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chapter 2
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 If you had opened the carefully guarded volume with the mottled covers, you would first have seen a wonderful title page, constructed apparently1 on the same lines as an obituary2, or the inscription3 on a tombstone, save for the quantity and variety of information contained in it. Much of the matter would seem to the captious4 critic better adapted to the body of the book than to the title page, but Rebecca was apparently anxious that the principal personages in her chronicle should be well described at the outset.
 
She seems to have had a conviction that heredity plays its part in the evolution of genius, and her belief that the world will be inspired by the possession of her Thoughts is too artless to be offensive. She evidently has respect for rich material confided5 to her teacher, and one can imagine Miss Dearborn's woe6 had she been confronted by Rebecca's chosen literary executor and bidden to deliver certain “Valuable Poetry and Thoughts,” the property of posterity7 “unless carelessly destroyed.”
 
THOUGHT BOOK of Rebecca Rowena Randall Really of Sunnybrook Farm But temporily of The Brick House Riverboro. Own niece of Miss Miranda and Jane Sawyer Second of seven children of her father, Mr. L. D. M. Randall (Now at rest in Temperance cemmetary and there will be a monument as soon as we pay off the mortgage on the farm) Also of her mother Mrs. Aurelia Randall
 
     In case of Death the best of these Thoughts
     May be printed in my Remerniscences
     For the Sunday School Library at Temperance, Maine
     Which needs more books fearfully
     And I hereby
     Will and Testament9 them to Mr. Adam Ladd
     Who bought 300 cakes of soap from me
     And thus secured a premium11
     A Greatly Needed Banquet Lamp
     For my friends the Simpsons.
     He is the only one that incourages
     My writing Remerniscences and
     My teacher Miss Dearborn will
     Have much valuable Poetry and Thoughts
     To give him unless carelessly destroyed.
 
     The pictures are by the same hand that
     Wrote the Thoughts.
 
IT IS NOT NOW DECIDED12 WHETHER REBECCA ROWENA RANDALL WILL BE A PAINTER OR AN AUTHOR, BUT AFTER HER DEATH IT WILL BE KNOWN WHICH SHE HAS BEEN, IF ANY.
 
FINIS
 
From the title page, with its wealth of detail, and its unnecessary and irrelevant13 information, the book ripples14 on like a brook8, and to the weary reader of problem novels it may have something of the brook's refreshing15 quality.
 
OUR DIARIES May, 187—
 
All the girls are keeping a diary because Miss Dearborn was very much ashamed when the school trustees told her that most of the girls' and all of the boys' compositions were disgraceful, and must be improved upon next term. She asked the boys to write letters to her once a week instead of keeping a diary, which they thought was girlish like playing with dolls. The boys thought it was dreadful to have to write letters every seven days, but she told them it was not half as bad for them as it was for her who had to read them.
 
To make my diary a little different I am going to call it a THOUGHT Book (written just like that, with capitals). I have thoughts that I never can use unless I write them down, for Aunt Miranda always says, Keep your thoughts to yourself. Aunt Jane lets me tell her some, but does not like my queer ones and my true thoughts are mostly queer. Emma Jane does not mind hearing them now and then, and that is my only chance.
 
If Miss Dearborn does not like the name Thought Book I will call it Remerniscences (written just like that with a capital R). Remerniscences are things you remember about yourself and write down in case you should die. Aunt Jane doesn't like to read any other kind of books but just lives of interesting dead people and she says that is what Longfellow (who was born in the state of Maine and we should be very proud of it and try to write like him) meant in his poem:
 
     “Lives of great men all remind us
     We should make our lives sublime17,
     And departing, leave behind us
     Footprints on the sands of time.”
 
 
I know what this means because when Emma Jane and I went to the beach with Uncle Jerry Cobb we ran along the wet sand and looked at the shapes our boots made, just as if they were stamped in wax. Emma Jane turns in her left foot (splayfoot the boys call it, which is not polite) and Seth Strout had just patched one of my shoes and it all came out in the sand pictures. When I learned The Psalm18 of Life for Friday afternoon speaking I thought I shouldn't like to leave a patched footprint, nor have Emma Jane's look crooked19 on the sands of time, and right away I thought Oh! What a splendid thought for my Thought Book when Aunt Jane buys me a fifteen-cent one over to Watson's store.
 
REMERNISCENCES
 
June, 187—
 
I told Aunt Jane I was going to begin my Remerniscences, and she says I am full young, but I reminded her that Candace Milliken's sister died when she was ten, leaving no footprints whatever, and if I should die suddenly who would write down my Remerniscences? Aunt Miranda says the sun and moon would rise and set just the same, and it was no matter if they didn't get written down, and to go up attic20 and find her piece-bag; but I said it would, as there was only one of everybody in the world, and nobody else could do their remerniscensing for them. If I should die tonight I know now who would describe me right. Miss Dearborn would say one thing and brother John another. Emma Jane would try to do me justice, but has no words; and I am glad Aunt Miranda never takes the pen in hand.
 
My dictionary is so small it has not many genteel words in it, and I cannot find how to spell Remerniscences, but I remember from the cover of Aunt Jane's book that there was an “s” and a “c” close together in the middle of it, which I thought foolish and not needful.
 
All the girls like their dairies very much, but Minnie Smellie got Alice Robinson's where she had hid it under the school wood pile and read it all through. She said it was no worse than reading anybody's composition, but we told her it was just like peeking21 through a keyhole, or listening at a window, or opening a bureau drawer. She said she didn't look at it that way, and I told her that unless her eyes got unscealed she would never leave any kind of a sublime footprint on the sands of time. I told her a diary was very sacred as you generally poured your deepest feelings into it expecting nobody to look at it but yourself and your indulgent heavenly Father who seeeth all things.
 
Of course it would not hurt Persis Watson to show her diary because she has not a sacred plan and this is the way it goes, for she reads it out loud to us:
 
“Arose at six this morning—(you always arise in a diary but you say get up when you talk about it). Ate breakfast at half past six. Had soda22 biscuits, coffee, fish hash and doughnuts. Wiped the dishes, fed the hens and made my bed before school. Had a good arithmetic lesson, but went down two in spelling. At half past four played hide and coop in the Sawyer pasture. Fed hens and went to bed at eight.”
 
She says she can't put in what doesn't happen, but as I don't think her diary is interesting she will ask her mother to have meat hash instead of fish, with pie when the doughnuts give out, and she will feed the hens before breakfast to make a change. We are all going now to try and make something happen every single day so the diaries won't be so dull and the footprints so common.
 
AN UNCOMMON24 THOUGHT
 
July 187—
 
We dug up our rosecakes today, and that gave me a good Remerniscence. The way you make rose cakes is, you take the leaves of full blown roses and mix them with a little cinnamon and as much brown sugar as they will give you, which is never half enough except Persis Watson, whose affectionate parents let her go to the barrel in their store. Then you do up little bits like sedlitz powders, first in soft paper and then in brown, and bury them in the ground and let them stay as long as you possibly can hold out; then dig them up and eat them. Emma Jane and I stick up little signs over the holes in the ground with the date we buried them and when they'll be done enough to dig up, but we can never wait. When Aunt Jane saw us she said it was the first thing for children to learn,—not to be impatient,—so when I went to the barn chamber25 I made a poem.
 
IMPATIENCE27
 
We dug our rose cakes up oh! all too soon. Twas in the orchard28 just at noon. Twas in a bright July forenoon. Twas in the sunny afternoon. Twas underneath29 the harvest moon.
 
It was not that way at all; it was a foggy morning before school, and I should think poets could never possibly get to heaven, for it is so hard to stick to the truth when you are writing poetry. Emma Jane thinks it is nobody's business when we dug the rosecakes up. I like the line about the harvest moon best, but it would give a wrong idea of our lives and characters to the people that read my Thoughts, for they would think we were up late nights, so I have fixed30 it like this:
 
                    IMPATIENCE
 
     We dug our rose cakes up oh! all too soon,
     We thought their sweetness would be such a boon31.
     We ne'er suspicioned they would not be done
     After three days of autumn wind and sun.
     Why did we from the earth our treasures draw?
     Twas not for fear that rat or mole32 might naw,
     An aged33 aunt doth say impatience was the reason,
     She says that youth is ever out of season.
 
That is just as Aunt Jane said it, and it gave me the thought for the poem which is rather uncommon.
 
