We have endeavoured slightly to sketch24 St. Geneviève as it appeared to our friends from Beaumanoir, winding into the valley the day after Mr. Lyle had dined with them. The valley opened for about half-a-mile opposite the mansion, which gave to the dwellers25 in it a view over an extensive and richly-cultivated country. It was through this district that the party from Beaumanoir had pursued their way. The first glance at the building, its striking situation, its beautiful form, its brilliant colour, its great extent, a gathering26 as it seemed of galleries, halls, and chapels28, mullioned windows, portals of clustered columns, and groups of airy pinnacles and fretwork spires29, called forth30 a general cry of wonder and of praise.
The ride from Beaumanoir had been delightful31; the breath of summer in every breeze, the light of summer on every tree. The gay laugh of Lady Everingham rang frequently in the air; often were her sunny eyes directed to Coningsby, as she called his attention to some fair object or some pretty effect. She played the hostess of Nature, and introduced him to all the beauties.
Mr. Lyle had recognised them. He cantered forward with greetings on a fat little fawn-coloured pony32, with a long white mane and white flowing tail, and the wickedest eye in the world. He rode by the side of the Duchess, and indicated their gently-descending route.
They arrived, and the peacocks, who were sunning themselves on the turrets33, expanded their plumage to welcome them.
‘I can remember the old house,’ said the Duchess, as she took Mr. Lyle’s arm; ‘and I am happy to see the new one. The Duke had prepared me for much beauty, but the reality exceeds his report.’
They entered by a short corridor into a large hall. They would have stopped to admire its rich roof, its gallery and screen; but their host suggested that they should refresh themselves after their ride, and they followed him through several apartments into a spacious34 chamber35, its oaken panels covered with a series of interesting pictures, representing the siege of St. Geneviève by the Parliament forces in 1643: the various assaults and sallies, and the final discomfiture36 of the rebels. In all these figured a brave and graceful Sir Eustace Lyle, in cuirass and buff jerkin, with gleaming sword and flowing plume37. The sight of these pictures was ever a source of great excitement to Henry Sydney, who always lamented38 his ill-luck in not living in such days; nay39, would insist that all others must equally deplore40 their evil destiny.
‘See, Coningsby, this battery on the Upper Park,’ said Lord Henry. ‘This did the business: how it rakes up the valley; Sir Eustace works it himself. Mother, what a pity Beaumanoir was not besieged41!’
‘It may be,’ said Coningsby.
‘I always fancy a siege must be so interesting,’ said Lady Everingham. ‘It must be so exciting.’
‘I hope the next siege may be at Beaumanoir, instead of St. Geneviève,’ said Lyle, laughing; ‘as Henry Sydney has such a military predisposition. Duchess, you said the other day that you liked Malvoisie, and here is some.
Bring pasty from the doe;’
‘Their breeds of sheep must have been very inferior in old days,’ said Lord Everingham, ‘as they made such a noise about their venison. For my part I consider it a thing as much gone by as tilts45 and tournaments.’
‘I am sorry that they have gone by,’ said Lady Theresa.
‘Everything has gone by that is beautiful,’ said Lord Henry.
‘Life is much easier,’ said Lord Everingham.
‘Life easy!’ said Lord Henry. ‘Life appears to me to be a fierce struggle.’
‘Manners are easy,’ said Coningsby, ‘and life is hard.’
‘And I wish to see things exactly the reverse,’ said Lord Henry. ‘The means and modes of subsistence less difficult; the conduct of life more ceremonious.’
‘Civilisation has no time for ceremony,’ said Lord Everingham.
‘How very sententious you all are!’ said his wife. ‘I want to see the hall and many other things.’ And they all rose.
