LA SAUSSAYE.—ARGALL
Pending1 these squabbles, the Jesuits at home were far from idle. Bent3 on ridding themselves of Poutrincourt, they seized, in satisfaction of debts due them, all the cargo4 of his returning vessel5, and involved him in a network of litigation. If we accept his own statements in a letter to his friend Lescarbot, he was outrageously6 misused7, and indeed defrauded8, by his clerical copartners, who at length had him thrown into prison. Here, exasperated9, weary, sick of Acadia, and anxious for the wretched exiles who looked to him for succor10, the unfortunate man fell ill. Regaining11 his liberty, he again addressed himself with what strength remained to the forlorn task of sending relief to his son and his comrades.
Scarcely had Brother Gilbert du Thet arrived in France, when Madame de Guercheville and her Jesuits, strong in court favor and in the charity of wealthy penitents12, prepared to take possession of their empire beyond sea. Contributions were asked, and not in vain; for the sagacious fathers, mindful of every spring of influence, had deeply studied the mazes13 of feminine psychology14, and then, as now, were favorite confessors of the fair. It was on the twelfth of March, 1613, that the "Mayflower" of the Jesuits sailed from Honfleur for the shores of New England. She was the "Jonas," formerly15 in the service of De Monts, a small craft bearing forty-eight sailors and colonists16, including two Jesuits, Father Quentin and Brother Du Thet. She carried horses, too, and goats, and was abundantly stored with all things needful by the pious17 munificence18 of her patrons. A courtier named La Saussaye was chief of the colony, Captain Charles Fleury commanded the ship, and, as she winged her way across the Atlantic, benedictions19 hovered20 over her from lordly halls and perfumed chambers21.
On the sixteenth of May, La Saussaye touched at La Heve, where he heard mass, planted a cross, and displayed the scutcheon of Madame de Guercheville. Thence, passing on to Port Royal, he found Biard, Masse, their servant-boy, an apothecary22, and one man beside. Biencourt and his followers23 were scattered24 about the woods and shores, digging the tuberous roots called ground-nuts, catching25 alewives in the brooks26, and by similar expedients27 sustaining their miserable28 existence. Taking the two Jesuits on board, the voyagers steered29 for the Penobscot. A fog rose upon the sea. They sailed to and fro, groping their way in blindness, straining their eyes through the mist, and trembling each instant lest they should descry30 the black outline of some deadly reef and the ghostly death-dance of the breakers, But Heaven heard their prayers. At night they could see the stars. The sun rose resplendent on a laughing sea, and his morning beams streamed fair and full on the wild heights of the island of Mount Desert. They entered a bay that stretched inland between iron-bound shores, and gave it the name of St. Sauveur. It is now called Frenchman's Bay. They saw a coast-line of weather-beaten crags set thick with spruce and fir, the surf-washed cliffs of Great Head and Schooner31 Head, the rocky front of Newport Mountain, patched with ragged32 woods, the arid33 domes34 of Dry Mountain and Green Mountain, the round bristly backs of the Porcupine35 Islands, and the waving outline of the Gouldsborough Hills.
La Saussaye cast anchor not far from Schooner Head, and here he lay till evening. The jet-black shade betwixt crags and sea, the pines along the cliff, pencilled against the fiery36 sunset, the dreamy slumber37 of distant mountains bathed in shadowy purples—such is the scene that in this our day greets the wandering artist, the roving collegian bivouacked on the shore, or the pilgrim from stifled38 cities renewing his laded strength in the mighty39 life of Nature. Perhaps they then greeted the adventurous40 Frenchmen. There was peace on the wilderness41 and peace on the sea; but none in this missionary42 bark, pioneer of Christianity and civilization. A rabble43 of angry sailors clamored on her deck, ready to mutiny over the terms of their engagement. Should the time of their stay be reckoned from their landing at La Heve, or from their anchoring at Mount Desert? Fleury, the naval44 commander, took their part. Sailor, courtier, and priest gave tongue together in vociferous45 debate. Poutrincourt was far away, a ruined man, and the intractable Vice-Admiral had ceased from troubling; yet not the less were the omens46 of the pious enterprise sinister47 and dark. The company, however, went ashore48, raised a cross, and heard mass.
