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1、【英文文学】Confidential Chats with BoysPART IThe old Pig went to wander, The other went far to roam And, at last, when night was falling, And a little Pig was calling Never a one came home.Rhunewalts Ballads of Life.Adelaide and I have come to the conclusion that if you cant believe anything at all, not
2、even the things that are as plain as the nose on your faceif you cant enjoy what is put here to be enjoyedif you are going to turn up your nose at everything we tell you, and deny things that we know to be truly-ann-true, just because we havent given you the cross-my-heart-and-hope-to-die signthen i
3、ts your own fault if we dont reply when you try to give the wipple-wappling call. And more than that, if you know so much that you dont know anything, or less than anything, you will have to go somewhere else to be amused and entertained; you will have to find other play-fellows. You might persuade
4、us to play with you if you had something nicer than peppermint candy, and sweeter than taffy, and then Adelaide would show you things that you never so much as dreamed of before, and tell you things you never heard of.Adelaide! Doesnt the very sound of the name make you feel a little bit better than
5、 you were feeling awhile ago? Doesnt it remind you of the softest blue eyes in the world, and of long curly hair, spun from summer sunbeams that were left over from last seasons growing? If all these things dont flash in your mind, like magic pictures on a white background, then you had better turn
6、your head away, and not bother about the things I am saying. And another thing: Dont imagine that I am writing of the Right-Now time, for, one day when Adelaide and I were playing in the garden, we found Eighteen-Hundred-and-Sixty-Eight hiding under a honeysuckle vine, where it had gone to die. Adel
7、aide picked the poor thing up and put it in the warm place in her apron that she keeps for all the weaklings; and now when we want to remember a great many things, both good and bad, we go back to the poor thing we found under the honeysuckle vine.It was a very good thing that old Jonas Whipple, of
8、Shady Dale, had a sister who married and went to Atlanta, because Adelaide was in Atlanta, and nowhere else; it was the only place where she could have been found. Old Jonass sister had been in Atlanta not longer than a year, if that long, when, one day, she found Adelaide, and appeared to be very f
9、ond of her. At that time, Adelaide had hardly been aroused from her dreams. She may have opened her eyes sometimes, but she seemed sleepy; and when she snored, as the majority of people will, when they are not put to bed right, everybody said she was crying. It was so ridiculous that she sometimes s
10、miled in her sleep. But the most mysterious thing about it, was that old Jonass sister knew she was named Adelaide almost as soon as she found her. Now, how did old Jonass sister know that? Adelaide and I have often tried to figure it out when we were playing in the garden, but no matter how many fi
11、gures we made in the sand, there was always something or other in the top row that stood for No-Time, and we didnt know how to add that up.One day, Adelaides father, who had been ailing a long time, became so ill that a great many people came to the house in carriages and took him away so that he mi
12、ght get well again. Adelaide hardly had time to forget that her father had gone away, before her mother went to bed one night, and, after staying there a long time, was carried away by the people who had been so kind to her, only this time there were a great many more women in the house, and some of
13、 them went about acting as though they had been taking snuff. And there was a very nice old gentleman, with a smooth face, and a big ring on one of his fat fingers. As well as Adelaide could remember, this was the Peskerwhalian Bishop, and he was just as kind as he could be. He had a pink complexion
14、 just like a woman. He took Adelaide in his arms, and told her all about Heaven, and everything like that, and then he felt about in his pockets and found some candy drops.Adelaide knew very well that the people who came to the house were very much concerned about her. They talked in whispers when s
15、he was in hearing, but she knew by their sad faces that they were troubled about something, and she wished that they would get over it, and laugh and talk as they used to do. When she went on the street, the little girls she met turned and looked at her curiously, and though they were very friendly
16、indeed, they had the inquisitive look that older people have such a dread of. At first she thought her nose must be smutty, or her bonnet on crooked, or her frock torn; but when it turned out that everything about her was according to the prevailing fashions of cleanliness and correctness, she was q
