"If she were not a Princess, and your sister, sir, I would engage to make her look at me."
[pg 53] "I am not hurt by her looking at you," rejoined the Prince: for that evening he was very merry. "A look is no great thing."
The Marquis, being no less merry, and knowing that Rudolf had not the regard for his dignity that a Prince should have, threw out carelessly:
"A kiss is more, sir."
"It is a great deal more," laughed the Prince, tugging9 his moustache.
"Are you ready for a wager10, sir?" asked M. de Mérosailles, leaning across the table towards him.
"I'll lay you a thousand crowns to a hundred that you do not gain a kiss, using what means you will, save force."
"I'll take that wager, sir," cried the Marquis. "But it shall be three, not one."
"Have a care," said the Prince. "Don't go too near the flame, my lord! There are some wings in Strelsau singed11 at that candle."
"Indeed the light is very bright," assented12 the Marquis courteously13. "That risk I must run, though, if I am to win my wager. It is to be three then, and by what means I will, save force?"
"Even so," said Rudolf, and he laughed [pg 54] again. For he thought the wager harmless, since by no device could M. de Mérosailles win so much as one kiss from the Princess Osra, and the wager stood at three. But he did not think how he wronged his sister by using her name lightly, being in all such matters a man of careless mind.
But the Marquis, having made his wager, set himself steadily15 to win it. Therefore he brought forth16 the choicest clothes from his wardrobe, and ornaments17, and perfumes; and he laid fine presents at the Princess's feet; and he waylaid18 her wherever she went, and was profuse19 of glances, sighs, and hints; and he wrote sonnets20, as fine gentlemen used in those days, and lyrics21 and pastorals, wherein she figured under charming names. These he bribed23 the Princess's waiting-women to leave in their mistress's chamber. Moreover he looked now sorrowful, now passionate24, and he ate nothing at dinner, but drank his wine in wild gulps25, as though he sought to banish26 sadness. So that, in a word, there was no device in Cupid's armoury that the Marquis de Mérosailles did not practise in the endeavour to win a look from the Princess Osra. But no look came, and he got nothing from her but cold civility. Yet she had looked at him when [pg 55] he looked not—for Princesses are much like other maidens—and thought him a very pretty gentleman, and was highly amused by his extravagance. Yet she did not believe it to witness any true devotion to her, but thought it mere27 gallantry.
Then, one day, M. de Mérosailles, having tried all else that he could think of, took to his bed. He sent for a physician, and paid him a high fee to find the seeds of a rapid and fatal disease in him: and he made his body-servant whiten his face and darken his room; and he groaned29 very pitifully, saying that he was sick, and that he was glad of it; for death would be better far than the continued disdain of the Princess Osra. And all this, being told by the Marquis's servants to the Princess's waiting-women, reached Osra's ears, and caused her much perturbation. For she now perceived that the passion of the Marquis was real and deep, and she became very sorry for him: the longer the face of the rascally31 physician grew the more sad the Princess became: she walked up and down, bewailing the terrible effects of her beauty, wishing that she were not so fair, and mourning very tenderly for the sad plight32 of the unhappy Marquis.
Through all Prince Rudolf looked on, but [pg 56] was bound by his wager not to undeceive her; moreover he found much entertainment in the matter, and swore that it was worth three times a thousand crowns.
At last the Marquis sent by the mouth of his physician a very humble33 and pitiful message to the Princess, in which he spoke of himself as near to death, hinted at the cruel cause of his condition, and prayed her of compassion34 to visit him in his chamber, and speak a word of comfort, or at least let him look on her face: for the brightness of her eyes, he said, might cure even what it had caused.
the physician receives princess osra.—Page 56.
Deceived by this appeal, Princess Osra agreed to go; moved by some strange impulse, she put on her choicest array, dressed her hair most splendidly, and came into the chamber looking like a goddess. There lay the Marquis, white as a ghost and languid on his pillows; and they were left, as they thought, alone. Then Osra sat down and began to talk very gently and kindly35 to him, glancing only at the madness which brought him to his sad state, and imploring36 him to summon his resolution, and conquer his sickness for his friends' sake at home in France, and for the sake of her brother, who loved him.