At a distance in the woods they saw the signal smoke of Indians, whom Biard lost no time in visiting. Some of them were from a village on the shore, three leagues westward49. They urged the French to go with them to their wigwams. The astute50 savages51 had learned already how to deal with a Jesuit.
"Our great chief, Asticou, is there. He wishes for baptism. He is very sick. He will die unbaptized. He will burn in hell, and it will be all your fault."
This was enough. Biard embarked52 in a canoe, and they paddied him to the spot, where he found the great chief, Asticou, in his wigwam, with a heavy cold in the head. Disappointed of his charitable purpose, the priest consoled himself with observing the beauties of the neighboring shore, which seemed to him better fitted than St. Sauveur for the intended settlement. It was a gentle slope, descending53 to the water, covered with tall grass, and backed by rocky hills. It looked southeast upon a harbor where a fleet might ride at anchor, sheltered from the gales54 by a cluster of islands.
The ship was brought to the spot, and the colonists disembarked. First they planted a cross; then they began their labors55, and with their labors their quarrels. La Saussaye, zealous56 for agriculture, wished to break ground and raise crops immediately; the rest opposed him, wishing first to be housed and fortified57. Fleury demanded that the ship should be unladen, and La Saussaye would not consent. Debate ran high, when suddenly all was harmony, and the disputants were friends once more in the pacification58 of a common danger.
Far out at sea, beyond the islands that sheltered their harbor, they saw an approaching sail; and as she drew near, straining their anxious eyes, they could descry the red flags that streamed from her masthead and her stern; then the black muzzles59 of her cannon60,—they counted seven on a side; then the throng61 of men upon her decks. The wind was brisk and fair; all her sails were set; she came on, writes a spectator, more swiftly than an arrow.
Six years before, in 1607, the ships of Captain Newport had conveyed to the banks of James River the first vital germ of English colonization62 on the continent. Noble and wealthy speculators with Hispaniola, Mexico, and Peru for their inspiration, had combined to gather the fancied golden harvest of Virginia, received a charter from the Crown, and taken possession of their El Dorado. From tavern63, gaming-house, and brothel was drawn64 the staple65 the colony,—ruined gentlemen, prodigal66 sons, disreputable retainers, debauched tradesmen. Yet it would be foul67 slander68 to affirm that the founders69 of Virginia were all of this stamp; for among the riotous70 crew were men of worth, and, above them all, a hero disguised by the homeliest of names. Again and again, in direst woe71 and jeopardy72, the infant settlement owed its life to the heart and hand of John Smith.
Several years had elapsed since Newport's voyage; and the colony, depleted73 by famine, disease, and an Indian war, had been recruited by fresh emigration, when one Samuel Argall arrived at Jamestown, captain of an illicit74 trading-vessel. He was a man of ability and force,—one of those compounds of craft and daring in which the age was fruitful; for the rest, unscrupulous and grasping. In the spring of 1613 he achieved a characteristic exploit,—the abduction of Pocahontas, that most interesting of young squaws, or, to borrow the style of the day, of Indian princesses. Sailing up the Potomac he lured75 her on board his ship, and then carried off the benefactress of the colony a prisoner to Jamestown. Here a young man of family, Rolfe, became enamoured of her, married her with more than ordinary ceremony, and thus secured a firm alliance between her tribesmen and the English.
Meanwhile Argall had set forth76 on another enterprise. With a ship of one hundred and thirty tons, carrying fourteen guns and sixty men, he sailed in May for islands off the coast of Maine to fish, as he says for cod77. He had a more important errand; for Sir Thomas Dale, Governor of Virginia, had commissioned him to expel the French from any settlement they might have made within the limits of King James's patents. Thick fogs involved him; and when the weather cleared he found himself not far from the Bay of Penobscot. Canoes came out from shore; the Indians climbed the ship's side, and, as they gained the deck, greeted the astonished English with an odd pantomime of bows and flourishes, which, in the belief of the latter, could have been learned from none but Frenchmen. By signs, too, and by often repeating the word Norman,—by which they always designated the French,—they betrayed the presence of the latter. Argall questioned them as well as his total ignorance of their language would permit, and learned, by signs, the position and numbers of the colonists. Clearly they were no match for him. Assuring the Indians that the Normans were his friends, and that he longed to see them, he retained one of the visitors as a guide, dismissed the rest with presents, and shaped his course for Mount Desert.
