It was near midnight: The company gathered in a famous city studio were under the impression, diligently1 diffused2 in the world, that the end of the century is a time of license3 if not of decadence4. The situation had its own piquancy5, partly in the surprise of some of those assembled at finding themselves in bohemia, partly in a flutter of expectation of seeing something on the border-line of propriety6. The hour, the place, the anticipation7 of the lifting of the veil from an Oriental and ancient art, gave them a titillating8 feeling of adventure, of a moral hazard bravely incurred10 in the duty of knowing life, penetrating11 to its core. Opportunity for this sort of fruitful experience being rare outside the metropolis12, students of good and evil had made the pilgrimage to this midnight occasion from less-favored cities. Recondite13 scholars in the physical beauty of the Greeks, from Boston, were there; fair women from Washington, whose charms make the reputation of many a newspaper correspondent; spirited stars of official and diplomatic life, who have moments of longing14 to shine in some more languorous15 material paradise, had made a hasty flitting to be present at the ceremony, sustained by a slight feeling of bravado16 in making this exceptional descent. But the favored hundred spectators were mainly from the city-groups of late diners, who fluttered in under that pleasurable glow which the red Jacqueminot always gets from contiguity17 with the pale yellow Clicquot; theatre parties, a little jaded18, and quite ready for something real and stimulating19; men from the clubs and men from studios--representatives of society and of art graciously mingled20, since it is discovered that it is easier to make art fashionable than to make fashion artistic21.
The vast, dimly lighted apartment was itself mysterious, a temple of luxury quite as much as of art. Shadows lurked22 in the corners, the ribs23 of the roof were faintly outlined; on the sombre walls gleams of color, faces of loveliness and faces of pain, studies all of a mood or a passion, bits of shining brass24, reflections from lustred ware26 struggling out of obscurity; hangings from Fez or Tetuan, bits of embroidery27, costumes in silk and in velvet28, still having the aroma29 of balls a hundred years ago, the faint perfume of a scented30 society of ladies and gallants; a skeleton scarcely less fantastic than the draped wooden model near it; heavy rugs of Daghestan and Persia, making the footfalls soundless on the floor; a fountain tinkling31 in a thicket32 of japonicas and azaleas; the stems of palmettoes, with their branches waving in the obscurity overhead; points of light here and there where a shaded lamp shone on a single red rose in a blue Granada vase on a toppling stand, or on a mass of jonquils in a barbarous pot of Chanak-Kallessi; tacked33 here and there on walls and hangings, colored memoranda34 of Capri and of the North Woods, the armor of knights35, trophies36 of small-arms, crossed swords of the Union and the Confederacy, easels, paints, and palettes, and rows of canvases leaning against the wall-the studied litter, in short, of a successful artist, whose surroundings contribute to the popular conception of his genius.
On the wall at one end of the apartment was stretched a white canvas; in front of it was left a small cleared space, on the edge of which, in the shadow, squatting37 on the floor, were four swarthy musicians in Oriental garments, with a mandolin, a guitar, a ney, and a darabooka drum. About this cleared space, in a crescent, knelt or sat upon the rugs a couple of rows of men in evening dress; behind them, seated in chairs, a group of ladies, whose white shoulders and arms and animated38 faces flashed out in the semi-obscurity; and in their rear stood a crowd of spectators--beautiful young gentlemen with vacant faces and the elevated Oxford39 shoulders, rosy40 youth already blase41 to all this world can offer, and gray-headed men young again in the prospect42 of a new sensation. So they kneel or stand, worshipers before the shrine43, expecting the advent9 of the Goddess of AEsthetic44 Culture.
The moment has come. There is a tap on the drum, a tuning45 of the strings46, a flash of light from the rear of the room inundates47 the white canvas, and suddenly a figure is poised48 in the space, her shadow cast upon the glowing background.
It is the Spanish dancer!
