After this the Jewish borderland of Bohemia, where writers and painters are courted, began to see Barstein again. But, unfortunately, this was not Mabel's circle, and Barstein was reduced to getting himself invited to that Jewish Bayswater, his loathing3 for which had not been overcome even by his new-found nationalism. Here, amid hundreds of talking and dancing shadows, with which some shadowy self of his own danced and talked, he occasionally had a magic hour of reality—with Mabel.
One could not be real and not talk of the national dream. Mabel, who took most of her opinions from her brother Julius, was frankly4 puzzled, though her marmoreal gift of beautiful silence saved her lover from premature5 shocks. She had, indeed, scarcely heard of such things. Zionism was something in the East End. Nobody in her class ever mentioned it. But, then, Barstein was a sculptor6 and strange, and, besides, he did not look at all like a Jew, so it didn't sound so horrible in his mouth. His lithe7 figure stood [102]out almost Anglo-Saxon amid the crowds of hulking undersized young men, and though his manners were not so good as a Christian8's—she never forgot his blunder at her father's dinner-party—still, he looked up to one with almost a Christian's adoration9, instead of sizing one up with an Oriental's calculation. These other London Jews thought her provincial10, she knew, whereas Barstein had one day informed her she was universal. Julius, too, had admired Barstein's sculpture, the modern note in which had been hailed by the Oxford11 elect. But what most fascinated Mabel was the constant eulogy12 of her lover's work in the Christian papers; and when at last the formal proposal came, it found her fearful only of her father's disapproval13.
'He's so orthodox,' she murmured, as they sat in a rose-garlanded niche14 at a great Jewish Charity Ball, lapped around by waltz-music and the sweetness of love confessed.
'Well, I'm not so wicked as I was,' he smiled.
'But you smoke on the Sabbath, Leo—you told me.'
'And you told me your brother Julius does the same.'
'Yes, but father doesn't know. If Julius wants to smoke on Friday evening, he always goes to his own room.'
'And I shan't smoke in your father's.'
'No—but you'll tell him. You're so outspoken15.'
'Well, I won't tell him—unless he asks me.'
She looked sad. 'He won't ask you—he'll never get as far.'
He smiled confidently. 'You're not very encouraging, dear; what's the matter with me?'
[103]'Everything. You're an artist, with all sorts of queer notions. And you're not so'—she blushed and hesitated—'not so rich——'
He pressed her fingers. 'Yes, I am; I'm the richest man here.'
A little delighted laugh broke from her lips, though they went on: 'But you told me your profits are small—marble is so dear.'
'So is celibacy16. I shall economize17 dreadfully by marrying.'
She pouted19; his flippancy20 seemed inadequate21 to the situation, and he seemed scarcely to realize that she was an heiress. But he continued to laugh away her fears. She was so beautiful and he was so strong—what could stand between them? Certainly not the Palestinian patriarch with whose inmost psychology22 he had, fortunately, become in such cordial sympathy.
But Mabel's pessimism23 was not to be banished24 even by the supper champagne26. They had secured a little table for two, and were recklessly absorbed in themselves.
'At the worst, we can elope to Palestine,' he said at last, gaily27 serious.
Mabel shuddered28. 'Live entirely29 among Jews!' she cried.
The radiance died suddenly out of his face; it was as if she had thrust the knife she was wielding30 through his heart. Her silent reception of his nationalist rhapsodies he had always taken for agreement.
Nor might Mabel have undeceived him had his ideas remained Platonic31. Their irruption into the world of practical politics, into her own life, was, however, another pair of shoes. Since Barstein had brought [104]Zionism to her consciousness, she had noted32 that distinguished33 Christians34 were quite sympathetic, but this was the one subject on which Christian opinion failed to impress Mabel. 'Zionism's all very well for Christians—they're in no danger of having to go to Palestine,' she had reflected shrewdly.
'And why couldn't you live entirely among Jews?' Barstein asked slowly.
Mabel drew a great breath, as if throwing off a suffocating35 weight. 'One couldn't breathe,' she explained.
