ChapterITheBertolini
“TheSignorahad
không
nobusinesstodoit,”saidMissBartlett,“nobusinessattất cả
all.Shepromisedussouthrooms
với
withaviewclosetogether,insteadofđó
whichherearenorthrooms,lookingintomột
acourtyard,andalongcách
wayapart.Oh,Lucy!”
“And
một
aCockney,besides!”saidLucy,
người
whohadbeenfurthersaddenedbytheSignora’sunexpectedaccent.“ItmightbeLondon.”
Shelookedatthe
hai
tworowsofEnglishpeoplewhoweresittingatthetable;at
các
therowofwhitebottlesofnước
waterandredbottlesofwinethatrangiữa
betweentheEnglishpeople;at
những
theportraitsofthelateQueenvà
andthelatePoetLaureatethathungbehindnhững
theEnglishpeople,heavilyframed;atthenoticeoftheEnglishchurch(Rev.
CuthbertEager,M.A.
Oxon.),
đó
thatwastheonlyotherdecorationofthewall.“Charlotte,don’tyou
cảm thấy
feel,too,thatwemightbeinLondon?Icanhardly
tin
believethatallkindsofotherthingsarechỉ
justoutside.Isupposeitisone’sbeingsotired.”
“Thismeathassurelybeen
sử dụng
usedforsoup,”saidMissBartlett,layingxuống
downherfork.“IwantsotoseetheArno.
Những
TheroomstheSignorapromisedusinherletterwouldđã
havelookedovertheArno.TheSignorahad
không
nobusinesstodoitatall.Oh,itisashame!”
“Anynookdoesforme,”MissBartlettcontinued;
“butitdoesseemhard
mà
thatyoushouldn’thaveaview.”Lucyfeltthatshehadbeenselfish.
“Charlotte,youmustn’tspoil
tôi
me:ofcourse,youmust
nhìn
lookovertheArno,too.Imeant
đó
that.Thefirstvacantroominthefront—”
“You
phải
musthaveit,”saidMissBartlett,phần
partofwhosetravellingexpenseswerepaidbyLucy’smother—apieceofgenerositytomà
whichshemademanyatactfulallusion.“No,
không
no.Youmusthaveit.”“Iinsiston
đó
it.Yourmotherwouldneverforgive
tôi
me,Lucy.”“Shewouldneverforgiveme.”
Những
Theladies’voicesgrewanimated,and—ifnhững
thesadtruthbeowned—achút
littlepeevish.Theyweretired,
và
andundertheguiseofunselfishnesstheywrangled.Someoftheirneighboursinterchangedglances,
và
andoneofthem—oneofnhững
theill-bredpeoplewhomonedoesgặp
meetabroad—leantforwardoverthetablevà
andactuallyintrudedintotheirargument.Hesaid:.
“I
có
haveaview,Ihavemột
aview.”MissBartlettwasstartled.
Generallyat
một
apensionpeoplelookedthemoverformột
adayortwobeforespeaking,và
andoftendidnotfindra
outthattheywould“do”tilltheyhadgone.Sheknew
rằng
thattheintruderwasill-bred,ngay cả
evenbeforesheglancedatanh ta
him.Hewasanold
người đàn ông
man,ofheavybuild,withafair,shavenfacevà
andlargeeyes.Therewassomethingchildishinthoseeyes,thoughitwasnotthechildishnessofsenility.
What
chính xác
exactlyitwasMissBartlettdidnotstoptoconsider,forherglancepassedontohisclothes.Những
Thesedidnotattracther.Hewasprobablytryingtobecomeacquainted
với
withthembeforetheygotintotheswim.Sosheassumed
một
adazedexpressionwhenhespoketoher,và
andthensaid:“Aview?
Oh,
một
aview!Howdelightfulaviewis!”
“Thisismyson,”saidthe
già
oldman;“hisname’sGeorge.
Hehasaviewtoo.”
