CHAPTER VII. EXPECTED AND WELCOMED.

 The Coldstreams and their guest now adjourned¹ into the veranda² to enjoy the evening air, and the golden glow on foliage³ and flower which gives such a charm to the sunset hour in the East. Io brought out her work; she was knitting a delicate shawl for her mother. The young matron felt tranquilly⁴ happy. She was much pleased to see the friendship which appeared to be already growing up between her husband and the fair-haired, gentle and earnest chaplain.

“It is just what Oscar needed,” thought Io, as her fingers plied⁵ the ivory needles, whilst her eyes rested on the two gentlemen conversing⁶ together. “My husband required a brother-like, pious⁷ friend with whom to speak freely on religious subjects—one whose pleasant society may rouse him at last from his mysterious sadness. Mr. Lawrence will be to Oscar in spiritual things what dear old Dr. Pinny will be in matters relating to health. My beloved one will gradually—oh, may Heaven grant it!—recover his natural tone of mind. I  shall take care to invite the good chaplain very often to the house. I like his quiet, unobtrusive manner; he is just the person to win the confidence of my husband.”

The conversation in the veranda chiefly related to the curious traditions existing amongst the Karens. Mark Lawrence had made them his study, and they had beguiled⁸ many an hour that might otherwise have been sad and lonely. The young chaplain had hitherto met with no kindred spirit in the limited society of Moulmein. Full of earnest devotion himself, and a warm sympathizer in the missionary⁹ cause, Mark had been discouraged by the difficulty of imbuing¹⁰ others with his own zeal¹¹; it was like dragging a heavy load up a hill. The easy-going worldliness of the doctor, the carelessness of Pogson, the stolidity¹² of Cottle, the vulgar loquacity¹³ of his wife, made Mark often sadly contrast his position in Moulmein with the happy life which he had led in England in a rural parish where he had almost as many friends as hearers, and where he was a member of a large family circle. Now and then the chaplain had met with missionaries¹⁴ whose names are still honoured and whose work still flourishes. Those days had been red-letter days to Mark Lawrence; but they had been “few and far between”—little oases¹⁵ in a dull, sandy plain. Now, in the accomplished¹⁶, highly-educated young merchant who had come to reside in Moulmein, the chaplain thought that he had found a real friend—one who would join with him in every labour of love.

“You were much struck, I saw at the tradition of the Fall,” said Mr. Lawrence to Oscar; “but still more curious, at least to my mind, are the prophecies which amongst the Karens have been handed down from father to son during ages which no one is able to count.”

“What kind of prophecies?” asked Oscar.

“Mysterious foretellings of both the first and second Advent¹⁷ of our Lord,” was the reply,—“foretellings which force us on to the conclusion that the ancient ancestor of this singular race must have been a kind of post-diluvian Enoch, inspired by the Spirit of Truth.”

“You greatly raise my curiosity,” said Oscar. “Can you remember any of these remarkable¹⁸ predictions?”

“Hear the following, which I have committed to memory as well as written down,” replied Mr. Lawrence. “What I am about to repeat seems clearly to relate to a Divine Being appearing in great humility¹⁹ on earth:—‘Before God comes, Satan will come deceiving men; but follow him not, children and grandchildren. After Satan will come One with scarcely clothes enough to cover Him. Follow Him; that one is God. When God comes, He will take the appearance of the poorest of men, and will dress in rags. Follow Him!’”

“Oh, is it not as if the ancient sage²⁰ had caught the sound of the Saviour’s then unuttered words—Follow Me!” exclaimed Io.

“The poorest of men,” repeated Oscar meditatively²¹; “He who had not where to lay His head!”

“But you said that there is a prophecy of the second Advent also,” cried Io. “If you can remember it, pray repeat it.”

“The ancient prophet bursts into a triumphant²² song which has a true Advent ring about it,” said the chaplain; and with animation²³ he repeated a translation of the Karen poem:—

“God comes down, comes down,

God descends²⁴, descends;

He comes—blowing a trumpet²⁵:

Blowing He gathers men, like the flowers of the areca,

Sounding He gathers people, like the flowers of the areca;

The glittering, the angels of Heaven,

The dazzling, the angels of Heaven,

The great trumpet that God comes blowing,

The great one that strikes the golden harp²⁶.”

