CHAPTER XXVI.

One of the most important insurance companies in the city is the Virginia Fire and Marine¹. This old and strong institution antedates² the great war, and its officers were at one time as follows: President, Mr. Thomas Alfriend; secretary, W. L. Cowardin, who afterwards became the president. At this writing—the year 1912—Colonel William H. Palmer is the president and Mr. W. H. McCarthy
 
is the secretary. It has a corps³ of efficient clerks and its business is vast, and constantly increasing. The prestige and conservative mode of doing business of this model fire company, commend it to the confidence of the insuring public.

A unique man of Chesterfield county was a certain Mr. W. B. C., who was considered the best set-back player in Manchester, and could play longer on a small capital, or “stake,” than could be found anywhere. He took few chances in “bidding,” but when he offered so many points for his hand, the board of players deemed it advisable to let him have all the points that he claimed, as he was sure in the end to score them all. He was a very genial⁴, pleasant companion, and he was welcomed in a game.

Many of the landmarks⁵, in the matter of buildings, have been torn down and thus removed, and in their places more modern ones erected⁶ in Richmond. For instance, the old Swan Tavern⁷, which stood on Broad between Eighth and Ninth Streets. In its day, before the war, it was a famous hostelry. It was there that the celebrated⁸ trial of the notorious Aaron Burr was held. Burr had been indicted⁹ by the federal court for high treason against the United States government, in attempting, by filibustering¹⁰ means, to inaugurate a separate government in the then new Southwestern States. Very able legal talent was engaged in this case, among whom was Mr. Jno. Wickham, Luther Martin and several others of national reputation. Chief Justice John Marshall presided at this trial. Mr. Burr was acquitted¹¹. He had been for several years an important figure in American politics and history, and had been a candidate for the nomination¹² of the Federal or Whig party against Mr. Thomas Jefferson, the nominee¹³ of the Republican-Democratic party. In the election that
 
fall there was a tie vote in the electoral college, and in consequence the election was thrown into the House of Representatives at Washington. The leader of the Federal party, Alexander Hamilton, gave the deciding vote which elected Mr. Jefferson as the President of the United States.

This embittered¹⁴ Mr. Burr towards Mr. Hamilton, and he made a most severe personal attack upon him through the newspapers. This drew from Hamilton a challenge to mortal combat on the field of honor and resulted in the death of the latter by the bullet of Burr’s pistol.

Alexander Hamilton was considered by many as one of the greatest men of his time, and was the brains and leader of his party, then styled the Federal, or later the Whig party. His theory of government exists to this day and time.

A prominent citizen was Mr. Jesse Wherry, a man of wit and humor, a good mimic¹⁵ and was a candidate at the time for Commissioner¹⁶ of Revenue, to succeed Parson Burton, who had died. During the canvass¹⁷ he attended a Methodist religious meeting and when the preacher offered up a long, earnest prayer, Wherry emphasized it by his approval in frequent and loud amens. A party out of spite informed the leaders of the meeting that Jesse was not only not a Methodist, but not even a member of any church whatever. This action came very near causing the defeat of Mr. Jesse Wherry for the office, for the whole meeting voted for his opponent. There once lived in Richmond a man by the name of Hicks, who kept a livery stable on South Tenth Street, between Main and Cary. He owned a fine female pointer dog named “Sue.” She had a pedigree nearly a yard in length. The puppies he found a ready sale for at a good price. One day a party approached
 
Hicks and said: “I wish you would give me one of her puppies.” He replied: “You go to Major Doswell and ask him to give you one of Sue Washington’s colts.” “It costs the major a good deal of money to produce her colts,” exclaimed the party. “Don’t you suppose it costs me something to obtain my thoroughbred puppies,” was Mr. Hick’s reply.

I remember well the time when the last mortal remains¹⁸ of the great Confederate general, Stonewall Jackson, were brought to Richmond for interment. The body lay in state in the rotunda¹⁹ of the capitol and all who desired could view the corpse²⁰. There lay still in death, the man who had been the right-hand and arm of General Robert E. Lee, and but few, if any, who passed around his bier failed to shed tears of sorrow at the great calamity²¹ which the South sustained thereby²². Upon a caisson was placed the casket and conveyed to Hollywood Cemetery²³.

His faithful colored body-servant led the famous old sorrel horse that had carried him through so many battles. At the battle of Fredericksburg, General J. E. B. Stuart, with the aid of his servant, had provided the old horse with an entirely²⁴ new equipment—new saddle and bridle—and when his men saw their general seated on his familiar old sorrel, bedecked and ornamented²⁵ with the new trappings, they were utterly²⁶ amazed at the improvement. His new uniform of Confederate grey, which had been procured²⁷ for the general without his knowledge, became him well and was admired by all.

1 marine   

adj.海的；海生的；航海的；海事的；n.水兵

参考例句：

• Marine creatures are those which live in the sea. 海洋生物是生存在海里的生物。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

2 antedates   

v.（在历史上）比…为早( antedate的第三人称单数 )；先于；早于；（在信、支票等上）填写比实际日期早的日期

参考例句：

• This event antedates the discovery of America by several centuries. 这件事比发现美洲早几个世纪。 来自辞典例句
• This old carriage antedates the invention of the car. 这辆旧马车是在汽车发明前就存在的。 来自互联网

3 corps   

n.(通信等兵种的)部队；(同类作的)一组

参考例句：

• The medical corps were cited for bravery in combat.医疗队由于在战场上的英勇表现而受嘉奖。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

4 genial   

adj.亲切的，和蔼的，愉快的，脾气好的

参考例句：

• Orlando is a genial man.奥兰多是一位和蔼可亲的人。
• He was a warm-hearted friend and genial host.他是个热心的朋友，也是友善待客的主人。

