CHAPTER VII. THE HOUSE ON MADISON AVENUE.

 In the evening, as had been agreed, Paul accompanied his mother uptown to call on Mrs. Talbot and receive directions in regard to the house. They had no difficulty in finding it. On ringing the bell they were ushered¹ into an elegantly furnished parlor², the appearance of which indicated the wealth of the owner.

 

"Suppose we give a party, mother, after we move in," said Paul, as he sat on the sofa beside his mother, awaiting the appearance of Mrs. Talbot.

 

"Mrs. Talbot might have an objection to our using her parlors³ for such a purpose."

 

"I wonder," said Paul reflectively, "whether I shall ever have a house of my own like this?"

 

"Not unless your business increases," said his mother, smiling.

 

"I rather think you are right, mother. Seriously, though, there are plenty of men in New York, who live in style now, who began the world with no better advantages than I. You see there is a chance for me too."

 

"I shall be satisfied with less," said his mother. "Wealth alone will not yield happiness."

 

"Still it is very comfortable to have it."

 

"No doubt, if it is properly acquired."

 

"If I am ever rich, mother, you may be sure that I shall not be ashamed of the manner in which I became so."

 

"I hope not, Paul."

 

Their conversation was interrupted by the entrance of Mrs. Talbot. She was a stout⁴, comely-looking woman of middle age and pleasant expression.

 

"I suppose this is Mrs. Hoffman," she said.

 

Paul and his mother both rose.

 

"I am Mrs. Hoffman," said the latter. "I suppose I speak to Mrs. Talbot?"

 

"You are right. Keep your seat, Mrs. Hoffman. Is this your son?"

 

Paul bowed with instinctive⁵ politeness, and his mother replied in the affirmative.

 

"Mr. Talbot tells me that you are willing to take charge of the house while we are absent in Europe."

 

"I shall be glad to do so."

 

"We have been looking out for a suitable family, and as our departure was so near at hand, were afraid we might not succeed in making a satisfactory arrangement. Fortunately Mr. Preston spoke⁶ to my husband of you, and this sets our anxiety at rest."

 

"I hope I may be able to answer your expectations, Mrs. Talbot," said Mrs. Hoffman modestly.

 

"I think you will," said Mrs. Talbot, and she spoke sincerely.

 

She had examined her visitor attentively⁷, and had been very favorably impressed by her neat dress and quiet, lady-like demeanor⁸. She had been afraid, when first informed by her husband of the engagement he had made, that Mrs. Hoffman might be a coarse, untidy woman, and she was very agreeably disappointed in her appearance.

 

"I suppose," she said, "you would like to look over the house."

 

"Thank you, I should."

 

"I also wish you to see it, that you may understand my directions in regard to the care of it. Follow me, if you please. We will first go down into the basement."

 

Mrs. Hoffman rose. Paul kept his seat, not sure whether he was included in the invitation or not.

 

"Your son can come, too, if he likes," said Mrs. Talbot, observing his hesitation⁹.

 

Paul rose with alacrity¹⁰ and followed them. He had a natural curiosity to see the rooms they were to occupy.

 

They descended¹¹ first into the basement, which was spacious¹² and light. It consisted of three rooms, the one in front quite large and pleasant. It was plainly but comfortably furnished. The kitchen was in the rear, and there was a middle room between.

 

"These will be your apartments," said Mrs. Talbot. "Of course I have no objection to your moving in any of your own furniture, if your desire it."

 

"We have only ourselves to move in," said Paul. "We were burned out early this week."

 

"Indeed! You were unfortunate."

 

"I thought so at the time," said Mrs. Hoffman, "but if it had not been for that Paul would not have called upon Mr. Preston and we should not have heard of you."

 

"Were you able to save nothing?" asked Mrs. Talbot.

 

"Scarcely anything."

 

"If you are embarrassed for want of money," suggested Mrs. Talbot kindly¹³, "I will advance you fifty dollars, or more if you require it."

 

"You are very kind," said Mrs. Hoffman gratefully; "but we have a sum of money, more than enough for our present needs, deposited with Mr. Preston. We are not less obliged to you for so kind an offer."

 

Mrs. Talbot was still more prepossessed in favor of her visitors by the manner in which her offer had been declined. She saw that they had too much self-respect to accept assistance unless actually needed.

 

"I am glad to hear that," she said. "It is not all who are fortunate enough to have a reserve fund to fall back upon. Now, if you have sufficiently¹⁴ examined the basement, we will go upstairs."

 

While passing through the upper chambers¹⁵, Mrs. Talbot gave directions for their care, which would not be interesting to the reader, and are therefore omitted.

 

"I had intended," she said, "to offer you the use of the upper chambers, but they are so far off from the basement that it might be inconvenient¹⁶ for you to occupy them. If you prefer, you may move down two bedsteads to the lower part of the house. I have no objection to your putting one in the dining-room, if you desire it."

 

"Thank you, Mrs. Talbot; I should prefer it."

