When he had proceeded about halfway10 up the turf lane he found a private road to his right, which, with that spirit of adventure for which Englishmen are celebrated11, he immediately resolved must not only lead to Reisenburg, but also carry him to that city much sooner than the regular high road. He had not advanced far up this road before he came to the gate at which he had parted with Beckendorff on the morning that gentleman had roused him so unexpectedly from, his reverie in a green lane. He was surprised to find a horseman dismounting at the gate. Struck by this singular circumstance, the appearance of the stranger was not unnoticed. He was a tall and well proportioned man, and as the traveller passed he stared Vivian so fully12 in the face that our hero did not fail to remark his handsome countenance13, the expression of which, however, was rather vacant and unpleasing. He was dressed in a riding-coat exactly similar to the one always worn by Beckendorff’s messenger, and had Vivian not seen him so distinctly he would have mistaken him for that person. The stranger was rather indifferently mounted, and carried his cloak and a small portmanteau at the back of his saddle.
“I suppose it is the butler,” said Essper George, who now spoke14 for the first time since his dismissal from the room. Vivian did not answer him; not because he entertained any angry feeling on account of his exceedingly unpleasant visit. By no means: it was impossible for a man like Vivian Grey to cherish an irritated feeling for a second. But he did not exchange a syllable15 with Essper George, merely because he was not in the humour to speak. He could not refrain from musing16 on the singular events of the last few days; and, above all, the character of Beckendorff particularly engrossed17 his meditation18. Their conversation of the preceding night excited in his mind new feelings of wonder, and revived emotions which he thought were dead or everlastingly19 dormant20. Apparently21, the philosophy on which Beckendorff had regulated his career, and by which he had arrived at his pitch of greatness, was exactly the same with which he himself, Vivian Grey, had started in life; which he had found so fatal in its consequences; which he believed to be so vain in its principles. How was this? What radical22 error had he committed? It required little consideration. Thirty, and more than thirty, years had passed over the head of Beckendorff ere the world felt his power, or indeed was conscious of his existence. A deep student, not only of man in detail, but of man in groups; not only of individuals, but of nations; Beckendorff had hived up his ample knowledge of all subjects which could interest his fellow-creatures, and when that opportunity which in this world occurs to all men occurred to Beckendorff he was prepared. With acquirements equal to his genius, Beckendorff depended only upon himself, and succeeded. Vivian Grey, with a mind inferior to no man’s, dashed on the stage, in years a boy, though in feelings a man. Brilliant as might have been his genius, his acquirements necessarily were insufficient23. He could not depend only upon himself; a consequent necessity arose to have recourse to the assistance of others; to inspire them with feelings which they could not share; and humour and manage the petty weaknesses which he himself could not experience. His colleagues were, at the same time, to work for the gratification of their own private interests, the most palpable of all abstract things; and to carry into execution a great purpose, which their feeble minds, interested only by the first point, cared not to comprehend. The unnatural24 combination failed, and its originator fell. To believe that he could recur4 again to the hopes, the feelings, the pursuits of his boyhood, he felt to be the vainest of delusions25. It was the expectation of a man like Beckendorff, whose career, though difficult, though hazardous26, had been uniformly successful; of a man who mistook cares for grief, and anxiety for sorrow.
The travellers entered the city at sunset. Proceeding27 through an ancient and unseemly town, full of long, narrow, and ill-paved streets, and black unevenly28 built houses, they ascended29 the hill, on the top of which was situated30 the new and Residence town of Reisenburg. The proud palace, the white squares, the architectural streets, the new churches, the elegant opera house, the splendid hotels, and the gay public gardens, full of busts31, vases, and statues, and surrounded by an iron railing cast out of the cannon32 taken from both sides during the war by the Reisenburg troops, and now formed into pikes and fasces, glittering with gilded33 heads: all these, shining in the setting sun, produced an effect which, at any time and in any place, would have been beautiful and striking; but on the present occasion were still more so, from the remarkable34 contrast they afforded to the ancient, gloomy, and filthy35 town through which Vivian had just passed, and where, from the lowness of its situation, the sun had already set. There was as much difference between the old and new town of Reisenburg as between the old barbarous Margrave and the new and noble Grand Duke.
On the second day after his arrival at Reisenburg, Vivian received the following letter from the Prince of Little Lilliput. His luggage did not accompany the epistle.
