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CHAPTER I.—ON THE ALBANY COACH
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AZEL BONIFACE was a Loyalist, which means that she was a hearty1 little champion of King George the Third of England, and this notwithstanding she lived in America, and was born there. It had happened to be on a crisp October morning of the year 1773 that Hazel’s gray eyes first saw the light, and they no sooner saw the light than they saw a wonderful red coat, and just as soon as she was able to understand it, she learned that that red coat belonged to her papa, and that her papa belonged to King George’s army. So, after all, you see it was but natural that she should have been a little Loyalist from the start, and quite to have been expected that she should, grow more and more staunch with every year.

Now it chanced one midwinter afternoon, when Hazel was about six years old, that she came into the city—that is, into New York—on an errand with her father, and that she stood for a while watching a merry party of boys, who were having the jolliest sort of a time coasting down Powder House Hill, and skating on the clear, crystal ice of the Collect. The Collect and Powder House Hill! You never heard of them, did you, and yet may have lived in New York all your life; but you may believe the little New Yorkers of those days knew them and loved them.

The Collect (though where it got its name no one knows) was a beautiful sheet of water connected with the North River by a creek3 crossing Broadway, where we now have Canal street, and the hill where the Powder House stood was one of the pretty heights that bordered it. Wouldn’t some of the little people who live in that crowded part of the city to-day be surprised to know, that only a hundred years ago ponds and hills took the place of the level city streets, and that a boy could start way over east of Broadway, skate under the arch at Canal street, and then strike out across the broad Lispenard meadows straight to the North River? But those boys of the olden time, who were spending their short afternoon holiday there on the ice, were exactly like the boys of to-day, in that they were cutting up the very silliest sort of capers4. Hazel, however, thought it all very funny, and longing5 for the time when she should have a pair of skates of her own, wondered if that boy with the pretty name—that boy the other boys called Starlight—would teach her how to use them. And so one time when he came gliding6 her way she called out, quite to the surprise of her father, whose hand she stood holding, “Will you teach me how to skate when I grow old enough, Starlight?”

“Bless your heart, yes,” came the answer, as soon as the finest little skater that ever buckled7 skates on the Collect could put the brakes to his winged feet, “but you must tell me your name, so that I shall know you when you grow up.”

“Hazel, Hazel Boniface,” she replied; “and is your name really Starlight? It’s a beautiful name.”

“Yes, Starlight’s my last name; my other name is Job; that isn’t so pretty, is it?”

“I should think not; I shall always call you just Starlight.”

And Hazel had been true to her word, and had always called Job just Starlight, and Job had been true to his promise, and had long ago taught Hazel to skate, for she was ten now and he fourteen, and they had been the best of friends this long while, notwithstanding Job was as zealous8 a Whig as was Hazel a Loyalist.

And now, for fear you should not happen to know just what is meant by Whig and Loyalist, you must—there is no help for it if you are to understand this story—put up with a solid little bit of history right here and now. You see Hazel was born in 1773, and as she has just scored a tenth birthday, that brings us to 1783, and 1783 found affairs in New York in a decidedly topsy-turvy state. A great war had been going on for eight long years called, as you know, the war of the Revolution, because the colonies in America had revolted, declaring their determination to be independent, and that King George of England should no longer be their king. And all that while, that is, during those eight long years, King George’s soldiers had been in possession of New York, and many of the Whigs—and Whigs, remember, are the people who sided against King George—had fled from their dwellings9, and scores of Loyalists, pouring into the city to be under the protection of the English soldiers, had made their homes in the Whigs’ empty houses. But now matters were beginning to look very differently. The great war was over, the colonies had been successful, and although the English soldiers were still in New York, they were soon to go, every one of them, and the Whigs were returning in great numbers, and trying to turn out the Loyalists, whom they found living in their homes. Most of these Loyalists, however, were very loath10 to go, some of them, indeed, avowing11 that go they would not! No wonder, then, that affairs in New York in 1783 were in a decidedly topsy-turvy state; and this brings us to the real commencement of our story, and to Hazel, sitting alone on the porch of her home at Kings Bridge, and with a most woe-begone expression on her usually happy face. Suddenly a new thought seemed to strike her, and she started on a brisk little run for the gate; but it was simply that, hearing the sound of wheels in the distance, she knew that the Albany coach was coming, and the Albany coach was what she was waiting for. That was long before the days of railroads, and when all the travelling must needs be done in that “slow-coach” fashion.

