Margaret hastened to her chamber1. Was the air oppressive? She opened the window and sat down by it. A soft south wind was blowing, eating away the remaining patches of snow; the sky was full of fleecy clouds. Where do these days come from in January? Why should nature be in a melting mood? Margaret instinctively2 would have preferred a wild storm, violence, anything but this elemental languor3. Her emotion was incredible to herself.
It was only an incident. It had all happened in a moment, and it was over. But it was the first of the kind in a woman's life. The thrilling, mysterious word had been dropped into a woman's heart. Hereafter she would be changed. She never again would be as she was before. Would her heart be hardened or softened4 by the experience? She did not love him; that was clear. She had done right; that was clear. But he had said he loved her. Unwittingly she was following him in her thought. She had rejected plain John Lyon, amiable5, intelligent, unselfish, kindly6, deferential7. She had rejected also the Earl of Chisholm, a conspicuous8 position, an honorable family, luxury, a great opportunity in life. It came to the girl in a flash. She moved nervously9 in her chair. She put down the thought as unworthy of her. But she had entertained it for a moment. In that second, ambition had entered the girl's soul. She had a glimpse of her own nature that seemed new to her. Was this, then, the meaning of her restlessness, of her charitable activities, of her unconfessed dreams of some career? Ambition had entered her soul in a definite form. She expelled it. It would come again in some form or other. She was indignant at herself as she thought of it. How odd it was! Her privacy had been invaded. The even tenor10 of her life had been broken. Henceforth would she be less or more sensitive to the suggestion of love, to the allurements11 of ambition? Margaret tried, in accordance with her nature, to be sincere with herself.
After all, what nonsense it was! Nothing really had happened. A stranger of a few weeks before had declared himself. She did not love him; he was no more to her than any other man. It was a common occurrence. Her judgment12 accorded with her feeling in what she had done. How was she to know that she had made a mistake, if mistake it was? How was she to know that this hour was a crisis in her life? Surely the little tumult13 would pass; surely the little whisper of worldliness could not disturb her ideals. But all the power of exclusion14 in her mind could not exclude the returning thought of what might have been if she had loved him. Alas15! in that moment was born in her heart something that would make the idea of love less simple than it had been in her mind. She was heart-free, but her nature was too deep not to be profoundly affected16 by this experience.
Looking back upon this afternoon in the light of after-years, she probably could not feel--no one could say--that she had done wrong. How was she to tell? Why is it that to do the right thing is often to make the mistake of a life? Nothing could have been nobler than for Margaret indignantly to put aside a temptation that her heart told her was unworthy. And yet if she had yielded to it?
I ought to ask pardon, perhaps, for dwelling17 upon a thing so slight as the entrance of a thought in a woman's life. For as to Margaret, she seemed unchanged. She made no sign that anything unusual had occurred. We only knew that Mr. Lyon went away less cheerful than he usually was, that he said nothing of returning in response to our invitations, and that he seemed to anticipate nothing but the fulfillment of a duty in his visit to Washington.
What had happened was regarded as only an episode. In fact, however, I doubt if there are any episodes in our lives, any asides, that do not permanently18 affect our entire career. Are not the episodes, the casual thoughts, the fortuitous, unplanned meetings, the brief and maybe at the moment unnoted events, those which exercise the most influence on our destiny? To all observation the career of Lyon, and not of Margaret, was most affected by their interview. But often the implanting of an idea in the mind is more potent20 than the frustration21 of a plan or the gratification of a desire, so hidden are the causes that make character.
For some time I saw little of Margaret. Affairs in which I was not alone or chiefly concerned took me from home. One of the most curious and interesting places in the world is a Chamber in the business heart of New York--if that scene of struggle and passion can be said to have a heart--situated midway where the currents of eagerness to acquire the money of other people, not to make it, ceaselessly meet and dash against each other. If we could suppose there was a web covering this region, spun22 by the most alert and busy of men to catch those less alert and more productive, here in this Chamber would sit the ingenious spiders. But the analogy fails, for spiders do not prey23 upon each other. Scientists say that the human system has two nerve-centres--one in the brain, to which and from which are telegraphed all movements depending upon the will, and another in the small of the back, the centre of the involuntary operations of respiration24, digestion25, and so on. It may be fanciful to suppose that in the national system Washington is the one nervous centre and New York the other. And yet it does sometimes seem that the nerves and ganglions in the small of the back in the commercial metropolis26 act automatically and without any visible intervention27 of intelligence. For all that, their operations may be as essential as the other, in which the will-power sometimes gets into a deadlock28, and sometimes telegraphs the most eccentric and incomprehensible orders. Puzzled by these contradictions, some philosophers have said that there may be somewhere outside of these two material centres another power that keeps affairs moving along with some steadiness.
