So it came about that Giusippe spent less and less of his time in his own department in the glass works and more and more in Mr. Curtis's private office. Before long, boy though he was, he had quite a complete comprehension of the older man's affairs and proved himself most useful to the head of the firm who was fighting his way back to health. It was so easy to say:
"Regarding this letter, I wish, Giusippe, you would see that such and such a reply is sent. Look it over yourself before it goes out to be sure that the stenographer7 has correctly caught my idea."
Or:
"Go and tell Levin of the sheet glass department that I want these orders filled before any others are shipped. Attend to it yourself, and make certain he clearly understands."To drop any portion of the detail of his mighty8 business upon younger shoulders, or in fact upon any shoulders at all was a thing which, but a short time before, Mr. Curtis would have considered impossible. But now, to his surprise, he found himself actually doing it to an amazing extent, and discovered that no calamity9 resulted in consequence. On the contrary it was a positive relief to have a bright, strong, eager boy lift a part of the burden which had become so heavy for the older man to bear alone. For Giusippe possessed10 that rare gift seldom found in the young and often lacking, even, in elder persons—he could hold his tongue. He never prattled11 of Mr. Curtis's affairs; never boasted of his knowledge of the innermost workings of the firm. He did as he was told, gave his opinion when asked, and kept whatever information was doled12 out to him entirely13 to himself.
Hence it followed naturally that when Uncle Tom began going to the works for a few hours each day he took Giusippe with him, and when he came home left the boy to see carried out the instructions he gave. Slowly the office force began to defer14 to the youthful Italian.
"Did Mr. Curtis say anything about this matter or that?"
"Was such and such a price the one Mr. Curtis wished quoted?"
Having discussed many of these very matters with his employer Giusippe was usually ready with an answer or he could get one. For it was he alone who was sure to receive a telephone reply from the Curtis residence; he was the only one who knew at just what time of day Mr. Curtis could be reached, and whether he was well enough that morning to be disturbed. Men desiring interviews with the head of the firm soon found themselves inquiring for Mr. Cicone and asking him if possible to arrange things so they could have a few words with Mr. Curtis. Giusippe was the recognized buffer15, the go-between who guarded the capitalist from annoyance16 and intrusion of every sort.
"You talk with this fellow, Giusippe," Mr. Curtis would often say. "Tell him—well, you know—get him out of the office. You can do it politely. Tell him I'll give him a hundred dollars toward his hospital, but keep him out of my way."
Then Giusippe would laugh.
He had begun to understand that the life of a rich man was no easy one.
Scores of persons came to see Mr. Curtis: persons applying for business positions; persons begging money for various good causes; customers; salesmen; men wanting newspaper interviews. From morning until night the throng17 filed in and out of the office. Up to the present Mr. Curtis had been content to remain in the security of his inner domain18 and rely on his stenographer to fill many of the gaps. But with illness a change had come and it was to Giusippe that most of these duties fell.
And yet, strangely enough, nothing had been further from the older man's original plan than to transform this foreign-born lad into his private secretary. But so it came about.
"I seem to just need you all the time, Giusippe," he declared one day. "When you leave the house and return to your uncle's I am always discovering something I meant to ask you and having to send the car after you; and the moment you go back to your own job in the casting department, without fail some matter comes up and you have to be telephoned for. It is no use to try to get on without you. I need you all the time. I need you here at home and I need you at the office."
Giusippe smiled.
"I'm glad if I can be of help to you, sir."
"You are of help; you are more than that—you are—— See here, what do you say to throwing up your position at the works and coming into my private office as my—well, as my general utility man? I've never had a secretary—I've never wanted one; and if I had I never before have seen the chap I'd trust with the job. But you are different. You're one of the family, to begin with. Moreover, you've proved that you can be trusted, and that you have some common sense. What would you take to move into your room up-stairs for good and all, and live here where I can get hold of you when I want you? Are you so wedded19 to your aunt and uncle or to your work in the factory that you would be unwilling20 to make the change?"
"If you really think that I could do for you what you want done, Mr. Curtis——"
"I don't think, I know!"
"Then I'd like to come, sir."
"That's right! It will be a weight off my mind. The doctor says that for some months I must still go easy. You can save both my time and my strength. I like you and I believe you like me; that is half the battle in working with any one. We will send to your uncle's for your trunk and whatever else you have."
"There isn't much else but some books," answered Giusippe. "I have been buying a few from time to time as I could afford them."
"Box them up and send them over. Send everything. This is to be your future home, you understand. And by the by, we'll give you that other room adjoining your bedroom. You will need a bit more space. I will have a desk and some book-shelves put in there."
"Thank you, sir."
"We'll call that settled, then. It is going to be very helpful to have you right here on the spot. It is the person who aims to be of service who is really valuable in the world. Look at Jean. In her way she has been doing the same thing that you have. When she found I was in a hole and needed her she gave up her vacation in the East without a murmur22. I sha'n't forget it, either. Come in, missy. I'm talking about you."
Jean, who had paused on the threshold of the room, entered smiling.
