Just before the letter was brought to me that evening I was watching the red November sunset from the library window. It was a stormy, unrestful sunset, gleaming angrily through the dark fir boughs1 that were now and again tossed suddenly and distressfully in a fitful gust3 of wind. Below, in the garden, it was quite dark, and I could only see dimly the dead leaves that were whirling and dancing uncannily over the roseless paths. The poor dead leaves—yet not quite dead! There was still enough unquiet life left in them to make them restless and forlorn. They hearkened yet to every call of the wind, who cared for them no longer but only played freakishly with them and broke their rest. I felt sorry for the leaves as I watched them in that dull, weird4 twilight5, and angry—in a petulant6 fashion that almost made me laugh—with the wind that would not leave them in peace. Why should they—and I—be vexed7 with these transient breaths of desire for a life that had passed us by?
I was in the grip of a bitter loneliness that evening—so bitter and so insistent8 that I felt I could not face the future at all, even with such poor fragments of courage as I had gathered about me after Father's death, hoping that they would, at least, suffice for my endurance, if not for my content. But now they fell away from me at sight of the emptiness of life.
The emptiness! Ah, it was from that I shrank. I could have faced pain and anxiety and heartbreak undauntedly, but I could not face that terrible, yawning, barren emptiness. I put my hands over my eyes to shut it out, but it pressed in upon my consciousness insistently9, and would not be ignored longer.
The moment when a woman realizes that she has nothing to live for—neither love nor purpose nor duty—holds for her the bitterness of death. She is a brave woman indeed who can look upon such a prospect10 unquailingly, and I was not brave. I was weak and timid. Had not Father often laughed mockingly at me because of it?
It was three weeks since Father had died—my proud, handsome, unrelenting old father, whom I had loved so intensely and who had never loved me. I had always accepted this fact unresentfully and unquestioningly, but it had steeped my whole life in its tincture of bitterness. Father had never forgiven me for two things. I had cost my mother's life and I was not a son to perpetuate11 the old name and carry on the family feud12 with the Frasers.
I was a very lonely child, with no playmates or companions of any sort, and my girlhood was lonelier still. The only passion in my life was my love for my father. I would have done and suffered anything to win his affection in return. But all I ever did win was an amused tolerance—and I was grateful for that—almost content. It was much to have something to love and be permitted to love it.
If I had been a beautiful and spirited girl I think Father might have loved me, but I was neither. At first I did not think or care about my lack of beauty; then one day I was alone in the beech13 wood; I was trying to disentangle my skirt which had caught on some thorny14 underbrush. A young man came around the curve of the path and, seeing my predicament, bent15 with murmured apology to help me. He had to kneel to do it, and I saw a ray of sunshine falling through the beeches16 above us strike like a lance of light athwart the thick brown hair that pushed out from under his cap. Before I thought I put out my hand and touched it softly, then I blushed crimson17 with shame over what I had done. But he did not know—he never knew.
When he had released my dress he rose and our eyes met for a moment as I timidly thanked him. I saw that he was good to look upon—tall and straight, with broad, stalwart shoulders and a dark, clean-cut face. He had a firm, sensitive mouth and kindly18, pleasant, dark blue eyes. I never quite forgot the look in those eyes. It made my heart beat strangely, but it was only for a moment, and the next he had lifted his cap and passed on.
As I went homeward I wondered who he might be. He must be a stranger, I thought—probably a visitor in some of our few neighbouring families. I wondered too if I should meet him again, and found the thought very pleasant.
I knew few men and they were all old, like Father, or at least elderly. They were the only people who ever came to our house, and they either teased me or overlooked me. None of them was at all like this young man I had met in the beech wood, nor ever could have been, I thought.
When I reached home I stopped before the big mirror that hung in the hall and did what I had never done before in my life—looked at myself very scrutinizingly and wondered if I had any beauty. I could only sorrowfully conclude that I had not—I was so slight and pale, and the thick black hair and dark eyes that might have been pretty in another woman seemed only to accentuate19 the lack of spirit and regularity20 in my features. I was still standing21 there, gazing wistfully at my mirrored face with a strange sinking of spirit, when Father came through the hall, his riding whip in his hand. Seeing me, he laughed.
