Beautiful illusion! For behind that laughing landscape, penury6 and disease fed upon the vitals of a miserable7 population!
The contrast between the interior of the town and its external aspect, was as striking as it was full of pain. With the exception of the dull high street, which had the usual characteristics of a small agricultural market town, some sombre mansions8, a dingy9 inn, and a petty bourse, Marney mainly consisted of a variety of narrow and crowded lanes formed by cottages built of rubble10, or unhewn stones without cement, and from age, or badness of the material, looking as if they could scarcely hold together. The gaping11 chinks admitted every blast; the leaning chimneys had lost half their original height; the rotten rafters were evidently misplaced; while in many instances the thatch12, yawning in some parts to admit the wind and wet, and in all utterly13 unfit for its original purpose of giving protection from the weather, looked more like the top of a dunghill than a cottage. Before the doors of these dwellings15, and often surrounding them, ran open drains full of animal and vegetable refuse, decomposing16 into disease, or sometimes in their imperfect course filling foul17 pits or spreading into stagnant18 pools, while a concentrated solution of every species of dissolving filth19 was allowed to soak through and thoroughly20 impregnate the walls and ground adjoining.
These wretched tenements21 seldom consisted of more than two rooms, in one of which the whole family, however numerous, were obliged to sleep, without distinction of age, or sex, or suffering. With the water streaming down the walls, the light distinguished22 through the roof, with no hearth23 even in winter, the virtuous24 mother in the sacred pangs25 of childbirth, gives forth26 another victim to our thoughtless civilization; surrounded by three generations whose inevitable27 presence is more painful than her sufferings in that hour of travail28; while the father of her coming child, in another corner of the sordid29 chamber30, lies stricken by that typhus which his contaminating dwelling14 has breathed into his veins31, and for whose next prey32 is perhaps destined33, his new-born child. These swarming34 walls had neither windows nor doors sufficient to keep out the weather, or admit the sun or supply the means of ventilation; the humid and putrid35 roof of thatch exhaling36 malaria37 like all other decaying vegetable matter. The dwelling rooms were neither boarded nor paved; and whether it were that some were situate in low and damp places, occasionally flooded by the river, and usually much below the level of the road; or that the springs, as was often the case, would burst through the mud floor; the ground was at no time better than so much clay, while sometimes you might see little channels cut from the centre under the doorways38 to carry off the water, the door itself removed from its hinges: a resting place for infancy39 in its deluged40 home. These hovels were in many instances not provided with the commonest conveniences of the rudest police; contiguous to every door might be observed the dung-heap on which every kind of filth was accumulated, for the purpose of being disposed of for manure41, so that, when the poor man opened his narrow habitation in the hope of refreshing42 it with the breeze of summer, he was met with a mixture of gases from reeking43 dunghills.
This town of Marney was a metropolis44 of agricultural labour, for the proprietors45 of the neighbourhood having for the last half century acted on the system of destroying the cottages on their estates, in order to become exempted46 from the maintenance of the population, the expelled people had flocked to Marney, where, during the war, a manufactory had afforded them some relief, though its wheels had long ceased to disturb the waters of the Mar1.
Deprived of this resource, they had again gradually spread themselves over that land which had as it were rejected them; and obtained from its churlish breast a niggardly47 subsistence. Their re-entrance into the surrounding parishes was viewed with great suspicion; their renewed settlement opposed by every ingenious contrivance; those who availed themselves of their labour were careful that they should not become dwellers48 on the soil; and though, from the excessive competition, there were few districts in the kingdom where the rate of wages was more depressed49, those who were fortunate enough to obtain the scant50 remuneration, had, in addition to their toil51, to endure each morn and even a weary journey before they could reach the scene of their labour, or return to the squalid hovel which profaned52 the name of home. To that home, over which Malaria hovered53, and round whose shivering hearth were clustered other guests besides the exhausted54 family of toil—Fever, in every form, pale Consumption, exhausting Synochus, and trembling Ague,—returned after cultivating the broad fields of merry England the bold British peasant, returned to encounter the worst of diseases with a frame the least qualified55 to oppose them; a frame that subdued56 by toil was never sustained by animal food; drenched57 by the tempest could not change its dripping rags; and was indebted for its scanty58 fuel to the windfalls of the woods.
