The Proud Girl (first plate)

“How I wish gran’pa was here!” exclaimed little Susan Fielding, one day to her mother, who was busying herself about household affairs, and could not devote as much of her time to her children, Susan and Robert, as usual. Robert was about nine years old, and thought himself too much of a little man to complain of any fancied neglect on his mother’s part; so he amused himself by drawing horses and dogs on his new slate¹, a department of the fine arts, for which, if he had no particular talent, he showed at least a plentiful² supply of industry. Susan was two years younger than Robert, and having no female companion of her own age, to converse³ with when her mother was engaged,[10] really felt lonesome; and this is the reason why she cried, perhaps, a little impatiently, “How I wish gran’pa was here!”

Mrs. Fielding entered the room at this moment, and hearing Susan’s earnest wish, inquired of her why she was so anxious to see her grandpapa just then.

“Because, ma,” replied the little girl; “gran’pa always tells me such nice stories when I ask him to, and I do want some one to talk to me just now.”

“Well, my dear,” replied her mother, soothingly⁴, “you will soon have your wish, for I saw your gran’pa coming up the lawn as I entered. He’ll be here presently, but do not tease him the moment he comes in, for you know he is very old, and must have time to rest after his walk.”

Susan clapped her hands for joy, and promised that she would be very patient, but she could not conceal⁵ her anticipated pleasure. As for Robert, as soon as he heard of his grandpapa’s being near the house, his slate and pencil were dropped immediately, and running to the door to meet him, his eyes fairly sparkled with delight as he cried lustily, “Gran’pa’s coming! gran’pa’s coming!”

Old Mr. Fielding was as much delighted with the children as they were with him, and when he seated himself in his easy chair, drawn⁶ from its corner by the[11] children, he kissed both affectionately, and placed one on each knee, saying,

“Well, my children, have you been well since I saw you last?”

“Oh, yes, gran’pa,” said Susan, “but I wanted you to come here so bad. Ma has been busy all day, and could not talk to me, and Robert would talk of nothing but dogs and horses, and you know, gran’pa, little girls don’t care about such animals. But now you’re here, and you’ll tell us all about the proud little girl you spoke⁷ of last week—that is when you rest yourself, gran’pa,” exclaimed Susan, suddenly recollecting⁸ that she must not tease him, as her mother desired.

The old gentleman smiled at his grandchild’s thoughtfulness, and after a few moment’s spent in collecting his ideas, during which time Robert’s slate lay quite neglected, and Susan tried to look very patient, he began as follows:

“Caroline Ellis was the only child of parents who thought that indulging her in every wish was all that was necessary to make her happy, which idea, my dear children, is very erroneous, for little boys and girls are not as well qualified⁹ to judge what is good for them as grown people are. Caroline was delicate, and notwithstanding her father’s wealth, she became paler and paler each day, until at last great fears were entertained that[12] her life would pay the forfeit¹⁰ of her parents’ pride, for that was the sole cause of their daughter’s ill-health. Her mother was not like yours, Susan; she taught her child to believe that it was low and vulgar to play as other children do; but kept her always dressed up in the parlor¹¹, except when she took her to balls and parties with herself. The consequences were that she pined away, until, as I told you, great fears were felt for her life.

“Country air was recommended by the physicians, and, accompanied by her mother, she visited several watering places, but always dressed up in beautiful silks and satins, so that it was impossible to go in the fields or meadows, without soiling her expensive dresses. Although the change of air did her a great deal of good, her health was by no means re-established, and now the physicians told her mother that her child must be allowed to skip and jump about with children of her own age—which I forgot to say was twelve years—instead of promenading¹² like an old person.”

“What is promenading, gran’pa?” interrupted Susan.

“It is walking slowly, my child, the way vain little girls walk who think more about fine clothes than the sweet little flowers my darling Susan loves so well. However, her mamma was prevailed on to send her to[13] the country, alone, to the house of her uncle, who had four children; but Caroline had never seen them, and it was hard to persuade her to go into the ‘dull country,’ as she called it, and mingle¹³ with ‘vulgar country people.’ But she discovered her error in time.

