washington square. part 2.pdf

8/11/2019 Washington Square. Part 2.pdf

1/7

because men are afraid o f her. She is large and dresses r i ch ly . They

think

she is older than they are. Catherine w i l l be the right

wife

for an older man.

Is M r Townsend honest?

Lav i n i a

thinks he

is.

A n d he s very handsome.

Whatmoney does he have?

I

don t know. He lives with his sister.

Perhaps I ll

visit

Mrs Montgomery

Chapter Secrets

To D r Sloper, the thing was a game. He slept

w e l l ,

he ate

we l l .

This young man is trying to catch Catherine. I ll watch and

wait,

he thought. He did not think his daughter was in danger.

Morris

Townsend was not

r i c h ,

but that was not important. The

doctor did not want Catherine to marry a r i c h man. Two people

can

l ive on her money. She can marry a man with no money. But

he must be honest and strong and have a good school ing,

thought the doctor.

Th e

next time M r Townsend visits the house, said the doctor

to Mr s Penniman, ask hi m to dinner.

The

dinner happened a week later.

Eight

people sat down to

eat. The doctor watched Morris carefully. The women left the

room

after dinner, and then the doctor asked

Morris

some

questions. Dr Sloper pushed the bottle of Madeira over to

Mo r r i s . Morris l i k ed the doctor s Madeira. He thought a lot of

bottles of Madeirawas a good thing for a wife s father to have.

The

doctor saw that this was not an ordinary young man. He s

clever, he thought. He has a very good head whe n he wants to

use it. An d he s very handsome and he dresses

w e l l .

But I don t

l i k e him. The doctor listened

politely

to his young friend talk

about countries round the world. He talks

w e l l

and after a

10


2/7

bottle

o f Madeira

But

does

he always

te l l

the tr uth?'

After

dinner,

Morris

went and spoke to Catherine. She stood

by the fire in her red dress.'H e doesn't

l i ke

me,' said the young

man.

' Y o u

must

tell

him he's wrong.'

'I never

tell

him he's wrong. I won't talk aboutyou.'

Morris

Townsend's face was angry, but Ca the ri ne d id not see

it.A n d

then he smiled again.

'Then / must try to get his good opinion.'

He spoke to Mr s Pennim an later in the evening. 'H e thinks

I'm all wrong,' he said.

'That 's not i mportant, ' she said. She gave hi m a sugary smile.

She thought that she understood e verything.

' A h ,

you say the ri ght thi ng ' said

M o r r i s .

Mrs Penniman was

proud that she always said the right thing.

The next day, the d octor saw his sister, Mrs

A l m o n d .

' A n d

what do you thin k of hi m? ' she asked.

' L av i n i a

tells me

Catherine loves him.'

'She must stop

loving

hi m. He's not a good ma n. He's vulgar.

After

thirty

years

as a

student o f

people, I kno w what people are.

M y

profession

teaches

me to understand people i n an evening.'

' W e l l ,perhaps

you're right. But the thin g is for Cather ine to

see it.'

' I ' l l

give her some glasses.'

Morris visited

Washing ton Square often.Ayoung man in

N ewYork

with no profession has a lot o f time. His visits were the most

important thing in Catherine's

life.

Each time

Morris

left the house

she thought only of his next

visit.

Catherine did not

tell

her father

about

these

visits. He di d not ask: he wanted her to decide

that

Morris

was no good.

Lav i n i a

loved

secrets

and did not say anything.

'What is happening in this house?' he asked his sister politely a

few

weeks later.

12

"Happening",Austin?'Mr s Penniman cri ed.' Why, nothing.'

' L av i n i a ,

you're not beinghonest wit h me,' he said. M r

Morri s

Townsend is coming to my house four times every week, and

nobody tells me. Does the young man ask you to say nothing, or

is

it Catherine?'

'Catherine doesn't

te l l

me anything,' said Mr s Penniman. 'I

f i nd

M r Townsend very interesting. But

that's

a ll .

He tells me a lot

about his

life

and his bad luck.'

