Awaking in the middle of a prodigiously2 tough snore, and sitting up in bed to get his thoughts together, Scrooge had no occasion to be told that the bell was again upon the stroke of One. He felt that he was restored to consciousness in the right nick of time, for the especial purpose of holding a conference with the second messenger despatched to him through Jacob Marley's intervention3. But, finding that he turned uncomfortably cold when he began to wonder which of his curtains this new spectre would draw back, he put them every one aside with his own hands, and lying down again, established a sharp look-out all round the bed. For, he wished to challenge the Spirit on the moment of its appearance, and did not wish to be taken by surprise, and made nervous.
Gentlemen of the free-and-easy sort, who plume5 themselves on being acquainted with a move or two, and being usually equal to the time-of-day, express the wide range of their capacity for adventure by observing that they are good for anything from pitch-and-toss to manslaughter; between which opposite extremes, no doubt, there lies a tolerably wide and comprehensive range of subjects. Without venturing for Scrooge quite as hardily6 as this, I don't mind calling on you to believe that he was ready for a good broad field of strange appearances, and that nothing between a baby and rhinoceros7 would have astonished him very much.
Now, being prepared for almost anything, he was not by any means prepared for nothing; and, consequently, when the Bell struck One, and no shape appeared, he was taken with a violent fit of trembling. Five minutes, ten minutes, a quarter of an hour went by, yet nothing came. All this time, he lay upon his bed, the very core and centre of a blaze of ruddy light, which streamed upon it when the clock proclaimed the hour; and which, being only light, was more alarming than a dozen ghosts, as he was powerless to make out what it meant, or would be at; and was sometimes apprehensive8 that he might be at that very moment an interesting case of spontaneous combustion9, without having the consolation10 of knowing it. At last, however, he began to think--as you or I would have thought at first; for it is always the person not in the predicament who knows what ought to have been done in it, and would unquestionably have done it too--at last, I say, he began to think that the source and secret of this ghostly light might be in the adjoining room, from whence, on further tracing it, it seemed to shine. This idea taking full possession of his mind, he got up softly and shuffled11 in his slippers12 to the door.
The moment Scrooge's hand was on the lock, a strange voice called him by his name, and bade him enter. He obeyed.
It was his own room. There was no doubt about that. But it had undergone a surprising transformation13. The walls and ceiling were so hung with living green, that it looked a perfect grove14; from every part of which, bright gleaming berries glistened15. The crisp leaves of holly16, mistletoe, and ivy17 reflected back the light, as if so many little mirrors had been scattered18 there; and such a mighty19 blaze went roaring up the chimney, as that dull petrification of a hearth20 had never known in Scrooge's time, or Marley's, or for many and many a winter season gone. Heaped up on the floor, to form a kind of throne, were turkeys, geese, game, poultry21, brawn22, great joints23 of meat, sucking-pigs, long wreaths of sausages, mince-pies, plum-puddings, barrels of oysters25, red-hot chestnuts26, cherry-cheeked apples, juicy oranges, luscious28 pears, immense twelfth-cakes, and seething29 bowls of punch, that made the chamber30 dim with their delicious steam. In easy state upon this couch, there sat a jolly Giant, glorious to see, who bore a glowing torch, in shape not unlike Plenty's horn, and held it up, high up, to shed its light on Scrooge, as he came peeping round the door.
`Come in!' exclaimed the Ghost. `Come in, and know me better, man.'
Scrooge entered timidly, and hung his head before this Spirit. He was not the dogged Scrooge he had been; and though the Spirit's eyes were clear and kind, he did not like to meet them.
`I am the Ghost of Christmas Present,' said the Spirit. `Look upon me.'
Scrooge reverently31 did so. It was clothed in one simple green robe, or mantle32, bordered with white fur. This garment hung so loosely on the figure, that its capacious breast was bare, as if disdaining33 to be warded34 or concealed35 by any artifice36. Its feet, observable beneath the ample folds of the garment, were also bare; and on its head it wore no other covering than a holly wreath, set here and there with shining icicles. Its dark brown curls were long and free; free as its genial37 face, its sparkling eye, its open hand, its cheery voice, its unconstrained demeanour, and its joyful38 air. Girded round its middle was an antique scabbard; but no sword was in it, and the ancient sheath was eaten up with rust39.
`You have never seen the like of me before?' exclaimed the Spirit.
`Never,' Scrooge made answer to it.
`Have never walked forth40 with the younger members of my family; meaning (for I am very young) my elder brothers born in these later years?' pursued the Phantom41.
`I don't think I have,' said Scrooge. `I am afraid I have not. Have you had many brothers, Spirit?'
`More than eighteen hundred,' said the Ghost.
`A tremendous family to provide for,' muttered Scrooge.
The Ghost of Christmas Present rose.
`Spirit,' said Scrooge submissively, `conduct me where you will. I went forth last night on compulsion, and I learnt a lesson which is working now. To-night, if you have aught to teach me, let me profit by it.'
`Touch my robe.'
Scrooge did as he was told, and held it fast.
Holly, mistletoe, red berries, ivy, turkeys, geese, game, poultry, brawn, meat, pigs, sausages, oysters, pies, puddings, fruit, and punch, all vanished instantly. So did the room, the fire, the ruddy glow, the hour of night, and they stood in the city streets on Christmas morning, where (for the weather was severe) the people made a rough, but brisk and not unpleasant kind of music, in scraping the snow from the pavement in front of their dwellings42, and from the tops of their houses, whence it was mad delight to the boys to see it come plumping down into the road below, and splitting into artificial little snow-storms.
The house fronts looked black enough, and the windows blacker, contrasting with the smooth white sheet of snow upon the roofs, and with the dirtier snow upon the ground; which last deposit had been ploughed up in deep furrows44 by the heavy wheels of carts and waggons45; furrows that crossed and recrossed each other hundreds of times where the great streets branched off; and made intricate channels, hard to trace in the thick yellow mud and icy water. The sky was gloomy, and the shortest streets were choked up with a dingy46 mist, half thawed47, half frozen, whose heavier particles descended48 in a shower of sooty atoms, as if all the chimneys in Great Britain had, by one consent, caught fire, and were blazing away to their dear hearts' content. There was nothing very cheerful in the climate or the town, and yet was there an air of cheerfulness abroad that the clearest summer air and brightest summer sun might have endeavoured to diffuse49 in vain.
For, the people who were shovelling50 away on the housetops were jovial51 and full of glee; calling out to one another from the parapets, and now and then exchanging a facetious52 snowball--better-natured missile far than many a wordy jest-- laughing heartily53 if it went right and not less heartily if it went wrong. The poulterers' shops were still half open, and the fruiterers' were radiant in their glory. There were great, round, round, pot-bellied baskets of chestnuts, shaped like the waistcoats of jolly old gentlemen, lolling at the doors, and tumbling out into the street in their apoplectic54 opulence55. There were ruddy, brown-faced, broad-girthed Spanish onions, shining in the fatness of their growth like Spanish Friars, and winking56 from their shelves in wanton slyness at the girls as they went by, and glanced demurely57 at the hung-up mistletoe. There were pears and apples, clustered high in blooming pyramids; there were bunches of grapes, made, in the shopkeepers' benevolence58, to dangle59 from conspicuous60 hooks, that people's mouths might water gratis61 as they passed; there were piles of filberts, mossy and brown, recalling, in their fragrance64, ancient walks among the woods, and pleasant shufflings ankle deep through withered65 leaves; there were Norfolk Biffins, squat66 and swarthy, setting off the yellow of the oranges and lemons, and, in the great compactness of their juicy persons, urgently entreating67 and beseeching68 to be carried home in paper bags and eaten after dinner. The very gold and silver fish, set forth among these choice fruits in a bowl, though members of a dull and stagnant-blooded race, appeared to know that there was something going on; and, to a fish, went gasping69 round and round their little world in slow and passionless excitement.
