CHAPTERI.OURSOCIETY
Inthe
перше
firstplace,CranfordisinpossessionoftheAmazons;всі
alltheholdersofhousesaboveacertainrentarewomen.Якщо
Ifamarriedcouplecometosettleintheмісто
town,somehowthegentlemandisappears;heiseitherfairlyfrightenedto
смерті
deathbybeingtheonlymanintheCranfordeveningparties,orheisaccountedforbybeingзі
withhisregiment,hisship,orcloselyengagedinbusinessalltheтиждень
weekinthegreatneighbouringcommercialмістечку
townofDrumble,distantonlytwentymilesonarailroad.Inshort,whateverdoesbecomeofthegentlemen,theyarenotatCranford.
Whatcouldthey
зробити
doiftheywerethere?Thesurgeonhashisroundofthirtymiles,
і
andsleepsatCranford;but
кожна
everymancannotbeasurgeon.Forkeepingthetrimgardensfullofchoiceflowers
без
withoutaweedtospeckїх
them;forfrighteningawaylittleboys
які
wholookwistfullyatthesaidflowersчерез
throughtherailings;forrushingoutatthegeesethatoccasionallyventureintothegardens
якщо
ifthegatesareleftopen;fordeciding
всі
allquestionsofliteratureandpoliticswithouttroublingthemselveswithunnecessaryreasonsчи
orarguments;forobtainingclear
і
andcorrectknowledgeofeverybody’saffairsintheparish;forkeepingtheirneatmaid-servantsinadmirable
порядку
order;forkindness(somewhatdictatorial)tothe
бідних
poor,andrealtendergoodofficestoeachotherwhenevertheyareindistress,theladiesofCranfordareцілком
quitesufficient.“Aman,”asoneofthemobservedtome
одного разу
once,“issointhewayinthehouse!”Although
на
theladiesofCranfordknowвсе
alleachother’sproceedings,theyareexceedinglyindifferenttoeachother’sopinions.Indeed,as
кожна
eachhasherownindividuality,nottosayeccentricity,досить
prettystronglydeveloped,nothingissoeasyasverbalretaliation;але
but,somehow,good-willreignsamongthemtoaconsiderabledegree.TheCranfordladieshave
лише
onlyanoccasionallittlequarrel,spiritedoutinafewpepperywordsі
andangryjerksofthehead;просто
justenoughtopreventtheeventenoroftheirlivesfrombecomingзанадто
tooflat.Theirdressis
дуже
veryindependentoffashion;astheyobserve,“Whatdoesitsignifyhowwedress
тут
hereatCranford,whereeverybodyknowsus?”І
Andiftheygofromдому
home,theirreasonisequallycogent,“Whatdoesitsignifyяк
howwedresshere,whereніхто не
nobodyknowsus?”Thematerialsoftheirclothesare,ingeneral,good
і
andplain,andmostofthemarenearlyasscrupulousasМіс
MissTyler,ofcleanlymemory;але
butIwillanswerforце
it,thelastgigot,theостанній
lasttightandscantypetticoatinwearinEngland,wasseeninCranford—andseenбез
withoutasmile.Icantestifytoamagnificent
сім'ї
familyredsilkumbrella,underwhichagentlelittlespinster,leftaloneofmanybrothersі
andsisters,usedtopattertochurchonrainydays.Є
HaveyouanyredsilkumbrellasinLondon?WehadatraditionofthefirstthathadeverbeenseeninCranford;
і
andthelittleboysmobbedйого
it,andcalledit“astickinpetticoats.”Itmighthavebeenthevery
червоний
redsilkoneIhavedescribed,heldbyastrongбатько
fatheroveratroopoflittleones;the
бідна
poorlittlelady—thesurvivorofall—couldscarcelycarryйого
it.Thentherewererules
і
andregulationsforvisitingandcalls;і
andtheywereannouncedtoanyyoungлюдям
peoplewhomightbestayingintheмісті
town,withallthesolemnityз
withwhichtheoldManxlawswerereadраз
onceayearontheTinwaldMount.“Ourfriendshavesenttoinquire
як
howyouareafteryourjourneyto-night,mydear”(fifteenmilesinagentleman’scarriage);“theywillgiveyousome
відпочинку
restto-morrow,butthenextдня
day,Ihavenodoubt,theywillcall;sobeatliberty
після
aftertwelve—fromtwelvetothreeareourcallinghours.”Then,
після
aftertheyhadcalled—.“Itisthethird
день
day;Idaresayyourmammahastoldyou,mydear,
ніколи не
nevertoletmorethanтрьох
threedayselapsebetweenreceivingaдзвінок
callandreturningit;and
також
also,thatyouarenevertostaylongerthanaquarterofanhour.”“ButamItolookatmywatch?
