The Pearl of Love

 

 

 

The Pearl of Love

 

H.G. Wells

 

 

Project Gutenberg of Australia eBooks are created from printed editionswhich are in the public domain¹ in Australia, unless a copyright noticeis included. We do NOT keep any eBooks in compliance² with a particular

 

 

paper edition

 

 

The pearl is lovelier than the most brilliant of crystalline stones, themoralist declares, because it is made through the suffering of a livingcreature. About that I can say nothing because I feel none of thefascination of pearls. Their cloudy lustre³ moves me not at all. Nor canI decide for myself upon that agelong dispute whether The Pearl of Loveis the cruellest of stories or only a gracious fable⁴ of the immortalityof beauty.

 

 

Both the story and the controversy⁶ will be familiar to students ofmediaeval Persian prose. The story is a short one, though the commentaryupon it is a respectable part of the literature of that period. Theyhave treated it as a poetic⁷ invention and they have treated it as anallegory meaning this, that, or the other thing. Theologians have hadtheir copious⁸ way with it, dealing⁹ with it particularly as concerningthe restoration of the body after death, and it has been greatly used asa parable¹⁰ by those who write about aesthetics¹¹. And many have held it tobe the statement of a fact, simply and baldly true.

The story is laid in North India, which is the most fruitful soil forsublime love stories of all the lands in the world. It was in a countryof sunshine and lakes and rich forests and hills and fertile valleys;and far away the great mountains hung in the sky, peaks, crests¹³, andridges of inaccessible¹⁴ and eternal snow. There was a young prince, lordof all the land; and he found a maiden¹⁵ of indescribable beauty anddelightfulness and he made her his queen and laid his heart at her feet.

Love was theirs, full of joys and sweetness, full of hope, exquisite,brave and marvellous love, beyond anything you have ever dreamt of love.

It was theirs for a year and a part of a year; and then suddenly,because of some venomous sting that came to her in a thicket¹⁷, she died.

She died and for a while the prince was utterly¹⁸ prostrated¹⁹. He wassilent and motionless with grief. They feared he might kill himself, andhe had neither sons nor brothers to succeed him. For two days and nightshe lay upon his face, fasting, across the foot of the couch which boreher calm and lovely body. Then he arose and ate, and went about veryquietly like one who has taken a great resolution. He caused her body tobe put in a coffin²⁰ of lead mixed with silver, and for that he had anouter coffin made of the most precious and scented²¹ woods wrought²² withgold, and about that there was to be a sarcophagus of alabaster²³, inlaidwith precious stones. And while these things were being done he spenthis time for the most part by the pools and in the garden-houses andpavilions and groves²⁴ and in those chambers²⁵ in the palace where they twohad been most together, brooding upon her loveliness. He did not rendhis garments nor defile²⁶ himself with ashes and sackcloth as the customwas, for his love was too great for such extravagances. At last he cameforth again among his councillors and before the people, and told themwhat he had a mind to do.

He said he could never more touch woman, he could never more think ofthem, and so he would find a seemly youth to adopt for his heir andtrain him to his task, and that he would do his princely duties asbecame him; but that for the rest of it, he would give himself with allhis power and all his strength and all his wealth, all that he couldcommand, to make a monument worthy²⁷ of his incomparable, dear, lostmistress. A building it should be of perfect grace and beauty, moremarvellous than any other building had ever been or could ever be, sothat to the end of time it should be a wonder, and men would treasure itand speak of it and desire to see it and come from all the lands of theearth to visit and recall the name and the memory of his queen. And thisbuilding he said was to be called the Pearl of Love.

And this his councillors and people permitted him to do, and so he did.

Year followed year and all the years he devoted²⁸ himself to building andadorning the Pearl of Love. A great foundation was hewn out of theliving rock in a place whence one seemed to be looking at the snowywilderness of the great mountain across the valley of the world.

