“And so this is ‘the Pier,’ is it?” she observed in a tone by no means expressive3 of approval as she stood on the hotel veranda4 on the day of her arrival, and contemplated5 the rather limited prospect6 that was bounded at one end by the Casino and at the other by the coal-elevator. “If those smelly little stones out there are ‘the Rocks’ that people talk about at such a rate I must confess that I am disappointed in them”—Mr. Port hastened to assure her that the Rocks were in quite a different direction—“and if that is the Casino, while it seems a nice sort of a place, I really think that they might have managed the arch so as not to have that horrid7 green house showing under it. And what little poor affairs the hotels are! Really, Uncle Hutchinson, I don’t see what there is in this little place to make such a fuss about.”
“Dorothy,” replied Mr. Port, with much solemnity, “you evidently forget—though I certainly have mentioned the fact to you repeatedly—that the climate of this portion of Rhode Island is the most distinctively8 antibilious climate to be found upon the whole coast of North America. For persons possessing delicate livers—”
“Oh, bother delicate livers—at least, I beg your pardon, Uncle Hutchinson,” for an expression of such positive pain had come into Mr. Port’s face at this irreverent reference to an organ that he regarded as sacred that even Dorothy was forced to make some sort of an apology. “Of course I don’t want to bother your poor liver more than it is bothered anyway; but, you know, I haven’t got a liver, and I don’t care for climates a bit. What I mean is: what do people do here to have a good time?”
“In the morning,” replied Mr. Port, “they bathe, and in the afternoon they drive to the Point. This morning we shall bathe, Dorothy—bathing is an admirable liver tonic—and this afternoon we shall drive to the Point.”
“Good heavens! Is that all?” exclaimed Miss Lee. “Why, it’s worse than Saratoga. Do you mean to say, Uncle Hutchinson, that people don’t dance here, and don’t go yachting, and don’t have lunch-parties, and don’t play tennis, and don’t even have afternoon teas?”
“I believe that some of these things are done here,” replied Mr. Port, in a tone that implied that such frivolities were quite beyond the lines of his own personal interests. “Yes,” he continued, “I am sure that all of them are done here now—for the Pier is not what it used to be, Dorothy. The quiet air of intense respectability that characterized Narragansett when it was the resort only of a few of the best families of Philadelphia has departed from it—I fear forever! But, thank Heaven, its climatic characteristics remain intact. When you are older, Dorothy, and your liver asserts itself, you will appreciate this incomparable climate at its proper value.”
“Well, it hasn’t asserted itself yet, you know; and I must say I’m devoutly10 thankful that something has happened to wake up the quiet and intensely respectable Philadelphians before I had to come here. But I’m very glad, dear Uncle Hutchinson,” Miss Lee continued, winningly, “that this climate is so good for you, and I’m sure I hope that you won’t have a single bilious9 attack all the time that you are here. And you’ll take your angel to the dances, and to see the tennis, and you’ll give her lunch-parties, and you’ll take her yachting, won’t you, you dear? But I know you will; and if this were not such a very conspicuous11 place, and might make a scandal, I’d give you a very sweet kiss to pay you in advance for all the trouble that you are going to take to make your angel enjoy herself. You needn’t bother about the teas, Uncle Hutchinson—for the most part they’re only women, and stupid.”
Being still somewhat cast down by painful memories of that trying final fortnight in Saratoga, during which he and his niece had pulled so strongly in opposite directions, Mr. Port heard with a lively alarm this declaration of a plan of campaign which, if carried out, would wreck12 hopelessly his own comfort of body and peace of mind. Obviously, this was no time for faltering13. If the catastrophe14 was to be averted15, he must speak out at once and with a decisive energy.
“I need not tell you, Dorothy,” he began, speaking in a most grave and earnest tone, “that it is my desire to discharge in the amplest and kindest manner my duties towards you as a guardian—”
“I’m sure of it, and of course you needn’t tell me, you dearest dear—and we might begin with just a little lunch to-day. The breakfast was horrid, and I didn’t get half enough even of what there was.”
“But I must say now,” Mr. Port went on—keenly regretting the unfortunate beginning that he had given to his declaration of independence, but judiciously16 ignoring Dorothy’s shrewd perversion17 of it—“that your several suggestions literally18 are impossibilities. I admit that dancing for a short period, at about an hour after each meal, is an admirable exercise that produces a most salutary effect upon the digestive apparatus19; but persistent20 dancing until an unduly late period of the night is a practice as unhygienic as, in the mixed company of a watering-place, it is socially objectionable.
