The captain sat cross-legged upon the white deck with his scimitar lying beside him in its jeweled scabbard, and the sailors toiled2 to spread the nimble sails to bring the ship into the central stream of Yann, and all the while sang ancient soothing3 songs. And the wind of the evening descending4 cool from the snowfields of some mountainous abode5 of distant gods came suddenly, like glad tidings to an anxious city, into the wing-like sails.
And so we came into the central stream, whereat the sailors lowered the greater sails. But I had gone to bow before the captain, and to inquire concerning the miracles, and appearances among men, of the most holy gods of whatever land he had come from. And the captain answered that he came from fair Belzoond, and worshipped gods that were the least and humblest, who seldom sent the famine or the thunder, and were easily appeased7 with little battles. And I told how I came from Ireland, which is of Europe, whereat the captain and all the sailors laughed, for they said, "There are no such places in all the land of dreams." When they had ceased to mock me, I explained that my fancy mostly dwelt in the desert of Cuppar-Nombo, about a beautiful blue city called Golthoth the Damned, which was sentinelled all round by wolves and their shadows, and had been utterly8 desolate9 for years and years, because of a curse which the gods once spoke10 in anger and could never since recall. And sometimes my dreams took me as far as Pungar Vees, the red walled city where the fountains are, which trades with the Isles11 and Thul. When I said this they complimented me upon the abode of my fancy, saying that, though they had never seen these cities, such places might well be imagined. For the rest of that evening I bargained with the captain over the sum that I should pay him for any fare if God and the tide of Yann should bring us safely as far as the cliffs by the sea, which are named Bar-Wul-Yann, the Gate of Yann.
And now the sun had set, and all the colours of the world and heaven had held a festival with him, and slipped one by one away before the imminent12 approach of night. The parrots had all flown home to the jungle on either bank, the monkeys in rows in safety on high branches of the trees were silent and asleep, the fireflies in the deeps of the forest were going up and down, and the great stars came gleaming out to look on the face of Yann. Then the sailors lighted lanterns and hung them round the ship, and the light flashed out on a sudden and dazzled Yann, and the ducks that fed along his marshy13 banks all suddenly arose, and made wide circles in the upper air, and saw the distant reaches of the Yann and the white mist that softly cloaked the jungle, before they returned again to their marshes14.
And then the sailors knelt on the decks and prayed, not all together, but five or six at a time. Side by side there kneeled down together five or six, for there only prayed at the same time men of different faiths, so that no god should hear two men praying to him at once. As soon as any one had finished his prayer, another of the same faith would take his place. Thus knelt the row of five or six with bended heads under the fluttering sail, while the central stream of the River Yann took them on towards the sea, and their prayers rose up from among the lanterns and went towards the stars. And behind them in the after end of the ship the helmsman prayed aloud the helmsman's prayer, which is prayed by all who follow his trade upon the River Yann, of whatever faith they be. And the captain prayed to his little lesser15 gods, to the gods that bless Belzoond.
And I too felt that I would pray. Yet I liked not to pray to a jealous God there where the frail16 affectionate gods whom the heathen love were being humbly17 invoked18; so I bethought me, instead, of Sheol Nugganoth, whom the men of the jungle have long since deserted19, who is now unworshipped and alone; and to him I prayed.
And upon us praying the night came suddenly down, as it comes upon all men who pray at evening and upon all men who do not; yet our prayers comforted our own souls when we thought of the Great Night to come.
And so Yann bore us magnificently onwards, for he was elate with molten snow that the Poltiades had brought him from the Hills of Hap20, and the Marn and Migris were swollen21 with floods; and he bore us in his full might past Kyph and Pir, and we saw the lights of Goolunza.
Soon we all slept except the helmsman, who kept the ship in the mid-stream of Yann.
When the sun rose the helmsman ceased to sing, for by song he cheered himself in the lonely night. When the song ceased we suddenly all awoke, and another took the helm, and the helmsman slept.
We knew that soon we should come to Mandaroon. We made a meal, and Mandaroon appeared. Then the captain commanded, and the sailors loosed again the greater sails, and the ship turned and left the stream of Yann and came into a harbour beneath the ruddy walls of Mandaroon. Then while the sailors went and gathered fruits I came alone to the gate of Mandaroon. A few huts were outside it, in which lived the guard. A sentinel with a long white beard was standing22 in the gate, armed with a rusty23 pike. He wore large spectacles, which were covered with dust. Through the gate I saw the city. A deathly stillness was over all of it. The ways seemed untrodden, and moss24 was thick on doorsteps; in the market-place huddled25 figures lay asleep. A scent26 of incense27 came wafted28 through the gateway29, of incense and burned poppies, and there was a hum of the echoes of distant bells. I said to the sentinel in the tongue of the region of Yann, "Why are they all asleep in this still city?"
