But scarcely an instant elapsed without the appearance at the door of some individual from the busy population whose vicinity was manifested by so much buzz, and clatter8, and outcry. Now, it was a thriving mechanic in quest of a tenement9 that should come within his moderate means of rent; now, a ruddy Irish girl from the banks of Killarney, wandering from kitchen to kitchen of our land, while her heart still hung in the peat-smoke of her native cottage; now, a single gentleman looking out for economical board; and now — for this establishment offered an epitome10 of worldly pursuits — it was a faded beauty inquiring for her lost bloom; or Peter Schlemihl, for his lost shadow; or an author of ten years’ standing11, for his vanished reputation; or a moody12 man, for yesterday’s sunshine.
At the next lifting of the latch13 there entered a person with his hat awry14 upon his head, his clothes perversely15 ill-suited to his form, his eyes staring in directions opposite to their intelligence, and a certain odd unsuitableness pervading16 his whole figure. Wherever he might chance to be, whether in palace or cottage, church or market, on land or sea, or even at his own fireside, he must have worn the characteristic expression of a man out of his right place.
“This,” inquired he, putting his question in the form of an assertion — “this is the Central Intelligence Office?”
“Even so,” answered the figure at the desk, turning another leaf of his volume; he then looked the applicant17 in the face and said briefly18, “Your business?”
“I want,” said the latter, with tremulous earnestness, “a place!”
“A place! and of what nature?” asked the Intelligencer. “There are many vacant, or soon to be so, some of which will probably suit, since they range from that of a footman up to a seat at the council-board, or in the cabinet, or a throne, or a presidential chair.”
The stranger stood pondering before the desk with an unquiet, dissatisfied air — a dull, vague pain of heart, expressed by a slight contortion19 of the brow — an earnestness of glance, that asked and expected, yet continually wavered, as if distrusting. In short, he evidently wanted, not in a physical or intellectual sense, but with an urgent moral necessity that is the hardest of all things to satisfy, since it knows not its own object.
“Ah, you mistake me!” said he at length, with a gesture of nervous impatience20. “ Either of the places you mention, indeed, might answer my purpose; or, more probably, none of them. I want my place! my own place! my true place in the world! my proper sphere! my thing to do, which Nature intended me to perform when she fashioned me thus awry, and which I have vainly sought all my lifetime! Whether it be a footman’s duty or a king’s is of little consequence, so it be naturally mine. Can you help me here?”
“I will enter your application,” answered the Intelligencer, at the same time writing a few lines in his volume. “But to undertake such a business, I tell you frankly21, is quite apart from the ground covered by my official duties. Ask for something specific, and it may doubtless be negotiated for you, on your compliance22 with the conditions. But were I to go further, I should have the whole population of the city upon my shoulders; since far the greater proportion of them are, more or less, in your predicament.”
The applicant sank into a fit of despondency, and passed out of the door without again lifting his eyes; and, if he died of the disappointment, he was probably buried in the wrong tomb, inasmuch as the fatality23 of such people never deserts them, and, whether alive or dead, they are invariably out of place.
Almost immediately another foot was heard on the threshold. A youth entered hastily, and threw a glance around the office to ascertain24 whether the man of intelligence was alone. He then approached close to the desk, blushed like a maiden25, and seemed at a loss how to broach26 his business.
“You come upon an affair of the heart,” said the official personage, looking into him through his mysterious spectacles. “State it in as few words as may be.”
“You are right,” replied the youth. “I have a heart to dispose of.”
“You seek an exchange?” said the Intelligencer. “Foolish youth, why not be contented27 with your own?”
“Because,” exclaimed the young man, losing his embarrassment28 in a passionate29 glow — “because my heart burns me with an intolerable fire; it tortures me all day long with yearnings for I know not what, and feverish31 throbbings, and the pangs33 of a vague sorrow; and it awakens34 me in the night-time with a quake, when there is nothing to be feared. I cannot endure it any longer. It were wiser to throw away such a heart, even if it brings me nothing in return.”
“O, very well,” said the man of office, making an entry in his volume. “Your affair will be easily transacted35. This species of brokerage makes no inconsiderable part of my business; and there is always a large assortment36 of the article to select from. Here, if I mistake not, comes a pretty fair sample.”
Even as he spoke37 the door was gently and slowly thrust ajar, affording a glimpse of the slender figure of a young girl, who, as she timidly entered, seemed to bring the light and cheerfulness of the outer atmosphere into the somewhat gloomy apartment. We know not her errand there, nor can we reveal whether the young man gave up his heart into her custody38. If so, the arrangement was neither better nor worse than in ninety-nine cases out of a hundred, where the parallel sensibilities of a similar age, importunate39 affections, and the easy satisfaction of characters not deeply conscious of themselves, supply the place of any profounder sympathy.
Not always, however, was the agency of the passions and affections an office of so little trouble. It happened, rarely, indeed, in proportion to the cases that came under an ordinary rule, but still it did happen, that a heart was occasionally brought hither of such exquisite40 material, so delicately attempered, and so curiously41 wrought42, that no other heart could be found to match it. It might almost be considered a misfortune, in a worldly point of view, to be the possessor of such a diamond of the purest water; since in any reasonable probability it could only be exchanged for an ordinary pebble43, or a bit of cunningly manufactured glass, or, at least, for a jewel of native richness, but ill-set, or with some fatal flaw, or an earthy vein44 running through its central lustre45. To choose another figure, it is sad that hearts which have their wellspring in the infinite, and contain inexhaustible sympathies, should ever be doomed46 to pour themselves into shallow vessels47, and thus lavish48 their rich affections on the ground. Strange that the finer and deeper nature, whether in man or woman, while possessed49 of every other delicate instinct, should so often lack that most invaluable50 one of preserving itself front contamination with what is of a baser kind! Sometimes, it is true, the spiritual fountain is kept pure by a wisdom within itself, and sparkles into the light of heaven without a stain from the earthy strata51 through which it had gushed52 upward. And sometimes, even here on earth, the pure mingles53 with the pure, and the inexhaustible is recompensed with the infinite. But these miracles, though he should claim the credit of them, are far beyond the scope of such a superficial agent in human affairs as the figure in the mysterious spectacles.
Again the door was opened, admitting the bustle54 of the city with a fresher reverberation55 into the Intelligence Office. Now entered a man of woe-begone and downcast look; it was such an aspect as if he had lost the very soul out of his body, and had traversed all the world over, searching in the dust of the highways, and along the shady footpaths56, and beneath the leaves of the forest, and among the sands of the sea-shore, in hopes to recover it again. He had bent57 an anxious glance along the pavement of the street as he came hitherward; he looked also in the angle of the doorstep, and upon the floor of the room; and, finally, coming up to the Man of Intelligence, he gazed through the inscrutable spectacles which the latter wore, as if the lost treasure might be hidden within his eyes.
“I have lost —” he began; and then he paused.
“Yes,” said the Intelligencer, “I see that you have lost — but what?”
“I have lost a precious jewel!” replied the unfortunate person, “the like of which is not to be found among any prince’s treasures. While I possessed it, the contemplation of it was my sole and sufficient happiness. No price should have purchased it of me; but it has fallen from my bosom58 where I wore it in my careless wanderings about the city.”
After causing the stranger to describe the marks of his lost jewel, the Intelligencer opened a drawer of the oaken cabinet which has been mentioned as forming a part of the furniture of the room. Here were deposited whatever articles had been picked up in the streets, until the right owners should claim them. It was a strange and heterogeneous59 collection. Not the least remarkable60 part of it was a great number of wedding-rings, each one of which had been riveted61 upon the finger with holy vows62, and all the mystic potency63 that the most solemn rites64 could attain65, but had, nevertheless, proved too slippery for the wearer’s vigilance. The gold of some was worn thin, betokening66 the attrition of years of wedlock67; others, glittering from the jeweller’s shop, must have been lost within the honeymoon68. There were ivory tablets, the leaves scribbled69 over with sentiments that had been the deepest truths of the writer’s earlier years, but which were now quite obliterated70 from his memory. So scrupulously71 were articles preserved in this depository, that not even withered72 flowers were rejected; white roses, and blush-roses, and moss-roses, fit emblems73 of virgin74 purity and shamefacedness, which bad been lost or flung away, and trampled75 into the pollution of the streets; locks of hair — the golden and the glossy76 dark — the long tresses of woman and the crisp curls of man, signified that lovers were now and then so heedless of the faith intrusted to them as to drop its symbol from the treasure-place of the bosom. Many of these things were imbued77 with perfumes, and perhaps a sweet scent78 had departed from the lives of their former possessors ever since they had so wilfully79 or negligently80 lost them. Here were gold pencil-cases, little ruby81 hearts with golden arrows through them, bosom-pins, pieces of coin, and small articles of every description, comprising nearly all that have been lost since a long time ago. Most of them, doubtless, had a history and a meaning, if there were time to search it out and room to tell it. Whoever has missed anything valuable, whether out of his heart, mind, or pocket, would do well to make inquiry82 at the Central Intelligence Office.
And in the corner of one of the drawers of the oaken cabinet, after considerable research, was found a great pearl, looking like the soul of celestial83 purity, congealed84 and polished.
“There is my jewel! my very pearl!” cried the stranger, almost beside himself with rapture85. “It is mine! Give it me this moment! or I shall perish!”
“I perceive,” said the Man of Intelligence, examining it more closely, “that this is the Pearl of Great Price!”
“The very same,” answered the stranger. “Judge, then, of my misery86 at losing it out of my bosom! Restore it to me! I must not live without it an instant to longer.”
