PHOEBE, on entering the shop, beheld1 there the already familiar face of the little devourer2 — if we can reckon his mighty3 deeds aright — of Jim Crow, the elephant, the camel, the dromedaries, and the locomotive. Having expended4 his private fortune, on the two preceding days, in the purchase of the above unheard-of luxuries, the young gentleman’s present errand was on the part of his mother, in quest of three eggs and half a pound of raisins5. These articles Phoebe accordingly supplied, and, as a mark of gratitude6 for his previous patronage7, and a slight super-added morsel8 after breakfast, put likewise into his hand a whale! The great fish, reversing his experience with the prophet of Nineveh, immediately began his progress down the same red pathway of fate whither so varied9 a caravan10 had preceded him. This remarkable11 urchin12, in truth, was the very emblem13 of old Father Time, both in respect of his all-devouring appetite for men and things, and because he, as well as Time, after ingulfing thus much of creation, looked almost as youthful as if he had been just that moment made.
After partly closing the door, the child turned back, and mumbled14 something to Phoebe, which, as the whale was but half disposed of, she could not perfectly15 understand.
“What did you say, my little fellow?” asked she.
“Mother wants to know” repeated Ned Higgins more distinctly, “how Old Maid Pyncheon’s brother does? Folks say he has got home.”
“My cousin Hepzibah’s brother?” exclaimed Phoebe, surprised at this sudden explanation of the relationship between Hepzibah and her guest.” Her brother! And where can he have been?”
The little boy only put his thumb to his broad snub-nose, with that look of shrewdness which a child, spending much of his time in the street. so soon learns to throw over his features, however unintelligent in themselves. Then as Phoebe continued to gaze at him, without answering his mother’s message, he took his departure.
As the child went down the steps, a gentleman ascended16 them, and made his entrance into the shop. It was the portly, and, had it possessed17 the advantage of a little more height, would have been the stately figure of a man considerably18 in the decline of life, dressed in a black suit of some thin stuff, resembling broadcloth as closely as possible. A gold-headed cane19, of rare Oriental wood, added materially to the high respectability of his aspect, as did also a neckcloth of the utmost snowy purity, and the conscientious20 polish of his boots. His dark, square countenance21, with its almost shaggy depth of eyebrows22, was naturally impressive, and would, perhaps, have been rather stern, had not the gentleman considerately taken upon himself to mitigate23 the harsh effect by a look of exceeding good-humor and benevolence24. Owing, however, to a somewhat massive accumulation of animal substance about the lower region of his face, the look was, perhaps, unctuous25 rather than spiritual, and had, so to speak, a kind of fleshly effulgence26, not altogether so satisfactory as he doubtless intended it to be. A susceptible27 observer, at any rate, might have regarded it as affording very little evidence of the general benignity28 of soul whereof it purported29 to be the outward reflection. And if the observer chanced to be ill-natured, as well as acute and susceptible, he would probably suspect that the smile on the gentleman’s face was a good deal akin31 to the shine on his boots, and that each must have cost him and his boot-black, respectively, a good deal of hard labor32 to bring out and preserve them.
As the stranger entered the little shop, where the projection33 of the second story and the thick foliage34 of the elm-tree, as well as the commodities at the window, created a sort of gray medium, his smile grew as intense as if he had set his heart on counteracting35 the whole gloom of the atmosphere (besides any moral gloom pertaining36 to Hepzibah and her inmates) by the unassisted light of his countenance. On perceiving a young rose-bud of a girl, instead of the gaunt presence of the old maid, a look of surprise was manifest. He at first knit his brows; then smiled with more unctuous benignity than ever.
“Ah, I see how it is!” said he in a deep voice — a voice which, had it come from the throat of an uncultivated man, would have been gruff, but, by dint38 of careful training, was now sufficiently39 agreeable —“I was not aware that Miss Hepzibah Pyncheon had commenced business under such favorable auspices40. You are her assistant, I suppose?”
“I certainly am,” answered Phoebe, and added, with a little air of lady-like assumption (for, civil as the gentleman was, he evidently took her to be a young person serving for wages), “I am a cousin of Miss Hepzibah, on a visit to her.”
“Her cousin?— and from the country? Pray pardon me, then,” said the gentleman, bowing and smiling, as Phoebe never had been bowed to nor smiled on before; “in that case, we must be better acquainted; for, unless I am sadly mistaken, you are my own little kinswoman likewise! Let me see — Mary?— Dolly?— Phoebe?— yes, Phoebe is the name! Is it possible that you are Phoebe Pyncheon, only child of my dear cousin and classmate, Arthur? Ah, I see your father now, about your mouth! Yes, yes! we must be better acquainted! I am your kinsman41, my dear. Surely you must have heard of Judge Pyncheon?”
As Phoebe curtsied in reply, the Judge bent42 forward, with the pardonable and even praiseworthy purpose — considering the nearness of blood and the difference of age — of bestowing43 on his young relative a kiss of acknowledged kindred and natural affection. Unfortunately (without design, or only with such instinctive44 design as gives no account of itself to the intellect) Phoebe, just at the critical moment, drew back; so that her highly respectable kinsman, with his body bent over the counter and his lips protruded45, was betrayed into the rather absurd predicament of kissing the empty air. It was a modern parallel to the case of Ixion embracing a cloud, and was so much the more ridiculous as the Judge prided himself on eschewing46 all airy matter, and never mistaking a shadow for a substance. The truth was — and it is Phoebe’s only excuse — that, although Judge Pyncheon’s glowing benignity might not be absolutely unpleasant to the feminine beholder47, with the width of a street, or even an ordinary-sized room, interposed between, yet it became quite too intense, when this dark, full-fed physiognomy (so roughly bearded, too, that no razor could ever make it smooth) sought to bring itself into actual contact with the object of its regards. The man, the sex, somehow or other, was entirely48 too prominent in the Judge’s demonstrations49 of that sort. Phoebe’s eyes sank, and, without knowing why, she felt herself blushing deeply under his look. Yet she had been kissed before, and without any particular squeamishness, by perhaps half a dozen different cousins, younger as well as older than this dark-browned, grisly-bearded, white-neck-clothed, and unctuously-benevolent50 Judge! Then, why not by him?
