The harlequin, already clad in silver paper out of cigar boxes, was, with difficulty, prevented from smashing the old Victorian lustre chandeliers, that he might cover himself with resplendent crystals. In fact he would certainly have done so, had not Ruby unearthed some old pantomime paste jewels she had worn at a fancy dress party as the Queen of Diamonds. Indeed, her uncle, James Blount, was getting almost out of hand in his excitement; he was like a schoolboy. He put a paper donkey’s head unexpectedly on Father Brown, who bore it patiently, and even found some private manner of moving his ears. He even essayed to put the paper donkey’s tail to the coat-tails of Sir Leopold Fischer. This, however, was frowned down. “Uncle is too absurd,” cried Ruby to Crook, round whose shoulders she had seriously placed a string of sausages. “Why is he so wild?”

      “He is harlequin to your columbine (он Арлекин для вашей Колумбины),” said Crook. “I am only the clown who makes the old jokes (а я только клоун, который повторяет: «делает» старые шутки).”

      “I wish you were the harlequin (жаль, что вы не Арлекин),” she said, and left the string of sausages swinging (сказала она и оставила связку сосисок висеть /у него на шее/; to leave).

      

 “He is harlequin to your columbine,” said Crook. “I am only the clown who makes the old jokes.”

      “I wish you were the harlequin,” she said, and left the string of sausages swinging.

      Father Brown, though he knew every detail done behind the scenes (отец Браун, хотя и знал в подробностях, все что происходило за сценой: «знал каждую деталь, сделанную за сценой»), and had even evoked applause by his transformation of a pillow into a pantomime baby (и даже вызвал аплодисменты за превращение подушки в младенца /для представления/; to evoke – пробуждать; вызывать; pillow – подушка), went round to the front and sat among the audience with all the solemn expectation of a child at his first matinee (обошел /сцену/ кругом и сел среди зрителей с выражением торжественного ожидания, словно ребенок на первом дневном представлении; to the front – вперед; to expect – ждать; ожидать; matinee – утренний или дневной спектакль/представление). The spectators were few, relations, one or two local friends, and the servants (зрителей было мало, родственники, один – двое соседей и слуги; spectator – наблюдатель; очевидец; зритель; relation – отношение; связь; родственник; родственница); Sir Leopold sat in the front seat (сэр Леопольд сел в переднем ряду: «на переднее сиденье»; to sit), his full and still fur-collared figure largely obscuring the view of the little cleric behind him (его полная фигура – к тому же он все еще был в пальто с меховым воротником – почти совсем загородила сцену маленькому священнику позади него; collar – воротник; to obscure – затемнять; загораживать; cleric – духовное лицо); but it has never been settled by artistic authorities whether the cleric lost much (но театральная критика: «артистические власти/инстанции» так и не определили, много ли потерял священник; to settle – урегулировать; решить; принять решение; to lose).

 Father Brown, though he knew every detail done behind the scenes, and had even evoked applause by his transformation of a pillow into a pantomime baby, went round to the front and sat among the audience with all the solemn expectation of a child at his first matinee. The spectators were few, relations, one or two local friends, and the servants; Sir Leopold sat in the front seat, his full and still fur-collared figure largely obscuring the view of the little cleric behind him; but it has never been settled by artistic authorities whether the cleric lost much.

      The pantomime was utterly chaotic, yet not contemptible (пантомима была совершенно хаотичной, но не недостойной = не лишенной достоинств; chaotic – беспорядочный; хаотичный; yet – однако; тем не менее; contemptible – презренный; недостойный); there ran through it a rage of improvisation which came chiefly from Crook the clown (она была пронизана буйством импровизации: «красной нитью в ней /пантомиме/ пробегало вдохновение импровизации», исходившей в основном от клоуна Крука; to run through – проходить красной нитью; rage – ярость; неистовство; вдохновение; воодушевление; to come). Commonly he was a clever man (как правило, он был рассудительным человеком; clever – умный; талантливый; рассудительный), and he was inspired tonight with a wild omniscience, a folly wiser than the world (а сегодня вечером он был вдохновлен безудержным

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