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the unbearable bassington-第6章

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unfitted to understand the drift of his feelings or the impulses 

that governed them。  Fate had endowed her with a son; in limiting 

the endowment to a solitary offspring Fate had certainly shown a 

moderation which Francesca was perfectly willing to acknowledge and 

be thankful for; but then; as she pointed out to a certain 

complacent friend of hers who cheerfully sustained an endowment of 

half…a…dozen male offsprings and a girl or two; her one child was 

Comus。  Moderation in numbers was more than counterbalanced in his 

case by extravagance in characteristics。



Francesca mentally compared her son with hundreds of other young 

men whom she saw around her; steadily; and no doubt happily; 

engaged in the process of transforming themselves from nice boys 

into useful citizens。  Most of them had occupations; or were 

industriously engaged in qualifying for such; in their leisure 

moments they smoked reasonably…priced cigarettes; went to the 

cheaper seats at music…halls; watched an occasional cricket match 

at Lord's with apparent interest; saw most of the world's 

spectacular events through the medium of the cinematograph; and 

were wont to exchange at parting seemingly superfluous injunctions 

to 〃be good。〃  The whole of Bond Street and many of the tributary 

thoroughfares of Piccadilly might have been swept off the face of 

modern London without in any way interfering with the supply of 

their daily wants。  They were doubtless dull as acquaintances; but 

as sons they would have been eminently restful。  With a growing 

sense of irritation Francesca compared these deserving young men 

with her own intractable offspring; and wondered why Fate should 

have singled her out to be the parent of such a vexatious variant 

from a comfortable and desirable type。  As far as remunerative 

achievement was concerned; Comus copied the insouciance of the 

field lily with a dangerous fidelity。  Like his mother he looked 

round with wistful irritation at the example afforded by 

contemporary youth; but he concentrated his attention exclusively 

on the richer circles of his acquaintance; young men who bought 

cars and polo ponies as unconcernedly as he might purchase a 

carnation for his buttonhole; and went for trips to Cairo or the 

Tigris valley with less difficulty and finance…stretching than he 

encountered in contriving a week…end at Brighton。



Gaiety and good…looks had carried Comus successfully and; on the 

whole; pleasantly; through schooldays and a recurring succession of 

holidays; the same desirable assets were still at his service to 

advance him along his road; but it was a disconcerting experience 

to find that they could not be relied on to go all distances at all 

times。  In an animal world; and a fiercely competitive animal world 

at that; something more was needed than the decorative ABANDON of 

the field lily; and it was just that something more which Comus 

seemed unable or unwilling to provide on his own account; it was 

just the lack of that something more which left him sulking with 

Fate over the numerous breakdowns and stumbling…blocks that held 

him up on what he expected to be a triumphal or; at any rate; 

