Broaching2 of barrels, brandishing3 of spigots;
Blood shall flow freely, but it shall be gore4
Of herds5 and flocks, and venison and poultry6,
Join’d to the brave heart’s-blood of John-a-Barleycorn!
OLD PLAY.
Whatever rewards Charles might have condescended7 to bestow8 in acknowledgement of the sufferings and loyalty9 of Peveril of the Peak, he had none in his disposal equal to the pleasure which Providence10 had reserved for Bridgenorth on his return to Derbyshire. The exertion11 to which he had been summoned, had had the usual effect of restoring to a certain extent the activity and energy of his character, and he felt it would be unbecoming to relapse into the state of lethargic12 melancholy13 from which it had roused him. Time also had its usual effect in mitigating14 the subjects of his regret; and when he had passed one day at the Hall in regretting that he could not expect the indirect news of his daughter’s health, which Sir Geoffrey used to communicate in his almost daily call, he reflected that it would be in every respect becoming that he should pay a personal visit at Martindale Castle, carry thither15 the remembrances of the Knight16 to his lady, assure her of his health, and satisfy himself respecting that of his daughter. He armed himself for the worst — he called to recollection the thin cheeks, faded eye, wasted hand, pallid17 lip, which had marked the decaying health of all his former infants.
“I shall see,” he said, “these signs of mortality once more — I shall once more see a beloved being to whom I have given birth, gliding18 to the grave which ought to enclose me long before her. No matter — it is unmanly so long to shrink from that which must be — God’s will be done!”
He went accordingly, on the subsequent morning, to Martindale Castle, and gave the lady the welcome assurances of her husband’s safety, and of his hopes of preferment.
“For the first, may Almighty19 God be praised!” said the Lady Peveril; “and be the other as our gracious and restored Sovereign may will it. We are great enough for our means, and have means sufficient for contentment, though not for splendour. And now I see, good Master Bridgenorth, the folly20 of putting faith in idle presentiments21 of evil. So often had Sir Geoffrey’s repeated attempts in favour of the Stewarts led him into new misfortunes, that when, the other morning, I saw him once more dressed in his fatal armour22, and heard the sound of his trumpet23, which had been so long silent, it seemed to me as if I saw his shroud24, and heard his death-knell. I say this to you, good neighbour, the rather because I fear your own mind has been harassed25 with anticipations26 of impending27 calamity28, which it may please God to avert29 in your case as it has done in mine; and here comes a sight which bears good assurance of it.”
The door of the apartment opened as she spoke30, and two lovely children entered. The eldest31, Julian Peveril, a fine boy betwixt four and five years old, led in his hand, with an air of dignified32 support and attention, a little girl of eighteen months, who rolled and tottered33 along, keeping herself with difficulty upright by the assistance of her elder, stronger, and masculine companion.
Bridgenorth cast a hasty and fearful glance upon the countenance34 of his daughter, and, even in that glimpse, perceived, with exquisite35 delight, that his fears were unfounded. He caught her in his arms, pressed her to his heart, and the child, though at first alarmed at the vehemence36 of his caresses37, presently, as if prompted by Nature, smiled in reply to them. Again he held her at some distance from him, and examined her more attentively38; he satisfied himself that the complexion39 of the young cherub40 he had in his arms was not the hectic41 tinge42 of disease, but the clear hue43 of ruddy health; and that though her little frame was slight, it was firm and springy.
“I did not think that it could have been thus,” he said, looking to Lady Peveril, who had sat observing the scene with great pleasure; “but praise be to God in the first instance, and next, thanks to you, madam, who have been His instrument.”
“Julian must lose his playfellow now, I suppose?” said the lady; “but the Hall is not distant, and I will see my little charge often. Dame44 Martha, the housekeeper45 at Moultrassie, has sense, and is careful. I will tell her the rules I have observed with little Alice, and ——”
“God forbid my girl should ever come to Moultrassie,” said Major Bridgenorth hastily; “it has been the grave of her race. The air of the low grounds suited them not — or there is perhaps a fate connected with the mansion46. I will seek for her some other place of abode47.”
“That you shall not, under your favour be it spoken, Major Bridgenorth,” answered the lady. “If you do so, we must suppose that you are undervaluing my qualities as a nurse. If she goes not to her father’s house, she shall not quit mine. I will keep the little lady as a pledge of her safety and my own skill; and since you are afraid of the damp of the low grounds, I hope you will come here frequently to visit her.”
