The catastrophe1 was not complete. There were some long thin fibres of pale boiled meat, whose juices had gone to enrich the soup, lying about the floor or adhering to the fragments of the pitcher2. Solomon, who was a curly-headed chap of infinite resource, discovered them, and it had just been decided3 to neutralize4 the insipidity5 of the bread by the far-away flavor of the meat, when a peremptory6 knocking was heard at the door, and a dazzling vision of beauty bounded into the room.
"'Ere! What are you doin', leavin' things leak through our ceiling?"
Becky Belcovitch was a buxom7, bouncing girl, with cherry cheeks that looked exotic in a land of pale faces. She wore a mass of black crisp ringlets aggressively suggestive of singeing8 and curl-papers. She was the belle9 of Royal Street in her spare time, and womanly triumphs dogged even her working hours. She was sixteen years old, and devoted10 her youth and beauty to buttonholes. In the East End, where a spade is a spade, a buttonhole is a buttonhole, and not a primrose11 or a pansy. There are two kinds of buttonhole--the coarse for slop goods and the fine for gentlemanly wear. Becky concentrated herself on superior buttonholes, which are worked with fine twist. She stitched them in her father's workshop, which was more comfortable than a stranger's, and better fitted for evading12 the Factory Acts. To-night she was radiant in silk and jewelry13, and her pert snub nose had the insolence14 of felicity which Agamemnon deprecated. Seeing her, you would have as soon connected her with Esoteric Buddhism15 as with buttonholes.
The _Bube_ explained the situation in voluble Yiddish, and made Esther wince16 again under the impassioned invective17 on her clumsiness. The old beldame expended18 enough oriental metaphor19 on the accident to fit up a minor20 poet. If the family died of starvation, their blood would be upon their granddaughter's head.
"Well, why don't you wipe it up, stupid?" said Becky. "'Ow would you like to pay for Pesach's new coat? It just dripped past his shoulder."
"I'm so sorry, Becky," said Esther, striving hard to master the tremor21 in her voice. And drawing a house-cloth from a mysterious recess22, she went on her knees in a practical prayer for pardon.
Becky snorted and went back to her sister's engagement-party. For this was the secret of her gorgeous vesture, of her glittering earrings23, and her massive brooch, as it was the secret of the transformation24 of the Belcovitch workshop (and living room) into a hall of dazzling light. Four separate gaunt bare arms of iron gas-pipe lifted hymeneal torches. The labels from reels of cotton, pasted above the mantelpiece as indexes of work done, alone betrayed the past and future of the room. At a long narrow table, covered with a white table-cloth spread with rum, gin, biscuits and fruit, and decorated with two wax candles in tall, brass25 candlesticks, stood or sat a group of swarthy, neatly-dressed Poles, most of them in high hats. A few women wearing wigs27, silk dresses, and gold chains wound round half-washed necks, stood about outside the inner circle. A stooping black-bearded blear-eyed man in a long threadbare coat and a black skull28 cap, on either side of which hung a corkscrew curl, sat abstractedly eating the almonds and raisins29, in the central place of honor which befits a _Maggid_. Before him were pens and ink and a roll of parchment. This was the engagement contract.
The damages of breach30 of promise were assessed in advance and without respect of sex. Whichever side repented31 of the bargain undertook to pay ten pounds by way of compensation for the broken pledge. As a nation, Israel is practical and free from cant32. Romance and moonshine are beautiful things, but behind the glittering veil are always the stern realities of things and the weaknesses of human nature. The high contracting parties were signing the document as Becky returned. The bridegroom, who halted a little on one leg, was a tall sallow man named Pesach Weingott. He was a boot-maker, who could expound33 the Talmud and play the fiddle34, but was unable to earn a living. He was marrying Fanny Belcovitch because his parents-in-law would give him free board and lodging35 for a year, and because he liked her. Fanny was a plump, pulpy36 girl, not in the prime of youth. Her complexion37 was fair and her manner lymphatic, and if she was not so well-favored as her sister, she was more amiable38 and pleasant. She could sing sweetly in Yiddish and in English, and had once been a pantomime fairy at ten shillings a week, and had even flourished a cutlass as a midshipman. But she had long since given up the stage, to become her father's right hand woman in the workshop. She made coats from morning till midnight at a big machine with a massive treadle, and had pains in her chest even before she fell in love with Pesach Weingott.
There was a hubbub39 of congratulation (_Mazzoltov, Mazzoltov_, good luck), and a palsy of handshaking, when the contract was signed. Remarks, grave and facetious40, flew about in Yiddish, with phrases of Polish and Russian thrown in for auld41 lang syne42, and cups and jugs43 were broken in reminder44 of the transiency of things mortal. The Belcovitches had been saving up their already broken crockery for the occasion. The hope was expressed that Mr. and Mrs. Belcovitch would live to see "rejoicings" on their other daughter, and to see their daughters' daughters under the _Chuppah_, or wedding-canopy46.
Becky's hardened cheek blushed under the oppressive jocularity. Everybody spoke47 Yiddish habitually48 at No. 1 Royal Street, except the younger generation, and that spoke it to the elder.
"I always said, no girl of mine should marry a Dutchman." It was a dominant49 thought of Mr. Belcovitch's, and it rose spontaneously to his lips at this joyful50 moment. Next to a Christian51, a Dutch Jew stood lowest in the gradation of potential sons-in-law. Spanish Jews, earliest arrivals by way of Holland, after the Restoration, are a class apart, and look down on the later imported _Ashkenazim_, embracing both Poles and Dutchmen in their impartial52 contempt. But this does not prevent the Pole and the Dutchman from despising each other. To a Dutch or Russian Jew, the "Pullack," or Polish Jew, is a poor creature; and scarce anything can exceed the complacency with which the "Pullack" looks down upon the "Litvok" or Lithuanian, the degraded being whose Shibboleth53 is literally54 Sibboleth, and who says "ee" where rightly constituted persons say "oo." To mimic55 the mincing56 pronunciation of the "Litvok" affords the "Pullack" a sense of superiority almost equalling that possessed57 by the English Jew, whose mispronunciation of the Holy Tongue is his title to rank far above all foreign varieties. Yet a vein58 of brotherhood59 runs beneath all these feelings of mutual60 superiority; like the cliqueism which draws together old clo' dealers61, though each gives fifty per cent, more than any other dealer62 in the trade. The Dutch foregather in a district called "The Dutch Tenters;" they eat voraciously63, and almost monopolize64 the ice-cream, hot pea, diamond-cutting, cucumber, herring, and cigar trades. They are not so cute as the Russians. Their women are distinguished65 from other women by the flaccidity of their bodices; some wear small woollen caps and sabots. When Esther read in her school-books that the note of the Dutch character was cleanliness, she wondered. She looked in vain for the scrupulously66 scoured67 floors and the shining caps and faces. Only in the matter of tobacco-smoke did the Dutch people she knew live up to the geographical68 "Readers."
