AN ECHO FROM THE OLD BARK SCHOOL

 It was the first Monday after the holidays. The children had taken their seats in the Old Bark School, and the master called out the roll as usual:

 

“Arvie Aspinall.”... “'Es, sir.”

 

“David Cooper.”... “Yes, sir.”

 

“John Heegard.”... “Yezzer.”

 

“Joseph Swallow.”... “Yesser.”

 

“James Bullock.”... “Present.”

 

“Frederick Swallow.”... “Y'sir.”

 

“James Nowlett.”... . (Chorus of “Absent.”)

 

“William Atkins.”... (Chorus of “Absent.”)

 

“Daniel Lyons.”... “Perresent, sor-r-r.”

 

Dan was a young immigrant, just out from the sod, and rolled his “r's” like a cock-dove. His brogue was rich enough to make an Irishman laugh.

 

Bill was “wagging it.” His own especial chum was of the opinion that Bill was sick. The master's opinion did not coincide, so he penned a note to William's parents, to be delivered by the model boy of the school.

 

“Bertha Lambert.”... “Yes, 'air.”

 

“May Carey.”... “Pesin', sair.”

 

“Rose Cooper.”... “Yes, sir.”

 

“Janet Wild.”... “Y-y-yes, s-sir.”

 

“Mary Wild.”...

 

A solemn hush¹ fell upon the school, and presently Janet Wild threw her arms out on the desk before her, let her face fall on them, and sobbed² heart-brokenly. The master saw his mistake too late; he gave his head a little half-affirmative, half-negative movement, in that pathetic old way of his; rested his head on one hand, gazed sadly at the name, and sighed.

 

But the galoot of the school spoilt the pathos³ of it all, for, during the awed⁴ silence which followed the calling of the girl's name, he suddenly brightened up—the first time he was ever observed to do so during school hours—and said, briskly and cheerfully “Dead—sir!”

 

He hadn't been able to answer a question correctly for several days.

 

“Children,” said the master gravely and sadly, “children, this is the first time I ever had to put 'D' to the name of one of my scholars. Poor Mary! she was one of my first pupils—came the first morning the school was opened. Children, I want you to be a little quieter to-day during play-hour, out of respect for the name of your dead schoolmate whom it has pleased the Almighty⁵ to take in her youth.”

 

“Please, sir,” asked the galoot, evidently encouraged by his fancied success, “please, sir, what does 'D' stand for?”

 

“Damn you for a hass!” snarled⁶ Jim Bullock between his teeth, giving the galoot a vicious dig in the side with his elbow.

1 hush   

int.嘘，别出声；n.沉默，静寂；v.使安静

参考例句：

• A hush fell over the onlookers.旁观者们突然静了下来。
• Do hush up the scandal!不要把这丑事声张出去！

2 sobbed   

哭泣，啜泣( sob的过去式和过去分词 )； 哭诉，呜咽地说

参考例句：

• She sobbed out the story of her son's death. 她哭诉着她儿子的死。
• She sobbed out the sad story of her son's death. 她哽咽着诉说她儿子死去的悲惨经过。

3 pathos   

n.哀婉，悲怆

参考例句：

• The pathos of the situation brought tears to our eyes.情况令人怜悯，看得我们不禁流泪。
• There is abundant pathos in her words.她的话里富有动人哀怜的力量。

4 awed   

adj.充满敬畏的，表示敬畏的v.使敬畏，使惊惧( awe的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The audience was awed into silence by her stunning performance. 观众席上鸦雀无声，人们对他出色的表演感到惊叹。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I was awed by the huge gorilla. 那只大猩猩使我惊惧。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 almighty   

adj.全能的，万能的；很大的，很强的

参考例句：

• Those rebels did not really challenge Gods almighty power.这些叛徒没有对上帝的全能力量表示怀疑。
• It's almighty cold outside.外面冷得要命。

6 snarled   

v.（指狗）吠，嗥叫， （人）咆哮( snarl的过去式和过去分词 )；咆哮着说，厉声地说

参考例句：

• The dog snarled at us. 狗朝我们低声吼叫。
• As I advanced towards the dog, It'snarled and struck at me. 我朝那条狗走去时，它狂吠着向我扑来。 来自《简明英汉词典》