‘EXIT TYRANNUS’

THE eventful day had arrived at last, the day which, when first named, had seemed—like all golden dates that promise anything definite—so immeasurably remote. When it was first announced, a fortnight before, that Miss Smedley was really going, the resultant ecstasies² had occupied a full week, during which we blindly revelled³ in the contemplation and discussion of her past tyrannies, crimes, malignities; in recalling to each other this or that insult, dishonour⁴, or physical assault, sullenly⁵ endured at a time when deliverance was not even a small star on the horizon: and in mapping out the shining days to come, with special new troubles of their own, no doubt—since this is but a work-a-day world!—but at least free from one familiar scourge⁶. The time that remained had been taken up by the planning of practical expressions of the popular sentiment. Under[194] Edward’s masterly direction, arrangements had been made for a flag to be run up over the hen-house at the very moment when the fly, with Miss Smedley’s boxes on top and the grim oppressor herself inside, began to move off down the drive. Three brass⁷ cannons⁸, set on the brow of the sunk-fence, were to proclaim our deathless sentiments in the ears of the retreating foe⁹; the dogs were to wear ribbons; and later—but this depended on our powers of evasiveness and dissimulation—there might be a small bonfire, with a cracker¹⁰ or two if the public funds could bear the unwonted strain.

I was awakened¹¹ by Harold digging me in the ribs¹², and ‘She’s going to-day!’ was the morning hymn¹³ that scattered¹⁴ the clouds of sleep. Strange to say, it was with no corresponding jubilation¹⁵ of spirits that I slowly realised the momentous¹⁶ fact. Indeed, as I dressed, a dull disagreeable feeling that I could not define grew up in me—something like a physical bruise¹⁷. Harold was evidently feeling it too, for after repeating ‘She’s going to-day!’ in a tone more befitting the Litany, he looked[195] hard in my face for direction as to how the situation was to be taken. But I crossly bade him look sharp and say his prayers and not bother me. What could this gloom portend¹⁸, that on a day of days like the present seemed to hang my heavens with black?

Down at last and out in the sun, we found Edward before us, swinging on a gate and chanting a farm-yard ditty in which all the beasts appear in due order, jargoning in their several tongues, and every verse begins with the couplet:
‘Now, my lads, come with me,
 Out in the morning early!’

The fateful exodus¹⁹ of the day had evidently slipped his memory entirely²⁰. I touched him on the shoulder. ‘She’s going to-day!’ I said. Edward’s carol subsided²¹ like a water-tap turned off. ‘So she is!’ he replied, and got down at once off the gate. And we returned to the house without another word.

At breakfast Miss Smedley behaved in a most mean and uncalled-for manner. The right divine of governesses to govern wrong[196] includes no right to cry. In thus usurping²² the prerogative²³ of their victims they ignore the rules of the ring, and hit below the belt. Charlotte was crying, of course; but that counted for nothing. Charlotte even cried when the pigs’ noses were ringed in due season; thereby²⁴ evoking²⁵ the cheery contempt of the operators, who asserted they liked it, and doubtless knew. But when the cloud-compeller, her bolts laid aside, resorted to tears, mutinous²⁶ humanity had a right to feel aggrieved²⁷, and think itself placed in a false and difficult position. What would the Romans have done, supposing Hannibal had cried? History has not even considered the possibility. Rules and precedents²⁸ should be strictly²⁹ observed on both sides. When they are violated, the other party is justified³⁰ in feeling injured.

There were no lessons that morning, naturally—another grievance³¹! The fitness of things required that we should have struggled to the last in a confused medley¹ of moods and tenses, and parted for ever, flushed with hatred³², over the dismembered corpse³³ of the multiplication[197]-table. But this thing was not to be; and I was free to stroll by myself through the garden, and combat, as best I might, this growing feeling of depression. It was a wrong system altogether, I thought, this going of people one had got used to. Things ought always to continue as they had been. Change there must be, of course; pigs, for instance, came and went with disturbing frequency—
‘Fired their ringing shot and passed,
 Hotly charged and sank at last’—

but Nature had ordered it so, and in requital³⁴ had provided for rapid successors. Did you come to love a pig, and he was taken from you, grief was quickly assuaged³⁵ in the delight of selection from the new litter. But now, when it was no question of a peerless pig, but only of a governess, Nature seemed helpless, and the future held no litter of oblivion. Things might be better, or they might be worse, but they would never be the same; and the innate³⁶ conservatism of youth asks neither poverty nor riches, but only immunity³⁷ from change.