“That is glorious!” exclaimed Io, with kindling²⁷ eyes. “We might set that translation to music and sing it in church.”

“Such traditions must have wonderfully prepared the way for Christian²⁸ missionaries,” observed Oscar.

“They did indeed,” replied the chaplain. “The Word of God was received and welcomed too; for there was a prophecy that something was coming which would affect the destiny of the Karen race. This curious prophecy runs thus: ‘Children and grandchildren, if the thing come by land, weep; if by water, laugh. It will not come in our days, but it will in yours.’”

“The English came by water!” exclaimed Io.

“Yes; and they came bringing the Word of Life. The once down-trodden Karens joyously²⁹ sang:—

‘The sons of God, the white foreigners,

Dress in shining black and shining white;

The sons of God, the white foreigners,

Obtained the words of God.’

The gospel,” continued the chaplain, “has made rapid progress amongst the Karens, and the work, as far as I know, seems to be thorough and deep.”

“I shall take double pleasure in teaching my little Maha now,” observed Io. “I shall not regard her as one of a savage³⁰ race, but as the descendant of some ancient mysterious prophet who, like Enoch, walked with God.”

1 adjourned   

（使）休会， （使）休庭( adjourn的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The court adjourned for lunch. 午餐时间法庭休庭。
• The trial was adjourned following the presentation of new evidence to the court. 新证据呈到庭上后，审讯就宣告暂停。

2 veranda   

n.走廊；阳台

参考例句：

• She sat in the shade on the veranda.她坐在阳台上的遮荫处。
• They were strolling up and down the veranda.他们在走廊上来回徜徉。

3 foliage   

n.叶子，树叶，簇叶

参考例句：

• The path was completely covered by the dense foliage.小路被树叶厚厚地盖了一层。
• Dark foliage clothes the hills.浓密的树叶覆盖着群山。

4 tranquilly   

adv. 宁静地

参考例句：

• He took up his brush and went tranquilly to work. 他拿起刷子，一声不响地干了起来。
• The evening was closing down tranquilly. 暮色正在静悄悄地笼罩下来。

5 plied   

v.使用（工具）( ply的过去式和过去分词 )；经常供应（食物、饮料）；固定往来；经营生意

参考例句：

• They plied me with questions about my visit to England. 他们不断地询问我的英国之行。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They plied us with tea and cakes. 他们一个劲儿地让我们喝茶、吃糕饼。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 conversing   

v.交谈，谈话( converse的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• I find that conversing with her is quite difficult. 和她交谈实在很困难。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They were conversing in the parlor. 他们正在客厅谈话。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

7 pious   

adj.虔诚的；道貌岸然的

参考例句：

• Alexander is a pious follower of the faith.亚历山大是个虔诚的信徒。
• Her mother was a pious Christian.她母亲是一个虔诚的基督教徒。

8 beguiled   

v.欺骗( beguile的过去式和过去分词 )；使陶醉；使高兴；消磨（时间等）

参考例句：

• She beguiled them into believing her version of events. 她哄骗他们相信了她叙述的事情。
• He beguiled me into signing this contract. 他诱骗我签订了这项合同。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

9 missionary   

adj.教会的，传教(士)的；n.传教士

参考例句：

• She taught in a missionary school for a couple of years.她在一所教会学校教了两年书。
• I hope every member understands the value of missionary work. 我希望教友都了解传教工作的价值。

10 imbuing   

v.使（某人/某事）充满或激起（感情等）( imbue的现在分词 )；使充满；灌输；激发（强烈感情或品质等）

参考例句：

11 zeal   

n.热心，热情，热忱

参考例句：

• Revolutionary zeal caught them up,and they joined the army.革命热情激励他们，于是他们从军了。
• They worked with great zeal to finish the project.他们热情高涨地工作，以期完成这个项目。

12 stolidity   

n.迟钝，感觉麻木

参考例句：

• That contrast between flashy inspiration and stolidity may now apply to the world's big central banks. 而今这种创意的灵感和反应上的迟钝的对照也适用于世界上的各大中央银行。 来自互联网

13 loquacity   

n.多话，饶舌

参考例句：

• I was victimized the whole evening by his loquacity. 整个晚上我都被他的吵嚷不休所困扰。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• The nervous loquacity and opinionation of the Zenith Athletic Club dropped from them. 泽尼斯运动俱乐部里的那种神经质的健谈和自以为是的态度从他们身上消失了。 来自辞典例句

