The Duchess was lodged1 in the Borromini wing of the palace, and thitherOdo was conducted that evening.
To eyes accustomed to such ceremonial there was no great novelty in thetroop of powdered servants, the major-domo in his short cloak and chain,and the florid splendour of the long suite3 of rooms, decorated in astyle that already appeared over-charged to the more fastidious taste ofthe day. Odo's curiosity centred chiefly in the persons peopling thisscene, whose conflicting interests and passions formed, as it were, theframework of the social structure of Pianura, so that there was not alabourer in the mulberry-orchards or a weaver4 in the silk-looms butdepended for his crust of black bread and the leaking roof over his headon the private whim5 of some member of that brilliant company.
The Duchess, who soon entered, received Odo with the flighty good-natureof a roving mind; but as her deep-blue gaze met his her colour rose, hereyes lingered on his face, and she invited him to a seat at her side.
Maria Clementina was of Austrian descent, and something in her free andnoble port and the smiling arrogance6 of her manner recalled the aspectof her distant kinswoman, the young Queen of France. She plied7 Odo witha hundred questions, interrupting his answers with a playful abruptness,and to all appearances more engaged by his person than his discourse8.
"Have you seen my son?" she asked. "I remember you a little boy scarcebigger than Ferrante, whom your mother brought to kiss my hand in thevery year of my marriage. Yes--and you pinched my toy spaniel, sir, andI was so angry with you that I got up and turned my back on thecompany--do you remember? But how should you, being such a child at thetime? Ah, cousin how old you make me feel! I would to God my son lookedas you did then; but the Duke is killing9 him with his nostrums10. Thechild was healthy enough when he was born; but what with novenas andtouching of relics11 and animal magnetism12 and electrical treatment,there's not a bone in his little body but the saints and the surgeonsare fighting over its possession. Have you read 'Emile,' cousin, by thenew French author--I forget his name? Well, I would have the childbrought up like 'Emile,' allowed to run wild in the country and grow upsturdy and hard as a little peasant. But what heresies13 am I talking! Thebook is on the Index, I believe, and if my director knew I had it in mylibrary I should be set up in the stocks in the market-place and all mycourt-gowns burnt at the Church door as a warning against the danger ofimporting the new fashions from France!--I hope you hunt, cousin?" shecried suddenly. "'Tis my chief diversion and one I would have my friendsenjoy with me. His Highness has lately seen fit to cut down my stables,so that I have scarce forty saddle-horses to my name, and the greaterpart but sorry nags14 at that; yet I can still find a mount for any friendthat will ride with me and I hope to see you among the number if theDuke can spare you now and then from mass and benediction15. His Highnesscomplains that I am always surrounded by the same company; but is it myfault if there are not twenty persons at court that can survive a day inthe saddle and a night at cards? Have you seen the Belverde, my mistressof the robes? She follows the hunt in a litter, cousin, and tells herbeads at the death! I hope you like cards too, cousin, for I would haveall my weaknesses shared by my friends, that they may be the lessdisposed to criticise16 them."The impression produced on the Duchess by the cavaliere Valsecca wasclosely observed by several members of the group surrounding herHighness. One of these was Count Trescorre, who moved among thecourtiers with an air of ease that seemed to establish withoutproclaiming the tie between himself and the Duchess. When MariaClementina sat down at play, Trescorre joined Odo and with his usualfriendliness pointed17 out the most conspicuous18 figures in the circle. TheDuchess's society, as the Duke had implied, was composed of the liveliermembers of the court, chief among whom was the same Don Serafino who hadfigured so vividly19 in the reminiscences of Mirandolina and Cantapresto.
This gentleman, a notorious loose-liver and gamester, with some remainsof good looks and a gay boisterous21 manner, played the leader of revelsto her Highness's following; and at his heels came the flock of prettywomen and dashing spendthrifts who compose the train of a young andpleasure-loving princess. On such occasions as the present, however, allthe members of the court were obliged to pay their duty to her Highness;and conspicuous among these less frequent visitors was the Duke'sdirector, the suave22 and handsome Dominican whom Odo had seen leaving hisHighness's closet that afternoon. This ecclesiastic23 was engaged inconversation with the Prime Minister, Count Pievepelago, a small feeblemannikin covered with gold lace and orders. The deference24 with which thelatter followed the Dominican's discourse excited Odo's attention; butit was soon diverted by the approach of a lady who joined herself to thegroup with an air of discreet25 familiarity. Though no longer young, shewas still slender and graceful26, and her languid eye and vapourish mannerseemed to Odo to veil an uncommon27 alertness of perception. The richsobriety of her dress, the jewelled rosary about her wrist, and most ofall, perhaps, the murderous sweetness of the smile with which theDuchess addressed her, told him that here was the Countess Belverde; aninference which Trescorre confirmed.
