The Fever of Life
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CHAPTER X. A BOUDOIR CONSULTATION.

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 "If two ladies talk together,
Be it fine or rainy weather,
 
Subjects three you'll find they handle--
 
Love, sans diamonds and a carriage,
Prospects1 of a wealthy marriage,
 
Or the latest piece of scandal."
 
 
What do ladies talk about over five o'clock tea when no male is present? Ah, that is one of the mysteries of Bona Dea, the ritual whereof is known to none of the stronger sex. They doubtless discuss fashions--for no woman, however affecting to despise the pomps and vanities of this world, can contemplate2 the raiment of another woman without blaming or praising the same, according to taste or price. Very likely they make remarks about their neighbours, and hint, with nods and winks3 mysteriously suggestive that--well, you know what. Nevertheless, men in their clubs do exactly the same thing, and scandal is by no means monopolized4 by ladies. However, the question is: What do they talk about?--and as the votaries5 of the Bona Dea will not tell us, we must be content to accept ambiguous smiles and tightly-closed lips as answer.
 
On this occasion, however, the subject under discussion was love, and four ladies--two married and two unmarried--were talking together on a very pleasant subject; and the subject was the courting of Tommy Valpy by Toby Clendon.
 
"I must admit," said Mrs. Valpy, in her usual heavy fashion, "that I was astonished when the young man spoke6 to me."
 
"I wasn't," observed Tommy, with a maiden7 blush.
 
"Ah," from Mrs. Belswin, "forewarned's forearmed. We all know that."
 
"I'm very pleased to hear about it," said Kaituna, putting her arm around Tommy's waist "Mr. Clendon is most

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1 prospects fkVzpY     
n.希望，前途(恒为复数)
参考例句：
  • There is a mood of pessimism in the company about future job prospects. 公司中有一种对工作前景悲观的情绪。
  • They are less sanguine about the company's long-term prospects. 他们对公司的远景不那么乐观。
2 contemplate PaXyl     
vt.盘算，计议；周密考虑；注视，凝视
参考例句：
  • The possibility of war is too horrifying to contemplate.战争的可能性太可怕了，真不堪细想。
  • The consequences would be too ghastly to contemplate.后果不堪设想。
3 winks 1dd82fc4464d9ba6c78757a872e12679     
v.使眼色( wink的第三人称单数 )；递眼色（表示友好或高兴等）；（指光）闪烁；闪亮
参考例句：
  • I'll feel much better when I've had forty winks. 我打个盹就会感到好得多。
  • The planes were little silver winks way out to the west. 飞机在西边老远的地方，看上去只是些很小的银色光点。 来自辞典例句
4 monopolized 4bb724103eadd6536b882e4d6ba0c3f6     
v.垄断( monopolize的过去式和过去分词 )；独占；专卖；专营
参考例句：
  • Men traditionally monopolized jobs in the printing industry. 在传统上，男人包揽了印刷行业中的所有工作。
  • The oil combine monopolized the fuel sales of the country. 这家石油联合企业垄断了这个国家的原油销售。 来自互联网
5 votaries 55bd4be7a70c73e3a135b27bb2852719     
n.信徒( votary的名词复数 )；追随者；（天主教）修士；修女
参考例句：
6 spoke XryyC     
n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说
参考例句：
  • They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
  • The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。
7 maiden yRpz7     
n.少女，处女；adj.未婚的，纯洁的，无经验的
参考例句：
  • The prince fell in love with a fair young maiden.王子爱上了一位年轻美丽的少女。
  • The aircraft makes its maiden flight tomorrow.这架飞机明天首航。
8 delightful 6xzxT     
adj.令人高兴的，使人快乐的
参考例句：
  • We had a delightful time by the seashore last Sunday.上星期天我们在海滨玩得真痛快。
  • Peter played a delightful melody on his flute.彼得用笛子吹奏了一支欢快的曲子。
9 gaily lfPzC     
adv.欢乐地，高兴地
参考例句：
  • The children sing gaily.孩子们欢唱着。
  • She waved goodbye very gaily.她欢快地挥手告别。
10 confidentially 0vDzuc     
ad.秘密地，悄悄地
参考例句：
  • She was leaning confidentially across the table. 她神神秘秘地从桌子上靠过来。
  • Kao Sung-nien and Wang Ch'u-hou talked confidentially in low tones. 高松年汪处厚两人低声密谈。
11 vivacity ZhBw3     
n.快活，活泼，精神充沛
参考例句：
  • Her charm resides in her vivacity.她的魅力存在于她的活泼。
  • He was charmed by her vivacity and high spirits.她的活泼与兴高采烈的情绪把他迷住了。
12 dabbled 55999aeda1ff87034ef046ec73004cbf     
v.涉猎( dabble的过去式和过去分词 )；涉足；浅尝；少量投资
参考例句：
  • He dabbled in business. 他搞过一点生意。 来自辞典例句
  • His vesture was dabbled in blood. 他穿的衣服上溅满了鲜血。 来自辞典例句
13 mischief jDgxH     
n.损害，伤害，危害；恶作剧，捣蛋，胡闹
参考例句：
  • Nobody took notice of the mischief of the matter. 没有人注意到这件事情所带来的危害。
  • He seems to intend mischief.看来他想捣蛋。
14 deriving 31b45332de157b636df67107c9710247     
v.得到( derive的现在分词 )；（从…中）得到获得；源于；（从…中）提取
参考例句：
  • I anticipate deriving much instruction from the lecture. 我期望从这演讲中获得很多教益。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • He anticipated his deriving much instruction from the lecture. 他期望从这次演讲中得到很多教益。 来自辞典例句
15 sneered 0e3b5b35e54fb2ad006040792a867d9f     
讥笑，冷笑( sneer的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句：
  • He sneered at people who liked pop music. 他嘲笑喜欢流行音乐的人。
  • It's very discouraging to be sneered at all the time. 成天受嘲讽是很令人泄气的。
16 relishing c65e4eb271ea081118682b4e5d25fe67     
v.欣赏( relish的现在分词 )；从…获得乐趣；渴望
参考例句：
  • He ate quietly, relishing his meal. 他安静地吃着，细细品味着食物。 来自辞典例句
  • Yes, an iron rampart," he repeated, relishing his phrase. 是的，就是铜墙铁壁，"他很欣赏自己用的这个字眼，又重复了一遍。 来自飘（部分）
17 devoted xu9zka     
adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的
参考例句：
  • He devoted his life to the educational cause of the motherland.他为祖国的教育事业贡献了一生。
  • We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。
18 countenance iztxc     
n.脸色，面容；面部表情；vt.支持，赞同
参考例句：
  • At the sight of this photograph he changed his countenance.他一看见这张照片脸色就变了。
  • I made a fierce countenance as if I would eat him alive.我脸色恶狠狠地，仿佛要把他活生生地吞下去。
19 rev njvzwS     
v.发动机旋转，加快速度
参考例句：
  • It's his job to rev up the audience before the show starts.他要负责在表演开始前鼓动观众的热情。
  • Don't rev the engine so hard.别让发动机转得太快。
20 clenched clenched     
v.紧握，抓紧，咬紧( clench的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句：
  • He clenched his fists in anger. 他愤怒地攥紧了拳头。
  • She clenched her hands in her lap to hide their trembling. 她攥紧双手放在腿上，以掩饰其颤抖。 来自《简明英汉词典》

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