On the island and under the trees was a table set in the open air and covered with papers and inkstands. At the table were sitting four men, two in uniform and two in plain black clothes. Aides-de-camps, equerries and such persons stood in a group in the background; and behind them a string of two or three silent battle-ships lay along the sea. For peace was being given to Europe.
There had just come to an end the long agony of one of the many unsuccessful efforts to break the strength of Turkey and save the small Christian9 tribes. There had been many other such meetings in the later phases of the matter as, one after another, the smaller nations gave up the struggle, or the greater nations came in to coerce10 them. But the interested parties had now dwindled11 to these four. For the Powers of Europe being entirely12 agreed on the necessity for peace on a Turkish basis, were content to leave the last negotiations13 to England and Germany, who could be trusted to enforce it; there was a representative of the Sultan, of course; and there was a representative of the only enemy of the Sultan who had not hitherto come to terms.
For one tiny power had alone carried on the war month after month, and with a tenacity14 and temporary success that was a new nine-days marvel15 every morning. An obscure and scarcely recognized prince calling himself the King of Ithaca had filled the Eastern Mediterranean16 with exploits that were not unworthy of the audacious parallel that the name of his island suggested. Poets could not help asking if it were Odysseus come again; patriotic17 Greeks, even if they themselves had been forced to lay down their arms, could not help feeling curious as to what Greek race or name was boasted by the new and heroic royal house. It was, therefore, with some amusement that the world at last discovered that the descendant of Ulysses was a cheeky Irish adventurer named Patrick Dalroy; who had once been in the English Navy, had got into a quarrel through his Fenian sympathies and resigned his commission. Since then he had seen many adventures in many uniforms; and always got himself or some one else into hot water with an extraordinary mixture of cynicism and quixotry. In his fantastic little kingdom, of course, he had been his own General, his own Admiral, his own Foreign Secretary and his own Ambassador; but he was always careful to follow the wishes of his people in the essentials of peace and war; and it was at their direction that he had come to lay down his sword at last. Besides his professional skill, he was chiefly famous for his enormous bodily strength and stature18. It is the custom in newspapers nowadays to say that mere19 barbaric muscular power is valueless in modern military actions, but this view may be as much exaggerated as its opposite. In such wars as these of the Near East, where whole populations are slightly armed and personal assault is common, a leader who can defend his head often has a real advantage; and it is not true, even in a general way, that strength is of no use. This was admitted by Lord Ivywood, the English Minister, who was pointing out in detail to King Patrick the hopeless superiority of the light pattern of Turkish field gun; and the King of Ithaca, remarking that he was quite convinced, said he would take it with him, and ran away with it under his arm. It would be conceded by the greatest of the Turkish warriors20, the terrifying Oman Pasha, equally famous for his courage in war and his cruelty in peace; but who carried on his brow a scar from Patrick’s sword, taken after three hours’ mortal combat—and taken without spite or shame, be it said, for the Turk is always at his best in that game. Nor would the quality be doubted by Mr. Hart, a financial friend of the German Minister, whom Patrick Dalroy, after asking him which of his front windows he would prefer to be thrown into, threw into his bedroom window on the first floor with so considerate an exactitude that he alighted on the bed, where he was in a position to receive any medical attention. But, when all is said, one muscular Irish gentleman on an island cannot fight all Europe for ever, and he came, with a kind of gloomy good humour, to offer the terms now dictated21 to him by his adopted country. He could not even knock all the diplomatists down (for which he possessed22 both the power and the inclination), for he realised, with the juster part of his mind, that they were only obeying orders, as he was. So he sat heavily and sleepily at the little table, in the green and white uniform of the Navy of Ithaca (invented by himself); a big bull of a man, monstrously23 young for his size, with a bull neck and two blue bull’s eyes for eyes, and red hair rising so steadily24 off his scalp that it looked as if his head had caught fire: as some said it had.
