At length one morning there was an odd whisper in the circle of first initiation13. The blood mantled14 on the cheek of Lady St Julians; Lady Deloraine turned pale. Lady Firebrace wrote confidential15 notes with the same pen to Mr Tadpole and Lord Masque. Lord Marney called early in the morning on the Duke of Fitz-Aquitaine, and already found Lord de Mowbray there. The clubs were crowded even at noon. Everywhere a mysterious bustle16 and an awful stir.
What could be the matter? What has happened?
“It is true,” said Mr Egerton to Mr Berners at Brookes’.
“Is it true?” asked Mr Jermyn of Lord Valentine at the Canton.
“I heard it last night at Crockford’s,” said Mr Ormsby; “one always hears things there four-and-twenty hours before other places.”
The world was employed the whole of the morning in asking and answering this important question “Is it true?” Towards dinner time, it was settled universally in the affirmative, and then the world went out to dine and to ascertain17 why it was true and how it was true.
And now what really had happened? What had happened was what is commonly called a “hitch18.” There was undoubtedly19 a hitch somewhere and somehow; a hitch in the construction of the new cabinet. Who could have thought it? The whig ministers it seems had resigned, but somehow or other had not entirely20 and completely gone out. What a constitutional dilemma21? The Houses must evidently meet, address the throne, and impeach22 its obstinate23 counsellors. Clearly the right course, and party feeling ran so high, that it was not impossible that something might be done. At any rate, it was a capital opportunity for the House of Lords to pluck up a little courage and take what is called, in high political jargon24, the initiative. Lord Marney at the suggestion of Mr Tadpole was quite ready to do this; and so was the Duke of Fitz-Aquitaine, and almost the Earl de Mowbray.
But then when all seemed ripe and ready, and there appeared a probability of the “Independence of the House of Lords” being again the favourite toast of conservative dinners, the oddest rumour25 in the world got about, which threw such a ridicule26 on these great constitutional movements in petto, that even with the Buckhounds in the distance and Tadpole at his elbow, Lord Marney hesitated. It seemed, though of course no one could for a moment credit it, that these wrong-headed, rebellious27 ministers who would not go out, wore—petticoats!
And the great Jamaica debate that had been cooked so long, and the anxiously expected, yet almost despaired of, defection of the independent radical28 section, and the full-dressed visit to the palace that had gladdened the heart of Tadpole—were they all to end in this? Was Conservatism, that mighty29 mystery of the nineteenth century—was it after all to be brained by a fan!
Lady Deloraine consoled herself for the “Bedchamber Plot” by declaring that Lady St Julians was indirectly31 the cause of it, and that had it not been for the anticipation32 of her official entrance into the royal apartments the conspiracy33 would not have been more real than the Meal-tub plot or any other of the many imaginary machinations that still haunt the page of history, and occasionally flit about the prejudiced memory of nations. Lady St Julians on the contrary wrung34 her hands over the unhappy fate of her enthralled35 sovereign, deprived of her faithful presence and obliged to put up with the society of personages of whom she knew nothing and who called themselves the friends of her youth. The ministers who had missed, especially those who had received their appointments, looked as all men do when they are jilted—embarrassed and affecting an awkward ease; as if they knew something which, if they told, would free them from the supreme36 ridicule of their situation, but which, as men of delicacy37 and honour, they refrained from revealing. All those who had been in fluttering hopes, however faint, of receiving preferment, took courage now that the occasion had passed, and loudly complained of their cruel and undeniable deprivation38. The constitution was wounded in their persons. Some fifty gentlemen who had not been appointed under secretaries of state, moaned over the martyrdom of young ambition.
“Peel ought to have taken office,” said Lord Marney. “What are the women to us?”
“Peel ought to have taken office,” said the Duke of Fitz-Aquitaine. “He should have remembered how much he owed to Ireland.”
“Peel ought to have taken office,” said Lord de Mowbray. “The garter will become now a mere39 party badge.”
