Mr. Ralph Nickleby was not, strictly3 speaking, what you would call a merchant, neither was he a banker, nor an attorney, nor a special pleader, nor a notary4. He was certainly not a tradesman, and still less could he lay any claim to the title of a professional gentleman; for it would have been impossible to mention any recognised profession to which he belonged. Nevertheless, as he lived in a spacious5 house in Golden Square, which, in addition to a brass6 plate upon the street-door, had another brass plate two sizes and a half smaller upon the left hand door-post, surrounding a brass model of an infant’s fist grasping a fragment of a skewer7, and displaying the word ‘Office,’ it was clear that Mr. Ralph Nickleby did, or pretended to do, business of some kind; and the fact, if it required any further circumstantial evidence, was abundantly demonstrated by the diurnal8 attendance, between the hours of half-past nine and five, of a sallow-faced man in rusty9 brown, who sat upon an uncommonly10 hard stool in a species of butler’s pantry at the end of the passage, and always had a pen behind his ear when he answered the bell.
Although a few members of the graver professions live about Golden Square, it is not exactly in anybody’s way to or from anywhere. It is one of the squares that have been; a quarter of the town that has gone down in the world, and taken to letting lodgings11. Many of its first and second floors are let, furnished, to single gentlemen; and it takes boarders besides. It is a great resort of foreigners. The dark-complexioned men who wear large rings, and heavy watch-guards, and bushy whiskers, and who congregate12 under the Opera Colonnade13, and about the box-office in the season, between four and five in the afternoon, when they give away the orders,—all live in Golden Square, or within a street of it. Two or three violins and a wind instrument from the Opera band reside within its precincts. Its boarding-houses are musical, and the notes of pianos and harps14 float in the evening time round the head of the mournful statue, the guardian15 genius of a little wilderness16 of shrubs17, in the centre of the square. On a summer’s night, windows are thrown open, and groups of swarthy moustached men are seen by the passer-by, lounging at the casements18, and smoking fearfully. Sounds of gruff voices practising vocal19 music invade the evening’s silence; and the fumes20 of choice tobacco scent21 the air. There, snuff and cigars, and German pipes and flutes22, and violins and violoncellos, divide the supremacy23 between them. It is the region of song and smoke. Street bands are on their mettle24 in Golden Square; and itinerant25 glee-singers quaver involuntarily as they raise their voices within its boundaries.
This would not seem a spot very well adapted to the transaction of business; but Mr. Ralph Nickleby had lived there, notwithstanding, for many years, and uttered no complaint on that score. He knew nobody round about, and nobody knew him, although he enjoyed the reputation of being immensely rich. The tradesmen held that he was a sort of lawyer, and the other neighbours opined that he was a kind of general agent; both of which guesses were as correct and definite as guesses about other people’s affairs usually are, or need to be.
Mr. Ralph Nickleby sat in his private office one morning, ready dressed to walk abroad. He wore a bottle-green spencer over a blue coat; a white waistcoat, grey mixture pantaloons, and Wellington boots drawn27 over them. The corner of a small-plaited shirt-frill struggled out, as if insisting to show itself, from between his chin and the top button of his spencer; and the latter garment was not made low enough to conceal28 a long gold watch-chain, composed of a series of plain rings, which had its beginning at the handle of a gold repeater in Mr. Nickleby’s pocket, and its termination in two little keys: one belonging to the watch itself, and the other to some patent padlock. He wore a sprinkling of powder upon his head, as if to make himself look benevolent29; but if that were his purpose, he would perhaps have done better to powder his countenance30 also, for there was something in its very wrinkles, and in his cold restless eye, which seemed to tell of cunning that would announce itself in spite of him. However this might be, there he was; and as he was all alone, neither the powder, nor the wrinkles, nor the eyes, had the smallest effect, good or bad, upon anybody just then, and are consequently no business of ours just now.
Mr. Nickleby closed an account-book which lay on his desk, and, throwing himself back in his chair, gazed with an air of abstraction through the dirty window. Some London houses have a melancholy31 little plot of ground behind them, usually fenced in by four high whitewashed32 walls, and frowned upon by stacks of chimneys: in which there withers33 on, from year to year, a crippled tree, that makes a show of putting forth34 a few leaves late in autumn when other trees shed theirs, and, drooping35 in the effort, lingers on, all crackled and smoke-dried, till the following season, when it repeats the same process, and perhaps, if the weather be particularly genial36, even tempts37 some rheumatic sparrow to chirrup in its branches. People sometimes call these dark yards ‘gardens’; it is not supposed that they were ever planted, but rather that they are pieces of unreclaimed land, with the withered38 vegetation of the original brick-field. No man thinks of walking in this desolate39 place, or of turning it to any account. A few hampers40, half-a-dozen broken bottles, and such-like rubbish, may be thrown there, when the tenant41 first moves in, but nothing more; and there they remain until he goes away again: the damp straw taking just as long to moulder42 as it thinks proper: and mingling43 with the scanty44 box, and stunted45 everbrowns, and broken flower-pots, that are scattered46 mournfully about—a prey47 to ‘blacks’ and dirt.