Villages and hills there were, a winding²⁹ river, and very far away threegreat cities. Here they put the sarcophagus of alabaster beneath apavilion of cunning workmanship; and about it there were set pillars ofstrange and lovely stone and wrought and fretted³⁰ walls, and a greatcasket of masonry³¹ bearing a dome³² and pinnacles³³ and cupolas, as exquisiteas a jewel. At first the design of the Pearl of Love was less bold andsubtle than it became later. At first it was smaller and more wroughtand encrusted; there were many pierced screens and delicate clusters ofrosy-hued pillars, and the sarcophagus lay like a child that sleepsamong flowers. The first dome was covered with green tiles, framed andheld together by silver, but this was taken away again because it seemedclose, because it did not soar grandly enough for the broadeningimagination of the prince.

For by this time he was no longer the graceful³⁴ youth who had loved thegirl queen. He was now a man, grave and intent, wholly set upon thebuilding of the Pearl of Love. With every year of effort he had learntnew possibilities in arch and wall and buttress³⁵; he had acquired greaterpower over the material he had to use and he had learnt of a hundredstones and hues³⁶ and effects that he could never have thought of in thebeginning. His sense of colour had grown finer and colder; he cared nomore for the enamelled gold-lined brightness that had pleased him first,the brightness of an illuminated³⁷ missal; he sought now for bluecolourings like the sky and for the subtle hues of great distances, forrecondite shadows and sudden broad floods of purple opalescence³⁸ and forgrandeur and space. He wearied altogether of carvings³⁹ and pictures andinlaid ornamentation and all the little careful work of men. "Those werepretty things," he said of his earlier decorations; and had them putaside into subordinate buildings where they would not hamper⁴⁰ his maindesign. Greater and greater grew his artistry. With awe⁴¹ and amazementpeople saw the Pearl of Love sweeping⁴² up from its first beginnings to asuperhuman breadth and height and magnificence. They did not knowclearly what they had expected, but never had they expected so sublime¹² athing as this. "Wonderful are the miracles," they whispered, "that lovecan do," and all the women in the world, whatever other loves they had,loved the prince for the splendour of his devotion.

Through the middle of the building ran a great aisle⁴³, a vista⁴⁴, that theprince came to care for more and more. From the inner entrance of thebuilding he looked along the length of an immense pillared gallery andacross the central area from which the rose-hued columns had long sincevanished, over the top of the pavilion under which lay the sarcophagus,through a marvellously designed opening, to the snowy wildernesses⁴⁵ ofthe great mountain, the lord of all mountains, two hundred miles away.

The pillars and arches and buttresses⁴⁶ and galleries soared and floatedon either side, perfect yet unobtrusive, like great archangels waitingin the shadows about the presence of God. When men saw that austerebeauty for the first time they were exalted⁴⁷, and then they shivered andtheir hearts bowed down. Very often would the prince come to stand thereand look at that vista, deeply moved and not yet fully⁴⁸ satisfied. ThePearl of Love had still something for him to do, he felt, before histask was done. Always he would order some little alteration⁴⁹ to be madeor some recent alterations⁵⁰ to be put back again. And one day he saidthat the sarcophagus would be clearer and simpler without the pavilion;and after regarding it very steadfastly⁵¹ for a long time, he had thepavilion dismantled⁵² and removed.

The next day he came and said nothing, and the next day and the next.

Then for two days he stayed away altogether. Then he returned, bringingwith him an architect and two master craftsmen⁵³ and a small retinue⁵⁴.

All looked, standing⁵⁵ together silently in a little group, amidst theserene vastness of their achievement. No trace of toil⁵⁶ remained in itsperfection. It was as if the God of nature's beauty had taken over theiroffspring to himself.

Only one thing there was to mar¹⁶ the absolute harmony. There was acertain disproportion about the sarcophagus. It had never been enlarged,and indeed how could it have been enlarged since the early days. Itchallenged the eye; it nicked the streaming lines. In that sarcophaguswas the casket of lead and silver, and in the casket of lead and silverwas the queen, the dear immortal⁵ cause of all this beauty. But now thatsarcophagus seemed no more than a little dark oblong that layincongruously in the great vista of the Pearl of Love. It was as ifsomeone had dropped a small valise upon the crystal sea of heaven.