Як
HowamItofindoutколи
whenaquarterofanгодини
hourhaspassed?”“Youmustkeepthinking
про
aboutthetime,mydear,і
andnotallowyourselftoзабути
forgetitinconversation.”As
всіх
everybodyhadthisruleintheirminds,whethertheyreceivedorpaidaдзвінок
call,ofcoursenoabsorbingsubjectwaseverspokenabout.Wekeptourselvestoshortsentencesofsmall
розмови
talk,andwerepunctualtoourчасу
time.IimaginethatafewofthegentlefolksofCranfordwerepoor,
і
andhadsomedifficultyinmakingобидва
bothendsmeet;buttheywereliketheSpartans,
і
andconcealedtheirsmartunderasmilingface.Wenoneofusspokeof
гроші
money,becausethatsubjectsavouredofcommerceі
andtrade,andthoughsomemightbepoor,wewereвсі
allaristocratic.TheCranfordianshadthatkindlyespritdecorpswhichmadethemoverlook
всі
alldeficienciesinsuccesswhenдеякі
someamongthemtriedtoconcealtheirpoverty.Коли
WhenMrsForrester,forinstance,gaveaвечірку
partyinherbaby-houseofadwelling,andthelittlemaidendisturbedtheladiesonthesofabyarequestthatshemightgetthetea-trayoutfromunderneath,everyonetookцей
thisnovelproceedingasthemostnaturalріч
thingintheworld,andtalkedonпро
abouthouseholdformsandceremoniesasifweallbelievedthatourhostesshadaregularservants’hall,другий
secondtable,withhousekeeperandsteward,insteadoftheодна
onelittlecharity-schoolmaiden,whoseshortruddyarmscouldніколи не
neverhavebeenstrongenoughtocarrythetrayupstairs,ifshehadnotbeenassistedinprivatebyhermistress,whonowsatinstate,pretendingnottoзнаємо
knowwhatcakesweresentup,thoughsheknew,andweknew,andsheknewthatweknew,andweknewthatsheknewthatweknew,shehadbeenbusyallthemorningmakingtea-breadandsponge-cakes.Therewereoneor
два
twoconsequencesarisingfromthisgeneralале
butunacknowledgedpoverty,andthisverymuchacknowledgedgentility,які
whichwerenotamiss,andякі
whichmightbeintroducedintomanycirclesofsocietytotheirgreatimprovement.Forinstance,theinhabitantsofCranfordkeptearlyhours,
і
andclatteredhomeintheirpattens,під
undertheguidanceofalantern-bearer,близько
aboutnineo’clockatnight;і
andthewholetownwasabedі
andasleepbyhalf-pastten.Moreover,itwasconsidered“vulgar”(atremendous
слово
wordinCranford)togiveanythingexpensive,inthewayofeatableабо
ordrinkable,attheeveningentertainments.Waferbread-and-butterandsponge-biscuitswere
все
allthattheHonourableMrsJamiesongave;і
andshewassister-in-lawtothelateEarlofGlenmire,althoughshedidpractisesuch“eleganteconomy.”“Eleganteconomy!”
