I have already spoken of the buffoons5 who could not move the gravity of their own solemn master Attila; and we know that Timour rather kept these people for the amusement of his guests, than that he experienced any satisfaction himself in the exercise of their craft. They were not wanting in the Courts of the Caliphs, and the name of Bahalul conspicuously6 figures among the cap-and-bell favourites of Haroon Al-Raschid. It was to him that the Caliph once said, “Fool, give me a list of all the blockheads in Bagdad.” To which Bahalul answered, “That were not so easy, and would take too long; but if you want a list of the wise men, you shall have it in two minutes.”
It was in jest that Haroon presented him a document, by which he was constituted governor of all the bears, wolves, foxes, apes, and asses7, in the Caliphate. “It is too much for me,” said the fool; “I am not ambitious enough to desire to rule all your holiness’s subjects.”
Bahalul one day, finding no one in the throne-room of the sovereign father of the faithful, seated himself on the cushions of the priest-monarch8. The guards near were69 horror-stricken at beholding9 the jester on the sacred couch of authority, imitating the manners of Haroon himself; just as Chicot, long after, used to mimic10 those of Henri III. They speedily dragged him from the throne of cushions, and began bastinadoing him with such violence that the Caliph, hearing his cries, entered the hall and demanded the reason of the outcry. “Uncle,” said Bahalul, “I am not screaming on my own account, but on yours. I pity you. I have only tried royalty11 for five minutes, and I am already in a fever with pain inflicted12 by these fellows. What must you endure, then, who occupy the same distinguished13 seat every day!”
Bahalul seems to have been a dissipated fellow, and the Caliph enjoined14 him to marry and live discreetly15, loving his wife, and bringing up his family in honour. The jester so far obeyed as to go through the nuptial16 ceremony; but as he was conducting his wife to her apartment, the uncourteous bridegroom suddenly paused, looked as if he were petrified17, and declaring that he had never heard such a tumult18 in his life, took to his heels, and did not re-appear for months. Meanwhile, the deserted19 bride had procured20 a divorce, and then Bahalul made his rentrée at Court.
“So!” exclaimed the Caliph, with an inquiring air.
“Ay, ay!” cried the fool, “you would have done as I did. The tumult scared me away beyond the hills.”
“What tumult?” asked Haroon.
“Why,” said Bahalul, “as my wife was entering her room, there came from her, sounds as of a thousand voices. Amid them, I could distinguish the cries of ‘rent! taxes! doctors! sons! daughters! schooling21! dress! silks! satins! muslins! drawers! slippers22! money! more money! debt! imprisonment23! and Bahalul has drowned himself in the Caliph’s bath!—therewith,” added the jester, “terrified at the solemn warning, and wishing to avoid the profanity of plunging24 my person into your brightness’s bath, I fled, till the danger70 was over, and—here I am; owing nothing, and disinclined to drown myself.”
Bahalul, however, was not the most favourite jester of this Caliph. There is no doubt that the most renowned25 of these was Ebn Oaz. We have indeed but one sample of his quality, but that is excellent. Unfortunately, it is also well known; but it must not be omitted in this record of the fraternity. Haroon, it is said, desired to exhibit the best qualities of the wit in presence of the young Sultana and her brilliant court; and he suddenly ordered Ebn Oaz to make some excuse which should be more offensive than the crime it was to extenuate26. After considerable thought, Oaz slunk away, and the disappointed spectators were speaking of him as “incapable,” when the Caliph, suddenly starting up from his seat, with a roar and a look of exquisite27 anguish28, set the whole court in confusion. The fact was, that Ebn Oaz had gone behind the curtains of the throne, and, opening them gently, had given the Caliph so astounding29 a pinch in the rear, that he sprang up as if a javelin30 had pierced him. Looking on the offender31 with rage and anguish, he ordered him to be slain32 for the treasonable and intolerable assault. “Stay!” said Oaz to the too-ready officials, who were already fingering their bow-strings. “Hear my excuse,” added he, turning to the Caliph; “I declare, by way of apology, that when I pinched your Holiness behind, I thought I was pinching the Sultana, your wife.” Haroon saw at once that the excuse was worse than the crime, and that he ought to be delighted; but he only laughed in a forced way, remarking to the Sultana, before he resumed his seat, that he felt he should not forget the joke for some time to come.
This story has been made wonderful use of, and has been dished up in a hundred different ways in a hundred different localities. It belongs, however, originally to the East, as do so many other of our most ancient and accepted anecdotes33. I believe that all the faceti? of Hierocles were old71 Indian, before they were new Greek stories, and that the “simpleton” who clung to the anchor when the ship was sinking,—who stood before a mirror with his eyes closed, to see how he looked when asleep,—who carried about with him a brick of his house, as a specimen34 of the building,—who made the experiment of keeping a horse alive without food, only failing to succeed by the premature35 death of the steed;—all these, and some dozens of others like them, had all drawn36 laughter from Eastern potentates38 before they began to raise a smile in the fairer faces of the Hellenes. But these stories only amused; and the jester had the prerogative39 of being free, as well as the duty of being entertaining.
