Bright were the days at Merry Mount, when the Maypole was the banner staff of that gay colony! They who reared it, should their banner be triumphant5, were to pour sunshine over New England’s rugged6 hills, and scatter7 flower seeds throughout the soil. Jollity and gloom were contending for an empire. Midsummer eve had come, bringing deep verdure to the forest, and roses in her lap, of a more vivid hue9 than the tender buds of Spring. But May, or her mirthful spirit, dwelt all the year round at Merry Mount, sporting with the Summer months, and revelling11 with Autumn, and basking12 in the glow of Winter’s fireside. Through a world of toil13 and care she flitted with a dreamlike smile, and came hither to find a home among the lightsome hearts of Merry Mount.
Never had the Maypole been so gayly decked as at sunset on midsummer eve. This venerated14 emblem15 was a pine-tree, which had preserved the slender grace of youth, while it equalled the loftiest height of the old wood monarchs16. From its top streamed a silken banner, colored like the rainbow. Down nearly to the ground the pole was dressed with birchen boughs18, and others of the liveliest green, and some with silvery leaves, fastened by ribbons that fluttered in fantastic knots of twenty different colors, but no sad ones. Garden flowers, and blossoms of the wilderness19, laughed gladly forth20 amid the verdure, so fresh and dewy that they must have grown by magic on that happy pine-tree. Where this green and flowery splendor21 terminated, the shaft22 of the Maypole was stained with the seven brilliant hues23 of the banner at its top. On the lowest green bough17 hung an abundant wreath of roses, some that had been gathered in the sunniest spots of the forest, and others, of still richer blush, which the colonists24 had reared from English seed. O, people of the Golden Age, the chief of your husbandry was to raise flowers!
But what was the wild throng25 that stood hand in hand about the Maypole? It could not be that the fauns and nymphs, when driven from their classic groves26 and homes of ancient fable27, had sought refuge, as all the persecuted28 did, in the fresh woods of the West. These were Gothic monsters, though perhaps of Grecian ancestry29. On the shoulders of a comely30 youth uprose the head and branching antlers of a stag; a second, human in all other points, had the grim visage of a wolf; a third, still with the trunk and limbs of a mortal man, showed the beard and horns of a venerable he-goat. There was the likeness31 of a bear erect32, brute33 in all but his hind34 legs, which were adorned35 with pink silk stockings. And here again, almost as wondrous36, stood a real bear of the dark forest, lending each of his fore8 paws to the grasp of a human hand, and as ready for the dance as any in that circle. His inferior nature rose half way, to meet his companions as they stooped. Other faces wore the similitude of man or woman, but distorted or extravagant37, with red noses pendulous38 before their mouths, which seemed of awful depth, and stretched from ear to ear in an eternal fit of laughter. Here might be seen the Savage39 Man, well known in heraldry, hairy as a baboon40, and girdled with green leaves. By his side a noble figure, but still a counterfeit41, appeared an Indian hunter, with feathery crest42 and wampum belt. Many of this strange company wore foolscaps, and had little bells appended to their garments, tinkling43 with a silvery sound, responsive to the inaudible music of their gleesome spirits. Some youths and maidens45 were of soberer garb46, yet well maintained their places in the irregular throng by the expression of wild revelry upon their features. Such were the colonists of Merry Mount, as they stood in the broad smile of sunset round their venerated Maypole.
Had a wanderer, bewildered in the melancholy47 forest, heard their mirth, and stolen a half-affrighted glance, he might have fancied them the crew of Comus, some already transformed to brutes48, some midway between man and beast, and the others rioting in the flow of tipsy jollity that foreran the change. But a band of Puritans, who watched the scene, invisible themselves, compared the masques to those devils and ruined souls with whom their superstition49 peopled the black wilderness.
Within the ring of monsters appeared the two airiest forms that had ever trodden on any more solid footing than a purple and golden cloud. One was a youth in glistening50 apparel, with a scarf of the rainbow pattern crosswise on his breast. His right hand held a gilded51 staff, the ensign of high dignity among the revellers, and his left grasped the slender fingers of a fair maiden44, not less gayly decorated than himself. Bright roses glowed in contrast with the dark and glossy52 curls of each, and were scattered53 round their feet, or had sprung up spontaneously there. Behind this lightsome couple, so close to the Maypole that its boughs shaded his jovial54 face, stood the figure of an English priest, canonically55 dressed, yet decked with flowers, in heathen fashion, and wearing a chaplet of the native vine leaves. By the riot of his rolling eye, and the pagan decorations of his holy garb, he seemed the wildest monster there, and the very Comus of the crew.
