The season of strikes seemed to have run itself to a standstill. Almost every trade and industry and calling in which a dislocation could possibly be engineered had indulged in that luxury. The last and least successful convulsion had been the strike of the World’s Union of Zoological Garden attendants, who, pending1 the settlement of certain demands, refused to minister further to the wants of the animals committed to their charge or to allow any other keepers to take their place. In this case the threat of the Zoological Gardens authorities that if the men “came out” the animals should come out also had intensified2 and precipitated3 the crisis. The imminent4 prospect5 of the larger carnivores, to say nothing of rhinoceroses6 and bull bison, roaming at large and unfed in the heart of London, was not one which permitted of prolonged conferences. The Government of the day, which from its tendency to be a few hours behind the course of events had been nicknamed the Government of the afternoon, was obliged to intervene with promptitude and decision. A strong force of Bluejackets was despatched to Regent’s Park to take over the temporarily abandoned duties of the strikers. Bluejackets were chosen in preference to land forces, partly on account of the traditional readiness of the British Navy to go anywhere and do anything, partly by reason of the familiarity of the average sailor with monkeys, parrots, and other tropical fauna7, but chiefly at the urgent request of the First Lord of the Admiralty, who was keenly desirous of an opportunity for performing some personal act of unobtrusive public service within the province of his department.
“If he insists on feeding the infant jaguar8 himself, in defiance9 of its mother’s wishes, there may be another by-election in the north,” said one of his colleagues, with a hopeful inflection in his voice. “By-elections are not very desirable at present, but we must not be selfish.”
As a matter of fact the strike collapsed10 peacefully without any outside intervention12. The majority of the keepers had become so attached to their charges that they returned to work of their own accord.
And then the nation and the newspapers turned with a sense of relief to happier things. It seemed as if a new era of contentment was about to dawn. Everybody had struck who could possibly want to strike or who could possibly be cajoled or bullied13 into striking, whether they wanted to or not. The lighter14 and brighter side of life might now claim some attention. And conspicuous15 among the other topics that sprang into sudden prominence16 was the pending Falvertoon divorce suit.
The Duke of Falvertoon was one of those human hors d’oeuvres that stimulate17 the public appetite for sensation without giving it much to feed on. As a mere18 child he had been precociously19 brilliant; he had declined the editorship of the Anglian Review at an age when most boys are content to have declined mensa , a table, and though he could not claim to have originated the Futurist movement in literature, his “Letters to a possible Grandson,” written at the age of fourteen, had attracted considerable notice. In later days his brilliancy had been less conspicuously20 displayed. During a debate in the House of Lords on affairs in Morocco, at a moment when that country, for the fifth time in seven years, had brought half Europe to the verge21 of war, he had interpolated the remark “a little Moor22 and how much it is,” but in spite of the encouraging reception accorded to this one political utterance23 he was never tempted24 to a further display in that direction. It began to be generally understood that he did not intend to supplement his numerous town and country residences by living overmuch in the public eye.
And then had come the unlooked-for tidings of the imminent proceedings25 for divorce. And such a divorce! There were cross-suits and allegations and counter-allegations, charges of cruelty and desertion, everything in fact that was necessary to make the case one of the most complicated and sensational26 of its kind. And the number of distinguished27 people involved or cited as witnesses not only embraced both political parties in the realm and several Colonial governors, but included an exotic contingent28 from France, Hungary, the United States of North America, and the Grand Duchy of Baden. Hotel accommodation of the more expensive sort began to experience a strain on its resources. “It will be quite like the Durbar without the elephants,” exclaimed an enthusiastic lady who, to do her justice, had never seen a Durbar. The general feeling was one of thankfulness that the last of the strikes had been got over before the date fixed29 for the hearing of the great suit.
