The doctor was an unusually learned man for the preceptor of an academy. He by no means confined his attention to the studies pursued in the institution, but devoted his leisure hours to reading classic authors, such as are read in our best colleges. He had published a carefully annotated3 edition of Greek tragedy, which had gained him a great deal of credit in the eyes of scholars. Indeed, he had received, only a short time previous, an invitation to the chair of Latin and Greek in a well-known college, and had been strongly tempted4 to accept, but had finally declined it, not being willing to leave the Hamilton Academy, to which he had become much attached, and his friends and neighbors in the village, by whom he was held in high esteem5.
Dr. Euclid was seated in his library, examining a new classical book which had been sent him by the publishers, when the maid-servant opened the door, and said:
“Please, Dr. Euclid, there’s a gentleman wants to see you.”
“Do you know who it is, Mary?” asked the doctor, laying aside his book, with a look of regret.{18}
“I think it’s the lyyer man, sir.”
“Oh, you mean the lawyer,” said Dr. Euclid, smiling.
“That’s what I said, sir.”
“Well, show him up.”
Almost immediately Brandon Ross, Esq., rather a pompous-looking individual, who tried to make himself look taller by brushing up his reddish hair till it stood up like a hedge above his forehead, entered the room.
“Good-evening, Mr. Ross!” said Dr. Euclid, politely.
He wondered why the lawyer had favored him with a call. It did not occur to him that it had any connection with the little difficulty of the morning between Herbert Ross and his young janitor6.
“Ahem! Doctor, I am very well,” said the lawyer.
“Take a seat, if you please.”
“Thank you, sir. I can’t stay long. I am occupied with some very important legal business just now.”
Mr. Ross said this with an air of satisfaction. He always represented that he was occupied with important business.
“Then he won’t stay long,” thought the doctor. “Well, I am glad of that, for I want to get back to my book.”{19}
“No; I can’t say I did,” answered the doctor, regarding his visitor with surprise.
“Surely, sir, after that outrageous8 assault upon my son this morning, an assault, sir, committed almost in your very presence, you could hardly suppose I, as Herbert’s father, would remain calmly at home and ignore the affair?”
Mr. Ross said this in the tone in which he usually addressed juries, and he looked to see it produce an effect upon Dr. Euclid. But he was disappointed. An amused smile played over the face of the dignified9 scholar, as he answered:
“I certainly didn’t connect your visit with the little matter you refer to.”
“Little matter!” repeated the lawyer, indignantly. “Do I understand, Dr. Euclid, that you speak of a ruffianly assault upon my son Herbert as a little matter?”
Dr. Euclid wanted to laugh. He had a vivid sense of the ridiculous, and the lawyer’s way of speaking seemed so disproportioned to the boyish quarrel to which he referred, that it seemed to him rather ludicrous.
“I was not aware, Mr. Ross, that such an{20} assault had been made upon your son,” he replied.
“Surely you know, Dr. Euclid,” said the lawyer, warmly, “that your janitor, Andrew Gordon, had assaulted Herbert?”
“I knew the boys had had a little difficulty,” returned the doctor, quietly. “Your son struck Andrew with a broom. Did he tell you that?”
Mr. Ross was surprised, for Herbert had not told him that.
“It was a proper return for the violent attack which the boy made upon him. I am glad that my son showed proper resentment10.”
“I beg your pardon, Mr. Ross, but your son’s attack preceded Andrew’s. It was Andrew who acted in self-defense, or, if you choose to call it so, in retaliation11.”
“I presume your account comes from your janitor,” said the lawyer, a little disconcerted.
“On the contrary, it comes from your son. Herbert admitted to me this morning what I have just stated to you.”
“But,” said Ross, after a pause, “Andrew had previously12 covered him with dust, from malicious13 motives14.”
“I deny the malicious motives,” said the doctor. “Your son entered the schoolroom{21} hurriedly, just as Andrew was sweeping15 out. Accidentally, his clothes were covered with dust.”
“It suits you to consider it an accident,” said the lawyer, rudely. “I view it in quite a different light. Your janitor is well known to be a rude, ill-mannered boy——”
“Stop there, Mr. Ross!” said Dr. Euclid, in a dignified tone. “I don’t know where you got your information on this subject, but you are entirely16 mistaken. Andrew is neither rough nor ill-mannered. I considered him very gentlemanly, and, what I consider of quite as much importance, a thoroughly18 manly17 boy.”
