Do breed unnatural troubles: infected minds
To their deaf pillows will discharge their secrets.
More needs she the divine, than the physician.
MACBETH
On the following evening, the view of the convent towers, rising among the shadowy woods, reminded Emily of the nun2, whose condition had so much affected3 her; and, anxious to know how she was, as well as to see some of her former friends, she and the Lady Blanche extended their walk to the monastery4. At the gate stood a carriage, which, from the heat of the horses, appeared to have just arrived; but a more than common stillness pervaded5 the court and the cloisters6, through which Emily and Blanche passed in their way to the great hall, where a nun, who was crossing to the stair-case, replied to the enquiries of the former, that sister Agnes was still living, and sensible, but that it was thought she could not survive the night. In the parlour, they found several of the boarders, who rejoiced to see Emily, and told her many little circumstances that had happened in the convent since her departure, and which were interesting to her only because they related to persons, whom she had regarded with affection. While they thus conversed7 the abbess entered the room, and expressed much satisfaction at seeing Emily, but her manner was unusually solemn, and her countenance9 dejected. ‘Our house,’ said she, after the first salutations were over, ‘is truly a house of mourning — a daughter is now paying the debt of nature.— You have heard, perhaps, that our daughter Agnes is dying?’
Emily expressed her sincere concern.
‘Her death presents to us a great and awful lesson,’ continued the abbess; ‘let us read it, and profit by it; let it teach us to prepare ourselves for the change, that awaits us all! You are young, and have it yet in your power to secure “the peace that passeth all understanding”— the peace of conscience. Preserve it in your youth, that it may comfort you in age; for vain, alas10! and imperfect are the good deeds of our latter years, if those of our early life have been evil!’
Emily would have said, that good deeds, she hoped, were never vain; but she considered that it was the abbess who spoke11, and she remained silent.
‘The latter days of Agnes,’ resumed the abbess, ‘have been exemplary; would they might atone12 for the errors of her former ones! Her sufferings now, alas! are great; let us believe, that they will make her peace hereafter! I have left her with her confessor, and a gentleman, whom she has long been anxious to see, and who is just arrived from Paris. They, I hope, will be able to administer the repose13, which her mind has hitherto wanted.’
Emily fervently14 joined in the wish.
‘During her illness, she has sometimes named you,’ resumed the abbess; ‘perhaps, it would comfort her to see you; when her present visitors have left her, we will go to her chamber15, if the scene will not be too melancholy16 for your spirits. But, indeed, to such scenes, however painful, we ought to accustom17 ourselves, for they are salutary to the soul, and prepare us for what we are ourselves to suffer.’
Emily became grave and thoughtful; for this conversation brought to her recollection the dying moments of her beloved father, and she wished once more to weep over the spot, where his remains18 were buried. During the silence, which followed the abbess’ speech, many minute circumstances attending his last hours occurred to her — his emotion on perceiving himself to be in the neighbourhood of Chateau19- le-Blanc — his request to be interred20 in a particular spot in the church of this monastery — and the solemn charge he had delivered to her to destroy certain papers, without examining them.— She recollected21 also the mysterious and horrible words in those manuscripts, upon which her eye had involuntarily glanced; and, though they now, and, indeed, whenever she remembered them, revived an excess of painful curiosity, concerning their full import, and the motives22 for her father’s command, it was ever her chief consolation23, that she had strictly24 obeyed him in this particular.
Little more was said by the abbess, who appeared too much affected by the subject she had lately left, to be willing to converse8, and her companions had been for some time silent from the same cause, when this general reverie was interrupted by the entrance of a stranger, Monsieur Bonnac, who had just quitted the chamber of sister Agnes. He appeared much disturbed, but Emily fancied, that his countenance had more the expression of horror, than of grief. Having drawn25 the abbess to a distant part of the room, he conversed with her for some time, during which she seemed to listen with earnest attention, and he to speak with caution, and a more than common degree of interest. When he had concluded, he bowed silently to the rest of the company, and quitted the room. The abbess, soon after, proposed going to the chamber of sister Agnes, to which Emily consented, though not without some reluctance26, and Lady Blanche remained with the boarders below.
At the door of the chamber they met the confessor, whom, as he lifted up his head on their approach, Emily observed to be the same that had attended her dying father; but he passed on, without noticing her, and they entered the apartment, where, on a mattress27, was laid sister Agnes, with one nun watching in the chair beside her. Her countenance was so much changed, that Emily would scarcely have recollected her, had she not been prepared to do so: it was ghastly, and overspread with gloomy horror; her dim and hollow eyes were fixed28 on a crucifix, which she held upon her bosom29; and she was so much engaged in thought, as not to perceive the abbess and Emily, till they stood at the bed-side. Then, turning her heavy eyes, she fixed them, in wild horror, upon Emily, and, screaming, exclaimed, ‘Ah! that vision comes upon me in my dying hours!’