“Pardon me,” rejoined the Intelligencer, calmly, “you ask what is beyond my duty. This pearl, as you well know, is held upon a peculiar87 tenure88; and having once let it escape from your keeping, you have no greater claim to it — nay89, not so great — as any other person. I cannot give it back.”
Nor could the entreaties90 of the miserable91 man — who saw before his eyes the jewel of his life without the power to reclaim92 it — soften93 the heart of this stern being, impassive to human sympathy, though exercising such an apparent influence over human fortunes. Finally the loser of the inestimable pearl clutched his hands among his hair, and ran madly forth94 into the world, which was affrighted at his desperate looks. There passed him on the doorstep a fashionable young gentleman, whose business was to inquire for a damask rosebud95, the gift of his lady-love, which he had lost out of his buttonhole within a hour after receiving it. So various were the errands of those who visited this Central Office, where all human wishes seemed to be made known, and, so far as destiny would allow, negotiated to their fulfilment.
The next that entered was a man beyond the middle age, bearing the look of one who knew the world and his own course in it. He had just alighted from a handsome private carriage, which had orders to wait in the street while its owner transacted his business. This person came up to the desk with a quick, determined96 step, and looked the Intelligencer in the face with a resolute97 eye; though, at the same time, some secret trouble gleamed from it in red and dusky light.
“I have an estate to dispose of,” said he, with a brevity that seemed characteristic.
“Describe it,” said the Intelligencer.
The applicant proceeded to give the boundaries of his property, its nature, comprising tillage, pasture, woodland, and pleasure-grounds, in ample circuit; together with a mansion98-house, in the construction of which it had been his object to realize a castle in the air, hardening its shadowy walls into granite99, and rendering100 its visionary splendor101 perceptible to the awakened102 eye. Judging from his description, it was beautiful enough to vanish like a dream, yet substantial enough to endure for centuries. He spoke, too, of the gorgeous furniture, the refinements103 of upholstery, and all the luxurious104 artifices105 that combined to render this a residence where life might flow onward106 in a stream of golden days, undisturbed by the ruggedness107 which fate loves to fling into it.
“I am a man of strong will,” said he, in conclusion; “and at my first setting out in life, as a poor, unfriended youth, I resolved to make myself the possessor of such a mansion and estate as this, together with the abundant revenue necessary to uphold it. I have succeeded to the extent of my utmost wish. And this is the estate which I have now concluded to dispose of.”
“And your terms?” asked the Intelligencer, after taking down the particulars with which the stranger had supplied him.
“Easy, abundantly easy!” answered the successful man, smiling, but with a stern and almost frightful108 contraction109 of the brow, as if to quell110 an inward pang32. “I have been engaged in various sorts of business — a distiller, a trader to Africa, an East India merchant, a speculator in the stocks — and, in the course of these affairs, have contracted an encumbrance111 of a certain nature. The purchaser of the estate shall merely be required to assume this burden to himself.”
“I understand you,” said the Man of Intelligence, putting his pen behind his ear. “I fear that no bargain can be negotiated on these conditions. Very probably the next possessor may acquire the estate with a similar encumbrance, but it will be of his own contracting, and will not lighten your burden in the least.”
“And am I to live on,” fiercely exclaimed the stranger, “with the dirt of these accursed acres and the granite of this infernal mansion crushing down my soul? How, if I should turn the edifice3 into an almshouse or a hospital, or tear it down and build a church?”
“You can at least make the experiment,” said the Intelligencer; “but the whole matter is one which you must settle for yourself.”
The man of deplorable success withdrew, and got into his coach, which rattled112 off lightly over the wooden pavements, though laden113 with the weight of much land, a stately house, and ponderous114 heaps of gold, all compressed into an evil conscience.
There now appeared many applicants115 for places; among the most noteworthy of whom was a small, smoke-dried figure, who gave himself out to be one of the bad spirits that had waited upon Dr. Faustus in his laboratory. He pretended to show a certificate of character, which, he averred116, had been given him by that famous necromancer117, and countersigned118 by several masters whom he had subsequently served.
“I am afraid, my good friend,” observed the Intelligencer, “that your chance of getting a service is but poor. Nowadays, men act the evil spirit for themselves and their neighbors, and play the part more effectually than ninety-nine out of a hundred of your fraternity.”
But, just as the poor fiend was assuming a vaporous consistency120, being about to vanish through the floor in sad disappointment and chagrin121, the editor of a political newspaper chanced to enter the office in quest of a scribbler of party paragraphs. The former servant of Dr. Faustus, with some misgivings122 as to his sufficiency of venom123, was allowed to try his hand in this capacity. Next appeared, likewise seeking a service, the mysterious man in Red, who had aided Bonaparte in his ascent124 to imperial power. He was examined as to his qualifications by an aspiring125 politician, but finally rejected, as lacking familiarity with the cunning tactics of the present day.
