Mr. Shingles2 had an acquaintance among the gentlemen of the press; and, chancing to meet his quill-driving friend, he told him Morton's story. It appeared, accordingly, beautifully embellished3, in one of the evening papers, and was copied, the next morning, into several others. Consequently, Morton had scarcely risen from breakfast, when he was visited by half a dozen persons, editors and others, eager to hear his adventures, for the gratification of their own curiosity, or that of the public. As he detested4 such visitations, and as several of his callers, from their countenances5 alone, inspired him with an earnest longing6 to kick them down stairs, he hastened to avoid the nuisance by escaping into the street. Since the tidings he had heard from Shingles, his native town had lost all attraction for him; in fact he shrank from going thither7, and willingly lingered another day in New York.
Going to Buckland's lodgings8, he renewed his persuasions9 of the evening before, and strongly urged him to leave New York. Buckland assented10 to every thing he said; and, hearing of a ship about to sail for the East Indies, Morton went with his friend to the merchant to whom she belonged, and induced him to engage a passage in her.
Returning to his hotel at about two o'clock, a waiter brought him a card, telling him that a boy had just left it for him. It was Rosny's; and on it were scrawled11 with a pencil the following concise12 and characteristic words:—
Dear M.: Uncle Sam in a deuse of a hurry. Ordered to the island this afternoon. Off for Mexico to-morrow. Sorry not to see you, but haven't a minute to spare. Good luck.—Au revoir.
Yours till doomsday,
ROSNY.
Morton went to the recruiting office where he had been with Rosny on the day before, learned the time and place of the embarkation13, was on the spot at the hour named, and in a few minutes saw Rosny striding down the wharf14 in most unmilitary haste, his hair fluttering in the wind. He was so engrossed15 in making certain arrangements, and issuing his mandates16 to the soldiers who were to row him and some other officers to Governor's Island, that he did not observe Morton, who stood quietly leaning against a post.
"Hallo, Dick," said the latter at length. "Haven't you eyes to see your friends?"
Rosny turned, in great surprise, and greeted him most emphatically.
"Come, Morton," he said, as he was stepping into the boat, "you'll change your mind after all,—won't you?—and meet me at Vera Cruz."
"I'll sit at home, and read your exploits in the papers," replied Morton.
"Good by. May you live to be a general, or any thing else you like, short of the presidency18."
"Why, shouldn't I make a good president?"
"No."
"What? too progressive,—too wide awake,—too enlightened, ey?"
"Yes, and too pugnacious19."
"There you are again, Boston all over. I'll be president yet, if only to spite the Bostonites. You shall write my life, and I'll give you an office for it. Farewell."
Morton watched the receding20 boat till it was almost out of sight, waved his hat to Rosny, who waved his own in return, and walked back to the hotel, wondering what would be the issue of his old classmate's ambitious schemes.
How, among a throng21 of brave men, Rosny gained a name for determined22 daring;—how, on every occasion that offered, he displayed the fire of the Frenchman, and the stubborn mettle23 of the Saxon, whose blood mingled24 in his veins;—how, though sick and wounded, he dragged himself from the hospital at Puebla, and, mounting his horse, pushed forward with the advancing columns;—how gallantly25, under the murdering storm of musketry and grape, he led his intrepid26 blackguards up the rocks of Chapultepec;—how, while shouting among the foremost, he climbed the hostile rampart, a bullet plunged27 into his brain, and dashed him, quivering and dead, to the foot of the scaling ladders;—all this, and more likewise, is it not written in the New York Herald28?
