This gentleman, or perhaps the abbreviation gent would convey more distinctly the exterior6 of the individual thus designated—this gent, then, was a personage of dashing appearance, dressed in the style which the present age denominates “loud,” and which presents, as far as the wearer’s ingenuity8 will admit, a combination of extreme splendour, with a decided9 tendency to the sports of the field. I have remarked such a peculiarity11 of costume in several individuals, less distinguished12 for their general good sense and respectability than for a strong and somewhat perverted13 inclination in favour of dog-fighting, pigeon-shooting, excessive trotting14 against time, the pitting of game-fowl in deadly conflict armed with artificial spurs, and even the patronage15 of those human combats in which such profound secrecy16 is always preserved, and to witness which it is indispensable to be possessed17 of that mysterious passport termed by Bell’s Life “the office.”
Mr. Naggett, then, the well-known sporting butcher of the adjacent town of Waterborough, was turned out from top to toe exactly as a well-known sporting butcher ought to be. When he removed his low-crowned, close-shaved hat, and disclosed his abundance of crisp, short-curling flaxen hair, surmounting18 an extremely ruddy face with bright-blue eyes, good features, and the whitest of teeth, I could easily imagine that the respectful admiration19 of so well-looking an individual was an acceptable compliment even to Miss L. His fawn-coloured whiskers, of which he possessed a great abundance, were trained carefully to the very corners of his mouth, from which they descended20 in those seductive semicircles that are seen to their highest advantage in the commercial-room. Scorning the delusion21 of moustaches, Mr. Naggett rested a stronger claim to admiration on the brilliancy of his blue-satin neckcloth which, worn without shirt-collar, and ornamented22 by an enormous pin modelled to represent the head of the Champion of England in massive mosaic23 gold, irresistibly24 attracted the eye of the beholder25, while it dazzled alike his fancy and his judgment26. From the buttons of his waistcoat, scarlet27 cloth with a binding28 of gold thread, not unlike those of Lord M——’s footmen, or indeed of the gallant29 officers on the staff of the British army, depended a massive watch-chain in the form of a curb30, life-size, if I may use the expression, and hung with many ornaments31, of which a death’s head as big as a walnut32, and a strike-a-light box, were perhaps the smallest and least conspicuous33. Mr. Naggett’s coat was light-blue, very much off his person, and very short in the tails; his trousers were of drab, considerably34 tighter than is customary in these days of easy fitting; and his Wellington boots were thick, clumsy, and badly cleaned. He wore rings, but no gloves, and his hands were hardly so well washed as might have been desired.
Such was the man who now swaggered, with a good deal of noisy assumption, into the bar. Removing his hat with easy familiarity to Miss Lushington, he nodded a patronising “Servant, sir,” to myself, and then producing what he was pleased to call “a weed” from a leathern case the size of a portmanteau, proceeded to smoke, and drink the port-wine negus that had been kept hot for him, with a great appearance of comfort and gratification. The man had an air of rude health and bodily vigour35 about him, that was especially provoking to a cripple like myself. Though short and fleshy, his figure was round-made and strong, whilst the clearness of his eye and the colour in his cheek denoted an unimpaired digestion37, and a circulation, to which languor38, blue devils, and dyspepsia were unknown. There are some people in whose constitutions brandy-and-water and cigars seem to assimilate with the vital functions, and turn to health and strength. “They go all at once,” says the valetudinarian39, and this may be true enough; nevertheless, I have seen many of these enviable bons-vivants go for a very long time.
Notwithstanding the freedom of his manners, his brilliant attire41 and sporting exterior, I did not much admire Mr. Naggett. These instincts, prejudices—call them what you will—of likes and dislikes are oftener right than we suppose; and when I came to learn the antecedents of the sporting butcher, as in such a gossiping place as Soakington I was not long in doing, I was even less prepossessed in his favour than at first.
Mr. Naggett had begun life as the only son of a respectable tenant42-farmer in the neighbourhood of Soakington. As a boy at a forty-pound school, he had distinguished himself less in mathematics, classics, and the use of the globes, than in such games of skill or chance as enabled him to get the better of his companions, to the increasing of his own stores in marbles, pocket-money, and what not. He smoked a short pipe in the playground, ate lollypops during school-hours, and smuggled43 shrub44 into the dormitory. When the master had him up for any of these offences, he was notorious for arguing the point, and comported45 himself on all disputed questions of discipline, like that troublesome mutineer who is called in the army and navy “a lawyer.” Unlike this individual, however, he took his punishment without wincing46, and this Spartan47 quality made amends48 in the opinion of his schoolfellows for a good many shady tricks and unenviable qualities. The lad could use his fists too, an accomplishment49 he had learnt from an old poaching labourer who worked on his father’s farm; and although he took care never to match himself with any boy whom he could not conquer pretty easily, his prowess in this line gained him immunity50 for a good many little peccadilloes51 and infringements52 of the schoolboy’s code of honour, which is exceedingly stringent53 as far as it goes.