As a reaction from the season of gloom and industrial strife30 that had just passed away the agencies that purvey31 and stage-manage sensations laid themselves out to do their level best on this momentous32 occasion. Men who had made their reputations as special descriptive writers were mobilised from distant corners of Europe and the further side of the Atlantic in order to enrich with their pens the daily printed records of the case; one word-painter, who specialised in descriptions of how witnesses turn pale under cross-examination, was summoned hurriedly back from a famous and prolonged murder trial in Sicily, where indeed his talents were being decidedly wasted. Thumb-nail artists and expert kodak manipulators were retained at extravagant33 salaries, and special dress reporters were in high demand. An enterprising Paris firm of costume builders presented the defendant34 Duchess with three special creations, to be worn, marked, learned, and extensively reported at various critical stages of the trial; and as for the cinematograph agents, their industry and persistence35 was untiring. Films representing the Duke saying good-bye to his favourite canary on the eve of the trial were in readiness weeks before the event was due to take place; other films depicted36 the Duchess holding imaginary consultations37 with fictitious38 lawyers or making a light repast off specially39 advertised vegetarian40 sandwiches during a supposed luncheon41 interval42. As far as human foresight43 and human enterprise could go nothing was lacking to make the trial a success.
Two days before the case was down for hearing the advance reporter of an important syndicate obtained an interview with the Duke for the purpose of gleaning44 some final grains of information concerning his Grace’s personal arrangements during the trial.
“I suppose I may say this will be one of the biggest affairs of its kind during the lifetime of a generation,” began the reporter as an excuse for the unsparing minuteness of detail that he was about to make quest for.
“I suppose so — if it comes off,” said the Duke lazily.
“If?” queried45 the reporter, in a voice that was something between a gasp46 and a scream.
“The Duchess and I are both thinking of going on strike,” said the Duke.
“Strike!”
The baleful word flashed out in all its old hideous47 familiarity. Was there to be no end to its recurrence48?
“Do you mean,” faltered49 the reporter, “that you are contemplating50 a mutual51 withdrawal52 of the charges?”
“Precisely,” said the Duke.
“But think of the arrangements that have been made, the special reporting, the cinematographs, the catering53 for the distinguished foreign witnesses, the prepared music-hall allusions54; think of all the money that has been sunk —”
“Exactly,” said the Duke coldly, “the Duchess and I have realised that it is we who provide the material out of which this great far-reaching industry has been built up. Widespread employment will be given and enormous profits made during the duration of the case, and we, on whom all the stress and racket falls, will get — what? An unenviable notoriety and the privilege of paying heavy legal expenses whichever way the verdict goes. Hence our decision to strike. We don’t wish to be reconciled; we fully11 realise that it is a grave step to take, but unless we get some reasonable consideration out of this vast stream of wealth and industry that we have called into being we intend coming out of court and staying out. Good afternoon.”
The news of this latest strike spread universal dismay. Its inaccessibility55 to the ordinary methods of persuasion56 made it peculiarly formidable. If the Duke and Duchess persisted in being reconciled the Government could hardly be called on to interfere57. Public opinion in the shape of social ostracism58 might be brought to bear on them, but that was as far as coercive measures could go. There was nothing for it but a conference, with powers to propose liberal terms. As it was, several of the foreign witnesses had already departed and others had telegraphed cancelling their hotel arrangements.
The conference, protracted59, uncomfortable, and occasionally acrimonious60, succeeded at last in arranging for a resumption of litigation, but it was a fruitless victory. The Duke, with a touch of his earlier precocity61, died of premature62 decay a fortnight before the date fixed for the new trial.
