"Come, Harry2," said he, "here is a fair friend to whom I wish to present you."
"You forget, Sir Madoc, that I said we had met before; Mr. Hardinge and I are almost old friends--the friends of a season, at least," said Lady Estelle, presenting her hand to me with a bright but calm and decidedly conventional smile, and with the most perfect self-possession.
"It makes me so very happy to meet you again," said I in a low voice, the tone of which she could not mistake.
"Mamma, too, will be so delighted--you were quite a favourite with her."
I bowed, as if accepting for fact a sentiment of which I was extremely doubtful, and then after a little pause she added,--
"Mamma always preferred your escort, you remember."
Of that I was aware, when she wished to leave some more eligible3 parti--old Lord Pottersleigh, for instance--to take charge of her daughter.
"I am so pleased that we are to see a little more of you, ere you depart for the East; whence, I hear, you are bound," said she after a little pause.
Simple though the words, they made my heart beat happily, and I dreaded4 that some sharp observer might read in my eyes the expression which I knew could not be concealed5 from her; and now I turned to look for some assistance from Winifred Lloyd; but, though observing us, she was apparently6 busy with Caradoc; luckily for me, perhaps, as there was something of awkwardness in my position with her. I had flirted7 rather too much at one time with Winny--been almost tender--but nothing more. Now I loved Lady Estelle, and that love was indeed destitute8 of all ambition, though the known difficulties attendant on the winning of such a hand as hers, added zest9 and keenness to its course.
When I looked at Winifred and saw how fair and attractive she was, "a creature so compact and complete," as Caradoc phrased it, with such brilliance10 of complexion11, such deep violet eyes and thick dark wavy12 hair; and when I thought of the girl's actual wealth, and her kind old father's great regard for me, it seemed indeed that I might do well in offering my heart where there was little doubt it would be accepted; but the more stately and statuesque beauty, the infinitely13 greater personal attractions of Lady Estelle dazzled me, and rendered me blind to Winny's genuine goodness of soul The latter was every way a most attractive girl Dora was quite as much so, in her own droll14 and jolly way; but Lady Estelle possessed15 that higher style of loveliness and bearing so difficult to define; and though less natural perhaps than the Lloyds, she had usually that calm, placid16, and unruffled or settled expression of features so peculiar17 to many Englishwomen of rank and culture, yet they could light up at times; then, indeed, she became radiant; and now, in full dinner dress, she seemed to look pretty much as I had seemed to see her in that haughty18 full-length by the President of the R.A., with an admiring and critical crowd about it.
The three girls I have named were all handsome--each sufficiently19 so to have been the belle20 of any room; yet, though each was different in type from the other, they were all thoroughly21 English; perhaps Sir Madoc would have reminded me that two were Welsh. The beauty of Winifred and Dora was less regular; yet, like Lady Estelle, in their faces each feature seemed so charmingly suited to the rest, and all so perfect, that I doubt much the story that Canova had sixty models for his single Venus, or that Zeuxis of Heraclea had even five for his Helen. Lady Estelle Cressingham was tall and full in form, with a neck that rose from her white shoulders like that of some perfect Greek model; her smile, when real, was very captivating; her eyes were dark and deep, and softly lidded with long lashes22; they had neither the inquiring nor soft pleading expression of Winifred's, nor the saucy23 drollery24 of Dora's, yet at times they seemed to have the power of both; for they were eloquent25 eyes, and, as a writer has it, "could light up her whole personnel as if her whole body thought." Her colour was pale, almost creamy; her features clearly cut and delicate. She had a well-curved mouth, a short upper lip and chin, that indicated what she did not quite possess--decision. Her thick hair, which in its darkness contrasted so powerfully with her paleness, came somewhat well down, in what is called "a widow's peak," on a forehead that was broad rather than low. Her taste was perfect in dress and jewelry27; for though but a girl in years, she had been carefully trained, and knew nearly as much of the world--at least of the exclusive world in which she lived--as her cold and unimpressionable mamma, who seemed to be but a larger, fuller, older, and more stately version of herself; certainly much more of that selfish world than I, a line subaltern of seven years' foreign service, could know.
A few words more, concerning my approaching departure for the East, were all that could pass between us then; for the conversation was, of course, general, and of that enforced and heavy nature which usually precedes a dinner-party; but our memories and our thoughts were nevertheless our own still, as I could see when her glance met mine occasionally.
