Let me explain. The electric tramways of the city of Madras are numerous and well-patronized. The company does not dare to entrust3 the position on the front platform to aborigines; for in case of emergency the Hindu has a remarkable5 faculty6 of being anywhere but at his post, and of doing anything but the right thing. But as conductor, a native or Eurasian of some slight education does as well as a real man. He has only to poke7 the pice and annas into the cash register he wears about his neck and punch and deliver a ticket. Yet it is surprising, nay8, sad, to find how many accidents befall him while engaged in this simple task. He will forget, for instance, to give the passenger the ticket that is his receipt for fare paid; coppers10 will cling tenaciously12 to his fingers in spite of his best efforts to dislodge them; he has even been known, in his absent-mindedness, to overlook his friends on his tour of collection through the car. Don’t, for a moment, fancy that he is dishonest. It is merely because he is a Hindu and was born that way.
To correct these unimportant little faults, the corporation has a force of inspectors13, occasionally sahibs, commonly Eurasians, clad in khaki uniforms and armed with report pads, who spring out unexpectedly from obscure side streets to offer expert assistance to passing conductors.
But, of course, mathematical experts do not dodge15 in and out of the sun-baked alleyways of Madras for the good of their health. The spirit of India is sure to attack them sooner or later, even if it has not been with them since birth. Cases of friendship between inspectors 310and conductors are not unknown, and it is not the way of the Oriental to attempt to reduce his friend’s income. In short, the auditors16 must be audited17, and, all unknown to them or its other servants, the corporation employs a small select band of men who do not wear uniforms, and who do not line up before the wicket on pay day.
It was by merest chance that I learned of this state of affairs and found my way to a small office that no one would have suspected of being in any way connected with the transportation system of Madras. An Englishman who was ostensibly a private broker18 deemed my answers to his cross-examination satisfactory, and I was initiated19 at once into the mysterious masonry20 of inspector14 of inspectors. The broker warned me not to build hopes of an extended engagement, rather to anticipate an early dismissal; for the uniformed employés were famed for lynx-eyed vigilance, and my usefulness to the company, obviously, could not endure beyond the few days that might elapse before I was “spotted.” He did not add that a longer period might give me opportunity to form too intimate acquaintances, but he wore the air of a man who had not exhausted21 his subject.
My duties began forthwith. The Englishman supplied me with a handful of coppers that were to return to the corporation through its cash registers. I was to board a tramway, find place of observation in a back seat, and pay my fare as an ordinary passenger. The distance I should travel on each car, the routes I should follow, my changes from one line to another, were left to my own discretion23. Upon alighting, I was to stroll far enough away from the line to allay24 suspicion and return to hail another car. The company required only that I make out each evening, in the private office, a report of my observations, with the numbers of the cars, and sign a statement to the effect that I had devoted25 the eight hours to the interests of the corporation. What could have been more entirely26 mon affaire? If there was a nook or corner of Madras that I did not visit during the few days that followed, it was not within strolling distance of any streetcar line.
Among the sights of the city must be noted27 her human bullocks. Horses are rare in Madras. The transportation of freight falls to a company of leather-skinned, rice-fed coolies whose strength and endurance pass belief. Their carts are massive, two-wheeled vehicles, as cumbersome28 as ever burdened a yoke29 of oxen. The virtues30 of axle-grease they know not, and through the streets of Madras resounds31 a 311droning as of the Egyptian sakkas on the plain of Thebes. Yet two of these emaciated32 creatures will drag a wagon33, laden34 with great bales from the ships, or a dozen steel rails, for miles over hills and hollows, with fewer breathing spells than a truckman would allow a team of horses.
My devotion to corporate35 interests brought me the surprise supreme36 of my Oriental wanderings. At the corner of the Maidan, where the tramway swings round towards the harbor, a gang of coolies was repairing the roadway. That, in itself, was no cause for wonder. But among the workmen, dressed like the others in a ragged37 loin-cloth, swinging his rammer38 as stolidly39, gazing as abjectly40 at the ground as his companions, was a white man! There could be no doubt of it. Under the tan of an Indian sun his skin was as fair as a Norseman’s, his shock of unkempt hair was a fiery41 red, and his eyes were blue! But a white man ramming42 macadam! A sahib so unmindful of his high origin as to join the ranks of the most miserable43, the most debased, the most abhorred44 of human creatures! To become a sudra and ram2 macadam in the public streets, dressed in a clout45! Here was the final, lasciate ogni speranza end. A terror came upon me, a longing46 to flee while yet there was time, from the blighted47 land in which a man of my own flesh and blood could fall to this.
Again and again my rounds of the city brought me back to the corner of the Maidan. The renegade toiled49 stolidly on, bending dejectedly over his task, never raising his head to glance at the passing throng50. Twice I was moved to alight and speak, to learn his dreadful story, but the car had rumbled52 on before I gathered courage. Leaving the broker’s office as twilight53 fell, I passed that way again. A babu loitering on the curb54 drew me into conversation and I put a question to him.
“What! That?” he said, following the direction of my finger. “Why, that’s a Hindu albino.”
I turned away to an eating-shop, the proprietor55 of which had long since alienated56 his fellow-countrymen by professing57 conversion58 to Christianity, and sat down for supper. It was the official “bums’ retreat” of Madras. A half-dozen white wanderers were gathered. I looked for Marten among them; but he had found pleasure, evidently, in the company of his chocolate-colored cousins, and when the last yarn60 was spun61 he had not put in an appearance. I stepped out again into the night to find a lodging62.
Had I imagined that I alone, of all Madras, was planning to sleep 312beneath the stars, I should have been doomed63 to disappointment. For an hour I roamed the city, seeking a bit of open space. If there was a passageway or a platband too small to accommodate a coolie or a street urchin65, it was occupied by a mongrel cur. The night was black. There was danger of running upon some huddled66 family in the darkness, and the pollution of touch might prove mutual67. I left the close-packed town behind and struck off across the Maidan. Here was room and to spare; but the law forbade, and if officers did not enforce the ordinance68, sneak69 thieves did—Hindu thieves who can travel on their bellies70 faster than an honest man can walk, making less noise than the gentle southern breeze, and steal the teeth from a sleeper71’s mouth and the eyes from under his lids ere he wakes. I kept on, stumbling over a knoll72 now and then, falling flat in a dry ditch, and fetching up against a fence. Groping along it, I came upon the highway that leads southward along the shore of the sea. A furlong beyond was a grove73 of high trees, with wide-spreading branches, like the pine; and beneath them soft beach sand. I halted there. A landward breeze had tempered the oppressive heat; the boughs74 above whispered hoarsely75 together. At regular intervals76 through the night, the sepulchral77 voice of the Bay of Bengal spoke78 faintly across the barren strand79.
When I awoke, it was broad daylight, and Sunday. The day of rest brings small change to the teeming80 hordes81 of India, but conductors and inspectors were permitted to whisper together unobserved, and I took advantage of the holiday to put my wardrobe in the hands of a dhoby. A dhoby, in any language but Hindustanee, is a laundryman. But the word fails dismally82 as a translation. Within those two syllables83 lurks84 a volume of meaning to the sahib who has dwelt in the land of India. The editors of Anglo-Indian newspapers, who may only write and endure, are undecided whether to style him a fiend or a raving85 maniac86. Youthful philosophers and poets, grown eloquent87 under the inspiration of a newly returned basket, fill more columns than the reporter of the viceroy’s council.
For the dhoby is a man of energy. High above his head, like a flail88, he swings each streaming garment and brings it down on his flat stone as if his principal desire in life were to split it to bits. Not once, but as long as strength endures, and when he can swing no more he flings down the tog and jumps fiendishly upon it. His bare feet tread a wild Terpsichorean89 orgie, and when he can dance no longer he falls upon the unoffending rag and tugs90 and strains and twists and 313pulls, as though determined92 that it shall come to be washed no more. Flying buttons are his glee. If he can reduce the garment to the component93 parts in which the maker94 cut it, his joy is complete. When the power to beat and tramp and tug91 fails him, he tosses the shreds95 disdainfully into the stream or cistern97 and attacks the wardrobe of another helpless client. Yet he is strictly98 honest. At nightfall he bears back to its owner the dirt he carried away, and the threads that hold it together. When all other words of vituperation seem weak and insipid99, the Anglo-Indian calls his enemy a dhoby.
