狄更斯雙語小說:《董貝父子》第44章Part3

'Begging your pardon, not even if I am to leave the situation, Sir,' replied the steadfast Nipper, 'in which I have been so many years and seen so much - although I hope you'd never have the heart to send me from Miss Floy for such a cause - will I go now till I have said the rest, I may not be a Indian widow Sir and I am not and I would not so become but if I once made up my mind to burn myself alive, I'd do it! And I've made my mind up to go on.'
Which was rendered no less clear by the expression of Susan Nipper's countenance, than by her words.
'There ain't a person in your service, Sir,' pursued the black-eyed, 'that has always stood more in awe of you than me and you may think how true it is when I make so bold as say that I have hundreds and hundreds of times thought of speaking to you and never been able to make my mind up to it till last night, but last night decided of me.'
Mr Dombey, in a paroxysm of rage, made another grasp at the bell-rope that was not there, and, in its absence, pulled his hair rather than nothing.
'I have seen,' said Susan Nipper, 'Miss Floy strive and strive when nothing but a child so sweet and patient that the best of women might have copied from her, I've seen her sitting nights together half the night through to help her delicate brother with his learning, I've seen her helping him and watching him at other times - some well know when - I've seen her, with no encouragement and no help, grow up to be a lady, thank God! that is the grace and pride of every company she goes in, and I've always seen her cruelly neglected and keenly feeling of it - I say to some and all, I have! - and never said one word, but ordering one's self lowly and reverently towards one's betters, is not to be a worshipper of graven images, and I will and must speak!'
'Is there anybody there?' cried Mr Dombey, calling out. 'Where are the men? where are the women? Is there no one there?'
'I left my dear young lady out of bed late last night,' said Susan, nothing checked, 'and I knew why, for you was ill Sir and she didn't know how ill and that was enough to make her wretched as I saw it did. I may not be a Peacock; but I have my eyes - and I sat up a little in my own room thinking she might be lonesome and might want me, and I saw her steal downstairs and come to this door as if it was a guilty thing to look at her own Pa, and then steal back again and go into them lonely drawing-rooms, a-crying so, that I could hardly bear to hear it. I can not bear to hear it,' said Susan Nipper, wiping her black eyes, and fixing them undauntingly on Mr Dombey's infuriated face. 'It's not the first time I have heard it, not by many and many a time you don't know your own daughter, Sir, you don't know what you're doing, Sir, I say to some and all,' cried Susan Nipper, in a final burst, 'that it's a sinful shame!'
'Why, hoity toity!' cried the voice of Mrs Pipchin, as the black bombazeen garments of that fair Peruvian Miner swept into the room. 'What's this, indeed?'
Susan favoured Mrs Pipchin with a look she had invented expressly for her when they first became acquainted, and resigned the reply to Mr Dombey.
'What's this?' repeated Mr Dombey, almost foaming. 'What's this, Madam? You who are at the head of this household, and bound to keep it in order, have reason to inquire. Do you know this woman?'
'I know very little good of her, Sir,' croaked Mrs Pipchin. 'How dare you come here, you hussy? Go along with you!'
But the inflexible Nipper, merely honouring Mrs Pipchin with another look, remained.

“請原諒，先生，即使我要丟掉我的職務，丟掉這個我幹了這麼多年，見識了許許多多事情的職務，我現在也不走，”堅定的尼珀回答道，”雖然我希望您千萬別爲了這樣的原因這樣狠心地把我從弗洛伊小姐的身邊打發走！是的，我沒有把話說完是不會走的。我可能不是一位印度寡婦，先生，我現在不是也不想成爲印度寡婦，但是一旦我下定決心把我自己活活燒死，我是會這樣做的！我已下定決心繼續把我的話說完！”
這一點，蘇珊?尼珀臉上的表情並不比她的言語表達得不清楚。
“在您家服務的所有僕人中，先生，”黑眼睛繼續說道，”沒有一位像我這樣老是害怕您的，我大膽地告訴您，我曾經幾百次幾百次想跟您談談，不過以前總是下不了決心，但是昨天夜裏我終於下定決心了，您可以相信我這些話是說得多麼真誠。”
董貝先生火冒三丈，又動手去抓那不在近旁的鈴繩，由於抓不到鈴繩，他就揪自己的頭髮，這比沒有抓住什麼總強一些。
“我看到，”蘇珊?尼珀說道，”弗洛伊小姐還完全是個孩子的時候，就嘗夠了艱辛，那時她是個多麼可愛多麼耐性的孩子啊，即使是最好的婦女也可以仿效她的榜樣，我看見她一夜又一夜地坐到深夜，幫助有病的弟弟準備功課，我看見她在其他時候--有的人很瞭解這是在什麼時候--幫助他守護他，我看見她在得不到鼓勵得不到幫助的情況下長大成爲一位姑娘，謝天謝地！這是她所結交的每一位朋友感到體面和感到自豪的。我看見她受到了冷酷無情的冷落，劇烈地感到痛苦--我對有的人並對所有的人這樣說，我已經這樣說了！--而她卻從來不說一個字，可是即使一個人要低三下四地恭恭敬敬地對待比她高超的人的話，那也並不是說她要崇拜一個雕像呀，我要說出這一點並且必須說出這一點！”
“有人嗎？”董貝先生大聲喊道，”男僕人在哪裏？女僕人在哪裏？難道這裏一個人也沒有了嗎？”
“昨天夜晚我離開我親愛的小姐的時候已經很晚了，可是她還沒有上牀睡覺，”蘇珊沒有受到絲毫影響，繼續說下去，”我知道這是爲什麼！因爲您病了先生而她卻不知道您病得多重，這一點就足以使她變得多麼可憐了，我也親眼看到她是多麼可憐。我可能不是孔雀，但是我有眼睛--我坐在我自己的房間裏，心想她可能感到寂寞需要我，我看見她偷偷地下了樓走到這個門口，就彷彿看看她的親爸爸是一件犯罪的事情似的，然後她又偷偷地回去，走到寂靜的客廳裏，在那裏哭起來，哭得我簡直?都?不忍心聽下去。我?不?能忍心聽下去，”蘇珊?尼珀抹抹她的黑眼睛，毫不畏懼地注視着董貝先生怒氣衝衝的臉孔，說道，”這並不是我第一次聽到她哭，我已經聽過好多好多次了！您不瞭解您親生的女兒，先生，您不明白您做了什麼事，先生，我對有的人並對所有的人說，”蘇珊?尼珀最後衝動地大聲喊叫道，”這是罪孽深重的、可恥的事情！”
“噯呀，不得了！”傳來了皮普欽太太的喊聲；穿着黑色邦巴辛毛葛衣服的祕魯礦的女人昂首闊步地走進了房間。”究竟是怎麼回事？”
蘇珊向皮普欽太太送去了一個眼神，這種眼神是她們初次相識時她特意爲她而創造出來的；她讓董貝先生來回答。
“怎麼回事？”董貝先生幾乎唾沫紛飛地重複問道，”怎麼回事，夫人？您是主管這個房屋的，有責任把這個家管得有條不紊，您確實有理由提出這個問題。您知道這個女人嗎？”
“我知道她不是個好玩藝兒，先生，”皮普欽太太用哭喪的說道，”你怎麼敢到這裏來，你這輕佻的賤貨？你給我滾！”
可是剛強不屈的尼珀只是向皮普欽太太奉送了另一個眼神，一動不動地繼續站在那裏。