The Grocers'! oh, the Grocers'! nearly closed, with perhaps two shutters70 down, or one; but through those gaps such glimpses! It was not alone that the scales descending71 on the counter made a merry sound, or that the twine72 and roller parted company so briskly, or that the canisters were rattled73 up and down like juggling74 tricks, or even that the blended scents76 of tea and coffee were so grateful to the nose, or even that the raisins77 were so plentiful78 and rare, the almonds so extremely white, the sticks of cinnamon so long and straight, the other spices so delicious, the candied fruits so caked and spotted79 with molten sugar as to make the coldest lookers-on feel faint and subsequently bilious80. Nor was it that the figs81 were moist and pulpy82, or that the French plums blushed in modest tartness83 from their highly-decorated boxes, or that everything was good to eat and in its Christmas dress; but the customers were all so hurried and so eager in the hopeful promise of the day, that they tumbled up against each other at the door, crashing their wicker baskets wildly, and left their purchases upon the counter, and came running back to fetch them, and committed hundreds of the like mistakes, in the best humour possible; while the Grocer and his people were so frank and fresh that the polished hearts with which they fastened their aprons84 behind might have been their own, worn outside for general inspection85, and for Christmas daws to peck at if they chose.
But soon the steeples called good people all, to church and chapel86, and away they came, flocking through the streets in their best clothes, and with their gayest faces. And at the same time there emerged from scores of bye-streets, lanes, and nameless turnings, innumerable people, carrying their dinners to the baker87' shops. The sight of these poor revellers appeared to interest the Spirit very much, for he stood with Scrooge beside him in a baker's doorway88, and taking off the covers as their bearers passed, sprinkled incense89 on their dinners from his torch. And it was a very uncommon90 kind of torch, for once or twice when there were angry words between some dinner-carriers who had jostled each other, he shed a few drops of water on them from it, and their good humour was restored directly. For they said, it was a shame to quarrel upon Christmas Day. And so it was. God love it, so it was.
In time the bells ceased, and the bakers91 were shut up; and yet there was a genial shadowing forth of all these dinners and the progress of their cooking, in the thawed blotch92 of wet above each baker's oven; where the pavement smoked as if its stones were cooking too.
`Is there a peculiar93 flavour in what you sprinkle from your torch?' asked Scrooge.
`There is. My own.'
`Would it apply to any kind of dinner on this day?' asked Scrooge.
`To any kindly94 given. To a poor one most.'
`Why to a poor one most?' asked Scrooge.
`Because it needs it most.'
`Spirit,' said Scrooge, after a moment's thought, `I wonder you, of all the beings in the many worlds about us, should desire to cramp95 these people's opportunities of innocent enjoyment96.'
`I?' cried the Spirit.
`You would deprive them of their means of dining every seventh day, often the only day on which they can be said to dine at all,' said Scrooge. `Wouldn't you?'
`I?' cried the Spirit.
`You seek to close these places on the Seventh Day,' said Scrooge. `And it comes to the same thing!'
`I seek?' exclaimed the Spirit.
`Forgive me if I am wrong. It has been done in your name, or at least in that of your family,' said Scrooge.
`There are some upon this earth of yours,' returned the Spirit, `who lay claim to know us, and who do their deeds of passion, pride, ill-will, hatred97, envy, bigotry98, and selfishness in our name, who are as strange to us and all our kith and kin1, as if they had never lived. Remember that, and charge their doings on themselves, not us.'
Scrooge promised that he would; and they went on, invisible, as they had been before, into the suburbs of the town. It was a remarkable99 quality of the Ghost (which Scrooge had observed at the baker's), that notwithstanding his gigantic size, he could accommodate himself to any place with ease; and that he stood beneath a low roof quite as gracefully101 and like a supernatural creature, as it was possible he could have done in any lofty hall.
And perhaps it was the pleasure the good Spirit had in showing off this power of his, or else it was his own kind, generous, hearty103 nature, and his sympathy with all poor men, that led him straight to Scrooge's clerk's; for there he went, and took Scrooge with him, holding to his robe; and on the threshold of the door the Spirit smiled, and stopped to bless Bob Cratchit's dwelling43 with the sprinkling of his torch. Think of that. Bob had but fifteen bob a-week himself; he pocketed on Saturdays but fifteen copies of his Christian104 name; and yet the Ghost of Christmas Present blessed his four-roomed house.
Then up rose Mrs Cratchit, Cratchit's wife, dressed out but poorly in a twice-turned gown, but brave in ribbons, which are cheap and make a goodly show for sixpence; and she laid the cloth, assisted by Belinda Cratchit, second of her daughters, also brave in ribbons; while Master Peter Cratchit plunged106 a fork into the saucepan of potatoes, and getting the corners of his monstrous107 shirt collar (Bob's private property, conferred upon his son and heir in honour of the day) into his mouth, rejoiced to find himself so gallantly108 attired110, and yearned111 to show his linen112 in the fashionable Parks. And now two smaller Cratchits, boy and girl, came tearing in, screaming that outside the baker's they had smelt113 the goose, and known it for their own; and basking114 in luxurious115 thoughts of sage24 and onion, these young Cratchits danced about the table, and exalted116 Master Peter Cratchit to the skies, while he (not proud, although his collars nearly choked him) blew the fire, until the slow potatoes bubbling up, knocked loudly at the saucepan-lid to be let out and peeled.
`What has ever got your precious father then?' said Mrs Cratchit. `And your brother, Tiny Tim. And Martha warn't as late last Christmas Day by half-an-hour.'
`Here's Martha, mother,' said a girl, appearing as she spoke117.
`Here's Martha, mother!' cried the two young Cratchits. `Hurrah118! There's such a goose, Martha!'
`Why, bless your heart alive, my dear, how late you are!' said Mrs Cratchit, kissing her a dozen times, and taking off her shawl and bonnet119 for her with officious zeal120.
`We'd a deal of work to finish up last night,' replied the girl, `and had to clear away this morning, mother.'
`Well! Never mind so long as you are come,' said Mrs Cratchit. `Sit ye down before the fire, my dear, and have a warm, Lord bless ye.'
`No, no. There's father coming,' cried the two young Cratchits, who were everywhere at once. `Hide, Martha, hide!'
So Martha hid herself, and in came little Bob, the father, with at least three feet of comforter exclusive of the fringe, hanging down before him; and his threadbare clothes darned up and brushed, to look seasonable; and Tiny Tim upon his shoulder. Alas121 for Tiny Tim, he bore a little crutch122, and had his limbs supported by an iron frame.
`Why, where's our Martha?' cried Bob Cratchit, looking round.
`Not coming,' said Mrs Cratchit.
`Not coming!' said Bob, with a sudden declension in his high spirits; for he had been Tim's blood horse all the way from church, and had come home rampant123. `Not coming upon Christmas Day?'
Martha didn't like to see him disappointed, if it were only in joke; so she came out prematurely124 from behind the closet door, and ran into his arms, while the two young Cratchits hustled125 Tiny Tim, and bore him off into the wash-house, that he might hear the pudding singing in the copper126.
