Trescorre too kept open house, and here Odo found a warmer welcome thanhe had expected. Though Trescorre was still the Duchess's accreditedlover, it was clear that the tie between them was no longer such as tomake him resent her kindness to her young kinsman1. He seemed indeedanxious to draw Odo into her Highness's circle, and surprised him by afrankness and affability of which his demeanour at Turin had given nopromise. As leader of the anti-clericals he stood for such liberalism asdared show its head in Pianura; and he seemed disposed to invite Odo'sconfidence in political matters. The latter was, however, too much thechild of his race not to hang back from such an invitation. He did notdistrust Trescorre more than the other courtiers; but it was a time whenevery ear was alert for the foot-fall of treachery, and the rashest mandid not care to taste first of any cup that was offered him.
These scruples2 Trescorre made it his business to dispel3. He was the onlyperson at court who was willing to discuss politics, and his clear viewof affairs excited Odo's admiration4 if not his concurrence5. Odo's was infact one of those dual6 visions which instinctively7 see both sides of acase and take the defence of the less popular. Gamba's principles weredear to him; but he did not therefore believe in the personal basenessof every opponent of the cause. He had refrained from mentioning thehunchback to his supposed brother; but the latter, in one of theirtalks, brought forward Gamba's name, without reference to therelationship, but with high praise for the young librarian's parts.
This, at the moment, put Odo on his guard; but Trescorre having one daybegged him to give Gamba warning of some petty danger that threatenedhim from the clerical side, it became difficult not to believe in aninterest so attested9; the more so as Trescorre let it be seen thatGamba's political views were not such as to distract from his sympathy.
"The fellow's brains," said he, "would be of infinite use to me; butperhaps he serves us best at a distance. All I ask is that he shall notrisk himself too near Father Ignazio's talons10, for he would be a prettymorsel to throw to the Holy Office, and the weak point of such a man'sposition is that, however dangerous in life, he can threaten no one fromthe grave."Odo reported this to Gamba, who heard with a two-edged smile. "Yes," washis comment, "he fears me enough to want to see me safe in his fold."Odo flushed at the implication. "And why not?" said he. "Could you notserve the cause better by attaching yourself openly to the liberals thanby lurking11 in the ditch to throw mud at both parties?""The liberals!" sneered12 Gamba. "Where are they? And what have they done?
It was they who drove out the Jesuits; but to whom did the Society'slands go? To the Duke, every acre of them! And the peasantry sufferedfar less under the fathers, who were good agriculturists, than under theDuke, who is too busy with monks13 and astrologers to give his mind toirrigation or the reclaiming14 of waste land. As to the University, whoreplaced the Jesuits there? Professors from Padua or Pavia? Heavenforbid! But holy Barnabites that have scarce Latin enough to spell outthe Lives of the Saints! The Jesuits at least gave a good education tothe upper classes; but now the young noblemen are as ignorant aspeasants."Trescorre received at his house, besides the court functionaries15, allthe liberal faction16 and the Duchess's personal friends. He kept a lavishstate, but lacking the Bishop17's social gifts, was less successful infusing the different elements of his circle. The Duke, for the first fewweeks after his kinsman's arrival, received no company; and did not evenappear in the Belverde's drawing-rooms; but Odo deemed it none the lesspolitic to show himself there without delay.
The new Marchioness of Boscofolto lived in one of the finest palaces ofPianura, but prodigality18 was the least of her failings, and themeagreness of her hospitality was an unfailing source of epigram to thedrawing-rooms of the opposition19. True, she kept open table for half theclergy in the town (omitting, of course, those worldly ecclesiastics21 whofrequented the episcopal palace), but it was whispered that she hadpersuaded her cook to take half wages in return for the privilege ofvictualling such holy men, and that the same argument enabled her toobtain her provisions below the market price. In her outer ante-chamberthe servants yawned dismally22 over a cold brazier, without so much as agame of cards to divert them, and the long enfilade of saloons leadingto her drawing-room was so scantily24 lit that her guests could scarcerecognise each other in passing. In the room where she sat, a tallcrucifix of ebony and gold stood at her elbow and a holy-water cupencrusted with jewels hung on the wall at her side. A dozen or moreecclesiastics were always gathered in stiff seats about the hearth25; andthe aspect of the apartment, and the Marchioness's semi-monasticcostume, justified26 the nickname of "the sacristy," which the Duchess hadbestowed on her rival's drawing-room.
