The delighted merchant was pressed to stay to supper to meet such great personages as the Earl of Sussex, the Lord Chamberlain, and others; and the next day he was in conference with Burghley for hours, with the result that the latter consented to draw up a new draft treaty for the reopening of trade, one of the clauses of which was to touch upon the tender subject of the treatment extended by the Inquisition to English merchants and mariners16 in Spain. Burghley hinted to De Guaras that some of the Council were against an accord, but he persuaded him that his own feelings were all in favour of a renewal17 of the close understanding with the House of Burgundy. De Guaras was backwards18 and forwards to court for weeks, more charmed than ever with the Lord Treasurer’s amiability19. “It is,” he says, “undoubted[282] that a great amount of dissension exists in the Council, some being friendly to our side, and others to the French; but the best Councillor of all of them is Lord Burghley, as he follows the tendency of the Queen, which is towards concord20. As he is supreme21 in the country and in the Queen’s estimation, in all the important Councils which were held during the days that I was at court, he, with his great eloquence22, having right on his side, was able to persuade those who were opposed to him. He assured me privately23 that he had gained over the great majority of his opponents, and especially the Earl of Leicester, who has always been on the side of the French.”[362] Burghley could be very persuasive25 and talkative when it suited him, as it very rarely did. The French, he said, were most anxious for a close alliance, but the Queen and himself set but small store on “these noisy French and Italians.”
A Spanish spy in London, unknown to De Guaras, scornfully wrote to Alba that Lord Burghley was playing with De Guaras; and before many weeks had passed, the latter himself had begun to doubt. Burghley passed him in his ante-room three times without so much as noticing him. “Some great plot against the Spaniards in Flanders” was hatching, he was sure; “and in one moment they decided27 that their false news was of more importance than our friendship.” “Whilst this Government exists, no good arrangement will be made, as the Queen only desires it from fear, and the rest will oppose it on religious grounds.” When De Guaras saw the Lord Treasurer later in November (1572), grave doubts were expressed about the bona fides of Philip, much to the Spaniard’s indignation. Burghley said he was still strongly in favour of an arrangement, because the French, who wished the English wool trade to go to France instead[283] of Flanders, were so shifty, and could not be trusted. The Queen would be glad, too, to mediate28 between Spain and the Prince of Orange. Thus Burghley played on the hopes and fears of Spain; but through the whole negotiation29 it was clear that the objects were—first, if possible, to reopen the ports for English trade on profitable terms;[363] and, secondly30, to keep Spain in hand, pending31 the development of events in France, and the strengthening of Orange for his forthcoming campaign.
In the meanwhile Sir Humphrey Gilbert and his 800 Englishmen were recalled from Flanders, and the elaborate pretence33 made that he was in disgrace for having gone thither34 at all against the Queen’s wish; and other demonstrations35 were made, especially by Burghley, of a desire to agree on friendly conditions with Spain. As weeks passed without any reply coming from Alba to the draft treaty, Burghley grew distrustful, and, as De Guaras complains, coldly passed him without recognising him. At last, late in December, he sent for the Spaniard and made a speech, which, De Guaras says, sounded as if it had been studied. “He hoped,” he said, “that the good-will of himself and his friends would be recognised. Some of the Councillors thought that De Guaras had been playing them false,[364] and his (Burghley’s) party was much[284] annoyed that no answer had come, especially about the simultaneous opening of the ports.” All the while the vigorous support of Orange’s preparations went on; money, men, and arms flowed over in abundance (early in 1573); and the Dutch agents were in England urging Elizabeth openly to take Holland and Zeeland under her protection, and to lend national countenance36 to the struggle against Spain. She was not prepared for this yet, for France was under the influence of the Guises37, and their intrigues40 in Scotland left her no rest. But Alba was afraid of the bare possibility of a great Protestant league of English, Germans, and Huguenots, in favour of Orange; and his pride was humbled41 more by this than by professions of friendship. The result of Burghley’s negotiations43 through De Guaras, and the aiding of Orange, was that in the summer of 1573 the Flemish and Spanish ports were once more opened to English trade, on terms immensely favourable44 to England,[365] since she obtained a free market for her cloth, whilst she kept the great bulk of the enormous amount of Spanish property which Elizabeth had seized five years previously45. This was a greater exemplification of the impotence of Philip, even than the expulsion of De Spes. All the world could see now that, much as his Inquisition might harry46 individual Englishmen, the King could neither defend nor avenge47 the injuries done to himself; and was obliged to overlook the presence of[285] armed English regiments48 on the side of his rebellious49 subjects, for the sake of retaining the profit brought to his dominions50 by English commerce. Burghley had at all events established one fact, namely, that, for the present, Philip alone could do no harm.
The struggles between the Protestants and Catholics in Scotland had continued almost without interruption since the death of Murray. Mary’s friends were still numerous and strong amongst the aristocratic and landed classes, and were supported, as we have seen, by Spanish and papal money, as well as by Guisan intrigue39. The Regent Lennox had been murdered by the Hamiltons (September 1571), and his successor (Mar8) had died of poison or a broken heart (November 1572); but with the advent51 of Morton, a man of stronger fibre, the Protestant cause became more aggressive, and the English influence over Scotland more decided. Shortly before this happened, when the effects of St. Bartholomew were still weighing on the English court, and it was known that Catharine de Medici and her son were as busy with the Archbishop of Glasgow in supporting the Hamiltons and Gordons as was Cardinal53 Lorraine himself, secret instructions were given to Killigrew, the English Ambassador in Scotland, to take a step which under any other circumstances would have been inexcusable. The secret instructions are drafted in Burghley’s hand, and more obloquy54 has been piled upon his memory in consequence of them than for any other action in his career; even his thick-and-thin apologist, Dr. Nares, confessing that he could only look upon Killigrew’s orders “with feelings of disgust and horror.” Killigrew’s open mission was to reconcile the King’s party with those who championed the cause of his mother, and especially with Kirkaldy of Grange and Lethington, who still held Edinburgh Castle; but his secret instructions[286] were to a different effect. He was to warn the Protestants that a second St. Bartholomew might be intended in Scotland—not by any means an improbable suggestion, considering who were the promoters of the original massacre. “But you are also chosen to deal in a third matter of far greater moment.” The continuance of the Queen of Scots in England, he is told, is considered dangerous, and it is deemed desirable that she should be sent to Scotland and delivered to the Regent (Mar), “if it might be wrought55 that they themselves should secretly require it, with good assurance to deal with her by way of justice, that she should receive that which she hath deserved, whereby no further peril56 should ensue from her escaping, or by setting her up again. Otherwise the Council of England will never assent57 to deliver her out of the realm; and for assurance, none can suffice but hostages of good value—that is, some children of the Regent and the Earl of Morton.”[366] The suggestion was not a chivalrous58 or a generous one. It meant nothing less than handing over the unfortunate Mary to her enemies to be executed, and so to rid Elizabeth of her troublesome guest without responsibility. Killigrew was Burghley’s brother-in-law, and the two, with Leicester and the Queen, were the only persons acquainted with the intention.
On his arrival in Edinburgh the new envoy59 found the Protestants profoundly moved by the news of the massacre in Paris; Knox, paralysed and on the brink60 of the grave, used his last remaining spark of life to denounce the Guises and the Papists who had forged the murder plot against the people of God. Killigrew found Morton ready and eager to help in the sacrifice of Mary, but Mar held back; and Burghley and Leicester wrote,[287] urging speed in the matter.[367] When the terms of the Scots at last were sent to Burghley, it was seen that, though they were willing to have Mary killed, they would not relieve Elizabeth of the responsibility.[368] The death of Mar put an end for a time to the negotiation, which was never seriously undertaken again, as it was clear that the Scots would drive too hard a bargain to suit Elizabeth.