The Albany stage was generally full inside, and, as Hazel expected, this morning was no exception; but that did not make the least difference in the world to her, for what she wanted was a seat beside Joe Ainsworth, the driver. Indeed, it was not an unusual thing for Hazel to ask for a ride into town, nor for Joe to grant it, so that the moment he spied her standing2 in the road ahead of him, he knew what it meant, and reined12 up his four dusty white horses.

Hazel looked very sweet and fresh, no doubt, in the eyes of the wearied travellers, who had journeyed all night in the jouncing stage, and, in fact, she would have looked sweet and fresh in the eyes of anybody whose eyes were good for very much. She wore a quaint13 little gown and kerchief, as yet without rumple14 or wrinkle, for it was but nine o’clock in the morning, and breakfast and a quiet little “think” on the porch had not proved in the least damaging to either skirt or kerchief. To tell the truth, Hazel had an intense regard for a fresh and dainty toilet, and somehow contrived15 to scale the side of the coach without in any way begriming her pretty dress, although she was obliged to make use of one great dusty wheel in ascending16. First she planted both feet on its hub, and then by aid of Joe’s hand fairly bounded to her seat beside him with quite as much grace as a little deer of the forest, and a “little dear” she was in point of fact, if you alter but one letter in the spelling.

“Well, Miss Hazel,” said Joe, after he had started up his horses, “how are you this warm morning?” for it was early September, and the sun was already shining hotly down upon them.

“Oh, I’m very well then,” after a moment’s pause, “No, I don’t believe I am very well, either, because, Joe, I feel very blue.”

“Blue!” exclaimed Joe; “you blue! Why, you ought not to learn even the meaning of the word these twenty years yet.”

“Some children learn it very young, Joe,” with a real little sigh.

“But what in creation have you to be blue about, I’d like to know? Perhaps you have gotten a spot on that pretty Sunday frock of yours,” for Joe knew Hazel’s little weakness in that direction.

“Joe!” said Hazel, indignantly, and with such a world of reproof17 in her tone that Joe had to pretend to cough to keep from laughing. “If you think a moment, Joe, I’m sure you will remember that I have reason to feel very, very blue indeed.”

Hazel was so serious that Joe felt in duty bound to put his thinking-cap on, and ransacked18 his brain for the possible occasion of her depression. Hazel, with childish dignity, did not offer to help him in the matter, and they drove for a few moments in a silence broken only by the creak of the weather-beaten stage, and the regular, monotonous19 rattle20 of the loose-fitting harness. Down through the dusty yellow leaves of the roadside trees the sunlight filtered, to the dustier hedges below, and there was little or no life in the air. Indeed, it was a morning when one had need to be very much preoccupied21 not to feel blue, as Hazel called it, and a discriminating22 person might have deemed the weather in a measure responsible for her down-heartedness. Meanwhile the horses jogged along at the merest little pretence23 of a trot24, and, missing the customary, “Get-up, Jenny!” and “Whist there, Kate!” subsided25 into a walk, varied26 more than once by a deliberate standstill, whenever the “off-leader” saw fit to dislodge a persistent27 fly by the aid of a hind28 hoof29. “Look here, driver!” called one of the passengers at last, “there’s a snail30 on the fence there, that will beat us into town if you don’t look out.” The fact was, Joe had not only put his thinking-cap on, but had pulled it so far down over his ears, that he had quite forgotten all about his horses and Hazel, and his thoughts had gone “wool-gathering,” as old people’s thoughts have a fashion of going. “Get along with you,” he called to the tired team, thoroughly31 roused from his reveries, and spurring them into greater activity with his long whip-lash; then, turning to Hazel, he said—“Come to think of it, I should not wonder if you are blue about that little Starlight matter.”

“Little Starlight matter! Do you think it’s a little matter, Mr. Ainsworth, to be kept out of your house and have a lot of soldiers living in it?”

“But they are King George’s soldiers; that ought to make it all right in your eyes, Miss Hazel.”

“Oh, the men are not to blame; they have to do as the officers tell them; but I hate that old Captain Wadsworth. Sometimes I think I’ll write and tell King George what a dreadful man he is, for I don’t believe he knows. But, after all, they say it’s an American, our own Colonel Hamilton, that’s most to blame.”

“Alexander Hamilton! Why, how’s that?” exclaimed Joe, knowing well enough, but wishing to hear Hazel grow eloquent32 on the subject.



