CHAPTER XXV. AT NIAGARA FALLS.

On his way back from Cleveland, Scott, having the necessary leisure, stopped a couple of days at Niagara Falls. He registered his name at the Clifton House, on the Canada side.

He lost no time in visiting the objects of interest connected with the falls, and at the close of the first day sat on the piazza¹, with the falls in sight.

A blond-bearded young man of perhaps twenty-five, evidently an Englishman, sat near by. He looked at Scott once or twice, as if tempted² to speak, but a certain reticence³ characteristic of his countrymen appeared to prevent.

Scott observed this, and made a remark by way of opening a conversation.

"Yes," answered the young man, "you are right. The falls are grand. You Americans ought to be very proud of them."

"But," said Scott, smiling, "I am not an American."

The Englishman looked surprised, for Scott,[Pg 211] though he had only been in America a year, had come to resemble the people among whom he had cast his lot.

"What, then, are you?" inquired his new acquaintance, looking puzzled.

"I was born in England."

"Indeed!" said the other. "Then we are countrymen."

"I am glad to know it," said Scott, courteously⁴.

"How long have you been in America, if I may ask?"

"A little more than a year."

"And do you live in Canada?"

"No, I live in New York."

"You are not—in business?" queried⁵ the Englishman, noticing his youthful appearance.

"Oh, yes, I am employed by a New York firm."

"But how do you happen—excuse my asking—to be here? But perhaps it is your vacation."

"No, I am traveling for the firm. I am a traveling salesman for the house of Tower, Douglas & Co."

"That is a large firm, I have heard."

"One of the largest in New York."

"I confess I am puzzled. You occupy such a responsible position, and yet you are so young."

[Pg 212]

"I believe my case is exceptional. I am the youngest traveler for our house."

"I rejoice in your success, since you are an English boy. May I ask your name?"

Scott handed his new acquaintance a card like this:

SCOTT WALTON

Representing

Tower, Douglas & Co.

NEW YORK.

"Thank you," said the other.

He took from his pocket a card, from which Scott learned that he was Lord Cecil Grant, Earl of Windermere.

"I am honored in making your acquaintance," said Scott. "May I say that you seem young to be an earl? I fancied all earls were at least fifty years of age."

"I wish that I had waited till fifty for my title," said the young Englishman, gravely; "but my poor father died suddenly, six months ago, and partly to dissipate my grief I came to America."

"Have you been here long, my lord?" asked Scott, not knowing exactly how to address his distinguished⁶ companion.

"Never mind the title," said the earl, smiling.

[Pg 213]

"It comes awkwardly to an American to use it, and you are already half an American."

"What shall I call you, then?"

"You may call me Mr. Grant, if you like. If you come to know me better, you may call me Cecil. I shall take the liberty, since you are a boy, to call you Scott."

As he spoke⁷ there was a winning smile upon his face, and Scott felt that he should like him.

"I will try to forget that you are an earl," he said, "and then I shall feel more at home with you."

"What do you say to a walk, Scott? The evening is too fine to spend here."

"I shall be delighted."

He put on his hat, and the two sauntered off together. They were both good walkers, and had covered several miles before they returned to the hotel.

"I wish I had met you before, Scott," said the earl, familiarly. "Won't you tell me something about yourself, and your history? I am sure you have one."

Almost before he knew it, Scott had told the story already familiar to the reader. The earl listened with evident interest.

[Pg 214]

"Really," he said, "it is worthy⁸ of telling in book form. That uncle of yours——"

"My mother's cousin," corrected Scott.

"No matter. We will say relative. He must certainly be a mean, disagreeable fellow, don't you know, and as to your cousin with the peculiar⁹ name——"

"Loammi."

"Yes, I never heard the name before. Well, he must be a cad."

"I think he is," said Scott, smiling; "but I assure you he considers himself infinitely¹⁰ above me."

"I shall not ask you for an introduction."

"He would like nothing better than to become acquainted with you, Mr. Grant."

