Upon leaving Les Jardies, Balzac took refuge in the village of Passy, at No. 19, Rue1 Basse, and there buried himself. (Thanks to M. de Royaumont, this building has become the Balzac Museum, similar to that of Victor Hugo at Paris, and of Goethe at Frankfort.) It was there that he meant to make his last effort and either perish or conquer destiny. Under the name of M. de Brugnol he had hired a small one-storey pavilion, situated3 in a garden and hidden from sight by the houses facing on the street. His address was known only to trusted friends, and it was now more difficult than ever to discover him. And his life as literary galley-slave was now burdened, in this solitude5, with new and overwhelming tasks.
In the midst of the stormy tumult6 of money troubles and creative labour there was only one single gleam of calm and tender light. In November, 1840, he formed the project of going to Russia, and promised himself the pleasure of joining the Comtesse de Hanska at St. Petersburg for two long months. This hope, which he clung to with all the strength of his ardent7 nature, was not to be realised until 1843, for his departure was delayed from day to day through his financial embarrassment8 and unfulfilled contracts with publishers.
Shutting himself into his writing den4, a small narrow room with a low ceiling, he proceeded to finish The Village Cure and The Diaries of Two Young Brides; he began A Dark Affair for a journal called Le Commerce, The Two Brothers, later A Bachelor’s Establishment, for La Presse; Les Lecamus, for Le Siecle; The Trials and Tribulations10 of an English Cat, for one of Hetzel’s publications, Scenes from the Private and Public Life of Animals; he worked upon The Peasants and wrote Ursule Mirouet — altogether more than thirty thousand lines in the newspaper columns, in less than one year!
Meanwhile his business affairs, so entangled11 that he himself hardly knew where he stood, in spite of a portfolio12 bound in black in which he kept his promissory notes and every other variety of commercial paper — and which he called his Compte Melancoliques (his Melancholy13 Accounts), adding that they were not to be regarded as a companion volume to his Contes Drolatiques (his Droll14 Tales) — began to assume some sort of order, thanks to the efforts of his lawyer, M. Gavault, who had undertaken to wind them up. Balzac remained as poor as ever, for he had to turn over to M. Gavault all the money he took in, aside from what he needed for the strict necessities of life. He admitted proudly that at this period there were times when he contented15 himself with eating a single small roll on the Boulevard, and that he had gone for days together with one franc as his sole cash on hand.
But a new edition was soon destined16 to put him on his feet, enable him to liquidate17 a portion of his floating debt and to pay back some of his biggest loans. An agreement had been formed between Furne, Dubochet, Hetzel and Paulin to bring out an edition of his complete works under the glorious and definitive18 title of The Human Comedy. But it meant a vast amount of work, all his older volumes to revise and new ones to write — a task that he estimated would require not less than seven years to finish. If he had produced thirty thousand lines in 1841, he calculated that he was bound by his contracts to produce not less than forty thousand in 1842, not counting the work of correcting proofs of all the new editions of his published stories.
His mental powers were as fertile as ever, but his bodily strength, despite his robust19 constitution, sometimes broke down under the prodigious21 fever of creation. Balzac’s physician, Dr. Nacquart, obliged him to take a rest. “I am ill,” he wrote at this time. “I have been resting all through the latter part of May (1841) in a bathtub, taking three-hour baths every day to keep down the inflammation which threatened me, and following a debilitating22 diet, which has resulted in what, in my case, amounts to a disease, namely, emptiness of the brain. Not a stroke of work, not an atom of strength, and up to the beginning of this month I have remained in the agreeable condition of an oyster23. But at last Dr. Nacquart is satisfied and I am back at my task and have just finished The Diaries of Two Young Brides and have written Ursule Mirouet, one of those privileged stories which you are going to read; and now I am starting in on a volume for the Montyon prize.” (Letters to a Foreign Lady, Volume 1, page 560, Letter of June-July, 1841.)
Every one of Balzac’s novels cost him unimaginable and never ending toil24. After having brooded over his subject, planned the situation, characterised his personages, and decided25 upon the general philosophy that he intended to express, there followed the task of translating all that he had conceived and thought into an adequate literary form. Balzac often proceeded in bursts of enthusiasm, flashes of illumination, and in a few nights would map out the entire scenario26 of a whole novel. This first effort was in a certain sense the parent-cell, which little by little gathered to itself the elements necessary for the final composition of the work. The proof sheets sent to Balzac always had broad margins27, and it is not too much to say that he amplified28 the initial draft as though he were attaching the muscles and tendons to the bones of a skeleton; then one set of proofs followed another, while he imparted to his story a network of veins29 and arteries30 and a nervous system, infused blood into its veins and breathed into it his powerful breath of life — and all of a sudden there it was, a living, pulsating31 creation, within that envelope of words into which he had infused the best that he possessed32 in style and colour. But he suffered bitter disillusions33 when the work was finally printed; the creator never found his creation sufficiently34 perfect. Balzac suffered with all the sensibility of his artistic35 conscience from blemishes36 which he regarded as glaring faults, and which he followed up and corrected with unparalleled ardour. He was aided in this task by Mme. de Berny, his sister Laure, Charles Lemesle and Denoyers; and he himself, a literary giant, who did not hesitate to write to Mme. Carraud that his work was in its own line a greater achievement than the Cathedral at Bourges was in architecture, spent whole days in shaping and reshaping a phrase, like some sublime37 mason who — by a prodigy38 — had built a cathedral single-handed and whose heart bled upon discovering a neglected carving39 in the shadow of some buttress40 and expended41 infinite pains to perfect it, although it was almost invisible amidst the vastness and the beauty of the whole structure.
Accordingly his work became steadily42 more laborious43 to Balzac, and from time to time we can hear him grumbling44 and groaning45; we can see him at his task, his broad face contracted, his black eyes bloodshot, his skin bathed in perspiration46 and showing dark, almost greenish, in the candle-light, while his whole body trembled and quivered with the unseen effort of creation. His fatigue47 was often extreme; the use of coffee troubled his stomach and heated his blood; he had a nervous twitching48 of the eyelids49, and suffered from painful shortness of breath and a congested condition of the head that resulted in over-powering somnolence50.
