“See,” said she, as she set down the box, “I have kept my word. So long as you behave, you shall find me disposed to treat you well. I know that you have been quiet all night, and, therefore, we shall try you for to-day with your hands unmuffled. But mind!” added the old woman with a fearful expression of eye, “if you should change for the worse, there are worse punishments for you than this leathern glove.”
“I thank you,” said Chirsty meekly2; “I think you will have no occasion to resort to any such. I hope my uncle will be here to-day, and that a few moments of conversation with him will satisfy him that you may be released from any further trouble with me.”
“Your uncle!” cried Sarah, with an uncouth3 laugh. “But we shall see. Meanwhile, here comes water for you, and, by and by, you shall have breakfast.”
A little black-looking sharp-eyed girl now entered with a pitcher4, basins, and towels. Sarah stood by to watch how her charge conducted herself, and, when the toilet was completed, the bed was made up, and the things removed, and soon afterwards breakfast was brought her, together with a common fir chair and a small table, and when she had finished her meal, she was again left to her own solitary6 meditations7.
No sooner was all quiet, than Chirsty arose for the purpose of looking out of the window, that she might try at least to gain some knowledge of her position. She discovered that the walls of the building were extremely thick, that the window was powerfully barred with iron, and that a wooden shade projected over it from above, so as entirely9 to shut out any direct view outwards10. By placing the chair near the window, however, and standing11 [284]upon it, she commanded a limited view downwards12 between the sole and the lower edge of the wooden projection13, and from this she was enabled to satisfy herself that her chamber14 was on one side of a narrow square court, for she saw the lower part of the buildings that inclosed the three other sides of it. Guessing from the windows that came within her view below, the court was surrounded with cells similar to her own. The startling fact now arose in her mind, that she had thus in one minute made herself as much acquainted with all the objects on which she could bring her eyes to bear from this her place of confinement15, as she could do were she to occupy it for half a century. There was something chilling in the reflection, and her soul naturally began to pant in a tenfold degree for liberty. But that day passed away, and the next, and the next, and no kind uncle came to relieve her.
“Is there no message from my uncle?” said she at last, as Sarah came to her one morning.
“None!” said the old woman, somewhat more gruffly than usual.
“I would fain write a letter to him,” said Chirsty.
“I see no use in that,” said Sarah quitting the cell hastily, as if to avoid further question.
She did not see the old woman again for several days. Nancy, the little girl already mentioned, attended on her at the usual hours. In vain she tried to prevail on her to procure16 her writing materials. Her answer was, that she had no means of doing so. She asked for books or work, but the girl’s answer was the same. At length old Sarah appeared again.
“Any intelligence from my uncle, good Sarah?” said Chirsty.
“None!” replied her keeper, in the same tone she had used before.
“Tush, I tell you it would be of no use,” replied Sarah.
“Nay18, give me but pen, ink, and paper, and let me try,” said Chirsty. “I am sure he would never allow me to be one moment here, if he could only see and converse19 with me. Oh! if I could but see him for five minutes, this harassing20 captivity21 would be at an end.” [285]
“Well, then!” said Sarah, after a silence of some moments, during which she appeared to be weighing circumstances in her mind. “Well, then, you shall see un. But see how you behave! Follow me, then, and I shall bring you to your uncle.”
“Oh, thank you, thank you! a thousand and a thousand times!” cried Chirsty, almost embracing the old woman in the height of her joy. “Depend upon it, I shall satisfy you as to my behaviour.”
Sarah now opened the door of the cell, and Chirsty followed her. Even the small additional motion of her limbs which she now enjoyed, was luxury to her after the narrow bounds to which she had been confined. The old woman led her along the passage for a considerable way, down one flight of steps, along another passage, to the very end of it, and there she stopped opposite a door, secured by little more than the ordinary fastenings used to any private chamber. Sarah opened it and desired Chirsty to enter. The light of heaven was permitted to pass fully8 in at the window, and she rushed forward to meet her uncle’s embrace. But ere she had gone two steps into the room, her eyes caught a spectacle that effectually arrested her.
“Merciful Providence24, my poor uncle!” she faintly cried; and, tottering25 towards a pallet-bed that was near to her, she sank down on the side of it, and gazed with grief and with horror on the miserable26 object before her.
Seated in a wooden elbow chair, she did indeed behold27 her uncle; but he was there as a mere28 piece of animated30 clay. His hair, which always used to be so nicely trimmed and powdered, now hung in long white untamed locks over a countenance31 so yellow and emaciated32 as to be absolutely fearful to look upon. Part of it fell over the eyes, which were seen within it like two bits of yellow glass, motionless and void of all speculation33. The under jaw34 hung forward, and the tongue lolled out, as if all muscular power was lost. An old Indian dressing-gown, which Chirsty remembered to have been his pride, as having been presented to him by a great rajah, and as being made of the most valuable stuff that Cashmere could produce, but now begrimed by every species of filth35, covered his person. A broad band of girth was passed around his breast under his arms, and attached to the [286]back of his chair, to prevent his weakness or his involuntary motions from precipitating36 him on the floor. His feet were both occupied in drumming upon the ground, and his hands were extended before him, with the fingers continually crawling like reptiles37 on his knees, whilst he was ceaselessly emitting a low muttering whine38, that never moulded itself into words. The very first glance she had of him convinced Chirsty that her poor uncle was in the last stage of confirmed and hopeless idiocy39.
“What would a letter have done, think ye, to such a clod as that ’ere?” demanded the unfeeling wretch40 Sarah, “or what will you make of un, now you have seen un?”
“My poor unhappy uncle!” said Chirsty, starting from her seat and going fondly towards him, and weeping over him; “how sadly indeed hast thou been changed! When, alas41! did this awful affliction fall upon him? But why has he been removed from his own comfortable home to such a place as this?”
“Such a place as this, quotha!” cried Sarah. “Why, what sort of a place would ye have un in? There is not a more comfortabler room in the whole house. And see, if I didn’t bring down that ’ere old wardrobe, that we might have summat to hold un’s things in; though I must say,” added she in an undertone, “that he hasn’t much left now that’s worth the caring for.”
“But why has he been removed to such an establishment as this?” said Chirsty. “Surely, surely, his malady42, helpless and unoffending as it has rendered him, could have given no disturbance43 in his own house, why then has he been torn from it? and how could his wife have agreed to treatment so cruel and so unnecessary?”
“His wife!” exclaimed Sarah with a laugh. “It was his wife who sent un here; and surely his wife has the most natral right to judge what’s best for un.”
“Horrible!” exclaimed Chirsty, “his wife! There must be some horrible villainy under all this.”
“What!” exclaimed Sarah. “What is there horrible in a gay woman like her ridding her house of such a filthy44 slavering mummy as this? He would be a pretty ornament45, truly, to grace some of the rich Mrs. Ross’s splendid routes, as I now and then see the papers call them. Besides, she pays well for his board here, and it is our interest not to let un die.” [287]
“Rich!” exclaimed Chirsty indignantly. “Her riches are my uncle’s riches; and if one spark of Christian46 feeling yet remained in her bosom47, she ought to have employed them in relieving, so far as they could relieve, this most heavy affliction of a just and wise Providence.”
“It’s not for me to stand argufying with you here, Miss,” said Sarah, in a tone of displeasure that led Chirsty to fear a coming storm. “Come, you see you have gotten all the good out of un you can; so you may as well leave un, and go quietly back to your cell.”
“For the love of your Redeemer, and as you hope for mercy!” cried Chirsty, throwing herself on her knees before her keeper, “force me not to quit my uncle! To him I owe more than the duty of a child to a parent. Yield but to me the charitable boon48 of allowing me to watch by him, and to attend to him day and night, and you will render me so happy that I shall cheerfully and voluntarily submit to my present cruel confinement, without once inquiring by whose order it comes, or ever seeking to establish how unnecessarily it has been inflicted49 upon me. Oh! grant me but this, and may blessings50 be showered down upon you.”
“I must think about it,” gruffly replied Sarah. “In the meantime, you must back to your cell for this day at least. So bid un good-by for this bout51. We shall see how you behave, and we shall talk more of the matter to-morrow.”
Chirsty rose from her knees; and seeing that it was only through submissive obedience52 that she could hope to obtain what she so ardently53 wished, she went to her uncle, and taking up his unconscious hand, she kissed it, watered it with her tears, and then slowly left the apartment, and returned to her cell, where she was locked up as before.
She was no sooner left to herself, than so many circumstances and reflections occurred to her mind, that it had enough of occupation. She now remembered that after having had regular letters from her uncle for a considerable time, they had all at once ceased. But as the irregularity of Indian correspondence was even more common in those days than it is now, she had regretted this as arising from unfortunate accident, without being very much surprised at it. But much as she had had reason to [288]believe that her aunt was a heartless selfish woman, she never could have imagined that she could have been guilty of conduct so unfeeling towards the unhappy man from whose affection she now derived54 all that wealth which it appeared she was spending so gaily55. As to herself, a moment’s thought was enough to convince her that she owed her present confinement more to the malice56 than to the care of her aunt. She remembered that the only communication from India that contained the intimation that she was about to return to Britain, as well as the name of the ship in which she was to sail, also conveyed the full assurance of the perfect restoration of her mind from its temporary malady. The person who knew to what ship to send for her on her arrival, therefore, must necessarily have known that she required no such treatment as that to which she had been so wickedly subjected. Villainy of the darkest dye, therefore, had been at work against her; and where or how it might end she trembled to think. But the thought of her poor uncle’s melancholy57 situation banished58 every other consideration from her mind; and all her thoughts and wishes were now concentrated in the desire she felt to stay by him, and to watch over him to the last—the very idea of such a self-devotion being balm to her lacerated heart, as affording her the luxury of indulging that deep gratitude60 with which his unvarying kindness towards her had always filled her, and which she never hoped to have had any opportunity of repaying. She failed not, therefore, to employ all her meekness61 and all her eloquence62 to persuade Sarah to grant her request; and as the gentle drop by frequent repetition will at last wear through the hardest flint, so by repeated appeals to the best of the few feelings which that callous-hearted creature possessed64, she at last succeeded in obtaining a limited permission to visit her uncle, which was extended by degrees so far, that she ultimately came to be allowed to go to his chamber in the morning, and to remain with him till he was laid to rest at night, when she was removed for the purpose of being locked up in her own cell. In this employment Chirsty forgot her confinement altogether, and weeks, months, nay even years rolled away with no other occupation but that and her devotions. There were times when she even flattered herself that the unremitting attention which she [289]paid to him was not without some material advantage to his general state. She even thought she saw some amendment65 in a seeming approach to a certain degree of consciousness. Words, though altogether incoherent and unconnected, would now and then break from him, as if he was following out and giving utterance66 to some musing67 dream; and on such occasions she would hang over him with anxious fondness and intense interest, with the hope of catching68 their meaning. Then she could distinctly perceive that at such times his glassy eyes, which were usually directed upon vacancy69, would fix themselves upon her, assume a strange and unwonted animation70, as if the dormant71 spirit had arisen for a moment and come to the windows of its earthly house, to look out upon her,—but alas! when she turned slowly away to try its powers, there was no corresponding motion of the head to maintain the proper direction and level of the eyes towards their object, and she would weep at the cruel failure of her hopes that followed.