[pg 57] "There is nobody who loves me," said the Marquis petulantly37; and when Osra cried out at this, he went on, "For the love of those whom I do not love is nothing to me, and the only soul alive I love——." There he stopped, but his eyes, fixed38 on Osra's face, ended the sentence for him. And she blushed, and looked away. Then thinking the moment was come, he burst suddenly into a flood of protestations and self-reproach, cursing himself for a fool and a presumptuous39 madman, pitifully craving40 her pardon, and declaring that he did not deserve her kindness, and yet that he could not live without it, and that anyhow he would be dead soon, and thus cease to trouble her. But she, being thus passionately41 assailed42, showed such sweet tenderness and compunction and pity, that M. de Mérosailles came very near to forgetting that he was playing a comedy, and threw himself into his part with eagerness, redoubling his vehemence44, and feeling now full half of what he said. For the Princess was to his eyes far more beautiful in her softer mood. Yet he remembered his wager, and, at last, when she was nearly in tears and ready, as it seemed, to do anything to give him comfort, he cried desperately45:
[pg 58] "Ah, leave, leave me! Leave me to die alone! Yet, for pity's sake, before you go, and before I die, give me your forgiveness, and let your lips touch my forehead in token of it. Then I shall die in peace."
At that the Princess blushed still more, and her eyes were wet, and shone, for she was deeply touched at his misery46 and at the sad prospect47 of the death for love of so gallant28 a gentleman. Thus she could scarcely speak for emotion; and the Marquis seeing her emotion was himself deeply affected48; and she rose from her chair, and bent49 over him, and whispered comfort to him. Then she leant down, and very lightly touched his forehead with her lips; he felt her eyelashes, which were wet with tears, brush the skin of his forehead; and then she sobbed50 and covered her face with her hands. Indeed his state seemed to her most pitiful.
Thus M. de Mérosailles had won one of his three kisses; yet, strange to tell, there was no triumph in him, but now he perceived the baseness of his device; and the sweet kindness of the Princess, working together with the great beauty of her softened51 manner, so affected him that he thought no more of his wager and could not endure to carry on his deception52; nothing [pg 59] would serve his turn but to confess to the Princess what he had done, humbling53 himself in the dust before her, and entreating54 her to pardon him and let him find forgiveness.
Impelled55 by these feelings, after he had lain still a few moments listening to the Princess weeping, he leapt suddenly out of bed, showing himself fully30 dressed under the bed-gown which he now eagerly tore off; and he rubbed all the white he could from his cheeks, and then he fell on his knees before the Princess, crying to her that he had played the meanest trick on her, and that he was a scoundrel, and no gentleman, and that unless she forgave him he should in very truth die; nay56, that he would not consent to live unless he could win from her pardon for his deceit. And in all this he was now absolutely in earnest, wondering only how he had not been as passionately enamoured of her from the first as he had feigned57 himself to be. For a man in love can never conceive himself out of it, nor he that is out of it in it; for if he can, he is half way to the one or the other, however little he may know it.
At first the Princess sat as though she were turned to stone: but when he finished [pg 60] his confession58, and she understood the trick that had been played on her, and how not only her kiss, but also her tears, had been won from her by fraud, and when she thought, as she did, that the Marquis was playing another trick on her, and that there was no more truth or honesty in his present protestations than in those which went before, she fell into great shame and into a great rage; her eyes flashed like the eyes of her father himself, as she rose to her feet and looked down on M. de Mérosailles as he knelt imploring her. Now her face turned pale from red, and she set her lips, and she drew her gown close round her, lest his touch should defile59 it (so the unhappy gentleman understood her gesture) and she picked her steps daintily round him, for fear she should happen to come in contact with so foul60 a thing. Thus she walked to the door, and, having reached it, she turned and said to him:
"Your death may blot61 out the insult—nothing less." And with her head held high, and her whole air full of scorn, she swept out of the room, leaving the Marquis on his knees. He started up to follow her, but dared not; he flung himself on the bed in a paroxysm of shame and vexation, [pg 61] and now of love also, and he cried out loud:
"Then my death shall blot it out, since nothing else will serve!"
