Chapter1
ItbeganinaWoman’s
Клуб
ClubinLondononaFebruaryafternoon—anuncomfortableклуб
club,andamiserableafternoon—whenMrs.Wilkins,whohadcomeвниз
downfromHampsteadtoshopи
andhadlunchedatherклуб
club,tookupTheTimesfromthetableinthesmoking-room,и
andrunningherlistlesseyeвниз
downtheAgonyColumnsawthis:.To
Тех
ThosewhoAppreciateWistariaandСолнце
Sunshine.SmallmediaevalItalianCastleontheshoresoftheMediterraneantobeLetFurnishedforthemonthofApril.
Необходимые
Necessaryservantsremain.Z,Box1000,TheTimes.
Это
Thatwasitsconception;yet,asinthecaseofmanyanother,theconceiverwasunawareofitatthe
момент
moment.SoentirelyunawarewasMrs.Wilkins
что
thatherAprilforthatyearhadthenи
andtherebeensettledforherчто
thatshedroppedthenewspaperс
withagesturethatwasbothirritatedи
andresigned,andwentovertothewindowи
andstareddrearilyoutatthedrippingstreet.Notforherweremediaevalcastles,
даже
eventhosethatarespeciallydescribedassmall.NotforhertheshoresinApriloftheMediterranean,
и
andthewistariaandsunshine.Такие
Suchdelightswereonlyfortherich.Yetthe
реклама
advertisementhadbeenaddressedtopersonswhoappreciateэти
thesethings,sothatithadbeen,anyhow,addressedtootoей
her,forshecertainlyappreciatedих
them;morethananybodyknew;
больше
morethanshehadevertold.Но
Butshewaspoor.Inthewhole
мире
worldshepossessedofherveryownтолько
onlyninetypounds,savedfromгод
yeartoyear,putbyтщательно
carefullypoundbypound,outofherdressallowance.Shehadscraped
эту
thissumtogetheratthesuggestionofherhusbandasashieldи
andrefugeagainstarainyдня
day.Herdressallowance,givenherbyherfather,was£100a
год
year,sothatMrs.Wilkins’sодежда
clotheswerewhatherhusband,urginghertoэкономии
save,calledmodestandbecoming,andherзнакомство
acquaintancetoeachother,whentheyspokeofheratall,whichwasseldomforshewasочень
verynegligible,calledaperfectsight.Mr.
Wilkins,
в
asolicitor,encouragedthrift,exceptthatветвь
branchofitwhichgotintohisfood.Hedidnotcallthatthrift,hecalleditbadhousekeeping.
Но
Butforthethriftwhich,как
likemoth,penetratedintoMrs.Wilkins’sclothesи
andspoiltthem,hehadмного
muchpraise.“Youneverknow,”hesaid,“whenthere
будет
willbearainyday,и
andyoumaybeverygladtofindyouhaveanest-egg.Действительно
Indeedwebothmay.”Lookingoutofthe
клуб
clubwindowintoShaftesburyAvenue—herswasaneconomicalклуб
club,butconvenientforHampstead,где
whereshelived,andforShoolbred’s,где
wheresheshopped—Mrs.Wilkins,havingstood
там
theresometimeverydrearily,hermind’sглаз
eyeontheMediterraneaninApril,и
andthewistaria,andtheenviableopportunitiesoftherich,whileherbodilyглаз
eyewatchedthereallyextremelyhorriblesootyдождь
rainfallingsteadilyonthehurryingumbrellasи
andsplashingomnibuses,suddenlywonderedwhetherвозможно
perhapsthiswasnottheдождливый
rainydayMellersh—MellershwasMr.Wilkins—hadsooftenencouragedhertopreparefor,и
andwhethertogetoutofsuchaclimateи
andintothesmallmediaevalcastlewasn’tвозможно
