His name was really Perez Armando Aldeano, but in the end everybody called him the amigo, because that was the endearing term by which he saluted1 all the world. There was a time when the children called him "Span-yard" in their games, for he spoke2 no tongue but Spanish, and though he came from Ecuador, and was no more a Spaniard than they were English, he answered to the call of "Span-yard!" whenever he heard it. He came eagerly in the hope of fun, and all the more eagerly if there was a hope of mischief3 in the fun. Still, to discerning spirits, he was always the amigo, for, when he hailed you so, you could not help hailing him so again, and whatever mock he put upon you afterward4, you were his secret and inalienable friend.
The moment of my own acceptance in this quality came in the first hours of expansion following our getting to sea after long detention5 in [Pg 162]the dock by fog. A small figure came flying down the dock with outspread arms, and a joyful6 cry of "Ah, amigo!" as if we were now meeting unexpectedly after a former intimacy7 in Bogotá; and the amigo clasped me round the middle to his bosom8, or more strictly9 speaking, his brow, which he plunged10 into my waistcoat. He was clad in a long black overcoat, and a boy's knee-pants, and under the peak of his cap twinkled the merriest black eyes that ever lighted up a smiling face of olive hue11. Thereafter, he was more and more, with the thinness of his small black legs, and his habit of hopping12 up and down, and dancing threateningly about, with mischief latent in every motion, like a crow which in being tamed has acquired one of the worst traits of civilization. He began babbling13 and gurgling in Spanish, and took my hand for a stroll about the ship, and from that time we were, with certain crises of disaffection, firm allies.
There were others whom he hailed and adopted his friends, whose legs he clung about and impeded14 in their walks, or whom he required to toss him into the air as they passed, but I flattered myself that he had a peculiar15, because a primary, esteem16 for myself. I have thought it might be that, Bogotá being said to be a very literary capital, as those things go in South America, he [Pg 163]was mystically aware of a common ground between us, wider and deeper than that of his other friendships. But it may have been somewhat owing to my inviting17 him to my cabin to choose such portion as he would of a lady-cake sent us on shipboard at the last hour. He prattled18 and chuckled19 over it in the soft gutturals of his parrot-like Spanish, and rushed up on deck to eat the frosting off in the presence of his small companions, and to exult20 before them in the exploitation of a novel pleasure. Yet it could not have been the lady-cake which lastingly21 endeared me to him, for by the next day he had learned prudence22 and refused it without withdrawing his amity23.
This, indeed, was always tempered by what seemed a constitutional irony24, and he did not impart it to any one without some time making his friend feel the edge of his practical humor. It was not long before the children whom he gathered to his heart had each and all suffered some fall or bump or bruise25 which, if not of his intention, was of his infliction26, and which was regretted with such winning archness that the very mothers of them could not resist him, and his victims dried their tears to follow him with glad cries of "Span-yard, Span-yard!" Injury at his hands was a favor; neglect was the only real grievance27. He [Pg 164]went about rolling his small black head, and darting28 roguish lightnings from under his thick-fringed eyes, and making more trouble with a more enticing29 gaiety than all the other people on the ship put together.
The truth must be owned that the time came, long before the end of the voyage, when it was felt that in the interest of the common welfare, something must be done about the amigo. At the conversational30 end of the doctor's table, where he was discussed whenever the racks were not on, and the talk might have languished31 without their inspiration, his badness was debated at every meal. Some declared him the worst boy in the world, and held against his half-hearted defenders32 that something ought to be done about him; and one was left to imagine all the darker fate for him because there was nothing specific in these convictions. He could not be thrown overboard, and if he had been put in irons probably his worst enemies at the conversational end of the table would have been the first to intercede33 for him. It is not certain, however, that their prayers would have been effective with the captain, if that officer, framed for comfort as well as command, could have known how accurately34 the amigo had dramatized his personal presence by throwing himself back, and clasping his hands a [Pg 165]foot in front of his small stomach, and making a few tilting35 paces forward.
