FALKLAND
Ha! sayest thou! Hideous4 thought, I feel it twine5
O’er my iced heart, as curls around his prey6
The sure and deadly serpent!
. . . . . . . . . . . .
What! in the hush7 and in the solitude8
Passed that dread9 soul away?
Love and Hatred10.
The evening prior to that morning in which the above conversation occurred, Brandon passed alone in his lodging11 at ————. He had felt himself too unwell to attend the customary wassail, and he sat indolently musing12 in the solitude of the old-fashioned chamber13 to which he was consigned14. There, two wax-candles on the smooth, quaint15 table dimly struggled against the gloom of heavy panels, which were relieved at unfrequent intervals16 by portraits in oaken frames, dingy17, harsh, and important with the pomp of laced garments and flowing wigs18. The predilection19 of the landlady20 for modern tastes had, indeed, on each side of the huge fireplace suspended more novel masterpieces of the fine arts. In emblematic21 gorgeousness hung the pictures of the four Seasons, buxom22 wenches all, save Winter, who was deformedly bodied forth23 in the likeness24 of an aged25 carle. These were interspersed26 by an engraving28 of Lord Mauleverer, the lieutenant29 of the neighbouring county, looking extremely majestical in his peer’s robes; and by three typifications of Faith, Hope, and Charity — ladies with whom it may be doubted if the gay earl ever before cultivated so close an intimacy32. Curtains, of that antique chintz in which fasces of stripes are alternated by rows of flowers, filled the interstices of three windows; a heavy sideboard occupied the greater portion of one side of the room; and on the opposite side, in the rear of Brandon, a vast screen stretched its slow length along, and relieved the unpopulated and as it were desolate33 comfort of the apartment.
Pale and imperfectly streamed the light upon Brandon’s face, as he sat in his large chair, leaning his cheek on one hand, and gazing with the unconscious earnestness of abstraction on the clear fire. At that moment a whole phalanx of gloomy thought was sweeping34 in successive array across his mind. His early ambition, his ill-omened marriage, the causes of his after-rise in the wrong-judging world, the first dawn of his reputation, his rapid and flattering successes, his present elevation35, his aspiring36 hope of far higher office, and more patrician37 honours — all these phantoms38 passed before him in checkered39 shadow and light; but ever with each stalked one disquieting40 and dark remembrance — the loss of his only son.
Weaving his ambition with the wish to revive the pride of his hereditary41 name, every acquisition of fortune or of fame rendered him yet more anxious to find the only one who could perpetuate42 these hollow distinctions to his race.
“I shall recover him yet!” he broke out suddenly and aloud. As he spoke44, a quick, darting45, spasmodic pain ran shivering through his whole frame, and then fixed47 for one instant on his heart with a gripe like the talons48 of a bird; it passed away, and was followed by a deadly sickness. Brandon rose, and filling himself a large tumbler of water, drank with avidity. The sickness passed off like the preceding pain; but the sensation had of late been often felt by Brandon, and disregarded — for few persons were less afflicted49 with the self-torture of hypochondria; but now, that night, whether it was more keen than usual, or whether his thought had touched on the string that jars naturally on the most startling of human anticipations50, we know not, but, as he resumed his seat, the idea of his approaching dissolution shot like an ice-bolt through his breast.
So intent was this scheming man upon the living objects of the world, and so little were his thoughts accustomed to turn toward the ultimate goal of all things, that this idea obtruding51 itself abruptly52 upon him, startled him with a ghastly awe. He felt the colour rush from his cheek, and a tingling54 and involuntary pain ran wandering through the channels of his blood, even from the roots of the hair to the soles of his feet. But the stern soul of Brandon was not one which shadows could long affright. He nerved himself to meet the grim thought thus forced upon his mental eye, and he gazed on it with a steady and enduring look.
“Well,” thought he, “is my hour coming, or have I yet the ordinary term of mortal nature to expect? It is true, I have lately suffered these strange revulsions of the frame with somewhat of an alarming frequency; perhaps this medicine, which healed the anguish55 of one infirmity, has produced another more immediately deadly. Yet why should I think this? My sleep is sound and calm, my habits temperate57, my mind active and clear as in its best days. In my youth I never played the traitor58 with my constitution; why should it desert me at the very threshold of my age? Nay59, nay, these are but passing twitches60, chills of the blood that begins to wax thin. Shall I learn to be less rigorous in my diet? Perhaps wine may reward my abstinence in avoiding it for my luxuries, by becoming a cordial to my necessities! Ay, I will consult — I will consult, I must not die yet. I have — let me see, three — four grades to gain before the ladder is scaled. And, above all, I must regain61 my child! Lucy married to Mauleverer, myself a peer, my son wedded62 to-whom? Pray God he be not married already! My nephews and my children nobles! the house of Brandon restored, my power high in the upward gaze of men, my fame set on a more lasting63 basis than a skill in the quirks64 of law — these are yet to come; these I will not die till I have enjoyed! Men die not till their destinies are fulfilled. The spirit that swells66 and soars within me says that the destiny of William Brandon is but half begun!”
With this conclusion, Brandon sought his pillow. What were the reflections of the prisoner whom he was to judge? Need we ask? Let us picture to ourselves his shattered health, the languor67 of sickness heightening the gloom which makes the very air of a jail; his certainty of the doom68 to be passed against him; his knowledge that the uncle of Lucy Brandon was to be his judge, that Mauleverer was to be his accuser, and that in all human probability the only woman he had ever loved must sooner or later learn the criminality of his life and the ignominy of his death; let us but glance at the above blackness of circumstances that surrounded him, and it would seem that there is but little doubt as to the complexion69 of his thoughts! Perhaps, indeed, even in that terrible and desolate hour one sweet face shone on him, “and dashed the darkness all away.” Perhaps, too, whatever might be the stings of his conscience, one thought, one remembrance of a temptation mastered and a sin escaped, brought to his eyes tears that were sweet and healing in their source. But the heart of a man in Clifford’s awful situation is dark and inscrutable; and often when the wildest and gloomiest external circumstances surround us, their reflection sleeps like a shadow, calm and still upon the mind.
The next morning, the whole town of (a town in which, we regret to say, an accident once detained ourself for three wretched days, and which we can, speaking therefore from profound experience, assert to be in ordinary times the most melancholy70 and peopleless-looking congregation of houses that a sober imagination can conceive) exhibited a scene of such bustle71, animation72, and jovial73 anxiety as the trial for life or death to a fellow-creature can alone excite in the phlegmatic74 breasts of the English. Around the court the crowd thickened with every moment, until the whole marketplace in which the townhall was situated75 became one living mass. The windows of the houses were filled with women, some of whom had taken that opportunity to make parties to breakfast; and little round tables, with tea and toast on them, caught the eyes of the grinning mobists as they gaped76 impatiently upwards77.
“Ben,” said a stout78 yeoman, tossing up a halfpenny, and catching79 the said coin in his right hand, which he immediately covered with the left — “Ben, heads or tails that Lovett is hanged; heads hanged, tails not, for a crown.”
“Petticoats, to be sure,” quoth Ben, eating an apple; and it was heads!
“Damme, you’ve lost!” cried the yeoman, rubbing his rough hands with glee.
It would have been a fine sight for Asmodeus, could he have perched on one of the house tops of the market-place of ———— and looked on the murmuring and heaving sea of mortality below. Oh! the sight of a crowd round a court of law or a gibbet ought to make the devil split himself with laughter.
While the mob was fretting81, and pushing, and swearing, and grinning, and betting, and picking pockets, and trampling82 feet, and tearing gowns, and scrambling83 nearer and nearer to the doors and windows of the court, Brandon was slowly concluding his abstemious84 repast, preparatory to attendance on his judicial85 duties. His footman entered with a letter. Sir William glanced rapidly over the seal (one of those immense sacrifices of wax used at that day), adorned86 with a huge coat-of-arms, surmounted87 with an earl’s coronet, and decorated on either side with those supporters so dear to heraldic taste. He then tore open the letter, and read as follows:—
MY DEAR SIR WILLIAM— You know that in the last conversation I had the Honour to hold with you I alluded88, though perhaps somewhat distantly, to the esteem90 which his Majesty91 had personally expressed for your principles and talents, and his wish to testify it at the earliest opportunity. There will be, as you are doubtless aware, an immediate56 creation of four peerages. Your name stands second on the list. The choice of title his Majesty graciously leaves to you; but he has hinted that the respectable antiquity92 of your family would make him best pleased were you to select the name of your own family-seat, which, if I mistake not, is Warlock. You will instruct me at your leisure as to the manner in which the patent should be made out, touching93 the succession, etc. Perhaps (excuse the license94 of an old friend) this event may induce you to forsake95 your long-cherished celibacy96. I need not add that this accession of rank will be accompanied by professional elevation. You will see by the papers that the death of ———— leaves vacant the dignity of Chief Baron98; and I am at length empowered to offer you a station proportioned to your character and talents.
With great consideration, believe me, my dear Sir, Very truly yours,
Private and Confidential99.
Brandon’s dark eye glanced quickly from the signature of the premier100, affixed101 to this communication, towards the mirror opposite him. He strode to it, and examined his own countenance102 with a long and wistful gaze. Never, we think, did youthful gallant103 about to repair to the trysting-spot, in which fair looks make the greatest of earthly advantages, gaze more anxiously on the impartial104 glass than now did the ascetic105 and scornful judge; and never, we ween, did the eye of the said gallant retire with a more satisfied and triumphant106 expression.
“Yes, yes!” muttered the judge, “no sign of infirmity is yet written here; the blood flows clear and warm enough; the cheek looks firm too, and passing full, for one who was always of the lean kine. Aha! this letter is a cordial, an elixir107 vitro. I feel as if a new lease were granted to the reluctant tenant30. Lord Warlock, the first Baron of Warlock, Lord Chief Baron — what next?”