“Then, sir, I understand that you uphold him in his assault upon my son,” said the lawyer, fiercely.
“I consider,” said the doctor, in a dignified tone, “that he was entirely justified19 in what he did.”
“Then, sir, allow me to say that I am utterly20 astounded21 to hear such sentiments from a man in your position. I do not propose to allow my son to be ill-treated by a boy so much his inferior.”
“If you mean inferior in scholarship,” said the doctor, “you are under a misapprehension. Andrew is in your son’s class in Latin and{22} Greek, but he is quite superior to him in both of these languages.”
This was far from agreeable information for the proud lawyer, though he could not help being aware that his son was not a good scholar.
“I referred to social position,” he said, stiffly.
“Social position doesn’t count for much in America,” said Dr. Euclid, smiling. “Of course, Mr. Ross, you recall Pope’s well-known lines:
“ ‘Honor and shame from no condition rise.
Act well your part—there all the honor lies.’ ”
“I don’t agree with Pope, then. His lines are foolish. But I won’t waste my time in arguing. I have come here this evening, Dr. Euclid, as one of the trustees of the Hamilton Academy, to insist upon Andrew Gordon’s discharge from the position of janitor.”
“I must decline to comply with your request, Mr. Ross. Andrew is a capable and efficient janitor, and I prefer to retain him.”
“Dr. Euclid, you don’t seem to remember that I am a trustee of the academy!” said the lawyer, pompously22.
“Oh, yes, I do! But the trustees have nothing to do with the appointment of a janitor.”
“You will admit, sir, that they have something{23} to do with the appointment of a principal,” said Brandon Ross, significantly.
“Oh, yes!” answered the doctor, smiling.
“And that it is wise for the principal to consult the wishes of those trustees.”
“I presume I understand you, Mr. Ross,” said Dr. Euclid, in a dignified tone, “and I have to reply that you are only one out of six trustees, and, furthermore, that as long as I retain the position which I have held for fifteen years, I shall preserve my independence as a man.”
“Very well, sir! very well, sir!” exclaimed the lawyer, intensely mortified23 at the ignominious24 failure of his trump25 card, as he had regarded it. “I shall be under the necessity of withdrawing my son from the academy, since he cannot otherwise be secure from such outrages26 as that of this morning.”
“If your son will respect the rights of others, he will stand in no danger of having his own violated. As to withdrawing him from school, you must do as you please. Such a step will injure him much more than any one else.”
“I am the best judge of that!” said the lawyer, stiffly. “Good-evening, sir!”
“Good-evening!”
The troublesome visitor went out, and with a sigh of relief, Dr. Euclid returned to his book.
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收听单词发音
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1
devoted
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| adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的 | |
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solely
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| adv.仅仅，唯一地 | |
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annotated
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| v.注解，注释( annotate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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tempted
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| v.怂恿（某人）干不正当的事；冒…的险（tempt的过去分词） | |
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esteem
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| n.尊敬，尊重；vt.尊重，敬重；把…看作 | |
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janitor
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| n.看门人，管门人 | |
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7
squire
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| n.护卫, 侍从, 乡绅 | |
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8
outrageous
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| adj.无理的，令人不能容忍的 | |
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9
dignified
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| a.可敬的，高贵的 | |
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resentment
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| n.怨愤，忿恨 | |
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retaliation
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| n.报复，反击 | |
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12
previously
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| adv.以前，先前（地） | |
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malicious
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| adj.有恶意的，心怀恶意的 | |
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14
motives
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| n.动机，目的( motive的名词复数 ) | |
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15
sweeping
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| adj.范围广大的，一扫无遗的 | |
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16
entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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17
manly
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| adj.有男子气概的；adv.男子般地，果断地 | |
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18
thoroughly
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| adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地 | |
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19
justified
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| a.正当的，有理的 | |
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utterly
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| adv.完全地，绝对地 | |
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astounded
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| v.使震惊(astound的过去式和过去分词)；愕然；愕；惊讶 | |
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22
pompously
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| adv.傲慢地，盛大壮观地；大模大样 | |
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23
mortified
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| v.使受辱( mortify的过去式和过去分词 )；伤害（人的感情）；克制；抑制（肉体、情感等） | |
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24
ignominious
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| adj.可鄙的，不光彩的，耻辱的 | |
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25
trump
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| n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭 | |
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26
outrages
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| 引起…的义愤，激怒( outrage的第三人称单数 ) | |
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