'Aren't you living among Jews now?'
'Don't look so glum36, silly. You don't want Jews as background as well as foreground. A great Ghetto37!' And again she shuddered instinctively39.
'Every other people is background as well as foreground. And you don't call France a Ghetto or Italy a Ghetto?' There was anti-Semitism, he felt—unconscious anti-Semitism—behind Mabel's instinctive38 repugnance40 to an aggregation41 of Jews. And he knew that her instinct would be shared by every Jew in that festive42 aggregation around him. His heart sank. Never—even in those East End back-rooms where the pitiful disproportion of his consumptive-looking collaborators to their great task was sometimes borne in dismally43 upon him—had he felt so black a despair as in this brilliant supper-room, surrounded by all that was strong and strenuous44 in the race—lawyers and soldiers, and men of affairs, whose united forces and finances could achieve almost anything they set their heart upon.
'Jews can't live off one another,' Mabel explained with an air of philosophy.
[105]Barstein did not reply. He was asking himself with an artist's analytical45 curiosity whence came this suicidal anti-Semitism. Was it the self-contempt natural to a race that had not the strength to build and fend46 for itself? No, alas47! it did not even spring from so comparatively noble a source. It was merely a part of their general imitation of their neighbours—Jews, reflecting everything, had reflected even the dislike for the Jew; only since the individual could not dislike himself, he applied49 the dislike to the race. And this unconscious assumption of the prevailing50 point of view was quickened by the fact that the Jewish firstcomers were always aware of an existence on sufferance, with their slowly-won privileges jeopardized51 if too many other Jews came in their wake. He consulted his own pre-Zionist psychology. 'Yes,' he decided52. 'Every Jew who moves into our country, our city, our watering-place, our street even, seems to us an invader53 or an interloper. He draws attention to us, he accentuates54 our difference from the normal, he increases the chance of the renewal55 of Rishus (malice). And so we become anti-Semites ourselves. But by what a comical confusion of logic56 is it that we carry over the objection to Jewish aggregation even to an aggregation in Palestine, in our own land! Or is it only too logical? Is it that the rise of a Jewish autonomous57 power would be a standing58 reminder59 to our fellow-citizens that we others are not so radically60 British or German or French or American as we have vaunted ourselves? Are we afraid of being packed off to Palestine and is the fulfilment of the dream of eighteen centuries our deadliest dread18?'
The thought forced from him a sardonic61 smile.
[106]'And I feared you were like King Henry—never going to smile again.' Mabel smiled back in relief.
'We're such a ridiculous people,' he answered, his smile fading into sombreness. 'Neither fish, flesh, fowl62, nor good red herring.'
'Well, finish your good white fowl,' laughed Mabel. She had felt her hold over him slipping, and her own apprehensions64 now vanished in the effort to banish25 his gloom.
But she had only started him on a new tack65. 'Fowl!' he cried grimly. 'Kosher, of course, but with bits of fried Wurst to ape the scraps66 of bacon. And presently we shall be having water ices to simulate cream. We can't even preserve our dietary individuality. Truly said Feuerbach, "Der Mensch ist was er isst." In Palestine we shall at least dare to be true to our own gullets.' He laughed bitterly.
'You're not very romantic,' Mabel pouted. Indeed, this Barstein, whose mere48 ideal could so interrupt the rhapsodies due to her admissions of affection, was distinctly unsatisfactory. She touched his hand furtively67 under the tablecloth68.
'After all, she is very young,' he thought, thrilling. And youth was plastic—he, the sculptor, could surely mould her. Besides, was she not Sir Asher's daughter? She must surely have inherited some of his love for Palestine and his people. It was this Philistine69 set that had spoiled her. Julius, too, that young Oxford prig—he reflected illogically—had no doubt been a baleful influence.
'Shall I give you some almond-pudding?' he replied tenderly.
Mabel laughed uneasily. 'I ask for romance, and [107]you offer me almond-pudding. Oh, I should like to go to a Jewish party where there wasn't almond-pudding!'
'You shall—in Palestine,' he laughed back.