This was a proposal which went to the heart of Major Bridgenorth. It was precisely48 the point which he would have given worlds to arrive at, but which he saw no chance of attaining49.
It is too well known, that those whose families are long pursued by such a fatal disease as existed in his, become, it may be said, superstitious50 respecting its fatal effects, and ascribe to place, circumstance, and individual care, much more perhaps than these can in any case contribute to avert the fatality51 of constitutional distemper. Lady Peveril was aware that this was peculiarly the impression of her neighbour; that the depression of his spirits, the excess of his care, the feverishness52 of his apprehensions53, the restraint and gloom of the solitude54 in which he dwelt, were really calculated to produce the evil which most of all he dreaded55. She pitied him, she felt for him, she was grateful for former protection received at his hands — she had become interested in the child itself. What female fails to feel such interest in the helpless creature she has tended? And to sum the whole up, the dame had a share of human vanity; and being a sort of Lady Bountiful in her way (for the character was not then confined to the old and the foolish), she was proud of the skill by which she had averted56 the probable attacks of hereditary57 malady58, so inveterate59 in the family of Bridgenorth. It needed not, perhaps, in other cases, that so many reasons should be assigned for an act of neighbourly humanity; but civil war had so lately torn the country asunder60, and broken all the usual ties of vicinage and good neighbourhood, that it was unusual to see them preserved among persons of different political opinions.
Major Bridgenorth himself felt this; and while the tear of joy in his eye showed how gladly he would accept Lady Peveril’s proposal, he could not help stating the obvious inconveniences attendant upon her scheme, though it was in the tone of one who would gladly hear them overruled. “Madam,” he said, “your kindness makes me the happiest and most thankful of men; but can it be consistent with your own convenience? Sir Geoffrey has his opinions on many points, which have differed, and probably do still differ, from mine. He is high-born, and I of middling parentage only. He uses the Church Service, and I the Catechism of the Assembly of Divines at Westminster ——”
“I hope you will find prescribed in neither of them,” said the Lady Peveril, “that I may not be a mother to your motherless child. I trust, Master Bridgenorth, the joyful61 Restoration of his Majesty62, a work wrought63 by the direct hand of Providence, may be the means of closing and healing all civil and religious dissensions among us, and that, instead of showing the superior purity of our faith, by persecuting64 those who think otherwise from ourselves on doctrinal points, we shall endeavour to show its real Christian65 tendency, by emulating66 each other in actions of good-will towards man, as the best way of showing our love to God.”
“Your ladyship speaks what your own kind heart dictates,” answered Bridgenorth, who had his own share of the narrow-mindedness of the time; “and sure am I, that if all who call themselves loyalists and Cavaliers, thought like you — and like my friend Sir Geoffrey”—(this he added after a moment’s pause, being perhaps rather complimentary67 than sincere)—“we, who thought it our duty in time past to take arms for freedom of conscience, and against arbitrary power, might now sit down in peace and contentment. But I wot not how it may fall. You have sharp and hot spirits amongst you; I will not say our power was always moderately used, and revenge is sweet to the race of fallen Adam.”
“Come, Master Bridgenorth,” said the Lady Peveril gaily68, “those evil omenings do but point out conclusions, which, unless they were so anticipated, are most unlikely to come to pass. You know what Shakespeare says —
‘To fly the boar before the boar pursues,
Were to incense69 the boar to follow us,
And make pursuit when he did mean no chase.’
“But I crave70 your pardon — it is so long since we have met, that I forgot you love no play-books.”
“With reverence71 to your ladyship,” said Bridgenorth, “I were much to blame did I need the idle words of a Warwickshire stroller, to teach me my grateful duty to your ladyship on this occasion, which appoints me to be directed by you in all things which my conscience will permit.”
“Since you permit me such influence, then,” replied the Lady Peveril, “I shall be moderate in exercising it, in order that I may, in my domination at least, give you a favourable72 impression of the new order of things. So, if you will be a subject of mine for one day, neighbour, I am going, at my lord and husband’s command, to issue out my warrants to invite the whole neighbourhood to a solemn feast at the Castle, on Thursday next; and I not only pray you to be personally present yourself, but to prevail on your worthy73 pastor74, and such neighbours and friends, high and low, as may think in your own way, to meet with the rest of the neighbourhood, to rejoice on this joyful occasion of the King’s Restoration, and thereby75 to show that we are to be henceforward a united people.”
