Is fraught1 with some Danger to Miss Nickleby’sPeace of Mind.
The place was a handsome suite2 of private apartments inRegent Street; the time was three o’clock in the afternoonto the dull and plodding3, and the first hour of morning tothe gay and spirited; the persons were Lord Frederick Verisopht,and his friend Sir Mulberry Hawk4.
These distinguished5 gentlemen were reclining listlessly on acouple of sofas, with a table between them, on which werescattered in rich confusion the materials of an untasted breakfast.
Newspapers lay strewn about the room, but these, like the meal,were neglected and unnoticed; not, however, because any flow ofconversation prevented the attractions of the journals from beingcalled into request, for not a word was exchanged between thetwo, nor was any sound uttered, save when one, in tossing about tofind an easier resting-place for his aching head, uttered anexclamation of impatience6, and seemed for a moment tocommunicate a new restlessness to his companion.
These appearances would in themselves have furnished apretty strong clue to the extent of the debauch7 of the previousnight, even if there had not been other indications of theamusements in which it had been passed. A couple of billiardballs, all mud and dirt, two battered8 hats, a champagne9 bottle witha soiled glove twisted round the neck, to allow of its being graspedmore surely in its capacity of an offensive weapon; a broken cane10; a card-case without the top; an empty purse; a watch-guardsnapped asunder11; a handful of silver, mingled12 with fragments ofhalf-smoked cigars, and their stale and crumbled13 ashes;—these,and many other tokens of riot and disorder14, hinted very intelligiblyat the nature of last night’s gentlemanly frolics.
Lord Frederick Verisopht was the first to speak. Dropping hisslippered foot on the ground, and, yawning heavily, he struggledinto a sitting posture15, and turned his dull languid eyes towards hisfriend, to whom he called in a drowsy16 voice.
‘Hallo!’ replied Sir Mulberry, turning round.
‘Are we going to lie here all da-a-y?’ said the lord.
‘I don’t know that we’re fit for anything else,’ replied SirMulberry; ‘yet awhile, at least. I haven’t a grain of life in me thismorning.’
‘Life!’ cried Lord Verisopht. ‘I feel as if there would be nothingso snug17 and comfortable as to die at once.’
‘Then why don’t you die?’ said Sir Mulberry.
With which inquiry18 he turned his face away, and seemed tooccupy himself in an attempt to fall asleep.
His hopeful fiend and pupil drew a chair to the breakfast-table,and essayed to eat; but, finding that impossible, lounged to thewindow, then loitered up and down the room with his hand to hisfevered head, and finally threw himself again on his sofa, androused his friend once more.
‘What the devil’s the matter?’ groaned19 Sir Mulberry, sittingupright on the couch.
Although Sir Mulberry said this with sufficient ill-humour, hedid not seem to feel himself quite at liberty to remain silent; for,after stretching himself very often, and declaring with a shiver that it was ‘infernal cold,’ he made an experiment at the breakfast-table, and proving more successful in it than his less-seasonedfriend, remained there.
‘Suppose,’ said Sir Mulberry, pausing with a morsel20 on thepoint of his fork, ‘suppose we go back to the subject of littleNickleby, eh?’
‘Which little Nickleby; the money-lender or the ga-a-l?’ askedLord Verisopht.
‘You take me, I see,’ replied Sir Mulberry. ‘The girl, of course.’
‘You promised me you’d find her out,’ said Lord Verisopht.
‘So I did,’ rejoined his friend; ‘but I have thought further of thematter since then. You distrust me in the business—you shall findher out yourself.’
‘Na-ay,’ remonstrated21 Lord Verisopht.
‘But I say yes,’ returned his friend. ‘You shall find her outyourself. Don’t think that I mean, when you can—I know as well asyou that if I did, you could never get sight of her without me. No. Isay you shall find her out—shall—and I’ll put you in the way.’
‘Now, curse me, if you ain’t a real, deyvlish, downright,thorough-paced friend,’ said the young lord, on whom this speechhad produced a most reviving effect.
