Miss Cotton did not care what characteristics were denoted by the affair. She only knew that in her opinion Mr. Egerton had behaved outrageously7, and she went over to the Hamiltons' prepared to maintain the same at the point of her sharp tongue.
"Well, 'Liza," said Mrs. Hamilton, as soon as the dressmaker was settled in her corner of the wide, breezy kitchen surrounded by billows of light blue silk, "what do you think o' the minister changing his mind in such a hurry?"
She did not ask because she was seeking information, for Miss Cotton had left no one in doubt as to her views on the subject, but only as a pretext8 for getting launched upon the all-important subject.
Miss Cotton sniffed9 indignantly. "Mighty10 queer, that's all I have to say. He knew as well as we did all along that Splinterin' Andra an' a whole crowd o' old fogies didn't want an organ, an' to think he'd stand up at the very last meetin' an' say it would cause trouble—cause fiddlesticks! I'll bet there's somethin' at the bottom o' all this; mebby some o' you girls knows more about it than I do. Jessie here seems to be gettin' awful thick with him." She glanced sharply around at each young woman, engaged in some household duty.
"That's just to make Don jealous. Jess is awful cute!" said Maggie, who was making intermittent12 attempts to wash the breakfast dishes.
Jessie was accustomed to such attacks, for she was the sweetest-tempered member of the family, with much of her father's grave gentleness, and she received even more than her share of teasing. But her heart was still very sore over her disagreement with Donald, and she bent13 lower over her sewing.
"Be quiet, Mag," said Bella, who was the only one in the Hamilton household who exercised any authority. "Leave Jess alone and go on with your work."
Maggie seated herself complacently14 upon the sewing machine box and swung her dish-towel to and fro. "To tell you the truth, Liza," she said solemnly, "I believe the minister was scared. I think he thought that when Splinterin' Andra got done makin' kindlin' wood o' the organ, he'd make sausage meat o' him, an' if he was in that condition he couldn't marry Jess——"
"Mother, come and make the girls be quiet," pleaded the victim.
"Jess would make a fine minister's wife, though, Liza," continued Maggie, knowing well that every word she uttered would be repeated verbatim to Mrs. Fraser at the earliest possible date. "She takes pious16 fits, doesn't she, mother?"
"Oh, mother Hamilton, you ought to be ashamed to own it, and here's Bella and Jess getting themselves fixed18 to join the church. Shouldn't wonder but I'll be doing something rash like that myself, now that I've turned Christian19 Endeavourer."
"A fine specimen20 of a Christian Endeavorer you are," said Miss Cotton scornfully. "An' you an active member, too!"
"Of course! I wouldn't be in anything where I couldn't be active. It's heaps o' fun."
"My goodness, if you giddy folks had old Mr. Cameron over you, he'd show you how to behave. It's my private opinion the minister don't know a Christian from a wheelbarrow or he wouldn't have all you feather-heads joining his societies."
"That's true, I do believe," agreed Maggie, "or he'd never a' got you for President of the Ladies' Aid, for you know you say heaps more than your prayers!"
"Maggie, you're a caution; do behave!" cried her mother, glancing at Miss Cotton with secret pride to see how she appreciated Maggie's sharp tongue.
"Oh, she's gone daft. Don't listen to her, 'Liza," cried Bella impatiently. "Whatever do you 'spose made Mr. Egerton turn 'round and act the way he did, anyhow?"
Miss Cotton looked mysterious. "I know a good bit more about that chap than I've ever told," she said, nodding her head in a tantalising manner. "I've got a letter over home that might throw some light on the matter." She took up her work again, waiting for this startling piece of intelligence to take effect.
"What in the world is it, 'Liza?" cried Mrs. Hamilton, approaching the sewing machine. "I jist knew by the look o' you when you came in that you'd something in your mind that——"
"That's so, she does look queer," declared Maggie, stopping, with her dish-cloth suspended, to examine Miss Cotton critically. "Now, I've seen 'Liza so often when her mind was empty——"
"Don't listen to her, 'Liza!" cried Jessie, her small mouth twitching21 with laughter. "What were you going to say?"
"Well, if that young gas-bag would shut up for half a minit, I'd tell you something pretty queer about the minister. But, mind you, it's a dead secret, and you must promise——"
There was a chorus of solemn pledges to secrecy22 from the group which collected hastily around the sewing machine. Mrs. Hamilton left her bread-making and came, with floury hands held carefully away from the blue silk, to listen.
