So they were married. Graystone Hall at last had a mistress worthy1 of its architect and decorator when—love and affection and other good considerations moving thereto, as the law hath it—the new Mrs. Rawn moved into the place of the old Mrs. Rawn. Thereafter matters went at least as merry as most marriage bells celebrating the nuptials2 of middle age and youth, of wealth and beauty.
As Mr. Rawn had spent a million dollars to free himself from one wife, he seemed willing to spend much more in the process of taking on another. It became current rumor3 that the one great diamond show of the western city was Virginia Rawn. The sobriquet4, "The Lady of the Lightnings," passed from New York to Chicago and became permanent there. Not that that lady delighted in display; but there were occasional operatic or theatrical5 events which demanded compliance6 with her husband's wishes, in which event she blazed almost better than the best.
But, gradually, she showed the tastes of the aristocrat7, as alien to vulgar display as to crude manners. Gradually the tone, color, atmosphere, of Graystone Hall began to change. The porcelains8 which Virginia Rawn purchased were not large and gorgeous, but a connoisseur9 would have called them worthy. The vast and brilliantly framed paintings came down one by one, and one by one masterpieces went up, selected by one who knew. The walks, the grounds, took on simpler and cleaner lines. Rawn of the International got a new credit as a person of taste. He was accepted as a collector, a patron of the arts, a connoisseur, in fact, yet more a worthy and a rising citizen.
The hospitality of Mr. Rawn's mansion10 house also now increased perceptibly, and, delighted that at last numbers came to see him, Mr. Rawn at first did not analyze11 those numbers very closely. Even the fastidious, many of whom came to be amused, were unanimous in the feeling that Mr. Rawn's house, its furnishings, its decorations, its pictures, its works of art, its hospitality also, were beyond reproach. The trace of gaucherie was gone. The spirit of the place was delicately reserved, dignified12, yet well assured. The seal of approval was placed upon Graystone Hall. Who, indeed, should smile at the man who had made so meteoric13 a rise, who had by a few years of labor14 become master of this mansion, its furnishings and its mistress? Who, upon the other hand, might smile at that mistress, whose appearance upon the front page of the leading journals of the city became now a matter of course—a lady of such reserved tastes as led her to forsake15 the larger marts, and to set the seal of fashionable approval upon a little florist16, a little modiste, a little milliner all her own—even a little surgeon hither-to unknown, who honored a little hospital and made it fashionable, by taking there this distinguished17 patient for a little operation?
II
Rawn himself expanded in all this social success. He saw doors hitherto closed, opening before him, saw his future unrolling before him also like a scroll18. A hundred times a week he walked to his young wife, caught her in his arms, uxoriously19 infatuated with her youth, her beauty, her aplomb20, her fitness for this life which he had chosen. For once he almost forgot to regard himself as a collector of beautiful objects, although the truth was that his wife, Virginia, became more beautiful each day, more superb of line, more calmly easy in air, more nearly faultless of garb21 and demeanor22. She took her place easily and surely among the young matrons of the wealthier circles of the western city. Whereas thousands of auto-cars had passed by Graystone Hall and only a dozen stopped, scores now, of the largest, drove up its winding23 walks and halted at its doors. The dearest dream of both seemed realized. The hunt in couple had won! They had gained what they desired; that is to say, self-indulgence, ease, idleness, adulation, freedom from care. What more is there to seek? And is not this America?
Gradually John Rawn had been losing the rusticity24 which had accompanied him well up to middle age. The city now began to leave its imprint25. The waistcoat of Mr. Rawn gradually attained26 a curve unknown to it in earlier years, so that his watch fob now hung in free air when he stood erect27. His face was perhaps more florid, his hair certainly more gray. His skin remained fresh and clean, and always he was well-groomed, having the able assistance of his wife now in the selection of his tailoring, as well as her coaching in social usage. They always looked their part. At morning, at noon, or at dewy eve, in any assemblage or any chance situation, they both played in the r?le assigned to them in their own ambitions. Born of environment wholly unconventional, they now took on that of conventionality as though born to that instead. You could not have found a more perfect type of respectability than John Rawn, a more absolutely valid28 exemplar of good social form than his wife, Virginia. All things prospered29 under their magic touch, the genii of the lamp seemed theirs. No problems remained for them to solve. They had in their own belief attained what may be attained in American life, and they were happy. Or, that is to say, they should at least have been happy, if their theory of life and success, and of those like to theirs, be correct. At least they were what they were—products of a wonderful country which makes millionaires overnight and produces out of bakeries women of one generation fit to be the wives of princes born of forty kings.
III
We are, some of us at least, accustomed to worship such as these as they ride by upon the high car of success, accustomed to envy and to emulate30 them. If that vehicle be the car of Juggernaut, crushing under its wheels multitudes of those who worship, it is no concern of those who sit aloft. For a long time Mr. Rawn and his wife remained ignorant of the fact that one victim under the wheels of their success was none other than Mr. Rawn's daughter, Grace.