He answered: "None may ask questions in this gate for fear they will wake the people of the city. For when the people of this city wake the gods will die. And when the gods die men may dream no more." And I began to ask him what gods that city worshipped, but he lifted his pike because none might ask questions there. So I left him and went back to the Bird of the River.
Certainly Mandaroon was beautiful with her white pinnacles31 peering over her ruddy walls and the green of her copper32 roofs.
When I came back again to the Bird of the River, I found the sailors were returned to the ship. Soon we weighed anchor, and sailed out again, and so came once more to the middle of the river. And now the sun was moving toward his heights, and there had reached us on the River Yann the song of those countless33 myriads34 of choirs35 that attend him in his progress round the world. For the little creatures that have many legs had spread their gauze wings easily on the air, as a man rests his elbows on a balcony and gave jubilant, ceremonial praises to the sun, or else they moved together on the air in wavering dances intricate and swift, or turned aside to avoid the onrush of some drop of water that a breeze had shaken from a jungle orchid36, chilling the air and driving it before it, as it fell whirring in its rush to the earth; but all the while they sang triumphantly37. "For the day is for us," they said, "whether our great and sacred father the Sun shall bring up more life like us from the marshes, or whether all the world shall end tonight." And there sang all those whose notes are known to human ears, as well as those whose far more numerous notes have been never heard by man.
To these a rainy day had been as an era of war that should desolate continents during all the lifetime of a man.
And there came out also from the dark and steaming jungle to behold38 and rejoice in the Sun the huge and lazy butterflies. And they danced, but danced idly, on the ways of the air, as some haughty39 queen of distant conquered lands might in her poverty and exile dance, in some encampment of the gipsies, for the mere40 bread to live by, but beyond that would never abate41 her pride to dance for a fragment more.
And the butterflies sung of strange and painted things, of purple orchids42 and of lost pink cities and the monstrous43 colours of the jungle's decay. And they, too, were among those whose voices are not discernible by human ears. And as they floated above the river, going from forest to forest, their splendour was matched by the inimical beauty of the birds who darted44 out to pursue them. Or sometimes they settled on the white and wax-like blooms of the plant that creeps and clambers about the trees of the forest; and their purple wings flashed out on the great blossoms as, when the caravans45 go from Nurl to Thace, the gleaming silks flash out upon the snow, where the crafty46 merchants spread them one by one to astonish the mountaineers of the Hills of Noor.
But upon men and beasts the sun sent drowsiness47. The river monsters along the river's marge lay dormant48 in the slime. The sailors pitched a pavilion, with golden tassels49, for the captain upon the deck, and then went, all but the helmsman, under a sail that they had hung as an awning50 between two masts. Then they told tales to one another, each of his own city or of the miracles of his god, until all were fallen asleep. The captain offered me the shade of his pavillion with the gold tassels, and there we talked for a while, he telling me that he was taking merchandise to Perdóndaris, and that he would take back to fair Belzoond things appertaining to the affairs of the sea. Then, as I watched through the pavilion's opening the brilliant birds and butterflies that crossed and recrossed over the river, I fell asleep, and dreamed that I was a monarch53 entering his capital underneath54 arches of flags, and all the musicians of the world were there, playing melodiously55 their instruments; but no one cheered.
In the afternoon, as the day grew cooler again, I awoke and found the captain buckling56 on his scimitar, which he had taken off him while he rested.
And now we were approaching the wide court of Astahahn, which opens upon the river. Strange boats of antique design were chained there to the steps. As we neared it we saw the open marble court, on three sides of which stood the city fronting on colonnades57. And in the court and along the colonnades the people of that city walked with solemnity and care according to the rites58 of ancient ceremony. All in that city was of ancient device; the carving59 on the houses, which, when age had broken it, remained unrepaired, was of the remotest times, and everywhere were represented in stone beasts that have long since passed away from Earth—the dragon, the griffin, the hippogriffin, and the different species of gargoyle60. Nothing was to be found, whether material or custom, that was new in Astahahn. Now they took no notice at all of us as we went by, but continued their processions and ceremonies in the ancient city, and the sailors, knowing their custom, took no notice of them. But I called, as we came near, to one who stood beside the water's edge, asking him what men did in Astahahn and what their merchandise was, and with whom they traded. He said, "Here we have fettered61 and manacled Time, who would otherwise slay62 the gods."
I asked him what gods they worshipped in that city, and he said, "All those gods whom Time has not yet slain63." Then he turned from me and would say no more, but busied himself in behaving in accordance with ancient custom. And so, according to the will of Yann, we drifted onwards and left Astahahn. The river widened below Astahahn, and we found in greater quantities such birds as prey64 on fishes. And they were very wonderful in their plumage, and they came not out of the jungle, but flew, with their long necks stretched out before them, and their legs lying on the wind behind, straight up the river over the mid-stream.
And now the evening began to gather in. A thick white mist had appeared over the river, and was softly rising higher. It clutched at the trees with long impalpable arms, it rose higher and higher, chilling the air; and white shapes moved away into the jungle as though the ghosts of shipwrecked mariners66 were searching stealthily in the darkness for the spirits of evil that long ago had wrecked65 them on the Yann.
