CHAPTER IV.

 What pleasure, sir, find we in life, to lock it

From action and adventure?—Cymbeline.

 

 

Morning came, and the Leslies departed. Morton watched the lumbering¹ carriage till it disappeared down the rugged² gorge³ of the Notch⁴, then drew a deep breath, and ruefully betook himself to his day's sport. He explored, rod in hand, the black pools and plunging⁵ cascades⁶ of the Saco; but for once that he thought of the trout⁷, he thought ten times of Edith Leslie.

 

Towards night, however, he returned with a basket reasonably well filled; and, as he drew near the inn, he saw a young man, of his own age, or thereabouts, sitting under the porch. He had a cast of features which, in a feudal⁸ country, would have been taken as the sign of noble birth; and though he wore a slouched felt hat and a rough tweed frock, though his attitude was careless, though he held between his teeth a common clay pipe, at which he puffed⁹ with much relish¹⁰, and though he was conversing¹¹ on easy terms with two attenuated¹² old Vermont farmers, with faces like a pair of baked apples,—yet none but the most unpractised eye would have taken him for other than a gentleman.

 

As soon as Morton saw him, he shouted a joyful¹³ greeting, to which Mr. Edward Meredith, rising and going to meet his friend, replied with no less emphasis.

 

"I thought," said Morton, "that you meant to do the dutiful this time, and stay with your father and family at the sea shore."

 

"Couldn't stand the sea shore," said Meredith, seating himself again; "so I came up to the mountains to see what you were doing."

 

"You couldn't have done better; but come this way, out of earshot."

 

"Colonel," said Meredith, in a tone of melancholy¹⁴ remonstrance¹⁵, "this seat is a good seat, an easy seat, a pleasant seat. Why do you want to root me up?"

 

"Come on, man," replied Morton.

 

"Show the way, then, Jack-a-lantern. But where do you want to lead me? I won't sit on the rail fence, and I won't sit on the grass."

 

"There's a bench here for you."

 

"Has it a back?"

 

"Yes, it has a back. There it is."

 

Meredith carefully removed a few twigs¹⁶ and shavings which lay upon the bench, seated himself, rested his arm along the back, and began puffing¹⁷ at his pipe again. But scarcely had he thus composed himself when the tea bell rang from the house.

 

"Do you hear that, now? Another move to make! Didn't I tell you so?"

 

"Not that I remember."

 

"Please to explain, colonel, what you expect to gain by always bobbing about as you do, like a drop of quicksilver."

 

"To hear you, one would take you for the laziest fellow in the universe."

 

"There's reason in all things. I keep my vital energies against the time of need, instead of wasting them in unnecessary gyrations. Ladies at the table! New Yorkers in full feather, or I'll be shot! Now, what the deuse have lace and ribbons to do in a place like this?"

 

During the meal, the presence of the strangers was a check upon their conversation.

 

"Crawford," said Meredith, when it was over, "have you had that sofa taken into my room?"

 

"Yes, sir."

 

"And the arm chair?"

 

"Yes, sir."

 

"And the candles?"

 

"Yes, sir."

 

"All right. Now, then, colonel, allons."

 

The name of colonel was Morton's college sobriquet¹⁸. Meredith led the way into a room which adjoined his bed chamber¹⁹, and which, under his direction, had assumed an air of great comfort. Morton took possession of the sofa; his friend of the arm chair.

 

"What's the word with you?" began the latter; "are you bound for the Adirondacks, the Margalloway, or the Penobscot?"

 

"To the Margalloway, I think. You mean to go with me, I hope."

 

"To the Margalloway, or the antipodes, or any place this side of the North Pole."

 

"Then, if you say so, we'll set off to-morrow."

 

"Gently, colonel. One day's fishing here. We have six weeks before us. What sort of thing is that that you are smoking?"

 

"Try, and judge for yourself," said Morton, handing his cigar case. Meredith took a sample of its contents between his fingers, and examined it with attention.

