And he was right; for there was not a nobler old house, nor prettier grounds, in the broad county of Sussex, where it stood. Contrast is the great thing, after all: tall men marry short women; the most thickset nursery-maids struggle a-tiptoe to keep step with the lengthiest8 members of the Foot-Guards; Plimnims the poet, who is of the Sybarite-roseleaf order, sighs for Miss Crupper the écuyère, who calls a horse an oss, and a donkey a hass; and so you, if you had been staying at Brighton, and had gone on an excursion at half-a-crown an hour into the inner country, would have fallen in love with Bissett Grange. For, weary of the perpetual hoarse10 murmur11 of the sea, now thundering its rage in tremendous waves, now shrieking12 its lamentation13 in long hissing14 back currents; sick of the monotony of the "long-backed bushless downs," so cold and bare and wind-swept, echoing to the eternal plaint of the curlew, and shutting off the horizon with a dreary15 never-ending shoulder-blade of blank turf,--you, if you were lucky in your choice, and had a driver with a soul beyond the Steine and aspirations16 exceeding the Lewes Road, would have come upon, at a distance of some five miles from Brighton, a little one-storied porter's lodge17, nestling in ivy18 so deep that the dear parasite19 had it in its embrace, chimneys and all. Big, heavy, and wooden were the lodge-gates; none of your pretty, light, elegant Coalbrookdale innovations. Gates, in Sir Marmaduke Wentworth's idea, were things to keep impertinent prying20 people out; and as such they could not be made too cumbrous or too opaque21 for his pleasure. They were very high as well as very heavy; so, if you had come with your 'cute driver in your fly excursion, you would have seen nothing but the quaint22 twisted chimneys; and even for that view you must have mounted unto the box. Save the friends of the owner, no one, in Marmaduke Wentworth's time, had ever passed the lodge, or rather, I should say, reached the house. Visitors to. Brighton and Worthing, dying of ennui23, had besieged24 the lodge' and implored25 permission to walk in the grounds; artists had asked to be allowed to sketch26 the house; a "gentleman engaged upon the press" had written to say that he was sure there must be a legend connected with some chamber27, if he might only be permitted to explore the mansion28; and one man, a photographer, bribed29 the lodge-keeper's grand-daughter with a piece of elecampane, and, in the absence of the legitimate30 portress passed the gate. He had proceeded about a couple of hundred yards up the avenue, when he was met by Sir Marmaduke, who had just turned out for his leisurely32 afternoon ride. The sight of the itinerant33 professor with his travelling camera roused the old gentleman in an instant; he set spurs to his cob, hurried off to the intruder, and tapped him smartly on the back with his whip. One instant's glance revealed to him the whole affair: it was not a travelling Punch, whom he would have sent into the kitchen; it was not a man from the Missionary34 Society, whom he would have had ducked in the pond; it was--tant soit peu--an artist; and for art of any kind, however humble35, old Marmaduke had a regard. So when the trembling man looked up, and, divided between a notion of "cheeking the swell," or being impudent36, and running away, or being cowardly, hit upon a middle course, and, guarding his head, at which nothing had been aimed, exclaimed, "Now, then! What are you at? Who's hurting you?" all the old gentleman did was to bend from his saddle, to seize the intruder by the lobe37 of his ear, to turn him completely round, and, pointing to the gate, to utter in a hissing whisper the phrase "Go away, man!"
When the photographer attempted to explain, the ear-pressure was intensified38, and the "Go away, man!" uttered more loudly; at the third repetition, the photographer wrung39 his ear from the old gentleman's fingers, and ran away abjectly40.
"Collodion and Clumpsoles; or, the Homes of the British Aristocracy in the Camera: being Reminiscences of a Peripatetic42 Photographer," therefore, contained no view of Bissett Grange; which was to be regretted, as neither The Hassocks, the Rector's residence, nor The Radishes, the seat of Sir Hipson Hawes, the lord of the manor43, both of which figured extensively in the photographic publication, was to be compared with Marmaduke Wentworth's ancestral mansion. The elm-avenue extended from the lodge to the house,--nearly half a mile,--and through the trees you saw the broad expanse of the park, covered with that beautiful soft turf which is in the highest perfection in Sussex, and which afforded pasture for hundreds of dappled deer, who would raise their heads at the sound of approaching footsteps or carriage-wheels, and, after peering forward earnestly with outstretched necks at the intrusion, would wheel round and start off at a peculiar44 sling45 trot46, gradually merging47 into the most graceful48 of gallops49.
