He had hardly time to become aware of this observation of his person when the gate itself was opened, and there appeared before him, in the moonlight, the bent4 and crooked5 figure of an aged6 negress. She was clad in a calamanco raiment, and was further adorned7 with a variety of gaudily8 colored trimmings, vastly suggestive of the tropical world of which she was an inhabitant. Her woolly head was enveloped9, after the fashion of her people, in the folds of a gigantic and flaming red turban constructed of an entire pocket-handkerchief. Her face was pock-pitted to an incredible degree, so that what with this deformity, emphasized by the pouting10 of her prodigious11 and shapeless lips, and the rolling of a pair of eyes as yellow as saffron, Jonathan Rugg thought that he had never beheld12 a figure at once so extraordinary and so repulsive13.
It occurred to our hero that here, maybe, was to overtake him such an adventure as that which he had just a moment before been desiring so ardently14. Nor was he mistaken; for the negress, first looking this way and then that, with an extremely wary15 and cunning expression, and apparently16 having satisfied herself that the street, for the moment, was pretty empty of passers, beckoned17 to him to draw nearer. When he had approached close enough to her she caught him by the sleeve, and, instantly drawing him into the garden beyond, shut and bolted the gate with a quickness and a silence suggestive of the most extravagant18 secrecy19.
At the same moment a huge negro suddenly appeared from the shadow of the gatepost, and so placed himself between Jonathan and the gate that any attempt to escape would inevitably20 have entailed21 a conflict, upon our hero's part, with the sable22 and giant guardian23.
Says the negress, looking very intently at our hero: "Be you afeard, Buckra?"
"Why, no," quothed Jonathan; "for to tell thee the truth, friend, though I am a man of peace, being of that religious order known as the Society of Friends, I am not so weak in person nor so timid in disposition24 as to warrant me in being afraid of any one. Indeed, were I of a mind to escape, I might, without boasting, declare my belief that I should be able to push my way past even a better man than thy large friend who stands so threateningly in front of yonder gate."
At these words the negress broke into so prodigious a grin that, in the moonlight, it appeared as though the whole lower part of her face had been transformed into shining teeth. "You be a brave Buckra," says she, in her gibbering English. "You come wid Melina, and Melina take you to pretty lady, who want you to eat supper wid her."
Thereupon, and allowing our hero no opportunity to decline this extraordinary invitation, even had he been of a mind to do so, she took him by the hand, and led him toward the large and imposing26 house which commanded the garden. "Indeed," says Jonathan to himself, as he followed his sable guide—himself followed in turn by the gigantic negro—"indeed, I am like to have my fill of adventure, if anything is to be judged from such a beginning as this."
Nor did the interior sumptuousness28 of the mansion29 at all belie25 the imposing character of its exterior30, for, entering by way of an illuminated31 veranda32, and so coming into a brilliantly lighted hallway beyond, Jonathan beheld himself to be surrounded by such a wealth of exquisite33 and well-appointed tastefulness as it had never before been his good-fortune to behold34.
Candles of clarified wax sparkled like stars in chandeliers of crystal. These in turn, catching35 the illumination, glittered in prismatic fragments with all the varied36 colors of the rainbow, so that a mellow37 yet brilliant radiance filled the entire apartment. Polished mirrors of a spotless clearness, framed in golden frames and built into the walls, reflected the waxed floors, the rich Oriental carpets, and the sumptuous27 paintings that hung against the ivory-tinted paneling, so that in appearance the beauties of the apartment were continued in bewildering vistas38 upon every side toward which the beholder39 directed his gaze.
Bidding our hero to be seated, which he did with no small degree of embarrassment40 and constraint41, and upon the extreme edge of the gilt42 and satin-covered chair, the negress who had been his conductor left him for the time being to his own contemplation.
