And now, if any people should be disposed to think my history immoral1 (for I have heard some assert that I was a man who never deserved that so much prosperity should fall to my share), I will beg those cavillers to do me the favour to read the conclusion of my adventures; when they will see it was no such great prize that I had won, and that wealth, splendour, thirty thousand per annum, and a seat in Parliament, are often purchased at too dear a rate, when one has to buy those enjoyments2 at the price of personal liberty, and saddled with the charge of a troublesome wife.
They are the deuce, these troublesome wives, and that is the truth. No man knows until he tries how wearisome and disheartening the burthen of one of them is, and how the annoyance3 grows and strengthens from year to year, and the courage becomes weaker to bear it; so that that trouble which seemed light and trivial the first year, becomes intolerable ten years after. I have heard of one of the classical fellows in the dictionary who began by carrying a calf4 up a hill every day, and so continued until the animal grew to be a bull, which he still easily accommodated upon his shoulders; but take my word for it, young unmarried gentlemen, a wife is a very much harder pack to the back than the biggest heifer in Smithfield and, if I can prevent one of you from marrying, the ‘Memoirs of Barry Lyndon, Esq.’ will not be written in vain. Not that my Lady was a scold or a shrew, as some wives are; I could have managed to have cured her of that; but she was of a cowardly, crying, melancholy6, maudlin7 temper, which is to me still more odious8: do what one would to please her, she would never be happy or in good-humour. I left her alone after a while; and because, as was natural in my case, where a disagreeable home obliged me to seek amusement and companions abroad, she added a mean detestable jealousy9 to all her other faults: I could not for some time pay the commonest attention to any other woman, but my Lady Lyndon must weep, and wring10 her hands, and threaten to commit suicide, and I know not what.
Her death would have been no comfort to me, as I leave any person of common prudence11 to imagine; for that scoundrel of a young Bullingdon (who was now growing up a tall, gawky, swarthy lad, and about to become my greatest plague and annoyance) would have inherited every penny of the property, and I should have been left considerably12 poorer even than when I married the widow: for I spent my personal fortune as well as the lady’s income in the keeping up of our rank, and was always too much a man of honour and spirit to save a penny of Lady Lyndon’s income. Let this be flung in the teeth of my detractors, who say I never could have so injured the Lyndon property had I not been making a private purse for myself; and who believe that, even in my present painful situation, I have hoards13 of gold laid by somewhere, and could come out as a Croesus when I choose. I never raised a shilling upon Lady Lyndon’s property but I spent it like a man of honour; besides incurring15 numberless personal obligations for money, which all went to the common stock. Independent of the Lyndon mortgages and incumbrances, I owe myself at least one hundred and twenty thousand pounds, which I spent while in occupancy of my wife’s estate; so that I may justly say that property is indebted to me in the above-mentioned sum.
Although I have described the utter disgust and distaste which speedily took possession of my breast as regarded Lady Lyndon; and although I took no particular pains (for I am all frankness and above-board) to disguise my feelings in general, yet she was of such a mean spirit, that she pursued me with her regard in spite of my indifference16 to her, and would kindle17 up at the smallest kind word I spoke18 to her. The fact is, between my respected reader and myself, that I was one of the handsomest and most dashing young men of England in those days, and my wife was violently in love with me; and though I say it who shouldn’t, as the phrase goes, my wife was not the only woman of rank in London who had a favourable19 opinion of the humble20 Irish adventurer. What a riddle21 these women are, I have often thought! I have seen the most elegant creatures at St. James’s grow wild for love of the coarsest and most vulgar of men; the cleverest women passionately22 admire the most illiterate23 of our sex, and so on. There is no end to the contrariety in the foolish creatures; and though I don’t mean to hint that I am vulgar or illiterate, as the persons mentioned above (I would cut the throat of any man who dared to whisper a word against my birth or my breeding), yet I have shown that Lady Lyndon had plenty of reason to dislike me if she chose: but, like the rest of her silly sex, she was governed by infatuation, not reason; and, up to the very last day of our being together, would be reconciled to me, and fondle me, if I addressed her a single kind word.
‘Ah,’ she would say, in these moments of tenderness —‘Ah, REDMOND, if you would always be so!’ And in these fits of love she was the most easy creature in the world to be persuaded, and would have signed away her whole property, had it been possible. And, I must confess, it was with very little attention on my part that I could bring her into good-humour. To walk with her on the Mall, or at Ranelagh, to attend her to church at St. James’s, to purchase any little present or trinket for her, was enough to coax24 her. Such is female inconsistency! The next day she would be calling me ‘Mr. Barry’ probably, and be bemoaning25 her miserable26 fate that she ever should have been united to such a monster. So it was she was pleased to call one of the most brilliant men in His Majesty27’s three kingdoms: and I warrant me OTHER ladies had a much more flattering opinion of me.
Then she would threaten to leave me; but I had a hold of her in the person of her son, of whom she was passionately fond: I don’t know why, for she had always neglected Bullingdon her older son, and never bestowed28 a thought upon his health, his welfare, or his education.
It was our young boy, then, who formed the great bond of union between me and her Ladyship; and there was no plan of ambition I could propose in which she would not join for the poor lad’s behoof, and no expense she would not eagerly incur14, if it might by any means be shown to tend to his advancement29. I can tell you, bribes30 were administered, and in high places too — so near the royal person of His Majesty, that you would be astonished were I to mention what great personages condescended32 to receive our loans. I got from the English and Irish heralds33 a description and detailed34 pedigree of the Barony of Barryogue, and claimed respectfully to be reinstated in my ancestral titles, and also to be rewarded with the Viscounty of Ballybarry. ‘This head would become a coronet,’ my Lady would sometimes say, in her fond moments, smoothing down my hair; and, indeed, there is many a puny35 whipster in their Lordships’ house who has neither my presence nor my courage, my pedigree, nor any of my merits.
The striving after this peerage I considered to have been one of the most unlucky of all my unlucky dealings at this period. I made unheard-of sacrifices to bring it about. I lavished36 money here and diamonds there. I bought lands at ten times their value; purchased pictures and articles of vertu at ruinous prices. I gave repeated entertainments to those friends to my claims who, being about the Royal person, were likely to advance it. I lost many a bet to the Royal Dukes His Majesty’s brothers; but let these matters be forgotten, and, because of my private injuries, let me not be deficient37 in loyalty38 to my Sovereign.
The only person in this transaction whom I shall mention openly, is that old scamp and swindler, Gustavus Adolphus, thirteenth Earl of Crabs39. This nobleman was one of the gentlemen of His Majesty’s closet, and one with whom the revered40 monarch41 was on terms of considerable intimacy42. A close regard had sprung up between them in the old King’s time; when His Royal Highness, playing at battledore and shuttlecock with the young lord on the landing-place of the great staircase at Kew, in some moment of irritation43 the Prince of Wales kicked the young Earl downstairs, who, falling, broke his leg. The Prince’s hearty44 repentance45 for his violence caused him to ally himself closely with the person whom he had injured; and when His Majesty came to the throne there was no man, it is said, of whom the Earl of Bute was so jealous as of my Lord Crabs. The latter was poor and extravagant46, and Bute got him out of the way, by sending him on the Russian and other embassies; but on this favourite’s dismissal, Crabs sped back from the Continent, and was appointed almost immediately to a place about His Majesty’s person.
It was with this disreputable nobleman that I contracted an unluckly intimacy; when, fresh and unsuspecting, I first established myself in town, after my marriage with Lady Lyndon: and, as Crabs was really one of the most entertaining fellows in the world, I took a sincere pleasure in his company; besides the interesting desire I had in cultivating the society of a man who was so near the person of the highest personage in the realm.
To hear the fellow, you would fancy that there was scarce any appointment made in which he had not a share. He told me, for instance, of Charles Fox being turned out of his place a day before poor Charley himself was aware of the fact. He told me when the Howes were coming back from America, and who was to succeed to the command there. Not to multiply instances, it was upon this person that I fixed47 my chief reliance for the advancement of my claim to the Barony of Barryogue and the Viscounty which I proposed to get.
