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THE RETURN TO FAVOR
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He never, by any chance, quite kept his word, though there was a moment in every case when he seemed to imagine doing what he said, and he took with mute patience the rakings which the ladies gave him when he disappointed them.
 
Disappointed is not just the word, for the ladies did not really expect him to do what he said. They pretended to believe him when he promised, but at the bottom of their hearts they never did or could. He was gentle-mannered and soft-spoken, and when he set his head on one side, and said that a coat would be ready on Wednesday, or a dress on Saturday, and repeated his promise upon the same lady's expressed doubt, she would catch her breath and say that now she absolutely must have it on the day named, for otherwise she would not have a thing to put on. Then he would become very grave, and his soft tenor1 would deepen to a bass2 of unimpeachable3 [Pg 82]veracity, and he would say, "Sure, lady, you have it."
 
The lady would depart still doubting and slightly sighing, and he would turn to the customer who was waiting to have a button sewed on, or something like that, and ask him softly what it was he could do for him. If the customer offered him his appreciation4 of the case in hand, he would let his head droop5 lower, and in a yet deeper bass deplore6 the doubt of the ladies as an idiosyncrasy of their sex. He would make the customer feel that he was a favorite customer whose rights to a perfect fidelity7 of word and deed must by no means be tampered8 with, and he would have the button sewed on or the rip sewed up at once, and refuse to charge anything, while the customer waited in his shirt-sleeves in the small, stuffy9 shop opening directly from the street. When he tolerantly discussed the peculiarities10 of ladies as a sex, he would endure to be laughed at, "for sufferance was the badge of all his tribe," and possibly he rather liked it.
 
The favorite customer enjoyed being there when some lady came back on the appointed Wednesday or Saturday, and the tailor came soothingly11 forward and showed her into the curtained alcove12 where she was to try on the garments, and then called into the inner shop for them. The [Pg 83]shirt-sleeved journeyman, with his unbuttoned waistcoat-front all pins and threaded needles, would appear in his slippers13 with the things barely basted14 together, and the tailor would take them, with an airy courage, as if they were perfectly15 finished, and go in behind the curtain where the lady was waiting in a dishabille which the favorite customer, out of reverence16 for the sex, forbore to picture to himself. Then sounds of volcanic17 fury would issue from the alcove. "Now, Mr. Morrison, you have lied to me again, deliberately18 lied. Didn't I tell you I must have the things perfectly ready to-day? You see yourself that it will be another week before I can have my things."
 
"A week? Oh, madam! But I assure you—"
 
"Don't talk to me any more! It's the last time I shall ever come to you, but I suppose I can't take the work away from you as it is. When shall I have it?"
 
"To-morrow. Yes, to-morrow noon. Sure!"
 
"Now you know you are always out at noon. I should think you would be ashamed."
 
"If it hadn't been for sickness in the family I would have finished your dress with my own hands. Sure I would. If you come here to-morrow noon you find your dress all ready for you."
 
"I know I won't, but I will come, and you'd better have it ready."
 
[Pg 84]"Oh, sure."
 
The lady then added some generalities of opprobrium19 with some particular criticisms of the garments. Her voice sank into dispassionate murmurs20 in these, but it rose again in her renewed sense of the wrong done her, and when she came from the alcove she went out of the street door purple. She reopened it to say, "Now, remember!" before she definitely disappeared.
 
"Rather a stormy session, Mr. Morrison," the customer said.
 
"Something fierce," Mr. Morrison sighed. But he did not seem much troubled, and he had one way with all his victims, no matter what mood they came or went in.
 
One day the customer was by when a kind creature timidly upbraided21 him. "This is the third time you've disappointed me, Mr. Morrison. I really wish you wouldn't promise me unless you mean to do it. I don't think it's right for you."
 
"Oh, but sure, madam! The things will be done, sure. We had a strike on us."
 
"Well, I will trust you once more," the kind creature said.
 
"You can depend on me, madam, sure."
 
When she was gone the customer said: "I [Pg 85]wonder you do that sort of thing, Mr. Morrison. You can't be surprised at their behaving rustily22 with you if you never keep your word."
 
"Why, I assure you there are times when I don't know where to look, the way they go on. It is something awful. You ought to hear them once. And now they want the wote." He rearranged some pieces of tumbled goods at the table where the customer sat, and put together the disheveled leaves of the fashion-papers which looked as if the ladies had scattered23 them in their rage.
 
One day the customer heard two ladies waiting for their disappointments in the outer room while the tailor in the alcove was trying to persuade a third lady that positively24 her things would be sent home the next day before dark. The customer had now formed the habit of having his own clothes made by the tailor, and his system in avoiding disappointment was very simple. In the early fall he ordered a spring suit, and in the late spring it was ready. He never had any difficulty, but he was curious to learn how the ladies managed, and he listened with all his might while these two talked.
 
