Wrest2 once the law, to your authority:
To do a great right, do a little wrong.
—Shakspeare.
Ishmael awaited long and patiently for the motley train of Hard-Heart to disappear. When his scout3 reported that the last straggler of the Indians, who had joined their chief so soon as he was at such a distance from the encampment as to excite no jealousy4 by their numbers, had gone behind the most distant swell5 of the prairie, he gave forth6 the order to strike his tents. The cattle were already in the gears, and the movables were soon transferred to their usual places in the different vehicles. When all these arrangements were completed, the little wagon7, which had so long been the tenement8 of Inez, was drawn9 before the tent, into which the insensible body of the kidnapper10 had been borne, and preparations were evidently made for the reception of another prisoner. Then it was, as Abiram appeared, pale, terrified, and tottering11 beneath a load of detected guilt12, that the younger members of the family were first apprised14 that he still belonged to the class of the living. A general and superstitious15 impression had spread among them, that his crime had been visited by a terrible retribution from Heaven; and they now gazed at him, as at a being who belonged rather to another world, than as a mortal, who, like themselves, had still to endure the last agony before the great link of human existence could be broken. The criminal himself appeared to be in a state, in which the most sensitive and startling terror was singularly combined with total physical apathy16. The truth was, that while his person had been numbed17 by the shock, his susceptibility to apprehension18 kept his agitated19 mind in unrelieved distress20. When he found himself in the open air, he looked about him, in order to gather, if possible, some evidences of his future fate, from the countenances21 of those gathered round. Seeing every where grave but composed features, and meeting in no eye any expression that threatened immediate23 violence, the miserable24 man began to revive; and, by the time he was seated in the wagon, his artful faculties25 were beginning to plot the expedients26 of parrying the just resentment27 of his kinsmen28, or, if these should fail him, the means of escaping from a punishment that his forebodings told him would be terrible.
Throughout the whole of these preparations Ishmael rarely spoke29. A gesture, or a glance of the eye, served to indicate his pleasure to his sons, and with these simple methods of communication, all parties appeared content. When the signal was made to proceed, the squatter30 threw his rifle into the hollow of his arm, and his axe31 across his shoulder, taking the lead as usual. Esther buried herself in the wagon which contained her daughters; the young men took their customary places among the cattle, or nigh the teams, and the whole proceeded, at their ordinary, dull, but unremitted gait.
For the first time, in many a day, the squatter turned his back towards the setting sun. The route he held was in the direction of the settled country, and the manner in which he moved sufficed to tell his children, who had learned to read their father's determinations in his mien32, that their journey on the prairie was shortly to have an end. Still nothing else transpired33 for hours, that might denote the existence of any sudden, or violent, revolution in the purposes or feelings of Ishmael. During all that time he marched alone, keeping a few hundred rods in front of his teams, seldom giving any sign of extraordinary excitement. Once or twice, indeed, his huge figure was seen standing34 on the summit of some distant swell, with the head bent35 towards the earth, as he leaned on his rifle; but then these moments of intense thought were rare, and of short continuance. The train had long thrown its shadows towards the east, before any material alteration36 was made in the disposition37 of their march. Water-courses were waded38, plains were passed, and rolling ascents39 risen and descended40, without producing the smallest change. Long practised in the difficulties of that peculiar41 species of travelling in which he was engaged, the squatter avoided the more impracticable obstacles of their route by a sort of instinct, invariably inclining to the right or left in season, as the formation of the land, the presence of trees, or the signs of rivers forewarned him of the necessity of such movements.
At length the hour arrived when charity to man and beast required a temporary suspension of labour. Ishmael chose the required spot with his customary sagacity. The regular formation of the country, such as it has been described in the earlier pages of our book, had long been interrupted by a more unequal and broken surface. There were, it is true, in general, the same wide and empty wastes, the same rich and extensive bottoms, and that wild and singular combination of swelling42 fields and of nakedness, which gives that region the appearance of an ancient country, incomprehensibly stripped of its people and their dwellings43. But these distinguishing features of the rolling prairies had long been interrupted by irregular hillocks, occasional masses of rock, and broad belts of forest.
