XXXVIII. REACHING PORT.

Will the reader imagine a year to have passed?

During the time several things have happened.

In the first place, Mr. Bowman has invited Charlie to become a member of his family.

In the second place, charmed by the beauty and grace, as well as the more valuable qualities of Mrs. Codman, with whom he has had a good chance of becoming acquainted during her residence in his family, he has invited her to become his wife. Mrs. Codman[300] was taken by surprise, but found this proposition not altogether unwelcome. She had become attached to Bert, who added her persuasions¹ to those of her father, and at length her governess promised to assume to her a nearer relation.

Through the testimony² of Randall, the identity of Peter Manson with Peter Thornton was fully³ established, and the law decided⁴ that the miser⁵'s wealth must go to Charlie and his mother. It was found to exceed the estimate which had been made of it, verging⁶ close upon forty thousand dollars. Including interest for twenty years, all this, and more of right, belonged to those who had so long been defrauded⁷ of it.

Mrs. Codman could not help pitying the miserable⁸ and disconsolate⁹ old man, pinched with privation, which had enfeebled him, and made him old before his time. She continued to allow him the use of the old building which he had occupied so many years, and allowed him a certain sum payable¹⁰ on the first of every month, to provide for his wants.

[301]

The sudden loss of the gold which he had been hoarding¹¹ up so long did not kill Peter Manson, but it affected¹² his intellect. The habit of avarice¹³ never left him. He saved up nine tenths of his allowance, and starved himself on the remainder. Attempts were made to remedy this by bringing him supplies of fuel and provisions, but these he economized¹⁴ as before. One day, when Charlie looked in to see how he was getting along, he beheld¹⁵ a sight which made him start back in affright.

The old man lay stretched out upon the floor cold and dead, with a few gold pieces firmly clutched in his grasp. He had received a sudden summons while engaged in counting over the little gold he had accumulated from his allowance.

So ended the wasted life of Peter Manson, the miser.

From him we turn to others who have figured in these pages.

Randall received the thousand dollars which had been promised as the reward of his disclosure. It appeared as if prosperity,[302] rather than retribution, was to attend him. He succeeded in obtaining the command of a fine ship, with an excellent salary, and sailed with fair prospects¹⁶. But his tyrannical habits had not deserted¹⁷ him. His unjustifiable abuse aroused the deadly anger of one of the crew, a man of excitable temper, who, before he could be withheld¹⁸, plunged¹⁹ a knife into his heart one day, just after punishment, killing²⁰ him instantly.

As for Captain Brace²¹, he, too, demands a word. Brief mention will suffice. In a fit of ungovernable rage he burst a blood-vessel²², and he, too, died instantly, without a moment's preparation, in which to repent²³ of the many wrongs he had committed.

From the sad fate of these miserable men we turn gladly to brighter scenes.

Mrs. Codman, now Mrs. Bowman, has had no cause to regret her second choice. Her husband commands her respect and esteem²⁴, and makes her very happy. Charlie is now at an excellent school. After he has completed a liberal course of instruction, he will enter the counting-room of his step-father,[303] where, as we cannot doubt, an honorable and useful career awaits him.

As for Bill Sturdy,—honest, brave, stout-hearted Bill Sturdy,—he could not be persuaded to abandon the sea, but now sails as captain of a vessel belonging to Mr. Bowman. He is unboundedly popular with his crew, whom he treats as comrades in whose welfare he is interested. Whenever he is in port, Captain Sturdy dines once with Mr. Bowman. He feels more at his ease now than when he was only a forecastle hand, but he will always be modest and unassuming. He is a prime favorite with Bert, and always brings her home something when he returns from foreign parts.

It is not ours to read the future; but I should not be surprised, when Charlie grows to manhood, if we should find Bert's early choice of him as her husband prophetic.

So we bid farewell to Charlie Codman. His trials and struggles have come early in life, but now his bark has drifted into smoother waters. The sky above him is cloudless.[304] His character has been strengthened by his combat with adversity. Let us hope that his manhood may redeem²⁵ the promise of his youth, and be graced by all the noblest attributes of humanity.

The End

1 persuasions   

n.劝说，说服（力）( persuasion的名词复数 )；信仰

参考例句：

• To obtain more advertisting it needed readers of all political persuasions. 为获得更多的广告，它需要迎合各种政治见解的读者。 来自辞典例句
• She lingered, and resisted my persuasions to departure a tiresome while. 她踌躇不去，我好说歹说地劝她走，她就是不听。 来自辞典例句

2 testimony   

n.证词；见证，证明

参考例句：

• The testimony given by him is dubious.他所作的证据是可疑的。
• He was called in to bear testimony to what the police officer said.他被传入为警官所说的话作证。

3 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

4 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

5 miser   

n.守财奴，吝啬鬼 (adj.miserly)

