The Yellowplush Papers were continued through nine numbers. No further reference was made to Mr. Skelton and his book beyond that given at the beginning of the first number, and the satire12 is only shown by the attempt made by Yellowplush, the footman, to give his ideas generally on the manners of noble life. The idea seems to be that a gentleman may, in heart and in action, be as vulgar as a footman. No doubt he may, but the chances are very much that he won't. But the virtue13 of the memoir14 does not consist in the lessons, but in the general drollery15 of the letters. The "orthogwaphy is inaccuwate," as a certain person says in the memoirs16,—"so inaccuwate" as to take a positive study to "compwehend" it; but the joke, though old, is so handled as to be very amusing. Thackeray soon rushes away from his criticisms on snobbism to other matters. There are the details of a card-sharping enterprise, in which we cannot but feel that we recognise something of the author's own experiences in the misfortunes of Mr. Dawkins; there is the Earl of Crab's, [Pg 64]and then the first of those attacks which he was tempted18 to make on the absurdities19 of his brethren of letters, and the only one which now has the appearance of having been ill-natured. His first victims were Dr. Dionysius Lardner and Mr. Edward Bulwer Lytton, as he was then. We can surrender the doctor to the whip of the satirist20; and for "Sawedwadgeorgeearllittnbulwig," as the novelist is made to call himself, we can well believe that he must himself have enjoyed the Yellowplush Memoirs if he ever re-read them in after life. The speech in which he is made to dissuade22 the footman from joining the world of letters is so good that I will venture to insert it: "Bullwig was violently affected23; a tear stood in his glistening24 i. 'Yellowplush,' says he, seizing my hand, 'you are right. Quit not your present occupation; black boots, clean knives, wear plush all your life, but don't turn literary man. Look at me. I am the first novelist in Europe. I have ranged with eagle wings over the wide regions of literature, and perched on every eminence25 in its turn. I have gazed with eagle eyes on the sun of philosophy, and fathomed26 the mysterious depths of the human mind. All languages are familiar to me, all thoughts are known to me, all men understood by me. I have gathered wisdom from the honeyed lips of Plato, as we wandered in the gardens of the Academies; wisdom, too, from the mouth of Job Johnson, as we smoked our backy in Seven Dials. Such must be the studies, and such is the mission, in this world of the Poet-Philosopher. But the knowledge is only emptiness; the initiation28 is but misery29; the initiated30 a man shunned31 and banned by his fellows. Oh!' said Bullwig, clasping his hands, and throwing his fine i's up to the chandelier, 'the curse of Pwomethus descends32 upon his wace. Wath and punishment pursue them from [Pg 65]genewation to genewation! Wo to genius, the heaven-scaler, the fire-stealer! Wo and thrice-bitter desolation! Earth is the wock on which Zeus, wemorseless, stwetches his withing wictim;—men, the vultures that feed and fatten33 on him. Ai, ai! it is agony eternal,—gwoaning and solitawy despair! And you, Yellowplush, would penetwate these mystewies; you would waise the awful veil, and stand in the twemendous Pwesence. Beware, as you value your peace, beware! Withdraw, wash Neophyte35! For heaven's sake! O for heaven's sake!'—Here he looked round with agony;—'give me a glass of bwandy-and-water, for this clawet is beginning to disagwee with me.'" It was thus that Thackeray began that vein36 of satire on his contemporaries of which it may be said that the older he grew the more amusing it was, and at the same time less likely to hurt the feelings of the author satirised.
The next tale of any length from Thackeray's pen, in the magazine, was that called Catherine, which is the story taken from the life of a wretched woman called Catherine Hayes. It is certainly not pleasant reading, and was not written with a pleasant purpose. It assumes to have come from the pen of Ikey Solomon, of Horsemonger Lane, and its object is to show how disgusting would be the records of thieves, cheats, and murderers if their doings and language were described according to their nature instead of being handled in such a way as to create sympathy, and therefore imitation. Bulwer's Eugene Aram, Harrison Ainsworth's Jack38 Sheppard, and Dickens' Nancy were in his mind, and it was thus that he preached his sermon against the selection of such heroes and heroines by the novelists of the day. "Be it granted," he says, in his epilogue, "Solomon is dull; but [Pg 66]don't attack his morality. He humbly39 submits that, in his poem, no man shall mistake virtue for vice40, no man shall allow a single sentiment of pity or admiration41 to enter his bosom42 for any character in the poem, it being from beginning to end a scene of unmixed rascality44, performed by persons who never deviate45 into good feeling." The intention is intelligible46 enough, but such a story neither could have been written nor read,—certainly not written by Thackeray, nor read by the ordinary reader of a first-class magazine,—had he not been enabled to adorn47 it by infinite wit. Captain Brock, though a brave man, is certainly not described as an interesting or gallant48 soldier; but he is possessed49 of great resources. Captain Macshane, too, is a thorough blackguard; but he is one with a dash of loyalty50 about him, so that the reader can almost sympathise with him, and is tempted to say that Ikey Solomon has not quite kept his promise.
Catherine appeared in 1839 and 1840. In the latter of those years The Shabby Genteel story also came out. Then in 1841 there followed The History of Samuel Titmarsh and the Great Hoggarty Diamond, illustrated51 by Samuel's cousin, Michael Angelo. But though so announced in Fraser, there were no illustrations, and those attached to the story in later editions are not taken from sketches52 by Thackeray. This, as far as I know, was the first use of the name Titmarsh, and seems to indicate some intention on the part of the author of creating a hoax53 as to two personages,—one the writer and the other the illustrator. If it were so he must soon have dropped the idea. In the last paragraph he has shaken off his cousin Michael. The main object of the story is to expose the villany of bubble companies, and the danger they run who venture to have dealings with city matters which they do not [Pg 67]understand. I cannot but think that he altered his mind and changed his purpose while he was writing it, actuated probably by that editorial monition as to its length.
In 1842 were commenced The Confessions54 of George Fitz-Boodle, which were continued into 1843. I do not think that they attracted much attention, or that they have become peculiarly popular since. They are supposed to contain the reminiscences of a younger son, who moans over his poverty, complains of womankind generally, laughs at the world all round, and intersperses55 his pages with one or two excellent ballads56. I quote one, written for the sake of affording a parody58, with the parody along with it, because the two together give so strong an example of the condition of Thackeray's mind in regard to literary products. The "humbug59" of everything, the pretence60, the falseness of affected sentiment, the remoteness of poetical61 pathos62 from the true condition of the average minds of men and women, struck him so strongly, that he sometimes allowed himself almost to feel,—or at any rate, to say,—that poetical expression, as being above nature, must be unnatural63. He had declared to himself that all humbug was odious64, and should be by him laughed down to the extent of his capacity. His Yellowplush, his Catherine Hayes, his Fitz-Boodle, his Barry Lyndon, and Becky Sharp, with many others of this kind, were all invented and treated for this purpose and after this fashion. I shall have to say more on the same subject when I come to The Snob10 Papers. In this instance he wrote a very pretty ballad57, The Willow65 Tree,—so good that if left by itself it would create no idea of absurdity66 or extravagant67 pathos in the mind of the ordinary reader,—simply that he might render his own work absurd by his own parody.
