第10章
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点击下载App,搜索"The Rise of Silas Lapham",免费读到尾

  Well,now,youjusttalkbusinesswithhimattheoffice。\"

  TheonlysocialattentionwhichLaphamsucceededinofferingCoreywastotakehiminhisbuggy,nowandthen,foraspinoutovertheMill—dam。Hekeptthemareintown,andonapleasantafternoonhelikedtoknockoffearly,ashephrasedit,andletthemareoutalittle。

  Coreyunderstoodsomethingabouthorses,thoughinapassionlessway,andhewouldhavepreferredtotalkbusinesswhenobligedtotalkhorse。ButhedeferredtohisbusinesssuperiorwiththesenseofdisciplinewhichisinnateintheapparentlyinsubordinateAmericannature。

  IfCoreycouldhardlyhavehelpedfeelingthesocialdifferencebetweenLaphamandhimself,inhispresencehesilencedhistraditions,andshowedhimalltherespectthathecouldhaveexactedfromanyofhisclerks。

  Hetalkedhorsewithhim,andwhentheColonelwishedhetalkedhouse。BesideshimselfandhispaintLaphamhadnotmanyothertopics;andifhehadachoicebetweenthemareandtheedificeonthewatersideofBeaconStreet,itwasjustnowthelatter。Sometimes,indrivinginorout,hestoppedatthehouse,andmadeCoreyhisguestthere,ifhemightnotatNantasket;andonedayithappenedthattheyoungmanmetIrenethereagain。Shehadcomeupwithhermotheralone,andtheywereinthehouse,interviewingthecarpenterasbefore,whentheColoneljumpedoutofhisbuggyandcastanchoratthepavement。

  Moreexactly,Mrs。Laphamwasinterviewingthecarpenter,andIrenewassittinginthebow—windowonatrestle,andlookingoutatthedriving。Shesawhimcomeupwithherfather,andbowedandblushed。Herfatherwentonup—stairstofindhermother,andCoreypulledupanothertrestlewhichhefoundinthebackpartoftheroom。

  Thefirstflooringshadbeenlaidthroughoutthehouse,andthepartitionshadbeenlathedsothatonecouldrealisetheshapeoftheinterior。

  \"Isupposeyouwillsitatthiswindowagooddeal,\"

  saidtheyoungman。

  \"Yes,Ithinkitwillbeverynice。There’ssomuchmoregoingonthanthereisintheSquare。\"

  \"Itmustbeveryinterestingtoyoutoseethehousegrow。\"

  \"Itis。Onlyitdoesn’tseemtogrowsofastasIexpected。\"

  \"Why,I’mamazedattheprogressyourcarpenterhasmadeeverytimeIcome。\"

  Thegirllookeddown,andthenliftinghereyesshesaid,withasortoftimorousappeal——

  \"I’vebeenreadingthatbooksinceyouweredownatNantasket。\"

  \"Book?\"repeatedCorey,whileshereddenedwithdisappointment。

  \"Ohyes。Middlemarch。Didyoulikeit?\"

  \"Ihaven’tgotthroughwithityet。Penhasfinishedit。\"

  \"Whatdoesshethinkofit?\"

  \"Oh,Ithinkshelikesitverywell。Ihaven’theardhertalkaboutitmuch。Doyoulikeit?\"

  \"Yes;Ilikeditimmensely。Butit’sseveralyearssinceIreadit。\"

  \"Ididn’tknowitwassoold。It’sjustgotintotheSeasideLibrary,\"sheurged,withalittlesenseofinjuryinhertone。

  \"Oh,ithasn’tbeenoutsuchaverygreatwhile,\"

  saidCoreypolitely。\"ItcamealittlebeforeDANIELDERONDA。\"

  Thegirlwasagainsilent。Shefollowedthecurlofashavingonthefloorwiththepointofherparasol。

  \"DoyoulikethatRosamondVincy?\"sheasked,withoutlookingup。

  Coreysmiledinhiskindway。

  \"Ididn’tsupposeshewasexpectedtohaveanyfriends。

  Ican’tsayIlikedher。ButIdon’tthinkIdislikedhersomuchastheauthordoes。She’sprettyhardonhergood—looking\"——hewasgoingtosaygirls,butasifthatmighthavebeenratherpersonal,hesaid——\"people。\"

