The Moon And Sixpence 5.2

Rose Waterfordhad a blistering tongue. No one could say such bitter things; on the otherhand, no one could do more charming ones.There wasanother thing I liked in Mrs. Strickland. She managed her surroundings withelegance. Her flat was always neat and cheerful, gay with flowers, and thechintzes in the drawing-room, notwithstanding their severe design, were brightand pretty. The meals in the artistic little dining-room were pleasant; thetable looked nice, the two maids were trim and comely; the food was wellcooked. It was impossible not to see that Mrs. Strickland was an excellenthousekeeper. And you felt sure that she was an admirable mother. There werephotographs in the drawing-room of her son and daughter. The son -- his namewas Robert -- was a boy of sixteen at Rugby; and you saw him in flannels and acricket cap, and again in a tail-coat and a stand-up collar. He had hismother's candid brow and fine, reflective eyes. He looked clean, healthy, andnormal.柔斯·瓦特尔芙德的嘴非常刻薄。这种辛辣的话谁也说不出口，但是另一方面，哪个人做事也没有她漂亮。还有一件事叫我喜欢思特里克兰德太太。她的住所布置得非常优雅。房间总是干干净净，摆着花，叫人感到非常舒服。客厅里的印花布窗帘虽然图案比较古板，可是色彩光艳，淡雅宜人。在雅致的小餐厅里吃饭是一种享受；餐桌式样大方，两个侍女干净利落，菜肴烹调得非常精致。谁都看得出，思特里克兰德太太是一位能干的主妇，另外，毫无疑问她也是一位贤妻良母。客厅里摆着她儿女的照片。儿子——他名叫罗伯特——十六岁，正在罗格贝学校读书；你在照片上看到他穿着一套法兰绒衣服，戴着板球帽，另外一张照片穿的是燕尾服，系着直立的硬领。他同母亲一样，生着宽净的前额和沉思的漂亮的眼睛。他的样子干净整齐，看去又健康，又端正。