The weather had been wet. The roads were deep. Heavy showers, fierce gales5, driving sleet6 made the spring days gloomy, and multiplied delays and disasters. None of these obstacles stayed the ardent7 pilgrims, whose faith in their golden goal was daily confirmed, stimulated8 ever by wild reports of luck. The variety of the wayfarers9 who thronged10 that highway, broad as the path to destruction, was striking. Sun-tanned bushmen, inured11 to toil12, practised in emergencies, alternated with groups of townspeople, whose fresh complexions13 and awkward dealings with their new experience stamped them as recruits. Passengers, who had left shipboard but a week since, armed to the teeth, expectant of evil. Mercantile Jack15, whose rolling gait and careless energy displayed his calling as clearly as if the name of his ship had been tattooed16 147on his forehead. Other persons whose erect17 appearance and regular step hinted at pipe-clay. Carts with horses, ponies18, mules19, donkeys, even men and women, in their shafts20. Bullock drays, heavily laden21, in which the long teams at fullest stretch of strength were fairly cursed through the slough22, to which the army column ahead and around had reduced the road. Bells! bells! bells! everywhere and of every note and inflexion, dog-trucks, wheel-barrows, horsemen, footmen, lent their aid to the extraordinary mélange of sights and sounds, mobilised en route for Ballarat.
Slowly, 'with painful patience,' as became experienced drovers, we skirted or traversed the pilgrim host. We drove far into the night, until we reached a sequestered23 camp. A few days of uneventful travelling brought us to the Buninyong Inn. This modest hostelry, amply sufficient for the ordinary traffic of the road, was now filled and overflowed25 by the roaring flood of wayfarers. The hostess, in daily receipt of profits which a month had not formerly26 accumulated, was civil but indifferent. 'I might get supper,' she dared say, 'but could not guarantee that meal. Her servants were worked off their legs. She wished indeed that there was another inn; she was tired to death of having to provide for such a mob.'
When I heard a licensed27 victualler giving vent24 to this unnatural28 wish, as I could not but regard it, I recognised the case as desperate, and capitulated. I managed to procure29 a meal in due time, and mingled30 with the crowd in hope of gaining the information of which I stood in need. My assistants were a white man and a black boy. The former was a small, wiry Englishman, formerly connected with a training stable. He called himself Ben Brace31, after a famous steeplechaser which he had trained or strapped32. Hard-bitten, hard-reared, mostly on straw and ashplant, as goes the nature of English stable-lads, to Ben early hours or late, foul33 weather or fair, fasting or feasting were much alike. Of course he drank, but he had enough of the results of the old stable discipline left to restrain himself until after the race was run. I had therefore no feeling of apprehension34 about his fidelity35.
For the time was an exciting one, and had not been without its effects upon all hired labour, though things had not 148developed in that respect as fully36 as when a year's success had made gold as common as shells on the seashore. Then, indeed, by no rate of wages could you ensure the effective discharge of the indispensable duties of the road. When every passing traveller who spoke37 to your stock-riders, or requested a light for a pipe, had nuggets of gold in his pocket, 'or knowed a party as bottomed last week to the tune38 of ￡1200 a man,' it was small wonder that, valuable as their services were conceded to be, they should themselves deem them to be invaluable40. Independent, insolent41, and ridiculously sensitive as drovers became, it became an undertaking42 perilous43 and uncertain in the extreme to drive stock to market.
I have seen the only man (beside the proprietor44) in charge of three hundred head of fat cattle confronting that sorely-tried squatter45, with vinous gravity and sarcastic46 defiance47, as thus—'You s'pose I'm a-goin' to stay out and watch these —— cattle while you're a-sittin' in the public-house eatin' your arrowroot? No. I ain't the cattle dorg. I'm a man! as good as ever you was, and you can go and drive your bloomin' cattle yerself.'
This fellow was in receipt of one pound per diem; his allegations were totally unfounded, as his master had done nearly all the work, and would have done the remainder had the instincts of a large drove of wild cattle permitted. I saw my friend's grey eyes glitter dangerously for a moment as he looked the provoking ruffian full in the face, and advanced a step; then the helplessness of his position smote48 him, and he made a degradingly civil answer.
I was fortunate in not being likely to be reduced to such destitution49. Besides Ben, the black boy Charley Bamber was at exactly the right age to be useful. Of him I felt secure. He was a small imp2 whom I had once brought away from his tribe in a distant part of the country and essayed to educate and civilise. The education had progressed as far as tolerable reading and writing, a perfect mastery of that 'vulgar tongue' so extensively heard in the waste places of the earth, joined with a ready acquaintance with the Bible and the Church Catechism. He would have taken honours in any Sunday School in Britain. The civilisation50, I am bound to admit, was imperfect and problematical.
149But the son of the forest was quick of eye, a sure tracker, and the possessor of a kind of mariner's compass instinct which enabled him to find his way through any country, known or unknown, with ease and precision. He was a first-rate hand with all manner of cattle and horses, when freed from that unexorcised demon51, his temper. It was simply fiendish. Bread and butter, shoes and stockings, the language of England and the language of kindness, had left that inheritance untouched. In his paroxysms he would throw himself upon the earth and saw away at his throat with his knife. This instrument being generally blunt, he never succeeded in severing54 the carotid artery55. But he often looked with glaring eyes and distorted features, as if he would have liked in this manner to have settled the vexed56 question of his creation. Strange as it may appear, the incongruity57 of his knowledge with his tendencies was to him a matter of wrathful regret. Being reproached one day for bad conduct by the lady to whose untiring lessons he owed his knowledge, he exclaimed, 'I wish you'd never taught me at all. Once, I didn't know I was wicked; now I do, and I'm miserable59.' The pony60 which he always rode, a clever, self-willed scamp like himself, once took him under the branches of a low-growing tree, scratching his face in the process. Lifting the tomahawk which he generally carried, he drove it into the withers61 of the poor animal. On reaching home he confessed frankly62 enough, as was his custom, and appeared grieved and penitent63. He was sorry enough afterwards, for the fistula which supervened necessitated64 a tedious washing every morning with soap and water for twelve months. This attention fell to his lot with strict retributive justice, and before a cure was effected he had ample leisure to deplore65 his rashness. With all his faults he could be most useful when he liked. He was so clever that I could not help feeling a deep interest in him, and during the expedition which I describe he was unusually well-behaved.
Having put the cattle into a secure yard, and seen my retainers comfortably fed and housed, I betook myself to the coffee-room. This apartment was crowded with persons just about to visit, or on their return from visiting, the Wonder of the Age. The conversation was general and unreserved. I was amused at the usual conflict of opinion 150with regard to the duration, demerits, and destiny of the Australian goldfields.