It is my province to explain facts rather than to apologise for them, and the explanation of the plan to cause Mary to be judicially61 murdered in Scotland must be sought in the panic which seized upon the Protestants after St. Bartholomew. The massacre was generally believed to be only a part of a plan for the universal extirpation62 of the reformers, in which it was known that Mary Stuart’s friends and relatives were the prime movers, and one of the main objects was represented to be the raising of Mary to the throne of a Catholic Great Britain. So long as this belief existed, no step was inexcusable that aimed at frustrating63 so diabolical64 and widespread a conspiracy65. That Burghley himself was not sensible of any turpitude67 in the matter may be seen from a letter written by him to Walsingham on the 14th January 1573, begging him to discover the[288] author of a book printed in Paris, in which he and Bacon are scurrilously68 accused of plans against Norfolk and Mary. “God amend69 his spirit,” he says, referring to the author, “and confound his malice70. As for my part, if I have any such malicious71 or malignant72 spirit, God presently so confound my body to ashes and my soul to perpetual torment73 in hell.”[369]
How soon Catharine de Medici and her son regretted the false step of St. Bartholomew is seen by their attitude towards England early in the following year (1573). The Archbishop of Glasgow was plainly told that no more help could be given to his mistress, Cardinal Lorraine failed ignominiously74 to draw France into renewed activity on behalf of the League, and Charles IX. considered it necessary to apologise to Elizabeth for the presence in his court of the special papal envoy already referred to. It was seen also that the blood and iron policy of Alba had ended in failure: the revolt in the Netherlands was stronger than ever, Holland was entirely75 in the hands of Orange, and most of the Catholic provinces of Flanders even had broken from their Spanish allegiance. Under these circumstances it seemed possible that the secular76 dream of Frenchmen might eventually come to pass, and the fine harbours and busy towns of Belgium might fall to the share of France. But this could only be if she had a close understanding and made common cause with England. So once more the Alen?on marriage was vigorously pushed to the front by Catharine. In February the French Ambassador saw Elizabeth, and formally prayed her to give an answer whether she would marry the Prince or not. If she would only let them know her pleasure now, the King and Queen-mother would trouble her no more. It was a good opportunity, and Elizabeth[289] made the most of it. Fair terms must be given to the Huguenots in Rochelle, she said, and on condition that this was done, she would give an answer about Alen?on through Lord Burghley. On the 18th February the Lord Treasurer made his formal speech. The Queen would never marry a man she had never seen. If the Prince liked to come over, even secretly, he would be welcome; but in any case an interview had better precede the discussion of religion, because if the lovers did not fancy each other, the question of conscience would be a convenient pretext77 for breaking off the negotiation; but still no public exercise of Catholic worship must be expected. When Burghley sent to Walsingham a copy of his speech, he added for his private information: “I see the imminent78 perils79 to this State, and … the success (i.e. the succession) of the crown manifestly uncertain, or rather so manifestly prejudicial to the state of religion, that I cannot but still persist in seeking marriage for her Majesty80, and finding no way that is liking81 to her but this of the Duke, I do force myself to pursue it with desire, and do fancy myself with imaginations that if he do come hither her Majesty would not refuse him.… If I am deceived, yet for the time it easeth me to imagine that such a sequel may follow.”[370] This was uncertain enough; but Walsingham was even less encouraging. He was sick of the whole hollow business; profoundly distrustful of the French; and, moreover, was a friend of Leicester, who constantly plied14 him with letters deprecating the match. This, then, is how he managed cleverly to stand in with Burghley whilst serving Leicester. “Touching my private opinion of the marriage, the great impediment that I find in the same is the contentment of the eye. The gentleman, sure, is void of any good favour, besides the[290] blemish83 of the small pocks. Now, when I weigh the same with the delicateness of her Majesty’s eye, and considering also that there are some about her in credit, who in respect of their particular interests, have neither regard for her Majesty, nor to the preservation84 of our country from ruine, and will rather increase the misliking by defacing him than by dutifully laying before her the necessity of marriage … I hardly think there will ever grow any liking.… Whether this marriage be sincerely meant here or not is a hard point to judge … in my opinion I think rather no than yea.”[371] This was almost the last letter written by Walsingham as Ambassador. He was recalled, to be shortly afterwards appointed joint85-Secretary of State with Sir Thomas Smith, with the intention of still further relieving Burghley from routine labour; and Dr. Dale, as Ambassador in Paris, kept alive the ridiculous, and frequently insincere, discussion of the marriage of Elizabeth and Alen?on.[372]
Burghley’s labours and anxieties were not confined to foreign affairs. His interest in the uniformity and discipline of the Anglican Church was unceasing, and especially in connection with his Chancellorship86 of Cambridge University, gave him endless anxiety. The vestments controversy87 had now widened and deepened. The famous tract88 called “An Admonition to Parliament” had been presented to the Parliament of 1572 by Cartwright; and its violence in a Puritan direction had provoked a controversy, which, at the period now under consideration (1573), had developed on one side into a bitter antagonism89 to prelacy, and even sacerdotalism in all its forms. Both parties appealed to Burghley. He made a speech in the Star Chamber15 which left no[291] doubt as to his attitude, if any such ever existed, on the point. The Queen, he said, was determined90 to have the laws obeyed. No innovation of ritual or practice would be permitted. If any of the “novelists” were under the impression that departures from the rules laid down would remain unpunished, he disabused91 their minds. A Fellow of Peterhouse, Cambridge, named Chark, violently attacked the hierarchy92 from the University pulpits, and was admonished93. He persisted, and was ejected from his Fellowship. Another Cambridge man, Edward Dering, Lecturer at St. Paul’s Cathedral, acted similarly, and was summoned before the Privy94 Council, and was suspended from his preferment. At the instance of Bishop52 Sandys[373] he was restored, but again brought before the Star Chamber when he addressed a long letter to Burghley advocating his views. Whilst Leicester always favoured the Puritans, the Lord Treasurer was thus on the side of the law and the prelates; and though he was constantly chosen as arbiter95, even by those with whom he disagreed, he never wavered in his insistence96 on the maintenance of uniformity, and obedience97 to the prescriptions98 laid down by Parliament and the rulers of the Church.[374]
Notwithstanding the appointment of two Secretaries[292] of State, which somewhat relieved him from writing despatches, almost every matter, great and small, was still referred to Burghley. We have given instances of his activity in foreign and ecclesiastical affairs; but, as Ellis[375] truly says, “from a question of peace or war, down to a regulation for the lining99 of slop hose; from quarrels at court to the bickering100 between a schoolmaster and his scholar; from the arrest of a peer to the punishment of a cutpurse—all was reported to him, and by all parties in turn his favour was craved101.”