“Votaries56 of the Maypole,” cried the flower-decked priest, “merrily, all day long, have the woods echoed to your mirth. But be this your merriest hour, my hearts! Lo, here stand the Lord and Lady of the May, whom I, a clerk of Oxford57, and high priest of Merry Mount, am presently to join in holy matrimony. Up with your nimble spirits, ye morris-dancers, green men, and glee maidens, bears and wolves, and horned gentlemen! Come; a chorus now, rich with the old mirth of Merry England, and the wilder glee of this fresh forest; and then a dance, to show the youthful pair what life is made of, and how airily they should go through it! All ye that love the Maypole, lend your voices to the nuptial58 song of the Lord and Lady of the May!”
This wedlock59 was more serious than most affairs of Merry Mount, where jest and delusion60, trick and fantasy, kept up a continual carnival61. The Lord and Lady of the May, though their titles must be laid down at sunset, were really and truly to be partners for the dance of life, beginning the measure that same bright eve. The wreath of roses, that hung from the lowest green bough of the Maypole, had been twined for them, and would be thrown over both their heads, in symbol of their flowery union. When the priest had spoken, therefore, a riotous62 uproar63 burst from the rout64 of monstrous65 figures.
“Begin you the stave, reverend Sir,” cried they all; “and never did the woods ring to such a merry peal66 as we of the Maypole shall send up!”
Immediately a prelude67 of pipe, cithern, and viol, touched with practised minstrelsy, began to play from a neighboring thicket68, in such a mirthful cadence69 that the boughs of the Maypole quivered to the sound. But the May Lord, he of the gilded staff, chancing to look into his Lady’s eyes, was wonder struck at the almost pensive70 glance that met his own.
“Edith, sweet Lady of the May,” whispered he reproachfully, “is yon wreath of roses a garland to hang above our graves, that you look so sad? O, Edith, this is our golden time! Tarnish71 it not by any pensive shadow of the mind; for it may be that nothing of futurity will be brighter than the mere72 remembrance of what is now passing.”
“That was the very thought that saddened me! How came it in your mind too?” said Edith, in a still lower tone than he, for it was high treason to be sad at Merry Mount. “Therefore do I sigh amid this festive music. And besides, dear Edgar, I struggle as with a dream, and fancy that these shapes of our jovial friends are visionary, and their mirth unreal, and that we are no true Lord and Lady of the May. What is the mystery in my heart?”
Just then, as if a spell had loosened them, down came a little shower of withering73 rose leaves from the Maypole. Alas74, for the young lovers! No sooner had their hearts glowed with real passion than they were sensible of something vague and unsubstantial in their former pleasures, and felt a dreary75 presentiment76 of inevitable77 change. From the moment that they truly loved, they had subjected themselves to earth’s doom78 of care and sorrow, and troubled joy, and had no more a home at Merry Mount. That was Edith’s mystery. Now leave we the priest to marry them, and the masquers to sport round the Maypole, till the last sunbeam be withdrawn79 from its summit, and the shadows of the forest mingle80 gloomily in the dance. Meanwhile, we may discover who these gay people were.
Two hundred years ago, and more, the old world and its inhabitants became mutually weary of each other. Men voyaged by thousands to the West: some to barter82 glass beads83, and such like jewels, for the furs of the Indian hunter; some to conquer virgin84 empires; and one stern band to pray. But none of these motives85 had much weight with the colonists of Merry Mount. Their leaders were men who had sported so long with life, that when Thought and Wisdom came, even these unwelcome guests were led astray by the crowd of vanities which they should have put to flight. Erring86 Thought and perverted87 Wisdom were made to put on masques, and play the fool. The men of whom we speak, after losing the heart’s fresh gayety, imagined a wild philosophy of pleasure, and came hither to act out their latest day-dream. They gathered followers88 from all that giddy tribe whose whole life is like the festal days of soberer men. In their train were minstrels, not unknown in London streets; wandering players, whose theatres had been the halls of noblemen; mummers, rope-dancers, and mountebanks, who would long be missed at wakes, church ales, and fairs; in a word, mirth makers89 of every sort, such as abounded90 in that age, but now began to be discountenanced by the rapid growth of Puritanism. Light had their footsteps been on land, and as lightly they came across the sea. Many had been maddened by their previous troubles into a gay despair; others were as madly gay in the flush of youth, like the May Lord and his Lady; but whatever might be the quality of their mirth, old and young were gay at Merry Mount. The young deemed themselves happy. The elder spirits, if they knew that mirth was but the counterfeit of happiness, yet followed the false shadow wilfully91, because at least her garments glittered brightest. Sworn triflers of a lifetime, they would not venture among the sober truths of life not even to be truly blest.