One of the main causes of expense which this ambition of mine entailed48 upon me was the fitting out and arming a company of infantry49 from the Castle Lyndon and Hackton estates in Ireland, which I offered to my gracious Sovereign for the campaign against the American rebels. These troops, superbly equipped and clothed, were embarked50 at Portsmouth in the year 1778; and the patriotism51 of the gentleman who had raised them was so acceptable at Court, that, on being presented by my Lord North, His Majesty condescended to notice me particularly, and said, ‘That’s right, Mr. Lyndon, raise another company; and go with them, too!’ But this was by no means, as the reader may suppose, to my notions. A man with thirty thousand pounds per annum is a fool to risk his life like a common beggar: and on this account I have always admired the conduct of my friend Jack52 Bolter, who had been a most active and resolute53 cornet of horse, and, as such, engaged in every scrape and skirmish which could fall to his lot; but just before the battle of Minden he received news that his uncle, the great army contractor54, was dead, and had left him five thousand per annum. Jack that instant applied55 for leave; and, as it was refused him on the eve of a general action, my gentleman took it, and never fired a pistol again: except against an officer who questioned his courage, and whom he winged in such a cool and determined56 manner, as showed all the world that it was from prudence and a desire of enjoying his money, not from cowardice57, that he quitted the profession of arms.
When this Hackton company was raised, my stepson, who was now sixteen years of age, was most eager to be allowed to join it, and I would have gladly consented to have been rid of the young man; but his guardian58, Lord Tiptoff, who thwarted59 me in everything, refused his permission, and the lad’s military inclinations60 were balked61. If he could have gone on the expedition, and a rebel rifle had put an end to him, I believe, to tell the truth, I should not have been grieved over-much; and I should have had the pleasure of seeing my other son the heir to the estate which his father had won with so much pains.
The education of this young nobleman had been, I confess, some of the loosest; and perhaps the truth is, I DID neglect the brat62. He was of so wild, savage63, and insubordinate a nature, that I never had the least regard for him; and before me and his mother, at least, was so moody64 and dull, that I thought instruction thrown away upon him, and left him for the most part to shift for himself. For two whole years he remained in Ireland away from us; and when in England, we kept him mainly at Hackton, never caring to have the uncouth65 ungainly lad in the genteel company in the capital in which we naturally mingled66. My own poor boy, on the contrary, was the most polite and engaging child ever seen: it was a pleasure to treat him with kindness and distinction; and before he was five years old, the little fellow was the pink of fashion, beauty, and good breeding.
In fact he could not have been otherwise, with the care both his parents bestowed upon him, and the attentions that were lavished upon him in every way. When he was four years old, I quarrelled with the English nurse who had attended upon him, and about whom my wife had been so jealous, and procured68 for him a French gouvernante, who had lived with families of the first quality in Paris; and who, of course, must set my Lady Lyndon jealous too. Under the care of this young woman my little rogue69 learned to chatter70 French most charmingly. It would have done your heart good to hear the dear rascal71 swear Mort de ma vie! and to see him stamp his little foot, and send the manants and canaille of the domestics to the trente mille diables. He was precocious72 in all things: at a very early age he would mimic73 everybody; at five, he would sit at table, and drink his glass of champagne74 with the best of us; and his nurse would teach him little French catches, and the last Parisian songs of Vade and Collard — pretty songs they were too; and would make such of his hearers as understood French burst with laughing, and, I promise you, scandalise some of the old dowagers who were admitted into the society of his mamma: not that there were many of them; for I did not encourage the visits of what you call respectable people to Lady Lyndon. They are sad spoilers of sport — tale-bearers, envious75 narrow-minded people; making mischief76 between man and wife. Whenever any of these grave personages in hoops77 and high heels used to make their appearance at Hackton, or in Berkeley Square, it was my chief pleasure to frighten them off; and I would make my little Bryan dance, sing, and play the diable a quatre, and aid him myself, so as to scare the old frumps.
I never shall forget the solemn remonstrances78 of our old square-toes of a rector at Hackton, who made one or two vain attempts to teach little Bryan Latin, and with whose innumerable children I sometimes allowed the boy to associate. They learned some of Bryan’s French songs from him, which their mother, a poor soul who understood pickles79 and custards much better than French, used fondly to encourage them in singing; but which their father one day hearing, he sent Miss Sarah to her bedroom and bread and water for a week, and solemnly horsed Master Jacob in the presence of all his brothers and sisters, and of Bryan, to whom he hoped that flogging would act as a warning. But my little rogue kicked and plunged80 at the old parson’s shins until he was obliged to get his sexton to hold him down, and swore, corbleu, morbleu, ventrebleu, that his young friend Jacob should not be maltreated. After this scene, his reverence81 forbade Bryan the rectory-house; on which I swore that his eldest82 son, who was bringing up for the ministry83, should never have the succession of the living of Hackton, which I had thoughts of bestowing84 on him; and his father said, with a canting hypocritical air, which I hate, that Heaven’s will must be done; that he would not have his children disobedient or corrupted85 for the sake of a bishopric, and wrote me a pompous87 and solemn letter, charged with Latin quotations88, taking farewell of me and my house. ‘I do so with regret,’ added the old gentleman, ‘for I have received so many kindnesses from the Hackton family that it goes to my heart to be disunited from them. My poor, I fear, may suffer in consequence of my separation from you, and my being hence-forward unable to bring to your notice instances of distress89 and affliction; which, when they were known to you, I will do you the justice to say, your generosity90 was always prompt to relieve.’
There may have been some truth in this, for the old gentleman was perpetually pestering91 me with petitions, and I know for a certainty, from his own charities, was often without a shilling in his pocket; but I suspect the good dinners at Hackton had a considerable share in causing his regrets at the dissolution of our intimacy: and I know that his wife was quite sorry to forego the acquaintance of Bryan’s gouvernante, Mademoiselle Louison, who had all the newest French fashions at her fingers’ ends, and who never went to the rectory but you would see the girls of the family turn out in new sacks or mantles92 the Sunday after.
I used to punish the old rebel by snoring very loud in my pew on Sundays during sermon-time; and I got a governor presently for Bryan, and a chaplain of my own, when he became of age sufficient to be separated from the women’s society and guardianship93. His English nurse I married to my head gardener, with a handsome portion; his French gouvernante I bestowed upon my faithful German Fritz, not forgetting the dowry in the latter instance; and they set up a French dining-house in Soho, and I believe at the time I write they are richer in the world’s goods than their generous and free-handed master.
For Bryan I now got a young gentleman from Oxford94, the Rev5. Edmund Lavender, who was commissioned to teach him Latin, when the boy was in the humour, and to ground him in history, grammar, and the other qualifications of a gentleman. Lavender was a precious addition to our society at Hackton. He was the means of making a deal of fun there. He was the butt95 of all our jokes, and bore them with the most admirable and martyrlike patience. He was one of that sort of men who would rather be kicked by a great man than not be noticed by him; and I have often put his wig96 into the fire in the face of the company, when he would laugh at the joke as well as any man there. It was a delight to put him on a high-mettled horse, and send him after the hounds — pale, sweating, calling on us, for Heaven’s sake, to stop, and holding on for dear life by the mane and the crupper. How it happened that the fellow was never killed I know not; but I suppose hanging is the way in which HIS neck will be broke. He never met with any accident, to speak of, in our hunting-matches: but you were pretty sure to find him at dinner in his place at the bottom of the table making the punch, whence he would be carried off fuddled to bed before the night was over. Many a time have Bryan and I painted his face black on those occasions. We put him into a haunted room, and frightened his soul out of his body with ghosts; we let loose cargoes97 of rats upon his bed; we cried fire, and filled his boots with water; we cut the legs of his preaching-chair, and filled his sermon-book with snuff. Poor Lavender bore it all with patience; and at our parties, or when we came to London, was amply repaid by being allowed to sit with the gentlefolks, and to fancy himself in the society of men of fashion. It was good to hear the contempt with which he talked about our rector. ‘He has a son, sir, who is a servitor: and a servitor at a small college,’ he would say. ‘How COULD you, my dear sir, think of giving the reversion of Hackton to such a low-bred creature?’
