At nightfall, once in the olden time, on the rugged5 side of one of the Crystal Hills, a party of adventurers were refreshing6 themselves, after a toilsome and fruitless quest for the Great Carbuncle. They had come thither7, not as friends nor partners in the enterprise, but each, save one youthful pair, impelled8 by his own selfish and solitary9 longing10 for this wondrous11 gem12. Their feeling of brotherhood13, however, was strong enough to induce them to contribute a mutual14 aid in building a rude hut of branches, and kindling15 a great fire of shattered pines, that had drifted down the headlong current of the Amonoosuck, on the lower bank of which they were to pass the night. There was but one of their number, perhaps, who had become so estranged18 from natural sympathies, by the absorbing spell of the pursuit, as to acknowledge no satisfaction at the sight of human faces, in the remote and solitary region whither they had ascended20. A vast extent of wilderness21 lay between them and the nearest settlement, while a scant22 mile above their heads was that black verge23 where the hills throw off their shaggy mantle24 of forest trees, and either robe themselves in clouds or tower naked into the sky. The roar of the Amonoosuck would have been too awful for endurance if only a solitary man had listened, while the mountain stream talked with the wind.
The adventurers, therefore, exchanged hospitable25 greetings, and welcomed one another to the hut, where each man was the host, and all were the guests of the whole company. They spread their individual supplies of food on the flat surface of a rock, and partook of a general repast; at the close of which, a sentiment of good fellowship was perceptible among the party, though repressed by the idea, that the renewed search for the Great Carbuncle must make them strangers again in the morning. Seven men and one young woman, they warmed themselves together at the fire, which extended its bright wall along the whole front of their wigwam. As they observed the various and contrasted figures that made up the assemblage, each man looking like a caricature of himself, in the unsteady light that flickered26 over him, they came mutually to the conclusion, that an odder society had never met, in city or wilderness, on mountain or plain.
The eldest27 of the group, a tall, lean, weather-beaten man, some sixty years of age, was clad in the skins of wild animals, whose fashion of dress he did well to imitate, since the deer, the wolf, and the bear, had long been his most intimate companions. He was one of those ill-fated mortals, such as the Indians told of, whom, in their early youth, the Great Carbuncle smote28 with a peculiar29 madness, and became the passionate30 dream of their existence. All who visited that region knew him as the Seeker, and by no other name. As none could remember when he first took up the search, there went a fable31 in the valley of the Saco, that for his inordinate32 lust33 after the Great Carbuncle, he had been condemned34 to wander among the mountains till the end of time, still with the same feverish35 hopes at sunrise — the same despair at eve. Near this miserable36 Seeker sat a little elderly personage, wearing a high-crowned hat, shaped somewhat like a crucible37. He was from beyond the sea, a Doctor Cacaphodel, who had wilted38 and dried himself into a mummy by continually stooping over charcoal39 furnaces, and inhaling40 unwholesome fumes41 during his researches in chemistry and alchemy. It was told of him, whether truly or not, that at the commencement of his studies, he had drained his body of all its richest blood, and wasted it, with other inestimable ingredients, in an unsuccessful experiment — and had never been a well man since. Another of the adventurers was Master Ichabod Pigsnort, a weighty merchant and selectman of Boston, and an elder of the famous Mr. Norton’s church. His enemies had a ridiculous story that Master Pigsnort was accustomed to spend a whole hour after prayer time, every morning and evening, in wallowing naked among an immense quantity of pine-tree shillings, which were the earliest silver coinage of Massachusetts. The fourth whom we shall notice had no name that his companions knew of, and was chiefly distinguished42 by a sneer43 that always contorted his thin visage, and by a prodigious44 pair of spectacles, which were supposed to deform45 and discolor the whole face of nature, to this gentleman’s perception. The fifth adventurer likewise lacked a name, which was the greater pity, as he appeared to be a poet. He was a bright-eyed man, but wofully pined away, which was no more than natural, if, as some people affirmed, his ordinary diet was fog, morning mist, and a slice of the densest47 cloud within his reach, sauced with moonshine, whenever he could get it. Certain it is, that the poetry which flowed from him had a smack48 of all these dainties The sixth of the party was a young man of haughty49 mien50, and sat somewhat apart from the rest, wearing his plumed51 hat loftily among his elders, while the fire glittered on the rich embroidery52 of his dress, and gleamed intensely on the jewelled pommel of his sword. This was the Lord de Vere, who, when at home, was said to spend much of his time in the burial vault53 of his dead progenitors54, rummaging55 their mouldy coffins56 in search of all the earthly pride and vainglory that was hidden among bones and dust; so that, besides his own share, he had the collected haughtiness58 of his whole line of ancestry59.
Lastly, there was a handsome youth in rustic60 garb61, and by his side a blooming little person, in whom a delicate shade of maiden62 reserve was just melting into the rich glow of a young wife’s affection. Her name was Hannah and her husband’s Matthew; two homely63 names, yet well enough adapted to the simple pair, who seemed strangely out of place among the whimsical fraternity whose wits had been set agog64 by the Great Carbuncle.