`And how did little Tim behave?' asked Mrs Cratchit, when she had rallied Bob on his credulity, and Bob had hugged his daughter to his heart's content.
`As good as gold,' said Bob, `and better. Somehow he gets thoughtful, sitting by himself so much, and thinks the strangest things you ever heard. He told me, coming home, that he hoped the people saw him in the church, because he was a cripple, and it might be pleasant to them to remember upon Christmas Day, who made lame127 beggars walk, and blind men see.'
Bob's voice was tremulous when he told them this, and trembled more when he said that Tiny Tim was growing strong and hearty.
His active little crutch was heard upon the floor, and back came Tiny Tim before another word was spoken, escorted by his brother and sister to his stool before the fire; and while Bob, turning up his cuffs--as if, poor fellow, they were capable of being made more shabby--compounded some hot mixture in a jug75 with gin and lemons, and stirred it round and round and put it on the hob to simmer; Master Peter, and the two ubiquitous young Cratchits went to fetch the goose, with which they soon returned in high procession.
Such a bustle128 ensued that you might have thought a goose the rarest of all birds; a feathered phenomenon, to which a black swan was a matter of course -- and in truth it was something very like it in that house. Mrs Cratchit made the gravy129 (ready beforehand in a little saucepan) hissing130 hot; Master Peter mashed131 the potatoes with incredible vigour132; Miss Belinda sweetened up the apple-sauce; Martha dusted the hot plates; Bob took Tiny Tim beside him in a tiny corner at the table; the two young Cratchits set chairs for everybody, not forgetting themselves, and mounting guard upon their posts, crammed133 spoons into their mouths, lest they should shriek134 for goose before their turn came to be helped. At last the dishes were set on, and grace was said. It was succeeded by a breathless pause, as Mrs Cratchit, looking slowly all along the carving-knife, prepared to plunge105 it in the breast; but when she did, and when the long expected gush135 of stuffing issued forth, one murmur136 of delight arose all round the board, and even Tiny Tim, excited by the two young Cratchits, beat on the table with the handle of his knife, and feebly cried Hurrah!
There never was such a goose. Bob said he didn't believe there ever was such a goose cooked. Its tenderness and flavour, size and cheapness, were the themes of universal admiration137. Eked27 out by apple-sauce and mashed potatoes, it was a sufficient dinner for the whole family; indeed, as Mrs Cratchit said with great delight (surveying one small atom of a bone upon the dish), they hadn't ate it all at last. Yet every one had had enough, and the youngest Cratchits in particular, were steeped in sage and onion to the eyebrows138. But now, the plates being changed by Miss Belinda, Mrs Cratchit left the room alone--too nervous to bear witnesses--to take the pudding up and bring it in.
Suppose it should not be done enough? Suppose it should break in turning out? Suppose somebody should have got over the wall of the back-yard, and stolen it, while they were merry with the goose--a supposition at which the two young Cratchits became livid. All sorts of horrors were supposed.
Hallo! A great deal of steam. The pudding was out of the copper. A smell like a washing-day! That was the cloth. A smell like an eating-house and a pastrycook's next door to each other, with a laundress's next door to that! That was the pudding. In half a minute Mrs Cratchit entered--flushed, but smiling proudly--with the pudding, like a speckled cannon-ball, so hard and firm, blazing in half of half-a-quartern of ignited brandy, and bedight with Christmas holly stuck into the top.
Oh, a wonderful pudding. Bob Cratchit said, and calmly too, that he regarded it as the greatest success achieved by Mrs Cratchit since their marriage. Mrs Cratchit said that now the weight was off her mind, she would confess she had had her doubts about the quantity of flour. Everybody had something to say about it, but nobody said or thought it was at all a small pudding for a large family. It would have been flat heresy139 to do so. Any Cratchit would have blushed to hint at such a thing.
At last the dinner was all done, the cloth was cleared, the hearth swept, and the fire made up. The compound in the jug being tasted, and considered perfect, apples and oranges were put upon the table, and a shovel-full of chestnuts on the fire. Then all the Cratchit family drew round the hearth, in what Bob Cratchit called a circle, meaning half a one; and at Bob Cratchit's elbow stood the family display of glass. Two tumblers, and a custard-cup without a handle.
These held the hot stuff from the jug, however, as well as golden goblets140 would have done; and Bob served it out with beaming looks, while the chestnuts on the fire sputtered141 and cracked noisily. Then Bob proposed:
`A Merry Christmas to us all, my dears! God bless us!'
Which all the family re-echoed.
`God bless us every one!' said Tiny Tim, the last of all.
He sat very close to his father's side upon his little stool. Bob held his withered little hand in his, as if he loved the child, and wished to keep him by his side, and dreaded142 that he might be taken from him.
`Spirit,' said Scrooge, with an interest he had never felt before, `tell me if Tiny Tim will live.'
`I see a vacant seat,' replied the Ghost, `in the poor chimney-corner, and a crutch without an owner, carefully preserved. If these shadows remain unaltered by the Future, the child will die.'
`No, no,' said Scrooge. `Oh, no, kind Spirit. say he will be spared!'
`If these shadows remain unaltered by the Future, none other of my race,' returned the Ghost, `will find him here. What then? If he be like to die, he had better do it, and decrease the surplus population.'
Scrooge hung his head to hear his own words quoted by the Spirit, and was overcome with penitence145 and grief. `Man,' said the Ghost, `if man you be in heart, not adamant146, forbear that wicked cant144 until you have discovered What the surplus is, and Where it is. Will you decide what men shall live, what men shall die? It may be, that in the sight of Heaven, you are more worthless and less fit to live than millions like this poor man's child. Oh God, to hear the Insect on the leaf pronouncing on the too much life among his hungry brothers in the dust.'
Scrooge bent147 before the Ghost's rebuke148, and trembling cast his eyes upon the ground. But he raised them speedily, on hearing his own name.
`Mr Scrooge,' said Bob; `I'll give you Mr Scrooge, the Founder149 of the Feast.'
`The Founder of the Feast indeed!' cried Mrs Cratchit, reddening. `I wish I had him here! I'd give him a piece of my mind to feast upon, and I hope he'd have a good appetite for it!'
`My dear,' said Bob, `the children! Christmas Day!'
`It should be Christmas Day, I am sure,' said she, `on which one drinks the health of such an odious150, stingy, hard, unfeeling man as Mr Scrooge! You know he is, Robert. Nobody knows it better than you do, poor fellow.'
`My dear,' was Bob's mild answer, `Christmas Day!'
`I'll drink his health for your sake and the Day's,' said Mrs Cratchit, `not for his. Long life to him. A merry Christmas and a happy new year. He'll be very merry and very happy, I have no doubt!'
The children drank the toast after her. It was the first of their proceedings151 which had no heartiness152. Tiny Tim drank it last of all, but he didn't care twopence for it. Scrooge was the Ogre of the family. The mention of his name cast a dark shadow on the party, which was not dispelled153 for full five minutes.