"Don't waste your time gazing into mirrors, Isobel," he said carelessly. "That might have been excusable in former ladies of Shirley whose beauty might pardon and even adorn22 vanity, but with you it is only absurd. The needle and the cookbook are all that you need concern yourself with."
I was accustomed to such speeches from him, but they had never hurt me so cruelly before. At that moment I would have given all the world only to be beautiful.
The next Sunday I looked across the church, and in the Fraser pew I saw the young man I had met in the wood. He was looking at me with his arms folded over his breast and on his brow a little frown that seemed somehow indicative of pain and surprise. I felt a miserable23 sense of disappointment. If he were the Frasers' guest I could not expect to meet him again. Father hated the Frasers, all the Shirleys hated them; it was an old feud, bitter and lasting24, that had been as much our inheritance for generations as land and money. The only thing Father had ever taken pains to teach me was detestation of the Frasers and all their works. I accepted this as I accepted all the other traditions of my race. I thought it did not matter much. The Frasers were not likely to come my way, and hatred25 was a good satisfying passion in the lack of all else. I think I rather took a pride in hating them as became my blood.
I did not look at the Fraser pew again, but outside, under the elms, we met him, standing in the dappling light and shadow. He looked very handsome and a little sad. I could not help glancing back over my shoulder as Father and I walked to the gate, and I saw him looking after us with that little frown which again made me think something had hurt him. I liked better the smile he had worn in the beech wood, but I had an odd liking26 for the frown too, and I think I had a foolish longing27 to go back to him, put up my fingers and smooth it away.
"So Alan Fraser has come home," said my father.
"Alan Fraser?" I repeated, with a strange, horrible feeling of coldness and chill coming over me like a shadow on a bright day. Alan Fraser, the son of old Malcolm Fraser of Glenellyn! The son of our enemy! He had been living since childhood with his dead mother's people, so much I knew. And this was he! Something stung and smarted in my eyes. I think the sting and smart might have turned to tears if Father had not been looking down at me.
"Yes. Didn't you see him in his father's pew? But I forgot. You are too demure28 to be looking at the young men in preaching—or out of it, Isobel. You are a model young woman. Odd that the men never like the model young women! Curse old Malcolm Fraser! What right has he to have a son like that when I have nothing but a puling girl? Remember, Isobel, that if you ever meet that young man you are not to speak to or look at him, or even intimate that you are aware of his existence. He is your enemy and the enemy of your race. You will show him that you realize this."
Of course that ended it all—though just what there had been to end would have been hard to say. Not long afterwards I met Alan Fraser again, when I was out for a canter on my mare29. He was strolling through the beech wood with a couple of big collies, and he stopped short as I drew near. I had to do it—Father had decreed—my Shirley pride demanded—that I should do it. I looked him unseeingly in the face, struck my mare a blow with my whip, and dashed past him. I even felt angry, I think, that a Fraser should have the power to make me feel so badly in doing my duty.
After that I had forgotten. There was nothing to make me remember, for I never met Alan Fraser again. The years slipped by, one by one, so like each other in their colourlessness that I forgot to take account of them. I only knew that I grew older and that it did not matter since there was nobody to care. One day they brought Father in, white-lipped and groaning30. His mare had thrown him, and he was never to walk again, although he lived for five years. Those five years had been the happiest of my life. For the first time I was necessary to someone—there was something for me to do which nobody else could do so well. I was Father's nurse and companion; and I found my pleasure in tending him and amusing him, soothing31 his hours of pain and brightening his hours of ease. People said I "did my duty" toward him. I had never liked that word "duty," since the day I had ridden past Alan Fraser in the beech wood. I could not connect it with what I did for Father. It was my delight because I loved him. I did not mind the moods and the irritable32 outbursts that drove others from him.
