At first people had laughed at the "new disease," but the laughter was shortlived—like great numbers of those whom the epidemic attacked. Harley Street described it professionally as a recrudescence of plica polonica; and just as at an earlier period people had contracted influenza5 into "the flue," they now went about asking each other how about the "plic." It was a malady6 which at one time had prevailed extensively in Poland, and but little doubt could be felt that it had now been introduced into England by the Polish Jews, whose alien colony in Whitechapel and other parts of the East End had attained7 enormous proportions. The peculiar8 feature of the plic. was that it attacked the hair of the head, matting it together and twisting it in hard knots, to touch which caused the most exquisite9 pain; this symptom was often accompanied with manifestations[Pg 45] of acute nervous disorder10. The patient speedily became feverish11, and in most instances showed signs of derangement12 in the functions of the brain. As the malady developed sleep was banished13, or, when obtained, would be disturbed by dreadful dreams. Profound depression weighed upon the spirits, and the bare sight of food and drink excited strong repulsion. Gouty pains in arms and legs caused acute agony to some of the sufferers, and in many cases there were fits of giddiness and an affection of the optic nerve that produced temporary blindness.
The disease more often than not proved fatal. Physicians were at a loss for radical14 cures, and a course of thermal15 baths was found to be the most efficacious palliative that the faculty16 could recommend. Under the advice of Harley Street, great numbers of patients, in the early stages of the disease, flocked to Bath for the water-cure. Not since the days of the Georges had the famous city of the west harboured so many afflicted17 visitors. Every hotel was crowded from basement to attic18. The lodging-house keepers exacted monstrous19 prices for the most indifferent accommodation. Local doctors drove a roaring trade, and every other woman in the street seemed to wear the familiar garb20 of the hospital nurse.
Among the distinguished21 persons who had been advised to have recourse to the healing properties of the famous baths was the foremost man, officially speaking, in the country. Nicholas Jardine was declared to be suffering from a severe attack of the prevailing22 epidemic, and the papers announced that the President would at the earliest possible moment leave London for Bath.
This intelligence caused far more anxiety throughout the country than might have been anticipated.[Pg 46] It was not that the President was particularly beloved, but that among a large section of the community the Vice-President was distinctly unpopular. Her ambitions and the determination of her character were well known. Hence the prevailing apprehensions23. What might not Lady Cat accomplish in the temporary absence of the President? And, worse still, what might not she dare and do, as the champion and inciter24 of woman, if the head of the Government should die?
The instrument of Government provided that supreme25 executive authority should be vested in one person—the President, or his deputy for the time being, in conjunction with the Commons in Parliament assembled. The functions of the Lords had long since been abrogated26. The President, or his deputy, in the circumstances stated, with the assistance of the members of the Committee or Council of State, had the fullest powers as the executive, and, in effect, presided over the destinies of the nation.
From the President the judiciaries and magistrates27 derived28 their honours and emoluments29. In him was vested civil command of the national forces both by sea and land. With the sanction of the Council, he could maintain peace or declare war. These powers were to some extent checked by the enactment30 that no law of the realm could be repealed31, suspended, or amended32 without the consent of Parliament; but in Parliament the Vice-President had powerful support.
In the event of the death of the President, the other members of the Council could immediately nominate his successor. It was well known that the "Cat" had striven to ally herself in marriage with Nicholas Jardine, with the object, as most[Pg 47] people believed, of indirectly33 grasping the reins34 of Government. It was known also that, foiled in that design, she treasured feelings of animosity against the President and his daughter. What, then, would be likely to limit her revenge or curb35 her ambition if an opportunity like the present could be made to serve her purpose?
It was widely felt that a crisis impended36; that events of dark and threatening character were shaping for some great struggle or convulsion, the issue of which no one could foresee. The men of England, though in the course of years they had yielded inch by inch before the persistent37 aggression38 of the other sex, were not wholly forgetful of their past, nor blind to the possibilities of the future. The more virile39 among them remained rebels against woman's dominion40, struggling, like strong but despairing swimmers, against the rushing tide that was sweeping41 them away. But such men were in a notable minority. Vast numbers seemed to have lapsed42 without resistance, if not without reluctance43, into the position of underlings. Relieved of various responsibilities, they acquiesced44 in the position which the other sex had gradually assumed. They had grown lazy and half-hearted. With a shrug45 of the shoulders they accepted the widely-held dictum that their own sex was decadent46. In point of numbers that was beyond denial. The entire birth rate of the country had fallen, year after year, but more notable than that was the emphasis given to the dominant47 note of the age by a steady diminution48 in the percentage of new-born males.