Immediately in front of the porch, and only divided from it by the carriage-sweep, was an enormous flower-bed, sloping towards the sides, and culminating in the centre,--the pride of the head-gardener's soul. Right and left of the house were two arches, exactly alike. Passing through that to the left, you came upon the stables and coach-houses, of which there is little to be said, save that they were old-fashioned, and what the helpers called "ill-conwenient;" and that the fine London grooms50 who came down with their master's hacks51 and carriage-horses in the autumn--Sir Marmaduke was never at Bissett during the hunting season--used to curse them freely as a set of tumbledown old sheds, fit only for jobs and fly-'osses. And yet the old quadrangle, environed by the stable-buildings, with their red-tiled roofs and their slate-coloured half-hatch doors, each duly bearing its horse-shoe and its hecatomb of mouse and stoat skeletons, was picturesque52, more especially of an evening, when the setting sun gleamed on the quaint old clock-turret, ivy-covered and swallow-haunted, and steeped in a rich crimson53 glow the pretty cottage of old Martin, erst head-groom, now a superannuated54 pensioner55 Martin, who was never so happy as when babbling56 of bygone days, and who "minded the time" when the stables were full of blood horses, and when Master Marmaduke (the present proprietor) rode Saucy57 Sally over all the raspers in the county.
Through the other arch you came upon the gardens of the Grange. Immediately before you lay a broad expanse of lawn,--such smooth, soft turf as is only met with in England, and only there in well-to-do places. Short, crisp, and velvety58 was the grass, kept with the greatest care, and rolled and mown with the most undeviating punctuality; for Sir Marmaduke was proud of his lawn, and liked to sit out there in his high-backed rustic60 seat on the hot August evenings, placidly61 smoking his cigar, and occasionally raising his head to be fanned by the soft sea-breeze which came blowing over the neighbouring downs. He would as soon have thought of allowing a servant to take a liberty with him as of permitting any one to drive a croquet-iron into that lawn, or to attempt to play any game on it. Between the house and the lawn ran a broad gravelled walk, passing down which you came upon the orchard62 and upon the fig-garden, which was the glory of the county, and was enclosed with an old red-brick wall, which itself looked ripe and ruddy. To the right lay the kitchen-garden,--a fertile slope of land in the highest state of cultivation63, dotted every here and there with huge lights and frames, and spread nets, and overgrown cucumbers, and bursting marrows64; for though Sir Marmaduke cared but little for flowers, he was a great fruit-grower, and, next to seeing his pines and melons on his own table (where, glowing on the old ancestral Wentworth plate, they looked like a study for Lance), his great gratification was to bear away with them the prizes from the Horticultural Shows in the neighbourhood. Beyond the orchard was a large field, known as the Paddock, whither thee croquet-players and the archers65 were relegated66, and where the turf was almost as smooth as that of the sacred lawn itself. Over all,--house, lawn, orchard, kitchen-garden, and paddock, and far away across the surrounding downs--there was a delicious sense of calm and quiet; a feeling which was heightened rather than lessened67 by the inhabitants of a rookery established in the tall elm-trees bordering the Paddock, and who, as they sailed over the grounds of the Grange, would express their approbation68 by one single solemn caw.
The house faced the avenue, and was a queer, odd, square block, by no means picturesque, but quaintly69 ugly something like an old-fashioned child, whose decidedly curious features, out of all drawing and impossible to be admired, yet have something humorously lovable in their expression. A staring red-brick house of Queen Anne's time, that ought to have been formal, and perhaps had been at some period or other, but which had undergone so many changes--had had so many gables put on here, and windows let in there, and rooms added on wherever they were wanted--as to lose all trace of its original design, and to have become of a composite style of architecture which would have driven Mr. Ruskin mad. It was the only gentleman's seat for miles round which was built of red brick, and not that gray stone which always looks weather-beaten and time-worn; instead of which, the Grange had a jolly, cheery, comic expression, and when the sun gleamed on its little diamond-shaped, leaden-casemented windows, they seemed to twinkle like the eyes of a genial70 red-faced old gentleman at some good joke or pleasant dish. A comfortable old house in every sense of the word, with an enormous number of rooms, large airy spacious71 chambers72, queer little nooks and snuggeries, long passages with pannelled partitions dividing them from other passages, partitions with occasional square windows or round eyelet-holes cut in them, wide straggling staircases with broad steps and broad balustrades, which no boy had ever yet been known to pass without sliding down them on his stomach. A couple of queer turreted73 chambers, like the place where the yard-measure lives in old-fashioned work-boxes, and a set of attics74, low-roofed, and rather worm-eaten and mouldy-smelling. These were not inhabited, for the servants had their own quarters in the western wing; a bit of eccentric building, which had been thrown out long after the original structure, and gave to the old mansion, from the back view, a comical lopsided appearance; and when the rest of the house was filled, the bachelors were sent to what was known as the Barracks, or the Kennel75, a series of jolly little rooms shut out from the respectable portion of the building by a long passage, where they kept up their own fun till a very late hour of the night, where there was always an overhanging smell of tobacco, and whence, in the early mornings, there came such a roaring and clanging of shower-baths, and such a sound of hissing and sluicing76 and splashing, that you might have fancied yourself in the vicinity of an army of Tritons.
