t the commencement of the English and Burmese war of 1824, all the Christians1 (called “hat-wearers,” in contradistinction from the turbaned heads of the Orientals) residing at Ava were thrown unceremoniously into the death-prison. Among them were both Protestant and Roman Catholic missionaries2; some few reputable European traders; and criminals shadowed from the laws of Christendom “under the sole of the golden foot.” These, Americans, English, Spanish, Portuguese3, Greek, and Armenian, were all huddled4 together in one prison, with villains6 of every grade,—the thief, the assassin, the bandit, or all three in one; constituting, in connection with countless7 other crimes, a blacker character than the inhabitant of a civilized8 land can picture. Sometimes stript of their clothing, sometimes nearly starved, loaded with heavy irons, thrust into a hot, filthy10, noisome11 apartment, with criminals for companions and criminals for guards, compelled to see the daily torture, to hear the shriek12 of anguish13 from writhing14 victims, with death, death in some terribly detestable[150] form, always before them, a severer state of suffering can scarcely be imagined.
The Burmese had never been known to spare the lives of their war-captives; and though the little band of foreigners could scarcely be called prisoners of war, yet this well-known custom, together with their having been thrust into the death-prison, from which there was no escape, except by a pardon from the king, cut off nearly every reasonable hope of rescue. But (quite a new thing in the annals of Burmese history), although some died from the intensity15 of their sufferings, no foreigner was wantonly put to death. Of those who were claimed by the English at the close of the war, some one or two are yet living, with anklets and bracelets16 which they will carry to the grave with them, wrought17 in their flesh by the heavy iron. It may well be imagined that these men might unfold to us scenes of horror, incidents daily occurring under their own shuddering18 gaze, in comparison with which the hair-elevating legends of Ann Radcliff would become simple fairy tales.
The death-prison at Ava was at that time a single large room, built of rough boards, without either window or door, and with but a thinly thatched roof to protect the wretched inmates20 from the blaze of a tropical sun. It was entered by slipping aside a single board, which constituted a sort of sliding-door. Around the prison, inside the yard, were ranged the huts of the under-jailers, or Children of the Prison, and outside of the yard, close at hand, that of the head-jailer. These jailers must necessarily be condemned21 criminals, with a ring, the sign of outlawry22, traced in the skin of the cheek, and the name[151] of their crime engraved23 in the same manner upon the breast. The head-jailer was a tall, bony man, with sinews of iron; wearing, when speaking, a malicious24 smirk25, and given at times to a most revolting kind of jocoseness26. When silent and quiet, he had a jaded27, careworn28 look; but it was at the torture that he was in his proper element. Then his face lighted up,—became glad, furious, demoniac. His small black eyes glittered like those of a serpent; his thin lips rolled back, displaying his toothless gums in front, with a long, protruding29 tusk30 on either side, stained black as ebony; his hollow, ringed cheeks seemed to contract more and more, and his breast heaved with convulsive delight beneath the fearful word Man-Killer. The prisoners called him father, when he was present to enforce this expression of affectionate familiarity; but among themselves he was irreverently christened the Tiger-cat.
One of the most active of the Children of the Prison was a short, broad-faced man, labelled Thief, who, as well as the Tiger, had a peculiar31 talent in the way of torturing; and so fond was he of the use of the whip, that he often missed his count, and zealously32 exceeded the number of lashes33 ordered by the city governor. The wife of this man was a most odious34 creature, filthy, bold, impudent35, cruel, and, like her husband, delighting in torture. Her face was not only deeply pitted with smallpox36, but so deformed37 with leprosy, that the white cartilage of the nose was laid entirely38 bare; from her large mouth shone rows of irregular teeth, black as ink; her hair, which was left entirely to the care of nature, was matted in large black masses about her head; and her[152] manner, under all this hideous39 ugliness, was insolent40 and vicious. They had two children,—little vipers41, well loaded with venom42; and by their vexatious mode of annoyance43, trying the tempers of the prisoners more than was in the power of the mature torturers.
As will readily be perceived, the security of this prison was not in the strength of the structure, but in the heavy manacles, and the living wall. The lives of the jailers depended entirely on their fidelity44; and fidelity involved strict obedience45 to orders, however ferocious46. As for themselves, they could not escape; they had nowhere to go; certain death awaited them everywhere, for they bore on cheek and breast the ineffaceable proof of their outlawry. Their only safety was at their post; and there was no safety there in humanity, even if it were possible for such degraded creatures to have a spark of humanity left. So inclination47 united with interest to make them what they really were,—demons48.
