On the platform the gendarmes3 massed a number of other prisoners unknown to any of our friends, and who, as likely as not, knew nothing of each other,—yet accomplices4 one and all,—lawyers, journalists, ci-devant nobles, citizens, and citizens' wives. The citoyenne Rochemaure caught sight of Gamelin on the jurors' bench. He had not answered her urgent letters and repeated messages; still she had not abandoned hope and threw him a look of supplication6, trying to appear fascinating and pathetic for him. But the young juror's cold glance robbed her of any illusion she might have entertained.
The Clerk read the act of accusation7, which, succinct8 as was its reference to each individual, was a lengthy9 document because of the great number accused. It began by exposing in general outline the plot concocted10 in the prisons to drown the Republic in the blood of the Representatives of the nation and the people of Paris; then, coming to each severally, it went on:
"One of the most mischievous11 authors of this abominable12 conspiracy is the man Brotteaux, once known as des Ilettes, receiver of imposts under the tyrant13. This person, who was remarkable14, even in the days of tyranny, for his libertine15 behaviour, is a sure proof how dissoluteness and immorality16 are the greatest enemies of the liberty and happiness of peoples; as a fact, after misappropriating the public revenues and wasting in debauchery a noticeable part of the people's patrimony17, the person in question connived18 with his former concubine, the woman Rochemaure, to enter into correspondence with the émigrés and traitorously19 keep the faction21 of the foreigner informed of the state of our finances, the movements of our troops, the fluctuations22 of public opinion.
"Brotteaux, who, at this period of his despicable life, was living in concubinage with a prostitute he had picked up in the mud of the Rue23 Fromenteau, the girl Athena?s, easily suborned her to his purposes and made use of her to foment24 the counterrevolution by impudent25 and unpatriotic cries and indecent and traitorous20 speeches.
"Sundry27 remarks of this ill-omened individual will afford you a clear indication of his abject28 views and pernicious purpose. Speaking of the patriotic26 tribunal now called upon to punish him, he declared insultingly,—'The Revolutionary Tribunal is like a play of William Shakespeare, who mixes up with the most bloodthirsty scenes the most trivial buffooneries.' Then he was forever preaching atheism29, as the surest means of degrading the people and driving it into immorality. In the prison of the Conciergerie, where he was confined, he used to deplore30 as among the worst of calamities31 the victories of our valiant32 armies, and tried to throw suspicion on the most patriotic Generals, crediting them with designs of tyrannicide. 'Only wait,' he would say in atrocious language which the pen is loath33 to reproduce, 'only wait till, some day, one of these warriors34, to whom you owe your salvation35, swallows you all up as the stork36 in the fable37 gobbled up the frogs.'
"The woman Rochemaure, a ci-devant noble, concubine of Brotteaux, is not less culpable38 than he. Not only was she in correspondence with the foreigner and in the pay of Pitt himself, but in complicity with swindlers, such as Jullien (of Toulouse) and Chabot, associates of the ci-devant Baron39 de Batz, she seconded that reprobate40 in all sorts of cunning machinations to depreciate41 the shares of the Company of the Indies, buy them in at a cheap price, and then raise the quotation42 by artifices43 of an opposite tendency, to the confusion and ruin of private fortunes and of the public funds. Incarcerated44 at La Bourbe and the Madelonnettes, she never ceased in prison to conspire45, to dabble46 in stocks and shares and to devote herself to attempts at corruption47, to suborn judges and jury.
"Louis Longuemare, ex-noble, ex-capuchin, had long been practised in infamy48 and crime before committing the acts of treason for which he has to answer here. Living in a shameful49 promiscuity50 with the girl Gorcut, known as Athena?s, under Brotteaux's very roof, he is the accomplice5 of the said girl and the said ci-devant nobleman. During his imprisonment51 at the Conciergerie he has never ceased for one single day writing pamphlets aimed at the subversion52 of public liberty and security.
"It is right to say, with regard to Marthe Gorcut, known as Athena?s, that prostitutes are the greatest scourge53 of public morality, which they insult, and the opprobrium54 of the society which they disgrace. But why speak at length of revolting crimes which the accused confesses shamelessly...?"
