登陆注册
15793100000001

第1章

At last the tea came up, and so With that our tongues began to go.

Now in that house you're sure of knowing The smallest scrap of news that's going.

We find it there the wisest way To take some care of what we say.

RECREATION.JANE TAYLOR

I was born on the 2nd September, 1886, in a small, dull, country town.When I say the town was dull, I mean, of course, that the inhabitants were unenterprising, for in itself Muddleton was a picturesque place, and though it laboured under the usual disadvantage of a dearth of bachelors and a superfluity of spinsters, it might have been pleasant enough had it not been a favourite resort for my kith and kin.

My father has long enjoyed a world-wide notoriety; he is not, however, as a rule named in good society, though he habitually frequents it; and as I am led to believe that my autobiography will possibly be circulated by Mr.Mudie, and will lie about on drawing-room tables, I will merely mention that a most representation of my progenitor, under his nom de theatre, Mephistopheles, may be seen now in London, and I should recommend all who wish to understand his character to go to the Lyceum, though, between ourselves, he strongly disapproves of the whole performance.

I was introduced into the world by an old lady named Mrs.O'Reilly.

She was a very pleasant old lady, the wife of a General, and one of those sociable, friendly, talkative people who do much to cheer their neighbours, particularly in a deadly-lively provincial place like Muddleton, where the standard of social intercourse is not very high.Mrs.O'Reilly had been in her day a celebrated beauty; she was now grey-haired and stout, but still there was something impressive about her, and few could resist the charm of her manner and the pleasant easy flow of her small talk.Her love of gossip amounted almost to a passion, and nothing came amiss to her; she liked to know everything about everybody, and in the main I think her interest was a kindly one, though she found that a little bit of scandal, every now and then, added a piquant flavour to the homely fare provided by the commonplace life of the Muddletonians.

I will now, without further preamble, begin the history of my life.

"I assure you, my dear Lena, Mr.Zaluski is nothing less than a Nihilist!"The sound waves set in motion by Mrs.O'Reilly's words were tumultuously heaving in the atmosphere when I sprang into being, a young but perfectly formed and most promising slander.A delicious odour of tea pervaded the drawing-room, it was orange-flower pekoe, and Mrs.O'Reilly was just handing one of the delicate Crown Derby cups to her visitor, Miss Lena Houghton.

"What a shocking thing! Do you really mean it?" exclaimed Miss Houghton."Thank you, cream but no sugar; don't you know, Mrs.

O'Reilly, that it is only Low-Church people who take sugar nowadays?

But, really, now, about Mr.Zaluski? How did you find it out?""My dear, I am an old woman, and I have learnt in the course of a wandering life to put two and two together," said Mrs.O'Reilly.

She had somehow managed to ignore middle age, and had passed from her position of renowned beauty to the position which she now firmly and constantly claimed of many years and much experience."Of course," she continued, "like every one else, I was glad enough to be friendly and pleasant to Sigismund Zaluski, and as to his being a Pole, why, I think it rather pleased me than otherwise.You see, my dear, I have knocked about the world and mixed with all kinds of people.Still, one must draw the line somewhere, and I confess it gave me a very painful shock to find that he had such violent antipathies to law and order.When he took Ivy Cottage for the summer I made the General call at once, and before long we had become very intimate with him; but, my dear, he's not what I thought him--not at all!""Well now, I am delighted to hear you say that," said Lena Houghton, with some excitement in her manner, "for it exactly fits in with what I always felt about him.From the first I disliked that man, and the way he goes on with Gertrude Morley is simply dreadful.If they are not engaged they ought to be--that's all I can say.""Engaged, my dear! I trust not," said Mrs.O'Reilly."I had always hoped for something very different for dear Gertrude.Quite between ourselves, you know, my nephew John Carew is over head and ears in love with her, and they would make a very good pair; don't you think so?""Well, you see, I like Gertrude to a certain extent," replied Lena Houghton."But I never raved about her as so many people do.

Still, I hope she will not be entrapped into marrying Mr.Zaluski;she deserves a better fate than that."

"I quite agree with you," said Mrs.O'Reilly, with a troubled look.

"And the worst of it is, poor Gertrude is a girl who might very likely take up foolish revolutionary notions; she needs a strong wise husband to keep her in order and form her opinions.But is it really true that he flirts with her? This is the first I have heard of it.I can't think how it has escaped my notice.""Nor I, for indeed he is up at the Morleys' pretty nearly every day.

