The Age of Innocence

The Age of Innocence

纯真年代

by Edith Wharton

作者：伊迪丝·华顿

Book I

第一册

On a January evening of the early seventies, Christine Nilsson was singing in Faust at the Academy of Music in New York.

七十年代初一月的一个晚上，克里斯汀·尼尔森在纽约音乐学院演唱《浮士德》。

Though there was already talk of the erection, in remote metropolitan distances "above the Forties," of a new Opera House which should compete in costliness and splendour with those of the great European capitals, the world of fashion was still content to reassemble every winter in the shabby red and gold boxes of the sociable old Academy.

尽管已经有传言说要在“四十年代以上”的偏远大都市建立一座新歌剧院，它的昂贵和华丽可以与欧洲大城市的歌剧院相媲美，但时尚界仍然满足于每年冬天在社交老学院破旧的红色和金色盒子里重新组装。

Conservatives cherished it for being small and inconvenient, and thus keeping out the "new people" whom New York was beginning to dread and yet be drawn to; and the sentimental clung to it for its historic associations, and the musical for its excellent acoustics, always so problematic a quality in halls built for the hearing of music.

保守派珍视它，因为它又小又不方便，从而将纽约开始害怕但又被吸引的“新人”拒之门外。感伤的音乐因其历史性的联想而被人们所牢牢抓住，而音乐剧因其出色的音响效果而被人们所牢牢抓住，而在为聆听音乐而建造的大厅中，这种音质总是存在很大的问题。

It was Madame Nilsson's first appearance that winter, and what the daily press had already learned to describe as "an exceptionally brilliant audience" had gathered to hear her, transported through the slippery, snowy streets in private broughams, in the spacious family landau, or in the humbler but more convenient "Brown coupe." To come to the Opera in a Brown coupe was almost as honourable a way of arriving as in one's own carriage; and departure by the same means had the immense advantage of enabling one (with a playful allusion to democratic principles) to scramble into the first Brown conveyance in the line, instead of waiting till the cold-and-gin congested nose of one's own coachman gleamed under the portico of the Academy.

那是尼尔森夫人那年冬天的第一次亮相，每日媒体已经将其描述为“一群异常出色的观众”聚集在一起聆听她的演讲，他们乘坐私人马车、宽敞的家庭四轮马车或更简陋但更方便的“棕色轿跑车”穿过湿滑、积雪的街道。乘坐棕色轿跑车来到歌剧院几乎和乘坐自己的马车一样尊贵。以同样的方式出发有一个巨大的优势，可以让一个人（带着对民主原则的有趣暗示）爬上队列中的第一辆布朗交通工具，而不是等到自己的马车夫在学院门廊下的冷杜松子酒堵塞的鼻子里闪闪发光。

It was one of the great livery-stableman's most masterly intuitions to have discovered that Americans want to get away from amusement even more quickly than they want to get to it.

这位伟大的马车夫最巧妙的直觉之一是发现美国人想要摆脱娱乐的速度比他们想要享受娱乐的速度还要快。

When Newland Archer opened the door at the back of the club box the curtain had just gone up on the garden scene.

当纽兰·阿彻打开俱乐部包厢后面的门时，花园场景的帷幕刚刚升起。

There was no reason why the young man should not have come earlier, for he had dined at seven, alone with his mother and sister, and had lingered afterward over a cigar in the Gothic library with glazed black-walnut bookcases and finial-topped chairs which was the only room in the house where Mrs. Archer allowed smoking.

这个年轻人没有理由不早点来，因为他七点钟就单独和母亲和妹妹一起吃过饭，饭后在哥特式图书馆里抽着雪茄，那里有玻璃黑胡桃木书柜和顶顶椅子，这是家里唯一一个阿切尔夫人允许吸烟的房间。

But, in the first place, New York was a metropolis, and perfectly aware that in metropolises it was "not the thing" to arrive early at the opera; and what was or was not "the thing" played a part as important in Newland Archer's New York as the inscrutable totem terrors that had ruled the destinies of his forefathers thousands of years ago.

但是，首先，纽约是一个大都市，并且完全清楚在大都市里，早点到达歌剧院是“不合适的”；在纽兰·阿切尔的纽约，什么是“东西”，什么不是“东西”，其重要性不亚于数千年前统治他祖先命运的神秘图腾恐怖。

The second reason for his delay was a personal one.

他拖延的第二个原因是个人原因。

He had dawdled over his cigar because he was at heart a dilettante, and thinking over a pleasure to come often gave him a subtler satisfaction than its realisation.

他在雪茄上磨磨蹭蹭，因为他本质上是个业余爱好者，思考即将到来的快乐常常给他带来比实现更微妙的满足感。

This was especially the case when the pleasure was a delicate one, as his pleasures mostly were; and on this occasion the moment he looked forward to was so rare and exquisite in quality that--well, if he had timed his arrival in accord with the prima donna's stage-manager he could not have entered the Academy at a more significant moment than just as she was singing: "He loves me--he loves me not--_he loves me_!--" and sprinkling the falling daisy petals with notes as clear as dew.

当快乐是一种微妙的快乐时尤其如此，因为他的快乐大多如此。这一次，他所期待的时刻是如此的罕见和精致，以至于——好吧，如果他按照首席女主角的舞台经理的时间来安排自己的到来，他不可能在比她唱着“他爱我——他不爱我——_他爱我_！——”更重要的时刻进入学院，并给飘落的雏菊花瓣洒上像露珠一样清晰的音符。

She sang, of course, "_M'ama_!" and not "he loves me," since an unalterable and unquestioned law of the musical world required that the German text of French operas sung by Swedish artists should be translated into Italian for the clearer understanding of English-speaking audiences.

当然，她唱的是“_M'ama_！”而不是“他爱我”，因为音乐界不可改变且不容置疑的法则要求，瑞典艺术家演唱的法国歌剧的德语文本应翻译成意大利语，以便英语观众更清楚地理解。

This seemed as natural to Newland Archer as all the other conventions on which his life was moulded: such as the duty of using two silver-backed brushes with his monogram in blue enamel to part his hair, and of never appearing in society without a flower (preferably a gardenia) in his buttonhole.

对纽兰·阿切尔来说，这似乎和塑造他生活的所有其他习俗一样自然：比如用两把印有蓝色珐琅花押字的银背刷子分开头发，以及在纽扣孔中没有花（最好是栀子花）的情况下永远不会出现在社交场合。

"_M'ama ...

“_妈妈……

non m'ama ..._" the prima donna sang, and "_M'ama_!", with a final burst of love triumphant, as she pressed the dishevelled daisy to her lips and lifted her large eyes to the sophisticated countenance of the little brown Faust-Capoul, who was vainly trying, in a tight purple velvet doublet and plumed cap, to look as pure and true as his artless victim.

非妈妈……”首席女歌手唱道，“_妈妈_！”，最后爆发出胜利的爱意，她把那朵凌乱的雏菊放在唇边，抬起大眼睛，看着小棕色的浮士德·卡普尔精致的面容，他穿着一件紧身的紫色天鹅绒上衣，戴着羽毛帽，徒劳地试图让自己看起来像他天真无邪的受害者一样纯洁和真实。

Newland Archer, leaning against the wall at the back of the club box, turned his eyes from the stage and scanned the opposite side of the house.

纽兰·阿切尔靠在俱乐部包厢后面的墙上，将目光从舞台上移开，扫视着房子的另一侧。

Directly facing him was the box of old Mrs. Manson Mingott, whose monstrous obesity had long since made it impossible for her to attend the Opera, but who was always represented on fashionable nights by some of the younger members of the family.

正对着他的是曼森·明戈特老太太的包厢，她的肥胖早已使她无法去听歌剧院，但在时髦的夜晚，她总是由一些年轻的家庭成员代表。

On this occasion, the front of the box was filled by her daughter-in-law, Mrs. Lovell Mingott, and her daughter, Mrs. Welland; and slightly withdrawn behind these brocaded matrons sat a young girl in white with eyes ecstatically fixed on the stage-lovers.

这次，包厢的前面坐满了她的儿媳洛弗尔·明戈特夫人和她的女儿韦兰夫人。在这些身着锦缎的贵妇身后，坐着一个身穿白衣的年轻女孩，眼睛欣喜若狂地盯着舞台上的情人们。

As Madame Nilsson's "_M'ama_!" thrilled out above the silent house (the boxes always stopped talking during the Daisy Song) a warm pink mounted to the girl's cheek, mantled her brow to the roots of her fair braids, and suffused the young slope of her breast to the line where it met a modest tulle tucker fastened with a single gardenia.

正如尼尔森夫人的“_M'ama_！”寂静的房子上空令人激动（在黛西之歌期间，盒子总是停止说话），温暖的粉红色登上了女孩的脸颊，覆盖了她的额头，覆盖了她美丽的辫子的根部，并覆盖了她年轻的乳房斜坡，直到与用一朵栀子花固定的朴素薄纱褶皱相交的地方。

She dropped her eyes to the immense bouquet of lilies-of-the-valley on her knee, and Newland Archer saw her white-gloved finger-tips touch the flowers softly.

她的目光落在膝盖上那束巨大的铃兰花上，纽兰·阿切尔看到她戴着白手套的指尖轻轻地触碰着花朵。

He drew a breath of satisfied vanity and his eyes returned to the stage.

他满足虚荣心地吸了一口气，目光又回到了舞台上。

No expense had been spared on the setting, which was acknowledged to be very beautiful even by people who shared his acquaintance with the Opera houses of Paris and Vienna.

布景上不遗余力，即使是熟悉巴黎和维也纳歌剧院的人也认为布景非常漂亮。

The foreground, to the footlights, was covered with emerald green cloth.

从前景到脚灯，都铺着翠绿色的布。

In the middle distance symmetrical mounds of woolly green moss bounded by croquet hoops formed the base of shrubs shaped like orange-trees but studded with large pink and red roses.

中距离处，对称的毛茸茸的绿色苔藓堆周围环绕着槌球圈，形成了灌木丛的底部，灌木形状像橘子树，但点缀着大朵的粉红色和红色玫瑰。

Gigantic pansies, considerably larger than the roses, and closely resembling the floral pen-wipers made by female parishioners for fashionable clergymen, sprang from the moss beneath the rose-trees; and here and there a daisy grafted on a rose-branch flowered with a luxuriance prophetic of Mr. Luther Burbank's far-off prodigies.

巨大的三色堇从玫瑰树下的苔藓中长出，比玫瑰大得多，与女教区居民为时尚牧师制作的花笔擦拭器非常相似。玫瑰枝上嫁接的雏菊随处可见，花朵茂盛，预示着路德·伯班克先生的远方神童。

In the centre of this enchanted garden Madame Nilsson, in white cashmere slashed with pale blue satin, a reticule dangling from a blue girdle, and large yellow braids carefully disposed on each side of her muslin chemisette, listened with downcast eyes to M.

在这座迷人花园的中央，尼尔森夫人穿着镶有浅蓝色缎子的白色羊绒衫，蓝色腰带上垂着一只手提包，黄色的大辫子小心翼翼地编在平纹细布内衣的两侧，垂着眼睛聆听着先生的讲话。

Capoul's impassioned wooing, and affected a guileless incomprehension of his designs whenever, by word or glance, he persuasively indicated the ground floor window of the neat brick villa projecting obliquely from the right wing.

卡普尔热情地求爱，每当他通过言语或眼神令人信服地指出那栋整洁的砖砌别墅的底层窗户从右翼倾斜地伸出时，他就会表现出对他的设计的一种朴实的不理解。

"The darling!" thought Newland Archer, his glance flitting back to the young girl with the lilies-of-the-valley.

“亲爱的！”纽兰·阿切尔想道，他的目光又转回到那个手捧铃兰的年轻女孩身上。

"She doesn't even guess what it's all about." And he contemplated her absorbed young face with a thrill of possessorship in which pride in his own masculine initiation was mingled with a tender reverence for her abysmal purity.

“她甚至不知道这到底是怎么回事。”他凝视着她全神贯注的年轻脸庞，心中涌起一种占有欲的兴奋，其中对自己的男子气概的自豪感与对她深不可测的纯洁性的温柔崇敬交织在一起。

"We'll read Faust together ...

“我们一起读《浮士德》……

by the Italian lakes ..." he thought, somewhat hazily confusing the scene of his projected honey-moon with the masterpieces of literature which it would be his manly privilege to reveal to his bride.

在意大利湖边……”他想道，有点模糊地将他计划的蜜月场景与文学杰作混为一谈，向他的新娘展示文学杰作将是他男子气概的荣幸。

It was only that afternoon that May Welland had let him guess that she "cared" (New York's consecrated phrase of maiden avowal), and already his imagination, leaping ahead of the engagement ring, the betrothal kiss and the march from Lohengrin, pictured her at his side in some scene of old European witchery.

直到那天下午，梅·韦兰才让他猜到她“在乎”（纽约对处女誓言的神圣用语），他的想象力已经超越了订婚戒指、订婚之吻和罗恩格林的游行，在一些古老的欧洲巫术场景中描绘了她在他身边的情景。

He did not in the least wish the future Mrs. Newland Archer to be a simpleton.

他一点也不希望未来的纽兰·阿切尔夫人是个傻瓜。

He meant her (thanks to his enlightening companionship) to develop a social tact and readiness of wit enabling her to hold her own with the most popular married women of the "younger set," in which it was the recognised custom to attract masculine homage while playfully discouraging it.

他希望她（多亏了他启发性的陪伴）培养社交技巧和机智，使她能够在“年轻群体”中最受欢迎的已婚女性中保持自己的地位，在“年轻群体”中，吸引男性崇拜同时开玩笑地阻止这种行为是公认的习俗。

If he had probed to the bottom of his vanity (as he sometimes nearly did) he would have found there the wish that his wife should be as worldly-wise and as eager to please as the married lady whose charms had held his fancy through two mildly agitated years; without, of course, any hint of the frailty which had so nearly marred that unhappy being's life, and had disarranged his own plans for a whole winter.

如果他探究一下自己的虚荣心（有时他几乎做到了），他就会发现他希望自己的妻子像那位已婚女士一样通达世故，渴望取悦他人，她的魅力让他在两年的轻微焦躁中迷恋不已；但他的妻子却像那位已婚女士一样通情达理，渴望取悦他人。当然，没有任何一丝虚弱的迹象，这种虚弱几乎毁了那个不幸的人的生活，打乱了他整个冬天的计划。

How this miracle of fire and ice was to be created, and to sustain itself in a harsh world, he had never taken the time to think out; but he was content to hold his view without analysing it, since he knew it was that of all the carefully-brushed, white-waistcoated, button-hole-flowered gentlemen who succeeded each other in the club box, exchanged friendly greetings with him, and turned their opera-glasses critically on the circle of ladies who were the product of the system.

如何创造这个冰与火的奇迹，如何在严酷的世界中维持自己，他从未花时间去思考；但他满足于保持自己的观点而不进行分析，因为他知道这是所有梳妆打扮、穿着白马甲、扣眼花的绅士们的观点，他们在俱乐部包厢里接连不断地与他友好地打招呼，并把他们的望远镜批判地转向了体制产物的女士们。

In matters intellectual and artistic Newland Archer felt himself distinctly the superior of these chosen specimens of old New York gentility; he had probably read more, thought more, and even seen a good deal more of the world, than any other man of the number.

在知识和艺术方面，纽兰·阿切尔觉得自己明显比这些被选为老纽约绅士的人更优秀。他可能比其他人读得更多，思考得更多，甚至见识过更多的世界。

Singly they betrayed their inferiority; but grouped together they represented "New York," and the habit of masculine solidarity made him accept their doctrine on all the issues called moral.

他们单独暴露了自己的自卑；但他们聚集在一起代表了“纽约”，男性团结的习惯使他接受了他们在所有所谓道德问题上的学说。

He instinctively felt that in this respect it would be troublesome--and also rather bad form--to strike out for himself.

他本能地觉得，在这方面，自己动手会很麻烦，而且也很糟糕。

"Well--upon my soul!" exclaimed Lawrence Lefferts, turning his opera-glass abruptly away from the stage.

“好吧——我的灵魂！”劳伦斯·莱弗茨惊呼道，突然将望远镜从舞台上移开。

Lawrence Lefferts was, on the whole, the foremost authority on "form" in New York.

总体而言，劳伦斯·莱弗茨是纽约“形式”方面最重要的权威。

He had probably devoted more time than any one else to the study of this intricate and fascinating question; but study alone could not account for his complete and easy competence.

他可能比任何人都投入了更多的时间来研究这个复杂而迷人的问题。但仅靠学习并不能解释他完全而轻松的能力。

One had only to look at him, from the slant of his bald forehead and the curve of his beautiful fair moustache to the long patent-leather feet at the other end of his lean and elegant person, to feel that the knowledge of "form" must be congenital in any one who knew how to wear such good clothes so carelessly and carry such height with so much lounging grace.

只要看一眼他，从他倾斜的秃额头、漂亮的白胡子的曲线，到他那瘦削而优雅的身材另一端的长长的漆皮脚，你就会觉得，任何一个懂得如何如此随意地穿着如此好的衣服，以如此闲适的优雅举起如此高度的人，对“形式”的了解一定是与生俱来的。

As a young admirer had once said of him: "If anybody can tell a fellow just when to wear a black tie with evening clothes and when not to, it's Larry Lefferts." And on the question of pumps versus patent-leather "Oxfords" his authority had never been disputed.

正如一位年轻的崇拜者曾经这样评价他：“如果有人能告诉一个人什么时候穿晚礼服应该打黑色领带，什么时候不应该打，那就是拉里·莱弗茨了。”在高跟鞋与漆皮“牛津鞋”的问题上，他的权威从未受到争议。

"My God!" he said; and silently handed his glass to old Sillerton Jackson.

“我的上帝！”他说；然后默默地将杯子递给老西勒顿·杰克逊。

Newland Archer, following Lefferts's glance, saw with surprise that his exclamation had been occasioned by the entry of a new figure into old Mrs. Mingott's box.

纽兰·阿切尔顺着莱弗茨的目光望去，惊讶地发现他的惊呼是由于一个新人物进入老明戈特太太的包厢而引起的。

It was that of a slim young woman, a little less tall than May Welland, with brown hair growing in close curls about her temples and held in place by a narrow band of diamonds.

那是一位身材苗条的年轻女子，比梅·韦兰高一点，棕色的头发在太阳穴周围形成紧密的卷发，并用一条窄窄的钻石带固定住。

The suggestion of this headdress, which gave her what was then called a "Josephine look," was carried out in the cut of the dark blue velvet gown rather theatrically caught up under her bosom by a girdle with a large old-fashioned clasp.

这种头饰的建议给了她一种当时所谓的“约瑟芬式的外观”，它是在深蓝色天鹅绒礼服的剪裁中实现的，礼服被一条带有大旧式扣环的腰带戏剧性地扣在她的胸下。

The wearer of this unusual dress, who seemed quite unconscious of the attention it was attracting, stood a moment in the centre of the box, discussing with Mrs. Welland the propriety of taking the latter's place in the front right-hand corner; then she yielded with a slight smile, and seated herself in line with Mrs. Welland's sister-in-law, Mrs. Lovell Mingott, who was installed in the opposite corner.

穿着这件不寻常衣服的人似乎完全没有意识到它所吸引的注意力，他在包厢中央站了一会儿，与韦兰夫人讨论将后者放在前右角的位置是否合适；然后她微微一笑，让步了，和韦兰夫人的嫂子洛弗尔·明戈特夫人坐在一起，洛弗尔·明戈特夫人坐在对面的角落里。

Mr. Sillerton Jackson had returned the opera-glass to Lawrence Lefferts.

西勒顿·杰克逊先生已将歌剧镜归还给劳伦斯·莱弗茨。

The whole of the club turned instinctively, waiting to hear what the old man had to say; for old Mr. Jackson was as great an authority on "family" as Lawrence Lefferts was on "form." He knew all the ramifications of New York's cousinships; and could not only elucidate such complicated questions as that of the connection between the Mingotts (through the Thorleys) with the Dallases of South Carolina, and that of the relationship of the elder branch of Philadelphia Thorleys to the Albany Chiverses (on no account to be confused with the Manson Chiverses of University Place), but could also enumerate the leading characteristics of each family: as, for instance, the fabulous stinginess of the younger lines of Leffertses (the Long Island ones); or the fatal tendency of the Rushworths to make foolish matches; or the insanity recurring in every second generation of the Albany Chiverses, with whom their New York cousins had always refused to intermarry--with the disastrous exception of poor Medora Manson, who, as everybody knew ...

整个俱乐部的人都本能地转过头来，等着听老头子要说什么。因为老杰克逊先生在“家庭”方面的权威就像劳伦斯·莱弗茨在“形式”方面的权威一样。他了解纽约表亲关系的所有后果。不仅可以阐明诸如明戈特家族（通过索利斯家族）与南卡罗来纳州达拉斯家族之间的联系，以及费城索利斯家族的老支系与奥尔巴尼奇弗斯家族（千万不要与大学广场的曼森奇弗斯家族混淆）之间的关系等复杂的问题，而且还可以列举每个家族的主要特征：例如，莱弗茨家族（长岛家族）的年轻家族的惊人的吝啬；或者是拉什沃斯夫妇做出愚蠢的匹配的致命倾向；或者奥尔巴尼·奇弗斯家族的每一代人中都会出现疯狂现象，他们的纽约表兄弟总是拒绝与他们通婚——除了可怜的梅多拉·曼森，众所周知，她是一个灾难性的例外……

but then her mother was a Rushworth.

但她的母亲是拉什沃斯家族的人。

In addition to this forest of family trees, Mr. Sillerton Jackson carried between his narrow hollow temples, and under his soft thatch of silver hair, a register of most of the scandals and mysteries that had smouldered under the unruffled surface of New York society within the last fifty years.

除了这片繁茂的家谱之外，西勒顿·杰克逊先生在他狭窄空洞的太阳穴之间、柔软的银发下，还记录着过去五十年来在纽约社会平静的表面下隐藏的大部分丑闻和谜团。

So far indeed did his information extend, and so acutely retentive was his memory, that he was supposed to be the only man who could have told you who Julius Beaufort, the banker, really was, and what had become of handsome Bob Spicer, old Mrs. Manson Mingott's father, who had disappeared so mysteriously (with a large sum of trust money) less than a year after his marriage, on the very day that a beautiful Spanish dancer who had been delighting thronged audiences in the old Opera-house on the Battery had taken ship for Cuba.

到目前为止，他的信息确实很丰富，而且他的记忆力如此敏锐，以至于他应该是唯一一个能够告诉你银行家朱利叶斯·博福特到底是谁，以及英俊的鲍勃·斯派塞，老曼森·明戈特夫人的父亲的下落的人，他在结婚不到一年的时间里就神秘地失踪了（带着一大笔信托资金），就在那天，一位美丽的西班牙舞者在旧时为拥挤的观众带来了欢乐。炮台上的歌剧院已乘船前往古巴。

But these mysteries, and many others, were closely locked in Mr. Jackson's breast; for not only did his keen sense of honour forbid his repeating anything privately imparted, but he was fully aware that his reputation for discretion increased his opportunities of finding out what he wanted to know.