When young Naggett’s education was supposed to be completed, and he came home to live with his father as a lad of sixteen, there was not probably a more finished young blackguard to be found within a circle of fifty miles. The old man tried hard to make him work, but it was hopeless; whilst at races, fairs, village feasts, anything in the shape of a junketing, he was safe to attend and safe to get into mischief54. Then he always kept two or three greyhounds, much to the disgust of the Earl of Castle-Cropper, his father’s landlord; and though he generally had a pretty good nag7 of the old man’s to ride when he chose, he never won the Earl’s respect by any display of daring in the field. Young Naggett’s heart was not in the right place to ride well over a country, and although he liked the excitement and display of hunting, it was not for the sake of the sport that he attended at the covert-side.
His father died the year his son came of age, and the just old Earl, though much against the grain, on his usual principle let the latter continue the farm. Then began a career of extravagance that necessarily ran itself out in a brief space of time. Late breakfasts, silver forks, six-o’clock dinners, port, sherry, and punch till all the hours of the night, with three or four riding-horses in the stable, and a box of cigars always open in the hall, made Apple-tree Farm the most popular resort in the neighbourhood for every “good-for-nothing” in the country-side. This style of living went on for eighteen months. Then came a bad harvest, the failure of a county bank, and a sale at the farm, with Richard Naggett’s name amongst the list of bankrupts, and a loss to the Earl of Castle-Cropper of more than he cared to think about. Nevertheless, his old landlord never quite turned his back on his tenant, and therefore we may fairly suppose that, beyond reckless imprudence, there was nothing tangible55 against the latter, and that in the main, and when confronted with a Waterborough lawyer, he acted what is called “on the square.”
After this crisis, young Naggett was not much heard of, for some time. There was indeed an ugly poaching story in which the Earl was supposed to have dealt very leniently56 with the offender57 in consideration of certain old associations, and which, if possible, increased that nobleman’s popularity, to the detriment58 of the culprit he had screened; and there was likewise a very disagreeable show-up on Waterborough race-course in regard to a horse called Cat’s Cradle, who was entered, weighted, and described wrong for the Tally-ho Stakes, and then most indubitably pulled by young Naggett, riding as a tenant-farmer, without occupying one foot of land. There is a horse-pond at the end of the course, and it was only the good-nature of some of the townspeople, and the excitement created at the same moment by the detection of a maladroit59 pickpocket60, that saved the adventurous61 jockey from involuntary immersion62 therein.
The next that was heard of our friend was his occupation of a stool as a copying clerk in an attorney’s office, and from that stool he dated his subsequent rise in life. At first it was a gloomy change for the young farmer and sportsman, to sit at a desk copying law parchments, accustomed as he had hitherto been to the free open air and out-of-door pursuits, which, notwithstanding his occasional dissipations, had constituted his everyday life. Old Nobbler, too, was a pretty tight hand, and although he hugely respected the astute63 qualities of his pupil, that very good opinion made him look pretty sharply after him, and keep him very close to his work. Nevertheless Old Nobbler was not a bad fellow on the whole; and as he generally had a good horse in his stable, and was getting too short-winded to ride much himself, he would occasionally give his new pupil a mount with the hounds, enjoining64 him, somewhat unnecessarily, not to rush into needless danger, and if he should see any gentleman rather sweet upon the nag, why not to disappoint him, if he could help it.