Around the small fire on this cheerless hearth the fortunes of the statewere discussed and directed, benefices disposed of, court appointmentsdebated, and reputations made and unmade in tones that suggested the lowdrone of a group of canons intoning the psalter in an empty cathedral.
The Marchioness, who appeared as eager as the others to win Odo to herparty, received him with every mark of consideration and pressed him toaccompany her on a visit to her brother, the Abbot of the Barnabites; aninvitation which he accepted with the more readiness as he had notforgotten the part played by that religious in the adventure ofMirandolina of Chioggia.
He found the Abbot a man with a bland27 intriguing28 eye and centuries ofpious leisure in his voice. He received his visitors in a room hung withsmoky pictures of the Spanish school, showing Saint Jerome in thewilderness, the death of Saint Peter Martyr29, and other sanguinarypassages in the lives of the saints; and Odo, seated among suchsurroundings, and hearing the Abbot deplore30 the loose lives andreligious negligence31 of certain members of the court, could scarcerepress a smile as the thought of Mirandolina flitted through his mind.
"She must," he reflected, "have found this a sad change from theBishop's palace;" and admired with what philosophy she had passed fromone protector to the other.
Life in Pianura, after the first few weeks, seemed on the whole a tamebusiness to a youth of his appetite; and he secretly longed for apretext to resume his travels. None, however, seemed likely to offer;for it was clear that the Duke, in the interval32 of more pressingconcerns, wished to study and observe his kinsman. When sufficientlyrecovered from the effects of the pilgrimage, he sent for Odo andquestioned him closely as to the way in which he had spent his timesince coming to Pianura, the acquaintances he had formed and thechurches he had frequented. Odo prudently33 dwelt on the lofty tone of theBelverde's circle, and on the privilege he had enjoyed in attending heron a visit to the holy Abbot of the Barnabites; touching34 more lightly onhis connection with the Bishop, and omitting all mention of Gamba andCrescenti. The Duke assumed a listening air, but it was clear that hecould not put off his private thoughts long enough to give an open mindto other matters; and Odo felt that he was nowhere so secure as in hiscousin's company. He remembered, however, that the Duke had plenty ofeyes to replace his own, and that a secret which was safe in his actualpresence might be in mortal danger on his threshold.
His Highness on this occasion was pleased to inform his kinsman that hehad ordered Count Trescorre to place at the young man's disposal anincome enabling him to keep a carriage and pair, four saddle-horses andfive servants. It was scant23 measure for an heir-presumptive, and Odowondered if the Belverde had had a hand in the apportionment; but hisindifference to such matters (for though personally fastidious he caredlittle for display) enabled him to show such gratitude35 that the Duke,fancying he might have been content with less, had nearly withdrawn36 twoof the saddle-horses. This becoming behaviour greatly advanced the youngman in the esteem38 of his Highness, who accorded him on the spot thepetites entrees39 of the ducal apartments. It was a privilege Odo had nomind to abuse; for if life moved slowly in the Belverde's circle it wasat a standstill in the Duke's. His Highness never went abroad but toserve mass in some church (his almost daily practice) or to visit one ofthe numerous monasteries40 within the city. From Ash Wednesday to EasterMonday it was his custom to transact41 no public or private business.
During this time he received none of his ministers, and saw his son butfor a few moments once a day; while in Holy Week he made a retreat withthe Barnabites, the Belverde withdrawing for the same period to theconvent of the Perpetual Adoration42.
Odo, as his new life took shape, found his chief interest in the societyof Crescenti and Gamba. In the Duchess's company he might have lost alltaste for soberer pleasures, but that his political sympathies wore agirl's reproachful shape. Ever at his side, more vividly43 than in thebody, Fulvia Vivaldi became the symbol of his best aims and deepestfailure. Sometimes, indeed, her look drove him forth45 in the Duchess'strain, but more often, drawing him from the crowd of pleasure-seekers,beckoned the way to solitude46 and study. Under Crescenti's tuition hebegan the reading of Dante, who just then, after generations of neglect,was once more lifting his voice above the crowd of minor47 singers. Themighty verse swept Odo out to open seas of thought, and from his visionof that earlier Italy, hapless, bleeding, but alive and breast to breastwith the foe48, he drew the presage49 of his country's resurrection.
