With the approach of evening, a soothing3 breeze crept up from the river. Its faint movement brought a measure of relief, and nature took on a more animated4 aspect.
Up through the narrow, twisting roads, in and out of the never-ending paths, the lights of countless5 jinrikishas twinkled, bound for the Houses of Pleasure. Revelers called to each other out of the balmy darkness. Under the quivering light of a lifted lantern, suspended for an instant, faces gleamed out, then disappeared back into the darkness.
To the young Lord Saito Gonji the night seemed to speak with myriad6 tongues. Like some finely tuned7 instrument whose slenderest string must vibrate if touched by a breath, so the heart of the youth was stirred by every appeal of the night. He heard nothing of the chatter8 and laughter of those about him. For the time at least, he had put behind him that sickening, deadening thought that had borne him company now for so long. He was giving himself up entirely9 to the brief hour of joy, which had been agreeably extended to him in extenuation10 of the long life of thralldom yet to come.
It was in his sole honor that the many relatives and connections of his family had assembled, joyously11 to celebrate the fleeting12 hours of youth. For within a week the Lord Saito Gonji was to marry. Upon this pale and dreamy youth the hopes of the illustrious house of Saito depended. To him the august ancestors looked for the propagating of their honorable seed. He was the last of a great family, and had been cherished and nurtured13 for one purpose only.
With almost as rigid14 care as would have been bestowed15 upon a novitiate priest, Gonji had been educated.
“Send the child you love upon a journey,” admonished16 the stern-hearted Lady Saito Ichigo to her husband; and so at the early age of five the little Gonji was sent to Kummumotta, there to be trained under the strictest discipline known to the samourai. Here he developed in strength and grace of body; but, seemingly caught in some intangible web, the mind of the youth awoke not from its dreams. His arm had the strength of the samourai, said his teachers, but his spirit and his heart were those of the poet.
There came a period when he was placed in the Imperial University, and a new life opened to the wondering youth. New laws, new modes of thought, the alluring17 secrets of strange sciences, baffling and fascinating, all opened their doors to the infatuated and eager Gonji. With the enthusiasm born of his solitary18 years, the boy grasped avidly19 after the ideals of the New Japan. His career in college was notable. In him professor and student recognized the born leader and genius. He was to do great things for Japan some day!
Then came a time when the education of the youth was abruptly20 halted, and he was ordered to return to his home. While his mind was still engaged in the fascinating employment of planning a career, his parents ceremoniously presented him to Ohano, a girl he had known from childhood and a distant relative of his mother’s family. Mechanically and obediently the dazed Gonji found himself exchanging with the maiden21 the first gifts of betrothal22.
Ohano was plump, with a round, somewhat sullen23 face, a pouting24, full-lipped mouth, and eyes so small they seemed but mere25 slits26 in her face. She had inherited the inscrutable, disdainful expression of her lofty ancestors.
Though he had played with her as a child and had seen her upon every occasion during his school vacations, Gonji looked at her now with new eyes. As a little boy he had liked Ohano. She was his sole playmate, and it had been his delight to tease her. Now, as he watched her stealthily, he was consumed with a sense of unutterable despair. Could it be that his fairest dreams were to end with Ohano?
Like every other Japanese youth, who knows that some day his proper mate will be chosen and given to him, Gonji had conjured27 up a lovely, yielding creature of the imagination, a gentle, smiling, mysterious Eve, who, like a new world, should daily surprise and delight him. As he looked at Ohano, sitting placidly28 and contentedly29 by his side, he was conscious only of an inner tumult30 of rebellion and repulsion against the chains they were forging inexorably about him and this girl. It was impossible, he felt, to drag him nearer to her. The very thought revolted, stunned31 him, and suddenly, rudely, he turned his back upon his bride.
The relatives agreed that something should be done to offset32 the gloom of the first stages of betrothal. It was suggested that the bridegroom have a full week of freedom. As was the custom among many, he should for the first time be introduced to the life of gaiety and pleasure that lay outside the lofty, ancestral walls, the better, later, to appreciate the calm and pure joys of home and family.
In single file the jinrikishas had been running along a narrow road which overlooked city and bay. Now they swerved33 into shadowy by-paths and plunged34 into the heart of the woods. A velvety35 darkness, through which the drivers picked their way with caution, enwrapped them.