It was into a place of this kind that Mr. Ralph Nickleby gazed, as he sat with his hands in his pockets looking out of the window. He had fixed48 his eyes upon a distorted fir tree, planted by some former tenant in a tub that had once been green, and left there, years before, to rot away piecemeal49. There was nothing very inviting50 in the object, but Mr. Nickleby was wrapt in a brown study, and sat contemplating51 it with far greater attention than, in a more conscious mood, he would have deigned52 to bestow53 upon the rarest exotic. At length, his eyes wandered to a little dirty window on the left, through which the face of the clerk was dimly visible; that worthy54 chancing to look up, he beckoned55 him to attend.
In obedience56 to this summons the clerk got off the high stool (to which he had communicated a high polish by countless57 gettings off and on), and presented himself in Mr. Nickleby’s room. He was a tall man of middle age, with two goggle58 eyes whereof one was a fixture59, a rubicund60 nose, a cadaverous face, and a suit of clothes (if the term be allowable when they suited him not at all) much the worse for wear, very much too small, and placed upon such a short allowance of buttons that it was marvellous how he contrived63 to keep them on.
‘Was that half-past twelve, Noggs?’ said Mr. Nickleby, in a sharp and grating voice.
‘Not more than five-and-twenty minutes by the—’ Noggs was going to add public-house clock, but recollecting64 himself, substituted ‘regular time.’
‘My watch has stopped,’ said Mr. Nickleby; ‘I don’t know from what cause.’
‘Not wound up,’ said Noggs.
‘Yes it is,’ said Mr. Nickleby.
‘Over-wound then,’ rejoined Noggs.
‘That can’t very well be,’ observed Mr. Nickleby.
‘Must be,’ said Noggs.
‘Well!’ said Mr. Nickleby, putting the repeater back in his pocket; ‘perhaps it is.’
Noggs gave a peculiar65 grunt66, as was his custom at the end of all disputes with his master, to imply that he (Noggs) triumphed; and (as he rarely spoke67 to anybody unless somebody spoke to him) fell into a grim silence, and rubbed his hands slowly over each other: cracking the joints68 of his fingers, and squeezing them into all possible distortions. The incessant69 performance of this routine on every occasion, and the communication of a fixed and rigid70 look to his unaffected eye, so as to make it uniform with the other, and to render it impossible for anybody to determine where or at what he was looking, were two among the numerous peculiarities71 of Mr Noggs, which struck an inexperienced observer at first sight.
‘Public meeting?’ inquired Noggs.
Mr. Nickleby nodded. ‘I expect a letter from the solicitor73 respecting that mortgage of Ruddle’s. If it comes at all, it will be here by the two o’clock delivery. I shall leave the city about that time and walk to Charing74 Cross on the left-hand side of the way; if there are any letters, come and meet me, and bring them with you.’
Noggs nodded; and as he nodded, there came a ring at the office bell. The master looked up from his papers, and the clerk calmly remained in a stationary75 position.
‘The bell,’ said Noggs, as though in explanation. ‘At home?’
‘Yes.’
‘To anybody?’
‘Yes.’
‘To the tax-gatherer?’
‘No! Let him call again.’
Noggs gave vent76 to his usual grunt, as much as to say ‘I thought so!’ and, the ring being repeated, went to the door, whence he presently returned, ushering77 in, by the name of Mr. Bonney, a pale gentleman in a violent hurry, who, with his hair standing26 up in great disorder78 all over his head, and a very narrow white cravat79 tied loosely round his throat, looked as if he had been knocked up in the night and had not dressed himself since.
‘My dear Nickleby,’ said the gentleman, taking off a white hat which was so full of papers that it would scarcely stick upon his head, ‘there’s not a moment to lose; I have a cab at the door. Sir Matthew Pupker takes the chair, and three members of Parliament are positively80 coming. I have seen two of them safely out of bed. The third, who was at Crockford’s all night, has just gone home to put a clean shirt on, and take a bottle or two of soda81 water, and will certainly be with us, in time to address the meeting. He is a little excited by last night, but never mind that; he always speaks the stronger for it.’