[198]

Edward slouched up alongside of me presently, with a hangdog look on him, as if he had been caught stealing jam. ‘What a lark³⁸ it’ll be when she’s really gone!’ he observed, with a swagger obviously assumed.

‘Grand fun!’ I replied dolorously³⁹; and conversation flagged.

We reached the hen-house, and contemplated⁴⁰ the banner of freedom lying ready to flaunt⁴¹ the breezes at the supreme⁴² moment.

‘Shall you run it up,’ I asked, ‘when the fly starts, or—or wait a little till it’s out of sight?’

Edward gazed round him dubiously⁴³. ‘We’re going to have some rain, I think,’ he said; ‘and—and it’s a new flag. It would be a pity to spoil it. P’raps I won’t run it up at all.’

Harold came round the corner like a bison pursued by Indians. ‘I’ve polished up the cannons,’ he cried, ‘and they look grand! Mayn’t I load ’em now?’

‘You leave ’em alone,’ said Edward severely⁴⁴, ‘or you’ll be blowing yourself up’ (consideration for others was not usually Edward’s strong[199] point). ‘Don’t touch the gunpowder⁴⁵ till you’re told, or you’ll get your head smacked⁴⁶.’

Harold fell behind, limp, squashed, obedient. ‘She wants me to write to her,’ he began presently. ‘Says she doesn’t mind the spelling, if I’ll only write. Fancy her saying that!’

‘O, shut up, will you?’ said Edward savagely⁴⁷; and once more we were silent, with only our thoughts for sorry company.

‘Let’s go off to the copse,’ I suggested timidly, feeling that something had to be done to relieve the tension, ‘and cut more new bows and arrows.’

‘She gave me a knife my last birthday,’ said Edward moodily⁴⁸, never budging⁴⁹. ‘It wasn’t much of a knife—but I wish I hadn’t lost it!’

‘When my legs used to ache,’ I said, ‘she sat up half the night, rubbing stuff on them. I forgot all about that till this morning.’

‘There’s the fly!’ cried Harold suddenly. ‘I can hear it scrunching⁵⁰ on the gravel⁵¹.’

Then for the first time we turned and stared each other in the face.

[200]

The fly and its contents had finally disappeared through the gate, the rumble⁵² of its wheels had died away. Yet no flag floated defiantly⁵³ in the sun, no cannons proclaimed the passing of a dynasty. From out the frosted cake of our existence Fate had cut an irreplaceable segment: turn which way we would, the void was present. We sneaked⁵⁴ off in different directions, mutually undesirous of company; and it seemed borne in upon me that I ought to go and dig my garden right over, from end to end. It didn’t actually want digging; on the other hand no amount of digging could affect it, for good or for evil; so I worked steadily⁵⁵, strenuously⁵⁶, under the hot sun, stifling⁵⁷ thought in action. At the end of an hour or so, I was joined by Edward.

‘I’ve been chopping up wood,’ he explained, in a guilty sort of way, though nobody had called on him to account for his doings.

‘What for?’ I inquired stupidly. ‘There’s piles and piles of it chopped up already.’

‘I know,’ said Edward, ‘but there’s no harm in having a bit over. You never can tell what[201] may happen. But what have you been doing all this digging for?’

‘You said it was going to rain,’ I explained hastily. ‘So I thought I’d get the digging done before it came. Good gardeners always tell you that’s the right thing to do.’

‘It did look like rain at one time,’ Edward admitted; ‘but it’s passed off now. Very queer weather we’re having. I suppose that’s why I’ve felt so funny all day.’

