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CHAPTER VII LOVEDAY GOES VISITING
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 BUT though she began her packing at once, and went on with it most industriously1 for the two following days, yet, when Thursday morning came, she was not, according to her own accounts, nearly ready.
 
There really was a great deal to be done. First of all she had to find a basket in which to pack her cat, “Mrs. Peters,” and her three kittens, for until that was done she could not make any other plans or attend to anything else.
 
Fortunately, however, she found at once a nice shiny hat-box, with a leather handle and a lock and key, which would just hold the Peters family, for the kittens were quite tiny. “I will pack all my white flannel2 petticoats in the bottom of it,” she said to herself, “for they will be nice for Mrs. Peters and the kittens to lie on, and it will be a good thing to get the petticoats in out of the way.”
 
So in went the petticoats, and then the kittens, but Mrs. Peters was out, and had to be waited for. She came in, though, in such good time that she and her family and the petticoats were packed and locked and strapped3 up long before Loveday’s dinner-time came; and what would have been the end of the poor kittens and their mother if their own dinner-time had not come very soon, and Nurse had not come in search of them to feed them, no one can imagine, for the box had no ventilation holes, and the lid shut down quite close.
 
If Mrs. Peters and the kittens suffered, though, Loveday suffered too; for Nurse was so angry when she saw the petticoats in the box with the cats, that she ordered Loveday to sit down and pick off from them every single hair that the cats had left behind, and they had left so many that to Loveday it seemed a marvel4 that they were not all quite bald. She did not get rid of quite all the hairs, though, for by tea-time her eyes were so swelled5 and smarting with crying, she was excused the rest, after promising6 never, never to do such a thing again.
 
“Don’t you think, dear, that you had better leave Mrs. Peters and her family behind?” suggested her mother, when Loveday, after ransacking7 the whole house, had found a basket to take the place of the hat-box.
 
“Oh no!” cried Loveday; “Mrs. Peters would fret8 dreadfully for me.”
 
“Do you think she would, dear, now she has her little ones to interest her?”
 
“Oh yes, I am sure she would. You see she would have no one to talk to her.”
 
“I would talk to her,” said mother, “and make much of her,” and looking rather grave, “you see there is a great deal of water at Porthcallis, and the kittens are so very young. If they escaped from you or their mother, and got down on the sands and a wave came in, and——”
 
“Can kittens swim?” asked Loveday, looking very anxious.
 
“No, dear; such baby things, too, would be too frightened to do anything. I really think it would be kinder to leave them at home with Nurse and me, and Priscilla would be glad, too, to have them to watch and play with when she gets better. She will be rather lonely and dull without you, you know.”
 
“So she will,” sighed Loveday, “but of course I shall come home at once if Prissy wants me.”
 
“You must breathe in all the sea air you can, and grow strong and rosy9, and you must collect all the pretty shells you can find, for Priscilla, and then, perhaps—but remember it is only perhaps—when Priscilla and Geoffrey are well enough we may all come down to Porthcallis for a holiday with you.”
 
“Oh, how lovely!” cried Loveday, dancing and clapping her hands with joy. “I shall like going ever so much better now than I did.” She went over and leaned on her mother, and looked up into her face. “I—I didn’t want to go before you said that,” she confided10 to her in a half whisper, “at least not very much; but I do now, and I will get all the shells I can for Prissy, and I will get to know my way everywhere so as to be able to lead you all about when you come. And now,” bustling11 away, “I am going to take out all my toys to see which of them I shall pack;” and off she ran. In a moment or two, though, she was back again.
 
“Mother, don’t you think I ought to take one of my toys, or one of Prissy’s, to Aaron Lobb? I don’t expect he has very many, and little boys and girls always like to have something brought to them when people come on a visit.”
 
“Yes, certainly, dear. Take one of your own—something you think a boy would like.”
 
Loveday thought for a moment. “I fink I’ll take him the big monkey. It is very ugly, but boys like ugly things;” and off she ran again, and this time really reached the nursery, where Mrs. Peters and her family were frantically12 clawing at the basket in their longing13 to get outside it.
 
Loveday untied14 the lid and let them all out. “You are not to go after all,” she said. “I hope you won’t be dis’pointed, but mother finks Prissy may want you, and, after all, the fish at Porthcallis isn’t better than any other, and there’s a dreadful lot of water.”
 
Whether Mrs. Peters understood the change of plan or not, who can say? But it is a fact that she lay down purring with happiness, and, drawing all her children about her, talked to them for a long time.
 
