So, being once more settled down quietly in his stall, with sufficient work for the hours, Seth hammered and patched away from morning till night, and but for certain fears connected with the Duchess, would have been a perfectly16 happy man. One of these fears related to the fortune-telling incident; he was unreasonably17 apprehensive18 that by some means or other the Duchess would be tracked and spirited away by the gentleman with whom he had had high words at Springfield; he did not stop to reason upon the motive19 which would lead to such an act. His other fear related to the bank-note, so strangely forwarded to the Duchess, which had paid for their holiday. If he had known where to seek for a clue to the discovery of the sender of the money, it is doubtful whether he would have availed himself of it; his earnest wish was that the matter should rest where it was, and that he and the Duchess and Sally should be allowed to live their quiet, uneventful life unmolested. If he saw the postman coming along the street, he watched his progress nervously20, dreading21 that another letter for the Duchess might arrive, and when the man passed without look or word, the cheerful hammering upon the leather, or the more vigorous plying22 of the awl23, denoted how greatly he was relieved.
Weeks and months passing in this way brought repose24 to his mind, and he sometimes smiled at himself for the uneasy fancies, born of love and fear, which had so tormented25 him. His love for the Duchess increased with time; she was for ever in his thoughts; over his bed, in a frame and protected by a glass, hung her picture, which was to him as beautiful as the most beautiful Madonna in the eyes of a devout26 woman; there was not speck27 or flaw on her, materially or spiritually; she was the queen of his life and household. Would the Duchess like this? Would the Duchess like that? What can we do for her? How can we serve her?--everything was done by Seth and Sally that could contribute to the easy and pleasant passing of her days. Their old clothes were darned and patched, and darned and patched again and again, so that the Duchess might have pretty things to wear. They were continually buying flowers and bits of ribbons for her, and casting about for ways and means to bring new pleasures into her days. In this twelve months passed, and the summer came round again. Sitting at their midday meal, Sally remarked that this time last year they were going into the country. Seth referred to a small memorandum28 book, the recipient29 of a singular medley30 of notes and observations.
"To-morrow morning's exactly a year," he said, "since we started."
Sally sighed, and Seth saw with pain a look of regret in the Duchess's eyes. It was not a calm regret; there was nothing of resignation in it. It expressed a struggle to be free from the thraldom31 of poverty, a rebellious32 repining at the hardship of Fate. As Seth was considering whether any ingenious twisting of Billy Spike's philosophy would afford consolation33, a double knock at the stall above was heard. He mounted the steps, and confronted the postman.
"A letter for the Duchess of Rosemary Lane."
Seth received it with a sinking heart, and putting it hastily into his pocket, descended34 to the living-room.
"Who was it, Daddy?" asked Sally.
"Mrs. Simpson sent for the child's boot," replied Seth, with a guilty palpitation; "it ain't done yet."
He finished his dinner in silence, listening to reminiscences of last year's delightful holiday, called up by Sally and the Duchess. He did not take the letter from his pocket until late in the night, when he was alone. He gazed at it for a few moments, believing it contained a realization35 of his fears, and that it might be the means of parting him and the Duchess. If he had not been a just man, he would have destroyed the letter, but he was restrained by the reflection that it might be of importance to the future of the child he loved. With reluctant fingers he unfastened the envelope, and found in it a bank-note for five pounds. As with the letter received last year, it did not contain a single word that would furnish a clue. He had carefully preserved the first envelope, and comparing the writing on the two, he judged it to be from one hand.
"Who is it that sends the money?" he mused36. "A man or a woman? That's the first point. There's a difference in handwriting, I've heard. I must find a way to make sure of that. I suppose the note's as good as the one sent last year."
Before the afternoon of the following day, he had thought over a lame37 little scheme, which he put into execution without delay. He walked to the shop of a tradesman, of whom he was in the habit of buying tools and leather, and having made some small purchases, he offered the note in payment. It was taken, and change given, without remark. "Is your wife at home?" then asked Seth.
"Yes," replied the tradesman.
"I'd like to see her," said Seth; "I want to ask her about something that a woman knows better than a man."
