雙語小說連載:《董貝父子》第三章 Part 4

And she was right. The last time he had seen his slighted child, there had been that in the sad embrace between her and her dying mother, which was at once a revelation and a reproach to him. Let him be absorbed as he would in the Son on whom he built such high hopes, he could not forget that closing scene. He could not forget that he had had no part in it. That, at the bottom of its clear depths of tenderness and truth' lay those two figures clasped in each other's arms, while he stood on the bank above them, looking down a mere spectator - not a sharer with them quite shut out.

她是對的。上次他看到被他冷落的女兒的時候，她和她垂死的母親正悲痛地擁抱着；這對他既是揭露，又是責備。讓他把全部精力都貫注在他寄託着遠大希望的兒子身上吧，可是他還是不能忘記那臨終一幕的情景。他不能忘記，他沒有參加進去。他不能忘記，在親熱與真誠的清澈的河底，躺着那兩個相互擁抱在各自懷中的人兒，而他卻僅僅是個完全被排除在外的旁觀者，站在她們上面的岸上向下看着，而不是她們當中的一員。

Unable to exclude these things from his remembrance, or to keep his mind free from such imperfect shapes of the meaning with which they were fraught, as were able to make themselves visible to him through the mist of his pride, his previous feeling of indifference towards little Florence changed into an uneasiness of an extraordinary kind. Young as she was, and possessing in any eyes but his (and perhaps in his too) even more than the usual amount of childish simplicity and confidence, he almost felt as if she watched and distrusted him. As if she held the clue to something secret in his breast, of the nature of which he was hardly informed himself. As if she had an innate knowledge of one jarring and discordant string within him, and her very breath could sound it.

他不能從記憶中消除這些事情，也不能從心中擺脫那些零碎不全的形象所包含的意義；他通過高傲的迷霧仍然能辨認出它們，因此他先前對小弗洛倫斯漠不關心的感情已轉變成一種異乎尋常的不安。他幾乎覺得，她在注意觀察着他，對他不信任。彷彿她掌握着能打通他心中某種祕密的東西的線索，這種祕密的東西的性質他自己也不知道。彷彿她對他心中那條刺耳的、不和諧的琴絃有着天賦的知識，她呼一口氣就能使它發出聲音。

His feeling about the child had been negative from her birth. He had never conceived an aversion to her: it had not been worth his while or in his humour. She had never been a positively disagreeable object to him. But now he was ill at ease about her. She troubled his peace. He would have preferred to put her idea aside altogether, if he had known how. Perhaps who shall decide on such mysteries! - he was afraid that he might come to hate her.

從她出生起，他對這女孩子的感情就是消極的。他對她從來不曾嫌惡，這不值得他去做，而且也不是他的心意。他從來沒有覺得她是個絕對討厭的東西。可是現在他對她卻感到侷促不安。她攪亂了他的安寧。如果他知道怎麼辦的話，他真願意把關於她的思想完全撂在一旁。也許——誰能解答這種神祕的問題呢！——他害怕他會變得恨起她來。

註釋：reproach n. 責備；恥辱 vt. 責備；申斥
例句：
1. His reply sounded to her like a reproach.
他的回答在她聽來像是責備。
2. This reproach is unjustified.
這種非難似乎是不公正的。

When little Florence timidly presented herself, Mr Dombey stopped in his pacing up and down and looked towards her. Had he looked with greater interest and with a father's eye, he might have read in her keen glance the impulses and fears that made her waver; the passionate desire to run clinging to him, crying, as she hid her face in his embrace, 'Oh father, try to love me! there's no one else!' the dread of a repulse; the fear of being too bold, and of offending him; the pitiable need in which she stood of some assurance and encouragement; and how her overcharged young heart was wandering to find some natural resting-place, for its sorrow and affection.
But he saw nothing of this. He saw her pause irresolutely at the door and look towards him; and he saw no more.
'Come in,' he said, 'come in: what is the child afraid of?'