The parliamentarian Major was considerably76 embarrassed by this proposal. He looked upward, and downward, and around, cast his eye first to the oak-carved ceiling, and anon fixed77 it upon the floor; then threw it around the room till it lighted on his child, the sight of whom suggested another and a better train of reflections than ceiling and floor had been able to supply.
“Madam,” he said, “I have long been a stranger to festivity, perhaps from constitutional melancholy, perhaps from the depression which is natural to a desolate78 and deprived man, in whose ear mirth is marred79, like a pleasant air when performed on a mistuned instrument. But though neither my thoughts nor temperament80 are Jovial81 or Mercurial82, it becomes me to be grateful to Heaven for the good He has sent me by the means of your ladyship. David, the man after God’s own heart, did wash and eat bread when his beloved child was removed — mine is restored to me, and shall I not show gratitude83 under a blessing84, when he showed resignation under an affliction? Madam, I will wait on your gracious invitation with acceptance; and such of my friends with whom I may possess influence, and whose presence your ladyship may desire, shall accompany me to the festivity, that our Israel may be as one people.”
Having spoken these words with an aspect which belonged more to a martyr85 than to a guest bidden to a festival, and having kissed, and solemnly blessed his little girl, Major Bridgenorth took his departure for Moultrassie Hall.
点击
收听单词发音
收听单词发音 |
1
bellowing
|
|
| v.发出吼叫声，咆哮（尤指因痛苦）( bellow的现在分词 )；（愤怒地）说出（某事），大叫 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
2
broaching
|
|
| n.拉削；推削；铰孔；扩孔v.谈起( broach的现在分词 )；打开并开始用；用凿子扩大（或修光）；（在桶上）钻孔取液体 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
3
brandishing
|
|
| v.挥舞( brandish的现在分词 )；炫耀 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
4
gore
|
|
| n.凝血，血污；v.（动物）用角撞伤，用牙刺破；缝以补裆；顶 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
5
herds
|
|
| 兽群( herd的名词复数 )； 牧群； 人群； 群众 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
6
poultry
|
|
| n.家禽，禽肉 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
7
condescended
|
|
| 屈尊，俯就( condescend的过去式和过去分词 )； 故意表示和蔼可亲 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
8
bestow
|
|
| v.把…赠与，把…授予；花费 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
9
loyalty
|
|
| n.忠诚，忠心 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
10
providence
|
|
| n.深谋远虑，天道，天意；远见；节约；上帝 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
11
exertion
|
|
| n.尽力，努力 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
12
lethargic
|
|
| adj.昏睡的，懒洋洋的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
13
melancholy
|
|
| n.忧郁，愁思；adj.令人感伤（沮丧）的，忧郁的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
14
mitigating
|
|
| v.减轻，缓和( mitigate的现在分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
15
thither
|
|
| adv.向那里；adj.在那边的，对岸的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
16
knight
|
|
| n.骑士，武士；爵士 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
17
pallid
|
|
| adj.苍白的，呆板的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
18
gliding
|
|
| v. 滑翔 adj. 滑动的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
19
almighty
|
|
| adj.全能的，万能的；很大的，很强的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
20
folly
|
|
| n.愚笨，愚蠢，蠢事，蠢行，傻话 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
21
presentiments
|
|
| n.（对不祥事物的）预感( presentiment的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
22
armour
|
|
| （=armor）n.盔甲；装甲部队 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
23
trumpet
|
|
| n.喇叭，喇叭声；v.吹喇叭，吹嘘 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
24
shroud
|
|
| n.裹尸布，寿衣；罩，幕；vt.覆盖，隐藏 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
25
harassed
|
|
| adj. 疲倦的，厌烦的 动词harass的过去式和过去分词 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
26
anticipations
|
|
| 预期( anticipation的名词复数 )； 预测； （信托财产收益的）预支； 预期的事物 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
27
impending
|
|
| a.imminent, about to come or happen | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
28
calamity
|
|
| n.灾害，祸患，不幸事件 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
29
avert
|
|
| v.防止，避免；转移(目光、注意力等) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
30
spoke
|
|
| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
31
eldest
|
|
| adj.最年长的，最年老的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
32
dignified
|
|
| a.可敬的，高贵的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
33
tottered
|
|
| v.走得或动得不稳( totter的过去式和过去分词 )；踉跄；蹒跚；摇摇欲坠 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
34