Emily started back in terror, and looked for explanation to the abbess, who made her a signal not to be alarmed, and calmly said to Agnes, ‘Daughter, I have brought Mademoiselle St. Aubert to visit you: I thought you would be glad to see her.’
Agnes made no reply; but, still gazing wildly upon Emily, exclaimed, ‘It is her very self! Oh! there is all that fascination30 in her look, which proved my destruction! What would you have — what is it you came to demand — Retribution?— It will soon be yours — it is yours already. How many years have passed, since last I saw you! My crime is but as yesterday.— Yet I am grown old beneath it; while you are still young and blooming — blooming as when you forced me to commit that most abhorred31 deed! O! could I once forget it!— yet what would that avail?— the deed is done!’
Emily, extremely shocked, would now have left the room; but the abbess, taking her hand, tried to support her spirits, and begged she would stay a few moments, when Agnes would probably be calm, whom now she tried to sooth. But the latter seemed to disregard her, while she still fixed her eyes on Emily, and added, ‘What are years of prayers and repentance32? they cannot wash out the foulness33 of murder!- -Yes, murder! Where is he — where is he?— Look there — look there!— see where he stalks along the room! Why do you come to torment34 me now?’ continued Agnes, while her straining eyes were bent35 on air, ‘why was not I punished before?— O! do not frown so sternly! Hah! there again! ‘til she herself! Why do you look so piteously upon me- -and smile, too? smile on me! What groan36 was that?’
Agnes sunk down, apparently37 lifeless, and Emily, unable to support herself, leaned against the bed, while the abbess and the attendant nun were applying the usual remedies to Agnes. ‘Peace,’ said the abbess, when Emily was going to speak, ‘the delirium38 is going off, she will soon revive. When was she thus before, daughter?’
‘Not of many weeks, madam,’ replied the nun, ‘but her spirits have been much agitated39 by the arrival of the gentleman she wished so much to see.’
‘Yes,’ observed the abbess, ‘that has undoubtedly40 occasioned this paroxysm of frenzy42. When she is better, we will leave her to repose.’
Emily very readily consented, but, though she could now give little assistance, she was unwilling43 to quit the chamber, while any might be necessary.
When Agnes recovered her senses, she again fixed her eyes on Emily, but their wild expression was gone, and a gloomy melancholy had succeeded. It was some moments before she recovered sufficient spirits to speak; she then said feebly —‘The likeness44 is wonderful!— surely it must be something more than fancy. Tell me, I conjure45 you,’ she added, addressing Emily, ‘though your name is St. Aubert, are you not the daughter of the Marchioness?’
‘What Marchioness?’ said Emily, in extreme surprise; for she had imagined, from the calmness of Agnes’s manner, that her intellects were restored. The abbess gave her a significant glance, but she repeated the question.
‘What Marchioness?’ exclaimed Agnes, ‘I know but of one — the Marchioness de Villeroi.’
Emily, remembering the emotion of her late father, upon the unexpected mention of this lady, and his request to be laid near to the tomb of the Villerois, now felt greatly interested, and she entreated46 Agnes to explain the reason of her question. The abbess would now have withdrawn47 Emily from the room, who being, however, detained by a strong interest, repeated her entreaties48.
‘Bring me that casket, sister,’ said Agnes; ‘I will shew her to you; yet you need only look in that mirror, and you will behold49 her; you surely are her daughter: such striking resemblance is never found but among near relations.’
The nun brought the casket, and Agnes, having directed her how to unlock it, she took thence a miniature, in which Emily perceived the exact resemblance of the picture, which she had found among her late father’s papers. Agnes held out her hand to receive it; gazed upon it earnestly for some moments in silence; and then, with a countenance of deep despair, threw up her eyes to Heaven, and prayed inwardly. When she had finished, she returned the miniature to Emily. ‘Keep it,’ said she, ‘I bequeath it to you, for I must believe it is your right. I have frequently observed the resemblance between you; but never, till this day, did it strike upon my conscience so powerfully! Stay, sister, do not remove the casket — there is another picture I would shew.’
Emily trembled with expectation, and the abbess again would have withdrawn her. ‘Agnes is still disordered,’ said she, ‘you observe how she wanders. In these moods she says any thing, and does not scruple50, as you have witnessed, to accuse herself of the most horrible crimes.’
Emily, however, thought she perceived something more than madness in the inconsistencies of Agnes, whose mention of the Marchioness, and production of her picture, had interested her so much, that she determined51 to obtain further information, if possible, respecting the subject of it.
The nun returned with the casket, and, Agnes pointing out to her a secret drawer, she took from it another miniature. ‘Here,’ said Agnes, as she offered it to Emily, ‘learn a lesson for your vanity, at least; look well at this picture, and see if you can discover any resemblance between what I was, and what I am.’