There were indeed many other things to see: a long gallery, rich in ancestral portraits, specimens46 of art and costume from Holbein to Lawrence; courtiers of the Tudors, and cavaliers of the Stuarts, terminating in red-coated squires47 fresh from the field, and gentlemen buttoned up in black coats, and sitting in library chairs, with their backs to a crimson48 curtain. Woman, however, is always charming; and the present generation may view their mothers painted by Lawrence, as if they were patronesses of Almack’s; or their grandmothers by Reynolds, as Robinettas caressing49 birds, with as much delight as they gaze on the dewy-eyed matrons of Lely, and the proud bearing of the heroines of Vandyke. But what interested them more than the gallery, or the rich saloons, or even the baronial hall, was the chapel27, in which art had exhausted50 all its invention, and wealth offered all its resources. The walls and vaulted51 roofs entirely52 painted in encaustic by the first artists of Germany, and representing the principal events of the second Testament53, the splendour of the mosaic54 pavement, the richness of the painted windows, the sumptuousness55 of the altar, crowned by a masterpiece of Carlo Dolce and surrounded by a silver rail, the tone of rich and solemn light that pervaded56 all, and blended all the various sources of beauty into one absorbing and harmonious57 whole: all combined to produce an effect which stilled them into a silence that lasted for some minutes, until the ladies breathed their feelings in an almost inarticulate murmur58 of reverence59 and admiration60; while a tear stole to the eye of the enthusiastic Henry Sydney.
Leaving the chapel, they sauntered through the gardens, until, arriving at their limit, they were met by the prettiest sight in the world; a group of little pony chairs, each drawn61 by a little fat fawn-coloured pony, like the one that Mr. Lyle had been riding. Lord Henry drove his mother; Lord Everingham, Lady Theresa; Lady Everingham was attended by Coningsby. Their host cantered by the Duchess’s side, and along winding roads of easy ascent62, leading through beautiful woods, and offering charming landscapes, they reached in due time the Upper Park.
‘One sees our host to great advantage in his own house,’ said Lady Everingham. ‘He is scarcely the same person. I have not observed him once blush. He speaks and moves with ease. It is a pity that he is not more graceful. Above all things I like a graceful man.’
‘That chapel,’ said Coningsby, ‘was a fine thing.’
‘Very!’ said Lady Everingham. ‘Did you observe the picture over the altar, the Virgin63 with blue eyes? I never observed blue eyes before in such a picture. What is your favourite colour for eyes?’
Coningsby felt embarrassed: he said something rather pointless about admiring everything that was beautiful.
‘But every one has a favourite style; I want to know yours. Regular features, do you like regular features? Or is it expression that pleases you?’
‘Expression; I think I like expression. Expression must be always delightful.’
‘Do you dance?’
‘No; I am no great dancer. I fear I have few accomplishments64. I am fond of fencing.’
‘I don’t fence,’ said Lady Everingham, with a smile. ‘But I think you are right not to dance. It is not in your way. You are ambitious, I believe?’ she added.
‘I was not aware of it; everybody is ambitious.’
‘You see I know something of your character. Henry has spoken of you to me a great deal; long before we met,—met again, I should say, for we are old friends, remember. Do you know your career much interests me? I like ambitious men.’
There is something fascinating in the first idea that your career interests a charming woman. Coningsby felt that he was perhaps driving a Madame de Longueville. A woman who likes ambitious men must be no ordinary character; clearly a sort of heroine. At this moment they reached the Upper Park, and the novel landscape changed the current of their remarks.
Far as the eye could reach there spread before them a savage sylvan66 scene. It wanted, perhaps, undulation of surface, but that deficiency was greatly compensated67 for by the multitude and prodigious68 size of the trees; they were the largest, indeed, that could well be met with in England; and there is no part of Europe where the timber is so huge. The broad interminable glades69, the vast avenues, the quantity of deer browsing70 or bounding in all directions, the thickets71 of yellow gorse and green fern, and the breeze that even in the stillness of summer was ever playing over this table-land, all produced an animated72 and renovating73 scene. It was like suddenly visiting another country, living among other manners, and breathing another air. They stopped for a few minutes at a pavilion built for the purposes of the chase, and then returned, all gratified by this visit to what appeared to be the higher regions of the earth.
As they approached the brow of the hill that hung over St. Geneviève, they heard the great bell sound.
‘What is that?’ asked the Duchess.
‘It is almsgiving day,’ replied Mr. Lyle, looking a little embarrassed, and for the first time blushing. ‘The people of the parishes with which I am connected come to St. Geneviève twice a-week at this hour.’
‘And what is your system?’ inquired Lord Everingham, who had stopped, interested by the scene. ‘What check have you?’