This noble Chamber has a large irregular area of floor space, is very high, and has running round three sides a narrow elevated gallery, from which spectators can look down upon the throng29 below. Upon a raised dais at one side sits the presiding genius of the place, who rules very much as Jupiter was supposed to govern the earthly swarms30, by letting things run and occasionally launching a thunderbolt. High up on one side, in an Olympian seclusion31, away from the noise and the strife32, sits a Board, calm as fate, and panoplied33 in the responsibility of chance, whose function seems to be that of switch-shifters in their windowed cubby at a network of railway intersections--to prevent collisions.
At both ends of the floor and along one side are narrow railed-off spaces full of clerks figuring at desks, of telegraph operators clicking their machines, of messenger-boys arriving and departing in haste, of unprivileged operators nervously watching the scene and waiting the chance of a word with some one on the floor; through noiseless swinging doors men are entering and departing every moment--men in a hurry, men with anxious faces, conscious that the fate of the country is in their hands. On the floor itself are five hundred, perhaps a thousand, men, gathered for the most part in small groups about little stands upon the summit of which is a rallying legend, talking, laughing, screaming, good-natured, indifferent, excited, running hither and thither34 in response to changing figures in the checker-board squares on the great wall opposite--calm, cynical35 one moment, the next violently agitated36, shouting, gesticulating, rushing together, shaking their fists in a tumult of passion which presently subsides37.
The swarms ebb38 and flow about these little stands--bees, not bringing any honey, but attracted to the hive where it is rumored40 most honey is to be had. By habit some always stand or sit about a particular hive, waiting for the show of comb. By-and-by there is a stir; the crowd thickens; one beardless youth shouts out the figure "one-half"; another howls, "three-eighths." The first one nods. It is done. The electric wire running up the stand quivers and takes the figure, passes it to all the other wires, transmits it to every office and hotel in the city, to all the "tickers" in ten thousand chambers41 and "bucketshops" and offices in the republic. Suddenly on the bulletin-boards in New Orleans, Chicago, San Francisco, Podunk, Liverpool, appear the mysterious "three-eighths," electrifying42 the watchers of these boards, who begin to jabber43 and gesticulate and "transact44 business." It is wonderful.
What induced the beardless young man to make this "investment" in "three-eighths"--who can tell? Perhaps he had heard, as he came into the room, that the Secretary of the Treasury45 was going to make a call of Fives; perhaps he had heard that Bismarck had said that the French blood was too thin and needed a little more iron; perhaps he had heard that a norther in Texas had killed a herd46 of cattle, or that two grasshoppers47 had been seen in the neighborhood of Fargo, or that Jay Hawker had been observed that morning hurrying to his brokers48 with a scowl49 on his face and his hat pulled over his eyes. The young man sold what he did not have, and the other young man bought what he will never get.
This is business of the higher and almost immaterial sort, and has an element of faith in it, and, as one may say, belief in the unseen, whence it is characterized by an expression--"dealing in futures50." It is not gambling51, for there are no "chips" used, and there is no roulette-table in sight, and there are no piles of money or piles of anything else. It is not a lottery52, for there is no wheel at which impartial53 men preside to insure honest drawings, and there are no predestined blanks and prizes, and the man who buys and the man who sells can do something, either in the newspapers or elsewhere, to affect the worth of the investment, whereas in a lottery everything depends upon the turn of the blind wheel. It is not necessary, however, to attempt a defense54 of the Chamber. It is one of the recognized ways of becoming important and powerful in this world. The privilege of the floor--a seat, as it is called--in this temple of the god Chance to be Rich is worth more than a seat in the Cabinet. It is not only true that a fortune may be made here in a day or lost here in a day, but that a nod and a wink55 here enable people all over the land to ruin others or ruin themselves with celerity. The relation of the Chamber to the business of the country is therefore evident. If an earthquake should suddenly sink this temple and all its votaries56 into the bowels57 of the earth, with all its nervousness and all its electricity, it is appalling58 to think what would become of the business of the country.
