The king of England has a regular bug1-destroyer in his household! a relic2 no doubt of dirtier times; for the English are a truly clean people, and have an abhorrence3 of all vermin. This loathsome4 insect seems to have been imported from France. An English traveller of the early part of the seventeenth century calls it the French punaise; which should imply either that the bug was unknown in his time, or had been so newly imported as to be still regarded as a Frenchman. It is still confined to large cities, and is called in the country, where it is known only by name, 286the London bug; a proof of foreign extraction.
It seems to be the curse of this country to catch vermin from all others: the Hessian fly devours6 their turnips7; an insect from America has fastened upon the apple-trees, and is destroying them; it travels onward8 about a league in a year, and no means have yet been discovered of checking its progress. The cockroach9 of the West Indies infests10 all houses near the river in London, and all sea-port towns; and the Norway rats have fairly extirpated11 the aboriginal12 ones, and taken possession of the land by right of conquest. As they came in about the same time as the reigning13 family, the partisans14 of the Stuarts used to call them Hanoverians. They multiply prodigiously15, and their boldness and ferocity almost surpass belief: I have been told of men from whose heads they have sucked the powder and pomatum during their sleep, and of children whom they have attacked in the night and mangled16. 287If the animals of the North should migrate, like their country barbarians17, in successive shoals, each shoal fiercer than the last, it is the hamsters’ turn to come after the rats, and the people of England must take care of themselves. An invasion by rafts and gun-boats would be less dangerous.
A lady of J—’s acquaintance was exceedingly desirous, when she was in Andalusia, to bring a few live locusts18 home with her, that she might introduce such beautiful creatures into England. Certainly, had she succeeded, she ought to have applied19 to the board of agriculture for a reward.
Foxes are imported from France in time of peace, and turned loose upon the south coast to keep up the breed for hunting. There is certainly no race of people, not even the hunting tribes of savages20, who delight so passionately21 as the English in this sport. The fox-hunter of the last generation was a character as utterly22 unlike any other in society, and as totally absorbed 288in his own pursuits, as the alchemist. His whole thoughts were respecting his hounds and horses; his whole anxiety, that the weather might be favourable23 for the sport; his whole conversation was of the kennel24 and stable, and of the history of his chases. One of the last of this species, who died not many years ago, finding himself seriously ill, rode off to the nearest town, and bade the waiter of the inn bring him in some oysters25 and porter, and go for a physician. When the physician arrived he said to him, “Doctor, I am devilish ill,—and you must cure me by next month, that I may be ready for foxhunting.” This, however, was beyond the doctor’s power. One of his acquaintance called in upon him some little time after, and asked what was his complaint. “They tell me,” said he, “’tis a dyspepsy. I don’t know what that is, but some damn’d thing or other, I suppose!”—a definition of which every sick man will feel the force.
But this race is extinct, or exists only 289in a few families, in which the passion has so long been handed down from father to son, that it is become a sort of hereditary26 disease. The great alteration27 in society which has taken place during the present reign5, tends to make men more like one another. The agriculturist has caught the spirit of commerce; the merchant is educated like the nobleman; the sea-officer has the polish of high life; and London is now so often visited, that the manners of the metropolis28 are to be found in every country gentleman’s house. But though hunting has ceased to be the exclusive business of any person’s life, except a huntsman’s, it is still pursued with an ardour and desperate perseverance29 beyond even that of savages: the prey30 is their object, for which they set their snares31 or lie patiently in wait:—here the pleasure is in the pursuit. It is no uncommon32 thing to read in the newspapers of a chase of ten or twelve leagues,—remember, all this at full speed, and without intermission,—dogs, men, 290and horses equally eager and equally delighted, though not equally fatigued33. Facts are recorded in the annals of sporting, how the hunted animal, unable to escape, has sprung from a precipice35, and some of the hounds have followed it; and of a stag, which, after one of these unmerciful pursuits, returned to its own lair36, and, leaping a high boundary with its last effort, dropped down dead,—the only hound which had kept up with it to the last, dying in like manner by its side. The present king, who is remarkably37 fond of the sport, once followed a deer till the creature died with pure fatigue34.
