The French, moreover, were virtual victors. Their team had finished solidly; they had been placed second and third and the driver of the winning German car was reported a Belgian. Each blue car, therefore, received a double measure of welcome as it topped the crest of the hill and each cheer of welcome was acknowledged with smiles and nods by those in the car. In one of these trimly built cars was a party of four young men whose spirits seemed to be at present well above the level of successful Gallicism: in fact, these four young men were almost hilarious5. They were Charles Ségouin, the owner of the car; André Rivière, a young electrician of Canadian birth; a huge Hungarian named Villona and a neatly6 groomed7 young man named Doyle. Ségouin was in good humour because he had unexpectedly received some orders in advance (he was about to start a motor establishment in Paris) and Rivière was in good humour because he was to be appointed manager of the establishment; these two young men (who were cousins) were also in good humour because of the success of the French cars. Villona was in good humour because he had had a very satisfactory luncheon8; and besides he was an optimist9 by nature. The fourth member of the party, however, was too excited to be genuinely happy.
He was about twenty-six years of age, with a soft, light brown moustache and rather innocent-looking grey eyes. His father, who had begun life as an advanced Nationalist, had modified his views early. He had made his money as a butcher in Kingstown and by opening shops in Dublin and in the suburbs he had made his money many times over. He had also been fortunate enough to secure some of the police contracts and in the end he had become rich enough to be alluded10 to in the Dublin newspapers as a merchant prince. He had sent his son to England to be educated in a big Catholic college and had afterwards sent him to Dublin University to study law. Jimmy did not study very earnestly and took to bad courses for a while. He had money and he was popular; and he divided his time curiously11 between musical and motoring circles. Then he had been sent for a term to Cambridge to see a little life. His father, remonstrative12, but covertly13 proud of the excess, had paid his bills and brought him home. It was at Cambridge that he had met Ségouin. They were not much more than acquaintances as yet but Jimmy found great pleasure in the society of one who had seen so much of the world and was reputed to own some of the biggest hotels in France. Such a person (as his father agreed) was well worth knowing, even if he had not been the charming companion he was. Villona was entertaining also—a brilliant pianist—but, unfortunately, very poor.
The car ran on merrily with its cargo14 of hilarious youth. The two cousins sat on the front seat; Jimmy and his Hungarian friend sat behind. Decidedly Villona was in excellent spirits; he kept up a deep bass16 hum of melody for miles of the road. The Frenchmen flung their laughter and light words over their shoulders and often Jimmy had to strain forward to catch the quick phrase. This was not altogether pleasant for him, as he had nearly always to make a deft17 guess at the meaning and shout back a suitable answer in the face of a high wind. Besides Villona’s humming would confuse anybody; the noise of the car, too.
Rapid motion through space elates one; so does notoriety; so does the possession of money. These were three good reasons for Jimmy’s excitement. He had been seen by many of his friends that day in the company of these Continentals18. At the control Ségouin had presented him to one of the French competitors and, in answer to his confused murmur19 of compliment, the swarthy face of the driver had disclosed a line of shining white teeth. It was pleasant after that honour to return to the profane20 world of spectators amid nudges and significant looks. Then as to money—he really had a great sum under his control. Ségouin, perhaps, would not think it a great sum but Jimmy who, in spite of temporary errors, was at heart the inheritor of solid instincts knew well with what difficulty it had been got together. This knowledge had previously21 kept his bills within the limits of reasonable recklessness and, if he had been so conscious of the labour latent in money when there had been question merely of some freak of the higher intelligence, how much more so now when he was about to stake the greater part of his substance! It was a serious thing for him.