但这些谜团，以及许多其他谜团，都紧紧地锁在杰克逊先生的胸中。因为他强烈的荣誉感不仅禁止他重复私下透露的任何事情，而且他充分意识到，他谨慎的声誉增加了他发现他想知道的事情的机会。

The club box, therefore, waited in visible suspense while Mr. Sillerton Jackson handed back Lawrence Lefferts's opera-glass.

因此，当西勒顿·杰克逊先生归还劳伦斯·莱弗茨的歌剧镜时，俱乐部包厢里的人都处于明显的悬念中。

For a moment he silently scrutinised the attentive group out of his filmy blue eyes overhung by old veined lids; then he gave his moustache a thoughtful twist, and said simply: "I didn't think the Mingotts would have tried it on."

有一会儿，他用那双布满青筋的老眼睑，默默地审视着这群专心致志的人。然后他若有所思地扭了一下胡子，简单地说：“我没想到明戈特一家会试穿它。”

Newland Archer, during this brief episode, had been thrown into a strange state of embarrassment.

纽兰·阿切尔在这短暂的插曲中，陷入了一种奇怪的尴尬状态。

It was annoying that the box which was thus attracting the undivided attention of masculine New York should be that in which his betrothed was seated between her mother and aunt; and for a moment he could not identify the lady in the Empire dress, nor imagine why her presence created such excitement among the initiated.

令人恼火的是，这个包厢如此吸引了纽约男性的全神贯注，而他的未婚夫却坐在她母亲和姨妈之间。一时之间，他无法辨认出这位穿着帝国礼服的女士，也无法想象为什么她的出现会在入会者中引起如此兴奋。

Then light dawned on him, and with it came a momentary rush of indignation.

然后他恍然大悟，随之而来的是一阵愤怒。

No, indeed; no one would have thought the Mingotts would have tried it on!

不，确实如此；没有人会想到明戈特一家会试穿它！

But they had; they undoubtedly had; for the low-toned comments behind him left no doubt in Archer's mind that the young woman was May Welland's cousin, the cousin always referred to in the family as "poor Ellen Olenska." Archer knew that she had suddenly arrived from Europe a day or two previously; he had even heard from Miss Welland (not disapprovingly) that she had been to see poor Ellen, who was staying with old Mrs. Mingott.

但他们有；毫无疑问，他们做到了；因为他身后的低声评论让阿切尔毫无疑问地认为这个年轻女子是梅·韦兰的表弟，表弟在家里总是被称为“可怜的埃伦·奥伦斯卡”。阿切尔知道她是在一两天前突然从欧洲来到这里的。他甚至从韦兰小姐那里听说（并非不以为然）她去看望了可怜的埃伦，她和明戈特老太太住在一起。

Archer entirely approved of family solidarity, and one of the qualities he most admired in the Mingotts was their resolute championship of the few black sheep that their blameless stock had produced.

阿切尔完全赞同家庭团结，他最欣赏明戈特家族的品质之一就是他们对他们无可指摘的后代所产生的少数害群之马的坚决拥护。

There was nothing mean or ungenerous in the young man's heart, and he was glad that his future wife should not be restrained by false prudery from being kind (in private) to her unhappy cousin; but to receive Countess Olenska in the family circle was a different thing from producing her in public, at the Opera of all places, and in the very box with the young girl whose engagement to him, Newland Archer, was to be announced within a few weeks.

这个年轻人心里并没有什么卑鄙或吝啬的地方，他很高兴他未来的妻子不应该因为假正经而限制她（私下里）对她不幸的表弟表现出善意。但是，在家庭圈子里接待奥兰斯卡伯爵夫人，与在公共场合、在所有地方的歌剧院、以及在几周内宣布与他纽兰·阿切尔订婚的年轻女孩一起在包厢里接待她是两回事。

No, he felt as old Sillerton Jackson felt; he did not think the Mingotts would have tried it on!

不，他的感觉就像老西勒顿·杰克逊的感觉一样；他不认为明戈特一家会试穿它！

He knew, of course, that whatever man dared (within Fifth Avenue's limits) that old Mrs. Manson Mingott, the Matriarch of the line, would dare.

当然，他知道，无论男人敢做什么（在第五大道的范围内），曼森·明戈特老太太，这个家族的族长，都会敢做。

He had always admired the high and mighty old lady, who, in spite of having been only Catherine Spicer of Staten Island, with a father mysteriously discredited, and neither money nor position enough to make people forget it, had allied herself with the head of the wealthy Mingott line, married two of her daughters to "foreigners" (an Italian marquis and an English banker), and put the crowning touch to her audacities by building a large house of pale cream-coloured stone (when brown sandstone seemed as much the only wear as a frock-coat in the afternoon) in an inaccessible wilderness near the Central Park.

他一直钦佩那位高高在上的老太太，尽管她只是斯塔顿岛的凯瑟琳·斯派塞，父亲神秘地名誉扫地，而且既没有金钱也没有地位，不足以让人忘记这一点，但她却与富有的明戈特家族的首领结盟，将她的两个女儿嫁给了“外国人”（一位意大利侯爵和一位英国银行家），并通过建造一座淡奶油色石头的大房子来为她的大胆画上点睛之笔。 （当时棕色砂岩似乎是下午唯一可以穿的衣服）在中央公园附近一片人迹罕至的荒野中。

Old Mrs. Mingott's foreign daughters had become a legend.

明戈特老太太的外国女儿已经成为一个传奇。

They never came back to see their mother, and the latter being, like many persons of active mind and dominating will, sedentary and corpulent in her habit, had philosophically remained at home.

他们再也没有回来看望他们的母亲，而母亲就像许多思想活跃、意志坚强的人一样，习惯于久坐和肥胖，从哲学上讲，她一直待在家里。

But the cream-coloured house (supposed to be modelled on the private hotels of the Parisian aristocracy) was there as a visible proof of her moral courage; and she throned in it, among pre-Revolutionary furniture and souvenirs of the Tuileries of Louis Napoleon (where she had shone in her middle age), as placidly as if there were nothing peculiar in living above Thirty-fourth Street, or in having French windows that opened like doors instead of sashes that pushed up.

但那座奶油色的房子（应该是以巴黎贵族的私人旅馆为蓝本的）在那里作为她道德勇气的明显证明；她坐在里面，周围是革命前的家具和路易·拿破仑杜伊勒里宫的纪念品（她在中年时期曾在那里发光发热），平静得仿佛住在三十四街上方并没有什么奇怪的，或者有像门一样打开的法式窗户而不是向上推的窗框。

Every one (including Mr. Sillerton Jackson) was agreed that old Catherine had never had beauty--a gift which, in the eyes of New York, justified every success, and excused a certain number of failings.

每个人（包括西勒顿·杰克逊先生）都同意，老凯瑟琳从来没有美貌——在纽约人看来，美貌是一种天赋，可以证明每一次成功都是合理的，并可以原谅一定数量的失败。

Unkind people said that, like her Imperial namesake, she had won her way to success by strength of will and hardness of heart, and a kind of haughty effrontery that was somehow justified by the extreme decency and dignity of her private life.

不友善的人说，就像她的同名皇帝一样，她是凭借坚强的意志和坚强的内心赢得了成功，以及一种傲慢的厚颜无耻，而她私生活的极端正派和尊严在某种程度上证明了她的傲慢。

Mr. Manson Mingott had died when she was only twenty-eight, and had "tied up" the money with an additional caution born of the general distrust of the Spicers; but his bold young widow went her way fearlessly, mingled freely in foreign society, married her daughters in heaven knew what corrupt and fashionable circles, hobnobbed with Dukes and Ambassadors, associated familiarly with Papists, entertained Opera singers, and was the intimate friend of Mme.

曼森·明戈特先生在她二十八岁的时候就去世了，由于对斯派塞家族普遍不信任，曼森·明戈特先生“捆绑”了这笔钱，并采取了额外的谨慎态度。但他勇敢的年轻遗孀却无所畏惧地走自己的路，自由地融入外国社会，在天知道腐败和时尚的圈子里娶了她的女儿们，与公爵和大使交往密切，与天主教徒交往密切，招待歌剧演员，是夫人的亲密朋友。

Taglioni; and all the while (as Sillerton Jackson was the first to proclaim) there had never been a breath on her reputation; the only respect, he always added, in which she differed from the earlier Catherine.

塔廖尼；自始至终（正如西勒顿·杰克逊第一个宣称的那样），她的声誉从未受到影响。他总是补充说，这是她与早期的凯瑟琳不同的唯一方面。

Mrs. Manson Mingott had long since succeeded in untying her husband's fortune, and had lived in affluence for half a century; but memories of her early straits had made her excessively thrifty, and though, when she bought a dress or a piece of furniture, she took care that it should be of the best, she could not bring herself to spend much on the transient pleasures of the table.

曼森·明戈特夫人早已成功地解开了丈夫的财产，过上了半个世纪的富裕生活。不过，早年经历的困境让她过分节俭，尽管她在买一件衣服或一件家具时都力求最好，但她却不愿意在餐桌上短暂的快乐上花太多钱。

Therefore, for totally different reasons, her food was as poor as Mrs. Archer's, and her wines did nothing to redeem it.

因此，由于完全不同的原因，她的食物和阿切尔夫人的食物一样糟糕，而她的葡萄酒也无法弥补这一点。

Her relatives considered that the penury of her table discredited the Mingott name, which had always been associated with good living; but people continued to come to her in spite of the "made dishes" and flat champagne, and in reply to the remonstrances of her son Lovell (who tried to retrieve the family credit by having the best chef in New York) she used to say laughingly: "What's the use of two good cooks in one family, now that I've married the girls and can't eat sauces?"

她的亲戚们认为，她的餐桌贫乏，损害了明戈特这个名字的声誉，而明戈特这个名字一直与美好的生活联系在一起。尽管有“现做的菜肴”和平淡的香槟，人们还是继续来找她，在回应儿子洛弗尔的抗议时（他试图通过拥有纽约最好的厨师来挽回家族声誉），她常常笑着说：“一个家庭有两个好厨师有什么用，既然我已经和女孩们结婚了，不能吃酱汁了？”

Newland Archer, as he mused on these things, had once more turned his eyes toward the Mingott box.

纽兰·阿切尔一边思考着这些事情，一边再次将目光投向了明戈特的盒子。

He saw that Mrs. Welland and her sister-in-law were facing their semicircle of critics with the Mingottian _aplomb_ which old Catherine had inculcated in all her tribe, and that only May Welland betrayed, by a heightened colour (perhaps due to the knowledge that he was watching her) a sense of the gravity of the situation.

他看到韦兰夫人和她的嫂子正以明戈特式的沉闷态度面对他们的半圈批评者，这是老凯瑟琳向她的整个部落灌输的，只有梅·韦兰以一种高度的表情（也许是因为知道他正在注视着她）背叛了局势的严重性。

As for the cause of the commotion, she sat gracefully in her corner of the box, her eyes fixed on the stage, and revealing, as she leaned forward, a little more shoulder and bosom than New York was accustomed to seeing, at least in ladies who had reasons for wishing to pass unnoticed.

至于骚动的原因，她优雅地坐在包厢的角落里，眼睛盯着舞台，当她向前倾身时，露出的肩膀和胸部比纽约习惯看到的要多一点，至少对于那些有理由希望不被人注意的女士来说是这样。

Few things seemed to Newland Archer more awful than an offence against "Taste," that far-off divinity of whom "Form" was the mere visible representative and vicegerent.

在纽兰·阿切尔看来，没有什么比对“品味”的冒犯更可怕的了，“形式”只是“品味”这个遥远的神明的可见代表和代理人。

Madame Olenska's pale and serious face appealed to his fancy as suited to the occasion and to her unhappy situation; but the way her dress (which had no tucker) sloped away from her thin shoulders shocked and troubled him.

奥兰斯卡夫人苍白而严肃的脸庞吸引了他的注意，因为这很适合这个场合和她不幸的处境。但她的裙子（没有褶子）从她瘦削的肩膀上倾斜下来的方式让他感到震惊和困扰。

He hated to think of May Welland's being exposed to the influence of a young woman so careless of the dictates of Taste.

他不愿意想到梅·韦兰会受到一个如此不顾品味的年轻女子的影响。

"After all," he heard one of the younger men begin behind him (everybody talked through the Mephistopheles-and-Martha scenes), "after all, just _what_ happened?"

“毕竟，”他听到一个年轻人在他身后开始说道（每个人都在谈论梅菲斯特和玛莎的场景），“毕竟，到底发生了什么？”

"Well--she left him; nobody attempts to deny that."

“嗯——她离开了他；没有人试图否认这一点。”

"He's an awful brute, isn't he?" continued the young enquirer, a candid Thorley, who was evidently preparing to enter the lists as the lady's champion.

“他是个可怕的畜生，不是吗？”这位年轻的询问者继续说道，他是一位坦率的索利，他显然正准备以女子冠军的身份进入名单。

"The very worst; I knew him at Nice," said Lawrence Lefferts with authority.

“最糟糕的是；我在尼斯认识他，”劳伦斯·莱弗茨权威地说。

"A half-paralysed white sneering fellow--rather handsome head, but eyes with a lot of lashes.

“一个半身不遂的白色冷笑家伙——头颅相当英俊，但眼睛却长满了睫毛。

Well, I'll tell you the sort: when he wasn't with women he was collecting china.

好吧，我会告诉你这样的：当他不和女人在一起时，他就收集瓷器。

Paying any price for both, I understand."

为了两者付出任何代价，我理解。”

There was a general laugh, and the young champion said: "Well, then----?"

一阵大笑，年轻的冠军说道：“那么——？”

"Well, then; she bolted with his secretary."

“那么，她就和他的秘书一起逃走了。”

"Oh, I see." The champion's face fell.

“我懂了。”冠军的脸沉了下来。

"It didn't last long, though: I heard of her a few months later living alone in Venice.

“不过，这种情况并没有持续多久：几个月后我听说她独自住在威尼斯。

I believe Lovell Mingott went out to get her.

我相信洛弗尔·明戈特出去接她了。

He said she was desperately unhappy.

他说她非常不高兴。

That's all right--but this parading her at the Opera's another thing."

没关系——但在歌剧院让她炫耀则是另一回事了。”

"Perhaps," young Thorley hazarded, "she's too unhappy to be left at home."

“也许，”年轻的索利大胆地说，“她太不高兴了，不能被留在家里。”

This was greeted with an irreverent laugh, and the youth blushed deeply, and tried to look as if he had meant to insinuate what knowing people called a "_double entendre_."

这引起了一阵不敬的笑声，年轻人的脸涨得通红，并试图表现出他有意暗示懂行的人所说的“双关语”。

"Well--it's queer to have brought Miss Welland, anyhow," some one said in a low tone, with a side-glance at Archer.

“呃——无论如何，带了韦兰小姐来真是奇怪，”有人低声说道，侧眼看了阿切尔一眼。

"Oh, that's part of the campaign: Granny's orders, no doubt," Lefferts laughed.

“哦，这就是竞选活动的一部分：毫无疑问，是奶奶的命令，”莱弗茨笑道。

"When the old lady does a thing she does it thoroughly."

“老太太做一件事，一定会做得很彻底。”

The act was ending, and there was a general stir in the box.

演出即将结束，包厢里一阵骚动。

Suddenly Newland Archer felt himself impelled to decisive action.

突然间，纽兰·阿切尔感到自己必须采取果断行动。

The desire to be the first man to enter Mrs. Mingott's box, to proclaim to the waiting world his engagement to May Welland, and to see her through whatever difficulties her cousin's anomalous situation might involve her in; this impulse had abruptly overruled all scruples and hesitations, and sent him hurrying through the red corridors to the farther side of the house.

渴望成为第一个进入明戈特夫人包厢的男人，向等待的世界宣布他与梅·韦兰订婚，并帮助她度过她表弟的异常情况可能给她带来的任何困难；这种冲动突然压倒了一切顾虑和犹豫，让他匆匆穿过红色的走廊，来到了房子的另一边。

As he entered the box his eyes met Miss Welland's, and he saw that she had instantly understood his motive, though the family dignity which both considered so high a virtue would not permit her to tell him so.

当他进入包厢时，他的目光与韦兰小姐的目光相遇，他发现她立即明白了他的动机，尽管双方都认为如此崇高的家庭尊严不允许她告诉他这一点。

The persons of their world lived in an atmosphere of faint implications and pale delicacies, and the fact that he and she understood each other without a word seemed to the young man to bring them nearer than any explanation would have done.

他们的世界里的人们生活在一种淡淡的暗示和苍白的微妙气氛中，而他和她无需言语就能相互理解，这一事实在年轻人看来比任何解释都更能拉近他们的距离。

Her eyes said: "You see why Mamma brought me," and his answered: "I would not for the world have had you stay away."

她的眼睛说：“你知道妈妈为什么带我来了，”他回答说：“我无论如何也不愿意让你离开。”

"You know my niece Countess Olenska?" Mrs. Welland enquired as she shook hands with her future son-in-law.

“你认识我的侄女奥兰斯卡伯爵夫人吗？”韦兰夫人一边与她未来的女婿握手，一边问道。

Archer bowed without extending his hand, as was the custom on being introduced to a lady; and Ellen Olenska bent her head slightly, keeping her own pale-gloved hands clasped on her huge fan of eagle feathers.

阿切尔鞠躬，没有伸出手，这是被介绍给女士的惯例。埃伦·奥兰斯卡微微低下头，戴着浅色手套的双手紧握着那把鹰羽毛制成的大扇。

Having greeted Mrs. Lovell Mingott, a large blonde lady in creaking satin, he sat down beside his betrothed, and said in a low tone: "I hope you've told Madame Olenska that we're engaged?

他向洛弗尔·明戈特夫人——一位身穿嘎吱作响的缎子的金发大女人打招呼后，在他的未婚夫身边坐下，低声说道：“我希望你已经告诉奥兰斯卡夫人我们订婚了？

I want everybody to know--I want you to let me announce it this evening at the ball."

我希望每个人都知道——我希望你们让我在今晚的舞会上宣布这一消息。”

Miss Welland's face grew rosy as the dawn, and she looked at him with radiant eyes.

韦兰小姐的脸变得如黎明般红润，她用明亮的眼睛看着他。

"If you can persuade Mamma," she said; "but why should we change what is already settled?" He made no answer but that which his eyes returned, and she added, still more confidently smiling: "Tell my cousin yourself: I give you leave.

“如果你能说服妈妈，”她说； “但是我们为什么要改变已经确定的事情呢？”他没有回答，但他的眼睛也做出了回应，她补充道，更加自信地微笑着：“你自己告诉我表弟：我允许你了。

She says she used to play with you when you were children."

她说你们小时候她经常和你们一起玩。”

She made way for him by pushing back her chair, and promptly, and a little ostentatiously, with the desire that the whole house should see what he was doing, Archer seated himself at the Countess Olenska's side.

她把椅子往后一推，给他让路，阿切尔立即在奥兰斯卡伯爵夫人身边坐下，有点夸张，希望全屋子的人都能看到他在做什么。

"We _did_ use to play together, didn't we?" she asked, turning her grave eyes to his.

“我们过去常一起玩，不是吗？”她问道，把严肃的目光转向他的眼睛。

"You were a horrid boy, and kissed me once behind a door; but it was your cousin Vandie Newland, who never looked at me, that I was in love with." Her glance swept the horse-shoe curve of boxes.

“你是个可怕的男孩，有一次在门后吻了我；但我爱上的是你的表弟范迪·纽兰，他从不看我一眼。”她的目光扫过马蹄形的盒子。

"Ah, how this brings it all back to me--I see everybody here in knickerbockers and pantalettes," she said, with her trailing slightly foreign accent, her eyes returning to his face.

“啊，这让我想起了这一切——我看到这里每个人都穿着灯笼裤和长裤，”她带着略带外国口音的声音说道，她的目光又回到了他的脸上。

Agreeable as their expression was, the young man was shocked that they should reflect so unseemly a picture of the august tribunal before which, at that very moment, her case was being tried.

尽管他们的表情令人愉快，但年轻人感到震惊的是，他们竟然如此不体面地反映了庄严法庭的画面，而此时此刻，她的案子正在法庭上审理。

Nothing could be in worse taste than misplaced flippancy; and he answered somewhat stiffly: "Yes, you have been away a very long time."

没有什么比不合时宜的轻率更糟糕的了。他有些生硬地回答：“是的，你已经离开很长时间了。”

"Oh, centuries and centuries; so long," she said, "that I'm sure I'm dead and buried, and this dear old place is heaven;" which, for reasons he could not define, struck Newland Archer as an even more disrespectful way of describing New York society.

“哦，几个世纪又几个世纪；这么久了，”她说，“我确信我已经死了，被埋葬了，这个可爱的老地方就是天堂；”由于他无法定义的原因，纽兰·阿切尔觉得这种描述纽约社会的方式更加不尊重。

III.

三．

It invariably happened in the same way.

事情总是以同样的方式发生。

Mrs. Julius Beaufort, on the night of her annual ball, never failed to appear at the Opera; indeed, she always gave her ball on an Opera night in order to emphasise her complete superiority to household cares, and her possession of a staff of servants competent to organise every detail of the entertainment in her absence.

朱利叶斯·博福特夫人在一年一度的舞会之夜，总是会出现在歌剧院。事实上，她总是在歌剧之夜举办舞会，以强调她完全优于家庭照顾，并且她拥有一批仆人，有能力在她不在时组织娱乐活动的每一个细节。

The Beauforts' house was one of the few in New York that possessed a ball-room (it antedated even Mrs. Manson Mingott's and the Headly Chiverses'); and at a time when it was beginning to be thought "provincial" to put a "crash" over the drawing-room floor and move the furniture upstairs, the possession of a ball-room that was used for no other purpose, and left for three-hundred-and-sixty-four days of the year to shuttered darkness, with its gilt chairs stacked in a corner and its chandelier in a bag; this undoubted superiority was felt to compensate for whatever was regrettable in the Beaufort past.

博福特夫妇的房子是纽约为数不多的拥有舞厅的房子之一（它甚至早于曼森·明戈特夫人和海德利·奇弗斯夫妇的房子）；当时人们开始认为在客厅地板上“撞倒”并将家具移到楼上是“省级的”，拥有一间没有其他用途的舞厅，一年中三百六十四天都处于封闭的黑暗中，镀金的椅子堆放在角落里，枝形吊灯装在袋子里；人们认为这种毫无疑问的优越性是为了弥补博福特过去的遗憾。

Mrs. Archer, who was fond of coining her social philosophy into axioms, had once said: "We all have our pet common people--" and though the phrase was a daring one, its truth was secretly admitted in many an exclusive bosom.

阿切尔夫人喜欢把她的社会哲学创造成公理，她曾经说过：“我们都有我们所宠爱的普通人——”虽然这句话很大胆，但它的真理在许多排外人士的心目中都被秘密地承认了。

But the Beauforts were not exactly common; some people said they were even worse.

但博福特家族并不常见。有些人说他们的情况更糟。

Mrs. Beaufort belonged indeed to one of America's most honoured families; she had been the lovely Regina Dallas (of the South Carolina branch), a penniless beauty introduced to New York society by her cousin, the imprudent Medora Manson, who was always doing the wrong thing from the right motive.