All the hereditary92 pastimes of Old England were transplanted hither. The King of Christmas was duly crowned, and the Lord of Misrule bore potent93 sway. On the Eve of St. John, they felled whole acres of the forest to make bonfires, and danced by the blaze all night, crowned with garlands, and throwing flowers into the flame. At harvest time, though their crop was of the smallest, they made an image with the sheaves of Indian corn, and wreathed it with autumnal garlands, and bore it home triumphantly94. But what chiefly characterized the colonists of Merry Mount was their veneration95 for the Maypole. It has made their true history a poet’s tale. Spring decked the hallowed emblem with young blossoms and fresh green boughs; Summer brought roses of the deepest blush, and the perfected foliage96 of the forest; Autumn enriched it with that red and yellow gorgeousness which converts each wildwood leaf into a painted flower; and Winter silvered it with sleet97, and hung it round with icicles, till it flashed in the cold sunshine, itself a frozen sunbeam. Thus each alternate season did homage98 to the Maypole, and paid it a tribute of its own richest splendor. Its votaries danced round it, once, at least, in every month; sometimes they called it their religion, or their altar; but always, it was the banner staff of Merry Mount.
Unfortunately, there were men in the new world of a sterner faith than those Maypole worshippers. Not far from Merry Mount was a settlement of Puritans, most dismal99 wretches101, who said their prayers before daylight, and then wrought in the forest or the cornfield till evening made it prayer time again. Their weapons were always at hand to shoot down the straggling savage. When they met in conclave102, it was never to keep up the old English mirth, but to hear sermons three hours long, or to proclaim bounties103 on the heads of wolves and the scalps of Indians. Their festivals were fast days, and their chief pastime the singing of psalms104. Woe106 to the youth or maiden who did but dream of a dance! The selectman nodded to the constable107; and there sat the light-heeled reprobate108 in the stocks; or if he danced, it was round the whipping-post, which might be termed the Puritan Maypole.
A party of these grim Puritans, toiling109 through the difficult woods, each with a horseload of iron armor to burden his footsteps, would sometimes draw near the sunny precincts of Merry Mount. There were the silken colonists, sporting round their Maypole; perhaps teaching a bear to dance, or striving to communicate their mirth to the grave Indian; or masquerading in the skins of deer and wolves, which they had hunted for that especial purpose. Often, the whole colony were playing at blindman’s buff, magistrates110 and all, with their eyes bandaged, except a single scapegoat111, whom the blinded sinners pursued by the tinkling of the bells at his garments. Once, it is said, they were seen following a flower-decked corpse112, with merriment and festive music, to his grave. But did the dead man laugh? In their quietest times, they sang ballads113 and told tales, for the edification of their pious114 visitors; or perplexed115 them with juggling116 tricks; or grinned at them through horse collars; and when sport itself grew wearisome, they made game of their own stupidity, and began a yawning match. At the very least of these enormities, the men of iron shook their heads and frowned so darkly that the revellers looked up imagining that a momentary117 cloud had overcast118 the sunshine, which was to be perpetual there. On the other hand, the Puritans affirmed that, when a psalm105 was pealing119 from their place of worship, the echo which the forest sent them back seemed often like the chorus of a jolly catch, closing with a roar of laughter. Who but the fiend, and his bond slaves, the crew of Merry Mount, had thus disturbed them? In due time, a feud120 arose, stern and bitter on one side, and as serious on the other as anything could be among such light spirits as had sworn allegiance to the Maypole. The future complexion121 of New England was involved in this important quarrel. Should the grizzly122 saints establish their jurisdiction123 over the gay sinners, then would their spirits darken all the clime, and make it a land of clouded visages, of hard toil, of sermon and psalm forever. But should the banner staff of Merry Mount be fortunate, sunshine would break upon the hills, and flowers would beautify the forest, and late posterity124 do homage to the Maypole.