The cook of the rendezvous100 offered, for three annas, to wash all that I owned, save my shoes and the inner workings of my pith helmet. In a more commonplace land the possessor of a single suit would have been bedridden until the task was done. But not in India. A large handkerchief was ample attire101 within the “bums’ retreat.” The beachcombers gathered in the dining-room saw in the costume cause for envy, not ridicule102; for few could boast of as much when wash-day came for them, and the hours that might have been spent under sheets and blankets in a sterner clime passed quickly in the writing of letters.
From the back yard, for a time, came the shrieks103 of maltreated garments. Then all fell silent. In fear and trembling, I ventured forth22 to take inventory104 of my indispensable raiment. But as a dhoby the cook was a bungler105. There were a few rents in the gear arrayed on the eaves gutter106, a button was missing here and there, and there was no evidence of snowy whiteness. But every garment could still be easily identified, and an hour with a ship’s needle, when the blazing sun had done its work, sufficed to heal the wounds, though not the scars, of combat.
Not a word of Haywood had reached me since the police station had swallowed him up. Evidently he was still forcibly separated from society; but had he escaped with a light sentence or fallen victim to “five years of the lock-step?” When my Monday report had been filed, I set out to find the answer to that question. Such cases, they told me, were tried at a court in a distant section of the city. Its officials knew nothing of the New Yorker however, and I tramped to the suburban107 station where the “crime” had been committed. Inquiry108 seemed futile109. The vendor110 was there, as blithesome111 as ever, and his bananas were hoary113 with age, but the fourteen words of Hindustanee I had picked up were those he did not know. The policeman on the 314platform had heard some discussion of the case, but had no definite information to offer. Then came the relief squad114, and the officer who had made the arrest directed me to another distant court.
There were several buildings of judicial115 aspect scattered116 over the great campus, but they were closed for the night. The door of a hut, such as servants dwell in, stood ajar, and I entered. A high-caste native was gathering117 together books and papers from the desk of a miniature court room. I made known my errand.
“Haywood?” answered the Hindu, “Ah! Yes, I know about him. I know all about him, for he was tried before me.”
The New Yorker had swallowed his pride, indeed, to consent to being tried by a “nigger” rather than to come into contact with white officers.
“And what did you hand him?” I ventured.
The justice, striving to appear at ease in a pompous118 dignity that was as much too large for him as the enormous blue and white turban that bellied119 out above his thin face like an un-reefed mainsail in a stiff breeze, chose a ledger120 from the desk and turned over the leaves.
“Ah, here it is,” he exclaimed, pointing out an entry; “Richard Haywood, Englishman. Charge, assault. Found in his possession, four annas, three pice, one pocketknife, one pipe, three cigarettes, two buttons.” They were nothing if not exact, but they had overlooked one of the uses of the bands on pith helmets. “Plea, guilty. Sentence, five rupees fine. Prisoner alleging121 indigence122, sentence was changed to one week in the Presidency123 jail.”
“Suppose I pay his fine?” I asked. “Will he be released at once?”
“Yes, but the case has passed out of my jurisdiction124. You must pay it to the warden125.”
No sojourner126 in Madras need make inquiry for the great white building that houses her felons127. I reached it in time to find the massive gate still unlocked and gained admittance to the warden’s office. He denied my request for an interview with Haywood, however, on the ground that prisoners for so brief a period were not allowed visitors. I opened my mouth to mention the fine, then stopped. Perhaps the New Yorker had some secret reason for choosing to swelter seven days in an Indian prison. If he was anxious to be free, he had only to take down his hat and, like the magician, produce from it the money that would set him at liberty. I resolved to run no risk of upsetting subtle plans, and turned back into the city.
Two days later, the broker confided128 to me the sad news that I 315had been “spotted.” Marten, who had joined me in the grove lodging, the night before, proposed to apply at once to the secretary of the Friend-in-Need Society for a ticket northward129. Eager to investigate the Home which the society operates in Madras, I accompanied him. The secretary was an English magistrate130 who held court in a building facing the harbor. The court room was crowded to suffocation131. While we waited for the native policeman to return with an answer to our note I caught enough of the interpreter’s words to learn that the perspiring132 Briton under the punkahs was weighing the momentous133 question of the damages due a shopkeeper for temporary loss of caste.
The attaché, after long absence, brought the information that the trial was at its climax134 and that he dared not disturb proceedings135. But Marten, familiar with the “ropes” of official India, snorted in disgust and led the way down a passage that brought us to an anteroom behind the judgment136 seat. Beckoning137 to me to follow, he pushed aside the officers who would have barred our progress, and marched boldly into the court room, halting before the stenographer’s table. I anticipated immediate138 imprisonment139 for contempt of court; but the magistrate, eager, as who would not have been, for a moment’s relief from native hair-splitting, signed to the interpreter to stay the case, and, sliding down in his da?s until he was all but lying on his back, bade us step up beside him. Marten, who had transferred to Calcutta the phantom140 ship he was pursuing, applied141 for a through ticket; I, for admission to the Society Home.
“I’ll give you both a chit to the manager for to-night,” said the justice, when we had spun our yarns142. “The Home is rather overcrowded, but we always try to find a place for Englishmen, even if we can’t accommodate all the Germans, Italians, and Turks that turn up.”
“But we’re not Englishmen,” I put in.
“Nonsense,” yawned the judge. “When I say Englishmen of course I include Americans, but as to you”—he turned to Marten—“I can’t give you a ticket to Calcutta. That’s more than a thousand miles. I’ll have the manager ship you to Vizagapatam in the morning. That is half way, and the commissioner143 there will send you on.”
He made out the notes and we departed. As we passed the street entrance, the corpulent babu was again pouring forth the woes144 of the polluted plaintiff.
But for a sign over the entrance, the Home might have been taken for the estate of an English gentleman of modest income. The grounds were extensive and well-wooded. The gate was guarded by a 316lodge, beyond which the Home itself, a low, rambling145 bungalow146, peeped through the trees. A score of vagabonds, burned brown in face and garb147, loitered in the shade along the curb. Half were Eurasians. There is no more irreclaimable vagrant148 under the sun’s rays than the tropical half-breed when once he joins the fraternity of the Great Unwashed. Reputation or personal appearance are to him matters of utter indifference149. A threadbare jacket and trousers—sad commentaries of the willfulness of the dhoby—mark his social superiority to the coolie; but he goes barefooted by choice, often bareheaded, and in his abhorrence150 of unnecessary activity is as truly a Hindu as his maternal151 ancestor. Like the native, too, he is indifferent to bodily affliction—so it bring no pain—and laughs at encroaching disease as though he shared with the Brahmin the conviction that his present form is only one of hundreds that he will inhabit.
At our arrival a youth of this class was entertaining the assembled wanderers with a spicy152 tale. His language was the lazy, half-enunciated English of the tropical hybrid153, and he chuckled154 with glee as often as his companions. Yet he was a victim of the dread51 “elephantiasis” so common among natives. His left foot and leg below the knee were swollen155 to four times their natural size, and to accommodate the abnormal limb his trouser leg was split to the thigh156. As the gate opened, he rose and dragged his incurable157 affliction with him, leaving in the sand footprints like the nest of a mongrel cur.
The manager was a bullet-headed Irishman, chosen, like many another, for his knowledge of the wily ways of the vagrant, gleaned158 in many a year “on the road.” The Home, though more ambitious in its scope, resembled the Asile Rudolph of Cairo. The meals, consisting of native food, were served in the same generous portions, and the cots, in spite of the unconventional habits of the inmates159, were as scrupulously160 clean. Adjoining the quarters of the transient guests, the society provided a permanent home for aged9 and crippled beachcombers. We sat late under the veranda161, listening to strange tales of the road of earlier days from a score of old cronies who quarreled for a pinch of tobacco and wept when their words were discredited162. Sad fate, indeed, for those who, in the years of their strength and inspiration, had made the world their playground, to be sentenced thus to end their days in the meager163 bit of space to which sightless eyes or paralyzed limbs confined them, while they wandered on in spirit over boundless164 seas and trackless land.
