ChapterITheBertolini
“TheSignora
miała
hadnobusinesstodoit,”powiedziała
saidMissBartlett,“nobusinessatall.Shepromisedussouthroomswithaview
blisko
closetogether,insteadofwhichtutaj
herearenorthrooms,lookingintoacourtyard,i
andalongwayapart.Oh,Lucy!”
“AndaCockney,besides!”
powiedziała
saidLucy,whohadbeenfurthersaddenedbytheSignora’sunexpectedaccent.“ItmightbeLondon.”
She
spojrzała
lookedatthetworowsofEnglishpeoplektórzy
whoweresittingatthetable;attherowofwhitebottlesof
wody
waterandredbottlesofwinektóre
thatranbetweentheEnglishpeople;attheportraitsofthelateQueen
i
andthelatePoetLaureatektóre
thathungbehindtheEnglishpeople,heavilyframed;atthenoticeoftheEnglishchurch(Rev.
CuthbertEager,M.A.
Oxon.),thatwastheonlyotherdecorationofthewall.
“Charlotte,don’tyou
czujesz
feel,too,thatwemightbeinLondon?Icanhardlybelieve
że
thatallkindsofotherthingsarejustzewnątrz
outside.Isupposeitisone’sbeingsotired.”
“Thismeathassurelybeen
używane
usedforsoup,”saidMissBartlett,layingdownherfork.“IwantsotoseetheArno.
TheroomstheSignorapromisedusinherletterwould
miałyby
havelookedovertheArno.TheSignora
miała
hadnobusinesstodoitatall.Oh,itisashame!”
“Anynookdoesforme,”
Panna
MissBartlettcontinued;“butitdoesseem
trudne
hardthatyoushouldn’thaveaview.”Lucyfelt
że
thatshehadbeenselfish.“Charlotte,youmustn’tspoil
mnie
me:ofcourse,youmust
spojrzeć
lookovertheArno,too.Imeantthat.
Thefirstvacantroominthefront—”
“Youmusthaveit,”
powiedziała
saidMissBartlett,partofwhosetravellingexpenseswerepaidbyLucy’smother—apieceofgenerositytowhichshemadewiele
manyatactfulallusion.“No,
nie
no.Youmusthaveit.”“Iinsiston
to
it.Yourmotherwouldneverforgive
mi
me,Lucy.”“Shewouldneverforgiveme.”
Theladies’voicesgrewanimated,and—ifthesadtruthbeowned—a
trochę
littlepeevish.Theyweretired,
i
andundertheguiseofunselfishnesstheywrangled.Someoftheirneighboursinterchangedglances,and
jeden
oneofthem—oneoftheill-bredludzi
peoplewhomonedoesmeetabroad—leantforwardnad
overthetableandactuallyintrudedintotheirargument.He
powiedział
said:.“Ihaveaview,I
mam
haveaview.”MissBartlettwasstartled.
Generallyatapensionpeoplelookedthemoverfora
dzień
dayortwobeforespeaking,a
andoftendidnotfindsię
outthattheywould“do”tilltheyhadgone.She
wiedziała
knewthattheintruderwasill-bred,nawet
evenbeforesheglancedatniego
him.Hewasanoldman,ofheavybuild,withafair,shavenface
i
andlargeeyes.Therewas
coś
somethingchildishinthoseeyes,choć
thoughitwasnotthechildishnessofsenility.What
dokładnie
exactlyitwasMissBartlettdidnotzatrzymał
stoptoconsider,forherglancepassedontohisclothes.Thesedidnotattract
ją
her.Hewasprobablytryingtobecomeacquainted
z
withthembeforetheygotintotheswim.Sosheassumedadazedexpression
kiedy
whenhespoketoher,a
andthensaid:“Aview?
Oh,aview!
Howdelightfulaviewis!”
“Thisismyson,”
powiedział
saidtheoldman;“hisname’sGeorge.