The apparition49 evokes50 a flutter of applause. It is a superb figure, clad in a high tight bodice and long skirts simply draped so as to show every motion of the athletic51 limbs. She seems, in this pose and light, supernaturally tall. Through her parted lips white teeth gleam, and she smiles. Is it a smile of anticipated, triumph, or of contempt? Is it the smile of the daughter of Herodias, or the invitation of a 'ghazeeyeh'? She pauses. Shall she surprise, or shock, or only please? What shall the art that is older than the pyramids do for these kneeling Christians52? The drum taps, the ney pipes, the mandolin twangs, her arms are extended--the castanets clink, a foot is thrust out, the bosom53 heaves, the waist trembles. What shall it be--the old serpent dance of the Nile, or the posturing54 of decorous courtship when the olives are purple in the time of the grape harvest? Her head, wreathed with coils of black hair, a red rose behind the left ear, is thrown back. The eyes flash, there is a snakelike movement of the limbs, the music hastens slowly in unison55 with the quickening pulse, the body palpitates, seems to flash invitation like the eyes, it turns, it twists, the neck is thrust forward, it is drawn56 in, while the limbs move still slowly, tentatively; suddenly the body from the waist up seems to twist round, with the waist as a pivot57, in a flash of athletic vigor58, the music quickens, the arms move more rapidly to the click of the heated castenets, the steps are more pronounced, the whole woman is agitated59, bounding, pulsing with physical excitement. It is a Maenad in an access of gymnastic energy. Yes, it is gymnastics; it is not grace; it is scarcely alluring60. Yet it is a physical triumph. While the spectators are breathless, the fury ceases, the music dies, and the Spaniard sinks into a chair, panting with triumph, and inclines her dark head to the clapping of hands and the bravos. The kneelers rise; the spectators break into chattering61 groups; the ladies look at the dancer with curious eyes; a young gentleman with the elevated Oxford shoulders leans upon the arm of her chair and fans her. The pose is correct; it is the somewhat awkward tribute of culture to physical beauty.
To be on speaking terms with the phenomenon was for the moment a distinction. The young ladies wondered if it would be proper to go forward and talk with her.
"Why not?" said a wit. "The Duke of Donnycastle always shakes hands with the pugilists at a mill."
"It is not so bad"--the speaker was a Washington beauty in an evening dress that she would have condemned62 as indecorous for the dancer it is not so bad as I--"
"Expected?" asked her companion, a sedate63 man of thirty-five, with the cynical64 air of a student of life.
"As I feared," she added, quickly. "I have always had a curiosity to know what these Oriental dances mean."
"Oh, nothing in particular, now. This was an exhibition dance. Of course its origin, like all dancing, was religious. The fault I find with it is that it lacks seriousness, like the modern exhibition of the dancing dervishes for money."
"Do you think, Mr. Mavick, that the decay of dancing is the reason our religion lacks seriousness? We are in Lent now, you know. Does this seem to you a Lenten performance?"
"Why, yes, to a degree. Anything that keeps you up till three o'clock in the morning has some penitential quality."
"You give me a new view, Mr. Mavick. I confess that I did not expect to assist at what New Englanders call an 'evening meeting.' I thought Eros was the deity65 of the dance."
"That, Mrs. Lamon, is a vulgar error. It is an ancient form of worship. Virtue66 and beauty are the same thing--the two graces."
"What a nice apothegm! It makes religion so easy and agreeable."
"As easy as gravitation."
"Dear me, Mr. Mavick, I thought this was a question of levitation67. You are upsetting all my ideas. I shall not have the comfort of repenting68 of this episode in Lent."
"Oh yes; you can be sorry that the dancing was not more alluring."
Meantime there was heard the popping of corks69. Venetian glasses filled with champagne70 were quaffed71 under the blessing72 of sparkling eyes, young girls, almond-eyed for the occasion, in the costume of Tokyo, handed round ices, and the hum of accelerated conversation filled the studio.
"And your wife didn't come?"
"Wouldn't," replied Jack73 Delancy, with a little bow, before he raised his glass. And then added, "Her taste isn't for this sort of thing."
The girl, already flushed with the wine, blushed a little--Jack thought he had never seen her look so dazzlingly handsome--as she said, "And you think mine is?"
"Bless me, no, I didn't mean that; that is, you know"--Jack didn't exactly see his way out of the dilemma--"Edith is a little old-fashioned; but what's the harm in this, anyway?"
"I did not say there was any," she replied, with a smile at his embarrassment74. "Only I think there are half a dozen women in the room who could do it better, with a little practice. It isn't as Oriental as I thought it would be."
"I cannot say as to that. I know Edith thinks I've gone into the depths of the Orient. But, on the whole, I'm glad--" Jack stopped on the verge75 of speaking out of his better nature.
"Now don't be rude again. I quite understand that she is not here."
