CHAPTER X. TOM DROPS HER TATTERS.

 “Now, what is your name, little girl?” asked Mrs. Merton, surveying Tom doubtfully, half sorry that she had undertaken the care of her.

“Tom.”

“That’s a boy’s name.”

“Everybody calls me Tom,—sometimes Tattered¹ Tom.”

“There’s some reason about the first name,” thought Mrs. Merton, as her glance rested on the ragged² skirt and well-ventilated jacket of her brother’s protegée.

“As you are a girl, it is not proper that you should have a boy’s name. What is your real name?”

“I think it’s Jenny. Granny used to call me so long ago, but I like Tom best.”

“Then I shall call you Jenny. Now, Jenny, the 101first thing to do, is to wash yourself clean. Follow me.”

Mrs. Merton went up the front stairs, and Tom followed, using her eyes to good advantage as she advanced.

The landlady³ led the way into a bath-room. She set the water to running, and bade Tom undress.

“Am I to get into the tub?” asked Tom.

“Yes, certainly. While you are undressing, I will try and find some clothes that will fit you.”

Though she did not at first fancy the idea of bathing, Tom grew to like it, and submitted with a good grace. Mrs. Merton took care that it should be thorough. After it, she dressed Tom in some clothes, still very good, which had been laid aside by her daughter Mary. Then she combed Tom’s tangled⁴ locks, and was astonished by the improvement it made in the appearance of the little waif.

I have already said that Tom had elements of beauty, but it took sharp eyes to detect them under the rags and dirt which had so effectually disguised her. She had very brilliant dark eyes, and a clear olive complexion⁵, with cheeks that had a tinge⁶ of red 102instead of the pallor usually to be found in those children who have the misfortune to be reared in a tenement⁷ house. In her new clothes she looked positively⁸ handsome, as Mrs. Merton thought, though she did not see fit to say so to Tom herself.

When her toilet was concluded she turned Tom to the glass, and said, “There, Jenny, do you know who that is?”

Tom stared in open-eyed wonder at the image which she saw. She could hardly believe the testimony⁹ of her eyes.

“Is that me?” she asked.

“I believe so,” said Mrs. Merton, smiling.

“It don’t look like me a bit,” continued Tom.

“It doesn’t look like ‘Tattered Tom,’ certainly. Don’t you like it better?”

“I dunno,” said Tom, doubtfully. “It looks too much like a girl.”

“But you are a girl, you know.”

“I wish I wasn’t.”

“Why?”

“Boys have more fun; besides, they are stronger, and can fight better.”

103“But you don’t want to fight?” said Mrs. Merton, scandalized.

“I licked a boy yesterday,” said Tom, proudly.

“Why did you do that?”

“He sassed me, and I licked him. He was bigger’n I was, too!”

“I can’t allow you to fight in future, Jenny,” said Mrs. Merton. “It isn’t at all proper for girls, or indeed for boys, to fight; but it is worse for girls.”

“Why is it?” asked Tom.

“Because girls should be gentle and lady-like.”

“If you was a girl, and a boy should slap you in the face, what would you do?” asked Tom, fixing her bright eyes upon her mentor¹⁰.

“I should forgive him, and hope he would become a better boy.”

“I wouldn’t,” said Tom. “I’d give him Hail Columby.”

“You’ve got some very wrong ideas, Jenny,” said Mrs. Merton. “I fear that your grandmother has not brought you up properly.”

“She did not bring me up at all. I brought 104myself up. As for granny, she didn’t care as long as I brought her money to buy whiskey.”

Mrs. Merton shook her head. It was very evident to her that Tom had been under very bad influences.

“I hope you will see the error of your ways after a while, Jenny. My brother takes an interest in you, and for his sake I hope you will try to improve.”

“If he wants me to, I will,” said Tom, decidedly.

Arab as she was, she had been impressed by the kindness of Captain Barnes, and felt that she should like to please him. Still, there was a fascination¹¹ in the wild independence of her street life which was likely for some time to interfere¹² with her enjoyment¹³ of the usages of a more civilized¹⁴ state. There was little prospect¹⁵ of her taming down into an average girl all at once. The change must come slowly.