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1
pending
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| prep.直到，等待…期间；adj.待定的；迫近的 | |
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intensified
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| v.（使）增强， （使）加剧( intensify的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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precipitated
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| v.（突如其来地）使发生( precipitate的过去式和过去分词 )；促成；猛然摔下；使沉淀 | |
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imminent
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| adj.即将发生的，临近的，逼近的 | |
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prospect
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| n.前景，前途；景色，视野 | |
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rhinoceroses
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| n.钱，钞票( rhino的名词复数 )；犀牛(=rhinoceros)；犀牛( rhinoceros的名词复数 )；脸皮和犀牛皮一样厚 | |
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fauna
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| n.(一个地区或时代的)所有动物，动物区系 | |
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jaguar
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| n.美洲虎 | |
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defiance
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| n.挑战，挑衅，蔑视，违抗 | |
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collapsed
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| adj.倒塌的 | |
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fully
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| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
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intervention
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| n.介入，干涉，干预 | |
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bullied
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| adj.被欺负了v.恐吓，威逼( bully的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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lighter
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| n.打火机，点火器；驳船；v.用驳船运送；light的比较级 | |
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conspicuous
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| adj.明眼的，惹人注目的；炫耀的，摆阔气的 | |
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prominence
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| n.突出；显著；杰出；重要 | |
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stimulate
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| vt.刺激，使兴奋；激励，使…振奋 | |
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mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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precociously
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| Precociously | |
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conspicuously
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| ad.明显地，惹人注目地 | |
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verge
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| n.边，边缘；v.接近，濒临 | |
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moor
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| n.荒野，沼泽；vt.(使)停泊；vi.停泊 | |
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utterance
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| n.用言语表达，话语，言语 | |
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tempted
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| v.怂恿（某人）干不正当的事；冒…的险（tempt的过去分词） | |
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proceedings
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| n.进程，过程，议程；诉讼(程序)；公报 | |
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sensational
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| adj.使人感动的，非常好的，轰动的，耸人听闻的 | |
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distinguished
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| adj.卓越的，杰出的，著名的 | |
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contingent
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| adj.视条件而定的；n.一组，代表团，分遣队 | |
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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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30
strife
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| n.争吵，冲突，倾轧，竞争 | |
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purvey
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| v.（大量）供给，供应 | |
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32
momentous
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| adj.重要的，重大的 | |
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33
extravagant
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| adj.奢侈的；过分的；(言行等)放肆的 | |
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34
defendant
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| n.被告；adj.处于被告地位的 | |
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35
persistence
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| n.坚持，持续，存留 | |
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36
depicted
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| 描绘，描画( depict的过去式和过去分词 )； 描述 | |
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consultations
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| n.磋商（会议）( consultation的名词复数 )；商讨会；协商会；查找 | |
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38
fictitious
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| adj.虚构的，假设的；空头的 | |
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39
specially
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| adv.特定地；特殊地；明确地 | |
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40
vegetarian
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| n.素食者；adj.素食的 | |
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41
luncheon
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| n.午宴，午餐，便宴 | |
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42
interval
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| n.间隔，间距；幕间休息，中场休息 | |
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43
foresight
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| n.先见之明，深谋远虑 | |
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44
gleaning
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| n.拾落穗，拾遗，落穗v.一点点地收集（资料、事实）( glean的现在分词 )；（收割后）拾穗 | |
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45
queried
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| v.质疑，对…表示疑问( query的过去式和过去分词 )；询问 | |
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46
gasp
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| n.喘息，气喘；v.喘息；气吁吁他说 | |
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47
hideous
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| adj.丑陋的，可憎的，可怕的，恐怖的 | |
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48
recurrence
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| n.复发，反复，重现 | |
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49
faltered
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| （嗓音）颤抖( falter的过去式和过去分词 )； 支吾其词； 蹒跚； 摇晃 | |
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50
contemplating
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| 深思，细想，仔细考虑( contemplate的现在分词 )； 注视，凝视； 考虑接受（发生某事的可能性）； 深思熟虑，沉思，苦思冥想 | |
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51
mutual
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| adj.相互的，彼此的；共同的，共有的 | |
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52
withdrawal
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| n.取回，提款；撤退，撤军；收回，撤销 | |
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53
catering
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| n. 给养 | |
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54
allusions
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| 暗指，间接提到( allusion的名词复数 ) | |
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55
inaccessibility
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| n. 难接近, 难达到, 难达成 | |
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56
persuasion
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| n.劝说；说服；持有某种信仰的宗派 | |
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57
interfere
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| v.(in)干涉，干预；(with)妨碍，打扰 | |
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58
ostracism
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| n.放逐；排斥 | |
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59
protracted
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| adj.拖延的；延长的v.拖延“protract”的过去式和过去分词 | |
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60
acrimonious
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| adj.严厉的，辛辣的，刻毒的 | |
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61
precocity
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| n.早熟，早成 | |
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62
premature
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| adj.比预期时间早的；不成熟的，仓促的 | |
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