CHAPTER XXI SKATING—PAS DE DEUX ON THE ICE—CONGENIALITY—FLINTS AMONG BONES

           Ubi lepos, joci, risus, ebrietas decent,

          Gratias, decor, hilaritas, atque delectatio,

          Qui quaerit alia his, malum videtur quaerere.

          —Plautus: In Pseudolo.

 

     Where sport, mirth, wine, joy, grace, conspire¹ to please,

     He seeks but ill who seeks aught else than these.

The frost continued. The lake was covered over with solid ice. This became the chief scene of afternoon amusement, and Lord Curryfin carried off the honours of the skating. In the dead of the night there came across his memory a ridiculous stave:

 

          There's Mr. Tait, he cuts an eight,

          He cannot cut a nine:

and he determined² on trying if he could not out-do Mr. Tait.

 

He thought it would be best to try his experiment without witnesses: and having more than an hour's daylight before breakfast, he devoted³ that portion of the morning to his purpose. But cutting a nine by itself baffled his skill, and treated him to two or three tumbles, which, however, did not abate⁴ his ardour. At length he bethought him of cutting a nine between two eights, and by shifting his feet rapidly at the points of difficulty, striking in and out of the nine to and from the eights on each side. In this he succeeded, and exhibiting his achievement in the afternoon, adorned⁵ the surface of the ice with successions of 898, till they amounted to as many sextillions, with their homogeneous sequences. He then enclosed the line with an oval, and returned to the bank through an admiring circle, who, if they had been as numerous as the spectators to the Olympic games, would have greeted him with as loud shouts of triumph as saluted⁶ Epharmostus of Opus.{1}

 

Among the spectators on the bank were Miss Niphet and Mr. MacBorrowdale, standing⁷ side by side. While Lord Curryfin was cutting his sextillions, Mr. MacBorrowdale said: 'There is a young gentleman who is capable of anything, and who would shine in any pursuit, if he would keep to it. He shines as it is, in almost everything he takes in hand in private society: there is genius even in his failures, as in the case of the theatrical⁸ vases; but the world is a field of strong competition, and affords eminence⁹ to few in any sphere of exertion¹⁰, and to those few rarely but in one.'

 

Miss Niphet. Before I knew him, I never heard of him but as a lecturer on Fish; and to that he seems to limit his public ambition. In private life, his chief aim seems to be that of pleasing his company. Of course, you do not attach much value to his present pursuit. You see no utility in it.

 

Mr. MacBorrowdale. On the contrary, I see great utility in it. I am for a healthy mind in a healthy body: the first can scarcely be without the last, and the last can scarcely be without good exercise in pure air. In this way, there is nothing better than skating. I should be very glad to cut eights and nines with his lordship: but the only figure I should tut would be that of as many feet as would measure my own length on the ice.

 

Lord Curryfin, on his return to land, thought it his duty first to

accost¹¹ Miss Gryll, who was looking on by the side of Miss Ilex.

 

 He asked her if she ever skated. She answered in the

negative. 'I have tried it,' she said, 'but unsuccessfully. I admire it

extremely, and regret my inability to participate in it.' He then went

up to Miss Niphet, and asked her the same question. She answered: 'I

have skated often in our grounds at home.' 'Then why not now?' he asked.

She answered: 'I have never done it before so many witnesses.' 'But

what is the objection?' he asked. 'None that I know of,' she answered.

'Then,' he said, 'as I have done or left undone¹² some things to please

you, will you do this one thing to please me?'

 

          1 (Greek phrase)—PIND. Olymp. ix.

          With what a clamour he passed through the circle.

'Certainly,' she replied: adding to herself: 'I will do anything in my power to please you.'

 

She equipped herself expeditiously¹³, and started before he was well aware. She was half round the lake before he came up with her. She then took a second start, and completed the circle before he came up with her again. He saw that she was an Atalanta on ice as on turf. He placed himself by her side, slipped her arm through his, and they started together on a second round, which they completed arm-in-arm. By this time the blush-rose bloom which had so charmed him on a former occasion again mantled¹⁴ on her cheeks, though from a different cause, for it was now only the glow of healthful exercise; but he could not help exclaiming, 'I now see why and with what tints¹⁵ the Athenians coloured their statues.'

 

'Is it clear,' she asked, 'that they did so?'

 

'I have doubted it before,' he answered, 'but I am now certain that they did.'

 

In the meantime, Miss Gryll, Miss Ilex, and the Reverend Doctor Opimian had been watching their movements from the bank.