What with tennis, and music, and riding, there is always some excuse for it.I can't think what Gertrude sees in him, he is not even good-looking.""There is a certain surface good-nature about him," said Mrs.

同类推荐
热门推荐
  • 初二那点奇葩事儿

    初二那点奇葩事儿

    回忆那些在一起的时光友情的岁月是记忆里最美的画面如果我们永远都是孩子就可以留在时光的原地坐在一起一边听那些永不老去的故事一边慢慢皓首
  • 焚天狂帝

    焚天狂帝

    远古有狐,身负九尾,具有毁天灭地之威能。一个气门被废的少年,在特意而有意的安排下,和这可怕的狐狸共宿一躯。从此,掌极致之火,战学院,屠王墓,激战八方天骄,逆天崛起。闯七海,踏六洲,为红颜,狂战天穹,焚灭诸天。
  • 玉斗山人集

    玉斗山人集

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。
  • 甄正地爱你

    甄正地爱你

    穿越到10年前,你爱上了甄哥,随后,她有随你穿越回来,你们会相爱吗
  • 鹿晗之爱情朱古力

    鹿晗之爱情朱古力

    ————(主鹿晗)10年了,他们住在同一个屋檐下,她恋他(不是男主哦~)9年,他为她心痛了10年。当她爱上他的时候,他却不去面对她。“小谖,你喜欢蓝色妖姬么?”“不喜欢。”“为什么?”“蓝色妖姬代表等待爱情,我想在等待了。”“小谖你经历了什么呢?”“他以前爱我,但是等到我爱他的时候他不让我爱,世界上最痛苦的事就是想爱但是不能爱。”“小谖,你喜欢的那个人是谁呢?”“一个像天使般的男孩。”……
  • 剑经

    剑经

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。
  • 有女初成长

    有女初成长

    今世,她是含金汤匙出生的四家族中北家的北大小姐,亘古之前,她是那人身边唯一一个站立之人,一个赌约,他毁了世界,与她一道坠入轮回,寻寻觅觅,他寻得她,而她已心属他人,他追随她,而她为其人掏心裂肺,坠入万劫不复亦不悔吾家有女初成长,看她步步为营,如何周旋天下
  • 宠婚万万岁

    宠婚万万岁

    初入职场的苏凡被上司送进了一个老男人的房,稀里糊涂和他共处一夜,天亮才得知他竟是那只手遮天的大人物。怎么办?这个男人有权又有势,关键是颜值高身材棒。这哪里是大叔啊?简直比小鲜肉还要生猛!多年后,他将那一身华丽婚纱的她抵在试衣间,冰凉的玻璃冷彻她的骨髓,耳边却是他那魅惑的声音“小宝贝,咱们欠的账,算好了慢慢给我还!”苍天啊,她这小身子骨还要不要了?
  • 天行者后传

    天行者后传

    天地初生,演化万物,诞生无数生灵,以致万族林立。作为四大圣族之首的人族自是强盛无比。但人族并非是与其他三族一般是天生圣族,在人族没有成为圣族之前的日子里人类是无比弱小的,受万族欺压。人类不过是凡夫俗子罢了,被放逐到充满七情六欲的红尘中,生命不过百年。直到人族中出现了天行者,是她硬生生把一个卑微的的种族变成一个万族朝拜的圣族。天道不公,我便替天行道,此为天行者。
  • 一世全能者

    一世全能者

    宁一航,原本是一个普通的孩子,不料出生在一个不平凡的家庭里,也许是拥有的能力太过强大,所以,他儿时的记忆被封印了。但是在时间的推移下,他还是接受了自己的命运,找到了父亲的笔记,清楚了自己的身世,找到了十多年未见面的妹妹,在护灵大陆唤醒沉睡的强大力量,与恶势力展开搏斗,但是,他没有想到自己的命运如此艰难!十多年未见的妹妹不料只是一颗抑制他力量的棋子,封印着记忆的碎片不只一块,他,将何去何从?宁一航,身为第二个全能者的他,该如何是好?第二个全能者又是谁?护灵大陆,一个称得上是第二个地球的地方,它是真实还是虚构还是一个更大的圈套,等你来揭晓。