博福特夫人确实属于美国最尊贵的家庭之一。她是可爱的雷吉娜·达拉斯（来自南卡罗来纳州分部），是一位身无分文的美女，由她的表弟、轻率的梅多拉·曼森介绍到纽约社会，梅多拉·曼森总是出于正确的动机而做错误的事情。

When one was related to the Mansons and the Rushworths one had a "_droit de cité_" (as Mr. Sillerton Jackson, who had frequented the Tuileries, called it) in New York society; but did one not forfeit it in marrying Julius Beaufort?

当一个人与曼森家族和拉什沃斯家族有亲戚关系时，他在纽约社会就拥有了“公民权”（经常光顾杜伊勒里宫的西勒顿·杰克逊先生这样称呼它）。但与朱利叶斯·博福特结婚后，难道就没有放弃这一权利吗？

The question was: who was Beaufort?

问题是：博福特是谁？

He passed for an Englishman, was agreeable, handsome, ill-tempered, hospitable and witty.

他被认为是一个英国人，和蔼可亲，英俊，脾气暴躁，热情好客，机智。

He had come to America with letters of recommendation from old Mrs. Manson Mingott's English son-in-law, the banker, and had speedily made himself an important position in the world of affairs; but his habits were dissipated, his tongue was bitter, his antecedents were mysterious; and when Medora Manson announced her cousin's engagement to him it was felt to be one more act of folly in poor Medora's long record of imprudences.

他带着曼森·明戈特老太太的英国女婿、银行家的推荐信来到美国，并很快在世界事务中获得了重要地位；但他的习惯已经消失，他的舌头很苦涩，他的来历很神秘。当梅多拉·曼森宣布她的表弟与他订婚时，人们认为这是可怜的梅多拉长期以来的轻率行为中的又一愚蠢行为。

But folly is as often justified of her children as wisdom, and two years after young Mrs. Beaufort's marriage it was admitted that she had the most distinguished house in New York.

但对于她的孩子来说，愚蠢和智慧一样都是合理的，年轻的博福特夫人结婚两年后，人们承认她拥有纽约最尊贵的房子。

No one knew exactly how the miracle was accomplished.

没有人确切知道这一奇迹是如何实现的。

She was indolent, passive, the caustic even called her dull; but dressed like an idol, hung with pearls, growing younger and blonder and more beautiful each year, she throned in Mr. Beaufort's heavy brown-stone palace, and drew all the world there without lifting her jewelled little finger.

她懒惰、消极，刻薄的人甚至说她迟钝。但她打扮得像个偶像，挂着珍珠，一年比一年年轻、金发碧眼、更加美丽，她坐在博福特先生那座沉重的棕色石头宫殿里，不用举起她那戴着宝石的小指，就吸引了全世界的目光。

The knowing people said it was Beaufort himself who trained the servants, taught the chef new dishes, told the gardeners what hot-house flowers to grow for the dinner-table and the drawing-rooms, selected the guests, brewed the after-dinner punch and dictated the little notes his wife wrote to her friends.

知情人士说，是博福特本人训练了仆人，教了厨师新菜，告诉园丁在餐桌和客厅种植什么温室花卉，挑选客人，酿造餐后潘趣酒，口授他妻子写给朋友们的小便条。

If he did, these domestic activities were privately performed, and he presented to the world the appearance of a careless and hospitable millionaire strolling into his own drawing-room with the detachment of an invited guest, and saying: "My wife's gloxinias are a marvel, aren't they?

如果他这样做了，这些家庭活动都是私下进行的，他向世界展示了一个粗心而好客的百万富翁的样子，他带着受邀客人的超然态度走进自己的客厅，说道：“我妻子的大岩桐是一个奇迹，不是吗？

I believe she gets them out from Kew."

我相信她能把它们从邱园带出来。”

Mr. Beaufort's secret, people were agreed, was the way he carried things off.

人们一致认为，博福特先生的秘密在于他成功的方式。

It was all very well to whisper that he had been "helped" to leave England by the international banking-house in which he had been employed; he carried off that rumour as easily as the rest--though New York's business conscience was no less sensitive than its moral standard--he carried everything before him, and all New York into his drawing-rooms, and for over twenty years now people had said they were "going to the Beauforts'" with the same tone of security as if they had said they were going to Mrs. Manson Mingott's, and with the added satisfaction of knowing they would get hot canvas-back ducks and vintage wines, instead of tepid Veuve Clicquot without a year and warmed-up croquettes from Philadelphia.

窃窃私语说他是在他受雇的国际银行“帮助”下离开英国的，这一切都很好。他和其他人一样轻易地传播了这个谣言——尽管纽约的商业良心并不比它的道德标准更敏感——他把面前的一切，以及整个纽约都带进了他的客厅，二十多年来，人们说他们要去“博福特”，语气就像他们说他们要去曼森·明戈特夫人家一样安全，而且更满意的是，他们知道他们会得到热帆布背鸭和年份葡萄酒，而不是不温不火的凯歌香槟 (Veuve Clicquot) 没有年份，还有来自费城的热炸丸子。

Mrs. Beaufort, then, had as usual appeared in her box just before the Jewel Song; and when, again as usual, she rose at the end of the third act, drew her opera cloak about her lovely shoulders, and disappeared, New York knew that meant that half an hour later the ball would begin.

博福特夫人像往常一样，在《宝石之歌》开始前出现在她的包厢里。当第三幕结束时，她又像往常一样站起来，把歌剧斗篷拉到她可爱的肩膀上，然后消失了，纽约知道这意味着半小时后舞会就要开始了。

The Beaufort house was one that New Yorkers were proud to show to foreigners, especially on the night of the annual ball.

博福特之家是纽约人自豪地向外国人展示的房子，尤其是在一年一度的舞会之夜。

The Beauforts had been among the first people in New York to own their own red velvet carpet and have it rolled down the steps by their own footmen, under their own awning, instead of hiring it with the supper and the ball-room chairs.

博福特夫妇是纽约第一批拥有自己的红色天鹅绒地毯的人之一，并由自己的男仆在自己的遮阳篷下将其从台阶上滚下来，而不是与晚餐和舞厅椅子一起租用。

They had also inaugurated the custom of letting the ladies take their cloaks off in the hall, instead of shuffling up to the hostess's bedroom and recurling their hair with the aid of the gas-burner; Beaufort was understood to have said that he supposed all his wife's friends had maids who saw to it that they were properly _coiffées_ when they left home.

他们还开创了让女士们在大厅里脱掉斗篷的习俗，而不是拖着脚步到女主人的卧室里，用煤气炉把头发卷起来。据了解，博福特曾说过，他认为他妻子的所有朋友都有女仆，她们会确保他们在离开家时得到适当的_coiffées_。

Then the house had been boldly planned with a ball-room, so that, instead of squeezing through a narrow passage to get to it (as at the Chiverses') one marched solemnly down a vista of enfiladed drawing-rooms (the sea-green, the crimson and the bouton d'or), seeing from afar the many-candled lustres reflected in the polished parquetry, and beyond that the depths of a conservatory where camellias and tree-ferns arched their costly foliage over seats of black and gold bamboo.

然后，这座房子被大胆地规划为一个舞厅，这样，人们就不用像在奇弗斯家那样挤过一条狭窄的通道到达那里，而是庄严地沿着一排排客厅的远景（海绿色、深红色和金色），远远地看到抛光的镶木地板上反射出的许多蜡烛的光泽，再往前是一个温室的深处，那里种着山茶花。树蕨把它们昂贵的叶子拱在黑色和金色的竹子上。

Newland Archer, as became a young man of his position, strolled in somewhat late.

纽兰·阿切尔在他这个职位上已经是个年轻人了，他慢悠悠地进来了。

He had left his overcoat with the silk-stockinged footmen (the stockings were one of Beaufort's few fatuities), had dawdled a while in the library hung with Spanish leather and furnished with Buhl and malachite, where a few men were chatting and putting on their dancing-gloves, and had finally joined the line of guests whom Mrs. Beaufort was receiving on the threshold of the crimson drawing-room.

他把他的大衣留给了穿着丝袜的男仆（丝袜是博福特为数不多的傻事之一），在挂着西班牙皮革、装饰着布尔和孔雀石的图书馆里闲逛了一会儿，几个男人正在聊天，戴上跳舞手套，最后加入了博福特夫人在深红色客厅门口接待的客人队伍。

Archer was distinctly nervous.

阿切尔显然很紧张。

He had not gone back to his club after the Opera (as the young bloods usually did), but, the night being fine, had walked for some distance up Fifth Avenue before turning back in the direction of the Beauforts' house.

歌剧结束后，他没有回到俱乐部（就像年轻人通常做的那样），但是，夜色很好，他沿着第五大道走了一段距离，然后折回博福特家的方向。

He was definitely afraid that the Mingotts might be going too far; that, in fact, they might have Granny Mingott's orders to bring the Countess Olenska to the ball.

他绝对担心明戈特一家可能做得太过分了；事实上，他们可能奉明戈特奶奶的命令带奥兰斯卡伯爵夫人参加舞会。

From the tone of the club box he had perceived how grave a mistake that would be; and, though he was more than ever determined to "see the thing through," he felt less chivalrously eager to champion his betrothed's cousin than before their brief talk at the Opera.

从俱乐部包厢里的语气中，他已经意识到这将是一个多么严重的错误。尽管他比以往任何时候都更决心要“把事情搞清楚”，但与他们在歌剧院短暂交谈之前相比，他对支持未婚夫表弟的侠义渴望却有所减弱。

Wandering on to the bouton d'or drawing-room (where Beaufort had had the audacity to hang "Love Victorious," the much-discussed nude of Bouguereau) Archer found Mrs. Welland and her daughter standing near the ball-room door.

阿切尔漫步到金徽章客厅（博福特曾在这里大胆地悬挂了备受争议的布格罗裸体画《爱的胜利》），阿切尔发现韦兰夫人和她的女儿站在舞厅门口附近。

Couples were already gliding over the floor beyond: the light of the wax candles fell on revolving tulle skirts, on girlish heads wreathed with modest blossoms, on the dashing aigrettes and ornaments of the young married women's coiffures, and on the glitter of highly glazed shirt-fronts and fresh _glacé_ gloves.

情侣们已经在远处的地板上滑行：蜡烛的光芒落在旋转的薄纱裙子上，落在戴着朴素花朵的少女头上，落在年轻已婚妇女发型上潇洒的白鹭和装饰品上，落在闪闪发光的高度釉面衬衫前襟和新鲜的冰糖手套上。

Miss Welland, evidently about to join the dancers, hung on the threshold, her lilies-of-the-valley in her hand (she carried no other bouquet), her face a little pale, her eyes burning with a candid excitement.

韦兰小姐显然即将加入舞者行列，她挂在门槛上，手里拿着铃兰（她没有带其他花束），脸色有些苍白，眼睛里闪烁着坦率的兴奋。

A group of young men and girls were gathered about her, and there was much hand-clasping, laughing and pleasantry on which Mrs. Welland, standing slightly apart, shed the beam of a qualified approval.

一群年轻男女聚集在她周围，大家互相握手、大笑和寒暄，韦兰夫人稍微分开站着，脸上流露出合格的赞许之光。

It was evident that Miss Welland was in the act of announcing her engagement, while her mother affected the air of parental reluctance considered suitable to the occasion.

显然，韦兰小姐正在宣布她订婚的消息，而她的母亲则表现出父母般的不情愿，这被认为是适合这个场合的。

Archer paused a moment.

阿切尔停顿了一下。

It was at his express wish that the announcement had been made, and yet it was not thus that he would have wished to have his happiness known.

宣布这一消息是根据他的明确意愿，但他并不希望让人们知道他的幸福。

To proclaim it in the heat and noise of a crowded ball-room was to rob it of the fine bloom of privacy which should belong to things nearest the heart.

在拥挤的舞厅的炎热和喧闹中宣布它，就等于剥夺了它本应属于最亲近的事物的美好隐私。

His joy was so deep that this blurring of the surface left its essence untouched; but he would have liked to keep the surface pure too.

他的喜悦如此之深，表面的模糊却没有触及其本质。但他也希望保持表面纯净。

It was something of a satisfaction to find that May Welland shared this feeling.

发现梅·韦兰也有这种感觉，真是令人欣慰。

Her eyes fled to his beseechingly, and their look said: "Remember, we're doing this because it's right."

她的目光恳求地转向他，眼神仿佛在说：“记住，我们这样做是因为这是正确的。”

No appeal could have found a more immediate response in Archer's breast; but he wished that the necessity of their action had been represented by some ideal reason, and not simply by poor Ellen Olenska.

没有任何呼吁能够在阿切尔的胸中找到更直接的反应。但他希望他们行动的必要性能够由某种理想的理由来代表，而不仅仅是可怜的埃伦·奥兰斯卡。

The group about Miss Welland made way for him with significant smiles, and after taking his share of the felicitations he drew his betrothed into the middle of the ball-room floor and put his arm about her waist.

韦兰小姐周围的一群人带着意味深长的微笑给他让路，在接受了他的祝贺后，他把他的未婚夫拉到舞厅地板中央，用手臂搂住她的腰。

"Now we shan't have to talk," he said, smiling into her candid eyes, as they floated away on the soft waves of the Blue Danube.

“现在我们不用说话了，”他说，对着她坦诚的眼睛微笑，她的眼睛在蓝色多瑙河的柔和波涛上漂走。

She made no answer.

她没有回答。

Her lips trembled into a smile, but the eyes remained distant and serious, as if bent on some ineffable vision.

她的嘴唇颤抖着微笑，但眼神依然冷漠而严肃，仿佛在凝视着某种难以言喻的景象。

"Dear," Archer whispered, pressing her to him: it was borne in on him that the first hours of being engaged, even if spent in a ball-room, had in them something grave and sacramental.

“亲爱的，”阿切尔低声说道，将她压在身边：他深深地体会到，订婚的最初几个小时，即使是在舞厅里度过的，也充满了庄严和神圣的气氛。

What a new life it was going to be, with this whiteness, radiance, goodness at one's side!

有了这种洁白、光辉、善良的陪伴，这将是多么新的生活啊！

The dance over, the two, as became an affianced couple, wandered into the conservatory; and sitting behind a tall screen of tree-ferns and camellias Newland pressed her gloved hand to his lips.

舞会结束后，两人就像订婚的情侣一样走进了温室。纽兰坐在一排高高的树蕨和山茶花屏风后面，把戴着手套的手按在他的嘴唇上。

"You see I did as you asked me to," she said.

“你看，我按照你的要求做了，”她说。

"Yes: I couldn't wait," he answered smiling.

“是的：我等不及了，”他微笑着回答。

After a moment he added: "Only I wish it hadn't had to be at a ball."

过了一会儿，他补充道：“只是我希望这不是在舞会上。”

"Yes, I know." She met his glance comprehendingly.

“是的，我知道。”她理解地看着他的目光。

"But after all--even here we're alone together, aren't we?"

“但毕竟——即使在这里，我们也是单独在一起，不是吗？”

"Oh, dearest--always!" Archer cried.

“噢，亲爱的——永远！”阿切尔哭了。

Evidently she was always going to understand; she was always going to say the right thing.

显然她总是会理解的。她总是会说正确的话。

The discovery made the cup of his bliss overflow, and he went on gaily: "The worst of it is that I want to kiss you and I can't." As he spoke he took a swift glance about the conservatory, assured himself of their momentary privacy, and catching her to him laid a fugitive pressure on her lips.

这个发现让他的幸福之杯溢满了，他高兴地继续说道：“最糟糕的是我想吻你，但我不能。”他一边说话，一边迅速扫视了温室一眼，确保他们暂时的隐私，然后把她拉到身边，轻轻地压在她的嘴唇上。

To counteract the audacity of this proceeding he led her to a bamboo sofa in a less secluded part of the conservatory, and sitting down beside her broke a lily-of-the-valley from her bouquet.

为了抵消这种大胆行为，他把她领到温室里一个不太僻静的地方的一张竹沙发前，坐在她旁边，从她的花束中摘下一朵铃兰。

She sat silent, and the world lay like a sunlit valley at their feet.

她静静地坐着，世界就像阳光普照的山谷一样躺在他们脚下。

"Did you tell my cousin Ellen?" she asked presently, as if she spoke through a dream.

“你告诉我表姐艾伦了吗？”她立刻问道，仿佛她是在做梦。

He roused himself, and remembered that he had not done so.

他清醒过来，想起自己没有这样做。

Some invincible repugnance to speak of such things to the strange foreign woman had checked the words on his lips.

他对向陌生的外国女人谈论这种事情感到无比反感，他抑制住了嘴上的话。

"No--I hadn't the chance after all," he said, fibbing hastily.

“不——我毕竟没有机会，”他连忙撒谎说。

"Ah." She looked disappointed, but gently resolved on gaining her point.

“啊。”她看起来很失望，但还是温和地决定要表达自己的观点。

"You must, then, for I didn't either; and I shouldn't like her to think--"

“那么你一定会这样，因为我也没有；而且我不应该让她认为——”

"Of course not.

“当然不是。

But aren't you, after all, the person to do it?"

但毕竟你不是做这件事的人吗？”

She pondered on this.

她思考着这个问题。

"If I'd done it at the right time, yes: but now that there's been a delay I think you must explain that I'd asked you to tell her at the Opera, before our speaking about it to everybody here.

“如果我在正确的时间做的话，是的：但是现在出现了延误，我想你必须解释一下，我让你在歌剧院告诉她，然后再向这里的每个人谈论这件事。

Otherwise she might think I had forgotten her.

不然她可能以为我已经忘记她了。

You see, she's one of the family, and she's been away so long that she's rather--sensitive."

你看，她是家里的一员，而且她离开太久了，所以她相当——敏感。”

Archer looked at her glowingly.

阿切尔目光灼灼地看着她。

"Dear and great angel!

“亲爱的、伟大的天使！

Of course I'll tell her." He glanced a trifle apprehensively toward the crowded ball-room.

我当然会告诉她。”他有些忧虑地朝拥挤的舞厅看了一眼。

"But I haven't seen her yet.

“但我还没见过她。

Has she come?"

她来了吗？”

"No; at the last minute she decided not to."

“不；在最后一刻她决定不这么做。”

"At the last minute?" he echoed, betraying his surprise that she should ever have considered the alternative possible.

“最后一刻？”他附和道，流露了他对她应该考虑另一种可能的惊讶。

"Yes.

“是的。

She's awfully fond of dancing," the young girl answered simply.

她非常喜欢跳舞。”少女简单地回答道。

"But suddenly she made up her mind that her dress wasn't smart enough for a ball, though we thought it so lovely; and so my aunt had to take her home."

“但她突然决定，她的衣服不够漂亮，不适合参加舞会，尽管我们认为它很可爱；所以我姑妈不得不带她回家。”

"Oh, well--" said Archer with happy indifference.

“哦，好吧——”阿切尔满不在乎地说道。

Nothing about his betrothed pleased him more than her resolute determination to carry to its utmost limit that ritual of ignoring the "unpleasant" in which they had both been brought up.

他的未婚妻最让他高兴的莫过于她坚定的决心，将无视他们成长过程中的“不愉快”的仪式发挥到极致。

"She knows as well as I do," he reflected, "the real reason of her cousin's staying away; but I shall never let her see by the least sign that I am conscious of there being a shadow of a shade on poor Ellen Olenska's reputation."

“她和我一样清楚，”他反思道，“她表弟离开的真正原因；但我决不会让她看到我意识到可怜的埃伦·奥兰斯卡的声誉受到了一丝阴影。”

In the course of the next day the first of the usual betrothal visits were exchanged.

第二天，按照惯例进行了第一次订婚拜访。

The New York ritual was precise and inflexible in such matters; and in conformity with it Newland Archer first went with his mother and sister to call on Mrs. Welland, after which he and Mrs. Welland and May drove out to old Mrs. Manson Mingott's to receive that venerable ancestress's blessing.

在此类问题上，纽约的惯例是精确而僵化的。按照这一规定，纽兰·阿切尔首先与他的母亲和妹妹一起去拜访韦兰夫人，然后他和韦兰夫人以及梅开车前往曼森·明戈特老夫人家，接受那位可敬的祖先的祝福。

A visit to Mrs. Manson Mingott was always an amusing episode to the young man.

对于年轻人来说，拜访曼森·明戈特夫人总是一件有趣的事。

The house in itself was already an historic document, though not, of course, as venerable as certain other old family houses in University Place and lower Fifth Avenue.

这座房子本身就已经是一个历史文献，尽管当然不像大学城和第五大道下游的某些其他老家庭住宅那样受人尊敬。

Those were of the purest 1830, with a grim harmony of cabbage-rose-garlanded carpets, rosewood consoles, round-arched fire-places with black marble mantels, and immense glazed book-cases of mahogany; whereas old Mrs. Mingott, who had built her house later, had bodily cast out the massive furniture of her prime, and mingled with the Mingott heirlooms the frivolous upholstery of the Second Empire.

这些都是最纯粹的 1830 年风格，带有卷心菜玫瑰花环的地毯、红木控制台、带有黑色大理石壁炉架的圆拱形壁炉和巨大的桃花心木釉面书架，形成一种冷酷的和谐；而明戈特老太太后来盖起了自己的房子，她把她盛年时的笨重家具全部扔掉了，把第二帝国的轻浮室内装潢与明戈特的传家宝混在一起了。

It was her habit to sit in a window of her sitting-room on the ground floor, as if watching calmly for life and fashion to flow northward to her solitary doors.

她习惯坐在一楼客厅的窗前，仿佛平静地看着生活和时尚向北流向她那扇孤零零的门。

She seemed in no hurry to have them come, for her patience was equalled by her confidence.

她似乎并不急于让他们来，因为她的耐心与她的自信同等重要。

She was sure that presently the hoardings, the quarries, the one-story saloons, the wooden green-houses in ragged gardens, and the rocks from which goats surveyed the scene, would vanish before the advance of residences as stately as her own--perhaps (for she was an impartial woman) even statelier; and that the cobble-stones over which the old clattering omnibuses bumped would be replaced by smooth asphalt, such as people reported having seen in Paris.

她确信，不久之后，围板、采石场、单层酒馆、破烂花园中的木制温室，以及山羊观察场景的岩石，都会在像她自己的住宅一样庄严的住宅出现之前消失——也许（因为她是一个公正的女人）甚至更庄严；老式公共汽车在其上颠簸的鹅卵石路将被光滑的沥青所取代，就像人们在巴黎看到的那样。

Meanwhile, as every one she cared to see came to _her_ (and she could fill her rooms as easily as the Beauforts, and without adding a single item to the menu of her suppers), she did not suffer from her geographic isolation.

与此同时，当她想见的每个人都来找她时（她可以像博福特一家一样轻松地填满她的房间，而且不需要在她的晚餐菜单上添加任何食物），她并没有遭受地理上的孤立。

The immense accretion of flesh which had descended on her in middle life like a flood of lava on a doomed city had changed her from a plump active little woman with a neatly-turned foot and ankle into something as vast and august as a natural phenomenon.

中年时，她身上的肉如洪水般的熔岩般的巨大堆积降临在一座注定失败的城市上，将她从一个肥胖、活泼、脚和脚踝整齐地转动的小女人，变成了像自然现象一样巨大而庄严的人。

She had accepted this submergence as philosophically as all her other trials, and now, in extreme old age, was rewarded by presenting to her mirror an almost unwrinkled expanse of firm pink and white flesh, in the centre of which the traces of a small face survived as if awaiting excavation.

