This was on the evening Roger Stapylton gave the long-anticipated dinner at which he was to announce his daughter's engagement. As much indeed was suspected by most of his dinner-company, so carefully selected from the aristocracy of Lichfield; and the heart of the former overseer, as these handsome, courtly and sweet voiced people settled according to their rank about his sumptuous5 table, was aglow6 with pride.
Then Rudolph Musgrave turned to his companion and said softly: "My dear, you are like a wraith7. What is it?"
"I have a headache," said Patricia. "It is nothing."
She faced him. Desperation looked out of her purple eyes. "It is," the girl said swiftly.
"Ah—?" Only it was an intake11 of the breath, rather than an interjection. Colonel Musgrave ate his fish with deliberation. "Young Parkinson?" he presently suggested.
"I thought I had forgotten him. I didn't know I cared—I didn't know I could care so much—" And there was a note in her voice which thrust the poor colonel into an abyss of consternation12.
"Remember that these people are your guests," he said, in perfect earnest.
"—and I refused him this afternoon for the last time, and he is going away to-morrow—"
But here Judge Allardyce broke in, to tell Miss Stapylton of the pleasure with which he had nolle prosequied the case against Tom Bellingham.
"A son of my old schoolmate, ma'am," the judge explained. "A Bellingham of Assequin. Oh, indiscreet of course—but, God bless my soul! when were the Bellinghams anything else? The boy regretted it as much as anybody."
Colonel Musgrave was mid-course in an anecdote15 which the lady upon the other side of him found wickedly amusing.
He was very gay. He had presently secured the attention of the company at large, and held it through a good half-hour; for by common consent Rudolph Musgrave was at his best to-night, and Lichfield found his best worth listening to.
"Grinning old popinjay!" thought Mr. Parkinson; and envied him and internally noted16, and with an unholy fervor17 cursed, the adroitness18 of intonation19 and the discreetly20 modulated21 gesture with which the colonel gave to every point of his merry-Andrewing its precise value.
The colonel's mind was working busily on matters oddly apart from those of which he talked. He wanted this girl next to him—at whom he did not look. He loved her as that whippersnapper yonder was not capable of loving anyone. Young people had these fancies; and they outlived them, as the colonel knew of his own experience. Let matters take their course unhindered, at all events by him. For it was less his part than that of any other man alive to interfere22 when Rudolph Musgrave stood within a finger's reach of, at worst, his own prosperity and happiness.
He would convey no note to Roger Stapylton. Let the banker announce the engagement. Let the young fellow go to the devil. Colonel Musgrave would marry the girl and make Patricia, at worst, content. To do otherwise, even to hesitate, would be the emptiest quixotism….
Then came the fatal thought, "But what a gesture!" To fling away his happiness—yes, even his worldly fortune,—and to do it smilingly! Patricia must, perforce, admire him all her life.
Then as old Stapylton stirred in his chair and broke into a wide premonitory smile, Colonel Musgrave rose to his feet. And of that company Clarice Pendomer at least thought of how like he was to the boy who had fought the famous duel23 with George Pendomer some fifteen years ago.
Ensued a felicitous24 speech. Rudolph Musgrave was familiar with his audience. And therefore:
Colonel Musgrave alluded25 briefly26 to the pleasure he took in addressing such a gathering27. He believed no other State in the 'union could have afforded an assembly of more distinguished28 men and fairer women. But the fact was not unnatural29; they might recall the venerable saying that blood will tell? Well, it was their peculiar30 privilege to represent to-day that sturdy stock which, when this great republic was in the pangs31 of birth, had with sword and pen and oratory32 discomfited33 the hirelings of England and given to history the undying names of several Revolutionary patriots,—all of whom he enumerated34 with the customary pause after each cognomen35 to allow for the customary applause.
And theirs, too, was the blood of those heroic men who fought more recently beneath the stars and bars, as bravely, he would make bold to say, as Leonidas at Thermopylae, in defense36 of their loved Southland. Right, he conceded, had not triumphed here. For hordes37 of brutal38 soldiery had invaded the fertile soil, the tempest of war had swept the land and left it desolate39. The South lay battered40 and bruised41, and pros13 trate in blood, the "Niobe of nations," as sad a victim of ingratitude42 as King Lear.
