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Chapter 43 The Death Chamber
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By the side of William Carlyle’s dying bed knelt the Lady Isabel. The time was at hand, and the boy was quite reconciled to his fate. Merciful, indeed, is God to dying children! It is astonishing how very readily, when the right means are taken, they may be brought to look with pleasure, rather than fear, upon their unknown journey.

The brilliant hectic1, type of the disease, had gone from his cheeks, his features were white and wasted, and his eyes large and bright. His silky brown hair was pushed off his temples, and his little hot hands were thrown outside the bed.

“It won’t be very long to wait, you know, will it, Madame Vine?”

“For what, darling?”

“Before they all come. Papa and mamma, and Lucy, and all of them.”

A jealous feeling shot across her wearied heart. Was she nothing to him? “Do you not care that I should come to you, William?”

“Yes, I hope you will. But do you think we shall know everybody in Heaven? Or will it be only our own relations?”

“Oh, child! I think there will be no relations, as you call it, up there. We can trust all that to God, however it may be.”

William lay looking upward at the sky, apparently2 in thought, a dark blue, serene3 sky, from which shone the hot July sun. His bed had been moved toward the window, for he liked to sit in it, and look at the landscape. The window was open now, and the butterflies and bees sported in the summer air.

“I wonder how it will be?” pondered he, aloud. “There will be the beautiful city, its gates of pearl, and its shining precious stones, and its streets of gold; and there will be the clear river, and the trees with their fruits and their healing leaves, and the lovely flowers; and there will be the harps4, and music, and singing. And what else will there be?”

“Everything that is desirable and beautiful, William; but, what we may not anticipate here.”

Another pause. “Madame Vine, will Jesus come for me, do you think, or will He send an angel?”

“Jesus has promised to come for His own redeemed—for those who love Him and wait for Him.”

“Yes, yes, and then I shall be happy forever. It will be so pleasant to be there, never to be tired or ill again.”

“Pleasant? Ay! Oh, William! Would that the time were come!”

She was thinking of herself—of her freedom—though the boy knew it not. She buried her face in her hands and continued speaking; William had to bend his ear to catch the faint whisper.

“‘And there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying: neither shall there be any more pain; for the former things are passed away.’”

“Madame Vine, do you think mamma will be there?” he presently asked. “I mean mamma that was.”

“Ay, ere long.”

“But how shall I know her? You see, I have nearly forgotten what she was like.”

She leaned over him, laying her forehead upon his wasted arm, and burst into a flood of impassioned tears. “You will know her, never fear, William; she has not forgotten you.”

“But how can we be sure that she will be there?” debated William, after a pause of thought. “You know”—sinking his voice, and speaking with hesitation—“she was not quite good; she was not good enough to papa or to us. Sometimes I think, suppose she did not grow good, and did not ask God to forgive her!”

“Oh, William!” sobbed5 the unhappy lady, “her whole life, after she left you, was one long scene of repentance6, of seeking forgiveness. Her repentance, her sorrow, was greater than she could bear, and——”

“And what?” asked William, for there was a pause.

“Her heart broke in it—yearning7 after you and your father.”

“What makes you think it?”

“Child, I know it!”

William considered. Then, had he been strong enough, he would have started up with energy. “Madame Vine, you could only know that by mamma’s telling you! Did you ever see her? Did you know her abroad?”

Lady Isabel’s thoughts were far away—up in the clouds perhaps. She reflected not on the possible consequences of her answer, or she had never given it.

“Yes, I knew her abroad.”

“Oh!” said the boy. “Why did you never tell us? What did she say? What was she like?”

“She said”—sobbing8 wildly—“that she was parted from her children here; but she should meet them in Heaven, and be with them forever. William, darling! all the awful pain, and sadness, and guilt9 of this world will be washed out, and God will wipe your tears away.”

“What was her face like?” he questioned softly.

“Like yours. Very much like Lucy’s.”

“Was she pretty?”

A momentary10 pause. “Yes.”

“Oh, dear, I am ill. Hold me!” cried out William, as his head sank to one side, and great drops, as large as peas, broke forth11 upon his clammy face. It appeared to be one of the temporary faint attacks that overpowered him at times lately, and Lady Isabel rang the bell hastily.

Wilson came in, in answer. Joyce was the usual attendant upon the sick room; but Mrs. Carlyle, with her infant, was passing the day at the Grove12; unconscious of the critical state of William, and she had taken Joyce with her. It was the day following the trial. Mr. Justice Hare had been brought to West Lynne in his second attack, and Barbara had gone to see him, to console her mother, and to welcome Richard to his home again. If one carriage drove, that day, to the Grove, with cards and inquiries13, fifty did, not to speak of the foot callers. “It is all meant by way of attention to you, Richard,” said gentle Mrs. Hare, smiling through her loving tears at her restored son. Lucy and Archie were dining at Miss Carlyle’s, and Sarah attended little Arthur, leaving Wilson free. She came in, in answer to Madame Vine’s ring.

“Is he off in another faint?” unceremoniously cried she, hastening to the bed.

“I think so. Help to raise him.”

William did not faint. No; the attack was quite different from those he was subject to. Instead of losing consciousness and power, as was customary, he shook as if he had the ague, and laid hold both of Madame Vine and Wilson, grasping them convulsively.

“Don’t let me fall! Don’t let me fall!” he gasped14.

“My dear, you cannot fall,” responded Madame Vine. “You forget that you are on the bed.”

He clasped them yet, and trembled still, as from fear. “Don’t let me fall! Don’t let me fall” the incessant15 burden of his cry.

The paroxysm passed. They wiped his brow, and stood looking at him; Wilson with a pursed up mouth, and a peculiar16 expression of face. She put a spoonful of restorative jelly between his lips, and he swallowed it, but shook his head when she would have given him another. Turning his face to the pillow, in a few minutes he was in a doze17.

“What could it have been?” exclaimed Lady Isabel, in an undertone, to Wilson.

“I know,” was the oracular answer. “I saw this same sort of an attack once before, madame.”