The eyes of this unhappy race might have been raised to the solitary59 spire60 that sprang up in the midst of them, the bearer of present consolation61, the harbinger of future equality; but Holy Church at Marney had forgotten her sacred mission. We have introduced the reader to the vicar, an orderly man who deemed he did his duty if he preached each week two sermons, and enforced humility62 on his congregation and gratitude63 for the blessings64 of this life. The high Street and some neighbouring gentry65 were the staple66 of his hearers. Lord and Lady Marney came, attended by Captain Grouse67, every Sunday morning with commendable68 regularity69, and were ushered70 into the invisible interior of a vast pew, that occupied half of the gallery, was lined with crimson71 damask, and furnished with easy chairs, and, for those who chose them, well-padded stools of prayer. The people of Marney took refuge in conventicles, which abounded73; little plain buildings of pale brick with the names painted on them, of Sion, Bethel, Bethesda: names of a distant land, and the language of a persecuted74 and ancient race: yet, such is the mysterious power of their divine quality, breathing consolation in the nineteenth century to the harassed75 forms and the harrowed souls of a Saxon peasantry.
But however devoted76 to his flock might have been the Vicar of Marney, his exertions77 for their well being, under any circumstances, must have been mainly limited to spiritual consolation. Married and a father he received for his labours the small tithes78 of the parish, which secured to him an income by no means equal to that of a superior banker’s clerk, or the cook of a great loanmonger. The great tithes of Marney, which might be counted by thousands, swelled79 the vast rental80 which was drawn81 from this district by the fortunate earls that bore its name.
The morning after the arrival of Egremont at the Abbey, an unusual stir might have been observed in the high Street of the town. Round the portico82 of the Green Dragon hotel and commercial inn, a knot of principal personages, the chief lawyer, the brewer83, the vicar himself, and several of those easy quidnuncs who abound72 in country towns, and who rank under the designation of retired84 gentlemen, were in close and very earnest converse85. In a short time a servant on horseback in the Abbey livery galloped86 up to the portico, and delivered a letter to the vicar. The excitement apparently87 had now greatly increased. On the opposite side of the way to the important group, a knot, larger in numbers but very deficient88 in quality, had formed themselves, and remained transfixed with gaping mouths and a Curious not to say alarmed air. The head constable89 walked up to the door of the Green Dragon, and though he did not presume to join the principal group, was evidently in attendance, if required. The clock struck eleven; a cart had stopped to watch events, and a gentleman’s coachman riding home with a led horse.
“Here they are!” said the brewer.
“Lord Marney himself,” said the lawyer.
“And Sir Vavasour Firebrace, I declare. I wonder how he came here,” said a retired gentleman, who had been a tallow-chandler on Holborn Hill.
The vicar took off his hat, and all uncovered. Lord Marney and his brother magistrate90 rode briskly up to the inn and rapidly dismounted.
“Well, Snigford,” said his lordship, in a peremptory91 tone, “this is a pretty business; I’ll have this stopped directly.”
Fortunate man if he succeed in doing so! The torch of the incendiary had for the first time been introduced into the parish of Marney; and last night the primest stacks of the Abbey farm had blazed a beacon92 to the agitated93 neighbourhood.
