Constance, on the morrow of Maurice's sudden death, was like one who has just lost a limb. It seemed to her that she was no longer whole; she felt ashamed of being, as it were, disfigured. Mingled6, too, with her loving sorrow for Maurice there was humiliation7 at the thought that she was no longer a mother, that she no longer had any heir-apparent to her kingdom beside her. To think that she had been so stubbornly determined8 to have but one son, one child, in order that he might become the sole master of the family fortune, the all-powerful monarch9 of the future. Death had stolen him from her, and the establishment now seemed to be less her own, particularly since that fellow Blaise and his wife and his child, representing those fruitful and all-invading Froments, were installed there. She could no longer console herself for having welcomed and lodged10 them, and her one passionate11, all-absorbing desire was to have another son, and thereby12 reconquer her empire.
This it was which led to her reconciliation13 with her husband, and for six months they lived together on the best of terms. Then, however, came another six months, and it was evident that they no longer agreed so well together, for Beauchene took himself off at times under the pretext of seeking fresh air, and Constance remained at home, feverish14, her eyes red with weeping.
One day Mathieu, who had come to Grenelle to see his daughter-in-law, Charlotte, was lingering in the garden playing with little Berthe, who had climbed upon his knees, when he was surprised by the sudden approach of Constance, who must have seen him from her windows. She invented a pretext to draw him into the house, and kept him there nearly a quarter of an hour before she could make up her mind to speak her thoughts. Then, all at once, she began: "My dear Mathieu, you must forgive me for mentioning a painful matter, but there are reasons why I should do so. Nearly fifteen years ago, I know it for a fact, my husband had a child by a girl who was employed at the works. And I also know that you acted as his intermediary on that occasion, and made certain arrangements with respect to that girl and her child--a boy, was it not?"
She paused for a reply. But Mathieu, stupefied at finding her so well informed, and at a loss to understand why she spoke15 to him of that sorry affair after the lapse16 of so many years, could only make a gesture by which he betrayed both his surprise and his anxiety.
"Oh!" said she, "I do not address any reproach to you; I am convinced that your motives17 were quite friendly, even affectionate, and that you wished to hush19 up a scandal which might have been very unpleasant for me. Moreover, I do not desire to indulge in recriminations after so long a time. My desire is simply for information. For a long time I did not care to investigate the statements whereby I was informed of the affair. But the recollection of it comes back to me and haunts me persistently20, and it is natural that I should apply to you. I have never spoken a word on the subject to my husband, and indeed it is best for our tranquillity21 that I should not attempt to extort22 a detailed23 confession24 from him. One circumstance which has induced me to speak to you is that on an occasion when I accompanied Madame Angelin to a house in the Rue25 de Miromesnil, I perceived you there with that girl, who had another child in her arms. So you have not lost sight of her, and you must know what she is doing, and whether her first child is alive, and in that case where he is, and how he is situated26."
Mathieu still refrained from replying, for Constance's increasing feverishness27 put him on his guard, and impelled28 him to seek the motive18 of such a strange application on the part of one who was as a rule so proud and so discreet29. What could be happening? Why did she strive to provoke confidential30 revelations which might have far-reaching effects? Then, as she closely scanned him with her keen eyes, he sought to answer her with kind, evasive words.
"You greatly embarrass me. And, besides, I know nothing likely to interest you. What good would it do yourself or your husband to stir up all the dead past? Take my advice, forget what people may have told you--you are so sensible and prudent33--"
But she interrupted him, caught hold of his hands, and held them in her warm, quivering grasp. Never before had she so behaved, forgetting and surrendering herself so passionately34. "I repeat," said she, "that nobody has anything to fear from me--neither my husband, nor that girl, nor the child. Cannot you understand me? I am simply tormented36; I suffer at knowing nothing. Yes, it seems to me that I shall feel more at ease when I know the truth. It is for myself that I question you, for my own peace of mind.... Ah! if I could only tell you, if I could tell you!"
He began to divine many things; it was unnecessary for her to be more explicit37. He knew that during the past year she and her husband had been hoping for the advent38 of a second child, and that none had come. As a woman, Constance felt no jealousy39 of Norine, but as a mother she was jealous of her son. She could not drive the thought of that child from her mind; it ever and ever returned thither40 like a mocking insult now that her hopes of replacing Maurice were fading fast. Day by day did she dream more and more passionately of the other woman's son, wondering where he was, what had become of him, whether he were healthy, and whether he resembled his father.
"I assure you, my dear Mathieu," she resumed, "that you will really bring me relief by answering me. Is he alive? Tell me simply whether he is alive. But do not tell me a lie. If he is dead I think that I shall feel calmer. And yet, good heavens! I certainly wish him no evil."
Then Mathieu, who felt deeply touched, told her the simple truth.
"Since you insist on it, for the benefit of your peace of mind, and since it is to remain entirely41 between us and to have no effect on your home, I see no reason why I should not confide31 to you what I know. But that is very little. The child was left at the Foundling Hospital in my presence. Since then the mother, having never asked for news, has received none. I need not add that your husband is equally ignorant, for he always refused to have anything to do with the child. Is the lad still alive? Where is he? Those are things which I cannot tell you. A long inquiry42 would be necessary. If, however, you wish for my opinion, I think it probable that he is dead, for the mortality among these poor cast-off children is very great."
Constance looked at him fixedly43. "You are telling me the real truth? You are hiding nothing?" she asked. And as he began to protest, she went on: "Yes, yes, I have confidence in you. And so you believe that he is dead! Ah! to think of all those children who die, when so many women would be happy to save one, to have one for themselves. Well, if you haven't been able to tell me anything positive, you have at least done your best. Thank you."
During the ensuing months Mathieu often found himself alone with Constance, but she never reverted45 to the subject. She seemed to set her energy on forgetting all about it, though he divined that it still haunted her. Meantime things went from bad to worse in the Beauchene household. The husband gradually went back to his former life of debauchery, in spite of all the efforts of Constance to keep him near her. She, for her part, clung to her fixed44 idea, and before long she consulted Boutan. There was a terrible scene that day between husband and wife in the doctor's presence. Constance raked up the story of Norine and cast it in Beauchene's teeth, while he upbraided46 her in a variety of ways. However, Boutan's advice, though followed for a time, proved unavailing, and she at last lost confidence in him. Then she spent months and months in consulting one and another. She placed herself in the hands of Madame Bourdieu, she even went to see La Rouche, she applied47 to all sorts of charlatans48, exasperated49 to fury at finding that there was no real succor50 for her. She might long ago have had a family had she so chosen. But she had elected otherwise, setting all her egotism and pride on that only son whom death had snatched away; and now the motherhood she longed for was denied her.
For nearly two years did Constance battle, and at last in despair she was seized with the idea of consulting Dr. Gaude. He told her the brutal51 truth; it was useless for her to address herself to charlatans; she would simply be robbed by them; there was absolutely no hope for her. And Gaude uttered those decisive words in a light, jesting way, as though surprised and amused by her profound grief. She almost fainted on the stairs as she left his flat, and for a moment indeed death seemed welcome. But by a great effort of will she recovered self-possession, the courage to face the life of loneliness that now lay before her. Moreover, another idea vaguely52 dawned upon her, and the first time she found herself alone with Mathieu she again spoke to him of Norine's boy.
"Forgive me," said she, "for reverting53 to a painful subject, but I am suffering too much now that I know there is no hope for me. I am haunted by the thought of that illegitimate child of my husband's. Will you do me a great service? Make the inquiry you once spoke to me about, try to find out if he is alive or dead. I feel that when I know the facts peace may perhaps return to me."
Mathieu was almost on the point of answering her that, even if this child were found again, it could hardly cure her of her grief at having no child of her own. He had divined her agony at seeing Blaise take Maurice's place at the works now that Beauchene had resumed his dissolute life, and daily intrusted the young man with more and more authority. Blaise's home was prospering54 too; Charlotte had now given birth to a second child, a boy, and thus fruitfulness was invading the place and usurpation55 becoming more and more likely, since Constance could never more have an heir to bar the road of conquest. Without penetrating56 her singular feelings, Mathieu fancied that she perhaps wished to sound him to ascertain57 if he were not behind Blaise, urging on the work of spoliation. She possibly imagined that her request would make him anxious, and that he would refuse to make the necessary researches. At this idea he decided58 to do as she desired, if only to show her that he was above all the base calculations of ambition.
