It was a hushed, tense crowd.
“The poor darlings!” murmured Zuleika, pausing to survey them. “And oh,” she exclaimed, “there won’t be room for all of them in there!”
“You might give an ‘overflow’ performance out here afterwards,” suggested the Duke, grimly.
This idea flashed on her a better. Why not give her performance here and now?—now, so eager was she for contact, as it were, with this crowd; here, by moonlight, in the pretty glow of these paper lanterns. Yes, she said, let it be here and now; and she bade the Duke make the announcement.
“What shall I say?” he asked. “‘Gentlemen, I have the pleasure to announce that Miss Zuleika Dobson, the world-renowned She-Wizard, will now oblige’? Or shall I call them ‘Gents,’ tout1 court?”
She could afford to laugh at his ill-humour. She had his promise of obedience2. She told him to say something graceful3 and simple.
The noise of the violin had ceased. There was not a breath of wind. The crowd in the quadrangle was as still and as silent as the night itself. Nowhere a tremour. And it was borne in on Zuleika that this crowd had one mind as well as one heart—a common resolve, calm and clear, as well as a common passion. No need for her to strengthen the spell now. No waverers here. And thus it came true that gratitude5 was the sole motive6 for her display.
She stood with eyes downcast and hands folded behind her, moonlit in the glow of lanterns, modest to the point of pathos8, while the Duke gracefully9 and simply introduced her to the multitude. He was, he said, empowered by the lady who stood beside him to say that she would be pleased to give them an exhibition of her skill in the art to which she had devoted10 her life—an art which, more potently11 perhaps than any other, touched in mankind the sense of mystery and stirred the faculty12 of wonder; the most truly romantic of all the arts: he referred to the art of conjuring13. It was not too much to say that by her mastery of this art, in which hitherto, it must be confessed, women had made no very great mark, Miss Zuleika Dobson (for such was the name of the lady who stood beside him) had earned the esteem15 of the whole civilised world. And here in Oxford16, and in this College especially, she had a peculiar17 claim to—might he say?—their affectionate regard, inasmuch as she was the grand-daughter of their venerable and venerated18 Warden19.
As the Duke ceased, there came from his hearers a sound like the rustling20 of leaves. In return for it, Zuleika performed that graceful act of subsidence to the verge21 of collapse22 which is usually kept for the delectation of some royal person. And indeed, in the presence of this doomed23 congress, she did experience humility24; for she was not altogether without imagination. But, as she arose from her “bob,” she was her own bold self again, bright mistress of the situation.
It was impossible for her to give her entertainment in full. Some of her tricks (notably the Secret Aquarium25, and the Blazing Ball of Worsted) needed special preparation, and a table fitted with a “servante” or secret tray. The table for to-night’s performance was an ordinary one, brought out from the porter’s lodge26. The MacQuern deposited on it the great casket. Zuleika, retaining him as her assistant, picked nimbly out from their places and put in array the curious appurtenances of her art—the Magic Canister, the Demon27 Egg-Cup, and the sundry28 other vessels29 which, lost property of young Edward Gibbs, had been by a Romanoff transmuted31 from wood to gold, and were now by the moon reduced temporarily to silver.
In a great dense32 semicircle the young men disposed themselves around her. Those who were in front squatted33 down on the gravel34; those who were behind knelt; the rest stood. Young Oxford! Here, in this mass of boyish faces, all fused and obliterated35, was the realisation of that phrase. Two or three thousands of human bodies, human souls? Yet the effect of them in the moonlight was as of one great passive monster.