I should now speak of my other son, at least my Lady Lyndon’s: I mean the Viscount Bullingdon. I kept him in Ireland for some years, under the guardianship of my mother, whom I had installed at Castle Lyndon; and great, I promise you, was her state in that occupation, and prodigious98 the good soul’s splendour and haughty99 bearing. With all her oddities, the Castle Lyndon estate was the best managed of all our possessions; the rents were excellently paid, the charges of getting them in smaller than they would have been under the management of any steward100. It was astonishing what small expenses the good widow incurred101; although she kept up the dignity of the TWO families, as she would say. She had a set of domestics to attend upon the young lord; she never went out herself but in an old gilt102 coach and six; the house was kept clean and tight; the furniture and gardens in the best repair; and, in our occasional visits to Ireland, we never found any house we visited in such good condition as our own. There were a score of ready serving-lasses, and half as many trim men about the castle; and everything in as fine condition as the best housekeeper103 could make it. All this she did with scarcely any charges to us: for she fed sheep and cattle in the parks, and made a handsome profit of them at Ballinasloe; she supplied I don’t know how many towns with butter and bacon; and the fruit and vegetables from the gardens of Castle Lyndon got the highest prices in Dublin market. She had no waste in the kitchen, as there used to be in most of our Irish houses; and there was no consumption of liquor in the cellars, for the old lady drank water, and saw little or no company. All her society was a couple of the girls of my ancient flame Nora Brady, now Mrs. Quin; who with her husband had spent almost all their property, and who came to see me once in London, looking very old, fat, and slatternly, with two dirty children at her side. She wept very much when she saw me, called me ‘Sir,’ and ‘Mr. Lyndon,’ at which I was not sorry, and begged me to help her husband; which I did, getting him, through my friend Lord Crabs, a place in the excise104 in Ireland, and paying the passage of his family and himself to that country. I found him a dirty, cast-down, snivelling drunkard; and, looking at poor Nora, could not but wonder at the days when I had thought her a divinity. But if ever I have had a regard for a woman, I remain through life her constant friend, and could mention a thousand such instances of my generous and faithful disposition105.
Young Bullingdon, however, was almost the only person with whom she was concerned that my mother could not keep in order. The accounts she sent me of him at first were such as gave my paternal106 heart considerable pain. He rejected all regularity107 and authority. He would absent himself for weeks from the house on sporting or other expeditions. He was when at home silent and queer, refusing to make my mother’s game at piquet of evenings, but plunging108 into all sorts of musty old books, with which he muddled109 his brains; more at ease laughing and chatting with the pipers and maids in the servants’ hall, than with the gentry110 in the drawing-room; always cutting jibes111 and jokes at Mrs. Barry, at which she (who was rather a slow woman at repartee) would chafe112 violently: in fact, leading a life of insubordination and scandal. And, to crown all, the young scapegrace took to frequenting the society of the Romish priest of the parish — a threadbare rogue, from some Popish seminary in France or Spain — rather than the company of the vicar of Castle Lyndon, a gentleman of Trinity, who kept his hounds and drank his two bottles a day.
Regard for the lad’s religion made me not hesitate then how I should act towards him. If I have any principle which has guided me through life, it has been respect for the Establishment, and a hearty scorn and abhorrence113 of all other forms of belief. I therefore sent my French body-servant, in the year 17 — to Dublin with a commission to bring the young reprobate114 over; and the report brought to me was that he had passed the whole of the last night of his stay in Ireland with his Popish friend at the mass-house; that he and my mother had a violent quarrel on the very last day; that, on the contrary, he kissed Biddy and Dosy, her two nieces, who seemed very sorry that he should go; and that being pressed to go and visit the rector, he absolutely refused, saying he was a wicked old Pharisee, inside whose doors he would never set his foot. The doctor wrote me a letter, warning me against the deplorable errors of this young imp115 of perdition, as he called him; and I could see that there was no love lost between them. But it appeared that, if not agreeable to the gentry of the country, young Bullingdon had a huge popularity among the common people. There was a regular crowd weeping round the gate when his coach took its departure. Scores of the ignorant savage wretches116 ran for miles along by the side of the chariot; and some went even so far as to steal away before his departure, and appear at the Pigeon-House at Dublin to bid him a last farewell. It was with considerable difficulty that some of these people could be kept from secreting117 themselves in the vessel118, and accompanying their young lord to England.
To do the young scoundrel justice, when he came among us, he was a manly119 noble-looking lad, and everything in his bearing and appearance betokened120 the high blood from which he came. He was the very portrait of some of the dark cavaliers of the Lyndon race, whose pictures hung in the gallery at Hackton: where the lad was fond of spending the chief part of his time, occupied with the musty old books which he took out of the library, and which I hate to see a young man of spirit poring over. Always in my company he preserved the most rigid121 silence, and a haughty scornful demeanour; which was so much the more disagreeable because there was nothing in his behaviour I could actually take hold of to find fault with: although his whole conduct was insolent122 and supercilious123 to the highest degree. His mother was very much agitated124 at receiving him on his arrival; if he felt any such agitation125 he certainly did not show it. He made her a very low and formal bow when he kissed her hand; and, when I held out mine, put both his hands behind his back, stared me full in the face, and bent126 his head, saying, ‘Mr. Barry Lyndon, I believe;’ turned on his heel, and began talking about the state of the weather to his mother, whom he always styled ‘Your Ladyship.’ She was angry at this pert bearing, and, when they were alone, rebuked128 him sharply for not shaking hands with his father.
‘My father, madam?’ said he; ‘surely you mistake. My father was the Right Honourable129 Sir Charles Lyndon. I at least have not forgotten him, if others have.’ It was a declaration of war to me, as I saw at once; though I declare I was willing enough to have received the boy well on his coming amongst us, and to have lived with him on terms of friendliness130. But as men serve me I serve them. Who can blame me for my after-quarrels with this young reprobate, or lay upon my shoulders the evils which afterwards befell? Perhaps I lost my temper, and my subsequent treatment of him WAS hard. But it was he began the quarrel, and not I; and the evil consequences which ensued were entirely131 of his creating.
As it is best to nip vice132 in the bud, and for a master of a family to exercise his authority in such a manner as that there may be no question about it, I took the earliest opportunity of coming to close quarters with Master Bullingdon; and the day after his arrival among us, upon his refusal to perform some duty which I requested of him, I had him conveyed to my study, and thrashed him soundly. This process, I confess, at first agitated me a good deal, for I had never laid a whip on a lord before; but I got speedily used to the practice, and his back and my whip became so well acquainted, that I warrant there was very little CEREMONY between us after a while.
If I were to repeat all the instances of the insubordination and brutal133 conduct of young Bullingdon, I should weary the reader. His perseverance134 in resistance was, I think, even greater than mine in correcting him: for a man, be he ever so much resolved to do his duty as a parent, can’t be flogging his children all day, or for every fault they commit: and though I got the character of being so cruel a stepfather to him, I pledge my word I spared him correction when he merited it many more times than I administered it. Besides, there were eight clear months in the year when he was quit of me, during the time of my presence in London, at my place in Parliament, and at the Court of my Sovereign.
At this period I made no difficulty to allow him to profit by the Latin and Greek of the old rector; who had christened him, and had a considerable influence over the wayward lad. After a scene or a quarrel between us, it was generally to the rectory-house that the young rebel would fly for refuge and counsel; and I must own that the parson was a pretty just umpire between us in our disputes. Once he led the boy back to Hackton by the hand, and actually brought him into my presence, although he had vowed135 never to enter the doors in my lifetime again, and said, ‘He had brought his Lordship to acknowledge his error, and submit to any punishment I might think proper to inflict137.’ Upon which I caned139 him in the presence of two or three friends of mine, with whom I was sitting drinking at the time; and to do him justice, he bore a pretty severe punishment without wincing140 or crying in the least. This will show that I was not too severe in my treatment of the lad, as I had the authority of the clergyman himself for inflicting142 the correction which I thought proper.
Twice or thrice, Lavender, Bryan’s governor, attempted to punish my Lord Bullingdon; but I promise you the rogue was too strong for HIM, and levelled the Oxford man to the ground with a chair: greatly to the delight of little Byran, who cried out, ‘Bravo, Bully143! thump144 him, thump him!’ And Bully certainly did, to the governor’s heart’s content; who never attempted personal chastisement145 afterwards; but contented147 himself by bringing the tales of his Lordship’s misdoings to me, his natural protector and guardian.
With the child, Bullingdon was, strange to say, pretty tractable148. He took a liking149 for the little fellow — as, indeed, everybody who saw that darling boy did — liked him the more, he said, because he was ‘half a Lyndon.’ And well he might like him, for many a time, at the dear angel’s intercession of ‘Papa, don’t flog Bully today!’ I have held my hand, and saved him a horsing, which he richly deserved.
