Unlike the North, the South went into the struggle with her whole soul and her whole strength. Every man came forward with one accord, willing to work in the way he best might for the cause he held sacred; ready to give his arm, his life, and all he had beside, for the general good. Whole regiments2 were put into service, armed, uniformed and equipped, without costing the central government one dollar; and in some instances—as of that spotless knight3, true gentleman and pure patriot4, Wade5 Hampton—raised by the energy, paid for by the generosity6, and led to death itself by the valor7 of one man!
Corporations came into this general feeling. Railroads put their rolling-stock and their power in the hands of the Government; agreeing, as early as the origin of the Montgomery government, to take their pay at half rates and in government bonds. Banks put their facilities and their circulation, manufacturers their machinery8 and foundries their material, at public disposition9, for the bare cost of existence. Farmers and graziers cheerfully yielded all demanded of them! And how the women wrought10—how soft hands that had never worked before plied11 the ceaseless needle through the tough fabric—how taper12 fingers packed the boxes for camp, full from self-denial at home—shall shine down all history as the brightest page in story of noble selflessness.
In the deadly hail of hostile batteries; in the sweltering harvest-field of August, and at the saddened and desolate14 fireside of December, the southern people wrought on—hoped on!
And the result of all this willing sacrifice was greatly to reduce the burdens on the treasury15. For reasons before stated the southern army was smaller, and its transportation cost far less, than that of the enemy. Its equipment was far cheaper, and its subsistence for every reason infinitely16 smaller.
Still, with an outlay17 per diem scarcely more than one-tenth that of the North—which amounted to near $4,000,000! daily; with the teeming18 fields and bursting warehouses19 filled with cotton—a year back, auriferous in every fiber—worthless now; and with a people thus united to act and to aid it, the Southern Treasury continued to flood the country with paper issues, based only on the silver lining20 of the cloud that hung darker and ever darker over the South.
With one-tenth the population in the field and the rest working for them, there was no real demand for this inordinate21 issue. One-tenth the volume of currency properly distributed, with a coincident issue of bonds, would have relieved the actual necessities of buyer and seller. But still the wheels worked on—still Treasury notes fluttered out, until every bank and store and till was glutted22 with them.
Then the results of the inflation came with relentless23 and rapid pace. With the people still convinced of the inevitable24 outcome of their united efforts; with the thinkers of the South still evolving their theories of the philosopher's stone to change all this mass of paper into gold; and with the press of the country blatant26 about the speedy and certain collapse27 of northern credit; above all, with millions of pounds of cotton rotting in our warehouses—Confederate money, little by little, bought less and less of the necessaries of life.
At first the change was very gradual. In the summer of 1861, persons coming to Richmond from Europe and the North spent their gold as freely as the Treasury notes. Then gold rose to five, ten, fifteen, and finally to forty per cent. premium28. There it stuck for a time. But the issues increased in volume, the blockade grew more effective, and misgivings29 about the Treasury management crept into the minds of the people. Gold went up again, ten per cent. at a jump, until it touched a hundred—then rapidly to a hundred and fifty.
"The whole system looks devilish blue," said Styles Staple30, who was curing an ugly wound in his thigh31. "I've been writing 'the house' about it, and the Gov. thinks the hour has passed for utilizing32 the cotton. If that can't be impressed by the Government, the whole bottom will fall out of this thing before many months."
"If it ever passes the two hundred," solemnly quoth the colonel in answer, "egad, sir! 'twill go up like a rocket! Up, sir! egad! clean out of sight!"
I candidly33 answered that I could not see the end of the inflation.
"I do," Styles growled—"Repudiation34!"
"Well, that's no end of a nobby thing!" cried Will Wyatt, who was always bored about anything more serious than the last book, or charging a battery. "Cheerful that, for a fellow's little pile to go up like a rocket, and he not even to get the stick."
"He can have the smoke, however," answered Styles more cheerily, as he hobbled over and gave a $5 note for a dozen cigars.
