CHAPTER III.

 "His-st! Missis Joseph!"

 

It was Bridget, the Hallorans' old family servant, calling softly from the hall.

 

"I'll be after takin' the prisints ye've stored away for us. I'll lave 'em on the back porch 'n' carry 'em over when the childer are all asleep. Nellie's in bed like a little angel, bless 'er heart, but them divilish b'ys do be a-snoopin' into ivery crack 'n' corner!"

 

Mrs. Joseph unlocked a closet under the stairs, and loaded Bridget's arm's with heavy and bulky parcels.

 

"Shure, an' 'tis a sad Chris'mus we'll be havin', savin' the childer. Mr. Timmy, him that's old Missis Halloran's youngest, but old enough to know better, he ups an' runs away to-day an' marries a Protestant gir-rl. An' if ye'll open y'r windy the bit av a crack, ye'll hear the poor old lady this minit, wailin' like a banshee."

 

"But Mr. Timothy is such a nice young man, he must have married a lovely girl, Bridget," said Rose.

 

"Shure, an' that may be, but she is a Protestant, Missis Joseph. She runs away fr'm her folks, an' he runs away fr'm his, an' they get married by a justice o' peace. An' no peace will come o' such doin', Lord 've mercy on their souls!"

 

"Oh, poor Grandma Halloran!"

 

"Poor lovers," said Eli, when Bridget had gone. "I'll wager¹ they had the very deuce of a time with both sides."

 

No sooner had they settled themselves again than the door knocker sounded. Eli admitted Mr. Jackson, the Christian² Science practitioner³.

 

"I have only a minute," he said. "I just dropped by to leave a doll my wife dressed for your little girl. We chose one that we thought looked like Hannah."

 

"Oh, but that is kind of you!" Rose looked her gratitude⁴. "Mrs. Lawrence has told me how busy both you and your wife always are—and to take time to think of our little girl——!"

 

"I had intended to give it to her myself," Mr. Jackson continued, "but after her talk with me to-day I decided⁵ she would enjoy it more if I asked Santa Claus to bring it." His eyes twinkled reminiscently. "She called me up by telephone and asked me to give Santa Claus a treatment—she seemed to think that he would pass her by. I could assure her that he wouldn't, as I had already seen the doll. Hannah is a wonderful child."

 

"We think so," smiled Eli. "I am sure we thank you, and wish you the very merriest Christmas."

 

"It will be a happy Christmas for me," he answered. "I am going to the station to meet my father and mother. Some years ago they felt estranged⁶ from me—they are both staunch Presbyterians of the old school and it nearly broke their hearts when I went into Christian Science work. But they are beginning to look more tolerantly upon my calling, and they are on their way now to spend Christmas with us. You can guess how happy that makes me. 'Peace on earth, good will to men'—it is a wonder-working thought."

 

"It is indeed," Eli agreed heartily⁷.

 

When the door had closed upon their visitor, Rose and Eli stood staring at each other rather foolishly. She was the first to speak: "Is there no end to the fight between the old and the new generation?"

 

"We are just beginning the scrap⁸ with our new generation," he said. "She called him up and asked for Christian Science help! I wonder what else that little monkey has been up to?"

 

They soon found out. Carrying the doll Mr. Jackson had brought, Rose tiptoed after Eli into the nursery and gradually turned on the light. The first object to meet their eyes was Hannah's stocking, hanging precariously⁹ to a pin driven into the mantel. Pinned to the wall were several messages, neatly¹⁰ printed in pencil, which told their own tale:

 

 

 

Deer Santy—Nellie babtized me. Holy wotter.

 

Hannah.

 

 

 

Deer Santy—I want things in my stockin.

 

Hannah.

 

 

 

Deer Santy Claws—Ime a jentile. Nellie babtize me. Ime a jentile cath-lic C. S.

 

Hannah.

 

 

 

Deer Santy—Bring me any nice things you got left. With love

 

Hannah.

 

 

 

Deer Santy—Don't let my Mama and my Papa get mad bout¹¹ you.

 

Hannah.

 

 

 

Eli began to chortle, and Hannah stirred in her sleep, throwing both chubby¹² arms over her head. Clutched tightly in her left hand they saw a rosary of amethyst¹³ colored beads¹⁴.

 

Rose snapped off the light and pushed Eli out into the hall. He sat down on the stairs and laughed until he cried. "The dog-gone little mixer!" he chuckled¹⁵. "A Gentile Catholic Christian Scientist is she? And if she has ever happened to hear anything about Mahomet, believe me, she's sleeping with her feet toward Mecca right now!"

 

Rose was weeping silently over the message: "Don't let my Mama my Papa get mad bout you." She touched her husband on the shoulder, "Eli, what shall we do about it?"

 

"Do?" He stood up and set his jaw¹⁶ determinedly¹⁷. "You spoke¹⁸ just now of the fight between the old and the new generations: do you see what we are coming to if we don't concede our child her legitimate¹⁹ rights. She will seek them out, and take them by force, and never forgive us for withholding²⁰ them, that's what! Every child who has ever heard of Santa Claus has a right to enjoy the myth. Didn't I give a hundred dollars to the Elks²¹ and a hundred dollars to the Big Brothers who are looking after the empty stockings of the poor children, while my own baby——"

 

He had reached his bedroom door and was kicking off his house slippers²².

