1921
VICTOR HAD REFUSED his bride at the altar! That was the brute1 fact which agitated2 the little party in the vestry. No amount of explanation could mitigate3 it. As best man I had been in a good position to observe events; and even I, who had formerly4 been fairly intimate with Victor, was completely taken by surprise. True, I had long suspected that there was something queer about him; but up to the very moment of his quietly shattering remark, as he put the ring into his pocket, I had no idea that anything serious was amiss.
James Victor Cadogan–Smith, later to be known as plain Victor Smith, had seemed the ideal bridegroom. He was the son of a successful colonial administrator5 who had climbed by his own ability from a very lowly position, and had recently acquired a knighthood. The family had been humble6 “Smiths” until Victor’s father had married the only child of a more aristocratic family, and had agreed to splice7 his wife’s name to his own.
The new “Cadogan–Smith” assured his friends that he had done this mainly to please his father-inlaw. But in later life he used to say, “In those days my snobbery9 was unconscious.”
His son Victor was born in 1890. He was now a bridegroom of thirty-one, and certainly a catch for any girl. Looking at him in his wedding clothes, one could not help using the cliché “every inch a gentleman.” His financial prospects10 were excellent. He was already reputed to be one of the most brilliant young business men of his city, and he was well established as a junior partner in a great shipping11 firm. Victor had come through the Great War, as we called it in those days, undamaged and with a Military Cross; and now, in the brief period of optimism that followed the war, it seemed that he had excellent prospects of working out for himself a triumphant12 business career in the phase of post-war recovery. To crown all, he had secured as his bride the charming daughter of the head of his firm.
The wedding celebrations had been planned in appropriate style. The only factor which was not in perfect harmony with the spirit of the occasion, I fear, was the best man. I had been greatly flattered by Victor’s request that I should fill this office, but I could not help wondering why he had not asked one of his many more presentable friends. His subsequent behaviour toward me almost suggested that he regretted his choice. Certainly I did not fit at all into the picture of a smart wedding; and from the moment when I found that I should have to hire a conventional wedding garment my heart had failed me. Victor must have found me a very inefficient13 manager, for he had to re-arrange almost everything that I had undertaken. I knew, of course, that in one of his moods he had sometimes an almost obsessive14 passion for correctness, but I had been surprised and exasperated15 by his meticulous16 scrutiny17 of every detail of our clothing and of the time-table of the honeymoon18 tour.
At the church, Victor’s erect19 and perfectly20 tailored figure had seemed the very pattern of orthodoxy; and Edith, I am sure, must have been admired by the whole congregation as the ideal bride, so “radiant” was she (yes, that is the fatally right word), and so expensively adorned21.
I remember I was rather surprised when the bridegroom suddenly scratched his head, as though in perplexity, and began looking about him in a frank, inquisitive22 manner that seemed out of keeping with the occasion. And perhaps it was not quite seemly suddenly to turn his face full upon the lovely creature at his side; but everyone must have readily forgiven him, since his expression suggested great tenderness. I remember noticing that his eyelids23, normally inclined to droop24, so that his face wore the drowsy25 look of a lion in captivity26, were now fully27 raised. His blue eyes gazed with a vitality28 — yes, and a warmth of feeling — which I had never before seen in them. “Such,” I thought, “is the power of love.” But the words had scarcely formed themselves in my mind, when Victor cut into the rector’s solemn recitative in a voice that was unusually gentle but also unusually decisive. “Edith,” he said, “we mustn’t go on with this. I’ve-I’ve just waked up, and I see quite clearly that I am not the one for you, nor you for me.”
For a moment, silence. The bride stared at the bridegroom like a startled hind29, then let herself be hurried away on her father’s arm. Victor, protesting his contrition30, and offering to explain himself, followed the outraged31 bridal party into the vestry, with me upon his heels, and behind me his own distressed32 father.