  \"Yes,that’swhatPensays。Shesaysshedoesn’tgiveheranychancetobegood。ShesayssheshouldhavebeenjustasbadasRosamondifshehadbeeninherplace。\"

  Theyoungmanlaughed。\"Yoursisterisverysatirical,isn’tshe?\"

  \"Idon’tknow,\"saidIrene,stillintentupontheconvolutionsoftheshaving。\"Shekeepsuslaughing。

  Papathinksthere’snobodythatcantalklikeher。\"

  Shegavetheshavingalittletossfromher,andtooktheparasolupacrossherlap。TheunworldlinessoftheLaphamgirlsdidnotextendtotheirdress;

  Irene’scostumewasverystylish,andshegovernedherheadandshouldersstylishly。\"Wearegoingtohavethebackroomupstairsforamusic—roomandlibrary,\"

  shesaidabruptly。

  \"Yes?\"returnedCorey。\"Ishouldthinkthatwouldbecharming。\"

  \"Weexpectedtohavebook—cases,butthearchitectwantstobuildtheshelvesin。\"

  ThefactseemedtobereferredtoCoreyforhiscomment。

  \"Itseemstomethatwouldbethebestway。They’lllooklikepartoftheroomthen。Youcanmakethemlow,andhangyourpicturesabovethem。\"

  \"Yes,that’swhathesaid。\"Thegirllookedoutofthewindowinadding,\"Ipresumewithnicebindingsitwilllookverywell。\"

  \"Oh,nothingfurnishesaroomlikebooks。\"

  \"No。Therewillhavetobeagoodmanyofthem。\"

  \"Thatdependsuponthesizeofyourroomandthenumberofyourshelves。\"

  \"Oh,ofcourse!Ipresume,\"saidIrene,thoughtfully,\"weshallhavetohaveGibbon。\"

  \"Ifyouwanttoreadhim,\"saidCorey,withalaughofsympathyforanimaginablejoke。

  \"Wehadagreatdealabouthimatschool。Ibelievewehadoneofhisbooks。Mine’slost,butPenwillremember。\"

  Theyoungmanlookedather,andthensaid,seriously,\"You’llwantGreene,ofcourse,andMotley,andParkman。\"

  \"Yes。Whatkindofwritersarethey?\"

  \"They’rehistorianstoo。\"

  \"Ohyes;Iremembernow。That’swhatGibbonwas。

  IsitGibbonorGibbons?\"

  Theyoungmandecidedthepointwithapparentlysuperfluousdelicacy。\"Gibbon,Ithink。\"

  \"Thereusedtobesomanyofthem,\"saidIrenegaily。

  \"Iusedtogetthemmixedupwitheachother,andI

  couldn’ttellthemfromthepoets。Shouldyouwanttohavepoetry?\"

  \"Yes;IsupposesomeeditionoftheEnglishpoets。\"

  \"Wedon’tanyofuslikepoetry。Doyoulikeit?\"

  \"I’mafraidIdon’tverymuch,\"Coreyowned。

  \"But,ofcourse,therewasatimewhenTennysonwasagreatdealmoretomethanheisnow。\"

  \"Wehadsomethingabouthimatschooltoo。IthinkIrememberthename。IthinkweoughttohaveALLtheAmericanpoets。\"

  \"Well,notall。Fiveorsixofthebest:youwantLongfellowandBryantandWhittierandHolmesandEmersonandLowell。\"

  Thegirllistenedattentively,asifmakingmentalnoteofthenames。

  \"AndShakespeare,\"sheadded。\"Don’tyoulikeShakespeare’splays?\"

  \"Ohyes,verymuch。\"

  \"Iusedtobeperfectlycrazyabouthisplays。

  Don’tyouthink’Hamlet’issplendid?WehadeversomuchaboutShakespeare。Weren’tyouperfectlyastonishedwhenyoufoundouthowmanyotherplaysofhistherewere?Ialwaysthoughttherewasnothingbut’Hamlet’

  and’RomeoandJuliet’and’Macbeth’and’RichardIII。’

  and’KingLear,’andthatonethatRobesonandCranehave——ohyes!’ComedyofErrors。’\"

