When Lissa had hinted of unsavory things to him, Hobart dismissed the matter with a careless speech and a shrug2 of the shoulders. This he had learned to do long ago, whenever Lissa came prattling3 of some imaginary scandal which pleased her tarnished4 mind. There had been the time she tried to convince Hobart that Collin really did not paint his own pictures, but hypnotized Polly into doing it and thus kept her starving in a garret, hopelessly in love with Collin and Collin playing a modern Svengali. Lissa had endeavored for many days to make Ernestine believe that Caleb was the storm center of a liaison5 with a Broadway actress, thus ferreting out Ernestine’s state of mind concerning Caleb and promptly6 running to Caleb to tell him, ever so confidentially7, that Ernestine was in danger of drinking herself to death, poor woman,—too bad she loved that wretched gypsy violinist[336] who had played with her in concert work—could nothing be done about it? The world had soon learned not to value Lissa’s information, paying no heed8 to her hints of Sam Sparling’s dreadful actions or that Bliss9 Hobart did not go to his hermitage in the Maine woods—why, there was the silliest little movie actress at San Diego—living in a perfect castle, too—
So Hobart, well versed10 in tactics, when Lissa approached him on the subject of Dan and Thurley, managed to switch the conversation on to the information that Mark had danced so poorly his position as premier11 was threatened and Lissa had better adopt the diet of a Belgian refugee if she still wished to look her best in tailored things! Lissa, ousted12 for the time being, would depart to vent13 her wrath14 on the shoulders of her maid or Mark, who was, in truth, dancing poorly because he was bored and he felt dancing was not a man’s life-work when other things kept whispering themselves to him—and, hang it all, why did a clean cut, wonder girl like Thurley let Lissa pull her around by the nose anyway?
In a spirit of half earnest, half flippant revenge for Hobart’s neglect, Thurley sang poorly at a salon15 concert at which Hobart was the host. She so resorted to Lissa’s mannerisms that Caleb took notes on his cuff16 for future use.
Thurley knew the concert was a failure since she was to be the one to make it a success. She refused to meet Hobart’s disappointed gaze, pretending to be engrossed17 in listening to a Russian agitator18 telling of his escape over the frontier.
The next morning, when Thurley was debating whether or not it would be convenient to have Dan visit her so soon again, if this summer was to be spent in shocking the natives or, as Caleb had urged, selecting a[337] site for a permanent country home and seeing it well on its way to completion by fall, she lifted the telephone receiver to answer its ring and heard Bliss Hobart’s voice—his teacher voice—saying,
“Come over at ten, Thurley, you’ve a lot to answer for.”
But he had disconnected. She deliberately20 made herself late by overdressing. A mad hatter’s model of a bonnet21 in blue and a frock of rose taffeta with a coat to match furnished her with the proper scenery, she admitted to herself. She slipped in to where Miss Clergy industriously22 sat knitting army socks and told her she was off for a coaching lesson.
“A coaching or a dancing lesson?” Miss Clergy asked mischievously23.
“Both,” Thurley declared.
She found Hobart in his inner study; he was playing an old gavotte and greeting her with a curt24 nod.
“Well—is a luncheon25 to follow the lesson? You must have thought I’d keep you all morning. I’ve a pupil at eleven.”
“I dress to suit my mood. Some mornings I have a desire for a winding27 sheet; this morning I wanted rose taffeta and sapphire28 velvet29.”
Hobart smiled. “Does Miss Clergy ever row about your adorers?”
Thurley flushed, saying in a more natural voice, “Not exactly. To her mind it is the more enhancing—keeping mankind at bay. And it settles a distressing30 question for me.... I daresay I’d make a cropper of marriage,[338] most of us do. This way, I do as I like,” turning to contemplate31 the empty fireplace. “Must I be coached this morning?” she added. “My throat feels scratchy and I have a benefit concert to-night.”
“It wasn’t your voice—but yourself.” He ended the song and, rising, took an opposite chair before the fireplace. “I am going away earlier than usual this year because of some work in England; making art aid the war. If I don’t see you again, let me give you a little moral coaching which is all you need to set you right.”
