Their road lay through a country wild and woody, where crag and copse beautifully intermixed with patches of rich cultivation6. Halfway7, they passed Rosemount, a fanciful pavilion where the Dukes of St. James sometimes sought that elegant simplicity8 which was not afforded by all the various charms of their magnificent Hauteville. At length they arrived at the park-gate of the castle, which might itself have passed for a tolerable mansion9. It was ancient and embattled, flanked by a couple of sturdy towers, and gave a noble promise of the baronial pile which it announced. The park was a petty principality; and its apparently10 illimitable extent, its rich variety of surface, its ancient woods and numerous deer, attracted the attention and the admiration11 even of those who had been born in such magical enclosures.
Away they cantered over the turf, each moment with their blood more sparkling. A turn in the road, and Hauteville, with its donjon keep and lordly flag, and many-windowed line of long perspective, its towers, and turrets12, and terraces, bathed with the soft autumnal sun, met their glad sight.
‘Your Majesty13 is welcome to my poor castle!’ said the young Duke, bowing with head uncovered to Miss Dacre.
‘Nay, we are at the best but captive princesses about to be immured14 in that fearful keep; and this is the way you mock us!’
‘I am content that you shall be my prisoner.’
‘A struggle for freedom!’ said Miss Dacre, looking back to Mrs. Dallington, and she galloped15 towards the castle.
Lord Mildmay and Lady St. Jerome cantered up, and the rest soon assembled. Sir Carte came forward, all smiles, with a clerk of the works bearing a portfolio16 of plans. A crowd of servants, for the Duke maintained an establishment at Hauteville, advanced, and the fair equestrians17 were dismounted. They shook their habits and their curls, vowed18 that riding was your only exercise, and that dust in the earthly economy was a blunder. And then they entered the castle.
Room after room, gallery after gallery; you know the rest. Shall we describe the silk hangings and the reverend tapestry19, the agate20 tables and the tall screens, the china and the armour21, the state beds and the curious cabinets, and the family pictures mixed up so quaintly22 with Italian and Flemish art? But we pass from meek23 Madonnas and seraphic saints, from gleaming Claudes and Guidos soft as Eve, from Rubens’s satyrs and Albano’s boys, and even from those gay and natural medleys24, paintings that cheer the heart, where fruit and flower, with their brilliant bloom, call to a feast the butterfly and bee; we pass from these to square-headed ancestors by Holbein, all black velvet25 and gold chains; cavaliers, by Vandyke, all lace and spurs, with pointed26 beards, that did more execution even than their pointed swords; patriots27 and generals, by Kneller, in Blenheim wigs28 and Steen-kirk cravats29, all robes and armour; scarlet30 judges that supported ship-money, and purple bishops31, who had not been sent to the Tower. Here was a wit who had sipped32 his coffee at Button’s, and there some mad Alcibiades duke who had exhausted33 life ere he had finished youth, and yet might be consoled for all his flashing follies34 could he witness the bright eyes that lingered on his countenance35, while they glanced over all the patriotism36 and all the piety37, all the illustrious courage and all the historic craft, which, when living, it was daily told him that he had shamed. Ye dames with dewy eyes that Lely drew! have we forgotten you? No! by that sleepy loveliness that reminds us that night belongs to beauty, ye were made for memory! And oh! our grandmothers, that we now look upon as girls, breathing in Reynolds’s playful canvas, let us also pay our homage38 to your grace!
The chapel39, where you might trace art from the richly Gothic tomb, designed by some neighbouring abbot, to the last effort of Flaxman; the riding-house, where, brightly framed, looked down upon you with a courtly smile the first and gartered duke, who had been Master of the Horse, were alike visited, and alike admired. They mounted the summit of the round tower, and looked around upon the broad county, which they were proud to call their own. Amid innumerable seats, where blazed the hearths40 of the best blood of England, they recognised, with delight, the dome41 of Dacre and the woods of Dallington. They walked along a terrace not unworthy of the promenade43 of a court; they visited the flower gardens, where the peculiar44 style of every nation was in turn imitated; they loitered in the vast conservatories45, which were themselves a palace; they wandered in the wilderness46, where the invention of consummate47 art presented them with the ideal of nature. In this poetic48 solitude49, where all was green, and still, and sweet, or where the only sound was falling water or fluttering birds, the young Duke recurred50 to the feelings which, during the last momentous51 week, had so mastered his nature, and he longed to wind his arm round the beautiful being without whom this enchanting52 domain53 was a dreary54 waste.