‘It seems to promise pretty well,’ said Mr. Ralph Nickleby, whose deliberate manner was strongly opposed to the vivacity82 of the other man of business.
‘Pretty well!’ echoed Mr. Bonney. ‘It’s the finest idea that was ever started. “United Metropolitan83 Improved Hot Muffin and Crumpet Baking and Punctual Delivery Company. Capital, five millions, in five hundred thousand shares of ten pounds each.” Why the very name will get the shares up to a premium84 in ten days.’
‘And when they are at a premium,’ said Mr. Ralph Nickleby, smiling.
‘When they are, you know what to do with them as well as any man alive, and how to back quietly out at the right time,’ said Mr. Bonney, slapping the capitalist familiarly on the shoulder. ‘By-the-bye, what a very remarkable85 man that clerk of yours is.’
‘Yes, poor devil!’ replied Ralph, drawing on his gloves. ‘Though Newman Noggs kept his horses and hounds once.’
‘Ay, ay?’ said the other carelessly.
‘Yes,’ continued Ralph, ‘and not many years ago either; but he squandered86 his money, invested it anyhow, borrowed at interest, and in short made first a thorough fool of himself, and then a beggar. He took to drinking, and had a touch of paralysis87, and then came here to borrow a pound, as in his better days I had—’
‘Done business with him,’ said Mr. Bonney with a meaning look.
‘Just so,’ replied Ralph; ‘I couldn’t lend it, you know.’
‘Oh, of course not.’
‘But as I wanted a clerk just then, to open the door and so forth, I took him out of charity, and he has remained with me ever since. He is a little mad, I think,’ said Mr. Nickleby, calling up a charitable look, ‘but he is useful enough, poor creature—useful enough.’
The kind-hearted gentleman omitted to add that Newman Noggs, being utterly88 destitute89, served him for rather less than the usual wages of a boy of thirteen; and likewise failed to mention in his hasty chronicle, that his eccentric taciturnity rendered him an especially valuable person in a place where much business was done, of which it was desirable no mention should be made out of doors. The other gentleman was plainly impatient to be gone, however, and as they hurried into the hackney cabriolet immediately afterwards, perhaps Mr. Nickleby forgot to mention circumstances so unimportant.
There was a great bustle90 in Bishopsgate Street Within, as they drew up, and (it being a windy day) half-a-dozen men were tacking91 across the road under a press of paper, bearing gigantic announcements that a Public Meeting would be holden at one o’clock precisely92, to take into consideration the propriety93 of petitioning Parliament in favour of the United Metropolitan Improved Hot Muffin and Crumpet Baking and Punctual Delivery Company, capital five millions, in five hundred thousand shares of ten pounds each; which sums were duly set forth in fat black figures of considerable size. Mr. Bonney elbowed his way briskly upstairs, receiving in his progress many low bows from the waiters who stood on the landings to show the way; and, followed by Mr. Nickleby, dived into a suite61 of apartments behind the great public room: in the second of which was a business-looking table, and several business-looking people.
‘Hear!’ cried a gentleman with a double chin, as Mr. Bonney presented himself. ‘Chair, gentlemen, chair!’
The new-comers were received with universal approbation94, and Mr. Bonney bustled95 up to the top of the table, took off his hat, ran his fingers through his hair, and knocked a hackney-coachman’s knock on the table with a little hammer: whereat several gentlemen cried ‘Hear!’ and nodded slightly to each other, as much as to say what spirited conduct that was. Just at this moment, a waiter, feverish96 with agitation97, tore into the room, and throwing the door open with a crash, shouted ‘Sir Matthew Pupker!’
The committee stood up and clapped their hands for joy, and while they were clapping them, in came Sir Matthew Pupker, attended by two live members of Parliament, one Irish and one Scotch98, all smiling and bowing, and looking so pleasant that it seemed a perfect marvel62 how any man could have the heart to vote against them. Sir Matthew Pupker especially, who had a little round head with a flaxen wig99 on the top of it, fell into such a paroxysm of bows, that the wig threatened to be jerked off, every instant. When these symptoms had in some degree subsided100, the gentlemen who were on speaking terms with Sir Matthew Pupker, or the two other members, crowded round them in three little groups, near one or other of which the gentlemen who were not on speaking terms with Sir Matthew Pupker or the two other members, stood lingering, and smiling, and rubbing their hands, in the desperate hope of something turning up which might bring them into notice. All this time, Sir Matthew Pupker and the two other members were relating to their separate circles what the intentions of government were, about taking up the bill; with a full account of what the government had said in a whisper the last time they dined with it, and how the government had been observed to wink101 when it said so; from which premises102 they were at no loss to draw the conclusion, that if the government had one object more at heart than another, that one object was the welfare and advantage of the United Metropolitan Improved Hot Muffin and Crumpet Baking and Punctual Delivery Company.
