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seems hard that ancestors should have everything to do with settling
our nationality and our position in life, and we not have a word to
say. How nice it would be to select one's own after one had arrived
at years of discretion, or to adopt different ones according to the
country one chanced to be visiting! I am going to do it; it is
unusual, but there must be a pioneer in every good movement. Let me
think: do help me, Salemina! I am a Hamilton to begin with; I
might be descended from the logical Sir William himself, and thus
become the idol of the university set!"
"He died only about thirty years ago, and you would have to be his
daughter: that would never do," said Salemina. "Why don't you take
Thomas Hamilton, Earl of Melrose and Haddington? He was Secretary
of State, King's Advocate, Lord President of the Court of Session,
and all sorts of fine things. He was the one King James used to
call `Tam o' the Cowgate'!"
"Perfectly delightful! I don't care so much about his other titles,
but `Tam o' the Cowgate' is irresistible. I will take him. He was
my--what was he?"
"He was at least your great-great-great-great-grandfather; that is a
safe distance. Then there's that famous Jenny Geddes, who flung her
fauld-stule at the Dean in St. Giles',--she was a Hamilton too, if
you fancy her!"
"Yes, I'll take her with pleasure," I responded thankfully. "Of
course I don't know why she flung the stool,--it may have been very
reprehensible; but there is always good stuff in stool-flingers;
it's the sort of spirit one likes to inherit in diluted form. Now,
whom will you take?"
"I haven't even a peg on which to hang a Scottish ancestor," said
Salemina disconsolately.
"Oh, nonsense! think harder. Anybody will do as a starting-point;
only you must be honourable and really show relationship, as I did
with Jenny and Tam."
"My aunt Mary-Emma married a Lindsay," ventured Salemina
hesitatingly.
"That will do," I answered delightedly.
"'The Gordons gay in English blude
They wat their hose and shoon;
The Lindsays flew like fire aboot
Till a' the fray was dune.'
You can play that you are one of the famous `licht Lindsays,' and
you can look up the particular ancestor in your big book. Now,
Francesca, it's your turn!"
"I am American to the backbone," she declared, with insufferable
dignity. "I do not desire any foreign ancestors."
"Francesca!" I expostulated. "Do you mean to tell me that you can
dine with a lineal descendant of Sir Fitzroy Donald Maclean,
Baronet, of Duart and Morven, and not make any effort to trace your
genealogy back further than your parents?"
"If you goad me to desperation," she answered, "I will wear an
American flag in my hair, declare that my father is a Red Indian, or
a pork-packer, and talk about the superiority of our checking system
and hotels all the evening. I don't want to go, any way. It is
sure to be stiff and ceremonious, and the man who takes me in will
ask me the population of Chicago and the amount of wheat we exported
last year,--he always does."
"I can't see why he should," said I. "I am sure you don't look as
if you knew."
"My looks have thus far proved no protection," she replied sadly.
"Salemina is so flexible, and you are so dramatic, that you enter
into all these experiences with zest. You already more than half
believe in that Tam o' the Cowgate story. But there'll be nothing
for me in Edinburgh society; it will be all clergymen--"
"Ministers" interjected Salemina.
--"all ministers and professors. My Redfern gowns will be
unappreciated, and my Worth evening frocks worse than wasted!"
"There are a few thousand medical students," I said encouragingly,
"and all the young advocates, and a sprinkling of military men--they
know Worth frocks."
"And," continued Salemina bitingly, "there will always be, even in
an intellectual city like Edinburgh, a few men who continue to
escape all the developing influences about them, and remain
commonplace, conventional manikins, devoted to dancing and flirting.
Never fear, they will find you!"
our nationality and our position in life, and we not have a word to
say. How nice it would be to select one's own after one had arrived
at years of discretion, or to adopt different ones according to the
country one chanced to be visiting! I am going to do it; it is
unusual, but there must be a pioneer in every good movement. Let me
think: do help me, Salemina! I am a Hamilton to begin with; I
might be descended from the logical Sir William himself, and thus
become the idol of the university set!"
"He died only about thirty years ago, and you would have to be his
daughter: that would never do," said Salemina. "Why don't you take
Thomas Hamilton, Earl of Melrose and Haddington? He was Secretary
of State, King's Advocate, Lord President of the Court of Session,
and all sorts of fine things. He was the one King James used to
call `Tam o' the Cowgate'!"
"Perfectly delightful! I don't care so much about his other titles,
but `Tam o' the Cowgate' is irresistible. I will take him. He was
my--what was he?"
"He was at least your great-great-great-great-grandfather; that is a
safe distance. Then there's that famous Jenny Geddes, who flung her
fauld-stule at the Dean in St. Giles',--she was a Hamilton too, if
you fancy her!"
