登陆注册
19588800000010

第10章

If one classed him at all it would be as the countryman of Hegel and Kant,as the idealist,inclined to be dreamy,whose Imperialism was the Imperialism of the air.Not that his life had been inactive.He had fought like blazes against Denmark,Austria,France.But he had fought without visualizing the results of victory.A hint of the truth broke on him after Sedan,when he saw the dyed moustaches of Napoleon going grey;another when he entered Paris,and saw the smashed windows of the Tuileries.

Peace came--it was all very immense,one had turned into an Empire--but he knew that some quality had vanished for which not all Alsace-Lorraine could compensate him.Germany a commercial Power,Germany a naval Power,Germany with colonies here and a Forward Policy there,and legitimate aspirations in the other place,might appeal to others,and be fitly served by them;for his own part,he abstained from the fruits of victory,and naturalized himself in England.The more earnest members of his family never forgave him,and knew that his children,though scarcely English of the dreadful sort,would never be German to the backbone.He had obtained work in one of our provincial Universities,and there married Poor Emily (or Die Engl?nderin as the case may be),and as she had money,they proceeded to London,and came to know a good many people.

But his gaze was always fixed beyond the sea.It was his hope that the clouds of materialism obscuring the Fatherland would part in time,and the mild intellectual light re-emerge."Do you imply that we Germans are stupid,Uncle Ernst?"exclaimed a haughty and magnificent nephew.

Uncle Ernst replied,"To my mind.You use the intellect,but you no longer care about it.That I call stupidity."As the haughty nephew did not follow,he continued,"You only care about the'things that you can use,and therefore arrange them in the following order:Money,supremely useful;intellect,rather useful;imagination,of no use at all.

No"--for the other had protested--"your Pan-Germanism is no more imaginative than is our Imperialism over here.It is the vice of a vulgar mind to be thrilled by bigness,to think that a thousand square miles are a thousand times more wonderful than one square mile,and that a million square miles are almost the same as heaven.That is not imagination.

No,it kills it.When their poets over here try to celebrate bigness they are dead at once,and naturally.Your poets too are dying,your philosophers,your musicians,to whom Europe has listened for two hundred years.Gone.Gone with the little courts that nurtured them--gone with Esterhaz and Weimar.What?What's that?Your Universities?

Oh,yes,you have learned men,who collect more facts than do the learned men of England.They collect facts,and facts,and empires of facts.

But which of them will rekindle the light within?"To all this Margaret listened,sitting on the haughty nephew's knee.

It was a unique education for the little girls.

The haughty nephew would be at Wickham Place one day,bringing with him an even haughtier wife,both convinced that Germany was appointed by God to govern the world.Aunt Juley would come the next day,convinced that Great Britain had been appointed to the same post by the same authority.

Were both these loud-voiced parties right?On one occasion they had met,and Margaret with clasped hands had implored them to argue the subject out in her presence.Whereat they blushed,and began to talk about the weather."Papa"she cried--she was a most offensive child--"why will they not discuss this most clear question?"Her father,surveying the parties grimly,replied that he did not know.Putting her head on one side,Margaret then remarked,"To me one of two things is very clear;either God does not know his own mind about England and Germany,or else these do not know the mind of God."A hateful little girl,but at thirteen she had grasped a dilemma that most people travel through life without perceiving.Her brain darted up and down;it grew pliant and strong.

Her conclusion was,that any human being lies nearer to the unseen than any organization,and from this she never varied.

Helen advanced along the same lines,though with a more irresponsible tread.In character she resembled her sister,but she was pretty,and so apt to have a more amusing time.People gathered round her more readily,especially when they were new acquaintances,and she did enjoy a little homage very much.When their father died and they ruled alone at Wickham Place,she often absorbed the whole of the company,while Margaret--both were tremendous talkers--fell flat.

Neither sister bothered about this.Helen never apologized afterwards,Margaret did not feel the slightest rancour.But looks have their influence upon character.The sisters were alike as little girls,but at the time of the Wilcox episode their methods were beginning to diverge;the younger was rather apt to entice people,and,in enticing them,to be herself enticed;the elder went straight ahead,and accepted an occasional failure as part of the game.

Little need be premised about Tibby.He was now an intelligent man of sixteen,but dyspeptic and difficile.