So was it seen by the Duke, as he stood leaning against the wall, behind Zuleika’s table. He saw it as a monster couchant and enchanted36, a monster that was to die; and its death was in part his own doing. But remorse37 in him gave place to hostility38. Zuleika had begun her performance. She was producing the Barber’s Pole from her mouth. And it was to her that the Duke’s heart went suddenly out in tenderness and pity. He forgot her levity39 and vanity—her wickedness, as he had inwardly called it. He thrilled with that intense anxiety which comes to a man when he sees his beloved offering to the public an exhibition of her skill, be it in singing, acting40, dancing, or any other art. Would she acquit41 herself well? The lover’s trepidation42 is painful enough when the beloved has genius—how should these clods appreciate her? and who set them in judgment43 over her? It must be worse when the beloved has mediocrity. And Zuleika, in conjuring, had rather less than that. Though indeed she took herself quite seriously as a conjurer, she brought to her art neither conscience nor ambition, in any true sense of those words. Since her debut44, she had learned nothing and forgotten nothing. The stale and narrow repertory which she had acquired from Edward Gibbs was all she had to offer; and this, and her marked lack of skill, she eked45 out with the self-same “patter” that had sufficed that impossible young man. It was especially her jokes that now sent shudders46 up the spine47 of her lover, and brought tears to his eyes, and kept him in a state of terror as to what she would say next. “You see,” she had exclaimed lightly after the production of the Barber’s Pole, “how easy it is to set up business as a hairdresser.” Over the Demon Egg-Cup she said that the egg was “as good as fresh.” And her constantly reiterated48 catch-phrase—“Well, this is rather queer!”—was the most distressing49 thing of all.
The Duke blushed to think what these men thought of her. Would love were blind! These her lovers were doubtless judging her. They forgave her—confound their impudence50!—because of her beauty. The banality51 of her performance was an added grace. It made her piteous. Damn them, they were sorry for her. Little Noaks was squatting52 in the front row, peering up at her through his spectacles. Noaks was as sorry for her as the rest of them. Why didn’t the earth yawn and swallow them all up?
Our hero’s unreasoning rage was fed by a not unreasonable53 jealousy54. It was clear to him that Zuleika had forgotten his existence. To-day, as soon as he had killed her love, she had shown him how much less to her was his love than the crowd’s. And now again it was only the crowd she cared for. He followed with his eyes her long slender figure as she threaded her way in and out of the crowd, sinuously55, confidingly56, producing a penny from one lad’s elbow, a threepenny-bit from between another’s neck and collar, half a crown from another’s hair, and always repeating in that flute-like voice of hers “Well, this is rather queer!” Hither and thither57 she fared, her neck and arms gleaming white from the luminous58 blackness of her dress, in the luminous blueness of the night. At a distance, she might have been a wraith59; or a breeze made visible; a vagrom breeze, warm and delicate, and in league with death.
Yes, that is how she might have seemed to a casual observer. But to the Duke there was nothing weird60 about her: she was radiantly a woman; a goddess; and his first and last love. Bitter his heart was, but only against the mob she wooed, not against her for wooing it. She was cruel? All goddesses are that. She was demeaning herself? His soul welled up anew in pity, in passion.
Yonder, in the Hall, the concert ran its course, making a feeble incidental music to the dark emotions of the quadrangle. It ended somewhat before the close of Zuleika’s rival show; and then the steps from the Hall were thronged61 by ladies, who, with a sprinkling of dons, stood in attitudes of refined displeasure and vulgar curiosity. The Warden was just awake enough to notice the sea of undergraduates. Suspecting some breach62 of College discipline, he retired63 hastily to his own quarters, for fear his dignity might be somehow compromised.
Was there ever, I wonder, an historian so pure as not to have wished just once to fob off on his readers just one bright fable64 for effect? I find myself sorely tempted65 to tell you that on Zuleika, as her entertainment drew to a close, the spirit of the higher thaumaturgy descended66 like a flame and found in her a worthy67 agent. Specious68 Apollyon whispers to me “Where would be the harm? Tell your readers that she cast a seed on the ground, and that therefrom presently arose a tamarind-tree which blossomed and bore fruit and, withering69, vanished. Or say she conjured70 from an empty basket of osier a hissing71 and bridling72 snake. Why not? Your readers would be excited, gratified. And you would never be found out.” But the grave eyes of Clio are bent73 on me, her servant. Oh pardon, madam: I did but waver for an instant. It is not too late to tell my readers that the climax74 of Zuleika’s entertainment was only that dismal75 affair, the Magic Canister.