She would have interrupted, but he held up a protesting hand. “Age before camouflage,” he pleaded. “For a long time, Thurley, I have been watching you. You have come now to where you feel that an utter disregard of morals is really preparation and a necessary frame of mind in order to win the violet crown—”
“What do you mean by the violet crown?” She did not look at him.
“One of my pet names.” He became boyish in manner as he always did when prevailed upon to speak of the things nearest his heart. “I’ve a lot of pet names—and secrets—tucked under this salt and pepper hair of mine. A long time ago, I sang rather well,—nice people have said I sang as well as yourself, with as much ease and as little training. That was why I understood you. My mother was an Italian and my father an American, but we lived in Italy to please my mother and, after my father died, she felt she could not bear to leave the blessed memories, for they had been ideally happy.” He seemed lost in a reverie from which he roused himself with an effort to continue:
“After my mother was gone and I was singing as well as yourself and every one making quite a fuss over me and wanting me to tour America,” he seemed to dread[339] even the saying of the words, “I loved a woman who was older than myself and who sang, too, but not well—more like Lissa. I loved her very dearly and, of course, I believed in her. But she was an art intriguer32 and not a worker and she said she loved me merely because my golden voice meant real gold—for her to spend.... After awhile,—I suppose I became a tedious, dreamy lad too occupied with ideals,—she found a man with a great deal of money and no more knowledge of music or art than a lapdog has.... Without telling me, she went up to Paris and they were married and she laughed at my moonings and made fun of my ideals.... For a long time I was ill, absurdly so, and when I was well, my voice was gone,” he tried to speak lightly, “but in its stead I had a vision.... Does that sound too superlative? It does to myself, for it is one of the things words spoil the full meaning of; it would take music to express it, a sonata35 inspired by the three oldest sounds in the world—”
“What are they?” Thurley asked, feeling the simple girl from Birge’s Corners again, a de luxe Topsy!
“The wind, the death cry of a warrior36 and a woman’s sobs,” he answered so quickly she knew it had been clear to him for a long time. “No one will ever write the sonata, so words must do their best. At least, I choose to whom they shall be said. For it is as if you were looking into the very soul of me, as a mother does when she first sees her newborn child, the instant when the mysterious bond between them is formed for all time, despite all happenings.”
Thurley leaned forward in her chair, her blue eyes serious. “I shall understand,” she promised.
“I have never told any one all I shall tell you to-day, because I could not bear to have them jangle and disagree in silly, stupid ways—like an auctioneer trying to[340] prove that the contents of a shrine38 were not of intrinsic value but merely worth while as souvenirs! Because I think it is worth while, I shall tell you. All the others,” he shook his head, “were not worth it! Nor could I have told you at the beginning—you could not have understood. Now, you are at the crossroads, flirting39 with each direction, undecided which way you are going to travel.”
“I shall understand you,” she repeated. To herself she added, “Because I love you!”
“It seemed to me as I pulled myself together after the fever and cast about for another way of being useful, that true art was not symbolized40 by a laurel wreath but by a violet crown—I daresay the notion started from my admiration41 of the wonderful enamelled cups used in cathedrals—lavender and sapphire. So I named the symbol for genius, the crown typifying supremacy42, violet, as the ecclesiastics43 interpret it—humbleness, for those who possess true genius must be ever mindful of the sparrow’s fall. It has seemed to me the violet crown could be, figuratively, won only by such a nation as America, which, like the Child in the temple, commanded respect and consideration of the elders—or the Old World with its shallow reasonings as to art. For the Old World has, to my mind, treated art and its artists somewhat after the fashion of Barmecide’s Feast—the Arabian Nights’ tale of the prince who bade the beggar sit at the snowy table a-glitter with golden service and, lo, when the platters were lifted, the plates were devoid45 of food! So it is with true art—we have had wonderful achievements, but we have not yet made ourselves realize the moral significance and responsibility of art and artists, that has been as devoid of justice as the golden plates of Prince Barmecide were of food—” He paused.
[341]
Thurley was eager to speak. “Why, then, can I understand your vision?” hoping for but one reply.
