Well, I don't know what you fellows think, but as far as I'm concerned,' Trevor Gillingham remarked, with an expansive wave of his delicate white hand, 'my verdict on the Last of the Plantagenets is simply this: the Prince of the Blood has been weighed in the balance and found wanting.'
It was a fortnight later, in Faussett's rooms in the Chapel1 Quad2 at Durham (Chapel Quad is the most fashionably expensive quarter), and a party of raw lads, who took themselves for men, all gathered round their dessert, were engaged in discussing their fellow-undergraduate. The table groaned3 with dried fruits and mandarin4 oranges. Faussett himself raised to his lips a glass of Oxford5 wine-merchant's sherry—'our famous Amontillado as imported, thirty-six shillings the dozen'—and observed in a tone of the severest criticism: 'Oh, the man's a smug; a most unmitigated smug: that's the long and the short of it.'
Now, to be a smug is, in Oxford undergraduate circles, the unpardonable sin. It means, to stop in your own rooms and moil and toil6, or to lurk7 and do nothing, while other men in shoals are out and enjoying themselves. It means to avoid the river and the boats; to shun8 the bump-supper; to decline the wine-party. Sometimes, it is true, the smug is a curmudgeon9; but sometimes he is merely a poor and hard-working fellow, the sort of person whom at forty we call a man of ability.
'Well, I won't go quite so far as that,' one of the other lads observed, smacking10 his lips with an ostentatious air of judicial11 candour, about equally divided between Dick and the claret. 'I won't quite condemn12 him as a smug, unheard. But it's certainly odd he shouldn't join the wine-club.'
He was a second-year man, the speaker, one Westall by name, who had rowed in the Torpids; and as the rest were mostly freshmen13 of that term, his opinion naturally carried weight with all except Gillingham. He, indeed, as a Born Poet, was of course allowed a little more license14 in such matters than his even Christians15.
'Up till now,' Faussett put in, with a candid16 air of historical inquiry17, 'you see every Durham man has always as a matter of course subscribed18 to the wine-club. Senior men tell me they never knew an exception.'
Gillingham looked up from his easy-chair with a superior smile. 'I don't object to his not joining it,' he said, with a curl of the cultured lip, for the Born Poet of course represented culture in this scratch collection of ardent19 young Philistines20; 'but why, in the name of goodness, didn't he say outright21 like a man he couldn't afford it? It's the base hypocrisy22 of his putting his refusal upon moral grounds, and calling himself a total abstainer23, that sets my back up. If a man's poor in this world's goods, and can't afford to drink a decent wine, in heaven's name let him say so; but don't let him go snuffling about, pretending he doesn't care for it, or he doesn't want it, or he doesn't like it, or he wouldn't take it if he could get it. I call that foolish and degrading, as well as unmanly. Even Shakespeare himself used to frequent the Mermaid24 tavern25. Why, where would all our poetry be, I should like to know, if it weren't for Bacchus? Bacchus, ever fair and ever young? “War, he sang, is toil and trouble; Honour but an empty bubble; Never ending, still beginning; Fighting still, and still destroying; If the world be worth thy winning, Think, oh, think it worth enjoying.”'
And Gillingham closed his eyes ecstatically as he spoke26, and took another sip27 at the thirty-six Amontillado, in a rapture28 of divine poesy.
'Hear, hear!' Faussett cried, clapping his hands with delight. 'The Born Poet for a song! The Born Poet for a recitation! You men should just hear him spout29 “Alexander's Feast.” It's a thing to remember! He's famous as a spouter30, don't you know, at Rugby. Why, he's got half the British poets or more by heart, and a quarter of the prose authors. He can speak whole pages. But “Alexander's Feast” is the thing he does the very best of all. Whenever he recites it he brings the house down.'
'Respect for an ancient and picturesque31 seat of learning prevents me from bringing down the roof of Durham College, then,' Gillingham answered lightly, with a slight sneer32 for his friend's boyish enthusiasm. 'Besides, my dear boy, you wander from the subject. When the French farmer asked his barn-door fowls33 to decide with what sauce they would wish to be eaten, they held a meeting of their own in the barton-yard, and sent their spokesman to say, “If you please, M. le Propriétaire, we very much prefer not to be eaten.”
“Mes amis,” said the farmer, “vous vous écartez de la question.” And that's your case, Faussett. The business before the house is the moral turpitude34 and mental obliquity35 of the man Plantagenet, who refuses—as he says, on conscientious36 grounds—to join the college wine-club. Now, I take that as an insult to a society of gentlemen.'
'What a lark37 it would be,' Faussett cried, 'if we were to get him up here just now, offer him some wine, to which he pretends he has a conscientious objection—unless somebody else pays for it—make him drink success to the cause of total abstinence, keep filling up his glass till we make him dead drunk, and then set him at the window in a paper cap to sing “John Barleycorn.”'