It she took from the table, and, holding it aloft, cried “Now, before I say good night, I want to see if I have your confidence. But you mustn’t think this is the confidence trick!” She handed the vessel30 to The MacQuern, who, looking like an overgrown acolyte76, bore it after her as she went again among the audience. Pausing before a man in the front row, she asked him if he would trust her with his watch. He held it out to her. “Thank you,” she said, letting her fingers touch his for a moment before she dropped it into the Magic Canister. From another man she borrowed a cigarette-case, from another a neck-tie, from another a pair of sleeve-links, from Noaks a ring—one of those iron rings which are supposed, rightly or wrongly, to alleviate77 rheumatism78. And when she had made an ample selection, she began her return-journey to the table.
On her way she saw in the shadow of the wall the figure of her forgotten Duke. She saw him, the one man she had ever loved, also the first man who had wished definitely to die for her; and she was touched by remorse. She had said she would remember him to her dying day; and already... But had he not refused her the wherewithal to remember him—the pearls she needed as the clou of her dear collection, the great relic79 among relics80?
“Would you trust me with your studs?” she asked him, in a voice that could be heard throughout the quadrangle, with a smile that was for him alone.
There was no help for it. He quickly extricated81 from his shirt-front the black pearl and the pink. Her thanks had a special emphasis.
The MacQuern placed the Magic Canister before her on the table. She pressed the outer sheath down on it. Then she inverted82 it so that the contents fell into the false lid; then she opened it, looked into it, and, exclaiming “Well, this is rather queer!” held it up so that the audience whose intelligence she was insulting might see there was nothing in it.
“Accidents,” she said, “will happen in the best-regulated canisters! But I think there is just a chance that I shall be able to restore your property. Excuse me for a moment.” She then shut the canister, released the false lid, made several passes over it, opened it, looked into it and said with a flourish “Now I can clear my character!” Again she went among the crowd, attended by The MacQuern; and the loans—priceless now because she had touched them—were in due course severally restored. When she took the canister from her acolyte, only the two studs remained in it.
Not since the night of her flitting from the Gibbs’ humble83 home had Zuleika thieved. Was she a back-slider? Would she rob the Duke, and his heir-presumptive, and Tanville-Tankertons yet unborn? Alas84, yes. But what she now did was proof that she had qualms85. And her way of doing it showed that for legerdemain86 she had after all a natural aptitude87 which, properly trained, might have won for her an honourable88 place in at least the second rank of contemporary prestidigitators. With a gesture of her disengaged hand, so swift as to be scarcely visible, she unhooked her ear-rings and “passed” them into the canister. This she did as she turned away from the crowd, on her way to the Duke. At the same moment, in a manner technically89 not less good, though morally deplorable, she withdrew the studs and “vanished” them into her bosom90.
Was it triumph, or shame, or of both a little that so flushed her cheeks as she stood before the man she had robbed? Or was it the excitement of giving a present to the man she had loved? Certain it is that the nakedness of her ears gave a new look to her face—a primitive91 look, open and sweetly wild. The Duke saw the difference, without noticing the cause. She was more adorable than ever. He blenched92 and swayed as in proximity93 to a loveliness beyond endurance. His heart cried out within him. A sudden mist came over his eyes.
“Keep them!” he whispered.
“I shall,” she whispered back, almost shyly. “But these, these are for you.” And she took one of his hands, and, holding it open, tilted96 the canister over it, and let drop into it the two ear-rings, and went quickly away.
As she re-appeared at the table, the crowd gave her a long ovation97 of gratitude for her performance—an ovation all the more impressive because it was solemn and subdued98. She curtseyed again and again, not indeed with the timid simplicity99 of her first obeisance100 (so familiar already was she with the thought of the crowd’s doom), but rather in the manner of a prima donna—chin up, eyelids101 down, all teeth manifest, and hands from the bosom flung ecstatically wide asunder102.
