Polly, put the kettle on,
And let's have tea!
Polly, put the kettle on,
And we'll all have tea.
"Here we are, wife; did'st thou think thou'd lostus?" quoth hearty1-voiced Wilson, as the two women rose and shook themselves in preparation for their homeward walk. Mrs Barton was evidently soothed2, if not cheered, by the unburdening of her fears and thoughts to her friend; and her approving look went far to second her husband's invitation that the whole party should adjourn3 from Green Heys Fields to tea, at the Bartons' house. The only faint opposition4 was raised by Mrs Wilson, on account of the lateness of the hour at which they would probably return, which she feared on her babies' account.
"Now, hold your tongue, missis, will you," said her husband, good-temperedly. "Don't you know them brats5 never goes to sleep till long past ten? and haven't you a shawl, under which you can tuck one lad's head, as safe as a bird's under its wing? And as for t'other one, I'll put it in my pocket rather than not stay, now we are this far away from Ancoats."
"Or I can lend you another shawl," suggested Mrs Barton.
"Aye, anything rather than not stay."
The matter being decided6, the party proceeded home, through many half-finished streets, all so like one another, that you might have easily been bewildered and lost your way. Not a step, however, did our friends lose; down this entry, cutting off that corner, until they turned out of one of these innumerable streets into a little paved court, having the backs of houses at the end opposite to the opening, and a gutter7 running through the middle to carry off household slops, washing suds, etc. The women who lived in the court were busy taking in strings8 of caps, frocks, and various articles of linen9, which hung from side to side, dangling10 so low, that if our friends had been a few minutes sooner, they would have had to stoop very much, or else the half-wet clothes would have flapped in their faces: but although the evening seemed yet early when they were in the open fields--among the pent-up houses, night, with its mists and its darkness, had already begun to fall.
Many greetings were given and exchanged between the Wilsons and these women, for not long ago they had also dwelt in this court.
Two rude lads, standing11 at a disorderly looking house-door, exclaimed, as Mary Barton (the daughter) passed, "Eh, look! Polly Barton's getten a sweetheart."
Of course this referred to young Wilson, who stole a look to see how Mary took the idea. He saw her assume the air of a young fury, and to his next speech she answered not a word.
Mrs Barton produced the key of the door from her pocket; and on entering the house-place it seemed as if they were in total darkness, except one bright spot, which might be a cat's eye, or might be, what it was, a red-hot fire, smouldering under a large piece of coal, which John Barton immediately applied12 himself to break up, and the effect instantly produced was warm and glowing light in every corner of the room. To add to this (although tile coarse yellow glare seemed lost in the ruddy glow from the fire), Mrs Barton lighted a dip by sticking it in the fire, and having placed it satisfactorily in a tin candlestick, began to look further about her, on hospitable13 thoughts intent. The room was tolerably large, and possessed14 many conveniences. On the right of the door, as you entered, was a longish window, with a broad ledge15. On each side of this, hung blue-and-white check curtains, which were now drawn16, to shut in the friends met to enjoy themselves. Two geraniums, unpruned and leafy, which stood on the sill, formed a further defence from out-door pryers. In the corner between the window and the fire-side was a cupboard, apparently17 full of plates and dishes, cups and saucers, and some more nondescript articles, for which one would have fancied their possessors could find no use--such as triangular18 pieces of glass to save carving19 knives and forks from dirtying table-cloths. However, it was evident Mrs Barton was proud of her crockery and glass, for she left her cupboard door open, with a glance round of satisfaction and pleasure. On the opposite side to the door and window was the staircase, and two doors; one of which (the nearest to the fire) led into a sort of little back kitchen, where dirty work, such as washing up dishes, might be done, and whose shelves served as larder20, and pantry, and store-room, and all. The other door, which was considerably21 lower, opened into the coal-hole--the slanting22 closet under the stairs; from which, to the fire-place, there was a gaycoloured piece of oil-cloth laid. The place se
emed almost crammed23 with furniture (sure sign of good times among the mills). Beneath the window was a dresser, with three deep drawers. Opposite the fire-place was a table, which I should call a Pembroke, only that it was made of deal, and I cannot tell how far such a name may be applied to such humble24 material. On it, resting against the wall, was a bright green japanned tea-tray, having a couple of scarlet25 lovers embracing in the middle. The fire-light danced merrily on this, and really (setting all taste but that of a child's aside) it gave a richness of colouring to that side of the room. It was in some measure propped26 up by a crimson27 tea-caddy, also or japan ware28. A round table on one branching leg, really for use, stood in the corresponding corner to the cupboard; and, if you can picture all this, with a washy, but clean stencilled29 pattern on the walls, you can form some idea of John Barton's home.