German Jews gravitate to Polish and Russian; and French Jews mostly stay in France. _Ici on ne parle pas Francais_, is the only lingual69 certainty in the London Ghetto71, which is a cosmopolitan72 quarter.
"I always said no girl of mine should marry a Dutchman." Mr. Belcovitch spoke as if at the close of a long career devoted to avoiding Dutch alliances, forgetting that not even one of his daughters was yet secure.
"Nor any girl of mine," said Mrs. Belcovitch, as if starting a separate proposition. "I would not trust a Dutchman with my medicine-bottle, much less with my Alte or my Becky. Dutchmen were not behind the door when the Almighty73 gave out noses, and their deceitfulness is in proportion to their noses."
The company murmured assent75, and one gentleman, with a rather large organ, concealed76 it in a red cotton handkerchief, trumpeting77 uneasily.
"The Holy One, blessed be He, has given them larger noses than us," said the _Maggid_, "because they have to talk through them so much."
A guffaw78 greeted this sally. The _Maggid's_ wit was relished79 even when not coming from the pulpit. To the outsider this disparagement80 of the Dutch nose might have seemed a case of pot calling kettle black. The _Maggid_ poured himself out a glass of rum, under cover of the laughter, and murmuring "Life to you." in Hebrew, gulped81 it down, and added, "They oughtn't to call it the Dutch tongue, but the Dutch nose."
"Yes, I always wonder how they can understand one another," said Mrs. Belcovitch, "with their _chatuchayacatigewesepoopa_." She laughed heartily82 over her onomatopoetic addition to the Yiddish vocabulary, screwing up her nose to give it due effect. She was a small sickly-looking woman, with black eyes, and shrivelled skin, and the wig26 without which no virtuous83 wife is complete. For a married woman must sacrifice her tresses on the altar of home, lest she snare84 other men with such sensuous85 baits. As a rule, she enters into the spirit of the self-denying ordinance86 so enthusiastically as to become hideous87 hastily in every other respect. It is forgotten that a husband is also a man. Mrs. Belcovitch's head was not completely shaven and shorn, for a lower stratum88 of an unmatched shade of brown peeped out in front of the _shaitel_, not even coinciding as to the route of the central parting.
Meantime Pesach Weingott and Alte (Fanny) Belcovitch held each other's hand, guiltily conscious of Batavian corpuscles in the young man's blood. Pesach had a Dutch uncle, but as he had never talked like him Alte alone knew. Alte wasn't her real name, by the way, and Alte was the last person in the world to know what it was. She was the Belcovitches' first successful child; the others all died before she was born. Driven frantic89 by a fate crueller than barrenness, the Belcovitches consulted an old Polish Rabbi, who told them they displayed too much fond solicitude90 for their children, provoking Heaven thereby91; in future, they were to let no one but themselves know their next child's name, and never to whisper it till the child was safely married. In such wise, Heaven would not be incessantly92 reminded of the existence of their dear one, and would not go out of its way to castigate93 them. The ruse94 succeeded, and Alte was anxiously waiting to change both her names under the _Chuppah_, and to gratify her life-long curiosity on the subject. Meantime, her mother had been calling her "Alte," or "old 'un," which sounded endearing to the child, but grated on the woman arriving ever nearer to the years of discretion95. Occasionally, Mrs. Belcovitch succumbed96 to the prevailing97 tendency, and called her "Fanny," just as she sometimes thought of herself as Mrs. Belcovitch, though her name was Kosminski. When Alte first went to school in London, the Head Mistress said, "What's your name?" The little "old 'un" had not sufficient English to understand the question, but she remembered that the Head Mistress had made the same sounds to the preceding applicant98, and, where some little girls would have put their pinafores to their eyes and cried, Fanny showed herself full of resource. As the last little girl, though patently awe-struck, had come off with flying colors, merely by whimpering "Fanny Belcovitch," Alte imitated these sounds as well as she was able.
"Fanny Belcovitch, did you say?" said the Head Mistress, pausing with arrested pen.
Alte nodded her flaxen poll vigorously.
The Head Mistress turned to an assistant.
"Isn't it astonishing how names repeat themselves? Two girls, one after the other, both with exactly the same name."
They were used to coincidences in the school, where, by reason of the tribal102 relationship of the pupils, there was a great run on some half-a-dozen names. Mr. Kosminski took several years to understand that Alte had disowned him. When it dawned upon him he was not angry, and acquiesced103 in his fate. It was the only domestic detail in which he had allowed himself to be led by his children. Like his wife, Chayah, he was gradually persuaded into the belief that he was a born Belcovitch, or at least that Belcovitch was Kosminski translated into English.
Blissfully unconscious of the Dutch taint70 in Pesach Weingott, Bear Belcovitch bustled104 about in reckless hospitality. He felt that engagements were not every-day events, and that even if his whole half-sovereign's worth of festive105 provision was swallowed up, he would not mind much. He wore a high hat, a well-preserved black coat, with a cutaway waistcoat, showing a quantity of glazed106 shirtfront and a massive watch chain. They were his Sabbath clothes, and, like the Sabbath they honored, were of immemorial antiquity107. The shirt served him for seven Sabbaths, or a week of Sabbaths, being carefully folded after each. His boots had the Sabbath polish. The hat was the one he bought when he first set up as a _Baal Habaas_ or respectable pillar of the synagogue; for even in the smallest _Chevra_ the high hat comes next in sanctity to the Scroll108 of the Law, and he who does not wear it may never hope to attain109 to congregational dignities. The gloss110 on that hat was wonderful, considering it had been out unprotected in all winds and weathers. Not that Mr. Belcovitch did not possess an umbrella. He had two,--one of fine new silk, the other a medley111 of broken ribs112 and cotton rags. Becky had given him the first to prevent the family disgrace of the spectacle of his promenades113 with the second. But he would not carry the new one on week-days because it was too good. And on Sabbaths it is a sin to carry any umbrella. So Becky's self-sacrifice was vain, and her umbrella stood in the corner, a standing114 gratification to the proud possessor. Kosminski had had a hard fight for his substance, and was not given to waste. He was a tall, harsh-looking man of fifty, with grizzled hair, to whom life meant work, and work meant money, and money meant savings115. In Parliamentary Blue-Books, English newspapers, and the Berner Street Socialistic Club, he was called a "sweater," and the comic papers pictured him with a protuberant116 paunch and a greasy117 smile, but he had not the remotest idea that he was other than a God-fearing, industrious118, and even philanthropic citizen. The measure that had been dealt to him he did but deal to others. He saw no reason why immigrant paupers119 should not live on a crown a week while he taught them how to handle a press-iron or work a sewing machine. They were much better off than in Poland. He would have been glad of such an income himself in those terrible first days of English life when he saw his wife and his two babes starving before his eyes, and was only precluded120 from investing a casual twopence in poison by ignorance of the English name for anything deadly. And what did he live on now? The fowl121, the pint122 of haricot beans, and the haddocks which Chayah purchased for the Sabbath overlapped123 into the middle of next week, a quarter of a pound of coffee lasted the whole week, the grounds being decocted till every grain of virtue124 was extracted. Black bread and potatoes and pickled herrings made up the bulk of the every-day diet No, no one could accuse Bear Belcovitch of fattening125 on the entrails of his employees. The furniture was of the simplest and shabbiest,--no aesthetic127 instinct urged the Kosminskis to overpass128 the bare necessities of existence, except in dress. The only concessions129 to art were a crudely-colored _Mizrach_ on the east wall, to indicate the direction towards which the Jew should pray, and the mantelpiece mirror which was bordered with yellow scalloped paper (to save the gilt) and ornamented130 at each corner with paper roses that bloomed afresh every Passover. And yet Bear Belcovitch had lived in much better style in Poland, possessing a brass wash-hand basin, a copper131 saucepan, silver spoons, a silver consecration132 beaker, and a cupboard with glass doors, and he frequently adverted133 to their fond memories. But he brought nothing away except his bedding, and that was pawned134 in Germany on the route. When he arrived in London he had with him three groschen and a family.