They assembled in a green retreat, where the energetic Sir Carte had erected55 a marquée, and where a collation56 greeted the eyes of those who were well prepared for it. Rawdon had also done his duty, and the guests, who were aware of the sudden manner in which the whole affair had arisen, wondered at the magic which had produced a result worthy42 of a week’s preparation. But it is a great thing to be a young Duke. The pasties, and the venison, and the game, the pines, and the peaches, and the grapes, the cakes, and the confectionery, and the ices, which proved that the still-room at Hauteville was not an empty name, were all most popular. But the wines, they were marvellous! And as the finest cellars in the country had been ransacked57 for excellence58 and variety, it is not wonderful that their produce obtained a panegyric59. There was hock of a century old, which made all stare, though we, for our part, cannot see, or rather taste, the beauty of this antiquity60. Wine, like woman, in our opinion, should not be too old, so we raise our altar to the infant Bacchus; but this is not the creed61 of the million, nor was it the persuasion62 of Sir Chetwode Chetwode or of Sir Tichborne Tichborne, good judges both. The Johannisberger quite converted them. They no longer disliked the young Duke. They thought him a fool, to be sure, but at the same time a good-natured one. In the meantime, all were interested, and Carlstein with his key bugle63, from out a neighbouring brake, afforded the only luxury that was wanting.
It is six o’clock, carriages are ordered, and horses are harnessed. Back, back to Dacre! But not at the lively rate at which they had left that lordly hall this morning. They are all alike inclined to move slowly; they are silent, yet serene64 and satisfied; they ponder upon the reminiscences of a delightful65 morning, and also of a delightful meal. Perhaps they are a little weary; perhaps they wish to gaze upon the sunset.
It is eight o’clock, and they enter the park gates. Dinner is universally voted a bore, even by the Baronets. Coffee covers the retreat of many a wearied bird to her evening bower66. The rest lounge on a couch or sofa, or chew the cud of memory on an ottoman. It was a day of pleasure which had been pleasant. That was certain: but that was past. Who is to be Duchess of St. James? Answer this. May Dacre, or Bertha Vere, or Clara Howard? Lady St. Jerome, is it to be a daughter of thy house? Lady Faulconcourt, art thou to be hailed as the unrivalled mother?’ Tis mystery all, as must always be the future of this world. We muse67, we plan, we hope, but naught68 is certain but that which is naught; for, a question answered, a doubt satisfied, an end attained69; what are they but fit companions for clothes out of fashion, cracked china, and broken fans?
Our hero was neither wearied nor sleepy, for his mind was too full of exciting fancies to think of the interests of his body. As all were withdrawing, he threw his cloak about him and walked on the terrace. It was a night soft as the rhyme that sighs from Rogers’ shell, and brilliant as a phrase just turned by Moore. The thousand stars smiled from their blue pavilions, and the moon shed the mild light that makes a lover muse. Fragrance70 came in airy waves from trees rich with the golden orange, and from out the woods there ever and anon arose a sound, deep and yet hushed, and mystical, and soft. It could not be the wind!
His heart was full, his hopes were sweet, his fate pledged on a die. And in this shrine71, where all was like his love, immaculate and beautiful, he vowed a faith which had not been returned. Such is the madness of love! Such is the magic of beauty!
Music rose upon the air. Some huntsmen were practising their horns. The triumphant72 strain elevated his high hopes, the tender tone accorded with his emotions. He paced up and down the terrace in excited reverie, fed by the music. In imagination she was with him: she spoke73, she smiled, she loved. He gazed upon her beaming countenance: his soul thrilled with tones which, only she could utter. He pressed her to his throbbing74 and tumultuous breast!
The music stopped. He fell from his seventh heaven. He felt all the exhaustion75 of his prolonged reverie. All was flat, dull, unpromising. The moon seemed dim, the stars were surely fading, the perfume of the trees was faint, the wind of the woods was a howling demon76. Exhausted, dispirited, ay! almost desperate, with a darkened soul and staggering pace, he regained77 his chamber78.
点击收听单词发音
1 hawking | |
利用鹰行猎 | |
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2 dames | |
n.(在英国)夫人(一种封号),夫人(爵士妻子的称号)( dame的名词复数 );女人 | |
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3 ambling | |
v.(马)缓行( amble的现在分词 );从容地走,漫步 | |
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4 tinkling | |
n.丁当作响声 | |
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5 cavalcade | |
n.车队等的行列 | |
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6 cultivation | |
n.耕作,培养,栽培(法),养成 | |
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7 halfway | |
adj.中途的,不彻底的,部分的;adv.半路地,在中途,在半途 | |
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8 simplicity | |
n.简单,简易;朴素;直率,单纯 | |
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9 mansion | |
n.大厦,大楼;宅第 | |
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10 apparently | |
adv.显然地;表面上,似乎 | |
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11 admiration | |
n.钦佩,赞美,羡慕 | |
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12 turrets | |
(六角)转台( turret的名词复数 ); (战舰和坦克等上的)转动炮塔; (摄影机等上的)镜头转台; (旧时攻城用的)塔车 | |
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13 majesty | |
n.雄伟,壮丽,庄严,威严;最高权威,王权 | |
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14 immured | |
v.禁闭,监禁( immure的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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15 galloped | |
(使马)飞奔,奔驰( gallop的过去式和过去分词 ); 快速做[说]某事 | |