Long the prince mused⁵⁷, but no one knew the thoughts that passed throughhis mind.

At last he spoke⁵⁸. He pointed⁵⁹.

"Take that thing away," he said.

THE END

1 domain   

n.(活动等)领域，范围；领地，势力范围

参考例句：

• This information should be in the public domain.这一消息应该为公众所知。
• This question comes into the domain of philosophy.这一问题属于哲学范畴。

2 compliance   

n.顺从；服从；附和；屈从

参考例句：

• I was surprised by his compliance with these terms.我对他竟然依从了这些条件而感到吃惊。
• She gave up the idea in compliance with his desire.她顺从他的愿望而放弃自己的主意。

3 lustre   

n.光亮，光泽；荣誉

参考例句：

• The sun was shining with uncommon lustre.太阳放射出异常的光彩。
• A good name keeps its lustre in the dark.一个好的名誉在黑暗中也保持它的光辉。

4 fable   

n.寓言；童话；神话

参考例句：

• The fable is given on the next page. 这篇寓言登在下一页上。
• He had some motive in telling this fable. 他讲这寓言故事是有用意的。

5 immortal   

adj.不朽的；永生的，不死的；神的

参考例句：

• The wild cocoa tree is effectively immortal.野生可可树实际上是不会死的。
• The heroes of the people are immortal!人民英雄永垂不朽！

6 controversy   

n.争论，辩论，争吵

参考例句：

• That is a fact beyond controversy.那是一个无可争论的事实。
• We ran the risk of becoming the butt of every controversy.我们要冒使自己在所有的纷争中都成为众矢之的的风险。

7 poetic   

adj.富有诗意的，有诗人气质的，善于抒情的

参考例句：

• His poetic idiom is stamped with expressions describing group feeling and thought.他的诗中的措辞往往带有描写群体感情和思想的印记。
• His poetic novels have gone through three different historical stages.他的诗情小说创作经历了三个不同的历史阶段。

8 copious   

adj.丰富的，大量的

参考例句：

• She supports her theory with copious evidences.她以大量的例证来充实自己的理论。
• Every star is a copious source of neutrinos.每颗恒星都是丰富的中微子源。

9 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

10 parable   

n.寓言，比喻

参考例句：

• This is an ancient parable.这是一个古老的寓言。
• The minister preached a sermon on the parable of the lost sheep.牧师讲道时用了亡羊的比喻。

11 aesthetics   

n.(尤指艺术方面之)美学，审美学

参考例句：

• Sometimes, of course, our markings may be simply a matter of aesthetics. 当然，有时我们的标点符号也许只是个审美的问题。 来自名作英译部分
• The field of aesthetics presents an especially difficult problem to the historian. 美学领域向历史学家提出了一个格外困难的问题。

12 sublime   

adj.崇高的，伟大的；极度的，不顾后果的

参考例句：

• We should take some time to enjoy the sublime beauty of nature.我们应该花些时间去欣赏大自然的壮丽景象。
• Olympic games play as an important arena to exhibit the sublime idea.奥运会，就是展示此崇高理念的重要舞台。

13 crests   

v.到达山顶（或浪峰）( crest的第三人称单数 )；到达洪峰，达到顶点

参考例句：

• The surfers were riding in towards the beach on the crests of the waves. 冲浪者们顺着浪头冲向岸边。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The correspondent aroused, heard the crash of the toppled crests. 记者醒了，他听见了浪头倒塌下来的轰隆轰隆声。 来自辞典例句

14 inaccessible   

adj.达不到的，难接近的

参考例句：

• This novel seems to me among the most inaccessible.这本书对我来说是最难懂的小说之一。
• The top of Mount Everest is the most inaccessible place in the world.珠穆朗玛峰是世界上最难到达的地方。

15 maiden   

n.少女，处女；adj.未婚的，纯洁的，无经验的

参考例句：

• The prince fell in love with a fair young maiden.王子爱上了一位年轻美丽的少女。
• The aircraft makes its maiden flight tomorrow.这架飞机明天首航。

