He walked slowly up Park Side and through Piccadilly, picking out as he passed them the French Embassy, Hyde Park Corner, Apsley House, Park Lane, and Devonshire House. As he drank in the mingled2 glare and glamour3 of Piccadilly by night,—the remote stars, the high sombre trees, the vast, dazzling interiors of clubs, the sinuous4, flickering5 lines of traffic, the radiant faces of women framed in hansoms,—he laughed the laugh of luxurious6 contemplation, acutely happy. At last, at last, he had come into his inheritance. London accepted him. He was hers; she his; and nothing should part them. Starvation in London would itself be bliss7. But he had no intention of starving! Filled with great purposes, he straightened his back, and just then a morsel8 of mud thrown up from a bus-wheel splashed warm and gritty on his cheek. He wiped it off caressingly9, with a smile.
Although it was Saturday night, and most of the shops were closed, an establishment where watches and trinkets of "Anglo-Spanish" gold, superb in appearance and pillowed on green plush, were retailed10 at alluring11 prices, still threw a brilliant light on the pavement, and Richard crossed the road to inspect its wares12. He turned away, but retraced13 his steps and entered the shop. An assistant politely inquired his wishes.
"I want one of those hunters you have in the window at 29/6," said Richard, with a gruffness which must have been involuntary.
"Yes, sir. Here is one. We guarantee that the works are equal to the finest English lever."
"I'll take it." He put down the money.
"Thank you. Can I show you anything else?"
"Nothing, thanks," still more gruffly.
"We have some excellent chains...."
"Nothing else, thanks." And he walked out, putting his purchase in his pocket. A perfectly14 reliable gold watch, which he had worn for years, already lay there.
At Piccadilly Circus he loitered, and then crossed over and went along Coventry Street to Leicester Square. The immense façade of the Ottoman Theatre of Varieties, with its rows of illuminated15 windows and crescent moons set against the sky, rose before him, and the glory of it was intoxicating16. It is not too much to say that the Ottoman held a stronger fascination17 for Richard than any other place in London. The British Museum, Fleet Street, and the Lyceum were magic names, but more magical than either was the name of the Ottoman. The Ottoman, on the rare occasions when it happened to be mentioned in Bursley, was a synonym18 for all the glittering vices19 of the metropolis21. It stank22 in the nostrils23 of the London delegates who came down to speak at the annual meetings of the local Society for the Suppression of Vice20. But how often had Richard, somnolent24 in chapel25, mitigated26 the rigours of a long sermon by dreaming of an Ottoman ballet,—one of those voluptuous27 spectacles, all legs and white arms, which from time to time were described so ornately in the London daily papers.
The brass-barred swinging doors of the Grand Circle entrance were simultaneously28 opened for him by two human automata dressed exactly alike in long semi-military coats, a very tall man and a stunted29 boy. He advanced with what air of custom he could command, and after taking a ticket and traversing a heavily decorated corridor encountered another pair of swinging doors; they opened, and a girl passed out, followed by a man who was talking to her vehemently30 in French. At the same moment a gust31 of distant music struck Richard's ear. As he climbed a broad, thick-piled flight of steps, the music became louder, and a clapping of hands could be heard. At the top of the steps hung a curtain of blue velvet32; he pushed aside its stiff, heavy folds with difficulty, and entered the auditorium33.
The smoke of a thousand cigarettes enveloped34 the furthest parts of the great interior in a thin bluish haze35, which was dissipated as it reached the domed36 ceiling in the rays of a crystal chandelier. Far in front and a little below the level of the circle lay a line of footlights broken by the silhouette37 of the conductor's head. A diminutive38, solitary39 figure in red and yellow stood in the centre of the huge stage; it was kissing its hands to the audience with a mincing40, operatic gesture; presently it tripped off backwards41, stopping at every third step to bow; the applause ceased, and the curtain fell slowly.