The arrival of a new prisoner was an incident calculated to excite but little interest in the hat-wearers, provided he came in turban and waistcloth. But one morning there was brought in a young man, speaking the Burmese brokenly, and with the soft accent of the North, who at once attracted universal attention. He was tall and erect49, with a mild, handsome face, bearing the impress of inexpressible suffering; a complexion50 slightly tinted51 with the rich brown of the East; a fine, manly52 carriage, and a manner which, even there, was both graceful53 and dignified54.
“Who is he?” was the interpretation55 of the inquiring glances exchanged among those who had no liberty to[153] speak; and then eye asked of eye, “What can he have done?—he, so gentle, so mild, so manly, that even these wretches56, who scarcely know the name of pity and respect, seem to feel both for him?” There was, in truth, something in the countenance57 of the new prisoner which, without asking for sympathy, involuntarily enforced it. It was not amiability58, though his dark, soft, beautiful eye was full of a noble sweetness; it was not resignation; it was not apathy59; it was hopelessness, deep, utter, immovable, suffering hopelessness. Very young, and apparently60 not ambitious or revengeful, what crime could this interesting stranger have committed to draw down “the golden foot” with such crushing weight upon his devoted61 head? He seemed utterly62 friendless, and without even the means of obtaining food; for, as the day advanced, no one came to see him; and the officer who brought him had left no directions. He did not, however, suffer from this neglect, for Madam Thief (most wonderful to relate!) actually shared so deeply in the universal sympathy, as to bring him a small quantity of boiled rice and water.
Toward evening, the Woon-bai, a governor, or rather Mayor of the city, entered the prison, his bold, lion-like face as open and unconcerned as ever, but with something of unusual bustling63 in his manner.
“Where is he?” he cried sternly,—“where is he? this son of Kathay? this dog, villain5, traitor64! where is he? Aha! only one pair of irons? Put on five! do you hear? five!”
The Woon-bai remained till his orders were executed, and the poor Kathayan was loaded with five pairs of fetters65;[154] and then he went out, frowning on one and smiling on another; while the Children of the Prison watched his countenance and manner, as significant of what was expected of them. The prisoners looked at each other, and shook their heads in commiseration66.
The next day the feet of the young Kathayan, in obedience to some new order, were placed in the stocks, which raised them about eighteen inches from the ground; and the five pairs of fetters were all disposed on the outer side of the plank67, so that their entire weight fell upon the ankles. The position was so painful that each prisoner, some from memory, some from sympathetic apprehension68, shared in the pain when he looked at the sufferer.
During this day, one of the missionaries, who had been honored with an invitation, which it was never prudent69 to refuse, to the hut of the Thief, learned something of the history of the young man, and his crime. His home, it was told him, was among the rich hills of Kathay, as they range far northward70, where the tropic sun loses the intense fierceness of his blaze, and makes the atmosphere soft and luxurious71, as though it were mellowing72 beneath the same amber73 sky which ripens74 the fruits, and gives their glow to the flowers. What had been his rank in his own land, the jailer’s wife did not know. Perhaps he had been a prince, chief of the brave band conquered by the superior force of the Burmans; or a hunter among the spicy75 groves76 and deep-wooded jungles, lithe77 as the tiger which he pursued from lair78 to lair, and free as the flame-winged bird of the sun that circled above him; or perhaps his destiny had been a humbler one, and he had but followed his goats as they bounded fearlessly from[155] ledge80 to ledge, and plucked for food the herbs upon his native hills. He had been brought away by a marauding party, and presented as a slave to the brother of the queen. This Men-thah-gyee, the Great Prince, as he was called, by way of pre-eminence, had risen, through the influence of his sister, from the humble79 condition of a fishmonger, to be the Richelieu of the nation. Unpopular from his mean origin, and still more unpopular from the acts of brutality81 to which the intoxication82 of power had given rise, the sympathy excited by the poor Kathayan in the breasts of these wretches may easily be accounted for. It was not pity or mercy, but hatred83. Anywhere else, the sufferer’s sad, handsome face, and mild, uncomplaining manner, would have enlisted84 sympathy; but here, they would scarcely have seen the sadness, or beauty, or mildness, except through the medium of a passion congenial to their own natures.
