“But are you sure you can take me?” I interposed, with expostulatory eagerness. “Yours is a smallish carriage, if that was it I saw just now in the yard” (how devoutedly I wished it was not!). “I fear I shall inconvenience you; and, by the by, where is your servant to sit?” I added, grasping vaguely2 at the last chance of a reprieve3.
“Servant?” said the Jovial, drinking off his brandy at a gulp4, “didn’t bring one; don’t want a ‘shoot’ when I’m driving Crafty5 Kate. There’s only one gate to open if we go the short way, and it opens from us; so I catch it, you know, on the shaft6, and there’s no trouble in getting out. Once the apron’s buttoned, never move till the end of the stage, that’s my principle. Wet t’other eye? Thank you, Miss Lushington. Here’s your health! Now, young man, tell the ostler to get the trap round to the front-door; when I drive a gemman, I likes to take him up like a gemman.”
“But if the harness wants altering, or anything?” I urged feebly. “In my crippled state, you know, I can’t get out. Don’t you think, now?—though, of course, I should like the drive very much—don’t you really think it would be better if I were to find my own way over, and you might take a man from here to open the gates and that, who could come back in my return chaise?”
“Not a bit of it!” replied the Jovial. “What’s the use of that? I know the mare7, and the mare knows me. You won’t have to get out, never fear. Come, though you’ve got a queer wing, there’s nothing amiss with your pipes. Look here, there’s a yard of tin in that basket. You’ll play all the way, and I’ll drive. Take her in a hole shorter, Ben. Here’s a game! hooray!”
By this time “the Jovial’s” high conveyance8—well might he called it a trap—was at the door; Crafty Kate wincing9, and lifting and swishing her tail, as if nothing would give her greater pleasure than to knock the whole thing, red wheels, lamps, paint, varnish10, and lacquering, all to pieces forthwith. I could not get out of it now, do what I would. Recalling in my own mind every frightful12 accident I ever remembered to have read, or heard of, that had occurred on wheels, and no whit13 reassured14 by an appalling15 fact I had always considered established, viz. that more long coachmen had been killed out of gigs, than had died any other death, I went upstairs to give my servant directions as to the clothes he should pack up, to wrap myself in a warm greatcoat, and to put another cigar in my mouth, that haply might conceal16 the involuntary trepidation17 of my nerves.
How comfortable my sitting-room18 looked as I left it! It was a cold raw day, and the fire burnt up so cheerily; the easy-chair spread its arms invitingly19 to receive me in its familiar embrace; there was the newspaper carefully unfolded and spread out on the table, with the last Quarterly uncut, by its side. An amusing novel, of which I had got halfway20 into the second volume, seemed to entreat21 me not to leave it unfinished, and two or three letters requiring early answers were lying with their seals opened in mute appeal. All this comfort I was about to exchange for a muddy drive, a drizzling22 rain, the conversation of a man I did not care about, and worse still, the probable vagaries23 of Crafty Kate. I confess I have no great confidence in a thorough-bred mare, that swishes her tail a good deal in harness. I thought Miss Lushington, even, looked somewhat pitifully on me, as one about to venture in a dangerous undertaking24 unawares. Nevertheless I mounted the trap, not without difficulty, was carefully buttoned in by the one-eyed ostler, and felt myself launched forth11 on stormy seas, with Jovial Jem for a pilot.
On leaving the door it became painfully apparent that Crafty Kate was in a condition of excitement, not to say insubordination, which boded25 untoward26 results. Passing between the lines of dilapidated houses that constitute the little village of Soakington, she piaffed and curvetted, and tucked her head in, and hoisted27 her great angular quarters, in a manner calculated to excite the admiration28 of all beholders—limited in the present instance to a lame30 duck, and two boys playing truant31 from school; but when we emerged on the smooth expanse of the Waterborough road, stimulated32 by the love of approbation33, or urged by a morbid34 anxiety to get home, the mare took the bit in her teeth, and very nearly made a bolt of it. I confess I clung to the rail that ran round the seat, thankful even for that frail35 support, and notwithstanding the slight hold it afforded me, narrowly escaped being dashed out, as we turned with fearful rapidity, and entirely37 on one wheel, like a skater doing the outside edge, up a lane diverging38 at right angles from the thoroughfare along which we had been bowling39 at such a pace.
It was evident, however, by Crafty Kate’s demeanour, that this was not the way home. She stopped dead short, stuck her forelegs out, and began nodding her head in that ominous40 manner, which denotes a determination to fight to the last. “Sit tight, Softly!” exclaimed the Jovial, with a fiendish laugh, as though this had been part of a programme devised for my special entertainment. “Sit tight! whilst I give my lady a taste of the silk!” and without further parley41 he pulled the whip from its bucket, and commenced a course of punishment on the mare’s sides, which produced no further result than that of causing her to back faster and faster towards the ditch; the tall red wheels hovered42 on its very brink43, when a bright idea flashed across the charioteer’s mind. “Give us a blast of the tin, Softly,” said he, continuing, nevertheless, a vigorous application of the whipcord, “and let us see if your blasting is not more musical than mine!”
I am no performer, I candidly44 admit, on a trumpet45 of any description; but a desperate crisis demands a desperate remedy, and seizing the long coach-horn I performed such a solo upon it as has probably never been heard before, or since. “The Jovial” left off flagellating, and laughed till he cried. The mare laid her ears down into her poll, tucked her tail close to her quarters, and went off at score. Completely blown by my exertions46, we had gone nearly a mile ere I returned the horn to its case, and found breath to speak.
“But is this the shortest way to The Ashes?” said I, striving by the aid of a “Vesuvian” to relight my cigar, which had gone out in the panic. “I thought we kept straight along the high-road to the turnpike, and then took the first turning to the——”
“O, bother The Ashes;” returned my mercurial47 companion. “We shall get there quite soon enough. Besides, the governor never shows till feeding-time; busy about the farm you know, mud-larking as I call it. No! no! if you want to see some fun, I’ll show you a game. We’ll just trot48 down to Joe Lambswool’s, at the World’s End, about two miles further on, and if you do care for sport, I can promise you a real treat. He’s going to pull down the old barn to-day; hasn’t been touched, I dare say, for two hundred years. Talk of rats! why, it’s swarming49 with them, as big as pole-cats pretty nigh, and twice as savage50. He’s got a dawg as I want to see tried, quite a little ’un, what you would call a toy-dawg, you know; but they tell me he’ll tackle to anything alive, and knows how to kill a cat. If I like him I’ll buy him; and we’ll give old Brimstone a treat into the bargain,” added my amiable51 entertainer, looking back at the bull-terrier, who was toiling52 behind us, bespattered with mud, his tail lowered, his tongue out, and a villanous expression of sullenness53 and ferocity stamped on his round massive head.
“I should like it excessively,” I replied, with an inward shudder54, belying55, most uncomfortably, my unqualified expressions of delight, and the Jovial, turning on me a look of astonished approval, made a queer noise through his teeth, that started Crafty Kate incontinently into a canter.
“Well! I’m in for it now!” was my mental soliloquy, as we went whirling past the dripping trees and hedges with increasing rapidity. “How could I ever be induced to blunder into such a trap as this? A wet day; a dangerous drive; a pot-house gathering56, and an afternoon spent in a tumble-down barn, full of draughts57 I make no doubt, and by no means water-tight; watching for rats, animals of which I have the greatest horror, and circumventing58 the same by means of ferrets—creatures if possible more disgusting to me than their prey59—all because I hadn’t nerve to say ‘No.’ And not a chance now of seeing Miss Merlin when she comes home from hunting! Softly! this is a day’s penance60. You must get through it as you best can!”
A rescue, however, when I least expected it, was proposed for me by a kind fortune, to snatch me from the ratting part of my discomforts61. The lane down which we were bowling, though of considerable length, was not that proverbial one in which there is no turning. On reaching an angle by a sign-post, the Jovial pulled up, with great animation62 displayed on his broad white face.
“I can hear ’em running in Tangler’s Copse, as plain as can be,” said he, putting up his hand in the air, and cocking his head on one side to listen. Tangler’s Copse, be it observed, was a straggling woodland in the Castle-Cropper country, from which it was always difficult, and generally impossible, to force a fox into the open. “Listen, Softly!” he continued, with increasing excitement; “I’m blessed if that isn’t the horn! See, Kate hears it too.”
I am not gifted with extraordinary fineness of ear, particularly when well wrapped up on a rainy day; so I turned down the collar of my greatcoat, and took off my shawl-handkerchief to listen. There was no doubt we were in the vicinity of hounds; I could hear them distinctly, running as it seemed with a good scent63, and cheered by occasional blasts on the horn.
The drizzling rain struck cold on my bare cheek. Kate’s head was up, her ears erect64, her nostrils65 dilated66, and she trembled in every limb.
“Bother the rats for to-day!” exclaimed my mercurial charioteer. “What say you, Softly? Let’s go hunting instead. The mare can jump like fun, and the trap can go anywhere. Open the gate, there’s a good chap! In the next field but one there’s a bridle67-road takes us right away to Tangler’s Copse.”
I descended68 from the tall conveyance to do his bidding, dirtying my gloves, wetting my feet, and daubing my coat with mud in the process; but there is a condition of the human mind, at which it ceases to be a free agent, and I had arrived at that negative state, when we quitted the turnpike-road. Once more climbing with difficulty to my seat, I found myself bumping over the ridge-and-furrow of a large grass-field, and, straining my eyes to find an egress69, became aware that it was the Jovial’s intention to drive through a sort of gap in the fence, where the ditch had been partially70 filled up. It was now time to protest, which I did loudly and energetically; but my objections were too late. “Sit tight, Softly! Gently, Kate!” exclaimed Plumtree in a breath; and with a bump, a jerk, and a most astounding71 bang against the splash-board, we were safe over, and careering along the next field.
I was glad to see a gate led out of this enclosure. I would have climbed up and down those red wheels, fifty times, rather than repeat the process we had just now accomplished72.
Crafty Kate, shamelessly belying the first half of her name, seemed to enter thoroughly73 into the spirit of the thing, swinging along at a very respectable pace, with her ears cocked, her head and tail both up, and an obvious determination to join the chase with as little delay as possible. The vehicle sprang and jerked, and swung from side to side; the wheels bespattered us from head to foot with mud: the splash-board alone prevented us from shooting out, over the mare’s back. No one who has ever tried it will wish to repeat the uncomfortable diversion of galloping74 in a gig.
Fortunately the rain began to cease, the clouds cleared away, and a burst of winter sunshine enabled us to see as far as the flatness of the country would allow.
The Jovial pulled up short, not without considerable difficulty. “They’re away, by all that’s lucky,” exclaimed he, shifting his reins76 into his whip-hand, that he might give me a congratulatory slap on the back, which knocked all the breath out of my body. “Never knew a fox to leave Tangler’s Copse before, and bearing right down upon us too, or I’m a Scotchman! There’s the fox, by jingo! Hold your tongue, Softly!”
The injunction was quite unnecessary, for I am not one of the halloaing tribe. Moreover, my handkerchief was pulled up to my nose, and I did not myself see the cause of my companion’s excitement. He was right, however; presently two or three couple of hounds straggled into the field adjoining that in which we were stationed, ran to and fro along the hedge-side, put their noses down, threw their tongues, and followed by the whole pack, streamed across the pasture on the line of their prey.
It was great fun, and a new sensation, to watch the progress of the field, as one sat an unoccupied spectator, perched in a thing like a tea-tray on a pair of tall red wheels. I can quite understand the pleasure an old gentleman has, who rides quietly out on his cob, to see them “find and go away.”
A couple of simultaneous crashes in the fence announced the arrival in the same field with the hounds of the Earl himself, and a hard-riding gentleman with moustaches, a visitor at the castle. Fifty yards or so to their right again, and somewhat nearer the pack, a beautiful grey horse, having been quietly trotted77 up the hard pathway that led to it, landed in artistic78 form over a hog-backed stile with a foot-board, ridden by an elegant figure in a lady’s habit, of whom it was impossible at that distance to recognise the face. Happening, however, to glance at my companion’s countenance79 (who caught his breath by the way, during this performance), and observing it to become a deep crimson80, my surmises81 that the daring Amazon was none other than Miss Merlin were to a certain extent corroborated82.
Then came a bay, and a brown, and a chestnut83, the latter falling at his fence, but inflicting84 no damage on his rider, who never let go the bridle, but was up and at it again without delay. These were followed by another bay, who refused to jump, and a dark-coated gentleman on a roan, whose heart failed him at the last stride, and who faded ignominiously85 away from that moment. The huntsman and first whip must have come a different line altogether, for we saw their velvet86 caps bobbing up and down in the distance, but could not otherwise have identified them.
The Jovial, however, was now waxing visibly impatient. “Dash it!” said he, “we may as well see the finish. I’m game, Softly, if you are. Come along, Kate!” And without waiting for the consent, which as a partner in the firm I think I was entitled to withhold87, he laid the rein75 on the mare’s back, and we were once more jolting89 and bumping across the fields in search of some dubious90 and unfrequented bridle-road.
My friend was a good pilot. I must do him the justice to admit that quality. He seemed to know every gate and lane in the country, also to possess an intuitive knowledge of the run of a fox, with a staunch predilection91 for keeping down wind. I did not despair of coming up with the chase once more, and truth to tell I was not without hopes that to-day my curiosity might be satisfied with a view of Miss Merlin.
“The Jovial,” on the other hand, had become preoccupied92 and restless. No longer dispensing93 his quaint94 sallies and florid parables95 in my ear, he gave his whole attention to Crafty Kate, an arrangement to which I should have been the last person on earth to object; and although he drove that game and resolute96 animal with merciless rapidity, it was in a style considerably97 less random98 than before. Perhaps the influence of the brandy had died out; perhaps he felt the depression that always succeeds the excitement of seeing hounds, when it has evaporated. Perhaps he was thinking of his dinner, perhaps of the rat-catching he had missed, perhaps of Miss Merlin. We drove on for at least two miles without speaking.
In justice to my friend’s humanity, I am bound to observe that we had long ago taken pity on Brimstone, and hoisted him into the cart, where he lay coiled up under my legs, sniffing99 them ominously100 from time to time, as if only deterred101 by considerations of the merest politeness from taking a bite out of them at the most sensitive place. I dreaded102 lest a jolt88 severer than common should be construed103 by this amiable animal into a personal insult to himself.
To any one who has ever tried the delusive104 pastime of following hounds at a distance, with any expectation of coming up with them, I may leave the task of imagining our repeated disappointments and the labour, like that of Sisyphus, undergone by Crafty Kate. The persevering105 sportsman will have no difficulty in understanding how we drove from field-road to cross-road, and from cross-road to highway; how the little indistinct figures and black hats, dotting and bobbing behind the hedges, were now on our right, now on our left, anon almost within hail, and then hopelessly and provokingly ahead; how we saw the hounds themselves entering Cropley Pastures, and, thinking to nick in upon them at Whitethorns, found they had taken an unexpected turn to Swillingford mill; in short, how surely, as must always be the case in a good run, the further we went, the farther we were left behind, till our hopes, being suddenly raised by a butcher in a tax-cart, who had met them not half-a-mile from where we then were, and thought they must have “got him in a drain,” to be as suddenly dashed into ruins again by a farmer’s lad at the spot indicated, who vowed106 they had been gone twenty minutes, and “were running like fire,” we gave it up in despair, and turned Crafty Kate’s head, soberly and sadly, on her homeward way. A mouthful of gruel107 at a road-side public-house for the mare, and a small measure of hot ale, with a glass of gin, a spoonful of brown sugar, and a dash of spice in it, called by the different titles of “lambs’ wool,” “dog’s nose,” and “purl,” but of superlative merit after a three hours’ drive in the wet, restored us all, except Brimstone, to something of our earlier energy. I was glad, I confess, to have got through the drive without an accident, and looked forward to a warm house and a comfortable dressing108-room, where my servant, I hoped, had already arrived with my things, more cheerfully than I should have conceived possible in the morning, when I anticipated my enforced visit to The Ashes with considerable distaste. The Jovial, too, having apparently109 drowned his unpleasant reflections, whatever they might be, in the hot mixture, came out once more in his normal character, accepting one of my cigars with facetious110 condescension111, and sticking it in the extreme corner of his mouth, from which he never once removed it till he had smoked it down to the very stump112.
“Mare’s about told out, Softly,” said he, as we drove somewhat soberly through the very gate he had spoken of in the morning, opening it by the dangerous process of running the shaft against its bars, and fending113 it off from the wheel with his left hand. “Hard day for the Crafty: those field-roads are so blessed deep. Never mind; another half-mile will see us. I don’t think you know my sisters: remarkable114 young women, and accomplished, ’specially Jane. I am prepared now to back Jane against any other girl in England, weight for age of course, to do five things—work cross stitch, whistle jigs115, do the outside edge backwards116, speak German, and make a sparrow pudding. My money is ready at The Ashes, Waterborough, this identical house of call we’re coming to, that it’s too dark for you to see. Catch hold, while I jump out and ring the bell.”
The flood of warm light that shone out upon us from the hall was indeed a pleasant contrast to the dark cold afternoon, which had already changed again for the worse. As I divested117 myself of my wraps, with the assistance of a staid elderly servant, young Plumtree welcomed me quite courteously118 to his father’s house, diverging, however, immediately afterwards, into the kind of jesting slang which was most familiar to him.
“You’re wet,” he observed, laying his hand on my coat, through which the rain had indeed penetrated119. “Perhaps you’d like to go and dress at once. Indeed, we dine in less than an hour. Shall I show you your room? Will you have anything before dinner?—glass of sherry?—biscuit?—crust of bread and a pickle120? No? then step this way, if you please. Here’s your room; things laid out—hot water laid on. There’s the bell; you ring for what you want, and the servants will bring you what they have!”
Behold29 me, then, like a man in a dream, dressing comfortably for dinner, in a strange house, of which I did not know the proprietor121, nor, indeed, one of the inmates122, except the harum-scarum young gentleman who had introduced me. In justice to myself, I made an elaborate toilet—white tie, black suit, thin boots—everything rigorously correct. There is no costume, in my opinion, which so marks the distinction of classes, as the plain dinner-dress of an English gentleman; and, indeed, I once heard that very invidious title defined as “a man who had got evening clothes.” Passing down to the drawing-room—an apartment I had no difficulty in finding, for the door was open, and a lamp shone brilliantly from it into the hall—I had leisure to observe the articles of furniture in the passages, and to remark on the idiosyncrasy which prompts all country gentlemen alike to ornament123 the insides of their houses with stuffed animals in glass cases. The Ashes was rich in specimens124 of this description. All kinds of birds flourished their beaks125 at the visitors on the stairs. A gigantic pike, like a miniature shark, grinned at him over the chimney-piece, and a hideous126 otter127 snarled128 at him from under the umbrella-stand in the hall. A portrait, which I concluded to be that of Mr. Plumtree senior, also adorned129 this crowded vestibule. I studied it by the light of my chamber-candlestick, not entirely, I fear, without spilling some wax on the floor during the process, in pardonable curiosity as to the exterior130 of the gentleman with whom I was about to dine. The picture was in all probability more valuable from its resemblance to the original, than from any intrinsic merit of its own as a work of art. It represented a florid personage, in the prime of life, attired131 in a bright-blue coat, and yellow waistcoat, on both which articles of apparel the artist had bestowed132 a liberal amount of colour, sitting by a pillar of porphyry, under a crimson curtain, “with a distant view of the changing sea.” His face, devoid133 of any outward expression, denoted that rapt state of thought peculiar134, I am informed, to the highest order of intellects, and he seemed equally unmoved by the magnificence of the scenery, the gorgeousness of the curtain which overhung him, or the splendour of a heavy watch-chain and seals that rested massively against his nankeen stomach. On a table at his elbow stood a large book and a snuff-box, whilst his hand rested carelessly on the head of a black retriever dog. “If old Plumtree is like that,” was my mental observation, “he must present as great a contrast to the Jovial as was ever afforded in the inconvenient135 relationship of father and son.” I did not speak aloud, fortunately; for this conclusion brought me into the drawing-room, which, having dressed early, I expected I should have had to myself: it was not so, however. On entering that apartment—a pretty, well-furnished, long, low room, with some excellent prints and a grand pianoforte—I was somewhat discomfited136 to find it already occupied by two young ladies, dressed, as far as my confusion permitted me to observe, precisely137 alike, sitting in precisely the same attitude, and engaged over similar pieces of crochet-work. I bowed very awkwardly, and walked up to the fire, with the startling intelligence that it was “a cold evening,” a proposition neither of the ladies seemed in a position to confute. This masterly man?uvre, however, gave me an opportunity of studying both their faces, and I am bound to admit that the one predominating idea present to my mind, during a perusal138 of their features, was, “How shall I ever know one from the other, when their brother comes down, and formally introduces us?” Each of them was a rather tall, rather large young lady, with hands and feet to correspond. Each of them had a certain regularity139 of features, totally devoid of any expression whatsoever140, that might have laid claim to good looks, had it not been nullified by the absence of colouring and want of tone in their rather large, rather flat faces. If either of them had unfortunately taken to drinking, she would have been a bad likeness141 of her brother the Jovial. That I longed ardently142 for the conclusion of that gentleman’s toilet is no matter of surprise, the conversation between the Misses Plumtree and myself being driven, so to speak, at a funereal143 rate, and in the longest possible stages. I gathered, however, from a certain decision of tone in their few and disjointed remarks, that there was no mother Plumtree, and that the vestals now before me were the presiding goddesses of the place.
At length, to my great relief, I heard a door open on the staircase, and a manly144 step approaching, which I feared, even while I listened, was too ponderous145 for that of my friend. The young ladies made a rustling146 kind of movement, as if to bespeak147 my attention. A deep voice in the hall was heard to say, “Dinner directly!” and the portly form of mine host walked into the drawing-room, with outstretched hand, and that welcome on his lips with which an Englishman always receives a guest into his castle, whether that metaphorical148 building be really a ducal residence, a squire’s hall, or a day-labourer’s cottage.
Old Mr. Plumtree was a great improvement on his son, as well as his picture. Although of the plainest and most unsophisticated of squires149, he was obviously a high-bred gentleman; and his old-fashioned attire—for he had not discarded the blue coat, yellow waistcoat, and white stockings of his younger days—was perfectly150 in keeping with his fresh old face, round and rosy151 as a winter-apple: his fine bald head and stately figure, deep of chest, stout152 of limb, and somewhat protuberant153 of stomach.