Not far from this vast Chamber, where great financial operations are conducted on the highest principles of honor, and with the strictest regard to the Marquis of Dusenbury's rules, there is another less pretentious59 Chamber, known as "open," a sort of overflow60 meeting. Those who have not quite left hope behind can go in here. Here are the tickers communicating with the Chamber, tended by lads, who transfer the figures to big blackboards on the wall. In front of these boards sit, from morning to night, rows, perhaps relays, of men intently or listlessly watching the figures. Many of them, who seldom make a sign, come here from habit; they have nowhere else to go. Some of them were once lords in the great Chamber, who have been, as the phrase is, "cleaned out." There is a gray-bearded veteran in seedy clothes, with sunken fiery61 eyes, who was once many times a millionaire, was a power in the Board, followed by reporters, had a palace in the Avenue, and drove to his office with coachman and footman in livery, and his wife headed the list of charities. Now he spends his old age watching this blackboard, and considers it a good day that brings him five dollars and his car-fare. At one end of the low-ceiled apartment are busy clerks behind a counter, alert and cheerful. If one should go through a side door and down a passage he might encounter the smell of rum. Smart young men, clad in the choicest raiment from the misfit counters, with greed stamped on their astute62 faces, bustle63 about, watch the blackboards, and make investments with each other. Middle-aged64 men in slouch hats lounge around with hungry eyes. The place is feverish65 rather than exciting. A tall fellow, whose gait and clothes proclaim him English, with a hard face and lack-lustre eyes, saunters about; his friends at home suppose he is making his fortune in America. A dapper young gentleman, quite in the mode, and with the quick air of prosperity, rapidly enters the room and confers with a clerk at the counter. He has the run of the Chamber, and is from the great house of Flamm and Slamm. Perhaps he is taking a "flier" on his own account, perhaps he represents his house in a side transaction; there are so many ways open to enterprising young men in the city; at any rate, his entrance is regarded as significant: This is not a hospital for the broken down and "cleaned out" of the Chamber, but it is a place of business, which is created and fed by the incessant66 "ticker." How men existed or did any business at all before the advent67 of the "ticker" is a wonder.
But the Chamber, the creator of low-pressure and high-pressure, the inspirer of the "ticker," is the great generator68 of business. Here I found Henderson in the morning hour, and he came up to me on the call of a messenger. He approached, nonchalant and smiling as usual. "Do you see that man," he said, as we stood a moment looking down, "sitting there on a side bench--big body, small head, hair grayish, long beard parted--apparently taking no interest in anything?
"That's Flink, who made the corner in O. B.--one of the longest-headed operators in the Chamber. He is about the only man who dare try a hold with Jay Hawker. And for some reason or another, though they have apparent tussles69, Hawker rather favors him. Five years ago he could just raise money enough to get into the Chamber. Now he is reckoned at anywhere from five to ten millions. I was at his home the other night. Everybody was there. I had a queer feeling, in all the magnificence, that the sheriff might be in there in ten days. Yet he may own a good slice of the island in ten years. His wife, whom I complimented, and who thanked me for coming, said she had invited none but the reshershy."
"He looks like a rascal," I ventured to remark.
"Oh, that is not a word used in the Chamber. He is called a 'daisy.' I was put into his pew in church the other Sunday, and the preacher described him and his methods so exactly that I didn't dare look at him. When we came out he whispered, 'That was rather hard on Slack; he must have felt it.' These men rather like that sort of preaching."
"I don't come here often," Henderson resumed, as we walked away. "The market is flat today. There promised to be a little flurry in L. and P., and I looked in for a customer."
We walked to his down-town club to lunch. Everybody, I noticed, seemed to know Henderson, and his presence was hailed with a cordial smile, a good-humored nod, or a hearty70 grasp of the hand. I never knew a more prepossessing man; his bonhomie was infectious. Though his demeanor71 was perfectly72 quiet and modest, he carried the air of good-fellowship. He was entirely73 frank, cordial, and had that sort of sincerity74 which one can afford to have who does not take life too seriously. Tall--at least six feet-with a well-shaped head set on square shoulders, brown hair inclined to curl, large blue eyes which could be merry or exceedingly grave, I thought him a picture of manly75 beauty. Good-natured, clever, prosperous, and not yet thirty. What a dower!
