That once their shades and glories threw,
Have left, in yonder silent sky,
No vestige1 where they flew.
—Montgomery.
A stillness, as deep as that which marked the gloomy wastes in their front, was observed by the fugitives2 to distinguish the spot they had just abandoned. Even the trapper lent his practised faculties3, in vain, to detect any of the well-known signs, which might establish the important fact that hostilities5 had actually commenced between the parties of Mahtoree and Ishmael; but their horses carried them out of the reach of sounds, without the occurrence of the smallest evidence of the sort. The old man, from time to time, muttered his discontent, but manifested the uneasiness he actually entertained in no other manner, unless it might be in exhibiting a growing anxiety to urge the animals to increase their speed. He pointed6 out in passing, the deserted8 swale, where the family of the squatter9 had encamped, the night they were introduced to the reader, and afterwards he maintained an ominous10 silence; ominous, because his companions had already seen enough of his character, to be convinced that the circumstances must be critical indeed, which possessed11 the power to disturb the well regulated tranquillity12 of the old man's mind.
“Have we not done enough,” Middleton demanded, in tenderness to the inability of Inez and Ellen to endure so much fatigue13, at the end of some hours; “we have ridden hard, and have crossed a wide tract14 of plain. It is time to seek a place of rest.”
“You must seek it then in Heaven, if you find yourselves unequal to a longer march,” murmured the old trapper. “Had the Tetons and the squatter come to blows, as any one might see in the natur' of things they were bound to do, there would be time to look about us, and to calculate not only the chances but the comforts of the journey; but as the case actually is, I should consider it certain death, or endless captivity15, to trust our eyes with sleep, until our heads are fairly hid in some uncommon16 cover.”
“I know not,” returned the youth, who reflected more on the sufferings of the fragile being he supported, than on the experience of his companion; “I know not; we have ridden leagues, and I can see no extraordinary signs of danger:—if you fear for yourself, my good friend, believe me you are wrong, for—”
“Your grand'ther, were he living and here,” interrupted the old man, stretching forth17 a hand, and laying a finger impressively on the arm of Middleton, “would have spared those words. He had some reason to think that, in the prime of my days, when my eye was quicker than the hawk's, and my limbs were as active as the legs of the fallow-deer, I never clung too eagerly and fondly to life: then why should I now feel such a childish affection for a thing that I know to be vain, and the companion of pain and sorrow. Let the Tetons do their worst; they will not find a miserable18 and worn out trapper the loudest in his complaints, or his prayers.”
“Pardon me, my worthy19, my inestimable friend,” exclaimed the repentant20 young man, warmly grasping the hand, which the other was in the act of withdrawing; “I knew not what I said—or rather I thought only of those whose tenderness we are most bound to consider.”
“Enough. It is natur', and it is right. Therein your grand'ther would have done the very same. Ah's me! what a number of seasons, hot and cold, wet and dry, have rolled over my poor head, since the time we worried it out together, among the Red Hurons of the Lakes, back in those rugged21 mountains of Old York! and many a noble buck22 has since that day fallen by my hand; ay, and many a thieving Mingo, too! Tell me, lad, did the general, for general I know he got to be, did he ever tell you of the deer we took, that night the outlyers of the accursed tribe drove us to the caves, on the island, and how we feasted and drunk in security?”
“I have often heard him mention the smallest circumstance of the night you mean; but—”
“And the singer; and his open throat; and his shoutings in the fights!” continued the old man, laughing joyously23 at the strength of his own recollections.
“All—all—he forgot nothing, even to the most trifling24 incident. Do you not—”
“What! did he tell you of the imp4 behind the log and of the miserable devil who went over the fall—or of the wretch25 in the tree?”
“Of each and all, with every thing that concerned them.[*] I should think—”
[*] They who have read the preceding books, in which, the trapper
appears as a hunter and a scout26, will readily understand the
allusions27.
“Ay,” continued the old man, in a voice, which betrayed how powerfully his own faculties retained the impression of the spectacle, “I have been a dweller28 in forests, and in the wilderness29 for three-score and ten years, and if any can pretend to know the world, or to have seen scary sights, it is myself! But never, before nor since, have I seen human man in such a state of mortal despair as that very savage30; and yet he scorned to speak, or to cry out, or to own his forlorn condition! It is their gift, and nobly did he maintain it!”
“Harkee, old trapper,” interrupted Paul, who, content with the knowledge that his waist was grasped by one of the arms of Ellen, had hitherto ridden in unusual silence; “my eyes are as true and as delicate as a humming-bird's in the day; but they are nothing worth boasting of by starlight. Is that a sick buffaloe, crawling along in the bottom, there, or is it one of the stray cattle of the savages31?”
