“I don't want it.”
“Yes sir; but it's a little raw to-day.” He leaped down into the orchestra from the high stage, striking his knee upon a chair with violence, but, pausing not an instant for that, came running up the aisle1 carrying the overcoat. “You might want it after you get out into the air, Mr. Potter. I'm sure Mr. Tinker or Mr. Canby won't mind taking charge of it for you until you feel like putting it on.”
“Lord! Don't make such a fuss, Packer. Put it on me—put it on me!”
“Confound him!” said Potter good-humouredly, as they came out into the lobby. “It is chilly5; he's usually right, the idiot!”
Turning from Broadway, at the corner, they went over to Fifth Avenue, where Potter's unconsciousness of the people who recognized and stared at him was, as usual, one of the finest things he did, either upon the stage or “off.” Superb performance as it was, it went for nothing with Stewart Canby, who did not even see it, for he walked entranced, not in a town, but through orchards6 in bloom.
If Wanda Malone had remained with him, clear and insistent7 after yesterday's impersonal8 vision of her at rehearsal9, what was she now, when every tremulous lilt of the zither-string voice, and every little gesture of the impulsive10 hands, and every eager change of the glowing face, were fresh and living, in all their beautiful reality, but a matter of minutes past? He no longer resisted the bewitchment; he wanted all of it. His companions and himself were as trees walking, and when they had taken their seats at a table in the men's restaurant of a hotel where he had never been, he was not roused from his rapturous apathy11 even by the conduct of probably the most remarkable12 maitre d'hotel in the world.
“You don't git 'em!” said this personage briefly13, when Potter had ordered chops and “oeufs a la creole” and lettuce14 salad, from a card. “You got to eat partridge and asparagus tips salad!”
And he went away, leaving the terrible Potter resigned and unrebellious.
The partridge was undeniable when it came; a stuffed man would have eaten it. But Talbot Potter and his two guests did little more than nibble15 it; they neither ate nor talked, and yet they looked anything but unhappy. Detached from their surroundings, as they sat over their coffee, they might have been taken to be three poetic16 gentlemen listening to a serenade.
After a long and apparently17 satisfactory silence, Talbot Potter looked at his watch, but not, as it proved, to see if it was time to return to the theatre, his ensuing action being to send a messenger to procure18 a fresh orchid19 to take the place of the one that had begun to droop20 a little from his buttonhold. He attached the new one with an attentive21 gravity shared by his companions.
“Good thing, a boutonniere,” he explained. “Lighten it up a little. Rehearsal's dry work, usually. Thinking about it last night. Why not lighten it up a little? Why shouldn't an actor dress as well for a company of strangers at a reception? Ought to make it as cheerful as we can.”
“Yes,” said Tinker, nodding. “Something in that. I believe they work better. I must say I never saw much better work than those people were doing this morning. It was a fine rehearsal.”
“It's a fine company,” Potter said warmly. “They're the best people I ever had. They're all good, every one of them, and they're putting their hearts into this play. It's the kind of work that makes me proud to be an actor. I am proud to be an actor! Is there anything better?” He touched the young playwright22 on the arm, a gesture that hinted affection. “Stewart Canby,” he said, “I want to tell you I think we're going to make a big thing out of this play. It's going to be the best I've ever done. It's going to be beautiful!”
From the doorway23 into the lobby of the hotel there came a pretty sound of girlish voices whispering and laughing excitedly, and, glancing that way, the three men beheld24 a group of peering nymphs who fled, delighted.
“Ladies stop to rubber at Mr. Potter,” explained the remarkable headwaiter over the star's shoulder. “Mr. Potter, it's time you got marrit, anyhow. You git marrit, you don't git stared at so much!” He paused not for a reply, but hastened away to countermand25 the order of another customer.
“Married,” said Potter musingly26. “Well, there is such a thing as remaining a bachelor too long—even for an actor.”
“Widower, either,” assented27 Mr. Tinker as from a gentle reverie. “A man's never too old to get married.”
His employer looked at him somewhat disapprovingly28, but said nothing; and presently the three rose, without vocal29 suggestion from any of them, and strolled thoughtfully back to the theatre, pausing a moment by the way, while Tinker bought a white carnation30 for his buttonhole. There was a good deal, he remarked absent-mindedly, in what Mr. Potter had said about lightening up a rehearsal.
Probably there never was a more lightened-up rehearsal than that afternoon's. Potter's amiability31 continued;—nay, it increased: he was cordial; he was angelic; he was exalted32 and unprecedented33. A stranger would have thought Packer the person in control; and the actors, losing their nervousness, were allowed to display not only their energy but their intelligence. The stage became a cheery workshop, where ambition flourished and kindness was the rule. For thus did the starry34 happiness that glowed within the beatific35 bosom36 of the little “ingenue” make Arcady around her.
At four o'clock Talbot Potter stepped to the front of the stage and lifted his hand benevolently37. “That will do for to-day,” he said, facing the company. “Ladies and gentlemen, I thank you. I have never had a better rehearsal, and I think it is only your due to say you have pleased me very much, indeed. I cannot tell you how much. I feel strongly assured of our success in this play. Again I thank you. Ladies and gentlemen”—he waved his hand in dismissal—“till to-morrow morning.”
“By Joles!” old Carson Tinker muttered. “I never knew anything like it!”
“Oh—ah—Packer,” called the star, as the actors moved toward the doors. “Packer, ask Miss—Malone to wait a moment. I want—I'd like to go over a little business in the next act before tomorrow.”
“Yes, Mr. Potter?” It was she who answered, turning eagerly to him.