"I am at your disposal, cousin," said he. "It is enough for me that this inquiry may give you a little relief. But if the lad is alive, am I to bring him to you?"
"Oh! no, no, I do not ask that!" And then, gesticulating almost wildly, she stammered59: "I don't know what I want, but I suffer so dreadfully that I am scarce able to live!"
In point of fact a tempest raged within her, but she really had no settled plan. One could hardly say that she really thought of that boy as a possible heir. In spite of her hatred62 of all conquerors63 from without, was it likely that she would accept him as a conqueror64, in the face of her outraged65 womanly feelings and her bourgeois66 horror of illegitimacy? And yet if he were not her son, he was at least her husband's. And perhaps an idea of saving her empire by placing the works in the hands of that heir was dimly rising within her, above all her prejudices and her rancor67. But however that might be, her feelings for the time remained confused, and the only clear thing was her desperate torment35 at being now and forever childless, a torment which goaded68 her on to seek another's child with the wild idea of making that child in some slight degree her own.
Mathieu, however, asked her, "Am I to inform Beauchene of the steps I take?"
"Do you as you please," she answered. "Still, that would be the best."
That same evening there came a complete rupture69 between herself and her husband. She threw in Beauchene's face all the contempt and loathing70 that she had felt for him for years. Hopeless as she was, she revenged herself by telling him everything that she had on her heart and mind. And her slim dark figure, upborne by bitter rage, assumed such redoubtable71 proportions in his eyes that he felt frightened by her and fled. Henceforth they were husband and wife in name only. It was logic73 on the march, it was the inevitable74 disorganization of a household reaching its climax75, it was rebellion against nature's law and indulgence in vice32 leading to the gradual decline of a man of intelligence, it was a hard worker sinking into the sloth76 of so-called pleasure; and then, death having snatched away the only son, the home broke to pieces--the wife--fated to childlessness, and the husband driven away by her, rolling through debauchery towards final ruin.
But Mathieu, keeping his promise to Constance, discreetly77 began his researches. And before he even consulted Beauchene it occurred to him to apply at the Foundling Hospital. If, as he anticipated, the child were dead, the affair would go no further. Fortunately enough he remembered all the particulars: the two names, Alexandre-Honore, given to the child, the exact date of the deposit at the hospital, indeed all the little incidents of the day when he had driven thither with La Couteau. And when he was received by the director of the establishment, and had explained to him the real motives of his inquiries78, at the same time giving his name, he was surprised by the promptness and precision of the answer: Alexandre-Honore, put out to nurse with the woman Loiseau at Rougemont, had first kept cows, and had then tried the calling of a locksmith; but for three months past he had been in apprenticeship81 with a wheelwright, a certain Montoir, residing at Saint-Pierre, a hamlet in the vicinity of Rougemont. Thus the lad lived; he was fifteen years old, and that was all. Mathieu could obtain no further information respecting either his physical health or his morality.
When Mathieu found himself in the street again, slightly dazed, he remembered that La Couteau had told him that the child would be sent to Rougemont. He had always pictured it dying there, carried off by the hurricane which killed so many babes, and lying in the silent village cemetery82 paved with little Parisians. To find the boy alive, saved from the massacre83, came like a surprise of destiny, and brought vague anguish84, a fear of some terrible catastrophe85 to Mathieu's heart. At the same time, since the boy was living, and he now knew where to seek him, he felt that he must warn Beauchene. The matter was becoming serious, and it seemed to him that he ought not to carry the inquiry any further without the father's authorization86.
That same day, then, before returning to Chantebled, he repaired to the factory, where he was lucky enough to find Beauchene, whom Blaise's absence on business had detained there by force. Thus he was in a very bad humor, puffing87 and yawning and half asleep. It was nearly three o'clock, and he declared that he could never digest his lunch properly unless he went out afterwards. The truth was that since his rupture with his wife he had been devoting his afternoons to paying attentions to a girl serving at a beer-house.
"Ah! my good fellow," he muttered as he stretched himself. "My blood is evidently thickening. I must bestir myself, or else I shall be in a bad way."
However, he woke up when Mathieu had explained the motive of his visit. At first he could scarcely understand it, for the affair seemed to him so extraordinary, so idiotic88.
"Eh? What do you say? It was my wife who spoke to you about that child? It is she who has taken it into her head to collect information and start a search?"
His fat apoplectical face became distorted, his anger was so violent that he could scarcely stutter. When he heard, however, of the mission with which his wife had intrusted Mathieu, he at last exploded: "She is mad! I tell you that she is raving89 mad! Were such fancies ever seen? Every morning she invents something fresh to distract me!"
Without heeding90 this interruption, Mathieu quietly finished his narrative91: "And so I have just come back from the Foundling Hospital, where I learnt that the boy is alive. I have his address--and now what am I to do?"
This was the final blow. Beauchene clenched92 his fists and raised his arms in exasperation93. "Ah! well, here's a nice state of things! But why on earth does she want to trouble me about that boy? He isn't hers! Why can't she leave us alone, the boy and me? It's my affair. And I ask you if it is at all proper for my wife to send you running about after him? Besides, I hope that you are not going to bring him to her. What on earth could we do with that little peasant, who may have every vice? Just picture him coming between us. I tell you that she is mad, mad, mad!"
He had begun to walk angrily to and fro. All at once he stopped: "My dear fellow, you will just oblige me by telling her that he is dead."
But he turned pale and recoiled94. Constance stood on the threshold and had heard him. For some time past she had been in the habit of stealthily prowling around the offices, like one on the watch for something. For a moment, at the sight of the embarrassment95 which both men displayed, she remained silent. Then, without even addressing her husband, she asked: "He is alive, is he not?"
Mathieu could but tell her the truth. He answered with a nod. Then Beauchene, in despair, made a final effort: "Come, be reasonable, my dear. As I was saying only just now, we don't even know what this youngster's character is. You surely don't want to upset our life for the mere60 pleasure of doing so?"
Standing96 there, lean and frigid97, she gave him a harsh glance; then, turning her back on him, she demanded the child's name, and the names of the wheelwright and the locality. "Good, you say Alexandre-Honore, with Montoir the wheelwright, at Saint-Pierre, near Rougemont, in Calvados. Well, my friend, oblige me by continuing your researches; endeavor to procure98 me some precise information about this boy's habits and disposition99. Be prudent, too; don't give anybody's name. And thanks for what you have done already; thanks for all you are doing for me."
Thereupon she took herself off without giving any further explanation, without even telling her husband of the vague plans she was forming. Beneath her crushing contempt he had grown calm again. Why should he spoil his life of egotistical pleasure by resisting that mad creature? All that he need do was to put on his hat and betake himself to his usual diversions. And so he ended by shrugging his shoulders.
"After all, let her pick him up if she chooses, it won't be my doing. Act as she asks you, my dear fellow; continue your researches and try to content her. Perhaps she will then leave me in peace. But I've had quite enough of it for to-day; good-by, I'm going out."
With the view of obtaining some information of Rougemont, Mathieu at first thought of applying to La Couteau, if he could find her again; for which purpose it occurred to him that he might call on Madame Bourdieu in the Rue de Miromesnil. But another and more certain means suggested itself. He had been led to renew his intercourse100 with the Seguins, of whom he had for a time lost sight; and, much to his surprise, he had found Valentine's former maid, Celeste, in the Avenue d'Antin once more. Through this woman, he thought, he might reach La Couteau direct.
