Next morning we knew that Captain Erminger, of the frigate, had assumed command over the whole island, declared martial8 law, landed his marines, and begun operations. Soon the harbor was populous9 again, with refugees returning home. Tom came with his boat. Just as we started landward a schooner10 came round the bluffs11 bringing the Spaniards. At early twilight12 these landed and marched with much clatter13 through the vacant streets to the town's various points of entrance, there to mount guard, the Danes having gone to scatter14 the insurgents15.
The pursuing forces, in two bodies, were to move toward each other from opposite ends of the island, spanning it from sea to sea and meeting in the centre, thus entirely16 breaking up the bands of aimless pillagers into which the insurrection had already dispersed17. This took but a few days. Buddoe was almost at once trapped by the baldest flatteries of two leading Danish residents and, finding himself without even the honor of armed capture, betrayed his confederates and disappeared.
Only one small band of blacks made any marked resistance. Under a certain "Moses" they occupied a hill, hurling18 down stones upon their assailants, but were soon captured. Many leaders of the revolt were condemned19 and shot, displaying in most cases a total absence of fortitude20.
In less than a week from the day of flight to the ships quiet was restored, and a meeting of planters was adopting rules and rates for the employment of the freed slaves. Some estates resumed work at once; on others the ravages21 of the torch had first to be repaired. Some negroes would not work, and it was months before all the windmills on the hills were once more whirling. The Spaniards lingered long, but were finally relieved by a Danish regiment22. Captain Erminger was commended by his home government. The governor was censured23 and superseded24. The planters got no pay for their slaves.
The government may have argued that the ex-master should no more be paid for his slave than the ex-slave recover back pay for his labor25; and that, after all, a general emancipation26 was only a moderate raising of wages unjustly low and uniform. Both kings and congresses will at times do the easy thing instead of the fair one and let two wrongs offset27 each other. Make haste, rising generations! and, as you truly honor your fathers, bring to their graves the garlandry of juster laws and kinder, purer days.
To different minds this true story will speak, no doubt, a varying counsel. Some will believe that the lovely island was saved from the agonies of a Haytian revolution only through iron suppression. To others it will appear that the old governor's rashly timorous28 edict was, after all, the true source of deliverance. Certainly the question remains29, whether even the most sudden and ill-timed concession30 of rights, if only backed by energetic police action, is not a prompter, surer cure for public disorder31 than whole batteries of artillery32 without the concession of rights. I believe the most blundering effort for the prompt undoing33 of a grievous wrong is safer than the shrewdest or strongest effort for its continuance. Meanwhile, with what patience doth God wait for man to learn his lessons! The Holy Cross still glitters on the bosom34 of its crystal sea, as it shone before the Carib danced on its snowy sands, and as it will still shine when some new Columbus, as yet unborn, brings to it the Christianity of a purer day than ours.
Chester shook the pages together on his knee.
"Oh-h-h!" cried Mlle. Corinne to Yvonne, to Aline, to Mlle. Castanado, "the en'! and--where is all that abbout that beautiful cat what was the proprity of Dora? Everything abbout that cat of Dora--scratch out! Ah, Mr. Chezter! Yvonne and me, we find that the moze am-using part--that episode of the cat--that large, wonderful, mazculine cat of Dora! Ah, madame" [to the chair], "hardly Marie Madeleine is more wonderful than that--when Jack35 pritend to lift his li'l' miztress through the surf of the sea, how he flew at the throat of Jack, that aztonishing mazculine cat! Ah, M'sieu' Beloiseau!--and to scradge that!"
But Beloiseau was judicially36 calm. "Yes, I rim-ember that portion. Scientific-ally I foun' that very interezting; but, like Mr. Chezter, I thing tha'z better art that the tom-cat be elimin-ate."
"Well," said the chair, "w'at we want to settle--shall we accep' that riv-ision of Mr. Chezter, to combine it in the book--'Clock in the Sky,' 'Angel of the Lord,' 'Holy Crozz'--seem' to me that combination goin' to sell like hot cake'."
"Any oppose'? There is not any oppose'--Seraphine--Marcel--you'll be so good to pazz those rif-reshment?"
点击收听单词发音
1 hubbub | |
n.嘈杂;骚乱 | |
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2 suspense | |
n.(对可能发生的事)紧张感,担心,挂虑 | |
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3 frigate | |
n.护航舰,大型驱逐舰 | |
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4 swarming | |
密集( swarm的现在分词 ); 云集; 成群地移动; 蜜蜂或其他飞行昆虫成群地飞来飞去 | |
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5 oars | |
n.桨,橹( oar的名词复数 );划手v.划(行)( oar的第三人称单数 ) | |
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6 starry | |
adj.星光照耀的, 闪亮的 | |
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7 reigned | |
vi.当政,统治(reign的过去式形式) | |
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8 martial | |
adj.战争的,军事的,尚武的,威武的 | |
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9 populous | |
adj.人口稠密的,人口众多的 | |
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10 schooner | |
n.纵帆船 | |
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11 bluffs | |
恐吓( bluff的名词复数 ); 悬崖; 峭壁 | |
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12 twilight | |
n.暮光,黄昏;暮年,晚期,衰落时期 | |
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13 clatter | |
v./n.(使)发出连续而清脆的撞击声 | |
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14 scatter | |
vt.撒,驱散,散开;散布/播;vi.分散,消散 | |
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15 insurgents | |
n.起义,暴动,造反( insurgent的名词复数 ) | |
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16 entirely | |
ad.全部地,完整地;完全地,彻底地 | |
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17 dispersed | |
adj. 被驱散的, 被分散的, 散布的 | |
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18 hurling | |
n.爱尔兰式曲棍球v.猛投,用力掷( hurl的现在分词 );大声叫骂 | |
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19 condemned | |
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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20 fortitude | |
n.坚忍不拔;刚毅 | |
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21 ravages | |
劫掠后的残迹,破坏的结果,毁坏后的残迹 | |
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22 regiment | |
n.团,多数,管理;v.组织,编成团,统制 | |
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23 censured | |
v.指责,非难,谴责( censure的过去式 ) | |
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24 superseded | |
[医]被代替的,废弃的 | |
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25 labor | |
n.劳动,努力,工作,劳工;分娩;vi.劳动,努力,苦干;vt.详细分析;麻烦 | |
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26 emancipation | |
n.(从束缚、支配下)解放 | |
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27 offset | |
n.分支,补偿;v.抵消,补偿 | |
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28 timorous | |
adj.胆怯的,胆小的 | |
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29 remains | |
n.剩余物,残留物;遗体,遗迹 | |
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30 concession | |
n.让步,妥协;特许(权) | |
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31 disorder | |
n.紊乱,混乱;骚动,骚乱;疾病,失调 | |
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32 artillery | |
n.(军)火炮,大炮;炮兵(部队) | |
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33 undoing | |
n.毁灭的原因,祸根;破坏,毁灭 | |
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34 bosom | |
n.胸,胸部;胸怀;内心;adj.亲密的 | |
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35 jack | |
n.插座,千斤顶,男人;v.抬起,提醒,扛举;n.(Jake)杰克 | |
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36 judicially | |
依法判决地,公平地 | |
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37 promptly | |
adv.及时地,敏捷地 | |
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