Cities are perfect works of art.”
There is a city so tall that even the sky above her seems to have lifted in a cautious remove, inconceivably far. There is a city so proud, so mad, so beautiful and young, that even heaven has retreated, lest her placid1 purity be too nearly tempted2 by that brave tragic3 spell. In the city which is maddest of all, Gissing had come to search for sanity4. In the city so strangely beautiful that she has made even poets silent, he had come to find a voice. In the city of glorious ostent and vanity, he had come to look for humility5 and peace.
All cities are mad: but the madness is gallant6. All cities are beautiful: but the beauty is grim. Who shall tell me the truth about this one? Tragic? Even so, because wherever ambitions, vanities, and follies7 are multiplied by millionfold contact, calamity8 is there. Noble and beautiful? Aye, for even folly9 may have the majesty10 of magnitude. Hasty, cruel, shallow? Agreed, but where in this terrene orb11 will you find it otherwise? I know all that can be said against her; and yet in her great library of streets, vast and various as Shakespeare, is beauty enough for a lifetime. O poets, why have you been so faint? Because she seems cynical12 and crass13, she cries with trumpet-call to the mind of the dreamer; because she is riant and mad, she speaks to the grave sanity of the poet.
So, in a mood perhaps too consciously lofty, Gissing was meditating14. It was rather impudent15 of him to accuse the city of being mad, for he himself, in his glee over freedom regained16, was not conspicuously17 sane18. He scoured19 the town in high spirits, peering into shop-windows, riding on top of busses, going to the Zoo, taking the rickety old steamer to the Statue of Liberty, drinking afternoon tea at the Ritz, and all that sort of thing. The first three nights in town he slept in one of the little traffic-towers that perch20 on stilts21 up above Fifth Avenue. As a matter of fact, it was that one near St. Patrick's Cathedral. He had ridden up the Avenue in a taxi, intending to go to the Plaza22 (just for a bit of splurge after his domestic confinement). As the cab went by, he saw the traffic-tower, dark and empty, and thought what a pleasant place to sleep. So he asked the driver to let him out at the Cathedral, and after being sure that he was not observed, walked back to the little turret23, climbed up the ladder, and made himself at home. He liked it so well that he returned there the two following nights; but he didn't sleep much, for he could not resist the fun of startling night-hawk taxis by suddenly flashing the red, green, and yellow lights at them, and seeing them stop in bewilderment. But after three nights he thought it best to leave. It would have been awkward if the police had discovered him.
It was time to settle down and begin work. He had an uncle who was head of an important business far down-town; but Gissing, with the quixotry of youth, was determined25 to make his own start in the great world of commerce. He found a room on the top floor of a quiet brownstone house in the West Seventies. It was not large, and he had to go down a flight for his bath; the gas burner over the bed whistled; the dust was rather startling after the clean country; but it was cheap, and his sense of adventure more than compensated26. Mrs. Purp, the landlady27, pleased him greatly. She was very maternal28, and urged him not to bolt his meals in armchair lunches. She put an ashtray29 in his room.
Gissing sent Mrs. Spaniel a postcard with a picture of the Pennsylvania Station. On it he wrote Arrived safely. Hard at work. Love to the children. Then he went to look for a job.
His ideas about business were very vague. All he knew was that he wished to be very wealthy and influential30 as soon as possible. He could have had much sound advice from his uncle, who was a member of the union Kennel31 and quite a prominent dog-about-town. But Gissing had the secretive pride of inexperience. Moreover, he did not quite know what to say about his establishment in the country. That houseful of children would need some explaining.
Those were days of brilliant heat; clear, golden, dry. The society columns in the papers assured him that everyone was out of town; but the Avenue seemed plentifully32 crowded with beautiful, superb creatures. Far down the gentle slopes of that glimmering33 roadway he could see the rolling stream of limousines34, dazzles of sunlight caught on their polished flanks. A faint blue haze35 of gasoline fumes36 hung low in the bright warm air. This is the street where even the most passive are pricked37 by the strange lure38 of carnal dominion39. Nothing less than a job on the Avenue itself would suit his mood, he felt.
Fortune and audacity40 united (as they always do) to concede his desire. He was in the beautiful department store of Beagle and Company, one of the most splendid of its kind, looking at some sand-coloured spats41. In an aisle42 near by he heard a commotion—nothing vulgar, but still an evident stir, with repressed yelps43 and a genteel, horrified44 bustle45. He hastened to the spot, and through the crowd saw someone lying on the floor. An extremely beautiful sales-damsel, charmingly clad in black crepe de chien, was supporting the victim's head, vainly fanning him. Wealthy dowagers were whining46 in distress47. Then an ambulance clanged up to a side door, and a stretcher was brought in. “What is it?” said Gissing to a female at the silk-stocking counter.