But now he was dead, and I sat in the sullen33 dusk, wishing that I need not go on with life either. The loneliness of the big echoing house weighed on my spirit. I was solitary34, without companionship. I looked out on the outside world where the only sign of human habitation visible to my eyes was the light twinkling out from the library window of Glenellyn on the dark fir hill two miles away. By that light I knew Alan Fraser must have returned from his long sojourn35 abroad, for it only shone when he was at Glenellyn. He still lived there, something of a hermit36, people said; he had never married, and he cared nothing for society. His companions were books and dogs and horses; he was given to scientific researches and wrote much for the reviews; he travelled a great deal. So much I knew in a vague way. I even saw him occasionally in church, and never thought the years had changed him much, save that his face was sadder and sterner than of old and his hair had become iron-grey. People said that he had inherited and cherished the old hatred of the Shirleys—that he was very bitter against us. I believed it. He had the face of a good hater—or lover—a man who could play with no emotion but must take it in all earnestness and intensity37.
When it was quite dark the housekeeper38 brought in the lights and handed me a letter which, she said, a man had just brought up from the village post office. I looked at it curiously39 before I opened it, wondering from whom it was. It was postmarked from a city several miles away, and the firm, decided40, rather peculiar41 handwriting was strange to me. I had no correspondents. After Father's death I had received a few perfunctory notes of condolence from distant relatives and family friends. They had hurt me cruelly, for they seemed to exhale42 a subtle spirit of congratulation on my being released from a long and unpleasant martyrdom of attendance on an invalid43, that quite overrode44 the decorous phrases of conventional sympathy in which they were expressed. I hated those letters for their implied injustice45. I was not thankful for my "release." I missed Father miserably46 and longed passionately47 for the very tasks and vigils that had evoked48 their pity.
This letter did not seem like one of those. I opened it and took out some stiff, blackly written sheets. They were undated and, turning to the last, I saw that they were unsigned. With a not unpleasant tingling49 of interest I sat down by my desk to read. The letter began abruptly50:
You will not know by whom this is written. Do not seek to know—now or ever. It is only from behind the veil of your ignorance of my identity that I can ever write to you fully2 and freely as I wish to write—can say what I wish to say in words denied to a formal and conventional expression of sympathy. Dear lady, let me say to you thus what is in my heart.
I know what your sorrow is, and I think I know what your loneliness must be—the sorrow of a broken tie, the loneliness of a life thrown emptily back on itself. I know how you loved your father—how you must have loved him if those eyes and brow and mouth speak truth, for they tell of a nature divinely rich and deep, giving of its wealth and tenderness ungrudgingly to those who are so happy as to be the objects of its affection. To such a nature bereavement51 must bring a depth and an agony of grief unknown to shallower souls.
I know what your father's helplessness and need of you meant to you. I know that now life must seem to you a broken and embittered52 thing and, knowing this, I venture to send this greeting across the gulf53 of strangerhood between us, telling you that my understanding sympathy is fully and freely yours, and bidding you take heart for the future, which now, it may be, looks so heartless and hopeless to you.
Believe me, dear lady, it will be neither. Courage will come to you with the kind days. You will find noble tasks to do, beautiful and gracious duties waiting along your path. The pain and suffering of the world never dies, and while it lives there will be work for such as you to do, and in the doing of it you will find comfort and strength and the highest joy of living. I believe in you. I believe you will make of your life a beautiful and worthy54 thing. I give you Godspeed for the years to come. Out of my own loneliness I, an unknown friend, who has never clasped your hand, send this message to you. I understand—I have always understood—and I say to you: "Be of good cheer."
To say that this strange letter was a mystery to me seems an inadequate55 way of stating the matter. I was completely bewildered, nor could I even guess who the writer might be, think and ponder as I might.
The letter itself implied that the writer was a stranger. The handwriting was evidently that of a man, and I knew no man who could or would have sent such a letter to me.
The very mystery stung me to interest. As for the letter itself, it brought me an uplift of hope and inspiration such as I would not have believed possible an hour earlier. It rang so truly and sincerely, and the mere56 thought that somewhere I had a friend who cared enough to write it, even in such odd fashion, was so sweet that I was half ashamed of the difference it made in my outlook. Sitting there, I took courage and made a compact with myself that I would justify57 the writer's faith in me—that I would take up my life as something to be worthily58 lived for all good, to the disregard of my own selfish sorrow and shrinking. I would seek for something to do—for interests which would bind59 me to my fellow-creatures—for tasks which would lessen60 the pains and perils61 of humankind. An hour before, this would not have seemed to me possible; now it seemed the right and natural thing to do.