Gillingham's thin lip curled visibly. 'Your humour, my dear boy,' he said, patting Faussett on the back, 'is English—English—essentially38 English. It reminds me of Gilray. It lacks point and fineness. Your fun is like your neckties—loud, too loud! You must cultivate your mind (if any) by a diligent39 study of the best French models. I would recommend, for my part, as an efficient antidote40, a chapter of De Maupassant and an ode of Fran?ois Coppée's every night and morning.'
'But if Plantagenet's poor,' one more tolerant lad put in apologetically, 'it's natural enough, after all, he shouldn't want to join the club. It's precious expensive, you know, Gillingham. It runs into money.'
The Born Poet was all sweet reasonableness.
'To be poor, my dear Matthews,' he said, with a charming smile, turning round to the objector, 'as Beau Brummell remarked about a rent in one's coat, is an accident that may happen to any gentleman any day; but a patch, you must recognise, is premeditated poverty. The man Plan-tagenet may be as poor as he chooses, so far as I'm concerned; I approve of his being poor. What so picturesque, so affecting, so poetical41, indeed, as honest poverty? But to pretend he doesn't care for wine—that's quite another matter. There the atrocity43 comes in—the vulgarian atrocity. For I call such a statement nothing short of vulgar.' He raised his glass once more, and eyed the light of the lamp through the amethystine44 claret with poetic42 appreciation45. 'Now give the hautboys breath,' he cried, breaking out once more in a fit of fine dithyrambic inspiration; 'he comes! he comes! Bacchus, ever fair and ever young, Drinking joys did first ordain46. Bacchus' blessings47 are a treasure; Drinking is the soldier's pleasure. Rich the tr-r-reasure. Sweet the pleasure. Sweet is pleasure after pain.'
And when Gillingham said that, with his studiously unstudied air of profound afflatus48, everybody in the company felt convinced at once that Plantagenet's teetotalism, real or hypocritical, simply hadn't got a leg left to stand upon. They turned for consolation49 to the Carlsbad plums and the candied cherries.
But at the very same moment, in those more modest rooms, up two pair of stairs in the Back Quad, which Dick had selected for himself as being the cheapest then vacant, the Prince of the Blood himself sat in an old stuffed chair, in a striped college boating coat, engaged in discussing his critic Gillingham in a more friendly spirit with a second-year man, who, though not a smug, was a reader and a worker, by name Gillespie, a solid Glasgow Scotchman. They had rowed together that afternoon in a canvas pair to Sandford, and now they were working in unison50 on a chapter or two of Aristotle.
'For my own part,' Dick said, 'when I hear Gillingham talk, I'm so overwhelmed with his knowledge of life and his knowledge of history, and his extraordinary reading, that I feel quite ashamed to have carried off the Scholarship against him. I feel the examiners must surely have made a mistake, and some day they'll find it out, and be sorry they elected me.'
'You needn't be afraid of that,' Gillespie answered, smiling, and filling his pipe. 'You lack the fine quality of a “guid conceit51 o' yoursel,” Plantagenet. I've talked a bit with Gillingham now and again, and I don't think very much of him. He's not troubled that way. He's got an extraordinary memory, and a still more extraordinary opinion of his own high merits; but I don't see, bar those two, that there's anything particularly brilliant or original about him. He's a poet, of course, and he writes good verses. Every fellow can write good verses nowadays. The trick's been published. All can raise the flower now, as Tennyson puts it, for all have got the seed. But, as far as I can judge Gillingham, his memory's just about the best thing about him. He has a fine confused lot of undigested historical knowledge packed away in his head loose; but he hasn't any judgment52; and judgment is ability. The examiners were quite right, my dear fellow; you know less than Gillingham in a way; but you know it more surely, and you can make better use of it. His work's showy and flashy; yours is solid and serviceable.'
And Gillespie spoke the truth. Gradually, as Dick got to see more of the Born Poet's method, he found Gillingham out; he discovered that the great genius was essentially a poseur53. He posed about everything. His r?le in life, he said himself, was to be the typical poet; and he never forgot it. He dressed the part; he acted it; he ate and drank poetically54. He looked at everything from the point of view of a budding Shakespeare, with just a dash of Shelley thrown in, and a suspicion of Matthew Arnold to give modern flavour. Add a tinge55 of Baudelaire, Victor Hugo, Ibsen, for cosmopolitan56 interest, and you have your bard57 complete. He was a spectator of the drama of human action, he loved to remark; he watched the poor creatures and the pretty creatures at their changeful game—doing, loving, and suffering. He saw in it all good material for his art, the raw stuff for future plays to astonish humanity. Meanwhile, he lay low at Durham College, Oxford, and let the undergraduate world deploy58 itself before him in simple Bacchic guise59 or Heraclean feats60 of strength and skill.