"The Countess," said he, "or I should rather say the Marchioness ofBoscofolto, since the Duke has just bestowed28 on her the fief of thatname, is impatient to make your acquaintance; and since you doubtlessremember the saying of the Marquis de Montesquieu, that to know a rulerone must know his confessor and his mistress, you will perhaps be gladto seize both opportunities in one."The Countess greeted Odo with a flattering deference and at once drewhim into conversation with Pievepelago and the Dominican.
"We are discussing," said she, "the details of Prince Ferrante'sapproaching visit to the shrine29 of our Lady of the Mountain. This shrinelies about half an hour's ride beyond my villa30 of Boscofolto, where Ihope to have the honour of receiving their Highnesses on their returnfrom the pilgrimage. The Madonna del Monte, as you doubtless know, hasoften preserved the ducal house in seasons of peril31, notably32 during thegreat plague of 1630 and during the famine in the Duchess Polixena'stime, when her Highness, of blessed memory, met our Lady in the streetsdistributing bread, in the dress of a peasant-woman from the hills, butwith a necklace made of blood-drops instead of garnets. Father Ignaziohas lately counselled the little prince's visiting in state theprotectress of his line, and his Highness's physician, CountHeiligenstern, does not disapprove33 the plan. In fact," she added, "Iunderstand that he thinks all special acts of piety34 beneficial, assymbolising the inward act by which the soul incessantly35 strives toreunite itself to the One."The Dominican glanced at Odo with a smile. "The Count's dialectics,"said he, "might be dangerous were they a little clearer; but we musthope he distinguishes more accurately36 between his drugs than hisdogmas.""But I am told," the Prime Minister here interposed in a creaking rustyvoice, "that her Highness is set against the pilgrimage and will putevery obstacle in the way of its being performed."The Countess sighed and cast down her eyes, the Dominican remainedsilent, and Trescorre said quietly to Odo, "Her Highness would bepleased to have you join her in a game at basset." As they crossed theroom he added in a low tone: "The Duchess, in spite of her remarkablestrength of character, is still of an age to be readily open to newinfluences. I observed she was much taken by your conversation, and youwould be doing her a service by engaging her not to oppose thispilgrimage to Boscofolto. We have Heiligenstern's word that it cannotharm the prince, it will produce a good impression on the people, and itis of vital importance to her Highness not to side against the Duke insuch matters." And he withdrew with a smile as Odo approached thecard-table.
Odo left the Duchess's circle with an increased desire to penetrate37 moredeeply into the organisation38 of the little world about him, to trace theoperation of its various parts, and to put his hand on the mainspringabout which they revolved39; and he wondered whether Gamba, whoseconnection with the ducal library must give him some insight into theaffairs of the court, might not prove as instructive a guide throughthis labyrinth40 as through the mazes41 of the ducal garden.
The Duke's library filled a series of rooms designed in the classicalstyle of the cinque-cento. On the very threshold Odo was conscious ofleaving behind the trivial activities of the palace, with the fantasticarchitecture which seemed their natural setting. Here all was based on anoble permanence of taste, a convergence of accumulated effort toward achosen end; and the door was fittingly surmounted42 by Seneca's definitionof the wise man's state: "Omnia illi secula ut deo serviunt."Odo would gladly have lingered among the books which filled the roomswith an incense-like aroma43 of old leather. His imagination caressed44 inpassing the yellowish vellum backs, the worn tooling of Aldine folios,the heavy silver clasps of ancient chronicles and psalters; but hisfirst object was to find Gamba and renew the conversation of theprevious day. In this he was disappointed. The only occupant of thelibrary was the hunchback's friend and protector, the abate45 Crescenti, atall white-haired priest with the roseate gravity and benevolent46 air ofa donator in some Flemish triptych. The abate, courteously47 welcomingOdo, explained that he had despatched his assistant to the Benedictinemonastery to copy certain ancient records of transactions between thatorder and the Lords of Valsecca, and added that Gamba, on his return,should at once be apprised48 of the cavaliere's wish to see him.