The renewal101 of the intercourse between the Froments and the Seguins was due to a very happy chance. Mathieu's son Ambroise, on leaving college, had entered the employment of an uncle of Seguin's, Thomas du Hordel, one of the wealthiest commission merchants in Paris; and this old man, who, despite his years, remained very sturdy, and still directed his business with all the fire of youth, had conceived a growing fondness for Ambroise, who had great mental endowments and a real genius for commerce. Du Hordel's own children had consisted of two daughters, one of whom had died young, while the other had married a madman, who had lodged a bullet in his head and had left her childless and crazy like himself. This partially102 explained the deep grandfatherly interest which Du Hordel took in young Ambroise, who was the handsomest of all the Froments, with a clear complexion103, large black eyes, brown hair that curled naturally, and manners of much refinement104 and elegance105. But the old man was further captivated by the young fellow's spirit of enterprise, the four modern languages which he spoke so readily, and the evident mastery which he would some day show in the management of a business which extended over the five parts of the world. In his childhood, among his brothers and sisters, Ambroise had always been the boldest, most captivating and self-assertive. The others might be better than he, but he reigned106 over them like a handsome, ambitious, greedy boy, a future man of gayety and conquest. And this indeed he proved to be; by the charm of his victorious107 intellect he conquered old Du Hordel in a few months, even as later on he was destined108 to vanquish109 everybody and everything much as he pleased. His strength lay in his power of pleasing and his power of action, a blending of grace with the most assiduous industry.
About this time Seguin and his uncle, who had never set foot in the house of the Avenue d'Antin since insanity110 had reigned there, drew together again. Their apparent reconciliation was the outcome of a drama shrouded111 in secrecy112. Seguin, hard up and in debt, cast off by Nora, who divined his approaching ruin, and preyed113 upon by other voracious115 creatures, had ended by committing, on the turf, one of those indelicate actions which honest people call thefts. Du Hordel, on being apprised116 of the matter, had hastened forward and had paid what was due in order to avoid a frightful117 scandal. And he was so upset by the extraordinary muddle118 in which he found his nephew's home, once all prosperity, that remorse119 came upon him as if he were in some degree responsible for what had happened, since he had egotistically kept away from his relatives for his own peace's sake. But he was more particularly won over by his grandniece Andree, now a delicious young girl well-nigh eighteen years of age, and therefore marriageable. She alone sufficed to attract him to the house, and he was greatly distressed120 by the dangerous state of abandonment in which he found her.
Her father continued dragging out his worthless life away from home. Her mother, Valentine, had just emerged from a frightful crisis, her final rupture with Santerre, who had made up his mind to marry a very wealthy old lady, which, after all, was the logical destiny of such a crafty121 exploiter of women, one who behind his affectation of cultured pessimism122 had the vilest123 and greediest of natures. Valentine, distracted by this rupture, had now thrown herself into religion, and, like her husband, disappeared from the house for whole days. She was said to be an active helpmate of old Count de Navarede, the president of a society of Catholic propaganda. Gaston, her son, having left Saint-Cyr three months previously124, was now at the Cavalry125 School of Saumur, so fired with passion for a military career that he already spoke of remaining a bachelor, since a soldier's sword should be his only love, his only spouse126. Then Lucie, now nineteen years old, and full of mystical exaltation, had already entered an Ursuline convent for her novitiate. And in the big empty home, whence father, mother, brother and sister fled, there remained but the gentle and adorable Andree, exposed to all the blasts of insanity which even now swept through the household, and so distressed by loneliness, that her uncle, Du Hordel, full of compassionate127 affection, conceived the idea of giving her a husband in the person of young Ambroise, the future conqueror.
This plan was helped on by the renewed presence of Celeste the maid. Eight years had elapsed since Valentine had been obliged to dismiss this woman for immorality129; and during those eight years Celeste, weary of service, had tried a number of equivocal callings of which she did not speak. She had ended by turning up at Rougemont, her native place, in bad health and such a state of wretchedness, that for the sake of a living she went out as a charwoman there. Then she gradually recovered her health, and accumulated a little stock of clothes, thanks to the protection of the village priest, whom she won over by an affectation of extreme piety130. It was at Rougemont, no doubt, that she planned her return to the Seguins, of whose vicissitudes131 she was informed by La Couteau, the latter having kept up her intercourse with Madame Menoux, the little haberdasher of the neighborhood.
Valentine, shortly after her rupture with Santerre, one day of furious despair, when she had again dismissed all her servants, was surprised by the arrival of Celeste, who showed herself so repentant132, so devoted, and so serious-minded, that her former mistress felt touched. She made her weep on reminding her of her faults, and asking her to swear before God that she would never repeat them; for Celeste now went to confession and partook of the holy communion, and carried with her a certificate from the Cure of Rougemont vouching133 for her deep piety and high morality. This certificate acted decisively on Valentine, who, unwilling134 to remain at home, and weary of the troubles of housekeeping, understood what precious help she might derive135 from this woman. On her side Celeste certainly relied upon power being surrendered to her. Two months later, by favoring Lucie's excessive partiality to religious practices, she had helped her into a convent. Gaston showed himself only when he secured a few days' leave. And so Andree alone remained at home, impeding136 by her presence the great general pillage137 that Celeste dreamt of. The maid therefore became a most active worker on behalf of her young mistress's marriage.
Andree, it should be said, was comprised in Ambroise's universal conquest. She had met him at her uncle Du Hordel's house for a year before it occurred to the latter to marry them. She was a very gentle girl, a little golden-haired sheep, as her mother sometimes said. And that handsome, smiling young man, who evinced so much kindness towards her, became the subject of her thoughts and hopes whenever she suffered from loneliness and abandonment. Thus, when her uncle prudently138 questioned her, she flung herself into his arms, weeping big tears of gratitude139 and confession. Valentine, on being approached, at first manifested some surprise. What, a son of the Froments! Those Froments had already taken Chantebled from them, and did they now want to take one of their daughters? Then, amid the collapse140 of fortune and household, she could find no reasonable objection to urge. She had never been attached to Andree. She accused La Catiche, the nurse, of having made the child her own. That gentle, docile141, emotional little sheep was not a Seguin, she often remarked. Then, while feigning142 to defend the girl, Celeste embittered143 her mother against her, and inspired her with a desire to see the marriage promptly144 concluded, in order that she might free herself from her last cares and live as she wished. Thus, after a long chat with Mathieu, who promised his consent, it remained only for Du Hordel to assure himself of Seguin's approval before an application in due form was made. It was difficult, however, to find Seguin in a suitable frame of mind. So weeks were lost, and it became necessary to pacify145 Ambroise, who was very much in love, and was doubtless warned by his all-invading genius that this loving and simple girl would bring him a kingdom in her apron146.
One day when Mathieu was passing along the Avenue d'Antin, it occurred to him to call at the house to ascertain if Seguin had re-appeared there, for he had suddenly taken himself off without warning, and had gone, so it was believed, to Italy. Then, as Mathieu found himself alone with Celeste, the opportunity seemed to him an excellent one to discover La Couteau's whereabouts. He asked for news of her, saying that a friend of his was in need of a good nurse.
"Well, monsieur, you are in luck's way," the maid replied; "La Couteau is to bring a child home to our neighbor, Madame Menoux, this very day. It is nearly four o'clock now, and that is the time when she promised to come. You know Madame Menoux's place, do you not? It is the third shop in the first street on the left." Then she apologized for being unable to conduct him thither: "I am alone," she said; "we still have no news of the master. On Wednesdays Madame presides at the meeting of her society, and Mademoiselle Andree has just gone out walking with her uncle."
Mathieu hastily repaired to Madame Menoux's shop. From a distance he saw her standing on the threshold; age had made her thinner than ever; at forty she was as slim as a young girl, with a long and pointed147 face. Silent labor148 consumed her; for twenty years she had been desperately149 selling bits of cotton and packages of needles without ever making a fortune, but pleased, nevertheless, at being able to add her modest gains to her husband's monthly salary in order to provide him with sundry150 little comforts. His rheumatism151 would no doubt soon compel him to relinquish152 his post as a museum attendant, and how would they be able to manage with his pension of a few hundred francs per annum if she did not keep up her business? Moreover, they had met with no luck. Their first child had died, and some years had elapsed before the birth of a second boy, whom they had greeted with delight, no doubt, though he would prove a heavy burden to them, especially as they had now decided to take him back from the country. Thus Mathieu found the worthy153 woman in a state of great emotion, waiting for the child on the threshold of her shop, and watching the corner of the avenue.
"Oh! it was Celeste who sent you, monsieur! No, La Couteau hasn't come yet. I'm quite astonished at it; I expect her every moment. Will you kindly154 step inside, monsieur, and sit down?"
He refused the only chair which blocked up the narrow passage where scarcely three customers could have stood in a row. Behind a glass partition one perceived the dim back shop, which served as kitchen and dining-room and bedchamber, and which received only a little air from a damp inner yard which suggested a sewer155 shaft156.