As the sun sank behind the field of orchids that grew on the matted summit of the jungle, the river monsters came wallowing out of the slime in which they had reclined during the heat of the day, and the great beasts of the jungle came down to drink. The butterflies a while since were gone to rest. In little narrow tributaries67 that we passed night seemed already to have fallen, though the sun which had disappeared from us had not yet set.
And now the birds of the jungle came flying home far over us, with the sunlight glistening68 pink upon their breasts, and lowered their pinions69 as soon as they saw the Yann, and dropped into the trees. And the widgeon began to go up the river in great companies, all whistling, and then would suddenly wheel and all go down again. And there shot by us the small and arrow-like teal; and we heard the manifold cries of flocks of geese, which the sailors told me had recently come in from crossing over the Lispasian ranges; every year they come by the same way, close by the peak of Mluna, leaving it to the left, and the mountain eagles know the way they come and—men say—the very hour, and every year they expect them by the same way as soon as the snows have fallen upon the Northern Plains. But soon it grew so dark that we heard those birds no more, and only heard the whirring of their wings, and of countless others besides, until they all settled down along the banks of the river, and it was the hour when the birds of the night went forth70. Then the sailors lit the lanterns for the night, and huge moths71 appeared, flapping about the ship, and at moments their gorgeous colours would be revealed by the lanterns, then they would pass into the night again, where all was black. And again the sailors prayed, and thereafter we supped and slept, and the helmsman took our lives into his care.
When I awoke I found that we had indeed come to Perdóndaris, that famous city. For there it stood upon the left of us, a city fair and notable, and all the more pleasant for our eyes to see after the jungle that was so long with us. And we were anchored by the market-place, and the captain's merchandise was all displayed, and a merchant of Perdóndaris stood looking at it. And the captain had his scimitar in his hand, and was beating with it in anger upon the deck, and the splinters were flying up from the white planks72; for the merchant had offered him a price for his merchandise that the captain declared to be an insult to himself and his country's gods, whom he now said to be great and terrible gods, whose curses were to be dreaded73. But the merchant waved his hands, which were of great fatness, showing the pink palms, and swore that of himself he thought not at all, but only of the poor folk in the huts beyond the city to whom he wished to sell the merchandise for as low a price as possible, leaving no remuneration for himself. For the merchandise was mostly the thick toomarund carpets that in the winter keep the wind from the floor, and tollub which the people smoke in pipes. Therefore the merchant said if he offered a piffek more the poor folk must go without their toomarunds when the winter came, and without their tollub in the evenings, or else he and his aged74 father must starve together. Thereat the captain lifted his scimitar to his own throat, saying that he was now a ruined man, and that nothing remained to him but death. And while he was carefully lifting his beard with his left hand, the merchant eyed the merchandise again, and said that rather than see so worthy75 a captain die, a man for whom he had conceived an especial love when first he saw the manner in which he handled his ship, he and his aged father should starve together and therefore he offered fifteen piffeks more.
When he said this the captain prostrated76 himself and prayed to his gods that they might yet sweeten this merchant's bitter heart—to his little lesser gods, to the gods that bless Belzoond.
At last the merchant offered yet five piffeks more. Then the captain wept, for he said that he was deserted of his gods; and the merchant also wept, for he said that he was thinking of his aged father, and of how he soon would starve, and he hid his weeping face with both his hands, and eyed the tollub again between his fingers. And so the bargain was concluded, and the merchant took the toomarund and tollub, paying for them out of a great clinking purse. And these were packed up into bales again, and three of the merchant's slaves carried them upon their heads into the city. And all the while the sailors had sat silent, cross-legged in a crescent upon the deck, eagerly watching the bargain, and now a murmur77 of satisfaction arose among them, and they began to compare it among themselves with other bargains that they had known. And I found out from them that there are seven merchants in Perdóndaris, and that they had all come to the captain one by one before the bargaining began, and each had warned him privately78 against the others. And to all the merchants the captain had offered the wine of his own country, that they make in fair Belzoond, but could in no wise persuade them to it. But now that the bargain was over, and the sailors were seated at the first meal of the day, the captain appeared among them with a cask of that wine, and we broached79 it with care and all made merry together. And the captain was glad in his heart because he knew that he had much honour in the eyes of his men because of the bargain that he had made. So the sailors drank the wine of their native land, and soon their thoughts were back in fair Belzoond and the little neighbouring cities of Durl and Duz.