Few men were better qualified65 to ride a horse to sell than Dick Naggett. He had good hands, great caution, and an instinctive66 knowledge of a customer. His excessive regard for his own neck ensured him from getting into needless difficulties; and as he was never forward in a run, but always conspicuous at a check, his horse obtained a reputation for stoutness67 and safety, which he had not earned by going fairly over a country in the line of hounds. There is a great art in riding hunters for sale, quite different from the straightforward68 science. It is not the boldest and most conspicuous horsemen who can obtain the longest prices for the animals that carry him so brilliantly; the world is very suspicious. Men have an unaccountable objection to buying a horse they know anything about. Besides which, the hunter that has been ridden fairly, however good he may be, must occasionally have been seen in difficulties. It is impossible to cross a severe line of fences, at a good pace, and in the front rank, without an occasional mishap69. A second Lottery70 may find an unexpected trap on the further side of a fence, which no exertion71 can clear, and another Eclipse might be blown in deep ground, if rattled72 along close to a pack of high-bred fox-hounds on a good scenting73 morning; then, when it comes to a question of buying, the purchaser is good-naturedly warned by half-a-dozen officious friends, each of whom has probably something of his own in the stall that he wants to get rid of, and that he thinks would suit him better. One considers the intended purchase very much over-rated; another saw him refuse some rails in a corner; a third heard he was down at the thick fence coming out of the wood; and a fourth has been informed that he was in difficulties when they killed their fox, and could not have gone on another half-mile. Like C?sar’s wife, a hunter must be above suspicion; so the alarmed purchaser goes and buys a soft bay horse from a dealer74, of which mediocre75 animal nobody knows either good or evil—a beast that nobody has ever yet liked well enough either to “show him up,” or to give him a chance of putting his rider down. But a wary76 salesman knows better than to keep a good place when he has got it. Whilst his horse is fresh he flourishes away over a few fences, the larger the better, for all England to look on and admire, knowing quite well that, in the hurry and confusion of a run, he can decline when he pleases, and turn up again at the first check in a conspicuous position, as if he had been in front the whole time. The very few that could tell anything about it have probably been so much occupied, and so full of their own performances, that they do not know whether he was in their neighbourhood or not; whilst the general public in the hunting-field, like the general public everywhere else, are quite satisfied, if he is only loud enough and positive enough, to take a man’s assurances about himself on trust.
Now, Dick Naggett could do the selling business, especially the talking part of it, to admiration. Turning out in extremely neat attire, and with some article of dress, either coat, neckcloth, or hat, peculiarly conspicuous, he could not be overlooked, and whilst careful never to ask his horse to do more than the animal could handsomely accomplish, he at the same time gave a customer such glowing descriptions of its prowess, that he sold more than one very moderate hunter of Old Nobbler’s for about twice its value, and three times what the lawyer had given for it.
On these emergencies, too, Dick thought proper to affect the townsman, and sink the agriculturist altogether—a propensity77 which elicited78 on one occasion from Lord Castle-Cropper the only joke that reserved nobleman was ever known to perpetrate. Dick was holding forth79, as usual at the covert-side, on the merits of the horse he was riding, and the silent Earl emerging from the recesses80 of Deepdale Wood, which had just been drawn81 blank, and followed by old Potiphar, a solemn badger-pied hound, not entirely82 unlike his Lordship in the face, paused to listen to the conversation.
“I’m only asking a hundred and seventy for him,” said Dick; “he’s the cheapest horse out to-day. I’ll appeal to my Lord if he isn’t.”
Lord Castle-Cropper ran his eye over the animal. “I could have bought him this time last year for that money exactly,” replied he, “barring the hundred.”
“Oh! but all stock has risen since then,” retorted Dick, loud and unabashed, “cent. per cent. I should say—sheep, cows, poultry83, guinea-pigs, and fancy rabbits!”
The silent Earl was one of those provoking people who, always sticking to facts, always seem to have them, so to speak, at their fingers’ ends.
“I can only tell you, Mr. Naggett,” said his Lordship, “that I am glad to take now two-thirds of the price I paid six months back for all kinds of stock. I am a farmer myself, as perhaps you know.”
Dick was impudence84 personified. “Then you use us townspeople precious hard, my Lord,” said he. “A nice price you farmers make us pay for our mutton.”
“I think you lawyers make us pay a good deal dearer for the skins,” retorted his Lordship; and although he never moved a muscle of his own countenance85, the bystanders raised such a shout of laughter as made old Potiphar erect86 his ears and bristles87, thinking a fox must have been viewed away, and as shut up Dick Naggett for the next ten minutes at least, after which he recovered completely, and sold his horse for a trifle less than he asked, before the day was out.