"What do you think, Pesach," said Becky, as soon as she could get at her prospective135 brother-in-law through the barriers of congratulatory countrymen. "The stuff that came through there"--she pointed136 to the discolored fragment of ceiling--"was soup. That silly little Esther spilt all she got from the kitchen."
"_Achi-nebbich_, poor little thing," cried Mrs. Kosminski, who was in a tender mood, "very likely it hungers them sore upstairs. The father is out of work."
"Knowest thou what, mother," put in Fanny. "Suppose we give them our soup. Aunt Leah has just fetched it for us. Have we not a special supper to-night?"
"Oh, he won't notice it. I don't think he knows the soup kitchen opens to-night. Let me, mother."
And Fanny, letting Pesach's hand go, slipped out to the room that served as a kitchen, and bore the still-steaming pot upstairs. Pesach, who had pursued her, followed with some hunks of bread and a piece of lighted candle, which, while intended only to illumine the journey, came in handy at the terminus. And the festive company grinned and winked138 when the pair disappeared, and made jocular quotations139 from the Old Testament140 and the Rabbis. But the lovers did not kiss when they came out of the garret of the Ansells; their eyes were wet, and they went softly downstairs hand in hand, feeling linked by a deeper love than before.
Thus did Providence141 hand over the soup the Belcovitches took from old habit to a more necessitous quarter, and demonstrate in double sense that Charity never faileth. Nor was this the only mulct which Providence exacted from the happy father, for later on a townsman of his appeared on the scene in a long capote, and with a grimy woe-begone expression. He was a "greener" of the greenest order, having landed at the docks only a few hours ago, bringing over with him a great deal of luggage in the shape of faith in God, and in the auriferous character of London pavements. On arriving in England, he gave a casual glance at the metropolis142 and demanded to be directed to a synagogue wherein to shake himself after the journey. His devotions over, he tracked out Mr. Kosminski, whose address on a much-creased bit of paper had been his talisman143 of hope during the voyage. In his native town, where the Jews groaned144 beneath divers145 and sore oppressions, the fame of Kosminski, the pioneer, the Croesus, was a legend. Mr. Kosminski was prepared for these contingencies146. He went to his bedroom, dragged out a heavy wooden chest from under the bed, unlocked it and plunged147 his hand into a large dirty linen148 bag, full of coins. The instinct of generosity149 which was upon him made him count out forty-eight of them. He bore them to the "greener" in over-brimming palms and the foreigner, unconscious how much he owed to the felicitous150 coincidence of his visit with Fanny's betrothal151, saw fortune visibly within his grasp. He went out, his heart bursting with gratitude152, his pocket with four dozen farthings. They took him in and gave him hot soup at a Poor Jews' Shelter, whither his townsman had directed him. Kosminski returned to the banqueting room, thrilling from head to foot with the approval of his conscience. He patted Becky's curly head and said:
"Well, Becky, when shall we be dancing at your wedding?"
Becky shook her curls. Her young men could not have a poorer opinion of one another than Becky had of them all. Their homage153 pleased her, though it did not raise them in her esteem154. Lovers grew like blackberries--only more so; for they were an evergreen155 stock. Or, as her mother put it in her coarse, peasant manner. _Chasanim_ were as plentiful156 as the street-dogs. Becky's beaux sat on the stairs before she was up and became early risers in their love for her, each anxious to be the first to bid their Penelope of the buttonholes good morrow. It was said that Kosminski's success as a "sweater" was due to his beauteous Becky, the flower of sartorial157 youth gravitating to the work-room of this East London Laban. What they admired in Becky was that there was so much of her. Still it was not enough to go round, and though Becky might keep nine lovers in hand without fear of being set down as a flirt158, a larger number of tailors would have been less consistent with prospective monogamy.
"I'm not going to throw myself away like Fanny," said she confidentially159 to Pesach Weingott in the course of the evening. He smiled apologetically. "Fanny always had low views," continued Becky. "But I always said I would marry a gentleman."
"And I dare say," answered Pesach, stung into the retort, "Fanny could marry a gentlemen, too, if she wanted."
Becky's idea of a gentleman was a clerk or a school-master, who had no manual labor160 except scribbling161 or flogging. In her matrimonial views Becky was typical. She despised the status of her parents and looked to marry out of it. They for their part could not understand the desire to be other than themselves.
"I don't say Fanny couldn't," she admitted. "All I say is, nobody could call this a luck-match."
"Ah, thou hast me too many flies in thy nose," reprovingly interposed Mrs. Belcovitch, who had just crawled up. "Thou art too high-class."
Becky tossed her head. "I've got a new dolman," she said, turning to one of her young men who was present by special grace. "You should see me in it. I look noble."
"Yes," said Mrs. Belcovitch proudly. "It shines in the sun."
"Is it like the one Bessie Sugarman's got?" inquired the young man.
"Bessie Sugarman!" echoed Becky scornfully. "She gets all her things from the tallyman. She pretends to be so grand, but all her jewelry is paid for at so much a week."
"So long as it is paid for," said Fanny, catching162 the words and turning a happy face on her sister.
"Not so jealous, Alte," said her mother. "When I shall win on the lottery163, I will buy thee also a dolman."