But he rallied and his will power dominated illness itself and imposed his own rules upon his overstrained body. At the same time he dreamed of a calmer life, he pictured the delights of bucolic51 days and longed to know when this driving slavery was to end. Accordingly we find him consulting a sorcerer, a reader of cards, the celebrated52 Balthazar, in regard to his future. He was amazed to find how much of his past this man was able to reveal to him, a past made up of struggles and of obstacles overcome, and he joyously53 accepted predictions that assured him victory. Balzac was superstitious55, not in a vulgar way, but through a deep curiosity in the presence of those mysteries of the universe which are unexplained by science. He believed himself to be endowed with magnetic powers; and, as a matter of fact, the irresistible56 effect of his words, the subtle force which emanated57 from his whole personality and confirmed by his contemporaries. He believed in telepathy, he held that two beings who love each other, and whose sensibilities are in a certain degree in harmony, are able, even when far apart, mutually to respond to emotions felt by the one or the other. He consulted clairvoyants59 as to the course of diet to be followed by Mme. Hanska, and gravely communicated their replies to her, urging her to follow their advice. Occurrences apparently60 quite trivial troubled him profoundly, and he was anxious for several days because he had lost a shirt-stud given him by Mme. de Berny and could not determine what could be the meaning of the loss. His sorcerer had predicted that he would shortly receive a letter which would change the entire course of his life, and, as a confirmation61 of his clairvoyance62, Mme. de Hanska announced a few months later the death of her husband, M. de Hanski, which permitted Balzac to indulge in the highest hopes.
This event brought him an access of fresh courage, for in order to make the journey to St. Petersburg it was essential that he should first achieve a triumph, brief, brilliant and complete. He decided once again to make a bold attempt at the theatre, and the scene of battle was to be the Odeon. He offered The Resources of Quinola to the manager, Lireux, who accepted it with enthusiasm. Balzac read his comedy to its future interpreters — notwithstanding that he had as yet written only four acts of it — and calmly informed them that he would have to tell them the general substance of the fifth. They were amazed at such bold disregard of professional usages, but it was passed over, for Lireux was all impatience64 to produce The Resources and to begin the rehearsals65.
Warned by the failure of Vautrin, Balzac took the most minute care in arranging for the opening night audience which he relied upon to sweep Quinola heavenward on a mounting wave of glory. To begin with, he did away with the claquers and fixed66 the price of admission at five francs, while the general scale of prices was as follows: balcony seats twenty five francs, stalls twenty francs, seats in the open boxes of the first tier twenty-five francs, open boxes of the second tier twenty francs, closed boxes of the second tier twenty five francs, baignoir boxes twenty francs. He had no use for mere67 nobodies, but determined68 to sift69 out his audience from amongst the most distinguished70 men and women in all Paris, ministers, counts, princesses, academicians, and financiers. He included the two Princesses Troubetskoi, the Countess Leon, the Countess Nariskine, the Aguados, the Rothschilds, the Doudeauvilles, the Castries, and he decided that there should be none but pretty women in the front seats of the open boxes. And he counted upon piling up a fine little surplus, since the revenues of the box-office were in his hands for the first three nights. Alas71, on the night of March 19, 1842, The Resources of Quinola met with the same reception as Vautrin had done before it; in spite of all his precautions, his enemies had gained admission to the Odeon, and throughout the whole evening, from the first act onward72, there was a ceaseless storm of hisses73 and cat-calls. He had wasted four months, only to arrive at another defeat.
And all the while his financial difficulties were becoming keener, more pressing, more imminent74, and Balzac, overburdened, recapitulated75 his disasters as follows: the Chronique de Paris, the Trip to Sardinia, the Revue Parisienne and Vautrin; nevertheless he proudly squared his shoulders. “My writings will never make my fortune until the time comes when I shall no longer be in need of a fortune for it takes twenty-five years before a success begins to pay, and fifty years before a great achievement is understood.” And he returned to his work! His Complete Works were now published, for he had written a “Foreword,” summing up his method, his art and his idea; he composed Albert Savarus, in order “to respond with a masterpiece to the barkings of the press”; he completed The Peasants, The Two Brothers (later A Bachelor’s Establishment), he wrote The Pretended Mistress, A Debut76 in Life, which appeared in La Legislature, David Sechard, The Evil Doings of a Saint, The Love of Two Beasts; he began The Deputy from Arcis and The Brothers of Consolation77; he dreamed of bringing out a new edition — and we know the labour that new editions cost him! — of Louis Lambert and Seraphita; and, lastly, he corrected three volumes of the Comedie Humaine!
Living as a recluse78 at Passy, shut up in his working room with its hangings of red velvet79, seated at his table, with one shapely hand supporting his massive head and his eyes fixed upon a miniature reproducing the somewhat opulent contours of Mme. Hanska’s profile, and hence straying to an aquarelle representing the chateau80 at Wierzchownia, Balzac interrupted his proof correcting to forget his weariness in golden dreams: It was impossible that he should fail to be elected to the Academie Francaise — which would mean two thousand francs — hereupon he smiled — he was sure of being appointed a member of the dictionary committee — six thousand francs more — his smile broadened — and why should he not become a member of the Academy of Inscriptions81 and Belles-Lettres and its permanent secretary? — another six thousand francs — total, fourteen thousand! — and laughing his vast sonorous82 laugh — in view of this assured and honourable83 position — Balzac made plans for a prompt marriage with his far-off and long-awaited bride.
But his dreams were of short duration. There was no end of ink-stained paper which had to be inked still further, for without money there could be no journey to St. Petersburg. And then there were losses of time, which he regretted but could not avoid, such as having to pose for David of Angers, who was modelling his monumental bust20; having to take long walks, in order to keep down his growing corpulence; and inviting84 a few friends to Le Rocher de Cancale, Victor Hugo and Leon Gozlan, in order to entertain a Russian, M. de Lenz, who wished to meet him — a sumptuous85 and lively dinner which cost him a hundred and twenty francs — a sum which he naturally had to borrow, and with no small difficulty!
After alternating between hope and despair, Balzac set forth86 by way of Dunkerque for St. Petersburg, where he arrived July 29, 1843, not returning to Paris until the 3rd of November. This was his fourth meeting with Mme. Hanska in the space of ten years, and the first since the death of M. de Hanski. (Hanski is the masculine form for Hanska. [Translator’s Note.]) Balzac was happy and irresponsible, he laughed his deep, resounding87 laugh of joyous54 days, that laugh which no misfortune could quite extinguish. He was carefree and elated, and found the strength to write a short story, Honorine, without taking coffee. He indulged in jests; the Emperor of Russia, he declared, valued him to the extent of thirty-two roubles, for that was the cost of his permit of residence. And heart and soul he gave himself up to his dear Countess Hanska.
