Mr. W—— echoed the sigh which left his visitor’s lips when the latter departed. And the wealthy binder1 looked toward the screens which hid fair Hattie Butler from general view—looked longingly2 in that direction, as if there was a wish in his heart he hardly dared to utter—perhaps a wish that she was not his employee, but a member of the circle in which his own pretty and fashionable sisters moved.
He looked around to note that every one was busy, even his foreman attending in person to a difficult job of gilding3 on Turkey morocco.
Then he moved very quietly toward the little screened-off space where our heroine was at work, and approached her so silently that not until he spoke4 was she aware of his close vicinity.
“Is this work difficult, Miss Hattie?” he asked, in a low, kind tone.
A start, a blush, which made her generally pale face almost glorious in color, showed her surprise, but her dark eyes were calm and steady as she looked up at him, and replied:
“Not difficult, but a little perplexing, Mr. W——, in consequence of the scattered5 condition of the pages. Those old magazines, all torn apart, were mixed up without regard to number or date, and you must excuse me if I seem to work slow. I have to read sometimes half a page before I can decide where it belongs.”
[39]
“Take your own time, Miss Hattie, and make no more haste than justice to your work demands. You have never found me a very hard task-master, I hope.”
“On the contrary, sir. I believe all in the bindery look upon you as a kind employer.”
“Thank you, Miss Hattie. I trust they will long continue to consider me so. By the way, are you sufficiently6 isolated7 here to pursue your difficult duties—or would you prefer a corner in the office?”
“I would prefer to remain here, Mr. W——. Any extra kindness to me will only cause others to feel envious8, and I do not wish to make enemies.”
“Enemies! Just as if it were possible for you to make enemies. Have no fear on that score, Miss Hattie. But when I can in any way render your position more comfortable, Miss Hattie, please inform me.”
“Thank you, sir,” she said, bending again to her work.
He cast one long, lingering look at that graceful9 form bowed forward over those old musty pages, and turned away with a half-smothered sigh.
“It is a wonder that I never noticed before how exquisitely10 beautiful she is,” he murmured to himself, as he passed on and into his office. “Her voice is music mellowed11 down. Her language so chaste12 and well chosen. Ah, me! I do not wonder young Legare feared his father might fall in love with such a prodigy13. I fear I shall myself. And if I did, what would my sisters say?”
Yes, that is a man’s question all over. They see a lovely face and form—all the heart they have is moved by it. But they ask not “is she good? Is her disposition14 sweet? Is she pure and stainless15?” Only[40] this—“is she rich in worldly lucre16? Is she one who can move a star in the fashionable world? Will she be an ornament17 in my circle of society?”
What ganders men are. There, I’ve said it, and I mean it.
Hattie paused over her work when the footsteps of her employer died away on her ear. He had not before spoken to her a dozen times in the two years or more of her employment there. His orders and directions always came through the foreman hitherto; and when he spoke to a hand he was not in the habit of using a prefix18 to the name of that hand. To her he had said Miss Hattie. The foreman always called her Hattie—nothing more—and she was used to it. Some girls would have been pleased at this mark of preference. Not so our heroine. She knew enough of the cold heartlessness of the world to look with distrust upon any advances made by those who were above her in position or fortune.
A sigh broke from her lips, and she almost wished she was back at her sewing-bench at four dollars a week, with no one aware of her talents as a linguist19; though her advanced wages would add much to her comfort and enable her to add to her small savings20.
She bent21 again to her labor22, and sought in it and its perplexities, refuge from all other thoughts, and she had indeed enough to think of in setting those mixed up pages right. No one else in the bindery could have done it. It was a job which the foreman had laid aside as hopeless, until the late discovery of her talent.
And now he came to her to see how she was getting forward. In reply to his question she said:
“One volume is there, sir, with every page in its[41] place, and ready for the sewing-bench. It is slow work, for the pages are badly mixed and torn up. But I am doing it as fast as I can.”
“Fast enough, in all reason, Hattie,” said Mr. Jones. “You are on wages—or salary, rather, now, and not on piece work. So you need not drive yourself.”
“Salary will make no difference in my industry, Mr. Jones. I shall ever strive my best to devote every moment of working time to the benefit of my employers.”
“It’s a good principle, Hattie, and I know you live up to it, which is more than can be said of a great many in the shop. I’ll put this volume in the sewer’s hands. Do the rest in your own time. It is a job I never expected to carry through. It has been laying here over a year untouched. When you get it done, I have three or four more almost as bad.”
Hattie bowed her head, but made no reply. The foreman had never been quite so talkative or complacent23 before. He was generally stern, sharp, and imperative24 with all under him.
When he went away she murmured to herself:
“What can all this mean? Mr. Jones has softened25 in his tone. It used to be ‘hurry up, Hattie, hurry up; we can’t have no lazing ’round in this shop!’ Now, when my wages are nearly treble, and it should be expected I should exert myself all the more, I am told to take my time. Ah, me! I hope no clouds will come to cover this sudden gleam of sunshine.”
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1
binder
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| n.包扎物，包扎工具；[法]临时契约；粘合剂；装订工 | |
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2
longingly
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| adv. 渴望地 热望地 | |
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3
gilding
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| n.贴金箔，镀金 | |
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4
spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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scattered
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| adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的 | |
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6
sufficiently
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| adv.足够地，充分地 | |
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7
isolated
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| adj.与世隔绝的 | |
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8
envious
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| adj.嫉妒的，羡慕的 | |
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9
graceful
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| adj.优美的，优雅的；得体的 | |
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10
exquisitely
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| adv.精致地；强烈地；剧烈地；异常地 | |
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11
mellowed
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| （使）成熟( mellow的过去式和过去分词 )； 使色彩更加柔和，使酒更加醇香 | |
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12
chaste
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| adj.贞洁的；有道德的；善良的；简朴的 | |
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13
prodigy
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| n.惊人的事物，奇迹，神童，天才，预兆 | |
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14
disposition
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| n.性情，性格；意向，倾向；排列，部署 | |
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15
stainless
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| adj.无瑕疵的，不锈的 | |
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16
lucre
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| n.金钱，财富 | |
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17
ornament
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| v.装饰，美化；n.装饰，装饰物 | |
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18
prefix
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| n.前缀；vt.加…作为前缀；置于前面 | |
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19
linguist
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| n.语言学家；精通数种外国语言者 | |
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20
savings
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| n.存款，储蓄 | |
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21
bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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22
labor
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| n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦 | |
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23
complacent
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| adj.自满的；自鸣得意的 | |
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24
imperative
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| n.命令，需要；规则；祈使语气；adj.强制的；紧急的 | |
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25
softened
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| （使）变软( soften的过去式和过去分词 )； 缓解打击； 缓和； 安慰 | |
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