disposed to contradict him. Whether the Emperor composed his famous code, or borrowed it, is of little importance; but he established it, and made the law equal for every man in France except one. His vast public works and vaster wars were carried on without new loans or exorbitant174 taxes; it was only the blood and liberty of the people that were taxed, and we shall want a better advocate than Prince Louis to show us that these were not most unnecessarily and lavishly175 thrown away. As for the former and material improvements, it is not necessary to confess here that a despotic energy can effect such far more readily than a Government of which the strength is diffused176 in many conflicting parties. No doubt, if we could create a despotical governing machine, a steam autocrat177 — passionless, untiring, and supreme178 — we should advance further, and live more at ease than under any other form of government. Ministers might enjoy their pensions and follow their own devices; Lord John might compose histories or tragedies at his leisure, and Lord Palmerston, instead of racking his brains to write leading articles for Cupid, might crown his locks with flowers, and sing [Greek text omitted], his natural Anacreontics; but alas179! not so: if the despotic Government has its good side, Prince Louis Napoleon must acknowledge that it has its bad, and it is for this that the civilized180 world is compelled to substitute for it something more orderly and less capricious. Good as the Imperial Government might have been, it must be recollected181, too, that since its first fall, both the Emperor and his admirer and would-be successor have had their chance of re-establishing it. “Fly from steeple to steeple” the eagles of the former did actually, and according to promise perch182 for a while on the towers of Notre Dame183. We know the event: if the fate of war declared against the Emperor, the country declared against him too; and, with old Lafayette for a mouthpiece, the representatives of the nation did, in a neat speech, pronounce themselves in permanence, but spoke184 no more of the Emperor than if he had never been. Thereupon the Emperor proclaimed his son the Emperor Napoleon II. “L’Empereur est mort, vive l’Empereur!” shouted Prince Lucien. Psha! not a soul echoed the words: the play was played, and as for old Lafayette and his “permanent” representatives, a corporal with a hammer nailed up the door of their spouting-club, and once more Louis Stanislas Xavier rolled back to the bosom of his people.
In like manner Napoleon III. returned from exile, and made his appearance on the frontier. His eagle appeared at Strasburg, and from Strasburg advanced to the capital; but it arrived at Paris with a keeper, and in a post-chaise; whence, by the orders of the sovereign, it was removed to the American shores, and there magnanimously let loose. Who knows, however, how soon it may be on the wing again, and what a flight it will take?
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recollect
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v.回忆,想起,记起,忆起,记得 | |
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recollects
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v.记起,想起( recollect的第三人称单数 ) | |
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fig
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n.无花果(树) | |
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pretext
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n.借口,托词 | |
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unwilling
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adj.不情愿的 | |
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projectors
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电影放映机,幻灯机( projector的名词复数 ) | |
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regiments
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(军队的)团( regiment的名词复数 ); 大量的人或物 | |
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derive
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v.取得;导出;引申;来自;源自;出自 | |
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derived
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vi.起源;由来;衍生;导出v.得到( derive的过去式和过去分词 );(从…中)得到获得;源于;(从…中)提取 | |
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monarchs
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君主,帝王( monarch的名词复数 ) | |
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quacks
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abbr.quacksalvers 庸医,骗子(16世纪习惯用水银或汞治疗梅毒的人)n.江湖医生( quack的名词复数 );江湖郎中;(鸭子的)呱呱声v.(鸭子)发出嘎嘎声( quack的第三人称单数 ) | |
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12
quackery
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n.庸医的医术,骗子的行为 | |
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13
gallant
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adj.英勇的,豪侠的;(向女人)献殷勤的 | |
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14
inflame
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v.使燃烧;使极度激动;使发炎 | |
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lame
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adj.跛的,(辩解、论据等)无说服力的 | |
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16
diplomacy
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n.外交;外交手腕,交际手腕 | |
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distinguished
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adj.卓越的,杰出的,著名的 | |
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18
revile
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v.辱骂,谩骂 | |
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19
insolence
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n.傲慢;无礼;厚颜;傲慢的态度 | |
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monstrous
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adj.巨大的;恐怖的;可耻的,丢脸的 | |
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21
hatred
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n.憎恶,憎恨,仇恨 | |
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22
recurring
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adj.往复的,再次发生的 | |
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23
perpetuate
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v.使永存,使永记不忘 | |
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24
sham
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n./adj.假冒(的),虚伪(的) | |
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25
mortification
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n.耻辱,屈辱 | |
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26
avenge
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v.为...复仇,为...报仇 | |
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27
yearns
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渴望,切盼,向往( yearn的第三人称单数 ) | |
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28
prop
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vt.支撑;n.支柱,支撑物;支持者,靠山 | |
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29
insignificance
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n.不重要;无价值;无意义 | |
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30
overthrown
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adj. 打翻的,推倒的,倾覆的 动词overthrow的过去分词 | |
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overthrow
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v.推翻,打倒,颠覆;n.推翻,瓦解,颠覆 | |
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32
doctrines