Emily impatiently received the miniature, which her eyes had scarcely glanced upon, before her trembling hands had nearly suffered it to fall — it was the resemblance of the portrait of Signora Laurentini, which she had formerly53 seen in the castle of Udolpho — the lady, who had disappeared in so mysterious a manner, and whom Montoni had been suspected of having caused to be murdered.
In silent astonishment54, Emily continued to gaze alternately upon the picture and the dying nun, endeavouring to trace a resemblance between them, which no longer existed.
‘Why do you look so sternly on me?’ said Agnes, mistaking the nature of Emily’s emotion.
‘I have seen this face before,’ said Emily, at length; ‘was it really your resemblance?’
‘You may well ask that question,’ replied the nun,—‘but it was once esteemed56 a striking likeness of me. Look at me well, and see what guilt57 has made me. I then was innocent; the evil passions of my nature slept. Sister!’ added she solemnly, and stretching forth58 her cold, damp hand to Emily, who shuddered59 at its touch —‘Sister! beware of the first indulgence of the passions; beware of the first! Their course, if not checked then, is rapid — their force is uncontroulable- -they lead us we know not whither — they lead us perhaps to the commission of crimes, for which whole years of prayer and penitence60 cannot atone!— Such may be the force of even a single passion, that it overcomes every other, and sears up every other approach to the heart. Possessing us like a fiend, it leads us on to the acts of a fiend, making us insensible to pity and to conscience. And, when its purpose is accomplished61, like a fiend, it leaves us to the torture of those feelings, which its power had suspended — not annihilated,— to the tortures of compassion62, remorse63, and conscience. Then, we awaken64 as from a dream, and perceive a new world around us — we gaze in astonishment, and horror — but the deed is committed; not all the powers of heaven and earth united can undo41 it — and the spectres of conscience will not fly! What are riches — grandeur65 — health itself, to the luxury of a pure conscience, the health of the soul;— and what the sufferings of poverty, disappointment, despair — to the anguish66 of an afflicted67 one! O! how long is it since I knew that luxury! I believed, that I had suffered the most agonizing68 pangs69 of human nature, in love, jealousy70, and despair — but these pangs were ease, compared with the stings of conscience, which I have since endured. I tasted too what was called the sweet of revenge — but it was transient, it expired even with the object, that provoked it. Remember, sister, that the passions are the seeds of vices72 as well as of virtues73, from which either may spring, accordingly as they are nurtured74. Unhappy they who have never been taught the art to govern them!’
‘Alas! unhappy!’ said the abbess, ‘and ill-informed of our holy religion!’ Emily listened to Agnes, in silent awe52, while she still examined the miniature, and became confirmed in her opinion of its strong resemblance to the portrait at Udolpho. ‘This face is familiar to me,’ said she, wishing to lead the nun to an explanation, yet fearing to discover too abruptly75 her knowledge of Udolpho.
‘You are mistaken,’ replied Agnes, ‘you certainly never saw that picture before.’
‘No,’ replied Emily, ‘but I have seen one extremely like it.’ ‘Impossible,’ said Agnes, who may now be called the Lady Laurentini.
‘It was in the castle of Udolpho,’ continued Emily, looking stedfastly at her.
‘Of Udolpho!’ exclaimed Laurentini, ‘of Udolpho in Italy!’ ‘The same,’ replied Emily.
‘You know me then,’ said Laurentini, ‘and you are the daughter of the Marchioness.’ Emily was somewhat surprised at this abrupt76 assertion. ‘I am the daughter of the late Mons. St. Aubert,’ said she; ‘and the lady you name is an utter stranger to me.’
‘At least you believe so,’ rejoined Laurentini.
Emily asked what reasons there could be to believe otherwise.
‘The family likeness, that you bear her,’ said the nun. ‘The Marchioness, it is known, was attached to a gentleman of Gascony, at the time when she accepted the hand of the Marquis, by the command of her father. Ill-fated, unhappy woman!’
Emily, remembering the extreme emotion which St. Aubert had betrayed on the mention of the Marchioness, would now have suffered something more than surprise, had her confidence in his integrity been less; as it was, she could not, for a moment, believe what the words of Laurentini insinuated77; yet she still felt strongly interested, concerning them, and begged, that she would explain them further.
‘Do not urge me on that subject,’ said the nun, ‘it is to me a terrible one! Would that I could blot78 it from my memory!’ She sighed deeply, and, after the pause of a moment, asked Emily, by what means she had discovered her name?
‘By your portrait in the castle of Udolpho, to which this miniature bears a striking resemblance,’ replied Emily.
‘You have been at Udolpho then!’ said the nun, with great emotion. ‘Alas! what scenes does the mention of it revive in my fancy — scenes of happiness — of suffering — and of horror!’