He was in a desperate mood. For a long time he lay there, and then, having risen, dressed himself in a sombre suit of black, and buckled62 his sword by his side, and, having put on his riding boots and summoned his servant, bade him saddle his horse. "For," said he to himself, "I will ride into the forest, and there kill myself; and perhaps when I am dead the Princess will forgive, and will believe in my love, and grieve a little for me."
Now as he went from his chamber to cross the moat by the drawbridge, he encountered Prince Rudolf returning from hawking63. They met full in the centre of the bridge, and the Prince, seeing M. de Mérosailles dressed all in black from the feather in his hat to his boots, called out mockingly:
"Who is to be buried to-day, my lord, and whither do you ride to the funeral? It cannot be yourself, for I see that you are marvellously recovered of your sickness."
"But it is myself," answered the Marquis, coming near, and speaking low that the servants [pg 62] and the falconers might not overhear. "I ride, sir, to my own funeral."
"The jest is still afoot, then?" asked the Prince. "Yet I do not see my sister at the window to watch you go, and I warrant you have made no way with your wager yet."
"A thousand curses on my wager!" cried the Marquis. "Yes, I have made way with the accursed thing, and that is why I now go to my death."
"What, has she kissed you?" cried the Prince, with a merry astonished laugh.
"Yes, sir, she has kissed me once, and therefore I go to die."
"I have heard of many a better reason, then," answered the Prince.
By now the Prince had dismounted, and he stood by M. de Mérosailles in the middle of the bridge, and heard from him how the trick had prospered64. At this he was much tickled65, and, alas66, he was even more diverted when the penitence67 of the Marquis was revealed to him, and was most of all moved to merriment when it appeared that the Marquis, having gone too near the candle, had been caught by its flame, and was so terribly singed and scorched68 that he could not bear to live. And while they talked on [pg 63] the bridge the Princess looked out on them from a lofty narrow window, but neither of them saw her. But when the Prince had done laughing, he put his arm through his friend's and bade him not be a fool, but come in and toast the Princess's kiss in a draught69 of wine. "For," he said, "though you will never get the other two, yet it is a brave exploit to have got one."
But the Marquis shook his head, and his air was so resolute70, and so full of sorrow, that not only was Rudolf alarmed for his reason, but Princess Osra also, at the window, wondered what ailed43 him and why he wore such a long face; and now she noticed that he was dressed all in black, and that his horse waited for him across the bridge.
"Not," said she, "that I care what becomes of the impudent71 rogue72!" Yet she did not leave the window, but watched very intently to see what M. de Mérosailles would do.
For a long while he talked with Rudolf on the bridge, Rudolf seeming more serious than he was wont73 to be; and at last the Marquis bent to kiss the Prince's hand, and the Prince raised him and kissed him on either cheek; then the Marquis went and mounted his horse, and rode off, slowly and [pg 64] unattended, into the glades74 of the forest of Zenda; but the Prince, with a shrug75 of the shoulders and a frown on his brow, entered under the portcullis, and disappeared from his sister's view.
Upon this the Princess, assuming an air of great carelessness, walked down from the room where she was, and found her brother, sitting still in his boots and drinking wine; and she said:
"M. de Mérosailles has taken his leave then?"
"Even so, madame," rejoined Rudolf.
Then she broke into a fierce attack on the Marquis, and on her brother also; for a man, said she, is known by his friends, and what a man Rudolf must be to have a friend like the Marquis de Mérosailles!
"Most brothers," she said in fiery76 temper, "would make him answer for what he has done with his life. But you laugh, nay, I daresay you had a hand in it."
As to this last charge the Prince had the discretion77 to say nothing; he chose rather to answer the first part of what she said, and shrugging his shoulders again rejoined:
"The fool saves me the trouble, for he has gone off to kill himself."
"To kill himself?" she said, half incredulous, [pg 65] but also half believing, because of the Marquis's gloomy looks and black clothes.
"To kill himself," repeated Rudolf. "For in the first place you are angry, so he cannot live; in the second he has behaved like a rogue, so he cannot live; and in the third place you are so lovely, sister, that he cannot live; and in the first, second, and third places he is a fool, so he cannot live." And the Prince finished his flagon of wine with every sign of ill-humour in his manner.
"He is well dead," she cried.
