When, where, why did he die? Oh that she might talk of him to her mother for ever! It seemed that life might pass away in listening to his praises. Marmion Herbert! and who was Marmion Herbert? Young as he was, command and genius, the pride of noble passions, all the glory of a creative mind, seemed stamped upon his brow. With all his marvellous beauty, he seemed a being born for greatness. Dead! in the very burst of his spring, a spring so sweet and splendid; could he be dead? Why, then, was he ever born? It seemed to her that he could not be dead; there was an animated20 look about the form, that seemed as if it could not die without leaving mankind a prodigal21 legacy22 of fame.
Venetia turned and looked upon her parents’ bridal bed. Now that she had discovered her father’s portrait, every article in the room interested her, for her imagination connected everything with him. She touched the wreath of withered23 roses, and one instantly broke away from the circle, and fell; she knelt down, and gathered up the scattered24 leaves, and placed them in her bosom25. She approached the table in the oriel: in its centre was a volume, on which reposed26 a dagger27 of curious workmanship; the volume bound in velvet28, and the word ‘ANNABEL’ embroidered29 upon it in gold. Venetia unclasped it. The volume was his; in a fly-leaf were written these words:
‘TO THE LADY OF MY LOVE, FROM HER MARMION HERBERT.’
With a fluttering heart, yet sparkling eye, Venetia sank into a chair, which was placed before the table, with all her soul concentred in the contents of this volume. Leaning on her right hand, which shaded her agitated30 brow, she turned a page of the volume with a trembling hand. It contained a sonnet31, delineating the feelings of a lover at the first sight of his beloved, a being to him yet unknown. Venetia perused32 with breathless interest the graceful33 and passionate34 picture of her mother’s beauty. A series of similar compositions detailed35 the history of the poet’s heart, and all the thrilling adventures of his enchanted36 life. Not an incident, not a word, not a glance, in that spell-bound prime of existence, that was not commemorated37 by his lyre in strains as sweet and as witching! Now he poured forth38 his passion; now his doubts; now his hopes; now came the glowing hour when he was first assured of his felicity; the next page celebrated39 her visit to the castle of his fathers; and another led her to the altar.
With a flushed cheek and an excited eye, Venetia had rapidly pored over these ardent40 annals of the heart from whose blood she had sprung. She turns the page; she starts; the colour deserts her countenance41; a mist glides42 over her vision; she clasps her hands with convulsive energy; she sinks back in her chair. In a few moments she extends one hand, as if fearful again to touch the book that had excited so much emotion, raises herself in her seat, looks around her with a vacant and perplexed43 gaze, apparently44 succeeds in collecting herself, and then seizes, with an eager grasp, the volume, and throwing herself on her, knees before the chair, her long locks hanging on each side over a cheek crimson45 as the sunset, loses her whole soul in the lines which the next page reveals.
ON THE NIGHT OUR DAUGHTER WAS BORN.
i.
Within our heaven of love, the new-born star
We long devoutly46 watched, like shepherd kings,
Steals into light, and, floating from afar,
Methinks some bright transcendent seraph9 sings,
Waving with flashing light her radiant wings,
Immortal47 welcome to the stranger fair:
To us a child is born. With transport clings
The mother to the babe she sighed to bear;
Of all our treasured loves the long-expected heir!
ii.
My daughter! can it be a daughter now
Shall greet my being with her infant smile?
And shall I press that fair and taintless48 brow
With my fond lips, and tempt49, with many a wile50
Of playful love, those features to beguile51
A parent with their mirth? In the wild sea
Of this dark life, behold5 a little isle52
Rises amid the waters, bright and free,
A haven53 for my hopes of fond security!
iii.
And thou shalt bear a name my line has loved,
And their fair daughters owned for many an age,
Since first our fiery54 blood a wanderer roved,
And made in sunnier lands his pilgrimage,
Where proud defiance55 with the waters wage
The sea-born city’s walls; the graceful towers
Loved by the bard56 and honoured by the sage57!
My own VENETIA now shall gild58 our bowers59,
And with her spell enchain our life’s enchanted hours!
iv.
Oh! if the blessing60 of a father’s heart
Hath aught of sacred in its deep-breath’d prayer,
Skilled to thy gentle being to impart,
As thy bright form itself, a fate as fair;
On thee I breathe that blessing! Let me share,
O God! her joys; and if the dark behest
Of woe resistless, and avoidless care,
Hath, not gone forth, oh! spare this gentle guest.
And wreak61 thy needful wrath62 on my resigned breast!
An hour elapsed, and Venetia did not move. Over and over again she conned63 the only address from the lips of her father that had ever reached her ear. A strange inspiration seconded the exertion64 of an exercised memory. The duty was fulfilled, the task completed. Then a sound was heard without. The thought that her mother had returned occurred to her; she looked up, the big tears streaming down her face; she listened, like a young hind65 just roused by the still-distant huntsman, quivering and wild: she listened, and she sprang up, replaced the volume, arranged the chair, cast one long, lingering, feverish66 glance at the portrait, skimmed through the room, hesitated one moment in the ante-chamber; opened, as all was silent, the no longer mysterious door, turned the noiseless lock, tripped lightly along the vestibule; glided67 into her mother’s empty apartment, reposited the key that had opened so many wonders in the casket; and, then, having hurried to her own chamber, threw herself on her bed in a paroxysm of contending emotions, that left her no power of pondering over the strange discovery that had already given a new colour to her existence.