Balzac’s trip to Russia was the source of numerous legends. It was said that he went for the purpose of asking the Czar to authorise him to write a work that should be to a certain extent official, for the purpose of refuting M. de Custine’s Russia in 1839, and that, having demanded an audience in too cavalier a tone, he was ordered to regain88 the frontier by the shortest possible route. Others related that he had gone there in pursuit of a princess whom he was bent89 upon marrying.
The return trip was made in short stages through Germany and Belgium, and Balzac stayed over long enough in Berlin, Dresden and Liege to become acquainted with these cities and their museums. But he had no sooner arrived in Paris than he was attacked with inflammation of the brain, and Dr. Nacquart put him on a very strict regime. In Paris he once again found his tasks and his financial difficulties faithfully awaiting him, and, faithful in his turn, he set to work again with true “Balzacian fury.” But now a new element had entered into his life: his marriage to Mme. Hanska, although still far distant, and dependent upon chance, was at least a settled question, and he left St. Petersburg taking her formal promise with him. Consequently, whatever the hardships of his existence, his periods of poverty and toil, he was now sustained by the hope of realising a union that had been so long desired, and he strove towards it with all his tenacious91 energy, as towards a supreme92 goal. For the next seven years his every act was designed as a preparation for his marriage, the future organisation93 of his life, when he should become the husband of Countess Hanska. He concerned himself with her financial affairs, with the lawsuit94 brought against her after the death of her husband, with the difficulties arising from a contested inheritance; and from a distance he gave her advice as to the management of her property and the investment of her principal. And at the same time he kept her informed of his efforts to find a home worthy95 of their happiness, told her of household furnishings he had bought, and sketched96 the various scales of domestic and social life which one could live according to the amount of one’s income.
These were no longer dreams, practically speaking, but projects for an assured future. Nevertheless, he was still destined to pass through many a disastrous98 period before the triumph came. In 1843 he was a candidate for the Academie Francaise, and he had reason to believe that he would be welcomed there with especial honours. His already extensive achievements, surpassing all contemporary production, were further augmented99 by Honorine, The Muse2 of the Department, Lost Illusions (part three), The Sufferings of an Inventor, a Monograph101 on the Parisian Press, which had aroused great anger, The Splendour and Misery102 of Courtezans (second part), Modeste Mignon, and Madame de la Chanterie (later The Seamy Side of Contemporary History), and there was no other writer who was in a position to dispute the sceptre with him. Nevertheless, legitimate103 as his candidacy was, he felt the opposition104 to it, and, realising the cause, he wrote to Nodier, who was supporting him, this proudly sad letter:
“MY GOOD NODIER,
“I know to-day so surely that my financial position is one of the reasons for the opposition to my candidacy for the Academie, that I beg you, though with profound regret, not to use your influence in my favour.
“If I am debarred from the Academie by reason of a most honourable poverty, I shall never again present myself in the days when prosperity accords me her favours. I am writing to the same effect to our friend Victor Hugo, who has been working for me.
“God give you health, my good Nodier.”
And, this letter being written, Balzac once more buried himself in his work with such energy that he had a rush of blood to the head, together with such atrocious neuralgic pains that it was necessary to apply leeches105. None the less he continued to work, and, if he went out at all, it was for the purpose of visiting his printers or going on the trail of works of art. From the time that the question of his marriage was assured he began an assiduous search for beautiful adornments for his future home, their home; and he prided himself on his instinct as a collector and his cleverness as a buyer. He could get the upper hand of the oldest antiquary. He had bought some Florentine furniture worthy of the Louvre, a commode and a writing-desk that had belonged to Marie de Medicis, for thirteen hundred and fifty francs — a unique bargain! — and he could sell them again at a profit of thousands of francs if he wished to. Perhaps he would consent to part with the commode, but he intended to keep the writing desk and place it between two ebony wardrobes which he already possessed, and it would cost him nothing, because the sale of the other piece, the commode, would cover the entire cost! And although in his letters to Mme. Hanska he defended himself against the charge of prodigality107, these “good bargains” still continued. A clock of royal magnificence and two vases of pale green garnet, also Bouchardon’s “Christ” in a frame by Brustolone. And for years he continued in pursuit of bric-a-brac, paintings and other works of art. In 1845, on his way home after accompanying Mme. Hanska to Naples, he passed through Marseilles, where he found some Chinese vases and plates at Lazard’s curio shop, and, after reaching Paris, he wrote to Lazard, ordering some Chinese Horns-of-plenty and some “very fine bookcases ten metres long by three high, richly ornamented108 or richly carved.” And, not content with giving these instructions to the dealer109, he wrote to Mery, who had entertained him at Marseilles, explaining what he wanted from Lazard, and giving the following excellent lesson in the art of bargaining:
“While you are jollying the worthy Lazard, do me the favour of sending from time to time some of your friends to bargain for the two objects in question, and have them always make an offer, some of fifty, others of a hundred, others of twenty-five francs less than yours. After a fortnight of this manoeuvring, some fine morning Lazard will let you have them.”
And Balzac added a postscript110 to this little lesson in the fine art of bargaining: “Never become a collector, for if you do you give yourself into the keeping of a demon111 as exacting112 and jealous as the demon of gambling113.” But while warning his friends against his own ruling passion he surrendered himself to it with passionate114 delight. During his leisure hours he wandered at random115 through Paris, like a hunter on the trail of his quarry116 — through Paris which he knew down to the remotest of its back alleys117 and which he loved even in its slums. When he ran across some rare and precious piece, or something that merely appealed to his individual taste, he derived118 an intense joy out of employing all his trickery, his readiness of speech, his persuasive119 powers, to beat down the price of the coveted120 object. It was a battle in which he chose to come out conqueror121. It pleased him to be recognised as a man with the business instinct; and he threw out his chest when he repeated the remark of his publisher, Souverain, “M. de Balzac is better at figures than Rothschild!”
