Officiates as a kind of Gentleman Usher1, in bringingvarious People together.
The storm had long given place to a calm the mostprofound, and the evening was pretty far advanced—indeed supper was over, and the process of digestionproceeding as favourably4 as, under the influence of completetranquillity, cheerful conversation, and a moderate allowance ofbrandy-and-water, most wise men conversant6 with the anatomyand functions of the human frame will consider that it ought tohave proceeded, when the three friends, or as one might say, bothin a civil and religious sense, and with proper deference7 andregard to the holy state of matrimony, the two friends, (Mr andMrs Browdie counting as no more than one,) were startled by thenoise of loud and angry threatenings below stairs, which presentlyattained so high a pitch, and were conveyed besides in language sotowering, sanguinary, and ferocious8, that it could hardly havebeen surpassed, if there had actually been a Saracen’s head thenpresent in the establishment, supported on the shoulders andsurmounting the trunk of a real, live, furious, and mostunappeasable Saracen.
This turmoil9, instead of quickly subsiding10 after the firstoutburst, (as turmoils12 not unfrequently do, whether in taverns,legislative assemblies, or elsewhere,) into a mere13 grumbling14 andgrowling squabble, increased every moment; and although thewhole din3 appeared to be raised by but one pair of lungs, yet that one pair was of so powerful a quality, and repeated such words as‘scoundrel,’ ‘rascal,’ ‘insolent puppy,’ and a variety of expletives noless flattering to the party addressed, with such great relish16 andstrength of tone, that a dozen voices raised in concert under anyordinary circumstances would have made far less uproar17 andcreated much smaller consternation18.
‘Why, what’s the matter?’ said Nicholas, moving hastily towardsthe door.
John Browdie was striding in the same direction when MrsBrowdie turned pale, and, leaning back in her chair, requestedhim with a faint voice to take notice, that if he ran into any dangerit was her intention to fall into hysterics immediately, and that theconsequences might be more serious than he thought for. Johnlooked rather disconcerted by this intelligence, though there was alurking grin on his face at the same time; but, being quite unableto keep out of the fray19, he compromised the matter by tucking hiswife’s arm under his own, and, thus accompanied, followingNicholas downstairs with all speed.
The passage outside the coffee-room door was the scene ofdisturbance, and here were congregated20 the coffee-roomcustomers and waiters, together with two or three coachmen andhelpers from the yard. These had hastily assembled round a youngman who from his appearance might have been a year or twoolder than Nicholas, and who, besides having given utterance21 tothe defiances just now described, seemed to have proceeded toeven greater lengths in his indignation, inasmuch as his feet hadno other covering than a pair of stockings, while a couple ofslippers lay at no great distance from the head of a prostrate23 figurein an opposite corner, who bore the appearance of having been shot into his present retreat by means of a kick, and complimentedby having the slippers22 flung about his ears afterwards.
The coffee-room customers, and the waiters, and the coachmen,and the helpers—not to mention a barmaid who was looking onfrom behind an open sash window—seemed at that moment, if aspectator might judge from their winks24, nods, and mutteredexclamations, strongly disposed to take part against the younggentleman in the stockings. Observing this, and that the younggentleman was nearly of his own age and had in nothing theappearance of an habitual25 brawler26, Nicholas, impelled27 by suchfeelings as will influence young men sometimes, felt a very strongdisposition to side with the weaker party, and so thrust himself atonce into the centre of the group, and in a more emphatic29 tone,perhaps, than circumstances might seem to warrant, demandedwhat all that noise was about.
‘Hallo!’ said one of the men from the yard, ‘this is somebody indisguise, this is.’
‘Room for the eldest30 son of the Emperor of Roosher, gen’l’men!’
cried another fellow.
Disregarding these sallies, which were uncommonly31 wellreceived, as sallies at the expense of the best-dressed persons in acrowd usually are, Nicholas glanced carelessly round, andaddressing the young gentleman, who had by this time picked uphis slippers and thrust his feet into them, repeated his inquirieswith a courteous32 air.
‘A mere nothing!’ he replied.
At this a murmur33 was raised by the lookers-on, and some of theboldest cried, ‘Oh, indeed!—Wasn’t it though?—Nothing, eh?—Hecalled that nothing, did he? Lucky for him if he found it nothing.’
These and many other expressions of ironical34 disapprobationhaving been exhausted35, two or three of the out-of-door fellowsbegan to hustle36 Nicholas and the young gentleman who had madethe noise: stumbling against them by accident, and treading ontheir toes, and so forth37. But this being a round game, and one notnecessarily limited to three or four players, was open to JohnBrowdie too, who, bursting into the little crowd—to the greatterror of his wife—and falling about in all directions, now to theright, now to the left, now forwards, now backwards38, andaccidentally driving his elbow through the hat of the tallest helper,who had been particularly active, speedily caused the odds39 to weara very different appearance; while more than one stout11 fellowlimped away to a respectful distance, anathematising with tears inhis eyes the heavy tread and ponderous40 feet of the burlyYorkshireman.