“In a moment, Miss Malone.” He spoke38 to the stage-manager in a low tone, and the latter came down into the auditorium39, where Canby and Tinker had remained in their seats.
“He says for you not to wait, gentlemen. There's nothing more to do this afternoon, and he may be detained quite a time.”
The violet boutonniere and the white carnation went somewhat reluctantly up the aisle together, and, after a last glance back at the stage from the doorway, found themselves in the colder air of the lobby, a little wilted40.
Bidding Tinker farewell, on the steps of the theatre, Canby walked briskly out to the Park, and there, abating41 his energy, paced the loneliest paths he could find until long after dark. They were not lonely for him; a radiant presence went with him through the twilight42. She was all about him: in the blue brightness of the afterglow, in the haze43 of the meadow stretches, and in the elusive44 woodland scents45 that vanished as he caught them;—she was in the rosy46 vapour wreaths on the high horizon, in the laughter of children playing somewhere in the darkness, in the twinkling of the lights that began to show—for now she was wherever a lover finds his lady, and that is everywhere. He went over and over their talk of the morning, rehearsing wonderful things he would say to her upon the morrow, and taking the liberty of suggesting replies from her even more wonderful. It was a rhapsody; he was as happy as Tom o'Bedlam.
By and by, he went to a restaurant in the Park and ordered food to be brought him. Then, after looking at it with an expression of fixed47 animation48 for half an hour, he paid for it and went home. He let himself into the boarding-house quietly, having hazy49 impressions that he was not popular there, also that it might be embarrassing to encounter Miss Cornish in the hall; and, after reconnoitering the stairway, went cautiously up to his room.
Three minutes later he came bounding down again, stricken white, and not caring if he encountered the devil. On his table he had found a package—the complete manuscript of “Roderick Hanscom” and this scrawl50:
Canby,
I can't produce your play—everything off.
Y'rs,
Tal't P'r.
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收听单词发音
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1
aisle
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| n.（教堂、教室、戏院等里的）过道，通道 | |
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enveloped
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| v.包围，笼罩，包住( envelop的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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solicitously
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| adv.热心地，热切地 | |
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reverently
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| adv.虔诚地 | |
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chilly
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| adj.凉快的，寒冷的 | |
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orchards
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| （通常指围起来的）果园( orchard的名词复数 ) | |
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7
insistent
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| adj.迫切的，坚持的 | |
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8
impersonal
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| adj.无个人感情的，与个人无关的，非人称的 | |
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9
rehearsal
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| n.排练，排演；练习 | |
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impulsive
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| adj.冲动的，刺激的；有推动力的 | |
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apathy
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| n.漠不关心，无动于衷；冷淡 | |
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remarkable
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| adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的 | |
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briefly
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| adv.简单地，简短地 | |
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lettuce
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| n.莴苣；生菜 | |
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15
nibble
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| n.轻咬，啃；v.一点点地咬，慢慢啃，吹毛求疵 | |
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16
poetic
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| adj.富有诗意的，有诗人气质的，善于抒情的 | |
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apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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procure
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| vt.获得，取得，促成；vi.拉皮条 | |
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orchid
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| n.兰花，淡紫色 | |
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20
droop
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| v.低垂，下垂；凋萎，萎靡 | |
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attentive
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| adj.注意的，专心的；关心(别人)的，殷勤的 | |
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playwright
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| n.剧作家，编写剧本的人 | |
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doorway
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| n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径 | |
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24
beheld
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| v.看，注视( behold的过去式和过去分词 )；瞧；看呀；（叙述中用于引出某人意外的出现）哎哟 | |
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countermand
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| v.撤回(命令)，取消(订货) | |
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musingly
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| adv.沉思地，冥想地 | |
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assented
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| 同意，赞成( assent的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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disapprovingly
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| adv.不以为然地，不赞成地，非难地 | |
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vocal
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| adj.直言不讳的；嗓音的；n.[pl.]声乐节目 | |
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30
carnation
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| n.康乃馨（一种花） | |
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amiability
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| n.和蔼可亲的，亲切的，友善的 | |
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32
exalted
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| adj.(地位等)高的，崇高的；尊贵的，高尚的 | |
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unprecedented
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| adj.无前例的，新奇的 | |
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starry
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| adj.星光照耀的, 闪亮的 | |
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beatific
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| adj.快乐的，有福的 | |
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36
bosom
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| n.胸，胸部；胸怀；内心；adj.亲密的 | |
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benevolently
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| adv.仁慈地，行善地 | |
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38
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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auditorium
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| n.观众席，听众席；会堂，礼堂 | |
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wilted
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| （使）凋谢，枯萎( wilt的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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41
abating
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| 减少( abate的现在分词 )； 减去； 降价； 撤消（诉讼） | |
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42
twilight
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| n.暮光，黄昏；暮年，晚期，衰落时期 | |
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43
haze
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| n.霾，烟雾；懵懂，迷糊；vi.(over)变模糊 | |
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44
elusive
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| adj.难以表达(捉摸)的；令人困惑的；逃避的 | |
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45
scents
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| n.香水( scent的名词复数 )；气味；（动物的）臭迹；（尤指狗的）嗅觉 | |
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46
rosy
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| adj.美好的，乐观的，玫瑰色的 | |
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47
fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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48
animation
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| n.活泼，兴奋，卡通片／动画片的制作 | |
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49
hazy
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| adj.有薄雾的，朦胧的；不肯定的，模糊的 | |
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50
scrawl
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| vt.潦草地书写；n.潦草的笔记，涂写 | |
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