On raising her eyes, Phoebe was startled by the change in Judge Pyncheon’s face. It was quite as striking, allowing for the difference of scale, as that betwixt a landscape under a broad sunshine and just before a thunder-storm; not that it had the passionate51 intensity52 of the latter aspect, but was cold, hard, immitigable, like a day-long brooding cloud.
“Dear me! what is to be done now?” thought the country-girl to herself.” He looks as if there were nothing softer in him than a rock, nor milder than the east wind! I meant no harm! Since he is really my cousin, I would have let him kiss me, if I could!”
Then, all at once, it struck Phoebe that this very Judge Pyncheon was the original of the miniature which the daguerreotypist had shown her in the garden, and that the hard, stern, relentless53 look, now on his face, was the same that the sun had so inflexibly54 persisted in bringing out. Was it, therefore, no momentary55 mood, but, however skilfully56 concealed57, the settled temper of his life? And not merely so, but was it hereditary58 in him, and transmitted down, as a precious heirloom, from that bearded ancestor, in whose picture both the expression and, to a singular degree, the features of the modern Judge were shown as by a kind of prophecy? A deeper philosopher than Phoebe might have found something very terrible in this idea. It implied that the weaknesses and defects, the bad passions, the mean tendencies, and the moral diseases which lead to crime are handed down from one generation to another, by a far surer process of transmission than human law has been able to establish in respect to the riches and honors which it seeks to entail59 upon posterity60.
But, as it happened, scarcely had Phoebe’s eyes rested again on the Judge’s countenance than all its ugly sternness vanished; and she found herself quite overpowered by the sultry, dog-day heat, as it were, of benevolence, which this excellent man diffused61 out of his great heart into the surrounding atmosphere — very much like a serpent, which, as a preliminary to fascination62, is said to fill the air with his peculiar63 odor.
“I like that, Cousin Phoebe!” cried he, with an emphatic64 nod of approbation65. “I like it much, my little cousin! You are a good child, and know how to take care of yourself. A young girl — especially if she be a very pretty one — can never be too chary66 of her lips.”
“Indeed, sir,” said Phoebe, trying to laugh the matter off, “I did not mean to be unkind.”
Nevertheless, whether or no it were entirely owing to the inauspicious commencement of their acquaintance, she still acted under a certain reserve, which was by no means customary to her frank and genial67 nature. The fantasy would not quit her, that the original Puritan, of whom she had heard so many sombre traditions, — the progenitor68 of the whole race of New England Pyncheons, the founder69 of the House of the Seven Gables, and who had died so strangely in it — had now stept into the shop. In these days of off-hand equipment, the matter was easily enough arranged. On his arrival from the other world, he had merely found it necessary to spend a quarter of an hour at a barber’s, who had trimmed down the Puritan’s full beard into a pair of grizzled whiskers, then, patronizing a ready-made clothing establishment, he had exchanged his velvet70 doublet and sable71 cloak, with the richly worked band under his chin, for a white collar and cravat72, coat, vest, and pantaloons; and lastly, putting aside his steel-hilted broadsword to take up a gold-headed cane, the Colonel Pyncheon of two centuries ago steps forward as the Judge of the passing moment!
Of course, Phoebe was far too sensible a girl to entertain this idea in any other way than as matter for a smile. Possibly, also, could the two personages have stood together before her eye, many points of difference would have been perceptible, and perhaps only a general resemblance. The long lapse73 of intervening years, in a climate so unlike that which had fostered the ancestral Englishman, must inevitably74 have wrought75 important changes in the physical system of his descendant. The Judge’s volume of muscle could hardly be the same as the Colonel’s; there was undoubtedly76 less beef in him. Though looked upon as a weighty man among his contemporaries in respect of animal substance, and as favored with a remarkable degree of fundamental development, well adapting him for the judicial77 bench, we conceive that the modern Judge Pyncheon, if weighed in the same balance with his ancestor, would have required at least an old-fashioned fifty-six to keep the scale in equilibrio. Then the Judge’s face had lost the ruddy English hue78 that showed its warmth through all the duskiness of the Colonel’s weather-beaten cheek, and had taken a sallow shade, the established complexion79 of his countrymen. If we mistake not, moreover, a certain quality of nervousness had become more or less manifest, even in so solid a specimen80 of Puritan descent as the gentleman now under discussion. As one of its effects, it bestowed81 on his countenance a quicker mobility82 than the old Englishman’s had possessed, and keener vivacity83, but at the expense of a sturdier something, on which these acute endowments seemed to act like dissolving acids. This process, for aught we know, may belong to the great system of human progress, which, with every ascending84 footstep, as it diminishes the necessity for animal force, may be destined85 gradually to spiritualize us, by refining away our grosser attributes of body. If so, Judge Pyncheon could endure a century or two more of such refinement86 as well as most other men.
