【英文读物】The Jolliest School of All.docx

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1、【英文读物】The Jolliest School of AllNO I Off to ItalyIn a top-story bedroom in an old-fashioned house in a northern suburb of London, a girl of fourteen was kneeling on the floor, turning out the contents of the bottom cupboards of a big bookcase. Her method of doing so was hardly tidy; she just tossed

2、the miscellaneous assortment of articles down anywhere, till presently she was surrounded by a mixed-up jumble of books, papers, paint-boxes, music, chalks, pencils, foreign stamps, picture post-cards, crests, balls of knitting wool, skeins of embroidery silk, and odds and ends of all kinds. She gro

3、aned as the circle grew wider, yet the apparently inexhaustible cupboards were still uncleared.Couldnt have ever believed Id have stowed so many things away here. And, of course, the one book I want isnt to be found. Thats what always happens. Its just my bad luck. Hello! Whos calling Renie? Im here

4、! Here! In my bedroom! Dont yell the house down. Really, Vin, youve got a voice like a megaphone! You might think I was on2 the top of the roof. What dyou want now? Im busy!So it seems, commented the fair-haired boy of seventeen, sauntering into his sisters room and taking a somewhat insecure seat u

5、pon a fancy table, where, with hands in pockets, he regarded her quizzically. Great Scott, what a turn out! You look like a magician in the midst of a magic circle. Are you going to witch the lot into newts and toads? Whence this thusness? You wont persuade me that its a fit of neatness and youre ac

6、tually tidying. Doesnt exactly seem you, somehow!Hardly, replied Irene, with her head inside a cupboard. Fact is, Im looking for my history book. I cant think where the wretched thing has gone to. School begins to-morrow, and I havent touched my holiday tasks yet; and what Miss Gordon will say if I

7、come without those exercises I cant imagine. Im sure I flung all my books into this cupboard, and, of course, heres the chemistry, which I dont want, but never so much as a single leaf of the history. Dont grin! You aggravate me. I believe youve taken it away to tease me. Have you? Confess now! Its

8、in your pocket all the time?Irene looked eagerly at the bulging outline of her brothers coat, but her newly formed hopes were doomed to disappointment.Never seen it! What should I want with your old history book? Ive finished for good with such vanities, thank the Fates!3Dont rub it in. Its a beastl

9、y shame you should be allowed to leave school while I must go slaving on at Miss Gordons. Ugh! How I hate the place! The idea of going back there to-morrow! Its simply appalling. A whole term of dreary grind, and only a fortnights holiday at the end of it. Miss Gordon gives the stingiest holidays. I

10、f my fairy godmother could appear and grant me a wish I should choose never, never, never to see St. Osmunds College in all my life again. Id ask her to wave her magic wand and transport me over the sea.Irene spoke hotly, flinging books about with scant regard for their covers. Her slim hands were d

11、usty, and her short, yellow hair as ruffled as her temper. There was even a suspicion of moisture about the corners of her gray eyes. She rubbed them surreptitiously with a ball of a handkerchief when her head happened to be inside the cupboard. She did not wish Vincent to witness this phase of her

12、emotions.Every girl ought to be provided with a decent fairy godmother, she gulped. If mine did her duty shed come to rescue me now. Yes, she would, and be quick about it too!How very seldom in the course of an ordinary life such wishes are granted! Not once surely in a million times! Yet at that id

13、entical moment, almost as if in direct answer to her daughters vigorous tirade, Mrs. Beverley entered the room. There was a sparkle of excitement in her eyes, and her whole4 atmosphere seemed to radiate news. She ran in as joyously as a girl, clapping her hands and evidently brimming over with somet

14、hing she was about to communicate.Why, Mums! Mumsdarling! Whats the matter? asked Irene. You look as if youd had a fortune left you. Tell us at once.Not quite a fortune, but next best to it, said Mrs. Beverley, sitting down on the end of the sofa. Daddy says I may tell you now, bairns. It has all ha

15、ppened so suddenly, and has been arranged in a rush. You remember Dad mentioning a few weeks ago that Mr. Southern, the firms representative in Naples, was very ill? Well, Mr. Fenton has decided to send Dad to Italy to take his place, for a year at any rate, and perhaps longer. Were to start in a fo