Perhaps it may be allowed to the impartial40 pen that traces these memoirs41 of our times to agree, though for a different reason, with these distinguished followers42 of Sir Robert Peel. One may be permitted to think that, under all circumstances, he should have taken office in 1839. His withdrawal43 seems to have been a mistake. In the great heat of parliamentary faction44 which had prevailed since 1831, the royal prerogative45, which, unfortunately for the rights and liberties and social welfare of the people, had since 1688 been more or less oppressed, had waned46 fainter and fainter. A youthful princess on the throne, whose appearance touched the imagination, and to whom her people were generally inclined to ascribe something of that decision of character which becomes those born to command, offered a favourable47 opportunity to restore the exercise of that regal authority, the usurpation48 of whose functions has entailed49 on the people of England so much suffering and so much degradation50. It was unfortunate that one who, if any, should have occupied the proud and national position of the leader of the tory party, the chief of the people and the champion of the throne, should have commenced his career as minister under Victoria by an unseemly contrariety to the personal wishes of the Queen. The reaction of public opinion, disgusted with years of parliamentary tumult51 and the incoherence of party legislation, the balanced state in the kingdom of political parties themselves, the personal character of the sovereign—these were all causes which intimated that a movement in favour of prerogative was at hand. The leader of the tory party should have vindicated52 his natural position, and availed himself of the gracious occasion: he missed it; and as the occasion was inevitable53, the whigs enjoyed its occurrence. And thus England witnessed for the first time the portentous54 anomaly of the oligarchical55 or Venetian party, which had in the old days destroyed the free monarchy56 of England, retaining power merely by the favour of the Court.
But we forget, Sir Robert Peel is not the leader of the Tory party: the party that resisted the ruinous mystification that metamorphosed direct taxation57 by the Crown into indirect taxation by the Commons; that denounced the system that mortgaged industry to protect property; the party that ruled Ireland by a scheme which reconciled both churches, and by a series of parliaments which counted among them lords and commons of both religions; that has maintained at all times the territorial58 constitution of England as the only basis and security for local government, and which nevertheless once laid on the table of the House of Commons a commercial tariff59 negociated at Utrecht, which is the most rational that was ever devised by statesmen; a party that has prevented the Church from being the salaried agent of the state, and has supported through many struggles the parochial polity of the country which secures to every labourer a home.
In a parliamentary sense, that great party has ceased to exist; but I will believe it still lives in the thought and sentiment and consecrated60 memory of the English nation. It has its origin in great principles and in noble instincts; it sympathises with the lowly, it looks up to the Most High; it can count its heroes and its martyrs61; they have met in its behalf plunder62, proscription63, and death. Nor when it finally yielded to the iron progress of oligarchical supremacy64, was its catastrophe65 inglorious. Its genius was vindicated in golden sentences and with fervent66 arguments of impassioned logic67 by St John; and breathed in the intrepid68 eloquence69 and patriot70 soul of William Wyndham. Even now it is not dead, but sleepeth; and in an age of political materialism71, of confused purposes and perplexed intelligence, that aspires72 only to wealth because it has faith in no other accomplishment73, as men rifle cargoes74 on the verge75 of shipwreck76, Toryism will yet rise from the tomb over which Bolingbroke shed his last tear, to bring back strength to the Crown, liberty to the Subject, and to announce that power has only one duty—to secure the social welfare of the PEOPLE.
点击收听单词发音
1 tadpole | |
n.[动]蝌蚪 | |
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2 transpired | |
(事实,秘密等)被人知道( transpire的过去式和过去分词 ); 泄露; 显露; 发生 | |
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3 diurnal | |
adj.白天的,每日的 | |
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4 honourable | |
adj.可敬的;荣誉的,光荣的 | |
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5 grouse | |
n.松鸡;v.牢骚,诉苦 | |
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6 distinguished | |
adj.卓越的,杰出的,著名的 | |
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7 chapel | |
n.小教堂,殡仪馆 | |
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8 tranquil | |
adj. 安静的, 宁静的, 稳定的, 不变的 | |
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9 discretion | |
n.谨慎;随意处理 | |
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10 perplexed | |
adj.不知所措的 | |
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11 protracted | |
adj.拖延的;延长的v.拖延“protract”的过去式和过去分词 | |
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12 adroitly | |
adv.熟练地,敏捷地 | |
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13 initiation | |
n.开始 | |
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14 mantled | |
披着斗篷的,覆盖着的 | |
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15 confidential | |
adj.秘(机)密的,表示信任的,担任机密工作的 | |
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16 bustle | |
v.喧扰地忙乱,匆忙,奔忙;n.忙碌;喧闹 | |
