Arrowsmith - Sinclair Lewis [168]
Inside, the vaulted stone hallway opened up like a cathedral. They were embarrassed by the footmen, awed by the automatic elevator, oppressed by a hallway full of vellum folios and Italian chests and a drawing-room full of water-colors, and reduced to rusticity by Capitola’s queenly white satin and pearls.
There were eight or ten Persons of Importance, male and female, looking insignificant but bearing names as familiar as Ivory Soap.
Did one give his arm to some unknown lady and “take her in,” Martin wondered. He rejoiced to find that one merely straggled into the dining-room under McGurk’s amiable basso herding.
The dining-room was gorgeous and very hideous, in stamped leather and hysterias of gold, with collections of servants watching one’s use of asparagus forks. Martin was seated (it is doubtful if he ever knew that he was the guest of honor) between Capitola McGurk and a woman of whom he could learn only that she was the sister of a countess.
Capitola leaned toward him in her great white splendor.
“Now, Dr. Arrowsmith, just what is this you are discovering?”
“Why, it’s — uh — I’m trying to figure —”
“Dr. Tubbs tells us that you have found such wonderful new ways of controlling disease.” Her L’s were a melody of summer rivers, her R’s the trill of birds in the brake. “Oh, what — WHAT could be more beau-tiful than relieving this sad old world of its burden of illness! But just precisely what IS it that you’re doing?”
“Why, it’s awfully early to be sure but — You see, it’s like this. You take certain bugs like staph —”
“Oh, how interesting science is, but how frightfully difficult for simple people like me to grasp! But we’re all so humble. We’re just waiting for scientists like you to make the world secure for friendship —”
Then Capitola gave all her attention to her other man. Martin looked straight ahead and ate and suffered. The sister of the countess, a sallow and stringy woman, was glowing at him. He turned with unhappy meekness (noting that she had one more fork than he, and wondering where he had got lost).
She blared, “You are a scientist, I am told.”
“Ye-es.”
“The trouble with scientists is that they do not understand beauty. They are so cold.”
Rippleton Holabird would have made pretty mirth, but Martin could only quaver, “No, I don’t think that’s true,” and consider whether he dared drink another glass of champagne.
When they had been herded back to the drawing-room, after masculine but achingly elaborate passings of the port, Capitola swooped on him with white devouring wings:
“Dear Dr. Arrowsmith, I really didn’t get a chance at dinner to ask you just exactly WHAT you are doing. . . . Oh! Have you seen my dear little children at the Charles Street settlement? I’m sure ever so many of them will become the most fascinating scientists. You must come lecture to them.”
That night he fretted to Leora, “Going to be hard to keep up this twittering. But I suppose I’ve got to learn to enjoy it. Oh, well, think how nice it’ll be to give some dinners of our own, with real people, Gottlieb and everybody, when I’m a department-head.”
Next morning Gottlieb came slowly into Martin’s room. He stood by the window; he seemed to be avoiding Martin’s eyes. He sighed, “Something sort of bad — perhaps not altogether bad — has happened.”
“What is it, sir? Anything I can do?”
“It does not apply to me. To you.”
Irritably Martin thought, “Is he going into all this danger-of-rapid-success stuff again? I’m getting tired of it!”
Gottlieb ambled toward him. “It iss a pity, Martin, but you are not the discoverer of the X Principle.”
“Wh-what —”
“Someone else has done it.”
“They have not! I’ve searched all the literature, and except for Twort, not one person has even hinted at anticipating — Why, good Lord, Dr. Gottlieb, it would