It did happen, however, that one day whilst she was sitting by her uncle, earnestly engaged in trying such experiments as these, with the sunshine strong upon her face, his lack-lustre eyes being fixed72 in her direction, they seemed slowly to gather a spark of the fire of intelligence, which went on gradually increasing like the light of dawn, till suddenly they received such an animating73 illumination as this earth does when the blessed orb74 of day bursts from behind a cloud; and as all nature then rejoices under the warm influence of his rays, so was the fond heart of his niece gladdened when, as she moved her face slowly from its position, and to this side and to that, the eyes of the nabob followed all her motions with a growing expression, that speedily began to spread itself with a faint glow over his hitherto frozen features. The lolling tongue retreated within the orifice of the mouth, the under jaw was drawn75 up, and the teeth were pressed together as if with the increasing earnestness of the gaze. His niece, with more than that degree of intensity76 of absorption of attention with which an alchemist might be supposed to have watched for the projection of the golden harvest of his hopes, seized a hand of her uncle in each of hers, and sat poring into his eyes, and over every feature of his face in breathless expectation. [290]
“Chirsty Ross,” said he at length, slowly and distinctly, and in a manner that left no doubt that the words were not accidental.
“My dear, dear uncle, you know me then at last!” cried the happy girl, warmly embracing him, and sobbing77 upon his bosom. “Thank God! thank God that you know me!”
“Chirsty,” said the nabob again, “why did you not write to me sooner? Why was you silent for a whole winter? I have been rash, perhaps. But what is done cannot be undone78, and we must e’en make the best of it now. Yet, if you had only but written to me, Chirsty, my love, things might have been different.”
“Oh, this is too heart-rending!” cried his niece, yielding to an ungovernable paroxysm of grief.
“How could you forget to write to me, Chirsty?” continued her uncle. “The woman, to be sure, is not so bad a woman after all; but you and I were so happy here alone together. But I have been a fool, Chirsty; yet she is your aunt, and my wife, so we must e’en submit, and make the best of it.”
“What!” cried the nabob, in a voice louder than she could have supposed his exhausted80 state could have admitted of. “What! is the ship to sail for Calcutta so soon? May the God of all goodness be with you then, Chirsty, my love! Keep up your spirits, my sweet girl, you will come home to me soon with a husband and pagodas81 in plenty. But forget not to write often to me. Your failing in that has already worked evil enough to us both.”
“Oh, my dear, dear uncle!” cried Chirsty, quite overpowered by her feelings, and sobbing audibly.
“Nay, cry not so bitterly, my dear child,” said the nabob. “Trust me, we shall, meet again. And if we should not meet again here—if it should please God to remove me from this world ere you return, our sound Christian hope assures us, that we shall meet in another and a better. But, hold!” cried he with a more than natural energy, that seemed to be produced by some sudden and great organic change in his system. “The anchor is up—quick, aboard, aboard! God for ever bless [291]and guard you, my love! my Chirsty!—farewell! Ha! the gallant82 ship, see how her sails swell83 with the breeze!—she goes merrily. But—but—how comes this sudden darkness over me? She is gone!—all is gone!—gone!—go—o—oh!” and his words terminated in a long deep groan84.
Chirsty hastily dried up her tears, and anxiously scanned her uncle’s face. His spirit had once more retreated from his glassy eyes—his face had again become deadly pale—his hands were cold, and their pulses had ceased. She shrieked86 aloud until help came, but it was too late—her uncle was dead.
Chirsty was no sooner made certain that all was over with her poor uncle than her nervous feelings, which had been screwed up to the racking pitch by this trying scene, gave way, and she fell in a swoon, that terminated in a repetition of that feverish87 attack which she had had in India, upon which delirium88 supervened; and when, after a period of nearly three weeks, she was again sensible of the return of reason, she found herself lying in bed with her hands muffled1, as they had been the first night she had slept in the asylum89. She awaked from a long, tranquil90, and refreshing91 sleep; and little Nancy, who was seated by her bedside, immediately ran off for Sarah, who came directly.
“Aye,” said that hideous92 creature, after surveying her countenance attentively93, “she seems quiet enough now. The fit has gone off for this bout.”
“I have been very ill,” said Chirsty faintly, “but now, thank God, I am better.”
“You have given me trouble enough i’facks,” said Sarah. “But here is something that the doctor ordered you to drink; take this, and try to sleep again.”
Chirsty readily swallowed what was given to her, fell asleep, and was soon well enough to quit her bed, and to be restored to that degree of freedom of person within her cell that she had enjoyed before the discovery that her uncle was under the same roof with herself. She was even allowed to go down once a day, for an hour, attended by Sarah, to breathe the open air, and to walk backwards94 and forwards in the narrow well of a court that was formed by that wing of the building which contained her cell. But this indulgence did little to relieve the insufferable tedium95 [292]that seized upon her, now that the only object capable of interesting her had been removed. Her mind now recurred96 with augmented97 force to all the horrors of her iniquitous98 confinement. She resolved to try whether she could not move the compassion99 of her female Cerberus.
“Now that my uncle is gone,” said she one day calmly to Sarah, “my confinement becomes so much more cruel and unnecessary, that I am sure you must feel for me. You have now known enough of me during the long period I have been under your care to be sufficiently100 aware that there never were any grounds for placing me in an asylum of this kind. If, then, I am shut up here for no other cause than that I may not give offence to Mrs. Ross by crossing her path, I am quite willing to give any security that may be asked of me that I will go down directly to live with my friends in Ross-shire, and that she shall never see or be troubled with me more.”
“What!” exclaimed the wretch who listened to her; “what! and lose the good board which that worthy101 woman, your aunt, pays for you? No, no! Enough that we have already lost that which she paid for that mummy of a husband of hers. Yet, after all, he lived longer than one might have thought un like to have done. But you—an we but take care of you—you may long be a sure annual rent to us!”
“Can nothing move you?” said Chirsty, with a despairing look.
“No,” said the wretch, with an iron grin. “I am not to be flattered from my trust. But what said you? No grounds for placing you here, quotha! Was it not but the other day that, strong as I am, it took all my power to hold ye down. Ha! ha! ha! The surest sign of madness is the belief that you are not mad.”
“Then must my hope be in the Lord alone,” said Chirsty, in a desponding tone. “But oh! if you would have me live, let me have books or work, or writing or drawing materials, or this painfully irksome confinement must soon kill me.”
“No, no,” said Sarah, shaking her head, “no, no. Writing or drawing materials might be used to send tales out beyond these walls, and books might be used as paper—aye, and work might answer the same end. Therefore content yourself, content yourself, child. I’ll do all for [293]you that such a feeling heart as mine can do for a poor fellow-creetur robbed of reason, as you have been. But I must fulfil the duty I am paid for.”
It happened that the very next day after this, as Chirsty sat with her eyes cast down on the floor of her cell, some small glittering body attracted her notice, and on stooping to pick it up, to her great joy she discovered that it was a needle, which had probably dropped from the sleeve of little Nancy, who usually waited on her. She secured the treasure about her person, as of infinite value, and the possession of it gave rise to a train of reflection that ended in the formation of a scheme for ultimately producing her liberation, which henceforward engrossed102 all her attention. Provided as she had thus so fortunately been with a needle, she was yet destitute103 of thread. But her necessity instantly made her think of using her long black hair, with which she resolved immediately to undertake the laborious104 task of embroidering105 the outline of her melancholy story on a cambric handkerchief, with the hope that some means might occur to her of thereby106 communicating the place of her confinement to her friends in Scotland. Eagerly did she sit down to begin the task, but she wept when she discovered, what she had not hitherto been aware of, that the first two or three hairs which she pulled were of a white as pure as that of the handkerchief which was to be the field of her work. Her miseries107, however, had not as yet done all the work of age upon her raven108 tresses; for enough still remained of a silken and glossy109 jet to have embroidered110 a whole volume. Such were her feelings at the time, however, that, dreading112 the change that might yet take place she knew not how quickly, she rent forth113 such a quantity of the precious material as might, at least, secure the completion of her purpose, and having carefully secreted114 it, she went to work with an eagerness that seemed to promise to lend her a new existence; and, indeed, the occupation and the hope it yielded her kept her up under all her afflictions for the months and months that elapsed ere she stealthily brought her work to a conclusion.