 

"Then you may consider yourself at liberty to do it. I believe I have now said all I wanted to you. Can you come here next Tuesday?"

 

"Yes, we will do so."

 

"By the way, I forgot to inquire the size of your family."

 

"I have only one other child, a little boy of eight."

 

Mrs. Talbot heard this with satisfaction, for she was aware of the destructive propensities¹⁷ of children, and preferred that the family in charge should be small.

 

"I believe I have nothing further to say," said Mrs. Talbot. "Should anything else occur to me, I will mention it to you on Tuesday when you come here permanently¹⁸."

 

Paul and his mother took their leave. When they were in the street, Paul inquired:

 

"Well, mother, what do you think of Mrs. Talbot?"

 

"I like her very much. She seems to be a real lady."

 

"So I think. She seems to be very kind and considerate."

 

"We are very fortunate to get so good a home and save the entire rent."

 

"It will save us two hundred and forty dollars a year."

 

"We shall be able to save up considerable money every year."

 

"But there's one thing I want to say, mother. As we are in so much better circumstances, there will be no need of your working on neckties any more."

 

"Are you going to discharge me from your employment, Paul?" said his mother, smiling.

 

"Not unless you are willing, mother; but you will have enough to do looking after the house."

 

"I would rather keep on making neckties. It is a work that I like. In return I will hire my washing done, and all the rougher work."

 

"Perhaps that will be better," said Paul; "but you can do both if you like."

 

"I don't mean to lead an idle life, Paul. I should not feel happy if I did. I was always fond of sewing—that is, in moderation. When I made shirts for that establishment in Broadway, for such low prices, I cannot say that I enjoyed that very much. I am glad to be relieved of such work, though at that time I was glad to get it."

 

"Those days have gone by forever, I hope, mother. I am young and strong, and I don't see why there isn't as good a chance for me to succeed as for other poor boys who have risen to wealth and eminence¹⁹. I am going to work for success, at any rate. But we shall have to make some purchases before Tuesday."

 

"What kind of purchases?"

 

"Jimmy and I are out of clothes, you know. My entire wardrobe has been consumed by the devouring²⁰ element, as the reporters say. Now, being a young man of fashion, I don't quite like being reduced to one suit and one shirt, with other things in proportion."

 

"If you could wait, I would make you some shirts."

 

"But I can't wait. I shouldn't feel like wearing the shirt I have on more than a fortnight."

 

"I hope not," said his mother, smiling.

 

"Suppose I should be invited to a party and be obliged to decline with thanks, on account of having only one shirt. My reputation as a young man of fashion would be gone forever."

 

"So I should think."

 

"To-morrow I will buy a couple of shirts, and these will last me, with the help of the washerwoman, until you can make me some new ones. Then I will go to Bookair's tomorrow, and take Jimmy with me and buy new suits for both."

 

"I am afraid you are getting extravagant²¹, Paul."

 

"If we live on Madison avenue, we must dress accordingly, you know, mother. That reminds me, I must buy two trunks also."

 

"Two?"

 

"Yes; one for you, and the other for Jimmy and myself. At present I could tie up all my clothes in a handkerchief—that is, if I had a spare one; but I am going to have some more. You must have some new things also, mother."

 

"I can wait till we get settled in our new home. I am afraid you won't have money enough for all the articles you mean to buy."

 

"I may have to draw some from Mr. Preston. I think I will call on him to-morrow and do so. I forgot how much we had to buy. I shall close up business to-morrow and Monday, and spend the time in preparation for moving."

 

Mrs. Hoffman would not, had the matter rested with her, have been in favor of expending²² so much money, but she had considerable confidence in Paul's judgment²³, and indeed their prospects²⁴ looked bright enough to warrant it; so she withdrew her objections, and Paul had his own way, as he generally did.

 

1 ushered   

v.引，领，陪同( usher的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The secretary ushered me into his office. 秘书把我领进他的办公室。
• A round of parties ushered in the New Year. 一系列的晚会迎来了新年。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 parlor   

n.店铺，营业室；会客室，客厅

参考例句：

• She was lying on a small settee in the parlor.她躺在客厅的一张小长椅上。
• Is there a pizza parlor in the neighborhood?附近有没有比萨店？

3 parlors   

客厅( parlor的名词复数 )； 起居室； （旅馆中的）休息室； （通常用来构成合成词）店

参考例句：

• It had been a firm specializing in funeral parlors and parking lots. 它曾经是一个专门经营殡仪馆和停车场的公司。
• I walked, my eyes focused into the endless succession of barbershops, beauty parlors, confectioneries. 我走着，眼睛注视着那看不到头的、鳞次栉比的理发店、美容院、糖果店。

5 instinctive   

adj.(出于)本能的；直觉的；(出于)天性的

参考例句：

• He tried to conceal his instinctive revulsion at the idea.他试图饰盖自己对这一想法本能的厌恶。
• Animals have an instinctive fear of fire.动物本能地怕火。