‘Yes, I suppose it’s the weather,’ I replied. ‘I’ve been feeling funny too.’

The weather had nothing to do with it, as we well knew. But we would both have died rather than admit the real reason.

1 medley   

n.混合

参考例句：

• Today's sports meeting doesn't seem to include medley relay swimming.现在的运动会好象还没有混合接力泳这个比赛项目。
• China won the Men's 200 metres Individual Medley.中国赢得了男子200米个人混合泳比赛。

2 ecstasies   

狂喜( ecstasy的名词复数 )； 出神； 入迷； 迷幻药

参考例句：

• In such ecstasies that he even controlled his tongue and was silent. 但他闭着嘴，一言不发。
• We were in ecstasies at the thought of going home. 一想到回家，我们高兴极了。

3 revelled   

v.作乐( revel的过去式和过去分词 )；狂欢；着迷；陶醉

参考例句：

• The foreign guests revelled in the scenery of the lake. 外宾们十分喜爱湖上的景色。 来自辞典例句
• He revelled in those moments of idleness stolen from his work. 他喜爱学习之余的闲暇时刻。 来自辞典例句

4 dishonour   

n./vt.拒付（支票、汇票、票据等）；vt.凌辱，使丢脸；n.不名誉，耻辱，不光彩

参考例句：

• There's no dishonour in losing.失败并不是耻辱。
• He would rather die than live in dishonour.他宁死不愿忍辱偷生。

5 sullenly   

不高兴地，绷着脸，忧郁地

参考例句：

• 'so what?" Tom said sullenly. “那又怎么样呢？”汤姆绷着脸说。
• Emptiness after the paper, I sIt'sullenly in front of the stove. 报看完，想不出能找点什么事做，只好一人坐在火炉旁生气。

6 scourge   

n.灾难，祸害；v.蹂躏

参考例句：

• Smallpox was once the scourge of the world.天花曾是世界的大患。
• The new boss was the scourge of the inefficient.新老板来了以后，不称职的人就遭殃了。

7 brass   

n.黄铜；黄铜器，铜管乐器

参考例句：

• Many of the workers play in the factory's brass band.许多工人都在工厂铜管乐队中演奏。
• Brass is formed by the fusion of copper and zinc.黄铜是通过铜和锌的熔合而成的。

8 cannons   

n.加农炮，大炮，火炮( cannon的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Cannons bombarded enemy lines. 大炮轰击了敌军阵地。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• One company had been furnished with six cannons. 某连队装备了六门大炮。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 foe   

n.敌人，仇敌

参考例句：

• He knew that Karl could be an implacable foe.他明白卡尔可能会成为他的死敌。
• A friend is a friend;a foe is a foe;one must be clearly distinguished from the other.敌是敌，友是友，必须分清界限。

10 cracker   

n.（无甜味的）薄脆饼干

参考例句：

• Buy me some peanuts and cracker.给我买一些花生和饼干。
• There was a cracker beside every place at the table.桌上每个位置旁都有彩包爆竹。

11 awakened   

v.（使）醒( awaken的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）觉醒；弄醒；（使）意识到

参考例句：

• She awakened to the sound of birds singing. 她醒来听到鸟的叫声。
• The public has been awakened to the full horror of the situation. 公众完全意识到了这一状况的可怕程度。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 ribs   

n.肋骨( rib的名词复数 )；（船或屋顶等的）肋拱；肋骨状的东西；（织物的）凸条花纹

参考例句：

• He suffered cracked ribs and bruising. 他断了肋骨还有挫伤。
• Make a small incision below the ribs. 在肋骨下方切开一个小口。

13 hymn   

n.赞美诗，圣歌，颂歌

参考例句：

• They sang a hymn of praise to God.他们唱着圣歌，赞美上帝。
• The choir has sung only two verses of the last hymn.合唱团只唱了最后一首赞美诗的两个段落。

14 scattered   

adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的

参考例句：

• Gathering up his scattered papers,he pushed them into his case.他把散乱的文件收拾起来，塞进文件夹里。

