She took Ordham to the routs10 that were given, to private tea-parties at the Residenz, where frequently the only other guests of the Queen-mother were her ancient ladies-in-waiting, and, in time, invited him alone of all the unofficial young men to her dinners given in honour of the diplomatic corps11. She knew that he barely tolerated her, that he came to her house so often, not only because he found much to amuse him there, but because he was far too good-natured to refuse any one that pressed hospitality upon him; but she would have forgiven more to his manners, which she pronounced the finest in the world; and the old court intriguer12 honestly admired the diplomatic talents which inspired him to express the proper amount of deference13 and polite gratitude14 without sacrificing his dignity in the fashion of many that craved15 something more than a mere16 entrée to the Palast Nachmeister; then, later, when to be the enfant gaté and the formal man-of-the-world.
Ordham, indeed, began by disliking her intensely. Her thin dispraising nose, which, he reflected, looked as if it had a pin in it; her narrow mouth, whose corners seemed to drip poison; her hard, round, brilliant eyes; her red wig17 and emaciated18 figure,—all offended him; but her manifest and disinterested19 friendship (she had not a young relative in the world), her many favours, and the more subtle influence of Time, to say nothing of her discretion20 in not inviting21 him to make love to her, inclined him to indulgence, and he even began to find good points in her,—after his habit with people whom he tolerated at all.
And he was never bored in her house, for he met in it a far more cosmopolitan22 society than he had been accustomed to in England or even in Paris. The United States had not yet discovered Munich, but it was always refreshed, this beautiful art city of mid-Europe, by Russians, Hungarians, Austrians, Italians, and odd and interesting people from the Balkans and the Porte. Moreover, he loved beautiful things, and the Nachmeister’s house was an essential reincarnation of the rococo23, even to the dinginess24 of the gilt25, so fatally neglected by Ludwig in his brand-new palaces, Linderhof and Herrenchimsee. Her rooms and her grounds satisfied him so completely that he could not go to them often enough, and he was able to exclude their owner from his memory unless she stood in front of him.
Nor did she deny him anything he craved. When the rather nervous young man, who blushed so often, and yet was as automatically sure of himself as only an Englishman of his class can be, told her flatly that he wanted to meet the King, whom no stranger met, the audacity26 of the request took her breath away, but she managed the interview through the Queen-mother; and Ludwig, who happened to be in one of those intensely lucid27 tempers when he was sick unto death of shams28 and hypocrisies29, and the vileness30 he found in the men that cringed at his wavering feet, fancied that he saw in the clean high-bred young Englishman something of the nobility and beauty of his own untainted youth, and impulsively32 invited him to Neuschwanstein for the following evening.
It was quite in keeping with the curious complications which at this period began to deflect33 John Ordham’s feet from the sunny highway into dim by-paths ending in the mazes34 of life, that he should have met Mabel Cutting before he made even the bare acquaintance of Margarethe Styr. She was just eighteen, and her mother had brought her to Munich for a few weeks of German and music before launching her into London society. Princess Nachmeister, giving a garden party soon after the squares and gardens of Munich had burst into the vivid young greens of spring, begged Mrs. Cutting, whom she had known for many years, to bring the new American beauty to decorate her “gloomy old park.” This with her romantic loveliness—she was tall and slim, her hair was golden, her big eyes were brown, sad, remote, her little nose and mouth cut with the sharpest and most rapid of chisels—Mabel accomplished35 with much complacency; she was not only quite aware of her charms, but that her smart Parisian gown made the greater number of the Bavarian aristocracy look like housemaids. But she was bored by the strange babel of tongues about her, and, unable to interest herself in the stiff young officers that clicked their heels together in front of her, permitted them to be captured by ladies with whose methods they were more familiar. She was sitting alone,—save for her pug-dog, LaLa,—on one of the curved marble seats under a large tree, flanked by a pink hawthorn36 on one side and a white lilac bush on the other, when Ordham, who had arrived late, as usual, caught sight of her. A few moments later, his hostess, congratulating herself upon her subtlety37, had steered38 him to the maiden’s side and casually39 presented him.