Beneath the shelter of one hut, in the bright blaze of the same fire, sat this varied65 group of adventurers, all so intent upon a single object, that, of whatever else they began to speak, their closing words were sure to be illuminated66 with the Great Carbuncle. Several related the circumstances that brought them thither. One had listened to a traveller’s tale of this marvellous stone in his own distant country, and had immediately been seized with such a thirst for beholding67 it as could only be quenched69 in its intensest lustre70. Another, so long ago as when the famous Captain Smith visited these coasts, had seen it blazing far at sea, and had felt no rest in all the intervening years till now that he took up the search. A third, being encamped on a hunting expedition full forty miles south of the White Mountains, awoke at midnight, and beheld71 the Great Carbuncle gleaming like a meteor, so that the shadows of the trees fell backward from it. They spoke72 of the innumerable attempts which had been made to reach the spot, and of the singular fatality74 which had hitherto withheld75 success from all adventurers, though it might seem so easy to follow to its source a light that overpowered the moon, and almost matched the sun. It was observable that each smiled scornfully at the madness of every other in anticipating better fortune than the past, yet nourished a scarcely hidden conviction that he would himself be the favored one. As if to allay76 their too sanguine77 hopes, they recurred78 to the Indian traditions that a spirit kept watch about the gem, and bewildered those who sought it either by removing it from peak to peak of the higher hills, or by calling up a mist from the enchanted79 lake over which it hung. But these tales were deemed unworthy of credit, all professing81 to believe that the search had been baffled by want of sagacity or perseverance82 in the adventurers, or such other causes as might naturally obstruct83 the passage to any given point among the intricacies of forest, valley, and mountain.
In a pause of the conversation the wearer of the prodigious spectacles looked round upon the party, making each individual, in turn, the object of the sneer which invariably dwelt upon his countenance84.
“So, fellow-pilgrims,” said he, “here we are, seven wise men, and one fair damsel — who, doubtless, is as wise as any graybeard of the company: here we are, I say, all bound on the same goodly enterprise. Methinks, now, it were not amiss that each of us declare what he proposes to do with the Great Carbuncle, provided he have the good hap17 to clutch it. What says our friend in the bear skin? How mean you, good sir, to enjoy the prize which you have been seeking, the Lord knows how long, among the Crystal Hills?”
“How enjoy it!” exclaimed the aged85 Seeker, bitterly. “I hope for no enjoyment86 from it; that folly87 has passed long ago! I keep up the search for this accursed stone because the vain ambition of my youth has become a fate upon me in old age. The pursuit alone is my strength — the energy of my soul — the warmth of my blood — and the pith and marrow88 of my bones! Were I to turn my back upon it I should fall down dead on the hither side of the Notch89, which is the gateway90 of this mountain region. Yet not to have my wasted lifetime back again would I give up my hopes of the Great Carbuncle! Having found it, I shall bear it to a certain cavern91 that I wot of, and there, grasping it in my arms, lie down and die, and keep it buried with me forever.”
“O wretch92, regardless of the interests of science!” cried Doctor Cacaphodel, with philosophic93 indignation. “Thou art not worthy80 to behold68, even from afar off, the lustre of this most precious gem that ever was concocted95 in the laboratory of Nature. Mine is the sole purpose for which a wise man may desire the possession of the Great Carbuncle. Immediately on obtaining it — for I have a presentiment96, good people that the prize is reserved to crown my scientific reputation — I shall return to Europe, and employ my remaining years in reducing it to its first elements. A portion of the stone will I grind to impalpable powder; other parts shall be dissolved in acids, or whatever solvents97 will act upon so admirable a composition; and the remainder I design to melt in the crucible, or set on fire with the blow-pipe. By these various methods I shall gain an accurate analysis, and finally bestow98 the result of my labors99 upon the world in a folio volume.”
“Excellent!” quoth the man with the spectacles. “Nor need you hesitate, learned sir, on account of the necessary destruction of the gem; since the perusal100 of your folio may teach every mother’s son of us to concoct94 a Great Carbuncle of his own.”
“But, verily,” said Master Ichabod Pigsnort, “for mine own part I object to the making of these counterfeits101, as being calculated to reduce the marketable value of the true gem. I tell ye frankly102, sirs, I have an interest in keeping up the price. Here have I quitted my regular traffic, leaving my warehouse103 in the care of my clerks, and putting my credit to great hazard, and, furthermore, have put myself in peril104 of death or captivity105 by the accursed heathen savages106 — and all this without daring to ask the prayers of the congregation, because the quest for the Great Carbuncle is deemed little better than a traffic with the Evil One. Now think ye that I would have done this grievous wrong to my soul, body, reputation, and estate, without a reasonable chance of profit?”
“Not I, pious107 Master Pigsnort,” said the man with the spectacles. “I never laid such a great folly to thy charge.”
“Truly, I hope not,” said the merchant. “Now, as touching108 this Great Carbuncle, I am free to own that I have never had a glimpse of it; but be it only the hundredth part so bright as people tell, it will surely outvalue the Great Mogul’s best diamond, which he holds at an incalculable sum. Wherefore, I am minded to put the Great Carbuncle on shipboard, and voyage with it to England, France, Spain, Italy, or into Heathendom, if Providence109 should send me thither, and, in a word, dispose of the gem to the best bidder110 among the potentates111 of the earth, that he may place it among his crown jewels. If any of ye have a wiser plan, let him expound112 it.”
“That have I, thou sordid113 man!” exclaimed the poet. “Dost thou desire nothing brighter than gold that thou wouldst transmute114 all this ethereal lustre into such dross115 as thou wallowest in already? For myself, hiding the jewel under my cloak, I shall hie me back to my attic116 chamber117, in one of the darksome alleys118 of London. There, night and day, will I gaze upon it; my soul shall drink its radiance; it shall be diffused119 throughout my intellectual powers, and gleam brightly in every line of poesy that I indite120. Thus, long ages after I am gone, the splendor121 of the Great Carbuncle will blaze around my name!”