It must have been difficult for him to keep clear of court factions102 and scandal; but though it was notorious that Leicester always opposed him, they still remained outwardly friendly, and their letters to each other are full of civil expressions. Sussex and Hatton were for ever at feud103 with Leicester. Alen?on’s amorous104 agents scandalised all beholders by their open flirting105 with the Queen, to which Leicester retorted by making violent love to two sisters, Lady Sheffield and Frances Howard; and the light-hearted and light-heeled young Earl of Oxford106, Burghley’s son-in-law at this time (1573), had danced himself into the good graces of the erotic Queen, which he soon lost by his folly107. Stern Lady Burghley openly and imprudently condemned109 this philandering110, and the Queen fell into a rage with her; yet “my Lord Treasurer, even after his old manner, dealeth with matters of the State only, and beareth himself very uprightly.… At all these love matters my Lord Treasurer winketh, and will not meddle111 any way.”[376]
[293]
Burghley’s private correspondence with his steward112, Kemp, at Burghley, at this period, shows that his care for detail in his household management was as unwearied as ever. One letter written in June 1573 by Kemp is very curious. Burghley’s mother was still alive, but, of course, very aged82. She appears to have become unduly113 penurious114 as to her garb115, and her son had ordered a dress for the old lady. The steward writes: “Mr. Thomas Cecil came home well, and my mistress, your mother, came to Burghley two hours before him. The gown that you would make, it must be for every day, and yet because it comes from you (except you write to her to the contrary) she will make it her holiday gown; whereof she hath great store already, both of silk and cloth. But I think, sir, if you make her one of cloth, with some velvet116 on it, with your letter to desire her for your sake to wear it daily, she would accustom117 herself to it; so as she would forget to go any longer in such base apparel as she hath used to have a delight in, which is too mean for one of a lower estate than she is.” The old lady also desired a chaplain for service twice a day; and by Burghley’s endorsement118 on the letter, it is evident that the gown and the chaplain were sent to her.
During the Queen’s great progress through Kent and Sussex in the autumn, Burghley attended her; and whilst the court was at Eridge, the Treasurer, not without difficulty, persuaded the Queen to accede119 to Mary Stuart’s request, through the Earl of Shrewsbury, that she should be allowed to visit the baths of Buxton, whither shortly afterwards Burghley himself went for his own malady,[377][294] and saw the unhappy Queen, whom on this occasion, at all events, he impressed not unfavourably.[378] During the Queen’s progress, which was on a more lavish120 scale even than usual,[379] a determined attempt was made—and, according to one of Mary Stuart’s letters from Buxton, not quite unsuccessfully—to arouse Elizabeth’s distrust of Burghley. Simultaneously121 there were sent to the Queen, to Burghley, to Bacon, and the principal courtiers and ecclesiastics122, another violent book printed in France against Burghley and the Lord Keeper. A copy was sent to the Queen by Lord Windsor, a refugee on the Continent, with great professions of attachment123, and hints evidently directed against Burghley, “although for my part, in mine opinion, I suppose he is too wise to be overtaken in many of those things which he is touched withal.”[380] Burghley received his copy from an unknown hand in Canterbury Cathedral precincts, where he was lodged124, and it appears quite to have upset his equanimity125. He wrote (11th September 1573) to the Archbishop (Parker) bitterly resenting the attack at such a time “by some domestic hidden scorpion126.” “If God and our consciences were not our defence and consolation127 against these pestilential darts128, we might well be weary of our lives.” Parker[295] returned “the mad book, so outrageously130 penned that malice hath made him blind. I judge it not worth an answer.” Bacon was less disturbed with the matter than his brother-in-law, and summarises the contents of the book as follows: “It consisteth of three points. Chiefly it is to change the religion that now is; 2nd, to establish the Scottish Queen’s party; and, 3rd, is an invective131 against us two. I like the conjunction of the matter, though I mislike the impudent132 lies of the author to maintain it.”
The accession of Morton to the Regency of Scotland had been followed by the complete collapse133 of Mary’s cause there. Killigrew was ready with English bribes134, and the Hamiltons and the Gordons were induced to abandon a hopeless struggle and lay down their arms. Only Kirkaldy of Grange held out, hoping against hope that the promised Guisan help would reach him in Edinburgh Castle. Once a large sum of French money for him was withheld135 by the treachery of Sir James Balfour, corrupt136 almost to the point of grotesqueness137; and thenceforward Kirkaldy, Lord Hume, and the rest of the party simply held out in the castle to save their lives. But when Drury with English troops crossed the Border and reinforced Morton, Kirkaldy surrendered to the English general, on promise of fair treatment. Morton insisted upon the prisoners being delivered to him, for whilst they lived, he said, there would be no safety for him or the State; and though Drury held out, Elizabeth at last gave way to Morton’s importunity138, and brave Kirkaldy and the rest of Mary’s staunch friends lost their heads. Thenceforward Mary Stuart’s cause was dead, so far as the Scottish people themselves were concerned. Morton nearly obtained the Bishop of Ross, too, from Elizabeth, but he was after all a sovereign’s Ambassador, and her Council dissuaded139 her from surrendering him.[296] On his abject141 submission142 and solemn promise never again to take part in public affairs,[381] he was allowed to go to France, to break his pledge at once, and become thenceforward an untiring agent for the furtherance of Spanish aims in England. Thus Scotland for a time, under so firm an English ally as Morton, ceased to cause active anxiety to Elizabeth and her minister.
Alba, sick of his sanguinary failure, was replaced in Flanders by a more diplomatic Governor (Requesens) late in 1573. Though De Guaras in London continued humbly143 to imitate De Spes, and immersed himself in intrigues, such as that of the English captains who proposed to betray Flushing, the plans of those who offered to kill the Prince of Orange, to kidnap the young King of Scotland, and the like, many of these plans were merely traps set by Burghley to learn how far the Spaniards were willing to go; and they came to nothing, for of all things Philip needed peace the most. Alba and the war party in Spain were in disgrace, the commerce of the country was almost destroyed by the privateers, and friendly relations with England were once more the great object of Philip’s policy. Burghley also renewed his efforts to draw the countries closer together, for reasons which will presently be stated. A great delivery of Catholics from prison was made mainly at his instance, and drew upon him remonstrances146 and attacks, both on the part of some of the Bishops147 themselves, in a guarded fashion, and more violently from the Puritans, now openly patronised by Leicester. Arising out of this, a great conspiracy was said to have been discovered against the lives of Archbishop Parker and Lord Burghley, on the part of one Undertree. The depositions148 of the accused, which are in the Hatfield Papers, are, as usual in such cases, full to the extent of diffuseness149; but though Parker was[297] much alarmed, and the affair gave Burghley an infinity150 of trouble, there does not appear to have been much importance really attached to it.
