Donde Mr. Knightley llega para levantar el ánimo de
Mr Woodhouse, se discute sobre la felicidad de Miss Taylor, y señala las faltas
de Emma. Del original ingles Emma, de Jane Austen
Emma spared no effort to maintain this happier flow of ideas, and hoped,
by the help of backgammon, to get her father tolerably through the evening, and
be attacked by no regrets but her own. The backgammon-table was placed; but a
visitor immediately afterwards walked in and made it unnecessary.
Mr. Knightley, a sensible man about seven or eight-and-thirty, was not
only a very old and intimate friend of the family, but particularly connected
with it, as the elder brother of Isabella's husband. He lived about a mile from
Highbury, was a frequent visitor, and always welcome, and at this time more
welcome than usual, as coming directly from their mutual connexions in London.
He had returned to a late dinner, after some days' absence, and now walked up
to Hartfield to say that all were well in Brunswick Square. It was a happy
circumstance, and animated Mr. Woodhouse for some time. Mr. Knightley had a
cheerful manner, which always did him good; and his many inquiries after
"poor Isabella" and her children were answered most satisfactorily.
When this was over, Mr. Woodhouse gratefully observed, "It is very kind of
you, Mr. Knightley, to come out at this late hour to call upon us. I am afraid
you must have had a shocking walk."
"Not at all, sir. It is a beautiful moonlight night; and so mild
that I must draw back from your great fire."
"But you must have found it very damp and dirty. I wish you may not
catch cold."
"Dirty, sir! Look at my shoes. Not a spot on them."
"Well! That is quite surprising, for we have had a vast deal of
rain here. It rained terribly hard for half an hour while we were at breakfast.
I wanted them to put off the wedding."
"By the bye—I have not
wished you joy. Being pretty well aware of what sort of joy you must both be
feeling, I have been in no hurry with my congratulations; but I hope it all
went off tolerably well. How did you all behave? Who cried most?"
"Ah! Poor Miss Taylor! 'Tis a sad business."
"Poor Mr. and Miss Woodhouse, if you please; but I cannot possibly
say 'poor Miss Taylor.' I have a great regard for you and Emma; but when it
comes to the question of dependence or independence!—At any rate, it must be
better to have only one to please than two."
"Especially when one of those two is such a fanciful, troublesome creature!"
said Emma playfully. "That is what you have in your head, I know—and what
you would certainly say if my father were not by."
"I believe it is very true, my dear, indeed," said Mr.
Woodhouse, with a sigh. "I am afraid I am sometimes very fanciful and
troublesome."
"My dearest papa! You do not think I could mean you, or
suppose Mr. Knightley to mean you. What a horrible idea! Oh no! I
meant only myself. Mr. Knightley loves to find fault with me, you know—in a
joke—it is all a joke. We always say what we like to one another."
Mr. Knightley, in fact, was one of the few people who could see faults
in Emma Woodhouse, and the only one who ever told her of them: and though this
was not particularly agreeable to Emma herself, she knew it would be so much
less so to her father, that she would not have him really suspect such a
circumstance as her not being thought perfect by every body.
"Emma knows I never flatter her," said Mr. Knightley,
"but I meant no reflection on any body. Miss Taylor has been used to have
two persons to please; she will now have but one. The chances are that she must
be a gainer."
"Well," said Emma, willing to let it pass—"you want to
hear about the wedding; and I shall be happy to tell you, for we all behaved
charmingly. Every body was punctual, every body in their best looks: not a
tear, and hardly a long face to be seen. Oh no; we all felt that we were going
to be only half a mile apart, and were sure of meeting every day." (Ingles más fácil,
con uso de sinónimos y vocabulario comprensible)
Vocabulario
By the bye fanciful
Ideas principales
Mr. Knightley visited Emma and her father. He was an old friend of the
family and entertained Mr. Woodhouse. He was the only one who criticized Emma.
Nombres
Emma Woodhouse Mr. Knightley
Miss Taylor
Mr. Weston Isabella
Post para
mañana: Emma, the Match-maker
Post de
ayer: Emma, Cheering Pa
No hay comentarios:
Publicar un comentario
Deja aquí tus mensajes, comentarios o críticas. Serán bienvenidos