Uncle Tom's Cabin

by H. B. Stowe

W

hen Augustine, pale as death, was found lying on the sofa, and pleaded sudden sick head­ache as the cause of his distress, she recommended to him the smell of hartshorn; and when the paleness and headache came on week after week, she only said that she never thought Mr. St. Clare was sickly; but it seems he was very liable to sick headaches, and that it was a very unfortunate thing for her, because he didn't enjoy going into company with her, and it seemed odd to go so much alone, when they were just married. Augustine was glad in his heart that he had married so undiscerning a woman; but as the glosses and civilities of the honeymoon wore away, he discovered that a beautiful woman, who had lived all her life to be caressed and waited on, might prove quite a hard mistress in domestic life. Marie never had possessed much capabil­ity of affection, or much sensibility; and the little that she merged into a most intense and uncon­scious selfishness; a selfishness the more hopeless from its quiet obtuseness, its utter ignorance of any claims but her own. From her infancy she had been surrounded with servants, who lived only to study her caprices; the idea that they had either feelings or rights had never dawned upon her, even in distant perspective. Her father, whose only child she had been, had never denied her anything that lay within the compass of human possibility; and when she entered life, beautiful, accomplished, and an heiress, she had of course, all the eligibles and non-eligibles of the other sex sighing at her feet, and she had no doubt that Augustine was a most fortunate man in having obtained her. It is a great mistake to suppose that a woman with no heart will be an easy creditor in the exchange of affection. There is not on earth a more merciless exactor of love from others than a thoroughly selfish woman.

Notes and exercises:

1.   Define the meaning of the following verbs and pay attention to their spelling: claim, disclaim, proclaim, acclaim, declaim, exclaim.

2.   Say where the strong stress lies and memorize the spelling of the following words:

fertile          temporary      exchange       individuality    accentuate beneficial    celebration    assembly       professional    domestic veterinary    managerial    elementary     metaphorical    empire intervene     comforting    exercise         deliberate        incongruous benefit         desirable       obligation      medicine          ambiguity celebrate     collapse        individual      political           domesticity blockade     extremity       professorial   medicinal         literary

3.   Complete the following phrases by adding the appropriate word chosen from the lists below:

A.

sure as ...          deep as ...       bright as ...       clear as ...         free as ... grasping as ...   brittle as ...      quick as ...        pretty as ...       regular as ... swift as ...          stupid as ...     true as ...          playful as ...      tall as ... tender as ...       bold as ...        weak as ...        cunning as ...    flat as ... pale as ...          white as ...       black as ...        green as ...       yellow as ... brown as ...        red as ...          blue as ...          grey as ...         hard as ... firm as ...           dumb as ...       pleased as ...    hoarse as ...      obstinate as... patient as ...      plump as ...      vain as ...         silly as ...          crooked as ... beautiful as ...    cold as ...        blind as ...        snug as ...         sober as... cross as ...        heavy as ...      straight as ...    good as ...        loud as... merry as ...        surly as ...       large as ...        ugly as ...          light as ... smooth as ...      strong as ...     old as ...           safe as ...          dead as... drunk as ...        hungry as ...    sound as...

B.

ice           the wind      snow        smoke         a mule       a cat’s eye death       doornail      pitch        a goose      a lord        the Bank of England nails        a button       a cat         grass          a kitten      a partridge steel         crystal         lead         a donkey    a bear        a bug in a rug a well       a picture      life           flash           a berry      the crow flies brass        a steeple     gold         Punch         a judge      a corkscrew a fish       a chicken    a bell        a rock         a board     a scarecrow a miser     a cricket      a bat         the hills      a hunter    a peacock glass        an arrow      a fox        an ox          a raven      two sticks the day     a lobster      a horse    the sky       thunder     clockwork a feather

4.   Word study:

plead          offer as an explanation or excuse

hartshorn   preparation of ammonia used as smelling salts

a gloss       deceptive appearance: a gloss of respectability (e.g. over a life of secret wrongdoing)

5.   Translate the following expressions and use them in sentences of your own:

utter ignorance of any claims but her own, to claim damages, to claim a privilege/right/victory, to claim victims, to claim against someone, to have/lay a claim to something, a claimant