You know how, at a concert, a prima donna who has just sung insists on shaking hands with the accompanist, and dragging him forward, to show how beautiful her nature is, into the applause that is for herself alone. And your heart, like mine, has gone out to the wretched victim. Even so would you have felt for The MacQuern when Zuleika, on the implied assumption that half the credit was his, grasped him by the wrist, and, continuing to curtsey, would not release him till the last echoes of the clapping had died away.
The ladies on the steps of the Hall moved down into the quadrangle, spreading their resentment103 like a miasma104. The tragic105 passion of the crowd was merged106 in mere107 awkwardness. There was a general movement towards the College gate.
Zuleika was putting her tricks back into the great casket, The MacQuern assisting her. The Scots, as I have said, are a shy race, but a resolute108 and a self-seeking. This young chieftain had not yet recovered from what his heroine had let him in for. But he did not lose the opportunity of asking her to lunch with him to-morrow.
“Delighted,” she said, fitting the Demon Egg-Cup into its groove109. Then, looking up at him, “Are you popular?” she asked. “Have you many friends?” He nodded. She said he must invite them all.
This was a blow to the young man, who, at once thrifty110 and infatuate, had planned a luncheon111 a deux. “I had hoped—” he began.
“Vainly,” she cut him short.
There was a pause. “Whom shall I invite, then?”
“I don’t know any of them. How should I have preferences?” She remembered the Duke. She looked round and saw him still standing112 in the shadow of the wall. He came towards her. “Of course,” she said hastily to her host, “you must ask HIM.”
The MacQuern complied. He turned to the Duke and told him that Miss Dobson had very kindly113 promised to lunch with him to-morrow. “And,” said Zuleika, “I simply WON’T unless you will.”
The Duke looked at her. Had it not been arranged that he and she should spend his last day together? Did it mean nothing that she had given him her ear-rings? Quickly drawing about him some remnants of his tattered114 pride, he hid his wound, and accepted the invitation.
“It seems a shame,” said Zuleika to The MacQuern, “to ask you to bring this great heavy box all the way back again. But—”
Those last poor rags of pride fell away now. The Duke threw a prehensile115 hand on the casket, and, coldly glaring at The MacQuern, pointed116 with his other hand towards the College gate. He, and he alone, was going to see Zuleika home. It was his last night on earth, and he was not to be trifled with. Such was the message of his eyes. The Scotsman’s flashed back a precisely117 similar message.
Men had fought for Zuleika, but never in her presence. Her eyes dilated118. She had not the slightest impulse to throw herself between the two antagonists119. Indeed, she stepped back, so as not to be in the way. A short sharp fight—how much better that is than bad blood! She hoped the better man would win; and (do not misjudge her) she rather hoped this man was the Duke. It occurred to her—a vague memory of some play or picture—that she ought to be holding aloft a candelabra of lit tapers120; no, that was only done indoors, and in the eighteenth century. Ought she to hold a sponge? Idle, these speculations121 of hers, and based on complete ignorance of the manners and customs of undergraduates. The Duke and The MacQuern would never have come to blows in the presence of a lady. Their conflict was necessarily spiritual.
And it was the Scotsman, Scots though he was, who had to yield. Cowed by something demoniac in the will-power pitted against his, he found himself retreating in the direction indicated by the Duke’s forefinger122.
As he disappeared into the porch, Zuleika turned to the Duke. “You were splendid,” she said softly. He knew that very well. Does the stag in his hour of victory need a diploma from the hind7? Holding in his hands the malachite casket that was the symbol of his triumph, the Duke smiled dictatorially123 at his darling. He came near to thinking of her as a chattel124. Then with a pang125 he remembered his abject126 devotion to her. Abject no longer though! The victory he had just won restored his manhood, his sense of supremacy127 among his fellows. He loved this woman on equal terms. She was transcendent? So was he, Dorset. To-night the world had on its moonlit surface two great ornaments—Zuleika and himself. Neither of the pair could be replaced. Was one of them to be shattered? Life and love were good. He had been mad to think of dying.
