Seated apart from his worshipers upon a little sketching9 stool, and handling a remarkably10 long, amber11 cigarette-holder with much grace, was Olaf van Noord. He had hair of so light a yellow as sometimes to appear white, worn very long, brushed back from his brow and cut squarely all around behind, lending him a medieval appearance. He wore a slight mustache carefully pointed13; and his scanty14 vandyke beard could not entirely15 conceal16 the weakness of his chin. His complexion17 had the color and general appearance of drawing-paper, and in his large blue eyes was an eerie18 hint of sightlessness. He was attired19 in a light tweed suit cut in an American pattern, and out from his low collar flowed a black French knot.
Olaf van Noord rose to meet Helen Cumberly and Denise Ryland, advancing across the floor with the measured gait of a tragic20 actor. He greeted them aloofly21, and a little negro boy proffered22 tiny cups of China tea. Denise Ryland distended23 her nostrils24 as her gaze swept the picture-covered walls; but she seemed to approve of the tea.
The artist next extended to them an ivory box containing little yellow-wrapped cigarettes. Helen Cumberly smilingly refused, but Denise Ryland took one of the cigarettes, sniffed25 at it superciliously—and then replaced it in the box.
“It has a most... egregiously26 horrible... odor,” she commented.
“They are a special brand,” explained Olaf van Noord, distractedly, “which I have imported for me from Smyrna. They contain a small percentage of opium27.”
“Opium!” exclaimed Denise Ryland, glaring at the speaker and then at Helen Cumberly, as though the latter were responsible in some way for the vices28 of the painter.
“Yes,” he said, reclosing the box, and pacing somberly to the door to greet a new arrival.
“Did you ever in all your life,” said Denise Ryland, glancing about her, “see such an exhibition... of nightmares?”
Certainly, the criticism was not without justification29; the dauby-looking oil-paintings, incomprehensible water-colors, and riotous30 charcoal31 sketches32 which formed the mural decoration of the studio were distinctly “advanced.” But, since the center of interest seemed to be the large canvas on the easel, the two moved to the edges of the group of spectators and began to examine this masterpiece. A very puzzled newspaperman joined them, bending and whispering to Helen Cumberly:
“Are you going to notice the thing seriously? Personally, I am writing it up as a practical joke! We are giving him half a column—Lord knows what for!—but I can't see how to handle it except as funny stuff.”
“But, for heaven's sake... what does he... CALL it?” muttered Denise Ryland, holding a pair of gold rimmed33 pince-nez before her eyes, and shifting them to and fro in an endeavor to focus the canvas.
“'Our Lady of the Poppies,'” replied the journalist. “Do you think it's intended to mean anything in particular?”
The question was no light one; it embodied34 a problem not readily solved. The scene depicted35, and depicted with a skill, with a technical mastery of the bizarre that had in it something horrible—was a long narrow room—or, properly, cavern36. The walls apparently37 were hewn from black rock, and at regular intervals38, placed some three feet from these gleaming walls, uprose slender golden pillars supporting a kind of fretwork arch which entirely masked the ceiling. The point of sight adopted by the painter was peculiar39. One apparently looked down into this apartment from some spot elevated fourteen feet or more above the floor level. The floor, which was black and polished, was strewn with tiger skins; and little, inlaid tables and garishly40 colored cushions were spread about in confusion, whilst cushioned divans42 occupied the visible corners of the place. The lighting44 was very “advanced”: a lamp, having a kaleidoscopic45 shade, swung from the center of the roof low into the room and furnished all the illumination.
Three doors were visible; one, directly in line at the further end of the place, apparently of carved ebony inlaid with ivory; another, on the right, of lemon wood or something allied46 to it, and inlaid with a design in some emerald hued47 material; with a third, corresponding door, on the left, just barely visible to the spectator.
Two figures appeared. One was that of a Chinaman in a green robe scarcely distinguishable from the cushions surrounding him, who crouched48 upon the divan43 to the left of the central door, smoking a long bamboo pipe. His face was the leering face of a yellow satyr. But, dominating the composition, and so conceived in form, in color, and in lighting, as to claim the attention centrally, so that the other extravagant49 details became but a setting for it, was another figure.
Upon a slender ivory pedestal crouched a golden dragon, and before the pedestal was placed a huge Chinese vase of the indeterminate pink seen in the heart of a rose, and so skilfully50 colored as to suggest an internal luminousness51. The vase was loaded with a mass of exotic poppies, a riotous splash of color; whilst beside this vase, and slightly in front of the pedestal, stood the figure presumably intended to represent the Lady of the Poppies who gave title to the picture.