The most dominant25 person present was the great Oman Pasha himself, with his strong face starved by the asceticism26 of war, his hair and mustache seeming rather blasted with lightning than blanched27 with age; a red fez on his head, and between the red fez and mustache, a scar at which the King of Ithaca did not look. His eyes had an awful lack of expression.
Lord Ivywood, the English Minister, was probably the handsomest man in England, save that he was almost colourless both in hair and complexion28. Against that blue marble sea he might almost have been one of its old marble statues that are faultless in line but show nothing but shades of grey or white. It seemed a mere matter of the luck of lighting29 whether his hair looked dull silver or pale brown; and his splendid mask never changed in colour or expression. He was one of the last of the old Parliamentary orators30; and yet he was probably a comparatively young man; he could make anything he had to mention blossom into verbal beauty; yet his face remained dead while his lips were alive. He had little old-fashioned ways, as out of old Parliaments; for instance, he would always stand up, as in a senate, to speak to those three other men, alone on a rock in the ocean.
In all this he perhaps appeared more personal in contrast to the man sitting next to him, who never spoke31 at all but whose face seemed to speak for him. He was Dr. Gluck, the German Minister, whose face had nothing German about it; neither the German vision nor the German sleep. His face was as vivid as a highly coloured photograph and altered like a cinema: but his scarlet32 lips never moved in speech. His almond eyes seemed to shine with all the shifting fires of the opal; his small, curled black mustache seemed sometimes almost to hoist33 itself afresh, like a live, black snake; but there came from him no sound. He put a paper in front of Lord Ivywood. Lord Ivywood took a pair of eyeglasses to read it, and looked ten years older by the act.
It was merely a statement of agenda; of the few last things to be settled at this last conference. The first item ran:
“The Ithacan Ambassador asks that the girls taken to harems after the capture of Pylos be restored to their families. This cannot be granted.” Lord Ivywood rose. The mere beauty of his voice startled everyone who had not heard it before.
“Your Excellencies and gentlemen,” he said, “a statement to whose policy I by no means assent34, but to whose historic status I could not conceivably aspire35, has familiarised you with a phrase about peace with honour. But when we have to celebrate a peace between such historic soldiers as Oman Pasha and His Majesty36 the King of Ithaca, I think we may say that it is peace with glory.”
He paused for half an instant; yet even the silence of sea and rock seemed full of multitudinous applause, so perfectly37 had the words been spoken.
“I think there is but one thought among us, whatever our many just objections through these long and harassing38 months of negotiations—I think there is but one thought now. That the peace may be as full as the war—that the peace may be as fearless as the war.”
Once more he paused an instant; and felt a phantom39 clapping, as it were, not from the hands but the heads of the men. He went on.
“If we are to leave off fighting, we may surely leave off haggling40. A statute41 of limitations or, if you will, an amnesty, is surely proper when so sublime42 a peace seals so sublime a struggle. And if there be anything in which an old diplomatist may advise you, I would most strongly say this: that there should be no new disturbance43 of whatever amicable44 or domestic ties have been formed during this disturbed time. I will admit I am sufficiently45 old-fashioned to think any interference with the interior life of the family a precedent46 of no little peril47. Nor will I be so illiberal48 as not to extend to the ancient customs of Islam what I would extend to the ancient customs of Christianity. A suggestion has been brought before us that we should enter into a renewed war of recrimination as to whether certain women have left their homes with or without their own consent. I can conceive no controversy49 more perilous50 to begin or more impossible to conclude. I will venture to say that I express all your thoughts, when I say that, whatever wrongs may have been wrought51 on either side, the homes, the marriages, the family arrangements of this great Ottoman Empire, shall remain as they are today.”
No one moved except Patrick Dalroy, who put his hand on his sword-hilt for a moment and looked at them all with bursting eyes; then his hand fell and he laughed out loud and sudden.
Lord Ivywood took no notice, but picked up the agenda paper again, and again fitted on the glasses that made him look older. He read the second item—needless to say, not aloud. The German Minister with the far from German face, had written this note for him:
“Both Coote and the Bernsteins insist there must be Chinese for the marble. Greeks cannot be trusted in the quarries52 just now.”
