ChapterITheBertolini
“TheSignorahad
kein
nobusinesstodoit,”saidMissBartlett,“nobusinessatall.She
versprach
promisedussouthroomswitheine
aviewclosetogether,insteadofwhichhier
herearenorthrooms,lookingintoeine
acourtyard,andalongwayapart.Oh,Lucy!”
“And
ein
aCockney,besides!”saidLucy,whohadbeenfurthersaddenedbytheSignora’sunexpected
akzent
accent.“ItmightbeLondon.”
Shelookedat
die
thetworowsofEnglishpeoplewhoweresittingatdie
thetable;attherowofwhitebottlesofwater
und
andredbottlesofwinethatranzwischen
betweentheEnglishpeople;attheportraitsofthelate
Königin
QueenandthelatePoetLaureatethathingen
hungbehindtheEnglishpeople,heavilyframed;at
der
thenoticeoftheEnglishkirche
church(Rev.CuthbertEager,M.
Ein
A.Oxon.),thatwasthe
einzige
onlyotherdecorationofthemauer
wall.“Charlotte,don’tyoufeel,
auch
too,thatwemightbeinLondon?I
kann
canhardlybelievethatallkindsofotherthingsarejustdraußen
outside.Isupposeitisone’sbeingsotired.”
“This
fleisch
meathassurelybeenusedforsoup,”saidMissBartlett,legte
layingdownherfork.“Iwantsoto
sehen
seetheArno.TheroomstheSignora
versprochen
promisedusinherletterwouldhavelookedüber
overtheArno.TheSignorahadnobusinessto
tun
doitatall.Oh,itis
eine
ashame!”“Anynookdoesforme,”MissBartlettcontinued;
“butitdoes
scheint
seemhardthatyoushouldn’thaveaview.”Lucyfeltthatshehadbeenselfish.
“Charlotte,youmustn’t
verwöhnen
spoilme:ofcourse,you
müssen
mustlookovertheArno,auch
too.Imeantthat.
The
erste
firstvacantroominthefront—”“You
müssen
musthaveit,”saidMissBartlett,partofderen
whosetravellingexpenseswerepaidbyLucy’smother—astück
pieceofgenerositytowhichshemadeviele
manyatactfulallusion.“No,
nein
no.Youmusthaveit.”“Iinsistonit.
Your
mutter
motherwouldneverforgiveme,Lucy.”“She
würde
wouldneverforgiveme.”Theladies’voicesgrewanimated,and—ifthesad
wahrheit
truthbeowned—alittlepeevish.Theyweretired,
und
andundertheguiseofunselfishnesstheywrangled.Einige
Someoftheirneighboursinterchangedglances,und
andoneofthem—oneoftheill-bredleute
peoplewhomonedoesmeetabroad—leantforwardüber
overthetableandactuallyintrudedintotheirstreit
argument.Hesaid:.
“Ihave
eine
aview,Ihaveaview.”MissBartlettwasstartled.
Generallyat
ein
apensionpeoplelookedthemoverforein
adayortwobeforespeaking,und
andoftendidnotfindoutdass
thattheywould“do”tilltheyhadgegangen
gone.Sheknewthatthe
eindringling
intruderwasill-bred,evenbeforesheglancedatihn
him.Hewasanold
mann
man,ofheavybuild,withafair,shavengesicht
faceandlargeeyes.Therewas
etwas
somethingchildishinthoseeyes,obwohl
thoughitwasnotthechildishnessofsenility.What
genau
exactlyitwasMissBartlettdidnotstoptoconsider,forherblick
glancepassedontohiskleidung
clothes.Thesedidnotattracther.
Hewas
wahrscheinlich
probablytryingtobecomeacquaintedwiththembevor
beforetheygotintotheschwimmen
swim.Sosheassumedadazed
ausdruck
expressionwhenhespoketoihr
her,andthensaid:“Aview?
Oh,
eine
aview!Howdelightfulaviewis!”
“Thisismyson,”saidtheold
mann
man;“hisname’sGeorge.