perhapswhatProvidencehadallalongintendedhertodowithhersavings.Часть
Partofhersavings,ofконечно
course;perhapsquiteasmall
часть
part.Thecastle,beingmediaeval,might
также
alsobedilapidated,anddilapidationswereбезусловно
surelycheap.Shewouldn’tinthe
бы
leastmindafewofних
them,becauseyoudidn’tpayfordilapidationsчто
whichwerealreadythere;onthecontrary—byreducingthepriceyouhadto
заплатить
paytheyreallypaidyou.Но
Butwhatnonsensetothinkofit...Sheturnedawayfromthewindowwiththe
же
samegestureofmingledirritationи
andresignationwithwhichshehadlaiddownTheTimes,и
andcrossedtheroomtowardsthedoorwiththeintentionofgettinghermackintoshи
andumbrellaandfightingherwayintoодин
oneoftheovercrowdedomnibusesи
andgoingtoShoolbred’sonherwayдомой
homeandbuyingsomesolesforMellersh’sdinner—Mellershwasdifficultwithfishи
andlikedonlysoles,exceptsalmon—whenshebeheldMrs.Arbuthnot,awomansheknewbysightasalsolivinginHampsteadи
andbelongingtotheclub,sittingatthetableinthemiddleoftheroomonwhichthenewspapersи
andmagazineswerekept,absorbed,inherturn,inthefirstpageofTheTimes.Mrs.
Wilkinshadnever
еще
yetspokentoMrs.Arbuthnot,whobelongedtooneoftheразличных
variouschurchsets,andwhoanalysed,classified,dividedи
andregisteredthepoor;whereasshe
и
andMellersh,whentheydidgoout,wenttothepartiesofimpressionistpainters,ofwhominHampsteadtherewereмного
many.Mellershhadasisterwhohadmarriedoneofthem
и
andlivedupontheHeath,и
andbecauseofthisallianceMrs.Wilkinswasdrawnintoaкруг
circlewhichwashighlyunnaturaltoнее
her,andshehadlearnedtoбояться
dreadpictures.Shehadto
сказать
saythingsaboutthem,andshedidn’tknowwhattoсказать
say.Sheusedtomurmur,“Marvellous,”
и
andfeelthatitwasnotenough.Но
Butnobodyminded.Nobodylistened.
Никто
NobodytookanynoticeofMrs.Wilkins.Shewasthekindofpersonwhoisnotnoticedatparties.
Her
одежда
clothes,infestedbythrift,madeherпрактически
practicallyinvisible;herfacewasnon-arresting;
her
разговор
conversationwasreluctant;shewasshy.
И
Andifone’sclothesandлицо
faceandconversationareallnegligible,thoughtMrs.Wilkins,whorecognisedherdisabilities,что
what,atparties,isthereleftofone?Кроме того
AlsoshewasalwayswithWilkins,что
thatclean-shaven,fine-lookingman,whogaveaparty,просто
merelybycomingtoit,aбольшой
greatair.Wilkinswasveryrespectable.
Hewasknowntobe
высоко
highlythoughtofbyhisseniorpartners.Hissister’s
круг
circleadmiredhim.Hepronouncedadequatelyintelligentjudgmentsonart
и
andartists.Hewaspithy;
hewasprudent;
heneversaidaword
слишком
toomuch,nor,ontheдругой
otherhand,didheeversayawordслишком
toolittle.Heproducedthe
впечатление
impressionofkeepingcopiesofeverythinghesaid;и
andhewassoobviouslyreliablethatitчасто
oftenhappenedthatpeoplewhomethimatthesepartiesbecamediscontentedс
withtheirownsolicitors,andпосле
afteraperiodofrestlessnessextricatedthemselvesи
andwenttoWilkins.NaturallyMrs.Wilkinswasblottedout.
