In the course of the ten days that had passed since his sudden arrival at a decision, he had fallen into a perfect intoxication1 of spending. In that time he had spent over two hundred pounds.
And with that expenditure2 he had broken another habit of thought. His early life had always been overshadowed by the cares and threats of respectable poverty, and when his last financial responsibility had been closed by his mother's death, eighteen months earlier, he had continued to save money, with the prudent3 thought that he might presently need capital.
But just as he had suddenly and surprisingly realised that there was no compelling reason why he should stay on as Somers' assistant at Peckham, so, also, he had realised when he began his shopping, that he might, if he wished, do the thing in style. He was beginning a new life. He was young and competent, and he had a profession. He would let the future take care of itself.
And here was one of his fantasies coming true; he would have everything new and clean. He remembered his dream of stripping naked and plunging4 into a deep wide river, a sweet and rapid flood of purifying water; of swimming many miles until he came to a new land where vermin were unknown; and of walking out of the river, cool,
[Pg 16]
and refreshed, to dress—he had never told any one that—in white silk from head to foot. Nothing but the smoothest silk would do. He had seen that silk in imagination glimmering5 with the sheen of a fine pearl. He smiled now at the extravagance of that fancy, but the temptation to buy an entirely6 new outfit7 was too strong to be resisted. He had deserved it. The impulse marked his real recovery from the effects of the war.
The world owed him five years of youth! That was the true defence of his action in leaving Peckham. He saw his justification8 with astounding9 clearness as he stood on Westminster Bridge looking up the river, half an hour before his train was timed to leave Charing10 Cross—the train that was to take him to Hartling for his promised week-end. In a re-action against his orgie of spending, he had come as far as that by tram, lugging11 his new kit-bag and dressing-case. The tram would have taken him on to Charing Cross, but when it had stopped close to his old hospital, he had felt an urgent desire to see the river from the old standpoint. The thought of his bags had not deterred12 him. He was bursting with vigour13 and energy that morning.
Society, the World, Life owed him five years for those he had given. The years from twenty-two to twenty-seven. He had joined up in August, 1914, had been sent down to Salisbury Plain for his training, and had been in France by the summer of next year. He had been lucky in some ways. He had not been wounded or gassed or suffered from shell-shock, and in the following winter he had been combed out and sent back to the hospital for two years to finish his training, before returning to France as a Lieutenant14 in the R.A.M.C. But
[Pg 17]
looking back now, it seemed to him that he had had no relaxation15 in all that time. He had taken the war too seriously and the shadow of it had lain over him. If it had not been for that, he would not have joined dear old Bob Somers on the very day that he had been demobilised. He had got the habit of being strenuous16 and self-sacrificing and all the rest of it, and the habit, or whatever it was, had apparently17 dropped from him almost miraculously18 in the course of that conversation. It was unquestionably gone. He felt himself, unexpectedly and delightfully20, not only free but also young again. He must write to Bob and explain that theory of the lost years of youth and the world's debit21 account. He would not be hard on his debtor22. He would not exact a full repayment23 of the original loan. He would take only two years. After that he would go back to the strenuous habit of self-sacrifice and leave his youth behind.
He could recover the very spirit of it in this place. How often he had glanced down from the end of a ward24 and taken back to his work a picture of the river, of the bridge, or of the Gothic dignities of the Houses of Parliament. In retrospect25 those pictures were all coloured with the vivid emotions of youth. He could place some of them with the distinctness of a clearly remembered dream. There was, for instance, that wonderful morning in February, mild and clear as a day in April, associated with the thought that he was playing for his hospital in one of the "Rugger" cup ties that afternoon. Great days, those were; and in effect, he was physically26 little older now than he was then. He was splendidly fit.
He laid hold again of his two bags, and strode triumphantly27 across the bridge.
[Pg 18]
And that mood held, even mounted, unchecked by the deliberations of the South-Eastern and Chatham train service. Indeed, the semi-torpid movements of the railway servants on the branch line to which he changed at the junction28 afforded a pleasant contrast to his own exuberance29. He was beginning life again. Everything was coming right. He had visions of some delightful19, improbable enlargement of his condition. Old Kenyon might take a fancy to him. Some one in the house, some special favourite of the old man's, might be taken seriously ill, and Arthur Woodroffe, the brilliant young general practitioner30 from Peckham, would work a miracle at the eleventh hour. Old Mr Kenyon's gratitude31 would take a practical form, and the thing was done. There were other variants32 of the dream, but this seemed to be the most promising33.
A car was waiting for him at Hartling Station, but neither his aunt nor any of his connections by marriage had come to meet him. Arthur had his bags put into the tonneau and sat in front. He wanted to talk to some one, and found the chauffeur34 quite willing for conversation. They began with the obvious subject of motors and presently the chauffeur volunteered the statement that the Vauxhall in which they were riding was not their best car.
