The bell of the old church was ringing as we went along, and many respectable-looking people and cleanly dressed children were moving towards the sound. Soon we reached the church, and I have seen nothing yet in England that so completely answered my idea of what such a thing was, as this old village church of Bebbington.
It is quite a large edifice22, built in the form of a cross, a low peaked porch in the side, over which, rudely cut in stone, is the date 1300 and something. The steeple has ivy23 on it, and looks old, old, old; so does the whole church, though portions of it have been renewed, but not so as to impair24 the aspect of heavy, substantial endurance, and long, long decay, which may go on hundreds of years longer before the church is a ruin. There it stands, among the surrounding graves, looking just the same as it did in Bloody25 Mary's days; just as it did in Cromwell's time. A bird (and perhaps many birds) had its nest in the steeple, and flew in and out of the loopholes that were opened into it. The stone framework of the windows looked particularly old.
There were monuments about the church, some lying flat on the ground, others elevated on low pillars, or on cross slabs of stone, and almost all looking dark, moss-grown, and very antique. But on reading some of the inscriptions, I was surprised to find them very recent; for, in fact, twenty years of this climate suffices to give as much or more antiquity26 of aspect, whether to gravestone or edifice, than a hundred years of our own,—so soon do lichens27 creep over the surface, so soon does it blacken, so soon do the edges lose their sharpness, so soon does Time gnaw28 away the records. The only really old monuments (and those not very old) were two, standing close together, and raised on low rude arches, the dates on which were 1684 and 1686. On one a cross was rudely cut into the stone. But there may have been hundreds older than this, the records on which had been quite obliterated29, and the stones removed, and the graves dug over anew. None of the monuments commemorate30 people of rank; on only one the buried person was recorded as "Gent."
While we sat on the flat slabs resting ourselves, several little girls, healthy-looking and prettily31 dressed enough, came into the churchyard, and began to talk and laugh, and to skip merrily from one tombstone to another. They stared very broadly at us, and one of them, by and by, ran up to U. and J., and gave each of them a green apple, then they skipped upon the tombstones again, while, within the church, we heard them singing, sounding pretty much as I have heard it in our pine-built New England meeting-houses. Meantime the rector had detected the voices of these naughty little girls, and perhaps had caught glimpses of them through the windows; for, anon, out came the sexton, and, addressing himself to us, asked whether there had been any noise or disturbance32 in the churchyard. I should not have borne testimony33 against these little villagers, but S. was so anxious to exonerate34 our own children that she pointed35 out these poor little sinners to the sexton, who forthwith turned them out. He would have done the same to us, no doubt, had my coat been worse than it was; but, as the matter stood, his demeanor36 was rather apologetic than menacing, when he informed us that the rector had sent him.
We stayed a little longer, looking at the graves, some of which were between the buttresses37 of the church and quite close to the wall, as if the sleepers38 anticipated greater comfort and security the nearer they could get to the sacred edifice.
As we went out of the churchyard, we passed the aforesaid little girls, who were sitting behind the mound39 of a tomb, and busily babbling40 together. They called after us, expressing their discontent that we had betrayed them to the sexton, and saying that it was not they who made the noise. Going homeward, we went astray in a green lane, that terminated in the midst of a field, without outlet41, so that we had to retrace42 a good many of our footsteps.
Close to the wall of the church, beside the door, there was an ancient baptismal font of stone. In fact, it was a pile of roughly hewn stone steps, five or six feet high, with a block of stone at the summit, in which was a hollow about as big as a wash-bowl. It was full of rainwater.
The church seems to be St. Andrew's Church, Lower Bebbington, built in 1100.
September 1st.—To-day we leave the Rock Ferry Hotel, where we have spent nearly four weeks. It is a comfortable place, and we have had a good table and have been kindly43 treated. We occupied a large parlor44, extending through the whole breadth of the house, with a bow-window, looking towards Liverpool, and adown the intervening river, and to Birkenhead, on the hither side. The river would be a pleasanter object, if it were blue and transparent45, instead of such a mud-puddly hue46; also, if it were always full to its brine; whereas it generally presents a margin47, and sometimes a very broad one, of glistening48 mud, with here and there a small vessel49 aground on it.
