CHAPTER XXXIV. MAJOR ASHTON IN A QUANDARY.

 We must now leave our hero for a time and return to Chicago, to look after some of the other characters whom we have introduced in our story.

Major Ashton, after a late breakfast, sat in a handsome apartment, with several letters before him. These he had examined without much apparent satisfaction. Finally he threw down the last with a gesture of impatience¹.

"They all sing the same tune," he said, irritably². "They are all poor trades-people, who want money. Here's my tailor, who ventures to hope I will call round and settle his little bill—two hundred and seventeen dollars!—as he is in great want of money. What business has the rascal³ to want money? I dare say he has a plentiful⁴ bank account, made by fleecing customers like myself. Then there's Jones, the boot-maker, wants me to pay up his bill of sixty-five dollars for boots and shoes. I can't remember having all the things he charges for. I dare say the rogue⁵ has charged[Pg 235] for what I never had. Then here's my landlady⁶ has left on my table a bill for the last two months' board, at the rate of thirty-five dollars a week. Really, it looks as if all my creditors⁷ had combined to annoy me on this particular evening.

"The worst of it is," continued the major, after a slight pause, "I don't see any way out of the difficulty. I haven't even money enough to pay my way in a cheap boarding-house. If I should descend⁸ to such degradation⁹, farewell to all my social position. Managing mammas would no more angle for me, and even Miss Framley would turn up her plebeian¹⁰ pug nose at me, though it would seem as if nature had saved her the necessity. At present she is trying in desperate earnest to catch me."

The major was not misled by vanity. Miss Framley knew very well that the major was regarded as a great catch, and that a match with him would give her a distinguished¹¹ position in society. Moreover, she was under the mistaken impression that he was wealthy. The mistake was a natural one. The major was always arrayed with irreproachable¹² elegance¹³, wore expensive jewelry¹⁴, was known to live handsomely, and indeed to possess all the outward marks of prosperity. She would gladly have embraced the opportunity to become Mrs. Major Ashton.

At one time the major thought of giving her the[Pg 236] opportunity. He knew that Framley pere was rich, and that Miss Framley had fifty thousand dollars in her own right. How far this money would be at the command of her husband was an important question.

Miss Framley forever spoiled her chances one day, when she incautiously expressed the determination to have her fortune settled on herself. She was not speaking to the major, but he overheard her.

"Forewarned is forearmed," he said to himself. "Miss Framley is a pill which must be sugar-coated to be taken, or, as I may say, well gilded¹⁵. If the girl expects to make a good match on the score of her own personal attractions, she makes an egregious¹⁶ mistake. No, young lady, I must have your money paid over, or secured to me on the wedding-day, or your name can never be Mrs. Ashton."

Of course, while there seemed a chance of securing Grace Dearborn, the major never gave a thought to Miss Framley, but Grace's manner at the ball convinced him that to cherish further hopes in that quarter would be a mere¹⁷ waste of time. He could never hope to marry her, except against her will, and was compelled to leave her out of the account. For Grace, it must be owned, he cherished as warm an affection as he was capable of feeling for any one, and he would have married her even with the proviso that all her wealth should be settled on herself. He was,[Pg 237] at all events, a man of taste, and he understood very well the difference between Grace and Miss Framley.

His affairs now had reached a point when it seemed necessary to take some step to relieve himself from the claims of creditors, who were daily becoming more clamorous¹⁸. In his perplexity, one door of relief seemed to open to him. His brow cleared, he brought down his hand upon the table, and exclaimed:

"Now I see my way clear. It won't be so great a sacrifice after all. If I can't be Grace's husband, I will be her uncle."

