It is admitted now on all hands that the provincial is a very useful kind of fellow; and when the metropolis10 feels itself running short of talent and energy, the provincial is invariably invited to look in. Latterly, however, the Londoner and the dweller11 in English provincial cities have begun to exhibit a distinctly modern disorder12, which may be called, for want of a better term, "suburbanism." In London, which may be taken as the type of all English cities, suburbanism is[Pg 126] pretty well rampant14. It has its origin in what the Americans would call "location." A man's daily work lies, say, in the City or in the central quarters of London. For various reasons—such, for example, as considerations of health, expenditure15, and custom—it is practically impossible for him to live near his work. He must live somewhere; so he goes to Balham, or Tooting, or Clapham, or Brondesbury, or Highgate, or Willesden, or Finchley, or Crouch16 End, or Hampstead, or some other suburban13 retreat. London is ringed round with these residential17 quarters, these little towns outside the walls. A visitor to any one of them is at once struck with its striking and painful similarity to all the others. There is a railway station belonging to one of the metropolitan18 lines; there is a High Street, fronted with lofty and rather gaudy19 shops; there is a reasonable sprinkling of churches and chapels20; there is a brand-new red-brick theatre; and the rest is row on row and row on row of villa21 residences, each with its dreary22 pali[Pg 127]sading and attenuated23 grass-plot in front, and its curious annex24 of kitchen, or scullery, behind. Miles and miles of these villas25 exist in every metropolitan suburb worth the name; and though the rents and sizes of them may vary, they are all built to one architectural formula, and all pinchbeck, ostentatious, and unlovely. No person of judgment26, nobody possessed27 of a ray of the philosophic28 spirit, can gaze upon them without concluding at once that the English do not know how to live. Take a street of these villas, big or little, and what do you find? You note, first, that nearly every house, be it occupied by clerk, Jew financier, or professional man, has got a highfalutin name of its own. The County Council or local authority has already bestowed29 upon it a number. But this is not enough for your suburbanist, who must needs appropriate for his house a name which will look swagger on his letter-paper. Hence No. 2, Sandringham Road, Tooting, is not No. 2, Sandringham Road, Tooting, at all; but The Laurels30, if[Pg 128] you please. No. 4—not to be outdone—is Holmwood; No. 6 is Hazledene; No. 8, The Pines; No. 10, Sutherland House; and so forth31. Then, again, if you walk down a street and keep your eye on the front windows of this thoroughfare of mansions32, you will note that every one of those windows has cheap lace curtains to it, and that immediately behind the centre of the window there is a little table, upon which loving hands have placed a green high-art vase, containing a plant of sorts. And right back in the dimness of the parlour there is a sideboard with a high mirrored back.
If you made acquaintance with half a dozen of the occupiers of these houses, and were invited into the half dozen front rooms, you would find in each, in addition to the sideboard before mentioned, a piano of questionable33 manufacture, a brass34 music-stool with a red velvet35 cushion, an over-mantel with mirrored panels, a "saddle-bag suite," consisting of lady's and gent's and six ordinary chairs and a couch; a centre-[Pg 129]table with a velvet-pile cloth upon it, a bamboo bookcase containing a Corelli and a Hall Caine or so, together with some sixpenny Dickenses picked up at drapers' bargain-sales, Nuttall's Dictionary, Mrs. Beeton's House Book, a Bible, a Prayer Book, some hymn-books, a work-basketful of socks waiting to be darned, and a little pile of music, chiefly pirated. At night, when Spriggs comes home to The Laurels, he has an apology for late dinner, gets into his slippers36, and retires with Mrs. Spriggs, and perhaps his elder daughter, into that parlour. There he reads a halfpenny newspaper till there is nothing left in it to read; then he talks to Mrs. Spriggs about that beast So-and-so, his employer; and Mrs. Spriggs tells him not to grumble37 so much, and asks the elder daughter why she doesn't play a chune to 'liven us up a bit. "Yes," says Spriggs, "what is the good of having a piano, and me buying you music every Saturday, if you never play?" Whereupon the elder daughter rattles38 through Dolly Gray, The Honeysuckle and the Bee, and[Pg 130] Everybody's Loved by Some One; and Spriggs beats time with his foot till he grows weary, and thinks we had better have supper and get off to bed.