“Because you are one of the vanguard! Another of my secrets! There are never many of the vanguard, and we are not always rich or great or talented. Sometimes the vanguard of civilization are humble44 and their earthly record most uninteresting. But have you never thought to yourself there were just a few, rare souls who—who understand? Who can smile at the trials the world seeks to escape from and sometimes sob37 at the vapid46 joys for which the world strives so unceasingly? The vanguard can make the most out of little and belittle47 the most. They seem to glimpse the coming trials of the nation and her resultant triumphs; they are never given to cowardice48 of flesh or spirit. As a general’s military vanguard moves further along the battleline, so we, the altruistic49 vanguard, must be ever ahead of the times in thought, deed and prophecy. It is not always a pleasant r?le—to blaze the trail. The vanguard are usually misjudged, ridiculed50 and never idle—”
“So the first vanguard was the group at Calvary who gave defiance51 to the mob.” Thurley forgot the personal issue between them.
He nodded, well pleased. “In science, theology, economics, art, so on, we always find a few members allying themselves distinctly with each great cause and these few dare to see and to say wherein lie the errors of the past and the possibilities of the future. Let you and me, Thurley, as artists help America as a nation to the winning of the violet crown.”
“This war—” she began.
“Ah, not this physical war, for it will be over within a short time—so to speak. America will enter and soon surface peace will result. But long, long afterwards—when[342] art assumes fairly normal proportions and consideration and the world lapses52 back into the old ways—what then? Some one has said the French have taken this war as an immortal53 martyrdom and the British as a bully54, well worth while game—then let our nation take it as the chance to win the violet crown—first by the necessary sacrifice and change in extravagant55, thoughtless living which will prepare our minds to be ready for the great moral battle long after the fields of Flanders are recreated into fragrant56 orchards57.”
“Then you did not want to preach to me,” Thurley sighed with relief.
“This is all a part of it,” he warned, “for you have strayed far from the vanguard. First, to finish about myself. For I have been glad the world lost an excellent tenor58 because he might have been a foolish one. I am better placed as I am; but you, Thurley, are running amuck59. Why this shallow flippancy60? This false basis of theories, mistaking shadow for substance? Because you hear such and such a great diva bore a child for a crown prince—that this artist acts under the influence of morphine and that one paints only when addled61 from absinthe—you must not pursue these phantoms62 of self-indulgence—and you who sit there looking confused yet combative63, you are at this very moment halfway64 inviting65 an intrigue33 with an honest country lad—Dan Birge! Can you not remember that scullery maids as well as prima donnas dabble66 their virtue67 in cheap stains; there is nothing distinctive68 about it?”
Instantly at war with herself, yet happy because Hobart was speaking to her, Thurley, of her personal tangles69, she began a spirited defence, using Lissa’s blasé theories.
He waved them aside, answering in a brusque manner,[343] a contrast to his dreamy fashion of a moment ago, “You say, ‘I am different—on an independent train!’ Then so are we all, rich man, poor man, beggar man, thief.
“Why applaud, throw gold, even title a man or a woman who, despite remarkable70 ability, has betrayed every simple tenet of faith and mocked at the very subject matter which gives them their laurel wreath? We need a new standard for art, Thurley.
“As the air has been conquered for a flight, a dozen things of science, a broader version of theology, let us make the standards of personality of importance in considering genius. Ultimately we should not lose. The artists themselves would be the spiritual gainers, if forced to live up to the ideals they so conscientiously71 and glibly72 prescribe for every one else. You hear of a tradesman who abuses his family and his business invariably falls off as a result. Yet we encore a man who has cynically74 betrayed a young girl and laugh indulgently when reading of his drunken escapades. ‘But what a Romeo!’ we say. ‘We must excuse him—an artist, you know.’ There is an end of it. Is it not true that in politics nothing damns a candidate more than a whisper against his good name—his name, mark you, not his abilities? In religion, what ruins a clergyman more than the rumor75 of the little choir76 girl—? In everything else the world has attempted to deal out justice regarding the equation of personal and professional life, but at the mere34 mention of talent, genius—temperament—even a bobbed-haired musical comedy actress—the public sinks giggling77 like a schoolgirl into an orchestra chair and becomes ineffectual, blind, duped—immoral!”
Thurley made no comment, but she rose and showed her nervous tension by walking rapidly up and down the floor.