Early the next morning the manager led the way to the Beach station 317and, having supplied Marten with a ticket to Vizagapatam and a day’s “batter,” bade us bon voyage. The journey was long; it might also have been uneventful but for my companion’s incorrigible166 longing to annoy his fellow-beings. The weak point in Marten’s make-up was his head. Years before, during his days before the mast, he had gone ashore167 in a disreputable port after paying off from a voyage of several months’ duration and, overladen with good cheer, had been so successfully sand-bagged that he not only lost his earnings168 but emerged from the encounter with a broken head. At the hospital it was found necessary to trepan his skull169. But the metal plate had proved a poor substitute for sound bone; and the ex-pearl-fisher was wont170 to warn every new acquaintance to beware “horse-play,” as a blow on the head might result in serious injury.
The favorite occupation of the Hindu on his travels is sleeping. If there is an alien voyager in his compartment171 he sits stiffly in his place, on guard against a loss of caste. When his companions are all of his own class, he stretches out on his back and slumbers172, open-mouthed, like a dead fish. But the benches are short. The native, therefore, seeks relief by sticking his feet out the window. An Indian train bristles173 from engine to guard-van with bare, brown legs that give it the aspect of a battery of small guns.
Our express had halted, late in the afternoon, on a switch beside a train southward bound. Marten, chancing to have a straw in his possession, leaned out of the window and fell to tickling174 the soles of a pair of protruding175 feet. Their owner was a sound sleeper. For several moments he did not stir. As our train started, he awoke suddenly and sprang up with so startling a whoop176 that my companion recoiled177 in surprise and struck his head sharply on the top of the window.
The native was quickly avenged178. For a moment his tormentor179 clung to the casement180, straining in every limb, then fell to the floor, writhing181 in agony. Plainly he had lost consciousness, but he thrashed about the compartment like a captive boa constrictor, twisting body and limbs in racking contortions182, and foaming183 at the mouth until his ashy face was covered with spume, and dirt from the floor. His strength was supernatural. To attempt to control him was useless,—forbidden, in fact, on the day that he had warned me of his injury. I took refuge on one of the benches to escape his convulsions.
The express sped on in the falling darkness. The next station was far distant. Before me rose a vision of myself surrounded by stern officials and attempting in vain to explain the presence of a corpse184 in 318my compartment. Foolhardy, indeed, had I been to choose such a companion.
For a long hour his fit continued. Then the contortions of his body diminished little by little; his arms and legs twitched185 spasmodically in lessening186 jerks; his eyes, glassy and bloodshot, opened for a moment, closed again, and he lay still. Through the interminable night he stretched prone187 on the floor, motionless as a cadaver188. When morning broke in the east he sat up suddenly with a jest on his lips and none the worse, apparently189, for his ravings. But his memory retained no record of occurrences from the moment when the wild shout of the Hindu had sounded in his ears three hundred miles away.
An hour later we were purchasing sweetmeats in the bazaars190 of Vizagapatam. The flat, sun-baked fields of southern India had been left behind. The surrounding country was hilly and verdant191; to the eastward192 stretched the blue bay of Bengal. In the offing a ship lay at anchor. Naked coolies, bent193 double under bales and bundles, waded194 waist-deep into the sea and cast their burdens into a lighter195. Adjoining the bazaars, a sudra village of inhabited haycocks huddled together in a valley. Before the huts men, women, and children crouched196 on their haunches in the dust, their cadaverous knees on a level with their sunken eyes, their fleshless talons197 clawing at scraps198 of half-putrid food. Now and again they snarled199 at each other. More often they stared away as vacantly as ruminating200 animals at the vista201 of squalor beyond. Beside the village rose a barren rock, monument to the medley202 of religions that inflict203 India. On its summit, within a space of little more than an acre, commanding an outlook far out over the sea, stood a Brahmin temple, a Mohammedan mosque204, and a Christian59 church, each reached by its own stairway cut in the perpendicular205 face of the rock.
Several miles separated the sudra village from the government buildings. On the way native policemen and soldiers drew up at attention and saluted206 as we passed. An entire squad, loitering before the central station, fell quickly into ranks and stood stiffly at present-arms as long as we remained in sight. In this English-governed land, the native sees in every sahib a possible superior officer to whom it is safest to be deferential207.
We reached in due time the commissioner’s office. His only representative in the deserted208 bureaus was an emaciated punkah-wallah, turned watchman, who bowed his head in the dust before the door as Marten addressed him.
319“Nay, sahibs,” he murmured, “the commissioner sahib and the little commissioners209 are absent, protectors of the miserable. To-day is the Brahmin new year”—it was April thirteenth—“oh, charitable one, and a holiday. The sahibs may come to-morrow. But nay! To-morrow is a feast of the Mohammedans and a holiday also.”
“And the next day is Sunday,” I put in, when Marten had interpreted.
“The commissioner’s bungalow?” he demanded.
“In the forest beyond the hills,” murmured the coolie, pointing northward. “Two cigarettes distant, oh, greatest of sahibs.”
To the grief of many a peregrinating beachcomber, the “appearances” of the British governors of India are as rare as those of world-famed tenors210. We continued along a shimmering211 highway, winding212 among trees, the dense213 shadows of which gave our eyes occasional relief, and a mile beyond found the commissioner at home. Marten gained a hearing and emerged with a note to the assistant commissioner. Once entangled214 in the meshes215 of Oriental red-tape, there was no escape; and from midday till late afternoon we raced back and forth through the streets and byways of Vizagapatam, and routed out no fewer than twelve Hindu officials from their holiday siestas216. Even then my companion won a ticket only halfway217 to the city on the Hoogly.
We caught the night express and reached Berhampore next morning. At his bungalow, a youthful commissioner was so moved by Marten’s account of the loss of his phantom ship—the story had lost nothing in frequent repetitions—that he waived218 all legal formalities and gave him an order on the station master for a ticket to his destination. Had he followed the movements of the abandoned seaman219 for the rest of the day he might have listened skeptically to the tale of the next wanderer to seek his assistance.
On the shores of the Bay of Bengal, some two hundred miles south of the capital and a day’s tramp from the main line, lies Puri, the city of Juggernaut. I should have visited it alone had not Marten, utterly220 indifferent to the suspense221 of his grieving shipmates, insisted on accompanying me.
We alighted at Khurda Road and purchased tickets to the sacred city at a price that could scarcely have covered the cost of printing. A train of unusual length for a branch line was already so densely222 packed with pilgrims that those who tumbled out of the compartment which the station master chose to assign us were in imminent223 danger 320of being left behind. Iron-voiced vendors224 danced about the platform. Their wares225 were the usual greasy226 sweets, doughy227 bread-sheets and curried228 potatoes that had been our fare for long days past. But this was “holy food,” prepared by the priests of the hallowed city; for the Hindu on his pilgrimages to a sacred shrine229 may not eat of worldly viands230. For all that the hawkers sold to us gladly, not abating231, however, by a copper11, the exorbitant232 prices to which their monopoly and the superstitions233 of their regular customers entitled them.
Night was falling when we descended234 at Puri. The station, as part of a system abhorred of the gods of Hind4, stood in the open country, a full two miles from the sacred city. Not even the inhabitants of Benares are more fanatical than those of Puri. Natives coming upon us in the darkness along the road of sacrifice sprang aside in terror, and shrieked235 a long-drawn236 “sahib hai!” to warn others to beware our polluting touch. In the bazaars, many a merchant cried out in anger when we approached his tumble-down shop; and only with much wheedling237 could we draw one of them forth into the street to sell us sweetmeats and fruits. Half the shacks238 were devoted to the sale of dude, which is to say, milk—of bullocks and goats, of course, for the udders of the sacred cow may not be violated. We paused at one to purchase. A vicious-faced youth took our pice gingerly and filled two vessels240 much like flowerpots. I emptied my own and stepped forward to replace it on the worm-eaten board that served as counter. The youth sprang at me with a scream of rage and fear, and, before the pot had touched the counter, Marten knocked it out of my hand and shattered it to bits on the cobblestones, then smashed his own beside it. The two pice I had paid for the milk included the price of the vessel239, great quantities of which are made of the red clay of neighboring pits. The crash of pottery241 that startled the silence of the night at frequent intervals were signs, not of some sad accident, as I had supposed, but that a drinker had finished his dude. The miserable, uneven165 streets were paved in fragments of broken pots.