Of course, the investment was a good one and Ségouin had managed to give the impression that it was by a favour of friendship the mite22 of Irish money was to be included in the capital of the concern. Jimmy had a respect for his father’s shrewdness in business matters and in this case it had been his father who had first suggested the investment; money to be made in the motor business, pots of money. Moreover Ségouin had the unmistakable air of wealth. Jimmy set out to translate into days’ work that lordly car in which he sat. How smoothly23 it ran. In what style they had come careering along the country roads! The journey laid a magical finger on the genuine pulse of life and gallantly24 the machinery25 of human nerves strove to answer the bounding courses of the swift blue animal.
They drove down Dame26 Street. The street was busy with unusual traffic, loud with the horns of motorists and the gongs of impatient tram-drivers. Near the Bank Ségouin drew up and Jimmy and his friend alighted. A little knot of people collected on the footpath27 to pay homage28 to the snorting motor. The party was to dine together that evening in Ségouin’s hotel and, meanwhile, Jimmy and his friend, who was staying with him, were to go home to dress. The car steered29 out slowly for Grafton Street while the two young men pushed their way through the knot of gazers. They walked northward30 with a curious feeling of disappointment in the exercise, while the city hung its pale globes of light above them in a haze31 of summer evening.
In Jimmy’s house this dinner had been pronounced an occasion. A certain pride mingled32 with his parents’ trepidation33, a certain eagerness, also, to play fast and loose for the names of great foreign cities have at least this virtue34. Jimmy, too, looked very well when he was dressed and, as he stood in the hall giving a last equation to the bows of his dress tie, his father may have felt even commercially satisfied at having secured for his son qualities often unpurchaseable. His father, therefore, was unusually friendly with Villona and his manner expressed a real respect for foreign accomplishments35; but this subtlety36 of his host was probably lost upon the Hungarian, who was beginning to have a sharp desire for his dinner.
The dinner was excellent, exquisite37. Ségouin, Jimmy decided15, had a very refined taste. The party was increased by a young Englishman named Routh whom Jimmy had seen with Ségouin at Cambridge. The young men supped in a snug38 room lit by electric candle-lamps. They talked volubly and with little reserve. Jimmy, whose imagination was kindling39, conceived the lively youth of the Frenchmen twined elegantly upon the firm framework of the Englishman’s manner. A graceful40 image of his, he thought, and a just one. He admired the dexterity41 with which their host directed the conversation. The five young men had various tastes and their tongues had been loosened. Villona, with immense respect, began to discover to the mildly surprised Englishman the beauties of the English madrigal42, deploring43 the loss of old instruments. Rivière, not wholly ingenuously44, undertook to explain to Jimmy the triumph of the French mechanicians. The resonant45 voice of the Hungarian was about to prevail in ridicule46 of the spurious lutes of the romantic painters when Ségouin shepherded his party into politics. Here was congenial ground for all. Jimmy, under generous influences, felt the buried zeal47 of his father wake to life within him: he aroused the torpid48 Routh at last. The room grew doubly hot and Ségouin’s task grew harder each moment: there was even danger of personal spite. The alert host at an opportunity lifted his glass to Humanity and, when the toast had been drunk, he threw open a window significantly.
That night the city wore the mask of a capital. The five young men strolled along Stephen’s Green in a faint cloud of aromatic49 smoke. They talked loudly and gaily50 and their cloaks dangled51 from their shoulders. The people made way for them. At the corner of Grafton Street a short fat man was putting two handsome ladies on a car in charge of another fat man. The car drove off and the short fat man caught sight of the party.
“André.”
“It’s Farley!”
A torrent52 of talk followed. Farley was an American. No one knew very well what the talk was about. Villona and Rivière were the noisiest, but all the men were excited. They got up on a car, squeezing themselves together amid much laughter. They drove by the crowd, blended now into soft colours, to a music of merry bells. They took the train at Westland Row and in a few seconds, as it seemed to Jimmy, they were walking out of Kingstown Station. The ticket-collector saluted53 Jimmy; he was an old man:
“Fine night, sir!”
It was a serene54 summer night; the harbour lay like a darkened mirror at their feet. They proceeded towards it with linked arms, singing Cadet Roussel in chorus, stamping their feet at every:
“Ho! Ho! Hohé, vraiment!”