0018

“Well, this is how it is, Mr. Ainsworth,” and Hazel folded her hands and composed herself for what promised to be quite a long story. “You know the Starlights. Well, they’ve lived right on that same piece of land ever since Job’s great-great-grandfather, who was an Englishman, married a Dutch wife and came to live in New York. Why, there weren’t more than half-a-dozen houses here when they came, and if anybody has a right to their land and their house, they have. They used to be a very big family, the Starlights did, but now there’s only Job left and his Aunt Frances. She’s the loveliest lady, Joe, and so very fond of Starlight (that’s Job), and Starlight is just as good to her as a boy can be. Well, one night, nearly two years ago, a party of English soldiers (some of them were awful bad fellows, Joe, even if they were the King’s men) went about the street doing just about as they pleased, and Miss Avery—that is, Aunt Frances—was very much frightened, as well she might be, and the next day she packed up and took the ferry to Paulus Hook, to stay with some friends of hers, who live over there and own a big farm.”

“You mean the Van Vleets, don’t you?” questioned Joe, now wisely dividing his attention between Hazel’s narrative33 and his horses, who were only too quick to detect any lack of vigilance on his part.

“Yes, do you know them, Joe?”

“Know ‘em like a book, Miss Hazel. Old Jacob Van Vleet has been over the road with me scores of times.”

“Well, they’re very kind people, Joe, and Starlight and his aunt are living there still, only now that the war is over they want to come back.”

“And that’s not an easy thing to do, is it,” laughed Joe, “when your house is full of English officers and their men?”

“But the soldiers have no right there, Joe, and the worst of it is, Captain Wadsworth says he is going to resign his commission and stay after his men go back to England, and make it his own home. He says it belongs to him. It was given to him, after Miss Avery left it, by what they call a military order. But, military order or no, Joe, that house belongs to Aunt Frances.”

“Of course it would seem so, Miss Hazel—”

“And if it hadn’t been for Colonel Alexander Hamilton she’d be in it to-day, Joe. You see she went to law about it, and they say Colonel Hamilton, who took Captain Wadsworth’s side, is so smart and so handsome that he just talked the court into deciding against her.”

“It certainly was mighty34 queer in Lawyer Hamilton,” said Joe, meditatively35, “to turn against his own side in that fashion; but, Miss Hazel, why don’t you go and see him about it?”

Hazel looked up a moment with a questioning gaze to see if he Were quite in earnest.

“That is just what I am going to do this very day,” she answered, reassured36, “and first I want to see Captain Wadsworth. Let me down at the Starlights’ gate, please.”

So a few moments later the Albany coach reined up in front of the Starlight homestead, and Hazel, jumping quickly down from the coach with a “Thank you for the ride, Joe,” swung open the old Dutch gate with an air well calculated to make the heart of Captain Wadsworth quake.