People continued to succeed each other with as much briskness126 as if everybody turned aside, out of the roar and tumult127 of the city, to record here some want, or superfluity, or desire. Some had goods or possessions, of which they wished to negotiate the sale. A China merchant had lost his health by a long residence in that wasting climate. He very liberally offered his disease, and his wealth along with it, to any physician who would rid him of both together. A soldier offered his wreath of laurels128 for as good a leg as that which it had cost him on the battle-field. One poor weary wretch129 desired nothing but to be accommodated with any creditable method of laying down his life; for misfortune and pecuniary130 troubles had so subdued131 his spirits that he could no longer conceive the possibility of happiness, nor had the heart to try for it. Nevertheless, happening to, overhear some conversation in the Intelligence Office respecting wealth to be rapidly accumulated by a certain mode of speculation132, he resolved to live out this one other experiment of better fortune. Many persons desired to exchange their youthful vices133 for others better suited to the gravity of advancing age; a few, we are glad to say, made earnest, efforts to exchange vice119 for virtue134, and, hard as the bargain was, succeeded in effecting it. But it was remarkable that what all were the least willing to give up, even on the most advantageous135 terms, were the habits, the oddities, the characteristic traits, the little ridiculous indulgences, somewhere between faults and follies136, of which nobody but themselves could understand the fascination137.
The great folio, in which the Man of Intelligence recorded all these freaks of idle hearts, and aspirations138 of deep hearts, and desperate longings139 of miserable hearts, and evil prayers of perverted140 hearts, would be curious reading were it possible to obtain it for publication. Human character in its individual developments-human nature in the mass — may best be studied in its wishes; and this was the record of them all. There was an endless diversity of mode and circumstance, yet withal such a similarity in the real groundwork, that any one page of the volume-whether written in the days before the Flood, or the yesterday that is just gone by, or to be written on the morrow that is close at hand, or a thousand ages hence — might serve as a specimen141 of the whole. Not but that there were wild sallies of fantasy that could scarcely occur to more than one man’s brain, whether reasonable or lunatic. The strangest wishes — yet most incident to men who had gone deep into scientific pursuits, and attained142 a high intellectual stage, though not the loftiest — were, to contend with Nature, and wrest143 from her some secret, or some power, which she had seen fit to withhold144 from mortal grasp. She loves to delude145 her aspiring students, and mock them with mysteries that seem but just beyond their utmost reach. To concoct146 new minerals, to produce new forms of vegetable life, to create an insect, if nothing higher in the living scale, is a sort of wish that has often revelled147 in the breast of a man of science. An astronomer148, who lived far more among the distant worlds of space than in this lower sphere, recorded a wish to behold149 the opposite side of the moon, which, unless the system of the firmament150 be reversed, she can never turn towards the earth. On the same page of the volume was written the wish of a little child to have the stars for playthings.
The most ordinary wish, that was written down with wearisome recurrence151, was, of course, for wealth, wealth, wealth, in sums from a few shillings up to unreckonable thousands. But in reality this often-repeated expression covered as many different desires. Wealth is the golden essence of the outward world, embodying152 almost everything that exists beyond the limits of the soul; and therefore it is the natural yearning30 for the life in the midst of which we find ourselves, and of which gold is the condition of enjoyment153, that men abridge154 into this general wish. Here and there, it is true, the volume testified to some heart so perverted as to desire gold for its own sake. Many wished for power; a strange desire indeed, since it is but another form of slavery. Old people wished for the delights of youth; a fop for a fashionable coat; an idle reader, for a new novel; a versifier, for a rhyme to some stubborn word; a painter, for Titian’s secret of coloring; a prince, for a cottage; a republican, for a kingdom and a palace; a libertine155, for his neighbor’s wife; a man of palate, for green peas; and a poor man, for a crust of bread. The ambitious desires of public men, elsewhere so craftily156 concealed157, were here expressed openly and boldly, side by side with the unselfish wishes of the philanthropist for the welfare of the race, so beautiful, so comforting, in contrast with the egotism that continually weighed self against the world. Into the darker secrets of the Book of Wishes we will not penetrate159.
It would be an instructive employment for a student of mankind, perusing160 this volume carefully and comparing its records with men’s perfected designs, as expressed in their deeds and daily life, to ascertain how far the one accorded with the other. Undoubtedly161, in most cases, the correspondence would be found remote. The holy and generous wish, that rises like incense162 from a pure heart towards heaven, often lavishes163 its sweet perfume on the blast of evil times. The foul164, selfish, murderous wish, that steams forth from a corrupted165 heart, often passes into the spiritual atmosphere without being concreted into an earthly deed. Yet this volume is probably truer, as a representation of the human heart, than is the living drama of action as it evolves around us. There is more of good and more of evil in it; more redeeming166 points of the bad and more errors of the virtuous167; higher upsoarings, and baser degradation168 of the soul; in short, a more perplexing amalgamation169 of vice and virtue than we witness in the outward world. Decency170 and external conscience often produce a far fairer outside than is warranted by the stains within. And be it owned, oil the other hand, that a man seldom repeats to his nearest friend, any more than he realizes in act, the purest wishes, which, at some blessed time or other, have arisen from the depths of his nature and witnessed for him in this volume. Yet there is enough on every leaf to make the good man shudder171 for his own wild and idle wishes, as well as for the sinner, whose whole life is the incarnation of a wicked desire.
