现代灰姑娘 英文版 A Modern Cinderella
露意莎.梅.奥尔科特 Louisa May Alcott
DEBBY'S DEBUT. Page 2
"You'll be at the hop to-night, I hope, MissWilder," he observed, introducing a topic suitedto a young lady's mental capacity.
"Yes, indeed; for dancing is one of the joys ofmy life, next to husking and making hay"; andDebby polked a few steps along the beach, muchto the edification of a pair of old gentlemen,serenely taking their first constitutional."
"Making what? " cried Mr. Joe, poking afterher.
"Hay; ah, that is the pleasantest fun in theworld,--and better exercise, my mother says, forsoul and body, than dancing till dawn in crowdedrooms, with everything in a state of unnaturalexcitement. If one wants real merriment, let him gointo a new-mown field, where all the air is full ofsummer odors, where wild-flowers nod along thewalls, where blackbirds make finer music than anyband, and sun and wind and cheery voices do theirpart, while windrows rise, and great loads gorumbling through the lanes with merry brown facesatop. Yes, much as I like dancing, it is not to becompared with that; for in the one case we shutout the lovely world, and in the other we becomea part of it, till by its magic labor turns to poetry,and we harvest something better than dried buttercupsand grass."
As she spoke, Debby looked up, expecting tomeet a glance of disapproval; but something in thesimple earnestness of her manner had recalledcertain boyish pleasures as innocent as they werehearty, which now contrasted very favorably withthe later pastimes in which fast horses, and thatlower class of animals, fast men, bore so large apart. Mr. Joe thoughtfully punched five holes inthe sand, and for a moment Debby liked the expressionof his face; then the old listlessness returned,and, looking up, he said, with an air ofennui that was half sad, half ludicrous, in one soyoung and so generously endowed with youth,health, and the good gifts of this life,--
"I used to fancy that sort of thing years ago,but I'm afraid I should find it a little slow now,though you describe it in such an inviting mannerthat I would be tempted to try it, if a hay-cockcame in my way; for, upon my life, it's deusedheavy work loafing about at these watering-placesall summer. Between ourselves, there's a deal ofhumbug about this kind of life, as you will find,when you've tried it as long as I have."
"Yes, I begin to think so already; but perhapsyou can give me a few friendly words of warningfrom the stones of your experience, that I may bespared the pain of saying what so many look,--'Grandma, the world is hollow; my doll is stuffedwith sawdust; and I should 'like to go into aconvent, if you please.'"
Debby's eyes were dancing with merriment;but they were demurely down-cast, and her voicewas perfectly serious.
The milk of human kindness had been slightlycurdled for Mr. Joe by sundry college-tribulations;and having been "suspended," he very naturallyvibrated between the inborn jollity of histemperament and the bitterness occasioned by his wrongs.
He had lost at billiards the night before, had beenhurried at breakfast, had mislaid his cigar-case,and splashed his boots; consequently the darkermood prevailed that morning, and when his counselwas asked, he gave it like one who bad knownthe heaviest trials of this "Piljin Projiss of awale."
"There's no justice in the world, no chancefor us young people to enjoy ourselves, withoutsome penalty to pay, some drawback to worry uslike these confounded 'all-rounders.' Even here,where all seems free and easy, there's no end ofgossips and spies who tattle and watch till you feelas if you lived in a lantern. 'Every one for himself,and the Devil take the hindmost'; that's theprinciple they go on, and you have to keep yourwits about you in the most exhausting manner, oryou are done for before you know it. I've seen agood deal of this sort of thing, and hope you'll geton better than some do, when it's known that youare the rich Mrs. Carroll's niece; though you don'tneed that fact to enhance your charms,--upon mylife, you don't."
Debby laughed behind her parasol at this burstof candor; but her independent nature promptedher to make a fair beginning, in spite of AuntPen's polite fictions and well-meant plans.
" Thank you for your warning, but I don'tapprehend much annoyance of that kind," she said,demurely. "Do you know, I think, if youngladies were truthfully labelled when they went intosociety, it would be a charming fashion, and save aworld of trouble? Something in this style:--'Arabella Marabout, aged nineteen, fortune$100,000, temper warranted'; 'Laura Eau-de-Cologne,aged twenty-eight, fortune $30,000,temper slightly damaged'; Deborah Wilder,aged eighteen, fortune, one pair of hands, one head,indifferently well filled, one heart, (not in themarket,) temper decided, and no expectations.'There, you see, that would do away with much ofthe humbug you lament, and we poor souls wouldknow at once whether we were sought for our fortunesor ourselves, and that would be so comfortable!"