War was new to Britain then, and thus, even in the society at Craigaderyn Court, Caradoc and I, as officers whose regiment30 had already departed--more than all, as two of the Royal Welsh Fusileers--found ourselves rather objects of interest, and at a high premium31.
"Ah, the dooce! Hardinge, how d'you do, how d'you do? Not off to the seat of war" (he pronounced it waw), "to tread the path of glory that leads to--where does old Gray say it leads to?" said a thin wiry-looking man of more than middle height and less than middle age, his well-saved hair carefully parted in the centre, a glass in his eye, and an easy insouciance32 that bordered on insolence33 in his tone and bearing, as he came bluntly forward, and interrupted me while paying the necessary court to "Mamma Cressingham," who received me with simple politeness, nothing more. I could not detect the slightest cordiality in her tone or eye. Though in the Army List, my name was unchronicled by Debrett, and might never be.
I bowed to the speaker, who was the identical Mr. Hawkesby Guilfoyle of whom I have already spoken, and with whom I felt nettled34 for presuming to place himself on such a footing of apparent familiarity with me, from the simple circumstance that I had more than once--I scarcely knew how--lost money to him.
"I am going Eastward35 ere long, at all events," said I; "and I cannot help thinking that some of you many idlers here could not do better than take a turn of service against the Russians too."
"It don't pay, my dear fellow; moreover, I prefer to be one of the gentlemen of England, who live at home at ease. I shall be quite satisfied with reading all about it, and rejoicing in your exploits."
I smiled and bowed, but felt that he was closely scrutinising me through his glass, which he held in its place by a muscular contraction36 of the left eye; and I felt moreover, instinctively and intuitively, by some magnetic influence, that this man was my enemy, and yet I had done him no wrong. The aversion was certainly mutual37. It was somewhat of the impulse that led Tom Brown of old to dislike Dr. Fell, yet, in my instance, it was not exactly without knowing "why."
I had quickly read the character of this Mr. Guilfoyle. He had cold, cunning, and shifty eyes of a greenish yellow colour. They seldom smiled, even when his mouth did, if that can be called a smile which is merely a grin from the teeth outwards38. He was undoubtedly39 gentlemanlike in air and appearance, always correct in costume, suave40 to servility when it suited his purpose, but daringly insolent41 when he could venture to be so with impunity42. He had that narrowness of mind which made him counterfeit43 regret for the disaster of his best friend, while secretly exulting44 in it, if that friend could serve his purposes no more; the praise or success of another never failed to excite either his envy or his malice45; and doating on himself, he thought that all who knew him should quarrel with those against whom he conceived either spleen or enmity. A member of a good club in town, he was fashionable, moderately dissipated, and rather handsome in person. No one knew exactly from what source his income was derived46; but vague hints of India stock, foreign bonds, and so forth47, served to satisfy the few--and in the world of London few they were indeed--who cared a jot48 about the matter. Such was Mr. Hawkesby Guilfoyle, of whom the reader shall hear more in these pages.
"And so you don't approve of risking your valuable person in the service of the country?" said I, in a tone which I felt to be a sneering49 one.
"No; I am disposed to be rather economical of it--think myself too good-looking, perhaps, to fill a hole in a trench50. Ha, ha! Moreover, what the deuce do I want with glory or honour?" said he, in a lower tone; "are not self-love or interest, rather than virtue51, the true motives52 of most of our actions?"
"Do you think so?"
"Yes, by Jove! I do."
"A horrid53 idea, surely!"
"Not at all. Besides, virtues54, as they are often called, are too often only vices55 disguised."
"The deuce!" said Caradoc, who overheard us; "I don't understand this paradox56."
"Nor did I intend you to do so," replied the other, in a tone that, to say the least of it, was offensive, and made Phil's eyes sparkle. "But whether in pursuit of vice29 or virtue, it is an awkward thing when the ruling passion makes one take a wrong turn in life."
"The ruling passion?" said I, thinking of the money I had lost to him.
"Yes, whether it be ambition, avarice57, wine, or love," he replied, his eyes going involuntarily towards Lady Estelle; "but at all times there is nothing like taking precious good care of number one; and so, were I a king, I should certainly reign28 for myself."
"And be left to yourself," said I, almost amused by this avowed58 cynicism and selfishness.
"Well, as Prince Esterhazy said, when he did me the honour to present me with this ring," he began, playing the while with a splendid brilliant, which sparkled on one of his fingers.
