第 5 节
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京文 更新:2024-09-15 09:12 字数:9322
the same time Mrs。 Milray sat down。
〃You will find Miss Milray;〃 she continued; with the same glacial
hauteur; 〃a very agreeable and cultivated lady。〃
Clementina said nothing; and Mrs。 Milray added;
〃And I hope she may have the happiness of being more useful to you than I
have。〃
〃What do you mean; Mrs。 Milray? 〃Clementina asked with unexpected spirit
and courage。
〃I mean simply this; that I have not succeeded in putting you on your
guard against your love of admirationespecially the admiration of
gentlemen。 A young girl can't be too careful how she accepts the
attentions of gentlemen; and if she seems to invite them〃
〃Mrs。 Milray cried Clementina。 〃How can you say such a thing to me?〃
〃How? I shall have to be plain with you; I see。 Perhaps I have not
considered that; after all; you know nothing about life and are not to
blame for things that a person born and bred in the world would
understand from childhood。 If you don't know already; I can tell you
that the way you have behaved with Lord Lioncourt during the last two or
three days; and the way you showed your pleasure the other night in his
ridiculous flatteries of you; was enough to make you the talk of the
whole steamer。 I advise you for your own sake to take my warning in
time。 You are very young; and inexperienced and ignorant; but that will
not save you in the eyes of the world if you keep on。〃 Mrs。 Milray rose。
〃And now I will leave you to think of what I have said。 Here is the
letter for Miss Milray〃
Clementina shook her head。 〃I don't want it。〃
〃You don't want it? But I have written it at Mr。 Milray's request; and I
shall certainly leave it with you!〃
〃If you do;〃 said Clementina; 〃I shall not take it!〃
〃And what shall I say to Mr。 Milray?〃
〃What you have just said to me。〃
〃What have I said to you?〃
〃That I'm a bold girl; and that I've tried to make men admi'a me。〃
Mrs。 Milray stopped as if suddenly daunted by a fact that had not
occurred to her before。 〃Did I say that?〃
〃The same as that。〃
〃I didn't mean thatImerely meant to put you on your guard。 It may be
because you are so innocent yourself; that you can't imagine what others
think; andI did it out of my regard for you。〃
Clementina did not answer。
Mrs。 Milray went on; 〃That was why I was so provoked with you。 I think
that for a young girl to stand up and dance alone before a whole steamer
full of strangers〃Clementina looked at her without speaking; and Mrs。
Milray hastened to say; 〃To be sure I advised you to do it; but I
certainly was surprised that you should give an encore。 But no matter;
now。 This letter〃
〃I can't take it; Mrs。 Milray;〃 said Clementina; with a swelling heart。
〃Now; listen!〃 urged Mrs。 Milray。 〃You think I'm just saying it
because; if you don't take it I shall have to tell Mr。 Milray I was so
hateful to you; you couldn't。 Well; I should hate to tell him that; but
that isn't the reason。 There!〃 She tore the letter in pieces; and threw
it on the floor。 Clementina did not make any sign of seeing this; and
Mrs。 Milray dropped upon her chair again。 〃Oh; how hard you are! Can't
you say something to me?〃
Clementina did not lift her eyes。 〃I don't feel like saying anything
just now。〃
Mrs。 Milray was silent a moment。 Then she sighed。 〃Well; you may hate
me; but I shall always be your friend。 What hotel are you going to in
Liverpool?