Miss Cotton leaned back in her chair and raised her scissors. Such moments as this were her happiest. "Well, I don't pretend to know what made him change his mind so sudden," she said, lowering her voice mysteriously, "for I don't, not any more than that sewing machine; but I do know somethin' about him, that not a soul in Glenoro knows, an' it makes me have some idea why he acts so queer." A solemn silence fell over the listeners.
"I've known it for two whole days, an' never whispered it to a livin' soul!" she added, proud of this achievement in reticence23.
"My! it's a wonder you didn't explode." Maggie's voice somewhat relieved the tension. The narrator paid no heed24.
"Now I guess you won't believe me, but mind you, I seen that fellow before he ever came here. It was when I was in Toronto that fall, visitin' Maria, an' you'd never guess where I seen him, if you was to try from now to the crack o' doom25!"
She resumed her sewing with the most aggravating26 coolness.
"Drunk in the street," suggested Maggie.
"Maggie, it's awful to talk about a minister like that!" cried her mother, weakening her reproof27 with a laugh.
"Where in the world was it, 'Liza?"
Miss Cotton resumed her oratorical28 attitude. "Well, mind you, I never knew myself that I'd ever clapped eyes on him, till night before last, but his face puzzled the senses out o' me ever since he came here. Only I'd heard so much about what old McAlpine looked like, that I thought it was because he looked like him. But if I've told Mrs. Fraser once, I've told her a dozen times that——"
"Well, you mind that fall I went to the Exhibition an' stayed with Maria till near Christmas? My, the sights I did see that time! You girls ought to take a trip to the city now, why——"
"Oh, never mind, 'Liza," said Maggie, knowing the narrator's weakness. "Settle the minister first, an' you can talk Toronto all day after."
"My! but you're anxious about him, Maggie! That's a bad sign. Well, as I was sayin', I stayed all fall, you know, an' Maria she was bound and determined31 I'd see an' hear everything that was worth while, an' her and James they jist trotted33 me 'round till I was near dead. James Turner does make Maria an awful kind man, I will say, though I ain't got much use for men. Well, one night we went to a high-toned concert, got up by a lot o' college fellows. I tell you there's where you see the fine lookin' chaps! Don Neil couldn't hold a candle to them, the way they was dressed up, reg'lar doods every one o' them, an' the style! If I'd been a young thing like one o' you girls now, I'd a lost my heart a dozen times over. But if you'd a' seen the fellows that took part in the concert, you'd a' died, the way they were rigged up! They all came a-flippin' an' a-floppin' out onto the platform, an' besides their pants an' coats, every mother's son o' them had on some kind of a long cloak, for all the world like Mrs. Duffy's black dolman. An' they had the curiousest things on their heads, jist exactly like the black shingles34 that was flyin' 'round here the night the sawmill burned down!"
"Why, they were college gowns and caps," said Sarah; "Don Neil and Allan Fraser are both going to get them."
"Well, don't I know that, you young upstart. An' Mrs. Fraser's in an awful way about Allan wearin' one, too, but that don't prove that they didn't look jist like the mischief35 itself."
"Dear me, do they wear them kind o' things out amongst other folks?" inquired Mrs. Hamilton in mild alarm. She had supposed that such raiment would be confined to the seclusion36 of one's own bed chamber37.
"Indeed, they jist do, Mrs. Hamilton. If Jessie an' Don Neil makes up this little lovers' quarrel they've got up lately, you'll have him comin' flappin' down the hill to see her in one o' them next winter. But reelly, you wouldn't believe what awful trollops they were; an' if I couldn't turn out a stylisher lookin' wrapper an' a mighty better fit, too, I'd go an' choke myself."
"You'll choke before you get this story told, if you don't quit talkin'," said the plain-spoken Maggie. "Did the minister have a wrapper on?"
But Miss Cotton had a fine eye to the structure of a story. "Oh, I'm comin' to him, at the right time. Well, as I was sayin', there was a whole swarm40 o' these fellows came floppin' an' flounderin' onto the platform an' they all squat41 down in a long row with their wrappers an' shingles on, an' started to play like all possessed42 on what they call bangjoes or some such tomfoolery."