“She,”saidhis
сестра
sister,withsomethingherselfofthejudicial,thedigested,и
andthefinalinherманере
manner,“shouldstayathome.”Но
ButWilkinscouldnotleavehiswifeatдома
home.Hewasafamilysolicitor,
и
andallsuchhavewivesи
andshowthem.Withhisinthe
неделю
weekhewenttoparties,а
andwithhisonSundayshewenttoцерковь
church.Beingstillfairlyyoung—hewasthirty-nine—andambitiousofoldladies,ofwhomhehadnotyetacquiredinhis
практике
practiceasufficientnumber,hecouldnotпозволить себе
affordtomisschurch,anditwasтам
therethatMrs.Wilkinsbecamefamiliar,хотя
thoughneverthroughwords,withMrs.Arbuthnot.Shesawhermarshallingthe
детей
childrenofthepoorintopews.ShewouldcomeinattheheadoftheprocessionfromtheSunday
Школы
Schoolexactlyfiveminutesbeforetheхор
choir,andgetherboysи
andgirlsneatlyfittedintotheirallottedseats,и
anddownontheirlittlekneesintheirpreliminaryprayer,и
andupagainontheirноги
feetjustas,totheswellingorgan,thevestryдверь
dooropened,andthechoirи
andclergy,bigwiththelitaniesи
andcommandmentstheywerepresentlytorollout,emerged.Shehadasad
лицо
face,yetshewasevidentlyefficient.The
комбинация
combinationusedtomakeMrs.Wilkinswonder,forshehadbeentoldbyMellersh,ondaysкогда
whenshehadonlybeenabletogetplaice,что
thatifonewereefficientonewouldn’tbeподавлен
depressed,andthatifonedoesone’sработу
jobwellonebecomesautomaticallybrightи
andbrisk.AboutMrs.Arbuthnottherewas
ничего
nothingbrightandbrisk,thoughмного
muchinherwaywiththeSundayШколы
Schoolchildrenthatwasautomatic;но
butwhenMrs.Wilkins,turningfromthewindow,caughtsightofherintheclubshewasnotbeingautomaticatall,но
butwaslookingfixedlyatoneчасть
portionofthefirstpageofTheTimes,holdingthepaperquitestill,hereyesnotmoving.Shewas
просто
juststaring;andherface,as
обычно
usual,wasthefaceofapatientи
anddisappointedMadonna.Obeyinganimpulseshewonderedatevenwhileobeyingit,Mrs.Wilkins,theshy
и
andthereluctant,insteadofproceedingasshehadintendedtothecloakroomи
andfromthencetoSchoolbred’sinsearchofMellersh’sрыбы
fish,stoppedatthetableи
andsatdownexactlyoppositeMrs.Arbuthnot,towhomshehadneveryetspokeninherжизни
life.Itwasoneof
тех
thoselong,narrowrefectorytables,sothattheywereдовольно
quiteclosetoeachother.Mrs.
Arbuthnot,
однако
however,didnotlookup.Shecontinuedtogaze,witheyes
которые
thatseemedtobedreaming,atoneместо
spotonlyofTheTimes.Mrs.
Wilkinswatchedhera
минуту
minute,tryingtoscrewupcouragetospeaktoher.Shewantedto
спросить
askherifshehadseentheadvertisement.Shedidnotknow
почему
whyshewantedtoaskherthis,но
butshewantedto.How
глупо
stupidnottobeabletospeaktoней
her.Shelookedsokind.
Shelookedsounhappy.
Почему
Whycouldn’ttwounhappypeopleосвежить
refresheachotherontheirwayчерез
throughthisdustybusinessofжизни
lifebyalittletalk—real,naturaltalk,aboutwhattheyfelt,whattheywouldhaveliked,whattheystilltriedtoнадеяться
hope?Andshecouldnothelpthinking
что
thatMrs.Arbuthnot,too,wasreadingчто
thatverysameadvertisement.Hereyeswereontheverypartofthe
бумаги
paper.Wasshe,too,picturingwhatitwouldbelike—the
цвет
colour,thefragrance,thelight,thesoftlappingoftheseaсреди
amonglittlehotrocks?Colour,
аромат
fragrance,light,sea;insteadofShaftesbury
Авеню
Avenue,andthewetomnibuses,andthefishотдел
departmentatShoolbred’s,andtheTubetoHampstead,andужин
dinner,andto-morrowthesameandthedayafterthesameandвсегда
alwaysthesame...Внезапно
SuddenlyMrs.Wilkinsfoundherselfleaningчерез
acrossthetable.“Areyoureading
о
aboutthemediaevalcastleandthewistaria?”sheheardherselfasking.
