Clay
James Joyce (1882-1941)
THE matron had given her leave to go out as soon as the women's tea was over and Maria looked forward to her evening out. The kitchen was spick and span: the cook said you could e yourlf in the big copper boilers. The fire was nice and bright and on one of the side-tables were four very big barmbracks. The barmbracks emed uncut; but if you went clor you would e送信者 that they had been cut into long thick even slices and were ready to be handed round at tea. Maria had cut them herlf.
Maria was a very, very small person indeed but she had a very long no and a very long chin. She talked a little through her no, always soothingly: "Yes, my dear," and "No, my dear." She was always nt for when the women quarrelled Over their tubs and always succeeded in making peace. One day the matron had said to her:
"Maria, you are a veritable peace-maker!"
And the sub-matron and two of the Board ladies had heard the compliment. And Ginger Mooney was always saying what she wouldn't do to the dummy who had charge of the irons if it wasn't for Maria. Everyone was so fond of Maria.
The women would have their tea at six o'clock and she would be able to get away before ven. From Ballsbridge to the Pillar, twenty minutes; from the Pillar to Drumcondra, twenty minutes; and twenty minutes to buy the things. She would be there before eight. She took out her pur with the silver clasps and read again the words A Prent from Belfast. She was very fond of that pur becau Joe had brought it to her five years before when he and Alphy had gone to Belfast on a Whit-Monday trip. In the pur were two half-crowns and some coppers. She would have five shillings clear after paying tram fare. What a nice evening they would have, all the children singing! Only she hoped that Joeapanda wouldn't come in drunk. He was so different when he took any drink.
Often he had wanted her to go and live with them;-but she would have felt herlf in the way (though Joe's wife was ever so nice with her) and she had become accustomed to th
e life of the laundry. Joe was a good fellow. She had nurd him and Alphy too; and Joe ud often say:
"Mamma is mamma but Maria is my proper mother."
After the break-up at home the boys had got her that position in the Dublin by Lamplight laundry, and she liked it. She ud to have丹麦馆 such a bad opinion of Protestants but now she thought they were very nice people, a little quiet and rious, but still very nice people to live with. Then she had her plants in the conrvatorybasket and she liked looking after them. She had lovely ferns and wax-plants and, whenever anyone came to visit her, she always gave the visitor one or two slips from her conrvatory. There was one thing she didn't like and that was the tracts on the walks; but the matron was such a nice person to deal with, so genteel.
When the cook told her everything was ready she went into the women's room and began to pull the big bell. In a few minutes the women began to come in by twos and threes, wiping their steaming hands in their petticoats and pulling down the sleeves of the
ir blous over their red steaming arms. They ttled down before their huge mugs which the cook and the dummy filled up with hot tea, already mixed with milk and sugar in huge tin cans. Maria superintended the distribution of the barmbrack and saw that every woman got her four slices. There was a great deal of laughing and joking during the meal. Lizzie Fleming said Maria 法文在线翻译was sure to get the ring and, though Fleming had said that for so many Hallow Eves, Maria had to laugh and say she didn't want any ring or man either; and when she laughed her grey-green eyes sparkled with disappointed shyness and the tip of her no nearly met the tip of her chin. Then Ginger Mooney lifted her mug of tea and propod Maria's health while all the other women clattered with their mugs on the table, and said she was sorry she hadn't a 新生儿护理知识sup of porter to drink it in. And Maria laughed again till the tip of her no nearly met the tip of her chin and till her minute bodyhappen的用法 nearly shook itlf asunder becau she knew that Mooney meant well though, of cour, she had the notions of a common woman.
But wasn't Maria glad when the women had finished their tea and the cook and the dummy had begun to clear away the tea- things! She went into her little bedroom and, re
membering that the next morning was a mass morning, changed the hand of the alarm from ven to six. Then she took off her working skirt and her hou-boots and laid her best skirt out on the bed and her tiny dress-boots beside the foot of the bed. She changed her blou too h7n9禽流感最新消息and, as she stood before the mirror, she thought of how she ud to dress for mass on Sunday morning when she was a young girl; and she looked with quaint affection at the diminutive body which she had so often adorned, In spite of its years she found it a nice tidy little body.
When she got outside the streets were shining with rain and she was glad of her old brown waterproof. The tram was full and she had to sit on the little stool at the end of the car, facing all the people, with her toes barely touching the floor. She arranged in her mind all she was going to do and thought how much better it was to be independent and to have your own money in your pocket.享受寂寞 She hoped they would have a nice evening. She was sure they would but she could not help thinking what a pity it was Alphy and Joe were not speaking. They were always falling out now but when they were boys together they ud to be the best of friends: but such was life.toefl