當小弗洛倫斯提心吊膽地走進來的時候，董貝先生停止來回踱步，向她看着。如果他懷着更大的興趣，並且用父親的眼睛來看的話，他可能會從她那敏銳的眼光中看出使她心神慌亂的激動與恐懼，看出她熱烈地盼望能跑去抱住他，把臉藏在他的懷抱中，喊道，“啊，爸爸，設法愛我吧，我沒有別的親人了！”，看出她站在那裏可憐巴巴地需要得到某種保證與鼓勵；看出她那負擔過重的年幼的心正在彷徨，想爲它的悲痛與深情尋找一個天然的安息的場所。
可是這些他什麼也沒有看到。他只看到她猶豫不決地停在門口，向他望着；他沒有看到別的了。
“進來吧，”他說道，“進來吧。這孩子怕什麼？

She came in; and after glancing round her for a moment with an uncertain air, stood pressing her small hands hard together, close within the door.
'Come here, Florence,' said her father, coldly. 'Do you know who I am?'
'Yes, Papa.'
'Have you nothing to say to me?'
The tears that stood in her eyes as she raised them quickly to his face, were frozen by the expression it wore. She looked down again, and put out her trembling hand.
Mr Dombey took it loosely in his own, and stood looking down upon her for a moment, as if he knew as little as the child, what to say or do.

她走進去了；在露出半信半疑的神態向四周環視了一會兒之後，她把小手緊緊地握在一起，緊挨在門口。
“到這裏來，弗洛倫斯，”她的父親冷冰冰地說道，“你知道我是誰嗎？”
“知道，爸爸。”
“你沒有什麼話要對我說嗎？”
當她迅速擡起眼睛望着他的臉的時候，那張臉上表露出的神情使她眼中噙着的淚水凝結了。她又低下眼睛，伸出了哆嗦的手。
董貝先生把它鬆鬆地握在自己手裏，站在那裏，眼睛向下對她看了一會兒，彷彿他和這女孩子一樣，不知道該說什麼和做什麼似的。

註釋：trembling 1. n. 發抖；戰慄；擔心
2. adj. 發抖的；戰慄的；哆嗦的
3. v. 顫抖（tremble的ing形式）；戰悚
例句：
1. On hearing the news all of them were trembling with fear.
聽到消息他們無不戰戰兢兢。
2. He argued, his voice trembling with anger.
他爭論着，他的聲音由於生氣而顫抖。

There! Be a good girl,' he said, patting her on the head, and regarding her as it were by stealth with a disturbed and doubtful look. 'Go to Richards! Go!'
His little daughter hesitated for another instant as though she would have clung about him still, or had some lingering hope that he might raise her in his arms and kiss her. She looked up in his face once more. He thought how like her expression was then, to what it had been when she looked round at the Doctor - that night - and instinctively dropped her hand and turned away.

“好吧！做一個好孩子！”他撫摸她的頭，好像偷偷地用煩亂不安與疑惑不定的眼光望着她，說道，“到理查茲那裏去吧！去吧！”
他的小女兒又遲疑了片刻，彷彿她還想偎依在他的身邊或者還懷着一線希望：他會把她舉起來，抱到他的懷中，並親親她。她又一次擡起眼睛望着他的臉孔。他想，她現在的表情跟她那天夜裏環視四周，最後望着醫生時的表情是多麼相像啊，於是他就本能地放下她的手，走開了。

It was not difficult to perceive that Florence was at a great disadvantage in her father's presence. It was not only a constraint upon the child's mind, but even upon the natural grace and freedom of her actions. As she sported and played about her baby brother that night, her manner was seldom so winning and so pretty as it naturally was, and sometimes when in his pacing to and fro, he came near her (she had, perhaps, for the moment, forgotten him) it changed upon the instant and became forced and l, Polly persevered with all the better heart for seeing this; and, judging of Mr Dombey by herself, had great confidence in the mute appeal of poor little Florence's mourning dress.' It's hard indeed,' thought Polly, 'if he takes only to one little motherless child, when he has another, and that a girl, before his eyes.'

不難察覺，弗洛倫斯在她父親面前處於極爲不利的地位。它不僅使孩子在心理上感到拘束，而且也使她不能舉止自然、優美和行動自由。波利看到這種情景，但仍然保持勇氣，沒有氣餒；根據她自己對董貝先生的判斷，她對可憐的小弗洛倫斯的喪服所發出的默默的呼籲寄託着很大的希望。“如果他只愛一個失去母親的孩子，而另一個失去母親的孩子就在他的眼前，那真是太殘酷了，”波利想道。

So, Polly kept her before his eyes, as long as she could, and managed so well with little Paul, as to make it very plain that he was all the livelier for his sister's company. When it was time to withdraw upstairs again, she would have sent Florence into the inner room to say good night to her father, but the child was timid and drew back; and when she urged her again, said, spreading her hands before her eyes, as if to shut out her own unworthiness , 'Oh no, no! He don't want me. He don't want me!'The little altercation between them had attracted the notice of Mr Dombey, who inquired from the table where he was sitting at his wine, what the matter was.
'Miss Florence was afraid of interrupting, Sir, if she came in to say good-night,' said Richards.

所以，波利就在他的眼前把她儘量留得長久一些，又把小保羅照管得很好，這樣顯然可以看出，他在他姐姐的陪伴下，更加活潑了。到了需要重新回到樓上去的時候，她本想送弗洛倫斯到裏面的房間去向她的父親說聲晚安，但這女孩子膽怯，退回來了；當波利又催促她去的時候，她伸開手掌捂住眼睛，彷彿要把自己微賤的形象給遮蓋掉似的，“啊，不，不！他不需要我！他不需要我！”
註釋：perceive vt. 察覺，感覺；理解；認知 vi. 感到，感知；認識到
例句：
1. I can't perceive any difference between these coins.
我看不出這些硬幣有什麼差別。
2. At first I couldn't perceive what he meant.
起先我不理解他說的意思。

'It doesn't matter,' returned Mr Dombey. 'You can let her come and go without regarding me.'
The child shrunk as she listened - and was gone, before her humble friend looked round again.
However, Polly triumphed not a little in the success of her well-intentioned scheme, and in the address with which she had brought it to bear: whereof she made a full disclosure to Spitfire when she was once more safely entrenched upstairs. Miss Nipper received that proof of her confidence, as well as the prospect of their free association for the future, rather coldly, and was anything but enthusiastic in her demonstrations of joy.

她們之間發生的小爭吵引起了董貝先生的注意；他正坐在桌旁喝酒，就問道，發生了什麼事。
“弗洛倫斯小姐怕她進來跟您說晚安會打擾您，先生。”
“這沒有關係，”董貝先生回答道。“您可以讓她來來去去，不用管我。”
女孩子聽了這話畏縮了，並且在她身份低下的朋友回過頭來之前就離開了。
不管怎麼說，波利由於成功地想出了這善意的計策，而且又十分靈巧地實現了它，所以感到十分得意，因此當她又平安地在樓上安下身來的時候，她就立即把這些情況詳詳細細地透露給噴火器聽了。這樣做，表明波利對尼珀姑娘表示信任，可是尼珀姑娘對於這一點，以及對她們今後可以自由交往的前景卻反應相當冷淡。她絲毫也不熱情地表示高興。

'I thought you would have been pleased,' said Polly.
'Oh yes, Mrs Richards, I'm very well pleased, thank you,' returned Susan, who had suddenly become so very upright that she seemed to have put an additional bone in her stays.
'You don't show it,' said Polly.
'Oh! Being only a permanency I couldn't be expected to show it like a temporary,' said Susan Nipper. 'Temporaries carries it all before 'em here, I find, but though there's a excellent party-wall between this house and the next, I mayn't exactly like to go to it, Mrs Richards, notwithstanding!'

“我還以爲您會高興的呢，”波利說道。
“啊，不錯，理查茲大嫂，我非常高興，謝謝您，”蘇珊回答道；她身子忽然挺得筆直，好像有另一根骨頭插進她的胸衣中似的。
“您沒有把您的高興表現出來，”波利說。
“啊！我只不過是一位在這裏幹長期活的人，不可能指望我像一位在這裏幹臨時活的人表現得那麼高興，”蘇珊•尼珀說道。“我發現，幹臨時活的人在這裏總是佔上風。不過雖然這座房屋跟隔壁的房屋之間有一道非常漂亮的界牆，可是我可能還是不願意到那座房屋裏去，理查茲大嫂。”

註釋：uprightadj. 正直的，誠實的；垂直的，直立的；筆直的；合乎正道的 n. 垂直；豎立
例句：
1. The ball bounced off the left upright of the goal.
球碰到左側球門柱後彈開。
2. An empty sack cannot stand upright.
[諺]空袋子，立不直。