“Tennis is an absurdity21 worthy22 of the vacuous23 minds of those who engage in it.. To suggest that I shall sit in a cramped24 position in a draughty gallery for several hours at a stretch in order to watch empty-headed young men playing a perverted25 form of battledoor and shuttlecock across a net, is to imply that they and I are upon the same intellectual level; and this, I trust, is not the case.
“As you certainly should remember, Dorothy, all persons of a bilious habit suffer severely26 from seasickness27; a fact that, of course, disposes effectually of your yachting plans. For you are not desirous, I am sure, of purchasing your own selfish enjoyment28—if you possibly can have enjoyment on board a yacht—at the cost of my intense personal misery29.
“But in regard to the lunches, my dear”—Mr. Port’s tone softened30 perceptibly—“there certainly is something to be said. The food here at the hotel, I admit, is atrocious, and at the Casino it is possible occasionally to procure31 something eatable. Yes, I shall have much pleasure in giving a lunch this very morning to my angel” (Mr. Port, warming in advance under the genial32 influence of the croquette and salad that he intended to order, became playful), “for what you said in regard to the breakfast, Dorothy, was quite true—it was abominable33. If you will excuse me, I will just step down to the Casino now and give my order; then things will be all ready for us when we get back from the bath.”
And such was Miss Lee’s generalship that she rested content with her success in one direction, and deferred34 until a more convenient season her further demands. She was a reasonable young woman, and was quite satisfied with accomplishing one thing at a time.
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1
pier
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| n.码头；桥墩，桥柱；[建]窗间壁，支柱 | |
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unduly
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| adv.过度地，不适当地 | |
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expressive
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| adj.表现的，表达…的，富于表情的 | |
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veranda
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| n.走廊；阳台 | |
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contemplated
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| adj. 预期的 动词contemplate的过去分词形式 | |
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prospect
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| n.前景，前途；景色，视野 | |
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7
horrid
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| adj.可怕的；令人惊恐的；恐怖的；极讨厌的 | |
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distinctively
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| adv.特殊地，区别地 | |
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bilious
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| adj.胆汁过多的；易怒的 | |
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devoutly
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| adv.虔诚地，虔敬地，衷心地 | |
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conspicuous
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| adj.明眼的，惹人注目的；炫耀的，摆阔气的 | |
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wreck
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| n.失事，遇难；沉船；vt.(船等)失事，遇难 | |
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faltering
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| 犹豫的，支吾的，蹒跚的 | |
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catastrophe
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| n.大灾难，大祸 | |
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15
averted
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| 防止，避免( avert的过去式和过去分词 )； 转移 | |
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judiciously
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| adv.明断地，明智而审慎地 | |
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perversion
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| n.曲解；堕落；反常 | |
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literally
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| adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实 | |
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apparatus
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| n.装置，器械；器具，设备 | |
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persistent
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| adj.坚持不懈的，执意的；持续的 | |
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absurdity
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| n.荒谬，愚蠢；谬论 | |
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worthy
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| adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的 | |
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vacuous
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| adj.空的，漫散的，无聊的，愚蠢的 | |
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cramped
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| a.狭窄的 | |
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perverted
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| adj.不正当的v.滥用( pervert的过去式和过去分词 )；腐蚀；败坏；使堕落 | |
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severely
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| adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地 | |
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seasickness
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| n.晕船 | |
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enjoyment
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| n.乐趣；享有；享用 | |
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misery
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| n.痛苦，苦恼，苦难；悲惨的境遇，贫苦 | |
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30
softened
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| （使）变软( soften的过去式和过去分词 )； 缓解打击； 缓和； 安慰 | |
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31
procure
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| vt.获得，取得，促成；vi.拉皮条 | |
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32
genial
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| adj.亲切的，和蔼的，愉快的，脾气好的 | |
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33
abominable
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| adj.可厌的，令人憎恶的 | |
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34
deferred
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| adj.延期的，缓召的v.拖延，延缓，推迟( defer的过去式和过去分词 )；服从某人的意愿，遵从 | |
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