ChapterITheBertolini
“TheSignorahad
не
nobusinesstodoit,”saidМисс
MissBartlett,“nobusinessatall.Shepromisedussouthrooms
с
withaviewclosetogether,вместо
insteadofwhichherearenorthrooms,lookingintoaдвор
courtyard,andalongwayapart.Oh,Lucy!”
“AndaCockney,besides!”
saidLucy,whohadbeenfurthersaddenedbytheSignora’sunexpectedaccent.
“ItmightbeLondon.”
Shelookedatthe
два
tworowsofEnglishpeopleкоторые
whoweresittingatthetable;atthe
ряду
rowofwhitebottlesofводы
waterandredbottlesofwineкоторые
thatranbetweentheEnglishpeople;attheportraitsofthelateQueen
и
andthelatePoetLaureateкоторые
thathungbehindtheEnglishpeople,heavilyframed;atthenoticeoftheEnglish
церкви
church(Rev.CuthbertEager,M.A.
Oxon.),
что
thatwastheonlyotherdecorationoftheстены
wall.“Charlotte,don’tyoufeel,
тоже
too,thatwemightbeinLondon?Ican
едва
hardlybelievethatallkindsofдругих
otherthingsarejustoutside.Isupposeitisone’sbeingsotired.”
“This
мясо
meathassurelybeenusedforsoup,”saidМисс
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—leantвперед
forwardoverthetableandфактически
actuallyintrudedintotheirargument.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
exactlyitwasMissBartlettdidnotstoptoрассмотреть
consider,forherglancepassedontohisclothes.Thesedidnotattract
ее
her.Hewasprobablytryingtobecomeacquainted
с
withthembeforetheygotintotheswim.Sosheassumedadazed
выражение
expressionwhenhespoketoней
her,andthensaid:“Aview?
Oh,aview!
How
восхитительный
delightfulaviewis!”“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,openedherрот
mouthaslittleaspossible,и
andsaid“Thankyouverymuchindeed;thatisoutofthequestion.”
“Why?”
saidtheoldman,
с
withbothfistsonthetable.“Becauseitisquiteoutofthequestion,
спасибо
thankyou.”“Yousee,wedon’tliketotake—”
beganLucy.
Her
двоюродный брат
cousinagainrepressedher.“Butwhy?”
hepersisted.
“Women
нравится
likelookingataview;mendon’t.”
И
Andhethumpedwithhisfistsкак
likeanaughtychild,andturnedtohisson,saying,“George,persuadethem!”“It’sso
очевидно
obvioustheyshouldhavetherooms,”saidtheсын
son.“There’snothingelsetosay.”
Hedidnotlookattheladiesashespoke,
но
buthisvoicewasperplexedи
andsorrowful.Lucy,too,wasperplexed;
но
butshesawthattheywereinforwhatisknownas“quiteascene,”и
andshehadanoddfeelingthatwheneverэти
theseill-bredtouristsspoketheконкурс
contestwidenedanddeepenedtillitdealt,notс
withroomsandviews,butwith—well,с
withsomethingquitedifferent,whoseсуществование
existenceshehadnotrealizedраньше
before.Nowtheoldmanattacked
Мисс
MissBartlettalmostviolently:Whyshouldshenotchange?
Whatpossibleobjectionhadshe?
Theywouldclearoutinhalfanhour.
Мисс
MissBartlett,thoughskilledinthedelicaciesofconversation,waspowerlessinthepresenceofbrutality.Itwas
невозможно
impossibletosnubanyonesogross.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
thoseseemedveryoddpeopleнапротив
opposite.“Eatyourdinner,dear.
Эта
Thispensionisafailure.Завтра
To-morrowwewillmakeachange.”Едва
Hardlyhadsheannouncedthisfelldecisionкогда
whenshereversedit.Thecurtainsattheendoftheroomparted,
и
andrevealedaclergyman,stoutно
butattractive,whohurriedforwardtotakehisместо
placeatthetable,cheerfullyapologizingforhislateness.Lucy,whohadnotyetacquired
порядочность
decency,atoncerosetoherноги
feet,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,whowasinastateofspiritualголода
starvation,andwouldhavebeengladtoувидеть
seethewaiterifherдвоюродный брат
cousinhadpermittedit.“Justfancyhow
маленький
smalltheworldis.SummerStreet,
тоже
too,makesitsospeciallyfunny.”“MissHoneychurchlivesintheparishof
Саммер
SummerStreet,”saidMissBartlett,fillinguptheпробел
gap,“andshehappenedtotellmeintheходе
courseofconversationthatyouhaveтолько
justacceptedtheliving—”.“Yes,Iheardfrommothersolastweek.
