The Novel or Romance of Waverley made its way to the public slowly, of course, at first, but afterwards with such accumulating popularity as to encourage the Author to a second attempt. He looked about for a name and a subject; and the manner in which the novels were composed cannot be better illustrated1 than by reciting the simple narrative2 on which Guy Mannering was originally founded; but to which, in the progress of the work, the production ceased to bear any, even the most distant resemblance. The tale was originally told me by an old servant of my father’s, an excellent old Highlander3, without a fault, unless a preference to mountain dew over less potent4 liquors be accounted one. He believed as firmly in the story as in any part of his creed5.
A grave and elderly person, according to old John MacKinlay’s account, while travelling in the wilder parts of Galloway, was benighted6. With difficulty he found his way to a country seat, where, with the hospitality of the time and country, he was readily admitted. The owner of the house, a gentleman of good fortune, was much struck by the reverend appearance of his guest, and apologised to him for a certain degree of confusion which must unavoidably attend his reception, and could not escape his eye. The lady of the house was, he said, confined to her apartment, and on the point of making her husband a father for the first time, though they had been ten years married. At such an emergency, the laird said, he feared his guest might meet with some apparent neglect.
‘Not so, sir,’ said the stranger; ‘my wants are few, and easily supplied, and I trust the present circumstances may even afford an opportunity of showing my gratitude7 for your hospitality. Let me only request that I may be informed of the exact minute of the birth; and I hope to be able to put you in possession of some particulars which may influence in an important manner the future prospects9 of the child now about to come into this busy and changeful world. I will not conceal10 from you that I am skilful11 in understanding and interpreting the movements of those planetary bodies which exert their influences on the destiny of mortals. It is a science which I do not practise, like others who call themselves astrologers, for hire or reward; for I have a competent estate, and only use the knowledge I possess for the benefit of those in whom I feel an interest.’ The laird bowed in respect and gratitude, and the stranger was accommodated with an apartment which commanded an ample view of the astral regions.
The guest spent a part of the night in ascertaining13 the position of the heavenly bodies, and calculating their probable influence; until at length the result of his observations induced him to send for the father and conjure14 him in the most solemn manner to cause the assistants to retard16 the birth if practicable, were it but for five minutes. The answer declared this to be impossible; and almost in the instant that the message was returned the father and his guest were made acquainted with the birth of a boy.
The Astrologer on the morrow met the party who gathered around the breakfast table with looks so grave and ominous18 as to alarm the fears of the father, who had hitherto exulted19 in the prospects held out by the birth of an heir to his ancient property, failing which event it must have passed to a distant branch of the family. He hastened to draw the stranger into a private room.
‘I fear from your looks,’ said the father, ‘that you have bad tidings to tell me of my young stranger; perhaps God will resume the blessing21 He has bestowed22 ere he attains24 the age of manhood, or perhaps he is destined26 to be unworthy of the affection which we are naturally disposed to devote to our offspring?’
‘Neither the one nor the other,’ answered the stranger; ‘unless my judgment28 greatly err29, the infant will survive the years of minority, and in temper and disposition30 will prove all that his parents can wish. But with much in his horoscope which promises many blessings31, there is one evil influence strongly predominant, which threatens to subject him to an unhallowed and unhappy temptation about the time when he shall attain23 the age of twenty — one, which period, the constellations32 intimate, will be the crisis of his fate. In what shape, or with what peculiar33 urgency, this temptation may beset34 him, my art cannot discover.’
‘Your knowledge, then, can afford us no defence,’ said the anxious father, ‘against the threatened evil?’
‘Pardon me,’ answered the stranger, ‘it can. The influence of the constellations is powerful; but He who made the heavens is more powerful than all, if His aid be invoked35 in sincerity36 and truth. You ought to dedicate this boy to the immediate37 service of his Maker38, with as much sincerity as Samuel was devoted39 to the worship in the Temple by his parents. You must regard him as a being separated from the rest of the world. In childhood, in boyhood, you must surround him with the pious40 and virtuous41, and protect him to the utmost of your power from the sight or hearing of any crime, in word or action. He must be educated in religious and moral principles of the strictest description. Let him not enter the world, lest he learn to partake of its follies42, or perhaps of its vices43. In short, preserve him as far as possible from all sin, save that of which too great a portion belongs to all the fallen race of Adam. With the approach of his twenty-first birthday comes the crisis of his fate. If he survive it, he will be happy and prosperous on earth, and a chosen vessel44 among those elected for heaven. But if it be otherwise — ‘ The Astrologer stopped, and sighed deeply.
‘Sir,’ replied the parent, still more alarmed than before, ‘your words are so kind, your advice so serious, that I will pay the deepest attention to your behests; but can you not aid me farther in this most important concern? Believe me, I will not be ungrateful.’
‘I require and deserve no gratitude for doing a good action,’ said the stranger, ‘in especial for contributing all that lies in my power to save from an abhorred45 fate the harmless infant to whom, under a singular conjunction of planets, last night gave life. There is my address; you may write to me from time to time concerning the progress of the boy in religious knowledge. If he be bred up as I advise, I think it will be best that he come to my house at the time when the fatal and decisive period approaches, that is, before he has attained46 his twenty-first year complete. If you send him such as I desire, I humbly47 trust that God will protect His own through whatever strong temptation his fate may subject him to.’ He then gave his host his address, which was a country seat near a post town in the south of England, and bid him an affectionate farewell.
The mysterious stranger departed, but his words remained impressed upon the mind of the anxious parent. He lost his lady while his boy was still in infancy48. This calamity49, I think, had been predicted by the Astrologer; and thus his confidence, which, like most people of the period, he had freely given to the science, was riveted50 and confirmed. The utmost care, therefore, was taken to carry into effect the severe and almost ascetic51 plan of education which the sage17 had enjoined52. A tutor of the strictest principles was employed to superintend the youth’s education; he was surrounded by domestics of the most established character, and closely watched and looked after by the anxious father himself.
The years of infancy, childhood, and boyhood passed as the father could have wished. A young Nazarene could not have been bred up with more rigour. All that was evil was withheld53 from his observation: he only heard what was pure in precept54, he only witnessed what was worthy27 in practice.
But when the boy began to be lost in the youth, the attentive55 father saw cause for alarm. Shades of sadness, which gradually assumed a darker character, began to over-cloud the young man’s temper. Tears, which seemed involuntary, broken sleep, moonlight wanderings, and a melancholy56 for which he could assign no reason, seemed to threaten at once his bodily health and the stability of his mind. The Astrologer was consulted by letter, and returned for answer that this fitful state of mind was but the commencement of his trial, and that the poor youth must undergo more and more desperate struggles with the evil that assailed57 him. There was no hope of remedy, save that he showed steadiness of mind in the study of the Scriptures58. ‘He suffers, continued the letter of the sage,’ from the awakening59 of those harpies the passions, which have slept with him, as with others, till the period of life which he has now attained. Better, far better, that they torment60 him by ungrateful cravings than that he should have to repent61 having satiated them by criminal indulgence.’
The dispositions62 of the young man were so excellent that he combated, by reason and religion, the fits of gloom which at times overcast63 his mind, and it was not till he attained the commencement of his twenty-first year that they assumed a character which made his father tremble for the consequences. It seemed as if the gloomiest and most hideous64 of mental maladies was taking the form of religious despair. Still the youth was gentle, courteous65, affectionate, and submissive to his father’s will, and resisted with all his power the dark suggestions which were breathed into his mind, as it seemed by some emanation of the Evil Principle, exhorting66 him, like the wicked wife of Job, to curse God and die.