15 jubilation   

n.欢庆，喜悦

参考例句：

• The goal was greeted by jubilation from the home fans.主场球迷为进球欢呼。
• The whole city was a scene of jubilation.全市一片欢腾。

16 momentous   

adj.重要的，重大的

参考例句：

• I am deeply honoured to be invited to this momentous occasion.能应邀出席如此重要的场合，我深感荣幸。
• The momentous news was that war had begun.重大的新闻是战争已经开始。

17 bruise   

n.青肿，挫伤；伤痕；vt.打青；挫伤

参考例句：

• The bruise was caused by a kick.这伤痕是脚踢的。
• Jack fell down yesterday and got a big bruise on his face.杰克昨天摔了一跤，脸上摔出老大一块淤斑。

18 portend   

v.预兆，预示；给…以警告

参考例句：

• Black clouds portend a storm.乌云为暴风雨的前兆。
• What do these strange events portend?这些奇怪的事件预示着什么？

19 exodus   

v.大批离去，成群外出

参考例句：

• The medical system is facing collapse because of an exodus of doctors.由于医生大批离去，医疗系统面临崩溃。
• Man's great challenge at this moment is to prevent his exodus from this planet.人在当前所遇到的最大挑战，就是要防止人从这个星球上消失。

20 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

21 subsided   

v.（土地）下陷（因在地下采矿）( subside的过去式和过去分词 )；减弱；下降至较低或正常水平；一下子坐在椅子等上

参考例句：

• After the heavy rains part of the road subsided. 大雨过后，部分公路塌陷了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• By evening the storm had subsided and all was quiet again. 傍晚， 暴风雨已经过去，四周开始沉寂下来。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

22 usurping   

篡夺，霸占( usurp的现在分词 )； 盗用； 篡夺，篡权

参考例句：

• Earlier the Ukrainian President dissolved Parliament because it claimed it was usurping power. 之前乌克兰总统解散国会因为国会声称要夺权。

23 prerogative   

n.特权

参考例句：

• It is within his prerogative to do so.他是有权这样做的。
• Making such decisions is not the sole prerogative of managers.作这类决定并不是管理者的专有特权。

24 thereby   

adv.因此，从而

参考例句：

• I have never been to that city,,ereby I don't know much about it.我从未去过那座城市，因此对它不怎么熟悉。
• He became a British citizen,thereby gaining the right to vote.他成了英国公民，因而得到了投票权。

25 evoking   

产生，引起，唤起( evoke的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Some occur in organisms without evoking symptoms. 一些存在于生物体中，但不发生症状。
• Nowadays, the protection of traditional knowledge is evoking heat discussion worldwide. 目前，全球都掀起了保护传统知识的热潮。

26 mutinous   

adj.叛变的，反抗的；adv.反抗地，叛变地；n.反抗，叛变

参考例句：

• The mutinous sailors took control of the ship.反叛的水手们接管了那艘船。
• His own army,stung by defeats,is mutinous.经历失败的痛楚后，他所率军队出现反叛情绪。

27 aggrieved   

adj.愤愤不平的，受委屈的；悲痛的；（在合法权利方面）受侵害的v.令委屈，令苦恼，侵害( aggrieve的过去式)；令委屈，令苦恼，侵害( aggrieve的过去式和过去分词)

参考例句：

• He felt aggrieved at not being chosen for the team. 他因没被选到队里感到愤愤不平。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She is the aggrieved person whose fiance&1& did not show up for their wedding. 她很委屈，她的未婚夫未出现在他们的婚礼上。 来自《简明英汉词典》

28 precedents   

引用单元； 范例( precedent的名词复数 )； 先前出现的事例； 前例； 先例

参考例句：

• There is no lack of precedents in this connection. 不乏先例。
• He copied after bad precedents. 他仿效恶例。

29 strictly   

adv.严厉地，严格地；严密地

参考例句：

• His doctor is dieting him strictly.他的医生严格规定他的饮食。
• The guests were seated strictly in order of precedence.客人严格按照地位高低就座。