With his mother, at first, he would scarcely deign150 to have any communication. He said she was no longer one of the family. Why should he love her, as she had never been a mother to him? But it will give the reader an idea of the dogged obstinacy151 and surliness of the lad’s character, when I mention one trait regarding him. It has been made a matter of complaint against me, that I denied him the education befitting a gentleman, and never sent him to college or to school; but the fact is, it was of his own choice that he went to neither. He had the offer repeatedly from me (who wished to see as little of his impudence152 as possible), but he as repeatedly declined; and, for a long time, I could not make out what was the charm which kept him in a house where he must have been far from comfortable.
It came out, however, at last. There used to be very frequent disputes between my Lady Lyndon and myself, in which sometimes she was wrong, sometimes I was; and which, as neither of us had very angelical tempers, used to run very high. I was often in liquor; and when in that condition, what gentleman is master of himself? Perhaps I DID, in this state, use my Lady rather roughly; fling a glass or two at her, and call her by a few names that were not complimentary153. I may have threatened her life (which it was obviously my interest not to take), and have frightened her, in a word, considerably.
After one of these disputes, in which she ran screaming through the galleries, and I, as tipsy as a lord, came staggering after, it appears Bullingdon was attracted out of his room by the noise; as I came up with her, the audacious rascal tripped up my heels, which were not very steady, and catching154 his fainting mother in his arms, took her into his own room; where he, upon her entreaty155, swore he would never leave the house as long as she continued united with me. I knew nothing of the vow136, or indeed of the tipsy frolic which was the occasion of it; I was taken up ‘glorious,’ as the phrase is, by my servants, and put to bed, and, in the morning, had no more recollection of what had occurred any more than of what happened when I was a baby at the breast. Lady Lyndon told me of the circumstance years after; and I mention it here, as it enables me to plead honourably156 ‘not guilty’ to one of the absurd charges of cruelty trumped157 up against me with respect to my stepson. Let my detractors apologise, if they dare, for the conduct of a graceless ruffian who trips up the heels of his own natural guardian and stepfather after dinner.
This circumstance served to unite mother and son for a little; but their characters were too different. I believe she was too fond of me ever to allow him to be sincerely reconciled to her. As he grew up to be a man, his hatred158 towards me assumed an intensity159 quite wicked to think of (and which I promise you I returned with interest): and it was at the age of sixteen, I think, that the impudent160 young hangdog, on my return from Parliament one summer, and on my proposing to cane138 him as usual, gave me to understand that he would submit to no farther chastisement from me, and said, grinding his teeth, that he would shoot me if I laid hands on him. I looked at him; he was grown, in fact, to be a tall young man, and I gave up that necessary part of his education.
It was about this time that I raised the company which was to serve in America; and my enemies in the country (and since my victory over the Tiptoffs I scarce need say I had many of them) began to propagate the most shameful161 reports regarding my conduct to that precious young scapegrace my stepson, and to insinuate162 that I actually wished to get rid of him. Thus my loyalty to my Sovereign was actually construed163 into a horrid164 unnatural165 attempt on my part on Bullingdon’s life; and it was said that I had raised the American corps166 for the sole purpose of getting the young Viscount to command it, and so of getting rid of him. I am not sure that they had not fixed upon the name of the very man in the company who was ordered to despatch167 him at the first general action, and the bribe31 I was to give him for this delicate piece of service.
But the truth is, I was of opinion then (and though the fulfilment of my prophecy has been delayed, yet I make no doubt it will be brought to pass ere long), that my Lord Bullingdon needed none of MY aid in sending him into the other world; but had a happy knack168 of finding the way thither169 himself, which he would be sure to pursue. In truth, he began upon this way early: of all the violent, daring, disobedient scapegraces that ever caused an affectionate parent pain, he was certainly the most incorrigible170; there was no beating him, or coaxing171 him, or taming him.
For instance, with my little son, when his governor brought him into the room as we were over the bottle after dinner, my Lord would begin his violent and undutiful sarcasms172 at me.
‘Dear child,’ he would say, beginning to caress173 and fondle him, ‘what a pity it is I am not dead for thy sake! The Lyndons would then have a worthier174 representative, and enjoy all the benefit of the illustrious blood of the Barrys of Barryogue; would they not, Mr. Barry Lyndon?’ He always chose the days when company, or the clergy141 or gentry of the neighbourhood, were present, to make these insolent speeches to me.
Another day (it was Bryan’s birthday) we were giving a grand ball and gala at Hackton, and it was time for my little Bryan to make his appearance among us, as he usually did in the smartest little court-suit you ever saw (ah me! but it brings tears into my old eyes now to think of the bright looks of that darling little face). There was a great crowding and tittering when the child came in, led by his half-brother, who walked into the dancing-room (would you believe it?) in his stocking-feet, leading little Bryan by the hand, paddling about in the great shoes of the elder! ‘Don’t you think he fits my shoes very well, Sir Richard Wargrave?’ says the young reprobate: upon which the company began to look at each other and to titter; and his mother, coming up to Lord Bullingdon with great dignity, seized the child to her breast, and said, ‘From the manner in which I love this child, my Lord, you ought to know how I would have loved his elder brother had he proved worthy175 of any mother’s affection!’ and, bursting into tears, Lady Lyndon left the apartment, and the young lord rather discomfited176 for once.
At last, on one occasion, his behaviour to me was so outrageous177 (it was in the hunting-field and in a large public company), that I lost all patience, rode at the urchin178 straight, wrenched179 him out of his saddle with all my force, and, flinging him roughly to the ground, sprang down to it myself, and administered such a correction across the young caitiff’s head and shoulders with my horsewhip as might have ended in his death, had I not been restrained in time; for my passion was up, and I was in a state to do murder or any other crime. The lad was taken home and put to bed, where he lay for a day or two in a fever, as much from rage and vexation as from the chastisement I had given him; and three days afterwards, on sending to inquire at his chamber180 whether he would join the family at table, a note was found on his table, and his bed was empty and cold. The young villain181 had fled, and had the audacity182 to write in the following terms regarding me to my wife, his mother:—
‘Madam,’ he said, ‘I have borne as long as mortal could endure the ill-treatment of the insolent Irish upstart whom you have taken to your bed. It is not only the lowness of his birth and the general brutality183 of his manners which disgust me, and must make me hate him so long as I have the honour to bear the name of Lyndon, which he is unworthy of, but the shameful nature of his conduct towards your Ladyship; his brutal and ungentlemanlike behaviour, his open infidelity, his habits of extravagance, intoxication184, his shameless robberies and swindling of my property and yours. It is these insults to you which shock and annoy me, more than the ruffian’s infamous185 conduct to myself. I would have stood by your Ladyship as I promised, but you seem to have taken latterly your husband’s part; and, as I cannot personally chastise146 this low-bred ruffian, who, to our shame be it spoken, is the husband of my mother; and as I cannot bear to witness his treatment of you, and loathe186 his horrible society as if it were the plague, I am determined to quit my native country: at least during his detested187 life, or during my own. I possess a small income from my father, of which I have no doubt Mr. Barry will cheat me if he can; but which, if your Ladyship has some feelings of a mother left, you will, perhaps, award to me. Messrs. Childs, the bankers, can have orders to pay it to me when due; if they receive no such orders, I shall be not in the least surprised, knowing you to be in the hands of a villain who would not scruple188 to rob on the highway; and shall try to find out some way in life for myself more honourable than that by which the penniless Irish adventurer has arrived to turn me out of my rights and home.’
This mad epistle was signed ‘Bullingdon,’ and all the neighbours vowed that I had been privy189 to his flight, and would profit by it; though I declare on my honour my true and sincere desire, after reading the above infamous letter, was to have the author within a good arm’s length of me, that I might let him know my opinion regarding him. But there was no eradicating190 this idea from people’s minds, who insisted that I wanted to kill Bullingdon; whereas murder, as I have said, was never one of my evil qualities: and even had I wished to injure my young enemy ever so much, common prudence would have made my mind easy, as I knew he was going to ruin his own way.