THE WILLOW-TREE.
No. I.
Know ye the willow-tree, Whose gray leaves quiver, Whispering gloomily To yon pale river? Lady, at eventide Wander not near it! They say its branches hide A sad lost spirit!
Once to the willow-tree A maid came fearful, Pale seemed her cheek to be, Her blue eye tearful. Soon as she saw the tree, Her steps moved fleeter. No one was there--ah me!-- No one to meet her!
Quick beat her heart to hear The far bells' chime Toll68 from the chapel-tower The trysting-time. But the red sun went down In golden flame, And though she looked around, Yet no one came!
Presently came the night, Sadly to greet her,-- Moon in her silver light, Stars in their glitter. Then sank the moon away Under the billow. Still wept the maid alone-- There by the willow!
Through the long darkness, By the stream rolling, Hour after hour went on Tolling69 and tolling. Long was the darkness, Lonely and stilly. Shrill70 came the night wind, Piercing and chilly71.
Shrill blew the morning breeze, Biting and cold. Bleak72 peers the gray dawn Over the wold! Bleak over moor73 and stream Looks the gray dawn, Gray with dishevelled hair. Still stands the willow there-- The maid is gone!
Domine, Domine! Sing we a litany-- Sing for poor maiden-hearts broken and weary; Sing we a litany, Wail74 we and weep we a wild miserere!
[Pg 68]THE WILLOW-TREE.
No. II.
Long by the willow-tree Vainly they sought her, Wild rang the mother's screams O'er the gray water. "Where is my lovely one? Where is my daughter?
Rouse thee, sir constable75-- Rouse thee and look. Fisherman, bring your net, Boatman, your hook. Beat in the lily-beds, Dive in the brook76."
Vainly the constable Shouted and called her. Vainly the fisherman Beat the green alder77. Vainly he threw the net. Never it hauled her!
Mother beside the fire Sat, her night-cap in; Father in easychair, Gloomily napping; When at the window-sill Came a light tapping.
And a pale countenance78 Looked through the casement79. Loud beat the mother's heart, Sick with amazement80, And at the vision which Came to surprise her! Shrieking81 in an agony-- "Lor'! it's Elizar!"
[Pg 69]Yes, 'twas Elizabeth;-- Yes, 'twas their girl; Pale was her cheek, and her Hair out of curl. "Mother!" the loved one, Blushing, exclaimed, "Let not your innocent Lizzy be blamed.
Yesterday, going to Aunt Jones's to tea, Mother, dear mother, I Forgot the door-key! And as the night was cold, And the way steep, Mrs. Jones kept me to Breakfast and sleep."
Whether her pa and ma Fully82 believed her, That we shall never know. Stern they received her; And for the work of that Cruel, though short, night,-- Sent her to bed without Tea for a fortnight.
MORAL.
Hey diddle diddlety, Cat and the fiddlety, Maidens83 of England take caution by she! Let love and suicide Never tempt1 you aside, And always remember to take the door-key!
Mr. George Fitz-Boodle gave his name to other narratives85 beyond his own Confessions. A series of stories was carried on by him in Fraser, called Men's Wives, containing three; [Pg 70]Ravenwing, Mr. and Mrs. Frank Berry, and Dennis Hoggarty's Wife. The first chapter in Mr. and Mrs. Frank Berry describes "The Fight at Slaughter86 House." Slaughter House, as Mr. Venables reminded us in the last chapter, was near Smithfield in London,—the school which afterwards became Grey Friars; and the fight between Biggs and Berry is the record of one which took place in the flesh when Thackeray was at the Charter House. But Mr. Fitz-Boodle's name was afterwards attached to a greater work than these, to a work so great that subsequent editors have thought him to be unworthy of the honour. In the January number, 1844, of Fraser's Magazine, are commenced the Memoirs of Barry Lyndon, and the authorship is attributed to Mr. Fitz-Boodle. The title given in the magazine was The Luck of Barry Lyndon: a Romance of the last Century. By Fitz-Boodle. In the collected edition of Thackeray's works the Memoirs are given as "Written by himself," and were, I presume, so brought out by Thackeray, after they had appeared in Fraser. Why Mr. George Fitz-Boodle should have been robbed of so great an honour I do not know.
In imagination, language, construction, and general literary capacity, Thackeray never did anything more remarkable88 than Barry Lyndon. I have quoted the words which he put into the mouth of Ikey Solomon, declaring that in the story which he has there told he has created nothing but disgust for the wicked characters he has produced, and that he has "used his humble89 endeavours to cause the public also to hate them." Here, in Barry Lyndon, he has, probably unconsciously, acted in direct opposition90 to his own principles: Barry Lyndon is as great a scoundrel as the mind of man ever conceived. He is one who might have taken as his motto Satan's [Pg 71]words; "Evil, be thou my good." And yet his story is so written that it is almost impossible not to entertain something of a friendly feeling for him. He tells his own adventures as a card-sharper, bully91, and liar27; as a heartless wretch37, who had neither love nor gratitude92 in his composition; who had no sense even of loyalty; who regarded gambling93 as the highest occupation to which a man could devote himself, and fraud as always justified94 by success; a man possessed by all meannesses except cowardice95. And the reader is so carried away by his frankness and energy as almost to rejoice when he succeeds, and to grieve with him when he is brought to the ground.
The man is perfectly97 satisfied as to the reasonableness,—I might almost say, as to the rectitude,—of his own conduct throughout. He is one of a decayed Irish family, that could boast of good blood. His father had obtained possession of the remnants of the property by turning Protestant, thus ousting98 the elder brother, who later on becomes his nephew's confederate in gambling. The elder brother is true to the old religion, and as the law stood in the last century, the younger brother, by changing his religion, was able to turn him out. Barry, when a boy, learns the slang and the gait of the debauched gentlemen of the day. He is specially99 proud of being a gentleman by birth and manners. He had been kidnapped, and made to serve as a common soldier, but boasts that he was at once fit for the occasion when enabled to show as a court gentleman. "I came to it at once," he says, "and as if I had never done anything else all my life. I had a gentleman to wait upon me, a French friseur to dress my hair of a morning. I knew the taste of chocolate as by intuition almost, and could distinguish [Pg 72]between the right Spanish and the French before I had been a week in my new position. I had rings on all my fingers and watches in both my fobs, canes100, trinkets, and snuffboxes of all sorts. I had the finest natural taste for lace and china of any man I ever knew."
To dress well, to wear a sword with a grace, to carry away his plunder101 with affected indifference102, and to appear to be equally easy when he loses his last ducat, to be agreeable to women, and to look like a gentleman,—these are his accomplishments103. In one place he rises to the height of a grand professor in the art of gambling, and gives his lessons with almost a noble air. "Play grandly, honourably104. Be not of course cast down at losing; but above all, be not eager at winning, as mean souls are." And he boasts of his accomplishments with so much eloquence105 as to make the reader sure that he believes in them. He is quite pathetic over himself, and can describe with heartrending words the evils that befall him when others use against him successfully any of the arts which he practises himself.
