Pleasant and pink was Mr. Francis's face; his hair, though silver, still crisp and vigorous, his mouth a perpetual smile. In absolute repose7[Pg 14] even a sunshine lingered there, as in a bottle of well-matured wine, and its repose left it but to give place to laughter. All dinner through he had been the mouthpiece of delightful8 anecdote9, of observations shrewd but always kindly10, rising sometimes almost to the dry levels of wit, and never failing in that genial11 humour without which all conversation, not directed to a definite end, becomes intolerable. Though talking much, he was no usurper12 of the inalienable right of the others to wag the tongue; and though his own wagged to vibration13, he was never tedious. Even in the matter of riddles14, introduced by Geoffrey, he had a contribution or two to make, of so extravagant15 a sort that this ordinarily dismal16 mode of entertainment was for the moment rendered delightful. He unbent to the level of the young men, to the futility18 of most disconnected conversation, without ever seeming to unbend; you would have said that his narrow, clerically opening shirt, with its large cravat19 and massive gold studs, covered the heart of a boy, that the brains of a clever youth lay beneath that silver hair, prematurely20 white, indeed, yet not from grief or the conduct of a world long unkind. In person he was somewhat short, "without the inches of a Vail," as he himself said, and pleasantly inclined to stoutness21, but to the stoutness which may come early to a healthy appetite and a serene22 digestion23, for it was not accompanied either by pallid24 flabbiness or colour unduly25 high, and by the artificial light scarcely a wrinkle could be scrutinized26 on his[Pg 15] beaming face. His dress was precise and scrupulous27, yet with a certain antique touch about it, as of one who had been something of a buck28 in the sixties; his linen29 far more than clean and fresh, and of a snowiness which certainly implied special injunction to the washerwoman. His trouser pockets were cut, we may elegantly say, not at the side of those indispensable coverings, but toward the front of the bow window, and there dangled30 from the lip of one a fob of heavy gold seals. His watch chain he wore round his neck, and at the bottom of his waistcoat pocket there reposed31, you may be sure, a yellow-faced watch, large and loud-ticking—an unerring timekeeper.
They had now approached the end of dinner; decanters glowed on the table, and a silver cigarette box, waiting untouched, at Mr. Francis's request, till the more serious business of wine was off the palate, stood by Harry32's dessert plate. Already, even in this second hour of their acquaintance, the three felt like old friends, and as the wine was on its first round, the two young men were bent17 eagerly forward to hear the conclusion of a most exciting little personal anecdote told them by Mr. Francis. He had to perfection that great essential of the narrator—intense interest and appreciation33 of what he was himself saying, and the climax34 afforded him the most obvious satisfaction. In his right hand he held his first glass of untasted port, and, after an interval35 accorded to laughter, he suddenly rose.
"And," he said, "comes the pleasantest moment[Pg 16] of our delightful evening. Harry, my dear boy, here is long life and happiness to you, from the most sincere of your well-wishers. And for myself I pray that a very old man may some time dance your children on his knee. God bless you, my dearest fellow!"
He drank the brimming glass honestly to the last drop, and held out his hand to the young man with a long and hearty37 grasp. Then, with quick tact38, seeing the embarrassment39 of remark-making in Harry's face, he sat down again, and without pause enticed40 the subject off the boards.
"How well I remember your dear father coming of age!" he said. "Dear me, it must be forty years ago, nearly twice as long a time as you have lived; there's a puzzle for Mr. Langham, like the one he gave me to do. It was this very port, I should say, in which we drank his health. The yellow seal, is it not, Harry? Yes, yes; your grandfather laid it down in the year forty-five, and we used to drink it only on very great occasions, for he would say to me that it was a gift he had put in entail41 for his grandchildren, and was not for us. And so it has turned out! He was very fond of port, too, was dear old Dennis; it was not a gift that cost him nothing. You would scarcely remember your grandfather, Harry?"