In 1846, during a new trip to Italy with Mme. Hanska, her daughter Anna and the latter’s husband, Count Georges Mniszech, he ransacked122 all Naples, Rome and Genoa, and no longer confined his attention to furniture and bric-a-brac, but had his eye open for paintings as well, because his latest ambition was to found a gallery. This taste for paintings came to him rather late in life, for his artistic appreciation123 had long been limited to the works of Girodet, a taste which called forth many a sarcasm124 from the far better informed Theophile Gautier. In Rome Balzac purchased a Sebastiano del Piombo, a Bronzino and a Mierevelt, he hunted up some Hobbemas and Holbeins, he secured a Natoire and a Breughel — which he decided to sell, as it proved not to be genuine — for he wanted “pictures of the first rank or none at all”; furthermore, he brought back to Paris a Judgment125 of Paris, attributed to Giorgione, a Greuze — a sketch97 of his wife — a Van Dyck, a Paul Brill, The Sorceresses, a sketch of the birth of Louis XIV representing the Adoration126 of the Shepherds, an Aurora127 by Guido, a Rape128 of Europa, by Annibale Carrachio or Domenichino — and there we have the beginning of his gallery such as he described it in Cousin Pons. At the same time he did not neglect other forms of art for the sake of his paintings; he acquired a Saxon dinner service and a set of Dutch furniture from Amsterdam; Mme. Hanska sent him some porcelains129 from Germany; he sent to Tours for a writing desk and a commode of the Louis XVI period, he bought a bed supposed to have belonged to Mme. de Pompadour and which he intended for his guest chamber130, besides a parlour set in carved woodwork, “of the last degree of magnificence,” and a dining-room fountain made by Bernard Palissy for Henry II or Charles IX. Little by little he accumulated these marvels131, destined to adorn106 his home after the marriage.
And, in the hope of hastening the date, he made one supreme effort, with his brain as clear and as fertile as in the periods of his most furious production. Between 1844 and 1847 he produced, in addition to the works already mentioned, The Peasants, The Splendour and Misery of Courtezans (third part), Cousin Bette, The Involuntary Comedians132, The Last Incarnation of Vautrin, Cousin Pons, The Deputy from Arcis, and The Lesser133 Bourgeoisie. He foresaw the dawn of his deliverance: he would be able to achieve his gigantic task in peace.
Balzac was fully90 conscious of his genius and of the greatness of the monument which he had already partly raised. He objected to being classed with the men of letters of his period, and for some time past had claimed recognition as standing63 on a higher level. Eugene de Mirecourt was witness of a scene which bore evidence to his justifiable134 pride:
“It was during the winter of 1843,” he wrote, “that Messrs. Maulde and Renon published a Picture of the Great City, which was edited by Marc Fournier, the present manager of the Port-Saint-Martin theatre.
“One evening Balzac entered the publishers’ office and said:
“‘Our agreement, gentlemen, was that I should be paid for my Monograph on the Parisian Press at the rate of five hundred francs a page.’
“‘That is so,’ they replied.
“‘I have received only fifteen hundred francs and there are four pages; accordingly you still owe me five hundred francs.’
“‘But your corrections, M. de Balzac! Have you any idea what they amounted to?’
“‘There was nothing said about my paying for corrections.’
“‘That is true,’ replied M. Renon, ‘but I ought to tell you that Alexander Dumas’s article, Filles, Lorettes et Courtisanes, also ran to four pages, yet we have not given him a centime more than we have given you.’
“Balzac started and turned pale. It is evident that he must have been in great financial need before he would have come to make such a request. But he quite forgot this in the face of the words he had just heard. For, without pressing his claim further, he arose, took his hat and said, with an accent of solemn dignity:
“‘From the moment that you compare me with that negro I have the honour of wishing you good evening!’
“He went out. And that was how the mere name of Alexandre Dumas saved the business office of The Great City five hundred francs.” (Balzac, by Eugene de Mirecourt, pp. 80-82.)
In order to hasten his liberation from debt and his settlement with creditors135, Balzac tried to augment100 the sums which he received from editors and publishers with the profits from various speculations136. He expected a rise in value of the shares which he held in the company of the Chemins de Fer du Nord, and, either trusting to reliable information or else himself possessing an intimate knowledge of the development of real estate in Paris, he urged Mme. Hanska to invest her capital in land in the Monceau district. He cited the example of Louis-Philippe, who was the cleverest speculator of his time, and who had acquired tracts9 of immense extent.
After the close of 1846 Balzac retired137 from the outside world and gave himself up almost entirely138 to his great work. Through an intermediary he had purchased the residence of the financier, Baujon, in the Rue Fortunee, and with great secrecy139 he had it repaired and redecorated, with a view to making it habitable at the earliest possible date. Here he deposited his wealth of furnishings — which had already begun to excite public wonderment, owing to certain indiscreet revelations — but his life, which had always been closely hidden, had now become practically unknown. He was unwilling140 to show himself again in public until he could return in triumph after his marriage. Mme. Hanska visited Paris a second time, in 1847, and approved of all his arrangements. Balzac in return went to Wierzchownia that same year, and he was dazzled by the vastness of her estates — which were equal in extent to a whole department of France — and by the possibilities of neglected and undeveloped resources which might be made to yield millions. After his return to Paris he had but one desire: to go back to Wierzchownia, celebrate his marriage, and realise the dream which he had tenaciously141 pursued for seventeen years.
He remained in Paris six months, living in his new home in the Rue Fortunee, denying himself to all but his most intimate friends, and hiding his prosperity until the day should come when he could announce his good fortune to the world at large. One of the last portraits of Balzac at this period is the one traced by Champfleury, whom he had received as a disciple142 and fervent143 admirer:
“M. de Balzac,” he wrote, “descended144 the stairs enveloped145 in his famous monk’s robe. His face is round, his black eyes are excessively brilliant, the general tone of his complexion146 verges147 upon olive, with patches of violent red in the cheeks, and pure yellow towards the temples and around the eyes. His abundant hair is a dense148 black, intermingled with threads of silver; it is an astonishing head of hair. In spite of the amplitude149 of his dressing-gown, his girth appears enormous.” And, further on, he gives us this second sketch: “but at the age of forty-nine M. de Balzac ought to be painted rather than sculptured. His keen black eyes, his powerful growth of hair intermingled with white, the violent tones of pure yellow and red which succeed each other crudely in his cheeks, and the singular character of the hairs of his beard, all combine to give him the air of a festive150 wild boar, that the modern sculptors151 would have difficulty in reproducing.”
Arriving in Paris a few days before the Revolution, Balzac witnessed the turbulent scenes of 1848. It is said that he was one of the first to reach the Tuileries, mingling152 with the excited populace, and he brought away a fragment of the tapestry153 which covered the throne of Louis-Philippe. He attended an Assembly of Men-of-Letters, which met to decide what their attitude should be towards the provisional government, but he had an absent-minded and detached air, as though he found himself a stranger among all those writers. He found no one he knew, and seemed to be searching for his comrades of earlier days. His frequent journeys outside of France, which began in 1845, his long periods of residence in foreign countries, in company with Mme. Hanska, seemed to have weaned him away from the environment in which he had lived and developed, and fitted him for a different mode of life.