This freedom of the jester, and the good use to which he could apply his joke and his license40, is exemplified in the case of the town-fool who entered the hall where Mahmoud Ghizni was seated in full assembly. Without appearing to be conscious of the illustrious presence and the august company, he went prying41 about into the corners of the hall, as if in search of some particular object. At length, said he, “Not one!”
“Not one what?” roared the Ghiznian.
“Sheep’s tail!” said the fool, in a tone of voice which set every one in a roar of laughter.
“It’s no laughing matter,” added he; “I am starving, and all I ask is a sheep’s tail for my dinner.”
“Nay!” cried Mahmoud, “thou shalt have one;” and whispering to an official who stood near, the latter personage presently brought in a raw vegetable, which in its shape somewhat closely resembled the long, heavy, and unctuous42 tail of the Eastern sheep. The fool took it without observation; and, after thanks to the Prophet for excellent mutton, he began devouring43 it. Observing that the monarch smiled, the jester asked him, with the tail in his mouth, if what he was doing reminded his Majesty44 of anything.
“Of what should a sheep’s tail in thy mouth remind72 me,” said Mahmoud, “except of the proverb that ‘Extremes meet’?” The fool was overwhelmed for awhile by the laughter duly shouted forth45 by the subordinates at their great master’s joke, but he soon recovered himself, and when Mahmoud asked him what he thought of his joint46, he answered, “That the thing was eatable enough, but that he observed that sheep’s tails were by no means so fat and well-flavoured as they had been in the days of his Majesty’s predecessor47; but that, as men were more lean, too, now, than they used to be, perhaps the fact alluded48 to was of no material consequence.”
“Thou art not such a fool as thou pretendest to be,” said the sovereign. “It was but yesterday that one of thy profession told me of the gratitude49 the owls50 felt for me, because of the many ruined villages in the land; and now thou hintest at the misery52 of the people. Go thy way, good fellow, and go thy way with full stomach, and assurance that both evils shall yet be remedied.”
In the sixteenth century, when Baber was Emperor of Hindostan, the merry profession was in favour, but the furnishers of amusement for the monarch comprised others besides jesters. Thus, at state dinners, as soon as the imperial host and his guests took their places, tumblers, rope-dancers, and jugglers, whom no other country could equal, exhibited their feats55. The highest point of fun was when the scattering56 of coin among the performers, excited a huge uproar57. In earlier times, the wordy contests of two fools used to beguile58 the half-hour before dinner; but in Baber’s days, he and similar potentates were wont59 to be exceedingly well amused by witnessing a couple of rams60 butting61 at each other. It was perhaps as rational for royalty so to do, as to listen to Ethiopian serenaders chanting harmonized nonsense.
Some writers have classed the “Mutes” among the professional fools of the Eastern courts. This would seem to73 be an error not easily accounted for. The duty of that official was of a rather severe cast. The fool, however, was well known among the Turks, and perhaps the most celebrated62 was that Nasur ed Deen Chodscha, who was in the service of the first Bajazet, and who joked to such excellent effect that he once tickled64 Timour Leng into such good humour that the latter paid the fool the high compliment of saving from plunder65 his native town Jengi-Scheher (Neapolis). It was done after this wise:—
The inhabitants of the city, hearing of the approach of the conqueror66, prepared to defend themselves with vigour67. Nasur counselled them to do nothing of the sort, but to trust to him alone, and his mediation68 with Timour. The people were doubtful of his success, but they yielded. Before proceeding69 to the camp of the besieger70, Nasur, who knew it was useless to approach the great chief without a present, considered what gift was likely to be most acceptable. He resolved it should be fruit, but he hesitated between figs71 and quinces. “I will consult with my wife,” said Nasur ed Deen, and he according did so. The lady advised him to take quinces, as the larger fruit. “Very good,” said Nasur, “that being your opinion, I will take figs.” When he reached the foot of the throne of Tamerlane, he announced himself as the ambassador from the beleaguered73 citizens, and presented, as an offering of their homage74, his trumpery75 basket of figs. The chief burst into a rage, and ordered them to be flung at the head of the representative of the people of Jengi-Scheher. The courtiers pelted76 him with right good will; and each time he was struck, Nasur, who stood patient and immovable, gently exclaimed, “Now Allah be praised!” or, “Oh, the Prophet be thanked!” or, “Oh, admirable! how can I be sufficiently78 grateful?”
