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CHAPTER VI THE CHRISTMAS ANGEL
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Almost at the bottom of the box Miss Terry's fingers closed about a small object. Once more she drew out the papier-mâché Angel which had so excited the wonder of Norah when once before that evening it had come to light.
 
Miss Terry held it up and looked at it with the same expression on her face, half tender, half contemptuous. "The Christmas Angel!" she murmured involuntarily, as she had done before. And again there flashed through her mind a vivid picture.
 
It was the day before Christmas, fifty years earlier. She and her brother Tom were trimming the Christmas tree in this very library. She saw Tom, in a white piqué suit with short socks that were always slipping down his fat legs. She saw herself in a white dress and blue ribbons, pouting1 in a corner. They had been quarreling about the Christmas tree, disputing as to which of them should light the first candle when the time arrived. Then their mother came to them smiling, a sweet-faced lady who seemed not to notice the red faces and the tears. She put something into Tom's hand saying, "This is the Christmas Angel of peace and good-will. Hang it on the tree, children, so that it may shed a blessing2 on all who come here to give and to receive."
 
How lovely and pink it looked in Tom's hand! Little Angelina had thought it the most beautiful thing she had ever seen,—and holy, too, as if it had some blessed charm. Fiddlestick! What queer fancies children have! Miss Terry remembered how a strange thrill had crept through Angelina as she gazed at it. Then she and Tom looked at each other and were ashamed of their quarrel. Suddenly Tom held out the Angel to his sister. "You hang it on the tree, Angelina," he said magnanimously. "I know you want to."
 
But she—little fool!—she too had a fit of generosity3.
 
"No, you hang it, Tom. You're taller," she said.
 
"I'll hang it at the very top of the tree!" he replied, nothing loath4. Eagerly he mounted the step-ladder, while Angelina watched him enviously5, thinking how clumsy he was, and how much better she could do it.
 
How funny and fat Tom had looked on top of the ladder, reaching as high as he dared! The ladder began to wobble, and he balanced precariously6, while Angelina clutched at his fat ankles with a scream of fright. But Tom said:—
 
"Ow! Angelina, let go my ankles! You hurt! Now don't scream. I shan't fall. Don't you know that this is the Christmas Angel, and he will never let me get hurt on Christmas Eve?"
 
Swaying wildly on one toe Tom had clutched at the air, at the tree itself,—anywhere for support. Yet, almost as if by a miracle, he did not fall. And the Christmas Angel was looking down from the very top of the tree.
 
Miss Terry laid the little pink figure in her lap and mused7. "Mother was wise!" she sighed. "She knew how to settle our quarrels in those days. Perhaps if she had still been here things would have gone differently. Tom might not have left me for good. For good." She emphasized the words with a nod as if arguing against something.
 
Again she took up the Christmas Angel and looked earnestly at it. Could it be that tears were glistening8 in her eyes? Certainly not! With a sudden sniff9 and jerk of the shoulders she leaned forward, holding the Angel towards the fire. This should follow the other useless toys. But something seemed to stay her hand. She drew back, hesitated, then rose to her feet.
 
"I can't burn it," she said. "It's no use, I can't burn it. But I don't want to see the thing around. I will put this out on the sidewalk, too. Possibly this may be different and do some good to somebody."
 
She wrapped the shawl about her shoulders and once more ran down the steps. She left the Angel face upward in the middle of the sidewalk, and retreated quickly to the house. As she opened the door to enter, she caught the distant chorus of fresh young voices singing in a neighboring square:—
 
"Angels from the realms of glory,
Wing your flight o'er all the earth."
When she took her place behind the curtain she was trembling a little, she could not guess why. But now she watched with renewed eagerness. What was to be the fate of the Christmas Angel? Would he fall into the right hands and be hung upon some Christmas tree ere morning? Would he—
 
Miss Terry held her breath. A man was staggering along the street toward her. He whistled noisily a vulgar song, as he reeled from curb10 to railing, threatening to fall at every step. A drunken man on Christmas Eve! Miss Terry felt a great loathing11 for him. He was at the foot of the steps now. He was close upon the Angel. Would he see it, or would he tread upon it in his disgusting blindness?
 
Yes—no! He saw the little pink image lying on the bricks, and with a lurch12 forward bent13 to examine it. Miss Terry flattened14 her nose against the pane15 eagerly. She expected to see him fall upon the Angel bodily. But no; he righted himself with a whoop16 of drunken mirth.
 
"Angel!" she heard him croak17 with maudlin18 accent. "Pink Angel, begorrah! What doin' 'ere, eh? Whoop! Go back to sky, Angel!" and lifting a brutal19 foot he kicked the image into the street. Then with a shriek20 of laughter he staggered away out of sight.
 
Miss Terry found herself trembling with indignation. The idea! He had kicked the Christmas Angel,—the very Angel that Tom had hung on their tree! It was sacrilege, or at least—Fiddlestick! Miss Terry's mind was growing confused. She had a sudden impulse to rescue the toy from being trampled21 into filthiness22. The fire was better than that.
 
