Utopia! The word is enough to bring anyone out of bed, to the nearest window, but thence I see no more than the great mountain mass behind the inn, a very terrestrial looking mountain mass. I return to the contrivances about me, and make my examination as I dress, pausing garment in hand to hover7 over first this thing of interest and then that.
The room is, of course, very clear and clean and simple; not by any means cheaply equipped, but designed to economise the labour of redding and repair just as much as is possible. It is beautifully proportioned, and rather lower than most rooms I know on earth. There is no fireplace, and I am perplexed8 by that until I find a thermometer beside six switches on the wall. Above this switch-board is a brief instruction: one switch warms the floor, which is not carpeted, but covered by a substance like soft oilcloth; one warms the mattress9 (which is of metal with resistance coils threaded to and fro in it); and the others warm the wall in various degrees, each directing current through a separate system of resistances. The casement10 does not open, but above, flush with the ceiling, a noiseless rapid fan pumps air out of the room. The air enters by a Tobin shaft11. There is a recess12 dressing-room, equipped with a bath and all that is necessary to one’s toilette, and the water, one remarks, is warmed, if one desires it warm, by passing it through an electrically heated spiral of tubing. A cake of soap drops out of a store machine on the turn of a handle, and when you have done with it, you drop that and your soiled towels and so forth13, which also are given you by machines, into a little box, through the bottom of which they drop at once, and sail down a smooth shaft. A little notice tells you the price of your room, and you gather the price is doubled if you do not leave the toilette as you found it. Beside the bed, and to be lit at night by a handy switch over the pillow, is a little clock, its face flush with the wall. The room has no corners to gather dirt, wall meets floor with a gentle curve, and the apartment could be swept out effectually by a few strokes of a mechanical sweeper. The door frames and window frames are of metal, rounded and impervious14 to draught15. You are politely requested to turn a handle at the foot of your bed before leaving the room, and forthwith the frame turns up into a vertical16 position, and the bedclothes hang airing. You stand at the doorway17 and realise that there remains18 not a minute’s work for anyone to do. Memories of the foetid disorder19 of many an earthly bedroom after a night’s use float across your mind.
And you must not imagine this dustless, spotless, sweet apartment as anything but beautiful. Its appearance is a little unfamiliar20 of course, but all the muddle21 of dust-collecting hangings and witless ornament22 that cover the earthly bedroom, the valances, the curtains to check the draught from the ill-fitting wood windows, the worthless irrelevant23 pictures, usually a little askew24, the dusty carpets, and all the paraphernalia25 about the dirty, black-leaded fireplace are gone. But the faintly tinted26 walls are framed with just one clear coloured line, as finely placed as the member of a Greek capital; the door handles and the lines of the panels of the door, the two chairs, the framework of the bed, the writing table, have all that final simplicity27, that exquisite28 finish of contour that is begotten29 of sustained artistic30 effort. The graciously shaped windows each frame a picture — since they are draughtless the window seats are no mere31 mockeries as are the window seats of earth — and on the sill, the sole thing to need attention in the room, is one little bowl of blue Alpine32 flowers.
The same exquisite simplicity meets one downstairs.
Our landlord sits down at table with us for a moment, and seeing we do not understand the electrically heated coffee-pot before us, shows us what to do. Coffee and milk we have, in the Continental33 fashion, and some excellent rolls and butter.
He is a swarthy little man, our landlord, and overnight we saw him preoccupied34 with other guests. But we have risen either late or early by Utopian standards, we know not which, and this morning he has us to himself. His bearing is kindly35 and inoffensive, but he cannot conceal36 the curiosity that possesses him. His eye meets ours with a mute inquiry37, and then as we fall to, we catch him scrutinising our cuffs38, our garments, our boots, our faces, our table manners. He asks nothing at first, but says a word or so about our night’s comfort and the day’s weather, phrases that have an air of being customary. Then comes a silence that is interrogative.
“Excellent coffee,” I say to fill the gap.
“And excellent rolls,” says my botanist39.
Our landlord indicates his sense of our approval.
A momentary40 diversion is caused by the entry of an elfin-tressed little girl, who stares at us half impudently41, half shyly, with bright black eyes, hesitates at the botanist’s clumsy smile and nod, and then goes and stands by her father and surveys us steadfastly42.
“You have come far?” ventures our landlord, patting his daughter’s shoulder.
I glance at the botanist. “Yes,” I say, “we have.”
I expand. “We have come so far that this country of yours seems very strange indeed to us.”
“The mountains?”
“Not only the mountains.”
“You came up out of the Ticino valley?”
“No — not that way.”
“By the Oberalp?”
“No.”
“The Furka?”
“No.”
“Not up from the lake?”
“No.”
He looks puzzled.
“We came,” I say, “from another world.”
He seems trying to understand. Then a thought strikes him, and he sends away his little girl with a needless message to her mother.
“Ah!” he says. “Another world — eh? Meaning ——?”
“Another world — far in the deeps of space.”
Then at the expression of his face one realises that a Modern Utopia will probably keep its more intelligent citizens for better work than inn-tending. He is evidently inaccessible43 to the idea we think of putting before him. He stares at us a moment, and then remarks, “There’s the book to sign.”