And after it was finished her heart sank within her, for occupation was at an end, and now her dread111 arose that the work would be fruitless; for where was the hope, in her circumstances, that she might ever find a messenger fit to be entrusted116 with such a charge. Whilst employed [294]in the work her mind was tranquillised. But now it was thrown into a state of continued nervous excitement, which could not but have a tendency to wear it out. It did happen that, in her way down by the various passages and stairs that led to the little court whither she was daily summoned for exercise, she sometimes, though very rarely, met with strangers passing upwards117 to visit some unfortunate friend or relative. With none of these dared she to have communicated verbally; and if she had so dared, a word from her stern keeper to strangers in such a place would have turned the most sober expression of perfect sanity118 into the semblance119 of the mere utterance of hopeless madness. But if she could in any way manage to put her embroidered history into feeling and charitable hands, she trusted that the curiosity at least of the individual might save it from being either exposed or destroyed, and if so, hope might be interwoven with its living threads. Each time that her cell was opened, therefore, to allow her to descend120 to the little court her heart beat high. But, alas! day after day, and week after week, passed away, and no one came at the fortunate minute.
At length, as she was one day descending121 one of the flights of stairs, with Sarah close behind her, she met with an old gentleman having a particular lameness122 in one leg, who was limping up with a crutch124. He stood aside to allow her to pass, and the pity, not unmingled with admiration126, that seemed to animate29 his face as he earnestly looked upon her, made her almost accuse herself of folly127 for not having boldly risked the venture of putting the handkerchief into his hands. But a little thought told her that, if she had done so, all her labour and all her hopes would have been utterly128 wrecked129, for she remembered that the keen eyes of Sarah had been close at her elbow, and detection would have been certain. Several other individuals passed her at different times, but the countenance of none of them gave her sufficient confidence to trust them, even if an opportunity had been afforded her, and every day her nervous excitement and irritability130 grew more and more distressing131.
It happened one day, however, that as she was moving along a passage, she heard and recognised the particular stump132 of the lame123 gentleman whom she had formerly133 met. She could not be mistaken, and it was then entering on the [295]lowest step of a flight, down which she was about to turn. She was then a pace or two ahead of Sarah, and contriving134 to lengthen135 her stride as she approached the turn at the stairs, she passed a keeper who was hurrying on to open the various locks of a cell which the stranger he was conducting was about to visit. Thus it was that, by fortunate accident, she was brought alone and unseen into contact with the gentleman for a few brief but precious moments. Nerved up by the importance of the act, she expanded her handkerchief before him, to show what it contained, put it into his hand, and with an imploring136 look that spoke137 volumes, she signed to him to conceal138 it, and as she passed him by she quickly whispered him,—
“Hide it now?—read it at home—and, oh! for mercy’s sake, act upon it.”
Taken thus by surprise, the stranger held it for a moment in his hand, and turned to look after her who gave it him. Sarah appeared whilst he was still standing thus. Chirsty stood on the lowest step, and looked up to him in breathless and motionless dread.
“What stand ye there for?” cried Sarah roughly to her, as she was descending.
The stranger seemed to recover his self-possession. He quietly returned the salutation which Sarah gave him, and wiping his face with the handkerchief, as if it had been his own pulled forth for that purpose, he thrust it deep into his bosom, and began again to climb the steps. Chirsty, overpowered by her feelings, leaned for a moment against the wall.
“What’s the matter with ye?” cried Sarah impatiently.
“Nothing, nothing, good Sarah!” said Chirsty, “only a sudden qualm of sickness, but it has gone off now;” and so saying, she pursued her way with tottering steps.
If Chirsty was subjected to anxious excitement before she had thus disposed of her broidered history, how much greater were her nervous agitations139, her eternal tossings between hope and fear, from the moment she had thus committed it to the stranger? Had he betrayed her? nay, if he had, she must have heard of it from Sarah, or gathered it from the harsher treatment with which she must have been visited. He must have been so far her friend. But, admitting all this, whether he would have charity enough to act upon his knowledge of the facts it [296]contained, or whether he would treat it as the mere pseudo-rational statement of a maniac141, were matters of doubt that agonised her by night as well as by day. She slept not,—she ate not, and her brain grew lighter142 and lighter every day. She became sensible of this. A most unconquerable dread came upon her, that even admitting that the stranger was doing all he could to inform her friends of her unhappy situation, her senses would be undermined before they could come to her relief, and, as time wore on, and hope grew fainter and duller, she began to yield herself up to despair, which gradually threw its damp and suffocating143 clouds over her soul.
Whilst she was in this gloomy state, she happened one day to think of the needle, which she had now so much reason to fear had been but uselessly employed; and the horrible idea crossed her mind, that even such a small instrument as it might readily enough produce death, and that thus there was yet another and a more certain way in which it might be made to effect her deliverance from her present imprisonment144. She immediately drew it forth from the skirt of her gown, where she had concealed145 it. She looked at it for some moments with a steady but agitated146 gaze; and then, earnestly imploring Heaven for aid in the fearful struggle she was undergoing, she started up, with a resolution acquired from above, and threw it from the window of her cell, that such wicked thoughts of self-destruction might never again be produced by it; and then, on her knees, she poured out her humble147 and submissive aspirations148 of thanks.
And now despondency gave way to resolution, and she at length determined149 to take the first opportunity of making a desperate attempt to effect her escape. But to produce even a hope of success, she saw that it would be necessary to use much preliminary artifice150.
It was the more easy for her to employ this effectually, that hope had hitherto made her behaviour so mild and so submissive, that all suspicion on the part of her Argus-eyed keeper had been for a long time put to rest. Recollecting151 what Sarah had said to her as to the important source of revenue which hung on the preservation152 of her life, she began by complaining of that for which she had, indeed, no inconsiderable grounds of truth, that her health was suffering deeply from want of pure air and exercise. [297]This was touching153 Sarah in the very point where she was most assailable154. She of herself proposed to extend Chirsty’s walk to a garden belonging to the place, to the existence of which she had more than once heard her refer. Next day, accordingly, she was taken from her cell, and conducted by Sarah and Nancy down through the same passages, and by the same flights of stairs with which she was already so familiar; but instead of being led into the small court which had hitherto been the utmost extent to which freedom had been permitted her, she was ushered155 into a large and high-walled orchard157 or garden, quite umbrageous158 with fruit-trees, and thickly intermixed with shrubs159. Who can fancy, with any approach to the reality, the delight which Chirsty felt whilst wandering among the blossoming shades of this, to her absolutely, celestial160 spot, after the years of confinement which she had undergone? She leaped—she skipped—she threw her arms about, and laughed as if she had really been the poor unsettled maniac who might have required the restraint she had been so long kept under. She poured out her thanks to Sarah with strange volubility; and as she was guilty of no excess that could alarm her keeper, she was not only readily permitted to remain there for a considerable time under her watchful161 eye, but she was returned to her cell with a promise that she should be permitted to revisit the garden daily.
The effect of this leniency162 and indulgence was a renovated163 state of health, perfectly164 wonderful in itself, and highly gratifying to Sarah. But although the spirits of the patient rose from the blessed influence of a more frequent intercourse165 with the sun and the sky, her anxious mind was still deeply possessed with the sad conviction that every day made the hope of help from her friends in Scotland less and less probable. Her determination to attempt an escape, therefore, strengthened with the improvement and increase of her physical energies. She never made the round of the garden without scanning every part of its inclosure with scrupulous166 care. In the course of this daily examination, she one day discovered that a half-witted lad, employed in nailing up the fruit trees, had carelessly left his light hand-ladder leaning against the wall in a corner, where it was in a certain degree hid by a buttress167, and as she saw it in the same spot the next [298]day, she became satisfied that it was for the present unwanted and forgotten. The very thought of this as a means for getting over the wall, brought her ingenuity168 into play; and as she at once saw that any attempt at escape in broad daylight must necessarily be unsuccessful, she began to work upon her keeper to procure a change of the mid-day hour of airing to that of evening. As the garden was used at all times of the day as a place of exercise for the less violent patients, she occasionally encountered them during her walks. She therefore pretended to be seized with an unconquerable alarm at their uncouth appearance, and she declared that it was impossible for her longer to avail herself of the privilege which she enjoyed.
“I feel all your kindness to me, unfortunate creature that I am,” said she, in a tone of despondency, to Sarah one day, when she came as usual to take her out. “But I cannot bear to have my path crossed by those melancholy objects; and, since it is Heaven’s will that I am so condemned169 to misery170 in this world, the sooner I am relieved by death, and dismissed to a happier the better.”
“No, no,” said Sarah, who was fully alive to the important improvement of Chirsty’s health from the change of system already pursued with her. “We must not let ye die,—we can’t afford that,—so walk out you shall. And, since you are frightened by the sight of them ’ere creeturs, we shall walk in the cool of the evening, when they are all locked up.”
“Thank you, thank you, Sarah,” said Chirsty, overjoyed at the success of this first part of her scheme.
Anxiously did Chirsty look every evening as she returned to the garden to ascertain171 whether the ladder was still in its place, for she was obliged to allow one or two nights to pass that she might use certain management with Sarah to ensure something like a probability of success. Under pretence172 of giving greater exercise to her limbs, she began to jump and dance with Nancy. Some time afterwards she proposed to play a game of hide and seek with her. These sports were renewed for several evenings, so that Sarah was not only lulled173 into perfect security, but, hard as she was by nature, she was even so much amused by the merriment of the little girl, who was her niece, that Chirsty easily contrived174 that [299]each successive evening should prolong their sports, until she one night succeeded in remaining in the garden till twilight175 had almost become darkness. Then it was that she wound up all her energies to make her attempt.
“Well, well,” said she carelessly, “I am almost tired now, Nancy; but come, I will give you one chance more;” and off she went by way of hiding again among the bushes.