Passing from this high music to the company of Gamba and his friends waslike leaving a church where the penitential psalms50 are being sung forthe market-place where mud and eggs are flying. The change was notagreeable to a fastidious taste; but, as Gamba said, you cannot cleanout a stable by waving incense51 over it. After some hesitation52, he hadagreed to make Odo acquainted with those who, like himself, weresecretly working in the cause of progress. These were mostly of themiddle class, physicians, lawyers, and such men of letters as couldsubsist on the scant wants of an unliterary town. Ablest among them wasthe bookseller, Andreoni, whose shop was the meeting place of all theliterati of Pianura. Andreoni, famous throughout Italy for his editionsof the classics, was a man of liberal views and considerable learning,and in his private room were to be found many prohibited volumes, suchas Beccaria's Crime and Punishment, Gravina's Hydra53 Mystica, Concini'sHistory of Probabilism and the Amsterdam editions of the Frenchphilosophical works.
The reformers met at various places, and their meetings were conductedwith as much secrecy54 as those of the Honey-Bees. Odo was at firstsurprised that they should admit him to their conferences; but he soondivined that the gatherings55 he attended were not those at which theprivate designs of the party were discussed. It was plain that theybelonged to some kind of secret association; and before he had been longin Pianura he learned that the society of the Illuminati, that bugbearof priests and princes, was supposed to have agents at work in theduchy. Odo had heard little of this execrated56 league, but that it wassaid to preach atheism57, tyrannicide and the complete abolition58 ofterritorial rights; but this, being the report of the enemy, was to bereceived with a measure of doubt. He tried to learn from Gamba whetherthe Illuminati had a lodge59 in the city; but on this point he couldextract no information. Meanwhile he listened with interest todiscussions on taxation60, irrigation, and such economic problems as mightsafely be aired in his presence.
These talks brought vividly before him the political corruption61 of thestate and the misery62 of the unprivileged classes. All the land in theduchy was farmed on the metayer system, and with such ill results thatthe peasants were always in debt to their landlords. The weight of theevil lay chiefly on the country-people, who had to pay on every pig theykilled, on all the produce they carried to market, on their farmimplements, their mulberry-orchards and their silk-worms, to say nothingof the tithes63 to the parish. So oppressive were these obligations thatmany of the peasants, forsaking64 their farms, enrolled65 themselves in themendicant orders, thus actually strengthening the hand of theiroppressors. Of legislative66 redress67 there was no hope, and the Duke wasinaccessible to all but his favourites. The previous year, as Odolearned, eight hundred poor labourers, exasperated68 by want, hadpetitioned his Highness to relieve them of the corvee; but though theyhad raised fifteen hundred scudi to bribe69 the court official who was topresent their address, no reply had ever been received. In the cityitself, the monopoly of corn and tobacco weighed heavily on themerchants, and the strict censorship of the press made the openventilation of wrongs impossible, while the Duke's sbirri and the agentsof the Holy Office could drag a man's thoughts from his bosom70 and searchhis midnight dreams. The Church party, in the interest of their order,fostered the Duke's fears of sedition71 and branded every innovator72 as anatheist; the Holy Office having even cast grave doubts on the orthodoxyof a nobleman who had tried to introduce the English system of ploughingon his estates. It was evident to Odo that the secret hopes of thereformers centred in him, and the consciousness of their belief wassweeter than love in his bosom. It diverted him from the follies73 of hisclass, fixed74 his thoughts at an age when they are apt to range, and thusslowly shaped and tempered him for high uses.
In this fashion the weeks passed and summer came. It was the Duchess'shabit to escape the August heats by retiring to the dower-house on thePiana, a league beyond the gates; but the little prince being stillunder the care of the German physician, who would not consent to hisremoval, her Highness reluctantly lingered in Pianura. With the firstleafing of the oaks Odo's old love for the budding earth awoke, and herode out daily in the forest toward Pontesordo. It was but a flatstretch of shade, lacking the voice of streams and the cold breath ofmountain-gorges: a wood without humours or surprises; but the merespring of the turf was delightful75 as he cantered down the grass alleysroofed with level boughs77, the outer sunlight just gilding78 the lip of thelong green tunnel.