The abate himself had been engaged, when his visitor entered, incollating manuscripts, but on Odo's begging him to return to his work,he said with a smile: "I do not suffer from an excess of interruptions,for the library is the least visited portion of the palace, and I amglad to welcome any who are disposed to inspect its treasures. I knownot, cavaliere," he added, "if the report of my humble49 labours has everreached you;" and on Odo's affirmative gesture he went on, with theeagerness of a shy man who gathers assurance from the intelligence ofhis listener: "Such researches into the rude and uncivilised past seemto me as essential to the comprehension of the present as the masteringof the major premiss to the understanding of a syllogism50; and to thosewho reproach me for wasting my life over the chronicles of barbarianinvasions and the records of monkish51 litigations, instead ofcontemplating the illustrious deeds of Greek sages52 and Roman heroes, Iconfidently reply that it is more useful to a man to know his ownfather's character than that of a remote ancestor. Even in this quietretreat," he went on, "I hear much talk of abuses and of the need forreform; and I often think that if they who rail so loudly againstexisting institutions would take the trouble to trace them to theirsource, and would, for instance, compare this state as it is today withits condition five hundred or a thousand years ago, instead of measuringit by the standard of some imaginary Platonic53 republic, they would find,if not less subject for complaint, yet fuller means of understanding andremedying the abuses they discover."This view of history was one so new in the abate Crescenti's day that itsurprised Odo with the revelation of unsuspected possibilities. How wasit that among the philosophers whose works he had studied, none hadthought of tracing in the social and political tendencies of the racethe germ of wrongs so confidently ascribed to the cunning of priests andthe rapacity54 of princes? Odo listened with growing interest whileCrescenti, encouraged by his questions, pointed out how the abuses offeudalism had arisen from the small land-owner's need of protectionagainst the northern invader55, as the concentration of royal prerogativehad been the outcome of the king's intervention56 between his greatvassals and the communes. The discouragement which had obscured Odo'soutlook since his visit to Pontesordo was cleared away by the discoverythat in a sympathetic study of the past might lie the secret of dealingwith present evils. His imagination, taking the intervening obstacles ata bound, arrived at once at the general axiom to which such inductionspointed; and if he afterward57 learned that human development follows nosuch direct line of advance, but must painfully stumble across thewastes of error, prejudice and ignorance, while the theoriser traversesthe same distance with a stroke of his speculative58 pinions59; yet theinfluence of these teachings tempered his judgments60 with charity anddignified his very failures by a tragic62 sense of their inevitableness.
Crescenti suggested that Gamba should wait on Odo that evening; but thelatter, being uncertain how far he might dispose of his time, enquiredwhere the hunchback lodged, with a view of sending for him at aconvenient moment. Having dined at the Duchess's table, and soonwearying of the vapid63 company of her associates, he yielded to thedesire for contrast that so often guided his course, and set out towardsunset in search of Gamba's lodging64.
It was his first opportunity of inspecting the town at leisure, and fora while he let his curiosity lead him as it would. The streets near thepalace were full of noble residences, recording65, in their sculptureddoorways, in the wrought-iron work of torch-holders and window-grilles,and in every architectural detail, the gradual change of taste that hadtransformed the machicolations of the mediaeval fighter into the opencortiles and airy balconies of his descendant. Here and there, amidthese inveterate66 records of dominion67, rose the monuments of a mightierand more ancient power. Of these churches and monasteries68 the greaternumber, dating only from the ascendancy69 of the Valseccas, showed anordered and sumptuous70 architecture; but one or two buildings survivingfrom the period of the free city stood out among them with the austerityof desert saints in a throng71 of court ecclesiastics72. The columns of theCathedral porch were still supported on featureless porphyry lions wornsmooth by generations of loungers; and above the octagonal baptisteryran a fantastic basrelief wherein the spirals of the vine framed anallegory of men and monsters symbolising, in their mysterious conflicts,the ever-recurring Manicheism of the middle ages. Fresh from his talkwith Crescenti, Odo lingered curiously73 on these sculptures, which butthe day before he might have passed by as the efforts of ignorantworkmen, but which now seemed full of the significance that belongs toany incomplete expression of human thought or feeling. Of their relationto the growth of art he had as yet no clear notion; but as evidence ofsensations that his forefathers74 had struggled to record, they touchedhim like the inarticulate stammerings in which childhood strives toconvey its meaning.