But no sooner was she out of sight, than, forcing her way through the thicket176, she darted177 down a long alley178 with the speed of a hare, mounted the ladder to the top of the wall, drew it up after her, and letting it down on the other side, she was beyond the hated precincts of the asylum before Sarah or the little Nancy had begun to suspect that she was gone. Already did her hopes bound over all intermediate obstacles, and transport her in imagination to her father’s humble dwelling179 at Tain. Finding herself in a lane, with the garden wall on one hand, and another equally high on the opposite side, she sprang forward without knowing whither she went. Loud screams and shouts came from within the garden. On she ran wildly until she was terror-struck for a moment, and arrested by hearing cries of alarm, and beholding180 the flaring181 of lights in the very direction in which she was running. The loud baying of the great dog also reached her ears from the same quarter. Winged by fear, she was thus forced to double back, and bethinking her of the ladder, she rapidly retraced182 her steps to the spot where she had left it. Taking it hastily down from the garden wall, she dragged it across the lane with the intention of applying it to that on the other side. Whilst her trembling hands were in the act of doing this, the harsh iron screams of Sarah came all of a sudden loudly up the lane from the opposite direction to that in which Chirsty had first attempted to fly. A postern-door of the garden had given the old woman egress183 at about fifty yards below. Dreadful was now the nervous agitation140 of poor Chirsty. Her utmost strength was necessary to rear the ladder, light as it was, against the wall. She did succeed, however. Her enraged184 and baffled keeper was toiling185 up to her, with her wide mouth uttering shrieks186 and imprecations that might have well been called infernal. Chirsty climbed the ladder with a palsy in all her joints187. She was already on the top of the wall,—one moment more would have enabled her [300]to pull the ladder up beyond the reach of the infuriated dwarf188, and she had succeeded in raising it a considerable way from the ground, when the uncouth monster reached the spot, and clutching at the lower end of it with her long hands, she with one powerful jerk, not only dragged it down, but she so destroyed the equilibrium189 of the unfortunate fugitive190, that she fell from the top of the wall into the lane, where the hideous countenance and demoniac eyes of Sarah frowned and glared over her, and the horrible laugh of triumph, and the blasphemous191 denunciations of vengeance192 and punishment which the monster uttered, rang in her ears ere she was borne off senseless to the asylum.
You are doubtless desirous to know something of the history of poor Charles Gr?me, who, as you may remember, left India for the purpose of following Chirsty Ross to England? I shall shortly tell you, that on reaching Britain, he made ineffectual inquiries193 for her at her uncle’s residence. Mrs. Ross denied having ever seen or heard of her. He did find out her Indian maid; but from the little that she told him, he could make out no clue to lead to the discovery of her mistress. And after many ineffectual attempts, repeatedly made for months, he at length yielded to the advice of his friends, and returned to India, where he vainly endeavoured to eradicate194 the sorrow of his heart by fresh and intense occupation.
After the lapse115 of a good many years, accident led a gentleman to visit a noble friend of his, who was proprietor195 of a fine estate and residence in Ross-shire. The roads thereabouts were then so bad for wheeled carriages, that, tired of the slowness of his progress and of the jolting196 of his vehicle, he left it at an inn to come after him at its own rate by a somewhat circuitous197 route, and mounting his servant’s horse, he set off unattended. Following the directions he received from the people of the house, he took what was called the shortest way, hoping that he might yet save his distance so far as to reach his friend’s house to a late dinner. Many was the long Scottish mile of ground which he travelled over, however; and still as he interrogated198 the peasants whom he met with, he found that the way before him seemed rather to be lengthening199 than diminishing. His horse began to manifest great symptoms of fatigue200, and as the night was settling down [301]very fast, he was glad to meet with a man who pointed201 out to him a track leading by the sea-shore, which, as he assured him, would save him several miles of distance. At the same time he told him, that he would require to push on smartly, so as to reach a certain ford59 at the mouth of a river, before the flowing tide should render it quite impracticable. Stimulated203 by this information, and being, moreover, impatient to get to his journey’s end, he put spurs to his horse and galloped204 on as fast as the tired animal could go.
He had not proceeded very far, when a vivid flash of forked lightning blazed amid the obscurity that brooded over the sea, and a tremendous peal63 of thunder rent the air. The waves, which were gradually rising upon tho beach, seemed every moment to swell more proudly, and to toss their snowy crests205 higher, and suddenly a deluge206 of rain began to be poured from the gathered clouds. The somewhat delicate traveller wished himself again within his old box of a carriage in defiance207 of its jolting; but now, both in mercy to himself and to the animal he rode, he was compelled to force the poor creature on to an accelerated pace, that they might the sooner reach some place of shelter. As if fully aware of the necessity of exertion208, his horse bore him with tolerable rapidity for two or three miles amidst the lightning and rain and the thunder that at times deafened209 the sound of the advancing waves, till, as the darkness was just about to become complete, he dimly descried210 the huge mass of an ancient building rising before him from a low peninsula; and, on further investigation211, he discovered that he had reached the river of which the peasant had spoken. A very cursory212 examination only was necessary to assure him that the stream was already so swollen213 by the rain and the tide as to take away all hope of his being able to ford. The river was a raging torrent214, and the roar of its conflict with the swelling215 tide, was a terrific addition to the horrors of the storm. The gentleman had no alternative left, therefore, but to look for hospitality in the adjoining building.
Having dismounted then, he led his horse in at a gateway216, and, having discovered a dilapidated outhouse, with a half entire roof, he contrived to fasten the animal by the bridle217 to a rusty218 iron hook that projected out of the wall. He then made his way across a court-yard so covered with [302]tall docks and nettles219 as very much to discourage any hope which he might have previously220 entertained of finding inhabitants within the edifice221; but, as he groped his way towards the great door of the huge pile, he was cheered by beholding a light that glimmered222 through the unglazed and broken casements223 of what appeared to be a large apartment about two stories up, whence he distinctly heard the singing of a woman’s voice. Somewhat encouraged by this circumstance, and guided by the faint gleam, he tried the ponderous224 old oaken door, but he found that it was firmly secured within. He was about to apply his hand to a large rusty iron knocker that hung upon it, when his attention was arrested by a wild laugh which echoed through the apartments above, died away, and was again more than once repeated with strange, sudden, and incomprehensible changes. Some of those superstitious225 feelings of which his infancy226 had largely partaken for a moment seized upon him, and he doubted whether the building was not tenanted by beings with whom those of this world could not dare to have intercourse. But a little thought, and a little more attention to the voice, soon reassured227 him against anything supernatural, and he then began to question himself whether he might not be about to rouse some body of lawless banditti or smugglers who might have taken possession of that which was evidently a ruined castle, as a place for their retreat or rendezvous228. Was it prudent229 to proceed? But he was a man who never feared danger in youth; and, now that youth was long past with him, certain bitter disappointments he had met with in early life, and the consequent sorrow which his heart had ever since endured, rendered him now much too careless about mere existence ever to allow any anxiety regarding that to influence his conduct, even if the deluge of rain which was then falling had not been enough to stimulate202 the faintest heart to the bold determination of making good an entrance at all hazards. Raising the knocker, therefore, he made a furious appeal to those within. But whether it was that the roar of the thunder, the rumbling230 of the river, the booming of the waves, and the continued plash of the rain, combined to drown his efforts, or to render the inmates231 deaf to his summons, he found it necessary to repeat his loud larum several times ere his ear caught the sound of a step descending the stair from above. [303]
The stair was included in one of those curious thin round towers which are so frequently seen rising from the side of the doorway232 of these old Scottish castles, and a small window about half a story up seemed to have been placed there to enable the appearance of all applicants233 for entrance to be well reconnoitred before admission should be granted to them, whilst a small round arrow or musket234 hole on a level with their heads, enabled them to be easily and successfully assailed235 from below, if they were likely to be at all troublesome. A flaring light streamed suddenly out from the small window above, and threw a partial and fitful gleam over a part of the dripping weeds of the wet court-yard. It proceeded from a lighted torch of bog-fir, and the stranger’s attention was instantly arrested by the apparition236 that brandished237 it aloft with a bare extended arm. It was a woman, whose countenance, though wasted, and tarnished238, and rendered wiry, as it were, by exposure to weather, yet exhibited features of the noblest character, so that even a momentary239 glance at them and the dark eyes that flashed from them with a wild expression, as the torch which she held forth threw back its flickering240 light upon them, convinced the stranger that they must have been once beautiful.
“Who comes at this unseasonable hour to these my castle gates?” demanded the woman, in a haughty241 tone.
“A single traveller overtaken by night and by this pelting242 rain,” replied the stranger, “from which, with your kind permission, he would fain find a temporary shelter.”
“Aha!” exclaimed the woman again, with a curious expression of extreme and cunning caution, “dost think that these gates of mine ever turn upon their hinges to admit any guests but those who come in their gilt243 coaches,—aye, and with their running footmen and out-riders too?”
“I doubt not what you say,” replied the stranger; “but I am at this moment acting244 the part of my own out-rider; I left my carriage to go by another road, whilst I came on this way on horseback. Pray, good madam, send down one of your people, and his inspection245 of my horse, which I have used the freedom to tie up in your stable, will no doubt satisfy you.”
“My people! ha! ha! ha!” exclaimed she laughing wildly, “you look to be a gentleman, though, Heaven knows, looks are never to be trusted in this deceitful world. [304]But I will see you nearer,” and having disappeared from the window, he heard her step descending the lower flight of the stair. After a few moments of a pause, the heavy bolts were withdrawn246, and the door was slowly opened to about one-third of its extent. Although prepared to behold something rather extraordinary, the gentleman was absolutely startled by the appearance of the woman who now stood before him. He had already seen her countenance, but now he could perceive that her hair was exceedingly long and untamed, and whilst the greater part of it was white or grizzled, as if from premature247 failure, it still contained what, if properly dressed, might have been called tresses of the most beautiful glossy black, and the strange effect of this unnatural248 intermixture of the livery of youth and of age, was heightened by the wild combination of such fantastical wreaths of heather and sea-weed, mingled125 with, sea-birds’ feathers, as insanity249 is usually so fond of adopting by way of finery. Her arms were bare to the shoulders, and her bust250 was but imperfectly covered by a coarse canvas shirt. A red flannel251 petticoat that descended252 to her knees, and which was confined at the waist by a broad leathern belt, was the only other piece of drapery that she wore. She stood before the stranger exhibiting the wrecks253 of a form of the most exquisite254 mould, and her whole appearance betraying the fact, that whatever the soul that animated it might have once been, its reason was now obscured by the darkness arising from confirmed derangement255.