Як
HownaturallyonefallsbackintothephraseologyofCranford!Там
There,economywasalways“elegant,”andmoney-spendingзавжди
always“vulgarandostentatious”;asortofsour-grapeism
який
whichmadeusverypeacefulі
andsatisfied.Inevershallforgetthedismayfelt
коли
whenacertainCaptainBrowncametoжити
liveatCranford,andopenlyspokeпро
abouthisbeingpoor—notinawhispertoanintimateдруга
friend,thedoorsandwindowsbeingpreviouslyclosed,butinthepublicвулиці
street!inaloudmilitaryvoice!
alleginghispovertyasareasonfornottakingaparticular
будинок
house.TheladiesofCranfordwere
вже
alreadyrathermoaningovertheinvasionoftheirterritoriesbyaчоловік
manandagentleman.Hewasahalf-paycaptain,
і
andhadobtainedsomesituationonaneighbouringrailroad,яка
whichhadbeenvehementlypetitionedпроти
againstbythelittletown;and
якщо
if,inadditiontohismasculinegender,andhisconnectionwiththeobnoxiousrailroad,hewassobrazenastotalkofbeingpoor—why,then,indeed,hemustbesenttoCoventry.Deathwasastrue
і
andascommonaspoverty;yet
люди
peopleneverspokeaboutthat,loudoutinна
thestreets.Itwasa
слово
wordnottobementionedtoearspolite.Wehadtacitlyagreedtoignore
що
thatanywithwhomweassociatedontermsofvisitingequalitycouldeverbepreventedbypovertyfromdoinganythingщо
thattheywished.Ifwewalkedto
або
orfromaparty,itwasтому
becausethenightwassofine,або
ortheairsorefreshing,notтому
becausesedan-chairswereexpensive.Ifweworeprints,insteadofsummersilks,itwas
тому
becausewepreferredawashingmaterial;і
andsoon,tillweblindedourselvestothevulgarфакт
factthatwewere,allofus,люди
peopleofverymoderatemeans.Of
звичайно
course,then,wedidnotknowwhattoробити
makeofamanwhocouldговорити
speakofpovertyasifitwasnotadisgrace.Yet,somehow,CaptainBrownmadehimselfrespectedinCranford,
і
andwascalledupon,inspiteofвсі
allresolutionstothecontrary.Iwassurprisedtohearhisopinionsquotedasauthorityatavisit
який
whichIpaidtoCranfordaboutaрік
yearafterhehadsettledintheмісті
town.MyownfriendshadbeenamongthebitterestopponentsofanyproposaltovisittheCaptain
та
andhisdaughters,onlytwelvemonthsbefore;і
andnowhewasevenadmittedinthetabooedhoursдо
beforetwelve.True,itwastodiscoverthecauseofasmokingchimney,
перш ніж
beforethefirewaslighted;butstillCaptainBrownwalkedupstairs,nothingdaunted,spokeinavoicetoolargefortheroom,
і
andjokedquiteinthewayofatameчоловік
manaboutthehouse.Hehadbeenblindto
всіх
allthesmallslights,andomissionsoftrivialceremonies,withwhichhehadbeenreceived.Hehadbeenfriendly,
хоча
thoughtheCranfordladieshadbeencool;hehadansweredsmallsarcasticcomplimentsingoodfaith;
і
andwithhismanlyfranknesshadoverpoweredalltheshrinkingwhichmethimasamanwhowasnotashamedtobepoor.І
And,atlast,hisexcellentmasculinecommonsense,і
andhisfacilityindevisingexpedientstoovercomedomesticdilemmas,hadgainedhimanextraordinaryмісце
placeasauthorityamongtheCranfordladies.Hehimselfwentoninhiscourse,asunawareofhispopularityashehadbeenofthereverse;
і
andIamsurehewasstartledодного
onedaywhenhefoundhisadvicesohighlyesteemedastomakeдеякі
somecounselwhichhehadgiveninjesttobetakeninsober,seriousearnest.Itwason
цю
thissubject:AnoldladyhadanAlderneycow,whichshelookeduponas
на
adaughter.Youcouldnotpaytheshortquarterofanhourcall
без
withoutbeingtoldofthewonderfulmilkабо
orwonderfulintelligenceofthisanimal.The
весь
wholetownknewandkindlyregardedМіс
MissBetsyBarker’sAlderney;thereforegreatwasthesympathy
і
andregretwhen,inanunguardedхвилину
moment,thepoorcowtumbledintoalime-pit.Shemoanedsoloudly
що
thatshewassoonheardі
andrescued;butmeanwhilethe
бідна
poorbeasthadlostmostofherволосся
hair,andcameoutlookingnaked,cold,і
andmiserable,inabareskin.Everybodypitiedtheanimal,
хоча
thoughafewcouldnotrestraintheirsmilesatherdrollappearance.Міс
MissBetsyBarkerabsolutelycriedwithsorrowі
anddismay;anditwassaidshethoughtoftryingabathofoil.