"Banjoes," corrected Sarah. "Lots of the boys and girls play them at the High School."
"An' they set there fiddle11-dee-deein' for about a quarter of an hour,—an' now I'm comin' to the important part. There was one tall, good-lookin' chap, sittin' right in the middle o' the row——"
"Mr. Egerton," whispered Maggie.
"An' he was scratchin' away for dear life on some sort of a fryin'-pan thing, an' I leans over to James an' I sez, 'James,' sez I, 'ain't it for all the world like gratin' nutmegs?' sez I. Well, we were bang-up in the very front seat, for James Turner always believes in gettin' all he pays for, an' the fellows was makin' the awfullest clatter43, an' you know, James Turner's as deaf as a post, anyhow, an'—well, now, if any o' you scalawags lets this out I'll massacree the whole lot o' you!"
A chorus of renewed promises and entreaties44 to continue followed this terrible threat.
"Well, jist as I was sayin' it, good and loud, what should that blessed racket do but stop short, jist as if they'd all been shot dead; an' jist at that very min'it I was yellin' 'gratin' nutmegs!' at the top o' my lungs!"
She joined heartily45 in the shrieks46 of laughter, for Miss Cotton loved a joke on herself, as well as on another.
"O' course, they all went at it again, with a bang," she continued, "but them fellas heard, o' course, an' they started to shake. An' this tall chap in the middle, I'm tellin' you about, was the worst of all. I thought he'd a' took a conniption fit an' when he did manage to sober up a bit, he stared down at me that hard, that if I'd been a skit47 o' a thing like one o' you girls, I'd a' blushed, sure. But I jist stared back at him, good and hard, I tell you, till he had to look away.
"There was lots more programme besides that, singin' an' speakin' pieces an'—oh, land! there was one girl come switchin' in with a long tail to her dress, that would reach clean from here to the mill, an' the neck of it cut that low it would make a body want to get under the seat; it was jist shameful48! An' the way she sang was jist near as bad. She squalled an' took on as if everybody she'd ever knowed had been massacreed, an' you couldn't make out one single word she said no more than if it had been Eyetalian. An' all them folks set with their mouths open, an' seemed to think it was jist grand, low neck an' all, an' when she finished up with a yell jist like the sawmill whistle, they clapped fit to kill. I'm sure I'd heaps rather listen to Julia Duffy singin' 'Father, dear father, come home with me now,' an' you know what that's like."
"But that ain't near the worst yet. After all them fellas got through some more scrabblin', out comes the tall chap again, I was tellin' you about. Maria said it was him, or I never would a guessed it, because, as sure as you're standin' there, Mrs. Hamilton, he was all blackened up and togged out with a long-tailed coat, an' a high hat, an' danced, an' cut up jist fit to kill. The people all went clean into fits; an' I thought James Turner would a' died laughin'. It was real kind o' comical, too, the way he went on. But now I'm comin' to the real part o' my story. When we were goin' home on the street car, Maria says to me, sez she, 'Do you mind the fellow that sang the coon song?' sez she. 'Well, I should think I do,' sez I, 'an' of all the bold young scamps!'—'Well,' sez she, 'that fellow's goin' to be a Presbyterian minister!' 'A minister!' sez I; 'what on earth's a minister doin' flappin' 'round in a black night-gown an' playin' on a fryin' pan an' singin' nigger songs? He ought to be home readin' his Bible!' sez I. 'Well,' sez Maria, 'he's goin' to be one anyhow. He's jist in Var-city yet,' sez she, 'an' I guess it don't matter.' 'Well,' sez I, 'Maria Cotton, the sooner he gets out o' Var-city, or whatever you call it, the better, for it must be a wicked hole!' Well, we didn't say any more about him, 'cause we was racin' an tearin' 'round to somethin' new all the time, an' I clean forgot all about it, until Monday night, I was goin' home a piece o' the road with Mrs. Fraser, an' Mrs. Basketful called to me that there was a letter from Maria for me. I was scairt for a minit, for I thought her an' the children must be all dead, she writes so seldom. But here if she didn't write to tell me the most surprisin' news you ever heard, no less than that my gigglin' dancin' chap with the bangjo was no less than our own minister!"
There was a chorus of startled exclamations49. Everyone had guessed the end of the story, but it was astounding50 nevertheless when put into words.
