CHAPTER XXXVI

 Thurley had lingered at the Fincherie until the time grew so short she knew she must rush into her concert work without her customary rehearsals¹. She had word from Bliss² Hobart that he was on his way West to speak for patriotic³ matters and arrange some musical things and he had left some music for her and advice as to a difficult new r?le.

 

His letter did not create in Thurley the usual rebellion against Bliss’s reserved self or her own foolish pledge. She was too busy casting ahead for coming events, wondering how her opportunity would arrive in which to prove her gray angel self and best to help Bliss’s vision to become practically demonstrated.

 

She said good-by with reluctance⁴ to Dan’s son and his foolish, ineffectual little mother whose head was temporarily in a whirl of excitement. Lorraine was to face readjustment as much as the man who would return to civilian⁵ life minus an arm. It seemed to Thurley that perhaps here was where gray angel demonstration⁶ must begin—to stop Lorraine’s neglect of her home and child, and convince her that when Dan came back expecting to find the same gentle wife whose house was her kingdom and whose outlook on life would be his tempering element—she must not fail him.

 

Yet Lorraine seemed beyond reason. Josie, Hazel, Cora and Owen, with another handful of equally featherweight mental calibre, had gone on their way rejoicing, they had had a farewell banquet with speeches made[389] about their being “patriotic pilgrims” and had fitted bags presented as tokens of esteem⁷....

 

Thurley found intriguers and hysterical⁸ hikers in full swing in the city, but it was good to have a hum of life and progress once again. Caleb dropped in to tell of the success of “The Patriotic Burglar” which had gone into six editions.

 

“Have you read it?” he asked, snuggling in an easy chair.

 

She shook her head. “What do you hear from Ernestine? Collin wrote a postal⁹ which I found when I came in from the Corners.”

 

Caleb laughed. “I don’t think Beethoven and Bach will make a hit; Ernestine will pack up her music in her kit¹⁰ bag and blow back ... but you ought to read my book—it was like rolling off a log to write it—”

 

Thurley frowned.

 

“Any other time it would have been too thin to have got by, but every subway advertises it and there is a stampede outside the bookstores. I have raked in a harvest.”

 

The gray angel of Thurley prompted a reproof¹¹.

 

“What’s wrong?” he demanded gaily¹². “You’re too pretty to scold.”

 

“It is cheating to write drivel—when Bliss’s and Ernestine’s ideals for you—”

 

Caleb rose. “I’m off,” he had a petulant¹³ air like Mark’s flippant unrest. “If people want what I write, they shall have it! We may as well have as good a time as we can; it seems to be the main thing these days.”

 

After he left Thurley sat oblivious¹⁴ to telephones or unanswered mail, forgetting the Corners and Miss Clergy¹⁵ and Ali Baba’s pride as he had driven her to the station.[390] She was considering as a judicial¹⁶ gray angel this question of eternally having a good time which was a cancer spot in national common sense.

 

Now that the tide was turning rapidly towards peace and victory, a call was being made so stupendous and half mystical that perhaps women could best hear and understand since their ears are attuned¹⁷ to children’s unworded, sobbed¹⁸ wants. It was the call to declare themselves as gray angels and to work together for the banishment¹⁹ of the good time menace, to show the world, non-fighting and veterans, that it is good to be ordinary, to return to “life as usual” instead of staying breathless with excitement, unjustly halo-clad, scornful of humdrum²⁰ duties and rebelling at the inevitable²¹ readjustment. By this women should come to see things as they are, not as they would wish them to be.

 

Dusk crept on Thurley unawares. She started up as the maid came in to hand her a telegram. She knew before she opened it. Miss Clergy was dead.

1 rehearsals   

n.练习( rehearsal的名词复数 )；排练；复述；重复

参考例句：

• The earlier protests had just been dress rehearsals for full-scale revolution. 早期的抗议仅仅是大革命开始前的预演。
• She worked like a demon all through rehearsals. 她每次排演时始终精力过人。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 bliss   

n.狂喜，福佑，天赐的福

参考例句：

• It's sheer bliss to be able to spend the day in bed.整天都可以躺在床上真是幸福。
• He's in bliss that he's won the Nobel Prize.他非常高兴，因为获得了诺贝尔奖金。

3 patriotic   

adj.爱国的，有爱国心的

参考例句：

• His speech was full of patriotic sentiments.他的演说充满了爱国之情。
• The old man is a patriotic overseas Chinese.这位老人是一位爱国华侨。