Alas31! for that young lady. She unfortunately had been now for almost a year an aspirant32 in her own right to a seat upon the car of ease and luxury; yet here she saw herself swiftly supplanted33, and worse than that, swiftly forgotten! Her year of quasi-place and power had left her unwilling34 to return to her own humble35 home. She remained on at Graystone Hall, now rarely visited by her husband. She found herself calmly accepted, yet calmly neglected as well. Very naturally she hated the new Mrs. Rawn with all her soul; a hatred36 which that lady repaid with nothing better than a straight look into Grace's dark eyes, a look innocent, calm, and wholly fearless. Grace must now see the very jewels her own mother should have worn, blazing at the neck and hands of her stepmother; must see that lady taking assuredly and as of right, what Grace could now never ask or expect for herself. With an unapproachable and wholly hateful air of distinction and good breeding which rankled37 most of all in crude Mrs. Halsey's heart, Virginia Rawn sat high on the car of Juggernaut; and the car of Juggernaut passed on. In pride and delight over his young wife, John Rawn really forgot his daughter. The young new wife did the same, or appeared to do so.
IV
John Rawn had told the truth to his wife when first he had declared his sentiments toward her—he never before that time really had known love, or at least had not known infatuated love such as that he felt for her. He exulted38 in the vistas39 of delight which he saw before them, fancying them endless. The very sight of his wife, cool, faultless, self-possessed, haughty40, filled him with a sense of his own importance, making him feel that he was one of God's chosen. She was his, he had found her, discovered her, collected her. She was his to put upon a pedestal, to admire, to display, to worship, to load down with jewels. He had something now which other men coveted41 and envied. He flaunted42 his ownership of such a woman in their faces. What more can a rich man do than that same? Is that not the dream and test of power—to secure what others may not have, to secure special privileges in this life? And is not the quest of beauty the first business of him who has attained power? Of all these special privileges which had come to John Rawn so swiftly in these late rapid years, none so delicately and warmly filled his heart as that of being able to call Virginia Rawn his own. Why blame him? The sultans of thirty or forty generations have devised nothing better than this test of power.
John Rawn, with all properly aristocratic leanings toward sultanry, lacked certain elements of sultanhood in strength, but had others in weakness. He did not know that in reality he was in the hands of a stronger nature than his own. "She's got him jumping through hoops," was the comment of one young man. "He'll sit up and bark whenever she gives the word!" But Rawn did not know that he was barking and jumping, his tongue hanging out excitedly. In all his mental pictures of himself he fancied himself to be a figure of dignity, of strength, indeed of majesty43.
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1
worthy
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| adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的 | |
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nuptials
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| n.婚礼；婚礼( nuptial的名词复数 ) | |
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rumor
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| n.谣言，谣传，传说 | |
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sobriquet
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| n.绰号 | |
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theatrical
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| adj.剧场的，演戏的；做戏似的，做作的 | |
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compliance
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| n.顺从；服从；附和；屈从 | |
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aristocrat
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| n.贵族，有贵族气派的人，上层人物 | |
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porcelains
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| n.瓷，瓷器( porcelain的名词复数 ) | |
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connoisseur
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| n.鉴赏家，行家，内行 | |
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10
mansion
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| n.大厦，大楼；宅第 | |
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11
analyze
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| vt.分析，解析 (=analyse) | |
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12
dignified
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| a.可敬的，高贵的 | |
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meteoric
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| adj.流星的，转瞬即逝的，突然的 | |
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14
labor
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| n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦 | |
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15
forsake
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| vt.遗弃，抛弃；舍弃，放弃 | |
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florist
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| n.花商；种花者 | |
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17
distinguished
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| adj.卓越的，杰出的，著名的 | |
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scroll
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| n.卷轴，纸卷；(石刻上的)漩涡 | |
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uxoriously
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| adv.疼爱妻子地，顺从妻子地 | |
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aplomb
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| n.沉着，镇静 | |
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21
garb
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| n.服装，装束 | |
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demeanor
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| n.行为；风度 | |
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23
winding
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| n.绕，缠，绕组，线圈 | |
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24
rusticity
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| n.乡村的特点、风格或气息 | |
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imprint
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| n.印痕，痕迹；深刻的印象；vt.压印，牢记 | |
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26
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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27
erect
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| n./v.树立，建立，使竖立；adj.直立的，垂直的 | |
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valid
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| adj.有确实根据的；有效的；正当的，合法的 | |
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29
prospered
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| 成功，兴旺( prosper的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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30
emulate
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| v.努力赶上或超越，与…竞争；效仿 | |
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alas
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| int.唉(表示悲伤、忧愁、恐惧等) | |
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32
aspirant
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| n.热望者；adj.渴望的 | |
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33
supplanted
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| 把…排挤掉，取代( supplant的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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34
unwilling
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| adj.不情愿的 | |
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35
humble
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| adj.谦卑的，恭顺的；地位低下的；v.降低，贬低 | |
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36
hatred
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| n.憎恶，憎恨，仇恨 | |
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37
rankled
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| v.（使）痛苦不已，（使）怨恨不已( rankle的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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38
exulted
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| 狂喜，欢跃( exult的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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39
vistas
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| 长条形景色( vista的名词复数 )； 回顾； 展望； （未来可能发生的）一系列情景 | |
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40
haughty
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| adj.傲慢的，高傲的 | |
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41
coveted
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| adj.令人垂涎的；垂涎的，梦寐以求的v.贪求，觊觎(covet的过去分词)；垂涎；贪图 | |
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42
flaunted
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| v.炫耀，夸耀( flaunt的过去式和过去分词 )；有什么能耐就施展出来 | |
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43
majesty
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| n.雄伟，壮丽，庄严，威严；最高权威，王权 | |
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