Hunting expeditions filled up the leisure hours of the busy monarch1. Standing2 on the verge3 of the deep ravine by which the now deserted4 fastness of Tegulet is insulated from the plain of Debra Berhán, it was His Majesty5’s diversion to project stone balls from his rifle at the hyenas6 basking7 upon huge fragments of fallen rock, which form caverns8 one thousand feet below, and choke the bed of the pathless chasm9. Then the steps of the royal cavalcade10 would be directed to the valley of the Beréza, where “Satan’s horses,” in the shape of gigantic adjutants, were striding over the plain on their long stilt-like legs, with well-filled pouches11 dangling12 beneath their bills. Here, seated upon the green turf, the Negoos awaited the report of his scouts13. Whilst turning the corner of the numerous abrupt14 eminences15, his ears were ever saluted16 by loud cries of “Abiet! Abiet!” from the mouth of many a petitioner17, and a very respectable body of plaintiffs and defendants18 were continually in attendance.
Judgment19 was calmly delivered until the arrival of some breathless horseman with intelligence of the discovery of a colony of baboons20, would arrest the proceedings21 of the sylvan22 court. “Sáhela Selássie ye moot23?” inquired the sporting monarch on one of these occasions, adjuring24 the informant by his own illustrious life; “are they well surrounded?” “May Sáhela Selássie die if they be not,” responded the slave, as he bowed his head to the dust; “hundreds graze in yonder corn-field.” “Then by the death of Woosen Suggud they shall be slain25,” was the rejoinder, as His Majesty galloped26 towards the spot, followed by a train of attendants carrying every rifle and fowling-piece of which the imperial armoury could boast.
On the verge of the deep valley we presently descried27 a countless28 pig-faced army, laying waste the rising crops. Lusty veterans, muffled29 in long flowing manes, strutted30 consequentially31 among the ladies; and others, squatted32 upon their hunkers, with many a ghastly grin displayed their white teeth whilst hunting down the vermin that infested33 their rough shaggy coats. Casting aside his chequered robe, the king, with all the ardour of a schoolboy, dashed into the middle of the amazed group, and under a running fire from himself and courtiers, the field was presently strewed34 with slain and wounded. Mangled35 wretches36 were now to be seen endeavouring to reach the precipitous chasm of the Beréza, whose white foaming37 waters were thundering below, whilst the grimacing39 survivors40, far out of danger, whooped41 in echoes amid the bush-grown clefts42, to reassemble the discomfited43 forces.
Return from this brilliant victory was celebrated44 by the war-chorus, until the appearance of an erkoom waddling45 over the ploughed land, again proved the signal for general pursuit. This gigantic and deformed46 bird is of the genus Hornbill, and an abrupt unmeaning excrescence above his huge jagged forceps, imparts a fancied resemblance to the slaves of the king, who carry water-jars upon their heads, which has dignified47 him with the title of “Abba Gumbo,” “the Father of the Pitcher48.” It has blue wattles, which, when the bird is worried, become inflamed49 like those of the turkey-cock; and from the fact of its always constructing the door of its nest to the eastward50, the Abyssinians assert that it will never build out of sight of a church.
The plumage throughout is to appearance of a sooty black; but the expansion of the wings displays an assemblage of snowy quills51 which form the pride of the warrior52 who has slain his enemy in battle. Mules53 were abandoned with one accord; and under the encouraging gaze of the despot, the courtiers, springing into their high-peaked saddles, scoured54 after the devoted55 quarry56. Weary with its long flight, the heavy bird alighted a dozen times, but no rest was ever allowed. Again he was turned, and again he distanced his pursuers, until beleaguered57 on all sides, he was finally speared by the chief smith and body physician, who, as an equestrian58, shone facile princeps. His skill rewarded the head of each hero engaged with the coveted59 white plume60, which is the Amháric emblem61 of death.
“My children have never seen the ‘Devil’s sheep,’” gravely observed His Majesty, as he ascended62 towards the palace preceded by strains of martial63 music. “They live in holes in the rocks under the great waterfall, and have long snouts. My people are afraid. Take guns in the morning, and the pages shall show you the road. Now you may eat.”
Heavy dew covered the waving grass, as, accompanied by the promised escort, we proceeded at an early hour to gratify the royal curiosity by the destruction of the dreaded64 monster. It proved on realisation to be an inoffensive badger65; and although the sport did not afford very much diversion, the cataract66 amply repaid the ride across the meadow. Leaving the terrace of table-land, the serpentine67 river, far hid from sight, winds through a succession of rounded hills towards a precipitous valley, down which the foaming torrent68 rushes over a descent of eight rocky basins. Hemmed69 in by fantastic pillars of basalt, composed of irregular disjointed polygons, the dark craggy surface, laid bare by the violence of ages, is at strange variance70 with the bright emerald turf which creeps luxuriantly to the very verge of the frowning abyss; whilst twelve hundred feet below, the sparry walls suddenly contract to the breadth of fifteen yards, and the accumulated waters of the cascades71, discharging through this natural flood-gate, boil onwards in their wild career.
At some distance from this point are the royal iron mines, and near them a perpendicular72 crag, which rears its crumbling73 form from the very bottom of the vale to the level of the upper stream, marks the suddenness of the descent. The entire lace of the verdant74 hills that repose75 above the roaring cataract, were covered with thyme and other aromatic76 herbs, yielding up their fragrance77 at every step; and new and lovely flowers, sparkling under the morning dew, carpeted the slope. From the very brink78 of the dizzy torrent, lofty junipers raised their tall stems, and flung their mossy arms to a vast height, though still appearing but as small twigs79; and the white cloud of foam38 and spray which arose from the gloomy chasm, reflecting the prismatic colours of the rainbow, completed a picture of singular wildness and magnificence.
How different, indeed, is the fate awaiting the waters of one and the same shower discharged over the high ridge80 of the Abyssinian Alps! A drop, falling on the eastern slope of the shed, wends its short course by the nearest streamlet towards the muddy Háwash; and, if not absorbed by the thirsty plains of the Ada?el, adds its mite81 to the lagoon82 of Aussa—to filter, perhaps, through some subterranean83 channel into the Indian Ocean. But far distant is the pilgrimage that awaits the more ambitious cloud that sinks on the western side. Joining the Beréza, and taking the sudden leap over the dazzling cataract of Debra Berhán, it hurries down the Jumma on its impetuous course to the Bahr el Azreek—rolls through the golden sands of Damot—and, after visiting Mero? and Thebes, and all the stately pyramids, either adds its humble84 tribute to the blue waves of the Mediterranean85, or is sacrificed to the fertility of the land of Egypt:
“Where with annual pomp,
Rich king of floods! o’erflows the swelling86 Nile.”
点击收听单词发音
1 monarch | |
n.帝王,君主,最高统治者 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
2 standing | |
n.持续,地位;adj.永久的,不动的,直立的,不流动的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
3 verge | |
n.边,边缘;v.接近,濒临 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
4 deserted | |
adj.荒芜的,荒废的,无人的,被遗弃的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
5 majesty | |
n.雄伟,壮丽,庄严,威严;最高权威,王权 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
6 hyenas | |
n.鬣狗( hyena的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
7 basking | |
v.晒太阳,取暖( bask的现在分词 );对…感到乐趣;因他人的功绩而出名;仰仗…的余泽 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
8 caverns | |
大山洞,大洞穴( cavern的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
9 chasm | |
n.深坑,断层,裂口,大分岐,利害冲突 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
10 cavalcade | |
n.车队等的行列 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
11 pouches | |
n.(放在衣袋里或连在腰带上的)小袋( pouch的名词复数 );(袋鼠等的)育儿袋;邮袋;(某些动物贮存食物的)颊袋 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
12 dangling | |
悬吊着( dangle的现在分词 ); 摆动不定; 用某事物诱惑…; 吊胃口 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
13 scouts | |
侦察员[机,舰]( scout的名词复数 ); 童子军; 搜索; 童子军成员 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
14 abrupt | |
adj.突然的,意外的;唐突的,鲁莽的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
15 eminences | |
卓越( eminence的名词复数 ); 著名; 高地; 山丘 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
16 saluted | |
v.欢迎,致敬( salute的过去式和过去分词 );赞扬,赞颂 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
17 petitioner | |
n.请愿人 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
18 defendants | |
被告( defendant的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
19 judgment | |
n.审判;判断力,识别力,看法,意见 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
20 baboons | |
n.狒狒( baboon的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
21 proceedings | |
n.进程,过程,议程;诉讼(程序);公报 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
22 sylvan | |
adj.森林的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
23 moot | |
v.提出;adj.未决议的;n.大会;辩论会 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
24 adjuring | |
v.(以起誓或诅咒等形式)命令要求( adjure的现在分词 );祈求;恳求 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
25 slain | |
杀死,宰杀,杀戮( slay的过去分词 ); (slay的过去分词) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
26 galloped | |
(使马)飞奔,奔驰( gallop的过去式和过去分词 ); 快速做[说]某事 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
27 descried | |
adj.被注意到的,被发现的,被看到的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
28 countless | |
adj.无数的,多得不计其数的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
29 muffled | |
adj.(声音)被隔的;听不太清的;(衣服)裹严的;蒙住的v.压抑,捂住( muffle的过去式和过去分词 );用厚厚的衣帽包着(自己) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
30 strutted | |
趾高气扬地走,高视阔步( strut的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
31 consequentially | |
adv.必然地 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
32 squatted | |
v.像动物一样蹲下( squat的过去式和过去分词 );非法擅自占用(土地或房屋);为获得其所有权;而占用某片公共用地。 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
33 infested | |
