"It was a vast and venerable pile."
"Oh, may'st thou ever be as now thou art,
Nor unbeseem the promise of thy spring."
The mansion1 in which dwelt the Delmes was one of wide and extensive range. Its centre slightly receded2, leaving a wing on either side. Fluted3 ledges4, extending the whole length of the building, protruded6 above each story. These were supported by quaint7 heads of satyr, martyr8, or laughing triton. The upper ledge5, which concealed9 the roof from casual observers, was of considerably10 greater projection11. Placed above it, at intervals12, were balls of marble, which, once of pure white, had now caught the time-worn hue13 of the edifice14 itself. At each corner of the front and wings, the balls were surmounted15 by the family device--the eagle with extended wing. One claw closed over the stone, and the bird rode it proudly an' it had been the globe. The portico16, of a pointed17 Gothic, would have seemed heavy, had it not been lightened by glass doors, the vivid colours of which were not of modern date. These admitted to a capacious hall, where, reposing18 on the wide-spreading antlers of some pristine19 tenant20 of the park, gleamed many a piece of armour21 that in days of yore had not been worn ingloriously.
The Delme family was an old Norman one, on whose antiquity22 a peerage could have conferred no new lustre23. At the period when the aristocracy of Great Britain lent themselves to their own diminution24 of importance, by the prevalent system of rejecting the poorer class of tenantry, in many instances the most attached,--the consequence was foreseen by the then proprietor25 of Delme Park, who, spurning26 the advice of some interested few around him, continued to foster those whose ancestors had served his. The Delmes were thus enabled to retain--and they deserved it--that fair homage27 which rank and property should ever command. As a family they were popular, and as individuals universally beloved.
At the period we speak of, the Delme family consisted but of three members: the baronet, Sir Henry Delme; his brother George, some ten years his junior, a lieutenant28 in a light infantry29 regiment30 at Malta; and one sister, Emily, Emily Delme was the youngest child; her mother dying shortly after her birth. The father, Sir Reginald Delme, a man of strong feelings and social habits, never recovered this blow. Henry Delme was barely fifteen when he was called to the baronetcy and to the possession of the Delme estates. It was found that Sir Reginald had been more generous than the world had given him credit for, and that his estates were much encumbered31. The trustees were disposed to rest contented32 with paying off the strictly33 legal claims during Sir Henry's minority. This the young heir would not accede34 to. He waited on his most influential35 guardian--told him he was aware his father, from hospitality and good nature, had incurred36 obligations which the law did not compel his son to pay; but which he could not but think that equity37 and good feeling did. He begged that these might be added to the other claims, and that the trustees would endeavour to procure38 him a commission in the army. He was gazetted to a cornetcy; and entered life at an age when, if the manlier39 traits are ready to be developed, the worthless ones are equally sure to unfold themselves. Few of us that have not found the first draught40 of life intoxicate41! Few of us that have not then run wild, as colts that have slipped their bridle42! Experience--that mystic word--is wanting; the retrospect43 of past years wakes no sigh; expectant youth looks forward to future ones without a shade of distrust. The mind is elastic--the body vigorous and free from pain; and it is then youth inwardly feels, although not daring to avow44 it, the almost total impossibility that the mind should wax less vigorous, or the body grow helpless, and decay.
But Sir Henry was cast in a finer mould, nor did his conduct at this dangerous period detract from this his trait of boyhood. He joined his regiment when before the enemy, and, until he came of age, never drew on his guardians45 for a shilling. Delme's firmness of purpose, and his after prudence46, met with their due reward. The family estates became wholly unencumbered, and Sir Henry was enabled to add to the too scanty47 provision of his sister, as well as to make up to George, on his entering the army, a sum more than adequate to all his wants. These circumstances were enough to endear him to his family; and, in truth, amidst all its members, there prevailed a confidence and an unanimity48 which were never for an instant impaired49. There was one consequence, however, of Sir Henry Delme's conduct that he, at the least, foresaw not, but which was gradually and unconsciously developed. In pursuing the line of duty he had marked out--in acting50 up to what he knew was right--his mind became too deeply impressed with the circumstances which had given rise to his determination. It overstepped its object. The train of thought, to which necessity gave birth, continued to pervade51 when that necessity no longer existed. His wish to re-establish his house grew into an ardent52 desire to aggrandize53 it. His ambition appeared a legitimate54 one. It grew with his years, and increased with his strength.
Many a time, on the lone55 bivouac, when home presents itself in its fairest colours to the soldier's mind, would Delme's prayer be embodied56, that his house might again be elevated, and that his descendants might know him as the one to whom they were indebted for its rise. Delme's ambitious thoughts were created amidst dangers and toil57, in a foreign land, and far from those who shared his name. But his heart swelled58 high with them as he again trod his native soil in peace--as he gazed on the home of his fathers, and communed with those nearest and dearest to him on earth. Sir Henry considered it incumbent59 on him to exert every means that lay in his power to promote his grand object. A connection that promised rank and honours, seemed to him an absolute essential that was worth any sacrifice. Sir Henry never allowed himself to look for, or give way to, those sacred sympathies, which the God of nature hath implanted in the breasts of all of us. Delme had arrived at middle age ere a feeling incompatible60 with his views arose. But his had been a dangerous experiment. Our hearts or minds, or whatever it may be that takes the impression, resemble some crystalline lake that mirrors the smallest object, and heightens its beauty; but if it once gets muddied or ruffled61, the most lovely object ceases to be reflected in its waters. By the time that lake is clear again, the fairy form that ere while lingered on its bosom62 is fled for ever.