The more vital question arose, what view would the women themselves take of any new departure on the part of their leading representative in the[Pg 48] Councils of the State? But such a question could not readily be answered. It might be hazarded that most of those who had displaced the male competitor or who were already in the way of promotion49, would be for holding the ground and making any further bid for supremacy50 that occasion should suggest. But still there were known to be great numbers, patient and, so far, inarticulate women, who viewed the existing state of things with deep regret, and anticipated the future with positive alarm. If the men and the women were in opposite camps, "the sex" undoubtedly51 was divided in sentiment; for the change of the old order of things had brought many developments that told against the grace and charm of woman's life.
She had gained something; but she had lost more. The protective character which in former times man had felt bound in honour to assume for the benefit of the weaker vessel52 had been largely discarded. Chivalrous53 feelings were blunted by the competition in which woman had engaged with man. If the grey mare54 was bent55 on being the better horse, she must accept the conditions of the competition. However reasonable and welcome this might seem to the mature or hardened woman, it was far from agreeable to the young and charming girl. For still there were charming girls in England, girls who wanted to be wooed and won; girls whose hearts fluttered at the sound of a certain footstep; girls who did not want to rule their lovers, but to lean on them; girls to whom romance was the spice of life. Such girls as these, and it was whispered that they grew in numbers, shrank from the harsh conflict of the battle of life, in which it seemed to be expected that each and all would readily engage. They found in the open doors of professional business or political[Pg 49] life inadequate56 compensation for the deference57, tenderness, and delicate consideration which had been accorded by men to earlier generations of women. The Forward faction58 with their facts and figures, could count on great numbers of adherents59. But certainly there were others, and perhaps the best and sweetest in the world of women, who looked with growing distaste and resentment60 upon the leaders who had brought the business and the pleasures of life to such a pass.
There was one English girl who, in the trouble that had come upon her by reason of her father's illness, discovered and pondered on these momentous61 questions. What would it profit a woman to force herself out of her ordained62 place in the plan of creation? And what should she give in exchange for that submissive tender love of wife for husband which the Sacred Book declared to be the law of God?
Zenobia Jardine, turning for the first time to the Bible, pondered over mysterious passages of the early Scriptures63, which came to her with all the greater force because they had not been weakened by parrot-like familiarity. It was a revelation. Historical or allegorical—regarded either way—the story of the Garden of Eden and the first parents of the human race was imperishable in its power and significance. Therein lay the true lesson of life. The waves of the centuries had vainly surged around it. Like pygmies biting on the rock, the newest of new theologists, and the latest of scientific discoverers, had left the rock still standing64, impregnable in its eternal strength. The voice that spake to the woman in the garden seemed to be speaking still: "What is this that thou hast done?" And the woman's answer was: "The serpent beguiled65 me,[Pg 50] and I did eat." The enmity that had sprung from that far-off and typical wrong-doing was bearing bitter fruit. The bruising66 of the heel had been renewed through all the history of man and woman. The woman now was bruised67 in her affections.
In the Homeric story, Thetis took her son Achilles by the heel and dipped him in the river Styx to make the boy invulnerable. The water covered him save where the heel was covered by his mother's hand. And it was through the heel, that one vulnerable spot, that ultimately death assailed68 the hero. So, also, it seemed to the reflective girl, the heel typified her heart. All the armour69 of life that she had taken to herself under the auspices70 of her father would not avail against the enemy who assailed her in that one weak spot.
There were times when she felt that she had discredited71 her training and fallen below her appointed level. There were other times when she felt instinctively72 convinced that in woman's weakness lay her truest strength—her greatest victory in her ordained defeat.