Ishmael chose a spring, that broke out of the base of a rock some forty or fifty feet in elevation44, as a place well suited to the wants of his herds45. The water moistened a small swale that lay beneath the spot, which yielded, in return for the fecund46 gift, a scanty47 growth of grass. A solitary48 willow49 had taken root in the alluvion, and profiting by its exclusive possession of the soil, the tree had sent up its stem far above the crest50 of the adjacent rock, whose peaked summit had once been shadowed by its branches. But its loveliness had gone with the mysterious principle of life. As if in mockery of the meagre show of verdure that the spot exhibited, it remained a noble and solemn monument of former fertility. The larger, ragged51, and fantastic branches still obtruded52 themselves abroad, while the white and hoary53 trunk stood naked and tempest-riven. Not a leaf, nor a sign of vegetation, was to be seen about it. In all things it proclaimed the frailty54 of existence, and the fulfilment of time.
Here Ishmael, after making the customary signal for the train to approach, threw his vast frame upon the earth, and seemed to muse55 on the deep responsibility of his present situation. His sons were not long in arriving; for the cattle no sooner scented56 the food and water than they quickened their pace, and then succeeded the usual bustle57 and avocations58 of a halt.
The impression made by the scene of that morning was not so deep, or lasting59, on the children of Ishmael and Esther, as to induce them to forget the wants of nature. But while the sons were searching among their stores, for something substantial to appease60 their hunger, and the younger fry were wrangling61 about their simple dishes, the parents of the unnurtured family were differently employed.
When the squatter saw that all, even to the reviving Abiram, were busy in administering to their appetites, he gave his downcast partner a glance of his eye, and withdrew towards a distant roll of the land, which bounded the view towards the east. The meeting of the pair, in this naked spot, was like an interview held above the grave of their murdered son. Ishmael signed to his wife to take a seat beside him on a fragment of rock, and then followed a space, during which neither seemed disposed to speak.
“We have journeyed together long, through good and bad,” Ishmael at length commenced: “much have we had to try us, and some bitter cups have we been made to swallow, my woman; but nothing like this has ever before lain in my path.”
“It is a heavy cross for a poor, misguided, and sinful woman to bear!” returned Esther, bowing her head to her knees, and partly concealing62 her face in her dress. “A heavy and a burdensome weight is this to be laid upon the shoulders of a sister and a mother!”
“Ay; therein lies the hardship of the case. I had brought my mind to the punishment of that houseless trapper, with no great strivings, for the man had done me few favours, and God forgive me if I suspected him wrongfully of much evil! This is, however, bringing shame in at one door of my cabin, in order to drive it out at the other. But shall a son of mine be murdered, and he who did it go at large?—the boy would never rest!”
“Oh, Ishmael, we pushed the matter far. Had little been said, who would have been the wiser? Our consciences might then have been quiet.”
“Eest'er,” said the husband, turning on her a reproachful but still a dull regard, “the hour has been, my woman, when you thought another hand had done this wickedness.”
“I did, I did the Lord gave me the feeling, as a punishment for my sins! but his mercy was not slow in lifting the veil; I looked into the book, Ishmael, and there I found the words of comfort.”
“Have you that book at hand, woman; it may happen to advise in such a dreary64 business.”
Esther fumbled65 in her pocket, and was not long in producing the fragment of a Bible, which had been thumbed and smoke-dried till the print was nearly illegible66. It was the only article, in the nature of a book, that was to be found among the chattels67 of the squatter, and it had been preserved by his wife, as a melancholy68 relic69 of more prosperous, and possibly of more innocent, days. She had long been in the habit of resorting to it, under the pressure of such circumstances as were palpably beyond human redress70, though her spirit and resolution rarely needed support under those that admitted of reparation through any of the ordinary means of reprisal71. In this manner Esther had made a sort of convenient ally of the word of God; rarely troubling it for counsel, however, except when her own incompetency72 to avert73 an evil was too apparent to be disputed. We shall leave casuists to determine how far she resembled any other believers in this particular, and proceed directly with the matter before us.
“There are many awful passages in these pages, Ishmael,” she said, when the volume was opened, and the leaves were slowly turning under her finger, “and some there ar' that teach the rules of punishment.”
