“Is it possible,” quoth Mr. Thompson, the moment he had ushered2 his client into his private room, “that you will consent, Sir Austin, to see him and receive him again?”
“Certainly,” the baronet replied. “Why not? This by no means astonishes me. When there is no longer danger to my son he will be welcome as he was before. He is a schoolboy. I knew it. I expected it. The results of your principle, Thompson!”
“One of the very worst books of that abominable3 class!” exclaimed the old lawyer, opening at the coloured frontispiece, from which brazen4 Miss Random5 smiled bewitchingly out, as if she had no doubt of captivating Time and all his veterans on a fair field. “Pah!” he shut her to with the energy he would have given to the office of publicly slapping her face; “from this day I diet him on bread and water — rescind6 his pocket-money! — How he could have got hold of such a book! How he —! And what ideas! Concealing7 them from me as he has done so cunningly! He trifles with vice8! His mind is in a putrid9 state! I might have believed — I did believe — I might have gone on believing — my son Ripton to be a moral young man!” The old lawyer interjected on the delusion10 of fathers, and sat down in a lamentable11 abstraction.
“The lad has come out!” said Sir Austin. “His adoption12 of the legal form is amusing. He trifles with vice, true: people newly initiated13 are as hardy14 as its intimates, and a young sinner’s amusements will resemble those of a confirmed debauchee. The satiated, and the insatiate, appetite alike appeal to extremes. You are astonished at this revelation of your son’s condition. I expected it; though assuredly, believe me, not this sudden and indisputable proof of it. But I knew that the seed was in him, and therefore I have not latterly invited him to Raynham. School, and the corruption15 there, will bear its fruits sooner or later. I could advise you, Thompson, what to do with him: it would be my plan.”
Mr. Thompson murmured, like a true courtier, that he should esteem16 it an honour to be favoured with Sir Austin Feverel’s advice: secretly resolute17, like a true Briton, to follow his own.
“Let him, then,” continued the baronet, “see vice in its nakedness. While he has yet some innocence18, nauseate19 him! Vice, taken little by little, usurps20 gradually the whole creature. My counsel to you, Thompson, would be, to drag him through the sinks of town.”
Mr. Thompson began to blink again.
“Oh, I shall punish him, Sir Austin! Do not fear me, sir. I have no tenderness for vice.”
“That is not what is wanted, Thompson. You mistake me. He should be dealt with gently. Heavens! do you hope to make him hate vice by making him a martyr21 for its sake? You must descend22 from the pedestal of age to become his Mentor23: cause him to see how certainly and pitilessly vice itself punishes: accompany him into its haunts”——
“Over town?” broke forth24 Mr. Thompson.
“Over town,” said the baronet.
“And depend upon it,” he added, “that, until fathers act thoroughly25 up to their duty, we shall see the sights we see in great cities, and hear the tales we hear in little villages, with death and calamity26 in our homes, and a legacy27 of sorrow and shame to the generations to come. I do aver,” he exclaimed, becoming excited, “that, if it were not for the duty to my son, and the hope I cherish in him, I, seeing the accumulation of misery28 we are handing down to an innocent posterity29 — to whom, through our sin, the fresh breath of life will be foul30 — I— yes! I would hide my name! For whither are we tending? What home is pure absolutely? What cannot our doctors and lawyers tell us?”
Mr. Thompson acquiesced31 significantly.
“And what is to come of this?” Sir Austin continued. “When the sins of the fathers are multiplied by the sons, is not perdition the final sum of things? And is not life, the boon32 of heaven, growing to be the devil’s game utterly33? But for my son, I would hide my name. I would not bequeath it to be cursed by them that walk above my grave!”
This was indeed a terrible view of existence. Mr. Thompson felt uneasy. There was a dignity in his client, an impressiveness in his speech, that silenced remonstrating35 reason and the cry of long years of comfortable respectability. Mr. Thompson went to church regularly; paid his rates and dues without overmuch, or at least more than common, grumbling36. On the surface he was a good citizen, fond of his children, faithful to his wife, devoutly37 marching to a fair seat in heaven on a path paved by something better than a thousand a year. But here was a man sighting him from below the surface, and though it was an unfair, unaccustomed, not to say unEnglish, method of regarding one’s fellow-man, Mr. Thompson was troubled by it. What though his client exaggerated? Facts were at the bottom of what he said. And he was acute — he had unmasked Ripton! Since Ripton’s exposure he winced38 at a personal application in the text his client preached from. Possibly this was the secret source of part of his anger against that peccant youth.
Mr. Thompson shook his head, and, with dolefully puckered39 visage and a pitiable contraction40 of his shoulders, rose slowly up from his chair. Apparently41 he was about to speak, but he straightway turned and went meditatively42 to a side-recess in the room, whereof he opened a door, drew forth a tray and a decanter labelled PORT, filled a glass for his client, deferentially43 invited him to partake of it; filled another glass for himself, and drank.
