CHAPTER VI CAROLINA RESOLVES TO GO COURTING

 Upon the facts brought out Carolina decided¹ that Marianna would do very well. But the leap was far too hazardous² to be taken in the dark, and the prudence³ that guided her in the selection of other household belongings⁴ she would now bring to bear in choosing a wife. If needs be, she would journey to Italy, and make sure by a close survey of Marianna that hers was not a nature likely to attempt a ruling of the roost. To the Jesuitry of her view, a wife of eighteen and a husband of gloaming forty were well mated when their union would serve her own most laudable purpose; and as for any trifling⁵ obstacle like a sweetheart, that could be filliped away. Once upon the [Pg 76]ground, and satisfied that the girl would prove a wife of the desired brand, she had no doubt of accomplishing the shipment of the goods. But there set in a fear for the turn events might take during her absence. With the sentinel gone from the gate, Juno might charge and carry the castle. Here was a danger that must be offset⁶.

 

Throwing a plaid shawl over her head and not stopping to change her open-heeled house slippers⁷, she set forth⁸ through the ruck of Mulberry for the shop of her brother. It was a novel sight to behold⁹ her hopping¹⁰ over curbstones in that unstately manner, and hot grew the scandalous guesses as to the cause.

 

“Trouble, grand trouble in Casa Di Bello,” was the common voice.

 

As Carolina hurried forward she had no eye for the signs of opening summer on every hand—the fire escapes abloom with potted verdure, the blithe¹¹ touch that glistening¹² radishes gave to the vegetable stalls, the moon face of Chiara the Basilican beaming [Pg 77]from her bower¹³ of dandelion leaves. Passing the schoolhouse, she received a reverent¹⁴ bow and a low “Buon giorno” from the hokey-pokey man, who stood by his dazzling cart, ready for the onslaught of boys and girls, who would soon be out at recess¹⁵ clamouring for one-cent dabs¹⁶ of pink sorbetto on strips of brown paper. Little maidens¹⁷ decked in snowy frocks and veils walked proudly to their first communion, all mindful of their skirts as they passed the racks of Boccanegra the Macaroni Baker¹⁸, whose new-made paste hung drying in the sunshine; but of them Carolina took no heed¹⁹, so wrapped was she in her great project of courting a suitable wife.

 

At Bayard Street the sound of voices raised in a familiar anthem²⁰ caught her ear, and there swung into view from around the corner a handful of marching men. They were members of the Genovese Society, garbed²¹ bravely in the uniform of Italian infantry²², out to celebrate the Feast of St. George, of all holidays the dearest to Genoa. [Pg 78]At sight of them the cloud of anxiety that had shadowed her face lifted, and she smiled with a shrewd content. The Feast of San Giorgio! Her brother’s birthday as well as the day of the knight²³ who carved the dragon. The alarm sounded by Angelica concerning Juno had driven the fact from her head, but there came back with it now a heartsome consciousness that it was a day of rockribbed truth in her brother’s life. If at other times his promises might have the frailty²⁴ of spaghetti sticks, she knew that it would not be so on this, his saint’s day. It had ever been so with the men of Genoa. With renewed spirits she foresaw the success of her plan to exact from him a pledge not to marry until she should return from Italy. Such a promise or any other made to-day he would keep, though all the maids and widows of Mulberry united to make him disregard it.

 

She found him alone at the shop, sprawled²⁵ outside beneath the Wooden Bunch in his curve-backed chair, bathing in the sunshine. Only on rare and critical occasions did she [Pg 79]visit the shop, and the sight of her brought him quickly to his feet.

 

“Governo ladro!” he exclaimed. “What has happened?”

 

“I am going to Italy.”

 

“To Italy! What for?”

 

“It is twelve years since I heard the chimes of San Lorenzo.”

 

“Yes; I think so,” he said, going behind the counter, shaving off a piece of Roman cheese and tossing it into his mouth. “When do you set off?”

 

“As soon as possible.”

 

“There is a ship for Genoa to-morrow,” he said eagerly.

 

Looking him in the eye, she asked, “Are you betrothed²⁶ to the Napolitana?”

 

“Satan the crocodile!” he roared, pounding the counter. “This is too much! Do you count me a simpleton?”

 

“Promise me, caro fratello, that you will not take a wife until I return.”

 

“By the Egg, I will not promise! Do you think I don’t know this is my birthday? [Pg 80]Suppose the ship went down? I should have to live and die a bachelor.”

