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CHAPTER VII. A REJECTED SUITOR.

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 In one of the handsomest houses on Ashland avenue lived Grace Dearborn, the young lady whose acquaintance Paul had made on the train. Perhaps it would be more proper to say that her aunt, Mrs. Sheldon, lived here, and Grace was a member of her family. Mr. Sheldon was dead, and his widow carried on her husband's business—a large retail1 drygoods store—through the help of the former chief clerk, now promoted to general manager, under whose wise and faithful superintendence the store flourished, and yielded to the widow an ample yearly income.
But if the aunt was wealthy so was the niece. Miss Dearborn had come into possession of an independent fortune of one hundred and fifty thousand dollars, which was so invested as to net her seven per cent., or a little more than ten thousand dollars a year.
As this fact was generally known, it will not be thought strange that Miss Dearborn was much sought after in society, and her hand was considered a great prize in the matrimonial lottery2. Thus far, however,[Pg 57] she had resisted all solicitations, and society waited in vain to hear of her engagement.
Let us go back a week, and introduce Miss Dearborn at home on a Wednesday evening.
She had been chatting with her aunt on indifferent matters, when a servant appeared with a card in the presence of the two ladies.
"A gentleman to see you, Miss Grace," she said.
"Who is it, my dear?" asked Mrs. Sheldon, as Grace took the card from the servant's hand.
"Major Ashton," answered Grace, reading from the card.
"Will you see him?"
"I suppose I have no good excuse for declining," said the young lady, shrugging her shoulders.
"He may wish to see you on important business," said Mrs. Sheldon, playfully.
"I hope not," said the young lady, looking alarmed. "If I thought so, I wouldn't go down."
"Oh, don't let my words influence you, my dear. It may be an ordinary call. Besides, if it were not, the major is considered a desirable parti."
"Not by me," returned Grace, with emphasis.
"What have you to object to him? He is good-looking."
"Ye-es, I suppose so," admitted Grace, with evident reluctance3.
[Pg 58]"Let me assure you, my dear Grace, that he is considered decidedly distingue."
"I would sooner admit that than that he is good-looking. He doesn't look good to me."

