English
AshecameoutintothelobbyArcherranacrosshisfriendNedWinsett,theonlyoneamongwhatJaneycalledhis"cleverpeople"withwhomhecaredtoprobeintothingsalittledeeperthantheaveragelevelofclubandchop–housebanter.
Hehadcaughtsight,acrossthehouse,ofWinsett'sshabbyround–shoulderedback,andhadoncenoticedhiseyesturnedtowardtheBeaufortbox.
Thetwomenshookhands,andWinsettproposedabockatalittleGermanrestaurantaroundthecorner.
Archer,whowasnotinthemoodforthekindoftalktheywerelikelytogetthere,declinedonthepleathathehadworktodoathome;andWinsettsaid:"Oh,wellsohaveIforthatmatter,andI'llbetheIndustriousApprenticetoo."
Theystrolledalongtogether,andpresentlyWinsettsaid:"Lookhere,whatI'mreallyafteristhenameofthedarkladyinthatswellboxofyours—withtheBeauforts,wasn'tshe?
TheoneyourfriendLeffertsseemssosmittenby."
Archer,hecouldnothavesaidwhy,wasslightlyannoyed.
WhatthedevildidNedWinsettwantwithEllenOlenska'sname?
Andaboveall,whydidhecoupleitwithLefferts's?
ItwasunlikeWinsetttomanifestsuchcuriosity;butafterall,Archerremembered,hewasajournalist.
"It'snotforaninterview,Ihope?"helaughed.
"Well—notforthepress;justformyself,"Winsettrejoined.
"Thefactisshe'saneighbourofmine—queerquarterforsuchabeautytosettlein—andshe'sbeenawfullykindtomylittleboy,whofelldownherareachasinghiskitten,andgavehimselfanastycut.
Sherushedinbareheaded,carryinghiminherarms,withhiskneeallbeautifullybandaged,andwassosympatheticandbeautifulthatmywifewastoodazzledtoaskhername."
ApleasantglowdilatedArcher'sheart.Therewasnothingextraordinaryinthetale:anywomanwouldhavedoneasmuchforaneighbour'schild.
ButitwasjustlikeEllen,hefelt,tohaverushedinbareheaded,carryingtheboyinherarms,andtohavedazzledpoorMrs.Winsettintoforgettingtoaskwhoshewas.
"ThatistheCountessOlenska—agranddaughterofoldMrs.Mingott's."
"Whew—aCountess!"whistledNedWinsett."Well,Ididn'tknowCountessesweresoneighbourly.Mingottsain't."
"Theywouldbe,ifyou'dletthem."
"Ah,well—"Itwastheiroldinterminableargumentastotheobstinateunwillingnessofthe"cleverpeople"tofrequentthefashionable,andbothmenknewthattherewasnouseinprolongingit.
"Iwonder,"Winsettbrokeoff,"howaCountesshappenstoliveinourslum?"
"Becauseshedoesn'tcareahangaboutwhereshelives—oraboutanyofourlittlesocialsign–posts,"saidArcher,withasecretprideinhisownpictureofher.
"H'm—beeninbiggerplaces,Isuppose,"theothercommented."Well,here'smycorner."
HeslouchedoffacrossBroadway,andArcherstoodlookingafterhimandmusingonhislastwords.
NedWinsetthadthoseflashesofpenetration;theywerethemostinterestingthingabouthim,andalwaysmadeArcherwonderwhytheyhadallowedhimtoacceptfailuresostolidlyatanagewhenmostmenarestillstruggling.
ArcherhadknownthatWinsetthadawifeandchild,buthehadneverseenthem.
ThetwomenalwaysmetattheCentury,oratsomehauntofjournalistsandtheatricalpeople,suchastherestaurantwhereWinsetthadproposedtogoforabock.
HehadgivenArchertounderstandthathiswifewasaninvalid;whichmightbetrueofthepoorlady,ormightmerelymeanthatshewaslackinginsocialgiftsorineveningclothes,orinboth.
Winsetthimselfhadasavageabhorrenceofsocialobservances:Archer,whodressedintheeveningbecausehethoughtitcleanerandmorecomfortabletodoso,andwhohadneverstoppedtoconsiderthatcleanlinessandcomfortaretwoofthecostliestitemsinamodestbudget,regardedWinsett'sattitudeaspartoftheboring"Bohemian"posethatalwaysmadefashionablepeople,whochangedtheirclotheswithouttalkingaboutit,andwerenotforeverharpingonthenumberofservantsonekept,seemsomuchsimplerandlessself–consciousthantheothers.
Nevertheless,hewasalwaysstimulatedbyWinsett,andwheneverhecaughtsightofthejournalist'sleanbeardedfaceandmelancholyeyeshewouldrouthimoutofhiscornerandcarryhimoffforalongtalk.
Winsettwasnotajournalistbychoice.Hewasapuremanofletters,untimelyborninaworldthathadnoneedofletters;butafterpublishingonevolumeofbriefandexquisiteliteraryappreciations,ofwhichonehundredandtwentycopiesweresold,thirtygivenaway,andthebalanceeventuallydestroyedbythepublishers(aspercontract)tomakeroomformoremarketablematerial,hehadabandonedhisrealcalling,andtakenasub–editorialjobonawomen'sweekly,wherefashion–platesandpaperpatternsalternatedwithNewEnglandlove–storiesandadvertisementsoftemperancedrinks.
Onthesubjectof"Hearth–fires"(asthepaperwascalled)hewasinexhaustiblyentertaining;butbeneathhisfunlurkedthesterilebitternessofthestillyoungmanwhohastriedandgivenup.
HisconversationalwaysmadeArchertakethemeasureofhisownlife,andfeelhowlittleitcontained;butWinsett's,afterall,containedstillless,andthoughtheircommonfundofintellectualinterestsandcuriositiesmadetheirtalksexhilarating,theirexchangeofviewsusuallyremainedwithinthelimitsofapensivedilettantism.
"Thefactis,lifeisn'tmuchafitforeitherofus,"Winsetthadoncesaid.
"I'mdownandout;nothingtobedoneaboutit.
I'vegotonlyonewaretoproduce,andthere'snomarketforithere,andwon'tbeinmytime.Butyou'refreeandyou'rewell–off.Whydon'tyougetintotouch?
There'sonlyonewaytodoit:togointopolitics."
Archerthrewhisheadbackandlaughed.ThereonesawataflashtheunbridgeabledifferencebetweenmenlikeWinsettandtheothers—Archer'skind.
Everyoneinpolitecirclesknewthat,inAmerica,"agentlemancouldn'tgointopolitics."
But,sincehecouldhardlyputitinthatwaytoWinsett,heansweredevasively:"LookatthecareerofthehonestmaninAmericanpolitics!Theydon'twantus."
"Who's'they'?Whydon'tyouallgettogetherandbe'they'yourselves?"
Archer'slaughlingeredonhislipsinaslightlycondescendingsmile.
Itwasuselesstoprolongthediscussion:everybodyknewthemelancholyfateofthefewgentlemenwhohadriskedtheircleanlineninmunicipalorstatepoliticsinNewYork.
Thedaywaspastwhenthatsortofthingwaspossible:thecountrywasinpossessionofthebossesandtheemigrant,anddecentpeoplehadtofallbackonsportorculture.
"Culture!Yes—ifwehadit!
Buttherearejustafewlittlelocalpatches,dyingouthereandthereforlackof—well,hoeingandcross–fertilising:thelastremnantsoftheoldEuropeantraditionthatyourforebearsbroughtwiththem.
Butyou'reinapitifullittleminority:you'vegotnocentre,nocompetition,noaudience.
You'relikethepicturesonthewallsofadesertedhouse:'ThePortraitofaGentleman.'
You'llneveramounttoanything,anyofyou,tillyourollupyoursleevesandgetrightdownintothemuck.That,oremigrate...God!IfIcouldemigrate..."
Archermentallyshruggedhisshouldersandturnedtheconversationbacktobooks,whereWinsett,ifuncertain,wasalwaysinteresting.Emigrate!
Asifagentlemancouldabandonhisowncountry!
Onecouldnomoredothatthanonecouldrollupone'ssleevesandgodownintothemuck.
Agentlemansimplystayedathomeandabstained.
Butyoucouldn'tmakeamanlikeWinsettseethat;andthatwaswhytheNewYorkofliteraryclubsandexoticrestaurants,thoughafirstshakemadeitseemmoreofakaleidoscope,turnedout,intheend,tobeasmallerbox,withamoremonotonouspattern,thantheassembledatomsofFifthAvenue.
ThenextmorningArcherscouredthetowninvainformoreyellowroses.
Inconsequenceofthissearchhearrivedlateattheoffice,perceivedthathisdoingsomadenodifferencewhatevertoanyone,andwasfilledwithsuddenexasperationattheelaboratefutilityofhislife.
Whyshouldhenotbe,atthatmoment,onthesandsofSt.AugustinewithMayWelland?
Noonewasdeceivedbyhispretenseofprofessionalactivity.
Inold–fashionedlegalfirmslikethatofwhichMr.Letterblairwasthehead,andwhichweremainlyengagedinthemanagementoflargeestatesand"conservative"investments,therewerealwaystwoorthreeyoungmen,fairlywell–off,andwithoutprofessionalambition,who,foracertainnumberofhoursofeachday,satattheirdesksaccomplishingtrivialtasks,orsimplyreadingthenewspapers.
