George was thinking chiefly about Sir Isaac. Impressive person, Sir Isaac, even if hateful! It was remarkable7 how the fellow seemed always to have leisure. Organization, of course! Indubitably the fellow's arguments could not be gainsaid8. The firing-line was not the only or even the most important part of the national war machine. To suppose otherwise was to share the crude errors of the childlike populace and its Press. Men were useless without guns, guns without shot, shot without explosives; and explosives could not be produced without a factory. The populace would never understand the close interdependence of various activities; it would never see beyond the recruiting station; it was meet only for pity. Sir Isaac had uttered a very wise saying: "Things are always arranged in the end ... It's up to the individual to look out for himself." Sir Isaac was freed from the thrall9 of mob-sentimentality. He was a super-man. And he was converting George into a super-man. George might have gone back to the office, but he was going home instead, because he could think creatively just as well outside the office as inside—so why should he accept the convention of the ordinary professional man. (Sir Isaac assuredly did not.) He had telephoned to the office. A single consideration appealed to him: How could he now best serve his country? Beyond question he could now serve his country best as an architect. If his duty marched with his advantage, what matter? It was up to the individual to look out for himself. And he, George, with already an immense reputation, would steadily10 enhance his reputation, which in the end would surpass all others in the profession. The war could not really touch him—no more than it could touch Sir Isaac; by good fortune, and by virtue11 of the impartiality12 of his intelligence, he was above the war.... Yes, Sir Isaac, disliked and unwillingly13 but deeply respected, had cleared his ideas for him.
"The very man! Come and make a fourth, will you, Cannon15?" asked the youth, dandiacal in flannels16, persuasively17 and flatteringly.
George demanded with firmness:
"Who are the other two?"
"Miss Horton and Gladys What's-her-name."
Why shouldn't he play at tennis? It was necessary to keep fit.
"All right. But not for long, you know."
"That's all right. Hurry up and get into your things."
"Ten minutes."
And in little more than ten minutes he was swinging a racket on the private sward that separates Elm Park Gardens East from Elm Park Gardens West, and is common to the residents of both. He had not encountered Lois at home, and had not thought it necessary to seek her out. He and she were often invited to play tennis in Elm Park Gardens.
The grass was beautifully kept. At a little distance two gardeners were at work, and a revolving18 sprinkler whirled sprays of glinting water in a wide circle. The back windows of the two streets disclosed not the slightest untidiness nor deshabille; rising irregularly in tier over tier to the high roof-line, they were all open, and all neatly19 curtained, and many of them had gorgeous sun-blinds. The sound of one or two pianos emerged faintly on the warm, still afternoon. Miss Horton and the slim Gladys were dressed in white, with short skirts, at once elegant and athletic20. Miss Horton, very tall and strong, with clear eyes, and a complexion21 damaged by undue22 exposure to healthy fresh air, was a fine player of many years' experience, now at the decline of her powers. She played seriously, every stroke conscientious23 and calculated, and she gave polite, good-humoured hints to the youth, her partner. George and Gladys were together. Gladys, eighteen, was a delightful24 girl, the raw material of a very sound player; she held herself well, and knew by instinct what style was. A white belt defined her waist in the most enchanting25 fashion. George appreciated her, as a specimen of the newest generation of English girls. There were thousands of them in London alone, an endless supply, with none of the namby-pambiness and the sloppiness26 and the blowziness of their forerunners27. Walking in Piccadilly or Bond Street or the Park, you might nowadays fancy yourself in Paris ... Why indeed should he not be playing tennis at that hour? The month was August. The apparatus of pleasure was there. Used or unused, it would still be there. It could not be destroyed simply because the times were grave. And there was his health; he would work better after the exercise. What purpose could there be in mournful inactivity? Yet continuously, as he ran about the court, and smiled at Gladys, and called out the score, and exclaimed upon his failures in precision, the strange, physical weight oppressed his stomach. He supposed that nearly everybody carried that physical weight. But did Sir Isaac? Did the delicious Gladys? The youth on the other side of the net was in the highest spirits because in a few days he would be entering Sandhurst.
A butler appeared from the French window of the ground floor of the M.P.'s house, walked down the curving path screened by a pergola, and came near the court with a small white paper in his solemn hand. At a suitable moment he gave the paper to the young master, who glanced at it and stuffed it into his pocket; the butler departed. A few minutes later the players changed courts. While the girls chatted apart, the youth leaped over the net, and, drawing the paper from his pocket, showed it furtively28 to George. It bore the words:
"Namur has fallen."
