May 30th, 1——

I have made a most astounding¹ discovery. Walking down the street yesterday I saw a great placard on a wall announcing a lecture; subject, "The Yellow Peril²." What did it mean? I thought I was the Yellow Pearl³, and that nobody outside of the family knew it. But this was spelled p-e-r-i-l instead of P-e-a-r-l. What could it mean? I could go no farther, but returned at once to question grandmother.

"Grandmother!" I cried, entering her room, "what is the yellow peril?"

Dear grandmother's cheeks flushed⁴, and she said, "My dear child, why bother yourself about that?"

"Why, grandmother, I thought when I overheard⁵ Aunt Gwendolin talk, that I was the Yellow Pearl; she called me such the first day I came," I said. "But on the placard it is spelled p-e-r-i-l. What does it mean?"

"I am sorry you saw it," said grandmother hesitatingly. "There is too much being said on that subject by a certain class of people—It is the world God loves," she added as if talking to herself, "not the United States, Great Britain, Germany; the yellow people are just as dear to God as we are. The gentle Christ looked widely over the world, shed tears for it, shed blood for it."

"What does the yellow peril mean, grandmother?" I repeated anxiously.

"The Mongolian races are more yellow than the Caucasian races," said grandmother, when forced to answer. "They are also more numerous, and some people fear that if we allow them in the country they may get the upper hand, and become a menace⁶ to our people. Do not think any more about it, Pearl. Our dear late Phillips Brooks," she added after a short pause, "said, 'No nation, as no man, has a right to take possession of a choice bit of God's earth, to exclude the foreigner from its territory, that it may live more comfortably and be a little more at peace. But if this particular nation has been given the development of a certain part of God's earth for universal purposes, if the world in the great march of centuries is going to be richer for the development of a certain national character, built up by a larger type of manhood here, then for the world's sake, for the sake of every nation that would pour in upon it that which would disturb that development, we have a right to stand guard over it.'"

This was a long speech for dear grandmother, who is not given to speechifying, and I know the subject must have given her serious thought, or she would never have remembered it.

"Is America being built up by a  larger type of manhood, grandmother?" I asked.

"Oh, my dear, I do not know, I do not know," returned grandmother.

I stopped talking to grandmother, because she looked worried, but I could not stop thinking, I am both the Yellow Pearl, and the yellow peril! Why am I here? What were four hundred millions of us born into the world for? Is yellow badness any worse than white badness?

1 astounding   

adj.使人震惊的vt.使震惊，使大吃一惊astound的现在分词)

参考例句：

• There was an astounding 20% increase in sales. 销售量惊人地增加了20%。
• The Chairman's remarks were so astounding that the audience listened to him with bated breath. 主席说的话令人吃惊，所以听众都屏息听他说。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 peril   

n.(严重的)危险；危险的事物

参考例句：

• The refugees were in peril of death from hunger.难民有饿死的危险。
• The embankment is in great peril.河堤岌岌可危。

3 pearl   

n.珍珠，珍珠母

参考例句：

• He bought his girlfriend a pearl necklace.他给他女朋友买了一条珍珠项链。
• The crane and the mother-of-pearl fight to death.鹬蚌相争。

4 flushed   

a.(～with sth.)兴奋的，充满喜悦的

参考例句：

• She flushed with anger. 她气得涨红了脸。
• Her face was flushed with anger. 她的脸气红了。

5 overheard   

adj. 串音的, 偶而听到的 动词overhear的过去式和过去分词形式

参考例句：

• We talked quietly so as not to be overheard. 我们低声交谈，以免别人听到。
• I told Lucy the news under my breath, but Joyce overheard me. 我低声地把这个消息告诉露西，可还是被乔伊斯听到了。

6 menace   

vt./n.有危险性的人（或物），威胁，威吓

参考例句：

• The big hole outside the house is a menace to children's safety.房子外面的大窟窿对孩子们的安全是个威胁。
• A careless driver is a menace to all road users.漫不经心的驾驶员对于路上所有车辆和行人都是危险的。