Greatness is o’er,
The heart has broke,
To ache no more;
An unsubstantial pageant2 all —
Drop o’er the scene the funeral-pall.
Old Poem.
The commotion3 and shrieks4 of fear and amazement5 which were excited among the ladies of the court by an event so singular and shocking, had begun to abate6, and the sighs, more serious though less intrusive7, of the few English attendants of the deceased Queen, began to be heard, together with the groans8 of old King Rene, whose emotions were as acute as they were shortlived. The leeches9 had held a busy but unavailing consultation10, and the body that was once a Queen’s, was delivered to the Priest of St. Sauveur, that beautiful church in which the spoils of Pagan temples have contributed to fill up the magnificence of the Christian11 edifice12. The stately pile was duly lighted up, and the funeral provided with such splendor13 as Aix could supply. The Queen’s papers being examined, it was found that Margaret, by disposing of jewels and living at small expense, had realized the means of making a decent provision for life, for her very few English attendants. Her diamond necklace, described in her last will, as in the hands of an English merchant named John Philipson, or his son, or the price thereof, if by then sold or pledged, she left to the said John Philipson and his son Arthur Philipson, with a view to the prosecution14 of the design which they had been destined15 to advance, or if that should prove impossible, to their own use and profit. The charge of her funeral rites16 was wholly intrusted to Arthur, called Philipson, with a request that they should be conducted entirely17 after the forms observed in England. This trust was expressed in an addition to her will, signed the very day on which she died.
Arthur lost no time in despatching Thiebault express to his father, with a letter, explaining in such terms as he knew would be understood, the tenor18 of all that had happened since he came to Aix, and above all, the death of Queen Margaret.
Finally, he requested directions for his motions, since the necessary delay occupied by the obsequies of a person of such eminent19 rank must detain him at Aix till he should receive them.
The old King sustained the shock of his daughter’s death so easily, that on the second day after the event, he was engaged in arranging a pompous20 procession for the funeral, and composing an elegy21, to be sung to a tune22 also of his own composing, in honor of the deceased Queen, who was likened to the goddesses of heathen mythology23, and to Judith, Deborah, and all the other holy women, not to mention the saints of the Christian dispensation. It cannot be concealed24, that when the first burst of grief was over, King Rene could not help feeling that Margaret’s death cut a political knot which he might have otherwise found it difficult to untie26, and permitted him to take open part with his grandson, so far indeed as to afford him a considerable share of the contents of the Provencal treasury27, which amounted to no larger sum than ten thousand crowns. Ferrand having received the blessing28 of his grandfather, in a form which his affairs rendered most important to him, returned to the resolutes whom he commanded and with him, after a most loving farewell to Arthur, went the stout29 but simple-minded young Swiss, Sigismund Biederman.
The little court of Aix were left to their mourning. King Rene, for whom ceremonial and show, whether of a joyful30 or melancholy31 character, was always matter of importance, would willingly have bestowed32 in solemnizing the obsequies of his daughter Margaret what remained of his revenue, but was prevented from doing so, partly by remonstrances33 from his ministers, partly by the obstacles opposed by the young Englishman, who, acting34 upon the presumed will of the dead, interfered35 to prevent any such fantastic exhibitions being produced at the obsequies of the Queen, as had disgusted her during her life.
The funeral, therefore, after many days had been spent in public prayers, and acts of devotion, was solemnized with the mournful magnificence due to the birth of the deceased, and with which the Church of Rome so well knows how to affect at Duce the eye, ear, and feelings.
Amid the various nobles who assisted on the solemn occasion, there was one who arrived just as the tolling36 of the great bells of St. Sauveur had announced that the procession was already on its way to the Cathedral. The stranger hastily exchanged his travelling dress for a suit of deep mourning, which was made after the fashion proper to England. So attired37, he repaired to the Cathedral, where the noble mien38 of the cavalier imposed such respect on the attendants, that he was permitted to approach close to the side of the bier and it was across the coffin39 of the Queen for whom he had acted and suffered so much, that the gallant40 Earl of Oxford41 exchanged a melancholy glance with his son. The assistants, especially the English servants of Margaret, gazed on them both with respect and wonder, and the elder cavalier, in particular, seemed to them no unapt representative of the faithful subjects of England, paying their last duty at the tomb of her who had so long swayed the sceptre, if not faultlessly, yet always with a bold and resolved hand.
