7 shorts stories more by O. Henry. Книга для чтения на английском языке

The name was like a name in the story of a great romance. And Madame Beaumont was the kind of lady the Hotel Lotus loved. She was beautiful and her manner was very fine. Everyone wished to serve her |оказать ей услугу|. The other guests believed that as a guest she was perfection.

This perfect guest did not often leave the hotel. In this, she was like the other guests of the Hotel Lotus. To enjoy that hotel, one needed to forget the city. New York might have been |был как будто бы| miles away. At night sometimes one might go out. But during the hot day one |человек, постоялец этого отеля| remained in the cool shade of the Lotus.

Madame was alone in the Hotel Lotus. She was alone as a queen is alone, because of her high position. She rose from bed late in the morning. She was then a sweet, soft person who seemed to shine quietly.

But at dinner she was different. She would wear a beautiful dress. I cannot find words fine enough to tell about it. Always there were red flowers at her shoulder. When the head waiter |главный официант| saw a dress like this, he met it at the door. You thought of Paris when you saw it, and of the theater and of old romances.

A story about Madame Beaumont was told |история рассказывалась| among the guests in the Hotel Lotus. It was said |Поговаривали… Стандартная фраза в английском, когда надо сказать, что что-то обсуждалось, но неважно кем именно| that she was a woman who had traveled |объездила . Had traveled – это время значит, что мир она объездила к моменту, когда заселилась в отель| all over the world. It was said that she knew the most important people everywhere. It was said that in her white hands she held the future of certain |некоторых| nations.

It was no surprise, they said, that such a lady should choose the Hotel Lotus. It was the most desirable and the most restful place in America during the heat of summer.

On the third day of Madame Beaumont’s stay in the hotel, a young man entered as a guest. His clothes were quiet |здесь – скромная| but good. His face was pleasant. His expression was that of a man who had traveled and could understand the world. He said that he would remain three or four days. He asked about the sailing of certain ships |отплытии некоторых кораблей|. He seemed to like this hotel the best of all he had known.

The young man put his name on the list of hotel guests: Harold Farrington. It was a name with a fine sound. And the young man belonged perfectly in the quiet life of the Lotus. In one day he became like all the other guests. Like them he had his table and his waiter. He also had the same fear that the wrong people might suddenly discover this hotel and destroy its peace.

After dinner on the next day, Madame Beaumont dropped something as she passed |когда проходила мимо| Harold Farrington’s table. He picked it up and, following her, returned it. He spoke only a few quiet words as he did this, and she was pleased |ей понравились| by his good manners. She knew that he was a gentleman.

Guests of the Lotus seemed to understand each other very easily. Perhaps it was the result of having discovered this Broadway hotel. Guests felt sure that only especially fine people would enjoy the cool delights of the Lotus. Now, very quickly, a sudden friendship grew between Farrington and Madame Beaumont. They stood and talked for a few moments.

“I have seen too much of the usual summer hotels,” said Madame Beaumont, with a small but sweet smile. “Why go to the mountains or the seashore |морской берег|? We cannot escape noise and dust there. The people who make noise and dust follow us there.”

“Even on the ocean,” said Farrington, sadly, “those same people are all around us. What shall we do |Что же нам следует сделать| when they discover the Lotus?”

“I hope they don’t discover the Lotus this week,” said Madame. “I know only one other place I like as well |так же как и это. В большинстве случаев фраза as well в конце предложения значит «заодно» или «также»|. It is the beautiful home of a prince in the mountains in Europe.”

“The best people,” said Farrington, “are seeking for the quiet places, like this one, where they can escape the crowds |сбежать от толпы|.”

“I promise myself three more days of this delightful rest,” said Madame Beaumont. “The next day my ship sails.”