Two o'clock on a hot afternoon at the end of September; and, with the exception of a few sportsmen, who are now reclining under a high hedge and lighting77 pipes, after a succulent repast of game-pie, cold partridge, and bitter beer, all the party at the Grange is assembled round the luncheon-table in the dining-room. That is Marmaduke Wentworth, the tall old man standing78 on the hearthrug, with his back towards the empty fire-grate. His head is perfectly79 bald and shining, and has but a fringe of crisp white hair; his features are what is called "aristocratic," well-shaped, and comely80; his eyes are cold, clear, gray; his lips slightly full, and his teeth sound and regular. He is in his invariable morning dress,--a blue coat with brass81 buttons, a buff waistcoat, and gray trousers with gaping83 dog's-eared pockets, into which his hands are always plunged84. Looking at him now, you would scarcely recognise the roué of George the Fourth's time, the Poins to the wild Prince, the hero of a hundred intrigues85 and escapades. In heat and turmoil86, in drinking, dicing87, and dancing, Marmaduke Wentworth passed his early youth; and from this debauchery he was rescued by the single passion of his life. The object of that passion--his cousin, a lovely girl, whose innocence88 won the dissipated roisterer from his evil ways, and gave him new notions and new hopes--died within three months of their engagement; and from that day Wentworth became another man. He went abroad, and for ten years led a solitary89 studious life; returning to England, he brought with him his bookworm tastes; and it was long before he emerged from the seclusion90 of Bissett Grange, which he had inherited, and returned once more to London life. Even then, he sought his society in a very different set to that in which he had previously91 shone. George the Great was dead; sailor King William had followed him to the grave; and the new men fluttering round the court of the new Queen, setting fashions and issuing social ordinances92, had been cradled children when Marmaduke Wentworth had copied Brummel's cravats93, or listened to Alvanley's bons mots. Even had he continued a "dandy," he would have been displeased95 with the "swells96" to whom the dandies had given place; and now, changed as he was into a disappointed elderly gentleman, with a bitter tongue and an intolerant spirit, his unsocial cynicism bored the new men, while their slangy flippancy97 disgusted him. So, in the phrase of the day, he "went in for a new excitement;" and, though his name and his appearance were as well known in London as those of the Duke of Wellington, there were but few people of his own status or time of life who were retained on an intimate footing. Some few old friends, who themselves had suffered heart-shipwreck, or seen their argosies of early feelings go down in sight of port, claimed companionship with the querulous, crotchety companion of their youth, and had their claims allowed. His odd, quaint savagery99, his utter contempt for the recognised laws of politeness, his free speaking, and his general eccentricity100, had a great charm for young people of both sexes; and if they had any thing in them to elevate them above the ordinary run of yea-and-nay young persons, they invariably found their advances responded to. Then there was a great attraction for young people in the society which they met at one of Marmaduke's dinners--men whose names were before the world; an occasional cabinet-minister sweetening the severities of office with a little pleasant relaxation101 in company where he might take the mask from his face and the gag from his mouth; authors of note; rising artists; occasionally an actor or two,--all these were to be found round Wentworth's table. The old gentleman was in London from January to July. During that time he gave four dinner-parties a week (one of them, I regret to say, and generally the pleasantest, on a Sunday), and during the other three days dined out. He was a member of the True-Blue and the Minerva Clubs, but seldom went to either; he was admissible by the hall-porter of every theatre in London, and sometimes strayed behind the scenes and took possession of the green-room hearthrug, whence he vented102 remarkably103 free and discriminating104 criticisms on the actors and actresses surrounding him. He had one special butt82, an old German baron105 of fabulous106 age, who was supposed to have been a page to Frederick the Great, who had been for thirty years in England, and had only acquired the very smallest knowledge of its language, and whose power of placidly enduring savage98 attacks was only equalled by the vigour107 of his appetite. The Baron was never brought down to Bissett; but, as we have heard from Gumble, was sent off to some seaside place to recruit his digestion108; whence he invariably turned up again in Curzon Street in January, with the same wig109, the same dyed beard, the same broken English, and an appetite, if any thing, improved by his marine110 sojourn111.