The last sound of the solemn dirge42 had died away, and almost all the funeral attendants had retired43, when the father and son still lingered in mournful silence beside the remains44 of their sovereign. The clergy45 at length approached, and intimated they were about to conclude the last duties, by removing the body which had been lately occupied and animated46 by so haughty47 and restless a spirit, to the dust, darkness, and silence of the vault48, where the long-descended Counts of Provence awaited dissolution. Six priests raised the bier on their shoulders, others bore huge waxen torches before and, behind the body, as they carried it down a private staircase which yawned in the floor to admit their descent. The last notes of the requiem49, in which the churchmen joined, had died away along the high and fretted50 arches of the Cathedral, the last flash of light which arose from the mouth of the vault had glimmered51 and disappeared, when the Earl of Oxford, taking his son by the arm, led him in silence forth52 into a small cloistered53 court behind the building, where they found themselves alone. They were silent for a few minutes, for both, and particularly the father, were deeply affected54. At length the Earl spoke55.
“And this, then, is her end,” said he.. “Here, royal lady, all that we have planned and pledged life upon falls to pieces with thy dissolution! The heart of resolution, the head of policy, is gone and what avails it that the limbs of the enterprise still have motion and life? Alas56, Margaret of Anjon! may Heaven reward thy virtues57, and absolve58 thee from the consequences of thine errors! Both belonged to thy station, and if thou didst hoist59 too high a sail in prosperity, never lived there princess who defied more proudly the storms of adversity, or bore up against them with such dauntless nobility of determination. With this event the drama has closed, and our parts, my son, are ended.”
“We bear arms, then, against the infidels, my lord?” said Arthur, with a sigh that was, however, hardly audible.
Not,” answered the Earl, “until I learn that Henry of Richmond, the undoubted heir of the House of Lancaster, has no occasion for my services. In these jewels, of which you wrote me, so strangely lost and recovered, I may be able to supply him with resources more needful than either your services or mine. But I return no more to the camp of the Duke of Burgundy; for in him there is no help.”
“Can it be possible that the power of so great a sovereign has been overthrown60 in one fatal battle?” said Arthur.
“By no means,” replied the father. “The loss at Granson was very great; but to the strength of Burgundy it is but a scratch on the shoulders of a giant. It is the spirit of Charles himself, his wisdom at least, and his foresight61, which have given way under the mortification62 of a defeat, by such as he accounted inconsiderable enemies, and expected to have trampled63 down with a few squadrons of his men-at-arms. Then his temper is become froward, peevish64, and arbitrary, devoted65 to those who flatter, and, as there is too much reason to believe, betray him; and suspicious of those counsellors who give him wholesome66 advice. Even I have had my share of distrust. Thou knowest I refused to bear arms against our late hosts the Swiss; and he saw in that no reason for rejecting my attendance on his march. But since the defeat of Granson, I have observed a strong and sudden change, owing, perhaps, in some degree to the insinuations of Campo-Basso, and not a little to the injured pride of the Duke, who was unwilling67 that an indifferent person in my situation, and thinking as I do, should witness the disgrace of his arms. He spoke in my hearing of lukewarm friends, cold-blooded neutrals, — of those who, not being with him, must be against him. I tell thee, Arthur do Vere, the Duke has said that which touched my honor so nearly, that nothing but the commands of Queen Margaret, and the interests of the House of Lancaster, could have made me remain in his camp. That is over — My royal mistress has no more occasion for my poor services — the Duke can spare no aid to our cause — and if he could, we can no longer dispose of the only bribe68 which might have induced him to afford us succors69. The power of seconding his views on Provence is buried with Margaret of Anjou.”
“ What, then, is your purpose?” demanded his son.
“I propose,” said Oxford, “to wait at the court of King Rene until I can hear from the Earl of Richmond, as we must still call him. I am aware that banished70 men are rarely welcome at the court of a foreign prince; but I have been the faithful follower71 of his daughter Margaret. I only propose to reside in disguise, and desire neither notice nor maintenance; so methinks King Rene will not refuse to permit me to breathe the air of his dominions72, until I learn in what direction fortune or duty shall call me.”
