章节正文
the ways. Besides, no one gives. They come back
again the next day or the day after--brought back
by the same incapacity that brought them first. At
last their proper clothing wears out, or their rags get
so shabby that they are ashamed. Then they must
work for months to get fresh. If they want fresh. A
great number of children are born under the
Company's care. The mother owes them a month
thereafter--the children they cherish and educate until
they are fourteen, and they pay two years' service.
You may be sure these children are educated for the
blue canvas. And so it is the Company works."
"And none are destitute in the city? "
"None. They are either in blue canvas or in
prison."
"If they will not work? "
" Most people will work at that pitch, and the
Company has powers. There are stages of unpleasantness
in the work--stoppage of food--and a man or
woman who has refused to work once is known by a
thumb-marking system in the Company's offices all
over the world. Besides, who can leave the city
poor? To go to Paris costs two Lions. And for
insubordination there are the prisons--dark and
miserable--out of sight below. There are prisons now for
many things."
"And a third of the people wear this blue canvas? "
"More than a third. Toilers, living without pride or
delight or hope, with the stories of Pleasure Cities
ringing in their ears, mocking their shameful lives, their
privations and hardships. Too poor even for the
Euthanasy, the rich man's refuge from life. Dumb,
crippled millions, countless millions, all the world
about, ignorant of anything but limitations and
unsatisfied desires. They are born, they are thwarted and
they die. That is the state to which we have come."
For a space Graham sat downcast.
"But there has been a revolution," he said. "All
these things will be changed." Ostrog--"
"That is our hope. That is the hope of the world.
But Ostrog will not do it. He is a politician. To him
it seems things must be like this. He does not mind.
He takes it for granted. All the rich, all the influential,
all who are happy, come at last to take these miseries
for granted. They use the people in their politics,
they live in ease by their degradation. But you
--you who come from a happier age--it is to you the
people look. To you."
He looked at her face. Her eyes were bright with
unshed tears. He felt a rush of emotion. For a moment
he forgot this city, he forgot the race, and all
those vague remote voices, in the immediate humanity
of her beauty.
"But what am I to do? " he said with his eyes upon
her.
"Rule," she answered, bending towards him and
speaking in a low tone. "Rule the world as it has
never been ruled, for the good and happiness of men.
For you might rule it--you could rule it.
"The people are stirring. All over the world the
people are stirring. It wants but a word--but a
word from you--to bring them all together. Even
the middle sort of people are restless unhappy.
"They are not telling you the things that are
happening. The people will not go back to their
drudgery--they refuse to be disarmed. Ostrog has
awakened something greater than he dreamt of--he
has awakened hopes."
His heart was beating fast. He tried to seem judicial,
to weigh considerations.
"They only want their leader," she said.
"And then? "
"You could do what you would;--the world is
yours."
He sat, no longer regarding her. Presently he
spoke." The old dreams, and the thing I have
dreamt, liberty, happiness. Are they dreams?
Could one man--one man--? " His voice sank and ceased.
"Not one man, but all men--give them only a
leader to speak the desire of their hearts."
He shook his head, and for a time there was silence.
He looked up suddenly, and their eyes met. "I
have not your faith," he said." I have not your youth.
I am here with power that mocks me. No--let me
speak. I want to do--not right--I have not the
strength for that--but something rather right than
wrong. It will bring no millenium, but I am resolved
now that I will rule. What you have said has
awakened me. . . . You are right. Ostrog must
know his place. And I will learn--. . . . One
thing I promise you. This Labour slavery shall end."
"And you will rule?"
"Yes. Provided--. There is one thing."
"
Yes? "
"
That you will help me."
"I!--a girl!"
"Yes. Does it not occur to you I am absolutely
alone? "
She started and for an instant her eyes had pity.
"Need you ask whether I will help you?" she said.
She stood before him, beautiful, worshipful, and her
enthusiasm and the greatness of their theme was like
a great gulf fixed between them. To touch her, to
clasp her hand, was a thing beyond hope. "Then
I will rule indeed," he said slowly. "I will rule-"
He paused. "With you."