Among the other slaves of Men-thah-gyee was a young Kathay girl of singular beauty. She was, so said Madam the Thief, a bundle of roses, set round with the fragrant85 blossoms of the champac-tree; her breath was like that of the breezes when they come up from their dalliance with the spicy daughters of the islands of the south; her voice had caught its rich cadence86 from the musical gush87 of the silver fountain, which wakes among the green of her native hills; her hair had been braided from the glossy88 raven89 plumage of the royal edolius; her eyes were twin stars looking out from cool springs, all fringed with the long, tremulous reeds of the jungle; and her step was as the free, graceful bound of the wild antelope90. On the subject of her grace, her beauty, and her wondrous[156] daring, the jailer’s wife could not be sufficiently91 eloquent92. And so this poor, proud, simple-souled maiden93, this diamond from the rich hills of Kathay, destined94 to glitter for an hour or two on a prince’s bosom95, unsubdued even in her desolation, had dared to bestow96 her affections with the uncalculating lavishness97 of conscious heart-freedom. And the poor wretch19, lying upon his back in the death-prison, his feet fast in the stocks and swelling98 and purpling beneath the heavy irons, had participated in her crime; had lured99 her on, by tender glances and by loving words, inexpressibly sweet in their mutual100 bondage101, to irretrievable destruction. What fears, what hopes winged by fears, what tremulous joys, still hedged in by that same crowd of fears, what despondency, what revulsions of impotent anger and daring, what weeping, what despair, must have been theirs! Their tremblings and rejoicings, their mad projects, growing each day wilder and more dangerous,—since madness alone could have given rise to anything like hope,—are things left to imagination; for there was none to relate the heart-history of the two slaves of Men-thah-gyee. Yet there were some hints of a first accidental meeting under the shadow of the mango and tamarind trees, where the sun lighted up, by irregular gushes102, the waters of the little lake in the centre of the garden, and the rustle103 of leaves seemed sufficient to drown the accents of their native tongues. So they looked, spoke104, their hearts bounded, paused, trembled with soft home-memories: they whispered on, and they were lost. Poor slaves!
Then at evening, when the dark-browed maidens105 of the golden city gathered, with their earthen vessels106, about[157] the well,—there, shaded by the thick clumps107 of bamboo, with the free sky overhead, the green earth beneath, and the songs and laughter of the merry girls ringing in their ears, so like their own home, the home which they had lost forever,—O, what a rare, sweet, dangerous meeting-place for those who should not, and yet must be lovers!
Finally came a day fraught108 with illimitable consequences,—the day when the young slave, not yet admitted to the royal harem, should become more than ever the property of her master. And now deeper grew their agony, more uncontrollable their madness, wilder and more daring their hopes, with every passing moment. Not a man in Ava, but would have told them that escape was impossible; and yet, goaded109 on by love and despair, they attempted the impossibility. They had countrymen in the city, and, under cover of night, they fled to them. Immediately the minister sent out his myrmidons; they were tracked, captured, and brought back to the palace.
“And what became of the poor girl?” inquired the missionary110 with much interest.
The woman shuddered111, and beneath her scars and the swarthiness of her skin she became deadly pale.
“There is a cellar, Tsayah,” at last she whispered, still shuddering, “a deep cellar, that no one has seen, but horrible cries come from it sometimes, and two nights ago, for three hours, three long hours—such shrieks112! Amai-ai! what shrieks! And they say that he was there, Tsayah, and saw and heard it all. That is the reason that his eyes are blinded and his ears benumbed. A great many go into that cellar, but none ever come out again,—none but the doomed114 like him. It is—it is[158] like the West Prison,” she added, sinking her voice still lower, and casting an eager, alarmed look about her. The missionary too shuddered, as much at the mention of this prison, as at the recital115 of the woman; for it shut within its walls deep mysteries, which even his jailers, accustomed as they were to torture and death, shrank from babbling116 of.
The next day a cord was passed around the wrists of the young Kathayan, his arms jerked up into a position perpendicular117 with his prostrate118 body, and the end of the cord fastened to a beam overhead. Still, though faint from the lack of food, parched119 with thirst, and racked with pain, for his feet were swollen120 and livid, not a murmur121 of complaint escaped his lips. And yet this patient endurance seemed scarcely the result of fortitude122 or heroism123; an observer would have said that the inner suffering was so great as to render that of the mere124 physical frame unheeded. There was the same expression of hopelessness, the same unvarying wretchedness, too deep, too real, to think of giving itself utterance125 on the face as at his first entrance into the prison; and except that he now and then fixed126 on one of the hopeless beings who regarded him in silent pity a mournful, half-beseeching127, half-vacant stare, this was all.
That day passed away as others had passed; then came another night of dreams, in which loved ones gathered around the hearth-stone of a dear, distant home; dreams broken by the clanking of chains and the groans129 of the suffering; and then morning broke. There still hung the poor Kathayan; his face slightly distorted with the agony he was suffering, his lips dry and parched, his[159] cheek pallid130 and sunken, and his eyes wild and glaring. His breast swelled131 and heaved, and now and then a sob-like sigh burst forth132 involuntarily. When the Tiger entered, the eye of the young man immediately fastened on him, and a shiver passed through his frame. The old murderer went his usual rounds with great nonchalance133; gave an order here, a blow there, and cracked a malicious joke with a third; smiling all the time that dark, sinister134 smile, which made him so much more hideous in the midst of his wickedness. At last he approached the Kathayan, who, with a convulsive movement, half raised himself from the ground at his touch, and seemed to contract like a shrivelled leaf.