"Oh, as you please," said he. "He is not the first brave man who has died on your account." And he rose and strode out of the room very surlily; for he had a great friendship for M. de Mérosailles, and had no patience with men who let love make dead bones of them.
The Princess Osra, being left alone, sat for a little time in deep thought. There rose before her mind the picture of M. de Mérosailles riding mournfully through the gloom of the forest to his death. And although his conduct had been all and more than all that she had called it, yet it seemed hard that he should die for it. Moreover, if he now in truth felt what he had before feigned, the present truth was an atonement [pg 66] for the past treachery; and she said to herself that she could not sleep quietly that night if the Marquis killed himself in the forest. Presently she wandered slowly up to her chamber, and looked in the mirror, and murmured low, "Poor fellow!" and then with sudden speed she attired78 herself for riding, and commanded her horse to be saddled, and darted79 down the stairs and across the bridge, and mounted, and, forbidding any one to accompany her, rode away into the forest, following the marks of the hoofs80 of M. de Mérosailles's horse. It was then late afternoon, and the slanting81 rays of the sun, striking through the tree-trunks, reddened her face as she rode along, spurring her horse, and following hard on the track of the forlorn gentleman. But what she intended to do if she came up with him she did not think.
When she had ridden an hour or more, she saw his horse tethered to a trunk; and there was a ring of trees and bushes near, encircling an open grassy82 spot. Herself dismounting, and fastening her horse by the Marquis's horse, she stole up, and saw M. de Mérosailles sitting on the ground, his drawn83 sword lying beside him; and his back was towards her. She held her breath [pg 67] and waited a few moments. Then he took up the sword and felt the point and also the edge of it, and sighed deeply; and the Princess thought that this sorrowful mood became him better than any she had seen him in before. Then he rose to his feet, and took his sword by the blade beneath the hilt, and turned the point of it towards his heart. But Osra, fearing that the deed would be done immediately, called out eagerly, "My lord, my lord!" and M. de Mérosailles turned round with a great start. When he saw her, he stood in astonishment84, his hand still holding the blade of the sword. And, standing85 just on the other side of the trees, she said:
"she saw m. de mérosailles sitting on the ground."—Page 66.
"Is your offence against me to be cured by adding an offence against Heaven and the Church?"
And she looked on him with great severity, yet her cheek was flushed, and after a while she did not meet his glance.
"How came you here, madame?" he asked in wonder.
"I heard," she said, "that you meditated86 this great sin, and I rode after you to forbid it."
"Can you forbid what you cause?" he asked.
[pg 68] "I am not the cause of it," she said, "but your own trickery."
"It is true. I am not worthy87 to live," cried the Marquis, smiting88 the hilt of his sword on the ground. "I pray you, madame, leave me alone to die. For I cannot tear myself from the world so long as I see your face." And as he spoke he knelt on one knee, as though he were doing homage89 to her.
The Princess caught at the bough90 of the tree under which she stood, and pulled the bough down, so that its leaves half hid her face, and the Marquis saw little more than her eyes from among the foliage91. Thus being better able to speak to him, she said softly:
"And dare you die, unforgiven?"
"I had prayed for forgiveness before you found me, madame," said he.
"Of heaven, my lord?"
"Of heaven, madame. For of heaven I dare to ask it."
The bough swayed up and down; now Osra's gleaming hair, and now her cheek, and always her eyes were seen through the leaves. And presently the Marquis heard a voice asking:
"Does heaven forgive unasked?"
"Indeed, no," he said, wondering.
[pg 69] "And," she said, "are we poor mortals kinder than heaven?"
The Marquis rose, and took a step or two towards where the bough swayed up and down, and then knelt again.
"A great sinner," said he, "cannot believe himself forgiven."
"Then he wrongs the power of which he seeks forgiveness; for forgiveness is divine."
"Then I will ask it, and, if I obtain it, I shall die happy."
Again the bough swayed: and Osra said:
"Nay, if you will die, you may die unforgiven."
M. de Mérosailles hearing these words sprang to his feet, and came towards the bough, until he was so close that he touched the green leaves; through them the eyes of Osra gleamed: the sun's rays struck on her eyes, and they danced in the sun; and her cheeks were reddened by the same or some other cause. And the evening was very still, and there were no sounds in the forest.
