酷兔英语
    当前位置:
  1. 首页
  2. 文章
  3. 娱乐英语
  4. 原版小说
  5. 正文

Beauty and The Beast-Part30_Bayard Taylor(1825-1878)_English Literature(文学名著)-第2页

0 收藏 0 分享 0 赞

章节正文
文章总共2页


"If thee's fond of flowers, it would be very easy to learn. I

think a study of this kind would pleasantly occupy thy mind. Why



couldn't thee try? I would be very willing to teach thee what

little I know. It's not much, indeed, but all thee wants is a



start. See, I will show thee how simple the principles are."

Taking one of the flowers from the bunch, Asenath, as they slowly



walked forward, proceeded to dissect it, explained the mysteries of

stamens and pistils, pollen, petals, and calyx, and, by the time



they had reached the village, had succeeded in giving him a general

idea of the Linnaean system of classification. His mind took hold



of the subject with a prompt and profound interest. It was a new

and wonderful world which suddenly opened before him. How



surprised he was to learn that there were signs by which a

poisonous herb could be detected from a wholesome one, that cedars



and pine-trees blossomed, that the gray lichens on the rocks

belonged to the vegetable kingdom! His respect for Asenath's



knowledge thrust quite out of sight the restraint which her youth

and sex had imposed upon him. She was teacher, equal, friend;



and the simple candid manner which was the natural expression of

her dignity and puritythoroughly harmonized with this relation.



Although, in reality, two or three years younger than he, Asenath

had a gravity of demeanor, a calm self-possession, a deliberate



balance of mind, and a repose of the emotional nature, which he had

never before observed, except in much older women. She had had, as



he could well imagine, no romping girlhood, no season of careless,

light-hearted dalliance with opening life, no violent alternation



even of the usual griefs and joys of youth. The social calm in

which she had expanded had developed her nature as gently and



securely as a sea-flower is unfolded below the reach of tides and

storms.



She would have been very much surprised if any one had called her

handsome: yet her face had a mild, unobtrusive beauty which seemed



to grow and deepen from day to day. Of a longer oval than the

Greek standard, it was yet as harmonious in outline; the nose was



fine and straight, the dark-blue eyes steady and untroubled, and

the lips calmly, but not too firmly closed. Her brown hair, parted



over a high white forehead, was smoothly laid across the temples,

drawn behind the ears, and twisted into a simple knot. The white



cape and sun-bonnet gave her face a nun-like character, which set

her apart, in the thoughts of "the world's people" whom she met, as



one sanctified for some holy work. She might have gone around the

world, repelling every rude word, every bold glance, by the



protecting atmosphere of purity and truth which inclosed her.

The days went by, each bringing some new blossom to adorn and



illustrate the joint studies of the young man and maiden. For

Richard Hilton had soon mastered the elements of botany, as taught



by Priscilla Wakefield,--the only source of Asenath's knowledge,--

and entered, with her, upon the text-book of Gray, a copy of which



he procured from Philadelphia. Yet, though he had overtaken her in

his knowledge of the technicalities of the science, her practical



acquaintance with plants and their habits left her still his

superior. Day by day, exploring the meadows, the woods, and the



clearings, he brought home his discoveries to enjoy her aid in

classifying and assigning them to their true places. Asenath had



generally an hour or two of leisure from domestic duties in the

afternoons, or after the early supper of summer was over; and



sometimes, on "Seventh-days," she would be his guide to some

locality where the rarer plants were known to exist. The parents



saw this community of interest and exploration without a thought of

misgiving. They trusted their daughter as themselves; or, if any



possible fear had flitted across their hearts, it was allayed by

the absorbing delight with which Richard Hilton pursued his study.



An earnestdiscussion as to whether a certain leaf was ovate or

lanceolate, whether a certain plant belonged to the species



scandens or canadensis, was, in their eyes, convincing proof

that the young brains were touched, and therefore NOT the young



hearts.

But love, symbolized by a rose-bud, is emphatically a botanical



emotion. A sweet, tender perception of beauty, such as this study




文章总共2页
文章标签:名著  

章节正文
Copyright © 2023 Qeto All rights reserved.
商务合作 | 联系我们 | 关于我们 | 版权声明 | 隐私条款 | 如果智培

京ICP备05059198号-1 京公网安备 11011202003401号