The key to Burghley’s milder attitude towards the Catholics—apart from the disappearance151 of Mary Stuart’s party in Scotland—was the position of affairs in France. The talk of Elizabeth’s marriage with Alen?on had continued uninterruptedly, drawn152 out with a thousand banalities as to the possibility of secret meetings between the lovers, the depth and number of pock holes on the suitor’s face, his personal qualities, his religious elasticity153, and the like. His brother, Charles IX., was only twenty-four, but it was known that he could not live long; the heir, Anjou, now King of Poland, was a furious and fanatical Catholic. With the knowledge of Elizabeth and her minister, all France was enveloped154 in a vast conspiracy, in which the Montmorencis and the “politicians” were making common cause with the Huguenots, of which combination Alen?on was the figurehead. But Catharine de Medici was fully26 aware of the fact, and was determined to frustrate155 it. With Anjou for King she might still be supreme in France; whereas the rise of Alen?on, under the tutelage of the Huguenots and the Queen of England, would have meant extinction156 for her. Several times before Charles died, Alen?on and the Princes of Navarre and Condé had tried to escape to England, but Catharine held them tight, and never left them. Montgomerie was waiting for the signal, with a strong fleet in the Channel, to swoop157 down upon Normandy, and all the Protestants and anti-Guisans in France were under arms. The mine was to burst in April, the Princes were to be rescued forcibly from Catharine, and St. Bartholomew was to be avenged158. But the Queen-mother was on the alert. Just before the day fixed159 she hurried away from St. Germains to[298] Catholic Paris, clapped Alen?on and Navarre, Montmorenci, De Cossé, and all the chiefs into prison, and then crushed the Protestant armies piecemeal160, for they were leaderless and far apart. When, therefore, Charles IX. died (30th May 1574), Catharine was mistress of the situation, and held France in her hand until the new King, Henry III., arrived, to take possession of the throne. With such a sovereign as this in France, led by Catharine, who had her grudge161 to satisfy against Elizabeth for the encouragement she had given to the Princes, it was natural that Burghley should again smile somewhat upon the Catholics, and say civil words to Spain; especially as panic-stricken rumours162 came—though they were untrue—that Philip was fitting out a great navy to send with a powerful force to Flanders.[382] Catholic Flanders, moreover, had mostly been brought back to Spanish allegiance by the mildness of Requesens; and Elizabeth was growing less willing to continue to provide large sums of money to uphold Orange in what now appeared to be a well-nigh desperate cause, if it had to be supported entirely from England. So when Requesens’ envoys163 came to see her about the regulation of trade, and the exclusion164 of the privateers from her ports, she was all smiles; and although upon being appealed to, to allow English mercenaries to serve the Spaniards in Flanders as they served Orange, she refused, though[299] not very firmly, she expressed her desire to bring Orange to submit to the King of Spain. Once more, therefore, an unrestrained Catholic regime in France inevitably165 drew England and Spain closer together. It was only when the Huguenots were paramount166, who would not join Philip against England, or help the Catholics of Scotland, that Elizabeth and Burghley could afford to disregard the friendship of the King of Spain.
The behaviour of the young sovereign of France—no longer a king, but a besotted monk167, sunk into the deepest abyss of debauchery and superstition—kept alive the discontent of the Huguenots and “politicians,” who had regarded his accession with horror. Alen?on and the King held rival courts in Paris, the one surrounded by reformers, the other by all that was retrograde and vicious. Cardinal Lorraine was dead, and the King’s advisers168 were no longer statesmen, but mendicant169 friars and the Italian time-servers of the Queen-mother: Henry of Guise38 was just entering into the arena170, and was already a popular idol171; and all seemed to portend172 a renewal of French activity in favour of Mary Stuart.[383] Elizabeth therefore went out of her way to dazzle poor foolish De Guaras again. Seeing him walking in Richmond Park, she called him to her, and[300] exerted all her witchery upon him (March 1575). “You understand,” she said, “full well, old wine, old bread, and old friends should be prized the most, and if only for the sake of showing these Frenchmen who are wrangling173 as to whether our friendship is firm or not, there is good reason to prove outwardly the kind feeling which inwardly exists.”[384] She accused the poor man, quite coquettishly, of having received a token from the Queen of Scots—which he had not—but ended by quite winning him over by her prattle174. Almost simultaneously with this, strict orders were given to the Warden175 of the Cinque Ports “to prevent the landing of the Prince of Orange, or any of his aiders or abettors in the conspiracy against the King of Spain, and also to prevent their receiving any aid, succour, or relief, in men, armour176, or victuals177.”[385]
Considering that the revolt in Holland had been mainly kept up from England, this was indeed a complete change of policy; but more was behind it even than appeared. Many of the Catholic refugees on the Continent were spies in the service of Lord Burghley, to whom nearly all of them appealed as their only hope and protector, and one of them particularly, named Woodshaw,[386] who was deep in the confidence of La Motte, the Spanish Governor of Gravelines. The latter suggested that, as war between France and England was in the air, it would be a good plan for the English to seize Calais or Boulogne, with the aid of the Spaniards, and come to terms with Philip to prevent any aid or food reaching the French from Flanders or Artois. This was conveyed to Burghley, and soon Sir William Drury,[301] Colonel Chester, and several of the officers who had come from Holland, were in close conference daily with him and the other Councillors remaining in London when the Queen went upon her summer progress. De Guaras, whilst reporting their movements, was in the dark as to their object. “During the last three days,” he says, “at night or at unsuspected hours, they have taken from the Tower sixty waggons178 and gun carriages, which have been shipped to Dover.” Guns, battery-trains, culverins, fieldpieces, and ammunition179 were being shipped on four of the Queen’s ships at Rochester. Mariners were being pressed, commanders were leaving secretly for the coast, Burghley’s son-in-law the Earl of Oxford, with Ralph Hopton and young Montmorenci, hurried off to Germany, and the Huguenot agents were closeted with Burghley almost day and night. We know now what it all meant, by a letter from the Earl of Sussex to Lord Burghley,[387] in which he deplores180 the projected war with Catholic France, which, he says, is only brought about by those who wish to prevent the Queen’s marriage with Alen?on. “It will bring her into war with all Europe, and she and the realm will smart for the pleasing of these men’s humours.” The cost of the war, he says, was to be defrayed equally by the King of Navarre (Henry), the German princes, and the Queen; “but he fears her Majesty in the end must pay for all, or let all fall when she hath put her foot in.”
Wilkes, the Clerk of the Council, was sent with a large sum of money to young Montmorenci (Meru) in Strasbourg, and then over the Rhine to the Duke Hans Casimir, the great mercenary; and Meru was able to write to Burghley in October, “Thanks to the Queen’s favour by your means, we are now on the point of succeeding. One of the finest armies that for twenty years hath issued[302] from Germany, ready to march, is coming just in time to succour the King’s brother.”[388] All through the summer De Guaras was at fault as to the meaning of the preparations, which he thought might be a joint expedition against the Spaniards in Flanders. As we have seen, the very opposite really was the case. Some of the principal English officers, indeed, who had been with Orange were full of plots with De Guaras for poisoning the Prince, for betraying Flushing into Spanish hands, and so forth32. For the moment there were certainly no smiles from Elizabeth for the Netherlanders; for Orange had taken a masterly step, such as she herself might have conceived. When he saw that English help was slackening, he boldly made approaches to France for help. So long as it was Huguenot help under her control, Elizabeth did not mind; but when it was a question of marrying Orange’s daughter to Alen?on or some other French prince, and obtaining French national patronage181, it was quite another matter—that Elizabeth would never allow. So England and Spain grew closer and closer. Sir Henry Cobham was sent as an envoy to Philip, ostensibly on the question of the English prisoners of the Inquisition, but really to propose a friendship between the two countries, and inform the King of the Prince of Orange’s intrigues with the French.[389] A Spanish flotilla on its way to the Netherlands, under Don Pedro de Valdés, was, moreover, welcomed in the English ports, and an envoy from Requesens took part, as the Queen’s guest, in the memorable182 festivities at Kenilworth.
A renewed appeal was made to the Council by Orange in August, through Colonel Chester. He offered the island[303] of Zeeland to Elizabeth, if she would hold it, and begged permission to raise two thousand fresh men in England. The reply given by Burghley was to the effect that “if the Queen allowed such a thing, the King of Spain would have a good cause for introducing schism183 and fire into her country through Ireland. If Orange carried out his threat to hand over the territory to the French, the Queen would oppose it.” Every day some fresh proof of friendship with Spain was given. Frobisher proposed to place his fleet at the disposal of the King of Spain, proclamations were issued forbidding all British subjects from taking service with Orange, and offers of mediation184 were frequent. In September 1575, Alen?on managed to escape the vigilance of his brother and his mother, fled to Dreux, adopted the Huguenot cause, and headed the revolt with Henry of Navarre. This was the eventuality in which the English preparations were to have been employed. But, again, Catharine de Medici was too clever to be caught. She suddenly released Montmorenci and the rest of the “politicians” from the Bastile, attached them to the King’s cause, and through them patched up a six months’ truce185 between the two brothers (November). The terms were hard for Henry. Alen?on was bribed186 with 100,000 livres, and the three rich duchies of Anjou, Berri, and Touraine; Hans Casimir got 300,000 crowns, and a pension of 40,000 livres; the German mercenaries were handsomely paid to go home; Condé was promised the governorship of Picardy; the Montmorencis, De Cossé, the Chatillons, and the rest of the malcontents were bought; the crown jewels of France were pawned187, and the country plunged188 deeply in debt to pay for the famous truce.