Now, Old Nobbler had a daughter, like Shylock, and Jephthah, and Virginius, and many other doting88 old gentlemen. Of course he was very fond of the girl, and she did with him pretty much as she liked. Well, “’tis an old tale and often told;” it was not likely that Barbara Nobbler, in all the flush of eighteen summers, could abide89 constantly under the same roof with Dick Naggett, and remain insensible to his attractions. The lady was a swarthy bouncing brunette, cherry-lipped, bright-eyed, heavy-handed, and with a foot and ankle of the mill-post order, such as seldom belong to a good mover. Nevertheless, she was a healthy, vigorous girl, with a quick temper, and a good heart. It was natural that she should plunge90 at once chin-deep in love with rosy91, trim, curly-headed, flaxen-haired Dick Naggett. Old Nobbler would not hear of the match, shut Barbara up in her room, and turned Dick off the stool in the office, and worse than that, out of the pig-skin in the saddle-room. There was a dreadful blow-up in the house. The father had a fit of the gout; the daughter was seen dissolved in tears; and the lover, looking trimmer, rosier92, and saucier93 than ever, was observed to take tea, two days running, with Mrs. Furbelow, the dressmaker, a widow of a certain calibre, over the way.
Flirtations, however, in all classes of life, may have been carried on so far that it is better for all parties that they should not be interrupted. Old Nobbler, a man not without legal experience, was prevailed on to listen to reason, and an early wedding was the result, which placed Mr. Naggett’s head once more above water, and indeed put him in immediate94 possession of a little capital, with the prospective95 reversion of a little more.
It was in consequence of this windfall that Mr. Naggett embarked96 on the very flourishing business that he had conducted for some years, at the period when I made his acquaintance,—a business that, somehow or another, led him into all sorts of places where you would have supposed there was neither time nor opportunity for the purchase and sale of meat. It conducted him to Epsom annually97, at the Metropolitan98 Spring Meeting, and required his punctual return, for the Derby and Oaks. It released him from Ascot, probably in consequence of the hot weather, and swarms99 of flies prevalent in the month of June, but imperatively100 demanded his attendance in Yorkshire, and twice or thrice within a reasonable distance of Cambridge during the autumn months. In its prosecution101 he was compelled, at great personal risk and inconvenience, to take an expensive ticket by the very identical train that bore the invincible102 Tom Sayers down the line to battle with his gallant antagonist103; and in order to do it thorough justice, he has often been detained from his own home till the small hours of the morning, and compelled to return fragrant104 with the combined odours of alcohol and tobacco; nor does it appear that this mysterious business can remain established on a secure basis, apart from the assistance of those agreeable stimulants105.
Why it should necessitate106, as it seems to do, the proprietorship107 of a half-bred stallion, three pointers, an Angola cat, the smallest terrier, and the largest mastiff I ever saw, one cockatoo, and a dozen Cochin-China fowls108 is more than I can take upon me to expound109. Probably Mrs. Naggett knows; for she has repeatedly demanded, not without high words, an explanation of its mysterious intricacies.
I should not say, from all I have heard, that Mr. Naggett is a domestic man. The habitual110 wearing of top-boots, combined with fancy waistcoats, I believe to be inimical to the fireside qualities. Although there are two or three Naggetts, with dark eyes like their mother, and flaxen curls like their father, to be seen playing at hide-and-seek amongst the grove111 of dead pigs and sheep that pervade112 the premises113, and Mr. N. seems to notice and be fond of the urchins114, yet loud altercations115 are often to be heard in his private residence behind the slaughter-house, and Mrs. N.’s dark eyes are not always undimmed by tears. Fame, however, whose hundred tongues are no less ubiquitous at Waterborough than elsewhere, does not scruple116 to intimate that the butcher’s lady is quite able to “hold her own;” and the gossips have been heard to affirm, with dark and threatening glances at their own liege lords the while, that “though she has been so put upon, poor dear, she can give him as good as he brings, and quite right too.” The inference is obvious, the moral doubtless not without its effect.
It was not in my nature to fraternise very cordially with a gentleman of Mr. Naggett’s superior qualities. I am bound, nevertheless, to admit, that his advances towards myself were cordial, not to say familiar in the extreme. The undisguised admiration, however, with which Miss Lushington regarded his every movement, and the terms of intimacy117 on which he obviously stood with that decorous lady, may have prejudiced me somewhat against him. There is a class of men, however, I have often observed, and I say it in justice to Miss Lushington, with whom the genus Barmaid seems to possess some mysterious affinity118. As Eastern poets feign119 that there is a certain bird to which the tree involuntarily bends its branches, and the flower opens its petals120, so I am convinced there is a description of individual who is looked on with peculiar10 favour by actresses, barmaids, hostesses, and other ladies whose avocations121 bring them much into the presence of a discerning public. These favourites of her sex are generally remarkable122 for exuberance123 of spirits, command of language, a vivid freshness of complexion124, and general freedom of manner. They are loud in assumption, and great on all topics of political or public interest; also prone125 to plunge into quarrels, from which they invariably extricate126 themselves without recourse to ulterior measures. His female admirers, in describing such a one, generally sum up their catalogue of his merits by vowing127 that he is “very free in company, and quite the gentleman.”