He
ma
hasaviewtoo.”“Ah,”
powiedziała
saidMissBartlett,repressingLucy,whowasabouttospeak.“WhatImean,”hecontinued,“isthatyoucan
mieć
haveourrooms,andwe’llmieć
haveyours.We’llchange.”
Thebetter
klasa
classoftouristwasshockedattym
this,andsympathizedwiththenew-comers.Panna
MissBartlett,inreply,openedhermouthasmało
littleaspossible,andsaid“Thankyoubardzo
verymuchindeed;thatisoutofthequestion.”
“Why?”
powiedział
saidtheoldman,withbothfistsonthetable.“Becauseitisquiteoutofthequestion,
dziękuję
thankyou.”“Yousee,wedon’tliketotake—”
beganLucy.
Hercousin
znów
againrepressedher.“Butwhy?”
hepersisted.
“Women
lubią
likelookingataview;mendon’t.”
I
Andhethumpedwithhisfistsjak
likeanaughtychild,andturnedtohissyna
son,saying,“George,persuadethem!”“It’ssoobvioustheyshould
mieć
havetherooms,”saidthesyn
son.“There’snothingelsetosay.”
Hedidnotlookattheladiesashe
mówił
spoke,buthisvoicewasperplexedi
andsorrowful.Lucy,too,wasperplexed;
ale
butshesawthattheywereinforwhatisknownas“quiteascene,”i
andshehadanoddfeelingże
thatwhenevertheseill-bredtouristsmówili
spokethecontestwidenedanddeepenedtillitdealt,notwithroomsi
andviews,butwith—well,withcoś
somethingquitedifferent,whoseexistenceshemiała
hadnotrealizedbefore.NowtheoldmanattackedMissBartlett
prawie
almostviolently:Whyshouldshenot
zmieniła
change?Whatpossibleobjectionhadshe?
Theywouldclearoutin
pół
halfanhour.MissBartlett,
choć
thoughskilledinthedelicaciesofconversation,waspowerlessinthepresenceofbrutality.Itwasimpossibletosnubanyonesogross.
Herfacereddened
z
withdispleasure.Shelookedaroundasmuchasto
powiedzieć
say,“Areyoualllikethis?”A
Andtwolittleoldladies,whoweresiedziały
sittingfurtherupthetable,withshawlshangingoverthebacksofthechairs,spojrzały
lookedback,clearlyindicating“Wearenot;wearegenteel.”
“Eatyour
obiad
dinner,dear,”shesaidtoLucy,i
andbegantotoyagainwiththemeatktóre
thatshehadoncecensured.Lucymumbled
że
thatthoseseemedveryoddpeopleopposite.“Eatyour
obiad
dinner,dear.Thispensionisafailure.
Jutro
To-morrowwewillmakeachange.”Hardlyhadsheannounced
tę
thisfelldecisionwhenshereversedit.Thecurtainsatthe
końcu
endoftheroomparted,i
andrevealedaclergyman,stoutale
butattractive,whohurriedforwardtotakehismiejsce
placeatthetable,cheerfullyapologizingforhislateness.Lucy,whohadnot
jeszcze
yetacquireddecency,atoncerosetoherfeet,exclaiming:“Oh,oh!
Why,it’sMr.Beebe!
Oh,
jak
howperfectlylovely!Oh,Charlotte,wemust
zatrzymać
stopnow,howeverbadtheroomssą
are.Oh!”
MissBartlettsaid,
z
withmorerestraint:.“Howdoyoudo,Mr.Beebe?
Iexpect
że
thatyouhaveforgottenus:Panna
MissBartlettandMissHoneychurch,którzy
whowereatTunbridgeWellskiedy
whenyouhelpedtheVicarofSt.Peter’sthatbardzo
verycoldEaster.”Theclergyman,
który
whohadtheairofjednego
oneonaholiday,didnotremembertheladiescałkiem
quiteasclearlyastheyrememberedgo
him.Buthecameforwardpleasantly
wystarczająco
enoughandacceptedthechairintowhichhewasbeckonedbyLucy.“Iamsogladtoseeyou,”
powiedziała
saidthegirl,whowasinastateofspiritualstarvation,i
andwouldhavebeengladtoseethewaiterjeśli
ifhercousinhadpermittedto
it.“Justfancyhowsmalltheworld
jest
is.SummerStreet,too,makesitsospeciallyfunny.”