Hehas
eine
aviewtoo.”“Ah,”saidMissBartlett,repressingLucy,whowasaboutto
sprechen
speak.“WhatImean,”hecontinued,“is
dass
thatyoucanhaveourrooms,und
andwe’llhaveyours.We’llchange.”
Thebetter
klasse
classoftouristwasshockedatthis,und
andsympathizedwiththenew-comers.MissBartlett,in
antwort
reply,openedhermouthaswenig
littleaspossible,andsaid“Thankyouverymuchindeed;thatisoutof
das
thequestion.”“Why?”
saidtheold
mann
man,withbothfistsonder
thetable.“Becauseitisquiteoutofthe
frage
question,thankyou.”“Yousee,wedon’tliketotake—”
begann
beganLucy.Hercousinagainrepressed
ihr
her.“Butwhy?”
hepersisted.
“Womenlikelookingat
eine
aview;mendon’t.”
Andhethumpedwithhisfistslike
ein
anaughtychild,andturnedtohissohn
son,saying,“George,persuadethem!”“It’sso
offensichtlich
obvioustheyshouldhavetherooms,”saidthesohn
son.“There’snothingelsetosay.”
Hedidnotlookat
die
theladiesashespoke,aber
buthisvoicewasperplexedund
andsorrowful.Lucy,too,wasperplexed;
butshe
sah
sawthattheywereinforwhatisbekannt
knownas“quiteascene,”und
andshehadanoddfeelingdass
thatwhenevertheseill-bredtouristsspokethewettbewerb
contestwidenedanddeepenedtillitdealt,notwithroomsund
andviews,butwith—well,withetwas
somethingquitedifferent,whoseexistenceshehadnoterkannt
realizedbefore.Nowtheold
mann
manattackedMissBartlettalmostviolently:Warum
Whyshouldshenotchange?Whatpossibleobjectionhadshe?
They
würden
wouldclearoutinhalfanstunde
hour.MissBartlett,thoughskilledin
den
thedelicaciesofconversation,wasmachtlos
powerlessinthepresenceofbrutality.Itwas
unmöglich
impossibletosnubanyonesogross.Her
gesicht
facereddenedwithdispleasure.Shelookedaroundasmuchasto
sagen
say,“Areyoualllikethis?”Und
Andtwolittleoldladies,whoweresittingweiter
furtherupthetable,withshawlshangingüber
overthebacksofthechairs,lookedzurück
back,clearlyindicating“Wearenot;wearegenteel.”
“Eatyour
abendessen
dinner,dear,”shesaidtoLucy,und
andbegantotoyagainwithdas
themeatthatshehadeinst
oncecensured.Lucymumbledthatthose
schienen
seemedveryoddpeopleopposite.“Eatyour
abendessen
dinner,dear.Thispensionis
ein
afailure.To-morrowwewill
machen
makeachange.”Hardlyhadsheannounced
diese
thisfelldecisionwhenshereversedit.Thecurtainsatthe
ende
endoftheroomparted,und
andrevealedaclergyman,stoutaber
butattractive,whohurriedforwardtotakehisplatz
placeatthetable,cheerfullyapologizingforhislateness.Lucy,whohadnotyet
erworben
acquireddecency,atoncerosetoherfeet,exclaiming:“Oh,oh!
Warum
Why,it’sMr.Beebe!Oh,howperfectlylovely!
Oh,Charlotte,we
müssen
muststopnow,howeverbaddie
theroomsare.Oh!”
MissBartlettsaid,with
mehr
morerestraint:.“Howdoyoudo,Mr.Beebe?