The time at length arrived when he was to perform what was then thought a long and somewhat perilous67 journey, to the mansion68 of the early friend who had calculated his nativity. His road lay through several places of interest, and he enjoyed the amusement of travelling more than he himself thought would have been possible. Thus he did not reach the place of his destination till noon on the day preceding his birthday. It seemed as if he had been carried away with an unwonted tide of pleasurable sensation, so as to forget in some degree what his father had communicated concerning the purpose of his journey. He halted at length before a respectable but solitary69 old mansion, to which he was directed as the abode70 of his father’s friend.
The servants who came to take his horse told him he had been expected for two days. He was led into a study, where the stranger, now a venerable old man, who had been his father’s guest, met him with a shade of displeasure, as well as gravity, on his brow. ‘Young man,’ he said, ‘wherefore so slow on a journey of such importance?’ ‘I thought,’ replied the guest, blushing and looking downward,’ that there was no harm in travelling slowly and satisfying my curiosity, providing I could reach your residence by this day; for such was my father’s charge.’ ‘You were to blame,’ replied the sage, ‘in lingering, considering that the avenger71 of blood was pressing on your footsteps. But you are come at last, and we will hope for the best, though the conflict in which you are to be engaged will be found more dreadful the longer it is postponed72. But first accept of such refreshments73 as nature requires to satisfy, but not to pamper74, the appetite.’
The old man led the way into a summer parlour, where a frugal75 meal was placed on the table. As they sat down to the board they were joined by a young lady about eighteen years of age, and so lovely that the sight of her carried off the feelings of the young stranger from the peculiarity76 and mystery of his own lot, and riveted his attention to everything she did or said. She spoke77 little and it was on the most serious subjects. She played on the harpsichord78 at her father’s command, but it was hymns79 with which she accompanied the instrument. At length, on a sign from the sage, she left the room, turning on the young stranger as she departed a look of inexpressible anxiety and interest.
The old man then conducted the youth to his study, and conversed80 with him upon the most important points of religion, to satisfy himself that he could render a reason for the faith that was in him. During the examination the youth, in spite of himself, felt his mind occasionally wander, and his recollections go in quest of the beautiful vision who had shared their meal at noon. On such occasions the Astrologer looked grave, and shook his head at this relaxation81 of attention; yet, on the whole, he was pleased with the youth’s replies.
At sunset the young man was made to take the bath; and, having done so, he was directed to attire82 himself in a robe somewhat like that worn by Armenians, having his long hair combed down on his shoulders, and his neck, hands, and feet bare. In this guise83 he was conducted into a remote chamber84 totally devoid85 of furniture, excepting a lamp, a chair, and a table, on which lay a Bible. ‘Here,’ said the Astrologer, ‘I must leave you alone to pass the most critical period of your life. If you can, by recollection of the great truths of which we have spoken, repel86 the attacks which will be made on your courage and your principles, you have nothing to apprehend88. But the trial will be severe and arduous89.’ His features then assumed a pathetic solemnity, the tears stood in his eyes, and his voice faltered90 with emotion as he said, ‘Dear child, at whose coming into the world I foresaw this fatal trial, may God give thee grace to support it with firmness!’
The young man was left alone; and hardly did he find himself so, when, like a swarm91 of demons93, the recollection of all his sins of omission94 and commission, rendered even more terrible by the scrupulousness95 with which he had been educated, rushed on his mind, and, like furies armed with fiery96 scourges97, seemed determined98 to drive him to despair. As he combated these horrible recollections with distracted feelings, but with a resolved mind, he became aware that his arguments were answered by the sophistry99 of another, and that the dispute was no longer confined to his own thoughts. The Author of Evil was present in the room with him in bodily shape, and, potent with spirits of a melancholy cast, was impressing upon him the desperation of his state, and urging suicide as the readiest mode to put an end to his sinful career. Amid his errors, the pleasure he had taken in prolonging his journey unnecessarily, and the attention which he had bestowed on the beauty of the fair female when his thoughts ought to have been dedicated100 to the religious discourse101 of her father, were set before him in the darkest colours; and he was treated as one who, having sinned against light, was therefore deservedly left a prey102 to the Prince of Darkness.
As the fated and influential103 hour rolled on, the terrors of the hateful Presence grew more confounding to the mortal senses of the victim, and the knot of the accursed sophistry became more inextricable in appearance, at least to the prey whom its meshes104 surrounded. He had not power to explain the assurance of pardon which he continued to assert, or to name the victorious105 name in which he trusted. But his faith did not abandon him, though he lacked for a time the power of expressing it. ‘Say what you will,’ was his answer to the Tempter; ‘I know there is as much betwixt the two boards of this Book as can ensure me forgiveness for my transgressions106 and safety for my soul.’ As he spoke, the clock, which announced the lapse107 of the fatal hour, was heard to strike. The speech and intellectual powers of the youth were instantly and fully108 restored; he burst forth109 into prayer, and expressed in the most glowing terms his reliance on the truth and on the Author of the Gospel. The Demon92 retired110, yelling and discomfited111, and the old man, entering the apartment, with tears congratulated his guest on his victory in the fated struggle.
The young man was afterwards married to the beautiful maiden112, the first sight of whom had made such an impression on him, and they were consigned113 over at the close of the story to domestic happiness. So ended John MacKinlay’s legend.
The Author of Waverley had imagined a possibility of framing an interesting, and perhaps not an unedifying, tale out of the incidents of the life of a doomed114 individual, whose efforts at good and virtuous conduct were to be for ever disappointed by the intervention115, as it were, of some malevolent116 being, and who was at last to come off victorious from the fearful struggle. In short, something was meditated117 upon a plan resembling the imaginative tale of Sintram and his Companions, by Mons. le Baron118 de la Motte Fouque, although, if it then existed, the author had not seen it.
The scheme projected may be traced in the three or four first chapters of the work; but farther consideration induced the author to lay his purpose aside. It appeared, on mature consideration, that astrology, though its influence was once received and admitted by Bacon himself, does not now retain influence over the general mind sufficient even to constitute the mainspring of a romance. Besides, it occurred that to do justice to such a subject would have required not only more talent than the Author could be conscious of possessing, but also involved doctrines119 and discussions of a nature too serious for his purpose and for the character of the narrative. In changing his plan, however, which was done in the course of printing, the early sheets retained the vestiges120 of the original tenor121 of the story, although they now hang upon it as an unnecessary and unnatural122 incumbrance. The cause of such vestiges occurring is now explained and apologised for.
It is here worthy of observation that, while the astrological doctrines have fallen into general contempt, and been supplanted123 by superstitions124 of a more gross and far less beautiful character, they have, even in modern days, retained some votaries126.
One of the most remarkable127 believers in that forgotten and despised science was a late eminent128 professor of the art of legerdemain129. One would have thought that a person of this description ought, from his knowledge of the thousand ways in which human eyes could be deceived, to have been less than others subject to the fantasies of superstition125. Perhaps the habitual130 use of those abstruse131 calculations by which, in a manner surprising to the artist himself, many tricks upon cards, etc., are performed, induced this gentleman to study the combination of the stars and planets, with the expectation of obtaining prophetic communications.
