Chapter 7 Advice From Great-Aunt Matilda

Chapter 7 Advice From Great-Aunt Matilda

Great-Aunt Matilda looked at him. She had a very sharp and shrewd eye.
Stafford Nye had noticed that before. He noticed it particularly at this mo-ment.
‘So you’ve heard that term before,’ she said. ‘I see.’
‘What does it mean?’
‘You don’t know?’ She raised her eyebrows¹.
‘Cross my heart and wish to die,’ said Sir Stafford, in nursery language.
‘Yes, we always used to say that, didn’t we,’ said Lady Matilda. ‘Do youreally mean what you’re saying?’
‘I don’t know anything about it.’
‘But you’d heard the term before.’
‘Yes. Someone said it to me.’
‘Anyone important?’
‘It could be. I suppose it could be. What do you mean by “anyone im-portant”?’
‘Well, you’ve been involved in various Government missions lately,haven’t you? You’ve represented this poor, miserable² country as best youcould, which I shouldn’t wonder wasn’t rather better than many otherscould do, sitting round a table and talking. I don’t know whether any-thing’s come of all that.’
‘Probably not,’ said Stafford Nye. ‘After all, one isn’t optimistic when onegoes into these things.’
‘One does one’s best,’ said Lady Matilda correctively.
‘A very Christian³ principle. Nowadays if one does one’s worst one oftenseems to get on a good deal better. What does all this mean, Aunt Matilda?’
‘I don’t suppose I know,’ said his aunt.
‘Well, you very often do know things.’
‘Not exactly. I just pick up things here and there.’
‘Yes?’
‘I’ve got a few old friends left, you know. Friends who are in the know.
Of course most of them are either practically stone deaf or half blind or alittle bit gone in the top storey or unable to walk straight. But somethingstill functions. Something, shall we say, up here.’ She hit the top of herneatly arranged white head. ‘There’s a good deal of alarm and despond-ency about. More than usual. That’s one of the things I’ve picked up.’
‘Isn’t there always?’
‘Yes, yes, but this is a bit more than that. Active instead of passive, asyou might say. For a long time, as I have noticed from the outside, andyou, no doubt, from the inside, we have felt that things are in a mess. Arather bad mess. But now we’ve got to a point where we feel that perhapssomething might have been done about the mess. There’s an element ofdanger in it. Something is going on–something is brewing⁴. Not just in onecountry. In quite a lot of countries. They’ve recruited a service of theirown and the danger about that is that it’s a service of young people. Andthe kind of people who will go anywhere, do anything, unfortunately be-lieve anything, and so long as they are promised a certain amount ofpulling down, wrecking⁵, throwing spanners in the works, then they thinkthe cause must be a good one and that the world will be a different place.
They’re not creative, that’s the trouble– only destructive. The creativeyoung write poems, write books, probably compose music, paint picturesjust as they always have done. They’ll be all right–But once people learn tolove destruction for its own sake, evil leadership gets its chance.’
‘You say “they” or “them”. Who do you mean?’
‘Wish I knew,’ said Lady Matilda. ‘Yes, I wish I knew. Very much indeed.
If I hear anything useful, I’ll tell you. Then you can do something about it.’
‘Unfortunately, I haven’t got anyone to tell, I mean to pass it on to.’
‘Yes, don’t pass it on to just anyone. You can’t trust people. Don’t pass iton to any one of those idiots in the Government, or connected with gov-ernment or hoping to be participating in government after this lot runsout. Politicians don’t have time to look at the world they’re living in. Theysee the country they’re living in and they see it as one vast electoral plat-form. That’s quite enough to put on their plates for the time being. Theydo things which they honestly believe will make things better and thenthey’re surprised when they don’t make things better because they’re notthe things that people want to have. And one can’t help coming to the con-clusion that politicians have a feeling that they have a kind of divine rightto tell lies in a good cause. It’s not really so very long ago since Mr Baldwinmade his famous remark–‘If I had spoken the truth, I should have lost theelection.’ Prime Ministers still feel like that. Now and again we have agreat man, thank God. But it’s rare.’
‘Well, what do you suggest ought to be done?’
‘Are you asking my advice? Mine? Do you know how old I am?’
‘Getting on for ninety,’ suggested her nephew.
‘Not quite as old as that,’ said Lady Matilda, slightly affronted⁶. ‘Do I lookit, my dear boy?’
‘No, darling. You look a nice, comfortable sixty-six.’
‘That’s better,’ said Lady Matilda. ‘Quite untrue. But better. If I get a tipof any kind from one of my dear old admirals or an old general or evenpossibly an air marshal–they do hear things, you know–they’ve got croniesstill and the old boys get together and talk. And so it gets around. There’salways been the grapevine and there still is a grapevine, no matter howelderly the people are. The young Siegfried. We want a clue to just whatthat means–I don’t know if he’s a person or a password or the name of aClub or a new Messiah or a Pop singer. But that term covers something.
There’s the musical motif⁷ too. I’ve rather forgotten my Wagnerian days.’
