"My father was a gentleman; and I shall never forget it, though I dogo out to service. I've got no rich friends to help me up, but,sooner or later, I mean to find a place among cultivated people; andwhile I'm working and waiting, I can be fitting myself to fill thatplace like a gentlewoman dermes , as I am."With this ambition in her mind, Christie took notes of all that wenton in the polite world, of which she got frequent glimpses while"living out." Mrs. Stuart received one evening of each week, and onthese occasions Christie, with an extra frill on her white apron,served the company, and enjoyed herself more than they did.
While helping the ladies with their wraps, she observed what theywore, how they carried themselves, and what a vast amount ofprinking they did, not to mention the flood of gossip they talkedwhile shaking out their flounces and settling their topknots.
Later in the evening, when she passed cups and glasses, thisdemure-looking damsel heard much fine discourse, saw many famousbeings, and improved her mind with surreptitious studies of the richand great when on parade. But her best time was after supper, when,through the crack of the door of the little room where she wassupposed to be clearing away the relics of the feast, she looked andlistened at her ease; laughed at the wits, stared at the lions,heard the music, was impressed by the wisdom, and much edified bythe gentility of the whole affair.
After a time, however, Christie got rather tired of it, for therewas an elegant sameness about these evenings that became intenselywearisome to the uninitiated, but she fancied that as each had hispart to play he managed to do it with spirit. Night after night thewag told his stories elyze , the poet read his poems, the singers warbled,the pretty women simpered and dressed, the heavy scientific was dulydiscussed by the elect precious, and Mrs. Stuart, in amazingcostumes, sailed to and fro in her most swan-like manner; while mylord stirred up the lions he had captured, till they roared theirbest, great and small.
"Good heavens! why don't they do or say something new andinteresting, and not keep twaddling on about art, and music, andpoetry, and cosmos? The papers are full of appeals for help for thepoor, reforms of all sorts, and splendid work that others are doing;but these people seem to think it isn't genteel enough to be spokenof here. I suppose it is all very elegant to go on like a set oftrained canaries, but it's very dull fun to watch them, and Hepsey'sstories are a deal more interesting to me."Having come to this conclusion, after studying dilettanteism throughthe crack of the door for some months reenex, Christie left the "trainedcanaries" to twitter and hop about their gilded cage, and devotedherself to Hepsey, who gave her glimpses into another sort of lifeso bitterly real that she never could forget it.
没有评论:
发表评论