They got into a rowboat at the slip and made out for the American’s yacht. There was to be supper, music, cards. Villona said with conviction:
“It is delightful55!”
There was a yacht piano in the cabin. Villona played a waltz for Farley and Rivière, Farley acting56 as cavalier and Rivière as lady. Then an impromptu57 square dance, the men devising original figures. What merriment! Jimmy took his part with a will; this was seeing life, at least. Then Farley got out of breath and cried “Stop!” A man brought in a light supper, and the young men sat down to it for form’s sake. They drank, however: it was Bohemian. They drank Ireland, England, France, Hungary, the United States of America. Jimmy made a speech, a long speech, Villona saying: “Hear! hear!” whenever there was a pause. There was a great clapping of hands when he sat down. It must have been a good speech. Farley clapped him on the back and laughed loudly. What jovial58 fellows! What good company they were!
Cards! cards! The table was cleared. Villona returned quietly to his piano and played voluntaries for them. The other men played game after game, flinging themselves boldly into the adventure. They drank the health of the Queen of Hearts and of the Queen of Diamonds. Jimmy felt obscurely the lack of an audience: the wit was flashing. Play ran very high and paper began to pass. Jimmy did not know exactly who was winning but he knew that he was losing. But it was his own fault for he frequently mistook his cards and the other men had to calculate his I.O.U.‘s for him. They were devils of fellows but he wished they would stop: it was getting late. Someone gave the toast of the yacht The Belle59 of Newport and then someone proposed one great game for a finish.
The piano had stopped; Villona must have gone up on deck. It was a terrible game. They stopped just before the end of it to drink for luck. Jimmy understood that the game lay between Routh and Ségouin. What excitement! Jimmy was excited too; he would lose, of course. How much had he written away? The men rose to their feet to play the last tricks, talking and gesticulating. Routh won. The cabin shook with the young men’s cheering and the cards were bundled together. They began then to gather in what they had won. Farley and Jimmy were the heaviest losers.
He knew that he would regret in the morning but at present he was glad of the rest, glad of the dark stupor60 that would cover up his folly61. He leaned his elbows on the table and rested his head between his hands, counting the beats of his temples. The cabin door opened and he saw the Hungarian standing62 in a shaft63 of grey light:
“Daybreak, gentlemen!”
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收听单词发音
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1
scudding
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| n.刮面v.（尤指船、舰或云彩）笔直、高速而平稳地移动( scud的现在分词 ) | |
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2
groove
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| n.沟，槽；凹线，（刻出的）线条，习惯 | |
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3
crest
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| n.顶点；饰章；羽冠；vt.达到顶点；vi.形成浪尖 | |
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clumps
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| n.（树、灌木、植物等的）丛、簇( clump的名词复数 )；（土、泥等）团；块；笨重的脚步声v.（树、灌木、植物等的）丛、簇( clump的第三人称单数 )；（土、泥等）团；块；笨重的脚步声 | |
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5
hilarious
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| adj.充满笑声的，欢闹的；[反]depressed | |
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6
neatly
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| adv.整洁地，干净地，灵巧地，熟练地 | |
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7
groomed
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| v.照料或梳洗（马等）( groom的过去式和过去分词 )；使做好准备；训练；（给动物）擦洗 | |
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8
luncheon
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| n.午宴，午餐，便宴 | |
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9
optimist
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| n.乐观的人，乐观主义者 | |
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10
alluded
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| 提及，暗指( allude的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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11
curiously
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| adv.有求知欲地；好问地；奇特地 | |
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12
remonstrative
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| adj.抗议的，忠告的 | |
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13
covertly
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| adv.偷偷摸摸地 | |
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14
cargo
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| n.(一只船或一架飞机运载的)货物 | |
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decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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16
bass
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| n.男低音(歌手)；低音乐器；低音大提琴 | |
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17
deft
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| adj.灵巧的，熟练的（a deft hand 能手） | |
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18
continentals
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| n.（欧洲）大陆人( continental的名词复数 ) | |
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19
murmur
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| n.低语，低声的怨言；v.低语，低声而言 | |
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20
profane
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| adj.亵神的，亵渎的；vt.亵渎，玷污 | |
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21
previously
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| adv.以前，先前（地） | |
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22
mite
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| n.极小的东西；小铜币 | |
