A Brief Detail of His Education.
Nothing could have more seasonably happened to confirm the good opinion which the colonel entertained of Ferdinand’s principles. His intentions towards the boy grew every day more and more warm; and, immediately after the peace of Passarowitz, he retired1 to his own house at Presburg, and presented young Fathom2 to his lady, not only as the son of a person to whom he owed his life, but also as a lad who merited his peculiar3 protection and regard by his own personal virtue4. The Countess, who was an Hungarian, received him with great kindness and affability, and her son was ravished with the prospect5 of enjoying such a companion. In short, fortune seemed to have provided for him an asylum6, in which he might be safely trained up, and suitably prepared for more important scenes of life than any of his ancestors had ever known.
He was not, in all respects, entertained on the footing of his young master; yet he shared in all his education and amusements, as one whom the old gentleman was fully7 determined8 to qualify for the station of an officer in the service; and, if he did not eat with the Count, he was every day regaled with choice bits from his table; holding, as it were, a middle place between the rank of a relation and favourite domestic. Although his patron maintained a tutor in the house, to superintend the conduct of his heir, he committed the charge of his learning to the instructions of a public school; where he imagined the boy would imbibe9 a laudable spirit of emulation10 among his fellows, which could not fail of turning out to the advantage of his education. Ferdinand was entered in the same academy; and the two lads proceeded equally in the paths of erudition; a mutual11 friendship and intimacy12 soon ensued, and, notwithstanding the levity13 and caprice commonly discernible in the behaviour of such boys, very few or rather no quarrels happened in the course of their communication. Yet their dispositions14 were altogether different, and their talents unlike. Nay16, this dissimilarity was the very bond of their union; because it prevented that jealousy17 and rivalship which often interrupts the harmony of two warm contemporaries.
The young Count made extraordinary progress in the exercises of the school, though he seemed to take very little pains in the cultivation18 of his studies; and became a perfect hero in all the athletic19 diversions of his fellow-scholars; but, at the same time, exhibited such a bashful appearance and uncouth20 address, that his mother despaired of ever seeing him improved into any degree of polite behaviour. On the other hand, Fathom, who was in point of learning a mere21 dunce, became, even in his childhood, remarkable22 among the ladies for his genteel deportment and vivacity23; they admired the proficiency24 he made under the directions of his dancing-master, the air with which he performed his obeisance25 at his entrance and exit; and were charmed with the agreeable assurance and lively sallies of his conversation; while they expressed the utmost concern and disgust at the boorish26 demeanour of his companion, whose extorted27 bows resembled the pawings of a mule28, who hung his head in silence like a detected sheep-stealer, who sat in company under the most awkward expressions of constraint29, and whose discourse30 never exceeded the simple monosyllables of negation31 and assent32.
In vain did all the females of the family propose to him young Fathom, as a pattern and reproach. He remained unaltered by all their efforts and expostulations, and allowed our adventurer to enjoy the triumph of his praise, while he himself was conscious of his own superiority in those qualifications which seemed of more real importance than the mere exteriors33 and forms of life. His present ambition was not to make a figure at his father’s table, but to eclipse his rivals at school, and to acquire an influence and authority among these confederates. Nevertheless, Fathom might possibly have fallen under his displeasure or contempt, had not that pliant34 genius found means to retain his friendship by seasonable compliances and submission35; for the sole study, or at least the chief aim of Ferdinand, was to make himself necessary and agreeable to those on whom his dependence36 was placed. His talent was in this particular suited to his inclination37; he seemed to have inherited it from his mother’s womb; and, without all doubt, would have raised upon it a most admirable superstructure of fortune and applause, had not it been inseparably yoked38 with a most insidious39 principle of self-love, that grew up with him from the cradle, and left no room in his heart for the least particle of social virtue. This last, however, he knew so well how to counterfeit40, by means of a large share of ductility41 and dissimulation42, that, surely, he was calculated by nature to dupe even the most cautious, and gratify his appetites, by levying43 contributions on all mankind.
So little are the common instructors44 of youth qualified45 to judge the capacities of those who are under their tutelage and care, that Fathom, by dint46 of his insinuating47 arts, made shift to pass upon the schoolmaster as a lad of quick parts, in despite of a natural inaptitude to retain his lessons, which all his industry could never overcome. In order to remedy, or rather to cloak this defect in his understanding, he had always recourse to the friendship of the young Count, who freely permitted him to transcribe48 his exercises, until a small accident happened, which had well-nigh put a stop to these instances of his generosity49.— The adventure, inconsiderable as it is, we shall record, as the first overt50 act of Ferdinand’s true character, as well as an illustration of the opinion we have advanced touching51 the blind and injudicious decisions of a right pedagogue52.