The accusation then proceeded to pass in review the fifty-four other prisoners, none of whom either Brotteaux, or the Père Longuemare, or the citoyenne Rochemaure, were acquainted with, except for having seen several of them in the prisons, but who were one and all included with the first named in "this odious55 plot, with which the annals of the nation can furnish nothing to compare."
The piece concluded by demanding the penalty of death for all the culprits.
Brotteaux was the first to be examined:
"You were in the plot?"
"No, I have been in no plots. Every word is untrue in the act of accusation I have just heard read."
"There, you see; you are plotting still, at this moment, to discredit56 the Tribunal,"—and the President went on to the woman Rochemaure, who answered with despairing protestations of innocence57, tears and quibblings.
The Père Longuemare referred himself purely58 and entirely59 to God's will. He had not even brought his written defence with him.
All the questions put to him he answered in a spirit of resignation. Only, when the President spoke60 of him as a Capuchin, did the old Adam wake again in him:
"It is the same thing," returned the President good-naturedly.
The Père Longuemare looked at him indignantly:
"One cannot conceive a more extraordinary error," he cried, "than to confound with a Capuchin a monk of this Order of the Barnabites which derives62 its constitutions from the Apostle Paul himself."
The remark was greeted with a burst of laughter and hooting63 from the spectators, at which the Père Longuemare, taking this derision to betoken64 a denial of his proposition, announced that he would die a member of this Order of St. Barnabas, the habit of which he wore in his heart.
"Do you admit," asked the President, "entering into plots with the girl Gorcut, known as Athena?s, the same who accorded you her despicable favours?"
At the question, the Père Longuemare raised his eyes sorrowfully to heaven, but made no answer; his silence expressed the surprise of an unsophisticated mind and the gravity of a man of religion who fears to utter empty words.
"You, the girl Gorcut," the President asked, turning to Athena?s, "do you admit plotting in conjunction with Brotteaux?"
Her answer was softly spoken:
"Monsieur Brotteaux, to my knowledge, has done nothing but good. He is a man of the sort we should have more of; there is no better sort. Those who say the contrary are mistaken. That is all I have to say."
The President asked her if she admitted having lived in concubinage with Brotteaux. The expression had to be explained to her, as she did not understand it. But, directly she gathered what the question meant, she answered, that would only have depended on him, but he had never asked her.
There was a laugh in the public galleries, and the President threatened the girl Gorcut to refuse her a hearing if she answered in such a cynical65 sort again.
At this she broke out, calling him sneak66, sour face, cuckold, and spewing out over him, judges, and jury a torrent67 of invective68, till the gendarmes dragged her from her bench and hustled69 her out of the hall.
The President then proceeded to a brief examination of the rest of the accused, taking them in the order in which they sat on the tiers of benches.
One, a man named Navette, pleaded that he could not have plotted in prison where he had only spent four days. The President observed that the point deserved to be considered, and begged the citoyens of the jury to make a note of it. A certain Bellier said the same, and the President made the same remark to the jury in his favour. This mildness on the judge's part was interpreted by some as the result of a praiseworthy scrupulosity70, by others as payment due in recognition of their talents as informers.
The Deputy of the Public Prosecutor71 spoke next. All he did was to amplify72 the details of the act of accusation and then to put the question:
"Is it proven that Maurice Brotteaux, Louise Rochemaure, Louis Longuemare, Marthe Gorcut, known as Athena?s, Eusèbe Rocher, Pierre Guyton-Fabulet, Marcelline Descourtis, etc., etc., are guilty of forming a conspiracy, the means whereof are assassination74, starvation, the making of forged assignats and false coin, the depravation of morals and public spirit; the aim and object, civil war, the abolition75 of the National representation, the re-establishment of Royalty76?"
The jurors withdrew into the chamber77 of deliberation. They voted unanimously in the affirmative, only excepting the cases of the afore-named Navette and Bellier, whom the President, and following his lead, the Public Prosecutor, had put, as it were, in a separate class by themselves.
"The guilt73 of the accused is self-evident; the safety of the Nation demands their chastisement79, and they ought themselves to desire their punishment as the only means of expiating80 their crimes."