Mr. Naggett, stirring the fire with his boot, and winking128 facetiously129 on Miss Lushington, as he drank her health in his hot negus, and asked her whether she had ordered her wedding-bonnet yet, obligingly remarked, that “it was a cold night, and he was sorry to see my arm in a sling;” also “that he had heard of my accident, and hoped it wouldn’t be long before I over-got it,” with which friendly wish, expressed in a compound verb, he finished his negus, and ordered some more, calling Miss L. “my dear,” unblushingly, to my excessive disgust. He then drew his chair to the fire, expressed his astonishment130 that Tips had gone to “perch,” as he called it, and proceeded to make himself agreeable.
“A nasty fall, sir, yours must have been, as I understand,” said he, “and it’s well as it wasn’t worse. You’ve a nice-ish team standing40 here, but you’ll excuse me, sir, they’re not exactly the class of horse for a gentleman like you to ride. I’ve been fond of horses all my life, from a boy, I may say, and I’m forty years of age now: forty years of age, though perhaps you wouldn’t think it, and in that time I’ve learned to keep my eyes open. Now, sir, you don’t ride so very light, I’ll be bound to say.”
I am a little touchy131 about my weight, I confess. I believe most men are, the heavy ones liking132 to be thought lighter133 and the light ones heavier than they really are. “I ride thirteen stone,” I replied. “Thirteen stone, to a pound; I weigh every day of my life, and I haven’t varied134 since I was five-and-twenty.”
“Thirteen stone! indeed, sir!” replied Mr. Naggett, running his eye, as I thought, in a very free-and-easy manner over my proportions. “Well, I shouldn’t have thought it. But you’re thick, sir; thick and a little fleshy. Now, your nags135 is hardly thirteen-stoners, sir—not in a country like this; I’m sure you must agree with me?”
Speechless with indignation, I seized the poker136 and split—not Mr. Naggett’s head, but a burning coal in the very centre of the grate, without farther reply. This coolest of butchers proceeded unhesitatingly:—
“It’s a pity to see a gentleman undermounted, specially36 in a country like this: so dangerous too! Why, sir, all the worst falls as I’ve known take place down here in our Soakington district, have been entirely owing to gentlemen riding horses below their weight. There was Squire137 Overend, only last season, got a little thorough-bred weed he called Happy Joe, as he swore nothing could touch. No more they couldn’t when the ground was light; but look what happened. There came a splash of wet, and the ground up to our girths, just as we’ve got it now, and likely to have it for the next six months; and Happy Joe, he turns a complete somersault over a stile the Squire puts him at, and falls on to his rider with a squelch138, breaking the cantle of his own saddle into shivers, and inflicting139 such severe internal injuries on Squire Overend, that he has never been out hunting since, and all from obstinacy140—sheer obstinacy, I call it; for I told the Squire myself how it would be, from the first.”
Somewhat discouraged, I admit, by the ghastly catastrophe141 of Mr. Overend, I began to think it was just possible that Apple-Jack might not be so good as he looked, and that perhaps it might be wise to purchase a horse or two more accustomed to the country, and with a little more power.
Mr. Naggett, who never took his clear blue eyes off my face, seemed to read my thoughts intuitively, and proceeded with more than usual volubility:—
“There’s a friend of mine, sir, got a horse, that I should say was just about your mark, and would carry you as I can see you like to be carried. I had him in price all last season myself, but money couldn’t buy him then; for my friend he was an out-and-out sporting chap, and could ride too! But he’s been and got married since, and gone to live in Drury Lane for good and all; so he’s no more use for a hunter now, than a cow has for a side-pocket, or a pig for a frilled-shirt. What a horse he is, to be sure!—dark-brown, tan muzzle142, not a speck143 of white about him; up to fourteen stone; by Ratcatcher, out of Sly Puss by Mousetrap, and Mousetrap, you remember, was by Grimalkin, and the sire of Whittington, Cat’s-cradle and a many good ones. I know all about him, and have done since he was a foal. My friend he bought him off of the farmer that bred him.”