30 justified   

a.正当的，有理的

参考例句：

• She felt fully justified in asking for her money back. 她认为有充分的理由要求退款。
• The prisoner has certainly justified his claims by his actions. 那个囚犯确实已用自己的行动表明他的要求是正当的。

31 grievance   

n.怨愤，气恼，委屈

参考例句：

• He will not easily forget his grievance.他不会轻易忘掉他的委屈。
• He had been nursing a grievance against his boss for months.几个月来他对老板一直心怀不满。

32 hatred   

n.憎恶，憎恨，仇恨

参考例句：

• He looked at me with hatred in his eyes.他以憎恨的眼光望着我。
• The old man was seized with burning hatred for the fascists.老人对法西斯主义者充满了仇恨。

33 corpse   

n.尸体，死尸

参考例句：

• What she saw was just an unfeeling corpse.她见到的只是一具全无感觉的尸体。
• The corpse was preserved from decay by embalming.尸体用香料涂抹以防腐烂。

34 requital   

n.酬劳；报复

参考例句：

• We received food and lodging in requital for our services.我们得到食宿作为我们服务的报酬。
• He gave her in requital of all things else which ye had taken from me.他把她给了我是为了补偿你们从我手中夺走的一切。

35 assuaged   

v.减轻( assuage的过去式和过去分词 )；缓和；平息；使安静

参考例句：

• Although my trepidation was not completely assuaged, I was excited. 虽然我的种种担心并没有完全缓和，我还是很激动。 来自互联网
• Rejection (which cannot be assuaged) is another powerful motivator of bullying. （不能缓和的）拒绝是另一个欺负行为的有力动因。 来自互联网

36 innate   

adj.天生的，固有的，天赋的

参考例句：

• You obviously have an innate talent for music.你显然有天生的音乐才能。
• Correct ideas are not innate in the mind.人的正确思想不是自己头脑中固有的。

37 immunity   

n.优惠；免除；豁免，豁免权

参考例句：

• The law gives public schools immunity from taxation.法律免除公立学校的纳税义务。
• He claims diplomatic immunity to avoid being arrested.他要求外交豁免以便避免被捕。

38 lark   

n.云雀，百灵鸟；n.嬉戏，玩笑；vi.嬉戏

参考例句：

• He thinks it cruel to confine a lark in a cage.他认为把云雀关在笼子里太残忍了。
• She lived in the village with her grandparents as cheerful as a lark.她同祖父母一起住在乡间非常快活。

39 dolorously   

adj. 悲伤的；痛苦的；悲哀的；阴沉的

参考例句：

• Now and again the hunter can hear a long-draw dolorous whine of some unseen coyote. 猎人不时能听见某只看不见的小林狼发出的拖长的哀嚎。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• With a broken-hearted smile, he lifted a pair of dolorous eyes. 带著伤心的微笑，他抬起了一双痛苦的眼睛。 来自互联网

40 contemplated   

adj. 预期的 动词contemplate的过去分词形式

参考例句：

• The doctor contemplated the difficult operation he had to perform. 医生仔细地考虑他所要做的棘手的手术。
• The government has contemplated reforming the entire tax system. 政府打算改革整个税收体制。

41 flaunt   

vt.夸耀，夸饰

参考例句：

• His behavior was an outrageous flaunt.他的行为是一种无耻的炫耀。
• Why would you flaunt that on a public forum?为什么你们会在公共论坛大肆炫耀？

42 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

43 dubiously   

adv.可疑地，怀疑地

参考例句：

• "What does he have to do?" queried Chin dubiously. “他有什么心事？”琴向觉民问道，她的脸上现出疑惑不解的神情。 来自汉英文学 - 家（1-26） - 家（1-26）
• He walked out fast, leaving the head waiter staring dubiously at the flimsy blue paper. 他很快地走出去，撇下侍者头儿半信半疑地瞪着这张薄薄的蓝纸。 来自辞典例句

