The foregoing episode, if narrated1 in a romance, would undoubtedly2 have been called “The Saving of the Colors,” but at the nightly conversazione in Watson's store it was alluded3 to as the way little Becky Randall got the flag away from Slippery Simpson.
Dramatic as it was, it passed into the limbo4 of half-forgotten things in Rebecca's mind, its brief importance submerged in the glories of the next day.
There was a painful prelude5 to these glories. Alice Robinson came to spend the night with Rebecca, and when the bedroom door closed upon the two girls, Alice announced here intention of “doing up” Rebecca's front hair in leads and rags, and braiding the back in six tight, wetted braids.
“Your hair is so long and thick and dark and straight,” she said, “that you'll look like an Injun!”
“I am the State of Maine; it all belonged to the Indians once,” Rebecca remarked gloomily, for she was curiously7 shy about discussing her personal appearance.
“And your wreath of little pine-cones won't set decent without crimps,” continued Alice.
Rebecca glanced in the cracked looking-glass and met what she considered an accusing lack of beauty, a sight that always either saddened or enraged8 her according to circumstances; then she sat down resignedly and began to help Alice in the philanthropic work of making the State of Maine fit to be seen at the raising.
Neither of the girls was an expert hairdresser, and at the end of an hour, when the sixth braid was tied, and Rebecca had given one last shuddering9 look in the mirror, both were ready to weep with fatigue10.
The candle was blown out and Alice soon went to sleep, but Rebecca tossed on her pillow, its goose-feathered softness all dented11 by the cruel lead knobs and the knots of twisted rags. She slipped out of bed and walked to and fro, holding her aching head with both hands. Finally she leaned on the window-sill, watching the still weather-vane on Alice's barn and breathing in the fragrance12 of the ripening13 apples, until her restlessness subsided14 under the clear starry15 beauty of the night.
At six in the morning the girls were out of bed, for Alice could hardly wait until Rebecca's hair was taken down, she was so eager to see the result of her labors16.
The leads and rags were painfully removed, together with much hair, the operation being punctuated18 by a series of squeaks19, squeals20, and shrieks21 on the part of Rebecca and a series of warnings from Alice, who wished the preliminaries to be kept secret from the aunts, that they might the more fully17 appreciate the radiant result.
Then came the unbraiding, and then—dramatic moment—the “combing out;” a difficult, not to say impossible process, in which the hairs that had resisted the earlier stages almost gave up the ghost.
The long front strands22 had been wound up from various angles and by various methods, so that, when released, they assumed the strangest, most obstinate23, most unexpected attitudes. When the comb was dragged through the last braid, the wild, tortured, electric hairs following, and then rebounding24 from it in a bristling25, snarling26 tangle27. Massachusetts gave one encompassing28 glance at the State o' Maine's head, and announced her intention of going home to breakfast! She was deeply grieved at the result of her attempted beautifying, but she felt that meeting Miss Miranda Sawyer at the morning meal would not mend matters in the least, so slipping out of the side door, she ran up Guide Board hill as fast as her legs could carry her.
The State o' Maine, deserted29 and somewhat unnerved, sat down before the glass and attacked her hair doggedly30 and with set lips, working over it until Miss Jane called her to breakfast; then, with a boldness born of despair, she entered the dining room, where her aunts were already seated at table. To “draw fire” she whistled, a forbidden joy, which only attracted more attention, instead of diverting it. There was a moment of silence after the grotesque31 figure was fully taken in; then came a moan from Jane and a groan32 from Miranda.
“What have you done to yourself?” asked Miranda sternly.
“Made an effort to be beautiful and failed!” jauntily33 replied Rebecca, but she was too miserable34 to keep up the fiction. “Oh, Aunt Miranda, don't scold. I'm so unhappy! Alice and I rolled up my hair to curl it for the raising. She said it was so straight I looked like an Indian!”
“Mebbe you did,” vigorously agreed Miranda, “but 't any rate you looked like a Christian35 Injun, 'n' now you look like a heathen Injun; that's all the difference I can see. What can we do with her, Jane, between this and nine o'clock?”
“We'll all go out to the pump just as soon as we're through breakfast,” answered Jane soothingly36. “We can accomplish consid'rable with water and force.”
“Don't you cry and red your eyes up,” chided Miranda quite kindly38; “the minute you've eat enough run up and get your brush and comb and meet us at the back door.”
“I wouldn't care myself how bad I looked,” said Rebecca, “but I can't bear to be so homely39 that I shame the State of Maine!”