The club of Universal Fraternity, in Paris, having placed him upon its list of candidates for the legislative154 elections, he sent to its president the following public letter, proud and somewhat disillusioned155, in reply to the question of a member, who wished to know his political opinions:
“I have already stated that if the functions of a representative were entrusted156 to me I would accept them. But I thought from the beginning and I still think that it is superfluous157 for any man whose life and works have been public property for twenty years to make a profession of faith.
“There are some men whom the votes solicit158, and there are others who must solicit votes, and it is the latter who must prove the soundness of their political views. But, as to me, if I have not taken my place, through my writings, amongst the nine hundred individuals who represent in our country either intelligence, or power, or commercial activity, or a knowledge of laws and men and business, the ballot159 will tell me so!”
But although Balzac had for twenty years had an ambition to hold political office, to be a cabinet minister and have a share in the government, he witnessed the Revolution of 1848 with no other feeling than sorrow, for he felt that it augured160 no good for France. Besides, at this time he had no other wish than to return to Russia, join Mme. Hanska, and close the great mystery of his life with a glorious marriage. During the few months that he remained in Paris, from February to September, 1848, he showed nothing of his customary literary activity, and seems to have had no other thought than that of putting his new home in order, and transforming it into a sumptuous abode161. And when everything was ready to receive the future bride he set out for Wierzchownia, at the end of September, leaving his home in the care of his mother, with whom he had often had clashes and periods of coldness, yet who had never refused her son a devotion which, although at times somewhat churlish, was based upon a deep affection and a precise recognition of her duties.
Accordingly Mme. de Balzac watched over his interests, just as she formerly162 did in 1832, when he had gone to Aix in the company of Mme. de Castries; and Balzac sent instructions to her from Russia, but their tone showed an assurance, a certain complete tranquillity163, which he had not had in the days of his laborious youth. These instructions related to business ventures which he was thinking of undertaking164 — during his first sojourn165 he had considered the plan of utilising Count Mnizscek’s forests by converting them into railway ties — and now he wanted her to send him a work by Vicat, treating of mortars166 and hydraulic167 cement; then there were orders relating to the care he wished to be given to the final settling of his home — which cost him not less than four hundred thousand francs. Mme. de Balzac must needs oversee168 the various contractors169, Grohe, the upholsterer, Paillard, who had the contract for furnishing the parlour, Feuchere, the worker in bronze, from whom Balzac wished his mother to order two brackets in gilded170 copper171, while at the same time she was to send him a complete list of all his table silver. He went into the most minute details, which showed his love of order, begging his mother to remind Francois, one of his servants, to fill and clean the lamps, “for that is an essential matter,” he insisted. Each of these letters to his mother contains some such trivial recommendation, which goes to show that he had the instinct of a careful housekeeper172 who hates needless waste.
From Russia he continued to supervise his theatrical173 interests, and entrusted them so far as they related to Mercadet, to his friend, Laurent-Jan, while at the same time he protested against a performance of Vautrin which he had not authorised. He announced to Laurent-Jan that he was hard at work and was preparing some scenarios174 for him. He had not renounced175 the idea of making money through the dramatic branch of his art. For there were times when Mme. Hanska became anxious regarding his personal debts, which were not yet wholly paid off, as well as their mutual58 debts incurred176 in relation to their future home and its furnishings. He feared that his mother, who was herself easily alarmed, might write some discouraging news as to his financial position, and in this way alarm the countess. Accordingly he sent her one day a secret letter, through the post-office in Berditcheff, in which he gave her most explicit177 orders in this connection. For he had now been in Wierzchownia almost twelve months, and his marriage, although ostensibly agreed upon, had not yet taken place, and he knew that in such a case the whole thing might fall through at any time, up to the very moment of the ceremony. As a matter of fact, he was a sick man, his heart and lungs were both affected178, he had lost the last of his teeth, and there were some days when he found it impossible even to move his arms without a sense of suffocation179.
Nevertheless his constancy was at last recompensed, after months of despair, during which he said, “I must regard the project which brought me here as indefinitely postponed180.” In March, 1850, preparations were made for the marriage, and in announcing it to his mother he said that he would notify her of the day of his return, so that she could decorate the rooms with flowers, “beautiful, beautiful flowers.” And on March 15th he despatched two letters, one to Mme. de Balzac and the other to Laure, in which he announced the event so long delayed. “Yesterday, at Berditcheff, in the parish church of St. Barbara, a delegate of the bishop181 Jatomir, a saintly and virtuous182 priest, closely resembling our own Abbe Henaux, confessor of the Duchess of Angouleme, blessed and celebrated our marriage.” And he signed the letter to his sister: “Your brother, Honore, at the pinnacle183 of happiness!”
The happiness was brief. Balzac seems to have been destined to have a life made up solely184 of toil and struggles, and at the very moment when he had forced his way out of the jungle of obstacles and superhuman efforts, and had reached that vast plain where travellers along the path of life repose185, destiny forbade him any joy. At the moment when he was hoping for happiness, peace, and love, death was at his elbow.
He returned with his wife to Paris towards the end of May, 1850, in a state of exhaustion186, and yet full of dreams, projects and hopes — but only to take to his bed and await his destined hour. nothing could be more dramatic than his last weeks. He suffered from heart, lungs and liver. Every care was taken of him, and hope was offered of a cure; yet he never rose again. His work had killed him. No one can read without emotion the simple line that he traced on June 20, 1850, on a letter dictated187 to his wife for Theophile Gautier, who had called to see him: “I can no longer read nor write!”
Honore de Balzac died during the night of August 18, 1850, at a time when his beautiful and weary eyes had barely caught a fleeting188 glimpse of fortune, glory and peace.
ictor Hugo was notified and hurried to his bedside.
“We traversed a corridor,” he has recorded, “we ascended189 a staircase covered with a red carpet and encumbered190 with works of art, vases, statues, paintings, cabinets containing enamels191; then another corridor, and I saw a door standing open. I heard a rattling192 breath, loud and sinister193. I found myself in Balzac’s bedroom.
