The Carter’s Helpmates

The minuter details of George IV’s life are not of a kind either to interest or edify¹ young people, but here is an anecdote² of his boyhood that will be certain of securing your sympathies.

The manners and appearance of George III and his family were entirely³ simple and unostentatious, and the early youth of the young princes and princesses was but very slightly different from that of other young people of rank throughout the kingdom. It was the frequent habit of the king to wander about the neighborhood of Windsor, altogether unattended, and accompanied only by the young Prince of Wales, who was his almost inseparable companion.

One morning they were pursuing their walk in their usual manner, when they met a farm servant driving a covered cart towards Windsor; they had passed him[86] only by a few paces, when a sudden stoppage of the vehicle, and the outcries of the driver, caused them to look around, and they then perceived that the cart had got fast into a rut of the road, and the man was vainly urging his horses to drag it out.

The prince sprang back, and with little thought of ceremony, began applying his strength to the wheel, his majesty⁴ watching his efforts for a moment in silence, but instantly after stepping forward himself in the same service. Encouraged by this unlooked for help, the carter flogged and bawled⁵ to his horses, while the royal shoulders heaved as heartily⁶ at the wheel; and Hercules—moved no doubt by their ship-shape mode of invoking⁷ his aid—gave them strength enough to accomplish what they desired: the vehicle was extricated⁸, and the driver, grateful to his friends, swore roundly that they must take a draught⁹ of ale with him, offering at the same time a seat in front of his cart to the next public house.

This civil offer was not accepted; the King and Prince shook the dust of their late labor¹⁰ from their plain clothing, and prepared to bid their friend adieu; but first his majesty presented the fortunate carter with a guinea, which the prince, holding to be no very worthy¹¹ gift, instantly amended¹² by a couple from his own purse. The carter, lost in astonishment¹³, stood looking[87] after these surprising helpmates (first making any thing but graceful¹⁴, though very sincere acknowledgments), and it was not until they had got fairly out of his sight that he could bethink himself of once more getting on with his team.

On arriving at the public house which he had destined¹⁵ as the place of his rejected treat, and relating the wondrous¹⁶ occurrence that had taken place, he was acquainted with the quality of his assistants; but he could in no way be brought to believe the fact. Above all, he insisted that, though the prince might be the prince, yet the king could not be the king; for, he argued, why else did the first give him two guineas, when the second, whom his informants would have to be the greater, gave him only one! No, this was not “in his philosophy,” and he was convinced that his friends were wrong.

The story, and especially the man’s obstinacy¹⁷, was talked of till it reached the king, whom it greatly amused. Some time after, his majesty met the same man on the road, and thus accosted¹⁸ him:

“So, you think, my friend, that my present was not a king’s present, though my son’s might do for a prince, hey? But remember that I must be just before I am generous; the prince has only himself to think about, but I have many who look up to me, as your children[88] at home do to you, for all they want—do not forget that, my friend; good morning, good morning.” And the monarch¹⁹ once more left John Carter to his cogitations.

1 edify   

v.陶冶；教化；启发

参考例句：

• They tried to edify the child with music.他们试图用音乐陶冶这孩子。
• TV should attempt to edify the masses.电视应该试着去启迪大众。

2 anecdote   

n.轶事，趣闻，短故事

参考例句：

• He departed from the text to tell an anecdote.他偏离课文讲起了一则轶事。
• It had never been more than a family anecdote.那不过是个家庭趣谈罢了。

3 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。

4 majesty   

n.雄伟，壮丽，庄严，威严；最高权威，王权

参考例句：

• The king had unspeakable majesty.国王有无法形容的威严。
• Your Majesty must make up your mind quickly!尊贵的陛下，您必须赶快做出决定！

5 bawled   

v.大叫，大喊( bawl的过去式和过去分词 )；放声大哭；大声叫出；叫卖（货物）

参考例句：

• She bawled at him in front of everyone. 她当着大家的面冲他大喊大叫。
• My boss bawled me out for being late. 我迟到，给老板训斥了一顿。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 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。

7 invoking   

v.援引( invoke的现在分词 )；行使（权利等）；祈求救助；恳求

参考例句：

• You can customise the behavior of the Asynchronous Server and hence re-brand it by defining your own command set for invoking services. 通过定义自己调用服务的命令集，您可以定制自定义异步服务器的行为，通过为调用服务定义自己的命令集从而对它重新标记。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• You can customize the behavior of the Asynchronous Server and hence re-brand it by defining your own command set for invoking services. 通过定义自己调用服务的命令集，您可以定制自定义异步服务器的行为，通过为调用服务定义自己的命令集从而对它重新标记。 来自辞典例句

8 extricated   

v.使摆脱困难，脱身( extricate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The meeting seemed to be endless, but I extricated myself by saying I had to catch a plane. 会议好象没完没了，不过我说我得赶飞机，才得以脱身。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She extricated herself from her mingled impulse to deny and guestion. 她约束了自己想否认并追问的不可明状的冲动。 来自辞典例句

9 draught   

n.拉，牵引，拖；一网（饮，吸，阵)；顿服药量，通风；v.起草，设计

参考例句：

• He emptied his glass at one draught.他将杯中物一饮而尽。
• It's a pity the room has no north window and you don't get a draught.可惜这房间没北窗，没有过堂风。

10 labor   

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

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

11 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。

12 Amended   

adj. 修正的 动词amend的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He asked to see the amended version. 他要求看修订本。
• He amended his speech by making some additions and deletions. 他对讲稿作了些增删修改。

13 astonishment   

n.惊奇，惊异

参考例句：

• They heard him give a loud shout of astonishment.他们听见他惊奇地大叫一声。
• I was filled with astonishment at her strange action.我对她的奇怪举动不胜惊异。

14 graceful   

adj.优美的，优雅的；得体的

参考例句：

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

15 destined   

adj.命中注定的；(for)以…为目的地的

参考例句：

• It was destined that they would marry.他们结婚是缘分。
• The shipment is destined for America.这批货物将运往美国。

16 wondrous   

adj.令人惊奇的，奇妙的；adv.惊人地；异乎寻常地；令人惊叹地

参考例句：

• The internal structure of the Department is wondrous to behold.看一下国务院的内部结构是很有意思的。
• We were driven across this wondrous vast land of lakes and forests.我们乘车穿越这片有着湖泊及森林的广袤而神奇的土地。

17 obstinacy   

n.顽固；（病痛等）难治

参考例句：

• It is a very accountable obstinacy.这是一种完全可以理解的固执态度。
• Cindy's anger usually made him stand firm to the point of obstinacy.辛迪一发怒，常常使他坚持自见，并达到执拗的地步。

18 accosted   

v.走过去跟…讲话( accost的过去式和过去分词 )；跟…搭讪；（乞丐等）上前向…乞讨；（妓女等）勾搭

参考例句：

• She was accosted in the street by a complete stranger. 在街上，一个完全陌生的人贸然走到她跟前搭讪。
• His benevolent nature prevented him from refusing any beggar who accosted him. 他乐善好施的本性使他不会拒绝走上前向他行乞的任何一个乞丐。 来自《简明英汉词典》

19 monarch   

n.帝王，君主，最高统治者

参考例句：

• The monarch's role is purely ceremonial.君主纯粹是个礼仪职位。
• I think myself happier now than the greatest monarch upon earth.我觉得这个时候比世界上什么帝王都快乐。