THE TWO PICTURES
WE come now to another stage of this history. Six months have glided1 into the past since the events recorded in the foregoing chapter. The political world of Charleston is resolved to remain in the Union a few months longer. It is a pleasant evening in early May. The western sky is golden with the setting sun, and the heavens are filled with battlements of refulgent2 clouds, now softening3 away into night. Yonder to the East, reposes4 a dark grove5. A gentle breeze fans through its foliage6, the leaves laugh and whisper, the perfumes of flowers are diffusing7 through the air birds make melodious8 with their songs, the trilling stream mingles9 its murmurs10, and nature would seem gathering11 her beauties into one enchanting12 harmony. In the foreground of the grove, and looking as if it borrowed solitude13 of the deep foliage, in which it is half buried, rises a pretty villa14, wherein may be seen, surrounded by luxuries the common herd15 might well envy, the fair, the beautiful siren, Anna Bonard. In the dingy16 little back parlor17 of the old antiquary, grim poverty looking in through every crevasse18, sits the artless and pure-minded Maria McArthur. How different are the thoughts, the hopes, the emotions of these two women. Comfort would seem smiling on the one, while destitution19 threatens the other. To the eye that looks only upon the surface, how deceptive20 is the picture. The one with every wish gratified, an expression of sorrow shadowing her countenance21, and that freshness and sweetness for which she was distinguished22 passing away, contemplates23 herself a submissive captive, at the mercy of one for whom she has no love, whose gold she cannot inherit, and whose roof she must some day leave for the street. The other feels poverty grasping at her, but is proud in the possession of her virtue24; and though trouble would seem tracing its lines upon her features, her heart remains25 untouched by remorse;--she is strong in the consciousness that when all else is gone, her virtue will remain her beacon26 light to happiness. Anna, in the loss of that virtue, sees herself shut out from that very world that points her to the yawning chasm27 of her future; she feels how like a slave in the hands of one whose heart is as cold as his smiles are false, she is. Maria owes the world no hate, nor are her thougnts disturbed by such contemplations. Anna, with embittered28 and remorseful29 feelings-with dark and terrible passions agitating30 her bosom31, looks back over her eventful life, to a period when even her own history is shut to her, only to find the tortures of her soul heightened. Maria looks back upon a life of fond attachment32 to her father, to her humble33 efforts to serve others, and to know that she has borne with Christian34 fortitude35 those ills which are incident to humble life. With her, an emotion of joy repays the contemplation. To Anna, the future is hung in dark forebodings. She recalls to mind the interview with Madame Montford, but that only tends to deepen the storm of anguish36 the contemplation of her parentage naturally gives rise to. With Maria, the present hangs dark and the future brightens. She thinks of the absent one she loves-of how she can best serve her aged37 father, and how she can make their little home cheerful until the return of Tom Swiggs, who is gone abroad. It must be here disclosed that the old man had joined their hands, and invoked38 a blessing39 on their heads, ere Tom took his departure. Maria looks forward to the day of his return with joyous40 emotions. That return is the day dream of her heart; in it she sees her future brightening. Such are the cherished thoughts of a pure mind. Poverty may gnaw41 away at the hearthstone, cares and sorrow may fall thick in your path, the rich may frown upon you, and the vicious sport with your misfortunes, but virtue gives you power to overcome them all. In Maria's ear something whispers: Woman! hold fast to thy virtue, for if once it go neither gold nor false tongues can buy it back.