The President pronounced sentence in the absence of those it concerned. In these great days, contrary to what the law prescribed, the condemned81 were not called back again to hear their judgment82 read, no doubt for fear of the effects of despair on so large a number of prisoners. A needless apprehension83, so extraordinary and so general was the submissiveness of the victims in those days! The Clerk of the Court came down to the cells to read the verdict, which was listened to with such silence and impassivity as made it a common comparison to liken the condemned of Prairial to trees marked down for felling.
The citoyenne Rochemaure declared herself pregnant. A surgeon, who was likewise one of the jury, was directed to see her. She was carried out fainting to her dungeon84.
"Ah!" sighed the Père Longuemare, "these judges and jurors are men very deserving of pity; their state of mind is truly deplorable. They mix up everything and confound a Barnabite with a Franciscan."
The execution was to take place the same day at the Barrière du Trone-Renversé. The condemned, their toilet completed, hair cropped and shirt cut down at the neck, waited for the headsman, packed like cattle in the small room separated off from the Gaoler's office by a glazed85 partition.
When presently the executioner and his men arrived, Brotteaux, who was quietly reading his Lucretius, put the marker at the page he had begun, shut the book, stuffed it in the pocket of his coat, and said to the Barnabite:
"What enrages86 me, Reverend Father, is that I shall never convince you. We are going both of us to sleep our last sleep, and I shall not be able to twitch87 you by the sleeve and tell you: 'There you see; you have neither sensation nor consciousness left; you are inanimate. What comes after life is like what goes before.'"
He tried to smile; but an atrocious spasm88 of pain wrung89 his heart and vitals, and he came near fainting.
He resumed, however:
"Father, I let you see my weakness. I love life and I do not leave it without regret."
"Sir," replied the monk gently, "take heed90, you are a braver man than I, and nevertheless death troubles you more. What does that mean, if not that I see the light, which you do not see yet?"
"Might it not also be," said Brotteaux, "that I regret life because I have enjoyed it better than you, who have made it as close a copy of death as possible?"
"Sir," said the Père Longuemare, his face paling, "this is a solemn moment. God help me! It is plain we shall die without spiritual aid. It must be that in other days I have received the sacraments lukewarmly and with a thankless heart, for Heaven to refuse me them to-day, when I have such pressing need of them."
The carts were waiting. The condemned were loaded into them pell-mell, with hands tied. The woman Rochemaure, whose pregnancy91 had not been verified by the surgeon, was hoisted92 into one of the tumbrils. She recovered a little of her old energy to watch the crowd of onlookers93, hoping against hope to find rescuers amongst them. The throng94 was less dense95 than formerly96, and the excitement less extreme. Only a few women screamed, "Death! death!" or mocked those who were to die. The men mostly shrugged97 their shoulders, looked another way, and said nothing, whether out of prudence98 or from respect of the laws.
A shudder99 went through the crowd when Athena?s emerged from the wicket. She looked a mere100 child.
She bowed her head before the monk:
"Monsieur le Curé," she asked him, "give me absolution."
The Père Longuemare gravely recited the sacramental words in muttered tones; then:
"My daughter!" he added, "you have fallen into great disorders101 of living; but can I offer the Lord a heart as simple as yours? Would I were sure!"
She climbed lightly into the cart. And there, throwing out her bosom102 and proudly lifting her girlish head, she cried "Vive le Roi!"
She made a little sign to Brotteaux to show him there was a vacant place beside her. Brotteaux helped the Barnabite to get in and came and placed himself between the monk and the simple-hearted girl.
"Sir," said the Père Longuemare to the Epicurean philosopher, "I ask you a favour; this God in whom you do not yet believe, pray to Him for me. It is far from sure you are not nearer to Him than I am myself; a moment can decide this. A second, and you may be called by the Lord to be His highly favoured son. Sir, pray for me."
While the wheels were grinding over the pavement of the long Faubourg Antoine, the monk was busy, with heart and lips, reciting the prayers of the dying. Brotteaux's mind was fixed103 on recalling the lines of the poet of nature: Sic ubi non erimus.... Bound as he was and shaken in the vile104, jolting105 cart, he preserved his calm and even showed a certain solicitude106 to maintain an easy posture107. At his side, Athena?s, proud to die like the Queen of France, surveyed the crowd with haughty108 looks, and the old financier, noting as a connoisseur109 the girl's white bosom, was filled with regret for the light of day.
