As the three sportsmen clanked along the carpeted passage to the drawing-room, they heard the notes of a pianoforte sounding from that apartment, and Mr. Sawyer had barely time to summon all his fortitude6, for the subversion7 of his constitutional shyness, ere he found himself ushered8 into that sanctuary9, in the wake of the Honourable10 Crasher, whom, truth to tell, just at that moment, he felt he would have followed with less apprehension11 over another locked gate, or treacherous12 “oxer.” It was not so formidable an undertaking13, after all. There were but two ladies, and both seemed delighted at the acquisition of visitors on so dull a morning. The introductions were got over, none the worse that nobody knew the stranger’s name; and both Mrs. Dove, an ample lady, with the remains14 of considerable beauty, and “My daughter Cecilia,” of whom more anon, seemed resolved to make themselves agreeable to their guests—Mamma rather inclining to the Honourable Crasher, who was an old friend, and had often dropped in to luncheon15 before; whilst the siren Cecilia, fresh from the execution of that “sweet thing” they had heard on the pianoforte, seemed willing to devote herself to the amusement and possible subjugation16 of the stranger.
There are some men on whom young ladies feel instinctively17 they are but wasting their time, and it is curious how seldom their perceptions deceive them on this point. Of such was the Honourable C. Good-looking, amiable18, to all appearance well-off, and not over-burdened with brains, he possessed19 all the attributes of an “eligible parti” and yet somehow the most match-making of mothers, and the most enterprising of daughters, always gave him up as a bad job, after the first ten minutes. There was something about him that betrayed to female shrewdness he was not “a marrying man,” and as they judiciously20 abstain21 from playing a game in which the loss is not exclusively on the side of the adversary22, they let him alone accordingly.
Now, it was otherwise with Mr. Sawyer. Although you and I would have voted him a confirmed bachelor, might even have judged him uncharitably as somewhat rough and unpolished and unrefined, might have scouted23 the idea of his being in any respect “a ladies’ man,” and laughed outright24 at his competing with such a double-distilled dandy as the Honourable C., we should thus have only exposed our ignorance of the secret springs and impulses that move that mysterious piece of mechanism—the female mind. Miss Dove, in the absence of any other and nobler game, had not the slightest objection to exercise the different weapons in her armoury on her Mamma’s friend’s friend.
These were of a sufficiently25 deadly character. Miss Cecilia—or “Cissy,” as they called her at home—without being strictly26 pretty, was a very attractive young lady. She had a pair of wicked black eyes, with rather thick eyebrows27; a high colour; white teeth, which she did not scruple28 to display on all available occasions; and a laugh so clear and ringing and inspiriting, that it put a man in good-humour in spite of himself. Even in the bitterest of frosts, Papa could not be cross for five minutes together, when “Cissy” set to work to tease him into affability. Also, Miss Dove’s figure was exceedingly round and symmetrical; not an angle nor a corner in those graceful29, flowing lines. Her foot and ankle were undeniable, and her hands white and well-shaped. Altogether, she would have passed muster30 as good-looking in London: it is needless, therefore, to say that she ought to have been placarded “dangerous” in Leicestershire. Nor had this young woman neglected such opportunities of improving her natural advantages as had come in her way. She could play and sing with much taste and tolerable skill; she could waltz down a strong man in pretty good training, without drawing her breath quicker for the exertion31; she could ride with a degree of nerve and judgment32 seldom enjoyed by the softer sex; and, finally, she had a way of looking down, to show her long eyelashes, which in many instances had been productive of much loss and confusion to the adversary.
It was, you see, scarcely a fair match to pit all these qualities against honest John Standish Sawyer, with his coarse hands and feet, his short, square-tailed coat, ill-made boots and breeches, red whiskers, and general diffidence.
As he sat before her, with his cap between his feet (I need hardly observe that, like the other ornaments33 of the Old Country, he wore a velvet34 hunting-cap), and the horn handle of his whip in his mouth, she took the lead in the conversation; indeed, I am prepared to lay my reader considerable odds35, that, whenever he meets a lady and gentleman together, the former is talking, and the latter listening.
