Theoretically my imprisonment terminated on English soil, but so relentlessly13 have the fates pursued me that I have been in nowise free quite up to the present moment. In Rouen, France, where I sojourned at my mother’s home for three weeks, I was as much in durance to my genial14 enemy, the ubiquitous reporter, as when the English Government held me in its inexorable grasp. Our cottage was completely invested by him, and all approaches and exits held with a persistency15 which, under other circumstances, might well have extorted16 my admiration17.
Then came the ever-to-be-remembered[12] sea voyage. I am a good sailor, and so the physical discomforts18 that beset19 so many were agreeably minimized; but I could not throw off the feeling that I was not yet free—the limits of the ship were still all too suggestive of the narrow exercise grounds of Aylesbury prison; and, while the eye could roam without hindrance20, there came upon me again and again an irresistible21 desire, which the rolling billows strenuously22 gainsaid23, to make a dash for liberty.
Thereupon followed a couple of days at the Holland House, New York, with the same persistent24 reporter never absent. After this experience, I was taken by the kindest of friends to where nature is at her loveliest and human hearts beat in unison25 with their uplifting surroundings. Beautiful Cragsmoor, with its wide reaches of inspiring scenery, most appropriately the summer home of an artistic26 colony, is not too easy of access to mar27 a desire for[13] seclusion28, and a greater antithesis29 to prison walls than is afforded by this aerie can hardly be imagined.
Here all things that on lower planes so cruelly vex30 the spirit seem far away and beneath. If only no publishers—however benevolent—had entered this Eden, what a paradise it could have been to me! However, in spite of these dread taskmasters, my soul drank deeply of the elixir31 so bountifully held to my lips; and when in the golden autumn all the noble woods about robed themselves in such glory as may be seen nowhere outside my beloved native land—and perchance nowhere here more ravishingly than in these Hudson Valley uplands—the rapture32 of my heart, so long starved within the narrowest and cruelest of confines, turned adoringly to Him who has made this world so beautiful for His children’s eyes.
I need hardly be at pains to say to my[14] readers, that lessons in literary composition form no part of the disciplinary curriculum of Aylesbury; nay33, the art of writing is distinctly discouraged there, as interfering34 with the prescribed parliamentary régime. Accordingly, when I set out to tell my pitiful little story, I was told to look at myself objectively; then to pry35 into myself subjectively36; then to regard both in their relation to the outside world—to describe how this, that, or the other affected37 me; in short, as one of them, more deep in science than others, expressed it, “We want as much as possible of the psychology38 of your prison life.”
I surreptitiously looked up that awe-inspiring word in a dictionary, and found that it refers to the soul, and that it was my soul they wanted me to lay bare. I vehemently39 protested that that belonged to my God, and I had no right to expose it for daws to peck at. But the publishers, with the aid[15] of my friends, persuaded me that the public would give me their tenderest regard, and that possibly the humanities might be furthered a bit if the story of a woman—whatever might be her failings in other directions—wholly guiltless of the terrible charge of wilful41 murder, and for which in her innocence42 she was made to suffer so cruelly, be given in fullest heart detail to a sympathetic world. So I have done what I trust is best for all—spared myself as little as possible, lest the picture fail from suppression—and my dearest heart-hope is that somewhat of good may come of it, especially in behalf of those whom a dire40 fate shall compel to follow in my steps, with bruised43 spirits and bleeding feet.
Sketch44 of My Ancestry45
I was born at Mobile, Ala., September 3, 1862. In searching for some account of my genealogy46, I found a published letter of[16] Gail Hamilton’s, who was ever one of my most eloquent47 and steadfast48 champions, and to whom I owe a debt of gratitude49 I can never adequately express. From this it appears that I am the great-great-granddaughter of Rev50. Benjamin Thurston, a graduate of Harvard College, who settled at North Hampton, N. H., and of his wife, Sarah Phillips, who was the sister of John Phillips, who founded Phillips’ Academy in Exeter, endowed a professorship in Dartmouth, and contributed funds to Princeton; and who was the aunt of Samuel Phillips, who founded Phillips’s Academy at Andover.
The mother of Sarah Phillips was Elizabeth Green, and from her the name of Elizabeth has come down in regular descent to myself.