The tray was soon hoisted30 down, and before the merry clatter31 of cups and saucers began, the women disburdened themselves of their out-of-door things, and sent Mary upstairs with them. Then came a long whispering, and chinking of money, to which Mr and Mrs Wilson were too polite to attend; knowing, as they did full well, that it all related to the preparations for hospitality; hospitality that, in their turn, they should have such pleasure in offering. So they tried to be busily occupied with the children, and not to hear Mrs Barton's directions to Mary.
"Run, Mary dear, just round the corner, and get some fresh eggs at Tipping's (you may get one a-piece, that will be fivepence), and see if he has any nice ham cut, that he would let us have a pound of."
"Say two pounds, missis, and don't be stingy," chimed in the husband.
"Well, a pound and a half, Mary. And get it Cumberland ham, for Wilson comes from there-away, and it will have a sort of relish32 of home with it he'll like,--and Mary" (seeing the lassie fain to be off), "you must get a pennyworth of milk and a loaf of bread--mind you get it fresh and new--and, and--that's all, Mary."
"No, it's not all," said her husband. "Thou must get sixpennyworth of rum, to warm the tea; thou'll get it at the 'Grapes.' And thou just go to Alice Wilson; he says she lives just right round the corner, under 14 Barber Street" (this was addressed to his wife); "and tell her to come and take her tea with us; she'll like to see her brother, I'll be bound, let alone Jane and the twins."
"If she comes she must bring a tea-cup and saucer, for we have but half-a-dozen, and here's six of us," said Mrs Barton.
"Pooh, pooh, Jem and Mary can drink out of one, surely."
But Mary secretly determined34 to take care that Alice brought her tea-cup and saucer, if the alternative was to be her sharing any thing with Jem.
Alice Wilson had but just come in. She had been out all day in the fields, gathering35 wild herbs for drinks and medicine, for in addition to her invaluable36 qualities as a sick nurse and her worldly occupations as a washerwoman, she added a considerable knowledge of hedge and field simples; and on fine days, when no more profitable occupation offered itself, he used to ramble37 off into the lanes and meadows as far as her legs could carry her. This evening she had returned loaded with nettles38, and her first object was to light a candle and see to hang them up in bunches in every available place in her cellar room. It was the perfection of cleanliness; in one corner stood the modest-looking bed, with a check curtain at the head, the whitewashed39 wall filling up the place where the corresponding one should have been. The floor was bricked, and scrupulously40 clean, although so damp that it seemed as if the last washing would never dry up. As the cellar window looked into an area in the street, down which boys might throw stones, it was protected by an outside shutter41, and was oddly festooned with all manner of hedge-row, ditch, and field plants, which we are accustomed to call valueless, but which have a powerful effect either for good or for evil, and are consequently much used among the poor. The room was strewed42, hung, and darkened with these bunches, which emitted no very fragrant43 odour in their process of drying. In one corner was a sort of broad hanging shelf, made of old planks44, where some old hoards45 of Alice's were kept. Her little bit of crockery-ware was ranged on the mantelpiece, where also stood her candlestick and box of matches. A small cupboard contained at the bottom coals, and at the top her bread and basin of oatmeal, her frying-pan, tea-pot, and a small tin saucepan, which served as a kettle, as well as for cooking the delicate little messes of broth33 which Alice was sometimes able to manufacture for a sick neighbour.