This kind of thing is going on right down both sides of Sandringham Road—at Holmwood, at Hazledene, at The Pines, and at Sutherland House, as well as at The Laurels—every week-day evening between the hours of eight and midnight. In point of fact, it is going on all over Tooting. It is the suburban notion of an 'appy evening at home; and, hallowed as it is by wont39 and custom, everybody in Tooting takes it to be the best that life can offer after business hours. Perhaps it is. Just before supper, or haply a little afterwards, however, Spriggs says that he believes he will take a little stroll "round the houses." He puts on a straw hat in summer and a tweed cap in winter, and proceeds gravely down the Sandringham Road until he reaches a break in the long array of villas, and is aware of a rather flaring40 public-house. Into the saloon bar of this hostelry[Pg 131] he walks staidly, nods to the company, and asks the barmaid for a drop of the usual. "Let me see," says that sweet lady; "Johnny Walker, is n't it?" "Well, you know it is," says Spriggs, as he hands over threepence. With the glass of whisky in his hand he retires to the nearest red plush settee, and looks listlessly at the illustrated41 papers on the little table in front of him, drinks somewhat slowly, smokes a pipe, exchanges a word about the weather with the landlord of the establishment, says there's time for another before closing time, has another, and at twelve-thirty trots42 off home.
The seven or eight other men in the saloon bar being respectively the occupiers of Holmwood, Hazledene, The Pines, Sutherland House, etc., have done almost exactly as Spriggs has done in the way of drinks and nods and illustrated papers and having a final at twenty minutes past twelve. But during the whole evening they have not exchanged a rational word with one another. They have nothing to talk about; therefore[Pg 132] they have not talked. They are neighbours, and they know it; but they all hold themselves to be so much superior to one another that they have scorned to speak to each other, except in the most cursory43 and casual way. Next morning, at a few minutes to nine o'clock, they will all be scooting anxiously along the Sandringham Road with set faces, damp brows, and a fear at their hearts that they are going to miss their train. They will travel in packed carriages, half of them standing44 up, while the other half growls45, to Ludgate Hill or Moorgate Street, as the case may be, and then rush off again to their respective offices, in fear and trembling this time lest they should be three minutes late and the "governor" might notice it.
This is the life of the males in the Sandringham Road year in and year out. Through living in the same houses, in the midst of the same furniture, listening to the same pianos, drinking at the same public-houses, going to business in the same trains, they become as[Pg 133] like one another as peas. They are all anxious, all dull, all short of sleep, all short of money. In brief, they have become suburbanized. The monotony and snobbery46 and listlessness of their home life are reflected in their conduct of the working-day's affairs. There is not a man amongst them who has a soul above his job. Each of them sticks at business, not because he loves it or likes it, but simply because he knows that, if he were discovered in a remissness47, he would get what he calls "the sack." Each of them "lunches"—oh, this English lunch!—at the bar of a public-house on a glass of bitter beer and a penny Welsh rare-bit. Each of them feels a bit chippy and not a little sleepy of an afternoon, and each of them races for his train in the evening, chock-full of worry and bad-temper. You must live in the suburbs if you are to live in London at all, and there is no escape from it.
The lines of the female suburbians are cast in more or less pleasant places. They do not need to go to town every day. There[Pg 134] are shops galore, filled with just the goods they want, round the corner; and there is always the next female on both sides to gossip with. For, unlike the male suburbian, the female suburbian will talk to her neighbours. Her conversation is of babes, and butchers' meat, and the piece at the theatre, and the bargains at the stores in the High Road, and "him." He, or "him," means the good lady's husband. She never by any chance refers to him either by his Christian48 name, or his surname, or as "my husband." It is always, "He said to me this morning," or, "As I was saying to him before he went to business,"—which, I take it, is a peculiarly English habit. The female suburbian goes out to tea sometimes, usually at the house of some suburban relative. Her dress is a curious blend of ostentation49 and economy. She will be in the fashion; and, being an Englishwoman, "expense is no object," providing she can get the money. She has no notion of thrift50; she is perennially51 in arrears53 with the milk and the insurance man; and[Pg 135] when money gets very tight indeed, she lectures her husband on his wicked inability to make more than he is getting. The whole life, whether for male or female, is dreary, harried54, unrelieved, and destructive of everything that tends to make life affable and tolerable.
In view of the obvious evils suburbanism has brought about in the English metropolis, it might have been expected that the English provincial cities would have done their best to avoid similar troubles in their own areas. So far from this being the case, however, the craze for suburbanism is making itself apparent wherever one turns. City and borough55 councils lead the way by erecting56, at the public expense, artisans' and clerks' dwellings58 well out of the town. They hold that fresh air, the open country, and cheap railway fares are all that is wanted to make the English citizen's life a perennial52 joy to him. Yet the dwellings they erect57 are of the shoddiest and least homelike kind, the fresh-air which is to do the worker and[Pg 136] the children so much good is a doubtful quantity, and the cheap railway fares are bragged59 about without regard to the time taken up in travelling and the hurry and anxiety to catch trains. Suburbanism as a stereotyped60 and soul-deadening institution is of purely61 English origin. In no other country in the world do convention and what other people will say so rule the lives of men as they do in England. Suburbanism is in many ways the most obvious of the many products of English convention. It is at once an indication of brainlessness, want of intelligence, and incipient62 decay. Apparently63 there is to be no limit to it. Outside London new suburbs spring up almost weekly. But their newness brings no changes in its train. Each new suburb is mapped out and built exactly on the lines of the old ones; each is destined64 for the reception of exactly the same kind of stupid people; each will be the living-ground of generations of people still more stupid.