It was long before we heard of the fate of the audacious young truant191; but after some fifteen months had elapsed, I had the pleasure of being able to refute some of the murderous calumnies192 which had been uttered against me, by producing a bill with Bullingdon’s own signature, drawn193 from General Tarleton’s army in America, where my company was conducting itself with the greatest glory, and with which my Lord was serving as a volunteer. There were some of my kind friends who persisted still in attributing all sorts of wicked intentions to me. Lord Tiptoff would never believe that I would pay any bill, much more any bill of Lord Bullingdon’s; old Lady Betty Grimsby, his sister, persisted in declaring the bill was a forgery194, and the poor dear lord dead; until there came a letter to her Ladyship from Lord Bullingdon himself, who had been at New York at headquarters, and who described at length the splendid festival given by the officers of the garrison195 to our distinguished196 chieftains, the two Howes.
In the meanwhile, if I HAD murdered my Lord, I could scarcely have been received with more shameful obloquy197 and slander198 than now followed me in town and country. ‘You will hear of the lad’s death, be sure,’ exclaimed one of my friends. ‘And then his wife’s will follow,’ added another. ‘He will marry Jenny Jones,’ added a third; and so on. Lavender brought me the news of these scandals about me: the country was up against me. The farmers on market-days used to touch their hats sulkily, and get out of my way; the gentlemen who followed my hunt now suddenly seceded199 from it, and left off my uniform; at the county ball, where I led out Lady Susan Capermore, and took my place third in the dance after the duke and the marquis, as was my wont200, all the couples turned away as we came to them, and we were left to dance alone. Sukey Capermore has a love of dancing which would make her dance at a funeral if anybody asked her, and I had too much spirit to give in at this signal instance of insult towards me; so we danced with some of the very commonest low people at the bottom of the set — your apothecaries201, wine-merchants, attorneys, and such scum as are allowed to attend our public assemblies.
The bishop86, my Lady Lyndon’s relative, neglected to invite us to the palace at the assizes; and, in a word, every indignity202 was put upon me which could by possibility be heaped upon an innocent and honourable gentleman.
My reception in London, whither I now carried my wife and family, was scarcely more cordial. On paying my respects to my Sovereign at St. James’s, His Majesty pointedly204 asked me when I had news of Lord Bullingdon. On which I replied, with no ordinary presence of mind, ‘Sir, my Lord Bullingdon is fighting the rebels against your Majesty’s crown in America. Does your Majesty desire that I should send another regiment205 to aid him?’ On which the King turned on his heel, and I made my bow out of the presence-chamber. When Lady Lyndon kissed the Queen’s hand at the drawing-room, I found that precisely206 the same question had been put to her Ladyship; and she came home much agitated at the rebuke127 which had been administered to her. Thus it was that my loyalty was rewarded, and my sacrifice, in favour of my country, viewed! I took away my establishment abruptly207 to Paris, where I met with a very different reception: but my stay amidst the enchanting208 pleasures of that capital was extremely short; for the French Government, which had been long tampering209 with the American rebels, now openly acknowledged the independence of the United States. A declaration of war ensued: all we happy English were ordered away from Paris; and I think I left one or two fair ladies there inconsolable. It is the only place where a gentleman can live as he likes without being incommoded by his wife. The Countess and I, during our stay, scarcely saw each other except upon public occasions, at Versailles, or at the Queen’s play-table; and our dear little Bryan advanced in a thousand elegant accomplishments210 which rendered him the delight of all who knew him.
I must not forget to mention here my last interview with my good uncle, the Chevalier de Ballybarry, whom I left at Brussels with strong intentions of making his salut, as the phrase is, and who had gone into retirement211 at a convent there. Since then he had come into the world again, much to his annoyance and repentance; having fallen desperately212 in love in his old age with a French actress, who had done, as most ladies of her character do — ruined him, left him, and laughed at him. His repentance was very edifying213. Under the guidance of Messieurs of the Irish College, he once more turned his thoughts towards religion; and his only prayer to me when I saw him and asked in what I could relieve him, was to pay a handsome fee to the convent into which he proposed to enter.
This I could not, of course, do: my religious principles forbidding me to encourage superstition214 in any way; and the old gentleman and I parted rather coolly, in consequence of my refusal, as he said, to make his old days comfortable.
I was very poor at the time, that is the fact; and entre nous, the Rosemont of the French Opera, an indifferent dancer, but a charming figure and ankle, was ruining me in diamonds, equipages, and furniture bills, added to which I had a run of ill-luck at play, and was forced to meet my losses by the most shameful sacrifices to the money-lenders, by pawning215 part of Lady Lyndon’s diamonds (that graceless little Rosemont wheedled216 me out of some of them), and by a thousand other schemes for raising money. But when Honour is in the case, was I ever found backward at her call: and what man can say that Barry Lyndon lost a bet which he did not pay?
As for my ambitious hopes regarding the Irish peerage, I began, on my return, to find out that I had been led wildly astray by that rascal Lord Crabs; who liked to take my money, but had no more influence to get me a coronet than to procure67 for me the Pope’s tiara. The Sovereign was not a whit203 more gracious to me on returning from the Continent than he had been before my departure; and I had it from one of the aides-de-camp of the Royal Dukes his brothers, that my conduct and amusements at Paris had been odiously217 misrepresented by some spies there, and had formed the subject of Royal comment; and that the King had, influenced by these calumnies, actually said I was the most disreputable man in the three kingdoms. I disreputable! I a dishonour218 to my name and country! When I heard these falsehoods, I was in such a rage that I went off to Lord North at once to remonstrate219 with the Minister; to insist upon being allowed to appear before His Majesty and clear myself of the imputations against me, to point out my services to the Government in voting with them, and to ask when the reward that had been promised to me — viz., the title held by my ancestors — was again to be revived in my person?
There was a sleepy coolness in that fat Lord North which was the most provoking thing that the Opposition220 had ever to encounter from him. He heard me with half-shut eyes. When I had finished a long violent speech — which I made striding about his room in Downing Street, and gesticulating with all the energy of an Irishman — he opened one eye, smiled, and asked me gently if I had done. On my replying in the affirmative, he said, ‘Well, Mr. Barry, I’ll answer you, point by point. The King is exceedingly averse221 to make peers, as you know. Your claims, as you call them, HAVE been laid before him, and His Majesty’s gracious reply was, that you were the most impudent man in his dominions222, and merited a halter rather than a coronet. As for withdrawing your support from us, you are perfectly223 welcome to carry yourself and your vote whithersoever you please. And now, as I have a great deal of occupation, perhaps you will do me the favour to retire.’ So saying, he raised his hand lazily to the bell, and bowed me out; asking blandly224 if there was any other thing in the world in which he could oblige me.
I went home in a fury which can’t be described; and having Lord Crabs to dinner that day, assailed225 his Lordship by pulling his wig off his head, and smothering226 it in his face, and by attacking him in that part of the person where, according to report, he had been formerly227 assaulted by Majesty. The whole story was over the town the next day, and pictures of me were hanging in the clubs and print-shops performing the operation alluded228 to. All the town laughed at the picture of the lord and the Irishman, and, I need not say, recognised both. As for me, I was one of the most celebrated229 characters in London in those days: my dress, style, and equipage being as well known as those of any leader of the fashion; and my popularity, if not great in the highest quarters, was at least considerable elsewhere. The people cheered me in the Gordon rows, at the time they nearly killed my friend Jemmy Twitcher and burned Lord Mansfield’s house down. Indeed, I was known as a staunch Protestant, and after my quarrel with Lord North veered230 right round to the Opposition, and vexed231 him with all the means in my power.
These were not, unluckily, very great, for I was a bad speaker, and the House would not listen to me, and presently, in 1780, after the Gordon disturbance232, was dissolved, when a general election took place. It came on me, as all my mishaps233 were in the habit of coming, at a most unlucky time. I was obliged to raise more money, at most ruinous rates, to face the confounded election, and had the Tiptoffs against me in the field more active and virulent234 than ever.
My blood boils even now when I think of the rascally235 conduct of my enemies in that scoundrelly election. I was held up as the Irish Bluebeard, and libels of me were printed, and gross caricatures drawn representing me flogging Lady Lyndon, whipping Lord Bullingdon, turning him out of doors in a storm, and I know not what. There were pictures of a pauper236 cabin in Ireland, from which it was pretended I came; others in which I was represented as a lacquey and shoeblack. A flood of calumny237 was let loose upon me, in which any man of less spirit would have gone down.