“Be assured he will not,” answered Arthur. ‘Rene is in capable of a base or ignoble73 thought; and if he could despise trifles as he detests74 dishonor, he might be ranked high in the list of monarchs75.”
This resolution being adopted, the son presented his father at King Rene’s court, whom he privately77 made acquainted that he was a man of quality, and a distinguished78 Lancastrian. The good King would in his heart have preferred a guest of lighter79 accomplishments80 and gayer temper, to Oxford, a statesman and a soldier of melancholy and grave habits. The Earl was conscious of this, and seldom troubled his benevolent81 and light-hearted host with his presence. He had, however, an opportunity of rendering82 the old King a favor of peculiar83 value. This was in conducting an important treaty betwixt Rene and Louis XI. of France, his nephew. Upon that crafty84 monarch76, Rene finally settled his principality, for the necessity of extricating85 his affairs by such a measure was now apparent even to himself, every thought of favoring Charles of Burgundy in the arrangement having died with Queen Margaret. The policy and wisdom of the English Earl, who was intrusted with almost the sole charge of this secret and delicate measure, were of the utmost advantage to good King Rene, who was freed from personal and pecuniary86 vexations, and enabled to go piping ani taboring to his grave. Louis did not fail to propitiate87 the plenipotentiary, by throwing out distant hopes of aid to the efforts of the Lancastrian party in England. A faint and insecure negotiation88 was entered into upon the subject; and these affairs, which rendered two journeys to Paris necessary on the part of Oxford and his son, in the spring and summer of the year 1476 occupied them until that year was half spent.
In the meanwhile, the wars of the Duke of Burgundy with the Swiss Cantons and Count Ferrand of Lorraine continued to rage. Before midsummer, 1476, Charles had assembled a new army of at least sixty thousand men, supported by one hundred and fifty pieces of cannon89, for the purpose of invading Switzerland, where the warlike mountaineers easily levied90 a host of thirty thousand Switzers, now accounted almost invincible91, and called upon their confederates, the Free Cities on the Rhine, to support them with a powerful body of cavalry92. The first efforts of Charles were successful. He overran the Pays de Vaud, and recovered most of the places which he had lost after the defeat at Granson. But instead of attempting to secure a well-defended frontier, or what would have been still more politic25, to achieve a peace upon equitable93 terms with his redoubtable94 neighbors, this most obstinate95 of princes resumed the purpose of penetrating96 into the recesses97 of the Alpine98 mountains, and chastising99 the mountaineers even within their own strongholds, though experience might have taught him the danger, nay100 desperation, of the attempt. Thus the news received by Oxford and his son, when they returned to Aix in midsummer, was, that Duke Charles had advanced to Morat (or Murten), situated101 upon a lake of the same name, at the very entrance of Switzerland. Here report said that Adrian de Bubenburg, a veteran knight102 of Berne, commanded, and maintained the most obstinate defence, in expectation of the relief which his countrymen were hastily assembling.
“Alas, my old brother-in-arms!” said the Earl to his son, on hearing these tidings, “this town besieged103, these assaults repelled104, this vicinity of an enemy’s country, this profound lake, these inaccessible105 cliffs, threaten a second part of the tragedy of Granson, more calamitous106 perhaps than even the former.”
On the last week of July the capital of Provence was agitated107 by one of those unauthorized yet generally received rumors108, which transmit great events with incredible swiftness, as an apple flung from hand to hand by a number of people will pass a given space infinitely109 faster than if borne by the most rapid series of expresses. The report announced a second defeat of the Burgundians, in terms so exaggerated, as induced the Earl of Oxford to consider the greater part, if not the whole, as a fabrication.
