But Joan's ability to receive consolation7 was quite as ready as her grief had at first been impetuous; the sobs8 which seemed to be breaking her heart ceased all at once; new thoughts, more gentle, less lugubrious9, took possession of the young queen's mind; the trace of tears vanished, and a smile lit up her liquid eyes like the sun's ray following on rain. This change, anxiously awaited, was soon observed by Joan's chamberwoman: she stole to the queen's room, and falling on her knees, in accents of flattery and affection, she offered her first congratulations to her lovely mistress. Joan opened her arms and held her in a long embrace, for Dona Cancha was far more to her than a lady-in-waiting; she was the companion of infancy11, the depositary of all her secrets, the confidante of her most private thoughts. One had but to glance at this young girl to understand the fascination12 she could scarcely fail to exercise over the queen's mind. She had a frank and smiling countenance13, such as inspires confidence and captivates the mind at first sight. Her face had an irresistible14 charm, with clear blue eyes, warm golden hair, mouth bewitchingly turned up at the corners, and delicate little chin. Wild, happy, light of heart, pleasure and love were the breath of her being; her dainty refinement15, her charming inconstancies, all made her at sixteen as lovely as an angel, though at heart she was corrupt16. The whole court was at her feet, and Joan felt more affection for her than for her own sister.
"Well, my dear Cancha," she murmured, with a sigh, "you find me very sad and very unhappy!"
"And you find me, fair queen," replied the confidante, fixing an admiring look on Joan,—"you find me just the opposite, very happy that I can lay at your feet before anyone else the proof of the joy that the people of Naples are at this moment feeling. Others perhaps may envy you the crown that shines upon your brow, the throne which is one of the noblest in the world, the shouts of this entire town that sound rather like worship than homage18; but I, madam, I envy you your lovely black hair, your dazzling eyes, your more than mortal grace, which make every man adore you."
"And yet you know, my Cancha, I am much to be pitied both as a queen and as a woman: when one is fifteen a crown is heavy to wear, and I have not the liberty of the meanest of my subjects—I mean in my affections; for before I reached an age when I could think I was sacrificed to a man whom I can never love."
"Yet, madam," replied Cancha in a more insinuating19 voice, "in this court there is a young cavalier who might by virtue20 of respect, love, and devotion have made you forget the claims of this foreigner, alike unworthy to be our king and to be your husband."
The queen heaved a heavy sigh.
"When did you lose your skill to read my heart?" she cried. "Must I actually tell you that this love is making me wretched? True, at the very first this unsanctioned love was a keen joy: a new life seemed to wake within my heart; I was drawn23 on, fascinated by the prayers, the tears, and the despair of this man, by the opportunities that his mother so easily granted, she whom I had always looked upon as my own mother; I have loved him.... O my God, I am still so young, and my past is so unhappy. At times strange thoughts come into my mind: I fancy he no longer loves me, that he never did love me; I fancy he has been led on by ambition, by self-interest, by some ignoble24 motive25, and has only feigned26 a feeling that he has never really felt. I feel myself a coldness I cannot account for; in his presence I am constrained27, I am troubled by his look, his voice makes me tremble: I fear him; I would sacrifice a year of my life could I never have listened to him."
These words seemed to touch the young confidante to the very depths of her soul; a shade of sadness crossed her brow, her eyelids28 dropped, and for some time she answered nothing, showing sorrow rather than surprise. Then, lifting her head gently, she said, with visible embarrassment—
"I should never have dared to pass so severe a judgment29 upon a man whom my sovereign lady has raised above other men by casting upon him a look of kindness; but if Robert of Cabane has deserved the reproach of inconstancy and ingratitude30, if he has perjured31 himself like a coward, he must indeed be the basest of all miserable32 beings, despising a happiness which other men might have entreated33 of God the whole time of their life and paid for through eternity34. One man I know, who weeps both night and day without hope or consolation, consumed by a slow and painful malady35, when one word might yet avail to save him, did it come from the lips of my noble mistress."
"I will not hear another word," cried Joan, suddenly rising; "there shall be no new cause for remorse36 in my life. Trouble has come upon me through my loves, both lawful37 and criminal; alas38! no longer will I try to control my awful fate, I will bow my head without a murmur17. I am the queen, and I must yield myself up for the good of my subjects."
"Will you forbid me, madam," replied Dona Cancha in a kind, affectionate tone—"will you forbid me to name Bertrand of Artois in your presence, that unhappy man, with the beauty of an angel and the modesty39 of a girl? Now that you are queen and have the life and death of your subjects in your own keeping, will you feel no kindness towards an unfortunate one whose only fault is to adore you, who strives with all his mind and strength to bear a chance look of yours without dying of his joy?"