5 landmarks   

n.陆标( landmark的名词复数 )；目标；（标志重要阶段的）里程碑 ~ (in sth)；有历史意义的建筑物（或遗址）

参考例句：

• The book stands out as one of the notable landmarks in the progress of modern science. 这部著作是现代科学发展史上著名的里程碑之一。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The baby was one of the big landmarks in our relationship. 孩子的出世是我们俩关系中的一个重要转折点。 来自辞典例句

6 ERECTED   

adj. 直立的，竖立的，笔直的 vt. 使 ... 直立，建立

参考例句：

• A monument to him was erected in St Paul's Cathedral. 在圣保罗大教堂为他修了一座纪念碑。
• A monument was erected to the memory of that great scientist. 树立了一块纪念碑纪念那位伟大的科学家。

7 tavern   

n.小旅馆，客栈；小酒店

参考例句：

• There is a tavern at the corner of the street.街道的拐角处有一家酒馆。
• Philip always went to the tavern,with a sense of pleasure.菲利浦总是心情愉快地来到这家酒菜馆。

8 celebrated   

adj.有名的，声誉卓著的

参考例句：

• He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。
• The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。

9 indicted   

控告，起诉( indict的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The senator was indicted for murder. 那位参议员被控犯谋杀罪。
• He was indicted by a grand jury on two counts of murder. 他被大陪审团以两项谋杀罪名起诉。

10 filibustering   

v.阻碍或延宕国会或其他立法机构通过提案( filibuster的现在分词 )；掠夺

参考例句：

11 acquitted   

宣判…无罪( acquit的过去式和过去分词 )； 使（自己）作出某种表现

参考例句：

• The jury acquitted him of murder. 陪审团裁决他谋杀罪不成立。
• Five months ago she was acquitted on a shoplifting charge. 五个月前她被宣判未犯入店行窃罪。

12 nomination   

n.提名，任命，提名权

参考例句：

• John is favourite to get the nomination for club president.约翰最有希望被提名为俱乐部主席。
• Few people pronounced for his nomination.很少人表示赞成他的提名。

13 nominee   

n.被提名者；被任命者；被推荐者

参考例句：

• His nominee for vice president was elected only after a second ballot.他提名的副总统在两轮投票后才当选。
• Mr.Francisco is standing as the official nominee for the post of District Secretary.弗朗西斯科先生是行政书记职位的正式提名人。

14 embittered   

v.使怨恨，激怒( embitter的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• These injustices embittered her even more. 不公平使她更加受苦。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The artist was embittered by public neglect. 大众的忽视于那位艺术家更加难受。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 mimic   

v.模仿，戏弄；n.模仿他人言行的人

参考例句：

• A parrot can mimic a person's voice.鹦鹉能学人的声音。
• He used to mimic speech peculiarities of another.他过去总是模仿别人讲话的特点。

16 commissioner   

n.（政府厅、局、处等部门）专员，长官，委员

参考例句：

• The commissioner has issued a warrant for her arrest.专员发出了对她的逮捕令。
• He was tapped for police commissioner.他被任命为警务处长。

17 canvass   

v.招徕顾客，兜售；游说；详细检查，讨论

参考例句：

• Mr. Airey Neave volunteered to set up an organisation to canvass votes.艾雷·尼夫先生自告奋勇建立了一个拉票组织。
• I will canvass the floors before I start painting the walls.开始粉刷墙壁之前，我会详细检查地板。

18 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

19 rotunda   

n.圆形建筑物；圆厅

参考例句：

• The Capitol at Washington has a large rotunda.华盛顿的国会大厦有一圆形大厅。
• The rotunda was almost deserted today,dotted with just a few tourists.圆形大厅今天几乎没有多少人，只零星散布着几个游客。

20 corpse   

n.尸体，死尸

参考例句：

• What she saw was just an unfeeling corpse.她见到的只是一具全无感觉的尸体。
• The corpse was preserved from decay by embalming.尸体用香料涂抹以防腐烂。

21 calamity   

n.灾害，祸患，不幸事件

参考例句：

• Even a greater natural calamity cannot daunt us. 再大的自然灾害也压不垮我们。
• The attack on Pearl Harbor was a crushing calamity.偷袭珍珠港(对美军来说)是一场毁灭性的灾难。

22 thereby   

adv.因此，从而

参考例句：

• I have never been to that city,,ereby I don't know much about it.我从未去过那座城市，因此对它不怎么熟悉。
• He became a British citizen,thereby gaining the right to vote.他成了英国公民，因而得到了投票权。

23 cemetery   

n.坟墓，墓地，坟场

参考例句：

• He was buried in the cemetery.他被葬在公墓。
• His remains were interred in the cemetery.他的遗体葬在墓地。

24 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

25 ornamented   

adj.花式字体的v.装饰，点缀，美化( ornament的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The desk was ornamented with many carvings. 这桌子装饰有很多雕刻物。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She ornamented her dress with lace. 她用花边装饰衣服。 来自《简明英汉词典》

26 utterly   

adv.完全地，绝对地

参考例句：

• Utterly devoted to the people,he gave his life in saving his patients.他忠于人民，把毕生精力用于挽救患者的生命。
• I was utterly ravished by the way she smiled.她的微笑使我完全陶醉了。

27 procured   

v.（努力）取得， （设法）获得( procure的过去式和过去分词 )；拉皮条

参考例句：

• These cars are to be procured through open tender. 这些汽车要用公开招标的办法购买。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• A friend procured a position in the bank for my big brother. 一位朋友为我哥哥谋得了一个银行的职位。 来自《用法词典》