“A bed stood in the middle of the chamber. It was a bed of acacia wood, at the head and foot of which were cross-pieces and straps194, apparently forming part of an apparatus195 for lifting and moving the sick man. M. de Balzac lay in this bed, with his head supported on a pile of pillows, to which had been added some red damask cushions taken from the sofa in the same room. His face was purple, almost black, and was turned towards the right. He was unshaven, but his gray hair was cut short. His eyes were wide open and staring. I saw him in profile, and, seen thus, he resembled the emperor.
“An old woman, the nurse, and a man-servant were standing, one on each side of the bed. A candle was burning behind the headboard on a table, and another on a commode near the door. On still another table a silver vase had been placed. The man and woman stood silent, listening in a sort of terror to the noisy rattle196 of the dying man’s breath.
“The candle at the head of the bed vividly197 lighted a portrait of a young man, high coloured and smiling, which hung above the mantle198.
“An insupportable odour emanated from the bed. I lifted up the coverlid and took Balzac’s hand. It was bathed in sweat. I pressed it, but he did not return the pressure.
“The nurse said to me:
“‘He will die at daybreak.’
“I descended the stairs, carrying away that livid face in my thoughts; as I crossed the parlour I once again came upon the motionless bust (of Balzac, by David of Angers), impassible, proud and vaguely199 radiant, and I drew a comparison between death and immortality200.
“On reaching my home, as it happened to be Sunday, I found several callers waiting for me, amongst others Riza-Bey, the Turkish charge d’affaires, Navarrete, the Spanish poet, and Count Arrivabene, an Italian exile. I said to them:
“‘Gentlemen, Europe is about to lose a great mind.’
“He died during the night, at fifty-one years of age.”
Balzac loved to compare his struggles with the military campaigns of Bonaparte, and to point out that he had conducted them without halt or bivouac, after the manner of the great conqueror. He wished to equal him in glory and to surpass him in the achievements that he should leave behind him for the benefit of future generations. He has recorded his great desire: “In short, here is the game I am playing; during this present half century four men will have exerted an immense influence: Napoleon, Cuvier, O’Connell, and I should like to be the fourth. The first lived upon the blood of Europe, he inoculated201 himself with armies; the second espoused202 the globe; the third was the incarnation of an entire people; as for me, I shall have borne an entire social epoch203 in my head.”
More fortunate than the young Corsican sub-lieutenant, Balzac produced a work possessing a permanence which the other could not have — since thought is always greater than action — and although death surprised him before he could lay the last stone of his edifice204, its incompleted grandeurs might well suffice the loftiest ambition.
The End
收听单词发音 |
1
rue
|
|
| n.懊悔，芸香，后悔；v.后悔，悲伤，懊悔 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
2
muse
|
|
| n.缪斯（希腊神话中的女神），创作灵感 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
3
situated
|
|
| adj.坐落在...的，处于某种境地的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
4
den
|
|
| n.兽穴；秘密地方；安静的小房间，私室 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
5
solitude
|
|
| n. 孤独; 独居,荒僻之地,幽静的地方 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
6
tumult
|
|
| n.喧哗；激动，混乱；吵闹 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
7
ardent
|
|
| adj.热情的，热烈的，强烈的，烈性的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
8
embarrassment
|
|
| n.尴尬；使人为难的人(事物)；障碍；窘迫 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
9
tracts
|
|
| 大片土地( tract的名词复数 )； 地带； （体内的）道； （尤指宣扬宗教、伦理或政治的）短文 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
10
tribulations
|
|
| n.苦难( tribulation的名词复数 )；艰难；苦难的缘由；痛苦 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
11
entangled
|
|
| adj.卷入的；陷入的；被缠住的；缠在一起的v.使某人（某物/自己）缠绕，纠缠于（某物中），使某人（自己）陷入（困难或复杂的环境中）( entangle的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
12
portfolio
|
|
| n.公事包；文件夹；大臣及部长职位 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
13
melancholy
|
|
| n.忧郁，愁思；adj.令人感伤（沮丧）的，忧郁的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
14
droll
|
|
| adj.古怪的，好笑的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
15
contented
|
|
| adj.满意的，安心的，知足的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
16
destined
|
|
| adj.命中注定的；(for)以…为目的地的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
17
liquidate
|
|
| v.偿付，清算，扫除；整理，破产 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
18
definitive
|
|
| adj.确切的，权威性的；最后的，决定性的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
19
robust
|
|
| adj.强壮的，强健的，粗野的，需要体力的，浓的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
20
bust
|
|
| vt.打破；vi.爆裂；n.半身像；胸部 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
21
prodigious
|
|
| adj.惊人的，奇妙的；异常的；巨大的；庞大的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
22
debilitating
|
|
| a.使衰弱的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
23
oyster
|
|
| n.牡蛎；沉默寡言的人 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
24
toil
|
|
| vi.辛劳工作，艰难地行动；n.苦工，难事 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
25
decided
|
|
| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
26
scenario
|
|
| n.剧本，脚本；概要 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
27
margins
|
|
| 边( margin的名词复数 )； 利润； 页边空白； 差数 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
28
amplified
|
|
| 放大，扩大( amplify的过去式和过去分词 )； 增强； 详述 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
29
veins
|
|
| n.纹理；矿脉( vein的名词复数 )；静脉；叶脉；纹理 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
30
arteries
|
|
| n.动脉( artery的名词复数 )；干线，要道 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
31
pulsating
|
|
| adj.搏动的，脉冲的v.有节奏地舒张及收缩( pulsate的现在分词 )；跳动；脉动；受（激情）震动 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
32
possessed
|
|
| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
33
disillusions
|
|
| 使不再抱幻想，使理想破灭( disillusion的第三人称单数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
34
sufficiently
|
|
| adv.足够地，充分地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
35
artistic
|
|
| adj.艺术(家)的，美术(家)的；善于艺术创作的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
36
blemishes
|
|
| n.（身体的）瘢点( blemish的名词复数 )；伤疤；瑕疵；污点 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
37
sublime
|
|
| adj.崇高的，伟大的；极度的，不顾后果的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
38
prodigy
|
|
| n.惊人的事物，奇迹，神童，天才，预兆 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
39
carving
|
|
| n.雕刻品，雕花 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
40
buttress
|
|
| n.支撑物；v.支持 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
41
expended
|
|
| v.花费( expend的过去式和过去分词 )；使用（钱等）做某事；用光；耗尽 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
42
steadily
|
|
| adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
43
laborious
|
|
| adj.吃力的，努力的，不流畅 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
44
grumbling
|
|
| adj. 喃喃鸣不平的, 出怨言的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
45
groaning
|
|