Nevertheless, the parlor-window has given us a pretty good idea of the nautical50 business of Liverpool; the constant objects being the little black steamers puffing51 unquietly along, sometimes to our own ferry, sometimes beyond it to Eastham, and sometimes towing a long string of boats from Runcorn or otherwhere up the river, laden52 with goods, and sometimes gallanting a tall ship in or out. Some of these ships lie for days together in the river, very majestic53 and stately objects, often with the flag of the stars and stripes waving over them. Now and then, after a gale54 at sea, a vessel comes in with her masts broken short off in the midst, and with marks of rough handling about the hull55. Once a week comes a Cunard steamer, with its red funnel56 pipe whitened by the salt spray; and, firing off cannon to announce her arrival, she moors57 to a large iron buoy58 in the middle of the river, and a few hundred yards from the stone pier59 of our ferry. Immediately comes poring towards her a little mail-steamer, to take away her mail-bags and such of the passengers as choose to land; and for several hours afterwards the Cunard lies with the smoke and steam coming out of her, as if she were smoking her pipe after her toilsome passage across the Atlantic. Once a fortnight comes an American steamer of the Collins line; and then the Cunard salutes60 her with cannon, to which the Collins responds, and moors herself to another iron buoy, not far from the Cunard. When they go to sea, it is with similar salutes; the two vessels61 paying each other the more ceremonious respect, because they are inimical and jealous of each other.
Besides these, there are other steamers of all sorts and sizes, for pleasure-excursions, for regular trips to Dublin, the Isle62 of Man, and elsewhither; and vessels which are stationary63, as floating lights, but which seem to relieve one another at intervals64; and small vessels, with sails looking as if made of tanned leather; and schooners65, and yachts, and all manner of odd-looking craft, but none so odd as the Chinese junk. This junk lies by our own pier, and looks as if it were copied from some picture on an old teacup. Beyond all these objects we see the other side of the Mersey, with the delectably66 green fields opposite to us, while the shore becomes more and more thickly populated, until about two miles off we see the dense67 centre of the city, with the dome68 of the Custom House, and steeples and towers; and, close to the water, the spire69 of St. Nicholas; and above, and intermingled with the whole city scene, the duskiness of the coal-smoke gushing70 upward. Along the bank we perceive the warehouses71 of the Albert dock, and the Queen's tobacco warehouses, and other docks, and, nigher to us, a shipyard or two. In the evening all this sombre picture gradually darkens out of sight, and in its place appear only the lights of the city, kindling72 into a galaxy73 of earthly stars, for a long distance, up and down the shore; and, in one or two spots, the bright red gleam of a furnace, like the "red planet Mars"; and once in a while a bright, wandering beam gliding74 along the river, as a steamer cones75 or goes between us and Liverpool.
点击收听单词发音
1 ramble | |
v.漫步,漫谈,漫游;n.漫步,闲谈,蔓延 | |
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2 varnished | |
浸渍过的,涂漆的 | |
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3 holly | |
n.[植]冬青属灌木 | |
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4 shrubs | |
灌木( shrub的名词复数 ) | |
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5 foliage | |
n.叶子,树叶,簇叶 | |
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6 whitewashed | |
粉饰,美化,掩饰( whitewash的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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7 standing | |
n.持续,地位;adj.永久的,不动的,直立的,不流动的 | |
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8 turret | |
n.塔楼,角塔 | |
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9 cannon | |
n.大炮,火炮;飞机上的机关炮 | |
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10 moss | |
n.苔,藓,地衣 | |
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11 machinery | |
n.(总称)机械,机器;机构 | |
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12 inscriptions | |
(作者)题词( inscription的名词复数 ); 献词; 碑文; 证劵持有人的登记 | |
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13 slabs | |
n.厚板,平板,厚片( slab的名词复数 );厚胶片 | |
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14 beheld | |
v.看,注视( behold的过去式和过去分词 );瞧;看呀;(叙述中用于引出某人意外的出现)哎哟 | |
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15 piazza | |
n.广场;走廊 | |
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16 behold | |
v.看,注视,看到 | |
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17 kennel | |
n.狗舍,狗窝 | |
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18 hind | |
adj.后面的,后部的 | |
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19 gateway | |
n.大门口,出入口,途径,方法 | |
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20 arbor | |
n.凉亭;树木 | |
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21 whim | |
n.一时的兴致,突然的念头;奇想,幻想 | |
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22 edifice | |