“Why, Ratcatcher has been covering at the Castle for years,” I replied, rather congratulating myself upon having Mr. Naggett “out;” “and Sly Puss never belonged to anybody but the Earl!”
“Well, sir,” retorted he, “and that’s exactly the farmer I mean. A very respectable farmer I call him too, and one that farms his own land, which is more than can be said for a good many of them. Talk of jumping, I wish you could only see this nag jump!”
There is something about the discussion of horseflesh in front of a big fire, with a cigar in his mouth, that disposes a man unaccountably to buy. Knowing I couldn’t hunt for six weeks, what did I want with another horse?
“Why should I not?” I rashly inquired. “I might look at him, at any rate. Where is he to be seen?”
“Well, sir, he’s at my place now,” replied Mr. Naggett, adding, with an air of charming frankness. “The fact is, I’ve got him to keep for my friend, who is a cousin of my wife’s, and I’ve got the riding of him for his corn. If it wasn’t that my business won’t allow me to hunt as much as I should like, I’d buy him myself, particularly considering the price.”
“What does he ask?” I inquired, walking as it were open-eyed into the pitfall144 prepared for me.
Mr. Naggett looked me over from top to toe, as if I had been a prize ox. Probably he was making a mental computation of my soft-headedness. I am afraid I looked very much like a fool, for he replied boldly—
“One hundred and twenty sovereigns; take him as he stands; no questions asked; and dirt-cheap at the money.”
“How old is he?” was naturally my next inquiry145. “Is he quiet to ride?” I added; “and thoroughly146 temperate147 with hounds? Also, is he fit to go at present? and does your wife’s cousin warrant him sound?”
“Come up and see him, sir! Come up and see him!” was the only reply Mr. Naggett could be brought to give. “My business will take me away all to-morrow and the next day; but say Saturday, sir. You know my little place. Any time on Saturday I shall be at your service, and the horse too. Ride him, lark148 him, have him galloped149, see him jump! If you can get him into a difficulty, I’ll give him to you—at least my wife’s cousin will. You may take my word for it, that if once you lay your leg over him, he’ll never go out of your stable again!”
And Mr. Naggett, suddenly remembering a very particular engagement, vanished incontinently, after wishing me an exceedingly civil “good-night.”
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1
inclination
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| n.倾斜；点头；弯腰；斜坡；倾度；倾向；爱好 | |
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homage
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| n.尊敬，敬意，崇敬 | |
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sufficiently
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| adv.足够地，充分地 | |
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graceful
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| adj.优美的，优雅的；得体的 | |
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predecessor
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| n.前辈，前任 | |
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exterior
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| adj.外部的，外在的；表面的 | |
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nag
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| v.(对…)不停地唠叨；n.爱唠叨的人 | |
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ingenuity
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| n.别出心裁；善于发明创造 | |
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decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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peculiar
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| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
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peculiarity
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| n.独特性，特色；特殊的东西；怪癖 | |
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distinguished
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| adj.卓越的，杰出的，著名的 | |
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perverted
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| adj.不正当的v.滥用( pervert的过去式和过去分词 )；腐蚀；败坏；使堕落 | |
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trotting
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| 小跑，急走( trot的现在分词 )； 匆匆忙忙地走 | |
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patronage
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| n.赞助，支援，援助；光顾，捧场 | |
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secrecy
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| n.秘密，保密，隐蔽 | |
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possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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18
surmounting
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| 战胜( surmount的现在分词 )； 克服（困难）； 居于…之上； 在…顶上 | |
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admiration
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| n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕 | |
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descended
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| a.为...后裔的，出身于...的 | |
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delusion
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| n.谬见，欺骗，幻觉，迷惑 | |
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ornamented
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| adj.花式字体的v.装饰，点缀，美化( ornament的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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mosaic
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| n./adj.镶嵌细工的，镶嵌工艺品的，嵌花式的 | |
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irresistibly
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| adv.无法抵抗地，不能自持地；极为诱惑人地 | |
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25
beholder
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| n.观看者，旁观者 | |
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26
judgment
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| n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见 | |
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27
scarlet
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| n.深红色，绯红色，红衣；adj.绯红色的 | |
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28
binding
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| 有约束力的，有效的，应遵守的 | |
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29
gallant
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| adj.英勇的，豪侠的；(向女人)献殷勤的 | |
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30
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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31
ornaments
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| 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 ) | |
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32
walnut
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| n.胡桃，胡桃木，胡桃色，茶色 | |
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33
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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34
considerably
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| adv.极大地；相当大地；在很大程度上 | |
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35
vigour
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| （=vigor）n.智力，体力，精力 | |
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36
specially
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| adv.特定地；特殊地；明确地 | |
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37
digestion
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| n.消化，吸收 | |
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38
languor
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| n.无精力，倦怠 | |
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39
valetudinarian