And this began rapidly to be the tone, everywhere out of trade. A vague feeling of insecurity about the power of the Government to check the onward35 flood of issue prevailed in all classes. This produced a reckless expenditure36 for anything tangible37 and portable. And at last the colonel's prediction was verified; for money touched the two hundred per cent., and went up—up—by the one hundred; until in a time incredibly short—and with such a suddenness that people had no time to be surprised—the Confederate treasury note stood still for a moment, worth twenty to one for gold!
This may be accounted for, in small part, by the scarcity38 of supplies and the increasing efficiency of the blockade. But it must be remembered that the value of gold remained a constant quantity and the gold dollar in Richmond, note-flooded and blockade-bound, bought more of almost any article than it ever had before.
With a string of active vessels39 watching every port and cove40, to snap up the daring ventures between the island ports and the coast; with a powerful enemy thundering at every point of entrance to southern territory, still the fortunate man who had gold, or who could draw upon Europe, or the North, actually lived much cheaper than in any place beyond the lines! Singular as this statement may appear, it is actual fact. At this moment—before the depreciation41 of currency became such as to give it no value whatever—board at the best hotels in Richmond was $20 per day—equivalent to $1 in gold, while it was $3 in New York, or Washington; a suit of clothes could be had for $600 or $30 in gold, while in New York it cost from $60 to $80; the best whisky was $25 per gallon—$1.25 in gold, while in the North it was more than double.
Rapidly gold rose in the market, and in the absence of stocks became the only vehicle for financial gambling42. From time to time, as a brilliant success would grace Confederate arms, the fall of Treasury credit would be checked. But it was only for the moment—and it went down steadily43, rapidly, fatally. And as steadily, as rapidly and as fatally did the Treasury shuttles fly; spinning out the notes, like a whirlwind in autumn. And tighter grew the blockade, and fewer the means of supply. Stocks on hand were long since gone; little came to replace them, and the rich were driven to great straits to live, while the poor almost starved.
Away from the army lines and great centers of cities, the suffering was dreadful; impressments stripped the impoverished45 people; conscription turned smiling fields into desert wastes; fire and sword ravaged46 many districts; and the few who could raise the great bundle of paper necessary to buy a meal, scarce knew where to turn in the general desolation, to procure47 it even then. In the cities, it was a little better; but when beef, pork and butter in Richmond reached $35 per pound; when common cloth was $60 per yard, shoes $200 to $800 per pair, and a barrel of flour worth $1,400, it became a difficult problem to fill one's stomach at any outlay.
And all this time the soldiers and Government employés were being paid on a gold basis. The private received eleven (afterward twenty-one) dollars per month—amounting at the end of 1863 to just fifty-five cents in coin! At the last payments, before the final actions at Petersburg, the pay of a private for one month was thirty-three cents!
Nor were officers of the army and navy better paid. With their rank in the old service guaranteed them, they also received about the same pay, when gold and paper money were of equal value. Later Congress believed it would be a derogation from its dignity to "practically reduce the value of its issues," as one member said, "by raising officers' pay." Thus a lieutenant48 in the navy, probably of twenty years' experience, and with a family dependent upon him, though debarred from all other labor49, received $1,500 per year—equal in gold to the sum of $4.25 per month; while a brigadier, or other higher general, received nearly $8 per month.
These things would provoke a smile, did they not bring with them the memory of the anguished50 struggle to fight off want that the wives and children of the soldier martyrs51 made. I have gone into detail further than space, or the reader's patience may warrant; and still, "Behold52, the half is not told!"
I would not, if I could, record the bitter miseries53 of the last dreadful winter—paint the gaunt and ugly outlines of womanhood, squalid, famished54, dying—but triumphant55 still. One case only will tell the tale for all the rest. A poor, fragile creature, still girlish and refined under the pinched and pallid56 features of starvation, tottered57 to me one day to beg work.
"It is life or death for me and four young children," she said. "We have eaten nothing to-day; and all last week we lived on three pints58 of rice!"
Will Wyatt, who was near, made a generous offer of relief. Tears sprang into the woman's eyes as she answered, "You mean kindness, major; but I have never asked charity yet. My husband is at the front; and I only ask a right—to be allowed to work for my children!"
Such were the sufferings, such the spirit of southern women!
When it was too late—when the headlong road to ruin had been more than half-way run—some feeble attempts were made to stay the downward rush. Of course, they were useless—worse than useless, in that they made widespread a feeling of distrust, already deep-seated with reflecting men. The volume of currency had reached such expansion that its value was merely nominal59 for purposes of subsistence, when the devices of Mr. Memminger to lessen61 it began to be pressed in earnest.
The people had now begun to see that the whole theory of the Treasury was false; that the moment for utilizing the cotton supply had indeed been lost; and they murmured loud and deep against the Secretary and the President; whom they believed not only retained him in office, but endorsed62 his destructive policy. Mr. Davis, the people said, was autocratic with his Cabinet, and would have displaced Mr. Memminger summarily, had he not favored that peculiar63 financial system. Mr. Davis, too, was known to have been hostile to the absorption and exportation by the Government of all the cotton. He had, moreover, recommended against any legislation by Congress to contract the currency and stop the issues. Now, therefore, the inflation and utter inadequacy64 of the paper money was laid at his door, as well as Mr. Memminger's; and the people, feeling there was no safety for them, began to distrust the good faith of such reckless issue. A system of barter65 was inaugurated among the country people; and they traded off things only needful for others absolutely essential. They began to feel a dread44 of taking the notes of the Government, and in many instances refused them utterly66. And yet these very people yielded cheerfully to the constantly insolent67, and not infrequently illegal, demands of the impressment officers.
In the cities, too, a point had been reached where the promise of the Government to pay was looked upon as a bitter joke. Bonds were constantly refused in business transactions, and only Treasury notes—as a medium of temporary exchange—were accepted.
Then, as a necessary measure, came the imperative68 order for funding the currency. All the millions of old issues were to be turned into the treasury, by a certain date, and exchanged for bonds. If the unlucky holder69 could not, or would not, deposit or exchange, he lost thirty-three per cent. of the value of the Government pledge he held. The old issues went rapidly out of sight; but the measure did not appreciably70 lessen the current medium, while it did very appreciably lessen the confidence in the integrity of the Department.
It is but the first step in repudiation, thought the people. If Government will on any pretext71 ignore one-third of its obligation, what guarantee have we for the other two? And so, justly or unjustly, the country lost all faith in the money. Men became reckless and paid any price for any article that would keep. Tobacco—as being the most compact and portable—was the favorite investment; but cotton, real estate, merchandise—anything but the paper money, was grasped at with avidity.
It has often been charged that speculators ruined the currency. But, to give the children of the devil their due—we can scarcely think but that the currency made the speculators.
Had the plain system been adopted, by which the currency dollar could have ever approximated to coin, it would have been simply impossible for the holders72 of supplies to have run prices up to extortionate figures. Not that I would for one instant excuse, or ask any mercy for, those unclean vultures who preyed73 upon the dead credit of their Government; who grew fat and loathsome75 while they battened on the miseries of the brave, true men who battled for them in the front ranks of the fight. But while the fault and the shame is theirs, it may not be disguised that the door was not only left open for their base plundering76, but in many cases they were urged toward it by the very hands that should have slammed it in their faces.
When we come to consider the question of the blockade, we may, perhaps, see this more clearly. Meantime, in glancing down the past by the light of experience, one can not but marvel77 at the rapid, yet almost imperceptible, epidemic78 that fastened incurably79 upon the people, spreading to all classes and sapping the very foundations of their strength.
