Chapter 8 Color Of Rose

    On the very next Friday after this"dreadfullest fight that ever was seen," asBunyan says in Pilgrim's Progress, there weregreat doings in the little schoolhouse on the hill.

　　Friday afternoon was always the time chosen fordialogues, songs, and recitations, but it cannot bestated that it was a gala day in any true sense ofthe word. Most of the children hated "speakingpieces;" hated the burden of learning them,dreaded the danger of breaking down in them.

　　Miss Dearborn commonly went home with a headache,and never left her bed during the rest of theafternoon or evening; and the casual female parentwho attended the exercises sat on a front benchwith beads² of cold sweat on her forehead, listeningto the all-too-familiar halts and stammers³. Sometimesa bellowing⁴ infant who had clean forgotten hisverse would cast himself bodily on the maternalbosom and be borne out into the open air, where hewas sometimes kissed and occasionally spanked;but in any case the failure added an extra dashof gloom and dread¹ to the occasion. The adventof Rebecca had somehow infused a new spiritinto these hitherto terrible afternoons. She hadtaught Elijah and Elisha Simpson so that theyrecited three verses of something with such comicaleffect that they delighted themselves, the teacher,and the school; while Susan, who lisped, had beenprovided with a humorous poem in which sheimpersonated a lisping child. Emma Jane andRebecca had a dialogue, and the sense of companionshipbuoyed up Emma Jane and gave her self-reliance. In fact, Miss Dearborn announced onthis particular Friday morning that the exercisespromised to be so interesting that she had invitedthe doctor's wife, the minister's wife, two membersof the school committee, and a few mothers. LivingPerkins was asked to decorate one of the black-boards and Rebecca the other. Living, who wasthe star artist of the school, chose the map of NorthAmerica. Rebecca liked better to draw thingsless realistic, and speedily, before the eyes of theenchanted multitude, there grew under her skillfulfingers an American flag done in red, white,and blue chalk, every star in its right place, everystripe fluttering in the breeze. Beside thisappeared a figure of Columbia, copied from the topof the cigar box that held the crayons.

　　Miss Dearborn was delighted. "I propose wegive Rebecca a good hand-clapping for such abeautiful picture--one that the whole school maywell be proud of!"The scholars clapped heartily⁵, and Dick Carter,waving his hand, gave a rousing cheer.

　　Rebecca's heart leaped for joy, and to herconfusion she felt the tears rising in her eyes. Shecould hardly see the way back to her seat, for inher ignorant lonely little life she had never beensingled out for applause, never lauded⁶, nor crowned,as in this wonderful, dazzling moment. If "noblenessenkindleth nobleness," so does enthusiasmbeget enthusiasm, and so do wit and talent enkindlewit and talent. Alice Robinson proposed thatthe school should sing Three Cheers for the Red,White, and Blue! and when they came to thechorus, all point to Rebecca's flag. Dick Cartersuggested that Living Perkins and Rebecca Randallshould sign their names to their pictures, sothat the visitors would know who drew them. HuldahMeserve asked permission to cover the largestholes in the plastered walls with boughs⁷ and fill thewater pail with wild flowers. Rebecca's mood wasabove and beyond all practical details. She satsilent, her heart so full of grateful joy that shecould hardly remember the words of her dialogue.

　　At recess⁸ she bore herself modestly, notwithstandingher great triumph, while in the general atmosphereof good will the Smellie-Randall hatchet⁹ wasburied and Minnie gathered maple¹⁰ boughs and coveredthe ugly stove with them, under Rebecca'sdirection.

　　Miss Dearborn dismissed the morning sessionat quarter to twelve, so that those who lived nearenough could go home for a change of dress.

　　Emma Jane and Rebecca ran nearly every step ofthe way, from sheer excitement, only stopping tobreathe at the stiles.

　　"Will your aunt Mirandy let you wear your best,or only your buff calico?" asked Emma Jane.

　　"I think I'll ask aunt Jane," Rebecca replied.

　　"Oh! if my pink was only finished! I left auntJane making the buttonholes!""I'm going to ask my mother to let me wearher garnet ring," said Emma Jane. "It would lookperfectly elergant flashing in the sun when I pointto the flag. Good-by; don't wait for me goingback; I may get a ride."Rebecca found the side door locked, but sheknew that the key was under the step, and so ofcourse did everybody else in Riverboro, for theyall did about the same thing with it. She unlockedthe door and went into the dining-room to find herlunch laid on the table and a note from aunt Janesaying that they had gone to Moderation with Mrs.