A DREADFUL QUESTION
 
September, 187—
 
WHICH HAS BEEN THE MOST BENEFERCENT INFLUENCE ON CHARACTER—PUNISHMENT OR REWARD?
 
This truly dreadful question was given us by Dr. Moses when he visited school today. He is a School Committee; not a whole one but I do not know the singular number of him. He told us we could ask our families what they thought, though he would rather we wouldn't, but we must write our own words and he would hear them next week.
 
After he went out and shut the door the scholars were all plunged34 in gloom and you could have heard a pin drop. Alice Robinson cried and borrowed my handkerchief, and the boys looked as if the schoolhouse had been struck by lightning. The worst of all was poor Miss Dearborn, who will lose her place if she does not make us better scholars soon, for Dr. Moses has a daughter all ready to put right in to the school and she can board at home and save all her wages. Libby Moses is her name.
 
Miss Dearborn stared out the window, and her mouth and chin shook like Alice Robinson's, for she knew, ah! all to well, what the coming week would bring forth36.
 
Then I raised my hand for permission to speak, and stood up and said: “Miss Dearborn, don't you mind! Just explain to us what benefercent' means and we'll write something real interesting; for all of us know what punishment is, and have seen others get rewards, and it is not so bad a subject as some.” And Dick Carter whispered, “GOOD ON YOUR HEAD, REBECCA!” which mean he was sorry for her too, and would try his best, but has no words.
 
Then teacher smiled and said benefercent meant good or healthy for anybody, and would all rise who thought punishment made the best scholars and men and women; and everybody sat stock still.
 
And then she asked all to stand who believed that rewards produced the finest results, and there was a mighty37 sound like unto the rushing of waters, but really was our feet scraping the floor, and the scholars stood up, and it looked like an army, though it was only nineteen, because of the strong belief that was in them. Then Miss Dearborn laughed and said she was thankful for every whipping she had when she was a child, and Living Perkins said perhaps we hadn't got to the thankful age, or perhaps her father hadn't used a strap38, and she said oh! no, it was her mother with the open hand; and Dick Carter said he wouldn't call that punishment, and Sam Simpson said so too.
 
I am going to write about the subject in my Thought Book first, and when I make it into a composition, I can leave out anything about the family or not genteel, as there is much to relate about punishment not pleasant or nice and hardly polite.
 
* * * * * * * * * * * * * PUNISHMENT
 
Punishment is a very puzzly thing, but I believe in it when really deserved, only when I punish myself it does not always turn out well. When I leaned over the new bridge, and got my dress all paint, and Aunt Sarah Cobb couldn't get it out, I had to wear it spotted39 for six months which hurt my pride, but was right. I stayed at home from Alice Robinson's birthday party for a punishment, and went to the circus next day instead, but Alice's parties are very cold and stiff, as Mrs. Robinson makes the boys stand on newspapers if they come inside the door, and the blinds are always shut, and Mrs. Robinson tells me how bad her liver complaint is this year. So I thought, to pay for the circus and a few other things, I ought to get more punishment, and I threw my pink parasol down the well, as the mothers in the missionary40 books throw their infants to the crocodiles in the Ganges river. But it got stuck in the chain that holds the bucket, and Aunt Miranda had to get Abijah Flagg to take out all the broken bits before we could ring up water.
 
I punished myself this way because Aunt Miranda said that unless I improved I would be nothing but a Burden and a Blight41.
 
There was an old man used to go by our farm carrying a lot of broken chairs to bottom, and mother used to say—“Poor man! His back is too weak for such a burden!” and I used to take him out a doughnut, and this is the part I want to go into the Remerniscences. Once I told him we were sorry the chairs were so heavy, and he said THEY DIDN'T SEEM SO HEAVY WHEN HE HAD ET THE DOUGHNUT. This does not mean that the doughnut was heavier than the chairs which is what brother John said, but it is a beautiful thought and shows how the human race should have sympathy, and help bear burdens.
 
I know about a Blight, for there was a dreadful east wind over at our farm that destroyed all the little young crops just out of the ground, and the farmers called it the Blight. And I would rather be hail, sleet42, frost, or snow than a Blight, which is mean and secret, and which is the reason I threw away the dearest thing on earth to me, the pink parasol that Miss Ross brought me from Paris, France. I have also wrapped up my bead43 purse in three papers and put it away marked not to be opened till after my death unless needed for a party.
 
I must not be Burden, I must not be Blight, The angels in heaven would weep at the sight.
 
REWARDS
 
A good way to find out which has the most benefercent effect would be to try rewards on myself this next week and write my composition the very last day, when I see how my character is. It is hard to find rewards for yourself, but perhaps Aunt Jane and some of the girls would each give me one to help out. I could carry my bead purse to school every day, or wear my coral chain a little while before I go to sleep at night. I could read Cora or the Sorrows of a Doctor's Wife a little oftener, but that's all the rewards I can think of. I fear Aunt Miranda would say they are wicked but oh! if they should turn out benefercent how glad and joyful44 life would be to me! A sweet and beautiful character, beloved by my teacher and schoolmates, admired and petted by my aunts and neighbors, yet carrying my bead purse constantly, with perhaps my best hat on Wednesday afternoons, as well as Sundays!
 
A GREAT SHOCK
 
The reason why Alice Robinson could not play was, she was being punished for breaking her mother's blue platter. Just before supper my story being finished I went up Guide Board hill to see how she was bearing up and she spoke45 to me from her window. She said she did not mind being punished because she hadn't been for a long time, and she hoped it would help her with her composition. She thought it would give her thoughts, and tomorrow's the last day for her to have any. This gave me a good idea and I told her to call her father up and beg him to beat her violently. It would hurt, I said, but perhaps none of the other girls would have a punishment like that, and her composition would be all different and splendid. I would borrow Aunt Miranda's witchhayzel and pour it on her wounds like the Samaritan in the Bible.
 
I went up again after supper with Dick Carter to see how it turned out. Alice came to the window and Dick threw up a note tied to a stick. I had written: “DEMAND YOUR PUNISHMENT TO THE FULL. BE BRAVE LIKE DOLORES' MOTHER IN THE Martyrs46 of Spain.”
 
She threw down an answer, and it was: “YOU JUST BE LIKE DOLORES' MOTHER YOURSELF IF YOU'RE SO SMART!” Then she stamped away from the window and my feelings were hurt, but Dick said perhaps she was hungry, and that made her cross. And as Dick and I turned to go out of the yard we looked back and I saw something I can never forget. (The Great Shock) Mrs. Robinson was out behind the barn feeding the turkies. Mr. Robinson came softly out of the side door in the orchard and looking everywheres around he stepped to the wire closet and took out a saucer of cold beans with a pickled beet47 on top, and a big piece of blueberry pie. Then he crept up the back stairs and we could see Alice open her door and take in the supper.
 
Oh! What will become of her composition, and how can she tell anything of the benefercent effects of punishment, when she is locked up by one parent, and fed by the other? I have forgiven her for the way she snapped me up for, of course, you couldn't beg your father to beat you when he was bringing you blueberry pie. Mrs. Robinson makes a kind that leaks out a thick purple juice into the plate and needs a spoon and blacks your mouth, but is heavenly.
 
A DREAM
 
The week is almost up and very soon Dr. Moses will drive up to the school house like Elijah in the chariot and come in to hear us read. There is a good deal of sickness among us. Some of the boys are not able to come to school just now, but hope to be about again by Monday, when Dr. Moses goes away to a convention. It is a very hard composition to write, somehow. Last night I dreamed that the river was ink and I kept dipping into it and writing with a penstalk made of a young pine tree. I sliced great slabs48 of marble off the side of one of the White Mountains, the one you see when going to meeting, and wrote on those. Then I threw them all into the falls, not being good enough for Dr. Moses.
 
Dick Carter had a splendid boy to stay over Sunday. He makes the real newspaper named The Pilot published by the boys at Wareham Academy. He says when he talks about himself in writing he calls himself “we,” and it sounds much more like print, besides conscealing him more.
 
Example: Our hair was measured this morning and has grown two inches since last time.... We have a loose tooth that troubles us very much... Our inkspot that we made by negligence49 on our only white petticoat we have been able to remove with lemon and milk. Some of our petticoat came out with the spot.
 