她像所有其他考验一样哲学地接受了这次淹没，而现在，在年事已高的时候，她得到了回报，在镜子前呈现出几乎没有皱纹的坚实的粉红色和白色的肉，在肉的中心，一张小脸的痕迹幸存下来，仿佛等待着挖掘。

A flight of smooth double chins led down to the dizzy depths of a still-snowy bosom veiled in snowy muslins that were held in place by a miniature portrait of the late Mr. Mingott; and around and below, wave after wave of black silk surged away over the edges of a capacious armchair, with two tiny white hands poised like gulls on the surface of the billows.

光滑的双下巴一直延伸到令人眼花缭乱的胸部深处，那胸部覆盖着雪白的平纹细布，上面挂着已故明戈特先生的微型肖像。四周和下方，一波又一波的黑色丝绸从一张宽敞的扶手椅的边缘涌出，两只白色的小手像海鸥一样在波浪的表面上保持平衡。

The burden of Mrs. Manson Mingott's flesh had long since made it impossible for her to go up and down stairs, and with characteristic independence she had made her reception rooms upstairs and established herself (in flagrant violation of all the New York proprieties) on the ground floor of her house; so that, as you sat in her sitting-room window with her, you caught (through a door that was always open, and a looped-back yellow damask portière) the unexpected vista of a bedroom with a huge low bed upholstered like a sofa, and a toilet-table with frivolous lace flounces and a gilt-framed mirror.

曼森·明戈特夫人的肉体负担早已使她无法上下楼梯，她以特有的独立性将接待室建在楼上，并把自己安置在房子的底层（公然违反了纽约的所有礼节）。因此，当你和她一起坐在她起居室的窗前时，你（透过一扇永远开着的门和一个环回的黄色锦缎门廊）看到了卧室里意想不到的景色，卧室里有一张像沙发一样软垫的巨大矮床，还有一张带有轻薄蕾丝荷叶边的梳妆台和一面镀金镜框的镜子。

Her visitors were startled and fascinated by the foreignness of this arrangement, which recalled scenes in French fiction, and architectural incentives to immorality such as the simple American had never dreamed of.

她的来访者对这种异国情调的布置感到惊讶和着迷，这让人想起法国小说中的场景，以及简单的美国人从未梦想过的不道德的建筑激励。

That was how women with lovers lived in the wicked old societies, in apartments with all the rooms on one floor, and all the indecent propinquities that their novels described.

在邪恶的旧社会里，有情人的女人就是这样生活的，住在所有房间都在一层的公寓里，还有她们小说里描述的所有不雅的交往。

It amused Newland Archer (who had secretly situated the love-scenes of "Monsieur de Camors" in Mrs. Mingott's bedroom) to picture her blameless life led in the stage-setting of adultery; but he said to himself, with considerable admiration, that if a lover had been what she wanted, the intrepid woman would have had him too.

纽兰·阿切尔（他曾将《卡莫斯先生》的爱情场景秘密安置在明戈特夫人的卧室里）在通奸的舞台上描绘她无可指摘的生活，这让他觉得很有趣。但他满怀钦佩地对自己说，如果她想要一个情人，那么这个勇敢的女人也会得到他的。

To the general relief the Countess Olenska was not present in her grandmother's drawing-room during the visit of the betrothed couple.

令大家松了口气的是，在这对订婚夫妇来访期间，奥兰斯卡伯爵夫人并没有出现在她祖母的客厅里。

Mrs. Mingott said she had gone out; which, on a day of such glaring sunlight, and at the "shopping hour," seemed in itself an indelicate thing for a compromised woman to do.

明戈特太太说她出去了。在如此耀眼的阳光下，在“购物时间”，对于一个妥协的女人来说，这样做本身就是一件不雅的事情。

But at any rate it spared them the embarrassment of her presence, and the faint shadow that her unhappy past might seem to shed on their radiant future.

但无论如何，这让他们免去了她在场的尴尬，也免去了她不幸的过去给他们辉煌的未来蒙上的淡淡阴影。

The visit went off successfully, as was to have been expected.

访问取得圆满成功，符合预期。

Old Mrs. Mingott was delighted with the engagement, which, being long foreseen by watchful relatives, had been carefully passed upon in family council; and the engagement ring, a large thick sapphire set in invisible claws, met with her unqualified admiration.

明戈特老太太对这桩婚事感到很高兴，因为警惕的亲戚早就预见到了这一点，所以在家庭会议上小心翼翼地通过了这件事。订婚戒指是一颗又大又厚的蓝宝石，镶在隐形的爪子上，引起了她无条件的钦佩。

"It's the new setting: of course it shows the stone beautifully, but it looks a little bare to old-fashioned eyes," Mrs. Welland had explained, with a conciliatory side-glance at her future son-in-law.

“这是新的设置：当然，它把石头展现得很漂亮，但在老式的眼睛看来，它看起来有点裸露，”韦兰夫人解释道，一边安抚地侧视了她未来的女婿。

"Old-fashioned eyes?

“老眼眼？

I hope you don't mean mine, my dear?

我希望你不是指我的，亲爱的？

I like all the novelties," said the ancestress, lifting the stone to her small bright orbs, which no glasses had ever disfigured.

我喜欢所有的新奇事物。”女祖先一边说着，一边把石头举到她明亮的小圆球上，从来没有眼镜损坏过她的圆球。

"Very handsome," she added, returning the jewel; "very liberal.

“非常漂亮，”她补充道，并归还了珠宝。 “非常自由。

In my time a cameo set in pearls was thought sufficient.

在我那个时代，人们认为镶嵌珍珠的浮雕就足够了。

But it's the hand that sets off the ring, isn't it, my dear Mr. Archer?" and she waved one of her tiny hands, with small pointed nails and rolls of aged fat encircling the wrist like ivory bracelets.

但衬托戒指的是那只手，不是吗，我亲爱的阿切尔先生？”她挥舞着一只小手，小手上长着尖尖的指甲，手腕上一圈圈老化的脂肪像象牙手镯一样环绕着。

"Mine was modelled in Rome by the great Ferrigiani.

“我的模型是由伟大的费里贾尼在罗马仿制的。

You should have May's done: no doubt he'll have it done, my child.

你应该让梅的事情完成：毫无疑问他会完成它，我的孩子。

Her hand is large--it's these modern sports that spread the joints--but the skin is white.--And when's the wedding to be?" she broke off, fixing her eyes on Archer's face.

她的手很大——正是这些现代运动使关节分开——但皮肤很白。——婚礼什么时候举行？”她停住了，眼睛盯着阿切尔的脸。

"Oh--" Mrs. Welland murmured, while the young man, smiling at his betrothed, replied: "As soon as ever it can, if only you'll back me up, Mrs. Mingott."

“哦——”韦兰夫人低声说道，而年轻人则对着他的未婚夫微笑着回答道：“只要你能支持我就好了，明戈特夫人。”

"We must give them time to get to know each other a little better, mamma," Mrs. Welland interposed, with the proper affectation of reluctance; to which the ancestress rejoined: "Know each other?

“我们必须给他们时间，让他们更好地了解彼此，妈妈，”韦兰太太插话道，带着适当的不情愿。老祖宗反问道：“认识？

Fiddlesticks!

胡闹！

Everybody in New York has always known everybody.

纽约的每个人都认识每个人。

Let the young man have his way, my dear; don't wait till the bubble's off the wine.

让这个年轻人随心所欲吧，亲爱的；不要等到酒中的气泡消失。

Marry them before Lent; I may catch pneumonia any winter now, and I want to give the wedding-breakfast."

在四旬斋前与他们结婚；现在任何冬天我都可能得肺炎，而我想举办喜宴。”

These successive statements were received with the proper expressions of amusement, incredulity and gratitude; and the visit was breaking up in a vein of mild pleasantry when the door opened to admit the Countess Olenska, who entered in bonnet and mantle followed by the unexpected figure of Julius Beaufort.

这些连续的陈述得到了适当的表达，包括有趣、怀疑和感激。当门打开，奥兰斯卡伯爵夫人进来时，这次访问在一种温和的愉快中结束了，她戴着帽子，穿着斗篷走了进来，后面跟着朱利叶斯·博福特出人意料的身影。

There was a cousinly murmur of pleasure between the ladies, and Mrs. Mingott held out Ferrigiani's model to the banker.

女士们之间发出一阵表弟般的窃窃私语，明戈特夫人把费里贾尼的模型递给银行家。

"Ha!

“哈！

Beaufort, this is a rare favour!" (She had an odd foreign way of addressing men by their surnames.)

博福特，这是难得的恩惠！” （她用一种奇怪的外国方式称呼男人的姓氏。）

"Thanks.

“谢谢。

I wish it might happen oftener," said the visitor in his easy arrogant way.

我希望这种事能经常发生。”来访者以他轻松傲慢的方式说道。

"I'm generally so tied down; but I met the Countess Ellen in Madison Square, and she was good enough to let me walk home with her."

“我通常都很束缚；但我在麦迪逊广场遇到了艾伦伯爵夫人，她很好，让我和她一起走回家。”

"Ah--I hope the house will be gayer, now that Ellen's here!" cried Mrs. Mingott with a glorious effrontery.

“啊——既然艾伦来了，我希望家里会更热闹！”明戈特太太厚颜无耻地喊道。

"Sit down--sit down, Beaufort: push up the yellow armchair; now I've got you I want a good gossip.

“坐下——坐下，博福特：把黄色扶手椅推起来；现在我抓住了你，我想好好聊聊。

I hear your ball was magnificent; and I understand you invited Mrs. Lemuel Struthers?

我听说你的舞会很棒；据我所知，您邀请了莱米尔·斯特拉瑟斯夫人？

Well--I've a curiosity to see the woman myself."

嗯——我很好奇想亲眼看看这个女人。”

She had forgotten her relatives, who were drifting out into the hall under Ellen Olenska's guidance.

她忘记了她的亲戚们，他们在埃伦·奥兰斯卡的引导下飘进了大厅。

Old Mrs. Mingott had always professed a great admiration for Julius Beaufort, and there was a kind of kinship in their cool domineering way and their short-cuts through the conventions.

明戈特老太太一直对朱利叶斯·博福特表示出极大的钦佩，他们冷静、霸道的方式和对惯例的捷径有一种亲切感。

Now she was eagerly curious to know what had decided the Beauforts to invite (for the first time) Mrs. Lemuel Struthers, the widow of Struthers's Shoe-polish, who had returned the previous year from a long initiatory sojourn in Europe to lay siege to the tight little citadel of New York.

现在她非常想知道博福特夫妇为何决定（第一次）邀请莱米尔·斯特拉瑟斯夫人，斯特拉瑟斯鞋油店的遗孀，去年她从欧洲的长期逗留归来，围攻纽约这座狭小的小城堡。

"Of course if you and Regina invite her the thing is settled.

“当然，如果你和雷吉娜邀请她，事情就解决了。

Well, we need new blood and new money--and I hear she's still very good-looking," the carnivorous old lady declared.

好吧，我们需要新鲜血液和新资金——而且我听说她还是很漂亮。”肉食老太太宣称。

In the hall, while Mrs. Welland and May drew on their furs, Archer saw that the Countess Olenska was looking at him with a faintly questioning smile.

大厅里，韦兰夫人和梅穿上皮毛，阿切尔看到奥兰斯卡伯爵夫人正带着一丝询问的微笑看着他。

"Of course you know already--about May and me," he said, answering her look with a shy laugh.

“当然你已经知道了——关于梅和我，”他说，用害羞的笑声回应她的目光。

"She scolded me for not giving you the news last night at the Opera: I had her orders to tell you that we were engaged--but I couldn't, in that crowd."

“她责备我昨晚在歌剧院没有告诉你这个消息：她命令我告诉你我们订婚了——但我不能，在人群中。”

The smile passed from Countess Olenska's eyes to her lips: she looked younger, more like the bold brown Ellen Mingott of his boyhood.

微笑从奥兰斯卡伯爵夫人的眼睛传到嘴唇：她看起来更年轻，更像他童年时大胆的棕色艾伦·明戈特。

"Of course I know; yes.

“我当然知道；是的。

And I'm so glad.

我很高兴。

But one doesn't tell such things first in a crowd." The ladies were on the threshold and she held out her hand.

但一个人不会在人群中首先说出这样的事情。”女士们站在门槛上，她伸出了手。

"Good-bye; come and see me some day," she said, still looking at Archer.

“再见，改天来看我。”她说道，仍然看着阿切尔。

In the carriage, on the way down Fifth Avenue, they talked pointedly of Mrs. Mingott, of her age, her spirit, and all her wonderful attributes.

在沿着第五大道行驶的马车上，他们尖锐地谈论了明戈特夫人，谈论了她的年龄、她的精神以及她所有美妙的品质。

No one alluded to Ellen Olenska; but Archer knew that Mrs. Welland was thinking: "It's a mistake for Ellen to be seen, the very day after her arrival, parading up Fifth Avenue at the crowded hour with Julius Beaufort--" and the young man himself mentally added: "And she ought to know that a man who's just engaged doesn't spend his time calling on married women.

没有人提到艾伦·奥兰斯卡；但阿切尔知道韦兰太太心里想的是：“艾伦抵达后的第二天，就在拥挤的时刻与朱利叶斯·博福特一起在第五大道上游行，这是一个错误——”年轻人自己在心里补充道：“而且她应该知道，一个刚刚订婚的男人不会花时间去拜访已婚妇女。

But I daresay in the set she's lived in they do--they never do anything else." And, in spite of the cosmopolitan views on which he prided himself, he thanked heaven that he was a New Yorker, and about to ally himself with one of his own kind.

但我敢说在她生活的场景中他们会做——他们不会做任何其他事情。”而且，尽管他以自己的国际视野而自豪，但他还是感谢上天，因为他是一名纽约人，并且即将与自己的同类结盟。

The next evening old Mr. Sillerton Jackson came to dine with the Archers.

第二天晚上，老西勒顿·杰克逊先生来和阿彻们一起吃饭。

Mrs. Archer was a shy woman and shrank from society; but she liked to be well-informed as to its doings.

阿切尔夫人是个害羞的女人，回避社交。但她喜欢充分了解它的所作所为。

Her old friend Mr. Sillerton Jackson applied to the investigation of his friends' affairs the patience of a collector and the science of a naturalist; and his sister, Miss Sophy Jackson, who lived with him, and was entertained by all the people who could not secure her much-sought-after brother, brought home bits of minor gossip that filled out usefully the gaps in his picture.

她的老朋友西勒顿·杰克逊先生运用收藏家的耐心和博物学家的科学来调查他朋友的事务。他的妹妹索菲·杰克逊小姐和他住在一起，受到所有无法保护她备受追捧的弟弟的人的款待，她带回了一些小八卦，这些八卦有效地填补了他形象中的空白。

Therefore, whenever anything happened that Mrs. Archer wanted to know about, she asked Mr. Jackson to dine; and as she honoured few people with her invitations, and as she and her daughter Janey were an excellent audience, Mr. Jackson usually came himself instead of sending his sister.

因此，每当阿切尔夫人想了解任何事情时，她都会请杰克逊先生吃饭；由于她邀请的人很少，而且她和她的女儿珍妮都是出色的听众，所以杰克逊先生通常亲自来，而不是派他的妹妹来。

If he could have dictated all the conditions, he would have chosen the evenings when Newland was out; not because the young man was uncongenial to him (the two got on capitally at their club) but because the old anecdotist sometimes felt, on Newland's part, a tendency to weigh his evidence that the ladies of the family never showed.

如果他可以规定所有的条件，他就会选择纽兰不在的晚上；并不是因为这个年轻人与他志趣不合（两人在俱乐部里相处得很好），而是因为这位老轶事作家有时觉得纽兰有一种权衡他的证据的倾向，而家里的女士们却从未表现出这种倾向。

Mr. Jackson, if perfection had been attainable on earth, would also have asked that Mrs. Archer's food should be a little better.

杰克逊先生，如果地球上可以达到完美的话，也会要求阿切尔夫人的食物应该好一点。

But then New York, as far back as the mind of man could travel, had been divided into the two great fundamental groups of the Mingotts and Mansons and all their clan, who cared about eating and clothes and money, and the Archer-Newland-van-der-Luyden tribe, who were devoted to travel, horticulture and the best fiction, and looked down on the grosser forms of pleasure.

但是，就人类思想所能到达的远古时代而言，纽约已被分为两大基本群体：明戈特家族和曼森家族及其所有氏族，他们关心饮食、衣服和金钱；以及阿彻-纽兰-范德卢登部落，他们热衷于旅行、园艺和最好的小说，鄙视较粗俗的享乐形式。

You couldn't have everything, after all.

毕竟，你不可能拥有一切。

If you dined with the Lovell Mingotts you got canvas-back and terrapin and vintage wines; at Adeline Archer's you could talk about Alpine scenery and "The Marble Faun"; and luckily the Archer Madeira had gone round the Cape.

如果你和 Lovell Mingotts 一起用餐，你会得到帆布背、水龟和年份葡萄酒；在艾德琳·阿切尔家，你可以谈论阿尔卑斯山的风景和《大理石牧神》；幸运的是，弓箭手马德拉号已经绕过了海角。

Therefore when a friendly summons came from Mrs. Archer, Mr. Jackson, who was a true eclectic, would usually say to his sister: "I've been a little gouty since my last dinner at the Lovell Mingotts'--it will do me good to diet at Adeline's."

因此，当阿切尔夫人发出友好的召唤时，真正不拘一格的杰克逊先生通常会对他的妹妹说：“自从上次在洛弗尔·明戈茨家吃晚饭以来，我就有点痛风了——在艾德琳家节食对我有好处。”

Mrs. Archer, who had long been a widow, lived with her son and daughter in West Twenty-eighth Street.

长期守寡的阿切尔夫人与儿子和女儿住在西二十八街。

An upper floor was dedicated to Newland, and the two women squeezed themselves into narrower quarters below.

楼上是纽兰专用的楼层，两个女人挤在楼下更狭窄的房间里。

In an unclouded harmony of tastes and interests they cultivated ferns in Wardian cases, made _macramé_ lace and wool embroidery on linen, collected American revolutionary glazed ware, subscribed to "Good Words," and read Ouida's novels for the sake of the Italian atmosphere.

在品味和兴趣的完美和谐中，他们在瓦尔迪安的盒子里种植蕨类植物，在亚麻布上制作花边和羊毛刺绣，收集美国革命的琉璃器皿，订阅“好词”，并为了意大利的氛围而阅读维达的小说。

(They preferred those about peasant life, because of the descriptions of scenery and the pleasanter sentiments, though in general they liked novels about people in society, whose motives and habits were more comprehensible, spoke severely of Dickens, who "had never drawn a gentleman," and considered Thackeray less at home in the great world than Bulwer--who, however, was beginning to be thought old-fashioned.) Mrs. and Miss Archer were both great lovers of scenery.

（他们更喜欢描写农民生活的小说，因为描写风景和令人愉悦的情感，尽管一般来说他们喜欢描写社会人物的小说，这些人的动机和习惯更容易理解，严厉地批评狄更斯“从来没有画过绅士”，并认为萨克雷不如布尔沃在大千世界里自在——然而，布尔沃开始被认为是老派的。）阿切尔夫人和阿切尔小姐都是风景爱好者。

It was what they principally sought and admired on their occasional travels abroad; considering architecture and painting as subjects for men, and chiefly for learned persons who read Ruskin.

这是他们偶尔出国旅行时主要寻求和欣赏的东西。认为建筑和绘画是男性的学科，主要是阅读拉斯金的学者的学科。

Mrs. Archer had been born a Newland, and mother and daughter, who were as like as sisters, were both, as people said, "true Newlands"; tall, pale, and slightly round-shouldered, with long noses, sweet smiles and a kind of drooping distinction like that in certain faded Reynolds portraits.

阿切尔夫人出生在纽兰，母女俩亲如姐妹，正如人们所说，都是“真正的纽兰”。身材高大，面色苍白，肩膀略圆，鼻子长，笑容甜美，有一种下垂的特征，就像某些褪色的雷诺兹肖像中那样。

Their physical resemblance would have been complete if an elderly embonpoint had not stretched Mrs. Archer's black brocade, while Miss Archer's brown and purple poplins hung, as the years went on, more and more slackly on her virgin frame.

如果不是用一根上了年纪的木头把阿切尔夫人的黑色锦缎拉长，她们的外貌就完全相似了，而阿切尔小姐的棕色和紫色府绸随着岁月的流逝，越来越松弛地垂在她处女般的身躯上。

Mentally, the likeness between them, as Newland was aware, was less complete than their identical mannerisms often made it appear.

纽兰意识到，在精神上，他们之间的相似之处并不像他们相同的举止所表现出来的那么完全。

The long habit of living together in mutually dependent intimacy had given them the same vocabulary, and the same habit of beginning their phrases "Mother thinks" or "Janey thinks," according as one or the other wished to advance an opinion of her own; but in reality, while Mrs. Archer's serene unimaginativeness rested easily in the accepted and familiar, Janey was subject to starts and aberrations of fancy welling up from springs of suppressed romance.

长期以来，彼此依赖、亲密地生活在一起，这使她们有了相同的词汇，也养成了以“母亲认为”或“珍妮认为”开头的相同习惯，根据一方或另一方希望提出自己的观点而定。但事实上，虽然阿切尔夫人平静而缺乏想象力，很容易就被人们所接受和熟悉，但珍妮却很容易受到压抑的浪漫之泉涌出的幻想的影响和失常。

Mother and daughter adored each other and revered their son and brother; and Archer loved them with a tenderness made compunctious and uncritical by the sense of their exaggerated admiration, and by his secret satisfaction in it.

母女互相敬爱，尊敬儿子和兄弟；阿切尔对他们的爱是带着一种温柔的，这种温柔由于感受到他们过分的钦佩而感到内疚和不加批判，而且他对此感到暗自满意。

After all, he thought it a good thing for a man to have his authority respected in his own house, even if his sense of humour sometimes made him question the force of his mandate.

毕竟，他认为一个人的权威在自己的家里受到尊重是一件好事，即使他的幽默感有时让他质疑自己授权的力量。

On this occasion the young man was very sure that Mr. Jackson would rather have had him dine out; but he had his own reasons for not doing so.

这次，年轻人非常确定杰克逊先生宁愿让他出去吃饭。但他有自己的理由不这样做。

Of course old Jackson wanted to talk about Ellen Olenska, and of course Mrs. Archer and Janey wanted to hear what he had to tell.

老杰克逊当然想谈谈艾伦·奥兰斯卡，阿切尔夫人和珍妮当然想听听他要讲什么。

All three would be slightly embarrassed by Newland's presence, now that his prospective relation to the Mingott clan had been made known; and the young man waited with an amused curiosity to see how they would turn the difficulty.

既然纽兰与明戈特家族的关系已经公开，那么三个人都会因为纽兰的出现而感到有点尴尬。年轻人带着一种有趣的好奇心等待着，看看他们会如何解决这个困难。

They began, obliquely, by talking about Mrs. Lemuel Struthers.

他们拐弯抹角地开始谈论莱米尔·斯特拉瑟斯夫人。

"It's a pity the Beauforts asked her," Mrs. Archer said gently.