But what the Prince had said I was never fated to know; for the aphorisms59 of Mr. Guilfoyle were cut short by the welcome sound of the dinner-gong, and in file we proceeded through the corridor and hall to the dining-room, duly marshalled between two rows of tall liverymen in powder and plush, Sir Madoc leading the way with the Countess on his arm, her long sweeping61 skirt so stiff with brocade, that, as Caradoc whispered, it looked like our regimental colours.
Lady Estelle was committed to the care of a stout62 old gentleman, who was the exact counterpart of our host, and whose conversation, as it evidently failed to amuse, bored her. Miss Lloyd was led by Caradoc, and Dora fell to my care. Of the other ladies I took little heed63; neither did I much of the sumptuous64 dinner, which passed away as other dinners do, through all its courses, with entrées and relays of various wines, the serving up of the latter proving in one sense a nuisance, from the absurd breaks caused thereby65 in the conversation. The buzz of voices was pretty loud at times, for many of the guests were country gentlemen, hale and hearty66 old fellows some of them, who laughed with right good will, not caring whether to do so was good ton or not. But while listening to the lively prattle67 of Dora Lloyd, I could not refrain from glancing ever and anon to where Estelle Cressingham, looking so radiant, yet withal "so delicately white" in her complexion, her slender throat and dazzling shoulders, her thick dark hair and tiny ears, at which the diamond pendants sparkled, sat listening to her elderly bore, smiling assents69 from time to time out of pure complaisance70, and toying with her fruit knife when the dessert came, her hands and arms seeming so perfect in form and colour, and on more than one occasion--when her mamma was engrossed71 by courteous72 old Sir Madoc, who could "talk peerage," and knew the quartering of arms better than the Garter King or Rouge73 Dragon--giving me a bright intelligent smile, that made my heart beat happily; all the more so that I had been afflicted74 by some painful suspicion of coldness in her first reception of me--a coldness rather deduced from her perfect self-possession--while I had been farther annoyed to find that her somewhat questionable75 admirer, Guilfoyle, was seated by her side, with a lady whose presence he almost ignored in his desire to be pleasing elsewhere. Yet, had it been otherwise, if anything might console a man for fancied coldness in the woman he loved, or for a partial separation from her by a few yards of mahogany, it should be the lively rattle68 of a lovely girl of eighteen; but while listening and replying to Dora, my thoughts and wishes were with another.
"I told you how it would be, Mr. Hardinge," whispered Dora; "that the staple76 conversation of the gentlemen, if it didn't run on the county pack, would be about horses and cattle, sheep, horned and South Down; or on the British Constitution, which must be a very patched invention, to judge by all they say of it."
I confessed inwardly that much of what went on around me was so provincial77 and local--the bishop's visitation, the--parish poor, crops and game, grouse78 and turnips--and proved such boredom79 that, but for the smiling girl beside me, with her waggish80 eyes and pretty ways, and the longing81 and hope to have more of the society of Lady Estelle, I could have wished myself back at the mess of the dep?t battalion82 in Winchester. Yet this restlessness was ungrateful; for Craigaderyn was as much a home to me as if I had been a son of the house, and times there were when the girls, like their father, called me simply "Harry," by my Christian83 name.
The long and stately dining-room, like other parts of the house, was well hung with portraits. At one end was a full-length of Sir Madoc in his scarlet84 coat and yellow-topped boots, seated on his favourite bay mare85, "Irish Jumper," with mane and reins86 in hand, a brass87 horn slung88 over his shoulder, and looking every inch like what he was--the M.F.H. of the county, trotting89 to cover. Opposite, of course, was his lady--it might almost have passed for a likeness90 of Winifred--done several years ago, her dress of puce velvet91 cut low to show her beautiful outline, but otherwise very full indeed, as she leaned in the approved fashion against a vase full of impossible flowers beside a column and draped curtain, in what seemed a windy and draughty staircase, a view of Snowdon in the distance. "Breed and blood," as Sir Madoc used to say, "in every line of her portrait, from the bridge of her nose to the heel of her slipper92;" for she was a lineal descendant of y Marchog gwyllt o' Cae Hywel, or "the wild Knight93 of Caehowel," a circumstance he valued more than all her personal merits and goodness of heart.