“Right! right, my son!” said the old man, chuckling135. “You are expert at helping136 yourself, to be sure; but then you need assistance. So,—so,—so!” and giving the cord three successive jerks, he succeeded, by means of his immense strength, in raising the Kathayan so that but the back of his head, as it fell downward, could touch the floor. There was a quick, short crackling of joints137, and a groan128 escaped the prisoner. Another groan followed, and then another,—and another,—a heaving of the chest, a convulsive shiver, and for a moment he seemed lost. Human hearts glanced heavenward. “God grant it! Father of mercies, spare him further agony!” It could not be. Gaspingly came the lost breath back again, quiveringly the soft eyes unclosed; and the young Kathayan captive was fully139 awake to his misery140.
“I cannot die so,—I cannot,—so slow,—so slow,—so slow!” Hunger gnawed141, thirst burned, fever revelled[160] in his veins143; the cord upon his wrists cut to the bone; corruption144 had already commenced upon his swollen, livid feet; the most frightful145, torturing pains distorted his body, and wrung146 from him groans and murmurings so pitiful, so harrowing, so full of anguish, that the unwilling147 listeners could only turn away their heads, or lift their eyes to each other’s faces in mute horror. Not a word was exchanged among them,—not a lip had power to give it utterance.
“I cannot die so! I cannot die so! I cannot die so!” came the words, at first moaningly, and then prolonged to a terrible howl. And so passed another day, and another night, and still the wretch lived on.
In the midst of their filth9 and smothering148 heat, the prisoners awoke from such troubled sleep as they could gain amid these horrors; and those who could, pressed their feverish149 lips and foreheads to the crevices150 between the boards, to court the morning breezes. A lady, with a white brow, and a lip whose delicate vermilion had not ripened152 beneath the skies of India, came with food to her husband. By constant importunity153 had the beautiful ministering angel gained this holy privilege. Her coming was like a gleam of sunlight,—a sudden unfolding of the beauties of this bright earth to one born blind. She performed her usual tender ministry154 and departed.
Day advanced to its meridian155; and once more, but now hesitatingly, and as though he dreaded156 his task, the Tiger drew near the young Kathayan. But the sufferer did not shrink from him as before.
“Quick!” he exclaimed greedily,—“quick! give me one hand and the cord,—just a moment, a single[161] moment,—this hand with the cord in it,—and you shall be rid of me forever!”
The Tiger burst into a hideous laugh, his habitual157 cruelty returning at the sound of his victim’s voice.
“Rid of you! not so fast, my son; not so fast! You will hold out a day or two yet. Let me see!” passing his hand along the emaciated158, feverish body of the sufferer. “O, yes; two days at least, perhaps three, and it may be longer. Patience, my son; you are frightfully strong! Now these joints,—why any other man’s would have separated long ago; but here they stay just as firmly—” As he spoke with a calculating sort of deliberation, the monster gave the cord a sudden jerk, then another, and a third, raising his victim still farther from the floor, and then adjusting it about the beam, walked unconcernedly away. For several minutes the prison rung with the most fearful cries. Shriek followed shriek, agonized159, furious, with scarcely a breath between; bellowings, howlings, gnashings of the teeth, sharp, piercing screams, yells of savage160 defiance161; cry upon cry, cry upon cry, with wild superhuman strength, they came; while the prisoners shrank in awe142 and terror, trembling in their chains. But this violence soon exhausted162 itself, and the paroxysm passed, giving place to low, sad moans, irresistibly163 pitiful. This was a day never to be forgotten by the hundred wretched creatures congregated164 in the gloomy death-prison. The sun had never seemed to move so slowly before. Its setting was gladly welcomed, but yet the night brought no change. Those piteous moans, those agonized groanings, seemed no nearer an end than ever.
[162]
Another day passed,—another night,—again day dawned and drew near its close; and yet the poor Kathayan clung to life with frightful tenacity165. One of the missionaries, as a peculiar favor, had been allowed to creep into an old shed, opposite the door of the prison; and here he was joined by a companion, just as the day was declining towards evening.
“O, will it ever end?” whispered one.
The other only bowed his head between his hands,—“Terrible! terrible!”
“There surely can be nothing worse in the West Prison.”
