Peregrine distinguishes himself among his School-fellows, exposes his Tutor, and attracts the particular Notice of the Master.
Thus left to the prosecution1 of his studies, Peregrine was in a little time a distinguished2 character, not only for his acuteness of apprehension3, but also for that mischievous4 fertility of fancy, of which we have already given such pregnant examples. But as there was a great number of such luminaries5 in this new sphere to which he belonged, his talents were not so conspicuous6 while they shone in his single capacity, as they afterwards appeared, when they concentrated and reflected the rays of the whole constellation7.
At first he confined himself to piddling game, exercising his genius upon his own tutor, who attracted his attention, by endeavouring to season his mind with certain political maxims8, the fallacy of which he had discernment enough to perceive. Scarce a day passed in which he did not find means to render Mr. Jolter the object of ridicule9: his violent prejudices, ludicrous vanity, awkward solemnity, and ignorance of mankind, afforded continual food for the raillery, petulance10, and satire11 of his pupil, who never neglected an opportunity of laughing, and making others laugh, at his expense.
Sometimes in their parties, by mixing brandy in his wine, he decoyed this pedagogue12 into a debauch13, during which his caution forsook14 him, and he exposed himself to the censure15 of the company. Sometimes, when the conversation turned upon intricate subjects, he practised upon him the Socratic method of confutation, and, under pretence16 of being informed, by an artful train of puzzling questions insensibly betrayed him into self-contradiction.
All the remains17 of authority which he had hitherto preserved over Peregrine soon vanished; so that, for the future, no sort of ceremony subsisted18 between them, and all Mr. Jolter’s precepts19 were conveyed in hints of friendly advice, which the other might either follow or neglect at his own pleasure. No wonder then that Peregrine gave a loose to his inclinations20, and, by dint21 of genius and an enterprising temper, made a figure among the younger class of heroes in the school.
Before he had been a full year at Winchester, he had signallized himself in so many achievements, in defiance22 to the laws and regulations of the place, that he was looked upon with admiration23, and actually chosen dux, or leader, by a large body of his contemporaries. It was not long before his fame reached the ears of the master, who sent for Mr. Jolter, communicated to him the informations he had received, and desired him to check the vivacity24 of his charge, and redouble his vigilance in time to come, else he should be obliged to make a public example of his pupil for the benefit of the school.
The governor, conscious of his own unimportance, was not a little disconcerted at this injunction, which it was not in his power to fulfil by any compulsive means. He therefore went home in a very pensive25 mood, and after mature deliberation, resolved to expostulate with Peregrine in the most familiar terms, and endeavour to dissuade26 him from practices which might affect his character as well as interest. He accordingly frankly27 told him the subject of the master’s discourse28; represented the disgrace he might incur29 by neglecting this warning; and, putting him in mind of his own situation, hinted the consequences of the commodore’s displeasure, in case he should be brought to disapprove30 of his conduct. These insinuations made the greater impression as they were delivered with many expressions of friendship and concern. The young gentleman was not so raw, but that he could perceive the solidity of Mr, Jolter’s advice, to which he promised to conform, because his pride was interested in the affair, and he considered his own reformation as the only means of avoiding that infamy31 which even in idea he could not bear.
His governor, finding him so reasonable, profited by these moments of reflection; and, in order to prevent a relapse, proposed that he should engage in some delightful32 study that would agreeably amuse his imagination, and gradually detach him from those connections which had involved him in so many troublesome adventures. For this purpose, he, with many rapturous encomiums, recommended the mathematics, as yielding more rational and sensible pleasures to a youthful fancy than any other subject of contemplation; and actually began to read Euclid with him that same afternoon.
Peregrine entered upon this branch of learning with all that warmth of application which boys commonly yield on the first change of study; but he had scarce advanced beyond the Pons Asinorum, when his ardour abated33; the test of truth by demonstration34 did not elevate him to those transports of joy with which his preceptor had regaled his expectation; and before he arrived at the forty-seventh proposition, he began to yawn drearily35, make abundance of wry36 faces, and thought himself but indifferently paid for his attention, when he shared the vast discovery of Pythagoras, and understood that the square of the hypotenuse was equal to the squares of the other two sides of a right-angled triangle. He was ashamed, however, to fail in his undertaking37, and persevered38 with great industry, until he had finished the first four books, acquired plane trigonometry, with the method of algebraical calculation, and made himself well acquainted with the principles of surveying. But no consideration could prevail upon him to extend his inquiries39 farther in this science; and he returned with double relish40 to his former avocations41, like a stream, which, being dammed, accumulates more force, and, bursting over its mounds42, rushes down with double impetuosity.
