"No matter with what solemnities he may have been devoted1 upon the altar of slavery, the moment he touches the sacred soil of Britain, the altar and the God sink together in the dust, and he stands redeemed2, regenerated3, and disenthralled, by the irresistible4 genius of universal emancipation5." CURRAN.[1]
[1] John Philpot Curran (1750-1817), Irish orator6 and judge who worked for Catholic emancipation.
A while we must leave Tom in the hands of his persecutors, while we turn to pursue the fortunes of George and his wife, whom we left in friendly hands, in a farmhouse7 on the road-side.
Tom Loker we left groaning8 and touzling in a most immaculately clean Quaker bed, under the motherly supervision9 of Aunt Dorcas, who found him to the full as tractable10 a patient as a sick bison.
Imagine a tall, dignified11, spiritual woman, whose clear muslin cap shades waves of silvery hair, parted on a broad, clear forehead, which overarches thoughtful gray eyes. A snowy handkerchief of lisse crape is folded neatly12 across her bosom13; her glossy14 brown silk dress rustles15 peacefully, as she glides16 up and down the chamber17.
"The devil!" says Tom Loker, giving a great throw to the bedclothes.
"I must request thee, Thomas, not to use such language," says Aunt Dorcas, as she quietly rearranged the bed.
"Well, I won't, granny, if I can help it," says Tom; "but it is enough to make a fellow swear,--so cursedly hot!"
Dorcas removed a comforter from the bed, straightened the clothes again, and tucked them in till Tom looked something like a chrysalis; remarking, as she did so,
"I wish, friend, thee would leave off cursing and swearing, and think upon thy ways."
"What the devil," said Tom, "should I think of _them_ for? Last thing ever _I_ want to think of--hang it all!" And Tom flounced over, untucking and disarranging everything, in a manner frightful18 to behold19.
"That fellow and gal20 are here, I 'spose," said he, sullenly21, after a pause.
"They are so," said Dorcas.
"They'd better be off up to the lake," said Tom; "the quicker the better."
"Probably they will do so," said Aunt Dorcas, knitting peacefully.
"And hark ye," said Tom; "we've got correspondents in Sandusky, that watch the boats for us. I don't care if I tell, now. I hope they _will_ get away, just to spite Marks,--the cursed puppy!--d--n him!"
"Thomas!" said Dorcas.
"I tell you, granny, if you bottle a fellow up too tight, I shall split," said Tom. "But about the gal,--tell 'em to dress her up some way, so's to alter her. Her description's out in Sandusky."
"We will attend to that matter," said Dorcas, with characteristic composure.
As we at this place take leave of Tom Loker, we may as well say, that, having lain three weeks at the Quaker dwelling22, sick with a rheumatic fever, which set in, in company with his other afflictions, Tom arose from his bed a somewhat sadder and wiser man; and, in place of slave-catching, betook himself to life in one of the new settlements, where his talents developed themselves more happily in trapping bears, wolves, and other inhabitants of the forest, in which he made himself quite a name in the land. Tom always spoke23 reverently24 of the Quakers. "Nice people," he would say; "wanted to convert me, but couldn't come it, exactly. But, tell ye what, stranger, they do fix up a sick fellow first rate,--no mistake. Make jist the tallest kind o' broth25 and knicknacks."
As Tom had informed them that their party would be looked for in Sandusky, it was thought prudent26 to divide them. Jim, with his old mother, was forwarded separately; and a night or two after, George and Eliza, with their child, were driven privately27 into Sandusky, and lodged28 beneath a hospital roof, preparatory to taking their last passage on the lake.
Their night was now far spent, and the morning star of liberty rose fair before them!--electric word! What is it? Is there anything more in it than a name--a rhetorical flourish? Why, men and women of America, does your heart's blood thrill at that word, for which your fathers bled, and your braver mothers were willing that their noblest and best should die?
Is there anything in it glorious and dear for a nation, that is not also glorious and dear for a man? What is freedom to a nation, but freedom to the individuals in it? What is freedom to that young man, who sits there, with his arms folded over his broad chest, the tint29 of African blood in his cheek, its dark fires in his eyes,--what is freedom to George Harris? To your fathers, freedom was the right of a nation to be a nation. To him, it is the right of a man to be a man, and not a brute30; the right to call the wife of his bosom is wife, and to protect her from lawless violence; the right to protect and educate his child; the right to have a home of his own, a religion of his own, a character of his own, unsubject to the will of another. All these thoughts were rolling and seething31 in George's breast, as he was pensively32 leaning his head on his hand, watching his wife, as she was adapting to her slender and pretty form the articles of man's attire33, in which it was deemed safest she should make her escape.