‘Let me see him do it again,’ said he who had been kicked intothe corner, rising as he spoke41, apparently42 more from the fear ofJohn Browdie’s inadvertently treading upon him, than from anydesire to place himself on equal terms with his late adversary43. ‘Letme see him do it again. That’s all.’
‘Let me hear you make those remarks again,’ said the youngman, ‘and I’ll knock that head of yours in among the wine-glassesbehind you there.’
Here a waiter who had been rubbing his hands in excessiveenjoyment of the scene, so long as only the breaking of heads wasin question, adjured44 the spectators with great earnestness to fetchthe police, declaring that otherwise murder would be surely done,and that he was responsible for all the glass and china on thepremises.
‘No one need trouble himself to stir,’ said the young gentleman,‘I am going to remain in the house all night, and shall be foundhere in the morning if there is any assault to answer for.’
‘What did you strike him for?’ asked one of the bystanders.
‘Ah! what did you strike him for?’ demanded the others.
The unpopular gentleman looked coolly round, and addressinghimself to Nicholas, said:
‘You inquired just now what was the matter here. The matter issimply this. Yonder person, who was drinking with a friend in thecoffee-room when I took my seat there for half an hour beforegoing to bed, (for I have just come off a journey, and preferredstopping here tonight, to going home at this hour, where I was notexpected until tomorrow,) chose to express himself in verydisrespectful, and insolently45 familiar terms, of a young lady, whomI recognised from his description and other circumstances, andwhom I have the honour to know. As he spoke loud enough to beoverheard by the other guests who were present, I informed himmost civilly that he was mistaken in his conjectures46, which were ofan offensive nature, and requested him to forbear. He did so for alittle time, but as he chose to renew his conversation when leavingthe room, in a more offensive strain than before, I could notrefrain from making after him, and facilitating his departure by akick, which reduced him to the posture47 in which you saw him justnow. I am the best judge of my own affairs, I take it,’ said theyoung man, who had certainly not quite recovered from his recentheat; ‘if anybody here thinks proper to make this quarrel his own,I have not the smallest earthly objection, I do assure him.’
Of all possible courses of proceeding2 under the circumstancesdetailed, there was certainly not one which, in his then state of mind, could have appeared more laudable to Nicholas than this.
There were not many subjects of dispute which at that momentcould have come home to his own breast more powerfully, forhaving the unknown uppermost in his thoughts, it naturallyoccurred to him that he would have done just the same if anyaudacious gossiper durst have presumed in his hearing to speaklightly of her. Influenced by these considerations, he espoused48 theyoung gentleman’s quarrel with great warmth, protesting that hehad done quite right, and that he respected him for it; which JohnBrowdie (albeit not quite clear as to the merits) immediatelyprotested too, with not inferior vehemence49.
‘Let him take care, that’s all,’ said the defeated party, who wasbeing rubbed down by a waiter, after his recent fall on the dustyboards. ‘He don’t knock me about for nothing, I can tell him that.
A pretty state of things, if a man isn’t to admire a handsome girlwithout being beat to pieces for it!’
This reflection appeared to have great weight with the younglady in the bar, who (adjusting her cap as she spoke, and glancingat a mirror) declared that it would be a very pretty state of thingsindeed; and that if people were to be punished for actions soinnocent and natural as that, there would be more people to beknocked down than there would be people to knock them down,and that she wondered what the gentleman meant by it, that shedid.
‘My dear girl,’ said the young gentleman in a low voice,advancing towards the sash window.
‘Nonsense, sir!’ replied the young lady sharply, smiling thoughas she turned aside, and biting her lip, (whereat Mrs Browdie, whowas still standing50 on the stairs, glanced at her with disdain51, and called to her husband to come away).
‘No, but listen to me,’ said the young man. ‘If admiration52 of apretty face were criminal, I should be the most hopeless personalive, for I cannot resist one. It has the most extraordinary effectupon me, checks and controls me in the most furious andobstinate mood. You see what an effect yours has had upon mealready.’
‘Oh, that’s very pretty,’ replied the young lady, tossing her head,‘but—’
‘Yes, I know it’s very pretty,’ said the young man, looking withan air of admiration in the barmaid’s face; ‘I said so, you know,just this moment. But beauty should be spoken of respectfully—respectfully, and in proper terms, and with a becoming sense of itsworth and excellence53, whereas this fellow has no more notion—’
The young lady interrupted the conversation at this point, bythrusting her head out of the bar-window, and inquiring of thewaiter in a shrill54 voice whether that young man who had beenknocked down was going to stand in the passage all night, orwhether the entrance was to be left clear for other people. Thewaiters taking the hint, and communicating it to the hostlers, werenot slow to change their tone too, and the result was, that theunfortunate victim was bundled out in a twinkling.
‘I am sure I have seen that fellow before,’ said Nicholas.
‘Indeed!’ replied his new acquaintance.
‘I am certain of it,’ said Nicholas, pausing to reflect. ‘Where canI have—stop!—yes, to be sure—he belongs to a register-office upat the west end of the town. I knew I recollected55 the face.’
It was, indeed, Tom, the ugly clerk.