| adj. 呜咽的, 呻吟的 动词groan的现在分词形式 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
46
perspiration
|
|
| n.汗水；出汗 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
47
fatigue
|
|
| n.疲劳，劳累 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
48
twitching
|
|
| n.颤搐 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
49
eyelids
|
|
| n.眼睑( eyelid的名词复数 )；眼睛也不眨一下；不露声色；面不改色 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
50
somnolence
|
|
| n.想睡，梦幻；欲寐；嗜睡；嗜眠 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
51
bucolic
|
|
| adj.乡村的；牧羊的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
52
celebrated
|
|
| adj.有名的，声誉卓著的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
53
joyously
|
|
| ad.快乐地, 高兴地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
54
joyous
|
|
| adj.充满快乐的；令人高兴的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
55
superstitious
|
|
| adj.迷信的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
56
irresistible
|
|
| adj.非常诱人的，无法拒绝的，无法抗拒的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
57
emanated
|
|
| v.从…处传出，传出( emanate的过去式和过去分词 )；产生，表现，显示 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
58
mutual
|
|
| adj.相互的，彼此的；共同的，共有的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
59
clairvoyants
|
|
| n.透视者，千里眼的人( clairvoyant的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
|
60
apparently
|
|
| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
61
confirmation
|
|
| n.证实，确认，批准 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
62
clairvoyance
|
|
| n.超人的洞察力 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
63
standing
|
|
| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
64
impatience
|
|
| n.不耐烦，急躁 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
65
rehearsals
|
|
| n.练习( rehearsal的名词复数 )；排练；复述；重复 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
66
fixed
|
|
| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
67
mere
|
|
| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
68
determined
|
|
| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
69
sift
|
|
| v.筛撒，纷落，详察 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
70
distinguished
|
|
| adj.卓越的，杰出的，著名的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
71
alas
|
|
| int.唉(表示悲伤、忧愁、恐惧等) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
72
onward
|
|
| adj.向前的，前进的；adv.向前，前进，在先 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
73
hisses
|
|
| 嘶嘶声( hiss的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
74
imminent
|
|
| adj.即将发生的，临近的，逼近的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
75
recapitulated
|
|
| v.总结，扼要重述( recapitulate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
76
debut
|
|
| n.首次演出，初次露面 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
77
consolation
|
|
| n.安慰，慰问 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
78
recluse
|
|
| n.隐居者 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
79
velvet
|
|
| n.丝绒，天鹅绒；adj.丝绒制的，柔软的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
80
chateau
|
|
| n.城堡，别墅 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
81
inscriptions
|
|
| （作者）题词( inscription的名词复数 )； 献词； 碑文； 证劵持有人的登记 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
82
sonorous
|
|
| adj.响亮的，回响的；adv.圆润低沉地；感人地；n.感人，堂皇 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
83
honourable
|
|
| adj.可敬的；荣誉的，光荣的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
84
inviting
|
|
| adj.诱人的，引人注目的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
85
sumptuous
|
|
| adj.豪华的，奢侈的，华丽的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
86
forth
|
|
| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
87
resounding
|
|
| adj. 响亮的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
88
regain
|
|
| vt.重新获得，收复，恢复 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
89
bent
|
|
| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
90
fully
|
|
| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
91
tenacious
|
|
| adj.顽强的，固执的，记忆力强的，粘的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
92
supreme
|
|
| adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
93
organisation
|
|
| n.组织，安排，团体，有机休 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
94
lawsuit
|
|
| n.诉讼，控诉 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
95
worthy
|
|
| adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
96
sketched
|
|
| v.草拟（sketch的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
97
sketch
|
|
| n.草图；梗概；素描；v.素描；概述 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
98
disastrous
|
|
| adj.灾难性的，造成灾害的；极坏的，很糟的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
99
Augmented
|
|
| adj.增音的 动词augment的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
100
augment
|
|
| vt.(使)增大，增加，增长，扩张 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
101
monograph
|
|
| n.专题文章，专题著作 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
102
misery
|
|
| n.痛苦，苦恼，苦难；悲惨的境遇，贫苦 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
103
legitimate
|
|
| adj.合法的，合理的，合乎逻辑的；v.使合法 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
104
opposition
|
|
| n.反对，敌对 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
105
leeches
|
|
| n.水蛭( leech的名词复数 )；蚂蟥；榨取他人脂膏者；医生 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
106
adorn
|
|
| vt.使美化，装饰 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
107
prodigality
|
|
| n.浪费，挥霍 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
108
ornamented
|
|
| adj.花式字体的v.装饰，点缀，美化( ornament的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
109
dealer
|
|
| n.商人，贩子 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
110
postscript
|
|
| n.附言，又及；(正文后的)补充说明 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
111
demon
|
|
| n.魔鬼，恶魔 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
112
exacting
|
|
| adj.苛求的，要求严格的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
113
gambling
|
|
| n.赌博；投机 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
114
passionate
|
|
| adj.热情的，热烈的，激昂的，易动情的，易怒的，性情暴躁的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
115
random
|
|
| adj.随机的；任意的；n.偶然的(或随便的)行动 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
116
quarry
|
|
| n.采石场；v.采石；费力地找 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
117
alleys
|
|
| 胡同，小巷( alley的名词复数 )； 小径 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
118
derived
|
|
| vi.起源；由来；衍生；导出v.得到( derive的过去式和过去分词 )；（从…中）得到获得；源于；（从…中）提取 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
119
persuasive
|
|
| adj.有说服力的，能说得使人相信的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
120
coveted
|
|
| adj.令人垂涎的；垂涎的，梦寐以求的v.贪求，觊觎(covet的过去分词)；垂涎；贪图 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
121
conqueror
|
|
| n.征服者，胜利者 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
122
ransacked
|
|
| v.彻底搜查( ransack的过去式和过去分词 )；抢劫，掠夺 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
123
appreciation
|
|
| n.评价；欣赏；感谢；领会，理解；价格上涨 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
124
sarcasm
|
|
| n.讥讽，讽刺，嘲弄，反话 （adj.sarcastic） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
125
judgment
|
|
| n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
126
adoration
|
|
| n.爱慕，崇拜 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
127
