John Rossiter's Wife
约翰·罗西特的太太
by Charles G. Norris
查尔斯·G·诺里斯
The most fascinating place in the United States is Palm Beach and the most interesting spotin Palm Beach is "Whitney's." The name isn't Whitney's at all, but anyone who has ever been to Palm Beach will know the establishment to which I refer.
美国最迷人的地方是棕榈滩,棕榈滩最有意思的地方是惠特尼饭店。这爿店根本不叫惠特尼,但凡是去过棕榈滩的人,都知道我指的是哪一家店。
Whitney's is a restaurant and a gambling place,and sooner or later everybody who comes to Palm Beach visit Whitney's.
惠特尼是家饭店兼赌场,凡是来棕榈滩的人迟早会去光顾惠特尼。
There is no restaurant or hotel in France, Italy, Germany, or Spain whose food can compare with Whitney's. At Whitney's there are no menus; you order what you wish from an endless variety of special foods, anything from duck soup to bird's tongues - and the surprising fact is that you get what you order. But on your first visit to Whitney's you often pay little attention to what you eat, for very soon, as the room commences to fill, you can hardly believe your eyes. At every table you soon recognize someone who is either famous or notorious.
在法国、意大利、德国或是西班牙,没有一家饭店或宾馆的菜肴能与惠特尼的相比。惠特尼饭店里没有菜单,你从那无穷无尽各种各样的独特菜肴当中点自己想点的菜,从鸭汤到鸟舌,什么都行——令人惊讶的是,你点什么就能吃到什么。可是,初访惠特尼时,你常常很少留意自己吃什么,因为不一会儿当饭店开始坐满时,你几乎难以相信自己的眼睛。在每一张桌子上你马上就会认出某个不是享有盛誉,就是臭名昭著的人。
After lunch this brilliantly dressed group of persons goes down to the gambling room. By two o'clockthis room is well filled, by three it is crowed, and it remains so until the early hours of the morning. It is far more interesting and better conducted than Monte Carlo.Iwas deeply impressed, and soon I welcomed an opportunity to meet Mr. Whitney himself.
午餐后,这群服饰华丽的人走向赌场。到了两点,屋子就很满了,到了3点便相当拥挤了,就这样一直要延续到次日清晨。这儿比蒙特卡罗有趣多了,管理也好得多,给我留下了很深的印象,不久我愉快地接受了一个采访惠特尼先生本人的机会。