The Moon And Sixpence 51.5

Thedrawing-room at the Hotel de la Fleur was a small room, with a cottage piano,and a suite of mahogany furniture, covered in stamped velvet, neatly arrangedaround the walls. On round tables were photograph albums, and on the wallsenlarged photographs of Tiare and her first husband, Captain Johnson. Still,though Tiare was old and fat, on occasion we rolled back the Brussels carpet,brought in the maids and one or two friends of Tiare's, and danced, though nowto the wheezy music of a gramaphone. On the verandah the air was scented withthe heavy perfume of the tiare, and overhead the Southern Cross shone in a cloudlesssky.

Tiare smiledindulgently as she remembered the gaiety of a time long passed.

"We keptit up till three, and when we went to bed I don't think anyone was very sober.I had told them they could have my trap to take them as far as the road went, becauseafter that they had a long walk. Ata's property was right away in a fold of themountain. They started at dawn, and the boy I sent with them didn't come backtill next day.

"Yes,that's how Strickland was married. "

鲜花旅馆的客厅并不大，摆着一架简易式的钢琴，沿着四边墙整整齐齐地摆着一套菲律宾红木家具，上面铺着烙着花的丝绒罩子，圆桌上放着几本照相簿，墙上挂着蒂阿瑞同她第一个丈夫约翰生船长的放大照片。虽然蒂阿瑞已经又老又胖，可是有几次我们还是把布鲁塞尔地毯卷起来，请来在旅馆里干活的女孩子同蒂阿瑞的两个朋友，跳起舞来，只不过伴奏的是由一台象害了气喘病似的唱机放出的音乐而已。露台上，空气里弥漫着蒂阿瑞花的浓郁香气，头顶上，南十字座星在万里无云的天空上闪烁发光。

蒂阿瑞回忆起很久以前的那次盛会，脸上不禁显出迷醉的笑容来。

“那天我们一直玩到半夜三点钟，上床的时候没有一个人不喝得醉醺醺的。我早就同他们讲好，他们可以乘我的小马车走，一直到大路通不过去的地方。那以后，他们还要走很长的一段路。爱塔的产业在很远很远的一处山峦叠抱的地方。他们天一亮就动身了，我派去送他们的仆人直到第二天才回来。

“不错，思特里克兰德就这样结婚了。”