But again the door is opened, and we hear the tumultuous stir of the world — a deep and awful sound, expressing in another form some portion of what is written in the volume that lies before the Man of Intelligence. A grandfatherly personage tottered172 hastily into the office, with such an earnestness in his infirm alacrity173 that his white hair floated backward as he hurried up to the desk, while his dim eyes caught a momentary174 lustre from his vehemence175 of purpose. This venerable figure explained that he was in search of To-morrow.
“I have spent all my life in pursuit of it,” added the sage176 old gentleman, “being assured that To-morrow has some vast benefit or other in store for me. But I am now getting a little in years, and must make haste; for, unless I overtake To-morrow soon, I begin to be afraid it will finally escape me.”
“This fugitive177 To-morrow, my venerable friend,” said the Man of Intelligence, “is a stray child of Time, and is flying from his father into the region of the infinite. Continue your pursuit, and you will doubtless come up with him; but as to the earthly gifts which you expect, he has scattered178 them all among a throng179 of Yesterdays.”
Obliged to content himself with this enigmatical response, the grandsire hastened forth with a quick clatter of his staff upon the floor; and, as he disappeared, a little boy scampered180 through the door in chase of a butterfly which had got astray amid the barren sunshine of the city. Had the old gentleman been shrewder, he might have detected To-morrow under the semblance181 of that gaudy182 insect. The golden butterfly glistened183 through the shadowy apartment, and brushed its wings against the Book of Wishes, and fluttered forth again with the child still in pursuit.
A man now entered, in neglected attire184, with the aspect of a thinker, but somewhat too rough-hewn and brawny185 for a scholar. His face was full of sturdy vigor186, with some finer and keener attribute beneath. Though harsh at first, it was tempered with the glow of a large, warm heart, which had force enough to heat his powerful intellect through and through. He advanced to the Intelligencer and looked at him with a glance of such stern sincerity187 that perhaps few secrets were beyond its scope.
“I seek for Truth,” said he.
“It is precisely188 the most rare pursuit that has ever come under my cognizance,” replied the Intelligencer, as he made the new inscription189 in his volume. “Most men seek to impose some cunning falsehood upon themselves for truth. But I can lend no help to your researches. You must achieve the miracle for yourself. At some fortunate moment you may find Truth at your side, or perhaps she may be mistily190 discerned far in advance, or possibly behind you.”
“Not behind me,” said the seeker; “for I have left nothing on my track without a thorough investigation191. She flits before me, passing now through a naked solitude192, and now mingling193 with the throng of a popular assembly, and now writing with the pen of a French philosopher, and now standing at the altar of an old cathedral, in the guise194 of a Catholic priest, performing the high mass. O weary search! But I must not falter195; and surely my heart-deep quest of Truth shall avail at last.”
He paused and fixed196 his eyes upon the Intelligencer with a depth of investigation that seemed to hold commerce with the inner nature of this being, wholly regardless of his external development.
“And what are you?” said he. “It will not satisfy me to point to this fantastic show of an Intelligence Office and this mockery of business. Tell me what is beneath it, and what your real agency in life and your influence upon mankind.”
“Yours is a mind,” answered the Man of Intelligence, “before which the forms and fantasies that conceal158 the inner idea from the multitude vanish at once and leave the naked reality beneath. Know, then, the secret. My agency in worldly action, my connection with the press, and tumult, and intermingling, and development of human affairs, is merely delusive197. The desire of man’s heart does for him whatever I seem to do. I am no minister of action, but the Recording198 Spirit.”
What further secrets were then spoken remains199 a mystery, inasmuch as the roar of the city, the bustle of human business, the outcry of the jostling masses, the rush and tumult of man’s life, in its noisy and brief career, arose so high that it drowned the words of these two talkers; and whether they stood talking in the moon, or in Vanity Fair, or in a city of this actual world, is more than I can say.