The amigo had a mimic36 gift which he liked to exercise when he could find no intelligible37 language for the expression of his ironic38 spirit. Being forbidden visits in and out of season to certain staterooms whose inmates39 feigned40 a wish to sleep, he represented in what grotesque41 attitudes of sonorous42 slumber43 they passed their day, and he spared neither age nor sex in these graphic44 shows. When age refused one day to go up on deck with him and pleaded in such Spanish as it could pluck up from its past studies that it was too old, he laughed it to scorn. "You are not old," he said. "Why?" the flattered dotard inquired. "Because you smile," and that seemed reason enough for one's continued youth. It was then that the amigo gave his own age, carefully telling the Spanish numerals over, and explaining further by holding up both hands with one finger shut in. But he had the subtlety45 of centuries in his nine years, and he penetrated46 the ship everywhere with his arch spirit of mischief. It was mischief always in the interest of the good-fellowship which he offered impartially47 to old and young; and if it were mere48 frolic, with no ulterior object, he did not care at all how old or young his playmate was. This endeared him naturally to every age; and [Pg 166]the little blond German-American boy dried his tears from the last accident inflicted49 on him by the amigo to recall him by tender entreaties50 of "Span-yard, Span-yard!" while the eldest51 of his friends could not hold out against him more than two days in the strained relations following upon the amigo's sweeping52 him down the back with a toy broom employed by the German-American boy to scrub the scuppers. This was not so much an injury as an indignity53, but it was resented as an indignity, in spite of many demure54 glances of propitiation from the amigo's ironical55 eyes and murmurs56 of inarticulate apology as he passed.
He was, up to a certain point, the kindest and truest of amigos; then his weird57 seizure58 came, and the baby was spilled out of the carriage he had been so benevolently59 pushing up and down; or the second officer's legs, as he walked past with the prettiest girl on board, were hit with the stick that the amigo had been innocently playing shuffle-board with; or some passenger was taken unawares in his vanity or infirmity and made to contribute to the amigo's passion for active amusement.
At this point I ought to explain that the amigo was not traveling alone from Ecuador to Paris, where it was said he was to rejoin his father. At meal-times, and at other rare intervals60, he was [Pg 167]seen to be in the charge of a very dark and very silent little man, with intensely black eyes and mustache, clad in raven61 hues62 from his head to the delicate feet on which he wore patent-leather shoes. With him the amigo walked gravely up and down the deck, and behaved decorously at table; and we could not reconcile the apparent affection between the two with a theory we had that the amigo had been found impossible in his own country, and had been sent out of Ecuador by a decree of the government, or perhaps a vote of the whole people. The little, dark, silent man, in his patent-leather boots, had not the air of conveying a state prisoner into exile, and we wondered in vain what the tie between him and the amigo was. He might have been his tutor, or his uncle. He exercised a quite mystical control over the amigo, who was exactly obedient to him in everything, and would not look aside at you when in his keeping. We reflected with awe63 and pathos64 that, as they roomed together, it was his privilege to see the amigo asleep, when that little, very kissable black head rested innocently on the pillow, and the busy brain within it was at peace with the world which formed its pleasure and its prey65 in waking.
It would be idle to represent that the amigo played his pranks66 upon that shipload of long-suffering [Pg 168]people with final impunity67. The time came when they not only said something must be done, but actually did something. It was by the hand of one of the amigo's sweetest and kindest friends, namely, that elderly captain, off duty, who was going out to be assigned his ship in Hamburg. From the first he had shown the affectionate tenderness for the amigo which was felt by all except some obdurate68 hearts at the conversational end of the table; and it must have been with a loving interest in the amigo's ultimate well-being69 that, taking him in an ecstasy70 of mischief, he drew the amigo face downward across his knees, and bestowed71 the chastisement72 which was morally a caress73. He dismissed him with a smile in which the amigo read the good understanding that existed unimpaired between them, and accepted his correction with the same affection as that which had given it. He shook himself and ran off with an enjoyment74 of the joke as great as that of any of the spectators and far more generous.
In fact there was nothing mean in the amigo. Impish he was, or might be, but only in the sort of the crow or the parrot; there was no malevolence75 in his fine malice76. One fancied him in his adolescence77 taking part in one of the frequent revolutions of his continent, but humorously, not [Pg 169]homicidally. He would like to alarm the other faction78, and perhaps drive it from power, or overset it from its official place, but if he had the say there would be no bringing the vanquished79 out into the plaza80 to be shot. He may now have been on his way to France ultimately to study medicine, which seems to be preliminary to a high political career in South America; but in the mean time we feared for him in that republic of severely81 regulated subordinations.