Цей
Thisremedy,perhaps,wasrecommendedbysomeодним
oneofthenumberwhoseadvicesheasked;buttheproposal,
якщо
ifeveritwasmade,wasknockedontheheadbyCaptainBrown’sdecided“Getheraflannelwaistcoatі
andflanneldrawers,ma’am,ifyouwishtoзберегти
keepheralive.Butmyadviceis,killthepoorcreatureatonce.”
Міс
MissBetsyBarkerdriedhereyes,і
andthankedtheCaptainheartily;shesetto
роботи
work,andby-and-byalltheмісто
townturnedouttoseeна
theAlderneymeeklygoingtoherpasture,cladindarkgreyflannel.Ihavewatchedhermyself
багато
manyatime.DoyoueverseecowsdressedingreyflannelinLondon?
CaptainBrownhadtakenasmall
будинок
houseontheoutskirtsoftheміста
town,wherehelivedwithhisдвома
twodaughters.HemusthavebeenupwardsofsixtyatthetimeofthefirstvisitIpaidtoCranford
після
afterIhadleftitasaresidence.Але
Buthehadawiry,well-trained,elasticfigure,astiffmilitarythrow-backofhishead,і
andaspringingstep,whichmadehimappearнабагато
muchyoungerthanhewas.Hiseldest
дочка
daughterlookedalmostasoldashimself,і
andbetrayedthefactthathisсправжній
realwasmorethanhisapparentage.Міс
MissBrownmusthavebeenforty;shehadasickly,pained,carewornexpressiononher
обличчя
face,andlookedasifthegaietyofyouthhadlongfadedoutofsight.Навіть
Evenwhenyoungshemusthavebeenplainі
andhard-featured.MissJessieBrownwas
десять
tenyearsyoungerthanhersister,і
andtwentyshadesprettier.Her
обличчя
facewasroundanddimpled.Міс
MissJenkynsoncesaid,inapassionagainstCaptainBrown(thecauseofwhichIwilltellyoupresently),“thatshethoughtitwasчас
timeforMissJessietoleaveoffherdimples,і
andnotalwaystobetryingtoвиглядати
looklikeachild.”Itwas
правда
truetherewassomethingchildlikeinherface;і
andtherewillbe,Iдумаю
think,tillshedies,thoughsheshouldlivetoahundred.Hereyeswerelargebluewonderingeyes,lookingstraightatyou;
hernosewasunformed
і
andsnub,andherlipswereredі
anddewy;sheworeher
волосся
hair,too,inlittlerowsofcurls,whichheightenedthisappearance.Idonot
знаю
knowwhethershewasprettyornot;але
butIlikedherface,і
andsodideverybody,andIdonotдумаю
thinkshecouldhelpherdimples.Shehad
щось
somethingofherfather’sjauntinessofgaitі
andmanner;andanyfemaleobservermightdetectaslightdifferenceintheattireofthetwosisters—thatof
Міс
MissJessiebeingabouttwopoundsperannummoreexpensiveніж
thanMissBrown’s.TwopoundswasalargesuminCaptainBrown’sannualdisbursements.
