the unbearable bassington-第4节

按键盘上方向键 ← 或 → 可快速上下翻页，按键盘上的 Enter 键可回到本书目录页，按键盘上方向键 ↑ 可回到本页顶部！
————未阅读完？加入书签已便下次继续阅读！



from　us。〃



〃I　missed　a　footer　practice；〃　said　Lancelot



〃Six；〃　said　Comus　briefly；　picking　up　his　cane。



〃I　didn't　see　the　notice　on　the　board；〃　hazarded　Lancelot　as　a　

forlorn　hope。



〃We　are　always　pleased　to　listen　to　excuses；　and　our　charge　is　two　

extra　cuts。　　That　will　be　eight。　　Get　over。〃



And　Comus　indicated　the　chair　that　stood　in　sinister　isolation　in　

the　middle　of　the　room。　　Never　had　an　article　of　furniture　seemed　

more　hateful　in　Lancelot's　eyes。　　Comus　could　well　remember　the　

time　when　a　chair　stuck　in　the　middle　of　a　room　had　seemed　to　him　

the　most　horrible　of　manufactured　things。



〃Lend　me　a　piece　of　chalk；〃　he　said　to　his　brother　prefect。



Lancelot　ruefully　recognised　the　truth　of　the　chalk…line　story。



Comus　drew　the　desired　line　with　an　anxious　exactitude　which　he　

would　have　scorned　to　apply　to　a　diagram　of　Euclid　or　a　map　of　the　

Russo…Persian　frontier。



〃Bend　a　little　more　forward；〃　he　said　to　the　victim；　〃and　much　

tighter。　　Don't　trouble　to　look　pleasant；　because　I　can't　see　your　

face　anyway。　　It　may　sound　unorthodox　to　say　so；　but　this　is　going　

to　hurt　you　much　more　than　it　will　hurt　me。〃



There　was　a　carefully　measured　pause；　and　then　Lancelot　was　made　

vividly　aware　of　what　a　good　cane　can　be　made　to　do　in　really　

efficient　hands。　　At　the　second　cut　he　projected　himself　hurriedly　

off　the　chair。



〃Now　I've　lost　count；〃　said　Comus；　〃we　shall　have　to　begin　all　over　

again。　　Kindly　get　back　into　the　same　position。　　If　you　get　down　

again　before　I've　finished　Rutley　will　hold　you　over　and　you'll　get　

a　dozen。〃



Lancelot　got　back　on　to　the　chair；　and　was　re…arranged　to　the　taste　

of　his　executioner。　　He　stayed　there　somehow　or　other　while　Comus　

made　eight　accurate　and　agonisingly　effective　shots　at　the　chalk　

line。



〃By　the　way；〃　he　said　to　his　gasping　and　gulping　victim　when　the　

infliction　was　over；　〃you　said　Chetrof；　didn't　you？　　I　believe　I've　

been　asked　to　be　kind　to　you。　　As　a　beginning　you　can　clean　out　my　

study　this　afternoon。　　Be　awfully　careful　how　you　dust　the　old　

china。　　If　you　break　any　don't　come　and　tell　me　but　just　go　and　

drown　yourself　somewhere；　it　will　save　you　from　a　worse　fate。〃



〃I　don't　know　where　your　study　is；〃　said　Lancelot　between　his　

chokes。



〃You'd　better　find　it　or　I　shall　have　to　beat　you；　really　hard　this　

time。　　Here；　you'd　better　keep　this　chalk　in　your　pocket；　it's　sure　

to　come　in　handy　later　on。　　Don't　stop　to　thank　me　for　all　I've　

done；　it　only　embarrasses　me。〃



As　Comus　hadn't　got　a　study　Lancelot　spent　a　feverish　half…hour　in　

looking　for　it；　incidentally　missing　another　footer　practice。



〃Everything　is　very　jolly　here；〃　wrote　Lancelot　to　his　sister　

Emmeline。　　〃The　prefects　can　give　you　an　awful　hot　time　if　they　

like；　but　most　of　them　are　rather　decent。　　Some　are　Beasts。　　

Bassington　is　a　prefect　though　only　a　junior　one。　　He　is　the　Limit　

as　Beasts　go。　　At　least　I　think　so。〃



Schoolboy　reticence　went　no　further；　but　Emmeline　filled　in　the　

gaps　for　herself　with　the　lavish　splendour　of　feminine　imagination。　　

Francesca's　bridge　went　crashing　into　the　abyss。







CHAPTER　III







ON　the　evening　of　a　certain　November　day；　two　years　after　the　

events　heretofore　chronicled；　Francesca　Bassington　steered　her　way　

through　the　crowd　that　filled　the　rooms　of　her　friend　Serena　

Golackly；　bestowing　nods　of　vague　recognition　as　she　went；　but　with　

eyes　that　were　obviously　intent　on　focussing　one　particular　figure。　　

Parliament　had　pulled　its　energies　together　for　an　Autumn　Session；　

and　both　political　Parties　were　fairly　well　represented　in　the　

throng。　　Serena　had　a　harmless　way　of　inviting　a　number　of　more　or　

less　public　men　and　women　to　her　house；　and　hoping　that　if　you　left　

them　together　long　enough　they　would　constitute　a　SALON。　　In　

pursuance　of　the　same　instinct　she　planted　the　flower　borders　at　

her　week…end　cottage　retreat　in　Surrey　with　a　large　mixture　of　

bulbs；　and　called　the　result　a　Dutch　garden。　　Unfortunately；　though　

you　may　bring　brilliant　talkers　into　your　home；　you　cannot　always　

make　them　talk　brilliantly；　or　even　talk　at　all；　what　is　worse　you　

cannot　restrict　the　output　of　those　starling…voiced　dullards　who　

seem　to　have；　on　all　subjects；　so　much　to　say　that　was　well　worth　

leaving　unsaid。　　One　group　that　Francesca　passed　was　discussing　a　