There was not a native hut in Puri that we could enter, much less sleep in, and, our evening meal finished en marche, we returned to the station and asked permission of the Eurasian agent to occupy two of the wicker chairs in the waiting-room. He refused, not only because it was against the rules, which didn’t matter, but because he was sure to be found out if he disobeyed them. He knew of better quarters, however, and directed us accordingly. We stumbled off through the railway yards and came upon the first-class coach he had mentioned, on a deserted side track. It was the best “hotel” of our Indian trip. The car was built on the lines of the American Pullman, with great couches upholstered in soft leather. There were burnished242 lamps that we could light with impunity243 when the heavy curtains had been drawn, several large mirrors, and running water. Small wonder if we slept late next morning and found it necessary to reconnoiter a bit, for the sake of the station master’s reputation, before making our exit.
The great road of Puri, over which the massive Juggernaut car is drawn once a year
321The inventive genius of the Hindu has bedecked the dwelling244 of god Juggernaut with that extravagance of barbaric splendor245 beloved of the Oriental. Admittance is denied the sahib, but without is much to be seen. The temple rises in seven domes246, one above each of four stone stairways deep-worn by centuries of pilgrim feet and knees, and three within the crumbling248, time-eaten wall. They are domes, though, only in general outline. The Hindu strives for bizarre effects in his architecture; he dreads249, above all, plain surfaces. The smaller domes rise en perron like the terraced vineyards of the Alps, the steps half hidden under glittering ornamentations,—hideous-faced gods of many arms, repulsive250 distortions of sacred animals, haggard, misshapen gargoyles251. Above them towers Juggernaut’s throne room, resembling a cucumber stood on end and suggesting that its builder, starting with the dome247 as his original conception, was loath252 to bring his creation to completion, and pushed his walls onward253 and upward to a dizzy height, to end at last abruptly254 in a flat cupola. Mayhap his despotic master had doomed him to that fate which has so often befallen successful architects in the Orient, of losing his hands when his masterpiece was completed.
Everywhere the temple bears witness to the ravages255 of time. The splendors256 of earlier days are faded and crumbling; there hovers257 over all not so much an air of neglect as of the inability of these groveling, British-ruled descendants of the talented creators to arrest the decay, an acknowledgment that the days of such constructions and the Hindus of such days are passé.
Pilgrims swarm258 in Puri at all seasons. Our way through the narrow streets was often barred by shrieking259 processions; a hundred pious260 families had pitched their tents at the edge of the great road. But it is in the month of July, when the bloodthirsty god makes his annual excursion to a smaller temple two miles distant, that untold261 multitudes pour in upon the wretched hamlet. The car, weighing many tons, is set up outside the temple, and Juggernaut, amid the clamor of barbaric rites262, is placed on his throne therein. Hordes of natives eager to 322“acquire merit” surge round the chariot, screaming and struggling in the frenzy263 of fanaticism264 for a place at the long ropes, and, to the accompaniment of weird265 incantations, the procession starts. The great road, scene in bygone centuries of uncounted human sacrifices, stretches away straight and level to the smaller temple. It is the most generous roadway in India, fully96 a furlong wide, in reality a great plain, covered with withered266 grass where the tramp of many feet has not worn it bare. A thousand naked bodies, burnished by the blazing sunlight, strain like demons267 at the ropes. As one falls, a hundred others surge forward to fight for his place. The aged peasant to whom this pilgrimage has dissipated the meager earnings of a lifetime, returns to his native village with inner assurance of the favor of the gods in his next existence if he can force his way through the rabble268 for one weak tug.
But the ponderous269 car moves slowly. A scanty270 rice diet is not conducive271 to great physical strength, and the massive wheels cut deep into the sandy plain. The ruts of the last journey, made nine months before, were by no means obliterated272 at the time of our visit. Short as is the distance between the two temples, the passing oftentimes endures a week; and the struggle for places decreases day by day as those who have performed their act of devotion turn homeward. The last fanatics273 drop out one by one. The ropes lose their tautness274 and sag64 of their own weight. A scanty remnant of the multitude gives a few “dry pulls”; and the grim-visaged god completes his journey behind bands of coolies hired for the occasion.
They sacrifice no more to Juggernaut. John Bull has scowled275 on the custom. But the American superintendent276 of the mission hospital among the trees at the roadside bore witness that the insatiate monster has still a goodly quota277 of victims; for annually278 the plague breaks out among the superstitious279, devitalized pilgrims and leaves hundreds to die on the flat, sandy coast like fish tossed ashore.
He who has journeyed through this strange land will be slow ever after to look upon animals as devoid280 of intelligence and the power to reason. Encircling the temple, we chanced upon one of her sacred bulls setting forth on his morning rounds through the thatch-roofed bazaars that make up the town of Puri. He was a sleek281, plump beast, with short, stumpy horns and a hump, as harmless, apparently, as a child’s pet poodle. We kept him company, for, strange to say, the fanatics, who had all but mobbed us for setting foot on the flagging before a temple gate, offered no protest when we petted this most reverenced283 of animals. He was too near the gods no doubt to be polluted even by a sahib touch.
The main entrance to Juggernaut’s temple in Puri. I was mobbed for stepping on the flagging around the column
323Setting a course for the nearest shop, he advanced with dignified284 tread, shouldering his way through the multitude, pushing aside all who stood in his path, not rudely, but firmly, something almost human in his manner, of waywardness, self-complacency, and arrogance285. The impoverished286 descendants of an ancient house would have marched with that stately air of superiority, the son of a nouveau riche with that attitude of primary proprietorship287 in the world and its goods. Native reverence282 for the animal was little short of disgusting. Pilgrims prostrated288 themselves before him; hawkers stepped aside with muttered prayers; scores of women fell on their knees and elbows in the teeming streets, bowed their heads low in the dust, and ran to kiss his flanks.
Marching boldly up to the first booth, the bull chose a morsel289 of green stuff from the inclined platform, and, chewing it leisurely290 after the manner of an epicure291, strolled on to the next stall. In the days of his novitiate, ’tis said, the sacred calf292 eats his fill of the first food he comes upon. A few weeks of experience, however, make him discriminating293 in his tastes. Through the long rows of shops the beast levied294 on all, stopping longest where the supplies were freshest, and awaking a mild protest from the keeper. It was only a protest, however; taking the form of a chanted prayer. For how may the Hindu know that the soul of his grandfather does not look out through those bovine295 eyes! At any rate, he acquires merit for every leaf and stock that he loses. Now and again, Marten interpreted a rogation.
“Hast thou not always had thy fill, oh, holy one!” prayed the native, rocking his body back and forth in time to his chant, “I would willingly feed thee. Hast thou not always found welcome at my shop? But I am a poor man, O king of sacred beasts. I pray thee, therefore, take of the goods of my neighbor, who is the possessor of great wealth. For my poverty is extreme, and if thou dost not desist, to-morrow may I not be here to feed thee.”
As if in answer to the prayer, the animal moved on to the booth of the neighbor, who bore no outward sign, at least, of the great wealth that had been charged against him. His stock was fresh, however, and the bull ate generously in spite of the keeper’s incantation. A second and a third time the prayer was repeated, but to no effect. Then the Hindu, picking up the joint296 of a bamboo, murmured the prayer into it.
324“Thou canst not hear the prayer of a poor man, O sacred one, through thy ears,” wailed297 the merchant. “Listen then to this petition,” and, rising in his place, he struck the animal sharply over the nose with the bamboo. The bull turned a reproachful gaze on the violator of his sanctity, looked sorrowfully at him for a moment through half-closed eyelids298, and strolled slowly away.
Conspicuous299 among the swarming300 thousands of Puri are the widows. With the death of her husband the Hindu woman must shave her head and dress in a snow-white sheet that clings closely about her as she walks. Under no circumstances may she marry again nor lay aside the garb that announces her bereavement301. More often than not her departed spouse302 has left her unprovided with this world’s goods, and in India the woman’s means of earning a livelihood303 are—well, painfully limited. Under a humane304 British rule the widow’s fate is less cruel than in the days when she mounted the funeral pyre with her dead, perhaps; but it is certainly no less humiliating. The uninformed sahib would seem justified305 in supposing that the chief interest of the Indian wife is the preservation306 of her husband’s health.