　　Robinson in her carryall. Rebecca swallowed apiece of bread and butter, and flew up the frontstairs to her bedroom. On the bed lay the pinkgingham dress finished by aunt Jane's kind hands.

　　Could she, dare she, wear it without asking? Didthe occasion justify¹¹ a new costume, or would heraunts think she ought to keep it for the concert?

　　"I'll wear it," thought Rebecca. "They're nothere to ask, and maybe they wouldn't mind a bit;it's only gingham after all, and wouldn't be sogrand if it wasn't new, and hadn't tape trimmingon it, and wasn't pink."She unbraided her two pigtails, combed out thewaves of her hair and tied them back with a ribbon,changed her shoes, and then slipped on thepretty frock, managing to fasten all but the threemiddle buttons, which she reserved for Emma Jane.

　　Then her eye fell on her cherished pink sunshade,the exact match, and the girls had never seen it.

　　It wasn't quite appropriate for school, but sheneedn't take it into the room; she would wrap itin a piece of paper, just show it, and carry it cominghome. She glanced in the parlor¹² looking-glassdownstairs and was electrified¹³ at the vision. Itseemed almost as if beauty of apparel could go nofurther than that heavenly pink gingham dress!

　　The sparkle of her eyes, glow of her cheeks, sheenof her falling hair, passed unnoticed in the all-conquering charm of the rose-colored garment. Goodness!

　　it was twenty minutes to one and she wouldbe late. She danced out the side door, pulled a pinkrose from a bush at the gate, and covered the milebetween the brick house and the seat of learningin an incredibly short time, meeting Emma Jane,also breathless and resplendent, at the entrance.

　　"Rebecca Randall!" exclaimed Emma Jane,"you're handsome as a picture!""I?" laughed Rebecca "Nonsense! it's onlythe pink gingham.""You're not good looking every day," insistedEmma Jane; "but you're different somehow. Seemy garnet ring; mother scrubbed it in soap andwater. How on earth did your aunt Mirandy letyou put on your bran' new dress?""They were both away and I didn't ask,"Rebecca responded anxiously. "Why? Do you thinkthey'd have said no?""Miss Mirandy always says no, doesn't she?"asked Emma Jane.

　　"Ye--es; but this afternoon is very special--almost like a Sunday-school concert.""Yes," assented¹⁴ Emma Jane, "it is, of course;with your name on the board, and our pointing toyour flag, and our elergant dialogue, and all that."The afternoon was one succession of solidtriumphs for everybody concerned. There were noreal failures at all, no tears, no parents ashamedof their offspring. Miss Dearborn heard manyadmiring remarks passed upon her ability, andwondered whether they belonged to her or partly,at least, to Rebecca. The child had no more todo than several others, but she was somehow inthe foreground. It transpired¹⁵ afterwards at variousvillage entertainments that Rebecca couldn'tbe kept in the background; it positively¹⁶ refusedto hold her. Her worst enemy could not havecalled her pushing. She was ready and willingand never shy; but she sought for no chancesof display and was, indeed, remarkably¹⁷ lacking inself-consciousness, as well as eager to bring othersinto whatever fun or entertainment there was.

　　If wherever the MacGregor sat was the head ofthe table, so in the same way wherever Rebeccastood was the centre of the stage. Her clear hightreble soared above all the rest in the choruses,and somehow everybody watched her, took noteof her gestures, her whole-souled singing, herirrepressible enthusiasm.

　　Finally it was all over, and it seemed to Rebeccaas if she should never be cool and calm again, asshe loitered on the homeward path. There wouldbe no lessons to learn to-night, and the vision ofhelping with the preserves on the morrow had noterrors for her--fears could not draw breath inthe radiance that flooded her soul. There werethick gathering¹⁸ clouds in the sky, but she took nonote of them save to be glad that she could raiseher sunshade. She did not tread the solid groundat all, or have any sense of belonging to the commonhuman family, until she entered the side yardof the brick house and saw her aunt Mirandastanding in the open doorway¹⁹. Then with a rushshe came back to earth.