Mr. Jolter saw with astonishment43 and chagrin44, but could not resist the torrent45. His behaviour was now no other than a series of license46 and effrontery47; prank48 succeeded prank, and outrage49 followed outrage with surprising velocity50. Complaints were every day preferred against him; in vain were admonitions bestowed51 by the governor in private, and menaces discharged by the masters in public; he disregarded the first, despised the latter, divested52 himself of all manner of restraint, and proceeded in his career to such a pitch of audacity53, that a consultation54 was held upon the subject, in which it was determined55 that this untoward56 spirit should be humbled57 by a severe and ignominious58 flogging for the very next offence he should commit. In the mean time, Mr. Jolter was desired to write in the masters name to the commodore, requesting him to remove Tom Pipes from the person of his nephew, the said Pipes being a principal actor and abettor in all his malversations; and to put a stop to the monthly visitations of the mutilated lieutenant59, who had never once failed to use his permission, but came punctual to a day, always fraught60 with some new invention. Indeed, by this time Mr. Hatchway was as well known, and much better beloved, by every boy in the school than the master who instructed him, and always received by a number of scholars, who used to attend Peregrine when he went forth61 to meet his friend, and conduct him to his lodging62 with public testimonies63 of joy and applause.
As for Tom Pipes, he was not so properly the attendant of Peregrine, as master of the revels64 of the whole school. He mingled65 in all their parties, and superintended the diversions, deciding between boy and boy, as if he acted by commission under the great seal. He regulated their motions by his whistle, instructed the young boys in the games of hustle-cap, leap-frog, and chuck-farthing; imparted to those of a more advanced age the sciences of cribbage and all-fours, together with the method of storming the castle, acting66 the comedy of Prince Arthur, and other pantomimes, as they commonly exhibited at sea; and instructed the seniors, who were distinguished by the appellation67 of bloods, in cudgel-playing, dancing the St. Giles’s hornpipe, drinking flip68, and smoking tobacco. These qualifications had rendered him so necessary and acceptable to the scholars, that exclusive of Perry’s concern in the affair, his dismission, in all probability, would have produced some dangerous convulsion in the community. Jolter, therefore, knowing his importance, informed his pupil of the directions he had received, and very candidly69 asked how he should demean himself in the execution; for he durst not write to the commodore without this previous notice, fearing that the young gentleman, as soon as he should get an inkling of the affair, would follow the example, and make his uncle acquainted with certain anecdotes70, which it was the governor’s interest to keep concealed71. Peregrine was of opinion that he should spare himself the trouble of conveying any complaints to the commodore; and if questioned by the master, assure him he had complied with his desire: at the same time he promised faithfully to conduct himself with such circumspection72 for the future, that the masters should have no temptation to revive the inquiry73. But the resolution attending this extorted74 promise was too frail75 to last, and in less than a fortnight our young hero found himself entangled76 in an adventure from which he was not extricated77 with his usual good fortune.
1 prosecution | |
n.起诉,告发,检举,执行,经营 | |
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2 distinguished | |
adj.卓越的,杰出的,著名的 | |
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3 apprehension | |
n.理解,领悟;逮捕,拘捕;忧虑 | |
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4 mischievous | |
adj.调皮的,恶作剧的,有害的,伤人的 | |
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5 luminaries | |
n.杰出人物,名人(luminary的复数形式) | |
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6 conspicuous | |
adj.明眼的,惹人注目的;炫耀的,摆阔气的 | |
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7 constellation | |
n.星座n.灿烂的一群 | |
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8 maxims | |
n.格言,座右铭( maxim的名词复数 ) | |
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9 ridicule | |
v.讥讽,挖苦;n.嘲弄 | |
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10 petulance | |
n.发脾气,生气,易怒,暴躁,性急 | |
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11 satire | |
n.讽刺,讽刺文学,讽刺作品 | |
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12 pedagogue | |
n.教师 | |
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13 debauch | |
v.使堕落,放纵 | |
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14 forsook | |
forsake的过去式 | |
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15 censure | |
v./n.责备;非难;责难 | |
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16 pretence | |
n.假装,作假;借口,口实;虚伪;虚饰 | |
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17 remains | |
n.剩余物,残留物;遗体,遗迹 | |
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18 subsisted | |
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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19 precepts | |
n.规诫,戒律,箴言( precept的名词复数 ) | |
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20 inclinations | |
倾向( inclination的名词复数 ); 倾斜; 爱好; 斜坡 | |
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21 dint | |
n.由于,靠;凹坑 | |