The similarity, intellectual and moral, between the Judge and his ancestor appears to have been at least as strong as the resemblance of mien87 and feature would afford reason to anticipate. In old Colonel Pyncheon’s funeral discourse88 the clergyman absolutely canonized his deceased parishioner, and opening, as it were, a vista89 through the roof of the church, and thence through the firmament90 above, showed him seated, harp91 in hand, among the crowned choristers of the spiritual world. On his tombstone, too, the record is highly eulogistic92; nor does history, so far as he holds a place upon its page, assail93 the consistency94 and uprightness of his character. So also, as regards the Judge Pyncheon of to-day, neither clergyman, nor legal critic, nor inscriber95 of tombstones, nor historian of general or local politics, would venture a word against this eminent96 person’s sincerity97 as a Christian98, or respectability as a man, or integrity as a judge, or courage and faithfulness as the often-tried representative of his political party. But, besides these cold, formal, and empty words of the chisel99 that inscribes100, the voice that speaks, and the pen that writes, for the public eye and for distant time — and which inevitably lose much of their truth and freedom by the fatal consciousness of so doing — there were traditions about the ancestor, and private diurnal101 gossip about the Judge, remarkably102 accordant in their testimony103. It is often instructive to take the woman’s, the private and domestic, view of a public man; nor can anything be more curious than the vast discrepancy104 between portraits intended for engraving105 and the pencil-sketches that pass from hand to hand behind the original’s back.
For example: tradition affirmed that the Puritan had been greedy of wealth; the Judge, too, with all the show of liberal expenditure106, was said to be as close-fisted as if his gripe were of iron. The ancestor had clothed himself in a grim assumption of kindliness107, a rough heartiness108 of word and manner, which most people took to be the genuine warmth of nature, making its way through the thick and inflexible109 hide of a manly110 character. His descendant, in compliance111 with the requirements of a nicer age, had etherealized this rude benevolence into that broad benignity of smile wherewith he shone like a noonday sun along the streets, or glowed like a household fire in the drawing-rooms of his private acquaintance. The Puritan — if not belied112 by some singular stories, murmured, even at this day, under the narrator’s breath — had fallen into certain transgressions114 to which men of his great animal development, whatever their faith or principles, must continue liable, until they put off impurity115, along with the gross earthly substance that involves it. We must not stain our page with any contemporary scandal, to a similar purport30, that may have been whispered against the Judge. The Puritan, again, an autocrat116 in his own household, had worn out three wives, and, merely by the remorseless weight and hardness of his character in the conjugal117 relation, had sent them, one after another, broken-hearted, to their graves. Here the parallel, in some sort, fails. The Judge had wedded118 but a single wife, and lost her in the third or fourth year of their marriage. There was a fable119, however — for such we choose to consider it, though, not impossibly, typical of Judge Pyncheon’s marital120 deportment — that the lady got her death-blow in the honeymoon121, and never smiled again, because her husband compelled her to serve him with coffee every morning at his bedside, in token of fealty122 to her liege-lord and master.
But it is too fruitful a subject, this of hereditary resemblances — the frequent recurrence123 of which, in a direct line, is truly unaccountable, when we consider how large an accumulation of ancestry124 lies behind every man at the distance of one or two centuries. We shall only add, therefore, that the Puritan — so, at least, says chimney-corner tradition, which often preserves traits of character with marvellous fidelity125 — was bold, imperious, relentless, crafty126; laying his purposes deep, and following them out with an inveteracy127 of pursuit that knew neither rest nor conscience; trampling128 on the weak, and, when essential to his ends, doing his utmost to beat down the strong. Whether the Judge in any degree resembled him, the further progress of our narrative129 may show.
Scarcely any of the items in the above-drawn parallel occurred to Phoebe, whose country birth and residence, in truth, had left her pitifully ignorant of most of the family traditions, which lingered, like cobwebs and incrustations of smoke, about the rooms and chimney-corners of the House of the Seven Gables. Yet there was a circumstance, very trifling130 in itself, which impressed her with an odd degree of horror. She had heard of the anathema131 flung by Maule, the executed wizard, against Colonel Pyncheon and his posterity — that God would give them blood to drink — and likewise of the popular notion, that this miraculous132 blood might now and then be heard gurgling in their throats. The latter scandal — as became a person of sense, and, more especially, a member of the Pyncheon family — Phoebe had set down for the absurdity133 which it unquestionably was. But ancient superstitions134, after being steeped in human hearts and embodied135 in human breath, and passing from lip to ear in manifold repetition, through a series of generations, become imbued136 with an effect of homely137 truth. The smoke of the domestic hearth138 has scented139 them through and through. By long transmission among household facts, they grow to look like them, and have such a familiar way of making themselves at home that their influence is usually greater than we suspect. Thus it happened, that when Phoebe heard a certain noise in Judge Pyncheon’s throat — rather habitual140 with him, not altogether voluntary, yet indicative of nothing, unless it were a slight bronchial complaint, or, as some people hinted, an apoplectic141 symptom — when the girl heard this queer and awkward ingurgitation (which the writer never did hear, and therefore cannot describe), she very foolishly started, and clasped her hands.
Of course, it was exceedingly ridiculous in Phoebe to be discomposed by such a trifle, and still more unpardonable to show her discomposure to the individual most concerned in it. But the incident chimed in so oddly with her previous fancies about the Colonel and the Judge, that, for the moment, it seemed quite to mingle142 their identity.
“What is the matter with you, young woman?” said Judge Pyncheon, giving her one of his harsh looks. “Are you afraid of anything?”
“Oh, nothing” sir — nothing in the world!” answered Phoebe, with a little laugh of vexation at herself. “But perhaps you wish to speak with my cousin Hepzibah. Shall I call her?”
“Stay a moment, if you please,” said the Judge, again beaming sunshine out of his face. “You seem to be a little nervous this morning. The town air, Cousin Phoebe, does not agree with your good, wholesome143 country habits. Or has anything happened to disturb you?— anything remarkable in Cousin Hepzibah’s family?— An arrival, eh? I thought so! No wonder you are out of sorts, my little cousin. To be an inmate37 with such a guest may well startle an innocent young girl!”