She pouted again. 'All roads lead to Palestine.'
'They do,' he said seriously. 'Without Palestine our past is a shipwreck70 and our future a quicksand.'
She looked frightened again. 'But what should we do there? We can't pray all day long.'
'Of course not,' he said eagerly. 'There's the new generation to train for its glorious future. I shall teach in the Arts and Crafts School. Bezalel, it's called; isn't that a beautiful name? It's from Bezalel, the first man mentioned in the Bible as filled with Divine wisdom and understanding in all manner of workmanship.'
She shook her head. 'You'll be excommunicated. The Palestine Rabbis always excommunicate everything and everybody.'
He laughed. 'What do you know about Palestine?'
'More than you think. Father gets endless letters from there with pressed flowers and citrons, and olive-wood boxes and paper-knives—a perennial71 shower. The letters are generally in the most killing72 English. And he won't let me laugh at them because he has a vague feeling that even Palestine spelling and grammar are holy.'
Barstein laughed again. 'We'll send all the Rabbis to Jericho.'
She smiled, but retorted: 'That's where they'll send you, you maker73 of graven images. Why, your very profession is forbidden.'
[108]'I'll corner 'em with this very Bezalel text. The cutting of stones is just one of the arts which God says He had inspired Bezalel with. Besides, you forget my statue at the Bale Congress.'
'Bale isn't Palestine. There's nothing but superstition74 and squalor, and I'm sorry to say father's always bolstering75 it all up with his cheques.'
'Bravo, Sir Asher! Unconsciously he has been bolstering up the eventual76 Renaissance77. Your father and his kind have kept the seed alive; we shall bring it to blossom.'
His prophetic assurance cast a fresh shade of apprehension63 over her marmoreal brow. But her face lightened with a sudden thought. 'Well, perhaps, after all, we shan't need to elope.'
'I never thought for a moment we should,' he answered as cheerfully. 'But, all the same, we can spend our honeymoon78 in Palestine.'
'Oh, I don't mind that,' said Mabel. 'Lots of Christians do that. There was a Cook's party went out from Middleton for last Easter.'
The lover was too pleased with her acquiescence79 in the Palestinian honeymoon to analyse the terms in which it was given. He looked into her eyes, and saw there the Shechinah—the Divine glory that once rested on Zion.
点击
收听单词发音
收听单词发音 |
1
psyche
|
|
| n.精神；灵魂 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
2
albeit
|
|
| conj.即使；纵使；虽然 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
3
loathing
|
|
| n.厌恶，憎恨v.憎恨，厌恶( loathe的现在分词)；极不喜欢 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
4
frankly
|
|
| adv.坦白地，直率地；坦率地说 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
5
premature
|
|
| adj.比预期时间早的；不成熟的，仓促的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
6
sculptor
|
|
| n.雕刻家，雕刻家 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
7
lithe
|
|
| adj.(指人、身体)柔软的，易弯的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
8
Christian
|
|
| adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
9
adoration
|
|
| n.爱慕，崇拜 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
10
provincial
|
|
| adj.省的，地方的；n．外省人，乡下人 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
11
Oxford
|
|
| n.牛津（英国城市） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
12
eulogy
|
|
| n.颂词；颂扬 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
13
disapproval
|
|
| n.反对，不赞成 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
14
niche
|
|
| n.壁龛；合适的职务(环境、位置等) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
15
outspoken
|
|
| adj.直言无讳的，坦率的，坦白无隐的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
16
celibacy
|
|
| n.独身(主义) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
17
economize
|
|
| v.节约，节省 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
18
dread
|
|
| vt.担忧，忧虑；惧怕，不敢；n.担忧，畏惧 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
19
pouted
|
|
| v.撅（嘴）( pout的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
20
flippancy
|
|
| n.轻率；浮躁；无礼的行动 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
21
inadequate
|
|
| adj.(for,to)不充足的，不适当的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
22
psychology
|
|
| n.心理，心理学，心理状态 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
23
pessimism
|
|
| n.悲观者，悲观主义者，厌世者 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
24
banished
|
|
| v.放逐，驱逐( banish的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
25
banish
|
|
| vt.放逐，驱逐；消除，排除 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
26
champagne
|
|