After it had passed away, they were ten times merrier than before, from the mere154 relief of Scrooge the Baleful being done with. Bob Cratchit told them how he had a situation in his eye for Master Peter, which would bring in, if obtained, full five-and-sixpence weekly. The two young Cratchits laughed tremendously at the idea of Peter's being a man of business; and Peter himself looked thoughtfully at the fire from between his collars, as if he were deliberating what particular investments he should favour when he came into the receipt of that bewildering income. Martha, who was a poor apprentice155 at a milliner's, then told them what kind of work she had to do, and how many hours she worked at a stretch, and how she meant to lie abed to-morrow morning for a good long rest; to-morrow being a holiday she passed at home. Also how she had seen a countess and a lord some days before, and how the lord was much about as tall as Peter; at which Peter pulled up his collars so high that you couldn't have seen his head if you had been there. All this time the chestnuts and the jug went round and round; and by-and-bye they had a song, about a lost child travelling in the snow, from Tiny Tim, who had a plaintive156 little voice, and sang it very well indeed.
There was nothing of high mark in this. They were not a handsome family; they were not well dressed; their shoes were far from being water-proof; their clothes were scanty157; and Peter might have known, and very likely did, the inside of a pawnbroker's. But, they were happy, grateful, pleased with one another, and contented158 with the time; and when they faded, and looked happier yet in the bright sprinklings of the Spirit's torch at parting, Scrooge had his eye upon them, and especially on Tiny Tim, until the last.
By this time it was getting dark, and snowing pretty heavily; and as Scrooge and the Spirit went along the streets, the brightness of the roaring fires in kitchens, parlours, and all sorts of rooms, was wonderful. Here, the flickering159 of the blaze showed preparations for a cosy160 dinner, with hot plates baking through and through before the fire, and deep red curtains, ready to be drawn161 to shut out cold and darkness. There all the children of the house were running out into the snow to meet their married sisters, brothers, cousins, uncles, aunts, and be the first to greet them. Here, again, were shadows on the window-blind of guests assembling; and there a group of handsome girls, all hooded162 and fur-booted, and all chattering163 at once, tripped lightly off to some near neighbour's house; where, woe164 upon the single man who saw them enter--artful witches, well they knew it--in a glow.
But, if you had judged from the numbers of people on their way to friendly gatherings165, you might have thought that no one was at home to give them welcome when they got there, instead of every house expecting company, and piling up its fires half-chimney high. Blessings166 on it, how the Ghost exulted168. How it bared its breadth of breast, and opened its capacious palm, and floated on, outpouring, with a generous hand, its bright and harmless mirth on everything within its reach! The very lamplighter, who ran on before, dotting the dusky street with specks169 of light, and who was dressed to spend the evening somewhere, laughed out loudly as the Spirit passed, though little kenned170 the lamplighter that he had any company but Christmas.
And now, without a word of warning from the Ghost, they stood upon a bleak171 and desert moor172, where monstrous masses of rude stone were cast about, as though it were the burial-place of giants; and water spread itself wheresoever it listed, or would have done so, but for the frost that held it prisoner; and nothing grew but moss63 and furze, and coarse rank grass. Down in the west the setting sun had left a streak173 of fiery174 red, which glared upon the desolation for an instant, like a sullen175 eye, and frowning lower, lower, lower yet, was lost in the thick gloom of darkest night.
`What place is this?' asked Scrooge.
`A place where Miners live, who labour in the bowels176 of the earth,' returned the Spirit. `But they know me. See!'
A light shone from the window of a hut, and swiftly they advanced towards it. Passing through the wall of mud and stone, they found a cheerful company assembled round a glowing fire. An old, old man and woman, with their children and their children's children, and another generation beyond that, all decked out gaily177 in their holiday attire109. The old man, in a voice that seldom rose above the howling of the wind upon the barren waste, was singing them a Christmas song--it had been a very old song when he was a boy--and from time to time they all joined in the chorus. So surely as they raised their voices, the old man got quite blithe178 and loud; and so surely as they stopped, his vigour sank again.
The Spirit did not tarry here, but bade Scrooge hold his robe, and passing on above the moor, sped--whither? Not to sea. To sea! To Scrooge's horror, looking back, he saw the last of the land, a frightful179 range of rocks, behind them; and his ears were deafened180 by the thundering of water, as it rolled and roared, and raged among the dreadful caverns181 it had worn, and fiercely tried to undermine the earth.
Built upon a dismal182 reef of sunken rocks, some league or so from shore, on which the waters chafed183 and dashed, the wild year through, there stood a solitary184 lighthouse. Great heaps of sea-weed clung to its base, and storm-birds --born of the wind one might suppose, as sea-weed of the water--rose and fell about it, like the waves they skimmed.
But even here, two men who watched the light had made a fire, that through the loophole in the thick stone wall shed out a ray of brightness on the awful sea. Joining their horny hands over the rough table at which they sat, they wished each other Merry Christmas in their can of grog; and one of them: the elder, too, with his face all damaged and scarred with hard weather, as the figure-head of an old ship might be: struck up a sturdy song that was like a Gale185 in itself.
Again the Ghost sped on, above the black and heaving sea --on, on--until, being far away, as he told Scrooge, from any shore, they lighted on a ship. They stood beside the helmsman at the wheel, the look-out in the bow, the officers who had the watch; dark, ghostly figures in their several stations; but every man among them hummed a Christmas tune186, or had a Christmas thought, or spoke below his breath to his companion of some bygone Christmas Day, with homeward hopes belonging to it. And every man on board, waking or sleeping, good or bad, had had a kinder word for another on that day than on any day in the year; and had shared to some extent in its festivities; and had remembered those he cared for at a distance, and had known that they delighted to remember him.
It was a great surprise to Scrooge, while listening to the moaning of the wind, and thinking what a solemn thing it was to move on through the lonely darkness over an unknown abyss, whose depths were secrets as profound as Death: it was a great surprise to Scrooge, while thus engaged, to hear a hearty laugh. It was a much greater surprise to Scrooge to recognise it as his own nephew's and to find himself in a bright, dry, gleaming room, with the Spirit standing100 smiling by his side, and looking at that same nephew with approving affability.
`Ha, ha!' laughed Scrooge's nephew. `Ha, ha, ha!'
If you should happen, by any unlikely chance, to know a man more blest in a laugh than Scrooge's nephew, all I can say is, I should like to know him too. Introduce him to me, and I'll cultivate his acquaintance.
It is a fair, even-handed, noble adjustment of things, that while there is infection in disease and sorrow, there is nothing in the world so irresistibly187 contagious188 as laughter and good-humour. When Scrooge's nephew laughed in this way: holding his sides, rolling his head, and twisting his face into the most extravagant189 contortions190: Scrooge's niece, by marriage, laughed as heartily as he. And their assembled friends being not a bit behindhand, roared out lustily.
`Ha, ha! Ha, ha, ha, ha!'
`He said that Christmas was a humbug191, as I live!' cried Scrooge's nephew. `He believed it too!'
`More shame for him, Fred,' said Scrooge's niece, indignantly. Bless those women; they never do anything by halves. They are always in earnest.
She was very pretty: exceedingly pretty. With a dimpled, surprised-looking, capital face; a ripe little mouth, that seemed made to be kissed--as no doubt it was; all kinds of good little dots about her chin, that melted into one another when she laughed; and the sunniest pair of eyes you ever saw in any little creature's head. Altogether she was what you would have called provoking, you know; but satisfactory.
`He's a comical old fellow,' said Scrooge's nephew, `that's the truth: and not so pleasant as he might be. However, his offences carry their own punishment, and I have nothing to say against him.'
`I'm sure he is very rich, Fred,' hinted Scrooge's niece. `At least you always tell me so.'
