THE FLUTE-PLAYER

He used to play to me in the magic hour before bedtime, when, in the summer, the red sun threw long shadows across the lawn, and in winter the fire burned brighter and brighter in the hearth¹.  This was the hour when all the interminable squabbles of the schoolroom were forgotten, and even the noisiest of us would hush² his voice to listen drowsily³ to a fairy-tale, or to watch the palaces raise aloft their minarets⁴, and crumble⁵ to dull red ash in the heart of the fire.  It was then that I would see him sitting astride of the fireguard and puffing⁶ out his cheeks over his shining flute⁷.  Even in the most thrilling moments of fairy stories, when Cinderella lost her crystal slipper⁸ or Sister Ann saw the cloud of dust from the summit of Bluebeard’s tower, his shrill⁹ melodies would ring in my ears and p. 190quicken my sleepy senses with the desire to hear more of this enchanted¹⁰ music.  I knew that it was real magic, but I did not find it strange, because as far as I knew I had heard it all my life.  Perhaps he had played to me when I yet lay in my cradle, and watched the night-light winking¹¹ on the nursery ceiling; but I did not try to remember whether this was so.  I was content to accept my strange musician as a fact of my existence, and to feel a sense of loss on the rare evenings when he failed me.  I did not know how to dance, but sometimes I would tap my feet on the floor in time to the music, till some one would tell me not to fidget.  For no one else would either see him or hear him, which proved that it was real magic, and flattered my sense of possession.  It was evident that he came for me alone.

The years passed, and in due course the imaginative graces of my childhood were destroyed by the boys of my own age at school.  They compelled me to exchange a hundred star-roofed palaces, three distinct kingdoms of dreams, and my enchanted p. 191flute-player for a threadbare habit of mimicry¹² that left me cold and unprotected from the winds in the large places of life.  There was something at once pathetic and ridiculous in our childish efforts to imitate our elders, but as it seemed that our masters and grown-up relatives were in the conspiracy¹³ to make us materialistically¹⁴ wise before our time, a boy would have needed a rare force of character to linger with his childhood and refuse to ape the man.  So, for a while, I saw my glad musician no more, though sometimes I thought I heard him playing far away, and the child within me was warmed and encouraged even while my new-found manhood was condemning¹⁵ the weakness.  I knew now that no man worthy¹⁶ of the name was escorted through life by a fairy flute-player, and that dreamers and wool-gatherers invariably sank to be poets and musicians, persons who wear bowler-hats with frock-coats, have no crease¹⁷ in their trousers, and come to a bad end.  Fortunately, all education that is repressive rather than stimulating¹⁸ is only skin-deep, and it was inevitable¹⁹ that sooner or later I should p. 192meet the flute-player again.  One Saturday afternoon in high summer I avoided cricket and went for a long walk in the woods, moved by a spirit of revolt against all the traditions and conventions of boy-life; and presently, in a mossy clearing, all splashed and wetted by little pools of sunlight, I found him playing to an audience of two squirrels and a redstart.  When he saw me he winked²⁰ the eye that glittered over his parading fingers, as though he had left me only five minutes before, but I had not listened long before I realised that I must pay the price of my infidelity.  It was the old music and the old magic, but try as I might I could not hear it so clearly as I had when I was a child.  The continuity of my faith had been broken, and though he was willing to forgive, I myself could not forget those dark years of doubt and denial; and while I often met him in the days that followed, I never won back to the old childish intimacy²¹.  I sought his company eagerly and listened passionately²² to his piping, but I was conscious now that this was a strange thing, and sometimes when he p. 193saw by my eyes that I was moved by wonder rather than by the love of beauty, he would put his flute in his pocket and disappear.  The world is an enchanted place only to the incurious and tranquil-minded.