But for me the captain poured into a little jar some heavy yellow wine from a small jar which he kept apart among his sacred things. Thick and sweet it was, even like honey, yet there was in its heart a mighty80, ardent81 fire which had authority over souls of men. It was made, the captain told me, with great subtlety82 by the secret craft of a family of six who lived in a hut on the mountains of Hian Min. Once in these mountains, he said, he followed the spoor of a bear, and he came suddenly on a man of that family who had hunted the same bear, and he was at the end of a narrow way with precipice83 all about him, and his spear was sticking in the bear, and the wound was not fatal, and he had no other weapon. And the bear was walking towards the man, very slowly because his wound irked him—yet he was now very close. And what he captain did he would not say, but every year as soon as the snows are hard, and travelling is easy on the Hian Min, that man comes down to the market in the plains, and always leaves for the captain in the gate of fair Belzoond a vessel84 of that priceless secret wine.
And as I sipped85 the wine and the captain talked, I remembered me of stalwart noble things that I had long since resolutely87 planned, and my soul seemed to grow mightier88 within me and to dominate the whole tide of the Yann. It may be that I then slept. Or, if I did not, I do not now minutely recollect89 every detail of that morning's occupations. Towards evening, I awoke and wishing to see Perdóndaris before we left in the morning, and being unable to wake the captain, I went ashore90 alone. Certainly Perdóndaris was a powerful city; it was encompassed91 by a wall of great strength and altitude, having in it hollow ways for troops to walk in, and battlements along it all the way, and fifteen strong towers on it in every mile, and copper plaques92 low down where men could read them, telling in all the languages of those parts of the earth—one language on each plaque—the tale of how an army once attacked Perdóndaris and what befell that army. Then I entered Perdóndaris and found all the people dancing, clad in brilliant silks, and playing on the tambang as they danced. For a fearful thunderstorm had terrified them while I slept, and the fires of death, they said, had danced over Perdóndaris, and now the thunder had gone leaping away large and black and hideous93, they said, over the distant hills, and had turned round snarling94 at them, shoving his gleaming teeth, and had stamped, as he went, upon the hilltops until they rang as though they had been bronze. And often and again they stopped in their merry dances and prayed to the God they knew not, saying, "O, God that we know not, we thank Thee for sending the thunder back to his hills." And I went on and came to the market-place, and lying there upon the marble pavement I saw the merchant fast asleep and breathing heavily, with his face and the palms of his hands towards the sky, and slaves were fanning him to keep away the flies. And from the market-place I came to a silver temple and then to a palace of onyx, and there were many wonders in Perdóndaris, and I would have stayed and seen them all, but as I came to the outer wall of the city I suddenly saw in it a huge ivory gate. For a while I paused and admired it, then I came nearer and perceived the dreadful truth. The gate was carved out of one solid piece!
I fled at once through the gateway and down to the ship, and even as I ran I thought that I heard far off on the hills behind me the tramp of the fearful beast by whom that mass of ivory was shed, who was perhaps even then looking for his other tusk95. When I was on the ship again I felt safer, and I said nothing to the sailors of what I had seen.
And now the captain was gradually awakening96. Now night was rolling up from the East and North, and only the pinnacles of the towers of Perdóndaris still took the fallen sunlight. Then I went to the captain and told him quietly of the thing I had seen. And he questioned me at once about the gate, in a low voice, that the sailors might not know; and I told him how the weight of the thing was such that it could not have been brought from afar, and the captain knew that it had not been there a year ago. We agreed that such a beast could never have been killed by any assault of man, and that the gate must have been a fallen tusk, and one fallen near and recently. Therefore he decided97 that it were better to flee at once; so he commanded, and the sailors went to the sails, and others raised the anchor to the deck, and just as the highest pinnacle30 of marble lost the last rays of the sun we left Perdóndaris, that famous city. And night came down and cloaked Perdóndaris and hid it from our eyes, which as things have happened will never see it again; for I have heard since that something swift and wonderful has suddenly wrecked Perdóndaris in a day—towers, walls and people.
And the night deepened over the River Yann, a night all white with stars. And with the night there rose the helmsman's song. As soon as he had prayed he began to sing to cheer himself all through the lonely night. But first he prayed, praying the helmsman's prayer. And this is what I remember of it, rendered into English with a very feeble equivalent of the rhythm that seemed so resonant98 in those tropic nights.
To whatever god may hear.
Wherever there be sailors whether of river or sea: whether their way be dark or whether through storm: whether their peril99 be of beast or of rock: or from enemy lurking100 on land or pursuing on sea: wherever the tiller is cold or the helmsman stiff: wherever sailors sleep or helmsmen watch: guard, guide and return us to the old land, that has known us: to the far homes that we know.
To all the gods that are.
To whatever god may hear.
So he prayed, and there was silence. And the sailors laid them down to rest for the night. The silence deepened, and was only broken by the ripples101 of Yann that lightly touched our prow102. Sometimes some monster of the river coughed.
Silence and ripples, ripples and silence again.
And then his loneliness came upon the helmsman, and he began to sing. And he sang the market songs of Durl and Duz, and the old dragon-legends of Belzoond.