There came a tense silence, and then the beating
a clock striking the hour. She made him no answer.
Graham rose.
Even now," he said, "Ostrog will be waiting. "He
hesitated, facing her. "When I have asked him certain
questions--. There is much I do not know. It may
be, that I will go to see with my own eyes the things
of which you have spoken. And when I return--?"
"I shall know of your going and coming. I will
wait for you here again."
He stood for a moment regarding her.
"I knew," she said, and stopped.
He waited, but she said no more. They regarded
one another steadfastly, questioningly, and then he
turned from her towards the Wind Vane office.
CHAPTER XIX
OSTROG S POINT OF VIEW
Graham found Ostrog waiting to give a formal account
of his day's stewardship. On previous occasions he
had passed over this ceremony as speedily as possible,
in order to resume his aerial experiences, but now he
began to ask quick short questions. He was very
anxious to take up his empire forthwith. Ostrog
brought flattering reports of the development of
affairs abroad. In Paris and Berlin, Graham
perceived that he was saying, there had been
trouble, not organised resistance indeed, but
insubordinate proceedings. "After all these years,"
said Ostrog, when Graham pressed enquiries;
"the Commune has lifted its head again. That
is the real nature of the struggle, to be explicit."
But order had been restored in these cities. Graham,
the more deliberatelyjudicial for the stirringemotions
he felt, asked if there had been any fighting. "A
little," said Ostrog. "In one quarter only. But the
Senegalese division of our African agricultural police--
the Consolidated African Companies have a very well
drilled police--was ready, and so were the aeroplanes.
We expected a little trouble in the continental cities,
and in America. But things are very quiet in America.
They are satisfied with the overthrow of the Council
For the time."
" Why should you expect trouble?" asked Graham
abruptly.
"There is a lot of discontent--social discontent."
"The Labour Company?"
"You are learning," said Ostrog with a touch of
surprise. "Yes. It is chiefly the discontent with the
Labour Company. It was that discontent supplied
the motive force of this overthrow--that and your
awakening."
"Yes? "
Ostrog smiled. He became explicit. "We had to
stir up their discontent, we had to revive the old ideals
of universal happiness--all men equal--all men
happy--no luxury that everyone may not share--
ideas that have slumbered for two hundred years. You
know that? We had to revive these ideals, impossible
as they are--in order to overthrow the Council. And
now--"
"Well? "
"Our revolution is accomplished, and the Council
is overthrown, and people whom we have stirred up
remain surging. There was scarcely enough
fighting . . . We made promises, of course. It is
extraordinary how violently and rapidly this vague
out-of-date humanitarianism has revived and spread.
We who sowed the seed even, have been astonished.
In Paris, as I say--we have had to call in a little
external help."
"And here? "
"There is trouble. Multitudes will not go back
to work. There is a general strike. Half the
factories are empty and the people are swarming in the
Ways. They are talking of a Commune. Men in silk
and satin have been insulted in the streets. The blue
canvas is expecting all sorts of things from you....
Of course there is no need for you to trouble. We
are setting the Babble Machines to work with counter
suggestions in the cause of law and order. We must
keep the grip tight; that is all."
Graham thought. He perceived a way of asserting
himself. But he spoke with restraint.
"Even to the pitch of bringing a negro police," he
said.
"They are useful," said Ostrog. "They are fine
loyal brutes, with no wash of ideas in their heads--
such as our rabble has. The Council should have had
them as police of the Ways, and things might have been
different. Of course, there is nothing to fear except
rioting and wreckage. You can manage your own
wings now, and you can soar away to Capri if there
is any smoke or fuss. We have the pull of all the
again the next day or the day after--brought back
by the same incapacity that brought them first. At
last their proper clothing wears out, or their rags get
so shabby that they are ashamed. Then they must
work for months to get fresh. If they want fresh. A
great number of children are born under the
Company's care. The mother owes them a month
thereafter--the children they cherish and educate until
they are fourteen, and they pay two years' service.
You may be sure these children are educated for the
blue canvas. And so it is the Company works."