点击收听单词发音
1 mar | |
vt.破坏,毁坏,弄糟 | |
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2 delightful | |
adj.令人高兴的,使人快乐的 | |
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3 margin | |
n.页边空白;差额;余地,余裕;边,边缘 | |
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4 prospect | |
n.前景,前途;景色,视野 | |
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5 epithet | |
n.(用于褒贬人物等的)表述形容词,修饰语 | |
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6 penury | |
n.贫穷,拮据 | |
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7 miserable | |
adj.悲惨的,痛苦的;可怜的,糟糕的 | |
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8 mansions | |
n.宅第,公馆,大厦( mansion的名词复数 ) | |
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9 dingy | |
adj.昏暗的,肮脏的 | |
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10 rubble | |
n.(一堆)碎石,瓦砾 | |
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11 gaping | |
adj.口的;张口的;敞口的;多洞穴的v.目瞪口呆地凝视( gape的现在分词 );张开,张大 | |
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12 thatch | |
vt.用茅草覆盖…的顶部;n.茅草(屋) | |
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13 utterly | |
adv.完全地,绝对地 | |
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14 dwelling | |
n.住宅,住所,寓所 | |
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15 dwellings | |
n.住处,处所( dwelling的名词复数 ) | |
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16 decomposing | |
腐烂( decompose的现在分词 ); (使)分解; 分解(某物质、光线等) | |
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17 foul | |
adj.污秽的;邪恶的;v.弄脏;妨害;犯规;n.犯规 | |
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18 stagnant | |
adj.不流动的,停滞的,不景气的 | |
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19 filth | |
n.肮脏,污物,污秽;淫猥 | |
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20 thoroughly | |
adv.完全地,彻底地,十足地 | |
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21 tenements | |
n.房屋,住户,租房子( tenement的名词复数 ) | |
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22 distinguished | |
adj.卓越的,杰出的,著名的 | |
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23 hearth | |
n.壁炉炉床,壁炉地面 | |
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24 virtuous | |
adj.有品德的,善良的,贞洁的,有效力的 | |
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25 pangs | |
突然的剧痛( pang的名词复数 ); 悲痛 | |
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26 forth | |
adv.向前;向外,往外 | |
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27 inevitable | |
adj.不可避免的,必然发生的 | |
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28 travail | |
n.阵痛;努力 | |
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29 sordid | |
adj.肮脏的,不干净的,卑鄙的,暗淡的 | |
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30 chamber | |
n.房间,寝室;会议厅;议院;会所 | |
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31 veins | |
n.纹理;矿脉( vein的名词复数 );静脉;叶脉;纹理 | |
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32 prey | |
n.被掠食者,牺牲者,掠食;v.捕食,掠夺,折磨 | |
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33 destined | |
adj.命中注定的;(for)以…为目的地的 | |
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34 swarming | |
密集( swarm的现在分词 ); 云集; 成群地移动; 蜜蜂或其他飞行昆虫成群地飞来飞去 | |
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35 putrid | |
adj.腐臭的;有毒的;已腐烂的;卑劣的 | |
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36 exhaling | |
v.呼出,发散出( exhale的现在分词 );吐出(肺中的空气、烟等),呼气 | |
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37 malaria | |
n.疟疾 | |
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38 doorways | |
n.门口,门道( doorway的名词复数 ) | |
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39 infancy | |
n.婴儿期;幼年期;初期 | |
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40 deluged | |
v.使淹没( deluge的过去式和过去分词 );淹没;被洪水般涌来的事物所淹没;穷于应付 | |
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41 manure | |
n.粪,肥,肥粒;vt.施肥 | |
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42 refreshing | |
adj.使精神振作的,使人清爽的,使人喜欢的 | |
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43 reeking | |
v.发出浓烈的臭气( reek的现在分词 );散发臭气;发出难闻的气味 (of sth);明显带有(令人不快或生疑的跡象) | |
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44 metropolis | |
n.首府;大城市 | |
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45 proprietors | |
n.所有人,业主( proprietor的名词复数 ) | |
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46 exempted | |
使免除[豁免]( exempt的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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47 niggardly | |
adj.吝啬的,很少的 | |
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48 dwellers | |
n.居民,居住者( dweller的名词复数 ) | |
