“The approaching coronation of the King and Queen seems to have awakened21 rather less enthusiasm in certain quarters than either the Jubilee22 or the Diamond Jubilee of her late Majesty23. It would be absurd to make much of the difference, but it does exist. In a word, the celebration of the event will be distinctly more official than the rejoicings over the two notable epochs of Queen Victoria’s later life. Two circumstances have helped to bring this about—the Royal proclamation of two successive holidays, and what is known in Scotland as the ‘numeral.’ They are both absolutely sentimental24 considerations, but they have had a slight influence. Trades councils, becoming ‘permeated’[197] with Socialism, protest against what they are pleased to call the ‘mummery’ in London, and the association of themselves therewith through local rejoicings, and the idea of losing two days’ pay in one week is just sufficient to arouse their resentment25, which some corporations have tried to appease26 by ignoring the proclamation, or applying it, on their own initiative, to one of the days only. The ‘numeral’ connotes the quasi-patriotic objection to the assumption of the title of King Edward VII. by his Majesty. Some Scotsmen persist in refusing to see that, in calling himself the Seventh Edward, the King neither intended to, nor did, insinuate27 that he was the seventh of that name who had reigned28 over the United Kingdom, and they declaim in grotesque29 fashion against the payment of any kind of homage30 to the Crown. Their insignificance31 is shown by the snub administered to them recently by the Convention of Burghs, which is nothing if it is not truly and characteristically Scottish: their influence is no less unmistakable[198] in the resolution of several public bodies to omit the ‘numeral’ from the inscription32 on their coronation medals, and in the untimely fits of economy that have overcome some local authorities not as a rule averse33 to feasting.”
It is the old tale over again. The Scotch braggart34 cry—“unconquered and unconquerable”—is made to rend19 the welkin whenever the opportunity serves. Edward the Seventh, of course, cannot be Edward the Seventh of Scotland. It would never do. Therefore the “numeral” must not appear on Scotch medals, and the rejoicings are to be as far as possible of an official character. The ululation over the loss of two days’ pay also is eminently35 Scotch. There is a time for work and a time for play, says the wise man; but the whey-faced Scot plays always with a certain disconsolateness36 because he feels that he is losing money all the time. The fact is, that Scottish life and Scottish manners are almost entirely37 dominated by the more evil traits of the Scotch character.[199] Independence and thrift38 must be read into everything the Scotchman does. Poverty-stricken, starveling pride has been the ruin of the Scottish people. It has made many of them sour, disagreeable, greedy, and disloyal; it has made some of them hypocrites and crafty39 rogues40; it has narrowed their minds and stunted41 their national development; it has made them a by-word and a mock in all the countries of the world, and it has brought them to opprobrium42 even among Turks and Chinamen.
The career of the Scotchman in England has been picturesquely43 summarised by Dr. Cunninghame Graham:
“In the blithe44 times of clans45 and moss-troopers [he says], when Jardines rode and Johnstones raised, when Grahams stole, McGregors plundered46, and Campbells prayed themselves into fat sinecures47, we were your enemies. In stricken fields you southern folks used to discomfit48 us by reason of your archers49 and your riders sheathed50 in steel. We on the borders had the vantage of you, as[200] you had cattle for us to steal, houses to burn, and money and valuables for us to carry off. We having none, you were not in a state to push retaliation51 in an effective way. Later, we sent an impecunious52 king to govern you, and with him went a train of ragged53 courtiers, all with authentic54 pedigrees but light of purse. From this time date the Sawnies and the Sandies, the calumnies55 about our cuticle56, and those which stated that we were so tender-hearted that we scrupled57 to deprive of life the smallest insect which we had about our clothes. You found our cheekbones out, saw our red hair, and noted58 that we blew our noses without a pocket-handkerchief, to save undue59 expense.… So far so good. But still you pushed discovery to whiskey, haggis, sneeshin, predestination, and all the other mysteries both of our cookery and our faith. The bagpipes60 burst upon you (with a skirl), and even Shakespeare set down things about them which I refrain from quoting, only because I do not wish to frighten gentlewomen.… King George[201] came in, in pudding time, and all was changed, and a new race of Scotsmen dawned on the English view. The ’15 and the ’45 sent out the Highlanders, rough-footed and with deerskin thongs62 tied round their heads, … they marched and conquered and made England reel, retreated, lost Culloden, and the mist received them back. But their brief passage altered your views again, and you perceived that Scotland was not all bailie, prayer-monger, merchant, and sanctimonious63 cheat.… Then Scott arose and threw a glamour64 over Scotland which was nearly all his own. True, we were poor, but then our poverty was so romantic, and we appeared fighting for home and haggis, for foolish native kings, for hills, for heather, freedom, and for all those things which Englishmen enjoy to read about, but which in actual life they take good care only themselves shall share. The pale-faced master and the Highland61 chief, the ruined gentleman, the swashbuckler, soldier, faithful servant, and the rest, he marked and made his[202] own, but then he looked about to find his counterfoil65, the low comedians66 without whose presence every tragedy must halt.