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| n.病人；健康不佳者 | |
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40
standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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41
attire
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| v.穿衣，装扮[同]array；n.衣着；盛装 | |
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42
tenant
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| n.承租人；房客；佃户；v.租借，租用 | |
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43
smuggled
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| 水货 | |
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44
shrub
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| n.灌木，灌木丛 | |
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45
comported
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| v.表现( comport的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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46
wincing
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| 赶紧避开，畏缩( wince的现在分词 ) | |
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47
spartan
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| adj.简朴的，刻苦的；n.斯巴达；斯巴达式的人 | |
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48
amends
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| n. 赔偿 | |
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49
accomplishment
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| n.完成，成就，（pl.）造诣，技能 | |
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50
immunity
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| n.优惠；免除；豁免，豁免权 | |
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51
peccadilloes
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| n.轻罪，小过失( peccadillo的名词复数 ) | |
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52
infringements
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| n.违反( infringement的名词复数 )；侵犯，伤害 | |
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53
stringent
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| adj.严厉的；令人信服的；银根紧的 | |
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54
mischief
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| n.损害，伤害，危害；恶作剧，捣蛋，胡闹 | |
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55
tangible
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| adj.有形的，可触摸的，确凿的，实际的 | |
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56
leniently
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| 温和地，仁慈地 | |
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57
offender
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| n.冒犯者，违反者，犯罪者 | |
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58
detriment
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| n.损害；损害物，造成损害的根源 | |
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59
maladroit
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| adj.笨拙的 | |
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60
pickpocket
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| n.扒手；v.扒窃 | |
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61
adventurous
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| adj.爱冒险的；惊心动魄的，惊险的，刺激的 | |
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62
immersion
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| n.沉浸；专心 | |
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63
astute
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| adj.机敏的，精明的 | |
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64
enjoining
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| v.命令( enjoin的现在分词 ) | |
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65
qualified
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| adj.合格的，有资格的，胜任的，有限制的 | |
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66
instinctive
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| adj.(出于)本能的；直觉的；(出于)天性的 | |
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67
stoutness
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| 坚固，刚毅 | |
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68
straightforward
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| adj.正直的，坦率的；易懂的，简单的 | |
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69
mishap
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| n.不幸的事，不幸；灾祸 | |
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70
lottery
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| n.抽彩；碰运气的事，难于算计的事 | |
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71
exertion
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| n.尽力，努力 | |
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72
rattled
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| 慌乱的，恼火的 | |
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73
scenting
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| vt.闻到（scent的现在分词形式） | |
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74
dealer
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| n.商人，贩子 | |
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75
mediocre
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| adj.平常的，普通的 | |
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76
wary
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| adj.谨慎的，机警的，小心的 | |
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77
propensity
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| n.倾向；习性 | |
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78
elicited
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| 引出，探出( elicit的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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79
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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80
recesses
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| n.壁凹( recess的名词复数 )；（工作或业务活动的）中止或暂停期间；学校的课间休息；某物内部的凹形空间v.把某物放在墙壁的凹处( recess的第三人称单数 )；将（墙）做成凹形，在（墙）上做壁龛；休息，休会，休庭 | |
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81
drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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82
entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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83
poultry
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| n.家禽，禽肉 | |
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84
impudence
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| n.厚颜无耻；冒失；无礼 | |
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85
countenance
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| n.脸色，面容；面部表情；vt.支持，赞同 | |
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86
erect
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| n./v.树立，建立，使竖立；adj.直立的，垂直的 | |
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87
bristles
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| 短而硬的毛发，刷子毛( bristle的名词复数 ) | |
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88
doting
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| adj.溺爱的，宠爱的 | |
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89
abide
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| vi.遵守；坚持；vt.忍受 | |
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90
plunge
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| v.跳入，(使)投入，(使)陷入；猛冲 | |
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91
rosy
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| adj.美好的，乐观的，玫瑰色的 | |
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92
rosier
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| Rosieresite | |
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93
saucier
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| n.调味汁厨师adj.粗鲁的( saucy的比较级 )；粗俗的；不雅的；开色情玩笑的 | |
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94
immediate
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| adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的 | |
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95
prospective