Iexpectthatyou
haben
haveforgottenus:MissBartlett
und
andMissHoneychurch,whowereatTunbridgeWellsals
whenyouhelpedtheVicarofSt.Peter’sthatsehr
verycoldEaster.”Theclergyman,whohadtheairofoneonaholiday,didnotremembertheladiesquiteas
deutlich
clearlyastheyrememberedhim.Aber
Buthecameforwardpleasantlygenug
enoughandacceptedthechairintowhichhewasbeckonedbyLucy.“Iamsogladto
sehen
seeyou,”saidthegirl,whowasinazustand
stateofspiritualstarvation,andwouldhavebeengladtosehen
seethewaiterifhercousin
cousinhadpermittedit.“Justfancyhow
klein
smalltheworldis.Summer
Street
Street,too,makesitsobesonders
speciallyfunny.”“MissHoneychurchlivesintheparishofSummerStreet,”saidMissBartlett,fillingupthe
lücke
gap,“andshehappenedtotellmeinthecourseofconversationdass
thatyouhavejustacceptedtheliving—”.“Yes,Iheardfrom
mutter
mothersolastweek.Shedidn’tknow
dass
thatIknewyouatTunbridgeWells;aber
butIwrotebackatonce,und
andIsaid:‘Mr.
Beebeis—’”.
“Quiteright,”said
der
theclergyman.“ImoveintotheRectoryatSummer
Street
StreetnextJune.Iam
glück
luckytobeappointedtosucheine
acharmingneighbourhood.”“Oh,howgladIam!
Der
ThenameofourhouseisWindyCorner.”Mr.Beebebowed.
“Thereis
mutter
motherandmegenerally,andmybruder
brother,thoughit’snotoftenwebringen
gethimtoch——The
kirche
churchisratherfaroff,Imean.”“Lucy,dearest,
lass
letMr.Beebeeathisdinner.”“Iameating
es
it,thankyou,andenjoyingit.”HepreferredtotalktoLucy,
deren
whoseplayingheremembered,ratherals
thantoMissBartlett,whowahrscheinlich
probablyrememberedhissermons.He
fragte
askedthegirlwhethersheknewFlorencegut
well,andwasinformedatsomelänge
lengththatshehadneverbeendort
therebefore.Itisdelightfulto
beraten
adviseanewcomer,andhewaserste
firstinthefield.“Don’tneglect
das
thecountryround,”hisadviceschloss
concluded.“Thefirstfineafternoon
fährt
driveuptoFiesole,androundbySettignano,oretwas
somethingofthatsort.”“No!”
cried
eine
avoicefromthetopofder
thetable.“Mr.
Beebe,youare
falsch
wrong.Thefirstfineafternoonyourladies
müssen
mustgotoPrato.”“That
dame
ladylookssoclever,”whisperedMissBartletttohercousine
cousin.“Weareinluck.”
Und
And,indeed,aperfecttorrentofinformationen
informationburstonthem.People
sagten
toldthemwhattosee,whentosehen
seeit,howtostoptheelectrictrams,howtogetridofthebeggars,howviel
muchtogiveforavellumblotter,howviel
muchtheplacewouldgrowuponthem.The
Pension
PensionBertolinihaddecided,almostenthusiastically,dass
thattheywoulddo.Whicheverwaytheylooked,kindladies
lächelten
smiledandshoutedatthem.Und
Andaboveallrosethestimme
voiceofthecleverlady,crying:“Prato!
They
müssen
mustgotoPrato.That
ort
placeistoosweetlysqualidforwords.I
liebe
loveit;Irevelinshakingoffthetrammelsofrespectability,asyouknow.”