At this moment, the terrible spectacle, which Emily had witnessed in a chamber of that castle, occurred to her, and she shuddered, while she looked upon the nun — and recollected her late words — that ‘years of prayer and penitence could not wash out the foulness of murder.’ She was now compelled to attribute these to another cause, than that of delirium. With a degree of horror, that almost deprived her of sense, she now believed she looked upon a murderer; all the recollected behaviour of Laurentini seemed to confirm the supposition, yet Emily was still lost in a labyrinth79 of perplexities, and, not knowing how to ask the questions, which might lead to truth, she could only hint them in broken sentences.
‘Your sudden departure from Udolpho’— said she.
Laurentini groaned80.
‘The reports that followed it,’ continued Emily —‘The west chamber — the mournful veil — the object it conceals81!— when murders are committed —’
The nun shrieked83. ‘What! there again!’ said she, endeavouring to raise herself, while her starting eyes seemed to follow some object round the room —‘Come from the grave! What! Blood — blood too!— There was no blood — thou canst not say it!— Nay84, do not smile,— do not smile so piteously!’
Laurentini fell into convulsions, as she uttered the last words; and Emily, unable any longer to endure the horror of the scene, hurried from the room, and sent some nuns85 to the assistance of the abbess.
The Lady Blanche, and the boarders, who were in the parlour, now assembled round Emily, and, alarmed by her manner and affrighted countenance, asked a hundred questions, which she avoided answering further, than by saying, that she believed sister Agnes was dying. They received this as a sufficient explanation of her terror, and had then leisure to offer restoratives, which, at length, somewhat revived Emily, whose mind was, however, so much shocked with the terrible surmises86, and perplexed87 with doubts by some words from the nun, that she was unable to converse, and would have left the convent immediately, had she not wished to know whether Laurentini would survive the late attack. After waiting some time, she was informed, that, the convulsions having ceased, Laurentini seemed to be reviving, and Emily and Blanche were departing, when the abbess appeared, who, drawing the former aside, said she had something of consequence to say to her, but, as it was late, she would not detain her then, and requested to see her on the following day.
Emily promised to visit her, and, having taken leave, returned with the Lady Blanche towards the chateau, on the way to which the deep gloom of the woods made Blanche lament88, that the evening was so far advanced; for the surrounding stillness and obscurity rendered her sensible of fear, though there was a servant to protect her; while Emily was too much engaged by the horrors of the scene she had just witnessed, to be affected by the solemnity of the shades, otherwise than as they served to promote her gloomy reverie, from which, however, she was at length recalled by the Lady Blanche, who pointed89 out, at some distance, in the dusky path they were winding90, two persons slowly advancing. It was impossible to avoid them without striking into a still more secluded91 part of the wood, whither the strangers might easily follow; but all apprehension92 vanished, when Emily distinguished93 the voice of Mons. Du Pont, and perceived, that his companion was the gentleman, whom she had seen at the monastery, and who was now conversing94 with so much earnestness as not immediately to perceive their approach. When Du Pont joined the ladies, the stranger took leave, and they proceeded to the chateau, where the Count, when he heard of Mons. Bonnac, claimed him for an acquaintance, and, on learning the melancholy occasion of his visit to Languedoc, and that he was lodged95 at a small inn in the village, begged the favour of Mons. Du Pont to invite him to the chateau.
The latter was happy to do so, and the scruples96 of reserve, which made M. Bonnac hesitate to accept the invitation, being at length overcome, they went to the chateau, where the kindness of the Count and the sprightliness97 of his son were exerted to dissipate the gloom, that overhung the spirits of the stranger. M. Bonnac was an officer in the French service, and appeared to be about fifty; his figure was tall and commanding, his manners had received the last polish, and there was something in his countenance uncommonly98 interesting; for over features, which, in youth, must have been remarkably99 handsome, was spread a melancholy, that seemed the effect of long misfortune, rather than of constitution, or temper.
The conversation he held, during supper, was evidently an effort of politeness, and there were intervals100 in which, unable to struggle against the feelings, that depressed101 him, he relapsed into silence and abstraction, from which, however, the Count, sometimes, withdrew him in a manner so delicate and benevolent102, that Emily, while she observed him, almost fancied she beheld103 her late father.
The party separated, at an early hour, and then, in the solitude104 of her apartment, the scenes, which Emily had lately witnessed, returned to her fancy, with dreadful energy. That in the dying nun she should have discovered Signora Laurentini, who, instead of having been murdered by Montoni, was, as it now seemed, herself guilty of some dreadful crime, excited both horror and surprise in a high degree; nor did the hints, which she had dropped, respecting the marriage of the Marchioness de Villeroi, and the enquiries she had made concerning Emily’s birth, occasion her a less degree of interest, though it was of a different nature.