‘The rectors of the different parishes grant certificates to those who in their belief merit bounty74 according to the rules which I have established. These are again visited by my almoner, who countersigns75 the certificate, and then they present it at the postern-gate. The certificate explains the nature of their necessities, and my steward76 acts on his discretion77.
‘Mamma, I see them!’ exclaimed Lady Theresa.
‘Perhaps your Grace may think that they might be relieved without all this ceremony,’ said Mr. Lyle, extremely confused. ‘But I agree with Henry and Mr. Coningsby, that Ceremony is not, as too commonly supposed, an idle form. I wish the people constantly and visibly to comprehend that Property is their protector and their friend.’
‘My reason is with you, Mr. Lyle,’ said the Duchess, ‘as well as my heart.’
They came along the valley, a procession of Nature, whose groups an artist might have studied. The old man, who loved the pilgrimage too much to avail himself of the privilege of a substitute accorded to his grey hairs, came in person with his grandchild and his staff. There also came the widow with her child at the breast, and others clinging to her form; some sorrowful faces, and some pale; many a serious one, and now and then a frolic glance; many a dame65 in her red cloak, and many a maiden78 with her light basket; curly-headed urchins79 with demure80 looks, and sometimes a stalwart form baffled for a time of the labour which he desired. But not a heart there that did not bless the bell that sounded from the tower of St. Geneviève!
点击
收听单词发音
收听单词发音 |
1
margin
|
|
| n.页边空白；差额；余地，余裕；边，边缘 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
2
Christian
|
|
| adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
3
pinnacles
|
|
| 顶峰( pinnacle的名词复数 )； 顶点； 尖顶； 小尖塔 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
4
verdant
|
|
| adj.翠绿的，青翠的，生疏的，不老练的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
5
winding
|
|
| n.绕，缠，绕组，线圈 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
6
clumps
|
|
| n.（树、灌木、植物等的）丛、簇( clump的名词复数 )；（土、泥等）团；块；笨重的脚步声v.（树、灌木、植物等的）丛、簇( clump的第三人称单数 )；（土、泥等）团；块；笨重的脚步声 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
7
mansion
|
|
| n.大厦，大楼；宅第 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
8
grassy
|
|
| adj.盖满草的；长满草的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
9
demesne
|
|
| n.领域，私有土地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
10
peculiar
|
|
| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
11
picturesque
|
|
| adj.美丽如画的，（语言）生动的，绘声绘色的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
12
crest
|
|
| n.顶点；饰章；羽冠；vt.达到顶点；vi.形成浪尖 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
13
abrupt
|
|
| adj.突然的，意外的；唐突的，鲁莽的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
14
abounding
|
|
| adj.丰富的，大量的v.大量存在，充满，富于( abound的现在分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
15
wilderness
|
|
| n.杳无人烟的一片陆地、水等，荒漠 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
16
abounded
|
|
| v.大量存在，充满，富于( abound的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
17
savage
|
|
| adj.野蛮的；凶恶的，残暴的；n.未开化的人 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
18
graceful
|
|
| adj.优美的，优雅的；得体的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
19
twilight
|
|
| n.暮光，黄昏；暮年，晚期，衰落时期 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
20
solitary
|
|
| adj.孤独的，独立的，荒凉的；n.隐士 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
21
illusive
|
|
| adj.迷惑人的，错觉的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
22
standing
|
|
| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
23
brink
|
|
| n.(悬崖、河流等的)边缘，边沿 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
24
sketch
|
|
| n.草图；梗概；素描；v.素描；概述 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
25
dwellers
|
|
| n.居民，居住者( dweller的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
26
gathering
|
|
| n.集会，聚会，聚集 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
27
chapel
|
|
| n.小教堂，殡仪馆 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
28
chapels
|
|
| n.小教堂， （医院、监狱等的）附属礼拜堂( chapel的名词复数 )；（在小教堂和附属礼拜堂举行的）礼拜仪式 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
29
spires
|
|
| n.（教堂的） 塔尖，尖顶( spire的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
30
forth
|
|
| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
31
delightful
|
|
| adj.令人高兴的，使人快乐的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
32
pony
|
|