Dick saw more of Gillespie those first few terms than of anyone else in college. He was a thorough good fellow, Archibald Gillespie, and he had just enough of that ballast of common-sense and knowledge of the world which was a trifle lacking to the romantic country-bred lad fresh up from Chiddingwick. He helped Dick much with his work, and went much with him on the river. And Dick worked with a will at his history all that year, and pulled an oar61 with the best of them; though he found time, too, to coach a fellow-undergraduate going in for 'Smalls,' which increased his income by ten whole pounds—an incredible sum to him. When he thought of how hard it used to be to earn ten pounds at Mr. Wells's in the High Street at Chiddingwick, no wonder Oxford seemed to him a veritable Eldorado.
In spite of hard work, however, and frequent tight places, that first term at Oxford was a genuine delight to him. Who that has known it does not look back upon his freshman62 year, even in middle life, with regretful enjoyment63? Those long mornings in great lecture-rooms, lighted up with dim light from stained-glass windows; those golden afternoons on the gleaming river or among the fields towards Iffey; those strolls round the leafy avenues of Christ Church walks; those loitering moments in Magdalen cloisters64! What lounging in a punt under the chestnuts65 by the Cherwell; what spurts66 against the stream on the river by Godstow! All, all is delightful67 to the merest full-blooded boy; to Richard Plantagenet's romantic mind, stored with images of the past, 'twas a perpetual feast of fantastic pleasure.
He wrote to Mary twice a week. He would have written every day, indeed, if Mary had allowed him; but the lady of his love more prudently68 remarked that Mrs. Tradescant would be tempted69 to inquire in that case as to the name and business of her constant correspondent: He wrote her frankly70 all his joys and griefs, and she in return quite as frankly sympathized with him. Boy and girl as they were, it was all very pleasant. To be sure, it was understood and arranged on both sides beforehand by the high contracting parties that these letters were to be taken as written on purely71 friendly grounds, and, as the lawyers say, 'without prejudice'; still, as time went on, they grew more and more friendly, until at last it would have required the critical eye of an expert in breach-of-promise cases to distinguish them at first sight from ordinary love-letters. Indeed, just once, towards the end of term, Dick went so far as to begin one short note, 'Dearest Mary,' which was precisely72 what he always called her to himself in his own pleasant day-dreams; and then he had the temerity73 to justify74 his action in so many words by pleading the precedent75 of this purely mental usage. But Mary promptly76 put a stop to such advances by severely77 beginning her reply, 'Dear Mr. Plantagenet'; though, to be sure, she somewhat spoilt the moral effect of so stern a commencement by confessing at once in the sequel that she had headed her first draught78 with a frank 'Dear Dick,' and then torn it up, after all, being ashamed to send it.
When Dick read that deliciously feminine confession79, consigned80 in blushing ink to fair white maiden81 notepaper, his heart gave a jump that might have been heard in Tom Quad, and his face grew as red as Mary's own when she penned it.
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1
chapel
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| n.小教堂，殡仪馆 | |
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quad
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| n.四方院；四胞胎之一；v.在…填补空铅 | |
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3
groaned
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| v.呻吟( groan的过去式和过去分词 )；发牢骚；抱怨；受苦 | |
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Mandarin
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| n.中国官话，国语，满清官吏；adj.华丽辞藻的 | |
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Oxford
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| n.牛津（英国城市） | |
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toil
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| vi.辛劳工作，艰难地行动；n.苦工，难事 | |
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lurk
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| n.潜伏，潜行；v.潜藏，潜伏，埋伏 | |
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shun
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| vt.避开，回避，避免 | |
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curmudgeon
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| n. 脾气暴躁之人，守财奴，吝啬鬼 | |
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smacking
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| 活泼的，发出响声的，精力充沛的 | |
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judicial
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| adj.司法的，法庭的，审判的，明断的，公正的 | |
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condemn
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| vt.谴责，指责；宣判(罪犯)，判刑 | |
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freshmen
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| n.（中学或大学的）一年级学生( freshman的名词复数 ) | |
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license
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| n.执照，许可证，特许；v.许可，特许 | |
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Christians
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| n.基督教徒( Christian的名词复数 ) | |
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candid
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| adj.公正的，正直的；坦率的 | |
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inquiry
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| n.打听，询问，调查，查问 | |
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subscribed
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| v.捐助( subscribe的过去式和过去分词 )；签署，题词；订阅；同意 | |
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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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philistines
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| n.市侩，庸人( philistine的名词复数 )；庸夫俗子 | |
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outright
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| adv.坦率地；彻底地；立即；adj.无疑的；彻底的 | |
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hypocrisy
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| n.伪善，虚伪 | |
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abstainer
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| 节制者，戒酒者，弃权者 | |
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mermaid
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| n.美人鱼 | |
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tavern
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| n.小旅馆，客栈；小酒店 | |
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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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sip
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| v.小口地喝，抿，呷；n.一小口的量 | |
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rapture
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| n.狂喜；全神贯注；着迷；v.使狂喜 | |
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spout
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| v.喷出，涌出；滔滔不绝地讲；n.喷管；水柱 | |
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spouter