Mr. Leavenworth turned away, with a convicted sortof expression, as she spoke, and, makinga spyglass of his hand, seemed to be watchingsomething out at sea with absorbing interest. Hehad been guilty of a strong desire to discoverwhether Debby was an heiress, but had not expectedto be so entirely satisfied on that importantsubject, and was dimly conscious that a keen eyehad seen his anxiety, and a quick wit devised ameans of setting it at rest forever. Somewhatdisconcerted, he suddenly changed the conversation,and, like many another distressed creature, took tothe water, saying briskly,--
"By-the-by, Miss Wilder, as I've engaged todo the honors, shall I have the pleasure of bathingwith you when the fun begins? As you are fondof hay-making, I suppose you intend to pay yourrespects to the old gentleman with the three-pronged pitchfork?"
"Yes, Aunt Pen means to put me through a courseof salt water, and any instructions in the artof navigation will be gratefully received; for Inever saw the ocean before, and labor under afirm conviction, that, once in, I never shall comeout again till I am brought, like Mr. Mantilini, a'damp, moist, unpleasant body.'"
dancing with merriment;but they were demurely.
As Debby spoke, Mrs. Carroll hove in sight,coming down before the wind with all sails set, andsignals of distress visible long before she droppedanchor and came along-side. The devoted womanhad been strolling slowly for the girl's sake, thoughoppressed with a mournful certainty that her mostprominent feature was fast becoming a fine copper-color; yet she had sustained herself like a Spartanmatron, till it suddenly occurred to her that hercharge might be suffering a like
"sea-changeInto something rich and strange."
Her fears, however, were groundless, for Debbymet her without a freckle, looking all the betterfor her walk; and though her feet were wet withchasing the waves, and her pretty gown the worsefor salt water, Aunt Pen never chid her for thedestruction of her raiment, nor uttered a warningword against an unladylike exuberance of spirits,but replied to her inquiry most graciously,--
"Certainly, my love, we shall bathe at eleven,and there will be just time to get Victorine and ourdresses; so run on to the house, and I will join youas soon as I have finished what I am saying toMrs. Earl,"--then added, in a stage-aside, as sheput a fallen lock off the girl's forehead, "You aredoing beautifully! He is evidently struck; makeyourself interesting, and don't burn your nose, Ibeg of you."
Debby's bright face clouded over, and shewakked on with so much stateliness that her escortwondered " what the deuse the old lady had doneto her," and exerted himself to the utmost to recallher merry mood, but with indifferent success.
"Now I begin to feel more like myself, for thisis getting back to first principles, though I fancy Ilook like the little old woman who fell asleep onthe king's highway and woke up with abbreviateddrapery; and you look funnier still, Aunt Pen,"said Debby, as she tied on her pagoda-hat, andfollowed Mrs. Carroll, who walked out of herdressing-room an animated bale of blue clothsurmounted by a gigantic sun-bonnet.
Mr. Leavenworth was in waiting, and so like ablond-headed lobster in his scarlet suit that Debbycould hardly keep her countenance as they joinedthe groups of bathers gathering along the breezyshore.
For an hour each day the actors and actresseswho played their different roles at the ----- Hotelwith such precision and success put off their masksand dared to be themselves. The ocean wroughtthe change, for it took old and young into its arms,and for a little while they played like children intheir mother's lap. No falsehood could withstandits rough sincerity; for the waves washed paint andpowder from worn faces, and left a fresh bloomthere. No ailment could entirely resist its vigorouscure; for every wind brought healing on its wings,endowing many a meagre life with another yearof health. No gloomy spirit could refuse to listento its lullaby, and the spray baptized it with thesubtile benediction of a cheerier mood. No rankheld place there; for the democratic sea toppleddown the greatest statesman in the land, anddashed over the bald pate of a millionnaire withthe same white-crested wave that stranded a poorparson on the beach and filled a fierce reformer'smouth with brine. No fashion ruled, but thatwhich is as old as Eden,--the beautiful fashion ofsimplicity. Belles dropped their affectations withtheir hoops, and ran about the shore blithe-heartedgirls again. Young men forgot their vices andtheir follies, and were not ashamed of the realcourage, strength, and skill they had tried to leavebehind them with their boyish plays. Old mengathered shells with the little Cupids dancing onthe sand, and were better for that innocentcompanionship; and young mothers never looked sobeautiful as when they rocked their babies on thebosom of the sea.