The marvel106 of the book is not so much that the hero should evidently think well of himself, as that the author should so tell his story as to appear to be altogether on the hero's side. In Catherine, the horrors described are most truly disgusting,—so much that the story, though very clever, is not pleasant reading. The Memoirs of Barry Lyndon are very pleasant to read. There is nothing to shock or disgust. The style of narrative84 is exactly that which might be used as to the exploits of a man whom the author intended to represent as deserving of sympathy and praise,—so that the reader is almost brought to sympathise. But I should be doing an injustice107 to Thackeray if I were to leave an impression that he had [Pg 73]taught lessons tending to evil practice, such as he supposed to have been left by Jack Sheppard or Eugene Aram. No one will be tempted to undertake the life of a chevalier d'industrie by reading the book, or be made to think that cheating at cards is either an agreeable or a profitable profession. The following is excellent as a tirade108 in favour of gambling, coming from Redmond de Balibari, as he came to be called during his adventures abroad, but it will hardly persuade anyone to be a gambler;
"We always played on parole with anybody,—any person, that is, of honour and noble lineage. We never pressed for our winnings, or declined to receive promissory notes in lieu of gold. But woe109 to the man who did not pay when the note became due! Redmond de Balibari was sure to wait upon him with his bill, and I promise you there were very few bad debts. On the contrary, gentlemen were grateful to us for our forbearance, and our character for honour stood unimpeached. In latter times, a vulgar national prejudice has chosen to cast a slur110 upon the character of men of honour engaged in the profession of play; but I speak of the good old days of Europe, before the cowardice of the French aristocracy (in the shameful111 revolution, which served them right) brought discredit112 upon our order. They cry fie now upon men engaged in play; but I should like to know how much more honourable113 their modes of livelihood114 are than ours. The broker115 of the Exchange, who bulls and bears, and buys and sells, and dabbles116 with lying loans, and trades upon state-secrets,—what is he but a gamester? The merchant who deals in teas and tallow, is he any better? His bales of dirty indigo117 are his dice96, his cards come up every year instead of every ten minutes, and the sea is his [Pg 74]green-table. You call the profession of the law an honourable one, where a man will lie for any bidder;—lie down poverty for the sake of a fee from wealth; lie down right because wrong is in his brief. You call a doctor an honourable man,—a swindling quack118 who does not believe in the nostrums119 which he prescribes, and takes your guinea for whispering in your ear that it is a fine morning. And yet, forsooth, a gallant man, who sits him down before the baize and challenges all comers, his money against theirs, his fortune against theirs, is proscribed120 by your modern moral world! It is a conspiracy121 of the middle-class against gentlemen. It is only the shopkeeper cant122 which is to go down nowadays. I say that play was an institution of chivalry123. It has been wrecked125 along with other privileges of men of birth. When Seingalt engaged a man for six-and-thirty hours without leaving the table, do you think he showed no courage? How have we had the best blood and the brightest eyes too, of Europe throbbing127 round the table, as I and my uncle have held the cards and the bank against some terrible player, who was matching some thousands out of his millions against our all, which was there on the baize! When we engaged that daring Alexis Kossloffsky, and won seven thousand louis on a single coup128, had we lost we should have been beggars the next day; when he lost, he was only a village and a few hundred serfs in pawn129 the worse. When at Toeplitz the Duke of Courland brought fourteen lacqueys, each with four bags of florins, and challenged our bank to play against the sealed bags, what did we ask? 'Sir,' said we, 'we have but eighty thousand florins in bank, or two hundred thousand at three months. If your highness's bags do not contain more than eighty thousand we will meet you.' And we [Pg 75]did; and after eleven hours' play, in which our bank was at one time reduced to two hundred and three ducats, we won seventeen thousand florins of him. Is this not something like boldness? Does this profession not require skill, and perseverance130, and bravery? Four crowned heads looked on at the game, and an imperial princess, when I turned up the ace4 of hearts and made Paroli, burst into tears. No man on the European Continent held a higher position than Redmond Barry then; and when the Duke of Courland lost he was pleased to say that we had won nobly. And so we had, and spent nobly what we won." This is very grand, and is put as an eloquent131 man would put it who really wished to defend gambling.
The rascal43, of course, comes to a miserable132 end, but the tone of the narrative is continued throughout. He is brought to live at last with his old mother in the Fleet prison, on a wretched annuity133 of fifty pounds per annum, which she has saved out of the general wreck124, and there he dies of delirium134 tremens. For an assumed tone of continued irony135, maintained through the long memoir of a life, never becoming tedious, never unnatural, astounding136 us rather by its naturalness, I know nothing equal to Barry Lyndon.
As one reads, one sometimes is struck by a conviction that this or the other writer has thoroughly137 liked the work on which he is engaged. There is a gusto about his passages, a liveliness in the language, a spring in the motion of the words, an eagerness of description, a lilt, if I may so call it, in the progress of the narrative, which makes the reader feel that the author has himself greatly enjoyed what he has written. He has evidently gone on with his work without any sense of weariness, or doubt; [Pg 76]and the words have come readily to him. So it has been with Barry Lyndon. "My mind was filled full with those blackguards," Thackeray once said to a friend. It is easy enough to see that it was so. In the passage which I have above quoted, his mind was running over with the idea that a rascal might be so far gone in rascality as to be in love with his own trade.
This was the last of Thackeray's long stories in Fraser. I have given by no means a complete catalogue of his contributions to the magazine, but I have perhaps mentioned those which are best known. There were many short pieces which have now been collected in his works, such as Little Travels and Roadside Sketches, and the Carmen Lilliense, in which the poet is supposed to be detained at Lille by want of money. There are others which I think are not to be found in the collected works, such as a Box of Novels by Titmarsh, and Titmarsh in the Picture Galleries. After the name of Titmarsh had been once assumed it was generally used in the papers which he sent to Fraser.