"I have struggled hard never to look on him," cried the queen, urged by an impulse she was not strong enough to conquer: then, to efface40 the impression that might well have been made on her friend's mind, she added severely41, "I forbid you to pronounce his name before me; and if he should ever venture to complain, I bid you tell him from me that the first time I even suspect the cause of his distress42 he will be banished43 for ever from my presence."
"Ah, madam, dismiss me also; for I shall never be strong enough to do so hard a bidding: the unhappy man who cannot awake in your heart so much as a feeling of pity may now be struck down by yourself in your wrath44, for here he stands; he has heard your sentence, and come to die at your feet."
The last words were spoken in a louder voice, so that they might be heard from outside, and Bertrand of Artois came hurriedly into the room and fell on his knees before the queen. For a long time past the young lady-in-waiting had perceived that Robert of Cabane had, through his own fault, lost the love of Joan; for his tyranny had indeed become more unendurable to her than her husband's.
Dona Cancha had been quick enough to perceive that the eyes of her young mistress were wont46 to rest with a kind of melancholy47 gentleness on Bertrand, a young man of handsome appearance but with a sad and dreamy expression; so when she made up her mind to speak in his interests, she was persuaded that the queen already loved him. Still, a bright colour overspread Joan's face, and her anger would have fallen on both culprits alike, when in the next room a sound of steps was heard, and the voice of the grand seneschal's widow in conversation with her son fell on the ears of the three young people like a clap of thunder. Dona Cancha, pale as death, stood trembling; Bertrand felt that he was lost—all the more because his presence compromised the queen; Joan only, with that wonderful presence of mind she was destined48 to preserve in the most difficult crises of her future life, thrust the young man against the carved back of her bed, and concealed49 him completely beneath the ample curtain: she then signed to Cancha to go forward and meet the governess and her son.
But before we conduct into the queen's room these two persons, whom our readers may remember in Joan's train about the bed of King Robert, we must relate the circumstances which had caused the family of the Catanese to rise with incredible rapidity from the lowest class of the people to the highest rank at court. When Dona Violante of Aragon, first wife of Robert of Anjou, became the mother of Charles, who was later on the Duke of Calabria, a nurse was sought for the infant among the most handsome women of the people. After inspecting many women of equal merit as regards beauty, youth and health, the princess's choice lighted on Philippa, a young Catanese woman, the wife of a fisherman of Trapani, and by condition a laundress. This young woman, as she washed her linen51 on the bank of a stream, had dreamed strange dreams: she had fancied herself summoned to court, wedded52 to a great personage, and receiving the honours of a great lady. Thus when she was called to Castel Nuovo her joy was great, for she felt that her dreams now began to be realised. Philippa was installed at the court, and a few months after she began to nurse the child the fisherman was dead and she was a widow. Meanwhile Raymond of Cabane, the major-domo of King Charles II's house, had bought a negro from some corsairs, and having had him baptized by his own name, had given him his liberty; afterwards observing that he was able and intelligent, he had appointed him head cook in the king's kitchen; and then he had gone away to the war. During the absence of his patron the negro managed his own affairs at the court so cleverly, that in a short time he was able to buy land, houses, farms, silver plate, and horses, and could vie in riches with the best in the kingdom; and as he constantly won higher favour in the royal family, he passed on from the kitchen to the wardrobe. The Catanese had also deserved very well of her employers, and as a reward for the care she had bestowed54 on the child, the princess married her to the negro, and he, as a wedding gift, was granted the title of knight55.