“Enter my castle, sweet sir!” said the maniac in a gentle and subdued256 voice, and at the same time courtseying with a grace which might have better befitted the attire257 of a court than that which she wore. “Enter my castle, and I will speedily usher156 you up to the grand banqueting-room. But stay,” added she, with a sudden and wild change of manner, after he had obeyed her invitation, “I must make my gates secure against the wretches258, they might find me out even here. Bolt! bolt! bolt! there my brave bolts,” she continued, changing her speech into a chant, as if addressing them in incantation,—
Be faithful guards,—
And you, master-key,
To defend me from force and from traitorie.”
[305]
“Come along, sir,” continued she, again changing to a wild mood; “this way—I have a pride and a pleasure in personally attending on so distinguished260 a guest, as your whole appearance and manners declare you to be.”
The gentleman followed his conductress up the half-ruined screw stair, which here and there exhibited fearful chasms261, from the entire absence of two or three successive steps, over which she skipped without the least hesitation262, whilst he was obliged to thrust his nails into the crevices263 of the wall to hoist264 himself over the difficulty. But after he had ascended265 two flights, he came to a landing-place where there was a doorway entering into that large hall, from which he had first heard the voice of the maniac. Into this she led the way, and as he was about to follow her, you may imagine his astonishment266 when I tell you he discovered that the whole flooring was gone except the bare oaken beams, and the apartments below being in the same state, his eyes stretched uninterruptedly downwards till vision was lost in the impenetrable darkness of the dungeons267 below. But his conductress hesitated not a moment, and went onwards from beam to beam, with as much indifference268 as she would have walked across a paved court, until she gained the great hearth269, which, with a small portion of the planking in its vicinity, was still entire, and where a fire of wood was burning under the huge projecting chimney.
“Come, sir,” said the maniac, smiling courteously270, “never mind your wet boots; don’t stand upon ceremony, I pray you, your long ride and the state of the weather are sufficient apologies. Here is a seat by the fire for you.”
She then busied herself in placing an old rotten-looking chair, which appeared to have once had a back, and which seemed to have belonged to the castle in its better days, whilst she seated herself on an opposite stool, and began to arrange her head-gear, to run her taper271 fingers, with, nails on them like eagle’s talons272, through her long hair, and to twist it round into certain curls that had now probably become natural from the art and care which had once been bestowed273 upon them. Meanwhile, the stranger, after bracing22 up his nerves and steadying his head, and balancing his person, with some difficulty and hazard accomplished274 the perilous275 passage.
“You must be hungry, sir, after your ride,” said the [306]maniac, in the same mild tone. “I was about to sup when you came in. Perhaps you will have no objections to join me.” And then suddenly changing in her tone, and bursting into an uncouth laugh, as she looked into a pot that hung simmering over the fire—“Ha!—ha!—ha!—hah!—see!—the water has boiled well. The lightning has helped to do that for me. I am the favoured one! The very elements are my cooks! Hah! did you see where it came again? flash—zigzag—zigzag. Now ’tis time to mix the pudding,” and, thrusting her hand into a large square hole in the wall, she dragged out, first a bag of oatmeal, and then a small wooden vessel276 full of salt, and with an earnestness which for the time absorbed her attention from everything else, she proceeded to put the ingredients into the pot, and to stir them about with a large wooden spoon.
“Now for my silver dish!” said she again, as she pulled forth a pewter basin from the same recess277 in the wall. “Well is it for me that my gates are watched and warded278, else would robbers soon carry off this rare treasure of my castle. See here now—ha! ha! ha! let us begin the feast.” And as she said so, she filled the pewter basin from the pot, by means of the wooden spoon, and set it between them on an old box turned upside down, and drawing forth a couple of pewter spoons from her curious cupboard, she handed one to the stranger.
“Hah!” said she sternly, as she broke into a more violent state of excitement than she had hitherto exhibited, “do you see that mark?” And as she said this, she drew with her forefinger279 a line of division across the surface of the mess that stood between them—“That’s your half and this is mine: so take care what you do, for I’ll have no foul280 play—men can cheat!—but I’m hungry, and I must have my food; so see to it that you eat no more than what is your own.”
The mind of the traveller was too much filled with this strange and distressing scene to admit of his appetite leading him to infringe281 on the rule thus prescribed to him, even if the food itself had been much more inviting282 than it really was; on the contrary, he had hardly eat a third part of his way up to the boundary line, when he found that his hostess had scrupulously283 given it a straight edge upon her side.
“Come!” said she, in an angry tone of voice, quite [307]different from any she had hitherto used; “eat up your share! do you think I want it? Come, there is no poison in it. Come! come!”
“I do, I do,” said the gentleman, pretending to eat; and every now and then contriving to throw unobserved a large spoonful down between the beams; until, partly by eating, and partly by this occasional man?uvre, he at last succeeded in emptying the dish.
“Now, sir!” said the maniac, resuming all the quiet and decorous demeanour of a well-bred woman, “a little gentle exercise after supper conduces to good repose284. I shall be happy to give you my hand for a minuet.”
Pushing back the seats they had occupied, she seized the stranger’s hand, and took her position beside him on the hearth. He offered no opposition285 to her proposal; and she immediately began to sing with great brilliancy and effect that minuet so well known to our grandsires and grandmothers under the name of the Minuet de la Cour. Following the example of his entertainer, the gentleman was obliged to make his preliminary bows corresponding to her preliminary courtesies; and had any eye looked upon the couple as they were thus employed, it might have been naturally enough supposed that he danced with some handsome lady of quality disguised in a fancy dress, so perfectly did the grace of her attitudes assimilate themselves to the various movements of the minuet. But the gentleman had not altogether calculated the nature of his present undertaking286. The spot of terra firma on which the dance commenced was by no means large enough for the extent of one-tenth part of the figure of the minuet; and a less bold man than he would have felt anything but tranquillity287 of mind, when his insane partner, giving him her hand, glided288 with him over the beams, amidst the half light that proceeded from the decaying embers, like some spirit from the other world. But if this was alarming, what were his feelings, when, after the slow part of the minuet was over, she began to carol the sprightly289 gavot which follows it, with a clear voice, that made the lofty vaulted290 roof ring again, whilst she darted off and called to him to follow. So, indeed, he found himself compelled to do; but whilst he, at the risk of his life, contented291 himself with keeping up something like a semblance of the figure, he was astonished and appalled292 to see his partner [308]go through the whole dance with all that activity which might have been exhibited on a common floor by the ablest professional dancer. Though he felt not for himself, his hair actually stood on end as he looked with trembling on her, whom he expected every moment to see disappear from his eyes into that abyss of darkness that lay below; and great was his relief from anxiety when the dance was at last terminated on the hearthstone where it began.
“And now, gentle sir,” said the maniac, “you are doubtless well prepared for your night’s repose after this healthful exercise. Let me see that your sleeping apartment is ready.”
Had the roaring elements without permitted the stranger to have again ventured abroad, he saw that he could not have possessed himself of the keys of the outer door without the employment of force, which his feeling heart never could have allowed him to have attempted. He therefore sat patiently waiting until his hostess crossed the beams, and went into a small stone closet opening in the wall, whence she speedily returned, and lifting a lighted brand of bog-fir from the fire, she presented it to him with the same air as if she had been putting a silver candlestick, with a wax candle in it, into his hand; and taking up another for herself, she, with all the delicacy293 of the most refined lady, wished him a good night, and retired294 into a room on the other side of the hall similar to that which she had indicated to him. Before retreating to his dormitory, the gentleman took the precaution to rake the fire together, and to add to it one or two pieces of wood, which were piled up in the chimney near it, so as to keep up a certain degree of light in the place. He then moved across the beams to the stone closet, where he found a heap of ferns nicely spread over heather, and putting his cloak on, which had by this time become tolerably dry, he lay quietly down to try to procure a little repose.
He had not lain long until he was awakened295 by several rats running over him, and on looking out at the open door which gave him a view into the large apartment, he beheld296 swarms297 of these creatures gambolling298 about on the beams. Whilst he was lying watching their motions, he was surprised to perceive his hostess crawling silently forth on hands and knees from the small place she had [309]occupied. Suddenly she sprang upon the rats with all the agility299 of a cat, flew after them hither and thither300, with wild and frantic301 yells, leaping at the walls in such a manner that she absolutely seemed to scramble302 up a portion of their height in the eagerness of her pursuit. The chase lasted until all the rats had disappeared, but ere it terminated, several of them had fallen victims to her wonderful expertness in capturing them. Proceeding303 then to the hearth, she seated herself on the stool by the fire, in a state of great excitement, and inserting her long nails into them, she stripped off their skins one after the other with inconceivable expedition, and as she did so, she rose up from time to time and suspended the bleeding reptiles on tenter-hooks on one side of the chimney among many others which the stranger had not till then observed, whilst she attached their skins to a similar set of hooks on the other side of the fire, amongst a corresponding number of trophies304 of the same kind.
“This is for my winter beef,” said she in a wild soliloquy, “and this is for my winter cloak!” This she repeated as every new occasion required, till all were stowed away. After which the furious fit seemed to subside305; and soon afterwards she retired to her bed, where she lay so quiet as to give no more disturbance to her stranger guest, till both were roused by the early dawn.
The morning was a smiling one, and as if she had partaken of its peaceful nature, she was again in one of her gentle lady-like humours.
“Will you walk, sweet sir?” said she to her guest, with a profound courtesy. “Will you walk forth to see the morning sun kissing the opening flowers and drinking up the dewdrops from their lips? This way,” continued she, as she ushered him down the broken stair, and silently opened the locks and bolts of the outer door.