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1
accentuated
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| v.重读( accentuate的过去式和过去分词 )；使突出；使恶化；加重音符号于 | |
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climax
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| n.顶点；高潮；v.(使)达到顶点 | |
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unfamiliar
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| adj.陌生的，不熟悉的 | |
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epidemic
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| n.流行病；盛行；adj.流行性的，流传极广的 | |
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influenza
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| n.流行性感冒，流感 | |
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malady
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| n.病，疾病(通常做比喻) | |
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attained
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| （通常经过努力）实现( attain的过去式和过去分词 )； 达到； 获得； 达到（某年龄、水平、状况） | |
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peculiar
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| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
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exquisite
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| adj.精美的；敏锐的；剧烈的，感觉强烈的 | |
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disorder
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| n.紊乱，混乱；骚动，骚乱；疾病，失调 | |
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feverish
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| adj.发烧的，狂热的，兴奋的 | |
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derangement
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| n.精神错乱 | |
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banished
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| v.放逐，驱逐( banish的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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radical
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| n.激进份子，原子团，根号；adj.根本的，激进的，彻底的 | |
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thermal
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| adj.热的，由热造成的；保暖的 | |
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faculty
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| n.才能；学院，系；(学院或系的)全体教学人员 | |
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afflicted
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| 使受痛苦，折磨( afflict的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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attic
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| n.顶楼，屋顶室 | |
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monstrous
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| adj.巨大的；恐怖的；可耻的，丢脸的 | |
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garb
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| n.服装，装束 | |
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distinguished
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| adj.卓越的，杰出的，著名的 | |
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prevailing
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| adj.盛行的；占优势的；主要的 | |
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apprehensions
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| 疑惧 | |
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inciter
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supreme
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| adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的 | |
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abrogated
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| 废除（法律等）( abrogate的过去式和过去分词 )； 取消； 去掉； 抛开 | |
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magistrates
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| 地方法官，治安官( magistrate的名词复数 ) | |
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derived
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| vi.起源；由来；衍生；导出v.得到( derive的过去式和过去分词 )；（从…中）得到获得；源于；（从…中）提取 | |
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emoluments
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| n.报酬，薪水( emolument的名词复数 ) | |
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enactment
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| n.演出，担任…角色；制订，通过 | |
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repealed
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| 撤销，废除( repeal的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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32
Amended
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| adj. 修正的 动词amend的过去式和过去分词 | |
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indirectly
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| adv.间接地，不直接了当地 | |
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reins
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| 感情，激情； 缰( rein的名词复数 )； 控制手段； 掌管； （成人带着幼儿走路以防其走失时用的）保护带 | |
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curb
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| n.场外证券市场，场外交易；vt.制止，抑制 | |
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impended
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| v.进行威胁，即将发生( impend的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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persistent
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| adj.坚持不懈的，执意的；持续的 | |
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aggression
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| n.进攻，侵略，侵犯，侵害 | |
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virile
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| adj.男性的；有男性生殖力的；有男子气概的；强有力的 | |
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40
dominion
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| n.统治，管辖，支配权；领土，版图 | |
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41
sweeping
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| adj.范围广大的，一扫无遗的 | |
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42
lapsed
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| adj.流失的，堕落的v.退步( lapse的过去式和过去分词 )；陷入；倒退；丧失 | |
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43
reluctance
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| n.厌恶，讨厌，勉强，不情愿 | |
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44
acquiesced
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| v.默认，默许( acquiesce的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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45
shrug
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| v.耸肩(表示怀疑、冷漠、不知等) | |
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46
decadent
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| adj.颓废的，衰落的，堕落的 | |
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47
dominant
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| adj.支配的，统治的；占优势的；显性的；n.主因，要素，主要的人(或物)；显性基因 | |
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48
diminution
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| n.减少；变小 | |
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49
promotion
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| n.提升，晋级；促销，宣传 | |
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50
supremacy
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| n.至上；至高权力 | |
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51
undoubtedly
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| adv.确实地，无疑地 | |
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52
vessel
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| n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管 | |
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53
chivalrous
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| adj.武士精神的；对女人彬彬有礼的 | |
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54
mare
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| n.母马，母驴 | |
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55
bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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56
inadequate
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| adj.(for,to)不充足的，不适当的 | |
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57
deference
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| n.尊重，顺从；敬意 | |
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58
faction
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| n.宗派，小集团；派别；派系斗争 | |
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59
adherents
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| n.支持者，拥护者( adherent的名词复数 )；党羽；徒子徒孙 | |
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60
resentment
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| n.怨愤，忿恨 | |
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61
momentous
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| adj.重要的，重大的 | |
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62
ordained
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| v.任命（某人）为牧师( ordain的过去式和过去分词 )；授予（某人）圣职；（上帝、法律等）命令；判定 | |
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63
scriptures
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| 经文，圣典( scripture的名词复数 )； 经典 | |
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64
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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65
beguiled
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| v.欺骗( beguile的过去式和过去分词 )；使陶醉；使高兴；消磨（时间等） | |
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66
bruising
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| adj.殊死的；十分激烈的v.擦伤(bruise的现在分词形式) | |
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67
bruised
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| [医]青肿的，瘀紫的 | |
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68
assailed
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| v.攻击( assail的过去式和过去分词 )；困扰；质问；毅然应对 | |
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69
armour
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| （=armor）n.盔甲；装甲部队 | |
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70
auspices
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| n.资助，赞助 | |
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71
discredited
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| 不足信的，不名誉的 | |
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instinctively
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| adv.本能地 | |
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