' A h

His bad luck

Tel l

me aboutit.'

'It's a lon g story. In his earlier

life

he was bad. He says so. But

he paid for it.'

' A n d

now he has no money'

' A n d

he has nobody in the

world.'

'H e lost his friends, then,

because

of his bad

l i fe?'

' N o ,

he had bad friends.'

'H e has good friends, too - his sister and her children.'

'The children are young and the sister is not nice.'

'Does he say bad things about her to you? But he lives with

her and

does

nothing. She pays for him.'

'He's looking for a profession. He looks every day'

'He's looki ng for ithere.Th e profession o f husband to a weak

woman with thirty thousand dollars '

Every Sunday evening, the family at Washington Square went to

M rsAlmond's.

The

following

Sunday,

Morris

Townsend was also at

M rs

Almond' s. He sat next to Ca theri ne and talked only to her.

Catherine was not happy and easy with

Morris because

her father

was in the room. Her father was sorry for her. Perhaps he was wrong

about

M o r r i s .

Perhaps

Morris

washonest and wanted to marry his

daughterfor

love.

The doctor d ecided to give the young man time.

Later, he spoke to

M o r r i s .

'I

hear

you're looking for a

job,'

he said.

'Ye s ,

I am looking forhonest,quiet work. Something to bring

13


3/7

Catherine was not

happy

and

easywith

Morris

because

her

ather

was

in the room

me an honest dollar . I have onlymy good right arm.

Y e s ,

your good right arm, said the doctor, but you have a

clever head, too. Sometimes I hear about openings. W i l l you

think

about leaving N e w

Y o r k

going away?

N o ,

I m afraid not. I must make my l i f e here. My sister ishere

and I am everything to her. Her husband is dead and I must help

with her five

children.

I give them lessons.

That s good. But it s not a profession.

It won t bri ng me a lot of money

Money is not the most important thing, said the doctor.

Later that

evening, Morris spoke to Catherine again. Can we

meet tomorrow? I have something to say to you. No t in your

house in the square. I cannot come into your house

again.

Y o u r

father laughed at me because I have no money

Laughed at you? O h no, you mistake him. He s a good man.

Y o u

must not be too proud, she said.

I l l

be proud only of

y o u ,

he said.

Catherine went quite red. No w you re laughing at me, she

said.

Y o u

know I m not pretty or clever.

Morris

made a sound; it was

difficult

to understand.

Catherine understood from it that he loved her.

Come

t o the house, she said. I m not afraid of

that.

T h e next day

Morris

came to the house. He

told

Catherine

that

he loved her. She sat down suddenly. She said he must go she

wanted t ime to think . A picture o f a fight with her father came

into her head. She was afraid.

Before

Morris left, she said, We must speak to my father. I ll

do it tonight; you must do it tomorrow.

Y o u r father w i l l t e l l y ou that I want your money

Then

I ll say

that

he mistakes you, said Catherine.

Other men are interested only i n money, you are not.

15


4/7

Catherine

stood outsidethedoorofherfather s roomfor nearlyhalf anhour.

Chapter

For

Love

or

Money?

Catherine heard her father come home that evening. She stood

outside the door of his room for nearly half an hour. Th en she

went in . He sat in his chair by the

fire,

with a cigar in his hand,

and read the

newspaper.

I have something to say to you, she began, very quietly. She

sat dow n. I m going to marry

Morris

Townsend. The doctor

looke d at her. W he n did he ask you?

This afternoon four hours ago, she answered.

Usually

the man asks the girl s father. Is he afraid to ask me?

You removing very fast.

He says he loves me. A n d I l ike him very much.

Bu t

you met onl y a few weeks ago.

I l iked

him from the beginning.

T know that you re no t a little g i r l now, but a woman. But I

dont l i k e Morris

Townsend. I m sorry

that

you d idn t ask me

first.

I

was too easy with you.

T

was afraid of your opi nio n. But ,

father,

you

don t

know

him,

she said.

Youdon t k now hi m. He only shows you

half

the man.