Many a song he sang, telling to spacious103 and exotic Yann the little tales and trifles of his city of Durl. And the songs welled up over the black jungle and came into the clear cold air above, and the great bands of stars that look on Yann began to know the affairs of Durl and Duz, and of the shepherds that dwelt in the fields between, and the flocks that they had, and the loves that they had loved, and all the little things that they had hoped to do. And as I lay wrapped up in skins and blankets, listening to those songs, and watching the fantastic shapes of the great trees like to black giants stalking through the night, I suddenly fell asleep.
When I awoke great mists were trailing away from the Yann. And the flow of the river was tumbling now tumultuously, and little waves appeared; for Yann had scented104 from afar the ancient crags of Glorm, and knew that their ravines lay cool before him wherein he should meet the merry wild Irillion rejoicing from fields of snow. So he shook off from him the torpid105 sleep that had come upon him in the hot and scented jungle, and forgot its orchids and its butterflies, and swept on turbulent, expectant, strong; and soon the snowy peaks of the Hills of Glorm came glittering into view. And now the sailors were waking up from sleep. Soon we all ate, and then the helmsman laid him down to sleep while a comrade took his place, and they all spread over him their choicest furs.
And in a while we heard the sound that the Irillion made as she came down dancing from the fields of snow.
And then we saw the ravine in the Hills of Glorm lying precipitous and smooth before us, into which we were carried by the leaps of Yann. And now we left the steamy jungle and breathed the mountain air; the sailors stood up and took deep breaths of it, and thought of their own far off Acroctian hills on which were Durl and Duz—below them in the plains stands fair Belzoond.
A great shadow brooded between the cliffs of Glorm, but the crags were shining above us like gnarled moons, and almost lit the gloom. Louder and louder came the Irillion's song, and the sound of her dancing down from the fields of snow. And soon we saw her white and full of mists, and wreathed with rainbows delicate and small that she had plucked up near the mountain's summit from some celestial106 garden of the Sun. Then she went away seawards with the huge grey Yann and the ravine widened, and opened upon the world, and our rocking ship came through to the light of the day.
And all that morning and all the afternoon we passed through the marshes of Pondoovery; and Yann widened there, and flowed solemnly and slowly, and the captain bade the sailors beat on bells to overcome the dreariness107 of the marshes.
At last the Irusian mountains came in sight, nursing the villages of Pen-Kai and Blut, and the wandering streets of Mlo, where priests propitiate108 the avalanche109 with wine and maize110. Then night came down over the plains of Tlun, and we saw the lights of Cappadarnia. We heard the Pathnites beating upon drums as we passed Imaut and Golzunda, then all but the helmsman slept. And villages scattered111 along the banks of the Yann heard all that night in the helmsman's unknown tongue the little songs of cities that they knew not.
I awoke before dawn with a feeling that I was unhappy before I remembered why. Then I recalled that by the evening of the approaching day, according to all foreseen probabilities, we should come to Bar-Wul-Yann, and I should part from the captain and his sailors. And I had liked the man because he had given me of his yellow wine that was set apart among his sacred things, and many a story he had told me about his fair Belzoond between the Acroctian hills and the Hian Min. And I had liked the ways that his sailors had, and the prayers that they prayed at evening side by side, grudging112 not one another their alien gods. And I had a liking113 too for the tender way in which they often spoke of Durl and Duz, for it is good that men should love their native cities and the little hills that hold those cities up.
And I had come to know who would meet them when they returned to their homes, and where they thought the meetings would take place, some in a valley of the Acroctian hills where the road comes up from Yann, others in the gateway of one or another of the three cities, and others by the fireside in the home. And I thought of the danger that had menaced us all alike outside Perdóndaris, a danger that, as things have happened, was very real.
And I thought too of the helmsman's cheery song in the cold and lonely night, and how he had held our lives in his careful hands. And as I thought of this the helmsman ceased to sing, and I looked up and saw a pale light had appeared in the sky, and the lonely night had passed; and the dawn widened, and the sailors awoke.
And soon we saw the tide of the Sea himself advancing resolute86 between Yann's borders, and Yann sprang lithely114 at him and they struggled awhile; then Yann and all that was his were pushed back northward115, so that the sailors had to hoist116 the sails and, the wind being favorable, we still held onwards.
And we passed Gondara and Narl and Haz. And we saw memorable117, holy Golnuz, and heard the pilgrims praying.
When we awoke after the midday rest we were coming near to Nen, the last of the cities on the River Yann. And the jungle was all about us once again, and about Nen; but the great Mloon ranges stood up over all things, and watched the city from beyond the jungle.
Here we anchored, and the captain and I went up into the city and found that the Wanderers had come into Nen.
And the Wanderers were a weird118, dark, tribe, that once in every seven years came down from the peaks of Mloon, having crossed by a pass that is known to them from some fantastic land that lies beyond. And the people of Nen were all outside their houses, and all stood wondering at their own streets. For the men and women of the Wanderers had crowded all the ways, and every one was doing some strange thing. Some danced astounding119 dances that they had learned from the desert wind, rapidly curving and swirling120 till the eye could follow no longer. Others played upon instruments beautiful wailing121 tunes122 that were full of horror, which souls had taught them lost by night in the desert, that strange far desert from which the Wanderers came.