 

Miss Ilex. I have seen much graceful¹⁷ motion in dancing, in private society and on the Italian stage; and some in skating before to-day; but anything so graceful as that double-gliding over the ice by those two remarkably¹⁸ handsome young persons, I certainly never saw before.

 

Miss Gryll. Lord Curryfin is unquestionably handsome, and Miss Niphet, especially with that glow on her cheeks, is as beautiful a young woman as imagination can paint. They move as if impelled¹⁹ by a single will. It is impossible not to admire them both.

 

The Rev¹⁶. Dr. Opimian. They remind me of the mythological²⁰ fiction, that Jupiter made men and women in pairs, like the Siamese twins; but in this way they grew so powerful and presumptuous²¹, that he cut them in two; and now the main business of each half is to look for the other; which is very rarely found, and hence so few marriages are happy. Here the two true halves seem to have met.

 

The doctor looked at Miss Gryll, to see what impression this remark might make on her. He concluded that, if she thought seriously of Lord Curryfin, she would show some symptom of jealousy²² of Miss Niphet; but she did not. She merely said—

 

'I quite agree with you, doctor. There is evidently great congeniality between them, even in their respective touches of eccentricity²³.'

 

But the doctor's remark had suggested to her what she herself had failed to observe; Lord Curryfin's subsidence from ardour into deference²⁴, in his pursuit of herself. She had been so undividedly 'the cynosure²⁵ of neighbouring eyes,' that she could scarcely believe in the possibility of even temporary eclipse. Her first impulse was to resign him to her young friend. But then appearances might be deceitful. Her own indifference²⁶ might have turned his attentions into another channel, without his heart being turned with them. She had seen nothing to show that Miss Niphet's feelings were deeply engaged in the question. She was not a coquette; but she would still feel it as a mortification²⁷ that her hitherto unquestioned supremacy²⁸ should be passing from her. She had felt all along that there was one cause which would lead her to a decided²⁹ rejection³⁰ of Lord Curryfin. But her Orlando had not seized the golden forelock; perhaps he never would. After having seemed on the point of doing so, he had disappeared, and not returned. He was now again within the links of the sevenfold chain, which had bound him from his earliest days. She herself, too, had had, perhaps had still, the chance of the golden forelock in another quarter. Might she not subject her after-life to repentance³¹, if her first hope should fail her when the second had been irrevocably thrown away? The more she contemplated³² the sacrifice, the greater it appeared. Possibly doubt had given preponderance to her thoughts of Mr. Falconer; and certainly had caused them to repose³³ in the case of Lord Curryfin; but when doubt was thrown into the latter scale also, the balance became more even. She would still give him his liberty, if she believed that he wished it; for then her pride would settle the question; but she must have more conclusive³⁴ evidence on the point than the Reverend Doctor's metaphorical³⁵ deduction³⁶ from a mythological fiction.

 

In the evening, while the party in the drawing-room were amusing themselves in various ways, Mr. MacBorrowdale laid a drawing on the table, and said, 'Doctor, what should you take that to represent?'

 

The Rev. Dr. Opimian. An unformed lump of I know not what.

 

Mr. MacBorrowdale. Not unformed. It is a flint formation of a very peculiar³⁷ kind.

 

The Rev. Dr. Opimian. Very peculiar, certainly. Who on earth can have amused himself with drawing a misshapen flint? There must be some riddle³⁸ in it; some ænigma, as insoluble to me as Aelia Laelia Crispis.{1}

 

     1 This ænigma has been the subject of many learned

     disquisitions. The reader who is unacquainted with it may

     find it under the article 'ænigma' in the Encyclopedia³⁹

     Britannica; and probably in every other encyclopaedia⁴⁰.

Lord Curryfin, and others of the party, were successively asked their opinions. One of the young ladies guessed it to be the petrifaction⁴¹ of an antediluvian⁴² mussel. Lord Curryfin said petrifactions were often siliceous, but never pure silex; which this purported⁴³ to be. It gave him the idea of an ass's head; which, however, could not by any process have been turned into flint.

 

Conjecture⁴⁴ being exhausted⁴⁵, Mr. MacBorrowdale said, 'It is a thing they call a Celt. The ass's head is somewhat germane⁴⁶ to the matter. The Artium Societatis Syndicus Et Socii have determined that it is a weapon of war, evidently of human manufacture. It has been found, with many others like it, among bones of mammoths and other extinct animals, and is therefore held to prove that men and mammoths were contemporaries.'

 

The Rev. Dr. Opimian. A weapon of war? Had it a handle? Is there a hole for a handle?

 

Mr. MacBorrowdale. That does not appear.