No word was spoken as they went together to Salt Cellar. She expected him to talk about her conjuring tricks. Could he have been disappointed? She dared not inquire; for she had the sensitiveness, though no other quality whatsoever128, of the true artist. She felt herself aggrieved129. She had half a mind to ask him to give her back her ear-rings. And by the way, he hadn’t yet thanked her for them! Well, she would make allowances for a condemned130 man. And again she remembered the omen14 of which he had told her. She looked at him, and then up into the sky. “This same moon,” she said to herself, “sees the battlements of Tankerton. Does she see two black owls131 there? Does she hear them hooting132?”
They were in Salt Cellar now. “Melisande!” she called up to her window.
“Hush!” said the Duke, “I have something to say to you.”
“Well, you can say it all the better without that great box in your hands. I want my maid to carry it up to my room for me.” And again she called out for Melisande, and received no answer. “I suppose she’s in the house-keeper’s room or somewhere. You had better put the box down inside the door. She can bring it up later.”
She pushed open the postern; and the Duke, as he stepped across the threshold, thrilled with a romantic awe133. Re-emerging a moment later into the moonlight, he felt that she had been right about the box: it was fatal to self-expression; and he was glad he had not tried to speak on the way from the Front Quad4: the soul needs gesture; and the Duke’s first gesture now was to seize Zuleika’s hands in his.
She was too startled to move. “Zuleika!” he whispered. She was too angry to speak, but with a sudden twist she freed her wrists and darted134 back.
He laughed. “You are afraid of me. You are afraid to let me kiss you, because you are afraid of loving me. This afternoon—here—I all but kissed you. I mistook you for Death. I was enamoured of Death. I was a fool. That is what YOU are, you incomparable darling: you are a fool. You are afraid of life. I am not. I love life. I am going to live for you, do you hear?”
She stood with her back to the postern. Anger in her eyes had given place to scorn. “You mean,” she said, “that you go back on your promise?”
“You will release me from it.”
“You mean you are afraid to die?”
“You will not be guilty of my death. You love me.”
“Don’t, Zuleika! Miss Dobson, don’t! Pull yourself together! Reflect! I implore136 you... You will repent137...”
Slowly she closed the postern on him.
“You will repent. I shall wait here, under your window...”
And he hadn’t even kissed her! That was his first thought. He ground his heel in the gravel.
And he had hurt her wrists! This was Zuleika’s first thought, as she came into her bedroom. Yes, there were two red marks where he had held her. No man had ever dared to lay hands on her. With a sense of contamination, she proceeded to wash her hands thoroughly139 with soap and water. From time to time such words as “cad” and “beast” came through her teeth.
She dried her hands and flung herself into a chair, arose and went pacing the room. So this was the end of her great night! What had she done to deserve it? How had he dared?
He had told her she was afraid of life. Life!—to have herself caressed141 by HIM; humbly142 to devote herself to being humbly doted on; to be the slave of a slave; to swim in a private pond of treacle—ugh! If the thought weren’t so cloying143 and degrading, it would be laughable.
For a moment her hands hovered144 over those two golden and gemmed145 volumes encasing Bradshaw and the A.B.C. Guide. To leave Oxford by an early train, leave him to drown unthanked, unlooked at... But this could not be done without slighting all those hundreds of other men ... And besides...
Again that sound on the window-pane. This time it startled her. There seemed to be no rain. Could it have been—little bits of gravel? She darted noiselessly to the window, pushed it open, and looked down. She saw the upturned face of the Duke. She stepped back, trembling with fury, staring around her. Inspiration came.
She thrust her head out again. “Are you there?” she whispered.
“Yes, yes. I knew you would come.”
“Wait a moment, wait!”
The water-jug146 stood where she had left it, on the floor by the wash-stand. It was almost full, rather heavy. She bore it steadily147 to the window, and looked out.
“Come a little nearer!” she whispered.
The upturned and moonlit face obeyed her. She saw its lips forming the word “Zuleika.” She took careful aim.
Full on the face crashed the cascade148 of moonlit water, shooting out on all sides like the petals149 of some great silver anemone150.