"As you see, monsieur, we have scarcely any room," continued Madame Menoux; "but then we pay only eight hundred francs rent, and where else could we find a shop at that price? And besides, I have been here for nearly twenty years, and have worked up a little regular custom in the neighborhood. Oh! I don't complain of the place myself, I'm not big, there is always sufficient room for me. And as my husband comes home only in the evening, and then sits down in his armchair to smoke his pipe, he isn't so much inconvenienced. I do all I can for him, and he is reasonable enough not to ask me to do more. But with a child I fear that it will be impossible to get on here."
The recollection of her first boy, her little Pierre, returned to her, and her eyes filled with tears. "Ah! monsieur, that was ten years ago, and I can still see La Couteau bringing him back to me, just as she'll be bringing the other by and by. I was told so many tales; there was such good air at Rougemont, and the children led such healthy lives, and my boy had such rosy157 cheeks, that I ended by leaving him there till he was five years old, regretting that I had no room for him here. And no, you can't have an idea of all the presents that the nurse wheedled158 out of me, of all the money that I paid! It was ruination! And then, all at once, I had just time to send for the boy, and he was brought back to me as thin and pale and weak, as if he had never tasted good bread in his life. Two months later he died in my arms. His father fell ill over it, and if we hadn't been attached to one another, I think we should both have gone and drowned ourselves."
Scarce wiping her eyes she feverishly159 returned to the threshold, and again cast a passionate expectant glance towards the avenue. And when she came back, having seen nothing, she resumed: "So you will understand our emotion when, two years ago, though I was thirty-seven, I again had a little boy. We were wild with delight, like a young married couple. But what a lot of trouble and worry! We had to put the little fellow out to nurse as we let the other one, since we could not possibly keep him here. And even after swearing that he should not go to Rougemont we ended by saying that we at least knew the place, and that he would not be worse off there than elsewhere. Only we sent him to La Vimeux, for we wouldn't hear any more of La Loiseau since she sent Pierre back in such a fearful state. And this time, as the little fellow is now two years old, I was determined to have him home again, though I don't even know where I shall put him. I've been waiting for an hour now, and I can't help trembling, for I always fear some catastrophe."
She could not remain in the shop, but remained standing by the doorway160, with her neck outstretched and her eyes fixed on the street corner. All at once a deep cry came from her: "Ah! here they are!"
Leisurely161, and with a sour, harassed162 air, La Couteau came in and placed the sleeping child in Madame Menoux's arms, saying as she did so: "Well, your George is a tidy weight, I can tell you. You won't say that I've brought you this one back like a skeleton."
Quivering, her legs sinking beneath her for very joy, the mother had been obliged to sit down, keeping her child on her knees, kissing him, examining him, all haste to see if he were in good health and likely to live. He had a fat and rather pale face, and seemed big, though puffy. When she had unfastened his wraps, her hands trembling the while with nervousness, she found that he was pot-bellied, with small legs and arms.
"He is very big about the body," she murmured, ceasing to smile, and turning gloomy with renewed fears.
"Ah, yes! complain away!" said La Couteau. "The other was too thin; this one will be too fat. Mothers are never satisfied!"
At the first glance Mathieu had detected that the child was one of those who are fed on pap, stuffed for economy's sake with bread and water, and fated to all the stomachic complaints of early childhood. And at the sight of the poor little fellow, Rougemont, the frightful slaughter-place, with its daily massacre of the innocents, arose in his memory, such as it had been described to him in years long past. There was La Loiseau, whose habits were so abominably163 filthy164 that her nurslings rotted as on a manure165 heap; there was La Vimeux, who never purchased a drop of milk, but picked up all the village crusts and made bran porridge for her charges as if they had been pigs; there was La Gavette too, who, being always in the fields, left her nurslings in the charge of a paralytic166 old man, who sometimes let them fall into the fire; and there was La Cauchois, who, having nobody to watch the babes, contented167 herself with tying them in their cradles, leaving them in the company of fowls168 which came in bands to peck at their eyes. And the scythe169 of death swept by; there was wholesale170 assassination171; doors were left wide open before rows of cradles, in order to make room for fresh bundles despatched from Paris. Yet all did not die; here, for instance, was one brought home again. But even when they came back alive they carried with them the germs of death, and another hecatomb ensued, another sacrifice to the monstrous172 god of social egotism.
"I'm tired out; I must sit down," resumed La Couteau, seating herself on the narrow bench behind the counter. "Ah! what a trade! And to think that we are always received as if we were heartless criminals and thieves!"
She also had become withered173, her sunburnt, tanned face suggesting more than ever the beak174 of a bird of prey114. But her eyes remained very keen, sharpened as it were by ferocity. She no doubt failed to get rich fast enough, for she continued wailing175, complaining of her calling, of the increasing avarice177 of parents, of the demands of the authorities, of the warfare178 which was being declared against nurse-agents on all sides. Yes, it was a lost calling, said she, and really God must have abandoned her that she should still be compelled to carry it on at forty-five years of age. "It will end by killing179 me," she added; "I shall always get more kicks than money at it. How unjust it is! Here have I brought you back a superb child, and yet you look anything but pleased--it's enough to disgust one of doing one's best!"
In thus complaining her object perhaps was to extract from the haberdasher as large a present as possible. Madame Menoux was certainly disturbed by it all. Her boy woke up and began to wail176 loudly, and it became necessary to give him a little lukewarm milk. At last, when the accounts were settled, the nurse-agent, seeing that she would have ten francs for herself, grew calmer. She was about to take her leave when Madame Menoux, pointing to Mathieu, exclaimed: "This gentleman wished to speak to you on business."
Although La Couteau had not seen the gentleman for several years past, she had recognized him perfectly180 well. Still she had not even turned towards him, for she knew him to be mixed up in so many matters that his discretion181 was a certainty. And so she contented herself with saying: "If monsieur will kindly explain to me what it is I shall be quite at his service."
"I will accompany you," replied Mathieu; "we can speak together as we walk along."
"Very good, that will suit me well, for I am rather in a hurry."
Once outside, Mathieu resolved that he would try no ruses182 with her. The best course was to tell her plainly what he wanted, and then to buy her silence. At the first words he spoke she understood him. She well remembered Norine's child, although in her time she had carried dozens of children to the Foundling Hospital. The particular circumstances of that case, however, the conversation which had taken place, her drive with Mathieu in a cab, had all remained engraved183 on her memory. Moreover, she had found that child again, at Rougemont, five days later; and she even remembered that her friend the hospital-attendant had left it with La Loiseau. But she had occupied herself no more about it afterwards; and she believed that it was now dead, like so many others. When she heard Mathieu speak of the hamlet of Saint-Pierre, of Montoir the wheelwright, and of Alexandre-Honore, now fifteen, who must be in apprenticeship there, she evinced great surprise.
"Oh, you must be mistaken, monsieur," she said; "I know Montoir at Saint-Pierre very well. And he certainly has a lad from the Foundling, of the age you mention, at his place. But that lad came from La Cauchois; he is a big carroty fellow named Richard, who arrived at our village some days before the other. I know who his mother was; she was an English woman called Amy, who stopped more than once at Madame Bourdieu's. That ginger-haired lad is certainly not your Norine's boy. Alexandre-Honore was dark."
"Well, then," replied Mathieu, "there must be another apprentice80 at the wheelwright's. My information is precise, it was given me officially."
After a moment's perplexity La Couteau made a gesture of ignorance, and admitted that Mathieu might be right. "It's possible," said she; "perhaps Montoir has two apprentices79. He does a good business, and as I haven't been to Saint-Pierre for some months now I can say nothing certain. Well, and what do you desire of me, monsieur?"
He then gave her very clear instructions. She was to obtain the most precise information possible about the lad's health, disposition, and conduct, whether the schoolmaster had always been pleased with him, whether his employer was equally satisfied, and so forth72. Briefly184, the inquiry was to be complete. But, above all things, she was to carry it on in such a way that nobody should suspect anything, neither the boy himself nor the folks of the district. There must be absolute secrecy.
