will never buy another pipe for my uncle when he takes me to the store. She's not a bad-looker."
"Who?" asked Mr. Copperfield.
"Your wife."
"I look terrible tonight," said Mrs. Copperfield.
"Anyway it does not matter because you are married. You have nothing to worry about."
"She'll be furious with you if you tell her that," said Mr. Copperfield.
"Why will she be furious? That is the most beautiful thing in the whole world, not to have something to worry about."
"That is not what beauty is made of," interposed Mrs. Copperfield. "What has the absence of worry to do with beauty?"
"That has everything to do with what is beautiful in the world. When you wake up in the morning and the first minute you open your eyes and you don't know who you are or what your life has been—that is beautiful. Then when you know who you are and what day in your life it is and you still think you are sailing in the air like a happy bird—that is beautiful. That is, when you don't have any worries. You can't tell me you like to worry."
Mr. Copperfield simpered. After dinner he suddenly felt very tired and he suggested that they go home, but Mrs. Copperfield was much too nervous, so she asked the Spanish girl if she would not consent to spend a little more time in her company. The girl said that she would if Mrs. Copperfield did not mind returning with her to the hotel where she lived.
They said good-by to Mr. Copperfield and started on their way.
The walls of the Hotel de las Palmas were wooden and painted a bright green. There were a good many bird-cages standing in the halls and hanging from the ceilings. Some of them were empty. The girl's room was on the second floor and had brightly painted wooden walls the same as the corridors.
"Those birds sing all day long," said the girl, motioning to Mrs. Copperfield to sit down on the bed beside her. "Sometimes I say to myself: 'Little fools, what are you singing about in your cages?' And then I think: 'Pacifica, you are just as much a fool as those birds. You are also in a cage because you don't have any money. Last night you were laughing for three hours with a German man because he had given you some drinks. And you thought he was stupid.' I laugh in my cage and they sing in their cage."
"Oh well," said Mrs. Copperfield, "there really is no rapport between ourselves and birds."
"You don't think it is true?" asked Pacifica with feeling. "I tell you it is true."
She pulled her dress over her head and stood before Mrs. Copperfield in her underslip.
"Tell me," she said, "What do you think of those beautiful silk kimonos that the Hindu men sell in their shops? If I were with such a rich husband I would tell him to buy me one of those kimonos. You don't know how lucky you are. I would go with him every day to the stores and make him buy me pretty things instead of standing around and crying like a little baby. Men don't like to see women cry. You think they like to see women cry?"
Mrs. Copperfield shrugged her shoulders. "I can't think," she said.
"You're right. They like to see women laugh. Women have got to laugh all night. You watch some pretty girl one time. When she laughs she is ten years older. That is because she does it so much. You are ten years older when you laugh."
"True," said Mrs. Copperfield.
"Don't feel bad," said Pacifica. "I like women very much, I like women sometimes better than men. I like my grandmother and my mother and my sisters. We always had a good time together, the women in my house. I was always the best one. I was the smartest one and the one who did the most work. Now I wish I was back there in my nice house, contented. But I still want too many things, you know. I am lazy but I have a terrible temper too. I like these men that I meet very much. Sometimes they tell me what they will do in their future life when they get off the boat. I always wish for them that it will happen very soon. The damn boats. When they tell me they just want to go around the
"Who?" asked Mr. Copperfield.
"Your wife."
"I look terrible tonight," said Mrs. Copperfield.
"Anyway it does not matter because you are married. You have nothing to worry about."
"She'll be furious with you if you tell her that," said Mr. Copperfield.
"Why will she be furious? That is the most beautiful thing in the whole world, not to have something to worry about."
"That is not what beauty is made of," interposed Mrs. Copperfield. "What has the absence of worry to do with beauty?"
"That has everything to do with what is beautiful in the world. When you wake up in the morning and the first minute you open your eyes and you don't know who you are or what your life has been—that is beautiful. Then when you know who you are and what day in your life it is and you still think you are sailing in the air like a happy bird—that is beautiful. That is, when you don't have any worries. You can't tell me you like to worry."
Mr. Copperfield simpered. After dinner he suddenly felt very tired and he suggested that they go home, but Mrs. Copperfield was much too nervous, so she asked the Spanish girl if she would not consent to spend a little more time in her company. The girl said that she would if Mrs. Copperfield did not mind returning with her to the hotel where she lived.
They said good-by to Mr. Copperfield and started on their way.
The walls of the Hotel de las Palmas were wooden and painted a bright green. There were a good many bird-cages standing in the halls and hanging from the ceilings. Some of them were empty. The girl's room was on the second floor and had brightly painted wooden walls the same as the corridors.
"Those birds sing all day long," said the girl, motioning to Mrs. Copperfield to sit down on the bed beside her. "Sometimes I say to myself: 'Little fools, what are you singing about in your cages?' And then I think: 'Pacifica, you are just as much a fool as those birds. You are also in a cage because you don't have any money. Last night you were laughing for three hours with a German man because he had given you some drinks. And you thought he was stupid.' I laugh in my cage and they sing in their cage."
"Oh well," said Mrs. Copperfield, "there really is no rapport between ourselves and birds."
"You don't think it is true?" asked Pacifica with feeling. "I tell you it is true."
She pulled her dress over her head and stood before Mrs. Copperfield in her underslip.
"Tell me," she said, "What do you think of those beautiful silk kimonos that the Hindu men sell in their shops? If I were with such a rich husband I would tell him to buy me one of those kimonos. You don't know how lucky you are. I would go with him every day to the stores and make him buy me pretty things instead of standing around and crying like a little baby. Men don't like to see women cry. You think they like to see women cry?"
Mrs. Copperfield shrugged her shoulders. "I can't think," she said.
"You're right. They like to see women laugh. Women have got to laugh all night. You watch some pretty girl one time. When she laughs she is ten years older. That is because she does it so much. You are ten years older when you laugh."
"True," said Mrs. Copperfield.
"Don't feel bad," said Pacifica. "I like women very much, I like women sometimes better than men. I like my grandmother and my mother and my sisters. We always had a good time together, the women in my house. I was always the best one. I was the smartest one and the one who did the most work. Now I wish I was back there in my nice house, contented. But I still want too many things, you know. I am lazy but I have a terrible temper too. I like these men that I meet very much. Sometimes they tell me what they will do in their future life when they get off the boat. I always wish for them that it will happen very soon. The damn boats. When they tell me they just want to go around the
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