Thoughitwassupposedtobeproperforthemtohaveanoccupation,thecrudefactofmoney–makingwasstillregardedasderogatory,andthelaw,beingaprofession,wasaccountedamoregentlemanlypursuitthanbusiness.
Butnoneoftheseyoungmenhadmuchhopeofreallyadvancinginhisprofession,oranyearnestdesiretodoso;andovermanyofthemthegreenmouldoftheperfunctorywasalreadyperceptiblyspreading.
ItmadeArchershivertothinkthatitmightbespreadingoverhimtoo.
Hehad,tobesure,othertastesandinterests;hespenthisvacationsinEuropeantravel,cultivatedthe"cleverpeople"Mayspokeof,andgenerallytriedto"keepup,"ashehadsomewhatwistfullyputittoMadameOlenska.
Butoncehewasmarried,whatwouldbecomeofthisnarrowmarginoflifeinwhichhisrealexperienceswerelived?
Hehadseenenoughofotheryoungmenwhohaddreamedhisdream,thoughperhapslessardently,andwhohadgraduallysunkintotheplacidandluxuriousroutineoftheirelders.
FromtheofficehesentanotebymessengertoMadameOlenska,askingifhemightcallthatafternoon,andbegginghertolethimfindareplyathisclub;butattheclubhefoundnothing,nordidhereceiveanyletterthefollowingday.
Thisunexpectedsilencemortifiedhimbeyondreason,andthoughthenextmorninghesawagloriousclusterofyellowrosesbehindaflorist'swindow–pane,heleftitthere.
ItwasonlyonthethirdmorningthathereceivedalinebypostfromtheCountessOlenska.
TohissurpriseitwasdatedfromSkuytercliff,whitherthevanderLuydenshadpromptlyretreatedafterputtingtheDukeonboardhissteamer.
"Iranaway,"thewriterbeganabruptly(withouttheusualpreliminaries),"thedayafterIsawyouattheplay,andthesekindfriendshavetakenmein.
Iwantedtobequiet,andthinkthingsover.
Youwererightintellingmehowkindtheywere;Ifeelmyselfsosafehere.Iwishthatyouwerewithus."
Sheendedwithaconventional"Yourssincerely,"andwithoutanyallusiontothedateofherreturn.
Thetoneofthenotesurprisedtheyoungman.
WhatwasMadameOlenskarunningawayfrom,andwhydidshefeeltheneedtobesafe?
Hisfirstthoughtwasofsomedarkmenacefromabroad;thenhereflectedthathedidnotknowherepistolarystyle,andthatitmightruntopicturesqueexaggeration.
Womenalwaysexaggerated;andmoreovershewasnotwhollyathereaseinEnglish,whichsheoftenspokeasifsheweretranslatingfromtheFrench.
"Jemesuisevadee—"putinthatway,theopeningsentenceimmediatelysuggestedthatshemightmerelyhavewantedtoescapefromaboringroundofengagements;whichwasverylikelytrue,forhejudgedhertobecapricious,andeasilyweariedofthepleasureofthemoment.
ItamusedhimtothinkofthevanderLuydens'havingcarriedherofftoSkuytercliffonasecondvisit,andthistimeforanindefiniteperiod.
ThedoorsofSkuytercliffwererarelyandgrudginglyopenedtovisitors,andachillyweek–endwasthemosteverofferedtothefewthusprivileged.
ButArcherhadseen,onhislastvisittoParis,thedeliciousplayofLabiche,"LeVoyagedeM.Perrichon,"andherememberedM.Perrichon'sdoggedandundiscouragedattachmenttotheyoungmanwhomhehadpulledoutoftheglacier.
ThevanderLuydenshadrescuedMadameOlenskafromadoomalmostasicy;andthoughthereweremanyotherreasonsforbeingattractedtoher,Archerknewthatbeneaththemalllaythegentleandobstinatedeterminationtogoonrescuingher.
Hefeltadistinctdisappointmentonlearningthatshewasaway;andalmostimmediatelyrememberedthat,onlythedaybefore,hehadrefusedaninvitationtospendthefollowingSundaywiththeReggieChiversesattheirhouseontheHudson,afewmilesbelowSkuytercliff.
HehadhadhisfilllongagoofthenoisyfriendlypartiesatHighbank,withcoasting,ice–boating,sleighing,longtrampsinthesnow,andageneralflavourofmildflirtingandmilderpracticaljokes.
HehadjustreceivedaboxofnewbooksfromhisLondonbook–seller,andhadpreferredtheprospectofaquietSundayathomewithhisspoils.
Buthenowwentintotheclubwriting–room,wroteahurriedtelegram,andtoldtheservanttosenditimmediately.
HeknewthatMrs.Reggiedidn'tobjecttohervisitors'suddenlychangingtheirminds,andthattherewasalwaysaroomtospareinherelastichouse.
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