74 “Ay, truly, great Sir,” replied Nasur; “I gratefully enjoy the consequence of my own wit. My wife counselled me to bring quinces, but I chose to bring figs; and well that I did, for with figs you have only bruised79 me, but had I brought quinces, you would have beaten my brains out.”
The stern conqueror laughed aloud, and declared that, for the sake of one fool, he would spare all the asses in the city, male and female, them and their property.
“Then,” cried Nasur, “the entire population is safe!” and he ran homewards to communicate the joyful80 intelligence.
Nasur, indeed, ranks among the most useful, as well as the most witty81, of his ancient vocation. On one occasion, Bajazet had condemned82 many scores of his officers to death, for some trifling83 offence, in time of war. “Ay, indeed,” exclaimed the fool, “hang the knaves85! hang them! what use are they? kill them for small offences, and rogues87 will fear to commit greater! excellent wisdom! Timour is at hand; away with them before he comes! The army can do without leaders. You take the standard; I will beat the drum; and we will thus meet that troublesome individual at the head of the forces. We will see how we can handle the Tartars, without such knaves as these to help us!” Bajazet comprehended the implied reproof88, and spared the well-proved and lightly-offending leaders of his host.
On another occasion, Nasur, having succeeded so well with his figs, acknowledged the clemency89 of Timour, by presenting him with a few fresh gherkins, for the great warrior’s supper. The chief ordered him a reward of ten gold crowns, and Nasur went home rejoiced. When the season came that other gherkins had grown into cucumbers, Nasur, expecting commensurate recompense, carried to the residence of Timour a basket full of the refreshing90 vegetable. The door-keeper, however, refused to allow him to pass until he had agreed to give him half the reward that might75 be paid to Nasur by order of the chief. It happened that the latter was “not i’ the vein,” and instead of commanding a recompense of gold crowns, he sentenced the unfortunate gift-bearer to receive a hundred blows from the stick. Nasur took fifty patiently; but then he cried to the unpleasant official to hold his hand; and he explained how the other half of the acknowledgment belonged to the door-keeper. Timour swore that the stipulation91 should be observed, and the remaining half-hundred blows were paid where they were justly due.
A whole Encyclop?dia might be written of the sayings and doings of the Eastern “simpletons,” alone. My space is too limited to allow of my doing much more than to offer a few illustrations; but, to those who have much curiosity in the matter, and who may not be disinclined to spend whole hours with a single class of the Oriental Fools, I recommend the well-known book, which contains the birth, parentage, and education, life, character, and behaviour, lively sayings, last dying speech and confession92 of the Gooroo Noodle. From that tempting93 chronicle, I return to the “Toorke” jester, with the remark that, great as was his freedom of speech, it was not every witty fellow at Court who was so licensed94. The courtier who ventured to take a liberty with a Turkish potentate37 was as uncertain, as to the effect, as the Roman wits were when bold enough to joke with the Emperor. Selim, the son of Bajazet, was one with whom the most favoured of his followers95 could not with impunity96 venture on freedom of speech. When engaged on his Egyptian expedition, one of his officials the most closely attached to his person, hazarded the question as to when his Majesty expected to be at Cairo. “We shall be there,” said Selim, “when it may please God. As for thy arrival there, it rather pleases me that thou shalt stay here.” And therewith, on a sign from the Sultan, the unlucky querist was instantly put to death.
76 Murad the Third, though as savage97 by nature as Selim, could take a joke better than his predecessor could a simple question. There was one thing, however, which he could not tolerate—tobacco; the use of which he punished with death. But among the few members of his court was a man renowned for his wit, and for his power of raising the spirits of the Sultan, even when these had been depressed98 by a three days’ fit of drunkenness. Now this court-wit loved smoking, and was resolved, not only to have his pipe, but to escape the penalty of death attached to the enjoyment99 of it. Accordingly, he caused a deep pit to be dug in his tent, and when he desired to give himself up to his dearest indulgence, he would descend100 into it, sitting there concealed101 by a sieve-like construction drawn over the top, and lightly covered with turf. One evening, Murad became sagacious of the hookah from afar, and, tracing the offender to the very pit in which he was quietly smoking, threatened him with instant death. The offender, however, coolly thrusting his head upward, as he provokingly drew another mouthful of reeking102 luxury, exclaimed, “Go to, thou son of a bond-woman! Thy edicts extend over the earth, certainly; but they do not extend under it.” “Take thy life for thy joke,” said Murad, laughing and coughing,—the first at the jest, and the second at the odour and vapour, which he detested,—“I only wish thy pipe were as enjoyable as thy wit.”