Nevertheless, though like all boys I had been forced to discard my childish dreams before I had really finished with them, the lovely melodies of the flute-player served to enrich my latter years at school with much of the old enchantment²³.  Often enough he would play to me at night during preparation, and I would spend my time in trying to set words to his tunes²⁴ instead of doing my lessons.  It was then that I regretted the lost years that had dulled my ear and prevented me from winning the inmost magic of his song, compared with which my verses seemed but the shadow of a shadow.  Yet I saw that he was content with my efforts, and gradually made the discovery that while great achievement is granted to the fortunate, it is the fine effort that justifies²⁵ a man to himself.  What did it matter whether my songs were good or bad?  They were the highest expression I could find for the p. 194rapture of beauty that had filled my heart as a child when I had been gifted to see life with clean and truthful²⁶ eyes.  For the songs the flute-player played to me were the great dreams of my childhood, the dreams that a wise man prolongs to the day of his death.

I do not hear him often now, for I have learnt my lesson, and though my hands tremble and my ear deceives me, I am by way of being a flute-player myself.  This article, it is clear, is a child’s dream, and so have been, and will be, I hope, all the articles I shall ever write.  What else should we write about?  We have learnt a few long words since we grew up, and a few crimes, but no new virtues²⁷.  That is why I like to get back to the nursery floor, and play with the old toys and think the old thoughts.  We knew intuitively then a number of beautiful truths that circumstance appears to deny now, and we grown men are the poorer in consequence.  It is folly²⁸ to find life ugly when the flute lies within our reach and we can pipe ourselves back to the world of beauty with a song made of an old dream.

p. 195As for the flute-player, if I see him no more with wakeful eyes, I know that he is never very far away.  Likely enough one of these wintry evenings, in the hour before bedtime, when the fire burns brighter and brighter in the hearth, I shall look up and see him sitting astride of the fireguard and puffing out his cheeks over his shining flute.  Not many nights ago I heard some one playing the flute out in the street, and I went down and found a poor fellow blowing his heart out for rare sous.  There was not much enchantment about him—he had been dismissed from a music-hall orchestra for drinking red wine to excess—but he was a real flute-player, and I could well imagine that such a man might be driven to intemperance²⁹ by the failure to achieve those “unheard melodies” not to be detected by the sensual ear.  To be a bad flute-player must be rather like being a bad poet, a joyous³⁰ but sadly finite life.  He was a sad dog, this earthly musician, and he frankly³¹ conceived the ideal state as a kind of communal³² Bodega where thirsty souls could find peace in satiety³³.  I gave him fivepence to p. 196help him on his way, and left him to make doleful music in the night till he had enough money to supply his crimson³⁴ dreams.  But he ought not to have said that my flute-player was only an amateur.

1 hearth   

n.壁炉炉床，壁炉地面

参考例句：

• She came and sat in a chair before the hearth.她走过来，在炉子前面的椅子上坐下。
• She comes to the hearth,and switches on the electric light there.她走到壁炉那里，打开电灯。

2 hush   

int.嘘，别出声；n.沉默，静寂；v.使安静

参考例句：

• A hush fell over the onlookers.旁观者们突然静了下来。
• Do hush up the scandal!不要把这丑事声张出去！

3 drowsily   

adv.睡地，懒洋洋地，昏昏欲睡地

参考例句：

• She turned drowsily on her side, a slow creeping blackness enveloping her mind. 她半睡半醒地翻了个身，一片缓缓蠕动的黑暗渐渐将她的心包围起来。 来自飘（部分）
• I felt asleep drowsily before I knew it. 不知过了多久，我曚扙地睡着了。 来自互联网

4 minarets   

n.（清真寺旁由报告祈祷时刻的人使用的）光塔( minaret的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Remind you of a mosque, red baked bricks, the minarets. 红砖和尖塔都会使你联想到伊斯兰教的礼拜寺。 来自互联网
• These purchases usually went along with embellishments such as minarets. 这些购置通常也伴随着注入尖塔等的装饰。 来自互联网

5 crumble   

vi.碎裂，崩溃；vt.弄碎，摧毁

参考例句：

• Opposition more or less crumbled away.反对势力差不多都瓦解了。
• Even if the seas go dry and rocks crumble,my will will remain firm.纵然海枯石烂，意志永不动摇。