Her aged⁸ voice croaked⁹ out a partially¹⁰ recognizable melody. ‘Siegfried’shorn call, isn’t that it? Get a recorder, why don’t you? Do I mean a re-corder. I don’t mean a record that you put on a gramophone–I mean thethings that schoolchildren play. They have classes for them. Went to a talkthe other day. Our vicar got it up. Quite interesting. You know, tracing thehistory of the recorder and the kind of recorders there were from theElizabethan age onwards. Some big, some small, all different notes andsounds. Very interesting. Interesting hearing in two senses. The recordersthemselves. Some of them give out lovely noises. And the history. Yes.
Well, what was I saying?’
‘You told me to get one of these instruments, I gather.’
‘Yes. Get a recorder and learn to blow Siegfried’s horn call on that.
You’re musical, you always were. You can manage that, I hope?’
‘Well, it seems a very small part to play in the salvation¹¹ of the world, butI dare say I could manage that.’
‘And have the thing ready. Because, you see–’ she tapped on the tablewith her spectacle case–‘you might want it to impress the wrong peoplesome time. Might come in useful. They’d welcome you with open armsand then you might learn a bit.’
‘You certainly have ideas,’ said Sir Stafford admiringly.
‘What else can you have when you’re my age?’ said his great-aunt. ‘Youcan’t get about. You can’t meddle¹² with people much, you can’t do anygardening. All you can do is sit in your chair and have ideas. Rememberthat when you’re forty years older.’
‘One remark you made interested me.’
‘Only one?’ said Lady Matilda. ‘That’s rather poor measure consideringhow much I’ve been talking. What was it?’
‘You suggested that I might be capable of impressing the wrong peoplewith my recorder–did you mean that?’
‘Well, it’s one way, isn’t it? The right people don’t matter. But the wrongpeople–well, you’ve got to find out things, haven’t you? You’ve got to per-meate things. Rather like a death-watch beetle¹³,’ she said thoughtfully.
‘So I should make significant noises in the night?’
‘Well, that sort of thing, yes. We had death-watch beetle in the east winghere once. Very expensive it was to put it right. I dare say it will be just asexpensive to put the world right.’
‘In fact a good deal more expensive,’ said Stafford Nye.
‘That won’t matter,’ said Lady Matilda. ‘People never mind spending agreat deal of money. It impresses them. It’s when you want to do thingseconomically, they won’t play. We’re the same people, you know. In thiscountry, I mean. We’re the same people we always were.’
‘What do you mean by that?’
‘We’re capable of doing big things. We were good at running an empire.
We weren’t good at keeping an empire running, but then you see we didn’tneed an empire any more And we recognized that. Too difficult to keepup. Robbie made me see that,’ she added.
‘Robbie?’ It was faintly familiar.
‘Robbie Shoreham. Robert Shoreham. He’s a very old friend of mine.
Paralysed down the left side. But he can talk still and he’s got a moderatelygood hearing-aid.’
‘Besides being one of the most famous physicists¹⁴ in the world,’ saidStafford Nye. ‘So he’s another of your old cronies, is he?’
‘Known him since he was a boy,’ said Lady Matilda. ‘I suppose it sur-prises you that we should be friends, have a lot in common and enjoy talk-ing together?’
‘Well, I shouldn’t have thought that–’
‘That we had much to talk about? It’s true I could never do mathematics.
Fortunately, when I was a girl one didn’t even try. Mathematics came eas-ily to Robbie when he was about four years old, I believe. They saynowadays that that’s quite natural. He’s got plenty to talk about. He likedme always because I was frivolous¹⁵ and made him laugh. And I’m a goodlistener, too. And really, he says some very interesting things sometimes.’
‘So I suppose,’ said Stafford Nye drily.
‘Now don’t be superior. Molière married his housemaid, didn’t he, andmade a great success of it–if it is Molière I mean. If a man’s frantic¹⁶ withbrains he doesn’t really want a woman who’s also frantic with brains totalk to. It would be exhausting. He’d much prefer a lovely nitwit who canmake him laugh. I wasn’t bad-looking when I was young,’ said Lady Mat-ilda complacently¹⁷. ‘I know I have no academic distinctions. I’m not in theleast intellectual. But Robert has always said that I’ve got a great deal ofcommon sense, of intelligence.’
‘You’re a lovely person,’ said Sir Stafford Nye. ‘I enjoy coming to see youand I shall go away remembering all the things you’ve said to me. Thereare a good many more things, I expect, that you could tell me but you’reobviously not going to.’
‘Not until the right moment comes,’ said Lady Matilda, ‘but I’ve got yourinterests at heart. Let me know what you’re doing from time to time.
You’re dining at the American Embassy, aren’t you, next week?’
‘How did you know that? I’ve been asked.’
‘And you’ve accepted, I understand.’
‘Well, it’s all in the course of duty.’ He looked at her curiously¹⁸. ‘How doyou manage to be so well informed?’
‘Oh, Milly told me.’
‘Milly?’
‘Milly Jean Cortman. The American Ambassador’s wife. A most attract-ive creature, you know. Small and rather perfect-looking.’
‘Oh, you mean Mildred Cortman.’
‘She was christened Mildred but she preferred Milly Jean. I was talkingto her on the telephone about some Charity Matinée or other–she’s whatwe used to call a pocket Venus.’
‘A most attractive term to use,’ said Stafford Nye.

