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The King of the Golden River had hardly made the extraordinary exit related in the last chapter, before Hans and Schwartz came roaring into the house very savagely2 drunk. The discovery of the total loss of their last piece of plate had the effect of sobering them just enough to enable them to stand over Gluck, beating him very steadily3 for a quarter of an hour; at the expiration4 of which period they dropped into a couple of chairs and requested to know what he had got to say for himself. Gluck told them his story, of which, of course, they did not believe a word. They beat him again, till their arms were tired, and staggered to bed. In the morning, however, the steadiness with which he adhered to his story obtained him some degree of credence5; the immediate6 consequence of which was that the two brothers, after wrangling7 a long time on the knotty8 question, which of them should try his fortune first, drew their swords and began fighting. The noise of the fray9 alarmed the neighbors, who, finding they could not pacify10 the combatants, sent for the constable11.
Hans, on hearing this, contrived12 to escape, and hid himself; but Schwartz was taken before the magistrate13, fined for breaking the peace, and, having drunk out his last penny the evening before, was thrown into prison till he should pay.
When Hans heard this, he was much delighted, and determined14 to set out immediately for the Golden River. How to get the holy water was the question. He went to the priest, but the priest could not give any holy water to so abandoned a character. So Hans went to vespers in the evening for the first time in his life and, under pretense15 of crossing himself, stole a cupful and returned home in triumph.
Next morning he got up before the sun rose, put the holy water into a strong flask16, and two bottles of wine and some meat in a basket, slung17 them over his back, took his alpine18 staff in his hand, and set off for the mountains.
On his way out of the town he had to pass the prison, and as he looked in at the windows, whom should he see but Schwartz himself peeping out of the bars and looking very disconsolate19.
“Good morning, brother,” said Hans; “have you any message for the King of the Golden River?”
Schwartz gnashed his teeth with rage and shook the bars with all his strength, but Hans only laughed at him and, advising him to make himself comfortable till he came back again, shouldered his basket, shook the bottle of holy water in Schwartz’s face till it frothed again, and marched off in the highest spirits in the world.
It was indeed a morning that might have made anyone happy, even with no Golden River to seek for. Level lines of dewy mist lay stretched along the valley, out of which rose the massy mountains, their lower cliffs in pale gray shadow, hardly distinguishable from the floating vapor20 but gradually ascending21 till they caught the sunlight, which ran in sharp touches of ruddy color along the angular crags, and pierced, in long, level rays, through their fringes of spearlike pine. Far above shot up red, splintered masses of castellated rock, jagged and shivered into myriads22 of fantastic forms, with here and there a streak23 of sunlit snow traced down their chasms24 like a line of forked lightning; and far beyond and far above all these, fainter than the morning cloud but purer and changeless, slept, in the blue sky, the utmost peaks of the eternal snow.
The Golden River, which sprang from one of the lower and snowless elevations26, was now nearly in shadow — all but the uppermost jets of spray, which rose like slow smoke above the undulating line of the cataract27 and floated away in feeble wreaths upon the morning wind.
On this object, and on this alone, Hans’s eyes and thoughts were fixed28. Forgetting the distance he had to traverse, he set off at an imprudent rate of walking, which greatly exhausted29 him before he had scaled the first range of the green and low hills. He was, moreover, surprised, on surmounting30 them, to find that a large glacier31, of whose existence, notwithstanding his previous knowledge of the mountains, he had been absolutely ignorant, lay between him and the source of the Golden River. He entered on it with the boldness of a practiced mountaineer, yet he thought he had never traversed so strange or so dangerous a glacier in his life. The ice was excessively slippery, and out of all its chasms came wild sounds of gushing32 water — not monotonous34 or low, but changeful and loud, rising occasionally into drifting passages of wild melody, then breaking off into short, melancholy35 tones or sudden shrieks36 resembling those of human voices in distress37 or pain. The ice was broken into thousands of confused shapes, but none, Hans thought, like the ordinary forms of splintered ice. There seemed a curious EXPRESSION about all their outlines — a perpetual resemblance to living features, distorted and scornful. Myriads of deceitful shadows and lurid38 lights played and floated about and through the pale blue pinnacles39, dazzling and confusing the sight of the traveler, while his ears grew dull and his head giddy with the constant gush33 and roar of the concealed40 waters. These painful circumstances increased upon him as he advanced; the ice crashed and yawned into fresh chasms at his feet, tottering41 spires42 nodded around him and fell thundering across his path; and though he had repeatedly faced these dangers on the most terrific glaciers43 and in the wildest weather, it was with a new and oppressive feeling of panic terror that he leaped the last chasm25 and flung himself, exhausted and shuddering44, on the firm turf of the mountain.
