In spite of Kitty's indomitable spirit, she was looking haggard and ill, for the incessant5 work was beginning to tell on her system. The doctor told her plainly that she was killing6 herself, and that absolute rest was what she required; but in spite of those warnings she never gave herself a moment's peace.
"I don't care two straws if I die," she said recklessly to Dr. Chinston; "I've made arrangements for the future of my child, and there's nothing else for me to live for."
She was determined7 to make the burlesque a success, and worked hard at rehearsals getting the author and composer to alter some things, and cut out others, making several valuable suggestions as to stage-management, and in every way doing her best. But though friendly towards Keith, yet he was conscious of a kind of reserve in her manner towards him, and thought it was due to the knowledge that he was engaged to Eugénie.
He had become reconciled to his sweetheart, and she went down every day to teach Meg at Toorak. It had been arranged that in three months she was to go to England with Meg, and Kitty guaranteed to pay a certain sum annually8 for the salary of the governess and the maintenance of the child. Of course Eugénie never meant to take any money, as she had become strongly attached to Meg, but still kept up her semblance9 of poverty till such time as she judged it fit to tell Keith. Meanwhile, in spite of Keith's opposition10, she lived with Caprice, and led a very quiet life, for what with the state of her health and constant rehearsals, Kitty gave no Sunday receptions.
But while Stewart fumed11 and fretted12 over the fact of his sweetheart staying with a woman of bad character like Caprice, and attended to all the rehearsals of the burlesque, Naball was silently winding13 his net round him. The detective had made inquiries14 at the Skylarks' Club, and found that Keith had been there on that night, in the company of Fenton. On discovering this, he went to Fenton and discovered that Stewart had lent the American the knife with which the crime had been committed, to cut the wires of a champagne15 bottle, and afterwards slipped it into his coat pocket. From the club he went to the Bon-Bon Theatre, and, as the detective knew from Keith's own admission, had left there at half-past twelve.
"And then," said Naball to himself, "he told me he wandered about the streets till two o'clock, and then saw Villiers--rubbish--he went straight to Russell Street and committed the crime."
It had taken Naball some time to collect the necessary evidence, and it was only on the day previous to the production of "Faust Upset" that he was able to get a warrant for Keith's arrest, so he determined to let the performance take place before he arrested him.
"If it's a success," said Naball to himself, as he slipped the warrant in his pocket, "he'll have had one jolly hour to himself, and if it's a failure--well, he'll be glad enough to go to gaol17." So, with this philosophical18 conclusion, Mr. Naball settled in his own mind that he would go to the theatre.
Keith wanted Eugénie to go to a box with him in order to see the play, but she said she would rather go to the stalls by herself, in order to judge of the effect the burlesque had on the audience. After a good deal of argument, Stewart gave way; so on the momentous19 night she took her seat in the stalls, eager to see the first bid her lover made for fame.
Tulch had been recalled from his task of watching Stewart, as Naball judged that the vanity of an author seeing his work on the stage would be enough to keep the young man in Melbourne; but Tulch, true to his instincts of finishing a job properly, took his place in the gallery and kept his eye on Keith, who sat with Ezra in a private box. The Jew was calm and placid20, as having succeeded to his father's fortune, he had not staked everything, like Keith, on the burlesque being a success; still, for his partner's sake as well as his own, he was anxious that it should go well.
Such a crowded house as it was--everybody in Melbourne was there--for a new play by a colonial author was a rare thing, and a burlesque by a colonial author, with original music by a colonial composer, was almost unheard of.
The critics who were present felt an unwonted sense of responsibility to-night, for as this was the first production of the piece on any stage, they had to give an opinion on their own responsibility. Hitherto the generality of plays produced in Melbourne had their good and bad points settled long before by London critics, so it was comparatively easy to give a verdict; but to-night it was quite a different thing, therefore the gentlemen of the press intended to be extra careful in their remarks.