After these authentic125 passages from history, we return to the nuptials126 of the Lord and Lady of the May. Alas! we have delayed too long, and must darken our tale too suddenly. As we glance again at the Maypole, a solitary127 sunbeam is fading from the summit, and leaves only a faint, golden tinge128 blended with the hues of the rainbow banner. Even that dim light is now withdrawn, relinquishing129 the whole domain130 of Merry Mount to the evening gloom, which has rushed so instantaneously from the black surrounding woods. But some of these black shadows have rushed forth in human shape.
Yes, with the setting sun, the last day of mirth had passed from Merry Mount. The ring of gay masquers was disordered and broken; the stag lowered his antlers in dismay; the wolf grew weaker than a lamb; the bells of the morris-dancers tinkled131 with tremulous affright. The Puritans had played a characteristic part in the Maypole mummeries. Their darksome figures were intermixed with the wild shapes of their foes132, and made the scene a picture of the moment, when waking thoughts start up amid the scattered fantasies of a dream. The leader of the hostile party stood in the centre of the circle, while the route of monsters cowered133 around him, like evil spirits in the presence of a dread134 magician. No fantastic foolery could look him in the face. So stern was the energy of his aspect, that the whole man, visage, frame, and soul, seemed wrought of iron, gifted with life and thought, yet all of one substance with his headpiece and breastplate. It was the Puritan of Puritans; it was Endicott himself!
“Stand off, priest of Baal!” said he, with a grim frown, and laying no reverent135 hand upon the surplice. “I know thee, Blackstone!* Thou art the man who couldst not abide136 the rule even of thine own corrupted137 church, and hast come hither to preach iniquity138, and to give example of it in thy life. But now shall it be seen that the Lord hath sanctified this wilderness for his peculiar139 people. Woe unto them that would defile140 it! And first, for this flower-decked abomination, the altar of thy worship!”
* Did Governor Endicott speak less positively141, we should suspect a mistake here. The Rev10. Mr. Blackstone, though an eccentric, is not known to have been an immoral142 man. We rather doubt his identity with the priest of Merry Mount.
And with his keen sword Endicott assaulted the hallowed Maypole. Nor long did it resist his arm. It groaned143 with a dismal sound; it showered leaves and rosebuds145 upon the remorseless enthusiast146; and finally, with all its green boughs and ribbons and flowers, symbolic147 of departed pleasures, down fell the banner staff of Merry Mount. As it sank, tradition says, the evening sky grew darker, and the woods threw forth a more sombre shadow
“There,” cried Endicott, looking triumphantly on his work, “there lies the only Maypole in New England! The thought is strong within me that, by its fall, is shadowed forth the fate of light and idle mirth makers, amongst us and our posterity. Amen, saith John Endicott.”
“Amen!” echoed his followers.
But the votaries of the Maypole gave one groan144 for their idol148. At the sound, the Puritan leader glanced at the crew of Comus, each a figure of broad mirth, yet, at this moment, strangely expressive149 of sorrow and dismay.
“Valiant150 captain,” quoth Peter Palfrey, the Ancient of the band, “what order shall be taken with the prisoners?”
“I thought not to repent151 me of cutting down a Maypole,” replied Endicott, “yet now I could find in my heart to plant it again, and give each of these bestial152 pagans one other dance round their idol. It would have served rarely for a whipping-post!”
“But there are pine-trees enow,” suggested the lieutenant153.
“True, good Ancient,” said the leader. “Wherefore, bind154 the heathen crew, and bestow155 on them a small matter of stripes apiece, as earnest of our future justice. Set some of the rogues156 in the stocks to rest themselves, so soon as Providence157 shall bring us to one of our own well-ordered settlements where such accommodations may be found. Further penalties, such as branding and cropping of ears, shall be thought of hereafter.”
“How many stripes for the priest?” inquired Ancient Palfrey.
“None as yet,” answered Endicott, bending his iron frown upon the culprit. “It must be for the Great and General Court to determine, whether stripes and long imprisonment158, and other grievous penalty, may atone159 for his transgressions160. Let him look to himself! For such as violate our civil order, it may be permitted us to show mercy. But woe to the wretch100 that troubleth our religion.”
“And this dancing bear,” resumed the officer. “Must he share the stripes of his fellows?”
“Shoot him through the head!” said the energetic Puritan. “I suspect witchcraft161 in the beast.”