“And what caused it?”

“Twasn’t in a child though,” went on Wilson—”’twas in a grown person. But that’s nothing, it comes for the same thing in all. I think he was taken for death.”

“Who?” uttered Lady Isabel, startled.

Wilson made no reply in words, but she pointed18 with her finger to the bed.

“Oh, Wilson, he is not so ill as that. Mr. Wainwright said this morning, that he might last a week or two.”

Wilson composedly sat herself down in the easiest chair. She was not wont19 to put herself out of the way for the governess; and that governess was too much afraid of her, in one sense, to let her know her place. “As to Wainwright, he’s nobody,” quoth she. “And if he saw the child’s breath going out before his face, and knew that the next moment would be his last, he’d vow20 to us all that he was good for twelve hours to come. You don’t know Wainwright as I do, madame. He was our doctor at mother’s; and he has attended in all the places I have lived in since I went out to service. Five years I was maid at Mrs. Hare’s. I came here when Miss Lucy was a baby, and in all my places has he attended, like one’s shadow. My Lady Isabel thought great guns of old Wainwright, I remember. It was more than I did.”

My Lady Isabel made no response to this. She took a seat and watched William through her glasses. His breathing was more labored21 than usual.

“That idiot, Sarah, says to me today, says she, ‘Which of his two grandpapas will they bury him by, old Mr. Carlyle or Lord Mount Severn?’ ‘Don’t be a calf22!’ I answered her. ‘D’ye think they’ll stick him out in the corner with my lord?—he’ll be put into the Carlyle vault23, of course,’ It would have been different, you see, Madame Vine, if my lady had died at home, all proper—Mr. Carlyle’s wife. They’d have buried her, no doubt, by her father, and the boy would have been laid with her. But she did not.”

No reply was made by Madame Vine, and a silence ensued; nothing to be heard but that fleeting24 breath.

“I wonder how that beauty feels?” suddenly broke forth Wilson again, her tone one of scornful irony25.

Lady Isabel, her eyes and her thoughts absorbed by William, positively26 thought Wilson’s words must relate to him. She turned to her in surprise.

“That bright gem27 in the prison at Lynneborough,” exclaimed Wilson. “I hope he may have found himself pretty well since yesterday! I wonder how many trainfuls from West Lynne will go to his hanging?”

Isabel’s face turned crimson28, her heart sick. She had not dared to inquire how the trial terminated. The subject altogether was too dreadful, and nobody had happened to mention it in her hearing.

“Is he condemned30?” she breathed, in a low tone.

“He is condemned, and good luck to him! And Mr. Otway Bethel’s let loose again, and good luck to him. A nice pair they are! Nobody went from this house to hear the trial—it might not have been pleasant, you know, to Mr. Carlyle; but people came in last night and told us all about it. Young Richard Hare chiefly convicted him. He is back again, and so nice-looking, they say—ten times more so than he was when quite a young man. You should have heard, they say, the cheering and shouts that greeted Mr. Richard when his innocence31 came out; it pretty near rose off the roof of the court, and the judge didn’t stop it.”

Wilson paused, but there was no answering comment. On she went again.

“When Mr. Carlyle brought the news home last evening, and broke it to his wife, telling her how Mr. Richard had been received with acclamations, she nearly fainted, for she’s not strong yet. Mr. Carlyle called out to me to bring some water—I was in the next room with the baby—and there she was, the tears raining from her eyes, and he holding her to him. I always said there was a whole world of love between those two; though he did go and marry another. Mr. Carlyle ordered me to put the water down, and sent me away again. But I don’t fancy he told her of old Hare’s attack until this morning.”

Lady Isabel lifted her aching forehead. “What attack?”

“Why, madame, don’t you know. I declare you box yourself up in the house, keeping from everybody, and you hear nothing. You might as well be living at the bottom of a coal-pit. Old Hare had another stroke in the court at Lynneborough, and that’s why my mistress is gone to the Grove today.”

“Who says Richard Hare’s come home, Wilson?”

The question—the weak, scarcely audible question—had come from the dying boy. Wilson threw up her hands, and made a bound to the bed. “The like of that!” she uttered, aside to Mrs. Vine. “One never knows when to take these sick ones. Master William, you hold your tongue and drop to sleep again. Your papa will be home soon from Lynneborough; and if you talk and get tired, he’ll say it’s my fault. Come shut your eyes. Will you have a bit more jelly?”

William, making no reply to the offer of jelly, buried his face again on the pillow. But he was grievously restless; the nearly worn-out spirit was ebbing32 and flowing.

Mr. Carlyle was at Lynneborough. He always had much business there at assize time and the Nisi Prius Court; but the previous day he had not gone himself, Mr. Dill had been dispatched to represent him.

Between seven and eight he returned home, and came into William’s chamber33. The boy brightened up at the well-known presence.

“Papa!”

Mr. Carlyle sat down on the bed and kissed him. The passing beams of the sun, slanting34 from the horizon, shone into the room, and Mr. Carlyle could view well the dying face. The gray hue35 of death was certainly on it.

“Is he worse?” he exclaimed hastily, to Madame Vine, who was jacketed, and capped, and spectacled, and tied up round the throat, and otherwise disguised, in her universal fashion.

“He appears worse this evening, sir—more weak.”

“Papa,” panted William, “is the trial over?”

“What trial, my boy?”

“Sir Francis Levison’s.”

“It was over yesterday. Never trouble your head about him, my brave boy, he is not worth it.”

“But I want to know. Will they hang him?”

“He is sentenced to it.”

“Did he kill Hallijohn?”

“Yes. Who has been talking to him upon the subject?” Mr. Carlyle continued to Madame Vine, with marked displeasure in his tone.

“Wilson mentioned it, sir,” was the low answer.

“Oh, papa! What will he do? Will Jesus forgive him?”

“We must hope it.”

“Do you hope it, papa?”

“Yes. I wish that all the world may be forgiven, William, whatever may have been their sins. My child, how restless you seem!”

“I can’t keep in one place; the bed gets wrong. Pull me up on the pillow, will you Madame Vine?”