The Hindu woman of the masses enjoys an almost Occidental freedom from seclusion307. Compared with the coarse females of Mohammedan lands, she is modest, almost dainty—pretty, too, in her younger days, for all her color. But age comes early, and with the increase of wrinkles and barbaric jewelry308 her charms fade. Her costume is more ample than that of the Singhalese,—a single strip of cloth of ten or twelve yards wound round her body from neck to ankles, leaving only arms and left shoulder bare. Lithe112 and supple309 by nature, her every movement might be graceful310 were it not the custom of her husband, dreading311 the tax collector, to load her down with his surplus wealth. As a girl she is bedecked with gaudy312 trinkets before her costume has advanced beyond the fig-leaf stage; as a matron, her passing sounds like a junk-shop in the grasp of a cyclone313. It is no unusual experience to meet a female wearing rings on every finger and toe; bracelets314 on both arms from wrists to elbows; rings in the top, side, and lobe315 of each ear; and three nose-rings, one of which, some two inches in diameter, pierces the left nostril316 and swings back and forth against the cheek of the wearer. What a throb317 of joy must come to the husband who presses so precious a wife to his bosom318! But on the other hand, as once I caught Marten musing319 to himself, “Suppose she flew de coop?”
“Suttee” having been forbidden by their English rulers, Hindu widows must now shave their heads, dress in white, and gain their livelihood as best they can
A seller of the wood with which the bodies of Hindus are burned on the banks of the Ganges. Very despised caste.
The term “old maid” has no synonym320 in Hindustanee, and needed 325none until the first female missionary321 invaded the peninsula. Bachelors, too, are rare. There chanced to fall into my hands an Anglo-Indian sheet wherein was propounded322 this enigma323 over the signature of “a puzzled babu.”
“Why,” demanded the puzzled one, after the usual incomprehensible introduction necessary to prove his knowledge of the sahib tongue, “is the Englishman living many times without a wife? If the Hindu is more than very young and has not yet married himself he is contemplated324 wicked and unclean. I am reading that in all the white man countries there live more women than the men are. Why has not every sahib taken one for his wife?”
Why not, indeed?
Marten had begun to display an arrogant325 author’s pride in the tale that had carried him so rapidly northward. Several times he had gone out of his way in Puri to tell some Eurasian or babu the sad story of his marooning326, and, as afternoon crept on, he resolved to repeat it once more for the entertainment of the commissioner of the district.
“But,” I protested, “you have a ticket to Calcutta. You can’t use two!”
“Right,” he answered, “but it’s about six cigarettes from the commish’s bungalow to the station, and he may come up with the dibs without sending a nigger so far to buy the pasteboard. If he don’t loosen we’ll have to fix it up with the station master.”
The commissioner had fled to the hills and his deputy was a native; a strange one, though, for he not only acceded327 to the request of the stranded328 seaman for a through ticket, but actually and visibly hurried to complete the necessary formalities before the departure of the daily train. He did not “come up with the dibs,” however, nor would the station master buy back the ticket which a government clerk purchased for my companion. But there was some gain in the man?uvre; for upon his arrival in Calcutta the railway officials very kindly329 refunded330 to Marten some four rupees on the unused portion of the ticket from Berhampore.
An express similar to that from which we had alighted twenty-four hours before rumbled into Khurda Road soon after we reached the main line. We strolled along the platform and pulled open the door of the European compartment—and fell back in astonishment331. A familiar topee with bulging332 hatband swung from a peg333 near the ceiling. On a bench beneath, reposed334 the bundle which I had once lugged335 326across the Maidan of Madras, and beside it sat Haywood! For some cause unknown he had been released at the end of six days’ imprisonment and had lost no time in taking the north-bound express—without a ticket.
His joy at the reunion exceeded our own. Marten grumbled336 under his breath at the fate that kept us in such baneful337 company, and, though he did not hesitate to invent fanciful tales to explain to querulous collectors the presence of three tropical helmets when only two travelers were visible, he said nothing of the extra ticket in his hatband. Several times during the night Haywood found it expedient338 to drop out the further door for a stroll in the darkness, but he escaped detection and, as the day dawned, alighted with us at the Howrah terminal. He had “held down” the same train without paying an anna of fare, for 1,032 miles!
The pontoon bridge connecting Howrah with Calcutta was alive with coolies tramping from their wretched hovels on the western bank to a day of toil48 in the city. A multitude of natives disported339 in the muddy waters of the Hoogly before a sacred bathing ghat. Below the bridge scores of ships lay at anchor, native sampans and barges340 inveigled341 their way among them, from the docks came the rattle342 of steam cranes and the shrill343 chatter344 of stevedores345 at their labor346. Here, at last, was a real city, with all its familiar roar and bustle347. My companions departed to visit a missionary notorious for his friendliness348 to beachcombers, and I plunged349 at random350 into the stream of humanity that surged through the dusty streets.
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1
amassing
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| v.积累，积聚( amass的现在分词 ) | |
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ram
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| (random access memory)随机存取存储器 | |
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entrust
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| v.信赖，信托，交托 | |
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hind
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| adj.后面的，后部的 | |
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remarkable
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| adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的 | |
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faculty
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| n.才能；学院，系；(学院或系的)全体教学人员 | |
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7
poke
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| n.刺，戳，袋；vt.拨开，刺，戳；vi.戳，刺，捅，搜索，伸出，行动散慢 | |
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8
nay
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| adv.不；n.反对票，投反对票者 | |
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aged
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| adj.年老的，陈年的 | |
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coppers
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| 铜( copper的名词复数 )； 铜币 | |
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copper
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| n.铜；铜币；铜器；adj.铜(制)的；(紫)铜色的 | |
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12
tenaciously
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| 坚持地 | |
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inspectors
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| n.检查员( inspector的名词复数 )；（英国公共汽车或火车上的）查票员；（警察）巡官；检阅官 | |
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inspector
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| n.检查员，监察员，视察员 | |
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dodge
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| v.闪开，躲开，避开；n.妙计，诡计 | |
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auditors
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| n.审计员，稽核员( auditor的名词复数 )；（大学课程的）旁听生 | |
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audited
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| v.审计，查账( audit的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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broker
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| n.中间人，经纪人；v.作为中间人来安排 | |
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initiated
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| n. 创始人 adj. 新加入的 vt. 开始，创始，启蒙，介绍加入 | |
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masonry
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| n.砖土建筑；砖石 | |
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exhausted
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| adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的 | |
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forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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discretion
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| n.谨慎；随意处理 | |
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allay
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| v.消除，减轻(恐惧、怀疑等) | |
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devoted
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| adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的 | |
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entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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noted
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| adj.著名的，知名的 | |
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cumbersome
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| adj.笨重的，不便携带的 | |
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yoke
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| n.轭；支配；v.给...上轭，连接，使成配偶 | |
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30
virtues
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| 美德( virtue的名词复数 )； 德行； 优点； 长处 | |
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resounds
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| v.（指声音等）回荡于某处( resound的第三人称单数 )；产生回响；（指某处）回荡着声音 | |
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32
emaciated
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| adj.衰弱的，消瘦的 | |
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wagon
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| n.四轮马车，手推车，面包车；无盖运货列车 | |
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34
laden
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| adj.装满了的；充满了的；负了重担的；苦恼的 | |
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corporate
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| adj.共同的，全体的；公司的，企业的 | |
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supreme
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| adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的 | |
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ragged
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| adj.衣衫褴褛的，粗糙的，刺耳的 | |
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rammer
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| n.撞锤；夯土机；拨弹机；夯 | |
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stolidly
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| adv.迟钝地，神经麻木地 | |
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abjectly
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| 凄惨地； 绝望地； 糟透地； 悲惨地 | |
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fiery
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| adj.燃烧着的，火红的；暴躁的；激烈的 | |
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ramming
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| n.打结炉底v.夯实（土等）( ram的现在分词 )；猛撞；猛压；反复灌输 | |
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miserable
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| adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的 | |
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44
abhorred
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| v.憎恶( abhor的过去式和过去分词 )；（厌恶地）回避；拒绝；淘汰 | |
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clout
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| n.用手猛击；权力，影响力 | |
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longing
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| n.（for）渴望 | |
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blighted
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| adj.枯萎的，摧毁的 | |
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48
toil
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| vi.辛劳工作，艰难地行动；n.苦工，难事 | |
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toiled
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| 长时间或辛苦地工作( toil的过去式和过去分词 )； 艰难缓慢地移动，跋涉 | |
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50
throng
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| n.人群，群众；v.拥挤，群集 | |
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dread
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| vt.担忧，忧虑；惧怕，不敢；n.担忧，畏惧 | |
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52
rumbled
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| 发出隆隆声，发出辘辘声( rumble的过去式和过去分词 )； 轰鸣着缓慢行进； 发现…的真相； 看穿（阴谋） | |
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53
twilight
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| n.暮光，黄昏；暮年，晚期，衰落时期 | |
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54
curb
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| n.场外证券市场，场外交易；vt.制止，抑制 | |
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proprietor
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| n.所有人；业主；经营者 | |
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56
alienated
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| adj.感到孤独的，不合群的v.使疏远( alienate的过去式和过去分词 )；使不友好；转让；让渡（财产等） | |
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57
professing
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| 声称( profess的现在分词 )； 宣称； 公开表明； 信奉 | |
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conversion
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| n.转化，转换，转变 | |
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Christian
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| adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒 | |
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60
yarn