Three days later, about noon, Loveday and Mrs. Carlyon started. It was not a very long journey by train—an engine soon covers fifteen miles; and the afternoon sun was still shining bright and hot when they stepped out on the platform of the little bare country station, which was not very far from Mrs. Lobb’s cottage. Though one could not actually see the sea from the platform, one felt that it was close by, for one could smell it in the air, and on stormy days one could hear it; and, though I don’t know how it came there, there certainly was sea-sand all about the platform, which made it look and feel as though the sea certainly must reach that far sometimes.
 
It was all very open and breezy, and there seemed to be an endless amount of air and space, and sea and sand, and sky and everything. Loveday almost wished there was not quite so much; it made her feel so small, and rather forlorn. But she had not much time to think about it, for things kept on happening. There were no omnibuses or cabs or anything to take them anywhere.
 
“How are we going to get my box to Bessie’s house?” she asked anxiously.
 
A man with a wheelbarrow had come up, and was standing15 by them.
 
“I’ll take the box, little lady,” he said, touching16 his hat and smiling at her. “For the rest, hereabouts, we mostly goes on Shanks’s mare17.”
 
“Oh, thank you,” said Loveday.
 
Mrs. Carlyon explained to the man where she wanted him to take the box, and paid him; and when he had gone, and she had gathered up the little things she wished to carry herself, she and Loveday started to follow. Outside the station, Loveday stopped and looked about her.
 
“Come along, darling,” said mother rather impatiently. “What are you looking for? This is the way. I want to go to one or two shops first.”
 
“I was looking for Shanks and his mare,” she explained, “to take us to Bessie’s.”
 
“I don’t think the station-master need have laughed like that,” she said indignantly, as, a moment later, they walked quickly away. “Everybody makesmistakes, and we don’t call legs by such silly names at home, and—and one can’t know everything. Even grown-ups don’t know everything, but they do laugh at such silly things. I don’t see anything funny in it.”
 
“No, I don’t suppose you do, dear. But look! here is a fine shop,” said Mrs. Carlyon, drawing up before a window full of toys, and china, and a few books, and some boxes of chocolates, and a long string of tin buckets all painted different colours. “We will go in, shall we? I want to get you a spade and bucket.”
 
“Oh, thank you!” gasped18 Loveday. “How lovely!” and she forgot in a moment all her troubles and the trying habit grown-ups have of laughing at nothing.
 
Some of the buckets had names painted on their sides.
 
“Have you one with ‘Loveday’ on it?” she asked eagerly of the woman who came out to serve them.
 
“Oh no, miss,” said the woman, shaking her head. “I never heard of no such name as that before. I’ve got one with ‘Thomas’ on it, and ‘Ada,’ and ‘Susan.’”
 
Loveday hesitated a moment; then, “I’ll take ‘Thomas,’” she said. “You see,” she explained to her mother when they got outside, “if I had chosen ‘Ada’ or ‘Susan,’ people would have thought it was my own real name, but they can’t think I am called ‘Thomas.’”
 
“I don’t suppose people have much time for thinking about little girls and the names on their buckets,” said Mrs. Carlyon quietly.
 
“No, not people, mummy, but boys and girls have. They have lots of time, and they notice everything.”
 
Armed with her spade and her scarlet19 bucket, Loveday walked on quite cheerfully to Bessie’s house. From the station it had looked quite close, only just across a green, and along a strip of level road and a little bit of beach, and there you were. But the country just there was flat and deceptive20; the road wound and curved, and they found it quite a longish walk by the time they had passed the green and followed the windings21 of the road, and crossed the stretch of sands. But there they were at last, and there was Bessie out to welcome them, and Aaron, too, though he disappeared behind his mother’s skirts as soon as the strangers came really close.
 
Loveday thought him a very funny little boy, and not at all pretty. He had very round red cheeks, and a snub nose, and big dark eyes; his hair was dark, too, and quite straight, and cut very close to his head. Loveday looked at him with the greatest interest and curiosity. He was very different from what she had expected; for one thing, he was older and more manly23.
 
“He is like a boy, not a baby,” she said to herself, and felt a little disappointed.
 
She had thought she was to have had a play-fellow whom she could have “mothered” and managed a little. But she soon found out her mistake. Aaron Lobb was not at all a baby, nor did he think himself one or allow others to do so. He was a sturdy little fellow, and full of a knowledge of the sea and the tides, and boats, and shells, and fishing, which to Loveday seemed simply amazing, and clever beyond words.
 
When they had all talked a little, Bessie led the way into the house, and Loveday thought it was the most interesting, funny, and charming house she had ever seen in her life. It stood back from the beach, close under the towering cliff, and was a long low house, only one storey high, with big windows, and a porch over the door, and a verandah on each side of the door, and it was painted white, all but the window-frames and the doors, and they were green.
 