Y o u

think he wants my money

Wh y

do I thin k he s the wro ng man? I ll

t e l l

you. And he

smoked his cigar for a minute. I think that your money is more

important to hi m than is right.

Perhaps

a clever young man

w i l l

fall i n love wi th you and not be interested in your dollars.You re

an honest,

loving g i r l .

But what do we know about this clever

young man? We know that he lost his money

because

he

l i v e d

a

bad

l i fe .

Now , he s lo ok in g for more money to lose and he has his

eye on your money

That s not the only thing we k now about him, father. He

wants to do somet hing very much. He s honest and he s good .

A n d he lost very little money

17


5/7

'T he n he was not careful wit h it,' said the doctor . He got up

with a laugh. Catherine stood up. He put his arm roun d her. 'I'm

sorry for you. I'll see M r Townsend tomorrow.'

' Y e s ,

Dr Sloper,' said

Morris

the next afternoon. 'We arrived

quickly

at an understanding. Bu t then I was interested in

M i s s

Sloper the first time I saw her.'

'Were you interested in her before you saw her?'

'I knew she was a beautiful

gir l . '

' I ' m

her father and I love her very much. I'm her father and I

know that

she is not "a beautiful

g i r l .

I told Cath erine yesterday

that I do not

l i k e

your plans.'

' I ' m

very sorry,' answered

M o r r i s .

He looked at the floor.

'I don't want my daughter to marry a man wit h no money

and no profession. M ydaughter is a weak young woman and

w i l l

be quite

r i c h

when I die.'

' I ' m

not interested in her money.Youhavemy word.'

T

want more than your word.'

'What can I do to get your good opinion?'

'Nothing.

I do not want to give you my good opinion.'

' B u t

I love Catherine. I' m going to work hard. My old

life

is

behind me. Wit hou t me she won't be happy'

'I want you to break with her now,' said the doctor. 'For six

months

she

w i l l perhaps

not

l i k e

me. I can wait.

S h e ' l l

see

that

a

life

wi th you can never be happy.'

' A h , sir,you are not polite 'Morris cried angrily.

' Y o u

push me too hard, M r Townsend ,' the docto r answered.

'PerhapsCatherine

w i l l

not want to break our understand ing.

She won't forget me easily. I

have

nothing more to say'

Morris

left the room.

18

But I love Catherine. I m going towork hard.My old life isbehind

me.Withoutme shewon t be

happy.


6/7

D r Sloper decided to

visit Morris

Townsend's sister, Mrs

Montgomery.She

l i ve d

in a pretty little red house with a pretty

garden. She was a small woman with blue eyes and an honest

face.

At the moment her face was a

little

red. She did not usually

have

visits

fromimportant society people.

D r

Sloper began. Y o u r brother wants to marry my daughter. I

want to learn about

him.Te l l

me about your brother.'

I

f ind

talking about my brother

difficult,'

she said.

W i t h

a husband I don't l i ke ,Catherine w i l l get nothing from

me when I die. She has ten thousand from her mother and

nothing

more.'

'Does

Morrisknow this?' she asked.

I l l

be happy to tellhim.'

Y o u say you don't

l ike Morris.Why?'

'He's

a good man to talk to at a dinner. But I don't want him

to be my daughter's husband. I think he's more interested in

MorrisTownsend than in CatherineSloper.Tell me I'm wrong.'

N o ,you are notwrong.But we are all interested i n ourlives,I

think,'said Mr sMontgomery.

A n d

he's handsome.'

'Some

young men do as little as they can,' said the doctor.

'They l ive on the love o f other people. An d ninety-n ine times

out of a hundred, those other people are women.

Y o u ,

my sister,

L a v i n i a ,

and Catherine are allworking to make an easy

l ife

for

M o r r i s .

M r s

Montgomery's eyes were suddenly wet. She moved her

headproudly.'I don't know how you know this ' she cried.

N o w , said the doctor.'Answerthis: Do you give your brother

money?'She answered yes.