Sometimes he attended the Duchess, but oftener chose to ride alone,setting forth early after a night at cards or a late vigil inCrescenti's study. One of these solitary79 rides brought him withoutpremeditation to a low building on the fenny80 edge of the wood. It was asmall house, added, it appeared, to an ancient brick front adorned81 withpilasters, perhaps a fragment of some woodland temple. The door-step wasovergrown with a stealthy green moss82 and tufted with giant fennel; and ashutter swinging loose on its hinge gave a glimpse of inner dimness. Odoguessed at once that this was the hunting lodge where Cerveno had foundhis death; and as he stood looking out across the oozy83 secrets of themarsh, the fever seemed to hang on his steps. He turned away with ashiver; but whether it were the sullen85 aspect of the house, or the closeway in which the wood embraced it, the place suddenly laid a detaininghand upon him. It was as though he had reached the heart of solitude.
Even the faint woodland noises seemed to recede86 from that dense87 circleof shade, and the marsh84 turned a dead eye to heaven.
Odo tethered his horse to a bough76 and seated himself on the doorstep;but presently his musings were disturbed by the sound of voices, and theDuchess, attended by her gentlemen, swept by at the end of a long glade88.
He fancied she waved her hand to him; but being in no humour to join thecavalcade, he remained seated, and the riders soon passed out of sight.
As he sat there sombre thoughts came to him, stealing up likeexhalations from the fen8. He saw his life stretched out before him, fullof broken purposes and ineffectual effort. Public affairs were in soperplexed a case that consistent action seemed impossible to eitherparty, and their chief efforts were bent89 toward directing the choice ofa regent. It was this, rather than the possibility of his accession,which fixed the general attention on Odo, and pledged him tocircumspection. While not concealing90 that in economic questions hissympathies were with the liberals, he had carefully abstained91 frompolitical action, and had hoped, by the strict observance of hisreligious duties, to avoid the enmity of the Church party. Trescorre'sundisguised sympathy seemed the pledge of liberal support, and it couldhardly be doubted that the choice of a regent in the Church party wouldbe unpopular enough to imperil the dynasty. With Austria hovering92 on thehorizon the Church herself was not likely to take such risks; and thusall interests seemed to centre in Odo's appointment.
New elements of uncertainty93 were, however, perpetually disturbing theprospect. Among these was Heiligenstern's growing influence over theDuke. Odo had seen little of the German physician since their firstmeeting. Hearsay94 had it that he was close-pressed by the spies of theHoly Office, and perhaps for this reason he remained withdrawn in theDuke's private apartments and rarely showed himself abroad. The littleprince, his patient, was as seldom seen, and the accounts of theGerman's treatment were as conflicting as the other rumours96 of thecourt. It was noised on all sides, however, that the Duke wasill-satisfied with the results of the pilgrimage, and resolved upon lesshallowed measures to assure his heir's recovery. Hitherto, it wasbelieved, the German had conformed to the ordinary medical treatment;but the clergy20 now diligently97 spread among the people the report thatsupernatural agencies were to be employed. This rumour95 caused suchgeneral agitation98 that it was said both parties had made secret advancesto the Duchess in the hope of inducing her to stay the scandal. ThoughMaria Clementina felt little real concern for the public welfare, herstirring temper had more than once roused her to active opposition ofthe government, and her kinship with the old Duke of Monte Alloro madeher a strong factor in the political game. Of late, however, she seemedto have wearied of this sport, throwing herself entirely99 into theprivate diversions of her station, and alluding100 with laughingindifference to her husband's necromantic101 researches.
Such was the conflicting gossip of the hour; but it was in fact idle toforecast the fortunes of a state dependent on a valetudinary's whims;and rumour was driven to feed upon her own conjectures102. To Odo the stateof affairs seemed a satire103 on his secret aspirations104. In a privatestation or as a ruling prince he might have served his fellows: as aprinceling on the edge of power he was no more than the cardboard swordin a toy armoury.
Suddenly he heard his name pronounced and starting up saw MariaClementina at his side. She rode alone, and held out her hand as heapproached.
"I have had an accident," said she, breathing quickly. "My girth isbroke and I have lost the rest of my company."She was glowing with her quick ride, and as Odo lifted her from thesaddle her loosened hair brushed his face like a kiss. For a moment sheseemed like life's answer to the dreary105 riddle106 of his fate.
"Ah," she sighed, leaning on him, "I am glad I found you, cousin; Ihardly knew how weary I was;" and she dropped languidly to the doorstep.
Odo's heart was beating hard. He knew it was only the stir of the springsap in his veins107, but Maria Clementina wore a look of morning brightnessthat might have made a soberer judgment108 blink. He turned away to examineher saddle. As he did so, he observed that her girth was not torn, butclean cut, as with sharp scissors. He glanced up in surprise, but shesat with drooping109 lids, her head thrown back against the lintel; andrepressing the question on his lips he busied himself with theadjustment of the saddle. When it was in place he turned to give her ahand; but she only smiled up at him through her lashes110.