After we had disposed of our little matter of business, which I confess was not exactly satisfactory to me, although when I was told that "the first bondholders will be obliged to come in," he added that "of course we shall take care of our friends," we went to his bachelor quarters uptown. "I want you to see," he said, "how a hermit76 lives."
The apartments were not my idea of a hermitage--except in the city. A charming library, spacious77, but so full as to be cozy78, with an open fire; chamber, dressing-room, and bathroom connecting, furnished with everything that a luxurious79 habit could suggest and good taste would not refuse, made a retreat that could almost reconcile a sinner to solitude80. There were a few good paintings, many rare engravings, on the walls, a notable absence, even in the sleeping-room, of photographs of actresses and professional beauties, but here and there souvenirs of travel and evidences that the gentler sex had contributed the skill of their slender fingers to the cheerfulness of the bachelor's home. Scattered81 about were the daily and monthly products of the press, the newest sensations, the things talked about at dinners, but the walls for the most part were lined with books that are recognized as the proper possessions of the lover of books, and most of them in exquisite82 bindings. Less care, I thought, had been given in the collection to "sets" of "standards" than to those that are rare, or for some reason, either from distinguished84 ownership or autograph notes, have a peculiar85 value.
In this atmosphere, when we were prepared to take our ease, the talk was no longer of stocks, or railways, or schemes, but of books. Whether or not Henderson loved literature I did not then make up my mind, but he had a passion for books, especially for rare and first editions; and the delight with which he exhibited his library, the manner in which he handled the books that he took down one after the other, the sparkle in his eyes over a "find" or a bargain, gave me a side of his character quite different from that I should have gained by seeing him "in the street" only. He had that genuine respect and affection for a "book" which has become almost traditional in these days of cheap and flimsy publications, a taste held by scholars and collectors, and quite beyond the popular comprehension. The respect for a book is essential to the dignity and consideration of the place of literature in the world, and when books are treated with no more regard than the newspaper, it is a sign that literature is losing its power. Even the collector, who may read little and care more for the externals than for the soul of his favorites, by the honor he pays them, by the solicitude86 he expends87 upon their preservation88 without spot, by the lavishness89 of expense upon binding83, contributes much to the dignity of that art which preserves for the race the continuity of its thought and development. If Henderson loved books merely as a collector whose taste for luxury and expense takes this direction, his indulgence could not but have a certain refining influence. I could not see that he cultivated any decided90 specialty91, but he had many rare copies which had cost fabulous92 prices, the possession of which gives a reputation to any owner. "My shelves of Americana," he said, "are nothing like Goodloe's, who has a lot of scarce things that I am hoping to get hold of some day. But there's a little thing" (it was a small coffee-colored tract39 of six leaves, upon which the binder93 of the city had exercised his utmost skill) "which Goodloe offered me five hundred dollars for the other day. I picked it up in a New Hampshire garret." Not the least interesting part of the collection was first editions of American authors--a person's value to a collector is often in proportion to his obscurity--and what most delighted him among them were certain thin volumes of poetry, which the authors since becoming famous had gone to a good deal of time and expense to suppress. The world seems to experience a lively pleasure in holding a man to his early follies94. There were many examples of superb binding, especially of exquisite tooling on hog-skin covers--the appreciation95 of which has lately greatly revived. The recent rage for bindings has been a sore trouble to students and collectors in special lines, raising the prices of books far beyond their intrinsic value. I had a charming afternoon in Henderson's library, an enjoyment96 not much lessened97 at the time by experiencing in it, with him, rather a sense of luxury than of learning. It is true, one might pass an hour altogether different in the garret of a student, and come away with quite other impressions of the pageant98 of life.