Then Elizabeth and her advisers found themselves confronted with increased difficulties, as they usually did when the Catholics in France had a free hand. Catharine[304] and the King saw that France was not big enough to hold at the same time the sovereign and the heir presumptive, and cast about for means to get rid of him profitably. The best suggestion for them came from the Walloon nobles in favour of Spain. Why should not Alen?on marry a daughter of the Spanish King and be made Viceroy of Spanish Flanders? The mere144 whisper of such an arrangement drove Elizabeth into a new course. She might hint, as she did pretty broadly many times, at the marriage of the young Prince with herself, but Alen?on thought he saw more advantage elsewhere. For the next three years he was held tightly in the leading-strings of his mother and brother—no longer a Huguenot, but an ostentatiously devout189 Catholic, hating the King and his surroundings bitterly; jealous, vengeful, and turbulent, but looking for his future to the Catholics and the League rather than to the Queen of England, with whom he kept up just a sufficient pretence of love-making to prevent her from opposing him in Flanders. It was doubly necessary now for Elizabeth to be friendly with Spain; but she could not afford to see Orange utterly190 crushed, for with the Huguenots and Protestant Holland both subdued191, there was no barrier between her and Catholic vengeance192. The position was a perplexing one for her. Orange sent over prayers almost daily for help, or he must abandon the struggle. At one time, in December, when the Queen learned that a great deputation of Dutch Protestant nobles were on the way to offer her Holland and Zeeland in exchange for English support,[390] “she entered her chamber alone, slamming the door after her, and crying out that they were ruining her over this business. She declared loudly that she would have no[305] forces sent openly to Holland. She was in such grief that her ladies threatened to burst her door open if she would not admit them, as they could not bear her to be alone in such trouble.”[391] But loudly as she might protest, especially in the hearing of the friends of Spain, and roughly as she might use St. Aldegonde, Paul Buiz, and the rest of the Netherlanders who prayed for aid, she took care, with Burghley’s help, to look fixedly193 in another direction when men and arms, munitions194 and money, were sent over to Orange in violation195 of her own orders.
What Lord Burghley’s action in the matter was is seen by his letters. Beale, one of the clerks of the Council, was sent over to Zeeland to report on Orange’s position, and to insist upon the suppression of piracy66. Burghley thus writes to Walsingham (16th April 1576): “I have perused196 all the letters and memorandum197 of Mr. Beale’s concerning his voyage into Zeeland, and so well allow of the whole course therein taken by the Lords, that both with heart and hand I sign them.”[392] The Flushing pirates appear to have offered some insult to the Earl of Oxford, Burghley’s son-in-law, on his way to England, at which the Treasurer was extremely angry,[393] an unusual thing[306] with him. In the same letter he writes: “I find it hard to make a good distinction between anger and judgment198 for Lord Oxford’s misusage, and especially when I look into the universal barbarism of the Prince’s (Orange) force of Flushingers, who are only a rabble199 of common pirates, or worse, who make no difference whom they outrage129, I mistrust any good issue of the cause, though of itself it should be favoured.” He almost violently urges that Beale should ask the Prince of Orange to avenge such an insult “by hanging some of the principals.” “Such an outrage cannot be condoned200 without five or six of such thieves being hanged. If the Prince were rid of a hundred of them it would be better for the cause. You see my anger leadeth my judgment. But I am not truly more moved hereto for particular causes than for the public.”[394] The same day a very strong remonstrance145 from the English Council was written to Orange, saying that the piracy of the Flushing men was rendering140 his cause odious201 to all Christendom, and would ruin his enterprise.
The Netherlanders, especially Paul Buiz, who lodged[307] with Burghley’s servant, Herll, in Redcross Street, did their best to excuse the Flushingers, and begged that “these rough men be not roughly dealt with.” It is evident that they looked upon Leicester and the Puritans as their champions rather than moderate Burghley, whose approaches to Spain at the time were, of course, well known. Herll writes (14th March 1576): “It is given out by those of good sort who profess7 the religion, that your Lordship has been the only obstacle to this Holland service, by dissuading202 her Majesty from the enterprise, when the Earl of Leicester and several earnest friends were furtherers thereof. They complain that these poor men who were sent to the Queen have been, contrary to promise, kept by indirect dealing203 so long here, to their utter undoing204 at home and abroad. They say that Sir F. Walsingham dealt honestly with them from the first. He said they would get nothing, and lose their time. They say these unworthy proceedings206 with foreign nations make the English the most hated men in the world, and to be contemned207 for mere abusers, as those who put on religion and piety208 and justice for a cloak to serve humours withal. Your Lordship’s enemies, however, are compelled to say that you are more subject to evil judgment for your good service than for evil itself.” When Herll spoke209 to Paul Buiz about Burghley’s anger at the outrage on Lord Oxford, the Netherlander “struck his breast, and said your Lordship was the only man who had dealt sincerely with them, and truly favoured their cause, and yet was forced to give them hard words, according to the alterations210 of the time, parties, and occasion, which kind of free proceeding205 he preferred of all others.”[395]
A few months later (August) Herll was made the means of conveying to Colonel Chester, then with Orange,[308] Lord Burghley’s view of the situation. “Her Majesty,” he says, “is so moved by those insolent211 delinges of the Prynce and his Zeelanders, as none dare move her to ani consideratyon towards theme, butt212 all is sett uppon revenge of their lewd213 acts and worse speche, and to extermynate them owt of the world, rather than endure it ani longer. And where the Prynce pretends aid owt of France, he dawnceth in a nett. If he se not that, her Majesty knows the contrary, and that herein he is greatly abused, or seeketh to abuse others, with small credit to hymselfe and less assurans to his estate when this maske is taken away.”[396] The great indignation about the pirates may or may not have been sincere; but it is unquestionable that it was the fear expressed of an arrangement between Orange and the French that really caused the disquietude.[397] The remedy to be proposed to Orange by Chester was simply that he, Orange, should prevent any repetition of the piratical outrages214 of the Flushing men, and apologise for them, and his friends in England will move the Queen “to help him underhand; but to[309] say that her Majesty will be forced to do anything, maugre her will, is a great absurdity215.” But if Orange will open his eyes and see things as they are, “somewhat (yea, some round portion) will be voluntarily given to the assistance of the cause, and to aid both Zeeland and Holland, especially the latter, to which country the Queen and her Council are greatly inclined.” Orange was a diplomatist as keen as Burghley himself, and he well knew that, as a last resource, he could always force the hands of the English Government by negotiating for aid from France. Elizabeth might swear at his envoys, make friends with his enemies the Spaniards, threaten to expend216 the last man and the last shilling she had to turn the French out of Flanders, if ever they entered; but she always ended in sending aid “underhand” to Orange to prevent his union with the French; unless, as happened later, the French were Huguenots disowned by their own King, and going as her humble42 servants.