None of their instruments were such as were known in Nen nor in any part of the region of the Yann; even the horns out of which some were made were of beasts that none had seen along the river, for they were barbed at the tips. And they sang, in the language of none, songs that seemed to be akin51 to the mysteries of night and to the unreasoned fear that haunts dark places.
Bitterly all the dogs of Nen distrusted them. And the Wanderers told one another fearful tales, for though no one in Nen knew ought of their language yet they could see the fear on the listeners' faces, and as the tale wound on the whites of their eyes showed vividly123 in terror as the eyes of some little beast whom the hawk124 has seized. Then the teller125 of the tale would smile and stop, and another would tell his story, and the teller of the first tale's lips would chatter126 with fear. And if some deadly snake chanced to appear the Wanderers would greet him as a brother, and the snake would seem to give his greetings to them before he passed on again. Once that most fierce and lethal127 of tropic snakes, the giant lythra, came out of the jungle and all down the street, the central street of Nen, and none of the Wanderers moved away from him, but they all played sonorously128 on drums, as though he had been a person of much honour; and the snake moved through the midst of them and smote129 none.
Even the Wanderers' children could do strange things, for if any one of them met with a child of Nen the two would stare at each other in silence with large grave eyes; then the Wanderers' child would slowly draw from his turban a live fish or snake. And the children of Nen could do nothing of that kind at all.
Much I should have wished to stay and hear the hymn130 with which they greet the night, that is answered by the wolves on the heights of Mloon, but it was now time to raise the anchor again that the captain might return from Bar-Wul-Yann upon the landward tide. So we went on board and continued down the Yann. And the captain and I spoke little, for we were thinking of our parting, which should be for long, and we watched instead the splendour of the westerning sun. For the sun was a ruddy gold, but a faint mist cloaked the jungle, lying low, and into it poured the smoke of the little jungle cities, and the smoke of them met together in the mist and joined into one haze131, which became purple, and was lit by the sun, as the thoughts of men become hallowed by some great and sacred thing. Some times one column from a lonely house would rise up higher than the cities' smoke, and gleam by itself in the sun.
And now as the sun's last rays were nearly level, we saw the sight that I had come to see, for from two mountains that stood on either shore two cliffs of pink marble came out into the river, all glowing in the light of the low sun, and they were quite smooth and of mountainous altitude, and they nearly met, and Yann went tumbling between them and found the sea.
And this was Bar-Wul-Yann, the Gate of Yann, and in the distance through that barrier's gap I saw the azure132 indescribable sea, where little fishing-boats went gleaming by.
And the sun set, and the brief twilight133 came, and the exultation134 of the glory of Bar-Wul-Yann was gone, yet still the pink cliffs glowed, the fairest marvel135 that the eye beheld—and this in a land of wonders. And soon the twilight gave place to the coming out of stars, and the colours of Bar-Wul-Yann went dwindling136 away. And the sight of those cliffs was to me as some chord of music that a master's hand had launched from the violin, and which carries to Heaven or Faëry the tremulous spirits of men.
And now by the shore they anchored and went no further, for they were sailors of the river and not of the sea, and knew the Yann but not the tides beyond.
And the time was come when the captain and I must part, he to go back to his fair Belzoond in sight of the distant peaks of the Hian Min, and I to find my way by strange means back to those hazy137 fields that all poets know, wherein stand small mysterious cottages through whose windows, looking westwards, you may see the fields of men, and looking eastwards138 see glittering elfin mountains, tipped with snow, going range on range into the region of Myth, and beyond it into the kingdom of Fantasy, which pertain52 to the Lands of Dream. Long we regarded one another, knowing that we should meet no more, for my fancy is weakening as the years slip by, and I go ever more seldom into the Lands of Dream. Then we clasped hands, uncouthly139 on his part, for it is not the method of greeting in his country, and he commended my soul to the care of his own gods, to his little lesser gods, the humble6 ones, to the gods that bless Belzoond.