"You compliment me. Well, here we are at the hotel. What are your plans for to-morrow? I hope you do not leave in the morning?"

"No; I shall spend another day here."

"Why not spend it together?"

"I should like nothing better," said Scott, sincerely.

"Then we will do so. I will secure a carriage in the morning, and we will make a day of it."

He was as good as his word, and Scott had a delightful¹¹ time. He almost succeeded in forgetting[Pg 215] his companion's rank, and found him a congenial companion.

Just after supper, when the earl had gone up to his room, a pretentious-looking man of middle age, who seemed to be continually trying to assert his claim to superiority, came up to Scott.

"Boy," he said, "I understand there is an English earl staying at the hotel?"

"Yes, sir. It is the Earl of Windermere."

"Have you seen him? Could you point him out to me?"

"He has gone up to his room, but will probably be back almost immediately."

"How shall I know him?"

"He will come up and speak to me, and then we shall probably go out to walk together."

"Are you a friend of the earl?" asked Mr. Burton, in surprise.

"I think I may call myself so. We have been together all day."

Mr. Burton regarded Scott with new respect. He had unceremoniously called him "boy," but it was before he knew that he was a friend of an earl.

"Would you kindly¹² introduce me?" he asked, eagerly.

[Pg 216]

"I am not quite sure whether he would be willing," returned Scott, with hesitation¹³.

"Would you mind asking him?"

"If you will let me know your name, sir."

"I am Nathan Burton, of Albany. I have been an alderman," said the other, consequentially¹⁴.

"I hope you may yet be mayor," answered Scott, amused.

"Stranger things have happened," rejoined Mr. Burton, complacently¹⁵. "Did you come over with the earl?"

"A year earlier," returned Scott, gravely.

From this Mr. Burton inferred that they had been friends on the other side.

"And your name is——"

"Scott Walton."

"An aristocratic name!" thought the Albany alderman. "Are you related to the earl?"

"No, sir. We are only friends."

At this moment the earl entered the room, and at once went up to Scott.

"Are you ready for a walk, Scott?" he asked.

"Yes, but first——" And here in a low voice Scott communicated Mr. Burton's request.

The earl looked around at the alderman and seemed amused.

[Pg 217]

"Very well," he said, smiling.

At a signal, Mr. Burton approached.

"My lord," said Scott, formally, "allow me to present Mr. Alderman Burton, of Albany."

Mr. Burton bowed profoundly.

"I am glad to become acquainted with a representative American," said the earl, in a dignified¹⁶ voice, quite different from his tone in talking with Scott.

"My lord earl, I feel very much honored to make your acquaintance," said Mr. Burton, with another profound bow.

"I believe you Americans have no titles," said the earl.

"No, my lord; but I should be in favor of having them."

"In that case, you might become Earl of Albany."

"You do me proud, indeed you do, my lord," said the gratified alderman.

"I am sorry to leave you so soon, but my young friend and I propose to have a walk."

"Don't let me detain you, my lord. If I might dare to ask one favor——"

"What is it, sir?"

"If you would favor me with your card?"

[Pg 218]

With a smile, the earl produced the coveted¹⁷ bit of pasteboard and handed it to the alderman.

When they were fairly out of the hotel, both laughed merrily.

"Do you want me to be as respectful as Mr. Alderman Burton?" asked Scott.

"No, be yourself, Scott. That will suit me better."