She laughed shrilly151 as she leapt back, letting the empty jug roll over on the carpet. Then she stood tense, crouching152, her hands to her mouth, her eyes askance, as much as to say “Now I’ve done it!” She listened hard, holding her breath. In the stillness of the night was a faint sound of dripping water, and presently of footsteps going away. Then stillness unbroken.
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tout
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| v.推销，招徕；兜售；吹捧，劝诱 | |
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obedience
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| n.服从，顺从 | |
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graceful
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| adj.优美的，优雅的；得体的 | |
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quad
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| n.四方院；四胞胎之一；v.在…填补空铅 | |
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gratitude
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| adj.感激，感谢 | |
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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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hind
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| adj.后面的，后部的 | |
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pathos
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| n.哀婉，悲怆 | |
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gracefully
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| ad.大大方方地；优美地 | |
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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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potently
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faculty
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| n.才能；学院，系；(学院或系的)全体教学人员 | |
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conjuring
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| n.魔术 | |
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omen
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| n.征兆，预兆；vt.预示 | |
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esteem
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| n.尊敬，尊重；vt.尊重，敬重；把…看作 | |
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Oxford
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| n.牛津（英国城市） | |
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peculiar
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| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
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venerated
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| 敬重（某人或某事物），崇敬( venerate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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warden
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| n.监察员，监狱长，看守人，监护人 | |
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rustling
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| n. 瑟瑟声，沙沙声 adj. 发沙沙声的 | |
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verge
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| n.边，边缘；v.接近，濒临 | |
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collapse
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| vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷 | |
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doomed
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| 命定的 | |
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humility
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| n.谦逊，谦恭 | |
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aquarium
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| n.水族馆，养鱼池，玻璃缸 | |
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lodge
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| v.临时住宿，寄宿，寄存，容纳；n.传达室，小旅馆 | |
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demon
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| n.魔鬼，恶魔 | |
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sundry
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| adj.各式各样的，种种的 | |
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vessels
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| n.血管( vessel的名词复数 )；船；容器；（具有特殊品质或接受特殊品质的）人 | |
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vessel
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| n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管 | |
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transmuted
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| v.使变形，使变质，把…变成…( transmute的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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dense
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| a.密集的，稠密的，浓密的；密度大的 | |
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squatted
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| v.像动物一样蹲下( squat的过去式和过去分词 )；非法擅自占用（土地或房屋）；为获得其所有权；而占用某片公共用地。 | |
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gravel
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| n.砂跞；砂砾层；结石 | |
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obliterated
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| v.除去( obliterate的过去式和过去分词 )；涂去；擦掉；彻底破坏或毁灭 | |
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enchanted
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| adj. 被施魔法的，陶醉的，入迷的 动词enchant的过去式和过去分词 | |
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remorse
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| n.痛恨，悔恨，自责 | |
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38
hostility
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| n.敌对，敌意；抵制［pl.］交战，战争 | |
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39
levity
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| n.轻率，轻浮，不稳定，多变 | |
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40
acting
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| n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的 | |
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41
acquit
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| vt.宣判无罪；(oneself)使(自己)表现出 | |
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42
trepidation
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| n.惊恐，惶恐 | |
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43
judgment
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| n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见 | |
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44
debut
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| n.首次演出，初次露面 | |
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45
eked
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| v.（靠节省用量）使…的供应持久( eke的过去式和过去分词 )；节约使用；竭力维持生计；勉强度日 | |
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46
shudders
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| n.颤动，打颤，战栗( shudder的名词复数 )v.战栗( shudder的第三人称单数 )；发抖；（机器、车辆等）突然震动；颤动 | |
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47
spine
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| n.脊柱，脊椎；(动植物的)刺；书脊 | |
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48
reiterated
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| 反复地说，重申( reiterate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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49
distressing
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| a.使人痛苦的 | |
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50
impudence
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| n.厚颜无耻；冒失；无礼 | |