“One of the floorwalkers—died of heat prostration,” she said, looking very much upset.
“Poor fellow,” said Gissing. “You never know what will happen next, do you?” He walked away, shaking his head.
He asked the elevator attendant to direct him to the offices of the firm. On the seventh floor, down a quiet corridor behind the bedroom suites48, a rosewood fence barred his way. A secretary faced him inquiringly.
“I wish to see Mr. Beagle.”
“Mr. Beagle senior or Mr. Beagle junior?”
“Have you an appointment?”
“Yes,” he said.
Mr. Beagle senior must be very old indeed, he thought; for junior was distinctly grizzled. In fact (so rapidly does the mind run), Mr. Beagle senior must be near the age of retirement50. Very likely (he said to himself) that will soon occur; there will be a general stepping-up among members of the firm, and that will be my chance. I wonder how much they pay a junior partner?
He almost uttered this question, as Mr. Beagle junior looked at him so inquiringly. But he caught himself in time.
“I beg your pardon for intruding,” said Gissing, “but I am the new floorwalker.”
“You are very kind,” said Mr. Beagle junior, “but we do not need a new floorwalker.”
“I beg your pardon again,” said Gissing, “but you are not au courant with the affairs of the store. One has just died, right by the silk-stocking counter. Very bad for business.”
At this moment the telephone rang, and Mr. Beagle seized it. He listened, sharply examining his caller meanwhile.
“You are right,” he said, as he put down the receiver. “Well, sir, have you had any experience?”
“Not exactly of that sort,” said Gissing; “but I think I understand the requirements. The tone of the store—”
“I will ask you to be here at four-thirty this afternoon,” said Mr. Beagle. “We have a particular routine in regard to candidates for that position. You will readily perceive that it is a post of some importance. The floorwalker is our point of social contact with patrons.”
Gissing negligently51 dusted his shoes with a handkerchief.
“Pray do not apologize,” he said kindly52. “I am willing to congratulate with you on your good fortune. It was mere53 hazard that I was in the store. To-day, of course, business will be poor. But to-morrow, I think you will find—”
“At four-thirty,” said Mr. Beagle, a little puzzled.
That day Gissing went without lunch. First he explored the whole building from top to bottom, until he knew the location of every department, and had the store directory firmly memorized. With almost proprietary54 tenderness he studied the shining goods and trinkets; noted55 approvingly the clerks who seemed to him specially56 prompt and obliging to customers; scowled57 a little at any sign of boredom58 or inattention. He heard the soft sigh of the pneumatic tubes as they received money and blew it to some distant coffer: this money, he thought, was already partly his. That square-cut creature whom he presently discerned following him was undoubtedly59 the store detective: he smiled to think what a pleasant anecdote60 this would be when he was admitted to junior partnership61. Then he went, finally, to the special Masculine Shop on the fifth floor, where he bought a silk hat, a cutaway coat and waistcoat, and trousers of pearly stripe. He did not forget patent leather shoes, nor white spats. He refused—the little white linen62 margins63 which the clerk wished to affix64 to the V of his waistcoat. That, he felt, was the ultra touch which would spoil all. The just less than perfection, how perfect it is!
It was getting late. He hurried to Penn Station where he hired one of those little dressing65 booths, and put on his regalia. His tweeds, in a neat package, he checked at the parcel counter. Then he returned to the store for the important interview.
He had expected a formal talk with the two Messrs. Beagle, perhaps touching66 on such matters as duties, hours, salary, and so on. To his surprise he was ushered67 by the secretary into a charming Louis XVI salon68 farther down the private corridor. There were several ladies: one was pouring tea. Mr. Beagle junior came forward. The vice-president (such was Mr. Beagle junior's rank, Gissing had learned by the sign on his door) still wore his business garb69 of the morning. Gissing immediately felt himself to have the advantage. But what a pleasant idea, he thought, for the members of the firm to have tea together every afternoon. He handed his hat, gloves, and stick to the secretary.
“Very kind of you to come,” said Mr. Beagle. “Let me present you to my wife.”
Mrs. Beagle, at the tea-urn, received him graciously.
“Cream or lemon?” she said. “Two lumps?”
This is really delightful70, Gissing thought. Only on Fifth Avenue could this kind of thing happen. He looked down the hostess from his superior height, and smiled charmingly.
“Do you permit three?” he said. “A little weakness of mine.” As a matter of fact, he hated tea so sweet; but he felt it was strategic to fix himself in Mrs. Beagle's mind as a polished eccentric.
“You must have a meringue,” she said. “Ah, Mrs. Pomeranian has them. Mrs. Pomeranian, let me present Mr. Gissing.”