Now the wild heights rose in view; now the English could see the masts of a small ship anchored in the sound; and now, as they rounded the islands, four white tents were visible on the grassy78 slope between the water and the woods. They were a gift from the Queen to Madame de Guercheville and her missionaries79. Argall's men prepared for fight, while their Indian guide, amazed, broke into a howl of lamentation80.
On shore all was confusion. Bailleul, the pilot, went to reconnoitre, and ended by hiding among the islands. La Saussaye lost presence of mind, and did nothing for defence. La Motte, his lieutenant81, with Captain Fleury, an ensign, a sergeant82, the Jesuit Du Thet, and a few of the bravest men, hastened on board the vessel, but had no time to cast loose her cables. Argall bore down on them, with a furious din2 of drums and trumpets83, showed his broadside, and replied to their hail with a volley of cannon and musket85 shot. "Fire! Fire!" screamed Fleury. But there was no gunner to obey, till Du Thet seized and applied86 the match. "The cannon made as much noise as the enemy's," writes Biard; but, as the inexperienced artillerist87 forgot to aim the piece, no other result ensued. Another storm of musketry, and Brother Gilbert du Thet rolled helpless on the deck.
The French ship was mute. The English plied84 her for a time with shot, then lowered a boat and boarded. Under the awnings88 which covered her, dead and wounded men lay strewn about her deck, and among them the brave lay brother, smothering89 in his blood. He had his wish; for, on leaving France, he had prayed with uplifted hands that he might not return, but perish in that holy enterprise. Like the Order of which he was a humble90 member, he was a compound of qualities in appearance contradictory91. La Motte, sword in hand, showed fight to the last, and won the esteem92 of his captors.
The English landed without meeting any show of resistance, and ranged at will among the tents, the piles of baggage and stores, and the buildings and defences newly begun. Argall asked for the commander, but La Saussaye had fled to the woods. The crafty93 Englishman seized his chests, caused the locks to be picked, searched till he found the royal letters and commissions, withdrew them, replaced everything else as he had found it, and again closed the lids. In the morning, La Saussaye, between the English and starvation, preferred the former, and issued from his hiding place. Argall received him with studious courtesy. That country, he said, belonged to his master, King James. Doubtless they had authority from their own sovereign for thus encroaching upon it; and, for his part, he was prepared to yield all respect to the commissions of the King of France, that the peace between the two nations might not be disturbed. Therefore he prayed that the commissions might be shown to him. La Saussaye opened his chests. The royal signature was nowhere to be found. At this, Argall's courtesy was changed to wrath94. He denounced the Frenchmen as robbers and pirates who deserved the gallows95, removed their property on board his ship, and spent the afternoon in dividing it among his followers, The disconsolate96 French remained on the scene of their woes97, where the greedy sailors as they came ashore would snatch from them, now a cloak, now a hat, and now a doublet, till the unfortunate colonists were left half naked. In other respects the English treated their captives well,—except two of them, whom they flogged; and Argall, whom Biard, after recounting his knavery98, calls "a gentleman of noble courage," having gained his point, returned to his former courtesy.
But how to dispose of the prisoners? Fifteen of them, including La Saussaye and the Jesuit Masse, were turned adrift in an open boat, at the mercy of the wilderness and the sea. Nearly all were lands-men; but while their unpractised hands were struggling with the oars99, they were joined among the islands by the fugitive100 pilot and his boat's crew. Worn and half starved, the united bands made their perilous101 way eastward102, stopping from time to time to hear mass, make a procession, or catch codfish. Thus sustained in the spirit and in the flesh, cheered too by the Indians, who proved fast friends in need, they crossed the Bay of Fundy, doubled Cape103 Sable104, and followed the southern coast of Nova Scotia, till they happily fell in with two French trading-vessels, which bore them in safety to St. Malo.