This was the only English custom which William of Nassau thoroughly38 and heartily39 adopted, as if he had been an Englishman himself. He was as passionately addicted40 to it as his present successor, and rode as boldly, making it a point of honour never to be outdone in any leap, however perilous41. A certain Mr Cherry, who was devoted42 to the exiled family, took occasion 291of this, to form perhaps the most pardonable design which ever was laid against a king’s life. He regularly joined the royal hounds, put himself foremost, and took the most desperate leaps, in the hope that William might break his neck in following him. One day, however, he accomplished43 one so imminently44 hazardous45, that the king, when he came to the spot, shook his head and drew back.
Shooting is pursued with the same zeal46. Many a man, who, if a walk of three leagues were proposed to him, would shrink from it as an exertion47 beyond his strength, will walk from sun-rise till a late dinner hour, with a gun upon his shoulder, over heath and mountain, never thinking of distance, and never feeling fatigue. A game book, as it is called, is one of the regular publications, wherein the sportsman may keep an account of all the game he kills, the time when, the place where, and chronicle the whole history of his campaigns! The preservation48 of the game becomes 292necessarily an object of peculiar49 interest to the gentry50, and the laws upon this subject are enforced with a rigour unknown in any other part of Europe. In spite of this, it becomes scarcer every year: poaching, that is, killing51 game without a privilege so to do, is made a trade: the stage-coaches carry it from all parts of the kingdom to the metropolis for sale, and the larders52 of all the great inns are regularly supplied; they who would eagerly punish the poacher, never failing to encourage him by purchasing from his employers. Another cause of destruction arises from the resentment53 of the farmers, who think that, as the animals are fed upon their grounds, it is hard that they should be denied the privilege of profiting by them. At a public meeting of the gentry in one of the northern provinces, a hamper54 came directed to the president, containing two thousand partridges’ eggs carefully packed. Some species by these continual persecutions have been quite rooted out, others 293are nearly extinct, and others only to be found in remote parts of the island. Sportsmen lament55 this, and naturalists56 lament it also with better reason.
One of the most costly57 works which I shall bring home is a complete treatise58 upon rural sports, with the most beautiful decorations that I have ever seen: it contains all possible information upon the subject, the best instructions, and annals of these sciences, as they may be termed in England. I have purchased it as an exquisite59 specimen60 of English arts, and excellently characteristic of the country, more especially as being the work of a clergyman. He might have seen in his Bible that the mighty61 hunters there are not mentioned as examples; and that, when Christ called the fishermen, he bade them leave the pursuit, for from thenceforth they should catch men.