As he spoke, he strode unconsciously away, folding his arms with that sort of joyous108 and complacent109 gesture which implies the idea of a man hugging himself in a silent delight. Assuredly had the most skilful110 physician then looked upon the ardent111 and all-lighted face, the firm step, the elastic112 and muscular frame, the vigorous air of Brandon, as he mentally continued his soliloquy, he would have predicted for him as fair a grasp on longevity113 as the chances of mortal life will allow. He was interrupted by the servant entering.
“It is twenty-five minutes after nine, sir,” said he, respectfully.
“Sir — sir!” repeated Brandon. “Ah, well! so late!”
“Yes, sir, and the sheriff’s carriage is almost at the door.”
“Humph! Minister — Peer — Warlock — succession. My son, my son! would to God that I could find thee!”
Such were Brandon’s last thoughts as he left the room. It was with great difficulty, so dense115 was the crowd, that the judge drove up to the court. As the carriage slowly passed, the spectators pressed to the windows of the vehicle, and stood on tiptoe to catch a view of the celebrated116 lawyer. Brandon’s face, never long indicative of his feelings, had now settled into its usual gravity; and the severe loftiness of his look chilled, while it satisfied, the curiosity of the vulgar. It had been ordered that no person should be admitted until the judge had taken his seat on the bench; and this order occasioned so much delay, owing to the accumulated pressure of the vast and miscellaneous group, that it was more than half an hour before the court was able to obtain that decent order suiting the solemnity of the occasion. At five minutes before ten a universal and indescribable movement announced that the prisoner was put to the bar. We read in one of the journals of that day, that “on being put to the bar, the prisoner looked round with a long and anxious gaze, which at length settled on the judge, and then dropped, while the prisoner was observed to change countenance slightly. Lovett was dressed in a plain dark suit; he seemed to be about six feet high; and though thin and worn, probably from the effect of his wound and imprisonment117, he is remarkably118 well made, and exhibits the outward appearance of that great personal strength which he is said to possess, and which is not unfrequently the characteristic of daring criminals. His face is handsome and prepossessing, his eyes and hair dark, and his complexion pale, possibly from the effects of his confinement119; there was a certain sternness in his countenance during the greater part of the trial. His behaviour was remarkably collected and composed. The prisoner listened with the greatest attention to the indictment120, which the reader will find in another part of our paper, charging him with the highway robbery of Lord Mauleverer, on the night of the of last. He occasionally inclined his body forward, and turned his ear towards the court; and he was observed, as the jury were sworn, to look steadily121 in the face of each. He breathed thick and hard when the various aliases122 he had assumed — Howard, Cavendish, Jackson, etc. — were read; but smiled with an unaccountable expression when the list was completed, as if exulting123 at the varieties of his ingenuity124. At twenty-five minutes past ten Mr. Dyebright, the counsel for the crown, stated the case to the jury.”
Mr. Dyebright was a lawyer of great eminence125; he had been a Whig all his life, but had latterly become remarkable126 for his insincerity, and subservience127 to the wishes of the higher powers. His talents were peculiar128 and effective. If he had little eloquence129, he had much power; and his legal knowledge, was sound and extensive. Many of his brethren excelled him in display; but no one, like him, possessed130 the secret of addressing a jury. Winningly familiar; seemingly candid131 to a degree that scarcely did justice to his cause, as if he were in an agony lest he should persuade you to lean a hair-breadth more on his side of the case than justice would allow; apparently132 all made up of good, homely133, virtuous134 feeling, a disinterested135 regard for truth, a blunt yet tender honesty, seasoned with a few amiable136 fireside prejudices, which always come home to the hearts of your fathers of families and thorough-bred Britons; versed137 in all the niceties of language, and the magic of names; if he were defending crime, carefully calling it misfortune; if attacking misfortune, constantly calling it crime — Mr. Dyebright was exactly the man born to pervert138 justice, to tickle139 jurors, to cozen140 truth with a friendly smile, and to obtain a vast reputation as an excellent advocate. He began with a long preliminary flourish on the importance of the case. He said that he should with the most scrupulous141 delicacy142 avoid every remark calculated to raise unnecessary prejudice against the prisoner. He should not allude89 to his unhappy notoriety, his associations with the lowest dregs. (Here up jumped the counsel for the prisoner, and Mr. Dyebright was called to order.) “God knows,” resumed the learned gentleman, looking wistfully at the jury, “that my learned friend might have spared himself this warning. God knows that I would rather fifty of the wretched inmates143 of this county jail were to escape unharmed than that a hair of the prisoner you behold144 at the bar should be unjustly touched. The life of a human being is at stake; we should be guilty ourselves of a crime which on our deathbeds we should tremble to recall, were we to suffer any consideration, whether of interest or of prejudice, or of undue145 fear for our own properties and lives, to bias146 us even to the turning of a straw against the unfortunate prisoner. Gentlemen, if you find me travelling a single inch from my case — if you find me saying a single word calculated to harm the prisoner in your eyes, and unsupported by the evidence I shall call — then I implore147 you not to depend upon the vigilance of my learned friend, but to treasure these my errors in your recollection, and to consider them as so many arguments in favour of the prisoner. If, gentlemen, I could by any possibility imagine that your verdict would be favourable148 to the prisoner, I can, unaffectedly and from the bottom of my heart, declare to you that I should rejoice; a case might be lost, but a fellow-creature would be saved! Callous150 as we of the legal profession are believed, we have feelings like you; and I ask any one of you, gentlemen of the jury, any one who has ever felt the pleasures of social intercourse151, the joy of charity, the heart’s reward of benevolence152 — I ask any one of you, whether, if he were placed in the arduous153 situation I now hold, all the persuasions154 of vanity would not vanish at once from his mind, and whether his defeat as an advocate would not be rendered dear to him by the common and fleshly sympathies of a man. But, gentlemen” (Mr. Dyebright’s voice at once deepened and faltered), “there is a duty, a painful duty, we owe to our country; and never, in the long course of my professional experience, do I remember an instance in which it was more called forth than in the present. Mercy, gentlemen, is dear, very dear to us all; but it is the deadliest injury we can inflict156 on mankind when it is bought at the expense of justice.”
The learned gentleman then, after a few further prefatory observations, proceeded to state how, on the night of ———— last, Lord Mauleverer was stopped and robbed by three men masked, of a sum of money amounting to above L350, a diamond snuff-box, rings, watch, and a case of most valuable jewels — how Lord Mauleverer, in endeavouring to defend himself, had passed a bullet through the clothes of one of the robbers — how it would be proved that the garments of the prisoner, found in a cave in Oxfordshire, and positively157 sworn to by a witness he should produce, exhibited a rent similar to such a one as a bullet would produce — how, moreover, it would be positively sworn to by the same witness, that the prisoner Lovett had come to the cavern158 with two accomplices159 not since taken up, since their rescue by the prisoner, and boasted of the robbery he had just committed; that in the clothes and sleeping apartment of the robber the articles stolen from Lord Mauleverer were found; and that the purse containing the notes for L300, the only thing the prisoner could probably have obtained time to carry off with him, on the morning on which the cave was entered by the policemen, was found on his person on the day on which he had attempted the rescue of his comrades, and had been apprehended160 in that attempt. He stated, moreover, that the dress found in the cavern, and sworn to by one witness he should produce as belonging to the prisoner, answered exactly to the description of the clothes worn by the principal robber, and sworn to by Lord Mauleverer, his servant, and the postilions. In like manner the colour of one of the horses found in the cavern corresponded with that rode by the highwayman. On these circumstantial proofs, aided by the immediate testimony161 of the king’s evidence (that witness whom he should produce) he rested a case which could, he averred162, leave no doubt on the minds of an impartial jury. Such, briefly163 and plainly alleged164, made the substance of the details entered into by the learned counsel, who then proceeded to call his witnesses. The evidence of Lord Mauleverer (who was staying at Mauleverer Park, which was within a few miles of —) was short and clear (it was noticed as a singular circumstance, that at the end of the evidence the prisoner bowed respectfully to his lordship). The witness of the postilions and of the valet was no less concise165; nor could all the ingenuity of Clifford’s counsel shake any part of their evidence in his cross-examination. The main witness depended on by the crown was now summoned, and the solemn countenance of Peter MacGrawler rose on the eyes of the jury. One look of cold and blighting166 contempt fell on him from the eye of the prisoner, who did not again deign167 to regard him during the whole of his examination.
The witness of MacGrawler was delivered with a pomposity168 worthy169 of the ex-editor of the “Asinaeum.” Nevertheless, by the skill of Mr. Dyebright, it was rendered sufficiently170 clear a story to leave an impression on the jury damnatory to the interests of the prisoner. The counsel on the opposite side was not slow in perceiving the ground acquired by the adverse171 party; so, clearing his throat, he rose with a sneering172 air to the cross-examination.
“So, so,” began Mr. Botheram, putting on a pair of remarkably large spectacles, wherewith he truculently174 regarded the witness — “so, so, Mr. MacGrawler — is that your name, eh, eh? Ah, it is, is it? A very respectable name it is too, I warrant. Well, sir, look at me. Now, on your oath, remember, were you ever the editor of a certain thing published every Wednesday, and called the ‘Athenaeum,’ or the ‘Asinaeum,’ or some such name?”