“I thank you most sincerely for your hospitality, Madam,” said the traveller to her whilst she was carefully locking the door behind her. “I must now bid you farewell. I see my horse has had the good sense to break out from his stable during the night to feed on yonder rich bank of grass, so that he must be well enough refreshed by this time to be able to finish my journey.”
“What,” exclaimed the maniac with a sudden transition to her highest pitch of excitement, and with great rapidity [310]of utterance, “are you going to leave me too? Did you not come to this my castle to woo me for your bride? And are you going to leave me too? But I forget, I forget,” continued she, sinking into a low thoughtful tone of feeling, whilst tears came rushing to her eyes and rolled down her cheeks. “I must not forget that I am pledged in my own mind. There was but one that ever truly loved me, and him I lost by being true to a base deceiver.”
“What said you?” exclaimed the stranger with intense interest.
“I say that men are deceivers!” cried she with her wildest tone and gesture; and then becoming gradually calm, she went on singing with great pathos,—
“Sigh no more ladies,
Ladies sigh no more,
Men were deceivers ever,
Men were deceivers ever,
One foot on sea and one on shore——
Yes! yes! on sea!—how many vows306 did that false man of the sea utter! and how cruelly did he break them on shore!”
“What do I hear?” exclaimed the gentleman. “The very song! the very song we so often sang in duet together at Calcutta!”
“Calcutta!” cried the maniac, earnestly seizing his wrist, and in a tone of deep feeling; “yes, I sang that song often at Calcutta with one who tenderly loved me. How often do I think on that!”
“Merciful powers!” cried the stranger, as he suddenly observed a small Indian wrought307 ring on the little finger of that hand by which she had for a moment held his; “by all that is wonderful, it is the ring! the very ring! Let me see that ring!”
“No!” said the maniac, in a high, haughty, and determined manner; “it shall never be touched by you nor any one else. He gave it to me—I have worn it—I have preserved it through all my miserable sufferings, and it shall go with me,” added she, fervently kissing it; “it shall go with me to my cold cold grave.”
“Stop, stop!” cried the gentleman, as she was turning away from him; “avoid me not! I am he who gave it you!” [311]
“You!” cried she, stopping suddenly in her retreat, drawing herself up to her full height, and looking back upon him with an air of the most sovereign contempt; “you Charles Gr?me!—Ha! ha! ha! ha!—you Charles Gr?me!—His face was fair, and with the expression of an angel; yours is sallow, withered308, and wrinkled, like that of a baboon—his hair was lovely as the beams of the morning sun; yours is white, as the eternal snow of the Himala—his form was like that of the Grecian Apollo; yours is like that of winter. Go, traitorous309 man! I have had enough of falsehood! Come not near me! Chirsty Ross will wed23 no one now but Charles Gr?me or the grave!”
In an instant she darted from his sight, before he was aware of her intention, and she disappeared among the ruins. In the wildest state of agitation he rushed after her. He thought he heard a faint shriek85, but he vainly sought her with unremitting solicitude310 for some hours. Believing at length that she must have got into the interior of the building by some secret passage known only to herself, he unwillingly311 gave up his search, and the sea having now ebbed312, and the flood in the river having somewhat subsided313, he mounted his horse, with some difficulty crossed the ford, and, oppressed with sorrowful thoughts, he slowly made his way to the castle of his noble friend, to whom he confided314 his sad tale. From him he learned much that was new to him. A cambric handkerchief, embroidered with Chirsty’s story, had found its way to her friends, who, after many difficulties, succeeded in rescuing her from her confinement. But alas! they found her not till her sufferings had rendered her a confirmed maniac. For a time she felt soothed315 by the kindness shown her by her afflicted316 parents; and during the short time they lived, she amused herself by wandering harmlessly about the scenes of her childhood. But when her father and mother were both dead, and all her other relatives being likewise gone or removed, she abandoned her home and took up her abode317 in the ruinous building, of which she was for the most part left in undisturbed possession. Such was the melancholy outline of her history.
But Charles Gr?me was too feelingly alive to her unhappy situation to delay one moment in attempting to find her, that he might spend the remainder of his life in watching over and protecting her. Next day, therefore, [312]assisted by his friend’s people, he made his way into the ruins, and sought every part of them. But he sought in vain. Everything remained as when he had left them on the previous morning, and although the door was locked, the bolts on the inside were not fastened, showing that the wretched inhabitant had not returned.
But the mystery was cleared up towards mid-day by a fisherman, who, as he was landing from his boat, found her lifeless body on the sands, where it had been left by the receding318 tide. The supposition was that she had been drowned in attempting to ford the swollen river, immediately after the scene of her parting with Charles Gr?me.
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1
muffled
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| adj.（声音）被隔的；听不太清的；（衣服）裹严的；蒙住的v.压抑，捂住( muffle的过去式和过去分词 )；用厚厚的衣帽包着（自己） | |
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2
meekly
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| adv.温顺地，逆来顺受地 | |
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3
uncouth
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| adj.无教养的，粗鲁的 | |
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4
pitcher
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| n.(有嘴和柄的)大水罐；(棒球)投手 | |
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5
wards
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| 区( ward的名词复数 )； 病房； 受监护的未成年者； 被人照顾或控制的状态 | |
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6
solitary
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| adj.孤独的，独立的，荒凉的；n.隐士 | |
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7
meditations
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| 默想( meditation的名词复数 )； 默念； 沉思； 冥想 | |
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8
fully
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| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
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9
entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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10
outwards
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| adj.外面的，公开的，向外的；adv.向外；n.外形 | |
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11
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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12
downwards
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| adj./adv.向下的（地），下行的（地） | |
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13
projection
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| n.发射，计划，突出部分 | |
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14
chamber
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| n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所 | |
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15
confinement
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| n.幽禁，拘留，监禁；分娩；限制，局限 | |
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16
procure
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| vt.获得，取得，促成；vi.拉皮条 | |
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17
beseech
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| v.祈求，恳求 | |
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18
nay
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| adv.不；n.反对票，投反对票者 | |
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19
converse
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| vi.谈话，谈天，闲聊；adv.相反的，相反 | |
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20
harassing
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| v.侵扰，骚扰( harass的现在分词 )；不断攻击（敌人） | |
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21
captivity
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| n.囚禁；被俘；束缚 | |
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22
bracing
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| adj.令人振奋的 | |
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23
wed
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| v.娶，嫁，与…结婚 | |
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24
providence
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| n.深谋远虑，天道，天意；远见；节约；上帝 | |
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25
tottering
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| adj.蹒跚的，动摇的v.走得或动得不稳( totter的现在分词 )；踉跄；蹒跚；摇摇欲坠 | |
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26
miserable
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| adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的 | |
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27
behold
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| v.看，注视，看到 | |
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28
mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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29
animate
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| v.赋于生命，鼓励；adj.有生命的，有生气的 | |
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30
animated
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| adj.生气勃勃的，活跃的，愉快的 | |
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31
countenance
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| n.脸色，面容；面部表情；vt.支持，赞同 | |
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32
emaciated
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| adj.衰弱的，消瘦的 | |
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33
speculation
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| n.思索，沉思；猜测；投机 | |
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34
jaw
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| n.颚，颌，说教，流言蜚语；v.喋喋不休，教训 | |
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35
filth
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| n.肮脏，污物，污秽；淫猥 | |
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36
precipitating
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| adj.急落的，猛冲的v.（突如其来地）使发生( precipitate的现在分词 )；促成；猛然摔下；使沉淀 | |
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37
reptiles
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| n.爬行动物，爬虫( reptile的名词复数 ) | |
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38
whine
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| v.哀号，号哭；n.哀鸣 | |
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39
idiocy
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| n.愚蠢 | |
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40
wretch
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| n.可怜的人，不幸的人；卑鄙的人 | |
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41
alas
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| int.唉(表示悲伤、忧愁、恐惧等) | |
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42
malady
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| n.病，疾病(通常做比喻) | |
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43
disturbance
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| n.动乱，骚动；打扰，干扰；(身心)失调 | |
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44
filthy
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| adj.卑劣的；恶劣的，肮脏的 | |
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45
ornament
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| v.装饰，美化；n.装饰，装饰物 | |
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46
Christian
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| adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒 | |
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47
bosom
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| n.胸，胸部；胸怀；内心；adj.亲密的 | |
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48
boon
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| n.恩赐，恩物，恩惠 | |
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49
inflicted
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| 把…强加给，使承受，遭受( inflict的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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50
blessings
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| n.（上帝的）祝福( blessing的名词复数 )；好事；福分；因祸得福 | |
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51
bout
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| n.侵袭，发作；一次(阵，回)；拳击等比赛 | |
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52
obedience
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| n.服从，顺从 | |
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53
ardently
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| adv.热心地，热烈地 | |
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54
derived
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| vi.起源；由来；衍生；导出v.得到( derive的过去式和过去分词 )；（从…中）得到获得；源于；（从…中）提取 | |
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55
gaily
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| adv.欢乐地，高兴地 | |
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56
malice
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| n.恶意，怨恨，蓄意；[律]预谋 | |
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57
melancholy
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| n.忧郁，愁思；adj.令人感伤（沮丧）的，忧郁的 | |
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58
banished
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| v.放逐，驱逐( banish的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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59
Ford
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| n.浅滩，水浅可涉处；v.涉水，涉过 | |
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60
gratitude
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| adj.感激，感谢 | |
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61
meekness
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| n.温顺，柔和 | |
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62
eloquence
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| n.雄辩；口才，修辞 | |
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63
peal
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| n.钟声；v.鸣响 | |
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64
possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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65
amendment
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| n.改正，修正，改善，修正案 | |
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66
utterance
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| n.用言语表达，话语，言语 | |
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67
musing
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| n. 沉思，冥想 adj. 沉思的, 冥想的 动词muse的现在分词形式 | |
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68
catching
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| adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住 | |
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69
vacancy
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| n.（旅馆的）空位，空房，（职务的）空缺 | |
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70
animation
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| n.活泼，兴奋，卡通片／动画片的制作 | |
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71
dormant
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| adj.暂停活动的；休眠的；潜伏的 | |
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72
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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73
animating
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| v.使有生气( animate的现在分词 )；驱动；使栩栩如生地动作；赋予…以生命 | |
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74
orb
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| n.太阳；星球；v.弄圆；成球形 | |
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75
drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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76
intensity
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| n.强烈，剧烈；强度；烈度 | |
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77
sobbing
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| <主方>Ⅰ adj.湿透的 | |
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78
undone
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| a.未做完的，未完成的 | |
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79
fervently
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| adv.热烈地，热情地，强烈地 | |
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80
exhausted
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| adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的 | |
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81
pagodas
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| 塔，宝塔( pagoda的名词复数 ) | |
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82
gallant
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| adj.英勇的，豪侠的；(向女人)献殷勤的 | |
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83