16、rtnight.Such a stupendous announcement required a little realizing. Vincent removed his hands from his pockets.You dont mean to say were all going? he inquired. Jemima! Leaving London fogs and toddling off to Italy? Materkins, you take my breath away! Hows the whole business to be fixed up so soon?Q

17、uite easily. We shall let this house, just as it is, to Mr. Atherton, who will come from the Norfolk branch to fill Fathers post in London. We are to rent Mr. Southerns flat in Naples, while he takes a voyage round the world to try to regain his5 health. Dad means to put you into his office in Naple

18、s, Vin. Dont look so aghast! Its high time you started, and it will be a splendid opening for you. And as for Renieof course shes too young to leave school yetMums! Mums! interrupted an agonized voice, as Irene took a flying leap over her circle of books and, plumping herself on the sofa, clutched t

19、ightly at her mothers sleeve. Youre not going to leave me behind at Miss Gordons? You couldnt! Oh, Id die! Mums darling, please! If the familys going to jaunt abroad Ive got to jaunt too! Say yes, quick, quick!What a little tempest you are! Cheer up! Wed never any intention of deserting you. Well st

20、ick together for a while at any rate, though when we arrive in Naples youll be packed off to a boarding-school, Madam, so I give you fair warning.An Italian school?Irenes gray eyes were round with horror.No, an Anglo-American school for English-speaking girls. Do you remember that charming Mr. Proct

21、or who stayed with us last year on his way from New York to Naples? His daughter is at this school, and he strongly recommended it. It seems just exactly the place for you, Renie. It will solve a great problem if we can educate you out there. It would have complicated matters very much if we had bee

22、n obliged to leave you in England. As it is6 youll be quite near to Naples, and can come home for all your holidays.Hooray! Then Im not to go to Miss Gordons again?As we start in a fortnight its not worth while your beginning a fresh term at St. Osmunds.Then I neednt bother to find the hateful old h

23、istory book. Im so glad I didnt do those wretched holiday taskstheyd just have been sheer waste. Mums, Im so excited! May I begin and pack for Italy now? I cant wait.For the next two weeks great confusion reigned in the Beverley household. It is no light matter to decide what you need to take abroad

24、, what you wish to lock up at home, and to leave your establishment in apple-pie order for the use of strangers. Inventories of furniture, linen, blankets, and china had to be written and checked, a rigorous selection made of the things to be packed, and the luggage cut down to the limits prescribed

25、 by the railway companies. Poor Mrs. Beverley was nearly worn out when at last the overflowing boxes were fastened, the bags and hold-alls were strapped, and the taxis, which were to take them to the station, arrived at the door. Tears stood in her eyes as she crossed the threshold of her own house.

26、Its a tremendous wrench! she fluttered.Never mind, Mums! consoled Irene, linking her arm in her mothers. Its an adventure, and we all want to go. Youll love it when were once off. No,7 dont look back: its unlucky! Your bags in the cab; I saw Jessie put it in. Hooray for Italy, say I, and a good ridd

27、ance to smoky old London! In another couple of days we shall be down south and turning into Romeos and Juliets as fast as we can. Youll see Dad learning a guitar and strumming it under your balcony, and serenading you no end.Hardly at his time of life! said Mrs. Beverley; but the joke amused her, sh

28、e wiped her eyes, and, as Irene had hoped and intended, stepped smiling into the waiting taxi, and left her old home with laughter instead of with tears.In her fourteen years of experience Irene had traveled very little, so the migration to Italy was a fairy journey so far as she was concerned. To c

29、atch the boat express they had made an early start, and they breakfasted in the train between London and Dover. It was fun to sit in comfortable padded armchairs, eating fish or ham and eggs, and watching the landscape whirling past; fun to see the deft-handed waiters nipping about with trays or tea

30、cups; and fun to observe the occupants of the other tables in the car. There was a fat, good-natured Frenchman who amused Irene, a languid English lady who annoyed her, an elderly gourmand who excited her disgust, and a neighboring party, one member of which at least aroused her interest and caused

31、her to cast cautious side glances in the direction of the next table. This center of attraction was a small girl about eight or nine years of age, a dainty elfin little8 person with bewitching blue eyes and a mop of short, flaxen curls. She was evidently well used to traveling, for she would lift a

32、tiny finger to summon the waiter, and gave him her orders with all the savoir-faire of an experienced diner-out. Perhaps her clear-toned treble voice was a trifle too high-pitched for the occasion, and would have been better had it been duly modulated, but her parents seemed proud of her conversatio