countenance
|
|
| n.脸色，面容；面部表情；vt.支持，赞同 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
35
exquisite
|
|
| adj.精美的；敏锐的；剧烈的，感觉强烈的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
36
vehemence
|
|
| n.热切；激烈；愤怒 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
37
caresses
|
|
| 爱抚，抚摸( caress的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
38
attentively
|
|
| adv.聚精会神地；周到地；谛；凝神 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
39
complexion
|
|
| n.肤色；情况，局面；气质，性格 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
40
cherub
|
|
| n.小天使，胖娃娃 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
41
hectic
|
|
| adj.肺病的；消耗热的；发热的；闹哄哄的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
42
tinge
|
|
| vt.(较淡)着色于，染色；使带有…气息；n.淡淡色彩，些微的气息 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
43
hue
|
|
| n.色度；色调；样子 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
44
dame
|
|
| n.女士 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
45
housekeeper
|
|
| n.管理家务的主妇，女管家 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
46
mansion
|
|
| n.大厦，大楼；宅第 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
47
abode
|
|
| n.住处，住所 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
48
precisely
|
|
| adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
49
attaining
|
|
| （通常经过努力）实现( attain的现在分词 )； 达到； 获得； 达到（某年龄、水平、状况） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
50
superstitious
|
|
| adj.迷信的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
51
fatality
|
|
| n.不幸，灾祸，天命 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
52
feverishness
|
|
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
|
53
apprehensions
|
|
| 疑惧 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
54
solitude
|
|
| n. 孤独; 独居,荒僻之地,幽静的地方 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
55
dreaded
|
|
| adj.令人畏惧的；害怕的v.害怕，恐惧，担心( dread的过去式和过去分词) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
56
averted
|
|
| 防止，避免( avert的过去式和过去分词 )； 转移 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
57
hereditary
|
|
| adj.遗传的，遗传性的，可继承的，世袭的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
58
malady
|
|
| n.病，疾病(通常做比喻) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
59
inveterate
|
|
| adj.积习已深的，根深蒂固的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
60
asunder
|
|
| adj.分离的，化为碎片 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
61
joyful
|
|
| adj.欢乐的，令人欢欣的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
62
majesty
|
|
| n.雄伟，壮丽，庄严，威严；最高权威，王权 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
63
wrought
|
|
| v.引起；以…原料制作；运转；adj.制造的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
64
persecuting
|
|
| （尤指宗教或政治信仰的）迫害(~sb. for sth.)( persecute的现在分词 )； 烦扰，困扰或骚扰某人 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
65
Christian
|
|
| adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
66
emulating
|
|
| v.与…竞争( emulate的现在分词 )；努力赶上；计算机程序等仿真；模仿 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
67
complimentary
|
|
| adj.赠送的，免费的，赞美的，恭维的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
68
gaily
|
|
| adv.欢乐地，高兴地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
69
incense
|
|
| v.激怒；n.香，焚香时的烟，香气 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
70
crave
|
|
| vt.渴望得到，迫切需要，恳求，请求 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
71
reverence
|
|
| n.敬畏，尊敬，尊严；Reverence:对某些基督教神职人员的尊称；v.尊敬，敬畏，崇敬 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
72
favourable
|
|
| adj.赞成的，称赞的，有利的，良好的，顺利的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
73
worthy
|
|
| adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
74
pastor
|
|
| n.牧师，牧人 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
75
thereby
|
|
| adv.因此，从而 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
76
considerably
|
|
| adv.极大地；相当大地；在很大程度上 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
77
fixed
|
|
| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
78
desolate
|
|
| adj.荒凉的，荒芜的；孤独的，凄凉的；v.使荒芜，使孤寂 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
79
marred
|
|
| adj. 被损毁, 污损的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
80
temperament
|
|
| n.气质，性格，性情 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
81
jovial
|
|
| adj.快乐的，好交际的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
82
mercurial
|
|
| adj.善变的，活泼的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
83
gratitude
|
|
| adj.感激，感谢 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
84
blessing
|
|
| n.祈神赐福；祷告；祝福，祝愿 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
85
martyr
|
|
| n.烈士，殉难者；vt.杀害，折磨，牺牲 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
| 欢迎访问英文小说网 |