He found Gamba's lodging on the upper floor of a decayed palace in oneof the by-lanes near the Cathedral. The pointed arcades75 of this ancientbuilding enclosed the remains20 of floriated mouldings, and the walls ofthe court showed traces of fresco-painting; but clothes-lines now hungbetween the arches, and about the well-head in the centre of the courtsat a group of tattered76 women with half-naked children playing in thedirt at their feet. One of these women directed Odo to the staircasewhich ascended77 between damp stone walls to Gamba's door. This was openedby the hunchback himself, who, with an astonished exclamation78, admittedhis visitor to a scantily79 furnished room littered with books and papers.
A child sprawled80 on the floor, and a young woman, who had been sewing inthe fading light of the attic81 window, snatched him up as Odo entered.
Her back being turned to the light, he caught only a slender youthfuloutline; but something in the turn of the head, the shrinking curve ofthe shoulders, carried him back to the little barefoot figure coweringin a corner of the kitchen at Pontesordo, while the farm-yard rang withFilomena's call--"Where are you then, child of iniquity82?""Momola--don't you know me?" he exclaimed.
She hung back trembling, as though the sound of his voice roused an echoof fear; but Gamba, reddening slightly, took her hand and led herforward.
"It is, indeed," said he, "your excellency's old playmate, the Momola ofPontesordo, who consents to share my poverty and who makes me forget itby the tenderness of her devotion."But Momola, at this, found voice. "Oh, sir," she cried, "it is he whotook me in when I was half-dead and starving, who many a time wenthungry to feed me, and who cares for the child as if it were his own!"As she stood there, in her half-wild hollowed-eyed beauty, which seemeda sickly efflorescence of the marshes84, pressing to her breast another"child of iniquity" as pale and elfish as her former self, she seemed toOdo the embodiment of ancient wrongs, risen from the wasted soil tohaunt the dreams of its oppressors.
Gamba shrugged85 his shoulders. "Why," said he, "a child of my own is aluxury I am never likely to possess as long as I have wit to rememberthe fundamental axiom of philosophy: entia non sunt multiplicandapraeter necessitatum; so it is natural enough fate should single me outto repair the negligence86 of those who have failed to observe thatadmirable principle. And now," he added, turning gently to Momola, "itis time to put the boy to bed."When the door had closed on her Odo turned to Gamba. "I could learnnothing at Pontesordo," he said. "They seemed unwilling87 to speak of her.
What is her story and where did you first know her?"Gamba's face darkened. "You will remember, cavaliere," he said, "thatsome time after your departure from Pianura I passed into the service ofthe Marquess of Cerveno, then a youth of about twenty, who combined withgraceful manners and a fair exterior88 a nature so corrupt89 and cowardlythat he seemed like some such noble edifice90 as this, designed to housegreat hopes and high ambitions, but fallen to base uses and become theshelter of thieves and prostitutes. Prince Ferrante being sickly fromhis birth, the Marquess was always looked on as the Duke's successor,and to Trescorre, who even then, as Master of the Horse, cherished theambitions he has since realised, no prospect91 could have been moredistasteful. My noble brother, to do him justice, has always hated theJesuits, who, as you doubtless know, were all-powerful here before therecent suppression of the Order. The Marquess of Cerveno was ascompletely under their control as the Duke is under that of theDominicans, and Trescorre knew that with the Marquess's accession hisown rule must end. He did his best to gain an influence over his futureruler, but failing in this resolved to ruin him.