1 eyebrows   

眉毛( eyebrow的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Eyebrows stop sweat from coming down into the eyes. 眉毛挡住汗水使其不能流进眼睛。
• His eyebrows project noticeably. 他的眉毛特别突出。

2 miserable   

adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的

参考例句：

• It was miserable of you to make fun of him.你取笑他，这是可耻的。
• Her past life was miserable.她过去的生活很苦。

3 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

4 brewing   

n. 酿造, 一次酿造的量 动词brew的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• It was obvious that a big storm was brewing up. 很显然，一场暴风雨正在酝酿中。
• She set about brewing some herb tea. 她动手泡一些药茶。

5 wrecking   

破坏

参考例句：

• He teed off on his son for wrecking the car. 他严厉训斥他儿子毁坏了汽车。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Instead of wrecking the valley, the waters are put to use making electricity. 现在河水不但不在流域内肆疟，反而被人们用来生产电力。 来自辞典例句

6 affronted   

adj.被侮辱的，被冒犯的v.勇敢地面对( affront的过去式和过去分词 )；相遇

参考例句：

• He hoped they would not feel affronted if they were not invited . 他希望如果他们没有获得邀请也不要感到受辱。
• Affronted at his impertinence,she stared at him coldly and wordlessly. 被他的无礼而冒犯，她冷冷地、无言地盯着他。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 motif   

n.(图案的)基本花纹，(衣服的)花边；主题

参考例句：

• Alienation is a central motif in her novels.疏离感是她小说的一个重要的主题。
• The jacket has a rose motif on the collar.这件夹克衫领子上有一朵玫瑰花的图案。

8 aged   

adj.年老的，陈年的

参考例句：

• He had put on weight and aged a little.他胖了，也老点了。
• He is aged,but his memory is still good.他已年老，然而记忆力还好。

9 croaked   

v.呱呱地叫( croak的过去式和过去分词 )；用粗的声音说

参考例句：

• The crow croaked disaster. 乌鸦呱呱叫预报灾难。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• 'she has a fine head for it," croaked Jacques Three. “她有一个漂亮的脑袋跟着去呢，”雅克三号低沉地说。 来自英汉文学 - 双城记

10 partially   

adv.部分地，从某些方面讲

参考例句：

• The door was partially concealed by the drapes.门有一部分被门帘遮住了。
• The police managed to restore calm and the curfew was partially lifted.警方设法恢复了平静，宵禁部分解除。

11 salvation   

n.（尤指基督）救世，超度，拯救，解困

参考例句：

• Salvation lay in political reform.解救办法在于政治改革。
• Christians hope and pray for salvation.基督教徒希望并祈祷灵魂得救。

12 meddle   

v.干预，干涉，插手

参考例句：

• I hope he doesn't try to meddle in my affairs.我希望他不来干预我的事情。
• Do not meddle in things that do not concern you.别参与和自己无关的事。

13 beetle   

n.甲虫，近视眼的人

参考例句：

• A firefly is a type of beetle.萤火虫是一种甲虫。
• He saw a shiny green beetle on a leaf.我看见树叶上有一只闪闪发光的绿色甲虫。

14 physicists   

物理学家( physicist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• For many particle physicists, however, it was a year of frustration. 对于许多粒子物理学家来说，这是受挫折的一年。 来自英汉非文学 - 科技
• Physicists seek rules or patterns to provide a framework. 物理学家寻求用法则或图式来构成一个框架。

15 frivolous   

adj.轻薄的；轻率的

参考例句：

• This is a frivolous way of attacking the problem.这是一种轻率敷衍的处理问题的方式。
• He spent a lot of his money on frivolous things.他在一些无聊的事上花了好多钱。

16 frantic   

adj.狂乱的，错乱的，激昂的

参考例句：

• I've had a frantic rush to get my work done.我急急忙忙地赶完工作。
• He made frantic dash for the departing train.他发疯似地冲向正开出的火车。

17 complacently   

adv. 满足地, 自满地, 沾沾自喜地

参考例句：

• He complacently lived out his life as a village school teacher. 他满足于一个乡村教师的生活。
• "That was just something for evening wear," returned his wife complacently. “那套衣服是晚装，"他妻子心安理得地说道。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

18 curiously   

adv.有求知欲地；好问地；奇特地

参考例句：

• He looked curiously at the people.他好奇地看着那些人。
• He took long stealthy strides. His hands were curiously cold.他迈着悄没声息的大步。他的双手出奇地冷。