In the beginning, as vast crowds poured into Richmond—each man with a little money and anxious to use it to some advantage—trade put on a new and holiday dress. Old shops were spruced up; old stocks, by aid of brushing and additions, were made to appear quite salable80 and rapidly ran off. The demand made the meat it fed upon, until stores, shops and booths sprang up in all parts of the city and on all the roads leading into it from the camps. Gradually—from causes already noted81—supplies became more scarce as money became more plenty. The pinch began to be felt by many who had never known it before; and almost every one, who had any surplus portables, was willing to turn them into money. In this way, those who had anything to sell, for the time, managed to live. But the unfortunates who had only what they needed absolutely, or who were forced to live upon a fixed82 stipend83, that did not increase in any ratio to the decrease of money, suffered terribly.
These were only too ready to take the fever of speculation84; and to buy any small lots of anything whatever that might sell again at a profit. This was the class from which the main body of amateur speculators was recruited. One successful venture led to another and gave added means for it. The clerk, or the soldier, who yesterday cleared his hundred on a little turn in whisky, to-morrow might hope to double it—then reinvest his principal and his profits. It was marvelous how values rose over night. One might buy anything, a lot of flour—a line of fruits—a hogshead of molasses, or a case of boots to-day, with almost a certainty of nearly doubling his outlay to-day week.
The ordinary channels of trade became clogged85 and blocked by its constant increase. Auction86 houses became the means of brokerage; and their number increased to such an extent that half a dozen red flags at last dotted every block on Main street. And incongruous, indeed, were the mixtures exposed at these sales, as well as in the windows of the smallest shops in Richmond. In the latter, bonnets87 rested on the sturdy legs of cavalry88 boots; rolls of ribbon were festooned along the crossed barrel of a rifle and the dingy89 cotton umbrella; while cartridges90, loaves of bread, packages of groceries, gloves, letter paper, packs of cards, prayer-books and canteens, jostled each other in admirable confusion.
At these auctions91 there was utter want of system. Hogsheads of prime rum would be put up after kegs of spikes92; a case of organdies would follow a good cavalry horse; and then might come four second-hand93 feather-beds and a hundred boarding cutlasses.
But everything soever found a purchaser; some because they were absolutely needed and the buyer dreaded94 waiting the next week's rise; the majority to sell again in this insane game of money-making.
But varied95 as were the motives96 for speculation, the principal ones were breadstuffs and absolute necessities of life; and while the minor97 speculators—the amateurs—purchased for quick profits—the professional vultures bought for great ones and could afford to wait.
The first class reached into every rank of society; the second were principally Yankee residents—caught in Richmond by the war, or remaining for the sole purpose of making it pay—and a smaller class of the lowest Polish Jews. Ishmaels both, owning no kinship and no country, their sole hope was gain—gain at the cost of reputation and credit themselves—gain even at the cost of torture and starvation to the whole South beside. These it was who could afford to buy in bulk; then aid the rise they knew must come inexorably, by hoarding98 up great quantities of flour, bacon, beef and salt.
It mattered not for themselves who suffered—who starved. It mattered not if the noble fellows at the front lived on a scant99 handful of cornmeal per day—if starving men died before the works they were too weak to mount—if ghastly objects in hospital and trench100 literally101 perished, while their storehouses burst with food—waiting for a rise!
It is too ugly a picture to dwell upon. Suffice it that the human hyenas102 of speculation did prey74 upon the dying South; that they locked up her salt while the men in the trenches103 perished for it; that thrice they stored the flour the people felt was theirs, in such quantities and for so long, that before their maw for gain was glutted, serious riots of the starving called for the strong hand to interfere104. And to the credit of Government and southern soldier, be it said—even in that dark hour, with craving105 stomach and sickening soul—"Johnny Reb" obeyed his orders and guarded the den13 of the hyena—from his own hungering children, perhaps!
No weak words of mine may paint the baseness and infamy106 of the vultures of the market. Only a Doré, with a picture like his Frozen Hell, or Ugolino—might give it faint ideal.
And with the feeling how valueless was the money, came another epidemic—not so widespread, perhaps, as the speculation fever; but equally fatal to those who caught it—the rage for gambling!