"What!" said she with an air of lovely lassitude, "are you so impatientto be rid of me? I should have been so glad to linger here a little."She put her hand in his and let him lift her to her feet. "How cool andstill it is! Look at that little spring bubbling through the moss. Couldyou not fetch me a drink from it?"She tossed aside her riding-hat and pushed back the hair from her warmforehead.
"Your Highness must not drink of the water here," said Odo, releasingher hand.
She gave him a quick derisive111 glance. "Ah, true," she cried; "this isthe house to which that abandoned wretch112 used to lure44 poor Cerveno." Shedrew back to look at the lodge. "Were you ever in it?" she askedcuriously. "I should like to see how the place looks."She laid her hand on the door-latch, and to Odo's surprise it yielded toher touch. "We're in luck, I vow," she declared with a laugh. "Comecousin, let us visit the temple of romance together."The allusion113 to Cerveno jarred on Odo, and he followed her in silence.
Within doors, the lodge was seen to consist of a single room, gailypainted with hunting-scenes framed in garlands of stucco. In the duskthey could just discern the outlines of carved and gilded115 furniture, anda Venice mirror gave back their faces like phantoms116 in a magic crystal.
"This is stifling," said Odo impatiently. "Would your Highness not bebetter in the open?""No, no," she persisted. "Unbar the shutters117 and we shall have airenough. I love a deserted118 house: I have always fancied that if one camein noiselessly enough one might catch the ghosts of the people who usedto live in it."He obeyed in silence, and the green-filtered forest noon filled the roomwith a quiver of light. A chill stole upon Odo as he looked at thedust-shrouded furniture, the painted harpsichord119 with green mouldcreeping over its keyboard, the consoles set with empty wine flagons andgoblets of Venice glass. The place was like the abandoned corpse121 ofpleasure.
But Maria Clementina laughed and clapped her hands. "This isenchanting," she cried, throwing herself into an arm-chair of threadbaredamask, "and I shall rest here while you refresh me with a glass ofLacrima Christi from one of those dusty flagons. They are empty, yousay? Never mind, for I have a flask122 of cordial in my saddle-bag. Fetchit, cousin, and wash these two glasses in the spring, that we may toastall the dead lovers that have drunk out of them."When Odo returned with the flask and glasses, she had brushed the dustfrom a slender table of inlaid wood, and drawn37 a seat near her own. Shefilled the two goblets120 with cordial and signed to Odo to seat himselfbeside her.
"Why do you pull such a glum123 face?" she cried, leaning over to touch hisglass before she emptied hers. "Is it that you are thinking of poorCerveno? On my soul, I question if he needs your pity! He had his hourof folly124, and was too gallant125 a gentleman not to pay the shot. For mypart I would rather drink a poisoned draught126 than die of thirst."The wine was rising in waves of colour over her throat and brow, andsetting her glass down she suddenly laid her ungloved hand on Odo's.
"Cousin," she said in a low voice, "I could help you if you would letme.""Help me?" he said, only half-aware of her words in the warm surprise ofher touch.
She drew back, but with a look that seemed to leave her hand in his.
"Are you mad," she murmured, "or do you despise your danger?""Am I in danger?" he echoed smiling. He was thinking how easily a manmight go under in that deep blue gaze of hers. She dropped her lids asthough aware of his thought.
"Why do you concern yourself with politics?" she went on with a new notein her voice. "Can you find no diversion more suited to your rank andage? Our court is a dull one, I own--but surely even here a man mightfind a better use for his time."Odo's self-possession returned in a flash. "I am not," cried he gaily114,"in a position to dispute it at this moment;" and he leaned over torecapture her hand. To his surprise she freed herself with an affrontedair.
"Ah," she said, "you think this a device to provoke a gallantconversation." She faced him nobly now. "Look," said she, drawing afolded paper from the breast of her riding-coat. "Have you notfrequented these houses?"Suddenly sobered, he ran his eye over the paper. It contained the datesof the meetings he had attended at the houses of Gamba's friends, withthe designation of each house. He turned pale.