44 severely   

adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地

参考例句：

• He was severely criticized and removed from his post.他受到了严厉的批评并且被撤了职。
• He is severely put down for his careless work.他因工作上的粗心大意而受到了严厉的批评。

45 gunpowder   

n.火药

参考例句：

• Gunpowder was introduced into Europe during the first half of the 14th century.在14世纪上半叶，火药传入欧洲。
• This statement has a strong smell of gunpowder.这是一篇充满火药味的声明。

46 smacked   

拍，打，掴( smack的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He smacked his lips but did not utter a word. 他吧嗒两下嘴，一声也不言语。
• She smacked a child's bottom. 她打孩子的屁股。

47 savagely   

adv. 野蛮地，残酷地

参考例句：

• The roses had been pruned back savagely. 玫瑰被狠狠地修剪了一番。
• He snarled savagely at her. 他向她狂吼起来。

48 moodily   

adv.喜怒无常地；情绪多变地；心情不稳地；易生气地

参考例句：

• Pork slipped from the room as she remained staring moodily into the distance. 阿宝从房间里溜了出来，留她独个人站在那里瞪着眼睛忧郁地望着远处。 来自辞典例句
• He climbed moodily into the cab, relieved and distressed. 他忧郁地上了马车，既松了一口气，又忧心忡忡。 来自互联网

49 budging   

v.（使）稍微移动( budge的现在分词 )；（使）改变主意，（使）让步

参考例句：

• Give it up, plumber. She's not budging. 别费劲了，水管工。她不会改变主意的。 来自互联网
• I wondered how Albert who showed no intention of budging, felt about Leopold's desertion. 对于从未有迁徙打算的艾伯特来说，我不知道它会怎样看待利奥波德这样弃它而去呢。 来自互联网

50 scrunching   

v.发出喀嚓声( scrunch的现在分词 )；蜷缩；压；挤压

参考例句：

• Her mother was sitting bolt upright, scrunching her white cotton gloves into a ball. 她母亲坐得笔直，把她的白手套揉成了球状。 来自柯林斯例句

51 gravel   

n.砂跞；砂砾层；结石

参考例句：

• We bought six bags of gravel for the garden path.我们购买了六袋碎石用来铺花园的小路。
• More gravel is needed to fill the hollow in the drive.需要更多的砾石来填平车道上的坑洼。

52 rumble   

n.隆隆声；吵嚷；v.隆隆响；低沉地说

参考例句：

• I hear the rumble of thunder in the distance.我听到远处雷声隆隆。
• We could tell from the rumble of the thunder that rain was coming.我们根据雷的轰隆声可断定，天要下雨了。

53 defiantly   

adv.挑战地，大胆对抗地

参考例句：

• Braving snow and frost, the plum trees blossomed defiantly. 红梅傲雪凌霜开。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• She tilted her chin at him defiantly. 她向他翘起下巴表示挑衅。 来自《简明英汉词典》

54 sneaked   

v.潜行( sneak的过去式和过去分词 )；偷偷溜走；（儿童向成人）打小报告；告状

参考例句：

• I sneaked up the stairs. 我蹑手蹑脚地上了楼。
• She sneaked a surreptitious glance at her watch. 她偷偷看了一眼手表。

55 steadily   

adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地

参考例句：

• The scope of man's use of natural resources will steadily grow.人类利用自然资源的广度将日益扩大。
• Our educational reform was steadily led onto the correct path.我们的教学改革慢慢上轨道了。

56 strenuously   

adv.奋发地，费力地

参考例句：

• The company has strenuously defended its decision to reduce the workforce. 公司竭力为其裁员的决定辩护。
• She denied the accusation with some warmth, ie strenuously, forcefully. 她有些激动，竭力否认这一指责。

57 stifling   

a.令人窒息的

参考例句：

• The weather is stifling. It looks like rain. 今天太闷热，光景是要下雨。
• We were stifling in that hot room with all the windows closed. 我们在那间关着窗户的热屋子里，简直透不过气来。