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1
provincial
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| adj.省的，地方的；n．外省人，乡下人 | |
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qualified
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| adj.合格的，有资格的，胜任的，有限制的 | |
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epithet
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| n.（用于褒贬人物等的）表述形容词，修饰语 | |
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applied
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| adj.应用的；v.应用，适用 | |
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journalism
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| n.新闻工作，报业 | |
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lesser
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| adj.次要的，较小的；adv.较小地，较少地 | |
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provincials
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| n.首都以外的人，地区居民( provincial的名词复数 ) | |
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undoubtedly
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| adv.确实地，无疑地 | |
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opprobrium
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| n.耻辱，责难 | |
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metropolis
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| n.首府；大城市 | |
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dweller
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| n.居住者，住客 | |
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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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13
suburban
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| adj.城郊的，在郊区的 | |
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rampant
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| adj.(植物)蔓生的；狂暴的，无约束的 | |
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15
expenditure
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| n.(时间、劳力、金钱等)支出；使用，消耗 | |
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crouch
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| v.蹲伏，蜷缩，低头弯腰；n.蹲伏 | |
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residential
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| adj.提供住宿的；居住的；住宅的 | |
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metropolitan
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| adj.大城市的，大都会的 | |
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gaudy
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| adj.华而不实的；俗丽的 | |
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chapels
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| n.小教堂， （医院、监狱等的）附属礼拜堂( chapel的名词复数 )；（在小教堂和附属礼拜堂举行的）礼拜仪式 | |
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villa
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| n.别墅，城郊小屋 | |
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dreary
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| adj.令人沮丧的，沉闷的，单调乏味的 | |
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23
attenuated
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| v.（使）变细( attenuate的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）变薄；（使）变小；减弱 | |
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annex
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| vt.兼并，吞并；n.附属建筑物 | |
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villas
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| 别墅，公馆( villa的名词复数 )； （城郊）住宅 | |
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judgment
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| n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见 | |
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possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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philosophic
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| adj.哲学的，贤明的 | |
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bestowed
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| 赠给，授予( bestow的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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laurels
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| n.桂冠，荣誉 | |
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forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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mansions
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| n.宅第，公馆，大厦( mansion的名词复数 ) | |
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questionable
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| adj.可疑的，有问题的 | |
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brass
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| n.黄铜；黄铜器，铜管乐器 | |
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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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slippers
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| n. 拖鞋 | |
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grumble
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| vi.抱怨；咕哝；n.抱怨，牢骚；咕哝，隆隆声 | |
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38
rattles
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| （使）发出格格的响声， （使）作嘎嘎声( rattle的第三人称单数 )； 喋喋不休地说话； 迅速而嘎嘎作响地移动，堕下或走动； 使紧张，使恐惧 | |
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39
wont
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| adj.习惯于；v.习惯；n.习惯 | |
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40
flaring
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| a.火焰摇曳的，过份艳丽的 | |
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41
illustrated
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| adj. 有插图的，列举的 动词illustrate的过去式和过去分词 | |
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42
trots
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| 小跑，急走( trot的名词复数 )； 匆匆忙忙地走 | |
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cursory
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| adj.粗略的；草率的；匆促的 | |
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44
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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45
growls
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| v.（动物）发狺狺声， （雷）作隆隆声( growl的第三人称单数 )；低声咆哮着说 | |
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46
snobbery
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| n. 充绅士气派, 俗不可耐的性格 | |
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47
remissness
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| n.玩忽职守；马虎；怠慢；不小心 | |
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48
Christian
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| adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒 | |
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49
ostentation
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| n.夸耀，卖弄 | |
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50
thrift
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| adj.节约，节俭；n.节俭，节约 | |
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51
perennially
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| adv.经常出现地；长期地；持久地；永久地 | |
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52
perennial
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| adj.终年的；长久的 | |
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53
arrears
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| n.到期未付之债，拖欠的款项；待做的工作 | |
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54
harried
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| v.使苦恼( harry的过去式和过去分词 )；不断烦扰；一再袭击；侵扰 | |
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55
borough
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| n.享有自治权的市镇；(英)自治市镇 | |
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56
erecting
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| v.使直立，竖起( erect的现在分词 )；建立 | |
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57
erect
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| n./v.树立，建立，使竖立；adj.直立的，垂直的 | |
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58
dwellings
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| n.住处，处所( dwelling的名词复数 ) | |
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59
bragged
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| v.自夸，吹嘘( brag的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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60
stereotyped
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| adj.(指形象、思想、人物等)模式化的 | |
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purely
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| adv.纯粹地，完全地 | |
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incipient
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| adj.起初的，发端的，初期的 | |
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apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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destined
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| adj.命中注定的；(for)以…为目的地的 | |
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