Mabel enlivened immediately when the tall “boy,” as she defined him, very dignified40 and very diffident, stood blushing before her, and talked so fast that Ordham subsided41 into a chair with the welcome sensation of being spared all trouble. He was fascinated not more by the sparkling flow of empty words than by the play of dimples in the pink and white cheeks, and the flecks42 of golden light which the large pathetic brown eyes seemed to intercept43 from the aureole of her hair. She talked of England and Paris, which she knew far better than New York, “adoring” both, delivered her soul of her hatred44 of all things German, from the music to the shops, spoke45 with admiration46 of his mother who was a great friend of “Momma’s,” and admitted that she was simply dying to see the inside of Ordham Castle and its romantic recluse47, Lord Bridgminster. Occasionally she dammed the stream of her eloquence48 with a question, answered by a glance from Ordham’s smiling eyes. Then Mrs. Cutting, who had been detained within, bore down upon them, and Mabel rose to her feet like a willow49 branch slowly released from the water.
“Momma!” she cried, “this is Mr. Ordham, Lady Bridgminster’s son. I have asked him to call. Do invite him for dinner to-night. He is the very nicest boy I ever met. You are sure to like him, for he talks so splendidly, and says such amusing things.”
Ordham had much ado to refrain from laughing outright50, and Mrs. Cutting caught the flash in his eyes which made him suddenly look older. He cultivated—or perhaps, in his conventional hours, it was quite natural to him—a somewhat infantile expression, and Mrs. Cutting, observing him from the window, had concluded that he was a mere boy, and quite safe to sit alone with her little daughter at a formal German party. But as she stood talking to him,—he was now quite at his ease,—this woman whose keen American brain had never for a moment been clouded by passion, whose nerves were mere magnetic needles for the thousand complexities51 of the world she lived in, experienced a subtle response to something hard under the plastic surface of this charming young man. It was remote, a whisper from the unknown, as evanescent as a quiver along the branches of the tree that cast its shadow on the young pink of the hawthorn; and in a moment she forgot the impression in her general approval. But she recalled it long after, that fleeting52 response in herself to the germ of ruthlessness under that sincere and boyish desire to please her.
Then and there she made up her mind that he should marry Mabel. The serious quest of her life was the son-in-law who should make her one with the aristocracy she had selected as the best this world had precipitated53. She was a woman as fastidious as she was ambitious, for she belonged to the aristocracy of her own country, and there was still much of the Puritan in her, albeit54 none of the provincial55. She would give her immaculate daughter to no man whom she knew to be unworthy, no matter what his rank; and, unsuspected, she had examined and rejected all the young unmarried noblemen she had met during her last two seasons in England. As it happened, she had never met Ordham, although she enjoyed something more than a passing acquaintance with Lady Bridgminster. Always a favourite of fortune, she realized at once that this garden party had been arranged by the august recipient56 of the prayers she never omitted to offer up when the exigencies57 of fashion took her to church.
“Certainly you must dine with us to-night, if you are not ‘invited,’ as they say over here,” she exclaimed in her bright cordial voice which retained not a taint31 of the national crudity58. “Mabel is a chatterbox and I shall send her to bed; but you and I will have a delightful59 gossip about London, from which I have been banished60 so often these last three years—since my husband’s death there has been so much tiresome61 litigation in New York. It is a delight even to look at an Englishman once more, especially here in Germany, which—let me whisper it—I hate as much as I love Paris. I am still a good American, you see, even if I did migrate long since to England. And you will come at eight?”
Ordham murmured his thanks, almost as much fascinated by the mother as by the daughter. Mrs. Cutting was not yet forty, very slim, Parisian, high-bred, not in the least faded, and her grey eyes, if cold, were very bright; her small mouth could accomplish smiles dazzling, arch, sympathetic, merely sweet, and she held her head higher than any lady of the court of Queen Marie. Ordham had met Americans of all sorts, but never any that attracted him as strongly as this distinguished62 couple that said nothing so charmingly and liked him so spontaneously. He felt the utter passionlessness of the older woman’s nature, but after the tempestuousness63 of certain of his foreign acquaintance this but added to her charm. As for the exquisite64 Mabel, she suggested all enchanting65 possibilities, although perhaps more than aught else the divine white flame of Wagner’s Elizabeth; that is to say (he was dreaming over a midnight cigarette at his window in the Legation when these reflections took shape), she would resemble that exalted66 ideal when she passed the chatterbox stage, that inevitable67 phase of the young American female. But, barring the fact that she talked too much and really knew nothing at all, she was quite flawless.