The figure was that of an Eastern girl, slight and supple52, and possessing a devilish and forbidding grace. Her short hair formed a black smudge upon the canvas, and cast a dense53 shadow upon her face. The composition was infinitely54 daring; for out of this shadow shone the great black eyes, their diablerie most cunningly insinuated55; whilst with a brilliant exclusion56 of detail—by means of two strokes of the brush steeped in brightest vermilion, and one seemingly haphazard57 splash of dead white—an evil and abandoned smile was made to greet the spectator.
To the waist, the figure was a study in satin nudity, whence, from a jeweled girdle, light draperies swept downward, covering the feet and swinging, a shimmering58 curve out into the foreground of the canvas, the curve being cut off in its apogee59 by the gold frame.
Above her head, this girl of demoniacal beauty held a bunch of poppies seemingly torn from the vase: this, with her left hand; with her right she pointed, tauntingly60, at her beholder61.
In comparison with the effected futurism of the other pictures in the studio, “Our Lady of the Poppies,” beyond question was a great painting. From a point where the entire composition might be taken in by the eye, the uncanny scene glowed with highly colored detail; but, exclude the scheme of the composition, and focus the eye upon any one item—the golden dragon—the seated Chinaman—the ebony door—the silk-shaded lamp; it had no detail whatever: one beheld62 a meaningless mass of colors. Individually, no one section of the canvas had life, had meaning; but, as a whole, it glowed, it lived—it was genius. Above all, it was uncanny.
This, Denise Ryland fully12 realized, but critics had grown so used to treating the work of Olaf van Noord as a joke, that “Our Lady of the Poppies” in all probability would never be judged seriously.
“What does it mean, Mr. van Noord?” asked Helen Cumberly, leaving the group of worshipers standing63 hushed in rapture64 before the canvas and approaching the painter. “Is there some occult significance in the title?”
“It is a priestess,” replied the artist, in his dreamy fashion....
“A priestess?”
“A priestess of the temple.”...
Helen Cumberly glanced again at the astonishing picture.
“Do you mean,” she began, “that there is a living original?”
Olaf van Noord bowed absently, and left her side to greet one who at that moment entered the studio. Something magnetic in the personality of the newcomer drew all eyes from the canvas to the figure on the threshold. The artist was removing garish41 tiger skin furs from the shoulders of the girl—for the new arrival was a girl, a Eurasian girl.
She wore a tiger skin motor-coat, and a little, close-fitting, turban-like cap of the same. The coat removed, she stood revealed in a clinging gown of silk; and her feet were shod in little amber colored slippers65 with green buckles66. The bodice of her dress opened in a surprising V, displaying the satin texture67 of her neck and shoulders, and enhancing the barbaric character of her appearance. Her jet black hair was confined by no band or comb, but protruded68 Bishareen-like around the shapely head. Without doubt, this was the Lady of the Poppies—the original of the picture.
“Dear friends,” said Olaf van Noord, taking the girl's hand, and walking into the studio, “permit me to present my model!”
Following, came a slightly built man who carried himself with a stoop; an olive faced man, who squinted69 frightfully, and who dressed immaculately.
“What a most... EXTRAORDINARY-looking creature!” whispered Denise Ryland to Helen. “She has undoubted attractions of... a hellish sort... if I may use... the term.”
“She is the strangest looking girl I have ever seen in my life,” replied Helen, who found herself unable to turn her eyes away from Olaf van Noord's model. “Surely she is not a professional model!”
“She is not exactly a professional model, I think, Miss Cumberly, but she is one of the van Noord set, and is often to be seen in the more exclusive restaurants, and sometimes in the Cafe Royal.”
“She is possibly a member of the theatrical71 profession?”
“I think not. She is the only really strange figure (if we exclude Olaf) in this group of poseurs72. She is half Burmese, I believe, and a native of Moulmein.”
“Most EXTRAORDINARY creature!” muttered Denise Ryland, focussing upon the Eurasian her gold rimmed glasses—“MOST extraordinary.” She glanced around at the company in general. “I really begin to feel... more and more as though I were... in a private lunatic... asylum73. That picture... beyond doubt is the work ... of a madman... a perfect... madman!”
“I, also, begin to be conscious of an uncomfortable sensation,” said Helen, glancing about her almost apprehensively74. “Am I dreaming, or did SOME ONE ELSE enter the studio, immediately behind that girl?”
“But a THIRD person?”
“No, my dear... look for yourself. As you say... you are ... dreaming. It's not to be wondered... at!”
Helen laughed, but very uneasily. Evidently it had been an illusion, but an unpleasant illusion; for she should have been prepared to swear that not two, but THREE people had entered! Moreover, although she was unable to detect the presence of any third stranger in the studio, the persuasion77 that this third person actually was present remained with her, unaccountably, and uncannily.
