双语小说连载:《董贝父子》第10章 Part 11

Captain Cuttle felt he had no alternative but to comply. But he was so much struck by the magnanimity of Mr Dombey, in refusing treasures lying heaped up to his hand, that when he had deposited the teaspoons and sugar-tongs in one pocket, and the ready money in another, and had lowered the great watch down slowly into its proper vault, he could not refrain from seizing that gentleman's right hand in his own solitary left, and while he held it open with his powerful fingers, bringing the hook down upon its palm in a transport of admiration. At this touch of warm feeling and cold iron, Mr Dombey shivered all over.
卡特尔船长觉得他除了遵命照办外，没有别的选择。可是董贝先生拒绝接受这些堆积在他手边的财宝，表现得那么宽宏大量，这使他十分感动，因此当他把茶匙和方糖箝子装进一只衣袋，把现钱装进另一只衣袋，把那只大表慢慢地往下放到它的合适的洞穴里去的时候，他情不自禁地把这位先生的右手握到他那只单独的左手里，而且当他用有劲的手指把它撑开的时候，他在满怀敬佩的心情中，把钩子接触到它的掌心。董贝先生在热烈的感情与冰冷的铁件的接触下，全身打了个冷颤。
Captain Cuttle then kissed his hook to the ladies several times, with great elegance and gallantry; and having taken a particular leave of Paul and Florence, accompanied Walter out of the room. Florence was running after them in the earnestness of her heart, to send some message to old Sol, when Mr Dombey called her back, and bade her stay where she was.
然后，卡特尔船长极为文雅、极为殷勤地把钩子吻了好几次，向女士们致意；在向保罗与弗洛伦斯特别进行了告别之后，他陪着沃尔特走出了房间。弗洛伦斯出自一片热心，追在他们后面，要他们代向老所尔问候，这时候董贝先生喊她回来，吩咐她待在原先的地方。
'Will you never be a Dombey, my dear child!' said Mrs Chick, with pathetic reproachfulness.
“难道你永远也不想成为真正的董贝家里的人了吗？我亲爱的孩子！”奇克夫人用感伤与责备的语气说道。
'Dear aunt,' said Florence. 'Don't be angry with me. I am so thankful to Papa!'
“亲爱的姑妈，”弗洛伦斯说道。“别生我的气，我是多么感谢爸爸啊！”
She would have run and thrown her arms about his neck if she had dared; but as she did not dare, she glanced with thankful eyes towards him, as he sat musing; sometimes bestowing an uneasy glance on her, but, for the most part, watching Paul, who walked about the room with the new-blown dignity of having let young Gay have the money.
如果她敢的话，那么她真想跑过去，伸出胳膊搂住他的脖子；可是因为她不敢这样做，所以她就用感激的眼光向他看看；这时他坐在那里沉思着，有时不安地向她看一眼，但大部分时间是注视着保罗；这孩子正在房间里走来走去，摆出一副威风凛凛的气派，那是由于让年轻的盖伊得到了钱而刚刚产生出来的。
And young Gay - Walter- what of him?
那么年轻的盖伊——沃尔特，他的情况怎么样了呢？
He was overjoyed to purge the old man's hearth from bailiffs and brokers, and to hurry back to his Uncle with the good tidings. He was overjoyed to have it all arranged and settled next day before noon; and to sit down at evening in the little back parlour with old Sol and Captain Cuttle; and to see the Instrument-maker already reviving, and hopeful for the future, and feeling that the wooden Midshipman was his own again. But without the least impeachment of his gratitude to Mr Dombey, it must be confessed that Walter was humbled and cast down. It is when our budding hopes are nipped beyond recovery by some rough wind, that we are the most disposed to picture to ourselves what flowers they might have borne, if they had flourished; and now, when Walter found himself cut off from that great Dombey height, by the depth of a new and terrible tumble, and felt that all his old wild fancies had been scattered to the winds in the fall, he began to suspect that they might have led him on to harmless visions of aspiring to Florence in the remote distance of time.
他欢天喜地地把法警与经纪人从老人家里清除掉，急忙回到舅舅身边去向他报告好消息；他欢天喜地地在第二天中午以前把一切事情安排妥当，处理完毕，晚上在小后客厅里与老所尔和卡特尔船长坐在一起，并且看到仪器制造商已经重新振作起精神，对未来充满希望，同时感到木制海军军官候补生又属于他自己的了。可是必须承认，沃尔特感到自己丧尽体面，意气消沉。这丝毫也不是责备他对董贝先生不知感激。当我们希望的萌芽已被一阵暴风冻死，无法恢复生机的时候，我们最不愿意向我们自己描绘，如果它们蓬勃生长的话，那么它们可能会开放出什么样的花朵了。现在当沃尔特发现自己又一次从伟大的董贝高峰上可怕地深深地滚落下来，从而和它完全切断，并且感到他旧日的狂妄的幻想已经在滚落时在风中化为乌有的时候，他开始怀疑，这些希望是否还能在遥远的将来，继续引导他走向渴望得到弗洛伦斯的无害的梦幻。