雙語小說連載:《董貝父子》第五章 Part 2

In the course of these remarks, delivered with great majesty and grandeur, Mr Dombey had truly revealed the secret feelings of his breast. An indescribable distrust of anybody stepping in between himself and his son; a haughty dread of having any rival or partner in the boy's respect and deference; a sharp misgiving, recently acquired, that he was not infallible in his power of bending and binding human wills; as sharp a jealousy of any second check or cross; these were, at that time the master keys of his soul. In all his life, he had never made a friend. His cold and distant nature had neither sought one, nor found one. And now, when that nature concentrated its whole force so strongly on a partial scheme of parental interest and ambition, it seemed as if its icy current, instead of being released by this influence, and running clear and free, had thawed for but an instant to admit its burden, and then frozen with it into one unyielding block.

在這極爲莊嚴、極爲鄭重的談話過程中，董貝先生真實地透露了他心中祕密的感情。他對介入他與他兒子之間的任何人都懷着難以形容的不信任。他傲慢地害怕有任何一個人與他爭奪或與他分享孩子的尊敬與服從；他最近產生出一種深深的憂慮，就是他在改變和約束人們的意志方面並沒有無限的能力；他同樣強烈猜疑的是，他會遭遇到新的挫折與不幸；這些就是在這段時間中支配他心靈的主要思想感情。在他的這一生中，他從沒有結交過一位朋友。他那對人冷淡、與人疏遠的性格既沒有尋求過一位朋友，也沒有找到過一位朋友。現在，當這性格把它的全部力量有力地集中在體現父親的關懷與野心的一部分計劃上的時候，看來它那冰流彷彿並沒有在這種影響下完全解凍，清澈地、自由地奔流，而只是融化了一會兒，以便容納它的重荷，然後連它一起凍結成一個堅硬的大冰塊。

Elevated thus to the godmothership of little Paul, in virtue of her insignificance, Miss Tox was from that hour chosen and appointed to office; and Mr Dombey further signified his pleasure that the ceremony, already long delayed, should take place without further postponement. His sister, who had been far from anticipating so signal a success, withdrew as soon as she could, to communicate it to her best of friends; and Mr Dombey was left alone in his library.

托克斯小姐憑着她低微的身份被這樣提升爲小保羅的教母，從這個時候起就被選定並任命就職；董貝先生還進一步表示了他的願望：這個拖延已久的儀式應該很快舉行，不再推遲。他的妹妹原先沒有指望能取得這樣輝煌的成功，於是趕快離開，把這個消息告訴給她最好的朋友；董貝先生則獨自留在他的圖書室中。

註釋： indescribable adj. 難以形容的；莫名其妙的；不能用語言表達的
例句：
1. The scene was one of indescribable beauty.
那真是無法描繪的綺麗風光。
2. It has an indescribable romantic charm.
它具有一種難以形容的神韻。

He had already laid his hand upon the bellrope to convey his usual summons to Richards, when his eye fell upon a writing-desk, belonging to his deceased wife, which had been taken, among other things, from a cabinet in her chamber. It was not the first time that his eye had lighted on it He carried the key in his pocket; and he brought it to his table and opened it now having previously locked the room door - with a well-accustomed hand.

From beneath a leaf of torn and cancelled scraps of paper, he took one letter that remained entire. Involuntarily holding his breath as he opened this document, and 'bating in the stealthy action something of his arrogant demeanour, he s at down, resting his head upon one hand, and read it through.

He read it slowly and attentively, and with a nice particularity to every syllable. Otherwise than as his great deliberation seemed unnatural, and perhaps the result of an effort equally great, he allowed no sign of emotion to escape him. When he had read it through, he folded and refolded it slowly several times, and tore it carefully into fragments. Checking his hand in the act of throwing these away, he put them in his pocket, as if unwilling to trust them even to the chances of being reunited and deciphered; and instead of ringing, as usual, for little Paul, he sat solitary, all the evening, in his cheerless room.

（翻譯部分不是很全，敬請諒解！）

註釋：attentive adj. 留意的，注意的
例句：
1. He is attentive to his little brother.
他很關心他的小弟弟。
2. You should be attentive to what your parents have said.
你應該注意傾聽父母所說的話。

There was anything but solitude in the nursery; for there, Mrs Chick and Miss Tox were enjoying a social evening, so much to the disgust of Miss Susan Nipper, that that young lady embraced every opportunity of making wry faces behind the door. Her feelings were so much excited on the occasion, that she found it indispensable to afford them this relief, even without having the comfort of any audience or sympathy whatever. As the knight-errants of old relieved their minds by carving their mistress's names in deserts, and wildernesses, and other savage places where there was no probability of there ever being anybody to read them, so did Miss Susan Nipper curl her snub nose into drawers and wardrobes, put away winks of disparagement in cupboards, shed derisive squints into stone pitchers, and contradict and call names out in the passage.