She hurried down the steps into the street, forgetting her shawl. She sought in the snow and snatched the pink morsel23 to safety. Straight to the fire she carried it, and once more held it to the flames. But again she found it impossible to burn the thing. Once, twice, she tried. But each time something seemed to clutch back her wrist. At last she shrugged24 impatiently and laid the Angel on the mantelpiece beside the square old marble clock, which marked the hour of half-past eight.
 
"Well, I won't burn it to-night," she reflected. "Somehow, I can't do it just now. I don't see what has got into me! But to-morrow I will. Yes, to-morrow I will."
 
She sat down in the armchair and fumbled25 in the old play box for the remaining scraps26. There were but a few meaningless bits of ribbon and gauze, with the end of a Christmas candle, the survivor27 of some past festival, burned on some tree in the past. All these but the last she tossed into the fire, where they made a final protesting blaze. The candle-end fell to the floor unnoticed.
 
"There! That is the last of the stuff," she exclaimed with grim satisfaction, shaking the dust from her black silk skirt. "It is all gone now, thank Heaven, and I can go to bed in peace. No, I forgot Norah. I suppose I must sit up and wait for her. Bother the girl! She ought to be in by now. What can she find to amuse her all this time? Christmas Eve! Fiddlestick! But I have got rid of a lot of rubbish to-night, and that is worth something."
 
She sank back in her chair and clasped her hands over her breast with a sigh. She felt strangely weary. Her eyes sought the clock once more, and doing so rested upon the Christmas Angel lying beside it. She frowned and closed her eyes to shut out the sight with its haunting memories and suggestions——
 