Almost before he had an opportunity to compose himself into anything more than a part of his ordinary sedateness43 of demeanor44, the silken curtains at the doorway45 at the other end of the apartment were suddenly divided, and Jonathan beheld before him a female figure displaying the most exquisite contour of mould and of proportion. She was clad entirely46 in white, and was enveloped from head to foot in the folds of a veil of delicate silver gauze, which, though hiding her countenance from recognition, nevertheless permitted sufficient of her beauties to be discerned to suggest the extreme elegance47 and loveliness of her lineaments. Advancing toward our hero, and extending to him a tapering48 hand as white as alabaster49, the fingers encircled with a multitude of jewelled rings, she addressed him thus:
"Sir," she said, speaking in accents of the most silvery and musical cadence50, "you are no doubt vastly surprised to find yourself thus unexpectedly, and almost as by violence, introduced into the house of one who is such an entire stranger to you as myself. But though I am unknown to you, I must inform you that I am better acquainted with my visitor, for my agents have been observing you ever since you landed this afternoon at the dock, and they have followed you ever since, until a little while ago, when you stopped immediately opposite my garden gate. These agents have observed you with a closeness of scrutiny of which you are doubtless entirely unaware51. They have even informed me that, owing doubtless to your extreme interest in your new surroundings, you have not as yet supped. Knowing this, and that you must now be enjoying a very hearty52 appetite, I have to ask you if you will do me the extreme favor of sitting at table with me at a repast which you will doubtless be surprised to learn has been hastily prepared entirely in your honor."
So saying, and giving Jonathan no time for reply, she offered him her hand, and with the most polite insistence53 conducted him into an exquisitely54 appointed dining room adjoining.
Here stood a table covered with a snow-white cloth, and embellished55 with silver and crystal ornaments56 of every description. Having seated herself and having indicated to Jonathan to take the chair opposite to her, the two were presently served with a repast such as our hero had not thought could have existed out of the pages of certain extraordinary Oriental tales which one time had fallen to his lot to read.
This supper (which in itself might successfully have tempted57 the taste of a Sybarite) was further enhanced by several wines and cordials which, filling the room with the aroma58 of the sunlit grapes from which they had been expressed, stimulated59 the appetite, which without them needed no such spur. The lady, who ate but sparingly herself, possessed60 herself with patience until Jonathan's hunger had been appeased61. When, however, she beheld that he weakened in his attacks upon the dessert of sweets with which the banquet was concluded, she addressed him upon the business which was evidently entirely occupying her mind.
"Sir," said she, "you are doubtless aware that every one, whether man or woman, is possessed of an enemy. In my own case I must inform you that I have no less than three who, to compass their ends, would gladly sacrifice my life itself to their purposes. At no time am I safe from their machinations, nor have I any one," cried she, exhibiting a great emotion, "to whom I may turn in my need. It was this that led me to hope to find in you a friend in my perils62, for, having observed through my agents that you are not only honest in disposition and strong in person, but that you are possessed of a considerable degree of energy and determination, I am most desirous of imposing upon your good-nature a trust of which you cannot for a moment suspect the magnitude. Tell me, are you willing to assist a poor, defenceless female in her hour of trial?"
"Indeed, friend," quoth Jonathan, with more vivacity63 than he usually exhibited, with a lenity to which he had heretofore in his lifetime been a stranger—being warmed into such a spirit, doubtless, by the generous wines of which he had partaken—"indeed, friend, if I could but see thy face it would doubtless make my decision in such a matter the more favorable, since I am inclined to think from the little I can behold of it, that thy appearance must be extremely comely64 to the eye."
"Sir," said the lady, exhibiting some amusement at this unexpected sally, "I am, you must know, as God made me. Sometime, perhaps, I may be very glad to satisfy your curiosity, and exhibit to you my poor countenance such as it is. But now"—and here she reverted65 to her more serious mood—"I must again put it to you: are you willing to help an unprotected woman in a period of very great danger to herself? Should you decline the assistance which I solicit66, my slaves shall conduct you to the gate through which you entered, and suffer you to depart in peace. Should you, upon the other hand, accept the trust, you are to receive no reward therefor, except the gratitude67 of one who thus appeals to you in her helplessness."
For a few moments Jonathan fell silent, for here, indeed, was he entering into an adventure which infinitely68 surpassed any anticipation69 that he could have formed. He was, besides, of a cautious nature, and was entirely disinclined to embark70 into any affair so obscure and tangled71 as that in which he now found himself becoming involved.
"Friend," said he, at last, "I may tell thee that thy story has so far moved me as to give me every inclination72 to help thee in thy difficulties, but I must also inform thee that I am a man of caution, having never before entered into any business of this sort. Therefore, before giving any promise that may bind73 my future actions, I must, in common wisdom, demand to know what are the conditions that thou hast in mind to impose upon me."
"Indeed, sir," cried the lady, with great vivacity and with more cheerful accents—as though her mind had been relieved of a burden of fear that her companion might at once have declined even a consideration of her request—"indeed, sir, you will find that the trust which I would impose upon you is in appearance no such great matter as my words may have led you to suppose.