The whole party drew up, in order to examine the object, which Paul had pointed out. During most of the time, they had ridden in the little vales in order to seek the protection of the shadows, but just at that moment, they had ascended32 a roll of the prairie in order to cross into the very bottom where this unknown animal was now seen.
“Let us descend,” said Middleton; “be it beast or man, we are too strong to have any cause of fear.”
“Now, if the thing was not morally impossible,” cried the trapper, who the reader must have already discovered was not always exact in the use of qualifying words, “if the thing was not morally impossible, I should say, that was the man, who journeys in search of reptiles33 and insects: our fellow-traveller the Doctor.”
“Why impossible? did you not direct him to pursue this course, in order to rejoin us?”
“Ay, but I did not tell him to make an ass7 outdo the speed of a horse:—you are right—you are right,” said the trapper, interrupting himself, as by gradually lessening34 the distance between them, his eyes assured him it was Obed and Asinus, whom he saw; “you are right, as certainly as the thing is a miracle. Lord, what a thing is fear! How now, friend; you have been industrious35 to have got so far ahead in so short a time. I marvel36 at the speed of the ass!”
“Asinus is overcome,” returned the naturalist37, mournfully. “The animal has certainly not been idle since we separated, but he declines all my admonitions and invitations to proceed. I hope there is no instant fear from the savages?”
“I cannot say that; I cannot say that; matters are not as they should be, atween the squatter and the Tetons, nor will I answer as yet for the safety of any scalp among us. The beast is broken down! you have urged him beyond his natural gifts, and he is like a worried hound. There is pity and discretion38 in all things, even though a man be riding for his life.”
“You indicated the star,” returned the Doctor, “and I deemed it expedient39 to use great diligence in pursuing the direction.”
“Did you expect to reach it, by such haste? Go, go; you talk boldly of the creatur's of the Lord, though I plainly see you are but a child in matters that concern their gifts and instincts. What a plight40 would you now be in, if there was need for a long and a quick push with our heels?”
“The fault exists in the formation of the quadruped,” said Obed, whose placid41 temper began to revolt under so many scandalous imputations. “Had there been rotary42 levers for two of the members, a moiety43 of the fatigue would have been saved, for one item—”
“That, for your moiety's and rotaries44, and items, man; a jaded45 ass is a jaded ass, and he who denies it is but a brother of the beast itself. Now, captain, are we driven to choose one of two evils. We must either abandon this man, who has been too much with us through good and bad to be easily cast away, or we must seek a cover to let the animal rest.”
“Venerable venator!” exclaimed the alarmed Obed; “I conjure46 you by all the secret sympathies of our common nature, by all the hidden—”
“Ah, fear has brought him to talk a little rational sense! It is not natur', truly, to abandon a brother in distress47; and the Lord He knows that I have never yet done the shameful48 deed. You are right, friend, you are right; we must all be hidden, and that speedily. But what to do with the ass! Friend Doctor, do you truly value the life of the creatur'?”
“He is an ancient and faithful servant,” returned the disconsolate49 Obed, “and with pain should I see him come to any harm. Fetter50 his lower limbs, and leave him to repose51 in this bed of herbage. I will engage he shall be found where he is left, in the morning.”
“And the Siouxes? What would become of the beast should any of the red imps52 catch a peep at his ears, growing up out of the grass like to mullein-tops?” cried the bee-hunter. “They would stick him as full of arrows, as a woman's cushion is full of pins, and then believe they had done the job for the father of all rabbits! My word for it out they would find out their blunder at the first mouthful!”
Middleton, who began to grow impatient under the protracted53 discussion, interposed, and, as a good deal of deference54 was paid to his rank, he quickly prevailed in his efforts to effect a sort of compromise. The humble55 Asinus, too meek56 and too weary to make any resistance, was soon tethered and deposited in his bed of dying grass, where he was left with a perfect confidence on the part of his master of finding him, again, at the expiration57 of a few hours. The old man strongly remonstrated58 against this arrangement, and more than once hinted that the knife was much more certain than the tether, but the petitions of Obed, aided perhaps by the secret reluctance59 of the trapper to destroy the beast, were the means of saving its life. When Asinus was thus secured, and as his master believed secreted60, the whole party proceeded to find some place where they might rest themselves, during the time required for the repose of the animal.