The M.P.'s household received special news by telephone from a friend at the War Office.
The youth raised his eyebrows29, and with a side-glance seemed to say that there could be no object in telling the women immediately. The next instant the game was resumed with full ardour.
George missed his strokes. Like thousands of other people, untaught by the episode of Liége, he had counted upon Namur. Namur, the bastion, the shoulder of the newly forming line, if not impregnable, was expected to hold out for many days. And it had tumbled like a tin church, and with it the brave edifice30 of his confidence. He saw the Germans inevitably31 in Paris, blowing up Paris quarter by quarter, arrondissement by arrondissement, imposing32 peace, dictating33 peace, forcing upon Europe unspeakable humiliations. He saw Great Britain compelled to bow; and he saw worse than that. And the German officer, having struck across the face with his cane34 the soldier standing35 at attention, would go back to Germany in triumph more arrogant36 than ever, to ogle37 adoring virgins38 and push cowed and fatuous39 citizens off the pavement into the gutter40. The solid houses of Elm Park Gardens, with their rich sun-blinds, the perfect sward, the white-frocked girls, the respectful gardeners, the red motor-buses flitting past behind the screen of bushes in the distance, even the butler in his majestic41 and invulnerable self-conceit—the whole systematized scene of correctness and tradition trembled as if perceived through the quivering of hot air. Gladys, reliant on the male and feeling that the male could no longer be relied on, went 'off her game,' with apologies; the experience of Miss Horton asserted itself, and the hard-fought set was lost by George and his partner. He reminded the company that he had only come for a short time, and left in a mood of bitter blackness.
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1
dominion
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| n.统治，管辖，支配权；领土，版图 | |
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2
apparatus
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| n.装置，器械；器具，设备 | |
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3
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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4
feats
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| 功绩，伟业，技艺( feat的名词复数 ) | |
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defensive
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| adj.防御的；防卫的；防守的 | |
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6
specimen
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| n.样本，标本 | |
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7
remarkable
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| adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的 | |
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8
gainsaid
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| v.否认，反驳( gainsay的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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thrall
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| n.奴隶；奴隶制 | |
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steadily
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| adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地 | |
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11
virtue
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| n.德行，美德；贞操；优点；功效，效力 | |
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12
impartiality
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| n. 公平, 无私, 不偏 | |
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13
unwillingly
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| adv.不情愿地 | |
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14
dignified
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| a.可敬的，高贵的 | |
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15
cannon
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| n.大炮，火炮；飞机上的机关炮 | |
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16
flannels
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| 法兰绒男裤； 法兰绒( flannel的名词复数 ) | |
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17
persuasively
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| adv.口才好地；令人信服地 | |
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18
revolving
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| adj.旋转的，轮转式的；循环的v.（使）旋转( revolve的现在分词 )；细想 | |
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19
neatly
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| adv.整洁地，干净地，灵巧地，熟练地 | |
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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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21
complexion
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| n.肤色；情况，局面；气质，性格 | |
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22
undue
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| adj.过分的；不适当的；未到期的 | |
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conscientious
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| adj.审慎正直的，认真的，本着良心的 | |
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24
delightful
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| adj.令人高兴的，使人快乐的 | |
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enchanting
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| a.讨人喜欢的 | |
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sloppiness
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| n.草率，粗心 | |
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forerunners
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| n.先驱( forerunner的名词复数 )；开路人；先兆；前兆 | |
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furtively
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| adv. 偷偷地, 暗中地 | |
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29
eyebrows
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| 眉毛( eyebrow的名词复数 ) | |
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30
edifice
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| n.宏伟的建筑物(如宫殿，教室) | |
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inevitably
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| adv.不可避免地；必然发生地 | |
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32
imposing
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| adj.使人难忘的，壮丽的，堂皇的，雄伟的 | |
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33
dictating
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| v.大声讲或读( dictate的现在分词 )；口授；支配；摆布 | |
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34
cane
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| n.手杖，细长的茎，藤条；v.以杖击，以藤编制的 | |
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35
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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arrogant
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| adj.傲慢的，自大的 | |
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ogle
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| v.看；送秋波；n.秋波，媚眼 | |
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38
virgins
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| 处女，童男( virgin的名词复数 )； 童贞玛利亚（耶稣之母） | |
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39
fatuous
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| adj.愚昧的；昏庸的 | |
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40
gutter
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| n.沟，街沟，水槽，檐槽，贫民窟 | |
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41
majestic
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| adj.雄伟的，壮丽的，庄严的，威严的，崇高的 | |
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