"I just remember him, Uncle Francis," said the lad, "but only as a very old man. I don't think he liked children for whenever he saw me he would have no more than a word or two to say, and then he would send for you."
[Pg 17]
"Yes, yes, so he would, so he would," said Mr. Francis; "and we used to have great games together, did we not, Harry? Games, did I say? Indeed, we seemed to be real red Indians in the wilderness42, and Crusaders, with paper lances. Dear me! I could play such games still. Hide-and-seek, too, a grand business. It requires, as poor Antrobus used to say, all the strategy of a general directing a campaign, combined with the unflinching courage of the private who has to go straight forward, expecting artillery43 to open on him every minute. Yes, and the old man felt it, too; I have seen him playing it with his grandchildren when he was prime minister, and, upon my word, he was more earnest about it than the young people!"
Coffee had come in, and after a few minutes the three passed out into the hall. At the door, however, Harry paused, and stayed behind in the dining room. Mr. Francis took Geoffrey's arm in his affectionate way and the two strolled into the hall.
"It has been so pleasant to me to meet you, my dear boy," he was saying; "for years ago I knew some of your people well. No, I do not think I ever knew your father. But, you must know, I am bad at surnames: one only calls the tradespeople Mr. So-and-so, and I shall call you Geoffrey. You are Harry's best friend; I have a claim upon you. Fine hall, is it not? And the pictures—well, they are a wonderful set. There is nothing like them for completeness in England, if[Pg 18] one excepts the royal collections; and, indeed, I think there is less rubbish here."
The portraits were lit by small shaded lamps which stood beneath each, so that the whole light was thrown on to the picture and the beholder44 left undazzled. Mr. Francis had strolled up to the fireplace, still retaining Geoffrey's arm, and together they looked at the picture of Francis, second baron46.
"A wonderful example of Holbein," said Mr. Francis; "I do not know a finer. They tried hard to get it for the exhibition a few years ago, but it couldn't leave Vail. I should have been quite uncomfortable at the thought of it out of the house. Now, some people have told me—Ah! I see you have noticed it, too."
"Surely there is an extraordinary likeness47 between you and it," said Geoffrey. "Harry just pointed48 to it when I asked him what you were like."
Mr. Francis's eyes pored on the picture with a sort of fascination49.
"A wonderful bit of painting," he said. "And how clearly you see not only the man's body, but his soul! That is the true art of the portrait painter."
"But not always pleasant for the sitter," remarked Geoffrey.
"I am not so sure. You imply, no doubt, that it was not pleasant for this old fellow."
"I should not think his soul was much to be proud of," said Geoffrey.
[Pg 19]
"You mean he looks wicked?" said Mr. Francis, still intent on the canvas. "Well, God forgive him! I am afraid he must have been. But that being so, I suspect he was as much in love with his own soul as a good man is for he does not look to me a weak man—one who is forever falling and repenting50. There is less of Macbeth and more of his good lady in old Francis. Infirm of purpose? No, no, I think not!"
He turned abruptly51 away from the picture, and broke out into a laugh.
"He was a wicked old man, we are afraid," he said, "and I am exactly like him."
"Ah! that is not fair," cried Geoffrey.
"My dear boy, I was only chaffing. And here is Harry; what has he got?"
Harry had come after them as they spoke52 thus together, carrying in his hand a square leather case. The thing seemed to be of some weight.
"I wanted to show you and Geoff what I have found, Uncle Francis," he said. "I thought perhaps you could tell me about it. It was in one of the attics—of all places in the world—hidden, it seemed, behind some old pictures. Templeton and I found it."
Mr. Francis whisked round with even more than his accustomed vivacity54 of movement at Harry's words.
"Yes, yes," he said, with some impatience55. "Open it, then, my dear boy, open it!"
An old lock of curious work secured the[Pg 20] leather strap56 which fastened the case, but this dangled loose from it, attached to its hasp.
"We could find no key for it," explained Harry, "and had to break it open."