Shedidn’tknow
что
thatIknewyouatTunbridgeWells;но
butIwrotebackatonce,и
andIsaid:‘Mr.
Beebeis—’”.
“Quiteright,”saidtheclergyman.
“ImoveintotheRectoryat
Саммер
SummerStreetnextJune.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.Heaskedthegirl
ли
whethersheknewFlorencewell,и
andwasinformedatsomelengthчто
thatshehadneverbeenтам
therebefore.Itisdelightfultoadviseanewcomer,andhewasfirstinthefield.
“Don’tneglectthecountryround,”hisadviceconcluded.
“ThefirstfineafternoondriveuptoFiesole,
и
androundbySettignano,orто
somethingofthatsort.”“No!”
crieda
голос
voicefromthetopofthetable.“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
howmuchtheplacewouldрасти
growuponthem.ThePensionBertolinihaddecided,
почти
almostenthusiastically,thattheywoulddo.Whicheverwaytheylooked,kindladiessmiled
и
andshoutedatthem.And
над
aboveallrosethevoiceofthecleverледи
lady,crying:“Prato!
TheymustgotoPrato.
Это
Thatplaceistoosweetlysqualidforwords.I
люблю
loveit;Irevelinshakingoffthetrammelsofrespectability,asyouknow.”
The
молодой
youngmannamedGeorgeglancedatthecleverледи
lady,andthenreturnedmoodilytohisplate.Очевидно
Obviouslyheandhisfatherdidnotdo.Lucy,inthemidstofhersuccess,found
время
timetowishtheydid.Itgaveher
не
noextrapleasurethatanyoneдолжен
shouldbeleftinthecold;и
andwhensherosetogo,sheturnedназад
backandgavethetwooutsidersaнервный
nervouslittlebow.Thefatherdidnotseeit;
the
сын
sonacknowledgedit,notbyanotherbow,butbyraisinghiseyebrowsи
andsmiling;heseemedtobesmiling
через
acrosssomething.Shehastenedafterhercousin,whohad
уже
alreadydisappearedthroughthecurtains—curtainswhichsmoteодин
oneintheface,andseemedheavyс
withmorethancloth.BeyondthemstoodtheunreliableSignora,bowinggood-eveningtoherguests,
и
andsupportedby’Enery,herlittleboy,и
andVictorier,herdaughter.Itmadeacuriouslittlescene,this
попытка
attemptoftheCockneytoconveytheблагодать
graceandgenialityoftheЮга
South.Andevenmorecuriouswasthedrawing-room,whichattemptedtorivalthesolidcomfortofaBloomsburyboarding-house.
Was
это
thisreallyItaly?MissBartlettwas
уже
alreadyseatedonatightlystuffedarm-chair,который
whichhadthecolourandthecontoursofatomato.ShewastalkingtoMr.Beebe,
и
andasshespoke,herlongnarrowголова
headdrovebackwardsandforwards,медленно
slowly,regularly,asthoughsheweredemolishingнекоторые
someinvisibleobstacle.“Wearemostgratefultoyou,”shewassaying.
“The
первый
firsteveningmeanssomuch.Когда
Whenyouarrivedwewereinforapeculiarlymauvaisquartd’heure.”Heexpressedhis
сожаление
regret.“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
ifIputherunderanобязательство
obligationtopeopleofwhomweknowничего
nothing.Hismannerwassomewhatunfortunate.
I
надеюсь
hopeIactedforthebest.”“Youacted
очень
verynaturally,”saidhe.Heseemed
вдумчивый
thoughtful,andafterafewmomentsadded:“Allthesame,Idon’t
думаю
thinkmuchharmwouldhavecomeofaccepting.”“No
вреда
harm,ofcourse.Butwecouldnotbe
под
underanobligation.”“Heis
довольно
ratherapeculiarman.”Againhehesitated,andthensaid
мягко
gently:“Ithinkhewouldnottakeadvantageofyouracceptance,norexpectyoutoshow
благодарность
gratitude.Hehasthemerit—ifitisone—ofsaying
точно
exactlywhathemeans.Hehasroomshedoesnotvalue,
и
andhethinksyouwouldvalueих
them.Henomorethoughtofputtingyouunderan
обязательство
obligationthanhethoughtofbeingpolite.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.
“And
предположительно
presumablyhehasbroughtuphissontobeaSocialist,too?”“I
едва
hardlyknowGeorge,forhehasn’tlearnttotalkyet.