A week later another letter came. I welcomed it with an eagerness which I feared was almost childish. It was a much longer letter than the first and was written in quite a different strain. There was no apology for or explanation of the motive62 for writing. It was as if the letter were merely one of a permitted and established correspondence between old friends. It began with a witty63, sparkling review of a new book the writer had just read, and passed from this to crisp comments on the great events, political, scientific, artistic64, of the day. The whole letter was pungent65, interesting, delightful66—an impersonal67 essay on a dozen vital topics of life and thought. Only at the end was a personal note struck.
"Are you interested in these things?" ran the last paragraph. "In what is being done and suffered and attained68 in the great busy world? I think you must be—for I have seen you and read what is written in your face. I believe you care for these things as I do—that your being thrills to the 'still, sad music of humanity'—that the songs of the poets I love find an echo in your spirit and the aspirations69 of all struggling souls a sympathy in your heart. Believing this, I have written freely to you, taking a keen pleasure in thus revealing my thoughts and visions to one who will understand. For I too am friendless, in the sense of one standing alone, shut out from the sweet, intimate communion of feeling and opinion that may be held with the heart's friends. Shall you have read this as a friend, I wonder—a candid70, uncritical, understanding friend? Let me hope it, dear lady."
I was expecting the third letter when it came—but not until it did come did I realize what my disappointment would have been if it had not. After that every week brought me a letter; soon those letters were the greatest interest in my life. I had given up all attempts to solve the mystery of their coming and was content to enjoy them for themselves alone. From week to week I looked forward to them with an eagerness that I would hardly confess, even to myself.
And such letters as they were, growing longer and fuller and freer as time went on—such wise, witty, brilliant, pungent letters, stimulating71 all my torpid72 life into tingling zest73! I had begun to look abroad in my small world for worthy work and found plenty to do. My unknown friend evidently kept track of my expanding efforts, for he commented and criticized, encouraged and advised freely. There was a humour in his letters that I liked; it leavened74 them with its sanity75 and reacted on me most wholesomely76, counteracting77 many of the morbid78 tendencies and influences of my life. I found myself striving to live up to the writer's ideal of philosophy and ambition, as pictured, often unconsciously, in his letters.
They were an intellectual stimulant79 as well. To understand them fully I found it necessary to acquaint myself thoroughly80 with the literature and art, the science and the politics they touched upon. After every letter there was something new for me to hunt out and learn and assimilate, until my old narrow mental attitude had so broadened and deepened, sweeping81 out into circles of thought I had never known or imagined, that I hardly knew myself.
They had been coming for a year before I began to reply to them. I had often wished to do so—there were so many things I wanted to say and discuss, but it seemed foolish to write letters that could not be sent. One day a letter came that kindled82 my imagination and stirred my heart and soul so deeply that they insistently demanded answering expression. I sat down at my desk and wrote a full reply to it. Safe in the belief that the mysterious friend to whom it was written would never see it, I wrote with a perfect freedom and a total lack of self-consciousness that I could never have attained otherwise. The writing of that letter gave me a pleasure second only to that which the reading of his brought. For the first time I discovered the delight of revealing my thought unhindered by the conventions. Also, I understood better why the writer of those letters had written them. Doubtless he had enjoyed doing so and was not impelled83 thereto simply by a purely84 philanthropic wish to help me.
When my letter was finished I sealed it up and locked it away in my desk with a smile at my middle-aged85 folly86. What, I wondered, would all my sedate87, serious friends, my associates of mission and hospital committees think if they knew. Well, everybody has, or should have, a pet nonsense in her life. I did not think mine was any sillier than some others I knew, and to myself I admitted that it was very sweet. I knew if those letters ceased to come all savour would go out of my life.
After that I wrote a reply to every letter I received and kept them all locked up together. It was delightful. I wrote out all my doings and perplexities and hopes and plans and wishes—yes, and my dreams. The secret romance of it all made me look on existence with joyous88, contented89 eyes.