Many samples of this sort I could continue to place before my readers; but, having regard to the patience of those who have so often borne patiently with me, I will only trace the Eastern jester down to modern times. Till after the commencement of the present century, the courts of the Hospodars of Moldavia and Wallachia were never without the mirthful official. The latter was usually an Armenian. Indeed, there were, ordinarily, several at each court. Their duty was to amuse their lord when he was at table, by every means in their power, by strange remarks, by droll103 stories,77 or by burlesques104 more or less extravagant105. In processions, they walked before their masters, and carried long staves covered with silver bells. Since they fell into disuse, the Gipsies succeeded to the exercise of one part of their office, and these are admitted to the palaces of the great, on particular festivals, to amuse their illustrious hearers with national and comic songs.
From a very early period, the public and private buffoons of the East seem to have been selected from among the Armenians. Joinville introduces to us some very sprightly106 professionals of this sort, in his ‘History of St. Louis.’ “There came with the Prince,” he says, “three minstrels from Armenia (trois ménestriers de la Grande Hyrménie). They carried three horns, and when they began to perform on them, you might have taken the sound for that of swans. They produced the softest melody....” He then informs us how, having fulfilled their office of minstrels, they performed that of buffoons, for the amusement of the illustrious personages present. “They made three marvellous leaps (sauts); ... a cloth (touaille) being placed beneath their feet, they threw a somersault upon it, without any spring, and two of them leaped in this way, head backwards107.”
The old fashion in the East did not altogether expire till a very recent period, for we find a jester at the court of the father of the present Sultan of Turkey. It was said of some eminent108 individual, that he had made two centuries illustrious; and something like it may be said of this oriental jester, who flourished at the court of Constantinople at the close of the last, and above a quarter of the present century. In 1836 died Abdi Bey, who, for nearly half a century previous, had been the favourite jester of successive Sultans. He worked hard and reaped a large fortune. In the early part of his career, his masters treated him as a mere110 brutish buffoon4, on whom they might play any trick. Sometimes they set him off in a gallop111, mounted on a giraffe, or tumbled him78 headlong into a pond, to the danger of his life. The late Sultan Mahmoud had no stomach for such sorry jokes, and Abdi Bey devoted112 his capacity to keep his patron in good spirits by amusing him with smart sayings and pleasant stories. He must have been an incomparable fool in his time, or his masters must have been greater fools than he, for out of their imperial bounty113, he contrived114 to save ￡150,000, which he left to his grateful and deeply-resigned heirs. It was nearly as much as the late Mr. Greenough made by the manufacture of lozenges—“ten a penny!”
Abdi Bey has been called the last of the household buffoons. But this is not the case; for though the official fool has disappeared from Court, he is still to be found attached to families, or heads of families. We even meet with this rather impudent115 than merry fellow in the household of Christian116 Patriarchs. Only a few years ago, when the Nestorian Patriarch was flying, with a large number of his followers, from their would-be murderers in the mountains, they found refuge at Mosul, in the houses of the English Consul72 and the Rev109. Mr. Fletcher. The latter gentleman, in his ‘Notes from Nineveh,’ so describes his reverence’s buffoon as to induce us to believe that to have much to do with him was really “no joke at all.” “My new guests,” he says, “were very orderly in their manners, though wild in their appearance. Only one decided117 quarrel broke out among them during their abode118 with me; and this was occasioned by a half-crazy old man who served the Patriarch in the double capacity of a domestic and buffoon. This worthy119 was addicted120, like many of his countrymen, to the vice63 of intoxication121; and having on one occasion partaken rather freely of the juice of the grape, he grew riotous122, and addressed a reproachful epithet123 to one of his companions. The fiery124 nature of the mountaineer was excited, and he retorted in no complimentary125 terms. The old buffoon drew his dagger126, and made a rush at his antagonist127, who retreated79 into an inner apartment and shut the door. Nothing could equal the rage of old Yohanan at being thus baulked of his vengeance128. Two or three times he burst from those who were restraining him, and drove his knife into the hard wood of the door. At length he was quieted, and after sleeping-off his drunkenness, appeared the next morning with a sober and abashed129 countenance130.” I suppose old Yohanan was past being amusing, for we are subsequently told, that to raise the drooping131 spirits of the Patriarch, an itinerant132 Italian juggler53 was hired. At his tricks and witticisms133 the pious134 head of the Nestorian Church forgot the slaughter135 of his friends and the devastation136 of their and his homesteads. The saintly and sympathetic man laughed till he could hardly sit upright on his cushions, and only ceased then because some wonderful stroke of the juggler’s art induced him suddenly to suspect that such marvellous proficiency137 was only an inspiration of the devil.
* * * * *
By way of supplement to this Chapter, I will add a few short illustrations of the jester at other barbarous courts than those of the East;—and first, of “that beyond the Atlantic.”