同类推荐
  • 刊误

    刊误

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。
  • 胡文穆杂著

    胡文穆杂著

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。
  • 燕都日记

    燕都日记

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。
  • 大乘百法明门论

    大乘百法明门论

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。
  • 佛说断温经

    佛说断温经

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。
热门推荐
  • 鬼事回忆录

    鬼事回忆录

    我叫左尹,今年24岁。职业是驱鬼师。好吧,你可能认为我是个骗子。没有关系,我讲的其实都是鬼故事。不过我还是建议你认真听我说完。首先这些故事很有趣,其次这些故事很有用。虽然它们听起来离奇荒诞,不过当你遇到它们时,这些故事教你的东西很可能保你一命。当然,如果你还是摆脱不了它们,可以打这个电话找我……
  • 家庭教师之若樱似雪

    家庭教师之若樱似雪

    里面有骸库,纲京,云春,如果不喜欢里面的某一个cp请在回复的地方吐槽,喜欢云春和不喜欢云春的都热烈欢迎,期待你们的吐槽
  • 东京娃娃小祸水(全本)

    东京娃娃小祸水(全本)

    金贝贝,金家的养女,从小和总裁哥哥金泊铭一起长大,两小无猜。16岁和金泊铭订婚,却在小度蜜月途中被人莫名其妙的绑架……醒来后,贝贝发现身边躺了个陌生的冷酷男人,他自称是亚洲的XX老大司徒擎天,要把她高价卖给有钱男人去享用……因为拥有小米牙,拥有极特殊的身体构造,使得金贝贝成为日本唯一的一个天生尤.物、极品小女人,也因此成了亚洲所有XX人士的觊觎和争夺目标!司徒擎天和金泊铭,谁能保护好,并最终拥有这个精致的东京娃娃小祸水呢?PS:耐心看下去,故事会越来越精彩,更新也会越来越多,请大家收藏评论支持哦……女主:金贝贝男主:司徒擎天=============================推荐dxh000已完结的作品:《总裁的娃娃妻》http://novel.hongxiu.com/a/89204/《豪门长媳17岁》http://novel.hongxiu.com/a/96989/
  • 鸟奴

    鸟奴

    动物小说之所以比其他类型的小说更有吸引力,是因为这个题材最容易刺破人类文化的外壳和文明社会种种虚伪的表象,可以毫无遮掩地直接表现丑陋与美丽融于一体的原生态的生命。人类文化和社会文明会随着时代的变迁而不断更新,但生命中残酷竞争、顽强生存和追求辉煌的精神内核是永远不会改变的。因此,动物小说更有理由赢得读者,也更有理由追求不朽。
  • 冷漠三公主的复仇天涯

    冷漠三公主的复仇天涯

    作者是第一次写小说,不足请见谅,请多多提议建。林冰言、夏凌汐、韩思梦三个天真开朗的漂亮的小姑娘却因为自己的父亲杀害了自己的母亲,很气愤离开了那个令她们伤心的“家”。复仇的种子在心中种下了种子。后来被人送去了死亡岛,成为了世界前三杀手,她们从从前天真开朗的小姑娘林冰言、夏凌汐、韩思梦变成了现在杀人不眨眼的恶魔千雨冰泪、千雨凌寒、千雨梦海。在她们的复仇天涯中奇遇了一段段恋情,她们的复仇天涯开始了。
  • 从关键词读经典·幽默版

    从关键词读经典·幽默版

    本书的历史经典于幽默调侃中展开,某些戏谑,似乎对经典“大不敬”。也许有人认为这是亵渎经典,万不可取。但持这种观点的人犯了两个错误。一是曲解了读经典的意义。读经典本身是一种享受,“知之者不如好之者,好之者不如乐之者”——从阅读中获得愉悦,这正是经典的魅力之一。二是小看了经典。经典不怕冒犯,只有认识到经典的强大,才会真正敬畏经典,才能在经典面前放下各种包袱,走到经典的身边,轻轻松松和它交谈。
  • 徐志摩:风往哪里吹

    徐志摩:风往哪里吹

    有关徐志摩所有的爱与恨,都离不开一个名为“时代”的镜头。透过它,所有人的形象都被嵌入“民国”的相框,站定了各自的位置,也许这是评价一个人最恰当的方式。
  • 北京城的守望者:侯仁之传

    北京城的守望者:侯仁之传

    这一届奥运会的口号是“新北京新奥运”,可是不管是外地的游客,还是外国的游客,更感兴趣的是“老北京”,在这座建城长达3000年,建都近千年的历史文化古都,人们着迷的自然是它的历史。在这个时候,我来到了北京,寻访侯仁之。我的住处在天坛公园附近,介于北京市崇文区和宣武区(现两区已分别划入东城区与西城区)之间,这里是北京宣南文化的重要遗址。因此,到这里寻找“老北京”的游客更多一些。
  • 郎心如铁

    郎心如铁

    倾国妖孽美男VS多智冷面丞相!情逢对手,一场势均力敌的爱情角逐,一次斗智斗勇的情义较量!刁蛮公主情陷两难,如何抉择?江湖菜鸟与绝世双雄激情碰撞,上演卖萌擒爱记。谁说非正式穿越女主一定死很惨?呆萌少女也有春天,华丽开幕千山万水,我只为你而来!
  • 青火

    青火

    这片世界,所拥有的一切都被别人拿走了!只有我没有,什么都没有!我一个人走在世界的阴暗之处,说着别人都不曾听说过的故事!看着这里的一切!都是那么清晰!那么熟悉,不过没有关系。我现在很开心!就像当年的我所做的选择一样!