He had been compelled to abandon his basket of food, which became a perilous45 incumbrance on the glacier, and had now no means of refreshing46 himself but by breaking off and eating some of the pieces of ice. This, however, relieved his thirst; an hour’s repose47 recruited his hardy48 frame, and with the indomitable spirit of avarice49 he resumed his laborious50 journey.
His way now lay straight up a ridge51 of bare red rocks, without a blade of grass to ease the foot or a projecting angle to afford an inch of shade from the south sun. It was past noon and the rays beat intensely upon the steep path, while the whole atmosphere was motionless and penetrated52 with heat. Intense thirst was soon added to the bodily fatigue53 with which Hans was now afflicted54; glance after glance he cast on the flask of water which hung at his belt. “Three drops are enough,” at last thought he; “I may, at least, cool my lips with it.”
He opened the flask and was raising it to his lips, when his eye fell on an object lying on the rock beside him; he thought it moved. It was a small dog, apparently55 in the last agony of death from thirst. Its tongue was out, its jaws56 dry, its limbs extended lifelessly, and a swarm57 of black ants were crawling about its lips and throat. Its eye moved to the bottle which Hans held in his hand. He raised it, drank, spurned58 the animal with his foot, and passed on. And he did not know how it was, but he thought that a strange shadow had suddenly come across the blue sky.
The path became steeper and more rugged59 every moment, and the high hill air, instead of refreshing him, seemed to throw his blood into a fever. The noise of the hill cataracts60 sounded like mockery in his ears; they were all distant, and his thirst increased every moment. Another hour passed, and he again looked down to the flask at his side; it was half empty, but there was much more than three drops in it. He stopped to open it, and again, as he did so, something moved in the path above him. It was a fair child, stretched nearly lifeless on the rock, its breast heaving with thirst, its eyes closed, and its lips parched61 and burning. Hans eyed it deliberately62, drank, and passed on. And a dark gray cloud came over the sun, and long, snakelike shadows crept up along the mountain sides. Hans struggled on. The sun was sinking, but its descent seemed to bring no coolness; the leaden height of the dead air pressed upon his brow and heart, but the goal was near. He saw the cataract of the Golden River springing from the hillside scarcely five hundred feet above him. He paused for a moment to breathe, and sprang on to complete his task.
At this instant a faint cry fell on his ear. He turned, and saw a gray-haired old man extended on the rocks. His eyes were sunk, his features deadly pale and gathered into an expression of despair. “Water!” he stretched his arms to Hans, and cried feebly, “Water! I am dying.”
“I have none,” replied Hans; “thou hast had thy share of life.” He strode over the prostrate63 body and darted64 on. And a flash of blue lightning rose out of the East, shaped like a sword; it shook thrice over the whole heaven and left it dark with one heavy, impenetrable shade. The sun was setting; it plunged65 towards the horizon like a redhot ball. The roar of the Golden River rose on Hans’s ear. He stood at the brink66 of the chasm through which it ran. Its waves were filled with the red glory of the sunset; they shook their crests67 like tongues of fire, and flashes of bloody68 light gleamed along their foam69. Their sound came mightier70 and mightier on his senses; his brain grew giddy with the prolonged thunder. Shuddering he drew the flask from his girdle and hurled71 it into the center of the torrent72. As he did so, an icy chill shot through his limbs; he staggered, shrieked73, and fell. The waters closed over his cry, and the moaning of the river rose wildly into the night as it gushed over
THE BLACK STONE
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1 prospered | |
成功,兴旺( prosper的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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2 savagely | |
adv. 野蛮地,残酷地 | |
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3 steadily | |
adv.稳定地;不变地;持续地 | |
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4 expiration | |
n.终结,期满,呼气,呼出物 | |
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5 credence | |
n.信用,祭器台,供桌,凭证 | |
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6 immediate | |
adj.立即的;直接的,最接近的;紧靠的 | |
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7 wrangling | |
v.争吵,争论,口角( wrangle的现在分词 ) | |
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8 knotty | |
adj.有结的,多节的,多瘤的,棘手的 | |
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9 fray | |
v.争吵;打斗;磨损,磨破;n.吵架;打斗 | |
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10 pacify | |
vt.使(某人)平静(或息怒);抚慰 | |
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11 constable | |
n.(英国)警察,警官 | |
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12 contrived | |
adj.不自然的,做作的;虚构的 | |
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13 magistrate | |
n.地方行政官,地方法官,治安官 | |
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14 determined | |
adj.坚定的;有决心的 | |
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15 pretense | |
n.矫饰,做作,借口 | |
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16 flask | |
n.瓶,火药筒,砂箱 | |
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17 slung | |
抛( sling的过去式和过去分词 ); 吊挂; 遣送; 押往 | |