6 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。

7 attentively   

adv.聚精会神地；周到地；谛；凝神

参考例句：

• She listened attentively while I poured out my problems. 我倾吐心中的烦恼时，她一直在注意听。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She listened attentively and set down every word he said. 她专心听着，把他说的话一字不漏地记下来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 demeanor   

n.行为；风度

参考例句：

• She is quiet in her demeanor.她举止文静。
• The old soldier never lost his military demeanor.那个老军人从来没有失去军人风度。

9 hesitation   

n.犹豫，踌躇

参考例句：

• After a long hesitation, he told the truth at last.踌躇了半天，他终于直说了。
• There was a certain hesitation in her manner.她的态度有些犹豫不决。

10 alacrity   

n.敏捷，轻快，乐意

参考例句：

• Although the man was very old,he still moved with alacrity.他虽然很老，动作仍很敏捷。
• He accepted my invitation with alacrity.他欣然接受我的邀请。

11 descended   

a.为...后裔的，出身于...的

参考例句：

• A mood of melancholy descended on us. 一种悲伤的情绪袭上我们的心头。
• The path descended the hill in a series of zigzags. 小路呈连续的之字形顺着山坡蜿蜒而下。

12 spacious   

adj.广阔的，宽敞的

参考例句：

• Our yard is spacious enough for a swimming pool.我们的院子很宽敞，足够建一座游泳池。
• The room is bright and spacious.这房间很豁亮。

13 kindly   

adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地

参考例句：

• Her neighbours spoke of her as kindly and hospitable.她的邻居都说她和蔼可亲、热情好客。
• A shadow passed over the kindly face of the old woman.一道阴影掠过老太太慈祥的面孔。

14 sufficiently   

adv.足够地，充分地

参考例句：

• It turned out he had not insured the house sufficiently.原来他没有给房屋投足保险。
• The new policy was sufficiently elastic to accommodate both views.新政策充分灵活地适用两种观点。

15 chambers   

n.房间( chamber的名词复数 )；（议会的）议院；卧室；会议厅

参考例句：

• The body will be removed into one of the cold storage chambers. 尸体将被移到一个冷冻间里。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Mr Chambers's readable book concentrates on the middle passage: the time Ransome spent in Russia. Chambers先生的这本值得一看的书重点在中间：Ransome在俄国的那几年。 来自互联网

16 inconvenient   

adj.不方便的，令人感到麻烦的

参考例句：

• You have come at a very inconvenient time.你来得最不适时。
• Will it be inconvenient for him to attend that meeting?他参加那次会议会不方便吗？

17 propensities   

n.倾向，习性( propensity的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This paper regarded AFT as a criterion to estimate slagging propensities. 文中以灰熔点作为判断煤灰结渣倾向的标准。 来自互联网
• Our results demonstrate that different types of authoritarian regime face different propensities to develop toward democracy. 本文研究结果显示，不同的威权主义政体所面对的民主发展倾向是不同的。 来自互联网

18 permanently   

adv.永恒地，永久地，固定不变地

参考例句：

• The accident left him permanently scarred.那次事故给他留下了永久的伤疤。
• The ship is now permanently moored on the Thames in London.该船现在永久地停泊在伦敦泰晤士河边。

19 eminence   

n.卓越，显赫；高地，高处；名家

参考例句：

• He is a statesman of great eminence.他是个声名显赫的政治家。
• Many of the pilots were to achieve eminence in the aeronautical world.这些飞行员中很多人将会在航空界声名显赫。

20 devouring   

吞没( devour的现在分词 )； 耗尽； 津津有味地看； 狼吞虎咽地吃光

参考例句：

• The hungry boy was devouring his dinner. 那饥饿的孩子狼吞虎咽地吃饭。
• He is devouring novel after novel. 他一味贪看小说。

21 extravagant   

adj.奢侈的；过分的；(言行等)放肆的

参考例句：

• They tried to please him with fulsome compliments and extravagant gifts.他们想用溢美之词和奢华的礼品来取悦他。
• He is extravagant in behaviour.他行为放肆。

22 expending   

v.花费( expend的现在分词 )；使用（钱等）做某事；用光；耗尽

参考例句：

• The heart pumps by expending and contracting of muscle. 心脏通过收缩肌肉抽取和放出（血液）。 来自互联网
• Criminal action is an action of expending cost and then producing profit. 刑事诉讼是一种需要支付成本、能够产生收益的活动。 来自互联网

23 judgment   

n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见

参考例句：

• The chairman flatters himself on his judgment of people.主席自认为他审视人比别人高明。
• He's a man of excellent judgment.他眼力过人。

24 prospects   

n.希望，前途(恒为复数)

参考例句：

• There is a mood of pessimism in the company about future job prospects. 公司中有一种对工作前景悲观的情绪。
• They are less sanguine about the company's long-term prospects. 他们对公司的远景不那么乐观。