There is a strange medley112 now collected at the Grange. That tall girl, seated at the far end of the table, with her chin leaning on her hand, is Barbara Lexden. Three years ago, when, at nineteen, she was presented, she created a furore; and even now, though her first freshness is gone, she is even more beautiful--has rounded and ripened113, and holds her own with the best in town. More distingué--looking than beautiful, though, is Barbara. Het face is a little too long for perfect oval; her nose is very slightly aquiline114, with delicately curved, thin, transparent115 nostrils116; her forehead marked with two deep lines, from a curious trick of elevating her eyebrows117 when surprised, and shaded with broad thick masses of dark-brown hair, bound tightly round her head, taken off behind her ears,--small, and glistening118 like pink shells,--and terminating in a thick plaited clump41; sleepy, greenish-gray eyes, with long drooping119 lashes120; a tall, undulating, pear-shaped figure, always seen to best advantage in a tight-fitting dress, with a neat little collar and nun-like simple linen121 cuffs122; a swimming walk; feet and ankles beyond compare; and hands--ah, such hands!--not plump, slender, with long fingers, and rosy123 filbert nails; such hands as Ninon de l'Enclos might have had, but such as, save on Barbara, I have only seen in wax, on black velvet59, under a glass case, modelled from Lady Blessington's, and purchased at the Gore-House Sale. Blue was her favourite colour, violet her favourite perfume, admiration124 the longing125 of her soul. She was never happy until every one with whom she was brought into contact had given in their submission126 to her. No matter of what age or in what condition of life, all must bow. Once, during a Commemoration Week at Oxford127, she completely turned various hoary128 heads of houses, and caused the wife of an eminent129 Church dignitary, after thirty years of happy marriage, to bedew her pillow with tears of bitter jealousy130 at seeing how completely the courteous131 old dean was fascinated by the lovely visitor; and she would laugh with saucy triumph as she heard the blunt, outspoken132 admiration of working-men as she sat well forward in the carriage blocked up in St. James's Street on a Drawing-room day, or slowly creeping along the line of vehicles which were "setting down" at the Horticultural-Gardens gates.
With the exception of flirtation133, in which she would have taken the highest honours, her accomplishments134 were neither more nor less than those of most women of her position. She played brilliantly, with a firm, dashing touch, and sang, perhaps not artistically135, but with an amount of feeling thrown into her deep contralto that did frightful136 execution; her French was very good; her German passable, grammatical, and well phrased, but lacking the real rough accent and guttural smack137. At all events, she had made the most of what schooling138 she had had, for it was desultory139 enough. Her father, the youngest son of a good family, ran away with the black-eyed, ruddy-cheeked daughter of the Herefordshire parson with whom he went to read during the Long Vacation; was immediately disinherited by his father; left the University, and by the influence of his family got into a Government office; where, by his own exertions140, he got into bad company, into debt, and into prison. On his deathbed he commended his wife and daughter to the care of his elder sister, who had never married, but lived very comfortably on the property which ought to have been his. Miss Lexden came once to see her brother's widow and orphan141 in the lodgings142 which they had taken in Lambeth to be near the King's Bench Prison. But years of trouble had not changed the poor mother for the better, and her stately sister-in-law regarded her with horror. In truth, the colour had faded from her rosy cheeks, and the light died out of her black eyes long ago, and had left her a dowdy143, silly, fussy144 little woman, with nothing to say. So Miss Lexden thought she could best fulfil her brother's charge with least trouble to herself by allowing the bereaved145 ones fifty pounds a year; and on this, and what she could make by working for the Berlin-wool and fancy-stationery shops, the widow supported herself and her child for some twelve years, when she died. Miss Lexden then took the child to the dull, stately old house in Gloucester Place, Portman Square; where, with the aid of a toady146, the daily visit of a smug physician, an airing in a roomy old carriage drawn147 by a couple of fat horses, a great deal of good eating and drinking, and a tolerable amount of society, she managed to lead a jolly godless old life. She found her niece, then fourteen years old, less ignorant and more presentable than she had imagined; for Barbara had received from her mother a sound English education, and had, on the pea-and-pigeon principle, picked lip a little French and the rudiments148 of music. She looked and moved like a lady, and moreover had an insolence149 of manner, a de haut en bas treatment of nearly every body, which the old lady hailed as a true Lexden characteristic, and rejoiced over greatly. So Barbara was sent to Paris for three years, and came back at seventeen finished in education, ripened in beauty, and a thorough coquette at heart. Of course she had already had several affaires: several with the professors attached to the Champs-Elysées pension; one with an Italian count, who bribed the ladies'-maid to convey notes, and who was subsequently thrashed and instructed in the savate by the Auvergnat porter of the establishment; and one with an English gentleman coming over from Boulogne; and her aunt used to encourage her to tell of these, and would laugh at them until the tears came into her eyes.