We thought with pathos of our early parting with him, as we approached Plymouth and tried to be kodaked with him, considering it an honor and pleasure. He so far shared our feeling as to consent, but he insisted on wearing a pair of glasses which had large eyes painted on them, and on being taken in the act of inflating82 a toy balloon. Probably, therefore, the likeness83 would not be recognized in Bogotá, but it will always be endeared to us by the memory of the many mockeries suffered from him. There were other friends whom we left on the ship, notably84 those of the conversational end of the table, who thought him simply a bad boy; but there were none of such peculiar appeal as he, when he stood by the guard, opening and shutting his hand in ironical adieu, and looking smaller and smaller as our tender drifted away and the vast liner loomed85 [Pg 170]immense before us. He may have contributed to its effect of immensity by the smallness of his presence, or it may have dwarfed86 him. No matter; he filled no slight space in our lives while he lasted. Now that he is no longer there, was he really a bad little boy, merely and simply? Heaven knows, which alone knows good boys from bad.
点击
收听单词发音
收听单词发音 |
1
saluted
|
|
| v.欢迎，致敬( salute的过去式和过去分词 )；赞扬，赞颂 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
2
spoke
|
|
| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
3
mischief
|
|
| n.损害，伤害，危害；恶作剧，捣蛋，胡闹 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
4
afterward
|
|
| adv.后来；以后 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
5
detention
|
|
| n.滞留，停留；拘留，扣留；(教育)留下 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
6
joyful
|
|
| adj.欢乐的，令人欢欣的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
7
intimacy
|
|
| n.熟悉，亲密，密切关系，亲昵的言行 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
8
bosom
|
|
| n.胸，胸部；胸怀；内心；adj.亲密的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
9
strictly
|
|
| adv.严厉地，严格地；严密地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
10
plunged
|
|
| v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
11
hue
|
|
| n.色度；色调；样子 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
12
hopping
|
|
| n. 跳跃 动词hop的现在分词形式 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
13
babbling
|
|
| n.胡说，婴儿发出的咿哑声adj.胡说的v.喋喋不休( babble的现在分词 )；作潺潺声（如流水）；含糊不清地说话；泄漏秘密 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
14
impeded
|
|
| 阻碍，妨碍，阻止( impede的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
15
peculiar
|
|
| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
16
esteem
|
|
| n.尊敬，尊重；vt.尊重，敬重；把…看作 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
17
inviting
|
|
| adj.诱人的，引人注目的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
18
prattled
|
|
| v.（小孩般）天真无邪地说话( prattle的过去式和过去分词 )；发出连续而无意义的声音；闲扯；东拉西扯 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
19
chuckled
|
|
| 轻声地笑( chuckle的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
20
exult
|
|
| v.狂喜，欢腾；欢欣鼓舞 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
21
lastingly
|
|
| [医]有残留性，持久地，耐久地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
22
prudence
|
|
| n.谨慎，精明，节俭 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
23
amity
|
|
| n.友好关系 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
24
irony
|
|
| n.反语，冷嘲；具有讽刺意味的事，嘲弄 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
25
bruise
|
|
| n.青肿，挫伤；伤痕；vt.打青；挫伤 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
26
infliction
|
|
| n.（强加于人身的）痛苦，刑罚 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
27
grievance
|
|
| n.怨愤，气恼，委屈 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
28
darting
|
|
| v.投掷，投射( dart的现在分词 )；向前冲，飞奔 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
29
enticing
|
|
| adj.迷人的；诱人的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
30
conversational
|
|
| adj.对话的，会话的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
31
languished
|
|
| 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 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
32
defenders
|
|
| n.防御者( defender的名词复数 )；守卫者；保护者；辩护者 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
33
intercede
|
|
| vi.仲裁，说情 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
34
accurately
|
|
| adv.准确地，精确地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
35
tilting
|
|
| 倾斜，倾卸 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
36
mimic
|
|
| v.模仿，戏弄；n.模仿他人言行的人 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
37
intelligible
|