1 dread   

vt.担忧，忧虑；惧怕，不敢；n.担忧，畏惧

参考例句：

• We all dread to think what will happen if the company closes.我们都不敢去想一旦公司关门我们该怎么办。
• Her heart was relieved of its blankest dread.她极度恐惧的心理消除了。

2 beads   

n.（空心）小珠子( bead的名词复数 )；水珠；珠子项链

参考例句：

• a necklace of wooden beads 一条木珠项链
• Beads of perspiration stood out on his forehead. 他的前额上挂着汗珠。

3 stammers   

n.口吃，结巴( stammer的名词复数 )v.结巴地说出( stammer的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• She stammers when she feels nervous. 她紧张时就口吃。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The little child stammers in the presence of strangers. 那小孩在陌生人面前说话就结巴。 来自辞典例句

4 bellowing   

v.发出吼叫声，咆哮（尤指因痛苦）( bellow的现在分词 )；（愤怒地）说出（某事），大叫

参考例句：

• We could hear he was bellowing commands to his troops. 我们听见他正向他的兵士大声发布命令。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He disguised these feelings under an enormous bellowing and hurraying. 他用大声吼叫和喝采掩饰着这些感情。 来自辞典例句

5 heartily   

adv.衷心地，诚恳地，十分，很

参考例句：

• He ate heartily and went out to look for his horse.他痛快地吃了一顿，就出去找他的马。
• The host seized my hand and shook it heartily.主人抓住我的手，热情地和我握手。

6 lauded   

v.称赞，赞美( laud的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• They lauded the former president as a hero. 他们颂扬前总统为英雄。 来自辞典例句
• The nervy feats of the mountaineers were lauded. 登山者有勇气的壮举受到赞美。 来自辞典例句

7 boughs   

大树枝( bough的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The green boughs glittered with all their pearls of dew. 绿枝上闪烁着露珠的光彩。
• A breeze sighed in the higher boughs. 微风在高高的树枝上叹息着。

8 recess   

n.短期休息，壁凹（墙上装架子，柜子等凹处）

参考例句：

• The chairman of the meeting announced a ten-minute recess.会议主席宣布休会10分钟。
• Parliament was hastily recalled from recess.休会的议员被匆匆召回开会。

9 hatchet   

n.短柄小斧；v.扼杀

参考例句：

• I shall have to take a hatchet to that stump.我得用一把短柄斧来劈这树桩。
• Do not remove a fly from your friend's forehead with a hatchet.别用斧头拍打朋友额头上的苍蝇。

10 maple   

n.槭树，枫树，槭木

参考例句：

• Maple sugar is made from the sap of maple trees.枫糖是由枫树的树液制成的。
• The maple leaves are tinge with autumn red.枫叶染上了秋天的红色。

11 justify   

vt.证明…正当(或有理)，为…辩护

参考例句：

• He tried to justify his absence with lame excuses.他想用站不住脚的借口为自己的缺席辩解。
• Can you justify your rude behavior to me?你能向我证明你的粗野行为是有道理的吗？

12 parlor   

n.店铺，营业室；会客室，客厅

参考例句：

• She was lying on a small settee in the parlor.她躺在客厅的一张小长椅上。
• Is there a pizza parlor in the neighborhood?附近有没有比萨店？

13 electrified   

v.使电气化( electrify的过去式和过去分词 )；使兴奋

参考例句：

• The railway line was electrified in the 1950s. 这条铁路线在20世纪50年代就实现了电气化。
• The national railway system has nearly all been electrified. 全国的铁路系统几乎全部实现了电气化。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 assented   

同意，赞成( assent的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The judge assented to allow the prisoner to speak. 法官同意允许犯人申辩。
• "No," assented Tom, "they don't kill the women -- they're too noble. “对，”汤姆表示赞同地说，“他们不杀女人——真伟大！

15 transpired   

（事实，秘密等）被人知道( transpire的过去式和过去分词 )； 泄露； 显露； 发生

参考例句：

• It transpired that the gang had had a contact inside the bank. 据报这伙歹徒在银行里有内应。
• It later transpired that he hadn't been telling the truth. 他当时没说真话，这在后来显露出来了。

16 positively   

adv.明确地，断然，坚决地；实在，确实

参考例句：

• She was positively glowing with happiness.她满脸幸福。
• The weather was positively poisonous.这天气着实讨厌。

17 remarkably   

ad.不同寻常地，相当地

参考例句：

• I thought she was remarkably restrained in the circumstances. 我认为她在那种情况下非常克制。
• He made a remarkably swift recovery. 他康复得相当快。

18 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

19 doorway   

n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径

参考例句：

• They huddled in the shop doorway to shelter from the rain.他们挤在商店门口躲雨。
• Mary suddenly appeared in the doorway.玛丽突然出现在门口。