Meanwhile, and pending103 the arrangement of the proceedings104, and a fair division of the speechifying, the public in the large room were eyeing, by turns, the empty platform, and the ladies in the Music Gallery. In these amusements the greater portion of them had been occupied for a couple of hours before, and as the most agreeable diversions pall105 upon the taste on a too protracted106 enjoyment107 of them, the sterner spirits now began to hammer the floor with their boot-heels, and to express their dissatisfaction by various hoots108 and cries. These vocal exertions109, emanating110 from the people who had been there longest, naturally proceeded from those who were nearest to the platform and furthest from the policemen in attendance, who having no great mind to fight their way through the crowd, but entertaining nevertheless a praiseworthy desire to do something to quell111 the disturbance112, immediately began to drag forth, by the coat tails and collars, all the quiet people near the door; at the same time dealing113 out various smart and tingling114 blows with their truncheons, after the manner of that ingenious actor, Mr. Punch: whose brilliant example, both in the fashion of his weapons and their use, this branch of the executive occasionally follows.
Several very exciting skirmishes were in progress, when a loud shout attracted the attention even of the belligerents115, and then there poured on to the platform, from a door at the side, a long line of gentlemen with their hats off, all looking behind them, and uttering vociferous116 cheers; the cause whereof was sufficiently117 explained when Sir Matthew Pupker and the two other real members of Parliament came to the front, amidst deafening118 shouts, and testified to each other in dumb motions that they had never seen such a glorious sight as that, in the whole course of their public career.
At length, and at last, the assembly left off shouting, but Sir Matthew Pupker being voted into the chair, they underwent a relapse which lasted five minutes. This over, Sir Matthew Pupker went on to say what must be his feelings on that great occasion, and what must be that occasion in the eyes of the world, and what must be the intelligence of his fellow-countrymen before him, and what must be the wealth and respectability of his honourable119 friends behind him, and lastly, what must be the importance to the wealth, the happiness, the comfort, the liberty, the very existence of a free and great people, of such an Institution as the United Metropolitan Improved Hot Muffin and Crumpet Baking and Punctual Delivery Company!
Mr. Bonney then presented himself to move the first resolution; and having run his right hand through his hair, and planted his left, in an easy manner, in his ribs120, he consigned121 his hat to the care of the gentleman with the double chin (who acted as a species of bottle-holder to the orators122 generally), and said he would read to them the first resolution—‘That this meeting views with alarm and apprehension123, the existing state of the Muffin Trade in this Metropolis124 and its neighbourhood; that it considers the Muffin Boys, as at present constituted, wholly underserving the confidence of the public; and that it deems the whole Muffin system alike prejudicial to the health and morals of the people, and subversive125 of the best interests of a great commercial and mercantile community.’ The honourable gentleman made a speech which drew tears from the eyes of the ladies, and awakened126 the liveliest emotions in every individual present. He had visited the houses of the poor in the various districts of London, and had found them destitute of the slightest vestige127 of a muffin, which there appeared too much reason to believe some of these indigent128 persons did not taste from year’s end to year’s end. He had found that among muffin-sellers there existed drunkenness, debauchery, and profligacy129, which he attributed to the debasing nature of their employment as at present exercised; he had found the same vices130 among the poorer class of people who ought to be muffin consumers; and this he attributed to the despair engendered131 by their being placed beyond the reach of that nutritious132 article, which drove them to seek a false stimulant133 in intoxicating134 liquors. He would undertake to prove before a committee of the House of Commons, that there existed a combination to keep up the price of muffins, and to give the bellmen a monopoly; he would prove it by bellmen at the bar of that House; and he would also prove, that these men corresponded with each other by secret words and signs as ‘Snooks,’ ‘Walker,’ ‘Ferguson,’ ‘Is Murphy right?’ and many others. It was this melancholy state of things that the Company proposed to correct; firstly, by prohibiting, under heavy penalties, all private muffin trading of every description; secondly135, by themselves supplying the public generally, and the poor at their own homes, with muffins of first quality at reduced prices. It was with this object that a bill had been introduced into Parliament by their patriotic136 chairman Sir Matthew Pupker; it was this bill that they had met to support; it was the supporters of this bill who would confer undying brightness and splendour upon England, under the name of the United Metropolitan Improved Hot Muffin and Crumpet Baking and Punctual Delivery Company; he would add, with a capital of Five Millions, in five hundred thousand shares of ten pounds each.