Miss Dove began at him without delay:
“You’ve only just arrived, I hear; and, indeed, what unpromising weather you find us with! I told Papa, this morning, I was sure we shouldn’t be able to hunt; and I went and took my habit off directly after breakfast. If there’s one thing I abominate36 more than another, it’s a fog; and at Tilton Wood, too, of all places in the world! I’ve no idea of leaving a good fire, to go and sit there with the others, like a lot of crows in a mist; and this weather always lasts three days; and to-morrow they meet at the best place they have; and I hope you like our country?”
Mr. Sawyer could not conscientiously37 affirm that he had yet seen it; so he mumbled38 out an unintelligible39 answer, and the young lady went off again at score:
“Harborough’s getting quite a gay place, I declare. So many gentlemen come there now, to hunt; and it’s so convenient for the railroad; and I dare say you know Mr. Savage40, and Captain Struggles, and Major Brush; and are you going to give us a Harborough ball?”
Mr. Sawyer was sufficiently experienced to take heart of grace at this juncture41, and reply, “Oh, certainly—certainly! I’m sure it will be a capital ball. May we hope, Miss Dove, that you will come to it?”
The eyelashes went down immediately; and Miss D. was, no doubt, on the eve of making an appropriate reply, when the announcement of luncheon, and the simultaneous return of Paterfamilias, broke up the pair of tête-à-têtes, and the party adjourned42 to the dining-room, all, apparently43, on pretty good terms with themselves—Mr. Sawyer inwardly proud of having got so well out of the ball difficulty; “Cissy” a little elevated with the conviction that she had made a fresh conquest (not that it was any novelty, but the feeling is always more or less agreeable); Papa ready for luncheon, and sanguine44 about the four-year-old; Mamma enchanted45 to have caught a good listener; and the Honourable Crasher in his usual state of easy and affable nonchalance46.
It is only right to observe that the Rev47. had exchanged his hunting costume for a suit of more clerical attire48, yet, somehow, had failed to put off with his leathers an atom of his equestrian49 air. Even in the fullest canonicals, you never could have taken Mr. Dove for anything but a sportsman.
Why are people always so much pleasanter at luncheon than at dinner? Notwithstanding John Bull’s predilection50 for the latter meal, as a mode of testifying his regard, his civility, and his own respectability, I cannot help thinking that foreigners are right to ignore that heavy system of dinner-giving which we islanders regard as the very framework of our social system. There is always more or less of pomposity51, and consequent restraint, attendant upon a regular set dinner in the country. A few thorough people of the world, “worldly,” know how to ask exactly the right three couple or so, and put them down to a hot dinner at a round table, such as is the very acme52 of all festive53 boards; but this is a rare quality in host and hostess. Usually, you are placed next to a guest you don’t know, and opposite to one you don’t like. Your soup is cold, your venison underdone; and the eyes of three or four servants intently watching every mouthful you swallow is destruction to a delicate appetite. In some old-fashioned houses, you may even recognise the burly coachman assisting his fellow-domestics to wait upon the company; and although, for my own part, I confess to a liking54 for “the smell of the stables,” I cannot but admit that the flavour is somewhat spoilt by being mixed with that of a “salmi de gibier,” or a sweetbread plastered round with spinach55.
But luncheon, on the contrary, is a light, exhilarating, free-and-easy meal. Even Mr. Sawyer, as he finished his leg of pheasant and glass of brown sherry, felt wonderfully restored by his repast. “Cissy” was a good “doer” (ladies generally are, about two o’clock), and, till she had disposed of her meal, gave her neighbour a little breathing-time, and leisure to look about him.
I have often thought, although I am by no means the first person who has made the observation, both in and out of print, how true it is that it may be a huge disadvantage to a girl to be seen in company with her mother. It is sometimes discouraging enough to reflect that the coveted56 treasure must eventually expand into a facsimile of the dragon on guard. Fancy, if the fruit in the Gardens of the Hesperides had been eggs instead of apples, each golden shell enclosing the germ of just such a monster as was grinning at the gate! To be sure, the resemblance may cut the other way as well. I have seen mammas whom the fairest of Eve’s daughters might be proud to resemble; but it is sometimes hard upon the young Ph?be to have perpetually at her side the shapeless Mother Bunch, into the facsimile of which she must eventually grow. Mr. Sawyer, gazing intently on his hostess discussing her cutlet and glass of port-wine with considerable relish58, acknowledged, though he would not accept, the warning.