Some of Dora's remarks about the family portraits elicited94 an occasional glance of reprehension95 from the Dowager of Naseby, who thought such relics96 or evidences of descent were not to be treated lightly. On my enquiring98 who that lady in the very low dress with the somewhat dishevelled hair was, I had for answer, "A great favourite of Charles II., Mr. Hardinge--an ancestress of ours. Papa knows her name. There was some lively scandal about her, of course. And that is her brother beside her--he in the rose-coloured doublet and black wig99. He was killed in a duel100 about a young lady--run clean through the heart by one of the Wynnes of Llanrhaidr, at the Ring in Hyde Park."
"When men risked their lives so, love must have been very earnest in those days," said Lady Estelle.
"And very fearful," said the gentler Winny. "It is said the lady's name was engraved101 on the blade of the sword that slew102 him."
"A duel! How delightful103 to be the heroine of a duel!" exclaimed the volatile104 Dora.
"And who is that pretty woman in the sacque and puffed105 cap?" asked Caradoc, pointing to a brisk-looking dame106 in a long stomacher. She was well rouged107, rather décolletée, had a roguish kissing-patch in the corner of her mouth, and looked very like Dora indeed.
"Papa's grandmother, who insisted on wearing a white rose when she was presented to the Elector at St. James's," replied Dora; "and her marriage to the heir of Craigaderyn is chronicled in the fashion of the Georgian era, by gossipping Mr. Sylvanus Urban, as that of 'Mistress Betty Temple, an agreeable and modest young lady with 50,000l. fortune, from the eastward of Temple Bar.' I don't think people were such tuft-hunters in those days as they are now. Do you think so, Mr. Guilfoyle? O, I am sure, that if all we read in novels is true, there must have been more romantic marriages and much more honest love long ago than we find in society now. What do you say to this, Estelle?"
But the fair Estelle only fanned herself, and replied by a languid smile, that somehow eluded108 when it might have fallen on me. So while we lingered over the dessert (the pineapples, peaches, grapes, and so forth being all the produce of Sir Madoc's own hothouses), Dora resumed:
"And so, poor Harry Hardinge, in a few weeks more you will be far away from us, and face to face with those odious109 Russians--in a real battle, perhaps. It is something terrible to think of! Ah, heavens, if you should be killed!" she added, as her smile certainly passed away for a moment.
"I don't think somehow there is very much danger of that--at least I can but hope--"
"Or wounded! If you should lose a leg--two legs perhaps--"
"He could scarcely lose more," said Mr. Guilfoyle.
"And come home with wooden ones!" she continued, lowering her voice. "You will look so funny! O, I could never love or marry a man with wooden stumps110!"
"But," said I, a little irritated that she should see anything so very amusing in this supposed contingency111, "I don't mean to marry you."
"Of course not--I know that. It is Winny, papa thinks--or is it Estelle Cressingham you prefer?"
Lowly and whispered though the heedless girl said this, it reached the ears of Lady Estelle, and caused her to grow if possible paler, while I felt my face suffused112 with scarlet; but luckily all now rose from the table, as the ladies, led by Winifred, filed back alone to the drawing-room; and I felt that Dora's too palpable hints must have done much to make or mar60 my cause--perhaps to gain me the enmity of both her sister and the Lady Estelle.
Sir Madoc assumed his daughter's place at the head of the table, and beckoned113 me to take his chair at the foot. Owen Gwyllim replenished114 the various decanters and the two great silver jugs115 of claret and burgundy, and the flow of conversation became a little louder in tone, and of course less reserved. I listened now with less patience to all that passed around me, in my anxiety to follow the ladies to the drawing-room. Every moment spent out of her presence seemed doubly long and doubly lost. The chances of the coming war--where our troops were to land, whether at Eupatoria or Perecop, or were to await an attack where they were literally116 rotting in the camp upon the Bulgarian shore; their prospects117 of success, the proposed bombardment of Cronstadt, the bewildering orders issued to our admirals, the inane118 weakness and pitiful vacillation119, if not worse, of Lord Aberdeen's government, our total want of all preparation in the ambulance and commissariat services, even to the lack of sufficient shot, shell, and gunpowder--were all freely descanted on, and attacked, explained, or defended according to the politics or the views of those present; and Guilfoyle--who, on the strength of having been attaché at the petty German court of Catzenelnbogen, affected120 a great knowledge of continental121 affairs--indulged in much "tall talk" on the European situation till once more the county pack and hunting became the chief topic, and then too he endeavoured, but perhaps vainly, to take the lead.