“Here be a couple of shining ones,” continued Peter Palfrey, pointing his weapon at the Lord and Lady of the May. “They seem to be of high station among these misdoers. Methinks their dignity will not be fitted with less than a double share of stripes.”
Endicott rested on his sword, and closely surveyed the dress and aspect of the hapless pair. There they stood, pale, downcast, and apprehensive162. Yet there was an air of mutual81 support and of pure affection, seeking aid and giving it, that showed them to be man and wife, with the sanction of a priest upon their love. The youth, in the peril163 of the moment, had dropped his gilded staff, and thrown his arm about the Lady of the May, who leaned against his breast, too lightly to burden him, but with weight enough to express that their destinies were linked together, for good or evil. They looked first at each other, and then into the grim captain’s face. There they stood, in the first hour of wedlock, while the idle pleasures, of which their companions were the emblems164, had given place to the sternest cares of life, personified by the dark Puritans. But never had their youthful beauty seemed so pure and high as when its glow was chastened by adversity.
“Youth,” said Endicott, “ye stand in an evil case thou and thy maiden wife. Make ready presently, for I am minded that ye shall both have a token to remember your wedding day!”
“Stern man,” cried the May Lord, “how can I move thee? Were the means at hand, I would resist to the death. Being powerless, I entreat165! Do with me as thou wilt166, but let Edith go untouched!”
“Not so,” replied the immitigable zealot. “We are not wont167 to show an idle courtesy to that sex, which requireth the stricter discipline. What sayest thou, maid? Shall thy silken bridegroom suffer thy share of the penalty, besides his own?”
“Be it death,” said Edith, “and lay it all on me!”
Truly, as Endicott had said, the poor lovers stood in a woful case. Their foes were triumphant, their friends captive and abased168, their home desolate169, the benighted170 wilderness around them, and a rigorous destiny, in the shape of the Puritan leader, their only guide. Yet the deepening twilight171 could not altogether conceal172 that the iron man was softened173; he smiled at the fair spectacle of early love; he almost sighed for the inevitable blight174 of early hopes.
“The troubles of life have come hastily on this young couple,” observed Endicott. “We will see how they comport175 themselves under their present trials ere we burden them with greater. If, among the spoil, there be any garments of a more decent fashion, let them be put upon this May Lord and his Lady, instead of their glistening vanities. Look to it, some of you.
“And shall not the youth’s hair be cut?” asked Peter Palfrey, looking with abhorrence176 at the lovelock and long glossy curls of the young man.
“Crop it forthwith, and that in the true pumpkin-shell fashion,” answered the captain. “Then bring them along with us, but more gently than their fellows. There be qualities in the youth, which may make him valiant to fight, and sober to toil, and pious to pray; and in the maiden, that may fit her to become a mother in our Israel, bringing up babes in better nurture177 than her own hath been. Nor think ye, young ones, that they are the happiest, even in our lifetime of a moment, who misspend it in dancing round a Maypole!”
And Endicott, the severest Puritan of all who laid the rock foundation of New England, lifted the wreath of roses from the ruin of the Maypole, and threw it, with his own gauntleted hand, over the heads of the Lord and Lady of the May. It was a deed of prophecy. As the moral gloom of the world overpowers all systematic178 gayety, even so was their home of wild mirth made desolate amid the sad forest. They returned to it no more. But as their flowery garland was wreathed of the brightest roses that had grown there, so, in the tie that united them, were intertwined all the purest and best of their early joys. They went heavenward, supporting each other along the difficult path which it was their lot to tread, and never wasted one regretful thought on the vanities of Merry Mount.