As he spoke, he drew from the case an object swathed in wash leather, but the outline was clearly visible beneath its wrappings.
"Ah! it is so," said Mr. Francis, below his breath, and as Harry unfolded the covering they all stood silent. This done, he held up to the light what it contained. It was a large golden goblet57 with two handles, of a size perhaps to hold a couple of quarts of liquor, and even by lamplight it was a thing that dazzled the eye and made the mouth to water. But solid gold as it was, and of chaste58 and exquisite59 workmanship, there was scarce an inch of it that was not worth more than the whole value of the gold and the craft bestowed60 thereon, so thickly was it incrusted with large and precious stones. Just below the lip of the cup ran a ring of rubies61 of notable size and wonderful depth of colour; and below, at a little interval, six emerald stars, all clear-set in the body of the cup. The lower part was chased with acanthus leaves, each outlined in pearls, and up the fluted62 stem climbed lordly sapphires63. Sapphires again traced the rim36 of the foot, and in each handle was clear-set a row of diamonds—no chips and dust, but liquid eyes and lobes64 of light. Halfway65 down the bowl of the cup, between the emerald stars and the points of the acanthus leaves, ran a plain panel of gold on which was engraved66, in[Pg 21] small, early English characters, some text that encircled the whole.
Harry was standing67 close under the lamp as he took off the covering, and remained there a moment, holding in his hand the gorgeous jewel, and looking at it with a curiously68 fixed69 attention, unconscious of the others. Then he handed it to his uncle.
"Tell me about it; what is it, Uncle Francis?" he asked; and involuntarily, as the old man took it, he glanced at the picture of Francis, second baron, who in the portrait held, beyond a doubt, the same treasure that they were now examining.
Mr. Francis did not at once reply, but handled the cup for a little while in silence, with awe70 and solemnity in his attitude and expression. As he turned it this way and that in his grasp, jewel after jewel caught the light and shone refracted in points of brilliant colour on his face. The burnished71 band on which was engraved the circling of the text cut a yellow line of reflection across his nose and cheeks, which remained steady, but over the rest of his face gleams of living colour shone and passed; and now as a ruby72, now an emerald, sent their direct rays into his eyes, they would seem lit inside by a gleam of red or green. At length he looked up.
"Hear what the thing says of itself," he said. "I will read it you."
Then, turning the cup till he had found the[Pg 22] beginning of the text, he read slowly, the cup revolving73 to the words:
"When the Luck of the Vails is lost,
Fear not fire nor rain nor frost;
When the Luck is found again,
Fear both fire and frost and rain."
"Very pretty," said Geoffrey, with a critical air, but Mr. Francis made no reply. His eyes were still fixed on the jewel.
"But what is it?" asked Harry.
"This? The cup?" he said. "It is what I have read to you. It is the Luck of the Vails."
Geoffrey laughed. "You've got it, Harry, anyhow," he said, "for weal or woe74. How does it run? Fear fire and frost and rain. Take care of yourself, old man, and don't smoke in bed, and don't skate over deep water."
Mr. Francis turned to him quickly, with a sudden recovery of his briskness75.
"You and I would risk all that, would we not, Geoffrey," he said, "to have found such a beautiful thing?—Yes, Harry, I see you have noticed it. There it is in old Francis's hand in the picture. Where else should it be if not there? Whether he made it or not I can't tell you, but that is its first appearance, as far as we know."
Still holding it, he looked at the portrait, then stretched it out to Harry.
"There, take it," he said quickly.
"But tell us all about it," said Harry. "What[Pg 23] happened to it afterward76? How is it I never heard of it?"
"Your father would never speak of it," said Mr. Francis; "nor your grandfather either. Your father never saw it, and your grandfather only once, when he was quite a little boy. Neither could bear to speak of it when it was lost. And so it was in the attic53 all the time!"
Harry's eyes were sparkling; a sudden animation77 seemed to possess him.
"Tell us from the beginning," he said.