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metropolitan
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| adj.大城市的，大都会的 | |
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contrived
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| adj.不自然的，做作的；虚构的 | |
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edifice
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| n.宏伟的建筑物(如宫殿，教室) | |
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edifices
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| n.大建筑物( edifice的名词复数 ) | |
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crimson
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| n./adj.深(绯)红色(的)；vi.脸变绯红色 | |
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rattle
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| v.飞奔，碰响；激怒；n.碰撞声；拨浪鼓 | |
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diligently
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| ad.industriously;carefully | |
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clatter
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| v./n.(使)发出连续而清脆的撞击声 | |
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tenement
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| n.公寓；房屋 | |
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epitome
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| n.典型，梗概 | |
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standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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moody
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| adj.心情不稳的，易怒的，喜怒无常的 | |
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latch
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| n.门闩，窗闩；弹簧锁 | |
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awry
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| adj.扭曲的，错的 | |
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perversely
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| adv. 倔强地 | |
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pervading
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| v.遍及，弥漫( pervade的现在分词 ) | |
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applicant
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| n.申请人，求职者，请求者 | |
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briefly
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| adv.简单地，简短地 | |
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contortion
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| n.扭弯，扭歪，曲解 | |
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impatience
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frankly
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| adv.坦白地，直率地；坦率地说 | |
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compliance
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| n.顺从；服从；附和；屈从 | |
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fatality
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| n.不幸，灾祸，天命 | |
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ascertain
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| vt.发现，确定，查明，弄清 | |
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maiden
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broach
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contented
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| adj.满意的，安心的，知足的 | |
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embarrassment
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| n.尴尬；使人为难的人(事物)；障碍；窘迫 | |
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29
passionate
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| adj.热情的，热烈的，激昂的，易动情的，易怒的，性情暴躁的 | |
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30
yearning
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| a.渴望的；向往的；怀念的 | |
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31
feverish
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| adj.发烧的，狂热的，兴奋的 | |
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32
pang
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| n.剧痛，悲痛，苦闷 | |
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pangs
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| 突然的剧痛( pang的名词复数 )； 悲痛 | |
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34
awakens
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| v.（使）醒( awaken的第三人称单数 )；（使）觉醒；弄醒；（使）意识到 | |
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35
transacted
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| v.办理（业务等）( transact的过去式和过去分词 )；交易，谈判 | |
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36
assortment
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| n.分类，各色俱备之物，聚集 | |
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37
spoke
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| 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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38
custody
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| n.监护，照看，羁押，拘留 | |
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39
importunate
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| adj.强求的；纠缠不休的 | |
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40
exquisite
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| adj.精美的；敏锐的；剧烈的，感觉强烈的 | |
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41
curiously
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| adv.有求知欲地；好问地；奇特地 | |
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42
wrought
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| v.引起；以…原料制作；运转；adj.制造的 | |
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43
pebble
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| n.卵石，小圆石 | |
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44
vein
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| n.血管，静脉；叶脉，纹理；情绪；vt.使成脉络 | |
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45
lustre
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| n.光亮，光泽；荣誉 | |
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46
doomed
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| 命定的 | |
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47
vessels
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| n.血管( vessel的名词复数 )；船；容器；（具有特殊品质或接受特殊品质的）人 | |
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48
lavish
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| adj.无节制的；浪费的；vt.慷慨地给予，挥霍 | |
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49
possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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50
invaluable
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| adj.无价的，非常宝贵的，极为贵重的 | |
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51
strata
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| n.地层（复数）；社会阶层 | |
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52
gushed
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| v.喷，涌( gush的过去式和过去分词 )；滔滔不绝地说话 | |
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53
mingles
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| 混合，混入( mingle的第三人称单数 )； 混进，与…交往[联系] | |
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54
bustle
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| v.喧扰地忙乱，匆忙，奔忙；n.忙碌；喧闹 | |
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55
reverberation
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| 反响； 回响； 反射； 反射物 | |
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56
footpaths
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| 人行小径，人行道( footpath的名词复数 ) | |
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57
bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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58
bosom
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| n.胸，胸部；胸怀；内心；adj.亲密的 | |
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59
heterogeneous
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| adj.庞杂的；异类的 | |
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60
remarkable
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| adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的 | |
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61
riveted
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| 铆接( rivet的过去式和过去分词 )； 把…固定住； 吸引； 引起某人的注意 | |
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62
vows
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| 誓言( vow的名词复数 )； 郑重宣布，许愿 | |
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63
potency
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| n. 效力，潜能 | |
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64
rites
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| 仪式，典礼( rite的名词复数 ) | |
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65
attain
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| vt.达到，获得，完成 | |
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66
betokening
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| v.预示，表示( betoken的现在分词 ) | |
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67
wedlock
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| n.婚姻，已婚状态 | |
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68
honeymoon
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| n.蜜月（假期）；vi.度蜜月 | |
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69
scribbled
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| v.潦草的书写( scribble的过去式和过去分词 )；乱画；草草地写；匆匆记下 | |