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49 depressed | |
adj.沮丧的,抑郁的,不景气的,萧条的 | |
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50 scant | |
adj.不充分的,不足的;v.减缩,限制,忽略 | |
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51 toil | |
vi.辛劳工作,艰难地行动;n.苦工,难事 | |
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52 profaned | |
v.不敬( profane的过去式和过去分词 );亵渎,玷污 | |
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53 hovered | |
鸟( hover的过去式和过去分词 ); 靠近(某事物); (人)徘徊; 犹豫 | |
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54 exhausted | |
adj.极其疲惫的,精疲力尽的 | |
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55 qualified | |
adj.合格的,有资格的,胜任的,有限制的 | |
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56 subdued | |
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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57 drenched | |
adj.湿透的;充满的v.使湿透( drench的过去式和过去分词 );在某人(某物)上大量使用(某液体) | |
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58 scanty | |
adj.缺乏的,仅有的,节省的,狭小的,不够的 | |
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59 solitary | |
adj.孤独的,独立的,荒凉的;n.隐士 | |
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60 spire | |
n.(教堂)尖顶,尖塔,高点 | |
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61 consolation | |
n.安慰,慰问 | |
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62 humility | |
n.谦逊,谦恭 | |
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63 gratitude | |
adj.感激,感谢 | |
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64 blessings | |
n.(上帝的)祝福( blessing的名词复数 );好事;福分;因祸得福 | |
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65 gentry | |
n.绅士阶级,上层阶级 | |
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66 staple | |
n.主要产物,常用品,主要要素,原料,订书钉,钩环;adj.主要的,重要的;vt.分类 | |
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67 grouse | |
n.松鸡;v.牢骚,诉苦 | |
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68 commendable | |
adj.值得称赞的 | |
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69 regularity | |
n.规律性,规则性;匀称,整齐 | |
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70 ushered | |
v.引,领,陪同( usher的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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71 crimson | |
n./adj.深(绯)红色(的);vi.脸变绯红色 | |
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72 abound | |
vi.大量存在;(in,with)充满,富于 | |
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73 abounded | |
v.大量存在,充满,富于( abound的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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74 persecuted | |
(尤指宗教或政治信仰的)迫害(~sb. for sth.)( persecute的过去式和过去分词 ); 烦扰,困扰或骚扰某人 | |
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75 harassed | |
adj. 疲倦的,厌烦的 动词harass的过去式和过去分词 | |
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76 devoted | |
adj.忠诚的,忠实的,热心的,献身于...的 | |
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77 exertions | |
n.努力( exertion的名词复数 );费力;(能力、权力等的)运用;行使 | |
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78 tithes | |
n.(宗教捐税)什一税,什一的教区税,小部分( tithe的名词复数 ) | |
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79 swelled | |
增强( swell的过去式和过去分词 ); 肿胀; (使)凸出; 充满(激情) | |
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80 rental | |
n.租赁,出租,出租业 | |
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81 drawn | |
v.拖,拉,拔出;adj.憔悴的,紧张的 | |
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82 portico | |
n.柱廊,门廊 | |
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83 brewer | |
n. 啤酒制造者 | |
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84 retired | |
adj.隐退的,退休的,退役的 | |
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85 converse | |
vi.谈话,谈天,闲聊;adv.相反的,相反 | |
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86 galloped | |
(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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87 apparently | |
adv.显然地;表面上,似乎 | |
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88 deficient | |
adj.不足的,不充份的,有缺陷的 | |
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89 constable | |
n.(英国)警察,警官 | |
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90 magistrate | |
n.地方行政官,地方法官,治安官 | |
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91 peremptory | |
adj.紧急的,专横的,断然的 | |
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92 beacon | |
n.烽火,(警告用的)闪火灯,灯塔 | |
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93 agitated | |
adj.被鼓动的,不安的 | |
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