At five o'clock his stylish99 trap was sent around from the boarding stable, and we drove in the Park till twilight100. Henderson handling the reins101, and making a part of that daily display which is too heterogeneous102 to have distinction, reverted103 quite naturally to the tone of worldliness and tolerant cynicism which had characterized his conversation in the morning. If the Park and the moving assemblage had not the air of distinction, it had that of expense, which is quite as attractive to many. Here, as downtown, my companion seemed to know and be known by everybody, returning the familiar salutes104 of brokers and club men, receiving gracious bows from stout105 matrons, smiles and nods from pretty women, and more formal recognition from stately and stiff elderly men, who sat bolt-upright beside their wives and tried to look like millionaires. For every passerby106 Henderson had a quick word of characterization sufficiently107 amusing, and about many a story which illuminated108 the social life of the day. It was wonderful how many of this chance company had little "histories"--comic, tragic109, pitiful, interesting enough for the pages of a novel.
"There is a young lady"--Henderson touched his hat, and I caught a glimpse of golden hair and a flash of dark eyes out of a mass of furs--"who has no history: the world is all before her."
"Who is that?"
"The daughter of old Eschelle--Carmen Eschelle--the banker and politician, you remember; had a diplomatic position abroad, and the girl was educated in Europe. She is very clever. She and her mother have more money than they ought to know what to do with."
"That was the celebrated110 Jay Hawker" ( a moment after), "in the modest coupe--not much display about him."
"Is he recognized by respectable people?"
"Recognized?" Henderson laughed. "He's a power. There are plenty of people who live by trying to guess what he is going to do. Hawker isn't such a bad fellow. Other people have used the means he used to get rich and haven't succeeded. They are not held up to point a moral. The trouble is that Hawker succeeded. Of course, it's a game. He plays as fair as anybody."
"Yes," Henderson resumed, walking his horses in sight of the obelisk111, which suggested the long continuance of the human race, "it is the same old game, and it is very interesting to those who are in it. Outsiders think it is all greed. In the Chamber it is a good deal the love of the game, to watch each other, to find out a man's plans, to circumvent112 him, to thwart113 him, to start a scheme and manipulate it, to catch somebody, to escape somebody; it is a perpetual excitement."
"The machine in the Chamber appears to run very smoothly," I said. "Oh, that is a public register and indicator114. The system back of it is comprehensive, and appears to be complicated, but it is really very simple. Spend an hour some day in the office of Flamm and Slamm, and you will see a part of the system. There are, always a number of men watching the blackboard, figures on which are changed every minute by the attendants. Telegrams are constantly arriving from every part of the Union, from all over the continent, from all the centres in Europe, which are read by some one connected with the firm, and then displayed for the guidance of the watchers of the blackboard. Upon this news one or another says, 'I think I'll buy,' or 'I think I'll sell,' so and so. His order is transmitted instantly to the Chamber. In two minutes the result comes back and appears upon the blackboard."
"But where does the news come from?"
"From the men whose special business it is to pick it up or make it. They are inside of politics, of the railways, of the weather bureau, everywhere. The other day in Chicago I sat some time in a broker's office with others watching the market, and dropped into conversation with a bright young fellow, at whose right hand, across the rail, was a telegraph operator at the end of a private wire. Soon a man came in quietly, and whispered in the ear of my neighbor and went out. The young fellow instantly wrote a despatch115 and handed it to the operator, and turning to me, said, 'Now watch the blackboard.'
"In an incredibly short space of time a fall in a leading railway showed on the blackboard. 'What was it?' I asked. 'Why, that man was the general freight manager of the A. B. road. He told me that they were to cut rates. I sent it to New York by a private wire.' I learned by further conversation that my young gentleman was a Manufacturer of News, and that such was his address and intelligence that though he was not a member of the broker's firm, he made ten thousand a year in the business. Soon another man came in, whispered his news, and went away. Another despatch--another responsive change in the figures. 'That,' explained my companion, 'was a man connected with the weather bureau. He told me that there would be a heavy frost tonight in the Northwest.'"
"Do they sell the weather?" I asked, very much amused.
"Yes, twice; once over a private wire, and then to the public, after the value of it has been squeezed out, in the shape of predictions. Oh, the weather bureau is worth all the money it costs, for business purposes. It is a great auxiliary116."