He constructed a scheme of his own nativity, calculated according to such rules of art as he could collect from the best astrological authors. The result of the past he found agreeable to what had hitherto befallen him, but in the important prospect8 of the future a singular difficulty occurred. There were two years during the course of which he could by no means obtain any exact knowledge whether the subject of the scheme would be dead or alive. Anxious concerning so remarkable a circumstance, he gave the scheme to a brother astrologer, who was also baffled in the same manner. At one period he found the native, or subject, was certainly alive; at another that he was unquestionably dead; but a space of two years extended between these two terms, during which he could find no certainty as to his death or existence.
The astrologer marked the remarkable circumstance in his diary, and continued his exhibitions in various parts of the empire until the period was about to expire during which his existence had been warranted as actually ascertained132. At last, while he was exhibiting to a numerous audience his usual tricks of legerdemain, the hands whose activity had so often baffled the closest observer suddenly lost their power, the cards dropped from them, and he sunk down a disabled paralytic133. In this state the artist languished134 for two years, when he was at length removed by death. It is said that the diary of this modern astrologer will soon be given to the public.
The fact, if truly reported, is one of those singular coincidences which occasionally appear, differing so widely from ordinary calculation, yet without which irregularities human life would not present to mortals, looking into futurity, the abyss of impenetrable darkness which it is the pleasure of the Creator it should offer to them. Were everything to happen in the ordinary train of events, the future would be subject to the rules of arithmetic, like the chances of gaming. But extraordinary events and wonderful runs of luck defy the calculations of mankind and throw impenetrable darkness on future contingencies135.
To the above anecdote136, another, still more recent, may be here added. The author was lately honoured with a letter from a gentleman deeply skilled in these mysteries, who kindly137 undertook to calculate the nativity of the writer of Guy Mannering, who might be supposed to be friendly to the divine art which he professed138. But it was impossible to supply data for the construction of a horoscope, had the native been otherwise desirous of it, since all those who could supply the minutiae139 of day, hour, and minute have been long removed from the mortal sphere.
Having thus given some account of the first idea, or rude sketch140, of the story, which was soon departed from, the Author, in following out the plan of the present edition, has to mention the prototypes of the principal characters in Guy Mannering.
Some circumstances of local situation gave the Author in his youth an opportunity of seeing a little, and hearing a great deal, about that degraded class who are called gipsies; who are in most cases a mixed race between the ancient Egyptians who arrived in Europe about the beginning of the fifteenth century and vagrants141 of European descent.
The individual gipsy upon whom the character of Meg Merrilies was founded was well known about the middle of the last century by the name of Jean Gordon, an inhabitant of the village of Kirk Yetholm, in the Cheviot Hills, adjoining to the English Border. The Author gave the public some account of this remarkable person in one of the early numbers of Blackwood’s Magazine, to the following purpose:—
‘My father remembered old Jean Gordon of Yetholm, who had great sway among her tribe. She was quite a Meg Merrilies, and possessed142 the savage143 virtue144 of fidelity145 in the same perfection. Having been often hospitably146 received at the farmhouse147 of Lochside, near Yetholm, she had carefully abstained148 from committing any depredations149 on the farmer’s property. But her sons (nine in number) had not, it seems, the same delicacy150, and stole a brood — sow from their kind entertainer. Jean was mortified151 at this ungrateful conduct, and so much ashamed of it that she absented herself from Lochside for several years.
‘It happened in course of time that, in consequence of some temporary pecuniary152 necessity, the goodman of Lochside was obliged to go to Newcastle to raise some money to pay his rent. He succeeded in his purpose, but, returning through the mountains of Cheviot, he was benighted and lost his way.
‘A light glimmering153 through the window of a large waste barn, which had survived the farm-house to which it had once belonged, guided him to a place of shelter; and when he knocked at the door it was opened by Jean Gordon. Her very remarkable figure, for she was nearly six feet high, and her equally remarkable features and dress, rendered it impossible to mistake her for a moment, though he had not seen her for years; and to meet with such a character in so solitary a place, and probably at no great distance from her clan154, was a grievous surprise to the poor man, whose rent (to lose which would have been ruin) was about his person.
‘Jean set up a loud shout of joyful155 recognition —
“Eh, sirs! the winsome156 gudeman of Lochside! Light down, light down; for ye maunna gang farther the night, and a friend’s house sae near.” The farmer was obliged to dismount and accept of the gipsy’s offer of supper and a bed. There was plenty of meat in the barn, however it might be come by, and preparations were going on for a plentiful157 repast, which the farmer, to the great increase of his anxiety, observed was calculated for ten or twelve guests, of the same description, probably, with his landlady158.
‘Jean left him in no doubt on the subject. She brought to his recollection the story of the stolen sow, and mentioned how much pain and vexation it had given her. Like other philosophers, she remarked that the world grew worse daily; and, like other parents, that the bairns got out of her guiding, and neglected the old gipsy regulations, which commanded them to respect in their depredations the property of their benefactors159. The end of all this was an inquiry160 what money the farmer had about him; and an urgent request, or command, that he would make her his purse — keeper, since the bairns, as she called her sons, would be soon home. The poor farmer made a virtue of necessity, told his story, and surrendered his gold to Jean’s custody161. She made him put a few shillings in his pocket, observing, it would excite suspicion should he be found travelling altogether penniless.
‘This arrangement being made, the farmer lay down on a sort of shake-down, as the Scotch162 call it, or bed-clothes disposed upon some straw, but, as will easily be believed, slept not.
‘About midnight the gang returned, with various articles of plunder163, and talked over their exploits in language which made the farmer tremble. They were not long in discovering they had a guest, and demanded of Jean whom she had got there.
‘“E’en the winsome gudeman of Lochside, poor body,” replied Jean; “he’s been at Newcastle seeking for siller to pay his rent, honest man, but deil-be-lickit he’s been able to gather in, and sae he’s gaun e’en hame wi’ a toom purse and a sair heart.”
‘“That may be, Jean,” replied one of the banditti, “but we maun ripe his pouches164 a bit, and see if the tale be true or no.” Jean set up her throat in exclamations165 against this breach166 of hospitality, but without producing any change in their determination. The farmer soon heard their stifled167 whispers and light steps by his bedside, and understood they were rummaging168 his clothes. When they found the money which the providence169 of Jean Gordon had made him retain, they held a consultation170 if they should take it or no; but the smallness of the booty, and the vehemence171 of Jean’s remonstrances172, determined them in the negative. They caroused173 and went to rest. As soon as day dawned Jean roused her guest, produced his horse, which she had accommodated behind the hallan, and guided him for some miles, till he was on the highroad to Lochside. She then restored his whole property; nor could his earnest entreaties174 prevail on her to accept so much as a single guinea.