"How I could ha' been so stupid as to forget," continued Miss Cotton, "I can't imagine. It's a good long time ago, though, an' Maria never told me his name; but now what do you think o' that, Mrs. Hamilton?"
"Dear, dear, ain't it awful!" exclaimed that lady, in genuine distress51. She was of the old school, who considered a minister removed far beyond the frivolities of ordinary mortals, and was completely bewildered. "Mebby that was when he was sowin' his wild oats," she said at last, with some hope.
"Pshaw, mother, ministers ain't supposed to grow wild oats!" cried Bella piously52. She was not as much enamoured of Mr. Egerton as formerly53; for Wee Andra was openly antagonistic54 to him since his mysterious disagreement with Donald Neil.
"Don't any o' you girls breathe a word o' this," warned Mrs. Hamilton. "Andra Johnstone an' some o' the other elders aren't too well pleased with the poor fellow now."
"My!" sighed Maggie. "Wouldn't I love to tell Splinterin' Andra that the minister could sing nigger songs and play a banjo. He'd say—'Show me the sinfu' instrument of Belial an' Ah'll smash it into a thoosand splinters!'" She accompanied the speech with such an exaggerated imitation of the old man's vigorous gestures, using the poker55 in lieu of a cane56, that the spectators shrieked57 with laughter.
"I'm afraid he'd smash the minister, too," declared Sarah.
"Oh, well," said Jessie, "I don't see that there was any harm in Mr. Egerton's singing and playing when he was young——"
"Oh, yes, o' course you'll take his part!" cried Miss Cotton. "But I'll tell you this much, I've got something more to tell, bigger than all that, something that'll make you think he ain't quite so perfect."
"Why, 'Liza!" cried Mrs. Hamilton in alarm, "there surely ain't more!"
"There jist is, Mrs. Hamilton, an' something pretty queer." She was whispering again, and her audience drew near with bated breath. "Maria wrote two whole pages about him, an' she left the worst to the last. She said, 'I s'pose he's a great fella' for the girls, he always was in Toronto, an'—Jessie's lookin' scairt, I do declare! Well, she said he'd better take care 'cause he was engaged to a high-toned lady in Toronto, engaged to be married, mind you! It's true, too, because Maria knows. She's rich, an' awful stylish38, an' her name's Helen Weir-Huntley, mind ye, one o' them high-toned names with a stroke in the middle. An' Mrs. McNabb told Mrs. Fraser on the sly that Mrs. Basketful told her he wrote to a girl by that name every week o' his life, only not to tell. An' he gets a letter back every week, too, with a big chunk58 of red wax on it, an' some kind of a business stamped on; jist stylish folks uses that kind. So I guess you girls had better quit playin' organs an' doin' things for him!"
Jessie's face flushed crimson59. "I don't see what difference that would make, 'Liza," she said with a steady look from her deep grey eyes.
"Well, well, ain't it awful!" commented Mrs. Hamilton for the fifth time, quite overcome by this second disclosure.
"Well, I think it's a pretty queer thing, anyhow," said the narrator, setting the sewing machine whirring again; "I don't set up for no saint myself——"
"That's a good thing, 'Liza," interrupted Maggie, who had recovered somewhat; "just think how it would bother you!"
"But I do say," continued the other, imperturbably60, "that ministers ought to act different from common folks. And when I heard about his goin's on, I jist thought it wasn't any wonder he acted so queer about the organ. Bella, let's see if this band fits. Goodness gracious, girls, speak of angels! Who's that comin' in at the front gate?"
"It's him! It's the minister!" cried Maggie, dancing wildly around, "Let's go an' ask him how Miss Thingy-me-bob-with-the-stroke-in-the-middle-of-her-name is!"
"For pity's sake!" cried Mrs. Hamilton, an ejaculation of no particular meaning, but one she always used under unusual excitement.
"Bella, run an' show him into the settin' room, while I wash my hands out o' this bread. Who'd a' thought of him comin' here this mornin' an' us jist talkin' about him!"
"Mercy me, mother! I can't go to the door in this wrapper. Send somebody else; Jess, you look all right."
"Yes, Jess, you trot32 out an' show him in. Tell him the President of the Ladies' Aid's here, in a most pious frame of mind, and she'd like to hear him play the bangjo and sing the other Joe—'Old Black Joe,' or whatever you call him, and maybe he'll dance the 'Highland61 Fling,' too!"