The dialogue was cut short by a clapping of hands. The spectators took their places again, the lights were lowered, the illumination was turned on the white canvas, and the dancer, warmed with wine and adulation, took a bolder pose, and, as her limbs began to move, sang a wild Moorish77 melody in a shrill78 voice, action and words flowing together into the passion of the daughter of tents in a desert life. It was all vigorous, suggestive, more properly religious, Mavick would have said, and the applause was vociferous79.
More wine went about. There was another dance, and then another, a slow languid movement, half melancholy80 and full of sorrow, if one might say that of a movement, for unrepented sin; a gypsy dance this, accompanied by the mournful song of Boabdil, "The Last Sigh of the Moor76." And suddenly, when the feelings of the spectators were melted to tender regret, a flash out of all this into a joyous81 defiance82, a wooing of pleasure with smiling lips and swift feet, with the clash of cymbals83 and the quickened throb84 of the drum. And so an end with the dawn of a new day.
It was not yet dawn, however, for the clocks were only striking three as the assembly, in winter coats and soft wraps, fluttered out to its carriages, chattering and laughing, with endless good-nights in the languages of France, Germany, and Spain.
The streets were as nearly deserted85 as they ever are; here and there a lumbering86 market-wagon from Jersey87, an occasional street-car with its tinkling bell, rarer still the rush of a trembling train on the elevated, the voice of a belated reveler, a flitting female figure at a street corner, the roll of a livery hack88 over the ragged89 pavement. But mainly the noise of the town was hushed, and in the sharp air the stars, far off and uncontaminated, glowed with a pure lustre25.
Farther up town it was quite still, and in one of the noble houses in the neighborhood of the Park sat Edith Delancy, married not quite a year, listening for the roll of wheels and the click of a night-key.
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diligently
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| ad.industriously;carefully | |
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diffused
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| 散布的，普及的，扩散的 | |
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license
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| n.执照，许可证，特许；v.许可，特许 | |
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decadence
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| n.衰落，颓废 | |
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piquancy
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| n.辛辣，辣味，痛快 | |
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propriety
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| n.正当行为；正当；适当 | |
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anticipation
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| n.预期，预料，期望 | |
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8
titillating
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| adj.使人痒痒的； 使人激动的，令人兴奋的v.使觉得痒( titillate的现在分词 )；逗引；激发；使高兴 | |
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advent
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| n.(重要事件等的)到来，来临 | |
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incurred
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| [医]招致的，遭受的； incur的过去式 | |
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penetrating
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| adj.（声音）响亮的，尖锐的adj.（气味）刺激的adj.（思想）敏锐的，有洞察力的 | |
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12
metropolis
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| n.首府；大城市 | |
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recondite
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| adj.深奥的，难解的 | |
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longing
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| n.（for）渴望 | |
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languorous
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| adj.怠惰的，没精打采的 | |
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bravado
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| n.虚张声势，故作勇敢，逞能 | |
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contiguity
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| n.邻近，接壤 | |
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jaded
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| adj.精疲力竭的；厌倦的；（因过饱或过多而）腻烦的；迟钝的 | |
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stimulating
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| adj.有启发性的，能激发人思考的 | |
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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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artistic
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| adj.艺术(家)的，美术(家)的；善于艺术创作的 | |
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lurked
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| vi.潜伏，埋伏（lurk的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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ribs
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| n.肋骨( rib的名词复数 )；（船或屋顶等的）肋拱；肋骨状的东西；（织物的）凸条花纹 | |
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brass
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| n.黄铜；黄铜器，铜管乐器 | |
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lustre
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| n.光亮，光泽；荣誉 | |
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ware
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| n.(常用复数)商品，货物 | |
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embroidery
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| n.绣花，刺绣；绣制品 | |
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velvet
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| n.丝绒，天鹅绒；adj.丝绒制的，柔软的 | |
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aroma
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| n.香气，芬芳，芳香 | |
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scented
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| adj.有香味的；洒香水的；有气味的v.嗅到(scent的过去分词) | |
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tinkling
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| n.丁当作响声 | |
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thicket
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| n.灌木丛，树林 | |
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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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memoranda
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| n. 备忘录, 便条 名词memorandum的复数形式 | |
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knights
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| 骑士； （中古时代的）武士( knight的名词复数 )； 骑士； 爵士； （国际象棋中）马 | |
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trophies
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| n.（为竞赛获胜者颁发的）奖品( trophy的名词复数 )；奖杯；（尤指狩猎或战争中获得的）纪念品；（用于比赛或赛跑名称）奖 | |
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squatting
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| v.像动物一样蹲下( squat的现在分词 )；非法擅自占用（土地或房屋）；为获得其所有权；而占用某片公共用地。 | |
