You have heard, I dare say, of the hunter and sportsman's saint and protector, St. Hubert, and of the noble stag, which appeared to him in the forest, with the holy cross between his antlers. I have paid my homage3 to that saint every year in good fellowship, and seen this stag a thousand times, either painted in churches, or embroidered4 in the stars of his knights5; so that, upon the honour and conscience of a good sportsman, I hardly know whether there may not have been formerly6, or whether there are not such crossed stags even at this present day. But let me rather tell what I have seen myself. Having one day spent all my shot, I found myself unexpectedly in presence of a stately stag, looking at me as unconcernedly as if he had known of my empty pouches7. I charged immediately with powder, and upon it a good handful of cherry-stones, for I had sucked the fruit as far as the hurry would permit. Thus I let fly at him, and hit him just on the middle of the forehead, between his antlers; it stunned8 him—he staggered—yet he made off. A year or two after, being with a party in the same forest, I beheld9 a noble stag with a fine full grown cherry-tree above ten feet high between his antlers. I immediately recollected10 my former adventure, looked upon him as my property, and brought him to the ground by one shot, which at once gave me the haunch and cherry-sauce; for the tree was covered with the richest fruit, the like I had never tasted before. Who knows but some passionate11 holy sportsman, or sporting abbot or bishop12, may have shot, planted, and fixed13 the cross between the antlers of St. Hubert's stag, in a manner similar to this? They always have been, and still are, famous for plantations14 of crosses and antlers; and in a case of distress15 or dilemma16, which too often happens to keen sportsmen, one is apt to grasp at anything for safety, and to try any expedient17 rather than miss the favourable18 opportunity. I have many times found myself in that trying situation.
What do you say of this, for example? Daylight and powder were spent one day in a Polish forest. When I was going home a terrible bear made up to me in great speed, with open mouth, ready to fall upon me; all my pockets were searched in an instant for powder and ball, but in vain; I found nothing but two spare flints: one I flung with all my might into the monster's open jaws19, down his throat. It gave him pain and made him turn about, so that I could level the second at his back-door, which, indeed, I did with wonderful success; for it flew in, met the first flint in the stomach, struck fire, and blew up the bear with a terrible explosion. Though I came safe off that time, yet I should not wish to try it again, or venture against bears with no other ammunition20.
There is a kind of fatality21 in it. The fiercest and most dangerous animals generally came upon me when defenceless, as if they had a notion or an instinctive22 intimation of it. Thus a frightful23 wolf rushed upon me so suddenly, and so close, that I could do nothing but follow mechanical instinct, and thrust my fist into his open mouth. For safety's sake I pushed on and on, till my arm was fairly in up to the shoulder. How should I disengage myself? I was not much pleased with my awkward situation—with a wolf face to face; our ogling24 was not of the most pleasant kind. If I withdrew my arm, then the animal would fly the more furiously upon me; that I saw in his flaming eyes. In short, I laid hold of his tail, turned him inside out like a glove, and flung him to the ground, where I left him.
The same expedient would not have answered against a mad dog, which soon after came running against me in a narrow street at St. Petersburg. Run who can, I thought; and to do this the better, I threw off my fur cloak, and was safe within doors in an instant. I sent my servant for the cloak, and he put it in the wardrobe with my other clothes. The day after I was amazed and frightened by Jack's bawling25, "For God's sake, sir, your fur cloak is mad!" I hastened up to him, and found almost all my clothes tossed about and torn to pieces. The fellow was perfectly26 right in his apprehensions27 about the fur cloak's madness. I saw him myself just then falling upon a fine full-dress suit, which he shook and tossed in an unmerciful manner.
点击收听单词发音
1 dexterity | |
n.(手的)灵巧,灵活 | |
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2 assailed | |
v.攻击( assail的过去式和过去分词 );困扰;质问;毅然应对 | |
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3 homage | |
n.尊敬,敬意,崇敬 | |
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4 embroidered | |
adj.绣花的 | |
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5 knights | |
骑士; (中古时代的)武士( knight的名词复数 ); 骑士; 爵士; (国际象棋中)马 | |
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6 formerly | |
adv.从前,以前 | |
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7 pouches | |
n.(放在衣袋里或连在腰带上的)小袋( pouch的名词复数 );(袋鼠等的)育儿袋;邮袋;(某些动物贮存食物的)颊袋 | |
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8 stunned | |
adj. 震惊的,惊讶的 动词stun的过去式和过去分词 | |
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9 beheld | |
v.看,注视( behold的过去式和过去分词 );瞧;看呀;(叙述中用于引出某人意外的出现)哎哟 | |
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10 recollected | |
adj.冷静的;镇定的;被回忆起的;沉思默想的v.记起,想起( recollect的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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11 passionate | |
adj.热情的,热烈的,激昂的,易动情的,易怒的,性情暴躁的 | |
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12 bishop | |
n.主教,(国际象棋)象 | |
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13 fixed | |
adj.固定的,不变的,准备好的;(计算机)固定的 | |
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14 plantations | |
n.种植园,大农场( plantation的名词复数 ) | |
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15 distress | |
n.苦恼,痛苦,不舒适;不幸;vt.使悲痛 | |
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16 dilemma | |
n.困境,进退两难的局面 | |
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17 expedient | |
adj.有用的,有利的;n.紧急的办法,权宜之计 | |
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18 favourable | |
adj.赞成的,称赞的,有利的,良好的,顺利的 | |
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19 jaws | |
n.口部;嘴 | |
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20 ammunition | |
n.军火,弹药 | |
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21 fatality | |
n.不幸,灾祸,天命 | |
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22 instinctive | |
adj.(出于)本能的;直觉的;(出于)天性的 | |
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23 frightful | |
adj.可怕的;讨厌的 | |
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24 ogling | |
v.(向…)抛媚眼,送秋波( ogle的现在分词 ) | |
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25 bawling | |
v.大叫,大喊( bawl的现在分词 );放声大哭;大声叫出;叫卖(货物) | |
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26 perfectly | |
adv.完美地,无可非议地,彻底地 | |
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27 apprehensions | |
疑惧 | |
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