Shows how through Folly1 I assisted at a Murder and was Afraid. The Rule of the Democracy and the Despotism of the Alien
Poor men — God made, and all for that!
IT was a bad business throughout, and the only consolation2 is that it was all my fault. A man took me round the Chinese quarter of San Francisco, which is a ward3 of the city of Canton set down in the most eligible4 business-quarter of the place. The Chinaman with his usual skill has possessed5 himself of good brick fire-proof building and, following instinct, has packed each tenement6 with hundreds of souls, all living in filth7 and squalor not to be appreciated save by you in India. That cursory8 investigation9 ought to have sufficed; but I wanted to know how deep in the earth the Pigtail had taken root. Therefore I explored the Chinese quarter a second time and alone, which was foolishness. No one in the filthy10 streets (but for the blessed sea-breezes San Francisco would enjoy cholera11 every season) interfered12 with my movements, though many asked for cumshaw. I struck a house about four stories high full of celestial13 abominations, and began to burrow14 down; having heard that these tenements15 were constructed on the lines of icebergs16 — two-thirds below sight level. Downstairs I crawled past Chinamen in bunks17, opium-smokers, brothels, and gambling18 hells, till I had reached the second cellar — was, in fact, in the labyrinths19 of a warren. Great is the wisdom of the Chinaman. In time of trouble that house could be razed20 to the ground by the mob, and yet hide all its inhabitants in brick-walled and wooden-beamed subterranean21 galleries, strengthened with iron-framed doors and gates. On the second underground floor a man asked for cumshaw and took me downstairs to yet another cellar, where the air was as thick as butter, and the lamps burned little holes in it not more than an inch square. In this place a poker22 club had assembled and was in full swing. The Chinaman loves ‘pokel,’ and plays it with great skill, swearing like a cat when he loses. Most of the men round the table were in semi-European dress, their pig-tails curled up under billy-cock hats. One of the company looked like a Eurasian, whence I argued that he was a Mexican — a supposition that later inquiries23 confirmed. They were a picturesque24 set of fiends and polite, being too absorbed in their game to look at the stranger. We were all deep down under the earth, and save for the rustle25 of a blue gown sleeve and the ghostly whisper of the cards as they were shuffled26 and played, there was no sound. The heat was almost unendurable. There was some dispute between the Mexican and the man on his left. The latter shifted his place to put the table between himself and his opponent, and stretched a lean yellow hand towards the Mexican’s winnings.
Mark how purely27 man is a creature of instinct. Rarely introduced to the pistol, I saw the Mexican half rise in his chair and at the same instant found myself full length on the floor. None had told me that this was the best attitude when bullets are abroad. I was there prone28 before I had time to think — dropping as the room was filled with an intolerable clamour like the discharge of a cannon29. In those close quarters the pistol report had no room to spread any more than the smoke — then acrid30 in my nostrils31. There was no second shot, but a great silence in which I rose slowly to my knees. The Chinaman was gripping the table with both hands and staring in front of him at an empty chair. The Mexican had gone, and a little whirl of smoke was floating near the roof. Still gripping the table, the Chinaman said: ‘Ah! ‘in the tone that a man would use when, looking up from his work suddenly, he sees a well-known friend in the doorway32. Then he coughed and fell over to his own right, and I saw that he had been shot in the stomach.