"I cannot believe that you forgive. The crime is so great," said he.
"It was great: yet I forgive."
"I cannot believe it," said he again, and [pg 70] he looked at the point of his sword, and then he looked through the leaves at the Princess.
"I cannot do more than say that if you will live, I will forgive. And we will forget."
"By heaven, no," he whispered. "If I must forget to be forgiven, then I will remember and be unforgiven."
The faintest laugh reached him from among the foliage.
"Then I will forget, and you shall be forgiven," said she.
The Marquis put up his hand, and held a leaf aside, and he said again:
"I cannot believe myself forgiven. Is there no token of forgiveness?"
"Pray, my lord, do not put the leaves aside."
"I still must die, unless I have sure warrant of forgiveness."
"Ah, you try to make me think that!"
"By heaven, it is true!" And again he pointed92 his sword at his heart, and he swore on his honour that unless she gave him a token he would still kill himself.
"Oh," said the Princess with great petulance93, "I wish I had not come!"
"Then I should have been dead by now—dead, unforgiven."
[pg 71] "But you will still die!"
"Yes, I must still die, unless——"
"Sheathe94 your sword, my lord. The sun strikes it, and it dazzles my eyes."
"That cannot be: for your eyes are brighter than sun and sword together."
"Then I must shade them with the leaves."
"Yes, shade them with the leaves," he whispered. "Madame, is there no token of forgiveness?"
In the silence that followed his eyes spoke, at last she said:
"Why did you swear on your honour?"
"Because it is an oath that I cannot break."
"Indeed I wish that I had not come," sighed Princess Osra.
Again came silence. The bough was pressed down for an instant; then it swayed swiftly up again; and its leaves brushed the cheek of M. de Mérosailles. And he laughed loudly and joyfully95.
"Something touched my cheek," said he.
"It must have been a leaf," said Princess Osra.
"Ah, a leaf!"
"I think so," said Princess Osra.
"Then it was a leaf of the Tree of Life," said M. de Mérosailles.
[pg 72] "I wish some one would set me on my horse," said Osra.
"That you may ride back to the castle—alone?"
"Yes, unless you would relieve my brother's anxiety."
"It would be courteous14 to do that much," said the Marquis.
So they mounted, and rode back through the forest.
In an hour the Princess had come, and in the space of something over two hours they returned; yet during all this time they spoke hardly a word: and although the sun was now set, yet the glow remained on the face and in the eyes of Princess Osra; while M. de Mérosailles, being forgiven, rode with a smile on his lips.
But when they came to the castle, Prince Rudolf ran out to meet them, and he cried almost before he reached them:
"Hasten, hasten! There is not a moment to lose, if the Marquis values life or liberty!" And when he came to them he told them that a waiting-woman had been false to M. de Mérosailles and, after taking his money, had hid herself in his chamber, and seen the first kiss that the Princess gave him, and, having made some pretext96 to [pg 73] gain a holiday, had gone to the King, who was hunting near, and betrayed the whole matter to him.
"And one of my gentlemen," he continued, "has ridden here to tell me. In an hour the Guards will be here, and if the King catches you, my lord, you will hang as sure as I live."
The Princess turned very pale, but M. de Mérosailles said haughtily97, "I ask your pardon, sir, but the King dares not hang me. For I am a gentleman and a subject of the King of France."
"Man, man!" cried Rudolf. "The Lion will hang you first, and think of all that afterwards! Come now, it is dusk. You shall dress yourself as my groom98, and I will ride to the frontier, and you shall ride behind me, and thus you may get safe away. I cannot have you hanged over such a trifle."
"I would have given my life willingly for what you call a trifle, sir," said the Marquis with a bow to Osra.
"Then have the trifle and life too," said Rudolf derisively99. "Come in with me, and I will give you your livery!"
When the Prince and M. de Mérosailles came out again on the drawbridge the evening had fallen, and it was dark; their horses [pg 74] stood at the end of the bridge, and by the horses stood the Princess.
"Quick!" said she. "For a peasant who came in, bringing a load of wood, saw a troop of men coming over the crown of the hill, and he says they are the King's Guard."
"Mount, man!" cried the Prince to M. de Mérosailles, who was now dressed as a groom. "Perhaps we can get clear, or perhaps they will not dare to stop me."