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1 retail VWoxC     
v./n.零售；adv.以零售价格
参考例句：
  • In this shop they retail tobacco and sweets.这家铺子零售香烟和糖果。
  • These shoes retail at 10 yuan a pair.这些鞋子零卖10元一双。
2 lottery 43MyV     
n.抽彩；碰运气的事，难于算计的事
参考例句：
  • He won no less than ￡5000 in the lottery.他居然中了5000英镑的奖券。
  • They thought themselves lucky in the lottery of life.他们认为自己是变幻莫测的人生中的幸运者。
3 reluctance 8VRx8     
n.厌恶，讨厌，勉强，不情愿
参考例句：
  • The police released Andrew with reluctance.警方勉强把安德鲁放走了。
  • He showed the greatest reluctance to make a reply.他表示很不愿意答复。
4 disposition GljzO     
n.性情，性格；意向，倾向；排列，部署
参考例句：
  • He has made a good disposition of his property.他已对财产作了妥善处理。
  • He has a cheerful disposition.他性情开朗。
5 fulfill Qhbxg     
vt.履行，实现，完成；满足，使满意
参考例句：
  • If you make a promise you should fulfill it.如果你许诺了，你就要履行你的诺言。
  • This company should be able to fulfill our requirements.这家公司应该能够满足我们的要求。
6 descending descending     
n. 下行 adj. 下降的
参考例句：
  • The results are expressed in descending numerical order . 结果按数字降序列出。
  • The climbers stopped to orient themselves before descending the mountain. 登山者先停下来确定所在的位置，然后再下山。
7 saluted 1a86aa8dabc06746471537634e1a215f     
v.欢迎，致敬( salute的过去式和过去分词 )；赞扬，赞颂
参考例句：
  • The sergeant stood to attention and saluted. 中士立正敬礼。
  • He saluted his friends with a wave of the hand. 他挥手向他的朋友致意。 来自《简明英汉词典》
8 courteously 4v2z8O     
adv.有礼貌地，亲切地
参考例句：
  • He courteously opened the door for me.他谦恭有礼地为我开门。
  • Presently he rose courteously and released her.过了一会，他就很客气地站起来，让她走开。
9 pointed Il8zB4     
adj.尖的，直截了当的
参考例句：
  • He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
  • She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。
10 ballroom SPTyA     
n.舞厅
参考例句：
  • The boss of the ballroom excused them the fee.舞厅老板给他们免费。
  • I go ballroom dancing twice a week.我一个星期跳两次交际舞。
11 sufficiently 0htzMB     
adv.足够地，充分地
参考例句：
  • It turned out he had not insured the house sufficiently.原来他没有给房屋投足保险。
  • The new policy was sufficiently elastic to accommodate both views.新政策充分灵活地适用两种观点。
12 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。
13 nervously tn6zFp     
adv.神情激动地，不安地
参考例句：
  • He bit his lip nervously,trying not to cry.他紧张地咬着唇，努力忍着不哭出来。
  • He paced nervously up and down on the platform.他在站台上情绪不安地走来走去。
14 resolute 2sCyu     
adj.坚决的，果敢的
参考例句：
  • He was resolute in carrying out his plan.他坚决地实行他的计划。
  • The Egyptians offered resolute resistance to the aggressors.埃及人对侵略者作出坚决的反抗。
15 abruptly iINyJ     
adv.突然地，出其不意地
参考例句：
  • He gestured abruptly for Virginia to get in the car.他粗鲁地示意弗吉尼亚上车。
  • I was abruptly notified that a half-hour speech was expected of me.我突然被通知要讲半个小时的话。
16 reciprocate ZA5zG     
v.往复运动；互换；回报，酬答
参考例句：
  • Although she did not reciprocate his feelings, she did not discourage him.尽管她没有回应他的感情，她也没有使他丧失信心。
  • Some day I will reciprocate your kindness to me.总有一天我会报答你对我的恩德。
17 mingled fdf34efd22095ed7e00f43ccc823abdf     
混合，混入( mingle的过去式和过去分词 )； 混进，与…交往[联系]
参考例句：
  • The sounds of laughter and singing mingled in the evening air. 笑声和歌声交织在夜空中。
  • The man and the woman mingled as everyone started to relax. 当大家开始放松的时候，这一男一女就开始交往了。
18 mortification mwIyN     
n.耻辱，屈辱
参考例句：
  • To my mortification, my manuscript was rejected. 使我感到失面子的是：我的稿件被退了回来。
  • The chairman tried to disguise his mortification. 主席试图掩饰自己的窘迫。
19 eligible Cq6xL     
adj.有条件被选中的；(尤指婚姻等)合适(意)的
参考例句：
  • He is an eligible young man.他是一个合格的年轻人。
  • Helen married an eligible bachelor.海伦嫁给了一个中意的单身汉。
20 annoyance Bw4zE     
n.恼怒，生气，烦恼
参考例句：
  • Why do you always take your annoyance out on me?为什么你不高兴时总是对我出气？
  • I felt annoyance at being teased.我恼恨别人取笑我。
21 wreck QMjzE     
n.失事，遇难；沉船；vt.(船等)失事，遇难
参考例句：
  • Weather may have been a factor in the wreck.天气可能是造成这次失事的原因之一。
  • No one can wreck the friendship between us.没有人能够破坏我们之间的友谊。
22 tempted b0182e969d369add1b9ce2353d3c6ad6     
v.怂恿（某人）干不正当的事；冒…的险（tempt的过去分词）
参考例句：
  • I was sorely tempted to complain, but I didn't. 我极想发牢骚，但还是没开口。
  • I was tempted by the dessert menu. 甜食菜单馋得我垂涎欲滴。
23 miserable g18yk     
adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的
参考例句：
  • It was miserable of you to make fun of him.你取笑他，这是可耻的。
  • Her past life was miserable.她过去的生活很苦。
24 sleek zESzJ     
adj.光滑的，井然有序的；v.使光滑，梳拢
参考例句：
  • Women preferred sleek,shiny hair with little decoration.女士们更喜欢略加修饰的光滑闪亮型秀发。
  • The horse's coat was sleek and glossy.这匹马全身润泽有光。
25 insipid TxZyh     
adj.无味的，枯燥乏味的，单调的
参考例句：
  • The food was rather insipid and needed gingering up.这食物缺少味道，需要加点作料。
  • She said she was a good cook,but the food she cooked is insipid.她说她是个好厨师，但她做的食物却是无味道的。
26 regularity sVCxx     
n.规律性，规则性；匀称，整齐
参考例句：
  • The idea is to maintain the regularity of the heartbeat.问题就是要维持心跳的规律性。
  • He exercised with a regularity that amazed us.他锻炼的规律程度令我们非常惊讶。
27 foppish eg1zP     
adj.矫饰的，浮华的
参考例句：
  • He wore a foppish hat,making him easy to find.他戴着一顶流里流气的帽子使他很容易被发现。
  • He stood out because he wore a foppish clothes.他很引人注目，因为他穿著一件流里流气的衣服。
28 soften 6w0wk     
v.(使)变柔软；(使)变柔和
参考例句：
  • Plastics will soften when exposed to heat.塑料适当加热就可以软化。
  • This special cream will help to soften up our skin.这种特殊的护肤霜有助于使皮肤变得柔软。
29 trump LU1zK     
n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭
参考例句：
  • He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
  • The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

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