According to the calculations of the trapper, they had ridden twenty miles since the commencement of their flight. The delicate frame of Inez began to droop61 under the excessive fatigue, nor was the more robust62, but still feminine person of Ellen, insensible to the extraordinary effort she had made. Middleton himself was not sorry to repose, nor did the vigorous and high-spirited Paul hesitate to confess that he should be all the better for a little rest. The old man alone seemed indifferent to the usual claims of nature. Although but little accustomed to the unusual description of exercise he had just been taking, he appeared to bid defiance63 to all the usual attacks of human infirmities. Though evidently so near its dissolution, his attenuated64 frame still stood like the shaft65 of seasoned oak, dry, naked, and tempest-driven, but unbending and apparently66 indurated to the consistency67 of stone. On the present occasion he conducted the search for a resting-place, which was immediately commenced, with all the energy of youth, tempered by the discretion and experience of his great age.
The bed of grass, in which the Doctor had been met, and in which his ass had just been left, was followed a little distance until it was found that the rolling swells68 of the prairie were melting away into one vast level plain, that was covered, for miles on miles, with the same species of herbage.
“Ah, this may do, this may do,” said the old man, when they arrived on the borders of this sea of withered69 grass. “I know the spot, and often have I lain in its secret holes, for days at a time, while the savages have been hunting the buffaloes70 on the open ground. We must enter it with great care, for a broad trail might be seen, and Indian curiosity is a dangerous neighbour.”
Leading the way himself, he selected a spot where the tall coarse herbage stood most erect71, growing not unlike a bed of reeds, both in height and density72. Here he entered, singly, directing the others to follow as nearly as possible in his own footsteps. When they had paused for some hundred or two feet into the wilderness of weeds, he gave his directions to Paul and Middleton, who continued a direct route deeper into the place, while he dismounted and returned on his tracks to the margin73 of the meadow. Here he passed many minutes in replacing the trodden grass, and in effacing74, as far as possible, every evidence of their passage.
In the mean time the rest of the party continued their progress, not without toil75, and consequently at a very moderate gait, until they had penetrated76 a mile into the place. Here they found a spot suited to their circumstances, and, dismounting, they began to make their dispositions77 to pass the remainder of the night. By this time the trapper had rejoined the party, and again resumed the direction of their proceedings78.
The weeds and grass were soon plucked and cut from an area of sufficient extent, and a bed for Inez and Ellen was speedily made, a little apart, which for sweetness and ease might have rivalled one of down. The exhausted79 females, after receiving some light refreshments80 from the provident81 stores of Paul and the old man, now sought their repose, leaving their more stout82 companions at liberty to provide for their own necessities. Middleton and Paul were not long in following the example of their betrothed83, leaving the trapper and the naturalist still seated around a savoury dish of bison's meat, which had been cooked at a previous halt, and which was, as usual, eaten cold.
A certain lingering sensation, which had so long been uppermost in the mind of Obed, temporarily banished84 sleep; and as for the old man, his wants were rendered, by habit and necessity, as seemingly subject to his will as if they altogether depended on the pleasure of the moment. Like his companion he chose therefore to watch, instead of sleeping.
“If the children of ease and security knew the hardships and dangers the students of nature encounter in their behalf,” said Obed, after a moment of silence, when Middleton took his leave for the night, “pillars of silver, and statues of brass85 would be reared as the everlasting86 monuments of their glory!”
“I know not, I know not,” returned his companion; “silver is far from plenty, at least in the wilderness, and your brazen87 idols88 are forbidden in the commandments of the Lord.”
“Such indeed was the opinion of the great lawgiver of the Jews, but the Egyptians, and the Chaldeans, the Greeks, and the Romans, were wont89 to manifest their gratitude90, in these types of the human form. Indeed many of the illustrious masters of antiquity91, have by the aid of science and skill, even outdone the works of nature, and exhibited a beauty and perfection in the human form that are difficult to be found in the rarest living specimens92 of any of the species; genus, homo.”
“Can your idols walk or speak, or have they the glorious gift of reason?” demanded the trapper, with some indignation in his voice; “though but little given to run into the noise and chatter93 of the settlements, yet have I been into the towns in my day, to barter94 the peltry for lead and powder, and often have I seen your waxen dolls, with their tawdry clothes and glass eyes—”
“Waxen dolls!” interrupted Obed; “it is profanation95, in the view of the arts, to liken the miserable handy-work of the dealers96 in wax to the pure models of antiquity!”
“It is profanation in the eyes of the Lord,” retorted the old man, “to liken the works of his creatur's, to the power of his own hand.”
“Venerable venator,” resumed the naturalist, clearing his throat, like one who was much in earnest, “let us discuss understandingly and in amity98. You speak of the dross99 of ignorance, whereas my memory dwells on those precious jewels, which it was my happy fortune, formerly100, to witness, among the treasured glories of the Old World.”