点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 hearty Od1zn     
adj.热情友好的;衷心的;尽情的,纵情的
参考例句:
  • After work they made a hearty meal in the worker's canteen.工作完了,他们在工人食堂饱餐了一顿。
  • We accorded him a hearty welcome.我们给他热忱的欢迎。
2 standing 2hCzgo     
n.持续,地位;adj.永久的,不动的,直立的,不流动的
参考例句:
  • After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
  • They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。
3 creek 3orzL     
n.小溪,小河,小湾
参考例句:
  • He sprang through the creek.他跳过小河。
  • People sunbathe in the nude on the rocks above the creek.人们在露出小溪的岩石上裸体晒日光浴。
4 capers 9b20f1771fa4f79c48a1bb65205dba5b     
n.开玩笑( caper的名词复数 );刺山柑v.跳跃,雀跃( caper的第三人称单数 )
参考例句:
  • I like to fly about and cut capers. 我喜欢跳跳蹦蹦闹着玩儿。 来自辞典例句
  • He always leads in pranks and capers. 他老是带头胡闹和开玩笑。 来自辞典例句
5 longing 98bzd     
n.(for)渴望
参考例句:
  • Hearing the tune again sent waves of longing through her.再次听到那首曲子使她胸中充满了渴望。
  • His heart burned with longing for revenge.他心中燃烧着急欲复仇的怒火。
6 gliding gliding     
v. 滑翔 adj. 滑动的
参考例句:
  • Swans went gliding past. 天鹅滑行而过。
  • The weather forecast has put a question mark against the chance of doing any gliding tomorrow. 天气预报对明天是否能举行滑翔表示怀疑。
7 buckled qxfz0h     
a. 有带扣的
参考例句:
  • She buckled her belt. 她扣上了腰带。
  • The accident buckled the wheel of my bicycle. 我自行车的轮子在事故中弄弯了。
8 zealous 0MOzS     
adj.狂热的,热心的
参考例句:
  • She made zealous efforts to clean up the classroom.她非常热心地努力清扫教室。
  • She is a zealous supporter of our cause.她是我们事业的热心支持者。
9 dwellings aa496e58d8528ad0edee827cf0b9b095     
n.住处,处所( dwelling的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • The development will consist of 66 dwellings and a number of offices. 新建楼区将由66栋住房和一些办公用房组成。
  • The hovels which passed for dwellings are being pulled down. 过去用作住室的陋屋正在被拆除。 来自《简明英汉词典》
10 loath 9kmyP     
adj.不愿意的;勉强的
参考例句:
  • The little girl was loath to leave her mother.那小女孩不愿离开她的母亲。
  • They react on this one problem very slow and very loath.他们在这一问题上反应很慢,很不情愿。
11 avowing 9373636b8560aded962e87b1d3498fa7     
v.公开声明,承认( avow的现在分词 )
参考例句:
  • Hafiz Ismail's message, while avowing sweeping terms, stated a modest and largely psychological objective. 哈菲兹·伊斯梅尔的电报虽然提出了种种难以满足的条件,却说出了一个不算过高而且在很大程度上属于心理上的目标。 来自辞典例句
12 reined 90bca18bd35d2cee2318d494d6abfa96     
勒缰绳使(马)停步( rein的过去式和过去分词 ); 驾驭; 严格控制; 加强管理
参考例句:
  • Then, all of a sudden, he reined up his tired horse. 这时,他突然把疲倦的马勒住了。
  • The officer reined in his horse at a crossroads. 军官在十字路口勒住了马。
13 quaint 7tqy2     
adj.古雅的,离奇有趣的,奇怪的
参考例句:
  • There were many small lanes in the quaint village.在这古香古色的村庄里,有很多小巷。
  • They still keep some quaint old customs.他们仍然保留着一些稀奇古怪的旧风俗。
14 rumple thmym     
v.弄皱,弄乱;n.褶纹,皱褶
参考例句:
  • Besides,he would tug at the ribbons of her bonnet and,no doubt,rumple her dress.此外,他还拉扯她帽子上的饰带,当然也会弄皱她的衣裙。
  • You mustn't play in your new skirt,you'll rumple it.你千万不要穿着新裙子去玩耍,你会把它弄皱的。
15 contrived ivBzmO     
adj.不自然的,做作的;虚构的
参考例句:
  • There was nothing contrived or calculated about what he said.他说的话里没有任何蓄意捏造的成分。
  • The plot seems contrived.情节看起来不真实。
16 ascending CyCzrc     
adj.上升的,向上的
参考例句:
  • Now draw or trace ten dinosaurs in ascending order of size.现在按照体型由小到大的顺序画出或是临摹出10只恐龙。
17 reproof YBhz9     
n.斥责,责备
参考例句:
  • A smart reproof is better than smooth deceit.严厉的责难胜过温和的欺骗。
  • He is impatient of reproof.他不能忍受指责。
18 ransacked 09515d69399c972e2c9f59770cedff4e     
v.彻底搜查( ransack的过去式和过去分词 );抢劫,掠夺
参考例句:
  • The house had been ransacked by burglars. 这房子遭到了盗贼的洗劫。
  • The house had been ransacked of all that was worth anything. 屋子里所有值钱的东西都被抢去了。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
19 monotonous FwQyJ     
adj.单调的,一成不变的,使人厌倦的
参考例句:
  • She thought life in the small town was monotonous.她觉得小镇上的生活单调而乏味。