"Now for it," said she, as she stood before the glass, and shook down her silky abundance of black curly hair. "I say, George, it's almost a pity, isn't it," she said, as she held up some of it, playfully,--"pity it's all got to come off?"
George smiled sadly, and made no answer.
Eliza turned to the glass, and the scissors glittered as one long lock after another was detached from her head.
"There, now, that'll do," she said, taking up a hair-brush; "now for a few fancy touches."
"There, an't I a pretty young fellow?" she said, turning around to her husband, laughing and blushing at the same time.
"You always will be pretty, do what you will," said George.
"What does make you so sober?" said Eliza, kneeling on one knee, and laying her hand on his. "We are only within twenty-four hours of Canada, they say. Only a day and a night on the lake, and then--oh, then!--"
"O, Eliza!" said George, drawing her towards him; "that is it! Now my fate is all narrowing down to a point. To come so near, to be almost in sight, and then lose all. I should never live under it, Eliza."
"Don't fear," said his wife, hopefully. "The good Lord would not have brought us so far, if he didn't mean to carry us through. I seem to feel him with us, George."
"You are a blessed woman, Eliza!" said George, clasping her with a convulsive grasp. "But,--oh, tell me! can this great mercy be for us? Will these years and years of misery34 come to an end?--shall we be free?
"I am sure of it, George," said Eliza, looking upward, while tears of hope and enthusiasm shone on her long, dark lashes35. "I feel it in me, that God is going to bring us out of bondage36, this very day."
"I will believe you, Eliza," said George, rising suddenly up, "I will believe,--come let's be off. Well, indeed," said he, holding her off at arm's length, and looking admiringly at her, "you _are_ a pretty little fellow. That crop of little, short curls, is quite becoming. Put on your cap. So--a little to one side. I never saw you look quite so pretty. But, it's almost time for the carriage;--I wonder if Mrs. Smyth has got Harry37 rigged?"
The door opened, and a respectable, middle-aged38 woman entered, leading little Harry, dressed in girl's clothes.
"What a pretty girl he makes," said Eliza, turning him round. "We call him Harriet, you see;--don't the name come nicely?"
The child stood gravely regarding his mother in her new and strange attire, observing a profound silence, and occasionally drawing deep sighs, and peeping at her from under his dark curls.
"Does Harry know mamma?" said Eliza, stretching her hands toward him.
The child clung shyly to the woman.
"Come Eliza, why do you try to coax39 him, when you know that he has got to be kept away from you?"
"I know it's foolish," said Eliza; "yet, I can't bear to have him turn away from me. But come,--where's my cloak? Here,--how is it men put on cloaks, George?"
"You must wear it so," said her husband, throwing it over his shoulders.
"So, then," said Eliza, imitating the motion,--"and I must stamp, and take long steps, and try to look saucy40."
"Don't exert yourself," said George. "There is, now and then, a modest young man; and I think it would be easier for you to act that character."
"And these gloves! mercy upon us!" said Eliza; "why, my hands are lost in them."
"I advise you to keep them on pretty strictly," said George. "Your slender paw might bring us all out. Now, Mrs. Smyth, you are to go under our charge, and be our aunty,--you mind."
"I've heard," said Mrs. Smyth, "that there have been men down, warning all the packet captains against a man and woman, with a little boy."
"They have!" said George. "Well, if we see any such people, we can tell them."
A hack41 now drove to the door, and the friendly family who had received the fugitives42 crowded around them with farewell greetings.
The disguises the party had assumed were in accordance with the hints of Tom Loker. Mrs. Smyth, a respectable woman from the settlement in Canada, whither they were fleeing, being fortunately about crossing the lake to return thither43, had consented to appear as the aunt of little Harry; and, in order to attach him to her, he had been allowed to remain, the two last days, under her sole charge; and an extra amount of petting, jointed44 to an indefinite amount of seed-cakes and candy, had cemented a very close attachment45 on the part of the young gentleman.