‘I’ll tell you how,’ said Sir Mulberry. ‘She was at that dinner as abait for you.’
‘No!’ cried the young lord. ‘What the dey—’
‘As a bait for you,’ repeated his friend; ‘old Nickleby told me sohimself.’
‘What a fine old cock it is!’ exclaimed Lord Verisopht; ‘a noblerascal!’
‘Yes,’ said Sir Mulberry, ‘he knew she was a smart little creature—’
‘Smart!’ interposed the young lord. ‘Upon my soul, Hawk, she’sa perfect beauty—a—a picture, a statue, a—a—upon my soul sheis!’
‘Well,’ replied Sir Mulberry, shrugging his shoulders andmanifesting an indifference22, whether he felt it or not; ‘that’s amatter of taste; if mine doesn’t agree with yours, so much thebetter.’
‘Confound it!’ reasoned the lord, ‘you were thick enough withher that day, anyhow. I could hardly get in a word.’
‘Well enough for once, well enough for once,’ replied SirMulberry; ‘but not worth the trouble of being agreeable to again. Ifyou seriously want to follow up the niece, tell the uncle that youmust know where she lives and how she lives, and with whom, oryou are no longer a customer of his. He’ll tell you fast enough.’
‘Why didn’t you say this before?’ asked Lord Verisopht, ‘insteadof letting me go on burning, consuming, dragging out a miserableexistence for an a-age!’
‘I didn’t know it, in the first place,’ answered Sir Mulberrycarelessly; ‘and in the second, I didn’t believe you were so verymuch in earnest.’
Now, the truth was, that in the interval23 which had elapsed sincethe dinner at Ralph Nickleby’s, Sir Mulberry Hawk had beenfurtively trying by every means in his power to discover whenceKate had so suddenly appeared, and whither she had disappeared.
Unassisted by Ralph, however, with whom he had held nocommunication since their angry parting on that occasion, all hisefforts were wholly unavailing, and he had therefore arrived at thedetermination of communicating to the young lord the substance of the admission he had gleaned24 from that worthy25. To this he wasimpelled by various considerations; among which the certainty ofknowing whatever the weak young man knew was decidedly notthe least, as the desire of encountering the usurer’s niece again,and using his utmost arts to reduce her pride, and revenge himselffor her contempt, was uppermost in his thoughts. It was a politiccourse of proceeding26, and one which could not fail to redound27 tohis advantage in every point of view, since the very circumstanceof his having extorted28 from Ralph Nickleby his real design inintroducing his niece to such society, coupled with his extremedisinterestedness in communicating it so freely to his friend, couldnot but advance his interests in that quarter, and greatly facilitatethe passage of coin (pretty frequent and speedy already) from thepockets of Lord Frederick Verisopht to those of Sir MulberryHawk.
Thus reasoned Sir Mulberry, and in pursuance of thisreasoning he and his friend soon afterwards repaired to RalphNickleby’s, there to execute a plan of operations concerted by SirMulberry himself, avowedly29 to promote his friend’s object, andreally to attain30 his own.
They found Ralph at home, and alone. As he led them into thedrawing-room, the recollection of the scene which had taken placethere seemed to occur to him, for he cast a curious look at SirMulberry, who bestowed31 upon it no other acknowledgment than acareless smile.
They had a short conference upon some money matters then inprogress, which were scarcely disposed of when the lordly dupe(in pursuance of his friend’s instructions) requested with someembarrassment to speak to Ralph alone.
‘Alone, eh?’ cried Sir Mulberry, affecting surprise. ‘Oh, verygood. I’ll walk into the next room here. Don’t keep me long, that’sall.’
So saying, Sir Mulberry took up his hat, and humming afragment of a song disappeared through the door ofcommunication between the two drawing-rooms, and closed itafter him.
‘Now, my lord,’ said Ralph, ‘what is it?’