At nineteen she was presented, made her coup31, and now for two seasons had been a reigning150 belle151. Offers she had had in plenty,--youthful peers with slender incomes; middle-aged152 commoners, solemn, wealthy, and dull; smug widowers153, hoping to renew the sweets of matrimony, and trusting to bygone experience to keep clear of its bitters. But Barbara refused them all; played with them, landed them,--giving them all the time the most pleasurable sensations of encouragement, as old Izaak used to tickle154 trout,--and then flung them back, bruised155 and gasping156, into that muddy stream the world. She told her aunt she was playing for a high stake; that she did not care for any of these men; that she did not think she ever should care for any one; under which circumstances she had better make the best bargain of herself, and go at a high price. There are plenty of women like this. We rave9 against cruel parents and sordid157 Mammon-matches; but very often the parents are merely passive in the matter. There are plenty of girls who have walnuts158, or peach stones, or something equally impressible, where their hearts should be, who have never experienced the smallest glimmer159 of love, and who look upon the possession of a carriage and an Opera-box, and admission into high society, as the acme160 of human enjoyment161.
Sitting next to Barbara is Fred Lyster, a slim, dark man, with small regular features and a splendid flowing black beard. He was educated at Addiscombe, and was out in India under Gough and Outram; did good service, was highly thought of, and was thoroughly162 happy; when his old godfather died, and left him heir to a property of three thousand a year. He returned at once to England, and became the most idle, purposeless, dreamiest of men. He had tried every thing, and found it all hollow. He had travelled on the Continent, been on the turf, gambled in stocks and railways, kept a yacht, and was bored by each and all. He had thought of going into Parliament, and went for two nights into the Speaker's Gallery; but did not pursue the idea, because he found that "the fellows talked so much." His plaintive163 moans against life were sources of intense amusement to his friends; and when he discovered this--which he did at once, being a very long way from a fool--he was not in the least annoyed, but rather lent himself to the idea, and heightened his expressions of ennui and despondency. He liked to be with Sir Marmaduke; for the old gentleman's brusque manners and general intolerance afforded him real amusement, and he laid himself open to attack by always being more than ever drawling and inane164 when in his company. The baronet, who had a quick perception of character, knew Lyster's real worth, and often talked to him seriously about having some purpose in life; and when he only got vague and dreamy replies, he would burst out into a torrent165 of invective166, in the middle of which Lyster would run, shrieking with laughter, from the room.
Next to Captain Lyster sits Miss Lexden, Barbara's aunt; a fat, placid-looking old lady, in a flaxen front, which, with a cap covered with ribbons and flowers, seemed skewered167 on to her skull168 by a couple of large pins, the knobs of which presented themselves like bosses on her temples. She was a cousin of Sir Marmaduke's, and the elder sister of the old man's one love, so that there was a great link of confidence between them; and she liked coming to Bissett, where the living was always so good, and where she met people who amused her. That pretty girl talking to her is Miss Townshend,--a delicious creature in a country-house, who can ride across country, and play croquet and billiards169, and sing little French chansons, and dance, and who even has been known on occasions to drive a dog-cart and smoke a cigarette. To secure her, entails170 inviting171 her father, an intensely respectable, dreary old gentleman--that is he, in the starched172 check cravat94 and the high coat-collar; a City magnate, who confines his reading to the City article, and has to be promptly173 extinguished when he attempts to talk about the "policy of Rooshia." He is endeavouring just now to strike up a conversation with his neighbour Mr. Vincent, the member for Wessex, and Chairman of the Dinner-Committee of the House of Commons; but Mr. Vincent is deep in the discussion of a cheese-omelette, and is telegraphing recommendation thereof to Mrs. Vincent, a merry, red-faced looking little woman, who, with her husband, passed her whole life in thinking about good eating. Sir Marmaduke's solicitor174, Mr. Russell, a quiet old gentleman, clad in professional black, who was always trying to hide his soft wrinkled hands under his ample coat-cuffs; and Sir Marmaduke's factotum175, Major Stone, otherwise Twenty Stone, a big, broad-chested, jovial176, bushy-whiskered, moneyless freelance,--completed the party.