Thackeray's connection with Punch began in 1843, and, as far as I can learn, Miss Tickletoby's Lectures on English History was his first contribution. They, however, have not been found worthy87 of a place in the collected edition. His short pieces during a long period of his life were so numerous that to have brought them all together would have weighted his more important works with too great an amount of extraneous138 matter. The same lady, Miss Tickletoby, gave a series of lectures. There was The History of the next French Revolution, and The Wanderings of our Fat Contributor,—the first of which is, and the latter is not, perpetuated139 in his works. Our old friend Jeames Yellowplush, or De la Pluche,—for [Pg 77]we cannot for a moment doubt that he is the same Jeames,—is very prolific140, and as excellent in his orthography141, his sense, and satire, as ever. These papers began with The Lucky Speculator. He lives in The Albany; he hires a brougham; and is devoted142 to Miss Emily Flimsey, the daughter of Sir George, who had been his master,—to the great injury of poor Maryanne, the fellow-servant who had loved him in his kitchen days. Then there follows that wonderful ballad, Jeames of Backley Square. Upon this he writes an angry letter to Punch, dated from his chambers143 in The Albany; "Has a reglar suscriber to your amusing paper, I beg leaf to state that I should never have done so had I supposed that it was your 'abbit to igspose the mistaries of privit life, and to hinger the delligit feelings of umble individyouls like myself." He writes in his own defence, both as to Maryanne and to the share-dealing by which he had made his fortune; and he ends with declaring his right to the position which he holds. "You are corrict in stating that I am of hancient Normin fam'ly. This is more than Peal144 can say, to whomb I applied145 for a barnetcy; but the primmier being of low igstraction, natrally stikles for his horder." And the letter is signed "Fitzjames De la Pluche." Then follows his diary, beginning with a description of the way in which he rushed into Punch's office, declaring his misfortunes, when losses had come upon him. "I wish to be paid for my contribewtions to your paper. Suckmstances is altered with me." Whereupon he gets a cheque upon Messrs. Pump and Aldgate, and has himself carried away to new speculations146. He leaves his diary behind him, and Punch surreptitiously publishes it. There is much in the diary which comes from Thackeray's very heart. Who does not remember his indignation against [Pg 78]Lord Bareacres? "I gave the old humbug a few shares out of my own pocket. 'There, old Pride,' says I, 'I like to see you down on your knees to a footman. There, old Pomposity147! Take fifty pounds. I like to see you come cringing148 and begging for it!' Whenever I see him in a very public place, I take my change for my money. I digg him in the ribbs, or clap his padded old shoulders. I call him 'Bareacres, my old brick,' and I see him wince149. It does my 'art good." It does Thackeray's heart good to pour himself out in indignation against some imaginary Bareacres. He blows off his steam with such an eagerness that he forgets for a time, or nearly forgets, his cacography. Then there are "Jeames on Time Bargings," "Jeames on the Gauge150 Question," "Mr. Jeames again." Of all our author's heroes Jeames is perhaps the most amusing. There is not much in that joke of bad spelling, and we should have been inclined to say beforehand, that Mrs. Malaprop had done it so well and so sufficiently151, that no repetition of it would be received with great favour. Like other dishes, it depends upon the cooking. Jeames, with his "suckmstances," high or low, will be immortal152.
There were The Travels in London, a long series of them; and then Punch's Prize Novelists, in which Thackeray imitates the language and plots of Bulwer, Disraeli, Charles Lever, G. P. R. James, Mrs. Gore153, and Cooper, the American. They are all excellent; perhaps Codlingsby is the best. Mendoza, when he is fighting with the bargeman, or drinking with Codlingsby, or receiving Louis Philippe in his rooms, seems to have come direct from the pen of our Premier154. Phil Fogerty's jump, and the younger and the elder horsemen, as they come riding into the story, one in his armour155 and the other with his feathers, have the very savour and tone of Lever and [Pg 79]James; but then the savour and the tone are not so piquant156. I know nothing in the way of imitation to equal Codlingsby, if it be not The Tale of Drury Lane, by W. S. in the Rejected Addresses, of which it is said that Walter Scott declared that he must have written it himself. The scene between Dr. Franklin, Louis XVI., Marie Antoinette, and Tatua, the chief of the Nose-rings, as told in The Stars and Stripes, is perfect in its way, but it fails as being a caricature of Cooper. The caricaturist has been carried away beyond and above his model, by his own sense of fun.
Of the ballads which appeared in Punch I will speak elsewhere, as I must give a separate short chapter to our author's power of versification; but I must say a word of The Snob Papers, which were at the time the most popular and the best known of all Thackeray's contributions to Punch. I think that perhaps they were more charming, more piquant, more apparently157 true, when they came out one after another in the periodical, than they are now as collected together. I think that one at a time would be better than many. And I think that the first half in the long list of snobs158 would have been more manifestly snobs to us than they are now with the second half of the list appended. In fact, there are too many of them, till the reader is driven to tell himself that the meaning of it all is that Adam's family is from first to last a family of snobs. "First," says Thackeray, in preface, "the world was made; then, as a matter of course, snobs; they existed for years and years, and were no more known than America. But presently,—ingens patebat tellus,—the people became darkly aware that there was such a race. Not above five-and-twenty years since, a name, an expressive159 monosyllable, arose to designate that case. That [Pg 80]name has spread over England like railroads subsequently; snobs are known and recognised throughout an empire on which I am given to understand the sun never sets. Punch appears at the right season to chronicle their history; and the individual comes forth160 to write that history in Punch.
"I have,—and for this gift I congratulate myself with a deep and abiding161 thankfulness,—an eye for a snob. If the truthful162 is the beautiful, it is beautiful to study even the snobbish163;—to track snobs through history as certain little dogs in Hampshire hunt out truffles; to sink shafts164 in society, and come upon rich veins165 of snob-ore. Snobbishness166 is like Death, in a quotation167 from Horace, which I hope you never heard, 'beating with equal foot at poor men's doors, and kicking at the gates of emperors.' It is a great mistake to judge of snobs lightly, and think they exist among the lower classes merely. An immense percentage of snobs, I believe, is to be found in every rank of this mortal life. You must not judge hastily or vulgarly of snobs; to do so shows that you are yourself a snob. I myself have been taken for one."
The state of Thackeray's mind when he commenced his delineations of snobbery169 is here accurately170 depicted171. Written, as these papers were, for Punch, and written, as they were, by Thackeray, it was a necessity that every idea put forth should be given as a joke, and that the satire on society in general should be wrapped up in burlesque172 absurdity. But not the less eager and serious was his intention. When he tells us, at the end of the first chapter, of a certain Colonel Snobley, whom he met at "Bagnigge Wells," as he says, and with whom he was so disgusted that he determined173 to drive the man out of the house, we are well aware that he had met an [Pg 81]offensive military gentleman,—probably at Tunbridge. Gentlemen thus offensive, even though tamely offensive, were peculiarly offensive to him. We presume, by what follows, that this gentleman, ignorantly,—for himself most unfortunately,—spoke of Public[=o]la. Thackeray was disgusted,—disgusted that such a name should be lugged174 into ordinary conversation at all, and then that a man should talk about a name with which he was so little acquainted as not to know how to pronounce it. The man was therefore a snob, and ought to be put down; in all which I think that Thackeray was unnecessarily hard on the man, and gave him too much importance.
So it was with him in his whole intercourse175 with snobs,—as he calls them. He saw something that was distasteful, and a man instantly became a snob in his estimation. "But you can draw," a man once said to him, there having been some discussion on the subject of Thackeray's art powers. The man meant no doubt to be civil, but meant also to imply that for the purpose needed the drawing was good enough, a matter on which he was competent to form an opinion. Thackeray instantly put the man down as a snob for flattering him. The little courtesies of the world and the little discourtesies became snobbish to him. A man could not wear his hat, or carry his umbrella, or mount his horse, without falling into some error of snobbism before his hypercritical eyes. St. Michael would have carried his armour amiss, and St. Cecilia have been snobbish as she twanged her harp17.