The tradesman called his wife, and Seth had a quiet talk with her. He commenced in a roundabout way.
"It's about a friend of mine," he said, "an unmarried man like myself, but more likely to marry, being younger. He's received a letter without a signature, and he's mighty38 anxious to find out whether it comes from a man or a woman. It's a delicate matter you see."
The tradesman's wife did not see, but she waited patiently for further light.
"The fact is," continued Seth, "there's a girl he knows and has a fancy for, that another man knows and has a fancy for."
"It's a love letter, then," interrupted the tradesman's wife, with a smile.
"Yes," said Seth, gladly accepting the suggestion, "and he naturally wishes to know who wrote it."
"Yes."
"Now the first thing to discover is whether it's a man's or a woman's writing."
"How can I help you to discover that?"
"If you will be good enough to write just a couple of words--say, Rosemary Lane--on a bit of paper, it might assist us."
The woman wrote down the words, and wrote them without a curve; every letter had in it as many angles as it could conveniently accommodate. After this, Seth asked the woman if her daughters would write the same words on separate pieces of paper, and then he obtained a specimen39 of writing from the tradesman himself. He paid visits to many places that afternoon, with the same purpose in view, and by the evening he had in his pocket between twenty and thirty different specimens40 of calligraphy41. When the children were asleep he continued his examination, and discovered that, without an exception, all the women wrote in angles and all the men in curves. Comparing the writing with that on the envelopes, he came to the conclusion that the addresses were written and the money sent by a woman.
He derived42 an odd kind of satisfaction from this result There was less danger to be feared from a woman than from a man, and, without difficulty, Seth invented a dozen different sets of circumstances to fit the case, in all of which the woman who was in this way kind to the Duchess was never to make herself known. The money clearly belonged to the Duchess, and the conscientious43 man decided44 that it must be spent on the Duchess, and on the Duchess alone. The child had had her ears pierced, and wore in them a pair of rough glass earrings45 bought by Sally for a few pence on the anniversary of her idol's birthday.
No one knew how old the Duchess exactly was, or on what day she was born; but a birthday was such a happy occasion for love-gifts, and the Duchess so fit a person to give them to, that a natal46 day was fixed47 for her. Of course a suitable one. "March winds and April showers bring forth48 May flowers." Sally knew the rhyme, and settled that the Duchess was born when the flowers were born, on the 1st of May. On the Duchess's last birthday Sally had presented the glass earrings, and the pleasure derived from the giving and the receiving was as great as if the bits of glass had been diamonds. The Duchess never tired of admiring herself in the little tin-framed mirror fixed by the side of the bed, and shook her head to make the crystals sparkle, and played at hide and peep with them, hiding them in her hair and shaking them free again. A fair meed of admiration49 was also passed upon them by her playmates, and the Duchess thought them the loveliest things in the world until one unhappy day she heard an ill-natured woman call them "bits of trumpery50 glass." From that moment they became less precious in the Duchess's eyes, and a secret longing51 crept into her mind for something more valuable to show off her pretty ears. About this time Mrs. Preedy, having occasion to go westward52, invited the Duchess to accompany her, to see the carriages and fine folks in the Park. Without asking for permission from her guardian53, the Duchess accepted the invitation joyfully54, and as she walked along by the side of Mrs. Preedy, her quick eye took in everything of note that passed her; but most of all did she notice the gold ornaments55 worn by the ladies, and yearned56 for them in her heart of hearts.
"Such heaps of rich people, Duchess," observed Mrs. Preedy. "It's like a show."
"There's nothing in the world like being rich," observed the Duchess.
"No, that there's not," replied the woman heartily57. "Why," presently continued the Duchess, "are some people rich and other people poor?"
"Oh, I don't know," said Mrs. Preedy peevishly58; "it's all in the way we're born. Ladies and gentlemen ain't born in Rosemary Lane."
"I wasn't born in Rosemary Lane," mused the Duchess, in a tone which was in itself an assertion of superiority over her companion.
"Do you know where you was born?" asked Mrs. Preedy.
"No," was the reply, "but not in Rosemary Lane."