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22 defiance | |
n.挑战,挑衅,蔑视,违抗 | |
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23 admiration | |
n.钦佩,赞美,羡慕 | |
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24 vivacity | |
n.快活,活泼,精神充沛 | |
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25 pensive | |
a.沉思的,哀思的,忧沉的 | |
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26 dissuade | |
v.劝阻,阻止 | |
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27 frankly | |
adv.坦白地,直率地;坦率地说 | |
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28 discourse | |
n.论文,演说;谈话;话语;vi.讲述,著述 | |
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29 incur | |
vt.招致,蒙受,遭遇 | |
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30 disapprove | |
v.不赞成,不同意,不批准 | |
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31 infamy | |
n.声名狼藉,出丑,恶行 | |
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32 delightful | |
adj.令人高兴的,使人快乐的 | |
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33 abated | |
减少( abate的过去式和过去分词 ); 减去; 降价; 撤消(诉讼) | |
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34 demonstration | |
n.表明,示范,论证,示威 | |
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35 drearily | |
沉寂地,厌倦地,可怕地 | |
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36 wry | |
adj.讽刺的;扭曲的 | |
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37 undertaking | |
n.保证,许诺,事业 | |
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38 persevered | |
v.坚忍,坚持( persevere的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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39 inquiries | |
n.调查( inquiry的名词复数 );疑问;探究;打听 | |
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40 relish | |
n.滋味,享受,爱好,调味品;vt.加调味料,享受,品味;vi.有滋味 | |
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41 avocations | |
n.业余爱好,嗜好( avocation的名词复数 );职业 | |
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42 mounds | |
土堆,土丘( mound的名词复数 ); 一大堆 | |
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43 astonishment | |
n.惊奇,惊异 | |
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44 chagrin | |
n.懊恼;气愤;委屈 | |
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45 torrent | |
n.激流,洪流;爆发,(话语等的)连发 | |
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46 license | |
n.执照,许可证,特许;v.许可,特许 | |
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47 effrontery | |
n.厚颜无耻 | |
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48 prank | |
n.开玩笑,恶作剧;v.装饰;打扮;炫耀自己 | |
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49 outrage | |
n.暴行,侮辱,愤怒;vt.凌辱,激怒 | |
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50 velocity | |
n.速度,速率 | |
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51 bestowed | |
赠给,授予( bestow的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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52 divested | |
v.剥夺( divest的过去式和过去分词 );脱去(衣服);2。从…取去…;1。(给某人)脱衣服 | |
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53 audacity | |
n.大胆,卤莽,无礼 | |
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54 consultation | |
n.咨询;商量;商议;会议 | |
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55 determined | |
adj.坚定的;有决心的 | |
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56 untoward | |
adj.不利的,不幸的,困难重重的 | |
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57 humbled | |
adj. 卑下的,谦逊的,粗陋的 vt. 使 ... 卑下,贬低 | |
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58 ignominious | |
adj.可鄙的,不光彩的,耻辱的 | |
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59 lieutenant | |
n.陆军中尉,海军上尉;代理官员,副职官员 | |
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60 fraught | |
adj.充满…的,伴有(危险等)的;忧虑的 | |
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61 forth | |
adv.向前;向外,往外 | |
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62 lodging | |
n.寄宿,住所;(大学生的)校外宿舍 | |
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63 testimonies | |
(法庭上证人的)证词( testimony的名词复数 ); 证明,证据 | |
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64 revels | |
n.作乐( revel的名词复数 );狂欢;着迷;陶醉v.作乐( revel的第三人称单数 );狂欢;着迷;陶醉 | |
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65 mingled | |
混合,混入( mingle的过去式和过去分词 ); 混进,与…交往[联系] | |
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66 acting | |
n.演戏,行为,假装;adj.代理的,临时的,演出用的 | |
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67 appellation | |
n.名称,称呼 | |
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68 flip | |
vt.快速翻动;轻抛;轻拍;n.轻抛;adj.轻浮的 | |
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69 candidly | |
adv.坦率地,直率而诚恳地 | |
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70 anecdotes | |
n.掌故,趣闻,轶事( anecdote的名词复数 ) | |
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71 concealed | |
a.隐藏的,隐蔽的 | |
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72 circumspection | |
n.细心,慎重 | |
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73 inquiry | |
n.打听,询问,调查,查问 | |
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74 extorted | |
v.敲诈( extort的过去式和过去分词 );曲解 | |
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75 frail | |
adj.身体虚弱的;易损坏的 | |
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76 entangled | |
adj.卷入的;陷入的;被缠住的;缠在一起的v.使某人(某物/自己)缠绕,纠缠于(某物中),使某人(自己)陷入(困难或复杂的环境中)( entangle的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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77 extricated | |
v.使摆脱困难,脱身( extricate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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