“可惜博福特夫妇邀请了她，”阿切尔夫人温和地说。

"But then Regina always does what he tells her; and _Beaufort_--"

“但是雷吉娜总是按照他吩咐的去做；而_博福特_——”

"Certain _nuances_ escape Beaufort," said Mr. Jackson, cautiously inspecting the broiled shad, and wondering for the thousandth time why Mrs. Archer's cook always burnt the roe to a cinder.

“博福特没有注意到某些细微差别，”杰克逊先生一边说，一边小心翼翼地检查着烤好的鲥鱼，他第一千遍地想知道为什么阿切尔夫人的厨师总是把鱼子烧成灰烬。

(Newland, who had long shared his wonder, could always detect it in the older man's expression of melancholy disapproval.)

（纽兰长期以来也和他一样感到惊讶，他总能从老人忧郁、不赞成的表情中察觉到这一点。）

"Oh, necessarily; Beaufort is a vulgar man," said Mrs. Archer.

“哦，当然了；博福特是个粗俗的人，”阿切尔夫人说。

"My grandfather Newland always used to say to my mother: 'Whatever you do, don't let that fellow Beaufort be introduced to the girls.' But at least he's had the advantage of associating with gentlemen; in England too, they say.

“我的祖父纽兰总是对我的母亲说：‘无论你做什么，都不要让博福特那个家伙被介绍给女孩们。’但至少他有与绅士交往的优势；他们说，英国也是如此。

It's all very mysterious--" She glanced at Janey and paused.

这一切都很神秘——”她看了一眼珍妮，停了下来。

She and Janey knew every fold of the Beaufort mystery, but in public Mrs. Archer continued to assume that the subject was not one for the unmarried.

她和珍妮对博福特之谜了如指掌，但在公开场合，阿切尔夫人仍然认为这个话题不适合未婚人士。

"But this Mrs. Struthers," Mrs. Archer continued; "what did you say _she_ was, Sillerton?"

“但是这位斯特拉瑟斯夫人，”阿切尔夫人继续说道。 “你说她是什么，西勒顿？”

"Out of a mine: or rather out of the saloon at the head of the pit.

“从矿井里出来：或者更确切地说，从坑口的酒吧里出来。

Then with Living Wax-Works, touring New England.

然后与 Living Wax-Works 一起游览新英格兰。

After the police broke _that_ up, they say she lived--" Mr. Jackson in his turn glanced at Janey, whose eyes began to bulge from under her prominent lids.

警察打破这一切后，他们说她还活着——”杰克逊先生又看了一眼珍妮，她的眼睛开始从她突出的眼睑下凸出来。

There were still hiatuses for her in Mrs. Struthers's past.

斯特拉瑟斯夫人的过去仍然有一些空白。

"Then," Mr. Jackson continued (and Archer saw he was wondering why no one had told the butler never to slice cucumbers with a steel knife), "then Lemuel Struthers came along.

“然后，”杰克逊先生继续说道（阿切尔发现他在想为什么没有人告诉管家不要用钢刀切黄瓜），“然后莱米尔·斯特拉瑟斯出现了。

They say his advertiser used the girl's head for the shoe-polish posters; her hair's intensely black, you know--the Egyptian style.

他们说他的广告商用这个女孩的头来制作擦鞋海报；她的头发是浓黑的，你知道的——埃及风格。

Anyhow, he--eventually--married her." There were volumes of innuendo in the way the "eventually" was spaced, and each syllable given its due stress.

不管怎样，他——最终——娶了她。” “最终”的间隔方式以及每个音节都有其应有的重音，其中包含了大量的暗示。

"Oh, well--at the pass we've come to nowadays, it doesn't matter," said Mrs. Archer indifferently.

“哦，好吧——就我们现在的处境而言，这并不重要，”阿切尔夫人冷漠地说。

The ladies were not really interested in Mrs. Struthers just then; the subject of Ellen Olenska was too fresh and too absorbing to them.

女士们当时对斯特拉瑟斯太太并不真正感兴趣。艾伦·奥兰斯卡的话题对他们来说太新鲜、太吸引人。

Indeed, Mrs. Struthers's name had been introduced by Mrs. Archer only that she might presently be able to say: "And Newland's new cousin--Countess Olenska?

事实上，斯特拉瑟斯夫人的名字是由阿切尔夫人介绍的，只是为了她现在可以说：“纽兰的新表弟——奥兰斯卡伯爵夫人？

Was _she_ at the ball too?"

她也参加舞会吗？”

There was a faint touch of sarcasm in the reference to her son, and Archer knew it and had expected it.

提到她儿子时，有一丝淡淡的讽刺，阿切尔知道这一点，也预料到了这一点。

Even Mrs. Archer, who was seldom unduly pleased with human events, had been altogether glad of her son's engagement.

即使是很少对人类事件感到过度高兴的阿切尔夫人也对儿子的订婚感到非常高兴。

("Especially after that silly business with Mrs. Rushworth," as she had remarked to Janey, alluding to what had once seemed to Newland a tragedy of which his soul would always bear the scar.)

（“尤其是在与拉什沃斯夫人发生那桩愚蠢的事情之后，”正如她对珍妮所说的那样，暗指纽兰曾经认为的一场悲剧，他的灵魂将永远带着伤痕。）

There was no better match in New York than May Welland, look at the question from whatever point you chose.

在纽约，没有比梅·韦兰更好的匹配了，无论你选择什么角度来看待这个问题。

Of course such a marriage was only what Newland was entitled to; but young men are so foolish and incalculable--and some women so ensnaring and unscrupulous--that it was nothing short of a miracle to see one's only son safe past the Siren Isle and in the haven of a blameless domesticity.

当然，这样的婚姻只是纽兰有权享有的。但年轻人是如此愚蠢和不可估量——有些女人是如此引诱和不择手段——以至于看到自己唯一的儿子安全地穿过海妖岛，进入无可指责的家庭生活的避风港，简直就是一个奇迹。

All this Mrs. Archer felt, and her son knew she felt; but he knew also that she had been perturbed by the premature announcement of his engagement, or rather by its cause; and it was for that reason--because on the whole he was a tender and indulgent master--that he had stayed at home that evening.

阿切尔夫人感受到了这一切，她的儿子也知道她的感受。但他也知道，她对他过早宣布订婚，或者更确切地说是订婚的原因感到不安。正是因为这个原因——因为总的来说，他是一位温柔而宽容的主人——那天晚上他呆在家里。

"It's not that I don't approve of the Mingotts' _esprit de corps_; but why Newland's engagement should be mixed up with that Olenska woman's comings and goings I don't see," Mrs. Archer grumbled to Janey, the only witness of her slight lapses from perfect sweetness.

“这并不是说我不赞成明戈特夫妇的团队精神；但我不明白为什么纽兰的订婚应该与奥兰斯卡女人的来来往往混在一起，”阿切尔夫人向珍妮抱怨道，珍妮是她与完美甜蜜稍有偏差的唯一见证人。

She had behaved beautifully--and in beautiful behaviour she was unsurpassed--during the call on Mrs. Welland; but Newland knew (and his betrothed doubtless guessed) that all through the visit she and Janey were nervously on the watch for Madame Olenska's possible intrusion; and when they left the house together she had permitted herself to say to her son: "I'm thankful that Augusta Welland received us alone."

在拜访韦兰夫人期间，她表现得非常漂亮——而且在美丽方面，她是无与伦比的。但纽兰知道（他的未婚夫无疑也猜到了），在整个访问过程中，她和珍妮都在紧张地警惕着奥兰斯卡夫人可能的闯入。当他们一起离开家时，她允许自己对儿子说：“我很感激奥古斯塔·韦兰单独接待了我们。”

These indications of inward disturbance moved Archer the more that he too felt that the Mingotts had gone a little too far.

这些内心骚动的迹象让阿切尔更加感动，他也觉得明戈特一家有点太过分了。

But, as it was against all the rules of their code that the mother and son should ever allude to what was uppermost in their thoughts, he simply replied: "Oh, well, there's always a phase of family parties to be gone through when one gets engaged, and the sooner it's over the better." At which his mother merely pursed her lips under the lace veil that hung down from her grey velvet bonnet trimmed with frosted grapes.

但是，由于母子俩不应该提及他们最重要的想法，这违反了他们的守则，他只是回答道：“哦，好吧，订婚后总会经历一个家庭聚会的阶段，而且越早结束越好。”听到这，他的母亲只是在蕾丝面纱下抿起嘴唇，面纱从镶有磨砂葡萄的灰色天鹅绒帽子上垂下来。

Her revenge, he felt--her lawful revenge--would be to "draw" Mr. Jackson that evening on the Countess Olenska; and, having publicly done his duty as a future member of the Mingott clan, the young man had no objection to hearing the lady discussed in private--except that the subject was already beginning to bore him.

他觉得，她的报复——她合法的报复——就是那天晚上把杰克逊先生“吸引”到奥兰斯卡伯爵夫人身上；她的报复是“合法的报复”。这位年轻人已经公开履行了他作为明戈特家族未来成员的职责，因此并不反对听这位女士私下讨论——只是这个话题已经开始让他感到厌烦了。

Mr. Jackson had helped himself to a slice of the tepid filet which the mournful butler had handed him with a look as sceptical as his own, and had rejected the mushroom sauce after a scarcely perceptible sniff.

杰克逊先生自己吃了一片温热的菲力牛排，悲伤的管家递给他的表情和他自己一样怀疑，在几乎察觉不到的嗅了嗅之后拒绝了蘑菇酱。

He looked baffled and hungry, and Archer reflected that he would probably finish his meal on Ellen Olenska.

他看起来既困惑又饥饿，阿切尔认为他可能会在艾伦·奥兰斯卡身上吃完饭。

Mr. Jackson leaned back in his chair, and glanced up at the candlelit Archers, Newlands and van der Luydens hanging in dark frames on the dark walls.

杰克逊先生靠在椅子上，抬头看了一眼悬挂在黑暗墙壁上的黑色画框里的烛光弓箭手、纽兰兹和范德卢登。

"Ah, how your grandfather Archer loved a good dinner, my dear Newland!" he said, his eyes on the portrait of a plump full-chested young man in a stock and a blue coat, with a view of a white-columned country-house behind him.

“啊，你的祖父阿切尔多么喜欢吃一顿丰盛的晚餐，我亲爱的纽兰！”他说，他的眼睛盯着一个穿着蓝色外套、穿着长筒袜、丰满的年轻男子的肖像，身后是一座白色柱子的乡间别墅。

"Well--well--well ...

“呃——呃——呃……

I wonder what he would have said to all these foreign marriages!"

我想知道他会对所有这些外国婚姻说什么！”

Mrs. Archer ignored the allusion to the ancestral cuisine and Mr. Jackson continued with deliberation: "No, she was _not_ at the ball."

阿切尔夫人忽略了对祖传美食的暗示，杰克逊先生继续思考：“不，她没有参加舞会。”

"Ah--" Mrs. Archer murmured, in a tone that implied: "She had that decency."

“啊——”阿切尔夫人低声说道，语气中暗示着：“她很有礼貌。”

"Perhaps the Beauforts don't know her," Janey suggested, with her artless malice.

“也许博福特夫妇不认识她，”珍妮带着天真的恶意建议道。

Mr. Jackson gave a faint sip, as if he had been tasting invisible Madeira.

杰克逊先生轻轻抿了一口，仿佛在品尝看不见的马德拉酒。

"Mrs. Beaufort may not--but Beaufort certainly does, for she was seen walking up Fifth Avenue this afternoon with him by the whole of New York."

“博福特夫人可能不会——但博福特肯定会，因为今天下午整个纽约都看到她和他一起走在第五大道上。”

"Mercy--" moaned Mrs. Archer, evidently perceiving the uselessness of trying to ascribe the actions of foreigners to a sense of delicacy.

“怜悯——”阿切尔夫人呻吟着，显然她意识到试图将外国人的行为归咎于精致感是没有用的。

"I wonder if she wears a round hat or a bonnet in the afternoon," Janey speculated.

“我想知道她下午戴的是圆帽还是软帽，”珍妮推测道。

"At the Opera I know she had on dark blue velvet, perfectly plain and flat--like a night-gown."

“在歌剧院，我知道她穿着深蓝色天鹅绒，非常朴素、平坦——就像睡衣一样。”

"Janey!" said her mother; and Miss Archer blushed and tried to look audacious.

“珍妮！”她母亲说；阿切尔小姐脸红了，试图表现出大胆的样子。

"It was, at any rate, in better taste not to go to the ball," Mrs. Archer continued.

“无论如何，不​​去参加舞会是比较有品味的，”阿切尔夫人继续说道。

A spirit of perversity moved her son to rejoin: "I don't think it was a question of taste with her.

一种任性的精神驱使她的儿子重新加入：“我不认为这对她来说是品味问题。

May said she meant to go, and then decided that the dress in question wasn't smart enough."

梅说她打算走，然后觉得这件衣服不够漂亮。”

Mrs. Archer smiled at this confirmation of her inference.

阿切尔夫人笑了，这证实了她的推论。

"Poor Ellen," she simply remarked; adding compassionately: "We must always bear in mind what an eccentric bringing-up Medora Manson gave her.

“可怜的艾伦，”她简单地说。富有同情心地补充道：“我们必须永远牢记梅多拉·曼森的古怪养育方式给她带来了什么。

What can you expect of a girl who was allowed to wear black satin at her coming-out ball?"

对于一个被允许在出柜舞会上穿黑色缎子的女孩，你还能指望什么呢？”

"Ah--don't I remember her in it!" said Mr. Jackson; adding: "Poor girl!" in the tone of one who, while enjoying the memory, had fully understood at the time what the sight portended.

“啊——我不记得她在里面了！”杰克逊先生说；补充道：“可怜的女孩！”用一种在享受回忆的同时，当时就完全明白这一景象预示着什么的语气。

"It's odd," Janey remarked, "that she should have kept such an ugly name as Ellen.

“这很奇怪，”珍妮说，“她竟然保留了艾伦这样一个丑陋的名字。

I should have changed it to Elaine." She glanced about the table to see the effect of this.

我应该把它改成伊莱恩。”她扫视了一下桌子，想看看这样做的效果。

Her brother laughed.

她哥哥笑了。

"Why Elaine?"

“为什么是伊莱恩？”

"I don't know; it sounds more--more Polish," said Janey, blushing.

“我不知道；这听起来更——更波兰化，”珍妮红着脸说道。

"It sounds more conspicuous; and that can hardly be what she wishes," said Mrs. Archer distantly.

“这听起来更引人注目；但这很难是她所希望的，”阿切尔夫人冷漠地说。

"Why not?" broke in her son, growing suddenly argumentative.

“为什么不呢？”她的儿子突然变得爱争论。

"Why shouldn't she be conspicuous if she chooses?

“如果她选择的话，为什么不应该引人注目呢？

Why should she slink about as if it were she who had disgraced herself?

为什么她要像自己丢脸一样偷偷摸摸？

She's 'poor Ellen' certainly, because she had the bad luck to make a wretched marriage; but I don't see that that's a reason for hiding her head as if she were the culprit."

她当然是“可怜的艾伦”，因为她运气不好，婚姻不幸。但我不认为这是把头藏起来的理由，就好像她是罪魁祸首一样。”

"That, I suppose," said Mr. Jackson, speculatively, "is the line the Mingotts mean to take."

“我想，”杰克逊先生若有所思地说，“这就是明戈特夫妇打算采取的路线。”

The young man reddened.

年轻人脸红了。

"I didn't have to wait for their cue, if that's what you mean, sir.

“我不必等待他们的暗示，如果这就是你的意思，先生。

Madame Olenska has had an unhappy life: that doesn't make her an outcast."

奥兰斯卡夫人的生活并不幸福：但这并不意味着她是一个被抛弃的人。”

"There are rumours," began Mr. Jackson, glancing at Janey.

“有传言，”杰克逊先生看了一眼珍妮，说道。

"Oh, I know: the secretary," the young man took him up.

“噢，我知道了：秘书。”年轻人把他拉了起来。

"Nonsense, mother; Janey's grown-up.

“胡说，妈妈；珍妮已经长大了。

They say, don't they," he went on, "that the secretary helped her to get away from her brute of a husband, who kept her practically a prisoner?

他们说，”他接着说，“是不是秘书帮助她摆脱了她那残忍的丈夫，而她的丈夫几乎把她当作了囚犯？

Well, what if he did?

好吧，如果他这么做了怎么办？

I hope there isn't a man among us who wouldn't have done the same in such a case."

我希望我们当中没有一个人在这种情况下不会做同样的事情。”

Mr. Jackson glanced over his shoulder to say to the sad butler: "Perhaps ...

杰克逊先生回头看了一眼，对悲伤的管家说：“也许……

that sauce ...

那个酱...

just a little, after all--"; then, having helped himself, he remarked: "I'm told she's looking for a house.

毕竟只是一点点——”；然后，他自助后说道：“我听说她正在找房子。

She means to live here."

她打算住在这里。”

"I hear she means to get a divorce," said Janey boldly.

“我听说她想离婚。”珍妮大胆地说。

"I hope she will!" Archer exclaimed.

“我希望她会！”阿切尔惊呼道。

The word had fallen like a bombshell in the pure and tranquil atmosphere of the Archer dining-room.

这句话就像一颗重磅炸弹，落在了阿切尔餐厅纯净宁静的气氛中。

Mrs. Archer raised her delicate eye-brows in the particular curve that signified: "The butler--" and the young man, himself mindful of the bad taste of discussing such intimate matters in public, hastily branched off into an account of his visit to old Mrs. Mingott.

阿切尔夫人以特殊的弧度扬起了她精致的眉毛，这意味着：“管家——”年轻人自己也意识到在公共场合讨论这种亲密的事情是不好的品味，于是急忙开始讲述他拜访老明戈特夫人的事情。

After dinner, according to immemorial custom, Mrs. Archer and Janey trailed their long silk draperies up to the drawing-room, where, while the gentlemen smoked below stairs, they sat beside a Carcel lamp with an engraved globe, facing each other across a rosewood work-table with a green silk bag under it, and stitched at the two ends of a tapestry band of field-flowers destined to adorn an "occasional" chair in the drawing-room of young Mrs. Newland Archer.

晚餐后，按照自古以来的习俗，阿切尔夫人和珍妮拖着长长的丝绸窗帘来到客厅，当先生们在楼梯下抽烟时，她们坐在一盏刻有地球仪的卡塞尔灯旁边，隔着一张红木工作台面对面，桌子下有一个绿色的丝绸袋子，并在挂毯的两端缝上了野花，这些花注定要装饰年轻人客厅里的一把“偶尔”的椅子。纽兰·阿切尔夫人。

While this rite was in progress in the drawing-room, Archer settled Mr. Jackson in an armchair near the fire in the Gothic library and handed him a cigar.

当仪式在客厅进行时，阿切尔让杰克逊先生坐在哥特式图书馆火边的扶手椅上，递给他一支雪茄。

Mr. Jackson sank into the armchair with satisfaction, lit his cigar with perfect confidence (it was Newland who bought them), and stretching his thin old ankles to the coals, said: "You say the secretary merely helped her to get away, my dear fellow?

杰克逊先生满意地坐进扶手椅，满怀信心地点燃了雪茄（是纽兰买的），然后将他瘦弱的老脚踝伸向煤炭，说道：“你说秘书只是帮助她逃跑了，我亲爱的朋友？

Well, he was still helping her a year later, then; for somebody met 'em living at Lausanne together."

好吧，那么一年后他仍然在帮助她；因为有人在洛桑认识了他们。”

Newland reddened.

纽兰脸红了。

"Living together?

“住在一起？

Well, why not?

嗯，为什么不呢？

Who had the right to make her life over if she hadn't?

如果她不这样做，谁有权利改变她的生活？

I'm sick of the hypocrisy that would bury alive a woman of her age if her husband prefers to live with harlots."

我厌倦了这种虚伪，如果她的丈夫愿意和妓女住在一起，她这个年纪的女人就会被活埋。”

He stopped and turned away angrily to light his cigar.

他停下来，愤怒地转过身去点燃雪茄。

"Women ought to be free--as free as we are," he declared, making a discovery of which he was too irritated to measure the terrific consequences.

“女性应该自由——就像我们一样自由，”他宣称，这一发现让他非常恼火，无法衡量其可怕的后果。

Mr. Sillerton Jackson stretched his ankles nearer the coals and emitted a sardonic whistle.

西勒顿·杰克逊先生将脚踝伸得更靠近煤炭，并发出一声讽刺的口哨。

"Well," he said after a pause, "apparently Count Olenski takes your view; for I never heard of his having lifted a finger to get his wife back."

“好吧，”他停顿了一下后说道，“显然奥伦斯基伯爵同意你的观点；因为我从来没有听说过他曾动过一根手指头把他的妻子救回来。”

That evening, after Mr. Jackson had taken himself away, and the ladies had retired to their chintz-curtained bedroom, Newland Archer mounted thoughtfully to his own study.

那天晚上，杰克逊先生离开后，女士们也回到了挂着印花棉布窗帘的卧室，纽兰·阿切尔若有所思地走上自己的书房。

A vigilant hand had, as usual, kept the fire alive and the lamp trimmed; and the room, with its rows and rows of books, its bronze and steel statuettes of "The Fencers" on the mantelpiece and its many photographs of famous pictures, looked singularly home-like and welcoming.

像往常一样，一只警惕的手让火一直烧着，灯也被修剪整齐。房间里放着一排排的书，壁炉架上有青铜和钢制的“击剑手”小雕像，还有许多著名画作的照片，看起来特别有家的感觉和温馨。

As he dropped into his armchair near the fire his eyes rested on a large photograph of May Welland, which the young girl had given him in the first days of their romance, and which had now displaced all the other portraits on the table.

当他坐在火边的扶手椅上时，他的眼睛落在梅·韦兰的一张大照片上，这是年轻女孩在他们恋爱的最初几天送给他的，现在这张照片取代了桌子上所有其他的肖像。

With a new sense of awe he looked at the frank forehead, serious eyes and gay innocent mouth of the young creature whose soul's custodian he was to be.

他带着一种新的敬畏感看着这个年轻生物的坦率的额头、严肃的眼睛和快乐天真的嘴巴，而他将成为这个生物的灵魂守护者。

That terrifying product of the social system he belonged to and believed in, the young girl who knew nothing and expected everything, looked back at him like a stranger through May Welland's familiar features; and once more it was borne in on him that marriage was not the safe anchorage he had been taught to think, but a voyage on uncharted seas.

他所属并信仰的社会制度的可怕产物，那个一无所知、期待一切的年轻女孩，透过梅·韦兰熟悉的面容，像一个陌生人一样回望着他；他再次认识到，婚姻并不是他所被教导的安全锚地，而是未知海域的一次航行。

The case of the Countess Olenska had stirred up old settled convictions and set them drifting dangerously through his mind.

奥兰斯卡伯爵夫人的案子激起了他原有的既定信念，让它们在他的脑海中危险地飘荡。

His own exclamation: "Women should be free--as free as we are," struck to the root of a problem that it was agreed in his world to regard as non-existent.

他自己的感叹：“女性应该自由——像我们一样自由”，这直击了他的世界一致认为不存在的问题的根源。

"Nice" women, however wronged, would never claim the kind of freedom he meant, and generous-minded men like himself were therefore--in the heat of argument--the more chivalrously ready to concede it to them.