Leicester was for ever clamouring for open help to be sent to Orange; the Puritans, who took their cue from him, were more aggressive than ever in the country;[398] but ready as the Queen might be to dally217 Leicester, she took care to make no serious move in the knotty218 question of the Netherlands without the advice of her “spirit,” as she nicknamed the great Lord Treasurer.[399] In spite of his almost continual illness, she[310] summoned him to her, wherever she might be; and at about the period when the letters just quoted were written, the Earl of Sussex writes saying that the Queen has just received intelligence from beyond the seas which she must discuss with him at once. When Burghley had seen the Queen, either on that occasion or soon after, and returned home, Sussex writes thus: “Her Majesty spoke honourably219 of your Lordship’s deserts, and of her affection for you, and of your sound, deep judgment and counsel; using these words, ‘that no prince in Europe had such a councillor as she had of him.’ If your Lordship had heard her speeches, they must needs have been to your great contentment. The end of her Majesty’s speeches was that she prayed your Lordship to come to Nonsuch, as soon as you conveniently might.”
Burghley, indeed, was the only one of her ministers whom she treated with anything approaching respect, for he always respected himself. Walsingham, especially, was the object of her vulgar abuse. “Scurvy knave” and “rogue” were the terms she frequently applied to him; and it was apparently220 not at all an uncommon221 thing for her, in moments of impatience222 with him, to pluck off her high-heeled shoe and fling it in his face. Leicester she alternately petted and insulted. After a squabble he used to sulk at Wanstead for a few days, till she softened223 and commanded him to return, and then the comedy recommenced. Hatton and Heneage were treated in similar fashion, but with even less consideration. Only towards the Lord Treasurer, except for occasional fits of distrust caused by his enemies, the Queen usually behaved with decorum. How careful he was to avoid all cause for doubt is seen[311] by his answer to Lord Shrewsbury’s offer of his son as a husband for one of Burghley’s daughters.[400] It will be recollected224 that Lord Shrewsbury had the custody225 of the Queen of Scots, and that Burghley had fallen into semi-disgrace shortly before, because he had visited Buxton at the same time as Mary and her keeper. The match proposed was a good one, and the Lord Treasurer—a new noble—was flattered and pleased at the offer, but declined it, mainly because his enemies had put into the Queen’s head that he had gone to Buxton at the instance of the Shrewsburys, to plot in favour of Mary; “and hereof at my return to her Majesty’s presence, I had very sharp reproofs226 … with plain charging of me for favouring the Queen of Scots, and that in so earnest sort, as I never looked for, knowing my integrity to her Majesty, but specially24 knowing how contrariously the Queen of Scots conceived of me for many things.” He continues his letter with an evidently sincere protest of his loyalty227 and disinterestedness228, and the absence in him of any personal feeling against Mary, but declares his determination to do his best, at all costs, to frustrate any attempted injury against his mistress or her realm.
Notwithstanding this small cloud, Burghley went again to Buxton in 1577. A somewhat curious letter from Leicester, who went to Buxton before him in June, shows that the Lord Treasurer’s mode of life was not always prudent108. Leicester says that he and his brother are[312] benefiting greatly from the water. “We observe our physician’s orders diligently229, and find great pleasure both in drinking and bathing in the water. I think it would be good for your Lordship, but not if you do as we hear your Lordship did last time: taking great journeys abroad ten or twelve miles a day, and using liberal diet with company dinners and suppers. We take another way, dining two or three together, having but one dish of meat at most, and taking the air afoot or on horseback moderately.”[401] In July (1577) Burghley started from Theobalds for his Lincolnshire estates, and thence to Buxton. Leicester wrote to him there that the Queen was desirous of receiving a “tun of Buxton water in hogsheads;” but when in due time the water arrived, “her Majesty seemeth not to make any great account of it. And yet she more than twice or thrice commanded me earnestly to write to you for it, and … asked me sundry230 times whether I had remembered it or not: but it seems her Majesty doth mistrust it will not be of the goodness here it is there; besides, somebody told her there was some bruit231 of it about, as though her Majesty had had some sore leg. Such like devices made her half angry with me now for sending to you for it.”[402] This hint of her sore leg was enough to make Elizabeth sacrifice a river of Buxton water if necessary. She, like her father before her, really had an issue in one of her legs, and there was no point upon which she was more sensitive.
点击收听单词发音
1 massacre | |
n.残杀,大屠杀;v.残杀,集体屠杀 | |
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2 jealousy | |
n.妒忌,嫉妒,猜忌 | |
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3 treasurer | |
n.司库,财务主管 | |
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4 disastrously | |
ad.灾难性地 | |
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5 commissioners | |
n.专员( commissioner的名词复数 );长官;委员;政府部门的长官 | |
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6 curtly | |
adv.简短地 | |
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7 profess | |
v.声称,冒称,以...为业,正式接受入教,表明信仰 | |
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8 mar | |
vt.破坏,毁坏,弄糟 | |
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9 helping | |
n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的,辅助的 | |
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10 smallpox | |
n.天花 | |
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11 reverence | |
n.敬畏,尊敬,尊严;Reverence:对某些基督教神职人员的尊称;v.尊敬,敬畏,崇敬 | |
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12 courageous | |
adj.勇敢的,有胆量的 | |
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13 applied | |
adj.应用的;v.应用,适用 | |
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14 plied | |
v.使用(工具)( ply的过去式和过去分词 );经常供应(食物、饮料);固定往来;经营生意 | |
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15 chamber | |
n.房间,寝室;会议厅;议院;会所 | |
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16 mariners | |
海员,水手(mariner的复数形式) | |
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17 renewal | |
adj.(契约)延期,续订,更新,复活,重来 | |
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18 backwards | |
adv.往回地,向原处,倒,相反,前后倒置地 | |
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19 amiability | |
n.和蔼可亲的,亲切的,友善的 | |
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20 concord | |
n.和谐;协调 | |
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21 supreme | |
adj.极度的,最重要的;至高的,最高的 | |
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22 eloquence | |
n.雄辩;口才,修辞 | |
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23 privately | |
adv.以私人的身份,悄悄地,私下地 | |
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24 specially | |
adv.特定地;特殊地;明确地 | |
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25 persuasive | |
adj.有说服力的,能说得使人相信的 | |
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26 fully | |
adv.完全地,全部地,彻底地;充分地 | |
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27 decided | |
adj.决定了的,坚决的;明显的,明确的 | |
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28 mediate | |
vi.调解,斡旋;vt.经调解解决;经斡旋促成 | |
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29 negotiation | |
n.谈判,协商 | |
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30 secondly | |
adv.第二,其次 | |
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31 pending | |
prep.直到,等待…期间;adj.待定的;迫近的 | |
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32 forth | |
adv.向前;向外,往外 | |
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33 pretence | |
n.假装,作假;借口,口实;虚伪;虚饰 | |
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34 thither | |
adv.向那里;adj.在那边的,对岸的 | |
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35 demonstrations | |
证明( demonstration的名词复数 ); 表明; 表达; 游行示威 | |
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36 countenance | |
n.脸色,面容;面部表情;vt.支持,赞同 | |
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37 guises | |
n.外观,伪装( guise的名词复数 )v.外观,伪装( guise的第三人称单数 ) | |
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38 guise | |
n.外表,伪装的姿态 | |
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39 intrigue | |
vt.激起兴趣,迷住;vi.耍阴谋;n.阴谋,密谋 | |
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40 intrigues | |
n.密谋策划( intrigue的名词复数 );神秘气氛;引人入胜的复杂情节v.搞阴谋诡计( intrigue的第三人称单数 );激起…的好奇心 | |
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41 humbled | |
adj. 卑下的,谦逊的,粗陋的 vt. 使 ... 卑下,贬低 | |