與兒室裏一點也不寂寞，因爲奇剋夫人與托克斯小姐正在那裏親密愉快地一起度過那個晚上；她們使蘇珊•尼珀姑娘感到極爲討厭，因此這姑娘一有機會就在門後撇嘴做怪臉。在這個場合下她的感情是十分激動的，所以她覺得有必要採用這種方法使它們輕鬆一下，即使沒有任何觀衆在場，她得不到任何同情的安慰也罷。就像古代的遊俠騎士把他們情人的名字刻寫在沙漠、曠野和沒有任何人可能讀到它們的其他荒野的地方來安慰心中的懸念一樣，蘇珊•尼珀向櫃子和衣櫥皺皺獅子鼻，向碗櫃輕蔑地眨眨眼睛，向有柄的大石水罐嘲笑地斜眼瞅一瞅，並在走廊裏反駁和謾罵。

The two interlopers, however, blissfully unconscious of the young lady's sentiments, saw little Paul safe through all the stages of undressing, airy exercise, supper and bed; and then sat down to tea before the fire. The two children now lay, through the good offices of Polly, in one room; and it was not until the ladies were established at their tea-table that, happening to look towards the little beds, they thought of Florence.

不過，那兩位侵犯他人權利的人卻很有福氣，對這位姑娘的情緒一無所知；她們看着小保羅被脫掉衣服，到戶外散步，吃晚飯，上牀睡覺，平安順利地經過了所有這些階段，然後在壁爐前面坐下來喝茶。由於波利作出善意努力的結果，兩個孩子現在睡在同一個房間裏；兩位女士坐着喝茶的桌子正巧面對着兩張小牀，所以直到這時候她們纔想起了弗洛倫斯。

'How sound she sleeps!' said Miss Tox.
'Why, you know, my dear, she takes a great deal of exercise in the course of the day,' returned Mrs Chick, 'playing about little Paul so much.'
'She is a curious child,' said Miss Tox.
'My dear,' retorted Mrs Chick, in a low voice: 'Her Mama, all over!'

“她睡得多熟啊！”托克斯小姐說道。
“是呀，您知道，我親愛的，這一整天她搞了那麼多的活動，”奇剋夫人回答道，“一直在小保羅身邊玩耍。”
“她是個奇怪的孩子，”托克斯小姐說道。
“我親愛的，”奇剋夫人低聲回答道，“跟她媽媽一模一樣！”

註釋：retort n. 反駁，頂嘴；曲頸瓶
vt. 反駁，反擊 vi. 反駁，回嘴
例句：
1. He would not annoy her by such a cheap retort.
他並沒有用那種膚淺無聊的話慪她。
2. He made a rude sign by way of retort.
他做出粗魯動作表示反駁。

'In deed!' said Miss Tox. 'Ah dear me!'
A tone of most extraordinary compassion Miss Tox said it in, though she had no distinct idea why, except that it was expected of her.
'Florence will never, never, never be a Dombey,'said Mrs Chick, 'not if she lives to be a thousand years old.'
Miss Tox elevated her eyebrows, and was again full of commiseration.

“真的嗎？”托克斯小姐說道，“哎呀！”
托克斯小姐是用一種非常憐憫的聲調說的，雖然她並不清楚爲什麼要用這樣的聲調，她只知道奇剋夫人期望她這樣說。
“弗洛倫斯永遠、永遠、永遠也不會像董貝家裏的人，”奇剋夫人說道，“即使她活一千歲，也不會。”
托克斯小姐揚起眉毛，再次充滿了憐憫。

'I quite fret and worry myself about her,' said Mrs Chick, with a sigh of modest merit. 'I really don't see what is to become of her when she grows older, or what position she is to take. She don't gain on her Papa in the least. How can one expect she should, when she is so very unlike a Dombey?'

“我爲她感到很焦急，很煩惱，”奇剋夫人端莊、賢惠地嘆了一口氣，說道，“我實在不知道她長大了會變成一個什麼樣的人，或者她將會有什麼樣的地位。她絲毫沒能使她爸爸喜歡她。她這樣不像董貝家裏的人，誰又能指望她能使她爸爸喜歡她呢？”

Miss Tox looked as if she saw no way out of such a cogent argument as that, at all.