The broad, semicircular promenade42 which flanked the seats of the grand circle was filled with a well-dressed, well-fed crowd. The men talked and laughed, for the most part, in little knots, while in and out, steering43 their way easily and rapidly among these groups, moved the women: some with rouged44 cheeks, greasy45 vermilion lips, and enormous liquid eyes; others whose faces were innocent of cosmetics46 and showed pale under the electric light; but all with a peculiar47, exaggerated swing of the body from the hips48, and all surreptitiously regarding themselves in the mirrors which abounded49 on every glowing wall.
Richard stood aloof50 against a pillar. Near him were two men in evening dress conversing51 in tones which just rose above the general murmur52 of talk and the high, penetrating53 tinkle54 of glass from the bar behind the promenade.
"And what did she say then?" one of the pair asked smilingly. Richard strained his ear to listen.
"Well, she told me," the other said, speaking with a dreamy drawl, while fingering his watch-chain absently and gazing down at the large diamond in his shirt,—"she told me that she said she'd do for him if he didn't fork out. But I don't believe her. You know, of course.... There's Lottie...."
The band suddenly began to play, and after a few crashing bars the curtain went up for the ballet. The rich coup55 d'oeil which presented itself provoked a burst of clapping from the floor of the house and the upper tiers, but to Richard's surprise no one in his proximity56 seemed to exhibit any interest in the entertainment. The two men still talked with their backs to the stage, the women continued to find a pathway between the groups, and from within the bar came the unabated murmur of voices and tinkle of glass.
Richard never took his dazed eyes from the stage. The moving pageant57 unrolled itself before him like a vision, rousing new sensations, tremors58 of strange desires. He was under a spell, and when at last the curtain descended59 to the monotonous60 roll of drums, he awoke to the fact that several people were watching him curiously61. Blushing slightly, he went to a far corner of the promenade. At one of the little tables a woman sat alone. She held her head at an angle, and her laughing, lustrous62 eyes gleamed invitingly63 at Richard. Without quite intending to do so he hesitated in front of her, and she twittered a phrase ending in chéri.
He abruptly64 turned away. He would have been very glad to remain and say something clever, but his tongue refused its office, and his legs moved of themselves.
At midnight he found himself in Piccadilly Circus, unwilling65 to go home. He strolled leisurely66 back to Leicester Square. The front of the Ottoman was in darkness, and the square almost deserted67.
点击收听单词发音
1 unfamiliar | |
adj.陌生的,不熟悉的 | |
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2 mingled | |
混合,混入( mingle的过去式和过去分词 ); 混进,与…交往[联系] | |
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3 glamour | |
n.魔力,魅力;vt.迷住 | |
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4 sinuous | |
adj.蜿蜒的,迂回的 | |
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5 flickering | |
adj.闪烁的,摇曳的,一闪一闪的 | |
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6 luxurious | |
adj.精美而昂贵的;豪华的 | |
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7 bliss | |
n.狂喜,福佑,天赐的福 | |
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8 morsel | |
n.一口,一点点 | |
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9 caressingly | |
爱抚地,亲切地 | |
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10 retailed | |
vt.零售(retail的过去式与过去分词形式) | |
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11 alluring | |
adj.吸引人的,迷人的 | |
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12 wares | |
n. 货物, 商品 | |
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13 retraced | |
v.折回( retrace的过去式和过去分词 );回忆;回顾;追溯 | |
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14 perfectly | |
adv.完美地,无可非议地,彻底地 | |
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15 illuminated | |
adj.被照明的;受启迪的 | |
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16 intoxicating | |
a. 醉人的,使人兴奋的 | |
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17 fascination | |
n.令人着迷的事物,魅力,迷恋 | |
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18 synonym | |
n.同义词,换喻词 | |
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19 vices | |
缺陷( vice的名词复数 ); 恶习; 不道德行为; 台钳 | |
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20 vice | |
n.坏事;恶习;[pl.]台钳,老虎钳;adj.副的 | |
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21 metropolis | |