“Can there be anything worse,—can there be more finished demons in the pit?”
Suddenly, while this broken conversation was conducted in a low tone, so as not to draw upon the speakers the indignation of their jailers, they were struck by the singular stillness of the prison. The clanking of chains, the murmur and the groan, the heavy breathing of congregated living beings, the bustle166 occasioned by the continuous uneasy movement of the restless sufferers, the ceaseless tread of the Children of the Prison, and their bullying167 voices, all were hushed.
“What is it?” in a lower whisper than ever; and a shaking of the head, and holding their own chains to prevent their rattle168, and looks full of wonder, was all that passed between the two listeners. Their amazement169 was interrupted by a dull, heavy sound, as though a bag of dried bones had been suddenly crushed down by the weight of some powerful foot. Silently they stole to a crevice151 in the boards, opposite the open door. Not a[163] jailer was to be seen; and the prisoners were motionless and apparently breathless, with the exception of one powerful man, who was just drawing the wooden mallet170 in his hand for another blow on the temple of the suspended Kathayan. It came down with the same dull, hollow, crushing sound; the body swayed from the point where it was suspended by wrist and ankle, till it seemed that every joint138 must be dislocated; but the flesh scarcely quivered. The blow was repeated, and then another, and another; but they were not needed. The poor captive Kathayan was dead.
The mallet was placed away from sight, and the daring man hobbled back to his corner, dangling171 his heavy chain as though it had been a plaything, and striving with all his might to look unconscious and unconcerned. An evident feeling of relief stole over the prisoners; the Children of the Prison came back to their places, one by one, and all went on as before. It was some time before any one appeared to discover the death of the Kathayan. The old Tiger declared it was what he had been expecting, that his living on in this manner was quite out of rule; but that those hardy172 fellows from the hills never would give in, while there was a possibility of drawing another breath. Then the poor skeleton was unchained, dragged by the heels into the prison-yard, and thrown into a gutter173. It did not apparently fall properly, for one of the jailers altered the position of the shoulders by means of his foot; then clutching the long black hair, jerked the head a little farther on the side. Thus the discolored temple was hidden; and surely that emaciated form gave sufficient evidence of a lingering death. Soon[164] after, a party of government officers visited the prison-yard, touched the corpse174 with their feet, without raising it, and, apparently satisfied, turned away, as though it had been a dead dog, that they cared not to give further attention.
Is it strange that, if one were there, with a human heart within him, not brutalized by crime or steeled by passive familiarity with suffering, he should have dragged his heavy chain to the side of the dead, and dropped upon his sharpened, distorted features the tear, which there was none who had loved him to shed? Is it strange that tender fingers should have closed the staring eyes, and touched gently the cold brow, which throbbed175 no longer with pain, and smoothed the frayed176 hair, and composed the passive limbs decently, though he knew that the next moment rude hands would destroy the result of his pious177 labor178? And is it strange that when all which remained of the poor sufferer had been jostled into its sackcloth shroud179, and crammed180 down into the dark hole dug for it in the earth, a prayer should have ascended181, even from that terrible prison? Not a prayer for the dead; he had received his doom113. But an earnest, beseeching upheaving of the heart, for those wretched beings that, in the face of the pure heavens and the smiling earth, confound, by the inherent blackness of their natures, philosopher, priest, or philanthropist, who dares to tickle182 the ears of the multitude with fair theories of “Natural religion,” and “The dignity of human nature.”
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1
Christians
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| n.基督教徒( Christian的名词复数 ) | |
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missionaries
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| n.传教士( missionary的名词复数 ) | |
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Portuguese
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| n.葡萄牙人；葡萄牙语 | |
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huddled
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| 挤在一起（huddle的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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villain
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| n.反派演员，反面人物；恶棍；问题的起因 | |
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villains
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| n.恶棍( villain的名词复数 )；罪犯；（小说、戏剧等中的）反面人物；淘气鬼 | |
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countless
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| adj.无数的，多得不计其数的 | |
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8
civilized
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| a.有教养的，文雅的 | |
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filth
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| n.肮脏，污物，污秽；淫猥 | |
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filthy
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| adj.卑劣的；恶劣的，肮脏的 | |
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noisome
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| adj.有害的，可厌的 | |
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shriek
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| v./n.尖叫，叫喊 | |
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anguish
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| n.(尤指心灵上的)极度痛苦，烦恼 | |
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writhing
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| （因极度痛苦而）扭动或翻滚( writhe的现在分词 ) | |
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intensity
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| n.强烈，剧烈；强度；烈度 | |
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bracelets
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| n.手镯，臂镯( bracelet的名词复数 ) | |
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wrought
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| v.引起；以…原料制作；运转；adj.制造的 | |
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shuddering
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| v.战栗( shudder的现在分词 )；发抖；（机器、车辆等）突然震动；颤动 | |
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wretch
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| n.可怜的人，不幸的人；卑鄙的人 | |
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inmates
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| n.囚犯( inmate的名词复数 ) | |
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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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outlawry
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| 宣布非法，非法化，放逐 | |
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engraved
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| v.在（硬物）上雕刻（字，画等）( engrave的过去式和过去分词 )；将某事物深深印在（记忆或头脑中） | |
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malicious
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| adj.有恶意的，心怀恶意的 | |
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smirk
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| n.得意地笑；v.傻笑；假笑着说 | |
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jocoseness
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jaded
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| adj.精疲力竭的；厌倦的；（因过饱或过多而）腻烦的；迟钝的 | |
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careworn
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| adj.疲倦的，饱经忧患的 | |
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protruding
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| v.（使某物）伸出，（使某物）突出( protrude的现在分词 )；凸 | |
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tusk
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peculiar
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| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
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zealously
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| adv.热心地；热情地；积极地；狂热地 | |
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33
lashes
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| n.鞭挞( lash的名词复数 )；鞭子；突然猛烈的一击；急速挥动v.鞭打( lash的第三人称单数 )；煽动；紧系；怒斥 | |
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34
odious
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| adj.可憎的，讨厌的 | |
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35
impudent
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| adj.鲁莽的，卑鄙的，厚颜无耻的 | |
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36
smallpox
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| n.天花 | |
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37
deformed
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| adj.畸形的；变形的；丑的，破相了的 | |
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38
entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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39
hideous
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| adj.丑陋的，可憎的，可怕的，恐怖的 | |
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40
insolent
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| adj.傲慢的，无理的 | |
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41
vipers
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| n.蝰蛇( viper的名词复数 )；毒蛇；阴险恶毒的人；奸诈者 | |
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42
venom
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| n.毒液，恶毒，痛恨 | |
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43
annoyance
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| n.恼怒，生气，烦恼 | |
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44
fidelity
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| n.忠诚，忠实；精确 | |
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45
obedience
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| n.服从，顺从 | |
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46
ferocious
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| adj.凶猛的，残暴的，极度的，十分强烈的 | |
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47
inclination
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| n.倾斜；点头；弯腰；斜坡；倾度；倾向；爱好 | |
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48
demons
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| n.恶人( demon的名词复数 )；恶魔；精力过人的人；邪念 | |
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49
erect
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| n./v.树立，建立，使竖立；adj.直立的，垂直的 | |
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50
complexion
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| n.肤色；情况，局面；气质，性格 | |
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51
tinted
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| adj. 带色彩的 动词tint的过去式和过去分词 | |
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52
manly
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| adj.有男子气概的；adv.男子般地，果断地 | |
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53
graceful
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| adj.优美的，优雅的；得体的 | |
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54
dignified
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| a.可敬的，高贵的 | |
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55
interpretation
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| n.解释，说明，描述；艺术处理 | |
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56
wretches
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| n.不幸的人( wretch的名词复数 )；可怜的人；恶棍；坏蛋 | |
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57
countenance
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| n.脸色，面容；面部表情；vt.支持，赞同 | |
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58
amiability
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| n.和蔼可亲的，亲切的，友善的 | |
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59
apathy
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| n.漠不关心，无动于衷；冷淡 | |
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60
apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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61
devoted
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| adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的 | |
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62
utterly
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| adv.完全地，绝对地 | |
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63
bustling
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| adj.喧闹的 | |