"You talk of fox-hunting, gentlemen," said he, raising his voice after a preliminary cough, "and some of the anecdotes123 you tell of wonderful leaps, mistakes, and runs, with the cunning displayed by reynard on various occasions, such as hiding in a pool up to the snout, feigning124 death--a notion old as the days of Olaus Magnus--throwing dogs off the scent97 by traversing a running stream, and so forth, are all remarkable125 enough; but give me a good buck126-hunt, such as I have seen in Croatia! When travelling there among the mountains that lie between Carlstadt and the Adriatic, I had the good fortune to reside for a few weeks with my kind friend Ladislaus Count Mosvina, Grand Huntsman to the Emperor of Austria, and captain of the German Guard of Arzieres, and who takes his title from that wine-growing district, the vintage of which is fully26 equal to the finest burgundy. The season was winter. The snow lay deep among the frightful127 valleys and precipices128 of the Vellibitch range, and an enormous rehbock, or roebuck, fully five feet in height to the shoulder, with antlers of vast size--five feet, if an inch, from tip to tip--driven from the mountains by the storm and la bora, the biting north-east wind, took shelter in a thicket129 near the house. Several shots were fired; but no one, not even I, could succeed in hitting him, till at last he defiantly130 and coolly fed among the sheep, in the yard of the Count's home farm, where, by the use of his antlers, he severely131 wounded and disabled all who attempted to dislodge him. At last four of the Count's farmers or foresters--some of those Croatian boors132 who are liable to receive twenty-five blows of a cudgel yearly if they fail to engraft at least twenty-five fruit-trees--undertook to slay133 or capture the intruder. But though they were powerful, hardy134, and brave men, this devil of a rehbock, by successive blows of its antlers, fractured the skulls135 of two and the thigh-bones of the others, smashing them like tobacco-pipes, and made an escape to the mountains. A combined hunt was now ordered by my friend Mosvina, and all the gentlemen and officers in the generalat or district commanded by him set off, mounted and in pursuit. There were nearly a thousand horsemen; but the cavalry136 there are small and weak. I was perhaps the best-mounted man in the field. We pursued it for twenty-five miles, by rocky hills and almost pathless woods, by ravines and rivers. Many of our people fell. Some got staked, were pulled from their saddles by trees, or tumbled off by running foul137 of wild swine. Many missed their way, grew weary, got imbogged in the half-frozen marshes138, and so forth, till at last only the Count and I with four dogs were on his track, and when on it, we leaped no less than four frozen cataracts139, each at least a hundred feet in height--'pon honour they were. We had gone almost neck and neck for a time; but the Grand Huntsman's horse began to fail him now (for we had come over terrible ground, most of it being uphill), and ultimately it fell dead lame140. Then whoop--tally-ho! I spurred onward141 alone. Just as the furious giant was coming to bay in a narrow gorge142, and, fastening on his flanks and neck, the maddened dogs were tearing him down, their red jaws143 steaming in the frosty air, the Count came up on foot, breathless and thoroughly blown, to have the honour of slaying144 this antlered monarch145 of the Dinovian Alps. But I was too quick for him. I had sprung from my horse, and with my unsheathed hanshar or Croatian knife had flung myself, fearlessly and regardless of all danger, upon the buck, eluding146 a last and desperate butt147 made at me with his pointed148 horns. Another moment saw my knife buried to the haft in his throat, and a torrent149 of crimson150 blood flowing upon the snow, then I courteously151 tendered my weapon by the hilt to the Count, who, in admiration152 of my adroitness153, presented me with this ring--a very fine brilliant, you may perceive--which his grandfather had received from the Empress Maria Theresa, and the pure gold of which is native, from the sand upon the banks of the Drave."
And as he concluded his anecdote122, which he related with considerable pomposity154 and perfect coolness, he twirled round his finger this remarkable ring, of which I was eventually to hear more from time to time.
"So, out of a thousand Croatian horsemen, you were the only one in at the death! It says little for their manhood," said an old fox-hunter, as he filled his glass with burgundy, and pretty palpably winked155 to Sir Madoc, under cover of an épergne.
"This may all be true, Harry, or not--only entre nous, I don't believe it is," said Phil Caradoc aside to me; "for who here knows anything of Croatia? He might as well talk to old Gwyllim the butler, or any chance medley156 Englishman, of the land of Memnon and the hieroglyphics157. This fellow Guilfoyle beats Munchausen all to nothing; but did he not before tell something else about that ring?"
"I don't remember; but now, Phil, that you have seen her," said I, in a tone of tolerably-affected carelessness, "what do you think of la belle Cressingham?"