"I had no notion," said he, with a smile, "that my movements were ofinterest in such high places; but why does your Highness speak of dangerin this connection?""Because it is rumoured127 that the lodge of the Illuminati, which is knownto exist in Pianura, meets secretly at the houses on this list."Odo hesitated a moment. "Of that," said he, "I have no report. I amacquainted with the houses only as the residences of certain learned andreputable men, who devote their leisure to scientific studies.""Oh," she interrupted, "call them by what name you please! It is all oneto your enemies.""My enemies?" said he lightly. "And who are they?""Who are they?" she repeated impatiently. "Who are they not? Who isthere at court that has such cause to love you? The Holy Office? TheDuke's party?"Odo smiled. "I am perhaps not in the best odour with the Church party,"said he, "but Count Trescorre has shown himself my friend, and I thinkmy character is safe in his keeping. Nor will it be any news to him thatI frequent the company you name."She threw back her head with a laugh. "Boy," she cried, "you are blindereven than I fancied! Do you know why it was that the Duke summoned youto Pianura? Because he wished his party to mould you to their shape, incase the regency should fall into your hands. And what has Trescorredone? Shown himself your friend, as you say--won your confidence,encouraged you to air your liberal views, allowed you to show yourselfcontinually in the Bishop's company, and to frequent the secretassemblies of free thinkers and conspirators--and all that the Duke mayturn against you and perhaps name him regent in your stead! Believe me,cousin," she cried with a mounting urgency, "you never stood in greaterneed of a friend than now. If you continue on your present course youare undone128. The Church party is resolved to hunt down the Illuminati,and both sides would rejoice to see you made the scapegoat129 of the HolyOffice." She sprung up and laid her hand on his arm. "What can I do toconvince you?" she said passionately130. "Will you believe me if I ask youto go away--to leave Pianura on the instant?"Odo had risen also, and they faced each other in silence. There was anunmistakable meaning in her tone: a self-revelation so simple andennobling that she seemed to give herself as hostage for her words.
"Ask me to stay, cousin--not to go," he whispered, her yielding hand inhis.
"Ah, madman," she cried, "not to believe me NOW! But it is not too lateif you will still be guided.""I will be guided--but not away from you."She broke away, but with a glance that drew him after. "It is late nowand we must set forward," she said abruptly131. "Come to me tomorrow early.
I have much more to say to you."The words seemed to be driven out on her quick breathing, and the bloodcame and went in her cheek like a hurried messenger. She caught up herriding-hat and turned to put it on before the Venice mirror.
Odo, stepping up behind her, looked over her shoulder to catch thereflection of her blush. Their eyes met for a laughing instant; then hedrew back deadly pale, for in the depths of the dim mirror he had seenanother face.
The Duchess cried out and glanced behind her. "Who was it? Did you seeher?" she said trembling.
Odo mastered himself instantly.
"I saw nothing," he returned quietly. "What can your Highness mean?"She covered her eyes with her hands. "A girl's face," sheshuddered--"there in the mirror--behind mine--a pale face with a blacktravelling hood132 over it--"He gathered up her gloves and riding-whip and threw open the door of thepavilion.
"Your Highness is weary and the air here insalubrious. Shall we notride?" he said.
Maria Clementina heard him with a blank stare. Suddenly she rousedherself and made as though to pass out; but on the threshold shesnatched her whip from him and, turning, flung it full at the mirror.
Her aim was good and the chiselled133 handle of the whip shattered theglass to fragments.
She caught up her long skirt and stepped into the open.
"I brook134 no rivals!" said she with a white-lipped smile. "And now,cousin," she added gaily, "to horse!"