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| 喷油井；捕鲸船；说话滔滔不绝的人；照管流出槽的工人 | |
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picturesque
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| adj.美丽如画的，（语言）生动的，绘声绘色的 | |
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sneer
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| v.轻蔑；嘲笑；n.嘲笑，讥讽的言语 | |
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fowls
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| 鸟( fowl的名词复数 )； 禽肉； 既不是这； 非驴非马 | |
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turpitude
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| n.可耻；邪恶 | |
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obliquity
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| n.倾斜度 | |
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conscientious
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| adj.审慎正直的，认真的，本着良心的 | |
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lark
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| n.云雀，百灵鸟；n.嬉戏，玩笑；vi.嬉戏 | |
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essentially
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| adv.本质上，实质上，基本上 | |
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diligent
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| adj.勤勉的，勤奋的 | |
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40
antidote
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| n.解毒药，解毒剂 | |
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poetical
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| adj.似诗人的；诗一般的；韵文的；富有诗意的 | |
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poetic
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| adj.富有诗意的，有诗人气质的，善于抒情的 | |
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atrocity
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| n.残暴，暴行 | |
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amethystine
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| adj.紫水晶质的，紫色的；紫晶 | |
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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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ordain
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| vi.颁发命令；vt.命令，授以圣职，注定，任命 | |
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47
blessings
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| n.（上帝的）祝福( blessing的名词复数 )；好事；福分；因祸得福 | |
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48
afflatus
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| n.灵感，神感 | |
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consolation
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| n.安慰，慰问 | |
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50
unison
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| n.步调一致，行动一致 | |
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51
conceit
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| n.自负，自高自大 | |
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52
judgment
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| n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见 | |
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53
poseur
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| n.装模作样的人 | |
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54
poetically
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| adv.有诗意地，用韵文 | |
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55
tinge
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| vt.(较淡)着色于，染色；使带有…气息；n.淡淡色彩，些微的气息 | |
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56
cosmopolitan
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| adj.世界性的，全世界的，四海为家的，全球的 | |
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57
bard
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| n.吟游诗人 | |
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58
deploy
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| v.（军）散开成战斗队形，布置，展开 | |
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59
guise
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| n.外表，伪装的姿态 | |
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60
feats
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| 功绩，伟业，技艺( feat的名词复数 ) | |
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oar
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| n.桨，橹，划手；v.划行 | |
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freshman
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| n.大学一年级学生(可兼指男女) | |
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enjoyment
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| n.乐趣；享有；享用 | |
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cloisters
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| n.（学院、修道院、教堂等建筑的）走廊( cloister的名词复数 )；回廊；修道院的生活；隐居v.隐退，使与世隔绝( cloister的第三人称单数 ) | |
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65
chestnuts
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| n.栗子( chestnut的名词复数 )；栗色；栗树；栗色马 | |
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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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67
delightful
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| adj.令人高兴的，使人快乐的 | |
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68
prudently
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| adv. 谨慎地，慎重地 | |
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69
tempted
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| v.怂恿（某人）干不正当的事；冒…的险（tempt的过去分词） | |
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70
frankly
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| adv.坦白地，直率地；坦率地说 | |
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purely
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| adv.纯粹地，完全地 | |
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72
precisely
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| adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地 | |
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73
temerity
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| n.鲁莽，冒失 | |
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74
justify
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| vt.证明…正当(或有理)，为…辩护 | |
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75
precedent
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| n.先例，前例；惯例；adj.在前的，在先的 | |
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76
promptly
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| adv.及时地，敏捷地 | |
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77
severely
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| adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地 | |
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78
draught
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| n.拉，牵引，拖；一网（饮，吸，阵)；顿服药量，通风；v.起草，设计 | |
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79
confession
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| n.自白，供认，承认 | |
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80
consigned
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| v.把…置于（令人不快的境地）( consign的过去式和过去分词 )；把…托付给；把…托人代售；丟弃 | |
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81
maiden
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| n.少女，处女；adj.未婚的，纯洁的，无经验的 | |
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