When the door was shut, the bride’s father turned on Victor with indignation, spluttering of breach33 of promise. Her mother attempted to console her. Edith herself was very properly in tears; but also, through streaming eyes, she stared at Victor with such an expression of fascinated terror that I looked to see what could have caused it. Certainly it seemed a new Victor that took charge of this very awkward situation. Except for the fact that he sometimes tugged34 at his collar and mopped the sweat from his face, he behaved with complete composure. He looked from one to the other of us all with a curious intensity35 and exhilaration, almost as though it was we that had changed, and he must size us up afresh. Presently in a tone of authority that silenced the rest of us he said, “Listen to me for a minute! I know I can’t ever put things right after the mess I have made, but I’ll do whatever I can. Anyhow, I must try to explain. Standing36 there in these damned silly clothes and listening to the rector, I— well, as I said, I just woke up from a sort of dream. I saw Edith and me as we really are, me a young snob8 without a mind, and Edith — well, she’s good to look at, very” (he smiled ruefully at her), “and what’s more, underneath37 all the conventional trappings of her mind there’s something sensitive and honest; yes, and much too good for me, for that drowsy snob. In my dream-life I really did think I was in love with her, but I wasn’t really, even then, and I’m certainly not now.” He was watching Edith, and an expression of pain passed over his face as he said, “God! What a mess! Edith, I know I have hurt you horribly, but I have saved you from something far worse, from marrying that somnambulant snob.”
No one had supposed Victor capable of talking like this. Or no one but myself. To me, though the whole incident had of course been very surprising, it had not seemed entirely38 out of keeping with certain events in the past; particularly so, when Victor turned from Edith to me with a special smile. It was a twisted smile, half quizzical but wholly amiable39, which in the old days I had learnt to regard as revealing the true Victor, but had lately missed. The smile faded into a grave and steady gaze, while he said to the company, “Harry, here, perhaps knows what I mean, partly.” This remark turned the attention of the three parents upon me, and I could feel them blaming me for Victor’s shocking deed. Victor’s father looked at his son, then back at me, and the look said as clearly as words could have done, “My boy, why did you get tangled40 up with this fellow? He’s not one of us. And now, see where he has led you!” At this point Edith brought the scene to a close by imploring41 her parents to take her home.
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1
brute
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| n.野兽，兽性 | |
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agitated
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| adj.被鼓动的，不安的 | |
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mitigate
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| vt.（使）减轻，（使）缓和 | |
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formerly
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| adv.从前，以前 | |
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administrator
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| n.经营管理者，行政官员 | |
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humble
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| adj.谦卑的，恭顺的；地位低下的；v.降低，贬低 | |
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splice
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| v.接合，衔接；n.胶接处，粘接处 | |
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snob
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| n.势利小人，自以为高雅、有学问的人 | |
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snobbery
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| n. 充绅士气派, 俗不可耐的性格 | |
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prospects
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| n.希望，前途(恒为复数) | |
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shipping
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| n.船运（发货，运输，乘船） | |
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triumphant
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| adj.胜利的，成功的；狂欢的，喜悦的 | |
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inefficient
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| adj.效率低的，无效的 | |
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obsessive
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| adj. 着迷的, 强迫性的, 分神的 | |
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exasperated
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| adj.恼怒的 | |
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meticulous
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| adj.极其仔细的，一丝不苟的 | |
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scrutiny
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| n.详细检查，仔细观察 | |
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18
honeymoon
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| n.蜜月（假期）；vi.度蜜月 | |
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erect
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| n./v.树立，建立，使竖立；adj.直立的，垂直的 | |
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perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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adorned
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| [计]被修饰的 | |
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inquisitive
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| adj.求知欲强的，好奇的，好寻根究底的 | |
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eyelids
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| n.眼睑( eyelid的名词复数 )；眼睛也不眨一下；不露声色；面不改色 | |
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droop
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| v.低垂，下垂；凋萎，萎靡 | |
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drowsy
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| adj.昏昏欲睡的，令人发困的 | |
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captivity
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| n.囚禁；被俘；束缚 | |
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fully
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| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
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vitality
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| n.活力，生命力，效力 | |
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hind
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| adj.后面的，后部的 | |
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contrition
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| n.悔罪，痛悔 | |
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outraged
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| a.震惊的，义愤填膺的 | |
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distressed
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| 痛苦的 | |
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breach
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| n.违反，不履行；破裂；vt.冲破，攻破 | |
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tugged
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| v.用力拉，使劲拉，猛扯( tug的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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intensity
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| n.强烈，剧烈；强度；烈度 | |
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standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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underneath
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| adj.在...下面，在...底下；adv.在下面 | |
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entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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amiable
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| adj.和蔼可亲的，友善的，亲切的 | |
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tangled
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| adj. 纠缠的，紊乱的 动词tangle的过去式和过去分词 | |
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imploring
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| 恳求的，哀求的 | |
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