Mr. Carlyle gently lifted the boy himself.

“Madame Vine is an untiring nurse to you, William,” he observed, gratefully casting a glance toward her in the distance, where she had retreated, and was shaded by the window curtain.

William made no reply; he seemed to be trying to recall something. “I forget! I forget!”

“Forget what?” asked Mr. Carlyle.

“It was something I wanted to ask you, or to tell you. Isn’t Lucy come home?”

“I suppose not.”

“Papa, I want Joyce.”

“I will send her home to you. I am going for your mamma after dinner.”

“For mamma?—oh, I remember now. Papa, how shall I know mamma in Heaven? Not this mamma.”

Mr. Carlyle did not immediately reply. The question may have puzzled him. William continued hastily; possibly mistaking the motive36 of the silence.

“She will be in Heaven, you know.”

“Yes, yes, child,” speaking hurriedly.

“Madame Vine knows she will. She saw her abroad; and mamma told her that—what was it, madame?”

Madame Vine grew sick with alarm. Mr. Carlyle turned his eyes upon her scarlet37 face—as much as he could get to see of it. She would have escaped from the room if she could.

“Mamma was more sorry than she could bear,” went on William, finding he was not helped. “She wanted you, papa, and she wanted us, and her heart broke, and she died.”

A flush rose to Mr. Carlyle’s brow. He turned inquiringly to Madame Vine.

“Oh, I beg your pardon, sir,” she murmured, with desperate energy. “I ought not to have spoken; I ought not to have interfered39 in your family affairs. I spoke38 only as I thought it must be, sir. The boy seemed troubled about his mother.”

Mr. Carlyle was at sea. “Did you meet his mother abroad? I scarcely understand.”

She lifted her hand and covered her glowing face. “No, sir.” Surely the recording40 angel blotted41 out the words! If ever a prayer for forgiveness went up from an aching heart, it must have gone up then, for the equivocation42 over her child’s death-bed!

Mr. Carlyle went toward her. “Do you perceive the change in his countenance43?” he whispered.

“Yes, sir. He has looked like this since a strange fit of trembling that came on in the afternoon. Wilson thought he might be taken for death. I fear that some four and twenty hours will end it.”

Mr. Carlyle rested his elbow on the window frame, and his hand upon his brow, his drooping44 eyelids45 falling over his eyes. “It is hard to lose him.”

“Oh, sir, he will be better off!” she wailed46, choking down the sobs47 and the emotion that arose threateningly. “We can bear death; it is not the worst parting that the earth knows. He will be quit of this cruel world, sheltered in Heaven. I wish we were all there!”

A servant came to say that Mr. Carlyle’s dinner was served, and he proceeded to it with what appetite he had. When he returned to the sick room the daylight had faded, and a solitary48 candle was placed where its rays could not fall upon the child’s face. Mr. Carlyle took the light in his hand to scan that face again. He was lying sideways on the pillow, his hollow breath echoing through the room. The light caused him to open his eyes.

“Don’t, papa, please. I like it dark.”

“Only for a moment, my precious boy.” And not for more than a moment did Mr. Carlyle hold it. The blue, pinched, ghastly look was there yet. Death was certainly coming on quick.

At that moment Lucy and Archibald came in, on their return from their visit to Miss Carlyle. The dying boy looked up eagerly.

“Good-bye, Lucy,” he said, putting out his cold, damp hand.

“I am not going out,” replied Lucy. “We have but just come home.”

“Good-bye, Lucy,” repeated he.

She laid hold of the little hand then, leaned over, and kissed him. “Good-bye, William; but indeed I am not going out anywhere.”

“I am,” said he. “I am going to Heaven. Where’s Archie?”

Mr. Carlyle lifted Archie on to the bed. Lucy looked frightened, Archie surprised.

“Archie, good-bye; good-bye, dear, I am going to Heaven; to that bright, blue sky, you know. I shall see mamma there, and I’ll tell her that you and Lucy are coming soon.”

Lucy, a sensitive child, broke into a loud storm of sobs, enough to disturb the equanimity49 of any sober sick room. Wilson hastened in at the sound, and Mr. Carlyle sent the two children away, with soothing50 promises that they should see William in the morning, if he continued well enough.

Down on her knees, her face buried in the counterpane, a corner of it stuffed into her mouth that it might help to stifle51 her agony, knelt Lady Isabel. The moment’s excitement was well nigh beyond her strength of endurance. Her own child—his child—they alone around its death-bed, and she might not ask or receive a word of comfort, of consolation52!

Mr. Carlyle glanced at her as he caught her choking sobs just as he would have glanced at any other attentive53 governess—feeling her sympathy, doubtless, but nothing more; she was not heart and part with him and his departing boy. Lower and lower bent54 he over that boy; for his eyes were wet. “Don’t cry, papa,” whispered William, raising his feeble hand caressingly55 to his father’s cheek, “I am not afraid to go. Jesus is coming for me.”

“Afraid to go! Indeed I hope not, my gentle boy. You are going to God—to happiness. A few years—we know not how few—and we shall all come to you.”

“Yes, you will be sure to come; I know that. I shall tell mamma so. I dare say she is looking out for me now. Perhaps she’s standing56 on the banks of the river, watching the boats.”

He had evidently got that picture of Martin’s in his mind, “The Plains of Heaven.” Mr. Carlyle turned to the table. He saw some strawberry juice, pressed from the fresh fruit, and moistened with it the boy’s fevered lips.

“Papa, I can’t think how Jesus can be in all the boats! Perhaps they don’t go quite at the same time. He must be, you know, because He comes to fetch us.”

“He will be yours, darling,” was the whispered, fervent57 answer.

“Oh, yes. He will take me all the way up to God, and say, ‘Here’s a poor little boy come, you must please to forgive him and let him go into Heaven, because I died for him!’ Papa did you know that mamma’s heart broke?”

“William, I think it likely that your poor mamma’s heart did break, ere death came. But let us talk of you, not of her. Are you in pain?”