16 mar   

vt.破坏，毁坏，弄糟

参考例句：

• It was not the custom for elderly people to mar the picnics with their presence.大人们照例不参加这样的野餐以免扫兴。
• Such a marriage might mar your career.这样的婚姻说不定会毁了你的一生。

17 thicket   

n.灌木丛，树林

参考例句：

• A thicket makes good cover for animals to hide in.丛林是动物的良好隐蔽处。
• We were now at the margin of the thicket.我们现在已经来到了丛林的边缘。

18 utterly   

adv.完全地，绝对地

参考例句：

• Utterly devoted to the people,he gave his life in saving his patients.他忠于人民，把毕生精力用于挽救患者的生命。
• I was utterly ravished by the way she smiled.她的微笑使我完全陶醉了。

19 prostrated   

v.使俯伏，使拜倒( prostrate的过去式和过去分词 )；（指疾病、天气等）使某人无能为力

参考例句：

• He was prostrated by the loss of his wife. 他因丧妻而忧郁。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• They prostrated themselves before the emperor. 他们拜倒在皇帝的面前。 来自《简明英汉词典》

20 coffin   

n.棺材，灵柩

参考例句：

• When one's coffin is covered,all discussion about him can be settled.盖棺论定。
• The coffin was placed in the grave.那口棺材已安放到坟墓里去了。

21 scented   

adj.有香味的；洒香水的；有气味的v.嗅到(scent的过去分词)

参考例句：

• I let my lungs fill with the scented air. 我呼吸着芬芳的空气。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The police dog scented about till he found the trail. 警犬嗅来嗅去，终于找到了踪迹。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

22 wrought   

v.引起；以…原料制作；运转；adj.制造的

参考例句：

• Events in Paris wrought a change in British opinion towards France and Germany.巴黎发生的事件改变了英国对法国和德国的看法。
• It's a walking stick with a gold head wrought in the form of a flower.那是一个金质花形包头的拐杖。

23 alabaster   

adj.雪白的；n.雪花石膏；条纹大理石

参考例句：

• The floor was marble tile,and the columns alabaster.地板是由大理石铺成的，柱子则是雪花石膏打造而成。
• Her skin was like alabaster.她的皮肤光洁雪白。

24 groves   

树丛，小树林( grove的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The early sun shone serenely on embrowned groves and still green fields. 朝阳宁静地照耀着已经发黄的树丛和还是一片绿色的田地。
• The trees grew more and more in groves and dotted with old yews. 那里的树木越来越多地长成了一簇簇的小丛林，还点缀着几棵老紫杉树。

25 chambers   

n.房间( chamber的名词复数 )；（议会的）议院；卧室；会议厅

参考例句：

• The body will be removed into one of the cold storage chambers. 尸体将被移到一个冷冻间里。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Mr Chambers's readable book concentrates on the middle passage: the time Ransome spent in Russia. Chambers先生的这本值得一看的书重点在中间：Ransome在俄国的那几年。 来自互联网

26 defile   

v.弄污，弄脏；n.(山间)小道

参考例句：

• Don't defile the land of our ancestors!再不要污染我们先祖们的大地！
• We respect the faith of Islam, even as we fight those whose actions defile that faith.我们尊重伊斯兰教的信仰，并与玷污伊斯兰教的信仰的行为作斗争。

27 worthy   

adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的

参考例句：

• I did not esteem him to be worthy of trust.我认为他不值得信赖。
• There occurred nothing that was worthy to be mentioned.没有值得一提的事发生。

28 devoted   

adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的

参考例句：

• He devoted his life to the educational cause of the motherland.他为祖国的教育事业贡献了一生。
• We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。

29 winding   

n.绕，缠，绕组，线圈

参考例句：

• A winding lane led down towards the river.一条弯弯曲曲的小路通向河边。
• The winding trail caused us to lose our orientation.迂回曲折的小道使我们迷失了方向。