I fancy that a policeman considers that every man in the street would be properly "run in," if only all the truth about the man had been known. The tinker thinks that every pot is unsound. The cobbler doubts the [Pg 82]stability of every shoe. So at last it grew to be the case with Thackeray. There was more hope that the city should be saved because of its ten just men, than for society, if society were to depend on ten who were not snobs. All this arose from the keenness of his vision into that which was really mean. But that keenness became so aggravated176 by the intenseness of his search that the slightest speck177 of dust became to his eyes as a foul178 stain. Public[=o]la, as we saw, damned one poor man to a wretched immortality179, and another was called pitilessly over the coals, because he had mixed a grain of flattery with a bushel of truth. Thackeray tells us that he was born to hunt out snobs, as certain dogs are trained to find truffles. But we can imagine that a dog, very energetic at producing truffles, and not finding them as plentiful180 as his heart desired, might occasionally produce roots which were not genuine,—might be carried on in his energies till to his senses every fungus-root became a truffle. I think that there has been something of this with our author's snob-hunting, and that his zeal181 was at last greater than his discrimination.
The nature of the task which came upon him made this fault almost unavoidable. When a hit is made, say with a piece at a theatre, or with a set of illustrations, or with a series of papers on this or the other subject,—when something of this kind has suited the taste of the moment, and gratified the public, there is a natural inclination182 on the part of those who are interested to continue that which has been found to be good. It pays and it pleases, and it seems to suit everybody. Then it is continued usque ad nauseam. We see it in everything. When the king said he liked partridges, partridges were served to him every day. The world was pleased with certain [Pg 83]ridiculous portraits of its big men. The big men were soon used up, and the little men had to be added.
We can imagine that even Punch may occasionally be at a loss for subjects wherewith to delight its readers. In fact, The Snob Papers were too good to be brought to an end, and therefore there were forty-five of them. A dozen would have been better. As he himself says in his last paper, "for a mortal year we have been together flattering and abusing the human race." It was exactly that. Of course we know,—everybody always knows,—that a bad specimen183 of his order may be found in every division of society. There may be a snob king, a snob parson, a snob member of parliament, a snob grocer, tailor, goldsmith, and the like. But that is not what has been meant. We did not want a special satirist to tell us what we all knew before. Had snobbishness been divided for us into its various attributes and characteristics, rather than attributed to various classes, the end sought,—the exposure, namely, of the evil,—would have been better attained184. The snobbishness of flattery, of falsehood, of cowardice, lying, time-serving, money-worship, would have been perhaps attacked to a better purpose than that of kings, priests, soldiers, merchants, or men of letters. The assault as made by Thackeray seems to have been made on the profession generally.
The paper on clerical snobs is intended to be essentially185 generous, and is ended by an allusion186 to certain old clerical friends which has a sweet tone of tenderness in it. "How should he who knows you, not respect you or your calling? May this pen never write a pennyworth again if it ever casts ridicule187 upon either." But in the meantime he has thrown his stone at the covetousness188 of bishops189, because of certain Irish prelates who died rich many years before [Pg 84]he wrote. The insinuation is that bishops generally take more of the loaves and fishes than they ought, whereas the fact is that bishops' incomes are generally so insufficient191 for the requirements demanded of them, that a feeling prevails that a clergyman to be fit for a bishopric should have a private income. He attacks the snobbishness of the universities, showing us how one class of young men consists of fellow-commoners, who wear lace and drink wine with their meals, and another class consists of sizars, or servitors, who wear badges, as being poor, and are never allowed to take their food with their fellow-students. That arrangements fit for past times are not fit for these is true enough. Consequently they should gradually be changed; and from day to day are changed. But there is no snobbishness in this. Was the fellow-commoner a snob when he acted in accordance with the custom of his rank and standing192? or the sizar who accepted aid in achieving that education which he could not have got without it? or the tutor of the college, who carried out the rules entrusted193 to him? There are two military snobs, Rag and Famish. One is a swindler and the other a debauched young idiot. No doubt they are both snobs, and one has been, while the other is, an officer. But there is,—I think, not an unfairness so much as an absence of intuition,—in attaching to soldiers especially two vices194 to which all classes are open. Rag was a gambling snob, and Famish a drunken snob,—but they were not specially military snobs. There is a chapter devoted to dinner-giving snobs, in which I think the doctrine195 laid down will not hold water, and therefore that the snobbism imputed196 is not proved. "Your usual style of meal," says the satirist—"that is plenteous, comfortable, and in its perfection,—should be that to which you welcome your [Pg 85]friends." Then there is something said about the "Brummagem plate pomp," and we are told that it is right that dukes should give grand dinners, but that we,—of the middle class,—should entertain our friends with the simplicity197 which is customary with us. In all this there is, I think, a mistake. The duke gives a grand dinner because he thinks his friends will like it, sitting down when alone with the duchess, we may suppose, with a retinue198 and grandeur199 less than that which is arrayed for gala occasions. So is it with Mr. Jones, who is no snob because he provides a costly200 dinner,—if he can afford it. He does it because he thinks his friends will like it. It may be that the grand dinner is a bore,—and that the leg of mutton with plenty of gravy201 and potatoes all hot, would be nicer. I generally prefer the leg of mutton myself. But I do not think that snobbery is involved in the other. A man, no doubt, may be a snob in giving a dinner. I am not a snob because for the occasion I eke202 out my own dozen silver forks with plated ware34; but if I make believe that my plated ware is true silver, then I am a snob.
In that matter of association with our betters,—we will for the moment presume that gentlemen and ladies with titles or great wealth are our betters,—great and delicate questions arise as to what is snobbery, and what is not, in speaking of which Thackeray becomes very indignant, and explains the intensity203 of his feelings as thoroughly by a charming little picture as by his words. It is a picture of Queen Elizabeth as she is about to trample204 with disdain205 on the coat which that snob Raleigh is throwing for her use on the mud before her. This is intended to typify the low parasite206 nature of the Englishman which has been described in the previous page or two. "And of these calm moralists,"—it matters not for our present purpose [Pg 86]who were the moralists in question,—"is there one I wonder whose heart would not throb126 with pleasure if he could be seen walking arm-in-arm with a couple of dukes down Pall207 Mall? No; it is impossible, in our condition of society, not to be sometimes a snob." And again: "How should it be otherwise in a country where lordolatry is part of our creed208, and where our children are brought up to respect the 'Peerage' as the Englishman's second Bible." Then follows the wonderfully graphic209 picture of Queen Elizabeth and Raleigh.
In all this Thackeray has been carried away from the truth by his hatred210 for a certain meanness of which there are no doubt examples enough. As for Raleigh, I think we have always sympathised with the young man, instead of despising him, because he felt on the impulse of the moment that nothing was too good for the woman and the queen combined. The idea of getting something in return for his coat could hardly have come so quick to him as that impulse in favour of royalty211 and womanhood. If one of us to-day should see the queen passing, would he not raise his hat, and assume, unconsciously, something of an altered demeanour because of his reverence212 for majesty213? In doing so he would have no mean desire of getting anything. The throne and its occupant are to him honourable, and he honours them. There is surely no greater mistake than to suppose that reverence is snobbishness. I meet a great man in the street, and some chance having brought me to his knowledge, he stops and says a word to me. Am I a snob because I feel myself to be graced by his notice? Surely not. And if his acquaintance goes further and he asks me to dinner, am I not entitled so far to think well of myself because I have been found worthy of his society?