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1
prophesied
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| v.预告，预言( prophesy的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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2
toiled
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| 长时间或辛苦地工作( toil的过去式和过去分词 )； 艰难缓慢地移动，跋涉 | |
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3
soothing
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| adj.慰藉的；使人宽心的；镇静的 | |
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4
descending
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| n. 下行 adj. 下降的 | |
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5
abode
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| n.住处，住所 | |
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6
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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appeased
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| 安抚，抚慰( appease的过去式和过去分词 )； 绥靖（满足另一国的要求以避免战争） | |
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8
utterly
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| adv.完全地，绝对地 | |
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9
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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10
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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11
isles
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| 岛( isle的名词复数 ) | |
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12
imminent
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| adj.即将发生的，临近的，逼近的 | |
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13
marshy
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| adj.沼泽的 | |
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marshes
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| n.沼泽，湿地( marsh的名词复数 ) | |
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15
lesser
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| adj.次要的，较小的；adv.较小地，较少地 | |
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frail
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| adj.身体虚弱的；易损坏的 | |
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humbly
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| adv. 恭顺地，谦卑地 | |
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18
invoked
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| v.援引( invoke的过去式和过去分词 )；行使（权利等）；祈求救助；恳求 | |
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19
deserted
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| adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的 | |
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20
hap
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| n.运气；v.偶然发生 | |
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21
swollen
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| adj.肿大的，水涨的；v.使变大，肿胀 | |
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22
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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rusty
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| adj.生锈的；锈色的；荒废了的 | |
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moss
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| n.苔，藓，地衣 | |
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25
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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26
scent
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| n.气味，香味，香水，线索，嗅觉；v.嗅，发觉 | |
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27
incense
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| v.激怒；n.香，焚香时的烟，香气 | |
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28
wafted
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| v.吹送，飘送，（使）浮动( waft的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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29
gateway
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| n.大门口，出入口，途径，方法 | |
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30
pinnacle
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| n.尖塔，尖顶，山峰；(喻)顶峰 | |
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31
pinnacles
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| 顶峰( pinnacle的名词复数 )； 顶点； 尖顶； 小尖塔 | |
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32
copper
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| n.铜；铜币；铜器；adj.铜(制)的；(紫)铜色的 | |
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33
countless
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| adj.无数的，多得不计其数的 | |
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34
myriads
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| n.无数，极大数量( myriad的名词复数 ) | |
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35
choirs
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| n.教堂的唱诗班( choir的名词复数 )；唱诗队；公开表演的合唱团；（教堂）唱经楼 | |
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36
orchid
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| n.兰花，淡紫色 | |
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37
triumphantly
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| ad.得意洋洋地；得胜地；成功地 | |
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38
behold
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| v.看，注视，看到 | |
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39
haughty
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| adj.傲慢的，高傲的 | |
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40
mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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41
abate
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| vi.(风势，疼痛等)减弱，减轻，减退 | |
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42
orchids
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| n.兰花( orchid的名词复数 ) | |
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43
monstrous
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| adj.巨大的；恐怖的；可耻的，丢脸的 | |
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44
darted
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| v.投掷，投射( dart的过去式和过去分词 )；向前冲，飞奔 | |
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45
caravans
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| （可供居住的）拖车（通常由机动车拖行）( caravan的名词复数 )； 篷车； （穿过沙漠地带的）旅行队（如商队） | |
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46
crafty
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| adj.狡猾的，诡诈的 | |
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47
drowsiness
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| n.睡意；嗜睡 | |
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48
dormant
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| adj.暂停活动的；休眠的；潜伏的 | |
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49
tassels
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| n.穗( tassel的名词复数 )；流苏状物；（植物的）穗；玉蜀黍的穗状雄花v.抽穗， （玉米）长穗须( tassel的第三人称单数 )；使抽穗， （为了使作物茁壮生长）摘去穗状雄花；用流苏装饰 | |
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50
awning
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| n.遮阳篷；雨篷 | |
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51
akin
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| adj.同族的，类似的 | |
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52
pertain
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| v.(to)附属，从属；关于；有关；适合，相称 | |
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53
monarch
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| n.帝王，君主，最高统治者 | |
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54
underneath
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| adj.在...下面，在...底下；adv.在下面 | |
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55
melodiously
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56
buckling
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| 扣住 | |
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57
colonnades
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| n.石柱廊( colonnade的名词复数 ) | |
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58
rites
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| 仪式，典礼( rite的名词复数 ) | |
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59
carving
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| n.雕刻品，雕花 | |
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60
gargoyle
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| n.笕嘴 | |
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61
fettered
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| v.给…上脚镣，束缚( fetter的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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62
slay
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| v.杀死，宰杀，杀戮 | |
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63
slain
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| 杀死，宰杀，杀戮( slay的过去分词 )； (slay的过去分词) | |
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64
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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65
wrecked
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| adj.失事的，遇难的 | |
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66
mariners
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| 海员，水手（mariner的复数形式） | |
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67
tributaries
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| n. 支流 | |
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68
glistening
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| adj.闪耀的，反光的v.湿物闪耀，闪亮( glisten的现在分词 ) | |
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69
pinions
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| v.抓住[捆住]（双臂）( pinion的第三人称单数 ) | |
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70
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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71