Impulsive107 by nature, living in an atmosphere of constant and increasing artificial excitement, feeling that the money worth little to-day, perhaps, would be worth nothing to-morrow—the men of the South gambled heavily, recklessly and openly. There was no shame—little concealment108 about it. The money was theirs, they argued, and mighty109 hardly earned, too. They were cut off from home ties and home amusements; led the life of dumb beasts in camp; and, when they came to town—ho! for "the tiger."
Whether these reasons be valid110 or not, such they were. And really to the camp-wearied and battle-worn officer, the saloon of the fashionable Richmond "hell" was a thing of beauty. Its luxurious111 furniture, soft lights, obsequious112 servants and lavish113 store of such wines and liquors and cigars as could be had nowhere else in Dixie—these were only part of the inducement. Excitement did the rest, leaving out utterly the vulgar one of possible gain, so rarely did that obtain. But in these faro-banks collected the leading men, resident and alien, of the Capital. Senators, soldiers and the learned professions sat elbow to elbow, round the generous table that offered choicest viands114 money could procure. In the handsome rooms above they puffed115 fragrant116 and real Havanas, while the latest developments of news, strategy and policy were discussed; sometimes ably, sometimes flippantly, but always freshly. Here men who had been riding raids in the mountains of the West; had lain shut up in the water batteries of the Mississippi; or had faced the advance of the many "On-to-Richmonds"—met after long separation. Here the wondering young cadet would look first upon some noted raider, or some gallant117 brigadier—cool and invincible118 amid the rattle119 of Minié-balls, as reckless but conquerable amid the rattle of ivory chips.
So the faro-banks flourished and the gamblers waxed fat like Jeshurun, the ass25, and kicked never so boldly at the conscript man. Nor were they all of ignoble120 memory. There is more than one "sport" in the South to-day, who made warm and real friends of high position from his acts of real generosity then.
Whatever may be the vices60 of gamblers as a class, many a soldier-boy will bear witness to the exception that proves the rule. One of the "hells" at least was a home for the refugee; and whether the Maryland soldier came dirty, and hungry and ragged121 from camp, with never a "stamp" in his pocket; whether he came wearied and worn, but "full of greenbacks," from a trip across the lines—the post of honor at the table, the most cordial welcome and most generous glass of wine were ever his.
However the holy may be horrified—however the princely speculator may turn up his keen-scented nose, I here record that, during the four years of dark and bloody122 war—of pinching want and bitter trial, there was no more generous, free-hearted and delicate aid given to the suffering soldier-boy, than came from the hand of the Baltimore faro-banker.
So in Richmond high and low gambled—some lightly for excitement's sake—some dashingly and brilliantly—a few sullenly123 and doggedly124 going in to gain. Few got badly hurt, getting more in equivalent of wines, cigars and jolly dinners than they gave. They looked upon the "hell" as a club—and as such used it freely, spending what they had and whistling over their losses. When they had money to spare they played; when they had no money to spare—or otherwise—they smoked their cigars, drank their toddies and met their friends in chaff125 and gossip, with no more idea that there was a moral or social wrong than if they had been at the "Manhattan" or the "Pickwick" of to-day.
I do not pretend to defend the habit; but such it was, and such all the men who remember the Capital will recognize it.
Of that other class, who "went in for blood"—some got badly hurt in reputation and in pocket. But the dead cause has buried its dead; and their errors—the result of an overstrained state of society and indubitably of a false money-system—hurt no one but themselves. ? And so, with the enemy thundering at the gates; with the echoed whoo! of the great shells almost sounding in the streets; and with the ill-provided army staggering under the burthen of defense—almost too heavy for it to bear—the finances of the Confederacy went from bad to worse—to nothing!
The cotton that the alchemy of genius, or even of business tact—might have transmuted126 into gold, rotted useless; or worse, as a bait for the raider. The notes, that might have been a worthy127 pledge of governmental faith, bore no meaning now upon their face; and the soldier in the trench and the family at the desolate fireside—who might have been comfortably fed and clad—were gnawed128 with very hunger! And when the people murmured too loudly, a change was made in men, if not in policy.
Even if Mr. Trenholm had the ability, he had no opportunity to prove it. The evil seed had been sown and the bitter fruit had grown apace. Confederate credit was dead!