“I am glad James found ye at home, Mr. Softly,” said he, “and doubly glad he persuaded ye to come over and eat your mutton with us here. My daughters, Mr. Softly—Rebecca and Jane.” Both ladies again got up, and we bowed and curtsied once more to one another; whilst I still remained as much in ignorance as ever as to which was Rebecca and which was Jane. “You got here before six,” continued my host, evidently bent154 on making me feel myself at home. “Our roads are not the best travelling in the dark, but I conclude you don’t make much account of roads. Broke your collar-bone at a fence? and a large one too, I’ll be bound. I was a sportsman myself, Mr. Softly. I recollect155 in the year——”
“Dinner is on the table, sir!” announced the respectable-looking servant, interrupting his master’s reminiscences at this juncture156; and with a nod to me to take Miss Plumtree, which I acknowledged by diving at the nearest lady, whom I afterwards found out to be the younger sister, we filed off in great state for the dining-room, the Jovial joining the procession in the hall, and whispering in my ear, as he passed my chair, “Don’t be afraid of the Madeira, it’s been twice round the Cape36; and if he talks about breeding hounds, mind you say ‘Yes’ to the governor!”
With the carte du pays thus spread before me, I unfolded my napkin, and went at an excellent clear soup with the utmost confidence.
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1
jovial
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| adj.快乐的，好交际的 | |
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2
vaguely
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| adv.含糊地，暖昧地 | |
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reprieve
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| n.暂缓执行（死刑）；v.缓期执行；给…带来缓解 | |
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gulp
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| vt.吞咽，大口地吸（气）；vi.哽住；n.吞咽 | |
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crafty
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| adj.狡猾的，诡诈的 | |
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shaft
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| n.(工具的)柄，杆状物 | |
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7
mare
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| n.母马，母驴 | |
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conveyance
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| n.(不动产等的)转让，让与；转让证书；传送；运送；表达；（正）运输工具 | |
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wincing
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| 赶紧避开，畏缩( wince的现在分词 ) | |
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varnish
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| n.清漆；v.上清漆；粉饰 | |
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forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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frightful
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| adj.可怕的；讨厌的 | |
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whit
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| n.一点，丝毫 | |
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reassured
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| adj.使消除疑虑的；使放心的v.再保证，恢复信心( reassure的过去式和过去分词) | |
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appalling
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| adj.骇人听闻的，令人震惊的，可怕的 | |
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conceal
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| v.隐藏，隐瞒，隐蔽 | |
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trepidation
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| n.惊恐，惶恐 | |
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sitting-room
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| n.（BrE）客厅，起居室 | |
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invitingly
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| adv. 动人地 | |
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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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entreat
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| v.恳求，恳请 | |
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22
drizzling
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| 下蒙蒙细雨，下毛毛雨( drizzle的现在分词 ) | |
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23
vagaries
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| n.奇想( vagary的名词复数 )；异想天开；异常行为；难以预测的情况 | |
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24
undertaking
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| n.保证，许诺，事业 | |
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25
boded
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| v.预示，预告，预言( bode的过去式和过去分词 )；等待，停留( bide的过去分词 )；居住；（过去式用bided）等待 | |
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26
untoward
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| adj.不利的，不幸的，困难重重的 | |
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27
hoisted
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| 把…吊起，升起( hoist的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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28
admiration
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| n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕 | |
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29
behold
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| v.看，注视，看到 | |
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30
lame
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| adj.跛的，(辩解、论据等)无说服力的 | |
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31
truant
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| n.懒惰鬼，旷课者；adj.偷懒的，旷课的，游荡的；v.偷懒，旷课 | |
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32
stimulated
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| a.刺激的 | |
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33
approbation
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| n.称赞；认可 | |
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34
morbid
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| adj.病的；致病的；病态的；可怕的 | |
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35
frail
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| adj.身体虚弱的；易损坏的 | |
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36
cape
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| n.海角，岬；披肩，短披风 | |
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37
entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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38
diverging
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| 分开( diverge的现在分词 )； 偏离； 分歧； 分道扬镳 | |
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39
bowling
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| n.保龄球运动 | |
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40
ominous
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| adj.不祥的，不吉的，预兆的，预示的 | |
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41
parley
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| n.谈判 | |
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42
hovered
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| 鸟( hover的过去式和过去分词 )； 靠近（某事物）； （人）徘徊； 犹豫 | |
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43
brink
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| n.(悬崖、河流等的)边缘，边沿 | |
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44
candidly
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| adv.坦率地，直率而诚恳地 | |
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45
trumpet
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| n.喇叭，喇叭声；v.吹喇叭，吹嘘 | |
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46
exertions
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| n.努力( exertion的名词复数 )；费力；（能力、权力等的）运用；行使 | |
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47
mercurial
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| adj.善变的，活泼的 | |
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48