Her husband made a gesture for her to find one of those brief rules of conduct, which have been received among all Christian74 nations as the direct mandates75 of the Creator, and which have been found so just, that even they, who deny their high authority, admit their wisdom. Ishmael listened with grave attention, as his companion read all those verses, which her memory suggested, and which were thought applicable to the situation in which they found themselves. He made her show him the words, which he regarded with a sort of strange reverence76. A resolution once taken was usually irrevocable, in one who was moved with so much difficulty. He put his hand upon the book, and closed the pages himself, as much as to apprise13 his wife that he was satisfied. Esther, who so well knew his character, trembled at the action, and casting a glance at his steady eye, she said—
“And yet, Ishmael, my blood, and the blood of my children, is in his veins77, cannot mercy be shown?”
“Woman,” he answered sternly, “when we believed that miserable old trapper had done this deed, nothing was said of mercy!”
Esther made no reply, but folding her arms upon her breast, she sat silent and thoughtful for many minutes. Then she once more turned her anxious gaze upon the countenance22 of her husband, where she found all passion and care apparently78 buried in the coldest apathy. Satisfied now, that the fate of her brother was sealed, and possibly conscious how well he merited the punishment that was meditated79, she no longer thought of mediation80. No more words passed between them. Their eyes met for an instant, and then both arose and walked in profound silence towards the encampment.
The squatter found his children expecting his return in the usual listless manner with which they awaited all coming events. The cattle were already herded81, and the horses in their gears, in readiness to proceed, so soon as he should indicate that such was his pleasure. The children were already in their proper vehicle, and, in short, nothing delayed the departure but the absence of the parents of the wild brood.
“Abner,” said the father, with the deliberation with which all his proceedings82 were characterised, “take the brother of your mother from the wagon, and let him stand on the 'arth.”
Abiram issued from his place of concealment83, trembling, it is true, but far from destitute84 of hopes, as to his final success in appeasing85 the just resentment of his kinsman86. After throwing a glance around him, with the vain wish of finding a single countenance in which he might detect a solitary gleam of sympathy, he endeavoured to smother87 those apprehensions88, that were by this time reviving in their original violence, by forcing a sort of friendly communication between himself and the squatter—
“The beasts are getting jaded89, brother,” he said, “and as we have made so good a march already, is it not time to camp. To my eye you may go far, before a better place than this is found to pass the night in.”
“Tis well you like it. Your tarry here ar' likely to be long. My sons, draw nigh and listen. Abiram White,” he added, lifting his cap, and speaking with a solemnity and steadiness, that rendered even his dull mien imposing90, “you have slain91 my first-born, and according to the laws of God and man must you die!”
The kidnapper started at this terrible and sudden sentence, with the terror that one would exhibit who unexpectedly found himself in the grasp of a monster, from whose power there was no retreat. Although filled with the most serious forebodings of what might be his lot, his courage had not been equal to look his danger in the face, and with the deceitful consolation92, with which timid tempers are apt to conceal63 their desperate condition from themselves, he had rather courted a treacherous93 relief in his cunning, than prepared himself for the worst.
“Die!” he repeated, in a voice that scarcely issued from his chest; “a man is surely safe among his kinsmen!”
“So thought my boy,” returned the squatter, motioning for the team, that contained his wife and the girls, to proceed, as he very coolly examined the priming of his piece. “By the rifle did you destroy my son; it is fit and just that you meet your end by the same weapon.”
Abiram stared about him with a gaze that bespoke94 an unsettled reason. He even laughed, as if he would not only persuade himself but others that what he heard was some pleasantry, intended to try his nerves. But nowhere did his frightful95 merriment meet with an answering echo. All around was solemn and still. The visages of his nephews were excited, but cold towards him, and that of his former confederate frightfully determined96. This very steadiness of mien was a thousand times more alarming and hopeless than any violence could have proved. The latter might possibly have touched his spirit and awakened97 resistance, but the former threw him entirely98 on the feeble resources of himself.
“Brother,” he said, in a hurried, unnatural99 whisper, “did I hear you?”
“My words are plain, Abiram White: thou hast done murder, and for the same must thou die!”
“Esther! sister, sister, will you leave me! Oh sister! do you hear my call?”
“I hear one speak from the grave!” returned the husky tones of Esther, as the wagon passed the spot where the criminal stood. “It is the voice of my firstborn, calling aloud for justice! God have mercy, God have mercy, on your soul!”