"Yes, I'll take her with pleasure," I responded thankfully. "Of
course I don't know why she flung the stool,--it may have been very
reprehensible; but there is always good stuff in stool-flingers;
it's the sort of spirit one likes to inherit in diluted form. Now,
whom will you take?"
"I haven't even a peg on which to hang a Scottish ancestor," said
Salemina disconsolately.
"Oh, nonsense! think harder. Anybody will do as a starting-point;
only you must be honourable and really show relationship, as I did
with Jenny and Tam."
"My aunt Mary-Emma married a Lindsay," ventured Salemina
hesitatingly.
"That will do," I answered delightedly.
"'The Gordons gay in English blude
They wat their hose and shoon;
The Lindsays flew like fire aboot
Till a' the fray was dune.'
You can play that you are one of the famous `licht Lindsays,' and
you can look up the particular ancestor in your big book. Now,
Francesca, it's your turn!"
"I am American to the backbone," she declared, with insufferable
dignity. "I do not desire any foreign ancestors."
"Francesca!" I expostulated. "Do you mean to tell me that you can
dine with a lineal descendant of Sir Fitzroy Donald Maclean,
Baronet, of Duart and Morven, and not make any effort to trace your
genealogy back further than your parents?"
"If you goad me to desperation," she answered, "I will wear an
American flag in my hair, declare that my father is a Red Indian, or
a pork-packer, and talk about the superiority of our checking system
and hotels all the evening. I don't want to go, any way. It is
sure to be stiff and ceremonious, and the man who takes me in will
ask me the population of Chicago and the amount of wheat we exported
last year,--he always does."
"I can't see why he should," said I. "I am sure you don't look as
if you knew."
"My looks have thus far proved no protection," she replied sadly.
"Salemina is so flexible, and you are so dramatic, that you enter
into all these experiences with zest. You already more than half
believe in that Tam o' the Cowgate story. But there'll be nothing
for me in Edinburgh society; it will be all clergymen--"
"Ministers" interjected Salemina.
--"all ministers and professors. My Redfern gowns will be
unappreciated, and my Worth evening frocks worse than wasted!"
"There are a few thousand medical students," I said encouragingly,
"and all the young advocates, and a sprinkling of military men--they
know Worth frocks."
"And," continued Salemina bitingly, "there will always be, even in
an intellectual city like Edinburgh, a few men who continue to
escape all the developing influences about them, and remain
commonplace, conventional manikins, devoted to dancing and flirting.
Never fear, they will find you!"
- introduction [,intrə´dʌkʃən]
n.介绍；引言；引导 (初中英语单词) - purple [´pə:pl] n.紫色 a.紫(红)的 (初中英语单词)
- supposed [sə´pəuzd] a.想象的；假定的 (初中英语单词)
- learning [´lə:niŋ] n.学习；学问；知识 (初中英语单词)
- driven [´driv(ə)n] drive 的过去分词 (初中英语单词)
- invitation [,invi´teiʃən] n.邀请；请帖；吸引 (初中英语单词)
- maiden [´meidn] n.少女 a.未婚的 (初中英语单词)
- velvet [´velvit] n.&a.天鹅绒(般的) (初中英语单词)
- flatter [´flætə] vt.阿谀，奉承；胜过 (初中英语单词)