Anna sees the companion of her early life, and the sharer of her sufferings, shut up in a prison, a robber, doomed42 to the lash43. "He was sincere to me, and my only true friend--am I the cause of this?" she muses44. Her heart answers, and her bosom fills with dark and stormy emotions. One small boon45 is now all she asks. She could bow down and worship before the throne of virgin46 innocence47, for now its worth towers, majestic48, before her. It discovers to her the falsity of her day-dream; it tells her what an empty vessel49 is this life of ours without it. She knows George Mullholland loves her passionately50; she knows how deep will be his grief, how revengeful his feelings. It is poverty that fastens the poison in the heart of the rejected lover. The thought of this flashes through her mind. His hopeless condition, crushed out as it were to gratify him in whose company her pleasures are but transitory, and may any day end, darkens as she contemplates it. How can she acquit52 her conscience of having deliberately53 and faithlessly renounced54 one who was so true to her? She repines, her womanly nature revolts at the thought-the destiny her superstition55 pictured so dark and terrible, stares her in the face. She resolves a plan for his release, and, relieved with a hope that she can accomplish it while propitiating56 the friendship of the Judge, the next day seeks him in his prison cell, and with all that vehemence57 woman, in the outpouring of her generous impulses, can call to her aid, implores58 his forgiveness. But the rust59 of disappointment has dried up his better nature; his heart is wrung60 with the shafts61 of ingratitude--all the fierce passions of his nature, hate, scorn and revenge, rise up in the one stormy outburst of his soul. He casts upon her a look of withering62 scorn, the past of that life so chequered flashes vividly63 through his thoughts, his hate deepens, he hurls64 her from him, invokes65 a curse upon her head, and shuts her from his sight. "Mine will be the retribution!" he says, knitting his dark brow.
How is it with the Judge-that high functionary66 who provides thus sumptuously67 for his mistress? His morals, like his judgments68, are excused, in the cheap quality of our social morality.
A few days more and the term of the Sessions commences. George is arraigned71, and the honorable Mr. Snivel, who laid the plot, and furthered the crime, now appears as a principal witness. He procures72 the man's conviction, and listens with guilty heart to the sentence, for he is rearrainged on sentence day, and Mr. Snivel is present. And while the culprit is sentenced to two years imprisonment73, and to receive eighty lashes51, laid on his bare back, while at the public whipping-post, at four stated times, the man who stimulated74 the hand of the criminal, is honored and flattered by society. Such is the majesty75 of the law.
点击收听单词发音
1 glided | |
v.滑动( glide的过去式和过去分词 );掠过;(鸟或飞机 ) 滑翔 | |
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2 refulgent | |
adj.辉煌的,灿烂的 | |
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3 softening | |
变软,软化 | |
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4 reposes | |
v.将(手臂等)靠在某人(某物)上( repose的第三人称单数 ) | |
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5 grove | |
n.林子,小树林,园林 | |
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6 foliage | |
n.叶子,树叶,簇叶 | |
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7 diffusing | |
(使光)模糊,漫射,漫散( diffuse的现在分词 ); (使)扩散; (使)弥漫; (使)传播 | |
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8 melodious | |
adj.旋律美妙的,调子优美的,音乐性的 | |
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9 mingles | |
混合,混入( mingle的第三人称单数 ); 混进,与…交往[联系] | |
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10 murmurs | |
n.低沉、连续而不清的声音( murmur的名词复数 );低语声;怨言;嘀咕 | |
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11 gathering | |
n.集会,聚会,聚集 | |
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12 enchanting | |
a.讨人喜欢的 | |
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13 solitude | |
n. 孤独; 独居,荒僻之地,幽静的地方 | |
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14 villa | |
n.别墅,城郊小屋 | |
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15 herd | |
n.兽群,牧群;vt.使集中,把…赶在一起 | |
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16 dingy | |
adj.昏暗的,肮脏的 | |
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17 parlor | |
n.店铺,营业室;会客室,客厅 | |
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18 crevasse | |
n. 裂缝,破口;v.使有裂缝 | |
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19 destitution | |
n.穷困,缺乏,贫穷 | |
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20 deceptive | |
adj.骗人的,造成假象的,靠不住的 | |
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21 countenance | |
n.脸色,面容;面部表情;vt.支持,赞同 | |
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22 distinguished | |
adj.卓越的,杰出的,著名的 | |
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23 contemplates | |
深思,细想,仔细考虑( contemplate的第三人称单数 ); 注视,凝视; 考虑接受(发生某事的可能性); 深思熟虑,沉思,苦思冥想 | |