About a year after Rosny's departure, Morton chanced to be again in New York, when, in going out one morning, he beheld29 all the symptoms of some impending30 solemnity. Flags, festooned with crape, were strung across Broadway from building to building. The shops were half closed, and the streets were fast filling with people. Patriot31 citizens, exchanging the yardstick32 for the sword, strode the sidewalk in gorgeous panoply33; and now and then a mounted warrior34 cantered along the pavement, struggling to keep his balance on his fiery35 coach horse. In an hour or two more, the pageant36 was in full operation. Looking from his hotel window Morton beheld a radiant river of shining bayonets, many colored plumes37, and martial38 millinery, solemnly flowing down the middle of Broadway, to strange and lugubrious39 music, between melancholy40 shores of black broadcloth and beaver41 hats. At length a train of hearses appeared slowly advancing to the wailing42 music of the bands, encircled by the harmless sabres of the civic43 warriors44, playing soldier, around the remains45 of those who had borne the part in tragic46 earnest. Over every hearse the national flag was drooping47, and upon each was inscribed48 the name of its unconscious tenant49. They were officers slain50 in battle during the last Mexican campaign. Four of the hearses passed. Morton read the names. They were all unknown to him; but as the fifth approached, he looked, started, and looked again; for wrought51 in white upon the sable52 drapery he saw, distinct and clear, the name of Rosny. Descending53 to the street, he joined the procession; he even underwent the funeral oration54 at the City Hall; and when it was over, shouldering through the crowd, he stood by the side of all that remained of his old classmate. Rosny's cap, and the sword he had used so well, lay on the lid of the coffin55; and Morton turned away, with eyes not quite dry, as he recalled his many genial56 traits and his undaunted spirit.
To resume. On returning to his hotel after taking leave of Rosny, Morton found a note awaiting him, directed in a female hand. He opened it, and read the signature,—Ellen Ashland,—the name of a lady whom he had well known in Boston, and who, just before he had sailed for Europe, had been married to an eminent57 lawyer of his acquaintance. She wrote that she had seen an account of his escape from prison, and arrival in New York, in the morning paper,—expressed an earnest wish to see him, and invited him to visit her at the New York Hotel, where she was spending a few days with her husband.
As the time named was almost come, Morton called a coach, and drove up town. His friend received him with a peculiar58 warmth and earnestness of manner. Morton had known her as a person of marked character and strong but strictly59 governed emotions, not always permitting the expression of a feeling to keep pace with the feeling itself. He greatly liked and esteemed60 her, and her presence disarmed61 him, in a great degree, of his usual reserve.
Her husband had been absent all day in Brooklyn, and would not return till late in the evening.
"It is five years since I have spoken to a lady," said Morton, as he seated himself at the tea table.
As he was not scrupulous62 to wear a mask before her, she quickly discovered the depressed63 condition of his mind; and on her charging him with being very much out of spirits, he admitted that he was so.
"One would think," she observed, "that after the sufferings that you have passed, you would have come home in a different mood of mind."
"And so I did," said Morton.
"You seem in no great haste to see your friends and relations in Boston."
"I have no near relations there."
"But you have friends."
"Yes; I have heard from them. I met an acquaintance yesterday."
"You have heard, then——" And she bent64 her eyes upon his face, with a look searching but full of kindness, as if studying his thoughts.
"Five years," she continued, "is a long time. Great changes may have taken place."
"Changes have taken place," said Morton.
"You have lost none of your intimate friends, as far as I know them; but some have left Boston, and some are married."
Morton did not look up; but an undefined expression passed across his face, like the shadow of a black cloud. When, a moment after, he raised his eyes, he saw those of Mrs. Ashland fixed65 upon him with the same earnest gaze as before. Such scrutiny66 from another would have been intolerable to him; but in her it gave him no uneasiness.
A servant entering changed for a time the character of their conversation. A quarter of an hour afterwards they were again alone, and Morton was seated near the window, when his friend approached him, her features kindling67 with a look of ill-suppressed feeling, laid her hand on his shoulder, and said, "Vassall,"—she had always before addressed him as Mr. Morton,—"my heart bleeds for you—for you and for Edith Leslie."
Morton looked up till he met her eyes. The surprise, the sudden consciousness that she was privy68 to his grief, the warm and heartfelt woman's sympathy that he read in every line of her face, were too much for his manhood, and he burst into tears.