When Cortez first visited the court of Montezuma, he found there various instances of high civilization:—among others, light ladies, strong drinks, court fools, and a spirit of infidelity against the established church, inspired by an influence called the “Rational Owl51.” The Aztec monarch resembled Heliogabalus in one respect;—“he had a museum,” says Brantz Mayer, in his excellent work, ‘Mexico, Aztec, Spanish, and Republican,’ “in which, with an oddity of taste unparalleled in history, there had been collected a vast number of human monsters, cripples, dwarfs138, albinos, and other freaks and caprices of nature.” Bernal Diaz saw the monarch at dinner, and among the incidents recorded80 by the old Spaniard, is, that, “at different intervals139 during the time of dinner, there entered certain Indians, hump-backed, very deformed140 and ugly, who played tricks of buffoonery; and others, who they said were jesters.” The fashion of maintaining the latter was followed by the nobles. “The principal men,” says Acoste, quoted by Prescott, “had also buffoons and jugglers in their service, who amused them, and astonished the Spaniards by their feats of dexterity141 and strength.”
Montezuma patronized rather the witty buffoons than the skilful142 jugglers. “Indeed, he used to say, that more instruction was to be gathered from them than from wiser men, for they dared to tell the truth.” Prescott adds in a note, founded on Clavigero, that “the Aztec mountebanks had such repute, that Cortez sent two of them to Rome, to amuse his Holiness, Clement143 VII.” This was only an exchange of personages of similar profession, for the European official house fool had already been imported into America. In 1519, at St. Jago, when Velasquez the governor was beginning to be suspicious of the designs of Cortez to supplant144 him, the two great men were walking together towards the port. As they passed on, the fool of the former called aloud, “Have a care, Master Velasquez, or we shall have to go a-hunting, some day or other, after this same captain of ours.” “Do you hear what the rogue86 says?” exclaimed the Governor to his companion. “Do not heed145 him,” said Cortez, “he is a saucy146 knave84, and deserves a good whipping.” The hint of the fool, however, heightened the suspicions of his master; but how the latter was too slow of wit and action to profit thereby147, is known to all who have read the graphic148 pages which tell of the conquest of Mexico.
But neither Aztec nor Spanish monarch rivalled their less civilized149 brother of Monomotapa in this peculiar150 department of his household. Gallienus alone deserves to be mentioned, in this respect, with the African potentate, who never stirred81 abroad with less than five hundred official fools in his vast and noisy retinue151!
There were, as late as the last century, and there probably still linger on the Gold Coast, traditions of the mythological152 jester of Africa, Nanni, son of the Spider. His busy parent had spun153 all the human race from the thread of his bowels154, and found no gratitude from the living produce of his labours. The Fetis seduced155 all creation to sin, and the Spider bethought him how to annoy the Fetis. With what little material he had left, he spun the last man, and educated him at his own paternal156 feet, on the edge of the domestic web. The tricks the father taught his boy were long the delight of polished and perspiring157 African tribes. Nanni was the ebony Owlglas of the land of Ham. He served the Fetis, but only as Jocrisse did his master, to his great vexation. Was Nanni commissioned to provide a chicken for dinner, he knew how, after devouring the bird himself, to replace bones and skin, and place it before his employer, the very model of a plump pullet. Was an egg ordered for breakfast, Nanni first sucked out the contents through a minute orifice, and filled up the shell with the finest sand. Nanni, too, was a married man, with numberless children, and more wives than “that Sardanapalus of Snobs,” Brigham Young. In a time of scarcity158, when even a bean was worth more than its weight in gold, the hungry wives and offspring of Nanni drove him forth by their importunity159, to seek food. He came upon a company of boys and girls who had been left by their father in charge of a quantity of beans, to dry and turn them in the air. Nanni leaped in among them, made them shriek160 with laughter at his jokes, and stamp with delight at his dancing. The latter exercise he concluded by rolling his well-oiled body among the beans, with which, sticking to him as he rose, he made off, after bidding the children look at his hands, to see that he carried nothing away with him. By repeating82 this feat54, he nourished his household for days; and the alarmed owner of the precious vegetables could not account for their diminution161 from any account rendered by the young guardians162. But detecting Nanni in the fact, the owner chopped off both his hands, as he lay rolling his greased body among the beans. The wit of the national jester had been grievously at fault, and his household becoming more hungry and angry than ever, his wives broke into open revolt, and eloped in a body, in search of another mate. But Nanni was beforehand with them in every respect; for taking the guise163 of a woodman, and having recovered his lost members, he met them in their flight, without being recognized by them. They told him of the fate of their husband, and of their intentions, concluding with a gentle hint that they were well enough inclined to accept a well-built young wood-cutter for their common husband. “No! no!” cried Nanni, “times are so very hard, that I have been obliged to dismiss forty-nine of my wives, and to live as well as I can with one!” This speech alarmed the ladies, who forthwith hurried homeward; but the active Nanni encountered them at the threshold, over which he would not allow them to pass till they had entered into stipulations whereby he was secured in full and despotic authority over his entire family.