Among other tasks imposed by the pedant53 upon the form to which our two companions belonged, they were one evening ordered to translate a chapter of Caesar’s Commentaries. Accordingly the young Count went to work, and performed the undertaking54 with great elegance55 and despatch56. Fathom, having spent the night in more effeminate amusements, was next morning so much hurried for want of time, that in his transcription he neglected to insert a few variations from the text, these being the terms on which he was allowed to use it; so that it was verbatim a copy of the original. As those exercises were always delivered in a heap, subscribed57 with the several names of the boys to whom they belonged, the schoolmaster chanced to peruse58 the version of Ferdinand, before he looked into any of the rest, and could not help bestowing59 upon it particular marks of approbation60. The next that fell under his examination was that of the young Count, when he immediately perceived the sameness, and, far from imputing61 it to the true cause, upbraided62 him with having copied the exercise of our adventurer, and insisted upon chastising63 him upon the spot for his want of application.
Had not the young gentleman thought his honour was concerned, he would have submitted to the punishment without murmuring; but he inherited, from his parents, the pride of two fierce nations, and, being overwhelmed with reproaches for that which he imagined ought to have redounded64 to his glory, he could not brook65 the indignity66, and boldly affirmed, that he himself was the original, to whom Ferdinand was beholden for his performance. The schoolmaster, nettled67 to find himself mistaken in his judgment68, resolved that the Count should have no cause to exult69 in the discovery he had made, and, like a true flogger, actually whipped him for having allowed Fathom to copy his exercise. Nay, in the hope of vindicating70 his own penetration71, he took an opportunity of questioning Ferdinand in private concerning the circumstances of the translation, and our hero, perceiving his drift, gave him such artful and ambiguous answers, as persuaded him that the young Count had acted the part of a plagiary, and that the other had been restrained from doing himself justice, by the consideration of his own dependence.
This profound director did not fail, in honour of his own discernment, to whisper about the misrepresentation, as an instance of the young Count’s insolence72, and Fathom’s humility73 and good sense. The story was circulated among the servants, especially the maids belonging to the family, whose favour our hero had acquired by his engaging behaviour; and at length it reached the ears of his patron, who, incensed74 at his son’s presumption75 and inhospitality, called him to a severe account, when the young gentleman absolutely denied the truth of the allegation, and appealed to the evidence of Fathom himself. Our adventurer was accordingly summoned by the father, and encouraged to declare the truth, with an assurance of his constant protection; upon which Ferdinand very wisely fell upon his knees, and, while the tears gushed76 from his eyes, acquitted77 the young Count of the imputation78, and expressed his apprehension79, that the report had been spread by some of his enemies, who wanted to prejudice him in the opinion of his patron.
The old gentleman was not satisfied of his son’s integrity by this declaration; being naturally of a generous disposition15, highly prepossessed in favour of the poor orphan81, and chagrined82 at the unpromising appearance of his heir, he suspected that Fathom was overawed by the fear of giving offence, and that, notwithstanding what he had said, the case really stood as it had been represented. In this persuasion83, he earnestly exhorted84 his son to resist and combat with any impulse he might feel within himself, tending to selfishness, fraud, or imposition; to encourage every sentiment of candour and benevolence85, and to behave with moderation and affability to all his fellow-creatures. He laid upon him strong injunctions, not without a mixture of threats, to consider Fathom as the object of his peculiar regard; to respect him as the son of the Count’s preserver, as a Briton, a stranger, and, above all, an helpless orphan, to whom the rights of hospitality were doubly due.
Such admonitions were not lost upon the youth, who, under the rough husk of his personal exhibition, possessed80 a large share of generous sensibility. Without any formal professions to his father, he resolved to govern himself according to his remonstrances86; and, far from conceiving the least spark of animosity against Fathom, he looked upon the poor boy as the innocent cause of his disgrace, and redoubled his kindness towards him, that his honour might never again be called in question, upon the same subject. Nothing is more liable to misconstruction than an act of uncommon87 generosity; one half of the world mistake the motive88, from want of ideas to conceive an instance of beneficence that soars so high above the level of their own sentiments; and the rest suspect it of something sinister89 or selfish, from the suggestions of their own sordid90 and vicious inclinations91. The young Count subjected himself to such misinterpretation, among those who observed the increased warmth of civility and complaisance92 in his behaviour to Ferdinand. They ascribed it to his desire of still profiting by our adventurer’s superior talents, by which alone they supposed him enabled to maintain any degree of reputation at school; or to the fear of being convicted by him of some misdemeanour of which he knew himself guilty. These suspicions were not effaced93 by the conduct of Ferdinand, who, when examined on the subject, managed his answers in such a manner, as confirmed their conjectures94, while he pretended to refute them, and at the same time acquired to himself credit for his extraordinary discretion95 and self-denial.