The team slowly pursued its route, and the deserted100 Abiram now found himself deprived of the smallest vestige101 of hope. Still he could not summon fortitude102 to meet his death, and had not his limbs refused to aid him, he would yet have attempted to fly. Then, by a sudden revolution from hope to utter despair, he fell upon his knees, and commenced a prayer, in which cries for mercy to God and to his kinsman were wildly and blasphemously103 mingled104. The sons of Ishmael turned away in horror at the disgusting spectacle, and even the stern nature of the squatter began to bend before so abject105 misery106.
“May that, which you ask of Him, be granted,” he said; “but a father can never forget a murdered child.”
He was answered by the most humble107 appeals for time. A week, a day, an hour, were each implored108, with an earnestness commensurate to the value they receive, when a whole life is compressed into their short duration. The squatter was troubled, and at length he yielded in part to the petitions of the criminal. His final purpose was not altered, though he changed the means. “Abner,” he said, “mount the rock, and look on every side, that we may be sure none are nigh.”
While his nephew was obeying this order, gleams of reviving hope were seen shooting across the quivering features of the kidnapper. The report was favourable109, nothing having life, the retiring teams excepted, was to be seen. A messenger was, however, coming from the latter, in great apparent haste. Ishmael awaited its arrival. He received from the hands of one of his wondering and frighted girls a fragment of that book, which Esther had preserved with so much care. The squatter beckoned110 the child away, and placed the leaves in the hands of the criminal.
“Eest'er has sent you this,” he said, “that, in your last moments, you may remember God.”
“Bless her, bless her! a good and kind sister has she been to me. But time must be given, that I may read; time, my brother, time!”
“Time shall not be wanting. You shall be your own executioner, and this miserable office shall pass away from my hands.”
Ishmael proceeded to put his new resolution in force. The immediate apprehensions of the kidnapper were quieted, by an assurance that he might yet live for days, though his punishment was inevitable111. A reprieve112, to one abject and wretched as Abiram, temporarily produced the same effects as a pardon. He was even foremost in assisting in the appalling113 arrangements, and of all the actors, in that solemn tragedy, his voice alone was facetious114 and jocular.
A thin shelf of the rock projected beneath one of the ragged arms of the willow. It was many feet from the ground, and admirably adapted to the purpose which, in fact, its appearance had suggested. On this little platform the criminal was placed, his arms bound at the elbows behind his back, beyond the possibility of liberation, with a proper cord leading from his neck to the limb of the tree. The latter was so placed, that when suspended the body could find no foot-hold. The fragment of the Bible was placed in his hands, and he was left to seek his consolation as he might from its pages.
“And now, Abiram White,” said the squatter, when his sons had descended from completing this arrangement, “I give you a last and solemn asking. Death is before you in two shapes. With this rifle can your misery be cut short, or by that cord, sooner or later, must you meet your end.”
“Let me yet live! Oh, Ishmael, you know not how sweet life is, when the last moment draws so nigh!”
“'Tis done,” said the squatter, motioning for his assistants to follow the herds and teams. “And now, miserable man, that it may prove a consolation to your end, I forgive you my wrongs, and leave you to your God.”
Ishmael turned and pursued his way across the plain, at his ordinary sluggish115 and ponderous116 gait. Though his head was bent a little towards the earth, his inactive mind did not prompt him to cast a look behind. Once, indeed, he thought he heard his name called, in tones that were a little smothered117, but they failed to make him pause.
At the spot where he and Esther had conferred, he reached the boundary of the visible horizon from the rock. Here he stopped, and ventured a glance in the direction of the place he had just quitted. The sun was near dipping into the plains beyond, and its last rays lighted the naked branches of the willow. He saw the ragged outline of the whole drawn against the glowing heavens, and he even traced the still upright form of the being he had left to his misery. Turning the roll of the swell, he proceeded with the feelings of one, who had been suddenly and violently separated from a recent confederate, for ever.
Within a mile, the squatter overtook his teams. His sons had found a place suited to the encampment for the night, and merely awaited his approach to confirm their choice. Few words were necessary to express his acquiescence118. Every thing passed in a silence more general and remarkable119 than ever. The chidings of Esther were not heard among her young, or if heard, they were more in the tones of softened121 admonition, than in her usual, upbraiding122, key.