'Do

you have much money?' She answered no.

'Does

your brother know this?' She answered yes.

T hear thatyour brother

teaches

your children.'

Her eyes were suddenly big and round. 'Oh , oh yes,' she said

quickly,'he teachesthem Spanish.'

20

Now,

said the

doctor.

Answer

this:

Do you

give yourbrothermoney

She answered yes.


7/7

The doctor laughed at this answer. 'Spanish hat

w i l l

help

them N o w I know the answer to my question.Your brother lives

on

you.' Mr s Mon tg ome ry began to cry. 'I kn ow he's a clever

man. But he's not the right man for my Catherine.

Y o u

must

meet

her.Then

y o u l l

understand me.'

Y es ,

she answered. 'Please brin g your daughter to

meet

me.'

A n d

then suddenl y,'He must not marry her.'

The doctor went happily away

with these

words in his

ears.

Chapter 5 Mrs

Penniman s

Plan

Catherine did not speak about

Morris

to her father.

After

some days, he said to her, 'I 'm

lucky

to have a good

daughter.'

I m

tryi ng to be good,' she answered.

Catherine did not see

Morris

at this time, but she wrote to

h i m .

A long letter of

five

pages.

Morris

thought it was

long.

She

asked him not to

visit

for a time.

Morris

wrote back. He talked about his meeting

with

Dr

Sloper.

Y o u r

father was very angry' he wrote. 'I was very polite.

Y o u

must be strong.You must fight.'

Catherine did not

l i k e

to think of fighting her father. But she

d id

not

l i k e

to think oflosingher lover. She tried to think of an

answer to make everybody happy. She decided to be quiet and to

wait.

'Good

fathers are always very careful about the ir daughters'

husbands,' she thought.

M rs Penni man did not help Cathe rine mu ch. She loved this

little

story and her place in it. She wanted Catherine to run away

with Morris

and marr y hi m. She carried a picture in her head:

two lovers

with

Mrs Penniman

marrying in a small church in

a

New

Y o r k

back street;

l i v i n g

in a dark flat

with

no money;

waiting

for visits from Mrs Penniman, their only friend. She

22

wanted to put this picture before

M o r r i s.

She wrote to him

daily

about Washington Square. She asked him to

meet

her in a small

restaurant

on Seventh

Avenue. Whe n Morris

arrived,

half

an hour

late, they sat

together

in the darkest corner at the back of the

place. Thi s was the happiest

half

an hour of

M rs

Penniman's

l i fe .

Morris

was not happy. He listened to her but he did not

l i k e

her.

H e

was happy to use her at the beg inn ing , to get a foot in

Washington Square. But he did not want her now: she always said

the wrong thing. He was

c o l d

but polite. Mrs Penniman

told

Morris

her plan.

R u n

away

with

Catherine?' cried

M o r r i s .

Y es ,

said Mrs Penniman, now afraid for her plan.

T e l l

Catherine's father about it on ly after you marry.

Y o u

can show

h i m that

you're not interested i n the money.

A n d

then

y o u ll

get

hi s

good opinion.A nd

there's

always the ten thousand from her

mother. He cannot cut

that

off.'

O h ,

don't speak of

that,'

he said. 'I 'm afraid o f coming

between Catherine and her money'

B e

afraid of nothi ng; then everyth ing

w i l l

go

w e l l .

M rs

Pennima n paid for her cup of tea and they went out

together into the dark street.

Morris

walked

with

Mrs Penniman

back to Washington Square. She went i n. He loo ked up at the

house. He thought it was a very nice house.

When

Mrs Penniman

told

Catherine of her meeting

with

M o r r i s,

Catherine was angry for the first time in her l i fe .

I

don't thi nk it was right, ' she said.

M rs

Penni man began to read the evening newspaper.

After

a

long wait, Cather ine spoke.'Was he sad?'

H e

was dark under the eyes.Very different from whe n I first

saw him. But very handsome.'A long wait again.

W h y

are you always

c o l d

and quiet, Catherine?'

23

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