The elderly and conservative colonists67 took a depressing view of this new-born irruption of bullion68. 'It tended to the confusion of social ranks, to the termination of existing relations between shepherds and squatters, to democracy, demoralisation, and decay. Had other nations, the Spaniards notably71, not found the possession of gold-mines in their American colonies a curse rather than a blessing72? Would not the standard value of gold coin be reduced? Would not landed property be depreciated73, agriculture perish, labour become a tradition, and this fair land be left a prey74 to ruffianly gold-seekers and unprincipled adventurers? The opposition75, composed of the younger men, the 'party of progress,' with a few democrats76 enragés, scoffed77 at the words of wary78 commerce or timid capital. 'This was an Anglo-Saxon community. Capacity for self-government had ever been the proud heritage of the race. We had that sober reasoning power, energy, and innate79 reverence80 for law which enabled us to successfully administer republics, goldfields, and other complications fatal to weaker families of men. With such a people abundance of gold was not more undesirable81 than abundance of wheat. Glut82 of gold! Well, there were many ways of disposing of it. Civilisation developed the need for coin nearly as fast as it was supplied. A sovereign would be a sovereign most likely for our time. Land! The land of course would be sold, cut up into farms for industrious83 yeomen, and high time too.'
The destiny of our infant nation was not finally settled when I slipped out. I had mastered two facts, however, which were to me at that time more immediately interesting than the rise of nations and the fall of gold. These were the increasing yields at Ballarat, and that, as yet, the diggers were living wholly on mutton, of which they were excessively tired.
Long before daylight we were feeding our horses and taking a meal, so precautionary in its nature that (more especially in Charley's case) the question of dinner might safely be entrusted84 to the future. With just light enough to distinguish the white-stemmed gums which stood ghostly in the chill dawn, we left the sleeping herd69 of prospectors85 and politicians and prepared for a day of doubt and adventure.
151Silent and cold, we stumbled and jogged along, something after the fashion of Lord Scamperdale going to meet the hounds in the next county, for an hour or two. Then the sun began to cheer the sodden86 landscape, the birds chirped88, the cattle put their heads down, life's mercury rose.
We had reached the historic Yuille's Creek, upon the bank of which the great gold city now stands. Then it was like any other 'wash-up creek'—a mimic89 river in winter, a chain of muddy water-holes in summer. As I looked at the eager waters, yellow with the clay in solution, as if the great metal had lent the wave its own hue90, I felt like Sinbad approaching the valley of diamonds, and almost expected to break my shins against lumps of gold and silver. I determined91 to advance and reconnoitre; so, leaving Ben and Charley to feed and cherish the cattle until my return, I put spurs to old Hope, and headed up the water at a more cheerful pace than we had known since daylight. I turned the spur of a ridge92 which came low upon the meadows of the streamlet. I heard a confused murmuring sound, the subdued94 'voice of a vast congregation,' combined with a noise as of a multitude of steam mills. I rounded the cape87, and, pulling up my horse, stared in wonder and excitement upon the strange scene which burst in suddenness upon me.
On a small meadow, and upon the slopes which rose gently from it, were massed nearly twenty thousand men. They were, with few exceptions, working more earnestly, more absorbingly, more silently than any body of labourers I had ever seen. They were delving95, carrying heavy loads, filling and emptying buckets, washing the ore in thousands of cradles, which occupied every yard and foot of the creek, in which men stood waist-deep. Long streets and alleys96 of tents and shanties97 constituted a kind of township, where flaunting98 flags of all colours denoted stores and shops, and St. George's banner, hanging proudly unfurled, told that the majesty99 of the law, order, and the government was administered by Commissioners100 and supported by policemen.
I rode among the toilers, amid whom I soon found friends and acquaintances. On every side was evidence of the magical richness of the deposit. Nuggets were handed about with a careless confidence which denoted the easy circumstances of 152the owners. The famous 'Jeweller's Point' was just yielding its 'untold102 gold,' and one sanguine103 individual did not overstate the case when he assured me they were 'turning it up like potatoes.' I ascertained104 that, with the exception of an occasional quarter from an adjoining station, the grand army was ignorant of the taste of beef, that mutton was beginning to be accounted monotonous105 fare, and that he who reintroduced the diggers to steaks and sirloins would be hailed as a benefactor107 and paid like a governor-general.
Having ascertained that this society, in which no trade was unrepresented, contained several butchers, I presented myself to these distributors, my natural enemies. I found that the abnormal conditions among which we moved had by no means lessened108 our antagonism109. We did battle as of old. They decried110 the quality of my cattle, and affected111 to ignore the popular necessity for beef. Thinking that I was compelled to accept their ruling, they declined to buy except at a low price. I retired112 full of wrath58 and resolve.
Had I come these many leagues to be a prey to shallow greed and cunning? Not so, by St. Hubert! Sooner than take so miserable a price for my weary days and watchful113 nights, I would turn butcher myself. Ha! happy thought! Why not? There was no moral declension in becoming a butcher, at least temporarily; all one's morale114 here was bouleversé. 'Tis done. 'I will turn the flank of these knaves115. Henceforth I also am a butcher. Chops and steaks! No! steaks only! Families supplied. Ha! ha!'
I returned to the cattle, which I found much refreshed by the creek side. We drove them to the bank of the great Wendouree Lake, then a shallow, reedy marsh117, made a brush yard, established ourselves in the lee of a huge fallen gum, and passed cheerfully enough our first night at Ballarat.
Next morning I commenced the campaign of competition with decision. I gave Charley a lecture of considerable length upon his general deportment, and the particular duties which had now devolved upon him. He was to look after or 'tail' the cattle daily by the side of the lake; to abstain118 from opossum hunts and other snares119 of the evil one; to look out that wicked men, of whom this place was choke-full, did not steal the cattle; to rest his pony, Jackdaw, whenever he could safely; and always to bring his cattle home at sundown. 153If he did all these things, and was generally a good boy, I would give him a cow, from the profit of whose progeny120 he would very likely become a rich man, when we got back to Squattlesea Mere121. He promised to abandon all his sins on the spot. As the cattle stood patiently expectant by the rails, I sent a bullet into the 'curl' of the forehead of a big rough bullock. The rest of the drove moved out with small excitement, and the first act was over.
We flayed122 and quartered our bullock 'upon the hide,' a 'gallows123' being a luxury to which, like uncivilised nations, we had not attained124.
I chose a location for a shop in a central position among the tented streets, being chiefly attracted thereto by a large stump125, which was a—ahem—butcher's block ready made, divided our animal into more available portions, and with modest confidence awaited 'a share of the public patronage126.'
At first trade was slack—the sun became powerful—the flies arrived in myriads—a slight reactionary127 despondency set in—when lo! a customer, a bronzed and bearded digger. I think I see his jolly face now. 'Hullo, mate! got some beef? Blowed if I didn't think all the cattle was dead! We're that tired of mutton—well, I ain't got much time to stand yarnin'. Give us a bit now, though. Thirty pound—that'll do. Here's a sov'ring. Good-bye.'
Myself.—'Tell the other fellows, will you?'
'All right. Won't want much tellin',' shouted my friend, far on his way.
My soul was comforted. It was the turn of the tide. Another and another came who lusted128 for the muscle-forming food. Towards evening the news was general that there was 'beef in Ballarat.' The tide flowed and rose until the last ounce of the brindled129 bullock had vanished, and I was left the owner of a bag of coin weighty and imposing130 as the purse of a Cadi.