No questions nor explanations passed between the husband and his wife. It was only as the latter was about to withdraw among her children, for the night, that the former saw her taking a furtive123 look at the pan of his rifle. Ishmael bade his sons seek their rest, announcing his intention to look to the safety of the camp in person. When all was still, he walked out upon the prairie, with a sort of sensation that he found his breathing among the tents too straitened. The night was well adapted to heighten the feelings, which had been created by the events of the day.
The wind had risen with the moon, and it was occasionally sweeping124 over the plain, in a manner that made it not difficult for the sentinel to imagine strange and unearthly sounds were mingling125 in the blasts. Yielding to the extraordinary impulses of which he was the subject, he cast a glance around, to see that all were slumbering126 in security, and then he strayed towards the swell of land already mentioned. Here the squatter found himself at a point that commanded a view to the east and to the west. Light fleecy clouds were driving before the moon, which was cold and watery128 though there were moments, when its placid129 rays were shed from clear blue fields, seeming to soften120 objects to its own mild loveliness.
For the first time, in a life of so much wild adventure, Ishmael felt a keen sense of solitude130. The naked prairies began to assume the forms of illimitable and dreary wastes and the rushing of the wind sounded like the whisperings of the dead. It was not long before he thought a shriek131 was borne past him on a blast. It did not sound like a call from earth but it swept frightfully through the upper air mingled with the hoarse132 accompaniment of the wind. The teeth of the squatter were compressed, and his huge hand grasped the rifle, as if it would crush the metal. Then came a lull133, a fresher blast, and a cry of horror that seemed to have been uttered at the very portals of his ears. A sort of echo burst involuntarily from his own lips, as men shout under unnatural excitement, and throwing his rifle across his shoulder he proceeded towards the rock with the strides of a giant.
It was not often that the blood of Ishmael moved at the rate with which the fluid circulates in the veins of ordinary men; but now he felt it ready to gush134 from every pore in his body. The animal was aroused, in his most latent energies. Ever as he advanced he heard those shrieks135, which sometimes seemed ringing among the clouds, and sometimes passed so nigh, as to appear to brush the earth. At length there came a cry, in which there could be no delusion136, or to which the imagination could lend no horror. It appeared to fill each cranny of the air, as the visible horizon is often charged to fulness by one dazzling flash of the electric fluid. The name of God was distinctly audible, but it was awfully137 and blasphemously blended with sounds that may not be repeated. The squatter stopped, and for a moment he covered his ears with his hands. When he withdrew the latter, a low and husky voice at his elbow asked in smothered tones—
“Ishmael, my man, heard ye nothing?”
“Hist,” returned the husband, laying a powerful arm on Esther, without manifesting the smallest surprise at the unlooked-for presence of his wife. “Hist, woman! if you have the fear of Heaven, be still!”
A profound silence succeeded. Though the wind rose and fell as before, its rushing was no longer mingled with those fearful cries. The sounds were imposing and solemn, but it was the solemnity and majesty138 of nature.
“Let us go on,” said Esther; “all is hushed.”
“Woman, what has brought you here?” demanded her husband, whose blood had returned into its former channels, and whose thoughts had already lost a portion of their excitement.
“Ishmael, he murdered our first-born; but it is not meet that the son of my mother should lie upon the ground, like the carrion139 of a dog!”
“Follow,” returned the squatter, again grasping his rifle, and striding towards the rock. The distance was still considerable; and their approach, as they drew nigh the place of execution, was moderated by awe140. Many minutes had passed, before they reached a spot where they might distinguish the outlines of the dusky objects.
“Where have you put the body?” whispered Esther. “See, here are pick and spade, that a brother of mine may sleep in the bosom141 of the earth!”
The moon broke from behind a mass of clouds, and the eye of the woman was enabled to follow the finger of Ishmael. It pointed142 to a human form swinging in the wind, beneath the ragged and shining arm of the willow. Esther bent her head and veiled her eyes from the sight. But Ishmael drew nigher, and long contemplated143 his work in awe, though not in compunction. The leaves of the sacred book were scattered144 on the ground, and even a fragment of the shelf had been displaced by the kidnapper in his agony. But all was now in the stillness of death. The grim and convulsed countenance of the victim was at times brought full into the light of the moon, and again as the wind lulled145, the fatal rope drew a dark line across its bright disk. The squatter raised his rifle, with extreme care, and fired. The cord was cut and the body came lumbering127 to the earth a heavy and insensible mass.