点击
收听单词发音
收听单词发音 |
1
bug
|
|
| n.虫子；故障；窃听器；vt.纠缠；装窃听器 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
2
relic
|
|
| n.神圣的遗物，遗迹，纪念物 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
3
abhorrence
|
|
| n.憎恶；可憎恶的事 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
4
loathsome
|
|
| adj.讨厌的，令人厌恶的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
5
reign
|
|
| n.统治时期，统治，支配，盛行；v.占优势 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
6
devours
|
|
| 吞没( devour的第三人称单数 )； 耗尽； 津津有味地看； 狼吞虎咽地吃光 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
7
turnips
|
|
| 芜青( turnip的名词复数 )； 芜菁块根； 芜菁甘蓝块根； 怀表 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
8
onward
|
|
| adj.向前的，前进的；adv.向前，前进，在先 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
9
cockroach
|
|
| n.蟑螂 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
10
infests
|
|
| n.害虫、野兽大批出没于( infest的名词复数 )；遍布于v.害虫、野兽大批出没于( infest的第三人称单数 )；遍布于 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
11
extirpated
|
|
| v.消灭，灭绝( extirpate的过去式和过去分词 )；根除 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
12
aboriginal
|
|
| adj.（指动植物）土生的，原产地的，土著的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
13
reigning
|
|
| adj.统治的，起支配作用的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
14
partisans
|
|
| 游击队员( partisan的名词复数 )； 党人； 党羽； 帮伙 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
15
prodigiously
|
|
| adv.异常地，惊人地，巨大地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
16
mangled
|
|
| vt.乱砍（mangle的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
17
barbarians
|
|
| n.野蛮人( barbarian的名词复数 )；外国人；粗野的人；无教养的人 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
18
locusts
|
|
| n.蝗虫( locust的名词复数 )；贪吃的人；破坏者；槐树 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
19
applied
|
|
| adj.应用的；v.应用，适用 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
20
savages
|
|
| 未开化的人，野蛮人( savage的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
21
passionately
|
|
| ad.热烈地，激烈地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
22
utterly
|
|
| adv.完全地，绝对地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
23
favourable
|
|
| adj.赞成的，称赞的，有利的，良好的，顺利的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
24
kennel
|
|
| n.狗舍，狗窝 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
25
oysters
|
|
| 牡蛎( oyster的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
26
hereditary
|
|
| adj.遗传的，遗传性的，可继承的，世袭的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
27
alteration
|
|
| n.变更，改变；蚀变 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
28
metropolis
|
|
| n.首府；大城市 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
29
perseverance
|
|
| n.坚持不懈，不屈不挠 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
30
prey
|
|
| n.被掠食者，牺牲者，掠食；v.捕食，掠夺，折磨 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
31
snares
|
|
| n.陷阱( snare的名词复数 )；圈套；诱人遭受失败（丢脸、损失等）的东西；诱惑物v.用罗网捕捉，诱陷，陷害( snare的第三人称单数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
32
uncommon
|
|
| adj.罕见的，非凡的，不平常的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
33
fatigued
|
|
| adj. 疲乏的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
34
fatigue
|
|
| n.疲劳，劳累 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
35
precipice
|
|
| n.悬崖，危急的处境 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
36
lair
|
|
| n.野兽的巢穴；躲藏处 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
37
remarkably
|
|
| ad.不同寻常地，相当地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
38
thoroughly
|
|
| adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
39
heartily
|
|
| adv.衷心地，诚恳地，十分，很 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
40
addicted
|
|
| adj.沉溺于....的，对...上瘾的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
41
perilous
|
|
| adj.危险的，冒险的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
42
devoted
|
|
| adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
43
accomplished
|
|
| adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
44
imminently
|
|
| 迫切地，紧急地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
45
hazardous
|
|
| adj.(有)危险的，冒险的；碰运气的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
46
zeal
|
|
| n.热心，热情，热忱 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
47
exertion
|
|
| n.尽力，努力 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
48
preservation
|
|
| n.保护，维护，保存，保留，保持 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
49
peculiar
|
|
| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
50
gentry
|
|
| n.绅士阶级，上层阶级 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
51
killing
|
|
| n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
52
larders
|
|
| n.（家中的）食物贮藏室，食物橱( larder的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
|
53
resentment
|
|
| n.怨愤，忿恨 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
54
hamper
|
|
| vt.妨碍，束缚，限制；n.(有盖的)大篮子 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
55
lament
|
|
| n.悲叹，悔恨，恸哭；v.哀悼，悔恨，悲叹 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
56
naturalists
|
|
| n.博物学家( naturalist的名词复数 )；（文学艺术的）自然主义者 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
57
costly
|
|
| adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
58
treatise
|
|
| n.专著；(专题)论文 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
59
exquisite
|
|
| adj.精美的；敏锐的；剧烈的，感觉强烈的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
60
specimen
|
|
| n.样本，标本 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
61
mighty
|
|
| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
| 欢迎访问英文小说网 |