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64
traitor
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| n.叛徒，卖国贼 | |
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65
fetters
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| n.脚镣( fetter的名词复数 )；束缚v.给…上脚镣，束缚( fetter的第三人称单数 ) | |
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66
commiseration
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| n.怜悯，同情 | |
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67
plank
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| n.板条，木板，政策要点，政纲条目 | |
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68
apprehension
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| n.理解，领悟；逮捕，拘捕；忧虑 | |
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69
prudent
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| adj.谨慎的，有远见的，精打细算的 | |
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70
northward
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| adv.向北；n.北方的地区 | |
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71
luxurious
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| adj.精美而昂贵的；豪华的 | |
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72
mellowing
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| 软化，醇化 | |
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73
amber
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| n.琥珀；琥珀色；adj.琥珀制的 | |
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74
ripens
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| v.成熟，使熟( ripen的第三人称单数 ) | |
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75
spicy
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| adj.加香料的；辛辣的，有风味的 | |
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76
groves
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| 树丛，小树林( grove的名词复数 ) | |
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77
lithe
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| adj.(指人、身体)柔软的，易弯的 | |
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78
lair
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| n.野兽的巢穴；躲藏处 | |
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79
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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80
ledge
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| n.壁架，架状突出物；岩架，岩礁 | |
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81
brutality
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| n.野蛮的行为，残忍，野蛮 | |
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82
intoxication
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| n.wild excitement;drunkenness；poisoning | |
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83
hatred
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| n.憎恶，憎恨，仇恨 | |
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84
enlisted
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| adj.应募入伍的v.（使）入伍， （使）参军( enlist的过去式和过去分词 )；获得（帮助或支持） | |
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85
fragrant
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| adj.芬香的，馥郁的，愉快的 | |
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86
cadence
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| n.（说话声调的）抑扬顿挫 | |
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87
gush
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| v.喷，涌；滔滔不绝(说话)；n.喷，涌流；迸发 | |
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88
glossy
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| adj.平滑的；有光泽的 | |
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89
raven
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| n.渡鸟，乌鸦；adj.乌亮的 | |
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90
antelope
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| n.羚羊；羚羊皮 | |
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91
sufficiently
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| adv.足够地，充分地 | |
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92
eloquent
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| adj.雄辩的，口才流利的；明白显示出的 | |
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93
maiden
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| n.少女，处女；adj.未婚的，纯洁的，无经验的 | |
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94
destined
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| adj.命中注定的；(for)以…为目的地的 | |
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95
bosom
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| n.胸，胸部；胸怀；内心；adj.亲密的 | |
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96
bestow
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| v.把…赠与，把…授予；花费 | |
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97
lavishness
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| n.浪费，过度 | |
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98
swelling
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| n.肿胀 | |
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99
lured
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| 吸引，引诱（lure的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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100
mutual
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|
| adj.相互的，彼此的；共同的，共有的 | |
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101
bondage
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| n.奴役，束缚 | |
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102
gushes
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| n.涌出，迸发( gush的名词复数 )v.喷，涌( gush的第三人称单数 )；滔滔不绝地说话 | |
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103
rustle
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| v.沙沙作响；偷盗(牛、马等)；n.沙沙声声 | |
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104
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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105
maidens
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| 处女( maiden的名词复数 )； 少女； 未婚女子； （板球运动）未得分的一轮投球 | |
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106
vessels
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| n.血管( vessel的名词复数 )；船；容器；（具有特殊品质或接受特殊品质的）人 | |
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107
clumps
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| n.（树、灌木、植物等的）丛、簇( clump的名词复数 )；（土、泥等）团；块；笨重的脚步声v.（树、灌木、植物等的）丛、簇( clump的第三人称单数 )；（土、泥等）团；块；笨重的脚步声 | |
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108
fraught
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| adj.充满…的，伴有(危险等)的；忧虑的 | |
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109
goaded
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| v.刺激( goad的过去式和过去分词 )；激励；（用尖棒）驱赶；驱使（或怂恿、刺激）某人 | |
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110
missionary
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| adj.教会的，传教(士)的；n.传教士 | |
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111
shuddered
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| v.战栗( shudder的过去式和过去分词 )；发抖；（机器、车辆等）突然震动；颤动 | |
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112
shrieks
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| n.尖叫声( shriek的名词复数 )v.尖叫( shriek的第三人称单数 ) | |
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113
doom
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| n.厄运，劫数；v.注定，命定 | |
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114
doomed
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| 命定的 | |
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115
recital
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| n.朗诵，独奏会，独唱会 | |
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116
babbling
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| n.胡说，婴儿发出的咿哑声adj.胡说的v.喋喋不休( babble的现在分词 )；作潺潺声（如流水）；含糊不清地说话；泄漏秘密 | |
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117
perpendicular
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| adj.垂直的，直立的；n.垂直线，垂直的位置 | |
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118
prostrate
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| v.拜倒，平卧，衰竭；adj.拜倒的，平卧的，衰竭的 | |
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119
parched
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| adj.焦干的；极渴的；v.（使）焦干 | |
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120
swollen
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| adj.肿大的，水涨的；v.使变大，肿胀 | |
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121
murmur
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| n.低语，低声的怨言；v.低语，低声而言 | |
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122
fortitude
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| n.坚忍不拔；刚毅 | |
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123
heroism
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| n.大无畏精神，英勇 | |