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42 humble | |
adj.谦卑的,恭顺的;地位低下的;v.降低,贬低 | |
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43 negotiations | |
协商( negotiation的名词复数 ); 谈判; 完成(难事); 通过 | |
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44 favourable | |
adj.赞成的,称赞的,有利的,良好的,顺利的 | |
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45 previously | |
adv.以前,先前(地) | |
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46 harry | |
vt.掠夺,蹂躏,使苦恼 | |
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47 avenge | |
v.为...复仇,为...报仇 | |
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48 regiments | |
(军队的)团( regiment的名词复数 ); 大量的人或物 | |
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49 rebellious | |
adj.造反的,反抗的,难控制的 | |
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50 dominions | |
统治权( dominion的名词复数 ); 领土; 疆土; 版图 | |
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51 advent | |
n.(重要事件等的)到来,来临 | |
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52 bishop | |
n.主教,(国际象棋)象 | |
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53 cardinal | |
n.(天主教的)红衣主教;adj.首要的,基本的 | |
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54 obloquy | |
n.斥责,大骂 | |
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55 wrought | |
v.引起;以…原料制作;运转;adj.制造的 | |
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56 peril | |
n.(严重的)危险;危险的事物 | |
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57 assent | |
v.批准,认可;n.批准,认可 | |
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58 chivalrous | |
adj.武士精神的;对女人彬彬有礼的 | |
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59 envoy | |
n.使节,使者,代表,公使 | |
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60 brink | |
n.(悬崖、河流等的)边缘,边沿 | |
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61 judicially | |
依法判决地,公平地 | |
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62 extirpation | |
n.消灭,根除,毁灭;摘除 | |
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63 frustrating | |
adj.产生挫折的,使人沮丧的,令人泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的现在分词 );挫败;使受挫折;令人沮丧 | |
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64 diabolical | |
adj.恶魔似的,凶暴的 | |
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65 conspiracy | |
n.阴谋,密谋,共谋 | |
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66 piracy | |
n.海盗行为,剽窃,著作权侵害 | |
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67 turpitude | |
n.可耻;邪恶 | |
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68 scurrilously | |
adv.粗俗地;下流地,粗野无礼地 | |
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69 amend | |
vt.修改,修订,改进;n.[pl.]赔罪,赔偿 | |
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70 malice | |
n.恶意,怨恨,蓄意;[律]预谋 | |
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71 malicious | |
adj.有恶意的,心怀恶意的 | |
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72 malignant | |
adj.恶性的,致命的;恶意的,恶毒的 | |
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73 torment | |
n.折磨;令人痛苦的东西(人);vt.折磨;纠缠 | |
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74 ignominiously | |
adv.耻辱地,屈辱地,丢脸地 | |
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75 entirely | |
ad.全部地,完整地;完全地,彻底地 | |
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76 secular | |
n.牧师,凡人;adj.世俗的,现世的,不朽的 | |
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77 pretext | |
n.借口,托词 | |
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78 imminent | |
adj.即将发生的,临近的,逼近的 | |
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79 perils | |
极大危险( peril的名词复数 ); 危险的事(或环境) | |
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80 majesty | |
n.雄伟,壮丽,庄严,威严;最高权威,王权 | |
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81 liking | |
n.爱好;嗜好;喜欢 | |
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82 aged | |
adj.年老的,陈年的 | |
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83 blemish | |
v.损害;玷污;瑕疵,缺点 | |
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84 preservation | |
n.保护,维护,保存,保留,保持 | |
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85 joint | |
adj.联合的,共同的;n.关节,接合处;v.连接,贴合 | |
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86 chancellorship | |
长官的职位或任期 | |
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87 controversy | |
n.争论,辩论,争吵 | |
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88 tract | |
n.传单,小册子,大片(土地或森林) | |
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89 antagonism | |
n.对抗,敌对,对立 | |
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90 determined | |
adj.坚定的;有决心的 | |
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91 disabused | |
v.去除…的错误想法( disabuse的过去式和过去分词 );使醒悟 | |
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92 hierarchy | |
n.等级制度;统治集团,领导层 | |
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93 admonished | |
v.劝告( admonish的过去式和过去分词 );训诫;(温和地)责备;轻责 | |
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94 privy | |
adj.私用的;隐密的 | |
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95 arbiter | |
n.仲裁人,公断人 | |
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96 insistence | |
n.坚持;强调;坚决主张 | |
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97 obedience | |
n.服从,顺从 | |
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98 prescriptions | |
药( prescription的名词复数 ); 处方; 开处方; 计划 | |
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99 lining | |
n.衬里,衬料 | |
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100 bickering | |
v.争吵( bicker的现在分词 );口角;(水等)作潺潺声;闪烁 | |
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101 craved | |
渴望,热望( crave的过去式 ); 恳求,请求 | |
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102 factions | |
组织中的小派别,派系( faction的名词复数 ) | |
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103 feud | |
n.长期不和;世仇;v.长期争斗;世代结仇 | |
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104 amorous | |
adj.多情的;有关爱情的 | |
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105 flirting | |
v.调情,打情骂俏( flirt的现在分词 ) | |
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106 Oxford | |
n.牛津(英国城市) | |
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107 folly | |
n.愚笨,愚蠢,蠢事,蠢行,傻话 | |
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108 prudent | |
adj.谨慎的,有远见的,精打细算的 | |
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109 condemned | |
adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词 | |
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110 philandering | |
v.调戏,玩弄女性( philander的现在分词 ) | |
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111 meddle | |
v.干预,干涉,插手 | |
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112 steward | |
n.乘务员,服务员;看管人;膳食管理员 | |
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113 unduly | |
adv.过度地,不适当地 | |
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114 penurious | |
adj.贫困的 | |
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115 garb | |
n.服装,装束 | |
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116 velvet | |
n.丝绒,天鹅绒;adj.丝绒制的,柔软的 | |
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117 accustom | |
vt.使适应,使习惯 | |
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118 endorsement | |
n.背书;赞成,认可,担保;签(注),批注 | |
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119 accede | |
v.应允,同意 | |
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120 lavish | |
adj.无节制的;浪费的;vt.慷慨地给予,挥霍 | |
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121 simultaneously | |
adv.同时发生地,同时进行地 | |
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122 ecclesiastics | |
n.神职者,教会,牧师( ecclesiastic的名词复数 ) | |
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123 attachment | |
n.附属物,附件;依恋;依附 | |
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124 lodged | |
v.存放( lodge的过去式和过去分词 );暂住;埋入;(权利、权威等)归属 | |
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125 equanimity | |
n.沉着,镇定 | |
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126 scorpion | |
n.蝎子,心黑的人,蝎子鞭 | |
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127 consolation | |
n.安慰,慰问 | |
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128 darts | |
n.掷飞镖游戏;飞镖( dart的名词复数 );急驰,飞奔v.投掷,投射( dart的第三人称单数 );向前冲,飞奔 | |
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129 outrage | |
n.暴行,侮辱,愤怒;vt.凌辱,激怒 | |
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130 outrageously | |
凶残地; 肆无忌惮地; 令人不能容忍地; 不寻常地 | |
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131 invective | |
n.痛骂,恶意抨击 | |
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132 impudent | |
adj.鲁莽的,卑鄙的,厚颜无耻的 | |
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133 collapse | |
vi.累倒;昏倒;倒塌;塌陷 | |
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134 bribes | |
n.贿赂( bribe的名词复数 );向(某人)行贿,贿赂v.贿赂( bribe的第三人称单数 );向(某人)行贿,贿赂 | |
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135 withheld | |
withhold过去式及过去分词 | |
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136 corrupt | |
v.贿赂,收买;adj.腐败的,贪污的 | |
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137 grotesqueness | |
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138 importunity | |