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16 portfolio | |
n.公事包;文件夹;大臣及部长职位 | |
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17 equestrians | |
n.骑手(equestrian的复数形式) | |
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18 vowed | |
起誓,发誓(vow的过去式与过去分词形式) | |
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19 tapestry | |
n.挂毯,丰富多采的画面 | |
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20 agate | |
n.玛瑙 | |
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21 armour | |
(=armor)n.盔甲;装甲部队 | |
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22 quaintly | |
adv.古怪离奇地 | |
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23 meek | |
adj.温顺的,逆来顺受的 | |
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24 medleys | |
n.混杂物( medley的名词复数 );混合物;混杂的人群;混成曲(多首声乐曲或器乐曲串联在一起) | |
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25 velvet | |
n.丝绒,天鹅绒;adj.丝绒制的,柔软的 | |
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26 pointed | |
adj.尖的,直截了当的 | |
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27 patriots | |
爱国者,爱国主义者( patriot的名词复数 ) | |
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28 wigs | |
n.假发,法官帽( wig的名词复数 ) | |
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29 cravats | |
n.(系在衬衫衣领里面的)男式围巾( cravat的名词复数 ) | |
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30 scarlet | |
n.深红色,绯红色,红衣;adj.绯红色的 | |
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31 bishops | |
(基督教某些教派管辖大教区的)主教( bishop的名词复数 ); (国际象棋的)象 | |
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32 sipped | |
v.小口喝,呷,抿( sip的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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33 exhausted | |
adj.极其疲惫的,精疲力尽的 | |
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34 follies | |
罪恶,时事讽刺剧; 愚蠢,蠢笨,愚蠢的行为、思想或做法( folly的名词复数 ) | |
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35 countenance | |
n.脸色,面容;面部表情;vt.支持,赞同 | |
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36 patriotism | |
n.爱国精神,爱国心,爱国主义 | |
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37 piety | |
n.虔诚,虔敬 | |
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38 homage | |
n.尊敬,敬意,崇敬 | |
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39 chapel | |
n.小教堂,殡仪馆 | |
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40 hearths | |
壁炉前的地板,炉床,壁炉边( hearth的名词复数 ) | |
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41 dome | |
n.圆屋顶,拱顶 | |
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42 worthy | |
adj.(of)值得的,配得上的;有价值的 | |
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43 promenade | |
n./v.散步 | |
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44 peculiar | |
adj.古怪的,异常的;特殊的,特有的 | |
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45 conservatories | |
n.(培植植物的)温室,暖房( conservatory的名词复数 ) | |
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46 wilderness | |
n.杳无人烟的一片陆地、水等,荒漠 | |
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47 consummate | |
adj.完美的;v.成婚;使完美 [反]baffle | |
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48 poetic | |
adj.富有诗意的,有诗人气质的,善于抒情的 | |
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49 solitude | |
n. 孤独; 独居,荒僻之地,幽静的地方 | |
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50 recurred | |
再发生,复发( recur的过去式和过去分词 ); 治愈 | |
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51 momentous | |
adj.重要的,重大的 | |
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52 enchanting | |
a.讨人喜欢的 | |
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53 domain | |
n.(活动等)领域,范围;领地,势力范围 | |
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54 dreary | |
adj.令人沮丧的,沉闷的,单调乏味的 | |
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55 ERECTED | |
adj. 直立的,竖立的,笔直的 vt. 使 ... 直立,建立 | |
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56 collation | |
n.便餐;整理 | |
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57 ransacked | |
v.彻底搜查( ransack的过去式和过去分词 );抢劫,掠夺 | |
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58 excellence | |
n.优秀,杰出,(pl.)优点,美德 | |
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59 panegyric | |
n.颂词,颂扬 | |
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60 antiquity | |
n.古老;高龄;古物,古迹 | |
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61 creed | |
n.信条;信念,纲领 | |
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62 persuasion | |
n.劝说;说服;持有某种信仰的宗派 | |
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63 bugle | |
n.军号,号角,喇叭;v.吹号,吹号召集 | |
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64 serene | |
adj. 安详的,宁静的,平静的 | |
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65 delightful | |
adj.令人高兴的,使人快乐的 | |
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66 bower | |
n.凉亭,树荫下凉快之处;闺房;v.荫蔽 | |
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67 muse | |
n.缪斯(希腊神话中的女神),创作灵感 | |
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68 naught | |
n.无,零 [=nought] | |
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69 attained | |
(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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70 fragrance | |
n.芬芳,香味,香气 | |
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71 shrine | |
n.圣地,神龛,庙;v.将...置于神龛内,把...奉为神圣 | |
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72 triumphant | |
adj.胜利的,成功的;狂欢的,喜悦的 | |
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73 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 | |
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74 throbbing | |
a. 跳动的,悸动的 | |
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75 exhaustion | |
n.耗尽枯竭,疲惫,筋疲力尽,竭尽,详尽无遗的论述 | |
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76 demon | |
n.魔鬼,恶魔 | |
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77 regained | |
复得( regain的过去式和过去分词 ); 赢回; 重回; 复至某地 | |
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78 chamber | |
n.房间,寝室;会议厅;议院;会所 | |
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