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18 alpine | |
adj.高山的;n.高山植物 | |
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19 disconsolate | |
adj.忧郁的,不快的 | |
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20 vapor | |
n.蒸汽,雾气 | |
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21 ascending | |
adj.上升的,向上的 | |
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22 myriads | |
n.无数,极大数量( myriad的名词复数 ) | |
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23 streak | |
n.条理,斑纹,倾向,少许,痕迹;v.加条纹,变成条纹,奔驰,快速移动 | |
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24 chasms | |
裂缝( chasm的名词复数 ); 裂口; 分歧; 差别 | |
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25 chasm | |
n.深坑,断层,裂口,大分岐,利害冲突 | |
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26 elevations | |
(水平或数量)提高( elevation的名词复数 ); 高地; 海拔; 提升 | |
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27 cataract | |
n.大瀑布,奔流,洪水,白内障 | |
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28 fixed | |
adj.固定的,不变的,准备好的;(计算机)固定的 | |
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29 exhausted | |
adj.极其疲惫的,精疲力尽的 | |
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30 surmounting | |
战胜( surmount的现在分词 ); 克服(困难); 居于…之上; 在…顶上 | |
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31 glacier | |
n.冰川,冰河 | |
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32 gushing | |
adj.迸出的;涌出的;喷出的;过分热情的v.喷,涌( gush的现在分词 );滔滔不绝地说话 | |
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33 gush | |
v.喷,涌;滔滔不绝(说话);n.喷,涌流;迸发 | |
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34 monotonous | |
adj.单调的,一成不变的,使人厌倦的 | |
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35 melancholy | |
n.忧郁,愁思;adj.令人感伤(沮丧)的,忧郁的 | |
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36 shrieks | |
n.尖叫声( shriek的名词复数 )v.尖叫( shriek的第三人称单数 ) | |
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37 distress | |
n.苦恼,痛苦,不舒适;不幸;vt.使悲痛 | |
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38 lurid | |
adj.可怕的;血红的;苍白的 | |
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39 pinnacles | |
顶峰( pinnacle的名词复数 ); 顶点; 尖顶; 小尖塔 | |
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40 concealed | |
a.隐藏的,隐蔽的 | |
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41 tottering | |
adj.蹒跚的,动摇的v.走得或动得不稳( totter的现在分词 );踉跄;蹒跚;摇摇欲坠 | |
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42 spires | |
n.(教堂的) 塔尖,尖顶( spire的名词复数 ) | |
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43 glaciers | |
冰河,冰川( glacier的名词复数 ) | |
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44 shuddering | |
v.战栗( shudder的现在分词 );发抖;(机器、车辆等)突然震动;颤动 | |
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45 perilous | |
adj.危险的,冒险的 | |
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46 refreshing | |
adj.使精神振作的,使人清爽的,使人喜欢的 | |
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47 repose | |
v.(使)休息;n.安息 | |
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48 hardy | |
adj.勇敢的,果断的,吃苦的;耐寒的 | |
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49 avarice | |
n.贪婪;贪心 | |
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50 laborious | |
adj.吃力的,努力的,不流畅 | |
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51 ridge | |
n.山脊;鼻梁;分水岭 | |
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52 penetrated | |
adj. 击穿的,鞭辟入里的 动词penetrate的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
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53 fatigue | |
n.疲劳,劳累 | |
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54 afflicted | |
使受痛苦,折磨( afflict的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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55 apparently | |
adv.显然地;表面上,似乎 | |
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56 jaws | |
n.口部;嘴 | |
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57 swarm | |
n.(昆虫)等一大群;vi.成群飞舞;蜂拥而入 | |
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58 spurned | |
v.一脚踢开,拒绝接受( spurn的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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59 rugged | |
adj.高低不平的,粗糙的,粗壮的,强健的 | |
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60 cataracts | |
n.大瀑布( cataract的名词复数 );白内障 | |
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61 parched | |
adj.焦干的;极渴的;v.(使)焦干 | |
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62 deliberately | |
adv.审慎地;蓄意地;故意地 | |
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63 prostrate | |
v.拜倒,平卧,衰竭;adj.拜倒的,平卧的,衰竭的 | |
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64 darted | |
v.投掷,投射( dart的过去式和过去分词 );向前冲,飞奔 | |
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65 plunged | |
v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 );暴跌;骤降;突降 | |
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66 brink | |
n.(悬崖、河流等的)边缘,边沿 | |
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67 crests | |
v.到达山顶(或浪峰)( crest的第三人称单数 );到达洪峰,达到顶点 | |
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68 bloody | |
adj.非常的的;流血的;残忍的;adv.很;vt.血染 | |
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69 foam | |
v./n.泡沫,起泡沫 | |
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70 mightier | |
adj. 强有力的,强大的,巨大的 adv. 很,极其 | |
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71 hurled | |
v.猛投,用力掷( hurl的过去式和过去分词 );大声叫骂 | |
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72 torrent | |
n.激流,洪流;爆发,(话语等的)连发 | |
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73 shrieked | |
v.尖叫( shriek的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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