Spanish　painter；　who　was　forty…three；　and　had　painted　thousands　of　

square　yards　of　canvas　in　his　time；　but　of　whom　no　one　in　London　

had　heard　till　a　few　months　ago；　now　the　starling…voices　seemed　

determined　that　one　should　hear　of　very　little　else。　　Three　women　

knew　how　his　name　was　pronounced；　another　always　felt　that　she　must　

go　into　a　forest　and　pray　whenever　she　saw　his　pictures；　another　

had　noticed　that　there　were　always　pomegranates　in　his　later　

compositions；　and　a　man　with　an　indefensible　collar　knew　what　the　

pomegranates　〃meant。〃　　〃What　I　think　so　splendid　about　him；〃　said　a　

stout　lady　in　a　loud　challenging　voice；　〃is　the　way　he　defies　all　

the　conventions　of　art　while　retaining　all　that　the　conventions　

stand　for。〃　　〃Ah；　but　have　you　noticed　…　〃　put　in　the　man　with　the　

atrocious　collar；　and　Francesca　pushed　desperately　on；　wondering　

dimly　as　she　went；　what　people　found　so　unsupportable　in　the　

affliction　of　deafness。　　Her　progress　was　impeded　for　a　moment　by　a　

couple　engaged　in　earnest　and　voluble　discussion　of　some　

smouldering　question　of　the　day；　a　thin　spectacled　young　man　with　

the　receding　forehead　that　so　often　denotes　advanced　opinions；　was　

talking　to　a　spectacled　young　woman　with　a　similar　type　of　

forehead；　and　exceedingly　untidy　hair。　　It　was　her　ambition　in　life　

to　be　taken　for　a　Russian　girl…student；　and　she　had　spent　weeks　of　

patient　research　in　trying　to　find　out　exactly　where　you　put　the　

tea…leaves　in　a　samovar。　　She　had　once　been　introduced　to　a　young　

Jewess　from　Odessa；　who　had　died　of　pneumonia　the　following　week；　

the　experience；　slight　as　it　was；　constituted　the　spectacled　young　

lady　an　authority　on　all　things　Russian　in　the　eyes　of　her　

immediate　set。



〃Talk　is　helpful；　talk　is　needful；〃　the　young　man　was　saying；　〃but　

what　we　have　got　to　do　is　to　lift　the　subject　out　of　the　furrow　of　

indisciplined　talk　and　place　it　on　the　threshing…floor　of　practical　

discussion。〃



The　young　woman　took　advantage　of　the　rhetorical　full…stop　to　dash　

in　with　the　remark　which　was　already　marshalled　on　the　tip　of　her　

tongue。



〃In　emancipating　the　serfs　of　poverty　we　must　be　careful　to　avoid　

the　mistakes　which　Russian　bureaucracy　stumbled　into　when　

liberating　the　serfs　of　the　soil。〃



She　paused　in　her　turn　for　the　sake　of　declamatory　effect；　but　

recovered　her　breath　quickly　enough　to　start　afresh　on　level　terms　

with　the　young　man；　who　had　jumped　into　the　stride　of　his　next　

sentence。



〃They　got　off　to　a　good　start　that　time；〃　said　Francesca　to　

herself；　〃I　suppose　it's　the　Prevention　of　Destitution　they're　

hammering　at。　　What　on　earth　would　become　of　these　dear　good　people　

if　anyone　started　a　crusade　for　the　prevention　of　mediocrity？〃



Midway　through　one　of　the　smaller　rooms；　still　questing　for　an　

elusive　presence；　she　caught　sight　of　someone　that　she　knew；　and　

the　shadow　of　a　frown　passed　across　her　face。　　The　object　of　her　

faintly　signalled　displeasure　was　Courtenay　Youghal；　a　political　

spur…winner　who　seemed　absurdly　youthful　to　a　generation　that　had　

never　heard　of　Pitt。　　It　was　Youghal's　ambition　…　or　perhaps　his　

hobby　…　to　infuse　into　the　greyness　of　modern　political　life　some　

of　the　colour　of　Disraelian　dandyism；　tempered　with　the　correctness　

of　Anglo…Saxon　taste；　and　supplemented　by　the　flashes　of　wit　that　

were　inherent　from　the　Celtic　strain　in　him。　　His　success　was　only　

a　half…measure。　　The　public　missed　in　him　that　touch　of　blatancy　

which　it　looks　for　in　its　rising　public　men；　the　decorative　

smoothness　of　his　chestnut…golden　hair；　and　the　lively　sparkle　of　

his　epigrams　were　counted　to　him　for　good；　but　the　restrained　

sumptuousness　of　his　waistcoats　and　cravats　were　as　wasted　efforts。　　

If　he　had　habitually　smoked　cigarettes　in　a　pink　coral　mouthpiece；　

or　worn　spats　of　Mackenzie　tartan；　the　great　heart　of　the　voting…

man；　and　the　gush　of　the　paragraph…makers　might　have　been　

unreservedly　his。　　The　art　of　public　life　consists　to　a　great　

extent　of　knowing　exactly　where　to　stop　and　going　a　bit　further。



It　was　not　Youghal's　lack　of　political　sagacity　that　had　brought　

the　momentary　look　of　disapproval　into　Francesca's　face。　　The　fact　

was　that　Comus；　who　had　left　off　being　a　schoolboy　and　was　now　a　

social　problem；　had　lately　enrolled　himself　among　the　young　

politician's　associates　and　admirers；　and　as　the　boy　knew　and　cared　

nothing　about　politics；　and　merely　copied　Youghal's　waistcoats；　

and；　less　successfully；　his　conversation；　Francesca　f