“Andwhatdidthatsweetyouthdo?”
“Turnedshell-pinkandlookedacrossthefarbluehillslikeadistressedcherubAmItalkingwildly,Polly?Letmesaymysay,andIshallbecalmOtherwiseI
maygoabroadanddisturb;5imlawithafeworiginalreflectionsExceptingalwaysyourownsweetself,thereisn’tasinglewomaninthelandwhounderstandsmewhenIam-what’stheword?”
“Tete-F~e~。”suggestedMrsMalLowe。
“Exactly!AndnowletushavetiffinThedemandsofSocietyareexhausting,andasMrs。
Delvillesays“-HereMrsHauksbee,tothehorrorofthekhitmatgars,lapsedintoaseriesofgrunts,whileMrsMallowestaredinlazysurprise。
’Godgieusagudeconceitofoorselves,’“saidMrsHauksbee,piously,returningtohernaturalspeech“。Now,inanyotherwomanthawouldhavebeenvulgarI
amconsuroedwithcuriositytoseeMrsBentIexpectcomplications。”
“Womanofoneidea。”saidMrsMallowe,shortly;“allcomplicationsarea~oldasthehills!I
havelivedthroughornearall~li-ALL?”
“Andyetdonotunderstandthatmciiandworrenneverbehavetwice~likeIamoldwhowasyoung-ifeverIputmyheadinyourlap,youdear,bigsceptic,youwilllearnthatmypartingisgaua~butnever,noneverhaveIlostmyinterestinmenandwomenPolly,IshallseethisbusinessOuttothebitterend。”
“Iamgoingtosleep。”saidMrsMallowe,calmly“IneverinterferewithmenorwomenunlessI
amcompelled。”
andsheretiredwithdignitytoherownroom。
MrsHauksbee’scuriositywasnotlongleftungratified,forMrs。
BentcameuptoSimlaafewdaysaftertheconversationfaithfullyreportedabove,andpervadedtheMallbyherhusband’sside。
“Behold!”saidMrsHauksbee,thoughtfullyrubbinghernose。
“Thatisthelastlinkofthechain,ifweomitthehusbandoftheDelville,whoeverhemaybe。
LetmeconsiderTheBentsandtheDelvillesinhabitthesamehotel;andtheDelvilleisdetestedbytheWaddy-doyouknowtheWaddy?-
whoisalmostasbigadowdTheWaddyalsoabominatesthemaleBent,forwhich,ifherothersinsdonotweightooheavily,shewilleve~tuallygotoHeaven。”
“Don’tbeirrrverent。”saidMrsMall3we“IlikeMrsBent’sface。”
“IamdiscussingtheWaddy。”returnedMrsHauksbee,loftily。
“TheWaddywilltakethefemaleBentapart,atterhavingborrowed-yes-everythingthatshecan,fromhairpinstobabies’bottles。
Such,mydear,islifeinahotelTheWaddywilltellthefemaleBentfactsandfictionsaboutTheDancingMasterandTheDowd。”
“Lucy,Ishouldlikeyoubetterifyouwerenotalwayslookingintopeople’sback-bed-rooms。”
“Aiiybodycanlookintotheirfrontdrawing-rooms;andrememberwhateverIdo,andwhateverI
look,Inevertalk-astheWaddywillLetushopethatTheDancingMaster’sgreasysmileandmannerofthepedagoguewillsoftentheheartofthatcow,hiswifeIfmouthsspeaktruth,Ishouldthinkthat226
WORKSOFRUDYARDKIPLING
littleMrsBentcouldgetveryangryonoccasion。”
“Butwhatreasonhassheforbeingangry?”
“Whatreason!TheDancingMasterinh...完整阅读请扫描二维码下载丁香书院APP免费看: