Chapter 11 ＂The Stirring Of The Powers＂

    Rebecca's visit to Milltown was all that herglowing fancy had painted it, except thatrecent readings about Rome and Venicedisposed her to believe that those cities mighthave an advantage over Milltown in the matterof mere¹ pictorial² beauty. So soon does the souloutgrow its mansions³ that after once seeingMilltown her fancy ran out to the future sight ofPortland; for that, having islands and a harborand two public monuments, must be far morebeautiful than Milltown, which would, she felt, takeits proud place among the cities of the earth, byreason of its tremendous business activity ratherthan by any irresistible⁴ appeal to the imagination.

　　It would be impossible for two children to seemore, do more, walk more, talk more, eat more, orask more questions than Rebecca and Emma Janedid on that eventful Wednesday.

　　"She's the best company I ever see in all mylife," said Mrs. Cobb to her husband that evening.

　　"We ain't had a dull minute this day. She's well-mannered, too; she didn't ask for anything, andwas thankful for whatever she got. Did you watchher face when we went into that tent where theywas actin' out Uncle Tom's Cabin? And did youtake notice of the way she told us about the bookwhen we sat down to have our ice cream? I tell youHarriet Beecher Stowe herself couldn't 'a' doneit better justice.""I took it all in," responded Mr. Cobb, who waspleased that "mother" agreed with him aboutRebecca. "I ain't sure but she's goin' to turn outsomethin' remarkable,--a singer, or a writer, or alady doctor like that Miss Parks up to Cornish.""Lady doctors are always home'paths, ain'tthey?" asked Mrs. Cobb, who, it is needless to say,was distinctly of the old school in medicine.

　　"Land, no, mother; there ain't no home'path'bout Miss Parks--she drives all over the country.""I can't see Rebecca as a lady doctor, somehow,"mused Mrs. Cobb. "Her gift o' gab⁵ is what'sgoin' to be the makin' of her; mebbe she'll lecture,or recite pieces, like that Portland elocutionist thatcome out here to the harvest supper.""I guess she'll be able to write down her ownpieces," said Mr. Cobb confidently; "she couldmake 'em up faster 'n she could read 'em out of abook.""It's a pity she's so plain looking," remarkedMrs. Cobb, blowing out the candle.

　　"PLAIN LOOKING, mother?" exclaimed her husbandin astonishment⁶. "Look at the eyes of her;look at the hair of her, an' the smile, an' thatthere dimple! Look at Alice Robinson, that'scalled the prettiest child on the river, an' see howRebecca shines her ri' down out o' sight! I hopeMirandy'll favor her comin' over to see us realoften, for she'll let off some of her steam here, an'

　　the brick house'll be consid'able safer for everybodyconcerned. We've known what it was to hevchildren, even if 't was more 'n thirty years ago,an' we can make allowances."Notwithstanding the encomiums of Mr. and Mrs.

　　Cobb, Rebecca made a poor hand at compositionwriting at this time. Miss Dearborn gave herevery sort of subject that she had ever been givenherself: Cloud Pictures; Abraham Lincoln; Nature;Philanthropy; Slavery; Intemperance⁷; Joyand Duty; Solitude⁸; but with none of them didRebecca seem to grapple satisfactorily.

　　"Write as you talk, Rebecca," insisted poor MissDearborn, who secretly knew that she could nevermanage a good composition herself.

　　"But gracious me, Miss Dearborn! I don't talkabout nature and slavery. I can't write unless Ihave something to say, can I?""That is what compositions are for," returnedMiss Dearborn doubtfully; "to make you havethings to say. Now in your last one, on solitude, youhaven't said anything very interesting, and you'vemade it too common and every-day to sound well.

　　There are too many `yous' and `yours' in it; youought to say `one' now and then, to make it seemmore like good writing. `One opens a favoritebook;' `One's thoughts are a great comfort insolitude,' and so on.""I don't know any more about solitude this weekthan I did about joy and duty last week," grumbledRebecca.

　　"You tried to be funny about joy and duty,"said Miss Dearborn reprovingly; "so of course youdidn't succeed.""I didn't know you were going to make us readthe things out loud," said Rebecca with an embarrassedsmile of recollection.

　　"Joy and Duty" had been the inspiring subjectgiven to the older children for a theme to be writtenin five minutes.

　　Rebecca had wrestled⁹, struggled, perspired¹⁰ invain. When her turn came to read she was obligedto confess she had written nothing.

　　"You have at least two lines, Rebecca," insistedthe teacher, "for I see them on your slate¹¹.""I'd rather not read them, please; they are notgood," pleaded Rebecca.

　　"Read what you have, good or bad, little ormuch; I am excusing nobody."Rebecca rose, overcome with secret laughterdread, and mortification¹²; then in a low voice sheread the couplet:--When Joy and Duty clashLet Duty go to smash.

　　Dick Carter's head disappeared under the desk,while Living Perkins choked with laughter.

　　Miss Dearborn laughed too; she was little morethan a girl, and the training of the young idea seldomappealed to the sense of humor.