  \"Thosearetheonestheyusuallyplay,\"saidCorey。

  \"IpresumeweshallhavetohaveScott’sworks,\"saidIrene,returningtothequestionofbooks。

  \"Ohyes。\"

  \"OneofthegirlsusedtothinkhewasGREAT。ShewasalwaystalkingaboutScott。\"Irenemadeaprettylittleamiablycontemptuousmouth。\"Heisn’tAmerican,though?\"

  shesuggested。

  \"No,\"saidCorey;\"he’sScotch,Ibelieve。\"

  Irenepassedhergloveoverherforehead。\"IalwaysgethimmixedupwithCooper。Well,papahasgottogetthem。

  Ifwehavealibrary,wehavegottohavebooksinit。

  Pensaysit’sperfectlyridiculoushavingone。Butpapathinkswhateverthearchitectsaysisright。Hefoughthimhardenoughatfirst。Idon’tseehowanyonecankeepthepoetsandthehistoriansandnovelistsseparateintheirmind。Ofcoursepapawillbuythemifwesayso。

  ButIdon’tseehowI’mevergoingtotellhimwhichones。\"

  Thejoyouslightfadedoutofherfaceandleftitpensive。

  \"Why,ifyoulike,\"saidtheyoungman,takingouthispencil,\"I’llputdownthenameswe’vebeentalkingabout。\"

  Heclappedhimselfonhisbreastpocketstodetectsomelurkingscrapofpaper。

  \"Willyou?\"shecrieddelightedly。\"Here!takeoneofmycards,\"

  andshepulledouthercard—case。\"Thecarpenterwritesonathree—corneredblockandputsitintohispocket,andit’ssouncomfortablehecan’thelprememberingit。

  Pensaysshe’sgoingtoadoptthethree—cornered—blockplanwithpapa。\"

  \"Thankyou,\"saidCorey。\"IbelieveI’lluseyourcard。\"

  Hecrossedovertoher,andafteramomentsatdownonthetrestlebesideher。Shelookedoverthecardashewrote。

  \"Thosearetheoneswementioned,butperhapsI’dbetteraddafewothers。\"

  \"Oh,thankyou,\"shesaid,whenhehadwrittenthecardfullonbothsides。\"Hehasgottogettheminthenicestbinding,too。Ishalltellhimabouttheirhelpingtofurnishtheroom,andthenhecan’tobject。\"

  Sheremainedwiththecard,lookingatitratherwistfully。

  PerhapsCoreydivinedhertroubleofmind。\"Ifhewilltakethattoanybookseller,andtellhimwhatbindingshewants,hewillfilltheorderforhim。\"jdh—

  spell—checkedtothispoint\"Oh,thankyouverymuch,\"

  shesaid,andputthecardbackintohercard—casewithgreatapparentrelief。Thensheturnedherlovelyfacetowardtheyoungman,beamingwiththetriumphawomanfeelsinanybitofsuccessfulmanoeuvring,andbegantotalkwithrecoveredgaietyofotherthings,asif,havinggotridofamatterannoyingoutofallproportiontoitsimportance,shewasnowgoingtoindemnifyherself。

  Coreydidnotreturntohisowntrestle。Shefoundanothershavingwithinreachofherparasol,andbeganpokingthatwithit,andtryingtofollowitthroughitsfolds。

  Coreywatchedherawhile。

  \"Youseemtohaveagreatpassionforplayingwithshavings,\"

  hesaid。\"Isitanewone?\"

  \"Newwhat?\"

  \"Passion。\"

  \"Idon’tknow,\"shesaid,droppinghereyelids,andkeepingonwithhereffort。Shelookedshylyaslantathim。

  \"Perhapsyoudon’tapproveofplayingwithshavings?\"

  \"Ohyes,Ido。Iadmireitverymuch。Butitseemsratherdifficult。I’veagreatambitiontoputmyfootontheshaving’stailandholditforyou。\"

  \"Well,\"saidthegirl。

  \"Thankyou,\"saidtheyoungman。Hedidso,andnowsheranherparasolpointeasilythroughit。Theylookedateachotherandlaughed。\"Thatwaswonderful。

  Wouldyouliketotryanother?\"heasked。

  \"No,Ithankyou,\"shereplied。\"Ithinkonewilldo。\"