4 reluctance   

n.厌恶，讨厌，勉强，不情愿

参考例句：

• The police released Andrew with reluctance.警方勉强把安德鲁放走了。
• He showed the greatest reluctance to make a reply.他表示很不愿意答复。

5 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

6 demonstration   

n.表明，示范，论证，示威

参考例句：

• His new book is a demonstration of his patriotism.他写的新书是他的爱国精神的证明。
• He gave a demonstration of the new technique then and there.他当场表演了这种新的操作方法。

7 esteem   

n.尊敬，尊重；vt.尊重，敬重；把…看作

参考例句：

• I did not esteem him to be worthy of trust.我认为他不值得信赖。
• The veteran worker ranks high in public love and esteem.那位老工人深受大伙的爱戴。

8 hysterical   

adj.情绪异常激动的，歇斯底里般的

参考例句：

• He is hysterical at the sight of the photo.他一看到那张照片就异常激动。
• His hysterical laughter made everybody stunned.他那歇斯底里的笑声使所有的人不知所措。

9 postal   

adj.邮政的，邮局的

参考例句：

• A postal network now covers the whole country.邮路遍及全国。
• Remember to use postal code.勿忘使用邮政编码。

10 kit   

n.用具包，成套工具；随身携带物

参考例句：

• The kit consisted of about twenty cosmetic items.整套工具包括大约20种化妆用品。
• The captain wants to inspect your kit.船长想检查你的行装。

11 reproof   

n.斥责，责备

参考例句：

• A smart reproof is better than smooth deceit.严厉的责难胜过温和的欺骗。
• He is impatient of reproof.他不能忍受指责。

12 gaily   

adv.欢乐地，高兴地

参考例句：

• The children sing gaily.孩子们欢唱着。
• She waved goodbye very gaily.她欢快地挥手告别。

13 petulant   

adj.性急的，暴躁的

参考例句：

• He picked the pen up with a petulant gesture.他生气地拿起那支钢笔。
• The thing had been remarked with petulant jealousy by his wife.

14 oblivious   

adj.易忘的，遗忘的，忘却的，健忘的

参考例句：

• Mother has become quite oblivious after the illness.这次病后，妈妈变得特别健忘。
• He was quite oblivious of the danger.他完全没有察觉到危险。

15 clergy   

n.[总称]牧师，神职人员

参考例句：

• I could heartily wish that more of our country clergy would follow this example.我衷心希望，我国有更多的牧师效法这个榜样。
• All the local clergy attended the ceremony.当地所有的牧师出席了仪式。

16 judicial   

adj.司法的，法庭的，审判的，明断的，公正的

参考例句：

• He is a man with a judicial mind.他是个公正的人。
• Tom takes judicial proceedings against his father.汤姆对他的父亲正式提出诉讼。

17 attuned   

v.使协调( attune的过去式和过去分词 )；调音

参考例句：

• She wasn't yet attuned to her baby's needs. 她还没有熟悉她宝宝的需要。
• Women attuned to sensitive men found Vincent Lord attractive. 偏爱敏感男子的女人，觉得文森特·洛德具有魅力。 来自辞典例句

18 sobbed   

哭泣，啜泣( sob的过去式和过去分词 )； 哭诉，呜咽地说

参考例句：

• She sobbed out the story of her son's death. 她哭诉着她儿子的死。
• She sobbed out the sad story of her son's death. 她哽咽着诉说她儿子死去的悲惨经过。

19 banishment   

n.放逐，驱逐

参考例句：

• Qu Yuan suffered banishment as the victim of a court intrigue. 屈原成为朝廷中钩心斗角的牺牲品，因而遭到放逐。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• He was sent into banishment. 他被流放。 来自辞典例句

20 humdrum   

adj.单调的，乏味的

参考例句：

• Their lives consist of the humdrum activities of everyday existence.他们的生活由日常生存的平凡活动所构成。
• The accountant said it was the most humdrum day that she had ever passed.会计师说这是她所度过的最无聊的一天。

21 inevitable   

adj.不可避免的，必然发生的

参考例句：

• Mary was wearing her inevitable large hat.玛丽戴着她总是戴的那顶大帽子。
• The defeat had inevitable consequences for British policy.战败对英国政策不可避免地产生了影响。