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proceeding
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| n.行动，进行，(pl.)会议录，学报 | |
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spoke
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| 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 | |
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shutters
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| 百叶窗( shutter的名词复数 )； （照相机的）快门 | |
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racing
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| n.竞赛，赛马；adj.竞赛用的，赛马用的 | |
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perspired
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| v.出汗，流汗( perspire的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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copiously
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| adv.丰富地，充裕地 | |
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pier
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| n.码头；桥墩，桥柱；[建]窗间壁，支柱 | |
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lengthiest
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| adj.长的，漫长的，啰嗦的( lengthy的最高级 ) | |
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rave
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| vi.胡言乱语；热衷谈论；n.热情赞扬 | |
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hoarse
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| adj.嘶哑的，沙哑的 | |
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murmur
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| n.低语，低声的怨言；v.低语，低声而言 | |
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shrieking
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| v.尖叫( shriek的现在分词 ) | |
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lamentation
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| n.悲叹，哀悼 | |
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hissing
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| n. 发嘶嘶声, 蔑视 动词hiss的现在分词形式 | |
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dreary
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| adj.令人沮丧的，沉闷的，单调乏味的 | |
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aspirations
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| 强烈的愿望( aspiration的名词复数 )； 志向； 发送气音； 发 h 音 | |
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lodge
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| v.临时住宿，寄宿，寄存，容纳；n.传达室，小旅馆 | |
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ivy
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| n.常青藤，常春藤 | |
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parasite
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| n.寄生虫；寄生菌；食客 | |
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prying
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| adj.爱打听的v.打听，刺探（他人的私事）( pry的现在分词 )；撬开 | |
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opaque
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quaint
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ennui
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besieged
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| 包围，围困，围攻( besiege的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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implored
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sketch
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| n.草图；梗概；素描；v.素描；概述 | |
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27
chamber
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| n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所 | |
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28
mansion
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| n.大厦，大楼；宅第 | |
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29
bribed
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| v.贿赂( bribe的过去式和过去分词 )；向（某人）行贿，贿赂 | |
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30
legitimate
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| adj.合法的，合理的，合乎逻辑的；v.使合法 | |
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31
coup
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| n.政变；突然而成功的行动 | |
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32
leisurely
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| adj.悠闲的；从容的，慢慢的 | |
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33
itinerant
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| adj.巡回的；流动的 | |
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34
missionary
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| adj.教会的，传教(士)的；n.传教士 | |
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35
humble
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| adj.谦卑的，恭顺的；地位低下的；v.降低，贬低 | |
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36
impudent
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| adj.鲁莽的，卑鄙的，厚颜无耻的 | |
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37
lobe
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| n.耳垂，（肺，肝等的）叶 | |
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38
intensified
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| v.（使）增强， （使）加剧( intensify的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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39
wrung
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| 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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40
abjectly
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| 凄惨地； 绝望地； 糟透地； 悲惨地 | |
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41
clump
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| n.树丛，草丛；vi.用沉重的脚步行走 | |
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42
peripatetic
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| adj.漫游的，逍遥派的，巡回的 | |
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43
manor
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| n.庄园，领地 | |
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44
peculiar
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| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
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45
sling
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| vt.扔；悬挂；n.挂带；吊索，吊兜；弹弓 | |
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46
trot
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| n.疾走，慢跑；n.老太婆；现成译本；(复数）trots:腹泻（与the 连用）；v.小跑，快步走，赶紧 | |
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47
merging
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| 合并（分类） | |
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48
graceful
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| adj.优美的，优雅的；得体的 | |
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49
gallops
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| （马等）奔驰，骑马奔驰( gallop的名词复数 ) | |
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50
grooms
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| n.新郎( groom的名词复数 )；马夫v.照料或梳洗（马等）( groom的第三人称单数 )；使做好准备；训练；（给动物）擦洗 | |
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51
hacks
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| 黑客 | |
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52
picturesque
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| adj.美丽如画的，（语言）生动的，绘声绘色的 | |
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53
crimson
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| n./adj.深(绯)红色(的)；vi.脸变绯红色 | |
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54
superannuated
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| adj.老朽的，退休的；v.因落后于时代而废除，勒令退学 | |
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55
pensioner
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| n.领养老金的人 | |
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56
babbling
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| n.胡说，婴儿发出的咿哑声adj.胡说的v.喋喋不休( babble的现在分词 )；作潺潺声（如流水）；含糊不清地说话；泄漏秘密 | |
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57
saucy
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| adj.无礼的；俊俏的；活泼的 | |
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58
velvety
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| adj. 像天鹅绒的, 轻软光滑的, 柔软的 | |
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59
velvet
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| n.丝绒，天鹅绒；adj.丝绒制的，柔软的 | |
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60
rustic