  Theybothlaughedagain,forwhateverreasonornoreason,andthentheyounggirlbecamesober。Toagirleverythingayoungmandoesisofsignificance;andifheholdsashavingdownwithhisfootwhileshepokesthroughitwithherparasol,shemustaskherselfwhathemeansbyit。

  \"Theyseemtobehavingratheralonginterviewwiththecarpenterto—day,\"saidIrene,lookingvaguelytowardtheceiling。SheturnedwithpoliteceremonytoCorey。

  \"I’mafraidyou’relettingthemkeepyou。Youmustn’t。\"

  \"Ohno。You’relettingmestay,\"hereturned。

  Shebridledandbitherlipforpleasure。\"Ipresumetheywillbedownbeforeagreatwhile。Don’tyoulikethesmellofthewoodandthemortar?It’ssofresh。\"

  \"Yes,it’sdelicious。\"Hebentforwardandpickedupfromthefloortheshavingwithwhichtheyhadbeenplaying,andputittohisnose。\"It’slikeaflower。MayIofferittoyou?\"heasked,asifithadbeenone。

  \"Oh,thankyou,thankyou!\"Shetookitfromhimandputitintoherbelt,andthentheybothlaughedoncemore。

  Stepswerehearddescending。Whentheelderpeoplereachedthefloorwheretheyweresitting,Coreyroseandpresentlytookhisleave。

  \"Whatmakesyousosolemn,’Rene?\"askedMrs。Lapham。

  \"Solemn?\"echoedthegirl。\"I’mnotaBITsolemn。

  WhatCANyoumean?\"

  Coreydinedathomethatevening,andashesatlookingacrossthetableathisfather,hesaid,\"Iwonderwhattheaverageliteratureofnon—cultivatedpeopleis。\"

  \"Ah,\"saidtheelder,\"Isuspecttheaverageisprettylowevenwithcultivatedpeople。Youdon’treadagreatmanybooksyourself,Tom。\"

  \"No,Idon’t,\"theyoungmanconfessed。\"IreadmorebookswhenIwaswithStanton,lastwinter,thanIhadsinceIwasaboy。ButIreadthembecauseImust——therewasnothingelsetodo。Itwasn’tbecauseIwasfondofreading。

  StillIthinkIreadwithsomesenseofliteratureandthedifferencebetweenauthors。Idon’tsupposethatpeoplegenerallydothat;Ihavemetpeoplewhohadreadbookswithouttroublingthemselvestofindouteventheauthor’sname,muchlesstryingtodecideuponhisquality。

  Isupposethat’sthewaythevastmajorityofpeopleread。\"

  \"Yes。Ifauthorswerenotalmostnecessarilyrecluses,andignorantoftheignoranceaboutthem,Idon’tseehowtheycouldendureit。Ofcoursetheyarefatedtobeoverwhelmedbyoblivionatlast,poorfellows;buttoseeitwelteringallroundthemwhiletheyareintheveryactofachievingimmortalitymustbetremendouslydiscouraging。

  Idon’tsupposethatwewhohavethehabitofreading,andatleastanoddingacquaintancewithliterature,canimaginethebestialdarknessofthegreatmassofpeople——evenpeoplewhosehousesarerichandwhoselinenispurpleandfine。Butoccasionallywegetglimpsesofit。

  IsupposeyoufoundthelatestpublicationslyingallaboutinLaphamcottagewhenyouweredownthere?\"

  YoungCoreylaughed。\"Itwasn’texactlycumberedwiththem。\"

  \"No?\"

  \"Totellthetruth,Idon’tsupposetheyeverbuybooks。

  Theyoungladiesgetnovelsthattheyheartalkedofoutofthecirculatinglibrary。\"

  \"Hadtheyknowledgeenoughtobeashamedoftheirignorance?\"

  \"Yes,incertainways——toacertaindegree。\"

  \"It’sacuriousthing,thisthingwecallcivilisation,\"

  saidtheeldermusingly。\"Wethinkitisanaffairofepochsandofnations。It’sreallyanaffairofindividuals。