'My word, sir, we'll have to kill two to-morrow,' quoth Ben, 'if this goes on; and however shall we manage to cut 'em up and sell too?'
'Well, we'll see,' said I confidently; 'something will turn up.'
As we returned to our dep?t by Wendouree, we met by the wayside a middle-aged131 man sitting on a log in a despondent132 mood. He was the only man I had yet seen at Ballarat who 154was not full of hope and energy. I was curious enough to disturb his reverie.
'What's the matter?' said I. 'Have you lost your horse, or your wife, or has the bottom of your claim tumbled out, that you look so down on your luck?'
'Well, master, it ain't quite so bad as all that, but it isn't so easy to get on here without money or work, and I was just a-thinkin' about going back to Geelong.'
'I should have thought every one could have got work here, by the look of things.'
'Well, a many do, but I am not much with pick and shovel133. I'm gettin' old now, and I can't a-bear cookin'. Now, I was as comfortable as could be in Geelong, a-workin' steady at my trade. I was just a-thinkin' what a fool I was to come away, surelye!'
'What is your trade?'
'Well, master, I'm a butcher!'
There must be good angels. One doubts sometimes. But how otherwise could this man, an unimaginative Englishman, lately arrived, not easy of adaptation to strange surroundings, have been conveyed to this precise spot, planté là, that I might stumble against him in my need? I could have clasped him in my arms.
But I said, with assumed indifference134, 'Well, I want a man for a week or two to do slaughtering135. You can have five shillings a day, and come home with us now, if you like.'
'Thank ye, master, that I'll do, and main thankful I be.'
When we reached the fallen tree, which, like a South Sea cocoa-palm, supplied nearly all our wants (being fuel, fireplace, house, furniture, and one side of our stock-yard), the cattle were in, the camp kettle was boiling, and Charley, standing136 proudly by the fire, received my congratulations. Our professional comforted himself internally. We regarded the past with satisfaction and the future with hope, and were soon restoring our taxed energies with unbroken slumber138.
Next day we slew139 two kine, ably assisted by our new man, who, however, looked rather blank at the absence of so many trade accessories. Our bough-constructed 'shop' on the flat became a place of fashionable resort, and the conversion140 of cows into coin became easy and methodical. Having real work to do, I donned suitable garments, and as I stood forth116 155in blue serge and jack-boots, wielding141 my blood-stained axe137 or gory142 knife, few of the busy diggers doubted my having been bred to the craft. One or two jokes sprang from this slight misapprehension.
'Ah! if you was at 'ome now, and 'ad yer big cleaver143, yer'd knock it off smarter, wouldn't yer now?' This was a criticism upon my repeated attempts to sever53 an obstinate144 bone with a gapped American axe.
On the first day of my butcherhood I had bethought me of the cuisine145 of my old friend the Commissioner101, which I essayed to improve by the gift of a sirloin. Placing the exotic in a gunny-bag, I rode up to the camp, and said to the blue-coated warder, 'Take this joint146 of beef to Mr. Sturt with my compliments.' I had no sooner completed the sentence than I saw an expression upon the face of the man-at-arms which reminded me of my condition in life. Gazing at me with supercilious147 surprise, he called languidly to a brother gendarme148, 'Jones, take this here to the Commissioner with the butcher's compliments!' For one moment I looked 'cells and contempt of court' at the obtuse149 myrmidon who failed to recognize the disguised magistrate150; but the humour of the incident presenting itself, I burst into a fit of laughter which further mystified him, and departed.
I was now settled in business. I diverted a large share of the trade previously151 monopolised by my rivals, who now bitterly regretted not having disposed of me by purchase. Every night I went up to the Government camp with my bag of coin, which I delivered over for safe keeping. As many friends were located there, with them I generally spent my evenings, which were of a joyous152 and sociable153 character. The conditions were favourable154. Most of us were young; we were all making money tolerably fast, with the agreeable probability, for some time to come, of making it even faster.
The exodus155 from Melbourne was exhaustive. There, daily to be seen in red shirt and thick but very neat boots, stood the handsome doctor of 'our street' by the cradle, for which he had abandoned patients and practice. Next to him, with constant care lowering the ever-recurring shaft-bucket, was a rising barrister. Hotel servants, tradespeople, farmers, market-gardeners, civilians156, cab-drivers, barbers, even 156the tragic157 and the comic muse66, had enrolled158 themselves among the players at this theatre, where the popular drama of 'Golden Hazard' was having a run till further notice. The ranks of the 50th Regiment159 were thinned by desertions in spite of the utmost vigilance; while the ships in the bay were likely to be reduced to the condition of the world's fleet in Campbell's Last Man.
Pitiable the while was the position of the squatters, especially of those who held sheep. On a cattle station the proprietor or manager, with the assistance of a boy or two, can do much. It is not so with sheep. Particularly was it not so in those pre-fencing days. In vain the sheep-owner doubles his men's wages and removes apparent discontent. He tries to think that matters will go on pretty well till shearing160. One night comes a traveller, a wretch161 with a bag of gold. Next morning a shepherd is missing, and so on.
We gave a little festa one evening in honour of a friend who had sold his share in the claim and wisely gone back to follow his profession in town. The conversation had a philosophical162 turn, and it was debated whether or no the country would come well out of the ordeal163 to which, particularly on account of its uneducated classes, it was being subjected. Some one expressed an opinion adverse164 to the result upon national morality and progress.
'I hold a directly opposite conviction,' said Jack Freshland. 'So do all the men who, like me, have seen order produced from chaos165 in California. "Scum of the universe" was a complimentary166 description of her population. "Hell upon earth" was a weak metaphor167 explanatory of her social state. Look at her now—self-regenerate, orderly, honestly progressive in every phase of industry. I don't say that you run no chance of being shot; accidents will happen when fellows' belts and coat pockets are full of loaded revolvers, whisky being cheap. But you run far less chance of being robbed than in London or Paris. When I came away you might leave your valuables scattered168 about your tent for days. No one dared to touch them. I don't know whether we shall come to ear-marking pilferers and hanging horse-stealers, but this is an Anglo-Saxon population, and in some way, I will stake my existence, order will be preserved.'
'Talking of horse-stealers, I found Fred Charbett's "Grey 157Surrey" the other day,' said Moore O'Donnell, 'in rather queer company.'
'That's the horse he won the Ladies' Bag at the Port Western Races with,' I cried out eagerly, 'a tremendous mile horse, but no stayer. Had he a large D brand?'
'He had then; and a large S—if that stands for sore back—that ye could see a mile off.'
'He is a flat-ribbed horse,' I explained, 'and any one with a bad saddle might give him a back in a day that a week couldn't cure. How glad old Fred will be to see him again! Who is the ruffian that has him now?'
'One Moore O'Donnell. Maybe ye wouldn't mind putting your interrogation in another form, Mr. Boldrewood, if it's agreeable to ye?'
'A thousand pardons, really—but I didn't understand that you had taken possession of him.'
We all laughed at this, and Jack Freshland said, 'Come, Moore, you old humbug169, tell us how you stole the poor fellow's horse. It's all very well for Boldrewood to back you up with his alphabetical170 evidence. I don't believe half of it. You'll be up before the beak171 if you don't mind.'