I became aware that, save for two men leaning over the stricken one, the room was empty; and all the tides of intense fear, hitherto held back by intenser curiosity, swept over my soul. I ardently33 desired the outside air. It was possible that the Chinamen would mistake me for the Mexican,— everything horrible seemed possible just then,— and it was more than possible that the stairways would be closed while they were hunting for the murderer. The man on the floor coughed a sickening cough. I heard it as I fled, and one of his companions turned out the lamp. Those stairs seemed interminable, and to add to my dismay there was no sound of commotion34 in the house. No one hindered, no one even looked at me. There was no trace of the Mexican. I found the doorway and, my legs trembling under me, reached the protection of the clear cool night, the fog, and the rain. I dared not run, and for the life of me I could not walk. I must have effected a compromise, for I remember the light of a street lamp showed the shadow of one half skipping — caracoling along the pavements in what seemed to be an ecstasy35 of suppressed happiness. But it was fear — deadly fear. Fear compounded of past knowledge of the Oriental — only other white man — available witness — three stories underground — and the cough of the Chinaman now some forty feet under my chattering37 boot-heels. It was good to see the shop-fronts and electric lights again. Not for anything would I have informed the police, because I firmly believed that the Mexican had been dealt with somewhere down there on the third floor long ere I had reached the air; and, moreover, once clear of the place. I could not for the life of me tell where it was. My ill-considered flight brought me out somewhere a mile distant from the hotel; and the clank of the lift that bore me to a bed six stories above ground was music in my ears. Wherefore I would impress it upon you who follow after, do not knock about the Chinese quarters at night and alone. You may stumble across a picturesque piece of human nature that will unsteady your nerves for half a day.
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And this brings me by natural sequence to the great drink question. As you know, of course, the American does not drink at meals as a sensible man should. Indeed, he has no meals. He stuffs for ten minutes thrice a day. Also he has no decent notions about the sun being over the yardarm or below the horizon. He pours his vanity into himself at unholy hours, and indeed he can hardly help it. You have no notion of what ‘treating’ means on the Western slope. It is more than an institution; it is a religion, though men tell me that it is nothing to what it was. Take a very common instance. At 10.30 A.M. a man is smitten38 with desire for stimulants39. He is in the company of two friends. All three adjourn40 to the nearest bar,— seldom more than twenty yards away,— and take three straight whiskys. They talk for two minutes. The second and third man then treats in order; and thus each walks into the street, two of them the poorer by three goes of whisky under their belt, and one with two more liquors than he wanted. It is not etiquette41 yet to refuse a treat. The result is peculiar42. I have never yet, I confess, seen a drunken man in the streets, but I have heard more about drunkenness among white men, and seen more decent men above or below themselves with drink, than I care to think about. And the vice43 runs up into all sorts of circles and societies. Never was I more astonished than at one pleasant dinner-party to hear a pair of pretty lips say casually44 of a gentleman friend then under discussion, ‘He was drunk.’ The fact was merely stated without emotion. That was what startled me. But the climate of California deals kindly45 with excess, and treacherously46 covers up its traces. A man neither bloats nor shrivels in this dry air. He continues with the false bloom of health upon his cheeks, an equable eye, a firm mouth, and a steady hand till a day of reckoning arrives, and suddenly breaking up, about the head, he dies, and his friends speak his epitaph accordingly. Why people who in most cases cannot hold their liquor should play with it so recklessly I leave to others to decide. This unhappy state of affairs has, however, produced one good result which I will confide47 to you. In the heart of the business quarter, where banks and bankers are thickest, and telegraph wires most numerous, stands a semi-subterranean bar tended by a German with long blond locks and a crystalline eye. Go thither48 softly, treading on the tips of your toes, and ask him for a Button Punch. ’Twill take ten minutes to brew49, but the result is the highest and noblest product of the age. No man but one knows what is in it. I have a theory it is compounded of the shavings of cherubs’ wings, the glory of a tropical dawn, the red clouds of sunset, and fragments of lost epics50 by dead masters. But try you for yourselves, and pause a while to bless me, who am always mindful of the truest interests of my brethren.
But enough of the stale spilth of bar-rooms. Turn now to the august spectacle of a Government of the people, by the people, for the people, as it is understood in the city of San Francisco. Professor Bryce’s book will tell you that every American citizen over twenty-one years of age possesses a vote. He may not know how to run his own business, control his wife, or instil51 reverence52 into his children, may be pauper53, half-crazed with drink, bankrupt, dissolute, or merely a born fool; but he has a vote. If he likes, he can be voting most of his time — voting for his State Governor, his municipal officers, local option, sewage contracts, or anything else of which he has no special knowledge.