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| n.纱，纱线，纺线；奇闻漫谈，旅行轶事 | |
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spun
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| v.纺，杜撰，急转身 | |
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lodging
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| n.寄宿，住所；(大学生的)校外宿舍 | |
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63
doomed
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| 命定的 | |
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sag
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| v.下垂，下跌，消沉；n.下垂，下跌，凹陷，[航海]随风漂流 | |
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urchin
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| n.顽童；海胆 | |
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huddled
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| 挤在一起（huddle的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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mutual
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| adj.相互的，彼此的；共同的，共有的 | |
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ordinance
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| n.法令；条令；条例 | |
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69
sneak
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| vt.潜行(隐藏,填石缝)；偷偷摸摸做；n.潜行；adj.暗中进行 | |
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70
bellies
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| n.肚子( belly的名词复数 )；腹部；（物体的）圆形或凸起部份；腹部…形的 | |
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71
sleeper
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| n.睡眠者，卧车，卧铺 | |
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72
knoll
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| n.小山，小丘 | |
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grove
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| n.林子，小树林，园林 | |
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74
boughs
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| 大树枝( bough的名词复数 ) | |
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75
hoarsely
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| adv.嘶哑地 | |
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76
intervals
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| n.[军事]间隔( interval的名词复数 )；间隔时间；[数学]区间；（戏剧、电影或音乐会的）幕间休息 | |
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77
sepulchral
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| adj.坟墓的，阴深的 | |
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78
spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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79
strand
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| vt.使（船）搁浅，使（某人）困于（某地） | |
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80
teeming
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| adj.丰富的v.充满( teem的现在分词 )；到处都是；（指水、雨等）暴降；倾注 | |
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81
hordes
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| n.移动着的一大群( horde的名词复数 )；部落 | |
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82
dismally
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| adv.阴暗地，沉闷地 | |
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83
syllables
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| n.音节( syllable的名词复数 ) | |
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84
lurks
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| n.潜在，潜伏；（lurk的复数形式）vi.潜伏，埋伏（lurk的第三人称单数形式） | |
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85
raving
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| adj.说胡话的；疯狂的，怒吼的；非常漂亮的；令人醉心[痴心]的v.胡言乱语(rave的现在分词)n.胡话；疯话adv.胡言乱语地；疯狂地 | |
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86
maniac
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| n.精神癫狂的人；疯子 | |
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87
eloquent
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| adj.雄辩的，口才流利的；明白显示出的 | |
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88
flail
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| v.用连枷打；击打；n.连枷（脱粒用的工具） | |
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89
terpsichorean
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| adj.舞蹈的；n.舞蹈家 | |
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90
tugs
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| n.猛拉( tug的名词复数 )；猛拖；拖船v.用力拉，使劲拉，猛扯( tug的第三人称单数 ) | |
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91
tug
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| v.用力拖(或拉)；苦干；n.拖；苦干；拖船 | |
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92
determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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93
component
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| n.组成部分，成分，元件；adj.组成的，合成的 | |
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94
maker
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| n.制造者，制造商 | |
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95
shreds
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| v.撕碎，切碎( shred的第三人称单数 )；用撕毁机撕毁（文件） | |
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96
fully
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| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
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97
cistern
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| n.贮水池 | |
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98
strictly
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| adv.严厉地，严格地；严密地 | |
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99
insipid
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| adj.无味的，枯燥乏味的，单调的 | |
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100
rendezvous
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| n.约会，约会地点，汇合点；vi.汇合，集合；vt.使汇合，使在汇合地点相遇 | |
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101
attire
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| v.穿衣，装扮[同]array；n.衣着；盛装 | |
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102
ridicule
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| v.讥讽，挖苦；n.嘲弄 | |
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103
shrieks
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| n.尖叫声( shriek的名词复数 )v.尖叫( shriek的第三人称单数 ) | |
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104
inventory
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| n.详细目录，存货清单 | |
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105
Bungler
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| n.笨拙者，经验不够的人 | |
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106
gutter
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| n.沟，街沟，水槽，檐槽，贫民窟 | |
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107
suburban
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| adj.城郊的，在郊区的 | |
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108
inquiry
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| n.打听，询问，调查，查问 | |
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109
futile
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| adj.无效的，无用的，无希望的 | |
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110
vendor
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| n.卖主；小贩 | |
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111
blithesome
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| adj.欢乐的，愉快的 | |
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112
lithe
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| adj.(指人、身体)柔软的，易弯的 | |
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113
hoary
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| adj.古老的；鬓发斑白的 | |
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114
squad
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| n.班，小队，小团体；vt.把…编成班或小组 | |
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115
judicial
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| adj.司法的，法庭的，审判的，明断的，公正的 | |
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116
scattered
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| adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的 | |
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117
gathering
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| n.集会，聚会，聚集 | |
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118
pompous
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| adj.傲慢的，自大的；夸大的；豪华的 | |
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119
bellied
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| adj.有腹的，大肚子的 | |
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120
ledger
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| n.总帐，分类帐；帐簿 | |
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121
alleging
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| 断言，宣称，辩解( allege的现在分词 ) | |
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122
indigence
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| n.贫穷 | |
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123
presidency
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| n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期) | |
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124
jurisdiction
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| n.司法权，审判权，管辖权，控制权 | |
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125
warden
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| n.监察员，监狱长，看守人，监护人 | |
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126
sojourner
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| n.旅居者，寄居者 | |
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127
felons
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| n.重罪犯( felon的名词复数 )；瘭疽；甲沟炎；指头脓炎 | |
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128
confided
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| v.吐露（秘密，心事等）( confide的过去式和过去分词 )；（向某人）吐露（隐私、秘密等） | |
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129
northward
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| adv.向北；n.北方的地区 | |
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130
magistrate
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| n.地方行政官，地方法官，治安官 | |
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131
suffocation
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| n.窒息 | |
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132
perspiring
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| v.出汗，流汗( perspire的现在分词 ) | |
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133
momentous
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| adj.重要的，重大的 | |
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134
climax
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| n.顶点；高潮；v.(使)达到顶点 | |
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135
proceedings
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| n.进程，过程，议程；诉讼(程序)；公报 | |
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136
judgment
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| n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见 | |
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137
beckoning
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| adj.引诱人的，令人心动的v.（用头或手的动作）示意，召唤( beckon的现在分词 ) | |
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138
immediate
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| adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的 | |
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139
imprisonment
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| n.关押，监禁，坐牢 | |
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140
phantom
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| n.幻影，虚位，幽灵；adj.错觉的，幻影的，幽灵的 | |
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141
applied
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| adj.应用的；v.应用，适用 | |
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142
yarns
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| n.纱( yarn的名词复数 )；纱线；奇闻漫谈；旅行轶事 | |
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143
commissioner
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| n.（政府厅、局、处等部门）专员，长官，委员 | |
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144
woes
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| 困境( woe的名词复数 )； 悲伤； 我好苦哇； 某人就要倒霉 | |
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145
rambling
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| adj.[建]凌乱的，杂乱的 | |
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146
bungalow
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| n.平房，周围有阳台的木造小平房 | |
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147
garb
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| n.服装，装束 | |
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148
vagrant
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| n.流浪者，游民；adj.流浪的，漂泊不定的 | |
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149
indifference
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| n.不感兴趣，不关心，冷淡，不在乎 | |
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150
abhorrence
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| n.憎恶；可憎恶的事 | |
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151
maternal
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| adj.母亲的，母亲般的，母系的，母方的 | |
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152
spicy
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| adj.加香料的；辛辣的，有风味的 | |
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153
hybrid
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| n.(动，植）杂种，混合物 | |
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154
chuckled
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| 轻声地笑( chuckle的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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155
swollen
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| adj.肿大的，水涨的；v.使变大，肿胀 | |
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156
thigh
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| n.大腿；股骨 | |
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157
incurable
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| adj.不能医治的，不能矫正的，无救的；n.不治的病人，无救的人 | |
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158
gleaned
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| v.一点点地收集（资料、事实）( glean的过去式和过去分词 )；（收割后）拾穗 | |
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159