We find ourselves confronted with a book, a little after the fashion of the familiar hotel visitors’ book of earth. He places this before us, and beside it puts pen and ink and a slab44, upon which ink has been freshly smeared45.
“Thumbmarks,” says my scientific friend hastily in English.
“You show me how to do it,” I say as quickly.
He signs first, and I look over his shoulder.
He is displaying more readiness than I should have expected. The book is ruled in broad transverse lines, and has a space for a name, for a number, and a thumbmark. He puts his thumb upon the slab and makes the thumbmark first with the utmost deliberation. Meanwhile he studies the other two entries. The “numbers” of the previous guests above are complex muddles46 of letters and figures. He writes his name, then with a calm assurance writes down his number, A.M.a.1607.2.ab+. I am wrung47 with momentary admiration48. I follow his example, and fabricate an equally imposing49 signature. We think ourselves very clever. The landlord proffers50 finger bowls for our thumbs, and his eye goes, just a little curiously51, to our entries.
I decide it is advisable to pay and go before any conversation about our formulae arises.
As we emerge into the corridor, and the morning sunlight of the Utopian world, I see the landlord bending over the book.
“Come on,” I say. “The most tiresome52 thing in the world is explanations, and I perceive that if we do not get along, they will fall upon us now.”
I glance back to discover the landlord and a gracefully53 robed woman standing54 outside the pretty simplicity of the Utopian inn, watching us doubtfully as we recede55.
“Come on,” I insist.
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1
abolition
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| n.废除，取消 | |
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awakening
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| n.觉醒，醒悟 adj.觉醒中的；唤醒的 | |
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apprehensive
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| adj.担心的，恐惧的，善于领会的 | |
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inspection
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| n.检查，审查，检阅 | |
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chamber
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| n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所 | |
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recurs
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| 再发生，复发( recur的第三人称单数 ) | |
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hover
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| vi.翱翔，盘旋；徘徊；彷徨，犹豫 | |
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perplexed
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| adj.不知所措的 | |
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mattress
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| n.床垫，床褥 | |
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casement
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| n.竖铰链窗；窗扉 | |
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shaft
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| n.(工具的)柄，杆状物 | |
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recess
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| n.短期休息，壁凹（墙上装架子，柜子等凹处） | |
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forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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impervious
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| adj.不能渗透的，不能穿过的，不易伤害的 | |
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draught
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| n.拉，牵引，拖；一网（饮，吸，阵)；顿服药量，通风；v.起草，设计 | |
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vertical
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| adj.垂直的，顶点的，纵向的；n.垂直物，垂直的位置 | |
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17
doorway
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| n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径 | |
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18
remains
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| n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹 | |
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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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unfamiliar
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| adj.陌生的，不熟悉的 | |
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muddle
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| n.困惑，混浊状态；vt.使混乱，使糊涂，使惊呆；vi.胡乱应付，混乱 | |
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22
ornament
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| v.装饰，美化；n.装饰，装饰物 | |
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irrelevant
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| adj.不恰当的，无关系的，不相干的 | |
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askew
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| adv.斜地；adj.歪斜的 | |
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paraphernalia
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| n.装备；随身用品 | |
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tinted
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| adj. 带色彩的 动词tint的过去式和过去分词 | |
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simplicity
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| n.简单，简易；朴素；直率，单纯 | |
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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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begotten
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| v.为…之生父( beget的过去分词 )；产生，引起 | |
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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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mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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alpine
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| adj.高山的；n.高山植物 | |
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continental
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| adj.大陆的，大陆性的，欧洲大陆的 | |
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preoccupied
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| adj.全神贯注的，入神的；被抢先占有的；心事重重的v.占据（某人）思想，使对…全神贯注，使专心于( preoccupy的过去式) | |
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35
kindly
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| adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地 | |
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conceal
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| v.隐藏，隐瞒，隐蔽 | |
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inquiry
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| n.打听，询问，调查，查问 | |
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38
cuffs
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| n.袖口( cuff的名词复数 )v.掌打，拳打( cuff的第三人称单数 ) | |
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botanist
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| n.植物学家 | |
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40
momentary
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| adj.片刻的，瞬息的；短暂的 | |
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impudently
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steadfastly
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| adv.踏实地，不变地；岿然；坚定不渝 | |
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inaccessible
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| adj.达不到的，难接近的 | |
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44
slab
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| n.平板，厚的切片；v.切成厚板，以平板盖上 | |
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45
smeared
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| 弄脏； 玷污； 涂抹； 擦上 | |
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46
muddles
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| v.弄乱，弄糟( muddle的第三人称单数 )；使糊涂；对付，混日子 | |
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47
wrung
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| 绞( wring的过去式和过去分词 )； 握紧（尤指别人的手）； 把（湿衣服）拧干； 绞掉（水） | |
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48
admiration
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| n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕 | |
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49
imposing
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| adj.使人难忘的，壮丽的，堂皇的，雄伟的 | |
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50
proffers
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| v.提供，贡献，提出( proffer的第三人称单数 ) | |
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51
curiously
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| adv.有求知欲地；好问地；奇特地 | |
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52
tiresome
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| adj.令人疲劳的，令人厌倦的 | |
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53
gracefully
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| ad.大大方方地；优美地 | |
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54
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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55
recede
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| vi.退(去)，渐渐远去；向后倾斜，缩进 | |
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