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24 virtue | |
n.德行,美德;贞操;优点;功效,效力 | |
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25 remains | |
n.剩余物,残留物;遗体,遗迹 | |
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26 beacon | |
n.烽火,(警告用的)闪火灯,灯塔 | |
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27 chasm | |
n.深坑,断层,裂口,大分岐,利害冲突 | |
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28 embittered | |
v.使怨恨,激怒( embitter的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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29 remorseful | |
adj.悔恨的 | |
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30 agitating | |
搅动( agitate的现在分词 ); 激怒; 使焦虑不安; (尤指为法律、社会状况的改变而)激烈争论 | |
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31 bosom | |
n.胸,胸部;胸怀;内心;adj.亲密的 | |
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32 attachment | |
n.附属物,附件;依恋;依附 | |
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33 humble | |
adj.谦卑的,恭顺的;地位低下的;v.降低,贬低 | |
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34 Christian | |
adj.基督教徒的;n.基督教徒 | |
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35 fortitude | |
n.坚忍不拔;刚毅 | |
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36 anguish | |
n.(尤指心灵上的)极度痛苦,烦恼 | |
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37 aged | |
adj.年老的,陈年的 | |
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38 invoked | |
v.援引( invoke的过去式和过去分词 );行使(权利等);祈求救助;恳求 | |
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39 blessing | |
n.祈神赐福;祷告;祝福,祝愿 | |
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40 joyous | |
adj.充满快乐的;令人高兴的 | |
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41 gnaw | |
v.不断地啃、咬;使苦恼,折磨 | |
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42 doomed | |
命定的 | |
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43 lash | |
v.系牢;鞭打;猛烈抨击;n.鞭打;眼睫毛 | |
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44 muses | |
v.沉思,冥想( muse的第三人称单数 );沉思自语说(某事) | |
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45 boon | |
n.恩赐,恩物,恩惠 | |
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46 virgin | |
n.处女,未婚女子;adj.未经使用的;未经开发的 | |
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47 innocence | |
n.无罪;天真;无害 | |
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48 majestic | |
adj.雄伟的,壮丽的,庄严的,威严的,崇高的 | |
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49 vessel | |
n.船舶;容器,器皿;管,导管,血管 | |
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50 passionately | |
ad.热烈地,激烈地 | |
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51 lashes | |
n.鞭挞( lash的名词复数 );鞭子;突然猛烈的一击;急速挥动v.鞭打( lash的第三人称单数 );煽动;紧系;怒斥 | |
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52 acquit | |
vt.宣判无罪;(oneself)使(自己)表现出 | |
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53 deliberately | |
adv.审慎地;蓄意地;故意地 | |
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54 renounced | |
v.声明放弃( renounce的过去式和过去分词 );宣布放弃;宣布与…决裂;宣布摒弃 | |
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55 superstition | |
n.迷信,迷信行为 | |
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56 propitiating | |
v.劝解,抚慰,使息怒( propitiate的现在分词 ) | |
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57 vehemence | |
n.热切;激烈;愤怒 | |
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58 implores | |
恳求或乞求(某人)( implore的第三人称单数 ) | |
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59 rust | |
n.锈;v.生锈;(脑子)衰退 | |
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60 wrung | |
绞( wring的过去式和过去分词 ); 握紧(尤指别人的手); 把(湿衣服)拧干; 绞掉(水) | |
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61 shafts | |
n.轴( shaft的名词复数 );(箭、高尔夫球棒等的)杆;通风井;一阵(疼痛、害怕等) | |
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62 withering | |
使人畏缩的,使人害羞的,使人难堪的 | |
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63 vividly | |
adv.清楚地,鲜明地,生动地 | |
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64 hurls | |
v.猛投,用力掷( hurl的第三人称单数 );大声叫骂 | |
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65 invokes | |
v.援引( invoke的第三人称单数 );行使(权利等);祈求救助;恳求 | |
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66 functionary | |
n.官员;公职人员 | |
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67 sumptuously | |
奢侈地,豪华地 | |
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68 judgments | |
判断( judgment的名词复数 ); 鉴定; 评价; 审判 | |
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69 gilded | |
a.镀金的,富有的 | |
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70 vice | |
n.坏事;恶习;[pl.]台钳,老虎钳;adj.副的 | |
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71 arraigned | |
v.告发( arraign的过去式和过去分词 );控告;传讯;指责 | |
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72 procures | |
v.(努力)取得, (设法)获得( procure的第三人称单数 );拉皮条 | |
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73 imprisonment | |
n.关押,监禁,坐牢 | |
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74 stimulated | |
a.刺激的 | |
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75 majesty | |
n.雄伟,壮丽,庄严,威严;最高权威,王权 | |
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