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kinsman
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scruples
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dispel
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| vt.驱走，驱散，消除 | |
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admiration
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concurrence
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dual
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instinctively
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fen
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attested
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| adj.经检验证明无病的，经检验证明无菌的v.证明( attest的过去式和过去分词 )；证实；声称…属实；使宣誓 | |
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talons
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lurking
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sneered
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monks
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reclaiming
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| v.开拓( reclaim的现在分词 )；要求收回；从废料中回收（有用的材料）；挽救 | |
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functionaries
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faction
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| n.宗派，小集团；派别；派系斗争 | |
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17
bishop
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| n.主教，（国际象棋）象 | |
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18
prodigality
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| n.浪费，挥霍 | |
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19
opposition
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| n.反对，敌对 | |
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20
clergy
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| n.[总称]牧师，神职人员 | |
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21
ecclesiastics
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| n.神职者，教会，牧师( ecclesiastic的名词复数 ) | |
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22
dismally
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| adv.阴暗地，沉闷地 | |
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23
scant
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| adj.不充分的，不足的；v.减缩，限制，忽略 | |
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24
scantily
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| adv.缺乏地；不充足地；吝啬地；狭窄地 | |
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25
hearth
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| n.壁炉炉床，壁炉地面 | |
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26
justified
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| a.正当的，有理的 | |
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27
bland
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| adj.淡而无味的，温和的，无刺激性的 | |
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28
intriguing
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| adj.有趣的；迷人的v.搞阴谋诡计(intrigue的现在分词)；激起…的好奇心 | |
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29
martyr
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| n.烈士，殉难者；vt.杀害，折磨，牺牲 | |
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30
deplore
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| vt.哀叹，对...深感遗憾 | |
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31
negligence
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| n.疏忽，玩忽，粗心大意 | |
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32
interval
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| n.间隔，间距；幕间休息，中场休息 | |
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33
prudently
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| adv. 谨慎地，慎重地 | |
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34
touching
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| adj.动人的，使人感伤的 | |
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35
gratitude
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| adj.感激，感谢 | |
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36
withdrawn
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| vt.收回；使退出；vi.撤退，退出 | |
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37
drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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38
esteem
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| n.尊敬，尊重；vt.尊重，敬重；把…看作 | |
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39
entrees
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| n.入场权( entree的名词复数 )；主菜 | |
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40
monasteries
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| 修道院( monastery的名词复数 ) | |
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41
transact
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| v.处理；做交易；谈判 | |
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42
adoration
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| n.爱慕，崇拜 | |
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43
vividly
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| adv.清楚地，鲜明地，生动地 | |
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44
lure
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| n.吸引人的东西，诱惑物；vt.引诱，吸引 | |
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45
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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46
solitude
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| n. 孤独; 独居,荒僻之地,幽静的地方 | |
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47
minor
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| adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修 | |
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48
foe
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| n.敌人，仇敌 | |
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49
presage
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| n.预感，不祥感；v.预示 | |
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50
psalms
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| n.赞美诗( psalm的名词复数 )；圣诗；圣歌；(中的) | |
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51
incense
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| v.激怒；n.香，焚香时的烟，香气 | |
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52
hesitation
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| n.犹豫，踌躇 | |
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53
hydra
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| n.水螅；难于根除的祸患 | |
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54
secrecy
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| n.秘密，保密，隐蔽 | |
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55
gatherings
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| 聚集( gathering的名词复数 )； 收集； 采集； 搜集 | |
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56
execrated
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| v.憎恶( execrate的过去式和过去分词 )；厌恶；诅咒；咒骂 | |
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57
atheism
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| n.无神论，不信神 | |
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58
abolition
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| n.废除，取消 | |
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59
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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60
taxation
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| n.征税，税收，税金 | |
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61
corruption
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| n.腐败，堕落，贪污 | |
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62
misery
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| n.痛苦，苦恼，苦难；悲惨的境遇，贫苦 | |
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63
tithes
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| n.（宗教捐税）什一税，什一的教区税，小部分( tithe的名词复数 ) | |
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64
forsaking
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| 放弃( forsake的现在分词 )； 弃绝； 抛弃； 摒弃 | |
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65
enrolled
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| adj.入学登记了的v.[亦作enrol]( enroll的过去式和过去分词 )；登记，招收，使入伍（或入会、入学等），参加，成为成员；记入名册；卷起，包起 | |
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66
legislative
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| n.立法机构，立法权；adj.立法的，有立法权的 | |
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67
redress
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| n.赔偿，救济，矫正；v.纠正，匡正，革除 | |
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68
exasperated
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| adj.恼怒的 | |
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69
bribe
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| n.贿赂；v.向…行贿，买通 | |
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70
bosom
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| n.胸，胸部；胸怀；内心；adj.亲密的 | |
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71
sedition
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| n.煽动叛乱 | |