'Give me the laste drop of that whisky,' said O'Donnell, stretching his long legs, 'and I'll tell you all how I compounded a felony, for there is the laste flavour of that about the transaction. I was mooning about looking for old "Paleface," when, after a great walk, I came upon the villain172 in company with a strange grey, also in hobbles. You know what a hot brute173 mine is: the stranger was about the same. Neither would dream of allowing me to catch him. So, after a long chase, I arrived at home, exhausted174 and demoralised, with just sufficient strength left to put them into the bullock yard. I refreshed myself from the whisky-jar, and after lunch and a smoke, feeling better, I strolled out to look at the grey. I thought we had been introduced. Of course, there he was, the great Surrey, no less. The last time we met, I had seen a sheet pulled off with pride by a neat groom175, just before Fred took him down to the races. Here he was, dog-poor, rough-coated, and with a back fit to make one sick; D on the shoulder, 2B under the mane. Identification complete. "Such is life," thought I. "Just as one's in fine hard condition, with all the world before you, and lots of money and 158friends, you get stolen, or come to grief, grass-feeding, and an incurable176 sore back!"'
'Rather a mixed metaphor, if I may be allowed a friendly criticism,' said a dark-haired, quiet youngster named Weston, who had been reading for the bar 'before the gold,' as people distinguished177 the former and the latter days. 'I don't quite follow who lost the money, or did you or the horse suffer from the sore back?'
'Go to blazes with your special pleading,' shouted O'Donnell. 'Can't a man make the smallest moral reflection among ye, a lot of profligate178 divils, but he must be fixed179 to logical exactness, as if he was up for his "little go"? Ye've no poetry in ye, Weston, divil a bit. It's a fatal defect at the bar. Take my advice in time, or I wash my hands of your future prospects180. And now hear me out, or I'll stop, and the secret will be buried with me.'
'Go on, Moore; you won't be the last of your line, will you?'
'How do you know, sir? None of your Saxon sneers181. The O'Donnell! Ha! ye villain, I'm up to you this time. Next day, as big a ruffian as ever ye seen came up to the tent and asked me "what I meant by stealin' a poor man's 'oss." "See here now," says I, "the stealing's all the other way, it strikes me. He belongs to a friend of mine, who would never have sold him. He may have strayed and got into pound, and you may have bought him out, or you may—pardon me—have stolen him yourself."
'"I bought him off Jem Baggs, as got him out of Burnbank Pound," replied he doggedly182.
'"That may be true. I think not, myself. This is what I am going to do. The horse is in my possession, and there he will remain. You can either take him, if you are man enough (and I pointed183 this remark with the butt52 of my revolver), or you can summon me before the Bench, or take this ￡5 note for your claim. Which will you do?" He held out his dirty paw for the fiver with a grin, as he said, "All right, you can 'ave 'im for the fiver. He ain't much in a cart, anyhow."'
'Hurrah184!' sung out half-a-dozen voices together. 'How glad old Fred will be to see him again. What did you do with him? Hasn't Bill Sikes re-stolen him yet?'
159'I sent him back by a stock-rider next day. He is safe at "The Gums" by this time. I'm dry, though. You wouldn't think it, now! Pass the whisky.'
'I say,' said Maxwell, 'there's a feller which is a poet in this company. Wasn't that a ballad185, Aubrey, that you pulled out of your pocket just now, among all those tailors' bills, or licences, or whatever they were? Let's have it.'
This was addressed to a fair-haired youngster who was arguing with great interest and eagerness the relative fattening186 merits of shorthorns and Herefords.
'Well, it's something in the scribbling187 line. If you want it, you must read it though; I'll be hanged if I will. Writing it has been quite bother enough.'
'Well,' said Maxwell, 'it's not every fellow who can read, or spell either, for the matter of that. I'll read it myself, sir; perhaps you may find the effect heightened. Now listen, you fellows; a little sentiment won't do none of us any harm. What's it called? H—m!
A VISION OF GOLD
'I see a lone188 stream rolling down
Through valleys green, by ridges189 brown,
Of hills that bear no name;
The dawn's full blush in crimson190 flakes191
Is traced on palest blue, as breaks
The morn in orient flame.
'I see—whence comes that eager gaze?
Why rein106 the steed in wild amaze?
The water's hue is gold;
Golden its wavelets foam192 and glide193
Through tenderest green—to ocean-tide
The fairy streamlet rolled.
'Forward, Hope, forward! truest steed,
Of tireless hoof194 and desert speed,
Up the weird195 water bound,
Till echoing far and sounding deep,
I hear old Ocean's hoarse196 voice sweep
O'er this enchanted197 ground.
'The sea! Wild fancy! Many a mile
Of changeful Nature's frown and smile,
Ere stand we on the shore;
And yet that murmur93, hoarse and deep,
None save the ocean surges keep—
It is the cradles' roar!
160'Onward! I pass the grassy198 hill
Around whose base the waters still
Shimmer199 in golden foam,
Oh! wanderer of the voiceless wild,
Of this far southern land the child,
How changed thy quiet home!
'For, close as bees in countless200 hive,
Like emmet-hosts that tireless strive,
Swarmed201, toiled202, a vast strange crowd;
Haggard each face's features seem,
Bright, fever-bright, each eye's wild gleam;
Nor cry, nor accent loud.
'But each man delved203, or rocked, or bore
As if salvation204 with the ore
Of the mine-monarch lay;
Gold strung each arm to giant might,
Gold flashed before the aching sight,
Gold turned the night to day.
'Where Eblis reigns206 o'er boundless207 gloom,
And in his halls of endless doom208
Lost souls for ever roam,
They wander (says the Eastern tale),
Nor ever startles moan or wail209
Despair's eternal home.
'Less silent scarce than that pale host,
They toiled as if each moment lost
Were the red life-drop spilt;
While heavy, rough, and darkly bright,
In every shape rolled to the light
Man's hope, and pride, and guilt210.
'All ranks, all ages, every land
Had sent her conscripts forth to stand
In the gold-seekers' rank;
The bushman, bronzed, with sinewy211 limb,
The pale-faced son of trade, e'en him
Who knew the fetters212' clank.
* * * * *
''Tis night; her jewelled mantle213 fills
The busy valley, the dun hills,
'Tis a battle-host's repose214;
A thousand watch-fires redly gleam,
Where ceaseless fusillades would seem
To warn approaching foes216.
'The night is older. On the sward
Stretched, I behold217 the heavens broad
When, a Shape rises dim;
Then clearer, fuller, I descry218
By the swart brow, the star-bright eye,
The gnome219 king's presence grim.
161'He stands upon a time-worn block;
His dark form shrouds220 the snowy rock,
As cypress221 marble tomb;
Nor fierce, yet wild and sad his mien222,
His cloud-black tresses wave and stream,
His deep tones break the gloom.
'"Son of a tribe accurst, of those
Whose greed has broken our repose
Of the long ages dead;
Think not for naught223 our ancient race
Quit olden haunts, the sacred place
Of toils224 for ever fled.