n.硬要,强求 | |
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139 dissuaded | |
劝(某人)勿做某事,劝阻( dissuade的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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140 rendering | |
n.表现,描写 | |
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141 abject | |
adj.极可怜的,卑屈的 | |
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142 submission | |
n.服从,投降;温顺,谦虚;提出 | |
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143 humbly | |
adv. 恭顺地,谦卑地 | |
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144 mere | |
adj.纯粹的;仅仅,只不过 | |
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145 remonstrance | |
n抗议,抱怨 | |
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146 remonstrances | |
n.抱怨,抗议( remonstrance的名词复数 ) | |
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147 bishops | |
(基督教某些教派管辖大教区的)主教( bishop的名词复数 ); (国际象棋的)象 | |
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148 depositions | |
沉积(物)( deposition的名词复数 ); (在法庭上的)宣誓作证; 处置; 罢免 | |
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149 diffuseness | |
漫射,扩散 | |
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150 infinity | |
n.无限,无穷,大量 | |
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151 disappearance | |
n.消失,消散,失踪 | |
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152 drawn | |
v.拖,拉,拔出;adj.憔悴的,紧张的 | |
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153 elasticity | |
n.弹性,伸缩力 | |
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154 enveloped | |
v.包围,笼罩,包住( envelop的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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155 frustrate | |
v.使失望;使沮丧;使厌烦 | |
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156 extinction | |
n.熄灭,消亡,消灭,灭绝,绝种 | |
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157 swoop | |
n.俯冲,攫取;v.抓取,突然袭击 | |
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158 avenged | |
v.为…复仇,报…之仇( avenge的过去式和过去分词 );为…报复 | |
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159 fixed | |
adj.固定的,不变的,准备好的;(计算机)固定的 | |
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160 piecemeal | |
adj.零碎的;n.片,块;adv.逐渐地;v.弄成碎块 | |
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161 grudge | |
n.不满,怨恨,妒嫉;vt.勉强给,不情愿做 | |
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162 rumours | |
n.传闻( rumour的名词复数 );风闻;谣言;谣传 | |
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163 envoys | |
使节( envoy的名词复数 ); 公使; 谈判代表; 使节身份 | |
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164 exclusion | |
n.拒绝,排除,排斥,远足,远途旅行 | |
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165 inevitably | |
adv.不可避免地;必然发生地 | |
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166 paramount | |
a.最重要的,最高权力的 | |
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167 monk | |
n.和尚,僧侣,修道士 | |
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168 advisers | |
顾问,劝告者( adviser的名词复数 ); (指导大学新生学科问题等的)指导教授 | |
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169 mendicant | |
n.乞丐;adj.行乞的 | |
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170 arena | |
n.竞技场,运动场所;竞争场所,舞台 | |
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171 idol | |
n.偶像,红人,宠儿 | |
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172 portend | |
v.预兆,预示;给…以警告 | |
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173 wrangling | |
v.争吵,争论,口角( wrangle的现在分词 ) | |
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174 prattle | |
n.闲谈;v.(小孩般)天真无邪地说话;发出连续而无意义的声音 | |
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175 warden | |
n.监察员,监狱长,看守人,监护人 | |
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176 armour | |
(=armor)n.盔甲;装甲部队 | |
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177 victuals | |
n.食物;食品 | |
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178 waggons | |
四轮的运货马车( waggon的名词复数 ); 铁路货车; 小手推车 | |
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179 ammunition | |
n.军火,弹药 | |
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180 deplores | |
v.悲叹,痛惜,强烈反对( deplore的第三人称单数 ) | |
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181 patronage | |
n.赞助,支援,援助;光顾,捧场 | |
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182 memorable | |
adj.值得回忆的,难忘的,特别的,显著的 | |
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183 schism | |
n.分派,派系,分裂 | |
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184 mediation | |
n.调解 | |
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185 truce | |
n.休战,(争执,烦恼等的)缓和;v.以停战结束 | |
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186 bribed | |
v.贿赂( bribe的过去式和过去分词 );向(某人)行贿,贿赂 | |
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187 pawned | |
v.典当,抵押( pawn的过去式和过去分词 );以(某事物)担保 | |
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188 plunged | |
v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 );暴跌;骤降;突降 | |
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189 devout | |
adj.虔诚的,虔敬的,衷心的 (n.devoutness) | |
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190 utterly | |
adv.完全地,绝对地 | |
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191 subdued | |
adj. 屈服的,柔和的,减弱的 动词subdue的过去式和过去分词 | |
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192 vengeance | |
n.报复,报仇,复仇 | |
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193 fixedly | |
adv.固定地;不屈地,坚定不移地 | |
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194 munitions | |
n.军火,弹药;v.供应…军需品 | |
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195 violation | |
n.违反(行为),违背(行为),侵犯 | |
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196 perused | |
v.读(某篇文字)( peruse的过去式和过去分词 );(尤指)细阅;审阅;匆匆读或心不在焉地浏览(某篇文字) | |
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197 memorandum | |
n.备忘录,便笺 | |
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198 judgment | |
n.审判;判断力,识别力,看法,意见 | |
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199 rabble | |
n.乌合之众,暴民;下等人 | |
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200 condoned | |
v.容忍,宽恕,原谅( condone的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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201 odious | |
adj.可憎的,讨厌的 | |
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202 dissuading | |
劝(某人)勿做某事,劝阻( dissuade的现在分词 ) | |
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203 dealing | |
n.经商方法,待人态度 | |
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204 undoing | |
n.毁灭的原因,祸根;破坏,毁灭 | |
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205 proceeding | |
n.行动,进行,(pl.)会议录,学报 | |
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206 proceedings | |
n.进程,过程,议程;诉讼(程序);公报 | |
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207 contemned | |
v.侮辱,蔑视( contemn的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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208 piety | |
n.虔诚,虔敬 | |
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209 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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210 alterations | |
n.改动( alteration的名词复数 );更改;变化;改变 | |
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211 insolent | |
adj.傲慢的,无理的 | |
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212 butt | |
n.笑柄;烟蒂;枪托;臀部;v.用头撞或顶 | |
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213 lewd | |
adj.淫荡的 | |
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214 outrages | |
引起…的义愤,激怒( outrage的第三人称单数 ) | |
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215 absurdity | |
n.荒谬,愚蠢;谬论 | |
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216 expend | |
vt.花费,消费,消耗 | |
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217 dally | |
v.荒废(时日),调情 | |
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218 knotty | |
adj.有结的,多节的,多瘤的,棘手的 | |
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219 honourably | |
adv.可尊敬地,光荣地,体面地 | |
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220 apparently | |
adv.显然地;表面上,似乎 | |
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221 uncommon | |
adj.罕见的,非凡的,不平常的 | |
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222 impatience | |
n.不耐烦,急躁 | |
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223 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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224 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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225 custody | |
n.监护,照看,羁押,拘留 | |
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226 reproofs | |
n.责备,责难,指责( reproof的名词复数 ) | |
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227 loyalty | |
n.忠诚,忠心 | |
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228 disinterestedness | |
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229 diligently | |
ad.industriously;carefully | |
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230 sundry | |
adj.各式各样的,种种的 | |
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231 bruit | |
v.散布;n.(听诊时所听到的)杂音;吵闹 | |
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