 

The Rev. Dr. Opimian. These flints, and no other traces of men, among the bones of mammoths?

 

Mr. MacBorrowdale. None whatever.

 

The Rev. Dr. Opimian. What do the Artium Societatis Syndicus Et Socii suppose to have become of the men who produced these demonstrations⁴⁷ of high aboriginal⁴⁸ art?

 

Mr. MacBorrowdale. They think these finished specimens⁴⁹ of skill in the art of chipping prove that the human race is of greater antiquity⁵⁰ than has been previously⁵¹ supposed; and the fact that there is no other relic⁵² to prove the position they consider of no moment whatever.

 

The Rev. Dr. Opimian. Ha! ha! ha! This beats the Elephant in the Moon,{1} which turned out to be a mouse in a telescope. But I can help them to an explanation of what became of these primaeval men-of-arms. They were an ethereal race, and evaporated.

 

     1 See Butler's poem, with that title, in his Miscellaneous

     Works.

 

1 conspire   

v.密谋，（事件等）巧合，共同导致

参考例句：

• They'd conspired to overthrow the government.他们曾经密谋推翻政府。
• History and geography have conspired to bring Greece to a moment of decision.历史和地理因素共同将希腊推至作出抉择的紧要关头。

2 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

3 devoted   

adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的

参考例句：

• He devoted his life to the educational cause of the motherland.他为祖国的教育事业贡献了一生。
• We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。

4 abate   

vi.(风势，疼痛等)减弱，减轻，减退

参考例句：

• We must abate the noise pollution in our city.我们必须消除我们城里的噪音污染。
• The doctor gave him some medicine to abate the powerful pain.医生给了他一些药，以减弱那剧烈的疼痛。

5 adorned   

[计]被修饰的

参考例句：

• The walls were adorned with paintings. 墙上装饰了绘画。
• And his coat was adorned with a flamboyant bunch of flowers. 他的外套上面装饰着一束艳丽刺目的鲜花。

6 saluted   

v.欢迎，致敬( salute的过去式和过去分词 )；赞扬，赞颂

参考例句：

• The sergeant stood to attention and saluted. 中士立正敬礼。
• He saluted his friends with a wave of the hand. 他挥手向他的朋友致意。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

8 theatrical   

adj.剧场的，演戏的；做戏似的，做作的

参考例句：

• The final scene was dismayingly lacking in theatrical effect.最后一场缺乏戏剧效果，叫人失望。
• She always makes some theatrical gesture.她老在做些夸张的手势。

9 eminence   

n.卓越，显赫；高地，高处；名家

参考例句：

• He is a statesman of great eminence.他是个声名显赫的政治家。
• Many of the pilots were to achieve eminence in the aeronautical world.这些飞行员中很多人将会在航空界声名显赫。

10 exertion   

n.尽力，努力

参考例句：

• We were sweating profusely from the exertion of moving the furniture.我们搬动家具大费气力，累得大汗淋漓。
• She was hot and breathless from the exertion of cycling uphill.由于用力骑车爬坡，她浑身发热。

11 accost   

v.向人搭话，打招呼

参考例句：

• He ruminated on his defenses before he should accost her father.他在与她父亲搭话前，仔细地考虑着他的防范措施。
• They have been assigned to accost strangers and extract secrets from them.他们被指派去与生疏人搭讪从并从他们那里套出奥秘。

12 undone   

a.未做完的，未完成的

参考例句：

• He left nothing undone that needed attention.所有需要注意的事他都注意到了。

13 expeditiously   

adv.迅速地，敏捷地

参考例句：

• They have to be evaluated expeditiously, carefully with the patient fully UNDRESSED. 我看过许多的枪伤患者，但是就只有阿扁的伤口没有上述情形，真是天佑台湾。 来自互联网
• We will expeditiously facilitate trade transactions with the utmost professionalism. 我们会尽快贸易便利化的交易与最大的专业水平。 来自互联网

14 mantled   

披着斗篷的，覆盖着的

参考例句：

• Clouds mantled the moon. 云把月亮遮住。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• The champagne mantled in the glass. 玻璃杯里的香槟酒面上泛起一层泡沫。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

15 tints   

色彩( tint的名词复数 )； 带白的颜色； （淡色）染发剂； 痕迹

参考例句：

• leaves with red and gold autumn tints 金秋时节略呈红黄色的树叶
• The whole countryside glowed with autumn tints. 乡间处处呈现出灿烂的秋色。

16 rev   

v.发动机旋转，加快速度

参考例句：

• It's his job to rev up the audience before the show starts.他要负责在表演开始前鼓动观众的热情。
• Don't rev the engine so hard.别让发动机转得太快。