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n.教条( doctrine的名词复数 );教义;学说;(政府政策的)正式声明 | |
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33
pious
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adj.虔诚的;道貌岸然的 | |
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34
prudent
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adj.谨慎的,有远见的,精打细算的 | |
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35
exalts
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赞扬( exalt的第三人称单数 ); 歌颂; 提升; 提拔 | |
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36
thwarted
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阻挠( thwart的过去式和过去分词 ); 使受挫折; 挫败; 横过 | |
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37
reign
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n.统治时期,统治,支配,盛行;v.占优势 | |
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38
excellence
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n.优秀,杰出,(pl.)优点,美德 | |
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39
artillery
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n.(军)火炮,大炮;炮兵(部队) | |
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40
fully
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adv.完全地,全部地,彻底地;充分地 | |
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41
consulate
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n.领事馆 | |
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42
consul
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n.领事;执政官 | |
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43
fixed
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adj.固定的,不变的,准备好的;(计算机)固定的 | |
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44
consuls
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领事( consul的名词复数 ); (古罗马共和国时期)执政官 (古罗马共和国及其军队的最高首长,同时共有两位,每年选举一次) | |
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45
expeditious
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adj.迅速的,敏捷的 | |
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46
clinching
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v.(尤指两人)互相紧紧抱[扭]住( clinch的现在分词 );解决(争端、交易),达成(协议) | |
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47
rattling
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adj. 格格作响的, 活泼的, 很好的 adv. 极其, 很, 非常 动词rattle的现在分词 | |
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48
interpretation
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n.解释,说明,描述;艺术处理 | |
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49
avouch
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v.确说,断言 | |
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50
bloody
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adj.非常的的;流血的;残忍的;adv.很;vt.血染 | |
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51
rapes
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n.芸苔( rape的名词复数 );强奸罪;强奸案;肆意损坏v.以暴力夺取,强夺( rape的第三人称单数 );强奸 | |
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52
outrageously
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凶残地; 肆无忌惮地; 令人不能容忍地; 不寻常地 | |
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53
extravagantly
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adv.挥霍无度地 | |
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54
vowed
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起誓,发誓(vow的过去式与过去分词形式) | |
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55
attained
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(通常经过努力)实现( attain的过去式和过去分词 ); 达到; 获得; 达到(某年龄、水平、状况) | |
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56
grandeur
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n.伟大,崇高,宏伟,庄严,豪华 | |
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57
authentic
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a.真的,真正的;可靠的,可信的,有根据的 | |
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58
hideous
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adj.丑陋的,可憎的,可怕的,恐怖的 | |
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59
tyrant
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n.暴君,专制的君主,残暴的人 | |
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60
traitor
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n.叛徒,卖国贼 | |
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61
delirium
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n. 神智昏迷,说胡话;极度兴奋 | |
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62
dagger
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n.匕首,短剑,剑号 | |
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63
bosom
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n.胸,胸部;胸怀;内心;adj.亲密的 | |
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64
irresistible
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adj.非常诱人的,无法拒绝的,无法抗拒的 | |
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65
contemptible
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adj.可鄙的,可轻视的,卑劣的 | |
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66
reverence
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n.敬畏,尊敬,尊严;Reverence:对某些基督教神职人员的尊称;v.尊敬,敬畏,崇敬 | |
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67
patriotism
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n.爱国精神,爱国心,爱国主义 | |
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68
virtue
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n.德行,美德;贞操;优点;功效,效力 | |
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69
modification
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n.修改,改进,缓和,减轻 | |
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70
crafty
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adj.狡猾的,诡诈的 | |
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71
devour
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v.吞没;贪婪地注视或谛听,贪读;使着迷 | |
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72
perfidious
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adj.不忠的,背信弃义的 | |
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73
erects
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v.使直立,竖起( erect的第三人称单数 );建立 | |
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74
panegyric
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n.颂词,颂扬 | |
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75
undoubtedly
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adv.确实地,无疑地 | |
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76
impartiality
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n. 公平, 无私, 不偏 | |
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77
consultation
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n.咨询;商量;商议;会议 | |
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78
patriotic
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adj.爱国的,有爱国心的 | |
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79
sage
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n.圣人,哲人;adj.贤明的,明智的 | |
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80
avowed
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adj.公开声明的,承认的v.公开声明,承认( avow的过去式和过去分词) | |
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81
humbly
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adv. 恭顺地,谦卑地 | |
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82
insufficient
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adj.(for,of)不足的,不够的 | |
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83
metaphor
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n.隐喻,暗喻 | |
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84