  Onebrotherwillbecivilisedandtheotherabarbarian。

  I’veoccasionallymetyounggirlswhoweresobrutally,insolently,wilfullyindifferenttotheartswhichmakecivilisationthattheyoughttohavebeenclothedintheskinsofwildbeastsandgoneaboutbarefootwithclubsovertheirshoulders。Yettheywereofpoliteorigin,andtheirparentswereatleastrespectfulofthethingsthattheseyounganimalsdespised。\"

  \"Idon’tthinkthatisexactlythecasewiththeLaphamfamily,\"saidtheson,smiling。\"Thefatherandmotherratherapologisedaboutnotgettingtimetoread,andtheyoungladiesbynomeansscornedit。\"

  \"Theyarequiteadvanced!\"

  \"TheyaregoingtohavealibraryintheirBeaconStreethouse。\"

  \"Oh,poorthings!Howaretheyevergoingtogetthebookstogether?\"

  \"Well,sir,\"saidtheson,colouringalittle,\"Ihavebeenindirectlyappliedtoforhelp。\"

  \"You,Tom!\"Hisfatherdroppedbackinhischairandlaughed。

  \"Irecommendedthestandardauthors,\"saidtheson。

  \"Oh,IneversupposedyourPRUDENCEwouldbeatfault,Tom!\"

  \"Butseriously,\"saidtheyoungman,generouslysmilinginsympathywithhisfather’senjoyment,\"they’renotunintelligentpeople。Theyareveryquick,andtheyareshrewdandsensible。\"

  \"IhavenodoubtthatsomeoftheSiouxareso。Butthatisnotsayingthattheyarecivilised。Allcivilisationcomesthroughliteraturenow,especiallyinourcountry。

  AGreekgothiscivilisationbytalkingandlooking,andinsomemeasureaParisianmaystilldoit。Butwe,wholiveremotefromhistoryandmonuments,wemustreadorwemustbarbarise。Onceweweresoftened,ifnotpolished,byreligion;butIsuspectthatthepulpitcountsformuchlessnowincivilising。\"

  \"They’reenormousdevourersofnewspapers,andtheatre—goers;

  andtheygoagreatdealtolectures。TheColonelprefersthemwiththestereopticon。\"

  \"Theymightgetasomethinginthatway,\"saidtheelderthoughtfully。\"Yes,Isupposeonemusttakethosethingsintoaccount——especiallythenewspapersandthelectures。

  Idoubtifthetheatreisafactorincivilisationamongus。

  Idaresayitdoesn’tdepraveagreatdeal,butfromwhatI’veseenofitIshouldsaythatitwasintellectuallydegrading。

  Perhapstheymightgetsomesortofliftfromit;

  Idon’tknow。Tom!\"headded,afteramoment’sreflection。

  \"IreallythinkIoughttoseethispatronofyours。

  Don’tyouthinkitwouldberatherdecentinmetomakehisacquaintance?\"

  \"Well,ifyouhavethefancy,sir,\"saidtheyoungman。

  \"Butthere’snosortofobligation。ColonelLaphamwouldbethelastmanintheworldtowanttogiveourrelationanysortofsocialcharacter。Themeetingwillcomeaboutinthenaturalcourseofthings。\"

  \"Ah,Ididn’tintendtoproposeanythingimmediate,\"

  saidthefather。\"Onecan’tdoanythinginthesummer,andIshouldpreferyourmother’ssuperintendence。

  Still,Ican’tridmyselfoftheideaofadinner。

  Itappearstomethatthereoughttobeadinner。\"

  \"Oh,praydon’tfeelthatthere’sanynecessity。\"

  \"Well,\"saidtheelder,witheasyresignation,\"there’satleastnohurry。\"

  \"ThereisonethingIdon’tlike,\"saidLapham,inthecourseofoneofthosetalkswhichcameupbetweenhiswifeandhimselfconcerningCorey,\"oratleastIdon’tunderstandit;andthat’sthewayhisfatherbehaves。Idon’twanttoforcemyselfonanyman;

  butitseemstomeprettyqueerthewayheholdsoff。

  Ishouldthinkhewouldtakeenoughinterestinhissontowanttoknowsomethingabouthisbusiness。

  Whatisheafraidof?\"demandedLaphamangrily。\"DoeshethinkI’mgoingtojumpatachancetogetinwithhim,ifhegivesmeone?He’smightilymistakenifhedoes。

  Idon’twanttoknowhim。\"