Elizabeth, daughter of Benjamin Thurston and Sarah Phillips, married James Milk Ingraham. Joseph H. Ingraham, of[17] this family, gave to Portland, Me., for its improvement, property now amounting in value to millions—beautiful State Street, the market, the property of the High School, and much more. One of the Ingrahams was the wife of Philander51 Chase, the first Bishop52 of Illinois, uncle of Salmon53 P. Chase, who was Secretary of the Treasury54 under Lincoln and Chief Justice of the Supreme55 Court of the United States. Of the Ingraham family was that Commodore Ingraham who won laurels56 for his country and himself by rescuing Martin Koszata from the clutch of Austria. Connected with the Ingrahams was that Edward Preble, born at Falmouth Neck, whose father served under Wolfe and was wounded at Quebec; also that Commander Preble whose achievement before Tripoli was rewarded with a gold medal and the thanks of Congress. Rev. John Phillips and Thurston Ingraham, author[18] of “Why We Believe the Bible,” both rectors in the Protestant Episcopal Church, were sons of James Milk Ingraham and Elizabeth Thurston Ingraham. John Ingraham, son of the preceding, is rector of Grace Church, St. Louis, Mo. His sister, Elizabeth Thurston Ingraham, married Darius Blake Holbrook, who was born in Dorchester, Mass. His mother was a Ridgeway. Her sister married a Quincy, and was aunt to John Quincy Adams. Mr. Holbrook was an originator of the land grant for the Illinois Central Railroad and its first president. He owned Cairo, at the mouth of the Ohio, and was associated with Cyrus Field in laying the first Atlantic cable. Caroline Elizabeth was the only child of Darius Blake Holbrook and Elizabeth Thurston Holbrook. She married William G. Chandler, of the banking57 house of St. John Powers & Co., Mobile, Ala. William G. Chandler’s father[19] was Daniel Chandler, a lawyer of high standing58 in Georgia; his mother was Sarah Campbell, a sister of John A. Campbell, at one time Assistant Secretary of State for the Confederacy, and previously59 judge of the Supreme Court of the United States. Judge L. Q. C. Lamar, long a United States Senator, and afterward60 a justice of the Supreme Court, was near of kin2.
To William G. Chandler and Caroline Elizabeth Holbrook Chandler two children were born—Holbrook St. John and Florence Elizabeth. Their father died in 1863, and their mother, on account of the war, took the children abroad to be educated. The son died while pursuing his medical studies.
As will be seen from the above summary of Gail Hamilton’s statement, I am descended61, on both my paternal62 and my maternal63 side for generations, from good[20] American stock. I was educated partly in Europe and partly in America, under the instruction of masters and governesses. I was too delicate for college life. I lived partly with my maternal grandmother, Elizabeth Holbrook, of New York, and partly with my mother, the Baroness65 von Roques, whose home was abroad. When not with them I was visiting or traveling with friends. My life was much the same as that of any other girl who enjoyed the pleasures of youth with a happy heart. I was very fond of tracing intricate designs and copying the old-time churches and cathedrals. My special pastime, however, was riding, and this I could indulge in to my heart’s content when residing with my stepfather, Baron64 Adolph von Roques, who, now retired66, was at that time a cavalry67 officer in the Eighth Cuirassier Regiment68 of the German army and stationed at Cologne.
At the age of eighteen I married James Maybrick, on the 27th of July, 1881, at St. James Church, Piccadilly, London, and returned to America, where we made our home at Norfolk, Va. For business reasons we settled in a suburb of Liverpool called Aigworth. A son was born to us on the 24th of March, 1882, and a daughter on June 20, 1886.
Florence Elizabeth Maybrick.