Mr. Ralph Nickleby seconded the resolution, and another gentleman having moved that it be amended137 by the insertion of the words ‘and crumpet’ after the word ‘muffin,’ whenever it occurred, it was carried triumphantly138. Only one man in the crowd cried ‘No!’ and he was promptly139 taken into custody140, and straightway borne off.
The second resolution, which recognised the expediency141 of immediately abolishing ‘all muffin (or crumpet) sellers, all traders in muffins (or crumpets) of whatsoever142 description, whether male or female, boys or men, ringing hand-bells or otherwise,’ was moved by a grievous gentleman of semi-clerical appearance, who went at once into such deep pathetics, that he knocked the first speaker clean out of the course in no time. You might have heard a pin fall—a pin! a feather—as he described the cruelties inflicted143 on muffin boys by their masters, which he very wisely urged were in themselves a sufficient reason for the establishment of that inestimable company. It seemed that the unhappy youths were nightly turned out into the wet streets at the most inclement144 periods of the year, to wander about, in darkness and rain—or it might be hail or snow—for hours together, without shelter, food, or warmth; and let the public never forget upon the latter point, that while the muffins were provided with warm clothing and blankets, the boys were wholly unprovided for, and left to their own miserable145 resources. (Shame!) The honourable gentleman related one case of a muffin boy, who having been exposed to this inhuman146 and barbarous system for no less than five years, at length fell a victim to a cold in the head, beneath which he gradually sunk until he fell into a perspiration147 and recovered; this he could vouch148 for, on his own authority, but he had heard (and he had no reason to doubt the fact) of a still more heart-rending and appalling149 circumstance. He had heard of the case of an orphan150 muffin boy, who, having been run over by a hackney carriage, had been removed to the hospital, had undergone the amputation151 of his leg below the knee, and was now actually pursuing his occupation on crutches152. Fountain of justice, were these things to last!
This was the department of the subject that took the meeting, and this was the style of speaking to enlist153 their sympathies. The men shouted; the ladies wept into their pocket-handkerchiefs till they were moist, and waved them till they were dry; the excitement was tremendous; and Mr Nickleby whispered his friend that the shares were thenceforth at a premium of five-and-twenty per cent.
The resolution was, of course, carried with loud acclamations, every man holding up both hands in favour of it, as he would in his enthusiasm have held up both legs also, if he could have conveniently accomplished154 it. This done, the draft of the proposed petition was read at length: and the petition said, as all petitions do say, that the petitioners155 were very humble156, and the petitioned very honourable, and the object very virtuous157; therefore (said the petition) the bill ought to be passed into a law at once, to the everlasting158 honour and glory of that most honourable and glorious Commons of England in Parliament assembled.
Then, the gentleman who had been at Crockford’s all night, and who looked something the worse about the eyes in consequence, came forward to tell his fellow-countrymen what a speech he meant to make in favour of that petition whenever it should be presented, and how desperately159 he meant to taunt160 the parliament if they rejected the bill; and to inform them also, that he regretted his honourable friends had not inserted a clause rendering161 the purchase of muffins and crumpets compulsory162 upon all classes of the community, which he—opposing all half-measures, and preferring to go the extreme animal—pledged himself to propose and divide upon, in committee. After announcing this determination, the honourable gentleman grew jocular; and as patent boots, lemon-coloured kid gloves, and a fur coat collar, assist jokes materially, there was immense laughter and much cheering, and moreover such a brilliant display of ladies’ pocket-handkerchiefs, as threw the grievous gentleman quite into the shade.
And when the petition had been read and was about to be adopted, there came forward the Irish member (who was a young gentleman of ardent163 temperament,) with such a speech as only an Irish member can make, breathing the true soul and spirit of poetry, and poured forth with such fervour, that it made one warm to look at him; in the course whereof, he told them how he would demand the extension of that great boon164 to his native country; how he would claim for her equal rights in the muffin laws as in all other laws; and how he yet hoped to see the day when crumpets should be toasted in her lowly cabins, and muffin bells should ring in her rich green valleys. And, after him, came the Scotch member, with various pleasant allusions165 to the probable amount of profits, which increased the good humour that the poetry had awakened; and all the speeches put together did exactly what they were intended to do, and established in the hearers’ minds that there was no speculation166 so promising167, or at the same time so praiseworthy, as the United Metropolitan Improved Hot Muffin and Crumpet Baking and Punctual Delivery Company.