"She is very handsome, certainly," replied Phil, in the same undertone, and luckily looking at his glass, and not at me, "a splendid specimen158 of her class--a proud and by no means a bashful beauty."
"Most things in this world are prized just as they are difficult of attainment159, or are scarce. I reckon beauty among these, and no woman holds it cheap," said I, not knowing exactly what to think of Caradoc's criticism. "There is Miss Lloyd, for instance--"
"Ah," said he, with honest animation160, "she is a beauty too, but a gentle and retiring one--a girl that is all sweetness and genuine goodness of heart."
"With some dairy-farms in the midland counties, eh?"
"The graces of such a girl are always the most attractive. We men are so constituted that we are apt to decline admiration where it is loftily courted or seemingly expected--as I fear it is in the case of Lady Cressingham--and to bestow161 it on the gentle and retiring."
I felt there was much truth in my friend's remarks, and yet they piqued162 me so that I rather turned from him coldly for the remainder of the evening.
"Her mother is haughty, intensely ambitious, and looks forward to a title for her as high, if not higher, than that her father bore," I heard Sir Madoc say to a neighbour who had been talking on the same subject--the beauty of Lady, Estelle; "the old lady is half Irish and half Welsh."
"Rather a combustible163 compound, I should think," added Guilfoyle, as, after coffee and cura?oa, we all rose to join the ladies in the drawing-room.
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instinctively
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| adv.本能地 | |
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harry
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| vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼 | |
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eligible
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| adj.有条件被选中的；(尤指婚姻等)合适(意)的 | |
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dreaded
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| adj.令人畏惧的；害怕的v.害怕，恐惧，担心( dread的过去式和过去分词) | |
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concealed
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apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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flirted
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| v.调情，打情骂俏( flirt的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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destitute
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zest
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brilliance
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complexion
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wavy
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infinitely
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droll
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possessed
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placid
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peculiar
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haughty
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sufficiently
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belle
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thoroughly
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lashes
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saucy
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drollery
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eloquent
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| adj.雄辩的，口才流利的；明白显示出的 | |
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26
fully
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| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
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27
jewelry
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| n.（jewllery）（总称）珠宝 | |
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28
reign
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| n.统治时期，统治，支配，盛行；v.占优势 | |
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29
vice
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| n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的 | |
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30
regiment
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| n.团，多数，管理；v.组织，编成团，统制 | |
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31
premium
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| n.加付款；赠品；adj.高级的；售价高的 | |
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32
insouciance
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| n.漠不关心 | |
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33
insolence
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| n.傲慢；无礼；厚颜；傲慢的态度 | |
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34
nettled
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| v.拿荨麻打，拿荨麻刺（nettle的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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35
eastward
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| adv.向东；adj.向东的；n.东方，东部 | |
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36
contraction
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| n.缩略词，缩写式，害病 | |
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37
mutual
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|
| adj.相互的，彼此的；共同的，共有的 | |
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38
outwards
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|
| adj.外面的，公开的，向外的；adv.向外；n.外形 | |
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39
undoubtedly
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| adv.确实地，无疑地 | |
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40
suave
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|
| adj.温和的；柔和的；文雅的 | |
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41
insolent
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|
| adj.傲慢的，无理的 | |
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42
impunity
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|
| n.(惩罚、损失、伤害等的)免除 | |
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43
counterfeit
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|
| vt.伪造，仿造；adj.伪造的，假冒的 | |
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44
exulting
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|
| vi. 欢欣鼓舞，狂喜 | |
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45
malice
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|
| n.恶意，怨恨，蓄意；[律]预谋 | |
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46
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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47
forth
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|
| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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48
jot
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|
| n.少量；vi.草草记下；vt.匆匆写下 | |
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49
sneering
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| 嘲笑的，轻蔑的 | |
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50
trench
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|
| n./v.(挖)沟，(挖)战壕 | |
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51
virtue
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| n.德行，美德；贞操；优点；功效，效力 | |
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52
motives
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|
| n.动机，目的( motive的名词复数 ) | |
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53
horrid
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|
| adj.可怕的；令人惊恐的；恐怖的；极讨厌的 | |
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54
virtues
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| 美德( virtue的名词复数 )； 德行； 优点； 长处 | |
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55