moths
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| n.蛾( moth的名词复数 ) | |
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72
planks
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| （厚）木板( plank的名词复数 )； 政纲条目，政策要点 | |
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73
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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74
aged
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| adj.年老的，陈年的 | |
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75
worthy
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| adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的 | |
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76
prostrated
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| v.使俯伏，使拜倒( prostrate的过去式和过去分词 )；（指疾病、天气等）使某人无能为力 | |
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77
murmur
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| n.低语，低声的怨言；v.低语，低声而言 | |
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78
privately
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| adv.以私人的身份，悄悄地，私下地 | |
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79
broached
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| v.谈起( broach的过去式和过去分词 )；打开并开始用；用凿子扩大（或修光）；（在桶上）钻孔取液体 | |
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80
mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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81
ardent
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| adj.热情的，热烈的，强烈的，烈性的 | |
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82
subtlety
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| n.微妙，敏锐，精巧；微妙之处，细微的区别 | |
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83
precipice
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| n.悬崖，危急的处境 | |
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84
vessel
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| n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管 | |
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85
sipped
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| v.小口喝，呷，抿( sip的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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86
resolute
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| adj.坚决的，果敢的 | |
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87
resolutely
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| adj.坚决地，果断地 | |
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88
mightier
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| adj. 强有力的，强大的，巨大的 adv. 很，极其 | |
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89
recollect
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| v.回忆，想起，记起，忆起，记得 | |
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90
ashore
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| adv.在(向)岸上，上岸 | |
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91
encompassed
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| v.围绕( encompass的过去式和过去分词 )；包围；包含；包括 | |
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92
plaques
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| （纪念性的）匾牌( plaque的名词复数 )； 纪念匾； 牙斑； 空斑 | |
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93
hideous
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| adj.丑陋的，可憎的，可怕的，恐怖的 | |
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94
snarling
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| v.（指狗）吠，嗥叫， （人）咆哮( snarl的现在分词 )；咆哮着说，厉声地说 | |
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95
tusk
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| n.獠牙，长牙，象牙 | |
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96
awakening
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| n.觉醒，醒悟 adj.觉醒中的；唤醒的 | |
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97
decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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98
resonant
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| adj.(声音)洪亮的，共鸣的 | |
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99
peril
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| n.(严重的)危险；危险的事物 | |
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100
lurking
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| 潜在 | |
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101
ripples
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| 逐渐扩散的感觉( ripple的名词复数 ) | |
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102
prow
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| n.(飞机)机头，船头 | |
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103
spacious
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| adj.广阔的，宽敞的 | |
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104
scented
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| adj.有香味的；洒香水的；有气味的v.嗅到(scent的过去分词) | |
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105
torpid
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| adj.麻痹的，麻木的，迟钝的 | |
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106
celestial
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| adj.天体的；天上的 | |
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107
dreariness
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| 沉寂，可怕，凄凉 | |
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108
propitiate
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| v.慰解，劝解 | |
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109
avalanche
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| n.雪崩，大量涌来 | |
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110
maize
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| n.玉米 | |
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111
scattered
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| adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的 | |
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112
grudging
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| adj.勉强的，吝啬的 | |
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113
liking
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| n.爱好；嗜好；喜欢 | |
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114
lithely
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| adv.柔软地，易变地 | |
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115
northward
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| adv.向北；n.北方的地区 | |
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116
hoist
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| n.升高，起重机，推动；v.升起，升高，举起 | |
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117
memorable
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| adj.值得回忆的，难忘的，特别的，显著的 | |
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118
weird
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| adj.古怪的，离奇的；怪诞的，神秘而可怕的 | |
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119
astounding
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| adj.使人震惊的vt.使震惊，使大吃一惊astound的现在分词) | |
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120
swirling
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| v.旋转，打旋( swirl的现在分词 ) | |
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121
wailing
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| v.哭叫，哀号( wail的现在分词 )；沱 | |
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122
tunes
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| n.曲调，曲子( tune的名词复数 )v.调音( tune的第三人称单数 )；调整；（给收音机、电视等）调谐；使协调 | |
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123
vividly
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| adv.清楚地，鲜明地，生动地 | |
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124
hawk
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| n.鹰，骗子；鹰派成员 | |
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125
teller
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| n.银行出纳员；(选举)计票员 | |
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126
chatter
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| vi.／n.喋喋不休；短促尖叫；(牙齿)打战 | |
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127
lethal
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| adj.致死的；毁灭性的 | |
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128
sonorously
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| adv.圆润低沉地；感人地；堂皇地；朗朗地 | |
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129
smote
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| v.猛打，重击，打击( smite的过去式 ) | |
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130
hymn
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| n.赞美诗，圣歌，颂歌 | |
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131
haze
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| n.霾，烟雾；懵懂，迷糊；vi.(over)变模糊 | |
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132
azure
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| adj.天蓝色的，蔚蓝色的 | |
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133
twilight
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| n.暮光，黄昏；暮年，晚期，衰落时期 | |
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134
exultation
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| n.狂喜，得意 | |
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135
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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136
dwindling
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| adj.逐渐减少的v.逐渐变少或变小( dwindle的现在分词 ) | |
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137
hazy
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| adj.有薄雾的，朦胧的；不肯定的，模糊的 | |
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138
eastwards
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| adj.向东方（的），朝东（的）；n.向东的方向 | |
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139
uncouthly
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