Thus much in introducing the head of the family. Let us now attempt to sketch63 the gentle Emily.
Emily Delme was not an ordinary being. To uncommon64 talents, and a mind of most refined order, she united great feminine propriety65, and a total absence of those arts which sometimes characterise those to whom the accident of birth has given importance. With unerring discrimination, she drew the exact line between vivacity66 and satire67, true religion and its semblance68. She saw through and pitied those who, pluming69 themselves on the faults of others, and imparting to the outward man the ascetic70 inflexibility71 of the inner one, would fain propagate on all sides their rigid72 creed73, forbidding the more favoured commoners of nature even to sip74 joy's chalice75. If not a saint, however, but a fair, confiding76, and romantic girl, she was good without misanthropy, pure without pretension77, and joyous78, as youth and hopes not crushed might make her. She was one of those of whom society might justly be proud. She obeyed its dictates79 without question, but her feelings underwent no debasement from the contact. If not a child of nature, she was by no means the slave of art.
Emily Delme was more beautiful than striking. She impressed more than she exacted. Her violet eye gleamed with feeling; her smile few could gaze on without sympathy--happy he who might revel80 in its brightness! If aught gave a peculiar81 tinge82 to her character, it was the pride she felt in the name she bore,--this she might have caught from Sir Henry,--the interest she took in the legends connected with that name, and the gratification which the thought gave her, that by her ancestors, its character had been but rarely sullied, and never disgraced.
These things, it may be, she had accustomed herself to look on in a light too glowing: for these things and all mundane83 ones are vain; but her character did not consequently suffer. Her lip curled not with hauteur84, nor was her brow raised one shadow the more. The remembrance of the old Baronetcy were on the ensanguined plain,--of the matchless loyalty85 of a father and five valiant86 sons in the cause of the Royal Charles,--the pondering over tomes, which in language obsolete87, but true, spoke88 of the grandeur89--the deserved grandeur of her house; these might be recollections and pursuits, followed with an ardour too enthusiastic, but they stayed not the hand of charity, nor could they check pity's tear. If her eye flashed as she gazed on the ancient device of her family, reposing on its time worn pedestal, it could melt to the tale of the houseless wanderer, and sympathise with the sorrows of the fatherless.
1 mansion | |
n.大厦,大楼;宅第 | |
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2 receded | |
v.逐渐远离( recede的过去式和过去分词 );向后倾斜;自原处后退或避开别人的注视;尤指问题 | |
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3 fluted | |
a.有凹槽的 | |
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4 ledges | |
n.(墙壁,悬崖等)突出的狭长部分( ledge的名词复数 );(平窄的)壁架;横档;(尤指)窗台 | |
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5 ledge | |
n.壁架,架状突出物;岩架,岩礁 | |
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6 protruded | |
v.(使某物)伸出,(使某物)突出( protrude的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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7 quaint | |
adj.古雅的,离奇有趣的,奇怪的 | |
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8 martyr | |
n.烈士,殉难者;vt.杀害,折磨,牺牲 | |
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9 concealed | |
a.隐藏的,隐蔽的 | |
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10 considerably | |
adv.极大地;相当大地;在很大程度上 | |
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11 projection | |
n.发射,计划,突出部分 | |
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12 intervals | |
n.[军事]间隔( interval的名词复数 );间隔时间;[数学]区间;(戏剧、电影或音乐会的)幕间休息 | |
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13 hue | |
n.色度;色调;样子 | |
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14 edifice | |
n.宏伟的建筑物(如宫殿,教室) | |
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15 surmounted | |
战胜( surmount的过去式和过去分词 ); 克服(困难); 居于…之上; 在…顶上 | |
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16 portico | |
n.柱廊,门廊 | |
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17 pointed | |
adj.尖的,直截了当的 | |
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18 reposing | |
v.将(手臂等)靠在某人(某物)上( repose的现在分词 ) | |
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19 pristine | |
adj.原来的,古时的,原始的,纯净的,无垢的 | |
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20 tenant | |
n.承租人;房客;佃户;v.租借,租用 | |
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21 armour | |
(=armor)n.盔甲;装甲部队 | |
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22 antiquity | |
n.古老;高龄;古物,古迹 | |
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23 lustre | |
n.光亮,光泽;荣誉 | |
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24 diminution | |
n.减少;变小 | |
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25 proprietor | |
n.所有人;业主;经营者 | |
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26 spurning | |
v.一脚踢开,拒绝接受( spurn的现在分词 ) | |
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27 homage | |
n.尊敬,敬意,崇敬 | |
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28 lieutenant | |
n.陆军中尉,海军上尉;代理官员,副职官员 | |
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29 infantry | |
n.[总称]步兵(部队) | |
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30 regiment | |
n.团,多数,管理;v.组织,编成团,统制 | |
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31 encumbered | |