“My Dear Friend,
“By the time you have received this I shall have returned to Turriparva. My visit to a certain gentleman was prolonged for one day. I never can convey to you by words the sense I entertain of the value of your friendship and of your services; I trust that time will afford me opportunities of testifying it by my actions. I return home by the same road by which we came; you remember how excellent the road was, as indeed are all the roads in Reisenburg; that must be confessed by all. I fear that the most partial admirers of the old régime cannot say as much for the convenience of travelling in the time of our fathers. Good roads are most excellent things, and one of the first marks of civilisation36 and prosperity. The Emperor Napoleon, who, it must be confessed, had, after all, no common mind, was celebrated for his roads. You have doubtless admired the Route Napoleon on the Rhine, and if you travel into Italy I am informed that you will be equally, and even more, struck by the passage over the Simplon and the other Italian roads. Reisenburg has certainly kept pace with the spirit of the time; nobody can deny that; and I confess to you that the more I consider the subject it appears to me that the happiness, prosperity, and content of a state are the best evidences of the wisdom and beneficent rule of a government. Many things are very excellent in theory, which are quite the reverse in practice, and even ludicrous. And while we should do our most to promote the cause and uphold the interests of rational liberty, still, at the same time, we should ever be on our guard against the crude ideas and revolutionary systems of those who are quite inexperienced in that sort of particular knowledge which is necessary for all statesmen. Nothing is so easy as to make things look fine on paper; we should never forget that: there is a great difference between high-sounding generalities and laborious37 details. Is it reasonable to expect that men who have passed their lives dreaming in colleges and old musty studies should be at all calculated to take the head of affairs, or know what measures those at the head of affairs ought to adopt? I think not. A certain personage, who by-the-bye is one of the most clear-headed and most perfect men of business that I ever had the pleasure of being acquainted with; a real practical man, in short; he tells me that Professor Skyrocket, whom you will most likely see at Reisenburg, wrote an article in the Military Quarterly Review, which is published there, on the probable expenses of a war between Austria and Prussia, and forgot the commissariat altogether. Did you ever know anything so ridiculous? What business have such fellows to meddle38 with affairs of state? They should certainly be put down: that, I think, none can deny. A liberal spirit in government is certainly a most excellent thing; but we must always remember that liberty may degenerate39 into licentiousness40. Liberty is certainly an excellent thing, that all admit; but, as a certain person very well observed, so is physic, and yet it is not to be given at all times, but only when the frame is in a state to require it. People may be as unprepared for a wise and discreet41 use of liberty, as a vulgar person may be for the management of a great estate unexpectedly inherited: there is a great deal in this, and, in my opinion, there are cases in which to force liberty down a people’s throat is presenting them, not with a blessing42, but a curse. I shall send your luggage on immediately; it is very probable that I may be in town at the end of the week, for a short time. I wish much to see and to consult you, and therefore hope that you will not leave Reisenburg before you see
“Your faithful and obliged friend,
“LITTLE LILLIPUT.”
Two days after the receipt of this letter Essper George ran into the room with a much less solemn physiognomy than he had thought proper to assume since his master’s arrival at Reisenburg.
“Lord, sir; whom do you think I have just met?”
“Whom?” asked Vivian, with eagerness, for, as is always the case when such questions are asked us, he was thinking of every person in the world except the right one. “It might be — ”
“To think that I should see him!” continued Essper.
“It is a man, then,” thought Vivian; “who is it at once, Essper?”
“I thought you would not guess, sir! It will quite cure you to hear it; Master Rodolph!”
“Master Rodolph!”
“Ay! and there’s great news in the wind.”
“Which of course you have confidentially43 extracted from him. Pray let us have it.”
“The Prince of Little Lilliput is coming to Reisenburg,” said Essper.
“Well! I had some idea of that before,” said Vivian.
“Oh! then, you know it all, sir, I suppose,” said Essper, with a look of great disappointment.
“I know nothing more than I have mentioned,” said his master.
“What! do you not know, sir, that the Prince has come over; that he is going to live at Court; and be, Heaven knows what! That he is to carry a staff every day before the Grand Duke at dinner; does not my master know that?”
“I know nothing of all this; and so tell me in plain German what the case is.”