‘I have heard the old people at Jedburgh say, that all Jean’s sons were condemned175 to die there on the same day. It is said the jury were equally divided, but that a friend to justice, who had slept during the whole discussion, waked suddenly and gave his vote for condemnation176 in the emphatic177 words, “Hang them a’!” Unanimity178 is not required in a Scottish jury, so the verdict of guilty was returned. Jean was present, and only said, “The Lord help the innocent in a day like this!” Her own death was accompanied with circumstances of brutal180 outrage181, of which poor Jean was in many respects wholly undeserving. She had, among other demerits, or merits, as the reader may choose to rank it, that of being a stanch182 Jacobite. She chanced to be at Carlisle upon a fair or market-day, soon after the year 1746, where she gave vent20 to her political partiality, to the great offence of the rabble183 of that city. Being zealous184 in their loyalty185 when there was no danger, in proportion to the tameness with which they had surrendered to the Highlanders in 1745, the mob inflicted186 upon poor Jean Gordon no slighter penalty than that of ducking her to death in the Eden. It was an operation of some time, for Jean was a stout187 woman, and, struggling with her murderers, often got her head above water; and, while she had voice left, continued to exclaim at such intervals188, “Charlie yet! Charlie yet!” When a child, and among the scenes which she frequented, I have often heard these stories, and cried piteously for poor Jean Gordon.
‘Before quitting the Border gipsies, I may mention that my grandfather, while riding over Charterhouse Moor189, then a very extensive common, fell suddenly among a large band of them, who were carousing190 in a hollow of the moor, surrounded by bushes. They instantly seized on his horse’s bridle191 with many shouts of welcome, exclaiming (for he was well known to most of them) that they had often dined at his expense, and he must now stay and share their good cheer. My ancestor was, a little alarmed, for, like the goodman of Lochside, he had more money about his person than he cared to risk in such society. However, being naturally a bold, lively-spirited man, he entered into the humour of the thing and sate192 down to the feast, which consisted of all the varieties of game, poultry193, pigs, and so forth that could be collected by a wide and indiscriminate system of plunder. The dinner was a very merry one; but my relative got a hint from some of the older gipsies to retire just when —
The mirth and fun grew fast and furious,
and, mounting his horse accordingly, he took a French leave of his entertainers, but without experiencing the least breach of hospitality. I believe Jean Gordon was at this festival.’1
Notwithstanding the failure of Jean’s issue, for which
Weary fa’ the waefu’ wuddie,
a granddaughter survived her, whom I remember to have seen. That is, as Dr. Johnson had a shadowy recollection of Queen Anne as a stately lady in black, adorned194 with diamonds, so my memory is haunted by a solemn remembrance of a woman of more than female height, dressed in a long red cloak, who commenced acquaintance by giving me an apple, but whom, nevertheless, I looked on with as much awe195 as the future Doctor, High Church and Tory as he was doomed to be, could look upon the Queen. I conceive this woman to have been Madge Gordon, of whom an impressive account is given in the same article in which her mother Jean is mentioned, but not by the present writer:—
‘The late Madge Gordon was at this time accounted the Queen of the Yetholm clans196. She was, we believe, a granddaughter of the celebrated197 Jean Gordon, and was said to have much resembled her in appearance. The following account of her is extracted from the letter of a friend, who for many years enjoyed frequent and favourable198 opportunities of observing the characteristic peculiarities199 of the Yetholm tribes:— “Madge Gordon was descended200 from the Faas by the mother’s side, and was married to a Young. She was a remarkable personage — of a very commanding presence and high stature201, being nearly six feet high. She had a large aquiline202 nose, penetrating203 eyes, even in her old age, bushy hair, that hung around her shoulders from beneath a gipsy bonnet204 of straw, a short cloak of a peculiar fashion, and a long staff nearly as tall as herself. I remember her well; every week she paid my father a visit for her awmous when I was a little boy, and I looked upon Madge with no common degree of awe and terror. When she spoke vehemently205 (for she made loud complaints) she used to strike her staff upon the floor and throw herself into an attitude which it was impossible to regard with indifference206. She used to say that she could bring from the remotest parts of the island friends to revenge her quarrel while she sat motionless in her cottage; and she frequently boasted that there was a time when she was of still more considerable importance, for there were at her wedding fifty saddled asses207, and unsaddled asses without number. If Jean Gordon was the prototype of the Character of Meg Merrilies, I imagine Madge must have sat to the unknown author as the representative of her Person.”’2
How far Blackwood’s ingenious correspondent was right, how far mistaken, in his conjecture208 the reader has been informed.
To pass to a character of a very different description, Dominie Sampson, — the reader may easily suppose that a poor modest humble209 scholar who has won his way through the classics, yet has fallen to leeward210 in the voyage of life, is no uncommon211 personage in a country where a certain portion of learning is easily attained by those who are willing to suffer hunger and thirst in exchange for acquiring Greek and Latin. But there is a far more exact prototype of the worthy Dominie, upon which is founded the part which he performs in the romance, and which, for certain particular reasons, must be expressed very generally.
Such a preceptor as Mr. Sampson is supposed to have been was actually tutor in the family of a gentleman of considerable property. The young lads, his pupils, grew up and went out in the world, but the tutor continued to reside in the family, no uncommon circumstance in Scotland in former days, where food and shelter were readily afforded to humble friends and dependents. The laird’s predecessors212 had been imprudent, he himself was passive and unfortunate. Death swept away his sons, whose success in life might have balanced his own bad luck and incapacity. Debts increased and funds diminished, until ruin came. The estate was sold; and the old man was about to remove from the house of his fathers to go he knew not whither, when, like an old piece of furniture, which, left alone in its wonted corner, may hold together for a long while, but breaks to pieces on an attempt to move it, he fell down on his own threshold under a paralytic affection.
The tutor awakened213 as from a dream. He saw his patron dead, and that his patron’s only remaining child, an elderly woman, now neither graceful214 nor beautiful, if she ever had been either the one or the other, had by this calamity become a homeless and penniless orphan215. He addressed her nearly in the words which Dominie Sampson uses to Miss Bertram, and professed his determination not to leave her. Accordingly, roused to the exercise of talents which had long slumbered216, he opened a little school and supported his patron’s child for the rest of her life, treating her with the same humble observance and devoted attention which he had used towards her in the days of her prosperity.
Such is the outline of Dominie Sampson’s real story, in which there is neither romantic incident nor sentimental217 passion; but which, perhaps, from the rectitude and simplicity218 of character which it displays, may interest the heart and fill the eye of the reader as irresistibly219 as if it respected distresses220 of a more dignified221 or refined character.
These preliminary notices concerning the tale of Guy Mannering and some of the characters introduced may save the author and reader in the present instance the trouble of writing and perusing222 a long string of detached notes.
Abbotsford, January, 1829.
Addendum223: I may add that the motto of this novel was taken from the Lay of the Last Minstrel, to evade224 the conclusions of those who began to think that, as the author of Waverley never quoted the works of Sir Walter Scott, he must have reason for doing so, and that the circumstances might argue an identity between them.
Abbotsford, August 1, 1829.
Additional note
Galwegian localities and personages which have been supposed to be alluded225 to in the novel
An old English proverb says, that more know Tom Fool than Tom Fool knows; and the influence of the adage226 seems to extend to works composed under the influence of an idle or foolish planet. Many corresponding circumstances are detected by readers of which the Author did not suspect the existence. He must, however, regard it as a great compliment that, in detailing incidents purely227 imaginary, he has been so fortunate in approximating reality as to remind his readers of actual occurrences. It is therefore with pleasure he notices some pieces of local history and tradition which have been supposed to coincide with the fictitious228 persons, incidents, and scenery of Guy Mannering.
The prototype of Dirk Hatteraick is considered as having been a Dutch skipper called Yawkins. This man was well known on the coast of Galloway and Dumfriesshire, as sole proprietor229 and master of a buckkar, or smuggling230 lugger, called the ‘Black Prince.’ Being distinguished231 by his nautical232 skill and intrepidity233, his vessel was frequently freighted, and his own services employed, by French, Dutch, Manx, and Scottish smuggling companies.
