Did Miss McDonald tell Evelyn of her meeting with Philip in Central Park? The Scotch1 loyalty2 to her service would throw a doubt upon this. At the same time, the Scotch affection, the Scotch sympathy with a true and romantic passion, and, above all, the Scotch shrewdness, could be trusted to do what was best under the circumstances. That she gave the least hint of what she said to Mr. Burnett concerning Evelyn is not to be supposed for a moment. Certainly she did not tell Mrs. Mavick. Was she a person to run about with idle gossip? But it is certain that Evelyn knew that Philip had given up his situation in the office, that he had become a reader for a publishing house, that he had definitely decided4 to take up a literary career. And somehow it came into her mind that Philip knew that this decision would be pleasing to her.
According to the analogy of other things in nature, it would seem that love must have something to feed on to sustain it. But it is remarkable5 upon how little it can exist, can even thrive and become strong, and develop a power of resistance to hostile influences. Once it gets a lodgment in a woman's heart, it is an exclusive force that transforms her into a heroine of courage and endurance. No arguments, no reason, no considerations of family, of position, of worldly fortune, no prospect6 of immortal7 life, nothing but doubt of faith in the object can dislodge it. The woman may yield to overwhelming circumstances, she may even by her own consent be false to herself, but the love lives, however hidden and smothered8, so long as the vital force is capable of responding to a true emotion. Perhaps nothing in human life is so pathetic as this survival in old age of a youthful, unsatisfied love. It may cease to be a passion, it may cease to be a misery9, it may have become only a placid10 sentiment, yet the heart must be quite cold before this sentiment can cease to stir it on occasion--for the faded flower is still in the memory the bloom of young love.
They say that in the New Education for women love is not taken into account in the regular course; it is an elective study. But the immortal principle of life does not care much for organization, and says, as of old, they reckon ill who leave me out.
In the early season at Newport there was little to distract the attention and much to calm the spirit. Mrs. Mavick was busy in her preparation for the coming campaign, and Evelyn and her governess were left much alone, to drive along the softly lapping sea, to search among the dells of the rocky promontory11 for wild flowers, or to sit on the cliffs in front of the gardens of bloom and watch the idle play of the waves, that chased each other to the foaming12 beach and in good-nature tossed about the cat-boats and schooners13 and set the white sails shimmering14 and dipping in the changing lights. And Evelyn, drinking in the beauty and the peace of it, no doubt, was more pensive15 than joyous16. Within the last few months life had opened to her with a suddenness that half frightened her.
It was a woman who sat on the cliffs now, watching the ocean of life, no longer a girl into whose fresh soul the sea and the waves and the air, and the whole beauty of the world, were simply responsive to her own gayety and enjoyment17 of living. It was not the charming scene that held her thought, but the city with its human struggle, and in that struggle one figure was conspicuous18. In such moments this one figure of youth outweighed19 for her all that the world held besides. It was strange. Would she have admitted this? Not in the least, not even to herself, in her virgin20 musings; nevertheless, the world was changed for her, it was more serious, more doubtful, richer, and more to be feared.
It was not too much to say that one season had much transformed her. She had been so ignorant of the world a year ago. She had taken for granted all that was abstractly right. Now she saw that the conventions of life were like sand-dunes and barriers in the path she was expected to walk. She had learned for one thing what money was. Wealth had been such an accepted part of her life, since she could remember, that she had attached no importance to it, and had only just come to see what distinctions it made, and how it built a barrier round about her. She had come to know what it was that gave her father position and distinction; and the knowledge had been forced upon her by all the obsequious21 flattery of society that she was, as a great heiress, something apart from others. This position, so much envied, may be to a sensitive soul an awful isolation22.
It was only recently that Evelyn had begun to be keenly aware of the circumstances that hedged her in. They were speaking one day as they sat upon the cliffs of the season about to begin. In it Evelyn had always had unalloyed, childish delight. Now it seemed to her something to be borne.
"McDonald," the girl said, abruptly23, but evidently continuing her line of thought, "mamma says that Lord Montague is coming next week."
"To be with us?"
"Oh, no. He is to stay with the Danforth-Sibbs. Mamma says that as he is a stranger here we must be very polite to him, and that his being here will give distinction to the season. Do you like him?" There was in Evelyn still, with the penetration24 of the woman, the naivete of the child.
"I cannot say that he is personally very fascinating, but then I have never talked with him."