Commencing with this insidious175 and self-damnatory question, the learned counsel then proceeded, as artfully as he was able, through a series of interrogatories calculated to injure the character, the respectable character, of MacGrawler, and weaken his testimony in the eyes of the jury. He succeeded in exciting in the audience that feeling of merriment wherewith the vulgar are always so delighted to intersperse27 the dull seriousness of hanging a human being. But though the jury themselves grinned, they were not convinced. The Scotsman retired176 from the witness-box “scotched,” perhaps, in reputation, but not “killed” as to testimony. It was just before this witness concluded, that Lord Mauleverer caused to be handed to the judge a small slip of paper, containing merely these words in pencil:—
DEAR BRANDON— A dinner waits you at Mauleverer Park, only three miles hence. Lord — and the Bishop177 of — meet you. Plenty of news from London, and a letter about you, which I will show to no one till we meet. Make haste and hang this poor fellow, that I may see you the sooner; and it is bad for both of us to wait long for a regular meal like dinner. I can’t stay longer, it is so hot, and my nerves were always susceptible178.
Yours, MAULEVERER.
If you will come, give me a nod. You know my hour — it is always the same.
The judge, glancing over the note, inclined his head gravely to the earl, who withdrew; and in one minute afterwards, a heavy and breathless silence fell over the whole court. The prisoner was called upon for his defence: it was singular what a different sensation to that existing in their breasts the moment before crept thrillingly through the audience. Hushed was every whisper, vanished was every smile that the late cross-examination had excited; a sudden and chilling sense of the dread importance of the tribunal made itself abruptly felt in the minds of every one present.
Perhaps, as in the gloomy satire180 of Hogarth (the moral Mephistopheles of painters), the close neighbourhood of pain to mirth made the former come with the homelier shock to the heart; be that as it may, a freezing anxiety, numbing181 the pulse and stirring through the air, made every man in that various crowd feel a sympathy of awe with his neighbour, excepting only the hardened judge and the hackneyed lawyers, and one spectator — an idiot who had thrust himself in with the general press, and stood, within a few paces of the prisoner, grinning unconsciously, and every now and then winking182 with a glassy eye at some one at a distance, whose vigilance he had probably eluded183.
The face and aspect, even the attitude, of the prisoner were well fitted to heighten the effect which would naturally have been created by any man under the same fearful doom. He stood at the very front of the bar, and his tall and noble figure was drawn184 up to its full height; a glow of excitement spread itself gradually over features at all times striking, and lighted an eye naturally eloquent185, and to which various emotions at that time gave a more than commonly deep and impressive expression. He began thus:—
“My lord, I have little to say, and I may at once relieve the anxiety of my counsel, who now looks wistfully upon me, and add that that little will scarcely embrace the object of defence. Why should I defend myself? Why should I endeavour to protract186 a life that a few days, more or less, will terminate, according to the ordinary calculations of chance? Such as it is and has been, my life is vowed187 to the law, and the law will have the offering. Could I escape from this indictment, I know that seven others await me, and that by one or the other of these my conviction and my sentence must come. Life may be sweet to all of us, my lord; and were it possible that mine could be spared yet a while, that continued life might make a better atonement for past actions than a death which, abrupt53 and premature188, calls for repentance189 while it forbids redress190.
“But when the dark side of things is our only choice, it is useless to regard the bright; idle to fix our eyes upon life, when death is at hand; useless to speak of contrition191, when we are denied its proof. It is the usual policy of prisoners in my situation to address the feelings and flatter the prejudices of the jury; to descant192 on the excellence193 of our laws, while they endeavour to disarm194 them; to praise justice, yet demand mercy; to talk of expecting acquittal, yet boast of submitting without a murmur80 to condemnation195. For me, to whom all earthly interests are dead, this policy is idle and superfluous196. I hesitate not to tell you, my lord judge — to proclaim to you, gentlemen of the jury — that the laws which I have broken through my life I despise in death! Your laws are but of two classes; the one makes criminals, the other punishes them. I have suffered by the one; I am about to perish by the other.
“My lord, it was the turn of a straw which made me what I am. Seven years ago I was sent to the house of correction for an offence which I did not commit. I went thither197, a boy who had never infringed198 a single law; I came forth, in a few weeks, a man who was prepared to break all laws! Whence was this change? Was it my fault, or that of my condemners? You had first wronged me by a punishment which I did not deserve; you wronged me yet more deeply when (even had I been guilty of the first offence) I was sentenced to herd199 with hardened offenders200, and graduates in vice201 and vice’s methods of support. The laws themselves caused me to break the laws: first, by implanting within me the goading202 sense of injustice203; secondly204, by submitting me to the corruption205 of example. Thus, I repeat — and I trust my words will sink solemnly into the hearts of all present — your legislation made me what I am; and it now destroys me, as it has destroyed thousands, for being what it made me! But for this, the first aggression206 on me, I might have been what the world terms honest — I might have advanced to old age and a peaceful grave through the harmless cheateries of trade or the honoured falsehoods of a profession. Nay, I might have supported the laws which I have now braved; like the counsel opposed to me, I might have grown sleek207 on the vices208 of others, and advanced to honour by my ingenuity in hanging my fellow-creatures! The canting and prejudging part of the Press has affected149 to set before you the merits of ‘honest ability,’ or ‘laborious trade,’ in opposition209 to my offences. What, I beseech210 you, are the props211 of your ‘honest’ exertion212 — the profits of ‘trade’? Are there no bribes213 to menials? Is there no adulteration of goods? Are the rich never duped in the price they pay? Are the poor never wronged in the quality they receive? Is there honesty in the bread you eat, in a single necessity which clothes or feeds or warms you? Let those whom the law protects consider it a protector: when did it ever protect me? When did it ever protect the poor man? The government of a State, the institutions of law, profess97 to provide for all those who ‘obey.’ Mark! a man hungers — do you feed him? He is naked — do you clothe him? If not, you break your covenant214, you drive him back to the first law of nature, and you hang him, not because he is guilty, but because you have left him naked and starving! [A murmur among the mob below, with great difficulty silenced.] One thing only I will add, and that not to move your mercy — no, nor to invest my fate with an idle and momentary215 interest — but because there are some persons in this world who have not known me as the criminal who stands before you, and whom the tidings of my fate may hereafter reach; and I would not have those persons view me in blacker colours than I deserve. Among all the rumours216, gentlemen, that have reached you, through all the tales and fables217 kindled218 from my unhappy notoriety and my approaching doom, I put it to you, if you have heard that I have committed one sanguinary action or one ruinous and deliberate fraud. You have heard that I have lived by the plunder219 of the rich — I do not deny the charge. From the grinding of the poor, the habitual220 overreaching, or the systematic221 pilfering222 of my neighbours, my conscience is as free as it is from the charge of cruelty and bloodshed. Those errors I leave to honest mediocrity or virtuous exertion! You may perhaps find, too, that my life has not passed through a career of outrage223 without scattering224 some few benefits on the road. In destroying me, it is true that you will have the consolation225 to think that among the benefits you derive226 from my sentence will be the salutary encouragement you give to other offenders to offend to the last, degree, and to divest227 outrage of no single aggravation228! But if this does not seem to you any very powerful inducement, you may pause before you cut off from all amendment229 a man who seems neither wholly hardened nor utterly230 beyond atonement. My lord, my counsel would have wished to summon witnesses — some to bear testimony to redeeming231 points in my own character, others to invalidate the oath of the witness against me — a man whom I saved from destruction in order that he might destroy me. I do not think either necessary. The public Press has already said of me what little good does not shock the truth; and had I not possessed something of those qualities which society does not disesteem, you would not have beheld232 me here at this hour! If I had saved myself as well as my companions, I should have left this country, perhaps forever, and commenced a very different career abroad. I committed offences; I eluded you; I committed what, in my case, was an act of duty: I am seized, and I perish. But the weakness of my body destroys me, not the strength of your malice233. Had I” (and as the prisoner spake, the haughty234 and rapid motion, the enlarging of the form, produced by the passion of the moment, made impressively conspicuous235 to all the remarkable power of his frame) — “had I but my wonted health, my wonted command over these limbs and these veins236, I would have asked no friend, no ally, to favour my escape. I tell you, engines and guardians237 of the law, that I would have mocked your chains and defied your walls, as ye know that I have mocked and defied them before. But my blood creeps now only in drops through its courses; and the heart that I had of old stirs feebly and heavily within me.” The prisoner paused a moment, and resumed in an altered tone: “Leaving, then, my own character to the ordeal238 of report, I cannot perhaps do better than leave to the same criterion that of the witness against me. I will candidly239 own that under other circumstances it might have been otherwise. I will candidly avow240 that I might have then used such means as your law awards me to procure241 an acquittal and to prolong my existence — though in a new scene; as it is, what matters the cause in which I receive my sentence? Nay, it is even better to suffer by the first than to linger to the last. It is some consolation not again to stand where I now stand; to go through the humbling242 solemnities which I have this day endured; to see the smile of some, and retort the frown of others; to wrestle243 with the anxiety of the heart, and to depend on the caprice of the excited nerves. It is something to feel one part of the drama of disgrace is over, and that I may wait unmolested in my den43 until, for one time only, I am again the butt244 of the unthinking and the monster of the crowd. My lord, I have now done! To you, whom the law deems the prisoner’s counsel — to you, gentlemen of the jury, to whom it has delegated his fate — I leave the chances of my life.”
The prisoner ceased; but the same heavy silence which, save when broken by one solitary245 murmur, had lain over the court during his speech, still continued even for several moments after that deep and firm voice had died on the ear. So different had been the defence of the prisoner from that which had been expected; so assuredly did the more hackneyed part of the audience, even as he had proceeded, imagine that by some artful turn he would at length wind into the usual courses of defence — that when his unfaltering and almost stern accents paused, men were not prepared to feel that his speech was finished, and the pause involuntarily jarred on them as untimeous and abrupt. At length, when each of the audience slowly awoke to the conviction that the prisoner had indeed concluded his harangue246, a movement, eloquent of feelings released from a suspense247, which had been perhaps the more earnest and the more blended with awe, from the boldness and novelty of the words on which it hung, circled round the court. The jurors looked confusedly at each other, but not one of them spoke, even by a whisper; their feelings, which had been aroused by the speech of the prisoner, had not from its shortness, its singularity, and the haughty impolicy of its tone, been so far guided by its course as to settle into any state of mind clearly favourable to him, or the reverse; so that each man waited for his neighbour to speak first, in order that he might find, as it were, in another, a kind of clew to the indistinct and excited feelings which wanted utterance248 in himself.