 

“Promise at least that you will marry no one for three months.”

 

“Ma che? What nonsense is this? Are you afraid of the Napolitana? Bah! How foolish you are! A fine woman, yes. But do you think I don’t know what I am about?”

 

“Promise for three months.”

 

“Si, si, if you wish it; but it is all grand nonsense.”

 

“Do you know what I am going to do in Italy?” she asked, with an essay at archness that was a sorry failure.

 

“Hunt a husband?” he chuckled²⁷.

 

“No; a wife.”

 

“What shall you do with her?” he asked gravely, scenting²⁸ the truth.

 

“Bring her to you, my brother.”

 

“To me! Excuse me; keep her for yourself. That is an affair I shall attend to when the time comes.”

 

“But in Mulberry you can not get what I shall bring you from Italy.”

 

[Pg 81]

 

“What is that?”

 

“A wife that is good enough for you and Casa Di Bello.”

 

“Bah! What do you tell me?” he growled²⁹ walking to the door. “Talk to me about wives! They are as thick as the sparrows in Paradise, and just as hungry. Good, fine wives, too.” He dropped into the chair, thrust his hands into his pockets, and extended his little legs. “Who is she?” he asked after a while, twirling his huge mustache.

 

“Marianna. Don’t you remember her? Bertino’s foster sister. A fine young girl; no bad habits and sound in health.”

 

“What age?”

 

“Eighteen.”

 

“You’d better buy your passage ticket,” he said, “if you wish to go on to-morrow’s ship.”

1 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。

2 hazardous   

adj.(有)危险的，冒险的；碰运气的

参考例句：

• These conditions are very hazardous for shipping.这些情况对航海非常不利。
• Everybody said that it was a hazardous investment.大家都说那是一次危险的投资。

3 prudence   

n.谨慎，精明，节俭

参考例句：

• A lack of prudence may lead to financial problems.不够谨慎可能会导致财政上出现问题。
• The happy impute all their success to prudence or merit.幸运者都把他们的成功归因于谨慎或功德。

4 belongings   

n.私人物品，私人财物

参考例句：

• I put a few personal belongings in a bag.我把几件私人物品装进包中。
• Your personal belongings are not dutiable.个人物品不用纳税。

5 trifling   

adj.微不足道的；没什么价值的

参考例句：

• They quarreled over a trifling matter.他们为这种微不足道的事情争吵。
• So far Europe has no doubt, gained a real conveniency,though surely a very trifling one.直到现在为止,欧洲无疑地已经获得了实在的便利，不过那确是一种微不足道的便利。

6 offset   

n.分支，补偿；v.抵消，补偿

参考例句：

• Their wage increases would be offset by higher prices.他们增加的工资会被物价上涨所抵消。
• He put up his prices to offset the increased cost of materials.他提高了售价以补偿材料成本的增加。

7 slippers   

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。

8 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

9 behold   

v.看，注视，看到

参考例句：

• The industry of these little ants is wonderful to behold.这些小蚂蚁辛勤劳动的样子看上去真令人惊叹。
• The sunrise at the seaside was quite a sight to behold.海滨日出真是个奇景。

10 hopping   

n. 跳跃 动词hop的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• The clubs in town are really hopping. 城里的俱乐部真够热闹的。
• I'm hopping over to Paris for the weekend. 我要去巴黎度周末。

11 blithe   

adj.快乐的，无忧无虑的

参考例句：

• Tonight,however,she was even in a blithe mood than usual.但是，今天晚上她比往常还要高兴。
• He showed a blithe indifference to her feelings.他显得毫不顾及她的感情。

12 glistening   

adj.闪耀的，反光的v.湿物闪耀，闪亮( glisten的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Her eyes were glistening with tears. 她眼里闪着晶莹的泪花。
• Her eyes were glistening with tears. 她眼睛中的泪水闪着柔和的光。 来自《用法词典》

13 bower   

n.凉亭，树荫下凉快之处；闺房；v.荫蔽

参考例句：

• They sat under the leafy bower at the end of the garden and watched the sun set.他们坐在花园尽头由叶子搭成的凉棚下观看落日。
• Mrs. Quilp was pining in her bower.奎尔普太太正在她的闺房里度着愁苦的岁月。