“But while,” continued Lord Ivywood, “we desire these fundamental institutions, such as the Moslem53 family, to remain as they are even at this moment, we do not assent to social stagnation54. Nor do we say for one moment that the great tradition of Islam is capable alone of sustaining the necessities of the Near East. But I would seriously ask your Excellencies, why should we be so vain as to suppose that the only cure for the Near East is of necessity the Near West? If new ideas are needed, if new blood is needed, would it not be more natural to appeal to those most living, those most laborious55 civilisations which form the vast reserve of the Orient? Asia in Europe, if my friend Oman Pasha will allow me the criticism, has hitherto been Asia in arms. May we not yet see Asia in Europe and yet Asia in peace? These at least are the reasons which lead me to consent to a scheme of colonisation.”
Patrick Dalroy sprang erect56, pulling himself out of his seat by clutching at an olive-branch above his head. He steadied himself by putting one hand on the trunk of the tree, and simply stared at them all. There fell on him the huge helplessness of mere physical power. He could throw them into the sea; but what good would that do? More men on the wrong side would be accredited57 to the diplomatic campaign; and the only man on the right side would be discredited58 for anything. He shook the branching olive tree above him in his fury. But he did not for one moment disturb Lord Ivywood, who had just read the third item on his private agenda (“Oman Pasha insists on the destruction of the vineyards”) and was by this time engaged in a peroration59 which afterwards became famous and may be found in many rhetorical text books and primers. He was well into the middle of it before Dalroy’s rage and wonder allowed him to follow the words.
“... do we indeed owe nothing,” the diplomatist was saying “to that gesture of high refusal in which so many centuries ago the great Arabian mystic put the wine-cup from his lips? Do we owe nothing to the long vigil of a valiant60 race, the long fast by which they have testified against the venomous beauty of the Vine? Ours is an age when men come more and more to see that the creeds61 hold treasures for each other, that each religion has a secret for its neighbour, that faith unto faith uttereth speech, and church unto church showeth knowledge. If it be true, and I claim again the indulgence of Oman Pasha when I say I think it is true, that we of the West have brought some light to Islam in the matter of the preciousness of peace and of civil order, may we not say that Islam in answer shall give us peace in a thousand homes, and encourage us to cut down that curse that has done so much to thwart62 and madden the virtues63 of Western Christendom. Already in my own country the orgies that made horrible the nights of the noblest families are no more. Already the legislature takes more and more sweeping64 action to deliver the populace from the bondage65 of the all-destroying drug. Surely the prophet of Mecca is reaping his harvest; the cession66 of the disputed vineyards to the greatest of his champions is of all acts the most appropriate to this day; to this happy day that may yet deliver the East from the curse of war and the West from the curse of wine. The gallant67 prince who meets us here at last, to offer an olive branch even more glorious than his sword, may well have our sympathy if he himself views the cession with some sentimental68 regret; but I have little doubt that he also will live to rejoice in it at last. And I would remind you that it is not the vine alone that has been the sign of the glory of the South. There is another sacred tree unstained by loose and violent memories, guiltless of the blood of Pentheus or of Orpheus and the broken lyre. We shall pass from this place in a little while as all things pass and perish:
Far called, our navies melt away.
And all our pomp of yesterday
Is one with Nineveh and Tyre.
But so long as sun can shine and soil can nourish, happier men and women after us shall look on this lovely islet and it shall tell its own story; for they shall see these three holy olive trees lifted in everlasting70 benediction71, over the humble72 spot out of which came the peace of the world.”
The other two men were staring at Patrick Dalroy; his hand had tightened73 on the tree, and a giant billow of effort went over his broad breast. A small stone jerked itself out of the ground at the foot of the tree as if it were a grasshopper74 jumping; and then the coiled roots of the olive tree rose very slowly out of the earth like the limbs of a dragon lifting itself from sleep.