n.首府;大城市 | |
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22 stank | |
n. (英)坝,堰,池塘 动词stink的过去式 | |
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23 nostrils | |
鼻孔( nostril的名词复数 ) | |
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24 somnolent | |
adj.想睡的,催眠的;adv.瞌睡地;昏昏欲睡地;使人瞌睡地 | |
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25 chapel | |
n.小教堂,殡仪馆 | |
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26 mitigated | |
v.减轻,缓和( mitigate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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27 voluptuous | |
adj.肉欲的,骄奢淫逸的 | |
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28 simultaneously | |
adv.同时发生地,同时进行地 | |
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29 stunted | |
adj.矮小的;发育迟缓的 | |
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30 vehemently | |
adv. 热烈地 | |
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31 gust | |
n.阵风,突然一阵(雨、烟等),(感情的)迸发 | |
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32 velvet | |
n.丝绒,天鹅绒;adj.丝绒制的,柔软的 | |
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33 auditorium | |
n.观众席,听众席;会堂,礼堂 | |
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34 enveloped | |
v.包围,笼罩,包住( envelop的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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35 haze | |
n.霾,烟雾;懵懂,迷糊;vi.(over)变模糊 | |
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36 domed | |
adj. 圆屋顶的, 半球形的, 拱曲的 动词dome的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
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37 silhouette | |
n.黑色半身侧面影,影子,轮廓;v.描绘成侧面影,照出影子来,仅仅显出轮廓 | |
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38 diminutive | |
adj.小巧可爱的,小的 | |
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39 solitary | |
adj.孤独的,独立的,荒凉的;n.隐士 | |
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40 mincing | |
adj.矫饰的;v.切碎;切碎 | |
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41 backwards | |
adv.往回地,向原处,倒,相反,前后倒置地 | |
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42 promenade | |
n./v.散步 | |
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43 steering | |
n.操舵装置 | |
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44 rouged | |
胭脂,口红( rouge的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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45 greasy | |
adj. 多脂的,油脂的 | |
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46 cosmetics | |
n.化妆品 | |
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47 peculiar | |
adj.古怪的,异常的;特殊的,特有的 | |
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48 hips | |
abbr.high impact polystyrene 高冲击强度聚苯乙烯,耐冲性聚苯乙烯n.臀部( hip的名词复数 );[建筑学]屋脊;臀围(尺寸);臀部…的 | |
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49 abounded | |
v.大量存在,充满,富于( abound的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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50 aloof | |
adj.远离的;冷淡的,漠不关心的 | |
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51 conversing | |
v.交谈,谈话( converse的现在分词 ) | |
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52 murmur | |
n.低语,低声的怨言;v.低语,低声而言 | |
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53 penetrating | |
adj.(声音)响亮的,尖锐的adj.(气味)刺激的adj.(思想)敏锐的,有洞察力的 | |
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54 tinkle | |
vi.叮当作响;n.叮当声 | |
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55 coup | |
n.政变;突然而成功的行动 | |
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56 proximity | |
n.接近,邻近 | |
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57 pageant | |
n.壮观的游行;露天历史剧 | |
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58 tremors | |
震颤( tremor的名词复数 ); 战栗; 震颤声; 大地的轻微震动 | |
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59 descended | |
a.为...后裔的,出身于...的 | |
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60 monotonous | |
adj.单调的,一成不变的,使人厌倦的 | |
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61 curiously | |
adv.有求知欲地;好问地;奇特地 | |
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62 lustrous | |
adj.有光泽的;光辉的 | |
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63 invitingly | |
adv. 动人地 | |
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64 abruptly | |
adv.突然地,出其不意地 | |
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65 unwilling | |
adj.不情愿的 | |
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66 leisurely | |
adj.悠闲的;从容的,慢慢的 | |
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67 deserted | |
adj.荒芜的,荒废的,无人的,被遗弃的 | |
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