I shall try it in my composition sometime, for of course I shall write for the Pilot when I go to Wareham Seminary. Uncle Jerry Cobb says that I shall, and thinks that in four years I might rise to be editor if they ever have girls.
 
I have never been more good than since I have been rewarding myself steady, even to asking Aunt Miranda kindly50 to offer me a company jelly tart51, not because I was hungry, but for an experement I was trying, and would explain to her sometime.
 
She said she never thought it was wise to experement with your stomach, and I said, with a queer thrilling look, it was not my stomach but my soul, that was being tried. Then she gave me the tart and walked away all puzzled and nervous.
 
The new minister has asked me to come and see him any Saturday afternoon as he writes poetry himself, but I would rather not ask him about this composition.
 
Ministers never believe in rewards, and it is useless to hope that they will. We had the wrath52 of God four times in sermons this last summer, but God cannot be angry all the time,—nobody could, especially in summer; Mr. Baxter is different and calls his wife dear which is lovely and the first time I ever heard it in Riverboro. Mrs. Baxter is another kind of people too, from those that live in Temperance. I like to watch her in meeting and see her listen to her husband who is young and handsome for a minister; it gives me very queer and uncommon feelings, when they look at each other, which they always do when not otherwise engaged.
 
She has different clothes from anybody else. Aunt Miranda says you must think only of two things: will your dress keep you warm and will it wear well and there is nobody in the world to know how I love pink and red and how I hate drab and green and how I never wear my hat with the black and yellow porkupine quills53 without wishing it would blow into the river.
 
Whene'er I take my walks abroad How many quills I see. But as they are not porkupines They never come to me.
 
COMPOSITION
 
WHICH HAS THE MOST BENEFERCENT EFFECT ON THE CHARACTER, PUNISHMENT OR REWARD?
 
By Rebecca Rowena Randall
 
(This copy not corrected by Miss Dearborn yet.)
 
We find ourselves very puzzled in approaching this truly great and national question though we have tried very ernestly to understand it, so as to show how wisely and wonderfully our dear teacher guides the youthful mind, it being her wish that our composition class shall long be remembered in Riverboro Centre.
 
We would say first of all that punishment seems more benefercently needed by boys than girls. Boys' sins are very violent, like stealing fruit, profane54 language, playing truant55, fighting, breaking windows, and killing56 innocent little flies and bugs57. If these were not taken out of them early in life it would be impossible for them to become like our martyred president, Abraham Lincoln.
 
Although we have asked everybody on our street, they think boys' sins can only be whipped out of them with a switch or strap, which makes us feel very sad, as boys when not sinning the dreadful sins mentioned above seem just as good as girls, and never cry when switched, and say it does not hurt much.
 
We now approach girls, which we know better, being one. Girls seem better than boys because their sins are not so noisy and showy. They can disobey their parents and aunts, whisper in silent hour, cheat in lessons, say angry things to their schoolmates, tell lies, be sulky and lazy, but all these can be conducted quite ladylike and genteel, and nobody wants to strap girls because their skins are tender and get black and blue very easily.
 
Punishments make one very unhappy and rewards very happy, and one would think when one is happy one would behave the best. We were acquainted with a girl who gave herself rewards every day for a week, and it seemed to make her as lovely a character as one could wish; but perhaps if one went on for years giving rewards to onesself one would become selfish. One cannot tell, one can only fear.
 
If a dog kills a sheep we should whip him straight away, and on the very spot where he can see the sheep, or he will not know what we mean, and may forget and kill another. The same is true of the human race. We must be firm and patient in punishing, no matter how much we love the one who has done wrong, and how hungry she is. It does no good to whip a person with one hand and offer her a pickled beet with the other. This confuses her mind, and she may grow up not knowing right from wrong. (The striking example of the pickled beet was removed from the essay by the refined but ruthless Miss Dearborn, who strove patiently, but vainly, to keep such vulgar images out of her pupils' literary efforts.)
 
We now respectfully approach the Holy Bible and the people in the Bible were punished the whole time, and that would seem to make it right. Everybody says Whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth; but we think ourself, that the Lord is a better punisher than we are, and knows better how and when to do it having attended to it ever since the year B.C. while the human race could not know about it till 1492 A.D., which is when Columbus discovered America.
 
We do not believe we can find out all about this truly great and national subject till we get to heaven, where the human race, strapped58 and unstrapped, if any, can meet together and laying down their harps59 discuss how they got there.
 
And we would gently advise boys to be more quiet and genteel in conduct and try rewards to see how they would work. Rewards are not all like the little rosebud60 merit cards we receive on Fridays, and which boys sometimes tear up and fling scornfully to the breeze when they get outside, but girls preserve carefully in an envelope.
 
Some rewards are great and glorious, for boys can get to be governor or school trustee or road commissioner61 or president, while girls can only be wife and mother. But all of us can have the ornament62 of a meek63 and lowly spirit, especially girls, who have more use for it than boys.
 
R.R.R.
 
STORIES AND PEOPLE
 
October, 187—
 
There are people in books and people in Riverboro, and they are not the same kind. They never talk of chargers and palfreys in the village, nor say How oft and Methinks, and if a Scotchman out of Rob Roy should come to Riverboro and want to marry one of us girls we could not understand him unless he made motions; though Huldah Meserve says if a nobleman of high degree should ask her to be his,—one of vast estates with serfs at his bidding,—she would be able to guess his meaning in any language.
 
Uncle Jerry Cobb thinks that Riverboro people would not make a story, but I know that some of them would.
 
Jack-o'-lantern, though only a baby, was just like a real story if anybody had written a piece about him: How his mother was dead and his father ran away and Emma Jane and I got Aunt Sarah Cobb to keep him so Mr. Perkins wouldn't take him to the poor farm; and about our lovely times with him that summer, and our dreadful loss when his father remembered him in the fall and came to take him away; and how Aunt Sarah carried the trundle bed up attic again and Emma Jane and I heard her crying and stole away.
 
Mrs. Peter Meserve says Grandpa Sawyer was a wonderful hand at stories before his spirit was broken by grandmother. She says he was the life of the store and tavern64 when he was a young man, though generally sober, and she thinks I take after him, because I like compositions better than all the other lessons; but mother says I take after father, who always could say everything nicely whether he had anything to say or not; so methinks I should be grateful to both of them. They are what is called ancestors and much depends upon whether you have them or not. The Simpsons have not any at all. Aunt Miranda says the reason everybody is so prosperous around here is because their ancestors were all first settlers and raised on burnt ground. This should make us very proud.
 
Methinks and methought are splendid words for compositions. Miss Dearborn likes them very much, but Alice and I never bring them in to suit her. Methought means the same as I thought, but sounds better. Example: If you are telling a dream you had about your aged aunt:
 
     Methought I heard her say
     My child you have so useful been
     You need not sew today.
 
This is a good example one way, but too unlikely, woe is me!
 
This afternoon I was walking over to the store to buy molasses, and as I came off the bridge and turned up the hill, I saw lots and lots of heelprints in the side of the road, heelprints with little spike65 holes in them.
 
“Oh! The river drivers have come from up country,” I thought, “and they'll be breaking the jam at our falls tomorrow.” I looked everywhere about and not a man did I see, but still I knew I was not mistaken for the heelprints could not lie. All the way over and back I thought about it, though unfortunately forgetting the molasses, and Alice Robinson not being able to come out, I took playtime to write a story. It is the first grown-up one I ever did, and is intended to be like Cora the Doctor's Wife, not like a school composition. It is written for Mr. Adam Ladd, and people like him who live in Boston, and is the printed kind you get money for, to pay off a mortgage.
 
LANCELOT OR THE PARTED LOVERS
 
A beautiful village maiden66 was betrothed67 to a stallwart river driver, but they had high and bitter words and parted, he to weep into the crystal stream as he drove his logs, and she to sigh and moan as she went about her round of household tasks.
 
At eventide the maiden was wont68 to lean over the bridge and her tears also fell into the foaming69 stream; so, though the two unhappy lovers did not know it, the river was their friend, the only one to whom they told their secrets and wept into.
 
The months crept on and it was the next July when the maiden was passing over the bridge and up the hill. Suddenly she spied footprints on the sands of time.
 
“The river drivers have come again!” she cried, putting her hand to her side for she had a slight heart trouble like Cora and Mrs. Peter Meserve, that doesn't kill.
 