 

"I always thought you were a kind of heathen, and now I know it. Where did you pick up that cigar?"

 

"Do you find it so very bad?"

 

"It would not poison a man, and perhaps might pass for a little better than none at all. But nobody except a pagan would touch it when any thing better could be had."

 

"I forgot to bring any from town, and had to supply myself on the way."

 

"That goes to redeem²⁰ your character. Fling those away, or give them to the landlord; I have plenty of better ones. But a pipe is the best thing at a place like this, and especially at camp, in the woods."

 

"So I have often heard you say."

 

"Mine, though, made a sensation, not long ago."

 

"How was that?"

 

"The whole brood of the Stubbs, bag and baggage, passed here this afternoon."

 

"Thank Heaven they did not stop."

 

"They came in their private carriage. I nodded to Ben, and touched my hat to Mrs. S. You should have seen their faces. They thought there must be something out of joint²¹ in the mechanism²² of the universe, when a person of their acquaintance could be seen smoking a pipe at a tavern²³ door, like a bog-trotting Irishman."

 

"You should have asked Ben to go with us."

 

"It would be the worst martyrdom the poor devil ever had to pass through. Ben seemed displeased²⁴ with the scenery. He says that the White Mountains are nothing to any one who, like himself, has seen the Alps."

 

"Pray when did Stubb see the Alps?"

 

"O, the whole family have seen the Alps,—the Alps, Italy, the Rhine, the nobility and gentry²⁵, and every thing else that Europe affords. They all swear by Europe, and hold the soil of America dirt cheap. You can see with half an eye what they are—an uncommonly²⁶ bad imitation of an indifferent model."

 

"Let them pass for what they are worth. Have you come armed and equipped—rifle, blanket, hatchet²⁷, and so forth²⁸?"

 

"Yes, and I have brought an oil cloth tent."

 

"So much the better; it is more convenient than a birch bark shanty²⁹."

 

"I give you notice that I mean to take my ease in that tent."

 

"I hope you will."

 

"One can be comfortable in the woods, as well as elsewhere. Remember, colonel, that we are out for amusement, and not after scalps. Last summer, you drove ahead, rain or shine, through thickets³⁰, and swamps, and ponds, as if you were on some errand of life and death. For this once, have mercy on frail³¹ humanity, and moderate your ardor³²."

 

Morton gave the pledge required. They passed the evening in arranging the details of their journey, set forth and spent three or four weeks in the forest between the settled districts of Canada and Maine, poling their canoe up lonely streams, meeting no human face, but smoking their pipes in great contentment by their evening camp fire. They chased a bear, and lost him in a windfall; killed two moose, six deer, and trout without number; and underwent, with exemplary patience, a martyrdom of midges, black flies, and mosquitoes. And when, at last, they turned their faces homeward, they wiled³³ the way with plans of longer journeyings,—more bear, more moose, more deer, more trout, more midges, black flies, and mosquitoes.

1 lumbering   

n.采伐林木

参考例句：

• Lumbering and, later, paper-making were carried out in smaller cities. 木材业和后来的造纸都由较小的城市经营。
• Lumbering is very important in some underdeveloped countries. 在一些不发达的国家，伐木业十分重要。

2 rugged   

adj.高低不平的，粗糙的，粗壮的，强健的

参考例句：

• Football players must be rugged.足球运动员必须健壮。
• The Rocky Mountains have rugged mountains and roads.落基山脉有崇山峻岭和崎岖不平的道路。

3 gorge   

n.咽喉，胃，暴食，山峡；v.塞饱，狼吞虎咽地吃

参考例句：

• East of the gorge leveled out.峡谷东面地势变得平坦起来。
• It made my gorge rise to hear the news.这消息令我作呕。