“Then came the Kailyarders, and said that Scott was Tory, Jacobite, unpatriotic, unpresbyterian, and they alone could draw the Scottish type. England believed them, and their large sale and cheap editions clinched67 it, and to-day a Scotchman stands confessed a sentimental fool, a canting cheat, a grave, sententious man, dressed in a ‘stan o’ black,’ oppressed with the tremendous difficulties of the jargon68 he is bound to speak, and, above all, weighed down with the responsibilities of being Scotch.”
As I have already mentioned, Dr. Cunninghame Graham is a Scot.
The whole truth about the Scotch relation with England is that the Scot is more than sensible of the advantage it brings him, but being by disposition69 wise as a serpent, he is afraid that if he did not pretend to deplore70 it, it might not last in its present comfortable unrestrictedness. Of course, this fear is entirely[203] baseless. The Englishman is too easy hearted to make laws against needy71 aliens whether from north of the Tweed or elsewhere. All the same, the Scot continues to howl on principle. He will not have our King, he will not have the “numeral,” to call him English or even include him under the term British is an indignity72 and an outrage73. The Act of union was a big mistake: the poor Scot has been trodden down forbye ever since, and altogether he is sorry that he is alive. And, for my own part, I am quite inclined to think that there is much to be said for the latter sentiment.
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1 merging | |
合并(分类) | |
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2 scotch | |
n.伤口,刻痕;苏格兰威士忌酒;v.粉碎,消灭,阻止;adj.苏格兰(人)的 | |
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3 lament | |
n.悲叹,悔恨,恸哭;v.哀悼,悔恨,悲叹 | |
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4 groans | |
n.呻吟,叹息( groan的名词复数 );呻吟般的声音v.呻吟( groan的第三人称单数 );发牢骚;抱怨;受苦 | |
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5 agitators | |
n.(尤指政治变革的)鼓动者( agitator的名词复数 );煽动者;搅拌器;搅拌机 | |
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6 truculent | |
adj.野蛮的,粗野的 | |
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7 disquiet | |
n.担心,焦虑 | |
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8 requisite | |
adj.需要的,必不可少的;n.必需品 | |
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9 demonstrations | |
证明( demonstration的名词复数 ); 表明; 表达; 游行示威 | |
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10 futile | |
adj.无效的,无用的,无希望的 | |
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11 grumbling | |
adj. 喃喃鸣不平的, 出怨言的 | |
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12 organisation | |
n.组织,安排,团体,有机休 | |
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13 profess | |
v.声称,冒称,以...为业,正式接受入教,表明信仰 | |
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14 reigning | |
adj.统治的,起支配作用的 | |
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15 monarch | |
n.帝王,君主,最高统治者 | |
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16 usurper | |
n. 篡夺者, 僭取者 | |
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17 gentry | |
n.绅士阶级,上层阶级 | |
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18 mere | |
adj.纯粹的;仅仅,只不过 | |
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19 rend | |
vt.把…撕开,割裂;把…揪下来,强行夺取 | |
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20 insolence | |
n.傲慢;无礼;厚颜;傲慢的态度 | |
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21 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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22 jubilee | |
n.周年纪念;欢乐 | |
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23 majesty | |
n.雄伟,壮丽,庄严,威严;最高权威,王权 | |
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24 sentimental | |
adj.多愁善感的,感伤的 | |
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25 resentment | |
n.怨愤,忿恨 | |
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26 appease | |
v.安抚,缓和,平息,满足 | |
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27 insinuate | |
vt.含沙射影地说,暗示 | |
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28 reigned | |
vi.当政,统治(reign的过去式形式) | |
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29 grotesque | |
adj.怪诞的,丑陋的;n.怪诞的图案,怪人(物) | |