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23
smoothly
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| adv.平滑地，顺利地，流利地，流畅地 | |
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24
gallantly
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| adv. 漂亮地，勇敢地，献殷勤地 | |
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25
machinery
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| n.(总称)机械，机器；机构 | |
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26
dame
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| n.女士 | |
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27
footpath
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| n.小路，人行道 | |
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28
homage
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| n.尊敬，敬意，崇敬 | |
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29
steered
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| v.驾驶( steer的过去式和过去分词 )；操纵；控制；引导 | |
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30
northward
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| adv.向北；n.北方的地区 | |
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31
haze
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| n.霾，烟雾；懵懂，迷糊；vi.(over)变模糊 | |
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32
mingled
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| 混合，混入( mingle的过去式和过去分词 )； 混进，与…交往[联系] | |
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33
trepidation
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| n.惊恐，惶恐 | |
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34
virtue
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| n.德行，美德；贞操；优点；功效，效力 | |
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35
accomplishments
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| n.造诣；完成( accomplishment的名词复数 )；技能；成绩；成就 | |
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36
subtlety
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| n.微妙，敏锐，精巧；微妙之处，细微的区别 | |
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37
exquisite
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| adj.精美的；敏锐的；剧烈的，感觉强烈的 | |
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38
snug
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| adj.温暖舒适的，合身的，安全的；v.使整洁干净，舒适地依靠，紧贴；n.（英）酒吧里的私房 | |
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39
kindling
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| n. 点火, 可燃物 动词kindle的现在分词形式 | |
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40
graceful
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| adj.优美的，优雅的；得体的 | |
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41
dexterity
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| n.(手的)灵巧，灵活 | |
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42
madrigal
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| n.牧歌；（流行于16和17世纪无乐器伴奏的）合唱歌曲 | |
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43
deploring
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| v.悲叹，痛惜，强烈反对( deplore的现在分词 ) | |
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44
ingenuously
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| adv.率直地，正直地 | |
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45
resonant
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| adj.(声音)洪亮的，共鸣的 | |
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46
ridicule
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| v.讥讽，挖苦；n.嘲弄 | |
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47
zeal
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| n.热心，热情，热忱 | |
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48
torpid
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| adj.麻痹的，麻木的，迟钝的 | |
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49
aromatic
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| adj.芳香的，有香味的 | |
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50
gaily
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| adv.欢乐地，高兴地 | |
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51
dangled
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| 悬吊着( dangle的过去式和过去分词 )； 摆动不定； 用某事物诱惑…； 吊胃口 | |
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52
torrent
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| n.激流，洪流；爆发，(话语等的)连发 | |
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53
saluted
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| v.欢迎，致敬( salute的过去式和过去分词 )；赞扬，赞颂 | |
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54
serene
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| adj. 安详的，宁静的，平静的 | |
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55
delightful
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| adj.令人高兴的，使人快乐的 | |
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56
acting
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| n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的 | |
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57
impromptu
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| adj.即席的，即兴的；adv.即兴的(地)，无准备的(地) | |
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58
jovial
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| adj.快乐的，好交际的 | |
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59
belle
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| n.靓女 | |
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60
stupor
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| v.昏迷；不省人事 | |
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61
folly
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| n.愚笨，愚蠢，蠢事，蠢行，傻话 | |
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62
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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63
shaft
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| n.(工具的)柄，杆状物 | |
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