The hack drove to the wharf46. The two young men, as they appeared, walked up the plank47 into the boat, Eliza gallantly48 giving her arm to Mrs. Smyth, and George attending to their baggage.
George was standing49 at the captain's office, settling for his party, when he overheard two men talking by his side.
"I've watched every one that came on board," said one, "and I know they're not on this boat."
The voice was that of the clerk of the boat. The speaker whom he addressed was our sometime friend Marks, who, with that valuable perservance which characterized him, had come on to Sandusky, seeking whom he might devour50.
"You would scarcely know the woman from a white one," said Marks. "The man is a very light mulatto; he has a brand in one of his hands."
The hand with which George was taking the tickets and change trembled a little; but he turned coolly around, fixed51 an unconcerned glance on the face of the speaker, and walked leisurely52 toward another part of the boat, where Eliza stood waiting for him.
Mrs. Smyth, with little Harry, sought the seclusion53 of the ladies' cabin, where the dark beauty of the supposed little girl drew many flattering comments from the passengers.
George had the satisfaction, as the bell rang out its farewell peal54, to see Marks walk down the plank to the shore; and drew a long sigh of relief, when the boat had put a returnless distance between them.
It was a superb day. The blue waves of Lake Erie danced, rippling55 and sparkling, in the sun-light. A fresh breeze blew from the shore, and the lordly boat ploughed her way right gallantly onward56.
O, what an untold57 world there is in one human heart! Who thought, as George walked calmly up and down the deck of the steamer, with his shy companion at his side, of all that was burning in his bosom? The mighty58 good that seemed approaching seemed too good, too fair, even to be a reality; and he felt a jealous dread59, every moment of the day, that something would rise to snatch it from him.
But the boat swept on. Hours fleeted, and, at last, clear and full rose the blessed English shores; shores charmed by a mighty spell,--with one touch to dissolve every incantation of slavery, no matter in what language pronounced, or by what national power confirmed.
George and his wife stood arm in arm, as the boat neared the small town of Amherstberg, in Canada. His breath grew thick and short; a mist gathered before his eyes; he silently pressed the little hand that lay trembling on his arm. The bell rang; the boat stopped. Scarcely seeing what he did, he looked out his baggage, and gathered his little party. The little company were landed on the shore. They stood still till the boat had cleared; and then, with tears and embracings, the husband and wife, with their wondering child in their arms, knelt down and lifted up their hearts to God!
"'T was something like the burst from death to life; From the grave's cerements to the robes of heaven; From sin's dominion60, and from passion's strife61, To the pure freedom of a soul forgiven; Where all the bonds of death and hell are riven,
And mortal puts on immortality62, When Mercy's hand hath turned the golden key, And Mercy's voice hath said, _Rejoice, thy soul is free."_
The little party were soon guided, by Mrs. Smyth, to the hospitable63 abode64 of a good missionary65, whom Christian66 charity has placed here as a shepherd to the outcast and wandering, who are constantly finding an asylum67 on this shore.
Who can speak the blessedness of that first day of freedom? Is not the _sense_ of liberty a higher and a finer one than any of the five? To move, speak and breathe,--go out and come in unwatched, and free from danger! Who can speak the blessings68 of that rest which comes down on the free man's pillow, under laws which insure to him the rights that God has given to man? How fair and precious to that mother was that sleeping child's face, endeared by the memory of a thousand dangers! How impossible was it to sleep, in the exuberant69 posession of such blessedness! And yet, these two had not one acre of ground,--not a roof that they could call their own,--they had spent their all, to the last dollar. They had nothing more than the birds of the air, or the flowers of the field,--yet they could not sleep for joy. "O, ye who take freedom from man, with what words shall ye answer it to God?"
