The Moon And Sixpence 49.2

She was thebest cook on the island, and she adored good food. From morning till night yousaw her sitting on a low chair in the kitchen, surrounded by a Chinese cook andtwo or three native girls, giving her orders, chatting sociably with all andsundry, and tasting the savoury messes she devised. When she wished to dohonour to a friend she cooked the dinner with her own hands. Hospitality was apassion with her, and there was no one on the island who need go without adinner when there was anything to eat at the Hotel de la Fleur. She never turnedher customers out of her house because they did not pay their bills. She alwayshoped they would pay when they could. There was one man there who had fallen onadversity, and to him she had given board and lodging for several months. Whenthe Chinese laundryman refused to wash for him without payment she had sent histhings to be washed with hers. She could not allow the poor fellow to go aboutin a dirty shirt, she said, and since he was a man, and men must smoke, shegave him a franc a day for cigarettes. She used him with the same affability asthose of her clients who paid their bills once a week.Age and obesityhad made her inapt for love, but she took a keen interest in the amatoryaffairs of the young. She looked upon venery as the natural occupation for menand women, and was ever ready with precept and example from her own wideexperience."I was notfifteen when my father found that I had a lover, " she said. "He wasthird mate on the Tropic Bird. A good-looking boy. "She sighed alittle. They say a woman always remembers her first lover with affection; butperhaps she does not always remember him."My fatherwas a sensible man. ""What didhe do?" I asked."Hethrashed me within an inch of my life, and then he made me marry CaptainJohnson. I did not mind. He was older, of course, but he was good-looking too."Tiare -- herfather had called her by the name of the white, scented flower which, they tellyou, if you have once smelt, will always draw you back to Tahiti in the end,however far you may have roamed -- Tiare remembered Strickland very well.她是岛上最好的厨师，对美馔佳肴有很深的爱好。从清早直到夜晚，你什么时候都会看见她坐在厨房里一把矮椅上，一名中国厨师和两三个本地的使女围着她团团转；她一面发号施令，一面同所有的人东拉西扯，偷空还要品尝一下她设计烹调出的令人馋涎欲滴的美味。如果要对一位朋友表示敬意，她就亲自下厨。殷勤好客是她的本性；只要鲜花旅馆有东西吃，岛上的人谁也用不着饿肚皮。她从来不因为房客付不出帐而把他们赶走。有一次有一个住在她旅馆的人处境不佳，她竟一连几个月供给这人食宿，分文不收。最后开洗衣店的中国人因为这人付不起钱不再给他洗衣服，她就把这位房客的衣服和自己的混在一起给洗衣店送去。她说，她不能看着这个可怜的人穿脏衬衫，此外，既然他是一个男人，而男人又非抽烟不可，她还每天给这个人一个法郎，专门供他买纸烟。她对这个人同对那些每星期付一次账的客人一样殷勤和气。年龄和发胖已经使她自己不能再谈情说爱了；但是她对年轻人的恋爱事却极有兴趣。她认为情欲方面的事是人的本性，男人女人都是如此，她总是从自己的丰富经验中给人以箴言和范例。“我还不到十五岁的时候，我父亲就发现我有了爱人，”她说，“他是热带鸟号上的三副。一个漂亮的年轻人。”她叹了一口气。人们都说女人总是不能忘怀自己的第一个爱人；但是也许她并不是永远把头一个爱人记在心上的。“我父亲是个明白事理的人。”“他怎么着你了？”我问。“他差点儿把我打得一命呜呼，以后他就让我同约翰生船长结了婚。我倒也不在乎。当然了，约翰生船长年纪大多了，但是他也很漂亮。”蒂阿瑞——这是一种香气芬芳的白花，她父亲给她起的名字。这里的人说，只要你闻过这种花香，不论走得多么远，最终还要被吸引回塔希提去——蒂阿瑞对思特里克兰德这个人记得非常清楚。