Oh, what an hour followed this plaint! Did any aspirant40 for literary or dramatic honors ever pass to fame through such an antechamber of horrors? Did poet of the day ever have his head so maltreated? To be dipped in the rain-water tub, soused again and again; to be held under the spout41 and pumped on; to be rubbed furiously with rough roller towels; to be dried with hot flannels42! And is it not well-nigh incredible that at the close of such an hour the ends of the long hair should still stand out straight, the braids having been turned up two inches by Alice, and tied hard in that position with linen43 thread?
“Get out the skirt-board, Jane,” cried Miranda, to whom opposition44 served as a tonic45, “and move that flat-iron on to the front o' the stove. Rebecca, set down in that low chair beside the board, and Jane, you spread out her hair on it and cover it up with brown paper. Don't cringe, Rebecca; the worst's over, and you've borne up real good! I'll be careful not to pull your hair nor scorch46 you, and oh, HOW I'd like to have Alice Robinson acrost my knee and a good strip o' shingle47 in my right hand! There, you're all ironed out and your Aunt Jane can put on your white dress and braid your hair up again good and tight. Perhaps you won't be the hombliest of the states, after all; but when I see you comin' in to breakfast I said to myself: I guess if Maine looked like that, it wouldn't never a' been admitted into the union!'”
When Uncle Sam and the stagecoach48 drew up to the brick house with a grand swing and a flourish, the goddess of Liberty and most of the States were already in their places on the “harricane deck.”
Words fail to describe the gallant49 bearing of the horses, their headstalls gayly trimmed and their harnesses dotted with little flags. The stage windows were hung in bunting, and from within beamed Columbia, looking out from the bright frame as if proud of her freight of loyal children. Patriotic50 streamers floated from whip, from dash-board and from rumble51, and the effect of the whole was something to stimulate52 the most phlegmatic53 voter.
Rebecca came out on the steps and Aunt Jane brought a chair to assist in the ascent54. Miss Dearborn peeped from the window, and gave a despairing look at her favorite.
What had happened to her? Who had dressed her? Had her head been put through a wringing-machine? Why were her eyes red and swollen55? Miss Dearborn determined56 to take her behind the trees in the pine grove57 and give her some finishing touches; touches that her skillful fingers fairly itched58 to bestow59.
The stage started, and as the roadside pageant60 grew gayer and gayer, Rebecca began to brighten and look prettier, for most of her beautifying came from within. The people, walking, driving, or standing61 on their doorsteps, cheered Uncle Sam's coach with its freight of gossamer-muslined, fluttering-ribboned girls, and just behind, the gorgeously decorated haycart, driven by Abijah Flagg, bearing the jolly but inharmonious fife-and-drum corps62.
The stage drew up at an appointed spot near a pine grove, and while the crowd was gathering64, the children waited for the hour to arrive when they should march to the platform; the hour toward which they seemed to have been moving since the dawn of creation.
As soon as possible Miss Dearborn whispered to Rebecca: “Come behind the trees with me; I want to make you prettier!”
Rebecca thought she had suffered enough from that process already during the last twelve hours, but she put out an obedient hand and the two withdrew.
Now Miss Dearborn was, I fear, a very indifferent teacher. Dr. Moses always said so, and Libbie Moses, who wanted her school, said it was a pity she hadn't enjoyed more social advantages in her youth. Libbie herself had taken music lessons in Portland; and spent a night at the Profile House in the White Mountains, and had visited her sister in Lowell, Massachusetts. These experiences gave her, in her own mind, and in the mind of her intimate friends, a horizon so boundless65 that her view of smaller, humbler matters was a trifle distorted.
Miss Dearborn's stock in trade was small, her principal virtues66 being devotion to children and ability to gain their love, and a power of evolving a schoolroom order so natural, cheery, serene67, and peaceful that it gave the beholder68 a certain sense of being in a district heaven. She was poor in arithmetic and weak in geometry, but if you gave her a rose, a bit of ribbon, and a seven-by-nine looking-glass she could make herself as pretty as a pink in two minutes.
Safely sheltered behind the pines, Miss Dearborn began to practice mysterious feminine arts. She flew at Rebecca's tight braids, opened the strands and rebraided them loosely; bit and tore the red, white, and blue ribbon in two and tied the braids separately. Then with nimble fingers she pulled out little tendrils of hair behind the ears and around the nape of the neck. After a glance of acute disapproval69 directed at the stiff balloon skirt she knelt on the ground and gave a strenuous70 embrace to Rebecca's knees, murmuring, between her hugs, “Starch must be cheap at the brick house!”
This particular line of beauty attained71, there ensued great pinchings of ruffles72, her fingers that could never hold a ferrule nor snap children's ears being incomparable fluting-irons.
