It was on a muddy day in October that the first great battle for and against Federation1 was fought in Bursley. Constance was suffering severely2 from sciatica. She was also suffering from disgust with the modern world.
Unimaginable things had happened in the Square. For Constance, the reputation of the Square was eternally ruined. Charles Critchlow, by that strange good fortune which always put him in the right when fairly he ought to have been in the wrong, had let the Baines shop and his own shop and house to the Midland Clothiers Company, which was establishing branches throughout Staffordshire, Warwickshire, Leicestershire, and adjacent counties. He had sold his own chemist's stock and gone to live in a little house at the bottom of Kingstreet. It is doubtful whether he would have consented to retire had not Alderman Holl died earlier in the year, thus ending a long rivalry3 between the old men for the patriarchate of the Square. Charles Critchlow was as free from sentiment as any man, but no man is quite free from it, and the ancient was in a position to indulge sentiment had he chosen. His business was not a source of loss, and he could still trust his skinny hands and peering eyes to make up a prescription4. However, the offer of the Midland Clothiers Company tempted5 him, and as the undisputed 'father' of the Square he left the Square in triumph.
The Midland Clothiers Company had no sense of the proprieties6 of trade. Their sole idea was to sell goods. Having possessed7 themselves of one of the finest sites in a town which, after all was said and done, comprised nearly forty thousand inhabitants, they set about to make the best of that site. They threw the two shops into one, and they caused to be constructed a sign compared to which the spacious8 old 'Baines' sign was a postcard. They covered the entire frontage with posters of a theatrical9 description--coloured posters! They occupied the front page of the Signal, and from that pulpit they announced that winter was approaching, and that they meant to sell ten thousand overcoats at their new shop in Bursley at the price of twelve and sixpence each. The tailoring of the world was loudly and coarsely defied to equal the value of those overcoats. On the day of opening they arranged an orchestra or artillery10 of phonographs upon the leads over the window of that part of the shop which had been Mr. Critchlow's. They also carpeted the Square with handbills, and flew flags from their upper storeys. The immense shop proved to be full of overcoats; overcoats were shown in all the three great windows; in one window an overcoat was disposed as a receptacle for water, to prove that the Midland twelve-and-sixpenny overcoats were impermeable11 by rain. Overcoats flapped in the two doorways12. These devices woke and drew the town, and the town found itself received by bustling13 male assistants very energetic and rapid, instead of by demure14 anaemic virgins15. At moments towards evening the shop was populous16 with custom; the number of overcoats sold was prodigious17. On another day the Midland sold trousers in a like manner, but without the phonographs. Unmistakably the Midland had shaken the Square and demonstrated that commerce was still possible to fearless enterprise.
Nevertheless the Square was not pleased. The Square was conscious of shame, of dignity departed. Constance was divided between pain and scornful wrath18. For her, what the Midland had done was to desecrate19 a shrine20. She hated those flags, and those flaring21, staring posters on the honest old brick walls, and the enormous gilded22 sign, and the windows all filled with a monotonous23 repetition of the same article, and the bustling assistants. As for the phonographs, she regarded them as a grave insult; they had been within twenty feet of her drawing-room window! Twelve-and- sixpenny overcoats! It was monstrous24, and equally monstrous was the gullibility25 of the people. How could an overcoat at twelve and sixpence be 'good.' She remembered the overcoats made and sold in the shop in the time of her father and her husband, overcoats of which the inconvenience was that they would not wear out! The Midland, for Constance, was not a trading concern, but something between a cheap-jack and a circus. She could scarcely bear to walk down the Square, to such a degree did the ignoble26 frontage of the Midland offend her eye and outrage27 her ancestral pride. She even said that she would give up her house.
But when, on the twenty-ninth of September, she received six months' notice, signed in Critchlow's shaky hand, to quit the house--it was wanted for the Midland's manager, the Midland having taken the premises28 on condition that they might eject Constance if they chose--the blow was an exceedingly severe one. She had sworn to go--but to be turned out, to be turned out of the house of her birth and out of her father's home, that was different! Her pride, injured as it was, had a great deal to support. It became necessary for her to recollect29 that she was a Baines. She affected30 magnificently not to care. But she could not refrain from telling all her acquaintances that she was being turned out of her house, and asking them what they thought of THAT; and when she met Charles Critchlow in the street she seared him with the heat of her resentment31. The enterprise of finding a new house and moving into it loomed32 before her gigantic, terrible, the idea of it was alone sufficient to make her ill.