Almost all the company speculated on the Hamburg lottery, which, whether they were speaking Yiddish or English, they invariably accentuated164 on the last syllable100. When an inhabitant of the Ghetto won even his money back, the news circulated like wild-fire, and there was a rush to the agents for tickets. The chances of sudden wealth floated like dazzling Will o' the Wisps on the horizon, illumining the gray perspectives of the future. The lottery took the poor ticket-holders out of themselves, and gave them an interest in life apart from machine-cotton, lasts or tobacco-leaf. The English laborer165, who has been forbidden State Lotteries166, relieves the monotony of existence by an extremely indirect interest in the achievements of a special breed of horses.
"_Nu_, Pesach, another glass of rum," said Mr. Belcovitch genially167 to his future son-in-law and boarder.
"Yes, I will," said Pesach. "After all, this is the first time I've got engaged."
The rum was of Mr. Belcovitch's own manufacture; its ingredients were unknown, but the fame of it travelled on currents of air to the remotest parts of the house. Even the inhabitants of the garrets sniffed168 and thought of turpentine. Pesach swallowed the concoction169, murmuring "To life" afresh. His throat felt like the funnel170 of a steamer, and there were tears in his eyes when he put down the glass.
"Ah, that was good," he murmured.
"Not like thy English drinks, eh?" said Mr. Belcovitch.
"England!" snorted Pesach in royal disdain171. "What a country! Daddle-doo is a language and ginger-beer a liquor."
"Daddle doo" was Pesach's way of saying "That'll do." It was one of the first English idioms he picked up, and its puerility172 made him facetious. It seemed to smack173 of the nursery; when a nation expressed its soul thus, the existence of a beverage174 like ginger-beer could occasion no further surprise.
"You shan't have anything stronger than ginger-beer when we're married," said Fanny laughingly. "I am not going to have any drinking.'"
"But I'll get drunk on ginger-beer," Pesach laughed back.
"You can't," Fanny said, shaking her large fond smile to and fro. "By my health, not."
"Ha! Ha! Ha! Can't even get _shikkur_ on it. What a liquor!"
In the first Anglo-Jewish circles with which Pesach had scraped acquaintance, ginger-beer was the prevalent drink; and, generalizing almost as hastily as if he were going to write a book on the country, he concluded that it was the national beverage. He had long since discovered his mistake, but the drift of the discussion reminded Becky of a chance for an arrow.
"On the day when you sit for joy, Pesach," she said slily. "I shall send you a valentine."
Pesach colored up and those in the secret laughed; the reference was to another of Pesach's early ideas. Some mischievous176 gossip had heard him arguing with another Greener outside a stationer's shop blazing with comic valentines. The two foreigners were extremely puzzled to understand what these monstrosities portended177; Pesach, however, laid it down that the microcephalous gentlemen with tremendous legs, and the ladies five-sixths head and one-sixth skirt, were representations of the English peasants who lived in the little villages up country.
"When I sit for joy," retorted Pesach, "it will not be the season for valentines."
"Won't it though!" cried Becky, shaking her frizzly black curls. "You'll be a pair of comic 'uns."
"All right, Becky," said Alte good-humoredly. "Your turn'll come, and then we shall have the laugh of you."
"Never," said Becky. "What do I want with a man?"
"Don't make _schnecks_," said Fanny.
"It's not affectation. I mean it. What's the good of the men who visit father? There isn't a gentleman among them."
"Ah, wait till I win on the lottery," said the special young man.
"Then, vy not take another eighth of a ticket?" inquired Sugarman the _Shadchan_, who seemed to spring from the other end of the room. He was one of the greatest Talmudists in London--a lean, hungry-looking man, sharp of feature and acute of intellect. "Look at Mrs. Robinson--I've just won her over twenty pounds, and she only gave me two pounds for myself. I call it a _cherpah_--a shame."
"Yes, but you stole another two pounds," said Becky.
"How do you know?" said Sugarman startled.
The published list of the winning numbers was so complex in construction that Sugarman had ample opportunities of bewildering his clients.
"I von't sell you no more tickets," said Sugarman with righteous indignation.
"A fat lot I care," said Becky, tossing her curls.
"Thou carest for nothing," said Mrs. Belcovitch, seizing the opportunity for maternal180 admonition. "Thou hast not even brought me my medicine to-night. Thou wilt181 find, it on the chest of drawers in the bedroom."
Becky shook herself impatiently.
"I will go," said the special young man.
"No, it is not beautiful that a young man shall go into my bedroom in my absence," said Mrs. Belcovitch blushing.
Becky left the room.
"Thou knowest," said Mrs. Belcovitch, addressing herself to the special young man, "I suffer greatly from my legs. One is a thick one, and one a thin one."
The young man sighed sympathetically.
"Whence comes it?" he asked.
"Do I know? I was born so. My poor lambkin (this was the way Mrs. Belcovitch always referred to her dead mother) had well-matched legs. If I had Aristotle's head I might be able to find out why my legs are inferior. And so one goes about."
The reverence182 for Aristotle enshrined in Yiddish idiom is probably due to his being taken by the vulgar for a Jew. At any rate the theory that Aristotle's philosophy was Jewish was advanced by the mediaeval poet, Jehuda Halevi, and sustained by Maimonides. The legend runs that when Alexander went to Palestine, Aristotle was in his train. At Jerusalem the philosopher had sight of King Solomon's manuscripts, and he forthwith edited them and put his name to them. But it is noteworthy that the story was only accepted by those Jewish scholars who adopted the Aristotelian philosophy, those who rejected it declaring that Aristotle in his last testament had admitted the inferiority of his writings to the Mosaic184, and had asked that his works should be destroyed.
When Becky returned with the medicine, Mrs. Belcovitch mentioned that it was extremely nasty, and offered the young man a taste, whereat he rejoiced inwardly, knowing he had found favor in the sight of the parent. Mrs. Belcovitch paid a penny a week to her doctor, in sickness or health, so that there was a loss on being well. Becky used to fill up the bottles with water to save herself the trouble of going to fetch the medicine, but as Mrs. Belcovitch did not know this it made no difference.
"Thou livest too much indoors," said Mr. Sugarman, in Yiddish.
"Shall I march about in this weather? Black and slippery, and the Angel going a-hunting?"
"Ah!" said Mr. Sugarman, relapsing proudly into the vernacular185, "Ve English valk about in all vedders."
Meanwhile Moses Ansell had returned from evening service and sat down, unquestioningly, by the light of an unexpected candle to his expected supper of bread and soup, blessing186 God for both gifts. The rest of the family had supped. Esther had put the two youngest children to bed (Rachel had arrived at years of independent undressing), and she and Solomon were doing home-lessons in copy-books, the candle saving them from a caning187 on the morrow. She held her pen clumsily, for several of her fingers were swathed in bloody188 rags tied with cobweb. The grandmother dozed189 in her chair. Everything was quiet and peaceful, though the atmosphere was chilly190. Moses ate his supper with a great smacking191 of the lips and an equivalent enjoyment192. When it was over he sighed deeply, and thanked God in a prayer lasting193 ten minutes, and delivered in a rapid, sing-song manner. He then inquired of Solomon whether he had said his evening prayer. Solomon looked out of the corner of his eyes at his _Bube_, and, seeing she was asleep on the bed, said he had, and kicked Esther significantly but hurtfully under the table.