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| adj.乡村的，有乡村特色的；n.乡下人，乡巴佬 | |
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61
placidly
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| adv.平稳地，平静地 | |
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62
orchard
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| n.果园，果园里的全部果树，(美俚)棒球场 | |
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63
cultivation
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| n.耕作，培养，栽培（法），养成 | |
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64
marrows
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| n.骨髓（marrow的复数形式） | |
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65
archers
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| n.弓箭手，射箭运动员( archer的名词复数 ) | |
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66
relegated
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| v.使降级( relegate的过去式和过去分词 )；使降职；转移；把…归类 | |
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67
lessened
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| 减少的，减弱的 | |
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68
approbation
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| n.称赞；认可 | |
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69
quaintly
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| adv.古怪离奇地 | |
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70
genial
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| adj.亲切的，和蔼的，愉快的，脾气好的 | |
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71
spacious
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| adj.广阔的，宽敞的 | |
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72
chambers
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| n.房间( chamber的名词复数 )；（议会的）议院；卧室；会议厅 | |
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73
turreted
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| a.(像炮塔般)旋转式的 | |
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74
attics
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| n. 阁楼 | |
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75
kennel
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| n.狗舍，狗窝 | |
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76
sluicing
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| v.冲洗( sluice的现在分词 )；（指水）喷涌而出；漂净；给…安装水闸 | |
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77
lighting
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| n.照明，光线的明暗，舞台灯光 | |
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78
standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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79
perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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80
comely
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| adj.漂亮的，合宜的 | |
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81
brass
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| n.黄铜；黄铜器，铜管乐器 | |
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82
butt
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| n.笑柄；烟蒂；枪托；臀部；v.用头撞或顶 | |
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83
gaping
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| 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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84
plunged
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| v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降 | |
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85
intrigues
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| n.密谋策划( intrigue的名词复数 )；神秘气氛；引人入胜的复杂情节v.搞阴谋诡计( intrigue的第三人称单数 )；激起…的好奇心 | |
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86
turmoil
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| n.骚乱，混乱，动乱 | |
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87
dicing
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| n.掷骰子，（皮革上的）菱形装饰v.将…切成小方块，切成丁（ dice的现在分词 ） | |
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88
innocence
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| n.无罪；天真；无害 | |
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89
solitary
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| adj.孤独的，独立的，荒凉的；n.隐士 | |
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90
seclusion
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| n.隐遁，隔离 | |
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91
previously
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| adv.以前，先前（地） | |
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92
ordinances
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| n.条例，法令( ordinance的名词复数 ) | |
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93
cravats
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| n.（系在衬衫衣领里面的）男式围巾( cravat的名词复数 ) | |
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94
cravat
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| n.领巾，领结；v.使穿有领结的服装，使结领结 | |
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95
displeased
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| a.不快的 | |
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96
swells
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| 增强( swell的第三人称单数 )； 肿胀； （使）凸出； 充满（激情） | |
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97
flippancy
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| n.轻率；浮躁；无礼的行动 | |
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98
savage
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| adj.野蛮的；凶恶的，残暴的；n.未开化的人 | |
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99
savagery
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| n.野性 | |
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100
eccentricity
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| n.古怪，反常，怪癖 | |
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101
relaxation
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| n.松弛，放松；休息；消遣；娱乐 | |
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102
vented
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| 表达，发泄（感情，尤指愤怒）( vent的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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103
remarkably
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| ad.不同寻常地，相当地 | |
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104
discriminating
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| a.有辨别能力的 | |
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105
baron
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| n.男爵；(商业界等)巨头，大王 | |
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106
fabulous
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| adj.极好的；极为巨大的；寓言中的，传说中的 | |
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107
vigour
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| （=vigor）n.智力，体力，精力 | |
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108
digestion
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| n.消化，吸收 | |
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109
wig
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| n.假发 | |
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110
marine
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| adj.海的；海生的；航海的；海事的；n.水兵 | |
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111
sojourn
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| v./n.旅居，寄居；逗留 | |
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112
medley
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| n.混合 | |
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113
ripened
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| v.成熟，使熟( ripen的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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114
aquiline
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| adj.钩状的，鹰的 | |
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115
transparent
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| adj.明显的，无疑的；透明的 | |
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116
nostrils
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| 鼻孔( nostril的名词复数 ) | |
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117
eyebrows
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| 眉毛( eyebrow的名词复数 ) | |
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118
glistening
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| adj.闪耀的，反光的v.湿物闪耀，闪亮( glisten的现在分词 ) | |
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119