"I always wonder we keep coming," one of them said.
 
"I'll tell you why," the other said. "Because [Pg 86]he's cheap, and we get things from a fourth to a third less than we can get them anywhere else. The quality is first rate, and he's absolutely honest. And, besides, he's a genius. The wretch25 has touch. The things have a style, a look, a hang! Really it's something wonderful. Sure it iss," she ended in the tailor's accent, and then they both laughed and joined in a common sigh.
 
"Well, I don't believe he means to deceive any one."
 
"Oh, neither do I. I believe he expects to do everything he says. And one can't help liking26 him even when he doesn't."
 
"He's a good while getting through with her," the first lady said, meaning the unseen lady in the alcove.
 
"She'll be a good while longer getting through with him, if he hasn't them ready the next time," the second lady said.
 
But the lady in the alcove issued from it with an impredicable smile, and the tailor came up to the others, and deferred27 to their wishes with a sort of voiceless respect.
 
He gave the customer a glance of good-fellowship, and said to him, radiantly: "Your things all ready for you, this morning. As soon as I—"
 
"Oh, no hurry," the customer responded.
 
"I won't be a minute," the tailor said, pulling [Pg 87]the curtain of the alcove aside, and then there began those sounds of objurgation and expostulation, although the ladies had seemed so amiable28 before.
 
The customer wondered if they did not all enjoy it; the ladies in their patience under long trial, and the tailor in the pleasure of practising upon it. But perhaps he did believe in the things he promised. He might be so much a genius as to have no grasp of facts; he might have thought that he could actually do what he said.
 
The customer's question on these points found answer when one day the tailor remarked, as it were out of a clear sky, that he had sold his business; sold it to the slippered29 journeyman who used to come in his shirt-sleeves, with his vest-front full of pins and needles, bringing the basted garments to be tried on the ladies who had been promised them perfectly finished.
 
"He will do your clothes all right," he explained to the customer. "He is a first-rate cutter and fitter; he knows the whole business."
 
"But why—why—" the customer began.
 
"I couldn't stand it. The way them ladies would talk to a person, when you done your best to please them; it's something fierce."
 
"Yes, I know. But I thought you liked it, [Pg 88]from the way you always promised them and never kept your word."
 
"And if I hadn't promised them?" the tailor returned with some show of feeling. "They wanted me to promise them—they made me—they wouldn't have gone away without it. Sure. Every one wanted her things before every one. You had got to think of that."
 
"But you had to think of what they would say."
 
"Say? Sometimes I thought they would hit me. One lady said she had a notion to slap me once. It's no way to talk."
 
"But you didn't seem to mind it."
 
"I didn't mind it for a good while. Then I couldn't stand it. So I sold."
 
He shook his head sadly; but the customer had no comfort to offer him. He asked when his clothes would be done, and the tailor told him when, and then they were not. The new proprietor30 tried them on, but he would not say just when they would be finished.
 
"We have a good deal of work already for some ladies that been disappointed. Now we try a new way. We tell people exactly what we do."
 
"Well, that's right," the customer said, but in his heart he was not sure he liked the new way.
 
[Pg 89]The day before his clothes were promised he dropped in. From the curtained alcove he heard low murmurs, the voice of the new proprietor and the voice of some lady trying on, and being severely31 bidden not to expect her things at a time she suggested. "No, madam. We got too much work on hand already. These things, they will not be done before next week."
 
"I told you to-morrow," the same voice said to another lady, and the new proprietor came out with an unfinished coat in his hand.
 
"I know you did, but I thought you would be better than your word, and so I came to-day. Well, then, to-morrow."
 
"Yes, to-morrow," the new proprietor said, but he did not seem to have liked the lady's joke. He did not look happy.
 
A few weeks after that the customer came for some little alterations32 in his new suit.
 
In the curtained alcove he heard the murmurs of trying on, much cheerfuller murmurs than before; the voice of a lady lifted in gladness, in gaiety, and an incredible voice replying, "Oh, sure, madam."
 
Then the old proprietor came out in his shirt-sleeves and slippers, with his waistcoat-front full of pins and needles, just like the new proprietor in former days.
 
[Pg 90]"Why!" the customer exclaimed. "Have you bought back?"
 
"No. I'm just here like a journeyman already. The new man he want me to come. He don't get along very well with his way. He's all right; he's a good man and a first-class tailor. But," and the former proprietor looked down at the basted garment hanging over his arm, and picked off an irrelevant33 thread from it, "he thinks I get along better with the ladies."
 