The jokes of Nanni, son of the Spider, for a long time formed all the history, literature, and amusement of Negro circles. A thousand times over have his tricks been told and acted, in a semi-dramatic way, to delighted groups of swarthy listeners beneath the African moon. I may notice that the story-teller has always been a greater favourite in Africa than the mere jester. I remember, indeed, having read of one potentate, the Kaffir chief Tshaka, or Chaka, who would tolerate neither, at his horridly164 solemn court. On one occasion, however, and in full council, a merry fellow gave utterance165 to a frolicsome166 thought which he could not repress. It succeeded admirably,—gloomy king and grave83 counsellors were thrown into the most convulsive hilarity167. When they had all recovered, the chief, pointing towards the jester, showed his grateful sense of a rare delight, by exclaiming, “Take that dog out, and kill him; he has made me laugh!”
To make his patron laugh was the especial and variously-rewarded vocation of the jester whom I now proceed to introduce to my readers. The English Court Fool was a very peculiar fellow, and in the history of some members of the order of Motley, in this country, there are incidents unparalleled in the history of the official jesters of any other nation. Let us see whence they came, as well as who they were.
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pretentious
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| adj.自命不凡的，自负的，炫耀的 | |
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aberration
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| n.离开正路，脱离常规，色差 | |
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vocation
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| n.职业，行业 | |
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buffoon
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| n.演出时的丑角 | |
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buffoons
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| n.愚蠢的人( buffoon的名词复数 )；傻瓜；逗乐小丑；滑稽的人 | |
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conspicuously
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| ad.明显地，惹人注目地 | |
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asses
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| n. 驴，愚蠢的人，臀部 adv. (常用作后置)用于贬损或骂人 | |
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monarch
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| n.帝王，君主，最高统治者 | |
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beholding
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| v.看，注视( behold的现在分词 )；瞧；看呀；（叙述中用于引出某人意外的出现）哎哟 | |
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mimic
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| v.模仿，戏弄；n.模仿他人言行的人 | |
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royalty
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inflicted
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| 把…强加给，使承受，遭受( inflict的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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distinguished
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enjoined
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discreetly
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| ad.(言行)审慎地，慎重地 | |
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nuptial
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| adj.婚姻的，婚礼的 | |
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petrified
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| adj.惊呆的；目瞪口呆的v.使吓呆，使惊呆；变僵硬；使石化(petrify的过去式和过去分词) | |
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tumult
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| n.喧哗；激动，混乱；吵闹 | |
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19
deserted
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| adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的 | |
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20
procured
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| v.（努力）取得， （设法）获得( procure的过去式和过去分词 )；拉皮条 | |
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21
schooling
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| n.教育；正规学校教育 | |
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22
slippers
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| n. 拖鞋 | |
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23
imprisonment
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| n.关押，监禁，坐牢 | |
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24
plunging
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| adj.跳进的，突进的v.颠簸( plunge的现在分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降 | |
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25
renowned
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| adj.著名的，有名望的，声誉鹊起的 | |
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26
extenuate
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| v.减轻，使人原谅 | |
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27
exquisite
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| adj.精美的；敏锐的；剧烈的，感觉强烈的 | |
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28
anguish
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| n.(尤指心灵上的)极度痛苦，烦恼 | |
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29
astounding
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| adj.使人震惊的vt.使震惊，使大吃一惊astound的现在分词) | |
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30
javelin
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| n.标枪，投枪 | |
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31
offender
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| n.冒犯者，违反者，犯罪者 | |
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32
slain
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| 杀死，宰杀，杀戮( slay的过去分词 )； (slay的过去分词) | |
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33
anecdotes
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| n.掌故，趣闻，轶事( anecdote的名词复数 ) | |
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34
specimen
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| n.样本，标本 | |
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35
premature
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| adj.比预期时间早的；不成熟的，仓促的 | |
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36
drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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37
potentate
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| n.统治者；君主 | |
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38
potentates
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| n.君主，统治者( potentate的名词复数 )；有权势的人 | |
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39
prerogative
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| n.特权 | |
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40
license
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| n.执照，许可证，特许；v.许可，特许 | |
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41
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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42
unctuous
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| adj.油腔滑调的，大胆的 | |
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43
devouring
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| 吞没( devour的现在分词 )； 耗尽； 津津有味地看； 狼吞虎咽地吃光 | |
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44
majesty
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| n.雄伟，壮丽，庄严，威严；最高权威，王权 | |
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45
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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46
joint
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| adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合 | |
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47
predecessor
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| n.前辈，前任 | |
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48
alluded
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| 提及，暗指( allude的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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49
gratitude
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| adj.感激，感谢 | |
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50
owls
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| n.猫头鹰( owl的名词复数 ) | |
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51
owl