“Old World!” retorted the trapper, “that is the miserable cry of all the half-starved miscreants101 that have come into this blessed land, since the days of my boyhood! They tell you of the Old World; as if the Lord had not the power and the will to create the universe in a day, or as if he had not bestowed103 his gifts with an equal hand, though not with an equal mind, or equal wisdom, have they been received and used. Were they to say a worn out, and an abused, and a sacrilegious world, they might not be so far from the truth!”
Doctor Battius, who found it quite as arduous104 a task to maintain any of his favourite positions with so irregular an antagonist105, as he would have found it difficult to keep his feet within the hug of a western wrestler106, hemmed107 aloud, and profited by the new opening the trapper had made, to shift the grounds of the discussion—
“By Old and New World, my excellent associate,” he said, “it is not to be understood that the hills, and the valleys, the rocks and the rivers of our own moiety of the earth do not, physically108 speaking, bear a date as ancient as the spot on which the bricks of Babylon are found; it merely signifies that its moral existence is not co-equal with its physical, or geological formation.”
“Anan!” said the old man, looking up enquiringly into the face of the philosopher.
“Merely that it has not been so long known in morals, as the other countries of Christendom.”
“So much the better, so much the better. I am no great admirator of your old morals, as you call them, for I have ever found, and I have liv'd long as it were in the very heart of natur', that your old morals are none of the best. Mankind twist and turn the rules of the Lord, to suit their own wickedness, when their devilish cunning has had too much time to trifle with His commands.”
“Nay, venerable hunter, still am I not comprehended. By morals I do not mean the limited and literal signification of the term, such as is conveyed in its synonyme, morality, but the practices of men, as connected with their daily intercourse109, their institutions, and their laws.”
“And such I call barefaced110 and downright wantonness and waste,” interrupted his sturdy disputant.
“Well, be it so,” returned the Doctor, abandoning the explanation in despair. “Perhaps I have conceded too much,” he then instantly added, fancying that he still saw the glimmerings of an argument through another chink in the discourse111. “Perhaps I have conceded too much, in saying that this hemisphere is literally112 as old in its formation, as that which embraces the venerable quarters of Europe, Asia, and Africa.”
“It is easy to say a pine is not so tall as an alder113, but it would be hard to prove. Can you give a reason for such a belief?”
“The reasons are numerous and powerful,” returned the Doctor, delighted by this encouraging opening. “Look into the plains of Egypt and Arabia; their sandy deserts teem114 with the monuments of their antiquity; and then we have also recorded documents of their glory; doubling the proofs of their former greatness, now that they lie stripped of their fertility; while we look in vain for similar evidences that man has ever reached the summit of civilisation115 on this continent, or search, without our reward, for the path by which he has made the downward journey to his present condition of second childhood.”
“And what see you in all this?” demanded the trapper, who, though a little confused by the terms of his companion, seized the thread of his ideas.
“A demonstration116 of my problem, that nature did not make so vast a region to lie an uninhabited waste so many ages. This is merely the moral view of the subject; as to the more exact and geological—”
“Your morals are exact enough for me,” returned the old man, “for I think I see in them the very pride of folly117. I am but little gifted in the fables118 of what you call the Old World, seeing that my time has been mainly passed looking natur' steadily119 in the face, and in reasoning on what I've seen, rather than on what I've heard in traditions. But I have never shut my ears to the words of the good book, and many is the long winter evening that I have passed in the wigwams of the Delawares, listening to the good Moravians, as they dealt forth the history and doctrines120 of the elder times, to the people of the Lenape! It was pleasant to hearken to such wisdom after a weary hunt! Right pleasant did I find it, and often have I talked the matter over with the Great Serpent of the Delawares, in the more peaceful hours of our out-lyings, whether it might be on the trail of a war-party of the Mingoes, or on the watch for a York deer. I remember to have heard it, then and there, said, that the Blessed Land was once fertile as the bottoms of the Mississippi, and groaning121 with its stores of grain and fruits; but that the judgment122 has since fallen upon it, and that it is now more remarkable123 for its barrenness than any qualities to boast of.”
“It is true; but Egypt—nay much of Africa furnishes still more striking proofs of this exhaustion124 of nature.”
“Tell me,” interrupted the old man, “is it a certain truth that buildings are still standing97 in that land of Pharaoh, which may be likened, in their stature125, to the hills of the 'arth?”
“It is as true as that nature never refuses to bestow102 her incisores on the animals, mammalia; genus, homo—”
“It is very marvellous! and it proves how great He must be, when His miserable creatur's can accomplish such wonders! Many men must have been needed to finish such an edifice126; ay, and men gifted with strength and skill too! Does the land abound127 with such a race to this hour?”
“Far from it. Most of the country is a desert, and but for a mighty128 river all would be so.”