drooping
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| adj. 下垂的，无力的 动词droop的现在分词 | |
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120
lashes
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| n.鞭挞( lash的名词复数 )；鞭子；突然猛烈的一击；急速挥动v.鞭打( lash的第三人称单数 )；煽动；紧系；怒斥 | |
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121
linen
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| n.亚麻布，亚麻线，亚麻制品；adj.亚麻布制的，亚麻的 | |
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122
cuffs
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| n.袖口( cuff的名词复数 )v.掌打，拳打( cuff的第三人称单数 ) | |
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123
rosy
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| adj.美好的，乐观的，玫瑰色的 | |
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124
admiration
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| n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕 | |
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125
longing
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| n.（for）渴望 | |
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126
submission
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| n.服从，投降；温顺，谦虚；提出 | |
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127
Oxford
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| n.牛津（英国城市） | |
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128
hoary
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| adj.古老的；鬓发斑白的 | |
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129
eminent
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| adj.显赫的，杰出的，有名的，优良的 | |
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130
jealousy
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| n.妒忌，嫉妒，猜忌 | |
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131
courteous
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| adj.彬彬有礼的，客气的 | |
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132
outspoken
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| adj.直言无讳的，坦率的，坦白无隐的 | |
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133
flirtation
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| n.调情，调戏，挑逗 | |
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134
accomplishments
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| n.造诣；完成( accomplishment的名词复数 )；技能；成绩；成就 | |
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135
artistically
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| adv.艺术性地 | |
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136
frightful
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| adj.可怕的；讨厌的 | |
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137
smack
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| vt.拍，打，掴；咂嘴；vi.含有…意味；n.拍 | |
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138
schooling
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| n.教育；正规学校教育 | |
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139
desultory
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| adj.散漫的，无方法的 | |
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140
exertions
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| 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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141
orphan
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| n.孤儿；adj.无父母的 | |
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142
lodgings
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| n. 出租的房舍, 寄宿舍 | |
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143
dowdy
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| adj.不整洁的；过旧的 | |
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144
fussy
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| adj.为琐事担忧的，过分装饰的，爱挑剔的 | |
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145
bereaved
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| adj.刚刚丧失亲人的v.使失去（希望、生命等）( bereave的过去式和过去分词)；（尤指死亡）使丧失（亲人、朋友等）；使孤寂；抢走（财物） | |
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146
toady
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| v.奉承；n.谄媚者，马屁精 | |
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147
drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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148
rudiments
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| n.基础知识，入门 | |
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149
insolence
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| n.傲慢；无礼；厚颜；傲慢的态度 | |
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150
reigning
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| adj.统治的，起支配作用的 | |
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151
belle
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| n.靓女 | |
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152
middle-aged
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| adj.中年的 | |
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153
widowers
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| n.鳏夫( widower的名词复数 ) | |
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154
tickle
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| v.搔痒，胳肢；使高兴；发痒；n.搔痒，发痒 | |
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155
bruised
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| [医]青肿的，瘀紫的 | |
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156
gasping
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| adj. 气喘的, 痉挛的 动词gasp的现在分词 | |
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sordid
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| adj.肮脏的，不干净的，卑鄙的，暗淡的 | |
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158
walnuts
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| 胡桃（树）( walnut的名词复数 )； 胡桃木 | |
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159
glimmer
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| v.发出闪烁的微光；n.微光，微弱的闪光 | |
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160
acme
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| n.顶点，极点 | |
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161
enjoyment
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| n.乐趣；享有；享用 | |
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162
thoroughly
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| adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地 | |
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163
plaintive
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| adj.可怜的，伤心的 | |
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164
inane
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| adj.空虚的，愚蠢的，空洞的 | |
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165
torrent
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| n.激流，洪流；爆发，(话语等的)连发 | |
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166
invective
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| n.痛骂，恶意抨击 | |
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167
skewered
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| v.（用串肉扦或类似物）串起，刺穿( skewer的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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168
skull
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| n.头骨；颅骨 | |
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169
billiards
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| n.台球 | |
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170
entails
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| 使…成为必要( entail的第三人称单数 )； 需要； 限定继承； 使必需 | |
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171
inviting
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| adj.诱人的，引人注目的 | |
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172
starched
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| adj.浆硬的，硬挺的，拘泥刻板的v.把（衣服、床单等）浆一浆( starch的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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173
promptly
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| adv.及时地，敏捷地 | |
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174
solicitor
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| n.初级律师，事务律师 | |
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175
factotum
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| n.杂役；听差 | |
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176
jovial
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| adj.快乐的，好交际的 | |
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