v.妨碍,阻碍,拖累( encumber的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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32 contented | |
adj.满意的,安心的,知足的 | |
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33 strictly | |
adv.严厉地,严格地;严密地 | |
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34 accede | |
v.应允,同意 | |
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35 influential | |
adj.有影响的,有权势的 | |
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36 incurred | |
[医]招致的,遭受的; incur的过去式 | |
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37 equity | |
n.公正,公平,(无固定利息的)股票 | |
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38 procure | |
vt.获得,取得,促成;vi.拉皮条 | |
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39 manlier | |
manly(有男子气概的)的比较级形式 | |
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40 draught | |
n.拉,牵引,拖;一网(饮,吸,阵);顿服药量,通风;v.起草,设计 | |
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41 intoxicate | |
vt.使喝醉,使陶醉,使欣喜若狂 | |
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42 bridle | |
n.笼头,束缚;vt.抑制,约束;动怒 | |
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43 retrospect | |
n.回顾,追溯;v.回顾,回想,追溯 | |
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44 avow | |
v.承认,公开宣称 | |
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45 guardians | |
监护人( guardian的名词复数 ); 保护者,维护者 | |
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46 prudence | |
n.谨慎,精明,节俭 | |
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47 scanty | |
adj.缺乏的,仅有的,节省的,狭小的,不够的 | |
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48 unanimity | |
n.全体一致,一致同意 | |
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49 impaired | |
adj.受损的;出毛病的;有(身体或智力)缺陷的v.损害,削弱( impair的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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50 acting | |
n.演戏,行为,假装;adj.代理的,临时的,演出用的 | |
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51 pervade | |
v.弥漫,遍及,充满,渗透,漫延 | |
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52 ardent | |
adj.热情的,热烈的,强烈的,烈性的 | |
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53 aggrandize | |
v.增大,扩张,吹捧 | |
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54 legitimate | |
adj.合法的,合理的,合乎逻辑的;v.使合法 | |
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55 lone | |
adj.孤寂的,单独的;唯一的 | |
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56 embodied | |
v.表现( embody的过去式和过去分词 );象征;包括;包含 | |
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57 toil | |
vi.辛劳工作,艰难地行动;n.苦工,难事 | |
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58 swelled | |
增强( swell的过去式和过去分词 ); 肿胀; (使)凸出; 充满(激情) | |
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59 incumbent | |
adj.成为责任的,有义务的;现任的,在职的 | |
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60 incompatible | |
adj.不相容的,不协调的,不相配的 | |
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61 ruffled | |
adj. 有褶饰边的, 起皱的 动词ruffle的过去式和过去分词 | |
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62 bosom | |
n.胸,胸部;胸怀;内心;adj.亲密的 | |
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63 sketch | |
n.草图;梗概;素描;v.素描;概述 | |
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64 uncommon | |
adj.罕见的,非凡的,不平常的 | |
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65 propriety | |
n.正当行为;正当;适当 | |
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66 vivacity | |
n.快活,活泼,精神充沛 | |
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67 satire | |
n.讽刺,讽刺文学,讽刺作品 | |
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68 semblance | |
n.外貌,外表 | |
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69 pluming | |
用羽毛装饰(plume的现在分词形式) | |
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70 ascetic | |
adj.禁欲的;严肃的 | |
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71 inflexibility | |
n.不屈性,顽固,不变性;不可弯曲;非挠性;刚性 | |
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72 rigid | |
adj.严格的,死板的;刚硬的,僵硬的 | |
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73 creed | |
n.信条;信念,纲领 | |
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74 sip | |
v.小口地喝,抿,呷;n.一小口的量 | |
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75 chalice | |
n.圣餐杯;金杯毒酒 | |
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76 confiding | |
adj.相信人的,易于相信的v.吐露(秘密,心事等)( confide的现在分词 );(向某人)吐露(隐私、秘密等) | |
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77 pretension | |
n.要求;自命,自称;自负 | |
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78 joyous | |
adj.充满快乐的;令人高兴的 | |
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79 dictates | |
n.命令,规定,要求( dictate的名词复数 )v.大声讲或读( dictate的第三人称单数 );口授;支配;摆布 | |
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80 revel | |
vi.狂欢作乐,陶醉;n.作乐,狂欢 | |
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81 peculiar | |
adj.古怪的,异常的;特殊的,特有的 | |
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82 tinge | |
vt.(较淡)着色于,染色;使带有…气息;n.淡淡色彩,些微的气息 | |
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83 mundane | |
adj.平凡的;尘世的;宇宙的 | |
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84 hauteur | |
n.傲慢 | |
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85 loyalty | |
n.忠诚,忠心 | |
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86 valiant | |
adj.勇敢的,英勇的;n.勇士,勇敢的人 | |
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87 obsolete | |
adj.已废弃的,过时的 | |
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88 spoke | |
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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89 grandeur | |
n.伟大,崇高,宏伟,庄严,豪华 | |
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