[344]
After a pause Hobart added, “If we are to make American art permanent, we must make American artists hold to the best in themselves. That, Thurley, is my vision! That is what you must do, for you are of the vanguard and you have true genius. Of course there would be a time of temporary disillusionment for art, with every one scrambling78 about and crying, ‘Help-ho—surely, not me!’ After the readjustment, when the craft of artists realize that the public demands clean-breathed lives of them and the surplus of amateurs have been beaten back into the ranks, I see an art so ennobling and enduring that all other glories pale beside it—an art of which America alone is capable—virile, innocent not ignorant, mystical yet practical. In truth America’s sixth race can be the inspiration of the bleeding, older world. That, Thurley, by degrees, must be our part in reconstruction—the winning for America of the violet crown.”
Thurley paused in her walking of the floor.
“But when one is so young and—when—” She faltered79, all the wild-rose self of her returning, like a child reluctant to confess its misdoings.
Hobart took her hands in his. “The personal twist to any problem is for the person to solve; no one else can estimate it as well. Only to you have I told my vision, confided80 my hopes. Do not disappoint me,” he would have added more but the rap at the door recalled him to the eleven o’clock lesson.
“You must see me; you cannot leave me at the crossroads.”
[345]
“You did not finish about yourself,” she refused to be conscious of his appointment, “the woman you—loved—that part of the story—”
“I told you all I have ever allowed myself to remember,” he corrected, the inner illumination vanishing and the rather cynical73 man of the world in elegant morning dress remaining.
点击
收听单词发音
收听单词发音 |
1
clergy
|
|
| n.[总称]牧师，神职人员 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
2
shrug
|
|
| v.耸肩(表示怀疑、冷漠、不知等) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
3
prattling
|
|
| v.（小孩般）天真无邪地说话( prattle的现在分词 )；发出连续而无意义的声音；闲扯；东拉西扯 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
4
tarnished
|
|
| （通常指金属）（使）失去光泽，（使）变灰暗( tarnish的过去式和过去分词 )； 玷污，败坏 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
5
liaison
|
|
| n.联系，（未婚男女间的）暖昧关系，私通 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
6
promptly
|
|
| adv.及时地，敏捷地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
7
confidentially
|
|
| ad.秘密地，悄悄地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
8
heed
|
|
| v.注意，留意；n.注意，留心 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
9
bliss
|
|
| n.狂喜，福佑，天赐的福 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
10
versed
|
|
| adj. 精通，熟练 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
11
premier
|
|
| adj.首要的；n.总理，首相 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
12
ousted
|
|
| 驱逐( oust的过去式和过去分词 )； 革职； 罢黜； 剥夺 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
13
vent
|
|
| n.通风口，排放口；开衩；vt.表达，发泄 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
14
wrath
|
|
| n.愤怒，愤慨，暴怒 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
15
salon
|
|
| n.[法]沙龙；客厅；营业性的高级服务室 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
16
cuff
|
|
| n.袖口；手铐；护腕；vt.用手铐铐；上袖口 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
17
engrossed
|
|
| adj.全神贯注的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
18
agitator
|
|
| n.鼓动者；搅拌器 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
19
prospect
|
|
| n.前景，前途；景色，视野 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
20
deliberately
|
|
| adv.审慎地；蓄意地；故意地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
21
bonnet
|
|
| n.无边女帽；童帽 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
22
industriously
|
|
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
23
mischievously
|
|
| adv.有害地；淘气地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
24
curt
|
|
| adj.简短的，草率的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
25
luncheon
|
|
| n.午宴，午餐，便宴 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
26
pouted
|
|
| v.撅（嘴）( pout的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
27
winding
|
|
| n.绕，缠，绕组，线圈 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
28
sapphire
|
|
| n.青玉，蓝宝石；adj.天蓝色的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
29
velvet
|
|
| n.丝绒，天鹅绒；adj.丝绒制的，柔软的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
30
distressing
|
|
| a.使人痛苦的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
31
contemplate
|
|
| vt.盘算，计议；周密考虑；注视，凝视 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
32
intriguer
|
|
| 密谋者 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