Естественно
NaturallyMrs.Arbuthnotwassurprised;но
butshewasnothalfsomuchsurprisedasMrs.Wilkinswasatherselfforasking.Mrs.
Arbuthnothadnot
еще
yettoherknowledgeseteyesontheshabby,lank,loosely-put-togetherfiguresittingнапротив
oppositeher,withitssmallfreckledfaceи
andbiggreyeyesalmostdisappearingпод
underasmashed-downwet-weatherhat,и
andshegazedatheraмгновение
momentwithoutanswering.Shewasreadingaboutthemediaevalcastle
и
andthewistaria,orratherhadreadaboutitдесять
tenminutesbefore,andsincethenhadbeenlostindreams—oflight,ofcolour,offragrance,ofthesoftlappingoftheseaсреди
amonglittlehotrocks...“Whydoyouaskmethat?”
shesaidinhergravevoice,forhertrainingof
и
andbythepoorhadmadehergraveи
andpatient.Mrs.
Wilkinsflushed
и
andlookedexcessivelyshyandfrightened.“Oh,
только
onlybecauseIsawitтоже
too,andIthoughtperhaps—Ithoughtsomehow—”shestammered.
WhereuponMrs.Arbuthnot,her
ум
mindbeingusedtogettingлюдей
peopleintolistsanddivisions,fromhabitconsidered,asshegazedthoughtfullyatMrs.Wilkins,под
underwhatheading,supposingshehadtoclassifyее
her,shecouldmostproperlybeput.“AndI
знаю
knowyoubysight,”wentonMrs.Wilkins,who,как
likealltheshy,onceshewasstartedplungedon,frighteningherselftoбольше
moreandmorespeechbythesheersoundofwhatshehadsaidпоследний
lastinherears.“EverySunday—I
вижу
seeyoueverySundayinchurch—”.“Inchurch?”
echoedMrs.Arbuthnot.
“Andthisseems
такой
suchawonderfulthing—thisadvertisementо
aboutthewistaria—and—”.Mrs.
Wilkins,whomusthavebeenat
крайней мере
leastthirty,brokeoffandwriggledinherchairс
withthemovementofanawkwardи
andembarrassedschoolgirl.“Itseemssowonderful,”shewentonina
рода
kindofburst,“and—itisтакой
suchamiserableday...”AndthenshesatlookingatMrs.Arbuthnotwiththeeyesofanimprisoneddog.
“Thispoorthing,”thoughtMrs.Arbuthnot,
чья
whoselifewasspentinhelpingи
andalleviating,“needsadvice.”Sheaccordinglypreparedherself
терпеливо
patientlytogiveit.“Ifyouseemeinchurch,”shesaid,
любезно
kindlyandattentively,“IsupposeyouliveinHampsteadtoo?”“Ohyes,”saidMrs.Wilkins.
И
Andsherepeated,herheadonitslongthinшее
neckdroopingalittleasiftherecollectionofHampsteadbowedher,“Ohyes.”“Where?”
askedMrs.Arbuthnot,who,
когда
whenadvicewasneeded,naturallyсначала
firstproceededtocollectthefacts.Но
ButMrs.Wilkins,layingherруку
handsoftlyandcaressinglyontheчасть
partofTheTimeswheretheреклама
advertisementwas,asthoughthemereprintedwordsofitwereprecious,только
onlysaid,“Perhapsthat’swhythisseemssowonderful.”“No—I
думаю
thinkthat’swonderfulanyhow,”saidMrs.Arbuthnot,forgettingfactsи
andfaintlysighing.“Thenyouwerereadingit?”
“Yes,”saidMrs.Arbuthnot,hereyesgoingdreamy
снова
again.“Wouldn’titbewonderful?”
murmuredMrs.Wilkins.