"Then you had better say your night-prayer."
There was no getting out of that; so Solomon finished his sum, writing the figures of the answer rather faint, in case he should discover from another boy next morning that they were wrong; then producing a Hebrew prayer-book from his inky cotton satchel194, he made a mumbling195 sound, with occasional enthusiastic bursts of audible coherence196, for a length of time proportioned to the number of pages. Then he went to bed. After that, Esther put her grandmother to bed and curled herself up at her side. She lay awake a long time, listening to the quaint175 sounds emitted by her father in his study of Rashi's commentary on the Book of Job, the measured drone blending not disagreeably with the far-away sounds of Pesach Weingott's fiddle.
Pesach's fiddle played the accompaniment to many other people's thoughts. The respectable master-tailor sat behind his glazed shirt-front beating time with his foot. His little sickly-looking wife stood by his side, nodding her bewigged head joyously197. To both the music brought the same recollection--a Polish market-place.
Belcovitch, or rather Kosminski, was the only surviving son of a widow. It was curious, and suggestive of some grim law of heredity, that his parents' elder children had died off as rapidly as his own, and that his life had been preserved by some such expedient198 as Alte's. Only, in his case the Rabbi consulted had advised his father to go into the woods and call his new-born son by the name of the first animal that he saw. This was why the future sweater was named Bear. To the death of his brothers and sisters, Bear owed his exemption199 from military service. He grew up to be a stalwart, well-set-up young baker200, a loss to the Russian army.
Bear went out in the market-place one fine day and saw Chayah in maiden201 ringlets. She was a slim, graceful202 little thing, with nothing obviously odd about the legs, and was buying onions. Her back was towards him, but in another moment she turned her head and Bear's. As he caught the sparkle of her eye, he felt that without her life were worse than the conscription. Without delay, he made inquiries203 about the fair young vision, and finding its respectability unimpeachable204, he sent a _Shadchan_ to propose to her, and they were affianced: Chayah's father undertaking205 to give a dowry of two hundred gulden. Unfortunately, he died suddenly in the attempt to amass206 them, and Chayah was left an orphan207. The two hundred gulden were nowhere to be found. Tears rained down both Chayah's cheeks, on the one side for the loss of her father, on the other for the prospective loss of a husband. The Rabbi was full of tender sympathy. He bade Bear come to the dead man's chamber208. The venerable white-bearded corpse209 lay on the bed, swathed in shroud210, and _Talith_ or praying-shawl.
"Bear," he said, "thou knowest that I saved thy life."
"Yea, of a surety," said the Rabbi. "Thy mother hath not told thee, but all thy brothers and sisters perished, and, lo! thou alone art preserved! It was I that called thee a beast."
Bear bowed his head in grateful silence.
"Bear," said the Rabbi, "thou didst contract to wed45 this dead man's daughter, and he did contract to pay over to thee two hundred gulden.''
"Truth." replied Bear.
"Bear," said the Rabbi, "there are no two hundred gulden."
A shadow flitted across Bear's face, but he said nothing.
"Bear," said the Rabbi again, "there are not two gulden."
Bear did not move.
"Bear," said the Rabbi, "leave thou my side, and go over to the other side of the bed, facing me."
So Bear left his side and went over to the other side of the bed facing him.
"Bear," said the Rabbi, "give me thy right hand."
The Rabbi stretched his own right hand across the bed, but Bear kept his obstinately212 behind his back.
"Bear," repeated the Rabbi, in tones of more penetrating213 solemnity, "give me thy right hand."
"Because," said the Rabbi, and his tones trembled, and it seemed to him that the dead man's face grew sterner. "Because I wish thee to swear across the body of Chayah's father that thou wilt marry her."
"Nay, that I will not," said Bear.
"Will not?" repeated the Rabbi, his lips growing white with pity.
"Nay, I will not take any oaths," said Bear, hotly. "I love the maiden, and I will keep what I have promised. But, by my father's soul, I will take no oaths!"
"Bear," said the Rabbi in a choking voice, "give me thy hand. Nay, not to swear by, but to grip. Long shalt thou live, and the Most High shall prepare thy seat in Gan Iden."
So the old man and the young clasped hands across the corpse, and the simple old Rabbi perceived a smile flickering215 over the face of Chayah's father. Perhaps it was only a sudden glint of sunshine.
The wedding-day drew nigh, but lo! Chayah was again dissolved in tears.
"I cannot follow the custom of the maidens," wept Chayah. "Thou knowest we are blood-poor, and I have not the wherewithal to buy my Bear a _Talith_ for his wedding-day; nay, not even to make him a _Talith_-bag. And when our father (the memory of the righteous for a blessing) was alive, I had dreamed of making my _chosan_ a beautiful velvet216 satchel lined with silk, and I would have embroidered217 his initials thereon in gold, and sewn him beautiful white corpse-clothes. Perchance he will rely upon me for his wedding _Talith_, and we shall be shamed in the sight of the congregation."
"Nay, dry thine eyes, my sister," said Naphtali. "Thou knowest that my Leah presented me with a costly218 _Talith_ when I led her under the canopy. Wherefore, do thou take my praying-shawl and lend it to Bear for the wedding-day, so that decency219 may be preserved in the sight of the congregation. The young man has a great heart, and he will understand."
So Chayah, blushing prettily220, lent Bear Naphtali's delicate _Talith_, and Beauty and the Beast made a rare couple under the wedding canopy. Chayah wore the gold medallion and the three rows of pearls which her lover had sent her the day before. And when the Rabbi had finished blessing husband and wife, Naphtali spake the bridegroom privily221, and said:
"Pass me my _Talith_ back."
But Bear answered: "Nay, nay; the _Talith_ is in my keeping, and there it shall remain."
"But it is my _Talith_," protested Naphtali in an angry whisper. "I only lent it to Chayah to lend it thee."
"It concerns me not." Bear returned in a decisive whisper. "The _Talith_ is my due and I shall keep it. What! Have I not lost enough by marrying thy sister? Did not thy father, peace be upon him, promise me two hundred gulden with her?"
Naphtali retired222 discomfited223. But he made up his mind not to go without some compensation. He resolved that during the progress of the wedding procession conducting the bridegroom to the chamber of the bride, he would be the man to snatch off Bear's new hat. Let the rest of the riotous224 escort essay to snatch whatever other article of the bridegroom's attire225 they would, the hat was the easiest to dislodge, and he, Naphtali, would straightway reimburse226 himself partially227 with that. But the instant the procession formed itself, behold228 the shifty bridegroom forthwith removed his hat, and held it tightly under his arm.