Although "Faust Upset" was called a burlesque, it was more of an opera-bouffe, as there was an absence of puns and rhyme about the dialogue, besides which, the lyrics21 were really cleverly written, and the music brisk and sparkling. Keith had taken the old medi?val legend of Faust, and reversed it entirely22--all the male characters of the story he made female, and vice23 versa. There was a good deal of satire24 in the piece about the higher education of women, and the devotion of young men to athletics25, to the exclusion27 of brain work. In fact, the libretto28 was of a decidedly Gilbertian flavour, albeit29 rather more frivolous30, while the music was entirely of the Offenbachian school, light, tuneful and rapid.
After a medley31 overture32, containing a number of taking melodies in the piece, the curtain rose on the study of Miss Faust, a blue-stocking of the deepest dye, who, after devoting her life to acquiring knowledge, finds herself, at the age of fifty, an old maid with no one to care for her. The character was played by Toltby, who was a genuine humorist; and he succeeded in making a great deal out of the part, without ever condescending33 to vulgarity. His appearance as a lank34, long maiden35, in a dingy36 sage-green gown, with wan16 face and tousled hair, was ludicrous in the extreme.
The opening chorus was sung by a number of pretty girls, in caps and gowns, and on their going out to meet their lovers, Miss Faust, overcome with loneliness, summons to her aid the powers of evil, and in response "Miss Mephistopheles" appears.
Kitty looked charming as she stood in the centre of the red limelight. She was arrayed in the traditional dress of red, but as a female demon37 wore a petticoat, and her face was also left untouched. Miss Faust fainted in her chair, and Miss Mephistopheles, with a bright light in her eyes, and a reckless devil may-care look on her expressive38 face, whirled down to the footlights, and dashed into a rattling39 galop song, "Yes, this is I," which melody ran all through the opera.
With the assistance of various cosmetics40, new dress, and sundry41 other articles of feminine toilet, which were brought in by a number of small imps42, Miss Mephistopheles succeeds in making Miss Faust young; shows her a vision of Mr. Marguerite, a young athlete; and finally changes the scene to the market-place, where there was a chorus of young men in praise of athletic26 sports.
It would be useless to give the plot in detail, as Keith followed the lines of the legend pretty closely. Miss Faust meets Mr. Marguerite, who is beloved by Miss Siebel, a sporting young woman. There was the garden scene, with a lawn tennis ground; a vision on the Brocken, of the future of women, with grotesque43 ballets and fantastic dresses; the scene of the duel44, which was a quarrel scene between Mrs. Valentine and Miss Faust, after the style of Madame Angot; then Miss Mephistopheles runs off with Mr. Marguerite, having fallen in love with him; the lovers are followed and thrown into a prison, which is changed by the magic power of Miss Mephistopheles to a race-course, in which scene there is a bewildering array of betting men, pugilists, pretty girls, and fortune-tellers. Miss Mephistopheles then resigns Mr. Marguerite to Miss Siebel, and wants to carry off Miss Faust to the nether45 regions, when a flaw is discovered in the deed, and everything is settled amicably46, the whole play ending with the galop chorus of the first number.
When the curtain fell on the first act, the audience were somewhat bewildered; it was such an entirely new departure from the story of Faust, that they almost resented it. But as the piece progressed, they saw the real cleverness of the satire, and when the curtain came down they called loudly for the author and composer, who came forward and bowed their acknowledgments.
When Mortimer heard the eulogies47 lavished48 on the piece, he drew a long breath of relief.
"Jove! I thought it was going to fail," he said, "and I believe it would have, if Caprice hadn't pulled it out of the fire."
And, indeed, Caprice, with her wonderful spirits and reckless abandon. had carried the whole play with her, and saved it at the most critical moment, A young man sitting near Eugénie summed up his idea of the piece in a few words.
"It's a deuced clever play," he said; "but Caprice makes it go--if any one else plays her part, the theatre will be empty."
Eugénie turned angrily to look for the author of this remark, but could not see him. Just as she was turning away, a shrill49 voice near her said,--
"Ain't Caprice a stunner! I've seen 'er lots of times at old Lazarus's."
The speaker was a small, white-faced Jewish youth, being none other than Isaiah.
Miss Rainsford pondered over these words as she walked out of the theatre.
"Goes to old Lazarus's," she said to herself; "that was the old man who was killed. I wonder why she went there."
There was a crowd in the vestibule of the theatre, and she saw Keith standing50 in the corner, looking as pale as death, talking to a man.