“Yes; rivers are rare gifts to such as till the ground, as any one may see who journeys far atween the Rocky Mountains and the Mississippi. But how do you account for these changes on the face of the 'arth itself, and for this downfall of nations, you men of the schools?”
“It is to be ascribed to moral cau—”
“You're right—it is their morals; their wickedness and their pride, and chiefly their waste that has done it all! Now listen to what the experience of an old man teaches him. I have lived long, as these grey hairs and wrinkled hands will show, even though my tongue should fail in the wisdom of my years. And I have seen much of the folly of man; for his natur' is the same, be he born in the wilderness, or be he born in the towns. To my weak judgment it hath ever seemed that his gifts are not equal to his wishes. That he would mount into the heavens, with all his deformities about him, if he only knew the road, no one will gainsay129, that witnesses his bitter strivings upon 'arth. If his power is not equal to his will, it is because the wisdom of the Lord hath set bounds to his evil workings.”
“It is much too certain that certain facts will warrant a theory, which teaches the natural depravity of the genus; but if science could be fairly brought to bear on a whole species at once, for instance, education might eradicate130 the evil principle.”
“That, for your education! The time has been when I have thought it possible to make a companion of a beast. Many are the cubs131, and many are the speckled fawns132 that I have reared with these old hands, until I have even fancied them rational and altered beings—but what did it amount to? the bear would bite, and the deer would run, notwithstanding my wicked conceit133 in fancying I could change a temper that the Lord himself had seen fit to bestow. Now if man is so blinded in his folly as to go on, ages on ages, doing harm chiefly to himself, there is the same reason to think that he has wrought134 his evil here as in the countries you call so old. Look about you, man; where are the multitudes that once peopled these prairies; the kings and the palaces; the riches and the mightinesses of this desert?”
“Where are the monuments that would prove the truth of so vague a theory?”
“I know not what you call a monument.”
“The works of man! The glories of Thebes and Balbec—columns, catacombs, and pyramids! standing amid the sands of the East, like wrecks135 on a rocky shore, to testify to the storms of ages!”
“They are gone. Time has lasted too long for them. For why? Time was made by the Lord, and they were made by man. This very spot of reeds and grass, on which you now sit, may once have been the garden of some mighty king. It is the fate of all things to ripen136, and then to decay. The tree blossoms, and bears its fruit, which falls, rots, withers137, and even the seed is lost! Go, count the rings of the oak and of the sycamore; they lie in circles, one about another, until the eye is blinded in striving to make out their numbers; and yet a full change of the seasons comes round while the stem is winding138 one of these little lines about itself, like the buffaloe changing his coat, or the buck his horns; and what does it all amount to? There does the noble tree fill its place in the forest, loftier, and grander, and richer, and more difficult to imitate, than any of your pitiful pillars, for a thousand years, until the time which the Lord hath given it is full. Then come the winds, that you cannot see, to rive its bark; and the waters from the heavens, to soften139 its pores; and the rot, which all can feel and none can understand, to humble its pride and bring it to the ground. From that moment its beauty begins to perish. It lies another hundred years, a mouldering140 log, and then a mound141 of moss142 and 'arth; a sad effigy143 of a human grave. This is one of your genuine monuments, though made by a very different power than such as belongs to your chiseling144 masonry145! and after all, the cunningest scout of the whole Dahcotah nation might pass his life in searching for the spot where it fell, and be no wiser when his eyes grew dim, than when they were first opened. As if that was not enough to convince man of his ignorance; and as though it were put there in mockery of his conceit, a pine shoots up from the roots of the oak, just as barrenness comes after fertility, or as these wastes have been spread, where a garden may have been created. Tell me not of your worlds that are old! it is blasphemous146 to set bounds and seasons, in this manner, to the works of the Almighty147, like a woman counting the ages of her young.”
“Friend hunter, or trapper,” returned the naturalist, clearing his throat in some intellectual confusion at the vigorous attack of his companion, “your deductions148, if admitted by the world, would sadly circumscribe149 the efforts of reason, and much abridge150 the boundaries of knowledge.”
“So much the better—so much the better; for I have always found that a conceited151 man never knows content. All things prove it. Why have we not the wings of the pigeon, the eyes of the eagle, and the legs of the moose, if it had been intended that man should be equal to all his wishes?”
“There are certain physical defects, venerable trapper, in which I am always ready to admit great and happy alterations152 might be suggested. For example, in my own order of Phalangacru—”
“Cruel enough would be the order, that should come from miserable hands like thine! A touch from such a finger would destroy the mocking deformity of a monkey! Go, go; human folly is not needed to fill up the great design of God. There is no stature, no beauty, no proportions, nor any colours in which man himself can well be fashioned, that is not already done to his hands.”