　　"You must stay after school and try again,Rebecca," she said, but she said it smilingly. "Yourpoetry hasn't a very nice idea in it for a good littlegirl who ought to love duty.""It wasn't MY idea," said Rebecca apologetically.

　　"I had only made the first line when I saw you weregoing to ring the bell and say the time was up. Ihad `clash' written, and I couldn't think of anythingthen but `hash' or `rash' or `smash.' I'llchange it to this:--When Joy and Duty clash,'T is Joy must go to smash.""That is better," Miss Dearborn answered,"though I cannot think `going to smash' is a prettyexpression for poetry."Having been instructed in the use of the indefinitepronoun "one" as giving a refined and elegant touchto literary efforts, Rebecca painstakingly¹³ rewroteher composition on solitude, giving it all the benefitof Miss Dearborn's suggestion. It then appeared inthe following form, which hardly satisfied eitherteacher or pupil:--SOLITUDEIt would be false to say that one could ever bealone when one has one's lovely thoughts to comfortone. One sits by one's self, it is true, but one thinks;one opens one's favorite book and reads one's favoritestory; one speaks to one's aunt or one's brother,fondles one's cat, or looks at one's photograph album.

　　There is one's work also: what a joy it is to one, ifone happens to like work. All one's little householdtasks keep one from being lonely. Does one everfeel bereft¹⁴ when one picks up one's chips to lightone's fire for one's evening meal? Or when onewashes one's milk pail before milking one's cow?

　　One would fancy not.

　　R. R. R.

　　"It is perfectly¹⁵ dreadful," sighed Rebecca whenshe read it aloud after school. "Putting in `one' allthe time doesn't make it sound any more like abook, and it looks silly besides.""You say such queer things," objected MissDearborn. "I don't see what makes you do it.

　　Why did you put in anything so common as pickingup chips?""Because I was talking about `household tasks'

　　in the sentence before, and it IS one of my householdtasks. Don't you think calling supper `one's evening meal'

　　is pretty? and isn't `bereft' a nice word?""Yes, that part of it does very well. It is the cat,the chips, and the milk pail that I don't like.""All right!" sighed Rebecca. "Out they go;Does the cow go too?""Yes, I don't like a cow in a composition," saidthe difficult Miss Dearborn.

　　The Milltown trip had not been without its tragicconsequences of a small sort; for the next weekMinnie Smellie's mother told Miranda Sawyer thatshe'd better look after Rebecca, for she was givento "swearing and profane¹⁶ language;" that she hadbeen heard saying something dreadful that veryafternoon, saying it before Emma Jane and LivingPerkins, who only laughed and got down on allfours and chased her.

　　Rebecca, on being confronted and charged withthe crime, denied it indignantly, and aunt Janebelieved her.

　　"Search your memory, Rebecca, and try to thinkwhat Minnie overheard you say," she pleaded.

　　"Don't be ugly and obstinate¹⁷, but think real hard.

　　When did they chase you up the road, and whatwere you doing?"A sudden light broke upon Rebecca's darkness.

　　"Oh! I see it now," she exclaimed. "It hadrained hard all the morning, you know, and theroad was full of puddles¹⁹. Emma Jane, Living, andI were walking along, and I was ahead. I saw thewater streaming over the road towards the ditch, andit reminded me of Uncle Tom's Cabin at Milltown,when Eliza took her baby and ran across the Mississippion the ice blocks, pursued by the bloodhounds.

　　We couldn't keep from laughing after we came outof the tent because they were acting²⁰ on such a smallplatform that Eliza had to run round and round, andpart of the time the one dog they had pursued her,and part of the time she had to pursue the dog. Iknew Living would remember, too, so I took off mywaterproof and wrapped it round my books for ababy; then I shouted, `MY GOD! THE RIVER!' justlike that--the same as Eliza did in the play; thenI leaped from puddle<sup>18</sup> to puddle, and Living andEmma Jane pursued me like the bloodhounds. It'sjust like that stupid Minnie Smellie who doesn'tknow a game when she sees one. And Eliza wasn'tswearing when she said `My God! the river!' Itwas more like praying.""Well, you've got no call to be prayin', any morethan swearin', in the middle of the road," saidMiranda; "but I'm thankful it's no worse. You'reborn to trouble as the sparks fly upward, an' I'mafraid you allers will be till you learn to bridle²¹ yourunruly tongue.""I wish sometimes that I could bridle Minnie's,"murmured Rebecca, as she went to set the table forsupper.

　　"I declare she IS the beatin'est child!" saidMiranda, taking off her spectacles and laying downher mending. "You don't think she's a leetle mitecrazy, do you, Jane?""I don't think she's like the rest of us,"responded Jane thoughtfully and with some anxietyin her pleasant face; "but whether it's for thebetter or the worse I can't hardly tell till she growsup. She's got the making of 'most anything in her,Rebecca has; but I feel sometimes as if we werenot fitted to cope with her.""Stuff an' nonsense!" said Miranda "Speakfor yourself. I feel fitted to cope with any childthat ever was born int' the world!""I know you do, Mirandy; but that don't MAKEyou so," returned Jane with a smile.