Next the sash was scornfully untied73 and tightened74 to suggest something resembling a waist. The chastened bows that had been squat75, dowdy76, spiritless, were given tweaks, flirts77, bracing78 little pokes79 and dabs80, till, acknowledging a master hand, they stood up, piquant81, pert, smart, alert!
Pride of bearing was now infused into the flattened82 lace at the neck, and a pin (removed at some sacrifice from her own toilette) was darned in at the back to prevent any cowardly lapsing83. The short white cotton gloves that called attention to the tanned wrist and arms were stripped off and put in her own pocket. Then the wreath of pine-cones was adjusted at a heretofore unimagined angle, the hair was pulled softly into a fluffy84 frame, and finally, as she met Rebecca's grateful eyes she gave her two approving, triumphant85 kisses. In a second the sensitive face lighted into happiness; pleased dimples appeared in the cheeks, the kissed mouth was as red as a rose, and the little fright that had walked behind the pine-tree stepped out on the other side Rebecca the lovely.
As to the relative value of Miss Dearborn's accomplishments86, the decision must be left to the gentle reader; but though it is certain that children should be properly grounded in mathematics, no heart of flesh could bear to hear Miss Dearborn's methods vilified87 who had seen her patting, pulling, squeezing Rebecca from ugliness into beauty.
The young superintendent88 of district schools was a witness of the scene, and when later he noted89 the children surrounding Columbia as bees a honeysuckle, he observed to Dr. Moses: “She may not be much of a teacher, but I think she'd be considerable of a wife!” and subsequent events proved that he meant what he said!
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1
narrated
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| v.故事( narrate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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undoubtedly
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| adv.确实地，无疑地 | |
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alluded
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| 提及，暗指( allude的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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limbo
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| n.地狱的边缘；监狱 | |
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prelude
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| n.序言，前兆，序曲 | |
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demurred
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| v.表示异议，反对( demur的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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curiously
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| adv.有求知欲地；好问地；奇特地 | |
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enraged
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| 使暴怒( enrage的过去式和过去分词 )； 歜； 激愤 | |
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shuddering
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| v.战栗( shudder的现在分词 )；发抖；（机器、车辆等）突然震动；颤动 | |
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fatigue
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| n.疲劳，劳累 | |
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dented
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| v.使产生凹痕( dent的过去式和过去分词 )；损害；伤害；挫伤（信心、名誉等） | |
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fragrance
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| n.芬芳，香味，香气 | |
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ripening
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| v.成熟，使熟( ripen的现在分词 )；熟化；熟成 | |
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subsided
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| 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 | |
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starry
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| adj.星光照耀的, 闪亮的 | |
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labors
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| v.努力争取(for)( labor的第三人称单数 )；苦干；详细分析；（指引擎）缓慢而困难地运转 | |
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fully
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| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
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punctuated
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| v.（在文字中）加标点符号，加标点( punctuate的过去式和过去分词 )；不时打断某事物 | |
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squeaks
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| n.短促的尖叫声，吱吱声( squeak的名词复数 )v.短促地尖叫( squeak的第三人称单数 )；吱吱叫；告密；充当告密者 | |
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squeals
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| n.长而尖锐的叫声( squeal的名词复数 )v.长声尖叫，用长而尖锐的声音说( squeal的第三人称单数 ) | |
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shrieks
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| n.尖叫声( shriek的名词复数 )v.尖叫( shriek的第三人称单数 ) | |
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strands
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| n.（线、绳、金属线、毛发等的）股( strand的名词复数 )；缕；海洋、湖或河的)岸；（观点、计划、故事等的）部份v.使滞留，使搁浅( strand的第三人称单数 ) | |
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obstinate
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| adj.顽固的，倔强的，不易屈服的，较难治愈的 | |
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rebounding
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| 蹦跳运动 | |
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bristling
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| a.竖立的 | |
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snarling
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| v.（指狗）吠，嗥叫， （人）咆哮( snarl的现在分词 )；咆哮着说，厉声地说 | |
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tangle
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| n.纠缠；缠结；混乱；v.(使)缠绕；变乱 | |
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encompassing
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| v.围绕( encompass的现在分词 )；包围；包含；包括 | |
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deserted
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| adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的 | |
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doggedly
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| adv.顽强地，固执地 | |
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grotesque
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| adj.怪诞的，丑陋的；n.怪诞的图案，怪人（物） | |
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groan
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| vi./n.呻吟，抱怨；(发出)呻吟般的声音 | |
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jauntily
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| adv.心满意足地；洋洋得意地；高兴地；活泼地 | |
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miserable
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| adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的 | |
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Christian
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| adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒 | |
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soothingly
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| adv.抚慰地，安慰地；镇痛地 | |
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nibbled
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| v.啃，一点一点地咬（吃）( nibble的过去式和过去分词 )；啃出（洞），一点一点咬出（洞）；慢慢减少；小口咬 | |