“Well said, Master Poet!” cried he of the spectacles. “Hide it under thy cloak, sayest thou? Why, it will gleam through the holes, and make thee look like a jack-o’-lantern!”
“To think!” ejaculated the Lord de Vere, rather to himself than his companions, the best of whom he held utterly122 unworthy of his intercourse123 —“to think that a fellow in a tattered124 cloak should talk of conveying the Great Carbuncle to a garret in Grub Street! Have not I resolved within myself that the whole earth contains no fitter ornament125 for the great hall of my ancestral castle? There shall it flame for ages, making a noonday of midnight, glittering on the suits of armor, the banners, and escutcheons, that hang around the wall, and keeping bright the memory of heroes. Wherefore have all other adventurers sought the prize in vain but that I might win it, and make it a symbol of the glories of our lofty line? And never, on the diadem126 of the White Mountains, did the Great Carbuncle hold a place half so honored as is reserved for it in the hall of the De Veres!”
“It is a noble thought,” said the Cynic, with an obsequious127 sneer. “Yet, might I presume to say so, the gem would make a rare sepulchral128 lamp, and would display the glories of your lordship’s progenitors more truly in the ancestral vault than in the castle hall.”
“Nay, forsooth,” observed Matthew, the young rustic, who sat hand in hand with his bride, “the gentleman has bethought himself of a profitable use for this bright stone. Hannah here and I are seeking it for a like purpose.”
“How, fellow!” exclaimed his lordship, in surprise. “What castle hall hast thou to hang it in?”
“No castle,” replied Matthew, “but as neat a cottage as any within sight of the Crystal Hills. Ye must know, friends, that Hannah and I, being wedded129 the last week, have taken up the search of the Great Carbuncle, because we shall need its light in the long winter evenings; and it will be such a pretty thing to show the neighbors when they visit us. It will shine through the house so that we may pick up a pin in any corner and will set all the windows aglowing as if there were a great fire of pine knots in the chimney. And then how pleasant, when we awake in the night, to be able to see one another’s faces!”
There was a general smile among the adventurers at the simplicity130 of the young couple’s project in regard to this wondrous and invaluable131 stone, with which the greatest monarch132 on earth might have been proud to adorn133 his palace. Especially the man with spectacles, who had sneered134 at all the company in turn, now twisted his visage into such an expression of ill-natured mirth, that Matthew asked him, rather peevishly135, what he himself meant to do with the Great Carbuncle.
“The Great Carbuncle!” answered the Cynic, with ineffable137 scorn. “Why, you blockhead, there is no such thing in rerum natura. I have come three thousand miles, and am resolved to set my foot on every peak of these mountains, and poke73 my head into every chasm138, for the sole purpose of demonstrating to the satisfaction of any man one whit19 less an ass16 than thyself that the Great Carbuncle is all a humbug139!”
Vain and foolish were the motives140 that had brought most of the adventurers to the Crystal Hills; but none so vain, so foolish, and so impious too, as that of the scoffer141 with the prodigious spectacles. He was one of those wretched and evil men whose yearnings are downward to the darkness, instead of heavenward, and who, could they but extinguish the lights which God hath kindled143 for us, would count the midnight gloom their chiefest glory. As the Cynic spoke, several of the party were startled by a gleam of red splendor, that showed the huge shapes of the surrounding mountains and the rock-bestrewn bed of the turbulent river with an illumination unlike that of their fire on the trunks and black boughs145 of the forest trees. They listened for the roll of thunder, but heard nothing, and were glad that the tempest came not near them. The stars, those dial points of heaven, now warned the adventurers to close their eyes on the blazing logs, and open them, in dreams, to the glow of the Great Carbuncle.
The young married couple had taken their lodgings146 in the farthest corner of the wigwam, and were separated from the rest of the party by a curtain of curiously-woven twigs147, such as might have hung, in deep festoons, around the bridal-bower of Eve. The modest little wife had wrought this piece of tapestry148 while the other guests were talking. She and her husband fell asleep with hands tenderly clasped, and awoke from visions of unearthly radiance to meet the more blessed light of one another’s eyes. They awoke at the same instant, and with one happy smile beaming over their two faces, which grew brighter with their consciousness of the reality of life and love. But no sooner did she recollect149 where they were, than the bride peeped through the interstices of the leafy curtain, and saw that the outer room of the hut was deserted150.
“Up, dear Matthew!” cried she, in haste. “The strange folk are all gone! Up, this very minute, or we shall lose the Great Carbuncle!”
In truth, so little did these poor young people deserve the mighty151 prize which had lured152 them thither, that they had slept peacefully all night, and till the summits of the hills were glittering with sunshine; while the other adventurers had tossed their limbs in feverish wakefulness, or dreamed of climbing precipices153, and set off to realize their dreams with the earliest peep of dawn. But Matthew and Hannah, after their calm rest, were as light as two young deer, and merely stopped to say their prayers and wash themselves in a cold pool of the Amonoosuck, and then to taste a morsel154 of food, ere they turned their faces to the mountain-side. It was a sweet emblem155 of conjugal156 affection, as they toiled157 up the difficult ascent158, gathering159 strength from the mutual aid which they afforded. After several little accidents, such as a torn robe, a lost shoe, and the entanglement160 of Hannah’s hair in a bough144, they reached the upper verge of the forest, and were now to pursue a more adventurous161 course. The innumerable trunks and heavy foliage162 of the trees had hitherto shut in their thoughts, which now shrank affrighted from the region of wind and cloud and naked rocks and desolate163 sunshine, that rose immeasurably above them. They gazed back at the obscure wilderness which they had traversed, and longed to be buried again in its depths rather than trust themselves to so vast and visible a solitude164.