14 reverent   

adj.恭敬的，虔诚的

参考例句：

• He gave reverent attention to the teacher.他恭敬地听老师讲课。
• She said the word artist with a gentle,understanding,reverent smile.她说作家一词时面带高雅，理解和虔诚的微笑。

15 recess   

n.短期休息，壁凹（墙上装架子，柜子等凹处）

参考例句：

• The chairman of the meeting announced a ten-minute recess.会议主席宣布休会10分钟。
• Parliament was hastily recalled from recess.休会的议员被匆匆召回开会。

16 dabs   

少许( dab的名词复数 )； 是…能手； 做某事很在行； 在某方面技术熟练

参考例句：

• Each of us had two dabs of butter. 我们每人吃了两小块黄油。
• He made a few dabs at the fence with the paint but didn't really paint it. 他用颜料轻刷栅栏，但一点也没刷上。

17 maidens   

处女( maiden的名词复数 )； 少女； 未婚女子； （板球运动）未得分的一轮投球

参考例句：

• stories of knights and fair maidens 关于骑士和美女的故事
• Transplantation is not always successful in the matter of flowers or maidens. 花儿移栽往往并不成功，少女们换了环境也是如此。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

18 baker   

n.面包师

参考例句：

• The baker bakes his bread in the bakery.面包师在面包房内烤面包。
• The baker frosted the cake with a mixture of sugar and whites of eggs.面包师在蛋糕上撒了一层白糖和蛋清的混合料。

19 heed   

v.注意，留意；n.注意，留心

参考例句：

• You must take heed of what he has told.你要注意他所告诉的事。
• For the first time he had to pay heed to his appearance.这是他第一次非得注意自己的外表不可了。

20 anthem   

n.圣歌，赞美诗，颂歌

参考例句：

• All those present were standing solemnly when the national anthem was played.奏国歌时全场肃立。
• As he stood on the winner's rostrum,he sang the words of the national anthem.他站在冠军领奖台上，唱起了国歌。

21 garbed   

v.（尤指某类人穿的特定）服装，衣服，制服( garb的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The widow was garbed in black. 那寡妇穿着黑衣服。 来自辞典例句
• He garbed himself as a sailor. 他装扮成水手。 来自辞典例句

22 infantry   

n.[总称]步兵(部队)

参考例句：

• The infantry were equipped with flame throwers.步兵都装备有喷火器。
• We have less infantry than the enemy.我们的步兵比敌人少。

23 knight   

n.骑士，武士；爵士

参考例句：

• He was made an honourary knight.他被授予荣誉爵士称号。
• A knight rode on his richly caparisoned steed.一个骑士骑在装饰华丽的马上。

24 frailty   

n.脆弱；意志薄弱

参考例句：

• Despite increasing physical frailty,he continued to write stories.尽管身体越来越虛弱，他仍然继续写小说。
• He paused and suddenly all the frailty and fatigue showed.他顿住了，虚弱与疲惫一下子显露出来。

25 sprawled   

v.伸开四肢坐[躺]( sprawl的过去式和过去分词)；蔓延；杂乱无序地拓展；四肢伸展坐着（或躺着）

参考例句：

• He was sprawled full-length across the bed. 他手脚摊开横躺在床上。
• He was lying sprawled in an armchair, watching TV. 他四肢伸开正懒散地靠在扶手椅上看电视。

26 betrothed   

n. 已订婚者 动词betroth的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• She is betrothed to John. 她同约翰订了婚。
• His daughter was betrothed to a teacher. 他的女儿同一个教师订了婚。

27 chuckled   

轻声地笑( chuckle的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She chuckled at the memory. 想起这件事她就暗自发笑。
• She chuckled softly to herself as she remembered his astonished look. 想起他那惊讶的表情，她就轻轻地暗自发笑。

28 scenting   

vt.闻到（scent的现在分词形式）

参考例句：

• Soames, scenting the approach of a jest, closed up. 索来斯觉察出有点调侃的味儿来了，赶快把话打断。 来自辞典例句
• The pale woodbines and the dog-roses were scenting the hedgerows. 金银花和野蔷薇把道旁的树也薰香了。 来自辞典例句

29 growled   

v.（动物）发狺狺声， （雷）作隆隆声( growl的过去式和过去分词 )；低声咆哮着说

参考例句：

• \"They ought to be birched, \" growled the old man. 老人咆哮道：“他们应受到鞭打。” 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He growled out an answer. 他低声威胁着回答。 来自《简明英汉词典》