“Wonderful,”saidMrs.Arbuthnot.
Her
лицо
face,whichhadlitup,fadedintoтерпение
patienceagain.“Verywonderful,”shesaid.
“Butit’snousewastingone’s
время
timethinkingofsuchthings.”“Oh,
но
butitis,”wasMrs.Wilkins’sбыстрый
quick,surprisingreply;surprisingbecauseitwassomuchunliketherestofher—thecharacterless
пальто
coatandskirt,thecrumpledшляпа
hat,theundecidedwispofволос
hairstragglingout.“Andjusttheconsideringofthemis
стоит
worthwhileinitself—suchaперемена
changefromHampstead—andsometimesIbelieve—Iдействительно
reallydobelieve—ifoneconsidersтяжело
hardenoughonegetsthings.”Mrs.
Arbuthnotobservedher
терпеливо
patiently.Inwhatcategorywould
она
she,supposingshehadto,поместить
puther?“Perhaps,”shesaid,leaning
вперед
forwardalittle,“youwilltellmeyourимя
name.Ifwearetobefriends”—shesmiledhergravesmile—“asI
надеюсь
hopeweare,wehadлучше
betterbeginatthebeginning.”“Ohyes—howkindofyou.
I’mMrs.Wilkins,”saidMrs.Wilkins.
“Idon’texpect,”sheadded,flushing,asMrs.Arbuthnotsaidnothing,“thatitconveysanythingtoyou.
Иногда
Sometimesit—itdoesn’tseemtoconveyничего
anythingtomeeither.But”—shelookedround
с
withamovementofseekinghelp—“IamMrs.Wilkins.”Shedidnotlikeher
имя
name.Itwasamean,small
имя
name,withakindoffacetioustwist,shethought,о
aboutitsendliketheвверх
upwardcurveofapugdog’stail.Thereitwas,however.
Therewasnodoinganything
с
withit.Wilkinsshewas
и
andWilkinsshewouldremain;и
andthoughherhusbandencouragedhertogiveitonalloccasionsasMrs.Mellersh-Wilkinssheтолько
onlydidthatwhenhewaswithinearshot,forshethoughtMellershmadeWilkinsхуже
worse,emphasisingitinthewayChatsworthonthegate-postsofavillaemphasisesthevilla.Когда
Whenfirsthesuggestedsheshouldдобавить
addMellershshehadobjectedfortheabovereason,и
andafterapause—Mellershwasmuchслишком
tooprudenttospeakexceptпосле
afterapause,duringwhichпредположительно
presumablyhewastakingacarefulmentalcopyofhiscomingobservation—hesaid,muchdispleased,“ButIamnotavilla,”и
andlookedatherashelooksкто
whohopes,forperhapsthehundredthtime,thathemaynothaveженился
marriedafool.Ofcoursehewasnota
вилла
villa,Mrs.Wilkinsassuredhim;shehadneversupposedhewas;
shehadnotdreamedofmeaning...
shewasonly
просто
justthinking...ThemoresheexplainedthemoreearnestbecameMellersh’s
надежда
hope,familiartohimbythistime,forhehadthenbeenahusbandforдвух
twoyears,thathemightnotbyanychancehavemarriedafool;и
andtheyhadaprolongedссора
quarrel,ifthatcanbecalledaссора
quarrelwhichisconductedwithdignifiedsilenceonодной
onesideandearnestapologyontheдругой
other,astowhetherornoMrs.WilkinshadintendedtosuggestthatMr.Wilkinswasavilla.“Ibelieve,”shehadthought
когда
whenitwasatlastover—ittookalongwhile—“thatanybodywouldссориться
quarrelaboutanythingwhenthey’venotleftoffbeingвместе
togetherforasingledayforдвух
twowholeyears.Whatwebothneedisaholiday.”
“Myhusband,”wentonMrs.WilkinstoMrs.Arbuthnot,tryingtothrowsomelightonherself,“isa
адвокат
solicitor.He—”
Shecastaboutfor
то
somethingshecouldsayelucidatoryofMellersh,и
andfound:“He’sveryhandsome.”