“I can’t breathe; I can’t swallow. I wish Joyce was here.”

“She will not be long now.”

The boy nestled himself in his father’s arms, and in a few minutes appeared to be asleep. Mr. Carlyle, after a while, gently laid him on his pillow, and watched him, and then turned to depart.

“Oh, papa! Papa!” he cried out, in a tone of painful entreaty58, opening wide his yearning eyes, “say good-bye to me!”

Mr. Carlyle’s tears fell upon the little upturned face, as he once more caught it to his breast.

“My darling, your papa will soon be back. He is going to bring mamma to see you.”

“And pretty little baby Anna?”

“And baby Anna, if you would like her to come in. I will not leave my darling boy for long; he need not fear. I shall not leave you again to-night, William, when once I am back.”

“Then put me down, and go, papa.”

A lingering embrace—a fond, lingering, tearful embrace—Mr. Carlyle holding him to his beating heart, then he laid him comfortably on his pillow, gave him a teaspoonful59 of strawberry juice, and hastened away.

“Good-bye, papa!” came forth the little feeble cry.

It was not heard. Mr. Carlyle was gone, gone from his living child—forever. Up rose Lady Isabel, and flung her arms aloft in a storm of sobs!

“Oh, William, darling! in this dying moment let me be to you as your mother!”

Again he unclosed his wearied eyelids. It is probable that he only partially60 understood.

“Papa’s gone for her.”

“Not her! I—I——” Lady Isabel checked herself, and fell sobbing on the bed. No; not even at the last hour when the world was closing on him, dared she say, I am your mother.

Wilson reentered. “He looks as if he were dropping off to sleep,” quoth she.

“Yes,” said Lady Isabel. “You need not wait, Wilson. I will ring if he requires anything.”

Wilson though withal not a bad-hearted woman, was not one to remain for pleasure in a sick-room, if told she might leave it. She, Lady Isabel, remained alone. She fell on her knees again, this time in prayer for the departing spirit, on its wing, and that God would mercifully vouchsafe61 herself a resting-place with it in heaven.

A review of the past then rose up before her, from the time of her first entering that house, the bride of Mr. Carlyle, to her present sojourn62 in it. The old scenes passed through her mind like the changing picture in a phantasmagoria.

Why should they have come, there and then? She knew not.

William slept on silently; she thought of the past. The dreadful reflection, “If I had not done as I did, how different would it have been now!” had been sounding its knell63 in her heart so often that she had almost ceased to shudder64 at it. The very nails of her hands had, before now, entered the palms, with the sharp pain it brought. Stealing over her more especially this night, there, as she knelt, her head lying on the counterpane, came the recollection of that first illness of hers. How she had lain, and, in that unfounded jealousy66, imagined Barbara the house’s mistress. She dead! Barbara exalted67 to her place. Mr. Carlyle’s wife, her child’s stepmother! She recalled the day when, her mind excited by a certain gossip of Wilson’s—it was previously68 in a state of fever bordering on delirium—she had prayed her husband, in terror and anguish69, not to marry Barbara. “How could he marry her?” he had replied, in his soothing pity. “She, Isabel, was his wife. Who was Barbara? Nothing to them?” But it had all come to pass. She had brought it forth. Not Mr. Carlyle; not Barbara; she alone. Oh, the dreadful misery70 of the retrospect71!

Lost in thought, in anguish past and present, in self-condemning repentance, the time passed on. Nearly an hour must have elapsed since Mr. Carlyle’s departure, and William had not disturbed her. But who was this, coming into the room? Joyce.

She hastily rose up, as Joyce, advancing with a quiet step drew aside the clothes to look at William. “Master says he has been wanting me,” she observed. “Why—oh!”

It was a sharp, momentary cry, subdued72 as soon as uttered. Madame Vine sprang forward to Joyce’s side, looking also. The pale young face lay calm in its utter stillness; the busy little heart had ceased to beat. Jesus Christ had indeed come and taken the fleeting spirit.

Then she lost all self-control. She believed that she had reconciled herself to the child’s death, that she could part with him without too great emotion. But she had not anticipated it would be quite so soon; she had deemed that some hours more would at least be given him, and now the storm overwhelmed her. Crying, sobbing, calling, she flung herself upon him; she clasped him to her; she dashed off her disguising glasses; she laid her face upon his, beseeching73 him to come back to her, that she might say farewell—to her, his mother; her darling child, her lost William!

Joyce was terrified—terrified for consequences. With her full strength she pulled her from the boy, praying her to consider—to be still. “Do not, do not, for the love of Heaven! My lady! My lady!”

It was the old familiar title that struck upon her fears and induced calmness. She stared at Joyce, and retreated backward, after the manner of one receding74 from some hideous75 vision. Then, as recollection came to her, she snatched her glasses up and hurried them on.

“My lady, let me take you into your room. Mr. Carlyle is come; he is just bringing up his wife. Only think if you should give way before him! Pray come away!”

“How did you know me?” she asked in a hollow voice.

“My lady, it was that night when there was an alarm of fire. I went close up to you to take Master Archibald from your arms; and, as sure as I am now standing here, I believe that for the moment my senses left me. I thought I saw a spectre—the spectre of my dead lady. I forgot the present; I forgot that all were standing round me; that you, Madame Vine, were alive before me. Your face was not disguised then; the moonlight shone full upon it, and I knew it, after the first few moments of terror, to be, in dreadful truth, the living one of Lady Isabel. My lady, come away! We shall have Mr. Carlyle here.”

Poor thing! She sank upon her knees, in her humility76, her dread29. “Oh, Joyce, have pity upon me! don’t betray me! I will leave the house; indeed I will. Don’t betray me while I am in it!”

“My lady, you have nothing to fear from me. I have kept the secret buried within my breast since then. Last April! It has nearly been too much for me. By night and by day I have had no peace, dreading77 what might come out. Think of the awful confusion, the consequences, should it come to the knowledge of Mr. and Mrs. Carlyle. Indeed, my lady, you never ought to have come.”