A person well known by the name of Buckkar-tea, from having been a noted234 smuggler235 of that article, and also by that of Bogle Bush, the place of his residence, assured my kind informant Mr. Train, that he had frequently seen upwards236 of two hundred Lingtow men assemble at one time, and go off into the interior of the country, fully laden237 with contraband238 goods.
In those halcyon239 days of the free trade, the fixed240 price for carrying a box of tea or bale of tobacco from the coast of Galloway to Edinburgh was fifteen shillings, and a man with two horses carried four such packages. The trade was entirely241 destroyed by Mr. Pitt’s celebrated commutation law, which, by reducing the duties upon excisable articles, enabled the lawful242 dealer243 to compete with the smuggler. The statute244 was called in Galloway and Dumfries-shire, by those who had thriven upon the contraband trade, ‘the burning and starving act.’
Sure of such active assistance on shore, Yawkins demeaned himself so boldly that his mere245 name was a terror to the officers of the revenue. He availed himself of the fears which his presence inspired on one particular night, when, happening to be ashore246 with a considerable quantity of goods in his sole custody, a strong party of excisemen came down on him. Far from shunning247 the attack, Yawkins sprung forward, shouting, ‘Come on, my lads; Yawkins is before you.’ The revenue officers were intimidated248 and relinquished249 their prize, though defended only by the courage and address of a single man. On his proper element Yawkins was equally successful. On one occasion he was landing his cargo250 at the Manxman’s Lake near Kirkcudbright, when two revenue cutters (the ‘Pigmy’ and the ‘Dwarf’) hove in sight at once on different tacks87, the one coming round by the Isles251 of Fleet, the other between the point of Rueberry and the Muckle Ron. The dauntless freetrader instantly weighed anchor and bore down right between the luggers, so close that he tossed his hat on the deck of the one and his wig252 on that of the other, hoisted253 a cask to his maintop, to show his occupation, and bore away under an extraordinary pressure of canvass254, without receiving injury. To account for these and other hairbreadth escapes, popular superstition alleged255 that Yawkins insured his celebrated buckkar by compounding with the devil for one-tenth of his crew every voyage. How they arranged the separation of the stock and tithes256 is left to our conjecture. The buckkar was perhaps called the ‘Black Prince’ in honour of the formidable insurer.
The ‘Black Prince’ used to discharge her cargo at Luce, Balcarry, and elsewhere on the coast; but her owner’s favourite landing — places were at the entrance of the Dee and the Cree, near the old Castle of Rueberry, about six miles below Kirkcudbright. There is a cave of large dimensions in the vicinity of Rueberry, which, from its being frequently used by Yawkins and his supposed connexion with the smugglers on the shore, is now called Dirk Hatteraick’s Cave. Strangers who visit this place, the scenery of which is highly romantic, are also shown, under the name of the Gauger’s Loup, a tremendous precipice257, being the same, it is asserted, from which Kennedy was precipitated258.
Meg Merrilies is in Galloway considered as having had her origin in the traditions concerning the celebrated Flora259 Marshal, one of the royal consorts260 of Willie Marshal, more commonly called the Caird of Barullion, King of the Gipsies of the Western Lowlands. That potentate262 was himself deserving of notice from the following peculiarities:— He was born in the parish of Kirkmichael about the year 1671; and, as he died at Kirkcudbright 23d November 1792, he must then have been in the one hundred and twentieth year of his age. It cannot be said that this unusually long lease of existence was noted by any peculiar excellence263 of conduct or habits of life. Willie had been pressed or enlisted264 in the army seven times, and had deserted265 as often; besides three times running away from the naval266 service. He had been seventeen times lawfully267 married; and, besides, such a reasonably large share of matrimonial comforts, was, after his hundredth year, the avowed268 father of four children by less legitimate269 affections. He subsisted270 in his extreme old age by a pension from the present Earl of Selkirk’s grandfather. Will Marshal is buried in Kirkcudbright church, where his monument is still shown, decorated with a scutcheon suitably blazoned271 with two tups’ horns and two cutty spoons.
In his youth he occasionally took an evening walk on the highway, with the purpose of assisting travellers by relieving them of the weight of their purses. On one occasion the Caird of Barullion robbed the Laird of Bargally at a place between Carsphairn and Dalmellington. His purpose was not achieved without a severe struggle, in which the gipsy lost his bonnet, and was obliged to escape, leaving it on the road. A respectable farmer happened to be the next passenger, and, seeing the bonnet, alighted, took it up, and rather imprudently put it on his own head. At this instant Bargally came up with some assistants, and, recognising the bonnet, charged the farmer of Bantoberick with having robbed him, and took him into custody. There being some likeness272 between the parties, Bargally persisted in his charge, and, though the respectability of the farmer’s character was proved or admitted, his trial before the Circuit Court came on accordingly. The fatal bonnet lay on the table of the court. Bargally swore that it was the identical article worn by the man who robbed him; and he and others likewise deponed that they had found the accused on the spot where the crime was committed, with the bonnet on his head. The case looked gloomily for the prisoner, and the opinion of the judge seemed unfavourable. But there was a person in court who knew well both who did and who did not commit the crime. This was the Caird of Barullion, who, thrusting himself up to the bar near the place where Bargally was standing12, suddenly seized on the bonnet, put it on his head, and, looking the Laird full in the face, asked him, with a voice which attracted the attention of the court and crowded audience — ‘Look at me, sir, and tell me, by the oath you have sworn — Am not I the man who robbed you between Carsphairn and Dalmellington?’ Bargally replied, in great astonishment273, ‘By Heaven! you are the very man.’ ‘You see what sort of memory this gentleman has,’ said the volunteer pleader; ‘he swears to the bonnet whatever features are under it. If you yourself, my Lord, will put it on your head, he will be willing to swear that your Lordship was the party who robbed him between Carsphairn and Dalmellington.’ The tenant274 of Bantoberick was unanimously acquitted275; and thus Willie Marshal ingeniously contrived276 to save an innocent man from danger, without incurring277 any himself, since Bargally’s evidence must have seemed to every one too fluctuating to be relied upon.
While the King of the Gipsies was thus laudably occupied, his royal consort261, Flora, contrived, it is said, to steal the hood25 from the judge’s gown; for which offence, combined with her presumptive guilt179 as a gipsy, she was banished278 to New England, whence she never returned.
Now, I cannot grant that the idea of Meg Merrilies was, in the first concoction279 of the character, derived280 from Flora Marshal, seeing I have already said she was identified with Jean Gordon, and as I have not the Laird of Bargally’s apology for charging the same fact on two several individuals. Yet I am quite content that Meg should be considered as a representative of her sect281 and class in general, Flora as well as others.
The other instances in which my Gallovidian readers have obliged me by assigning to
Airy nothing
A local habitation and a name,
shall also be sanctioned so far as the Author may be entitled to do so. I think the facetious282 Joe Miller283 records a case pretty much in point; where the keeper of a museum, while showing, as he said, the very sword with which Balaam was about to kill his ass15, was interrupted by one of the visitors, who reminded him that Balaam was not possessed of a sword, but only wished for one. ‘True, sir,’ replied the ready-witted cicerone; ‘but this is the very sword he wished for.’ The Author, in application of this story, has only to add that, though ignorant of the coincidence between the fictions of the tale and some real circumstances, he is contented284 to believe he must unconsciously have thought or dreamed of the last while engaged in the composition of Guy Mannering.