The history, which sister Frances had formerly related, and had said to be that of Agnes, it now appeared, was erroneous; but for what purpose it had been fabricated, unless the more effectually to conceal82 the true story, Emily could not even guess. Above all, her interest was excited as to the relation, which the story of the late Marchioness de Villeroi bore to that of her father; for, that some kind of relation existed between them, the grief of St. Aubert, upon hearing her named, his request to be buried near her, and her picture, which had been found among his papers, certainly proved. Sometimes it occurred to Emily, that he might have been the lover, to whom it was said the Marchioness was attached, when she was compelled to marry the Marquis de Villeroi; but that he had afterwards cherished a passion for her, she could not suffer herself to believe, for a moment. The papers, which he had so solemnly enjoined105 her to destroy, she now fancied had related to this connection, and she wished more earnestly than before to know the reasons, that made him consider the injunction necessary, which, had her faith in his principles been less, would have led to believe, that there was a mystery in her birth dishonourable to her parents, which those manuscripts might have revealed.
Reflections, similar to these, engaged her mind, during the greater part of the night, and when, at length, she fell into a slumber106, it was only to behold a vision of the dying nun, and to awaken in horrors, like those she had witnessed.
On the following morning, she was too much indisposed to attend her appointment with the abbess, and, before the day concluded, she heard, that sister Agnes was no more. Mons. Bonnac received this intelligence, with concern; but Emily observed, that he did not appear so much affected now, as on the preceding evening, immediately after quitting the apartment of the nun, whose death was probably less terrible to him, than the confession107 he had been then called upon to witness. However this might be, he was perhaps consoled, in some degree, by a knowledge of the legacy108 bequeathed him, since his family was large, and the extravagance of some part of it had lately been the means of involving him in great distress109, and even in the horrors of a prison; and it was the grief he had suffered from the wild career of a favourite son, with the pecuniary110 anxieties and misfortunes consequent upon it, that had given to his countenance the air of dejection, which had so much interested Emily.
To his friend Mons. Du Pont he recited some particulars of his late sufferings, when it appeared, that he had been confined for several months in one of the prisons of Paris, with little hope of release, and without the comfort of seeing his wife, who had been absent in the country, endeavouring, though in vain, to procure111 assistance from his friends. When, at length, she had obtained an order for admittance, she was so much shocked at the change, which long confinement112 and sorrow had made in his appearance, that she was seized with fits, which, by their long continuance, threatened her life.
‘Our situation affected those, who happened to witness it,’ continued Mons. Bonnac, ‘and one generous friend, who was in confinement at the same time, afterwards employed the first moments of his liberty in efforts to obtain mine. He succeeded; the heavy debt, that oppressed me, was discharged; and, when I would have expressed my sense of the obligation I had received, my benefactor113 was fled from my search. I have reason to believe he was the victim of his own generosity114, and that he returned to the state of confinement, from which he had released me; but every enquiry after him was unsuccessful. Amiable115 and unfortunate Valancourt!’
‘Valancourt!’ exclaimed Mons. Du Pont. ‘Of what family?’
‘The Valancourts, Counts Duvarney,’ replied Mons. Bonnac.
The emotion of Mons. Du Pont, when he discovered the generous benefactor of his friend to be the rival of his love, can only be imagined; but, having overcome his first surprise, he dissipated the apprehensions116 of Mons. Bonnac by acquainting him, that Valancourt was at liberty, and had lately been in Languedoc; after which his affection for Emily prompted him to make some enquiries, respecting the conduct of his rival, during his stay at Paris, of which M. Bonnac appeared to be well informed. The answers he received were such as convinced him, that Valancourt had been much misrepresented, and, painful as was the sacrifice, he formed the just design of relinquishing117 his pursuit of Emily to a lover, who, it now appeared, was not unworthy of the regard, with which she honoured him.
The conversation of Mons. Bonnac discovered, that Valancourt, some time after his arrival at Paris, had been drawn into the snares119, which determined vice71 had spread for him, and that his hours had been chiefly divided between the parties of the captivating Marchioness and those gaming assemblies, to which the envy, or the avarice120, of his brother officers had spared no art to seduce121 him. In these parties he had lost large sums, in efforts to recover small ones, and to such losses the Count De Villefort and Mons. Henri had been frequent witnesses. His resources were, at length, exhausted122; and the Count, his brother, exasperated123 by his conduct, refused to continue the supplies necessary to his present mode of life, when Valancourt, in consequence of accumulated debts, was thrown into confinement, where his brother suffered him to remain, in the hope, that punishment might effect a reform of conduct, which had not yet been confirmed by long habit.
In the solitude of his prison, Valancourt had leisure for reflection, and cause for repentance; here, too, the image of Emily, which, amidst the dissipation of the city had been obscured, but never obliterated124 from his heart, revived with all the charms of innocence125 and beauty, to reproach him for having sacrificed his happiness and debased his talents by pursuits, which his nobler faculties126 would formerly have taught him to consider were as tasteless as they were degrading. But, though his passions had been seduced127, his heart was not depraved, nor had habit riveted128 the chains, that hung heavily on his conscience; and, as he retained that energy of will, which was necessary to burst them, he, at length, emancipated129 himself from the bondage130 of vice, but not till after much effort and severe suffering.