点击收听单词发音
1 conspiracy | |
n.阴谋,密谋,共谋 | |
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2 fretting | |
n. 微振磨损 adj. 烦躁的, 焦虑的 | |
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3 gendarmes | |
n.宪兵,警官( gendarme的名词复数 ) | |
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4 accomplices | |
从犯,帮凶,同谋( accomplice的名词复数 ) | |
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5 accomplice | |
n.从犯,帮凶,同谋 | |
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6 supplication | |
n.恳求,祈愿,哀求 | |
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7 accusation | |
n.控告,指责,谴责 | |
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8 succinct | |
adj.简明的,简洁的 | |
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9 lengthy | |
adj.漫长的,冗长的 | |
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10 concocted | |
v.将(尤指通常不相配合的)成分混合成某物( concoct的过去式和过去分词 );调制;编造;捏造 | |
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11 mischievous | |
adj.调皮的,恶作剧的,有害的,伤人的 | |
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12 abominable | |
adj.可厌的,令人憎恶的 | |
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13 tyrant | |
n.暴君,专制的君主,残暴的人 | |
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14 remarkable | |
adj.显著的,异常的,非凡的,值得注意的 | |
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15 libertine | |
n.淫荡者;adj.放荡的,自由思想的 | |
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16 immorality | |
n. 不道德, 无道义 | |
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17 patrimony | |
n.世袭财产,继承物 | |
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18 connived | |
v.密谋 ( connive的过去式和过去分词 );搞阴谋;默许;纵容 | |
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19 traitorously | |
叛逆地,不忠地 | |
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20 traitorous | |
adj. 叛国的, 不忠的, 背信弃义的 | |
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21 faction | |
n.宗派,小集团;派别;派系斗争 | |
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22 fluctuations | |
波动,涨落,起伏( fluctuation的名词复数 ) | |
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23 rue | |
n.懊悔,芸香,后悔;v.后悔,悲伤,懊悔 | |
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24 foment | |
v.煽动,助长 | |
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25 impudent | |
adj.鲁莽的,卑鄙的,厚颜无耻的 | |
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26 patriotic | |
adj.爱国的,有爱国心的 | |
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27 sundry | |
adj.各式各样的,种种的 | |
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28 abject | |
adj.极可怜的,卑屈的 | |
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29 atheism | |
n.无神论,不信神 | |
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30 deplore | |
vt.哀叹,对...深感遗憾 | |
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31 calamities | |
n.灾祸,灾难( calamity的名词复数 );不幸之事 | |
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32 valiant | |
adj.勇敢的,英勇的;n.勇士,勇敢的人 | |
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33 loath | |
adj.不愿意的;勉强的 | |
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34 warriors | |
武士,勇士,战士( warrior的名词复数 ) | |
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35 salvation | |
n.(尤指基督)救世,超度,拯救,解困 | |
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36 stork | |
n.鹳 | |
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37 fable | |
n.寓言;童话;神话 | |
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38 culpable | |
adj.有罪的,该受谴责的 | |
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39 baron | |
n.男爵;(商业界等)巨头,大王 | |
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40 reprobate | |
n.无赖汉;堕落的人 | |
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41 depreciate | |
v.降价,贬值,折旧 | |
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42 quotation | |
n.引文,引语,语录;报价,牌价,行情 | |
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43 artifices | |
n.灵巧( artifice的名词复数 );诡计;巧妙办法;虚伪行为 | |
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44 incarcerated | |
钳闭的 | |
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45 conspire | |
v.密谋,(事件等)巧合,共同导致 | |
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46 dabble | |
v.涉足,浅赏 | |
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47 corruption | |
n.腐败,堕落,贪污 | |
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48 infamy | |
n.声名狼藉,出丑,恶行 | |
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49 shameful | |
adj.可耻的,不道德的 | |
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50 promiscuity | |
n.混杂,混乱;(男女的)乱交 | |
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51 imprisonment | |
n.关押,监禁,坐牢 | |
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52 subversion | |
n.颠覆,破坏 | |
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53 scourge | |
n.灾难,祸害;v.蹂躏 | |
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54 opprobrium | |
n.耻辱,责难 | |
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55 odious | |
adj.可憎的,讨厌的 | |
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56 discredit | |
vt.使不可置信;n.丧失信义;不信,怀疑 | |