6 puffing   

v.使喷出( puff的现在分词 )；喷着汽（或烟）移动；吹嘘；吹捧

参考例句：

• He was puffing hard when he jumped on to the bus. 他跳上公共汽车时喘息不已。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• My father sat puffing contentedly on his pipe. 父亲坐着心满意足地抽着烟斗。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 flute   

n.长笛；v.吹笛

参考例句：

• He took out his flute, and blew at it.他拿出笛子吹了起来。
• There is an extensive repertoire of music written for the flute.有很多供长笛演奏的曲目。

8 slipper   

n.拖鞋

参考例句：

• I rescued the remains of my slipper from the dog.我从那狗的口中夺回了我拖鞋的残留部分。
• The puppy chewed a hole in the slipper.小狗在拖鞋上啃了一个洞。

9 shrill   

adj.尖声的；刺耳的；v尖叫

参考例句：

• Whistles began to shrill outside the barn.哨声开始在谷仓外面尖叫。
• The shrill ringing of a bell broke up the card game on the cutter.刺耳的铃声打散了小汽艇的牌局。

10 enchanted   

adj. 被施魔法的，陶醉的，入迷的 动词enchant的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• She was enchanted by the flowers you sent her. 她非常喜欢你送给她的花。
• He was enchanted by the idea. 他为这个主意而欣喜若狂。

11 winking   

n.瞬眼，目语v.使眼色( wink的现在分词 )；递眼色（表示友好或高兴等）；（指光）闪烁；闪亮

参考例句：

• Anyone can do it; it's as easy as winking. 这谁都办得到，简直易如反掌。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The stars were winking in the clear sky. 星星在明亮的天空中闪烁。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 mimicry   

n.（生物）拟态，模仿

参考例句：

• One of his few strengths was his skill at mimicry.他为数不多的强项之一就是善于模仿。
• Language learning usually necessitates conscious mimicry.一般地说，学习语言就要进行有意识的摹仿。

13 conspiracy   

n.阴谋，密谋，共谋

参考例句：

• The men were found guilty of conspiracy to murder.这些人被裁决犯有阴谋杀人罪。
• He claimed that it was all a conspiracy against him.他声称这一切都是一场针对他的阴谋。

14 materialistically   

参考例句：

• One should not approach life materialistically. 任何人都不应该用唯物主义的观点来对待生活。
• At the third part, it analyses the reasons the Supplement to Morning News can succeed materialistically. 文章第三部分功利性地分析了《晨报副刊》之所以成功的所在。

15 condemning   

v.（通常因道义上的原因而）谴责( condemn的现在分词 )；宣判；宣布…不能使用；迫使…陷于不幸的境地

参考例句：

• The government issued a statement condemning the killings. 政府发表声明谴责这些凶杀事件。
• I concur with the speaker in condemning what has been done. 我同意发言者对所做的事加以谴责。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

16 worthy   

adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的

参考例句：

• I did not esteem him to be worthy of trust.我认为他不值得信赖。
• There occurred nothing that was worthy to be mentioned.没有值得一提的事发生。

17 crease   

n.折缝，褶痕，皱褶；v.(使)起皱

参考例句：

• Does artificial silk crease more easily than natural silk?人造丝比天然丝更易起皱吗？
• Please don't crease the blouse when you pack it.包装时请不要将衬衫弄皱了。

18 stimulating   

adj.有启发性的，能激发人思考的

参考例句：

• shower gel containing plant extracts that have a stimulating effect on the skin 含有对皮肤有益的植物精华的沐浴凝胶
• This is a drug for stimulating nerves. 这是一种兴奋剂。

19 inevitable   

adj.不可避免的，必然发生的

参考例句：

• Mary was wearing her inevitable large hat.玛丽戴着她总是戴的那顶大帽子。
• The defeat had inevitable consequences for British policy.战败对英国政策不可避免地产生了影响。

20 winked   

v.使眼色( wink的过去式和过去分词 )；递眼色（表示友好或高兴等）；（指光）闪烁；闪亮

参考例句：

• He winked at her and she knew he was thinking the same thing that she was. 他冲她眨了眨眼，她便知道他的想法和她一样。
• He winked his eyes at her and left the classroom. 他向她眨巴一下眼睛走出了教室。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