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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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redeemed
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| adj. 可赎回的，可救赎的 动词redeem的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
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regenerated
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| v.新生，再生( regenerate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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irresistible
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| adj.非常诱人的，无法拒绝的，无法抗拒的 | |
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emancipation
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| n.（从束缚、支配下）解放 | |
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orator
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| n.演说者，演讲者，雄辩家 | |
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farmhouse
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| n.农场住宅（尤指主要住房） | |
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groaning
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| adj. 呜咽的, 呻吟的 动词groan的现在分词形式 | |
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supervision
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| n.监督，管理 | |
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tractable
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| adj.易驾驭的；温顺的 | |
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dignified
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| a.可敬的，高贵的 | |
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neatly
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| adv.整洁地，干净地，灵巧地，熟练地 | |
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bosom
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| n.胸，胸部；胸怀；内心；adj.亲密的 | |
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glossy
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| adj.平滑的；有光泽的 | |
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rustles
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| n.发出沙沙的声音( rustle的名词复数 )v.发出沙沙的声音( rustle的第三人称单数 ) | |
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glides
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| n.滑行( glide的名词复数 )；滑音；音渡；过渡音v.滑动( glide的第三人称单数 )；掠过；（鸟或飞机 ） 滑翔 | |
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chamber
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| n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所 | |
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frightful
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| adj.可怕的；讨厌的 | |
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behold
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| v.看，注视，看到 | |
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gal
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| n.姑娘，少女 | |
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sullenly
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| 不高兴地，绷着脸，忧郁地 | |
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dwelling
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| n.住宅，住所，寓所 | |
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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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reverently
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| adv.虔诚地 | |
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broth
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| n.原(汁)汤(鱼汤、肉汤、菜汤等) | |
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prudent
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| adj.谨慎的，有远见的，精打细算的 | |
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privately
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| adv.以私人的身份，悄悄地，私下地 | |
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lodged
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| v.存放( lodge的过去式和过去分词 )；暂住；埋入；（权利、权威等）归属 | |
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tint
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| n.淡色，浅色；染发剂；vt.着以淡淡的颜色 | |
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brute
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| n.野兽，兽性 | |
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seething
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| 沸腾的，火热的 | |
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pensively
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| adv.沉思地，焦虑地 | |
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attire
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| v.穿衣，装扮[同]array；n.衣着；盛装 | |
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misery
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| n.痛苦，苦恼，苦难；悲惨的境遇，贫苦 | |
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lashes
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| n.鞭挞( lash的名词复数 )；鞭子；突然猛烈的一击；急速挥动v.鞭打( lash的第三人称单数 )；煽动；紧系；怒斥 | |
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bondage
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| n.奴役，束缚 | |
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harry
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| vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼 | |
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middle-aged
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| adj.中年的 | |
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coax
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| v.哄诱，劝诱，用诱哄得到，诱取 | |
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saucy
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| adj.无礼的；俊俏的；活泼的 | |
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hack
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| n.劈，砍，出租马车；v.劈，砍，干咳 | |
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fugitives
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| n.亡命者，逃命者( fugitive的名词复数 ) | |
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thither
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| adv.向那里；adj.在那边的，对岸的 | |
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jointed
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| 有接缝的 | |
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attachment
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| n.附属物，附件；依恋；依附 | |
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wharf
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| n.码头，停泊处 | |
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plank
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| n.板条，木板，政策要点，政纲条目 | |
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gallantly
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| adv. 漂亮地，勇敢地，献殷勤地 | |
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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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devour
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| v.吞没；贪婪地注视或谛听，贪读；使着迷 | |
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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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leisurely
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| adj.悠闲的；从容的，慢慢的 | |
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seclusion
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| n.隐遁，隔离 | |
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peal
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| n.钟声；v.鸣响 | |
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rippling
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| 起涟漪的，潺潺流水般声音的 | |
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onward
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| adj.向前的，前进的；adv.向前，前进，在先 | |
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untold
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| adj.数不清的，无数的 | |
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mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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dread
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| vt.担忧，忧虑；惧怕，不敢；n.担忧，畏惧 | |
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dominion
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| n.统治，管辖，支配权；领土，版图 | |
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strife
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| n.争吵，冲突，倾轧，竞争 | |
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immortality
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| n.不死，不朽 | |
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hospitable
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| adj.好客的；宽容的；有利的，适宜的 | |
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abode
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| n.住处，住所 | |
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missionary
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| adj.教会的，传教(士)的；n.传教士 | |
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Christian
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| adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒 | |
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asylum
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| n.避难所，庇护所，避难 | |
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blessings
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| n.（上帝的）祝福( blessing的名词复数 )；好事；福分；因祸得福 | |
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exuberant
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| adj.充满活力的；（植物）繁茂的 | |
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