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philosophic
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| adj.哲学的，贤明的 | |
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sketch
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| n.草图；梗概；素描；v.素描；概述 | |
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wrought
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| v.引起；以…原料制作；运转；adj.制造的 | |
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festive
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| adj.欢宴的，节日的 | |
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triumphant
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| adj.胜利的，成功的；狂欢的，喜悦的 | |
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rugged
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| adj.高低不平的，粗糙的，粗壮的，强健的 | |
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scatter
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| vt.撒，驱散，散开；散布/播；vi.分散，消散 | |
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fore
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| adv.在前面；adj.先前的；在前部的；n.前部 | |
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hue
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| n.色度；色调；样子 | |
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rev
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| v.发动机旋转，加快速度 | |
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revelling
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| v.作乐( revel的现在分词 )；狂欢；着迷；陶醉 | |
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basking
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| v.晒太阳，取暖( bask的现在分词 )；对…感到乐趣；因他人的功绩而出名；仰仗…的余泽 | |
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toil
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| vi.辛劳工作，艰难地行动；n.苦工，难事 | |
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venerated
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| 敬重（某人或某事物），崇敬( venerate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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emblem
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| n.象征，标志；徽章 | |
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monarchs
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| 君主，帝王( monarch的名词复数 ) | |
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bough
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| n.大树枝，主枝 | |
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boughs
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| 大树枝( bough的名词复数 ) | |
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wilderness
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| n.杳无人烟的一片陆地、水等，荒漠 | |
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forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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splendor
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| n.光彩；壮丽，华丽；显赫，辉煌 | |
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shaft
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| n.(工具的)柄，杆状物 | |
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hues
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| 色彩( hue的名词复数 )； 色调； 信仰； 观点 | |
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colonists
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| n.殖民地开拓者，移民，殖民地居民( colonist的名词复数 ) | |
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throng
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| n.人群，群众；v.拥挤，群集 | |
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groves
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| 树丛，小树林( grove的名词复数 ) | |
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fable
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| n.寓言；童话；神话 | |
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persecuted
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| （尤指宗教或政治信仰的）迫害(~sb. for sth.)( persecute的过去式和过去分词 )； 烦扰，困扰或骚扰某人 | |
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ancestry
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comely
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likeness
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erect
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brute
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hind
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adorned
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| [计]被修饰的 | |
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wondrous
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| adj.令人惊奇的，奇妙的；adv.惊人地；异乎寻常地；令人惊叹地 | |
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extravagant
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| adj.奢侈的；过分的；(言行等)放肆的 | |
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38
pendulous
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| adj.下垂的；摆动的 | |
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39
savage
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| adj.野蛮的；凶恶的，残暴的；n.未开化的人 | |
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40
baboon
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| n.狒狒 | |
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41
counterfeit
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| vt.伪造，仿造；adj.伪造的，假冒的 | |
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42
crest
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| n.顶点；饰章；羽冠；vt.达到顶点；vi.形成浪尖 | |
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43
tinkling
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| n.丁当作响声 | |
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44
maiden
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| n.少女，处女；adj.未婚的，纯洁的，无经验的 | |
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45
maidens
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| 处女( maiden的名词复数 )； 少女； 未婚女子； （板球运动）未得分的一轮投球 | |
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46
garb
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| n.服装，装束 | |
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47
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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48
brutes
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| 兽( brute的名词复数 )； 畜生； 残酷无情的人； 兽性 | |
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49
superstition
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| n.迷信，迷信行为 | |
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50
glistening
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| adj.闪耀的，反光的v.湿物闪耀，闪亮( glisten的现在分词 ) | |
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51
gilded
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| a.镀金的，富有的 | |
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52
glossy
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| adj.平滑的；有光泽的 | |
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53
scattered
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| adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的 | |
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54
jovial
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| adj.快乐的，好交际的 | |
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55
canonically
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| adv.照宗规地，宗规上地 | |
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56
votaries
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| n.信徒( votary的名词复数 )；追随者；（天主教）修士；修女 | |
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57
Oxford
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| n.牛津（英国城市） | |
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58
nuptial
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| adj.婚姻的，婚礼的 | |
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59
wedlock
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| n.婚姻，已婚状态 | |
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60
delusion
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| n.谬见，欺骗，幻觉，迷惑 | |
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61
carnival
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| n.嘉年华会，狂欢，狂欢节，巡回表演 | |
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62
riotous
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| adj.骚乱的；狂欢的 | |
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63