But the Marquis hesitated a little, for he did not like to run away; but the Princess ran a little forward and, shading her eyes with her hand, cried, "See there! I see the gleam of steel in the dark. They have reached the top of the hill, and are riding down."
Then Prince Rudolf sprang on his horse, calling again to M. de Mérosailles, "Quick, quick! Your life hangs on it!"
Then at last the Marquis, though he was most reluctant to depart, was about to spring on his horse, when the Princess turned and glided100 back swiftly to them. And—let it be remembered that evening had fallen thick and black—she came to her brother and put out her hand, and grasped his hand, and said:
"My lord, I forgive your wrong, and I [pg 75] thank you for your courtesy, and I wish you farewell."
Prince Rudolf, astonished, gazed at her without speaking. But she, moving very quickly in spite of the darkness, ran to where M. de Mérosailles was about to spring on his horse, and she flung one arm lightly about his neck, and she said:
"Farewell, dear brother, God preserve you. See that no harm comes to my good friend, M. de Mérosailles." And she kissed him lightly on the cheek. Then she suddenly gave a loud cry of dismay, exclaiming, "Alas, what have I done? Ah, what have I done?" and she hid her face in her two hands.
Prince Rudolf burst into a loud short laugh, yet he said nothing to his sister, but again urged the Marquis to mount his horse. And the Marquis, who was in a sad tumult101 of triumph and of woe102, leapt up; and they rode out, and turning their faces towards the forest, set spurs to their horses and vanished at a breakneck speed into the glades. And no sooner were they gone than the troopers of the King's Guard clattered103 at a canter up to the end of the bridge, where the Princess Osra stood. But when their captain saw the Princess, he drew rein22.
[pg 76] "What is your errand, sir?" she asked most coldly and haughtily.
"Madame, we are ordered to bring the Marquis de Mérosailles alive or dead into the King's presence, and we have information that he is in the castle, unless, indeed, he were one of the horsemen who rode away just now."
"The horsemen you saw were my brother the Prince and his groom," said Osra. "But if you think that M. de Mérosailles is in the castle, pray search the castle from keep to cellar; and if you find him, carry him to my father, according to your orders."
Then the troopers dismounted in great haste, and ransacked104 the castle from keep to cellar; and they found the clothes of the Marquis, and the white powder with which he had whitened his face, but the Marquis they did not find. So the captain came again to the Princess, who still stood at the end of the bridge, and said:
"Madame, he is not in the castle."
"Is he not?" said she, and turned away, and, walking to the middle of the bridge, looked down into the water of the moat.
"Was it in truth the Prince's groom who rode with him, madame?" asked the captain, following her.
[pg 77] "In truth, sir, it was so dark," answered the Princess, "that I could not myself clearly distinguish the man's face."
"One was the Prince, for I saw you embrace him, madame."
"You do well to conclude that that was my brother," said Osra, smiling a little.
"And to the other, madame, you gave your hand."
"And now I give it to you," said she with haughty105 insolence106. "And if to my father's servant, why not to my brother's?" And she held out her hand that he might kiss it, and turned away from him, and looked down into the water again.
"But we found M. de Mérosailles's clothes in the castle!" persisted the captain.
"He may well have left something of his in the castle," said the Princess.
"I will ride after them!" cried the captain.
"I doubt if you will catch them," smiled the Princess; for by now the pair had been gone half an hour, and the frontier was but ten miles from the castle, and they could not be overtaken. Yet the captain rode off with his men, and pursued till he met Prince Rudolf returning alone, having seen [pg 78] M. de Mérosailles safe on his way. And Rudolf had paid the sum of a thousand crowns to the Marquis, so that the fugitive107 was well provided for his journey, and, travelling with many relays of horses, made good his escape from the clutches of King Henry.
But the Princess Osra stayed a long time looking down at the water in the moat. Sometimes she sighed, and then, again, she frowned, and, although nobody was there, and it was very dark into the bargain, more than once she blushed. And at last she turned to go into the castle. But, as she went, she murmured softly to herself:
"Why I kissed him the first time I know; it was in pity. And why I kissed him the second time I know; it was in forgiveness. But why I kissed him the third time, or what that kiss meant," said Osra, "heaven knows."