"You caught me at just the right moment, little lady. I was slandering23 you," went on Mr. Curtis. "I was saying to Giusippe that I never again can get on without you two young persons. Why, this old house was quiet as the grave before you came into it. I cannot imagine how I ever existed here alone all these years. The piano wasn't opened from one end of the year to the other, and when I unlocked the door and came in there wasn't a single sound anywhere. As I look back on it I guess I spent about all my time at the Club. But since you came it has been different. I've liked it a whole lot better, too. Now I feel as if I really had a home."
"When I get older," she said, "I mean that you shall have even a nicer home. Fräulein will be an old lady soon, Uncle Tom, and will not be able to take care of things as she does now. Then I'm going to ask her to teach me to market and to keep house. If you are to make Giusippe your secretary it is only fair that you should give me a position, too. I'll be your housekeeper25. You'll see what a good one I shall make after I've learned how. I should love to do it. A girl—a really, truly girl, Uncle Tom, can't help wanting to keep house for somebody."
"No more she can, dear, and she ought to want to, too. It is her work in the world to be a homemaker—the one who touches with comfort and with beauty the lives of those about her. You shall be housekeeper for Giusippe and me, little girl, and shall make out of these four walls a real home. That is what your new Aunt Ethel is to do for your Uncle Bob."
"I know it," answered Jean softly. "Even Uncle Bob couldn't get on without some one to look after him, could he?"
"No," answered Mr. Curtis, "and it is fortunate he has found some one if you are to be my housekeeper. If he makes any trouble we'll just remind him that it was only your summers that you were to spend with him. Your winters belong to me."
"I don't believe he will quarrel about it," was Jean's answer. "He won't need me now, and he will understand that you do."
"I sure do," replied Uncle Tom, drawing the girl to his side. "I need both of you—my boy and my girl."
To drop any portion of the detail of his mighty business upon younger shoulders, or in fact upon any shoulders at all was a thing which, but a short time before, Mr. Curtis would have considered impossible. But now, to his surprise, he found himself actually doing it to an amazing extent, and discovered that no calamity resulted in consequence. On the contrary it was a positive relief to have a bright, strong, eager boy lift a part of the burden which had become so heavy for the older man to bear alone. For Giusippe possessed that rare gift seldom found in the young and often lacking, even, in elder persons—he could hold his tongue. He never prattled of Mr. Curtis's affairs; never boasted of his knowledge of the innermost workings of the firm. He did as he was told, gave his opinion when asked, and kept whatever information was doled out to him entirely to himself.
Hence it followed naturally that when Uncle Tom began going to the works for a few hours each day he took Giusippe with him, and when he came home left the boy to see carried out the instructions he gave. Slowly the office force began to defer to the youthful Italian.
"Did Mr. Curtis say anything about this matter or that?"
"Was such and such a price the one Mr. Curtis wished quoted?"
Having discussed many of these very matters with his employer Giusippe was usually ready with an answer or he could get one. For it was he alone who was sure to receive a telephone reply from the Curtis residence; he was the only one who knew at just what time of day Mr. Curtis could be reached, and whether he was well enough that morning to be disturbed. Men desiring interviews with the head of the firm soon found themselves inquiring for Mr. Cicone and asking him if possible to arrange things so they could have a few words with Mr. Curtis. Giusippe was the recognized buffer, the go-between who guarded the capitalist from annoyance and intrusion of every sort.
"You talk with this fellow, Giusippe," Mr. Curtis would often say. "Tell him—well, you know—get him out of the office. You can do it politely. Tell him I'll give him a hundred dollars toward his hospital, but keep him out of my way."
Then Giusippe would laugh.
He had begun to understand that the life of a rich man was no easy one.
Scores of persons came to see Mr. Curtis: persons applying for business positions; persons begging money for various good causes; customers; salesmen; men wanting newspaper interviews. From morning until night the throng filed in and out of the office. Up to the present Mr. Curtis had been content to remain in the security of his inner domain and rely on his stenographer to fill many of the gaps. But with illness a change had come and it was to Giusippe that most of these duties fell.
And yet, strangely enough, nothing had been further from the older man's original plan than to transform this foreign-born lad into his private secretary. But so it came about.
"I seem to just need you all the time, Giusippe," he declared one day. "When you leave the house and return to your uncle's I am always discovering something I meant to ask you and having to send the car after you; and the moment you go back to your own job in the casting department, without fail some matter comes up and you have to be telephoned for. It is no use to try to get on without you. I need you all the time. I need you here at home and I need you at the office."
Giusippe smiled.
"I'm glad if I can be of help to you, sir."
"You are of help; you are more than that—you are—— See here, what do you say to throwing up your position at the works and coming into my private office as my—well, as my general utility man? I've never had a secretary—I've never wanted one; and if I had I never before have seen the chap I'd trust with the job. But you are different. You're one of the family, to begin with. Moreover, you've proved that you can be trusted, and that you have some common sense. What would you take to move into your room up-stairs for good and all, and live here where I can get hold of you when I want you? Are you so wedded to your aunt and uncle or to your work in the factory that you would be unwilling to make the change?"