“At her uncle’s, she was treated with great kindness and attention by her cousins, who did all that lay in their power to please her—fresh bouquets¹⁴ of flowers were pulled for her daily, and although she would at first scarcely open her lips to any one of them, their repeated acts of kindness overcame her pride somewhat, and she would occasionally talk with her cousin Ellen, who was nearly her own age; but sometimes she would let her proud feelings overcome her, and exclaim to her cousin, ‘Ellen, how can you content yourself in this dull place?’ Ellen was too much of a real little lady to notice the rudeness, which must have hurt her feelings, for she was doing every thing in her power to make her cousin happy.

“Caroline was too selfish to care for any one’s pleasure but her own,” continued old Mr. Fielding, “she had never been taught that the way to be happy is to try to make others so. Ellen had given up her own pleasures to amuse her cousin in her own way; but she was beginning to get tired of her constant complaints of dullness, for to her nothing could be more[14] charming than the sweet singing of the birds, and she had little time now to listen to the music of nature.

“One morning Ellen and Caroline were walking, and Ellen proposed a visit to a cottage down a long green lane, occupied by their old nurse, greatly beloved by the whole family, who visited her almost every day in good weather. Caroline consented, and when they arrived near the place, they were surprised to hear the voices of children, as if in great glee. Ellen was further surprised and delighted to discover that they were her own brothers and sisters, who had arrived by another route, and were busily engaged with agricultural implements¹⁵ in their hands. Charles and Mary had rakes, raking the hay, Emma was gathering¹⁶ flowers, and calling to Charles to come and see how sweet they looked, and little Eddie was trying to make the hay into bundles. ‘See, sis, how nice I can make it!’ shouted he, and his voice rang clear through the pure air, as he clasped the sweet-scented hay in his little hands. Ellen could resist the temptation no longer; she ran to join her little brother in his healthful exercise. Caroline remained looking at them through the window, shocked at first at the idea of her cousin Ellen joining in such rude and vulgar sports; but in a few moments the rich perfume of the new-made hay tempted¹⁷ her to mingle with her cousins. At first, she made sad work of it, and several times was on the point of withdrawing from the party; but fortunately she did not—and for two long hours these happy children laughed and played, until the time arrived to go home to supper. Caroline’s cheeks were now flushed with exercise—she felt like a new being, and conscious that her cousins were right, and she wrong, she laid her head on Ellen’s lap, and bursting out into tears, asked her forgiveness for her rudeness. But Ellen had nothing to forgive—she was happy because she was the means of breaking her cousin of a fashionable vice¹⁸, and when next day they went again, refreshed after a sound sleep, to ramble¹⁹ and run among the grass and flowers, the cousins became better acquainted than they ever had been before, and the healthy color soon returned permanently²⁰ to Caroline’s cheeks, and she became quite well, and her aunt prevailed on her to remain during the whole summer with them, which she willingly did, for she now loved her aunt and cousins dearly.

“When at last her time arrived to go home, she cried heartily²¹ at the thought of parting, and promised to come again next summer, and every letter sent by her afterwards told of her continued good health, and was full of thanks to her country cousins for their persevering²² kindness to her until her proud spirit was completely broken, and she was enabled to become a happy child[16] of nature, and no longer worthy²³ of the title of the Proud Girl.”
The Proud Girl (second plate)

Susan and Robert both thanked their grandpapa for telling them such a nice story, and hoped that they would never become proud and despise any body; and they felt thankful to God for giving them such a good mamma, to lead them in the way to do right.

1 slate   

n.板岩，石板，石片，石板色，候选人名单；adj.暗蓝灰色的，含板岩的；vt.用石板覆盖，痛打，提名，预订

参考例句：

• The nominating committee laid its slate before the board.提名委员会把候选人名单提交全体委员会讨论。
• What kind of job uses stained wood and slate? 什么工作会接触木头污浊和石板呢？

2 plentiful   

adj.富裕的，丰富的

参考例句：

• Their family has a plentiful harvest this year.他们家今年又丰收了。
• Rainfall is plentiful in the area.这个地区雨量充足。

3 converse   

vi.谈话，谈天，闲聊；adv.相反的，相反

参考例句：

• He can converse in three languages.他可以用3种语言谈话。
• I wanted to appear friendly and approachable but I think I gave the converse impression.我想显得友好、平易近人些,却发觉给人的印象恰恰相反。