|
33
intrigue
|
|
| vt.激起兴趣，迷住；vi.耍阴谋；n.阴谋，密谋 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
34
mere
|
|
| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
35
sonata
|
|
| n.奏鸣曲 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
36
warrior
|
|
| n.勇士，武士，斗士 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
37
sob
|
|
| n.空间轨道的轰炸机；呜咽，哭泣 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
38
shrine
|
|
| n.圣地，神龛，庙；v.将...置于神龛内，把...奉为神圣 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
39
flirting
|
|
| v.调情，打情骂俏( flirt的现在分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
40
symbolized
|
|
| v.象征，作为…的象征( symbolize的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
41
admiration
|
|
| n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
42
supremacy
|
|
| n.至上；至高权力 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
43
ecclesiastics
|
|
| n.神职者，教会，牧师( ecclesiastic的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
|
44
humble
|
|
| adj.谦卑的，恭顺的；地位低下的；v.降低，贬低 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
45
devoid
|
|
| adj.全无的，缺乏的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
46
vapid
|
|
| adj.无味的；无生气的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
47
belittle
|
|
| v.轻视，小看，贬低 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
48
cowardice
|
|
| n.胆小，怯懦 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
49
altruistic
|
|
| adj.无私的，为他人着想的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
50
ridiculed
|
|
| v.嘲笑，嘲弄，奚落( ridicule的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
51
defiance
|
|
| n.挑战，挑衅，蔑视，违抗 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
52
lapses
|
|
| n.失误，过失( lapse的名词复数 )；小毛病；行为失检；偏离正道v.退步( lapse的第三人称单数 )；陷入；倒退；丧失 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
53
immortal
|
|
| adj.不朽的；永生的，不死的；神的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
54
bully
|
|
| n.恃强欺弱者，小流氓；vt.威胁，欺侮 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
55
extravagant
|
|
| adj.奢侈的；过分的；(言行等)放肆的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
56
fragrant
|
|
| adj.芬香的，馥郁的，愉快的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
57
orchards
|
|
| （通常指围起来的）果园( orchard的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
58
tenor
|
|
| n.男高音（歌手），次中音（乐器），要旨，大意 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
59
amuck
|
|
| ad.狂乱地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
60
flippancy
|
|
| n.轻率；浮躁；无礼的行动 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
61
addled
|
|
| adj.（头脑）糊涂的，愚蠢的；（指蛋类）变坏v.使糊涂( addle的过去式和过去分词 )；使混乱；使腐臭；使变质 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
62
phantoms
|
|
| n.鬼怪，幽灵( phantom的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
63
combative
|
|
| adj.好战的；好斗的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
64
halfway
|
|
| adj.中途的，不彻底的，部分的；adv.半路地，在中途，在半途 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
65
inviting
|
|
| adj.诱人的，引人注目的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
66
dabble
|
|
| v.涉足，浅赏 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
67
virtue
|
|
| n.德行，美德；贞操；优点；功效，效力 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
68
distinctive
|
|
| adj.特别的，有特色的，与众不同的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
69
tangles
|
|
| （使）缠结， （使）乱作一团( tangle的第三人称单数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
70
remarkable
|
|
| adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
71
conscientiously
|
|
| adv.凭良心地；认真地，负责尽职地；老老实实 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
72
glibly
|
|
| adv.流利地，流畅地；满口 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
73
cynical
|
|
| adj.(对人性或动机)怀疑的，不信世道向善的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
74
cynically
|
|
| adv.爱嘲笑地，冷笑地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
75
rumor
|
|
| n.谣言，谣传，传说 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
76
choir
|
|
| n.唱诗班，唱诗班的席位，合唱团，舞蹈团；v.合唱 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
77
giggling
|
|
| v.咯咯地笑( giggle的现在分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
78
scrambling
|
|
| v.快速爬行( scramble的现在分词 )；攀登；争夺；（军事飞机）紧急起飞 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
79
faltered
|
|
| （嗓音）颤抖( falter的过去式和过去分词 )； 支吾其词； 蹒跚； 摇晃 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
80
confided
|
|
| v.吐露（秘密，心事等）( confide的过去式和过去分词 )；（向某人）吐露（隐私、秘密等） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
81
gaily
|
|
| adv.欢乐地，高兴地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
82
backwards
|
|
| adv.往回地，向原处，倒，相反，前后倒置地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
| 欢迎访问英文小说网 |