‘That’s odd enough!’ said Nicholas, ruminating56 upon the strange manner in which the register-office seemed to start up andstare him in the face every now and then, and when he leastexpected it.
‘I am much obliged to you for your kind advocacy of my causewhen it most needed an advocate,’ said the young man, laughing,and drawing a card from his pocket. ‘Perhaps you’ll do me thefavour to let me know where I can thank you.’
Nicholas took the card, and glancing at it involuntarily as hereturned the compliment, evinced very great surprise.
‘Mr Frank Cheeryble!’ said Nicholas. ‘Surely not the nephew ofCheeryble Brothers, who is expected tomorrow!’
‘I don’t usually call myself the nephew of the firm,’ returned MrFrank, good-humouredly; ‘but of the two excellent individuals whocompose it, I am proud to say I am the nephew. And you, I see, areMr Nickleby, of whom I have heard so much! This is a mostunexpected meeting, but not the less welcome, I assure you.’
Nicholas responded to these compliments with others of thesame kind, and they shook hands warmly. Then he introducedJohn Browdie, who had remained in a state of great admirationever since the young lady in the bar had been so skilfully57 won overto the right side. Then Mrs John Browdie was introduced, andfinally they all went upstairs together and spent the next half-hourwith great satisfaction and mutual58 entertainment; Mrs JohnBrowdie beginning the conversation by declaring that of all themade-up things she ever saw, that young woman below-stairs wasthe vainest and the plainest.
This Mr Frank Cheeryble, although, to judge from what hadrecently taken place, a hot-headed young man (which is not anabsolute miracle and phenomenon in nature), was a sprightly59, good-humoured, pleasant fellow, with much both in hiscountenance and disposition28 that reminded Nicholas very stronglyof the kind-hearted brothers. His manner was as unaffected astheirs, and his demeanour full of that heartiness61 which, to mostpeople who have anything generous in their composition, ispeculiarly prepossessing. Add to this, that he was good-lookingand intelligent, had a plentiful62 share of vivacity63, was extremelycheerful, and accommodated himself in five minutes’ time to allJohn Browdie’s oddities with as much ease as if he had known himfrom a boy; and it will be a source of no great wonder that, whenthey parted for the night, he had produced a most favourableimpression, not only upon the worthy64 Yorkshireman and his wife,but upon Nicholas also, who, revolving65 all these things in his mindas he made the best of his way home, arrived at the conclusionthat he had laid the foundation of a most agreeable and desirableacquaintance.
‘But it’s a most extraordinary thing about that register-officefellow!’ thought Nicholas. ‘Is it likely that this nephew can knowanything about that beautiful girl? When Tim Linkinwater gaveme to understand the other day that he was coming to take a sharein the business here, he said he had been superintending it inGermany for four years, and that during the last six months hehad been engaged in establishing an agency in the north ofEngland. That’s four years and a half—four years and a half. Shecan’t be more than seventeen—say eighteen at the outside. Shewas quite a child when he went away, then. I should say he knewnothing about her and had never seen her, so he can give me noinformation. At all events,’ thought Nicholas, coming to the realpoint in his mind, ‘there can be no danger of any prior occupation of her affections in that quarter; that’s quite clear.’
Is selfishness a necessary ingredient in the composition of thatpassion called love, or does it deserve all the fine things whichpoets, in the exercise of their undoubted vocation66, have said of it?
There are, no doubt, authenticated67 instances of gentlemen havinggiven up ladies and ladies having given up gentlemen tomeritorious rivals, under circumstances of great high-mindedness;but is it quite established that the majority of such ladies andgentlemen have not made a virtue68 of necessity, and nobly resignedwhat was beyond their reach; as a private soldier might register avow69 never to accept the order of the Garter, or a poor curate ofgreat piety70 and learning, but of no family—save a very large familyof children—might renounce71 a bishopric?
Here was Nicholas Nickleby, who would have scorned thethought of counting how the chances stood of his rising in favouror fortune with the brothers Cheeryble, now that their nephewhad returned, already deep in calculations whether that samenephew was likely to rival him in the affections of the fairunknown—discussing the matter with himself too, as gravely as if,with that one exception, it were all settled; and recurring72 to thesubject again and again, and feeling quite indignant and ill-used atthe notion of anybody else making love to one with whom he hadnever exchanged a word in all his life. To be sure, he exaggeratedrather than depreciated73 the merits of his new acquaintance; butstill he took it as a kind of personal offence that he should haveany merits at all—in the eyes of this particular young lady, that is;for elsewhere he was quite welcome to have as many as hepleased. There was undoubted selfishness in all this, and yetNicholas was of a most free and generous nature, with as few mean or sordid74 thoughts, perhaps, as ever fell to the lot of anyman; and there is no reason to suppose that, being in love, he feltand thought differently from other people in the like sublimecondition.