“Well,”saidMrs.Arbuthnot
любезно
kindly,“thatmustbeagreatприятно
pleasuretoyou.”“Why?”
askedMrs.Wilkins.
“Because,”saidMrs.Arbuthnot,a
немного
littletakenaback,forconstantintercourseс
withthepoorhadaccustomedhertohaveherpronouncementsacceptedбез
withoutquestion,“becausebeauty—handsomeness—isaдар
giftlikeanyother,andесли
ifitisproperlyused—”.Shetrailedoffintosilence.
Mrs.Wilkins’sgreat
серые
greyeyeswerefixedonher,и
anditseemedsuddenlytoMrs.Arbuthnotчто
thatperhapsshewasbecomingcrystallisedintoahabitofexposition,и
andofexpositionaftertheманере
mannerofnursemaids,throughhavinganаудитории
audiencethatcouldn’tbutagree,что
thatwouldbeafraid,ifitwished,toпрерывать
interrupt,thatdidn’tknow,thatwas,inсамом деле
fact,athermercy.ButMrs.Wilkinswasnotlistening;
forjustthen,absurdasitseemed,apicturehadflashedacrossherbrain,
и
andthereweretwofiguresinitsittingвместе
togetherunderagreattrailingwistariathatstretchedacrossthebranchesofatreeshedidn’tknow,и
anditwasherselfandMrs.Arbuthnot—shesawthem—shesawthem.А
Andbehindthem,brightinsunshine,wereoldсерые
greywalls—themediaevalcastle—shesawit—theywereтам
there...She
поэтому
thereforestaredatMrs.Arbuthnotи
anddidnothearawordshesaid.И
AndMrs.ArbuthnotstaredtooatMrs.Wilkins,arrestedbytheexpressiononherface,whichwassweptbytheexcitementofwhatshesaw,и
andwasasluminousandtremulousпод
underitaswaterinsunlightкогда
whenitisruffledbyagustofwind.At
этот
thismoment,ifshehadbeenataparty,Mrs.Wilkinswouldhavebeenlookedatс
withinterest.Theystaredat
друг
eachother;Mrs.Arbuthnotsurprised,inquiringly,Mrs.Wilkinswiththeeyesofsomeone
кто
whohashadarevelation.Of
конечно
course.Thatwashowitcouldbedone.
Sheherself,shebyherself,couldn’taffordit,
и
andwouldn’tbeable,evenесли
ifshecouldaffordit,toпойти
gothereallalone;butshe
и
andMrs.Arbuthnottogether...Sheleaned
через
acrossthetable.“Whydon’twetryand
получить
getit?”shewhispered.
Mrs.
Arbuthnotbecameevenmorewide-eyed.
“Getit?”
sherepeated.
“Yes,”saidMrs.Wilkins,stillasthoughshewereafraidofbeingoverheard.
“Not
просто
justsithereandsayHowwonderful,andthenиди
gohometoHampsteadwithouthavingputoutafinger—goдомой
homejustasusualandseeabouttheужин
dinnerandthefishjustaswe’vebeendoingforyearsandyearsandwillиди
goondoingforyearsandyears.Infact,”saidMrs.Wilkins,flushingtotherootsofher
волос
hair,forthesoundofwhatshewassaying,ofwhatwascomingpouringout,напугал
frightenedher,andyetshecouldn’tstop,“Iвижу
seenoendtoit.Thereis
нет
noendtoit.So
что
thatthereoughttobeaперерыв
break,thereoughttobeintervals—ineverybody’sinterests.Почему
Why,itwouldreallybebeingunselfishtogoawayи
andbehappyforalittle,потому что
becausewewouldcomebacksoмного
muchnicer.Yousee,afterabiteverybodyneedsaholiday.”
“But—howdoyoumean,getit?”
askedMrs.Arbuthnot.
“Takeit,”saidMrs.Wilkins.
“Takeit?”