“They HAVE come indeed; ESPECIALLY ONE YOU KNOW,” said a voice, and out from the alder70 bushes sprung Lancelot Littlefield, for that was the lover's name and it was none other than he. His hair was curly and like living gold. His shirt, white of flannel71, was new and dry, and of a handsome color, and as the maiden looked at him she could think of nought72 but a fairy prince.
 
“Forgive,” she mermered, stretching out her waisted hands.
 
“Nay, sweet,” he replied. “'Tis I should say that to you,” and bending gracefully73 on one knee he kissed the hem10 of her dress. It was a rich pink gingham check, ellaborately ornamented74 with white tape trimming.
 
Clasping each other to the heart like Cora and the Doctor, they stood there for a long while, till they heard the rumble75 of wheels on the bridge and knew they must disentangle.
 
The wheels came nearer and verily! it was the maiden's father.
 
“Can I wed35 with your fair daughter this very moon,” asked Lancelot, who will not be called his whole name again in this story.
 
“You may,” said the father, “for lo! she has been ready and waiting for many months.” This he said not noting how he was shaming the maiden, whose name was Linda Rowenetta.
 
Then and there the nuptial76 day was appointed and when it came, the marriage knot was tied upon the river bank where first they met; the river bank where they had parted in anger, and where they had again scealeld their vows77 and clasped each other to the heart. And it was very low water that summer, and the river always thought it was because no tears dropped into it but so many smiles that like sunshine they dried it up.
 
R.R.R.
 
Finis
 
CAREERS
 
November, 187—
 
Long ago when I used to watch Miss Ross painting the old mill at Sunnybrook I thought I would be a painter, for Miss Ross went to Paris France where she bought my bead purse and pink parasol and I thought I would like to see a street with beautiful bright-colored things sparkling and hanging in the store windows.
 
Then when the missionaries78 from Syria came to stay at the brick house Mrs. Burch said that after I had experienced religion I must learn music and train my voice and go out to heathen lands and save souls, so I thought that would be my career. But we girls tried to have a branch and be home missionaries and it did not work well. Emma Jane's father would not let her have her birthday party when he found out what she had done and Aunt Jane sent me up to Jake Moody's to tell him we did not mean to be rude when we asked him to go to meeting more often. He said all right, but just let him catch that little dough-faced Perkins young one in his yard once more and she'd have reason to remember the call, which was just as rude and impolite as our trying to lead him to a purer and a better life.
 
Then Uncle Jerry and Mr. Aladdin and Miss Dearborn liked my compositions, and I thought I'd better be a writer, for I must be something the minute I'm seventeen, or how shall we ever get the mortgage off the farm? But even that hope is taken away from me now, for Uncle Jerry made fun of my story Lancelot Or The Parted Lovers and I have decided to be a teacher like Miss Dearborn.
 
The pathetic announcement of a change in the career and life purposes of Rebecca was brought about by her reading the grown-up story to Mr. and Mrs. Jeremiah Cobb after supper in the orchard. Uncle Jerry was the person who had maintained all along that Riverboro people would not make a story; and Lancelot or The Parted Lovers was intended to refute that assertion at once and forever; an assertion which Rebecca regarded (quite truly) as untenable, though why she certainly never could have explained. Unfortunately Lancelot was a poor missionary, quite unfitted for the high achievements to which he was destined79 by the youthful novelist, and Uncle Jerry, though a stage-driver and no reading man, at once perceived the flabbiness and transparency of the Parted Lovers the moment they were held up to his inspection80.
 
“You see Riverboro people WILL make a story!” asserted Rebecca triumphantly81 as she finished her reading and folded the paper. “And it all came from my noticing the river drivers' tracks by the roadside, and wondering about them; and wondering always makes stories; the minister says so.”
 
“Ye-es,” allowed Uncle Jerry reflectively, tipping his chair back against the apple tree and forcing his slow mind to violent and instantaneous action, for Rebecca was his pride and joy; a person, in his opinion, of superhuman talent, one therefore to be “whittled into shape” if occasion demanded.
 
“It's a Riverboro story, sure enough, because you've got the river and the bridge and the hill and the drivers all right there in it; but there's something awful queer bout16 it; the folks don't act Riverboro, and don't talk Riverboro, cordin' to my notions. I call it a reg'lar book story.”
 
“But,” objected Rebecca, “the people in Cinderella didn't act like us, and you thought that was a beautiful story when I told it to you.”
 
“I know,” replied Uncle Jerry, gaining eloquence82 in the heat of argument. “They didn't act like us, but 't any rate they acted like 'emselves! Somehow they was all of a piece. Cinderella was a little too good, mebbe, and the sisters was most too thunderin' bad to live on the face o' the earth, and that fayry old lady that kep' the punkin' coach up her sleeve—well, anyhow, you jest believe that punkin' coach, rats, mice, and all, when you're hearin' bout it, fore23 ever you stop to think it ain't so.
 
“I don' know how tis, but the folks in that Cinderella story seem to match together somehow; they're all pow'ful onlikely—the prince feller with the glass slipper83, and the hull84 bunch; but jest the same you kind o' gulp85 em all down in a lump. But land, Rebecky, nobody'd swaller that there village maiden o' your'n, and as for what's-his-name Littlefield, that come out o' them bushes, such a feller never 'd a' be'n IN bushes! No, Rebecky, you're the smartest little critter there is in this township, and you beat your Uncle Jerry all holler when it comes to usin' a lead pencil, but I say that ain't no true Riverboro story! Look at the way they talk! What was that' bout being BETROTHED'?”
 
“Betrothed is a genteel word for engaged to be married,” explained the crushed and chastened author; and it was fortunate the doting86 old man did not notice her eyes in the twilight87, or he might have known that tears were not far away.
 
“Well, that's all right, then; I'm as ignorant as Cooper's cow when it comes to the dictionary. How about what's-his-name callin' the girl 'Naysweet'?”
 
“I thought myself that sounded foolish,:” confessed Rebecca; “but it's what the Doctor calls Cora when he tries to persuade her not to quarrel with his mother who comes to live with them. I know they don't say it in Riverboro or Temperance, but I thought perhaps it was Boston talk.”
 
“Well, it ain't!” asserted Mr. Cobb decisively. “I've druv Boston men up in the stage from Milltown many's the time, and none of em ever said Naysweet to me, nor nothin'like it. They talked like folks, every mother's son of em! If I'd a' had that what's-his-name on the harricane deck' o' the stage and he tried any naysweetin' on me, I'd a' pitched him into the cornfield, side o' the road. I guess you ain't growed up enough for that kind of a story, Rebecky, for your poetry can't be beat in York County, that's sure, and your compositions are good enough to read out loud in town meetin' any day!”
 
Rebecca brightened up a little and bade the old couple her usual affectionate good night, but she descended88 the hill in a saddened mood. When she reached the bridge the sun, a ball of red fire, was setting behind Squire89 Bean's woods. As she looked, it shone full on the broad, still bosom90 of the river, and for one perfect instant the trees on the shores were reflected, all swimming in a sea of pink. Leaning over the rail, she watched the light fade from crimson91 to carmine92, from carmine to rose, from rose to amber26, and from amber to gray. Then withdrawing Lancelot or the Parted Lovers from her apron93 pocket, she tore the pages into bits and dropped them into the water below with a sigh.
 
“Uncle Jerry never said a word about the ending!” she thought; “and that was so nice!”
 
And she was right; but while Uncle Jerry was an illuminating94 critic when it came to the actions and language of his Riverboro neighbors, he had no power to direct the young mariner95 when she “followed the gleam,” and used her imagination.
 
OUR SECRET SOCIETY
 
November, 187—
 
Our Secret society has just had a splendid picnic in Candace Milliken's barn.
 
Our name is the B.O.S.S., and not a single boy in the village has been able to guess it. It means Braid Over Shoulder Society, and that is the sign. All the members wear one of their braids over the right shoulder in front; the president's tied with red ribbon (I am the president) and all the rest tied with blue.
 
To attract the attention of another member when in company or at a public place we take the braid between the thumb and little finger and stand carelessly on one leg. This is the Secret Signal and the password is Sobb (B.O.S.S. spelled backwards) which was my idea and is thought rather uncommon.
 
One of the rules of the B.O.S.S. is that any member may be required to tell her besetting96 sin at any meeting, if asked to do so by a majority of the members.
 