'"List while I tell of days to come,
When men shall wish the hammers dumb
That ring so ceaseless now—
That every arm were palsy-tied,
Nor ever wet on grey hillside
Was the gold-seeker's brow.
'"I see the old world's human tide
Set southward on the Ocean wide,
I see a wood of masts;
While crime and want, disease and death,
By rolling wave and storm-wind's breath
Are on these fair shores cast.
'"I see the murderer's barrel gleam,
I hear the victim's hopeless scream
Ring through these sylvan225 wastes:
While each base son of elder lands,
Each witless dastard226, in vast bands,
To the gold city hastes.
'"Disease shall claim her ready toll227,
Flushed vice39 and brutal228 crime the dole229
Of life shall ne'er deny;
Disease and death shall walk your streets,
While staggering idiocy230 greets
The horror-stricken eye!
'"All men shall roll in the gold mire231,
The height, the depth, of man's desire,
Till come the famine years;
Then all the land shall curse the day
When first they rifled the dull clay,
With deep remorseful232 tears.
'"Fell want shall wake to fearful life
The fettered233 demons234; civil strife235
Rears high a gory hand;
I see a blood-splashed barricade236,
While dimly lights the twilight237 glade238
The soldier's flashing brand.
162'"But thou, son of the forest free!
Thou art not, wert not foe215 to me,
Frank tamer of the wild!
Thou hast not sought the sunless home
Where darkly delves239 the toiling240 gnome,
The mid-earth's swarthy child.
'"Then be thou ever, as of yore,
A dweller241 in the woods and o'er
Fresh plains thy herds70 shall roam;
Join not the vain and reckless crowd,
Who swell242 the city's pageant243 proud,
But prize thy forest home."
'He said; and with an eldritch scream
The gnome king vanished, and my dream—
Day's waking hour returned.
Yet still the wild tones echoed clear,
Half chimed with truth in reason's ear,
And my heart inly burned!'
'Well done, Maxwell, old fellow; didn't think you could read so well! I haven't been asleep above two or three times. I enjoyed it awfully244. Particular down on us. Your underground friend, though, prophesies245 war, famine, and mixed immigration! Cheerful cuss!'
'Mr. Aubrey, will ye oblige me by coming before the curtain. It's proud I am to know ye. I have seen worse, sir, let me tell ye, in the pages of the Dublin University Magazine, where the name of Moore O'Donnell is not entirely246 unknown. I would like to repate to ye a short ode of my own on——'
'Rush oh! at Cockfighter's Flat,' burst in a new man—Markham—impetuously. 'That's all the talk now, my boys! They say the gold's thicker than the wash, shallow sinking, and lots of water. Jackson just told me; he's off there to-morrow to buy gold and go to Melbourne with it. I'm away, then. Any of you chaps join me?'
'I don't mind taking a look,' said Maxwell. 'I've half a mind to turn gold-buyer myself. It's a paying game.'
'It's an awfully risky247 one,' said Freshland. 'A man takes his life in his hand once he's known to carry gold. I know a fellow who started from here for Melbourne a fortnight since, and has never turned up.'
'Perhaps he's bolted,' suggested a cynic.
'Perhaps so,' answered Freshland carelessly; 'but if so, 163his wife, from her looks, they tell me, is not in the secret. I'm afraid it's the old story,' continued he, gazing mournfully into space. 'I know well how it's done. I can see it all as I sit here. A fellow goes stepping along the road through the Black Forest, whistling cheerfully and thinking of the ounces he has in his belt, or of what has gone down by the escort, of a piano for his wife, of the children who will have grown so, of the pleasant Christmas they will spend together, when, just where the creek crosses the road, One-eyed Dick and Derwent Bill step suddenly out.'
'"Morning, mates," says he, "fine weather after the rain."
'"Thundering fine," growls248 the one-eyed ruffian. "This yere's a fine day for us, anyhow. Done well at the Point, young chap?" As they talk they attempt grim jocularity, but their eyes, cold, sinister249, watchful, betray their intent as they close upon him.
'"For the love of God, for my wife and children's sake, spare my life!" gasps250 the poor fellow; "you shall have every shilling I have in the world."
'"We ain't a-going to hurt ye. Just come off the road a bit, will yer?" says the crafty251 brute. Pah! I can't bear to think of it. Next summer some bullock-driver finds a skeleton lashed205 to a tree, in the thickest part of the scrub.'
'I say, Freshland,' I pleaded, 'don't. I've got a couple of miles to walk in the dark to-night. I think I'd rather hear that kind of story by daylight. But I must be off now. We tradesmen, you know! Good-bye.'
I walked back through scattered tents and darksome trees, moaning in the midnight, as the breeze swept through them. I was unable to banish252 Freshland's horrible tale from my mind, and was decidedly relieved when the yard of our encampment loomed253 into view. The cattle were lying down, Ben was smoking his pipe on guard, all was safe. Murderers and burglars were exercising their talents elsewhere. I was soon in a land where the mystery of permitted evil troubled me not.
My career at Ballarat was, however, drawing to a close. While we were transacting254 our al fresco255 breakfast, a 'real butcher' made his appearance with proposals for the purchase of my remaining cattle, and the collateral256 advantages of stock-in-trade, plant, and goodwill257. 'Why had I not come to him 164in the first instance?' he asked with good-humoured surprise. Some accident had prevented me hearing of him. Mr. Garth laughed, and said he was in a small way compared to the others, with whom I had disagreed. I may say here, that it would be hard to pass through the populous258, wealthy, energetic city of Ballarat now, without hearing much about Mr. Garth, owner of farms, mills, hotels, mining companies, what not.
I was pleased with his frank, liberal way of dealing14, and augured259 favourably260 of his future career. He was the ideal purchaser, at any rate. He adopted, without a word of dissent261, my prices, terms, and conditions.
With the conclusion of breakfast the whole affair was arranged. The cattle-edifices, tools of trade, and journeyman butcher were delivered as per agreement; Charley was sent for the horses, Ben was ordered to pack, the route was given, and in an hour we had turned our backs upon Ballarat.
I sent Ben and Charley back to the station, presenting the former with a coveted262 brown filly, and the latter with a white cow, as good-conduct badges. They reached home safely, after a journey of a couple of hundred miles, a 'big drink' indulged in by Master Ben on the road notwithstanding.
For myself, I went to Melbourne, having business in that deserted263 village. I had much difficulty in getting my hair cut, by the only surviving barber. The site of my shanty264 and block now trembles under the traffic of a busy street. The 'lost camp' at Wendouree Lake is valuable suburban265 property. Steamers run there. Why did I not buy it? If I had taken that, and one or two other trifling266 long shots, I might have been living in London like Maxwell, or in Paris like Freshland, if a stray Prussian bullet has not interfered267 with his matchless digestion268. However, why regret these or any seeming errors of the past? They are but a few more added to the roll of opportunities, gone with our heedless youth, and with the hours of that 'distant Paradise,' lost for evermore.