He dined, lunched, drove constantly with the Cuttings during the ensuing fortnight, writing pathetic notes of apology to those that had booked him long since; and as Mrs. Cutting dined in her private suite68, his many good friends almost wept as they thought on his sufferings. He answered their notes of sympathy in terms of passionate69 gratitude and regret (which made him more popular than ever) and gave not a second thought to the writers save when endeavouring to fix each particular excuse in his memory. He was enchanted70 with his new friends. Mrs. Cutting talked smartly, and on all subjects which she discovered appealed to him. Mabel was not sent to bed, and a great deal of quiet flirting71 went on under Momma’s discreetly72 averted73 eye. Frequently Mrs. Cutting was summoned into an adjoining room by her “dressmaker” (she would not have worn a German gown into her coffin), but certainly Ordham never felt so much as a passing suspicion that the girl was being thrown at his head, nor that his ideals, peculiarities74, vague desires, were being carefully sounded and analyzed75. When they departed he missed them so acutely for a few days that he was almost melancholy76; then, by rapid gradations, forgot them. Mabel bedewed her pillow for many nights, and Mrs. Cutting, as soon as she had opened her house in London, and presented Mabel at Buckingham Palace, devoted77 herself to ripening78 her pleasant acquaintance with Lady Bridgminster into friendship. It was not long before those two astute79 dames80 understood one another, and the pliant81 Mabel, by no means without the craft of her sex, was put into training.
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1
longingly
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| adv. 渴望地 热望地 | |
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2
urns
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| n.壶( urn的名词复数 )；瓮；缸；骨灰瓮 | |
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3
persistent
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| adj.坚持不懈的，执意的；持续的 | |
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seclusion
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| n.隐遁，隔离 | |
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luncheons
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| n.午餐，午宴( luncheon的名词复数 ) | |
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minor
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| adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修 | |
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7
rout
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| n.溃退，溃败；v.击溃，打垮 | |
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8
vilified
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| v.中伤，诽谤( vilify的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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moribund
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| adj.即将结束的，垂死的 | |
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routs
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| n.打垮，赶跑( rout的名词复数 )；（体育）打败对方v.打垮，赶跑( rout的第三人称单数 )；（体育）打败对方 | |
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11
corps
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| n.(通信等兵种的)部队；(同类作的)一组 | |
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12
intriguer
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| 密谋者 | |
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deference
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| n.尊重，顺从；敬意 | |
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14
gratitude
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| adj.感激，感谢 | |
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15
craved
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| 渴望，热望( crave的过去式 )； 恳求，请求 | |
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16
mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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wig
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| n.假发 | |
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18
emaciated
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| adj.衰弱的，消瘦的 | |
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19
disinterested
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| adj.不关心的，不感兴趣的 | |
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20
discretion
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| n.谨慎；随意处理 | |
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inviting
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| adj.诱人的，引人注目的 | |
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22
cosmopolitan
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| adj.世界性的，全世界的，四海为家的，全球的 | |
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23
rococo
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| n.洛可可；adj.过分修饰的 | |
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24
dinginess
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| n.暗淡，肮脏 | |
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25
gilt
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| adj.镀金的；n.金边证券 | |
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26
audacity
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| n.大胆，卤莽，无礼 | |
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27
lucid
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| adj.明白易懂的，清晰的，头脑清楚的 | |
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28
shams
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| 假象( sham的名词复数 )； 假货； 虚假的行为（或感情、言语等）； 假装…的人 | |
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29
hypocrisies
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| n.伪善，虚伪( hypocrisy的名词复数 ) | |
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30
vileness
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| n.讨厌，卑劣 | |
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31
taint
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| n.污点；感染；腐坏；v.使感染；污染 | |
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32
impulsively
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| adv.冲动地 | |
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33
deflect
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| v.(使)偏斜，(使)偏离，(使)转向 | |
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34
mazes
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| 迷宫( maze的名词复数 )； 纷繁复杂的规则； 复杂难懂的细节； 迷宫图 | |
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35
accomplished
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| adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的 | |
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36