[Pg 87]
They who have raised themselves in the world, and they, too, whose position has enabled them to receive all that estimation can give, all that society can furnish, all that intercourse with the great can give, are more likely to be pleasant companions than they who have been less fortunate. That picture of two companion dukes in Pall Mall is too gorgeous for human eye to endure. A man would be scorched214 to cinders215 by so much light, as he would be crushed by a sack of sovereigns even though he might be allowed to have them if he could carry them away. But there can be no doubt that a peer taken at random216 as a companion would be preferable to a clerk from a counting-house,—taken at random. The clerk might turn out a scholar on your hands, and the peer no better than a poor spendthrift;—but the chances are the other way.
A tufthunter is a snob, a parasite is a snob, the man who allows the manhood within him to be awed21 by a coronet is a snob. The man who worships mere168 wealth is a snob. But so also is he who, in fear lest he should be called a snob, is afraid to seek the acquaintance,—or if it come to speak of the acquaintance,—of those whose acquaintance is manifestly desirable. In all this I feel that Thackeray was carried beyond the truth by his intense desire to put down what is mean.
It is in truth well for us all to know what constitutes snobbism, and I think that Thackeray, had he not been driven to dilution217 and dilatation, could have told us. If you will keep your hands from picking and stealing, and your tongue from evil speaking, lying, and slandering218, you will not be a snob. The lesson seems to be simple, and perhaps a little trite219, but if you look into it, it will be found to contain nearly all that is necessary.
[Pg 88]
But the excellence220 of each individual picture as it is drawn221 is not the less striking because there may be found some fault with the series as a whole. What can excel the telling of the story of Captain Shindy at his club,—which is, I must own, as true as it is graphic. Captain Shindy is a real snob. "'Look at it, sir; is it cooked? Smell it, sir. Is it meat fit for a gentleman?' he roars out to the steward222, who stands trembling before him, and who in vain tells him that the Bishop190 of Bullocksmithy has just had three from the same loin." The telling as regards Captain Shindy is excellent, but the sidelong attack upon the episcopate is cruel. "All the waiters in the club are huddled223 round the captain's mutton-chop. He roars out the most horrible curses at John for not bringing the pickles224. He utters the most dreadful oaths because Thomas has not arrived with the Harvey sauce. Peter comes tumbling with the water-jug over Jeames, who is bringing the 'glittering canisters with bread.'
"Poor Mrs. Shindy and the children are, meanwhile, in dingy225 lodgings226 somewhere, waited upon by a charity girl in pattens."
The visit to Castle Carabas, and the housekeeper227's description of the wonders of the family mansion228, is as good. "'The Side Entrance and 'All,' says the housekeeper. 'The halligator hover229 the mantelpiece was brought home by Hadmiral St. Michaels, when a capting with Lord Hanson. The harms on the cheers is the harms of the Carabas family. The great 'all is seventy feet in lenth, fifty-six in breath, and thirty-eight feet 'igh. The carvings230 of the chimlies, representing the [Pg 89]buth of Venus and 'Ercules and 'Eyelash, is by Van Chislum, the most famous sculpture of his hage and country. The ceiling, by Calimanco, represents Painting, Harchitecture, and Music,—the naked female figure with the barrel-organ,—introducing George, first Lord Carabas, to the Temple of the Muses231. The winder ornaments232 is by Vanderputty. The floor is Patagonian marble; and the chandelier in the centre was presented to Lionel, second marquis, by Lewy the Sixteenth, whose 'ead was cut hoff in the French Revolution. We now henter the South Gallery," etc. etc. All of which is very good fun, with a dash of truth in it also as to the snobbery;—only in this it will be necessary to be quite sure where the snobbery lies. If my Lord Carabas has a "buth of Venus," beautiful for all eyes to see, there is no snobbery, only good-nature, in the showing it; nor is there snobbery in going to see it, if a beautiful "buth of Venus" has charms for you. If you merely want to see the inside of a lord's house, and the lord is puffed233 up with the pride of showing his, then there will be two snobs.
Of all those papers it may be said that each has that quality of a pearl about it which in the previous chapter I endeavoured to explain. In each some little point is made in excellent language, so as to charm by its neatness, incision234, and drollery. But The Snob Papers had better be read separately, and not taken in the lump.
Thackeray ceased to write for Punch in 1852, either entirely235 or almost so.
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tempt
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| vt.引诱，勾引，吸引，引起…的兴趣 | |
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redoubtable
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| adj.可敬的；可怕的 | |
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symposium
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| n.讨论会，专题报告会；专题论文集 | |
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ace
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| n.A牌；发球得分；佼佼者；adj.杰出的 | |
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pretension
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| n.要求；自命，自称；自负 | |
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anatomy
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| n.解剖学，解剖；功能，结构，组织 | |
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maxims
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| n.格言，座右铭( maxim的名词复数 ) | |
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etiquette
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| n.礼仪，礼节；规矩 | |
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invaluable
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| adj.无价的，非常宝贵的，极为贵重的 | |
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snob
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| n.势利小人，自以为高雅、有学问的人 | |
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snobbism
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| 势利 | |
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satire
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| n.讽刺，讽刺文学，讽刺作品 | |
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virtue
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| n.德行，美德；贞操；优点；功效，效力 | |
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memoir
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| n.[pl.]回忆录，自传；记事录 | |
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drollery
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| n.开玩笑，说笑话；滑稽可笑的图画（或故事、小戏等） | |
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memoirs
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| n.回忆录；回忆录传( mem,自oir的名词复数) | |
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harp
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| n.竖琴；天琴座 | |
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tempted
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| v.怂恿（某人）干不正当的事；冒…的险（tempt的过去分词） | |
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absurdities
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| n.极端无理性( absurdity的名词复数 )；荒谬；谬论；荒谬的行为 | |
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satirist
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| n.讽刺诗作者，讽刺家，爱挖苦别人的人 | |
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awed
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| adj.充满敬畏的，表示敬畏的v.使敬畏，使惊惧( awe的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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dissuade
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| v.劝阻，阻止 | |
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affected
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| adj.不自然的，假装的 | |
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glistening
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| adj.闪耀的，反光的v.湿物闪耀，闪亮( glisten的现在分词 ) | |
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eminence
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| n.卓越，显赫；高地，高处；名家 | |
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fathomed
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| 理解…的真意( fathom的过去式和过去分词 )； 彻底了解； 弄清真相 | |
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liar
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| n.说谎的人 | |
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initiation
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| n.开始 | |
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misery
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| n.痛苦，苦恼，苦难；悲惨的境遇，贫苦 | |
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initiated
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| n. 创始人 adj. 新加入的 vt. 开始，创始，启蒙，介绍加入 | |
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shunned
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| v.避开，回避，避免( shun的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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descends
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| v.下来( descend的第三人称单数 )；下去；下降；下斜 | |
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fatten
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| v.使肥，变肥 | |
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ware
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| n.(常用复数)商品，货物 | |
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neophyte
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| n.新信徒；开始者 | |
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vein
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| n.血管，静脉；叶脉，纹理；情绪；vt.使成脉络 | |
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wretch
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| n.可怜的人，不幸的人；卑鄙的人 | |
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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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humbly
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| adv. 恭顺地，谦卑地 | |
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vice
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| n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的 | |
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admiration
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| n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕 | |
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bosom
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| n.胸，胸部；胸怀；内心；adj.亲密的 | |
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rascal
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| n.流氓；不诚实的人 | |
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rascality
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| 流氓性，流氓集团 | |
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deviate
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| v.(from)背离，偏离 | |
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intelligible
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| adj.可理解的，明白易懂的，清楚的 | |
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adorn
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| vt.使美化，装饰 | |
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gallant
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| adj.英勇的，豪侠的；(向女人)献殷勤的 | |
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possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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loyalty
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| n.忠诚，忠心 | |
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illustrated
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| adj. 有插图的，列举的 动词illustrate的过去式和过去分词 | |
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sketches
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| n.草图( sketch的名词复数 )；素描；速写；梗概 | |
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hoax
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| v.欺骗，哄骗，愚弄；n.愚弄人，恶作剧 | |
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confessions
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| n.承认( confession的名词复数 )；自首；声明；（向神父的）忏悔 | |
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intersperses
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| v.散布，散置( intersperse的第三人称单数 )；点缀 | |
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ballads