Being released by his brother from the prison, where he had witnessed the affecting meeting between Mons. Bonnac and his wife, with whom he had been for some time acquainted, the first use of his liberty formed a striking instance of his humanity and his rashness; for with nearly all the money, just received from his brother, he went to a gaming-house, and gave it as a last stake for the chance of restoring his friend to freedom, and to his afflicted family. The event was fortunate, and, while he had awaited the issue of this momentous131 stake, he made a solemn vow132 never again to yield to the destructive and fascinating vice of gaming.
Having restored the venerable Mons. Bonnac to his rejoicing family, he hurried from Paris to Estuviere; and, in the delight of having made the wretched happy, forgot, for a while, his own misfortunes. Soon, however, he remembered, that he had thrown away the fortune, without which he could never hope to marry Emily; and life, unless passed with her, now scarcely appeared supportable; for her goodness, refinement133, and simplicity134 of heart, rendered her beauty more enchanting135, if possible, to his fancy, than it had ever yet appeared. Experience had taught him to understand the full value of the qualities, which he had before admired, but which the contrasted characters he had seen in the world made him now adore; and these reflections, increasing the pangs of remorse and regret, occasioned the deep dejection, that had accompanied him even into the presence of Emily, of whom he considered himself no longer worthy118. To the ignominy of having received pecuniary obligations from the Marchioness Chamfort, or any other lady of intrigue136, as the Count De Villefort had been informed, or of having been engaged in the depredating schemes of gamesters, Valancourt had never submitted; and these were some of such scandals as often mingle137 with truth, against the unfortunate. Count De Villefort had received them from authority which he had no reason to doubt, and which the imprudent conduct he had himself witnessed in Valancourt, had certainly induced him the more readily to believe. Being such as Emily could not name to the Chevalier, he had no opportunity of refuting them; and, when he confessed himself to be unworthy of her esteem55, he little suspected, that he was confirming to her the most dreadful calumnies138. Thus the mistake had been mutual139, and had remained so, when Mons. Bonnac explained the conduct of his generous, but imprudent young friend to Du Pont, who, with severe justice, determined not only to undeceive the Count on this subject, but to resign all hope of Emily. Such a sacrifice as his love rendered this, was deserving of a noble reward, and Mons. Bonnac, if it had been possible for him to forget the benevolent Valancourt, would have wished that Emily might accept the just Du Pont.
When the Count was informed of the error he had committed, he was extremely shocked at the consequence of his credulity, and the account which Mons. Bonnac gave of his friend’s situation, while at Paris, convinced him, that Valancourt had been entrapped140 by the schemes of a set of dissipated young men, with whom his profession had partly obliged him to associate, rather than by an inclination141 to vice; and, charmed by the humanity, and noble, though rash generosity, which his conduct towards Mons. Bonnac exhibited, he forgave him the transient errors, that had stained his youth, and restored him to the high degree of esteem, with which he had regarded him, during their early acquaintance. But, as the least reparation he could now make Valancourt was to afford him an opportunity of explaining to Emily his former conduct, he immediately wrote, to request his forgiveness of the unintentional injury he had done him, and to invite him to Chateau-le-Blanc. Motives of delicacy142 with-held the Count from informing Emily of this letter, and of kindness from acquainting her with the discovery respecting Valancourt, till his arrival should save her from the possibility of anxiety, as to its event; and this precaution spared her even severer inquietude, than the Count had foreseen, since he was ignorant of the symptoms of despair, which Valancourt’s late conduct had betrayed.
