Bhapter1
　　Under certain circumstances there are few hours in life more agreeable than the hour dedicated to the ceremony known as afternoon tea. There are circumstances in which， whether you partake of the tea or not--some people of course never do-the situation is in itself delightful. Those that I have in mind in beginning to unfold this simple history offered an admirable setting to an innocent pastime. The implements of the little feast had been disposed upon the lawn of an old English country-house， in what I should call the perfect middle of a splendid summer afternoon. he shadows on the perfect lawn were straight and angular； they were the shadows of an old man sitting in a deep wickerchair near the low table on which the tea had been served， and of two younger men strolling to and fro， in desultory talk， in front of him. One of them， from time to time， as he passed， looked with a certain attention at the elder man， who，unconscious of observation， rested his eyes upon the rich red front of his dwelling.
　　The house stood upon a low hill， above the river--the river being the Thames， at  some forty miles from London. The house had a name and a history； the old gentleman  taking his tea would have been delighted to tell you these things： how it had been built  under Edward the Sixth， had offered a night‘s hospitality to the great Elizabeth， had  been a good deal bruised and defaced in Cromwell’s wars， and then， under the
　　Restoration， repaired and much enlarged； and how， finally， after having been  remodelled and disfigured in the eighteenth century， it had passed into the careful  keeping of a shrewd American banker.
　　The old gentleman at the tea-table， who had come from America thirty years  before， had brought with him， at the top of his baggage， his American physiognomy； and he had not only brought it with him， but he had kept it in the best order. He had a  narrow， clean-shaven face， with evenly distributed features， and an expression of placid acuteness. It seemed to tell that he had been successful in life， but it seemed to tell
　　also that his success had not been exclusive and invidious， but had had much of the  inoffensiveness of failure. A beautiful collie dog lay upon the grass near his chair，  watching the master‘s face almost as tenderly as the master contemplated the still  more magisterial physiognomy of the house； and a little bristling， bustling terrier  bestowed a desultory attendance upon the other gentlemen.
　　One of these was a remarkably well-made man of five-and-thirty， with a face as  English as that of the old gentleman I have just sketched was something else； a  noticeably handsome face， fresh-coloured， fair， and frank， with firm， straight features， a  lively grey eye， and the rich adornment of a chestnut beard.
　　……

　　第一章
　　在某些情況下，履行&"下午茶&"禮儀的那個小時是最令人心曠神怡的時光，生活中能夠與之媲美的時刻為數(shù)極少。有些時候，不論你喝不喝茶——有些人當(dāng)然是從來不喝的——這種場合本身便是令人愉悅的。在我為這個簡單的故事揭開第一頁的時候，浮現(xiàn)在我心頭的那些情景，為一種無傷大雅的休閑活動提供了一幅絕妙的背景。在英國的一幢古老鄉(xiāng)間別墅門前，一場小型茶會所需的器具陳設(shè)在草坪上；時值盛夏，陽光絢麗的下午剛好過去一半，我認(rèn)為這是最為美妙的時刻。美麗的草坪上橫臥著幾條筆直而瘦削的黑影。其中一條屬于一位老人，他坐在一張扶手很高的柳條椅上，旁邊是矮小的茶幾；還有兩條屬于兩位年輕人，他們正在老人面前來回踱步，偶爾閑談幾句。其中一人每當(dāng)在老人身旁走過，總要凝神瞧他一眼，但老人沒有發(fā)覺別人在注視他，目光仍然停留在他的住宅正面的那堵華麗的紅墻上。
　　這幢房子矗立在一個小山崗上，俯瞰下面的河流——那就是泰晤士河，距離倫敦大約四十英里。這是一幢有名目、有來歷的房子。那位正在用茶的老先生會興致勃勃地告訴你：這幢房子建于愛德華六世時期；偉大的伊麗莎白女王曾在這里住過一夜；在克倫威爾戰(zhàn)爭中，它多處破毀，滿目瘡痍，直到王政復(fù)辟時期才被翻修和擴(kuò)建：到了十八世紀(jì)，它又被改建，變得十分丑陋；最后，它落入一位精明的美國銀行家之手，并得到他的精心保護(hù)。
　　坐在茶桌邊的年邁紳士是三十年前從美國來的。除了自己的行李以外，他還帶來了一副美國人的相貌；他不僅把它帶來了，還把它保存得好好的。他生得五官端正，狹長的臉上刮得干干凈凈，露出一種安詳而精明的神情。這張臉龐似乎在告訴人們，他的一生是成功的，但似乎也表示，他的成功并不是一帆風(fēng)順、令人妒忌的，而是伴隨著很多次無礙大局的失敗。一只漂亮的柯利狗躺在他座椅旁邊的草坪上，端詳著主人的臉龐，它的目光跟主人凝望那幢外表愈發(fā)威嚴(yán)的住宅的目光同樣溫柔；還有一只長毛小獵狗，不時漫不經(jīng)心地圍繞著另外兩位紳士跑來跑去。
　　他們中的一人年約三十五歲，風(fēng)度翩翩，長著一張英國式的臉龐，與我剛才描繪的那位老先生的臉龐正好形成鮮明對照；這是一張非常英俊的臉龐，清新秀美，神態(tài)坦誡，臉上的線條筆挺有力，灰色的眼睛充滿生氣，下巴上綴有一簇濃密的栗色胡須。
　　……