4 notch   

n.(V字形)槽口，缺口，等级

参考例句：

• The peanuts they grow are top-notch.他们种的花生是拔尖的。
• He cut a notch in the stick with a sharp knife.他用利刃在棒上刻了一个凹痕。

5 plunging   

adj.跳进的，突进的v.颠簸( plunge的现在分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降

参考例句：

• War broke out again, plunging the people into misery and suffering. 战祸复发，生灵涂炭。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• He is plunging into an abyss of despair. 他陷入了绝望的深渊。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 cascades   

倾泻( cascade的名词复数 )； 小瀑布（尤指一连串瀑布中的一支）； 瀑布状物； 倾泻（或涌出）的东西

参考例句：

• The river fell in a series of cascades down towards the lake. 河形成阶梯状瀑布泻入湖中。
• Turning into the sun, he began the long, winding drive through the Cascades. 现在他朝着太阳驶去，开始了穿越喀斯喀特山脉的漫长而曲折的路程。 来自英汉文学 - 廊桥遗梦

7 trout   

n.鳟鱼；鲑鱼(属)

参考例句：

• Thousands of young salmon and trout have been killed by the pollution.成千上万的鲑鱼和鳟鱼的鱼苗因污染而死亡。
• We hooked a trout and had it for breakfast.我们钓了一条鳟鱼，早饭时吃了。

8 feudal   

adj.封建的，封地的，领地的

参考例句：

• Feudal rulers ruled over the country several thousand years.封建统治者统治这个国家几千年。
• The feudal system lasted for two thousand years in China.封建制度在中国延续了两千年之久。

9 puffed   

adj.疏松的v.使喷出( puff的过去式和过去分词 )；喷着汽（或烟）移动；吹嘘；吹捧

参考例句：

• He lit a cigarette and puffed at it furiously. 他点燃了一支香烟，狂吸了几口。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He felt grown-up, puffed up with self-importance. 他觉得长大了，便自以为了不起。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 relish   

n.滋味，享受，爱好，调味品；vt.加调味料，享受，品味；vi.有滋味

参考例句：

• I have no relish for pop music.我对流行音乐不感兴趣。
• I relish the challenge of doing jobs that others turn down.我喜欢挑战别人拒绝做的工作。

11 conversing   

v.交谈，谈话( converse的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• I find that conversing with her is quite difficult. 和她交谈实在很困难。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They were conversing in the parlor. 他们正在客厅谈话。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

12 attenuated   

v.（使）变细( attenuate的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）变薄；（使）变小；减弱

参考例句：

• an attenuated form of the virus 毒性已衰减的病毒
• You're a seraphic suggestion of attenuated thought . 你的思想是轻灵得如同天使一般的。 来自辞典例句

13 joyful   

adj.欢乐的，令人欢欣的

参考例句：

• She was joyful of her good result of the scientific experiments.她为自己的科学实验取得好成果而高兴。
• They were singing and dancing to celebrate this joyful occasion.他们唱着、跳着庆祝这令人欢乐的时刻。

14 melancholy   

n.忧郁，愁思；adj.令人感伤（沮丧）的，忧郁的

参考例句：

• All at once he fell into a state of profound melancholy.他立即陷入无尽的忧思之中。
• He felt melancholy after he failed the exam.这次考试没通过，他感到很郁闷。

15 remonstrance   

n抗议，抱怨

参考例句：

• She had abandoned all attempts at remonstrance with Thomas.她已经放弃了一切劝戒托马斯的尝试。
• Mrs. Peniston was at the moment inaccessible to remonstrance.目前彭尼斯顿太太没功夫听她告状。

16 twigs   

细枝，嫩枝( twig的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Some birds build nests of twigs. 一些鸟用树枝筑巢。
• Willow twigs are pliable. 柳条很软。

17 puffing   

v.使喷出( puff的现在分词 )；喷着汽（或烟）移动；吹嘘；吹捧

参考例句：

• He was puffing hard when he jumped on to the bus. 他跳上公共汽车时喘息不已。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• My father sat puffing contentedly on his pipe. 父亲坐着心满意足地抽着烟斗。 来自《简明英汉词典》