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70
obliterated
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| v.除去( obliterate的过去式和过去分词 )；涂去；擦掉；彻底破坏或毁灭 | |
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71
scrupulously
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| adv.一丝不苟地；小心翼翼地，多顾虑地 | |
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72
withered
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| adj. 枯萎的，干瘪的，（人身体的部分器官）因病萎缩的或未发育良好的 动词wither的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
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73
emblems
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| n.象征，标记( emblem的名词复数 ) | |
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74
virgin
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| n.处女，未婚女子；adj.未经使用的；未经开发的 | |
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75
trampled
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| 踩( trample的过去式和过去分词 )； 践踏； 无视； 侵犯 | |
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76
glossy
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| adj.平滑的；有光泽的 | |
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77
imbued
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| v.使（某人/某事）充满或激起（感情等）( imbue的过去式和过去分词 )；使充满；灌输；激发（强烈感情或品质等） | |
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78
scent
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| n.气味，香味，香水，线索，嗅觉；v.嗅，发觉 | |
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79
wilfully
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| adv.任性固执地；蓄意地 | |
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80
negligently
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81
ruby
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| n.红宝石，红宝石色 | |
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82
inquiry
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| n.打听，询问，调查，查问 | |
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83
celestial
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| adj.天体的；天上的 | |
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84
congealed
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| v.使凝结，冻结( congeal的过去式和过去分词 )；（指血）凝结 | |
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85
rapture
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| n.狂喜；全神贯注；着迷；v.使狂喜 | |
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86
misery
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| n.痛苦，苦恼，苦难；悲惨的境遇，贫苦 | |
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87
peculiar
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| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
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88
tenure
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| n.终身职位；任期；(土地)保有权，保有期 | |
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89
nay
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| adv.不；n.反对票，投反对票者 | |
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90
entreaties
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| n.恳求，乞求( entreaty的名词复数 ) | |
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91
miserable
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| adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的 | |
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92
reclaim
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| v.要求归还，收回；开垦 | |
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93
soften
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| v.(使)变柔软；(使)变柔和 | |
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94
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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95
rosebud
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| n.蔷薇花蕾，妙龄少女 | |
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96
determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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97
resolute
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| adj.坚决的，果敢的 | |
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98
mansion
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| n.大厦，大楼；宅第 | |
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99
granite
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| adj.花岗岩，花岗石 | |
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100
rendering
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| n.表现，描写 | |
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101
splendor
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| n.光彩；壮丽，华丽；显赫，辉煌 | |
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102
awakened
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| v.（使）醒( awaken的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）觉醒；弄醒；（使）意识到 | |
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103
refinements
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| n.（生活）风雅；精炼( refinement的名词复数 )；改良品；细微的改良；优雅或高贵的动作 | |
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104
luxurious
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| adj.精美而昂贵的；豪华的 | |
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105
artifices
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| n.灵巧( artifice的名词复数 )；诡计；巧妙办法；虚伪行为 | |
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106
onward
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| adj.向前的，前进的；adv.向前，前进，在先 | |
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107
ruggedness
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| 险峻，粗野； 耐久性； 坚固性 | |
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108
frightful
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| adj.可怕的；讨厌的 | |
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109
contraction
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| n.缩略词，缩写式，害病 | |
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110
quell
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| v.压制，平息，减轻 | |
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111
encumbrance
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| n.妨碍物，累赘 | |
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112
rattled
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| 慌乱的，恼火的 | |
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113
laden
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| adj.装满了的；充满了的；负了重担的；苦恼的 | |
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114
ponderous
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| adj.沉重的，笨重的，(文章)冗长的 | |
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115
applicants
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| 申请人，求职人( applicant的名词复数 ) | |
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116
averred
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| v.断言( aver的过去式和过去分词 )；证实；证明…属实；作为事实提出 | |
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117
necromancer
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| n. 巫师 | |
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118
countersigned
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| v.连署，副署，会签 （文件）( countersign的过去式 ) | |
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119
vice
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| n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的 | |
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120
consistency
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| n.一贯性，前后一致，稳定性；(液体的)浓度 | |
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121
chagrin
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| n.懊恼；气愤；委屈 | |
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122
misgivings
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| n.疑虑，担忧，害怕；疑虑，担心，恐惧( misgiving的名词复数 )；疑惧 | |
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123
venom
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| n.毒液，恶毒，痛恨 | |
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124
ascent
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| n.(声望或地位)提高；上升，升高；登高 | |
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125
aspiring
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| adj.有志气的；有抱负的；高耸的v.渴望；追求 | |
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126
briskness
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| n.敏捷，活泼 | |
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127
tumult
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| n.喧哗；激动，混乱；吵闹 | |
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128
laurels
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| n.桂冠，荣誉 | |
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129
wretch
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| n.可怜的人，不幸的人；卑鄙的人 | |
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130
pecuniary
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| adj.金钱的；金钱上的 | |
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131
subdued
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| adj. 屈服的，柔和的，减弱的 动词subdue的过去式和过去分词 | |
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132
speculation
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| n.思索，沉思；猜测；投机 | |
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133
vices
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| 缺陷( vice的名词复数 )； 恶习； 不道德行为； 台钳 | |
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134
virtue
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| n.德行，美德；贞操；优点；功效，效力 | |
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135