17、uite content to be the observed of all observers in her neighbourhood.And then, one day (can it ever be forgotten by anybody who was living at that time?), a lovely man, looking so much like the Bishop that Adelaide named him so, came after her and said that she was to go to Shady Dale, and live wit
18、h her Uncle Jonas. This was Mr. SandersBilly Sanders, of Shady Dale. I aint sorry for you one bit, Mr. Sanders declaredI was there when he said itbekaze the first time I saw you, you made a face at me.How did I look, and what else did I say? Adelaide asked.You looked this way, replied Mr. Sanders, p
19、uckering up his countenance, an you said W-a-a-a!Then what did you say? inquired Adelaide.Why, I shuck my fist at you an said I never saw anybody look so much like your Uncle Jonas. Adelaide took all this very seriously, as she did most things.It turned out that she was to go to her Uncle Jonas, and
20、 that Mr. Sanders had come after her; and then, my goodness gracious! she was so full of anticipation and joy that she was frightened for herself. The kind ladies who had had charge of her told her not to be frightened, and to be very good, but she just rolled her big blue eyes, and had long, long t
21、houghts about things of which she never breathed a word. She started at last, and went with Mr. Sanders on the choo-choo train, and such a time as the two had buying tickets to Malvern, and laughing at the people they saw, and getting their baggage checked, and getting on the train, and watching the
22、 station slide back away from them so they could get a good startsuch a time has hardly been repeated for anybody from that day to this.A man caught a cinder in his eye, and ran with such speed to the water-cooler that he turned the whole thing over; and it came down with such a crash that everybody
23、 was frightened except Mr. Sanders and Adelaide. Women screamed, babies squalled, and all the time the cinder man was saying things under his breath, and some of them sounded to Adelaide like the words that her good friend, the Peskerwhalian Bishop, used in his sermon, only they were not so fierce a
24、nd emphatic. The child glanced around, and remarked with a satisfied smile: It didnt scare Cally-Lou. I reckon not, Mr. Sanders remarked, although he had no idea what Adelaide meant.Well, they reached Malvern in due time, and there, right at the station, was the stage-coach, which was driven by John
25、 Bell. Mr. Sanders introduced Adelaide to the driver, who took off his hat and bowed very gravely, and after that it was only a few minutes before they were on their way to Shady Dale. If the choo-choo train had been fine, the stage-coach was finer; it was like getting in a swing and staying there a
26、 long time. There were a few passengers in the coach, and they all appeared to be very sleepy. When they nodded, as the most of them did, they fell about somewhat promiscuouslythough Adelaide didnt think of that wordand made it somewhat uncomfortable for the child, who was wide awake and alert. But
27、when they came to the place where the horses were watered, John Bell leaned from his seat, and saw at a glance what Adelaides trouble was. In a jiffy he had her up on the swaying seat beside him. It would have been a frightful position for most children, but Adelaide thought it was the grandest thin
28、g in the world. She was seated almost directly above the two wheel horses, and not very far from the leaders. She could see their muscles rise and fall as they whirled the coach along; she could see the flecks of foam made by the harness, andwell, it was just glorious! She had what Mr. Sanders calle
29、d the Christmas feelingthe feeling that is ever ready to become awe or delightand the swing of the stage-coach kept her alternating between the two.It was wonderful, too, how one man could manage four great big horses, how he could guide them by merely touching one of the reins with the end of a fin
30、ger; and then, when John Bell gave his long whip wide play, sending it through the air with a swish, and bringing it down as gently as a breath of wind on the back of the horse he desired to warn, Adelaide could have screamed with delight. There was a half-way house where the horses were changed, an
31、d when the coach stopped for that purpose, most of the passengers went into a near-by inn for their dinner. One or two of them, however, had brought a lunch along. One of them offered Adelaide a share, saying: Wont you have some of my dinner, Sissy? Her mother had called her many fond names, but not
32、hing like that. John Bell glanced at her, and the expression on the little face opened his eyes. No, I thank you, he replied, shell go snucks wi me. She snuggled up to John BellDid you hear him? she asked; he called me Sissy. I heard him, said John Bell; I heard every word, and just how he said it.T
33、he lunch-basket that John Bell found under the seat was a wonder to see. It seemed to Adelaide that it held a whole bushel of fried chicken and biscuits with yellow butter on the inside of each. Now, said John Bell, there aint enough vittles here for one, much less six. Six! cried Adelaide. Yesm; yo