The colonel touched upon the time when buzzards, in the guise43 of carpet-baggers, had battened upon the recumbent form; and spoke44 slightingly of divers45 persons of antiquity46 as compared with various Confederate leaders, whose names were greeted with approving nods and ripples47 of polite enthusiasm.
But the South, and in particular the grand old Commonwealth48 which they inhabited, he stated, had not long sat among the ruins of her temples, like a sorrowing priestess with veiled eyes and a depressed49 soul, mourning for that which had been. Like the fabled50 Phoenix51, she had risen from the ashes of her past. To-day she was once more to be seen in her hereditary52 position, the brightest gem4 in all that glorious galaxy53 of States which made America the envy of every other nation. Her battlefields converted into building lots, tall factories smoked where once a holocaust54 had flamed, and where cannon55 had roared you heard to-day the tinkle56 of the school bell. Such progress was without a parallel.
Nor was there any need for him, he was assured, to mention the imperishable names of their dear homeland's poets and statesmen of to-day, the orators57 and philanthropists and prominent business-men who jostled one another in her splendid, new asphalted streets, since all were quite familiar to his audience,—as familiar, he would venture to predict, as they would eventually be to the most cherished recollections of Macaulay's prophesied58 New Zealander, when this notorious antipodean should pay his long expected visit to the ruins of St. Paul's.
In fine, by a natural series of transitions, Colonel Musgrave thus worked around to "the very pleasing duty with which our host, in view of the long and intimate connection between our families, has seen fit to honor me"—which was, it developed, to announce the imminent59 marriage of Miss Patricia Stapylton and Mr. Joseph Parkinson.
It may conservatively be stated that everyone was surprised.
Old Stapylton had half risen, with a purple face.
There was silence for a heart-beat.
Then Stapylton lowered his eyes, if just because the laws of caste had triumphed, and in consequence his glance crossed that of his daughter, who sat motionless regarding him. She was an unusually pretty girl, he thought, and he had always been inordinately61 proud of her. It was not pride she seemed to beg him muster62 now. Patricia through that moment was not the fine daughter the old man was sometimes half afraid of. She was, too, like a certain defiant63 person—oh, of an incredible beauty, such as women had not any longer!—who had hastily put aside her bonnet64 and had looked at a young Roger Stapylton in much this fashion very long ago, because the minister was coming downstairs, and they would presently be man and wife,—provided always her pursuing brothers did not arrive in time….
Old Roger Stapylton cleared his throat.
Old Roger Stapylton said, half sheepishly: "My foot's asleep, that's all. I beg everybody's pardon, I'm sure. Please go on"—he had come within an ace10 of saying "Mr. Rudolph," and only in the nick of time did he continue, "Colonel Musgrave."
So the colonel continued in time-hallowed form, with happy allusions65 to Mr. Parkinson's anterior66 success as an engineer before he came "like a young Lochinvar to wrest67 away his beautiful and popular fiancée from us fainthearted fellows of Lichfield"; touched of course upon the colonel's personal comminglement of envy and rage, and so on, as an old bachelor who saw too late what he had missed in life; and concluded by proposing the health of the young couple.
This was drunk with all the honors.

点击
收听单词发音

1
resolute
![]() |
|
adj.坚决的,果敢的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
2
chary
![]() |
|
adj.谨慎的,细心的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
3
mansion
![]() |
|
n.大厦,大楼;宅第 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
4
gem
![]() |
|
n.宝石,珠宝;受爱戴的人 [同]jewel | |
参考例句: |
|
|
5
sumptuous
![]() |
|
adj.豪华的,奢侈的,华丽的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
6
aglow
![]() |
|
adj.发亮的;发红的;adv.发亮地 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
7
wraith
![]() |
|
n.幽灵;骨瘦如柴的人 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
8
reassure
![]() |
|
v.使放心,使消除疑虑 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
9
gaily
![]() |
|
adv.欢乐地,高兴地 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
10
ace
![]() |
|
n.A牌;发球得分;佼佼者;adj.杰出的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
11
intake
![]() |
|
n.吸入,纳入;进气口,入口 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
12
consternation
![]() |
|
n.大为吃惊,惊骇 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
13
pros
![]() |
|
abbr.prosecuting 起诉;prosecutor 起诉人;professionals 自由职业者;proscenium (舞台)前部n.赞成的意见( pro的名词复数 );赞成的理由;抵偿物;交换物 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
14
morbid
![]() |
|
