There is one beautiful sight in the East End, and only one, and it is the children dancing in the street when the organ-grinder goes his round. It is fascinating to watch them, the new-born, the next generation, swaying and stepping, with pretty little mimicries and graceful inventions all their own, with muscles that move swiftly and easily, and bodies that leap airily, weaving rhythms never taught in dancing school.I have talked with these children, here, there, and everywhere, and they struck me as being bright asother children, and in many ways even brighter. They have most active little imaginations. Their capacityfor projecting themselves into the realm of romance and fantasy is remarkable. A joyous life is romping in their blood. They delight in music, and motion, and color, and very often they betray a startling beauty of face and formunder their filth and rags.
ジャック・ロンドンの文章を読んでいて何度も思い浮かぶのはserviceable という単語である。実用的、役に立つ、の意。言葉のあわいから曰く言いがたい印象を醸し出す、などというのではなく、伝えるべき事柄がはっきりあって、言葉はそのもっとも効率的な再現に専念している印象。ロンドン自身の作品から文例を挙げるなら、“She sewed moccasins and parkas and mittens?warm, serviceable things, and pleasingto the eye, withal, what of the ornamental hair-tufts and bead- work ”（彼女は鹿革靴やパーカやミトンを縫った―温かい、実用的な、けれど房飾りやビーズ細工もあって目にも快い物を作った: “The Story of Jees Uck,” The Faith of Men & Other Stories, 1904）。
上の引用でも、貧困に包まれ人々が醜悪な暮らしを強いられている街（イギリスのロンドン）で見かける唯一美しいものが堅実に語られ、「房飾りやビーズ細工」に対応するかのように頭韻（swaying and stepping/face and form ） や定型句（here, there, and everywhere）といった「飾り」が添えられ、「目」ならぬ「耳にも快い」実用的な文章が作り出されている。
Day had broken cold and gray, exceedingly cold and gray, when the man turned aside from the main Yukon trail and climbed the high earth-bank, where a dim and little-travelled trail led eastwardthrough the fat spruce timberland. It was a steep bank, and he paused for breath at the top, excusing the actto himself by looking at his watch. It was nine o’clock.There was no sun nor hint of sun, though there was not a cloud in the sky. It was a clear day, and yet there seemed an intangible pall over the face of things, a subtle gloom that made the day dark, and that was due to the absence of sun. This fact did not worry the man. He was used to the lack of sun. It had been days since he had seen the sun, and he knew that a few more days must pass before that cheerful orb, due south, would just peepabove the sky- line and dipimmediately from view .