Until now Esther had not moved nor spoken. But her hand was not slow to assist in the labour of the hour. The grave was soon dug. It was instantly made to receive its miserable tenant146. As the lifeless form descended, Esther, who sustained the head, looked up into the face of her husband with an expression of anguish147, and said—
“Ishmael, my man, it is very terrible! I cannot kiss the corpse148 of my father's child!”
The squatter laid his broad hand on the bosom of the dead, and said—
“Abiram White, we all have need of mercy; from my soul do I forgive you! May God in Heaven have pity on your sins!”
The woman bowed her face and imprinted149 her lips long and fervently150 on the pallid151 forehead of her brother. After this came the falling clods and all the solemn sounds of filling a grave. Esther lingered on her knees, and Ishmael stood uncovered while the woman muttered a prayer. All was then finished.
On the following morning the teams and herds of the squatter were seen pursuing their course towards the settlements. As they approached the confines of society the train was blended among a thousand others. Though some of the numerous descendants of this peculiar pair were reclaimed152 from their lawless and semi-barbarous lives, the principals of the family, themselves, were never heard of more.
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1
beseech
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| v.祈求，恳求 | |
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wrest
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| n.扭，拧，猛夺；v.夺取，猛扭，歪曲 | |
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scout
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| n.童子军，侦察员；v.侦察，搜索 | |
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jealousy
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| n.妒忌，嫉妒，猜忌 | |
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swell
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| vi.膨胀，肿胀；增长，增强 | |
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forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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wagon
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| n.四轮马车，手推车，面包车；无盖运货列车 | |
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tenement
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| n.公寓；房屋 | |
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drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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kidnapper
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| n.绑架者，拐骗者 | |
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tottering
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| adj.蹒跚的，动摇的v.走得或动得不稳( totter的现在分词 )；踉跄；蹒跚；摇摇欲坠 | |
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guilt
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| n.犯罪；内疚；过失，罪责 | |
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13
apprise
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| vt.通知，告知 | |
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apprised
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| v.告知，通知( apprise的过去式和过去分词 )；评价 | |
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superstitious
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| adj.迷信的 | |
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apathy
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| n.漠不关心，无动于衷；冷淡 | |
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numbed
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| v.使麻木，使麻痹( numb的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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apprehension
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| n.理解，领悟；逮捕，拘捕；忧虑 | |
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agitated
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| adj.被鼓动的，不安的 | |
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distress
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| n.苦恼，痛苦，不舒适；不幸；vt.使悲痛 | |
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countenances
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| n.面容( countenance的名词复数 )；表情；镇静；道义支持 | |
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countenance
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| n.脸色，面容；面部表情；vt.支持，赞同 | |
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immediate
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| adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的 | |
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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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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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expedients
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| n.应急有效的，权宜之计的( expedient的名词复数 ) | |
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resentment
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| n.怨愤，忿恨 | |
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kinsmen
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| n.家属，亲属( kinsman的名词复数 ) | |
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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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30
squatter
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| n.擅自占地者 | |
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31
axe
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| n.斧子；v.用斧头砍，削减 | |
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32
mien
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| n.风采；态度 | |
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33
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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34
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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35
bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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36
alteration
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| n.变更，改变；蚀变 | |
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37
disposition
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| n.性情，性格；意向，倾向；排列，部署 | |
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38
waded
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| （从水、泥等）蹚，走过，跋( wade的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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39
ascents
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| n.上升( ascent的名词复数 )；（身份、地位等的）提高；上坡路；攀登 | |
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40
descended
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| a.为...后裔的，出身于...的 | |
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41
peculiar
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| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
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42
swelling
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| n.肿胀 | |
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43
dwellings
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| n.住处，处所( dwelling的名词复数 ) | |
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44
elevation
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| n.高度；海拔；高地；上升；提高 | |
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herds
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| 兽群( herd的名词复数 )； 牧群； 人群； 群众 | |
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46
fecund
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| adj.多产的，丰饶的，肥沃的 | |
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47
scanty