1 impatience   

n.不耐烦，急躁

参考例句：

• He expressed impatience at the slow rate of progress.进展缓慢，他显得不耐烦。
• He gave a stamp of impatience.他不耐烦地跺脚。

2 irritably   

ad.易生气地

参考例句：

• He lost his temper and snapped irritably at the children. 他发火了，暴躁地斥责孩子们。
• On this account the silence was irritably broken by a reproof. 为了这件事，他妻子大声斥责，令人恼火地打破了宁静。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

3 rascal   

n.流氓；不诚实的人

参考例句：

• If he had done otherwise,I should have thought him a rascal.如果他不这样做，我就认为他是个恶棍。
• The rascal was frightened into holding his tongue.这坏蛋吓得不敢往下说了。

4 plentiful   

adj.富裕的，丰富的

参考例句：

• Their family has a plentiful harvest this year.他们家今年又丰收了。
• Rainfall is plentiful in the area.这个地区雨量充足。

5 rogue   

n.流氓；v.游手好闲

参考例句：

• The little rogue had his grandpa's glasses on.这淘气鬼带上了他祖父的眼镜。
• They defined him as a rogue.他们确定他为骗子。

6 landlady   

n.女房东，女地主

参考例句：

• I heard my landlady creeping stealthily up to my door.我听到我的女房东偷偷地来到我的门前。
• The landlady came over to serve me.女店主过来接待我。

7 creditors   

n.债权人，债主( creditor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They agreed to repay their creditors over a period of three years. 他们同意3年内向债主还清欠款。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Creditors could obtain a writ for the arrest of their debtors. 债权人可以获得逮捕债务人的令状。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 descend   

vt./vi.传下来，下来，下降

参考例句：

• I hope the grace of God would descend on me.我期望上帝的恩惠。
• We're not going to descend to such methods.我们不会沦落到使用这种手段。

9 degradation   

n.降级；低落；退化；陵削；降解；衰变

参考例句：

• There are serious problems of land degradation in some arid zones.在一些干旱地带存在严重的土地退化问题。
• Gambling is always coupled with degradation.赌博总是与堕落相联系。

10 plebeian   

adj.粗俗的；平民的；n.平民；庶民

参考例句：

• He is a philosophy professor with a cockney accent and an alarmingly plebeian manner.他是个有一口伦敦土腔、举止粗俗不堪的哲学教授。
• He spent all day playing rackets on the beach,a plebeian sport if there ever was one.他一整天都在海滩玩壁球，再没有比这更不入流的运动了。

11 distinguished   

adj.卓越的，杰出的，著名的

参考例句：

• Elephants are distinguished from other animals by their long noses.大象以其长长的鼻子显示出与其他动物的不同。
• A banquet was given in honor of the distinguished guests.宴会是为了向贵宾们致敬而举行的。

12 irreproachable   

adj.不可指责的，无过失的

参考例句：

• It emerged that his past behavior was far from irreproachable.事实表明，他过去的行为绝非无可非议。
• She welcomed her unexpected visitor with irreproachable politeness.她以无可指责的礼仪接待了不速之客。

13 elegance   

n.优雅；优美，雅致；精致，巧妙

参考例句：

• The furnishings in the room imparted an air of elegance.这个房间的家具带给这房间一种优雅的气氛。
• John has been known for his sartorial elegance.约翰因为衣着讲究而出名。

14 jewelry   

n.（jewllery）（总称）珠宝

参考例句：

• The burglars walked off with all my jewelry.夜盗偷走了我的全部珠宝。
• Jewelry and lace are mostly feminine belongings.珠宝和花边多数是女性用品。

15 gilded   

a.镀金的，富有的

参考例句：

• The golden light gilded the sea. 金色的阳光使大海如金子般闪闪发光。
• "Friends, they are only gilded disks of lead!" "朋友们，这只不过是些镀金的铅饼！ 来自英汉文学 - 败坏赫德莱堡

16 egregious   

adj.非常的，过分的

参考例句：

• When it comes to blatant lies,there are none more egregious than budget figures.谈到公众谎言，没有比预算数字更令人震惊的。
• What an egregious example was here!现摆着一个多么触目惊心的例子啊。

17 mere   

adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过

参考例句：

• That is a mere repetition of what you said before.那不过是重复了你以前讲的话。
• It's a mere waste of time waiting any longer.再等下去纯粹是浪费时间。

18 clamorous   

adj.吵闹的，喧哗的

参考例句：

• They are clamorous for better pay.他们吵吵嚷嚷要求增加工资。
• The meeting began to become clamorous.会议开始变得喧哗了。