‘Nickleby,’ said his client, throwing himself along the sofa onwhich he had been previously32 seated, so as to bring his lips nearerto the old man’s ear, ‘what a pretty creature your niece is!’
‘Is she, my lord?’ replied Ralph. ‘Maybe—maybe—I don’ttrouble my head with such matters.’
‘You know she’s a deyvlish fine girl,’ said the client. ‘You mustknow that, Nickleby. Come, don’t deny that.’
‘Yes, I believe she is considered so,’ replied Ralph. ‘Indeed, Iknow she is. If I did not, you are an authority on such points, andyour taste, my lord—on all points, indeed—is undeniable.’
Nobody but the young man to whom these words wereaddressed could have been deaf to the sneering34 tone in which theywere spoken, or blind to the look of contempt by which they wereaccompanied. But Lord Frederick Verisopht was both, and tookthem to be complimentary36.
‘Well,’ he said, ‘p’raps you’re a little right, and p’raps you’re alittle wrong—a little of both, Nickleby. I want to know where thisbeauty lives, that I may have another peep at her, Nickleby.’
‘Really—’ Ralph began in his usual tones.
‘Don’t talk so loud,’ cried the other, achieving the great point ofhis lesson to a miracle. ‘I don’t want Hawk to hear.’
‘You know he is your rival, do you?’ said Ralph, looking sharplyat him.
‘He always is, d-a-amn him,’ replied the client; ‘and I want tosteal a march upon him. Ha, ha, ha! He’ll cut up so rough,Nickleby, at our talking together without him. Where does shelive, Nickleby, that’s all? Only tell me where she lives, Nickleby.’
‘He bites,’ thought Ralph. ‘He bites.’
‘Eh, Nickleby, eh?’ pursued the client. ‘Where does she live?’
‘Really, my lord,’ said Ralph, rubbing his hands slowly overeach other, ‘I must think before I tell you.’
‘No, not a bit of it, Nickleby; you mustn’t think at all,’ repliedVerisopht. ‘Where is it?’
‘No good can come of your knowing,’ replied Ralph. ‘She hasbeen virtuously37 and well brought up; to be sure she is handsome,poor, unprotected! Poor girl, poor girl.’
Ralph ran over this brief summary of Kate’s condition as if itwere merely passing through his own mind, and he had nointention to speak aloud; but the shrewd sly look which hedirected at his companion as he delivered it, gave this poorassumption the lie.
‘I tell you I only want to see her,’ cried his client. ‘A ma-an maylook at a pretty woman without harm, mayn’t he? Now, whereDOES she live? You know you’re making a fortune out of me,Nickleby, and upon my soul nobody shall ever take me to anybodyelse, if you only tell me this.’
‘As you promise that, my lord,’ said Ralph, with feignedreluctance, ‘and as I am most anxious to oblige you, and as there’sno harm in it—no harm—I’ll tell you. But you had better keep it toyourself, my lord; strictly39 to yourself.’ Ralph pointed40 to the adjoining room as he spoke35, and nodded expressively41.
The young lord, feigning42 to be equally impressed with thenecessity of this precaution, Ralph disclosed the present addressand occupation of his niece, observing that from what he heard ofthe family they appeared very ambitious to have distinguishedacquaintances, and that a lord could, doubtless, introduce himselfwith great ease, if he felt disposed.
‘Your object being only to see her again,’ said Ralph, ‘you couldeffect it at any time you chose by that means.’
Lord Verisopht acknowledged the hint with a great manysqueezes of Ralph’s hard, horny hand, and whispering that theywould now do well to close the conversation, called to SirMulberry Hawk that he might come back.
‘I thought you had gone to sleep,’ said Sir Mulberry,reappearing with an ill-tempered air.
‘Sorry to detain you,’ replied the gull43; ‘but Nickleby has been soama-azingly funny that I couldn’t tear myself away.’
‘No, no,’ said Ralph; ‘it was all his lordship. You know what awitty, humorous, elegant, accomplished44 man Lord Frederick is.