"All that is easy," replied La Couteau, "I understand perfectly, and you can rely on me. I shall need a little time, however, and the best plan will be for me to tell you of the result of my researches when I next come to Paris. And if it suits you you will find me to-day fortnight, at two o'clock, at Broquette's office in the Rue Roquepine. I am quite at home there, and the place is like a tomb."
Some days later, as Mathieu was again at the Beauchene works with his son Blaise, he was observed by Constance, who called him to her and questioned him in such direct fashion that he had to tell her what steps he had taken. When she heard of his appointment with La Couteau for the Wednesday of the ensuing week, she said to him in her resolute185 way: "Come and fetch me. I wish to question that woman myself. I want to be quite certain on the matter."
In spite of the lapse of fifteen years Broquette's nurse-office in the Rue Roquepine had remained the same as formerly186, except that Madame Broquette was dead and had been succeeded by her daughter Herminie. The sudden loss of that fair, dignified187 lady, who had possessed188 such a decorative189 presence and so ably represented the high morality and respectability of the establishment, had at first seemed a severe one. But it so happened that Herminie, a tall, slim, languid creature that she was, gorged190 with novel-reading, also proved in her way a distinguished191 figurehead for the office. She was already thirty and was still unmarried, feeling indeed nothing but loathing for all the mothers laden192 with whining193 children by whom she was surrounded. Moreover, M. Broquette, her father, though now more than five-and-seventy, secretly remained the all-powerful, energetic director of the place, discharging all needful police duties, drilling new nurses like recruits, remaining ever on the watch and incessantly194 perambulating the three floors of his suspicious, dingy195 lodging-house.
La Couteau was waiting for Mathieu in the doorway. On perceiving Constance, whom she did not know, for she had never previously met her, she seemed surprised. Who could that lady be? what had she to do with the affair? However, she promptly extinguished the bright gleam of curiosity which for a moment lighted up her eyes; and as Herminie, with distinguished nonchalance196, was at that moment exhibiting a party of nurses to two gentlemen in the office, she took her visitors into the empty refectory, where the atmosphere was as usual tainted197 by a horrible stench of cookery.
"You must excuse me, monsieur and madame," she exclaimed, "but there is no other room free just now. The place is full."
Then she carried her keen glances from Mathieu to Constance, preferring to wait until she was questioned, since another person was now in the secret.
"You can speak out," said Mathieu. "Did you make the inquiries I spoke to you about?"
"Certainly, monsieur. They were made, and properly made, I think."
"Then tell us the result: I repeat that you can speak freely before this lady."
"Oh! monsieur, it won't take me long. You were quite right: there were two apprentices at the wheelwright's at Saint-Pierre, and one of them was Alexandre-Honore, the pretty blonde's child, the same that we took together over yonder. He had been there, I found, barely two months, after trying three or four other callings, and that explains my ignorance of the circumstance. Only he's a lad who can stay nowhere, and so three weeks ago he took himself off."
Constance could not restrain an exclamation198 of anxiety: "What! took himself off?"
"Yes, madame, I mean that he ran away, and this time it is quite certain that he has left the district, for he disappeared with three hundred francs belonging to Montoir, his master."
La Couteau's dry voice rang as if it were an axe199 dealing200 a deadly blow. Although she could not understand the lady's sudden pallor and despairing emotion, she certainly seemed to derive cruel enjoyment201 from it.
"Are you quite sure of your information?" resumed Constance, struggling against the facts. "That is perhaps mere village tittle-tattle."
"Tittle-tattle, madame? Oh! when I undertake to do anything I do it properly. I spoke to the gendarmes202. They have scoured203 the whole district, and it is certain that Alexandre-Honore left no address behind him when he went off with those three hundred francs. He is still on the run. As for that I'll stake my name on it."
This was indeed a hard blow for Constance. That lad, whom she fancied she had found again, of whom she dreamt incessantly, and on whom she had based so many unacknowledgable plans of vengeance204, escaped her, vanished once more into the unknown! She was distracted by it as by some pitiless stroke of fate, some fresh and irreparable defeat. However, she continued the interrogatory.
"Surely you did not merely see the gendarmes? you were instructed to question everybody."
"That is precisely205 what I did, madame. I saw the schoolmaster, and I spoke to the other persons who had employed the lad. They all told me that he was a good-for-nothing. The schoolmaster remembered that he had been a liar206 and a bully207. Now he's a thief; that makes him perfect. I can't say otherwise than I have said, since you wanted to know the plain truth."
La Couteau thus emphasized her statements on seeing that the lady's suffering increased. And what strange suffering it was; a heart-pang at each fresh accusation208, as if her husband's illegitimate child had become in some degree her own! She ended indeed by silencing the nurse-agent.
"Thank you. The boy is no longer at Rougemont, that is all we wished to know."
La Couteau thereupon turned to Mathieu, continuing her narrative, in order to give him his money's worth.
"I also made the other apprentice talk a bit," said she; "you know, that big carroty fellow, Richard, whom I spoke to you about. He's another whom I wouldn't willingly trust. But it's certain that he doesn't know where his companion has gone. The gendarmes think that Alexandre is in Paris."
Thereupon Mathieu in his turn thanked the woman, and handed her a bank-note for fifty francs--a gift which brought a smile to her face and rendered her obsequious209, and, as she herself put it, "as discreetly silent as the grave." Then, as three nurses came into the refectory, and Monsieur Broquette could be heard scrubbing another's hands in the kitchen, by way of teaching her how to cleanse210 herself of her native dirt, Constance felt nausea211 arise within her, and made haste to follow her companion away. Once in the street, instead of entering the cab which was waiting, she paused pensively212, haunted by La Couteau's final words.
"Did you hear?" she exclaimed. "That wretched lad may be in Paris."
"That is probable enough; they all end by stranding213 here."
Constance again hesitated, reflected, and finally made up her mind to say in a somewhat tremulous voice: "And the mother, my friend; you know where she lives, don't you? Did you not tell me that you had concerned yourself about her?"
"Yes, I did."
"Then listen--and above all, don't be astonished; pity me, for I am really suffering. An idea has just taken possession of me; it seems to me that if the boy is in Paris, he may have found his mother. Perhaps he is with her, or she may at least know where he lodges214. Oh! don't tell me that it is impossible. On the contrary, everything is possible."
Surprised and moved at seeing one who usually evinced so much calmness now giving way to such fancies as these, Mathieu promised that he would make inquiries. Nevertheless, Constance did not get into the cab, but continued gazing at the pavement. And when she once more raised her eyes, she spoke to him entreatingly215, in an embarrassed, humble216 manner: "Do you know what we ought to do? Excuse me, but it is a service I shall never forget. If I could only know the truth at once it might calm me a little. Well, let us drive to that woman's now. Oh! I won't go up; you can go alone, while I wait in the cab at the street corner. And perhaps you will obtain some news."
It was an insane idea, and he was at first minded to prove this to her. Then, on looking at her, she seemed to him so wretched, so painfully tortured, that without a word, making indeed but a kindly gesture of compassion128, he consented. And the cab carried them away.
The large room in which Norine and Cecile lived together was at Grenelle, near the Champ de Mars, in a street at the end of the Rue de la Federation217. They had been there for nearly six years now, and in the earlier days had experienced much worry and wretchedness. But the child whom they had to feed and save had on his side saved them also. The motherly feelings slumbering218 in Norine's heart had awakened219 with passionate intensity220 for that poor little one as soon as she had given him the breast and learnt to watch over him and kiss him. And it was also wondrous221 to see how that unfortunate creature Cecile regarded the child as in some degree her own. He had indeed two mothers, whose thoughts were for him alone. If Norine, during the first few months, had often wearied of spending her days in pasting little boxes together, if even thoughts of flight had at times come to her, she had always been restrained by the puny222 arms that were clasped around her neck. And now she had grown calm, sensible, diligent223, and very expert at the light work which Cecile had taught her. It was a sight to see them both, gay and closely united in their little home, which was like a convent cell, spending their days at their little table; while between them was their child, their one source of life, of hard-working courage and happiness.