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| adj.预期的，未来的，前瞻性的 | |
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96
embarked
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| 乘船( embark的过去式和过去分词 )； 装载； 从事 | |
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97
annually
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| adv.一年一次，每年 | |
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98
metropolitan
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| adj.大城市的，大都会的 | |
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99
swarms
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| 蜂群，一大群( swarm的名词复数 ) | |
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100
imperatively
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| adv.命令式地 | |
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101
prosecution
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| n.起诉，告发，检举，执行，经营 | |
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102
invincible
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| adj.不可征服的，难以制服的 | |
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103
antagonist
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| n.敌人，对抗者，对手 | |
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104
fragrant
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| adj.芬香的，馥郁的，愉快的 | |
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105
stimulants
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| n.兴奋剂( stimulant的名词复数 )；含兴奋剂的饮料；刺激物；激励物 | |
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106
necessitate
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| v.使成为必要，需要 | |
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107
proprietorship
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| n.所有（权）；所有权 | |
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108
fowls
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| 鸟( fowl的名词复数 )； 禽肉； 既不是这； 非驴非马 | |
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109
expound
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| v.详述；解释；阐述 | |
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110
habitual
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| adj.习惯性的；通常的，惯常的 | |
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111
grove
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| n.林子，小树林，园林 | |
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112
pervade
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| v.弥漫，遍及，充满，渗透，漫延 | |
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113
premises
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| n.建筑物，房屋 | |
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114
urchins
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| n.顽童( urchin的名词复数 )；淘气鬼；猬；海胆 | |
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115
altercations
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| n.争辩，争吵( altercation的名词复数 ) | |
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116
scruple
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| n./v.顾忌，迟疑 | |
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117
intimacy
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| n.熟悉，亲密，密切关系，亲昵的言行 | |
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118
affinity
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| n.亲和力，密切关系 | |
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119
feign
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| vt.假装，佯作 | |
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120
petals
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| n.花瓣( petal的名词复数 ) | |
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121
avocations
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| n.业余爱好，嗜好( avocation的名词复数 )；职业 | |
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122
remarkable
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| adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的 | |
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123
exuberance
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| n.丰富；繁荣 | |
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124
complexion
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| n.肤色；情况，局面；气质，性格 | |
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125
prone
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| adj.(to)易于…的，很可能…的；俯卧的 | |
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126
extricate
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| v.拯救，救出；解脱 | |
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127
vowing
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| 起誓，发誓（vow的现在分词形式） | |
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128
winking
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| n.瞬眼，目语v.使眼色( wink的现在分词 )；递眼色（表示友好或高兴等）；（指光）闪烁；闪亮 | |
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129
facetiously
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| adv.爱开玩笑地；滑稽地，爱开玩笑地 | |
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130
astonishment
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| n.惊奇，惊异 | |
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131
touchy
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| adj.易怒的；棘手的 | |
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132
liking
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| n.爱好；嗜好；喜欢 | |
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133
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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134
varied
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| adj.多样的，多变化的 | |
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135
nags
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| n.不断地挑剔或批评（某人）( nag的名词复数 )；不断地烦扰或伤害（某人）；无休止地抱怨；不断指责v.不断地挑剔或批评（某人）( nag的第三人称单数 )；不断地烦扰或伤害（某人）；无休止地抱怨；不断指责 | |
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136
poker
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| n.扑克；vt.烙制 | |
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137
squire
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| n.护卫, 侍从, 乡绅 | |
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138
squelch
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| v.压制，镇压；发吧唧声 | |
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139
inflicting
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| 把…强加给，使承受，遭受( inflict的现在分词 ) | |
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140
obstinacy
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| n.顽固；（病痛等）难治 | |
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141
catastrophe
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| n.大灾难，大祸 | |
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142
muzzle
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| n.鼻口部；口套；枪(炮)口；vt.使缄默 | |
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143
speck
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| n.微粒，小污点，小斑点 | |
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144
pitfall
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| n.隐患，易犯的错误；陷阱，圈套 | |
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145
inquiry
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| n.打听，询问，调查，查问 | |
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146
thoroughly
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| adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地 | |
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147
temperate
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| adj.温和的，温带的，自我克制的，不过分的 | |
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148
lark
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| n.云雀，百灵鸟；n.嬉戏，玩笑；vi.嬉戏 | |
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149
galloped
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| （使马）飞奔，奔驰( gallop的过去式和过去分词 )； 快速做[说]某事 | |
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