swell
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| vi.膨胀，肿胀；增长，增强 | |
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84
groan
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| vi./n.呻吟，抱怨；(发出)呻吟般的声音 | |
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85
shriek
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| v./n.尖叫，叫喊 | |
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86
shrieked
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| v.尖叫( shriek的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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87
feverish
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| adj.发烧的，狂热的，兴奋的 | |
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88
delirium
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| n. 神智昏迷,说胡话;极度兴奋 | |
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89
asylum
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| n.避难所，庇护所，避难 | |
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90
tranquil
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| adj. 安静的, 宁静的, 稳定的, 不变的 | |
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91
refreshing
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| adj.使精神振作的，使人清爽的，使人喜欢的 | |
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92
hideous
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| adj.丑陋的，可憎的，可怕的，恐怖的 | |
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93
attentively
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| adv.聚精会神地；周到地；谛；凝神 | |
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94
backwards
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| adv.往回地，向原处，倒，相反，前后倒置地 | |
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95
tedium
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| n.单调；烦闷 | |
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96
recurred
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| 再发生，复发( recur的过去式和过去分词 )； 治愈 | |
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97
Augmented
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| adj.增音的 动词augment的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
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98
iniquitous
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| adj.不公正的；邪恶的；高得出奇的 | |
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99
compassion
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| n.同情，怜悯 | |
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100
sufficiently
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| adv.足够地，充分地 | |
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101
worthy
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| adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的 | |
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102
engrossed
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| adj.全神贯注的 | |
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103
destitute
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| adj.缺乏的；穷困的 | |
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104
laborious
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| adj.吃力的，努力的，不流畅 | |
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105
embroidering
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| v.（在织物上）绣花( embroider的现在分词 )；刺绣；对…加以渲染（或修饰）；给…添枝加叶 | |
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106
thereby
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| adv.因此，从而 | |
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107
miseries
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| n.痛苦( misery的名词复数 )；痛苦的事；穷困；常发牢骚的人 | |
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108
raven
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| n.渡鸟，乌鸦；adj.乌亮的 | |
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109
glossy
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| adj.平滑的；有光泽的 | |
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110
embroidered
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| adj．绣花的 | |
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111
dread
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| vt.担忧，忧虑；惧怕，不敢；n.担忧，畏惧 | |
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112
dreading
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| v.害怕，恐惧，担心( dread的现在分词 ) | |
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113
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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114
secreted
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| v.（尤指动物或植物器官）分泌( secrete的过去式和过去分词 )；隐匿，隐藏 | |
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115
lapse
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| n.过失，流逝，失效，抛弃信仰，间隔；vi.堕落，停止，失效，流逝；vt.使失效 | |
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116
entrusted
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| v.委托，托付( entrust的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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117
upwards
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| adv.向上，在更高处...以上 | |
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118
sanity
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| n.心智健全，神智正常，判断正确 | |
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119
semblance
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| n.外貌，外表 | |
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120
descend
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| vt./vi.传下来，下来，下降 | |
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121
descending
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| n. 下行 adj. 下降的 | |
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122
lameness
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| n. 跛, 瘸, 残废 | |
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123
lame
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| adj.跛的，(辩解、论据等)无说服力的 | |
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124
crutch
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| n.T字形拐杖；支持，依靠，精神支柱 | |
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125
mingled
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| 混合，混入( mingle的过去式和过去分词 )； 混进，与…交往[联系] | |
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126
admiration
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| n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕 | |
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127
folly
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| n.愚笨，愚蠢，蠢事，蠢行，傻话 | |
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128
utterly
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| adv.完全地，绝对地 | |
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129
wrecked
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| adj.失事的，遇难的 | |
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130
irritability
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| n.易怒 | |
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131
distressing
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| a.使人痛苦的 | |
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132
stump
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| n.残株，烟蒂，讲演台；v.砍断，蹒跚而走 | |
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133
formerly
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| adv.从前，以前 | |
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134
contriving
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| （不顾困难地）促成某事( contrive的现在分词 )； 巧妙地策划，精巧地制造（如机器）； 设法做到 | |
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135
lengthen
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| vt.使伸长，延长 | |
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136
imploring
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| 恳求的，哀求的 | |
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137
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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138
conceal
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| v.隐藏，隐瞒，隐蔽 | |
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139
agitations
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| （液体等的）摇动( agitation的名词复数 )； 鼓动； 激烈争论； （情绪等的）纷乱 | |
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140
agitation
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| n.搅动；搅拌；鼓动，煽动 | |
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141
maniac
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| n.精神癫狂的人；疯子 | |
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142
lighter
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| n.打火机，点火器；驳船；v.用驳船运送；light的比较级 | |
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143
suffocating
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| a.使人窒息的 | |
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144
imprisonment
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| n.关押，监禁，坐牢 | |
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145
concealed
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| a.隐藏的，隐蔽的 | |
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146
agitated
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| adj.被鼓动的，不安的 | |
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147
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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148
aspirations
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| 强烈的愿望( aspiration的名词复数 )； 志向； 发送气音； 发 h 音 | |
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149
determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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150
artifice
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| n.妙计，高明的手段；狡诈，诡计 | |
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151
recollecting
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| v.记起，想起( recollect的现在分词 ) | |
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152
preservation
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| n.保护，维护，保存，保留，保持 | |
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153
touching
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| adj.动人的，使人感伤的 | |
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154
assailable
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| adj.可攻击的，易攻击的 | |
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155
ushered
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| v.引，领，陪同( usher的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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156
usher
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| n.带位员，招待员；vt.引导，护送；vi.做招待，担任引座员 | |
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157
orchard
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| n.果园，果园里的全部果树，(美俚)棒球场 | |
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158
umbrageous
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| adj.多荫的 | |
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159
shrubs
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| 灌木( shrub的名词复数 ) | |
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160
celestial
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| adj.天体的；天上的 | |
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161
watchful
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| adj.注意的，警惕的 | |
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162
leniency
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| n.宽大（不严厉） | |
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163
renovated
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| 翻新，修复，整修( renovate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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164
perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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165
intercourse
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| n.性交；交流，交往，交际 | |
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166
scrupulous
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| adj.审慎的，小心翼翼的，完全的，纯粹的 | |
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167
buttress
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| n.支撑物；v.支持 | |
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168
ingenuity
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| n.别出心裁；善于发明创造 | |
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169
condemned
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| adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词 | |
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170
misery
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| n.痛苦，苦恼，苦难；悲惨的境遇，贫苦 | |
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171
ascertain
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| vt.发现，确定，查明，弄清 | |
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172
pretence
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| n.假装，作假；借口，口实；虚伪；虚饰 | |
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173
lulled
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| vt.使镇静，使安静（lull的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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174
contrived
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| adj.不自然的，做作的；虚构的 | |
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175
twilight
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| n.暮光，黄昏；暮年，晚期，衰落时期 | |
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176
thicket
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| n.灌木丛，树林 | |
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177
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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178
alley
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| n.小巷，胡同；小径，小路 | |
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179
dwelling
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| n.住宅，住所，寓所 | |
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180
beholding
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| v.看，注视( behold的现在分词 )；瞧；看呀；（叙述中用于引出某人意外的出现）哎哟 | |
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181
flaring
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| a.火焰摇曳的，过份艳丽的 | |
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182
retraced
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| v.折回( retrace的过去式和过去分词 )；回忆；回顾；追溯 | |
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183
egress
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| n.出去；出口 | |
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184
enraged
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| 使暴怒( enrage的过去式和过去分词 )； 歜； 激愤 | |
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185
toiling
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| 长时间或辛苦地工作( toil的现在分词 )； 艰难缓慢地移动，跋涉 | |
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186
shrieks
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| n.尖叫声( shriek的名词复数 )v.尖叫( shriek的第三人称单数 ) | |
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187
joints
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| 接头( joint的名词复数 )； 关节； 公共场所（尤指价格低廉的饮食和娱乐场所） （非正式）； 一块烤肉 （英式英语） | |
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188
dwarf
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| n.矮子，侏儒，矮小的动植物；vt.使…矮小 | |
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189
equilibrium
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| n.平衡，均衡，相称，均势，平静 | |
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190
fugitive
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| adj.逃亡的，易逝的；n.逃犯，逃亡者 | |
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191
blasphemous
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| adj.亵渎神明的，不敬神的 | |
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192
vengeance
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| n.报复，报仇，复仇 | |
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193
inquiries
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| n.调查( inquiry的名词复数 )；疑问；探究；打听 | |
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194
eradicate
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| v.根除，消灭，杜绝 | |
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195
proprietor
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| n.所有人；业主；经营者 | |
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196
jolting
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| adj.令人震惊的 | |
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197
circuitous
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| adj.迂回的路的，迂曲的，绕行的 | |
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198
interrogated
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| v.询问( interrogate的过去式和过去分词 )；审问；（在计算机或其他机器上）查询 | |
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199
lengthening
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| （时间或空间）延长，伸长( lengthen的现在分词 )； 加长 | |
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200
fatigue
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| n.疲劳，劳累 | |
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201
pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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202
stimulate