“That is touching153 another great and much disputed question,” exclaimed the Doctor, who seized upon every distinct idea that the ardent154 and somewhat dogmatic old man left exposed to his mental grasp, with the vain hope of inducing a logical discussion, in which he might bring his battery of syllogisms to annihilate155 the unscientific defences of his antagonist.
It is, however, unnecessary to our narrative156 to relate the erratic157 discourse that ensued. The old man eluded158 the annihilating159 blows of his adversary160, as the light armed soldier is wont to escape the efforts of the more regular warrior161, even while he annoys him most, and an hour passed away without bringing any of the numerous subjects, on which they touched, to a satisfactory conclusion. The arguments acted, however, on the nervous system of the Doctor, like so many soothing162 soporifics, and by the time his aged163 companion was disposed to lay his head on his pack, Obed, refreshed by his recent mental joust164, was in a condition to seek his natural rest, without enduring the torments165 of the incubus166, in the shapes of Teton warriors167 and bloody168 tomahawks.
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vestige
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| n.痕迹，遗迹，残余 | |
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fugitives
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| n.亡命者，逃命者( fugitive的名词复数 ) | |
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faculties
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| n.能力( faculty的名词复数 )；全体教职员；技巧；院 | |
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imp
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hostilities
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| n.战争；敌意(hostility的复数)；敌对状态；战事 | |
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pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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ass
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| n.驴；傻瓜，蠢笨的人 | |
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deserted
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| adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的 | |
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squatter
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ominous
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possessed
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tranquillity
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fatigue
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tract
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| n.传单，小册子，大片(土地或森林) | |
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captivity
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| n.囚禁；被俘；束缚 | |
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uncommon
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| adj.罕见的，非凡的，不平常的 | |
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forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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miserable
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| adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的 | |
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worthy
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| adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的 | |
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repentant
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| adj.对…感到悔恨的 | |
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rugged
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| adj.高低不平的，粗糙的，粗壮的，强健的 | |
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22
buck
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| n.雄鹿，雄兔；v.马离地跳跃 | |
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23
joyously
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| ad.快乐地, 高兴地 | |
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24
trifling
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| adj.微不足道的；没什么价值的 | |
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25
wretch
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| n.可怜的人，不幸的人；卑鄙的人 | |
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26
scout
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| n.童子军，侦察员；v.侦察，搜索 | |
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27
allusions
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| 暗指，间接提到( allusion的名词复数 ) | |
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28
dweller
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| n.居住者，住客 | |
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29
wilderness
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| n.杳无人烟的一片陆地、水等，荒漠 | |
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savage
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| adj.野蛮的；凶恶的，残暴的；n.未开化的人 | |
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31
savages
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| 未开化的人，野蛮人( savage的名词复数 ) | |
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32
ascended
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| v.上升，攀登( ascend的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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33
reptiles
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| n.爬行动物，爬虫( reptile的名词复数 ) | |
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34
lessening
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| 减轻，减少，变小 | |
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35
industrious
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| adj.勤劳的，刻苦的，奋发的 | |
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36
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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37
naturalist
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| n.博物学家(尤指直接观察动植物者) | |
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38
discretion
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| n.谨慎；随意处理 | |
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39
expedient
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| adj.有用的，有利的；n.紧急的办法，权宜之计 | |
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40
plight
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| n.困境，境况，誓约，艰难；vt.宣誓，保证，约定 | |
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41
placid
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| adj.安静的，平和的 | |
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42
rotary
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| adj.(运动等)旋转的；轮转的；转动的 | |
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43
moiety
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| n.一半；部分 | |
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44
rotaries
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| （机器或设备） 转动的( rotary的名词复数 )； （运动 ） 旋转的，绕轴转动的 | |
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45
jaded
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| adj.精疲力竭的；厌倦的；（因过饱或过多而）腻烦的；迟钝的 | |
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46
conjure
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| v.恳求，祈求；变魔术，变戏法 | |
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47
distress
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| n.苦恼，痛苦，不舒适；不幸；vt.使悲痛 | |
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48
shameful
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| adj.可耻的，不道德的 | |
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49
disconsolate
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| adj.忧郁的，不快的 | |
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50
fetter
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| n./vt.脚镣，束缚 | |
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51
repose
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| v.(使)休息；n.安息 | |
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52
imps
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| n.（故事中的）小恶魔( imp的名词复数 )；小魔鬼；小淘气；顽童 | |
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53
protracted
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| adj.拖延的；延长的v.拖延“protract”的过去式和过去分词 | |
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54
deference
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| n.尊重，顺从；敬意 | |