This was Candace Milliken's idea and much opposed by everybody, but when it came to a vote so many of the girls were afraid of offending Candace that they agreed because there was nobody else's father and mother who would let us picnic in their barn and use their plow97, harrow, grindstone, sleigh, carryall, pung, sled, and wheelbarrow, which we did and injured hardly anything.
 
They asked me to tell my besetting sin at the very first meeting, and it nearly killed me to do it because it is such a common greedy one. It is that I can't bear to call the other girls when I have found a thick spot when we are out berrying in the summer time.
 
After I confessed, which made me dreadfully ashamed, every one of the girls seemed surprised and said they had never noticed that one but had each thought of something very different that I would be sure to think was my besetting sin. Then Emma Jane said that rather than tell hers she would resign from the Society and miss the picnic. So it made so much trouble that Candace gave up. We struck out the rule from the constitution and I had told my sin for nothing.
 
The reason we named ourselves the B.O.S.S. is that Minnie Smellie has had her head shaved after scarlet98 fever and has no braid, so she can't be a member.
 
I don't want her for a member but I can't be happy thinking she will feel slighted, and it takes away half the pleasure of belonging to the Society myself and being president.
 
That, I think, is the principal trouble about doing mean and unkind things; that you can't do wrong and feel right, or be bad and feel good. If you only could you could do anything that came into your mind yet always be happy.
 
Minnie Smellie spoils everything she comes into but I suppose we other girls must either have our hair shaved and call ourselves The Baldheadians or let her be some kind of a special officer in the B.O.S.S.
 
She might be the B.I.T.U.D. member (Braid in the Upper Drawer), for there is where Mrs. Smellie keeps it now that it is cut off.
 
WINTER THOUGHTS
 
March, 187—
 
It is not such a cold day for March and I am up in the barn chamber with my coat and hood99 on and Aunt Jane's waterproof100 and my mittens101.
 
After I do three pages I am going to hide away this book in the haymow till spring.
 
Perhaps they get made into icicles on the way but I do not seem to have any thoughts in the winter time. The barn chamber is full of thoughts in warm weather. The sky gives them to me, and the trees and flowers, and the birds, and the river; but now it is always gray and nipping, the branches are bare and the river is frozen.
 
It is too cold to write in my bedroom but while we still kept an open fire I had a few thoughts, but now there is an air-tight stove in the dining room where we sit, and we seem so close together, Aunt Miranda, Aunt Jane and I that I don't like to write in my book for fear they will ask me to read out loud my secret thoughts.
 
I have just read over the first part of my Thought Book and I have outgrown102 it all, just exactly as I have outgrown my last year's drab cashmere.
 
It is very queer how anybody can change so fast in a few months, but I remember that Emma Jane's cat had kittens the day my book was bought at Watson's store. Mrs. Perkins kept the prettiest white one, Abijah Flagg drowning all the others.
 
It seems strange to me that cats will go on having kittens when they know what becomes of them! We were very sad about it, but Mrs. Perkins said it was the way of the world and how things had to be.
 
I cannot help being glad that they do not do the same with children, or John and Jenny Mira Mark and me would all have had stones tied to our necks and been dropped into the deepest part of Sunny Brook, for Hannah and Fanny are the only truly handsome ones in the family.
 
Mrs. Perkins says I dress up well, but never being dressed up it does not matter much. At least they didn't wait to dress up the kittens to see how they would improve, before drowning them, but decided right away.
 
Emma Jane's kitten that was born the same day this book was is now quite an old cat who knows the way of the world herself, and how things have to be, for she has had one batch103 of kittens drowned already.
 
So perhaps it is not strange that my Thought Book seems so babyish and foolish to me when I think of all I have gone through and the millions of things I have learned, and how much better I spell than I did ten months ago.
 
My fingers are cold through the mittens, so good-bye dear Thought Book, friend of my childhood, now so far far behind me!
 
I will hide you in the haymow where you'll be warm and cosy104 all the long winter and where nobody can find you again in the summer time but your affectionate author,
 
Rebecca Rowena Randall.