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1
creek
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| n.小溪，小河，小湾 | |
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2
imp
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| n.顽童 | |
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contingencies
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| n.偶然发生的事故，意外事故( contingency的名词复数 )；以备万一 | |
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caravan
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| n.大蓬车；活动房屋 | |
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gales
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| 龙猫 | |
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6
sleet
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| n.雨雪；v.下雨雪，下冰雹 | |
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7
ardent
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| adj.热情的，热烈的，强烈的，烈性的 | |
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stimulated
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| a.刺激的 | |
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wayfarers
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| n.旅人，（尤指）徒步旅行者( wayfarer的名词复数 ) | |
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thronged
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| v.成群，挤满( throng的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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inured
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| adj.坚强的，习惯的 | |
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toil
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| vi.辛劳工作，艰难地行动；n.苦工，难事 | |
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13
complexions
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| 肤色( complexion的名词复数 )； 面色； 局面； 性质 | |
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14
dealing
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| n.经商方法，待人态度 | |
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15
jack
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| n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克 | |
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16
tattooed
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| v.刺青，文身( tattoo的过去式和过去分词 )；连续有节奏地敲击；作连续有节奏的敲击 | |
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17
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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18
ponies
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| 矮种马，小型马( pony的名词复数 )； ￡25 25 英镑 | |
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19
mules
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| 骡( mule的名词复数 )； 拖鞋； 顽固的人； 越境运毒者 | |
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20
shafts
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| n.轴( shaft的名词复数 )；（箭、高尔夫球棒等的）杆；通风井；一阵（疼痛、害怕等） | |
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21
laden
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| adj.装满了的；充满了的；负了重担的；苦恼的 | |
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22
slough
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| v.蜕皮，脱落，抛弃 | |
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23
sequestered
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| adj.扣押的；隐退的；幽静的；偏僻的v.使隔绝，使隔离( sequester的过去式和过去分词 )；扣押 | |
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24
vent
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| n.通风口，排放口；开衩；vt.表达，发泄 | |
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25
overflowed
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| 溢出的 | |
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26
formerly
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| adv.从前，以前 | |
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27
licensed
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| adj.得到许可的v.许可，颁发执照(license的过去式和过去分词) | |
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28
unnatural
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| adj.不自然的；反常的 | |
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29
procure
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| vt.获得，取得，促成；vi.拉皮条 | |
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30
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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31
brace
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| n. 支柱,曲柄,大括号; v. 绷紧,顶住,(为困难或坏事)做准备 | |
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32
strapped
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| adj.用皮带捆住的，用皮带装饰的；身无分文的；缺钱；手头紧v.用皮带捆扎(strap的过去式和过去分词)；用皮带抽打；包扎；给…打绷带 | |
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33
foul
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| adj.污秽的；邪恶的；v.弄脏；妨害；犯规；n.犯规 | |
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34
apprehension
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| n.理解，领悟；逮捕，拘捕；忧虑 | |
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35
fidelity
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| n.忠诚，忠实；精确 | |
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36
fully
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| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
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37
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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38
tune
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| n.调子；和谐，协调；v.调音，调节，调整 | |
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39
vice
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| n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的 | |
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40
invaluable
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| adj.无价的，非常宝贵的，极为贵重的 | |
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41
insolent
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| adj.傲慢的，无理的 | |
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42
undertaking
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| n.保证，许诺，事业 | |
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43
perilous
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| adj.危险的，冒险的 | |
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44
proprietor
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| n.所有人；业主；经营者 | |
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45
squatter
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| n.擅自占地者 | |
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46
sarcastic
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| adj.讥讽的，讽刺的，嘲弄的 | |
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47
defiance
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| n.挑战，挑衅，蔑视，违抗 | |
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48
smote
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| v.猛打，重击，打击( smite的过去式 ) | |
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49
destitution
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| n.穷困，缺乏，贫穷 | |
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50
civilisation
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| n.文明，文化，开化，教化 | |
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51
demon
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| n.魔鬼，恶魔 | |
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52
butt
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| n.笑柄；烟蒂；枪托；臀部；v.用头撞或顶 | |
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53
sever
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| v.切开，割开；断绝，中断 | |
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54
severing
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| v.切断，断绝( sever的现在分词 )；断，裂 | |
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55
artery
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| n.干线，要道；动脉 | |
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56
vexed
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| 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 | |
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57
incongruity
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| n.不协调，不一致 | |
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58
wrath
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| n.愤怒，愤慨，暴怒 | |
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59
miserable
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| adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的 | |
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60
pony
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| adj.小型的；n.小马 | |
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61
withers
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| 马肩隆 | |
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62
frankly
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| adv.坦白地，直率地；坦率地说 | |
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63
penitent
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| adj.后悔的；n.后悔者；忏悔者 | |
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64
necessitated
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| 使…成为必要，需要( necessitate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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deplore
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| vt.哀叹，对...深感遗憾 | |
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66
muse
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| n.缪斯（希腊神话中的女神），创作灵感 | |
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67
colonists
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| n.殖民地开拓者，移民，殖民地居民( colonist的名词复数 ) | |
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68
bullion
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| n.金条，银条 | |
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69
herd
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| n.兽群，牧群；vt.使集中，把…赶在一起 | |
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70
herds
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| 兽群( herd的名词复数 )； 牧群； 人群； 群众 | |
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71
notably
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| adv.值得注意地，显著地，尤其地，特别地 | |
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72
blessing
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| n.祈神赐福；祷告；祝福，祝愿 | |
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73
depreciated
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| v.贬值，跌价，减价( depreciate的过去式和过去分词 )；贬低，蔑视，轻视 | |
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74
prey
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| n.被掠食者，牺牲者，掠食；v.捕食，掠夺，折磨 | |
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75
opposition
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| n.反对，敌对 | |
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76
democrats
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| n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 ) | |
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77
scoffed
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| 嘲笑，嘲弄( scoff的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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78
wary
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| adj.谨慎的，机警的，小心的 | |
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79
innate
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| adj.天生的，固有的，天赋的 | |
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80
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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81
undesirable
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| adj.不受欢迎的，不良的，不合意的，讨厌的；n.不受欢迎的人，不良分子 | |
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82
glut
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| n.存货过多，供过于求；v.狼吞虎咽 | |
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83
industrious
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| adj.勤劳的，刻苦的，奋发的 | |
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84
entrusted
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| v.委托，托付( entrust的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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85
prospectors
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| n.勘探者，探矿者( prospector的名词复数 ) | |
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86
sodden
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| adj.浑身湿透的；v.使浸透；使呆头呆脑 | |
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87
cape
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| n.海角，岬；披肩，短披风 | |
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88
chirped
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| 鸟叫，虫鸣( chirp的过去式 ) | |
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mimic
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| v.模仿，戏弄；n.模仿他人言行的人 | |
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hue
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| n.色度；色调；样子 | |