Since they had been living thus they had made but one good friend, and this was Madame Angelin. As a delegate of the Poor Relief Service, intrusted with one of the Grenelle districts, Madame Angelin had found Norine among the pensioners224 over whom she was appointed to watch. A feeling of affection for the two mothers, as she called the sisters, had sprung up within her, and she had succeeded in inducing the authorities to prolong the child's allowance of thirty francs a month for a period of three years. Then she had obtained scholastic225 assistance for him, not to mention frequent presents which she brought--clothes, linen226, and even money--for apart from official matters, charitable people often intrusted her with fairly large sums, which she distributed among the most meritorious227 of the poor mothers whom she visited. And even nowadays she occasionally called on the sisters, well pleased to spend an hour in that nook of quiet toil228, which the laughter and the play of the child enlivened. She there felt herself to be far away from the world, and suffered less from her own misfortunes. And Norine kissed her hands, declaring that without her the little household of the two mothers would never have managed to exist.
When Mathieu appeared there, cries of delight arose. He also was a friend, a saviour--the one who, by first taking and furnishing the large room, had founded the household. It was a very clean room, almost coquettish with its white curtains, and rendered very cheerful by its two large windows, which admitted the golden radiance of the afternoon sun. Norine and Cecile were working at the table, cutting out cardboard and pasting it together, while the little one, who had come home from school, sat between them on a high chair, gravely handling a pair of scissors and fully61 persuaded that he was helping229 them.
"Oh! is it you? How kind of you to come to see us! Nobody has called for five days past. Oh! we don't complain of it. We are so happy alone together! Since Irma married a clerk she has treated us with disdain230. Euphrasie can no longer come down her stairs. Victor and his wife live so far away. And as for that rascal231 Alfred, he only comes up here to see if he can find something to steal. Mamma called five days ago to tell us that papa had narrowly escaped being killed at the works on the previous day. Poor mamma! she is so worn out that before long she won't be able to take a step."
While the sisters thus rattled232 on both together, one beginning a sentence and the other finishing it, Mathieu looked at Norine, who, thanks to that peaceful and regular life, had regained233 in her thirty-sixth year a freshness of complexion that suggested a superb, mature fruit gilded234 by the sun. And even the slender Cecile had acquired strength, the strength which love's energy can impart even to a childish form.
All at once, however, she raised a loud exclamation of horror: "Oh! he has hurt himself, the poor little fellow." And at once she snatched the scissors from the child, who sat there laughing with a drop of blood at the tip of one of his fingers.
"Oh! good Heavens," murmured Norine, who had turned quite pale, "I feared that he had slit235 his hand."
For a moment Mathieu wondered if he would serve any useful purpose by fulfilling the strange mission he had undertaken. Then it seemed to him that it might be as well to say at least a word of warning to the young woman who had grown so calm and quiet, thanks to the life of work which she had at last embraced. And he proceeded very prudently, only revealing the truth by slow degrees. Nevertheless, there came a moment when, after reminding Norine of the birth of Alexandre-Honore, it became necessary for him to add that the boy was living.
The mother looked at Mathieu in evident consternation236. "He is living, living! Why do you tell me that? I was so pleased at knowing nothing."
"No doubt; but it is best that you should know. I have even been assured that he must now be in Paris, and I wondered whether he might have found you, and have come to see you."
At this she lost all self-possession. "What! Have come to see me! Nobody has been to see me. Do you think, then, that he might come? But I don't want him to do so! I should go mad! A big fellow of fifteen falling on me like that--a lad I don't know and don't care for! Oh! no, no; prevent it, I beg of you; I couldn't--I couldn't bear it!"
With a gesture of utter distraction237 she had burst into tears, and had caught hold of the little one near her, pressing him to her breast as if to shield him from the other, the unknown son, the stranger, who by his resurrection threatened to thrust himself in some degree in the younger lad's place.
"No, no!" she cried. "I have but one child; there is only one I love; I don't want any other."
Cecile had risen, greatly moved, and desirous of bringing her sister to reason. Supposing that the other son should come, how could she turn him out of doors? At the same time, though her pity was aroused for the abandoned one, she also began to bewail the loss of their happiness. It became necessary for Mathieu to reassure238 them both by saying that he regarded such a visit as most improbable. Without telling them the exact truth, he spoke of the elder lad's disappearance239, adding, however, that he must be ignorant even of his mother's name. Thus, when he left the sisters, they already felt relieved and had again turned to their little boxes while smiling at their son, to whom they had once more intrusted the scissors in order that he might cut out some paper men.
Down below, at the street corner, Constance, in great impatience240, was looking out of the cab window, watching the house-door.
"Well?" she asked, quivering, as soon as Mathieu was near her.
"Well, the mother knows nothing and has seen nobody. It was a foregone conclusion."
She sank down as if from some supreme241 collapse, and her ashen242 face became quite distorted. "You are right, it was certain," said she; "still one always hopes." And with a gesture of despair she added: "It is all ended now. Everything fails me, my last dream is dead."
Mathieu pressed her hand and remained waiting for her to give an address in order that he might transmit it to the driver. But she seemed to have lost her head and to have forgotten where she wished to go. Then, as she asked him if he would like her to set him down anywhere, he replied that he wished to call on the Seguins. The fear of finding herself alone again so soon after the blow which had fallen on her thereupon gave her the idea of paying a visit to Valentine, whom she had not seen for some time past.
"Get in," she said to Mathieu; "we will go to the Avenue d'Antin together."
The vehicle rolled off and heavy silence fell between them; they had not a word to say to one another. However, as they were reaching their destination, Constance exclaimed in a bitter voice: "You must give my husband the good news, and tell him that the boy has disappeared. Ah! what a relief for him!"
Mathieu, on calling in the Avenue d'Antin, had hoped to find the Seguins assembled there. Seguin himself had returned to Paris, nobody knew whence, a week previously, when Andree's hand had been formally asked of him; and after an interview with his uncle Du Hordel he had evinced great willingness and cordiality. Indeed, the wedding had immediately been fixed for the month of May, when the Froments also hoped to marry off their daughter Rose. The two weddings, it was thought, might take place at Chantebled on the same day, which would be delightful243. This being arranged, Ambroise was accepted as fiance, and to his great delight was able to call at the Seguins' every day, about five o'clock, to pay his court according to established usage. It was on account of this that Mathieu fully expected to find the whole family at home.
When Constance asked for Valentine, however, a footman informed her that Madame had gone out. And when Mathieu in his turn asked for Seguin, the man replied that Monsieur was also absent. Only Mademoiselle was at home with her betrothed244. On learning this the visitors went upstairs.
"What! are you left all alone?" exclaimed Mathieu on perceiving the young couple seated side by side on a little couch in the big room on the first floor, which Seguin had once called his "cabinet."
"Why, yes, we are alone in the house," Andree answered with a charming laugh. "We are very pleased at it."
They looked adorable, thus seated side by side--she so gentle, of such tender beauty--he with all the fascinating charm that was blended with his strength.
"Isn't Celeste there at any rate?" again inquired Mathieu.
"No, she has disappeared we don't know where." And again they laughed like free frolicsome245 birds ensconced in the depths of some lonely forest.
"Well, you cannot be very lively all alone like this."
"Oh! we don't feel at all bored, we have so many things to talk about. And then we look at one another. And there is never an end to it all."
Though her heart bled, Constance could not help admiring them. Ah, to think of it! Such grace, such health, such hope! While in her home all was blighted246, withered, destroyed, that race of Froments seemed destined to increase forever! For this again was a conquest--those two children left free to love one another, henceforth alone in that sumptuous247 mansion248 which to-morrow would belong to them. Then, at another thought, Constance turned towards Mathieu: "Are you not also marrying your eldest249 daughter?" she asked.
"Yes, Rose," Mathieu gayly responded. "We shall have a grand fete at Chantebled next May! You must all of you come there."
'Twas indeed as she had thought: numbers prevailed, life proved victorious. Chantebled had been conquered from the Seguins, and now their very house would soon be invaded by Ambroise, while the Beauchene works themselves had already half fallen into the hands of Blaise.
"We will go," she answered, quivering. "And may your good luck continue--that is what I wish you."