1 toll | |
n.过路(桥)费;损失,伤亡人数;v.敲(钟) | |
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2 pageant | |
n.壮观的游行;露天历史剧 | |
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3 commotion | |
n.骚动,动乱 | |
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4 shrieks | |
n.尖叫声( shriek的名词复数 )v.尖叫( shriek的第三人称单数 ) | |
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5 amazement | |
n.惊奇,惊讶 | |
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6 abate | |
vi.(风势,疼痛等)减弱,减轻,减退 | |
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7 intrusive | |
adj.打搅的;侵扰的 | |
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8 groans | |
n.呻吟,叹息( groan的名词复数 );呻吟般的声音v.呻吟( groan的第三人称单数 );发牢骚;抱怨;受苦 | |
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9 leeches | |
n.水蛭( leech的名词复数 );蚂蟥;榨取他人脂膏者;医生 | |
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10 consultation | |
n.咨询;商量;商议;会议 | |
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11 Christian | |
adj.基督教徒的;n.基督教徒 | |
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12 edifice | |
n.宏伟的建筑物(如宫殿,教室) | |
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13 splendor | |
n.光彩;壮丽,华丽;显赫,辉煌 | |
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14 prosecution | |
n.起诉,告发,检举,执行,经营 | |
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15 destined | |
adj.命中注定的;(for)以…为目的地的 | |
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16 rites | |
仪式,典礼( rite的名词复数 ) | |
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17 entirely | |
ad.全部地,完整地;完全地,彻底地 | |
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18 tenor | |
n.男高音(歌手),次中音(乐器),要旨,大意 | |
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19 eminent | |
adj.显赫的,杰出的,有名的,优良的 | |
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20 pompous | |
adj.傲慢的,自大的;夸大的;豪华的 | |
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21 elegy | |
n.哀歌,挽歌 | |
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22 tune | |
n.调子;和谐,协调;v.调音,调节,调整 | |
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23 mythology | |
n.神话,神话学,神话集 | |
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24 concealed | |
a.隐藏的,隐蔽的 | |
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25 politic | |
adj.有智虑的;精明的;v.从政 | |
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26 untie | |
vt.解开,松开;解放 | |
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27 treasury | |
n.宝库;国库,金库;文库 | |
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28 blessing | |
n.祈神赐福;祷告;祝福,祝愿 | |
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30 joyful | |
adj.欢乐的,令人欢欣的 | |
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31 melancholy | |
n.忧郁,愁思;adj.令人感伤(沮丧)的,忧郁的 | |
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32 bestowed | |
赠给,授予( bestow的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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33 remonstrances | |
n.抱怨,抗议( remonstrance的名词复数 ) | |
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34 acting | |
n.演戏,行为,假装;adj.代理的,临时的,演出用的 | |
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35 interfered | |
v.干预( interfere的过去式和过去分词 );调停;妨碍;干涉 | |
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36 tolling | |
[财]来料加工 | |
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37 attired | |
adj.穿着整齐的v.使穿上衣服,使穿上盛装( attire的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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38 mien | |
n.风采;态度 | |
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39 coffin | |
n.棺材,灵柩 | |
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40 gallant | |
adj.英勇的,豪侠的;(向女人)献殷勤的 | |
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41 Oxford | |
n.牛津(英国城市) | |
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42 dirge | |
n.哀乐,挽歌,庄重悲哀的乐曲 | |
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43 retired | |
adj.隐退的,退休的,退役的 | |
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44 remains | |
n.剩余物,残留物;遗体,遗迹 | |
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45 clergy | |
n.[总称]牧师,神职人员 | |
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46 animated | |
adj.生气勃勃的,活跃的,愉快的 | |
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47 haughty | |
adj.傲慢的,高傲的 | |
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48 vault | |
n.拱形圆顶,地窖,地下室 | |
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49 requiem | |
n.安魂曲,安灵曲 | |
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50 fretted | |
焦躁的,附有弦马的,腐蚀的 | |
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51 glimmered | |
v.发闪光,发微光( glimmer的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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52 forth | |
adv.向前;向外,往外 | |
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53 cloistered | |
adj.隐居的,躲开尘世纷争的v.隐退,使与世隔绝( cloister的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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54 affected | |
adj.不自然的,假装的 | |
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55 spoke | |
n.(车轮的)辐条;轮辐;破坏某人的计划;阻挠某人的行动 v.讲,谈(speak的过去式);说;演说;从某种观点来说 | |
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56 alas | |
int.唉(表示悲伤、忧愁、恐惧等) | |
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57 virtues | |