| adj.小型的；n.小马 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
33
turrets
|
|
| （六角）转台( turret的名词复数 )； （战舰和坦克等上的）转动炮塔； （摄影机等上的）镜头转台； （旧时攻城用的）塔车 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
34
spacious
|
|
| adj.广阔的，宽敞的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
35
chamber
|
|
| n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
36
discomfiture
|
|
| n.崩溃；大败；挫败；困惑 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
37
plume
|
|
| n.羽毛；v.整理羽毛，骚首弄姿，用羽毛装饰 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
38
lamented
|
|
| adj.被哀悼的，令人遗憾的v.（为…）哀悼，痛哭，悲伤( lament的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
39
nay
|
|
| adv.不；n.反对票，投反对票者 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
40
deplore
|
|
| vt.哀叹，对...深感遗憾 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
41
besieged
|
|
| 包围，围困，围攻( besiege的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
42
broach
|
|
| v.开瓶，提出(题目) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
43
luncheon
|
|
| n.午宴，午餐，便宴 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
44
poetic
|
|
| adj.富有诗意的，有诗人气质的，善于抒情的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
45
tilts
|
|
| （意欲赢得某物或战胜某人的）企图，尝试( tilt的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
46
specimens
|
|
| n.样品( specimen的名词复数 )；范例；（化验的）抽样；某种类型的人 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
47
squires
|
|
| n.地主，乡绅( squire的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
48
crimson
|
|
| n./adj.深(绯)红色(的)；vi.脸变绯红色 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
49
caressing
|
|
| 爱抚的，表现爱情的，亲切的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
50
exhausted
|
|
| adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
51
vaulted
|
|
| adj.拱状的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
52
entirely
|
|
| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
53
testament
|
|
| n.遗嘱；证明 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
54
mosaic
|
|
| n./adj.镶嵌细工的，镶嵌工艺品的，嵌花式的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
55
sumptuousness
|
|
| 奢侈，豪华 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
56
pervaded
|
|
| v.遍及，弥漫( pervade的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
57
harmonious
|
|
| adj.和睦的，调和的，和谐的，协调的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
58
murmur
|
|
| n.低语，低声的怨言；v.低语，低声而言 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
59
reverence
|
|
| n.敬畏，尊敬，尊严；Reverence:对某些基督教神职人员的尊称；v.尊敬，敬畏，崇敬 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
60
admiration
|
|
| n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
61
drawn
|
|
| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
62
ascent
|
|
| n.(声望或地位)提高；上升，升高；登高 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
63
virgin
|
|
| n.处女，未婚女子；adj.未经使用的；未经开发的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
64
accomplishments
|
|
| n.造诣；完成( accomplishment的名词复数 )；技能；成绩；成就 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
65
dame
|
|
| n.女士 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
66
sylvan
|
|
| adj.森林的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
67
compensated
|
|
| 补偿，报酬( compensate的过去式和过去分词 )； 给（某人）赔偿（或赔款） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
68
prodigious
|
|
| adj.惊人的，奇妙的；异常的；巨大的；庞大的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
69
glades
|
|
| n.林中空地( glade的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
70
browsing
|
|
| v.吃草( browse的现在分词 )；随意翻阅；（在商店里）随便看看；（在计算机上）浏览信息 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
71
thickets
|
|
| n.灌木丛( thicket的名词复数 )；丛状物 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
72
animated
|
|
| adj.生气勃勃的，活跃的，愉快的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
73
renovating
|
|
| 翻新，修复，整修( renovate的现在分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
74
bounty
|
|
| n.慷慨的赠予物，奖金；慷慨，大方；施与 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
75
countersigns
|
|
| v.连署，副署，会签 （文件）( countersign的第三人称单数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
|
76
steward
|
|
| n.乘务员，服务员；看管人；膳食管理员 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
77
discretion
|
|
| n.谨慎；随意处理 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
78
maiden
|
|
| n.少女，处女；adj.未婚的，纯洁的，无经验的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
79
urchins
|
|
| n.顽童( urchin的名词复数 )；淘气鬼；猬；海胆 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
80
demure
|
|
| adj.严肃的；端庄的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
| 欢迎访问英文小说网 |