Dining that evening with Henderson at his club, I had further opportunity to study a representative man. He was of a good New Hampshire family, exceedingly respectable without being distinguished. Over the chimney-place in the old farmhouse117 hung a rusty118 Queen Anne that had been at the taking of Louisburg. His grandfather shouldered a musket119 at Bunker Hill; his father, the youngest son, had been a judge as well as a farmer, and noted19 for his shrewdness and reticence120. Rodney, inheriting the thrift121 of his ancestors, had pushed out from his home, adapting this thrift to the modern methods of turning it to account. He had brought also to the city the stamina122 of three generations of plain living--a splendid capital, by which the city is constantly reinforced, and which one generation does not exhaust, except by the aid of extreme dissipation. With sound health, good ability, and fair education, he had the cheerful temperament123 which makes friends, and does not allow their misfortunes to injure his career. Generous by impulse, he would rather do a favor than not, and yet he would be likely to let nothing interfere124 with any object he had in view for himself. Inheriting a conventional respect for religion and morality, he was not so bigoted125 as to rebuke126 the gayety of a convivial127 company, nor so intractable as to make him an uncomfortable associate in any scheme, according to the modern notions of business, that promised profit. His engaging manner made him popular, and his good-natured adroitness128 made him successful. If his early experience of life caused him to be cynical, he was not bitterly so; his cynicism was of the tolerant sort that does not condemn129 the world and withdraw from it, but courts it and makes the most of it, lowering his private opinion of men in proportion as he is successful in the game he plays with them. At this period I could see that he had determined130 to be successful, and that he had not determined to be unscrupulous. He would only drift with the tide that made for fortune. He enjoyed the world--a sufficient reason why the world should like him. His business morality was gauged131 by what other people do in similar circumstances. In short, he was a product of the period since the civil war closed, that great upheaval132 of patriotic133 feeling and sacrifice, which ended in so much expansion and so many opportunities. If he had remained in New Hampshire he would probably have been a successful politician, successful not only in keeping in place, but in teaching younger aspirants134 that serving the country is a very good way to the attainment135 of luxury and the consideration that money brings. But having chosen the law as a stepping-stone to the lobby, to speculation136, and the manipulation of chances, he had a poor opinion of politics and of politicians. His success thus far, though considerable, had not been sufficient to create for him powerful enemies, so that he may be said to be admired by all and feared by none. In the general opinion he was a downright good fellow and amazingly clever.
收听单词发音 |
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chamber
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| n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所 | |
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instinctively
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| adv.本能地 | |
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languor
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| n.无精力，倦怠 | |
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softened
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| （使）变软( soften的过去式和过去分词 )； 缓解打击； 缓和； 安慰 | |
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amiable
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| adj.和蔼可亲的，友善的，亲切的 | |
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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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deferential
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| adj. 敬意的，恭敬的 | |
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conspicuous
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| adj.明眼的，惹人注目的；炫耀的，摆阔气的 | |
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nervously
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| adv.神情激动地，不安地 | |
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tenor
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| n.男高音（歌手），次中音（乐器），要旨，大意 | |
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allurements
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| n.诱惑( allurement的名词复数 )；吸引；诱惑物；有诱惑力的事物 | |
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judgment
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| n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见 | |
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tumult
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| n.喧哗；激动，混乱；吵闹 | |
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exclusion
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| n.拒绝，排除，排斥，远足，远途旅行 | |
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alas
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| int.唉(表示悲伤、忧愁、恐惧等) | |
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affected
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| adj.不自然的，假装的 | |
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dwelling
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| n.住宅，住所，寓所 | |
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permanently
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| adv.永恒地，永久地，固定不变地 | |
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noted
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| adj.著名的，知名的 | |
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potent
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| adj.强有力的，有权势的；有效力的 | |
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frustration
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| n.挫折，失败，失效，落空 | |
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spun
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| v.纺，杜撰，急转身 | |
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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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respiration
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| n.呼吸作用；一次呼吸；植物光合作用 | |
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digestion
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| n.消化，吸收 | |
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metropolis
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| n.首府；大城市 | |
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intervention
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| n.介入，干涉，干预 | |
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28
deadlock
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| n.僵局，僵持 | |
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29
throng
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| n.人群，群众；v.拥挤，群集 | |
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30
swarms
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| 蜂群，一大群( swarm的名词复数 ) | |
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31
seclusion
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| n.隐遁，隔离 | |
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32
strife