“好”的女人，无论受到多大的委屈，永远不会要求他所指的那种自由，因此，像他这样心胸宽广的男人——在激烈的争论中——更侠义地准备将这种自由让给她们。

Such verbal generosities were in fact only a humbugging disguise of the inexorable conventions that tied things together and bound people down to the old pattern.

这种口头上的慷慨实际上只是一种欺骗性的伪装，掩盖了将事物联系在一起并将人们束缚在旧模式中的不可阻挡的惯例。

But here he was pledged to defend, on the part of his betrothed's cousin, conduct that, on his own wife's part, would justify him in calling down on her all the thunders of Church and State.

但在这里，他承诺为他未婚夫的表弟的行为辩护，而他自己的妻子则证明他有理由向她招来教会和国家的所有雷霆。

Of course the dilemma was purely hypothetical; since he wasn't a blackguard Polish nobleman, it was absurd to speculate what his wife's rights would be if he _were_.

当然，这种困境纯粹是假设的。因为他不是一个流氓波兰贵族，所以猜测如果他是的话他妻子的权利是什么是荒谬的。

But Newland Archer was too imaginative not to feel that, in his case and May's, the tie might gall for reasons far less gross and palpable.

但纽兰·阿切尔的想象力太丰富了，他不会不觉得，就他和梅的情况而言，这种领带可能会因为远不那么粗暴和明显的原因而变得令人不快。

What could he and she really know of each other, since it was his duty, as a "decent" fellow, to conceal his past from her, and hers, as a marriageable girl, to have no past to conceal?

既然他作为一个“正派”的人有责任向她隐瞒自己的过去，而她作为一个适婚的女孩则没有过去可隐瞒的义务，那么他和她对彼此到底了解多少呢？

What if, for some one of the subtler reasons that would tell with both of them, they should tire of each other, misunderstand or irritate each other?

如果出于某种微妙的原因，他们彼此厌倦、误解或激怒对方怎么办？

He reviewed his friends' marriages--the supposedly happy ones--and saw none that answered, even remotely, to the passionate and tender comradeship which he pictured as his permanent relation with May Welland.

他回顾了朋友们的婚姻——那些被认为是幸福的婚姻——发现没有一个人能够满足他与梅·韦兰之间那种充满激情和温柔的同志关系，哪怕只是一点点。

He perceived that such a picture presupposed, on her part, the experience, the versatility, the freedom of judgment, which she had been carefully trained not to possess; and with a shiver of foreboding he saw his marriage becoming what most of the other marriages about him were: a dull association of material and social interests held together by ignorance on the one side and hypocrisy on the other.

他认为，这样一幅画面就以她的经验、多才多艺和判断自由为先决条件，而她经过精心训练，不具备这些。带着一种不祥的预感，他看到自己的婚姻变成了他周围大多数其他婚姻的样子：物质和社会利益的无聊结合，一方面是无知，另一方面是虚伪。

Lawrence Lefferts occurred to him as the husband who had most completely realised this enviable ideal.

在他看来，劳伦斯·莱弗茨是最完全实现这一令人羡慕的理想的丈夫。

As became the high-priest of form, he had formed a wife so completely to his own convenience that, in the most conspicuous moments of his frequent love-affairs with other men's wives, she went about in smiling unconsciousness, saying that "Lawrence was so frightfully strict"; and had been known to blush indignantly, and avert her gaze, when some one alluded in her presence to the fact that Julius Beaufort (as became a "foreigner" of doubtful origin) had what was known in New York as "another establishment."

当他成为形式上的大祭司时，他完全按照自己的方便塑造了一个妻子，以至于在他与其他男人的妻子频繁发生风流韵事的最引人注目的时刻，她微笑着无意识地走来走去，说“劳伦斯是如此严格”；当有人当着她的面提到朱利叶斯·博福特（后来成为了出身可疑的“外国人”）在纽约拥有所谓的“另一家机构”这一事实时，她会愤怒地脸红，并移开目光。

Archer tried to console himself with the thought that he was not quite such an ass as Larry Lefferts, nor May such a simpleton as poor Gertrude; but the difference was after all one of intelligence and not of standards.

阿切尔试图安慰自己，他并不像拉里·莱弗茨那样蠢，梅也不像可怜的格特鲁德那样傻。但区别毕竟是智力而非标准。

In reality they all lived in a kind of hieroglyphic world, where the real thing was never said or done or even thought, but only represented by a set of arbitrary signs; as when Mrs. Welland, who knew exactly why Archer had pressed her to announce her daughter's engagement at the Beaufort ball (and had indeed expected him to do no less), yet felt obliged to simulate reluctance, and the air of having had her hand forced, quite as, in the books on Primitive Man that people of advanced culture were beginning to read, the savage bride is dragged with shrieks from her parents' tent.

事实上，他们都生活在一种象形文字的世界里，真正的事情从来没有被说过或做过，甚至没有被想过，而只是由一组任意的符号来代表；韦兰夫人清楚地知道为什么阿切尔在博福特舞会上催促她宣布她女儿订婚的消息（而且确实期望他这么做），但她却不得不装出一副不情愿的样子，一副被迫出手的样子，就像先进文化的人开始读的关于原始人的书中，野蛮的新娘在尖叫声中被从父母的帐篷里拖了出来。

The result, of course, was that the young girl who was the centre of this elaborate system of mystification remained the more inscrutable for her very frankness and assurance.

当然，结果是，作为这个复杂的神秘系统中心的年轻女孩，由于她的坦率和自信，仍然更加难以理解。

She was frank, poor darling, because she had nothing to conceal, assured because she knew of nothing to be on her guard against; and with no better preparation than this, she was to be plunged overnight into what people evasively called "the facts of life."

她很坦率，可怜的亲爱的，因为她没有什么可隐瞒的，她很放心，因为她不知道有什么值得警惕的；由于没有比这更好的准备，她将在一夜之间陷入人们回避的所谓“生活的事实”中。

The young man was sincerely but placidly in love.

这个年轻人真诚但平静地恋爱着。

He delighted in the radiant good looks of his betrothed, in her health, her horsemanship, her grace and quickness at games, and the shy interest in books and ideas that she was beginning to develop under his guidance.

他对未婚妻容光焕发的美貌、她的健康、她的马术、她在比赛中的优雅和敏捷以及她在他的指导下开始发展的对书籍和思想的害羞兴趣感到高兴。

(She had advanced far enough to join him in ridiculing the Idyls of the King, but not to feel the beauty of Ulysses and the Lotus Eaters.) She was straightforward, loyal and brave; she had a sense of humour (chiefly proved by her laughing at _his_ jokes); and he suspected, in the depths of her innocently-gazing soul, a glow of feeling that it would be a joy to waken.

（她已经进步到可以和他一起嘲笑《国王的田园诗》了，但还没有感受到《尤利西斯》和《食莲人》的美丽。） 她为人直率、忠诚、勇敢。她有幽默感（主要通过她对这个笑话的大笑来证明）；他怀疑，在她天真无邪的凝视的灵魂深处，有一种感觉，醒来将是一种快乐。

But when he had gone the brief round of her he returned discouraged by the thought that all this frankness and innocence were only an artificial product.

但当他短暂地绕了她一眼后，他沮丧地回来了，因为他想到所有这些坦率和天真都只是人造的产物。

Untrained human nature was not frank and innocent; it was full of the twists and defences of an instinctive guile.

未经训练的人性并不坦率和纯真；它充满了本能的诡计的曲折和防御。

And he felt himself oppressed by this creation of factitious purity, so cunningly manufactured by a conspiracy of mothers and aunts and grandmothers and long-dead ancestresses, because it was supposed to be what he wanted, what he had a right to, in order that he might exercise his lordly pleasure in smashing it like an image made of snow.

他感到自己被这种人为纯洁的创造所压迫，这种纯洁是由母亲、阿姨、祖母和死去已久的祖先们的阴谋巧妙地制造出来的，因为这应该是他想要的，他有权得到的，以便他可以行使他高贵的快乐，把它像雪制成的图像一样粉碎。

There was a certain triteness in these reflections: they were those habitual to young men on the approach of their wedding day.

这些想法有一定的陈词滥调：这是年轻人在婚礼临近之际的习惯。

But they were generally accompanied by a sense of compunction and self-abasement of which Newland Archer felt no trace.

但它们通常伴随着一种纽兰·阿切尔感觉不到的内疚和自卑感。

He could not deplore (as Thackeray's heroes so often exasperated him by doing) that he had not a blank page to offer his bride in exchange for the unblemished one she was to give to him.

他不能因为自己没有一张空白纸可以献给他的新娘来换取她要送给他的无瑕疵的一页而感到遗憾（萨克雷笔下的英雄经常这样做而激怒他）。

He could not get away from the fact that if he had been brought up as she had they would have been no more fit to find their way about than the Babes in the Wood; nor could he, for all his anxious cogitations, see any honest reason (any, that is, unconnected with his own momentary pleasure, and the passion of masculine vanity) why his bride should not have been allowed the same freedom of experience as himself.

他无法逃避这样一个事实：如果他像她一样长大，他们就不会比森林里的宝贝们更适合寻找出路；但他无法摆脱这样的事实：尽管他焦急地思考，他也看不出任何诚实的理由（任何与他自己一时的快乐和男性虚荣心无关的理由）为什么他的新娘不应该被允许与他一样拥有同样的经验自由。

Such questions, at such an hour, were bound to drift through his mind; but he was conscious that their uncomfortable persistence and precision were due to the inopportune arrival of the Countess Olenska.

在这样的时刻，这样的问题必然会在他的脑海中浮现。但他意识到，他们令人不安的坚持和精确是由于奥兰斯卡伯爵夫人的不合时宜的到来。

Here he was, at the very moment of his betrothal--a moment for pure thoughts and cloudless hopes--pitchforked into a coil of scandal which raised all the special problems he would have preferred to let lie.

就在他订婚的那一刻——一个充满纯粹思想和万里无云的希望的时刻——他卷入了一系列丑闻，这些丑闻提出了他宁愿撒谎的所有特殊问题。

"Hang Ellen Olenska!" he grumbled, as he covered his fire and began to undress.

“绞死艾伦·奥兰斯卡！”他一边抱怨着，一边盖上火并开始脱衣服。

He could not really see why her fate should have the least bearing on his; yet he dimly felt that he had only just begun to measure the risks of the championship which his engagement had forced upon him.

他实在不明白为什么她的命运与他的命运无关；然而他隐隐约约地感觉到，他才刚刚开始衡量订婚给他带来的冠军风险。

A few days later the bolt fell.

几天后，螺栓掉下来了。

The Lovell Mingotts had sent out cards for what was known as "a formal dinner" (that is, three extra footmen, two dishes for each course, and a Roman punch in the middle), and had headed their invitations with the words "To meet the Countess Olenska," in accordance with the hospitable American fashion, which treats strangers as if they were royalties, or at least as their ambassadors.

洛弗尔·明戈特夫妇寄出了所谓“正式晚宴”的卡片（即多出三名男仆，每道菜两道菜，中间加一盘罗马拳），并在邀请函的开头写着“去见奥兰斯卡伯爵夫人”，这符合热情好客的美国时尚，即对待陌生人就好像他们是皇室成员，或者至少是他们的大使一样。

The guests had been selected with a boldness and discrimination in which the initiated recognised the firm hand of Catherine the Great.

客人的挑选是经过大胆和甄别的，入会者认可叶卡捷琳娜大帝的坚定之手。

Associated with such immemorial standbys as the Selfridge Merrys, who were asked everywhere because they always had been, the Beauforts, on whom there was a claim of relationship, and Mr. Sillerton Jackson and his sister Sophy (who went wherever her brother told her to), were some of the most fashionable and yet most irreproachable of the dominant "young married" set; the Lawrence Leffertses, Mrs. Lefferts Rushworth (the lovely widow), the Harry Thorleys, the Reggie Chiverses and young Morris Dagonet and his wife (who was a van der Luyden).

塞尔弗里奇·梅里夫妇（Selfridge Merrys）总是受到人们的追捧，而博福特夫妇（他们声称与他们有关系），以及西勒顿·杰克逊先生和他的妹妹苏菲（她哥哥吩咐她去哪儿就去哪儿），这些自古以来就与人们联系在一起的人们都被问及，他们是占主导地位的“年轻已婚”群体中最时尚但又最无可指责的人。劳伦斯·莱弗茨夫妇、莱弗茨·拉什沃思夫人（可爱的寡妇）、哈利·索利斯夫妇、雷吉·奇弗斯夫妇以及年轻的莫里斯·达戈内特和他的妻子（范德卢登家族成员）。

The company indeed was perfectly assorted, since all the members belonged to the little inner group of people who, during the long New York season, disported themselves together daily and nightly with apparently undiminished zest.

该公司确实是完美的组合，因为所有成员都属于一个小内部团体，在纽约漫长的季节里，他们每天和晚上都在一起玩耍，显然热情丝毫不减。

Forty-eight hours later the unbelievable had happened; every one had refused the Mingotts' invitation except the Beauforts and old Mr. Jackson and his sister.

四十八小时后，令人难以置信的事情发生了。除了博福特夫妇、杰克逊老先生和他的妹妹之外，所有人都拒绝了明戈特夫妇的邀请。

The intended slight was emphasised by the fact that even the Reggie Chiverses, who were of the Mingott clan, were among those inflicting it; and by the uniform wording of the notes, in all of which the writers "regretted that they were unable to accept," without the mitigating plea of a "previous engagement" that ordinary courtesy prescribed.

事实上，即使是明戈特家族的雷吉·奇弗斯（Reggie Chiverses）也在造成这种轻视的人之列，这一事实进一步强调了这种轻视的意图。而且注释的措辞统一，所有这些注释的作者都“遗憾地表示他们无法接受”，而没有以普通礼节规定的“先前订婚”作为减轻罪责的借口。

New York society was, in those days, far too small, and too scant in its resources, for every one in it (including livery-stable-keepers, butlers and cooks) not to know exactly on which evenings people were free; and it was thus possible for the recipients of Mrs. Lovell Mingott's invitations to make cruelly clear their determination not to meet the Countess Olenska.

那时的纽约社会规模太小，资源也太匮乏，每个人（包括马厩老板、管家和厨师）都不知道到底哪些晚上人们有空；因此，洛弗尔·明戈特夫人邀请的接受者有可能残酷地明确表示他们决心不与奥兰斯卡伯爵夫人会面。

The blow was unexpected; but the Mingotts, as their way was, met it gallantly.

这次打击是出乎意料的。但明戈特一家按照他们的方式，英勇地迎接了这一挑战。

Mrs. Lovell Mingott confided the case to Mrs. Welland, who confided it to Newland Archer; who, aflame at the outrage, appealed passionately and authoritatively to his mother; who, after a painful period of inward resistance and outward temporising, succumbed to his instances (as she always did), and immediately embracing his cause with an energy redoubled by her previous hesitations, put on her grey velvet bonnet and said: "I'll go and see Louisa van der Luyden."

洛弗尔·明戈特夫人将此事告诉了韦兰夫人，韦兰夫人又将此事告诉了纽兰·阿彻。他对这种愤怒感到愤怒，热情而权威地向他的母亲求助。她在经历了一段痛苦的内在抵抗和外在拖延之后，屈服于他的情况（就像她一直做的那样），并立即以因之前的犹豫而加倍的能量拥抱他的事业，戴上灰色天鹅绒帽子说：“我要去见路易莎·范德卢登。”

The New York of Newland Archer's day was a small and slippery pyramid, in which, as yet, hardly a fissure had been made or a foothold gained.

纽兰·阿切尔时代的纽约是一座又小又滑的金字塔，迄今为止，其中几乎没有出现裂缝，也没有获得立足点。

At its base was a firm foundation of what Mrs. Archer called "plain people"; an honourable but obscure majority of respectable families who (as in the case of the Spicers or the Leffertses or the Jacksons) had been raised above their level by marriage with one of the ruling clans.

它的基础是阿切尔夫人所说的“普通人”的坚实基础。受人尊敬的家族中大多数是光荣但默默无闻的，他们（如斯派塞家族、莱弗特家族或杰克逊家族）通过与一个统治家族联姻而被提升到高于他们的地位。

People, Mrs. Archer always said, were not as particular as they used to be; and with old Catherine Spicer ruling one end of Fifth Avenue, and Julius Beaufort the other, you couldn't expect the old traditions to last much longer.

阿切尔夫人总是说，人们不再像以前那样挑剔了。老凯瑟琳·斯派塞（Catherine Spicer）统治着第五大道的一端，而朱利叶斯·博福特（Julius Beaufort）则统治着另一端，你不能指望旧的传统能够持续多久。

Firmly narrowing upward from this wealthy but inconspicuous substratum was the compact and dominant group which the Mingotts, Newlands, Chiverses and Mansons so actively represented.

从这个富裕但不起眼的底层牢牢向上缩小的是明戈特家族、纽兰兹家族、奇弗斯家族和曼森家族积极代表的紧凑而占主导地位的群体。

Most people imagined them to be the very apex of the pyramid; but they themselves (at least those of Mrs. Archer's generation) were aware that, in the eyes of the professional genealogist, only a still smaller number of families could lay claim to that eminence.

大多数人认为他们是金字塔的顶端；但他们自己（至少是阿切尔夫人这一代人）也意识到，在专业系谱学家的眼中，只有极少数的家族才能拥有如此显赫的地位。

"Don't tell me," Mrs. Archer would say to her children, "all this modern newspaper rubbish about a New York aristocracy.

“别告诉我，”阿切尔夫人会对她的孩子们说，“所有这些现代报纸上关于纽约贵族的垃圾。

If there is one, neither the Mingotts nor the Mansons belong to it; no, nor the Newlands or the Chiverses either.

如果有的话，明戈特家族和曼森家族都不属于其中；不，纽兰兹或奇弗斯也没有。

Our grandfathers and great-grandfathers were just respectable English or Dutch merchants, who came to the colonies to make their fortune, and stayed here because they did so well.

我们的祖父和曾祖父只是受人尊敬的英国或荷兰商人，他们来到殖民地发财，并留在这里，因为他们做得很好。

One of your great-grandfathers signed the Declaration, and another was a general on Washington's staff, and received General Burgoyne's sword after the battle of Saratoga.

你的一位曾祖父签署了《宣言》，另一位曾祖父是华盛顿参谋部的一名将军，并在萨拉托加战役后接受了伯戈因将军的剑。

These are things to be proud of, but they have nothing to do with rank or class.

这些都是值得骄傲的事情，但与等级和阶级无关。

New York has always been a commercial community, and there are not more than three families in it who can claim an aristocratic origin in the real sense of the word."

纽约一直是一个商业社会，其中能拥有真正意义上的贵族出身的家族不超过三个。”

Mrs. Archer and her son and daughter, like every one else in New York, knew who these privileged beings were: the Dagonets of Washington Square, who came of an old English county family allied with the Pitts and Foxes; the Lannings, who had intermarried with the descendants of Count de Grasse, and the van der Luydens, direct descendants of the first Dutch governor of Manhattan, and related by pre-revolutionary marriages to several members of the French and British aristocracy.

阿切尔夫人和她的儿子和女儿，就像纽约的其他人一样，知道这些特权人物是谁：华盛顿广场的达贡尼家族，他们来自与皮特家族和福克斯家族结盟的一个古老的英国乡村家庭；兰宁家族与德格拉斯伯爵的后裔通婚，范德卢登家族是第一任荷兰曼哈顿总督的直系后裔，并通过革命前的婚姻与法国和英国贵族的几位成员有联系。

The Lannings survived only in the person of two very old but lively Miss Lannings, who lived cheerfully and reminiscently among family portraits and Chippendale; the Dagonets were a considerable clan, allied to the best names in Baltimore and Philadelphia; but the van der Luydens, who stood above all of them, had faded into a kind of super-terrestrial twilight, from which only two figures impressively emerged; those of Mr. and Mrs. Henry van der Luyden.

兰宁一家幸存下来的只有两位年老但活泼的兰宁小姐，她们在全家福和齐彭代尔的陪伴下过着快乐而令人怀念的生活。达戈内特家族是一个相当大的家族，与巴尔的摩和费城最有名的人结盟。但站在他们之上的范德卢登夫妇已经消失在一种超地球的暮色中，只有两个人影令人印象深刻地浮现出来。亨利·范德卢登先生和夫人的那些。

Mrs. Henry van der Luyden had been Louisa Dagonet, and her mother had been the granddaughter of Colonel du Lac, of an old Channel Island family, who had fought under Cornwallis and had settled in Maryland, after the war, with his bride, Lady Angelica Trevenna, fifth daughter of the Earl of St. Austrey.

亨利·范德卢登夫人原名路易莎·达戈内特，她的母亲是杜拉克上校的孙女，杜拉克上校出身于海峡群岛的一个古老家族，杜拉克上校曾在康沃利斯手下作战，战后与他的新娘安吉丽卡·特雷文纳夫人（圣奥斯特利伯爵的第五个女儿）定居在马里兰州。

The tie between the Dagonets, the du Lacs of Maryland, and their aristocratic Cornish kinsfolk, the Trevennas, had always remained close and cordial.

马里兰州的杜拉克家族、达戈内家族和他们的康沃尔贵族亲戚特雷文纳斯家族之间的关系始终保持着密切和诚挚的关系。

Mr. and Mrs. van der Luyden had more than once paid long visits to the present head of the house of Trevenna, the Duke of St. Austrey, at his country-seat in Cornwall and at St. Austrey in Gloucestershire; and his Grace had frequently announced his intention of some day returning their visit (without the Duchess, who feared the Atlantic).

范德卢登夫妇曾不止一次地长期拜访过特雷文纳家族现任族长圣奥斯特利公爵，访问他位于康沃尔郡的乡间别墅和格洛斯特郡的圣奥斯特利。公爵夫人经常宣布他打算有一天回访（没有公爵夫人，因为她害怕大西洋）。

Mr. and Mrs. van der Luyden divided their time between Trevenna, their place in Maryland, and Skuytercliff, the great estate on the Hudson which had been one of the colonial grants of the Dutch government to the famous first Governor, and of which Mr. van der Luyden was still "Patroon." Their large solemn house in Madison Avenue was seldom opened, and when they came to town they received in it only their most intimate friends.

范德卢登先生和夫人的时间主要花在马里兰州特雷文纳和斯库特克利夫之间，斯库特克利夫是哈德逊河上的一座大庄园，它是荷兰政府授予著名的第一任总督的殖民地赠款之一，范德卢登先生仍然是该庄园的“赞助人”。他们在麦迪逊大街庄严的大房子很少开放，当他们来到城里时，只接待他们最亲密的朋友。

"I wish you would go with me, Newland," his mother said, suddenly pausing at the door of the Brown coupe.

“我希望你能跟我一起走，纽兰，”他的母亲突然在棕色小轿车的车门前停了下来。

"Louisa is fond of you; and of course it's on account of dear May that I'm taking this step--and also because, if we don't all stand together, there'll be no such thing as Society left."

“路易莎喜欢你；当然，这是为了亲爱的梅，我才迈出这一步——同时也是因为，如果我们不团结在一起，就不会有社会这样的东西了。”

VII.

七．

Mrs. Henry van der Luyden listened in silence to her cousin Mrs. Archer's narrative.