adj.病的;致病的;病态的;可怕的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
15
anecdote
![]() |
|
n.轶事,趣闻,短故事 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
16
noted
![]() |
|
adj.著名的,知名的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
17
fervor
![]() |
|
n.热诚;热心;炽热 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
18
adroitness
![]() |
|
参考例句: |
|
|
19
intonation
![]() |
|
n.语调,声调;发声 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
20
discreetly
![]() |
|
ad.(言行)审慎地,慎重地 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
21
modulated
![]() |
|
已调整[制]的,被调的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
22
interfere
![]() |
|
v.(in)干涉,干预;(with)妨碍,打扰 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
23
duel
![]() |
|
n./v.决斗;(双方的)斗争 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
24
felicitous
![]() |
|
adj.恰当的,巧妙的;n.恰当,贴切 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
25
alluded
![]() |
|
提及,暗指( allude的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
26
briefly
![]() |
|
adv.简单地,简短地 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
27
gathering
![]() |
|
n.集会,聚会,聚集 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
28
distinguished
![]() |
|
adj.卓越的,杰出的,著名的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
29
unnatural
![]() |
|
adj.不自然的;反常的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
30
peculiar
![]() |
|
adj.古怪的,异常的;特殊的,特有的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
31
pangs
![]() |
|
突然的剧痛( pang的名词复数 ); 悲痛 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
32
oratory
![]() |
|
n.演讲术;词藻华丽的言辞 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
33
discomfited
![]() |
|
v.使为难( discomfit的过去式和过去分词);使狼狈;使挫折;挫败 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
34
enumerated
![]() |
|
v.列举,枚举,数( enumerate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
35
cognomen
![]() |
|
n.姓;绰号 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
36
defense
![]() |
|
n.防御,保卫;[pl.]防务工事;辩护,答辩 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
37
hordes
![]() |
|
n.移动着的一大群( horde的名词复数 );部落 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
38
brutal
![]() |
|
adj.残忍的,野蛮的,不讲理的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
39
desolate
![]() |
|
adj.荒凉的,荒芜的;孤独的,凄凉的;v.使荒芜,使孤寂 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
40
battered
![]() |
|
adj.磨损的;v.连续猛击;磨损 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
41
bruised
![]() |
|
[医]青肿的,瘀紫的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
42
ingratitude
![]() |
|
n.忘恩负义 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
43
guise
![]() |
|
n.外表,伪装的姿态 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
44
spoke
![]() |
|
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 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
45
divers
![]() |
|
adj.不同的;种种的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
46
antiquity
![]() |
|
n.古老;高龄;古物,古迹 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
47
ripples
![]() |
|
逐渐扩散的感觉( ripple的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
48
commonwealth
![]() |
|
n.共和国,联邦,共同体 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
49
depressed
![]() |
|
adj.沮丧的,抑郁的,不景气的,萧条的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
50
fabled
![]() |
|
adj.寓言中的,虚构的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
51
phoenix
![]() |
|
n.凤凰,长生(不死)鸟;引申为重生 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
52
hereditary
![]() |
|
adj.遗传的,遗传性的,可继承的,世袭的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
53
galaxy
![]() |
|
n.星系;银河系;一群(杰出或著名的人物) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
54
holocaust
![]() |
|
n.大破坏;大屠杀 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
55
cannon
![]() |
|
n.大炮,火炮;飞机上的机关炮 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
56
tinkle
![]() |
|
vi.叮当作响;n.叮当声 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
57
orators
![]() |
|
n.演说者,演讲家( orator的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
58
prophesied
![]() |
|
v.预告,预言( prophesy的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
59
imminent
![]() |
|
adj.即将发生的,临近的,逼近的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
60
bland
![]() |
|
adj.淡而无味的,温和的,无刺激性的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
61
inordinately
![]() |
|
adv.无度地,非常地 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
62
muster
![]() |
|
v.集合,收集,鼓起,激起;n.集合,检阅,集合人员,点名册 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
63
defiant
![]() |
|
adj.无礼的,挑战的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
64
bonnet
![]() |
|
n.无边女帽;童帽 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
65
allusions
![]() |
|
暗指,间接提到( allusion的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
66
anterior
![]() |
|
adj.较早的;在前的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
67
wrest
![]() |
|
n.扭,拧,猛夺;v.夺取,猛扭,歪曲 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
欢迎访问英文小说网 |