Once every four years he votes for a new President. In his spare moments he votes for his own judges — the men who shall give him justice. These are dependent on popular favour for re-election inasmuch as they are but chosen for a term of years — two or three, I believe. Such a position is manifestly best calculated to create an independent and unprejudiced administrator54. Now this mass of persons who vote is divided into two parties — Republican and Democrat55. They are both agreed in thinking that the other part is running creation (which is America) into red flame. Also the Democrat as a party drinks more than the Republican, and when drunk may be heard to talk about a thing called the Tariff56, which he does not understand, but which he conceives to be the bulwark57 of the country or else the surest power for its destruction. Sometimes he says one thing and sometimes another, in order to contradict the Republican, who is always contradicting himself. And this is a true and lucid58 account of the forepart of American politics. The behind-part is otherwise.
Since every man has a vote and may vote on every conceivable thing, it follows that there exist certain wise men who understand the art of buying up votes retail59, and vending60 them wholesale61 to whoever wants them most urgently. Now an American engaged in making a home for himself has not time to vote for turn-cocks and district attorneys and cattle of that kind, but the unemployed62 have much time because they are always on hand somewhere in the streets. They are called ‘the boys,’ and form a peculiar class. The boys are young men; inexpert in war, unskilled in labour; who have neither killed a man, lifted cattle, or dug a well. In plain English, they are just the men in the streets who can always be trusted to rally round any cause that has a glass of liquor for a visible heart. They wait — they are on hand —; and in being on hand lies the crown and the glory of American politics. The wise man is he who, keeping a liquor-saloon and judiciously63 dispensing64 drinks, knows how to retain within arm’s reach a block of men who will vote for or against anything under the canopy65 of Heaven. Not every saloon-keeper can do this. It demands careful study of city politics, tact66, the power of conciliation67, and infinite resources of anecdote68 to amuse and keep the crowd together night after night, till the saloon becomes a salon69. Above all, the liquor side of the scheme must not be worked for immediate70 profit. The boys who drink so freely will ultimately pay their host a thousandfold. An Irishman, and an Irishman pre-eminently, knows how to work such a saloon parliament. Observe for a moment the plan of operations. The rank and file are treated to drink and a little money — and they vote. He who controls ten votes receives a proportionate reward; the dispenser of a thousand votes is worthy71 of reverence, and so the chain runs on till we reach the most successful worker of public saloons — the man most skilful72 in keeping his items together and using them when required. Such a man governs the city as absolutely as a king. And you would know where the gain comes in? The whole of the public offices of a city (with the exception of a very few where special technical skill is required) are short-term offices distributed according to ‘political’ leanings. What would you have? A big city requires many officials. Each office carries a salary and influence worth twice the pay. The offices are for the representatives of the men who keep together and are on hand to vote. The Commissioner73 of Sewage, let us say, is a gentleman who has been elected to his office by a Republican vote. He knows little and cares less about sewage, but he has sense enough to man the pumping-works and the street-sweeping-machines with the gentlemen who elected him. The Commissioner of Police has been helped to his post very largely by the influence of the boys at such and such a saloon. He may be the guardian74 of city morals, but he is not going to allow his subordinates to enforce early closing or abstention from gambling in that saloon. Most offices are limited to four years, consequently he is a fool who does not make his office pay him while he is in it.