"Cerveno, like all your house, was passionately92 addicted93 to the chase,and spent much time hunting in the forest of Pontesordo. One day thestag was brought to bay in the farm-yard of the old manor94, and thereCerveno saw Momola, then a girl of sixteen, of a singular wild beautywhich sickness and trouble have since effaced95. The young Marquess wasinstantly taken; and though hitherto indifferent to women, yielded socompletely to his infatuation that Trescorre, ever on the alert, saw init an unexpected means to his end. He instantly married Momola toGiannozzo, whom she feared and hated; he schooled Giannozzo in the partof the jealous and vindictive96 husband, and by the liberal use of moneycontrived that Momola, while suffered to encourage the Marquess'saddresses, should be kept so close that Cerveno could not see her saveby coming to Pontesordo. This was the first step in the plan; the nextwas to arrange that Momola should lure61 her lover to the hunting-lodge2 onthe edge of the chase. This lodge, as your excellency may remember, lieslevel with the marsh83, and so open to noxious97 exhalations that a night'ssojourn there may be fatal. The infernal scheme was carried out with theconnivance of the scoundrels at the farm, who had no scruples99 aboutselling the girl for a few ducats; and as to Momola, can you wonder thather loathing100 of Giannozzo and of her wretched life at Pontesordo threwher defenceless into Trescorre's toils101? All was cunningly planned toexasperate Cerveno's passion and Momola's longing102 to escape; and atlength, pressed by his entreaties103 and innocently carrying out thedesigns of his foe104, the poor girl promised to meet him after night-fallat the hunting-lodge. The secrecy105 of the adventure, and the peril towhich it exposed him (for Trescorre had taken care to paint Giannozzoand his father in the darkest colours) were fuel to Cerveno's passion,and he went night after night to Pontesordo. The time was August, whenthe marsh breathes death, and the Duke, apprised of his favourite'simprudence, forbade his returning to the chase.
"Nothing could better have served Trescorre; for opposition106 spurred theMarquess's languid temper, and he had now the incredible folly107 to takeup his residence in the lodge. Within three weeks the fever held him. Hewas at once taken to Pianura, and on recovering from his seizure108 wassent to take the mountain air at the baths of Lucca. But the poison wasin his blood. He never regained109 more than a semblance110 of health, and hismadness having run its course, his passion for Momola turned to hate ofthe poor girl to whom he ascribed his destruction. Giannozzo, meanwhile,terrified by the report that the Duke had winded the intrigue111, andfearing to be charged with connivance98, thought to prove his innocence112 bycasting off his wife and disowning her child.
"What part I played in this grim business I leave your excellency toconceive. As the Marquess's creature I was forced to assist at thespectacle without power to stay its consequences; but when the child wasborn I carried the news to my master and begged him to come to themother's aid. For answer, he had me beaten by his lacqueys and flung outof his house. I stomached the beating and addressed myself to Trescorre.
My noble brother, whose insight is seldom at fault, saw that I knewenough to imperil him. The Marquess was dying and his enemy could affordto be generous. He gave me a little money and the following yearobtained from the Duke my appointment as assistant librarian. In thisway I was able to give Momola a home, and to save her child from theInnocenti. She and I, cavaliere, are the misshapen offspring of thatcruel foster-parent, who rears more than half the malefactors in thestate; but please heaven the boy shall have a better start in life, andperhaps grow up to destroy some of the evils on which that cursedcharity thrives."This narrative113, and the sight of Momola and her child, followed sostrangely on the spectacle of sordid114 misery115 he had witnessed atPontesordo, that an inarticulate pity held Odo by the throat. Gamba'sanger against the people at the farm seemed as senseless as their owncruelty to their animals. What were they all--Momola, her child, and herpersecutors--but a sickly growth of the decaying social order? He feltan almost physical longing for fresh air, light, the rush of a purifyingwind through the atmosphere of moral darkness that surrounded him.