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| adj.缺乏的，仅有的，节省的，狭小的，不够的 | |
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solitary
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| adj.孤独的，独立的，荒凉的；n.隐士 | |
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49
willow
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| n.柳树 | |
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50
crest
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| n.顶点；饰章；羽冠；vt.达到顶点；vi.形成浪尖 | |
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ragged
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| adj.衣衫褴褛的，粗糙的，刺耳的 | |
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obtruded
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| v.强行向前，强行，强迫( obtrude的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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hoary
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| adj.古老的；鬓发斑白的 | |
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54
frailty
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| n.脆弱；意志薄弱 | |
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55
muse
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| n.缪斯（希腊神话中的女神），创作灵感 | |
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56
scented
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| adj.有香味的；洒香水的；有气味的v.嗅到(scent的过去分词) | |
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57
bustle
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| v.喧扰地忙乱，匆忙，奔忙；n.忙碌；喧闹 | |
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avocations
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| n.业余爱好，嗜好( avocation的名词复数 )；职业 | |
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59
lasting
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| adj.永久的，永恒的；vbl.持续，维持 | |
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60
appease
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| v.安抚，缓和，平息，满足 | |
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61
wrangling
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| v.争吵，争论，口角( wrangle的现在分词 ) | |
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concealing
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| v.隐藏，隐瞒，遮住( conceal的现在分词 ) | |
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conceal
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| v.隐藏，隐瞒，隐蔽 | |
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64
dreary
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| adj.令人沮丧的，沉闷的，单调乏味的 | |
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fumbled
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| （笨拙地）摸索或处理（某事物）( fumble的过去式和过去分词 )； 乱摸，笨拙地弄； 使落下 | |
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66
illegible
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| adj.难以辨认的，字迹模糊的 | |
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67
chattels
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| n.动产，奴隶( chattel的名词复数 ) | |
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68
melancholy
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| n.忧郁，愁思；adj.令人感伤（沮丧）的，忧郁的 | |
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relic
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| n.神圣的遗物，遗迹，纪念物 | |
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70
redress
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| n.赔偿，救济，矫正；v.纠正，匡正，革除 | |
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71
reprisal
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| n.报复，报仇，报复性劫掠 | |
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72
incompetency
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| n.无能力，不适当 | |
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73
avert
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| v.防止，避免；转移(目光、注意力等) | |
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74
Christian
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| adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒 | |
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75
mandates
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| 托管（mandate的第三人称单数形式） | |
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76
reverence
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| n.敬畏，尊敬，尊严；Reverence:对某些基督教神职人员的尊称；v.尊敬，敬畏，崇敬 | |
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77
veins
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| n.纹理；矿脉( vein的名词复数 )；静脉；叶脉；纹理 | |
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78
apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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79
meditated
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| 深思，沉思，冥想( meditate的过去式和过去分词 )； 内心策划，考虑 | |
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80
mediation
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| n.调解 | |
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81
herded
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| 群集，纠结( herd的过去式和过去分词 )； 放牧； （使）向…移动 | |
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82
proceedings
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| n.进程，过程，议程；诉讼(程序)；公报 | |
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83
concealment
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| n.隐藏, 掩盖，隐瞒 | |
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84
destitute
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| adj.缺乏的；穷困的 | |
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85
appeasing
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| 安抚，抚慰( appease的现在分词 )； 绥靖（满足另一国的要求以避免战争） | |
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86
kinsman
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| n.男亲属 | |
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87
smother
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| vt./vi.使窒息；抑制；闷死；n.浓烟；窒息 | |
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88
apprehensions
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| 疑惧 | |
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89
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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90
imposing
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| adj.使人难忘的，壮丽的，堂皇的，雄伟的 | |
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91
slain
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| 杀死，宰杀，杀戮( slay的过去分词 )； (slay的过去分词) | |
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92
consolation
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| n.安慰，慰问 | |
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93
treacherous
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| adj.不可靠的，有暗藏的危险的；adj.背叛的，背信弃义的 | |
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94
bespoke
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| adj.（产品）订做的；专做订货的v.预定( bespeak的过去式 )；订（货）；证明；预先请求 | |
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95
frightful
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| adj.可怕的；讨厌的 | |
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96
determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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97
awakened
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| v.（使）醒( awaken的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）觉醒；弄醒；（使）意识到 | |
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98
entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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99
unnatural
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| adj.不自然的；反常的 | |
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100
deserted
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| adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的 | |
