SECOND—William Clodd appoints himself Managing Director

 Mrs. Postwhistle sat on a Windsor-chair in the centre of Rolls Court.  Mrs. Postwhistle, who, in the days of her Hebehood, had been likened by admiring frequenters of the old Mitre in Chancery Lane to the ladies, somewhat emaciated¹, that an English artist, since become famous, was then commencing to popularise, had developed with the passing years, yet still retained a face of placid² youthfulness.  The two facts, taken in conjunction, had resulted in an asset to her income not to be despised.  The wanderer through Rolls Court this summer’s afternoon, presuming him to be familiar with current journalism³, would have retired⁴ haunted by the sense that the restful-looking lady on the Windsor-chair was someone that he ought to know.  Glancing through almost any illustrated⁵ paper of the period, the problem would have been solved for him.  A photograph of Mrs. Postwhistle, taken quite recently, he would have encountered with this legend: “Before use of Professor Hardtop’s certain cure for corpulency.”  Beside it a photograph of Mrs. Postwhistle, then Arabella Higgins, taken twenty years ago, the legend slightly varied⁶: “After use,” etc.  The face was the same, the figure—there was no denying it—had undergone decided⁷ alteration⁸.

 

Mrs. Postwhistle had reached with her chair the centre of Rolls Court in course of following the sun.  The little shop, over the lintel of which ran: “Timothy Postwhistle, Grocer and Provision Merchant,” she had left behind her in the shadow.  Old inhabitants of St. Dunstan-in-the-West retained recollection of a gentlemanly figure, always in a very gorgeous waistcoat, with Dundreary whiskers, to be seen occasionally there behind the counter.  All customers it would refer, with the air of a Lord High Chamberlain introducing débutantes, to Mrs. Postwhistle, evidently regarding itself purely⁹ as ornamental¹⁰.  For the last ten years, however, no one had noticed it there, and Mrs. Postwhistle had a facility amounting almost to genius for ignoring or misunderstanding questions it was not to her taste to answer.  Most things were suspected, nothing known.  St. Dunstan-in-the-West had turned to other problems.

 

“If I wasn’t wanting to see ’im,” remarked to herself Mrs. Postwhistle, who was knitting with one eye upon the shop, “’e’d a been ’ere ’fore I’d ’ad time to clear the dinner things away; certain to ’ave been.  It’s a strange world.”

 

Mrs. Postwhistle was desirous for the arrival of a gentleman not usually awaited with impatience¹¹ by the ladies of Rolls Court—to wit, one William Clodd, rent-collector, whose day for St. Dunstan-in-the-West was Tuesday.

 

“At last,” said Mrs. Postwhistle, though without hope that Mr. Clodd, who had just appeared at the other end of the court, could possibly hear her.  “Was beginning to be afraid as you’d tumbled over yerself in your ’urry and ’urt yerself.”

 

Mr. Clodd, perceiving Mrs. Postwhistle, decided to abandon method and take No. 7 first.

 

Mr. Clodd was a short, thick-set, bullet-headed young man, with ways that were bustling¹², and eyes that, though kind, suggested trickiness¹³.

 

“Ah!” said Mr. Clodd admiringly, as he pocketed the six half-crowns that the lady handed up to him.  “If only they were all like you, Mrs. Postwhistle!”

 

“Wouldn’t be no need of chaps like you to worry ’em,” pointed¹⁴ out Mrs. Postwhistle.

 

“It’s an irony¹⁵ of fate, my being a rent-collector, when you come to think of it,” remarked Mr. Clodd, writing out the receipt.  “If I had my way, I’d put an end to landlordism, root and branch.  Curse of the country.”

 

“Just the very thing I wanted to talk to you about,” returned the lady—“that lodger¹⁶ o’ mine.”

 

“Ah! don’t pay, don’t he?  You just hand him over to me.  I’ll soon have it out of him.”

 

“It’s not that,” explained Mrs. Postwhistle.  “If a Saturday morning ’appened to come round as ’e didn’t pay up without me asking, I should know I’d made a mistake—that it must be Friday.  If I don’t ’appen to be in at ’alf-past ten, ’e puts it in an envelope and leaves it on the table.”