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57 innocence | |
n.无罪;天真;无害 | |
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58 purely | |
adv.纯粹地,完全地 | |
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59 entirely | |
ad.全部地,完整地;完全地,彻底地 | |
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60 spoke | |
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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61 monk | |
n.和尚,僧侣,修道士 | |
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62 derives | |
v.得到( derive的第三人称单数 );(从…中)得到获得;源于;(从…中)提取 | |
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63 hooting | |
(使)作汽笛声响,作汽车喇叭声( hoot的现在分词 ); 倒好儿; 倒彩 | |
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64 betoken | |
v.预示 | |
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65 cynical | |
adj.(对人性或动机)怀疑的,不信世道向善的 | |
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66 sneak | |
vt.潜行(隐藏,填石缝);偷偷摸摸做;n.潜行;adj.暗中进行 | |
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67 torrent | |
n.激流,洪流;爆发,(话语等的)连发 | |
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68 invective | |
n.痛骂,恶意抨击 | |
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69 hustled | |
催促(hustle的过去式与过去分词形式) | |
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70 scrupulosity | |
n.顾虑 | |
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71 prosecutor | |
n.起诉人;检察官,公诉人 | |
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72 amplify | |
vt.放大,增强;详述,详加解说 | |
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73 guilt | |
n.犯罪;内疚;过失,罪责 | |
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74 assassination | |
n.暗杀;暗杀事件 | |
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75 abolition | |
n.废除,取消 | |
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76 royalty | |
n.皇家,皇族 | |
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77 chamber | |
n.房间,寝室;会议厅;议院;会所 | |
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78 motives | |
n.动机,目的( motive的名词复数 ) | |
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79 chastisement | |
n.惩罚 | |
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80 expiating | |
v.为(所犯罪过)接受惩罚,赎(罪)( expiate的现在分词 ) | |
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81 condemned | |
adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词 | |
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82 judgment | |
n.审判;判断力,识别力,看法,意见 | |
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83 apprehension | |
n.理解,领悟;逮捕,拘捕;忧虑 | |
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84 dungeon | |
n.地牢,土牢 | |
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85 glazed | |
adj.光滑的,像玻璃的;上过釉的;呆滞无神的v.装玻璃( glaze的过去式);上釉于,上光;(目光)变得呆滞无神 | |
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86 enrages | |
使暴怒( enrage的第三人称单数 ) | |
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87 twitch | |
v.急拉,抽动,痉挛,抽搐;n.扯,阵痛,痉挛 | |
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88 spasm | |
n.痉挛,抽搐;一阵发作 | |
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89 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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90 heed | |
v.注意,留意;n.注意,留心 | |
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91 pregnancy | |
n.怀孕,怀孕期 | |
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92 hoisted | |
把…吊起,升起( hoist的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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93 onlookers | |
n.旁观者,观看者( onlooker的名词复数 ) | |
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94 throng | |
n.人群,群众;v.拥挤,群集 | |
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95 dense | |
a.密集的,稠密的,浓密的;密度大的 | |
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96 formerly | |
adv.从前,以前 | |
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97 shrugged | |
vt.耸肩(shrug的过去式与过去分词形式) | |
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98 prudence | |
n.谨慎,精明,节俭 | |
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99 shudder | |
v.战粟,震动,剧烈地摇晃;n.战粟,抖动 | |
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100 mere | |
adj.纯粹的;仅仅,只不过 | |
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101 disorders | |
n.混乱( disorder的名词复数 );凌乱;骚乱;(身心、机能)失调 | |
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102 bosom | |
n.胸,胸部;胸怀;内心;adj.亲密的 | |
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103 fixed | |
adj.固定的,不变的,准备好的;(计算机)固定的 | |
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104 vile | |
adj.卑鄙的,可耻的,邪恶的;坏透的 | |
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105 jolting | |
adj.令人震惊的 | |
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106 solicitude | |
n.焦虑 | |
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107 posture | |
n.姿势,姿态,心态,态度;v.作出某种姿势 | |
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108 haughty | |
adj.傲慢的,高傲的 | |
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109 connoisseur | |
n.鉴赏家,行家,内行 | |
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