He was already wrapping the goblet up again, and Mr. Francis looked greedily at it till the last jewel had been hidden in the wash leather.
"Well, it is a strange story, and a short one," he said, "for so little is known of it. It has appeared and disappeared several times since Holbein painted it there, as unaccountably as it has appeared again now. In the attic all the time!" he exclaimed again.
"But the legend; what does the legend mean?" asked Harry.
"I have no idea. Perhaps it is some old rhyme, perhaps it is a mere78 conceit79 of the goldsmith. But, be that as it may, those of your house who have possessed80 the Luck always seemed to think that it brought them luck. It was in old Francis's time, you know, that coal was found on your Derbyshire estate, which so enriched him for a while. In his son's time certainly the Luck disappeared, for we have a letter of his about it, and as certainly the field of coal came to an end.[Pg 24] It appeared again some eighty years later, and again disappeared; and then the grandfather of your grandfather found it. He, you know, married the wealthy Barbara Devereux, and it was he who showed the Luck to your grandfather. Then it was lost for the last time, and with it all his money, in the South-Sea Bubble."
Harry looked a shade disappointed at this bald narrative81.
"Is that all?" he asked. "Where do the fire, and frost, and rain come in?"
Mr. Francis laughed.
"Well, oddly enough, old Francis was burned to death in his bed, and Mark Vail was drowned. Harry Vail, the last holder45 of it, was frozen to death in his travelling carriage crossing the St. Gothard. But a man must die somehow; is it not so? Poor, wicked old Francis, he thought to bring a curse on the house, if it was indeed he who made the Luck, but how futile82, how futile! Did he think that the elements were in league with some occult power of magic and darkness that he possessed? Ah! no; beneficent Nature is not controlled by such a hand. He knows that well maybe now, and perhaps therein is his chastisement83, for, indeed, he was a man of devilish mind."
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1
spacious
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| adj.广阔的，宽敞的 | |
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spaciousness
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| n.宽敞 | |
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conviviality
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| n.欢宴，高兴，欢乐 | |
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4
hilarity
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| n.欢乐；热闹 | |
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5
repletion
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| n.充满，吃饱 | |
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joviality
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| n.快活 | |
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7
repose
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| v.(使)休息；n.安息 | |
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8
delightful
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| adj.令人高兴的，使人快乐的 | |
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9
anecdote
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| n.轶事，趣闻，短故事 | |
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10
kindly
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| adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地 | |
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genial
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| adj.亲切的，和蔼的，愉快的，脾气好的 | |
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usurper
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| n. 篡夺者, 僭取者 | |
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13
vibration
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| n.颤动，振动；摆动 | |
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riddles
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| n.谜（语）( riddle的名词复数 )；猜不透的难题，难解之谜 | |
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15
extravagant
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| adj.奢侈的；过分的；(言行等)放肆的 | |
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dismal
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| adj.阴沉的，凄凉的，令人忧郁的，差劲的 | |
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17
bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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18
futility
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| n.无用 | |
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cravat
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| n.领巾，领结；v.使穿有领结的服装，使结领结 | |
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prematurely
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| adv.过早地，贸然地 | |
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21
stoutness
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| 坚固，刚毅 | |
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serene
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| adj. 安详的，宁静的，平静的 | |
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digestion
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| n.消化，吸收 | |
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pallid
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| adj.苍白的，呆板的 | |
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unduly
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| adv.过度地，不适当地 | |
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scrutinized
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| v.仔细检查，详审( scrutinize的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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scrupulous
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| adj.审慎的，小心翼翼的，完全的，纯粹的 | |
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28
buck
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| n.雄鹿，雄兔；v.马离地跳跃 | |
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29
linen
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| n.亚麻布，亚麻线，亚麻制品；adj.亚麻布制的，亚麻的 | |
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30
dangled
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| 悬吊着( dangle的过去式和过去分词 )； 摆动不定； 用某事物诱惑…； 吊胃口 | |
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31
reposed
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| v.将（手臂等）靠在某人（某物）上( repose的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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32
harry
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| vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼 | |
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appreciation
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| n.评价；欣赏；感谢；领会，理解；价格上涨 | |
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34
climax
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| n.顶点；高潮；v.(使)达到顶点 | |