Suchwas
на
theimpressionmadeuponmebyна
theBrownfamilywhenIfirstsawthemусіх
alltogetherinCranfordChurch.TheCaptainIhadmetbefore—ontheoccasionofthesmokychimney,
який
whichhehadcuredbysomesimplealterationintheflue.Inchurch,heheldhisdoubleeye-glasstohiseyesduringtheMorningHymn,andthenlifteduphisheaderectandsangoutloudandjoyfully.
Hemadetheresponseslouder
ніж
thantheclerk—anoldmanз
withapipingfeeblevoice,який
who,Ithink,feltaggrievedattheCaptain’ssonorousbass,і
andquiveredhigherandhigherinconsequence.Oncomingoutofchurch,thebriskCaptainpaidthemostgallantattentiontohis
двох
twodaughters.Henoddedandsmiledtohisacquaintances;
але
butheshookhandswithnoneпоки
untilhehadhelpedMissBrowntounfurlherumbrella,hadrelievedherofherprayer-book,і
andhadwaitedpatientlytillвона
she,withtremblingnervoushands,hadtakenuphergowntowalkthroughна
thewetroads.IwonderwhattheCranfordladiesdid
з
withCaptainBrownattheirparties.Wehadoftenrejoiced,informerdays,
що
thattherewasnogentlemantobeattendedto,і
andtofindconversationfor,atthecard-parties.Wehadcongratulatedourselvesuponthesnugnessoftheevenings;
і
and,inourloveforgentility,і
anddistasteofmankind,wehadмайже
almostpersuadedourselvesthattobeamanwastobe“vulgar”;sothat
коли
whenIfoundmyfriendі
andhostess,MissJenkyns,wasgoingtohaveaвечірку
partyinmyhonour,andthatCaptainі
andtheMissBrownswereinvited,Iwonderedmuchwhatwouldbethecourseoftheввечері
evening.Card-tables,withgreenbaizetops,weresetoutbydaylight,justasusual;
itwasthethird
тиждень
weekinNovember,sotheeveningsclosedinaboutfour.Candles,
і
andcleanpacksofcards,werearrangedoneachtable.Thefirewasmadeup;
theneatmaid-servanthadreceivedherlastdirections;
і
andtherewestood,dressedinourнайкраще
best,eachwithacandle-lighterinourhands,готові
readytodartatthecandlesasтільки
soonasthefirstknockcame.PartiesinCranfordweresolemnfestivities,makingtheladiesfeelgravelyelatedastheysat
разом
togetherintheirbestdresses.As
тільки
soonasthreehadarrived,wesatdownto“Preference,”Ibeingна
theunluckyfourth.Thenext
чотири
fourcomerswereputdownimmediatelytoінший
anothertable;andpresentlythetea-trays,
які
whichIhadseensetoutinthestore-roomasIpassedintheвранці
morning,wereplacedeachonthemiddleofacard-table.Thechinawasdelicateegg-shell;
theold-fashionedsilverglitteredwithpolishing;
але
buttheeatableswereoftheslightestdescription.Whilethetrayswereyetonthetables,Captain
і
andtheMissBrownscamein;і
andIcouldseethat,somehowчи
orother,theCaptainwasafavouritewithвсіх
alltheladiespresent.Ruffledbrowsweresmoothed,sharpvoicesloweredathisapproach.