Debby vaguely felt this charm, and, yieldingto it, splashed and sang like any beach-bird, whileAunt Pen bobbed placidly up and down in aretired corner, and Mr. Leavenworth swam to andfro, expressing his firm belief in mermaids, sirens,and the rest of the aquatic sisterhood, whose warblingno manly ear can resist.
" Miss Wilder, you must learn to swim. I'vetaught quantities of young ladies, and shall bedelighted to launch the 'Dora,' if you'll accept meas a pilot. Stop a bit; I'll get a life-preserverand leaving Debby to flirt with the waves, the scarletyouth departed like a flame of fire.
A dismal shriek interrupted his pupil's play, andlooking up, she saw her aunt beckoning wildly withone hand, while she was groping in the water withthe other. Debby ran to her, alarmed at hertragic expression, and Mrs. Carroll, drawing thegirl's face into the privacy of her big bonnet,whispered one awful word, adding, distractedly,--
"Dive for them! oh, dive for them! I shall beperfectly helpless, if they are lost!"
"I can't dive, Aunt Pen; but there is a man,let us ask him," said Debby, as a black headappeared to windward.
But Mrs. Carroll's "nerves" had received ashock, and, gathering up her dripping garments,she fled precipitately along the shore and vanishedinto her dressing-room.
Debby's keen sense of the ludicrous got the betterof her respect, and peal after peal of laughterbroke from her lips, till a splash behind her put anend to her merriment, and, turning, she found thatthis friend in need was her acquaintance of the daybefore. The gentleman seemed pausing for permissionto approach, with much the appearance of a sagaciousNewfoundland, wistful and wet.
"Oh, I'm very glad it's you, Sir!" was Debby'scordial greeting, as she shook a drop off the end ofher nose, and nodded, smiling.
The new-comer immediately beamed upon herlike an amiable Triton, saying, as they turnedshoreward,--
"Our first interview opened with a laugh on myside, and our second with one on yours. I acceptthe fact as a good omen. Your friend seemed introuble; allow me to atone for my past misdemeanorsby offering my services now. But first let me introducemyself; and as I believe in the fitness of things, letme present you with an appropriate card"; and, stooping,the young man wrote "Frank Evan" on the hard sand atDebby's feet.
The girl liked his manner, and, entering into thespirit of the thing, swept as grand a curtsy as herlimited drapery would allow saying, merrily,--"I am Debby Wilder, or Dora, as aunt prefersto call me; and instead of laughing, I ought to befour feet under water, looking for something wehave lost; but I can't dive, and my distress isdreadful, as you see."
"What have you lost? I will look for it, andbring it back in spite of the kelpies, if it is a humanpossibility," replied Mr. Evan, pushing his wetlocks out of his eyes, and regarding the ocean witha determined aspect.
Debby leaned toward him, whispering withsolemn countenance,--
manthought again of some little maid whose love madehis boyish days a pleasant.
"It is a set of teeth, Sir."
Mr. Evan was more a man of deeds than words,therefore he disappeared at once with a mightysplash, and after repeated divings and muchlaughter appeared bearing the chief ornament of Mrs.Penelope Carroll's comely countenance. Debbylooked very pretty and grateful as she returned herthanks, and Mr. Evan was guilty of a secret wishthat all the worthy lady's features were at thebottom of the sea, that he might have the satisfactionof restoring them to her attractive niece;but curbing this unnatural desire, he bowed, saying,gravely,--
"Tell your aunt, if you please, that this littleaccident will remain a dead secret, so far as I amconcerned, and I am very glad to have been ofservice at such a critical moment."
Whereupon Mr. Evan marched again into thebriny deep, and Debby trotted away to her aunt,whom she found a clammy heap of blue flanneland despair. Mrs. Carroll's temper was ruffled,and though she joyfully rattled in her teeth, shesaid, somewhat testily, when Debby's story wasdone,--
"Now that man will have a sort of claim on us,and we must be civil, whoever he is. Dear! dear!I wish it had been Joe Leavenworth instead.Evan,--I don't remember any of our first familieswith connections of that name, and I dislike to beunder obligations to a person of that sort, forthere's no knowing how far he may presume; so,pray, be careful, Dora."
"I think you are very ungrateful, Aunt Pen;and if Mr. Evan should happen to be poor, it doesnot become me to turn up my nose at him, for I'mnothing but a make-believe myself just now. Idon't wish to go down upon my knees to him, butI do intend to be as kind to him as I should to thatconceited Leavenworth boy; yes, kinder even; forpoor people value such things more, as I know verywell."