From this day forward, Raymond of Cabane and Philippa the laundress rose in the world so rapidly that they had no equal in influence at court. After the death of Dona Violante, the Catanese became the intimate friend of Dona Sandra, Robert's second wife, whom we introduced to our readers at the beginning of this narrative56. Charles, her foster son, loved her as a mother, and she was the confidante of his two wives in turn, especially of the second wife, Marie of Valois. And as the quondam laundress had in the end learned all the manners and customs of the court, she was chosen at the birth of Joan and her sister to be governess and mistress over the young girls, and at this juncture57 Raymond was created major-domo. Finally, Marie of Valois on her deathbed commended the two young princesses to her care, begging her to look on them as her own-daughters. Thus Philippa the Catanese, honoured in future as foster mother of the heiress to the throne of Naples, had power to nominate her husband grand seneschal, one of the seven most important offices in the kingdom, and to obtain knighthood for her sons. Raymond of Cabane was buried like a king in a marble tomb in the church of the Holy Sacrament, and there was speedily joined by two of his sons. The third, Robert, a youth of extraordinary strength and beauty, gave up an ecclesiastical career, and was himself made major-domo, his two sisters being married to the Count of Merlizzi and the Count of Morcone respectively. This was now the state of affairs, and the influence of the grand seneschal's widow seemed for ever established, when an unexpected event suddenly occurred, causing such injury as might well suffice to upset the edifice58 of her fortunes that had been raised stone by stone patiently and slowly: this edifice was now undermined and threatened to fall in a single day. It was the sudden apparition59 of Friar Robert, who followed to the court of Rome his young pupil, who from infancy had been Joan's destined husband, which thus shattered all the designs of the Catanese and seriously menaced her future. The monk had not been slow to understand that so long as she remained at the court, Andre would be no more than the slave, possibly even the victim, of his wife. Thus all Friar Robert's thoughts were obstinately60 concentrated on a single end, that of getting rid of the Catanese or neutralising her influence. The prince's tutor and the governess of the heiress had but to exchange one glance, icy, penetrating61, plain to read: their looks met like lightning flashes of hatred62 and of vengeance63. The Catanese, who felt she was detected, lacked courage to fight this man in the open, and so conceived the hope of strengthening her tottering64 empire by the arts of corruption65 and debauchery. She instilled66 by degrees into her pupil's mind the poison of vice67, inflamed68 her youthful imagination with precocious69 desires, sowed in her heart the seeds of an unconquerable aversion for her husband, surrounded the poor child with abandoned women, and especially attached to her the beautiful and attractive Dona Cancha, who is branded by contemporary authors with the name of a courtesan; then summed up all these lessons in infamy70 by prostituting Joan to her own son. The poor girl, polluted by sin before she knew what life was, threw her whole self into this first passion with all the ardour of youth, and loved Robert of Cabane so violently, so madly, that the Catanese congratulated herself on the success of her infamy, believing that she held her prey71 so fast in her toils72 that her victim would never attempt to escape them.
A year passed by before Joan, conquered by her infatuation, conceived the smallest suspicion of her lover's sincerity73. He, more ambitious than affectionate, found it easy to conceal50 his coldness under the cloak of a brotherly intimacy74, of blind submission75, and of unswerving devotion; perhaps he would have deceived his mistress for a longer time had not Bertrand of Artois fallen madly in love with Joan. Suddenly the bandage fell from the young girl's eyes; comparing the two with the natural instinct of a woman beloved which never goes astray, she perceived that Robert of Cabane loved her for his own sake, while Bertrand of Artois would give his life to make her happy. A light fell upon her past: she mentally recalled the circumstances that preceded and accompanied her earliest love; and a shudder76 went through her at the thought that she had been sacrificed to a cowardly seducer77 by the very woman she had loved most in the world, whom she had called by the name of mother.
Joan drew back into herself, and wept bitterly. Wounded by a single blow in all her affections, at first her grief absorbed her; then, roused to sudden anger, she proudly raised her head, for now her love was changed to scorn. Robert, amazed at her cold and haughty78 reception of him, following on so great a love, was stung by jealousy79 and wounded pride. He broke out into bitter reproach and violent recrimination, and, letting fall the mask, once for all lost his place in Joan's heart.
His mother at last saw that it was time to interfere80: she rebuked81 her son, accusing him of upsetting all her plans by his clumsiness.
"As you have failed to conquer her by love," she said, "you must now subdue82 her by fear. The secret of her honour is in our hands, and she will never dare to rebel. She plainly loves Bertrand of Artois, whose languishing83 eyes and humble84 sighs contrast in a striking manner with your haughty indifference85 and your masterful ways. The mother of the Princes of Tarentum, the Empress of Constantinople, will easily seize an occasion of helping86 on the princess's love so as to alienate87 her more and more from her husband: Cancha will be the go between, and sooner or later we shall find Bertrand at Joan's feet. Then she will be able to refuse us nothing."
While all this was going on, the old king died, and the Catanese, who had unceasingly kept on the watch for the moment she had so plainly foreseen, loudly called to her son, when she saw Bertrand slip into Joan's apartment, saying as she drew him after her—
"Follow me, the queen is ours."
It was thus that she and her son came to be there. Joan, standing88 in the middle of the chamber10, pallid89, her eyes fixed90 on the curtains of the bed, concealed her agitation91 with a smile, and took one step forward towards her governess, stooping to receive the kiss which the latter bestowed upon her every morning. The Catanese embraced her with affected92 cordiality, and turning, to her son, who had knelt upon one knee, said, pointing to Robert—
"My fair queen, allow the humblest of your subjects to offer his sincere congratulations and to lay his homage at your feet."
"Rise, Robert," said Joan, extending her hand kindly93, and with no show of bitterness. "We were brought up together, and I shall never forget that in our childhood—I mean those happy days when we were both innocent—I called you my brother."