|
| adj.可理解的，明白易懂的，清楚的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
38
ironic
|
|
| adj.讽刺的，有讽刺意味的，出乎意料的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
39
inmates
|
|
| n.囚犯( inmate的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
40
feigned
|
|
| a.假装的，不真诚的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
41
grotesque
|
|
| adj.怪诞的，丑陋的；n.怪诞的图案，怪人（物） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
42
sonorous
|
|
| adj.响亮的，回响的；adv.圆润低沉地；感人地；n.感人，堂皇 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
43
slumber
|
|
| n.睡眠，沉睡状态 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
44
graphic
|
|
| adj.生动的，形象的，绘画的，文字的，图表的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
45
subtlety
|
|
| n.微妙，敏锐，精巧；微妙之处，细微的区别 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
46
penetrated
|
|
| adj. 击穿的，鞭辟入里的 动词penetrate的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
47
impartially
|
|
| adv.公平地，无私地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
48
mere
|
|
| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
49
inflicted
|
|
| 把…强加给，使承受，遭受( inflict的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
50
entreaties
|
|
| n.恳求，乞求( entreaty的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
51
eldest
|
|
| adj.最年长的，最年老的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
52
sweeping
|
|
| adj.范围广大的，一扫无遗的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
53
indignity
|
|
| n.侮辱，伤害尊严，轻蔑 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
54
demure
|
|
| adj.严肃的；端庄的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
55
ironical
|
|
| adj.讽刺的，冷嘲的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
56
murmurs
|
|
| n.低沉、连续而不清的声音( murmur的名词复数 )；低语声；怨言；嘀咕 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
57
weird
|
|
| adj.古怪的，离奇的；怪诞的，神秘而可怕的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
58
seizure
|
|
| n.没收；占有；抵押 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
59
benevolently
|
|
| adv.仁慈地，行善地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
60
intervals
|
|
| 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 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
61
raven
|
|
| n.渡鸟，乌鸦；adj.乌亮的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
62
hues
|
|
| 色彩( hue的名词复数 )； 色调； 信仰； 观点 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
63
awe
|
|
| n.敬畏，惊惧；vt.使敬畏，使惊惧 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
64
pathos
|
|
| n.哀婉，悲怆 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
65
prey
|
|
| n.被掠食者，牺牲者，掠食；v.捕食，掠夺，折磨 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
66
pranks
|
|
| n.玩笑，恶作剧( prank的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
67
impunity
|
|
| n.(惩罚、损失、伤害等的)免除 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
68
obdurate
|
|
| adj.固执的，顽固的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
69
well-being
|
|
| n.安康，安乐，幸福 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
70
ecstasy
|
|
| n.狂喜，心醉神怡，入迷 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
71
bestowed
|
|
| 赠给，授予( bestow的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
72
chastisement
|
|
| n.惩罚 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
73
caress
|
|
| vt./n.爱抚，抚摸 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
74
enjoyment
|
|
| n.乐趣；享有；享用 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
75
malevolence
|
|
| n.恶意，狠毒 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
76
malice
|
|
| n.恶意，怨恨，蓄意；[律]预谋 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
77
adolescence
|
|
| n.青春期，青少年 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
78
faction
|
|
| n.宗派，小集团；派别；派系斗争 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
79
vanquished
|
|
| v.征服( vanquish的过去式和过去分词 )；战胜；克服；抑制 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
80
plaza
|
|
| n.广场，市场 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
81
severely
|
|
| adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
82
inflating
|
|
| v.使充气（于轮胎、气球等）( inflate的现在分词 )；（使）膨胀；（使）通货膨胀；物价上涨 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
83
likeness
|
|
| n.相像，相似（之处） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
84
notably
|
|
| adv.值得注意地，显著地，尤其地，特别地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
85
loomed
|
|
| v.隐约出现，阴森地逼近( loom的过去式和过去分词 )；隐约出现，阴森地逼近 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
86
dwarfed
|
|
| vt.（使）显得矮小（dwarf的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
| 欢迎访问英文小说网 |