He did not stop to set on foot an inquiry75 into his train of thoughtor state of feeling, however; but went thinking on all the wayhome, and continued to dream on in the same strain all night. For,having satisfied himself that Frank Cheeryble could have noknowledge of, or acquaintance with, the mysterious young lady, itbegan to occur to him that even he himself might never see heragain; upon which hypothesis he built up a very ingenioussuccession of tormenting76 ideas which answered his purpose evenbetter than the vision of Mr Frank Cheeryble, and tantalised andworried him, waking and sleeping.
Notwithstanding all that has been said and sung to thecontrary, there is no well-established case of morning havingeither deferred77 or hastened its approach by the term of an hour orso for the mere gratification of a splenetic feeling against someunoffending lover: the sun having, in the discharge of his publicduty, as the books of precedent78 report, invariably risen accordingto the almanacs, and without suffering himself to be swayed byany private considerations. So, morning came as usual, and with itbusiness-hours, and with them Mr Frank Cheeryble, and with hima long train of smiles and welcomes from the worthy brothers, anda more grave and clerk-like, but scarcely less hearty79 receptionfrom Mr Timothy Linkinwater.
‘That Mr Frank and Mr Nickleby should have met last night,’
said Tim Linkinwater, getting slowly off his stool, and lookinground the counting-house with his back planted against the desk, as was his custom when he had anything very particular to say:
‘that those two young men should have met last night in thatmanner is, I say, a coincidence, a remarkable80 coincidence. Why, Idon’t believe now,’ added Tim, taking off his spectacles, andsmiling as with gentle pride, ‘that there’s such a place in all theworld for coincidences as London is!’
‘I don’t know about that,’ said Mr Frank; ‘but—’
‘Don’t know about it, Mr Francis!’ interrupted Tim, with anobstinate air. ‘Well, but let us know. If there is any better place forsuch things, where is it? Is it in Europe? No, that it isn’t. Is it inAsia? Why, of course it’s not. Is it in Africa? Not a bit of it. Is it inAmerica? You know better than that, at all events. Well, then,’ saidTim, folding his arms resolutely81, ‘where is it?’
‘I was not about to dispute the point, Tim,’ said youngCheeryble, laughing. ‘I am not such a heretic as that. All I wasgoing to say was, that I hold myself under an obligation to thecoincidence, that’s all.’
‘Oh! if you don’t dispute it,’ said Tim, quite satisfied, ‘that’sanother thing. I’ll tell you what though. I wish you had. I wish youor anybody would. I would so put that man down,’ said Tim,tapping the forefinger82 of his left hand emphatically with hisspectacles, ‘so put that man down by argument—’
It was quite impossible to find language to express the degree ofmental prostration83 to which such an adventurous84 wight would bereduced in the keen encounter with Tim Linkinwater, so Tim gaveup the rest of his declaration in pure lack of words, and mountedhis stool again.
‘We may consider ourselves, brother Ned,’ said Charles, afterhe had patted Tim Linkinwater approvingly on the back, ‘very fortunate in having two such young men about us as our nephewFrank and Mr Nickleby. It should be a source of great satisfactionand pleasure to us.’
‘Certainly, Charles, certainly,’ returned the other.
‘Of Tim,’ added brother Ned, ‘I say nothing whatever, becauseTim is a mere child—an infant—a nobody that we never think ofor take into account at all. Tim, you villain85, what do you say tothat, sir?’
‘I am jealous of both of ’em,’ said Tim, ‘and mean to look out foranother situation; so provide yourselves, gentlemen, if you please.’
Tim thought this such an exquisite86, unparalleled, and mostextraordinary joke, that he laid his pen upon the inkstand, andrather tumbling off his stool than getting down with his usualdeliberation, laughed till he was quite faint, shaking his head allthe time so that little particles of powder flew palpably about theoffice. Nor were the brothers at all behind-hand, for they laughedalmost as heartily87 at the ludicrous idea of any voluntary separationbetween themselves and old Tim. Nicholas and Mr Frank laughedquite boisterously88, perhaps to conceal89 some other emotionawakened by this little incident, (and so, indeed, did the three oldfellows after the first burst,) so perhaps there was as much keenenjoyment and relish in that laugh, altogether, as the politestassembly ever derived91 from the most poignant92 witticism93 uttered atany one person’s expense.
‘Mr Nickleby,’ said brother Charles, calling him aside, andtaking him kindly94 by the hand, ‘I—I—am anxious, my dear sir, tosee that you are properly and comfortably settled in the cottage.
We cannot allow those who serve us well to labour under anyprivation or discomfort95 that it is in our power to remove. I wish, too, to see your mother and sister: to know them, Mr Nickleby, andhave an opportunity of relieving their minds by assuring them thatany trifling96 service we have been able to do them is a great dealmore than repaid by the zeal97 and ardour you display.—Not aword, my dear sir, I beg. Tomorrow is Sunday. I shall make bold tocome out at teatime, and take the chance of finding you at home; ifyou are not, you know, or the ladies should feel a delicacy98 in beingintruded on, and would rather not be known to me just now, why Ican come again another time, any other time would do for me. Letit remain upon that understanding. Brother Ned, my dear fellow,let me have a word with you this way.’
