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’sbất ngờ
unexpectedaccent.“ItmightbeLondon.”
Shelookedatthe
hai
tworowsofEnglishpeoplewhoweresittingatthebàn
table;attherowof
trắng
whitebottlesofwaterandđỏ
redbottlesofwinethatrangiữa
betweentheEnglishpeople;at
những
theportraitsofthelateNữ hoàng
QueenandthelatePoetLaureatethathungbehindnhững
theEnglishpeople,heavilyframed;atthe
thông báo
noticeoftheEnglishchurch(Rev.CuthbertEager,M.A.
Oxon.),
đó
thatwastheonlyothertrí
decorationofthewall.“Charlotte,don’tyou
cảm thấy
feel,too,thatwemightbeinLondon?Icanhardly
tin
believethatallkindsofotherthingsarechỉ
justoutside.Isupposeitisone’sbeingsotired.”
“Thismeathas
chắc chắn
surelybeenusedforsoup,”saidMissBartlett,layingxuống
downherfork.“IwantsotoseetheArno.
Những
TheroomstheSignorapromisedusinherletterwouldđã
havelookedovertheArno.TheSignorahad
không
nobusinesstodoitatall.Oh,itisashame!”
“Anynookdoesforme,”MissBartlettcontinued;
“butitdoes
vẻ
seemhardthatyoushouldn’tcó
haveaview.”Lucyfeltthatshehadbeenselfish.
“Charlotte,youmustn’t
hư hỏng
spoilme:ofcourse,you
phải
mustlookovertheArno,too.Imeant
đó
that.Thefirstvacantroominthefront—”
“You
phải
musthaveit,”saidMissBartlett,phần
partofwhosetravellingexpenseswerepaidbyLucy’smother—apieceofgenerositytomà
whichshemademanyatactfulallusion.“No,
không
no.Youmusthaveit.”“Iinsiston
đó
it.Yourmotherwouldnever
tha thứ
forgiveme,Lucy.”“Shewould
không bao giờ
neverforgiveme.”Theladies’voicesgrewanimated,and—if
những
thesadtruthbeowned—achút
littlepeevish.Theyweretired,
và
andundertheguiseofunselfishnesstheywrangled.Someoftheirneighboursinterchangedglances,
và
andoneofthem—oneofnhững
theill-bredpeoplewhomonedoesgặp
meetabroad—leantforwardoverthebàn
tableandactuallyintrudedintotheirtranh luận
argument.Hesaid:.
“Ihave
một
aview,Ihaveaview.”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
exactlyitwasMissBartlettdidnotstoptoxem xét
consider,forherglancepassedontohisquần áo
clothes.Thesedidnotattracther.
Hewasprobablytryingtobecome
quen
acquaintedwiththembeforetheygotintothebơi
swim.Sosheassumedadazed
biểu
expressionwhenhespoketoher,và
andthensaid:“Aview?
Oh,
một
aview!Howdelightfulaviewis!”
“Thisismyson,”saidthe
già
oldman;“hisname’sGeorge.
Hehasa
nhìn
viewtoo.”“Ah,”saidMissBartlett,repressingLucy,
người
whowasabouttospeak.“WhatImean,”hecontinued,“isthatyou
có thể
canhaveourrooms,andwe’llcó
haveyours.We’llchange.”
Thebetter
lớp
classoftouristwasshockedatnày
this,andsympathizedwiththenew-comers.MissBartlett,inreply,openedher
miệng
mouthaslittleaspossible,và
andsaid“Thankyouverymuchthực sự
indeed;thatisoutofthequestion.”
“Why?”
saidthe
già
oldman,withbothfistsonthebàn
table.“Becauseitisquiteoutofthequestion,
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,thuyết phục
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?
Whatpossible
đối
objectionhadshe?Theywouldclearoutin
nửa
halfanhour.MissBartlett,though
kỹ năng
skilledinthedelicaciesofchuyện
conversation,waspowerlessinthepresenceofbrutality.Itwasimpossibletosnubany
một
onesogross.Herfacereddenedwithdispleasure.
Shelooked
quanh
aroundasmuchastonói
say,“Areyoualllikethis?”Và
Andtwolittleoldladies,người
whoweresittingfurtherupthebàn
table,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
whohadtheairofoneonalễ
holiday,didnotremembertheladieskhá
quiteasclearlyastheyrememberedanh ta
him.Buthecameforwardpleasantly
đủ
enoughandacceptedthechairintomà
whichhewasbeckonedbyLucy.“Iamso
vui
gladtoseeyou,”saidthegirl,người
whowasinastateoftinh thần
spiritualstarvation,andwouldhavebeenvui
gladtoseethewaiternếu
ifhercousinhadpermittednó
it.“Justfancyhowsmalltheworldis.