"And none are destitute in the city? "
"None. They are either in blue canvas or in
prison."
"If they will not work? "
" Most people will work at that pitch, and the
Company has powers. There are stages of unpleasantness
in the work--stoppage of food--and a man or
woman who has refused to work once is known by a
thumb-marking system in the Company's offices all
over the world. Besides, who can leave the city
poor? To go to Paris costs two Lions. And for
insubordination there are the prisons--dark and
miserable--out of sight below. There are prisons now for
many things."
"And a third of the people wear this blue canvas? "
"More than a third. Toilers, living without pride or
delight or hope, with the stories of Pleasure Cities
ringing in their ears, mocking their shameful lives, their
privations and hardships. Too poor even for the
Euthanasy, the rich man's refuge from life. Dumb,
crippled millions, countless millions, all the world
about, ignorant of anything but limitations and
unsatisfied desires. They are born, they are thwarted and
they die. That is the state to which we have come."
For a space Graham sat downcast.
"But there has been a revolution," he said. "All
these things will be changed." Ostrog--"
"That is our hope. That is the hope of the world.
But Ostrog will not do it. He is a politician. To him
it seems things must be like this. He does not mind.
He takes it for granted. All the rich, all the influential,
all who are happy, come at last to take these miseries
for granted. They use the people in their politics,
they live in ease by their degradation. But you
--you who come from a happier age--it is to you the
people look. To you."
He looked at her face. Her eyes were bright with
unshed tears. He felt a rush of emotion. For a moment
he forgot this city, he forgot the race, and all
those vague remote voices, in the immediate humanity
of her beauty.
"But what am I to do? " he said with his eyes upon
her.
"Rule," she answered, bending towards him and
speaking in a low tone. "Rule the world as it has
never been ruled, for the good and happiness of men.
For you might rule it--you could rule it.
"The people are stirring. All over the world the
people are stirring. It wants but a word--but a
word from you--to bring them all together. Even
the middle sort of people are restless unhappy.
"They are not telling you the things that are
happening. The people will not go back to their
drudgery--they refuse to be disarmed. Ostrog has
awakened something greater than he dreamt of--he
has awakened hopes."
His heart was beating fast. He tried to seem judicial,
to weigh considerations.
"They only want their leader," she said.
"And then? "
"You could do what you would;--the world is
yours."
He sat, no longer regarding her. Presently he
spoke." The old dreams, and the thing I have
dreamt, liberty, happiness. Are they dreams?
Could one man--one man--? " His voice sank and ceased.
"Not one man, but all men--give them only a
leader to speak the desire of their hearts."
He shook his head, and for a time there was silence.
He looked up suddenly, and their eyes met. "I
have not your faith," he said." I have not your youth.
I am here with power that mocks me. No--let me
speak. I want to do--not right--I have not the
strength for that--but something rather right than
wrong. It will bring no millenium, but I am resolved
now that I will rule. What you have said has
awakened me. . . . You are right. Ostrog must
know his place. And I will learn--. . . . One
thing I promise you. This Labour slavery shall end."
"And you will rule?"
"Yes. Provided--. There is one thing."
"
Yes? "
"
That you will help me."
"I!--a girl!"
"Yes. Does it not occur to you I am absolutely
alone? "
She started and for an instant her eyes had pity.
"Need you ask whether I will help you?" she said.
She stood before him, beautiful, worshipful, and her
enthusiasm and the greatness of their theme was like
a great gulf fixed between them. To touch her, to
clasp her hand, was a thing beyond hope. "Then
I will rule indeed," he said slowly. "I will rule-"
He paused. "With you."
There came a tense silence, and then the beating
a clock striking the hour. She made him no answer.
Graham rose.
Even now," he said, "Ostrog will be waiting. "He
hesitated, facing her. "When I have asked him certain
questions--. There is much I do not know. It may
be, that I will go to see with my own eyes the things
of which you have spoken. And when I return--?"
"I shall know of your going and coming. I will
wait for you here again."
He stood for a moment regarding her.
"I knew," she said, and stopped.