After her walk she felt chilly46 and weary, and was busy trying to light her fire with the damp coals, and half-green sticks, when Mary knocked.
"Come in," said Alice, remembering, however, that she had barred the door for the night, and hastening to make it possible for any one to come in.
"Is that you, Mary Barton?" exclaimed she, as the light from the candle streamed on the girl's face. "How you are grown since I used to see you at my brother's! Come in, lass, come in."
"Please," said Mary, almost breathless, "mother says you're to come to tea, and bring your cup and saucer, for George and Jane Wilson is with us, and the twins, and Jem. And you're to make haste, please."
"I'm sure it's very neighbourly and kind in your mother, and I'll come, with many thanks. Stay, Mary, has your mother got any nettles for spring drink? If she hasn't I'll take her some.
"No, I don't think she has."
Mary ran off like a hare to fulfil what, to a girl of thirteen, fond of power, was the more interesting part of her errand-the money-spending part. And well and ably did she perform her business, returning home with a little bottle of rum, and the eggs in one hand, while her other was filled with some excellent red-and-white, smoke-flavoured, Cumberland ham, wrapped up in paper.
She was at home, and frying ham, before Alice had chosen her nettles, put out her candle, locked her door, and walked in a very foot-sore manner as far as John Barton's. What an aspect of comfort did his house-place present, after her humble cellar! She did not think of comparing; but for all that she felt the delicious glow of the fire, the bright light that revelled47 in every corner of the room, the savoury smells, the comfortable sounds of a boiling kettle, and the hissing48, frizzling ham. With a little old-fashioned curtsey she shut the door, and replied with a loving heart to the boisterous49 and surprised greeting of her brother.
And now all preparations being made, the party sat down; Mrs Wilson in the post of honour, the rocking chair, on the right hand side of the fire, nursing her baby, while its father, in an opposite arm-chair, tried vainly to quieten the other with bread soaked in milk.
Mrs Barton knew manners too well to do anything but sit at the tea-table and make tea, though in her heart she longed to be able to superintend the frying of the ham, and cast many an anxious look at Mary as she broke the eggs and turned the ham, with a very comfortable portion of confidence in her own culinary powers. Jem stood awkwardly leaning against the dresser, replying rather gruffly to his aunt's speeches, which gave him, he thought, the air of being a little boy; whereas he considered himself as a young man, and not so very young neither, as in two months he would be eighteen. Barton vibrated between the fire and the tea-table, his only drawback being a fancy that every now and then his wife's face flushed and contracted as if in pain.
At length the business actually began. Knives and forks, cups and saucers made a noise, but human voices were still, for human beings were hungry, and had no time to speak. Alice first broke silence; holding her tea-cup with the manner of one proposing a toast, she said, "Here's to absent friends. Friends may meet, but mountains never."
It was an unlucky toast or sentiment, as she instantly felt. Every one thought of Esther, the absent Esther; and Mrs Barton put down her food, and could not hide the fastdropping tears. Alice could have bitten her tongue out.
It was a wet blanket to the evening; for though all had been said and suggested in the fields that could be said or suggested, every one bad a wish to say something in the way of comfort to poor Mrs Barton, and a dislike to talk about anything else while her tears fell fast and scalding. So George Wilson, his wife, and children set off early home, not before (in spite of mal-a-propos speeches) they had expressed a wish that such meetings might often take place, and not before John Barton had given his hearty consent; and declared that as soon as ever his wife was well again they would have just such another evening.
"I will take care not to come and spoil it," thought poor Alice, and going up to Mrs Barton, she took her hand almost humbly50, and said, "You don't know how sorry I am I said it."
To her surprise, a surprise that brought tears of joy into her eyes, Mary Barton put her arms round her neck, and kissed the self-reproaching Alice. "You didn't mean any harm, and it was me as was so foolish; only this work about Esther, and not knowing where he is, lies so heavy on my heart. Good night, and never think no more about it. God bless you, Alice."
Many and many a time, as Alice reviewed that evening in her after life, did she bless Mary Barton or these kind and thoughtful words. But just then all she could say was, "Good night, Mary, and may God bless you."