`What of that, my dear?' said Scrooge's nephew. `His wealth is of no use to him! He don't do any good with it. He don't make himself comfortable with it. He hasn't the satisfaction of thinking--ha, ha, ha!--that he is ever going to benefit us with it!'
`I have no patience with him,' observed Scrooge's niece. Scrooge's niece's sisters, and all the other ladies, expressed the same opinion.
`Oh, I have,' said Scrooge's nephew. `I am sorry for him; I couldn't be angry with him if I tried. Who suffers by his ill whims192? Himself, always. Here, he takes it into his head to dislike us, and he won't come and dine with us. What's the consequence? He don't lose much of a dinner!'
`Indeed, I think he loses a very good dinner,' interrupted Scrooge's niece. Everybody else said the same, and they must be allowed to have been competent judges, because they had just had dinner; and, with the dessert upon the table, were clustered round the fire, by lamplight.
`Well, I'm very glad to hear it,' said Scrooge's nephew, `because I haven't great faith in these young housekeepers193. What do you say, Topper?'
Topper had clearly got his eye upon one of Scrooge's niece's sisters, for he answered that a bachelor was a wretched outcast, who had no right to express an opinion on the subject. Whereat Scrooge's niece's sister--the plump one with the lace tucker: not the one with the roses--blushed.
`Do go on, Fred,' said Scrooge's niece, clapping her hands. `He never finishes what he begins to say. He is such a ridiculous fellow!'
Scrooge's nephew revelled194 in another laugh, and as it was impossible to keep the infection off; though the plump sister tried hard to do it with aromatic195 vinegar; his example was unanimously followed.
`I was only going to say,' said Scrooge's nephew, `that the consequence of his taking a dislike to us, and not making merry with us, is, as I think, that he loses some pleasant moments, which could do him no harm. I am sure he loses pleasanter companions than he can find in his own thoughts, either in his mouldy old office, or his dusty chambers196. I mean to give him the same chance every year, whether he likes it or not, for I pity him. He may rail at Christmas till he dies, but he can't help thinking better of it--I defy him--if he finds me going there, in good temper, year after year, and saying Uncle Scrooge, how are you. If it only puts him in the vein197 to leave his poor clerk fifty pounds, that's something; and I think I shook him yesterday.'
It was their turn to laugh now at the notion of his shaking Scrooge. But being thoroughly198 good-natured, and not much caring what they laughed at, so that they laughed at any rate, he encouraged them in their merriment, and passed the bottle joyously199.
After tea, they had some music. For they were a musical family, and knew what they were about, when they sung a Glee or Catch, I can assure you: especially Topper, who could growl200 away in the bass201 like a good one, and never swell202 the large veins203 in his forehead, or get red in the face over it. Scrooge's niece played well upon the harp4; and played among other tunes204 a simple little air (a mere nothing: you might learn to whistle it in two minutes), which had been familiar to the child who fetched Scrooge from the boarding-school, as he had been reminded by the Ghost of Christmas Past. When this strain of music sounded, all the things that Ghost had shown him, came upon his mind; he softened205 more and more; and thought that if he could have listened to it often, years ago, he might have cultivated the kindnesses of life for his own happiness with his own hands, without resorting to the sexton's spade that buried Jacob Marley.
But they didn't devote the whole evening to music. After a while they played at forfeits206; for it is good to be children sometimes, and never better than at Christmas, when its mighty Founder was a child himself. Stop! There was first a game at blind-man's buff. Of course there was. And I no more believe Topper was really blind than I believe he had eyes in his boots. My opinion is, that it was a done thing between him and Scrooge's nephew; and that the Ghost of Christmas Present knew it. The way he went after that plump sister in the lace tucker, was an outrage207 on the credulity of human nature. Knocking down the fire-irons, tumbling over the chairs, bumping against the piano, smothering208 himself among the curtains, wherever she went, there went he. He always knew where the plump sister was. He wouldn't catch anybody else! If you had fallen up against him (as some of them did), on purpose, he would have made a feint of endeavouring to seize you, which would have been an affront209 to your understanding, and would instantly have sidled off in the direction of the plump sister. She often cried out that it wasn't fair; and it really was not. But when at last, he caught her; when, in spite of all her silken rustlings, and her rapid flutterings past him, he got her into a corner whence there was no escape; then his conduct was the most execrable. For his pretending not to know her; his pretending that it was necessary to touch her head-dress, and further to assure himself of her identity by pressing a certain ring upon her finger, and a certain chain about her neck; was vile210, monstrous. No doubt she told him her opinion of it, when, another blind-man being in office, they were so very confidential211 together, behind the curtains.
Scrooge's niece was not one of the blind-man's buff party, but was made comfortable with a large chair and a footstool, in a snug212 corner, where the Ghost and Scrooge were close behind her. But she joined in the forfeits, and loved her love to admiration with all the letters of the alphabet. Likewise at the game of How, When, and Where, she was very great, and to the secret joy of Scrooge's nephew, beat her sisters hollow: though they were sharp girls too, as I could have told you. There might have been twenty people there, young and old, but they all played, and so did Scrooge, for, wholly forgetting the interest he had in what was going on, that his voice made no sound in their ears, he sometimes came out with his guess quite loud, and very often guessed quite right, too; for the sharpest needle, best Whitechapel, warranted not to cut in the eye, was not sharper than Scrooge; blunt as he took it in his head to be.
The Ghost was greatly pleased to find him in this mood, and looked upon him with such favour, that he begged like a boy to be allowed to stay until the guests departed. But this the Spirit said could not be done.
`Here is a new game,' said Scrooge. `One half hour, Spirit, only one!'
It was a Game called Yes and No, where Scrooge's nephew had to think of something, and the rest must find out what; he only answering to their questions yes or no, as the case was. The brisk fire of questioning to which he was exposed, elicited213 from him that he was thinking of an animal, a live animal, rather a disagreeable animal, a savage214 animal, an animal that growled215 and grunted216 sometimes, and talked sometimes, and lived in London, and walked about the streets, and wasn't made a show of, and wasn't led by anybody, and didn't live in a menagerie, and was never killed in a market, and was not a horse, or an ass62, or a cow, or a bull, or a tiger, or a dog, or a pig, or a cat, or a bear. At every fresh question that was put to him, this nephew burst into a fresh roar of laughter; and was so inexpressibly tickled217, that he was obliged to get up off the sofa and stamp. At last the plump sister, falling into a similar state, cried out:
`I have found it out! I know what it is, Fred! I know what it is!'
`What is it?' cried Fred.
`It's your Uncle Scrooge!'
Which it certainly was. Admiration was the universal sentiment, though some objected that the reply to `Is it a bear?' ought to have been `Yes;' inasmuch as an answer in the negative was sufficient to have diverted their thoughts from Mr Scrooge, supposing they had ever had any tendency that way.
`He has given us plenty of merriment, I am sure,' said Fred, `and it would be ungrateful not to drink his health. Here is a glass of mulled wine ready to our hand at the moment; and I say, "Uncle Scrooge!"'
`Well! Uncle Scrooge!' they cried.
`A Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to the old man, whatever he is.' said Scrooge's nephew. `He wouldn't take it from me, but may he have it, nevertheless. Uncle Scrooge.'
Uncle Scrooge had imperceptibly become so gay and light of heart, that he would have pledged the unconscious company in return, and thanked them in an inaudible speech, if the Ghost had given him time. But the whole scene passed off in the breath of the last word spoken by his nephew; and he and the Spirit were again upon their travels.