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101
vestige
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| n.痕迹，遗迹，残余 | |
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102
fortitude
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| n.坚忍不拔；刚毅 | |
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103
blasphemously
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104
mingled
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| 混合，混入( mingle的过去式和过去分词 )； 混进，与…交往[联系] | |
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105
abject
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| adj.极可怜的，卑屈的 | |
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106
misery
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| n.痛苦，苦恼，苦难；悲惨的境遇，贫苦 | |
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107
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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108
implored
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| 恳求或乞求（某人）( implore的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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109
favourable
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| adj.赞成的，称赞的，有利的，良好的，顺利的 | |
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110
beckoned
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| v.（用头或手的动作）示意，召唤( beckon的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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111
inevitable
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| adj.不可避免的，必然发生的 | |
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112
reprieve
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| n.暂缓执行（死刑）；v.缓期执行；给…带来缓解 | |
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113
appalling
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| adj.骇人听闻的，令人震惊的，可怕的 | |
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114
facetious
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| adj.轻浮的，好开玩笑的 | |
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115
sluggish
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| adj.懒惰的，迟钝的，无精打采的 | |
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116
ponderous
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| adj.沉重的，笨重的，(文章)冗长的 | |
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117
smothered
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| （使）窒息， （使）透不过气( smother的过去式和过去分词 )； 覆盖； 忍住； 抑制 | |
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118
acquiescence
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| n.默许；顺从 | |
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119
remarkable
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| adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的 | |
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120
soften
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| v.(使)变柔软；(使)变柔和 | |
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121
softened
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| （使）变软( soften的过去式和过去分词 )； 缓解打击； 缓和； 安慰 | |
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122
upbraiding
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| adj.& n.谴责（的）v.责备，申斥，谴责( upbraid的现在分词 ) | |
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123
furtive
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| adj.鬼鬼崇崇的，偷偷摸摸的 | |
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124
sweeping
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| adj.范围广大的，一扫无遗的 | |
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125
mingling
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| adj.混合的 | |
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126
slumbering
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| 微睡，睡眠（slumber的现在分词形式） | |
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127
lumbering
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| n.采伐林木 | |
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128
watery
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| adj.有水的，水汪汪的；湿的，湿润的 | |
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129
placid
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| adj.安静的，平和的 | |
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130
solitude
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| n. 孤独; 独居,荒僻之地,幽静的地方 | |
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131
shriek
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| v./n.尖叫，叫喊 | |
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132
hoarse
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| adj.嘶哑的，沙哑的 | |
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133
lull
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| v.使安静，使入睡，缓和，哄骗；n.暂停，间歇 | |
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134
gush
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| v.喷，涌；滔滔不绝(说话)；n.喷，涌流；迸发 | |
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135
shrieks
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| n.尖叫声( shriek的名词复数 )v.尖叫( shriek的第三人称单数 ) | |
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136
delusion
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| n.谬见，欺骗，幻觉，迷惑 | |
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137
awfully
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| adv.可怕地，非常地，极端地 | |
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138
majesty
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| n.雄伟，壮丽，庄严，威严；最高权威，王权 | |
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139
carrion
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| n.腐肉 | |
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140
awe
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| n.敬畏，惊惧；vt.使敬畏，使惊惧 | |
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141
bosom
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| n.胸，胸部；胸怀；内心；adj.亲密的 | |
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142
pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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143
contemplated
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| adj. 预期的 动词contemplate的过去分词形式 | |
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144
scattered
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| adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的 | |
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145
lulled
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| vt.使镇静，使安静（lull的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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146
tenant
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| n.承租人；房客；佃户；v.租借，租用 | |
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147
anguish
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| n.(尤指心灵上的)极度痛苦，烦恼 | |
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148
corpse
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| n.尸体，死尸 | |
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149
imprinted
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| v.盖印（imprint的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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150
fervently
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| adv.热烈地，热情地，强烈地 | |
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151
pallid
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| adj.苍白的，呆板的 | |
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152
reclaimed
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| adj.再生的；翻造的；收复的；回收的v.开拓( reclaim的过去式和过去分词 )；要求收回；从废料中回收（有用的材料）；挽救 | |
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