 

“Wonder if his mother has got any more like him?” mused¹⁷ Mr. Clodd.  “Could do with a few about this neighbourhood.  What is it you want to say about him, then?  Merely to brag¹⁸ about him?”

 

“I wanted to ask you,” continued Mrs. Postwhistle, “’ow I could get rid of ’im.  It was rather a curious agreement.”

 

“Why do you want to get rid of him?  Too noisy?”

 

“Noisy!  Why, the cat makes more noise about the ’ouse than ’e does.  ’E’d make ’is fortune as a burglar.”

 

1 emaciated   

adj.衰弱的，消瘦的

参考例句：

• A long time illness made him sallow and emaciated.长期患病使他面黄肌瘦。
• In the light of a single candle,she can see his emaciated face.借着烛光，她能看到他的被憔悴的面孔。

2 placid   

adj.安静的，平和的

参考例句：

• He had been leading a placid life for the past eight years.八年来他一直过着平静的生活。
• You should be in a placid mood and have a heart-to- heart talk with her.你应该心平气和的好好和她谈谈心。

3 journalism   

n.新闻工作，报业

参考例句：

• He's a teacher but he does some journalism on the side.他是教师，可还兼职做一些新闻工作。
• He had an aptitude for journalism.他有从事新闻工作的才能。

4 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

5 illustrated   

adj. 有插图的，列举的 动词illustrate的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• His lecture was illustrated with slides taken during the expedition. 他在讲演中使用了探险时拍摄到的幻灯片。
• The manufacturing Methods: Will be illustrated in the next chapter. 制作方法将在下一章说明。

6 varied   

adj.多样的，多变化的

参考例句：

• The forms of art are many and varied.艺术的形式是多种多样的。
• The hotel has a varied programme of nightly entertainment.宾馆有各种晚间娱乐活动。

7 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

8 alteration   

n.变更，改变；蚀变

参考例句：

• The shirt needs alteration.这件衬衣需要改一改。
• He easily perceived there was an alteration in my countenance.他立刻看出我的脸色和往常有些不同。

9 purely   

adv.纯粹地，完全地

参考例句：

• I helped him purely and simply out of friendship.我帮他纯粹是出于友情。
• This disproves the theory that children are purely imitative.这证明认为儿童只会单纯地模仿的理论是站不住脚的。

10 ornamental   

adj.装饰的；作装饰用的；n.装饰品；观赏植物

参考例句：

• The stream was dammed up to form ornamental lakes.溪流用水坝拦挡起来,形成了装饰性的湖泊。
• The ornamental ironwork lends a touch of elegance to the house.铁艺饰件为房子略添雅致。

11 impatience   

n.不耐烦，急躁

参考例句：

• He expressed impatience at the slow rate of progress.进展缓慢，他显得不耐烦。
• He gave a stamp of impatience.他不耐烦地跺脚。

12 bustling   

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。

13 trickiness   

n.欺骗；狡猾；棘手；微妙

参考例句：

• These puzzles are famous for their trickiness. 这些智力游戏以其机巧而闻名。 来自互联网

14 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

15 irony   

n.反语，冷嘲；具有讽刺意味的事，嘲弄

参考例句：

• She said to him with slight irony.她略带嘲讽地对他说。
• In her voice we could sense a certain tinge of irony.从她的声音里我们可以感到某种讥讽的意味。

16 lodger   

n.寄宿人，房客

参考例句：

• My friend is a lodger in my uncle's house.我朋友是我叔叔家的房客。
• Jill and Sue are at variance over their lodger.吉尔和休在对待房客的问题上意见不和。

17 mused   

v.沉思，冥想( muse的过去式和过去分词 )；沉思自语说（某事）

参考例句：

• \"I wonder if I shall ever see them again, \"he mused. “我不知道是否还可以再见到他们，”他沉思自问。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• \"Where are we going from here?\" mused one of Rutherford's guests. 卢瑟福的一位客人忍不住说道：‘我们这是在干什么？” 来自英汉非文学 - 科学史

18 brag   

v./n.吹牛，自夸；adj.第一流的

参考例句：

• He made brag of his skill.他夸耀自己技术高明。
• His wealth is his brag.他夸张他的财富。