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| n.争吵，冲突，倾轧，竞争 | |
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33
panoplied
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| adj.全套披甲的，装饰漂亮的 | |
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34
thither
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| adv.向那里；adj.在那边的，对岸的 | |
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35
cynical
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| adj.(对人性或动机)怀疑的，不信世道向善的 | |
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36
agitated
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| adj.被鼓动的，不安的 | |
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37
subsides
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| v.（土地）下陷（因在地下采矿）( subside的第三人称单数 )；减弱；下降至较低或正常水平；一下子坐在椅子等上 | |
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38
ebb
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| vi.衰退，减退；n.处于低潮，处于衰退状态 | |
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39
tract
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| n.传单，小册子，大片(土地或森林) | |
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40
rumored
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| adj.传说的，谣传的v.传闻( rumor的过去式和过去分词 )；[古]名誉；咕哝；[古]喧嚷 | |
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41
chambers
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| n.房间( chamber的名词复数 )；（议会的）议院；卧室；会议厅 | |
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42
electrifying
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| v.使电气化( electrify的现在分词 )；使兴奋 | |
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43
jabber
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| v.快而不清楚地说；n.吱吱喳喳 | |
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44
transact
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| v.处理；做交易；谈判 | |
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45
treasury
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| n.宝库；国库，金库；文库 | |
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46
herd
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| n.兽群，牧群；vt.使集中，把…赶在一起 | |
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47
grasshoppers
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| n.蚱蜢( grasshopper的名词复数 )；蝗虫；蚂蚱；（孩子）矮小的 | |
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48
brokers
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| n.（股票、外币等）经纪人( broker的名词复数 )；中间人；代理商；（订合同的）中人v.做掮客（或中人等）( broker的第三人称单数 )；作为权力经纪人进行谈判；以中间人等身份安排… | |
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49
scowl
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| vi.(at)生气地皱眉，沉下脸，怒视；n.怒容 | |
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50
futures
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| n.期货，期货交易 | |
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51
gambling
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| n.赌博；投机 | |
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52
lottery
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| n.抽彩；碰运气的事，难于算计的事 | |
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53
impartial
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| adj.(in,to)公正的，无偏见的 | |
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54
defense
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| n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩 | |
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55
wink
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| n.眨眼，使眼色，瞬间；v.眨眼，使眼色，闪烁 | |
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56
votaries
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| n.信徒( votary的名词复数 )；追随者；（天主教）修士；修女 | |
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57
bowels
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| n.肠，内脏，内部；肠( bowel的名词复数 )；内部，最深处 | |
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58
appalling
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| adj.骇人听闻的，令人震惊的，可怕的 | |
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59
pretentious
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| adj.自命不凡的，自负的，炫耀的 | |
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60
overflow
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| v.(使)外溢，(使)溢出；溢出，流出，漫出 | |
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61
fiery
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| adj.燃烧着的，火红的；暴躁的；激烈的 | |
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62
astute
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| adj.机敏的，精明的 | |
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63
bustle
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| v.喧扰地忙乱，匆忙，奔忙；n.忙碌；喧闹 | |
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64
middle-aged
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| adj.中年的 | |
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65
feverish
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| adj.发烧的，狂热的，兴奋的 | |
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66
incessant
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| adj.不停的，连续的 | |
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67
advent
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| n.(重要事件等的)到来，来临 | |
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68
generator
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| n.发电机，发生器 | |
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69
tussles
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| n.扭打，争斗( tussle的名词复数 ) | |
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70
hearty
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| adj.热情友好的；衷心的；尽情的，纵情的 | |
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71
demeanor
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| n.行为；风度 | |
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72
perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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73
entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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74
sincerity
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| n.真诚，诚意；真实 | |
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75
manly
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| adj.有男子气概的；adv.男子般地，果断地 | |
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76
hermit
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| n.隐士，修道者；隐居 | |
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77
spacious
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| adj.广阔的，宽敞的 | |
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78
cozy
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| adj.亲如手足的，密切的，暖和舒服的 | |
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79
luxurious
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| adj.精美而昂贵的；豪华的 | |
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80
solitude
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| n. 孤独; 独居,荒僻之地,幽静的地方 | |
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81
scattered
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| adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的 | |
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82
exquisite
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| adj.精美的；敏锐的；剧烈的，感觉强烈的 | |
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83
binding
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| 有约束力的，有效的，应遵守的 | |