托克斯小姐表露出一副神情，彷彿她覺得根本無法反駁這樣令人信服的論斷似的。

'And the child, you see,' said Mrs Chick, in deep confidence, 'has poor dear Fanny's nature. She'll never make an effort in after-life, I'll venture to say. Never! She'll never wind and twine herself about her Papa's heart like - '

“您知道，這孩子的性格跟可憐的範妮一樣，”奇剋夫人滿有信心地說道，“我敢說，她在今後的生活中永遠也不會作出努力。永遠不會！她永遠不會曲曲彎彎，纏繞住她爸爸的心，就像那——”

'Like the ivy?' suggested Miss Tox.
'Like the ivy,' Mrs Chick assented. 'Never! She'll never glide and nestle into the bosom of her Papa's affections like - the - '
'Startled fawn?' suggested Miss Tox.
'Like the startled fawn,' said Mrs Chick. 'Never! Poor Fanny! Yet, how I loved her!'

“就像那常春藤一樣？”托克斯小姐提示道。
“就像那常春藤一樣，”奇剋夫人同意道，“永遠不會！她永遠不會悄悄地藏到她爸爸慈愛的心窩中，安臥在那裏，就像那——”
“就像那受驚的小鹿一樣？”托克斯小姐提示道。
“就像那受驚的小鹿一樣，”奇剋夫人說道，“永遠不會！可憐的範妮！可是，我是多麼愛她啊！”

註釋：cogent adj. 強有力的；使人信服的
例句：
1. The lawyer's cogent arguments convince the jury.
這位律師強有力的爭辯博得陪審團之信服。
2. The result is a cogent explanation of inflation.
結果令人信服地解釋了通貨膨脹問題。

'You must not distress yourself, my dear,' said Miss Tox, in a soothing voice. 'Now really! You have too much feeling.'
'We have all our faults,' said Mrs Chick, weeping and shaking her head. 'I daresay we have. I never was blind to hers. I never said I was. Far from it. Yet how I loved her!'

“您自己可別太傷心了，我親愛的，”托克斯小姐用安慰的聲調說道。“唔，真是這樣的！您太富於感情了！”
“我們人人都有自己的缺點，”奇剋夫人哭泣着，搖着頭，說道，“我敢說，我們人人都有。我決不能看不到她的缺點。我決不能說我沒有看到。遠不是這樣。可是我是多麼愛她啊！”

What a satisfaction it was to Mrs Chick a common place piece of folly enough, compared with whom her sister-in-law had been a very angel of womanly intelligence and gentleness - to patronise and be tender to the memory of that lady: in exact pursuance of her conduct to her in her lifetime: and to thoroughly believe herself, and take herself in, and make herself uncommonly comfortable on the strength of her toleration! What a mighty pleasant virtue toleration should be when we are right, to be so very pleasant when we are wrong, and quite unable to demonstrate how we come to be invested with the privilege of exercising it!

奇剋夫人是一位平庸的、愚蠢的女人；與她相比，她的嫂子倒是一位具有女性智慧與溫柔的天使；當奇剋夫人回憶起那位夫人的時候，她採取了保護的、親切的態度——與她生前時她對待她的態度完全一樣——，並且完全相信她自己，欺騙她自己；由於寬大爲懷而讓她自己感到異常愉快，對她來說，這是多麼使她感到滿意的事啊！當我們是正確的時候，寬容是多麼非凡愉快的美德！當我們是錯誤，而又完全不能證明我們是如何取得行使寬容的權利的時候，寬容也是使人很愉快的呀！

Mrs Chick was yet drying her eyes and shaking her head, when Richards made bold to caution her that Miss Florence was awake and sitting in her bed. She had risen, as the nurse said, and the lashes of her eyes were wet with tears. But no one saw them glistening save Polly. No one else leant over her, and whispered soothing words to her, or was near enough to hear the flutter of her beating heart.

當奇剋夫人還正在擦眼淚、搖着頭的時候，理查茲大膽地提醒她注意，弗洛倫斯小姐醒來了，正坐在牀上。這位奶媽說，她起來了，眼睫毛都被淚水沾溼了。但是除了波利以外，沒有其他任何人看到它們正閃着光。沒有其他任何人向她彎下身去，低聲地對她說些安慰的話，或跟她捱得很近，可以聽到她顫動的心房正在怦怦地跳動。

'Oh! dear nurse!' said the child, looking earnestly up in her face, 'let me lie by my brother!'
'Why, my pet?' said Richards.
'Oh! I think he loves me,' cried the child wildly. 'Let me lie by him. Pray do!'

“啊！親愛的奶媽！”孩子懇切地仰望着她的臉，說道，“讓我躺在弟弟的身旁吧！”
“爲什麼，我的寶貝？”理查茲問道。
“啊！我覺得他愛我，”女孩子放聲大哭起來。“讓我躺在他的身旁吧。求求您！”

註釋：flutter vi. 飄動；鼓翼；煩擾 vt. 拍；使焦急；使飄動
n. 擺動；鼓翼；煩擾
例句：
1. Mother is all of a flutter because of thunder and lightning.
由於電閃雷鳴，媽媽感到十分不安。
2. She had found it well to flutter ahead.
她發覺最好的辦法是曲線前進。