"Nay, nay, put it on," arose from every mouth.
But Bear closed his and marched mutely on.
"Heathen," cried the Rabbi. "Put on your hat."
The attempt to enforce the religious sanction failed too. Bear had spent several gulden upon his head-gear, and could not see the joke. He plodded229 towards his blushing Chayah through a tempest of disapprobation.
Throughout life Bear Belcovitch retained the contrariety of character that marked his matrimonial beginnings. He hated to part with money; he put off paying bills to the last moment, and he would even beseech230 his "hands" to wait a day or two longer for their wages. He liked to feel that he had all that money in his possession. Yet "at home," in Poland, he had always lent money to the officers and gentry231, when they ran temporarily short at cards. They would knock him up in the middle of the night to obtain the means of going on with the game. And in England he never refused to become surety for a loan when any of his poor friends begged the favor of him. These loans ran from three to five pounds, but whatever the amount, they were very rarely paid. The loan offices came down upon him for the money. He paid it without a murmur74, shaking his head compassionately232 over the poor ne'er do wells, and perhaps not without a compensating233 consciousness of superior practicality.
Only, if the borrower had neglected to treat him to a glass of rum to clench234 his signing as surety, the shake of Bear's head would become more reproachful than sympathetic, and he would mutter bitterly: "Five pounds and not even a drink for the money." The jewelry he generously lavished235 on his womankind was in essence a mere99 channel of investment for his savings, avoiding the risks of a banking-account and aggregating236 his wealth in a portable shape, in obedience237 to an instinct generated by centuries of insecurity. The interest on the sums thus invested was the gratification of the other oriental instinct for gaudiness238.
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1
catastrophe
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| n.大灾难，大祸 | |
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2
pitcher
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| n.(有嘴和柄的)大水罐；(棒球)投手 | |
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3
decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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4
neutralize
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| v.使失效、抵消，使中和 | |
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insipidity
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| n.枯燥无味，清淡，无精神；无生气状 | |
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peremptory
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| adj.紧急的，专横的，断然的 | |
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7
buxom
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| adj.（妇女）丰满的，有健康美的 | |
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8
singeing
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| v.浅表烧焦( singe的现在分词 )；（毛发）燎，烧焦尖端[边儿]；烧毛 | |
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9
belle
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| n.靓女 | |
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devoted
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| adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的 | |
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primrose
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| n.樱草，最佳部分， | |
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12
evading
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| 逃避( evade的现在分词 )； 避开； 回避； 想不出 | |
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13
jewelry
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| n.（jewllery）（总称）珠宝 | |
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14
insolence
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| n.傲慢；无礼；厚颜；傲慢的态度 | |
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15
Buddhism
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| n.佛教（教义） | |
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16
wince
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| n.畏缩，退避，（因痛苦，苦恼等)面部肌肉抽动；v.畏缩，退缩，退避 | |
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17
invective
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| n.痛骂，恶意抨击 | |
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18
expended
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| v.花费( expend的过去式和过去分词 )；使用（钱等）做某事；用光；耗尽 | |
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19
metaphor
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| n.隐喻，暗喻 | |
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20
minor
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| adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修 | |
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21
tremor
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| n.震动，颤动，战栗，兴奋，地震 | |
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22
recess
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| n.短期休息，壁凹（墙上装架子，柜子等凹处） | |
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23
earrings
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| n.耳环( earring的名词复数 )；耳坠子 | |
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24
transformation
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| n.变化；改造；转变 | |
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25
brass
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| n.黄铜；黄铜器，铜管乐器 | |
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26
wig
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| n.假发 | |
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27
wigs
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| n.假发，法官帽( wig的名词复数 ) | |
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28
skull
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| n.头骨；颅骨 | |
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29
raisins
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| n.葡萄干( raisin的名词复数 ) | |
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30
breach
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| n.违反，不履行；破裂；vt.冲破，攻破 | |
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31
repented
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| 对（自己的所为）感到懊悔或忏悔( repent的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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32
cant
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| n.斜穿，黑话，猛扔 | |
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33
expound
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| v.详述；解释；阐述 | |
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34
fiddle
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| n.小提琴；vi.拉提琴；不停拨弄，乱动 | |
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35
lodging
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| n.寄宿，住所；(大学生的)校外宿舍 | |
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36
pulpy
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| 果肉状的，多汁的，柔软的； 烂糊； 稀烂 | |
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37
complexion
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| n.肤色；情况，局面；气质，性格 | |
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38
amiable
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| adj.和蔼可亲的，友善的，亲切的 | |
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39
hubbub
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| n.嘈杂；骚乱 | |
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40
facetious
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| adj.轻浮的，好开玩笑的 | |
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41
auld
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| adj.老的，旧的 | |
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42
syne
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| adv.自彼时至此时，曾经 | |
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43
jugs
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| （有柄及小口的）水壶( jug的名词复数 ) | |
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44
reminder
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| n.提醒物，纪念品；暗示，提示 | |
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45
wed
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| v.娶，嫁，与…结婚 | |
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46
canopy
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| n.天篷，遮篷 | |
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47
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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48
habitually
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| ad.习惯地，通常地 | |
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49
dominant
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| adj.支配的，统治的；占优势的；显性的；n.主因，要素，主要的人(或物)；显性基因 | |
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50
joyful
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| adj.欢乐的，令人欢欣的 | |
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51
Christian
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| adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒 | |
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52
impartial
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| adj.(in,to)公正的，无偏见的 | |
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53
shibboleth
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| n.陈规陋习；口令；暗语 | |
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54
literally
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| adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实 | |
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55
mimic
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| v.模仿，戏弄；n.模仿他人言行的人 | |
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56
mincing
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| adj.矫饰的；v.切碎；切碎 | |
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57
possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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58
vein
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| n.血管，静脉；叶脉，纹理；情绪；vt.使成脉络 | |
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59
brotherhood
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| n.兄弟般的关系，手中情谊 | |
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60
mutual
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| adj.相互的，彼此的；共同的，共有的 | |
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61
dealers
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| n.商人( dealer的名词复数 )；贩毒者；毒品贩子；发牌者 | |
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62
dealer
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| n.商人，贩子 | |
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63
voraciously
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| adv.贪婪地 | |
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64
monopolize
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| v.垄断，独占，专营 | |
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65
distinguished
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| adj.卓越的，杰出的，著名的 | |
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66
scrupulously
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| adv.一丝不苟地；小心翼翼地，多顾虑地 | |
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67
scoured
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| 走遍（某地）搜寻（人或物）( scour的过去式和过去分词 )； （用力）刷； 擦净； 擦亮 | |
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68
geographical
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| adj.地理的；地区(性)的 | |
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69
lingual
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| adj.语言的；舌的 | |
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70
taint
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| n.污点；感染；腐坏；v.使感染；污染 | |
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71
ghetto
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| n.少数民族聚居区，贫民区 | |
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72