Mrs. Pomeranian, small and plump and tightly corseted, offered the meringues, while Mrs. Beagle pressed upon him a plate with a small doily, embroidered71 with the arms of the store, and its motto je maintiendrai—referring, no doubt, to its prices. Mr. Beagle then introduced him to several more ladies in rapid succession. Gissing passed along the line, bowing slightly but with courteous72 interest to each. To each one he raised his eyebrows73 and permitted himself a small significant smile, as though to convey that this was a moment he had long been anticipating. How different, he thought, was this life of enigmatic gaiety from the suburban74 drudgery75 of recent months. If only Mrs. Spaniel could see him now! He was about to utilize76 a brief pause by sipping77 his tea, when a white-headed patriarch suddenly appeared beside him.
“Mr. Gissing,” said the vice-president, “this is my father, Mr. Beagle senior.”
Gissing, by quick work, shuffled78 the teacup into his left paw, and the meringue plate into the crook79 of his elbow, so he was ready for the old gentleman's salutation. Mr. Beagle senior was indeed very old: his white hair hung over his eyes, he spoke80 with growling81 severity. Gissing's manner to the old merchant was one of respectful reassurance82: he attempted to make an impression that would console: to impart—of course without saying so—the thought that though the head of the firm could not last much longer, yet he would leave his great traffic in capable care.
“He'll do!” cried the president.
To his surprise, on looking round, Gissing saw that all the ladies had vanished. Beagle junior was grinning at him.
“You have the job, Mr. Gissing,” he said. “You will pardon the harmless masquerade—we always try out a floorwalker in that way. My father thinks that if he can handle a teacup and a meringue while being introduced to ladies, he can manage anything on the main aisle downstairs. Mrs. Pomeranian, our millinery buyer, said she had never seen it better done, and she mixes with some of the swellest people in Paris.”
“Nine to six, with half an hour off for lunch,” said the senior partner, and left the room.
Gissing calmly swallowed his tea, and ate the meringue. He would have enjoyed another, but the capable secretary had already removed them. He poured himself a second cup of tea. Mr. Beagle junior showed signs of eagerness to leave, but Gissing detained him.
“One moment,” he said suavely86. “There is a little matter that we have not discussed. The question of salary.”
Mr. Beagle looked thoughtfully out of the window.
“Thirty dollars a week,” he said.
After all, Gissing thought, it will only take four weeks to pay for what I have spent on clothes.
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1
placid
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| adj.安静的，平和的 | |
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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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tragic
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| adj.悲剧的，悲剧性的，悲惨的 | |
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sanity
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| n.心智健全，神智正常，判断正确 | |
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humility
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| n.谦逊，谦恭 | |
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gallant
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| adj.英勇的，豪侠的；(向女人)献殷勤的 | |
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follies
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| 罪恶，时事讽刺剧； 愚蠢，蠢笨，愚蠢的行为、思想或做法( folly的名词复数 ) | |
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calamity
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| n.灾害，祸患，不幸事件 | |
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folly
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| n.愚笨，愚蠢，蠢事，蠢行，傻话 | |
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majesty
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| n.雄伟，壮丽，庄严，威严；最高权威，王权 | |
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orb
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| n.太阳；星球；v.弄圆；成球形 | |
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cynical
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| adj.(对人性或动机)怀疑的，不信世道向善的 | |
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crass
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| adj.愚钝的，粗糙的；彻底的 | |
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meditating
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| a.沉思的，冥想的 | |
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impudent
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| adj.鲁莽的，卑鄙的，厚颜无耻的 | |
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regained
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| 复得( regain的过去式和过去分词 )； 赢回； 重回； 复至某地 | |
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conspicuously
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| ad.明显地，惹人注目地 | |
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sane
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| adj.心智健全的，神志清醒的，明智的，稳健的 | |
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scoured
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| 走遍（某地）搜寻（人或物）( scour的过去式和过去分词 )； （用力）刷； 擦净； 擦亮 | |
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perch
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| n.栖木，高位，杆；v.栖息，就位，位于 | |
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stilts
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| n.（支撑建筑物高出地面或水面的）桩子，支柱( stilt的名词复数 )；高跷 | |
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plaza
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| n.广场，市场 | |
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turret
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| n.塔楼，角塔 | |
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ward
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| n.守卫，监护，病房，行政区，由监护人或法院保护的人（尤指儿童）；vt.守护，躲开 | |
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determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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compensated
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| 补偿，报酬( compensate的过去式和过去分词 )； 给（某人）赔偿（或赔款） | |
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landlady
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| n.女房东，女地主 | |
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maternal
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| adj.母亲的，母亲般的，母系的，母方的 | |
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ashtray
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| n.烟灰缸 | |
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influential
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| adj.有影响的，有权势的 | |
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kennel
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| n.狗舍，狗窝 | |
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plentifully
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| adv. 许多地，丰饶地 | |
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glimmering
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| n.微光，隐约的一瞥adj.薄弱地发光的v.发闪光，发微光( glimmer的现在分词 ) | |
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limousines
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| n.豪华轿车( limousine的名词复数 )；（往返机场接送旅客的）中型客车，小型公共汽车 | |