“Shall we go on?” said Matthew, throwing his arm round Hannah’s waist, both to protect her and to comfort his heart by drawing her close to it.
But the little bride, simple as she was, had a woman’s love of jewels, and could not forego the hope of possessing the very brightest in the world, in spite of the perils165 with which it must be won.
“Let us climb a little higher,” whispered she, yet tremulously, as she turned her face upward to the lonely sky.
“Come, then,” said Matthew, mustering166 his manly167 courage and drawing her along with him, for she became timid again the moment that he grew bold.
And upward, accordingly, went the pilgrims of the Great Carbuncle, now treading upon the tops and thickly-interwoven branches of dwarf168 pines, which, by the growth of centuries, though mossy with age, had barely reached three feet in altitude. Next, they came to masses and fragments of naked rock heaped confusedly together, like a cairn reared by giants in memory of a giant chief. In this bleak169 realm of upper air nothing breathed, nothing grew; there was no life but what was concentrated in their two hearts; they had climbed so high that Nature herself seemed no longer to keep them company. She lingered beneath them, within the verge of the forest trees, and sent a farewell glance after her children as they strayed where her own green footprints had never been. But soon they were to be hidden from her eye Densely170 and dark the mists began to gather below, casting black spots of shadow on the vast landscape, and sailing heavily to one centre, as if the loftiest mountain peak had summoned a council of its kindred clouds. Finally, the vapors171 welded themselves, as it were, into a mass, presenting the appearance of a pavement over which the wanderers might have trodden, but where they would vainly have sought an avenue to the blessed earth which they had lost. And the lovers yearned173 to behold that green earth again, more intensely, alas174! than, beneath a clouded sky, they had ever desired a glimpse of heaven. They even felt it a relief to their desolation when the mists, creeping gradually up the mountain, concealed175 its lonely peak, and thus annihilated176, at least for them, the whole region of visible space. But they drew closer together, with a fond and melancholy177 gaze, dreading178 lest the universal cloud should snatch them from each other’s sight.
Still, perhaps, they would have been resolute179 to climb as far and as high, between earth and heaven, as they could find foothold, if Hannah’s strength had not begun to fail, and with that, her courage also. Her breath grew short. She refused to burden her husband with her weight, but often tottered180 against his side, and recovered herself each time by a feebler effort. At last, she sank down on one of the rocky steps of the acclivity.
“We are lost, dear Matthew,” said she, mournfully. “We shall never find our way to the earth again. And oh how happy we might have been in our cottage!”
“Dear heart! — we will yet be happy there,” answered Matthew. “Look! In this direction, the sunshine penetrates181 the dismal182 mist. By its aid, I can direct our course to the passage of the Notch. Let us go back, love, and dream no more of the Great Carbuncle!”
“The sun cannot be yonder,” said Hannah, with despondence. “By this time it must be noon. If there could ever be any sunshine here, it would come from above our heads.”
“But look!” repeated Matthew, in a somewhat altered tone. “It is brightening every moment. If not sunshine, what can it be?”
Nor could the young bride any longer deny that a radiance was breaking through the mist, and changing its dim hue183 to a dusky red, which continually grew more vivid, as if brilliant particles were interfused with the gloom. Now, also, the cloud began to roll away from the mountain, while, as it heavily withdrew, one object after another started out of its impenetrable obscurity into sight, with precisely184 the effect of a new creation, before the indistinctness of the old chaos185 had been completely swallowed up. As the process went on, they saw the gleaming of water close at their feet, and found themselves on the very border of a mountain lake, deep, bright, clear, and calmly beautiful, spreading from brim to brim of a basin that had been scooped186 out of the solid rock. A ray of glory flashed across its surface. The pilgrims looked whence it should proceed, but closed their eyes with a thrill of awful admiration187, to exclude the fervid188 splendor that glowed from the brow of a cliff impending189 over the enchanted lake. For the simple pair had reached that lake of mystery, and found the longsought shrine190 of the Great Carbuncle!
They threw their arms around each other, and trembled at their own success; for, as the legends of this wondrous gem rushed thick upon their memory, they felt themselves marked out by fate — and the consciousness was fearful. Often, from childhood upward, they had seen it shining like a distant star. And now that star was throwing its intensest lustre on their hearts. They seemed changed to one another’s eyes, in the red brilliancy that flamed upon their cheeks, while it lent the same fire to the lake, the rocks, and sky, and to the mists which had rolled back before its power. But, with their next glance, they beheld an object that drew their attention even from the mighty stone. At the base of the cliff, directly beneath the Great Carbuncle, appeared the figure of a man, with his arms extended in the act of climbing, and his face turned upward, as if to drink the full gush191 of splendor. But he stirred not, no more than if changed to marble.
“It is the Seeker,” whispered Hannah, convulsively grasping her husband’s arm. “Matthew, he is dead.”
“The joy of success has killed him,” replied Matthew, trembling violently. “Or, perhaps, the very light of the Great Carbuncle was death!”
“The Great Carbuncle,” cried a peevish136 voice behind them. “The Great Humbug! If you have found it, prithee point it out to me.”
They turned their heads, and there was the Cynic, with his prodigious spectacles set carefully on his nose, staring now at the lake, now at the rocks, now at the distant masses of vapor172, now right at the Great Carbuncle itself, yet seemingly as unconscious of its light as if all the scattered192 clouds were condensed about his person. Though its radiance actually threw the shadow of the unbeliever at his own feet, as he turned his back upon the glorious jewel, he would not be convinced that there was the least glimmer193 there.
