CHAPTER LXVI.

 Why waste thy joyous¹ hours in needless pain,

Seeking for danger and adventure vain?—Fairy Queen.

 

 

Morton mounted his horse, and rode to the house of Mrs. Euston. He found her daughter alone.

 

"I have come to take leave of you. I am on my travels again."

 

"Again! You are always on the wing. I supposed that you must have learned, by this time, to value home, or, at least, be reconciled to staying there in peace."

 

"My home is a little lonely, and none of the liveliest. Movement is my best repose²."

 

"You are wholly made up of restlessness."

 

"That is Nature's failing, not mine; or if Nature declines to bear the burden of my shortcomings, I will put them upon Destiny, and with much better cause. But this is not restlessness; or, if it is, it has method in it. This journey is a plan of eight years' standing³. I concocted⁴ it when I was a junior, half fledged, at college, and never lost sight of it but once, and then for a cause that does not exist now."

 

"Where are you going?"

 

Morton gave the outline of his journey.

 

"But is not that very difficult and dangerous?"

 

"Not very."

 

"You will not be alone, surely."

 

"I provided for a companion years ago. My friend Meredith and I struck an agreement, that when I went on this journey he should go with me."

 

An instant shadow passed across the face of Fanny Euston.

 

"So you will have a companion," she replied, with a nonchalance⁵ too distinct to be genuine.

 

"Not at all. He breaks his word. He won't hear of going."

 

The cloud vanished.

 

"I take it ill of him; for I had relied on having him with me. He and I are old fellow-travellers. I have tried him in sunshine and rain, and know his metal." And he launched into an emphatic⁶ eulogy⁷ of his friend, to which Fanny Euston listened with a pleasure which she could not wholly hide.

 

"He best knows why he fails me. It is some cogent⁸ and prevailing⁹ reason; no light cause, or sudden fancy. Some powerful motive¹⁰, mining deep and moving strongly, has shaken him from his purpose; so I forgive him for his falling off."

 

As Morton spoke¹¹, he was studying his companion's features, and she, conscious of his scrutiny¹², visibly changed color.

 

"Dear cousin," he said, with a changed tone, "if I must lose my friend, let me find, when I return, that my loss has been overbalanced by his gain. I will reconcile myself to it, if it may help to win for him the bounty¹³ that he aspires¹⁴ to."

 

The blush deepened to crimson¹⁵ on Fanny Euston's cheek; and without waiting for more words, Morton bade her farewell.

1 joyous   

adj.充满快乐的；令人高兴的

参考例句：

• The lively dance heightened the joyous atmosphere of the scene.轻快的舞蹈给这场戏渲染了欢乐气氛。
• They conveyed the joyous news to us soon.他们把这一佳音很快地传递给我们。

2 repose   

v.(使)休息；n.安息

参考例句：

• Don't disturb her repose.不要打扰她休息。
• Her mouth seemed always to be smiling,even in repose.她的嘴角似乎总是挂着微笑，即使在睡眠时也是这样。

3 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

4 concocted   

v.将（尤指通常不相配合的）成分混合成某物( concoct的过去式和过去分词 )；调制；编造；捏造

参考例句：

• The soup was concocted from up to a dozen different kinds of fish. 这种汤是用多达十几种不同的鱼熬制而成的。
• Between them they concocted a letter. 他们共同策划写了一封信。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 nonchalance   

n.冷淡，漠不关心

参考例句：

• She took her situation with much nonchalance.她对这个处境毫不介意。
• He conceals his worries behind a mask of nonchalance.他装作若无其事，借以掩饰内心的不安。

6 emphatic   

adj.强调的，着重的；无可置疑的，明显的

参考例句：

• Their reply was too emphatic for anyone to doubt them.他们的回答很坚决，不容有任何人怀疑。
• He was emphatic about the importance of being punctual.他强调严守时间的重要性。

7 eulogy   

n.颂词；颂扬

参考例句：

• He needs no eulogy from me or from any other man. 他不需要我或者任何一个人来称颂。
• Mr.Garth gave a long eulogy about their achievements in the research.加思先生对他们的研究成果大大地颂扬了一番。

8 cogent   

adj.强有力的，有说服力的

参考例句：

• The result is a cogent explanation of inflation.结果令人信服地解释了通货膨胀问题。
• He produced cogent reasons for the change of policy.他对改变政策提出了充分的理由。

9 prevailing   

adj.盛行的；占优势的；主要的

参考例句：

• She wears a fashionable hair style prevailing in the city.她的发型是这个城市流行的款式。
• This reflects attitudes and values prevailing in society.这反映了社会上盛行的态度和价值观。

10 motive   

n.动机，目的；adv.发动的，运动的

参考例句：

• The police could not find a motive for the murder.警察不能找到谋杀的动机。
• He had some motive in telling this fable.他讲这寓言故事是有用意的。

11 spoke   

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

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

12 scrutiny   

n.详细检查，仔细观察

参考例句：

• His work looks all right,but it will not bear scrutiny.他的工作似乎很好，但是经不起仔细检查。
• Few wives in their forties can weather such a scrutiny.很少年过四十的妻子经得起这么仔细的观察。

13 bounty   

n.慷慨的赠予物，奖金；慷慨，大方；施与

参考例句：

• He is famous for his bounty to the poor.他因对穷人慷慨相助而出名。
• We received a bounty from the government.我们收到政府给予的一笔补助金。

14 aspires   

v.渴望，追求( aspire的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The fame to which he aspires was beyond his reach. 他追求的名誉乃是他所不能及的。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• An old steed in the stable still aspires to gallop a thousand li. 老骥伏枥，志在千里。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 crimson   

n./adj.深(绯)红色(的)；vi.脸变绯红色

参考例句：

• She went crimson with embarrassment.她羞得满脸通红。
• Maple leaves have turned crimson.枫叶已经红了。