点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 apparently tMmyQ     
adv.显然地;表面上,似乎
参考例句:
  • An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽,豁然开朗。
  • He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。
2 obituary mvvy9     
n.讣告,死亡公告;adj.死亡的
参考例句:
  • The obituary records the whole life of the deceased.讣文记述了这位死者的生平。
  • Five days after the letter came,he found Andersen s obituary in the morning paper.收到那封信五天后,他在早报上发现了安德森的讣告。
3 inscription l4ZyO     
n.(尤指石块上的)刻印文字,铭文,碑文
参考例句:
  • The inscription has worn away and can no longer be read.铭文已磨损,无法辨认了。
  • He chiselled an inscription on the marble.他在大理石上刻碑文。
4 captious wTjy2     
adj.难讨好的,吹毛求疵的
参考例句:
  • There is no captious client but faulty product and service.没有挑剔的客户,只有不完善的产品和服务。
  • His criticisms were always captious and frivolous,never offering constructive suggestions.他的评论一向轻率并爱吹毛求疵,从不提出有建设性的建议。
5 confided 724f3f12e93e38bec4dda1e47c06c3b1     
v.吐露(秘密,心事等)( confide的过去式和过去分词 );(向某人)吐露(隐私、秘密等)
参考例句:
  • She confided all her secrets to her best friend. 她向她最要好的朋友倾吐了自己所有的秘密。
  • He confided to me that he had spent five years in prison. 他私下向我透露,他蹲过五年监狱。 来自《简明英汉词典》
6 woe OfGyu     
n.悲哀,苦痛,不幸,困难;int.用来表达悲伤或惊慌
参考例句:
  • Our two peoples are brothers sharing weal and woe.我们两国人民是患难与共的兄弟。
  • A man is well or woe as he thinks himself so.自认祸是祸,自认福是福。
7 posterity D1Lzn     
n.后裔,子孙,后代
参考例句:
  • Few of his works will go down to posterity.他的作品没有几件会流传到后世。
  • The names of those who died are recorded for posterity on a tablet at the back of the church.死者姓名都刻在教堂后面的一块石匾上以便后人铭记。
8 brook PSIyg     
n.小河,溪;v.忍受,容让
参考例句:
  • In our room we could hear the murmur of a distant brook.在我们房间能听到远处小溪汩汩的流水声。
  • The brook trickled through the valley.小溪涓涓流过峡谷。
9 testament yyEzf     
n.遗嘱;证明
参考例句:
  • This is his last will and testament.这是他的遗愿和遗嘱。
  • It is a testament to the power of political mythology.这说明,编造政治神话可以产生多大的威力。
10 hem 7dIxa     
n.贴边,镶边;vt.缝贴边;(in)包围,限制
参考例句:
  • The hem on her skirt needs sewing.她裙子上的褶边需要缝一缝。
  • The hem of your dress needs to be let down an inch.你衣服的折边有必要放长1英寸。
11 premium EPSxX     
n.加付款;赠品;adj.高级的;售价高的
参考例句:
  • You have to pay a premium for express delivery.寄快递你得付额外费用。
  • Fresh water was at a premium after the reservoir was contaminated.在水库被污染之后,清水便因稀而贵了。
12 decided lvqzZd     
adj.决定了的,坚决的;明显的,明确的
参考例句:
  • This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
  • There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。
13 irrelevant ZkGy6     
adj.不恰当的,无关系的,不相干的
参考例句:
  • That is completely irrelevant to the subject under discussion.这跟讨论的主题完全不相关。
  • A question about arithmetic is irrelevant in a music lesson.在音乐课上,一个数学的问题是风马牛不相及的。
14 ripples 10e54c54305aebf3deca20a1472f4b96     
逐渐扩散的感觉( ripple的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • The moon danced on the ripples. 月亮在涟漪上舞动。
  • The sea leaves ripples on the sand. 海水在沙滩上留下了波痕。
15 refreshing HkozPQ     
adj.使精神振作的,使人清爽的,使人喜欢的
参考例句:
  • I find it'so refreshing to work with young people in this department.我发现和这一部门的青年一起工作令人精神振奋。
  • The water was cold and wonderfully refreshing.水很涼,特别解乏提神。
16 bout Asbzz     
n.侵袭,发作;一次(阵,回);拳击等比赛
参考例句:
  • I was suffering with a bout of nerves.我感到一阵紧张。
  • That bout of pneumonia enfeebled her.那次肺炎的发作使她虚弱了。
17 sublime xhVyW     
adj.崇高的,伟大的;极度的,不顾后果的
参考例句:
  • We should take some time to enjoy the sublime beauty of nature.我们应该花些时间去欣赏大自然的壮丽景象。
  • Olympic games play as an important arena to exhibit the sublime idea.奥运会,就是展示此崇高理念的重要舞台。
18 psalm aB5yY     
n.赞美诗,圣诗
参考例句:
  • The clergyman began droning the psalm.牧师开始以单调而低沈的语调吟诵赞美诗。
  • The minister droned out the psalm.牧师喃喃地念赞美诗。
19 crooked xvazAv     
adj.弯曲的;不诚实的,狡猾的,不正当的
参考例句:
  • He crooked a finger to tell us to go over to him.他弯了弯手指,示意我们到他那儿去。
  • You have to drive slowly on these crooked country roads.在这些弯弯曲曲的乡间小路上你得慢慢开车。
20 attic Hv4zZ     
n.顶楼,屋顶室
参考例句:
  • Leakiness in the roof caused a damp attic.屋漏使顶楼潮湿。
  • What's to be done with all this stuff in the attic?顶楼上的材料怎么处理?
21 peeking 055254fc0b0cbadaccd5778d3ae12b50     
v.很快地看( peek的现在分词 );偷看;窥视;微露出
参考例句:
  • I couldn't resist peeking in the drawer. 我不由得偷看了一下抽屉里面。
  • They caught him peeking in through the keyhole. 他们发现他从钥匙孔里向里窥视。 来自辞典例句
22 soda cr3ye     
n.苏打水;汽水
参考例句:
  • She doesn't enjoy drinking chocolate soda.她不喜欢喝巧克力汽水。
  • I will freshen your drink with more soda and ice cubes.我给你的饮料重加一些苏打水和冰块。
23 fore ri8xw     
adv.在前面;adj.先前的;在前部的;n.前部
参考例句:
  • Your seat is in the fore part of the aircraft.你的座位在飞机的前部。
  • I have the gift of fore knowledge.我能够未卜先知。
24 uncommon AlPwO     
adj.罕见的,非凡的,不平常的
参考例句:
  • Such attitudes were not at all uncommon thirty years ago.这些看法在30年前很常见。
  • Phil has uncommon intelligence.菲尔智力超群。
25 chamber wnky9     
n.房间,寝室;会议厅;议院;会所
参考例句:
  • For many,the dentist's surgery remains a torture chamber.对许多人来说,牙医的治疗室一直是间受刑室。
  • The chamber was ablaze with light.会议厅里灯火辉煌。
26 amber LzazBn     
n.琥珀;琥珀色;adj.琥珀制的
参考例句:
  • Would you like an amber necklace for your birthday?你过生日想要一条琥珀项链吗?
  • This is a piece of little amber stones.这是一块小小的琥珀化石。
27 impatience OaOxC     
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。
28 orchard UJzxu     
n.果园,果园里的全部果树,(美俚)棒球场
参考例句:
  • My orchard is bearing well this year.今年我的果园果实累累。
  • Each bamboo house was surrounded by a thriving orchard.每座竹楼周围都是茂密的果园。
29 underneath VKRz2     
adj.在...下面,在...底下;adv.在下面
参考例句:
  • Working underneath the car is always a messy job.在汽车底下工作是件脏活。
  • She wore a coat with a dress underneath.她穿着一件大衣,里面套着一条连衣裙。
30 fixed JsKzzj     
adj.固定的,不变的,准备好的;(计算机)固定的
参考例句:
  • Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗?
  • Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定,我们就不应该随意改变。
31 boon CRVyF     
n.恩赐,恩物,恩惠
参考例句:
  • A car is a real boon when you live in the country.在郊外居住,有辆汽车确实极为方便。
  • These machines have proved a real boon to disabled people.事实证明这些机器让残疾人受益匪浅。
32 mole 26Nzn     
n.胎块;痣;克分子
参考例句:
  • She had a tiny mole on her cheek.她的面颊上有一颗小黑痣。
  • The young girl felt very self- conscious about the large mole on her chin.那位年轻姑娘对自己下巴上的一颗大痣感到很不自在。
33 aged 6zWzdI     
adj.年老的,陈年的
参考例句:
  • He had put on weight and aged a little.他胖了,也老点了。
  • He is aged,but his memory is still good.他已年老,然而记忆力还好。
34 plunged 06a599a54b33c9d941718dccc7739582     
v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 );暴跌;骤降;突降
参考例句:
  • The train derailed and plunged into the river. 火车脱轨栽进了河里。
  • She lost her balance and plunged 100 feet to her death. 她没有站稳,从100英尺的高处跌下摔死了。
35 wed MgFwc     
v.娶,嫁,与…结婚
参考例句:
  • The couple eventually wed after three year engagement.这对夫妇在订婚三年后终于结婚了。
  • The prince was very determined to wed one of the king's daughters.王子下定决心要娶国王的其中一位女儿。
36 forth Hzdz2     
adv.向前;向外,往外
参考例句:
  • The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
  • He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。