The judge, who had been from the first attracted by the air and aspect of the prisoner, had perhaps, notwithstanding the hardness of his mind, more approvingly than any one present listened to the defence; for in the scorn of the hollow institutions and the mock honesty of social life, so defyingly manifested by the prisoner, Brandon recognized elements of mind remarkably congenial to his own; and this sympathy was heightened by the hardihood of physical nerve and moral intrepidity249 displayed by the prisoner — qualities which among men of a similar mould often form the strongest motive250 of esteem, and sometimes (as we read of in the Imperial Corsican and his chiefs) the only point of attraction! Brandon was, however, soon recalled to his cold self by a murmur of vague applause circling throughout the common crowd, among whom the general impulse always manifests itself first, and to whom the opinions of the prisoner, though but imperfectly understood, came more immediately home than they did to the better and richer classes of the audience. Ever alive to the decorums of form, Brandon instantly ordered silence in the court; and when it was again restored, and it was fully114 understood that the prisoner’s defence had closed, the judge proceeded to sum up.
It is worthy of remark that many of the qualities of mind which seem most unamiable in private life often conduce with a singular felicity to the ends of public; and thus the stony251 firmness characteristic of Brandon was a main cause which made him admirable as a judge — for men in office err2 no less from their feelings than their interests.
Glancing over his notes, the judge inclined himself to the jury, and began with that silver ringing voice which particularly distinguished252 Brandon’s eloquence, and carried with it in high stations so majestic31 and candid a tone of persuasion155. He pointed253 out, with a clear brevity, the various points of the evidence; he dwelt for a moment on the attempt to cast disrepute upon the testimony of MacGrawler, but called a proper attention to the fact that the attempt had been unsupported by witnesses or proof. As he proceeded, the impression made by the prisoner on the minds of the jury slowly melted away; and perhaps, so much do men soften254 when they behold clearly the face of a fellow-man dependent on them for life, it acted disadvantageously on the interests of Clifford, that during the summing up he leaned back in the dock, and prevented his countenance from being seen. When the evidence had been gone through, the judge concluded thus:—
“The prisoner, who in his defence (on the principles and opinions of which I now forbear to comment) certainly exhibited the signs of a superior education, and a high though perverted255 ability, has alluded to the reports circulated by the public Press, and leaned some little stress on the various anecdotes256 tending to his advantage, which he supposes have reached your ears. I am by no means willing that the prisoner should be deprived of whatever benefit may be derivable257 from such a source; but it is not in this place, nor at this moment, that it can avail him. All you have to consider is the evidence before you. All on which you have to decide is, whether the prisoner be or be not guilty of the robbery of which he is charged. You must not waste a thought on what redeems258 or heightens a supposed crime — you must only decide on the crime itself. Put away from your minds, I beseech you, all that interferes259 with the main case. Put away also from your motives260 of decision all forethought of other possible indictments261 to which the prisoner has alluded, but with which you are necessarily unacquainted. If you doubt the evidence, whether of one witness or of all, the prisoner must receive from you the benefit of that doubt. If not, you are sworn to a solemn oath, which ordains262 you to forego all minor263 considerations — which compels you to watch narrowly that you be not influenced by the infirmities natural to us all, but criminal in you, to lean towards the side of a mercy that would be rendered by your oath a perjury264 to God, and by your duty as impartial citizens a treason to your country. I dismiss you to the grave consideration of the important case you have heard; and I trust that He to whom all hearts are open and all secrets are known, will grant you the temper and the judgment265 to form a right decision!”
There was in the majestic aspect and thrilling voice of Brandon something which made the commonest form of words solemn and impressive; and the hypocrite, aware of this felicity of manner, generally, as now, added weight to his concluding words by a religious allusion266 or a Scriptural phraseology. He ceased; and the jury, recovering the effect of his adjuration267, consulted for a moment among themselves. The foreman then, addressing the court on behalf of his fellow-jurors, requested leave to retire for deliberation. An attendant bailiff being sworn in, we read in the journals of the day, which noted268 the divisions of time with that customary scrupulosity269 rendered terrible by the reflection how soon all time and seasons may perish for the hero of the scene, that “it was at twenty-five minutes to two that the jury withdrew.”
Perhaps in the whole course of a criminal trial there is no period more awful than that occupied by the deliberation of the jury. In the present case the prisoner, as if acutely sensible of his situation, remained in the rear of the dock, and buried his face in his hands. They who stood near him observed, however, that his breast did not seem to swell65 with the convulsive emotion customary to persons in his state, and that not even a sigh or agitated270 movement escaped him. The jury had been absent about twenty minutes, when a confused noise was heard in the court. The face of the judge turned in commanding severity towards the quarter whence it proceeded. He perceived a man of a coarse garb271 and mean appearance endeavouring rudely and violently to push his way through the crowd towards the bench, and at the same instant he saw one of the officers of the court approaching the disturber of its tranquillity272 with no friendly intent. The man, aware of the purpose of the constable273, exclaimed with great vehemence274, “I vill give this to my lord the judge, blow me if I von’t!” and as he spoke he raised high above his head a soiled scrap275 of paper folded awkwardly in the shape of a letter. The instant Brandon’s eye caught the rugged276 features of the intrusive277 stranger, he motioned with rather less than his usual slowness of gesture to one of his official satellites. “Bring me that paper instantly!” he whispered.
The officer bowed and obeyed. The man, who seemed a little intoxicated278, gave it with a look of ludicrous triumph and self-importance.
“Stand avay, man!” he added to the constable, who now laid hand on his collar. “You’ll see vot the judge says to that ’ere bit of paper; and so vill the prisoner, poor fellow!”
This scene, so unworthy the dignity of the court, attracted the notice and (immediately around the intruder) the merriment of the crowd; and many an eye was directed towards Brandon, as with calm gravity he opened the note and glanced over the contents. In a large school-boy hand-it was the hand of Long Ned — were written these few words:
MY LORD JUDGE— I make bold to beg you will do all you can for the prisoner at the barre, as he is no other than the “Paul” I spoke to your Worship about. You know what I mean.
DUMMIE DUNNAKER.
As he read this note, the judge’s head was observed to droop279 suddenly, as if by a sickness or a spasm46; but he recovered himself instantly, and whispering the officer who brought him the note, said, “See that that madman be immediately removed from the court, and lock him up alone. He is so deranged280 as to be dangerous!”
The officer lost not a moment in seeing the order executed. Three stout constables281 dragged the astounded282 Dummie from the court in an instant, yet the more ruthlessly for his ejaculating —
“Eh, sirs, what’s this? I tells you I have saved the judge’s hown flesh and blood! Vy, now, gently, there; you’ll smart for this, my fine fellow! Never you mind, Paul, my ‘arty; I ‘se done you a pure good —”
“Silence!” proclaimed the voice of the judge; and that voice came forth with so commanding a tone of power that it awed283 Dummie, despite his intoxication284. In a moment more, and ere he had time to recover, he was without the court. During this strange hubbub285, which nevertheless scarcely lasted above two or three minutes, the prisoner had not once lifted his head, nor appeared aroused in any manner from his revery; and scarcely had the intruder been withdrawn286 before the jury returned.
The verdict was, as all had foreseen, “Guilty;” but it was coupled with a strong recommendation to mercy.
The prisoner was then asked, in the usual form, whether he had to say anything why sentence of death should not be passed against him.
As these dread words struck upon his ear, slowly the prisoner rose. He directed first towards the jury a brief and keen glance, and his eyes then rested full, and with a stern significance, on the face of his judge.
“My lord,” he began, “I have but one reason to advance against the sentence of the law. If you have interest to prevent or mitigate287 it, that reason will, I think, suffice to enlist288 you on my behalf. I said that the first cause of those offences against the law which brings me to this bar was the committing me to prison on a charge of which I was wholly innocent! My lord judge, you were the man who accused me of that charge, and subjected me to that imprisonment! Look at me well, my lord, and you may trace in the countenance of the hardened felon289 you are about to adjudge to death the features of a boy whom, some seven years ago, you accused before a London magistrate290 of the theft of your watch. On the oath of a man who has one step on the threshold of death, the accusation291 was unjust. And, fit minister of the laws you represent! you, who will now pass my doom — You were the cause of my crimes! My lord, I have done. I am ready to add another to the long and dark list of victims who are first polluted and then sacrificed by the blindness and the injustice of human codes!”
