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the voice of the city-第39章

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depths to which I have sunk。  Endeavor to forget

me。 I am lost forever in the fair but brutal maze of

awful Bohemia。  Farewell。



〃ONCE YOUR MEDORA。〃





On the next day Medora formed her resolutions。

Beelzebub; flung from heaven; was no more cast down。

Between her and the apple blossoms of Harmony

there was a fixed gulf。  Flaming cherubim warded

her from the gates of her lost paradise。  In one

evening; by the aid of Binkley and Mumm; Bohemia

had gathered her into its awful midst。



There remained to her but one thing  a life of

brilliant; but irremediable error。  Vermont was a

shrine that she never would dare to approach again。

But she would not sink  there were great and com…

pelling ones in history upon whom she would model

her meteoric career  Camille; Lola Montez; Royal

Mary; Zaza  such a name as one of these would that

of Medora Martin be to future generations



For two days Medora kept her room。  On the

third she opened a magazine at the portrait of the

King of Belgium; and laughed sardonically。  If that

far…famed breaker of women's hearts should cross her

path; he would have to bow before her cold and im…

perious beauty。  She would not spare the old or

the young。  All America  all Europe should do

homage to her sinister; but compelling charm。



As yet she could not bear to think of the life she

had once desired  a peaceful one in the shadow of

the Green Mountains with Beriah at her side; and

orders for expensive oil paintings coming in by each

mail from New York。  Her one fatal misstep had

shattered that dream。



On the fourth day Medora powdered her face and

rouged her lips。  Once she had seen Carter in

〃Zaza。〃  She stood before the mirror in a reckless

attitude and cried: 〃Zut! zut!〃  She rhymed it

with 〃nut;〃 but with the lawless word Harmony

seemed to pass away forever。  The Vortex had her。

She belonged to Bohemia for evermore。  And never

would Beriah 



The door opened and Beriah walked in。



〃'Dory;〃 said he; 〃what's all that chalk and pink

stuff on your face; honey?



Medora extended an arm。



〃Too late;〃 she said; solemnly。  The die is cast。

I belong in another world。  Curse me if you will 

it is your right。 Go; and leave me in the path I

have chosen。  Bid them all at home never to men…

tion my name again。  And sometimes; Beriah; pray

for me when I am revelling in the gaudy; but hol…

low; pleasures of Bohemia。〃



〃Get a towel; 'Dory;〃 said Beriah;  〃and wipe

that paint off your face。  I came as soon as I got

your letter。  Them pictures of yours ain't amount…

ing to anything。  I've got tickets for both of us

back on the evening train。  Hurry and get your

things in your trunk。〃



〃Fate was too strong for me; Beriah。  Go while

I am strong to bear it。〃



〃How do you fold this easel; 'Dory?  now begin

to pack; so we have time to eat before train time。

The maples is all out in full…grown leaves; 'Dory 

you just ought to see 'em!



〃Not this early; Beriah?



〃You ought to see 'em; 'Dory; they're like an

ocean of green in the morning sunlight。〃



〃Oh; Beriah!〃



On the train she said to him suddenly:



〃I wonder why you came when you got my let…

ter。〃



〃Oh; shucks! 〃 said Beriah。  〃Did you think you

could fool me?  How could you be run away to that

Bohemia country like you said when your letter was

postmarked New York as plain as day?〃











A PHILISTINE IN BOHEMIA





George Washington; with his right arm up…

raised; sits his iron horse at the lower corner of

Union Square; forever signaling the Broadway cars

to stop as they round the curve into Fourteenth

Street。  But the cars buzz on; heedless; as they do at

the beck of a private citizen; and the great General

must feel; unless his nerves are iron; that rapid tran…

sit gloria mundi。



Should the General raise his left hand as he has

raised his right it would point to a quarter of the

city that forms a haven for the oppressed and sup…

pressed of foreign lands。  In the cause of national

or personal freedom they have found a refuge here;

and the patriot who made it for them sits his steed;

overlooking their district; while he listens through his

left car to vaudeville that caricatures the posterity

of his proteges。  Italy; Poland; the former Spanish

possessions and the polyglot tribes of Austria…Hun…

gary have spilled here a thick lather of their effer…

vescent sons。  In the eccentric cafes and lodging…

houses of the vicinity they hover over their native

wines and political secrets。  The colony changes


with much frequency。  Faces disappear from the

haunts to be replaced by others。  Whither do these

uneasy birds flit?  For half of the answer observe

carefully the suave foreign air and foreign courtesy

of the next waiter who serves your table d'hote。

For the other half; perhaps if the barber shops had

tongues (and who will dispute it?) they could tell

their share。



Titles are as plentiful as finger rings among these

transitory exiles。  For lack of proper exploitation a

stock of titled goods large enough to supply the trade

of upper Fifth Avenue is here condemned to a mere

pushcart traffic。  The new…world landlords who en…

tertain these offshoots of nobility are not dazzled

by coronets and crests。  They have doughnuts to

sell instead of daughters。  With them it is a serious

matter of trading in flour and sugar instead of pearl

powder and bonbons。



These assertions are deemed fitting as an intro…

duction to the tale; which is of plebeians and contains

no one with even the ghost of a title。



Katy Dempsey's mother kept a furnished…room

house in this oasis of the aliens。  The business was

not profitable。  If the two scraped together enough

to meet the landlord's agent on rent day and nego…

tiate for the ingredients of a daily Irish stew they

called it success。  Often the stew lacked both meat

and potatoes。  Sometimes it became as bad as con…

somme' with music。



In this mouldy old house Katy waxed plump and

pert and wholesome and as beautiful and freckled as

a tiger lily。  She was the good fairy who was guilty

of placing the damp clean towels and cracked pitchers

of freshly laundered Croton in the lodgers' rooms。



You are informed (by virtue of the privileges of

astronomical discovery) that the star lodger's name

was Mr。 Brunelli。  His wearing a yellow tie and pay…

ing his rent promptly distinguished him from the

other lodgers。  His raiment was splendid; his com…

plexion olive; his; mustache fierce; his manners a

prince's; his rings and pins as magnificent as those

of a traveling dentist。



He had breakfast served in his room; and he ate it

in a red dressing gown with green tassels。 He left

the house at noon and returned at midnight。  Those

were mysterious hours; but there was nothing my…

terious about Mrs。 Dempsey's lodgers except the

things that were not mysterious。  One o
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