If he exhibited such a proof of sagacity in the twelfth year of his age, what might not be expected from his finesse96 in the maturity97 of his faculties98 and experience? Thus secured in the good graces of the whole family, he saw the days of his puerility99 glide100 along in the most agreeable elapse of caresses101 and amusement. He never fairly plunged102 into the stream of school-education, but, by floating on the surface, imbibed103 a small tincture of those different sciences which his master pretended to teach. In short, he resembled those vagrant104 swallows that skim along the level of some pool or river, without venturing to wet one feather in their wings, except in the accidental pursuit of an inconsiderable fly. Yet, though his capacity or inclination was unsuited for studies of this kind, he did not fail to manifest a perfect genius in the acquisition of other more profitable arts. Over and above the accomplishments105 of address, for which he hath been already celebrated106, he excelled all his fellows in his dexterity107 at fives and billiards108; was altogether unrivalled in his skill at draughts109 and backgammon; began, even at these years, to understand the moves and schemes of chess; and made himself a mere adept110 in the mystery of cards, which he learned in the course of his assiduities and attention to the females of the house.
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retired
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| adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的 | |
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fathom
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| v.领悟，彻底了解 | |
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peculiar
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| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
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virtue
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| n.德行，美德；贞操；优点；功效，效力 | |
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prospect
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| n.前景，前途；景色，视野 | |
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asylum
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| n.避难所，庇护所，避难 | |
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7
fully
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| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
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determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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imbibe
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| v.喝，饮；吸入，吸收 | |
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emulation
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| n.竞争；仿效 | |
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mutual
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| adj.相互的，彼此的；共同的，共有的 | |
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intimacy
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| n.熟悉，亲密，密切关系，亲昵的言行 | |
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13
levity
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| n.轻率，轻浮，不稳定，多变 | |
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dispositions
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| 安排( disposition的名词复数 )； 倾向； （财产、金钱的）处置； 气质 | |
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disposition
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| n.性情，性格；意向，倾向；排列，部署 | |
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nay
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| adv.不；n.反对票，投反对票者 | |
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jealousy
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| n.妒忌，嫉妒，猜忌 | |
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cultivation
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| n.耕作，培养，栽培（法），养成 | |
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athletic
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| adj.擅长运动的，强健的；活跃的，体格健壮的 | |
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uncouth
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| adj.无教养的，粗鲁的 | |
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mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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remarkable
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| adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的 | |
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vivacity
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| n.快活，活泼，精神充沛 | |
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proficiency
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| n.精通，熟练，精练 | |
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obeisance
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| n.鞠躬，敬礼 | |
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boorish
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| adj.粗野的，乡巴佬的 | |
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extorted
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| v.敲诈( extort的过去式和过去分词 )；曲解 | |
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mule
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| n.骡子，杂种，执拗的人 | |
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constraint
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| n.(on)约束，限制；限制(或约束)性的事物 | |
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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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negation
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| n.否定；否认 | |
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assent
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| v.批准，认可；n.批准，认可 | |
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exteriors
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| n.外面( exterior的名词复数 )；外貌；户外景色图 | |
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pliant
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| adj.顺从的；可弯曲的 | |
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submission
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| n.服从，投降；温顺，谦虚；提出 | |
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dependence
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| n.依靠，依赖；信任，信赖；隶属 | |
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inclination
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| n.倾斜；点头；弯腰；斜坡；倾度；倾向；爱好 | |
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yoked
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| 结合（yoke的过去式形式） | |
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insidious
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| adj.阴险的，隐匿的，暗中为害的，（疾病）不知不觉之间加剧 | |
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counterfeit
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| vt.伪造，仿造；adj.伪造的，假冒的 | |
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ductility
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| n.展延性，柔软性，顺从；韧性；塑性；展性 | |
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dissimulation
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| n.掩饰，虚伪，装糊涂 | |
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levying
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| 征（兵）( levy的现在分词 )； 索取； 发动（战争）； 征税 | |
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instructors
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| 指导者，教师( instructor的名词复数 ) | |
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qualified
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| adj.合格的，有资格的，胜任的，有限制的 | |
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dint
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| n.由于，靠；凹坑 | |
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insinuating
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| adj.曲意巴结的，暗示的v.暗示( insinuate的现在分词 )；巧妙或迂回地潜入；（使）缓慢进入；慢慢伸入 | |
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transcribe
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| v.抄写，誉写；改编(乐曲)；复制，转录 | |
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generosity
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| n.大度，慷慨，慷慨的行为 | |
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overt
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| adj.公开的，明显的，公然的 | |
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touching
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| adj.动人的，使人感伤的 | |
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pedagogue
