双语小说连载:《董贝父子》第一章 Part 3

    Mr Dombey, who, besides being generally influenced by his sister for the reason already mentioned, had really faith in her as an experienced and bustling matron, acquiesced; and followed her, at once, to the sick chamber.
The lady lay upon her bed as he had left her, clasping her little daughter to her breast. The child clung close about her, with the same intensity as before, and never raised her head, or moved her soft cheek from her mother's face, or looked on those who stood around, or spoke, or moved, or shed a tear.'Restless without the little girl,' the Doctor whispered Mr Dombey. 'We found it best to have her in again.'
'Can nothing be done?' asked Mr Dombey.
The Doctor shook his head. 'We can do no more.'
The windows stood open, and the twilight was gathering without.
The scent of the restoratives that had been tried was pungent in the room, but had no fragrance in the dull and languid air the lady breathed.
There was such a solemn stillness round the bed; and the two medical attendants seemed to look on the impassive form with so much compassion and so little hope, that Mrs Chick was for the moment diverted from her purpose. But presently summoning courage, and what she called presence of mind, she sat down by the bedside, and said in the low precise tone of one who endeavours to awaken a sleeper:
'Fanny! Fanny!'

    董贝先生除了由于前面所说的理由一般受他的妹妹的影响外，还把她当作一位有经验的和能干的主妇，真正相信她，所以默默地同意，立刻跟着她到病人的房间里去。
他的夫人就像他离开她时那样躺在床上，把她的小女儿紧紧地抱在怀中。这个女孩子怀着跟先前一样强烈的感情，紧紧地抱着她，从不抬起头，或把脸颊从她妈妈的脸上移开，或看看站在周围的人们，或说句话，或移动身子，或掉一滴眼泪。
“没有小女孩在身边她就烦躁不安，”大夫对董贝先生低声说道，“因此我们觉得最好还是让她重新进来。”
病床周围一片深沉的寂静；两位医生似乎十分同情而又很少希望地看着这个失去知觉的人，因此奇克夫人一时忘掉了她到这里来的目的，可是她立刻鼓起勇气，并像她所说的，镇静下来，在床边坐下，并用一个竭力想要唤醒一位睡眠者的人的那种同样低微的声调，喊道：“范妮！范妮！”

   There was no sound in answer but the loud ticking of Mr Dombey's watch and Doctor Parker Peps's watch, which seemed in the silence to be running a race.
'Fanny, my dear,' said Mrs Chick, with assumed lightness, 'here's Mr Dombey come to see you. Won't you speak to him? They want to lay your little boy - the baby, Fanny, you know; you have hardly seen him yet, I think - in bed; but they can't till you rouse yourself a little. Don't you think it's time you roused yourself a little? Eh?'
She bent her ear to the bed, and listened: at the same time looking round at the bystanders, and holding up her finger.
'Eh?' she repeated, 'what was it you said, Fanny? I didn't hear you.'
No word or sound in answer. Mr Dombey's watch and Dr Parker Peps's watch seemed to be racing faster.
'Now, really, Fanny my dear,' said the sister-in-law, altering her position, and speaking less confidently, and more earnestly, in spite of herself, 'I shall have to be quite cross with you, if you don't rouse yourself. It's necessary for you to make an effort, and perhaps a very great and painful effort which you are not disposed to make; but this is a world of effort you know, Fanny, and we must never yield, when so much depends upon us. Come! Try! I must really scold you if you don't!'
The race in the ensuing pause was fierce and furious. The watches seemed to jostle, and to trip each other up.
'Fanny!' said Louisa, glancing round, with a gathering alarm. 'Only look at me. Only open your eyes to show me that you hear and understand me; will you? Good Heaven, gentlemen, what is to be done!'

    没有回答的声音，而只有董贝先生的表和帕克．佩普斯大夫的表的滴嗒滴嗒走得很响的声音。这两只表似乎正在寂静中赛跑。
“范妮，我亲爱的，”奇克夫人假装出轻松愉快的语气，说道，“董贝先生到这里来看您了。您是不是要跟他讲话？他们想把您的小男孩放到床上——范妮，您知道，就是那个小娃娃，我想您还没有看到过他吧！不过，他们不能放，除非您把精神稍稍振作起来一些才行。您是不是认为，这该是您把精神振作起来一些的时候了？嗯？”
她把耳朵凑近床上听着，一边向四周站着的人环视着，并举起一个指头。
“嗯？”她重复说道，“您说什么，范妮？我听不见。”
没有一个字，也没有一个声音回答。董贝先生的表与帕克．佩普斯大夫的表似乎跑得更快了。
“啊，真的，我亲爱的范妮，”她的小姑子说道；她改变了姿势，不由自主地说得不很有信心，但却更认真了，“如果您不振作起精神的话，那么我就不得不跟您生气了。您有必要作出努力，也许是您不愿作出的很大的、很痛苦的努力；可是您知道，这是个需要作出努力的世界呀，范妮；当这么多的事情取决于我们的时候，我们应该永不退让。来吧，试一试吧！如果您不试的话，那么我真的一定要骂您了！”
在随即而来的沉寂中，两只表的赛跑是猛烈的、狂暴的。
它们似乎在相互推撞，相互绊倒对方。
“范妮！”路易莎怀着愈益增长的恐怖，环视四周，说道，“只要看我一下就行。只要张开您的眼睛表示一下您听到了我的话，明白了我的话就行，好不好？我的天呀，先生们，现在该怎么办呢！”

    The two medical attendants exchanged a look across the bed; and the Physician, stooping down, whispered in the child's ear. Not having understood the purport of his whisper, the little creature turned her perfectly colourless face and deep dark eyes towards him; but without loosening her hold in the least.
The whisper was repeated.
'Mama!' said the child.
The little voice, familiar and dearly loved, awakened some show of consciousness, even at that ebb. For a moment, the closed eye lids trembled, and the nostril quivered, and the faintest shadow of a smile was seen.
'Mama!' cried the child sobbing aloud. 'Oh dear Mama! oh dear Mama!'
The Doctor gently brushed the scattered ringlets of the child, aside from the face and mouth of the mother. Alas how calm they lay there; how little breath there was to stir them!
Thus, clinging fast to that slight spar within her arms, the mother drifted out upon the dark and unknown sea that rolls round all the world.

    两位医生隔着床交换了一下眼光。家庭医生弯下身子，在女孩子的耳旁轻声地说了一些什么。小女孩子没有听懂他耳语的意思，向他转过她的毫无血色的面孔和凹陷的、乌黑的眼睛，但丝毫没有放松她的拥抱。
家庭医生又把他的耳语重复了一次。
“妈妈！”女孩子说道。
这熟悉的、受到热烈喜爱的孩子的声音把甚至是那么奄奄一息的知觉也唤醒过来，稍稍地显示了一下。片刻间，闭合的眼睑颤动了一下，鼻孔翕动了一下，还可以看到那极为微弱的笑影。
“妈妈！”女孩子大声地抽泣着，喊道。“啊，亲爱的妈妈！
啊，亲爱的妈妈！”
大夫轻轻地把女孩子散乱的长卷发从母亲的脸上和嘴上拂开。啊，它们是多么安静地躺在那里，呼吸是多么微弱，它不能把它们吹动了！
就这样，母亲用她的胳膊紧紧地抱住那根不结实的圆材，在环绕全世界的黑暗的、未知的海洋上漂流出去了。

注释: make an effort:  努力;作出努力
1. To make an effort to achieve an objective.
瞄准努力达到一个目标。
2. I have to make an effort to work up an appetite for reading.
我得努力使自己产生天天想读书的愿望。