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| 民歌，民谣，特别指叙述故事的歌( ballad的名词复数 )； 讴 | |
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ballad
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| n.歌谣，民谣，流行爱情歌曲 | |
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parody
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| n.打油诗文，诙谐的改编诗文，拙劣的模仿；v.拙劣模仿，作模仿诗文 | |
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humbug
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| n.花招，谎话，欺骗 | |
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pretence
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| n.假装，作假；借口，口实；虚伪；虚饰 | |
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poetical
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| adj.似诗人的；诗一般的；韵文的；富有诗意的 | |
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pathos
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| n.哀婉，悲怆 | |
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unnatural
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| adj.不自然的；反常的 | |
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odious
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| adj.可憎的，讨厌的 | |
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willow
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| n.柳树 | |
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absurdity
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| n.荒谬，愚蠢；谬论 | |
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extravagant
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| adj.奢侈的；过分的；(言行等)放肆的 | |
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68
toll
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| n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟) | |
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69
tolling
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| [财]来料加工 | |
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70
shrill
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| adj.尖声的；刺耳的；v尖叫 | |
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71
chilly
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| adj.凉快的，寒冷的 | |
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72
bleak
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| adj.(天气)阴冷的；凄凉的；暗淡的 | |
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73
moor
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| n.荒野，沼泽；vt.(使)停泊；vi.停泊 | |
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74
wail
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| vt./vi.大声哀号，恸哭；呼啸，尖啸 | |
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75
constable
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| n.(英国)警察，警官 | |
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76
brook
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| n.小河，溪；v.忍受，容让 | |
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77
alder
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| n.赤杨树 | |
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78
countenance
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| n.脸色，面容；面部表情；vt.支持，赞同 | |
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79
casement
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| n.竖铰链窗；窗扉 | |
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80
amazement
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| n.惊奇，惊讶 | |
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81
shrieking
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| v.尖叫( shriek的现在分词 ) | |
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82
fully
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| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
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83
maidens
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| 处女( maiden的名词复数 )； 少女； 未婚女子； （板球运动）未得分的一轮投球 | |
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84
narrative
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| n.叙述，故事；adj.叙事的，故事体的 | |
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85
narratives
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| 记叙文( narrative的名词复数 )； 故事； 叙述； 叙述部分 | |
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86
slaughter
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|
| n.屠杀，屠宰；vt.屠杀，宰杀 | |
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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
remarkable
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|
| adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的 | |
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89
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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90
opposition
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| n.反对，敌对 | |
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91
bully
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|
| n.恃强欺弱者，小流氓；vt.威胁，欺侮 | |
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92
gratitude
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| adj.感激，感谢 | |
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93
gambling
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| n.赌博；投机 | |
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94
justified
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| a.正当的，有理的 | |
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95
cowardice
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|
| n.胆小，怯懦 | |
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96
dice
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|
| n.骰子；vt.把（食物）切成小方块，冒险 | |
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97
perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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98
ousting
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| 驱逐( oust的现在分词 )； 革职； 罢黜； 剥夺 | |
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99
specially
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| adv.特定地；特殊地；明确地 | |
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100
canes
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| n.（某些植物，如竹或甘蔗的）茎( cane的名词复数 )；（用于制作家具等的）竹竿；竹杖 | |
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101
plunder
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| vt.劫掠财物，掠夺；n.劫掠物，赃物；劫掠 | |
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102
indifference
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| n.不感兴趣，不关心，冷淡，不在乎 | |
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103
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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104
honourably
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| adv.可尊敬地，光荣地，体面地 | |
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105
eloquence
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| n.雄辩；口才，修辞 | |
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106
marvel
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|
| vi.(at)惊叹vt.感到惊异；n.令人惊异的事 | |
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107
injustice
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| n.非正义，不公正，不公平，侵犯（别人的）权利 | |
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108
tirade
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| n.冗长的攻击性演说 | |
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109
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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110
slur
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| v.含糊地说；诋毁；连唱；n.诋毁；含糊的发音 | |
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111
shameful
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| adj.可耻的，不道德的 | |
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112
discredit
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| vt.使不可置信；n.丧失信义；不信，怀疑 | |
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113
honourable
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| adj.可敬的；荣誉的，光荣的 | |
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114
livelihood
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| n.生计，谋生之道 | |
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115
broker
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| n.中间人，经纪人；v.作为中间人来安排 | |
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116
dabbles
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| v.涉猎( dabble的第三人称单数 )；涉足；浅尝；少量投资 | |
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117
indigo
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| n.靛青，靛蓝 | |
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118
quack
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| n.庸医；江湖医生；冒充内行的人；骗子 | |
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119
nostrums
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| n.骗人的疗法，有专利权的药品( nostrum的名词复数 )；妙策 | |
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120
proscribed
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| v.正式宣布（某事物）有危险或被禁止( proscribe的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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121
conspiracy
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| n.阴谋，密谋，共谋 | |
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122
cant
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| n.斜穿，黑话，猛扔 | |
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123
chivalry
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| n.骑士气概，侠义；（男人）对女人彬彬有礼，献殷勤 | |
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124
wreck
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| n.失事，遇难；沉船；vt.(船等)失事，遇难 | |
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125
wrecked
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| adj.失事的，遇难的 | |
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126
throb
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| v.震颤，颤动；(急速强烈地)跳动，搏动 | |
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127
throbbing
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| a. 跳动的,悸动的 | |
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128
coup
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| n.政变；突然而成功的行动 | |
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129
pawn
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| n.典当，抵押，小人物，走卒；v.典当，抵押 | |
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130
perseverance
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| n.坚持不懈，不屈不挠 | |
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131
eloquent
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|
| adj.雄辩的，口才流利的；明白显示出的 | |
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132
miserable
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|
| adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的 | |
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133
annuity
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| n.年金；养老金 | |
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134
delirium
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| n. 神智昏迷,说胡话;极度兴奋 | |
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135
irony
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| n.反语，冷嘲；具有讽刺意味的事，嘲弄 | |
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136
astounding
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| adj.使人震惊的vt.使震惊，使大吃一惊astound的现在分词) | |
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137
thoroughly
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|
| adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地 | |
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138
extraneous
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| adj.体外的；外来的；外部的 | |
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139
perpetuated
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| vt.使永存（perpetuate的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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140
prolific
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| adj.丰富的，大量的；多产的，富有创造力的 | |
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141
orthography
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| n.拼字法，拼字式 | |
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142
devoted
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| adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的 | |
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143
chambers
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| n.房间( chamber的名词复数 )；（议会的）议院；卧室；会议厅 | |
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144
peal
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| n.钟声；v.鸣响 | |
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145