Bessie explained that it had been built by a gentleman who lived in a big house on the top of the cliff. He had had it built years ago for his boatman to live in, “and there is the path he had made for the man to go up and down by to the big house.”
 
Loveday looked, and saw a dear little winding22 path going up and up, with here and there a flight of little steps where the cliff was particularly steep, and all the way there was a strong hand-rail to prevent one’s falling over.
 
“Does your husband take charge of the boats for the gentleman now?” asked Mrs. Carlyon.
 
“Oh no, ma’am,” said Bessie, shaking her head and looking very grave. “He doesn’t keep one now, poor gentleman! His only son was drowned one day out there, right in front of his windows, and Mr. Winter—he—he saw it, and—and it pretty nearly drove him out of his mind. The next day he sent down to Button—Button was his man—and ordered every boat to be broke up, and he got rid of Button—not ’cause ’twas his fault, but ’cause he couldn’t abide[68] the sight of anything that had to do with that dreadful day. He was going to have this little place pulled down too, but my husband begged and prayed him not to, houses here being so scarce there’s no getting one. And Mr. Winter, he gave in. You see, ma’am, he’d had the little place built low like this, and right back under the cliff, so’s it shouldn’t be seen from the house, so he was never worried by the sight of it, and after the accident he wouldn’t be likely to, for he had the blinds on that side of the house that faced the sea drawn24 down, and he dared anybody ever to raise them again in his lifetime.”
 
Loveday was very much impressed by this sad story. She seemed to see the poor father sitting lonely and sad in his dark house, while his only son lay for ever at the bottom of the cruel sea, which stretched before his very eyes. There were tears in Mrs. Carlyon’s eyes as she listened, and quite a sadness lay for the moment over the whole scene as they followed Bessie into the bungalow25. It was quite a large bungalow, and so well built and nicely finished inside. On one side of the little entrance was a cosy26, spotlessly clean kitchen-parlour, with scullery behind it, and beyond that was Bessie’s bedroom; both had windows looking out to sea, and Bessie’s room had a little door at the end, by which she could get in and out without having to go through the kitchen. On the other side of the entrance was a nice little room, which had been built, said Bessie, for the young gentleman and his friends to have a meal in, or sit in, and behind it were two little rooms which had been built for dressing-rooms or bedrooms, for him to change in if he came home wet, or to sleep in if he was going to start very early on a fishing expedition, or come home late.
 
The front room, which looked out to sea, Bessie had made her parlour, while the others were two dear little bedrooms, one of which was now Aaron’s, while the other was to be Loveday’s.
 
Loveday’s eyes sparkled when she saw hers. It had a wooden bed in it—such a curious-looking one, for it had been a four-poster, but, as it wouldn’t go into any room in the bungalow, they had had to cut the top off, so that now it seemed to have two sets of legs, the four it stood on and four that stood up in the air. The window was hung with curtains of blossom-white muslin, and the looking-glass and dressing-table and bed were all hung with the same. So snowy and soft and billowy it looked, the little room might almost have been filled with white clouds or foam27. The woodwork was painted white, and the walls were white too, but for a frieze28 around the top, whereon white-sailed ships scudded29 along over a glorious blue-green sea, while gulls30 hovered31 and swooped32, or stood stiffly on the bright green grass on the cliff-top.
 
Loveday was enchanted33. “Oh, I wish Prissy could see it too!” she cried, and that was the only flaw in her great delight.