21 intimacy   

n.熟悉，亲密，密切关系，亲昵的言行

参考例句：

• His claims to an intimacy with the President are somewhat exaggerated.他声称自己与总统关系密切，这有点言过其实。
• I wish there were a rule book for intimacy.我希望能有个关于亲密的规则。

22 passionately   

ad.热烈地，激烈地

参考例句：

• She could hate as passionately as she could love. 她能恨得咬牙切齿，也能爱得一往情深。
• He was passionately addicted to pop music. 他酷爱流行音乐。

23 enchantment   

n.迷惑，妖术，魅力

参考例句：

• The beauty of the scene filled us with enchantment.风景的秀丽令我们陶醉。
• The countryside lay as under some dread enchantment.乡村好像躺在某种可怖的魔法之下。

24 tunes   

n.曲调，曲子( tune的名词复数 )v.调音( tune的第三人称单数 )；调整；（给收音机、电视等）调谐；使协调

参考例句：

• a potpourri of tunes 乐曲集锦
• When things get a bit too much, she simply tunes out temporarily. 碰到事情太棘手时，她干脆暂时撒手不管。 来自《简明英汉词典》

25 justifies   

证明…有理( justify的第三人称单数 )； 为…辩护； 对…作出解释； 为…辩解（或辩护）

参考例句：

• Their frequency of use both justifies and requires the memorization. 频繁的使用需要记忆，也促进了记忆。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓
• In my judgement the present end justifies the means. 照我的意见，只要目的正当，手段是可以不计较的。

26 truthful   

adj.真实的，说实话的，诚实的

参考例句：

• You can count on him for a truthful report of the accident.你放心，他会对事故作出如实的报告的。
• I don't think you are being entirely truthful.我认为你并没全讲真话。

27 virtues   

美德( virtue的名词复数 )； 德行； 优点； 长处

参考例句：

• Doctors often extol the virtues of eating less fat. 医生常常宣扬少吃脂肪的好处。
• She delivered a homily on the virtues of family life. 她进行了一场家庭生活美德方面的说教。

28 folly   

n.愚笨，愚蠢，蠢事，蠢行，傻话

参考例句：

• Learn wisdom by the folly of others.从别人的愚蠢行动中学到智慧。
• Events proved the folly of such calculations.事情的进展证明了这种估计是愚蠢的。

29 intemperance   

n.放纵

参考例句：

• Health does not consist with intemperance. 健康与纵欲［无节制］不能相容。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• She accepted his frequent intemperance as part of the climate. 对于他酗酒的恶习，她安之若素。 来自辞典例句

30 joyous   

adj.充满快乐的；令人高兴的

参考例句：

• The lively dance heightened the joyous atmosphere of the scene.轻快的舞蹈给这场戏渲染了欢乐气氛。
• They conveyed the joyous news to us soon.他们把这一佳音很快地传递给我们。

31 frankly   

adv.坦白地，直率地；坦率地说

参考例句：

• To speak frankly, I don't like the idea at all.老实说，我一点也不赞成这个主意。
• Frankly speaking, I'm not opposed to reform.坦率地说，我不反对改革。

32 communal   

adj.公有的，公共的，公社的，公社制的

参考例句：

• There was a communal toilet on the landing for the four flats.在楼梯平台上有一处公共卫生间供4套公寓使用。
• The toilets and other communal facilities were in a shocking state.厕所及其他公共设施的状况极其糟糕。

33 satiety   

n.饱和；(市场的)充分供应

参考例句：

• There is no satiety in study.学无止境。
• Their presence in foods induces satiety at meal time.它们在食物中的存在诱导进餐时的满足感。

34 crimson   

n./adj.深(绯)红色(的)；vi.脸变绯红色

参考例句：

• She went crimson with embarrassment.她羞得满脸通红。
• Maple leaves have turned crimson.枫叶已经红了。