"What do you remember before you came to Rosemary Lane?" continued Mrs. Preedy, growing interested in the conversation.
"I don't remember coming to Rosemary Lane," said the Duchess; "I had a mamma once."
"Where?"
"I don't know; in a garden, I think."
"Like anybody you see?"
"Like her," said the Duchess, pointing to a lady who was stepping from a carriage. In the lady's face dwelt an expression of much sadness and sweetness, which seemed to be the natural outcome of a sad and sweet nature. The Duchess's observance of the lady drew her attention to the child, and she stopped and spoke59, and asked Mrs. Preedy if the pretty creature was her daughter.
"No, indeed, ma'am," said Mrs. Preedy, with a curtsey; "she has no mother, poor dear, and she was just saying that you were like her mamma."
"Her mamma!" exclaimed the lady, with a look of surprise; "where do you come from, then?"
"From Rosemary Lane, if you please," said the obsequious60 Mrs. Preedy, who was always deferential61 to those above her.
"And where may that be?"
"In the east, if you please," with another curtsey.
The lady, with languid humour, suggested "Jerusalem?" and then asked the Duchess if she would like a cake. They were standing62 in front of a confectioner's shop, and the child, with as much self-possession (as Mrs. Preedy afterwards remarked when she related the adventure) as if she had been a born lady, withdrew her hand from Mrs. Preedy, and held it out to the lady, who smilingly led her into the shop, and feasted her and Mrs. Preedy to their heart's content. They had cakes and jellies, and strawberries and cream, and the lady chatted with the Duchess, and praised her beauty, in the most gracious and affable manner. Altogether, it was a very pleasant time, and formed quite an event in Mrs. Preedy's life, who for months and months gave most vivid descriptions of the entertainment, never forgetting to add that when they went into the Park later in the day they met the lady driving in her carriage there, and that she nodded and smiled in recognition of them.
Seth Dumbrick also went westwards in search of a present for the Duchess, to be paid for out of the money which was hers, and staring in the shop-windows, was greatly bewildered by the attractive articles there displayed. Silk sashes and neckerchiefs, natty63 kid boots and fascinating hats, distracted him with their claims. Had he been a well-to-do man, there is no knowing what extravagance he might have committed. At length he stationed himself before a jeweller's window, and gazed upon the beautiful articles exhibited in it, now deciding upon this, now upon that; and, in the end, upon a pair of gold earrings, tastefully designed to represent shells. He had no idea of the value of such articles, and it was with something of trepidation64 he entered the shop, where his appearance was viewed with suspicion by the salesman, who saw no fitness between the unshaven chin and grimy fingers of the workman and the graceful65 devices in gold and silver displayed for sale. A bargain, however, was soon concluded, and Seth became possessor of the earrings on payment of half the money he held in trust for the Duchess. Then he went to a milliner's shop, where he seemed even more out of place than in the jeweller's, and for twenty shillings bought one of the prettiest hats in all the stock. Enjoying in anticipation66 the delight of the Duchess, he walked home very contentedly67, and artfully turned the conversation upon last year's holiday, saying in a melancholy68 tone:
"No holiday this year, Duchess."
Sally shook her head mournfully.
"Can't afford it, eh, Sally? Now, what's the next best thing to the holiday we can't afford? What do you say to a present--something pretty for--who do you think?"
"For the Duchess!" cried Sally.
The Duchess looked up eagerly.
"Yes, for the Duchess. These, for instance."
He carefully untied69 the little packet wrapt in silver tissue-paper, carefully opened the leather case, and pointed70 triumphantly71 to the earrings nestling softly in their blue-velvet couches. Sally clapped her hands, and jumped up; the Duchess gazed on the pretty ornaments with parted lips and eyes aglow72 with admiration.
"For me!" she exclaimed, almost under her breath. "For me!"
"For you, Duchess," said Seth. "What do you think of 'em?"
She threw her arms round his neck, and kissed him, with perhaps more affection than she had ever shown towards him, and then turned hastily to the earrings, in fear lest they might have vanished from the table. The glittering ornaments fitted her nature most thoroughly73 and completely. They seemed to say, "We are yours. You are ours. We belong to each other. You have no business to wear bits of trumpery glass. We are what you have a right to possess." There was absolute harmony between her and the pretty things, and she experienced a new and singularly entrancing pleasure in merely gazing upon them.