14 missionaries   

n.传教士( missionary的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Some missionaries came from England in the Qing Dynasty. 清朝时，从英国来了一些传教士。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The missionaries rebuked the natives for worshipping images. 传教士指责当地人崇拜偶像。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

15 oases   

n.（沙漠中的）绿洲( oasis的名词复数 )；（困苦中）令人快慰的地方（或时刻）；乐土；乐事

参考例句：

• There was a hundred miles between the two oases. 这两片绿洲间有一百英里。 来自辞典例句
• Where underground water comes to the surface, there are oases. 地下水流到地表的地方，就成为了绿洲。 来自互联网

16 accomplished   

adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的

参考例句：

• Thanks to your help,we accomplished the task ahead of schedule.亏得你们帮忙,我们才提前完成了任务。
• Removal of excess heat is accomplished by means of a radiator.通过散热器完成多余热量的排出。

17 advent   

n.(重要事件等的)到来，来临

参考例句：

• Swallows come by groups at the advent of spring. 春天来临时燕子成群飞来。
• The advent of the Euro will redefine Europe.欧元的出现将重新定义欧洲。

18 remarkable   

adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的

参考例句：

• She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
• These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。

19 humility   

n.谦逊，谦恭

参考例句：

• Humility often gains more than pride.谦逊往往比骄傲收益更多。
• His voice was still soft and filled with specious humility.他的声音还是那么温和，甚至有点谦卑。

20 sage   

n.圣人，哲人；adj.贤明的，明智的

参考例句：

• I was grateful for the old man's sage advice.我很感激那位老人贤明的忠告。
• The sage is the instructor of a hundred ages.这位哲人是百代之师。

21 meditatively   

adv.冥想地

参考例句：

• The old man looked meditatively at the darts board. 老头儿沉思不语，看着那投镖板。 来自英汉文学
• "Well,'said the foreman, scratching his ear meditatively, "we do need a stitcher. “这--"工头沉思地搔了搔耳朵。 "我们确实需要一个缝纫工。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

22 triumphant   

adj.胜利的，成功的；狂欢的，喜悦的

参考例句：

• The army made a triumphant entry into the enemy's capital.部队胜利地进入了敌方首都。
• There was a positively triumphant note in her voice.她的声音里带有一种极为得意的语气。

23 animation   

n.活泼，兴奋，卡通片／动画片的制作

参考例句：

• They are full of animation as they talked about their childhood.当他们谈及童年的往事时都非常兴奋。
• The animation of China made a great progress.中国的卡通片制作取得很大发展。

24 descends   

v.下来( descend的第三人称单数 )；下去；下降；下斜

参考例句：

• This festival descends from a religious rite. 这个节日起源于宗教仪式。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The path descends steeply to the village. 小路陡直而下直到村子。 来自《简明英汉词典》

25 trumpet   

n.喇叭，喇叭声；v.吹喇叭，吹嘘

参考例句：

• He plays the violin, but I play the trumpet.他拉提琴，我吹喇叭。
• The trumpet sounded for battle.战斗的号角吹响了。

26 harp   

n.竖琴；天琴座

参考例句：

• She swept her fingers over the strings of the harp.她用手指划过竖琴的琴弦。
• He played an Irish melody on the harp.他用竖琴演奏了一首爱尔兰曲调。

27 kindling   

n. 点火, 可燃物 动词kindle的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• There were neat piles of kindling wood against the wall. 墙边整齐地放着几堆引火柴。
• "Coal and kindling all in the shed in the backyard." “煤，劈柴，都在后院小屋里。” 来自汉英文学 - 骆驼祥子

28 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

29 joyously   

ad.快乐地, 高兴地

参考例句：

• She opened the door for me and threw herself in my arms, screaming joyously and demanding that we decorate the tree immediately. 她打开门，直扑我的怀抱，欣喜地喊叫着要马上装饰圣诞树。
• They came running, crying out joyously in trilling girlish voices. 她们边跑边喊，那少女的颤音好不欢快。 来自名作英译部分

30 savage   

adj.野蛮的；凶恶的，残暴的；n.未开化的人

参考例句：

• The poor man received a savage beating from the thugs.那可怜的人遭到暴徒的痛打。
• He has a savage temper.他脾气粗暴。