亨利·范德卢登夫人默默地听着表弟阿切尔夫人的叙述。

It was all very well to tell yourself in advance that Mrs. van der Luyden was always silent, and that, though non-committal by nature and training, she was very kind to the people she really liked.

最好提前告诉自己，范德卢登夫人总是沉默寡言，尽管她生性和训练都不肯表态，但她对她真正喜欢的人非常友善。

Even personal experience of these facts was not always a protection from the chill that descended on one in the high-ceilinged white-walled Madison Avenue drawing-room, with the pale brocaded armchairs so obviously uncovered for the occasion, and the gauze still veiling the ormolu mantel ornaments and the beautiful old carved frame of Gainsborough's "Lady Angelica du Lac."

即使是这些事实的个人经历也并不总是能抵御麦迪逊大道高高的白墙客厅里的寒冷，苍白的锦缎扶手椅显然没有为这个场合遮盖，薄纱仍然遮盖着奥莫鲁壁炉架装饰品和盖恩斯伯勒的《安杰莉卡·杜拉克夫人》美丽的古老雕刻框架。

Mrs. van der Luyden's portrait by Huntington (in black velvet and Venetian point) faced that of her lovely ancestress.

亨廷顿为范德卢登夫人绘制的肖像（黑色天鹅绒和威尼斯圆点）面对着她可爱的祖先的肖像。

It was generally considered "as fine as a Cabanel," and, though twenty years had elapsed since its execution, was still "a perfect likeness." Indeed the Mrs. van der Luyden who sat beneath it listening to Mrs. Archer might have been the twin-sister of the fair and still youngish woman drooping against a gilt armchair before a green rep curtain.

它通常被认为“像卡巴内尔一样精美”，尽管制作已经过去了二十年，但仍然“完美相似”。事实上，坐在下面听阿切尔夫人讲话的范德卢登夫人可能是那个坐在绿色窗帘前的镀金扶手椅上的金发碧眼、年轻女子的双胞胎姐妹。

Mrs. van der Luyden still wore black velvet and Venetian point when she went into society--or rather (since she never dined out) when she threw open her own doors to receive it.

当范德卢登夫人步入社会时，或者更确切地说，当她打开自己的大门接受它时（因为她从不外出就餐），她仍然穿着黑色天鹅绒和威尼斯尖头。

Her fair hair, which had faded without turning grey, was still parted in flat overlapping points on her forehead, and the straight nose that divided her pale blue eyes was only a little more pinched about the nostrils than when the portrait had been painted.

她的金发虽然已经褪色，但并未变成灰色，额头上的头发仍然分开成平坦的重叠点，而分隔淡蓝色眼睛的笔直鼻子，鼻孔处只比画肖像时稍微收缩了一点。

She always, indeed, struck Newland Archer as having been rather gruesomely preserved in the airless atmosphere of a perfectly irreproachable existence, as bodies caught in glaciers keep for years a rosy life-in-death.

事实上，纽兰·阿切尔总觉得她被可怕地保存在无空气的气氛中，完美地无可指摘，就像陷入冰川中的尸体多年来一直保持着玫瑰色的生死状态。

Like all his family, he esteemed and admired Mrs. van der Luyden; but he found her gentle bending sweetness less approachable than the grimness of some of his mother's old aunts, fierce spinsters who said "No" on principle before they knew what they were going to be asked.

和他的家人一样，他尊敬并钦佩范德卢登夫人。但他发现她的温柔、弯曲和甜蜜不像他母亲的一些老阿姨那样冷酷，这些阿姨都是凶狠的老处女，她们在知道自己会被问到什么之前就原则上说“不”。

Mrs. van der Luyden's attitude said neither yes nor no, but always appeared to incline to clemency till her thin lips, wavering into the shadow of a smile, made the almost invariable reply: "I shall first have to talk this over with my husband."

范德卢登夫人的态度既不说“是”，也不说“不”，但似乎总是倾向于仁慈，直到她薄薄的嘴唇在微笑的阴影中摇摆，做出几乎不变的回答：“我必须首先与我的丈夫谈谈这件事。”

She and Mr. van der Luyden were so exactly alike that Archer often wondered how, after forty years of the closest conjugality, two such merged identities ever separated themselves enough for anything as controversial as a talking-over.

她和范德卢登先生是如此相似，以至于阿切尔经常想知道，在四十年最亲密的婚姻之后，两个如此融合的身份如何将自己分开到足以进行像谈话这样有争议的事情。

But as neither had ever reached a decision without prefacing it by this mysterious conclave, Mrs. Archer and her son, having set forth their case, waited resignedly for the familiar phrase.

但是，由于双方都没有在这次神秘的秘密会议之前做出决定，阿切尔夫人和她的儿子在陈述了他们的情况后，就无奈地等待着熟悉的短语。

Mrs. van der Luyden, however, who had seldom surprised any one, now surprised them by reaching her long hand toward the bell-rope.

然而，范德卢登夫人很少让任何人感到惊讶，现在她把长长的手伸向铃绳，让他们感到惊讶。

"I think," she said, "I should like Henry to hear what you have told me."

“我想，”她说，“我希望亨利听听你告诉我的话。”

A footman appeared, to whom she gravely added: "If Mr. van der Luyden has finished reading the newspaper, please ask him to be kind enough to come."

一名男仆出现了，她严肃地对他补充道：“如果范德卢登先生读完报纸，请他能来一下。”

She said "reading the newspaper" in the tone in which a Minister's wife might have said: "Presiding at a Cabinet meeting"--not from any arrogance of mind, but because the habit of a life-time, and the attitude of her friends and relations, had led her to consider Mr. van der Luyden's least gesture as having an almost sacerdotal importance.

她说“读报纸”时的语气就像一位部长的妻子说的：“主持内阁会议”——并非出于任何傲慢的心态，而是因为一生的习惯，以及她的朋友和亲戚的态度，使她认为范德卢登先生最轻微的手势几乎具有神圣的重要性。

Her promptness of action showed that she considered the case as pressing as Mrs. Archer; but, lest she should be thought to have committed herself in advance, she added, with the sweetest look: "Henry always enjoys seeing you, dear Adeline; and he will wish to congratulate Newland."

她行动迅速，表明她和阿切尔夫人一样认为这个案子很紧迫。但是，为了避免别人认为她已经提前承诺了，她用最甜蜜的表情补充道：“亨利总是很高兴见到你，亲爱的艾德琳；他会祝贺纽兰。”

The double doors had solemnly reopened and between them appeared Mr. Henry van der Luyden, tall, spare and frock-coated, with faded fair hair, a straight nose like his wife's and the same look of frozen gentleness in eyes that were merely pale grey instead of pale blue.

双门庄严地重新打开，亨利·范德卢登先生出现在他们之间，他身材高大，身材瘦削，穿着礼服，一头褪色的金色头发，像他妻子一样笔直的鼻子，眼睛里也有同样的冰冷温柔，只不过是淡灰色而不是淡蓝色。

Mr. van der Luyden greeted Mrs. Archer with cousinly affability, proffered to Newland low-voiced congratulations couched in the same language as his wife's, and seated himself in one of the brocade armchairs with the simplicity of a reigning sovereign.

范德卢登先生以表弟般的和蔼可亲地向阿切尔夫人打招呼，用与他妻子相同的语言向纽兰低声表示祝贺，然后以一位在位君主的朴素态度坐在一张锦缎扶手椅上。

"I had just finished reading the Times," he said, laying his long finger-tips together.

“我刚刚读完《泰晤士报》，”他说着，将修长的指尖放在一起。

"In town my mornings are so much occupied that I find it more convenient to read the newspapers after luncheon."

“在城里，我的早晨都很忙碌，所以我发现午饭后看报纸更方便。”

"Ah, there's a great deal to be said for that plan--indeed I think my uncle Egmont used to say he found it less agitating not to read the morning papers till after dinner," said Mrs. Archer responsively.

“啊，这个计划有很多话要说——事实上，我想我叔叔埃格蒙特曾经说过，他发现晚饭后才看早报会不那么令人不安，”阿切尔夫人回应道。

"Yes: my good father abhorred hurry.

“是的，我的好父亲讨厌匆忙。

But now we live in a constant rush," said Mr. van der Luyden in measured tones, looking with pleasant deliberation about the large shrouded room which to Archer was so complete an image of its owners.

但现在我们生活在不断的匆忙之中，”范德卢登先生用谨慎的语气说道，他愉快地审视着这个巨大的、被遮蔽的房间，在阿切尔看来，这间房间就是它主人的完整形象。

"But I hope you _had_ finished your reading, Henry?" his wife interposed.

“但我希望你已经读完了，亨利？”他的妻子插话道。

"Quite--quite," he reassured her.

“相当——相当，”他向她保证。

"Then I should like Adeline to tell you--"

“那我希望艾德琳告诉你——”

"Oh, it's really Newland's story," said his mother smiling; and proceeded to rehearse once more the monstrous tale of the affront inflicted on Mrs. Lovell Mingott.

“哦，这真是纽兰的故事，”他的母亲微笑着说。然后再次演练洛弗尔·明戈特夫人遭受侮辱的可怕故事。

"Of course," she ended, "Augusta Welland and Mary Mingott both felt that, especially in view of Newland's engagement, you and Henry _ought to know_."

“当然，”她最后说道，“奥古斯塔·韦兰和玛丽·明戈特都认为，特别是考虑到纽兰订婚了，你和亨利_应该知道_。”

"Ah--" said Mr. van der Luyden, drawing a deep breath.

“啊——”范德卢登先生深吸了一口气。

There was a silence during which the tick of the monumental ormolu clock on the white marble mantelpiece grew as loud as the boom of a minute-gun.

一片寂静，白色大理石壁炉架上巨大的奥尔莫鲁时钟的滴答声变得像分枪的轰鸣声一样响亮。

Archer contemplated with awe the two slender faded figures, seated side by side in a kind of viceregal rigidity, mouthpieces of some remote ancestral authority which fate compelled them to wield, when they would so much rather have lived in simplicity and seclusion, digging invisible weeds out of the perfect lawns of Skuytercliff, and playing Patience together in the evenings.

阿切尔怀着敬畏的心情注视着这两个消瘦而褪色的身影，他们并排坐着，一副总督般的僵硬样子，他们是某种遥远的祖先权威的代言人，命运迫使他们行使这些权威，而他们宁愿过着简单而隐居的生活，从斯库特克利夫完美的草坪上挖出看不见的杂草，晚上一起玩《耐心》。

Mr. van der Luyden was the first to speak.

范德卢登先生首先发言。

"You really think this is due to some--some intentional interference of Lawrence Lefferts's?" he enquired, turning to Archer.

“你真的认为这是由于劳伦斯·莱弗茨的某些——某些故意干涉造成的？”他转向阿切尔问道。

"I'm certain of it, sir.

“我确信这一点，先生。

Larry has been going it rather harder than usual lately--if cousin Louisa won't mind my mentioning it--having rather a stiff affair with the postmaster's wife in their village, or some one of that sort; and whenever poor Gertrude Lefferts begins to suspect anything, and he's afraid of trouble, he gets up a fuss of this kind, to show how awfully moral he is, and talks at the top of his voice about the impertinence of inviting his wife to meet people he doesn't wish her to know.

拉里最近比平时过得更艰难——如果路易莎表弟不介意我提一下的话——与他们村里的邮政局长的妻子或类似的人有一段相当僵硬的风流韵事；每当可怜的格特鲁德·莱弗茨开始怀疑任何事情，并且害怕麻烦时，他就会大惊小怪，以显示他是多么道德高尚，并大声谈论邀请他的妻子去见那些他不想让她认识的人是无礼的。

He's simply using Madame Olenska as a lightning-rod; I've seen him try the same thing often before."

他只是利用奥兰斯卡夫人作为避雷针；我以前经常看到他尝试同样的事情。”

"The _Leffertses_!--" said Mrs. van der Luyden.

“莱弗茨夫妇！——”范德卢登夫人说道。

"The _Leffertses_!--" echoed Mrs. Archer.

“莱弗茨夫妇！——”阿切尔夫人附和道。

"What would uncle Egmont have said of Lawrence Lefferts's pronouncing on anybody's social position?

“对于劳伦斯·莱弗茨对任何人的社会地位的言论，埃格蒙特叔叔会怎么说？

It shows what Society has come to."

它显示了社会已经发展到什么程度。”

"We'll hope it has not quite come to that," said Mr. van der Luyden firmly.

“我们希望事情还没有发展到这一步，”范德卢登先生坚定地说。

"Ah, if only you and Louisa went out more!" sighed Mrs. Archer.

“啊，要是你和路易莎多出去玩就好了！”阿切尔夫人叹了口气。

But instantly she became aware of her mistake.

但她立刻意识到自己的错误。

The van der Luydens were morbidly sensitive to any criticism of their secluded existence.

范德卢顿一家对于任何针对他们隐居生活的批评都异常敏感。

They were the arbiters of fashion, the Court of last Appeal, and they knew it, and bowed to their fate.

他们是时尚的仲裁者，是终审法院，他们知道这一点，并且向命运低头。

But being shy and retiring persons, with no natural inclination for their part, they lived as much as possible in the sylvan solitude of Skuytercliff, and when they came to town, declined all invitations on the plea of Mrs. van der Luyden's health.

但由于他们是害羞和孤僻的人，没有天生的倾向，他们尽可能地生活在斯库特克利夫的森林孤独中，当他们来到镇上时，以范德卢登夫人的健康为由拒绝了所有邀请。

Newland Archer came to his mother's rescue.

纽兰·阿切尔救了他的母亲。

"Everybody in New York knows what you and cousin Louisa represent.

“纽约的每个人都知道你和表弟路易莎代表什么。

That's why Mrs. Mingott felt she ought not to allow this slight on Countess Olenska to pass without consulting you."

这就是为什么明戈特夫人觉得她不应该在没有咨询你的情况下就允许这种对奥兰斯卡伯爵夫人的轻视。”

Mrs. van der Luyden glanced at her husband, who glanced back at her.

范德卢登夫人看了一眼她的丈夫，她的丈夫也看了她一眼。

"It is the principle that I dislike," said Mr. van der Luyden.

“这是我不喜欢的原则，”范德卢登先生说。

"As long as a member of a well-known family is backed up by that family it should be considered--final."

“只要某个知名家族的成员得到该家族的支持，就应该被视为最终决定。”

"It seems so to me," said his wife, as if she were producing a new thought.

“我觉得是这样，”他的妻子说道，仿佛她正在产生一个新的想法。

"I had no idea," Mr. van der Luyden continued, "that things had come to such a pass." He paused, and looked at his wife again.

“我不知道，”范德卢登先生继续说道，“事情竟然发展到了这样的地步。”他停顿了一下，再次看着他的妻子。

"It occurs to me, my dear, that the Countess Olenska is already a sort of relation--through Medora Manson's first husband.

“亲爱的，我突然想到，奥兰斯卡伯爵夫人已经是某种关系了——通过梅多拉·曼森的第一任丈夫。

At any rate, she will be when Newland marries." He turned toward the young man.

无论如何，当纽兰结婚时，她就会成为这样的人。”他转向年轻人。

"Have you read this morning's Times, Newland?"

“纽兰，你读过今天早上的《泰晤士报》了吗？”

"Why, yes, sir," said Archer, who usually tossed off half a dozen papers with his morning coffee.

“嗯，是的，先生，”阿切尔说，他通常会在早上喝咖啡时扔掉六份文件。

Husband and wife looked at each other again.

夫妻俩再次对视一眼。

Their pale eyes clung together in prolonged and serious consultation; then a faint smile fluttered over Mrs. van der Luyden's face.

他们苍白的眼睛紧紧地贴在一起，进行着长时间而严肃的磋商。然后范德卢登夫人的脸上浮现出淡淡的微笑。

She had evidently guessed and approved.

显然，她已经猜到了，也认可了。

Mr. van der Luyden turned to Mrs. Archer.

范德卢登先生转向阿切尔夫人。

"If Louisa's health allowed her to dine out--I wish you would say to Mrs. Lovell Mingott--she and I would have been happy to--er--fill the places of the Lawrence Leffertses at her dinner." He paused to let the irony of this sink in.

“如果路易莎的健康状况允许她出去吃饭——我希望你能对洛弗尔·明戈特夫人说——她和我会很乐意——呃——在她的晚餐上填补劳伦斯·莱弗茨一家的位置。”他停下来，让大家明白这其中的讽刺意味。

"As you know, this is impossible." Mrs. Archer sounded a sympathetic assent.

“如你所知，这是不可能的。”阿切尔夫人同情地表示同意。

"But Newland tells me he has read this morning's Times; therefore he has probably seen that Louisa's relative, the Duke of St. Austrey, arrives next week on the Russia.

“但是纽兰告诉我他读了今天早上的《泰晤士报》；因此他可能已经看到路易莎的亲戚圣奥斯特雷公爵下周乘俄罗斯号抵达。

He is coming to enter his new sloop, the Guinevere, in next summer's International Cup Race; and also to have a little canvasback shooting at Trevenna." Mr. van der Luyden paused again, and continued with increasing benevolence: "Before taking him down to Maryland we are inviting a few friends to meet him here--only a little dinner--with a reception afterward.

他将驾驶他的新单桅帆船 Guinevere 参加明年夏天的国际杯帆船赛；还可以在特雷文纳进行一些帆布背板拍摄。”范德卢登先生再次停了下来，越来越仁慈地继续说道：“在带他去马里兰州之前，我们邀请几位朋友在这里与他见面——只是一顿小小的晚餐——随后举行招待会。

I am sure Louisa will be as glad as I am if Countess Olenska will let us include her among our guests." He got up, bent his long body with a stiff friendliness toward his cousin, and added: "I think I have Louisa's authority for saying that she will herself leave the invitation to dine when she drives out presently: with our cards--of course with our cards."

我相信，如果奥兰斯卡伯爵夫人允许我们将她纳入我们的客人之中，路易莎会和我一样高兴。”他站起来，弯下修长的身体，对他的表弟表现出一种僵硬的友善，然后补充道：“我想我有路易莎的权威，她会在开车出去时亲自留下吃饭的邀请：用我们的卡片——当然是用我们的卡片。”

Mrs. Archer, who knew this to be a hint that the seventeen-hand chestnuts which were never kept waiting were at the door, rose with a hurried murmur of thanks.

阿切尔夫人知道这是一个暗示，那十七只手栗子已经在门口了，她连忙起身低声表示感谢。

Mrs. van der Luyden beamed on her with the smile of Esther interceding with Ahasuerus; but her husband raised a protesting hand.

范德卢登夫人向她微笑，脸上挂着以斯帖向亚哈随鲁求情的微笑。但她的丈夫举起了手表示抗议。

"There is nothing to thank me for, dear Adeline; nothing whatever.

“没什么值得我感谢的，亲爱的艾德琳；没什么可感谢的。

This kind of thing must not happen in New York; it shall not, as long as I can help it," he pronounced with sovereign gentleness as he steered his cousins to the door.

这种事绝对不能发生在纽约；只要我力所能及，就不会。”他一边带着至高无上的温柔说道，一边引导他的表兄弟们向门口走去。

Two hours later, every one knew that the great C-spring barouche in which Mrs. van der Luyden took the air at all seasons had been seen at old Mrs. Mingott's door, where a large square envelope was handed in; and that evening at the Opera Mr. Sillerton Jackson was able to state that the envelope contained a card inviting the Countess Olenska to the dinner which the van der Luydens were giving the following week for their cousin, the Duke of St. Austrey.

两个小时后，大家都知道，范德鲁登夫人一年四季都乘坐那辆巨大的C型弹簧四轮马车出现在老明戈特夫人的门口，那里递来一个大的方形信封；那天晚上在歌剧院，西勒顿·杰克逊先生说信封里有一张卡片，邀请奥兰斯卡伯爵夫人参加范德卢登夫妇下周为他们的表弟圣奥斯特雷公爵举办的晚宴。

Some of the younger men in the club box exchanged a smile at this announcement, and glanced sideways at Lawrence Lefferts, who sat carelessly in the front of the box, pulling his long fair moustache, and who remarked with authority, as the soprano paused: "No one but Patti ought to attempt the Sonnambula."

听到这一消息，俱乐部包厢里的一些年轻人交换了一个微笑，并斜眼瞥了劳伦斯·莱弗茨一眼。劳伦斯·莱弗茨漫不经心地坐在包厢前面，拉着长长的金色小胡子，当女高音停顿时，劳伦斯·莱弗茨权威地说道：“除了帕蒂之外，没有人应该尝试桑那布拉舞。”

VIII.

八．

It was generally agreed in New York that the Countess Olenska had "lost her looks."

在纽约，人们普遍认为奥兰斯卡伯爵夫人“失去了容貌”。

She had appeared there first, in Newland Archer's boyhood, as a brilliantly pretty little girl of nine or ten, of whom people said that she "ought to be painted." Her parents had been continental wanderers, and after a roaming babyhood she had lost them both, and been taken in charge by her aunt, Medora Manson, also a wanderer, who was herself returning to New York to "settle down."

她第一次出现在那里，是在纽兰·阿切尔的少年时代，当时她是一个九岁或十岁的漂亮小女孩，人们说她“应该被画下来”。她的父母都是大陆流浪者，在童年时期的流浪之后，她失去了他们，并由她的姨妈梅多拉·曼森（Medora Manson）负责照顾，她也是一名流浪者，她本人正在返回纽约“定居”。

Poor Medora, repeatedly widowed, was always coming home to settle down (each time in a less expensive house), and bringing with her a new husband or an adopted child; but after a few months she invariably parted from her husband or quarrelled with her ward, and, having got rid of her house at a loss, set out again on her wanderings.

可怜的梅多拉，屡次守寡，总是回家安顿下来（每次都住一所较便宜的房子），并带来一个新丈夫或一个收养的孩子。但几个月后，她总是与丈夫分道扬镳，或者与她的监护人发生争吵，然后不知所措地摆脱了她的房子，再次开始了她的流浪。

As her mother had been a Rushworth, and her last unhappy marriage had linked her to one of the crazy Chiverses, New York looked indulgently on her eccentricities; but when she returned with her little orphaned niece, whose parents had been popular in spite of their regrettable taste for travel, people thought it a pity that the pretty child should be in such hands.

由于她的母亲是拉什沃斯家族的成员，而她上一次不幸的婚姻又将她与一个疯狂的奇弗斯家族联系在一起，纽约对她的怪癖十分宽容；但当她带着她的小孤儿侄女回来时，人们觉得这个漂亮的孩子落在这样的人手里真是可惜，她的父母尽管对旅行的兴趣令人遗憾，但还是很受欢迎。

Every one was disposed to be kind to little Ellen Mingott, though her dusky red cheeks and tight curls gave her an air of gaiety that seemed unsuitable in a child who should still have been in black for her parents.

每个人都对小埃伦·明戈特很友善，尽管她暗红色的脸颊和紧密的卷发给她带来了一种快乐的气氛，这对于一个应该仍然为父母穿黑色衣服的孩子来说似乎不合适。

It was one of the misguided Medora's many peculiarities to flout the unalterable rules that regulated American mourning, and when she stepped from the steamer her family were scandalised to see that the crape veil she wore for her own brother was seven inches shorter than those of her sisters-in-law, while little Ellen was in crimson merino and amber beads, like a gipsy foundling.