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haze
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| n.霾，烟雾；懵懂，迷糊；vi.(over)变模糊 | |
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fumes
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| n.(强烈而刺激的)气味，气体 | |
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pricked
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| 刺，扎，戳( prick的过去式和过去分词 )； 刺伤； 刺痛； 使剧痛 | |
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lure
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| n.吸引人的东西，诱惑物；vt.引诱，吸引 | |
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dominion
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| n.统治，管辖，支配权；领土，版图 | |
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audacity
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| n.大胆，卤莽，无礼 | |
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41
spats
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| n.口角( spat的名词复数 )；小争吵；鞋罩；鞋套v.spit的过去式和过去分词( spat的第三人称单数 )；口角；小争吵；鞋罩 | |
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42
aisle
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| n.（教堂、教室、戏院等里的）过道，通道 | |
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yelps
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| n.（因痛苦、气愤、兴奋等的）短而尖的叫声( yelp的名词复数 )v.发出短而尖的叫声( yelp的第三人称单数 ) | |
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44
horrified
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| a.(表现出)恐惧的 | |
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bustle
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| v.喧扰地忙乱，匆忙，奔忙；n.忙碌；喧闹 | |
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46
whining
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| n. 抱怨，牢骚 v. 哭诉，发牢骚 | |
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distress
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| n.苦恼，痛苦，不舒适；不幸；vt.使悲痛 | |
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48
suites
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| n.套( suite的名词复数 )；一套房间；一套家具；一套公寓 | |
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49
cleaves
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| v.劈开，剁开，割开( cleave的第三人称单数 ) | |
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50
retirement
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| n.退休，退职 | |
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51
negligently
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52
kindly
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| adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地 | |
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53
mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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54
proprietary
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| n.所有权，所有的；独占的；业主 | |
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55
noted
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| adj.著名的，知名的 | |
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56
specially
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| adv.特定地；特殊地；明确地 | |
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57
scowled
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| 怒视，生气地皱眉( scowl的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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boredom
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| n.厌烦，厌倦，乏味，无聊 | |
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undoubtedly
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| adv.确实地，无疑地 | |
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anecdote
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| n.轶事，趣闻，短故事 | |
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partnership
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| n.合作关系，伙伴关系 | |
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62
linen
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| n.亚麻布，亚麻线，亚麻制品；adj.亚麻布制的，亚麻的 | |
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63
margins
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| 边( margin的名词复数 )； 利润； 页边空白； 差数 | |
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64
affix
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| n.附件，附录 vt.附贴，盖(章)，签署 | |
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dressing
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| n.(食物)调料；包扎伤口的用品，敷料 | |
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66
touching
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| adj.动人的，使人感伤的 | |
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67
ushered
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| v.引，领，陪同( usher的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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68
salon
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| n.[法]沙龙；客厅；营业性的高级服务室 | |
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69
garb
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| n.服装，装束 | |
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70
delightful
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| adj.令人高兴的，使人快乐的 | |
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71
embroidered
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| adj．绣花的 | |
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72
courteous
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| adj.彬彬有礼的，客气的 | |
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73
eyebrows
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| 眉毛( eyebrow的名词复数 ) | |
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74
suburban
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| adj.城郊的，在郊区的 | |
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75
drudgery
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| n.苦工，重活，单调乏味的工作 | |
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76
utilize
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| vt.使用，利用 | |
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77
sipping
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| v.小口喝，呷，抿( sip的现在分词 ) | |
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78
shuffled
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| v.洗（纸牌）( shuffle的过去式和过去分词 )；拖着脚步走；粗心地做；摆脱尘世的烦恼 | |
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79
crook
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| v.使弯曲；n.小偷，骗子，贼；弯曲(处) | |
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80
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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81
growling
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| n.吠声, 咆哮声 v.怒吠, 咆哮, 吼 | |
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82
reassurance
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| n.使放心，使消除疑虑 | |
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83
aluminum
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| n.(aluminium)铝 | |
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84
growled
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| v.（动物）发狺狺声， （雷）作隆隆声( growl的过去式和过去分词 )；低声咆哮着说 | |
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85
promptly
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| adv.及时地，敏捷地 | |
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86
suavely
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