Much they saw, and far they went, and many homes they visited, but always with a happy end. The Spirit stood beside sick beds, and they were cheerful; on foreign lands, and they were close at home; by struggling men, and they were patient in their greater hope; by poverty, and it was rich. In almshouse, hospital, and jail, in misery's every refuge, where vain man in his little brief authority had not made fast the door and barred the Spirit out, he left his blessing167, and taught Scrooge his precepts218.
It was a long night, if it were only a night; but Scrooge had his doubts of this, because the Christmas Holidays appeared to be condensed into the space of time they passed together. It was strange, too, that while Scrooge remained unaltered in his outward form, the Ghost grew older, clearly older. Scrooge had observed this change, but never spoke of it, until they left a children's Twelfth Night party, when, looking at the Spirit as they stood together in an open place, he noticed that its hair was grey.
`Are spirits' lives so short?' asked Scrooge.
`My life upon this globe is very brief,' replied the Ghost. `It ends to-night.'
`To-night!' cried Scrooge.
`To-night at midnight. Hark! The time is drawing near.'
The chimes were ringing the three quarters past eleven at that moment.
`Forgive me if I am not justified219 in what I ask,' said Scrooge, looking intently at the Spirit's robe, `but I see something strange, and not belonging to yourself, protruding220 from your skirts. Is it a foot or a claw?'
`It might be a claw, for the flesh there is upon it,' was the Spirit's sorrowful reply. `Look here!'
From the foldings of its robe, it brought two children; wretched, abject221, frightful, hideous222, miserable223. They knelt down at its feet, and clung upon the outside of its garment.
`Oh, Man, look here! Look, look, down here!' exclaimed the Ghost.
They were a boy and a girl. Yellow, meagre, ragged224, scowling225, wolfish; but prostrate226, too, in their humility227. Where graceful102 youth should have filled their features out, and touched them with its freshest tints228, a stale and shrivelled hand, like that of age, had pinched, and twisted them, and pulled them into shreds229. Where angels might have sat enthroned, devils lurked230, and glared out menacing. No change, no degradation231, no perversion232 of humanity, in any grade, through all the mysteries of wonderful creation, has monsters half so horrible and dread143.
Scrooge started back, appalled233. Having them shown to him in this way, he tried to say they were fine children, but the words choked themselves, rather than be parties to a lie of such enormous magnitude.
`Spirit, are they yours?' Scrooge could say no more.
`They are Man's,' said the Spirit, looking down upon them. `And they cling to me, appealing from their fathers. This boy is Ignorance. This girl is Want. Beware them both, and all of their degree, but most of all beware this boy, for on his brow I see that written which is Doom234, unless the writing be erased235. Deny it!' cried the Spirit, stretching out its hand towards the city. `Slander those who tell it ye! Admit it for your factious236 purposes, and make it worse. And abide237 the end.'
`Have they no refuge or resource?' cried Scrooge.
`Are there no prisons?' said the Spirit, turning on him for the last time with his own words. `Are there no workhouses?' The bell struck twelve.
Scrooge looked about him for the Ghost, and saw it not. As the last stroke ceased to vibrate, he remembered the prediction of old Jacob Marley, and lifting up his eyes, beheld238 a solemn Phantom, draped and hooded, coming, like a mist along the ground, towards him.
收听单词发音 |
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kin
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| n.家族，亲属，血缘关系；adj.亲属关系的，同类的 | |
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prodigiously
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| adv.异常地，惊人地，巨大地 | |
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intervention
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| n.介入，干涉，干预 | |
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harp
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| n.竖琴；天琴座 | |
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plume
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| n.羽毛；v.整理羽毛，骚首弄姿，用羽毛装饰 | |
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hardily
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| 耐劳地，大胆地，蛮勇地 | |
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rhinoceros
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| n.犀牛 | |
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apprehensive
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| adj.担心的，恐惧的，善于领会的 | |
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combustion
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| n.燃烧；氧化；骚动 | |
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consolation
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| n.安慰，慰问 | |
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shuffled
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| v.洗（纸牌）( shuffle的过去式和过去分词 )；拖着脚步走；粗心地做；摆脱尘世的烦恼 | |
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slippers
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| n. 拖鞋 | |
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transformation
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| n.变化；改造；转变 | |
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grove
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| n.林子，小树林，园林 | |
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glistened
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| v.湿物闪耀，闪亮( glisten的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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holly
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| n.[植]冬青属灌木 | |
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ivy
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| n.常青藤，常春藤 | |
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scattered
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| adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的 | |
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mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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hearth
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| n.壁炉炉床，壁炉地面 | |
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poultry
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| n.家禽，禽肉 | |
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brawn
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| n.体力 | |
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joints
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| 接头( joint的名词复数 )； 关节； 公共场所（尤指价格低廉的饮食和娱乐场所） （非正式）； 一块烤肉 （英式英语） | |
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sage
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| n.圣人，哲人；adj.贤明的，明智的 | |
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oysters
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| 牡蛎( oyster的名词复数 ) | |
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chestnuts
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| n.栗子( chestnut的名词复数 )；栗色；栗树；栗色马 | |
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eked
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| v.（靠节省用量）使…的供应持久( eke的过去式和过去分词 )；节约使用；竭力维持生计；勉强度日 | |
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luscious
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| adj.美味的；芬芳的；肉感的，引与性欲的 | |
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seething
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| 沸腾的，火热的 | |
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chamber
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| n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所 | |
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reverently
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| adv.虔诚地 | |
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mantle
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| n.斗篷，覆罩之物，罩子；v.罩住，覆盖，脸红 | |
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disdaining
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| 鄙视( disdain的现在分词 )； 不屑于做，不愿意做 | |
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warded
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| 有锁孔的，有钥匙榫槽的 | |
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concealed
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| a.隐藏的，隐蔽的 | |
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artifice
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| n.妙计，高明的手段；狡诈，诡计 | |
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genial
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| adj.亲切的，和蔼的，愉快的，脾气好的 | |
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joyful
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| adj.欢乐的，令人欢欣的 | |
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rust
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| n.锈；v.生锈；(脑子)衰退 | |
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forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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phantom
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| n.幻影，虚位，幽灵；adj.错觉的，幻影的，幽灵的 | |
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dwellings
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| n.住处，处所( dwelling的名词复数 ) | |
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dwelling
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| n.住宅，住所，寓所 | |
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furrows
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| n.犁沟( furrow的名词复数 )；（脸上的）皱纹v.犁田，开沟( furrow的第三人称单数 ) | |
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waggons
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| 四轮的运货马车( waggon的名词复数 )； 铁路货车； 小手推车 | |
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dingy
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| adj.昏暗的，肮脏的 | |
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thawed
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| 解冻 | |
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descended
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| a.为...后裔的，出身于...的 | |
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diffuse
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| v.扩散；传播；adj.冗长的；四散的，弥漫的 | |
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shovelling
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| v.铲子( shovel的现在分词 )；锹；推土机、挖土机等的)铲；铲形部份 | |
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51
jovial
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| adj.快乐的，好交际的 | |
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facetious
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| adj.轻浮的，好开玩笑的 | |
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heartily
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| adv.衷心地，诚恳地，十分，很 | |
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apoplectic
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| adj.中风的；愤怒的；n.中风患者 | |
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opulence
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| n.财富，富裕 | |
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56
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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57
demurely
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| adv.装成端庄地，认真地 | |
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58
benevolence
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| n.慈悲，捐助 | |
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59
dangle
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| v.(使)悬荡，(使)悬垂 | |
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60
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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gratis
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| adj.免费的 | |
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ass
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| n.驴；傻瓜，蠢笨的人 | |
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moss
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| n.苔，藓，地衣 | |
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fragrance
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| n.芬芳，香味，香气 | |
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65
withered
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| adj. 枯萎的，干瘪的，（人身体的部分器官）因病萎缩的或未发育良好的 动词wither的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