| n.香槟酒；微黄色 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
27
gaily
|
|
| adv.欢乐地，高兴地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
28
shuddered
|
|
| v.战栗( shudder的过去式和过去分词 )；发抖；（机器、车辆等）突然震动；颤动 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
29
entirely
|
|
| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
30
wielding
|
|
| 手持着使用（武器、工具等）( wield的现在分词 )； 具有； 运用（权力）； 施加（影响） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
31
platonic
|
|
| adj.精神的；柏拉图（哲学）的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
32
noted
|
|
| adj.著名的，知名的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
33
distinguished
|
|
| adj.卓越的，杰出的，著名的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
34
Christians
|
|
| n.基督教徒( Christian的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
35
suffocating
|
|
| a.使人窒息的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
36
glum
|
|
| adj.闷闷不乐的，阴郁的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
37
ghetto
|
|
| n.少数民族聚居区，贫民区 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
38
instinctive
|
|
| adj.(出于)本能的；直觉的；(出于)天性的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
39
instinctively
|
|
| adv.本能地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
40
repugnance
|
|
| n.嫌恶 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
41
aggregation
|
|
| n.聚合，组合；凝聚 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
42
festive
|
|
| adj.欢宴的，节日的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
43
dismally
|
|
| adv.阴暗地，沉闷地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
44
strenuous
|
|
| adj.奋发的，使劲的；紧张的；热烈的，狂热的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
45
analytical
|
|
| adj.分析的；用分析法的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
46
fend
|
|
| v.照料（自己），（自己）谋生，挡开，避开 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
47
alas
|
|
| int.唉(表示悲伤、忧愁、恐惧等) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
48
mere
|
|
| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
49
applied
|
|
| adj.应用的；v.应用，适用 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
50
prevailing
|
|
| adj.盛行的；占优势的；主要的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
51
jeopardized
|
|
| 危及，损害( jeopardize的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
52
decided
|
|
| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
53
invader
|
|
| n.侵略者，侵犯者，入侵者 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
54
accentuates
|
|
| v.重读( accentuate的第三人称单数 )；使突出；使恶化；加重音符号于 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
55
renewal
|
|
| adj.(契约)延期，续订，更新，复活，重来 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
56
logic
|
|
| n.逻辑(学)；逻辑性 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
57
autonomous
|
|
| adj.自治的；独立的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
58
standing
|
|
| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
59
reminder
|
|
| n.提醒物，纪念品；暗示，提示 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
60
radically
|
|
| ad.根本地，本质地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
61
sardonic
|
|
| adj.嘲笑的，冷笑的，讥讽的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
62
fowl
|
|
| n.家禽，鸡，禽肉 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
63
apprehension
|
|
| n.理解，领悟；逮捕，拘捕；忧虑 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
64
apprehensions
|
|
| 疑惧 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
65
tack
|
|
| n.大头钉；假缝，粗缝 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
66
scraps
|
|
| 油渣 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
67
furtively
|
|
| adv. 偷偷地, 暗中地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
68
tablecloth
|
|
| n.桌布，台布 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
69
philistine
|
|
| n.庸俗的人；adj.市侩的，庸俗的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
70
shipwreck
|
|
| n.船舶失事，海难 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
71
perennial
|
|
| adj.终年的；长久的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
72
killing
|
|
| n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
73
maker
|
|
| n.制造者，制造商 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
74
superstition
|
|
| n.迷信，迷信行为 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
75
bolstering
|
|
| v.支持( bolster的现在分词 )；支撑；给予必要的支持；援助 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
76
eventual
|
|
| adj.最后的，结局的，最终的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
77
renaissance
|
|
| n.复活，复兴，文艺复兴 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
78
honeymoon
|
|
| n.蜜月（假期）；vi.度蜜月 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
79
acquiescence
|
|
| n.默许；顺从 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
| 欢迎访问英文小说网 |