While Clifford spoke, every eye turned from him to the judge, and every one was appalled292 by the ghastly and fearful change which had fallen over Brandon’s face. Men said, afterwards, that they saw written there, in terrible distinctness, the characters of death; and there certainly seemed something awful and preternatural in the bloodless and haggard calmness of his proud features. Yet his eye did not quail293, nor the muscles of his lip quiver; and with even more than his wonted loftiness, he met the regard of the prisoner. But, as alone conspicuous throughout the motionless and breathless crowd the judge and criminal gazed upon each other, and as the eyes of the spectators wandered on each, a thrilling and electric impression of a powerful likeness between the doomed294 and the doomer, for the first time in the trial, struck upon the audience, and increased, though they scarcely knew why, the sensation of pain and dread which the prisoner’s last words excited. Perhaps it might have chiefly arisen from a common expression of fierce emotion conquered by an iron and stern character of mind; or perhaps, now that the ashy paleness of exhaustion295 had succeeded the excited flush on the prisoner’s face, the similarity of complexion thus obtained made the likeness more obvious than before; or perhaps the spectators had not hitherto fixed so searching, or, if we may so speak, so alternating a gaze upon the two. However that be, the resemblance between the men, placed as they were in such widely different circumstances — that resemblance which, as we have hinted, had at certain moments occurred startlingly to Lucy — was plain and unavoidably striking: the same the dark hue296 of their complexions297; the same the haughty and Roman outline of their faces; the same the height of the forehead; the same even a displeasing298 and sarcastic299 rigidity300 of mouth, which made the most conspicuous feature in Brandon, and which was the only point that deteriorated301 from the singular beauty of Clifford. But, above all, the same inflexible302, defying, stubborn spirit, though in Brandon it assumed the stately cast of majesty, and in Clifford it seemed the desperate sternness of the bravo, stamped itself in both. Though Clifford ceased, he did not resume his seat, but stood in the same attitude as that in which he had reversed the order of things, and merged303 the petitioner304 in the accuser; and Brandon himself, without speaking or moving, continued still to survey him; so, with erect305 fronts and marble countenances306, in which what was defying and resolute307 did not altogether quell308 the mortal leaven309 of pain and dread, they looked as might have looked the two men in the Eastern story who had the power of gazing each other unto death.
What at that moment was raging in Brandon’s heart, it is in vain to guess. He doubted not for a moment that he beheld before him his long lost, his anxiously demanded son! Every fibre, every corner of his complex and gloomy soul, that certainly reached, and blasted with a hideous and irresistible310 glare. The earliest, perhaps the strongest, though often the least acknowledged principle of his mind was the desire to rebuild the fallen honours of his house; its last scion311 he now beheld before him, covered with the darkest ignominies of the law! He had coveted312 worldly honours; he beheld their legitimate313 successor in a convicted felon! He had garnered314 the few affections he had spared from the objects of pride and ambition, in his son. That son he was about to adjudge to the gibbet and the hangman! Of late he had increased the hopes of regaining315 his lost treasure, even to an exultant316 certainty. Lo! the hopes were accomplished317! How? With these thoughts warring, in what manner we dare not even by an epithet318 express, within him, we may cast one hasty glance on the horror of aggravation they endured, when he heard the prisoner accuse Him as the cause of his present doom, and felt himself at once the murderer and the judge of his son!
Minutes had elapsed since the voice of the prisoner ceased; and Brandon now drew forth the black cap. As he placed it slowly over his brows, the increasing and corpse319-like whiteness of his face became more glaringly visible, by the contrast which this dread head-gear presented. Twice as he essayed to speak his voice failed him, and an indistinct murmur came forth from his hueless320 lips, and died away like a fitful and feeble wind. But with the third effort the resolution and long self-tyranny of the man conquered, and his voice went clear and unfaltering through the crowd, although the severe sweetness of its wonted tones was gone, and it sounded strange and hollow on the ears that drank it.
“Prisoner at the bar! it has become my duty to announce to you the close of your mortal career. You have been accused of a daring robbery, and after an impartial trial a jury of your countrymen and the laws of your country have decided321 against you. The recommendation to mercy” (here, only throughout his speech, Brandon gasped322 convulsively for breath) “so humanely323 added by the jury, shall be forwarded to the supreme324 power; but I cannot flatter you with much hope of its success.” (The lawyers looked with some surprise at each other; they had expected a far more unqualified mandate325, to abjure326 all hope from the jury’s recommendation.) “Prisoner, for the opinions you have expressed, you are now only answerable to your God; I forbear to arraign327 them. For the charge you have made against me, whether true or false, and for the anguish it has given me, may you find pardon at another tribunal! It remains328 for me only — under a reserve too slight, as I have said, to afford you a fair promise of hope — only to — to” (all eyes were on Brandon; he felt it, exerted himself for a last effort, and proceeded)—“to pronounce on you the sharp sentence of the law! It is, that you be taken back to the prison whence you came, and thence (when the supreme authority shall appoint) to the place of execution, to be there hanged by the neck till you are dead; and the Lord God Almighty329 have mercy on your soul!”
With this address concluded that eventful trial; and while the crowd, in rushing and noisy tumult330, bore towards the door, Brandon, concealing332 to the last with a Spartan333 bravery the anguish which was gnawing334 at his entrails, retired from the awful pageant335. For the next half-hour he was locked up with the strange intruder on the proceedings336 of the court. At the end of that time the stranger was dismissed; and in about double the same period Brandon’s servant re-admitted him, accompanied by another man, with a slouched hat and in a carman’s frock. The reader need not be told that the new comer was the friendly Ned, whose testimony was indeed a valuable corroborative337 to Dummie’s, and whose regard for Clifford, aided by an appetite for rewards, had induced him to venture to the town of ——— although he tarried concealed338 in a safe suburb, until reassured339 by a written promise from Brandon of safety to his person, and a sum for which we might almost doubt whether he would not have consented (so long had he been mistaking means for an end) to be hanged himself. Brandon listened to the details of these confederates; and when they had finished, he addressed them thus: “I have heard you, and am convinced you are liars340 and impostors. There is the money I promised you” (throwing down a pocket-book) — “take it; and, hark you, if ever you dare whisper, ay, but a breath of the atrocious lie you have now forged, be sure I will have you dragged from the recess341 or nook of infamy342 in which you may hide your heads, and hanged for the crimes you have already committed. I am not the man to break my word. Begone! quit this town instantly! If in two hours hence you are found here, your blood be on your own heads! Begone, I say!”
These words, aided by a countenance well adapted at all times to expressions of a menacing and ruthless character, at once astounded and appalled the accomplices. They left the room in hasty confusion; and Brandon, now alone, walked with uneven343 steps (the alarming weakness and vacillation344 of which he did not himself feel) to and fro the apartment. The hell of his breast was stamped upon his features, but he uttered only one thought aloud —
“I may — yes, yes — I may yet conceal331 this disgrace to my name!”
His servant tapped at the door to say that the carriage was ready, and that Lord Mauleverer had bid him remind his master that they dined punctually at the hour appointed.
“I am coming!” said Brandon, with a slow and startling emphasis on each word. But he first sat down and wrote a letter to the official quarter, strongly aiding the recommendation of the Jury; and we may conceive how pride clung to him to the last, when he urged the substitution for death of transportation for life! As soon as he had sealed this letter, he summoned an express, gave his orders coolly and distinctly, and attempted with his usual stateliness of step to walk through a long passage which led to the outer door. He found himself fail. “Come hither,” he said to his servant, “give me your arm!”
All Brandon’s domestics, save the one left with Lucy, stood in awe of him; and it was with some hesitation345 that his servant ventured to inquire if his master felt well.
Brandon looked at him, but made no reply. He entered his carriage with slight difficulty, and telling the coachman to drive as fast as possible, pulled down (a general custom with him) all the blinds of the windows.
Meanwhile Lord Mauleverer, with six friends, was impatiently awaiting the arrival of the seventh guest.
“Our August friend tarries!” quoth the Bishop of ———— with his hands folded across his capacious stomach. “I fear the turbot your lordship spoke of may not be the better for the length of the trial.”
“Poor fellow!” said the Earl of ———— slightly yawning.
“Whom do you mean?” asked Lord Mauleverer, with a smile — “the bishop, the judge, or the turbot?”
“Not one of the three, Mauleverer — I spoke of the prisoner.”
“Ah, the fine dog! I forgot him,” said Mauleverer. “Really, now you mention him, I must confess that he inspires me with great compassion346; but, indeed, it is very wrong in him to keep the judge so long!”
“Those hardened wretches347 have such a great deal to say,” mumbled348 the bishop, sourly.
“True!” said Mauleverer; “a religious rogue349 would have had some bowels350 for the state of the church esurient.”
“Is it really true, Mauleverer,” asked the Earl of ——— “that Brandon is to succeed?”
“So I hear,” said Mauleverer. “Heavens, how hungry I am!”
A groan351 from the bishop echoed the complaint.
“I suppose it would be against all decorum to sit down to dinner without him?” said Lord ————.
“Why, really, I fear so,” returned Mauleverer. “But our health — our health is at stake; we will only wait five minutes more. By Jove, there’s the carriage! I beg your pardon for my heathen oath, my lord bishop.”
“I forgive you!” said the good bishop, smiling.
The party thus engaged in colloquy352 were stationed at a window opening on the gravel179 road, along which the judge’s carriage was now seen rapidly approaching; this window was but a few yards from the porch, and had been partially353 opened for the better reconnoitring the approach of the expected guest.
“He keeps the blinds down still! Absence of mind, or shame at unpunctuality — which is the cause, Mauleverer?” said one of the party.
“Not shame, I fear!” answered Mauleverer. “Even the indecent immorality354 of delaying our dinner could scarcely bring a blush to the parchment skin of my learned friend.”
Here the carriage stopped at the porch; the carriage door was opened.
“There seems a strange delay,” said Mauleverer, peevishly355. “Why does not he get out?”
As he spoke, a murmur among the attendants, who appeared somewhat strangely to crowd around the carriage, smote356 the ears of the party.
“What do they say — what?” said Mauleverer, putting his hand to his ear.
The bishop answered hastily; and Mauleverer, as he heard the reply, forgot for once his susceptibility to cold, and hurried out to the carriage door. His guests followed.