4 soothingly   

adv.抚慰地，安慰地；镇痛地

参考例句：

• The mother talked soothingly to her child. 母亲对自己的孩子安慰地说。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He continued to talk quietly and soothingly to the girl until her frightened grip on his arm was relaxed. 他继续柔声安慰那姑娘，她那因恐惧而紧抓住他的手终于放松了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 conceal   

v.隐藏，隐瞒，隐蔽

参考例句：

• He had to conceal his identity to escape the police.为了躲避警方，他只好隐瞒身份。
• He could hardly conceal his joy at his departure.他几乎掩饰不住临行时的喜悦。

6 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

7 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。

8 recollecting   

v.记起，想起( recollect的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Once wound could heal slowly, my Bo Hui was recollecting. 曾经的伤口会慢慢地愈合，我卜会甾回忆。 来自互联网
• I am afraid of recollecting the life of past in the school. 我不敢回忆我在校过去的生活。 来自互联网

9 qualified   

adj.合格的，有资格的，胜任的，有限制的

参考例句：

• He is qualified as a complete man of letters.他有资格当真正的文学家。
• We must note that we still lack qualified specialists.我们必须看到我们还缺乏有资质的专家。

10 forfeit   

vt.丧失；n.罚金，罚款，没收物

参考例句：

• If you continue to tell lies,you will forfeit the good opinion of everyone.你如果继续撒谎，就会失掉大家对你的好感。
• Please pay for the forfeit before you borrow book.在你借书之前请先付清罚款。

11 parlor   

n.店铺，营业室；会客室，客厅

参考例句：

• She was lying on a small settee in the parlor.她躺在客厅的一张小长椅上。
• Is there a pizza parlor in the neighborhood?附近有没有比萨店？

12 promenading   

v.兜风( promenade的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• No doubt this "promenading" was not at all to her taste. 没有问题，这样“溜圈儿”是压根儿不合她口胃的。 来自辞典例句
• People were promenading about the town. 人们在镇上闲步[漫步]。 来自互联网

13 mingle   

vt.使混合，使相混；vi.混合起来；相交往

参考例句：

• If we mingle with the crowd,we should not be noticed.如果我们混在人群中，就不会被注意到。
• Oil will not mingle with water.油和水不相融。

14 bouquets   

n.花束( bouquet的名词复数 )；（酒的）芳香

参考例句：

• The welcoming crowd waved their bouquets. 欢迎的群众摇动着花束。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• As the hero stepped off the platform, he was surrounded by several children with bouquets. 当英雄走下讲台时，已被几名手持花束的儿童围住了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 implements   

n.工具( implement的名词复数 )；家具；手段；[法律]履行（契约等）v.实现( implement的第三人称单数 )；执行；贯彻；使生效

参考例句：

• Primitive man hunted wild animals with crude stone implements. 原始社会的人用粗糙的石器猎取野兽。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• They ordered quantities of farm implements. 他们订购了大量农具。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

16 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

17 tempted   

v.怂恿（某人）干不正当的事；冒…的险（tempt的过去分词）

参考例句：

• I was sorely tempted to complain, but I didn't. 我极想发牢骚，但还是没开口。
• I was tempted by the dessert menu. 甜食菜单馋得我垂涎欲滴。

18 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

19 ramble   

v.漫步，漫谈，漫游；n.漫步，闲谈，蔓延

参考例句：

• This is the best season for a ramble in the suburbs.这是去郊区漫游的最好季节。
• I like to ramble about the street after work.我下班后在街上漫步。

20 permanently   

adv.永恒地，永久地，固定不变地

参考例句：

• The accident left him permanently scarred.那次事故给他留下了永久的伤疤。
• The ship is now permanently moored on the Thames in London.该船现在永久地停泊在伦敦泰晤士河边。

21 heartily   

adv.衷心地，诚恳地，十分，很

参考例句：

• He ate heartily and went out to look for his horse.他痛快地吃了一顿，就出去找他的马。
• The host seized my hand and shook it heartily.主人抓住我的手，热情地和我握手。

22 persevering   

a.坚忍不拔的

参考例句：

• They will only triumph by persevering in their struggle against natural calamities. 他们只有坚持与自然灾害搏斗，才能取得胜利。
• Success belongs to the persevering. 胜利属于不屈不挠的人。

23 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。