For some time the tingling36 music of samisen and drum close by had been growing ever clearer. Suddenly the glimmer37 of many lights was seen, as if suspended overhead. Almost unconsciously faces were raised, excited breaths drawn38 in admiration39 and approval. Like a great sparkling jewel hung in mid-air, the House of Slender Pines leaned over its wooded terraces toward them.
Gay little mousmés, rubbing hands and knees together, ran to meet them at the gate, kowtowing and hissing40 in obeisance41. The note of a samisen was heard; and a thin little voice, sweet, and incredibly high, broke into song. Geishas, with great flowers in their hair, fell into a posturing42 group, dancing with hand, head, and fan. Gonji watched them in a fascinated silence, noting the minutest detail of their attire43, their expression, their speech. They belonged to a world which, till now, he had not been permitted even to explore. Nay44, till but recently he had been rigidly45 guarded from even the slightest possible contact with these little creatures of joy. Soon he was to be set in the niche46 destined47 for him by his ancestors. Here was his sole opportunity to seize the fleeting delights of youth.
A laughing-faced mousmé, red-lipped and with saucy48, teasing eyes that peeped at him from beneath veiled lashes49, knelt to hold his sake-tray. He leaned gravely toward the girl and examined her face with a curious wonder; but her smile brought no response to the somewhat sad and somber50 lips of the young man, nor did he even deign51 to sip52 the fragrant53 cup she tendered.
An elder cousin offered some chaffing advice, and an hilarious54 uncle suggested that the master of the house put his geishas upon parade; but the father of Gonji roughly interposed, declaring that his son’s thoughts, naturally, were elsewhere. It was so with all expectant bridegrooms. His father’s words awoke the boy from his dreaming. He turned very pale and trembled. His head drooped55 forward, and he felt an irresistible56 inclination57 to cover his face with his hands. His father’s voice sounded in gruff whisper at his ear:
“Pay attention. You see now the star of the night. It is the famous Spider, spinning her web!”
As Gonji slowly raised his head and gazed like one spellbound at the dancer, his father added, with a sudden vehemence58:
“Take care, my son, lest she entrap59 thee, too, like the proverbial fly.”
A hush60 had fallen upon the gardens. Almost it seemed as if the tiny feet of the dancer stirred not at all. Yet, with imperceptible advances, she moved nearer and nearer to her fascinated audience. Above her flimsy gown of sheerest veiling, which sprang like a web on all sides and above her, her face shone with its marvelous beauty and allurement61. Her lips were apart, smiling, coaxing62, teasing; and her eyes, wide and very large, seemed to seek over the heads of her audience for the one who should prove her prey63. It was the final motion of the dance of the Spider, the seeking for, the finding, the seizing of her imaginary victim. Now the Spider’s eyes had ceased to wander. They were fixed64 compellingly upon those of the Lord Saito Gonji.
He had arisen to his feet, and with a half-audible exclamation—a sound of an indrawn sigh—he advanced toward the dancer. For a moment, breathlessly, he stood close beside her. The subtle odor of her perfumed hair and body stole like a charm over his senses. Her sleeve fluttered against his hand for but the fraction of a moment, yet thrilled and tormented65 him. He looked at the Spider with the eyes of one who sees a new and radiant wonder. Then darkness came rudely between them. The geisha’s face vanished with the light. He was standing66 alone, staring into the darkness, his father’s voice droning meaninglessly in his ear.