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17 ascertain | |
vt.发现,确定,查明,弄清 | |
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18 hitch | |
v.免费搭(车旅行);系住;急提;n.故障;急拉 | |
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19 undoubtedly | |
adv.确实地,无疑地 | |
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20 entirely | |
ad.全部地,完整地;完全地,彻底地 | |
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21 dilemma | |
n.困境,进退两难的局面 | |
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22 impeach | |
v.弹劾;检举 | |
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23 obstinate | |
adj.顽固的,倔强的,不易屈服的,较难治愈的 | |
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24 jargon | |
n.术语,行话 | |
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25 rumour | |
n.谣言,谣传,传闻 | |
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26 ridicule | |
v.讥讽,挖苦;n.嘲弄 | |
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27 rebellious | |
adj.造反的,反抗的,难控制的 | |
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28 radical | |
n.激进份子,原子团,根号;adj.根本的,激进的,彻底的 | |
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29 mighty | |
adj.强有力的;巨大的 | |
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30 farce | |
n.闹剧,笑剧,滑稽戏;胡闹 | |
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31 indirectly | |
adv.间接地,不直接了当地 | |
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32 anticipation | |
n.预期,预料,期望 | |
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33 conspiracy | |
n.阴谋,密谋,共谋 | |
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34 wrung | |
绞( wring的过去式和过去分词 ); 握紧(尤指别人的手); 把(湿衣服)拧干; 绞掉(水) | |
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35 enthralled | |
迷住,吸引住( enthrall的过去式和过去分词 ); 使感到非常愉快 | |
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36 supreme | |
adj.极度的,最重要的;至高的,最高的 | |
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37 delicacy | |
n.精致,细微,微妙,精良;美味,佳肴 | |
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38 deprivation | |
n.匮乏;丧失;夺去,贫困 | |
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39 mere | |
adj.纯粹的;仅仅,只不过 | |
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40 impartial | |
adj.(in,to)公正的,无偏见的 | |
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41 memoirs | |
n.回忆录;回忆录传( mem,自oir的名词复数) | |
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42 followers | |
追随者( follower的名词复数 ); 用户; 契据的附面; 从动件 | |
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43 withdrawal | |
n.取回,提款;撤退,撤军;收回,撤销 | |
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44 faction | |
n.宗派,小集团;派别;派系斗争 | |
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45 prerogative | |
n.特权 | |
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46 waned | |
v.衰落( wane的过去式和过去分词 );(月)亏;变小;变暗淡 | |
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47 favourable | |
adj.赞成的,称赞的,有利的,良好的,顺利的 | |
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48 usurpation | |
n.篡位;霸占 | |
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49 entailed | |
使…成为必要( entail的过去式和过去分词 ); 需要; 限定继承; 使必需 | |
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50 degradation | |
n.降级;低落;退化;陵削;降解;衰变 | |
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51 tumult | |
n.喧哗;激动,混乱;吵闹 | |
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52 vindicated | |
v.澄清(某人/某事物)受到的责难或嫌疑( vindicate的过去式和过去分词 );表明或证明(所争辩的事物)属实、正当、有效等;维护 | |
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53 inevitable | |
adj.不可避免的,必然发生的 | |
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54 portentous | |
adj.不祥的,可怕的,装腔作势的 | |
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55 oligarchical | |
adj.寡头政治的,主张寡头政治的 | |
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56 monarchy | |
n.君主,最高统治者;君主政体,君主国 | |
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57 taxation | |
n.征税,税收,税金 | |
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58 territorial | |
adj.领土的,领地的 | |
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59 tariff | |
n.关税,税率;(旅馆、饭店等)价目表,收费表 | |
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60 consecrated | |
adj.神圣的,被视为神圣的v.把…奉为神圣,给…祝圣( consecrate的过去式和过去分词 );奉献 | |
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61 martyrs | |
n.martyr的复数形式;烈士( martyr的名词复数 );殉道者;殉教者;乞怜者(向人诉苦以博取同情) | |
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62 plunder | |
vt.劫掠财物,掠夺;n.劫掠物,赃物;劫掠 | |
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63 proscription | |
n.禁止,剥夺权利 | |
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64 supremacy | |
n.至上;至高权力 | |
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65 catastrophe | |
n.大灾难,大祸 | |
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66 fervent | |
adj.热的,热烈的,热情的 | |
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67 logic | |
n.逻辑(学);逻辑性 | |
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68 intrepid | |
adj.无畏的,刚毅的 | |
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69 eloquence | |
n.雄辩;口才,修辞 | |
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70 patriot | |
n.爱国者,爱国主义者 | |
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71 materialism | |
n.[哲]唯物主义,唯物论;物质至上 | |
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72 aspires | |
v.渴望,追求( aspire的第三人称单数 ) | |
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73 accomplishment | |
n.完成,成就,(pl.)造诣,技能 | |
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74 cargoes | |
n.(船或飞机装载的)货物( cargo的名词复数 );大量,重负 | |
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75 verge | |
n.边,边缘;v.接近,濒临 | |
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76 shipwreck | |
n.船舶失事,海难 | |
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