trot
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| n.疾走，慢跑；n.老太婆；现成译本；(复数）trots:腹泻（与the 连用）；v.小跑，快步走，赶紧 | |
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49
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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50
savage
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| adj.野蛮的；凶恶的，残暴的；n.未开化的人 | |
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51
amiable
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| adj.和蔼可亲的，友善的，亲切的 | |
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52
toiling
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| 长时间或辛苦地工作( toil的现在分词 )； 艰难缓慢地移动，跋涉 | |
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53
sullenness
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| n. 愠怒, 沉闷, 情绪消沉 | |
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54
shudder
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| v.战粟，震动，剧烈地摇晃；n.战粟，抖动 | |
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55
belying
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| v.掩饰，与…不符，使…失望；掩饰( belie的现在分词 )；证明（或显示）…为虚假；辜负；就…扯谎 | |
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56
gathering
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| n.集会，聚会，聚集 | |
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57
draughts
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| n. <英>国际跳棋 | |
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58
circumventing
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| v.设法克服或避免（某事物），回避( circumvent的现在分词 )；绕过，绕行，绕道旅行 | |
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59
prey
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| n.被掠食者，牺牲者，掠食；v.捕食，掠夺，折磨 | |
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60
penance
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| n.（赎罪的）惩罪 | |
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61
discomforts
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| n.不舒适( discomfort的名词复数 )；不愉快，苦恼 | |
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62
animation
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| n.活泼，兴奋，卡通片／动画片的制作 | |
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63
scent
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| n.气味，香味，香水，线索，嗅觉；v.嗅，发觉 | |
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64
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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65
nostrils
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| 鼻孔( nostril的名词复数 ) | |
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66
dilated
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| adj.加宽的，扩大的v.（使某物）扩大，膨胀，张大( dilate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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67
bridle
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| n.笼头，束缚；vt.抑制，约束；动怒 | |
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68
descended
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| a.为...后裔的，出身于...的 | |
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69
egress
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| n.出去；出口 | |
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70
partially
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| adv.部分地，从某些方面讲 | |
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71
astounding
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| adj.使人震惊的vt.使震惊，使大吃一惊astound的现在分词) | |
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72
accomplished
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| adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的 | |
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73
thoroughly
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| adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地 | |
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74
galloping
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| adj. 飞驰的, 急性的 动词gallop的现在分词形式 | |
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75
rein
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| n.疆绳，统治，支配；vt.以僵绳控制，统治 | |
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76
reins
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| 感情，激情； 缰( rein的名词复数 )； 控制手段； 掌管； （成人带着幼儿走路以防其走失时用的）保护带 | |
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77
trotted
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| 小跑，急走( trot的过去分词 )； 匆匆忙忙地走 | |
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78
artistic
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| adj.艺术(家)的，美术(家)的；善于艺术创作的 | |
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79
countenance
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| n.脸色，面容；面部表情；vt.支持，赞同 | |
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80
crimson
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| n./adj.深(绯)红色(的)；vi.脸变绯红色 | |
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81
surmises
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| v.臆测，推断( surmise的第三人称单数 )；揣测；猜想 | |
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82
corroborated
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| v.证实，支持（某种说法、信仰、理论等）( corroborate的过去式 ) | |
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83
chestnut
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| n.栗树，栗子 | |
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84
inflicting
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| 把…强加给，使承受，遭受( inflict的现在分词 ) | |
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85
ignominiously
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| adv.耻辱地，屈辱地，丢脸地 | |
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86
velvet
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| n.丝绒，天鹅绒；adj.丝绒制的，柔软的 | |
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87
withhold
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| v.拒绝，不给；使停止，阻挡 | |
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88
jolt
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| v.（使）摇动，（使）震动，（使）颠簸 | |
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89
jolting
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| adj.令人震惊的 | |
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90
dubious
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| adj.怀疑的，无把握的；有问题的，靠不住的 | |
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91
predilection
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| n.偏好 | |
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92
preoccupied
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| adj.全神贯注的，入神的；被抢先占有的；心事重重的v.占据（某人）思想，使对…全神贯注，使专心于( preoccupy的过去式) | |
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93
dispensing
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| v.分配( dispense的现在分词 )；施与；配（药） | |
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94
quaint
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| adj.古雅的，离奇有趣的，奇怪的 | |
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95
parables
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| n.（圣经中的）寓言故事( parable的名词复数 ) | |
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96
resolute
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| adj.坚决的，果敢的 | |
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97
considerably
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| adv.极大地；相当大地；在很大程度上 | |
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98
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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99
sniffing
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| n.探查法v.以鼻吸气，嗅，闻( sniff的现在分词 )；抽鼻子（尤指哭泣、患感冒等时出声地用鼻子吸气）；抱怨，不以为然地说 | |
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100
ominously
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| adv.恶兆地，不吉利地；预示地 | |
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101
deterred
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| v.阻止，制止( deter的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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102