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30 homage | |
n.尊敬,敬意,崇敬 | |
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31 insignificance | |
n.不重要;无价值;无意义 | |
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32 inscription | |
n.(尤指石块上的)刻印文字,铭文,碑文 | |
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33 averse | |
adj.厌恶的;反对的,不乐意的 | |
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34 braggart | |
n.吹牛者;adj.吹牛的,自夸的 | |
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35 eminently | |
adv.突出地;显著地;不寻常地 | |
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36 disconsolateness | |
n.悲伤,阴暗 | |
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37 entirely | |
ad.全部地,完整地;完全地,彻底地 | |
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38 thrift | |
adj.节约,节俭;n.节俭,节约 | |
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39 crafty | |
adj.狡猾的,诡诈的 | |
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40 rogues | |
n.流氓( rogue的名词复数 );无赖;调皮捣蛋的人;离群的野兽 | |
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41 stunted | |
adj.矮小的;发育迟缓的 | |
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42 opprobrium | |
n.耻辱,责难 | |
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43 picturesquely | |
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44 blithe | |
adj.快乐的,无忧无虑的 | |
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45 clans | |
宗族( clan的名词复数 ); 氏族; 庞大的家族; 宗派 | |
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46 plundered | |
掠夺,抢劫( plunder的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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47 sinecures | |
n.工作清闲但报酬优厚的职位,挂名的好差事( sinecure的名词复数 ) | |
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48 discomfit | |
v.使困惑,使尴尬 | |
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49 archers | |
n.弓箭手,射箭运动员( archer的名词复数 ) | |
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50 sheathed | |
adj.雕塑像下半身包在鞘中的;覆盖的;铠装的;装鞘了的v.将(刀、剑等)插入鞘( sheathe的过去式和过去分词 );包,覆盖 | |
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51 retaliation | |
n.报复,反击 | |
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52 impecunious | |
adj.不名一文的,贫穷的 | |
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53 ragged | |
adj.衣衫褴褛的,粗糙的,刺耳的 | |
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54 authentic | |
a.真的,真正的;可靠的,可信的,有根据的 | |
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55 calumnies | |
n.诬蔑,诽谤,中伤(的话)( calumny的名词复数 ) | |
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56 cuticle | |
n.表皮 | |
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57 scrupled | |
v.感到于心不安,有顾忌( scruple的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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58 noted | |
adj.著名的,知名的 | |
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59 undue | |
adj.过分的;不适当的;未到期的 | |
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60 bagpipes | |
n.风笛;风笛( bagpipe的名词复数 ) | |
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61 highland | |
n.(pl.)高地,山地 | |
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62 thongs | |
的东西 | |
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63 sanctimonious | |
adj.假装神圣的,假装虔诚的,假装诚实的 | |
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64 glamour | |
n.魔力,魅力;vt.迷住 | |
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65 counterfoil | |
n.(支票、邮局汇款单、收据等的)存根,票根 | |
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66 comedians | |
n.喜剧演员,丑角( comedian的名词复数 ) | |
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67 clinched | |
v.(尤指两人)互相紧紧抱[扭]住( clinch的过去式和过去分词 );解决(争端、交易),达成(协议) | |
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68 jargon | |
n.术语,行话 | |
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69 disposition | |
n.性情,性格;意向,倾向;排列,部署 | |
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70 deplore | |
vt.哀叹,对...深感遗憾 | |
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71 needy | |
adj.贫穷的,贫困的,生活艰苦的 | |
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72 indignity | |
n.侮辱,伤害尊严,轻蔑 | |
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73 outrage | |
n.暴行,侮辱,愤怒;vt.凌辱,激怒 | |
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