inmates
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| n.囚犯( inmate的名词复数 ) | |
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160
scrupulously
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| adv.一丝不苟地；小心翼翼地，多顾虑地 | |
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161
veranda
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| n.走廊；阳台 | |
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162
discredited
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| 不足信的，不名誉的 | |
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163
meager
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| adj.缺乏的，不足的，瘦的 | |
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164
boundless
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| adj.无限的；无边无际的；巨大的 | |
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165
uneven
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| adj.不平坦的，不规则的，不均匀的 | |
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166
incorrigible
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| adj.难以纠正的，屡教不改的 | |
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167
ashore
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| adv.在(向)岸上，上岸 | |
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168
earnings
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| n.工资收人；利润，利益，所得 | |
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169
skull
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| n.头骨；颅骨 | |
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170
wont
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| adj.习惯于；v.习惯；n.习惯 | |
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171
compartment
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| n.卧车包房，隔间；分隔的空间 | |
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172
slumbers
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| 睡眠，安眠( slumber的名词复数 ) | |
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173
bristles
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| 短而硬的毛发，刷子毛( bristle的名词复数 ) | |
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174
tickling
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| 反馈，回授，自旋挠痒法 | |
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175
protruding
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| v.（使某物）伸出，（使某物）突出( protrude的现在分词 )；凸 | |
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176
whoop
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| n.大叫，呐喊，喘息声；v.叫喊，喘息 | |
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177
recoiled
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| v.畏缩( recoil的过去式和过去分词 )；退缩；报应；返回 | |
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178
avenged
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| v.为…复仇，报…之仇( avenge的过去式和过去分词 )；为…报复 | |
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179
tormentor
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| n. 使苦痛之人, 使苦恼之物, 侧幕 =tormenter | |
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180
casement
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| n.竖铰链窗；窗扉 | |
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181
writhing
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| （因极度痛苦而）扭动或翻滚( writhe的现在分词 ) | |
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182
contortions
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| n.扭歪，弯曲；扭曲，弄歪，歪曲( contortion的名词复数 ) | |
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183
foaming
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| adj.布满泡沫的；发泡 | |
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184
corpse
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| n.尸体，死尸 | |
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185
twitched
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| vt.& vi.（使）抽动，（使）颤动（twitch的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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186
lessening
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| 减轻，减少，变小 | |
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187
prone
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| adj.(to)易于…的，很可能…的；俯卧的 | |
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188
cadaver
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| n.尸体 | |
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189
apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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190
bazaars
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| （东方国家的）市场( bazaar的名词复数 )； 义卖； 义卖市场； （出售花哨商品等的）小商品市场 | |
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191
verdant
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| adj.翠绿的，青翠的，生疏的，不老练的 | |
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192
eastward
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| adv.向东；adj.向东的；n.东方，东部 | |
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193
bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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194
waded
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| （从水、泥等）蹚，走过，跋( wade的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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195
lighter
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| n.打火机，点火器；驳船；v.用驳船运送；light的比较级 | |
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196
crouched
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| v.屈膝，蹲伏( crouch的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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197
talons
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| n.（尤指猛禽的）爪( talon的名词复数 )；（如爪般的）手指；爪状物；锁簧尖状突出部 | |
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198
scraps
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| 油渣 | |
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199
snarled
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| v.（指狗）吠，嗥叫， （人）咆哮( snarl的过去式和过去分词 )；咆哮着说，厉声地说 | |
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200
ruminating
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| v.沉思( ruminate的现在分词 )；反复考虑；反刍；倒嚼 | |
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201
vista
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| n.远景，深景，展望，回想 | |
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202
medley
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| n.混合 | |
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203
inflict
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| vt.(on)把…强加给，使遭受，使承担 | |
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204
mosque
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| n.清真寺 | |
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205
perpendicular
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| adj.垂直的，直立的；n.垂直线，垂直的位置 | |
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206
saluted
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| v.欢迎，致敬( salute的过去式和过去分词 )；赞扬，赞颂 | |
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207
deferential
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| adj. 敬意的，恭敬的 | |
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208
deserted
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| adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的 | |
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209
commissioners
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| n.专员( commissioner的名词复数 )；长官；委员；政府部门的长官 | |
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210
tenors
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| n.男高音( tenor的名词复数 )；大意；男高音歌唱家；（文件的）抄本 | |
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211
shimmering
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| v.闪闪发光，发微光( shimmer的现在分词 ) | |
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212
winding
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| n.绕，缠，绕组，线圈 | |
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213
dense
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| a.密集的，稠密的，浓密的；密度大的 | |
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214
entangled
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| adj.卷入的；陷入的；被缠住的；缠在一起的v.使某人（某物/自己）缠绕，纠缠于（某物中），使某人（自己）陷入（困难或复杂的环境中）( entangle的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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215
meshes
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| 网孔( mesh的名词复数 )； 网状物； 陷阱； 困境 | |
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216
siestas
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| n.（气候炎热国家的）午睡，午休( siesta的名词复数 ) | |
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217
halfway
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| adj.中途的，不彻底的，部分的；adv.半路地，在中途，在半途 | |
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218
waived
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| v.宣布放弃( waive的过去式和过去分词 )；搁置；推迟；放弃（权利、要求等） | |
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219
seaman
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| n.海员，水手，水兵 | |
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220
utterly
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| adv.完全地，绝对地 | |
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221
suspense
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| n.（对可能发生的事）紧张感，担心，挂虑 | |
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222
densely
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| ad.密集地；浓厚地 | |
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223
imminent
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| adj.即将发生的，临近的，逼近的 | |
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224
vendors
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| n.摊贩( vendor的名词复数 )；小贩；（房屋等的）卖主；卖方 | |
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225
wares
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| n. 货物, 商品 | |
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226
greasy
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| adj. 多脂的，油脂的 | |
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227
doughy
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| adj.面团的，苍白的，半熟的；软弱无力 | |
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228
curried
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| adj.加了咖喱（或咖喱粉的），用咖哩粉调理的 | |
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229
shrine
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| n.圣地，神龛，庙；v.将...置于神龛内，把...奉为神圣 | |
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230
viands
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| n.食品，食物 | |
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231
abating
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|
| 减少( abate的现在分词 )； 减去； 降价； 撤消（诉讼） | |
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232
exorbitant
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| adj.过分的；过度的 | |
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233
superstitions
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| 迷信，迷信行为( superstition的名词复数 ) | |
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234
descended
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| a.为...后裔的，出身于...的 | |
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235
shrieked
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| v.尖叫( shriek的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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236
drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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237
wheedling
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| v.骗取（某物），哄骗（某人干某事）( wheedle的现在分词 ) | |
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238
shacks
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| n.窝棚，简陋的小屋( shack的名词复数 ) | |
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239
vessel
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| n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管 | |
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240
vessels
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| n.血管( vessel的名词复数 )；船；容器；（具有特殊品质或接受特殊品质的）人 | |
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241
pottery
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| n.陶器，陶器场 | |
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242
burnished
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| adj.抛光的，光亮的v.擦亮（金属等），磨光( burnish的过去式和过去分词 )；被擦亮，磨光 | |
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243
impunity
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| n.(惩罚、损失、伤害等的)免除 | |
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244
dwelling
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| n.住宅，住所，寓所 | |
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245
splendor
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| n.光彩；壮丽，华丽；显赫，辉煌 | |
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246
domes
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| n.圆屋顶( dome的名词复数 )；像圆屋顶一样的东西；圆顶体育场 | |
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247
dome
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| n.圆屋顶，拱顶 | |
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248
crumbling
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| adj.摇摇欲坠的 | |
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249
dreads
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| n.恐惧，畏惧( dread的名词复数 )；令人恐惧的事物v.害怕，恐惧，担心( dread的第三人称单数 ) | |
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250
repulsive
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| adj.排斥的，使人反感的 | |
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251
gargoyles
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| n.怪兽状滴水嘴( gargoyle的名词复数 ) | |
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252
loath
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| adj.不愿意的；勉强的 | |
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253
onward
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|
| adj.向前的，前进的；adv.向前，前进，在先 | |
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254
abruptly
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| adv.突然地，出其不意地 | |
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255
ravages
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| 劫掠后的残迹，破坏的结果，毁坏后的残迹 | |