applied
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| adj.应用的；v.应用，适用 | |
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146
speculations
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| n.投机买卖( speculation的名词复数 )；思考；投机活动；推断 | |
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147
pomposity
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| n.浮华；虚夸；炫耀；自负 | |
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148
cringing
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| adj.谄媚，奉承 | |
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149
wince
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| n.畏缩，退避，（因痛苦，苦恼等)面部肌肉抽动；v.畏缩，退缩，退避 | |
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150
gauge
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|
| v.精确计量；估计；n.标准度量；计量器 | |
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151
sufficiently
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| adv.足够地，充分地 | |
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152
immortal
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| adj.不朽的；永生的，不死的；神的 | |
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153
gore
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| n.凝血，血污；v.（动物）用角撞伤，用牙刺破；缝以补裆；顶 | |
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154
premier
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| adj.首要的；n.总理，首相 | |
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155
armour
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| （=armor）n.盔甲；装甲部队 | |
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156
piquant
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| adj.辛辣的，开胃的，令人兴奋的 | |
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157
apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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158
snobs
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| （谄上傲下的）势利小人( snob的名词复数 )； 自高自大者，自命不凡者 | |
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159
expressive
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| adj.表现的，表达…的，富于表情的 | |
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160
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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161
abiding
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| adj.永久的，持久的，不变的 | |
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162
truthful
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| adj.真实的，说实话的，诚实的 | |
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163
snobbish
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| adj.势利的，谄上欺下的 | |
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164
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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165
veins
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| n.纹理；矿脉( vein的名词复数 )；静脉；叶脉；纹理 | |
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166
snobbishness
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| 势利； 势利眼 | |
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167
quotation
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| n.引文，引语，语录；报价，牌价，行情 | |
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168
mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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169
snobbery
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| n. 充绅士气派, 俗不可耐的性格 | |
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170
accurately
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| adv.准确地，精确地 | |
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171
depicted
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| 描绘，描画( depict的过去式和过去分词 )； 描述 | |
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172
burlesque
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| v.嘲弄，戏仿；n.嘲弄，取笑，滑稽模仿 | |
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173
determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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174
lugged
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| vt.用力拖拉（lug的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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175
intercourse
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| n.性交；交流，交往，交际 | |
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176
aggravated
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| 使恶化( aggravate的过去式和过去分词 )； 使更严重； 激怒； 使恼火 | |
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177
speck
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| n.微粒，小污点，小斑点 | |
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178
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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179
immortality
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| n.不死，不朽 | |
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180
plentiful
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| adj.富裕的，丰富的 | |
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181
zeal
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| n.热心，热情，热忱 | |
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182
inclination
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| n.倾斜；点头；弯腰；斜坡；倾度；倾向；爱好 | |
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183
specimen
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| n.样本，标本 | |
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184
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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185
essentially
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| adv.本质上，实质上，基本上 | |
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186
allusion
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| n.暗示，间接提示 | |
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187
ridicule
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| v.讥讽，挖苦；n.嘲弄 | |
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188
covetousness
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189
bishops
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| （基督教某些教派管辖大教区的）主教( bishop的名词复数 )； （国际象棋的）象 | |
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190
bishop
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| n.主教，（国际象棋）象 | |
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191
insufficient
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| adj.(for，of)不足的，不够的 | |
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192
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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193
entrusted
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| v.委托，托付( entrust的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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194
vices
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| 缺陷( vice的名词复数 )； 恶习； 不道德行为； 台钳 | |
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195
doctrine
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| n.教义；主义；学说 | |
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196
imputed
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| v.把（错误等）归咎于( impute的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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197
simplicity
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| n.简单，简易；朴素；直率，单纯 | |
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198
retinue
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| n.侍从；随员 | |
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199
grandeur
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| n.伟大，崇高，宏伟，庄严，豪华 | |
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200
costly
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| adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的 | |
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201
gravy
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| n.肉汁；轻易得来的钱，外快 | |
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202
eke
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| v.勉强度日，节约使用 | |
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203
intensity
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| n.强烈，剧烈；强度；烈度 | |
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204
trample
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| vt.踩，践踏；无视，伤害，侵犯 | |
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205
disdain
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| n.鄙视，轻视；v.轻视，鄙视，不屑 | |
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206
parasite
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| n.寄生虫；寄生菌；食客 | |
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207
pall
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| v.覆盖，使平淡无味；n.柩衣，棺罩；棺材；帷幕 | |
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208
creed
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| n.信条；信念，纲领 | |
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209
graphic
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| adj.生动的，形象的，绘画的，文字的，图表的 | |
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210
hatred
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| n.憎恶，憎恨，仇恨 | |
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211
royalty
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| n.皇家，皇族 | |
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212
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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213
majesty
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| n.雄伟，壮丽，庄严，威严；最高权威，王权 | |
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214
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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215
cinders
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| n.煤渣( cinder的名词复数 )；炭渣；煤渣路；煤渣跑道 | |
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216
random
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| adj.随机的；任意的；n.偶然的(或随便的)行动 | |
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217
dilution
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| n.稀释，淡化 | |
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218
slandering
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| [法]口头诽谤行为 | |
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219
trite
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| adj.陈腐的 | |
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220
excellence
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| n.优秀，杰出，(pl.)优点，美德 | |
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221
drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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222
steward
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| n.乘务员，服务员；看管人；膳食管理员 | |
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223
huddled
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| 挤在一起（huddle的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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224
pickles
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| n.腌菜( pickle的名词复数 )；处于困境；遇到麻烦；菜酱 | |
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225
dingy
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| adj.昏暗的，肮脏的 | |
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226
lodgings
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| n. 出租的房舍, 寄宿舍 | |
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227
housekeeper
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| n.管理家务的主妇，女管家 | |
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228
mansion
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| n.大厦，大楼；宅第 | |
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229
hover
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| vi.翱翔，盘旋；徘徊；彷徨，犹豫 | |
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230
carvings
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| n.雕刻( carving的名词复数 )；雕刻术；雕刻品；雕刻物 | |
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231
muses
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| v.沉思，冥想( muse的第三人称单数 )；沉思自语说（某事） | |
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232
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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233
puffed
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| adj.疏松的v.使喷出( puff的过去式和过去分词 )；喷着汽（或烟）移动；吹嘘；吹捧 | |
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234
incision
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| n．切口，切开 | |
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235
entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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