“I offer an olive branch,” said the King of Ithaca, totteringly leaning the loose tree so that its vast shadow, much larger than itself, fell across the whole council. “An olive branch,” he gasped75, “more glorious than my sword. Also heavier.”
Then he made another effort and tossed it into the sea below.
The German, who was no German, had put up his arm in apprehension76 when the shadow fell across him. Now he got up and edged away from the table; seeing that the wild Irishman was tearing up the second tree. This one came out more easily; and before he flung it after the first, he stood with it a moment; looking like a man juggling77 with a tower.
Lord Ivywood showed more firmness; but he rose in tremendous remonstrance78. Only the Turkish Pasha still sat with blank eyes, immovable. Dalroy rent out the last tree and hurled79 it, leaving the island bare.
“There!” said Dalroy, when the third and last olive had splashed in the tide. “Now I will go. I have seen something today that is worse than death: and the name of it is Peace.”
Oman Pasha rose and held out his hand.
“You are right,” he said in French, “and I hope we meet again in the only life that is a good life. Where are you going now?”
“I am going,” said Dalroy, dreamily, “to ‘The Old Ship.’”
“No,” answered the other, “I am going back to ‘The Old Ship’ that is behind the apple trees by Pebblewick; where the Ule flows among the trees. I fear I shall never see you there.”
After an instant’s hesitation81 he wrung82 the red hand of the great tyrant83 and walked to his boat without a glance at the diplomatists.
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1
wriggles
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| n.蠕动，扭动( wriggle的名词复数 )v.扭动，蠕动，蜿蜒行进( wriggle的第三人称单数 )；（使身体某一部位）扭动；耍滑不做，逃避（应做的事等） | |
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2
chameleon
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| n.变色龙，蜥蜴；善变之人 | |
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3
isles
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| 岛( isle的名词复数 ) | |
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isle
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| n.小岛，岛 | |
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5
azure
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| adj.天蓝色的，蔚蓝色的 | |
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6
celebrated
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| adj.有名的，声誉卓著的 | |
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sterile
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| adj.不毛的，不孕的，无菌的，枯燥的，贫瘠的 | |
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larches
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| n.落叶松（木材）( larch的名词复数 ) | |
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9
Christian
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| adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒 | |
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10
coerce
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| v.强迫，压制 | |
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dwindled
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| v.逐渐变少或变小( dwindle的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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12
entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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negotiations
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| 协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过 | |
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14
tenacity
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| n.坚韧 | |
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15
marvel
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| vi.(at)惊叹vt.感到惊异；n.令人惊异的事 | |
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Mediterranean
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| adj.地中海的；地中海沿岸的 | |
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patriotic
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| adj.爱国的，有爱国心的 | |
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stature
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| n.（高度）水平，（高度）境界，身高，身材 | |
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mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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warriors
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| 武士，勇士，战士( warrior的名词复数 ) | |
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dictated
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| v.大声讲或读( dictate的过去式和过去分词 )；口授；支配；摆布 | |
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22
possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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monstrously
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24
steadily
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| adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地 | |
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dominant
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| adj.支配的，统治的；占优势的；显性的；n.主因，要素，主要的人(或物)；显性基因 | |
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26
asceticism
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| n.禁欲主义 | |
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blanched
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| v.使变白( blanch的过去式 )；使（植物）不见阳光而变白；酸洗（金属）使有光泽；用沸水烫（杏仁等）以便去皮 | |
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complexion
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| n.肤色；情况，局面；气质，性格 | |
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lighting
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| n.照明，光线的明暗，舞台灯光 | |
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orators
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| n.演说者，演讲家( orator的名词复数 ) | |
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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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32
scarlet
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| n.深红色，绯红色，红衣；adj.绯红色的 | |
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hoist
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| n.升高，起重机，推动；v.升起，升高，举起 | |
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assent
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| v.批准，认可；n.批准，认可 | |
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aspire
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| vi.(to，after)渴望，追求，有志于 | |
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majesty
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| n.雄伟，壮丽，庄严，威严；最高权威，王权 | |