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1 pending | |
prep.直到,等待…期间;adj.待定的;迫近的 | |
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2 din | |
n.喧闹声,嘈杂声 | |
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3 bent | |
n.爱好,癖好;adj.弯的;决心的,一心的 | |
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4 cargo | |
n.(一只船或一架飞机运载的)货物 | |
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5 vessel | |
n.船舶;容器,器皿;管,导管,血管 | |
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6 outrageously | |
凶残地; 肆无忌惮地; 令人不能容忍地; 不寻常地 | |
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7 misused | |
v.使用…不当( misuse的过去式和过去分词 );把…派作不正当的用途;虐待;滥用 | |
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8 defrauded | |
v.诈取,骗取( defraud的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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9 exasperated | |
adj.恼怒的 | |
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10 succor | |
n.援助,帮助;v.给予帮助 | |
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11 regaining | |
复得( regain的现在分词 ); 赢回; 重回; 复至某地 | |
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12 penitents | |
n.后悔者( penitent的名词复数 );忏悔者 | |
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13 mazes | |
迷宫( maze的名词复数 ); 纷繁复杂的规则; 复杂难懂的细节; 迷宫图 | |
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14 psychology | |
n.心理,心理学,心理状态 | |
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15 formerly | |
adv.从前,以前 | |
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16 colonists | |
n.殖民地开拓者,移民,殖民地居民( colonist的名词复数 ) | |
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17 pious | |
adj.虔诚的;道貌岸然的 | |
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18 munificence | |
n.宽宏大量,慷慨给与 | |
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19 benedictions | |
n.祝福( benediction的名词复数 );(礼拜结束时的)赐福祈祷;恩赐;(大写)(罗马天主教)祈求上帝赐福的仪式 | |
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20 hovered | |
鸟( hover的过去式和过去分词 ); 靠近(某事物); (人)徘徊; 犹豫 | |
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21 chambers | |
n.房间( chamber的名词复数 );(议会的)议院;卧室;会议厅 | |
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22 apothecary | |
n.药剂师 | |
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23 followers | |
追随者( follower的名词复数 ); 用户; 契据的附面; 从动件 | |
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24 scattered | |
adj.分散的,稀疏的;散步的;疏疏落落的 | |
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25 catching | |
adj.易传染的,有魅力的,迷人的,接住 | |
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26 brooks | |
n.小溪( brook的名词复数 ) | |
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27 expedients | |
n.应急有效的,权宜之计的( expedient的名词复数 ) | |
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28 miserable | |
adj.悲惨的,痛苦的;可怜的,糟糕的 | |
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29 steered | |
v.驾驶( steer的过去式和过去分词 );操纵;控制;引导 | |
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30 descry | |
v.远远看到;发现;责备 | |
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31 schooner | |
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32 ragged | |
adj.衣衫褴褛的,粗糙的,刺耳的 | |
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33 arid | |
adj.干旱的;(土地)贫瘠的 | |
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34 domes | |
n.圆屋顶( dome的名词复数 );像圆屋顶一样的东西;圆顶体育场 | |
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35 porcupine | |
n.豪猪, 箭猪 | |
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36 fiery | |
adj.燃烧着的,火红的;暴躁的;激烈的 | |
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37 slumber | |
n.睡眠,沉睡状态 | |
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38 stifled | |
(使)窒息, (使)窒闷( stifle的过去式和过去分词 ); 镇压,遏制; 堵 | |
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39 mighty | |
adj.强有力的;巨大的 | |
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40 adventurous | |
adj.爱冒险的;惊心动魄的,惊险的,刺激的 | |
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41 wilderness | |
n.杳无人烟的一片陆地、水等,荒漠 | |
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42 missionary | |
adj.教会的,传教(士)的;n.传教士 | |
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43 rabble | |
n.乌合之众,暴民;下等人 | |
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44 naval | |
adj.海军的,军舰的,船的 | |
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45 vociferous | |
adj.喧哗的,大叫大嚷的 | |
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46 omens | |
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47 sinister | |
adj.不吉利的,凶恶的,左边的 | |
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48 ashore | |
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50 astute | |
adj.机敏的,精明的 | |
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51 savages | |
未开化的人,野蛮人( savage的名词复数 ) | |
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52 embarked | |
乘船( embark的过去式和过去分词 ); 装载; 从事 | |
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53 descending | |
n. 下行 adj. 下降的 | |
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54 gales | |
龙猫 | |
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55 labors | |
v.努力争取(for)( labor的第三人称单数 );苦干;详细分析;(指引擎)缓慢而困难地运转 | |
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56 zealous | |
adj.狂热的,热心的 | |
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57 fortified | |
adj. 加强的 | |
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58 pacification | |
n. 讲和,绥靖,平定 | |
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59 muzzles | |
枪口( muzzle的名词复数 ); (防止动物咬人的)口套; (四足动物的)鼻口部; (狗)等凸出的鼻子和口 | |
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60 cannon | |
n.大炮,火炮;飞机上的机关炮 | |
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61 throng | |
n.人群,群众;v.拥挤,群集 | |
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62 colonization | |
殖民地的开拓,殖民,殖民地化; 移殖 | |
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63 tavern | |
n.小旅馆,客栈;小酒店 | |
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64 drawn | |
v.拖,拉,拔出;adj.憔悴的,紧张的 | |
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65 staple | |
n.主要产物,常用品,主要要素,原料,订书钉,钩环;adj.主要的,重要的;vt.分类 | |
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66 prodigal | |
adj.浪费的,挥霍的,放荡的 | |
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67 foul | |
adj.污秽的;邪恶的;v.弄脏;妨害;犯规;n.犯规 | |
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68 slander | |
n./v.诽谤,污蔑 | |
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69 founders | |
n.创始人( founder的名词复数 ) | |
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70 riotous | |
adj.骚乱的;狂欢的 | |
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71 woe | |
n.悲哀,苦痛,不幸,困难;int.用来表达悲伤或惊慌 | |
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72 jeopardy | |
n.危险;危难 | |
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73 depleted | |
adj. 枯竭的, 废弃的 动词deplete的过去式和过去分词 | |
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74 illicit | |
adj.非法的,禁止的,不正当的 | |
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75 lured | |
吸引,引诱(lure的过去式与过去分词形式) | |
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76 forth | |
adv.向前;向外,往外 | |
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77 cod | |
n.鳕鱼;v.愚弄;哄骗 | |
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78 grassy | |
adj.盖满草的;长满草的 | |
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79 missionaries | |
n.传教士( missionary的名词复数 ) | |
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80 lamentation | |
n.悲叹,哀悼 | |
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81 lieutenant | |
n.陆军中尉,海军上尉;代理官员,副职官员 | |
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82 sergeant | |
n.警官,中士 | |
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83 trumpets | |
喇叭( trumpet的名词复数 ); 小号; 喇叭形物; (尤指)绽开的水仙花 | |
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84 plied | |
v.使用(工具)( ply的过去式和过去分词 );经常供应(食物、饮料);固定往来;经营生意 | |
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85 musket | |
n.滑膛枪 | |
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86 applied | |
adj.应用的;v.应用,适用 | |
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87 artillerist | |
炮手,炮兵,炮术家 | |
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88 awnings | |
篷帐布 | |
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89 smothering | |
(使)窒息, (使)透不过气( smother的现在分词 ); 覆盖; 忍住; 抑制 | |
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90 humble | |
adj.谦卑的,恭顺的;地位低下的;v.降低,贬低 | |
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91 contradictory | |
adj.反驳的,反对的,抗辩的;n.正反对,矛盾对立 | |
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92 esteem | |
n.尊敬,尊重;vt.尊重,敬重;把…看作 | |
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93 crafty | |
adj.狡猾的,诡诈的 | |
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94 wrath | |
n.愤怒,愤慨,暴怒 | |
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95 gallows | |
n.绞刑架,绞台 | |
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96 disconsolate | |
adj.忧郁的,不快的 | |
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97 woes | |
困境( woe的名词复数 ); 悲伤; 我好苦哇; 某人就要倒霉 | |
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98 knavery | |
n.恶行,欺诈的行为 | |
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99 oars | |
n.桨,橹( oar的名词复数 );划手v.划(行)( oar的第三人称单数 ) | |
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100 fugitive | |
adj.逃亡的,易逝的;n.逃犯,逃亡者 | |
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101 perilous | |
adj.危险的,冒险的 | |
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102 eastward | |
adv.向东;adj.向东的;n.东方,东部 | |
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103 cape | |
n.海角,岬;披肩,短披风 | |
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104 sable | |
n.黑貂;adj.黑色的 | |
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