“You quite puzzle me, sir,” replied Phoebe, gazing inquiringly at the Judge. “There is no frightful144 guest in the house, but only a poor, gentle, childlike man, whom I believe to be Cousin Hepzibah’s brother. I am afraid (but you, sir, will know better than I) that he is not quite in his sound senses; but so mild and quiet he seems to be, that a mother might trust her baby with him; and I think he would play with the baby as if he were only a few years older than itself. He startle me!— Oh, no indeed!”
“I rejoice to hear so favorable and so ingenuous145 an account of my cousin Clifford,” said the benevolent Judge. “Many years ago, when we were boys and young men together, I had a great affection for him, and still feel a tender interest in all his concerns. You say, Cousin Phoebe, he appears to be weak minded. Heaven grant him at least enough of intellect to repent146 of his past sins!”
“Nobody, I fancy,” observed Phoebe, “can have fewer to repent of.”
“And is it possible, my dear” rejoined the Judge, with a commiserating147 look,” that you have never heard of Clifford Pyncheon?— that you know nothing of his history? Well, it is all right; and your mother has shown a very proper regard for the good name of the family with which she connected herself. Believe the best you can of this unfortunate person, and hope the best! It is a rule which Christians148 should always follow, in their judgments149 of one another; and especially is it right and wise among near relatives, whose characters have necessarily a degree of mutual151 dependence152. But is Clifford in the parlor153? I will just step in and see.”
“Perhaps, sir, I had better call my cousin Hepzibah,” said Phoebe; hardly knowing, however, whether she ought to obstruct154 the entrance of so affectionate a kinsman into the private regions of the house. “Her brother seemed to be just falling asleep after breakfast; and I am sure she would not like him to be disturbed. Pray, sir, let me give her notice!”
But the Judge showed a singular determination to enter unannounced; and as Phoebe, with the vivacity of a person whose movements unconsciously answer to her thoughts, had stepped towards the door, he used little or no ceremony in putting her aside.
“No, no, Miss Phoebe!” said Judge Pyncheon in a voice as deep as a thunder-growl, and with a frown as black as the cloud whence it issues.” Stay you here! I know the house, and know my cousin Hepzibah, and know her brother Clifford likewise.— nor need my little country cousin put herself to the trouble of announcing me!”— in these latter words, by the bye, there were symptoms of a change from his sudden harshness into his previous benignity of manner. “I am at home here, Phoebe, you must recollect155, and you are the stranger. I will just step in, therefore, and see for myself how Clifford is, and assure him and Hepzibah of my kindly156 feelings and best wishes. It is right, at this juncture157, that they should both hear from my own lips how much I desire to serve them. Ha! here is Hepzibah herself!”
Such was the case. The vibrations158 of the Judge’s voice had reached the old gentlewoman in the parlor, where she sat, with face averted159, waiting on her brother’s slumber160. She now issued forth161, as would appear, to defend the entrance, looking, we must needs say, amazingly like the dragon which, in fairy tales, is wont162 to be the guardian163 over an enchanted164 beauty. The habitual scowl165 of her brow was undeniably too fierce, at this moment, to pass itself off on the innocent score of near-sightedness; and it was bent on Judge Pyncheon in a way that seemed to confound, if not alarm him, so inadequately166 had he estimated the moral force of a deeply grounded antipathy167. She made a repelling168 gesture with her hand, and stood a perfect picture of prohibition169, at full length, in the dark frame of the doorway170. But we must betray Hepzibah’s secret, and confess that the native timorousness171 of her character even now developed itself in a quick tremor172, which, to her own perception, set each of her joints173 at variance174 with its fellows.
Possibly, the Judge was aware how little true hardihood lay behind Hepzibah’s formidable front. At any rate, being a gentleman of steady nerves, he soon recovered himself, and failed not to approach his cousin with outstretched hand; adopting the sensible precaution, however, to cover his advance with a smile, so broad and sultry, that, had it been only half as warm as it looked, a trellis of grapes might at once have turned purple under its summer-like exposure. It may have been his purpose, indeed, to melt poor Hepzibah on the spot, as if she were a figure of yellow wax.
“Hepzibah, my beloved cousin, I am rejoiced!” exclaimed the Judge most emphatically. “Now, at length, you have something to live for. Yes, and all of us, let me say, your friends and kindred, have more to live for than we had yesterday. I have lost no time in hastening to offer any assistance in my power towards making Clifford comfortable. He belongs to us all. I know how much he requires — how much he used to require — with his delicate taste, and his love of the beautiful. Anything in my house — pictures, books, wine, luxuries of the table — he may command them all! It would afford me most heartfelt gratification to see him! Shall I step in, this moment?”
“No,” replied Hepzibah, her voice quivering too painfully to allow of many words. “He cannot see visitors!”
“A visitor, my dear cousin!— do you call me so?” cried the Judge, whose sensibility, it seems, was hurt by the coldness of the phrase. “Nay175, then, let me be Clifford’s host, and your own likewise. Come at once to my house. The country air, and all the conveniences — I may say luxuries — that I have gathered about me, will do wonders for him. And you and I, dear Hepzibah, will consult together, and watch together, and labor together, to make our dear Clifford happy. Come! why should we make more words about what is both a duty and a pleasure on my part? Come to me at once!”
On hearing these so hospitable176 offers, and such generous recognition of the claims of kindred, Phoebe felt very much in the mood of running up to Judge Pyncheon, and giving him, of her own accord, the kiss from which she had so recently shrunk away. It was quite otherwise with Hepzibah; the Judge’s smile seemed to operate on her acerbity177 of heart like sunshine upon vinegar, making it ten times sourer than ever.
“Clifford,” said she — still too agitated178 to utter more than an abrupt179 sentence —“Clifford has a home here!”