30 fretted   

焦躁的，附有弦马的，腐蚀的

参考例句：

• The wind whistled through the twigs and fretted the occasional, dirty-looking crocuses. 寒风穿过枯枝，有时把发脏的藏红花吹刮跑了。 来自英汉文学
• The lady's fame for hitting the mark fretted him. 这位太太看问题深刻的名声在折磨着他。

31 masonry   

n.砖土建筑；砖石

参考例句：

• Masonry is a careful skill.砖石工艺是一种精心的技艺。
• The masonry of the old building began to crumble.旧楼房的砖石结构开始崩落。

32 dome   

n.圆屋顶，拱顶

参考例句：

• The dome was supported by white marble columns.圆顶由白色大理石柱支撑着。
• They formed the dome with the tree's branches.他们用树枝搭成圆屋顶。

33 pinnacles   

顶峰( pinnacle的名词复数 )； 顶点； 尖顶； 小尖塔

参考例句：

• What would be the pinnacles of your acting and music? 对你而言什麽代表你的演技和音乐的巅峰？
• On Skye's Trotternish Peninsula, basalt pinnacles loom over the Sound of Raasay. 在斯开岛的特洛登尼许半岛，玄武岩尖塔俯瞰着拉塞海峡。

34 graceful   

adj.优美的，优雅的；得体的

参考例句：

• His movements on the parallel bars were very graceful.他的双杠动作可帅了!
• The ballet dancer is so graceful.芭蕾舞演员的姿态是如此的优美。

35 buttress   

n.支撑物；v.支持

参考例句：

• I don't think they have any buttress behind them.我认为他们背后没有什么支持力量。
• It was decided to buttress the crumbling walls.人们决定建造扶壁以支撑崩塌中的墙。

36 hues   

色彩( hue的名词复数 )； 色调； 信仰； 观点

参考例句：

• When the sun rose a hundred prismatic hues were reflected from it. 太阳一出，更把它映得千变万化、异彩缤纷。
• Where maple trees grow, the leaves are often several brilliant hues of red. 在枫树生长的地方，枫叶常常呈现出数种光彩夺目的红色。

37 illuminated   

adj.被照明的；受启迪的

参考例句：

• Floodlights illuminated the stadium. 泛光灯照亮了体育场。
• the illuminated city at night 夜幕中万家灯火的城市

38 opalescence   

n.乳白光，蛋白色光；乳光

参考例句：

• The sunset was making great splashes of fiery opalescence across the sky. 夕阳将大片天空染成色彩变幻的火红色。 来自辞典例句

39 carvings   

n.雕刻( carving的名词复数 )；雕刻术；雕刻品；雕刻物

参考例句：

• The desk was ornamented with many carvings. 这桌子装饰有很多雕刻物。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Shell carvings are a specialty of the town. 贝雕是该城的特产。 来自《简明英汉词典》

40 hamper   

vt.妨碍，束缚，限制；n.(有盖的)大篮子

参考例句：

• There are some apples in a picnic hamper.在野餐用的大篮子里有许多苹果。
• The emergence of such problems seriously hamper the development of enterprises.这些问题的出现严重阻碍了企业的发展。

41 awe   

n.敬畏，惊惧；vt.使敬畏，使惊惧

参考例句：

• The sight filled us with awe.这景色使我们大为惊叹。
• The approaching tornado struck awe in our hearts.正在逼近的龙卷风使我们惊恐万分。

42 sweeping   

adj.范围广大的，一扫无遗的

参考例句：

• The citizens voted for sweeping reforms.公民投票支持全面的改革。
• Can you hear the wind sweeping through the branches?你能听到风掠过树枝的声音吗？

43 aisle   

n.（教堂、教室、戏院等里的）过道，通道

参考例句：

• The aisle was crammed with people.过道上挤满了人。
• The girl ushered me along the aisle to my seat.引座小姐带领我沿着通道到我的座位上去。