Even its own people had no more faith in the issues of their government; and they hesitated not—even while they groped on, ever on to the darkness coming faster and faster down upon them—to declare that the cause of their trouble was Mr. Memminger; with the President behind him.
But, though the people saw the mismanagement and felt its cause—though they suffered from it as never nation suffered before—though they spoke129 always bitterly and often hotly of it; still, in their greatest straits and in their darkest hours, no southern man ever deemed it but mismanagement.
The wildest and most reckless slanderer130 could never hint that one shred131 of all the flood of paper was ever diverted from its proper channel by the Secretary; or that he had not worked brain and body to the utmost, in the unequal struggle to subdue132 the monster he had created.
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1
transpired
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| （事实，秘密等）被人知道( transpire的过去式和过去分词 )； 泄露； 显露； 发生 | |
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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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knight
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| n.骑士，武士；爵士 | |
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patriot
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| n.爱国者，爱国主义者 | |
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wade
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| v.跋涉，涉水；n.跋涉 | |
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generosity
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| n.大度，慷慨，慷慨的行为 | |
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valor
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| n.勇气，英勇 | |
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machinery
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| n.(总称)机械，机器；机构 | |
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disposition
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| n.性情，性格；意向，倾向；排列，部署 | |
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wrought
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| v.引起；以…原料制作；运转；adj.制造的 | |
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plied
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| v.使用（工具）( ply的过去式和过去分词 )；经常供应（食物、饮料）；固定往来；经营生意 | |
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taper
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| n.小蜡烛，尖细，渐弱；adj.尖细的；v.逐渐变小 | |
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den
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| n.兽穴；秘密地方；安静的小房间，私室 | |
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desolate
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| adj.荒凉的，荒芜的；孤独的，凄凉的；v.使荒芜，使孤寂 | |
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treasury
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| n.宝库；国库，金库；文库 | |
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infinitely
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| adv.无限地，无穷地 | |
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outlay
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| n.费用，经费，支出；v.花费 | |
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teeming
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| adj.丰富的v.充满( teem的现在分词 )；到处都是；（指水、雨等）暴降；倾注 | |
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warehouses
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| 仓库，货栈( warehouse的名词复数 ) | |
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lining
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| n.衬里，衬料 | |
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inordinate
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| adj.无节制的；过度的 | |
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glutted
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| v.吃得过多( glut的过去式和过去分词 )；（对胃口、欲望等）纵情满足；使厌腻；塞满 | |
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relentless
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| adj.残酷的，不留情的，无怜悯心的 | |
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inevitable
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| adj.不可避免的，必然发生的 | |
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ass
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| n.驴；傻瓜，蠢笨的人 | |
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blatant
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| adj.厚颜无耻的；显眼的；炫耀的 | |
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collapse
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| vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷 | |
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premium
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| n.加付款；赠品；adj.高级的；售价高的 | |
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misgivings
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| n.疑虑，担忧，害怕；疑虑，担心，恐惧( misgiving的名词复数 )；疑惧 | |
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staple
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| n.主要产物，常用品，主要要素，原料，订书钉，钩环；adj.主要的，重要的；vt.分类 | |
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thigh
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| n.大腿；股骨 | |
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utilizing
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| v.利用，使用( utilize的现在分词 ) | |
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candidly
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| adv.坦率地，直率而诚恳地 | |
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repudiation
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| n.拒绝；否认；断绝关系；抛弃 | |
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onward
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| adj.向前的，前进的；adv.向前，前进，在先 | |
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expenditure
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| n.(时间、劳力、金钱等)支出；使用，消耗 | |
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37
tangible
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| adj.有形的，可触摸的，确凿的，实际的 | |
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38
scarcity
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| n.缺乏，不足，萧条 | |
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39
vessels
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| n.血管( vessel的名词复数 )；船；容器；（具有特殊品质或接受特殊品质的）人 | |
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40
cove
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| n.小海湾，小峡谷 | |
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41
depreciation
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| n.价值低落，贬值，蔑视，贬低 | |
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42