点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 tenor LIxza     
n.男高音(歌手),次中音(乐器),要旨,大意
参考例句:
  • The tenor of his speech was that war would come.他讲话的大意是战争将要发生。
  • The four parts in singing are soprano,alto,tenor and bass.唱歌的四个声部是女高音、女低音、男高音和男低音。
2 bass APUyY     
n.男低音(歌手);低音乐器;低音大提琴
参考例句:
  • He answered my question in a surprisingly deep bass.他用一种低得出奇的声音回答我的问题。
  • The bass was to give a concert in the park.那位男低音歌唱家将在公园中举行音乐会。
3 unimpeachable CkUwO     
adj.无可指责的;adv.无可怀疑地
参考例句:
  • He said all five were men of unimpeachable character.他说这五个都是品格完美无缺的人。
  • It is the revenge that nature takes on persons of unimpeachable character.这是自然对人品无瑕的人的报复。
4 appreciation Pv9zs     
n.评价;欣赏;感谢;领会,理解;价格上涨
参考例句:
  • I would like to express my appreciation and thanks to you all.我想对你们所有人表达我的感激和谢意。
  • I'll be sending them a donation in appreciation of their help.我将送给他们一笔捐款以感谢他们的帮助。
5 droop p8Zyd     
v.低垂,下垂;凋萎,萎靡
参考例句:
  • The heavy snow made the branches droop.大雪使树枝垂下来。
  • Don't let your spirits droop.不要萎靡不振。
6 deplore mmdz1     
vt.哀叹,对...深感遗憾
参考例句:
  • I deplore what has happened.我为所发生的事深感愤慨。
  • There are many of us who deplore this lack of responsibility.我们中有许多人谴责这种不负责任的做法。
7 fidelity vk3xB     
n.忠诚,忠实;精确
参考例句:
  • There is nothing like a dog's fidelity.没有什么能比得上狗的忠诚。
  • His fidelity and industry brought him speedy promotion.他的尽职及勤奋使他很快地得到晋升。
8 tampered 07b218b924120d49a725c36b06556000     
v.窜改( tamper的过去式 );篡改;(用不正当手段)影响;瞎摆弄
参考例句:
  • The records of the meeting had been tampered with. 会议记录已被人擅自改动。 来自辞典例句
  • The old man's will has been tampered with. 老人的遗嘱已被窜改。 来自辞典例句
9 stuffy BtZw0     
adj.不透气的,闷热的
参考例句:
  • It's really hot and stuffy in here.这里实在太热太闷了。
  • It was so stuffy in the tent that we could sense the air was heavy with moisture.帐篷里很闷热,我们感到空气都是潮的。
10 peculiarities 84444218acb57e9321fbad3dc6b368be     
n. 特质, 特性, 怪癖, 古怪
参考例句:
  • the cultural peculiarities of the English 英国人的文化特点
  • He used to mimic speech peculiarities of another. 他过去总是模仿别人讲话的特点。
11 soothingly soothingly     
adv.抚慰地,安慰地;镇痛地
参考例句:
  • The mother talked soothingly to her child. 母亲对自己的孩子安慰地说。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • He continued to talk quietly and soothingly to the girl until her frightened grip on his arm was relaxed. 他继续柔声安慰那姑娘,她那因恐惧而紧抓住他的手终于放松了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
12 alcove EKMyU     
n.凹室
参考例句:
  • The bookcase fits neatly into the alcove.书架正好放得进壁凹。
  • In the alcoves on either side of the fire were bookshelves.火炉两边的凹室里是书架。
13 slippers oiPzHV     
n. 拖鞋
参考例句:
  • a pair of slippers 一双拖鞋
  • He kicked his slippers off and dropped on to the bed. 他踢掉了拖鞋,倒在床上。
14 basted 87bfdf6905a5c84b5ebdaa0ff333f45a     
v.打( baste的过去式和过去分词 );粗缝;痛斥;(烤肉等时)往上抹[浇]油
参考例句:
  • The turkey is basted to keep it from drying out. 烤火鸡时润以油脂以免烤干。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • Meat is basted to keep it from drying out and to improve its flavour. 烤肉时润以脂油使不致烤焦并可增加香味。 来自《简明英汉词典》
15 perfectly 8Mzxb     
adv.完美地,无可非议地,彻底地
参考例句:
  • The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
  • Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。
16 reverence BByzT     
n.敬畏,尊敬,尊严;Reverence:对某些基督教神职人员的尊称;v.尊敬,敬畏,崇敬
参考例句:
  • He was a bishop who was held in reverence by all.他是一位被大家都尊敬的主教。
  • We reverence tradition but will not be fettered by it.我们尊重传统,但不被传统所束缚。
17 volcanic BLgzQ     
adj.火山的;象火山的;由火山引起的
参考例句:
  • There have been several volcanic eruptions this year.今年火山爆发了好几次。
  • Volcanic activity has created thermal springs and boiling mud pools.火山活动产生了温泉和沸腾的泥浆池。
18 deliberately Gulzvq     
adv.审慎地;蓄意地;故意地
参考例句:
  • The girl gave the show away deliberately.女孩故意泄露秘密。
  • They deliberately shifted off the argument.他们故意回避这个论点。
19 opprobrium Y0AyH     
n.耻辱,责难
参考例句:
  • The opprobrium and enmity he incurred were caused by his outspoken brashness.他招致的轻蔑和敌意是由于他出言过于粗率而造成的。
  • That drunkard was the opprobrium of our community.那个酒鬼是我们社区里可耻的人物。
20 murmurs f21162b146f5e36f998c75eb9af3e2d9     
n.低沉、连续而不清的声音( murmur的名词复数 );低语声;怨言;嘀咕
参考例句:
  • They spoke in low murmurs. 他们低声说着话。 来自辞典例句
  • They are more superficial, more distinctly heard than murmurs. 它们听起来比心脏杂音更为浅表而清楚。 来自辞典例句
21 upbraided 20b92c31e3c04d3e03c94c2920baf66a     
v.责备,申斥,谴责( upbraid的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • The captain upbraided his men for falling asleep. 上尉因他的部下睡着了而斥责他们。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
  • My wife upbraided me for not earning more money. 我的太太为了我没有赚更多的钱而责备我。 来自辞典例句
22 rustily 403e0e851ba8c9d8724eb409f0acd24f     
锈蚀地,声音沙哑地
参考例句:
23 scattered 7jgzKF     
adj.分散的,稀疏的;散步的;疏疏落落的
参考例句:
  • Gathering up his scattered papers,he pushed them into his case.他把散乱的文件收拾起来,塞进文件夹里。
24 positively vPTxw     
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。
25 wretch EIPyl     
n.可怜的人,不幸的人;卑鄙的人
参考例句:
  • You are really an ungrateful wretch to complain instead of thanking him.你不但不谢他,还埋怨他,真不知好歹。
  • The dead husband is not the dishonoured wretch they fancied him.死去的丈夫不是他们所想象的不光彩的坏蛋。
26 liking mpXzQ5     
n.爱好;嗜好;喜欢
参考例句:
  • The word palate also means taste or liking.Palate这个词也有“口味”或“嗜好”的意思。
  • I must admit I have no liking for exaggeration.我必须承认我不喜欢夸大其词。
27 deferred 43fff3df3fc0b3417c86dc3040fb2d86     
adj.延期的,缓召的v.拖延,延缓,推迟( defer的过去式和过去分词 );服从某人的意愿,遵从
参考例句:
  • The department deferred the decision for six months. 这个部门推迟了六个月才作决定。
  • a tax-deferred savings plan 延税储蓄计划
28 amiable hxAzZ     
adj.和蔼可亲的,友善的,亲切的
参考例句:
  • She was a very kind and amiable old woman.她是个善良和气的老太太。
  • We have a very amiable companionship.我们之间存在一种友好的关系。
29 slippered 76a41eb67fc0ee466a644d75017dd69e     
穿拖鞋的
参考例句:
  • She slippered across the room from her bed. 她下床穿着拖鞋走过房间 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
  • She saw pairs of slippered feet -- but no one was moving. 她看见一双双穿着拖鞋的脚--可是谁也没有挪动一步。 来自互联网
30 proprietor zR2x5     
n.所有人;业主;经营者
参考例句:
  • The proprietor was an old acquaintance of his.业主是他的一位旧相识。
  • The proprietor of the corner grocery was a strange thing in my life.拐角杂货店店主是我生活中的一个怪物。
31 severely SiCzmk     
adv.严格地;严厉地;非常恶劣地
参考例句:
  • He was severely criticized and removed from his post.他受到了严厉的批评并且被撤了职。
  • He is severely put down for his careless work.他因工作上的粗心大意而受到了严厉的批评。
32 alterations c8302d4e0b3c212bc802c7294057f1cb     
n.改动( alteration的名词复数 );更改;变化;改变
参考例句:
  • Any alterations should be written in neatly to the left side. 改动部分应书写清晰,插在正文的左侧。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • Gene mutations are alterations in the DNA code. 基因突变是指DNA 密码的改变。 来自《简明英汉词典》
33 irrelevant ZkGy6     
adj.不恰当的,无关系的,不相干的
参考例句:
  • That is completely irrelevant to the subject under discussion.这跟讨论的主题完全不相关。
  • A question about arithmetic is irrelevant in a music lesson.在音乐课上,一个数学的问题是风马牛不相及的。


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