  \"Silas,\"saidhiswife,makingawife’sfreeversionofherhusband’swords,andreplyingtotheirspiritratherthantheirletter,\"IhopeyouneversaidawordtoMr。Coreytolethimknowthewayyoufeel。\"

  \"Inevermentionedhisfathertohim!\"roaredtheColonel。

  \"That’sthewayIfeelaboutit!\"

  \"Becauseitwouldspoileverything。Iwouldn’thavethemthinkwecaredtheleastthingintheworldfortheiracquaintance。Weshouldn’tbeabitbetteroff。

  Wedon’tknowthesamepeopletheydo,andwedon’tcareforthesamekindofthings。\"

  Laphamwasbreathlesswithresentmentofhiswife’simplication。

  \"Don’tItellyou,\"hegasped,\"thatIdon’twanttoknowthem?Whobeganit?They’refriendsofyoursifthey’reanybody’s。\"

  \"They’redistantacquaintancesofmine,\"returnedMrs。Laphamquietly;\"andthisyoungCoreyisaclerkofyours。AndI

  wantweshouldholdourselvessothatwhentheygetreadytomaketheadvanceswecanmeetthemhalf—wayornot,justaswechoose。\"

  \"That’swhatgrindsme,\"criedherhusband。

  \"Whyshouldwewaitforthemtomaketheadvances?Whyshouldn’twemake’em?Aretheyanybetterthanweare?

  MynoteofhandwouldbeworthtentimeswhatBromfieldCorey’sisonthestreetto—day。AndImadeMYmoney。

  Ihaven’tloafedmylifeaway。\"

  \"Oh,itisn’twhatyou’vegot,anditisn’twhatyou’vedoneexactly。It’swhatyouare。\"

  \"Well,then,what’sthedifference?\"

  \"Nonethatreallyamountstoanything,orthatneedgiveyouanytrouble,ifyoudon’tthinkofit。Buthe’sbeenallhislifeinsociety,andheknowsjustwhattosayandwhattodo,andhecantalkaboutthethingsthatsocietypeopleliketotalkabout,andyou——can’t。\"

  Laphamgaveafurioussnort。\"Anddoesthatmakehimanybetter?\"

  \"No。Butitputshimwherehecanmaketheadvanceswithoutdemeaninghimself,anditputsyouwhereyoucan’t。Now,lookhere,SilasLapham!YouunderstandthisthingaswellasIdo。YouknowthatIappreciateyou,andthatI’dsoonerdiethanhaveyouhumbleyourselftoalivingsoul。ButI’mnotgoingtohaveyoucomingtome,andpretendingthatyoucanmeetBromfieldCoreyasanequalonhisownground。Youcan’t。He’sgotabettereducationthanyou,andifhehasn’tgotmorebrainsthanyou,he’sgotdifferent。Andheandhiswife,andtheirfathersandgrandfathersbefore’em,havealwayshadahighposition,andyoucan’thelpit。Ifyouwanttoknowthem,you’vegottoletthemmaketheadvances。

  Ifyoudon’t,allwellandgood。\"

  \"Iguess,\"saidthechafedandvanquishedColonel,afteramomentforswallowingthepill,\"thatthey’dhavebeeninaprettyfixifyou’dwaitedtoletthemmaketheadvanceslastsummer。\"

  \"Thatwasadifferentthingaltogether。Ididn’tknowwhotheywere,ormaybeIshouldhavewaited。

  ButallIsaynowisthatifyou’vegotyoungCoreyintobusinesswithyou,inhopesofourgettingintosocietywithhisfather,youbettershiphimatonce。

  ForIain’tgoingtohaveitonthatbasis。\"

  \"Whowantstohaveitonthatbasis?\"retortedherhusband。

  \"Nobody,ifyoudon’t,\"saidMrs。Laphamtranquilly。

  Irenehadcomehomewiththeshavinginherbelt,unnoticedbyherfather,andunquestionedbyhermother。

  Buthersistersawitatonce,andaskedherwhatshewasdoingwithit。

  \"Oh,nothing,\"saidIrene,withajoyfulsmileofself—betrayal,takingtheshavingcarefullyout,andlayingitamongthelacesandribbonsinherdrawer。