The only people who suffer by this happy arrangement are, in fact, the people who devised the lovely system. And they suffer because they are Americans. Let us explain. As you know, every big city here holds at least one big foreign vote — generally Irish, frequently German. In San Francisco, the gathering-place of the races, there is a distinct Italian vote to be considered, but the Irish vote is more important. For this reason the Irishman does not kill himself with overwork. He is made for the cheery dispensing of liquors, for everlasting75 blarney, and possesses a wonderfully keen appreciation76 of the weaknesses of lesser77 human nature. Also he has no sort of conscience, and only one strong conviction — that of deep-rooted hatred78 toward England. He keeps to the streets, he is on hand, he votes joyously79, spending days lavishly,— and time is the American’s dearest commodity. Behold80 the glorious result. To-day the city of San Francisco is governed by the Irish vote and the Irish influence, under the rule of a gentleman whose sight is impaired81, and who requires a man to lead him about the streets. He is called officially ‘Boss Buckley,’ and unofficially the ‘Blind White Devil.’ I have before me now the record of his amiable82 career in black and white. It occupies four columns of small print, and perhaps you would think it disgraceful. Summarised, it is as follows: Boss Buckley, by tact and deep knowledge of the seamy side of the city, won himself a following of voters. He sought no office himself, or rarely: but as his following increased he sold their services to the highest bidder83, himself taking toll84 of the revenues of every office. He controlled the Democratic party in the city of San Francisco. The people appoint their own judges. Boss Buckley’s people appointed judges. These judges naturally were Boss Buckley’s property. I have been to dinner-parties and heard educated men, not concerned with politics, telling stories one to another of ‘justice,’ both civil and criminal, being bought with a price from the hands of these judges. Such tales they told without heat, as men recording85 facts. Contracts for road-mending, public buildings, and the like are under the control of Boss Buckley, because the men whom Buckley’s following sent to the City Council adjudicate on these contracts; and on each and every one of these contracts Boss Buckley levies86 his percentage for himself and his allies.
The Republican party in San Francisco also have their boss. He is not so great a genius as Boss Buckley, but I decline to believe that he is any whit36 more virtuous87. He has a smaller number of votes at his command.
收听单词发音 |
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folly
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| n.愚笨，愚蠢，蠢事，蠢行，傻话 | |
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consolation
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| n.安慰，慰问 | |
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ward
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| n.守卫，监护，病房，行政区，由监护人或法院保护的人（尤指儿童）；vt.守护，躲开 | |
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eligible
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| adj.有条件被选中的；(尤指婚姻等)合适(意)的 | |
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possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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tenement
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| n.公寓；房屋 | |
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filth
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| n.肮脏，污物，污秽；淫猥 | |
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cursory
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| adj.粗略的；草率的；匆促的 | |
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investigation
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| n.调查，调查研究 | |
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filthy
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| adj.卑劣的；恶劣的，肮脏的 | |
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cholera
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| n.霍乱 | |
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interfered
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| v.干预( interfere的过去式和过去分词 )；调停；妨碍；干涉 | |
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celestial
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| adj.天体的；天上的 | |
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burrow
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| vt.挖掘(洞穴)；钻进；vi.挖洞；翻寻；n.地洞 | |
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tenements
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| n.房屋，住户，租房子( tenement的名词复数 ) | |
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icebergs
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| n.冰山，流冰( iceberg的名词复数 ) | |
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bunks
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| n.（车、船等倚壁而设的）铺位( bunk的名词复数 )；空话，废话v.（车、船等倚壁而设的）铺位( bunk的第三人称单数 )；空话，废话 | |
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gambling
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| n.赌博；投机 | |
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labyrinths
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| 迷宫( labyrinth的名词复数 )； （文字，建筑）错综复杂的 | |
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razed
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| v.彻底摧毁，将…夷为平地( raze的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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subterranean
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| adj.地下的，地表下的 | |
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poker
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| n.扑克；vt.烙制 | |
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inquiries
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| n.调查( inquiry的名词复数 )；疑问；探究；打听 | |
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picturesque
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| adj.美丽如画的，（语言）生动的，绘声绘色的 | |
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rustle
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| v.沙沙作响；偷盗(牛、马等)；n.沙沙声声 | |
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shuffled
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| v.洗（纸牌）( shuffle的过去式和过去分词 )；拖着脚步走；粗心地做；摆脱尘世的烦恼 | |
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purely
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| adv.纯粹地，完全地 | |
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prone
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| adj.(to)易于…的，很可能…的；俯卧的 | |
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cannon
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| n.大炮，火炮；飞机上的机关炮 | |
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acrid
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| adj.辛辣的，尖刻的，刻薄的 | |
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nostrils
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| 鼻孔( nostril的名词复数 ) | |
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doorway
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| n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径 | |
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ardently
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| adv.热心地，热烈地 | |
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commotion
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| n.骚动，动乱 | |
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ecstasy
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| n.狂喜，心醉神怡，入迷 | |