33、nal powers and allowed her to talk for the benefit of anybody within ear-shot. That she excited comment was manifest, for many looks were turned to her corner. The criticisms on her were complimentary or the reverse. Isnt she perfectly sweet? gushed a young lady at Irenes left. Sweet? She ought to b

34、e in the nursery instead of showing off here! came a tart voice in reply, from some one whose face was invisible but whose back and shoulders expressed an attitude of strong disapproval. Hope we shant be boxed up with her in the same carriage to Paris! I vote we give her a wide berth at Calais.Irene

35、 laughed softly. The little flaxen-haired girl attracted her; she felt she would have gravitated towards her compartment rather than have avoided her. But traveling companions were evidently more a matter of chance than choice, for the crowd that turned out of the train at Dover became mixed and min

36、gled like the colored bits of glass in a kaleidoscope. Irene realized that for the moment the one supreme and breathless object in life was to cling to9 the rest of her family, and not to get separated from them or lost, as they pushed through narrow barriers, showed tickets and passports, traversed

37、 gangways, and finally found themselves on board the Channel steamer bound for France. Father, who had made the crossing many times, scrambled instantly for deck-chairs, and installed his party comfortably in the lee of a funnel, where they would be sheltered from the wind. Mrs. Beverley, who had in

38、spected the ladies saloon below, sank on her seat, and tucked a rug round her knees with a sigh of relief.It will be the Black Hole of Calcutta downstairs, she remarked. Id rather stay on deck however cold it is. The mother of the wee yellow-haired lassie is lying down already, evidently prepared to

39、 be ill. The stewardess says we shall have a choppy passage. She earns her tips, poor woman! Thanks, Vincent! Yes, Id like the air-cushion, please, and that plaid out of the hold-all. No, I wont have a biscuit now; I prefer to wait till we get on terra firma again.Irene, sitting warmly wrapped up on

40、 her deck-chair, watched the white cliffs of Dover recede from her gaze as the vessel left the port and steamed out into the Channel. It was the last of Old England, and she knew that much time must elapse before she would see the shores of her birthplace again. What would greet her in the foreign c

41、ountry to which she was going? New sights, new sounds, new interestsperhaps new friends? The thought of it all was an10 exhilaration. Others might seem sad at a break with former associations, but as for herself she was starting a fresh life, and she meant to get every scrap of enjoyment out of it t

42、hat was practically possible.The stewardess had prophesied correctly when she described the voyage as choppy. The steamer certainly pitched and tossed in a most uncomfortable fashion, and it was only owing to the comparative steadiness of her seat amidships that Irene escaped that most wretched of c

43、omplaints, mal de mer. She sat very still, with rather white cheeks, and refused Vincents offers of biscuits and chocolates: her sole salvation, indeed, was not to look at the heaving sea, but to keep her eyes fixed upon the magazine which she made a pretense of reading. Fortunately the Dover-Calais

44、 crossing is short, and, before Neptune had claimed her as one of his victims, they were once more in smooth waters and steaming into harbor.Then again the kaleidoscope turned, and the crowd of passengers remingled and walked over gangways, and along platforms and up steep steps, and jostled through

45、 the Customs, and said Rien dclarer to the officials, who peeped inside their bags to find tea or tobacco, and had their luggage duly chalked, and showed their passports once more, and finally, after a bewildering half-hour of bustle and hustle, found themselves, with all their belongings intact, sa

46、fely in the train for Paris. Irene had caught brief glimpses of the child whom she named Little Flaxen, whose mother, in a state of collapse, had been almost car11ried off the vessel, but revived when she was on dry land again: a maid was in close attendance, and two porters were stowing their piles

47、 of hand-luggage inside a specially reserved compartment. The cross lady wont be boxed up with them at any rate, said Irene. I saw her get in lower down the train.It was dark when they arrived in Paris, so Irene had only a confused impression of an immense railway station, of porters in blue blouses

48、, of a babel of noise and shouting in a foreign language which seemed quite different from the French she had learned at school, of clinging very closely to Fathers arm, of a drive through lighted streets, of a hotel where dinner was served in a salon surrounded by big mirrors, then bed, which seemed the best thing in the world, for she was almost too weary to keep her eyes open.If every day is going to be like this we shall be tired out by the time we reach Naples, she thought, as she sank down on her pillow. Traveling is the limit.Eleven