参考例句：

• The miser doesn't like to part with his money.守财奴舍不得花他的钱。
• The demon of greed ruined the miser's happiness.贪得无厌的恶习毁掉了那个守财奴的幸福。

6 verging   

接近，逼近（verge的现在分词形式）

参考例句：

• He vowed understanding, verging on sympathy, for our approach. 他宣称对我们提出的做法很理解，而且近乎同情。
• He's verging on 80 now and needs constant attention. 他已近80岁，需要侍候左右。

7 defrauded   

v.诈取，骗取( defraud的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He defrauded his employers of thousands of dollars. 他诈取了他的雇主一大笔钱。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He defrauded them of their money. 他骗走了他们的钱。 来自辞典例句

8 miserable   

adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的

参考例句：

• It was miserable of you to make fun of him.你取笑他，这是可耻的。
• Her past life was miserable.她过去的生活很苦。

9 disconsolate   

adj.忧郁的，不快的

参考例句：

• He looked so disconsolate that It'scared her.他看上去情绪很坏，吓了她一跳。
• At the dress rehearsal she was disconsolate.彩排时她闷闷不乐。

10 payable   

adj.可付的，应付的，有利益的

参考例句：

• This check is payable on demand.这是一张见票即付的支票。
• No tax is payable on these earnings.这些收入不须交税。

11 hoarding   

n.贮藏；积蓄；临时围墙；囤积v.积蓄并储藏（某物）( hoard的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• After the war, they were shot for hoarding. 战后他们因囤积而被枪决。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Actually he had two unused ones which he was hoarding up. 其实他还藏了两片没有用呢。 来自英汉文学

12 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

13 avarice   

n.贪婪；贪心

参考例句：

• Avarice is the bane to happiness.贪婪是损毁幸福的祸根。
• Their avarice knows no bounds and you can never satisfy them.他们贪得无厌，你永远无法满足他们。

14 economized   

v.节省，减少开支( economize的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He economized by using trams instead of taking a taxi every time he went to school. 他上学搭电车而不坐出租汽车，以节省钱。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• He economized by using buses instead of taking taxis. 他不坐出租车而改乘公共汽车以节省钱。 来自辞典例句

15 beheld   

v.看，注视( behold的过去式和过去分词 )；瞧；看呀；（叙述中用于引出某人意外的出现）哎哟

参考例句：

• His eyes had never beheld such opulence. 他从未见过这样的财富。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The soul beheld its features in the mirror of the passing moment. 灵魂在逝去的瞬间的镜子中看到了自己的模样。 来自英汉文学 - 红字

16 prospects   

n.希望，前途(恒为复数)

参考例句：

• There is a mood of pessimism in the company about future job prospects. 公司中有一种对工作前景悲观的情绪。
• They are less sanguine about the company's long-term prospects. 他们对公司的远景不那么乐观。

17 deserted   

adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的

参考例句：

• The deserted village was filled with a deathly silence.这个荒废的村庄死一般的寂静。
• The enemy chieftain was opposed and deserted by his followers.敌人头目众叛亲离。

18 withheld   

withhold过去式及过去分词

参考例句：

• I withheld payment until they had fulfilled the contract. 他们履行合同后，我才付款。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• There was no school play because the principal withheld his consent. 由于校长没同意，学校里没有举行比赛。 来自《简明英汉词典》

19 plunged   

v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降

参考例句：

• The train derailed and plunged into the river. 火车脱轨栽进了河里。
• She lost her balance and plunged 100 feet to her death. 她没有站稳，从100英尺的高处跌下摔死了。

20 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

21 brace   

n. 支柱,曲柄,大括号; v. 绷紧,顶住,(为困难或坏事)做准备

参考例句：

• My daughter has to wear a brace on her teeth. 我的女儿得戴牙套以矫正牙齿。
• You had better brace yourself for some bad news. 有些坏消息,你最好做好准备。

22 vessel   

n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管

参考例句：

• The vessel is fully loaded with cargo for Shanghai.这艘船满载货物驶往上海。
• You should put the water into a vessel.你应该把水装入容器中。

23 repent   

v.悔悟，悔改，忏悔，后悔

参考例句：

• He has nothing to repent of.他没有什么要懊悔的。
• Remission of sins is promised to those who repent.悔罪者可得到赦免。

24 esteem   

n.尊敬，尊重；vt.尊重，敬重；把…看作

参考例句：

• I did not esteem him to be worthy of trust.我认为他不值得信赖。
• The veteran worker ranks high in public love and esteem.那位老工人深受大伙的爱戴。

25 redeem   

v.买回，赎回，挽回，恢复，履行（诺言等）

参考例句：

• He had no way to redeem his furniture out of pawn.他无法赎回典当的家具。
• The eyes redeem the face from ugliness.这双眼睛弥补了他其貌不扬之缺陷。