cosmopolitan
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| adj.世界性的，全世界的，四海为家的，全球的 | |
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73
almighty
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| adj.全能的，万能的；很大的，很强的 | |
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74
murmur
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| n.低语，低声的怨言；v.低语，低声而言 | |
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75
assent
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| v.批准，认可；n.批准，认可 | |
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76
concealed
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| a.隐藏的，隐蔽的 | |
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77
trumpeting
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| 大声说出或宣告（trumpet的现在分词形式） | |
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78
guffaw
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| n.哄笑；突然的大笑 | |
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79
relished
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| v.欣赏( relish的过去式和过去分词 )；从…获得乐趣；渴望 | |
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80
disparagement
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| n.轻视，轻蔑 | |
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81
gulped
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| v.狼吞虎咽地吃，吞咽( gulp的过去式和过去分词 )；大口地吸（气）；哽住 | |
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82
heartily
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| adv.衷心地，诚恳地，十分，很 | |
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83
virtuous
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| adj.有品德的，善良的，贞洁的，有效力的 | |
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84
snare
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| n.陷阱，诱惑，圈套；（去除息肉或者肿瘤的）勒除器；响弦，小军鼓；vt.以陷阱捕获，诱惑 | |
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85
sensuous
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| adj.激发美感的；感官的，感觉上的 | |
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86
ordinance
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| n.法令；条令；条例 | |
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87
hideous
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| adj.丑陋的，可憎的，可怕的，恐怖的 | |
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88
stratum
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| n.地层，社会阶层 | |
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89
frantic
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| adj.狂乱的，错乱的，激昂的 | |
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90
solicitude
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| n.焦虑 | |
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91
thereby
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| adv.因此，从而 | |
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92
incessantly
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| ad.不停地 | |
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93
castigate
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| v.谴责；惩治 | |
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94
ruse
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| n.诡计，计策；诡计 | |
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95
discretion
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| n.谨慎；随意处理 | |
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96
succumbed
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| 不再抵抗（诱惑、疾病、攻击等）( succumb的过去式和过去分词 )； 屈从； 被压垮； 死 | |
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97
prevailing
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| adj.盛行的；占优势的；主要的 | |
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98
applicant
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| n.申请人，求职者，请求者 | |
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99
mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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100
syllable
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| n.音节；vt.分音节 | |
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101
syllables
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| n.音节( syllable的名词复数 ) | |
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102
tribal
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| adj.部族的，种族的 | |
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103
acquiesced
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| v.默认，默许( acquiesce的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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104
bustled
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| 闹哄哄地忙乱，奔忙( bustle的过去式和过去分词 )； 催促 | |
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105
festive
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| adj.欢宴的，节日的 | |
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106
glazed
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| adj.光滑的，像玻璃的；上过釉的；呆滞无神的v.装玻璃( glaze的过去式)；上釉于，上光；（目光）变得呆滞无神 | |
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107
antiquity
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| n.古老；高龄；古物，古迹 | |
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108
scroll
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| n.卷轴，纸卷；(石刻上的)漩涡 | |
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109
attain
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| vt.达到，获得，完成 | |
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110
gloss
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| n.光泽，光滑；虚饰；注释；vt.加光泽于；掩饰 | |
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111
medley
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| n.混合 | |
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112
ribs
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| n.肋骨( rib的名词复数 )；（船或屋顶等的）肋拱；肋骨状的东西；（织物的）凸条花纹 | |
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113
promenades
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| n.人行道( promenade的名词复数 )；散步场所；闲逛v.兜风( promenade的第三人称单数 ) | |
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114
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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115
savings
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| n.存款，储蓄 | |
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116
protuberant
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| adj.突出的，隆起的 | |
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117
greasy
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| adj. 多脂的，油脂的 | |
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118
industrious
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| adj.勤劳的，刻苦的，奋发的 | |
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119
paupers
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| n.穷人( pauper的名词复数 )；贫民；贫穷 | |
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120
precluded
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| v.阻止( preclude的过去式和过去分词 )；排除；妨碍；使…行不通 | |
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121
fowl
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| n.家禽，鸡，禽肉 | |
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122
pint
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| n.品脱 | |
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123
overlapped
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|
| _adj.重叠的v.部分重叠( overlap的过去式和过去分词 )；（物体）部份重叠；交叠；（时间上）部份重叠 | |
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124
virtue
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| n.德行，美德；贞操；优点；功效，效力 | |
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125
fattening
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| adj.（食物）要使人发胖的v.喂肥( fatten的现在分词 )；养肥（牲畜）；使（钱）增多；使（公司）升值 | |
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126
ails
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| v.生病( ail的第三人称单数 )；感到不舒服；处境困难；境况不佳 | |
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127
aesthetic
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|
| adj.美学的，审美的，有美感 | |
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128
overpass
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| n.天桥，立交桥 | |
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129
concessions
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| n.（尤指由政府或雇主给予的）特许权( concession的名词复数 )；承认；减价；（在某地的）特许经营权 | |
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130
ornamented
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| adj.花式字体的v.装饰，点缀，美化( ornament的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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131
copper
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| n.铜；铜币；铜器；adj.铜(制)的；(紫)铜色的 | |
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132
consecration
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| n.供献，奉献，献祭仪式 | |
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133
adverted
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| 引起注意（advert的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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134
pawned
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| v.典当，抵押( pawn的过去式和过去分词 )；以（某事物）担保 | |
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135
prospective
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| adj.预期的，未来的，前瞻性的 | |
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136
pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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137
dubiously
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| adv.可疑地，怀疑地 | |
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138
winked
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| v.使眼色( wink的过去式和过去分词 )；递眼色（表示友好或高兴等）；（指光）闪烁；闪亮 | |
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139
quotations
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| n.引用( quotation的名词复数 )；[商业]行情（报告）；（货物或股票的）市价；时价 | |
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140
testament
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| n.遗嘱；证明 | |
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141
providence
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| n.深谋远虑，天道，天意；远见；节约；上帝 | |
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142
metropolis
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| n.首府；大城市 | |
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143
talisman
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| n.避邪物，护身符 | |
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144
groaned
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| v.呻吟( groan的过去式和过去分词 )；发牢骚；抱怨；受苦 | |
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145
divers
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| adj.不同的；种种的 | |
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146
contingencies
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| n.偶然发生的事故，意外事故( contingency的名词复数 )；以备万一 | |
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147
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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148
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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149
generosity
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| n.大度，慷慨，慷慨的行为 | |
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150
felicitous
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|
| adj.恰当的，巧妙的；n.恰当，贴切 | |
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151
betrothal
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| n. 婚约, 订婚 | |
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152
gratitude
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| adj.感激，感谢 | |
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153
homage
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| n.尊敬，敬意，崇敬 | |
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154
esteem
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| n.尊敬，尊重；vt.尊重，敬重；把…看作 | |
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155
evergreen