“My brother will be very much pleased if he finds that you have improved when he returns from his voyage.”

“When is he goin’ to sea?”

“In two or three days.”

“I asked him to take me with him,” said Tom; “but he wouldn’t.”

105“You would only be in the way on a ship, Jenny.”

“No, I shouldn’t. I could be a cabin-boy.”

“But you are not a boy.”

“I could climb the masts as well as a boy. If there was only a pole here, I’d show you.”

“What a child you are!”

“Did you ever read about the female pirate captain?” asked Tom.

“No.”

“Jim Morgan told me all about it. He’d read it in some book. It was a bully¹⁶ story.”

“Such stories are not fit to read.”

“I’d like to be a pirate captain,” said Tom, thoughtfully.

“You mustn’t talk so, Jenny,” said Mrs. Merton, shocked.

“But I would, though, and carry two pistols and a dagger¹⁷ in my belt, and then if anybody sassed me I’d give ’em all they wanted.”

“My brother wouldn’t like to hear you talk so, Jenny. I’m sure I don’t know what has got into you to say such dreadful things.”

106“Then I won’t,” said Tom. “I wonder what granny would say if she saw me in these fixin’s. She wouldn’t know me.”

“When my brother comes, you shall go down and open the door for him, and see if he knows you.”

“That will be bully.”

“Now I must be thinking what I can find for you to do. You will be willing to help me?”

“Yes,” said Tom, promptly¹⁸.

“Do you know how to make beds?”

“I can learn,” said Tom.

“Didn’t your grandmother ever teach you?” asked Mrs. Merton, who, though for a long time a resident of New York, had a very imperfect knowledge of how the poorest classes lived.

“Granny never made her bed,” said Tom. “She just gave it a shake, and tumbled into it.”

“Bless me, how shiftless she must be!” ejaculated Mrs. Merton, in surprise.

“Oh, granny don’t mind!” said Tom, carelessly.

“Did you ever sweep?”

“Lots of times. That’s the way I got money to carry to granny.”

107“Were you paid for sweeping¹⁹, then?” asked Mrs. Merton.

“Yes, people that came along would give me money. If they wouldn’t I’d muddy their boots.”

“What do you mean, child? Where did you sweep?”

“Corner of Broadway and Chambers’ Streets.”

“Oh, you swept the crossing, then.”

“In course I did. If you’ll give me a broom, I’ll go out and sweep front of your house; but I guess there aint so many people come along here as in Broadway.”

“I don’t want you to do that,” said Mrs. Merton, hastily. “I want you to sweep the rooms in the house. Sarah, the chambermaid, will show you how, and also teach you to make beds.”

“All right,” said Tom. “Bring her on, and I’ll help her.”

“We will defer²⁰ that till to-morrow. Now you may come down to the kitchen with me, and I’ll see if I can find anything for you to do there.”

Tom felt ready for any enterprise, and started to follow Mrs. Merton downstairs, but rather startled 108the good lady by making a rapid descent astride the banisters.

“Don’t you do that again, Jenny,” she said reprovingly.

“Why not?” asked Tom. “It’s jolly fun.”

1 tattered   

adj.破旧的，衣衫破的

参考例句：

• Her tattered clothes in no way detracted from her beauty.她的破衣烂衫丝毫没有影响她的美貌。
• Their tattered clothing and broken furniture indicated their poverty.他们褴褛的衣服和破烂的家具显出他们的贫穷。

2 ragged   

adj.衣衫褴褛的，粗糙的，刺耳的

参考例句：

• A ragged shout went up from the small crowd.这一小群人发出了刺耳的喊叫。
• Ragged clothing infers poverty.破衣烂衫意味着贫穷。

3 landlady   

n.女房东，女地主

参考例句：

• I heard my landlady creeping stealthily up to my door.我听到我的女房东偷偷地来到我的门前。
• The landlady came over to serve me.女店主过来接待我。