But though I met my accusers boldly, though I lavished sums of money in the election, though I flung open Hackton Hall and kept champagne and Burgundy running there, and at all my inns in the town, as commonly as water, the election went against me. The rascally gentry had all turned upon me and joined the Tiptoff faction238: it was even represented that I held my wife by force; and though I sent her into the town alone, wearing my colours, with Bryan in her lap, and made her visit the mayor’s lady and the chief women there, nothing would persuade the people but that she lived in fear and trembling of me; and the brutal mob had the insolence239 to ask her why she dared to go back, and how she liked horsewhip for supper.
I was thrown out of my election, and all the bills came down upon me together — all the bills I had been contracting during the years of my marriage, which the creditors240, with a rascally unanimity241, sent in until they lay upon my table in heaps. I won’t cite their amount: it was frightful242. My stewards243 and lawyers made matters worse. I was bound up in an inextricable toil244 of bills and debts, of mortgages and insurances, and all the horrible evils attendant upon them. Lawyers upon lawyers posted down from London; composition after composition was made, and Lady Lyndon’s income hampered245 almost irretrievably to satisfy these cormorants246. To do her justice, she behaved with tolerable kindness at this season of trouble; for whenever I wanted money I had to coax her, and whenever I coaxed247 her I was sure of bringing this weak and light-minded woman to good-humour: who was of such a weak terrified nature, that to secure an easy week with me she would sign away a thousand a year. And when my troubles began at Hackton, and I determined on the only chance left, viz. to retire to Ireland and retrench248, assigning over the best part of my income to the creditors until their demands were met, my Lady was quite cheerful at the idea of going, and said, if we would be quiet, she had no doubt all would be well; indeed, was glad to undergo the comparative poverty in which we must now live for the sake of the retirement and the chance of domestic quiet which she hoped to enjoy.
We went off to Bristol pretty suddenly, leaving the odious and ungrateful wretches at Hackton to vilify249 us, no doubt, in our absence. My stud and hounds were sold off immediately; the harpies would have been glad to pounce250 upon my person; but that was out of their power. I had raised, by cleverness and management, to the full as much on my mines and private estates as they were worth; so the scoundrels were disappointed in THIS instance; and as for the plate and property in the London house, they could not touch that, as it was the property of the heirs of the house of Lyndon.
I passed over to Ireland, then, and took up my abode251 at Castle Lyndon for a while; all the world imagining that I was an utterly252 ruined man, and that the famous and dashing Barry Lyndon would never again appear in the circles of which he had been an ornament253. But it was not so. In the midst of my perplexities, Fortune reserved a great consolation254 for me still. Despatches came home from America announcing Lord Cornwallis’s defeat of General Gates in Carolina, and the death of Lord Bullingdon, who was present as a volunteer.
For my own desires to possess a paltry255 Irish title I cared little. My son was now heir to an English earldom, and I made him assume forthwith the title of Lord Viscount Castle Lyndon, the third of the family titles. My mother went almost mad with joy at saluting256 her grandson as ‘my Lord,’ and I felt that all my sufferings and privations were repaid by seeing this darling child advanced to such a post of honour.
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1 immoral | |
adj.不道德的,淫荡的,荒淫的,有伤风化的 | |
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2 enjoyments | |
愉快( enjoyment的名词复数 ); 令人愉快的事物; 享有; 享受 | |
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3 annoyance | |
n.恼怒,生气,烦恼 | |
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4 calf | |
n.小牛,犊,幼仔,小牛皮 | |
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5 rev | |
v.发动机旋转,加快速度 | |
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6 melancholy | |
n.忧郁,愁思;adj.令人感伤(沮丧)的,忧郁的 | |
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7 maudlin | |
adj.感情脆弱的,爱哭的 | |
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8 odious | |
adj.可憎的,讨厌的 | |
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9 jealousy | |
n.妒忌,嫉妒,猜忌 | |
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10 wring | |
n.扭绞;v.拧,绞出,扭 | |
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11 prudence | |
n.谨慎,精明,节俭 | |
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12 considerably | |
adv.极大地;相当大地;在很大程度上 | |
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13 hoards | |
n.(钱财、食物或其他珍贵物品的)储藏,积存( hoard的名词复数 )v.积蓄并储藏(某物)( hoard的第三人称单数 ) | |
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14 incur | |
vt.招致,蒙受,遭遇 | |
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15 incurring | |
遭受,招致,引起( incur的现在分词 ) | |
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16 indifference | |
n.不感兴趣,不关心,冷淡,不在乎 | |
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17 kindle | |
v.点燃,着火 | |
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18 spoke | |
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 | |
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19 favourable | |
adj.赞成的,称赞的,有利的,良好的,顺利的 | |
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20 humble | |
adj.谦卑的,恭顺的;地位低下的;v.降低,贬低 | |
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21 riddle | |
n.谜,谜语,粗筛;vt.解谜,给…出谜,筛,检查,鉴定,非难,充满于;vi.出谜 | |
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22 passionately | |
ad.热烈地,激烈地 | |
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23 illiterate | |
adj.文盲的;无知的;n.文盲 | |
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24 coax | |
v.哄诱,劝诱,用诱哄得到,诱取 | |
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25 bemoaning | |
v.为(某人或某事)抱怨( bemoan的现在分词 );悲悼;为…恸哭;哀叹 | |
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26 miserable | |
adj.悲惨的,痛苦的;可怜的,糟糕的 | |
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27 majesty | |
n.雄伟,壮丽,庄严,威严;最高权威,王权 | |
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28 bestowed | |
赠给,授予( bestow的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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29 advancement | |
n.前进,促进,提升 | |
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30 bribes | |
n.贿赂( bribe的名词复数 );向(某人)行贿,贿赂v.贿赂( bribe的第三人称单数 );向(某人)行贿,贿赂 | |
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31 bribe | |
n.贿赂;v.向…行贿,买通 | |
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32 condescended | |
屈尊,俯就( condescend的过去式和过去分词 ); 故意表示和蔼可亲 | |
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33 heralds | |
n.使者( herald的名词复数 );预报者;预兆;传令官v.预示( herald的第三人称单数 );宣布(好或重要) | |
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34 detailed | |
adj.详细的,详尽的,极注意细节的,完全的 | |
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35 puny | |
adj.微不足道的,弱小的 | |
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36 lavished | |
v.过分给予,滥施( lavish的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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37 deficient | |
adj.不足的,不充份的,有缺陷的 | |
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38 loyalty | |
n.忠诚,忠心 | |
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39 crabs | |
n.蟹( crab的名词复数 );阴虱寄生病;蟹肉v.捕蟹( crab的第三人称单数 ) | |
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40 revered | |
v.崇敬,尊崇,敬畏( revere的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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41 monarch | |
n.帝王,君主,最高统治者 | |
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42 intimacy | |
n.熟悉,亲密,密切关系,亲昵的言行 | |
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43 irritation | |
n.激怒,恼怒,生气 | |
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44 hearty | |
adj.热情友好的;衷心的;尽情的,纵情的 | |
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45 repentance | |
n.懊悔 | |
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46 extravagant | |
adj.奢侈的;过分的;(言行等)放肆的 | |
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47 fixed | |
adj.固定的,不变的,准备好的;(计算机)固定的 | |
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48 entailed | |
使…成为必要( entail的过去式和过去分词 ); 需要; 限定继承; 使必需 | |
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49 infantry | |
n.[总称]步兵(部队) | |
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50 embarked | |
乘船( embark的过去式和过去分词 ); 装载; 从事 | |
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51 patriotism | |
n.爱国精神,爱国心,爱国主义 | |
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52 jack | |
n.插座,千斤顶,男人;v.抬起,提醒,扛举;n.(Jake)杰克 | |
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53 resolute | |
adj.坚决的,果敢的 | |
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54 contractor | |
n.订约人,承包人,收缩肌 | |
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55 applied | |
adj.应用的;v.应用,适用 | |
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56 determined | |
adj.坚定的;有决心的 | |
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57 cowardice | |
n.胆小,怯懦 | |
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58 guardian | |
n.监护人;守卫者,保护者 | |
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59 thwarted | |
阻挠( thwart的过去式和过去分词 ); 使受挫折; 挫败; 横过 | |