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unnatural
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| adj.不自然的；反常的 | |
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nun
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| n.修女，尼姑 | |
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affected
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| adj.不自然的，假装的 | |
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monastery
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| n.修道院，僧院，寺院 | |
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pervaded
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| v.遍及，弥漫( pervade的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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cloisters
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| n.（学院、修道院、教堂等建筑的）走廊( cloister的名词复数 )；回廊；修道院的生活；隐居v.隐退，使与世隔绝( cloister的第三人称单数 ) | |
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conversed
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| v.交谈，谈话( converse的过去式 ) | |
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converse
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| vi.谈话，谈天，闲聊；adv.相反的，相反 | |
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9
countenance
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| n.脸色，面容；面部表情；vt.支持，赞同 | |
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10
alas
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| int.唉(表示悲伤、忧愁、恐惧等) | |
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11
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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12
atone
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| v.赎罪，补偿 | |
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13
repose
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| v.(使)休息；n.安息 | |
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14
fervently
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| adv.热烈地，热情地，强烈地 | |
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15
chamber
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| n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所 | |
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16
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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17
accustom
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| vt.使适应，使习惯 | |
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18
remains
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| n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹 | |
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19
chateau
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| n.城堡，别墅 | |
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20
interred
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| v.埋，葬( inter的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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21
recollected
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| adj.冷静的；镇定的；被回忆起的；沉思默想的v.记起，想起( recollect的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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22
motives
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| n.动机，目的( motive的名词复数 ) | |
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23
consolation
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| n.安慰，慰问 | |
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24
strictly
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| adv.严厉地，严格地；严密地 | |
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25
drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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26
reluctance
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| n.厌恶，讨厌，勉强，不情愿 | |
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27
mattress
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| n.床垫，床褥 | |
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28
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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29
bosom
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| n.胸，胸部；胸怀；内心；adj.亲密的 | |
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30
fascination
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| n.令人着迷的事物，魅力，迷恋 | |
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31
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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32
repentance
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| n.懊悔 | |
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33
foulness
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| n. 纠缠, 卑鄙 | |
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34
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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35
bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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36
groan
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| vi./n.呻吟，抱怨；(发出)呻吟般的声音 | |
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37
apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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38
delirium
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| n. 神智昏迷,说胡话;极度兴奋 | |
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39
agitated
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| adj.被鼓动的，不安的 | |
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40
undoubtedly
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| adv.确实地，无疑地 | |
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41
undo
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| vt.解开，松开；取消，撤销 | |
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42
frenzy
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| n.疯狂，狂热，极度的激动 | |
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43
unwilling
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| adj.不情愿的 | |
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44
likeness
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| n.相像，相似（之处） | |
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45
conjure
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| v.恳求，祈求；变魔术，变戏法 | |
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46
entreated
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| 恳求，乞求( entreat的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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47
withdrawn
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| vt.收回；使退出；vi.撤退，退出 | |
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48
entreaties
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| n.恳求，乞求( entreaty的名词复数 ) | |
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49
behold
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| v.看，注视，看到 | |
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50
scruple
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| n./v.顾忌，迟疑 | |
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51
determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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52
awe
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| n.敬畏，惊惧；vt.使敬畏，使惊惧 | |
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53
formerly
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| adv.从前，以前 | |
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54
astonishment
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| n.惊奇，惊异 | |
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55
esteem
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| n.尊敬，尊重；vt.尊重，敬重；把…看作 | |
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56
esteemed
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| adj.受人尊敬的v.尊敬( esteem的过去式和过去分词 )；敬重；认为；以为 | |
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57
guilt
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| n.犯罪；内疚；过失，罪责 | |
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58
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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59
shuddered
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| v.战栗( shudder的过去式和过去分词 )；发抖；（机器、车辆等）突然震动；颤动 | |
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60
penitence
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| n.忏悔，赎罪；悔过 | |
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61
accomplished
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| adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的 | |
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62
compassion
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| n.同情，怜悯 | |
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63
remorse
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| n.痛恨，悔恨，自责 | |
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64
awaken
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| vi.醒，觉醒；vt.唤醒，使觉醒，唤起，激起 | |
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65
grandeur
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| n.伟大，崇高，宏伟，庄严，豪华 | |
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66
anguish
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| n.(尤指心灵上的)极度痛苦，烦恼 | |
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67
afflicted
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| 使受痛苦，折磨( afflict的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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68
agonizing
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| adj.痛苦难忍的；使人苦恼的v.使极度痛苦；折磨(agonize的ing形式) | |
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69
pangs
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| 突然的剧痛( pang的名词复数 )； 悲痛 | |
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70
jealousy
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| n.妒忌，嫉妒，猜忌 | |
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71
vice
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| n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的 | |
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72
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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73
virtues
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| 美德( virtue的名词复数 )； 德行； 优点； 长处 | |