“May Heaven forgive you, Hepzibah,” said Judge Pyncheon — reverently180 lifting his eyes towards that high court of equity181 to which he appealed —“if you suffer any ancient prejudice or animosity to weigh with you in this matter. I stand here with an open heart, willing and anxious to receive yourself and Clifford into it. Do not refuse my good offices — my earnest propositions for your welfare! They are such, in all respects, as it behooves182 your nearest kinsman to make. It will be a heavy responsibility, cousin, if you confine your brother to this dismal183 house and stifled184 air, when the delightful185 freedom of my country-seat is at his command.”
“It would never suit Clifford,” said Hepzibah, as briefly186 as before.
“Woman!” broke forth the Judge, giving way to his resentment187, “what is the meaning of all this? Have you other resources? Nay, I suspected as much! Take care, Hepzibah, take care! Clifford is on the brink188 of as black a ruin as ever befell him yet! But why do I talk with you, woman as you are? Make way!— I must see Clifford!”
Hepzibah spread out her gaunt figure across the door, and seemed really to increase in bulk; looking the more terrible, also, because there was so much terror and agitation189 in her heart. But Judge Pyncheon’s evident purpose of forcing a passage was interrupted by a voice from the inner room; a weak, tremulous, wailing190 voice, indicating helpless alarm, with no more energy for self-defence than belongs to a frightened infant.
“Hepzibah, Hepzibah!” cried the voice; “go down on your knees to him! Kiss his feet! Entreat191 him not to come in! Oh, let him have mercy on me! Mercy! mercy!”
For the instant, it appeared doubtful whether it were not the Judge’s resolute192 purpose to set Hepzibah aside, and step across the threshold into the parlor, whence issued that broken and miserable193 murmur113 of entreaty194. It was not pity that restrained him, for, at the first sound of the enfeebled voice, a red fire kindled195 in his eyes, and he made a quick pace forward, with something inexpressibly fierce and grim darkening forth, as it were, out of the whole man. To know Judge Pyncheon was to see him at that moment. After such a revelation, let him smile with what sultriness he would, he could much sooner turn grapes purple, or pumpkins196 yellow, than melt the iron-branded impression out of the beholder’s memory. And it rendered his aspect not the less, but more frightful, that it seemed not to express wrath197 or hatred198, but a certain hot fellness of purpose, which annihilated199 everything but itself.
Yet, after all, are we not slandering200 an excellent and amiable201 man? Look at the Judge now! He is apparently202 conscious of having erred203, in too energetically pressing his deeds of loving-kindness on persons unable to appreciate them. He will await their better mood, and hold himself as ready to assist them then as at this moment. As he draws back from the door, an all-comprehensive benignity blazes from his visage, indicating that he gathers Hepzibah, little Phoebe, and the invisible Clifford, all three, together with the whole world besides, into his immense heart, and gives them a warm bath in its flood of affection.
“You do me great wrong, dear Cousin Hepzibah!” said he, first kindly offering her his hand, and then drawing on his glove preparatory to departure. “Very great wrong! But I forgive it, and will study to make you think better of me. Of course, our poor Clifford being in so unhappy a state of mind, I cannot think of urging an interview at present. But I shall watch over his welfare as if he were my own beloved brother; nor do I at all despair, my dear cousin, of constraining204 both him and you to acknowledge your injustice205. When that shall happen, I desire no other revenge than your acceptance of the best offices in my power to do you.”
With a bow to Hepzibah, and a degree of paternal206 benevolence in his parting nod to Phoebe, the Judge left the shop, and went smiling along the street. As is customary with the rich, when they aim at the honors of a republic, he apologized, as it were, to the people, for his wealth, prosperity, and elevated station, by a free and hearty207 manner towards those who knew him; putting off the more of his dignity in due proportion with the humbleness208 of the man whom he saluted209, and thereby210 proving a haughty211 consciousness of his advantages as irrefragably as if he had marched forth preceded by a troop of lackeys212 to clear the way. On this particular forenoon, so excessive was the warmth of Judge Pyncheon’s kindly aspect, that (such, at least, was the rumor213 about town) an extra passage of the water-carts was found essential, in order to lay the dust occasioned by so much extra sunshine!
No sooner had he disappeared than Hepzibah grew deadly white, and, staggering towards Phoebe, let her head fall on the young girl’s shoulder.
“O Phoebe!” murmured she, “that man has been the horror of my life! Shall I never, never have the courage — will my voice never cease from trembling long enough to let me tell him what he is?”
“Is he so very wicked?” asked Phoebe. “Yet his offers were surely kind!”
“Do not speak of them — he has a heart of iron!” rejoined Hepzibah. “Go, now, and talk to Clifford! Amuse and keep him quiet! It would disturb him wretchedly to see me so agitated as I am. There, go, dear child, and I will try to look after the shop.”
Phoebe went accordingly, but perplexed214 herself, meanwhile, with queries215 as to the purport of the scene which she had just witnessed, and also whether judges, clergymen, and other characters of that eminent stamp and respectability, could really, in any single instance, be otherwise than just and upright men. A doubt of this nature has a most disturbing influence, and, if shown to be a fact, comes with fearful and startling effect on minds of the trim, orderly, and limit-loving class, in which we find our little country-girl. Dispositions216 more boldly speculative217 may derive218 a stern enjoyment219 from the discovery, since there must be evil in the world, that a high man is as likely to grasp his share of it as a low one. A wider scope of view, and a deeper insight, may see rank, dignity, and station, all proved illusory, so far as regards their claim to human reverence220, and yet not feel as if the universe were thereby tumbled headlong into chaos221. But Phoebe, in order to keep the universe in its old place, was fain to smother222, in some degree, her own intuitions as to Judge Pyncheon’s character. And as for her cousin’s testimony in disparagement223 of it, she concluded that Hepzibah’s judgment150 was embittered224 by one of those family feuds225 which render hatred the more deadly by the dead and corrupted226 love that they intermingle with its native poison.