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66
squat
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| v.蹲坐，蹲下；n.蹲下；adj.矮胖的，粗矮的 | |
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67
entreating
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| 恳求，乞求( entreat的现在分词 ) | |
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beseeching
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| adj.恳求似的v.恳求，乞求（某事物）( beseech的现在分词 ) | |
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gasping
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| adj. 气喘的, 痉挛的 动词gasp的现在分词 | |
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70
shutters
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| 百叶窗( shutter的名词复数 )； （照相机的）快门 | |
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71
descending
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| n. 下行 adj. 下降的 | |
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72
twine
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| v.搓，织，编饰；（使）缠绕 | |
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73
rattled
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| 慌乱的，恼火的 | |
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juggling
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| n. 欺骗, 杂耍(=jugglery) adj. 欺骗的, 欺诈的 动词juggle的现在分词 | |
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75
jug
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| n.(有柄，小口，可盛水等的)大壶，罐，盂 | |
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76
scents
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| n.香水( scent的名词复数 )；气味；（动物的）臭迹；（尤指狗的）嗅觉 | |
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77
raisins
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| n.葡萄干( raisin的名词复数 ) | |
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78
plentiful
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| adj.富裕的，丰富的 | |
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79
spotted
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| adj.有斑点的，斑纹的，弄污了的 | |
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80
bilious
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| adj.胆汁过多的；易怒的 | |
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81
figs
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| figures 数字，图形，外形 | |
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82
pulpy
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| 果肉状的，多汁的，柔软的； 烂糊； 稀烂 | |
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83
tartness
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| n.酸，锋利 | |
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84
aprons
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| 围裙( apron的名词复数 )； 停机坪，台口（舞台幕前的部份） | |
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85
inspection
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| n.检查，审查，检阅 | |
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86
chapel
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| n.小教堂，殡仪馆 | |
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87
baker
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| n.面包师 | |
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88
doorway
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| n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径 | |
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89
incense
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| v.激怒；n.香，焚香时的烟，香气 | |
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90
uncommon
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| adj.罕见的，非凡的，不平常的 | |
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91
bakers
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| n.面包师( baker的名词复数 )；面包店；面包店店主；十三 | |
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92
blotch
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| n.大斑点；红斑点；v.使沾上污渍，弄脏 | |
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93
peculiar
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| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
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94
kindly
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| adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地 | |
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95
cramp
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| n.痉挛；[pl.](腹)绞痛；vt.限制，束缚 | |
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96
enjoyment
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| n.乐趣；享有；享用 | |
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97
hatred
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| n.憎恶，憎恨，仇恨 | |
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98
bigotry
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| n.偏见，偏执，持偏见的行为[态度]等 | |
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99
remarkable
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| adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的 | |
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100
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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101
gracefully
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| ad.大大方方地；优美地 | |
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102
graceful
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| adj.优美的，优雅的；得体的 | |
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103
hearty
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| adj.热情友好的；衷心的；尽情的，纵情的 | |
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104
Christian
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| adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒 | |
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105
plunge
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| v.跳入，(使)投入，(使)陷入；猛冲 | |
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106
plunged
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| v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降 | |
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107
monstrous
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| adj.巨大的；恐怖的；可耻的，丢脸的 | |
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108
gallantly
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| adv. 漂亮地，勇敢地，献殷勤地 | |
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109
attire
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| v.穿衣，装扮[同]array；n.衣着；盛装 | |
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110
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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111
yearned
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| 渴望，切盼，向往( yearn的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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112
linen
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| n.亚麻布，亚麻线，亚麻制品；adj.亚麻布制的，亚麻的 | |
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113
smelt
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| v.熔解，熔炼；n.银白鱼，胡瓜鱼 | |
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114
basking
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| 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 | |
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115
luxurious
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| adj.精美而昂贵的；豪华的 | |
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116
exalted
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| adj.(地位等)高的，崇高的；尊贵的，高尚的 | |
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117
spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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118
hurrah
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| int.好哇，万岁，乌拉 | |
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119
bonnet
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| n.无边女帽；童帽 | |
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120
zeal
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| n.热心，热情，热忱 | |
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121
alas
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| int.唉(表示悲伤、忧愁、恐惧等) | |
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122
crutch
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| n.T字形拐杖；支持，依靠，精神支柱 | |
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123
rampant
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| adj.(植物)蔓生的；狂暴的，无约束的 | |
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124
prematurely
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| adv.过早地，贸然地 | |
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125
hustled
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| 催促（hustle的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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126
copper
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| n.铜；铜币；铜器；adj.铜(制)的；(紫)铜色的 | |
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127
lame
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| adj.跛的，(辩解、论据等)无说服力的 | |
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128
bustle
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| v.喧扰地忙乱，匆忙，奔忙；n.忙碌；喧闹 | |
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129
gravy
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| n.肉汁；轻易得来的钱，外快 | |
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130
hissing
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| n. 发嘶嘶声, 蔑视 动词hiss的现在分词形式 | |
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131
mashed
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| a.捣烂的 | |
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132
vigour
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| （=vigor）n.智力，体力，精力 | |
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133
crammed
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| adj.塞满的，挤满的；大口地吃；快速贪婪地吃v.把…塞满；填入；临时抱佛脚( cram的过去式) | |
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134
shriek
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| v./n.尖叫，叫喊 | |
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135
gush
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| v.喷，涌；滔滔不绝(说话)；n.喷，涌流；迸发 | |
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136
murmur
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| n.低语，低声的怨言；v.低语，低声而言 | |
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137
admiration
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| n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕 | |
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138
eyebrows
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| 眉毛( eyebrow的名词复数 ) | |
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139
heresy
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| n.异端邪说；异教 | |
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140
goblets
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| n.高脚酒杯( goblet的名词复数 ) | |
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141
sputtered
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| v.唾沫飞溅( sputter的过去式和过去分词 )；发劈啪声；喷出；飞溅出 | |
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142
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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143
dread
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| vt.担忧，忧虑；惧怕，不敢；n.担忧，畏惧 | |
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144
cant
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| n.斜穿，黑话，猛扔 | |
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145
penitence
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| n.忏悔，赎罪；悔过 | |
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146
adamant
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| adj.坚硬的，固执的 | |
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147
bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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148
rebuke
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| v.指责，非难，斥责 [反]praise | |
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149
Founder
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| n.创始者，缔造者 | |
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150
odious
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| adj.可憎的，讨厌的 | |
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151
proceedings
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| n.进程，过程，议程；诉讼(程序)；公报 | |
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152
heartiness
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| 诚实，热心 | |
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153
dispelled