A flush suffused the boy's face.
"If you really think that I could do for you what you want done, Mr. Curtis——"
"I don't think, I know!"
"Then I'd like to come, sir."
"That's right! It will be a weight off my mind. The doctor says that for some months I must still go easy. You can save both my time and my strength. I like you and I believe you like me; that is half the battle in working with any one. We will send to your uncle's for your trunk and whatever else you have."
"There isn't much else but some books," answered Giusippe. "I have been buying a few from time to time as I could afford them."
"Box them up and send them over. Send everything. This is to be your future home, you understand. And by the by, we'll give you that other room adjoining your bedroom. You will need a bit more space. I will have a desk and some book-shelves put in there."
"Thank you, sir."
"We'll call that settled, then. It is going to be very helpful to have you right here on the spot. It is the person who aims to be of service who is really valuable in the world. Look at Jean. In her way she has been doing the same thing that you have. When she found I was in a hole and needed her she gave up her vacation in the East without a murmur. I sha'n't forget it, either. Come in, missy. I'm talking about you."
Jean, who had paused on the threshold of the room, entered smiling.
"You caught me at just the right moment, little lady. I was slandering you," went on Mr. Curtis. "I was saying to Giusippe that I never again can get on without you two young persons. Why, this old house was quiet as the grave before you came into it. I cannot imagine how I ever existed here alone all these years. The piano wasn't opened from one end of the year to the other, and when I unlocked the door and came in there wasn't a single sound anywhere. As I look back on it I guess I spent about all my time at the Club. But since you came it has been different. I've liked it a whole lot better, too. Now I feel as if I really had a home."
Jean bent down and kissed him.
"When I get older," she said, "I mean that you shall have even a nicer home. Fräulein will be an old lady soon, Uncle Tom, and will not be able to take care of things as she does now. Then I'm going to ask her to teach me to market and to keep house. If you are to make Giusippe your secretary it is only fair that you should give me a position, too. I'll be your housekeeper. You'll see what a good one I shall make after I've learned how. I should love to do it. A girl—a really, truly girl, Uncle Tom, can't help wanting to keep house for somebody."
"No more she can, dear, and she ought to want to, too. It is her work in the world to be a homemaker—the one who touches with comfort and with beauty the lives of those about her. You shall be housekeeper for Giusippe and me, little girl, and shall make out of these four walls a real home. That is what your new Aunt Ethel is to do for your Uncle Bob."
"I know it," answered Jean softly. "Even Uncle Bob couldn't get on without some one to look after him, could he?"
"No," answered Mr. Curtis, "and it is fortunate he has found some one if you are to be my housekeeper. If he makes any trouble we'll just remind him that it was only your summers that you were to spend with him. Your winters belong to me."
"I don't believe he will quarrel about it," was Jean's answer. "He won't need me now, and he will understand that you do."
"I sure do," replied Uncle Tom, drawing the girl to his side. "I need both of you—my boy and my girl."
点击
收听单词发音
收听单词发音 |
1
invalid
|
|
| n.病人，伤残人；adj.有病的，伤残的；无效的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
2
revival
|
|
| n.复兴，复苏，（精力、活力等的）重振 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
3
allusions
|
|
| 暗指，间接提到( allusion的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
4
specifications
|
|
| n.规格；载明；详述；（产品等的）说明书；说明书( specification的名词复数 )；详细的计划书；载明；详述 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
5
confidential
|
|
| adj.秘（机）密的，表示信任的，担任机密工作的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
6
convalescence
|
|
| n.病后康复期 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
7
stenographer
|
|
| n.速记员 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
8
mighty
|
|
| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
9
calamity
|
|
| n.灾害，祸患，不幸事件 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
10
possessed
|
|
| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
11
prattled
|
|
| v.（小孩般）天真无邪地说话( prattle的过去式和过去分词 )；发出连续而无意义的声音；闲扯；东拉西扯 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
12
doled
|
|
| 救济物( dole的过去式和过去分词 )； 失业救济金 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
13
entirely
|
|
| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
14
defer
|
|
| vt.推迟，拖延；vi.(to)遵从，听从，服从 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
15
buffer
|
|
| n.起缓冲作用的人(或物)，缓冲器；vt.缓冲 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
16
annoyance
|
|
| n.恼怒，生气，烦恼 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
17
throng
|
|
| n.人群，群众；v.拥挤，群集 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
18
domain
|
|
| n.(活动等)领域，范围；领地，势力范围 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
19
wedded
|
|
| adj.正式结婚的；渴望…的，执著于…的v.嫁，娶，（与…）结婚( wed的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
20
unwilling
|
|
| adj.不情愿的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
21
suffused
|
|
| v.（指颜色、水气等）弥漫于，布满( suffuse的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
22
murmur
|
|
| n.低语，低声的怨言；v.低语，低声而言 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
23
slandering
|
|
| [法]口头诽谤行为 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
24
bent
|
|
| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
25
housekeeper
|
|
| n.管理家务的主妇，女管家 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
| 欢迎访问英文小说网 |