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72
innovator
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| n.改革者；创新者 | |
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73
follies
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| 罪恶，时事讽刺剧； 愚蠢，蠢笨，愚蠢的行为、思想或做法( folly的名词复数 ) | |
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74
fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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75
delightful
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| adj.令人高兴的，使人快乐的 | |
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76
bough
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| n.大树枝，主枝 | |
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77
boughs
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| 大树枝( bough的名词复数 ) | |
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78
gilding
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| n.贴金箔，镀金 | |
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79
solitary
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| adj.孤独的，独立的，荒凉的；n.隐士 | |
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80
fenny
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| adj.沼泽的；沼泽多的；长在沼泽地带的；住在沼泽地的 | |
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81
adorned
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| [计]被修饰的 | |
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82
moss
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| n.苔，藓，地衣 | |
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83
oozy
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| adj.软泥的 | |
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84
marsh
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| n.沼泽，湿地 | |
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85
sullen
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| adj.愠怒的，闷闷不乐的，(天气等)阴沉的 | |
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86
recede
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| vi.退(去)，渐渐远去；向后倾斜，缩进 | |
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87
dense
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| a.密集的，稠密的，浓密的；密度大的 | |
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88
glade
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| n.林间空地，一片表面有草的沼泽低地 | |
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89
bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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90
concealing
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| v.隐藏，隐瞒，遮住( conceal的现在分词 ) | |
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91
abstained
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| v.戒（尤指酒），戒除( abstain的过去式和过去分词 )；弃权（不投票） | |
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92
hovering
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| 鸟( hover的现在分词 )； 靠近（某事物）； （人）徘徊； 犹豫 | |
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93
uncertainty
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| n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物 | |
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94
hearsay
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| n.谣传，风闻 | |
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95
rumour
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| n.谣言，谣传，传闻 | |
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96
rumours
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| n.传闻( rumour的名词复数 )；风闻；谣言；谣传 | |
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97
diligently
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| ad.industriously;carefully | |
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98
agitation
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| n.搅动；搅拌；鼓动，煽动 | |
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99
entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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100
alluding
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| 提及，暗指( allude的现在分词 ) | |
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101
necromantic
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| 降神术的，妖术的 | |
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102
conjectures
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| 推测，猜想( conjecture的名词复数 ) | |
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103
satire
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| n.讽刺，讽刺文学，讽刺作品 | |
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104
aspirations
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| 强烈的愿望( aspiration的名词复数 )； 志向； 发送气音； 发 h 音 | |
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105
dreary
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| adj.令人沮丧的，沉闷的，单调乏味的 | |
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106
riddle
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| 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 | |
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107
veins
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| n.纹理；矿脉( vein的名词复数 )；静脉；叶脉；纹理 | |
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108
judgment
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| n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见 | |
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109
drooping
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| adj. 下垂的，无力的 动词droop的现在分词 | |
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110
lashes
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| n.鞭挞( lash的名词复数 )；鞭子；突然猛烈的一击；急速挥动v.鞭打( lash的第三人称单数 )；煽动；紧系；怒斥 | |
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111
derisive
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| adj.嘲弄的 | |
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112
wretch
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| n.可怜的人，不幸的人；卑鄙的人 | |
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113
allusion
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| n.暗示，间接提示 | |
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114
gaily
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| adv.欢乐地，高兴地 | |
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115
gilded
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| a.镀金的，富有的 | |
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116
phantoms
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| n.鬼怪，幽灵( phantom的名词复数 ) | |
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117
shutters
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| 百叶窗( shutter的名词复数 )； （照相机的）快门 | |
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118
deserted
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| adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的 | |
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119
harpsichord
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| n.键琴（钢琴前身） | |
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120
goblets
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| n.高脚酒杯( goblet的名词复数 ) | |
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121
corpse
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| n.尸体，死尸 | |
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122
flask
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| n.瓶，火药筒，砂箱 | |
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123
glum
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| adj.闷闷不乐的，阴郁的 | |
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124
folly
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| n.愚笨，愚蠢，蠢事，蠢行，傻话 | |
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125
gallant
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| adj.英勇的，豪侠的；(向女人)献殷勤的 | |
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126
draught
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| n.拉，牵引，拖；一网（饮，吸，阵)；顿服药量，通风；v.起草，设计 | |
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127
rumoured
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| adj.谣传的；传说的；风 | |
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128
undone
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| a.未做完的，未完成的 | |
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129
scapegoat
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| n.替罪的羔羊，替人顶罪者；v.使…成为替罪羊 | |
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130
passionately
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| ad.热烈地，激烈地 | |
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131
abruptly
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| adv.突然地，出其不意地 | |
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132
hood
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| n.头巾，兜帽，覆盖；v.罩上，以头巾覆盖 | |
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133
chiselled
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| adj.凿过的，凿光的； （文章等）精心雕琢的v.凿，雕，镌( chisel的过去式 ) | |
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134
brook
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| n.小河，溪；v.忍受，容让 | |
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