They found Brandon leaning against the farther corner of the carriage — a corpse. One hand held the check-string, as if he had endeavoured involuntarily but ineffectually to pull it. The right side of his face was partially distorted, as by convulsion or paralysis357; but not sufficiently so to destroy that remarkable expression of loftiness and severity which had characterized the features in life. At the same time the distortion which had drawn up on one side the muscles of the mouth had deepened into a startling broadness the half sneer173 of derision that usually lurked358 around the lower part of his face. Thus unwitnessed and abrupt had been the disunion of the clay and spirit of a man who, if he passed through life a bold, scheming, stubborn, unwavering hypocrite, was not without something high even amidst his baseness, his selfishness, and his vices; who seemed less to have loved sin than by some strange perversion359 of reason to have disdained360 virtue361, and who, by a solemn and awful suddenness of fate (for who shall venture to indicate the judgment of the arch and unseen Providence362, even when it appears to mortal eye the least obscured?), won the dreams, the objects, the triumphs of hope, to be blasted by them at the moment of acquisition!
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awe
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| n.敬畏，惊惧；vt.使敬畏，使惊惧 | |
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err
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| vi.犯错误，出差错 | |
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shudder
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| v.战粟，震动，剧烈地摇晃；n.战粟，抖动 | |
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hideous
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| adj.丑陋的，可憎的，可怕的，恐怖的 | |
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twine
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| v.搓，织，编饰；（使）缠绕 | |
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prey
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| n.被掠食者，牺牲者，掠食；v.捕食，掠夺，折磨 | |
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hush
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| int.嘘，别出声；n.沉默，静寂；v.使安静 | |
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solitude
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| n. 孤独; 独居,荒僻之地,幽静的地方 | |
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dread
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| vt.担忧，忧虑；惧怕，不敢；n.担忧，畏惧 | |
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hatred
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| n.憎恶，憎恨，仇恨 | |
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lodging
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| n.寄宿，住所；(大学生的)校外宿舍 | |
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musing
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| n. 沉思，冥想 adj. 沉思的, 冥想的 动词muse的现在分词形式 | |
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chamber
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| n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所 | |
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consigned
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| v.把…置于（令人不快的境地）( consign的过去式和过去分词 )；把…托付给；把…托人代售；丟弃 | |
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quaint
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| adj.古雅的，离奇有趣的，奇怪的 | |
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intervals
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| n.[军事]间隔( interval的名词复数 )；间隔时间；[数学]区间；（戏剧、电影或音乐会的）幕间休息 | |
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dingy
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| adj.昏暗的，肮脏的 | |
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wigs
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| n.假发，法官帽( wig的名词复数 ) | |
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predilection
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| n.偏好 | |
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landlady
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| n.女房东，女地主 | |
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emblematic
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| adj.象征的，可当标志的；象征性 | |
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buxom
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| adj.（妇女）丰满的，有健康美的 | |
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forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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likeness
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| n.相像，相似（之处） | |
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aged
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| adj.年老的，陈年的 | |
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interspersed
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| adj.[医]散开的；点缀的v.intersperse的过去式和过去分词 | |
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intersperse
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| vt.散布，散置，点缀 | |
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engraving
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| n.版画；雕刻（作品）；雕刻艺术；镌版术v.在（硬物）上雕刻（字，画等）( engrave的现在分词 )；将某事物深深印在（记忆或头脑中） | |
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lieutenant
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| n.陆军中尉，海军上尉；代理官员，副职官员 | |
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tenant
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| n.承租人；房客；佃户；v.租借，租用 | |
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majestic
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| adj.雄伟的，壮丽的，庄严的，威严的，崇高的 | |
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intimacy
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| n.熟悉，亲密，密切关系，亲昵的言行 | |
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33
desolate
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| adj.荒凉的，荒芜的；孤独的，凄凉的；v.使荒芜，使孤寂 | |
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34
sweeping
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| adj.范围广大的，一扫无遗的 | |
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35
elevation
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| n.高度；海拔；高地；上升；提高 | |
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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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37
patrician
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| adj.贵族的，显贵的；n.贵族；有教养的人；罗马帝国的地方官 | |
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38
phantoms
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| n.鬼怪，幽灵( phantom的名词复数 ) | |
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39
checkered
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| adj.有方格图案的 | |
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40
disquieting
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| adj.令人不安的，令人不平静的v.使不安，使忧虑，使烦恼( disquiet的现在分词 ) | |
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41
hereditary
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| adj.遗传的，遗传性的，可继承的，世袭的 | |
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42
perpetuate
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| v.使永存，使永记不忘 | |
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43
den
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| n.兽穴；秘密地方；安静的小房间，私室 | |
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44
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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45
darting
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| v.投掷，投射( dart的现在分词 )；向前冲，飞奔 | |
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46
spasm
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| n.痉挛，抽搐；一阵发作 | |
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47
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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48
talons
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| n.（尤指猛禽的）爪( talon的名词复数 )；（如爪般的）手指；爪状物；锁簧尖状突出部 | |
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49
afflicted
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| 使受痛苦，折磨( afflict的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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50
anticipations
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| 预期( anticipation的名词复数 )； 预测； （信托财产收益的）预支； 预期的事物 | |
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51
obtruding
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| v.强行向前，强行，强迫( obtrude的现在分词 ) | |
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52
abruptly
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| adv.突然地，出其不意地 | |
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53
abrupt
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| adj.突然的，意外的；唐突的，鲁莽的 | |
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54
tingling
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| v.有刺痛感( tingle的现在分词 ) | |
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55
anguish
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| n.(尤指心灵上的)极度痛苦，烦恼 | |
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56
immediate
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| adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的 | |
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57
temperate
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| adj.温和的，温带的，自我克制的，不过分的 | |
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58
traitor
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| n.叛徒，卖国贼 | |
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59
nay
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| adv.不；n.反对票，投反对票者 | |
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60
twitches
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| n.（使）抽动， （使）颤动， （使）抽搐( twitch的名词复数 ) | |
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61
regain
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| vt.重新获得，收复，恢复 | |
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62
wedded
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| adj.正式结婚的；渴望…的，执著于…的v.嫁，娶，（与…）结婚( wed的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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63
lasting
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| adj.永久的，永恒的；vbl.持续，维持 | |
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64
quirks
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| n.奇事，巧合( quirk的名词复数 )；怪癖 | |
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65
swell
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| vi.膨胀，肿胀；增长，增强 | |
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66
swells
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| 增强( swell的第三人称单数 )； 肿胀； （使）凸出； 充满（激情） | |
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67
languor
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| n.无精力，倦怠 | |
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68
doom
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| n.厄运，劫数；v.注定，命定 | |
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69
complexion
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| n.肤色；情况，局面；气质，性格 | |
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70
melancholy
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| n.忧郁，愁思；adj.令人感伤（沮丧）的，忧郁的 | |
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71
bustle
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| v.喧扰地忙乱，匆忙，奔忙；n.忙碌；喧闹 | |
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72
animation
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| n.活泼，兴奋，卡通片／动画片的制作 | |
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73
jovial
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| adj.快乐的，好交际的 | |
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74
phlegmatic
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| adj.冷静的，冷淡的，冷漠的，无活力的 | |
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75
situated
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| adj.坐落在...的，处于某种境地的 | |
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76
gaped
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| v.目瞪口呆地凝视( gape的过去式和过去分词 )；张开，张大 | |
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77
upwards
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| adv.向上，在更高处...以上 | |
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79
catching
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| adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住 | |
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80
murmur
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| n.低语，低声的怨言；v.低语，低声而言 | |
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81
fretting
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| n. 微振磨损 adj. 烦躁的, 焦虑的 | |
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82
trampling
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| 踩( trample的现在分词 )； 践踏； 无视； 侵犯 | |
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83
scrambling
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| v.快速爬行( scramble的现在分词 )；攀登；争夺；（军事飞机）紧急起飞 | |
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84
abstemious
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| adj.有节制的，节俭的 | |
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85
judicial
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| adj.司法的，法庭的，审判的，明断的，公正的 | |
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86
adorned
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| [计]被修饰的 | |
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87
surmounted
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| 战胜( surmount的过去式和过去分词 )； 克服（困难）； 居于…之上； 在…顶上 | |
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88
alluded
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| 提及，暗指( allude的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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89
allude
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| v.提及，暗指 | |
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90
esteem
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| n.尊敬，尊重；vt.尊重，敬重；把…看作 | |
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91
majesty
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| n.雄伟，壮丽，庄严，威严；最高权威，王权 | |
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92
antiquity
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| n.古老；高龄；古物，古迹 | |
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93
touching
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| adj.动人的，使人感伤的 | |
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94
license
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| n.执照，许可证，特许；v.许可，特许 | |
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95
forsake
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| vt.遗弃，抛弃；舍弃，放弃 | |
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96
celibacy
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| n.独身(主义) | |
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97
profess
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| v.声称，冒称，以...为业，正式接受入教，表明信仰 | |
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98
baron
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| n.男爵；(商业界等)巨头，大王 | |
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99
confidential
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| adj.秘（机）密的，表示信任的，担任机密工作的 | |
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100
premier
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| adj.首要的；n.总理，首相 | |
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101
affixed
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| adj.[医]附着的，附着的v.附加( affix的过去式和过去分词 )；粘贴；加以；盖（印章） | |
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102
countenance
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| n.脸色，面容；面部表情；vt.支持，赞同 | |
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103
gallant
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| adj.英勇的，豪侠的；(向女人)献殷勤的 | |
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104
impartial
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| adj.(in,to)公正的，无偏见的 | |
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105
ascetic
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| adj.禁欲的；严肃的 | |
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106
triumphant
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| adj.胜利的，成功的；狂欢的，喜悦的 | |
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107
elixir
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| n.长生不老药，万能药 | |
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108
joyous
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| adj.充满快乐的；令人高兴的 | |
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109
complacent
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| adj.自满的；自鸣得意的 | |
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110
skilful
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| (=skillful)adj.灵巧的，熟练的 | |
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111
ardent
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| adj.热情的，热烈的，强烈的，烈性的 | |
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112
elastic
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| n.橡皮圈，松紧带；adj.有弹性的；灵活的 | |
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113
longevity
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| n.长命；长寿 | |
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114
fully
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| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
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115
dense
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| a.密集的，稠密的，浓密的；密度大的 | |
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116
celebrated