“Ah,”saidMissBartlett,repressingLucy,
người
whowasabouttospeak.“WhatImean,”hecontinued,“isthatyou
có thể
canhaveourrooms,andwe’llcó
haveyours.We’llchange.”
Thebetter
lớp
classoftouristwasshockedatnày
this,andsympathizedwiththenew-comers.MissBartlett,inreply,openedhermouthas
ít
littleaspossible,andsaid“Thankyouverymuchindeed;đó
thatisoutofthequestion.”“Why?”
saidthe
già
oldman,withbothfistsonthetable.“Becauseitis
khá
quiteoutofthequestion,cảm ơn
thankyou.”“Yousee,wedon’t
thích
liketotake—”beganLucy.
Hercousin
lại
againrepressedher.“Butwhy?”
hepersisted.
“Women
thích
likelookingataview;mendon’t.”
Và
Andhethumpedwithhisfistsnhư
likeanaughtychild,andturnedtohisson,saying,“George,persuadethem!”“It’ssoobviousthey
nên
shouldhavetherooms,”saidnhững
theson.“There’snothingelsetosay.”
Hedidnot
nhìn
lookattheladiesashespoke,nhưng
buthisvoicewasperplexedvà
andsorrowful.Lucy,too,wasperplexed;
nhưng
butshesawthattheywereinforwhatisknownas“quiteascene,”và
andshehadanoddfeelingthatwhenevertheseill-bredtouristsspokethecontestwidenedvà
anddeepenedtillitdealt,notvới
withroomsandviews,butwith—well,với
withsomethingquitedifferent,whoseexistenceshehadnotrealizedtrước
before.NowtheoldmanattackedMissBartlett
gần
almostviolently:Whyshouldshenotchange?
Whatpossibleobjectionhadshe?
Theywouldclearoutin
nửa
halfanhour.MissBartlett,thoughskilledin
những
thedelicaciesofconversation,waspowerlessinnhững
thepresenceofbrutality.Itwasimpossibletosnubany
một
onesogross.Herfacereddenedwithdispleasure.
Shelooked
quanh
aroundasmuchastonói
say,“Areyoualllikethis?”Và
Andtwolittleoldladies,người
whoweresittingfurtherupthetable,với
withshawlshangingoverthebacksofthechairs,lookedlại
back,clearlyindicating“Wearenot;wearegenteel.”
“Eatyour
tối
dinner,dear,”shesaidtoLucy,và
andbegantotoyagainvới
withthemeatthatshehadlần
oncecensured.Lucymumbledthat
những
thoseseemedveryoddpeopleopposite.“Eatyour
tối
dinner,dear.Thispensionis
một
afailure.To-morrowwewill
thực hiện
makeachange.”Hardlyhadsheannounced
này
thisfelldecisionwhenshereversednó
it.Thecurtainsatthe
cuối
endoftheroomparted,và
andrevealedaclergyman,stoutnhưng
butattractive,whohurriedforwardtotakehisvị trí
placeatthetable,cheerfullyapologizingforhislateness.Lucy,
người
whohadnotyetacquireddecency,atoncerosetoherfeet,exclaiming:“Oh,oh!
Sao
Why,it’sMr.Beebe!Oh,howperfectlylovely!
Oh,Charlotte,we
phải
muststopnow,howeverbadnhững
theroomsare.Oh!”
MissBartlettsaid,
với
withmorerestraint:.“Howdoyoudo,Mr.Beebe?
Iexpectthatyou
đã
haveforgottenus:MissBartlett
và
andMissHoneychurch,whowereatTunbridgeWellskhi
whenyouhelpedtheVicarofSt.Peter’srằng
thatverycoldEaster.”Theclergyman,
người
whohadtheairofoneonaholiday,didnotnhớ
remembertheladiesquiteasclearlyastheyrememberedanh ta
him.Buthecameforwardpleasantly
đủ
enoughandacceptedthechairintomà
whichhewasbeckonedbyLucy.“Iamsogladtoseeyou,”saidthegirl,
người
whowasinastateofspiritualstarvation,và
andwouldhavebeengladtoseethewaiternếu
ifhercousinhadpermittednó
it.“Justfancyhowsmalltheworldis.