"Is one kiss all you will give me for them?" asked Seth.
"No, no," she replied; "I will give you a thousand thousand."
She smothered74 him with kisses, murmuring: "I love you for them, I love you for them."
"They are real gold," said Seth, more than satisfied with his bargain. "What will Rosemary Lane say to that?"
With trembling fingers the Duchess lifted the earrings from the case. Had they been imbued75 with feeling she could not have felt more tender towards them.
"May I put them in?"
"Surely, my dear; I bought them for you to wear."
The Duchess hastily unhooked Sally's birthday gift from her ears, and threw it on the table, replacing it with the more valuable and therefore more precious offering. A pang76 shot through Sally's breast as she witnessed the action. The bits of trumpery glass, albeit77 they cost but a few pence, had not been easily obtained by her; they were the result of many weeks' saving of farthings and halfpence, and to pay for them she had put down with a strong spirit a number of small cravings. Not that the saving and scraping was not in itself a delight to her; to deny herself in order that the Duchess might be gratified was one of her sweetest pleasures. The common glass earrings were her love-gift, and she had dreamt of them long before and after they were presented; and to see them now so carelessly thrust aside brought the tears to her eyes. She brushed them instantly away. The Duchess, with a piece of broken looking-glass in her hand, was walking up and down the cellar, gazing at the reflection of the new earrings, with eyes so sparkling that they outshone the glittering baubles78. As she turned this way and that, now bending forward, now leaning back, in enchanting79 attitudes, holding the glass so that the ornaments were always in view, a thousand graces and charms were depicted80 in her of which for the time she was unconscious. Sally, despite her sorrow at the despisal of her love-gift, could not help admiring the beautiful picture, and when the Duchess came close to her, she drew her idol to her breast, and kissed her passionately81.
"Don't!" said the Duchess, with a little struggle to be free; "you hurt me, Sally!"
Sally's arms relaxed, and she turned aside with quivering lips; for a moment, everything swam before her eyes, and she felt quite faint.
"And that's not all," said Seth; "I have something else for our Duchess."
"Oh, what is it, what is it?" cried the Duchess, springing to his side.
"See," he said, holding up the hat, "what will Rosemary Lane say to this? Sally, fit it on, and let us see how our princess looks in it."
Sally kept her sobs82 back with a vicious pinch of her own arm which almost made her scream, and placed the hat on the Duchess's head, to the best advantage be sure. There was no meanness in Sally's soul. She could suffer and be strong. Nothing would satisfy the Duchess that afternoon but to dress herself in her best clothes, and go out and show herself. It was done; and in her blue-merino dress, her boots made for her in the most dainty fashion by Seth's loving hands, her hat and her gold earrings, she walked about Rosemary Lane, with Sally by her side, the envy and admiration of all beholders. In the eyes of the Rosemary Lane folk Sally was a most complete foil to the beautiful Duchess. Her hands were dirty, and her clothes had many a hole in them; but there was a soft light in her eyes, and an expression of deep, almost suffering devotion in her face, which might have attracted the attention of close observers--and not entirely83 to Sally's disadvantage. The Duchess had an afternoon of rare enjoyment84; even those who envied her paid court to her, and her train included all the young radicals85 in Rosemary Lane who had hitherto held aloof86 from her, but who now, fairly conquered by the splendour of her personal adornment87, fell down and worshipped. It was the story of the golden calf88 over again--the old story which to-day is being enacted89 with so much fervour by beggar and millionaire, from Whitechapel to Belgravia. Late at night, when the Duchess was asleep with her gold earrings in her ears, and her new hat hanging by the side of her bed, so that she might see it the moment she awoke in the morning, Sally, with tears in her eyes, wrapt the bits of trumpery glass in paper, and placed them carefully away. "She'll be hunting about for 'em soon," thought Sally, "and then I'll give 'em to her." But the Duchess never sought, never asked for the common love-gift; it was worthless in her eyes, being worthless in itself; she had gold earrings now, and perhaps by-and-by--who could tell?