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lodged
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| v.存放( lodge的过去式和过去分词 )；暂住；埋入；（权利、权威等）归属 | |
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lodge
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| v.临时住宿，寄宿，寄存，容纳；n.传达室，小旅馆 | |
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suite
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| n.一套(家具)；套房；随从人员 | |
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weaver
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| n.织布工；编织者 | |
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whim
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| n.一时的兴致，突然的念头；奇想，幻想 | |
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arrogance
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plied
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| v.使用（工具）( ply的过去式和过去分词 )；经常供应（食物、饮料）；固定往来；经营生意 | |
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discourse
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| n.论文，演说；谈话；话语；vi.讲述，著述 | |
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killing
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| n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财 | |
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nostrums
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| n.骗人的疗法，有专利权的药品( nostrum的名词复数 )；妙策 | |
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relics
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| [pl.］n.遗物，遗迹，遗产；遗体，尸骸 | |
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magnetism
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| n.磁性，吸引力，磁学 | |
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heresies
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| n.异端邪说，异教( heresy的名词复数 ) | |
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nags
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| n.不断地挑剔或批评（某人）( nag的名词复数 )；不断地烦扰或伤害（某人）；无休止地抱怨；不断指责v.不断地挑剔或批评（某人）( nag的第三人称单数 )；不断地烦扰或伤害（某人）；无休止地抱怨；不断指责 | |
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benediction
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| n.祝福；恩赐 | |
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criticise
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| v.批评，评论；非难 | |
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pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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conspicuous
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| adj.明眼的，惹人注目的；炫耀的，摆阔气的 | |
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vividly
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| adv.清楚地，鲜明地，生动地 | |
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remains
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| n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹 | |
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boisterous
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| adj.喧闹的，欢闹的 | |
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suave
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| adj.温和的；柔和的；文雅的 | |
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ecclesiastic
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| n.教士，基督教会；adj.神职者的，牧师的，教会的 | |
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deference
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| n.尊重，顺从；敬意 | |
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discreet
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| adj.(言行)谨慎的；慎重的；有判断力的 | |
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graceful
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| adj.优美的，优雅的；得体的 | |
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uncommon
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| adj.罕见的，非凡的，不平常的 | |
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bestowed
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| 赠给，授予( bestow的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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shrine
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| n.圣地，神龛，庙；v.将...置于神龛内，把...奉为神圣 | |
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villa
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| n.别墅，城郊小屋 | |
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peril
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| n.(严重的)危险；危险的事物 | |
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notably
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| adv.值得注意地，显著地，尤其地，特别地 | |
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disapprove
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| v.不赞成，不同意，不批准 | |
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piety
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| n.虔诚，虔敬 | |
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incessantly
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| ad.不停地 | |
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accurately
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| adv.准确地，精确地 | |
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penetrate
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| v.透(渗)入；刺入，刺穿；洞察，了解 | |
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organisation
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| n.组织，安排，团体，有机休 | |
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revolved
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| v.（使）旋转( revolve的过去式和过去分词 )；细想 | |
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labyrinth
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| n.迷宫；难解的事物；迷路 | |
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41
mazes
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| 迷宫( maze的名词复数 )； 纷繁复杂的规则； 复杂难懂的细节； 迷宫图 | |
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surmounted
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| 战胜( surmount的过去式和过去分词 )； 克服（困难）； 居于…之上； 在…顶上 | |
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43
aroma
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| n.香气，芬芳，芳香 | |
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caressed
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| 爱抚或抚摸…( caress的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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abate
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| vi.(风势，疼痛等)减弱，减轻，减退 | |
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benevolent
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| adj.仁慈的，乐善好施的 | |
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courteously
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| adv.有礼貌地，亲切地 | |
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apprised
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| v.告知，通知( apprise的过去式和过去分词 )；评价 | |
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humble
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| adj.谦卑的，恭顺的；地位低下的；v.降低，贬低 | |
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syllogism
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| n.演绎法，三段论法 | |
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51
monkish
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| adj.僧侣的，修道士的，禁欲的 | |
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52
sages
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| n.圣人( sage的名词复数 )；智者；哲人；鼠尾草（可用作调料） | |
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platonic
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| adj.精神的；柏拉图（哲学）的 | |
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rapacity
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| n.贪婪，贪心，劫掠的欲望 | |
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invader
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| n.侵略者，侵犯者，入侵者 | |
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56
intervention
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| n.介入，干涉，干预 | |
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afterward
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| adv.后来；以后 | |
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speculative