n.宏伟的建筑物(如宫殿,教室) | |
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23 ivy | |
n.常青藤,常春藤 | |
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24 impair | |
v.损害,损伤;削弱,减少 | |
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25 bloody | |
adj.非常的的;流血的;残忍的;adv.很;vt.血染 | |
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26 antiquity | |
n.古老;高龄;古物,古迹 | |
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27 lichens | |
n.地衣( lichen的名词复数 ) | |
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28 gnaw | |
v.不断地啃、咬;使苦恼,折磨 | |
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29 obliterated | |
v.除去( obliterate的过去式和过去分词 );涂去;擦掉;彻底破坏或毁灭 | |
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30 commemorate | |
vt.纪念,庆祝 | |
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31 prettily | |
adv.优美地;可爱地 | |
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32 disturbance | |
n.动乱,骚动;打扰,干扰;(身心)失调 | |
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33 testimony | |
n.证词;见证,证明 | |
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34 exonerate | |
v.免除责任,确定无罪 | |
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35 pointed | |
adj.尖的,直截了当的 | |
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36 demeanor | |
n.行为;风度 | |
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37 buttresses | |
n.扶壁,扶垛( buttress的名词复数 )v.用扶壁支撑,加固( buttress的第三人称单数 ) | |
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38 sleepers | |
n.卧铺(通常以复数形式出现);卧车( sleeper的名词复数 );轨枕;睡觉(呈某种状态)的人;小耳环 | |
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39 mound | |
n.土墩,堤,小山;v.筑堤,用土堆防卫 | |
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40 babbling | |
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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41 outlet | |
n.出口/路;销路;批发商店;通风口;发泄 | |
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42 retrace | |
v.折回;追溯,探源 | |
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43 kindly | |
adj.和蔼的,温和的,爽快的;adv.温和地,亲切地 | |
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44 parlor | |
n.店铺,营业室;会客室,客厅 | |
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45 transparent | |
adj.明显的,无疑的;透明的 | |
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46 hue | |
n.色度;色调;样子 | |
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47 margin | |
n.页边空白;差额;余地,余裕;边,边缘 | |
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48 glistening | |
adj.闪耀的,反光的v.湿物闪耀,闪亮( glisten的现在分词 ) | |
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49 vessel | |
n.船舶;容器,器皿;管,导管,血管 | |
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50 nautical | |
adj.海上的,航海的,船员的 | |
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51 puffing | |
v.使喷出( puff的现在分词 );喷着汽(或烟)移动;吹嘘;吹捧 | |
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52 laden | |
adj.装满了的;充满了的;负了重担的;苦恼的 | |
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53 majestic | |
adj.雄伟的,壮丽的,庄严的,威严的,崇高的 | |
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54 gale | |
n.大风,强风,一阵闹声(尤指笑声等) | |
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55 hull | |
n.船身;(果、实等的)外壳;vt.去(谷物等)壳 | |
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56 funnel | |
n.漏斗;烟囱;v.汇集 | |
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57 moors | |
v.停泊,系泊(船只)( moor的第三人称单数 ) | |
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58 buoy | |
n.浮标;救生圈;v.支持,鼓励 | |
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59 pier | |
n.码头;桥墩,桥柱;[建]窗间壁,支柱 | |
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60 salutes | |
n.致敬,欢迎,敬礼( salute的名词复数 )v.欢迎,致敬( salute的第三人称单数 );赞扬,赞颂 | |
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61 vessels | |
n.血管( vessel的名词复数 );船;容器;(具有特殊品质或接受特殊品质的)人 | |
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62 isle | |
n.小岛,岛 | |
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63 stationary | |
adj.固定的,静止不动的 | |
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64 intervals | |
n.[军事]间隔( interval的名词复数 );间隔时间;[数学]区间;(戏剧、电影或音乐会的)幕间休息 | |
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65 schooners | |
n.(有两个以上桅杆的)纵帆船( schooner的名词复数 ) | |
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66 delectably | |
令人愉快的,让人喜爱的 | |
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67 dense | |
a.密集的,稠密的,浓密的;密度大的 | |
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68 dome | |
n.圆屋顶,拱顶 | |
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69 spire | |
n.(教堂)尖顶,尖塔,高点 | |
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70 gushing | |
adj.迸出的;涌出的;喷出的;过分热情的v.喷,涌( gush的现在分词 );滔滔不绝地说话 | |
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71 warehouses | |
仓库,货栈( warehouse的名词复数 ) | |
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72 kindling | |
n. 点火, 可燃物 动词kindle的现在分词形式 | |
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73 galaxy | |
n.星系;银河系;一群(杰出或著名的人物) | |
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74 gliding | |
v. 滑翔 adj. 滑动的 | |
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75 cones | |
n.(人眼)圆锥细胞;圆锥体( cone的名词复数 );球果;圆锥形东西;(盛冰淇淋的)锥形蛋卷筒 | |
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