That was his reply.
Sir Austin never took wine before dinner. Thompson had looked as if he meant to speak: he waited for Thompson’s words.
Mr. Thompson saw that, as his client did not join him in his glass, the eloquence44 of that Porty reply was lost on his client.
Having slowly ingurgitated and meditated45 upon this precious draught46, and turned its flavour over and over with an aspect of potent47 Judicial48 wisdom (one might have thought that he was weighing mankind in the balance), the old lawyer heaved, and said, sharpening his lips over the admirable vintage, “The world is in a very sad state, I fear, Sir Austin!”
His client gazed at him queerly.
“But that,” Mr. Thompson added immediately, ill-concealing by his gaze the glowing intestinal49 congratulations going on within him, “that is, I think you would say, Sir Austin — if I could but prevail upon you — a tolerably good character wine!”
“There’s virtue50 somewhere, I see, Thompson!” Sir Austin murmured, without disturbing his legal adviser51’s dimples.
The old lawyer sat down to finish his glass, saying, that such a wine was not to be had everywhere.
They were then outwardly silent for a space. Inwardly one of them was full of riot and jubilant uproar52: as if the solemn fields of law were suddenly to be invaded and possessed53 by troops of Bacchanals: and to preserve a decently wretched physiognomy over it, and keep on terms with his companion, he had to grimace54 like a melancholy55 clown in a pantomime.
Mr. Thompson brushed back his hair. The baronet was still expectant. Mr. Thompson sighed deeply, and emptied his glass. He combated the change that had come over him. He tried not to see Ruby56. He tried to feel miserable57, and it was not in him. He spoke58, drawing what appropriate inspirations he could from his client’s countenance59, to show that they had views in common: “Degenerating sadly, I fear!”
The baronet nodded.
“According to what my wine-merchants say,” continued Mr. Thompson, “there can be no doubt about it.”
Sir Austin stared.
“It’s the grape, or the ground, or something,” Mr. Thompson went on. “All I can say is, our youngsters will have a bad look-out! In my opinion Government should be compelled to send out a Commission to inquire into the cause. To Englishmen it would be a public calamity. It surprises me — I hear men sit and talk despondently60 of this extraordinary disease of the vine, and not one of them seems to think it incumbent61 on him to act, and do his best to stop it.” He fronted his client like a man who accuses an enormous public delinquency. “Nobody makes a stir! The apathy62 of Englishmen will become proverbial. Pray, try it, Sir Austin! Pray, allow me. Such a wine cannot disagree at any hour. Do! I am allowanced two glasses three hours before dinner. Stomachic. I find it agrees with me surprisingly: quite a new man. I suppose it will last our time. It must! What should we do? There’s no Law possible without it. Not a lawyer of us could live. Ours is an occupation which dries the blood.”
The scene with Ripton had unnerved him, the wine had renovated63, and gratitude64 to the wine inspired his tongue. He thought that his client, of the whimsical mind, though undoubtedly65 correct moral views, had need of a glass.
“Now that very wine — Sir Austin — I think I do not err34 in saying, that very wine your respected father, Sir Pylcher Feverel, used to taste whenever he came to consult my father, when I was a boy. And I remember one day being called in, and Sir Pylcher himself poured me out a glass. I wish I could call in Ripton now, and do the same. No! Leniency66 in such a case as that! — The wine would not hurt him — I doubt if there be much left for him to welcome his guests with. Ha! ha! Now if I could persuade you, Sir Austin, as you do not take wine before dinner, some day to favour me with your company at my little country cottage — I have a wine there — the fellow to that — I think you would, I do think you would”— Mr. Thompson meant to say, he thought his client would arrive at something of a similar jocund67 contemplation of his fellows in their degeneracy that inspirited lawyers after potation, but condensed the sensual promise into “highly approve.”
Sir Austin speculated on his legal adviser with a sour mouth comically compressed.
It stood clear to him that Thompson before his Port, and Thompson after, were two different men. To indoctrinate him now was too late: it was perhaps the time to make the positive use of him he wanted.
He pencilled on a handy slip of paper: “Two prongs of a fork; the World stuck between them — Port and the Palate: ’Tis one which fails first — Down goes World;” and again the hieroglyph68 —“Port-spectacles.” He said, “I shall gladly accompany you this evening, Thompson,” words that transfigured the delighted lawyer, and ensigned the skeleton of a great Aphorism69 to his pocket, there to gather flesh and form, with numberless others in a like condition.
“I came to visit my lawyer,” he said to himself. “I think I have been dealing70 with The World in epitome71!”