The minister's sudden appearance put an abrupt63 termination to Miss Cotton's gossip, but the story did not end there. Jessie concluded for the time, that, though a minister, Mr. Egerton must be something of a flirt64, and as Donald was now repentant65 she soon found no time to bestow66 upon his rival. The young minister missed the girl's pleasant companionship, but he soon discovered that there was much greater trouble ahead of him. The story of his musical attainments67 in his college days rolled through Glenoro, gaining in bulk as it progressed. For, contrary to Miss Cotton's warning but quite in accord with her expectations, the tale leaked out. Bella told it to Wee Andra, who told "the boys" at the corner. Syl Todd rehearsed it before Coonie the next morning, and that was all that was necessary. Coonie embellished68 it to suit himself, and produced such a work of art that he shocked Mrs. Fraser beyond speech when he delivered it to her at the top of the hill.
By the time it reached the Oa it was to the effect that in his college days Mr. Egerton had been a very wild and dissolute youth. Glenoro might not have objected to a thoroughly69 reformed villain70, but this young man's gay conduct left them in doubt whether at heart he was any better now than in the past. Old Andrew Johnstone, who had been somewhat mollified by the young man's action in regard to the organ, was once more aroused. At first he paid no heed to the story, for his son had told it to him. Wee Andra did not think it necessary to repeat it verbatim; he was rather vague concerning details, but extremely serious. Some tale 'Liza Cotton had heard, he explained. It was quite true, he feared, something or other about his playing a fiddle and dancing, far worse than Sandy Neil had ever been guilty of, for this was in a theatre. Wee Andra knew the word theatre was to his father a synonym71 for the bottomless pit. "Mebbe the minister had been an actor once." Wee Andra hoped, for the sake of the Church, that it wasn't true.
"Ah, ye tale-bearer!" cried his father with a withering72 contempt, which could not quite hide his perturbation. "It's a fine pack ye meet every night in the Glen! Their only thought is to hear or tell some new thing, let it be false or true! Ye canna' even keep yer ill tongues aff a meenister o' the Gospel!"
"But this is true, father," declared the young man seriously. "'Liza Cotton saw him herself; you can ask her, if you don't believe me. Man!" he continued, growing frivolous73 again, "it'll be fine here next winter if he plays the fiddle! Sandy Neil's goin' to ask him to learn him some new dance tunes74!"
"Ah, ye irreverent fool!" shouted his father, rising up from the dinner table where this conversation had been held. "Man, ye an' yon Neil pack neither fear God nor regard man! Get oot o' ma' sight!"
Wee Andra, having wisely deferred75 his last shot until his dinner was finished, obeyed his father's injunction with alacrity76, and went off to the fields, consumed with unfilial mirth.
Meantime the subject of all this discussion was not oblivious77 to the fact that some strange undercurrent of feeling was working against him. Coonie was the instrument used to make a reality out of the intangible thing.
The mail-carrier was coming slowly down the hill one September morning with hanging head and sullen78 mien79. Eliza Cotton had been sewing down on the Flats for over a week and he had not had any fun for a long time. He was just sweeping80 the valley with his green eyes like a huge spider in search of prey81, when he caught sight of a tempting82 fly. The young minister was coming up the leaf-strewn path by the roadside. He was just turning in at the McNabbs' gateway83, when Coonie pulled up. He had brought a bundle from Lakeview for the blacksmith's wife with his accustomed grumblings, and had intended to fling it over the gate, as he passed, in the hope that it contained something breakable. But now he recognised in it an instrument in the hand of Providence84 to give him the long-wished-for speech with the minister.
"Good-mornin'!" he called, rather crustily, for Coonie affected85 good manners before no one, no matter what was his aim. "Will you hand this bundle to the Missus in there, if you're goin'. It's some o' the fool truck I've got to lug86 across the country for weemen."
Mr. Egerton stepped towards the buckboard, and Coonie grinned as he saw the brilliant polish of his boots disappear in the grey dust of the road.
"Hope you're likin' Glenoro," he said as he handed out the parcel.
John Egerton met the unaccustomed friendliness87 of the mail-carrier with the utmost cordiality. "Oh, yes, very well indeed, thank you!" he answered, but without the enthusiasm he would have displayed a couple months previous.