gambling
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| n.赌博；投机 | |
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43
steadily
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| adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地 | |
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44
dread
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| vt.担忧，忧虑；惧怕，不敢；n.担忧，畏惧 | |
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45
impoverished
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| adj.穷困的，无力的，用尽了的v.使（某人）贫穷( impoverish的过去式和过去分词 )；使（某物）贫瘠或恶化 | |
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46
ravaged
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| 毁坏( ravage的过去式和过去分词 )； 蹂躏； 劫掠； 抢劫 | |
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47
procure
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| vt.获得，取得，促成；vi.拉皮条 | |
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48
lieutenant
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| n.陆军中尉，海军上尉；代理官员，副职官员 | |
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49
labor
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| n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦 | |
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50
anguished
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| adj.极其痛苦的v.使极度痛苦(anguish的过去式) | |
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51
martyrs
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| n.martyr的复数形式；烈士( martyr的名词复数 )；殉道者；殉教者；乞怜者（向人诉苦以博取同情） | |
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52
behold
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| v.看，注视，看到 | |
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53
miseries
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| n.痛苦( misery的名词复数 )；痛苦的事；穷困；常发牢骚的人 | |
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54
famished
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| adj.饥饿的 | |
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55
triumphant
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| adj.胜利的，成功的；狂欢的，喜悦的 | |
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56
pallid
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| adj.苍白的，呆板的 | |
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57
tottered
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| v.走得或动得不稳( totter的过去式和过去分词 )；踉跄；蹒跚；摇摇欲坠 | |
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58
pints
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| n.品脱( pint的名词复数 )；一品脱啤酒 | |
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59
nominal
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| adj.名义上的；(金额、租金)微不足道的 | |
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60
vices
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| 缺陷( vice的名词复数 )； 恶习； 不道德行为； 台钳 | |
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61
lessen
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| vt.减少，减轻；缩小 | |
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62
endorsed
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| vt.& vi.endorse的过去式或过去分词形式v.赞同( endorse的过去式和过去分词 )；在（尤指支票的）背面签字；在（文件的）背面写评论；在广告上说本人使用并赞同某产品 | |
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63
peculiar
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| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
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64
inadequacy
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| n.无法胜任，信心不足 | |
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65
barter
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| n.物物交换，以货易货，实物交易 | |
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66
utterly
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| adv.完全地，绝对地 | |
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67
insolent
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| adj.傲慢的，无理的 | |
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68
imperative
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| n.命令，需要；规则；祈使语气；adj.强制的；紧急的 | |
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69
holder
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| n.持有者，占有者；(台，架等)支持物 | |
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70
appreciably
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| adv.相当大地 | |
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71
pretext
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| n.借口，托词 | |
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72
holders
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| 支持物( holder的名词复数 )； 持有者； （支票等）持有人； 支托（或握持）…之物 | |
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73
preyed
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| v.掠食( prey的过去式和过去分词 )；掠食；折磨；（人）靠欺诈为生 | |
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74
prey
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| n.被掠食者，牺牲者，掠食；v.捕食，掠夺，折磨 | |
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75
loathsome
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| adj.讨厌的，令人厌恶的 | |
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76
plundering
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| 掠夺，抢劫( plunder的现在分词 ) | |
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77
marvel
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| vi.(at)惊叹vt.感到惊异；n.令人惊异的事 | |
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78
epidemic
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| n.流行病；盛行；adj.流行性的，流传极广的 | |
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79
incurably
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| ad.治不好地 | |
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80
salable
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| adj.有销路的，适销的 | |
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81
noted
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| adj.著名的，知名的 | |
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82
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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83
stipend
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| n.薪贴；奖学金；养老金 | |
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84
speculation
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| n.思索，沉思；猜测；投机 | |
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85
clogged
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| （使）阻碍( clog的过去式和过去分词 )； 淤滞 | |
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86
auction
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| n.拍卖；拍卖会；vt.拍卖 | |
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87
bonnets
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| n.童帽( bonnet的名词复数 )；（烟囱等的）覆盖物；（苏格兰男子的）无边呢帽；（女子戴的）任何一种帽子 | |