点击收听单词发音
1 irresistible | |
adj.非常诱人的,无法拒绝的,无法抗拒的 | |
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2 aspirations | |
强烈的愿望( aspiration的名词复数 ); 志向; 发送气音; 发 h 音 | |
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3 chamber | |
n.房间,寝室;会议厅;议院;会所 | |
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4 beholds | |
v.看,注视( behold的第三人称单数 );瞧;看呀;(叙述中用于引出某人意外的出现)哎哟 | |
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5 behold | |
v.看,注视,看到 | |
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6 reverence | |
n.敬畏,尊敬,尊严;Reverence:对某些基督教神职人员的尊称;v.尊敬,敬畏,崇敬 | |
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7 calamity | |
n.灾害,祸患,不幸事件 | |
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8 marvel | |
vi.(at)惊叹vt.感到惊异;n.令人惊异的事 | |
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9 seraph | |
n.六翼天使 | |
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10 converse | |
vi.谈话,谈天,闲聊;adv.相反的,相反 | |
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11 catastrophe | |
n.大灾难,大祸 | |
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12 woe | |
n.悲哀,苦痛,不幸,困难;int.用来表达悲伤或惊慌 | |
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13 desolate | |
adj.荒凉的,荒芜的;孤独的,凄凉的;v.使荒芜,使孤寂 | |
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14 disconsolate | |
adj.忧郁的,不快的 | |
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15 misery | |
n.痛苦,苦恼,苦难;悲惨的境遇,贫苦 | |
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16 vigilant | |
adj.警觉的,警戒的,警惕的 | |
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17 blighted | |
adj.枯萎的,摧毁的 | |
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18 compensate | |
vt.补偿,赔偿;酬报 vi.弥补;补偿;抵消 | |
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19 deprivation | |
n.匮乏;丧失;夺去,贫困 | |
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20 animated | |
adj.生气勃勃的,活跃的,愉快的 | |
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21 prodigal | |
adj.浪费的,挥霍的,放荡的 | |
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22 legacy | |
n.遗产,遗赠;先人(或过去)留下的东西 | |
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23 withered | |
adj. 枯萎的,干瘪的,(人身体的部分器官)因病萎缩的或未发育良好的 动词wither的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
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24 scattered | |
adj.分散的,稀疏的;散步的;疏疏落落的 | |
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25 bosom | |
n.胸,胸部;胸怀;内心;adj.亲密的 | |
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26 reposed | |
v.将(手臂等)靠在某人(某物)上( repose的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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27 dagger | |
n.匕首,短剑,剑号 | |
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28 velvet | |
n.丝绒,天鹅绒;adj.丝绒制的,柔软的 | |
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29 embroidered | |
adj.绣花的 | |
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30 agitated | |
adj.被鼓动的,不安的 | |
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31 sonnet | |
n.十四行诗 | |
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32 perused | |
v.读(某篇文字)( peruse的过去式和过去分词 );(尤指)细阅;审阅;匆匆读或心不在焉地浏览(某篇文字) | |
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33 graceful | |
adj.优美的,优雅的;得体的 | |
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34 passionate | |
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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35 detailed | |
adj.详细的,详尽的,极注意细节的,完全的 | |
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36 enchanted | |
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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37 commemorated | |
v.纪念,庆祝( commemorate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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38 forth | |
adv.向前;向外,往外 | |
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39 celebrated | |
adj.有名的,声誉卓著的 | |
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40 ardent | |
adj.热情的,热烈的,强烈的,烈性的 | |
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41 countenance | |
n.脸色,面容;面部表情;vt.支持,赞同 | |
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42 glides | |
n.滑行( glide的名词复数 );滑音;音渡;过渡音v.滑动( glide的第三人称单数 );掠过;(鸟或飞机 ) 滑翔 | |
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43 perplexed | |
adj.不知所措的 | |
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44 apparently | |
adv.显然地;表面上,似乎 | |
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45 crimson | |
n./adj.深(绯)红色(的);vi.脸变绯红色 | |
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46 devoutly | |
adv.虔诚地,虔敬地,衷心地 | |
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47 immortal | |
adj.不朽的;永生的,不死的;神的 | |
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48 taintless | |
adj.无污点的,纯洁清白的 | |
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49 tempt | |
vt.引诱,勾引,吸引,引起…的兴趣 | |
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50 wile | |
v.诡计,引诱;n.欺骗,欺诈 | |
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51 beguile | |
vt.欺骗,消遣 | |
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52 isle | |
n.小岛,岛 | |
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53 haven | |
n.安全的地方,避难所,庇护所 | |
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54 fiery | |
adj.燃烧着的,火红的;暴躁的;激烈的 | |
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55 defiance | |
n.挑战,挑衅,蔑视,违抗 | |
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56 bard | |
n.吟游诗人 | |
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57 sage | |
n.圣人,哲人;adj.贤明的,明智的 | |
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58 gild | |
vt.给…镀金,把…漆成金色,使呈金色 | |
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59 bowers | |
n.(女子的)卧室( bower的名词复数 );船首锚;阴凉处;鞠躬的人 | |
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60 blessing | |
n.祈神赐福;祷告;祝福,祝愿 | |
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61 wreak | |
v.发泄;报复 | |
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62 wrath | |
n.愤怒,愤慨,暴怒 | |
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63 conned | |
adj.被骗了v.指挥操舵( conn的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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64 exertion | |
n.尽力,努力 | |
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65 hind | |
adj.后面的,后部的 | |
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66 feverish | |
adj.发烧的,狂热的,兴奋的 | |
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67 glided | |
v.滑动( glide的过去式和过去分词 );掠过;(鸟或飞机 ) 滑翔 | |
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