providence
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n.深谋远虑,天道,天意;远见;节约;上帝 | |
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85
confided
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v.吐露(秘密,心事等)( confide的过去式和过去分词 );(向某人)吐露(隐私、秘密等) | |
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86
extremity
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n.末端,尽头;尽力;终极;极度 | |
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87
crater
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n.火山口,弹坑 | |
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88
hesitation
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n.犹豫,踌躇 | |
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89
civilizing
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v.使文明,使开化( civilize的现在分词 ) | |
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90
adage
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n.格言,古训 | |
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91
feudal
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adj.封建的,封地的,领地的 | |
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92
communal
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adj.公有的,公共的,公社的,公社制的 | |
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93
franchises
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n.(尤指选举议员的)选举权( franchise的名词复数 );参政权;获特许权的商业机构(或服务);(公司授予的)特许经销权v.给…以特许权,出售特许权( franchise的第三人称单数 ) | |
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94
wilt
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v.(使)植物凋谢或枯萎;(指人)疲倦,衰弱 | |
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95
intestine
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adj.内部的;国内的;n.肠 | |
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96
arson
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n.纵火,放火 | |
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97
anarchy
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n.无政府状态;社会秩序混乱,无秩序 | |
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98
axiomatically
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adv.照公理,自明地 | |
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99
immortality
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n.不死,不朽 | |
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100
advent
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n.(重要事件等的)到来,来临 | |
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101
grandiose
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adj.宏伟的,宏大的,堂皇的,铺张的 | |
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102
vanquish
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v.征服,战胜;克服;抑制 | |
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103
vanquished
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v.征服( vanquish的过去式和过去分词 );战胜;克服;抑制 | |
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104
accomplishment
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n.完成,成就,(pl.)造诣,技能 | |
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105
awaken
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vi.醒,觉醒;vt.唤醒,使觉醒,唤起,激起 | |
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106
Christian
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adj.基督教徒的;n.基督教徒 | |
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107
penetrated
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adj. 击穿的,鞭辟入里的 动词penetrate的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
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108
triumphant
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adj.胜利的,成功的;狂欢的,喜悦的 | |
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109
garb
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n.服装,装束 | |
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110
insinuated
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v.暗示( insinuate的过去式和过去分词 );巧妙或迂回地潜入;(使)缓慢进入;慢慢伸入 | |
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111
battalions
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n.(陆军的)一营(大约有一千兵士)( battalion的名词复数 );协同作战的部队;军队;(组织在一起工作的)队伍 | |
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112
adoption
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n.采用,采纳,通过;收养 | |
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113
rigidly
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adv.刻板地,僵化地 | |
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114
metaphors
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隐喻( metaphor的名词复数 ) | |
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115
legacy
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n.遗产,遗赠;先人(或过去)留下的东西 | |
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116
promptly
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adv.及时地,敏捷地 | |
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117
consulship
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领事的职位或任期 | |
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118
lackeys
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n.听差( lackey的名词复数 );男仆(通常穿制服);卑躬屈膝的人;被待为奴仆的人 | |
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119
narration
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n.讲述,叙述;故事;记叙体 | |
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120
celestial
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adj.天体的;天上的 | |
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121
scampering
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v.蹦蹦跳跳地跑,惊惶奔跑( scamper的现在分词 ) | |
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122
planks
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(厚)木板( plank的名词复数 ); 政纲条目,政策要点 | |
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123
abrupt
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adj.突然的,意外的;唐突的,鲁莽的 | |
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124
dictatorial
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adj. 独裁的,专断的 | |
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125
fusion
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n.溶化;熔解;熔化状态,熔和;熔接 | |
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126
renouncing
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v.声明放弃( renounce的现在分词 );宣布放弃;宣布与…决裂;宣布摒弃 | |
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127
touching
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adj.动人的,使人感伤的 | |
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128
confiscated
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没收,充公( confiscate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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129
sects
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n.宗派,教派( sect的名词复数 ) | |
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130
consecrated
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adj.神圣的,被视为神圣的v.把…奉为神圣,给…祝圣( consecrate的过去式和过去分词 );奉献 | |
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131
consecrate
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v.使圣化,奉…为神圣;尊崇;奉献 | |
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132
prerogatives
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n.权利( prerogative的名词复数 );特权;大主教法庭;总督委任组成的法庭 | |
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133
aspires
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v.渴望,追求( aspire的第三人称单数 ) | |
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134
contravene