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35
interval
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| n.间隔，间距；幕间休息，中场休息 | |
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rim
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| n.(圆物的)边，轮缘；边界 | |
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hearty
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| adj.热情友好的；衷心的；尽情的，纵情的 | |
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tact
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| n.机敏，圆滑，得体 | |
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embarrassment
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| n.尴尬；使人为难的人(事物)；障碍；窘迫 | |
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enticed
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| 诱惑，怂恿( entice的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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entail
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| vt.使承担，使成为必要，需要 | |
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42
wilderness
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| n.杳无人烟的一片陆地、水等，荒漠 | |
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43
artillery
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| n.(军)火炮，大炮；炮兵(部队) | |
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44
beholder
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| n.观看者，旁观者 | |
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45
holder
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| n.持有者，占有者；(台，架等)支持物 | |
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46
baron
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| n.男爵；(商业界等)巨头，大王 | |
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47
likeness
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| n.相像，相似（之处） | |
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48
pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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49
fascination
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| n.令人着迷的事物，魅力，迷恋 | |
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50
repenting
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| 对（自己的所为）感到懊悔或忏悔( repent的现在分词 ) | |
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51
abruptly
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| adv.突然地，出其不意地 | |
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52
spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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53
attic
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| n.顶楼，屋顶室 | |
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54
vivacity
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| n.快活，活泼，精神充沛 | |
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55
impatience
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| n.不耐烦，急躁 | |
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56
strap
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| n.皮带，带子；v.用带扣住，束牢；用绷带包扎 | |
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57
goblet
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| n.高脚酒杯 | |
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58
chaste
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| adj.贞洁的；有道德的；善良的；简朴的 | |
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59
exquisite
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| adj.精美的；敏锐的；剧烈的，感觉强烈的 | |
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60
bestowed
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| 赠给，授予( bestow的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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61
rubies
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| 红宝石( ruby的名词复数 )； 红宝石色，深红色 | |
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62
fluted
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| a.有凹槽的 | |
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63
sapphires
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| n.蓝宝石，钢玉宝石( sapphire的名词复数 )；蔚蓝色 | |
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64
lobes
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| n.耳垂( lobe的名词复数 )；（器官的）叶；肺叶；脑叶 | |
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65
halfway
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| adj.中途的，不彻底的，部分的；adv.半路地，在中途，在半途 | |
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66
engraved
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| v.在（硬物）上雕刻（字，画等）( engrave的过去式和过去分词 )；将某事物深深印在（记忆或头脑中） | |
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67
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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68
curiously
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| adv.有求知欲地；好问地；奇特地 | |
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69
fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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70
awe
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| n.敬畏，惊惧；vt.使敬畏，使惊惧 | |
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71
burnished
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| adj.抛光的，光亮的v.擦亮（金属等），磨光( burnish的过去式和过去分词 )；被擦亮，磨光 | |
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72
ruby
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| n.红宝石，红宝石色 | |
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73
revolving
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| adj.旋转的，轮转式的；循环的v.（使）旋转( revolve的现在分词 )；细想 | |
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74
woe
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| n.悲哀，苦痛，不幸，困难；int.用来表达悲伤或惊慌 | |
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75
briskness
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| n.敏捷，活泼 | |
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76
afterward
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| adv.后来；以后 | |
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77
animation
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| n.活泼，兴奋，卡通片／动画片的制作 | |
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78
mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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79
conceit
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| n.自负，自高自大 | |
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80
possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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81
narrative
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| n.叙述，故事；adj.叙事的，故事体的 | |
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82
futile
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| adj.无效的，无用的，无希望的 | |
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83
chastisement
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| n.惩罚 | |
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