chapter 8

Mr. Hicks.

It is worth twopence to see Miss Bunion and Poseidon Hicks, the great poet, conversing¹ with one another, and to talk of one to the other afterwards. How they hate each other! I (in my wicked way) have sent Hicks almost raving² mad, by praising Bunion to him in confidence; and you can drive Bunion out of the room by a few judicious³ panegyrics⁴ of Hicks.

Hicks first burst upon the astonished world with poems, in the Byronic manner: “The Death-Shriek,” “The Bastard⁵ of Lara,” “The Atabal,” “The Fire-Ship of Botzaris,” and other works. His “Love Lays,” in Mr. Moore’s early style, were pronounced to be wonderfully precocious⁶ for a young gentleman then only thirteen, and in a commercial academy, at Tooting.

Subsequently, this great bard⁷ became less passionate⁸ and more thoughtful; and, at the age of twenty, wrote “Idiosyncracy” (in forty books, 4to.): “Ararat,” “a stupendous epic⁹,” as the reviews said; and “The Megatheria,” “a magnificent contribution to our pre-Adamite literature,” according to the same authorities. Not having read these works, it would ill become me to judge them; but I know that poor Jingle¹⁰, the publisher, always attributed his insolvency¹¹ to the latter epic, which was magnificently printed in elephant folio.

Hicks has now taken a classical turn, and has brought out “Poseidon,” “Iacchus,” “Hephaestus,” and I dare say is going through the mythology¹². But I should not like to try him at a passage of the Greek Delectus, any more than twenty thousand others of us who have had a “classical education.”

Hicks was taken in an inspired attitude regarding the chandelier, and pretending he didn’t know that Miss Pettifer was looking at him.

Her name is Anna Maria (daughter of Higgs and Pettifer, solicitors¹³, Bedford Row); but Hicks calls her “Ianthe” in his album verses, and is himself an eminent¹⁴ drysalter in the city.

1 conversing   

v.交谈，谈话( converse的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• I find that conversing with her is quite difficult. 和她交谈实在很困难。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They were conversing in the parlor. 他们正在客厅谈话。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

2 raving   

adj.说胡话的；疯狂的，怒吼的；非常漂亮的；令人醉心[痴心]的v.胡言乱语(rave的现在分词)n.胡话；疯话adv.胡言乱语地；疯狂地

参考例句：

• The man's a raving lunatic. 那个男子是个语无伦次的疯子。
• When I told her I'd crashed her car, she went stark raving bonkers. 我告诉她我把她的车撞坏了时，她暴跳如雷。

3 judicious   

adj.明智的，明断的，能作出明智决定的

参考例句：

• We should listen to the judicious opinion of that old man.我们应该听取那位老人明智的意见。
• A judicious parent encourages his children to make their own decisions.贤明的父亲鼓励儿女自作抉择。

4 panegyrics   

n.赞美( panegyric的名词复数 )；称颂；颂词；颂扬的演讲或文章

参考例句：

5 bastard   

n.坏蛋，混蛋；私生子

参考例句：

• He was never concerned about being born a bastard.他从不介意自己是私生子。
• There was supposed to be no way to get at the bastard.据说没有办法买通那个混蛋。

6 precocious   

adj.早熟的；较早显出的

参考例句：

• They become precocious experts in tragedy.他们成了一批思想早熟、善写悲剧的能手。
• Margaret was always a precocious child.玛格丽特一直是个早熟的孩子。

7 bard   

n.吟游诗人

参考例句：

• I'll use my bard song to help you concentrate!我会用我的吟游诗人歌曲帮你集中精神！
• I find him,the wandering grey bard.我发现了正在徘徊的衰老游唱诗人。

8 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：

• He is said to be the most passionate man.据说他是最有激情的人。
• He is very passionate about the project.他对那个项目非常热心。

9 epic   

n.史诗，叙事诗；adj.史诗般的，壮丽的

参考例句：

• I gave up my epic and wrote this little tale instead.我放弃了写叙事诗，而写了这个小故事。
• They held a banquet of epic proportions.他们举行了盛大的宴会。

10 jingle   

n.叮当声，韵律简单的诗句；v.使叮当作响，叮当响，押韵

参考例句：

• The key fell on the ground with a jingle.钥匙叮当落地。
• The knives and forks set up their regular jingle.刀叉发出常有的叮当声。

11 insolvency   

n.无力偿付，破产

参考例句：

• The company is on the verge of insolvency.该公司快要破产了。
• Normal insolvency procedures should not be applied to banks.通常的破产程序不应当适用于银行。

12 mythology   

n.神话，神话学，神话集

参考例句：

• In Greek mythology,Zeus was the ruler of Gods and men.在希腊神话中，宙斯是众神和人类的统治者。
• He is the hero of Greek mythology.他是希腊民间传说中的英雄。

13 solicitors   

初级律师( solicitor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Most solicitors in England and Wales are in private practice . 英格兰和威尔士的大多数律师都是私人执业者。
• The family has instructed solicitors to sue Thomson for compensation. 那家人已经指示律师起诉汤姆森，要求赔偿。

14 eminent   

adj.显赫的，杰出的，有名的，优良的

参考例句：

• We are expecting the arrival of an eminent scientist.我们正期待一位著名科学家的来访。
• He is an eminent citizen of China.他是一个杰出的中国公民。