18 sobriquet   

n.绰号

参考例句：

• In Paris he was rewarded with the sobriquet of an "ultra-liberal".在巴黎，他被冠以“超自由主义者”的绰号。
• Andrew Jackson was known by the sobriquet "Old Hickory." 安德鲁•杰克生以其绰号“老山胡桃”而知名。

19 chamber   

n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所

参考例句：

• For many,the dentist's surgery remains a torture chamber.对许多人来说，牙医的治疗室一直是间受刑室。
• The chamber was ablaze with light.会议厅里灯火辉煌。

20 redeem   

v.买回，赎回，挽回，恢复，履行（诺言等）

参考例句：

• He had no way to redeem his furniture out of pawn.他无法赎回典当的家具。
• The eyes redeem the face from ugliness.这双眼睛弥补了他其貌不扬之缺陷。

21 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

22 mechanism   

n.机械装置；机构，结构

参考例句：

• The bones and muscles are parts of the mechanism of the body.骨骼和肌肉是人体的组成部件。
• The mechanism of the machine is very complicated.这台机器的结构是非常复杂的。

23 tavern   

n.小旅馆，客栈；小酒店

参考例句：

• There is a tavern at the corner of the street.街道的拐角处有一家酒馆。
• Philip always went to the tavern,with a sense of pleasure.菲利浦总是心情愉快地来到这家酒菜馆。

24 displeased   

a.不快的

参考例句：

• The old man was displeased and darted an angry look at me. 老人不高兴了，瞪了我一眼。
• He was displeased about the whole affair. 他对整个事情感到很不高兴。

25 gentry   

n.绅士阶级，上层阶级

参考例句：

• Landed income was the true measure of the gentry.来自土地的收入是衡量是否士绅阶层的真正标准。
• Better be the head of the yeomanry than the tail of the gentry.宁做自由民之首，不居贵族之末。

26 uncommonly   

adv. 稀罕(极，非常)

参考例句：

• an uncommonly gifted child 一个天赋异禀的儿童
• My little Mary was feeling uncommonly empty. 我肚子当时正饿得厉害。

27 hatchet   

n.短柄小斧；v.扼杀

参考例句：

• I shall have to take a hatchet to that stump.我得用一把短柄斧来劈这树桩。
• Do not remove a fly from your friend's forehead with a hatchet.别用斧头拍打朋友额头上的苍蝇。

28 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

29 shanty   

n.小屋，棚屋；船工号子

参考例句：

• His childhood was spent in a shanty.他的童年是在一个简陋小屋里度过的。
• I want to quit this shanty.我想离开这烂房子。

30 thickets   

n.灌木丛( thicket的名词复数 )；丛状物

参考例句：

• Small trees became thinly scattered among less dense thickets. 小树稀稀朗朗地立在树林里。 来自辞典例句
• The entire surface is covered with dense thickets. 所有的地面盖满了密密层层的灌木丛。 来自辞典例句

31 frail   

adj.身体虚弱的；易损坏的

参考例句：

• Mrs. Warner is already 96 and too frail to live by herself.华纳太太已经九十六岁了，身体虚弱，不便独居。
• She lay in bed looking particularly frail.她躺在床上，看上去特别虚弱。

32 ardor   

n.热情，狂热

参考例句：

• His political ardor led him into many arguments.他的政治狂热使他多次卷入争论中。
• He took up his pursuit with ardor.他满腔热忱地从事工作。

33 wiled   

v.引诱( wile的过去式和过去分词 )；诱惑；消遣；消磨

参考例句：

• The music wiled him from his study. 诱人的音乐使他无心学习下去。 来自辞典例句
• The sunshine wiled me from my work. 阳光引诱我放下了工作。 来自辞典例句