Jo's Boys - Charter 14

As it is as impossible for the humble ¹ historian of the March family to write a story without theatricals ² in it as for our dear Miss Yonge to get on with less than twelve or fourteen children in her interesting tales, we will accept the fact, and at once cheer ourselves after the last afflicting ³ events, by proceeding ⁴ to the Christmas plays at Plumfield; for they influence the fate of several of our characters, and cannot well be skipped., ,When the college was built Mr Laurie added a charming little theatre which not only served for plays, but declamations, lectures, and concerts. The drop-curtain displayed Apollo with the Muses ⁵ grouped about him; and as a compliment to the donor ⁶ of the hall the artist had given the god a decided ⁷ resemblance to our friend, which was considered a superb joke by everyone else. Home talent furnished stars, stock company, orchestra, and scene painter; and astonishing performances were given on this pretty little stage., ,Mrs Jo had been trying for some time to produce a play which should be an improvement upon the adaptations from the French then in vogue ⁸, curious mixtures of fine toilettes, false sentiment, and feeble wit, with no touch of nature to redeem ⁹ them. It was easy to plan plays full of noble speeches and thrilling situations, but very hard to write them; so she contented ¹⁰ herself with a few scenes of humble life in which the comic and pathetic were mingled ¹²; and as she fitted her characters to her actors, she hoped the little venture would prove that truth and simplicity ¹³ had not entirely ¹⁴ lost their power to charm. Mr Laurie helped her, and they called themselves Beaumont and Fletcher, enjoying their joint ¹⁵ labour very much; for Beaumont's knowledge of dramatic art was of great use in curbing ¹⁷ Fletcher's too-aspiring pen, and they flattered themselves that they had produced a neat and effective bit of work as an experiment., , ,'Has she come?' was the question asked by every tongue behind the curtain; and when Tom, who played an old man, endangered his respectable legs among the footlights to peep, announced that he saw Miss Cameron's handsome head in the place of honour, a thrill pervaded ²⁹ the entire company, and Josie declared with an excited gasp ³⁰ that she was going to have stage fright for the first time in her life., ,'I'll shake you if you do,' said Mrs Jo, who was in such a wild state of dishevelment with her varied ³¹ labours that she might have gone on as Madge Wildlife, without an additional rag or crazy elf-lock., ,Defeat and failure make people humble.挫折与失败会使人谦卑
。,His success in amateur theatricals led him on to think he could tread the boards for a living. 他业余演戏很成功
，他因此觉得自己可以以演戏为生。 来自《简明英汉词典》