“And what is it you want?” asked Julia, listening to the old familiar and beloved roar of London. They were in Mrs. Herbert’s den5, and the hostess, her eyes still radiant with hospitality, was standing22 behind the low fire-screen with a hand on either point. Julia wondered if White Lodge23 were a nightmare.
“The vote. Because the time has come, men having made a mess of most things, for women to apply their higher faculties to the domestic affairs of the nation; also because the condition of poor women and children in this country is appalling24, and men have proved their utter indifference25 to a fact which is also a factor in so many great incomes. Moreover, men have had their day, just as monarchies26 and aristocracies have had their day. The day of woman and the working-class is dawning, and it is high time.”
“And are women ready?”
“Those that are not can be taught. That is what we are for.”
“We? I suppose,” with a sigh of resignation, “that is my métier, what I have been struggling toward all this time.”
“You recognize that you have abilities at last, then?”
“Oh, yes, and I shouldn’t wonder if I had ambition, but just now I don’t feel either ambitious or energetic. I’m wild to go to India and the rest of the East?—”
“Oh, nonsense, we’ve a great fight coming, and you must brace1 up and be one of the generals. Time enough to idle when you are old. Just now, until we can shut France up and ask the courts to give you an income, you are going to be my secretary?—”
“Do you really need one?”
“Do I? Well, rather. I had one of the best, but her mother is ill and she may not be able to return to me for months. You’ll have tons of letters to write.”
“So much the better, for I couldn’t live on even your charity.”
“Charity? When my only chance to have an intimate friend is in a secretary, I am so rushed? I’m companionless, but life is frantically27 interesting.”
And if Julia found herself unable to reach this pitch of enthusiasm, she certainly found the new book of life offered for her daily reading quite absorbing enough to fill her time and thoughts. Her clerical hours were short. The rest of the day, and often during half the night, she was seeing all the problems at first hand. She went daily with Bridgit to the East Side and saw poverty outside of books; poverty, unthinkable, criminal, fleshless, stinking28. At night she dreamed that all the babies in the world were wailing29 for food, all the mothers were emaciated30, with eyes of bitter resignation, all the little girls pinched and old and hard. Herded31 misery32, hopeless filth33, black despair. Julia was quite unable to recall the reverse side of the picture, in which many were healthy in spite of poverty, and cheerful if only because temperament34 is stronger than circumstance. She hoped that some day she should fully35 wake up and burn with a zeal36 as great as Bridgit’s, but now her brain was tired, and, had she but known it, she protested against living for others until she had lived for herself first. Quite as unconsciously her mind was made up to live her Eastern romance the moment she was free. She heard not a word from France, but guessed the truth; he had forgotten her. If this were the case, however, it might mean that at any moment he would be a dangerous lunatic, and she felt that the duke should be warned. As this was a delicate task, and as her uneasiness grew, she finally, on Bridgit’s advice, wrote to his firm of solicitors37. Solicitors are probably the most conservative members of conservative England; but full of duty withal. The junior member found himself overtaken by a storm near White Lodge and craved39 hospitality of his patron’s distinguished40 kinsman41. France, either because suspicion was still active in a brain not clouded, but blazing with a light unknown to common mortals, or because he happened to be in a good humor, had never appeared to better advantage. The solicitor38 returned to London so inflamed42 with indignation that the letter he wrote to Julia breathed his contempt for her entire sex. Julia shrugged43 her shoulders and dismissed the matter from her mind. Let them work out their own destinies.
When she was not haunting the slums, she was attending meetings: Fabian, labor44, working-women, co?perators’, old and new suffrage; at all of which the eternal problem of poverty was the main topic of discussion. She was also taken to visit the slaughter-houses, where the ignorance and savagery45 of the women employed was primeval. She visited the textile factories of the north, where the work of women and children at the loom46 was relieved only by alternate hours of drudgery47 in the home, and where there seemed no object in living whatever. The pit-brow women, at least, had developed the strength and endurance of men, and no doubt would have proved equally efficient in war.
Manchester was a very hot bed of social reform, and Julia was shown all the horrors to which reform owed its concept. She wondered increasingly at the frail48 fabric49 of aristocracy and wealth that tottered50 on its heaving foundations, and conceived some measure of respect for its cleverness.
This drastic experience was enlivened now and again by glimpses of Ishbel, still the merriest, and now the happiest, of mortals. The lines of fatigue51 and anxiety had disappeared, she was once more the prettiest woman in London, and she needed but the halo of her future position as Countess of Dark to make good people wonder how they could have forgotten it. Julia thought her the most fortunate of women, if only because she was realizing all the romantic dreams of her girlhood on the bogs52. Dark was handsome, clever, kind, almost unselfish. He was profoundly in love and he had a very decent income. Above all he had the most romantic title in the British peerage—Earl of Dark! No wonder those fluttering moths53 of American girls wanted titles. Such a one would make the dullest man in England look romantic to yearning54 republican eyes, when even an Ishbel was enchanted55 at the prospect56 of owning it.