--she would have earrings with sparkling stones in them, worth a handful of money. For in the Duchess's soul was growing a most intense hankering after fine things. She would wander by herself away from Sally and Seth and Rosemary Lane into the thoroughfares frequented by ladies and gentlemen, and watch them and their dress and ways with an eager, strange, and restless spirit. She saw children beautifully dressed riding in carriages; and, yearning90 to be like them, would shed rebellious tears at the fate which bound her to Rosemary Lane. It is not to be supposed that she considered this matter as clearly as it is here briefly91 expressed; she was not yet old enough to give it clear expression; but she felt it; the seed of discontent was implanted within her, and grew for lack of material and intellectual light. Intellectual light Seth Dumbrick certainly did give the Duchess, but it was light of a kind which dazed and confused her mental vision. The experiences of the man who mingles92 freely with men, who shares their pleasures and sorrows, and even their follies93 and foibles, are of infinitely94 higher value than those of a solitary95 liver. Such an existence narrows the sympathies, and it narrowed Seth's. The exercise of all the better feelings of his nature was confined to the small circle which included only Sally and the Duchess, and what of good he saw outside that boundary was evoked96 by his love for these children of his adoption97. Surrounded by these influences the Duchess grew in years. Seth bestowed98 upon her the fullest measure of affection, and he let her go her way. He placed no restraint upon her; he demanded no sacrifice from her. He never attended a place of worship, nor did she; he had his hard-and-fast opinions upon religious matters, which, viewed in the light (or darkness) of dogmatic belief, constituted him a materialist--an accusation99 which, with a proper understanding of the term, he would have indignantly denied. Thus, from month to month, and year to year, Rosemary Lane passed through a routine of daily tasks and duties, so dull as to weigh sorely and heavily upon the soul of the Duchess. Colour was necessary to her existence, and she sought for it and obtained it in other places. Stronger and stronger grew her passion for wandering from the narrow to the wider spaces, where the life was more in harmony with her desires, and so frequently and for so long a time was she now absent that, on one occasion when she was missing from morning till night, Seth took her to task for her truant100 propensities101.
"Do you want me to keep always in Rosemary Lane?" she inquired, with her lovely blue eyes fixed full upon him.
"It would be best," was his reply.
"It doesn't matter to you," she said, "whether I stop at home or not; there is nothing for me to do, and I sometimes feel that--that----"
Her eyes wandered round the cellar in dull discontent, and with something of self-reproach, also, for the feeling which she strove but could not find words to express.
"Well, my dear?" said Seth, patiently waiting for an explanation.
"Only this, guardian," she rejoined, "that I must go away when I like, and that you mustn't stop me. If you do"--with a little laugh which might mean anything or nothing--"I might run away altogether."
"Then there are other places," said Seth, after a short pause; he found it necessary very often when conversing102 with the Duchess to consider his words before he uttered them; "and other people that you love better than us."
"Other places, not other people. I don't know any other people."
"You don't love Rosemary Lane, my dear," he said wistfully.
"What is there to love in it?" she replied, evading103 the question. "I might love it less if I were not free to go from it when the fit seizes me----"
"But you go always alone, my dear," he said, with a sigh, "and I am afraid you might get into mischief104."
"What mischief?" she asked, with innocent wonder in her face. "No one would hurt me. Everybody is kind to me. But as you seem to care for it, I'll take Sally with me now and then. So here's a kiss, guardian, and we'll say no more about it."
Time ripened105, but did not beautify Sally. Her figure was awkward and ungainly, and her limbs had not the roundness or the grace of those of the Duchess. Her face was at once too young and too old for her age; you saw in it both the innocence106 and simplicity107 of the child and the wary108 look of the woman of the world who knows that snares109 abound110. Her skin was as brown as a berry, and her form appeared lank111 and thin, although she and the Duchess were of the same height. Undressing one night, they stood, with bare shoulders, side by side, looking into the glass. The contrast was very striking, and both saw and felt it, the Duchess with a joyous112 palpitation because of her beauty, and Sally with no repining because of her lack of it. The contrast was striking even in the quality and fashion of their linen113, Sally's being coarse, and brown as the skin it covered, and the Duchess's being white and fine, with delicate edgings about it.