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beheld
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devourer
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mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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4
expended
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| v.花费( expend的过去式和过去分词 )；使用（钱等）做某事；用光；耗尽 | |
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5
raisins
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| n.葡萄干( raisin的名词复数 ) | |
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6
gratitude
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| adj.感激，感谢 | |
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7
patronage
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| n.赞助，支援，援助；光顾，捧场 | |
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8
morsel
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| n.一口，一点点 | |
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9
varied
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| adj.多样的，多变化的 | |
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10
caravan
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| n.大蓬车；活动房屋 | |
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11
remarkable
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| adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的 | |
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12
urchin
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| n.顽童；海胆 | |
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13
emblem
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| n.象征，标志；徽章 | |
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14
mumbled
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| 含糊地说某事，叽咕，咕哝( mumble的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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15
perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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16
ascended
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| v.上升，攀登( ascend的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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17
possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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18
considerably
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| adv.极大地；相当大地；在很大程度上 | |
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19
cane
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| n.手杖，细长的茎，藤条；v.以杖击，以藤编制的 | |
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20
conscientious
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| adj.审慎正直的，认真的，本着良心的 | |
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21
countenance
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| n.脸色，面容；面部表情；vt.支持，赞同 | |
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22
eyebrows
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| 眉毛( eyebrow的名词复数 ) | |
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23
mitigate
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| vt.（使）减轻，（使）缓和 | |
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24
benevolence
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| n.慈悲，捐助 | |
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25
unctuous
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| adj.油腔滑调的，大胆的 | |
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26
effulgence
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| n.光辉 | |
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27
susceptible
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| adj.过敏的，敏感的；易动感情的，易受感动的 | |
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28
benignity
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| n.仁慈 | |
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29
purported
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| adj.传说的，谣传的v.声称是…，（装得）像是…的样子( purport的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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30
purport
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| n.意义，要旨，大要；v.意味著，做为...要旨，要领是... | |
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31
akin
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| adj.同族的，类似的 | |
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32
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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33
projection
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| n.发射，计划，突出部分 | |
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34
foliage
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| n.叶子，树叶，簇叶 | |
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35
counteracting
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| 对抗，抵消( counteract的现在分词 ) | |
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36
pertaining
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| 与…有关系的，附属…的，为…固有的(to) | |
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37
inmate
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| n.被收容者；(房屋等的)居住人；住院人 | |
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38
dint
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| n.由于，靠；凹坑 | |
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39
sufficiently
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|
| adv.足够地，充分地 | |
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40
auspices
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| n.资助，赞助 | |
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41
kinsman
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| n.男亲属 | |
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42
bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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43
bestowing
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| 砖窑中砖堆上层已烧透的砖 | |
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44
instinctive
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| adj.(出于)本能的；直觉的；(出于)天性的 | |
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45
protruded
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| v.（使某物）伸出，（使某物）突出( protrude的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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46
eschewing
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| v.（尤指为道德或实际理由而）习惯性避开，回避( eschew的现在分词 ) | |
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47
beholder
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| n.观看者，旁观者 | |
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48
entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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49
demonstrations
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| 证明( demonstration的名词复数 )； 表明； 表达； 游行示威 | |
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50
benevolent
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| adj.仁慈的，乐善好施的 | |
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51
passionate
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| adj.热情的，热烈的，激昂的，易动情的，易怒的，性情暴躁的 | |
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52
intensity
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| n.强烈，剧烈；强度；烈度 | |
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53
relentless
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| adj.残酷的，不留情的，无怜悯心的 | |
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54
inflexibly
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| adv.不屈曲地，不屈地 | |
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55
momentary
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| adj.片刻的，瞬息的；短暂的 | |
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56
skilfully
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| adv. (美skillfully)熟练地 | |
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57
concealed
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| a.隐藏的，隐蔽的 | |
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58
hereditary
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| adj.遗传的，遗传性的，可继承的，世袭的 | |
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59
entail
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| vt.使承担，使成为必要，需要 | |
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60
posterity
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| n.后裔，子孙，后代 | |
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61
diffused
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| 散布的，普及的，扩散的 | |
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62
fascination
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| n.令人着迷的事物，魅力，迷恋 | |
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63
peculiar
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| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
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64
emphatic
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| adj.强调的，着重的；无可置疑的，明显的 | |
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65
approbation
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| n.称赞；认可 | |
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66
chary
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| adj.谨慎的，细心的 | |
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67
genial
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| adj.亲切的，和蔼的，愉快的，脾气好的 | |
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68
progenitor
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| n.祖先，先驱 | |
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69
Founder
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| n.创始者，缔造者 | |
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70
velvet
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|
| n.丝绒，天鹅绒；adj.丝绒制的，柔软的 | |
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71
sable
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| n.黑貂；adj.黑色的 | |
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72
cravat
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| n.领巾，领结；v.使穿有领结的服装，使结领结 | |
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73
lapse
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|
| n.过失，流逝，失效，抛弃信仰，间隔；vi.堕落，停止，失效，流逝；vt.使失效 | |
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74
inevitably
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| adv.不可避免地；必然发生地 | |
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75
wrought
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| v.引起；以…原料制作；运转；adj.制造的 | |
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76
undoubtedly
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| adv.确实地，无疑地 | |
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77
judicial
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|
| adj.司法的，法庭的，审判的，明断的，公正的 | |
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78