“Joyce,” she said, hollowly, lifting her haggard face, “I could not keep away from my unhappy children. Is it no punishment to me, think you, the being here?” she added, vehemently78. “To see him—my husband—the husband of another! It is killing79 me.”

“Oh, my lady, come away! I hear him; I hear him!”

Partly coaxing80, partly dragging her, Joyce took her into her own room, and left her there. Mr. Carlyle was at that moment at the door of the sick one. Joyce sprang forward. Her face, in her emotion and fear, was of one livid whiteness, and she shook as William had shaken, poor child, in the afternoon. It was only too apparent in the well-lighted corridor.

“Joyce,” he exclaimed, in amazement81, “what ails65 you?”

“Sir! master!” she panted; “be prepared. Master William—Master William——”

“Joyce! Not dead!”

“Alas, yes, sir!”

Mr. Carlyle strode into the chamber. But ere he was well across it, he turned back to slip the bolt of the door. On the pillow lay the white, thin face, at rest now.

“My boy! my boy! Oh, my God!” he murmured, in bowed reverence82, “mayest Thou have received this child to rest in Jesus, even as, I trust, Thou hadst already received his unhappy mother!”


点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 hectic jdZzk     
adj.肺病的;消耗热的;发热的;闹哄哄的
参考例句:
  • I spent a very hectic Sunday.我度过了一个忙乱的星期天。
  • The two days we spent there were enjoyable but hectic.我们在那里度过的两天愉快但闹哄哄的。
2 apparently tMmyQ     
adv.显然地;表面上,似乎
参考例句:
  • An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽,豁然开朗。
  • He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。
3 serene PD2zZ     
adj. 安详的,宁静的,平静的
参考例句:
  • He has entered the serene autumn of his life.他已进入了美好的中年时期。
  • He didn't speak much,he just smiled with that serene smile of his.他话不多,只是脸上露出他招牌式的淡定的微笑。
4 harps 43af3ccaaa52a4643b9e0a0261914c63     
abbr.harpsichord 拨弦古钢琴n.竖琴( harp的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • She continually harps on lack of money. 她总唠叨说缺钱。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • He could turn on the harps of the blessed. 他能召来天使的竖琴为他奏乐。 来自辞典例句
5 sobbed 4a153e2bbe39eef90bf6a4beb2dba759     
哭泣,啜泣( sob的过去式和过去分词 ); 哭诉,呜咽地说
参考例句:
  • She sobbed out the story of her son's death. 她哭诉着她儿子的死。
  • She sobbed out the sad story of her son's death. 她哽咽着诉说她儿子死去的悲惨经过。
6 repentance ZCnyS     
n.懊悔
参考例句:
  • He shows no repentance for what he has done.他对他的所作所为一点也不懊悔。
  • Christ is inviting sinners to repentance.基督正在敦请有罪的人悔悟。
7 yearning hezzPJ     
a.渴望的;向往的;怀念的
参考例句:
  • a yearning for a quiet life 对宁静生活的向往
  • He felt a great yearning after his old job. 他对过去的工作有一种强烈的渴想。
8 sobbing df75b14f92e64fc9e1d7eaf6dcfc083a     
<主方>Ⅰ adj.湿透的
参考例句:
  • I heard a child sobbing loudly. 我听见有个孩子在呜呜地哭。
  • Her eyes were red with recent sobbing. 她的眼睛因刚哭过而发红。
9 guilt 9e6xr     
n.犯罪;内疚;过失,罪责
参考例句:
  • She tried to cover up her guilt by lying.她企图用谎言掩饰自己的罪行。
  • Don't lay a guilt trip on your child about schoolwork.别因为功课责备孩子而使他觉得很内疚。
10 momentary hj3ya     
adj.片刻的,瞬息的;短暂的
参考例句:
  • We are in momentary expectation of the arrival of you.我们无时无刻不在盼望你的到来。
  • I caught a momentary glimpse of them.我瞥了他们一眼。
11 forth Hzdz2     
adv.向前;向外,往外
参考例句:
  • The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
  • He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。
12 grove v5wyy     
n.林子,小树林,园林
参考例句:
  • On top of the hill was a grove of tall trees.山顶上一片高大的树林。
  • The scent of lemons filled the grove.柠檬香味充满了小树林。
13 inquiries 86a54c7f2b27c02acf9fcb16a31c4b57     
n.调查( inquiry的名词复数 );疑问;探究;打听
参考例句:
  • He was released on bail pending further inquiries. 他获得保释,等候进一步调查。
  • I have failed to reach them by postal inquiries. 我未能通过邮政查询与他们取得联系。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
14 gasped e6af294d8a7477229d6749fa9e8f5b80     
v.喘气( gasp的过去式和过去分词 );喘息;倒抽气;很想要
参考例句:
  • She gasped at the wonderful view. 如此美景使她惊讶得屏住了呼吸。
  • People gasped with admiration at the superb skill of the gymnasts. 体操运动员的高超技艺令人赞叹。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
15 incessant WcizU     
adj.不停的,连续的
参考例句:
  • We have had incessant snowfall since yesterday afternoon.从昨天下午开始就持续不断地下雪。
  • She is tired of his incessant demands for affection.她厌倦了他对感情的不断索取。
16 peculiar cinyo     
adj.古怪的,异常的;特殊的,特有的
参考例句:
  • He walks in a peculiar fashion.他走路的样子很奇特。
  • He looked at me with a very peculiar expression.他用一种很奇怪的表情看着我。