"As you allow me, madam," said Robert, with an ironical94 smile, "I too shall always remember the names you formerly95 gave me."
"And I," said the Catanese, "shall forget that I speak to the Queen of Naples, in embracing once more my beloved daughter. Come, madam, away with care: you have wept long enough; we have long respected your grief. It is now time to show yourself to these good Neapolitans who bless Heaven continually for granting them a queen so beautiful and good; it is time that your favours fall upon the heads of your faithful subjects, and my son, who surpasses all in his fidelity96, comes first to ask a favour of you, in order that he may serve you yet more zealously97."
"You know, madam, I can refuse your son nothing."
"All he asks," continued the lady, "is a title which is his due, and which he inherited from his father—the title of Grand Seneschal of the Two Sicilies: I trust, my daughter, you will have no difficulty in granting this."
"But I must consult the council of regency."
"The council will hasten to ratify99 the queen's wishes," replied Robert, handing her the parchment with an imperious gesture: "you need only speak to the Count of Artois."
And he cast a threatening glance at the curtain, which had slightly moved.
"You are right," said the queen at once; and going up to a table she signed the parchment with a trembling hand.
"Now, my daughter, I have come in the name of all the care I bestowed on your infancy, of all the maternal100 love I have lavished101 on you, to implore102 a favour that my family will remember for evermore."
The queen recoiled103 one step, crimson105 with astonishment106 and rage; but before she could find words to reply, the lady continued in a voice that betrayed no feeling—
"I request you to make my son Count of Eboli."
"That has nothing to do with me, madam; the barons107 of this kingdom would revolt to a man if I were on my own authority to exalt108 to one of the first dignities the son of a—-"
"A laundress and a negro; you would say, madam?" said Robert, with a sneer109. "Bertrand of Artois would be annoyed perhaps if I had a title like his."
He advanced a step towards the bed, his hand upon the hilt of his sword.
"Have mercy, Robert!" cried the queen, checking him: "I will do all you ask."
And she signed the parchment naming him Count of Eboli.
"And now," Robert went on impudently110, "to show that my new title is not illusory, while you are busy about signing documents, let me have the privilege of taking part in the councils of the crown: make a declaration that, subject to your good pleasure, my mother and I are to have a deliberative voice in the council whenever an important matter is under discussion."
"Never!" cried Joan, turning pale. "Philippa and Robert, you abuse my weakness and treat your queen shamefully111. In the last few days I have wept and suffered continually, overcome by a terrible grief; I have no strength to turn to business now. Leave me, I beg: I feel my strength gives way."
"What, my daughter," cried the Catanese hypocritically, "are you feeling unwell? Come and lie down at once." And hurrying to the bed, she took hold of the curtain that concealed the Count of Artois.
The queen uttered a piercing cry, and threw herself before Philippa with the fury of a lioness. "Stop!" she cried in a choking voice; "take the privilege you ask, and now, if you value your own life, leave me."
The Catanese and her son departed instantly, not even waiting to reply, for they had got all they wanted; while Joan, trembling, ran desperately112 up to Bertrand, who had angrily drawn his dagger113, and would have fallen upon the two favourites to take vengeance for the insults they had offered to the queen; but he was very soon disarmed114 by the lovely shining eyes raised to him in supplication115, the two arms cast about him, and the tears shed by Joan: he fell at her feet and kissed them rapturously, with no thought of seeking excuse for his presence, with no word of love, for it was as if they had loved always: he lavished the tenderest caresses116 on her, dried her tears, and pressed his trembling lips upon her lovely head. Joan began to forget her anger, her vows117, and her repentance118: soothed119 by the music of her lover's speech, she returned uncomprehending monosyllables: her heart beat till it felt like breaking, and once more she was falling beneath love's resistless spell, when a new interruption occurred, shaking her roughly out of her ecstasy120; but this time the young count was able to pass quietly and calmly into a room adjoining, and Joan prepared to receive her importunate121 visitor with severe and frigid122 dignity.
The individual who arrived at so inopportune a moment was little calculated to smooth Joan's ruffled123 brow, being Charles, the eldest124 son of the Durazzo family. After he had introduced his fair cousin to the people as their only legitimate125 sovereign, he had sought on various occasions to obtain an interview with her, which in all probability would be decisive. Charles was one of those men who to gain their end recoil104 at nothing; devoured126 by raging ambition and accustomed from his earliest years to conceal his most ardent127 desires beneath a mask of careless indifference, he marched ever onward128, plot succeeding plot, towards the object he was bent129 upon securing, and never deviated130 one hair's-breadth from the path he had marked out, but only acted with double prudence131 after each victory, and with double courage after each defeat. His cheek grew pale with joy; when he hated most, he smiled; in all the emotions of his life, however strong, he was inscrutable. He had sworn to sit on the throne of Naples, and long had believed himself the rightful heir, as being nearest of kin4 to Robert of all his nephews. To him the hand of Joan would have been given, had not the old king in his latter days conceived the plan of bringing Andre from Hungary and re-establishing the elder branch in his person, though that had long since been forgotten. But his resolution had never for a moment been weakened by the arrival of Andre in the kingdom, or by the profound indifference wherewith Joan, preoccupied132 with other passion, had always received the advances of her cousin Charles of Durazzo. Neither the love of a woman nor the life of a man was of any account to him when a crown was weighed in the other scale of the balance.