“And yet I am the most practical of mortals—the half of me!” she said gayly, one day, as they sat in the boudoir over the shop, drinking tea unseasoned with reform. “Odd and modern combination!”
“But you’ll give up the shop?”
“Not really. It is co?perative now, and too many would suffer if I neglected it altogether, or withdrew. I must continue to see that it remains57 a success, for it is something to have solved the problem of living for a few women, at least.”
Julia hastily changed the subject.
“Shall you become a society beauty again?”
“I’ve hardly thought of it. I mean to be happy, and I think we’ll travel and live in the country for a year. Society is always with us. That first year! No duties shall share an hour of it.”
“Right you are. I never could love and never want to, and I’m quite resigned to becoming a torch-bearer, suffering martyrdom, if necessary, in the cause of woman, but meanwhile I’ve something up my sleeve. I dare not mention it to Bridgit again, and shall have to run away when my time comes, but I can confide58 in you. The moment I am free I am going to India—Persia—Arabia—and stay there until some other part of me is gratified, I hardly know what. I only know that the call is unceasing and that I never can accomplish anything here, whole-heartedly, at least, until I have got that off my mind.”
“By all means, go. It’s unhealthy to repress your strongest personal desires, and you are young yet. I wonder, by the way, if you will ever have the zeal of these other women? You have a sort of sardonic59 humor?—”
“I want a career, and in this rising inevitable60 woman’s movement lies my chance. When my time comes, my zeal will be great enough—for all they can give me I’ll pay them back a hundred fold. I want power if only because nothing less will pay the debt of these last years, and I am horribly sorry for the poor of the world. When I am ready I shall jump into the arena61 with my torch, but I’ll find myself wholly in the East first.”
“Why not go now? I can let you have the money.”
“No, I’ll wait.”
As it happened she did not have long to wait. She and Bridgit were driving home one evening after talking to an intelligent club of East End women, when they heard the familiar cry of “Extra,” and a flaming handbill was waved in front of the window as the brougham was blocked. Bridgit, whose quick glance overlooked nothing, exclaimed, “Great heaven!” and leaned out, throwing the boy a sixpence.
“What is it?” asked Julia, languidly. She had been forced on to the platform, and was still cold from fright. “A strike?”
Bridgit lifted the tube and gave an order to the coachman that made Julia sit erect62.
“Kingsborough House.” Then to her companion, “France tried to kill the duke this afternoon.”
They found Kingsborough House in confusion, the flunkys looking as flabby as if the ramrods in their backs had dissolved, leaving nothing but the sawdust stuffing. The duchess was in hysterics upstairs (“she is sure to be an anti,” remarked Mrs. Herbert); the duke was under the care of his doctor; but Lady Arabella received them, and graciously observed that she was glad to see that Julia still felt herself a member of the house of France. She told them the story, which was brief enough. France had suddenly appeared that afternoon, and upon being shown into the duke’s study had sprung upon his kinsman before the footman had closed the door, demanding that he should abdicate63 in his favor, threatening him with immediate9 death if he refused. The footman had called other footmen, and it had taken four of them to hold France down while the duke, his coat torn off and his face bleeding, had himself telephoned for the police. France meanwhile had struggled like a demon64, shouting that he had come to kill not only the duke but the boy, that his time had come to live and theirs to die, that they were deliberate malicious65 enemies who stood between him and the greatness which would permit him to send his invitations to the crowned heads of Europe; and “heaven knows what else,” added the distressed66 Lady Arabella. “To think of poor Harold going mad. At first we thought he might merely have been drinking, but with the police came poor Edward’s doctor, and he pronounced him as mad as a hatter. Do stay here with me to-night, Julia. You are a clever little thing, and always keep your wits about you.”
Julia remained at Kingsborough House for several days. When the duke heard what little of her own story she was willing to tell, and that she had endeavored to protect him through his solicitors, he was honest enough to admit that he would have been hard to convince of a kinsman’s insanity67, and generous enough to be grateful to her. Indeed, so relieved was he at his narrow escape, and at the report of the lunacy commission which incarcerated68 France for life, that he bubbled over with something like human nature; and, as the expensive sanatorium would cut deeply into his cousin’s original income, announced his intention of giving Julia for life seven hundred and fifty of the thousand pounds he had so long allowed her husband. Julia refused this offer, until the duke told her impatiently that if she did not take it he would merely pay Harold’s expenses in the sanatorium, and leave her to the courts, also that she was legally a member of his family, and pride, therefore, absurd. Julia turned this over, and concluding that the house of France owed her a good deal more than it could ever pay, consented and thought no more about it. A month later she was on a P. and O. steamer bound for India.