Міс
MissBrownlookedill,anddepressedмайже
almosttogloom.MissJessiesmiledasusual,
і
andseemednearlyaspopularasherбатько
father.Heimmediatelyandquietlyassumedtheman’s
місце
placeintheroom;attendedtoeveryone’swants,lessenedtheprettymaid-servant’slabourbywaitingonemptycups
і
andbread-and-butterlessladies;andyetdidit
все
allinsoeasyanddignifiedamanner,і
andsomuchasifitwereamatterofcourseforthestrongtoattendtotheweak,що
thathewasatruemanthroughout.Heplayedforthreepennypoints
з
withasgraveaninterestasiftheyhadbeenpounds;і
andyet,inallhisattentiontostrangers,hehadaneyeonhissufferingdaughter—forsufferingIwasвпевнений
sureshewas,thoughtomanyeyesshemightтільки
onlyappeartobeirritable.Міс
MissJessiecouldnotplaycards:але
butshetalkedtothesitters-out,які
who,beforehercoming,hadbeenratherinclinedtobecross.Shesang,too,toanoldcrackedpiano,whichI
думаю
thinkhadbeenaspinetinitsyouth.Міс
MissJessiesang,“JockofHazeldean”aтрохи
littleoutoftune;butwewerenoneofusmusical,
хоча
thoughMissJenkynsbeattime,outoftime,bywayofappearingtobeso.Itwas
дуже
verygoodofMissJenkynstoзробити
dothis;forIhadseenthat,a
трохи
littlebefore,shehadbeenagooddealannoyedbyМіс
MissJessieBrown’sunguardedadmission(àproposofShetlandwool)thatshehadє
anuncle,hermother’sbrother,whowasashopkeeperinEdinburgh.Міс
MissJenkynstriedtodrownце
thisconfessionbyaterriblecough—fortheHonourableMrsJamiesonwassittingatacard-tablenearestМіс
MissJessie,andwhatwouldshesayчи
orthinkifshefoundoutshewasinthesameкімнаті
roomwithashop-keeper’sniece!Але
ButMissJessieBrown(whohadне
notact,asweallagreedtheнаступного
nextmorning)wouldrepeattheinformation,і
andassureMissPoleshecouldeasilygethertheidenticalShetlandwoolrequired,“throughmyuncle,який
whohasthebestassortmentofShetlandgoodsofanyoneinEdinbro’.”Itwastotakethetasteof
цього
thisoutofourmouths,і
andthesoundofthisoutofourears,thatМіс
MissJenkynsproposedmusic;soIsayagain,itwas
дуже
verygoodofhertobeatчас
timetothesong.Whenthetraysre-appearedwithbiscuits
і
andwine,punctuallyataquartertonine,therewasconversation,comparingofcards,і
andtalkingovertricks;butby-and-byCaptainBrownsportedabitofliterature.
“Haveyouseenanynumbersof‘ThePickwickPapers’?”
said
він
he.(Theywerethenpublishinginparts.)
“Capitalthing!”
Now
Міс
MissJenkynswasdaughterofadeceasedrectorofCranford;and,onthestrengthofanumberofmanuscriptsermons,anda
досить
prettygoodlibraryofdivinity,consideredherselfliterary,andlookeduponanyconversationпро
aboutbooksasachallengetoher.Sosheanswered
і
andsaid,“Yes,shehadseenїх
them;indeed,shemightsayshehadreadthem.”
“Andwhatdoyou
думаєте
thinkofthem?”exclaimedCaptainBrown.
“Aren’ttheyfamouslygood?”
Sourged
Міс
MissJenkynscouldnotbutговорити
speak.“Imustsay,Idon’t
думаю
thinktheyarebyanymeansequaltoDrJohnson.Still,
можливо
perhaps,theauthorisyoung.Дозвольте
Lethimpersevere,andwhoknowswhatheможе
maybecomeifhewilltakethegreatDoctorforhismodel?”Це
ThiswasevidentlytoomuchforCaptainBrowntoприйняти
takeplacidly;andIsawthewordsonthetipofhistongue
до
beforeMissJenkynshadfinishedhersentence.“Itis
зовсім
quiteadifferentsortofріч
thing,mydearmadam,”hebegan.“Iam
цілком
quiteawareofthat,”returnedвона
she.“AndImakeallowances,CaptainBrown.”
“Justallowmeto
прочитати
readyouasceneoutofцього
thismonth’snumber,”pleadedhe.“Ihadit
тільки
onlythismorning,andIdon’tдумаю
thinkthecompanycanhaveпрочитати
readityet.”“Asyouplease,”said
вона
she,settlingherselfwithanairofresignation.Hereadtheaccountofthe“swarry”whichSamWellergaveatBath.
Деякі
Someofuslaughedheartily.Ididnotdare,
тому
becauseIwasstayinginthehouse.