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kindly
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| adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地 | |
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homely
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| adj.家常的，简朴的；不漂亮的 | |
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aspirant
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| n.热望者；adj.渴望的 | |
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spout
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| v.喷出，涌出；滔滔不绝地讲；n.喷管；水柱 | |
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flannels
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| 法兰绒男裤； 法兰绒( flannel的名词复数 ) | |
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linen
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| n.亚麻布，亚麻线，亚麻制品；adj.亚麻布制的，亚麻的 | |
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opposition
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| n.反对，敌对 | |
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tonic
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| n./adj.滋补品，补药，强身的，健体的 | |
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scorch
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| v.烧焦，烤焦；高速疾驶；n.烧焦处，焦痕 | |
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47
shingle
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| n.木瓦板；小招牌(尤指医生或律师挂的营业招牌)；v.用木瓦板盖（屋顶）；把（女子头发）剪短 | |
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stagecoach
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| n.公共马车 | |
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gallant
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| adj.英勇的，豪侠的；(向女人)献殷勤的 | |
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patriotic
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| adj.爱国的，有爱国心的 | |
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51
rumble
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| n.隆隆声；吵嚷；v.隆隆响；低沉地说 | |
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stimulate
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| vt.刺激，使兴奋；激励，使…振奋 | |
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phlegmatic
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| adj.冷静的，冷淡的，冷漠的，无活力的 | |
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ascent
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| n.(声望或地位)提高；上升，升高；登高 | |
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swollen
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| adj.肿大的，水涨的；v.使变大，肿胀 | |
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determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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grove
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| n.林子，小树林，园林 | |
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itched
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| v.发痒( itch的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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bestow
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| v.把…赠与，把…授予；花费 | |
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pageant
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| n.壮观的游行；露天历史剧 | |
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standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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corps
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| n.(通信等兵种的)部队；(同类作的)一组 | |
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mellow
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| adj.柔和的；熟透的；v.变柔和；(使)成熟 | |
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gathering
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| n.集会，聚会，聚集 | |
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boundless
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| adj.无限的；无边无际的；巨大的 | |
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virtues
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| 美德( virtue的名词复数 )； 德行； 优点； 长处 | |
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serene
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| adj. 安详的，宁静的，平静的 | |
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beholder
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| n.观看者，旁观者 | |
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disapproval
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| n.反对，不赞成 | |
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strenuous
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| adj.奋发的，使劲的；紧张的；热烈的，狂热的 | |
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attained
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| （通常经过努力）实现( attain的过去式和过去分词 )； 达到； 获得； 达到（某年龄、水平、状况） | |
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72
ruffles
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| 褶裥花边( ruffle的名词复数 ) | |
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untied
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| 松开，解开( untie的过去式和过去分词 )； 解除，使自由； 解决 | |
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tightened
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| 收紧( tighten的过去式和过去分词 )； （使）变紧； （使）绷紧； 加紧 | |
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squat
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| v.蹲坐，蹲下；n.蹲下；adj.矮胖的，粗矮的 | |
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dowdy
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| adj.不整洁的；过旧的 | |
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77
flirts
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| v.调情，打情骂俏( flirt的第三人称单数 ) | |
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78
bracing
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| adj.令人振奋的 | |
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79
pokes
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| v.伸出( poke的第三人称单数 )；戳出；拨弄；与（某人）性交 | |
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80
dabs
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| 少许( dab的名词复数 )； 是…能手； 做某事很在行； 在某方面技术熟练 | |
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81
piquant
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| adj.辛辣的，开胃的，令人兴奋的 | |
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82
flattened
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| [医]（水）平扁的，弄平的 | |
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83
lapsing
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| v.退步( lapse的现在分词 )；陷入；倒退；丧失 | |
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84
fluffy
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| adj.有绒毛的，空洞的 | |
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85
triumphant
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| adj.胜利的，成功的；狂欢的，喜悦的 | |
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86
accomplishments
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| n.造诣；完成( accomplishment的名词复数 )；技能；成绩；成就 | |
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87
vilified
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| v.中伤，诽谤( vilify的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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superintendent
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| n.监督人，主管，总监；(英国)警务长 | |
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noted
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| adj.著名的，知名的 | |
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