"I don't believe," said Sally, with tender admiration, her brown arm embracing the Duchess's white shoulder, "that there's another girl in the world with such a skin, and such eyes, and altogether as pretty as you are, Duchess."
"Do you really mean it, Sally?" asked the Duchess, as though the observation were made for the first instead of the thousandth time.
"You know I do."
"I think you do," said the Duchess, showing her teeth of pearl. "But if I were to say the same of myself, you'd say I was the vainest instead of the prettiest girl that breathes."
"A girl can't help knowing she's pretty," said Sally philosophically114; she had imbibed115 much of the spirit and some of the peculiarities116 of Seth's utterances117, "if she is pretty; and can't help being glad of it. As you are, of course, Duchess."
"Yes, I am glad, Sally; I can't tell you how glad. I should be a miserable118 girl if I were like----"
She paused suddenly, with a guilty blush, being about to say, "if I were like you, Sally."
Sally smiled. "I don't doubt I should be glad if I had a skin as white, and eyes as blue, and lips as red as yours; but for all that, I don't seem to be sorry because I am ugly. For I am very ugly!"
She gazed at the reflection of herself in the glass with eyes that were almost merry, and despite her self-depreciation there was something very attractive in her appearance. The grace of youth was hers, and the kindliness119 and unselfishness of her nature imparted a charm to her face which mere15 beauty of feature could not supply.
"You are not so very ugly," observed the Duchess.
"No?" questioned Sally.
"No. You are as good-looking as most of the girls in Rosemary Lane----"
"Leaving you out," interrupted Sally quickly.
"Yes," said the Duchess complacently120, "leaving me out. Your teeth are not white, but they are regular, and I like your mouth, Sally"--kissing it--"though it is a little bit too large. Your hair isn't as silky as mine----"
"Oh, no, Duchess, how could it be?"
"But it is longer and stronger; and as for your eyes, you have no idea how they sparkle. They are full of fire."
"If a fairy was to come to me to-night," said Sally, delighted at the Duchess's praises, "and give me wishes, I don't think I would have myself changed."
"I know what I would wish for."
"What?"
"Silk dresses and furs and kid gloves and gold watches and chains and bracelets121; carriages and footmen and white dogs; flowers and fans and lace pocket-handkerchiefs and----"
"Oh, my!" exclaimed Sally. "We shouldn't have room for them all. Goodnight. I'm so sleepy."
The Duchess dreamt that all the things she wished for were hers, and that she was a fine lady, driving in her carriage through Rosemary Lane, with all the neighbours cheering and bowing to her.
In this way, and with this kind of teaching, the Duchess grew from child to woman. And here for a time we drop the curtain. The silent years, fraught122 with smiles and tears, roll on; for some the buds are blossoming; for some the leaves are falling; the young look forward to the sunny land they shall never reach; the old look back with sighs upon days made happy by regret. And midst the triumph and the anguish123, the hope and fear, the joy and sorrow, Time, with passionless finger, marks the record, and pushes us gently on towards the grave.