"Mamma says he is very interesting about his family, and their place in England, and about his travels. He has been in the South Sea Islands. I asked him about them. He said that the natives were awfully25 jolly, and that the climate was jolly hot. Do you know, McDonald, that you can't get anything out of him but exclamations26 and slang. I suppose he talks to other people differently. I tried him. At the reception I asked him who was going to take Tennyson's place. He looked blank, and then said, 'Er--I must have missed that. What place? Is he out?'"
Miss McDonald laughed, and then said, "You don't understand the classes in English life. Poetry is not in his line. You see, dear, you couldn't talk to him about politics. He is a born legislator, and when he is in the House of Lords he will know right well who is in and who is out. You mustn't be unjust because he seems odd to you and of limited intelligence. Just that sort of youth is liable to turn up some day in India or somewhere and do a mighty27 plucky28 thing, and become a hero. I dare say he is a great sportsman."
"Yes, he quite warmed up about shooting. He told me about going for yak29 in the snow mountains south of Thibet. Bloody30 cold it was. Nasty beast, if you didn't bring him down first shot. No, I don't doubt his courage nor his impudence31. He looks at me so, that I can't help blushing. I wish mamma wouldn't ask him."
"But, my dear, we must live in the world as it is. You are not responsible for Lord Montague."
"And I know he will come," the girl persisted in her line of thought.
"When he called the day before we came away, he asked a lot of questions about Newport, about horses and polo and golf, and all that, and were the roads good. And then, 'Do you bike, Miss Mavick?'
"I pretended not to understand, and said I was still studying with my governess and I hadn't got all the irregular verbs yet. For once, he looked quite blank, and after a minute he said, 'That's very good, you know!' McDonald, I just hate him. He makes me so uneasy."
"But don't you know, child," said Miss McDonald, laughing, "that we are required to love our enemies?"
"So I would," replied the girl, quickly, "if he were an enemy and would keep away. Ah, me! McDonald, I want to ask you something. Do you suppose he would hang around a girl who was poor, such a sweet, pretty, dear creature as Alice Maitland, who is a hundred times nicer than I am?"
"He might," said Miss McDonald, still quizzically. "They say that like goes to like, and it is reported that the Duke of Tewkesbury is as good as ruined."
"Do be serious, McDonald." The girl nestled up closer to her and took her hand. "I want to ask you one question more. Do you think--no, don't look at me, look away off at that sail do you-think that, if I had been poor, Mr. Burnett would have seen me only twice, just twice, all last season?"
Miss McDonald put her arm around Evelyn and clasped the little figure tight. "You must not give way to fancies. We cannot, as life is arranged, be perfectly32 happy, but we can be true to ourselves, and there is scarcely anything that resolution and patience cannot overcome. I ought not to talk to you about this, Evelyn. But I must say one thing: I think I can read Philip Burnett. Oh, he has plenty of self-esteem, but, unless I mistake him, nothing could so mortify33 him as to have it said that he was pursuing a girl for the sake of her fortune."
"And he wouldn't!" cried the girl, looking up and speaking in an unsteady voice.
"Let me finish. He is, so I think, the sort of man that would not let any fortune, or anything else, stand in the way when his heart was concerned. I somehow feel that he could not change--faithfulness, that is his notion. If he only knew--"
"He never shall! he never shall!" cried the girl in alarm--"never!"
"And you think, child, that he doesn't know? Come! That sail has been coming straight towards us ever since we sat here, never tacked34 once. That is omen3 enough for one day. See how the light strikes it. Come!"
The Newport season was not, after all, very gay. Society has become so complex that it takes more than one Englishman to make a season. Were it the business of the chronicler to study the evolution of this lovely watering-place from its simple, unconventional, animated35 days of natural hospitality and enjoyment, to its present splendid and palatial36 isolation of a society--during the season--which finds its chief satisfaction in the rivalry37 of costly38 luxury and in an atmosphere of what is deemed aristocratic exclusiveness, he would have a theme attractive to the sociologist39. But such a noble study is not for him. His is the humble40 task of following the fortunes of certain individuals, more or less conspicuous in this astonishing flowering of a democratic society, who have become dear to him by long acquaintance.
It was not the fault of Mrs. Mavick that the season was so frigid41, its glacial stateliness only now and then breaking out in an illuminating42 burst of festivity, like the lighting-up of a Montreal ice-palace. Her spacious43 house was always open, and her efforts, in charity enterprises and novel entertainments, were untiring to stimulate44 a circulation in the languid body of society.