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51
banality
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| n.陈腐；平庸；陈词滥调 | |
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52
squatting
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| v.像动物一样蹲下( squat的现在分词 )；非法擅自占用（土地或房屋）；为获得其所有权；而占用某片公共用地。 | |
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53
unreasonable
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| adj.不讲道理的，不合情理的，过度的 | |
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54
jealousy
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| n.妒忌，嫉妒，猜忌 | |
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55
sinuously
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| 弯曲的，蜿蜒的 | |
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56
confidingly
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| adv.信任地 | |
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57
thither
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| adv.向那里；adj.在那边的，对岸的 | |
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58
luminous
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| adj.发光的，发亮的；光明的；明白易懂的；有启发的 | |
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59
wraith
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| n.幽灵；骨瘦如柴的人 | |
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60
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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61
thronged
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| v.成群，挤满( throng的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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62
breach
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| n.违反，不履行；破裂；vt.冲破，攻破 | |
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63
retired
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| adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的 | |
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64
fable
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| n.寓言；童话；神话 | |
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65
tempted
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| v.怂恿（某人）干不正当的事；冒…的险（tempt的过去分词） | |
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66
descended
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| a.为...后裔的，出身于...的 | |
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67
worthy
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| adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的 | |
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68
specious
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| adj.似是而非的；adv.似是而非地 | |
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69
withering
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| 使人畏缩的，使人害羞的，使人难堪的 | |
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70
conjured
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| 用魔术变出( conjure的过去式和过去分词 )； 祈求，恳求； 变戏法； （变魔术般地） 使…出现 | |
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71
hissing
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| n. 发嘶嘶声, 蔑视 动词hiss的现在分词形式 | |
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72
bridling
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| 给…套龙头( bridle的现在分词 )； 控制； 昂首表示轻蔑（或怨忿等）； 动怒，生气 | |
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73
bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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74
climax
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| n.顶点；高潮；v.(使)达到顶点 | |
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75
dismal
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| adj.阴沉的，凄凉的，令人忧郁的，差劲的 | |
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76
acolyte
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| n.助手，侍僧 | |
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77
alleviate
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| v.减轻，缓和，缓解(痛苦等) | |
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78
rheumatism
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| n.风湿病 | |
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79
relic
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| n.神圣的遗物，遗迹，纪念物 | |
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80
relics
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| [pl.］n.遗物，遗迹，遗产；遗体，尸骸 | |
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81
extricated
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| v.使摆脱困难，脱身( extricate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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82
inverted
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| adj.反向的，倒转的v.使倒置，使反转( invert的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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83
humble
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| adj.谦卑的，恭顺的；地位低下的；v.降低，贬低 | |
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84
alas
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| int.唉(表示悲伤、忧愁、恐惧等) | |
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85
qualms
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| n.不安；内疚 | |
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86
legerdemain
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| n.戏法，诈术 | |
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87
aptitude
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| n.(学习方面的)才能，资质，天资 | |
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88
honourable
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| adj.可敬的；荣誉的，光荣的 | |
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89
technically
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| adv.专门地，技术上地 | |
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90
bosom
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| n.胸，胸部；胸怀；内心；adj.亲密的 | |
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91
primitive
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| adj.原始的；简单的；n.原(始)人，原始事物 | |
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92
blenched
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| v.（因惊吓而）退缩，惊悸( blench的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）变白，（使）变苍白 | |
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93
proximity
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| n.接近，邻近 | |
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94
rattled
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| 慌乱的，恼火的 | |
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95
dice
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| n.骰子；vt.把（食物）切成小方块，冒险 | |
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96
tilted
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| v. 倾斜的 | |
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97
ovation
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| n.欢呼，热烈欢迎，热烈鼓掌 | |
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98
subdued
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| adj. 屈服的，柔和的，减弱的 动词subdue的过去式和过去分词 | |
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99
simplicity
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| n.简单，简易；朴素；直率，单纯 | |
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100
obeisance
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| n.鞠躬，敬礼 | |
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101
eyelids
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| n.眼睑( eyelid的名词复数 )；眼睛也不眨一下；不露声色；面不改色 | |
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102
asunder
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| adj.分离的，化为碎片 | |