“Where is your Great Humbug?” he repeated. “I challenge you to make me see it!”
“There,” said Matthew, incensed194 at such perverse195 blindness, and turning the Cynic round towards the illuminated cliff. “Take off those abominable196 spectacles, and you cannot help seeing it!”
Now these colored spectacles probably darkened the Cynic’s sight, in at least as great a degree as the smoked glasses through which people gaze at an eclipse. With resolute bravado197, however, he snatched them from his nose, and fixed198 a bold stare full upon the ruddy blaze of the Great Carbuncle. But scarcely had he encountered it, when, with a deep, shuddering199 groan200, he dropped his head, and pressed both hands across his miserable eyes. Thenceforth there was, in very truth, no light of the Great Carbuncle, nor any other light on earth, nor light of heaven itself, for the poor Cynic. So long accustomed to view all objects through a medium that deprived them of every glimpse of brightness, a single flash of so glorious a phenomenon, striking upon his naked vision, had blinded him forever
“Matthew,” said Hannah, clinging to him, “let us go hence!”
Matthew saw that she was faint, and kneeling down, supported her in his arms, while he threw some of the thrillingly cold water of the enchanted lake upon her face and bosom201. It revived her, but could not renovate202 her courage.
“Yes, dearest!” cried Matthew, pressing her tremulous form to his breast — “we will go hence, and return to our humble203 cottage. The blessed sunshine and the quiet moonlight shall come through our window. We will kindle142 the cheerful glow of our hearth204, at eventide, and be happy in its light. But never again will we desire more light than all the world may share with us.”
“No,” said his bride, “for how could we live by day, or sleep by night, in this awful blaze of the Great Carbuncle!”
Out of the hollow of their hands, they drank each a draught205 from the lake, which presented them its waters uncontaminated by an earthly lip. Then, lending their guidance to the blinded Cynic, who uttered not a word, and even stifled206 his groans207 in his own most wretched heart, they began to descend208 the mountain. Yet, as they left the shore, till then untrodden, of the spirit’s lake, they threw a farewell glance towards the cliff, and beheld the vapors gathering in dense46 volumes, through which the gem burned duskily.
As touching the other pilgrims of the Great Carbuncle, the legend goes on to tell, that the worshipful Master Ichabod Pigsnort soon gave up the quest as a desperate speculation209, and wisely resolved to betake himself again to his warehouse, near the town dock, in Boston. But, as he passed through the Notch of the mountains, a war party of Indians captured our unlucky merchant, and carried him to Montreal, there holding him in bondage210, till, by the payment of a heavy ransom211, he had wofully subtracted from his hoard212 of pine-tree shillings. By his long absence, moreover, his affairs had become so disordered that, for the rest of his life, instead of wallowing in silver, he had seldom a sixpence worth of copper213. Doctor Cacaphodel, the alchemist, returned to his laboratory with a prodigious fragment of granite214, which he ground to powder, dissolved in acids, melted in the crucible, and burned with the blow-pipe, and published the result of his experiments in one of the heaviest folios of the day. And, for all these purposes, the gem itself could not have answered better than the granite. The poet, by a somewhat similar mistake, made prize of a great piece of ice, which he found in a sunless chasm of the mountains and swore that it corresponded, in all points, with his idea of the Great Carbuncle. The critics say, that, if his poetry lacked the splendor of the gem, it retained all the coldness of the ice. The Lord de Vere went back to his ancestral hall, where he contented215 himself with a wax-lighted chandelier, and filled, in due course of time, another coffin57 in the ancestral vault. As the funeral torches gleamed within that dark receptacle, there was no need of the Great Carbuncle to show the vanity of earthly pomp.
The Cynic, having cast aside his spectacles, wandered about the world a miserable object, and was punished with an agonizing216 desire of light, for the wilful217 blindness of his former life. The whole night long, he would lift his splendor-blasted orbs218 to the moon and stars; he turned his face eastward219, at sunrise, as duly as a Perisan idolater; he made a pilgrimage to Rome, to witness the magnificent illumination of St. Peter’s Church; and finally perished in the great fire of London, into the midst of which he had thrust himself, with the desperate idea of catching220 one feeble ray from the blaze that was kindling earth and heaven.
Matthew and his bride spent many peaceful years, and were fond of telling the legend of the Great Carbuncle. The tale, however, towards the close of their lengthened221 lives, did not meet with the full credence222 that had been accorded to it by those who remembered the ancient lustre of the gem. For it is affirmed that, from the hour when two mortals had shown themselves so simply wise as to reject a jewel which would have dimmed all earthly things, its splendor waned223. When other pilgrims reached the cliff, they found only an opaque224 stone, with particles of mica225 glittering on its surface. There is also a tradition that, as the youthful pair departed, the gem was loosened from the forehead of the cliff, and fell into the enchanted lake, and that, at noontide, the Seeker’s form may still be seen to bend over its quenchless226 gleam.
Some few believe that this inestimable stone is blazing as of old, and say that they have caught its radiance, like a flash of summer lightning, far down the valley of the Saco. And be it owned that, many a mile from the Crystal Hills, I saw a wondrous light around their summits, and was lured, by the faith of poesy, to be the latest pilgrim of the GREAT CARBUNCLE.