Mind the step, my lord—Sir Mulberry, pray give way.’
With such courtesies as these, and many low bows, and thesame cold sneer33 upon his face all the while, Ralph busied himselfin showing his visitors downstairs, and otherwise than by theslightest possible motion about the corners of his mouth, returnedno show of answer to the look of admiration45 with which SirMulberry Hawk seemed to compliment him on being such anaccomplished and most consummate46 scoundrel.
There had been a ring at the bell a few minutes before, whichwas answered by Newman Noggs just as they reached the hall. In the ordinary course of business Newman would have eitheradmitted the new-comer in silence, or have requested him or herto stand aside while the gentlemen passed out. But he no soonersaw who it was, than as if for some private reason of his own, heboldly departed from the established custom of Ralph’s mansionin business hours, and looking towards the respectable trio whowere approaching, cried in a loud and sonorous47 voice, ‘MrsNickleby!’
‘Mrs Nickleby!’ cried Sir Mulberry Hawk, as his friend lookedback, and stared him in the face.
It was, indeed, that well-intentioned lady, who, having receivedan offer for the empty house in the city directed to the landlord,had brought it post-haste to Mr Nickleby without delay.
‘Nobody you know,’ said Ralph. ‘Step into the office, my—my—dear. I’ll be with you directly.’
‘Nobody I know!’ cried Sir Mulberry Hawk, advancing to theastonished lady. ‘Is this Mrs Nickleby—the mother of MissNickleby—the delightful48 creature that I had the happiness ofmeeting in this house the very last time I dined here? But no;’ saidSir Mulberry, stopping short. ‘No, it can’t be. There is the samecast of features, the same indescribable air of—But no; no. Thislady is too young for that.’
‘I think you can tell the gentleman, brother-in-law, if it concernshim to know,’ said Mrs Nickleby, acknowledging the complimentwith a graceful49 bend, ‘that Kate Nickleby is my daughter.’
‘Her daughter, my lord!’ cried Sir Mulberry, turning to hisfriend. ‘This lady’s daughter, my lord.’
‘My lord!’ thought Mrs Nickleby. ‘Well, I never did—’
‘This, then, my lord,’ said Sir Mulberry, ‘is the lady to whose obliging marriage we owe so much happiness. This lady is themother of sweet Miss Nickleby. Do you observe the extraordinarylikeness, my lord? Nickleby—introduce us.’
Ralph did so, in a kind of desperation.
‘Upon my soul, it’s a most delightful thing,” said LordFrederick, pressing forward. ‘How de do?’
Mrs Nickleby was too much flurried by these uncommonly50 kindsalutations, and her regrets at not having on her other bonnet51, tomake any immediate52 reply, so she merely continued to bend andsmile, and betray great agitation53.
‘A—and how is Miss Nickleby?’ said Lord Frederick. ‘Well, Ihope?’
‘She is quite well, I’m obliged to you, my lord,’ returned MrsNickleby, recovering. ‘Quite well. She wasn’t well for some daysafter that day she dined here, and I can’t help thinking, that shecaught cold in that hackney coach coming home. Hackneycoaches, my lord, are such nasty things, that it’s almost better towalk at any time, for although I believe a hackney coachman canbe transported for life, if he has a broken window, still they are soreckless, that they nearly all have broken windows. I once had aswelled face for six weeks, my lord, from riding in a hackneycoach—I think it was a hackney coach,’ said Mrs Nicklebyreflecting, ‘though I’m not quite certain whether it wasn’t achariot; at all events I know it was a dark green, with a very longnumber, beginning with a nought55 and ending with a nine—no,beginning with a nine, and ending with a nought, that was it, andof course the stamp-office people would know at once whether itwas a coach or a chariot if any inquiries56 were made there—however that was, there it was with a broken window and there was I for six weeks with a swelled54 face—I think that was the verysame hackney coach, that we found out afterwards, had the topopen all the time, and we should never even have known it, if theyhadn’t charged us a shilling an hour extra for having it open,which it seems is the law, or was then, and a most shameful57 law itappears to be—I don’t understand the subject, but I should say theCorn Laws could be nothing to that act of Parliament.’