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pretext
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| n.借口，托词 | |
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devoted
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| adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的 | |
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lieutenant
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| n.陆军中尉，海军上尉；代理官员，副职官员 | |
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attentive
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retired
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| adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的 | |
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mingled
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| 混合，混入( mingle的过去式和过去分词 )； 混进，与…交往[联系] | |
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humiliation
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determined
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monarch
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lodged
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passionate
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thereby
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reconciliation
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feverish
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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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lapse
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motives
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motive
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persistently
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tranquillity
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extort
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detailed
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confession
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rue
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situated
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feverishness
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impelled
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discreet
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confidential
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confide
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| v.向某人吐露秘密 | |
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32
vice
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| n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的 | |
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33
prudent
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| adj.谨慎的，有远见的，精打细算的 | |
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34
passionately
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| ad.热烈地，激烈地 | |
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35
torment
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| n.折磨；令人痛苦的东西(人)；vt.折磨；纠缠 | |
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36
tormented
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| 饱受折磨的 | |
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37
explicit
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| adj.详述的，明确的；坦率的；显然的 | |
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38
advent
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| n.(重要事件等的)到来，来临 | |
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39
jealousy
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| n.妒忌，嫉妒，猜忌 | |
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40
thither
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| adv.向那里；adj.在那边的，对岸的 | |
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41
entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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42
inquiry
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| n.打听，询问，调查，查问 | |
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43
fixedly
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| adv.固定地；不屈地，坚定不移地 | |
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44
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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45
reverted
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| 恢复( revert的过去式和过去分词 )； 重提； 回到…上； 归还 | |
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46
upbraided
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| v.责备，申斥，谴责( upbraid的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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47
applied
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| adj.应用的；v.应用，适用 | |
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48
charlatans
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| n.冒充内行者，骗子( charlatan的名词复数 ) | |
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49
exasperated
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| adj.恼怒的 | |
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50
succor
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| n.援助，帮助；v.给予帮助 | |
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51
brutal
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| adj.残忍的，野蛮的，不讲理的 | |
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52
vaguely
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| adv.含糊地，暖昧地 | |
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53
reverting
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| 恢复( revert的现在分词 )； 重提； 回到…上； 归还 | |
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54
prospering
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| 成功，兴旺( prosper的现在分词 ) | |
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55
usurpation
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| n.篡位；霸占 | |
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56
penetrating
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| adj.（声音）响亮的，尖锐的adj.（气味）刺激的adj.（思想）敏锐的，有洞察力的 | |
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57
ascertain
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| vt.发现，确定，查明，弄清 | |
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58
decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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59
stammered
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| v.结巴地说出( stammer的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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60
mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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61
fully
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| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
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62
hatred
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| n.憎恶，憎恨，仇恨 | |
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63
conquerors
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| 征服者，占领者( conqueror的名词复数 ) | |
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64
conqueror
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| n.征服者，胜利者 | |
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65
outraged
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| a.震惊的，义愤填膺的 | |
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66
bourgeois
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| adj./n.追求物质享受的(人)；中产阶级分子 | |
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67
rancor
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| n.深仇，积怨 | |
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68
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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69
rupture
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| n.破裂；(关系的)决裂；v.(使)破裂 | |
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70
loathing
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| n.厌恶，憎恨v.憎恨，厌恶( loathe的现在分词)；极不喜欢 | |
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71
redoubtable
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| adj.可敬的；可怕的 | |
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72
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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73
logic
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| n.逻辑(学)；逻辑性 | |
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74
inevitable
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| adj.不可避免的，必然发生的 | |
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75
climax
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| n.顶点；高潮；v.(使)达到顶点 | |
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76
sloth
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| n.[动]树懒；懒惰，懒散 | |
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77
discreetly
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| ad.(言行)审慎地，慎重地 | |
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78
inquiries
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| n.调查( inquiry的名词复数 )；疑问；探究；打听 | |
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79
apprentices
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| 学徒，徒弟( apprentice的名词复数 ) | |
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80
apprentice
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| n.学徒，徒弟 | |
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81
apprenticeship
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| n.学徒身份；学徒期 | |
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82
cemetery
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| n.坟墓，墓地，坟场 | |
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83
massacre
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| n.残杀，大屠杀；v.残杀，集体屠杀 | |
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84
anguish
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| n.(尤指心灵上的)极度痛苦，烦恼 | |
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85
catastrophe
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| n.大灾难，大祸 | |
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86
authorization
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| n.授权，委任状 | |
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87
puffing
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| v.使喷出( puff的现在分词 )；喷着汽（或烟）移动；吹嘘；吹捧 | |
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88
idiotic
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| adj.白痴的 | |
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89
raving
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| adj.说胡话的；疯狂的，怒吼的；非常漂亮的；令人醉心[痴心]的v.胡言乱语(rave的现在分词)n.胡话；疯话adv.胡言乱语地；疯狂地 | |
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90
heeding
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| v.听某人的劝告，听从( heed的现在分词 ) | |
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91
narrative
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| n.叙述，故事；adj.叙事的，故事体的 | |
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92
clenched
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| v.紧握，抓紧，咬紧( clench的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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93
exasperation
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| n.愤慨 | |
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94
recoiled
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| v.畏缩( recoil的过去式和过去分词 )；退缩；报应；返回 | |
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95
embarrassment
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| n.尴尬；使人为难的人(事物)；障碍；窘迫 | |
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96
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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97
frigid
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| adj.寒冷的，凛冽的；冷淡的；拘禁的 | |
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98
procure
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| vt.获得，取得，促成；vi.拉皮条 | |
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99
disposition
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| n.性情，性格；意向，倾向；排列，部署 | |
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100
intercourse
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| n.性交；交流，交往，交际 | |
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101
renewal
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| adj.(契约)延期，续订，更新，复活，重来 | |
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102
partially
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| adv.部分地，从某些方面讲 | |
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103
complexion
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| n.肤色；情况，局面；气质，性格 | |
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104
refinement
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| n.文雅；高尚；精美；精制；精炼 | |
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105
elegance
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| n.优雅；优美，雅致；精致，巧妙 | |
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106
reigned
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| vi.当政，统治（reign的过去式形式） | |
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107
victorious
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| adj.胜利的，得胜的 | |
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108
destined
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| adj.命中注定的；(for)以…为目的地的 | |
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109
vanquish
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| v.征服，战胜；克服；抑制 | |
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110
insanity
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| n.疯狂，精神错乱；极端的愚蠢，荒唐 | |
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111
shrouded
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| v.隐瞒( shroud的过去式和过去分词 )；保密 | |
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112
secrecy
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| n.秘密，保密，隐蔽 | |
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113
preyed
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| v.掠食( prey的过去式和过去分词 )；掠食；折磨；（人）靠欺诈为生 | |
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114
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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115
voracious
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| adj.狼吞虎咽的，贪婪的 | |
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116
apprised
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| v.告知，通知( apprise的过去式和过去分词 )；评价 | |
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117
frightful
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| adj.可怕的；讨厌的 | |
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118
muddle
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| n.困惑，混浊状态；vt.使混乱，使糊涂，使惊呆；vi.胡乱应付，混乱 | |
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119
remorse
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| n.痛恨，悔恨，自责 | |
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120
distressed
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| 痛苦的 | |
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121
crafty
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| adj.狡猾的，诡诈的 | |
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122
pessimism
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| n.悲观者，悲观主义者，厌世者 | |
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123
vilest
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| adj.卑鄙的( vile的最高级 )；可耻的；极坏的；非常讨厌的 | |
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124
previously
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| adv.以前，先前（地） | |
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125
cavalry
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| n.骑兵；轻装甲部队 | |
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126
spouse
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| n.配偶(指夫或妻) | |
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127
compassionate
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| adj.有同情心的，表示同情的 | |
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128
compassion
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| n.同情，怜悯 | |
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129
immorality
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| n. 不道德, 无道义 | |
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130
piety
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| n.虔诚，虔敬 | |
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131
vicissitudes
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| n.变迁，世事变化；变迁兴衰( vicissitude的名词复数 )；盛衰兴废 | |
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132
repentant
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| adj.对…感到悔恨的 | |
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133
vouching