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256
splendors
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| n.华丽( splendor的名词复数 )；壮丽；光辉；显赫 | |
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257
hovers
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| 鸟( hover的第三人称单数 )； 靠近（某事物）； （人）徘徊； 犹豫 | |
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258
swarm
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| n.(昆虫)等一大群；vi.成群飞舞；蜂拥而入 | |
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259
shrieking
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| v.尖叫( shriek的现在分词 ) | |
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260
pious
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| adj.虔诚的；道貌岸然的 | |
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261
untold
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| adj.数不清的，无数的 | |
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262
rites
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| 仪式，典礼( rite的名词复数 ) | |
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263
frenzy
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| n.疯狂，狂热，极度的激动 | |
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264
fanaticism
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| n.狂热，盲信 | |
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265
weird
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| adj.古怪的，离奇的；怪诞的，神秘而可怕的 | |
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266
withered
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|
| adj. 枯萎的，干瘪的，（人身体的部分器官）因病萎缩的或未发育良好的 动词wither的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
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267
demons
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| n.恶人( demon的名词复数 )；恶魔；精力过人的人；邪念 | |
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268
rabble
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| n.乌合之众，暴民；下等人 | |
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269
ponderous
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|
| adj.沉重的，笨重的，(文章)冗长的 | |
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270
scanty
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| adj.缺乏的，仅有的，节省的，狭小的，不够的 | |
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271
conducive
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| adj.有益的，有助的 | |
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272
obliterated
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| v.除去( obliterate的过去式和过去分词 )；涂去；擦掉；彻底破坏或毁灭 | |
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273
fanatics
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| 狂热者，入迷者( fanatic的名词复数 ) | |
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274
tautness
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| 拉紧，紧固度 | |
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275
scowled
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| 怒视，生气地皱眉( scowl的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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276
superintendent
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| n.监督人，主管，总监；(英国)警务长 | |
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277
quota
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| n.（生产、进出口等的）配额，（移民的）限额 | |
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278
annually
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| adv.一年一次，每年 | |
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279
superstitious
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| adj.迷信的 | |
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280
devoid
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| adj.全无的，缺乏的 | |
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281
sleek
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| adj.光滑的，井然有序的；v.使光滑，梳拢 | |
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282
reverence
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| 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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283
reverenced
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| v.尊敬，崇敬( reverence的过去式和过去分词 )；敬礼 | |
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284
dignified
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| a.可敬的，高贵的 | |
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285
arrogance
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| n.傲慢，自大 | |
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286
impoverished
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|
| adj.穷困的，无力的，用尽了的v.使（某人）贫穷( impoverish的过去式和过去分词 )；使（某物）贫瘠或恶化 | |
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287
proprietorship
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| n.所有（权）；所有权 | |
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288
prostrated
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| v.使俯伏，使拜倒( prostrate的过去式和过去分词 )；（指疾病、天气等）使某人无能为力 | |
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289
morsel
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| n.一口，一点点 | |
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290
leisurely
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| adj.悠闲的；从容的，慢慢的 | |
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291
epicure
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| n.行家，美食家 | |
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292
calf
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| n.小牛，犊，幼仔，小牛皮 | |
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293
discriminating
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| a.有辨别能力的 | |
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294
levied
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| 征（兵）( levy的过去式和过去分词 )； 索取； 发动（战争）； 征税 | |
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295
bovine
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| adj.牛的；n.牛 | |
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296
joint
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| adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合 | |
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297
wailed
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| v.哭叫，哀号( wail的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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298
eyelids
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| n.眼睑( eyelid的名词复数 )；眼睛也不眨一下；不露声色；面不改色 | |
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299
conspicuous
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| adj.明眼的，惹人注目的；炫耀的，摆阔气的 | |
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300
swarming
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| 密集( swarm的现在分词 )； 云集； 成群地移动； 蜜蜂或其他飞行昆虫成群地飞来飞去 | |
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301
bereavement
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| n.亲人丧亡，丧失亲人，丧亲之痛 | |
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302
spouse
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| n.配偶(指夫或妻) | |
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303
livelihood
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| n.生计，谋生之道 | |
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304
humane
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| adj.人道的，富有同情心的 | |
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305
justified
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| a.正当的，有理的 | |
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306
preservation
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| n.保护，维护，保存，保留，保持 | |
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307
seclusion
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| n.隐遁，隔离 | |
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308
jewelry
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| n.（jewllery）（总称）珠宝 | |
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309
supple
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| adj.柔软的，易弯的，逢迎的，顺从的，灵活的；vt.使柔软，使柔顺，使顺从；vi.变柔软，变柔顺 | |
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310
graceful
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|
| adj.优美的，优雅的；得体的 | |
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311
dreading
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| v.害怕，恐惧，担心( dread的现在分词 ) | |
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312
gaudy
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| adj.华而不实的；俗丽的 | |
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313
cyclone
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| n.旋风，龙卷风 | |
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314
bracelets
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| n.手镯，臂镯( bracelet的名词复数 ) | |
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315
lobe
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| n.耳垂，（肺，肝等的）叶 | |
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316
nostril
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| n.鼻孔 | |
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317
throb
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| v.震颤，颤动；(急速强烈地)跳动，搏动 | |
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318
bosom
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| n.胸，胸部；胸怀；内心；adj.亲密的 | |
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319
musing
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| n. 沉思，冥想 adj. 沉思的, 冥想的 动词muse的现在分词形式 | |
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320
synonym
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| n.同义词，换喻词 | |
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321
missionary
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| adj.教会的，传教(士)的；n.传教士 | |
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322
propounded
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| v.提出（问题、计划等）供考虑[讨论]，提议( propound的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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323
enigma
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| n.谜，谜一样的人或事 | |
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324
contemplated
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| adj. 预期的 动词contemplate的过去分词形式 | |
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325
arrogant
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| adj.傲慢的，自大的 | |
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326
marooning
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|
| vt.把…放逐到孤岛（maroon的现在分词形式） | |
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327
acceded
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|
| v.（正式）加入( accede的过去式和过去分词 )；答应；（通过财产的添附而）增加；开始任职 | |
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328
stranded
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| a.搁浅的，进退两难的 | |
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329
kindly
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| adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地 | |
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330
refunded
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| v.归还，退还( refund的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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331
astonishment
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| n.惊奇，惊异 | |
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332
bulging
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| 膨胀； 凸出（部）； 打气； 折皱 | |
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333
peg
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| n.木栓，木钉；vt.用木钉钉，用短桩固定 | |
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334
reposed
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| v.将（手臂等）靠在某人（某物）上( repose的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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335
lugged
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| vt.用力拖拉（lug的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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336
grumbled
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| 抱怨( grumble的过去式和过去分词 )； 发牢骚； 咕哝； 发哼声 | |
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337
baneful
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| adj.有害的 | |
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338
expedient
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| adj.有用的，有利的；n.紧急的办法，权宜之计 | |
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339
disported
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| v.嬉戏，玩乐，自娱( disport的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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340
barges
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| 驳船( barge的名词复数 ) | |
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341
inveigled
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| v.诱骗，引诱( inveigle的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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342
rattle
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| v.飞奔，碰响；激怒；n.碰撞声；拨浪鼓 | |
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343
shrill
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| adj.尖声的；刺耳的；v尖叫 | |
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344
chatter
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| vi.／n.喋喋不休；短促尖叫；(牙齿)打战 | |
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345
stevedores
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| n.码头装卸工人，搬运工( stevedore的名词复数 ) | |
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346
labor
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| n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦 | |
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347
bustle
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| v.喧扰地忙乱，匆忙，奔忙；n.忙碌；喧闹 | |
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348
friendliness
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| n.友谊，亲切，亲密 | |
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349
plunged
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| v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降 | |
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350
random
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| adj.随机的；任意的；n.偶然的(或随便的)行动 | |
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