Summer
Street
Street,too,makesitsospeciallyfunny.”“MissHoneychurchlivesintheparishofSummerStreet,”saidMissBartlett,fillingupthegap,“andshehappenedto
nói
tellmeinthecourseofconversationrằng
thatyouhavejustacceptedtheliving—”.“Yes,Iheardfrom
mẹ
mothersolastweek.Shedidn’t
biết
knowthatIknewyouatTunbridgeWells;nhưng
butIwrotebackatonce,và
andIsaid:‘Mr.
Beebeis—’”.
“Quiteright,”saidtheclergyman.
“I
chuyển
moveintotheRectoryatSummerĐường
StreetnextJune.Iam
may mắn
luckytobeappointedtosuchmột
acharmingneighbourhood.”“Oh,howgladIam!
The
tên
nameofourhouseisWindyCorner.”Mr.Beebebowed.
“Thereis
mẹ
motherandmegenerally,andmyanh trai
brother,thoughit’snotoftenwenhận
gethimtoch——Thechurchisrather
xa
faroff,Imean.”“Lucy,dearest,
hãy
letMr.Beebeeathisdinner.”“Iameating
nó
it,thankyou,andenjoyingit.”HepreferredtotalktoLucy,whoseplayingheremembered,rather
hơn
thantoMissBartlett,whoprobablyrememberedhissermons.HeaskedthegirlwhethersheknewFlorence
tốt
well,andwasinformedatmột
somelengththatshehadchưa bao giờ
neverbeentherebefore.Itisdelightfultoadvise
một
anewcomer,andhewasfirstinthefield.“Don’tneglectthecountryround,”hisadviceconcluded.
“Thefirstfineafternoon
lái xe
driveuptoFiesole,androundbySettignano,hoặc
orsomethingofthatsort.”“No!”
cried
một
avoicefromthetopofthetable.“Mr.
Beebe,youare
sai
wrong.Thefirstfineafternoonyourladies
phải
mustgotoPrato.”“That
phụ nữ
ladylookssoclever,”whisperedMissBartletttohercousin.“Weareinluck.”
Và
And,indeed,aperfecttorrentofinformationburstonhọ
them.Peopletoldthemwhatto
xem
see,whentoseeit,làm thế nào
howtostoptheelectrictrams,làm thế nào
howtogetridofnhững
thebeggars,howmuchtogiveformột
avellumblotter,howmuchnhững
theplacewouldgrowuponhọ
them.ThePensionBertolinihaddecided,
gần
almostenthusiastically,thattheywouldlàm
do.Whicheverwaytheylooked,kindladiessmiled
và
andshoutedatthem.Andaboveallrosethevoiceoftheclever
phụ nữ
lady,crying:“Prato!
Theymust
đi
gotoPrato.Thatplaceis
quá
toosweetlysqualidforwords.I
thích
loveit;Irevelinshakingoff
những
thetrammelsofrespectability,asyouknow.”The
trẻ
youngmannamedGeorgeglancedatthecleverphụ nữ
lady,andthenreturnedmoodilytohisplate.Obviouslyhe
và
andhisfatherdidnotlàm
do.Lucy,inthemidstofhersuccess,found
thời gian
timetowishtheydid.Itgaveher
không
noextrapleasurethatanyai
oneshouldbeleftinthelạnh
cold;andwhensheroseto
đi
go,sheturnedbackandgavethehai
twooutsidersanervouslittlebow.The
cha
fatherdidnotseeit;thesonacknowledged
đó
it,notbyanotherbow,butbyraisinghiseyebrowsvà
andsmiling;heseemedtobesmilingacrosssomething.