The twins went out of the office arm-in-arm, and Nicholas, whosaw in this act of kindness, and many others of which he had beenthe subject that morning, only so many delicate renewals99 on thearrival of their nephew of the kind assurance which the brothershad given him in his absence, could scarcely feel sufficientadmiration and gratitude100 for such extraordinary consideration.
The intelligence that they were to have visitor—and such avisitor—next day, awakened90 in the breast of Mrs Nickleby mingledfeelings of exultation101 and regret; for whereas on the one hand shehailed it as an omen15 of her speedy restoration to good society andthe almost-forgotten pleasures of morning calls and evening teadrinkings, she could not, on the other, but reflect with bitternessof spirit on the absence of a silver teapot with an ivory knob on thelid, and a milk-jug to match, which had been the pride of her heartin days of yore, and had been kept from year’s end to year’s endwrapped up in wash-leather on a certain top shelf which nowpresented itself in lively colours to her sorrowing imagination.
‘I wonder who’s got that spice-box,’ said Mrs Nickleby, shaking her head. ‘It used to stand in the left-hand corner, next but two tothe pickled onions. You remember that spice-box, Kate?’
‘Perfectly well, mama.’
‘I shouldn’t think you did, Kate,’ returned Mrs Nickleby, in asevere manner, ‘talking about it in that cold and unfeeling way! Ifthere is any one thing that vexes102 me in these losses more than thelosses themselves, I do protest and declare,’ said Mrs Nickleby,rubbing her nose with an impassioned air, ‘that it is to have peopleabout me who take things with such provoking calmness.’
‘My dear mama,’ said Kate, stealing her arm round hermother’s neck, ‘why do you say what I know you cannot seriouslymean or think, or why be angry with me for being happy andcontent? You and Nicholas are left to me, we are together onceagain, and what regard can I have for a few trifling things of whichwe never feel the want? When I have seen all the misery103 anddesolation that death can bring, and known the lonesome feelingof being solitary104 and alone in crowds, and all the agony ofseparation in grief and poverty when we most needed comfort andsupport from each other, can you wonder that I look upon this as aplace of such delicious quiet and rest, that with you beside me Ihave nothing to wish for or regret? There was a time, and not longsince, when all the comforts of our old home did come back uponme, I own, very often—oftener than you would think perhaps—butI affected60 to care nothing for them, in the hope that you would sobe brought to regret them the less. I was not insensible, indeed. Imight have felt happier if I had been. Dear mama,’ said Kate, ingreat agitation105, ‘I know no difference between this home and thatin which we were all so happy for so many years, except that thekindest and gentlest heart that ever ached on earth has passed in peace to heaven.’
‘Kate my dear, Kate,’ cried Mrs Nickleby, folding her in herarms.
‘I have so often thought,’ sobbed106 Kate, ‘of all his kind words—ofthe last time he looked into my little room, as he passed upstairs tobed, and said “God bless you, darling.” There was a paleness in hisface, mama—the broken heart—I know it was—I little thoughtso—then—’
A gush107 of tears came to her relief, and Kate laid her head uponher mother’s breast, and wept like a little child.
It is an exquisite and beautiful thing in our nature, that whenthe heart is touched and softened108 by some tranquil5 happiness oraffectionate feeling, the memory of the dead comes over it mostpowerfully and irresistibly109. It would almost seem as though ourbetter thoughts and sympathies were charms, in virtue of whichthe soul is enabled to hold some vague and mysterious intercoursewith the spirits of those whom we dearly loved in life. Alas110! howoften and how long may those patient angels hover111 above us,watching for the spell which is so seldom uttered, and so soonforgotten!
Poor Mrs Nickleby, accustomed to give ready utterance towhatever came uppermost in her mind, had never conceived thepossibility of her daughter’s dwelling112 upon these thoughts insecret, the more especially as no hard trial or querulous reproachhad ever drawn113 them from her. But now, when the happiness ofall that Nicholas had just told them, and of their new and peacefullife, brought these recollections so strongly upon Kate that shecould not suppress them, Mrs Nickleby began to have aglimmering that she had been rather thoughtless now and then, and was conscious of something like self-reproach as sheembraced her daughter, and yielded to the emotions which such aconversation naturally awakened.
There was a mighty114 bustle115 that night, and a vast quantity ofpreparation for the expected visitor, and a very large nosegay wasbrought from a gardener’s hard by, and cut up into a number ofvery small ones, with which Mrs Nickleby would have garnishedthe little sitting-room116, in a style that certainly could not have failedto attract anybody’s attention, if Kate had not offered to spare herthe trouble, and arranged them in the prettiest and neatestmanner possible. If the cottage ever looked pretty, it must havebeen on such a bright and sunshiny day as the next day was. ButSmike’s pride in the garden, or Mrs Nickleby’s in the condition ofthe furniture, or Kate’s in everything, was nothing to the pridewith which Nicholas looked at Kate herself; and surely thecostliest mansion117 in all England might have found in her beautifulface and graceful118 form its most exquisite and peerless ornament119.