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60 inclinations | |
倾向( inclination的名词复数 ); 倾斜; 爱好; 斜坡 | |
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61 balked | |
v.畏缩不前,犹豫( balk的过去式和过去分词 );(指马)不肯跑 | |
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62 brat | |
n.孩子;顽童 | |
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63 savage | |
adj.野蛮的;凶恶的,残暴的;n.未开化的人 | |
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64 moody | |
adj.心情不稳的,易怒的,喜怒无常的 | |
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65 uncouth | |
adj.无教养的,粗鲁的 | |
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66 mingled | |
混合,混入( mingle的过去式和过去分词 ); 混进,与…交往[联系] | |
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67 procure | |
vt.获得,取得,促成;vi.拉皮条 | |
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68 procured | |
v.(努力)取得, (设法)获得( procure的过去式和过去分词 );拉皮条 | |
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69 rogue | |
n.流氓;v.游手好闲 | |
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70 chatter | |
vi./n.喋喋不休;短促尖叫;(牙齿)打战 | |
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71 rascal | |
n.流氓;不诚实的人 | |
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72 precocious | |
adj.早熟的;较早显出的 | |
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73 mimic | |
v.模仿,戏弄;n.模仿他人言行的人 | |
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74 champagne | |
n.香槟酒;微黄色 | |
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75 envious | |
adj.嫉妒的,羡慕的 | |
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76 mischief | |
n.损害,伤害,危害;恶作剧,捣蛋,胡闹 | |
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77 hoops | |
n.箍( hoop的名词复数 );(篮球)篮圈;(旧时儿童玩的)大环子;(两端埋在地里的)小铁弓 | |
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78 remonstrances | |
n.抱怨,抗议( remonstrance的名词复数 ) | |
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79 pickles | |
n.腌菜( pickle的名词复数 );处于困境;遇到麻烦;菜酱 | |
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80 plunged | |
v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 );暴跌;骤降;突降 | |
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81 reverence | |
n.敬畏,尊敬,尊严;Reverence:对某些基督教神职人员的尊称;v.尊敬,敬畏,崇敬 | |
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82 eldest | |
adj.最年长的,最年老的 | |
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83 ministry | |
n.(政府的)部;牧师 | |
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84 bestowing | |
砖窑中砖堆上层已烧透的砖 | |
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85 corrupted | |
(使)败坏( corrupt的过去式和过去分词 ); (使)腐化; 引起(计算机文件等的)错误; 破坏 | |
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86 bishop | |
n.主教,(国际象棋)象 | |
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87 pompous | |
adj.傲慢的,自大的;夸大的;豪华的 | |
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88 quotations | |
n.引用( quotation的名词复数 );[商业]行情(报告);(货物或股票的)市价;时价 | |
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89 distress | |
n.苦恼,痛苦,不舒适;不幸;vt.使悲痛 | |
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90 generosity | |
n.大度,慷慨,慷慨的行为 | |
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91 pestering | |
使烦恼,纠缠( pester的现在分词 ) | |
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92 mantles | |
vt.&vi.覆盖(mantle的第三人称单数形式) | |
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93 guardianship | |
n. 监护, 保护, 守护 | |
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94 Oxford | |
n.牛津(英国城市) | |
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95 butt | |
n.笑柄;烟蒂;枪托;臀部;v.用头撞或顶 | |
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96 wig | |
n.假发 | |
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97 cargoes | |
n.(船或飞机装载的)货物( cargo的名词复数 );大量,重负 | |
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98 prodigious | |
adj.惊人的,奇妙的;异常的;巨大的;庞大的 | |
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99 haughty | |
adj.傲慢的,高傲的 | |
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100 steward | |
n.乘务员,服务员;看管人;膳食管理员 | |
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101 incurred | |
[医]招致的,遭受的; incur的过去式 | |
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102 gilt | |
adj.镀金的;n.金边证券 | |
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103 housekeeper | |
n.管理家务的主妇,女管家 | |
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104 excise | |
n.(国产)货物税;vt.切除,删去 | |
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105 disposition | |
n.性情,性格;意向,倾向;排列,部署 | |
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106 paternal | |
adj.父亲的,像父亲的,父系的,父方的 | |
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107 regularity | |
n.规律性,规则性;匀称,整齐 | |
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108 plunging | |
adj.跳进的,突进的v.颠簸( plunge的现在分词 );暴跌;骤降;突降 | |
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109 muddled | |
adj.混乱的;糊涂的;头脑昏昏然的v.弄乱,弄糟( muddle的过去式);使糊涂;对付,混日子 | |
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110 gentry | |
n.绅士阶级,上层阶级 | |
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111 jibes | |
n.与…一致( jibe的名词复数 );(与…)相符;相匹配v.与…一致( jibe的第三人称单数 );(与…)相符;相匹配 | |
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112 chafe | |
v.擦伤;冲洗;惹怒 | |
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113 abhorrence | |
n.憎恶;可憎恶的事 | |
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114 reprobate | |
n.无赖汉;堕落的人 | |
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115 imp | |
n.顽童 | |
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116 wretches | |
n.不幸的人( wretch的名词复数 );可怜的人;恶棍;坏蛋 | |
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117 secreting | |
v.(尤指动物或植物器官)分泌( secrete的现在分词 );隐匿,隐藏 | |
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118 vessel | |
n.船舶;容器,器皿;管,导管,血管 | |
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119 manly | |
adj.有男子气概的;adv.男子般地,果断地 | |
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120 betokened | |
v.预示,表示( betoken的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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121 rigid | |
adj.严格的,死板的;刚硬的,僵硬的 | |
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122 insolent | |
adj.傲慢的,无理的 | |
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123 supercilious | |
adj.目中无人的,高傲的;adv.高傲地;n.高傲 | |
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124 agitated | |
adj.被鼓动的,不安的 | |
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125 agitation | |
n.搅动;搅拌;鼓动,煽动 | |
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126 bent | |
n.爱好,癖好;adj.弯的;决心的,一心的 | |
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127 rebuke | |
v.指责,非难,斥责 [反]praise | |
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128 rebuked | |
责难或指责( rebuke的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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129 honourable | |
adj.可敬的;荣誉的,光荣的 | |
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130 friendliness | |
n.友谊,亲切,亲密 | |
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131 entirely | |
ad.全部地,完整地;完全地,彻底地 | |
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132 vice | |
n.坏事;恶习;[pl.]台钳,老虎钳;adj.副的 | |
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133 brutal | |
adj.残忍的,野蛮的,不讲理的 | |
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134 perseverance | |
n.坚持不懈,不屈不挠 | |
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135 vowed | |
起誓,发誓(vow的过去式与过去分词形式) | |
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136 vow | |
n.誓(言),誓约;v.起誓,立誓 | |
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137 inflict | |
vt.(on)把…强加给,使遭受,使承担 | |
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138 cane | |
n.手杖,细长的茎,藤条;v.以杖击,以藤编制的 | |
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139 caned | |
vt.用苔杖打(cane的过去式与过去分词形式) | |
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140 wincing | |
赶紧避开,畏缩( wince的现在分词 ) | |
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141 clergy | |
n.[总称]牧师,神职人员 | |
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142 inflicting | |
把…强加给,使承受,遭受( inflict的现在分词 ) | |
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143 bully | |
n.恃强欺弱者,小流氓;vt.威胁,欺侮 | |
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144 thump | |
v.重击,砰然地响;n.重击,重击声 | |
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145 chastisement | |
n.惩罚 | |
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146 chastise | |
vt.责骂,严惩 | |
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147 contented | |
adj.满意的,安心的,知足的 | |
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148 tractable | |
adj.易驾驭的;温顺的 | |
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149 liking | |
n.爱好;嗜好;喜欢 | |
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150 deign | |
v. 屈尊, 惠允 ( 做某事) | |
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151 obstinacy | |
n.顽固;(病痛等)难治 | |
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152 impudence | |
n.厚颜无耻;冒失;无礼 | |
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153 complimentary | |
adj.赠送的,免费的,赞美的,恭维的 | |
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154 catching | |
adj.易传染的,有魅力的,迷人的,接住 | |
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155 entreaty | |
n.恳求,哀求 | |
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156 honourably | |
adv.可尊敬地,光荣地,体面地 | |
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157 trumped | |
v.(牌戏)出王牌赢(一牌或一墩)( trump的过去分词 );吹号公告,吹号庆祝;吹喇叭;捏造 | |
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158 hatred | |
n.憎恶,憎恨,仇恨 | |
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159 intensity | |
n.强烈,剧烈;强度;烈度 | |
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160 impudent | |