Miss Dove took after Mamma rather than Papa. The matron’s red face was a brilliant colour in the girl; and the exuberant59 proportions of the one, suggestive of good-humour, good-living, and motherly content, were but the full, flowing outlines of perfect symmetry in the other.
However, they all got on remarkably60 well. Even the Honourable Crasher made a feeble joke, of which the point somehow escaped his listeners—without, however, destroying his own enjoyment61 in its delivery. By the time Papa proposed an adjournment62 to the stables, to inspect the four-year-old—“Cissy” pleading for two minutes’ law, to put her hat on—they were all in high good-humour. If “one spur in the head” be “worth two in the heel,” I think it is equally true that a slight stimulant63 about 1.30 is twice as effectual as a feast at 7.45.
The four-year-old was a fine, lengthy64, lashing-looking young horse, to use a graphic65 expression, more akin3 to the kennel66 than the stable. He had all that thickness of outline and coarseness of particular points which sportsmen so like to see, when pedigrees are unimpeachable67, and which are sure to grow out into eventual57 strength and symmetry. Mr. Sawyer would perhaps have admired him more, had his attention not been distracted by the apparition68 in the young one’s box of the following choice assortment69: viz. one pair of Balmoral-boots (arched instep and pointed70 heels, after Leech); one scarlet71 jupe, short and full; one morning-gown, very rich and voluminous, tucked and girt up all about ditto; one pair of neat little gloved hands, with tight-fitting bust72 and arms to match; and one rosy73, smiling, happy face; the whole crowned by such a hat and feather as said “Suivez moi!” far more peremptorily74 than ever did Henri Quatre’s great white panache75. After that, he looked very little at the four-year-old.
Poor Mr. Sawyer! When his horse was led out, to take him back to Harborough, she patted its grey nose, and called it “a darling.” “A darling!” and the ungrateful brute76 snorted all over her pretty face and hands! Well, he patted its neck himself, as he rode out of the yard.
The day seemed to have improved somehow, though the fog was equally dense77, and twilight—or rather no-light—had set in. That cigar, too, which the Honourable gave him just under Langton, he thought, was the best he had ever smoked in his life.
点击
收听单词发音
收听单词发音 |
1
luxurious
|
|
| adj.精美而昂贵的；豪华的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
2
complimentary
|
|
| adj.赠送的，免费的，赞美的，恭维的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
3
akin
|
|
| adj.同族的，类似的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
4
delightful
|
|
| adj.令人高兴的，使人快乐的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
5
snug
|
|
| adj.温暖舒适的，合身的，安全的；v.使整洁干净，舒适地依靠，紧贴；n.（英）酒吧里的私房 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
6
fortitude
|
|
| n.坚忍不拔；刚毅 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
7
subversion
|
|
| n.颠覆，破坏 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
8
ushered
|
|
| v.引，领，陪同( usher的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
9
sanctuary
|
|
| n.圣所，圣堂，寺庙；禁猎区，保护区 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
10
honourable
|
|
| adj.可敬的；荣誉的，光荣的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
11
apprehension
|
|
| n.理解，领悟；逮捕，拘捕；忧虑 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
12
treacherous
|
|
| adj.不可靠的，有暗藏的危险的；adj.背叛的，背信弃义的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
13
undertaking
|
|
| n.保证，许诺，事业 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
14
remains
|
|
| n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
15
luncheon
|
|
| n.午宴，午餐，便宴 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
16
subjugation
|
|
| n.镇压，平息，征服 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
17
instinctively
|
|
| adv.本能地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
18
amiable
|
|
| adj.和蔼可亲的，友善的，亲切的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
19
possessed
|
|
| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
20
judiciously
|
|
| adv.明断地，明智而审慎地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
21
abstain
|
|
| v.自制，戒绝，弃权，避免 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
22
adversary
|
|
| adj.敌手，对手 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
23
scouted
|
|
| 寻找，侦察( scout的过去式和过去分词 )； 物色（优秀运动员、演员、音乐家等） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
24
outright
|
|
| adv.坦率地；彻底地；立即；adj.无疑的；彻底的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
25
sufficiently
|
|
| adv.足够地，充分地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