vices
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| 缺陷( vice的名词复数 )； 恶习； 不道德行为； 台钳 | |
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56
paradox
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|
| n.似乎矛盾却正确的说法；自相矛盾的人(物) | |
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57
avarice
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| n.贪婪；贪心 | |
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58
avowed
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|
| adj.公开声明的，承认的v.公开声明，承认( avow的过去式和过去分词) | |
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59
aphorisms
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| 格言，警句( aphorism的名词复数 ) | |
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60
mar
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|
| vt.破坏，毁坏，弄糟 | |
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61
sweeping
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|
| adj.范围广大的，一扫无遗的 | |
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63
heed
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| v.注意，留意；n.注意，留心 | |
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64
sumptuous
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|
| adj.豪华的，奢侈的，华丽的 | |
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65
thereby
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|
| adv.因此，从而 | |
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66
hearty
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|
| adj.热情友好的；衷心的；尽情的，纵情的 | |
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67
prattle
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|
| n.闲谈；v.（小孩般）天真无邪地说话；发出连续而无意义的声音 | |
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68
rattle
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| v.飞奔，碰响；激怒；n.碰撞声；拨浪鼓 | |
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69
assents
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|
| 同意，赞同( assent的名词复数 ) | |
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70
complaisance
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|
| n.彬彬有礼，殷勤，柔顺 | |
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71
engrossed
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|
| adj.全神贯注的 | |
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72
courteous
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|
| adj.彬彬有礼的，客气的 | |
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73
rouge
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|
| n.胭脂，口红唇膏；v.(在…上)擦口红 | |
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74
afflicted
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| 使受痛苦，折磨( afflict的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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75
questionable
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|
| adj.可疑的，有问题的 | |
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76
staple
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|
| n.主要产物，常用品，主要要素，原料，订书钉，钩环；adj.主要的，重要的；vt.分类 | |
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77
provincial
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|
| adj.省的，地方的；n．外省人，乡下人 | |
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78
grouse
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|
| n.松鸡；v.牢骚，诉苦 | |
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79
boredom
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|
| n.厌烦，厌倦，乏味，无聊 | |
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80
waggish
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|
| adj.诙谐的，滑稽的 | |
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81
longing
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|
| n.（for）渴望 | |
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82
battalion
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|
| n.营；部队；大队(的人) | |
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83
Christian
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|
| adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒 | |
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84
scarlet
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|
| n.深红色，绯红色，红衣；adj.绯红色的 | |
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85
mare
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| n.母马，母驴 | |
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86
reins
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|
| 感情，激情； 缰( rein的名词复数 )； 控制手段； 掌管； （成人带着幼儿走路以防其走失时用的）保护带 | |
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87
brass
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|
| n.黄铜；黄铜器，铜管乐器 | |
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88
slung
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| 抛( sling的过去式和过去分词 )； 吊挂； 遣送； 押往 | |
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89
trotting
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| 小跑，急走( trot的现在分词 )； 匆匆忙忙地走 | |
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90
likeness
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|
| n.相像，相似（之处） | |
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91
velvet
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|
| n.丝绒，天鹅绒；adj.丝绒制的，柔软的 | |
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92
slipper
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| n.拖鞋 | |
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93
knight
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|
| n.骑士，武士；爵士 | |
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94
elicited
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| 引出，探出( elicit的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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95
reprehension
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|
| n.非难，指责 | |
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96
relics
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| [pl.］n.遗物，遗迹，遗产；遗体，尸骸 | |
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97
scent
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| n.气味，香味，香水，线索，嗅觉；v.嗅，发觉 | |
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98
enquiring
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| a.爱打听的，显得好奇的 | |
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99
wig
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| n.假发 | |
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100
duel
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|
| n./v.决斗；(双方的)斗争 | |
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101
engraved
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|
| v.在（硬物）上雕刻（字，画等）( engrave的过去式和过去分词 )；将某事物深深印在（记忆或头脑中） | |
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102
slew
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|
| v.（使）旋转；n.大量，许多 | |
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103
delightful
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|
| adj.令人高兴的，使人快乐的 | |
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104
volatile
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|
| adj.反复无常的，挥发性的，稍纵即逝的，脾气火爆的；n.挥发性物质 | |
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105
puffed
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|
| adj.疏松的v.使喷出( puff的过去式和过去分词 )；喷着汽（或烟）移动；吹嘘；吹捧 | |
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106
dame
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| n.女士 | |
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107
rouged
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| 胭脂，口红( rouge的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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108
eluded
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|
| v.（尤指机敏地）避开( elude的过去式和过去分词 )；逃避；躲避；使达不到 | |
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109
odious
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|
| adj.可憎的，讨厌的 | |
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110