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illustrated
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| adj. 有插图的，列举的 动词illustrate的过去式和过去分词 | |
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narrative
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| n.叙述，故事；adj.叙事的，故事体的 | |
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highlander
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| n.高地的人，苏格兰高地地区的人 | |
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potent
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| adj.强有力的，有权势的；有效力的 | |
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creed
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| n.信条；信念，纲领 | |
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benighted
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| adj.蒙昧的 | |
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gratitude
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| adj.感激，感谢 | |
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prospect
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| n.前景，前途；景色，视野 | |
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prospects
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| n.希望，前途(恒为复数) | |
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conceal
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| v.隐藏，隐瞒，隐蔽 | |
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skilful
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| (=skillful)adj.灵巧的，熟练的 | |
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standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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ascertaining
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| v.弄清，确定，查明( ascertain的现在分词 ) | |
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conjure
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| v.恳求，祈求；变魔术，变戏法 | |
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ass
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| n.驴；傻瓜，蠢笨的人 | |
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retard
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| n.阻止，延迟；vt.妨碍，延迟，使减速 | |
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sage
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| n.圣人，哲人；adj.贤明的，明智的 | |
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ominous
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| adj.不祥的，不吉的，预兆的，预示的 | |
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exulted
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| 狂喜，欢跃( exult的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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vent
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| n.通风口，排放口；开衩；vt.表达，发泄 | |
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blessing
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| n.祈神赐福；祷告；祝福，祝愿 | |
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bestowed
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| 赠给，授予( bestow的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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attain
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| vt.达到，获得，完成 | |
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attains
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| （通常经过努力）实现( attain的第三人称单数 )； 达到； 获得； 达到（某年龄、水平、状况） | |
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hood
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| n.头巾，兜帽，覆盖；v.罩上，以头巾覆盖 | |
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destined
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| adj.命中注定的；(for)以…为目的地的 | |
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worthy
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| adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的 | |
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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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err
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| vi.犯错误，出差错 | |
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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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blessings
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| n.（上帝的）祝福( blessing的名词复数 )；好事；福分；因祸得福 | |
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constellations
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| n.星座( constellation的名词复数 )；一群杰出人物；一系列（相关的想法、事物）；一群（相关的人） | |
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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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beset
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| v.镶嵌；困扰，包围 | |
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invoked
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| v.援引( invoke的过去式和过去分词 )；行使（权利等）；祈求救助；恳求 | |
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sincerity
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| n.真诚，诚意；真实 | |
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immediate
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| adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的 | |
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maker
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| n.制造者，制造商 | |
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devoted
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| adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的 | |
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pious
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| adj.虔诚的；道貌岸然的 | |
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virtuous
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| adj.有品德的，善良的，贞洁的，有效力的 | |
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follies
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| 罪恶，时事讽刺剧； 愚蠢，蠢笨，愚蠢的行为、思想或做法( folly的名词复数 ) | |
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vices
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| 缺陷( vice的名词复数 )； 恶习； 不道德行为； 台钳 | |
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vessel
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| n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管 | |
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abhorred
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| v.憎恶( abhor的过去式和过去分词 )；（厌恶地）回避；拒绝；淘汰 | |
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attained
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| （通常经过努力）实现( attain的过去式和过去分词 )； 达到； 获得； 达到（某年龄、水平、状况） | |
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humbly
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| adv. 恭顺地，谦卑地 | |
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infancy
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| n.婴儿期；幼年期；初期 | |
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calamity
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| n.灾害，祸患，不幸事件 | |
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riveted
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| 铆接( rivet的过去式和过去分词 )； 把…固定住； 吸引； 引起某人的注意 | |
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ascetic
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| adj.禁欲的；严肃的 | |
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enjoined
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| v.命令( enjoin的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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withheld
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| withhold过去式及过去分词 | |
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precept
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| n.戒律；格言 | |
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attentive
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| adj.注意的，专心的；关心(别人)的，殷勤的 | |
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melancholy
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| n.忧郁，愁思；adj.令人感伤（沮丧）的，忧郁的 | |
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assailed
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| v.攻击( assail的过去式和过去分词 )；困扰；质问；毅然应对 | |
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scriptures
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| 经文，圣典( scripture的名词复数 )； 经典 | |
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awakening
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| n.觉醒，醒悟 adj.觉醒中的；唤醒的 | |
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torment
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| n.折磨；令人痛苦的东西(人)；vt.折磨；纠缠 | |
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repent
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| v.悔悟，悔改，忏悔，后悔 | |
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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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overcast
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| adj.阴天的，阴暗的，愁闷的；v.遮盖，（使）变暗，包边缝；n.覆盖，阴天 | |
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hideous
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| adj.丑陋的，可憎的，可怕的，恐怖的 | |
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courteous
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| adj.彬彬有礼的，客气的 | |
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exhorting
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| v.劝告，劝说( exhort的现在分词 ) | |
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perilous
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| adj.危险的，冒险的 | |
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mansion
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| n.大厦，大楼；宅第 | |
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solitary
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| adj.孤独的，独立的，荒凉的；n.隐士 | |
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abode
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| n.住处，住所 | |
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avenger
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| n. 复仇者 | |
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postponed
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| vt.& vi.延期，缓办，（使）延迟vt.把…放在次要地位；[语]把…放在后面（或句尾）vi.（疟疾等）延缓发作（或复发） | |
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refreshments
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| n.点心,便餐;(会议后的)简单茶点招 待 | |
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pamper
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| v.纵容，过分关怀 | |
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frugal
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| adj.节俭的，节约的，少量的，微量的 | |
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peculiarity
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| n.独特性，特色；特殊的东西；怪癖 | |
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spoke
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| 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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harpsichord
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| n.键琴（钢琴前身） | |
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hymns
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| n.赞美诗，圣歌，颂歌( hymn的名词复数 ) | |
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conversed
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| v.交谈，谈话( converse的过去式 ) | |
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relaxation
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| n.松弛，放松；休息；消遣；娱乐 | |
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attire
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| v.穿衣，装扮[同]array；n.衣着；盛装 | |
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guise
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| n.外表，伪装的姿态 | |
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chamber
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| n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所 | |
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devoid
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| adj.全无的，缺乏的 | |
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repel
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| v.击退，抵制，拒绝，排斥 | |
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tacks
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| 大头钉( tack的名词复数 )； 平头钉； 航向； 方法 | |
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apprehend
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| vt.理解，领悟，逮捕，拘捕，忧虑 | |
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arduous
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| adj.艰苦的，费力的，陡峭的 | |
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faltered
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| （嗓音）颤抖( falter的过去式和过去分词 )； 支吾其词； 蹒跚； 摇晃 | |
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91
swarm
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| n.(昆虫)等一大群；vi.成群飞舞；蜂拥而入 | |
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92
demon
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| n.魔鬼，恶魔 | |
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93
demons
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| n.恶人( demon的名词复数 )；恶魔；精力过人的人；邪念 | |
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94
omission
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| n.省略，删节；遗漏或省略的事物，冗长 | |
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95
scrupulousness
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| n.一丝不苟；小心翼翼 | |
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96
fiery
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| adj.燃烧着的，火红的；暴躁的；激烈的 | |