advantageous
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| adj.有利的；有帮助的 | |
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136
follies
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| 罪恶，时事讽刺剧； 愚蠢，蠢笨，愚蠢的行为、思想或做法( folly的名词复数 ) | |
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137
fascination
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| n.令人着迷的事物，魅力，迷恋 | |
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138
aspirations
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| 强烈的愿望( aspiration的名词复数 )； 志向； 发送气音； 发 h 音 | |
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139
longings
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| 渴望，盼望( longing的名词复数 ) | |
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140
perverted
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| adj.不正当的v.滥用( pervert的过去式和过去分词 )；腐蚀；败坏；使堕落 | |
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141
specimen
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| n.样本，标本 | |
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142
attained
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| （通常经过努力）实现( attain的过去式和过去分词 )； 达到； 获得； 达到（某年龄、水平、状况） | |
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143
wrest
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| n.扭，拧，猛夺；v.夺取，猛扭，歪曲 | |
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144
withhold
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| v.拒绝，不给；使停止，阻挡 | |
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145
delude
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| vt.欺骗；哄骗 | |
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146
concoct
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| v.调合，制造 | |
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147
revelled
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| v.作乐( revel的过去式和过去分词 )；狂欢；着迷；陶醉 | |
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148
astronomer
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| n.天文学家 | |
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149
behold
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| v.看，注视，看到 | |
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150
firmament
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| n.苍穹；最高层 | |
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151
recurrence
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| n.复发，反复，重现 | |
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152
embodying
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| v.表现( embody的现在分词 )；象征；包括；包含 | |
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153
enjoyment
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| n.乐趣；享有；享用 | |
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154
abridge
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| v.删减，删节，节略，缩短 | |
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155
libertine
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| n.淫荡者；adj.放荡的，自由思想的 | |
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156
craftily
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| 狡猾地，狡诈地 | |
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157
concealed
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| a.隐藏的，隐蔽的 | |
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158
conceal
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| v.隐藏，隐瞒，隐蔽 | |
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159
penetrate
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| v.透(渗)入；刺入，刺穿；洞察，了解 | |
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160
perusing
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| v.读（某篇文字）( peruse的现在分词 )；（尤指）细阅；审阅；匆匆读或心不在焉地浏览（某篇文字） | |
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undoubtedly
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| adv.确实地，无疑地 | |
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162
incense
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| v.激怒；n.香，焚香时的烟，香气 | |
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163
lavishes
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| v.过分给予，滥施( lavish的第三人称单数 ) | |
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foul
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| adj.污秽的；邪恶的；v.弄脏；妨害；犯规；n.犯规 | |
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165
corrupted
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| （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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166
redeeming
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| 补偿的，弥补的 | |
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167
virtuous
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| adj.有品德的，善良的，贞洁的，有效力的 | |
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168
degradation
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| n.降级；低落；退化；陵削；降解；衰变 | |
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169
amalgamation
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| n.合并，重组；；汞齐化 | |
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170
decency
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| n.体面，得体，合宜，正派，庄重 | |
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171
shudder
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| v.战粟，震动，剧烈地摇晃；n.战粟，抖动 | |
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172
tottered
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| v.走得或动得不稳( totter的过去式和过去分词 )；踉跄；蹒跚；摇摇欲坠 | |
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173
alacrity
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| n.敏捷，轻快，乐意 | |
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174
momentary
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| adj.片刻的，瞬息的；短暂的 | |
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175
vehemence
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| n.热切；激烈；愤怒 | |
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176
sage
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| n.圣人，哲人；adj.贤明的，明智的 | |
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177
fugitive
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| adj.逃亡的，易逝的；n.逃犯，逃亡者 | |
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178
scattered
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| adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的 | |
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179
throng
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| n.人群，群众；v.拥挤，群集 | |
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180
scampered
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| v.蹦蹦跳跳地跑，惊惶奔跑( scamper的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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181
semblance
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| n.外貌，外表 | |
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182
gaudy
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| adj.华而不实的；俗丽的 | |
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183
glistened
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| v.湿物闪耀，闪亮( glisten的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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184
attire
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| v.穿衣，装扮[同]array；n.衣着；盛装 | |
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185
brawny
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| adj.强壮的 | |
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186
vigor
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| n.活力，精力，元气 | |
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187
sincerity
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| n.真诚，诚意；真实 | |
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188
precisely
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| adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地 | |
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189
inscription
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| n.（尤指石块上的）刻印文字，铭文，碑文 | |
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mistily
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| adv.有雾地，朦胧地，不清楚地 | |
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191
investigation
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| n.调查，调查研究 | |
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192
solitude
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| n. 孤独; 独居,荒僻之地,幽静的地方 | |
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193
mingling
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| adj.混合的 | |
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194
guise
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| n.外表，伪装的姿态 | |
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195
falter
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| vi.(嗓音)颤抖，结巴地说；犹豫；蹒跚 | |
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196
fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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197
delusive
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| adj.欺骗的，妄想的 | |
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198
recording
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| n.录音，记录 | |
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199
remains
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| n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹 | |
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