The lady of the tiger skins was surrounded by an admiring group of unusuals, and Helen, who had turned again to the big canvas, suddenly became aware that the little cross-eyed man was bowing and beaming radiantly before her.
“May I be allowed,” said Olaf van Noord who stood beside him, “to present my friend Mr. Gianapolis, my dear Miss Cumberly?”...
Helen Cumberly found herself compelled to acknowledge the introduction, although she formed an immediate75, instinctive78 distaste for Mr. Gianapolis. But he made such obvious attempts to please, and was so really entertaining a talker, that she unbent towards him a little. His admiration79, too, was unconcealed; and no pretty woman, however great her common sense, is entirely admiration-proof.
“Do you not think 'Our Lady of the Poppies' remarkable80?” said Gianapolis, pleasantly.
“I think,” replied Denise Ryland,—to whom, also, the Greek had been presented by Olaf van Noord, “that it indicates... a disordered... imagination on the part of... its creator.”
“It is a technical masterpiece,” replied the Greek, smiling, “but hardly a work of imagination; for you have seen the original of the principal figure, and”—he turned to Helen Cumberly—“one need not go very far East for such an interior as that depicted.”
“What!” Helen knitted her brows, prettily—“you do not suggest that such an apartment actually exists either East or West?”
Gianapolis beamed radiantly.
“You would, perhaps, like to see such an apartment?” he suggested.
“I should, certainly,” replied Helen Cumberly. “Not even in a stage setting have I seen anything like it.”
“You have never been to the East?”
“Never, unfortunately. I have desired to go for years, and hope to go some day.”
“In Smyrna you may see such rooms; possibly in Port Said—certainly in Cairo. In Constantinople—yes! But perhaps in Paris; and—who knows?—Sir Richard Burton explored Mecca, but who has explored London?”
“You excite my curiosity,” she said. “Don't you think”—turning to Denise Ryland—“he is most tantalizing82?”
Denise Ryland distended her nostrils scornfully.
“He is telling... fairy tales,” she declared. “He thinks... we are... silly!”
“On the contrary,” declared Gianapolis; “I flatter myself that I am too good a judge of character to make that mistake.”
Helen Cumberly absorbed his entire attention; in everything he sought to claim her interest; and when, ere taking their departure, the girl and her friend walked around the studio to view the other pictures, Gianapolis was the attendant cavalier, and so well as one might judge, in his case, his glance rarely strayed from the piquant83 beauty of Helen.
When they departed, it was Gianapolis, and not Olaf van Noord, who escorted them to the door and downstairs to the street. The red lips of the Eurasian smiled upon her circle of adulators, but her eyes—her unfathomable eyes—followed every movement of the Greek.
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1
weird
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| adj.古怪的，离奇的；怪诞的，神秘而可怕的 | |
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enthusiasts
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| n.热心人，热衷者( enthusiast的名词复数 ) | |
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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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apocryphal
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| adj.假冒的，虚假的 | |
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leavened
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| adj.加酵母的v.使（面团）发酵( leaven的过去式和过去分词 )；在…中掺入改变的因素 | |
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throng
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| n.人群，群众；v.拥挤，群集 | |
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7
drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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suffused
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| v.（指颜色、水气等）弥漫于，布满( suffuse的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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9
sketching
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| n.草图 | |
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remarkably
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| ad.不同寻常地，相当地 | |
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amber
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| n.琥珀；琥珀色；adj.琥珀制的 | |
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12
fully
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| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
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pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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14
scanty
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| adj.缺乏的，仅有的，节省的，狭小的，不够的 | |
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entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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conceal
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| v.隐藏，隐瞒，隐蔽 | |
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17
complexion
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| n.肤色；情况，局面；气质，性格 | |
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eerie
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| adj.怪诞的；奇异的；可怕的；胆怯的 | |
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19
attired
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| adj.穿着整齐的v.使穿上衣服，使穿上盛装( attire的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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20
tragic
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| adj.悲剧的，悲剧性的，悲惨的 | |
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aloofly
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| 冷淡的； 疏远的； 远离的 | |
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proffered
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| v.提供，贡献，提出( proffer的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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23
distended
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| v.（使）膨胀，肿胀( distend的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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24
nostrils
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| 鼻孔( nostril的名词复数 ) | |
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25
sniffed
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| v.以鼻吸气，嗅，闻( sniff的过去式和过去分词 )；抽鼻子（尤指哭泣、患感冒等时出声地用鼻子吸气）；抱怨，不以为然地说 | |
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26
egregiously
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| adv.过份地，卓越地 | |
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opium
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| n.鸦片；adj.鸦片的 | |
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28
vices
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| 缺陷( vice的名词复数 )； 恶习； 不道德行为； 台钳 | |
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justification
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| n.正当的理由；辩解的理由 | |
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30
riotous
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| adj.骚乱的；狂欢的 | |
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31
charcoal
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| n.炭，木炭，生物炭 | |
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32
sketches
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| n.草图( sketch的名词复数 )；素描；速写；梗概 | |
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33
