ChapterITheBertolini
“TheSignorahad
не
nobusinesstodoit,”saidМисс
MissBartlett,“nobusinessatall.Shepromisedussouthrooms
с
withaviewclosetogether,insteadofwhichздесь
herearenorthrooms,lookingintoacourtyard,и
andalongwayapart.Oh,Lucy!”
“AndaCockney,besides!”
saidLucy,whohadbeenfurthersaddenedbytheSignora’sunexpectedaccent.
“ItmightbeLondon.”
Shelookedatthe
два
tworowsofEnglishpeopleкоторые
whoweresittingatthetable;attherowofwhitebottlesof
воды
waterandredbottlesofwineкоторые
thatranbetweentheEnglishpeople;attheportraitsofthelateQueen
и
andthelatePoetLaureateкоторые
thathungbehindtheEnglishpeople,heavilyframed;atthenoticeoftheEnglishchurch(Rev.
CuthbertEager,M.A.
Oxon.),
что
thatwastheonlyotherdecorationofthewall.“Charlotte,don’tyoufeel,
тоже
too,thatwemightbeinLondon?Icanhardly
поверить
believethatallkindsofдругих
otherthingsarejustoutside.Isupposeitisone’sbeingsotired.”
“Thismeathassurelybeenusedforsoup,”said
Мисс
MissBartlett,layingdownherfork.“I
хочу
wantsotoseetheArno.TheroomstheSignorapromisedusinherletterwouldhavelookedovertheArno.
TheSignorahad
не
nobusinesstodoitatall.Oh,itisashame!”
“Anynookdoesforme,”
Мисс
MissBartlettcontinued;“butitdoesseemhard
что
thatyoushouldn’thaveaview.”Lucyfelt
что
thatshehadbeenselfish.“Charlotte,youmustn’tspoil
меня
me:ofcourse,youmust
посмотреть
lookovertheArno,too.Imeant
это
that.Thefirstvacantroominthefront—”
“Youmust
иметь
haveit,”saidMissBartlett,partofwhosetravellingexpenseswerepaidbyLucy’smother—apieceofgenerositytowhichshemadeмного
manyatactfulallusion.“No,
нет
no.Youmusthaveit.”“Iinsistonit.
Your
мать
motherwouldneverforgiveme,Lucy.”“Shewouldneverforgiveme.”
Theladies’voicesgrewanimated,and—ifthesadtruthbeowned—a
немного
littlepeevish.Theyweretired,
и
andundertheguiseofunselfishnesstheywrangled.Некоторые
Someoftheirneighboursinterchangedglances,и
andoneofthem—oneofв
theill-bredpeoplewhomonedoesmeetabroad—leantforwardнад
overthetableandactuallyintrudedintotheirargument.Hesaid:.
“Ihaveaview,Ihaveaview.”
Мисс
MissBartlettwasstartled.Generallyatapension
люди
peoplelookedthemoverforaдня
dayortwobeforespeaking,и
andoftendidnotfindoutчто
thattheywould“do”tilltheyhadgone.Sheknew
что
thattheintruderwasill-bred,evenbeforesheglancedatнего
him.Hewasanoldman,ofheavybuild,
с
withafair,shavenfaceи
andlargeeyes.Therewas
то
somethingchildishinthoseeyes,thoughitwasnotthechildishnessofsenility.What
именно
exactlyitwasMissBartlettdidnotstoptoconsider,forherglancepassedontohisclothes.Thesedidnotattract
ее
her.Hewasprobablytryingtobecomeacquainted
с
withthembeforetheygotintotheswim.Sosheassumedadazedexpression
когда
whenhespoketoher,andthensaid:“Aview?
Oh,aview!
Howdelightfulaviewis!”
“Thisismyson,”saidtheoldman;
“hisname’sGeorge.
Hehasaviewtoo.”
“Ah,”said
Мисс
MissBartlett,repressingLucy,whowasabouttospeak.“WhatImean,”hecontinued,“isthatyoucan
иметь
haveourrooms,andwe’llиметь
haveyours.We’llchange.”
Thebetterclassoftouristwasshockedatthis,
и
andsympathizedwiththenew-comers.Мисс
MissBartlett,inreply,openedhermouthaslittleasможно
possible,andsaid“Thankyouverymuchindeed;thatisoutofthequestion.”
“Why?”
saidtheoldman,
с
withbothfistsonthetable.“Becauseitisquiteoutofthequestion,
спасибо
thankyou.”“Yousee,wedon’tliketotake—”
beganLucy.
Hercousin
снова
againrepressedher.“Butwhy?”
hepersisted.
“Women
нравится
likelookingataview;mendon’t.”
И
Andhethumpedwithhisfistsкак
likeanaughtychild,andturnedtohisson,saying,“George,persuadethem!”“It’ssoobvioustheyshould
у
havetherooms,”saidtheсын
son.“There’snothingelsetosay.”
Hedidnotlookattheladiesashespoke,
но
buthisvoicewasperplexedи
andsorrowful.Lucy,too,wasperplexed;
но
butshesawthattheywereinforwhatisknownas“quiteascene,”и
andshehadanoddfeelingthatwheneverэти
theseill-bredtouristsspokethecontestwidenedи
anddeepenedtillitdealt,notс
withroomsandviews,butwith—well,с
withsomethingquitedifferent,whoseexistenceshehadnotrealizedраньше
before.Nowtheoldmanattacked
Мисс
MissBartlettalmostviolently:Whyshouldshenotchange?
Whatpossibleobjectionhadshe?
Theywouldclearoutinhalfanhour.
Мисс
MissBartlett,thoughskilledinthedelicaciesofconversation,waspowerlessinthepresenceofbrutality.Itwasimpossibletosnubanyonesogross.
Herfacereddenedwithdispleasure.
Shelooked
вокруг
aroundasmuchastosay,“Areyouвсе
alllikethis?”Andtwolittleoldladies,
которые
whoweresittingfurtherupthetable,с
withshawlshangingoverthebacksofthechairs,lookedназад
back,clearlyindicating“Wearenot;wearegenteel.”
“Eatyour
ужин
dinner,dear,”shesaidtoLucy,и
andbegantotoyagainс
withthemeatthatshehadкогда
oncecensured.Lucymumbledthat
эти
thoseseemedveryoddpeopleopposite.“Eatyour
ужин
dinner,dear.Thispensionisafailure.
Завтра
To-morrowwewillmakeachange.”Hardlyhadsheannouncedthisfelldecision
когда
whenshereversedit.Thecurtainsattheendoftheroomparted,
и
andrevealedaclergyman,stoutно
butattractive,whohurriedforwardtotakehisместо
placeatthetable,cheerfullyapologizingforhislateness.Lucy,whohadnotyetacquireddecency,atoncerosetoherfeet,exclaiming:
“Oh,oh!
Why,it’sMr.Beebe!
Oh,
как
howperfectlylovely!Oh,Charlotte,wemuststopnow,howeverbadtheroomsare.
Oh!”
Мисс
MissBartlettsaid,withmorerestraint:.“Howdoyoudo,Mr.Beebe?
Iexpect
что
thatyouhaveforgottenus:Мисс
MissBartlettandMissHoneychurch,whowereatTunbridgeWellsкогда
whenyouhelpedtheVicarofSt.Peter’sthatочень
verycoldEaster.”Theclergyman,
который
whohadtheairofoneonaholiday,didnotremembertheladiesсовсем
quiteasclearlyastheyrememberedего
him.Buthecameforwardpleasantlyenough
и
andacceptedthechairintoкоторый
whichhewasbeckonedbyLucy.“Iamsogladto
увидеть
seeyou,”saidthegirl,whowasinastateofspiritualstarvation,и
andwouldhavebeengladtoувидеть
seethewaiterifhercousinhadpermittedэто
it.“Justfancyhowsmallthe
мир
worldis.SummerStreet,too,makesitsospeciallyfunny.”
“MissHoneychurchlivesintheparishofSummerStreet,”said
Мисс
MissBartlett,fillingupthegap,“andshehappenedtotellmeintheходе
courseofconversationthatyouhaveтолько
justacceptedtheliving—”.“Yes,Iheardfrommothersolastweek.
Shedidn’tknow
что
thatIknewyouatTunbridgeWells;но
butIwrotebackatonce,и
andIsaid:‘Mr.
Beebeis—’”.
“Quiteright,”saidtheclergyman.
“ImoveintotheRectoryatSummer
Стрит
StreetnextJune.Iam
повезло
luckytobeappointedtosuchacharmingneighbourhood.”“Oh,
как
howgladIam!The
название
nameofourhouseisWindyCorner.”Mr.Beebebowed.
“Thereis
мать
motherandmegenerally,andmyбрат
brother,thoughit’snotoftenwegethimtoch——В
Thechurchisratherfaroff,Imean.”“Lucy,dearest,letMr.Beebe
съесть
eathisdinner.”“Iameating
его
it,thankyou,andenjoyingit.”HepreferredtotalktoLucy,whoseplayingheremembered,ratherthanto
Мисс
MissBartlett,whoprobablyrememberedhissermons.HeaskedthegirlwhethersheknewFlorence
хорошо
well,andwasinformedatsomelengthчто
thatshehadneverbeenтам
therebefore.Itisdelightfultoadviseanewcomer,andhewasfirstinthefield.
“Don’tneglectthecountryround,”hisadviceconcluded.
“ThefirstfineafternoondriveuptoFiesole,
и
androundbySettignano,orто
somethingofthatsort.”“No!”
criedavoicefromthetopofthetable.
“Mr.
Beebe,youarewrong.
The
первый
firstfineafternoonyourladiesmustgotoPrato.”“That
леди
ladylookssoclever,”whisperedМисс
MissBartletttohercousin.“Weareinluck.”