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103
resentment
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| n.怨愤，忿恨 | |
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104
miasma
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| n.毒气；不良气氛 | |
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105
tragic
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| adj.悲剧的，悲剧性的，悲惨的 | |
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106
merged
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| （使）混合( merge的过去式和过去分词 )； 相融； 融入； 渐渐消失在某物中 | |
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107
mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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108
resolute
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| adj.坚决的，果敢的 | |
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109
groove
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| n.沟，槽；凹线，（刻出的）线条，习惯 | |
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110
thrifty
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| adj.节俭的；兴旺的；健壮的 | |
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111
luncheon
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| n.午宴，午餐，便宴 | |
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112
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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113
kindly
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| adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地 | |
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114
tattered
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| adj.破旧的，衣衫破的 | |
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115
prehensile
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| adj.（足等）适于抓握的 | |
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116
pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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117
precisely
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| adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地 | |
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118
dilated
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| adj.加宽的，扩大的v.（使某物）扩大，膨胀，张大( dilate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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119
antagonists
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| 对立[对抗] 者，对手，敌手( antagonist的名词复数 )； 对抗肌； 对抗药 | |
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120
tapers
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| （长形物体的）逐渐变窄( taper的名词复数 )； 微弱的光； 极细的蜡烛 | |
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121
speculations
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| n.投机买卖( speculation的名词复数 )；思考；投机活动；推断 | |
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122
forefinger
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| n.食指 | |
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123
dictatorially
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| adv.独裁地，自大地 | |
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124
chattel
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| n.动产；奴隶 | |
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125
pang
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| n.剧痛，悲痛，苦闷 | |
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126
abject
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| adj.极可怜的，卑屈的 | |
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127
supremacy
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| n.至上；至高权力 | |
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128
whatsoever
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| adv.（用于否定句中以加强语气）任何；pron.无论什么 | |
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129
aggrieved
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| adj.愤愤不平的，受委屈的；悲痛的；（在合法权利方面）受侵害的v.令委屈，令苦恼，侵害( aggrieve的过去式)；令委屈，令苦恼，侵害( aggrieve的过去式和过去分词) | |
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130
condemned
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| adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词 | |
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131
owls
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| n.猫头鹰( owl的名词复数 ) | |
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132
hooting
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| （使）作汽笛声响，作汽车喇叭声( hoot的现在分词 )； 倒好儿； 倒彩 | |
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133
awe
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| n.敬畏，惊惧；vt.使敬畏，使惊惧 | |
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134
darted
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| v.投掷，投射( dart的过去式和过去分词 )；向前冲，飞奔 | |
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135
miserable
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| adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的 | |
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136
implore
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| vt.乞求，恳求，哀求 | |
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137
repent
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| v.悔悟，悔改，忏悔，后悔 | |
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138
socket
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| n.窝，穴，孔，插座，插口 | |
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139
thoroughly
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| adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地 | |
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140
cleansing
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| n. 净化(垃圾) adj. 清洁用的 动词cleanse的现在分词 | |
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141
caressed
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| 爱抚或抚摸…( caress的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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142
humbly
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| adv. 恭顺地，谦卑地 | |
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143
cloying
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| adj.甜得发腻的 | |
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144
hovered
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| 鸟( hover的过去式和过去分词 )； 靠近（某事物）； （人）徘徊； 犹豫 | |
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145
gemmed
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| 点缀（gem的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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146
jug
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| n.(有柄，小口，可盛水等的)大壶，罐，盂 | |
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147
steadily
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| adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地 | |
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148
cascade
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| n.小瀑布，喷流；层叠；vi.成瀑布落下 | |
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149
petals
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| n.花瓣( petal的名词复数 ) | |
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150
anemone
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| n.海葵 | |
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151
shrilly
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| 尖声的； 光亮的，耀眼的 | |
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152
crouching
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| v.屈膝，蹲伏( crouch的现在分词 ) | |
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