34、u and yourself, Mr. Sanders and his self, and me and myself. Ef youre countin me in, remarked Mr. Sanders, jest add three more figgers to the multiplication table. And then, said Adelaide very solemnly, theres Cally-Lou and herself. Cally-Lous herself is just big enough to be counted, she went on, b
35、ut Cally-Lou is bigger than I am. Shes sitting right here by me; you could see her if you could turn your head quick enough. She dodges when she thinks anybody is going to look at her, because she is neither black nor white; shes a brown girl with straight black hair that wavies when you brush it.It
36、 seemed to Adelaide that it held a whole bushel of fried chicken and biscuitsWhy, of course, said John Bell; Id know her anywhere. I was afraid, once or twice, that Id put out her eye with my whip-lash.Oh, did you really see Cally-Lou? cried Adelaide, with an ecstatic smile.Didnt you hear what he sa
37、id about the vittles? remarked Mr. Sanders. Do you think hed a said that ef hed a seed only us three? Ill say this much for John Bell before I eat all his chicken an biscuitshes nuther stingy ner greedy. Now, then, he went on, jest shet you eyes, an grab, bekaze the one that grabs the quickest will
38、git that big hind leg there. My goodness! I can shet my eyes an see it! Whereupon Mr. Sanders and John Bell closed their eyes, and reached into the basket, and one drew a back and a biscuit, and the other grabbed a neck and a biscuit. We dassent shet our eyes any more, remarked Mr. Sanders, bekaze i
39、f we do, Cally-Lou will git all the chicken!Talk about picnics or barbecues, or parties where you have to wear your best clothes, or receptions where you have tea-cakes and ice-cream! Why, this banquet on top of the stage-coach, where no strange person could look over your shoulder, and no one tell
40、you not to eat with your fingers, and not to tuck your napkin under your chin, likelike I dont know whatwhy, it was just simply a true fairy story, not one of the make-believe kindthe kind that grows out of the weariness of invention.The feast was over much too soon, though all had had much more tha
41、n was good for them. John Bell covered the treasure basket with a towel, and stowed it away in the big hollow place under the seat; then he beckoned to a negro who was helping with the horses. Run down to the spring and fetch us some water, and be certain to get it out of the north side of the sprin
42、g, where it is cold and sweet. The negro did this in a jiffy, and such water Adelaide had never before tasted. There was a whole bucketful, too. When they had all drunk their fill, Adelaide looked at Mr. Sanders and John Bell with a frown. What can we do for you now, maam? Mr. Sanders asked.Why, I w
43、ant you to turn your heads away. Cally-Lou says she is nearly famished for water, and she wont drink when any one is looking.All this being done, everybody was ready to go. Mr. Sanders got in the stage, declaring that he must have his own warm place, John Bell took the reins that were handed to him
44、by the hostlers, gave a harmless swish with his long whip, and away they went to Shady Dale. It was all so strange, and so pleasant that Adelaide could have wished the journey to continue indefinitely. But after a while, the houses they passed became larger and more numerous, and then the stage-coac
45、h made its appearance on the public square that was one of the features of Shady Dale. It rolled and swung toward the old tavern, and just when Adelaide thought that John Bell was going to drive right into the house for her benefit, he gave a little twist to his wrist, and the leaders swung around.
46、Even then it seemed that they would assuredly run headlong into the big mulberry tree, and trample to death the man who was leaning against it in a chair; but just as the leader was about to plant his forefeet in the mans bosom, John Bell sent another signal down the tightly held reins, and the lead
47、ers swung around until the child could look right into their tired faces. And, oh, the thrill of it! Adelaide felt that she could just hug John Bell, but the man who had made such a narrow escape from the horses feet had an entirely different view of the matter.You shorely must be tryin to show off,
48、 he growled to John Bell; an what for, Id like to know? The next time you kill me, Ill have the law on you!Quite so, remarked John Bell, with a grin that showed his white teeth. But I want you to know that Ive got company; let folks that aint got company look out for themselves! Have you seen Mr. Jo
49、nas Whipple around here?You dont want to run over old Jonas, do you? replied the man. All Ive got to say is, jest try it! Old Jonas is a lot tougher than what I am.Id run over him in a minnit if it would give my company any pleasure, said John Bell. Ive got a package for him that come all the way from Atlanta