美德( virtue的名词复数 ); 德行; 优点; 长处 | |
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58 absolve | |
v.赦免,解除(责任等) | |
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59 hoist | |
n.升高,起重机,推动;v.升起,升高,举起 | |
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60 overthrown | |
adj. 打翻的,推倒的,倾覆的 动词overthrow的过去分词 | |
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61 foresight | |
n.先见之明,深谋远虑 | |
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62 mortification | |
n.耻辱,屈辱 | |
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63 trampled | |
踩( trample的过去式和过去分词 ); 践踏; 无视; 侵犯 | |
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64 peevish | |
adj.易怒的,坏脾气的 | |
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65 devoted | |
adj.忠诚的,忠实的,热心的,献身于...的 | |
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66 wholesome | |
adj.适合;卫生的;有益健康的;显示身心健康的 | |
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67 unwilling | |
adj.不情愿的 | |
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68 bribe | |
n.贿赂;v.向…行贿,买通 | |
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69 succors | |
n.救助,帮助(尤指需要时)( succor的名词复数 )v.给予帮助( succor的第三人称单数 ) | |
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70 banished | |
v.放逐,驱逐( banish的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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71 follower | |
n.跟随者;随员;门徒;信徒 | |
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72 dominions | |
统治权( dominion的名词复数 ); 领土; 疆土; 版图 | |
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73 ignoble | |
adj.不光彩的,卑鄙的;可耻的 | |
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74 detests | |
v.憎恶,嫌恶,痛恨( detest的第三人称单数 ) | |
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75 monarchs | |
君主,帝王( monarch的名词复数 ) | |
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76 monarch | |
n.帝王,君主,最高统治者 | |
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77 privately | |
adv.以私人的身份,悄悄地,私下地 | |
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78 distinguished | |
adj.卓越的,杰出的,著名的 | |
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79 lighter | |
n.打火机,点火器;驳船;v.用驳船运送;light的比较级 | |
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80 accomplishments | |
n.造诣;完成( accomplishment的名词复数 );技能;成绩;成就 | |
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81 benevolent | |
adj.仁慈的,乐善好施的 | |
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82 rendering | |
n.表现,描写 | |
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83 peculiar | |
adj.古怪的,异常的;特殊的,特有的 | |
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84 crafty | |
adj.狡猾的,诡诈的 | |
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85 extricating | |
v.使摆脱困难,脱身( extricate的现在分词 ) | |
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86 pecuniary | |
adj.金钱的;金钱上的 | |
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87 propitiate | |
v.慰解,劝解 | |
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88 negotiation | |
n.谈判,协商 | |
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89 cannon | |
n.大炮,火炮;飞机上的机关炮 | |
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90 levied | |
征(兵)( levy的过去式和过去分词 ); 索取; 发动(战争); 征税 | |
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91 invincible | |
adj.不可征服的,难以制服的 | |
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92 cavalry | |
n.骑兵;轻装甲部队 | |
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93 equitable | |
adj.公平的;公正的 | |
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94 redoubtable | |
adj.可敬的;可怕的 | |
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95 obstinate | |
adj.顽固的,倔强的,不易屈服的,较难治愈的 | |
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96 penetrating | |
adj.(声音)响亮的,尖锐的adj.(气味)刺激的adj.(思想)敏锐的,有洞察力的 | |
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97 recesses | |
n.壁凹( recess的名词复数 );(工作或业务活动的)中止或暂停期间;学校的课间休息;某物内部的凹形空间v.把某物放在墙壁的凹处( recess的第三人称单数 );将(墙)做成凹形,在(墙)上做壁龛;休息,休会,休庭 | |
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98 alpine | |
adj.高山的;n.高山植物 | |
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99 chastising | |
v.严惩(某人)(尤指责打)( chastise的现在分词 ) | |
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100 nay | |
adv.不;n.反对票,投反对票者 | |
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101 situated | |
adj.坐落在...的,处于某种境地的 | |
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102 knight | |
n.骑士,武士;爵士 | |
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103 besieged | |
包围,围困,围攻( besiege的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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104 repelled | |
v.击退( repel的过去式和过去分词 );使厌恶;排斥;推开 | |
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105 inaccessible | |
adj.达不到的,难接近的 | |
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106 calamitous | |
adj.灾难的,悲惨的;多灾多难;惨重 | |
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107 agitated | |
adj.被鼓动的,不安的 | |
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108 rumors | |
n.传闻( rumor的名词复数 );[古]名誉;咕哝;[古]喧嚷v.传闻( rumor的第三人称单数 );[古]名誉;咕哝;[古]喧嚷 | |
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109 infinitely | |
adv.无限地,无穷地 | |
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