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97
scourges
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| 带来灾难的人或东西，祸害( scourge的名词复数 )； 鞭子 | |
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98
determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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99
sophistry
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| n.诡辩 | |
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100
dedicated
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| adj.一心一意的；献身的；热诚的 | |
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101
discourse
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| n.论文，演说；谈话；话语；vi.讲述，著述 | |
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102
prey
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| n.被掠食者，牺牲者，掠食；v.捕食，掠夺，折磨 | |
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103
influential
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| adj.有影响的，有权势的 | |
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104
meshes
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| 网孔( mesh的名词复数 )； 网状物； 陷阱； 困境 | |
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105
victorious
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| adj.胜利的，得胜的 | |
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106
transgressions
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| n.违反，违法，罪过( transgression的名词复数 ) | |
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107
lapse
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| n.过失，流逝，失效，抛弃信仰，间隔；vi.堕落，停止，失效，流逝；vt.使失效 | |
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108
fully
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| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
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109
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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110
retired
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| adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的 | |
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111
discomfited
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| v.使为难( discomfit的过去式和过去分词)；使狼狈；使挫折；挫败 | |
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112
maiden
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| n.少女，处女；adj.未婚的，纯洁的，无经验的 | |
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113
consigned
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| v.把…置于（令人不快的境地）( consign的过去式和过去分词 )；把…托付给；把…托人代售；丟弃 | |
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114
doomed
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| 命定的 | |
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115
intervention
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| n.介入，干涉，干预 | |
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116
malevolent
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| adj.有恶意的，恶毒的 | |
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117
meditated
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| 深思，沉思，冥想( meditate的过去式和过去分词 )； 内心策划，考虑 | |
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118
baron
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| n.男爵；(商业界等)巨头，大王 | |
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119
doctrines
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| n.教条( doctrine的名词复数 )；教义；学说；（政府政策的）正式声明 | |
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120
vestiges
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| 残余部分( vestige的名词复数 )； 遗迹； 痕迹； 毫不 | |
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121
tenor
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| n.男高音（歌手），次中音（乐器），要旨，大意 | |
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122
unnatural
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| adj.不自然的；反常的 | |
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123
supplanted
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| 把…排挤掉，取代( supplant的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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124
superstitions
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| 迷信，迷信行为( superstition的名词复数 ) | |
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125
superstition
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| n.迷信，迷信行为 | |
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126
votaries
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| n.信徒( votary的名词复数 )；追随者；（天主教）修士；修女 | |
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127
remarkable
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| adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的 | |
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128
eminent
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| adj.显赫的，杰出的，有名的，优良的 | |
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129
legerdemain
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| n.戏法，诈术 | |
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130
habitual
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| adj.习惯性的；通常的，惯常的 | |
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131
abstruse
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| adj.深奥的，难解的 | |
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132
ascertained
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| v.弄清，确定，查明( ascertain的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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133
paralytic
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| adj. 瘫痪的 n. 瘫痪病人 | |
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134
languished
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| 长期受苦( languish的过去式和过去分词 )； 受折磨； 变得（越来越）衰弱； 因渴望而变得憔悴或闷闷不乐 | |
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135
contingencies
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| n.偶然发生的事故，意外事故( contingency的名词复数 )；以备万一 | |
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136
anecdote
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| n.轶事，趣闻，短故事 | |
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137
kindly
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| adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地 | |
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138
professed
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| 公开声称的，伪称的，已立誓信教的 | |
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139
minutiae
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| n.微小的细节，细枝末节；（常复数）细节，小事( minutia的名词复数 ) | |
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140
sketch
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| n.草图；梗概；素描；v.素描；概述 | |
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141
vagrants
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| 流浪者( vagrant的名词复数 )； 无业游民； 乞丐； 无赖 | |
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142
possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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143
savage
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| adj.野蛮的；凶恶的，残暴的；n.未开化的人 | |
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144
virtue
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| n.德行，美德；贞操；优点；功效，效力 | |
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145
fidelity
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| n.忠诚，忠实；精确 | |
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146
hospitably
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| 亲切地，招待周到地，善于款待地 | |
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147
farmhouse
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| n.农场住宅（尤指主要住房） | |
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148
abstained
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| v.戒（尤指酒），戒除( abstain的过去式和过去分词 )；弃权（不投票） | |
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149
depredations
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| n.劫掠，毁坏( depredation的名词复数 ) | |
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150
delicacy
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| n.精致，细微，微妙，精良；美味，佳肴 | |
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151
mortified
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| v.使受辱( mortify的过去式和过去分词 )；伤害（人的感情）；克制；抑制（肉体、情感等） | |
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152
pecuniary
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| adj.金钱的；金钱上的 | |
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153
glimmering
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| n.微光，隐约的一瞥adj.薄弱地发光的v.发闪光，发微光( glimmer的现在分词 ) | |
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154
clan
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| n.氏族，部落，宗族，家族，宗派 | |
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155
joyful
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| adj.欢乐的，令人欢欣的 | |
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156
winsome
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| n.迷人的，漂亮的 | |
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157
plentiful
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| adj.富裕的，丰富的 | |
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158
landlady
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| n.女房东，女地主 | |
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159
benefactors
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| n.捐助者，施主( benefactor的名词复数 )；恩人 | |
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160
inquiry
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| n.打听，询问，调查，查问 | |
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161
custody
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| n.监护，照看，羁押，拘留 | |
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162
scotch
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| n.伤口，刻痕；苏格兰威士忌酒；v.粉碎，消灭，阻止；adj.苏格兰(人)的 | |
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163
plunder
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| vt.劫掠财物，掠夺；n.劫掠物，赃物；劫掠 | |
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164
pouches
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| n.（放在衣袋里或连在腰带上的）小袋( pouch的名词复数 )；（袋鼠等的）育儿袋；邮袋；（某些动物贮存食物的）颊袋 | |
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165
exclamations
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| n.呼喊( exclamation的名词复数 )；感叹；感叹语；感叹词 | |
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166
breach
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| n.违反，不履行；破裂；vt.冲破，攻破 | |
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167
stifled
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| （使）窒息， （使）窒闷( stifle的过去式和过去分词 )； 镇压，遏制； 堵 | |
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168
rummaging
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| 翻找，搜寻( rummage的现在分词 )； 海关检查 | |
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169
providence
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| n.深谋远虑，天道，天意；远见；节约；上帝 | |
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170
consultation
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| n.咨询；商量；商议；会议 | |
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171
vehemence
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| n.热切；激烈；愤怒 | |
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172
remonstrances
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| n.抱怨，抗议( remonstrance的名词复数 ) | |
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173
caroused
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| v.痛饮，闹饮欢宴( carouse的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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174
entreaties
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| n.恳求，乞求( entreaty的名词复数 ) | |
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175
condemned
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| adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词 | |
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176
condemnation
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| n.谴责; 定罪 | |
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177
emphatic
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| adj.强调的，着重的；无可置疑的，明显的 | |
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178
unanimity
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| n.全体一致，一致同意 | |
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179
guilt
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| n.犯罪；内疚；过失，罪责 | |
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180
brutal
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| adj.残忍的，野蛮的，不讲理的 | |
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181
outrage
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| n.暴行，侮辱，愤怒；vt.凌辱，激怒 | |
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182
stanch
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| v.止住（血等）；adj.坚固的；坚定的 | |
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183
rabble
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| n.乌合之众，暴民；下等人 | |
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184
zealous
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| adj.狂热的，热心的 | |
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185
loyalty
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| n.忠诚，忠心 | |
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186
inflicted
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| 把…强加给，使承受，遭受( inflict的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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188
intervals
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| n.[军事]间隔( interval的名词复数 )；间隔时间；[数学]区间；（戏剧、电影或音乐会的）幕间休息 | |