“Well, then,” continued Essper, “I suppose you do not know that his Highness the Prince is to be his Excellency the Grand Marshal, that unfortunate but principal officer of state having received his dismissal yesterday. They are coming up immediately. Not a moment is to be lost, which seems to me very odd. Master Rodolph is arranging everything; and he has this morning purchased from his master’s predecessor44 his palace, furniture, wines, and pictures; in short, his whole establishment: the late Grand Marshal consoling himself for his loss of office, and revenging himself on his successor, by selling him his property at a hundred per cent. profit. However, Master Rodolph seems quite contented45 with his bargain; and your luggage is come, sir. His Highness, the Prince, will be in town at the end of the week; and all the men are to be put in new livery. Mr. Arnelm is to be his Highness’ chamberlain, and Von Neuwied master of the horse. So you see, sir, you were right; and that old puss in boots was no traitor46, after all. Upon my soul, I did not much believe you, sir, until I heard all this good news.”
点击
收听单词发音
收听单词发音 |
1
converse
|
|
| vi.谈话，谈天，闲聊；adv.相反的，相反 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
2
consolation
|
|
| n.安慰，慰问 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
3
recurring
|
|
| adj.往复的，再次发生的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
4
recur
|
|
| vi.复发，重现，再发生 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
5
lament
|
|
| n.悲叹，悔恨，恸哭；v.哀悼，悔恨，悲叹 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
6
exertion
|
|
| n.尽力，努力 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
7
contingency
|
|
| n.意外事件，可能性 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
8
consultation
|
|
| n.咨询；商量；商议；会议 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
9
prospect
|
|
| n.前景，前途；景色，视野 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
10
halfway
|
|
| adj.中途的，不彻底的，部分的；adv.半路地，在中途，在半途 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
11
celebrated
|
|
| adj.有名的，声誉卓著的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
12
fully
|
|
| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
13
countenance
|
|
| n.脸色，面容；面部表情；vt.支持，赞同 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
14
spoke
|
|
| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
15
syllable
|
|
| n.音节；vt.分音节 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
16
musing
|
|
| n. 沉思，冥想 adj. 沉思的, 冥想的 动词muse的现在分词形式 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
17
engrossed
|
|
| adj.全神贯注的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
18
meditation
|
|
| n.熟虑，（尤指宗教的）默想，沉思，（pl.）冥想录 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
19
everlastingly
|
|
| 永久地，持久地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
20
dormant
|
|
| adj.暂停活动的；休眠的；潜伏的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
21
apparently
|
|
| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
22
radical
|
|
| n.激进份子，原子团，根号；adj.根本的，激进的，彻底的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
23
insufficient
|
|
| adj.(for，of)不足的，不够的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
24
unnatural
|
|
| adj.不自然的；反常的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
25
delusions
|
|
| n.欺骗( delusion的名词复数 )；谬见；错觉；妄想 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
26
hazardous
|
|
| adj.(有)危险的，冒险的；碰运气的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
27
proceeding
|
|
| n.行动，进行，(pl.)会议录，学报 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
28
unevenly
|
|
| adv.不均匀的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
29
ascended
|
|
| v.上升，攀登( ascend的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
30
situated
|
|
| adj.坐落在...的，处于某种境地的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
31
busts
|
|
| 半身雕塑像( bust的名词复数 )； 妇女的胸部； 胸围； 突击搜捕 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
32
cannon
|
|
| n.大炮，火炮；飞机上的机关炮 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
33
gilded
|
|
| a.镀金的，富有的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
34
remarkable
|
|
| adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
35
filthy
|
|
| adj.卑劣的；恶劣的，肮脏的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
36
civilisation
|
|
| n.文明，文化，开化，教化 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
37
laborious
|
|
| adj.吃力的，努力的，不流畅 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
38
meddle
|
|
| v.干预，干涉，插手 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
39
degenerate
|
|
| v.退步，堕落；adj.退步的，堕落的；n.堕落者 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
40
licentiousness
|
|
| n.放肆，无法无天 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
41
discreet
|
|
| adj.(言行)谨慎的；慎重的；有判断力的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
42
blessing
|
|
| n.祈神赐福；祷告；祝福，祝愿 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
43
confidentially
|
|
| ad.秘密地，悄悄地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
44
predecessor
|
|
| n.前辈，前任 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
45
contented
|
|
| adj.满意的，安心的，知足的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
46
traitor
|
|
| n.叛徒，卖国贼 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
| 欢迎访问英文小说网 |