adj.为患的,大批滋生的(常与with搭配)v.害虫、野兽大批出没于( infest的过去式和过去分词 );遍布于 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
34 strewed | |
v.撒在…上( strew的过去式和过去分词 );散落于;点缀;撒满 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
35 mangled | |
vt.乱砍(mangle的过去式与过去分词形式) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
36 wretches | |
n.不幸的人( wretch的名词复数 );可怜的人;恶棍;坏蛋 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
37 foaming | |
adj.布满泡沫的;发泡 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
38 foam | |
v./n.泡沫,起泡沫 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
39 grimacing | |
v.扮鬼相,做鬼脸( grimace的现在分词 ) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
40 survivors | |
幸存者,残存者,生还者( survivor的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
41 whooped | |
叫喊( whoop的过去式和过去分词 ); 高声说; 唤起 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
42 clefts | |
n.裂缝( cleft的名词复数 );裂口;cleave的过去式和过去分词;进退维谷 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
43 discomfited | |
v.使为难( discomfit的过去式和过去分词);使狼狈;使挫折;挫败 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
44 celebrated | |
adj.有名的,声誉卓著的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
45 waddling | |
v.(像鸭子一样)摇摇摆摆地走( waddle的现在分词 ) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
46 deformed | |
adj.畸形的;变形的;丑的,破相了的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
47 dignified | |
a.可敬的,高贵的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
48 pitcher | |
n.(有嘴和柄的)大水罐;(棒球)投手 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
49 inflamed | |
adj.发炎的,红肿的v.(使)变红,发怒,过热( inflame的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
50 eastward | |
adv.向东;adj.向东的;n.东方,东部 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
51 quills | |
n.(刺猬或豪猪的)刺( quill的名词复数 );羽毛管;翮;纡管 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
52 warrior | |
n.勇士,武士,斗士 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
53 mules | |
骡( mule的名词复数 ); 拖鞋; 顽固的人; 越境运毒者 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
54 scoured | |
走遍(某地)搜寻(人或物)( scour的过去式和过去分词 ); (用力)刷; 擦净; 擦亮 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
55 devoted | |
adj.忠诚的,忠实的,热心的,献身于...的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
56 quarry | |
n.采石场;v.采石;费力地找 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
57 beleaguered | |
adj.受到围困[围攻]的;包围的v.围攻( beleaguer的过去式和过去分词);困扰;骚扰 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
58 equestrian | |
adj.骑马的;n.马术 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
59 coveted | |
adj.令人垂涎的;垂涎的,梦寐以求的v.贪求,觊觎(covet的过去分词);垂涎;贪图 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
60 plume | |
n.羽毛;v.整理羽毛,骚首弄姿,用羽毛装饰 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
61 emblem | |
n.象征,标志;徽章 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
62 ascended | |
v.上升,攀登( ascend的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
63 martial | |
adj.战争的,军事的,尚武的,威武的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
64 dreaded | |
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) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
65 badger | |
v.一再烦扰,一再要求,纠缠 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
66 cataract | |
n.大瀑布,奔流,洪水,白内障 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
67 serpentine | |
adj.蜿蜒的,弯曲的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
68 torrent | |
n.激流,洪流;爆发,(话语等的)连发 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
69 hemmed | |
缝…的褶边( hem的过去式和过去分词 ); 包围 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
70 variance | |
n.矛盾,不同 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
71 cascades | |
倾泻( cascade的名词复数 ); 小瀑布(尤指一连串瀑布中的一支); 瀑布状物; 倾泻(或涌出)的东西 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
72 perpendicular | |
adj.垂直的,直立的;n.垂直线,垂直的位置 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
73 crumbling | |
adj.摇摇欲坠的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
74 verdant | |
adj.翠绿的,青翠的,生疏的,不老练的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
75 repose | |
v.(使)休息;n.安息 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
76 aromatic | |
adj.芳香的,有香味的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
77 fragrance | |
n.芬芳,香味,香气 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
78 brink | |
n.(悬崖、河流等的)边缘,边沿 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
79 twigs | |
细枝,嫩枝( twig的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
80 ridge | |
n.山脊;鼻梁;分水岭 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
81 mite | |
n.极小的东西;小铜币 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
82 lagoon | |
n.泻湖,咸水湖 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
83 subterranean | |
adj.地下的,地表下的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
84 humble | |
adj.谦卑的,恭顺的;地位低下的;v.降低,贬低 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
85 Mediterranean | |
adj.地中海的;地中海沿岸的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
86 swelling | |
n.肿胀 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
欢迎访问英文小说网 |