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84
distinguished
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| adj.卓越的，杰出的，著名的 | |
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85
peculiar
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| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
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86
solicitude
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| n.焦虑 | |
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87
expends
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| v.花费( expend的第三人称单数 )；使用（钱等）做某事；用光；耗尽 | |
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88
preservation
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| n.保护，维护，保存，保留，保持 | |
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89
lavishness
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| n.浪费，过度 | |
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90
decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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91
specialty
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| n.(speciality)特性，特质；专业，专长 | |
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92
fabulous
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| adj.极好的；极为巨大的；寓言中的，传说中的 | |
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93
binder
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| n.包扎物，包扎工具；[法]临时契约；粘合剂；装订工 | |
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94
follies
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| 罪恶，时事讽刺剧； 愚蠢，蠢笨，愚蠢的行为、思想或做法( folly的名词复数 ) | |
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95
appreciation
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| n.评价；欣赏；感谢；领会，理解；价格上涨 | |
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96
enjoyment
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| n.乐趣；享有；享用 | |
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97
lessened
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| 减少的，减弱的 | |
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98
pageant
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| n.壮观的游行；露天历史剧 | |
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99
stylish
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| adj.流行的，时髦的；漂亮的，气派的 | |
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100
twilight
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| n.暮光，黄昏；暮年，晚期，衰落时期 | |
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101
reins
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| 感情，激情； 缰( rein的名词复数 )； 控制手段； 掌管； （成人带着幼儿走路以防其走失时用的）保护带 | |
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102
heterogeneous
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| adj.庞杂的；异类的 | |
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103
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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104
salutes
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| n.致敬，欢迎，敬礼( salute的名词复数 )v.欢迎，致敬( salute的第三人称单数 )；赞扬，赞颂 | |
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106
passerby
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| n.过路人，行人 | |
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107
sufficiently
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| adv.足够地，充分地 | |
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108
illuminated
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| adj.被照明的；受启迪的 | |
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109
tragic
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| adj.悲剧的，悲剧性的，悲惨的 | |
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110
celebrated
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| adj.有名的，声誉卓著的 | |
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111
obelisk
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| n.方尖塔 | |
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112
circumvent
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| vt.环绕，包围；对…用计取胜，智胜 | |
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113
thwart
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| v.阻挠，妨碍，反对；adj.横(断的) | |
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114
indicator
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| n.指标；指示物，指示者；指示器 | |
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115
despatch
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| n./v.(dispatch)派遣；发送；n.急件；新闻报道 | |
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116
auxiliary
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| adj.辅助的，备用的 | |
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117
farmhouse
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| n.农场住宅（尤指主要住房） | |
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118
rusty
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| adj.生锈的；锈色的；荒废了的 | |
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119
musket
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| n.滑膛枪 | |
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120
reticence
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| n.沉默，含蓄 | |
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121
thrift
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| adj.节约，节俭；n.节俭，节约 | |
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122
stamina
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| n.体力；精力；耐力 | |
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123
temperament
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| n.气质，性格，性情 | |
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124
interfere
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| v.(in)干涉，干预；(with)妨碍，打扰 | |
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125
bigoted
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| adj.固执己见的，心胸狭窄的 | |
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126
rebuke
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| v.指责，非难，斥责 [反]praise | |
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127
convivial
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| adj.狂欢的，欢乐的 | |
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128
adroitness
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129
condemn
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| vt.谴责，指责；宣判(罪犯)，判刑 | |
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130
determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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131
gauged
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| adj.校准的；标准的；量规的；量计的v.（用仪器）测量( gauge的过去式和过去分词 )；估计；计量；划分 | |
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132
upheaval
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| n.胀起，(地壳)的隆起；剧变，动乱 | |
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133
patriotic
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| adj.爱国的，有爱国心的 | |
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134
aspirants
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| n.有志向或渴望获得…的人( aspirant的名词复数 )v.渴望的，有抱负的，追求名誉或地位的( aspirant的第三人称单数 )；有志向或渴望获得…的人 | |
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135
attainment
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| n.达到，到达；［常pl.］成就，造诣 | |
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136
speculation
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| n.思索，沉思；猜测；投机 | |
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