Some people, find great difficulty in saying good-bye when making a phone call or spending the evening with someone. As the moment draws near to leaving2 they rise and may suddenly say, “Well, I think I...” Then the host says, “Oh, must you go now? Surely it's early yet!” and a pitiful struggle follows3. This struggle happens because Western manners demand that the host ask the guest not to leave. It is up to4 the guest to be strong in character and politely say something like, “No, I really can't stay” or “Sorry, I must go” and leave.
　　I think the saddest case of this kind of thing that I ever knew was that of my poor friend Melpomenus Jones5, a clergyman6 —such a dear young man and only twenty-three! He simply couldn't get away from7 people. He was too shy to tell a lie, and could never be rude. Now it happened that he went to call on some friends of his on the very first afternoon of his summer vacation. He talked a while, drank two cups of tea, then prepared himself to leave8 and said suddenly, “Well, I think I...”
　　But the lady of the house said, “Oh, no! Mr Jones, can't you really stay a little longer?”
　　Jones was always truthful. “Oh, yes,” he said, “of course, I—ah—can stay.”
　　“Then please don't go.”
　　He stayed. He drank eleven cups of tea. Night was falling. He rose again.
　　“Well now,” he said shyly, “I think I really...”
　　“You must go?” said the lady politely. “I thought perhaps you could have stayed for dinner...”
　　“Oh well so I could, you know,” Jones said, “if...”
　　“Then please stay. I'm sure my husband will be pleased.”
　　“All right,” he said, “I'll stay,” and he sank back into his chair, full of tea and unhappy9.
　　Papa came home. They had dinner. All through the meal Jones sat planning to leave at eight-thirty. All the family wondered whether Mr Jones was stupid and rude, or only stupid.
　　After dinner mama showed him some photographs. She showed him several hundreds of them and an interesting photo of papa's uncle's friend in a uniform10.
　　At eight-thirty Jones had examined seventy-one photographs. There were about sixty-nine more that he hadn't. Jones rose.“I must say good night now,” he begged.
　　“Say good night!” they said, “Why it's only half past eight! Have you anything to do?”
　　“Nothing,” he replied honestly, but very unhappily.
　　Just then the favorite child of the family, such a dear little boy, had hidden Mr Jones's hat; so papa said that he must stay, and invited him to a pipe and a talk11. Papa had the pipe and gave Jones the talk, and still he stayed. Every moment he meant to take his leave, but couldn't. Then papa began to get very tired of Jones and finally said, with irony, that Jones had better stay all night, they could make up a bed for him12. Jones misunderstood his meaning and thanked him with tears in his eyes, and papa put Jones to bed in the spare room and wished bad things upon him for not leaving13.
　　After breakfast next day, papa went off14 to his work in the city, and left Jones playing with the baby, broken-hearted. His strength of character to take leave had gone. He was meaning to leave15 all day, but he simply couldn't. When papa came home in the evening he was surprised and angry to find Jones still there. He thought to get rid of him with a joke, and said he thought he'd have to charge him for staying, and laughed16! The unhappy young man stared wildly for a moment, then shook papa's hand, paid him a month's rent in advance, and broke down and cried like a child17.
　　In the days that followed he was moody18 and no one would go near him. He lived, of course, all the time in the lounge room19, and the lack of air and exercise began to affect his health. He passed his time in drinking tea and looking at the photographs. He would stand for hours gazing at the photograph of papa's uncle's friend in his uniform—talking to it.
　　At last his health failed him20. The illness that followed was terrible. Not only was he ill, but crazy as well. At times he would sit up in his bed and yell, “Well, I think I...”and then fall back upon21 the pillow with a horrible laugh. Then, again, he would jump up and cry, “Another cup of tea and more photographs! More photographs!”
　　After a month of much pain, on the last day of his vacation, he died. They say that when the last moment came, before death, he sat up in bed with a beautiful smile on his face, and said, “Well—the angels are calling me; I'm afraid I really must go now. Good afternoon.”

1. awful   adj． 可怕的，糟糕的
2． draw near to leaving  到了该告辞的时候 
draw near 接近
3． 此句意为：（是走是留）接下来开始苦苦挣扎。
4． be up to sb．  取决于某人
5． 此句意为：据我所知，最悲惨的例子是我的一个可怜的朋友，波墨涅斯·琼斯。
6． clergyman   n． 牧师，教士
7． get away from  摆脱
8． prepare sb． to do sth． （某人）准备…
9． 此句意为：他跌回到椅子上，肚里灌满了茶水，一副闷闷不乐的样子。
10． uniform   n． 制服
11． 此句意为：…邀请他抽袋烟，再聊上一聊。
12． 此句意为：男主人开始对琼斯十分厌烦，终于冷嘲热讽地说，琼斯最好在这里留宿，他们可以为他铺个床。
13． 此句意为：…诅咒他还不告辞。

14． go off  离开
15． mean to do sth． 打算做某事
16． 此句意为：男主人想用玩笑话打发走琼斯，说得向琼斯收房租，然后哈哈一笑。 
charge   v． 收费 
17． 此句意为：郁郁寡欢的年轻人狠狠地瞪了一眼，握了握男主人的手，预付了一个月的租金，然后情不自禁孩子似地大哭起来。
wildly  adv． 野蛮地  
in advance   预先
break down情不自禁哭起来
18． moody adj． 喜怒无常的，忧郁的
19． lounge  room  客厅
20． 此句意为：最后他病倒了。
21． fall back on 求助于；依靠