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| vt.刺激，使兴奋；激励，使…振奋 | |
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203
stimulated
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| a.刺激的 | |
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204
galloped
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| （使马）飞奔，奔驰( gallop的过去式和过去分词 )； 快速做[说]某事 | |
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205
crests
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| v.到达山顶（或浪峰）( crest的第三人称单数 )；到达洪峰，达到顶点 | |
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206
deluge
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| n./vt.洪水，暴雨，使泛滥 | |
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207
defiance
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| n.挑战，挑衅，蔑视，违抗 | |
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208
exertion
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| n.尽力，努力 | |
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209
deafened
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| 使聋( deafen的过去式和过去分词 )； 使隔音 | |
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210
descried
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| adj.被注意到的，被发现的，被看到的 | |
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211
investigation
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| n.调查，调查研究 | |
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212
cursory
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| adj.粗略的；草率的；匆促的 | |
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213
swollen
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| adj.肿大的，水涨的；v.使变大，肿胀 | |
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214
torrent
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| n.激流，洪流；爆发，(话语等的)连发 | |
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215
swelling
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| n.肿胀 | |
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216
gateway
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| n.大门口，出入口，途径，方法 | |
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217
bridle
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| n.笼头，束缚；vt.抑制，约束；动怒 | |
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218
rusty
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| adj.生锈的；锈色的；荒废了的 | |
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219
nettles
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| n.荨麻( nettle的名词复数 ) | |
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220
previously
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| adv.以前，先前（地） | |
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221
edifice
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| n.宏伟的建筑物(如宫殿，教室) | |
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222
glimmered
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| v.发闪光，发微光( glimmer的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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223
casements
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| n.窗扉( casement的名词复数 ) | |
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224
ponderous
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| adj.沉重的，笨重的，(文章)冗长的 | |
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225
superstitious
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| adj.迷信的 | |
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226
infancy
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| n.婴儿期；幼年期；初期 | |
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227
reassured
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| adj.使消除疑虑的；使放心的v.再保证，恢复信心( reassure的过去式和过去分词) | |
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228
rendezvous
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| n.约会，约会地点，汇合点；vi.汇合，集合；vt.使汇合，使在汇合地点相遇 | |
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229
prudent
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| adj.谨慎的，有远见的，精打细算的 | |
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230
rumbling
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| n. 隆隆声, 辘辘声 adj. 隆隆响的 动词rumble的现在分词 | |
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231
inmates
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| n.囚犯( inmate的名词复数 ) | |
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232
doorway
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| n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径 | |
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233
applicants
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| 申请人，求职人( applicant的名词复数 ) | |
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234
musket
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| n.滑膛枪 | |
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235
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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236
apparition
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| n.幽灵，神奇的现象 | |
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237
brandished
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| v.挥舞( brandish的过去式和过去分词 )；炫耀 | |
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238
tarnished
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| （通常指金属）（使）失去光泽，（使）变灰暗( tarnish的过去式和过去分词 )； 玷污，败坏 | |
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239
momentary
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| adj.片刻的，瞬息的；短暂的 | |
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240
flickering
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| adj.闪烁的，摇曳的，一闪一闪的 | |
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241
haughty
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| adj.傲慢的，高傲的 | |
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242
pelting
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| 微不足道的，无价值的，盛怒的 | |
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243
gilt
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| adj.镀金的；n.金边证券 | |
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244
acting
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| n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的 | |
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245
inspection
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| n.检查，审查，检阅 | |
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246
withdrawn
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| vt.收回；使退出；vi.撤退，退出 | |
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247
premature
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| adj.比预期时间早的；不成熟的，仓促的 | |
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248
unnatural
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| adj.不自然的；反常的 | |
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249
insanity
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| n.疯狂，精神错乱；极端的愚蠢，荒唐 | |
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250
bust
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| vt.打破；vi.爆裂；n.半身像；胸部 | |
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251
flannel
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| n.法兰绒；法兰绒衣服 | |
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252
descended
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| a.为...后裔的，出身于...的 | |
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253
wrecks
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| n.沉船( wreck的名词复数 )；（事故中）遭严重毁坏的汽车（或飞机等）；（身体或精神上）受到严重损伤的人；状况非常糟糕的车辆（或建筑物等）v.毁坏[毁灭]某物( wreck的第三人称单数 )；使（船舶）失事，使遇难，使下沉 | |
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254
exquisite
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| adj.精美的；敏锐的；剧烈的，感觉强烈的 | |
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255
derangement
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| n.精神错乱 | |
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256
subdued
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| adj. 屈服的，柔和的，减弱的 动词subdue的过去式和过去分词 | |
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257
attire
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| v.穿衣，装扮[同]array；n.衣着；盛装 | |
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258
wretches
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| n.不幸的人( wretch的名词复数 )；可怜的人；恶棍；坏蛋 | |
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259
warden
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| n.监察员，监狱长，看守人，监护人 | |
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260
distinguished
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| adj.卓越的，杰出的，著名的 | |
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261
chasms
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| 裂缝( chasm的名词复数 )； 裂口； 分歧； 差别 | |
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262
hesitation
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| n.犹豫，踌躇 | |
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263
crevices
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| n.（尤指岩石的）裂缝，缺口( crevice的名词复数 ) | |
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264
hoist
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| n.升高，起重机，推动；v.升起，升高，举起 | |
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265
ascended
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| v.上升，攀登( ascend的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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266
astonishment
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| n.惊奇，惊异 | |
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267
dungeons
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| n.地牢( dungeon的名词复数 ) | |
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indifference
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| n.不感兴趣，不关心，冷淡，不在乎 | |
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hearth
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| n.壁炉炉床，壁炉地面 | |
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courteously
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| adv.有礼貌地，亲切地 | |
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271
taper
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| n.小蜡烛，尖细，渐弱；adj.尖细的；v.逐渐变小 | |
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talons
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| n.（尤指猛禽的）爪( talon的名词复数 )；（如爪般的）手指；爪状物；锁簧尖状突出部 | |
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273
bestowed
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| 赠给，授予( bestow的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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accomplished
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| adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的 | |
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perilous
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| adj.危险的，冒险的 | |
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276
vessel
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| n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管 | |
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277
recess
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| n.短期休息，壁凹（墙上装架子，柜子等凹处） | |
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warded
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| 有锁孔的，有钥匙榫槽的 | |
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279
forefinger
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| n.食指 | |
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280
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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281
infringe
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| v.违反，触犯，侵害 | |
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282
inviting
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| adj.诱人的，引人注目的 | |
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scrupulously
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| adv.一丝不苟地；小心翼翼地，多顾虑地 | |
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284
repose
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| v.(使)休息；n.安息 | |
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285
opposition
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| n.反对，敌对 | |
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286
undertaking
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| n.保证，许诺，事业 | |
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287
tranquillity
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| n. 平静, 安静 | |
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288
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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sprightly
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| adj.愉快的，活泼的 | |
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vaulted
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| adj.拱状的 | |
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291
contented
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| adj.满意的，安心的，知足的 | |
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appalled
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| v.使惊骇，使充满恐惧( appall的过去式和过去分词)adj.惊骇的；丧胆的 | |
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delicacy
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| n.精致，细微，微妙，精良；美味，佳肴 | |
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retired
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| adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的 | |
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awakened
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| v.（使）醒( awaken的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）觉醒；弄醒；（使）意识到 | |
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beheld
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| v.看，注视( behold的过去式和过去分词 )；瞧；看呀；（叙述中用于引出某人意外的出现）哎哟 | |
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swarms
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| 蜂群，一大群( swarm的名词复数 ) | |
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298
gambolling
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| v.蹦跳，跳跃，嬉戏( gambol的现在分词 ) | |
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agility
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| n.敏捷，活泼 | |
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300
thither
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| adv.向那里；adj.在那边的，对岸的 | |
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frantic
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| adj.狂乱的，错乱的，激昂的 | |
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scramble
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| v.爬行，攀爬，杂乱蔓延，碎片，片段，废料 | |
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proceeding
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| n.行动，进行，(pl.)会议录，学报 | |
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304
trophies
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| n.（为竞赛获胜者颁发的）奖品( trophy的名词复数 )；奖杯；（尤指狩猎或战争中获得的）纪念品；（用于比赛或赛跑名称）奖 | |
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subside
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| vi.平静，平息；下沉，塌陷，沉降 | |
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vows
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| 誓言( vow的名词复数 )； 郑重宣布，许愿 | |
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wrought
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| v.引起；以…原料制作；运转；adj.制造的 | |
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308
withered
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| adj. 枯萎的，干瘪的，（人身体的部分器官）因病萎缩的或未发育良好的 动词wither的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
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309
traitorous
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| adj. 叛国的, 不忠的, 背信弃义的 | |
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solicitude
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| n.焦虑 | |
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311
unwillingly
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| adv.不情愿地 | |
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312
ebbed
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| （指潮水）退( ebb的过去式和过去分词 )； 落； 减少； 衰落 | |
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313
subsided
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| v.（土地）下陷（因在地下采矿）( subside的过去式和过去分词 )；减弱；下降至较低或正常水平；一下子坐在椅子等上 | |
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314
confided
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| v.吐露（秘密，心事等）( confide的过去式和过去分词 )；（向某人）吐露（隐私、秘密等） | |
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315
soothed
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| v.安慰( soothe的过去式和过去分词 )；抚慰；使舒服；减轻痛苦 | |
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316
afflicted
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| 使受痛苦，折磨( afflict的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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317
abode
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| n.住处，住所 | |
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318
receding
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| v.逐渐远离( recede的现在分词 )；向后倾斜；自原处后退或避开别人的注视；尤指问题 | |
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