"Awful place for talk," replied Coonie righteously. "Never saw the likes. If a fellow's ever done anythin' in his life he shouldn't a' done, cried too much when he was a baby, or anythin' like that, they'll find it out. S'pose you'll find they're rakin' up all the things you ever did?"
John Egerton looked at the questioner keenly. He was not sufficiently88 acquainted with this queer specimen to be able to answer him according to his folly89; so he said curtly90, "I am perfectly91 willing they should, Mr. Greene; I never did anything I am ashamed of."
Coonie's face expressed profound astonishment92, not unmixed with gentle reproof. "Is that so? Glad to hear it, sir, glad to hear it." He shook his head doubtfully as he spoke39, and rode away, his shoulders drooping93 suspiciously. He was in such good humour that seeing some of the Hamilton girls on the veranda94, he drew in all the breath he was capable of and bawled95, "Say, which o' yous girls is goin' to marry the minister? I hear you're all after him!"
There was a chorus of smothered96 shrieks and a sudden vanishing of whisking skirts within the doorway97, and having satisfied himself that Mr. Egerton must have heard, Coonie swung his whip round old Bella and clattered98 up to the post-office in high glee. And Duncan Polite from his watchtower on the hilltop witnessed his meeting with the minister and prayed that the young servant of his Master might be speaking to Coonie of things eternal.
John Egerton returned to his study in deep annoyance99. He now realised certainly that someone was circulating slanderous100 tales about him, tales that had caused Jessie Hamilton to avoid him. His thoughts instantly reverted101 to Donald. He had noticed him and Jessie strolling along the river bank nearly every evening lately; probably he was filling the girl's mind with disagreeable untruths regarding her pastor102. He believed young Neil capable of it. The knowledge of his perfect innocence103 in the past only served to increase his anger at anyone who had dared to malign104 him. He waited until four o'clock and then went up to the schoolmaster's house and demanded an explanation.
Mr. Watson confessed all he knew, making the story as much like the original as possible. It was not Donald but 'Liza Cotton that had told it, he explained. At first the victim of the tale could have laughed at the absurdity105 of it all, it seemed so trivial. But that did not explain why Jessie Hamilton had so suddenly preferred Donald to him.
"Are you sure that's all, Watson?" he demanded, "absolutely all?"
"Well—," the schoolmaster hesitated, but he was the minister's slave and could deny him nothing. "There was something more, about your being engaged. They've even got the lady's name; the post-mistress indorsed it, too. Aren't they a pack of jackals, anyhow!"
The young shepherd went home without denying this imputation106 against his flock. He was overcome by a feeling of impotent rage against everyone in Glenoro. Did ever mortal man have such a position to fill? He must be all things to all men. He must have the inspiration of his grandfather in the pulpit, and the piety of Mr. Cameron in the home; he must be a hail-fellow-well-met with every country bumpkin who came under his notice, and he must have the manner of a judge pronouncing death, to meet with the approval of his elders. He must not pay attention to any particular young lady, and yet he must dance attendance upon all; he must have the gift of tongues in the Oa and an Irish brogue in the Flats. And just when he was pleasing the party he felt to be the most influential107, and to him the most congenial, they must turn upon him and rend108 him for the very qualities they most admired in him! He was exasperated109 beyond endurance. He would resign: yes immediately, and leave the silly, gossiping place to its fate. And then he thought how it would look before his compeers: he, John McAlpine Egerton, the pride of his year, the hope of the professors, and the most promising110 young man in the college, could not manage this little back-woods church for one year. And then there was Jessie. Of course he was not in love with her, he told himself, but he did want her to think well of him. She had heard about Helen, of course. It was the old story. He could not lift his hat to a girl but the whole congregation must stand waiting for him to marry her. He fairly writhed111 in his indignation during the night, the only night his Glenoro congregation had disturbed his slumbers112, and the next morning he was no nearer a solution of his difficulties.
The poor young man was treading a hard road, one which was made all the harder because it was of his own choosing. For he had, like the foolish priests of olden times, tried to do, with carnal means, a holy task which demanded heavenly, and was suffering the naturally resulting confusion and distress. For he had forgotten that the Jehovah who demanded holy fire from Nadab and Abihu, does so even to-day; and the priest who raises unconsecrated hands to His altar must even yet hear the dread113 tones of the Omnipotent—"I will be sanctified in them that come nigh Me: and before all the people I will be glorified114."