"Use this for station work and short trips mostly, sir," he said. "But Mr Kenyon always has the Rolls-Royce for going up to town. Never goes any other way. Wonderful old gentleman, Mr Kenyon, sir."
"I haven't seen him for twenty years," Arthur said. "He's getting on for ninety, isn't he?"
"Ninety-one last October, sir," the chauffeur told him, "and he'd make a good seventy in a manner of speaking. A bit absent-minded sometimes, he don't
[Pg 19]
always hear you when you speak to him; but no doubt that's because he's thinking o' something else. He's not what you call deaf, not in the least."
"Good Lord. Wonderful!" Arthur commented. His mind was engaged in framing a tentative essay on the causes of disability in old age, more particularly with reference to arterio-sclerosis, but he reserved that as being a shade too technical. "Though there's no real reason, you know," he said, "why we shouldn't live to be a hundred or even a hundred and twenty. There's a fellow in Asia Minor35 who is supposed to be a hundred and fifty."
"I suppose not, sir," the chauffeur replied without enthusiasm, and added, apparently as an afterthought, "You're a doctor, I was told, sir."
Arthur nodded. "I haven't come down here professionally, though," he said.
"No, sir; I shouldn't say as Mr Kenyon had much faith in doctors...." The chauffeur's sentence tailed off on a high note, with an effect of there being more to come; also he reduced the pace of the car as if he had something of importance to add before they reached the house.
"I've wondered sometimes, sir," he continued, after a short pause, "whether he oughtn't to—to take advice, as they say. Them fits of absent-mindedness I was telling you about, for instance, come on very queer sometimes. It's like as if he was sound asleep with his eyes wide open. Scared me once or twice he has. I thought perhaps being a doctor you might be able to say if it was anything serious. Of course, being ninety-one...."
Arthur would have liked to give a ready diagnosis36 of this abnormal condition, but his expertise37 was not equal to the task, and he fell back on the usual defence of his profession.
[Pg 20]
"Couldn't possibly say without examining him," he said. "It might be due to one of several conditions."
The car running down a slight incline with a free engine had almost stopped. The chauffeur appeared to be deep in thought.
"At Mr Kenyon's age ..." he began tentatively
"One would not expect him to be quite the man he was at twenty-eight," Arthur supplied.
"Exactly, sir, one wouldn't," the chauffeur replied in the tone of one aroused to a consciousness of his immediate38 duties; and he let in the clutch and speeded up the car with an effect of turning his attention to more pressing affairs.
For the last quarter of a mile they had been running alongside a high brick wall, and as they now swerved39 in between a pair of wide-open iron gates, Arthur realised that the rather ugly wall was the boundary of Mr Kenyon's property.
The contrast between the outside and the inside was, as perhaps it was designed to be, sudden and startling. From the dusty side road flanked on one side by that erection of crude brickwork, he was transported without any kind of preparation into a finished and extensively cultivated garden of unusual extent and beauty. Seen from that entrance by the little lodge40, the garden wonderfully displayed itself. It lay on a moderate slope, lifting up in a steady rise from the entrance gates to the climax41 of the house, that spread itself along the crest42 of the hill with an effect of dignified43 watchfulness44. And the designer of that garden had had fine natural material to work upon other than the slope that provided the excuse for that triple tier of terraces with their shallow stone steps and low
[Pg 21]
balustrading. He had had, for example, a fine selection of forest trees, elm, oak, and beech45, with as a contrast a plantation46 of larches47 and silver birch bounding the estate on the east side. Also he had had an abundance of running water. A little river, its point of entrance hidden by the close shrubberies and plantations49 that shut out all sight of the ugly boundary wall on the garden side, cascaded50 not too artificially, out of obscurity into the sunlight, ran as a decently restrained little river for a hundred yards or so between close-cut lawns, the upper one of which was bordered by a row of graceful51 wych elms; and then spread itself into an irregular lake, over which the main drive to the house was carried by the spring of a slender bridge. But any catalogue of that garden's innumerable "features" must inevitably52 convey a false impression. Whoever had planned it, had had the genius to conceive his effect as a whole. It was arranged, composed, to display itself from the entrance lodge as a broad mass that was presented to the mind as a miniature park, abounding53 with natural opportunities, which had for many years been scrupulously54 kept, planted, and mown. And seen thus on the broad, it could not be classified as belonging either to the formal or the landscape type; rather it had the air of a diligently55 cultivated suburban56 garden enormously enlarged. There was something new, bright, almost deliberately57 factitious in its pretensions58.
The chauffeur had but one comment to offer as they spun59 up the long curve of the gravel60 drive to the house. As they crossed the stone bridge over the pond, he pointed61 to the right, indicating a rough-cast and half-timbered building nearly hidden by the trees of the larch48 plantation into which the little river plunged62 out of sight.
[Pg 22]
"Power house, sir," he explained. "We do all our own lighting63 and pumping by water-power. Pleased to show you over, sir, if you have time. Nice little plant we've got."
Arthur found a sense of satisfaction in the thought of the completeness of the place.
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1
intoxication
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| n.wild excitement;drunkenness；poisoning | |
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2
expenditure
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| n.(时间、劳力、金钱等)支出；使用，消耗 | |
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3
prudent
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| adj.谨慎的，有远见的，精打细算的 | |
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4
plunging
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| adj.跳进的，突进的v.颠簸( plunge的现在分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降 | |
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5
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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6
entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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7
outfit
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| n.（为特殊用途的）全套装备，全套服装 | |
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8
justification
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| n.正当的理由；辩解的理由 | |
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9
astounding
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| adj.使人震惊的vt.使震惊，使大吃一惊astound的现在分词) | |
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10
charing
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| n.炭化v.把…烧成炭，把…烧焦( char的现在分词 )；烧成炭，烧焦；做杂役女佣 | |
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11
lugging
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| 超载运转能力 | |
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12
deterred
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| v.阻止，制止( deter的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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13
vigour
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| （=vigor）n.智力，体力，精力 | |
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14
lieutenant
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| n.陆军中尉，海军上尉；代理官员，副职官员 | |
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15
relaxation
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| n.松弛，放松；休息；消遣；娱乐 | |
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16
strenuous
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| adj.奋发的，使劲的；紧张的；热烈的，狂热的 | |
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17
apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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18
miraculously
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| ad.奇迹般地 | |
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19
delightful
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| adj.令人高兴的，使人快乐的 | |
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20
delightfully
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| 大喜，欣然 | |
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debit
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| n.借方，借项，记人借方的款项 | |
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22
debtor
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| n.借方，债务人 | |
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23
repayment
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| n.偿还，偿还款；报酬 | |
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24
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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25
retrospect
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| n.回顾，追溯；v.回顾，回想，追溯 | |
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26
physically
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| adj.物质上，体格上，身体上，按自然规律 | |
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27
triumphantly
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| ad.得意洋洋地；得胜地；成功地 | |
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28
junction
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| n.连接，接合；交叉点，接合处，枢纽站 | |
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29
exuberance
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| n.丰富；繁荣 | |
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30
practitioner
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| n.实践者，从事者；(医生或律师等)开业者 | |
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31
gratitude
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| adj.感激，感谢 | |
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32
variants
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| n.变体( variant的名词复数 )；变种；变型；（词等的）变体 | |
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33
promising
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| adj.有希望的，有前途的 | |
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34
chauffeur
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| n.(受雇于私人或公司的)司机；v.为…开车 | |
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35
minor
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| adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修 | |
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36
diagnosis
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| n.诊断，诊断结果，调查分析，判断 | |
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expertise
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| n.专门知识(或技能等)，专长 | |
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38
immediate
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| adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的 | |
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39
swerved
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| v.（使）改变方向，改变目的( swerve的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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40
lodge
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| v.临时住宿，寄宿，寄存，容纳；n.传达室，小旅馆 | |
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41
climax
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| n.顶点；高潮；v.(使)达到顶点 | |
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42
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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43
dignified
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| a.可敬的，高贵的 | |
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44
watchfulness
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| 警惕，留心； 警觉（性） | |
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45
beech
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| n.山毛榉；adj.山毛榉的 | |
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46
plantation
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| n.种植园，大农场 | |
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47
larches
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| n.落叶松（木材）( larch的名词复数 ) | |
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48
larch
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| n.落叶松 | |
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49
plantations
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| n.种植园，大农场( plantation的名词复数 ) | |
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50
cascaded
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| 级联的 | |
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51
graceful
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| adj.优美的，优雅的；得体的 | |
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52
inevitably
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| adv.不可避免地；必然发生地 | |
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53
abounding
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| adj.丰富的，大量的v.大量存在，充满，富于( abound的现在分词 ) | |
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54
scrupulously
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| adv.一丝不苟地；小心翼翼地，多顾虑地 | |
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55
diligently
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| ad.industriously;carefully | |
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56
suburban
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| adj.城郊的，在郊区的 | |
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57
deliberately
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| adv.审慎地；蓄意地；故意地 | |
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58
pretensions
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| 自称( pretension的名词复数 )； 自命不凡； 要求； 权力 | |
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59
spun
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| v.纺，杜撰，急转身 | |
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60
gravel
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| n.砂跞；砂砾层；结石 | |
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61
pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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62
plunged
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| v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降 | |
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63
lighting
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| n.照明，光线的明暗，舞台灯光 | |
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