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1
solicitor
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| n.初级律师，事务律师 | |
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2
ushered
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| v.引，领，陪同( usher的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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abominable
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| adj.可厌的，令人憎恶的 | |
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brazen
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| adj.厚脸皮的，无耻的，坚硬的 | |
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random
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| adj.随机的；任意的；n.偶然的(或随便的)行动 | |
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rescind
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| v.废除，取消 | |
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concealing
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| v.隐藏，隐瞒，遮住( conceal的现在分词 ) | |
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8
vice
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| n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的 | |
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putrid
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| adj.腐臭的；有毒的；已腐烂的；卑劣的 | |
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delusion
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| n.谬见，欺骗，幻觉，迷惑 | |
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lamentable
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| adj.令人惋惜的，悔恨的 | |
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adoption
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| n.采用，采纳，通过；收养 | |
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13
initiated
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| n. 创始人 adj. 新加入的 vt. 开始，创始，启蒙，介绍加入 | |
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14
hardy
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| adj.勇敢的，果断的，吃苦的；耐寒的 | |
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corruption
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| n.腐败，堕落，贪污 | |
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16
esteem
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| n.尊敬，尊重；vt.尊重，敬重；把…看作 | |
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17
resolute
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| adj.坚决的，果敢的 | |
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18
innocence
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| n.无罪；天真；无害 | |
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19
nauseate
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| v.使作呕；使感到恶心；使厌恶 | |
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20
usurps
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| 篡夺，霸占( usurp的第三人称单数 )； 盗用； 篡夺，篡权 | |
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21
martyr
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| n.烈士，殉难者；vt.杀害，折磨，牺牲 | |
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22
descend
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| vt./vi.传下来，下来，下降 | |
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mentor
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| n.指导者，良师益友；v.指导 | |
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24
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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thoroughly
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| adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地 | |
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26
calamity
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| n.灾害，祸患，不幸事件 | |
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legacy
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| n.遗产，遗赠；先人(或过去)留下的东西 | |
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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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posterity
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| n.后裔，子孙，后代 | |
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30
foul
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| adj.污秽的；邪恶的；v.弄脏；妨害；犯规；n.犯规 | |
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31
acquiesced
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| v.默认，默许( acquiesce的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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boon
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| n.恩赐，恩物，恩惠 | |
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utterly
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| adv.完全地，绝对地 | |
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34
err
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| vi.犯错误，出差错 | |
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35
remonstrating
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| v.抗议( remonstrate的现在分词 )；告诫 | |
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grumbling
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| adj. 喃喃鸣不平的, 出怨言的 | |
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devoutly
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| adv.虔诚地，虔敬地，衷心地 | |
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38
winced
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| 赶紧避开，畏缩( wince的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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39
puckered
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| v.（使某物）起褶子或皱纹( pucker的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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contraction
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| n.缩略词，缩写式，害病 | |
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41
apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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42
meditatively
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| adv.冥想地 | |
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43
deferentially
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| adv.表示敬意地，谦恭地 | |
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44
eloquence
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| n.雄辩；口才，修辞 | |
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45
meditated
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| 深思，沉思，冥想( meditate的过去式和过去分词 )； 内心策划，考虑 | |
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46
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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47
potent
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| adj.强有力的，有权势的；有效力的 | |
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48
judicial
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| adj.司法的，法庭的，审判的，明断的，公正的 | |
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49
intestinal
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| adj.肠的；肠壁；肠道细菌 | |
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50
virtue
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| n.德行，美德；贞操；优点；功效，效力 | |
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51
adviser
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| n.劝告者，顾问 | |
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52
uproar
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| n.骚动，喧嚣，鼎沸 | |
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53
possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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54
grimace
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| v.做鬼脸，面部歪扭 | |
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55
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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56
ruby
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| n.红宝石，红宝石色 | |
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57
miserable
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| adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的 | |
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58
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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59
countenance
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| n.脸色，面容；面部表情；vt.支持，赞同 | |
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60
despondently
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| adv.沮丧地，意志消沉地 | |
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61
incumbent
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| adj.成为责任的，有义务的；现任的，在职的 | |
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apathy
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| n.漠不关心，无动于衷；冷淡 | |
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63
renovated
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| 翻新，修复，整修( renovate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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64
gratitude
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| adj.感激，感谢 | |
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undoubtedly
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| adv.确实地，无疑地 | |
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leniency
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| n.宽大（不严厉） | |
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67
jocund
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| adj.快乐的，高兴的 | |
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68
hieroglyph
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| n.象形文字， 图画文字 | |
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aphorism
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| n.格言，警语 | |
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dealing
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| n.经商方法，待人态度 | |
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epitome
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| n.典型，梗概 | |
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