Epilogue

Epilogue
“W e ought to order some papers,” said Edmund to Phillipa upon the day of their return to Chipping Cleghorn afterthe honeymoon¹. “Let’s go along to Totman’s.”
Mr. Totman, a heavy-breathing, slow-moving man, received them with affability.
“Glad to see you back, sir. And madam.”
“We want to order some papers.”
“Certainly sir. And your mother is keeping well, I hope? Quite settled down at Bournemouth?”
“She loves it,” said Edmund, who had not the faintest idea whether this was so or not, but like most sons, preferredto believe that all was well with those loved, but frequently irritating² beings, parents.
“Yes, sir. Very agreeable³ place. Went there for my holiday last year. Mrs. Totman enjoyed it very much.”
“I’m glad. About papers, we’d like—”
“And I hear you have a play on in London, sir. Very amusing⁴, so they tell me.”
“Yes, it’s doing very well.”
“Called Elephants Do Forget, so I hear. You’ll excuse me, sir, asking you, but I always thought that they didn’t—forget, I mean.”
“Yes—yes, exactly—I’ve begun to think it was a mistake calling it that. So many people have said just what yousay.”
“A kind of natural-history fact, I’ve always understood.”
“Yes—yes. Like earwigs making good mothers.”
“Do they indeed, sir? Now, that’s a fact I didn’t know.”
“About the papers—”
“The Times, sir, I think it was?” Mr. Totman paused with pencil uplifted.
“The Daily Worker,” said Edmund firmly. “And the Daily Telegraph,” said Phillipa. “And the New Statesman⁵,”
said Edmund. “The Radio Times,” said Phillipa. “The Spectator,” said Edmund. “The Gardener’s Chronicle,” saidPhillipa.
They both paused to take breath.
“Thank you, sir,” said Mr. Totman. “And the Gazette, I suppose?”
“No,” said Edmund.
“No,” said Phillipa.
“Excuse me, you do want the Gazette?”
“No.”
“No.”
“You mean”—Mr. Totman liked to get things perfectly⁶ clear—“You don’t want the Gazette!”
“No, we don’t.”
“Certainly not.”
“You don’t want the North Benham News and the Chipping Cleghorn Gazette—”
“No.”
“You don’t want me to send it along to you every week?”
“No.” Edmund added: “Is that quite clear now?”
“Oh, yes, sir—yes.”
Edmund and Phillipa went out, and Mr. Totman padded into his back parlour.
“Got a pencil, Mother?” he said. “My pen’s run out.”
“Here you are,” said Mrs. Totman, seizing the order book. “I’ll do it. What do they want?”
“Daily Worker, Daily Telegraph, Radio Times, New Statesman, Spectator—let me see—Gardener’s Chronicle.”
“Gardener’s Chronicle,” repeated Mrs. Totman, writing busily. “And the Gazette.”
“They don’t want the Gazette.”
“What?”
“They don’t want the Gazette. They said so.”
“Nonsense,” said Mrs. Totman. “You don’t hear properly. Of course they want the Gazette! Everybody has theGazette. How else would they know what’s going on round here?”

1 honeymoon   

n.蜜月（假期）；vi.度蜜月

参考例句：

• While on honeymoon in Bali,she learned to scuba dive.她在巴厘岛度蜜月时学会了带水肺潜水。
• The happy pair are leaving for their honeymoon.这幸福的一对就要去度蜜月了。

2 irritating   

adj.使愤怒的；气人的；恼人的；v.使恼怒

参考例句：

• She found his preoccupation with money irritating.她对他一心只想着钱感到很厌烦。
• He has this irritating mannerism of constantly scratching his nose.他老是挠鼻子，这个习惯真让人不舒服。

3 agreeable   

adj.符合的，一致的，欣然同意的，令人愉快的

参考例句：

• He was quite agreeable to accepting the plan.他乐意接受这项计划。
• I enjoyed an agreeable holiday this summer.今年夏天我度过了一个愉快的假期。

4 amusing   

adj.有有趣的，好玩的

参考例句：

• The girl was amusing herself with a doll.那女孩在玩洋娃娃自娱。
• He related some amusing stories in his childhood to his children.他向孩子们述说了他少年时代的一些趣事。

5 statesman   

n.国务活动家，政治家

参考例句：

• Friends gathered at a memorial for the late statesman.这位已故政治家的生前好友为他举行了纪念仪式。
• The statesman is much occupied with affairs of state.那个政治家忙于国事。

6 perfectly   

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。