17 doze IsoxV     
v.打瞌睡;n.打盹,假寐
参考例句:
  • He likes to have a doze after lunch.他喜欢午饭后打个盹。
  • While the adults doze,the young play.大人们在打瞌睡,而孩子们在玩耍。
18 pointed Il8zB4     
adj.尖的,直截了当的
参考例句:
  • He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
  • She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。
19 wont peXzFP     
adj.习惯于;v.习惯;n.习惯
参考例句:
  • He was wont to say that children are lazy.他常常说小孩子们懒惰。
  • It is his wont to get up early.早起是他的习惯。
20 vow 0h9wL     
n.誓(言),誓约;v.起誓,立誓
参考例句:
  • My parents are under a vow to go to church every Sunday.我父母许愿,每星期日都去做礼拜。
  • I am under a vow to drink no wine.我已立誓戒酒。
21 labored zpGz8M     
adj.吃力的,谨慎的v.努力争取(for)( labor的过去式和过去分词 );苦干;详细分析;(指引擎)缓慢而困难地运转
参考例句:
  • I was close enough to the elk to hear its labored breathing. 我离那头麋鹿非常近,能听见它吃力的呼吸声。 来自辞典例句
  • They have labored to complete the job. 他们努力完成这一工作。 来自辞典例句
22 calf ecLye     
n.小牛,犊,幼仔,小牛皮
参考例句:
  • The cow slinked its calf.那头母牛早产了一头小牛犊。
  • The calf blared for its mother.牛犊哞哞地高声叫喊找妈妈。
23 vault 3K3zW     
n.拱形圆顶,地窖,地下室
参考例句:
  • The vault of this cathedral is very high.这座天主教堂的拱顶非常高。
  • The old patrician was buried in the family vault.这位老贵族埋在家族的墓地里。
24 fleeting k7zyS     
adj.短暂的,飞逝的
参考例句:
  • The girls caught only a fleeting glimpse of the driver.女孩们只匆匆瞥了一眼司机。
  • Knowing the life fleeting,she set herself to enjoy if as best as she could.她知道这种日子转瞬即逝,于是让自已尽情地享受。
25 irony P4WyZ     
n.反语,冷嘲;具有讽刺意味的事,嘲弄
参考例句:
  • She said to him with slight irony.她略带嘲讽地对他说。
  • In her voice we could sense a certain tinge of irony.从她的声音里我们可以感到某种讥讽的意味。
26 positively vPTxw     
adv.明确地,断然,坚决地;实在,确实
参考例句:
  • She was positively glowing with happiness.她满脸幸福。
  • The weather was positively poisonous.这天气着实讨厌。
27 gem Ug8xy     
n.宝石,珠宝;受爱戴的人 [同]jewel
参考例句:
  • The gem is beyond my pocket.这颗宝石我可买不起。
  • The little gem is worth two thousand dollars.这块小宝石价值两千美元。
28 crimson AYwzH     
n./adj.深(绯)红色(的);vi.脸变绯红色
参考例句:
  • She went crimson with embarrassment.她羞得满脸通红。
  • Maple leaves have turned crimson.枫叶已经红了。
29 dread Ekpz8     
vt.担忧,忧虑;惧怕,不敢;n.担忧,畏惧
参考例句:
  • We all dread to think what will happen if the company closes.我们都不敢去想一旦公司关门我们该怎么办。
  • Her heart was relieved of its blankest dread.她极度恐惧的心理消除了。
30 condemned condemned     
adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词
参考例句:
  • He condemned the hypocrisy of those politicians who do one thing and say another. 他谴责了那些说一套做一套的政客的虚伪。
  • The policy has been condemned as a regressive step. 这项政策被认为是一种倒退而受到谴责。
31 innocence ZbizC     
n.无罪;天真;无害
参考例句:
  • There was a touching air of innocence about the boy.这个男孩有一种令人感动的天真神情。
  • The accused man proved his innocence of the crime.被告人经证实无罪。
32 ebbing ac94e96318a8f9f7c14185419cb636cb     
(指潮水)退( ebb的现在分词 ); 落; 减少; 衰落
参考例句:
  • The pain was ebbing. 疼痛逐渐减轻了。
  • There are indications that his esoteric popularity may be ebbing. 有迹象表明,他神秘的声望可能正在下降。
33 chamber wnky9     
n.房间,寝室;会议厅;议院;会所
参考例句:
  • For many,the dentist's surgery remains a torture chamber.对许多人来说,牙医的治疗室一直是间受刑室。
  • The chamber was ablaze with light.会议厅里灯火辉煌。
34 slanting bfc7f3900241f29cee38d19726ae7dce     
倾斜的,歪斜的
参考例句:
  • The rain is driving [slanting] in from the south. 南边潲雨。
  • The line is slanting to the left. 这根线向左斜了。
35 hue qdszS     
n.色度;色调;样子
参考例句:
  • The diamond shone with every hue under the sun.金刚石在阳光下放出五颜六色的光芒。
  • The same hue will look different in different light.同一颜色在不同的光线下看起来会有所不同。
36 motive GFzxz     
n.动机,目的;adv.发动的,运动的
参考例句:
  • The police could not find a motive for the murder.警察不能找到谋杀的动机。
  • He had some motive in telling this fable.他讲这寓言故事是有用意的。
37 scarlet zD8zv     
n.深红色,绯红色,红衣;adj.绯红色的
参考例句:
  • The scarlet leaves of the maples contrast well with the dark green of the pines.深红的枫叶和暗绿的松树形成了明显的对比。
  • The glowing clouds are growing slowly pale,scarlet,bright red,and then light red.天空的霞光渐渐地淡下去了,深红的颜色变成了绯红,绯红又变为浅红。
38 spoke XryyC     
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
参考例句:
  • They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
  • The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。
39 interfered 71b7e795becf1adbddfab2cd6c5f0cff     
v.干预( interfere的过去式和过去分词 );调停;妨碍;干涉
参考例句:
  • Complete absorption in sports interfered with his studies. 专注于运动妨碍了他的学业。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • I am not going to be interfered with. 我不想别人干扰我的事情。 来自《简明英汉词典》