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124
mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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125
utterance
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| n.用言语表达，话语，言语 | |
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126
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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127
beseeching
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| adj.恳求似的v.恳求，乞求（某事物）( beseech的现在分词 ) | |
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128
groan
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| vi./n.呻吟，抱怨；(发出)呻吟般的声音 | |
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129
groans
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| n.呻吟，叹息( groan的名词复数 )；呻吟般的声音v.呻吟( groan的第三人称单数 )；发牢骚；抱怨；受苦 | |
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130
pallid
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| adj.苍白的，呆板的 | |
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131
swelled
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| 增强( swell的过去式和过去分词 )； 肿胀； （使）凸出； 充满（激情） | |
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132
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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133
nonchalance
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| n.冷淡，漠不关心 | |
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134
sinister
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| adj.不吉利的，凶恶的，左边的 | |
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135
chuckling
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| 轻声地笑( chuckle的现在分词 ) | |
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136
helping
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| n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的 | |
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137
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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138
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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139
fully
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| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
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140
misery
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| n.痛苦，苦恼，苦难；悲惨的境遇，贫苦 | |
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141
gnawed
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| 咬( gnaw的过去式和过去分词 )； （长时间） 折磨某人； （使）苦恼； （长时间）危害某事物 | |
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142
awe
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| n.敬畏，惊惧；vt.使敬畏，使惊惧 | |
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143
veins
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| n.纹理；矿脉( vein的名词复数 )；静脉；叶脉；纹理 | |
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144
corruption
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| n.腐败，堕落，贪污 | |
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145
frightful
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| adj.可怕的；讨厌的 | |
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146
wrung
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| 绞( wring的过去式和过去分词 )； 握紧（尤指别人的手）； 把（湿衣服）拧干； 绞掉（水） | |
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147
unwilling
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| adj.不情愿的 | |
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148
smothering
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| （使）窒息， （使）透不过气( smother的现在分词 )； 覆盖； 忍住； 抑制 | |
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149
feverish
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| adj.发烧的，狂热的，兴奋的 | |
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150
crevices
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| n.（尤指岩石的）裂缝，缺口( crevice的名词复数 ) | |
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151
crevice
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| n.(岩石、墙等)裂缝；缺口 | |
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152
ripened
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| v.成熟，使熟( ripen的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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153
importunity
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| n.硬要，强求 | |
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154
ministry
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| n.(政府的)部；牧师 | |
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155
meridian
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| adj.子午线的；全盛期的 | |
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156
dreaded
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| adj.令人畏惧的；害怕的v.害怕，恐惧，担心( dread的过去式和过去分词) | |
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157
habitual
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| adj.习惯性的；通常的，惯常的 | |
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158
emaciated
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| adj.衰弱的，消瘦的 | |
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159
agonized
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| v.使（极度）痛苦，折磨( agonize的过去式和过去分词 )；苦斗；苦苦思索；感到极度痛苦 | |
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160
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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161
defiance
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| n.挑战，挑衅，蔑视，违抗 | |
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162
exhausted
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| adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的 | |
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163
irresistibly
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| adv.无法抵抗地，不能自持地；极为诱惑人地 | |
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164
congregated
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| （使）集合，聚集( congregate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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165
tenacity
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| n.坚韧 | |
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166
bustle
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| v.喧扰地忙乱，匆忙，奔忙；n.忙碌；喧闹 | |
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167
bullying
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| v.恐吓，威逼( bully的现在分词 )；豪；跋扈 | |
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168
rattle
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| v.飞奔，碰响；激怒；n.碰撞声；拨浪鼓 | |
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169
amazement
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| n.惊奇，惊讶 | |
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170
mallet
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| n.槌棒 | |
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171
dangling
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| 悬吊着( dangle的现在分词 )； 摆动不定； 用某事物诱惑…； 吊胃口 | |
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172
hardy
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| adj.勇敢的，果断的，吃苦的；耐寒的 | |
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173
gutter
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| n.沟，街沟，水槽，檐槽，贫民窟 | |
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174
corpse
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| n.尸体，死尸 | |
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175
throbbed
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| 抽痛( throb的过去式和过去分词 )； （心脏、脉搏等）跳动 | |
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176
frayed
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| adj.磨损的v.（使布、绳等）磨损，磨破( fray的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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177
pious
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| adj.虔诚的；道貌岸然的 | |
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178
labor
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| n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦 | |
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179
shroud
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| n.裹尸布，寿衣；罩，幕；vt.覆盖，隐藏 | |
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180
crammed
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| adj.塞满的，挤满的；大口地吃；快速贪婪地吃v.把…塞满；填入；临时抱佛脚( cram的过去式) | |
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181
ascended
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| v.上升，攀登( ascend的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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182
tickle
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| v.搔痒，胳肢；使高兴；发痒；n.搔痒，发痒 | |
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