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1 joyful | |
adj.欢乐的,令人欢欣的 | |
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2 kin | |
n.家族,亲属,血缘关系;adj.亲属关系的,同类的 | |
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3 imprisonment | |
n.关押,监禁,坐牢 | |
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4 hospitable | |
adj.好客的;宽容的;有利的,适宜的 | |
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5 dread | |
vt.担忧,忧虑;惧怕,不敢;n.担忧,畏惧 | |
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6 solitary | |
adj.孤独的,独立的,荒凉的;n.隐士 | |
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7 confinement | |
n.幽禁,拘留,监禁;分娩;限制,局限 | |
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8 penal | |
adj.刑罚的;刑法上的 | |
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9 abhorrent | |
adj.可恶的,可恨的,讨厌的 | |
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10 realization | |
n.实现;认识到,深刻了解 | |
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11 devoutly | |
adv.虔诚地,虔敬地,衷心地 | |
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12 chivalrously | |
adv.象骑士一样地 | |
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13 relentlessly | |
adv.不屈不挠地;残酷地;不间断 | |
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14 genial | |
adj.亲切的,和蔼的,愉快的,脾气好的 | |
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15 persistency | |
n. 坚持(余辉, 时间常数) | |
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16 extorted | |
v.敲诈( extort的过去式和过去分词 );曲解 | |
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17 admiration | |
n.钦佩,赞美,羡慕 | |
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18 discomforts | |
n.不舒适( discomfort的名词复数 );不愉快,苦恼 | |
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19 beset | |
v.镶嵌;困扰,包围 | |
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20 hindrance | |
n.妨碍,障碍 | |
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21 irresistible | |
adj.非常诱人的,无法拒绝的,无法抗拒的 | |
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22 strenuously | |
adv.奋发地,费力地 | |
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23 gainsaid | |
v.否认,反驳( gainsay的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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24 persistent | |
adj.坚持不懈的,执意的;持续的 | |
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25 unison | |
n.步调一致,行动一致 | |
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26 artistic | |
adj.艺术(家)的,美术(家)的;善于艺术创作的 | |
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27 mar | |
vt.破坏,毁坏,弄糟 | |
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28 seclusion | |
n.隐遁,隔离 | |
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29 antithesis | |
n.对立;相对 | |
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30 vex | |
vt.使烦恼,使苦恼 | |
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31 elixir | |
n.长生不老药,万能药 | |
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32 rapture | |
n.狂喜;全神贯注;着迷;v.使狂喜 | |
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33 nay | |
adv.不;n.反对票,投反对票者 | |
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34 interfering | |
adj. 妨碍的 动词interfere的现在分词 | |
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35 pry | |
vi.窥(刺)探,打听;vt.撬动(开,起) | |
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36 subjectively | |
主观地; 臆 | |
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37 affected | |
adj.不自然的,假装的 | |
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38 psychology | |
n.心理,心理学,心理状态 | |
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39 vehemently | |
adv. 热烈地 | |
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40 dire | |
adj.可怕的,悲惨的,阴惨的,极端的 | |
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41 wilful | |
adj.任性的,故意的 | |
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42 innocence | |
n.无罪;天真;无害 | |
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43 bruised | |
[医]青肿的,瘀紫的 | |
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44 sketch | |
n.草图;梗概;素描;v.素描;概述 | |
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45 ancestry | |
n.祖先,家世 | |
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46 genealogy | |
n.家系,宗谱 | |
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47 eloquent | |
adj.雄辩的,口才流利的;明白显示出的 | |
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48 steadfast | |
adj.固定的,不变的,不动摇的;忠实的;坚贞不移的 | |
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49 gratitude | |
adj.感激,感谢 | |
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50 rev | |
v.发动机旋转,加快速度 | |
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51 philander | |
v.不真诚地恋爱,调戏 | |
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52 bishop | |
n.主教,(国际象棋)象 | |
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53 salmon | |
n.鲑,大马哈鱼,橙红色的 | |
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54 treasury | |
n.宝库;国库,金库;文库 | |
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55 supreme | |
adj.极度的,最重要的;至高的,最高的 | |
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56 laurels | |
n.桂冠,荣誉 | |
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57 banking | |
n.银行业,银行学,金融业 | |
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58 standing | |
n.持续,地位;adj.永久的,不动的,直立的,不流动的 | |
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59 previously | |
adv.以前,先前(地) | |
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60 afterward | |
adv.后来;以后 | |
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61 descended | |
a.为...后裔的,出身于...的 | |
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62 paternal | |
adj.父亲的,像父亲的,父系的,父方的 | |
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63 maternal | |
adj.母亲的,母亲般的,母系的,母方的 | |
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64 baron | |
n.男爵;(商业界等)巨头,大王 | |
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65 baroness | |
n.男爵夫人,女男爵 | |
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66 retired | |
adj.隐退的,退休的,退役的 | |
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67 cavalry | |
n.骑兵;轻装甲部队 | |
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68 regiment | |
n.团,多数,管理;v.组织,编成团,统制 | |
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