Little Women - Chapter 33

New York, November, ,Dear Marmee and Beth,, ,I'm going to write you a regular volume, for I've got heaps to tell, though I'm not a fine young lady traveling on the continent. When I lost sight of Father's dear old face, I felt a trifle blue, and might have shed a briny ¹ drop or two, if an Irish lady with four small children, all crying more or less, hadn't diverted my mind, for I amused myself by dropping gingerbread nuts over the seat every time they opened their mouths to roar., , ,Mrs. Kirke welcomed me so kindly ³ I felt at home at once, even in that big house full of strangers. She gave me a funny little sky parlor ⁴ - all she had, but there is a stove in it, and a nice table in a sunny window, so I can sit here and write whenever I like. A fine view and a church tower opposite atone ⁵ for the many stairs, and I took a fancy to my den ⁶ on the spot. The nursery, where I am to teach and sew, is a pleasant room next Mrs. Kirke's private parlor, and the two little girls are pretty children, rather spoiled, I fancy, but they took to me after telling them The Seven Bad Pigs, and I've no doubt I shall make a model governess., ,I am to have my meals with the children, if I prefer it to the great table, and for the present I do, for I am bashful, though no one will believe it., ,The briny air gave a foretaste of the nearby sea.咸空气是快近海的前兆 。,The superstitious regard it as a bad omen.迷信的人认为那是一种恶兆
。