Rose In Bloom - Chapter 14

Being seriously alarmed by the fear of losing the desire of his heart, Charlie had gone resolutely ¹ to work and, like many another young reformer, he rather overdid ² the matter, for in trying to keep out of the way of temptation, he denied himself much innocent enjoyment ³. The " artistic ⁴ fit" was a good excuse for the seclusion ⁵ which he fancied would be a proper penance ⁶, and he sat listlessly plying ⁷ crayon or paintbrush, with daily wild rides on black Brutus, which seemed to do him good, for danger of that sort was his delight., ,People were used to his whims ⁸ and made light of what they considered a new one, but when it lasted week after week and all attempts to draw him out were vain, his jolly comrades gave him up and the family began to say approvingly, "Now he really is going to settle down and do something." Fortunately, his mother let him alone, for though Dr. Alec had not "thundered in her ear" as he threatened, he had talked with her in a way which first made her very angry, then anxious, and, lastly, quite submissive, for her heart was set on the boy's winning Rose and she would have had him put on sackcloth and ashes if that would have secured the prize. She made light of the cause of Rose's displeasure, considering her extremely foolish and straitlaced, "for all young men of any spirit had their little vices ⁹, and came out well enough when the wild oats were sowed." So she indulged Charlie in his new vagary ¹⁰, as she had in all his others, and treated him like an ill-used being, which was neither an inspiring nor helpful course on her part. Poor soul! She saw her mistake by and by, and when too late repented ¹¹ of it bitterly., ,Rose wanted to be kind, and tried in various ways to help her cousin, feeling very sure she should succeed as many another hopeful woman has done, quite unconscious how much stronger an undisciplined will is than the truest love, and what a difficult task the wisest find it to undo ¹² the mistakes of a bad education. But it was a hard thing to do, for at the least hint of commendation or encouragement, he looked so hopeful that she was afraid of seeming to promise too much, and, of all things, she desired to escape the accusation ¹³ of having trifled with him., , ,Matters were in this state when one day a note came to Rose from Mrs. Clara., ,MY SWEET CHILD, Do take pity on my poor boy and cheer him up with a sight of you, for he is so triste it breaks my heart to see him. He has a new plan in his head, which strikes me as an excellent one, if you will only favor it. Let him come and take you for a drive this fine afternoon and talk things over. It will do him a world of good and deeply oblige Your ever loving AUNT CLARA., ,He grumbles at his lot instead of resolutely facing his difficulties. 他不是果敢地去面对困难，而是抱怨自己运气不佳。,We overdid the meat and it didn't taste good. 我们把肉煮得太久 ，结果味道不好了 。 来自《简明英汉词典》