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1
brace
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| n. 支柱,曲柄,大括号; v. 绷紧,顶住,(为困难或坏事)做准备 | |
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determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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expressive
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| adj.表现的，表达…的，富于表情的 | |
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ardent
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| adj.热情的，热烈的，强烈的，烈性的 | |
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den
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| n.兽穴；秘密地方；安静的小房间，私室 | |
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6
hearty
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| adj.热情友好的；衷心的；尽情的，纵情的 | |
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7
awakened
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| v.（使）醒( awaken的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）觉醒；弄醒；（使）意识到 | |
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applied
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| adj.应用的；v.应用，适用 | |
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immediate
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| adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的 | |
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horrified
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| a.(表现出)恐惧的 | |
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socialists
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| 社会主义者( socialist的名词复数 ) | |
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inspector
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| n.检查员，监察员，视察员 | |
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suffrage
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| n.投票，选举权，参政权 | |
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abominable
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| adj.可厌的，令人憎恶的 | |
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grievances
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| n.委屈( grievance的名词复数 )；苦衷；不满；牢骚 | |
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16
faculties
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| n.能力( faculty的名词复数 )；全体教职员；技巧；院 | |
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17
sleepless
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| adj.不睡眠的，睡不著的，不休息的 | |
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elimination
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| n.排除，消除，消灭 | |
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ballot
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| n.（不记名）投票，投票总数，投票权；vi.投票 | |
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apathy
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| n.漠不关心，无动于衷；冷淡 | |
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spurts
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| 短暂而突然的活动或努力( spurt的名词复数 )； 突然奋起 | |
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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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lodge
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| v.临时住宿，寄宿，寄存，容纳；n.传达室，小旅馆 | |
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appalling
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| adj.骇人听闻的，令人震惊的，可怕的 | |
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indifference
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| n.不感兴趣，不关心，冷淡，不在乎 | |
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monarchies
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| n. 君主政体, 君主国, 君主政治 | |
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frantically
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| ad.发狂地, 发疯地 | |
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28
stinking
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| adj.臭的，烂醉的，讨厌的v.散发出恶臭( stink的现在分词 )；发臭味；名声臭；糟透 | |
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wailing
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| v.哭叫，哀号( wail的现在分词 )；沱 | |
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30
emaciated
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| adj.衰弱的，消瘦的 | |
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herded
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| 群集，纠结( herd的过去式和过去分词 )； 放牧； （使）向…移动 | |
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misery
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| n.痛苦，苦恼，苦难；悲惨的境遇，贫苦 | |
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filth
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| n.肮脏，污物，污秽；淫猥 | |
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temperament
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| n.气质，性格，性情 | |
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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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zeal
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| n.热心，热情，热忱 | |
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solicitors
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| 初级律师( solicitor的名词复数 ) | |
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solicitor
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| n.初级律师，事务律师 | |
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39
craved
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| 渴望，热望( crave的过去式 )； 恳求，请求 | |
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40
distinguished
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| adj.卓越的，杰出的，著名的 | |
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kinsman
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| n.男亲属 | |
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42
inflamed
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| adj.发炎的，红肿的v.（使）变红，发怒，过热( inflame的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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43
shrugged
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| vt.耸肩（shrug的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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44
labor
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| n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦 | |
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45
savagery
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| n.野性 | |
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46
loom
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| n.织布机，织机；v.隐现，(危险、忧虑等)迫近 | |
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47
drudgery
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| n.苦工，重活，单调乏味的工作 | |
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48
frail
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| adj.身体虚弱的；易损坏的 | |
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49
fabric
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| n.织物，织品，布；构造，结构，组织 | |
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50
tottered
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| v.走得或动得不稳( totter的过去式和过去分词 )；踉跄；蹒跚；摇摇欲坠 | |
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51
fatigue
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| n.疲劳，劳累 | |
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52
bogs
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| n.沼泽，泥塘( bog的名词复数 )；厕所v.（使）陷入泥沼， （使）陷入困境( bog的第三人称单数 )；妨碍，阻碍 | |
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53
moths
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| n.蛾( moth的名词复数 ) | |
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54
yearning
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| a.渴望的；向往的；怀念的 | |
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55
enchanted
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| adj. 被施魔法的，陶醉的，入迷的 动词enchant的过去式和过去分词 | |
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56
prospect
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| n.前景，前途；景色，视野 | |
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57
remains
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| n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹 | |
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58
confide
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| v.向某人吐露秘密 | |
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59
sardonic
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| adj.嘲笑的，冷笑的，讥讽的 | |
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60
inevitable
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| adj.不可避免的，必然发生的 | |
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61
arena
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| n.竞技场，运动场所；竞争场所，舞台 | |
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62
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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63
abdicate
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| v.让位，辞职，放弃 | |
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64
demon
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| n.魔鬼，恶魔 | |
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65
malicious
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| adj.有恶意的，心怀恶意的 | |
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66
distressed
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| 痛苦的 | |
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67
insanity
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| n.疯狂，精神错乱；极端的愚蠢，荒唐 | |
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68
incarcerated
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| 钳闭的 | |
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