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1
monotonous
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| adj.单调的，一成不变的，使人厌倦的 | |
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2
twilight
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| n.暮光，黄昏；暮年，晚期，衰落时期 | |
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soothing
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| adj.慰藉的；使人宽心的；镇静的 | |
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animated
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| adj.生气勃勃的，活跃的，愉快的 | |
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countless
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| adj.无数的，多得不计其数的 | |
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myriad
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| adj.无数的；n.无数，极大数量 | |
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7
tuned
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| adj.调谐的，已调谐的v.调音( tune的过去式和过去分词 )；调整；（给收音机、电视等）调谐；使协调 | |
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8
chatter
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| vi.／n.喋喋不休；短促尖叫；(牙齿)打战 | |
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9
entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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10
extenuation
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| n.减轻罪孽的借口；酌情减轻；细 | |
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11
joyously
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| ad.快乐地, 高兴地 | |
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12
fleeting
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| adj.短暂的，飞逝的 | |
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13
nurtured
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| 养育( nurture的过去式和过去分词 )； 培育； 滋长； 助长 | |
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14
rigid
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| adj.严格的，死板的；刚硬的，僵硬的 | |
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15
bestowed
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| 赠给，授予( bestow的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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16
admonished
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| v.劝告( admonish的过去式和过去分词 )；训诫；（温和地）责备；轻责 | |
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17
alluring
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| adj.吸引人的，迷人的 | |
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18
solitary
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| adj.孤独的，独立的，荒凉的；n.隐士 | |
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19
avidly
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| adv.渴望地，热心地 | |
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20
abruptly
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| adv.突然地，出其不意地 | |
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21
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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22
betrothal
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| n. 婚约, 订婚 | |
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23
sullen
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| adj.愠怒的，闷闷不乐的，(天气等)阴沉的 | |
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24
pouting
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| v.撅（嘴）( pout的现在分词 ) | |
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25
mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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26
slits
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| n.狭长的口子，裂缝( slit的名词复数 )v.切开，撕开( slit的第三人称单数 )；在…上开狭长口子 | |
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27
conjured
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| 用魔术变出( conjure的过去式和过去分词 )； 祈求，恳求； 变戏法； （变魔术般地） 使…出现 | |
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28
placidly
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| adv.平稳地，平静地 | |
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29
contentedly
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| adv.心满意足地 | |
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30
tumult
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| n.喧哗；激动，混乱；吵闹 | |
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31
stunned
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| adj. 震惊的，惊讶的 动词stun的过去式和过去分词 | |
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32
offset
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| n.分支，补偿；v.抵消，补偿 | |
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33
swerved
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| v.（使）改变方向，改变目的( swerve的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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34
plunged
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| v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降 | |
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35
velvety
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| adj. 像天鹅绒的, 轻软光滑的, 柔软的 | |
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36
tingling
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| v.有刺痛感( tingle的现在分词 ) | |
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37
glimmer
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| v.发出闪烁的微光；n.微光，微弱的闪光 | |
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38
drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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39
admiration
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| n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕 | |
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40
hissing
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| n. 发嘶嘶声, 蔑视 动词hiss的现在分词形式 | |
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41
obeisance
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| n.鞠躬，敬礼 | |
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42
posturing
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| 做出某种姿势( posture的现在分词 ) | |
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43
attire
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| v.穿衣，装扮[同]array；n.衣着；盛装 | |
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44
nay
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| adv.不；n.反对票，投反对票者 | |
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45
rigidly
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| adv.刻板地，僵化地 | |
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46
niche
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| n.壁龛；合适的职务(环境、位置等) | |
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47
destined
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| adj.命中注定的；(for)以…为目的地的 | |
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48
saucy
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| adj.无礼的；俊俏的；活泼的 | |
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49
lashes
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| n.鞭挞( lash的名词复数 )；鞭子；突然猛烈的一击；急速挥动v.鞭打( lash的第三人称单数 )；煽动；紧系；怒斥 | |
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50
somber
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| adj.昏暗的，阴天的，阴森的，忧郁的 | |
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51
deign
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| v. 屈尊, 惠允 ( 做某事) | |
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52
sip
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| v.小口地喝，抿，呷；n.一小口的量 | |
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53
fragrant
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| adj.芬香的，馥郁的，愉快的 | |
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54
hilarious
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| adj.充满笑声的，欢闹的；[反]depressed | |
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55
drooped
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| 弯曲或下垂，发蔫( droop的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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56
irresistible
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| adj.非常诱人的，无法拒绝的，无法抗拒的 | |
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57
inclination
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| n.倾斜；点头；弯腰；斜坡；倾度；倾向；爱好 | |
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58
vehemence
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| n.热切；激烈；愤怒 | |
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59
entrap
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| v.以网或陷阱捕捉，使陷入圈套 | |
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60
hush
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| int.嘘，别出声；n.沉默，静寂；v.使安静 | |
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61
allurement
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| n.诱惑物 | |
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62
coaxing
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| v.哄，用好话劝说( coax的现在分词 )；巧言骗取；哄劝，劝诱；“锻炼”效应 | |
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63
prey
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| n.被掠食者，牺牲者，掠食；v.捕食，掠夺，折磨 | |
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64
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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65
tormented
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| 饱受折磨的 | |
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66
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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