About six o’clock in the afternoon Mrs Nickleby was throwninto a great flutter of spirits by the long-expected knock at thedoor, nor was this flutter at all composed by the audible tread oftwo pair of boots in the passage, which Mrs Nickleby augured120, in abreathless state, must be ‘the two Mr Cheerybles;’ as it certainlywas, though not the two Mrs Nickleby expected, because it was MrCharles Cheeryble, and his nephew, Mr Frank, who made athousand apologies for his intrusion, which Mrs Nickleby (havingtea-spoons enough and to spare for all) most graciously received.
Nor did the appearance of this unexpected visitor occasion theleast embarrassment121, (save in Kate, and that only to the extent of ablush or two at first,) for the old gentleman was so kind and cordial, and the young gentleman imitated him in this respect sowell, that the usual stiffness and formality of a first meetingshowed no signs of appearing, and Kate really more than oncedetected herself in the very act of wondering when it was going tobegin.
At the tea-table there was plenty of conversation on a greatvariety of subjects, nor were there wanting jocose122 matters ofdiscussion, such as they were; for young Mr Cheeryble’s recentstay in Germany happening to be alluded123 to, old Mr Cheerybleinformed the company that the aforesaid young Mr Cheeryble wassuspected to have fallen deeply in love with the daughter of acertain German burgomaster. This accusation124 young MrCheeryble most indignantly repelled125, upon which Mrs Nicklebyslyly remarked, that she suspected, from the very warmth of thedenial, there must be something in it. Young Mr Cheeryble thenearnestly entreated126 old Mr Cheeryble to confess that it was all ajest, which old Mr Cheeryble at last did, young Mr Cheeryblebeing so much in earnest about it, that—as Mrs Nickleby saidmany thousand times afterwards in recalling the scene—he ‘quitecoloured,’ which she rightly considered a memorablecircumstance, and one worthy of remark, young men not being asa class remarkable for modesty127 or self-denial, especially whenthere is a lady in the case, when, if they colour at all, it is rathertheir practice to colour the story, and not themselves.
After tea there was a walk in the garden, and the evening beingvery fine they strolled out at the garden-gate into some lanes andbye-roads, and sauntered up and down until it grew quite dark.
The time seemed to pass very quickly with all the party. Kate wentfirst, leaning upon her brother’s arm, and talking with him and Mr Frank Cheeryble; and Mrs Nickleby and the elder gentlemanfollowed at a short distance, the kindness of the good merchant,his interest in the welfare of Nicholas, and his admiration of Kate,so operating upon the good lady’s feelings, that the usual currentof her speech was confined within very narrow and circumscribedlimits. Smike (who, if he had ever been an object of interest in hislife, had been one that day) accompanied them, joining sometimesone group and sometimes the other, as brother Charles, laying hishand upon his shoulder, bade him walk with him, or Nicholas,looking smilingly round, beckoned128 him to come and talk with theold friend who understood him best, and who could win a smileinto his careworn129 face when none else could.
Pride is one of the seven deadly sins; but it cannot be the prideof a mother in her children, for that is a compound of two cardinalvirtues—faith and hope. This was the pride which swelled130 MrsNickleby’s heart that night, and this it was which left upon herface, glistening131 in the light when they returned home, traces of themost grateful tears she had ever shed.
There was a quiet mirth about the little supper, whichharmonised exactly with this tone of feeling, and at length the twogentlemen took their leave. There was one circumstance in theleave-taking which occasioned a vast deal of smiling andpleasantry, and that was, that Mr Frank Cheeryble offered hishand to Kate twice over, quite forgetting that he had bade heradieu already. This was held by the elder Mr Cheeryble to be aconvincing proof that he was thinking of his German flame, andthe jest occasioned immense laughter. So easy is it to move lighthearts.
In short, it was a day of serene132 and tranquil happiness; and as we all have some bright day—many of us, let us hope, among acrowd of others—to which we revert133 with particular delight, sothis one was often looked back to afterwards, as holding aconspicuous place in the calendar of those who shared it.
Was there one exception, and that one he who needed to havebeen most happy?
Who was that who, in the silence of his own chamber134, sunkupon his knees to pray as his first friend had taught him, andfolding his hands and stretching them wildly in the air, fell uponhis face in a passion of bitter grief?