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| v.驱散，赶跑( dispel的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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154
mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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155
apprentice
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| n.学徒，徒弟 | |
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156
plaintive
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| adj.可怜的，伤心的 | |
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157
scanty
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| adj.缺乏的，仅有的，节省的，狭小的，不够的 | |
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158
contented
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| adj.满意的，安心的，知足的 | |
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159
flickering
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| adj.闪烁的，摇曳的，一闪一闪的 | |
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160
cosy
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| adj.温暖而舒适的，安逸的 | |
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161
drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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162
hooded
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| adj.戴头巾的；有罩盖的；颈部因肋骨运动而膨胀的 | |
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163
chattering
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| n. （机器振动发出的）咔嗒声，(鸟等)鸣，啁啾 adj. 喋喋不休的，啾啾声的 动词chatter的现在分词形式 | |
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164
woe
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| n.悲哀，苦痛，不幸，困难；int.用来表达悲伤或惊慌 | |
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165
gatherings
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| 聚集( gathering的名词复数 )； 收集； 采集； 搜集 | |
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166
blessings
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| n.（上帝的）祝福( blessing的名词复数 )；好事；福分；因祸得福 | |
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167
blessing
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| n.祈神赐福；祷告；祝福，祝愿 | |
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168
exulted
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| 狂喜，欢跃( exult的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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169
specks
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| n.眼镜；斑点，微粒，污点( speck的名词复数 ) | |
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170
kenned
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| v.知道( ken的过去式和过去分词 )；懂得；看到；认出 | |
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171
bleak
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| adj.(天气)阴冷的；凄凉的；暗淡的 | |
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172
moor
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| n.荒野，沼泽；vt.(使)停泊；vi.停泊 | |
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173
streak
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| n.条理，斑纹，倾向，少许，痕迹；v.加条纹，变成条纹，奔驰，快速移动 | |
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174
fiery
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| adj.燃烧着的，火红的；暴躁的；激烈的 | |
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175
sullen
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| adj.愠怒的，闷闷不乐的，(天气等)阴沉的 | |
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176
bowels
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| n.肠，内脏，内部；肠( bowel的名词复数 )；内部，最深处 | |
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177
gaily
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| adv.欢乐地，高兴地 | |
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178
blithe
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| adj.快乐的，无忧无虑的 | |
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179
frightful
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| adj.可怕的；讨厌的 | |
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180
deafened
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| 使聋( deafen的过去式和过去分词 )； 使隔音 | |
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181
caverns
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| 大山洞，大洞穴( cavern的名词复数 ) | |
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182
dismal
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| adj.阴沉的，凄凉的，令人忧郁的，差劲的 | |
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183
chafed
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| v.擦热（尤指皮肤）( chafe的过去式 )；擦痛；发怒；惹怒 | |
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184
solitary
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| adj.孤独的，独立的，荒凉的；n.隐士 | |
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185
gale
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| n.大风，强风，一阵闹声（尤指笑声等） | |
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186
tune
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| n.调子；和谐，协调；v.调音，调节，调整 | |
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187
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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188
contagious
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| adj.传染性的，有感染力的 | |
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189
extravagant
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| adj.奢侈的；过分的；(言行等)放肆的 | |
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190
contortions
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| n.扭歪，弯曲；扭曲，弄歪，歪曲( contortion的名词复数 ) | |
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191
humbug
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| n.花招，谎话，欺骗 | |
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192
WHIMS
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| 虚妄，禅病 | |
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193
housekeepers
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| n.（女）管家( housekeeper的名词复数 ) | |
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194
revelled
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| v.作乐( revel的过去式和过去分词 )；狂欢；着迷；陶醉 | |
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195
aromatic
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| adj.芳香的，有香味的 | |
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196
chambers
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| n.房间( chamber的名词复数 )；（议会的）议院；卧室；会议厅 | |
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197
vein
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| n.血管，静脉；叶脉，纹理；情绪；vt.使成脉络 | |
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198
thoroughly
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| adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地 | |
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199
joyously
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| ad.快乐地, 高兴地 | |
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200
growl
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| v.（狗等）嗥叫，（炮等）轰鸣；n.嗥叫，轰鸣 | |
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201
bass
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| n.男低音(歌手)；低音乐器；低音大提琴 | |
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202
swell
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| vi.膨胀，肿胀；增长，增强 | |
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203
veins
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| n.纹理；矿脉( vein的名词复数 )；静脉；叶脉；纹理 | |
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204
tunes
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| n.曲调，曲子( tune的名词复数 )v.调音( tune的第三人称单数 )；调整；（给收音机、电视等）调谐；使协调 | |
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205
softened
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| （使）变软( soften的过去式和过去分词 )； 缓解打击； 缓和； 安慰 | |
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206
forfeits
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| 罚物游戏 | |
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207
outrage
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| n.暴行，侮辱，愤怒；vt.凌辱，激怒 | |
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208
smothering
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| （使）窒息， （使）透不过气( smother的现在分词 )； 覆盖； 忍住； 抑制 | |
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209
affront
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| n./v.侮辱，触怒 | |
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210
vile
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| adj.卑鄙的，可耻的，邪恶的；坏透的 | |
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211
confidential
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| adj.秘（机）密的，表示信任的，担任机密工作的 | |
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212
snug
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| adj.温暖舒适的，合身的，安全的；v.使整洁干净，舒适地依靠，紧贴；n.（英）酒吧里的私房 | |
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213
elicited
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| 引出，探出( elicit的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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214
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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215
growled
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| v.（动物）发狺狺声， （雷）作隆隆声( growl的过去式和过去分词 )；低声咆哮着说 | |
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216
grunted
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| （猪等）作呼噜声( grunt的过去式和过去分词 )； （指人）发出类似的哼声； 咕哝着说 | |
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217
tickled
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| （使）发痒( tickle的过去式和过去分词 )； （使）愉快，逗乐 | |
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218
precepts
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| n.规诫，戒律，箴言( precept的名词复数 ) | |
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219
justified
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| a.正当的，有理的 | |
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220
protruding
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| v.（使某物）伸出，（使某物）突出( protrude的现在分词 )；凸 | |
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221
abject
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| adj.极可怜的，卑屈的 | |
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222
hideous
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| adj.丑陋的，可憎的，可怕的，恐怖的 | |
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223
miserable
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| adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的 | |
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224
ragged
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| adj.衣衫褴褛的，粗糙的，刺耳的 | |
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225
scowling
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| 怒视，生气地皱眉( scowl的现在分词 ) | |
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226
prostrate
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| v.拜倒，平卧，衰竭；adj.拜倒的，平卧的，衰竭的 | |
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227
humility
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| n.谦逊，谦恭 | |
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228
tints
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| 色彩( tint的名词复数 )； 带白的颜色； （淡色）染发剂； 痕迹 | |
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229
shreds
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| v.撕碎，切碎( shred的第三人称单数 )；用撕毁机撕毁（文件） | |
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230
lurked
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| vi.潜伏，埋伏（lurk的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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231
degradation
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| n.降级；低落；退化；陵削；降解；衰变 | |
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232
perversion
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| n.曲解；堕落；反常 | |
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233
appalled
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| v.使惊骇，使充满恐惧( appall的过去式和过去分词)adj.惊骇的；丧胆的 | |
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234
doom
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| n.厄运，劫数；v.注定，命定 | |
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235
erased
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| v.擦掉( erase的过去式和过去分词 )；抹去；清除 | |
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236
factious
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| adj.好搞宗派活动的，派系的，好争论的 | |
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237
abide
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| vi.遵守；坚持；vt.忍受 | |
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238
beheld
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| v.看，注视( behold的过去式和过去分词 )；瞧；看呀；（叙述中用于引出某人意外的出现）哎哟 | |
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