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delightful
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| adj.令人高兴的，使人快乐的 | |
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dilate
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| vt.使膨胀，使扩大 | |
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throb
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| v.震颤，颤动；(急速强烈地)跳动，搏动 | |
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alluring
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| adj.吸引人的，迷人的 | |
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murmurs
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| n.低沉、连续而不清的声音( murmur的名词复数 )；低语声；怨言；嘀咕 | |
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glorify
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| vt.颂扬，赞美，使增光，美化 | |
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idol
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| n.偶像，红人，宠儿 | |
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devoted
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| adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的 | |
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besieged
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| 包围，围困，围攻( besiege的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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applicants
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| 申请人，求职人( applicant的名词复数 ) | |
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favourable
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| adj.赞成的，称赞的，有利的，良好的，顺利的 | |
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fully
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| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
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inveterate
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| adj.积习已深的，根深蒂固的 | |
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disparagement
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| n.轻视，轻蔑 | |
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mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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unreasonably
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| adv. 不合理地 | |
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apprehensive
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| adj.担心的，恐惧的，善于领会的 | |
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motive
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| n.动机，目的；adv.发动的，运动的 | |
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nervously
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| adv.神情激动地，不安地 | |
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dreading
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| v.害怕，恐惧，担心( dread的现在分词 ) | |
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plying
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| v.使用（工具）( ply的现在分词 )；经常供应（食物、饮料）；固定往来；经营生意 | |
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awl
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| n.尖钻 | |
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repose
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| v.(使)休息；n.安息 | |
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tormented
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| 饱受折磨的 | |
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26
devout
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| adj.虔诚的，虔敬的，衷心的 (n.devoutness) | |
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27
speck
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| n.微粒，小污点，小斑点 | |
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28
memorandum
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| n.备忘录，便笺 | |
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29
recipient
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| a.接受的,感受性强的 n.接受者,感受者,容器 | |
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30
medley
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| n.混合 | |
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31
thraldom
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| n.奴隶的身份，奴役，束缚 | |
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32
rebellious
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| adj.造反的，反抗的，难控制的 | |
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33
consolation
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| n.安慰，慰问 | |
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34
descended
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| a.为...后裔的，出身于...的 | |
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35
realization
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| n.实现；认识到，深刻了解 | |
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36
mused
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| v.沉思，冥想( muse的过去式和过去分词 )；沉思自语说（某事） | |
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37
lame
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| adj.跛的，(辩解、论据等)无说服力的 | |
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38
mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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39
specimen
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| n.样本，标本 | |
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40
specimens
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| n.样品( specimen的名词复数 )；范例；（化验的）抽样；某种类型的人 | |
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41
calligraphy
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| n.书法 | |
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42
derived
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| vi.起源；由来；衍生；导出v.得到( derive的过去式和过去分词 )；（从…中）得到获得；源于；（从…中）提取 | |
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43
conscientious
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| adj.审慎正直的，认真的，本着良心的 | |
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44
decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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45
earrings
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| n.耳环( earring的名词复数 )；耳坠子 | |
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46
natal
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| adj.出生的，先天的 | |
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47
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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48
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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49
admiration
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| n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕 | |
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50
trumpery
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| n.无价值的杂物；adj.（物品）中看不中用的 | |
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51
longing
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| n.（for）渴望 | |
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52
westward
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| n.西方，西部；adj.西方的，向西的；adv.向西 | |
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53
guardian
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| n.监护人；守卫者，保护者 | |
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54
joyfully
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| adv. 喜悦地, 高兴地 | |
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55
ornaments
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| n.装饰( ornament的名词复数 )；点缀；装饰品；首饰v.装饰，点缀，美化( ornament的第三人称单数 ) | |
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56
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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heartily
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| adv.衷心地，诚恳地，十分，很 | |
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58
peevishly
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| adv．暴躁地 | |
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59
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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60
obsequious
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| adj.谄媚的，奉承的，顺从的 | |
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61
deferential
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| adj. 敬意的，恭敬的 | |
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62
standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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natty
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| adj.整洁的，漂亮的 | |
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64
trepidation
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| n.惊恐，惶恐 | |