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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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wrought
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entirely
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discredited
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rugged
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refreshing
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thither
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impelled
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solitary
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| adj.孤独的，独立的，荒凉的；n.隐士 | |
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10
longing
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| n.（for）渴望 | |
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11
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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12
gem
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| n.宝石，珠宝；受爱戴的人 [同]jewel | |
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13
brotherhood
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| n.兄弟般的关系，手中情谊 | |
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14
mutual
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| adj.相互的，彼此的；共同的，共有的 | |
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15
kindling
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| n. 点火, 可燃物 动词kindle的现在分词形式 | |
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16
ass
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| n.驴；傻瓜，蠢笨的人 | |
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17
hap
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| n.运气；v.偶然发生 | |
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18
estranged
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| adj.疏远的，分离的 | |
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19
whit
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| n.一点，丝毫 | |
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20
ascended
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| v.上升，攀登( ascend的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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21
wilderness
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| n.杳无人烟的一片陆地、水等，荒漠 | |
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22
scant
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| adj.不充分的，不足的；v.减缩，限制，忽略 | |
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23
verge
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| n.边，边缘；v.接近，濒临 | |
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24
mantle
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| n.斗篷，覆罩之物，罩子；v.罩住，覆盖，脸红 | |
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25
hospitable
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| adj.好客的；宽容的；有利的，适宜的 | |
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26
flickered
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| （通常指灯光）闪烁，摇曳( flicker的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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27
eldest
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| adj.最年长的，最年老的 | |
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28
smote
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| v.猛打，重击，打击( smite的过去式 ) | |
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29
peculiar
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| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
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30
passionate
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| adj.热情的，热烈的，激昂的，易动情的，易怒的，性情暴躁的 | |
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31
fable
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| n.寓言；童话；神话 | |
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32
inordinate
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| adj.无节制的；过度的 | |
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33
lust
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| n.性(淫)欲；渴(欲)望；vi.对…有强烈的欲望 | |
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34
condemned
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| adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词 | |
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35
feverish
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| adj.发烧的，狂热的，兴奋的 | |
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36
miserable
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| adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的 | |
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37
crucible
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| n.坩锅，严酷的考验 | |
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38
wilted
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| （使）凋谢，枯萎( wilt的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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39
charcoal
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| n.炭，木炭，生物炭 | |
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40
inhaling
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| v.吸入( inhale的现在分词 ) | |
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41
fumes
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| n.(强烈而刺激的)气味，气体 | |
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42
distinguished
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| adj.卓越的，杰出的，著名的 | |
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43
sneer
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| v.轻蔑；嘲笑；n.嘲笑，讥讽的言语 | |
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44
prodigious
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| adj.惊人的，奇妙的；异常的；巨大的；庞大的 | |
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45
deform
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| vt.损坏…的形状；使变形，使变丑；vi.变形 | |
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46
dense
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| a.密集的，稠密的，浓密的；密度大的 | |
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47
densest
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| 密集的( dense的最高级 )； 密度大的； 愚笨的； （信息量大得）难理解的 | |
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48
smack
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| vt.拍，打，掴；咂嘴；vi.含有…意味；n.拍 | |
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49
haughty
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| adj.傲慢的，高傲的 | |
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50
mien
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| n.风采；态度 | |
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51
plumed
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| 饰有羽毛的 | |
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52
embroidery
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| n.绣花，刺绣；绣制品 | |
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53
vault
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| n.拱形圆顶，地窖，地下室 | |
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54
progenitors
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| n.祖先( progenitor的名词复数 )；先驱；前辈；原本 | |
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55
rummaging
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| 翻找，搜寻( rummage的现在分词 )； 海关检查 | |
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56
coffins
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| n.棺材( coffin的名词复数 )；使某人早亡[死，完蛋，垮台等]之物 | |
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57
coffin
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| n.棺材，灵柩 | |
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58
haughtiness
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| n.傲慢；傲气 | |
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59
ancestry
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| n.祖先，家世 | |
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60
rustic
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| adj.乡村的，有乡村特色的；n.乡下人，乡巴佬 | |
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61
garb
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| n.服装，装束 | |
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62
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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63
homely
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| adj.家常的，简朴的；不漂亮的 | |
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64
agog
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| adj.兴奋的，有强烈兴趣的； adv.渴望地 | |
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65
varied
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| adj.多样的，多变化的 | |
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66
illuminated
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| adj.被照明的；受启迪的 | |
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67
beholding
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|
| v.看，注视( behold的现在分词 )；瞧；看呀；（叙述中用于引出某人意外的出现）哎哟 | |
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68
behold
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| v.看，注视，看到 | |
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69
quenched
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| 解（渴）( quench的过去式和过去分词 )； 终止（某事物）； （用水）扑灭（火焰等）； 将（热物体）放入水中急速冷却 | |
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70
lustre
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|
| n.光亮，光泽；荣誉 | |
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71
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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72
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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73
poke
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|
| n.刺，戳，袋；vt.拨开，刺，戳；vi.戳，刺，捅，搜索，伸出，行动散慢 | |
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74
fatality
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|
| n.不幸，灾祸，天命 | |
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75
withheld
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| withhold过去式及过去分词 | |
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76
allay
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|
| v.消除，减轻(恐惧、怀疑等) | |
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77
sanguine
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|
| adj.充满希望的，乐观的，血红色的 | |
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78
recurred
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| 再发生，复发( recur的过去式和过去分词 )； 治愈 | |
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79
enchanted
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|