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| n.教师 | |
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pedant
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| n.迂儒；卖弄学问的人 | |
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undertaking
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| n.保证，许诺，事业 | |
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elegance
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| n.优雅；优美，雅致；精致，巧妙 | |
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despatch
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| n./v.(dispatch)派遣；发送；n.急件；新闻报道 | |
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subscribed
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| v.捐助( subscribe的过去式和过去分词 )；签署，题词；订阅；同意 | |
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peruse
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| v.细读，精读 | |
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bestowing
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| 砖窑中砖堆上层已烧透的砖 | |
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approbation
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| n.称赞；认可 | |
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imputing
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| v.把（错误等）归咎于( impute的现在分词 ) | |
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upbraided
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| v.责备，申斥，谴责( upbraid的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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chastising
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| v.严惩（某人）（尤指责打）( chastise的现在分词 ) | |
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redounded
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| v.有助益( redound的过去式和过去分词 )；及于；报偿；报应 | |
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brook
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| n.小河，溪；v.忍受，容让 | |
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indignity
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| n.侮辱，伤害尊严，轻蔑 | |
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nettled
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| v.拿荨麻打，拿荨麻刺（nettle的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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judgment
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| n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见 | |
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exult
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| v.狂喜，欢腾；欢欣鼓舞 | |
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vindicating
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| v.澄清（某人/某事物）受到的责难或嫌疑( vindicate的现在分词 )；表明或证明（所争辩的事物）属实、正当、有效等；维护 | |
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penetration
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| n.穿透，穿人，渗透 | |
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insolence
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| n.傲慢；无礼；厚颜；傲慢的态度 | |
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humility
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| n.谦逊，谦恭 | |
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incensed
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| 盛怒的 | |
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presumption
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| n.推测，可能性，冒昧，放肆，[法律]推定 | |
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gushed
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| v.喷，涌( gush的过去式和过去分词 )；滔滔不绝地说话 | |
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acquitted
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| 宣判…无罪( acquit的过去式和过去分词 )； 使（自己）作出某种表现 | |
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imputation
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| n.归罪，责难 | |
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apprehension
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| n.理解，领悟；逮捕，拘捕；忧虑 | |
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possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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orphan
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| n.孤儿；adj.无父母的 | |
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chagrined
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| adj.懊恼的，苦恼的v.使懊恼，使懊丧，使悔恨( chagrin的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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persuasion
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| n.劝说；说服；持有某种信仰的宗派 | |
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exhorted
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| v.劝告，劝说( exhort的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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benevolence
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| n.慈悲，捐助 | |
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86
remonstrances
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| n.抱怨，抗议( remonstrance的名词复数 ) | |
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uncommon
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| adj.罕见的，非凡的，不平常的 | |
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motive
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| n.动机，目的；adv.发动的，运动的 | |
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sinister
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| adj.不吉利的，凶恶的，左边的 | |
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sordid
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| adj.肮脏的，不干净的，卑鄙的，暗淡的 | |
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91
inclinations
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| 倾向( inclination的名词复数 )； 倾斜； 爱好； 斜坡 | |
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complaisance
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| n.彬彬有礼，殷勤，柔顺 | |
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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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conjectures
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| 推测，猜想( conjecture的名词复数 ) | |
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discretion
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| n.谨慎；随意处理 | |
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96
finesse
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| n.精密技巧，灵巧，手腕 | |
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97
maturity
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| n.成熟；完成；(支票、债券等)到期 | |
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98
faculties
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| n.能力( faculty的名词复数 )；全体教职员；技巧；院 | |
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puerility
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| n.幼稚，愚蠢；幼稚、愚蠢的行为、想法等 | |
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glide
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| n./v.溜，滑行；(时间)消逝 | |
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caresses
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| 爱抚，抚摸( caress的名词复数 ) | |
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102
plunged
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| v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降 | |
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103
imbibed
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| v.吸收( imbibe的过去式和过去分词 )；喝；吸取；吸气 | |
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104
vagrant
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| n.流浪者，游民；adj.流浪的，漂泊不定的 | |
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105
accomplishments
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| n.造诣；完成( accomplishment的名词复数 )；技能；成绩；成就 | |
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106
celebrated
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| adj.有名的，声誉卓著的 | |
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107
dexterity
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| n.(手的)灵巧，灵活 | |
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108
billiards
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| n.台球 | |
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109
draughts
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| n. <英>国际跳棋 | |
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adept
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| adj.老练的，精通的 | |
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