1 piazza   

n.广场；走廊

参考例句：

• Siena's main piazza was one of the sights of Italy.锡耶纳的主要广场是意大利的名胜之一。
• They walked out of the cafeteria,and across the piazzadj.他们走出自助餐厅,穿过广场。

2 tempted   

v.怂恿（某人）干不正当的事；冒…的险（tempt的过去分词）

参考例句：

• I was sorely tempted to complain, but I didn't. 我极想发牢骚，但还是没开口。
• I was tempted by the dessert menu. 甜食菜单馋得我垂涎欲滴。

3 reticence   

n.沉默，含蓄

参考例句：

• He breaks out of his normal reticence and tells me the whole story.他打破了平时一贯沈默寡言的习惯，把事情原原本本都告诉了我。
• He always displays a certain reticence in discussing personal matters.他在谈论个人问题时总显得有些保留。

4 courteously   

adv.有礼貌地，亲切地

参考例句：

• He courteously opened the door for me.他谦恭有礼地为我开门。
• Presently he rose courteously and released her.过了一会，他就很客气地站起来，让她走开。

5 queried   

v.质疑，对…表示疑问( query的过去式和过去分词 )；询问

参考例句：

• She queried what he said. 她对他说的话表示怀疑。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• \"What does he have to do?\" queried Chin dubiously. “他有什么心事？”琴向觉民问道，她的脸上现出疑惑不解的神情。 来自汉英文学 - 家（1-26） - 家（1-26）

6 distinguished   

adj.卓越的，杰出的，著名的

参考例句：

• Elephants are distinguished from other animals by their long noses.大象以其长长的鼻子显示出与其他动物的不同。
• A banquet was given in honor of the distinguished guests.宴会是为了向贵宾们致敬而举行的。

7 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

8 worthy   

adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的

参考例句：

• I did not esteem him to be worthy of trust.我认为他不值得信赖。
• There occurred nothing that was worthy to be mentioned.没有值得一提的事发生。

9 peculiar   

adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的

参考例句：

• He walks in a peculiar fashion.他走路的样子很奇特。
• He looked at me with a very peculiar expression.他用一种很奇怪的表情看着我。

10 infinitely   

adv.无限地，无穷地

参考例句：

• There is an infinitely bright future ahead of us.我们有无限光明的前途。
• The universe is infinitely large.宇宙是无限大的。

11 delightful   

adj.令人高兴的，使人快乐的

参考例句：

• We had a delightful time by the seashore last Sunday.上星期天我们在海滨玩得真痛快。
• Peter played a delightful melody on his flute.彼得用笛子吹奏了一支欢快的曲子。

12 kindly   

adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地

参考例句：

• Her neighbours spoke of her as kindly and hospitable.她的邻居都说她和蔼可亲、热情好客。
• A shadow passed over the kindly face of the old woman.一道阴影掠过老太太慈祥的面孔。

13 hesitation   

n.犹豫，踌躇

参考例句：

• After a long hesitation, he told the truth at last.踌躇了半天，他终于直说了。
• There was a certain hesitation in her manner.她的态度有些犹豫不决。

14 consequentially   

adv.必然地

参考例句：

• In the construction of hydroelectric power station, eco-environment will be consequentially destroyed to some extent. 在水电站建设中，生态环境必然遭到一定程度的破坏。 来自互联网
• It was because of these subjective and objective reasons that it consequentially retreated from the history. 正是由于这些主观和客观的原因，注定它必然要退出历史舞台。 来自互联网

15 complacently   

adv. 满足地, 自满地, 沾沾自喜地

参考例句：

• He complacently lived out his life as a village school teacher. 他满足于一个乡村教师的生活。
• "That was just something for evening wear," returned his wife complacently. “那套衣服是晚装，"他妻子心安理得地说道。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

16 dignified   

a.可敬的，高贵的

参考例句：

• Throughout his trial he maintained a dignified silence. 在整个审讯过程中，他始终沉默以保持尊严。
• He always strikes such a dignified pose before his girlfriend. 他总是在女友面前摆出这种庄严的姿态。

17 coveted   

adj.令人垂涎的；垂涎的，梦寐以求的v.贪求，觊觎(covet的过去分词)；垂涎；贪图

参考例句：

• He had long coveted the chance to work with a famous musician. 他一直渴望有机会与著名音乐家一起工作。
• Ther other boys coveted his new bat. 其他的男孩都想得到他的新球棒。 来自《简明英汉词典》