17 graceful   

adj.优美的，优雅的；得体的

参考例句：

• His movements on the parallel bars were very graceful.他的双杠动作可帅了!
• The ballet dancer is so graceful.芭蕾舞演员的姿态是如此的优美。

18 remarkably   

ad.不同寻常地，相当地

参考例句：

• I thought she was remarkably restrained in the circumstances. 我认为她在那种情况下非常克制。
• He made a remarkably swift recovery. 他康复得相当快。

19 impelled   

v.推动、推进或敦促某人做某事( impel的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He felt impelled to investigate further. 他觉得有必要作进一步调查。
• I feel impelled to express grave doubts about the project. 我觉得不得不对这项计划深表怀疑。 来自《简明英汉词典》

20 mythological   

adj.神话的

参考例句：

• He is remembered for his historical and mythological works. 他以其带有历史感和神话色彩的作品而著称。
• But even so, the cumulative process had for most Americans a deep, almost mythological significance. 不过即使如此，移民渐增的过程，对于大部分美国人，还是意味深长的，几乎有不可思议的影响。

21 presumptuous   

adj.胆大妄为的，放肆的，冒昧的，冒失的

参考例句：

• It would be presumptuous for anybody to offer such a view.任何人提出这种观点都是太放肆了。
• It was presumptuous of him to take charge.他自拿主张，太放肆了。

22 jealousy   

n.妒忌，嫉妒，猜忌

参考例句：

• Some women have a disposition to jealousy.有些女人生性爱妒忌。
• I can't support your jealousy any longer.我再也无法忍受你的嫉妒了。

23 eccentricity   

n.古怪，反常，怪癖

参考例句：

• I can't understand the eccentricity of Henry's behavior.我不理解亨利的古怪举止。
• His eccentricity had become legendary long before he died.在他去世之前他的古怪脾气就早已闻名遐尔了。

24 deference   

n.尊重，顺从；敬意

参考例句：

• Do you treat your parents and teachers with deference?你对父母师长尊敬吗？
• The major defect of their work was deference to authority.他们的主要缺陷是趋从权威。

25 cynosure   

n.焦点

参考例句：

• Let faith be your cynosure to walk by.让信仰成为你生活中的灯塔。
• The princess,dressed head to foot in gold,was the cynosure of all eyes.公主全身上下披金戴银，是众目注视的焦点。

26 indifference   

n.不感兴趣，不关心，冷淡，不在乎

参考例句：

• I was disappointed by his indifference more than somewhat.他的漠不关心使我很失望。
• He feigned indifference to criticism of his work.他假装毫不在意别人批评他的作品。

27 mortification   

n.耻辱，屈辱

参考例句：

• To my mortification, my manuscript was rejected. 使我感到失面子的是：我的稿件被退了回来。
• The chairman tried to disguise his mortification. 主席试图掩饰自己的窘迫。

28 supremacy   

n.至上；至高权力

参考例句：

• No one could challenge her supremacy in gymnastics.她是最优秀的体操运动员，无人能胜过她。
• Theoretically,she holds supremacy as the head of the state.从理论上说，她作为国家的最高元首拥有至高无上的权力。

29 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

30 rejection   

n.拒绝，被拒，抛弃，被弃

参考例句：

• He decided not to approach her for fear of rejection.他因怕遭拒绝决定不再去找她。
• The rejection plunged her into the dark depths of despair.遭到拒绝使她陷入了绝望的深渊。

31 repentance   

n.懊悔

参考例句：

• He shows no repentance for what he has done.他对他的所作所为一点也不懊悔。
• Christ is inviting sinners to repentance.基督正在敦请有罪的人悔悟。

32 contemplated   

adj. 预期的 动词contemplate的过去分词形式

参考例句：

• The doctor contemplated the difficult operation he had to perform. 医生仔细地考虑他所要做的棘手的手术。
• The government has contemplated reforming the entire tax system. 政府打算改革整个税收体制。

33 repose   

v.(使)休息；n.安息

参考例句：

• Don't disturb her repose.不要打扰她休息。
• Her mouth seemed always to be smiling,even in repose.她的嘴角似乎总是挂着微笑，即使在睡眠时也是这样。

34 conclusive   

adj.最后的，结论的；确凿的，消除怀疑的

参考例句：

• They produced some fairly conclusive evidence.他们提供了一些相当确凿的证据。
• Franklin did not believe that the French tests were conclusive.富兰克林不相信这个法国人的实验是结论性的。