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determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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92
ridge
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| n.山脊；鼻梁；分水岭 | |
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murmur
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| n.低语，低声的怨言；v.低语，低声而言 | |
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subdued
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| adj. 屈服的，柔和的，减弱的 动词subdue的过去式和过去分词 | |
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95
delving
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| v.深入探究，钻研( delve的现在分词 ) | |
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96
alleys
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| 胡同，小巷( alley的名词复数 )； 小径 | |
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97
shanties
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| n.简陋的小木屋( shanty的名词复数 )；铁皮棚屋；船工号子；船歌 | |
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98
flaunting
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| adj.招摇的，扬扬得意的，夸耀的v.炫耀，夸耀( flaunt的现在分词 )；有什么能耐就施展出来 | |
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99
majesty
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| n.雄伟，壮丽，庄严，威严；最高权威，王权 | |
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100
commissioners
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| n.专员( commissioner的名词复数 )；长官；委员；政府部门的长官 | |
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101
commissioner
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| n.（政府厅、局、处等部门）专员，长官，委员 | |
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102
untold
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| adj.数不清的，无数的 | |
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103
sanguine
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| adj.充满希望的，乐观的，血红色的 | |
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104
ascertained
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| v.弄清，确定，查明( ascertain的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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105
monotonous
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| adj.单调的，一成不变的，使人厌倦的 | |
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106
rein
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| n.疆绳，统治，支配；vt.以僵绳控制，统治 | |
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107
benefactor
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| n. 恩人，行善的人，捐助人 | |
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108
lessened
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| 减少的，减弱的 | |
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109
antagonism
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| n.对抗，敌对，对立 | |
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110
decried
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| v.公开反对，谴责( decry的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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111
affected
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| adj.不自然的，假装的 | |
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112
retired
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| adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的 | |
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113
watchful
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| adj.注意的，警惕的 | |
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114
morale
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| n.道德准则，士气，斗志 | |
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115
knaves
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| n.恶棍，无赖( knave的名词复数 )；（纸牌中的）杰克 | |
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116
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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117
marsh
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| n.沼泽，湿地 | |
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118
abstain
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| v.自制，戒绝，弃权，避免 | |
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119
snares
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| n.陷阱( snare的名词复数 )；圈套；诱人遭受失败（丢脸、损失等）的东西；诱惑物v.用罗网捕捉，诱陷，陷害( snare的第三人称单数 ) | |
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120
progeny
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| n.后代，子孙；结果 | |
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121
mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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122
flayed
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| v.痛打( flay的过去式和过去分词 )；把…打得皮开肉绽；剥（通常指动物）的皮；严厉批评 | |
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123
gallows
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| n.绞刑架，绞台 | |
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124
attained
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| （通常经过努力）实现( attain的过去式和过去分词 )； 达到； 获得； 达到（某年龄、水平、状况） | |
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125
stump
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| n.残株，烟蒂，讲演台；v.砍断，蹒跚而走 | |
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126
patronage
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| n.赞助，支援，援助；光顾，捧场 | |
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127
reactionary
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| n.反动者，反动主义者；adj.反动的，反动主义的，反对改革的 | |
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128
lusted
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| 贪求（lust的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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129
brindled
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| adj.有斑纹的 | |
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130
imposing
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| adj.使人难忘的，壮丽的，堂皇的，雄伟的 | |
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131
middle-aged
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| adj.中年的 | |
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132
despondent
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| adj.失望的，沮丧的，泄气的 | |
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133
shovel
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| n.铁锨，铲子，一铲之量；v.铲，铲出 | |
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134
indifference
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| n.不感兴趣，不关心，冷淡，不在乎 | |
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135
slaughtering
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| v.屠杀，杀戮，屠宰( slaughter的现在分词 ) | |
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136
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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137
axe
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| n.斧子；v.用斧头砍，削减 | |
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138
slumber
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| n.睡眠，沉睡状态 | |
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139
slew
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| v.（使）旋转；n.大量，许多 | |
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140
conversion
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| n.转化，转换，转变 | |
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141
wielding
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| 手持着使用（武器、工具等）( wield的现在分词 )； 具有； 运用（权力）； 施加（影响） | |
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142
gory
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| adj.流血的；残酷的 | |
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143
cleaver
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| n.切肉刀 | |
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144
obstinate
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| adj.顽固的，倔强的，不易屈服的，较难治愈的 | |
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145
cuisine
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| n.烹调，烹饪法 | |
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146
joint
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| adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合 | |
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147
supercilious
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| adj.目中无人的，高傲的；adv.高傲地；n.高傲 | |
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148
gendarme
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| n.宪兵 | |
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149
obtuse
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| adj.钝的；愚钝的 | |
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150
magistrate
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| n.地方行政官，地方法官，治安官 | |
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151
previously
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| adv.以前，先前（地） | |
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152
joyous
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| adj.充满快乐的；令人高兴的 | |
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153
sociable
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| adj.好交际的，友好的，合群的 | |
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154
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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155
exodus
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| v.大批离去，成群外出 | |
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156
civilians
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| 平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓 | |
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157
tragic
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| adj.悲剧的，悲剧性的，悲惨的 | |
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158
enrolled
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| adj.入学登记了的v.[亦作enrol]( enroll的过去式和过去分词 )；登记，招收，使入伍（或入会、入学等），参加，成为成员；记入名册；卷起，包起 | |
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159
regiment
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| n.团，多数，管理；v.组织，编成团，统制 | |
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160
shearing
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| n.剪羊毛，剪取的羊毛v.剪羊毛( shear的现在分词 )；切断；剪切 | |
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161
wretch
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| n.可怜的人，不幸的人；卑鄙的人 | |
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162
philosophical
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| adj.哲学家的，哲学上的，达观的 | |
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163
ordeal
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| n.苦难经历，（尤指对品格、耐力的）严峻考验 | |
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164
adverse
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| adj.不利的；有害的；敌对的，不友好的 | |
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165
chaos
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| n.混乱，无秩序 | |
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166
complimentary
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| adj.赠送的，免费的，赞美的，恭维的 | |
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167
metaphor
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| n.隐喻，暗喻 | |
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168
scattered
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| adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的 | |
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169
humbug
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| n.花招，谎话，欺骗 | |
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170
alphabetical
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| adj.字母（表）的，依字母顺序的 | |
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171
beak
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| n.鸟嘴，茶壶嘴，钩形鼻 | |
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172
villain
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| n.反派演员，反面人物；恶棍；问题的起因 | |
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173
brute
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| n.野兽，兽性 | |
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174
exhausted
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| adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的 | |
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175
groom
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| vt.给（马、狗等）梳毛，照料，使...整洁 | |
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176
incurable
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| adj.不能医治的，不能矫正的，无救的；n.不治的病人，无救的人 | |
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177
distinguished
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| adj.卓越的，杰出的，著名的 | |
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178
profligate
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| adj.行为不检的；n.放荡的人，浪子，肆意挥霍者 | |
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179
fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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180
prospects
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| n.希望，前途(恒为复数) | |
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181
sneers
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| 讥笑的表情（言语）( sneer的名词复数 ) | |
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182
doggedly
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| adv.顽强地，固执地 | |
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183
pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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184
hurrah
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| int.好哇，万岁，乌拉 | |
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185
ballad
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| n.歌谣，民谣，流行爱情歌曲 | |
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186
fattening
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| adj.（食物）要使人发胖的v.喂肥( fatten的现在分词 )；养肥（牲畜）；使（钱）增多；使（公司）升值 | |
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187
scribbling
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| n.乱涂[写]胡[乱]写的文章[作品]v.潦草的书写( scribble的现在分词 )；乱画；草草地写；匆匆记下 | |
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188
lone
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| adj.孤寂的，单独的；唯一的 | |
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189
ridges
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| n.脊( ridge的名词复数 )；山脊；脊状突起；大气层的)高压脊 | |
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190
crimson
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| n./adj.深(绯)红色(的)；vi.脸变绯红色 | |
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191
flakes
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| 小薄片( flake的名词复数 )； （尤指）碎片； 雪花； 古怪的人 | |
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192
foam
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| v./n.泡沫，起泡沫 | |
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193
glide
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| n./v.溜，滑行；(时间)消逝 | |
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194
hoof
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| n.(马，牛等的)蹄 | |
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195
weird
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| adj.古怪的，离奇的；怪诞的，神秘而可怕的 | |
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196
hoarse
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| adj.嘶哑的，沙哑的 | |
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197
enchanted
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| adj. 被施魔法的，陶醉的，入迷的 动词enchant的过去式和过去分词 | |
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198
grassy
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| adj.盖满草的；长满草的 | |
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199
shimmer
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| v./n.发微光，发闪光；微光 | |
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200
countless
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| adj.无数的，多得不计其数的 | |
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201
swarmed
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| 密集( swarm的过去式和过去分词 )； 云集； 成群地移动； 蜜蜂或其他飞行昆虫成群地飞来飞去 | |
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202
toiled
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| 长时间或辛苦地工作( toil的过去式和过去分词 )； 艰难缓慢地移动，跋涉 | |
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203
delved
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| v.深入探究，钻研( delve的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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204
salvation
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| n.（尤指基督）救世，超度，拯救，解困 | |
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205
lashed
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| adj.具睫毛的v.鞭打( lash的过去式和过去分词 )；煽动；紧系；怒斥 | |
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206
reigns
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| n.君主的统治( reign的名词复数 )；君主统治时期；任期；当政期 | |
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207
boundless
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| adj.无限的；无边无际的；巨大的 | |
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208
doom
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| n.厄运，劫数；v.注定，命定 | |
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209
wail
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| vt./vi.大声哀号，恸哭；呼啸，尖啸 | |
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210
guilt
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| n.犯罪；内疚；过失，罪责 | |
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211
sinewy
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| adj.多腱的，强壮有力的 | |
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212
fetters
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| n.脚镣( fetter的名词复数 )；束缚v.给…上脚镣，束缚( fetter的第三人称单数 ) | |
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213
mantle
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| n.斗篷，覆罩之物，罩子；v.罩住，覆盖，脸红 | |
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214
repose
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| v.(使)休息；n.安息 | |
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215
foe
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| n.敌人，仇敌 | |
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216
foes
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| 敌人，仇敌( foe的名词复数 ) | |
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217
behold
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| v.看，注视，看到 | |
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218
descry
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| v.远远看到；发现；责备 | |
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219
gnome
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| n.土地神；侏儒，地精 | |
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220
shrouds
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| n.裹尸布( shroud的名词复数 )；寿衣；遮蔽物；覆盖物v.隐瞒( shroud的第三人称单数 )；保密 | |
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221
cypress
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| n.柏树 | |
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222
mien
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| n.风采；态度 | |
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223
naught
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| n.无，零 [=nought] | |
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224
toils
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| 网 | |
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225
sylvan
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| adj.森林的 | |
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226
dastard
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| n.卑怯之人，懦夫；adj.怯懦的，畏缩的 | |
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227
toll
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| n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟) | |
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228
brutal
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| adj.残忍的，野蛮的，不讲理的 | |
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229
dole
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| n.救济，（失业）救济金；vt.（out）发放，发给 | |
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230
idiocy
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| n.愚蠢 | |
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231
mire
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| n.泥沼，泥泞；v.使...陷于泥泞，使...陷入困境 | |
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remorseful
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| adj.悔恨的 | |
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233
fettered
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| v.给…上脚镣，束缚( fetter的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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234
demons
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| n.恶人( demon的名词复数 )；恶魔；精力过人的人；邪念 | |
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235
strife
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| n.争吵，冲突，倾轧，竞争 | |
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236
barricade
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| n.路障，栅栏，障碍；vt.设路障挡住 | |
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237
twilight
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| n.暮光，黄昏；暮年，晚期，衰落时期 | |
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238
glade
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| n.林间空地，一片表面有草的沼泽低地 | |
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239
delves
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| v.深入探究，钻研( delve的第三人称单数 ) | |
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240
toiling
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| 长时间或辛苦地工作( toil的现在分词 )； 艰难缓慢地移动，跋涉 | |
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241
dweller
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| n.居住者，住客 | |
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242
swell
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| vi.膨胀，肿胀；增长，增强 | |
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243
pageant
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| n.壮观的游行；露天历史剧 | |
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244
awfully
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| adv.可怕地，非常地，极端地 | |
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245
prophesies
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| v.预告，预言( prophesy的第三人称单数 ) | |
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246
entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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247
risky
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| adj.有风险的，冒险的 | |
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248
growls
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| v.（动物）发狺狺声， （雷）作隆隆声( growl的第三人称单数 )；低声咆哮着说 | |
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249
sinister
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| adj.不吉利的，凶恶的，左边的 | |
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250
gasps
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| v.喘气( gasp的第三人称单数 )；喘息；倒抽气；很想要 | |
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251
crafty
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| adj.狡猾的，诡诈的 | |
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252
banish
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| vt.放逐，驱逐；消除，排除 | |
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253
loomed
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| v.隐约出现，阴森地逼近( loom的过去式和过去分词 )；隐约出现，阴森地逼近 | |
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254
transacting
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| v.办理（业务等）( transact的现在分词 )；交易，谈判 | |
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255
fresco
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| n.壁画；vt.作壁画于 | |
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256
collateral
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| adj.平行的；旁系的；n.担保品 | |
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257
goodwill
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| n.善意，亲善，信誉，声誉 | |
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258
populous
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| adj.人口稠密的，人口众多的 | |
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259
augured
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| v.预示，预兆，预言( augur的过去式和过去分词 )；成为预兆；占卜 | |
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260
favourably
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| adv. 善意地，赞成地 =favorably | |
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261
dissent
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| n./v.不同意，持异议 | |
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262
coveted
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| adj.令人垂涎的；垂涎的，梦寐以求的v.贪求，觊觎(covet的过去分词)；垂涎；贪图 | |
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263
deserted
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| adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的 | |
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264
shanty
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| n.小屋，棚屋；船工号子 | |
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265
suburban
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| adj.城郊的，在郊区的 | |
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266
trifling
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| adj.微不足道的；没什么价值的 | |
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267
interfered
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| v.干预( interfere的过去式和过去分词 )；调停；妨碍；干涉 | |
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268
digestion
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| n.消化，吸收 | |
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