stumps
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|
| （被砍下的树的）树桩( stump的名词复数 )； 残肢； （板球三柱门的）柱； 残余部分 | |
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111
contingency
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|
| n.意外事件，可能性 | |
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112
suffused
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| v.（指颜色、水气等）弥漫于，布满( suffuse的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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113
beckoned
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| v.（用头或手的动作）示意，召唤( beckon的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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114
replenished
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| 补充( replenish的过去式和过去分词 )； 重新装满 | |
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115
jugs
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| （有柄及小口的）水壶( jug的名词复数 ) | |
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116
literally
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|
| adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实 | |
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117
prospects
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| n.希望，前途(恒为复数) | |
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118
inane
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| adj.空虚的，愚蠢的，空洞的 | |
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119
vacillation
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| n.动摇；忧柔寡断 | |
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120
affected
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| adj.不自然的，假装的 | |
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121
continental
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| adj.大陆的，大陆性的，欧洲大陆的 | |
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122
anecdote
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| n.轶事，趣闻，短故事 | |
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123
anecdotes
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| n.掌故，趣闻，轶事( anecdote的名词复数 ) | |
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124
feigning
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| 假装，伪装( feign的现在分词 )； 捏造（借口、理由等） | |
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125
remarkable
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|
| adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的 | |
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126
buck
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| n.雄鹿，雄兔；v.马离地跳跃 | |
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127
frightful
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| adj.可怕的；讨厌的 | |
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128
precipices
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| n.悬崖，峭壁( precipice的名词复数 ) | |
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129
thicket
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| n.灌木丛，树林 | |
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130
defiantly
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| adv.挑战地，大胆对抗地 | |
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131
severely
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| adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地 | |
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132
boors
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| n.农民( boor的名词复数 )；乡下佬；没礼貌的人；粗野的人 | |
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133
slay
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| v.杀死，宰杀，杀戮 | |
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134
hardy
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| adj.勇敢的，果断的，吃苦的；耐寒的 | |
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135
skulls
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| 颅骨( skull的名词复数 )； 脑袋； 脑子； 脑瓜 | |
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136
cavalry
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| n.骑兵；轻装甲部队 | |
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137
foul
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|
| adj.污秽的；邪恶的；v.弄脏；妨害；犯规；n.犯规 | |
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138
marshes
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|
| n.沼泽，湿地( marsh的名词复数 ) | |
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139
cataracts
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| n.大瀑布( cataract的名词复数 )；白内障 | |
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140
lame
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| adj.跛的，(辩解、论据等)无说服力的 | |
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141
onward
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|
| adj.向前的，前进的；adv.向前，前进，在先 | |
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142
gorge
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| n.咽喉，胃，暴食，山峡；v.塞饱，狼吞虎咽地吃 | |
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143
jaws
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| n.口部；嘴 | |
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144
slaying
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| 杀戮。 | |
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145
monarch
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|
| n.帝王，君主，最高统治者 | |
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146
eluding
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|
| v.（尤指机敏地）避开( elude的现在分词 )；逃避；躲避；使达不到 | |
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147
butt
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|
| n.笑柄；烟蒂；枪托；臀部；v.用头撞或顶 | |
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148
pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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149
torrent
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| n.激流，洪流；爆发，(话语等的)连发 | |
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150
crimson
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|
| n./adj.深(绯)红色(的)；vi.脸变绯红色 | |
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151
courteously
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|
| adv.有礼貌地，亲切地 | |
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152
admiration
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|
| n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕 | |
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153
adroitness
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154
pomposity
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|
| n.浮华；虚夸；炫耀；自负 | |
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155
winked
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| v.使眼色( wink的过去式和过去分词 )；递眼色（表示友好或高兴等）；（指光）闪烁；闪亮 | |
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156
medley
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| n.混合 | |
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157
hieroglyphics
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| n.pl.象形文字 | |
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158
specimen
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| n.样本，标本 | |
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159
attainment
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| n.达到，到达；［常pl.］成就，造诣 | |
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160
animation
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| n.活泼，兴奋，卡通片／动画片的制作 | |
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161
bestow
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| v.把…赠与，把…授予；花费 | |
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162
piqued
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| v.伤害…的自尊心( pique的过去式和过去分词 )；激起（好奇心） | |
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163
combustible
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| a. 易燃的,可燃的; n. 易燃物,可燃物 | |
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