During the whole time that the queen had remained invisible, Charles had hung about her apartments, and now came into her presence with respectful eagerness to inquire for his cousin's health. The young duke had been at pains to set off his noble features and elegant figure by a magnificent dress covered with golden fleur-de-lys and glittering with precious stones. His doublet of scarlet133 velvet134 and cap of the same showed up, by their own splendour, the warm colouring of his skin, while his face seemed illumined by his black eyes that shone keen as an eagle's.
Charles spoke45 long with his cousin of the people's enthusiasm on her accession and of the brilliant destiny before her; he drew a hasty but truthful135 sketch136 of the state of the kingdom; and while he lavished praises on the queen's wisdom, he cleverly pointed53 out what reforms were most urgently needed by the country; he contrived137 to put so much warmth, yet so much reserve, into his speech that he destroyed the disagreeable impression his arrival had produced. In spite of the irregularities of her youth and the depravity brought about by her wretched education, Joan's nature impelled138 her to noble action: when the welfare of her subjects was concerned, she rose above the limitations of her age and sex, and, forgetting her strange position, listened to the Duke of Durazzo with the liveliest interest and the kindliest attention. He then hazarded allusions139 to the dangers that beset140 a young queen, spoke vaguely141 of the difficulty in distinguishing between true devotion and cowardly complaisance142 or interested attachment143; he spoke of the ingratitude of many who had been loaded with benefits, and had been most completely trusted. Joan, who had just learned the truth of his words by sad experience, replied with a sigh, and after a moment's silence added—
"May God, whom I call to witness for the loyalty144 and uprightness of my intentions, may God unmask all traitors145 and show me my true friends! I know that the burden laid upon me is heavy, and I presume not on my strength, but I trust that the tried experience of those counsellors to whom my uncle entrusted146 me, the support of my family, and your warm and sincere friendship above all, my dear cousin, will help me to accomplish my duty."
"My sincerest prayer is that you may succeed, my fair cousin, and I will not darken with doubts and fears a time that ought to be given up to joy; I will not mingle147 with the shouts of gladness that rise on all sides to proclaim you queen, any vain regrets over that blind fortune which has placed beside the woman whom we all alike adore, whose single glance would make a man more blest than the angels, a foreigner unworthy of your love and unworthy of your throne."
"You forget, Charles," said the queen, putting out her hand as though to check his words, "Andre is my husband, and it was my grandfather's will that he should reign21 with me."
"Never!" cried the duke indignantly; "he King of Naples! Nay148, dream that the town is shaken to its very foundations, that the people rise as one man, that our church bells sound a new Sicilian vespers, before the people of Naples will endure the rule of a handful of wild Hungarian drunkards, a deformed149 canting monk, a prince detested150 by them even as you are beloved!"
"But why is Andre blamed? What has he done?"
"What has he done? Why is he blamed, madam? The people blame him as stupid, coarse, a savage151; the nobles blame him for ignoring their privileges and openly supporting men of obscure birth; and I, madam,"—here he lowered his voice, "I blame him for making you unhappy."
Joan shuddered152 as though a wound had been touched by an unkind hand; but hiding her emotion beneath an appearance of calm, she replied in a voice of perfect indifference—
"You must be dreaming, Charles; who has given you leave to suppose I am unhappy?"
"Do not try to excuse him, my dear cousin," replied Charles eagerly; "you will injure yourself without saving him."
The queen looked fixedly153 at her cousin, as though she would read him through and through and find out the meaning of his words; but as she could not give credence154 to the horrible thought that crossed her mind, she assumed a complete confidence in her cousin's friendship, with a view to discovering his plans, and said carelessly—
"Well, Charles, suppose I am not happy, what remedy could you offer me that I might escape my lot?"
"You ask me that, my dear cousin? Are not all remedies good when you suffer, and when you wish for revenge?"
"One must fly to those means that are possible. Andre will not readily give up his pretensions155: he has a party of his own, and in case of open rupture156 his brother the King of Hungary may declare war upon us, and bring ruin and desolation upon our kingdom."
"You do not understand me," he said.