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wrath
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| n.愤怒，愤慨，暴怒 | |
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advent
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| n.(重要事件等的)到来，来临 | |
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utterly
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| adv.完全地，绝对地 | |
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devoid
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| adj.全无的，缺乏的 | |
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aisles
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| n. (席位间的)通道, 侧廊 | |
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unstable
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| adj.不稳定的，易变的 | |
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outrageously
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| 凶残地； 肆无忌惮地； 令人不能容忍地； 不寻常地 | |
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pretext
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| n.借口，托词 | |
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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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mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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fiddle
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| n.小提琴；vi.拉提琴；不停拨弄，乱动 | |
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intermittent
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| adj.间歇的，断断续续的 | |
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bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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complacently
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| adv. 满足地, 自满地, 沾沾自喜地 | |
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neatly
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| adv.整洁地，干净地，灵巧地，熟练地 | |
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pious
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| adj.虔诚的；道貌岸然的 | |
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17
piety
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| n.虔诚，虔敬 | |
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18
fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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19
Christian
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| adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒 | |
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20
specimen
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| n.样本，标本 | |
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21
twitching
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| n.颤搐 | |
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22
secrecy
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| n.秘密，保密，隐蔽 | |
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23
reticence
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| n.沉默，含蓄 | |
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24
heed
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| v.注意，留意；n.注意，留心 | |
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25
doom
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| n.厄运，劫数；v.注定，命定 | |
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26
aggravating
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| adj.恼人的，讨厌的 | |
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27
reproof
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| n.斥责，责备 | |
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28
oratorical
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| adj.演说的，雄辩的 | |
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29
orator
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| n.演说者，演讲者，雄辩家 | |
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30
yarn
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| n.纱，纱线，纺线；奇闻漫谈，旅行轶事 | |
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determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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32
trot
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| n.疾走，慢跑；n.老太婆；现成译本；(复数）trots:腹泻（与the 连用）；v.小跑，快步走，赶紧 | |
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33
trotted
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| 小跑，急走( trot的过去分词 )； 匆匆忙忙地走 | |
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34
shingles
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| n.带状疱疹；（布满海边的）小圆石( shingle的名词复数 )；屋顶板；木瓦（板）；墙面板 | |
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35
mischief
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| n.损害，伤害，危害；恶作剧，捣蛋，胡闹 | |
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seclusion
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| n.隐遁，隔离 | |
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37
chamber
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| n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所 | |
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38
stylish
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| adj.流行的，时髦的；漂亮的，气派的 | |
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39
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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40
swarm
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| n.(昆虫)等一大群；vi.成群飞舞；蜂拥而入 | |
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41
squat
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| v.蹲坐，蹲下；n.蹲下；adj.矮胖的，粗矮的 | |
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42
possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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43
clatter
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| v./n.(使)发出连续而清脆的撞击声 | |
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44
entreaties
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| n.恳求，乞求( entreaty的名词复数 ) | |
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45
heartily
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| adv.衷心地，诚恳地，十分，很 | |
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46
shrieks
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| n.尖叫声( shriek的名词复数 )v.尖叫( shriek的第三人称单数 ) | |
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47
skit
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| n.滑稽短剧；一群 | |
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48
shameful
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| adj.可耻的，不道德的 | |
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49
exclamations
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| n.呼喊( exclamation的名词复数 )；感叹；感叹语；感叹词 | |
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50
astounding
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| adj.使人震惊的vt.使震惊，使大吃一惊astound的现在分词) | |
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51
distress
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| n.苦恼，痛苦，不舒适；不幸；vt.使悲痛 | |
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52
piously
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| adv.虔诚地 | |
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53
formerly
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| adv.从前，以前 | |
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54
antagonistic
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| adj.敌对的 | |
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55
poker
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| n.扑克；vt.烙制 | |
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56
cane
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| n.手杖，细长的茎，藤条；v.以杖击，以藤编制的 | |
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57
shrieked
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| v.尖叫( shriek的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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58
chunk
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| n.厚片，大块，相当大的部分（数量） | |
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59
crimson
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| n./adj.深(绯)红色(的)；vi.脸变绯红色 | |