dreaded
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| adj.令人畏惧的；害怕的v.害怕，恐惧，担心( dread的过去式和过去分词) | |
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103
construed
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| v.解释（陈述、行为等）( construe的过去式和过去分词 )；翻译，作句法分析 | |
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104
delusive
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| adj.欺骗的，妄想的 | |
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105
persevering
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| a.坚忍不拔的 | |
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106
vowed
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| 起誓，发誓（vow的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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107
gruel
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| n.稀饭，粥 | |
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108
dressing
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| n.(食物)调料；包扎伤口的用品，敷料 | |
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109
apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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110
facetious
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| adj.轻浮的，好开玩笑的 | |
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111
condescension
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| n.自以为高人一等，贬低(别人) | |
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112
stump
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| n.残株，烟蒂，讲演台；v.砍断，蹒跚而走 | |
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113
fending
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| v.独立生活，照料自己( fend的现在分词 )；挡开，避开 | |
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114
remarkable
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| adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的 | |
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115
jigs
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| n.快步舞（曲）极快地( jig的名词复数 )；夹具v.（使）上下急动( jig的第三人称单数 ) | |
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116
backwards
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| adv.往回地，向原处，倒，相反，前后倒置地 | |
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117
divested
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| v.剥夺( divest的过去式和过去分词 )；脱去（衣服）；2。从…取去…；1。（给某人）脱衣服 | |
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118
courteously
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| adv.有礼貌地，亲切地 | |
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119
penetrated
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| adj. 击穿的，鞭辟入里的 动词penetrate的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
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120
pickle
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| n.腌汁，泡菜；v.腌，泡 | |
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121
proprietor
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| n.所有人；业主；经营者 | |
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122
inmates
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| n.囚犯( inmate的名词复数 ) | |
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123
ornament
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| v.装饰，美化；n.装饰，装饰物 | |
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124
specimens
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| n.样品( specimen的名词复数 )；范例；（化验的）抽样；某种类型的人 | |
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125
beaks
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| n.鸟嘴( beak的名词复数 )；鹰钩嘴；尖鼻子；掌权者 | |
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126
hideous
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| adj.丑陋的，可憎的，可怕的，恐怖的 | |
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127
otter
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| n.水獭 | |
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128
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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129
adorned
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| [计]被修饰的 | |
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130
exterior
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| adj.外部的，外在的；表面的 | |
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131
attired
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| adj.穿着整齐的v.使穿上衣服，使穿上盛装( attire的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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132
bestowed
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| 赠给，授予( bestow的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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133
devoid
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| adj.全无的，缺乏的 | |
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134
peculiar
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| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
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135
inconvenient
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| adj.不方便的，令人感到麻烦的 | |
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136
discomfited
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| v.使为难( discomfit的过去式和过去分词)；使狼狈；使挫折；挫败 | |
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137
precisely
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| adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地 | |
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138
perusal
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| n.细读，熟读；目测 | |
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139
regularity
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| n.规律性，规则性；匀称，整齐 | |
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140
whatsoever
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| adv.（用于否定句中以加强语气）任何；pron.无论什么 | |
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141
likeness
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| n.相像，相似（之处） | |
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142
ardently
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| adv.热心地，热烈地 | |
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143
funereal
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| adj.悲哀的；送葬的 | |
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manly
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| adj.有男子气概的；adv.男子般地，果断地 | |
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145
ponderous
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| adj.沉重的，笨重的，(文章)冗长的 | |
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146
rustling
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| n. 瑟瑟声，沙沙声 adj. 发沙沙声的 | |
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147
bespeak
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| v.预定；预先请求 | |
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148
metaphorical
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| a.隐喻的，比喻的 | |
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149
squires
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| n.地主，乡绅( squire的名词复数 ) | |
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150
perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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151
rosy
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| adj.美好的，乐观的，玫瑰色的 | |
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153
protuberant
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| adj.突出的，隆起的 | |
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154
bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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155
recollect
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| v.回忆，想起，记起，忆起，记得 | |
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156
juncture
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| n.时刻，关键时刻，紧要关头 | |
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