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| adj.有名的，声誉卓著的 | |
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117
imprisonment
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| n.关押，监禁，坐牢 | |
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118
remarkably
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| ad.不同寻常地，相当地 | |
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119
confinement
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| n.幽禁，拘留，监禁；分娩；限制，局限 | |
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120
indictment
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| n.起诉；诉状 | |
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121
steadily
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| adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地 | |
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122
aliases
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| n.别名，化名( alias的名词复数 ) | |
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123
exulting
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| vi. 欢欣鼓舞，狂喜 | |
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124
ingenuity
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| n.别出心裁；善于发明创造 | |
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125
eminence
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| n.卓越，显赫；高地，高处；名家 | |
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126
remarkable
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| adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的 | |
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127
subservience
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| n.有利，有益；从属（地位），附属性；屈从，恭顺；媚态 | |
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128
peculiar
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| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
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129
eloquence
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| n.雄辩；口才，修辞 | |
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130
possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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131
candid
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| adj.公正的，正直的；坦率的 | |
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132
apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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133
homely
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| adj.家常的，简朴的；不漂亮的 | |
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134
virtuous
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| adj.有品德的，善良的，贞洁的，有效力的 | |
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135
disinterested
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| adj.不关心的，不感兴趣的 | |
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136
amiable
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| adj.和蔼可亲的，友善的，亲切的 | |
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137
versed
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| adj. 精通，熟练 | |
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138
pervert
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| n.堕落者，反常者；vt.误用，滥用；使人堕落，使入邪路 | |
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139
tickle
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| v.搔痒，胳肢；使高兴；发痒；n.搔痒，发痒 | |
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140
cozen
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| v.欺骗，哄骗 | |
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141
scrupulous
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| adj.审慎的，小心翼翼的，完全的，纯粹的 | |
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142
delicacy
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| n.精致，细微，微妙，精良；美味，佳肴 | |
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143
inmates
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| n.囚犯( inmate的名词复数 ) | |
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144
behold
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| v.看，注视，看到 | |
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145
undue
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| adj.过分的；不适当的；未到期的 | |
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146
bias
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| n.偏见，偏心，偏袒；vt.使有偏见 | |
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147
implore
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| vt.乞求，恳求，哀求 | |
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148
favourable
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| adj.赞成的，称赞的，有利的，良好的，顺利的 | |
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149
affected
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| adj.不自然的，假装的 | |
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150
callous
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| adj.无情的，冷淡的，硬结的，起老茧的 | |
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151
intercourse
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| n.性交；交流，交往，交际 | |
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152
benevolence
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| n.慈悲，捐助 | |
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153
arduous
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| adj.艰苦的，费力的，陡峭的 | |
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154
persuasions
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| n.劝说，说服（力）( persuasion的名词复数 )；信仰 | |
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155
persuasion
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| n.劝说；说服；持有某种信仰的宗派 | |
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156
inflict
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| vt.(on)把…强加给，使遭受，使承担 | |
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157
positively
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| adv.明确地，断然，坚决地；实在，确实 | |
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158
cavern
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| n.洞穴，大山洞 | |
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159
accomplices
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| 从犯，帮凶，同谋( accomplice的名词复数 ) | |
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160
apprehended
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| 逮捕，拘押( apprehend的过去式和过去分词 )； 理解 | |
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161
testimony
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| n.证词；见证，证明 | |
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162
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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163
briefly
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| adv.简单地，简短地 | |
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164
alleged
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| a.被指控的，嫌疑的 | |
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165
concise
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| adj.简洁的，简明的 | |
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166
blighting
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| 使凋萎( blight的现在分词 )； 使颓丧； 损害； 妨害 | |
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167
deign
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| v. 屈尊, 惠允 ( 做某事) | |
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168
pomposity
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| n.浮华；虚夸；炫耀；自负 | |
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169
worthy
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| adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的 | |
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170
sufficiently
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| adv.足够地，充分地 | |
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171
adverse
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| adj.不利的；有害的；敌对的，不友好的 | |
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172
sneering
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| 嘲笑的，轻蔑的 | |
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173
sneer
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| v.轻蔑；嘲笑；n.嘲笑，讥讽的言语 | |
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174
truculently
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175
insidious
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| adj.阴险的，隐匿的，暗中为害的，（疾病）不知不觉之间加剧 | |
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176
retired
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| adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的 | |
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177
bishop
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| n.主教，（国际象棋）象 | |
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178
susceptible
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| adj.过敏的，敏感的；易动感情的，易受感动的 | |
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179
gravel
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| n.砂跞；砂砾层；结石 | |
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180
satire
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| n.讽刺，讽刺文学，讽刺作品 | |
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181
numbing
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| adj.使麻木的，使失去感觉的v.使麻木，使麻痹( numb的现在分词 ) | |
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182
winking
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| n.瞬眼，目语v.使眼色( wink的现在分词 )；递眼色（表示友好或高兴等）；（指光）闪烁；闪亮 | |
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183
eluded
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| v.（尤指机敏地）避开( elude的过去式和过去分词 )；逃避；躲避；使达不到 | |
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184
drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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185
eloquent
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| adj.雄辩的，口才流利的；明白显示出的 | |
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186
protract
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| v.延长，拖长 | |
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187
vowed
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| 起誓，发誓（vow的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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188
premature
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| adj.比预期时间早的；不成熟的，仓促的 | |
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189
repentance
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| n.懊悔 | |
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190
redress
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| n.赔偿，救济，矫正；v.纠正，匡正，革除 | |
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191
contrition
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| n.悔罪，痛悔 | |
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192
descant
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| v.详论，絮说；n.高音部 | |
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193
excellence
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| n.优秀，杰出，(pl.)优点，美德 | |
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194
disarm
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| v.解除武装，回复平常的编制，缓和 | |
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195
condemnation
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| n.谴责; 定罪 | |
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196
superfluous
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| adj.过多的，过剩的，多余的 | |
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197
thither
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| adv.向那里；adj.在那边的，对岸的 | |
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198
infringed
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| v.违反（规章等）( infringe的过去式和过去分词 )；侵犯（某人的权利）；侵害（某人的自由、权益等） | |
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199
herd
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| n.兽群，牧群；vt.使集中，把…赶在一起 | |
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200
offenders
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| n.冒犯者( offender的名词复数 )；犯规者；罪犯；妨害…的人（或事物） | |
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201
vice
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| n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的 | |
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202
goading
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| v.刺激( goad的现在分词 )；激励；（用尖棒）驱赶；驱使（或怂恿、刺激）某人 | |
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203
injustice
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| n.非正义，不公正，不公平，侵犯（别人的）权利 | |
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204
secondly
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| adv.第二，其次 | |
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205
corruption
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| n.腐败，堕落，贪污 | |
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206
aggression
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| n.进攻，侵略，侵犯，侵害 | |
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207
sleek
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| adj.光滑的，井然有序的；v.使光滑，梳拢 | |
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208
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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209
opposition
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| n.反对，敌对 | |
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210
beseech
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| v.祈求，恳求 | |
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211
props
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| 小道具； 支柱( prop的名词复数 )； 支持者； 道具； （橄榄球中的）支柱前锋 | |
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212
exertion
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| n.尽力，努力 | |
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213
bribes
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| 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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214
covenant
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| n.盟约，契约；v.订盟约 | |
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215
momentary
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| adj.片刻的，瞬息的；短暂的 | |
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216
rumours
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| n.传闻( rumour的名词复数 )；风闻；谣言；谣传 | |
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217
fables
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| n.寓言( fable的名词复数 )；神话，传说 | |
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218
kindled
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| （使某物）燃烧，着火( kindle的过去式和过去分词 )； 激起（感情等）； 发亮，放光 | |
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219
plunder
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| vt.劫掠财物，掠夺；n.劫掠物，赃物；劫掠 | |
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220
habitual
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| adj.习惯性的；通常的，惯常的 | |
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221
systematic
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| adj.有系统的，有计划的，有方法的 | |
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222
pilfering
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| v.偷窃（小东西），小偷( pilfer的现在分词 )；偷窃（一般指小偷小摸） | |
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223
outrage
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| n.暴行，侮辱，愤怒；vt.凌辱，激怒 | |
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224
scattering
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| n.[物]散射；散乱，分散；在媒介质中的散播adj.散乱的；分散在不同范围的；广泛扩散的；（选票）数量分散的v.散射(scatter的ing形式)；散布；驱散 | |
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225
consolation
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| n.安慰，慰问 | |
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226
derive
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| v.取得；导出；引申；来自；源自；出自 | |
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227
divest
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| v.脱去，剥除 | |
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228
aggravation
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| n.烦恼，恼火 | |
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229
amendment
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| n.改正，修正，改善，修正案 | |
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230
utterly
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| adv.完全地，绝对地 | |
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231
redeeming
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| 补偿的，弥补的 | |
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232
beheld
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| v.看，注视( behold的过去式和过去分词 )；瞧；看呀；（叙述中用于引出某人意外的出现）哎哟 | |
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233
malice
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| n.恶意，怨恨，蓄意；[律]预谋 | |
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234
haughty
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| adj.傲慢的，高傲的 | |
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235
conspicuous
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| adj.明眼的，惹人注目的；炫耀的，摆阔气的 | |
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236
veins
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| n.纹理；矿脉( vein的名词复数 )；静脉；叶脉；纹理 | |
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237
guardians
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| 监护人( guardian的名词复数 )； 保护者，维护者 | |
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238
ordeal
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| n.苦难经历，（尤指对品格、耐力的）严峻考验 | |
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239
candidly
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| adv.坦率地，直率而诚恳地 | |
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240