点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 industriously f43430e7b5117654514f55499de4314a     
参考例句:
  • She paces the whole class in studying English industriously. 她在刻苦学习英语上给全班同学树立了榜样。
  • He industriously engages in unostentatious hard work. 他勤勤恳恳,埋头苦干。
2 flannel S7dyQ     
n.法兰绒;法兰绒衣服
参考例句:
  • She always wears a grey flannel trousers.她总是穿一条灰色法兰绒长裤。
  • She was looking luscious in a flannel shirt.她穿着法兰绒裙子,看上去楚楚动人。
3 strapped ec484d13545e19c0939d46e2d1eb24bc     
adj.用皮带捆住的,用皮带装饰的;身无分文的;缺钱;手头紧v.用皮带捆扎(strap的过去式和过去分词);用皮带抽打;包扎;给…打绷带
参考例句:
  • Make sure that the child is strapped tightly into the buggy. 一定要把孩子牢牢地拴在婴儿车上。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The soldiers' great coats were strapped on their packs. 战士们的厚大衣扎捆在背包上。 来自《简明英汉词典》
4 marvel b2xyG     
vi.(at)惊叹vt.感到惊异;n.令人惊异的事
参考例句:
  • The robot is a marvel of modern engineering.机器人是现代工程技术的奇迹。
  • The operation was a marvel of medical skill.这次手术是医术上的一个奇迹。
5 swelled bd4016b2ddc016008c1fc5827f252c73     
增强( swell的过去式和过去分词 ); 肿胀; (使)凸出; 充满(激情)
参考例句:
  • The infection swelled his hand. 由于感染,他的手肿了起来。
  • After the heavy rain the river swelled. 大雨过后,河水猛涨。
6 promising BkQzsk     
adj.有希望的,有前途的
参考例句:
  • The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。
  • We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。
7 ransacking ea7d01107f6b62522f7f7c994a6a5557     
v.彻底搜查( ransack的现在分词 );抢劫,掠夺
参考例句:
  • She was ransacking the stores for Jim's present. 她正在彻底搜寻各家店铺,为吉姆买礼物。 来自英汉文学 - 欧亨利
  • Ransacking the drawers of the dresser he came upon a discarded, tiny, ragged handkerchief. 他打开橱柜抽屉搜寻,找到了一块弃置的小旧手帕。 来自辞典例句
8 fret wftzl     
v.(使)烦恼;(使)焦急;(使)腐蚀,(使)磨损
参考例句:
  • Don't fret.We'll get there on time.别着急,我们能准时到那里。
  • She'll fret herself to death one of these days.她总有一天会愁死的.
9 rosy kDAy9     
adj.美好的,乐观的,玫瑰色的
参考例句:
  • She got a new job and her life looks rosy.她找到一份新工作,生活看上去很美好。
  • She always takes a rosy view of life.她总是对生活持乐观态度。
10 confided 724f3f12e93e38bec4dda1e47c06c3b1     
v.吐露(秘密,心事等)( confide的过去式和过去分词 );(向某人)吐露(隐私、秘密等)
参考例句:
  • She confided all her secrets to her best friend. 她向她最要好的朋友倾吐了自己所有的秘密。
  • He confided to me that he had spent five years in prison. 他私下向我透露,他蹲过五年监狱。 来自《简明英汉词典》
11 bustling LxgzEl     
adj.喧闹的
参考例句:
  • The market was bustling with life. 市场上生机勃勃。
  • This district is getting more and more prosperous and bustling. 这一带越来越繁华了。
12 frantically ui9xL     
ad.发狂地, 发疯地
参考例句:
  • He dashed frantically across the road. 他疯狂地跑过马路。
  • She bid frantically for the old chair. 她发狂地喊出高价要买那把古老的椅子。
13 longing 98bzd     
n.(for)渴望
参考例句:
  • Hearing the tune again sent waves of longing through her.再次听到那首曲子使她胸中充满了渴望。
  • His heart burned with longing for revenge.他心中燃烧着急欲复仇的怒火。
14 untied d4a1dd1a28503840144e8098dbf9e40f     
松开,解开( untie的过去式和过去分词 ); 解除,使自由; 解决
参考例句:
  • Once untied, we common people are able to conquer nature, too. 只要团结起来,我们老百姓也能移山倒海。
  • He untied the ropes. 他解开了绳子。
15 standing 2hCzgo     
n.持续,地位;adj.永久的,不动的,直立的,不流动的
参考例句:
  • After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
  • They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。
16 touching sg6zQ9     
adj.动人的,使人感伤的
参考例句:
  • It was a touching sight.这是一幅动人的景象。
  • His letter was touching.他的信很感人。
17 mare Y24y3     
n.母马,母驴
参考例句:
  • The mare has just thrown a foal in the stable.那匹母马刚刚在马厩里产下了一只小马驹。
  • The mare foundered under the heavy load and collapsed in the road.那母马因负载过重而倒在路上。
18 gasped e6af294d8a7477229d6749fa9e8f5b80     
v.喘气( gasp的过去式和过去分词 );喘息;倒抽气;很想要
参考例句:
  • She gasped at the wonderful view. 如此美景使她惊讶得屏住了呼吸。