26
strictly
|
|
| adv.严厉地，严格地；严密地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
27
eyebrows
|
|
| 眉毛( eyebrow的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
28
scruple
|
|
| n./v.顾忌，迟疑 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
29
graceful
|
|
| adj.优美的，优雅的；得体的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
30
muster
|
|
| v.集合，收集，鼓起，激起；n.集合，检阅，集合人员，点名册 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
31
exertion
|
|
| n.尽力，努力 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
32
judgment
|
|
| n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
33
ornaments
|
|
| n.装饰( ornament的名词复数 )；点缀；装饰品；首饰v.装饰，点缀，美化( ornament的第三人称单数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
34
velvet
|
|
| n.丝绒，天鹅绒；adj.丝绒制的，柔软的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
35
odds
|
|
| n.让步，机率，可能性，比率；胜败优劣之别 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
36
abominate
|
|
| v.憎恨，厌恶 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
37
conscientiously
|
|
| adv.凭良心地；认真地，负责尽职地；老老实实 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
38
mumbled
|
|
| 含糊地说某事，叽咕，咕哝( mumble的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
39
unintelligible
|
|
| adj.无法了解的，难解的，莫明其妙的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
40
savage
|
|
| adj.野蛮的；凶恶的，残暴的；n.未开化的人 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
41
juncture
|
|
| n.时刻，关键时刻，紧要关头 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
42
adjourned
|
|
| （使）休会， （使）休庭( adjourn的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
43
apparently
|
|
| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
44
sanguine
|
|
| adj.充满希望的，乐观的，血红色的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
45
enchanted
|
|
| adj. 被施魔法的，陶醉的，入迷的 动词enchant的过去式和过去分词 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
46
nonchalance
|
|
| n.冷淡，漠不关心 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
47
rev
|
|
| v.发动机旋转，加快速度 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
48
attire
|
|
| v.穿衣，装扮[同]array；n.衣着；盛装 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
49
equestrian
|
|
| adj.骑马的；n.马术 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
50
predilection
|
|
| n.偏好 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
51
pomposity
|
|
| n.浮华；虚夸；炫耀；自负 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
52
acme
|
|
| n.顶点，极点 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
53
festive
|
|
| adj.欢宴的，节日的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
54
liking
|
|
| n.爱好；嗜好；喜欢 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
55
spinach
|
|
| n.菠菜 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
56
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： |
|
|
|
|
57
eventual
|
|
| adj.最后的，结局的，最终的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
58
relish
|
|
| n.滋味，享受，爱好，调味品；vt.加调味料，享受，品味；vi.有滋味 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
59
exuberant
|
|
| adj.充满活力的；（植物）繁茂的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
60
remarkably
|
|
| ad.不同寻常地，相当地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
61
enjoyment
|
|
| n.乐趣；享有；享用 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
62
adjournment
|
|
| 休会； 延期； 休会期； 休庭期 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
63
stimulant
|
|
| n.刺激物，兴奋剂 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
64
lengthy
|
|
| adj.漫长的，冗长的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
65
graphic
|
|
| adj.生动的，形象的，绘画的，文字的，图表的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
66
kennel
|
|
| n.狗舍，狗窝 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
67
unimpeachable
|
|
| adj.无可指责的；adv.无可怀疑地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
68
apparition
|
|
| n.幽灵，神奇的现象 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
69
assortment
|
|
| n.分类，各色俱备之物，聚集 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
70
pointed
|
|
| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
71
scarlet
|
|
| n.深红色，绯红色，红衣；adj.绯红色的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
72
bust
|
|
| vt.打破；vi.爆裂；n.半身像；胸部 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
73
rosy
|
|
| adj.美好的，乐观的，玫瑰色的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
74
peremptorily
|
|
| adv.紧急地，不容分说地，专横地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
75
panache
|
|
| n.羽饰；假威风，炫耀 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
76
brute
|
|
| n.野兽，兽性 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
77
dense
|
|
| a.密集的，稠密的，浓密的；密度大的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
| 欢迎访问英文小说网 |