4 tangled   

adj. 纠缠的，紊乱的 动词tangle的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• Your hair's so tangled that I can't comb it. 你的头发太乱了，我梳不动。
• A movement caught his eye in the tangled undergrowth. 乱灌木丛里的晃动引起了他的注意。

5 complexion   

n.肤色；情况，局面；气质，性格

参考例句：

• Red does not suit with her complexion.红色与她的肤色不协调。
• Her resignation puts a different complexion on things.她一辞职局面就全变了。

6 tinge   

vt.(较淡)着色于，染色；使带有…气息；n.淡淡色彩，些微的气息

参考例句：

• The maple leaves are tinge with autumn red.枫叶染上了秋天的红色。
• There was a tinge of sadness in her voice.她声音中流露出一丝忧伤。

7 tenement   

n.公寓；房屋

参考例句：

• They live in a tenement.他们住在廉价公寓里。
• She felt very smug in a tenement yard like this.就是在个这样的杂院里，她觉得很得意。

8 positively   

adv.明确地，断然，坚决地；实在，确实

参考例句：

• She was positively glowing with happiness.她满脸幸福。
• The weather was positively poisonous.这天气着实讨厌。

9 testimony   

n.证词；见证，证明

参考例句：

• The testimony given by him is dubious.他所作的证据是可疑的。
• He was called in to bear testimony to what the police officer said.他被传入为警官所说的话作证。

10 mentor   

n.指导者，良师益友；v.指导

参考例句：

• He fed on the great ideas of his mentor.他以他导师的伟大思想为支撑。
• He had mentored scores of younger doctors.他指导过许多更年轻的医生。

11 fascination   

n.令人着迷的事物，魅力，迷恋

参考例句：

• He had a deep fascination with all forms of transport.他对所有的运输工具都很着迷。
• His letters have been a source of fascination to a wide audience.广大观众一直迷恋于他的来信。

12 interfere   

v.(in)干涉，干预；(with)妨碍，打扰

参考例句：

• If we interfere, it may do more harm than good.如果我们干预的话，可能弊多利少。
• When others interfere in the affair,it always makes troubles. 别人一卷入这一事件，棘手的事情就来了。

13 enjoyment   

n.乐趣；享有；享用

参考例句：

• Your company adds to the enjoyment of our visit. 有您的陪同，我们这次访问更加愉快了。
• After each joke the old man cackled his enjoyment.每逢讲完一个笑话，这老人就呵呵笑着表示他的高兴。

14 civilized   

a.有教养的，文雅的

参考例句：

• Racism is abhorrent to a civilized society. 文明社会憎恶种族主义。
• rising crime in our so-called civilized societies 在我们所谓文明社会中日益增多的犯罪行为

15 prospect   

n.前景，前途；景色，视野

参考例句：

• This state of things holds out a cheerful prospect.事态呈现出可喜的前景。
• The prospect became more evident.前景变得更加明朗了。

16 bully   

n.恃强欺弱者，小流氓；vt.威胁，欺侮

参考例句：

• A bully is always a coward.暴汉常是懦夫。
• The boy gave the bully a pelt on the back with a pebble.那男孩用石子掷击小流氓的背脊。

17 dagger   

n.匕首，短剑，剑号

参考例句：

• The bad news is a dagger to his heart.这条坏消息刺痛了他的心。
• The murderer thrust a dagger into her heart.凶手将匕首刺进她的心脏。

18 promptly   

adv.及时地，敏捷地

参考例句：

• He paid the money back promptly.他立即还了钱。
• She promptly seized the opportunity his absence gave her.她立即抓住了因他不在场给她创造的机会。

19 sweeping   

adj.范围广大的，一扫无遗的

参考例句：

• The citizens voted for sweeping reforms.公民投票支持全面的改革。
• Can you hear the wind sweeping through the branches?你能听到风掠过树枝的声音吗？

20 defer   

vt.推迟，拖延；vi.(to)遵从，听从，服从

参考例句：

• We wish to defer our decision until next week.我们希望推迟到下星期再作出决定。
• We will defer to whatever the committee decides.我们遵从委员会作出的任何决定。