uproar
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| n.骚动，喧嚣，鼎沸 | |
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64
rout
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| n.溃退，溃败；v.击溃，打垮 | |
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65
monstrous
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| adj.巨大的；恐怖的；可耻的，丢脸的 | |
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66
peal
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| n.钟声；v.鸣响 | |
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67
prelude
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| n.序言，前兆，序曲 | |
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68
thicket
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| n.灌木丛，树林 | |
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69
cadence
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| n.（说话声调的）抑扬顿挫 | |
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70
pensive
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| a.沉思的,哀思的,忧沉的 | |
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71
tarnish
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|
| n.晦暗，污点；vt.使失去光泽；玷污 | |
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72
mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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73
withering
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| 使人畏缩的，使人害羞的，使人难堪的 | |
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74
alas
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| int.唉(表示悲伤、忧愁、恐惧等) | |
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75
dreary
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| adj.令人沮丧的，沉闷的，单调乏味的 | |
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76
presentiment
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| n.预感，预觉 | |
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77
inevitable
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| adj.不可避免的，必然发生的 | |
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78
doom
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|
| n.厄运，劫数；v.注定，命定 | |
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79
withdrawn
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| vt.收回；使退出；vi.撤退，退出 | |
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80
mingle
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| vt.使混合，使相混；vi.混合起来；相交往 | |
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81
mutual
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| adj.相互的，彼此的；共同的，共有的 | |
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82
barter
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| n.物物交换，以货易货，实物交易 | |
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83
beads
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| n.（空心）小珠子( bead的名词复数 )；水珠；珠子项链 | |
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84
virgin
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| n.处女，未婚女子；adj.未经使用的；未经开发的 | |
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85
motives
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| n.动机，目的( motive的名词复数 ) | |
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86
erring
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| 做错事的，错误的 | |
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87
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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88
followers
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| 追随者( follower的名词复数 )； 用户； 契据的附面； 从动件 | |
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89
makers
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| n.制造者，制造商（maker的复数形式） | |
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90
abounded
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| v.大量存在，充满，富于( abound的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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91
wilfully
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| adv.任性固执地；蓄意地 | |
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92
hereditary
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| adj.遗传的，遗传性的，可继承的，世袭的 | |
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93
potent
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| adj.强有力的，有权势的；有效力的 | |
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94
triumphantly
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| ad.得意洋洋地；得胜地；成功地 | |
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95
veneration
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| n.尊敬，崇拜 | |
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96
foliage
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| n.叶子，树叶，簇叶 | |
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97
sleet
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| n.雨雪；v.下雨雪，下冰雹 | |
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98
homage
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| n.尊敬，敬意，崇敬 | |
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99
dismal
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| adj.阴沉的，凄凉的，令人忧郁的，差劲的 | |
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100
wretch
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| n.可怜的人，不幸的人；卑鄙的人 | |
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101
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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102
conclave
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| n.秘密会议，红衣主教团 | |
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103
bounties
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| （由政府提供的）奖金( bounty的名词复数 )； 赏金； 慷慨； 大方 | |
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104
psalms
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| n.赞美诗( psalm的名词复数 )；圣诗；圣歌；(中的) | |
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105
psalm
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| n.赞美诗，圣诗 | |
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106
woe
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| n.悲哀，苦痛，不幸，困难；int.用来表达悲伤或惊慌 | |
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107
constable
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| n.(英国)警察，警官 | |
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108
reprobate
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| n.无赖汉；堕落的人 | |
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109
toiling
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| 长时间或辛苦地工作( toil的现在分词 )； 艰难缓慢地移动，跋涉 | |
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110
magistrates
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| 地方法官，治安官( magistrate的名词复数 ) | |
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111
scapegoat
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| n.替罪的羔羊，替人顶罪者；v.使…成为替罪羊 | |
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112
corpse
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| n.尸体，死尸 | |
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113
ballads
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| 民歌，民谣，特别指叙述故事的歌( ballad的名词复数 )； 讴 | |
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114
pious
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| adj.虔诚的；道貌岸然的 | |
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115
perplexed
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| adj.不知所措的 | |
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116
juggling
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| n. 欺骗, 杂耍(=jugglery) adj. 欺骗的, 欺诈的 动词juggle的现在分词 | |
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117
momentary
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| adj.片刻的，瞬息的；短暂的 | |
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118
overcast
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| adj.阴天的，阴暗的，愁闷的；v.遮盖，（使）变暗，包边缝；n.覆盖，阴天 | |
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119
pealing
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| v.（使）（钟等）鸣响，（雷等）发出隆隆声( peal的现在分词 ) | |
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120
feud
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| n.长期不和；世仇；v.长期争斗；世代结仇 | |
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121
complexion
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| n.肤色；情况，局面；气质，性格 | |
