《星期一和星期二》第4章

out　that。　then　she　got　up；　and；　interrupting　jane　in　the　middle　of　a　sentence；　said：
“before　you　say　any　more；　i　want　to　know—am　i　to　stay　in　the　room？　because；”　she　added；　“i　have　to　confess　that　i　am　an　impure　woman。”
everyone　looked　at　her　in　astonishment。
“you　are　going　to　have　a　baby？”　asked　jane。
she　nodded　her　head。
it　was　extraordinary　to　see　the　different　expressions　on　their　faces。　a　sort　of　hum　went　through　the　room；　in　which　i　could　catch　the　words　“impure；”　“baby；”　“castalia；”　and　so　on。　jane；　who　was　herself　considerably　moved；　put　it　to　us：
“shall　she　go？　is　she　impure？”
such　a　roar　filled　the　room　as　might　have　been　heard　in　the　street　outside。
“no！　no！　no！　let　her　stay！　impure？　fiddlesticks！”　yet　i　fancied　that　some　of　the　youngest；　girls　of　nineteen　or　twenty；　held　back　as　if　overe　with　shyness。　then　we　all　came　about　her　and　began　asking　questions；　and　at　last　i　saw　one　of　the　youngest；　who　had　kept　in　the　background；　approach　shyly　and　say　to　her：
“what　is　chastity　then？　i　mean　is　it　good；　or　is　it　bad；　or　is　it　nothing　at　all？”　she　replied　so　low　that　i　could　not　catch　what　she　said。
“you　know　i　was　shocked；”　said　another；　“for　at　least　ten　minutes。”
“in　my　opinion；”　said　poll；　who　was　growing　crusty　from　always　reading　in　the　london　library；　“chastity　is　nothing　but　ignorance—a　most　discreditable　state　of　mind。　we　should　admit　only　the　unchaste　to　our　society。　i　vote　that　castalia　shall　be　our　president。”
this　was　violently　disputed。
“it　is　as　unfair　to　brand　women　with　chastity　as　with　unchastity；”　said　poll。　“some　of　us　haven’t　the　opportunity　either。　moreover；　i　don’t　believe　cassy　herself　maintains　that　she　acted　as　she　did　from　a　pure　love　of　knowledge。”
“he　is　only　twenty–one　and　divinely　beautiful；”　said　cassy；　with　a　ravishing　gesture。
“i　move；”　said　helen；　“that　no　one　be　allowed　to　talk　of　chastity　or　unchastity　save　those　who　are　in　love。”
“oh；　bother；”　said　judith；　who　had　been　enquiring　into　scientific　matters；　“i’m　not　in　love　and　i’m　longing　to　explain　my　measures　for　dispensing　with　prostitutes　and　fertilizing　virgins　by　act　of　parliament。”
she　went　on　to　tell　us　of　an　invention　of　hers　to　be　erected　at　tube　stations　and　other　public　resorts；　which；　upon　payment　of　a　small　fee；　would　safeguard　the　nation’s　health；　acmodate　its　sons；　and　relieve　its　daughters。　then　she　had　contrived　a　method　of　preserving　in　sealed　tubes　the　germs　of　future　lord　chancellors　“or　poets　or　painters　or　musicians；”　she　went　on；　“supposing；　that　is　to　say；　that　these　breeds　are　not　extinct；　and　that　women　still　wish　to　bear　children—”
“of　course　we　wish　to　bear　children！”　cried　castalia；　impatiently。　jane　rapped　the　table。
“that　is　the　very　point　we　are　met　to　consider；”　she　said。　“for　five　years　we　have　been　trying　to　find　out　whether　we　are　justified　in　continuing　the　human　race。　castalia　has　anticipated　our　decision。　but　it　remains　for　the　rest　of　us　to　make　up　our　minds。”
here　one　after　another　of　our　messengers　rose　and　delivered　their　reports。　the　marvels　of　civilisation　far　exceeded　our　expectations；　and；　as　we　learnt　for　the　first　time　how　man　flies　in　the　air；　talks　across　space；　penetrates　to　the　heart　of　an　atom；　and　embraces　the　universe　in　his　speculations；　a　murmur　of　admiration　burst　from　our　lips。
“we　are　proud；”　we　cried；　“that　our　mothers　sacrificed　their　youth　in　such　a　cause　as　this！”　castalia；　who　had　been　listening　intently；　looked　prouder　than　all　the　rest。　then　jane　reminded　us　that　we　had　still　much　to　learn；　and　castalia　begged　us　to　make　haste。　on　we　went　through　a　vast　tangle　of　statistics。　we　learnt　that　england　has　a　population　of　so　many　millions；　and　that　such　and　such　a　proportion　of　them　is　constantly　hungry　and　in　prison；　that　the　average　size　of　a　working　man’s　family　is　such；　and　that　so　great　a　percentage　of　women　die　from　maladies　incident　to　childbirth。　reports　were　read　of　visits　to　factories；　shops；　slums；　and　dockyards。　descriptions　were　given　of　the　stock　exchange；　of　a　gigantic　house　of　business　in　the　city；　and　of　a　government　office。　the　british　colonies　were　now　discussed；　and　some　account　was　given　of　our　rule　in　india；　africa　and　ireland。　i　was　sitting　by　castalia　and　i　noticed　her　uneasiness。
“we　shall　never　e　to　any　conclusion　at　all　at　this　rate；”　she　said。　“as　it　appears　that　civilisation　is　so　much　more　plex　than　we　had　any　notion；　would　it　not　be　better　to　confine　ourselves　to　our　original　enquiry？　we　agreed　that　it　was　the　object　of　life　to　produce　good　people　and　good　books。　all　this　time　we　have　been　talking　of　aeroplanes；　factories；　and　money。　let　us　talk　about　men　themselves　and　their　arts；　for　that　is　the　heart　of　the　matter。”
so　the　diners　out　stepped　forward　with　long　slips　of　paper　containing　answers　to　their　questions。　these　had　been　framed　after　much　consideration。　a　good　man；　we　had　agreed；　must　at　any　rate　be　honest；　passionate；　and　unworldly。　but　whether　or　not　a　particular　man　possessed　those　qualities　could　only　be　discovered　by　asking　questions；　often　beginning　at　a　remote　distance　from　the　centre。　is　kensington　a　nice　place　to　live　in？　where　is　your　son　being　educated—and　your　daughter？　now　please　tell　me；　what　do　you　pay　for　your　cigars？　by　the　way；　is　sir　joseph　a　baronet　or　only　a　knight？　often　it　seemed　that　we　learnt　more　from　trivial　questions　of　this　kind　than　from　more　direct　ones。　“i　accepted　my　peerage；”　said　lord　bunkum；　“because　my　wife　wished　it。”　i　forget　how　many　titles　were　accepted　for　the　same　reason。　“working　fifteen　hours　out　of　the　twenty–four；　as　i　do—”　ten　thousand　professional　men　began。
“no；　no；　of　course　you　can　neither　read　nor　write。　but　why　do　you　work　so　hard？”　“my　dear　lady；　with　a　growing　family—”　“but　why　does　your　family　grow？”　their　wives　wished　that　too；　or　perhaps　it　was　the　british　empire。　but　more　significant　than　the　answers　were　the　refusals　to　answer。　very　few　would　reply　at　all　to　questions　about　morality　and　religion；　and　such　answers　as　were　given　were　not　serious。　questions　as　to　the　value　of　money　and　power　were　almost　invariably　brushed　asi