44 vista   

n.远景，深景，展望，回想

参考例句：

• From my bedroom window I looked out on a crowded vista of hills and rooftops.我从卧室窗口望去，远处尽是连绵的山峦和屋顶。
• These uprisings come from desperation and a vista of a future without hope.发生这些暴动是因为人们被逼上了绝路，未来看不到一点儿希望。

45 wildernesses   

荒野( wilderness的名词复数 )； 沙漠； （政治家）在野； 不再当政（或掌权）

参考例句：

• Antarctica is one of the last real wildernesses left on the earth. 南极洲是地球上所剩不多的旷野之一。
• Dartmoor is considered by many to be one of Britain's great nature wildernesses. Dartmoor被很多人认为是英国最大的荒原之一。

46 buttresses   

n.扶壁，扶垛( buttress的名词复数 )v.用扶壁支撑，加固( buttress的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Flying buttresses were constructed of vertical masonry piers with arches curving out from them like fingers. 飞梁结构，灵感来自于带拱形的垂直石质桥墩，外形像弯曲的手指。 来自互联网
• GOTHIC_BUTTRESSES_DESC;Gothic construction, particularly in its later phase, is characterized by lightness and soaring spaces. 哥特式建筑，尤其是其发展的后期，以轻灵和高耸的尖顶为标志。 来自互联网

47 exalted   

adj.(地位等)高的，崇高的；尊贵的，高尚的

参考例句：

• Their loveliness and holiness in accordance with their exalted station.他们的美丽和圣洁也与他们的崇高地位相称。
• He received respect because he was a person of exalted rank.他因为是个地位崇高的人而受到尊敬。

48 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

49 alteration   

n.变更，改变；蚀变

参考例句：

• The shirt needs alteration.这件衬衣需要改一改。
• He easily perceived there was an alteration in my countenance.他立刻看出我的脸色和往常有些不同。

50 alterations   

n.改动( alteration的名词复数 )；更改；变化；改变

参考例句：

• Any alterations should be written in neatly to the left side. 改动部分应书写清晰，插在正文的左侧。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Gene mutations are alterations in the DNA code. 基因突变是指DNA 密码的改变。 来自《简明英汉词典》

51 steadfastly   

adv.踏实地，不变地；岿然；坚定不渝

参考例句：

• So he sat, with a steadfastly vacant gaze, pausing in his work. 他就像这样坐着，停止了工作，直勾勾地瞪着眼。 来自英汉文学 - 双城记
• Defarge and his wife looked steadfastly at one another. 德伐日和他的妻子彼此凝视了一会儿。 来自英汉文学 - 双城记

52 dismantled   

拆开( dismantle的过去式和过去分词 )； 拆卸； 废除； 取消

参考例句：

• The plant was dismantled of all its equipment and furniture. 这家工厂的设备和家具全被拆除了。
• The Japanese empire was quickly dismantled. 日本帝国很快被打垮了。

53 craftsmen   

n. 技工

参考例句：

• rugs handmade by local craftsmen 由当地工艺师手工制作的小地毯
• The craftsmen have ensured faithful reproduction of the original painting. 工匠保证要复制一幅最接近原作的画。

54 retinue   

n.侍从；随员

参考例句：

• The duchess arrived,surrounded by her retinue of servants.公爵夫人在大批随从人马的簇拥下到达了。
• The king's retinue accompanied him on the journey.国王的侍从在旅途上陪伴着他。

55 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

56 toil   

vi.辛劳工作，艰难地行动；n.苦工，难事

参考例句：

• The wealth comes from the toil of the masses.财富来自大众的辛勤劳动。
• Every single grain is the result of toil.每一粒粮食都来之不易。

57 mused   

v.沉思，冥想( muse的过去式和过去分词 )；沉思自语说（某事）

参考例句：

• \"I wonder if I shall ever see them again, \"he mused. “我不知道是否还可以再见到他们，”他沉思自问。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• \"Where are we going from here?\" mused one of Rutherford's guests. 卢瑟福的一位客人忍不住说道：‘我们这是在干什么？” 来自英汉非文学 - 科学史

58 spoke   

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

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

59 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。