hawthorn
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| 山楂 | |
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37
subtlety
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| n.微妙，敏锐，精巧；微妙之处，细微的区别 | |
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38
steered
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| v.驾驶( steer的过去式和过去分词 )；操纵；控制；引导 | |
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39
casually
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| adv.漠不关心地，无动于衷地，不负责任地 | |
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40
dignified
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| a.可敬的，高贵的 | |
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41
subsided
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| v.（土地）下陷（因在地下采矿）( subside的过去式和过去分词 )；减弱；下降至较低或正常水平；一下子坐在椅子等上 | |
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42
flecks
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| n.斑点，小点( fleck的名词复数 )；癍 | |
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43
intercept
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| vt.拦截，截住，截击 | |
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44
hatred
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| n.憎恶，憎恨，仇恨 | |
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45
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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46
admiration
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| n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕 | |
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47
recluse
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| n.隐居者 | |
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48
eloquence
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| n.雄辩；口才，修辞 | |
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49
willow
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| n.柳树 | |
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50
outright
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| adv.坦率地；彻底地；立即；adj.无疑的；彻底的 | |
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51
complexities
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| 复杂性(complexity的名词复数)； 复杂的事物 | |
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52
fleeting
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| adj.短暂的，飞逝的 | |
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53
precipitated
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| v.（突如其来地）使发生( precipitate的过去式和过去分词 )；促成；猛然摔下；使沉淀 | |
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54
albeit
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| conj.即使；纵使；虽然 | |
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55
provincial
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| adj.省的，地方的；n．外省人，乡下人 | |
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56
recipient
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| a.接受的,感受性强的 n.接受者,感受者,容器 | |
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57
exigencies
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| n.急切需要 | |
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58
crudity
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| n.粗糙，生硬；adj.粗略的 | |
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59
delightful
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| adj.令人高兴的，使人快乐的 | |
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60
banished
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| v.放逐，驱逐( banish的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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61
tiresome
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| adj.令人疲劳的，令人厌倦的 | |
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62
distinguished
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| adj.卓越的，杰出的，著名的 | |
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63
tempestuousness
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| n.剧烈，风暴 | |
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64
exquisite
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| adj.精美的；敏锐的；剧烈的，感觉强烈的 | |
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65
enchanting
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| a.讨人喜欢的 | |
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66
exalted
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| adj.(地位等)高的，崇高的；尊贵的，高尚的 | |
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67
inevitable
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| adj.不可避免的，必然发生的 | |
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68
suite
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| n.一套(家具)；套房；随从人员 | |
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69
passionate
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| adj.热情的，热烈的，激昂的，易动情的，易怒的，性情暴躁的 | |
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70
enchanted
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| adj. 被施魔法的，陶醉的，入迷的 动词enchant的过去式和过去分词 | |
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71
flirting
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| v.调情，打情骂俏( flirt的现在分词 ) | |
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72
discreetly
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| ad.(言行)审慎地，慎重地 | |
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73
averted
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| 防止，避免( avert的过去式和过去分词 )； 转移 | |
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74
peculiarities
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| n. 特质, 特性, 怪癖, 古怪 | |
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75
analyzed
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| v.分析( analyze的过去式和过去分词 )；分解；解释；对…进行心理分析 | |
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76
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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77
devoted
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| adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的 | |
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78
ripening
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| v.成熟，使熟( ripen的现在分词 )；熟化；熟成 | |
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79
astute
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| adj.机敏的，精明的 | |
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80
dames
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| n.（在英国）夫人（一种封号），夫人（爵士妻子的称号）( dame的名词复数 )；女人 | |
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81
pliant
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| adj.顺从的；可弯曲的 | |
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