And she went in with a smile on her lips.
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1
accomplishments
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| n.造诣；完成( accomplishment的名词复数 )；技能；成绩；成就 | |
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2
sojourn
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| v./n.旅居，寄居；逗留 | |
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3
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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chamber
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| n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所 | |
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chateau
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| n.城堡，别墅 | |
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6
disdain
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| n.鄙视，轻视；v.轻视，鄙视，不屑 | |
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7
maliciously
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| adv.有敌意地 | |
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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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tugging
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| n.牵引感v.用力拉，使劲拉，猛扯( tug的现在分词 ) | |
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10
wager
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| n.赌注；vt.押注，打赌 | |
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11
singed
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| v.浅表烧焦( singe的过去式和过去分词 )；（毛发）燎，烧焦尖端[边儿] | |
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assented
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| 同意，赞成( assent的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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13
courteously
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| adv.有礼貌地，亲切地 | |
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courteous
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| adj.彬彬有礼的，客气的 | |
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15
steadily
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| adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地 | |
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16
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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17
ornaments
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| n.装饰( ornament的名词复数 )；点缀；装饰品；首饰v.装饰，点缀，美化( ornament的第三人称单数 ) | |
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18
waylaid
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| v.拦截，拦路( waylay的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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19
profuse
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| adj.很多的，大量的，极其丰富的 | |
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20
sonnets
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| n.十四行诗( sonnet的名词复数 ) | |
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21
lyrics
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| n.歌词 | |
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22
rein
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| n.疆绳，统治，支配；vt.以僵绳控制，统治 | |
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23
bribed
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| v.贿赂( bribe的过去式和过去分词 )；向（某人）行贿，贿赂 | |
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24
passionate
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| adj.热情的，热烈的，激昂的，易动情的，易怒的，性情暴躁的 | |
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25
gulps
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| n.一大口（尤指液体）( gulp的名词复数 )v.狼吞虎咽地吃，吞咽( gulp的第三人称单数 )；大口地吸（气）；哽住 | |
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26
banish
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| vt.放逐，驱逐；消除，排除 | |
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27
mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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28
gallant
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| adj.英勇的，豪侠的；(向女人)献殷勤的 | |
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29
groaned
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| v.呻吟( groan的过去式和过去分词 )；发牢骚；抱怨；受苦 | |
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30
fully
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| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
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31
rascally
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| adj. 无赖的，恶棍的 adv. 无赖地，卑鄙地 | |
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plight
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| n.困境，境况，誓约，艰难；vt.宣誓，保证，约定 | |
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33
humble
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| adj.谦卑的，恭顺的；地位低下的；v.降低，贬低 | |
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34
compassion
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| n.同情，怜悯 | |
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35
kindly
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| adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地 | |
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36
imploring
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| 恳求的，哀求的 | |
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37
petulantly
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38
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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39
presumptuous
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| adj.胆大妄为的，放肆的，冒昧的，冒失的 | |
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40
craving
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| n.渴望,热望 | |
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41
passionately
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| ad.热烈地，激烈地 | |
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42
assailed
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| v.攻击( assail的过去式和过去分词 )；困扰；质问；毅然应对 | |
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43
ailed
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| v.生病( ail的过去式和过去分词 )；感到不舒服；处境困难；境况不佳 | |
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44
vehemence
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| n.热切；激烈；愤怒 | |
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45
desperately
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| adv.极度渴望地，绝望地，孤注一掷地 | |
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46
misery
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| n.痛苦，苦恼，苦难；悲惨的境遇，贫苦 | |
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47
prospect
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| n.前景，前途；景色，视野 | |
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48
affected
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| adj.不自然的，假装的 | |
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49
bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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50
sobbed
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| 哭泣，啜泣( sob的过去式和过去分词 )； 哭诉，呜咽地说 | |
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51
softened
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| （使）变软( soften的过去式和过去分词 )； 缓解打击； 缓和； 安慰 | |
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52
deception
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| n.欺骗，欺诈；骗局，诡计 | |
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53
humbling
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| adj.令人羞辱的v.使谦恭( humble的现在分词 )；轻松打败（尤指强大的对手）；低声下气 | |
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54
entreating