И
And,indeed,aperfecttorrentofinformationburstonних
them.Peopletoldthemwhatto
посмотреть
see,whentoseeit,как
howtostoptheelectrictrams,как
howtogetridofthebeggars,как
howmuchtogiveforavellumblotter,как
howmuchtheplacewouldgrowuponthem.ThePensionBertolinihaddecided,
почти
almostenthusiastically,thattheywoulddo.Whicheverwaytheylooked,kindladiessmiled
и
andshoutedatthem.Andaboveallrosethevoiceoftheclever
леди
lady,crying:“Prato!
TheymustgotoPrato.
Это
Thatplaceistoosweetlysqualidforwords.I
люблю
loveit;Irevelinshakingoffthetrammelsofrespectability,asyouknow.”
The
молодой
youngmannamedGeorgeglancedatthecleverледи
lady,andthenreturnedmoodilytohisplate.Obviouslyhe
и
andhisfatherdidnotdo.Lucy,inthemidstofhersuccess,found
время
timetowishtheydid.Itgaveher
не
noextrapleasurethatanyoneдолжен
shouldbeleftinthecold;и
andwhensherosetogo,sheturnedназад
backandgavethetwooutsidersanervouslittlebow.The
отец
fatherdidnotseeit;the
сын
sonacknowledgedit,notbyanotherbow,butbyraisinghiseyebrowsи
andsmiling;heseemedtobesmilingacross
то
something.Shehastenedafterhercousin,whohad
уже
alreadydisappearedthroughthecurtains—curtainswhichsmoteодин
oneintheface,andseemedheavyс
withmorethancloth.BeyondthemstoodtheunreliableSignora,bowinggood-eveningtoherguests,
и
andsupportedby’Enery,herlittleboy,и
andVictorier,herdaughter.Itmadeacuriouslittlescene,thisattemptoftheCockneytoconveythegrace
и
andgenialityoftheSouth.И
Andevenmorecuriouswasthedrawing-room,whichattemptedtorivalthesolidcomfortofaBloomsburyboarding-house.Was
это
thisreallyItaly?MissBartlettwas
уже
alreadyseatedonatightlystuffedarm-chair,который
whichhadthecolourandthecontoursofatomato.ShewastalkingtoMr.Beebe,
и
andasshespoke,herlongnarrowголова
headdrovebackwardsandforwards,slowly,regularly,asthoughsheweredemolishingнекоторые
someinvisibleobstacle.“Wearemostgratefultoyou,”shewassaying.
“The
первый
firsteveningmeanssomuch.Когда
Whenyouarrivedwewereinforapeculiarlymauvaisquartd’heure.”Heexpressedhisregret.
“Doyou,byanychance,knowthe
имени
nameofanoldmanкоторый
whosatoppositeusatdinner?”“Emerson.”
“Ishea
друг
friendofyours?”“Wearefriendly—asoneisinpensions.”
“ThenIwillsay
не
nomore.”Hepressedher
очень
veryslightly,andshesaidбольше
more.“Iam,asitwere,”sheconcluded,“thechaperonofmyyoungcousin,Lucy,
и
anditwouldbeaseriousthingесли
ifIputherunderanobligationtopeopleofwhomweknowничего
nothing.Hismannerwassomewhatunfortunate.
I
надеюсь
hopeIactedforthebest.”“Youacted
очень
verynaturally,”saidhe.Heseemedthoughtful,
и
andafterafewmomentsadded:“Allthesame,Idon’t
думаю
thinkmuchharmwouldhavecomeofaccepting.”“Noharm,of
конечно
course.Butwecouldnotbe
под
underanobligation.”“Heisratherapeculiarman.”
Опять
Againhehesitated,andthensaidgently:“I
думаю
thinkhewouldnottakeadvantageofyouracceptance,norexpectyoutoshowgratitude.Hehas
в
themerit—ifitisone—ofsayingточно
exactlywhathemeans.Hehasroomshedoesnotvalue,
и
andhethinksyouwouldvalueих
them.Henomorethoughtofputtingyouunderanobligationthanhethoughtofbeingpolite.
Itissodifficult—at
крайней мере
least,Ifinditdifficult—toпонять
understandpeoplewhospeakthetruth.”Lucywaspleased,
и
andsaid:“Iwashoping
что
thathewasnice;Idoso
всегда
alwayshopethatpeoplewillbenice.”“I
думаю
thinkheis;niceandtiresome.
Idifferfromhimon
почти
almosteverypointofanyimportance,и
andso,Iexpect—Imayсказать
sayIhope—youwilldiffer.Но
Buthisisatypeonedisagreesс
withratherthandeplores.Whenhe
впервые
firstcameherehenotunnaturallyputpeople’sbacksup.Hehasnotact
и
andnomanners—Idon’tmeanbyчто
thatthathehasbadmanners—andheбудет
willnotkeephisopinionstohimself.WenearlycomplainedabouthimtoourdepressingSignora,
но
butIamgladtoсказать
saywethoughtbetterofit.”“AmItoconclude,”said
Мисс
MissBartlett,“thatheisaSocialist?”Mr.
Beebeacceptedtheconvenientword,notwithoutaslighttwitchingofthelips.
“AndpresumablyhehasbroughtuphissontobeaSocialist,too?”
“Ihardly
знаю
knowGeorge,forhehasn’tlearnttotalkyet.