  • His articles are fixed in form and monotonous in content.他的文章千篇一律,一个调调儿。
20 rattle 5Alzb     
v.飞奔,碰响;激怒;n.碰撞声;拨浪鼓
参考例句:
  • The baby only shook the rattle and laughed and crowed.孩子只是摇着拨浪鼓,笑着叫着。
  • She could hear the rattle of the teacups.她听见茶具叮当响。
21 preoccupied TPBxZ     
adj.全神贯注的,入神的;被抢先占有的;心事重重的v.占据(某人)思想,使对…全神贯注,使专心于( preoccupy的过去式)
参考例句:
  • He was too preoccupied with his own thoughts to notice anything wrong. 他只顾想着心事,没注意到有什么不对。
  • The question of going to the Mount Tai preoccupied his mind. 去游泰山的问题盘踞在他心头。 来自《简明英汉词典》
22 discriminating 4umz8W     
a.有辨别能力的
参考例句:
  • Due caution should be exercised in discriminating between the two. 在区别这两者时应该相当谨慎。
  • Many businesses are accused of discriminating against women. 许多企业被控有歧视妇女的做法。
23 pretence pretence     
n.假装,作假;借口,口实;虚伪;虚饰
参考例句:
  • The government abandoned any pretence of reform. 政府不再装模作样地进行改革。
  • He made a pretence of being happy at the party.晚会上他假装很高兴。
24 trot aKBzt     
n.疾走,慢跑;n.老太婆;现成译本;(复数)trots:腹泻(与the 连用);v.小跑,快步走,赶紧
参考例句:
  • They passed me at a trot.他们从我身边快步走过。
  • The horse broke into a brisk trot.马突然快步小跑起来。
25 subsided 1bda21cef31764468020a8c83598cc0d     
v.(土地)下陷(因在地下采矿)( subside的过去式和过去分词 );减弱;下降至较低或正常水平;一下子坐在椅子等上
参考例句:
  • After the heavy rains part of the road subsided. 大雨过后,部分公路塌陷了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • By evening the storm had subsided and all was quiet again. 傍晚, 暴风雨已经过去,四周开始沉寂下来。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
26 varied giIw9     
adj.多样的,多变化的
参考例句:
  • The forms of art are many and varied.艺术的形式是多种多样的。
  • The hotel has a varied programme of nightly entertainment.宾馆有各种晚间娱乐活动。
27 persistent BSUzg     
adj.坚持不懈的,执意的;持续的
参考例句:
  • Albert had a persistent headache that lasted for three days.艾伯特连续头痛了三天。
  • She felt embarrassed by his persistent attentions.他不时地向她大献殷勤,使她很难为情。
28 hind Cyoya     
adj.后面的,后部的
参考例句:
  • The animal is able to stand up on its hind limbs.这种动物能够用后肢站立。
  • Don't hind her in her studies.不要在学业上扯她后腿。
29 hoof 55JyP     
n.(马,牛等的)蹄
参考例句:
  • Suddenly he heard the quick,short click of a horse's hoof behind him.突然间,他听见背后响起一阵急骤的马蹄的得得声。
  • I was kicked by a hoof.我被一只蹄子踢到了。
30 snail 8xcwS     
n.蜗牛
参考例句:
  • Snail is a small plant-eating creature with a soft body.蜗牛是一种软体草食动物。
  • Time moved at a snail's pace before the holidays.放假前的时间过得很慢。
31 thoroughly sgmz0J     
adv.完全地,彻底地,十足地
参考例句:
  • The soil must be thoroughly turned over before planting.一定要先把土地深翻一遍再下种。
  • The soldiers have been thoroughly instructed in the care of their weapons.士兵们都系统地接受过保护武器的训练。
32 eloquent ymLyN     
adj.雄辩的,口才流利的;明白显示出的
参考例句:
  • He was so eloquent that he cut down the finest orator.他能言善辩,胜过最好的演说家。
  • These ruins are an eloquent reminder of the horrors of war.这些废墟形象地提醒人们不要忘记战争的恐怖。
33 narrative CFmxS     
n.叙述,故事;adj.叙事的,故事体的
参考例句:
  • He was a writer of great narrative power.他是一位颇有记述能力的作家。
  • Neither author was very strong on narrative.两个作者都不是很善于讲故事。
34 mighty YDWxl     
adj.强有力的;巨大的
参考例句:
  • A mighty force was about to break loose.一股巨大的力量即将迸发而出。
  • The mighty iceberg came into view.巨大的冰山出现在眼前。
35 meditatively 1840c96c2541871bf074763dc24f786a     
adv.冥想地
参考例句:
  • The old man looked meditatively at the darts board. 老头儿沉思不语,看着那投镖板。 来自英汉文学
  • "Well,'said the foreman, scratching his ear meditatively, "we do need a stitcher. “这--"工头沉思地搔了搔耳朵。 "我们确实需要一个缝纫工。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
36 reassured ff7466d942d18e727fb4d5473e62a235     
adj.使消除疑虑的;使放心的v.再保证,恢复信心( reassure的过去式和过去分词)
参考例句:
  • The captain's confidence during the storm reassured the passengers. 在风暴中船长的信念使旅客们恢复了信心。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
  • The doctor reassured the old lady. 医生叫那位老妇人放心。 来自《简明英汉词典》


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