Summer
Street
Street,too,makesitsođặc biệt
speciallyfunny.”“MissHoneychurchlivesinthe
giáo xứ
parishofSummerStreet,”saidMissBartlett,fillingupthekhoảng trống
gap,“andshehappenedtonói
tellmeinthecourseofchuyện
conversationthatyouhavejustacceptedtheliving—”.“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,how
vui
gladIam!Thenameofour
nhà
houseisWindyCorner.”Mr.Beebebowed.
“Thereis
mẹ
motherandmegenerally,andmyanh trai
brother,thoughit’snotoftenwenhận
gethimtoch——The
nhà thờ
churchisratherfaroff,Imean.”“Lucy,dearest,
hãy
letMr.Beebeeathisdinner.”“Iameating
nó
it,thankyou,andenjoyingit.”HepreferredtotalktoLucy,
có
whoseplayingheremembered,ratherhơn
thantoMissBartlett,whoprobablyrememberedhissermons.HeaskedthegirlwhethersheknewFlorence
tốt
well,andwasinformedatmột
somelengththatshehadchưa bao giờ
neverbeentherebefore.Itis
thú vị
delightfultoadviseanewcomer,và
andhewasfirstinthelĩnh vực
field.“Don’tneglectthecountryround,”his
lời khuyên
adviceconcluded.“Thefirstfineafternoon
lái xe
driveuptoFiesole,andvòng
roundbySettignano,orsomethingofđó
thatsort.”“No!”
crieda
giọng nói
voicefromthetopofthebàn
table.“Mr.
Beebe,youare
sai
wrong.Thefirstfineafternoonyourladies
phải
mustgotoPrato.”“That
phụ nữ
ladylookssoclever,”whisperedMissBartletttohercousin.“Weareinluck.”
Và
And,indeed,aperfecttorrentofthông tin
informationburstonthem.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.And
trên
aboveallrosethevoiceofthecleverphụ nữ
lady,crying:“Prato!
Theymust
đi
gotoPrato.Thatplaceis
quá
toosweetlysqualidforwords.I
thích
loveit;Irevelinshakingoff
những
thetrammelsofrespectability,asyouknow.”The
trẻ
youngmannamedGeorgeglancedatthecleverphụ nữ
lady,andthenreturnedmoodilytohisđĩa
plate.Obviouslyheandhis
cha
fatherdidnotdo.Lucy,inthemidstofhersuccess,found
thời gian
timetowishtheydid.Itgaveher
không
noextrapleasurethatanyai
oneshouldbeleftinthelạnh
cold;andwhensheroseto
đi
go,sheturnedbackandgavethehai
twooutsidersanervouslittlecúi
bow.Thefatherdidnot
thấy
seeit;thesonacknowledged
đó
it,notbyanotherbow,butbyraisinghiseyebrowsvà
andsmiling;heseemedtobesmiling
qua
acrosssomething.Shehastenedafterhercousin,
người
whohadalreadydisappearedthroughthecurtains—curtainsmà
whichsmoteoneintheface,và
andseemedheavywithmorethanvải
cloth.BeyondthemstoodtheunreliableSignora,bowinggood-eveningtoherguests,
và
andsupportedby’Enery,herlittlecậu bé
boy,andVictorier,herdaughter.Itmade
một
acuriouslittlescene,thisnỗ lực
attemptoftheCockneytoconveythegracevà
andgenialityoftheSouth.Và
Andevenmorecuriouswasthedrawing-room,đó
whichattemptedtorivalthevững chắc
solidcomfortofaBloomsburyboarding-house.Was
đây
thisreallyItaly?MissBartlettwas
đã
alreadyseatedonatightlystuffedghế
arm-chair,whichhadthecolourvà
andthecontoursofacà chua
tomato.ShewastalkingtoMr.Beebe,
và
andasshespoke,herdài
longnarrowheaddrovebackwardsvà
andforwards,slowly,regularly,asthoughsheweredemolishingmột
someinvisibleobstacle.“Wearemostgratefultoyou,”shewassaying.
“Thefirsteveningmeansso
rất
much.Whenyouarrivedwewereinfor
một
apeculiarlymauvaisquartd’heure.”Heexpressedhis
tiếc
regret.“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.”“Heis
khá
ratherapeculiarman.”Againhehesitated,
và
andthensaidgently:“Ithinkhewouldnottakeadvantageofyour
chấp nhận
acceptance,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.We
gần
nearlycomplainedabouthimtoourdepressingSignora,nhưng
butIamgladtosaywethoughtbetterofit.”“AmItoconclude,”saidMissBartlett,“thatheis
một
aSocialist?”Mr.
Beebeacceptedtheconvenient
từ
word,notwithoutaslighttwitchingofthelips.“And
có lẽ
presumablyhehasbroughtuphissontobemột
aSocialist,too?”“Ihardly
biết
knowGeorge,forhehasn’tlearnttonói
talkyet.