So, the petition in favour of the bill was agreed upon, and the meeting adjourned168 with acclamations, and Mr. Nickleby and the other directors went to the office to lunch, as they did every day at half-past one o’clock; and to remunerate themselves for which trouble, (as the company was yet in its infancy,) they only charged three guineas each man for every such attendance.
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1
undertakings
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| 企业( undertaking的名词复数 )； 保证； 殡仪业； 任务 | |
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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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3
strictly
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| adv.严厉地，严格地；严密地 | |
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4
notary
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| n.公证人，公证员 | |
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spacious
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| adj.广阔的，宽敞的 | |
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brass
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| n.黄铜；黄铜器，铜管乐器 | |
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7
skewer
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| n.（烤肉用的）串肉杆；v.用杆串好 | |
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diurnal
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| adj.白天的，每日的 | |
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9
rusty
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| adj.生锈的；锈色的；荒废了的 | |
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uncommonly
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| adv. 稀罕(极，非常) | |
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11
lodgings
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| n. 出租的房舍, 寄宿舍 | |
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congregate
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| v.(使)集合，聚集 | |
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colonnade
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| n.柱廊 | |
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14
harps
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| abbr.harpsichord 拨弦古钢琴n.竖琴( harp的名词复数 ) | |
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guardian
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| n.监护人；守卫者，保护者 | |
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wilderness
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| n.杳无人烟的一片陆地、水等，荒漠 | |
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shrubs
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| 灌木( shrub的名词复数 ) | |
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casements
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| n.窗扉( casement的名词复数 ) | |
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vocal
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| adj.直言不讳的；嗓音的；n.[pl.]声乐节目 | |
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fumes
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| n.(强烈而刺激的)气味，气体 | |
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scent
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| n.气味，香味，香水，线索，嗅觉；v.嗅，发觉 | |
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flutes
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| 长笛( flute的名词复数 )； 细长香槟杯（形似长笛） | |
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supremacy
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| n.至上；至高权力 | |
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mettle
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| n.勇气，精神 | |
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itinerant
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| adj.巡回的；流动的 | |
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standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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conceal
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| v.隐藏，隐瞒，隐蔽 | |
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benevolent
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| adj.仁慈的，乐善好施的 | |
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countenance
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| n.脸色，面容；面部表情；vt.支持，赞同 | |
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melancholy
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| n.忧郁，愁思；adj.令人感伤（沮丧）的，忧郁的 | |
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whitewashed
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| 粉饰，美化，掩饰( whitewash的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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33
withers
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| 马肩隆 | |
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34
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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35
drooping
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| adj. 下垂的，无力的 动词droop的现在分词 | |
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36
genial
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| adj.亲切的，和蔼的，愉快的，脾气好的 | |
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tempts
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| v.引诱或怂恿（某人）干不正当的事( tempt的第三人称单数 )；使想要 | |
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38
withered
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| adj. 枯萎的，干瘪的，（人身体的部分器官）因病萎缩的或未发育良好的 动词wither的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
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39
desolate
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| adj.荒凉的，荒芜的；孤独的，凄凉的；v.使荒芜，使孤寂 | |
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40
hampers
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| 妨碍，束缚，限制( hamper的第三人称单数 ) | |
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41
tenant
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| n.承租人；房客；佃户；v.租借，租用 | |
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42
moulder
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| v.腐朽，崩碎 | |
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43
mingling
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| adj.混合的 | |
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44
scanty
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| adj.缺乏的，仅有的，节省的，狭小的，不够的 | |
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45
stunted
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| adj.矮小的；发育迟缓的 | |
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46
scattered
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| adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的 | |
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47
prey
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| n.被掠食者，牺牲者，掠食；v.捕食，掠夺，折磨 | |
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48
fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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49
piecemeal
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| adj.零碎的；n.片，块；adv.逐渐地；v.弄成碎块 | |
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50
inviting
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| adj.诱人的，引人注目的 | |
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51
contemplating
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| 深思，细想，仔细考虑( contemplate的现在分词 )； 注视，凝视； 考虑接受（发生某事的可能性）； 深思熟虑，沉思，苦思冥想 | |
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52
deigned
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| v.屈尊，俯就( deign的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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53
bestow
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| v.把…赠与，把…授予；花费 | |
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54
worthy
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| adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的 | |
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55
beckoned
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| v.（用头或手的动作）示意，召唤( beckon的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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56
obedience
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| n.服从，顺从 | |