| adj. 被施魔法的，陶醉的，入迷的 动词enchant的过去式和过去分词 | |
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80
worthy
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|
| adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的 | |
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81
professing
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| 声称( profess的现在分词 )； 宣称； 公开表明； 信奉 | |
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82
perseverance
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| n.坚持不懈，不屈不挠 | |
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83
obstruct
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|
| v.阻隔，阻塞(道路、通道等)；n.阻碍物，障碍物 | |
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84
countenance
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|
| n.脸色，面容；面部表情；vt.支持，赞同 | |
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85
aged
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| adj.年老的，陈年的 | |
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86
enjoyment
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| n.乐趣；享有；享用 | |
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87
folly
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| n.愚笨，愚蠢，蠢事，蠢行，傻话 | |
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88
marrow
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| n.骨髓；精华；活力 | |
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89
notch
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| n.(V字形)槽口，缺口，等级 | |
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90
gateway
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| n.大门口，出入口，途径，方法 | |
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91
cavern
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| n.洞穴，大山洞 | |
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92
wretch
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| n.可怜的人，不幸的人；卑鄙的人 | |
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93
philosophic
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| adj.哲学的，贤明的 | |
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94
concoct
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| v.调合，制造 | |
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95
concocted
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| v.将（尤指通常不相配合的）成分混合成某物( concoct的过去式和过去分词 )；调制；编造；捏造 | |
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96
presentiment
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| n.预感，预觉 | |
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97
solvents
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| 溶解的，溶剂 | |
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98
bestow
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| v.把…赠与，把…授予；花费 | |
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99
labors
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|
| v.努力争取(for)( labor的第三人称单数 )；苦干；详细分析；（指引擎）缓慢而困难地运转 | |
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100
perusal
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| n.细读，熟读；目测 | |
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101
counterfeits
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| v.仿制，造假( counterfeit的第三人称单数 ) | |
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102
frankly
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| adv.坦白地，直率地；坦率地说 | |
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103
warehouse
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| n.仓库；vt.存入仓库 | |
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104
peril
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| n.(严重的)危险；危险的事物 | |
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105
captivity
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| n.囚禁；被俘；束缚 | |
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106
savages
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| 未开化的人，野蛮人( savage的名词复数 ) | |
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107
pious
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| adj.虔诚的；道貌岸然的 | |
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108
touching
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| adj.动人的，使人感伤的 | |
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109
providence
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| n.深谋远虑，天道，天意；远见；节约；上帝 | |
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110
bidder
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| n.(拍卖时的)出价人，报价人，投标人 | |
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111
potentates
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| n.君主，统治者( potentate的名词复数 )；有权势的人 | |
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112
expound
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| v.详述；解释；阐述 | |
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113
sordid
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| adj.肮脏的，不干净的，卑鄙的，暗淡的 | |
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114
transmute
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| vt.使变化，使改变 | |
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115
dross
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| n.渣滓；无用之物 | |
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116
attic
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| n.顶楼，屋顶室 | |
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117
chamber
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| n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所 | |
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118
alleys
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| 胡同，小巷( alley的名词复数 )； 小径 | |
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119
diffused
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| 散布的，普及的，扩散的 | |
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120
indite
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| v.写（文章，信等）创作 | |
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121
splendor
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| n.光彩；壮丽，华丽；显赫，辉煌 | |
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122
utterly
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| adv.完全地，绝对地 | |
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123
intercourse
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| n.性交；交流，交往，交际 | |
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124
tattered
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| adj.破旧的，衣衫破的 | |
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125
ornament
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| v.装饰，美化；n.装饰，装饰物 | |
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126
diadem
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| n.王冠，冕 | |
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127
obsequious
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| adj.谄媚的，奉承的，顺从的 | |
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128
sepulchral
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| adj.坟墓的，阴深的 | |
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129
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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130
simplicity
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| n.简单，简易；朴素；直率，单纯 | |
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131
invaluable
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| adj.无价的，非常宝贵的，极为贵重的 | |
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132
monarch
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| n.帝王，君主，最高统治者 | |
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133
adorn
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| vt.使美化，装饰 | |
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134
sneered
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| 讥笑，冷笑( sneer的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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135
peevishly
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| adv．暴躁地 | |
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136
peevish
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| adj.易怒的，坏脾气的 | |
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137
ineffable
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| adj.无法表达的，不可言喻的 | |
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138
chasm
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| n.深坑，断层，裂口，大分岐，利害冲突 | |
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139
humbug
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| n.花招，谎话，欺骗 | |
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140
motives
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| n.动机，目的( motive的名词复数 ) | |
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141
scoffer
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| 嘲笑者 | |
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142
kindle
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| v.点燃，着火 | |
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143
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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144
bough
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| n.大树枝，主枝 | |
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145
boughs
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| 大树枝( bough的名词复数 ) | |
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146
lodgings
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| n. 出租的房舍, 寄宿舍 | |
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147
twigs
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| 细枝，嫩枝( twig的名词复数 ) | |
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148
tapestry
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| n.挂毯，丰富多采的画面 | |
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149
recollect
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| v.回忆，想起，记起，忆起，记得 | |
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150
deserted
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| adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的 | |
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151
mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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152
lured
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| 吸引，引诱（lure的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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153
precipices
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| n.悬崖，峭壁( precipice的名词复数 ) | |
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154
morsel
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| n.一口，一点点 | |
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155