　　The habit of speaking her mind freely wascertainly growing on Jane to an altogether terrifyingextent.

1 mere   

adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过

参考例句：

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

2 pictorial   

adj.绘画的；图片的；n．画报

参考例句：

• The had insisted on a full pictorial coverage of the event.他们坚持要对那一事件做详尽的图片报道。
• China Pictorial usually sells out soon after it hits the stands.《人民画报》往往一到报摊就销售一空。

3 mansions   

n.宅第，公馆，大厦( mansion的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Fifth Avenue was boarded up where the rich had deserted their mansions. 第五大道上的富翁们已经出去避暑，空出的宅第都已锁好了门窗，钉上了木板。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
• Oh, the mansions, the lights, the perfume, the loaded boudoirs and tables! 啊，那些高楼大厦、华灯、香水、藏金收银的闺房还有摆满山珍海味的餐桌！ 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

4 irresistible   

adj.非常诱人的，无法拒绝的，无法抗拒的

参考例句：

• The wheel of history rolls forward with an irresistible force.历史车轮滚滚向前，势不可挡。
• She saw an irresistible skirt in the store window.她看见商店的橱窗里有一条叫人着迷的裙子。

5 gab   

v.空谈，唠叨，瞎扯；n.饶舌，多嘴，爱说话

参考例句：

• The young man had got the gift of gab.那个年轻小贩能说会道。
• She has the gift of the gab.她口才很好。

6 astonishment   

n.惊奇，惊异

参考例句：

• They heard him give a loud shout of astonishment.他们听见他惊奇地大叫一声。
• I was filled with astonishment at her strange action.我对她的奇怪举动不胜惊异。

7 intemperance   

n.放纵

参考例句：

• Health does not consist with intemperance. 健康与纵欲［无节制］不能相容。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• She accepted his frequent intemperance as part of the climate. 对于他酗酒的恶习，她安之若素。 来自辞典例句

8 solitude   

n. 孤独; 独居,荒僻之地,幽静的地方

参考例句：

• People need a chance to reflect on spiritual matters in solitude. 人们需要独处的机会来反思精神上的事情。
• They searched for a place where they could live in solitude. 他们寻找一个可以过隐居生活的地方。

9 wrestled   

v.（与某人）搏斗( wrestle的过去式和过去分词 )；扭成一团；扭打；（与…）摔跤

参考例句：

• As a boy he had boxed and wrestled. 他小的时候又是打拳又是摔跤。
• Armed guards wrestled with the intruder. 武装警卫和闯入者扭打起来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 perspired   

v.出汗，流汗( perspire的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The air became cooler but Feliks perspired all the same. 空气凉爽了，但费利克斯仍然浑身出汗。 来自辞典例句
• Sit down, you look perspired. 坐下，看你满头是汗。 来自辞典例句

11 slate   

n.板岩，石板，石片，石板色，候选人名单；adj.暗蓝灰色的，含板岩的；vt.用石板覆盖，痛打，提名，预订

参考例句：

• The nominating committee laid its slate before the board.提名委员会把候选人名单提交全体委员会讨论。
• What kind of job uses stained wood and slate? 什么工作会接触木头污浊和石板呢？

12 mortification   

n.耻辱，屈辱

参考例句：

• To my mortification, my manuscript was rejected. 使我感到失面子的是：我的稿件被退了回来。
• The chairman tried to disguise his mortification. 主席试图掩饰自己的窘迫。

13 painstakingly   

adv. 费力地 苦心地

参考例句：

• Every aspect of the original has been closely studied and painstakingly reconstructed. 原作的每一细节都经过了仔细研究，费尽苦心才得以重现。
• The cause they contrived so painstakingly also ended in failure. 他们惨淡经营的事业也以失败而告终。

14 bereft   

adj.被剥夺的

参考例句：

• The place seemed to be utterly bereft of human life.这个地方似乎根本没有人烟。
• She was bereft of happiness.她失去了幸福。

15 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。

16 profane   

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。

17 obstinate   

adj.顽固的，倔强的，不易屈服的，较难治愈的

参考例句：

• She's too obstinate to let anyone help her.她太倔强了，不会让任何人帮她的。
• The trader was obstinate in the negotiation.这个商人在谈判中拗强固执。

18 puddle   

n.(雨)水坑，泥潭

参考例句：

• The boy hopped the mud puddle and ran down the walk.这个男孩跳过泥坑，沿着人行道跑了。
• She tripped over and landed in a puddle.她绊了一下，跌在水坑里。

19 puddles   

n.水坑， （尤指道路上的）雨水坑( puddle的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The puddles had coalesced into a small stream. 地面上水洼子里的水汇流成了一条小溪。
• The road was filled with puddles from the rain. 雨后路面到处是一坑坑的积水。 来自《简明英汉词典》

20 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

21 bridle   

n.笼头，束缚；vt.抑制，约束；动怒

参考例句：

• He learned to bridle his temper.他学会了控制脾气。
• I told my wife to put a bridle on her tongue.我告诉妻子说话要谨慎。