She went up to congratulate him on the success of the performance, but something in his face made her afraid.
"What's the matter, Keith?" she asked, touching51 him.
"Hush52!" he said in a hoarse53 whisper, "don't say a word--I'm arrested."
"Arrested! What for?" she gasped54.
The man standing next to Keith interposed.
"For the murder of Jacob Lazarus," he said in a low voice.
Eugénie closed her eyes with a sensation of horror, and caught hold of the wall for support. When she opened her eyes again, Keith and the detective had both vanished.
"Arrested for the murder of Lazarus!" she muttered. "My God! it can't be true!"
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1
rehearsal
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| n.排练，排演；练习 | |
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burlesque
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| v.嘲弄，戏仿；n.嘲弄，取笑，滑稽模仿 | |
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carnival
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| n.嘉年华会，狂欢，狂欢节，巡回表演 | |
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rehearsals
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| n.练习( rehearsal的名词复数 )；排练；复述；重复 | |
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incessant
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| adj.不停的，连续的 | |
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killing
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| n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财 | |
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determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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annually
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| adv.一年一次，每年 | |
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semblance
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| n.外貌，外表 | |
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opposition
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| n.反对，敌对 | |
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fumed
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| 愤怒( fume的过去式和过去分词 )； 大怒； 发怒； 冒烟 | |
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fretted
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| 焦躁的，附有弦马的，腐蚀的 | |
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winding
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| n.绕，缠，绕组，线圈 | |
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inquiries
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| n.调查( inquiry的名词复数 )；疑问；探究；打听 | |
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champagne
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| n.香槟酒；微黄色 | |
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wan
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| (wide area network)广域网 | |
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gaol
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| n.(jail)监狱；(不加冠词)监禁；vt.使…坐牢 | |
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philosophical
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| adj.哲学家的，哲学上的，达观的 | |
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momentous
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| adj.重要的，重大的 | |
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placid
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| adj.安静的，平和的 | |
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lyrics
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| n.歌词 | |
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entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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vice
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| n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的 | |
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satire
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| n.讽刺，讽刺文学，讽刺作品 | |
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athletics
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| n.运动，体育，田径运动 | |
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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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exclusion
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| n.拒绝，排除，排斥，远足，远途旅行 | |
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libretto
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| n.歌剧剧本，歌曲歌词 | |
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albeit
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| conj.即使；纵使；虽然 | |
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frivolous
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| adj.轻薄的；轻率的 | |
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medley
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| n.混合 | |
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overture
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| n.前奏曲、序曲，提议，提案，初步交涉 | |
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condescending
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| adj.谦逊的,故意屈尊的 | |
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lank
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| adj.瘦削的；稀疏的 | |
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maiden
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| n.少女，处女；adj.未婚的，纯洁的，无经验的 | |
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dingy
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| adj.昏暗的，肮脏的 | |
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demon
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| n.魔鬼，恶魔 | |
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expressive
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| adj.表现的，表达…的，富于表情的 | |
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rattling
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| adj. 格格作响的, 活泼的, 很好的 adv. 极其, 很, 非常 动词rattle的现在分词 | |
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cosmetics
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| n.化妆品 | |
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sundry
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| adj.各式各样的，种种的 | |
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imps
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| n.（故事中的）小恶魔( imp的名词复数 )；小魔鬼；小淘气；顽童 | |
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grotesque
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| adj.怪诞的，丑陋的；n.怪诞的图案，怪人（物） | |
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duel
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| n./v.决斗；(双方的)斗争 | |
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nether
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| adj.下部的，下面的；n.阴间；下层社会 | |
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amicably
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| adv.友善地 | |
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eulogies
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| n.颂词，颂文( eulogy的名词复数 ) | |
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lavished
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| v.过分给予，滥施( lavish的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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shrill
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| adj.尖声的；刺耳的；v尖叫 | |
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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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touching
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| adj.动人的，使人感伤的 | |
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hush
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| int.嘘，别出声；n.沉默，静寂；v.使安静 | |
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hoarse
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| adj.嘶哑的，沙哑的 | |
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gasped
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| v.喘气( gasp的过去式和过去分词 )；喘息；倒抽气；很想要 | |
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