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| 恳求，乞求( entreat的现在分词 ) | |
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55
impelled
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| v.推动、推进或敦促某人做某事( impel的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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56
nay
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| adv.不；n.反对票，投反对票者 | |
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57
feigned
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| a.假装的，不真诚的 | |
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58
confession
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| n.自白，供认，承认 | |
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59
defile
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| v.弄污，弄脏；n.(山间)小道 | |
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60
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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61
blot
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| vt.弄脏（用吸墨纸）吸干；n.污点，污渍 | |
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62
buckled
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| a. 有带扣的 | |
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63
hawking
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| 利用鹰行猎 | |
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64
prospered
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| 成功，兴旺( prosper的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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65
tickled
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| （使）发痒( tickle的过去式和过去分词 )； （使）愉快，逗乐 | |
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66
alas
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| int.唉(表示悲伤、忧愁、恐惧等) | |
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67
penitence
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| n.忏悔，赎罪；悔过 | |
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68
scorched
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| 烧焦，烤焦( scorch的过去式和过去分词 )； 使（植物）枯萎，把…晒枯； 高速行驶； 枯焦 | |
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69
draught
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| n.拉，牵引，拖；一网（饮，吸，阵)；顿服药量，通风；v.起草，设计 | |
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70
resolute
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| adj.坚决的，果敢的 | |
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71
impudent
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| adj.鲁莽的，卑鄙的，厚颜无耻的 | |
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72
rogue
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| n.流氓；v.游手好闲 | |
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73
wont
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| adj.习惯于；v.习惯；n.习惯 | |
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74
glades
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| n.林中空地( glade的名词复数 ) | |
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75
shrug
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| v.耸肩(表示怀疑、冷漠、不知等) | |
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76
fiery
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| adj.燃烧着的，火红的；暴躁的；激烈的 | |
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77
discretion
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| n.谨慎；随意处理 | |
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78
attired
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| adj.穿着整齐的v.使穿上衣服，使穿上盛装( attire的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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79
darted
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| v.投掷，投射( dart的过去式和过去分词 )；向前冲，飞奔 | |
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80
hoofs
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| n.（兽的）蹄，马蹄( hoof的名词复数 )v.（兽的）蹄，马蹄( hoof的第三人称单数 ) | |
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81
slanting
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| 倾斜的，歪斜的 | |
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82
grassy
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| adj.盖满草的；长满草的 | |
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83
drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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84
astonishment
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| n.惊奇，惊异 | |
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85
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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86
meditated
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| 深思，沉思，冥想( meditate的过去式和过去分词 )； 内心策划，考虑 | |
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87
worthy
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| adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的 | |
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88
smiting
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| v.猛打，重击，打击( smite的现在分词 ) | |
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89
homage
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| n.尊敬，敬意，崇敬 | |
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90
bough
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| n.大树枝，主枝 | |
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91
foliage
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| n.叶子，树叶，簇叶 | |
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92
pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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93
petulance
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| n.发脾气，生气，易怒，暴躁，性急 | |
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94
sheathe
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| v.（将刀剑）插入鞘；包，覆盖 | |
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95
joyfully
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| adv. 喜悦地, 高兴地 | |
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96
pretext
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| n.借口，托词 | |
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97
haughtily
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| adv. 傲慢地, 高傲地 | |
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98
groom
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| vt.给（马、狗等）梳毛，照料，使...整洁 | |
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99
derisively
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| adv. 嘲笑地，嘲弄地 | |
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100
glided
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| v.滑动( glide的过去式和过去分词 )；掠过；（鸟或飞机 ） 滑翔 | |
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101
tumult
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| n.喧哗；激动，混乱；吵闹 | |
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102
woe
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| n.悲哀，苦痛，不幸，困难；int.用来表达悲伤或惊慌 | |
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103
clattered
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| 发出咔哒声（clatter的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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104
ransacked
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| v.彻底搜查( ransack的过去式和过去分词 )；抢劫，掠夺 | |
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105
haughty
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| adj.傲慢的，高傲的 | |
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106
insolence
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| n.傲慢；无礼；厚颜；傲慢的态度 | |
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107
fugitive
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| adj.逃亡的，易逝的；n.逃犯，逃亡者 | |
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