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1
elegy
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| n.哀歌，挽歌 | |
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2
shingles
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| n.带状疱疹；（布满海边的）小圆石( shingle的名词复数 )；屋顶板；木瓦（板）；墙面板 | |
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embellished
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| v.美化( embellish的过去式和过去分词 )；装饰；修饰；润色 | |
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detested
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| v.憎恶，嫌恶，痛恨( detest的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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countenances
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| n.面容( countenance的名词复数 )；表情；镇静；道义支持 | |
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longing
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| n.（for）渴望 | |
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thither
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| adv.向那里；adj.在那边的，对岸的 | |
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8
lodgings
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| n. 出租的房舍, 寄宿舍 | |
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persuasions
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| n.劝说，说服（力）( persuasion的名词复数 )；信仰 | |
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assented
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| 同意，赞成( assent的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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scrawled
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| 乱涂，潦草地写( scrawl的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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concise
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| adj.简洁的，简明的 | |
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embarkation
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| n. 乘船, 搭机, 开船 | |
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wharf
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| n.码头，停泊处 | |
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engrossed
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| adj.全神贯注的 | |
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mandates
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| 托管（mandate的第三人称单数形式） | |
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wilful
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| adj.任性的，故意的 | |
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18
presidency
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| n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期) | |
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pugnacious
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| adj.好斗的 | |
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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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21
throng
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| n.人群，群众；v.拥挤，群集 | |
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determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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mettle
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| n.勇气，精神 | |
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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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25
gallantly
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| adv. 漂亮地，勇敢地，献殷勤地 | |
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intrepid
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| adj.无畏的，刚毅的 | |
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27
plunged
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| v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降 | |
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28
herald
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| vt.预示...的来临，预告，宣布，欢迎 | |
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29
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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30
impending
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| a.imminent, about to come or happen | |
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patriot
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| n.爱国者，爱国主义者 | |
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32
yardstick
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| n.计算标准，尺度；评价标准 | |
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33
panoply
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| n.全副甲胄，礼服 | |
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34
warrior
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| n.勇士，武士，斗士 | |
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fiery
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| adj.燃烧着的，火红的；暴躁的；激烈的 | |
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pageant
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| n.壮观的游行；露天历史剧 | |
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plumes
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| 羽毛( plume的名词复数 )； 羽毛饰； 羽毛状物； 升上空中的羽状物 | |
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martial
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| adj.战争的，军事的，尚武的，威武的 | |
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lugubrious
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| adj.悲哀的，忧郁的 | |
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40
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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41
beaver
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| n.海狸，河狸 | |
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42
wailing
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| v.哭叫，哀号( wail的现在分词 )；沱 | |
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43
civic
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| adj.城市的，都市的，市民的，公民的 | |
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44
warriors
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| 武士，勇士，战士( warrior的名词复数 ) | |
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45
remains
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| n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹 | |
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46
tragic
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| adj.悲剧的，悲剧性的，悲惨的 | |
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47
drooping
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| adj. 下垂的，无力的 动词droop的现在分词 | |
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48
inscribed
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| v.写，刻( inscribe的过去式和过去分词 )；内接 | |
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49
tenant
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| n.承租人；房客；佃户；v.租借，租用 | |
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50
slain
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| 杀死，宰杀，杀戮( slay的过去分词 )； (slay的过去分词) | |
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51
wrought
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| v.引起；以…原料制作；运转；adj.制造的 | |
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52
sable
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| n.黑貂；adj.黑色的 | |
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53
descending
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| n. 下行 adj. 下降的 | |
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54
oration
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| n.演说，致辞，叙述法 | |
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55
coffin
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| n.棺材，灵柩 | |
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56
genial
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| adj.亲切的，和蔼的，愉快的，脾气好的 | |
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57
eminent
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| adj.显赫的，杰出的，有名的，优良的 | |
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58
peculiar
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| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
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59
strictly
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| adv.严厉地，严格地；严密地 | |
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60
esteemed
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| adj.受人尊敬的v.尊敬( esteem的过去式和过去分词 )；敬重；认为；以为 | |
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61
disarmed
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| v.裁军( disarm的过去式和过去分词 )；使息怒 | |
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scrupulous
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| adj.审慎的，小心翼翼的，完全的，纯粹的 | |
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63
depressed
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| adj.沮丧的，抑郁的，不景气的，萧条的 | |
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64
bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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65
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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66
scrutiny
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| n.详细检查，仔细观察 | |
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67
kindling
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| n. 点火, 可燃物 动词kindle的现在分词形式 | |
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privy
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| adj.私用的；隐密的 | |
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