soothed down, and I shall be able, without fearing any harm

either from Republicans or Orangists, to keep as heretofore



my borders in splendid condition. I need no more be afraid

lest on the day of a riot the shopkeepers of the town and



the sailors of the port should come and tear out my bulbs,

to boil them as onions for their families, as they have



sometimes quietly threatened when they happened to remember

my having paid two or three hundred guilders for one bulb.



It is therefore settled I shall give the hundred thousand

guilders of the Haarlem prize to-the poor. And yet ---- "



Here Cornelius stopped and heaved a sigh. "And yet," he

continued, "it would have been so very delightful to spend



the hundred thousand guilders on the enlargement of my

tulip-bed or even on a journey to the East, the country of



beautiful flowers. But, alas! these are no thoughts for the

present times, when muskets, standards, proclamations, and



beating of drums are the order of the day."

Van Baerle raised his eyes to heaven and sighed again. Then



turning his glance towards his bulbs, -- objects of much

greater importance to him than all those muskets, standards,



drums, and proclamations, which he conceived only to be fit

to disturb the minds of honest people, -- he said: --



"These are, indeed, beautiful bulbs; how smooth they are,

how well formed; there is that air of melancholy about them



which promises to produce a flower of the colour of ebony.

On their skin you cannot even distinguish the circulating



veins with the naked eye. Certainly, certainly, not a light

spot will disfigure the tulip which I have called into



existence. And by what name shall we call this offspring of

my sleepless nights, of my labour and my thought? Tulipa



nigra Barlaensis?

"Yes Barlaensis: a fine name. All the tulip-fanciers -- that



is to say, all the intelligent people of Europe -- will feel

a thrill of excitement when the rumour spreads to the four



quarters of the globe: The grand black tulip is found! 'How

is it called?' the fanciers will ask. -- 'Tulipa nigra



Barlaensis!' -- 'Why Barlaensis?' -- 'After its grower, Van

Baerle,' will be the answer. -- 'And who is this Van



Baerle?' -- 'It is the same who has already produced five

new tulips: the Jane, the John de Witt, the Cornelius de



Witt, etc.' Well, that is what I call my ambition. It will

cause tears to no one. And people will talk of my Tulipa



nigra Barlaensis when perhaps my godfather, this sublime

politician, is only known from the tulip to which I have



given his name.

"Oh! these darling bulbs!



"When my tulip has flowered," Baerle continued in his

soliloquy, "and when tranquillity is restored in Holland, I



shall give to the poor only fifty thousand guilders, which,

after all, is a goodly sum for a man who is under no



obligation whatever. Then, with the remaining fifty thousand

guilders, I shall make experiments. With them I shall



succeed in imparting scent to the tulip. Ah! if I succeed in

giving it the odour of the rose or the carnation, or, what



would be still better, a completely new scent; if I restored

to this queen of flowers its natural distinctive perfume,



which she has lost in passing from her Eastern to her

European throne, and which she must have in the Indian



peninsula at Goa, Bombay, and Madras, and especially in that

island which in olden times, as is asserted, was the



terrestrial paradise, and which is called Ceylon, -- oh,

what glory! I must say, I would then rather be Cornelius van



Baerle than Alexander, Caesar, or Maximilian.

"Oh the admirable bulbs!"



Thus Cornelius indulged in the delights of contemplation,

and was carried away by the sweetest dreams.



Suddenly the bell of his cabinet was rung much more

violently than usual.



Cornelius, startled, laid his hands on his bulbs, and turned

round.



"Who is here?" he asked.

"Sir," answered the servant, "it is a messenger from the



Hague."

"A messenger from the Hague! What does he want?"

• observation [,ɔbzə´veiʃən] n.观测；注意；意义 (初中英语单词)


• warmth [wɔ:mθ] n.温暖；热情；激动 (初中英语单词)


• therefore [´ðeəfɔ:] ad.&conj.因此；所以 (初中英语单词)


• rarely [´reəli] ad.难得；非凡地 (初中英语单词)


• occasional [ə´keiʒənəl] a.偶然的；临时的 (初中英语单词)


• culture [´kʌltʃə] n.修养；文化；饲养 (初中英语单词)


• cabinet [´kæbinit] n.橱，柜；内阁 (初中英语单词)


• supposed [sə´pəuzd] a.想象的；假定的 (初中英语单词)


• contain [kən´tein] v.包含；容纳；抑制 (初中英语单词)


• deposit [di´pɔzit] vt.存放，存储 n.存款 (初中英语单词)


• pursuit [pə´sju:t] n.追踪；追击；事务 (初中英语单词)


• peaceful [´pi:sfəl] a.和平的；平静的 (初中英语单词)


• parcel [´pɑ:sl] n.包裹；一批 vt.区分 (初中英语单词)


• import [im´pɔ:t, ´impɔ:t] vt.&n.进口；输入 (初中英语单词)


• undoubtedly [ʌn´dautidli] ad.无疑地，确实地 (初中英语单词)