aurora
|
|
| n.极光 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
128
rape
|
|
| n.抢夺，掠夺，强奸；vt.掠夺，抢夺，强奸 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
129
porcelains
|
|
| n.瓷，瓷器( porcelain的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
130
chamber
|
|
| n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
131
marvels
|
|
| n.奇迹( marvel的名词复数 )；令人惊奇的事物（或事例）；不平凡的成果；成就v.惊奇，对…感到惊奇( marvel的第三人称单数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
132
comedians
|
|
| n.喜剧演员，丑角( comedian的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
133
lesser
|
|
| adj.次要的，较小的；adv.较小地，较少地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
134
justifiable
|
|
| adj.有理由的，无可非议的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
135
creditors
|
|
| n.债权人，债主( creditor的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
136
speculations
|
|
| n.投机买卖( speculation的名词复数 )；思考；投机活动；推断 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
137
retired
|
|
| adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
138
entirely
|
|
| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
139
secrecy
|
|
| n.秘密，保密，隐蔽 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
140
unwilling
|
|
| adj.不情愿的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
141
tenaciously
|
|
| 坚持地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
142
disciple
|
|
| n.信徒，门徒，追随者 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
143
fervent
|
|
| adj.热的，热烈的，热情的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
144
descended
|
|
| a.为...后裔的，出身于...的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
145
enveloped
|
|
| v.包围，笼罩，包住( envelop的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
146
complexion
|
|
| n.肤色；情况，局面；气质，性格 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
147
verges
|
|
| 边，边缘，界线( verge的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
148
dense
|
|
| a.密集的，稠密的，浓密的；密度大的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
149
amplitude
|
|
| n.广大；充足；振幅 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
150
festive
|
|
| adj.欢宴的，节日的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
151
sculptors
|
|
| 雕刻家，雕塑家( sculptor的名词复数 )； [天]玉夫座 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
152
mingling
|
|
| adj.混合的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
153
tapestry
|
|
| n.挂毯，丰富多采的画面 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
154
legislative
|
|
| n.立法机构，立法权；adj.立法的，有立法权的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
155
disillusioned
|
|
| a.不再抱幻想的，大失所望的，幻想破灭的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
156
entrusted
|
|
| v.委托，托付( entrust的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
157
superfluous
|
|
| adj.过多的，过剩的，多余的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
158
solicit
|
|
| vi.勾引；乞求；vt.请求，乞求；招揽(生意) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
159
ballot
|
|
| n.（不记名）投票，投票总数，投票权；vi.投票 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
160
augured
|
|
| v.预示，预兆，预言( augur的过去式和过去分词 )；成为预兆；占卜 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
161
abode
|
|
| n.住处，住所 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
162
formerly
|
|
| adv.从前，以前 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
163
tranquillity
|
|
| n. 平静, 安静 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
164
undertaking
|
|
| n.保证，许诺，事业 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
165
sojourn
|
|
| v./n.旅居，寄居；逗留 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
166
mortars
|
|
| n.迫击炮( mortar的名词复数 )；砂浆；房产；研钵 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
167
hydraulic
|
|
| adj.水力的；水压的，液压的；水力学的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
168
oversee
|
|
| vt.监督，管理 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
169
contractors
|
|
| n.（建筑、监造中的）承包人( contractor的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
170
gilded
|
|
| a.镀金的，富有的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
171
copper
|
|
| n.铜；铜币；铜器；adj.铜(制)的；(紫)铜色的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
172
housekeeper
|
|
| n.管理家务的主妇，女管家 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
173
theatrical
|
|
| adj.剧场的，演戏的；做戏似的，做作的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
174
scenarios
|
|
| n.[意]情节；剧本；事态；脚本 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
175
renounced
|
|
| v.声明放弃( renounce的过去式和过去分词 )；宣布放弃；宣布与…决裂；宣布摒弃 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
176
incurred
|
|
| [医]招致的，遭受的； incur的过去式 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
177
explicit
|
|
| adj.详述的，明确的；坦率的；显然的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
178
affected
|
|
| adj.不自然的，假装的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
179
suffocation
|
|
| n.窒息 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
180
postponed
|
|
| vt.& vi.延期，缓办，（使）延迟vt.把…放在次要地位；[语]把…放在后面（或句尾）vi.（疟疾等）延缓发作（或复发） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
181
bishop
|
|
| n.主教，（国际象棋）象 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
182
virtuous
|
|
| adj.有品德的，善良的，贞洁的，有效力的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
183
pinnacle
|
|
| n.尖塔，尖顶，山峰；(喻)顶峰 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
184
solely
|
|
| adv.仅仅，唯一地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
185
repose
|
|
| v.(使)休息；n.安息 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
186
exhaustion
|
|
| n.耗尽枯竭，疲惫，筋疲力尽，竭尽，详尽无遗的论述 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
187
dictated
|
|
| v.大声讲或读( dictate的过去式和过去分词 )；口授；支配；摆布 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
188
fleeting
|
|
| adj.短暂的，飞逝的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
189
ascended
|
|
| v.上升，攀登( ascend的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
190
encumbered
|
|
| v.妨碍，阻碍，拖累( encumber的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
191
enamels
|
|
| 搪瓷( enamel的名词复数 )； 珐琅； 釉药； 瓷漆 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
192
rattling
|
|
| adj. 格格作响的, 活泼的, 很好的 adv. 极其, 很, 非常 动词rattle的现在分词 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
193
sinister
|
|
| adj.不吉利的，凶恶的，左边的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
194
straps
|
|
| n.带子( strap的名词复数 )；挎带；肩带；背带v.用皮带捆扎( strap的第三人称单数 )；用皮带抽打；包扎；给…打绷带 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
195
apparatus
|
|
| n.装置，器械；器具，设备 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
196
rattle
|
|
| v.飞奔，碰响；激怒；n.碰撞声；拨浪鼓 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
197
vividly
|
|
| adv.清楚地，鲜明地，生动地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
198
mantle
|
|
| n.斗篷，覆罩之物，罩子；v.罩住，覆盖，脸红 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
199
vaguely
|
|
| adv.含糊地，暖昧地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
200
immortality
|
|
| n.不死，不朽 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
201
inoculated
|
|
| v.给…做预防注射( inoculate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
202
espoused
|
|
| v.（决定）支持，拥护（目标、主张等）( espouse的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
203
epoch
|
|
| n.(新)时代；历元 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
204
edifice
|
|
| n.宏伟的建筑物(如宫殿，教室) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
| 欢迎访问英文小说网 |