He waited, but she said no more. They regarded
one another steadfastly, questioningly, and then he
turned from her towards the Wind Vane office.
CHAPTER XIX
OSTROG S POINT OF VIEW
Graham found Ostrog waiting to give a formal account
of his day's stewardship. On previous occasions he
had passed over this ceremony as speedily as possible,
in order to resume his aerial experiences, but now he
began to ask quick short questions. He was very
anxious to take up his empire forthwith. Ostrog
brought flattering reports of the development of
affairs abroad. In Paris and Berlin, Graham
perceived that he was saying, there had been
trouble, not organised resistance indeed, but
insubordinate proceedings. "After all these years,"
said Ostrog, when Graham pressed enquiries;
"the Commune has lifted its head again. That
is the real nature of the struggle, to be explicit."
But order had been restored in these cities. Graham,
the more deliberatelyjudicial for the stirringemotions
he felt, asked if there had been any fighting. "A
little," said Ostrog. "In one quarter only. But the
Senegalese division of our African agricultural police--
the Consolidated African Companies have a very well
drilled police--was ready, and so were the aeroplanes.
We expected a little trouble in the continental cities,
and in America. But things are very quiet in America.
They are satisfied with the overthrow of the Council
For the time."
" Why should you expect trouble?" asked Graham
abruptly.
"There is a lot of discontent--social discontent."
"The Labour Company?"
"You are learning," said Ostrog with a touch of
surprise. "Yes. It is chiefly the discontent with the
Labour Company. It was that discontent supplied
the motive force of this overthrow--that and your
awakening."
"Yes? "
Ostrog smiled. He became explicit. "We had to
stir up their discontent, we had to revive the old ideals
of universal happiness--all men equal--all men
happy--no luxury that everyone may not share--
ideas that have slumbered for two hundred years. You
know that? We had to revive these ideals, impossible
as they are--in order to overthrow the Council. And
now--"
"Well? "
"Our revolution is accomplished, and the Council
is overthrown, and people whom we have stirred up
remain surging. There was scarcely enough
fighting . . . We made promises, of course. It is
extraordinary how violently and rapidly this vague
out-of-date humanitarianism has revived and spread.
We who sowed the seed even, have been astonished.
In Paris, as I say--we have had to call in a little
external help."
"And here? "
"There is trouble. Multitudes will not go back
to work. There is a general strike. Half the
factories are empty and the people are swarming in the
Ways. They are talking of a Commune. Men in silk
and satin have been insulted in the streets. The blue
canvas is expecting all sorts of things from you....
Of course there is no need for you to trouble. We
are setting the Babble Machines to work with counter
suggestions in the cause of law and order. We must
keep the grip tight; that is all."
