-
Главная
-
- Книги
-
- Авторы
-
- Уильям Сомерсет Моэм
-
- Луна и грош
-
- Стр. 152/193
Для того чтобы воспользоваться озвучкой предложений, необходимо
Войти или зарегистрироваться
Озвучка предложений доступна при наличии PRO-доступа
Купить PRO-доступ
I
did
not
altogether
believe
my
eyes
.
The
days
that
had
passed
since
I
left
Wellington
seemed
extraordinary
and
unusual
.
Wellington
is
trim
and
neat
and
English
;
it
reminds
you
of
a
seaport
town
on
the
South
Coast
.
And
for
three
days
afterwards
the
sea
was
stormy
.
Gray
clouds
chased
one
another
across
the
sky
.
Then
the
wind
dropped
,
and
the
sea
was
calm
and
blue
.
The
Pacific
is
more
desolate
than
other
seas
;
its
spaces
seem
more
vast
,
and
the
most
ordinary
journey
upon
it
has
somehow
the
feeling
of
an
adventure
.
The
air
you
breathe
is
an
elixir
which
prepares
you
for
the
unexpected
.
Nor
is
it
vouchsafed
to
man
in
the
flesh
to
know
aught
that
more
nearly
suggests
the
approach
to
the
golden
realms
of
fancy
than
the
approach
to
Tahiti
.
Murea
,
the
sister
isle
,
comes
into
view
in
rocky
splendour
,
rising
from
the
desert
sea
mysteriously
,
like
the
unsubstantial
fabric
of
a
magic
wand
.
With
its
jagged
outline
it
is
like
a
Monseratt
of
the
Pacific
,
and
you
may
imagine
that
there
Polynesian
knights
guard
with
strange
rites
mysteries
unholy
for
men
to
know
.
The
beauty
of
the
island
is
unveiled
as
diminishing
distance
shows
you
in
distincter
shape
its
lovely
peaks
,
but
it
keeps
its
secret
as
you
sail
by
,
and
,
darkly
inviolable
,
seems
to
fold
itself
together
in
a
stony
,
inaccessible
grimness
.
It
would
not
surprise
you
if
,
as
you
came
near
seeking
for
an
opening
in
the
reef
,
it
vanished
suddenly
from
your
view
,
and
nothing
met
your
gaze
but
the
blue
loneliness
of
the
Pacific
.
Tahiti
is
a
lofty
green
island
,
with
deep
folds
of
a
darker
green
,
in
which
you
divine
silent
valleys
;
there
is
mystery
in
their
sombre
depths
,
down
which
murmur
and
plash
cool
streams
,
and
you
feel
that
in
those
umbrageous
places
life
from
immemorial
times
has
been
led
according
to
immemorial
ways
.
Even
here
is
something
sad
and
terrible
.
But
the
impression
is
fleeting
,
and
serves
only
to
give
a
greater
acuteness
to
the
enjoyment
of
the
moment
.
It
is
like
the
sadness
which
you
may
see
in
the
jester
’
s
eyes
when
a
merry
company
is
laughing
at
his
sallies
;
his
lips
smile
and
his
jokes
are
gayer
because
in
the
communion
of
laughter
he
finds
himself
more
intolerably
alone
.
For
Tahiti
is
smiling
and
friendly
;
it
is
like
a
lovely
woman
graciously
prodigal
of
her
charm
and
beauty
;
and
nothing
can
be
more
conciliatory
than
the
entrance
into
the
harbour
at
Papeete
.
The
schooners
moored
to
the
quay
are
trim
and
neat
,
the
little
town
along
the
bay
is
white
and
urbane
,
and
the
flamboyants
,
scarlet
against
the
blue
sky
,
flaunt
their
colour
like
a
cry
of
passion
.
They
are
sensual
with
an
unashamed
violence
that
leaves
you
breathless
And
the
crowd
that
throngs
the
wharf
as
the
steamer
draws
alongside
is
gay
and
debonair
;
it
is
a
noisy
,
cheerful
,
gesticulating
crowd
.
It
is
a
sea
of
brown
faces
.
You
have
an
impression
of
coloured
movement
against
the
flaming
blue
of
the
sky
.
Everything
is
done
with
a
great
deal
of
bustle
,
the
unloading
of
the
baggage
,
the
examination
of
the
customs
;
and
everyone
seems
to
smile
at
you
.
It
is
very
hot
.
The
colour
dazzles
you
.
HAD
not
been
in
Tahiti
long
before
I
met
Captain
Nichols
.
He
came
in
one
morning
when
I
was
having
breakfast
on
the
terrace
of
the
hotel
and
introduced
himself
.
He
had
heard
that
I
was
interested
in
Charles
Strickland
,
and
announced
that
he
was
come
to
have
a
talk
about
him
.
They
are
as
fond
of
gossip
in
Tahiti
as
in
an
English
village
,
and
one
or
two
enquiries
I
had
made
for
pictures
by
Strickland
had
been
quickly
spread
.
I
asked
the
stranger
if
he
had
breakfasted
.
"
Yes
;
I
have
my
coffee
early
,
"
he
answered
,
"
but
I
don
’
t
mind
having
a
drop
of
whisky
.
"
I
called
the
Chinese
boy
.
"
You
don
’
t
think
it
’
s
too
early
?
"
said
the
Captain
.
"
You
and
your
liver
must
decide
that
between
you
,
"
I
replied
.
"
I
’
m
practically
a
teetotaller
,
"
he
said
,
as
he
poured
himself
out
a
good
half
-
tumbler
of
Canadian
Club
.