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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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Oxford
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| n.牛津（英国城市） | |
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rosy
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| adj.美好的，乐观的，玫瑰色的 | |
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blase
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| adj.厌烦于享乐的 | |
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prospect
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| n.前景，前途；景色，视野 | |
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shrine
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| n.圣地，神龛，庙；v.将...置于神龛内，把...奉为神圣 | |
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aesthetic
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| adj.美学的，审美的，有美感 | |
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tuning
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| n.调谐，调整，调音v.调音( tune的现在分词 )；调整；（给收音机、电视等）调谐；使协调 | |
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strings
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| n.弦 | |
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inundates
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| v.淹没( inundate的第三人称单数 )；（洪水般地）涌来；充满；给予或交予（太多事物）使难以应付 | |
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poised
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| a.摆好姿势不动的 | |
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apparition
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| n.幽灵，神奇的现象 | |
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evokes
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| 产生，引起，唤起( evoke的第三人称单数 ) | |
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athletic
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| adj.擅长运动的，强健的；活跃的，体格健壮的 | |
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Christians
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| n.基督教徒( Christian的名词复数 ) | |
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bosom
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| n.胸，胸部；胸怀；内心；adj.亲密的 | |
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posturing
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| 做出某种姿势( posture的现在分词 ) | |
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unison
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| n.步调一致，行动一致 | |
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drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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pivot
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| v.在枢轴上转动；装枢轴，枢轴；adj.枢轴的 | |
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vigor
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| n.活力，精力，元气 | |
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agitated
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| adj.被鼓动的，不安的 | |
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alluring
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| adj.吸引人的，迷人的 | |
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chattering
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| n. （机器振动发出的）咔嗒声，(鸟等)鸣，啁啾 adj. 喋喋不休的，啾啾声的 动词chatter的现在分词形式 | |
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62
condemned
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| adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词 | |
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sedate
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| adj.沉着的，镇静的，安静的 | |
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cynical
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| adj.(对人性或动机)怀疑的，不信世道向善的 | |
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deity
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| n.神，神性；被奉若神明的人(或物) | |
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virtue
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| n.德行，美德；贞操；优点；功效，效力 | |
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levitation
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| n.升空，漂浮；浮起 | |
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repenting
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| 对（自己的所为）感到懊悔或忏悔( repent的现在分词 ) | |
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corks
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| n.脐梅衣；软木( cork的名词复数 )；软木塞 | |
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champagne
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| n.香槟酒；微黄色 | |
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quaffed
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| v.痛饮( quaff的过去式和过去分词 )；畅饮；大口大口将…喝干；一饮而尽 | |
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blessing
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| n.祈神赐福；祷告；祝福，祝愿 | |
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jack
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| n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克 | |
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embarrassment
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| n.尴尬；使人为难的人(事物)；障碍；窘迫 | |
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verge
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| n.边，边缘；v.接近，濒临 | |
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moor
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| n.荒野，沼泽；vt.(使)停泊；vi.停泊 | |
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77
moorish
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| adj.沼地的，荒野的，生[住]在沼地的 | |
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shrill
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| adj.尖声的；刺耳的；v尖叫 | |
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vociferous
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| adj.喧哗的，大叫大嚷的 | |
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melancholy
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| n.忧郁，愁思；adj.令人感伤（沮丧）的，忧郁的 | |
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joyous
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| adj.充满快乐的；令人高兴的 | |
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82
defiance
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| n.挑战，挑衅，蔑视，违抗 | |
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cymbals
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| pl.铙钹 | |
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throb
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| v.震颤，颤动；(急速强烈地)跳动，搏动 | |
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85
deserted
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| adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的 | |
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lumbering
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| n.采伐林木 | |
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87
jersey
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| n.运动衫 | |
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hack
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| n.劈，砍，出租马车；v.劈，砍，干咳 | |
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ragged
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| adj.衣衫褴褛的，粗糙的，刺耳的 | |
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