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v.违反,违背,反驳,反对 | |
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135
formerly
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adv.从前,以前 | |
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136
fusions
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熔合( fusion的名词复数 ); 核聚变; 联合; 合并 | |
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137
illustrate
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v.举例说明,阐明;图解,加插图 | |
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138
barons
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男爵( baron的名词复数 ); 巨头; 大王; 大亨 | |
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139
descended
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a.为...后裔的,出身于...的 | |
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140
bevy
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n.一群 | |
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141
velvet
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n.丝绒,天鹅绒;adj.丝绒制的,柔软的 | |
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142
batons
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n.(警察武器)警棍( baton的名词复数 );(乐队指挥用的)指挥棒;接力棒 | |
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143
dilemma
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n.困境,进退两难的局面 | |
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144
laboring
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n.劳动,操劳v.努力争取(for)( labor的现在分词 );苦干;详细分析;(指引擎)缓慢而困难地运转 | |
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145
battered
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adj.磨损的;v.连续猛击;磨损 | |
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146
hurled
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v.猛投,用力掷( hurl的过去式和过去分词 );大声叫骂 | |
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147
gage
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n.标准尺寸,规格;量规,量表 [=gauge] | |
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148
stork
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n.鹳 | |
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149
prophesied
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v.预告,预言( prophesy的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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150
cardinal
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n.(天主教的)红衣主教;adj.首要的,基本的 | |
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151
wade
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v.跋涉,涉水;n.跋涉 | |
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152
whittle
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v.削(木头),削减;n.屠刀 | |
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153
patriots
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爱国者,爱国主义者( patriot的名词复数 ) | |
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154
convenable
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可召集的,可召唤的 | |
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155
temperament
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n.气质,性格,性情 | |
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156
disposition
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n.性情,性格;意向,倾向;排列,部署 | |
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157
prospers
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v.成功,兴旺( prosper的第三人称单数 ) | |
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158
advancement
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n.前进,促进,提升 | |
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159
insolent
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adj.傲慢的,无理的 | |
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160
fabric
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n.织物,织品,布;构造,结构,组织 | |
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161
miserable
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adj.悲惨的,痛苦的;可怜的,糟糕的 | |
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162
abject
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adj.极可怜的,卑屈的 | |
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163
wondrous
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adj.令人惊奇的,奇妙的;adv.惊人地;异乎寻常地;令人惊叹地 | |
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164
plumes
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羽毛( plume的名词复数 ); 羽毛饰; 羽毛状物; 升上空中的羽状物 | |
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165
embroideries
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刺绣( embroidery的名词复数 ); 刺绣品; 刺绣法 | |
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166
pounce
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n.猛扑;v.猛扑,突然袭击,欣然同意 | |
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167
manliness
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刚毅 | |
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168
scattering
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n.[物]散射;散乱,分散;在媒介质中的散播adj.散乱的;分散在不同范围的;广泛扩散的;(选票)数量分散的v.散射(scatter的ing形式);散布;驱散 | |
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169
victorious
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adj.胜利的,得胜的 | |
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170
excellences
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n.卓越( excellence的名词复数 );(只用于所修饰的名词后)杰出的;卓越的;出类拔萃的 | |
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171
administrator
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n.经营管理者,行政官员 | |
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172
skilful
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(=skillful)adj.灵巧的,熟练的 | |
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173
diffuse
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v.扩散;传播;adj.冗长的;四散的,弥漫的 | |
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174
exorbitant
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adj.过分的;过度的 | |
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175
lavishly
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adv.慷慨地,大方地 | |
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176
diffused
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散布的,普及的,扩散的 | |
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177
autocrat
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n.独裁者;专横的人 | |
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178
supreme
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adj.极度的,最重要的;至高的,最高的 | |
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179
alas
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int.唉(表示悲伤、忧愁、恐惧等) | |
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180
civilized
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a.有教养的,文雅的 | |
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181
recollected
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adj.冷静的;镇定的;被回忆起的;沉思默想的v.记起,想起( recollect的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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182
perch
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n.栖木,高位,杆;v.栖息,就位,位于 | |
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183
dame
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n.女士 | |
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184
spoke
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n.(车轮的)辐条;轮辐;破坏某人的计划;阻挠某人的行动 v.讲,谈(speak的过去式);说;演说;从某种观点来说 | |
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