unimpeded progress。



Francesca was; in her own way; fonder of Comus than of anyone else 

in the world; and if he had been browning his skin somewhere east 

of Suez she would probably have kissed his photograph with genuine 

fervour every night before going to bed; the appearance of a 

cholera scare or rumour of native rising in the columns of her 

daily news…sheet would have caused her a flutter of anxiety; and 

she would have mentally likened herself to a Spartan mother 

sacrificing her best…beloved on the altar of State necessities。  

But with the best…beloved installed under her roof; occupying an 

unreasonable amount of cubic space; and demanding daily sacrifices 

instead of providing the raw material for one; her feelings were 

tinged with irritation rather than affection。  She might have 

forgiven Comus generously for misdeeds of some gravity committed in 

another continent; but she could never overlook the fact that out 

of a dish of five plovers' eggs he was certain to take three。  The 

absent may be always wrong; but they are seldom in a position to be 

inconsiderate。



Thus a wall of ice had grown up gradually between mother and son; a 

barrier across which they could hold converse; but which gave a 

wintry chill even to the sparkle of their lightest words。  The boy 

had the gift of being irresistibly amusing when he chose to exert 

himself in that direction; and after a long series of moody or 

jangling meal…sittings he would break forth into a torrential flow 

of small talk; scandal and malicious anecdote; true or more 

generally invented; to which Francesca listened with a relish and 

appreciation; that was all the more flattering from being so 

unwillingly bestowed。



〃If you chose your friends from a rather more reputable set you 

would be doubtless less amusing; but there would be compensating 

advantages。〃



Francesca snapped the remark out at lunch one day when she had been 

betrayed into a broader smile than she considered the circumstances 

of her attitude towards Comus warranted。



〃I'm going to move in quite decent society to…night;〃 replied Comus 

with a pleased chuckle; 〃I'm going to meet you and Uncle Henry and 

heaps of nice dull God…fearing people at dinner。〃



Francesca gave a little gasp of surprise and annoyance。



〃You don't mean to say Caroline has asked you to dinner to…night?〃 

she said; 〃and of course without telling me。  How exceedingly like 

her!〃



Lady Caroline Benaresq had reached that age when you can say and do 

what you like in defiance of people's most sensitive feelings and 

most cherished antipathies。  Not that she had waited to attain her 

present age before pursuing that line of conduct; she came of a 

family whose individual members went through life; from the nursery 

to the grave; with as much tact and consideration as a cactus…hedge 

might show in going through a crowded bathing tent。  It was a 

compensating mercy that they disagreed rather more among themselves 

than they did with the outside world; every known variety and shade 

of religion and politics had been pressed into the family service 

to avoid the possibility of any agreement on the larger essentials 

of life; and such unlooked…for happenings as the Home Rule schism; 

the Tariff…Reform upheaval and the Suffragette crusade were 

thankfully seized on as furnishing occasion for further differences 

and sub…divisions。  Lady Caroline's favourite scheme of 

entertaining was to bring jarring and antagonistic elements into 

close contact and play them remorselessly one against the other。  

〃One gets much better results under those circumstances〃 she used 

to observe; 〃than by asking people who wish to meet each other。  

Few people talk as brilliantly to impress a friend as they do to 

depress an enemy。〃



She admitted that her theory broke down rather badly if you applied 

it to Parliamentary debates。  At her own dinner table its success 

was usually triumphantly vindicated。



〃Who else is to be there?〃 Francesca asked; with some pardonable 

misgiving。



〃Courtenay Youghal。  He'll probably sit next to you; so you'd 

better think out a lot of annihilating remarks in readiness。  And 

Elaine de Frey。〃



〃I don't think I've heard of her。  Who is she?〃



〃Nobody in particular; but rather nice…looking in a solemn sort of 

way; and almost indecently rich。〃



〃Marry her〃 was the advice which sprang to Francesca's lips; but 

she choked it back with a salted almond; having a rare perception 

of the fact that words are sometimes given to us to defeat our 

purposes。



〃Caroline has probably marked her down for Toby or one of the 

grand…nephews;〃 she said; carelessly; 〃a little money would be 

rather useful in that quarter; I imagine。〃



Comus tucked in his underlip with just the shade of pugnacity that 

she wanted to see。



An advantageous marriage was so obviously the most sensible course 

for him to embark on that she scarcely dared to hope that he would 

seriously entertain it; yet there was just a chance that if he got 

as far as the flirtation stage with an attractive (and attracted) 

girl who was also an heiress; the sheer perversity of his nature 

might carry him on to more definite courtship; if only from the 

desire to thrust other more genuinely enamoured suitors into the 

background。  It was a forlorn hope; so forlorn that the idea even 

crossed her mind of throwing herself on the mercy of her BETE 

NOIRE; Courtenay Youghal; and trying to enlist the influence which 

he seemed to possess over Comus for the purpose of furthering her 

hurriedly conceived project。  Anyhow; the dinner promised to be 

more interesting than she had originally anticipated。



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