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heartbreak house-第19部分

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won't stand it。 My head's going to split。 Help! Help me to hold
it。 Quick: hold it: squeeze it。 Save me。 'Ellie comes behind his
chair; clasps his head hard for a moment; then begins to draw her
hands from his forehead back to his ears'。 Thank you。 'Drowsily'。
That's very refreshing。 'Waking a little'。 Don't you hypnotize
me; though。 I've seen men made fools of by hypnotism。

ELLIE 'steadily'。 Be quiet。 I've seen men made fools of without
hypnotism。

MANGAN 'humbly'。 You don't dislike touching me; I hope。 You never
touched me before; I noticed。

ELLIE。 Not since you fell in love naturally with a grown…up nice
woman; who will never expect you to make love to her。 And I will
never expect him to make love to me。

MANGAN。 He may; though。

ELLIE 'making her passes rhythmically'。 Hush。 Go to sleep。 Do you
hear? You are to go to sleep; go to sleep; go to sleep; be quiet;
deeply deeply quiet; sleep; sleep; sleep; sleep; sleep。

He falls asleep。 Ellie steals away; turns the light out; and goes
into the garden。

Nurse Guinness opens the door and is seen in the light which
comes in from the hall。

GUINNESS 'speaking to someone outside'。 Mr Mangan's not here;
duckie: there's no one here。 It's all dark。

MRS HUSHABYE 'without'。 Try the garden。 Mr Dunn and I will be in
my boudoir。 Show him the way。

GUINNESS。 Yes; ducky。 'She makes for the garden door in the dark;
stumbles over the sleeping Mangan and screams'。 Ahoo! O Lord;
Sir! I beg your pardon; I'm sure: I didn't see you in the dark。
Who is it? 'She goes back to the door and turns on the light'。
Oh; Mr Mangan; sir; I hope I haven't hurt you plumping into your
lap like that。 'Coming to him'。 I was looking for you; sir。 Mrs
Hushabye says will you please 'noticing that he remains quite
insensible'。 Oh; my good Lord; I hope I haven't killed him。 Sir!
Mr Mangan! Sir! 'She shakes him; and he is rolling inertly off
the chair on the floor when she holds him up and props him
against the cushion'。 Miss Hessy! Miss Hessy! 'quick; doty
darling。 Miss Hessy! 'Mrs Hushabye comes in from the hall;
followed by Mazzini Dunn'。 Oh; Miss Hessy; I've been and killed
him。

Mazzini runs round the back of the chair to Mangan's right hand;
and sees that the nurse's words are apparently only too true。

MAZZINI。 What tempted you to commit such a crime; woman?

MRS HUSHABYE 'trying not to laugh'。 Do you mean; you did it on
purpose?

GUINNESS。 Now is it likely I'd kill any man on purpose? I fell
over him in the dark; and I'm a pretty tidy weight。 He never
spoke nor moved until I shook him; and then he would have dropped
dead on the floor。 Isn't it tiresome?

MRS HUSHABYE 'going past the nurse to Mangan's side; and
inspecting him less credulously than Mazzini'。 Nonsense! he is
not dead: he is only asleep。 I can see him breathing。

GUINNESS。 But why won't he wake?

MAZZINI 'speaking very politely into Mangan's ear'。 Mangan! My
dear Mangan! 'he blows into Mangan's ear'。

MRS HUSHABYE。 That's no good 'she shakes him vigorously'。 Mr
Mangan; wake up。 Do you hear? 'He begins to roll over'。 Oh!
Nurse; nurse: he's falling: help me。

Nurse Guinness rushes to the rescue。 With Mazzini's assistance;
Mangan is propped safely up again。

GUINNESS 'behind the chair; bending over to test the case with
her nose'。 Would he be drunk; do you think; pet?

MRS HUSHABYE。 Had he any of papa's rum?

MAZZINI。 It can't be that: he is most abstemious。 I am afraid he
drank too much formerly; and has to drink too little now。 You
know; Mrs Hushabye; I really think he has been hypnotized。

GUINNESS。 Hip no what; sir?

MAZZINI。 One evening at home; after we had seen a hypnotizing
performance; the children began playing at it; and Ellie stroked
my head。 I assure you I went off dead asleep; and they had to
send for a professional to wake me up after I had slept eighteen
hours。 They had to carry me upstairs; and as the poor children
were not very strong; they let me slip; and I rolled right down
the whole flight and never woke up。 'Mrs Hushabye splutters'。 Oh;
you may laugh; Mrs Hushabye; but I might have been killed。

MRS HUSHABYE。 I couldn't have helped laughing even if you had
been; Mr Dunn。 So Ellie has hypnotized him。 What fun!