avow
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| v.承认，公开宣称 | |
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241
procure
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| vt.获得，取得，促成；vi.拉皮条 | |
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242
humbling
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| adj.令人羞辱的v.使谦恭( humble的现在分词 )；轻松打败（尤指强大的对手）；低声下气 | |
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243
wrestle
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| vi.摔跤，角力；搏斗；全力对付 | |
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244
butt
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| n.笑柄；烟蒂；枪托；臀部；v.用头撞或顶 | |
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245
solitary
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| adj.孤独的，独立的，荒凉的；n.隐士 | |
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246
harangue
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| n.慷慨冗长的训话，言辞激烈的讲话 | |
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247
suspense
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| n.（对可能发生的事）紧张感，担心，挂虑 | |
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248
utterance
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| n.用言语表达，话语，言语 | |
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249
intrepidity
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| n.大胆，刚勇；大胆的行为 | |
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250
motive
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| n.动机，目的；adv.发动的，运动的 | |
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251
stony
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| adj.石头的，多石头的，冷酷的，无情的 | |
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252
distinguished
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| adj.卓越的，杰出的，著名的 | |
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253
pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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254
soften
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| v.(使)变柔软；(使)变柔和 | |
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255
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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256
anecdotes
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| n.掌故，趣闻，轶事( anecdote的名词复数 ) | |
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257
derivable
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| adj.可引出的，可推论的，可诱导的 | |
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258
redeems
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| 补偿( redeem的第三人称单数 )； 实践； 解救； 使…免受责难 | |
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259
interferes
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| vi. 妨碍，冲突，干涉 | |
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260
motives
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| n.动机，目的( motive的名词复数 ) | |
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261
indictments
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| n.（制度、社会等的）衰败迹象( indictment的名词复数 )；刑事起诉书；公诉书；控告 | |
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262
ordains
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| v.任命（某人）为牧师( ordain的第三人称单数 )；授予（某人）圣职；（上帝、法律等）命令；判定 | |
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263
minor
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| adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修 | |
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264
perjury
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| n.伪证；伪证罪 | |
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265
judgment
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| n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见 | |
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266
allusion
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| n.暗示，间接提示 | |
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267
adjuration
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| n.祈求，命令 | |
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268
noted
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| adj.著名的，知名的 | |
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269
scrupulosity
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| n.顾虑 | |
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270
agitated
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| adj.被鼓动的，不安的 | |
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271
garb
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| n.服装，装束 | |
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272
tranquillity
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| n. 平静, 安静 | |
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273
constable
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| n.(英国)警察，警官 | |
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274
vehemence
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| n.热切；激烈；愤怒 | |
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275
scrap
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| n.碎片；废料；v.废弃，报废 | |
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276
rugged
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| adj.高低不平的，粗糙的，粗壮的，强健的 | |
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277
intrusive
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| adj.打搅的；侵扰的 | |
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278
intoxicated
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| 喝醉的，极其兴奋的 | |
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279
droop
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| v.低垂，下垂；凋萎，萎靡 | |
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280
deranged
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| adj.疯狂的 | |
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281
constables
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| n.警察( constable的名词复数 ) | |
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282
astounded
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| v.使震惊(astound的过去式和过去分词)；愕然；愕；惊讶 | |
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283
awed
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|
| adj.充满敬畏的，表示敬畏的v.使敬畏，使惊惧( awe的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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284
intoxication
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| n.wild excitement;drunkenness；poisoning | |
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285
hubbub
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| n.嘈杂；骚乱 | |
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286
withdrawn
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| vt.收回；使退出；vi.撤退，退出 | |
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287
mitigate
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| vt.（使）减轻，（使）缓和 | |
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288
enlist
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| vt.谋取(支持等)，赢得；征募；vi.入伍 | |
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289
felon
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| n.重罪犯；adj.残忍的 | |
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290
magistrate
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| n.地方行政官，地方法官，治安官 | |
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291
accusation
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| n.控告，指责，谴责 | |
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292
appalled
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| v.使惊骇，使充满恐惧( appall的过去式和过去分词)adj.惊骇的；丧胆的 | |
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293
quail
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| n.鹌鹑；vi.畏惧，颤抖 | |
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294
doomed
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| 命定的 | |
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295
exhaustion
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| n.耗尽枯竭，疲惫，筋疲力尽，竭尽，详尽无遗的论述 | |
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296
hue
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| n.色度；色调；样子 | |
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297
complexions
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| 肤色( complexion的名词复数 )； 面色； 局面； 性质 | |
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298
displeasing
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| 不愉快的，令人发火的 | |
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299
sarcastic
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| adj.讥讽的，讽刺的，嘲弄的 | |
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300
rigidity
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| adj.钢性，坚硬 | |
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301
deteriorated
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| 恶化，变坏( deteriorate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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302
inflexible
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| adj.不可改变的，不受影响的，不屈服的 | |
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303
merged
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| （使）混合( merge的过去式和过去分词 )； 相融； 融入； 渐渐消失在某物中 | |
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304
petitioner
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| n.请愿人 | |
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305
erect
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| n./v.树立，建立，使竖立；adj.直立的，垂直的 | |
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306
countenances
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| n.面容( countenance的名词复数 )；表情；镇静；道义支持 | |
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307
resolute
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| adj.坚决的，果敢的 | |
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308
quell
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| v.压制，平息，减轻 | |
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309
leaven
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| v.使发酵；n.酵母；影响 | |
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310
irresistible
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| adj.非常诱人的，无法拒绝的，无法抗拒的 | |
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311
scion
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| n.嫩芽，子孙 | |
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312
coveted
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| adj.令人垂涎的；垂涎的，梦寐以求的v.贪求，觊觎(covet的过去分词)；垂涎；贪图 | |
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313
legitimate
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| adj.合法的，合理的，合乎逻辑的；v.使合法 | |
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314
garnered
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| v.收集并（通常）贮藏（某物），取得，获得( garner的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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315
regaining
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| 复得( regain的现在分词 )； 赢回； 重回； 复至某地 | |
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316
exultant
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| adj.欢腾的，狂欢的，大喜的 | |
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317
accomplished
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| adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的 | |
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318
epithet
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| n.（用于褒贬人物等的）表述形容词，修饰语 | |
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319
corpse
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| n.尸体，死尸 | |
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320
hueless
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321
decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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322
gasped
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| v.喘气( gasp的过去式和过去分词 )；喘息；倒抽气；很想要 | |
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323
humanely
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| adv.仁慈地；人道地；富人情地；慈悲地 | |
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324
supreme
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| adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的 | |
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325
mandate
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| n.托管地；命令，指示 | |
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326
abjure
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| v.发誓放弃 | |
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327
arraign
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| v.提讯；控告 | |
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328
remains
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| n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹 | |
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329
almighty
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| adj.全能的，万能的；很大的，很强的 | |
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330
tumult
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| n.喧哗；激动，混乱；吵闹 | |
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331
conceal
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| v.隐藏，隐瞒，隐蔽 | |
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332
concealing
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| v.隐藏，隐瞒，遮住( conceal的现在分词 ) | |
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333
spartan
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| adj.简朴的，刻苦的；n.斯巴达；斯巴达式的人 | |
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334
gnawing
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| a.痛苦的，折磨人的 | |
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335
pageant
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| n.壮观的游行；露天历史剧 | |
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336
proceedings
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| n.进程，过程，议程；诉讼(程序)；公报 | |
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337
corroborative
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| adj.确证（性）的，确凿的 | |
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338
concealed
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| a.隐藏的，隐蔽的 | |
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339
reassured
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| adj.使消除疑虑的；使放心的v.再保证，恢复信心( reassure的过去式和过去分词) | |
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340
liars
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| 说谎者( liar的名词复数 ) | |
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341
recess
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| n.短期休息，壁凹（墙上装架子，柜子等凹处） | |
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342
infamy
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| n.声名狼藉，出丑，恶行 | |
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343
uneven
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| adj.不平坦的，不规则的，不均匀的 | |
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344
vacillation
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| n.动摇；忧柔寡断 | |
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345
hesitation
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| n.犹豫，踌躇 | |
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346
compassion
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| n.同情，怜悯 | |
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347
wretches
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| n.不幸的人( wretch的名词复数 )；可怜的人；恶棍；坏蛋 | |
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348
mumbled
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| 含糊地说某事，叽咕，咕哝( mumble的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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349
rogue
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| n.流氓；v.游手好闲 | |
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350
bowels
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| n.肠，内脏，内部；肠( bowel的名词复数 )；内部，最深处 | |
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351
groan
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| vi./n.呻吟，抱怨；(发出)呻吟般的声音 | |
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352
colloquy
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| n.谈话，自由讨论 | |
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353
partially
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| adv.部分地，从某些方面讲 | |
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354
immorality
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| n. 不道德, 无道义 | |
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355
peevishly
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| adv．暴躁地 | |
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356
smote
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| v.猛打，重击，打击( smite的过去式 ) | |
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357
paralysis
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| n.麻痹(症)；瘫痪(症) | |
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358
lurked
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| vi.潜伏，埋伏（lurk的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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359
perversion
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| n.曲解；堕落；反常 | |
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360
disdained
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| 鄙视( disdain的过去式和过去分词 )； 不屑于做，不愿意做 | |
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361
virtue
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| n.德行，美德；贞操；优点；功效，效力 | |
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362
providence
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| n.深谋远虑，天道，天意；远见；节约；上帝 | |
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