  • People gasped with admiration at the superb skill of the gymnasts. 体操运动员的高超技艺令人赞叹。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
19 scarlet zD8zv     
n.深红色,绯红色,红衣;adj.绯红色的
参考例句:
  • The scarlet leaves of the maples contrast well with the dark green of the pines.深红的枫叶和暗绿的松树形成了明显的对比。
  • The glowing clouds are growing slowly pale,scarlet,bright red,and then light red.天空的霞光渐渐地淡下去了,深红的颜色变成了绯红,绯红又变为浅红。
20 deceptive CnMzO     
adj.骗人的,造成假象的,靠不住的
参考例句:
  • His appearance was deceptive.他的外表带有欺骗性。
  • The storyline is deceptively simple.故事情节看似简单,其实不然。
21 windings 8a90d8f41ef7c5f4ee6b83bec124a8c9     
(道路、河流等)蜿蜒的,弯曲的( winding的名词复数 ); 缠绕( wind的现在分词 ); 卷绕; 转动(把手)
参考例句:
  • The time harmonics can be considered as voltages of higher frequencies applied to the windings. 时间谐波可以看作是施加在绕组上的较高频率的电压。
  • All the vales in their manifold windings shaded by the most delightful forests. 所有的幽谷,都笼罩在繁茂的垂枝下。
22 winding Ue7z09     
n.绕,缠,绕组,线圈
参考例句:
  • A winding lane led down towards the river.一条弯弯曲曲的小路通向河边。
  • The winding trail caused us to lose our orientation.迂回曲折的小道使我们迷失了方向。
23 manly fBexr     
adj.有男子气概的;adv.男子般地,果断地
参考例句:
  • The boy walked with a confident manly stride.这男孩以自信的男人步伐行走。
  • He set himself manly tasks and expected others to follow his example.他给自己定下了男子汉的任务,并希望别人效之。
24 drawn MuXzIi     
v.拖,拉,拔出;adj.憔悴的,紧张的
参考例句:
  • All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
  • Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。
25 bungalow ccjys     
n.平房,周围有阳台的木造小平房
参考例句:
  • A bungalow does not have an upstairs.平房没有上层。
  • The old couple sold that large house and moved into a small bungalow.老两口卖掉了那幢大房子,搬进了小平房。
26 cosy dvnzc5     
adj.温暖而舒适的,安逸的
参考例句:
  • We spent a cosy evening chatting by the fire.我们在炉火旁聊天度过了一个舒适的晚上。
  • It was so warm and cosy in bed that Simon didn't want to get out.床上温暖而又舒适,西蒙简直不想下床了。
27 foam LjOxI     
v./n.泡沫,起泡沫
参考例句:
  • The glass of beer was mostly foam.这杯啤酒大部分是泡沫。
  • The surface of the water is full of foam.水面都是泡沫。
28 frieze QhNxy     
n.(墙上的)横饰带,雕带
参考例句:
  • The Corinthian painter's primary ornamental device was the animal frieze.科林斯画家最初的装饰图案是动物形象的装饰带。
  • A careful reconstruction of the frieze is a persuasive reason for visiting Liverpool. 这次能让游客走访利物浦展览会,其中一个具有说服力的原因则是壁画得到了精心的重建。
29 scudded c462f8ea5bb84e37045ac6f3ce9c5bfc     
v.(尤指船、舰或云彩)笔直、高速而平稳地移动( scud的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • White clouds scudded across the sky. 白云在天空疾驰而过。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
  • Clouds scudded across the sky driven by high winds. 劲风吹着飞云掠过天空。 来自辞典例句
30 gulls 6fb3fed3efaafee48092b1fa6f548167     
n.鸥( gull的名词复数 )v.欺骗某人( gull的第三人称单数 )
参考例句:
  • A flock of sea gulls are hovering over the deck. 一群海鸥在甲板上空飞翔。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
  • The gulls which haunted the outlying rocks in a prodigious number. 数不清的海鸥在遥远的岩石上栖息。 来自辞典例句
31 hovered d194b7e43467f867f4b4380809ba6b19     
鸟( hover的过去式和过去分词 ); 靠近(某事物); (人)徘徊; 犹豫
参考例句:
  • A hawk hovered over the hill. 一只鹰在小山的上空翱翔。
  • A hawk hovered in the blue sky. 一只老鹰在蓝色的天空中翱翔。
32 swooped 33b84cab2ba3813062b6e35dccf6ee5b     
俯冲,猛冲( swoop的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • The aircraft swooped down over the buildings. 飞机俯冲到那些建筑物上方。
  • The hawk swooped down on the rabbit and killed it. 鹰猛地朝兔子扑下来,并把它杀死。
33 enchanted enchanted     
adj. 被施魔法的,陶醉的,入迷的 动词enchant的过去式和过去分词
参考例句:
  • She was enchanted by the flowers you sent her. 她非常喜欢你送给她的花。
  • He was enchanted by the idea. 他为这个主意而欣喜若狂。


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