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1 pouting f5e25f4f5cb47eec0e279bd7732e444b     
v.撅(嘴)( pout的现在分词 )
参考例句:
  • The child sat there pouting. 那孩子坐在那儿,一副不高兴的样子。 来自辞典例句
  • She was almost pouting at his hesitation. 她几乎要为他这种犹犹豫豫的态度不高兴了。 来自辞典例句
2 blessing UxDztJ     
n.祈神赐福;祷告;祝福,祝愿
参考例句:
  • The blessing was said in Hebrew.祷告用了希伯来语。
  • A double blessing has descended upon the house.双喜临门。
3 generosity Jf8zS     
n.大度,慷慨,慷慨的行为
参考例句:
  • We should match their generosity with our own.我们应该像他们一样慷慨大方。
  • We adore them for their generosity.我们钦佩他们的慷慨。
4 loath 9kmyP     
adj.不愿意的;勉强的
参考例句:
  • The little girl was loath to leave her mother.那小女孩不愿离开她的母亲。
  • They react on this one problem very slow and very loath.他们在这一问题上反应很慢,很不情愿。
5 enviously ltrzjY     
adv.满怀嫉妒地
参考例句:
  • Yet again, they were looking for their way home blindly, enviously. 然而,它们又一次盲目地、忌妒地寻找着归途。 来自辞典例句
  • Tanya thought enviously, he must go a long way south. 坦妮亚歆羡不置,心里在想,他准是去那遥远的南方的。 来自辞典例句
6 precariously 8l8zT3     
adv.不安全地;危险地;碰机会地;不稳定地
参考例句:
  • The hotel was perched precariously on a steep hillside. 旅馆危险地坐落在陡峭的山坡上。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The phone was perched precariously on the window ledge. 电话放在窗台上,摇摇欲坠。 来自《简明英汉词典》
7 mused 0affe9d5c3a243690cca6d4248d41a85     
v.沉思,冥想( muse的过去式和过去分词 );沉思自语说(某事)
参考例句:
  • \"I wonder if I shall ever see them again, \"he mused. “我不知道是否还可以再见到他们,”他沉思自问。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • \"Where are we going from here?\" mused one of Rutherford's guests. 卢瑟福的一位客人忍不住说道:‘我们这是在干什么?” 来自英汉非文学 - 科学史
8 glistening glistening     
adj.闪耀的,反光的v.湿物闪耀,闪亮( glisten的现在分词 )
参考例句:
  • Her eyes were glistening with tears. 她眼里闪着晶莹的泪花。
  • Her eyes were glistening with tears. 她眼睛中的泪水闪着柔和的光。 来自《用法词典》
9 sniff PF7zs     
vi.嗅…味道;抽鼻涕;对嗤之以鼻,蔑视
参考例句:
  • The police used dogs to sniff out the criminals in their hiding - place.警察使用警犬查出了罪犯的藏身地点。
  • When Munchie meets a dog on the beach, they sniff each other for a while.当麦奇在海滩上碰到另一条狗的时候,他们会彼此嗅一会儿。
10 curb LmRyy     
n.场外证券市场,场外交易;vt.制止,抑制
参考例句:
  • I could not curb my anger.我按捺不住我的愤怒。
  • You must curb your daughter when you are in church.你在教堂时必须管住你的女儿。
11 loathing loathing     
n.厌恶,憎恨v.憎恨,厌恶( loathe的现在分词);极不喜欢
参考例句:
  • She looked at her attacker with fear and loathing . 她盯着襲擊她的歹徒,既害怕又憎恨。
  • They looked upon the creature with a loathing undisguised. 他们流露出明显的厌恶看那动物。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
12 lurch QR8z9     
n.突然向前或旁边倒;v.蹒跚而行
参考例句:
  • It has been suggested that the ground movements were a form of lurch movements.地震的地面运动曾被认为是一种突然倾斜的运动形式。
  • He walked with a lurch.他步履蹒跚。
13 bent QQ8yD     
n.爱好,癖好;adj.弯的;决心的,一心的
参考例句:
  • He was fully bent upon the project.他一心扑在这项计划上。
  • We bent over backward to help them.我们尽了最大努力帮助他们。
14 flattened 1d5d9fedd9ab44a19d9f30a0b81f79a8     
[医](水)平扁的,弄平的
参考例句:
  • She flattened her nose and lips against the window. 她把鼻子和嘴唇紧贴着窗户。
  • I flattened myself against the wall to let them pass. 我身体紧靠着墙让他们通过。
15 pane OKKxJ     
n.窗格玻璃,长方块
参考例句:
  • He broke this pane of glass.他打破了这块窗玻璃。
  • Their breath bloomed the frosty pane.他们呼出的水气,在冰冷的窗玻璃上形成一层雾。
16 whoop qIhys     
n.大叫,呐喊,喘息声;v.叫喊,喘息
参考例句:
  • He gave a whoop of joy when he saw his new bicycle.他看到自己的新自行车时,高兴得叫了起来。
  • Everybody is planning to whoop it up this weekend.大家都打算在这个周末好好欢闹一番。
17 croak yYLzJ     
vi.嘎嘎叫,发牢骚
参考例句:
  • Everyone seemed rather out of sorts and inclined to croak.每个人似乎都有点不对劲,想发发牢骚。
  • Frogs began to croak with the rainfall.蛙随着雨落开始哇哇叫。
18 maudlin NBwxQ     
adj.感情脆弱的,爱哭的
参考例句:
  • He always becomes maudlin after he's had a few drinks.他喝了几杯酒后总是变得多愁善感。
  • She continued in the same rather maudlin tone.她继续用那种颇带几分伤感的语调说话。
19 brutal bSFyb     
adj.残忍的,野蛮的,不讲理的
参考例句:
  • She has to face the brutal reality.她不得不去面对冷酷的现实。
  • They're brutal people behind their civilised veneer.他们表面上温文有礼,骨子里却是野蛮残忍。
20 shriek fEgya     
v./n.尖叫,叫喊
参考例句:
  • Suddenly he began to shriek loudly.突然他开始大声尖叫起来。
  • People sometimes shriek because of terror,anger,or pain.人们有时会因为恐惧,气愤或疼痛而尖叫。
21 trampled 8c4f546db10d3d9e64a5bba8494912e6     
踩( trample的过去式和过去分词 ); 践踏; 无视; 侵犯
参考例句:
  • He gripped his brother's arm lest he be trampled by the mob. 他紧抓着他兄弟的胳膊,怕他让暴民踩着。
  • People were trampled underfoot in the rush for the exit. 有人在拼命涌向出口时被踩在脚下。
22 filthiness 1625013fe9e81cf6f41d8b7f5512d510     
参考例句:
  • For all tables are full of vomit filthiness, so that there is no place clean. 8因为各席上满了呕吐的污秽,无一处乾净。
  • Say it when you learn the Darkness, the Filthiness and the ugliness of its outside. 不是因为在象牙塔中,才说出我爱世界这样的话,是知道外面的黑,脏,丑陋之后,还要说出这样的话。
23 morsel Q14y4     
n.一口,一点点
参考例句:
  • He refused to touch a morsel of the food they had brought.他们拿来的东西他一口也不吃。
  • The patient has not had a morsel of food since the morning.从早上起病人一直没有进食。
24 shrugged 497904474a48f991a3d1961b0476ebce     
vt.耸肩(shrug的过去式与过去分词形式)
参考例句:
  • Sam shrugged and said nothing. 萨姆耸耸肩膀,什么也没说。
  • She shrugged, feigning nonchalance. 她耸耸肩,装出一副无所谓的样子。 来自《简明英汉词典》
25 fumbled 78441379bedbe3ea49c53fb90c34475f     
(笨拙地)摸索或处理(某事物)( fumble的过去式和过去分词 ); 乱摸,笨拙地弄; 使落下
参考例句:
  • She fumbled in her pocket for a handkerchief. 她在她口袋里胡乱摸找手帕。
  • He fumbled about in his pockets for the ticket. 他(瞎)摸着衣兜找票。
26 scraps 737e4017931b7285cdd1fa3eb9dd77a3     
油渣
参考例句:
  • Don't litter up the floor with scraps of paper. 不要在地板上乱扔纸屑。
  • A patchwork quilt is a good way of using up scraps of material. 做杂拼花布棉被是利用零碎布料的好办法。
27 survivor hrIw8     
n.生存者,残存者,幸存者
参考例句:
  • The sole survivor of the crash was an infant.这次撞车的惟一幸存者是一个婴儿。
  • There was only one survivor of the plane crash.这次飞机失事中只有一名幸存者。


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