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57
countless
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| adj.无数的，多得不计其数的 | |
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58
goggle
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| n.瞪眼，转动眼珠，护目镜；v.瞪眼看，转眼珠 | |
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59
fixture
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| n.固定设备；预定日期；比赛时间；定期存款 | |
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60
rubicund
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| adj.(脸色)红润的 | |
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61
suite
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| n.一套(家具)；套房；随从人员 | |
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62
marvel
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| vi.(at)惊叹vt.感到惊异；n.令人惊异的事 | |
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63
contrived
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| adj.不自然的，做作的；虚构的 | |
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64
recollecting
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| v.记起，想起( recollect的现在分词 ) | |
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65
peculiar
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| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
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66
grunt
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| v.嘟哝；作呼噜声；n.呼噜声，嘟哝 | |
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67
spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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68
joints
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| 接头( joint的名词复数 )； 关节； 公共场所（尤指价格低廉的饮食和娱乐场所） （非正式）； 一块烤肉 （英式英语） | |
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69
incessant
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| adj.不停的，连续的 | |
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70
rigid
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| adj.严格的，死板的；刚硬的，僵硬的 | |
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71
peculiarities
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| n. 特质, 特性, 怪癖, 古怪 | |
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72
tavern
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| n.小旅馆，客栈；小酒店 | |
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73
solicitor
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| n.初级律师，事务律师 | |
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74
charing
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| n.炭化v.把…烧成炭，把…烧焦( char的现在分词 )；烧成炭，烧焦；做杂役女佣 | |
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75
stationary
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| adj.固定的，静止不动的 | |
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76
vent
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| n.通风口，排放口；开衩；vt.表达，发泄 | |
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77
ushering
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| v.引，领，陪同( usher的现在分词 ) | |
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78
disorder
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| n.紊乱，混乱；骚动，骚乱；疾病，失调 | |
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79
cravat
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| n.领巾，领结；v.使穿有领结的服装，使结领结 | |
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80
positively
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| adv.明确地，断然，坚决地；实在，确实 | |
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81
soda
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| n.苏打水；汽水 | |
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82
vivacity
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| n.快活，活泼，精神充沛 | |
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83
metropolitan
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| adj.大城市的，大都会的 | |
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84
premium
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| n.加付款；赠品；adj.高级的；售价高的 | |
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85
remarkable
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| adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的 | |
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86
squandered
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| v.（指钱，财产等）浪费，乱花( squander的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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87
paralysis
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| n.麻痹(症)；瘫痪(症) | |
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88
utterly
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| adv.完全地，绝对地 | |
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89
destitute
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| adj.缺乏的；穷困的 | |
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90
bustle
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| v.喧扰地忙乱，匆忙，奔忙；n.忙碌；喧闹 | |
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91
tacking
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| （帆船）抢风行驶，定位焊[铆]紧钉 | |
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92
precisely
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| adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地 | |
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93
propriety
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| n.正当行为；正当；适当 | |
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94
approbation
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| n.称赞；认可 | |
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95
bustled
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| 闹哄哄地忙乱，奔忙( bustle的过去式和过去分词 )； 催促 | |
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96
feverish
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| adj.发烧的，狂热的，兴奋的 | |
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97
agitation
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| n.搅动；搅拌；鼓动，煽动 | |
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98
scotch
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| n.伤口，刻痕；苏格兰威士忌酒；v.粉碎，消灭，阻止；adj.苏格兰(人)的 | |
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99
wig
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| n.假发 | |
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100
subsided
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| v.（土地）下陷（因在地下采矿）( subside的过去式和过去分词 )；减弱；下降至较低或正常水平；一下子坐在椅子等上 | |
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101
wink
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| n.眨眼，使眼色，瞬间；v.眨眼，使眼色，闪烁 | |
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102
premises
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| n.建筑物，房屋 | |
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103
pending
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| prep.直到，等待…期间；adj.待定的；迫近的 | |
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104
proceedings
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| n.进程，过程，议程；诉讼(程序)；公报 | |
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105
pall
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| v.覆盖，使平淡无味；n.柩衣，棺罩；棺材；帷幕 | |
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106
protracted
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| adj.拖延的；延长的v.拖延“protract”的过去式和过去分词 | |
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107
enjoyment
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| n.乐趣；享有；享用 | |
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108
hoots
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| 咄，啐 | |
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109
exertions
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| n.努力( exertion的名词复数 )；费力；（能力、权力等的）运用；行使 | |
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110
emanating
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| v.从…处传出，传出( emanate的现在分词 )；产生，表现，显示 | |
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111
quell
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| v.压制，平息，减轻 | |
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112
disturbance
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| n.动乱，骚动；打扰，干扰；(身心)失调 | |
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113