• contrary [´kɔntrəri] a.相反的 n.相反 (初中英语单词)


• minister [´ministə] n.部长；大臣 v.伺候 (初中英语单词)


• unlike [,ʌn´laik] a.不同的 prep.不象… (初中英语单词)


• jealous [´dʒeləs] a.妒忌的 (初中英语单词)


• hatred [´heitrid] n.憎恨，敌意 (初中英语单词)


• obtain [əb´tein] v.获得；买到；得到承认 (初中英语单词)


• encounter [in´kauntə] vt.&n.偶然相遇；冲突 (初中英语单词)


• delightful [di´laitful] a.讨人喜欢的 (初中英语单词)


• disturb [di´stə:b] vt.扰乱；使不安；打乱 (初中英语单词)


• distinguish [di´stiŋgwiʃ] v.区分；识别；立功 (初中英语单词)


• intelligent [in´telidʒənt] a.聪明的；理智的 (初中英语单词)


• thrill [θril] v.震惊；激动；刺激 (初中英语单词)


• excitement [ik´saitmənt] n.兴奋；骚动；煽动 (初中英语单词)


• ambition [æm´biʃən] n.雄心，野心；企图 (初中英语单词)


• darling [´dɑ:liŋ] n.爱人 a.亲爱的 (初中英语单词)


• holland [´hɔlənd] n.荷兰 (初中英语单词)


• whatever [wɔt´evə] pron.&a.无论什么 (初中英语单词)


• paradise [´pærədais] n.天堂；乐园 (初中英语单词)


• messenger [´mesindʒə] n.使者；送信人 (初中英语单词)


• telescope [´teliskəup] n.望远镜 (高中英语单词)


• shelves [ʃelvz] shelf的复数 (高中英语单词)


• whilst [wailst] conj.当…时候；虽然 (高中英语单词)


• assent [ə´sent] vi.&n.同意，赞成 (高中英语单词)


• housekeeper [´haus,ki:pə] n.主妇，女管家 (高中英语单词)


• continually [kən´tinjuəli] ad.不断地，频繁地 (高中英语单词)


• majestic [mə´dʒestik] a.雄伟的；崇高的 (高中英语单词)


• crowded [´kraudid] a.充(拥)满了的 (高中英语单词)


• mistaken [mis´teikən] mistake的过去分词 (高中英语单词)


• marquis [´mɑ:kwis] n.侯爵 (高中英语单词)


• concerning [kən´sə:niŋ] prep.关于 (高中英语单词)


• frightful [´fraitfəl] a.可怕的；不愉快的 (高中英语单词)


• related [ri´leitid] a.叙述的；有联系的 (高中英语单词)


• intense [in´tens] a.强烈的；紧张的 (高中英语单词)


• melancholy [´melənkəli] n.忧郁 a.忧郁的 (高中英语单词)


• goodly [´gudli] a.适意的；漂亮的 (高中英语单词)


• throne [θrəun] n.宝座；王位 (高中英语单词)


• caesar [´si:zə] n.凯撒；暴君；独裁者 (高中英语单词)


• admirable [´ædmərəbəl] a.极佳的，值得赞美的 (高中英语单词)


• congenial [kən´dʒi:niəl] a.意气相投的；合适的 (英语四级单词)


• devoted [di´vəutid] a.献身…的，忠实的 (英语四级单词)


• respectfully [ris´pektfuli] ad.恭敬地 (英语四级单词)


• envious [´enviəs] a.妒忌的，羡慕的 (英语四级单词)


• intently [in´tentli] ad.专心地 (英语四级单词)


• contrivance [kən´traivəns] n.发明，设计(的才能) (英语四级单词)


• lighting [´laitiŋ] n.照明，发光 (英语四级单词)


• preceding [pri(:)´si:diŋ] a.在先的；前面的 (英语四级单词)


• gathering [´gæðəriŋ] n.集会，聚集 (英语四级单词)


• distinctive [di´stiŋktiv] a.有区别的；有特色的 (英语四级单词)


• averse [ə´və:s] a.反对的，不乐意的 (英语六级单词)


• speaking [´spi:kiŋ] n.说话 a.发言的 (英语六级单词)


• taking [´teikiŋ] a.迷人的 n.捕获物 (英语六级单词)


• candlestick [´kændl,stik] n.烛台 (英语六级单词)


• bengal [beŋ´gɔ:l] n.孟加拉 (英语六级单词)


• respectful [ri´spektfəl] a.恭敬的；尊敬人的 (英语六级单词)


• fraught [frɔ:t] a.充满…的 (英语六级单词)


• august [ɔ:´gʌst] a.尊严的；威严的 (英语六级单词)


• disfigure [dis´figə] vt.损毁(外貌)；使丑陋 (英语六级单词)


• sleepless [´sli:pləs] a.失眠的；寂静的 (英语六级单词)


• grower [´grəuə] n.种植者，栽培者 (英语六级单词)


• madras [mə´drɑ:s] n.头巾 (英语六级单词)