Meanwhile, in the matter of Federation, preparations for the pitched battle had been going forward, especially in the columns of the Signal, where the scribes of each one of the Five Towns had proved that all the other towns were in the clutch of unscrupulous gangs of self-seekers. After months of argument and recrimination, all the towns except Bursley were either favourable33 or indifferent to the prospect34 of becoming a part of the twelfth largest town in the United Kingdom. But in Bursley the opposition35 was strong, and the twelfth largest town in the United Kingdom could not spring into existence without the consent of Bursley. The United Kingdom itself was languidly interested in the possibility of suddenly being endowed with a new town of a quarter of a million inhabitants. The Five Towns were frequently mentioned in the London dailies, and London journalists would write such sentences as: "The Five Towns, which are of course, as everybody knows, Hanbridge, Bursley, Knype, Longshaw, and Turnhill ... ." This was renown36 at last, for the most maligned37 district in the country! And then a Cabinet Minister had visited the Five Towns, and assisted at an official inquiry38, and stated in his hammering style that he meant personally to do everything possible to accomplish the Federation of the Five Towns: an incautious remark, which infuriated, while it flattered, the opponents of Federation in Bursley. Constance, with many other sensitive persons, asked angrily what right a Cabinet Minister had to take sides in a purely39 local affair. But the partiality of the official world grew flagrant. The Mayor of Bursley openly proclaimed himself a Federationist40, though there was a majority on the Council against him. Even ministers of religion permitted themselves to think and to express opinions. Well might the indignant Old Guard imagine that the end of public decency41 had come! The Federationists were very ingenious individuals. They contrived42 to enrol43 in their ranks a vast number of leading men. Then they hired the Covered Market, and put a platform in it, and put all these leading men on the platform, and made them all speak eloquently44 on the advantages of moving with the times. The meeting was crowded and enthusiastic, and readers of the Signal next day could not but see that the battle was won in advance, and that anti-Federation was dead. In the following week, however, the anti-Federationists held in the Covered Market an exactly similar meeting (except that the display of leading men was less brilliant), and demanded of a floor of serried45 heads whether the old Mother of the Five Towns was prepared to put herself into the hands of a crew of highly-paid bureaucrats46 at Hanbridge, and was answered by a wild defiant47 "No," that could be heard on Duck Bank. Readers of the Signal next day were fain to see that the battle had not been won in advance. Bursley was lukewarm on the topics of education, slums, water, gas, electricity. But it meant to fight for that mysterious thing, its identity. Was the name of Bursley to be lost to the world? To ask the question was to give the answer.
Then dawned the day of battle, the day of the Poll, when the burgesses were to indicate plainly by means of a cross on a voting paper whether or not they wanted Federation. And on this day Constance was almost incapacitated by sciatica. It was a heroic day. The walls of the town were covered with literature, and the streets dotted with motor-cars and other vehicles at the service of the voters. The greater number of these vehicles bore large cards with the words, "Federation this time." And hundreds of men walked briskly about with circular cards tied to their lapels, as though Bursley had been a race-course, and these cards too had the words, "Federation this time." (The reference was to a light poll which had been taken several years before, when no interest had been aroused and the immature48 project yet defeated by a six to one majority.) All partisans49 of Federation sported a red ribbon; all Anti-Federationists sported a blue ribbon. The schools were closed and the Federationists displayed their characteristic lack of scruple50 in appropriating the children. The Federationists, with devilish skill, had hired the Bursley Town Silver Prize Band, an organization of terrific respectability, and had set it to march playing through the town followed by wagonettes crammed51 with children, who sang:
Vote, vote, vote for Federation, Don't be stupid, old and slow, We are sure that it will be Good for the communitie, So vote, vote, vote, and make it go.
How this performance could affect the decision of grave burgesses at the polls was not apparent; but the Anti-Federationists feared that it might, and before noon was come they had engaged two bands and had composed in committee, the following lyric52 in reply to the first one:
Down, down, down, with Federation, As we are we'd rather stay; When the vote on Saturday's read Federation will be dead, Good old Bursley's sure to win the day.
They had also composed another song, entitled "Dear old Bursley," which, however, they made the fatal error of setting to the music of "Auld53 Lang Syne54." The effect was that of a dirge55, and it perhaps influenced many voters in favour of the more cheerful party. The Anti-Federationists, indeed, never regained56 the mean advantage filched57 by unscrupulous Federationists with the help of the Silver Prize Band and a few hundred infants. The odds58 were against the Anti-Federationists. The mayor had actually issued a letter to the inhabitants accusing the Anti-Federationists of unfair methods! This was really too much! The impudence59 of it knocked the breath out of its victims, and breath is very necessary in a polling contest. The Federationists, as one of their prominent opponents admitted, 'had it all their own way,' dominating both the streets and the walls. And when, early in the afternoon, Mr. Dick Povey sailed over the town in a balloon that was plainly decorated with the crimson60 of Federation, it was felt that the cause of Bursley's separate identity was for ever lost. Still, Bursley, with the willing aid of the public-houses, maintained its gaiety.
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federation
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| n.同盟，联邦，联合，联盟，联合会 | |
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severely
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| adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地 | |
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rivalry
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| n.竞争，竞赛，对抗 | |
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prescription
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| n.处方，开药；指示，规定 | |
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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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proprieties
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| n.礼仪，礼节；礼貌( propriety的名词复数 )；规矩；正当；合适 | |
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possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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spacious
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| adj.广阔的，宽敞的 | |
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theatrical
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| adj.剧场的，演戏的；做戏似的，做作的 | |
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artillery
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| n.(军)火炮，大炮；炮兵(部队) | |
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impermeable
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| adj.不能透过的，不渗透的 | |
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doorways
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| n.门口，门道( doorway的名词复数 ) | |
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bustling
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| adj.喧闹的 | |
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demure
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| adj.严肃的；端庄的 | |
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virgins
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| 处女，童男( virgin的名词复数 )； 童贞玛利亚（耶稣之母） | |
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populous
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| adj.人口稠密的，人口众多的 | |
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prodigious
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| adj.惊人的，奇妙的；异常的；巨大的；庞大的 | |
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wrath
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| n.愤怒，愤慨，暴怒 | |
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desecrate
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| v.供俗用，亵渎，污辱 | |
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shrine
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| n.圣地，神龛，庙；v.将...置于神龛内，把...奉为神圣 | |
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flaring
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| a.火焰摇曳的，过份艳丽的 | |
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gilded
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| a.镀金的，富有的 | |
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monotonous
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| adj.单调的，一成不变的，使人厌倦的 | |
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monstrous
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| adj.巨大的；恐怖的；可耻的，丢脸的 | |
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gullibility
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| n.易受骗，易上当，轻信 | |
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ignoble
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| adj.不光彩的，卑鄙的；可耻的 | |
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outrage
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| n.暴行，侮辱，愤怒；vt.凌辱，激怒 | |
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premises
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| n.建筑物，房屋 | |
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recollect
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| v.回忆，想起，记起，忆起，记得 | |
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affected
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| adj.不自然的，假装的 | |
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resentment
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| n.怨愤，忿恨 | |
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loomed
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| v.隐约出现，阴森地逼近( loom的过去式和过去分词 )；隐约出现，阴森地逼近 | |
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33
favourable
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| adj.赞成的，称赞的，有利的，良好的，顺利的 | |
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prospect
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| n.前景，前途；景色，视野 | |
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opposition
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| n.反对，敌对 | |
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renown
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| n.声誉，名望 | |
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maligned
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| vt.污蔑，诽谤（malign的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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inquiry
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| n.打听，询问，调查，查问 | |
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purely
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| adv.纯粹地，完全地 | |
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federationist
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| n.联邦主义者，联盟主义者 | |
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decency
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| n.体面，得体，合宜，正派，庄重 | |
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42
contrived
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| adj.不自然的，做作的；虚构的 | |
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43
enrol
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| v.（使）注册入学，（使）入学，（使）入会 | |
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eloquently
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| adv. 雄辩地(有口才地, 富于表情地) | |
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serried
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| adj.拥挤的；密集的 | |
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bureaucrats
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| n.官僚( bureaucrat的名词复数 )；官僚主义；官僚主义者；官僚语言 | |
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defiant
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| adj.无礼的，挑战的 | |
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immature
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| adj.未成熟的，发育未全的，未充分发展的 | |
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partisans
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| 游击队员( partisan的名词复数 )； 党人； 党羽； 帮伙 | |
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scruple
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| n./v.顾忌，迟疑 | |
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51
crammed
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| adj.塞满的，挤满的；大口地吃；快速贪婪地吃v.把…塞满；填入；临时抱佛脚( cram的过去式) | |
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52
lyric
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| n.抒情诗，歌词；adj.抒情的 | |
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auld
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| adj.老的，旧的 | |
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syne
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| adv.自彼时至此时，曾经 | |
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dirge
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| n.哀乐，挽歌，庄重悲哀的乐曲 | |
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56
regained
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| 复得( regain的过去式和过去分词 )； 赢回； 重回； 复至某地 | |
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filched
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| v.偷（尤指小的或不贵重的物品）( filch的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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odds
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| n.让步，机率，可能性，比率；胜败优劣之别 | |
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impudence
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| n.厚颜无耻；冒失；无礼 | |
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crimson
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| n./adj.深(绯)红色(的)；vi.脸变绯红色 | |
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