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122
grizzly
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| adj.略为灰色的，呈灰色的；n.灰色大熊 | |
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123
jurisdiction
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| n.司法权，审判权，管辖权，控制权 | |
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124
posterity
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| n.后裔，子孙，后代 | |
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125
authentic
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| a.真的，真正的；可靠的，可信的，有根据的 | |
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126
nuptials
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| n.婚礼；婚礼( nuptial的名词复数 ) | |
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127
solitary
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| adj.孤独的，独立的，荒凉的；n.隐士 | |
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128
tinge
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| vt.(较淡)着色于，染色；使带有…气息；n.淡淡色彩，些微的气息 | |
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129
relinquishing
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| 交出，让给( relinquish的现在分词 )； 放弃 | |
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130
domain
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| n.(活动等)领域，范围；领地，势力范围 | |
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131
tinkled
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| （使）发出丁当声，（使）发铃铃声( tinkle的过去式和过去分词 )； 叮当响着发出，铃铃响着报出 | |
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132
foes
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| 敌人，仇敌( foe的名词复数 ) | |
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133
cowered
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| v.畏缩，抖缩( cower的过去式 ) | |
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134
dread
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| vt.担忧，忧虑；惧怕，不敢；n.担忧，畏惧 | |
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135
reverent
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| adj.恭敬的，虔诚的 | |
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136
abide
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| vi.遵守；坚持；vt.忍受 | |
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137
corrupted
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| （使）败坏( corrupt的过去式和过去分词 )； （使）腐化； 引起（计算机文件等的）错误； 破坏 | |
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138
iniquity
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| n.邪恶；不公正 | |
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139
peculiar
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| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
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140
defile
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| v.弄污，弄脏；n.(山间)小道 | |
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141
positively
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| adv.明确地，断然，坚决地；实在，确实 | |
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142
immoral
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| adj.不道德的，淫荡的，荒淫的，有伤风化的 | |
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143
groaned
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| v.呻吟( groan的过去式和过去分词 )；发牢骚；抱怨；受苦 | |
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144
groan
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| vi./n.呻吟，抱怨；(发出)呻吟般的声音 | |
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145
rosebuds
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| 蔷薇花蕾，妙龄少女，初入社交界的少女( rosebud的名词复数 ) | |
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146
enthusiast
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| n.热心人，热衷者 | |
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147
symbolic
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| adj.象征性的，符号的，象征主义的 | |
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148
idol
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| n.偶像，红人，宠儿 | |
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149
expressive
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| adj.表现的，表达…的，富于表情的 | |
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150
valiant
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| adj.勇敢的，英勇的；n.勇士，勇敢的人 | |
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151
repent
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| v.悔悟，悔改，忏悔，后悔 | |
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152
bestial
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| adj.残忍的；野蛮的 | |
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153
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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154
bind
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| vt.捆，包扎；装订；约束；使凝固；vi.变硬 | |
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155
bestow
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| v.把…赠与，把…授予；花费 | |
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156
rogues
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| n.流氓( rogue的名词复数 )；无赖；调皮捣蛋的人；离群的野兽 | |
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157
providence
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| n.深谋远虑，天道，天意；远见；节约；上帝 | |
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158
imprisonment
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| n.关押，监禁，坐牢 | |
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159
atone
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| v.赎罪，补偿 | |
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160
transgressions
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| n.违反，违法，罪过( transgression的名词复数 ) | |
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161
witchcraft
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| n.魔法，巫术 | |
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162
apprehensive
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| adj.担心的，恐惧的，善于领会的 | |
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163
peril
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| n.(严重的)危险；危险的事物 | |
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164
emblems
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| n.象征，标记( emblem的名词复数 ) | |
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165
entreat
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| v.恳求，恳请 | |
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166
wilt
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| v.(使)植物凋谢或枯萎；(指人)疲倦，衰弱 | |
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167
wont
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| adj.习惯于；v.习惯；n.习惯 | |
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168
abased
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| 使谦卑( abase的过去式和过去分词 )； 使感到羞耻； 使降低（地位、身份等）； 降下 | |
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169
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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170
benighted
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| adj.蒙昧的 | |
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171
twilight
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| n.暮光，黄昏；暮年，晚期，衰落时期 | |
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172
conceal
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| v.隐藏，隐瞒，隐蔽 | |
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173
softened
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| （使）变软( soften的过去式和过去分词 )； 缓解打击； 缓和； 安慰 | |
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174
blight
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| n.枯萎病；造成破坏的因素；vt.破坏，摧残 | |
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175
comport
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| vi.相称，适合 | |
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176
abhorrence
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| n.憎恶；可憎恶的事 | |
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177
nurture
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| n.养育，照顾，教育；滋养，营养品；vt.养育，给与营养物，教养，扶持 | |
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178
systematic
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| adj.有系统的，有计划的，有方法的 | |
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