1 usher | |
n.带位员,招待员;vt.引导,护送;vi.做招待,担任引座员 | |
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2 proceeding | |
n.行动,进行,(pl.)会议录,学报 | |
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3 din | |
n.喧闹声,嘈杂声 | |
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4 favourably | |
adv. 善意地,赞成地 =favorably | |
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5 tranquil | |
adj. 安静的, 宁静的, 稳定的, 不变的 | |
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6 conversant | |
adj.亲近的,有交情的,熟悉的 | |
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7 deference | |
n.尊重,顺从;敬意 | |
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8 ferocious | |
adj.凶猛的,残暴的,极度的,十分强烈的 | |
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9 turmoil | |
n.骚乱,混乱,动乱 | |
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10 subsiding | |
v.(土地)下陷(因在地下采矿)( subside的现在分词 );减弱;下降至较低或正常水平;一下子坐在椅子等上 | |
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12 turmoils | |
n.混乱( turmoil的名词复数 );焦虑 | |
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13 mere | |
adj.纯粹的;仅仅,只不过 | |
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14 grumbling | |
adj. 喃喃鸣不平的, 出怨言的 | |
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15 omen | |
n.征兆,预兆;vt.预示 | |
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16 relish | |
n.滋味,享受,爱好,调味品;vt.加调味料,享受,品味;vi.有滋味 | |
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17 uproar | |
n.骚动,喧嚣,鼎沸 | |
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18 consternation | |
n.大为吃惊,惊骇 | |
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19 fray | |
v.争吵;打斗;磨损,磨破;n.吵架;打斗 | |
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20 congregated | |
(使)集合,聚集( congregate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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21 utterance | |
n.用言语表达,话语,言语 | |
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22 slippers | |
n. 拖鞋 | |
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23 prostrate | |
v.拜倒,平卧,衰竭;adj.拜倒的,平卧的,衰竭的 | |
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24 winks | |
v.使眼色( wink的第三人称单数 );递眼色(表示友好或高兴等);(指光)闪烁;闪亮 | |
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25 habitual | |
adj.习惯性的;通常的,惯常的 | |
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26 brawler | |
争吵者,打架者 | |
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27 impelled | |
v.推动、推进或敦促某人做某事( impel的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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28 disposition | |
n.性情,性格;意向,倾向;排列,部署 | |
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29 emphatic | |
adj.强调的,着重的;无可置疑的,明显的 | |
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30 eldest | |
adj.最年长的,最年老的 | |
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31 uncommonly | |
adv. 稀罕(极,非常) | |
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32 courteous | |
adj.彬彬有礼的,客气的 | |
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33 murmur | |
n.低语,低声的怨言;v.低语,低声而言 | |
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34 ironical | |
adj.讽刺的,冷嘲的 | |
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35 exhausted | |
adj.极其疲惫的,精疲力尽的 | |
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36 hustle | |
v.推搡;竭力兜售或获取;催促;n.奔忙(碌) | |
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37 forth | |
adv.向前;向外,往外 | |
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38 backwards | |
adv.往回地,向原处,倒,相反,前后倒置地 | |
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39 odds | |
n.让步,机率,可能性,比率;胜败优劣之别 | |
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40 ponderous | |
adj.沉重的,笨重的,(文章)冗长的 | |
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41 spoke | |
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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42 apparently | |
adv.显然地;表面上,似乎 | |
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43 adversary | |
adj.敌手,对手 | |
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44 adjured | |
v.(以起誓或诅咒等形式)命令要求( adjure的过去式和过去分词 );祈求;恳求 | |
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45 insolently | |
adv.自豪地,自傲地 | |
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46 conjectures | |
推测,猜想( conjecture的名词复数 ) | |
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47 posture | |
n.姿势,姿态,心态,态度;v.作出某种姿势 | |
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48 espoused | |
v.(决定)支持,拥护(目标、主张等)( espouse的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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49 vehemence | |
n.热切;激烈;愤怒 | |
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50 standing | |
n.持续,地位;adj.永久的,不动的,直立的,不流动的 | |
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51 disdain | |
n.鄙视,轻视;v.轻视,鄙视,不屑 | |
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52 admiration | |
n.钦佩,赞美,羡慕 | |
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53 excellence | |
n.优秀,杰出,(pl.)优点,美德 | |
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54 shrill | |
adj.尖声的;刺耳的;v尖叫 | |
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55 recollected | |
adj.冷静的;镇定的;被回忆起的;沉思默想的v.记起,想起( recollect的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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56 ruminating | |
v.沉思( ruminate的现在分词 );反复考虑;反刍;倒嚼 | |
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57 skilfully | |
adv. (美skillfully)熟练地 | |
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58 mutual | |
adj.相互的,彼此的;共同的,共有的 | |
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59 sprightly | |
adj.愉快的,活泼的 | |
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60 affected | |
adj.不自然的,假装的 | |
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61 heartiness | |
诚实,热心 | |
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62 plentiful | |
adj.富裕的,丰富的 | |
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63 vivacity | |
n.快活,活泼,精神充沛 | |
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64 worthy | |
adj.(of)值得的,配得上的;有价值的 | |
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65 revolving | |
adj.旋转的,轮转式的;循环的v.(使)旋转( revolve的现在分词 );细想 | |
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66 vocation | |
n.职业,行业 | |
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67 authenticated | |
v.证明是真实的、可靠的或有效的( authenticate的过去式和过去分词 );鉴定,使生效 | |
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68 virtue | |