Gradually a change crept over the letters I received. Without ever affording the slightest clue to the identity of their writer they grew more intimate and personal. A subtle, caressing90 note of tenderness breathed from them and thrilled my heart curiously. I felt as if I were being drawn91 into the writer's life, admitted into the most sacred recesses92 of his thoughts and feelings. Yet it was all done so subtly, so delicately, that I was unconscious of the change until I discovered it in reading over the older letters and comparing them with the later ones.
Finally a letter came—my first love letter, and surely never was a love letter received under stranger circumstances. It began abruptly as all the letters had begun, plunging93 into the middle of the writer's strain of thought without any preface. The first words drove the blood to my heart and then sent it flying hotly all over my face.
I love you. I must say it at last. Have you not guessed it before? It has trembled on my pen in every line I have written to you—yet I have never dared to shape it into words before. I know not how I dare now. I only know that I must. What a delight to write it out and know that you will read it. Tonight the mood is on me to tell it to you recklessly and lavishly94, never pausing to stint95 or weigh words. Sweetheart, I love you—love you—love you—dear true, faithful woman soul, I love you with all the heart of a man.
Ever since I first saw you I have loved you. I can never come to tell you so in spoken words; I can only love you from afar and tell my love under the guise96 of impersonal friendship. It matters not to you, but it matters more than all else in life to me. I am glad that I love you, dear—glad, glad, glad.
There was much more, for it was a long letter. When I had read it I buried my burning face in my hands, trembling with happiness. This strange confession97 of love meant so much to me; my heart leaped forth98 to meet it with answering love. What mattered it that we could never meet—that I could not even guess who my lover was? Somewhere in the world was a love that was mine alone and mine wholly and mine forever. What mattered his name or his station, or the mysterious barrier between us? Spirit leaped to spirit unhindered over the fettering99 bounds of matter and time. I loved and was beloved. Nothing else mattered.
I wrote my answer to his letter. I wrote it fearlessly and unstintedly. Perhaps I could not have written so freely if the letter were to have been read by him; as it was, I poured out the riches of my love as fully as he had done. I kept nothing back, and across the gulf between us I vowed100 a faithful and enduring love in response to his.
The next day I went to town on business with my lawyers. Neither of the members of the firm was in when I called, but I was an old client, and one of the clerks showed me into the private office to wait. As I sat down my eyes fell on a folded letter lying on the table beside me. With a shock of surprise I recognized the writing. I could not be mistaken—I should have recognized it anywhere.
The letter was lying by its envelope, so folded that only the middle third of the page was visible. An irresistible101 impulse swept over me. Before I could reflect that I had no business to touch the letter, that perhaps it was unfair to my unknown friend to seek to discover his identity when he wished to hide it, I had turned the letter over and seen the signature.
I laid it down again and stood up, dizzy, breathless, unseeing. Like a woman in a dream I walked through the outer office and into the street. I must have walked on for blocks before I became conscious of my surroundings. The name I had seen signed to that letter was Alan Fraser!
No doubt the reader has long ago guessed it—has wondered why I had not. The fact remains102 that I had not. Out of the whole world Alan Fraser was the last man whom I should have suspected to be the writer of those letters—Alan Fraser, my hereditary103 enemy, who, I had been told, cherished the old feud so faithfully and bitterly, and hated our very name.
And yet I now wondered at my long blindness. No one else could have written those letters—no one but him. I read them over one by one when I reached home and, now that I possessed104 the key, he revealed himself in every line, expression, thought. And he loved me!
I thought of the old feud and hatred; I thought of my pride and traditions. They seemed like the dust and ashes of outworn things—things to be smiled at and cast aside. I took out all the letters I had written—all except the last one—sealed them up in a parcel and directed it to Alan Fraser. Then, summoning my groom105, I bade him ride to Glenellyn with it. His look of amazement106 almost made me laugh, but after he was gone I felt dizzy and frightened at my own daring.
When the autumn darkness came down I went to my room and dressed as the woman dresses who awaits the one man of all the world. I hardly knew what I hoped or expected, but I was all athrill with a nameless, inexplicable107 happiness. I admit I looked very eagerly into the mirror when I was done, and I thought that the result was not unpleasing. Beauty had never been mine, but a faint reflection of it came over me in the tremulous flush and excitement of the moment. Then the maid came up to tell me that Alan Fraser was in the library.