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60
imperturbably
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| adv.泰然地，镇静地，平静地 | |
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61
highland
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| n.(pl.)高地，山地 | |
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62
implored
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| 恳求或乞求（某人）( implore的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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abrupt
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| adj.突然的，意外的；唐突的，鲁莽的 | |
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flirt
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| v.调情，挑逗，调戏；n.调情者，卖俏者 | |
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65
repentant
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| adj.对…感到悔恨的 | |
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66
bestow
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| v.把…赠与，把…授予；花费 | |
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67
attainments
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| 成就，造诣； 获得( attainment的名词复数 )； 达到； 造诣； 成就 | |
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68
embellished
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| v.美化( embellish的过去式和过去分词 )；装饰；修饰；润色 | |
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69
thoroughly
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| adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地 | |
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70
villain
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| n.反派演员，反面人物；恶棍；问题的起因 | |
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71
synonym
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| n.同义词，换喻词 | |
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72
withering
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| 使人畏缩的，使人害羞的，使人难堪的 | |
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73
frivolous
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| adj.轻薄的；轻率的 | |
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74
tunes
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| n.曲调，曲子( tune的名词复数 )v.调音( tune的第三人称单数 )；调整；（给收音机、电视等）调谐；使协调 | |
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75
deferred
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| adj.延期的，缓召的v.拖延，延缓，推迟( defer的过去式和过去分词 )；服从某人的意愿，遵从 | |
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76
alacrity
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| n.敏捷，轻快，乐意 | |
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77
oblivious
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| adj.易忘的，遗忘的，忘却的，健忘的 | |
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78
sullen
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| adj.愠怒的，闷闷不乐的，(天气等)阴沉的 | |
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79
mien
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| n.风采；态度 | |
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80
sweeping
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| adj.范围广大的，一扫无遗的 | |
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81
prey
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| n.被掠食者，牺牲者，掠食；v.捕食，掠夺，折磨 | |
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82
tempting
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| a.诱人的, 吸引人的 | |
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83
gateway
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| n.大门口，出入口，途径，方法 | |
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84
providence
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| n.深谋远虑，天道，天意；远见；节约；上帝 | |
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85
affected
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| adj.不自然的，假装的 | |
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86
lug
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| n.柄，突出部，螺帽；(英）耳朵；（俚）笨蛋；vt.拖，拉，用力拖动 | |
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87
friendliness
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| n.友谊，亲切，亲密 | |
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88
sufficiently
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| adv.足够地，充分地 | |
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89
folly
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| n.愚笨，愚蠢，蠢事，蠢行，傻话 | |
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90
curtly
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| adv.简短地 | |
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91
perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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92
astonishment
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| n.惊奇，惊异 | |
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93
drooping
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| adj. 下垂的，无力的 动词droop的现在分词 | |
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94
veranda
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| n.走廊；阳台 | |
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95
bawled
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| v.大叫，大喊( bawl的过去式和过去分词 )；放声大哭；大声叫出；叫卖（货物） | |
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96
smothered
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| （使）窒息， （使）透不过气( smother的过去式和过去分词 )； 覆盖； 忍住； 抑制 | |
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97
doorway
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| n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径 | |
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98
clattered
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| 发出咔哒声（clatter的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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99
annoyance
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| n.恼怒，生气，烦恼 | |
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100
slanderous
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| adj.诽谤的，中伤的 | |
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101
reverted
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| 恢复( revert的过去式和过去分词 )； 重提； 回到…上； 归还 | |
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102
pastor
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| n.牧师，牧人 | |
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103
innocence
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| n.无罪；天真；无害 | |
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104
malign
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| adj.有害的；恶性的；恶意的；v.诽谤，诬蔑 | |
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105
absurdity
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| n.荒谬，愚蠢；谬论 | |
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106
imputation
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| n.归罪，责难 | |
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107
influential
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| adj.有影响的，有权势的 | |
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108
rend
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| vt.把…撕开，割裂；把…揪下来，强行夺取 | |
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109
exasperated
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| adj.恼怒的 | |
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110
promising
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| adj.有希望的，有前途的 | |
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111
writhed
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| （因极度痛苦而）扭动或翻滚( writhe的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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112
slumbers
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| 睡眠，安眠( slumber的名词复数 ) | |
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113
dread
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| vt.担忧，忧虑；惧怕，不敢；n.担忧，畏惧 | |
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114
glorified
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| 美其名的，变荣耀的 | |
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