n.德行,美德;贞操;优点;功效,效力 | |
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69 avow | |
v.承认,公开宣称 | |
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70 piety | |
n.虔诚,虔敬 | |
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71 renounce | |
v.放弃;拒绝承认,宣布与…断绝关系 | |
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72 recurring | |
adj.往复的,再次发生的 | |
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73 depreciated | |
v.贬值,跌价,减价( depreciate的过去式和过去分词 );贬低,蔑视,轻视 | |
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74 sordid | |
adj.肮脏的,不干净的,卑鄙的,暗淡的 | |
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75 inquiry | |
n.打听,询问,调查,查问 | |
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76 tormenting | |
使痛苦的,使苦恼的 | |
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77 deferred | |
adj.延期的,缓召的v.拖延,延缓,推迟( defer的过去式和过去分词 );服从某人的意愿,遵从 | |
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78 precedent | |
n.先例,前例;惯例;adj.在前的,在先的 | |
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79 hearty | |
adj.热情友好的;衷心的;尽情的,纵情的 | |
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80 remarkable | |
adj.显著的,异常的,非凡的,值得注意的 | |
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81 resolutely | |
adj.坚决地,果断地 | |
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82 forefinger | |
n.食指 | |
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83 prostration | |
n. 平伏, 跪倒, 疲劳 | |
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84 adventurous | |
adj.爱冒险的;惊心动魄的,惊险的,刺激的 | |
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85 villain | |
n.反派演员,反面人物;恶棍;问题的起因 | |
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86 exquisite | |
adj.精美的;敏锐的;剧烈的,感觉强烈的 | |
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87 heartily | |
adv.衷心地,诚恳地,十分,很 | |
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88 boisterously | |
adv.喧闹地,吵闹地 | |
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89 conceal | |
v.隐藏,隐瞒,隐蔽 | |
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90 awakened | |
v.(使)醒( awaken的过去式和过去分词 );(使)觉醒;弄醒;(使)意识到 | |
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91 derived | |
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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92 poignant | |
adj.令人痛苦的,辛酸的,惨痛的 | |
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93 witticism | |
n.谐语,妙语 | |
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94 kindly | |
adj.和蔼的,温和的,爽快的;adv.温和地,亲切地 | |
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95 discomfort | |
n.不舒服,不安,难过,困难,不方便 | |
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96 trifling | |
adj.微不足道的;没什么价值的 | |
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97 zeal | |
n.热心,热情,热忱 | |
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98 delicacy | |
n.精致,细微,微妙,精良;美味,佳肴 | |
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99 renewals | |
重建( renewal的名词复数 ); 更新; 重生; 合同的续订 | |
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100 gratitude | |
adj.感激,感谢 | |
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101 exultation | |
n.狂喜,得意 | |
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102 vexes | |
v.使烦恼( vex的第三人称单数 );使苦恼;使生气;详细讨论 | |
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103 misery | |
n.痛苦,苦恼,苦难;悲惨的境遇,贫苦 | |
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104 solitary | |
adj.孤独的,独立的,荒凉的;n.隐士 | |
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105 agitation | |
n.搅动;搅拌;鼓动,煽动 | |
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106 sobbed | |
哭泣,啜泣( sob的过去式和过去分词 ); 哭诉,呜咽地说 | |
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107 gush | |
v.喷,涌;滔滔不绝(说话);n.喷,涌流;迸发 | |
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108 softened | |
(使)变软( soften的过去式和过去分词 ); 缓解打击; 缓和; 安慰 | |
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109 irresistibly | |
adv.无法抵抗地,不能自持地;极为诱惑人地 | |
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110 alas | |
int.唉(表示悲伤、忧愁、恐惧等) | |
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111 hover | |
vi.翱翔,盘旋;徘徊;彷徨,犹豫 | |
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112 dwelling | |
n.住宅,住所,寓所 | |
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113 drawn | |
v.拖,拉,拔出;adj.憔悴的,紧张的 | |
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114 mighty | |
adj.强有力的;巨大的 | |
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115 bustle | |
v.喧扰地忙乱,匆忙,奔忙;n.忙碌;喧闹 | |
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116 sitting-room | |
n.(BrE)客厅,起居室 | |
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117 mansion | |
n.大厦,大楼;宅第 | |
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118 graceful | |
adj.优美的,优雅的;得体的 | |
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119 ornament | |
v.装饰,美化;n.装饰,装饰物 | |
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120 augured | |
v.预示,预兆,预言( augur的过去式和过去分词 );成为预兆;占卜 | |
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121 embarrassment | |
n.尴尬;使人为难的人(事物);障碍;窘迫 | |
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122 jocose | |
adj.开玩笑的,滑稽的 | |
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123 alluded | |
提及,暗指( allude的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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124 accusation | |
n.控告,指责,谴责 | |
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125 repelled | |
v.击退( repel的过去式和过去分词 );使厌恶;排斥;推开 | |
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126 entreated | |
恳求,乞求( entreat的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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127 modesty | |
n.谦逊,虚心,端庄,稳重,羞怯,朴素 | |
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128 beckoned | |
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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129 careworn | |
adj.疲倦的,饱经忧患的 | |
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130 swelled | |
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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131 glistening | |
adj.闪耀的,反光的v.湿物闪耀,闪亮( glisten的现在分词 ) | |
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132 serene | |
adj. 安详的,宁静的,平静的 | |
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133 revert | |
v.恢复,复归,回到 | |
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134 chamber | |
n.房间,寝室;会议厅;议院;会所 | |
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