35 metaphorical   

a.隐喻的，比喻的

参考例句：

• Here, then, we have a metaphorical substitution on a metonymic axis. 这样，我们在换喻（者翻译为转喻，一种以部分代替整体的修辞方法）上就有了一个隐喻的替代。
• So, in a metaphorical sense, entropy is arrow of time. 所以说，我们可以这样作个比喻：熵像是时间之矢。

36 deduction   

n.减除，扣除，减除额；推论，推理，演绎

参考例句：

• No deduction in pay is made for absence due to illness.因病请假不扣工资。
• His deduction led him to the correct conclusion.他的推断使他得出正确的结论。

37 peculiar   

adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的

参考例句：

• He walks in a peculiar fashion.他走路的样子很奇特。
• He looked at me with a very peculiar expression.他用一种很奇怪的表情看着我。

38 riddle   

n.谜，谜语，粗筛；vt.解谜，给…出谜，筛，检查，鉴定，非难，充满于；vi.出谜

参考例句：

• The riddle couldn't be solved by the child.这个谜语孩子猜不出来。
• Her disappearance is a complete riddle.她的失踪完全是一个谜。

39 encyclopedia   

n.百科全书

参考例句：

• The encyclopedia fell to the floor with a thud.那本百科全书砰的一声掉到地上。
• Geoff is a walking encyclopedia.He knows about everything.杰夫是个活百科全书，他什么都懂。

40 encyclopaedia   

n.百科全书

参考例句：

• An encyclopaedia contains a lot of knowledge.百科全书包含很多知识。
• This is an encyclopaedia of philosophy.这是本哲学百科全书。

41 petrifaction   

n.石化，化石；吓呆；惊呆

参考例句：

• This petrifaction may be existed over two million years.这块化石可能存在超过二百万年了。
• Chinese petrifaction ought to become competitive transnational corporation.中国石化应当成为有竞争力的跨国公司。

42 antediluvian   

adj.史前的，陈旧的

参考例句：

• His ideas are positively antediluvian!他的思想是纯粹的老古董。
• This antediluvian monetary system has now been replaced by the up-to-date monetary system of Japan.这种旧式的金融体系也已经被现代化的日本系统所取代。

43 purported   

adj.传说的，谣传的v.声称是…，（装得）像是…的样子( purport的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• the scene of the purported crime 传闻中的罪案发生地点
• The film purported to represent the lives of ordinary people. 这部影片声称旨在表现普通人的生活。 来自《简明英汉词典》

44 conjecture   

n./v.推测，猜测

参考例句：

• She felt it no use to conjecture his motives.她觉得猜想他的动机是没有用的。
• This conjecture is not supported by any real evidence.这种推测未被任何确切的证据所证实。

45 exhausted   

adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的

参考例句：

• It was a long haul home and we arrived exhausted.搬运回家的这段路程特别长，到家时我们已筋疲力尽。
• Jenny was exhausted by the hustle of city life.珍妮被城市生活的忙乱弄得筋疲力尽。

46 germane   

adj.关系密切的，恰当的

参考例句：

• He asks questions that are germane and central to the issue.他问了一些与论点有密切关系的重要问题。
• Fenton was a good listener,and his questions were germane.芬顿听得聚精会神，提问也切中要害。

47 demonstrations   

证明( demonstration的名词复数 )； 表明； 表达； 游行示威

参考例句：

• Lectures will be interspersed with practical demonstrations. 讲课中将不时插入实际示范。
• The new military government has banned strikes and demonstrations. 新的军人政府禁止罢工和示威活动。

48 aboriginal   

adj.（指动植物）土生的，原产地的，土著的

参考例句：

• They managed to wipe out the entire aboriginal population.他们终于把那些土著人全部消灭了。
• The lndians are the aboriginal Americans.印第安人是美国的土著人。

49 specimens   

n.样品( specimen的名词复数 )；范例；（化验的）抽样；某种类型的人

参考例句：

• Astronauts have brought back specimens of rock from the moon. 宇航员从月球带回了岩石标本。
• The traveler brought back some specimens of the rocks from the mountains. 那位旅行者从山上带回了一些岩石标本。 来自《简明英汉词典》

50 antiquity   

n.古老；高龄；古物，古迹

参考例句：

• The museum contains the remains of Chinese antiquity.博物馆藏有中国古代的遗物。
• There are many legends about the heroes of antiquity.有许多关于古代英雄的传说。

51 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

52 relic   

n.神圣的遗物，遗迹，纪念物

参考例句：

• This stone axe is a relic of ancient times.这石斧是古代的遗物。
• He found himself thinking of the man as a relic from the past.他把这个男人看成是过去时代的人物。