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74
nurtured
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| 养育( nurture的过去式和过去分词 )； 培育； 滋长； 助长 | |
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75
abruptly
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| adv.突然地，出其不意地 | |
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76
abrupt
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| adj.突然的，意外的；唐突的，鲁莽的 | |
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77
insinuated
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| v.暗示( insinuate的过去式和过去分词 )；巧妙或迂回地潜入；（使）缓慢进入；慢慢伸入 | |
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78
blot
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| vt.弄脏（用吸墨纸）吸干；n.污点，污渍 | |
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79
labyrinth
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| n.迷宫；难解的事物；迷路 | |
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80
groaned
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| v.呻吟( groan的过去式和过去分词 )；发牢骚；抱怨；受苦 | |
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81
conceals
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| v.隐藏，隐瞒，遮住( conceal的第三人称单数 ) | |
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82
conceal
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| v.隐藏，隐瞒，隐蔽 | |
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83
shrieked
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| v.尖叫( shriek的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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84
nay
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| adv.不；n.反对票，投反对票者 | |
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85
nuns
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| n.（通常指基督教的）修女， （佛教的）尼姑( nun的名词复数 ) | |
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86
surmises
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| v.臆测，推断( surmise的第三人称单数 )；揣测；猜想 | |
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87
perplexed
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| adj.不知所措的 | |
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88
lament
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| n.悲叹，悔恨，恸哭；v.哀悼，悔恨，悲叹 | |
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89
pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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90
winding
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| n.绕，缠，绕组，线圈 | |
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91
secluded
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| adj.与世隔绝的；隐退的；偏僻的v.使隔开，使隐退( seclude的过去式和过去分词) | |
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92
apprehension
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| n.理解，领悟；逮捕，拘捕；忧虑 | |
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93
distinguished
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| adj.卓越的，杰出的，著名的 | |
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94
conversing
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| v.交谈，谈话( converse的现在分词 ) | |
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95
lodged
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| v.存放( lodge的过去式和过去分词 )；暂住；埋入；（权利、权威等）归属 | |
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96
scruples
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| n.良心上的不安( scruple的名词复数 )；顾虑，顾忌v.感到于心不安，有顾忌( scruple的第三人称单数 ) | |
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97
sprightliness
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| n.愉快，快活 | |
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98
uncommonly
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| adv. 稀罕(极，非常) | |
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99
remarkably
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| ad.不同寻常地，相当地 | |
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100
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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101
depressed
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| adj.沮丧的，抑郁的，不景气的，萧条的 | |
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102
benevolent
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| adj.仁慈的，乐善好施的 | |
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103
beheld
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| v.看，注视( behold的过去式和过去分词 )；瞧；看呀；（叙述中用于引出某人意外的出现）哎哟 | |
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104
solitude
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| n. 孤独; 独居,荒僻之地,幽静的地方 | |
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105
enjoined
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| v.命令( enjoin的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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106
slumber
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| n.睡眠，沉睡状态 | |
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107
confession
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| n.自白，供认，承认 | |
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108
legacy
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| n.遗产，遗赠；先人(或过去)留下的东西 | |
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109
distress
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| n.苦恼，痛苦，不舒适；不幸；vt.使悲痛 | |
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110
pecuniary
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| adj.金钱的；金钱上的 | |
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111
procure
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| vt.获得，取得，促成；vi.拉皮条 | |
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112
confinement
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| n.幽禁，拘留，监禁；分娩；限制，局限 | |
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113
benefactor
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| n. 恩人，行善的人，捐助人 | |
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114
generosity
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| n.大度，慷慨，慷慨的行为 | |
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115
amiable
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| adj.和蔼可亲的，友善的，亲切的 | |
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116
apprehensions
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| 疑惧 | |
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117
relinquishing
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| 交出，让给( relinquish的现在分词 )； 放弃 | |
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118
worthy
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| adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的 | |
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119
snares
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| n.陷阱( snare的名词复数 )；圈套；诱人遭受失败（丢脸、损失等）的东西；诱惑物v.用罗网捕捉，诱陷，陷害( snare的第三人称单数 ) | |
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120
avarice
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| n.贪婪；贪心 | |
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121
seduce
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| vt.勾引，诱奸，诱惑，引诱 | |
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122
exhausted
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| adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的 | |
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123
exasperated
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| adj.恼怒的 | |
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124
obliterated
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| v.除去( obliterate的过去式和过去分词 )；涂去；擦掉；彻底破坏或毁灭 | |
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125
innocence
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| n.无罪；天真；无害 | |
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126
faculties
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| n.能力( faculty的名词复数 )；全体教职员；技巧；院 | |
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127
seduced
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| 诱奸( seduce的过去式和过去分词 )； 勾引； 诱使堕落； 使入迷 | |
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128
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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129
emancipated
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| adj.被解放的，不受约束的v.解放某人（尤指摆脱政治、法律或社会的束缚）( emancipate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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130
bondage
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| n.奴役，束缚 | |
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131
momentous
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| adj.重要的，重大的 | |
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132
vow
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| n.誓(言)，誓约；v.起誓，立誓 | |
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133
refinement
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| n.文雅；高尚；精美；精制；精炼 | |
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134
simplicity
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| n.简单，简易；朴素；直率，单纯 | |
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135
enchanting
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| a.讨人喜欢的 | |
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136
intrigue
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| vt.激起兴趣，迷住；vi.耍阴谋；n.阴谋，密谋 | |
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137
mingle
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| vt.使混合，使相混；vi.混合起来；相交往 | |
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138
calumnies
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| n.诬蔑，诽谤，中伤（的话）( calumny的名词复数 ) | |
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139
mutual
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| adj.相互的，彼此的；共同的，共有的 | |
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140
entrapped
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| v.使陷入圈套，使入陷阱( entrap的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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141
inclination
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| n.倾斜；点头；弯腰；斜坡；倾度；倾向；爱好 | |
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142
delicacy
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| n.精致，细微，微妙，精良；美味，佳肴 | |
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