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| n.猫头鹰，枭 | |
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52
misery
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| n.痛苦，苦恼，苦难；悲惨的境遇，贫苦 | |
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53
juggler
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| n. 变戏法者, 行骗者 | |
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54
feat
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| n.功绩；武艺，技艺；adj.灵巧的，漂亮的，合适的 | |
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55
feats
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| 功绩，伟业，技艺( feat的名词复数 ) | |
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56
scattering
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|
| n.[物]散射；散乱，分散；在媒介质中的散播adj.散乱的；分散在不同范围的；广泛扩散的；（选票）数量分散的v.散射(scatter的ing形式)；散布；驱散 | |
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57
uproar
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| n.骚动，喧嚣，鼎沸 | |
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58
beguile
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| vt.欺骗，消遣 | |
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59
wont
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| adj.习惯于；v.习惯；n.习惯 | |
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60
rams
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| n.公羊( ram的名词复数 )；(R-)白羊（星）座；夯；攻城槌v.夯实（土等）( ram的第三人称单数 )；猛撞；猛压；反复灌输 | |
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61
butting
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| 用头撞人（犯规动作） | |
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62
celebrated
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| adj.有名的，声誉卓著的 | |
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63
vice
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| n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的 | |
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64
tickled
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| （使）发痒( tickle的过去式和过去分词 )； （使）愉快，逗乐 | |
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65
plunder
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| vt.劫掠财物，掠夺；n.劫掠物，赃物；劫掠 | |
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66
conqueror
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| n.征服者，胜利者 | |
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67
vigour
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| （=vigor）n.智力，体力，精力 | |
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68
mediation
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| n.调解 | |
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69
proceeding
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| n.行动，进行，(pl.)会议录，学报 | |
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70
besieger
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| n. 围攻者, 围攻军 | |
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71
figs
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| figures 数字，图形，外形 | |
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72
consul
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| n.领事；执政官 | |
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73
beleaguered
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|
| adj.受到围困[围攻]的；包围的v.围攻( beleaguer的过去式和过去分词)；困扰；骚扰 | |
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74
homage
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| n.尊敬，敬意，崇敬 | |
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75
trumpery
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| n.无价值的杂物；adj.（物品）中看不中用的 | |
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76
pelted
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| （连续地）投掷( pelt的过去式和过去分词 )； 连续抨击； 攻击； 剥去…的皮 | |
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77
pelt
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| v.投掷，剥皮，抨击，开火 | |
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78
sufficiently
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| adv.足够地，充分地 | |
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79
bruised
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| [医]青肿的，瘀紫的 | |
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80
joyful
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|
| adj.欢乐的，令人欢欣的 | |
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81
witty
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| adj.机智的，风趣的 | |
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82
condemned
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| 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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83
trifling
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| adj.微不足道的；没什么价值的 | |
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84
knave
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| n.流氓；（纸牌中的）杰克 | |
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85
knaves
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| n.恶棍，无赖( knave的名词复数 )；（纸牌中的）杰克 | |
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86
rogue
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| n.流氓；v.游手好闲 | |
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87
rogues
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| n.流氓( rogue的名词复数 )；无赖；调皮捣蛋的人；离群的野兽 | |
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88
reproof
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| n.斥责，责备 | |
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89
clemency
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| n.温和，仁慈，宽厚 | |
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90
refreshing
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| adj.使精神振作的，使人清爽的，使人喜欢的 | |
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91
stipulation
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| n.契约，规定，条文；条款说明 | |
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92
confession
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| n.自白，供认，承认 | |
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93
tempting
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| a.诱人的, 吸引人的 | |
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94
licensed
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| adj.得到许可的v.许可，颁发执照(license的过去式和过去分词) | |
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95
followers
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| 追随者( follower的名词复数 )； 用户； 契据的附面； 从动件 | |
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96
impunity
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| n.(惩罚、损失、伤害等的)免除 | |
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97
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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98
depressed
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| adj.沮丧的，抑郁的，不景气的，萧条的 | |
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99
enjoyment
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| n.乐趣；享有；享用 | |
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100
descend
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| vt./vi.传下来，下来，下降 | |
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101
concealed
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| a.隐藏的，隐蔽的 | |
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102
reeking
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| v.发出浓烈的臭气( reek的现在分词 )；散发臭气；发出难闻的气味 (of sth)；明显带有（令人不快或生疑的跡象） | |
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103
droll
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| adj.古怪的，好笑的 | |
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104
burlesques
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| n.滑稽模仿( burlesque的名词复数 )；（包括脱衣舞的）滑稽歌舞杂剧v.（嘲弄地）模仿，（通过模仿）取笑( burlesque的第三人称单数 ) | |
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105
extravagant
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| adj.奢侈的；过分的；(言行等)放肆的 | |
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106
sprightly
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| adj.愉快的，活泼的 | |
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107
backwards
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| adv.往回地，向原处，倒，相反，前后倒置地 | |
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108
eminent
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| adj.显赫的，杰出的，有名的，优良的 | |
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109
rev
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| v.发动机旋转，加快速度 | |