I went down with my cold hands tightly clasped behind me. He was standing by the library table, a tall, broad-shouldered man, with the light striking upward on his dark, sensitive face and iron-grey hair. When he saw me he came quickly forward.
"So you know—and you are not angry—your letters told me so much. I have loved you since that day in the beech wood, Isobel—Isobel."
His eyes were kindling108 into mine. He held my hands in a close, impetuous clasp. His voice was infinitely109 caressing as he pronounced my name. I had never heard it since Father died—I had never heard it at all so musically and tenderly uttered. My ancestors might have turned in their graves just then—but it mattered not. Living love had driven out dead hatred.
"Isobel," he went on, "there was one letter unanswered—the last."
I went to my desk, took out the last letter I had written and gave it to him in silence. While he read it I stood in a shadowy corner and watched him, wondering if life could always be as sweet as this. When he had finished he turned to me and held out his arms. I went to them as a bird to her nest, and with his lips against mine the old feud was blotted110 out forever.
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boughs
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| 大树枝( bough的名词复数 ) | |
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fully
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| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
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gust
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| n.阵风，突然一阵（雨、烟等），（感情的）迸发 | |
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weird
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| adj.古怪的，离奇的；怪诞的，神秘而可怕的 | |
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twilight
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| n.暮光，黄昏；暮年，晚期，衰落时期 | |
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petulant
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| adj.性急的，暴躁的 | |
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vexed
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| adj.争论不休的；（指问题等）棘手的；争论不休的问题；烦恼的v.使烦恼( vex的过去式和过去分词 )；使苦恼；使生气；详细讨论 | |
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insistent
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insistently
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prospect
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perpetuate
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feud
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| n.长期不和；世仇；v.长期争斗；世代结仇 | |
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beech
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thorny
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| adj.多刺的，棘手的 | |
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bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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beeches
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crimson
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kindly
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accentuate
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regularity
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standing
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adorn
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| vt.使美化，装饰 | |
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miserable
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lasting
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hatred
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liking
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longing
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demure
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| adj.严肃的；端庄的 | |
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mare
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groaning
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| adj. 呜咽的, 呻吟的 动词groan的现在分词形式 | |
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soothing
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| adj.慰藉的；使人宽心的；镇静的 | |
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32
irritable
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| adj.急躁的；过敏的；易怒的 | |
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33
sullen
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| adj.愠怒的，闷闷不乐的，(天气等)阴沉的 | |
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34
solitary
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| adj.孤独的，独立的，荒凉的；n.隐士 | |
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35
sojourn
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| v./n.旅居，寄居；逗留 | |
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36
hermit
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| n.隐士，修道者；隐居 | |
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37
intensity
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| n.强烈，剧烈；强度；烈度 | |
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38
housekeeper
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| n.管理家务的主妇，女管家 | |
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39
curiously
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| adv.有求知欲地；好问地；奇特地 | |
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40
decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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41
peculiar
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| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
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42
exhale
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| v.呼气，散出，吐出，蒸发 | |
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43
invalid
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| n.病人，伤残人；adj.有病的，伤残的；无效的 | |
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44
overrode
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| 越控( override的过去式 )； （以权力）否决； 优先于； 比…更重要 | |
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45
injustice
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| n.非正义，不公正，不公平，侵犯（别人的）权利 | |
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46
miserably
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| adv.痛苦地；悲惨地；糟糕地；极度地 | |
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47
passionately
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| ad.热烈地，激烈地 | |
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48
evoked
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| [医]诱发的 | |
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49
tingling
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| v.有刺痛感( tingle的现在分词 ) | |
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50
abruptly
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| adv.突然地，出其不意地 | |
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51
bereavement
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| n.亲人丧亡，丧失亲人，丧亲之痛 | |
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52
embittered
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| v.使怨恨，激怒( embitter的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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53
gulf
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| n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂 | |
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54
worthy
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| adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的 | |
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55
inadequate
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| adj.(for,to)不充足的，不适当的 | |
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mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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57