MAZZINI。 Oh no; no; no。 It was such a terrible lesson to her:
nothing would induce her to try such a thing again。

MRS HUSHABYE。 Then who did it? I didn't。

MAZZINI。 I thought perhaps the captain might have done it
unintentionally。 He is so fearfully magnetic: I feel vibrations
whenever he comes close to me。

GUINNESS。 The captain will get him out of it anyhow; sir: I'll
back him for that。 I'll go fetch him 'she makes for the pantry'。

MRS HUSHABYE。 Wait a bit。 'To Mazzini'。 You say he is all right
for eighteen hours?

MAZZINI。 Well; I was asleep for eighteen hours。

MRS HUSHABYE。 Were you any the worse for it?

MAZZINI。 I don't quite remember。 They had poured brandy down my
throat; you see; and

MRS HUSHABYE。 Quite。 Anyhow; you survived。 Nurse; darling: go and
ask Miss Dunn to come to us here。 Say I want to speak to her
particularly。 You will find her with Mr Hushabye probably。

GUINNESS。 I think not; ducky: Miss Addy is with him。 But I'll
find her and send her to you。 'She goes out into the garden'。

MRS HUSHABYE 'calling Mazzini's attention to the figure on the
chair'。 Now; Mr Dunn; look。 Just look。 Look hard。 Do you still
intend to sacrifice your daughter to that thing?

MAZZINI 'troubled'。 You have completely upset me; Mrs Hushabye;
by all you have said to me。 That anyone could imagine that II;
a consecrated soldier of freedom; if I may say socould
sacrifice Ellie to anybody or anyone; or that I should ever have
dreamed of forcing her inclinations in any way; is a most painful
blow to mywell; I suppose you would say to my good opinion of
myself。

MRS HUSHABYE 'rather stolidly'。 Sorry。

MAZZINI 'looking forlornly at the body'。 What is your objection
to poor Mangan; Mrs Hushabye? He looks all right to me。 But then
I am so accustomed to him。

MRS HUSHABYE。 Have you no heart? Have you no sense? Look at the
brute! Think of poor weak innocent Ellie in the clutches of this
slavedriver; who spends his life making thousands of rough
violent workmen bend to his will and sweat for him: a man
accustomed to have great masses of iron beaten into shape for him
by steam…hammers! to fight with women and girls over a halfpenny
an hour ruthlessly! a captain of industry; I think you call him;
don't you? Are you going to fling your delicate; sweet; helpless
child into such a beast's claws just because he will keep her in
an expensive house and make her wear diamonds to show how rich he
is?

MAZZINI 'staring at her in wide…eyed amazement'。 Bless you; dear
Mrs Hushabye; what romantic ideas of business you have! Poor dear
Mangan isn't a bit like that。

MRS HUSHABYE 'scornfully'。 Poor dear Mangan indeed!

MAZZINI。 But he doesn't know anything about machinery。 He never
goes near the men: he couldn't manage them: he is afraid of them。
I never can get him to take the least interest in the works: he
hardly knows more about them than you do。 People are cruelly
unjust to Mangan: they think he is all rugged strength just
because his manners are bad。

MRS HUSHABYE。 Do you mean to tell me he isn't strong enough to
crush poor little Ellie?

MAZZINI。 Of course it's very hard to say how any marriage will
turn out; but speaking for myself; I should say that he won't
have a dog's chance against Ellie。 You know; Ellie has remarkable
strength of character。 I think it is because I taught her to like
Shakespeare when she was very young。

MRS HUSHABYE 'contemptuously'。 Shakespeare! The next thing you
will tell me is that you could have made a great deal more money
than Mangan。 'She retires to the sofa; and sits down at the port
end of it in the worst of humors'。

MAZZINI 'following her and taking the other end'。 No: I'm no good
at making money。 I don't care enough for it; somehow。 I'm not
ambitious! that must be it。 Mangan is wonderful about money: he
thinks of nothing else。 He is so dreadfully afraid of being poor。
I am always thinking of other things: even at the works I think
of the things we are doing and not of what they cost。 And the
worst of it is; poor Mangan doesn't know what to do with his
money when he gets it。 He is such a baby that he doesn't know
even what to eat and drink: he has ruined his liver eating and
drinking the wrong things; and now he can hardly eat at all。
Ellie will diet him splendidly。 You will be surprised when you
come to know him better: he is really the most helpless of
mortals。 You get quite a protective feeling towards him。

MRS HUSHABYE。 Then who manages his business; pray?

MAZZINI。 I do。 And of course other people like me。

MRS HUSHABYE。 Footling people; you mean。

MAZZINI。 I suppose you'd think us so。

MRS HUSHABYE。 And pray why don't you do without him if you're all
so much cleverer?

MAZZINI。 Oh; we couldn't: we should ruin the business in a year。
I've tried; and I know。 We should spend too much on everything。
We should improve the quality of the goods and make them too
dear。 We should be sentimental about the hard cases a
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