emblem
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| n.象征，标志；徽章 | |
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156
conjugal
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| adj.婚姻的，婚姻性的 | |
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157
toiled
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| 长时间或辛苦地工作( toil的过去式和过去分词 )； 艰难缓慢地移动，跋涉 | |
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158
ascent
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| n.(声望或地位)提高；上升，升高；登高 | |
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159
gathering
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| n.集会，聚会，聚集 | |
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160
entanglement
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| n.纠缠，牵累 | |
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161
adventurous
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| adj.爱冒险的；惊心动魄的，惊险的，刺激的 | |
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162
foliage
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| n.叶子，树叶，簇叶 | |
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163
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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164
solitude
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| n. 孤独; 独居,荒僻之地,幽静的地方 | |
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165
perils
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| 极大危险( peril的名词复数 )； 危险的事（或环境） | |
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166
mustering
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| v.集合，召集，集结（尤指部队）( muster的现在分词 )；（自他人处）搜集某事物；聚集；激发 | |
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167
manly
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| adj.有男子气概的；adv.男子般地，果断地 | |
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168
dwarf
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| n.矮子，侏儒，矮小的动植物；vt.使…矮小 | |
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169
bleak
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| adj.(天气)阴冷的；凄凉的；暗淡的 | |
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170
densely
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| ad.密集地；浓厚地 | |
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171
vapors
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| n.水汽，水蒸气，无实质之物( vapor的名词复数 )；自夸者；幻想 [药]吸入剂 [古]忧郁（症）v.自夸，（使）蒸发( vapor的第三人称单数 ) | |
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172
vapor
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| n.蒸汽，雾气 | |
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173
yearned
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| 渴望，切盼，向往( yearn的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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174
alas
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| int.唉(表示悲伤、忧愁、恐惧等) | |
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175
concealed
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| a.隐藏的，隐蔽的 | |
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176
annihilated
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| v.（彻底）消灭( annihilate的过去式和过去分词 )；使无效；废止；彻底击溃 | |
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177
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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178
dreading
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| v.害怕，恐惧，担心( dread的现在分词 ) | |
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179
resolute
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| adj.坚决的，果敢的 | |
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180
tottered
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| v.走得或动得不稳( totter的过去式和过去分词 )；踉跄；蹒跚；摇摇欲坠 | |
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181
penetrates
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| v.穿过( penetrate的第三人称单数 )；刺入；了解；渗透 | |
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182
dismal
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| adj.阴沉的，凄凉的，令人忧郁的，差劲的 | |
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183
hue
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| n.色度；色调；样子 | |
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184
precisely
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| adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地 | |
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185
chaos
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| n.混乱，无秩序 | |
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186
scooped
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| v.抢先报道( scoop的过去式和过去分词 )；（敏捷地）抱起；抢先获得；用铲[勺]等挖（洞等） | |
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187
admiration
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| n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕 | |
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188
fervid
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| adj.热情的；炽热的 | |
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189
impending
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| a.imminent, about to come or happen | |
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190
shrine
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| n.圣地，神龛，庙；v.将...置于神龛内，把...奉为神圣 | |
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191
gush
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| v.喷，涌；滔滔不绝(说话)；n.喷，涌流；迸发 | |
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192
scattered
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| adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的 | |
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193
glimmer
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| v.发出闪烁的微光；n.微光，微弱的闪光 | |
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194
incensed
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| 盛怒的 | |
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195
perverse
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| adj.刚愎的；坚持错误的，行为反常的 | |
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196
abominable
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| adj.可厌的，令人憎恶的 | |
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197
bravado
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| n.虚张声势，故作勇敢，逞能 | |
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198
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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199
shuddering
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| v.战栗( shudder的现在分词 )；发抖；（机器、车辆等）突然震动；颤动 | |
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200
groan
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| vi./n.呻吟，抱怨；(发出)呻吟般的声音 | |
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201
bosom
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| n.胸，胸部；胸怀；内心；adj.亲密的 | |
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202
renovate
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| vt.更新，革新，刷新 | |
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203
humble
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| adj.谦卑的，恭顺的；地位低下的；v.降低，贬低 | |
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204
hearth
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| n.壁炉炉床，壁炉地面 | |
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205
draught
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| n.拉，牵引，拖；一网（饮，吸，阵)；顿服药量，通风；v.起草，设计 | |
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206
stifled
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| （使）窒息， （使）窒闷( stifle的过去式和过去分词 )； 镇压，遏制； 堵 | |
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207
groans
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| n.呻吟，叹息( groan的名词复数 )；呻吟般的声音v.呻吟( groan的第三人称单数 )；发牢骚；抱怨；受苦 | |
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208
descend
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| vt./vi.传下来，下来，下降 | |
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209
speculation
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| n.思索，沉思；猜测；投机 | |
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210
bondage
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| n.奴役，束缚 | |
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211
ransom
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| n.赎金，赎身；v.赎回，解救 | |
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212
hoard
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| n./v.窖藏，贮存，囤积 | |
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213
copper
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| n.铜；铜币；铜器；adj.铜(制)的；(紫)铜色的 | |
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214
granite
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| adj.花岗岩，花岗石 | |
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215
contented
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| adj.满意的，安心的，知足的 | |
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216
agonizing
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| adj.痛苦难忍的；使人苦恼的v.使极度痛苦；折磨(agonize的ing形式) | |
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217
wilful
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| adj.任性的，故意的 | |
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218
orbs
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| abbr.off-reservation boarding school 在校寄宿学校n.球，天体，圆形物( orb的名词复数 ) | |
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219
eastward
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| adv.向东；adj.向东的；n.东方，东部 | |
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220
catching
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| adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住 | |
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221
lengthened
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| （时间或空间）延长，伸长( lengthen的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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222
credence
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| n.信用，祭器台，供桌，凭证 | |
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223
waned
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| v.衰落( wane的过去式和过去分词 )；（月）亏；变小；变暗淡 | |
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224
opaque
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| adj.不透光的；不反光的，不传导的；晦涩的 | |
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225
mica
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| n.云母 | |
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226
quenchless
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| 不可熄灭的 | |
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