Absurd though the tale appears, it has its counterparts in more sober annals, and few men of any prominence10 have not bewailed at times their painful popularity. Sir Walter Scott, who was the recipient11 of many gifts, had his fair share of vexatious experiences, and laughs at them somewhat ruefully now and then in the pages of his journal. Eight{86} large and very badly painted landscapes, “in great gilded12 frames,” were given him by one “most amiable13 and accomplished14 old lady.” She had ordered them from an impoverished15 amateur whom she desired to befriend, and then palmed them off on Sir Walter, who was too gentle and generous to protest. A more “whimsical subject of affliction” was the presentation of two emus by a Mr. Harmer, a settler in Botany Bay, to whom Scott had given some useful letters of introduction. “I wish his gratitude16 had either taken a different turn, or remained as quiescent17 as that of others whom I have obliged more materially,” writes Sir Walter in his journal. “I at first accepted the creatures, conceiving them, in my ignorance, to be some sort of blue and green parrots, which, though I do not admire their noise, might scream and yell at their pleasure, if hung up in the hall among the armor. But your emu, it seems, stands six feet high on his stocking soles, and is little better than a kind of cassowary or ostrich18. Hang them! They might eat up my collection of old arms, for what I know.{87}”
Finally, like the girl who was converted at a revival19, and who gave her blue ribbons to her sister because she knew they were taking her to hell, Scott got himself out of the scrape by passing on the emus, as a sort of feudal20 offering, to the Duke of Buccleugh, and leaving that nobleman to solve as best he could the problem of their maintenance. The whole story is very much like the experience of Mr. James Payn’s lawyer friend, to whom a “grateful orphan” sent from the far East a dromedary, with the pleasant assurance that its hump was considered extremely delicate eating. As this highly respected member of the London bar could not well have the dromedary butchered for the sake of its hump,—even if he had yearned21 over the dish,—and as he was equally incapable22 of riding the beast to his office every morning, he considered himself fortunate when the Zo?logical Gardens opened their hospitable23 gates and the orphan’s tribute disappeared therein, to be seen and heard of no more.
Charles Lamb, on the other hand, if we may trust the testimony24 of his letters,{88} appears to have derived25 a keen and kindly26 pleasure from the more reasonable and modest presents of his friends. Perhaps, like Steele, he looked upon it as a point of morality to be obliged to those who endeavored to oblige him. Perhaps it was easy for one so lovable to detect the honest affection which inspired these varied27 gifts. It is certain we find him returning genial28 thanks, now to Hazlitt for a pig, now to Wordsworth for a “great armful” of poetry, and now to Thomas Allsop for some Stilton cheese,—“the delicatest, rainbow-hued, melting piece I ever flavored.” He seems equally gratified with an engraving29 of Pope sent by Mr. Procter, and with another pig,—“a dear pigmy,” he calls it,—the gift of Mrs. Bruton. Nor is it only in these letters of acknowledgment—wherein courtesy dispenses30 occasionally with the companionship of truth—that Lamb shows himself a generous recipient of his friends’ good will. He writes to Wordsworth, who has sent him nothing, and expresses his frank delight in some fruit which has been left early that morning at his door:{89}—
“There is something inexpressibly pleasant to me in these presents, be it fruit, or fowl31, or brawn32, or what not. Books are a legitimate33 cause of acceptance. If presents be not the soul of friendship, they are undoubtedly34 the most spiritual part of the body of that intercourse35. There is too much narrowness of thinking on this point. The punctilio of acceptance, me-thinks, is too confined and strait-laced. I could be content to receive money, or clothes, or a joint36 of meat from a friend. Why should he not send me a dinner as well as a desert? I would taste him in all the beasts of the field, and through all creation. Therefore did the basket of fruit of the juvenile37 Talfourd not displease38 me.”
It is hard not to envy Talfourd when one reads these lines. It is hard not to envy any one who had the happiness of giving fruit, or cheese, or pigs to Charles Lamb. How gladly would we all have brought our offerings to his door, and have gone away with bounding hearts, exulting39 in the thought that our pears would deck his table, our pictures his wall, our books his{90} scanty40 shelves! “People seldom read a book which is given to them,” observes Dr. Johnson, with his usual discouraging acumen41; but Lamb found leisure, amid heavy toil42, to peruse43 the numerous volumes which small poets as well as big ones thought fit to send him. He accepted his gifts with a charming munificence44 which suggests those far-off, fabulous45 days when presents were picturesque46 accessories of life; when hosts gave to their guests the golden cups from which they had been drinking; and sultans gave their visitors long trains of female slaves, all beautiful, and carrying jars of jewels upon their heads; and Merlin gave to Gwythno the famous hamper47 which multiplied its contents an hundredfold, and fed the starving hosts in storm-swept Caradigion. In those brave years, large-hearted men knew how to accept as well as how to give, and they did both with an easy grace for which our modern methods offer no adequate opportunity. Even in the veracious48 chronicles of hagiology, the old harmonious49 sentiment is preserved, and puts us to the blush. St. Martin sharing his cloak with{91} the beggar at the gates of Tours was hardly what we delight in calling practical; yet not one shivering outcast only, but all mankind would have been poorer had that mantle50 been withheld51. King Canute taking off his golden crown, and laying it humbly52 on St. Edmund’s shrine53, stirs our hearts a little even now; while Queen Victoria sending fifty pounds to a deserving charity excites in us no stronger sentiment than esteem54. It was easier, perhaps, for a monarch55 to do a gracious and a princely deed when his crown and sceptre were his own property instead of belonging to the state; and picturesqueness56, ignore it as we may, is a quality which, like distinction, “fixes the world’s ideals.”