Having pretty well run herself out by this time, Mrs Nicklebystopped as suddenly as she had started off; and repeated that Katewas quite well. ‘Indeed,’ said Mrs Nickleby, ‘I don’t think she everwas better, since she had the hooping-cough, scarlet-fever, andmeasles, all at the same time, and that’s the fact.’
‘Is that letter for me?’ growled58 Ralph, pointing to the littlepacket Mrs Nickleby held in her hand.
‘For you, brother-in-law,’ replied Mrs Nickleby, ‘and I walkedall the way up here on purpose to give it you.’
‘All the way up here!’ cried Sir Mulberry, seizing upon thechance of discovering where Mrs Nickleby had come from. ‘What aconfounded distance! How far do you call it now?’
‘How far do I call it?’ said Mrs Nickleby. ‘Let me see. It’s just amile from our door to the Old Bailey.’
‘No, no. Not so much as that,’ urged Sir Mulberry.
‘Oh! It is indeed,’ said Mrs Nickleby. ‘I appeal to his lordship.’
‘I should decidedly say it was a mile,’ remarked Lord Frederick,with a solemn aspect.
‘It must be; it can’t be a yard less,’ said Mrs Nickleby. ‘All downNewgate Street, all down Cheapside, all up Lombard Street, downGracechurch Street, and along Thames Street, as far asSpigwiffin’s Wharf59. Oh! It’s a mile.’
‘Yes, on second thoughts I should say it was,’ replied SirMulberry. ‘But you don’t surely mean to walk all the way back?’
‘Oh, no,’ rejoined Mrs Nickleby. ‘I shall go back in an omnibus. Ididn’t travel about in omnibuses, when my poor dear Nicholas wasalive, brother-in-law. But as it is, you know—’
‘Yes, yes,’ replied Ralph impatiently, ‘and you had better getback before dark.’
‘Thank you, brother-in-law, so I had,’ returned Mrs Nickleby. ‘Ithink I had better say goodbye, at once.’
‘Not stop and—rest?’ said Ralph, who seldom offeredrefreshments unless something was to be got by it.
‘Oh dear me no,’ returned Mrs Nickleby, glancing at the dial.
‘Lord Frederick,’ said Sir Mulberry, ‘we are going Mrs Nickleby’sway. We’ll see her safe to the omnibus?’
‘By all means. Ye-es.’
‘Oh! I really couldn’t think of it!’ said Mrs Nickleby.
But Sir Mulberry Hawk and Lord Verisopht were peremptoryin their politeness, and leaving Ralph, who seemed to think, notunwisely, that he looked less ridiculous as a mere38 spectator, thanhe would have done if he had taken any part in these proceedings,they quitted the house with Mrs Nickleby between them; that goodlady in a perfect ecstasy60 of satisfaction, no less with the attentionsshown her by two titled gentlemen, than with the conviction thatKate might now pick and choose, at least between two largefortunes, and most unexceptionable husbands.
As she was carried away for the moment by an irresistible61 trainof thought, all connected with her daughter’s future greatness, SirMulberry Hawk and his friend exchanged glances over the top ofthe bonnet which the poor lady so much regretted not having left at home, and proceeded to dilate62 with great rapture63, but muchrespect on the manifold perfections of Miss Nickleby.
‘What a delight, what a comfort, what a happiness, this amiablecreature must be to you,’ said Sir Mulberry, throwing into hisvoice an indication of the warmest feeling.
‘She is indeed, sir,’ replied Mrs Nickleby; ‘she is the sweetest-tempered, kindest-hearted creature—and so clever!’