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whit
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| n.一点，丝毫 | |
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chattering
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| n. （机器振动发出的）咔嗒声，(鸟等)鸣，啁啾 adj. 喋喋不休的，啾啾声的 动词chatter的现在分词形式 | |
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smitten
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| 猛打，重击，打击( smite的过去分词 ) | |
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stimulants
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| n.兴奋剂( stimulant的名词复数 )；含兴奋剂的饮料；刺激物；激励物 | |
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adjourn
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| v.（使）休会，（使）休庭 | |
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etiquette
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| n.礼仪，礼节；规矩 | |
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peculiar
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| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
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vice
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| n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的 | |
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casually
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| adv.漠不关心地，无动于衷地，不负责任地 | |
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kindly
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| adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地 | |
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treacherously
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| 背信弃义地； 背叛地； 靠不住地； 危险地 | |
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confide
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| v.向某人吐露秘密 | |
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thither
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| adv.向那里；adj.在那边的，对岸的 | |
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brew
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| v.酿造，调制 | |
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epics
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| n.叙事诗( epic的名词复数 )；壮举；惊人之举；史诗般的电影（或书籍） | |
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instil
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| v.逐渐灌输 | |
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reverence
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| n.敬畏，尊敬，尊严；Reverence:对某些基督教神职人员的尊称；v.尊敬，敬畏，崇敬 | |
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pauper
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| n.贫民，被救济者，穷人 | |
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administrator
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| n.经营管理者，行政官员 | |
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democrat
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| n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员 | |
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tariff
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| n.关税，税率；(旅馆、饭店等)价目表，收费表 | |
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bulwark
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| n.堡垒，保障，防御 | |
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lucid
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| adj.明白易懂的，清晰的，头脑清楚的 | |
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retail
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| v./n.零售；adv.以零售价格 | |
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vending
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| v.出售（尤指土地等财产）( vend的现在分词 )；（尤指在公共场所）贩卖；发表（意见，言论）；声明 | |
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wholesale
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| n.批发；adv.以批发方式；vt.批发，成批出售 | |
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unemployed
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| adj.失业的，没有工作的；未动用的，闲置的 | |
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judiciously
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| adv.明断地，明智而审慎地 | |
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dispensing
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| v.分配( dispense的现在分词 )；施与；配（药） | |
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canopy
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| n.天篷，遮篷 | |
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tact
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| n.机敏，圆滑，得体 | |
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conciliation
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| n.调解，调停 | |
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anecdote
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| n.轶事，趣闻，短故事 | |
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salon
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| n.[法]沙龙；客厅；营业性的高级服务室 | |
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70
immediate
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| adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的 | |
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worthy
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| adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的 | |
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skilful
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| (=skillful)adj.灵巧的，熟练的 | |
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73
commissioner
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| n.（政府厅、局、处等部门）专员，长官，委员 | |
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74
guardian
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| n.监护人；守卫者，保护者 | |
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75
everlasting
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| adj.永恒的，持久的，无止境的 | |
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76
appreciation
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| n.评价；欣赏；感谢；领会，理解；价格上涨 | |
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77
lesser
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| adj.次要的，较小的；adv.较小地，较少地 | |
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78
hatred
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| n.憎恶，憎恨，仇恨 | |
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79
joyously
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| ad.快乐地, 高兴地 | |
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80
behold
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| v.看，注视，看到 | |
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81
impaired
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| adj.受损的；出毛病的；有（身体或智力）缺陷的v.损害，削弱( impair的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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82
amiable
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| adj.和蔼可亲的，友善的，亲切的 | |
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83
bidder
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| n.(拍卖时的)出价人，报价人，投标人 | |
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84
toll
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| n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟) | |
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85
recording
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| n.录音，记录 | |
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86
levies
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| （部队）征兵( levy的名词复数 )； 募捐； 被征募的军队 | |
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virtuous
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| adj.有品德的，善良的，贞洁的，有效力的 | |
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