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| n.常青树；adj.四季常青的 | |
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156
plentiful
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|
| adj.富裕的，丰富的 | |
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157
sartorial
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| adj.裁缝的 | |
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158
flirt
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| v.调情，挑逗，调戏；n.调情者，卖俏者 | |
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159
confidentially
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| ad.秘密地，悄悄地 | |
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160
labor
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| n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦 | |
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161
scribbling
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| n.乱涂[写]胡[乱]写的文章[作品]v.潦草的书写( scribble的现在分词 )；乱画；草草地写；匆匆记下 | |
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162
catching
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| adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住 | |
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163
lottery
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| n.抽彩；碰运气的事，难于算计的事 | |
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164
accentuated
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| v.重读( accentuate的过去式和过去分词 )；使突出；使恶化；加重音符号于 | |
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165
laborer
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| n.劳动者，劳工 | |
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166
lotteries
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| n.抽彩给奖法( lottery的名词复数 )；碰运气的事；彩票；彩券 | |
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167
genially
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| adv.亲切地，和蔼地；快活地 | |
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168
sniffed
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| v.以鼻吸气，嗅，闻( sniff的过去式和过去分词 )；抽鼻子（尤指哭泣、患感冒等时出声地用鼻子吸气）；抱怨，不以为然地说 | |
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169
concoction
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| n.调配(物)；谎言 | |
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170
funnel
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| n.漏斗；烟囱；v.汇集 | |
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171
disdain
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| n.鄙视，轻视；v.轻视，鄙视，不屑 | |
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172
puerility
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| n.幼稚，愚蠢；幼稚、愚蠢的行为、想法等 | |
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173
smack
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| vt.拍，打，掴；咂嘴；vi.含有…意味；n.拍 | |
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174
beverage
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| n.(水，酒等之外的)饮料 | |
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175
quaint
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| adj.古雅的，离奇有趣的，奇怪的 | |
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176
mischievous
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| adj.调皮的，恶作剧的，有害的，伤人的 | |
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177
portended
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| v.预示( portend的过去式和过去分词 )；预兆；给…以警告；预告 | |
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178
specially
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| adv.特定地；特殊地；明确地 | |
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179
sapiently
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180
maternal
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| adj.母亲的，母亲般的，母系的，母方的 | |
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181
wilt
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| v.(使)植物凋谢或枯萎；(指人)疲倦，衰弱 | |
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182
reverence
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| n.敬畏，尊敬，尊严；Reverence:对某些基督教神职人员的尊称；v.尊敬，敬畏，崇敬 | |
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183
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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184
mosaic
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| n./adj.镶嵌细工的，镶嵌工艺品的，嵌花式的 | |
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185
vernacular
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| adj.地方的，用地方语写成的；n.白话；行话；本国语；动植物的俗名 | |
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186
blessing
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| n.祈神赐福；祷告；祝福，祝愿 | |
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187
caning
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| n.鞭打 | |
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188
bloody
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| adj.非常的的；流血的；残忍的；adv.很；vt.血染 | |
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189
dozed
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| v.打盹儿，打瞌睡( doze的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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190
chilly
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| adj.凉快的，寒冷的 | |
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191
smacking
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| 活泼的，发出响声的，精力充沛的 | |
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192
enjoyment
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| n.乐趣；享有；享用 | |
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193
lasting
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| adj.永久的，永恒的；vbl.持续，维持 | |
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194
satchel
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| n.(皮或帆布的)书包 | |
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195
mumbling
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| 含糊地说某事，叽咕，咕哝( mumble的现在分词 ) | |
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196
coherence
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| n.紧凑；连贯；一致性 | |
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197
joyously
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| ad.快乐地, 高兴地 | |
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198
expedient
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| adj.有用的，有利的；n.紧急的办法，权宜之计 | |
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199
exemption
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| n.豁免，免税额，免除 | |
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200
baker
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| n.面包师 | |
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201
maiden
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| n.少女，处女；adj.未婚的，纯洁的，无经验的 | |
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202
graceful
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| adj.优美的，优雅的；得体的 | |
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203
inquiries
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| n.调查( inquiry的名词复数 )；疑问；探究；打听 | |
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204
unimpeachable
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| adj.无可指责的；adv.无可怀疑地 | |
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205
undertaking
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| n.保证，许诺，事业 | |
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206
amass
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| vt.积累，积聚 | |
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207
orphan
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| n.孤儿；adj.无父母的 | |
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208
chamber
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| n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所 | |
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209
corpse
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| n.尸体，死尸 | |
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210
shroud
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| n.裹尸布，寿衣；罩，幕；vt.覆盖，隐藏 | |
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211
nay
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| adv.不；n.反对票，投反对票者 | |
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212
obstinately
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| ad.固执地，顽固地 | |
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213
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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214
sullenly
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| 不高兴地，绷着脸，忧郁地 | |
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215
flickering
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| adj.闪烁的，摇曳的，一闪一闪的 | |
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216
velvet
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| n.丝绒，天鹅绒；adj.丝绒制的，柔软的 | |
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217
embroidered
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| adj．绣花的 | |
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218
costly
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| adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的 | |
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219
decency
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| n.体面，得体，合宜，正派，庄重 | |
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220
prettily
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| adv.优美地；可爱地 | |
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221
privily
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| adv.暗中，秘密地 | |
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222
retired
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| adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的 | |
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discomfited
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| v.使为难( discomfit的过去式和过去分词)；使狼狈；使挫折；挫败 | |
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224
riotous
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| adj.骚乱的；狂欢的 | |
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225
attire
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| v.穿衣，装扮[同]array；n.衣着；盛装 | |
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226
reimburse
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| v.补偿，付还 | |
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227
partially
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| adv.部分地，从某些方面讲 | |
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228
behold
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| v.看，注视，看到 | |
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229
plodded
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| v.沉重缓慢地走（路）( plod的过去式和过去分词 )；努力从事；沉闷地苦干；缓慢进行（尤指艰难枯燥的工作） | |
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230
beseech
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| v.祈求，恳求 | |
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231
gentry
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| n.绅士阶级，上层阶级 | |
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232
compassionately
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| adv.表示怜悯地，有同情心地 | |
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233
compensating
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| 补偿，补助，修正 | |
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234
clench
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| vt.捏紧（拳头等），咬紧（牙齿等），紧紧握住 | |
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235
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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236
aggregating
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| 总计达…( aggregate的现在分词 )； 聚集，集合； （使）聚集 | |
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237
obedience
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| n.服从，顺从 | |
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238
gaudiness
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| n.华美，俗丽的美 | |
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