These noble and beautiful benefactions, however, are not the only ones which linger pleasantly in our memories. Gifts there have been, of a humble57 and domestic kind, the mere58 recollection of which is a continual delight. I love to think of Jane Austen’s young sailor brother, her “own particular little brother,” Charles, spending his first prize money in gold chains and “topaze{92} crosses” for his sisters. What prettier, warmer picture can be called to mind than this handsome, gallant59, light-hearted lad—handsomer, Jane jealously insists, than all the rest of the family—bringing back to his quiet country home these innocent trophies60 of victory? Surely it was the pleasure Miss Austen felt in that “topaze” cross, that little golden chain, which found such eloquent61 expression in Fanny Price’s mingled62 rapture63 and distress64 when her sailor brother brought her the amber65 cross from Sicily, and Edmund Bertram offered her, too late, the chain on which to hang it. It is a splendid reward that lies in wait for boyish generosity66 when the sister chances to be one of the immortals67, and hands down to generations of readers the charming record of her gratitude and love.
By the side of this thoroughly68 English picture should be placed, in justice and in harmony, another which is as thoroughly German,—Rahel Varnhagen sending to her brother money to bring him to Berlin. The letter which accompanies this sisterly gift is one of the most touching69 in literature.{93} The brilliant, big-hearted woman is yearning70 for her kinsman’s face. She has saved the trifling71 sum required through many unnamed denials. She gives it as generously as if it cost her nothing. Yet with that wise thrift72 which goes hand in hand with liberality, she warns her brother that her husband knows nothing of the matter. Not that she mistrusts his nature for a moment. He is good and kind, but he is also a man, and has the customary shortsightedness of his sex. “He will think,” she writes, “that I have endless resources, that I am a millionaire, and will forget to economize73 in the future.”
Ah, painful frugality74 of the poor Fatherland! Here is nothing picturesque, nor lavish75, nor light-hearted, to tempt76 our jocund77 fancies. Yet here, as elsewhere, the generous soul refuses to be stinted78 of its joy; and the golden crown of King Canute is not more charming to contemplate79 than are the few coins wrested80 from sordid81 needs, and given with a glad munificence which makes them splendid as the ransom82 of a prince.
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1 delightful | |
adj.令人高兴的,使人快乐的 | |
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2 confinement | |
n.幽禁,拘留,监禁;分娩;限制,局限 | |
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3 idol | |
n.偶像,红人,宠儿 | |
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4 woolen | |
adj.羊毛(制)的;毛纺的 | |
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5 slippers | |
n. 拖鞋 | |
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6 intoxicating | |
a. 醉人的,使人兴奋的 | |
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7 beverages | |
n.饮料( beverage的名词复数 ) | |
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8 abstemious | |
adj.有节制的,节俭的 | |
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9 votary | |
n.崇拜者;爱好者;adj.誓约的,立誓任圣职的 | |
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10 prominence | |
n.突出;显著;杰出;重要 | |
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11 recipient | |
a.接受的,感受性强的 n.接受者,感受者,容器 | |
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12 gilded | |
a.镀金的,富有的 | |
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13 amiable | |
adj.和蔼可亲的,友善的,亲切的 | |
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14 accomplished | |
adj.有才艺的;有造诣的;达到了的 | |
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15 impoverished | |
adj.穷困的,无力的,用尽了的v.使(某人)贫穷( impoverish的过去式和过去分词 );使(某物)贫瘠或恶化 | |
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16 gratitude | |
adj.感激,感谢 | |
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17 quiescent | |
adj.静止的,不活动的,寂静的 | |
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18 ostrich | |
n.鸵鸟 | |
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19 revival | |
n.复兴,复苏,(精力、活力等的)重振 | |
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20 feudal | |
adj.封建的,封地的,领地的 | |
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21 yearned | |
渴望,切盼,向往( yearn的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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22 incapable | |
adj.无能力的,不能做某事的 | |
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23 hospitable | |
adj.好客的;宽容的;有利的,适宜的 | |
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24 testimony | |
n.证词;见证,证明 | |
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25 derived | |
vi.起源;由来;衍生;导出v.得到( derive的过去式和过去分词 );(从…中)得到获得;源于;(从…中)提取 | |
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26 kindly | |
adj.和蔼的,温和的,爽快的;adv.温和地,亲切地 | |
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27 varied | |
adj.多样的,多变化的 | |
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28 genial | |