"You must know that I am possessed of a little trinket which, in the hands of any one who, like yourself, is a stranger in these parts, would possess no significance, but which while in my keeping is fraught74 with infinite menace to me."
Hereupon, and having so spoken, she clapped her hands, and an attendant immediately entered, disclosing the person of the same negress who had first introduced Jonathan into the strange adventure in which he now found himself involved. This creature, who appeared still more deformed75 and repulsive in the brilliantly lighted room than she had in the moonlight, carried in her hands a white napkin, which she handed to her mistress. This being opened, disclosed a small ivory ball of about the bigness of a lime. Nodding to the negress to withdraw, the lady handed him the ivory ball, and Jonathan took it with no small degree of curiosity and examined it carefully. It appeared to be of an exceeding antiquity76, and of so deep a yellow as to be almost brown in color. It was covered over with strange figures and characters of an Oriental sort, which appeared to our hero to be of Chinese workmanship.
"I must tell you, sir," said the lady, after she had permitted her guest to examine this for a while in silence, "that though this appears to you to be of little worth, it is yet of extreme value. After all, however, it is nothing but a curiosity that any one who is interested in such matters might possess. What I have to ask you is this: Will you be willing to take this into your charge, to guard it with the utmost care and fidelity—yes, even as the apple of your eye—during your continuance in these parts, and to return it to me in safety the day before your departure. By so doing you will render me a service which you may neither understand nor comprehend, but which shall make me your debtor77 for my entire life."
By this time Jonathan had pretty well composed his mind for a reply.
"Friend," said he, "such a matter as this is entirely out of my knowledge of business, which is, indeed, that of a clerk in the mercantile profession. Nevertheless, I have every inclination to help thee, though I trust thou mayest have magnified the dangers that beset78 thee. This appears to me to be a little trifle for such an ado; nevertheless, I will do as thou dost request. I will keep it in safety and will return it to thee upon this day a week hence, by which time I hope to have discharged my cargo79 and be ready to continue my voyage to Demerara."
At these words the lady, who had been watching him all the time with a most unaccountable eagerness, burst forth80 into words of such heart-felt gratitude as to entirely overwhelm our hero. When her transports had been somewhat assuaged81 she permitted him to depart, and the negress conducted him back through the garden, whence she presently showed him through the gate whither he had entered and out into the street.
点击
收听单词发音
收听单词发音 |
1
concealed
|
|
| a.隐藏的，隐蔽的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
2
countenance
|
|
| n.脸色，面容；面部表情；vt.支持，赞同 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
3
scrutiny
|
|
| n.详细检查，仔细观察 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
4
bent
|
|
| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
5
crooked
|
|
| adj.弯曲的；不诚实的，狡猾的，不正当的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
6
aged
|
|
| adj.年老的，陈年的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
7
adorned
|
|
| [计]被修饰的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
8
gaudily
|
|
| adv.俗丽地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
9
enveloped
|
|
| v.包围，笼罩，包住( envelop的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
10
pouting
|
|
| v.撅（嘴）( pout的现在分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
11
prodigious
|
|
| adj.惊人的，奇妙的；异常的；巨大的；庞大的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
12
beheld
|
|
| 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 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
13
repulsive
|
|
| adj.排斥的，使人反感的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
14
ardently
|
|
| adv.热心地，热烈地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
15
wary
|
|
| adj.谨慎的，机警的，小心的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
16
apparently
|
|
| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
17
beckoned
|
|
| v.（用头或手的动作）示意，召唤( beckon的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
18
extravagant
|
|
| adj.奢侈的；过分的；(言行等)放肆的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
19
secrecy
|
|
| n.秘密，保密，隐蔽 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
20
inevitably
|
|
| adv.不可避免地；必然发生地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
21
entailed
|
|
| 使…成为必要( entail的过去式和过去分词 )； 需要； 限定继承； 使必需 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
22
sable
|
|
| n.黑貂；adj.黑色的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
23
guardian
|
|
| n.监护人；守卫者，保护者 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
24
disposition
|
|
| n.性情，性格；意向，倾向；排列，部署 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
25
belie
|
|