Shehastened
sau
afterhercousin,whohadđã
alreadydisappearedthroughthecurtains—curtainsmà
whichsmoteoneintheface,và
andseemedheavywithmorethancloth.BeyondthemstoodtheunreliableSignora,bowinggood-eveningtoherguests,
và
andsupportedby’Enery,herlittlecậu bé
boy,andVictorier,herdaughter.Itmade
một
acuriouslittlescene,thisattemptoftheCockneytoconveythegracevà
andgenialityoftheSouth.Và
Andevenmorecuriouswasthedrawing-room,đó
whichattemptedtorivalthesolidcomfortofmột
aBloomsburyboarding-house.Wasthis
thực sự
reallyItaly?MissBartlettwas
đã
alreadyseatedonatightlystuffedarm-chair,whichhadthecolourvà
andthecontoursofatomato.ShewastalkingtoMr.Beebe,
và
andasshespoke,herdài
longnarrowheaddrovebackwardsvà
andforwards,slowly,regularly,asthoughsheweredemolishingmột
someinvisibleobstacle.“Wearemostgratefultoyou,”shewassaying.
“Thefirsteveningmeansso
rất
much.Whenyouarrivedwewereinfor
một
apeculiarlymauvaisquartd’heure.”Heexpressedhisregret.
“Doyou,byanychance,
biết
knowthenameofangià
oldmanwhosatoppositeusatdinner?”“Emerson.”
“Isheafriendofyours?”
“Wearefriendly—as
một
oneisinpensions.”“ThenI
sẽ
willsaynomore.”Hepressedher
rất
veryslightly,andshesaidmore.“Iam,asitwere,”sheconcluded,“thechaperonofmy
trẻ
youngcousin,Lucy,anditwouldbeanghiêm trọng
seriousthingifIputherdưới
underanobligationtopeopleofwhomwebiết
knownothing.Hismannerwassomewhatunfortunate.
I
hy vọng
hopeIactedforthebest.”“Youacted
rất
verynaturally,”saidhe.Heseemedthoughtful,
và
andafterafewmomentsadded:“Allthesame,Idon’t
nghĩ rằng
thinkmuchharmwouldhaveđến
comeofaccepting.”“Noharm,ofcourse.
Nhưng
Butwecouldnotbeunderanobligation.”“Heisrather
một
apeculiarman.”Againhehesitated,
và
andthensaidgently:“Ithinkhewouldnottakeadvantageofyouracceptance,norexpectyoutoshowgratitude.
Hehas
những
themerit—ifitisone—ofsayingchính xác
exactlywhathemeans.Hehasroomshedoesnotvalue,
và
andhethinksyouwouldvaluechúng
them.Henomorethoughtofputtingyouunderanobligationthanhethoughtofbeingpolite.
Itissodifficult—at
ít
least,Ifinditdifficult—tohiểu
understandpeoplewhospeakthetruth.”Lucywaspleased,
và
andsaid:“Iwashopingthathewasnice;
Idosoalways
hy vọng
hopethatpeoplewillbenice.”“Ithinkhe
là
is;niceandtiresome.
Idifferfromhimonalmostevery
điểm
pointofanyimportance,andso,Iexpect—Icó thể
maysayIhope—youwilldiffer.Nhưng
Buthisisatypeonedisagreesvới
withratherthandeplores.Whenhefirstcame
đây
herehenotunnaturallyputpeople’sbackslên
up.Hehasnotact
và
andnomanners—Idon’tmeanbythatthathehasxấu
badmanners—andhewillnotgiữ
keephisopinionstohimself.Wenearlycomplained
về
abouthimtoourdepressingSignora,nhưng
butIamgladtosaywethoughtbetterofit.”“AmItoconclude,”saidMissBartlett,“thatheis
một
aSocialist?”Mr.
Beebeacceptedtheconvenient
từ
word,notwithoutaslighttwitchingofthelips.“Andpresumablyhehasbroughtuphissontobe
một
aSocialist,too?”“Ihardly
biết
knowGeorge,forhehasn’tlearnttonói
talkyet.