adj.亲切的,和蔼的,愉快的,脾气好的 | |
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29 engraving | |
n.版画;雕刻(作品);雕刻艺术;镌版术v.在(硬物)上雕刻(字,画等)( engrave的现在分词 );将某事物深深印在(记忆或头脑中) | |
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30 dispenses | |
v.分配,分与;分配( dispense的第三人称单数 );施与;配(药) | |
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31 fowl | |
n.家禽,鸡,禽肉 | |
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32 brawn | |
n.体力 | |
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33 legitimate | |
adj.合法的,合理的,合乎逻辑的;v.使合法 | |
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34 undoubtedly | |
adv.确实地,无疑地 | |
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35 intercourse | |
n.性交;交流,交往,交际 | |
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36 joint | |
adj.联合的,共同的;n.关节,接合处;v.连接,贴合 | |
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37 juvenile | |
n.青少年,少年读物;adj.青少年的,幼稚的 | |
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38 displease | |
vt.使不高兴,惹怒;n.不悦,不满,生气 | |
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39 exulting | |
vi. 欢欣鼓舞,狂喜 | |
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40 scanty | |
adj.缺乏的,仅有的,节省的,狭小的,不够的 | |
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41 acumen | |
n.敏锐,聪明 | |
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42 toil | |
vi.辛劳工作,艰难地行动;n.苦工,难事 | |
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43 peruse | |
v.细读,精读 | |
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44 munificence | |
n.宽宏大量,慷慨给与 | |
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45 fabulous | |
adj.极好的;极为巨大的;寓言中的,传说中的 | |
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46 picturesque | |
adj.美丽如画的,(语言)生动的,绘声绘色的 | |
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47 hamper | |
vt.妨碍,束缚,限制;n.(有盖的)大篮子 | |
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48 veracious | |
adj.诚实可靠的 | |
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49 harmonious | |
adj.和睦的,调和的,和谐的,协调的 | |
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50 mantle | |
n.斗篷,覆罩之物,罩子;v.罩住,覆盖,脸红 | |
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51 withheld | |
withhold过去式及过去分词 | |
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52 humbly | |
adv. 恭顺地,谦卑地 | |
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53 shrine | |
n.圣地,神龛,庙;v.将...置于神龛内,把...奉为神圣 | |
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54 esteem | |
n.尊敬,尊重;vt.尊重,敬重;把…看作 | |
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55 monarch | |
n.帝王,君主,最高统治者 | |
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56 picturesqueness | |
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57 humble | |
adj.谦卑的,恭顺的;地位低下的;v.降低,贬低 | |
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58 mere | |
adj.纯粹的;仅仅,只不过 | |
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59 gallant | |
adj.英勇的,豪侠的;(向女人)献殷勤的 | |
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60 trophies | |
n.(为竞赛获胜者颁发的)奖品( trophy的名词复数 );奖杯;(尤指狩猎或战争中获得的)纪念品;(用于比赛或赛跑名称)奖 | |
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61 eloquent | |
adj.雄辩的,口才流利的;明白显示出的 | |
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62 mingled | |
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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63 rapture | |
n.狂喜;全神贯注;着迷;v.使狂喜 | |
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64 distress | |
n.苦恼,痛苦,不舒适;不幸;vt.使悲痛 | |
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65 amber | |
n.琥珀;琥珀色;adj.琥珀制的 | |
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66 generosity | |
n.大度,慷慨,慷慨的行为 | |
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67 immortals | |
不朽的人物( immortal的名词复数 ); 永生不朽者 | |
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68 thoroughly | |
adv.完全地,彻底地,十足地 | |
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69 touching | |
adj.动人的,使人感伤的 | |
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70 yearning | |
a.渴望的;向往的;怀念的 | |
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71 trifling | |
adj.微不足道的;没什么价值的 | |
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72 thrift | |
adj.节约,节俭;n.节俭,节约 | |
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73 economize | |
v.节约,节省 | |
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74 frugality | |
n.节约,节俭 | |
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75 lavish | |
adj.无节制的;浪费的;vt.慷慨地给予,挥霍 | |
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76 tempt | |
vt.引诱,勾引,吸引,引起…的兴趣 | |
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77 jocund | |
adj.快乐的,高兴的 | |
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78 stinted | |
v.限制,节省(stint的过去式与过去分词形式) | |
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79 contemplate | |
vt.盘算,计议;周密考虑;注视,凝视 | |
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80 wrested | |
(用力)拧( wrest的过去式和过去分词 ); 费力取得; (从…)攫取; ( 从… ) 强行取去… | |
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81 sordid | |
adj.肮脏的,不干净的,卑鄙的,暗淡的 | |
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82 ransom | |
n.赎金,赎身;v.赎回,解救 | |
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