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189
moor
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| n.荒野，沼泽；vt.(使)停泊；vi.停泊 | |
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190
carousing
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| v.痛饮，闹饮欢宴( carouse的现在分词 ) | |
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191
bridle
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| n.笼头，束缚；vt.抑制，约束；动怒 | |
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192
sate
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| v.使充分满足 | |
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193
poultry
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| n.家禽，禽肉 | |
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194
adorned
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| [计]被修饰的 | |
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195
awe
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| n.敬畏，惊惧；vt.使敬畏，使惊惧 | |
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196
clans
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| 宗族( clan的名词复数 )； 氏族； 庞大的家族； 宗派 | |
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197
celebrated
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| adj.有名的，声誉卓著的 | |
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198
favourable
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| adj.赞成的，称赞的，有利的，良好的，顺利的 | |
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199
peculiarities
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| n. 特质, 特性, 怪癖, 古怪 | |
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200
descended
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| a.为...后裔的，出身于...的 | |
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201
stature
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| n.（高度）水平，（高度）境界，身高，身材 | |
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202
aquiline
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| adj.钩状的，鹰的 | |
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203
penetrating
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| 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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204
bonnet
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| n.无边女帽；童帽 | |
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205
vehemently
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| adv. 热烈地 | |
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206
indifference
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| n.不感兴趣，不关心，冷淡，不在乎 | |
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207
asses
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| n. 驴，愚蠢的人，臀部 adv. (常用作后置)用于贬损或骂人 | |
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208
conjecture
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| n./v.推测，猜测 | |
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209
humble
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| adj.谦卑的，恭顺的；地位低下的；v.降低，贬低 | |
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210
leeward
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| adj.背风的；下风的 | |
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211
uncommon
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| adj.罕见的，非凡的，不平常的 | |
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212
predecessors
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| n.前任( predecessor的名词复数 )；前辈；（被取代的）原有事物；前身 | |
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213
awakened
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| v.（使）醒( awaken的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）觉醒；弄醒；（使）意识到 | |
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214
graceful
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| adj.优美的，优雅的；得体的 | |
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215
orphan
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| n.孤儿；adj.无父母的 | |
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slumbered
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| 微睡，睡眠（slumber的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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sentimental
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| adj.多愁善感的，感伤的 | |
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simplicity
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| n.简单，简易；朴素；直率，单纯 | |
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irresistibly
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| adv.无法抵抗地，不能自持地；极为诱惑人地 | |
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distresses
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| n.悲痛( distress的名词复数 )；痛苦；贫困；危险 | |
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dignified
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| a.可敬的，高贵的 | |
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perusing
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| v.读（某篇文字）( peruse的现在分词 )；（尤指）细阅；审阅；匆匆读或心不在焉地浏览（某篇文字） | |
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addendum
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| n.补充，附录 | |
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evade
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| vt.逃避，回避；避开，躲避 | |
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alluded
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| 提及，暗指( allude的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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adage
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| n.格言，古训 | |
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purely
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| adv.纯粹地，完全地 | |
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228
fictitious
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| adj.虚构的，假设的；空头的 | |
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proprietor
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| n.所有人；业主；经营者 | |
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smuggling
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| n.走私 | |
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distinguished
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| adj.卓越的，杰出的，著名的 | |
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nautical
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| adj.海上的，航海的，船员的 | |
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intrepidity
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| n.大胆，刚勇；大胆的行为 | |
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noted
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| adj.著名的，知名的 | |
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smuggler
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| n.走私者 | |
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upwards
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| adv.向上，在更高处...以上 | |
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laden
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| adj.装满了的；充满了的；负了重担的；苦恼的 | |
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contraband
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| n.违禁品，走私品 | |
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halcyon
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| n.平静的，愉快的 | |
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fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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lawful
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| adj.法律许可的，守法的，合法的 | |
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dealer
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| n.商人，贩子 | |
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244
statute
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| n.成文法，法令，法规；章程，规则，条例 | |
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mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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ashore
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| adv.在(向)岸上，上岸 | |
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shunning
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| v.避开，回避，避免( shun的现在分词 ) | |
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intimidated
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| v.恐吓；威胁adj.害怕的；受到威胁的 | |
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relinquished
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| 交出，让给( relinquish的过去式和过去分词 )； 放弃 | |
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cargo
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| n.(一只船或一架飞机运载的)货物 | |
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isles
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| 岛( isle的名词复数 ) | |
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wig
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| n.假发 | |
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hoisted
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| 把…吊起，升起( hoist的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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254
canvass
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| v.招徕顾客，兜售；游说；详细检查，讨论 | |
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alleged
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| a.被指控的，嫌疑的 | |
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tithes
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| n.（宗教捐税）什一税，什一的教区税，小部分( tithe的名词复数 ) | |
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precipice
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| n.悬崖，危急的处境 | |
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precipitated
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| v.（突如其来地）使发生( precipitate的过去式和过去分词 )；促成；猛然摔下；使沉淀 | |
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flora
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| n.(某一地区的)植物群 | |
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consorts
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| n.配偶( consort的名词复数 )；（演奏古典音乐的）一组乐师；一组古典乐器；一起v.结伴( consort的第三人称单数 )；交往；相称；调和 | |
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consort
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| v.相伴；结交 | |
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262
potentate
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| n.统治者；君主 | |
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excellence
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| n.优秀，杰出，(pl.)优点，美德 | |
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enlisted
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| adj.应募入伍的v.（使）入伍， （使）参军( enlist的过去式和过去分词 )；获得（帮助或支持） | |
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deserted
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| adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的 | |
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naval
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| adj.海军的，军舰的，船的 | |
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lawfully
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| adv.守法地，合法地；合理地 | |
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268
avowed
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| adj.公开声明的，承认的v.公开声明，承认( avow的过去式和过去分词) | |
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legitimate
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| adj.合法的，合理的，合乎逻辑的；v.使合法 | |
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270
subsisted
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| v.（靠很少的钱或食物）维持生活，生存下去( subsist的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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blazoned
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| v.广布( blazon的过去式和过去分词 )；宣布；夸示；装饰 | |
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likeness
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| n.相像，相似（之处） | |
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273
astonishment
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| n.惊奇，惊异 | |
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274
tenant
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| n.承租人；房客；佃户；v.租借，租用 | |
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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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contrived
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| adj.不自然的，做作的；虚构的 | |
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incurring
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| 遭受，招致，引起( incur的现在分词 ) | |
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278
banished
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| v.放逐，驱逐( banish的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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279
concoction
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| n.调配(物)；谎言 | |
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280
derived
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| vi.起源；由来；衍生；导出v.得到( derive的过去式和过去分词 )；（从…中）得到获得；源于；（从…中）提取 | |
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281
sect
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| n.派别，宗教，学派，派系 | |
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282
facetious
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| adj.轻浮的，好开玩笑的 | |
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283
miller
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| n.磨坊主 | |
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284
contented
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| adj.满意的，安心的，知足的 | |
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