收听单词发音 |
1
hearty
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| adj.热情友好的；衷心的；尽情的，纵情的 | |
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2
soothed
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| v.安慰( soothe的过去式和过去分词 )；抚慰；使舒服；减轻痛苦 | |
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3
adjourn
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| v.（使）休会，（使）休庭 | |
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4
opposition
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| n.反对，敌对 | |
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brats
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| n.调皮捣蛋的孩子( brat的名词复数 ) | |
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6
decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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7
gutter
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| n.沟，街沟，水槽，檐槽，贫民窟 | |
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strings
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| n.弦 | |
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9
linen
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| n.亚麻布，亚麻线，亚麻制品；adj.亚麻布制的，亚麻的 | |
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10
dangling
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| 悬吊着( dangle的现在分词 )； 摆动不定； 用某事物诱惑…； 吊胃口 | |
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11
standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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12
applied
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| adj.应用的；v.应用，适用 | |
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13
hospitable
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| adj.好客的；宽容的；有利的，适宜的 | |
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14
possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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15
ledge
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| n.壁架，架状突出物；岩架，岩礁 | |
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16
drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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17
apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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18
triangular
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| adj.三角（形）的，三者间的 | |
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19
carving
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| n.雕刻品，雕花 | |
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20
larder
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| n.食物贮藏室，食品橱 | |
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21
considerably
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| adv.极大地；相当大地；在很大程度上 | |
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22
slanting
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| 倾斜的，歪斜的 | |
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23
crammed
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| adj.塞满的，挤满的；大口地吃；快速贪婪地吃v.把…塞满；填入；临时抱佛脚( cram的过去式) | |
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24
humble
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| adj.谦卑的，恭顺的；地位低下的；v.降低，贬低 | |
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25
scarlet
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| n.深红色，绯红色，红衣；adj.绯红色的 | |
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26
propped
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| 支撑，支持，维持( prop的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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27
crimson
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| n./adj.深(绯)红色(的)；vi.脸变绯红色 | |
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28
ware
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| n.(常用复数)商品，货物 | |
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29
stencilled
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| v.用模板印（文字或图案）( stencil的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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30
hoisted
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| 把…吊起，升起( hoist的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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31
clatter
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| v./n.(使)发出连续而清脆的撞击声 | |
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32
relish
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| n.滋味，享受，爱好，调味品；vt.加调味料，享受，品味；vi.有滋味 | |
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33
broth
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| n.原(汁)汤(鱼汤、肉汤、菜汤等) | |
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34
determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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35
gathering
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| n.集会，聚会，聚集 | |
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36
invaluable
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| adj.无价的，非常宝贵的，极为贵重的 | |
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37
ramble
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| v.漫步，漫谈，漫游；n.漫步，闲谈，蔓延 | |
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38
nettles
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| n.荨麻( nettle的名词复数 ) | |
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39
whitewashed
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| 粉饰，美化，掩饰( whitewash的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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40
scrupulously
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| adv.一丝不苟地；小心翼翼地，多顾虑地 | |
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41
shutter
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| n.百叶窗；(照相机)快门；关闭装置 | |
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42
strewed
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| v.撒在…上( strew的过去式和过去分词 )；散落于；点缀；撒满 | |
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43
fragrant
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| adj.芬香的，馥郁的，愉快的 | |
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44
planks
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| （厚）木板( plank的名词复数 )； 政纲条目，政策要点 | |
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45
hoards
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| n.（钱财、食物或其他珍贵物品的）储藏，积存( hoard的名词复数 )v.积蓄并储藏（某物）( hoard的第三人称单数 ) | |
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46
chilly
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| adj.凉快的，寒冷的 | |
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47
revelled
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| v.作乐( revel的过去式和过去分词 )；狂欢；着迷；陶醉 | |
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48
hissing
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| n. 发嘶嘶声, 蔑视 动词hiss的现在分词形式 | |
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49
boisterous
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| adj.喧闹的，欢闹的 | |
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50
humbly
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| adv. 恭顺地，谦卑地 | |
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