"Then explain without circumlocution," said the queen, trying to conceal the convulsive shudder that ran through her limbs.
"Listen, Joan," said Charles, taking his cousin's hand and laying it upon his heart: "can you feel that dagger?"
"I can," said Joan, and she turned pale.
"One word from you—and—"
"Yes?"
"To-morrow you will be free."
"A murder!" cried Joan, recoiling158 in horror: "then I was not deceived; it is a murder that you have proposed."
"It is a necessity," said the duke calmly: "today I advise; later on you will give your orders."
"Enough, wretch22! I cannot tell if you are more cowardly or more rash: cowardly, because you reveal a criminal plot feeling sure that I shall never denounce you; rash, because in revealing it to me you cannot tell what witnesses are near to hear it all."
"In any case, madam, since I have put myself in your hands, you must perceive that I cannot leave you till I know if I must look upon myself as your friend or as your enemy."
"Leave me," cried Joan, with a disdainful gesture; "you insult your queen."
"You forget, my dear cousin, that some day I may very likely have a claim to your kingdom."
"Do not force me to have you turned out of this room," said Joan, advancing towards the door.
"Now do not get excited, my fair cousin; I am going: but at least remember that I offered you my hand and you refused it. Remember what I say at this solemn moment: to-day I am the guilty man; some day perhaps I may be the judge."
He went away slowly, twice turning his head, repeating in the language of signs his menacing prophecy. Joan hid her face in her hands, and for a long time remained plunged159 in dismal160 reflections; then anger got the better of all her other feelings, and she summoned Dona Cancha, bidding her not to allow anybody to enter, on any pretext161 whatsoever162.
This prohibition163 was not for the Count of Artois, for the reader will remember that he was in the adjoining room.
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decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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purport
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| n.意义，要旨，大要；v.意味著，做为...要旨，要领是... | |
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lodge
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| v.临时住宿，寄宿，寄存，容纳；n.传达室，小旅馆 | |
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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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intrigues
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| n.密谋策划( intrigue的名词复数 )；神秘气氛；引人入胜的复杂情节v.搞阴谋诡计( intrigue的第三人称单数 )；激起…的好奇心 | |
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monk
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| n.和尚，僧侣，修道士 | |
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consolation
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| n.安慰，慰问 | |
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sobs
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| 啜泣（声），呜咽（声）( sob的名词复数 ) | |
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lugubrious
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| adj.悲哀的，忧郁的 | |
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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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infancy
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| n.婴儿期；幼年期；初期 | |
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fascination
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| n.令人着迷的事物，魅力，迷恋 | |
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countenance
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| n.脸色，面容；面部表情；vt.支持，赞同 | |
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irresistible
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| adj.非常诱人的，无法拒绝的，无法抗拒的 | |
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refinement
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| n.文雅；高尚；精美；精制；精炼 | |
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corrupt
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| v.贿赂，收买；adj.腐败的，贪污的 | |
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17
murmur
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| n.低语，低声的怨言；v.低语，低声而言 | |
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18
homage
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| n.尊敬，敬意，崇敬 | |
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19
insinuating
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| adj.曲意巴结的，暗示的v.暗示( insinuate的现在分词 )；巧妙或迂回地潜入；（使）缓慢进入；慢慢伸入 | |
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20
virtue
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| n.德行，美德；贞操；优点；功效，效力 | |
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21
reign
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| n.统治时期，统治，支配，盛行；v.占优势 | |
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22
wretch
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| n.可怜的人，不幸的人；卑鄙的人 | |
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23
drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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24
ignoble
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| adj.不光彩的，卑鄙的；可耻的 | |
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25
motive
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| n.动机，目的；adv.发动的，运动的 | |
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26
feigned
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| a.假装的，不真诚的 | |
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27
constrained
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| adj.束缚的,节制的 | |
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28
eyelids
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| n.眼睑( eyelid的名词复数 )；眼睛也不眨一下；不露声色；面不改色 | |
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29
judgment
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| n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见 | |
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30
ingratitude
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| n.忘恩负义 | |
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31
perjured
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| adj.伪证的，犯伪证罪的v.发假誓，作伪证( perjure的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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32
miserable
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| adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的 | |
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33
entreated
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| 恳求，乞求( entreat的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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34
eternity
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| n.不朽，来世；永恒，无穷 | |
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35
malady
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| n.病，疾病(通常做比喻) | |
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36
remorse
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| n.痛恨，悔恨，自责 | |
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37
lawful
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| adj.法律许可的，守法的，合法的 | |
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38
alas
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| int.唉(表示悲伤、忧愁、恐惧等) | |
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39
modesty
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| n.谦逊，虚心，端庄，稳重，羞怯，朴素 | |
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40
efface
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| v.擦掉，抹去 | |
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41
severely
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| adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地 | |
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42
distress
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| n.苦恼，痛苦，不舒适；不幸；vt.使悲痛 | |
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43
banished
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| v.放逐，驱逐( banish的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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44
wrath
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| n.愤怒，愤慨，暴怒 | |
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45
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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46
wont
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| adj.习惯于；v.习惯；n.习惯 | |