This clever woman never showed more courage or more tact45 than in this campaign, and was never more agreeable and fascinating. She was even popular. If she was not accepted as a leader, she had a certain standing46 with the leaders, as a person of vivacity47 and social influence. Any company was eager for her presence. Her activity, spirit, and affability quite won the regard of the society reporters, and those who know Newport only through the newspapers would have concluded that the Mavicks were on the top of the wave. She, however, perfectly understood her position, and knew that the sweet friends, who exchanged with her, whenever they met, the conventional phrases of affection commented sarcastically48 upon her ambitions for her daughter. It was, at the same time, an ambition that they perfectly understood, and did not condemn49 on any ethical50 grounds. Evelyn was certainly a sweet girl, rather queerly educated, and never likely to make much of a dash, but she was an heiress, and why should not her money be put to the patriotic51 use of increasing the growing Anglo-American cordiality?
Lord Montague was, of course, a favorite, in demand for all functions, and in request for the private and intimate entertainments. He was an authority in the stables and the kennels52, and an eager comrade in all the sports of the island. His easy manner, his self-possession everywhere, even his slangy talk, were accepted as evidence that he was above conventionalities. "The little man isn't a beauty," said Sally McTabb, "but he shows 'race.'" He might be eccentric, but when you came to know him you couldn't help liking53 the embryo54 duke in him.
In fact, things were going very well with Mrs. Mavick, except in her own household. There was something there that did not yield, that did not flow with her plans. With Lord Montague she was on the most intimate and confidential55 relations. He was almost daily at the house. Often she drove with him; frequently Evelyn was with them. Indeed, the three came to be associated in the public mind. There could be no doubt of the intentions of the young nobleman. That he could meet any opposition56 was not conceived.
The noble lord, since they had been in Newport, had freely opened his mind to Mrs. Mavick, and on a fit occasion had formally requested her daughter's hand. Needless to say that he was accepted. Nay57, more, he felt that he was trusted like a son. He was given every opportunity to press his suit. Somewhat to his surprise, he did not appear to make much headway. He was rarely able to see her alone, even for a moment. Such evasiveness in a young girl to a man of his rank astonished him. There could be no reason for it in himself; there must be some influence at work unknown to his social experience.
He did not reproach Mrs. Mavick with this, but he let her see that he was very much annoyed.
"If I had not your assurance to the contrary, Mrs. Mavick," he said one day in a pet, "I should think she shunned58 me."
"Oh, no, Lord Montague, that could not be. I told you that she had had a peculiar59 education; she is perfectly ignorant of the world, she is shy, and--well, for a girl in her position, she is unconventional. She is so young that she does not yet understand what life is."
"You mean she does not know what I offer her?"
"Why, my dear Lord Montague, did you ever offer her anything?"
"Not flat, no," said my lord, hesitating. "Every time I approach her she shies off like a young filly. There is something I don't understand."
"Evelyn," and Mrs. Mavick spoke60 with feeling, "is an affectionate and dutiful child. She has never thought of marriage. The prospect is all new to her. But I am sure she would learn to love you if she knew you and her mind were once turned upon such a union. My lord, why not say to her what you feel, and make the offer you intend? You cannot expect a young girl to show her inclination61 before she is asked." And Mrs. Mavick laughed a little to dispel62 the seriousness.
"By Jove! that's so, good enough. I'll do it straight out. I'll tell her to take it or leave it. No, I don't mean that, of course. I'll tell her that I can't live without her--that sort of thing, you know. And I can't, that's just the fact."
"You can leave it confidently to her good judgment63 and to the friendship of the family for you."
Lord Montague was silent for a moment, and seemed to be looking at a problem in his shrewd mind. For he had a shrewd mind, which took in the whole situation, Mrs. Mavick and all, with a perspicacity64 that would have astonished that woman of the world.
"There is one thing, perhaps I ought not to say it, but I have seen it, and it is in my head that it is that--I beg your pardon, madam--that damned governess."
The shot went home. The suggestion, put into language that could be more easily comprehended than defended, illuminated65 Mrs. Mavick's mind in a flash, seeming to disclose the source of an opposition to her purposes which secretly irritated her. Doubtless it was the governess. It was her influence that made Evelyn less pliable66 and amenable67 to reason than a young girl with such social prospects68 as she had would naturally be. Besides, how absurd it was that a young lady in society should still have a governess. A companion? The proper companion for a girl on the edge of matrimony was her mother!
