CHAPTER XV. GEORGE AND MARY.

THE Sunday-school having been successfully organized, Mr. Steele was extremely vexed¹, and he withdrew himself as far as possible from those who went with the missionary² in the movement. He was, besides, ambitious and proud—he could not bear to think that “a traveling loafer,” as he termed the missionary, should overcome him; and, being considered the champion of the opposition³, he mingled⁴ with the wicked, courting their praise, and bringing himself to their level. He was fighting in vain, for it was against God.

A few more weeks passed away, and it[135] having been quite a while since George and Mary had seen their friends, they asked their mother if they might make Henry and Eliza a visit; she referred them to their father for permission. George persuaded Mary to ask, for he knew that his little sister’s winning manner would be more likely to accomplish the object; watching her opportunity, she climbed upon her father’s knee, and putting her arms around his neck, kissed him; she had done so before, but not for some time. The caress⁵ pleased him, and he returned the kiss. Not thinking of anything in particular, he said, “Well, what else do you want, my little pet?”

“You wouldn’t give me what I wanted, anyhow, would you father?”

“Certainly, anything you ask;” and he gave her another kiss, adding, “Well, pet, what is it?”

“George and I would so much like to go see Henry and Eliza—may we?”

[136]For a moment he was in doubt, the nature of the request being so unexpected; but for once he allowed his better nature to have sway, and consented on condition that they would come home early. They were soon on their way, as happy as the birds on a sunny morning.

Henry and Eliza were delighted to see them, and entertained them by giving a minute account of all that transpired⁶ in the Sunday-school; they also gave them some of the cards and papers which they had received there.

George and Mary kept their promise to “come home early.” Whilst they were showing their mother the Sunday-school cards and papers, their father entered the room. He became very angry upon being thus reminded of the subject so disagreeable to him; so, seizing the children’s gifts, he tore them into pieces and then threw them out the window, and declared that the children[137] should never go to Mr. Brown’s again. The result of such a course on his part, was that the hearts of his children were hardened against him; they felt that they had been unkindly and unjustly treated, and they very soon became irritable⁷ and peevish⁸ in disposition⁹. Their father soon discovered the change, and knowing the cause, he determined¹⁰ to restore them to their usual spirits by affording them amusement; so he induced them to seek new playmates, among those who did not attend Sunday-school. They obeyed; but, at first, such company was exceedingly disagreeable to them, for the children with whom they associated were profane¹¹ and vulgar and did not regard God’s Holy day. They had been taught by their mother that such conduct was wrong; but the father now ruled with a rod of iron, and all were compelled to bend to his will.

The downward course is rapid; it was but a few short years before George and Mary,[138] surrounded by such influence, could mock with the mocker, at the prayer-meeting and Sunday-school.

The father, annoyed by the success of the good cause, and a consciousness of wrong-doing, sought relief in drink—hence he was thrown into the society of the worthless, vulgar drunkards, who lie around the haunts of vice¹². Insensibly, he was drifting down to irretrievable ruin!

He never expected to be a drunkard—not he! No, he could drink when he pleased, and let it alone when he pleased. He would show “that crazy Truman,” that a man could govern his appetite, and that he did not speak the truth when he said that confirmed whisky-drinkers would fill drunkards’ graves.

He found out to his own sorrow who spoke¹³ the truth; for the time came when he was compelled to give up his comfortable home to satisfy the tavern-keeper’s demands. His[139] wife, through disappointment and abuse, lost her health and died broken-hearted, before her husband and children had run their whole course of sin.

1 vexed   

adj.争论不休的；（指问题等）棘手的；争论不休的问题；烦恼的v.使烦恼( vex的过去式和过去分词 )；使苦恼；使生气；详细讨论

参考例句：

• The conference spent days discussing the vexed question of border controls. 会议花了几天的时间讨论边境关卡这个难题。
• He was vexed at his failure. 他因失败而懊恼。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

2 missionary   

adj.教会的，传教(士)的；n.传教士

参考例句：

• She taught in a missionary school for a couple of years.她在一所教会学校教了两年书。
• I hope every member understands the value of missionary work. 我希望教友都了解传教工作的价值。

3 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

4 mingled   

混合，混入( mingle的过去式和过去分词 )； 混进，与…交往[联系]

参考例句：

• The sounds of laughter and singing mingled in the evening air. 笑声和歌声交织在夜空中。
• The man and the woman mingled as everyone started to relax. 当大家开始放松的时候，这一男一女就开始交往了。

5 caress   

vt./n.爱抚，抚摸

参考例句：

• She gave the child a loving caress.她疼爱地抚摸着孩子。
• She feasted on the caress of the hot spring.她尽情享受着温泉的抚爱。

6 transpired   

（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

参考例句：

• It transpired that the gang had had a contact inside the bank. 据报这伙歹徒在银行里有内应。
• It later transpired that he hadn't been telling the truth. 他当时没说真话，这在后来显露出来了。

7 irritable   

adj.急躁的；过敏的；易怒的

参考例句：

• He gets irritable when he's got toothache.他牙一疼就很容易发脾气。
• Our teacher is an irritable old lady.She gets angry easily.我们的老师是位脾气急躁的老太太。她很容易生气。

8 peevish   

adj.易怒的，坏脾气的

参考例句：

• A peevish child is unhappy and makes others unhappy.一个脾气暴躁的孩子自己不高兴也使别人不高兴。
• She glared down at me with a peevish expression on her face.她低头瞪着我，一脸怒气。

9 disposition   

n.性情，性格；意向，倾向；排列，部署

参考例句：

• He has made a good disposition of his property.他已对财产作了妥善处理。
• He has a cheerful disposition.他性情开朗。

10 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

11 profane   

adj.亵神的，亵渎的；vt.亵渎，玷污

参考例句：

• He doesn't dare to profane the name of God.他不敢亵渎上帝之名。
• His profane language annoyed us.他亵渎的言语激怒了我们。

12 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

13 spoke   

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

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。