dealing
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| n.经商方法，待人态度 | |
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114
tingling
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| v.有刺痛感( tingle的现在分词 ) | |
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115
belligerents
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| n.交战的一方（指国家、集团或个人）( belligerent的名词复数 ) | |
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116
vociferous
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| adj.喧哗的，大叫大嚷的 | |
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117
sufficiently
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| adv.足够地，充分地 | |
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118
deafening
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| adj. 振耳欲聋的, 极喧闹的 动词deafen的现在分词形式 | |
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119
honourable
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| adj.可敬的；荣誉的，光荣的 | |
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120
ribs
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| n.肋骨( rib的名词复数 )；（船或屋顶等的）肋拱；肋骨状的东西；（织物的）凸条花纹 | |
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121
consigned
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| v.把…置于（令人不快的境地）( consign的过去式和过去分词 )；把…托付给；把…托人代售；丟弃 | |
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122
orators
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| n.演说者，演讲家( orator的名词复数 ) | |
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123
apprehension
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| n.理解，领悟；逮捕，拘捕；忧虑 | |
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124
metropolis
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| n.首府；大城市 | |
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125
subversive
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| adj.颠覆性的，破坏性的；n.破坏份子，危险份子 | |
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126
awakened
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| v.（使）醒( awaken的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）觉醒；弄醒；（使）意识到 | |
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127
vestige
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| n.痕迹，遗迹，残余 | |
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128
indigent
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| adj.贫穷的，贫困的 | |
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129
profligacy
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| n.放荡，不检点，肆意挥霍 | |
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130
vices
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| 缺陷( vice的名词复数 )； 恶习； 不道德行为； 台钳 | |
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131
engendered
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| v.产生（某形势或状况），造成，引起( engender的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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132
nutritious
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| adj.有营养的，营养价值高的 | |
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133
stimulant
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| n.刺激物，兴奋剂 | |
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134
intoxicating
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| a. 醉人的,使人兴奋的 | |
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135
secondly
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| adv.第二，其次 | |
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136
patriotic
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| adj.爱国的，有爱国心的 | |
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137
Amended
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| adj. 修正的 动词amend的过去式和过去分词 | |
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138
triumphantly
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| ad.得意洋洋地；得胜地；成功地 | |
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139
promptly
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| adv.及时地，敏捷地 | |
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140
custody
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| n.监护，照看，羁押，拘留 | |
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141
expediency
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| n.适宜；方便；合算；利己 | |
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142
whatsoever
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| adv.（用于否定句中以加强语气）任何；pron.无论什么 | |
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143
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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144
inclement
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| adj.严酷的，严厉的，恶劣的 | |
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145
miserable
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| adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的 | |
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146
inhuman
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| adj.残忍的，不人道的，无人性的 | |
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147
perspiration
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| n.汗水；出汗 | |
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148
vouch
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| v.担保；断定；n.被担保者 | |
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149
appalling
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| adj.骇人听闻的，令人震惊的，可怕的 | |
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150
orphan
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| n.孤儿；adj.无父母的 | |
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151
amputation
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| n.截肢 | |
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152
crutches
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| n.拐杖, 支柱 v.支撑 | |
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153
enlist
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| vt.谋取(支持等)，赢得；征募；vi.入伍 | |
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154
accomplished
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| adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的 | |
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155
petitioners
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| n.请求人，请愿人( petitioner的名词复数 )；离婚案原告 | |
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156
humble
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| adj.谦卑的，恭顺的；地位低下的；v.降低，贬低 | |
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157
virtuous
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| adj.有品德的，善良的，贞洁的，有效力的 | |
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158
everlasting
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| adj.永恒的，持久的，无止境的 | |
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159
desperately
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| adv.极度渴望地，绝望地，孤注一掷地 | |
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160
taunt
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| n.辱骂，嘲弄；v.嘲弄 | |
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161
rendering
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| n.表现，描写 | |
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162
compulsory
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| n.强制的，必修的；规定的，义务的 | |
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163
ardent
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| adj.热情的，热烈的，强烈的，烈性的 | |
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164
boon
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| n.恩赐，恩物，恩惠 | |
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165
allusions
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| 暗指，间接提到( allusion的名词复数 ) | |
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166
speculation
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| n.思索，沉思；猜测；投机 | |
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167
promising
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| adj.有希望的，有前途的 | |
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168
adjourned
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| （使）休会， （使）休庭( adjourn的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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