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110
mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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111
gallop
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| v./n.(马或骑马等)飞奔；飞速发展 | |
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112
devoted
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| adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的 | |
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113
bounty
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| n.慷慨的赠予物，奖金；慷慨，大方；施与 | |
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114
contrived
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| adj.不自然的，做作的；虚构的 | |
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115
impudent
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| adj.鲁莽的，卑鄙的，厚颜无耻的 | |
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116
Christian
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| adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒 | |
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117
decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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118
abode
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| n.住处，住所 | |
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119
worthy
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| adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的 | |
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120
addicted
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| adj.沉溺于....的，对...上瘾的 | |
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121
intoxication
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| n.wild excitement;drunkenness；poisoning | |
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122
riotous
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| adj.骚乱的；狂欢的 | |
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123
epithet
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| n.（用于褒贬人物等的）表述形容词，修饰语 | |
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124
fiery
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| adj.燃烧着的，火红的；暴躁的；激烈的 | |
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125
complimentary
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| adj.赠送的，免费的，赞美的，恭维的 | |
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126
dagger
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| n.匕首，短剑，剑号 | |
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127
antagonist
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| n.敌人，对抗者，对手 | |
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128
vengeance
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| n.报复，报仇，复仇 | |
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129
abashed
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| adj.窘迫的，尴尬的v.使羞愧，使局促，使窘迫( abash的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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130
countenance
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| n.脸色，面容；面部表情；vt.支持，赞同 | |
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131
drooping
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| adj. 下垂的，无力的 动词droop的现在分词 | |
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132
itinerant
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| adj.巡回的；流动的 | |
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133
witticisms
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| n.妙语，俏皮话( witticism的名词复数 ) | |
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134
pious
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| adj.虔诚的；道貌岸然的 | |
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135
slaughter
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| n.屠杀，屠宰；vt.屠杀，宰杀 | |
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136
devastation
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| n.毁坏；荒废；极度震惊或悲伤 | |
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137
proficiency
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| n.精通，熟练，精练 | |
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138
dwarfs
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| n.侏儒，矮子（dwarf的复数形式）vt.（使）显得矮小（dwarf的第三人称单数形式） | |
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139
intervals
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| 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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140
deformed
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| adj.畸形的；变形的；丑的，破相了的 | |
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141
dexterity
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| n.(手的)灵巧，灵活 | |
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142
skilful
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| (=skillful)adj.灵巧的，熟练的 | |
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143
clement
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| adj.仁慈的；温和的 | |
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144
supplant
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| vt.排挤；取代 | |
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145
heed
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| v.注意，留意；n.注意，留心 | |
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146
saucy
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| adj.无礼的；俊俏的；活泼的 | |
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147
thereby
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| adv.因此，从而 | |
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148
graphic
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| adj.生动的，形象的，绘画的，文字的，图表的 | |
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149
civilized
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| a.有教养的，文雅的 | |
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150
peculiar
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| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
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151
retinue
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| n.侍从；随员 | |
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152
mythological
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| adj.神话的 | |
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153
spun
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| v.纺，杜撰，急转身 | |
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154
bowels
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| n.肠，内脏，内部；肠( bowel的名词复数 )；内部，最深处 | |
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seduced
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| 诱奸( seduce的过去式和过去分词 )； 勾引； 诱使堕落； 使入迷 | |
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156
paternal
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| adj.父亲的，像父亲的，父系的，父方的 | |
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157
perspiring
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| v.出汗，流汗( perspire的现在分词 ) | |
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158
scarcity
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| n.缺乏，不足，萧条 | |
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159
importunity
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| n.硬要，强求 | |
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160
shriek
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| v./n.尖叫，叫喊 | |
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161
diminution
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| n.减少；变小 | |
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162
guardians
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| 监护人( guardian的名词复数 )； 保护者，维护者 | |
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163
guise
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| n.外表，伪装的姿态 | |
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164
horridly
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| 可怕地，讨厌地 | |
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165
utterance
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| n.用言语表达，话语，言语 | |
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166
frolicsome
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| adj.嬉戏的，闹着玩的 | |
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hilarity
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| n.欢乐；热闹 | |
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