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| adj.思索性的，暝想性的，推理的 | |
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pinions
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| v.抓住[捆住]（双臂）( pinion的第三人称单数 ) | |
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judgments
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| 判断( judgment的名词复数 )； 鉴定； 评价； 审判 | |
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lure
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| n.吸引人的东西，诱惑物；vt.引诱，吸引 | |
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tragic
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| adj.悲剧的，悲剧性的，悲惨的 | |
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vapid
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| adj.无味的；无生气的 | |
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lodging
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| n.寄宿，住所；(大学生的)校外宿舍 | |
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recording
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| n.录音，记录 | |
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inveterate
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| adj.积习已深的，根深蒂固的 | |
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dominion
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| n.统治，管辖，支配权；领土，版图 | |
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monasteries
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| 修道院( monastery的名词复数 ) | |
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ascendancy
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| n.统治权，支配力量 | |
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sumptuous
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| adj.豪华的，奢侈的，华丽的 | |
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throng
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| n.人群，群众；v.拥挤，群集 | |
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ecclesiastics
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| n.神职者，教会，牧师( ecclesiastic的名词复数 ) | |
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curiously
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| adv.有求知欲地；好问地；奇特地 | |
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forefathers
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| n.祖先，先人；祖先，祖宗( forefather的名词复数 )；列祖列宗；前人 | |
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arcades
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| n.商场( arcade的名词复数 )；拱形走道（两旁有商店或娱乐设施）；连拱廊；拱形建筑物 | |
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tattered
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| adj.破旧的，衣衫破的 | |
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ascended
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| v.上升，攀登( ascend的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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exclamation
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| n.感叹号，惊呼，惊叹词 | |
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scantily
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| adv.缺乏地；不充足地；吝啬地；狭窄地 | |
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sprawled
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| v.伸开四肢坐[躺]( sprawl的过去式和过去分词)；蔓延；杂乱无序地拓展；四肢伸展坐着（或躺着） | |
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attic
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| n.顶楼，屋顶室 | |
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iniquity
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| n.邪恶；不公正 | |
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marsh
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| n.沼泽，湿地 | |
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84
marshes
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| n.沼泽，湿地( marsh的名词复数 ) | |
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shrugged
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| vt.耸肩（shrug的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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negligence
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| n.疏忽，玩忽，粗心大意 | |
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unwilling
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| adj.不情愿的 | |
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exterior
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| adj.外部的，外在的；表面的 | |
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89
corrupt
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| v.贿赂，收买；adj.腐败的，贪污的 | |
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edifice
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| n.宏伟的建筑物(如宫殿，教室) | |
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prospect
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| n.前景，前途；景色，视野 | |
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passionately
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| ad.热烈地，激烈地 | |
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93
addicted
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| adj.沉溺于....的，对...上瘾的 | |
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manor
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| n.庄园，领地 | |
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effaced
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| v.擦掉( efface的过去式和过去分词 )；抹去；超越；使黯然失色 | |
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vindictive
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| adj.有报仇心的，怀恨的，惩罚的 | |
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97
noxious
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| adj.有害的，有毒的；使道德败坏的，讨厌的 | |
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connivance
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| n.纵容；默许 | |
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scruples
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| n.良心上的不安( scruple的名词复数 )；顾虑，顾忌v.感到于心不安，有顾忌( scruple的第三人称单数 ) | |
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100
loathing
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| n.厌恶，憎恨v.憎恨，厌恶( loathe的现在分词)；极不喜欢 | |
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101
toils
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| 网 | |
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102
longing
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| n.（for）渴望 | |
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103
entreaties
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| n.恳求，乞求( entreaty的名词复数 ) | |
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104
foe
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| n.敌人，仇敌 | |
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105
secrecy
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| n.秘密，保密，隐蔽 | |
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106
opposition
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| n.反对，敌对 | |
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107
folly
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| n.愚笨，愚蠢，蠢事，蠢行，傻话 | |
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108
seizure
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| n.没收；占有；抵押 | |
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109
regained
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| 复得( regain的过去式和过去分词 )； 赢回； 重回； 复至某地 | |
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semblance
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| n.外貌，外表 | |
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111
intrigue
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| vt.激起兴趣，迷住；vi.耍阴谋；n.阴谋，密谋 | |
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112
innocence
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| n.无罪；天真；无害 | |
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113
narrative
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| n.叙述，故事；adj.叙事的，故事体的 | |
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114
sordid
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| adj.肮脏的，不干净的，卑鄙的，暗淡的 | |
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115
misery
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| n.痛苦，苦恼，苦难；悲惨的境遇，贫苦 | |
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