- beginning [bi´giniŋ] n.开始，开端；起源 (初中英语单词)
- belief [bi´li:f] n.相信；信仰，信条 (初中英语单词)
- nervous [´nə:vəs] a.神经的；神经过敏的 (初中英语单词)
- slipper [´slipə] n.拖鞋 (初中英语单词)
- intelligent [in´telidʒənt] a.聪明的；理智的 (初中英语单词)
- extremely [ik´stri:mli] ad.极端地；非常地 (初中英语单词)
- italian [i´tæliən] a.意大利 n.意大利人 (初中英语单词)
- climate [´klaimit] n.气候；特殊气候地带 (初中英语单词)
- scheme [ski:m] n.计划；阴谋，诡计 (初中英语单词)
- connection [kə´nekʃən] n.联系；关系；联运 (初中英语单词)
- pioneer [,paiə´niə] n.拓荒者 v.开辟；倡导 (初中英语单词)
- movement [´mu:vmənt] n.活动；运动；动作 (初中英语单词)
- advocate [´ædvəkit] n.辩护者 (初中英语单词)
- honourable [´ɔnərəbəl] a.荣誉的；正直的 (初中英语单词)
- ancestor [´ænsəstə] n.祖宗，祖先 (初中英语单词)
- indian [´indiən] a.印度的 n.印度人 (初中英语单词)
- amount [ə´maunt] n.总数；数量 v.合计 (初中英语单词)
- dramatic [drə´mætik] a.戏剧的；戏剧般的 (初中英语单词)
- medical [´medikəl] a.医学的；医疗的 (初中英语单词)
- testimony [´testiməni] n.证明；证据；表明 (高中英语单词)
- delivery [di´livəri] n.送交；分娩；交货 (高中英语单词)
- needless [´ni:dləs] a.不必要的；无用的 (高中英语单词)
- translate [trænz´leit, træns-] v.翻译；解释；说明 (高中英语单词)
- significance [sig´nifikəns] n.意义；重要性 (高中英语单词)
- vigorous [´vigərəs] a.精力旺盛的；健壮的 (高中英语单词)
- impart [im´pɑ:t] vt.传授；赋予；告知 (高中英语单词)
- pleasing [´pli:ziŋ] a.使人愉快的；合意的 (高中英语单词)
- girdle [´gə:dl] n.腰带 vt.用带束(缠) (高中英语单词)
- scotch [skɔtʃ] vt.&n.刻痕(于)；划伤 (高中英语单词)
- picturesque [,piktʃə´resk] a.似画的；别致的 (高中英语单词)
- perfectly [´pə:fiktli] ad.理想地；完美地 (高中英语单词)
- confident [´kɔnfidənt] a.有信心的，自信的 (高中英语单词)
- denmark [´denmɑ:k] n.丹麦 (高中英语单词)
- descent [di´sent] n.出身，家世 (高中英语单词)
- whoever [hu:´evə] pron.任何人，无论谁 (高中英语单词)
- distinguished [di´stiŋgwiʃt] a.卓越的，著名的 (高中英语单词)
- decidedly [di´saididli] ad.坚决地，果断地 (高中英语单词)
- inherit [in´herit] v.继承；遗传 (高中英语单词)
- relationship [ri´leiʃənʃip] n.关系；联系；亲属关系 (高中英语单词)
- descendant [di´sendənt] n.子孙，后裔 (高中英语单词)
- intellectual [,inti´lektʃuəl] n.知识分子 (高中英语单词)
- gifted [´giftid] a.有天赋的，有才华的 (英语四级单词)
- coachman [´kəutʃmən] n.赶马车人 (英语四级单词)
- vehicle [´vi:ikəl] n.车辆；媒介物 (英语四级单词)
- edinburgh [´edinbərə] n.爱丁堡 (英语四级单词)
- whence [wens] ad.从何处；从那里 (英语四级单词)
- anecdote [´ænikdəut] n.轶事；趣闻 (英语四级单词)
- crescent [´kresənt] n.月牙 a.新月形的 (英语四级单词)
- bouquet [bu:´kei] n.花束；恭维话 (英语四级单词)
- emerald [´emərəld] n.纯绿宝石；翠绿色 (英语四级单词)
- envious [´enviəs] a.妒忌的，羡慕的 (英语四级单词)
- nationality [,næʃə´næliti] n.国籍；民族 (英语四级单词)
- necklace [´neklis] n.项链 (英语四级单词)
- informal [in´fɔ:məl] a.非正式的，非正规的 (英语四级单词)
- lesser [´lesə] a.较小的；次要的 (英语四级单词)
- alluring [ə´ljuəriŋ] a.诱惑的；迷人的 (英语四级单词)
- discretion [di´skreʃən] n.谨慎；判断(力) (英语四级单词)
- logical [´lɔdʒikəl] a.逻辑(上)的 (英语四级单词)
- irresistible [,iri´zistəbəl] a.不可抵抗的 (英语四级单词)
- scottish [´skɔtiʃ, ´skɑtiʃ] a.&n.苏格兰人(的) (英语四级单词)
- superiority [su:piəri´ɔriti, sju:-] n.优越，卓越 (英语四级单词)
- chicago [ʃi´kɑ:gəu] n.芝加哥 (英语四级单词)
- flexible [´fleksəbəl] a.灵活的，柔韧的 (英语四级单词)
- conventional [kən´venʃənəl] a.常规的；协定的 (英语四级单词)
- devoted [di´vəutid] a.献身…的，忠实的 (英语四级单词)
- elegance [´eligəns] n.优雅；优美；精美 (英语六级单词)
- appreciative [ə´pri:ʃətiv] a.欣赏的；感激的 (英语六级单词)
- miserably [´mizərəbli] ad.悲惨地；糟糕地 (英语六级单词)
- half-hour [´hɑ:f-auə] n.&a.(每)三十分钟的 (英语六级单词)
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章节正文
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