Under the Lilacs - Chapter 1

The elm-tree avenue was all overgrown, the great gate was never unlocked, and the old house had been shut up for several years., ,Yet voices were heard about the place, the lilacs nodded over the high wall as if they said, "We could tell fine secrets if we chose," and the mullein outside the gate made haste to reach the keyhole, that it might peep in and see what was going on. If it had suddenly grown up like a magic bean-stalk, and looked in on a certain June day, it would have seen a droll ¹ but pleasant sight, for somebody evidently was going to have a party., ,From the gate to the porch went a wide walk, paved with smooth slabs ² of dark stone, and bordered with the tall bushes which met overhead, making a green roof. All sorts of neglected flowers and wild weeds grew between their stems, covering the walls of this summer parlor ³ with the prettiest tapestry ⁴. A board, propped ⁵ on two blocks of wood, stood in the middle of the walk, covered with a little plaid shawl much the worse for wear, and on it a miniature tea-service was set forth ⁶ with great elegance ⁷. To be sure, the tea-pot had lost its spout ⁸, the cream-jug its handle, the sugar-bowl its cover, and the cups and plates were all more or less cracked or nicked; but polite persons would not take notice of these trifling ⁹ deficiencies, and none but polite persons were invited to this party., , ,This, however, would have been a sad mistake; for if the wind had lifted the coverings laid over them, it would have disclosed the fact that all were in full dress, and merely reposing ¹⁵ before the feast should begin., ,There was another interesting feature of the scene which would have puzzled any but those well acquainted with the manners and customs of dolls. A fourteenth rag baby, with a china head, hung by her neck from the rusty ¹⁶ knocker in the middle of the door. A sprig of white and one of purple lilac nodded over her, a dress of yellow calico, richly trimmed with red-flannel scallops, shrouded ¹⁷ her slender form, a garland of small flowers crowned her glossy ¹⁸ curls, and a pair of blue boots touched toes in the friendliest, if not the most graceful ¹⁹, manner. An emotion of grief, as well as of surprise, might well have thrilled any youthful breast at such a spectacle; for why, oh! why, was this resplendent dolly hung up there to be stared at by thirteen of her kindred? Was she a criminal, the sight of whose execution threw them flat upon their backs in speechless horror? Or was she an idol ²⁰, to be adored in that humble ²¹ posture ²²? Neither, my friends. She was blonde Belinda, set, or rather hung, aloft, in the place of honor, for this was her seventh birthday, and a superb ball was about to celebrate the great event. All were evidently awaiting a summons to the festive ²³ board; but such was the perfect breeding of these dolls, that not a single eye out of the whole twenty-seven (Dutch Hans had lost one of the black beads ²⁴ from his worsted countenance ¹³) turned for a moment toward the table, or so much as winked ²⁵, as they lay in decorous rows, gazing with mute admiration ²⁶ at Belinda. She, unable to repress the joy and pride which swelled ²⁷ her sawdust bosom ²⁸ till the seams gaped ²⁹, gave an occasional bounce as the wind waved her yellow skirts, or made the blue boots dance a sort of jig ³⁰ upon the door. Hanging was evidently not a painful operation, for she smiled contentedly ³¹, and looked as if the red ribbon around her neck was not uncomfortably tight; therefore, if slow suffocation ³² suited her, who else had any right to complain? So a pleasing silence reigned ³³, not even broken by a snore from Dinah, the top of whose turban alone was visible above the coverlet, or a cry from baby Jane, though her bare feet stuck out in a way that would have produced shrieks ³⁵ from a less well-trained infant., ,He looked at her with a droll sort of awakening.他用一种古怪的如梦方醒的神情看着她.,The patio was made of stone slabs. 这天井是用石板铺砌而成的。 来自《简明英汉词典》