The
junge
youngmannamedGeorgeglancedatthecleverdame
lady,andthenreturnedmoodilytohisteller
plate.Obviouslyheandhis
vater
fatherdidnotdo.Lucy,inthemidstofher
erfolg
success,foundtimetowishtheygetan
did.Itgavehernoextra
vergnügen
pleasurethatanyoneshouldbeleftinder
thecold;andwhensheroseto
gehen
go,sheturnedbackandgaveden
thetwooutsidersanervouslittlebow.Der
Thefatherdidnotseees
it;thesonacknowledgedit,notbyanotherbow,
sondern
butbyraisinghiseyebrowsund
andsmiling;heseemedtobe
lächeln
smilingacrosssomething.Shehastened
nach
afterhercousin,whohadbereits
alreadydisappearedthroughthecurtains—curtainswhichsmoteeinem
oneintheface,andschienen
seemedheavywithmorethancloth.Beyondthemstood
die
theunreliableSignora,bowinggood-eveningtoherguests,und
andsupportedby’Enery,herlittleboy,und
andVictorier,herdaughter.Itmade
eine
acuriouslittlescene,thisattemptoftheCockneytovermitteln
conveythegraceandgenialityoftheSouth.Und
Andevenmorecuriouswasdas
thedrawing-room,whichattemptedtokonkurrieren
rivalthesolidcomfortofaBloomsburyboarding-house.Wasthis
wirklich
reallyItaly?MissBartlettwas
bereits
alreadyseatedonatightlystuffedarm-chair,whichhadthefarbe
colourandthecontoursofatomate
tomato.ShewastalkingtoMr.Beebe,
und
andasshespoke,herlongnarrowkopf
headdrovebackwardsandforwards,langsam
slowly,regularly,asthoughshewerezerstörte
demolishingsomeinvisibleobstacle.“Wearemost
dankbar
gratefultoyou,”shewassaying.“The
erste
firsteveningmeanssomuch.Als
Whenyouarrivedwewereinforapeculiarlymauvaisquartd’heure.”Heexpressedhis
bedauern
regret.“Doyou,byanychance,
wissen
knowthenameofanoldmanwhosatgegenüber
oppositeusatdinner?”“Emerson.”
“Ishe
ein
afriendofyours?”“Wearefriendly—asoneisinpensions.”
“ThenIwillsaynomore.”
Hepressedher
sehr
veryslightly,andshesaidmehr
more.“Iam,asitwere,”she
schloss
concluded,“thechaperonofmyyoungcousine
cousin,Lucy,anditwouldbeaserioussache
thingifIputherunderanverpflichtung
obligationtopeopleofwhomwewissen
knownothing.Hismannerwassomewhatunfortunate.
I
hoffe
hopeIactedforthebest.”“Youacted
sehr
verynaturally,”saidhe.He
schien
seemedthoughtful,andafterapaar
fewmomentsadded:“Allthesame,Idon’t
glaube
thinkmuchharmwouldhavecomeofaccepting.”“Noharm,ofcourse.
Aber
Butwecouldnotbeunderanobligation.”“Heis
ziemlich
ratherapeculiarman.”Againhe
zögerte
hesitated,andthensaidgently:“I
denke
thinkhewouldnottakeadvantageofyourakzeptanz
acceptance,norexpectyoutozeigen
showgratitude.Hehasthemerit—ifitisone—ofsaying
genau
exactlywhathemeans.Hehasroomshedoesnot
schätzen
value,andhethinksyouwürdest
wouldvaluethem.Heno
mehr
morethoughtofputtingyouunderanobligationals
thanhethoughtofbeinghöflich
polite.Itissodifficult—atleast,Ifinditdifficult—to
verstehen
understandpeoplewhospeakthetruth.”Lucywaspleased,
und
andsaid:“Iwashoping
dass
thathewasnice;Idosoalways
hoffe
hopethatpeoplewillbenice.”“I
glaube
thinkheis;niceandtiresome.
I
sich unterscheiden
differfromhimonalmosteverypointofanyimportance,und
andso,Iexpect—Imaysagen
sayIhope—youwilldiffer.Buthisis
ein
atypeonedisagreeswithratherthandeplores.Als
Whenhefirstcameherehenotunnaturallystellen
putpeople’sbacksup.Hehas
nicht
notactandnomanners—Idon’tmeine
meanbythatthathehasbadmanners—andhewird
willnotkeephisopinionstohimself.We
fast
nearlycomplainedabouthimtoourdepressingSignora,aber
butIamgladtosagen
saywethoughtbetterofit.”“AmItoconclude,”saidMissBartlett,“thatheis
ein
aSocialist?”Mr.
Beebeacceptedtheconvenient
wort
word,notwithoutaslighttwitchingofthelips.“And
vermutlich
presumablyhehasbroughtuphissohn
sontobeaSocialist,too?”“I
kaum
hardlyknowGeorge,forhehasn’tlearnttosprechen
talkyet.