40 recording UktzJj     
n.录音,记录
参考例句:
  • How long will the recording of the song take?录下这首歌得花多少时间?
  • I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。
41 blotted 06046c4f802cf2d785ce6e085eb5f0d7     
涂污( blot的过去式和过去分词 ); (用吸墨纸)吸干
参考例句:
  • She blotted water off the table with a towel. 她用毛巾擦干桌上的水。
  • The blizzard blotted out the sky and the land. 暴风雪铺天盖地而来。
42 equivocation 00a0e20897d54469b5c13a10d99e2277     
n.模棱两可的话,含糊话
参考例句:
  • These actions must be condemned without equivocation. 对这些行为必须毫不含糊地予以谴责。 来自辞典例句
  • With caution, and with some equivocation, Bohr took a further step. 玻尔谨慎地而又有些含糊其词地采取了更深入的步骤。 来自辞典例句
43 countenance iztxc     
n.脸色,面容;面部表情;vt.支持,赞同
参考例句:
  • At the sight of this photograph he changed his countenance.他一看见这张照片脸色就变了。
  • I made a fierce countenance as if I would eat him alive.我脸色恶狠狠地,仿佛要把他活生生地吞下去。
44 drooping drooping     
adj. 下垂的,无力的 动词droop的现在分词
参考例句:
  • The drooping willows are waving gently in the morning breeze. 晨风中垂柳袅袅。
  • The branches of the drooping willows were swaying lightly. 垂柳轻飘飘地摆动。
45 eyelids 86ece0ca18a95664f58bda5de252f4e7     
n.眼睑( eyelid的名词复数 );眼睛也不眨一下;不露声色;面不改色
参考例句:
  • She was so tired, her eyelids were beginning to droop. 她太疲倦了,眼睑开始往下垂。
  • Her eyelids drooped as if she were on the verge of sleep. 她眼睑低垂好像快要睡着的样子。 来自《简明英汉词典》
46 wailed e27902fd534535a9f82ffa06a5b6937a     
v.哭叫,哀号( wail的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • She wailed over her father's remains. 她对着父亲的遗体嚎啕大哭。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
  • The women of the town wailed over the war victims. 城里的妇女为战争的死难者们痛哭。 来自辞典例句
47 sobs d4349f86cad43cb1a5579b1ef269d0cb     
啜泣(声),呜咽(声)( sob的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • She was struggling to suppress her sobs. 她拼命不让自己哭出来。
  • She burst into a convulsive sobs. 她突然抽泣起来。
48 solitary 7FUyx     
adj.孤独的,独立的,荒凉的;n.隐士
参考例句:
  • I am rather fond of a solitary stroll in the country.我颇喜欢在乡间独自徜徉。
  • The castle rises in solitary splendour on the fringe of the desert.这座城堡巍然耸立在沙漠的边际,显得十分壮美。
49 equanimity Z7Vyz     
n.沉着,镇定
参考例句:
  • She went again,and in so doing temporarily recovered her equanimity.她又去看了戏,而且这样一来又暂时恢复了她的平静。
  • The defeat was taken with equanimity by the leadership.领导层坦然地接受了失败。
50 soothing soothing     
adj.慰藉的;使人宽心的;镇静的
参考例句:
  • Put on some nice soothing music.播放一些柔和舒缓的音乐。
  • His casual, relaxed manner was very soothing.他随意而放松的举动让人很快便平静下来。
51 stifle cF4y5     
vt.使窒息;闷死;扼杀;抑止,阻止
参考例句:
  • She tried hard to stifle her laughter.她强忍住笑。
  • It was an uninteresting conversation and I had to stifle a yawn.那是一次枯燥无味的交谈,我不得不强忍住自己的呵欠。
52 consolation WpbzC     
n.安慰,慰问
参考例句:
  • The children were a great consolation to me at that time.那时孩子们成了我的莫大安慰。
  • This news was of little consolation to us.这个消息对我们来说没有什么安慰。
53 attentive pOKyB     
adj.注意的,专心的;关心(别人)的,殷勤的
参考例句:
  • She was very attentive to her guests.她对客人招待得十分周到。
  • The speaker likes to have an attentive audience.演讲者喜欢注意力集中的听众。
54 bent QQ8yD     
n.爱好,癖好;adj.弯的;决心的,一心的
参考例句:
  • He was fully bent upon the project.他一心扑在这项计划上。
  • We bent over backward to help them.我们尽了最大努力帮助他们。
55 caressingly 77d15bfb91cdfea4de0eee54a581136b     
爱抚地,亲切地
参考例句:
  • His voice was caressingly sweet. 他的嗓音亲切而又甜美。
56 standing 2hCzgo     
n.持续,地位;adj.永久的,不动的,直立的,不流动的
参考例句:
  • After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
  • They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。
57 fervent SlByg     
adj.热的,热烈的,热情的
参考例句:
  • It was a debate which aroused fervent ethical arguments.那是一场引发强烈的伦理道德争论的辩论。
  • Austria was among the most fervent supporters of adolf hitler.奥地利是阿道夫希特勒最狂热的支持者之一。
58 entreaty voAxi     
n.恳求,哀求
参考例句:
  • Mrs. Quilp durst only make a gesture of entreaty.奎尔普太太仅做出一种哀求的姿势。
  • Her gaze clung to him in entreaty.她的眼光带着恳求的神色停留在他身上。
59 teaspoonful Ugpzi1     
n.一茶匙的量;一茶匙容量
参考例句:
  • Add a teaspoonful of mixed herbs. 加入一茶匙混合药草。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • Add a teaspoonful of curry powder. 加一茶匙咖喱粉。 来自《简明英汉词典》
60 partially yL7xm     
adv.部分地,从某些方面讲
参考例句:
  • The door was partially concealed by the drapes.门有一部分被门帘遮住了。
  • The police managed to restore calm and the curfew was partially lifted.警方设法恢复了平静,宵禁部分解除。
61 vouchsafe uMZzz     
v.惠予,准许
参考例句:
  • Elinor would not vouchsafe any answer.埃莉诺不想给予任何回答。
  • Vouchsafe me a spirit of faith and knowledge.赐予我信心和一颗有知识的心灵。