“MissHoneychurchlivesintheparishofSummerStreet,”
powiedziała
saidMissBartlett,fillingupthegap,“andshehappenedtopowiedzieć
tellmeinthecourseofconversationże
thatyouhavejustacceptedtheliving—”.“Yes,I
słyszałem
heardfrommothersolasttygodniu
week.Shedidn’tknowthatIknewyouatTunbridgeWells;
ale
butIwrotebackatonce,i
andIsaid:‘Mr.
Beebeis—’”.
“Quiteright,”saidtheclergyman.
“ImoveintotheRectoryatSummer
Street
StreetnextJune.Iam
szczęście
luckytobeappointedtosuchacharmingneighbourhood.”“Oh,
jak
howgladIam!The
nazwa
nameofourhouseisWindyCorner.”Mr.Beebebowed.
“Thereis
matka
motherandmegenerally,andmybrat
brother,thoughit’snotoftenwegethimtoch——Thechurchisrather
daleko
faroff,Imean.”“Lucy,dearest,
pozwól
letMr.Beebeeathisdinner.”“Iameating
to
it,thankyou,andenjoyingit.”Hepreferredto
rozmawiać
talktoLucy,whoseplayingheremembered,ratherniż
thantoMissBartlett,whoprawdopodobnie
probablyrememberedhissermons.He
zapytał
askedthegirlwhethershezna
knewFlorencewell,andwasinformedatsomelengthże
thatshehadneverbeentherebefore.Itisdelightfultoadviseanewcomer,
a
andhewasfirstinthefield.“Don’tneglectthecountryround,”hisadviceconcluded.
“Thefirstfineafternoon
przejażdżka
driveuptoFiesole,androundbySettignano,lub
orsomethingofthatsort.”“No!”
criedavoicefromthe
góry
topofthetable.“Mr.
Beebe,youarewrong.
Thefirstfineafternoonyourladies
muszą
mustgotoPrato.”“That
pani
ladylookssoclever,”whisperedPanna
MissBartletttohercousin.“Weareinluck.”
I
And,indeed,aperfecttorrentofinformationburstonnich
them.Peopletoldthemwhattosee,
kiedy
whentoseeit,howtozatrzymać
stoptheelectrictrams,howtogetridofthebeggars,jak
howmuchtogiveforavellumblotter,jak
howmuchtheplacewouldgrowuponim
them.ThePensionBertolinihaddecided,
prawie
almostenthusiastically,thattheywouldzrobią
do.Whicheverwaytheylooked,kindladiessmiled
i
andshoutedatthem.Andaboveallrosethevoiceoftheclever
damy
lady,crying:“Prato!
TheymustgotoPrato.
That
miejsce
placeistoosweetlysqualidforwords.Ilove
to
it;Irevelinshakingoffthetrammelsofrespectability,asyouknow.”