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47
melancholy
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| n.忧郁，愁思；adj.令人感伤（沮丧）的，忧郁的 | |
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48
destined
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| adj.命中注定的；(for)以…为目的地的 | |
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49
concealed
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| a.隐藏的，隐蔽的 | |
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50
conceal
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| v.隐藏，隐瞒，隐蔽 | |
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51
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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52
wedded
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| adj.正式结婚的；渴望…的，执著于…的v.嫁，娶，（与…）结婚( wed的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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53
pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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54
bestowed
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| 赠给，授予( bestow的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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55
knight
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| n.骑士，武士；爵士 | |
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56
narrative
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| n.叙述，故事；adj.叙事的，故事体的 | |
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57
juncture
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| n.时刻，关键时刻，紧要关头 | |
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58
edifice
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| n.宏伟的建筑物(如宫殿，教室) | |
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59
apparition
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| n.幽灵，神奇的现象 | |
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60
obstinately
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| ad.固执地，顽固地 | |
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61
penetrating
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| adj.（声音）响亮的，尖锐的adj.（气味）刺激的adj.（思想）敏锐的，有洞察力的 | |
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62
hatred
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| n.憎恶，憎恨，仇恨 | |
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63
vengeance
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| n.报复，报仇，复仇 | |
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64
tottering
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| adj.蹒跚的，动摇的v.走得或动得不稳( totter的现在分词 )；踉跄；蹒跚；摇摇欲坠 | |
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65
corruption
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| n.腐败，堕落，贪污 | |
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66
instilled
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| v.逐渐使某人获得（某种可取的品质），逐步灌输( instill的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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67
vice
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| n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的 | |
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68
inflamed
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| adj.发炎的，红肿的v.（使）变红，发怒，过热( inflame的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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69
precocious
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| adj.早熟的；较早显出的 | |
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70
infamy
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| n.声名狼藉，出丑，恶行 | |
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71
prey
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| n.被掠食者，牺牲者，掠食；v.捕食，掠夺，折磨 | |
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72
toils
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| 网 | |
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73
sincerity
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| n.真诚，诚意；真实 | |
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74
intimacy
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| n.熟悉，亲密，密切关系，亲昵的言行 | |
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75
submission
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| n.服从，投降；温顺，谦虚；提出 | |
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76
shudder
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| v.战粟，震动，剧烈地摇晃；n.战粟，抖动 | |
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77
seducer
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| n.诱惑者,骗子,玩弄女性的人 | |
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78
haughty
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| adj.傲慢的，高傲的 | |
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79
jealousy
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| n.妒忌，嫉妒，猜忌 | |
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80
interfere
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| v.(in)干涉，干预；(with)妨碍，打扰 | |
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81
rebuked
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| 责难或指责( rebuke的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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82
subdue
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| vt.制服，使顺从，征服；抑制，克制 | |
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83
languishing
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| a. 衰弱下去的 | |
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84
humble
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| adj.谦卑的，恭顺的；地位低下的；v.降低，贬低 | |
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85
indifference
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| n.不感兴趣，不关心，冷淡，不在乎 | |
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86
helping
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| n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的 | |
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87
alienate
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| vt.使疏远，离间；转让(财产等) | |
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88
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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89
pallid
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| adj.苍白的，呆板的 | |
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90
fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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91
agitation
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| n.搅动；搅拌；鼓动，煽动 | |
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92
affected
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| adj.不自然的，假装的 | |
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93
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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94
ironical
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| adj.讽刺的，冷嘲的 | |
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95
formerly
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| adv.从前，以前 | |
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96
fidelity
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| n.忠诚，忠实；精确 | |
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97
zealously
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| adv.热心地；热情地；积极地；狂热地 | |
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98
withering
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| 使人畏缩的，使人害羞的，使人难堪的 | |
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99
ratify
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| v.批准，认可，追认 | |
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100
maternal
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| adj.母亲的，母亲般的，母系的，母方的 | |
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101
lavished
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| v.过分给予，滥施( lavish的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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102
implore
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| vt.乞求，恳求，哀求 | |
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103
recoiled
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| v.畏缩( recoil的过去式和过去分词 )；退缩；报应；返回 | |
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104
recoil
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| vi.退却，退缩，畏缩 | |
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105
crimson
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| n./adj.深(绯)红色(的)；vi.脸变绯红色 | |