hue
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| n.色度；色调；样子 | |
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79
complexion
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| n.肤色；情况，局面；气质，性格 | |
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80
specimen
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| n.样本，标本 | |
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81
bestowed
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| 赠给，授予( bestow的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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82
mobility
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| n.可动性，变动性，情感不定 | |
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83
vivacity
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| n.快活，活泼，精神充沛 | |
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84
ascending
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| adj.上升的，向上的 | |
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85
destined
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|
| adj.命中注定的；(for)以…为目的地的 | |
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86
refinement
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| n.文雅；高尚；精美；精制；精炼 | |
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87
mien
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| n.风采；态度 | |
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88
discourse
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| n.论文，演说；谈话；话语；vi.讲述，著述 | |
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89
vista
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| n.远景，深景，展望，回想 | |
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90
firmament
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| n.苍穹；最高层 | |
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91
harp
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| n.竖琴；天琴座 | |
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92
eulogistic
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|
| adj.颂扬的，颂词的 | |
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93
assail
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| v.猛烈攻击，抨击，痛斥 | |
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94
consistency
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|
| n.一贯性，前后一致，稳定性；(液体的)浓度 | |
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95
inscriber
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| 记录器；虚部 | |
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96
eminent
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| adj.显赫的，杰出的，有名的，优良的 | |
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97
sincerity
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| n.真诚，诚意；真实 | |
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98
Christian
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| adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒 | |
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99
chisel
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| n.凿子；v.用凿子刻，雕，凿 | |
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100
inscribes
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| v.写，刻( inscribe的第三人称单数 ) | |
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101
diurnal
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| adj.白天的，每日的 | |
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102
remarkably
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| ad.不同寻常地，相当地 | |
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103
testimony
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| n.证词；见证，证明 | |
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104
discrepancy
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| n.不同；不符；差异；矛盾 | |
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105
engraving
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| n.版画；雕刻（作品）；雕刻艺术；镌版术v.在（硬物）上雕刻（字，画等）( engrave的现在分词 )；将某事物深深印在（记忆或头脑中） | |
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106
expenditure
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| n.(时间、劳力、金钱等)支出；使用，消耗 | |
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107
kindliness
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| n.厚道，亲切，友好的行为 | |
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108
heartiness
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| 诚实，热心 | |
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109
inflexible
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| adj.不可改变的，不受影响的，不屈服的 | |
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110
manly
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| adj.有男子气概的；adv.男子般地，果断地 | |
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111
compliance
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| n.顺从；服从；附和；屈从 | |
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112
belied
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| v.掩饰( belie的过去式和过去分词 )；证明（或显示）…为虚假；辜负；就…扯谎 | |
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113
murmur
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| n.低语，低声的怨言；v.低语，低声而言 | |
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114
transgressions
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| n.违反，违法，罪过( transgression的名词复数 ) | |
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115
impurity
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| n.不洁，不纯，杂质 | |
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116
autocrat
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| n.独裁者；专横的人 | |
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117
conjugal
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| adj.婚姻的，婚姻性的 | |
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118
wedded
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| adj.正式结婚的；渴望…的，执著于…的v.嫁，娶，（与…）结婚( wed的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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119
fable
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| n.寓言；童话；神话 | |
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120
marital
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| adj.婚姻的，夫妻的 | |
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121
honeymoon
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| n.蜜月（假期）；vi.度蜜月 | |
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122
fealty
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| n.忠贞，忠节 | |
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123
recurrence
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| n.复发，反复，重现 | |
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124
ancestry
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| n.祖先，家世 | |
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125
fidelity
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| n.忠诚，忠实；精确 | |
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126
crafty
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| adj.狡猾的，诡诈的 | |
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127
inveteracy
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| n.根深蒂固，积习 | |
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128
trampling
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| 踩( trample的现在分词 )； 践踏； 无视； 侵犯 | |
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129
narrative
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| n.叙述，故事；adj.叙事的，故事体的 | |
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130
trifling
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| adj.微不足道的；没什么价值的 | |
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131
anathema
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| n.诅咒；被诅咒的人(物)，十分讨厌的人(物) | |
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132
miraculous
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| adj.像奇迹一样的，不可思议的 | |
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133
absurdity
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| n.荒谬，愚蠢；谬论 | |
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134
superstitions
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| 迷信，迷信行为( superstition的名词复数 ) | |
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135
embodied
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| v.表现( embody的过去式和过去分词 )；象征；包括；包含 | |
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136
imbued
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| v.使（某人/某事）充满或激起（感情等）( imbue的过去式和过去分词 )；使充满；灌输；激发（强烈感情或品质等） | |
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137
homely
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| adj.家常的，简朴的；不漂亮的 | |
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138
hearth
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| n.壁炉炉床，壁炉地面 | |
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139
scented
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| adj.有香味的；洒香水的；有气味的v.嗅到(scent的过去分词) | |
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140
habitual
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| adj.习惯性的；通常的，惯常的 | |
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141
apoplectic
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| adj.中风的；愤怒的；n.中风患者 | |
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142
mingle
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| vt.使混合，使相混；vi.混合起来；相交往 | |
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143
wholesome
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| adj.适合；卫生的；有益健康的；显示身心健康的 | |
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144
frightful
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| adj.可怕的；讨厌的 | |
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145
ingenuous
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| adj.纯朴的，单纯的；天真的；坦率的 | |
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146
repent
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| v.悔悟，悔改，忏悔，后悔 | |
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147
commiserating
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| v.怜悯，同情( commiserate的现在分词 ) | |
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148
Christians
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| n.基督教徒( Christian的名词复数 ) | |
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149
judgments
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| 判断( judgment的名词复数 )； 鉴定； 评价； 审判 | |
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150
judgment
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| n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见 | |
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151
mutual
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| adj.相互的，彼此的；共同的，共有的 | |
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152
dependence
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| n.依靠，依赖；信任，信赖；隶属 | |