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scotch
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| n.伤口，刻痕；苏格兰威士忌酒；v.粉碎，消灭，阻止；adj.苏格兰(人)的 | |
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loyalty
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| n.忠诚，忠心 | |
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omen
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| n.征兆，预兆；vt.预示 | |
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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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remarkable
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| adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的 | |
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prospect
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| n.前景，前途；景色，视野 | |
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immortal
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| adj.不朽的；永生的，不死的；神的 | |
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smothered
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| （使）窒息， （使）透不过气( smother的过去式和过去分词 )； 覆盖； 忍住； 抑制 | |
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misery
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| n.痛苦，苦恼，苦难；悲惨的境遇，贫苦 | |
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placid
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| adj.安静的，平和的 | |
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promontory
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| n.海角；岬 | |
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foaming
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| adj.布满泡沫的；发泡 | |
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schooners
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| n.（有两个以上桅杆的）纵帆船( schooner的名词复数 ) | |
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shimmering
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| v.闪闪发光，发微光( shimmer的现在分词 ) | |
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pensive
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| a.沉思的,哀思的,忧沉的 | |
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joyous
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| adj.充满快乐的；令人高兴的 | |
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enjoyment
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| n.乐趣；享有；享用 | |
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conspicuous
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| adj.明眼的，惹人注目的；炫耀的，摆阔气的 | |
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outweighed
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| v.在重量上超过( outweigh的过去式和过去分词 )；在重要性或价值方面超过 | |
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virgin
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| n.处女，未婚女子；adj.未经使用的；未经开发的 | |
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obsequious
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| adj.谄媚的，奉承的，顺从的 | |
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isolation
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| n.隔离，孤立，分解，分离 | |
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abruptly
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| adv.突然地，出其不意地 | |
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penetration
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| n.穿透，穿人，渗透 | |
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awfully
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| adv.可怕地，非常地，极端地 | |
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exclamations
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| n.呼喊( exclamation的名词复数 )；感叹；感叹语；感叹词 | |
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mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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plucky
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| adj.勇敢的 | |
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yak
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| n.牦牛 | |
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bloody
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| adj.非常的的；流血的；残忍的；adv.很；vt.血染 | |
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impudence
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| n.厚颜无耻；冒失；无礼 | |
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perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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mortify
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| v.克制，禁欲，使受辱 | |
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tacked
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| 用平头钉钉( tack的过去式和过去分词 )； 附加，增补； 帆船抢风行驶，用粗线脚缝 | |
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animated
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| adj.生气勃勃的，活跃的，愉快的 | |
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palatial
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| adj.宫殿般的，宏伟的 | |
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rivalry
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| n.竞争，竞赛，对抗 | |
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costly
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| adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的 | |
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sociologist
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| n.研究社会学的人，社会学家 | |
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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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frigid
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| adj.寒冷的，凛冽的；冷淡的；拘禁的 | |
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illuminating
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| a.富于启发性的，有助阐明的 | |
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spacious
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| adj.广阔的，宽敞的 | |
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stimulate
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| vt.刺激，使兴奋；激励，使…振奋 | |
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tact
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| n.机敏，圆滑，得体 | |
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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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vivacity
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| n.快活，活泼，精神充沛 | |
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sarcastically
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| adv.挖苦地，讽刺地 | |
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condemn
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| vt.谴责，指责；宣判(罪犯)，判刑 | |
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ethical
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| adj.伦理的，道德的，合乎道德的 | |
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patriotic
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| adj.爱国的，有爱国心的 | |
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52
kennels
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| n.主人外出时的小动物寄养处，养狗场；狗窝( kennel的名词复数 )；养狗场 | |
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liking
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| n.爱好；嗜好；喜欢 | |
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embryo
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| n.胚胎，萌芽的事物 | |
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confidential
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| adj.秘（机）密的，表示信任的，担任机密工作的 | |
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opposition
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| n.反对，敌对 | |
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nay
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| adv.不；n.反对票，投反对票者 | |
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shunned
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| v.避开，回避，避免( shun的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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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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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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inclination
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| n.倾斜；点头；弯腰；斜坡；倾度；倾向；爱好 | |
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dispel
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| vt.驱走，驱散，消除 | |
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judgment
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| n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见 | |
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perspicacity
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| n. 敏锐, 聪明, 洞察力 | |
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illuminated
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| adj.被照明的；受启迪的 | |
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pliable
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| adj.易受影响的；易弯的；柔顺的，易驾驭的 | |
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amenable
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| adj.经得起检验的；顺从的；对负有义务的 | |
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prospects
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| n.希望，前途(恒为复数) | |
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