62 sojourn orDyb     
v./n.旅居,寄居;逗留
参考例句:
  • It would be cruel to begrudge your sojourn among flowers and fields.如果嫉妒你逗留在鲜花与田野之间,那将是太不近人情的。
  • I am already feeling better for my sojourn here.我在此逗留期间,觉得体力日渐恢复。
63 knell Bxry1     
n.丧钟声;v.敲丧钟
参考例句:
  • That is the death knell of the British Empire.这是不列颠帝国的丧钟。
  • At first he thought it was a death knell.起初,他以为是死亡的丧钟敲响了。
64 shudder JEqy8     
v.战粟,震动,剧烈地摇晃;n.战粟,抖动
参考例句:
  • The sight of the coffin sent a shudder through him.看到那副棺材,他浑身一阵战栗。
  • We all shudder at the thought of the dreadful dirty place.我们一想到那可怕的肮脏地方就浑身战惊。
65 ails c1d673fb92864db40e1d98aae003f6db     
v.生病( ail的第三人称单数 );感到不舒服;处境困难;境况不佳
参考例句:
  • He will not concede what anything ails his business. 他不允许任何事情来干扰他的工作。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
  • Measles ails the little girl. 麻疹折磨着这个小女孩。 来自《简明英汉词典》
66 jealousy WaRz6     
n.妒忌,嫉妒,猜忌
参考例句:
  • Some women have a disposition to jealousy.有些女人生性爱妒忌。
  • I can't support your jealousy any longer.我再也无法忍受你的嫉妒了。
67 exalted ztiz6f     
adj.(地位等)高的,崇高的;尊贵的,高尚的
参考例句:
  • Their loveliness and holiness in accordance with their exalted station.他们的美丽和圣洁也与他们的崇高地位相称。
  • He received respect because he was a person of exalted rank.他因为是个地位崇高的人而受到尊敬。
68 previously bkzzzC     
adv.以前,先前(地)
参考例句:
  • The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
  • Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿,解释原先发生了什么。
69 anguish awZz0     
n.(尤指心灵上的)极度痛苦,烦恼
参考例句:
  • She cried out for anguish at parting.分手时,她由于痛苦而失声大哭。
  • The unspeakable anguish wrung his heart.难言的痛苦折磨着他的心。
70 misery G10yi     
n.痛苦,苦恼,苦难;悲惨的境遇,贫苦
参考例句:
  • Business depression usually causes misery among the working class.商业不景气常使工薪阶层受苦。
  • He has rescued me from the mire of misery.他把我从苦海里救了出来。
71 retrospect xDeys     
n.回顾,追溯;v.回顾,回想,追溯
参考例句:
  • One's school life seems happier in retrospect than in reality.学校生活回忆起来显得比实际上要快乐。
  • In retrospect,it's easy to see why we were wrong.回顾过去就很容易明白我们的错处了。
72 subdued 76419335ce506a486af8913f13b8981d     
adj. 屈服的,柔和的,减弱的 动词subdue的过去式和过去分词
参考例句:
  • He seemed a bit subdued to me. 我觉得他当时有点闷闷不乐。
  • I felt strangely subdued when it was all over. 一切都结束的时候,我却有一种奇怪的压抑感。
73 beseeching 67f0362f7eb28291ad2968044eb2a985     
adj.恳求似的v.恳求,乞求(某事物)( beseech的现在分词 )
参考例句:
  • She clung to her father, beseeching him for consent. 她紧紧挨着父亲,恳求他答应。 来自辞典例句
  • He casts a beseeching glance at his son. 他用恳求的眼光望着儿子。 来自辞典例句
74 receding c22972dfbef8589fece6affb72f431d1     
v.逐渐远离( recede的现在分词 );向后倾斜;自原处后退或避开别人的注视;尤指问题
参考例句:
  • Desperately he struck out after the receding lights of the yacht. 游艇的灯光渐去渐远,他拼命划水追赶。 来自辞典例句
  • Sounds produced by vehicles receding from us seem lower-pitched than usual. 渐渐远离我们的运载工具发出的声似乎比平常的音调低。 来自辞典例句
75 hideous 65KyC     
adj.丑陋的,可憎的,可怕的,恐怖的
参考例句:
  • The whole experience had been like some hideous nightmare.整个经历就像一场可怕的噩梦。
  • They're not like dogs,they're hideous brutes.它们不像狗,是丑陋的畜牲。
76 humility 8d6zX     
n.谦逊,谦恭
参考例句:
  • Humility often gains more than pride.谦逊往往比骄傲收益更多。
  • His voice was still soft and filled with specious humility.他的声音还是那么温和,甚至有点谦卑。
77 dreading dreading     
v.害怕,恐惧,担心( dread的现在分词 )
参考例句:
  • She was dreading having to broach the subject of money to her father. 她正在为不得不向父亲提出钱的事犯愁。
  • This was the moment he had been dreading. 这是他一直最担心的时刻。
78 vehemently vehemently     
adv. 热烈地
参考例句:
  • He argued with his wife so vehemently that he talked himself hoarse. 他和妻子争论得很激烈,以致讲话的声音都嘶哑了。
  • Both women vehemently deny the charges against them. 两名妇女都激烈地否认了对她们的指控。
79 killing kpBziQ     
n.巨额利润;突然赚大钱,发大财
参考例句:
  • Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
  • Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。
80 coaxing 444e70224820a50b0202cb5bb05f1c2e     
v.哄,用好话劝说( coax的现在分词 );巧言骗取;哄劝,劝诱;“锻炼”效应
参考例句:
  • No amount of coaxing will make me change my mind. 任你费尽口舌也不会说服我改变主意。
  • It took a lot of coaxing before he agreed. 劝说了很久他才同意。 来自辞典例句
81 amazement 7zlzBK     
n.惊奇,惊讶
参考例句:
  • All those around him looked at him with amazement.周围的人都对他投射出惊异的眼光。
  • He looked at me in blank amazement.他带着迷茫惊诧的神情望着我。
82 reverence BByzT     
n.敬畏,尊敬,尊严;Reverence:对某些基督教神职人员的尊称;v.尊敬,敬畏,崇敬
参考例句:
  • He was a bishop who was held in reverence by all.他是一位被大家都尊敬的主教。
  • We reverence tradition but will not be fettered by it.我们尊重传统,但不被传统所束缚。


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