| v.掩饰，证明为假 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
26
imposing
|
|
| adj.使人难忘的，壮丽的，堂皇的，雄伟的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
27
sumptuous
|
|
| adj.豪华的，奢侈的，华丽的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
28
sumptuousness
|
|
| 奢侈，豪华 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
29
mansion
|
|
| n.大厦，大楼；宅第 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
30
exterior
|
|
| adj.外部的，外在的；表面的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
31
illuminated
|
|
| adj.被照明的；受启迪的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
32
veranda
|
|
| n.走廊；阳台 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
33
exquisite
|
|
| adj.精美的；敏锐的；剧烈的，感觉强烈的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
34
behold
|
|
| v.看，注视，看到 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
35
catching
|
|
| adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
36
varied
|
|
| adj.多样的，多变化的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
37
mellow
|
|
| adj.柔和的；熟透的；v.变柔和；(使)成熟 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
38
vistas
|
|
| 长条形景色( vista的名词复数 )； 回顾； 展望； （未来可能发生的）一系列情景 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
39
beholder
|
|
| n.观看者，旁观者 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
40
embarrassment
|
|
| n.尴尬；使人为难的人(事物)；障碍；窘迫 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
41
constraint
|
|
| n.(on)约束，限制；限制(或约束)性的事物 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
42
gilt
|
|
| adj.镀金的；n.金边证券 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
43
sedateness
|
|
| n.安详，镇静 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
44
demeanor
|
|
| n.行为；风度 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
45
doorway
|
|
| n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
46
entirely
|
|
| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
47
elegance
|
|
| n.优雅；优美，雅致；精致，巧妙 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
48
tapering
|
|
| adj.尖端细的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
49
alabaster
|
|
| adj.雪白的；n.雪花石膏；条纹大理石 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
50
cadence
|
|
| n.（说话声调的）抑扬顿挫 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
51
unaware
|
|
| a.不知道的，未意识到的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
52
hearty
|
|
| adj.热情友好的；衷心的；尽情的，纵情的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
53
insistence
|
|
| n.坚持；强调；坚决主张 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
54
exquisitely
|
|
| adv.精致地；强烈地；剧烈地；异常地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
55
embellished
|
|
| v.美化( embellish的过去式和过去分词 )；装饰；修饰；润色 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
56
ornaments
|
|
| n.装饰( ornament的名词复数 )；点缀；装饰品；首饰v.装饰，点缀，美化( ornament的第三人称单数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
57
tempted
|
|
| v.怂恿（某人）干不正当的事；冒…的险（tempt的过去分词） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
58
aroma
|
|
| n.香气，芬芳，芳香 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
59
stimulated
|
|
| a.刺激的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
60
possessed
|
|
| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
61
appeased
|
|
| 安抚，抚慰( appease的过去式和过去分词 )； 绥靖（满足另一国的要求以避免战争） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
62
perils
|
|
| 极大危险( peril的名词复数 )； 危险的事（或环境） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
63
vivacity
|
|
| n.快活，活泼，精神充沛 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
64
comely
|
|
| adj.漂亮的，合宜的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
65
reverted
|
|
| 恢复( revert的过去式和过去分词 )； 重提； 回到…上； 归还 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
66
solicit
|
|
| vi.勾引；乞求；vt.请求，乞求；招揽(生意) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
67
gratitude
|
|
| adj.感激，感谢 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
68
infinitely
|
|
| adv.无限地，无穷地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
69
anticipation
|
|
| n.预期，预料，期望 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
70
embark
|
|
| vi.乘船，着手，从事，上飞机 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
71
tangled
|
|
| adj. 纠缠的，紊乱的 动词tangle的过去式和过去分词 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
72
inclination
|
|
| n.倾斜；点头；弯腰；斜坡；倾度；倾向；爱好 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
73
bind
|
|
| vt.捆，包扎；装订；约束；使凝固；vi.变硬 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
74
fraught
|
|
| adj.充满…的，伴有(危险等)的；忧虑的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
75
deformed
|
|
| adj.畸形的；变形的；丑的，破相了的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
76
antiquity
|
|
| n.古老；高龄；古物，古迹 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
77
debtor
|
|
| n.借方，债务人 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
78
beset
|
|
| v.镶嵌；困扰，包围 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
79
cargo
|
|
| n.(一只船或一架飞机运载的)货物 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
80
forth
|
|
| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
81
assuaged
|
|
| v.减轻( assuage的过去式和过去分词 )；缓和；平息；使安静 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
| 欢迎访问英文小说网 |