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perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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38
harassing
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| v.侵扰，骚扰( harass的现在分词 )；不断攻击（敌人） | |
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phantom
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| n.幻影，虚位，幽灵；adj.错觉的，幻影的，幽灵的 | |
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40
haggling
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| v.讨价还价( haggle的现在分词 ) | |
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41
statute
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| n.成文法，法令，法规；章程，规则，条例 | |
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42
sublime
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| adj.崇高的，伟大的；极度的，不顾后果的 | |
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43
disturbance
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| n.动乱，骚动；打扰，干扰；(身心)失调 | |
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44
amicable
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| adj.和平的，友好的；友善的 | |
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45
sufficiently
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| adv.足够地，充分地 | |
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precedent
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| n.先例，前例；惯例；adj.在前的，在先的 | |
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47
peril
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| n.(严重的)危险；危险的事物 | |
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48
illiberal
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| adj.气量狭小的，吝啬的 | |
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49
controversy
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| n.争论，辩论，争吵 | |
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50
perilous
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| adj.危险的，冒险的 | |
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51
wrought
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| v.引起；以…原料制作；运转；adj.制造的 | |
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52
quarries
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| n.（采）石场( quarry的名词复数 )；猎物（指鸟，兽等）；方形石；（格窗等的）方形玻璃v.从采石场采得( quarry的第三人称单数 )；从（书本等中）努力发掘（资料等）；在采石场采石 | |
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53
Moslem
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| n.回教徒，穆罕默德信徒；adj.回教徒的，回教的 | |
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54
stagnation
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| n. 停滞 | |
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55
laborious
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| adj.吃力的，努力的，不流畅 | |
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56
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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57
accredited
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| adj.可接受的；可信任的；公认的；质量合格的v.相信( accredit的过去式和过去分词 )；委托；委任；把…归结于 | |
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58
discredited
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| 不足信的，不名誉的 | |
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peroration
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| n.（演说等之）结论 | |
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valiant
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| adj.勇敢的，英勇的；n.勇士，勇敢的人 | |
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61
creeds
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| （尤指宗教）信条，教条( creed的名词复数 ) | |
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62
thwart
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| v.阻挠，妨碍，反对；adj.横(断的) | |
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virtues
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| 美德( virtue的名词复数 )； 德行； 优点； 长处 | |
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64
sweeping
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| adj.范围广大的，一扫无遗的 | |
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bondage
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| n.奴役，束缚 | |
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66
cession
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| n.割让，转让 | |
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67
gallant
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| adj.英勇的，豪侠的；(向女人)献殷勤的 | |
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sentimental
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| adj.多愁善感的，感伤的 | |
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dune
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| n.(由风吹积而成的)沙丘 | |
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70
everlasting
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| adj.永恒的，持久的，无止境的 | |
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71
benediction
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| n.祝福；恩赐 | |
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72
humble
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| adj.谦卑的，恭顺的；地位低下的；v.降低，贬低 | |
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73
tightened
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| 收紧( tighten的过去式和过去分词 )； （使）变紧； （使）绷紧； 加紧 | |
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74
grasshopper
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| n.蚱蜢，蝗虫，蚂蚱 | |
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75
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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76
apprehension
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| n.理解，领悟；逮捕，拘捕；忧虑 | |
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77
juggling
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| n. 欺骗, 杂耍(=jugglery) adj. 欺骗的, 欺诈的 动词juggle的现在分词 | |
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78
remonstrance
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| n抗议，抱怨 | |
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79
hurled
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| v.猛投，用力掷( hurl的过去式和过去分词 )；大声叫骂 | |
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80
warships
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| 军舰，战舰( warship的名词复数 )； 舰只 | |
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81
hesitation
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| n.犹豫，踌躇 | |
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82
wrung
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| 绞( wring的过去式和过去分词 )； 握紧（尤指别人的手）； 把（湿衣服）拧干； 绞掉（水） | |
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83
tyrant
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| n.暴君，专制的君主，残暴的人 | |
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