Theyoung
człowiek
mannamedGeorgeglancedatthecleverlady,a
andthenreturnedmoodilytohisplate.Obviouslyhe
i
andhisfatherdidnotzrobili
do.Lucy,inthemidstofhersuccess,
znalazła
foundtimetowishtheydid.Itgaveher
nie
noextrapleasurethatanyoneshouldbeleftinthecold;and
kiedy
whensherosetogo,sheturnedbackandgavethetwooutsidersanervouslittlebow.The
ojciec
fatherdidnotseeit;the
syn
sonacknowledgedit,notbykolejny
anotherbow,butbyraisinghiseyebrowsi
andsmiling;heseemedtobesmilingacross
coś
something.Shehastenedafterhercousin,whohad
już
alreadydisappearedthroughthecurtains—curtainswhichsmoteoneintheface,i
andseemedheavywithmoreniż
thancloth.BeyondthemstoodtheunreliableSignora,bowinggood-eveningtoherguests,
i
andsupportedby’Enery,herlittleboy,i
andVictorier,herdaughter.Itmadeacurious
mała
littlescene,thisattemptoftheCockneytoconveythegracei
andgenialityoftheSouth.A
Andevenmorecuriouswasthedrawing-room,który
whichattemptedtorivalthesolidcomfortofaBloomsburyboarding-house.Wasthis
naprawdę
reallyItaly?MissBartlettwas
już
alreadyseatedonatightlystuffedarm-chair,które
whichhadthecolourandthecontoursofatomato.ShewastalkingtoMr.Beebe,andasshe
mówiła
spoke,herlongnarrowheaddrovebackwardsandforwards,slowly,regularly,asthoughsheweredemolishingsomeinvisibleobstacle.“Wearemostgratefultoyou,”shewassaying.
“Thefirsteveningmeansso
wiele
much.Whenyouarrivedwewereinforapeculiarlymauvaisquartd’heure.”
Heexpressedhisregret.
“Doyou,byanychance,
znasz
knowthenameofanoldmanktóry
whosatoppositeusatdinner?”“Emerson.”
“Isheafriendofyours?”
“Wearefriendly—asoneisinpensions.”
“ThenIwill
powiem
saynomore.”Hepressedher
bardzo
veryslightly,andshesaidwięcej
more.“Iam,asitwere,”sheconcluded,“thechaperonofmyyoungcousin,Lucy,
i
anditwouldbeaseriousrzeczą
thingifIputherpod
underanobligationtopeopleofwhomwewiemy
knownothing.Hismannerwassomewhatunfortunate.
I
nadzieję
hopeIactedforthebest.”“Youacted
bardzo
verynaturally,”saidhe.Heseemedthoughtful,
a
andafterafewmomentsadded:“Allthesame,Idon’tthinkmuchharmwouldhavecomeofaccepting.”
“Noharm,of
oczywiście
course.Butwecouldnotbe
pod
underanobligation.”“Heisratherapeculiarman.”
Znowu
Againhehesitated,andthenpowiedział
saidgently:“Ithinkhewouldnottakeadvantageofyouracceptance,norexpectyoutoshowgratitude.
He
ma
hasthemerit—ifitisone—ofsayingdokładnie
exactlywhathemeans.He
ma
hasroomshedoesnotvalue,a
andhethinksyouwouldvalueje
them.Henomorethoughtofputtingyouunderanobligationthanhe
myślał
thoughtofbeingpolite.Itissodifficult—atleast,Ifinditdifficult—to
zrozumieć
understandpeoplewhospeakthetruth.”Lucywaspleased,
i
andsaid:“Iwashoping
że
thathewasnice;Idoso
zawsze
alwayshopethatpeoplewillbenice.”“I
myślę
thinkheis;niceandtiresome.
Idifferfromhimon
prawie
almosteverypointofanyimportance,i
andso,Iexpect—Imaypowiedzieć
sayIhope—youwilldiffer.Ale
Buthisisatypeonedisagreesz
withratherthandeplores.Whenhe
po raz pierwszy
firstcameherehenotunnaturallyputpeople’sbacksup.Hehas
nie
notactandnomanners—Idon’tmyśli
meanbythatthathehaszłe
badmanners—andhewillnotkeephisopinionstohimself.Wenearlycomplained
o
abouthimtoourdepressingSignora,ale
butIamgladtopowiedzieć
saywethoughtbetterofit.”“AmItoconclude,”
powiedziała
saidMissBartlett,“thatheisaSocialist?”Mr.
Beebeacceptedtheconvenient
słowo
word,notwithoutaslighttwitchingofthelips.“Andpresumablyhehasbroughtuphis
syna
sontobeaSocialist,too?”“Ihardly
znam
knowGeorge,forhehasn’tlearnttomówić
talkyet.