Mrs. Carroll instantly recovered her temper,changed the subject, and privately resolved toconfine her prejudices to her own bosom, as theyseerned to have an aggravating effect upon theyouthful person whom she had set her heart ondisposing of to the best advantage.
Debby took her swimming-lesson with muchsuccess, and would have achieved her dinner withcomposure, if white-aproned gentlemen had noteffectually taken away her appetite by whiskingbills-of-fare into her hands, and awaiting her orderswith a fatherly interest, which induced them tocongregate mysterious dishes before her, andblandly rectify her frequent mistakes. She survivedthe ordeal, however, and at four p.m. went to drivewith "that Leavenworth boy" in the finest turnout----- could produce. Aunt Pen then came off guard,and with a sigh of satisfaction subsided into a peacefuldoze, still murmuring, even in her sleep,-
"Propinquity, my love, propinquity workswonders."
"Aunt Pen, are you a modest woman?" askedthe young cruisader against established absurdities,as she came into the presence-chamber that eveningready for the hop.
"Bless the child, what does she mean? " criedMrs. Carroll, with a start that twitched herback-hair out of Victorine's hands.
"Would you like to have a daughter of yoursgo to a party looking as I look?" continued herniece, spreading her airy dress, and standingvery erect before her astonished relative.
"Why, of course I should, and be proud to ownsuch a charming creature," regarding the slenderwhite shape with much approbation,--adding,with a smile, as she met the girl's eye,--
"Ah, I see the difficulty, now; you are disturbedbecause there is not a bit of lace overthese pretty shoulders of yours. Now don't beabsurd, Dora; the dress is perfectly proper, orMadame Tiphany never would have sent it home.It is the fashion, child; and many a girl with sucha figure would go twice as decolletee, and thinknothing of it, I assure you."
Debby shook her head with an energy that setthe pink heather-bells a-tremble in her hair, andher color deepened beautifully as she said, withreproachful eyes,--
"Aunt Pen, I think there is a better fashionin every young girl's heart than any MadameTiphany can teach. I am very grateful for allyou have done for me, but I cannot go into publicin such an undress as this; my mother would neverallow it, and father never forgive it. Please don'task me to, for indeed I cannot do it even for you."
Debby looked so pathetic that both mistressand maid broke into a laugh which somewhatreassured the young lady, who allowed herdetermined features to relax into a smile,as she said,--
"Now, Aunt Pen, you want me to look prettyand be a credit to you; but how would you like tosee my face the color of those geraniums all theevening?"
"Why, Dora, you are out of your mind to asksuch a thing, when you know it's the desire ofmy life to keep your color down and make youlook more delicate," said her aunt, alarmed at thefearful prospect of a peony-faced protegee.
Well, I should be anything but that, if I worethis gown in its present waistless condition; so hereis a remedy which will prevent such a calamityand ease my mind."
As she spoke, Debby tied on her little blondefichu with a gesture which left nothing more to besaid.
Victorine scolded, and clasped her hands; butMrs. Carroll, fearing to push her authority too far,made a virtue of necessity, saying, resignedly,--
"Have your own way, Dora, but in returnoblige me by being agreeable to such persons as Imay introduce to you; and some day, when I aska favor, remember how much I hope to do for you,and grant it cheerfully."
"Indeed I will, Aunt Pen, if it is anything Ican do without disobeying mother's 'notions' asyou call them. Ask me to wear an orange-coloredgown, or dance with the plainest, poorest man inthe room, and I'll do it; for there never was akinder aunt than mine in all the world," criedDebby, eager to atone for her seeming wilfulness,and really grateful for her escape from what seemedto her benighted mind a very imminent peril.
Like a clover-blossom in a vase of camellias littleDebby looked that night among the dashing orlanguid women who surrounded her; for she possessedthe charm they had lost,--the freshness ofher youth. Innocent gayety sat smiling in her eyes,healthful roses bloomed upon her cheek, andmaiden modesty crowned her like a garland. Shewas the creature that she seemed, and, yielding tothe influence of the hour, danced to the music ofher own blithe heart. Many felt the spell whosesecret they had lost the power to divine, andwatched the girlish figure as if it were a symbolof their early aspirations dawning freshly from thedimness of their past. More than one old manthought again of some little maid whose love madehis boyish days a pleasant memory to him now.More than one smiling fop felt the emptiness of hissmooth speech, when the truthful eyes looked upinto his own; and more than one pale womansighed regretfully with herself, "I, too, was ahappy-hearted creature once!"