Graham thought. He perceived a way of asserting
himself. But he spoke with restraint.
"Even to the pitch of bringing a negro police," he
said.
"They are useful," said Ostrog. "They are fine
loyal brutes, with no wash of ideas in their heads--
such as our rabble has. The Council should have had
them as police of the Ways, and things might have been
different. Of course, there is nothing to fear except
rioting and wreckage. You can manage your own
wings now, and you can soar away to Capri if there
is any smoke or fuss. We have the pull of all the
- ashamed [ə´ʃeimd]
a.惭愧；不好意思 (初中英语单词) - educate [´edjukeit] vt.教育；培养；训练 (初中英语单词)
- canvas [´kænvəs] n.帆布；油画(布) (初中英语单词)
- system [´sistəm] n.系统，体系，制度 (初中英语单词)
- refuge [´refju:dʒ] v.&n.避难(所)；庇护 (初中英语单词)
- ignorant [´ignərənt] a.无知的，愚昧的 (初中英语单词)
- politician [,pɔli´tiʃən] n.政治家；政客 (初中英语单词)
- emotion [i´məuʃən] n.感情；情绪；激动 (初中英语单词)
- remote [ri´məut] a.遥远的；偏僻的 (初中英语单词)
- restless [´restləs] a.没有休息的 (初中英语单词)
- presently [´prezəntli] ad.不久；目前 (初中英语单词)
- slavery [´sleivəri] n.奴隶制；奴役 (初中英语单词)
- instant [´instənt] a.立即的 n.紧迫；瞬间 (初中英语单词)
- striking [´straikiŋ] a.显著的，明显的 (初中英语单词)
- waiting [´weitiŋ] n.等候；伺候 (初中英语单词)
- spoken [´spəukən] speak的过去分词 (初中英语单词)
- formal [´fɔ:məl] a.正式的；外表的 (初中英语单词)
- previous [´pri:viəs] a.先，前，以前的 (初中英语单词)
- ceremony [´seriməni] n.典礼；礼仪；客气 (初中英语单词)
- abroad [ə´brɔ:d] ad.海外；到处；广泛 (初中英语单词)
- berlin [bə:´lin] n.柏林 (初中英语单词)
- resistance [ri´zistəns] n.抵抗；抵制；耐力 (初中英语单词)
- agricultural [ægri´kʌltʃər(ə)l] a.农业的 (初中英语单词)
- chiefly [´tʃi:fli] ad.主要地；尤其 (初中英语单词)
- motive [´məutiv] n.动机；主题 a.运动的 (初中英语单词)
- universal [,ju:ni´və:səl] a.宇宙的；普遍的 (初中英语单词)
- luxury [´lʌkʃəri] n.奢侈(品)；享受 (初中英语单词)
- everyone [´evriwʌn] pron.=everybody 每人 (初中英语单词)
- shabby [´ʃæbi] a.(衣服)破旧的 (高中英语单词)
- cherish [´tʃeriʃ] vt.珍爱；怀有(感情) (高中英语单词)
- countless [´kauntlis] a.无数的 (高中英语单词)
- regarding [ri´gɑ:diŋ] prep.关于 (高中英语单词)
- greatness [´greitnis] n.巨大；高尚；卓越 (高中英语单词)
- forthwith [fɔ:θ´wið] ad.立刻 (高中英语单词)
- flattering [´flætəriŋ] a.谄媚的；奉承的 (高中英语单词)
- saying [´seiŋ, ´sei-iŋ] n.言语；言论；格言 (高中英语单词)
- deliberately [di´libərətli] ad.故意地；慎重地 (高中英语单词)
- continental [,kɔnti´nentl] a.大陆的，大陆性的 (高中英语单词)
- overthrow [´əuvəθrəu] n.推翻；打倒 (高中英语单词)
- discontent [´diskən´tent] n.&a.不满(平)(的) (高中英语单词)
- revive [ri´vaiv] v.(使)苏醒；(使)振奋 (高中英语单词)
- overthrown [,əuvə´θrəun] overthrow的过去分词 (高中英语单词)
- violently [´vaiələntli] ad.强暴地；猛烈地 (高中英语单词)
- shameful [´ʃeimfəl] a.可耻的；猥亵的 (英语四级单词)
- graham [´greiəm] a.&n.用全麦粉做的 (英语四级单词)
- stirring [´stə:riŋ] a.活跃的；热闹的 (英语四级单词)
- speedily [´spi:dili] ad.迅速地 (英语四级单词)
- aerial [´eəriəl] a.空中的 n.天线 (英语四级单词)
- commune [´kɔmju:n] n.公社 (英语四级单词)
- judicial [dʒu:´diʃəl] a.法庭(官)的，审判的 (英语四级单词)
- accomplished [ə´kʌmpliʃt] a.完成了的；熟练的 (英语四级单词)
- setting [´setiŋ] n.安装；排字；布景 (英语四级单词)
- babble [´bæbəl] v.&n.唠叨；胡言乱语 (英语四级单词)
- destitute [´destitju:t] a.贫穷的；缺乏...的 (英语六级单词)
- degradation [,degrə´deiʃən] n.降低；恶化；堕落 (英语六级单词)
- beating [´bi:tiŋ] n.敲；搅打；失败 (英语六级单词)
- worshipful [´wə:ʃipfəl] a.虔敬的；崇拜的 (英语六级单词)
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章节正文
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