‘She looks clayver,’ said Lord Verisopht, with the air of a judgeof cleverness. ‘I assure you she is, my lord,’ returned MrsNickleby. ‘When she was at school in Devonshire, she wasuniversally allowed to be beyond all exception the very cleverestgirl there, and there were a great many very clever ones too, andthat’s the truth—twenty-five young ladies, fifty guineas a yearwithout the et-ceteras, both the Miss Dowdles the mostaccomplished, elegant, fascinating creatures—Oh dear me!’ saidMrs Nickleby, ‘I never shall forget what pleasure she used to giveme and her poor dear papa, when she was at that school, never—such a delightful letter every half-year, telling us that she was thefirst pupil in the whole establishment, and had made moreprogress than anybody else! I can scarcely bear to think of it evennow. The girls wrote all the letters themselves,’ added MrsNickleby, ‘and the writing-master touched them up afterwardswith a magnifying glass and a silver pen; at least I think they wrotethem, though Kate was never quite certain about that, because shedidn’t know the handwriting of hers again; but anyway, I know itwas a circular which they all copied, and of course it was a verygratifying thing—very gratifying.’
With similar recollections Mrs Nickleby beguiled64 thetediousness of the way, until they reached the omnibus, which the extreme politeness of her new friends would not allow them toleave until it actually started, when they took their hats, as MrsNickleby solemnly assured her hearers on many subsequentoccasions, ‘completely off,’ and kissed their straw-coloured kidgloves till they were no longer visible.
Mrs Nickleby leant back in the furthest corner of theconveyance, and, closing her eyes, resigned herself to a host ofmost pleasing meditations65. Kate had never said a word abouthaving met either of these gentlemen; ‘that,’ she thought, ‘arguesthat she is strongly prepossessed in favour of one of them.’ Thenthe question arose, which one could it be. The lord was theyoungest, and his title was certainly the grandest; still Kate wasnot the girl to be swayed by such considerations as these. ‘I willnever put any constraint66 upon her inclinations,’ said Mrs Nicklebyto herself; ‘but upon my word I think there’s no comparisonbetween his lordship and Sir Mulberry—Sir Mulberry is such anattentive gentlemanly creature, so much manner, such a fine man,and has so much to say for himself. I hope it’s Sir Mulberry—Ithink it must be Sir Mulberry!’ And then her thoughts flew back toher old predictions, and the number of times she had said, thatKate with no fortune would marry better than other people’sdaughters with thousands; and, as she pictured with thebrightness of a mother’s fancy all the beauty and grace of the poorgirl who had struggled so cheerfully with her new life of hardshipand trial, her heart grew too full, and the tears trickled67 down herface.
Meanwhile, Ralph walked to and fro in his little back-office,troubled in mind by what had just occurred. To say that Ralphloved or cared for—in the most ordinary acceptation of those terms—any one of God’s creatures, would be the wildest fiction.
Still, there had somehow stolen upon him from time to time athought of his niece which was tinged68 with compassion69 and pity;breaking through the dull cloud of dislike or indifference whichdarkened men and women in his eyes, there was, in her case, thefaintest gleam of light—a most feeble and sickly ray at the best oftimes—but there it was, and it showed the poor girl in a better andpurer aspect than any in which he had looked on human natureyet.
‘I wish,’ thought Ralph, ‘I had never done this. And yet it willkeep this boy to me, while there is money to be made. Selling agirl—throwing her in the way of temptation, and insult, and coarsespeech. Nearly two thousand pounds profit from him alreadythough. Pshaw! match-making mothers do the same thing everyday.’
He sat down, and told the chances, for and against, on hisfingers.
‘If I had not put them in the right track today,’ thought Ralph,‘this foolish woman would have done so. Well. If her daughter is astrue to herself as she should be from what I have seen, what harmensues? A little teasing, a little humbling70, a few tears. Yes,’ saidRalph, aloud, as he locked his iron safe. ‘She must take herchance. She must take her chance.’