〃I don't know;〃 said Clementina。
〃You had better come to the one where we go。 I'm afraid Mrs。 Lander
won't know how to manage very well; and we've been in Liverpool so often。
May I speak to her about it?〃
〃If you want to;〃 Clementina coldly assented。
〃I see!〃 said Mrs。 Milray。 〃You don't want to be under the same roof
with me。 Well; you needn't! But I'll tell you a good hotel: the one
that the trains start out of; and I'll send you that letter for Miss
Milray。〃 Clemeutina was silent。 〃Well; I'll send it; anyway。〃
Mrs。 Milray went away in sudden tears; but the girl remained dry…eyed。
XIX。
Mrs。 Lander realized when the ship came to anchor in the stream at
Liverpool that she had not been seasick a moment during the voyage。 In
the brisk cold of the winter morning; as they came ashore in the tug; she
fancied a property of health in the European atmosphere; which she was
sure would bring her right up; if she stayed long enough; and a regret
that she had never tried it with Mr。 Lander mingled with her new hopes
for herself。
But Clementina looked with home…sick eyes at the strangeness of the alien
scene: the pale; low heaven which seemed not to be clouded and yet was so
dim; the flat shores with the little railroad trains running in and out
over them; the grimy bulks of the city; and the shipping in the river;
sparse and sombre after the gay forest of sails and stacks at New York。
She did not see the Milrays after she left the tug; in the rapid
dispersal of the steamer's passengers。 They both took leave of her at
the dock; and Mrs。 Milray whispered with penitence in her voice and eyes;
I will write;〃 but the girl did not answer。
Before Mrs。 Lander's trunks and her own were passed; she saw Lord
Lioncourt going away with his heavily laden man at his heels。 Mr。 Ewins
came up to see if he could help her through the customs; but she believed
that be had come at Mrs。 Milray's bidding; and she thanked him so
prohibitively that he could not insist。 The English clergyman who had
spoken to her the morning after the charity entertainment left his wife
with Mrs。 Lander; and came to her help; and then Mr。 Ewins went his way。
The clergyman; who appeared to feel the friendlessness of the young girl
and the old woman a charge laid upon him; bestowed a sort of fatherly
protection upon them both。 He advised them to stop at a hotel for a few
hours and take the later train for London that he and his wife were going
up by; they drove to the hotel together; where Mrs。 Lander could not be
kept from paying the omnibus; and made them have luncheon with her。 She
allowed the clergyman to get her tickets; and she could not believe that
be had taken second class tickets for himself and his wife。 She said
that she had never heard of anyone travelling second class before; and
she assured him that they never did it in America。 She begged him to let
her pay the difference; and bring his wife into her compartment; which
the guard had reserved for her。 She urged that the money was nothing to
her; compared with the comfort of being with some one you knew; and the
clergyman had to promise that as they should be neighbors; he would look
in upon her; whenever the train stopped long enough。
Before it began to move; Clementina thought she saw Lord Lioncourt
hurrying past their carriage…window。 At Rugby the clergyman appeared;
but almost before he could speak; Lord Lioncourt's little red face showed
at his elbow。 He asked Clementina to present him to Mrs。 Lander; who
pressed him to get into her compartment; the clergyman vanished; and Lord
Lioncourt yielded。
Mrs。 Lander found him able to tell her the best way to get to Florence;
whose situation he seemed to know perfectly; he confessed that he had
been there rather often。 He made out a little itinerary for going
straight through by sleeping…car as soon as you crossed the Channel; she
had said that she always liked a through train when she could get it; and
the less stops the better。 She bade Clementina take charge of the plan
and not lose it; without it she did not see what they could do。 She
conceived of him as a friend of Clementina's; and she lost in the strange
environment the shyness she had with most people。 She told him how Mr。
Lander had made his money; and from what beginnings he rose to be
ignorant of what he really was worth when he died。 She dwelt upon the
diseases they had suffered; and at the thought of his death; so
unnecessary in view of the good that the air was already doing her in
Europe; she shed tears。
Lord Lioncourt was very polite; but there was no resumption of the ship's
comradery in his manner。 Clementina could not know how quickly this
always drops from people who have been fellow…passengers; and she
wondered if he were guarding himself from her because she had danced at
the charity entertainment。 The poison which Mrs。 Milray had instilled
worked in her thoughts while she could not help seeing how patient he was
with all Mrs。 Lander's questions; he answered them with a simplicity of
his own; or laughed and put them by; when they were quite impossible。
Many of them related to the comparative merits of English and American
railroads; and what he thought himself of these。 Mrs。 Lander noted the
difference of the English stations; but she did not see much in the
landscape to examine him upon。 She required him to tell her why the
rooks they saw were not crows; and she was not satisfied that he should
say the country seat she pointed out was a castle when it was plainly
deficient in battlements。 She based upon his immovable confidence in
respect to it an inquiry into the structure of English society; and she
made him tell her what a lord was; and a commoner; and how the royal
family diffe