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| n.（复核付款凭单等）核单v.保证( vouch的现在分词 )；担保；确定；确定地说 | |
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134
unwilling
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| adj.不情愿的 | |
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135
derive
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| v.取得；导出；引申；来自；源自；出自 | |
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136
impeding
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| a.(尤指坏事)即将发生的，临近的 | |
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137
pillage
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| v.抢劫；掠夺；n.抢劫，掠夺；掠夺物 | |
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138
prudently
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| adv. 谨慎地，慎重地 | |
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139
gratitude
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| adj.感激，感谢 | |
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140
collapse
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| vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷 | |
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141
docile
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| adj.驯服的，易控制的，容易教的 | |
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142
feigning
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| 假装，伪装( feign的现在分词 )； 捏造（借口、理由等） | |
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143
embittered
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| v.使怨恨，激怒( embitter的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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144
promptly
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| adv.及时地，敏捷地 | |
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145
pacify
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| vt.使(某人)平静(或息怒)；抚慰 | |
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146
apron
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| n.围裙；工作裙 | |
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147
pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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148
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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149
desperately
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| adv.极度渴望地，绝望地，孤注一掷地 | |
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150
sundry
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| adj.各式各样的，种种的 | |
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151
rheumatism
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| n.风湿病 | |
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152
relinquish
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| v.放弃，撤回，让与，放手 | |
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153
worthy
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| adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的 | |
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154
kindly
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| adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地 | |
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155
sewer
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| n.排水沟，下水道 | |
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156
shaft
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| n.(工具的)柄，杆状物 | |
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157
rosy
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| adj.美好的，乐观的，玫瑰色的 | |
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158
wheedled
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| v.骗取（某物），哄骗（某人干某事）( wheedle的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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159
feverishly
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| adv. 兴奋地 | |
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160
doorway
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| n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径 | |
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161
leisurely
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| adj.悠闲的；从容的，慢慢的 | |
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162
harassed
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| adj. 疲倦的，厌烦的 动词harass的过去式和过去分词 | |
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163
abominably
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| adv. 可恶地，可恨地，恶劣地 | |
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164
filthy
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| adj.卑劣的；恶劣的，肮脏的 | |
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165
manure
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| n.粪，肥，肥粒；vt.施肥 | |
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166
paralytic
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| adj. 瘫痪的 n. 瘫痪病人 | |
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167
contented
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| adj.满意的，安心的，知足的 | |
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168
fowls
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| 鸟( fowl的名词复数 )； 禽肉； 既不是这； 非驴非马 | |
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169
scythe
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| n. 长柄的大镰刀，战车镰； v. 以大镰刀割 | |
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170
wholesale
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| n.批发；adv.以批发方式；vt.批发，成批出售 | |
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171
assassination
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| n.暗杀；暗杀事件 | |
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172
monstrous
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| adj.巨大的；恐怖的；可耻的，丢脸的 | |
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173
withered
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| adj. 枯萎的，干瘪的，（人身体的部分器官）因病萎缩的或未发育良好的 动词wither的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
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174
beak
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| n.鸟嘴，茶壶嘴，钩形鼻 | |
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175
wailing
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| v.哭叫，哀号( wail的现在分词 )；沱 | |
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176
wail
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| vt./vi.大声哀号，恸哭；呼啸，尖啸 | |
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177
avarice
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| n.贪婪；贪心 | |
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178
warfare
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| n.战争(状态)；斗争；冲突 | |
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179
killing
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| n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财 | |
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180
perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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181
discretion
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| n.谨慎；随意处理 | |
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182
ruses
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| n.诡计，计策( ruse的名词复数 ) | |
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183
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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184
briefly
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| adv.简单地，简短地 | |
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185
resolute
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| adj.坚决的，果敢的 | |
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186
formerly
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| adv.从前，以前 | |
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187
dignified
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| a.可敬的，高贵的 | |
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188
possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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189
decorative
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| adj.装饰的，可作装饰的 | |
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190
gorged
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| v.（用食物把自己）塞饱，填饱( gorge的过去式和过去分词 )；作呕 | |
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191
distinguished
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| adj.卓越的，杰出的，著名的 | |
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192
laden
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| adj.装满了的；充满了的；负了重担的；苦恼的 | |
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193
whining
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| n. 抱怨，牢骚 v. 哭诉，发牢骚 | |
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194
incessantly
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| ad.不停地 | |
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195
dingy
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| adj.昏暗的，肮脏的 | |
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196
nonchalance
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| n.冷淡，漠不关心 | |
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197
tainted
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| adj.腐坏的；污染的；沾污的；感染的v.使变质( taint的过去式和过去分词 )；使污染；败坏；被污染，腐坏，败坏 | |
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198
exclamation
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| n.感叹号，惊呼，惊叹词 | |
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199
axe
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| n.斧子；v.用斧头砍，削减 | |
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200
dealing
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| n.经商方法，待人态度 | |
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201
enjoyment
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| n.乐趣；享有；享用 | |
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202
gendarmes
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| n.宪兵，警官( gendarme的名词复数 ) | |
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203
scoured
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| 走遍（某地）搜寻（人或物）( scour的过去式和过去分词 )； （用力）刷； 擦净； 擦亮 | |
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204
vengeance
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| n.报复，报仇，复仇 | |
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205
precisely
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| adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地 | |
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206
liar
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| n.说谎的人 | |
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207
bully
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| n.恃强欺弱者，小流氓；vt.威胁，欺侮 | |
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208
accusation
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| n.控告，指责，谴责 | |
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209
obsequious
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| adj.谄媚的，奉承的，顺从的 | |
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210
cleanse
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| vt.使清洁，使纯洁，清洗 | |
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211
nausea
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| n.作呕，恶心；极端的憎恶(或厌恶) | |
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212
pensively
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| adv.沉思地，焦虑地 | |
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213
stranding
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| n.（船只）搁浅v.使滞留，使搁浅( strand的现在分词 ) | |
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214
lodges
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| v.存放( lodge的第三人称单数 )；暂住；埋入；（权利、权威等）归属 | |
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215
entreatingly
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| 哀求地，乞求地 | |
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216
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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217
federation
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| n.同盟，联邦，联合，联盟，联合会 | |
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218
slumbering
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| 微睡，睡眠（slumber的现在分词形式） | |
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219
awakened
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| v.（使）醒( awaken的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）觉醒；弄醒；（使）意识到 | |
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220
intensity
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| n.强烈，剧烈；强度；烈度 | |
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221
wondrous
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| adj.令人惊奇的，奇妙的；adv.惊人地；异乎寻常地；令人惊叹地 | |
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222
puny
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| adj.微不足道的，弱小的 | |
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223
diligent
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| adj.勤勉的，勤奋的 | |
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224
pensioners
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| n.领取退休、养老金或抚恤金的人( pensioner的名词复数 ) | |
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225
scholastic
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| adj.学校的，学院的，学术上的 | |
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226
linen
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| n.亚麻布，亚麻线，亚麻制品；adj.亚麻布制的，亚麻的 | |
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227
meritorious
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| adj.值得赞赏的 | |
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228
toil
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| vi.辛劳工作，艰难地行动；n.苦工，难事 | |
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229
helping
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| n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的 | |
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230
disdain
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| n.鄙视，轻视；v.轻视，鄙视，不屑 | |
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231
rascal
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| n.流氓；不诚实的人 | |
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232
rattled
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| 慌乱的，恼火的 | |
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233
regained
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| 复得( regain的过去式和过去分词 )； 赢回； 重回； 复至某地 | |
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234
gilded
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| a.镀金的，富有的 | |
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235
slit
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| n.狭长的切口；裂缝；vt.切开，撕裂 | |
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236
consternation
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| n.大为吃惊，惊骇 | |
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237
distraction
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| n.精神涣散，精神不集中，消遣，娱乐 | |
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238
reassure
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| v.使放心，使消除疑虑 | |
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239
disappearance
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| n.消失，消散，失踪 | |
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240
impatience
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| n.不耐烦，急躁 | |
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241
supreme
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| adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的 | |
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242
ashen
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| adj.灰的 | |
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243
delightful
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| adj.令人高兴的，使人快乐的 | |
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244
betrothed
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| n. 已订婚者 动词betroth的过去式和过去分词 | |
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245
frolicsome
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| adj.嬉戏的，闹着玩的 | |
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246
blighted
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| adj.枯萎的，摧毁的 | |
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247
sumptuous
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| adj.豪华的，奢侈的，华丽的 | |
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248
mansion
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| n.大厦，大楼；宅第 | |
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249
eldest
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| adj.最年长的，最年老的 | |
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