  \"Hadn’tyoubetterputitinwater,’Rene?It’llbeallwiltedbymorning,\"saidPen。

  \"Youmeanthing!\"criedthehappygirl。\"Itisn’taflower!\"

  \"Oh,Ithoughtitwasawholebouquet。Whogaveittoyou?\"

  \"Ishan’ttellyou,\"saidIrenesaucily。

  \"Oh,well,nevermind。DidyouknowMr。Coreyhadbeendownherethisafternoon,walkingonthebeachwithme?\"

  \"Hewasn’t——hewasn’tatall!HewasatthehousewithME。

  There!I’vecaughtyoufairly。\"

  \"Isthatso?\"drawledPenelope。\"ThenInevercouldguesswhogaveyouthatpreciousshaving。\"

  \"No,youcouldn’t!\"saidIrene,flushingbeautifully。

  \"Andyoumayguess,andyoumayguess,andyoumayguess!\"

  Withherlovelyeyesshecoaxedhersistertokeeponteasingher,andPenelopecontinuedthecomedywiththepatiencethatwomenhaveforsuchthings。

  \"Well,I’mnotgoingtotry,ifit’snouse。ButI

  didn’tknowithadgottobethefashiontogiveshavingsinsteadofflowers。Butthere’ssomesenseinit。

  Theycanbeusedforkindlingswhentheygetold,andyoucan’tdoanythingwitholdflowers。Perhapshe’llgettosending’embythebarrel。\"

  Irenelaughedforpleasureinthistormenting。\"OPen,Iwanttotellyouhowitallhappened。\"

  \"Oh,heDIDgiveittoyou,then?Well,IguessIdon’tcaretohear。\"

  \"Youshall,andyou’vegotto!\"Ireneranandcaughthersister,whofeignedtobegoingoutoftheroom,andpushedherintoachair。\"There,now!\"Shepulledupanotherchair,andhemmedherinwithit。\"Hecameover,andsatdownonthetrestlealongsideofme————\"

  \"What?Ascloseasyouaretomenow?\"

  \"Youwretch!IwillGIVEittoyou!No,ataproperdistance。

  Andherewasthisshavingonthefloor,thatI’dbeenpokingwithmyparasol————\"

  \"Tohideyourembarrassment。\"

  \"Pshaw!Iwasn’tabitembarrassed。Iwasjustasmuchatmyease!Andthenheaskedmetolethimholdtheshavingdownwithhisfoot,whileIwentonwithmypoking。

  AndIsaidyeshemight————\"

  \"Whataboldgirl!Yousaidhemightholdashavingdownforyou?\"

  \"Andthen——andthen————\"continuedIrene,liftinghereyesabsently,andlosingherselfinthebeatificrecollection,\"andthen————Ohyes!ThenIaskedhimifhedidn’tlikethesmellofpineshavings。Andthenhepickeditup,andsaiditsmeltlikeaflower。Andthenheaskedifhemightofferittome——justforajoke,youknow。

  AndItookit,andstuckitinmybelt。Andwehadsuchalaugh!Wegotintoaregulargale。AndOPen,whatdoyousupposehemeantbyit?\"Shesuddenlycaughtherselftohersister’sbreast,andhidherburningfaceonhershoulder。

  \"Well,thereusedtobeabookaboutthelanguageofflowers。

  ButIneverknewmuchaboutthelanguageofshavings,andIcan’tsayexactly————\"

  \"Oh,don’t——DON’T,Pen!\"andhereIrenegaveoverlaughing,andbegantosobinhersister’sarms。

  \"Why,’Rene!\"criedtheeldergirl。

  \"YouKNOWhedidn’tmeananything。Hedoesn’tcareabitaboutme。Hehatesme!Hedespisesme!Oh,whatshallIdo?\"

  Atroublepassedoverthefaceofthesisterasshesilentlycomfortedthechildinherarms;thenthedrollinglightcamebackintohereyes。\"Well,’Rene,YOUhaven’tgottodoANYthing。That’soneadvantagegirlshavegot——ifitISanadvantage。I’mnotalwayssure。\"

  Irene’stearsturnedtolaughingagain。Whensheliftedherheaditwastolookintothemirrorconfrontingthem,whereherbeautyshowedallthemorebrilliantfortheshowerthathadpassedoverit。Sheseemedtogathercouragefromthesight。

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