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55
humble
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| adj.谦卑的，恭顺的；地位低下的；v.降低，贬低 | |
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56
meek
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| adj.温顺的，逆来顺受的 | |
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57
expiration
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| n.终结，期满，呼气，呼出物 | |
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58
remonstrated
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| v.抗议( remonstrate的过去式和过去分词 )；告诫 | |
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59
reluctance
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| n.厌恶，讨厌，勉强，不情愿 | |
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60
secreted
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| v.（尤指动物或植物器官）分泌( secrete的过去式和过去分词 )；隐匿，隐藏 | |
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61
droop
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| v.低垂，下垂；凋萎，萎靡 | |
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62
robust
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| adj.强壮的，强健的，粗野的，需要体力的，浓的 | |
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63
defiance
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| n.挑战，挑衅，蔑视，违抗 | |
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64
attenuated
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| v.（使）变细( attenuate的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）变薄；（使）变小；减弱 | |
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65
shaft
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| n.(工具的)柄，杆状物 | |
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66
apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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67
consistency
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| n.一贯性，前后一致，稳定性；(液体的)浓度 | |
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68
swells
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| 增强( swell的第三人称单数 )； 肿胀； （使）凸出； 充满（激情） | |
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69
withered
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| adj. 枯萎的，干瘪的，（人身体的部分器官）因病萎缩的或未发育良好的 动词wither的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
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70
buffaloes
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| n.水牛（分非洲水牛和亚洲水牛两种）( buffalo的名词复数 )；（南非或北美的）野牛；威胁；恐吓 | |
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71
erect
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| n./v.树立，建立，使竖立；adj.直立的，垂直的 | |
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72
density
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| n.密集，密度，浓度 | |
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73
margin
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| n.页边空白；差额；余地，余裕；边，边缘 | |
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74
effacing
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| 谦逊的 | |
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75
toil
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|
| vi.辛劳工作，艰难地行动；n.苦工，难事 | |
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76
penetrated
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| adj. 击穿的，鞭辟入里的 动词penetrate的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
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77
dispositions
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| 安排( disposition的名词复数 )； 倾向； （财产、金钱的）处置； 气质 | |
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78
proceedings
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| n.进程，过程，议程；诉讼(程序)；公报 | |
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79
exhausted
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| adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的 | |
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80
refreshments
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| n.点心,便餐;(会议后的)简单茶点招 待 | |
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81
provident
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|
| adj.为将来做准备的，有先见之明的 | |
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83
betrothed
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|
| n. 已订婚者 动词betroth的过去式和过去分词 | |
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84
banished
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| v.放逐，驱逐( banish的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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85
brass
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| n.黄铜；黄铜器，铜管乐器 | |
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86
everlasting
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| adj.永恒的，持久的，无止境的 | |
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87
brazen
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| adj.厚脸皮的，无耻的，坚硬的 | |
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88
idols
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| 偶像( idol的名词复数 )； 受崇拜的人或物； 受到热爱和崇拜的人或物； 神像 | |
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89
wont
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|
| adj.习惯于；v.习惯；n.习惯 | |
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90
gratitude
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| adj.感激，感谢 | |
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91
antiquity
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| n.古老；高龄；古物，古迹 | |
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92
specimens
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| n.样品( specimen的名词复数 )；范例；（化验的）抽样；某种类型的人 | |
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93
chatter
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| vi.／n.喋喋不休；短促尖叫；(牙齿)打战 | |
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94
barter
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| n.物物交换，以货易货，实物交易 | |
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95
profanation
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| n.亵渎 | |
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96
dealers
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| n.商人( dealer的名词复数 )；贩毒者；毒品贩子；发牌者 | |
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97
standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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98
amity
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| n.友好关系 | |
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99
dross
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| n.渣滓；无用之物 | |
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100
formerly
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| adv.从前，以前 | |
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101
miscreants
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| n.恶棍，歹徒( miscreant的名词复数 ) | |
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102
bestow
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| v.把…赠与，把…授予；花费 | |
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103
bestowed
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| 赠给，授予( bestow的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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104
arduous
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| adj.艰苦的，费力的，陡峭的 | |
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105
antagonist
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| n.敌人，对抗者，对手 | |
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106
wrestler
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| n.摔角选手，扭 | |
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107
hemmed
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| 缝…的褶边( hem的过去式和过去分词 )； 包围 | |
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108
physically
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| adj.物质上，体格上，身体上，按自然规律 | |
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109
intercourse
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| n.性交；交流，交往，交际 | |
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110
barefaced
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| adj.厚颜无耻的，公然的 | |
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111
discourse
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| n.论文，演说；谈话；话语；vi.讲述，著述 | |
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112
literally
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| adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实 | |
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113
alder
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| n.赤杨树 | |
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114
teem
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| vi.(with)充满，多产 | |
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115
civilisation
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| n.文明，文化，开化，教化 | |
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116
demonstration
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| n.表明，示范，论证，示威 | |
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117
folly
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| n.愚笨，愚蠢，蠢事，蠢行，傻话 | |
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118
fables
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| n.寓言( fable的名词复数 )；神话，传说 | |
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119
steadily
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| adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地 | |
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120
doctrines
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| n.教条( doctrine的名词复数 )；教义；学说；（政府政策的）正式声明 | |
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121
groaning
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| adj. 呜咽的, 呻吟的 动词groan的现在分词形式 | |
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122
judgment
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| n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见 | |
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123
remarkable
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| adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的 | |
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124
exhaustion
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| n.耗尽枯竭，疲惫，筋疲力尽，竭尽，详尽无遗的论述 | |
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125
stature
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| n.（高度）水平，（高度）境界，身高，身材 | |
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126
edifice
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| n.宏伟的建筑物(如宫殿，教室) | |
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127
abound
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| vi.大量存在；(in，with)充满，富于 | |
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128
mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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129
gainsay
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| v.否认，反驳 | |
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130
eradicate
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| v.根除，消灭，杜绝 | |
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131
cubs
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| n.幼小的兽，不懂规矩的年轻人( cub的名词复数 ) | |
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132
fawns
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| n.（未满一岁的）幼鹿( fawn的名词复数 )；浅黄褐色；乞怜者；奉承者v.（尤指狗等）跳过来往人身上蹭以示亲热( fawn的第三人称单数 )；巴结；讨好 | |
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133
conceit
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| n.自负，自高自大 | |
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134
wrought
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| v.引起；以…原料制作；运转；adj.制造的 | |
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135
wrecks
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| n.沉船( wreck的名词复数 )；（事故中）遭严重毁坏的汽车（或飞机等）；（身体或精神上）受到严重损伤的人；状况非常糟糕的车辆（或建筑物等）v.毁坏[毁灭]某物( wreck的第三人称单数 )；使（船舶）失事，使遇难，使下沉 | |
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136
ripen
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| vt.使成熟；vi.成熟 | |
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137
withers
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| 马肩隆 | |
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138
winding
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|
| n.绕，缠，绕组，线圈 | |
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139
soften
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|
| v.(使)变柔软；(使)变柔和 | |
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140
mouldering
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|
| v.腐朽( moulder的现在分词 )；腐烂，崩塌 | |
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141
mound
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| n.土墩，堤，小山；v.筑堤，用土堆防卫 | |
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142
moss
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| n.苔，藓，地衣 | |
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143
effigy
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| n.肖像 | |
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144
chiseling
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| v.凿，雕，镌( chisel的现在分词 ) | |
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145
masonry
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|
| n.砖土建筑；砖石 | |
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146
blasphemous
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|
| adj.亵渎神明的，不敬神的 | |
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147
almighty
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| adj.全能的，万能的；很大的，很强的 | |
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148
deductions
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| 扣除( deduction的名词复数 )； 结论； 扣除的量； 推演 | |
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149
circumscribe
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| v.在...周围划线，限制，约束 | |
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150
abridge
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| v.删减，删节，节略，缩短 | |
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151
conceited
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| adj.自负的，骄傲自满的 | |
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152
alterations
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| n.改动( alteration的名词复数 )；更改；变化；改变 | |
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153
touching
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| adj.动人的，使人感伤的 | |
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154
ardent
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| adj.热情的，热烈的，强烈的，烈性的 | |
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155
annihilate
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| v.使无效；毁灭；取消 | |
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156
narrative
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| n.叙述，故事；adj.叙事的，故事体的 | |
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157
erratic
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| adj.古怪的，反复无常的，不稳定的 | |
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158
eluded
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| v.（尤指机敏地）避开( elude的过去式和过去分词 )；逃避；躲避；使达不到 | |
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159
annihilating
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| v.（彻底）消灭( annihilate的现在分词 )；使无效；废止；彻底击溃 | |
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160
adversary
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| adj.敌手，对手 | |
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161
warrior
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| n.勇士，武士，斗士 | |
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162
soothing
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| adj.慰藉的；使人宽心的；镇静的 | |
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163
aged
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| adj.年老的，陈年的 | |
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164
joust
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| v.马上长枪比武，竞争 | |
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165
torments
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| （肉体或精神上的）折磨，痛苦( torment的名词复数 )； 造成痛苦的事物[人] | |
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166
incubus
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| n.负担；恶梦 | |
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167
warriors
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| 武士，勇士，战士( warrior的名词复数 ) | |
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168
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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