 

"Eli, where are you going?"

 

"Down-town to see Santa Claus if I have to break open a dozen stores," he answered determinedly.

1 wager   

n.赌注；vt.押注，打赌

参考例句：

• They laid a wager on the result of the race.他们以竞赛的结果打赌。
• I made a wager that our team would win.我打赌我们的队会赢。

2 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

3 practitioner   

n.实践者，从事者；(医生或律师等)开业者

参考例句：

• He is an unqualified practitioner of law.他是个无资格的律师。
• She was a medical practitioner before she entered politics.从政前她是个开业医生。

4 gratitude   

adj.感激，感谢

参考例句：

• I have expressed the depth of my gratitude to him.我向他表示了深切的谢意。
• She could not help her tears of gratitude rolling down her face.她感激的泪珠禁不住沿着面颊流了下来。

5 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

6 estranged   

adj.疏远的，分离的

参考例句：

• He became estranged from his family after the argument.那场争吵后他便与家人疏远了。
• The argument estranged him from his brother.争吵使他同他的兄弟之间的关系疏远了。

7 heartily   

adv.衷心地，诚恳地，十分，很

参考例句：

• He ate heartily and went out to look for his horse.他痛快地吃了一顿，就出去找他的马。
• The host seized my hand and shook it heartily.主人抓住我的手，热情地和我握手。

8 scrap   

n.碎片；废料；v.废弃，报废

参考例句：

• A man comes round regularly collecting scrap.有个男人定时来收废品。
• Sell that car for scrap.把那辆汽车当残品卖了吧。

9 precariously   

adv.不安全地；危险地；碰机会地；不稳定地

参考例句：

• The hotel was perched precariously on a steep hillside. 旅馆危险地坐落在陡峭的山坡上。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The phone was perched precariously on the window ledge. 电话放在窗台上，摇摇欲坠。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 neatly   

adv.整洁地，干净地，灵巧地，熟练地

参考例句：

• Sailors know how to wind up a long rope neatly.水手们知道怎样把一条大绳利落地缠好。
• The child's dress is neatly gathered at the neck.那孩子的衣服在领口处打着整齐的皱褶。

11 bout   

n.侵袭，发作；一次(阵，回)；拳击等比赛

参考例句：

• I was suffering with a bout of nerves.我感到一阵紧张。
• That bout of pneumonia enfeebled her.那次肺炎的发作使她虚弱了。

12 chubby   

adj.丰满的，圆胖的

参考例句：

• He is stocky though not chubby.他长得敦实，可并不发胖。
• The short and chubby gentleman over there is our new director.那个既矮又胖的绅士是我们的新主任。

13 amethyst   

n.紫水晶

参考例句：

• She pinned a large amethyst brooch to her lapel.她在翻领上别了一枚大大的紫水晶饰针。
• The exquisite flowers come alive in shades of amethyst.那些漂亮的花儿在紫水晶的映衬下显得格外夺目。

14 beads   

n.（空心）小珠子( bead的名词复数 )；水珠；珠子项链

参考例句：

• a necklace of wooden beads 一条木珠项链
• Beads of perspiration stood out on his forehead. 他的前额上挂着汗珠。

15 chuckled   

轻声地笑( chuckle的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She chuckled at the memory. 想起这件事她就暗自发笑。
• She chuckled softly to herself as she remembered his astonished look. 想起他那惊讶的表情，她就轻轻地暗自发笑。

16 jaw   

n.颚，颌，说教，流言蜚语；v.喋喋不休，教训

参考例句：

• He delivered a right hook to his opponent's jaw.他给了对方下巴一记右钩拳。
• A strong square jaw is a sign of firm character.强健的方下巴是刚毅性格的标志。

17 determinedly   

adv.决意地；坚决地，坚定地

参考例句：

• "Don't shove me,'said one of the strikers, determinedly. "I'm not doing anything." “别推我，"其中的一个罢工工人坚决地说，"我可没干什么。” 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
• Dorothy's chin set determinedly as she looked calmly at him. 多萝西平静地看着他，下巴绷得紧紧的，看来是打定主意了。 来自名作英译部分

18 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

19 legitimate   

adj.合法的，合理的，合乎逻辑的；v.使合法

参考例句：

• Sickness is a legitimate reason for asking for leave.生病是请假的一个正当的理由。
• That's a perfectly legitimate fear.怀有这种恐惧完全在情理之中。

20 withholding   

扣缴税款

参考例句：

• She was accused of withholding information from the police. 她被指控对警方知情不报。
• The judge suspected the witness was withholding information. 法官怀疑见证人在隐瞒情况。

21 elks   

n.麋鹿( elk的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• So I arranged for a gathering at the local Elks Club on January 25. 1月25日我安排在当地慈善互助会见面。 来自互联网

22 slippers   

n. 拖鞋

参考例句：

• a pair of slippers 一双拖鞋
• He kicked his slippers off and dropped on to the bed. 他踢掉了拖鞋，倒在床上。