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106
astonishment
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| n.惊奇，惊异 | |
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107
barons
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| 男爵( baron的名词复数 )； 巨头； 大王； 大亨 | |
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108
exalt
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| v.赞扬，歌颂，晋升，提升 | |
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109
sneer
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| v.轻蔑；嘲笑；n.嘲笑，讥讽的言语 | |
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110
impudently
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111
shamefully
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| 可耻地； 丢脸地； 不体面地； 羞耻地 | |
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112
desperately
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| adv.极度渴望地，绝望地，孤注一掷地 | |
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113
dagger
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| n.匕首，短剑，剑号 | |
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114
disarmed
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| v.裁军( disarm的过去式和过去分词 )；使息怒 | |
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115
supplication
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| n.恳求，祈愿，哀求 | |
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116
caresses
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| 爱抚，抚摸( caress的名词复数 ) | |
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117
vows
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| 誓言( vow的名词复数 )； 郑重宣布，许愿 | |
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118
repentance
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| n.懊悔 | |
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119
soothed
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| v.安慰( soothe的过去式和过去分词 )；抚慰；使舒服；减轻痛苦 | |
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120
ecstasy
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| n.狂喜，心醉神怡，入迷 | |
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121
importunate
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| adj.强求的；纠缠不休的 | |
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122
frigid
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| adj.寒冷的，凛冽的；冷淡的；拘禁的 | |
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123
ruffled
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| 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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124
eldest
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| adj.最年长的，最年老的 | |
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125
legitimate
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| adj.合法的，合理的，合乎逻辑的；v.使合法 | |
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126
devoured
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| 吞没( devour的过去式和过去分词 )； 耗尽； 津津有味地看； 狼吞虎咽地吃光 | |
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127
ardent
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| adj.热情的，热烈的，强烈的，烈性的 | |
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128
onward
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| adj.向前的，前进的；adv.向前，前进，在先 | |
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129
bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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130
deviated
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| v.偏离，越轨( deviate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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131
prudence
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| n.谨慎，精明，节俭 | |
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132
preoccupied
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| adj.全神贯注的，入神的；被抢先占有的；心事重重的v.占据（某人）思想，使对…全神贯注，使专心于( preoccupy的过去式) | |
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133
scarlet
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| n.深红色，绯红色，红衣；adj.绯红色的 | |
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134
velvet
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| n.丝绒，天鹅绒；adj.丝绒制的，柔软的 | |
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135
truthful
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| adj.真实的，说实话的，诚实的 | |
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136
sketch
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| n.草图；梗概；素描；v.素描；概述 | |
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137
contrived
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| adj.不自然的，做作的；虚构的 | |
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138
impelled
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| v.推动、推进或敦促某人做某事( impel的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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139
allusions
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| 暗指，间接提到( allusion的名词复数 ) | |
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140
beset
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| v.镶嵌；困扰，包围 | |
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141
vaguely
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| adv.含糊地，暖昧地 | |
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142
complaisance
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| n.彬彬有礼，殷勤，柔顺 | |
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143
attachment
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| n.附属物，附件；依恋；依附 | |
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144
loyalty
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| n.忠诚，忠心 | |
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145
traitors
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| 卖国贼( traitor的名词复数 )； 叛徒； 背叛者； 背信弃义的人 | |
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146
entrusted
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| v.委托，托付( entrust的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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147
mingle
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| vt.使混合，使相混；vi.混合起来；相交往 | |
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148
nay
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| adv.不；n.反对票，投反对票者 | |
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149
deformed
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| adj.畸形的；变形的；丑的，破相了的 | |
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150
detested
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| v.憎恶，嫌恶，痛恨( detest的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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151
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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152
shuddered
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| v.战栗( shudder的过去式和过去分词 )；发抖；（机器、车辆等）突然震动；颤动 | |
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153
fixedly
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| adv.固定地；不屈地，坚定不移地 | |
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154
credence
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| n.信用，祭器台，供桌，凭证 | |
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155
pretensions
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| 自称( pretension的名词复数 )； 自命不凡； 要求； 权力 | |
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156
rupture
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| n.破裂；(关系的)决裂；v.(使)破裂 | |
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157
sinister
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| adj.不吉利的，凶恶的，左边的 | |
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158
recoiling
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| v.畏缩( recoil的现在分词 )；退缩；报应；返回 | |
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159
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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160
dismal
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| adj.阴沉的，凄凉的，令人忧郁的，差劲的 | |
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161
pretext
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| n.借口，托词 | |
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162
whatsoever
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| adv.（用于否定句中以加强语气）任何；pron.无论什么 | |
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163
prohibition
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| n.禁止；禁令，禁律 | |
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