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88
cavalry
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| n.骑兵；轻装甲部队 | |
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89
dingy
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| adj.昏暗的，肮脏的 | |
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90
cartridges
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| 子弹( cartridge的名词复数 )； （打印机的）墨盒； 录音带盒； （唱机的）唱头 | |
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91
auctions
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| n.拍卖，拍卖方式( auction的名词复数 ) | |
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92
spikes
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| n.穗( spike的名词复数 )；跑鞋；（防滑）鞋钉；尖状物v.加烈酒于( spike的第三人称单数 )；偷偷地给某人的饮料加入（更多）酒精（ 或药物）；把尖状物钉入；打乱某人的计划 | |
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93
second-hand
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| adj.用过的，旧的，二手的 | |
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94
dreaded
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| adj.令人畏惧的；害怕的v.害怕，恐惧，担心( dread的过去式和过去分词) | |
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95
varied
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| adj.多样的，多变化的 | |
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96
motives
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| n.动机，目的( motive的名词复数 ) | |
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97
minor
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| adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修 | |
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98
hoarding
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| n.贮藏；积蓄；临时围墙；囤积v.积蓄并储藏（某物）( hoard的现在分词 ) | |
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99
scant
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| adj.不充分的，不足的；v.减缩，限制，忽略 | |
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100
trench
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| n./v.(挖)沟，(挖)战壕 | |
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101
literally
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| adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实 | |
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102
hyenas
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| n.鬣狗( hyena的名词复数 ) | |
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103
trenches
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| 深沟，地沟( trench的名词复数 )； 战壕 | |
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104
interfere
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| v.(in)干涉，干预；(with)妨碍，打扰 | |
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105
craving
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| n.渴望,热望 | |
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106
infamy
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| n.声名狼藉，出丑，恶行 | |
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107
impulsive
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| adj.冲动的，刺激的；有推动力的 | |
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108
concealment
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| n.隐藏, 掩盖，隐瞒 | |
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109
mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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110
valid
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| adj.有确实根据的；有效的；正当的，合法的 | |
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111
luxurious
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| adj.精美而昂贵的；豪华的 | |
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112
obsequious
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| adj.谄媚的，奉承的，顺从的 | |
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113
lavish
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| adj.无节制的；浪费的；vt.慷慨地给予，挥霍 | |
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114
viands
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| n.食品，食物 | |
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115
puffed
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| adj.疏松的v.使喷出( puff的过去式和过去分词 )；喷着汽（或烟）移动；吹嘘；吹捧 | |
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116
fragrant
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| adj.芬香的，馥郁的，愉快的 | |
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117
gallant
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| adj.英勇的，豪侠的；(向女人)献殷勤的 | |
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118
invincible
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| adj.不可征服的，难以制服的 | |
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119
rattle
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| v.飞奔，碰响；激怒；n.碰撞声；拨浪鼓 | |
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120
ignoble
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| adj.不光彩的，卑鄙的；可耻的 | |
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121
ragged
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| adj.衣衫褴褛的，粗糙的，刺耳的 | |
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122
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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123
sullenly
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| 不高兴地，绷着脸，忧郁地 | |
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124
doggedly
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| adv.顽强地，固执地 | |
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125
chaff
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| v.取笑，嘲笑；n.谷壳 | |
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126
transmuted
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| v.使变形，使变质，把…变成…( transmute的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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127
worthy
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| adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的 | |
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128
gnawed
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| 咬( gnaw的过去式和过去分词 )； （长时间） 折磨某人； （使）苦恼； （长时间）危害某事物 | |
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129
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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130
slanderer
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| 造谣中伤者 | |
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131
shred
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| v.撕成碎片，变成碎片；n.碎布条，细片，些少 | |
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132
subdue
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| vt.制服，使顺从，征服；抑制，克制 | |
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