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fraught
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suite
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| n.一套(家具)；套房；随从人员 | |
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plodding
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| a.proceeding in a slow or dull way | |
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hawk
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| n.鹰，骗子；鹰派成员 | |
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distinguished
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impatience
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debauch
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battered
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| adj.磨损的；v.连续猛击；磨损 | |
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champagne
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cane
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asunder
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mingled
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| 混合，混入( mingle的过去式和过去分词 )； 混进，与…交往[联系] | |
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crumbled
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| （把…）弄碎， （使）碎成细屑( crumble的过去式和过去分词 )； 衰落； 坍塌； 损坏 | |
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disorder
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| n.紊乱，混乱；骚动，骚乱；疾病，失调 | |
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posture
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drowsy
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snug
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| adj.温暖舒适的，合身的，安全的；v.使整洁干净，舒适地依靠，紧贴；n.（英）酒吧里的私房 | |
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inquiry
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| n.打听，询问，调查，查问 | |
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groaned
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morsel
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remonstrated
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| v.抗议( remonstrate的过去式和过去分词 )；告诫 | |
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indifference
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| n.不感兴趣，不关心，冷淡，不在乎 | |
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interval
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| n.间隔，间距；幕间休息，中场休息 | |
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gleaned
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worthy
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proceeding
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| n.行动，进行，(pl.)会议录，学报 | |
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redound
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extorted
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avowedly
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attain
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| vt.达到，获得，完成 | |
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bestowed
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| 赠给，授予( bestow的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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previously
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| adv.以前，先前（地） | |
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sneer
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| v.轻蔑；嘲笑；n.嘲笑，讥讽的言语 | |
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sneering
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| 嘲笑的，轻蔑的 | |
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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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complimentary
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| adj.赠送的，免费的，赞美的，恭维的 | |
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virtuously
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| 合乎道德地，善良地 | |
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mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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strictly
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| adv.严厉地，严格地；严密地 | |
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pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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expressively
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| ad.表示(某事物)地；表达地 | |
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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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gull
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| n.鸥；受骗的人；v.欺诈 | |
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accomplished
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| adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的 | |
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admiration
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| n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕 | |
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consummate
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| adj.完美的；v.成婚；使完美 [反]baffle | |
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sonorous
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| adj.响亮的，回响的；adv.圆润低沉地；感人地；n.感人，堂皇 | |
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delightful
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| adj.令人高兴的，使人快乐的 | |
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graceful
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| adj.优美的，优雅的；得体的 | |
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uncommonly
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| adv. 稀罕(极，非常) | |
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bonnet
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| n.无边女帽；童帽 | |
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immediate
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| adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的 | |
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agitation
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| n.搅动；搅拌；鼓动，煽动 | |
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swelled
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| 增强( swell的过去式和过去分词 )； 肿胀； （使）凸出； 充满（激情） | |
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nought
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| n.／adj.无，零 | |
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inquiries
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| n.调查( inquiry的名词复数 )；疑问；探究；打听 | |
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shameful
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| adj.可耻的，不道德的 | |
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growled
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| v.（动物）发狺狺声， （雷）作隆隆声( growl的过去式和过去分词 )；低声咆哮着说 | |
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wharf
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| n.码头，停泊处 | |
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ecstasy
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| n.狂喜，心醉神怡，入迷 | |
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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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dilate
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| vt.使膨胀，使扩大 | |
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rapture
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| n.狂喜；全神贯注；着迷；v.使狂喜 | |
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beguiled
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| v.欺骗( beguile的过去式和过去分词 )；使陶醉；使高兴；消磨（时间等） | |
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meditations
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| 默想( meditation的名词复数 )； 默念； 沉思； 冥想 | |
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constraint
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| n.(on)约束，限制；限制(或约束)性的事物 | |
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trickled
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| v.滴( trickle的过去式和过去分词 )；淌；使)慢慢走；缓慢移动 | |
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tinged
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| v.（使）发丁丁声( ting的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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compassion
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| n.同情，怜悯 | |
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humbling
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| adj.令人羞辱的v.使谦恭( humble的现在分词 )；轻松打败（尤指强大的对手）；低声下气 | |
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