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153
parlor
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| n.店铺，营业室；会客室，客厅 | |
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154
obstruct
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| v.阻隔，阻塞(道路、通道等)；n.阻碍物，障碍物 | |
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155
recollect
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| v.回忆，想起，记起，忆起，记得 | |
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156
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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157
juncture
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| n.时刻，关键时刻，紧要关头 | |
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158
vibrations
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| n.摆动( vibration的名词复数 )；震动；感受；（偏离平衡位置的）一次性往复振动 | |
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159
averted
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| 防止，避免( avert的过去式和过去分词 )； 转移 | |
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160
slumber
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| n.睡眠，沉睡状态 | |
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161
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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162
wont
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| adj.习惯于；v.习惯；n.习惯 | |
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163
guardian
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| n.监护人；守卫者，保护者 | |
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164
enchanted
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| adj. 被施魔法的，陶醉的，入迷的 动词enchant的过去式和过去分词 | |
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165
scowl
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| vi.(at)生气地皱眉，沉下脸，怒视；n.怒容 | |
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166
inadequately
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| ad.不够地；不够好地 | |
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167
antipathy
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| n.憎恶；反感，引起反感的人或事物 | |
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168
repelling
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| v.击退( repel的现在分词 )；使厌恶；排斥；推开 | |
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169
prohibition
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| n.禁止；禁令，禁律 | |
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170
doorway
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| n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径 | |
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171
timorousness
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| n.羞怯，胆怯 | |
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172
tremor
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| n.震动，颤动，战栗，兴奋，地震 | |
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173
joints
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| 接头( joint的名词复数 )； 关节； 公共场所（尤指价格低廉的饮食和娱乐场所） （非正式）； 一块烤肉 （英式英语） | |
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174
variance
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| n.矛盾，不同 | |
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175
nay
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| adv.不；n.反对票，投反对票者 | |
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176
hospitable
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| adj.好客的；宽容的；有利的，适宜的 | |
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177
acerbity
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| n.涩，酸，刻薄 | |
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178
agitated
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| adj.被鼓动的，不安的 | |
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179
abrupt
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| adj.突然的，意外的；唐突的，鲁莽的 | |
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180
reverently
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| adv.虔诚地 | |
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181
equity
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| n.公正，公平，（无固定利息的）股票 | |
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182
behooves
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| n.利益，好处( behoof的名词复数 )v.适宜( behoove的第三人称单数 ) | |
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183
dismal
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| adj.阴沉的，凄凉的，令人忧郁的，差劲的 | |
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184
stifled
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| （使）窒息， （使）窒闷( stifle的过去式和过去分词 )； 镇压，遏制； 堵 | |
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185
delightful
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| adj.令人高兴的，使人快乐的 | |
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186
briefly
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| adv.简单地，简短地 | |
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187
resentment
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| n.怨愤，忿恨 | |
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188
brink
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| n.(悬崖、河流等的)边缘，边沿 | |
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189
agitation
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| n.搅动；搅拌；鼓动，煽动 | |
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190
wailing
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| v.哭叫，哀号( wail的现在分词 )；沱 | |
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191
entreat
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| v.恳求，恳请 | |
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192
resolute
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| adj.坚决的，果敢的 | |
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193
miserable
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| adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的 | |
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194
entreaty
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| n.恳求，哀求 | |
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195
kindled
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| （使某物）燃烧，着火( kindle的过去式和过去分词 )； 激起（感情等）； 发亮，放光 | |
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196
pumpkins
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| n.南瓜( pumpkin的名词复数 )；南瓜的果肉，南瓜囊 | |
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197
wrath
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| n.愤怒，愤慨，暴怒 | |
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198
hatred
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| n.憎恶，憎恨，仇恨 | |
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199
annihilated
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| v.（彻底）消灭( annihilate的过去式和过去分词 )；使无效；废止；彻底击溃 | |
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200
slandering
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| [法]口头诽谤行为 | |
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201
amiable
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| adj.和蔼可亲的，友善的，亲切的 | |
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202
apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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203
erred
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| 犯错误，做错事( err的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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204
constraining
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| 强迫( constrain的现在分词 )； 强使； 限制； 约束 | |
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205
injustice
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| n.非正义，不公正，不公平，侵犯（别人的）权利 | |
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206
paternal
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| adj.父亲的，像父亲的，父系的，父方的 | |
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207
hearty
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| adj.热情友好的；衷心的；尽情的，纵情的 | |
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208
humbleness
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| n.谦卑，谦逊；恭顺 | |
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209
saluted
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| v.欢迎，致敬( salute的过去式和过去分词 )；赞扬，赞颂 | |
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210
thereby
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| adv.因此，从而 | |
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211
haughty
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| adj.傲慢的，高傲的 | |
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212
lackeys
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| n.听差( lackey的名词复数 )；男仆（通常穿制服）；卑躬屈膝的人；被待为奴仆的人 | |
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213
rumor
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| n.谣言，谣传，传说 | |
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214
perplexed
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| adj.不知所措的 | |
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215
queries
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| n.问题( query的名词复数 )；疑问；询问；问号v.质疑，对…表示疑问( query的第三人称单数 )；询问 | |
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216
dispositions
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| 安排( disposition的名词复数 )； 倾向； （财产、金钱的）处置； 气质 | |
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217
speculative
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| adj.思索性的，暝想性的，推理的 | |
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218
derive
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| v.取得；导出；引申；来自；源自；出自 | |
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219
enjoyment
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| n.乐趣；享有；享用 | |
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220
reverence
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| n.敬畏，尊敬，尊严；Reverence:对某些基督教神职人员的尊称；v.尊敬，敬畏，崇敬 | |
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221
chaos
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| n.混乱，无秩序 | |
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222
smother
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| vt./vi.使窒息；抑制；闷死；n.浓烟；窒息 | |
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223
disparagement
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| n.轻视，轻蔑 | |
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224
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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225
feuds
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| n.长期不和，世仇( feud的名词复数 ) | |
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226
corrupted
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| （使）败坏( corrupt的过去式和过去分词 )； （使）腐化； 引起（计算机文件等的）错误； 破坏 | |
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