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graceful
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| adj.优美的，优雅的；得体的 | |
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66
anticipation
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| n.预期，预料，期望 | |
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contentedly
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| adv.心满意足地 | |
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68
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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untied
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| 松开，解开( untie的过去式和过去分词 )； 解除，使自由； 解决 | |
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70
pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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71
triumphantly
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| ad.得意洋洋地；得胜地；成功地 | |
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72
aglow
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| adj.发亮的；发红的；adv.发亮地 | |
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thoroughly
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| adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地 | |
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74
smothered
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| （使）窒息， （使）透不过气( smother的过去式和过去分词 )； 覆盖； 忍住； 抑制 | |
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imbued
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| v.使（某人/某事）充满或激起（感情等）( imbue的过去式和过去分词 )；使充满；灌输；激发（强烈感情或品质等） | |
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76
pang
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| n.剧痛，悲痛，苦闷 | |
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77
albeit
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| conj.即使；纵使；虽然 | |
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78
baubles
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| n.小玩意( bauble的名词复数 )；华而不实的小件装饰品；无价值的东西；丑角的手杖 | |
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79
enchanting
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| a.讨人喜欢的 | |
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80
depicted
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| 描绘，描画( depict的过去式和过去分词 )； 描述 | |
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81
passionately
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| ad.热烈地，激烈地 | |
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82
sobs
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| 啜泣（声），呜咽（声）( sob的名词复数 ) | |
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83
entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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84
enjoyment
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| n.乐趣；享有；享用 | |
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85
radicals
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| n.激进分子( radical的名词复数 )；根基；基本原理；[数学]根数 | |
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86
aloof
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| adj.远离的；冷淡的，漠不关心的 | |
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87
adornment
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| n.装饰；装饰品 | |
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88
calf
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| n.小牛，犊，幼仔，小牛皮 | |
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89
enacted
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| 制定（法律），通过（法案）( enact的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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90
yearning
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| a.渴望的；向往的；怀念的 | |
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91
briefly
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| adv.简单地，简短地 | |
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92
mingles
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| 混合，混入( mingle的第三人称单数 )； 混进，与…交往[联系] | |
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93
follies
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| 罪恶，时事讽刺剧； 愚蠢，蠢笨，愚蠢的行为、思想或做法( folly的名词复数 ) | |
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94
infinitely
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| adv.无限地，无穷地 | |
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95
solitary
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| adj.孤独的，独立的，荒凉的；n.隐士 | |
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96
evoked
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| [医]诱发的 | |
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97
adoption
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| n.采用，采纳，通过；收养 | |
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98
bestowed
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| 赠给，授予( bestow的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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99
accusation
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| n.控告，指责，谴责 | |
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100
truant
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| n.懒惰鬼，旷课者；adj.偷懒的，旷课的，游荡的；v.偷懒，旷课 | |
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101
propensities
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| n.倾向，习性( propensity的名词复数 ) | |
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102
conversing
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| v.交谈，谈话( converse的现在分词 ) | |
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103
evading
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| 逃避( evade的现在分词 )； 避开； 回避； 想不出 | |
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104
mischief
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| n.损害，伤害，危害；恶作剧，捣蛋，胡闹 | |
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105
ripened
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| v.成熟，使熟( ripen的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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106
innocence
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| n.无罪；天真；无害 | |
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107
simplicity
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| n.简单，简易；朴素；直率，单纯 | |
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108
wary
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| adj.谨慎的，机警的，小心的 | |
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109
snares
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| n.陷阱( snare的名词复数 )；圈套；诱人遭受失败（丢脸、损失等）的东西；诱惑物v.用罗网捕捉，诱陷，陷害( snare的第三人称单数 ) | |
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110
abound
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| vi.大量存在；(in，with)充满，富于 | |
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111
lank
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| adj.瘦削的；稀疏的 | |
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112
joyous
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| adj.充满快乐的；令人高兴的 | |
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113
linen
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| n.亚麻布，亚麻线，亚麻制品；adj.亚麻布制的，亚麻的 | |
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114
philosophically
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| adv.哲学上；富有哲理性地；贤明地；冷静地 | |
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115
imbibed
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| v.吸收( imbibe的过去式和过去分词 )；喝；吸取；吸气 | |
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116
peculiarities
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| n. 特质, 特性, 怪癖, 古怪 | |
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117
utterances
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| n.发声( utterance的名词复数 )；说话方式；语调；言论 | |
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118
miserable
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| adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的 | |
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119
kindliness
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| n.厚道，亲切，友好的行为 | |
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120
complacently
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| adv. 满足地, 自满地, 沾沾自喜地 | |
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121
bracelets
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| n.手镯，臂镯( bracelet的名词复数 ) | |
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122
fraught
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| adj.充满…的，伴有(危险等)的；忧虑的 | |
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123
anguish
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| n.(尤指心灵上的)极度痛苦，烦恼 | |
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