rimmed
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| adj.有边缘的，有框的v.沿…边缘滚动；给…镶边 | |
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34
embodied
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| v.表现( embody的过去式和过去分词 )；象征；包括；包含 | |
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35
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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cavern
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| n.洞穴，大山洞 | |
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37
apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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intervals
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| n.[军事]间隔( interval的名词复数 )；间隔时间；[数学]区间；（戏剧、电影或音乐会的）幕间休息 | |
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39
peculiar
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| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
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40
garishly
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| adv.鲜艳夺目地，俗不可耐地；华丽地 | |
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garish
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| adj.华丽而俗气的，华而不实的 | |
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42
divans
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| n.（可作床用的）矮沙发( divan的名词复数 )；（波斯或其他东方诗人的）诗集 | |
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43
divan
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| n.长沙发；（波斯或其他东方诗人的）诗集 | |
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44
lighting
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| n.照明，光线的明暗，舞台灯光 | |
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45
kaleidoscopic
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| adj.千变万化的 | |
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46
allied
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| adj.协约国的；同盟国的 | |
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47
hued
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| 有某种色调的 | |
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48
crouched
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| v.屈膝，蹲伏( crouch的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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49
extravagant
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| adj.奢侈的；过分的；(言行等)放肆的 | |
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50
skilfully
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| adv. (美skillfully)熟练地 | |
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51
luminousness
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| 透光率 | |
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52
supple
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| adj.柔软的，易弯的，逢迎的，顺从的，灵活的；vt.使柔软，使柔顺，使顺从；vi.变柔软，变柔顺 | |
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53
dense
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| a.密集的，稠密的，浓密的；密度大的 | |
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54
infinitely
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| adv.无限地，无穷地 | |
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55
insinuated
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| v.暗示( insinuate的过去式和过去分词 )；巧妙或迂回地潜入；（使）缓慢进入；慢慢伸入 | |
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56
exclusion
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| n.拒绝，排除，排斥，远足，远途旅行 | |
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57
haphazard
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| adj.无计划的，随意的，杂乱无章的 | |
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58
shimmering
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| v.闪闪发光，发微光( shimmer的现在分词 ) | |
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59
apogee
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| n.远地点；极点；顶点 | |
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60
tauntingly
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| 嘲笑地，辱骂地； 嘲骂地 | |
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61
beholder
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| n.观看者，旁观者 | |
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62
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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63
standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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64
rapture
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| n.狂喜；全神贯注；着迷；v.使狂喜 | |
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65
slippers
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| n. 拖鞋 | |
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66
buckles
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| 搭扣，扣环( buckle的名词复数 ) | |
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67
texture
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| n.(织物)质地；(材料)构造；结构；肌理 | |
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68
protruded
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| v.（使某物）伸出，（使某物）突出( protrude的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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69
squinted
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| 斜视( squint的过去式和过去分词 )； 眯着眼睛； 瞟； 从小孔或缝隙里看 | |
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70
confided
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| v.吐露（秘密，心事等）( confide的过去式和过去分词 )；（向某人）吐露（隐私、秘密等） | |
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71
theatrical
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| adj.剧场的，演戏的；做戏似的，做作的 | |
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72
poseurs
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| n.装腔作势的人( poseur的名词复数 ) | |
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73
asylum
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| n.避难所，庇护所，避难 | |
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74
apprehensively
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| adv.担心地 | |
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immediate
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| adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的 | |
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76
squinting
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| 斜视( squint的现在分词 )； 眯着眼睛； 瞟； 从小孔或缝隙里看 | |
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77
persuasion
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| n.劝说；说服；持有某种信仰的宗派 | |
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78
instinctive
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| adj.(出于)本能的；直觉的；(出于)天性的 | |
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79
admiration
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| n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕 | |
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80
remarkable
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| adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的 | |
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81
curiously
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| adv.有求知欲地；好问地；奇特地 | |
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82
tantalizing
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| adj.逗人的；惹弄人的；撩人的；煽情的v.逗弄，引诱，折磨( tantalize的现在分词 ) | |
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piquant
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| adj.辛辣的，开胃的，令人兴奋的 | |
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