justify
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| vt.证明…正当(或有理)，为…辩护 | |
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58
worthily
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| 重要地，可敬地，正当地 | |
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59
bind
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| vt.捆，包扎；装订；约束；使凝固；vi.变硬 | |
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60
lessen
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| vt.减少，减轻；缩小 | |
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61
perils
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| 极大危险( peril的名词复数 )； 危险的事（或环境） | |
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motive
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| n.动机，目的；adv.发动的，运动的 | |
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witty
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| adj.机智的，风趣的 | |
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artistic
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| adj.艺术(家)的，美术(家)的；善于艺术创作的 | |
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pungent
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| adj.（气味、味道）刺激性的，辛辣的；尖锐的 | |
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delightful
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| adj.令人高兴的，使人快乐的 | |
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67
impersonal
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| adj.无个人感情的，与个人无关的，非人称的 | |
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68
attained
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| （通常经过努力）实现( attain的过去式和过去分词 )； 达到； 获得； 达到（某年龄、水平、状况） | |
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aspirations
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| 强烈的愿望( aspiration的名词复数 )； 志向； 发送气音； 发 h 音 | |
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candid
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| adj.公正的，正直的；坦率的 | |
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71
stimulating
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| adj.有启发性的，能激发人思考的 | |
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72
torpid
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| adj.麻痹的，麻木的，迟钝的 | |
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73
zest
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| n.乐趣；滋味，风味；兴趣 | |
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74
leavened
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| adj.加酵母的v.使（面团）发酵( leaven的过去式和过去分词 )；在…中掺入改变的因素 | |
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75
sanity
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| n.心智健全，神智正常，判断正确 | |
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76
wholesomely
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| 卫生地，有益健康地 | |
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77
counteracting
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| 对抗，抵消( counteract的现在分词 ) | |
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78
morbid
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| adj.病的；致病的；病态的；可怕的 | |
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stimulant
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| n.刺激物，兴奋剂 | |
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80
thoroughly
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| adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地 | |
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81
sweeping
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| adj.范围广大的，一扫无遗的 | |
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82
kindled
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| （使某物）燃烧，着火( kindle的过去式和过去分词 )； 激起（感情等）； 发亮，放光 | |
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83
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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84
purely
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| adv.纯粹地，完全地 | |
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85
middle-aged
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| adj.中年的 | |
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86
folly
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| n.愚笨，愚蠢，蠢事，蠢行，傻话 | |
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87
sedate
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| adj.沉着的，镇静的，安静的 | |
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88
joyous
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| adj.充满快乐的；令人高兴的 | |
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89
contented
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| adj.满意的，安心的，知足的 | |
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90
caressing
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| 爱抚的，表现爱情的，亲切的 | |
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91
drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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recesses
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| n.壁凹( recess的名词复数 )；（工作或业务活动的）中止或暂停期间；学校的课间休息；某物内部的凹形空间v.把某物放在墙壁的凹处( recess的第三人称单数 )；将（墙）做成凹形，在（墙）上做壁龛；休息，休会，休庭 | |
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93
plunging
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| adj.跳进的，突进的v.颠簸( plunge的现在分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降 | |
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94
lavishly
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| adv.慷慨地，大方地 | |
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95
stint
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| v.节省，限制，停止；n.舍不得化，节约，限制；连续不断的一段时间从事某件事 | |
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96
guise
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| n.外表，伪装的姿态 | |
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97
confession
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| n.自白，供认，承认 | |
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98
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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99
fettering
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| v.给…上脚镣，束缚( fetter的现在分词 ) | |
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100
vowed
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| 起誓，发誓（vow的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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101
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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102
remains
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| n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹 | |
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103
hereditary
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| adj.遗传的，遗传性的，可继承的，世袭的 | |
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104
possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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105
groom
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| vt.给（马、狗等）梳毛，照料，使...整洁 | |
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106
amazement
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| n.惊奇，惊讶 | |
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107
inexplicable
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| adj.无法解释的，难理解的 | |
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108
kindling
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| n. 点火, 可燃物 动词kindle的现在分词形式 | |
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109
infinitely
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| adv.无限地，无穷地 | |
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110
blotted
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| 涂污( blot的过去式和过去分词 )； （用吸墨纸）吸干 | |
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