37 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。
38 strap 5GhzK     
n.皮带,带子;v.用带扣住,束牢;用绷带包扎
参考例句:
  • She held onto a strap to steady herself.她抓住拉手吊带以便站稳。
  • The nurse will strap up your wound.护士会绑扎你的伤口。
39 spotted 7FEyj     
adj.有斑点的,斑纹的,弄污了的
参考例句:
  • The milkman selected the spotted cows,from among a herd of two hundred.牛奶商从一群200头牛中选出有斑点的牛。
  • Sam's shop stocks short spotted socks.山姆的商店屯积了有斑点的短袜。
40 missionary ID8xX     
adj.教会的,传教(士)的;n.传教士
参考例句:
  • She taught in a missionary school for a couple of years.她在一所教会学校教了两年书。
  • I hope every member understands the value of missionary work. 我希望教友都了解传教工作的价值。
41 blight 0REye     
n.枯萎病;造成破坏的因素;vt.破坏,摧残
参考例句:
  • The apple crop was wiped out by blight.枯萎病使苹果全无收成。
  • There is a blight on all his efforts.他的一切努力都遭到挫折。
42 sleet wxlw6     
n.雨雪;v.下雨雪,下冰雹
参考例句:
  • There was a great deal of sleet last night.昨夜雨夹雪下得真大。
  • When winter comes,we get sleet and frost.冬天来到时我们这儿会有雨夹雪和霜冻。
43 bead hdbyl     
n.念珠;(pl.)珠子项链;水珠
参考例句:
  • She accidentally swallowed a glass bead.她不小心吞下了一颗玻璃珠。
  • She has a beautiful glass bead and a bracelet in the box.盒子里有一颗美丽的玻璃珠和手镯。
44 joyful N3Fx0     
adj.欢乐的,令人欢欣的
参考例句:
  • She was joyful of her good result of the scientific experiments.她为自己的科学实验取得好成果而高兴。
  • They were singing and dancing to celebrate this joyful occasion.他们唱着、跳着庆祝这令人欢乐的时刻。
45 spoke XryyC     
n.(车轮的)辐条;轮辐;破坏某人的计划;阻挠某人的行动 v.讲,谈(speak的过去式);说;演说;从某种观点来说
参考例句:
  • They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
  • The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。
46 martyrs d8bbee63cb93081c5677dc671dc968fc     
n.martyr的复数形式;烈士( martyr的名词复数 );殉道者;殉教者;乞怜者(向人诉苦以博取同情)
参考例句:
  • the early Christian martyrs 早期基督教殉道者
  • They paid their respects to the revolutionary martyrs. 他们向革命烈士致哀。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
47 beet 9uXzV     
n.甜菜;甜菜根
参考例句:
  • He farmed his pickers to work in the beet fields. 他出租他的摘棉工去甜菜地里干活。
  • The sugar beet is an entirely different kind of plant.糖用甜菜是一种完全不同的作物。
48 slabs df40a4b047507aa67c09fd288db230ac     
n.厚板,平板,厚片( slab的名词复数 );厚胶片
参考例句:
  • The patio was made of stone slabs. 这天井是用石板铺砌而成的。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The slabs of standing stone point roughly toward the invisible notch. 这些矗立的石块,大致指向那个看不见的缺口。 来自辞典例句
49 negligence IjQyI     
n.疏忽,玩忽,粗心大意
参考例句:
  • They charged him with negligence of duty.他们指责他玩忽职守。
  • The traffic accident was allegedly due to negligence.这次车祸据说是由于疏忽造成的。
50 kindly tpUzhQ     
adj.和蔼的,温和的,爽快的;adv.温和地,亲切地
参考例句:
  • Her neighbours spoke of her as kindly and hospitable.她的邻居都说她和蔼可亲、热情好客。
  • A shadow passed over the kindly face of the old woman.一道阴影掠过老太太慈祥的面孔。
51 tart 0qIwH     
adj.酸的;尖酸的,刻薄的;n.果馅饼;淫妇
参考例句:
  • She was learning how to make a fruit tart in class.她正在课上学习如何制作水果馅饼。
  • She replied in her usual tart and offhand way.她开口回答了,用她平常那种尖酸刻薄的声调随口说道。
52 wrath nVNzv     
n.愤怒,愤慨,暴怒
参考例句:
  • His silence marked his wrath. 他的沉默表明了他的愤怒。
  • The wrath of the people is now aroused. 人们被激怒了。
53 quills a65f94ad5cb5e1bc45533b2cf19212e8     
n.(刺猬或豪猪的)刺( quill的名词复数 );羽毛管;翮;纡管
参考例句:
  • Quills were the chief writing implement from the 6th century AD until the advent of steel pens in the mid 19th century. 从公元6世纪到19世纪中期钢笔出现以前,羽毛笔是主要的书写工具。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • Defensive quills dot the backs of these troublesome creatures. 防御性的刺长在这些讨人厌的生物背上。 来自互联网
54 profane l1NzQ     
adj.亵神的,亵渎的;vt.亵渎,玷污
参考例句:
  • He doesn't dare to profane the name of God.他不敢亵渎上帝之名。
  • His profane language annoyed us.他亵渎的言语激怒了我们。
55 truant zG4yW     
n.懒惰鬼,旷课者;adj.偷懒的,旷课的,游荡的;v.偷懒,旷课
参考例句:
  • I found the truant throwing stones in the river.我发现那个逃课的学生在往河里扔石子。
  • Children who play truant from school are unimaginative.逃学的孩子们都缺乏想像力。
56 killing kpBziQ     
n.巨额利润;突然赚大钱,发大财
参考例句:
  • Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
  • Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。
57 bugs e3255bae220613022d67e26d2e4fa689     
adj.疯狂的,发疯的n.窃听器( bug的名词复数 );病菌;虫子;[计算机](制作软件程序所产生的意料不到的)错误
参考例句:
  • All programs have bugs and need endless refinement. 所有的程序都有漏洞,都需要不断改进。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The sacks of rice were swarming with bugs. 一袋袋的米里长满了虫子。 来自《简明英汉词典》
58 strapped ec484d13545e19c0939d46e2d1eb24bc     
adj.用皮带捆住的,用皮带装饰的;身无分文的;缺钱;手头紧v.用皮带捆扎(strap的过去式和过去分词);用皮带抽打;包扎;给…打绷带
参考例句:
  • Make sure that the child is strapped tightly into the buggy. 一定要把孩子牢牢地拴在婴儿车上。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The soldiers' great coats were strapped on their packs. 战士们的厚大衣扎捆在背包上。 来自《简明英汉词典》
59 harps 43af3ccaaa52a4643b9e0a0261914c63     
abbr.harpsichord 拨弦古钢琴n.竖琴( harp的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • She continually harps on lack of money. 她总唠叨说缺钱。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • He could turn on the harps of the blessed. 他能召来天使的竖琴为他奏乐。 来自辞典例句
60 rosebud xjZzfD     
n.蔷薇花蕾,妙龄少女
参考例句:
  • At West Ham he was thought of as the rosebud that never properly flowered.在西汉姆他被认为是一个尚未开放的花蕾。
  • Unlike the Rosebud salve,this stuff is actually worth the money.跟玫瑰花蕾膏不一样,这个更值的买。
61 commissioner gq3zX     
n.(政府厅、局、处等部门)专员,长官,委员
参考例句:
  • The commissioner has issued a warrant for her arrest.专员发出了对她的逮捕令。
  • He was tapped for police commissioner.他被任命为警务处长。
62 ornament u4czn     
v.装饰,美化;n.装饰,装饰物
参考例句:
  • The flowers were put on the table for ornament.花放在桌子上做装饰用。
  • She wears a crystal ornament on her chest.她的前胸戴了一个水晶饰品。
63 meek x7qz9     
adj.温顺的,逆来顺受的
参考例句:
  • He expects his wife to be meek and submissive.他期望妻子温顺而且听他摆布。
  • The little girl is as meek as a lamb.那个小姑娘像羔羊一般温顺。
64 tavern wGpyl     
n.小旅馆,客栈;小酒店
参考例句:
  • There is a tavern at the corner of the street.街道的拐角处有一家酒馆。
  • Philip always went to the tavern,with a sense of pleasure.菲利浦总是心情愉快地来到这家酒菜馆。
65 spike lTNzO     
n.长钉,钉鞋;v.以大钉钉牢,使...失效
参考例句:
  • The spike pierced the receipts and held them in order.那个钉子穿过那些收据并使之按顺序排列。
  • They'll do anything to spike the guns of the opposition.他们会使出各种手段来挫败对手。
66 maiden yRpz7     
n.少女,处女;adj.未婚的,纯洁的,无经验的
参考例句:
  • The prince fell in love with a fair young maiden.王子爱上了一位年轻美丽的少女。
  • The aircraft makes its maiden flight tomorrow.这架飞机明天首航。
67 betrothed betrothed     
n. 已订婚者 动词betroth的过去式和过去分词
参考例句:
  • She is betrothed to John. 她同约翰订了婚。
  • His daughter was betrothed to a teacher. 他的女儿同一个教师订了婚。
68 wont peXzFP     
adj.习惯于;v.习惯;n.习惯
参考例句:
  • He was wont to say that children are lazy.他常常说小孩子们懒惰。
  • It is his wont to get up early.早起是他的习惯。
69 foaming 08d4476ae4071ba83dfdbdb73d41cae6     
adj.布满泡沫的;发泡
参考例句:
  • He looked like a madman, foaming at the mouth. 他口吐白沫,看上去像个疯子。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • He is foaming at the mouth about the committee's decision. 他正为委员会的决定大发其火。 来自《简明英汉词典》
70 alder QzNz7q     
n.赤杨树
参考例句:
  • He gave john some alder bark.他给了约翰一些桤木树皮。
  • Several coppice plantations have been seeded with poplar,willow,and alder.好几个灌木林场都种上了白杨、柳树和赤杨。
71 flannel S7dyQ     
n.法兰绒;法兰绒衣服
参考例句:
  • She always wears a grey flannel trousers.她总是穿一条灰色法兰绒长裤。
  • She was looking luscious in a flannel shirt.她穿着法兰绒裙子,看上去楚楚动人。
72 nought gHGx3     
n./adj.无,零
参考例句:
  • We must bring their schemes to nought.我们必须使他们的阴谋彻底破产。
  • One minus one leaves nought.一减一等于零。
73 gracefully KfYxd     
ad.大大方方地;优美地
参考例句:
  • She sank gracefully down onto a cushion at his feet. 她优雅地坐到他脚旁的垫子上。
  • The new coats blouse gracefully above the hip line. 新外套在臀围线上优美地打着褶皱。
74 ornamented af417c68be20f209790a9366e9da8dbb     
adj.花式字体的v.装饰,点缀,美化( ornament的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • The desk was ornamented with many carvings. 这桌子装饰有很多雕刻物。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • She ornamented her dress with lace. 她用花边装饰衣服。 来自《简明英汉词典》
75 rumble PCXzd     
n.隆隆声;吵嚷;v.隆隆响;低沉地说
参考例句:
  • I hear the rumble of thunder in the distance.我听到远处雷声隆隆。
  • We could tell from the rumble of the thunder that rain was coming.我们根据雷的轰隆声可断定,天要下雨了。
76 nuptial 1vVyf     
adj.婚姻的,婚礼的
参考例句:
  • Their nuptial day hasn't been determined.他们的结婚日还没有决定。
  • I went to the room which he had called the nuptial chamber.我走进了他称之为洞房的房间。
77 vows c151b5e18ba22514580d36a5dcb013e5     
誓言( vow的名词复数 ); 郑重宣布,许愿
参考例句:
  • Matrimonial vows are to show the faithfulness of the new couple. 婚誓体现了新婚夫妇对婚姻的忠诚。
  • The nun took strait vows. 那位修女立下严格的誓愿。
78 missionaries 478afcff2b692239c9647b106f4631ba     
n.传教士( missionary的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • Some missionaries came from England in the Qing Dynasty. 清朝时,从英国来了一些传教士。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The missionaries rebuked the natives for worshipping images. 传教士指责当地人崇拜偶像。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
79 destined Dunznz     
adj.命中注定的;(for)以…为目的地的
参考例句:
  • It was destined that they would marry.他们结婚是缘分。
  • The shipment is destined for America.这批货物将运往美国。
80 inspection y6TxG     
n.检查,审查,检阅
参考例句:
  • On random inspection the meat was found to be bad.经抽查,发现肉变质了。
  • The soldiers lined up for their daily inspection by their officers.士兵们列队接受军官的日常检阅。
81 triumphantly 9fhzuv     
ad.得意洋洋地;得胜地;成功地
参考例句:
  • The lion was roaring triumphantly. 狮子正在发出胜利的吼叫。
  • Robert was looking at me triumphantly. 罗伯特正得意扬扬地看着我。
82 eloquence 6mVyM     
n.雄辩;口才,修辞
参考例句:
  • I am afraid my eloquence did not avail against the facts.恐怕我的雄辩也无补于事实了。
  • The people were charmed by his eloquence.人们被他的口才迷住了。
83 slipper px9w0     
n.拖鞋
参考例句:
  • I rescued the remains of my slipper from the dog.我从那狗的口中夺回了我拖鞋的残留部分。
  • The puppy chewed a hole in the slipper.小狗在拖鞋上啃了一个洞。
84 hull 8c8xO     
n.船身;(果、实等的)外壳;vt.去(谷物等)壳
参考例句:
  • The outer surface of ship's hull is very hard.船体的外表面非常坚硬。
  • The boat's hull has been staved in by the tremendous seas.小船壳让巨浪打穿了。
85 gulp yQ0z6     
vt.吞咽,大口地吸(气);vi.哽住;n.吞咽
参考例句:
  • She took down the tablets in one gulp.她把那些药片一口吞了下去。
  • Don't gulp your food,chew it before you swallow it.吃东西不要狼吞虎咽,要嚼碎了再咽下去。
86 doting xuczEv     
adj.溺爱的,宠爱的
参考例句:
  • His doting parents bought him his first racing bike at 13.宠爱他的父母在他13岁时就给他买了第一辆竞速自行车。
  • The doting husband catered to his wife's every wish.这位宠爱妻子的丈夫总是高度满足太太的各项要求。
87 twilight gKizf     
n.暮光,黄昏;暮年,晚期,衰落时期
参考例句:
  • Twilight merged into darkness.夕阳的光辉融于黑暗中。
  • Twilight was sweet with the smell of lilac and freshly turned earth.薄暮充满紫丁香和新翻耕的泥土的香味。
88 descended guQzoy     
a.为...后裔的,出身于...的
参考例句:
  • A mood of melancholy descended on us. 一种悲伤的情绪袭上我们的心头。
  • The path descended the hill in a series of zigzags. 小路呈连续的之字形顺着山坡蜿蜒而下。
89 squire 0htzjV     
n.护卫, 侍从, 乡绅
参考例句:
  • I told him the squire was the most liberal of men.我告诉他乡绅是世界上最宽宏大量的人。
  • The squire was hard at work at Bristol.乡绅在布里斯托尔热衷于他的工作。
90 bosom Lt9zW     
n.胸,胸部;胸怀;内心;adj.亲密的
参考例句:
  • She drew a little book from her bosom.她从怀里取出一本小册子。
  • A dark jealousy stirred in his bosom.他内心生出一阵恶毒的嫉妒。
91 crimson AYwzH     
n./adj.深(绯)红色(的);vi.脸变绯红色
参考例句:
  • She went crimson with embarrassment.她羞得满脸通红。
  • Maple leaves have turned crimson.枫叶已经红了。
92 carmine eT1yH     
n.深红色,洋红色
参考例句:
  • The wind of the autumn color the maples carmine.秋风给枫林涂抹胭红。
  • The dish is fresh,fragrant,salty and sweet with the carmine color.这道菜用材新鲜,香甜入口,颜色殷红。
93 apron Lvzzo     
n.围裙;工作裙
参考例句:
  • We were waited on by a pretty girl in a pink apron.招待我们的是一位穿粉红色围裙的漂亮姑娘。
  • She stitched a pocket on the new apron.她在新围裙上缝上一只口袋。
94 illuminating IqWzgS     
a.富于启发性的,有助阐明的
参考例句:
  • We didn't find the examples he used particularly illuminating. 我们觉得他采用的那些例证启发性不是特别大。
  • I found his talk most illuminating. 我觉得他的话很有启发性。
95 mariner 8Boxg     
n.水手号不载人航天探测器,海员,航海者
参考例句:
  • A smooth sea never made a skillful mariner.平静的大海决不能造就熟练的水手。
  • A mariner must have his eye upon rocks and sands as well as upon the North Star.海员不仅要盯着北极星,还要注意暗礁和险滩。
96 besetting 85f0362e7fd8b00cc5e729aa394fcf2f     
adj.不断攻击的v.困扰( beset的现在分词 );不断围攻;镶;嵌
参考例句:
  • Laziness is my besetting sin. 懒惰是我积重难返的恶习。 来自辞典例句
  • His besetting sin is laziness. 他所易犯的毛病就是懒惰。 来自辞典例句
97 plow eu5yE     
n.犁,耕地,犁过的地;v.犁,费力地前进[英]plough
参考例句:
  • At this time of the year farmers plow their fields.每年这个时候农民们都在耕地。
  • We will plow the field soon after the last frost.最后一场霜过后,我们将马上耕田。
98 scarlet zD8zv     
n.深红色,绯红色,红衣;adj.绯红色的
参考例句:
  • The scarlet leaves of the maples contrast well with the dark green of the pines.深红的枫叶和暗绿的松树形成了明显的对比。
  • The glowing clouds are growing slowly pale,scarlet,bright red,and then light red.天空的霞光渐渐地淡下去了,深红的颜色变成了绯红,绯红又变为浅红。
99 hood ddwzJ     
n.头巾,兜帽,覆盖;v.罩上,以头巾覆盖
参考例句:
  • She is wearing a red cloak with a hood.她穿着一件红色带兜帽的披风。
  • The car hood was dented in.汽车的发动机罩已凹了进去。
100 waterproof Ogvwp     
n.防水材料;adj.防水的;v.使...能防水
参考例句:
  • My mother bought me a waterproof watch.我妈妈给我买了一块防水手表。
  • All the electronics are housed in a waterproof box.所有电子设备都储放在一个防水盒中。
101 mittens 258752c6b0652a69c52ceed3c65dbf00     
不分指手套
参考例句:
  • Cotton mittens will prevent the baby from scratching his own face. 棉的连指手套使婴儿不会抓伤自己的脸。
  • I'd fisted my hands inside their mittens to keep the fingers warm. 我在手套中握拳头来保暖手指。
102 outgrown outgrown     
长[发展] 得超过(某物)的范围( outgrow的过去分词 ); 长[发展]得不能再要(某物); 长得比…快; 生长速度超过
参考例句:
  • She's already outgrown her school uniform. 她已经长得连校服都不能穿了。
  • The boy has outgrown his clothes. 这男孩已长得穿不下他的衣服了。
103 batch HQgyz     
n.一批(组,群);一批生产量
参考例句:
  • The first batch of cakes was burnt.第一炉蛋糕烤焦了。
  • I have a batch of letters to answer.我有一批信要回复。
104 cosy dvnzc5     
adj.温暖而舒适的,安逸的
参考例句:
  • We spent a cosy evening chatting by the fire.我们在炉火旁聊天度过了一个舒适的晚上。
  • It was so warm and cosy in bed that Simon didn't want to get out.床上温暖而又舒适,西蒙简直不想下床了。


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