adj.鲁莽的,卑鄙的,厚颜无耻的 | |
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161 shameful | |
adj.可耻的,不道德的 | |
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162 insinuate | |
vt.含沙射影地说,暗示 | |
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163 construed | |
v.解释(陈述、行为等)( construe的过去式和过去分词 );翻译,作句法分析 | |
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164 horrid | |
adj.可怕的;令人惊恐的;恐怖的;极讨厌的 | |
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165 unnatural | |
adj.不自然的;反常的 | |
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166 corps | |
n.(通信等兵种的)部队;(同类作的)一组 | |
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167 despatch | |
n./v.(dispatch)派遣;发送;n.急件;新闻报道 | |
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168 knack | |
n.诀窍,做事情的灵巧的,便利的方法 | |
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169 thither | |
adv.向那里;adj.在那边的,对岸的 | |
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170 incorrigible | |
adj.难以纠正的,屡教不改的 | |
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171 coaxing | |
v.哄,用好话劝说( coax的现在分词 );巧言骗取;哄劝,劝诱;“锻炼”效应 | |
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172 sarcasms | |
n.讥讽,讽刺,挖苦( sarcasm的名词复数 ) | |
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173 caress | |
vt./n.爱抚,抚摸 | |
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174 worthier | |
应得某事物( worthy的比较级 ); 值得做某事; 可尊敬的; 有(某人或事物)的典型特征 | |
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175 worthy | |
adj.(of)值得的,配得上的;有价值的 | |
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176 discomfited | |
v.使为难( discomfit的过去式和过去分词);使狼狈;使挫折;挫败 | |
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177 outrageous | |
adj.无理的,令人不能容忍的 | |
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178 urchin | |
n.顽童;海胆 | |
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179 wrenched | |
v.(猛力地)扭( wrench的过去式和过去分词 );扭伤;使感到痛苦;使悲痛 | |
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180 chamber | |
n.房间,寝室;会议厅;议院;会所 | |
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181 villain | |
n.反派演员,反面人物;恶棍;问题的起因 | |
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182 audacity | |
n.大胆,卤莽,无礼 | |
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183 brutality | |
n.野蛮的行为,残忍,野蛮 | |
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184 intoxication | |
n.wild excitement;drunkenness;poisoning | |
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185 infamous | |
adj.声名狼藉的,臭名昭著的,邪恶的 | |
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186 loathe | |
v.厌恶,嫌恶 | |
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187 detested | |
v.憎恶,嫌恶,痛恨( detest的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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188 scruple | |
n./v.顾忌,迟疑 | |
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189 privy | |
adj.私用的;隐密的 | |
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190 eradicating | |
摧毁,完全根除( eradicate的现在分词 ) | |
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191 truant | |
n.懒惰鬼,旷课者;adj.偷懒的,旷课的,游荡的;v.偷懒,旷课 | |
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192 calumnies | |
n.诬蔑,诽谤,中伤(的话)( calumny的名词复数 ) | |
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193 drawn | |
v.拖,拉,拔出;adj.憔悴的,紧张的 | |
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194 forgery | |
n.伪造的文件等,赝品,伪造(行为) | |
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195 garrison | |
n.卫戍部队;驻地,卫戍区;vt.派(兵)驻防 | |
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196 distinguished | |
adj.卓越的,杰出的,著名的 | |
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197 obloquy | |
n.斥责,大骂 | |
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198 slander | |
n./v.诽谤,污蔑 | |
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199 seceded | |
v.脱离,退出( secede的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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200 wont | |
adj.习惯于;v.习惯;n.习惯 | |
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201 apothecaries | |
n.药剂师,药店( apothecary的名词复数 ) | |
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202 indignity | |
n.侮辱,伤害尊严,轻蔑 | |
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203 whit | |
n.一点,丝毫 | |
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204 pointedly | |
adv.尖地,明显地 | |
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205 regiment | |
n.团,多数,管理;v.组织,编成团,统制 | |
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206 precisely | |
adv.恰好,正好,精确地,细致地 | |
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207 abruptly | |
adv.突然地,出其不意地 | |
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208 enchanting | |
a.讨人喜欢的 | |
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209 tampering | |
v.窜改( tamper的现在分词 );篡改;(用不正当手段)影响;瞎摆弄 | |
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210 accomplishments | |
n.造诣;完成( accomplishment的名词复数 );技能;成绩;成就 | |
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211 retirement | |
n.退休,退职 | |
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212 desperately | |
adv.极度渴望地,绝望地,孤注一掷地 | |
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213 edifying | |
adj.有教训意味的,教训性的,有益的v.开导,启发( edify的现在分词 ) | |
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214 superstition | |
n.迷信,迷信行为 | |
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215 pawning | |
v.典当,抵押( pawn的现在分词 );以(某事物)担保 | |
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216 wheedled | |
v.骗取(某物),哄骗(某人干某事)( wheedle的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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217 odiously | |
Odiously | |
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218 dishonour | |
n./vt.拒付(支票、汇票、票据等);vt.凌辱,使丢脸;n.不名誉,耻辱,不光彩 | |
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219 remonstrate | |
v.抗议,规劝 | |
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220 opposition | |
n.反对,敌对 | |
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221 averse | |
adj.厌恶的;反对的,不乐意的 | |
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222 dominions | |
统治权( dominion的名词复数 ); 领土; 疆土; 版图 | |
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223 perfectly | |
adv.完美地,无可非议地,彻底地 | |
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224 blandly | |
adv.温和地,殷勤地 | |
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225 assailed | |
v.攻击( assail的过去式和过去分词 );困扰;质问;毅然应对 | |
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226 smothering | |
(使)窒息, (使)透不过气( smother的现在分词 ); 覆盖; 忍住; 抑制 | |
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227 formerly | |
adv.从前,以前 | |
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228 alluded | |
提及,暗指( allude的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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229 celebrated | |
adj.有名的,声誉卓著的 | |
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230 veered | |
v.(尤指交通工具)改变方向或路线( veer的过去式和过去分词 );(指谈话内容、人的行为或观点)突然改变;(指风) (在北半球按顺时针方向、在南半球按逆时针方向)逐渐转向;风向顺时针转 | |
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231 vexed | |
adj.争论不休的;(指问题等)棘手的;争论不休的问题;烦恼的v.使烦恼( vex的过去式和过去分词 );使苦恼;使生气;详细讨论 | |
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232 disturbance | |
n.动乱,骚动;打扰,干扰;(身心)失调 | |
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233 mishaps | |
n.轻微的事故,小的意外( mishap的名词复数 ) | |
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234 virulent | |
adj.有毒的,有恶意的,充满敌意的 | |
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235 rascally | |
adj. 无赖的,恶棍的 adv. 无赖地,卑鄙地 | |
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236 pauper | |
n.贫民,被救济者,穷人 | |
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237 calumny | |
n.诽谤,污蔑,中伤 | |
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238 faction | |
n.宗派,小集团;派别;派系斗争 | |
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239 insolence | |
n.傲慢;无礼;厚颜;傲慢的态度 | |
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240 creditors | |
n.债权人,债主( creditor的名词复数 ) | |
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241 unanimity | |
n.全体一致,一致同意 | |
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242 frightful | |
adj.可怕的;讨厌的 | |
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243 stewards | |
(轮船、飞机等的)乘务员( steward的名词复数 ); (俱乐部、旅馆、工会等的)管理员; (大型活动的)组织者; (私人家中的)管家 | |
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244 toil | |
vi.辛劳工作,艰难地行动;n.苦工,难事 | |
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245 hampered | |
妨碍,束缚,限制( hamper的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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246 cormorants | |
鸬鹚,贪婪的人( cormorant的名词复数 ) | |
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247 coaxed | |
v.哄,用好话劝说( coax的过去式和过去分词 );巧言骗取;哄劝,劝诱 | |
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248 retrench | |
v.节省,削减 | |
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249 vilify | |
v.诽谤,中伤 | |
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250 pounce | |
n.猛扑;v.猛扑,突然袭击,欣然同意 | |
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251 abode | |
n.住处,住所 | |
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252 utterly | |
adv.完全地,绝对地 | |
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253 ornament | |
v.装饰,美化;n.装饰,装饰物 | |
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254 consolation | |
n.安慰,慰问 | |
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255 paltry | |
adj.无价值的,微不足道的 | |
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256 saluting | |
v.欢迎,致敬( salute的现在分词 );赞扬,赞颂 | |
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