被误导的梅多拉的众多怪癖之一就是蔑视美国哀悼的不可改变的规则，当她走下轮船时，她的家人震惊地发现她为自己的兄弟戴的黑纱面纱比她嫂子的短了七英寸，而小艾伦则穿着深红色的美利奴羊毛和琥珀珠子，就像一个吉卜赛弃儿。

But New York had so long resigned itself to Medora that only a few old ladies shook their heads over Ellen's gaudy clothes, while her other relations fell under the charm of her high colour and high spirits.

但纽约长期以来一直屈服于梅多拉，以至于只有少数老太太对艾伦花哨的衣服摇头，而她的其他亲戚则被她高调的肤色和高昂的精神所吸引。

She was a fearless and familiar little thing, who asked disconcerting questions, made precocious comments, and possessed outlandish arts, such as dancing a Spanish shawl dance and singing Neapolitan love-songs to a guitar.

她是一个无所畏惧、熟悉的小东西，她提出令人不安的问题，发表早熟的评论，并拥有古怪的艺术，比如跳西班牙披肩舞和用吉他唱那不勒斯情歌。

Under the direction of her aunt (whose real name was Mrs. Thorley Chivers, but who, having received a Papal title, had resumed her first husband's patronymic, and called herself the Marchioness Manson, because in Italy she could turn it into Manzoni) the little girl received an expensive but incoherent education, which included "drawing from the model," a thing never dreamed of before, and playing the piano in quintets with professional musicians.

在她姨妈（她的真名是索利·奇弗斯夫人，但她获得了教皇头衔后，恢复了她第一任丈夫的父名，并称自己为曼森侯爵夫人，因为在意大利她可以将其变成曼佐尼）的指导下，这个小女孩接受了昂贵但不连贯的教育，其中包括“从模型中汲取灵感”，这是以前从未梦想过的事情，并与专业音乐家一起弹钢琴。

Of course no good could come of this; and when, a few years later, poor Chivers finally died in a madhouse, his widow (draped in strange weeds) again pulled up stakes and departed with Ellen, who had grown into a tall bony girl with conspicuous eyes.

当然，这样做不会有什么好处。几年后，当可怜的奇弗斯最终死在疯人院时，他的遗孀（浑身披着奇怪的杂草）再次拔起木桩，带着埃伦离开了，埃伦已经长成一个身材高大、骨瘦如柴、眼睛引人注目的女孩。

For some time no more was heard of them; then news came of Ellen's marriage to an immensely rich Polish nobleman of legendary fame, whom she had met at a ball at the Tuileries, and who was said to have princely establishments in Paris, Nice and Florence, a yacht at Cowes, and many square miles of shooting in Transylvania.

有一段时间，人们再也没有听到他们的消息。后来有消息传来，艾伦嫁给了一位富有传奇色彩的波兰贵族，她是在杜伊勒里宫的一次舞会上认识的，据说他在巴黎、尼斯和佛罗伦萨拥有王室住所，在考斯有一艘游艇，在特兰西瓦尼亚还有许多平方英里的射击场。

She disappeared in a kind of sulphurous apotheosis, and when a few years later Medora again came back to New York, subdued, impoverished, mourning a third husband, and in quest of a still smaller house, people wondered that her rich niece had not been able to do something for her.

她在一种硫磺般的神化中消失了，几年后，当梅多拉再次回到纽约时，她压抑、贫穷，哀悼第三任丈夫，并寻求一所更小的房子，人们想知道她富有的侄女没有能为她做点什么。

Then came the news that Ellen's own marriage had ended in disaster, and that she was herself returning home to seek rest and oblivion among her kinsfolk.

然后传来消息，艾伦自己的婚姻以灾难告终，她自己要回家，在亲戚中寻求休息和遗忘。

These things passed through Newland Archer's mind a week later as he watched the Countess Olenska enter the van der Luyden drawing-room on the evening of the momentous dinner.

一周后，当纽兰·阿切尔在重要的晚宴当晚，看着奥兰斯卡伯爵夫人走进范德卢登的客厅时，这些事情在他的脑海中闪过。

The occasion was a solemn one, and he wondered a little nervously how she would carry it off.

这是一个庄严的场合，他有点紧张地想知道她将如何完成它。

She came rather late, one hand still ungloved, and fastening a bracelet about her wrist; yet she entered without any appearance of haste or embarrassment the drawing-room in which New York's most chosen company was somewhat awfully assembled.

她来得相当晚，一只手还没有戴手套，手腕上戴着一只手镯。然而，她走进客厅时，并没有表现出任何匆忙或尴尬，纽约最受欢迎的公司聚集在里面，气氛有些糟糕。

In the middle of the room she paused, looking about her with a grave mouth and smiling eyes; and in that instant Newland Archer rejected the general verdict on her looks.

她在房间中央停了下来，用严肃的嘴和微笑的眼睛环顾四周。就在那一刻，纽兰·阿切尔拒绝了人们对她外表的普遍评价。

It was true that her early radiance was gone.

确实，她早年的光彩已经消失了。

The red cheeks had paled; she was thin, worn, a little older-looking than her age, which must have been nearly thirty.

原本红润的脸颊变得苍白；她很瘦弱，疲惫不堪，看起来比她的年龄要老一些，她的年龄一定快三十了。

But there was about her the mysterious authority of beauty, a sureness in the carriage of the head, the movement of the eyes, which, without being in the least theatrical, struck him as highly trained and full of a conscious power.

但她身上有一种神秘的美的权威，头部的姿态和眼睛的动作都充满了自信，毫无戏剧性，却让他觉得她训练有素，充满了自觉的力量。

At the same time she was simpler in manner than most of the ladies present, and many people (as he heard afterward from Janey) were disappointed that her appearance was not more "stylish"--for stylishness was what New York most valued.

与此同时，她的举止比在场的大多数女士都要简单，许多人（正如他后来从珍妮那里听到的那样）对她的外表没有更“时尚”感到失望——因为时尚是纽约最看重的东西。

It was, perhaps, Archer reflected, because her early vivacity had disappeared; because she was so quiet--quiet in her movements, her voice, and the tones of her low-pitched voice.

阿切尔想，这也许是因为她早年的活力已经消失了。因为她是如此安静——她的动作、她的声音、她低沉的语气都很安静。

New York had expected something a good deal more resonant in a young woman with such a history.

纽约人原本期望一位拥有这样历史的年轻女性能够做出更能引起共鸣的事情。

The dinner was a somewhat formidable business.

晚餐是一件有点艰巨的事情。

Dining with the van der Luydens was at best no light matter, and dining there with a Duke who was their cousin was almost a religious solemnity.

与范德卢登家族一起进餐充其量也不算什么小事，而与他们的表弟公爵一起进餐则几乎是一种宗教般的庄严。

It pleased Archer to think that only an old New Yorker could perceive the shade of difference (to New York) between being merely a Duke and being the van der Luydens' Duke.

阿切尔很高兴地想到，只有一个老纽约人才能察觉出仅仅一个公爵和范德卢登家族的公爵之间的区别（对纽约来说）。

New York took stray noblemen calmly, and even (except in the Struthers set) with a certain distrustful hauteur; but when they presented such credentials as these they were received with an old-fashioned cordiality that they would have been greatly mistaken in ascribing solely to their standing in Debrett.

纽约对流浪贵族表现得很平静，甚至（除了斯特拉瑟斯的那群人）还带着某种不信任的傲慢态度。但是，当他们提出这样的证书时，他们受到了老式的热情接待，如果他们仅仅将其归因于他们在德布雷特的地位，那就大错特错了。

It was for just such distinctions that the young man cherished his old New York even while he smiled at it.

正是因为这些区别，这位年轻人珍惜他的旧纽约，尽管他对它微笑。

The van der Luydens had done their best to emphasise the importance of the occasion.

范德卢登夫妇竭尽全力强调这次活动的重要性。

The du Lac Sevres and the Trevenna George II plate were out; so was the van der Luyden "Lowestoft" (East India Company) and the Dagonet Crown Derby.

杜拉克塞夫尔号和特雷文纳乔治二世号板块已出局；范德卢登“洛斯托夫特”（东印度公司）和达戈内特皇冠德比也是如此。

Mrs. van der Luyden looked more than ever like a Cabanel, and Mrs. Archer, in her grandmother's seed-pearls and emeralds, reminded her son of an Isabey miniature.

范德卢登夫人看起来比以往任何时候都更像卡巴内尔家族的人，阿切尔夫人戴着祖母的珍珠珍珠和祖母绿，让她的儿子想起了伊莎贝的缩影。

All the ladies had on their handsomest jewels, but it was characteristic of the house and the occasion that these were mostly in rather heavy old-fashioned settings; and old Miss Lanning, who had been persuaded to come, actually wore her mother's cameos and a Spanish blonde shawl.

所有的女士们都佩戴着最漂亮的珠宝，但根据这所房子和场合的特点，这些珠宝大多是在相当沉重的老式环境中进行的。被说服来的老兰宁小姐实际上戴着她母亲的浮雕和一条西班牙金色披肩。

The Countess Olenska was the only young woman at the dinner; yet, as Archer scanned the smooth plump elderly faces between their diamond necklaces and towering ostrich feathers, they struck him as curiously immature compared with hers.

奥兰斯卡伯爵夫人是晚宴上唯一的年轻女性。然而，当阿切尔扫视钻石项链和高耸的鸵鸟羽毛之间那张光滑、丰满的老人脸时，他觉得与她相比，他们显得非常不成熟。

It frightened him to think what must have gone to the making of her eyes.

一想到她的眼睛到底是怎么形成的，他就感到害怕。

The Duke of St. Austrey, who sat at his hostess's right, was naturally the chief figure of the evening.

坐在女主人右边的圣奥斯特雷公爵自然是当晚的主角。

But if the Countess Olenska was less conspicuous than had been hoped, the Duke was almost invisible.

但如果说奥兰斯卡伯爵夫人没有想象中那么引人注目，那么公爵就几乎是隐形的了。

Being a well-bred man he had not (like another recent ducal visitor) come to the dinner in a shooting-jacket; but his evening clothes were so shabby and baggy, and he wore them with such an air of their being homespun, that (with his stooping way of sitting, and the vast beard spreading over his shirt-front) he hardly gave the appearance of being in dinner attire.

作为一个有教养的人，他没有（像另一位最近来访的公爵那样）穿着射击服来参加晚宴。但他的晚礼服又破又松，而且他穿起来有一种土布的感觉，以至于（他弯着腰坐着，大胡子散布在衬衫前襟），他看起来根本不像穿着晚礼服。

He was short, round-shouldered, sunburnt, with a thick nose, small eyes and a sociable smile; but he seldom spoke, and when he did it was in such low tones that, despite the frequent silences of expectation about the table, his remarks were lost to all but his neighbours.

他身材矮小，肩膀圆润，晒黑了，鼻子粗，眼睛小，脸上挂着友善的微笑。但他很少说话，而且每次说话的语气都很低沉，尽管餐桌上人们常常保持沉默，但除了他的邻居之外，其他人都听不懂他的话。

When the men joined the ladies after dinner the Duke went straight up to the Countess Olenska, and they sat down in a corner and plunged into animated talk.

晚饭后，当男士们与女士们汇合时，公爵径直走向奥兰斯卡伯爵夫人，他们坐在角落里，热烈地交谈着。

Neither seemed aware that the Duke should first have paid his respects to Mrs. Lovell Mingott and Mrs. Headly Chivers, and the Countess have conversed with that amiable hypochondriac, Mr. Urban Dagonet of Washington Square, who, in order to have the pleasure of meeting her, had broken through his fixed rule of not dining out between January and April.

两人似乎都没有意识到公爵应该首先向洛弗尔·明戈特夫人和海德利·奇弗斯夫人表示敬意，而伯爵夫人则与华盛顿广场的那位和蔼可亲的忧郁症患者乌尔班·达戈内特先生进行了交谈，他为了能有幸见到她，打破了一月到四月之间不外出就餐的固定规定。

The two chatted together for nearly twenty minutes; then the Countess rose and, walking alone across the wide drawing-room, sat down at Newland Archer's side.

两人聊了近二十分钟；然后伯爵夫人站了起来，独自走过宽敞的客厅，在纽兰·阿切尔身边坐下。

It was not the custom in New York drawing-rooms for a lady to get up and walk away from one gentleman in order to seek the company of another.

在纽约的客厅里，女士们没有起身离开一位男士去寻求另一位男士陪伴的习惯。

Etiquette required that she should wait, immovable as an idol, while the men who wished to converse with her succeeded each other at her side.

礼节要求她必须像偶像一样一动不动地等待，而想要与她交谈的男人们则纷纷站在她身边。

But the Countess was apparently unaware of having broken any rule; she sat at perfect ease in a corner of the sofa beside Archer, and looked at him with the kindest eyes.

但伯爵夫人显然没有意识到自己违反了任何规定。她轻松地坐在阿切尔身旁的沙发一角，用最慈祥的目光看着他。

"I want you to talk to me about May," she said.

“我想让你跟我谈谈梅，”她说。

Instead of answering her he asked: "You knew the Duke before?"

他没有回答她，而是问道：“你以前认识公爵吗？”

"Oh, yes--we used to see him every winter at Nice.

“哦，是的——我们每年冬天都会在尼斯见到他。

He's very fond of gambling--he used to come to the house a great deal." She said it in the simplest manner, as if she had said: "He's fond of wild-flowers"; and after a moment she added candidly: "I think he's the dullest man I ever met."

他非常喜欢赌博——他经常到家里来。”她说得最简单，就好像在说：“他喜欢野花”；过了一会儿，她坦诚地补充道：“我认为他是我见过的最迟钝的人。”

This pleased her companion so much that he forgot the slight shock her previous remark had caused him.

这让她的同伴非常高兴，以至于他忘记了她之前的话给他带来的轻微震惊。

It was undeniably exciting to meet a lady who found the van der Luydens' Duke dull, and dared to utter the opinion.

不可否认的是，见到一位发现范德卢登家族的公爵迟钝却敢于说出自己观点的女士真是令人兴奋。

He longed to question her, to hear more about the life of which her careless words had given him so illuminating a glimpse; but he feared to touch on distressing memories, and before he could think of anything to say she had strayed back to her original subject.

他渴望向她提问，想更多地了解她的生活，她漫不经心的话语让他对生活有了如此启发性的一瞥。但他害怕触及痛苦的回忆，在他想出要说的话之前，她又回到了原来的话题。

"May is a darling; I've seen no young girl in New York so handsome and so intelligent.

“梅是一个可爱的人；我在纽约没有见过如此英俊、如此聪明的年轻女孩。

Are you very much in love with her?"

你很爱她吗？”

Newland Archer reddened and laughed.

纽兰·阿切尔涨红了脸，笑了起来。

"As much as a man can be."

“一个男人能做到的就尽可能多。”

She continued to consider him thoughtfully, as if not to miss any shade of meaning in what he said, "Do you think, then, there is a limit?"

她继续若有所思地打量着他，仿佛不想错过他话中的任何一丝含义：“那么，你认为，有一个限度吗？”

"To being in love?

“为了恋爱？

If there is, I haven't found it!"

如果有的话，我还没找到！”

She glowed with sympathy.

她满脸同情。

"Ah--it's really and truly a romance?"

「啊——真的是恋爱吗？」

"The most romantic of romances!"

“最浪漫的浪漫！”

"How delightful!

“多么令人愉快啊！

And you found it all out for yourselves--it was not in the least arranged for you?"

而这一切都是你自己发现的——这根本不是为你安排的吗？”

Archer looked at her incredulously.

Archer不可置信地看着她。

"Have you forgotten," he asked with a smile, "that in our country we don't allow our marriages to be arranged for us?"

“你忘了吗？”他微笑着问道，“在我们国家，我们不允许别人为我们包办婚姻？”

A dusky blush rose to her cheek, and he instantly regretted his words.

她的脸颊泛起一丝红晕，他立刻就后悔自己的话了。

"Yes," she answered, "I'd forgotten.

“是的，”她回答，“我忘了。

You must forgive me if I sometimes make these mistakes.

如果我有时会犯这些错误，你一定要原谅我。

I don't always remember that everything here is good that was--that was bad where I've come from." She looked down at her Viennese fan of eagle feathers, and he saw that her lips trembled.

我并不总是记得这里的一切都很好，但我来自的地方却很糟糕。”她低头看着她那把维也纳鹰羽扇子，他看到她的嘴唇在颤抖。

"I'm so sorry," he said impulsively; "but you _are_ among friends here, you know."

“我很抱歉，”他冲动地说。 “但你知道，你是这里的朋友。”

"Yes--I know.

“是的——我知道。

Wherever I go I have that feeling.

无论我走到哪里，我都有这种感觉。

That's why I came home.

这就是我回家的原因。

I want to forget everything else, to become a complete American again, like the Mingotts and Wellands, and you and your delightful mother, and all the other good people here tonight.

我想忘记其他一切，再次成为一个完整的美国人，就像明戈特一家和韦兰一家，还有你和你可爱的母亲，以及今晚在场的所有其他好人。

Ah, here's May arriving, and you will want to hurry away to her," she added, but without moving; and her eyes turned back from the door to rest on the young man's face.

啊，五月来了，你会想赶紧跑到她身边去，”她补充道，但没有动；她的目光从门口转回，落在年轻人的脸上。

The drawing-rooms were beginning to fill up with after-dinner guests, and following Madame Olenska's glance Archer saw May Welland entering with her mother.

客厅里开始挤满了晚饭后的客人，阿切尔顺着奥兰斯卡夫人的目光望去，看到梅·韦兰和她母亲一起进来了。

In her dress of white and silver, with a wreath of silver blossoms in her hair, the tall girl looked like a Diana just alight from the chase.

这个高挑的女孩穿着白银相间的裙子，头发上戴着银花环，看起来就像刚刚从追逐中走下来的戴安娜王妃。

"Oh," said Archer, "I have so many rivals; you see she's already surrounded.

“哦，”阿切尔说，“我的对手太多了，你看她已经被包围了。

There's the Duke being introduced."

有人介绍公爵。”

"Then stay with me a little longer," Madame Olenska said in a low tone, just touching his knee with her plumed fan.

“那就再陪我一会儿吧。”奥兰斯卡夫人低声说道，只是用羽扇碰触他的膝盖。

It was the lightest touch, but it thrilled him like a caress.

虽然是最轻的触碰，但却像爱抚一样让他兴奋不已。

"Yes, let me stay," he answered in the same tone, hardly knowing what he said; but just then Mr. van der Luyden came up, followed by old Mr. Urban Dagonet.

“是的，让我留下来吧，”他用同样的语气回答，几乎不知道自己在说什么。但就在这时，范德卢登先生走了过来，后面跟着老乌尔班达戈内先生。

The Countess greeted them with her grave smile, and Archer, feeling his host's admonitory glance on him, rose and surrendered his seat.

伯爵夫人带着严肃的微笑向他们打招呼，阿切尔感受到主人向他投来警告的目光，站了起来，让出了座位。

Madame Olenska held out her hand as if to bid him goodbye.

奥兰斯卡夫人伸出手，好像在向他告别。

"Tomorrow, then, after five--I shall expect you," she said; and then turned back to make room for Mr. Dagonet.

“那么，明天五点之后——我会等你，”她说。然后转身给达戈内先生腾出地方。

"Tomorrow--" Archer heard himself repeating, though there had been no engagement, and during their talk she had given him no hint that she wished to see him again.

“明天——”阿切尔听到自己重复道，尽管并没有订婚，而且在他们谈话的过程中，她也没有向他暗示她希望再次见到他。

As he moved away he saw Lawrence Lefferts, tall and resplendent, leading his wife up to be introduced; and heard Gertrude Lefferts say, as she beamed on the Countess with her large unperceiving smile: "But I think we used to go to dancing-school together when we were children--." Behind her, waiting their turn to name themselves to the Countess, Archer noticed a number of the recalcitrant couples who had declined to meet her at Mrs. Lovell Mingott's.

当他离开时，他看到劳伦斯·莱弗茨（Lawrence Lefferts）身材高大、光彩照人，领着他的妻子上前接受介绍。格特鲁德·莱弗茨说道，她带着不易察觉的大微笑对着伯爵夫人说道：“但我想我们小时候经常一起去舞蹈学校——”在她身后，阿切尔正在等待向伯爵夫人报名，她注意到有几对拒绝在洛弗尔·明戈特夫人家里与她见面的夫妇。

As Mrs. Archer remarked: when the van der Luydens chose, they knew how to give a lesson.

正如阿切尔夫人所说：当范德卢登夫妇选择时，他们知道如何教训。

The wonder was that they chose so seldom.

令人惊奇的是，他们的选择如此之少。

The young man felt a touch on his arm and saw Mrs. van der Luyden looking down on him from the pure eminence of black velvet and the family diamonds.

年轻人感觉到有人在他的手臂上碰触，看到范德卢登夫人在黑色天鹅绒和家族钻石的纯粹显赫地位上俯视着他。

"It was good of you, dear Newland, to devote yourself so unselfishly to Madame Olenska.

“亲爱的纽兰，你如此无私地为奥兰斯卡夫人奉献自己，真是太好了。

I told your cousin Henry he must really come to the rescue."

我告诉你的表弟亨利，他真的必须来救援。”

He was aware of smiling at her vaguely, and she added, as if condescending to his natural shyness: "I've never seen May looking lovelier.

他意识到他隐隐约约地对她微笑，她补充道，仿佛屈尊于他天生的害羞：“我从来没有见过梅看起来更可爱。

The Duke thinks her the handsomest girl in the room."

公爵认为她是房间里最漂亮的女孩。”

The Countess Olenska had said "after five"; and at half after the hour Newland Archer rang the bell of the peeling stucco house with a giant wisteria throttling its feeble cast-iron balcony, which she had hired, far down West Twenty-third Street, from the vagabond Medora.

奥兰斯卡伯爵夫人说“五点以后”；半点后，纽兰·阿切尔按响了那栋剥落的灰泥房子的门铃，那里的铸铁阳台上长满了巨大的紫藤，这栋房子是她从流浪汉梅多拉那里租来的，位于西二十三街很远的地方。

It was certainly a strange quarter to have settled in.

在这里定居确实是一个奇怪的地方。

Small dress-makers, bird-stuffers and "people who wrote" were her nearest neighbours; and further down the dishevelled street Archer recognised a dilapidated wooden house, at the end of a paved path, in which a writer and journalist called Winsett, whom he used to come across now and then, had mentioned that he lived.

小裁缝、鸟类填充者和“写作者”是她最近的邻居。沿着那条凌乱的街道，阿切尔认出了一条破旧的木屋，位于一条铺好的小路的尽头，里面住着一位名叫温塞特的作家和记者，他时不时会遇到他，他曾提到过他住在那里。

Winsett did not invite people to his house; but he had once pointed it out to Archer in the course of a nocturnal stroll, and the latter had asked himself, with a little shiver, if the humanities were so meanly housed in other capitals.

温塞特没有邀请别人到他家做客。但有一次他在夜间散步时向阿切尔指出了这一点，阿切尔颤抖着问自己，在其他首都，人文学科是否也如此简陋。

Madame Olenska's own dwelling was redeemed from the same appearance only by a little more paint about the window-frames; and as Archer mustered its modest front he said to himself that the Polish Count must have robbed her of her fortune as well as of her illusions.

奥兰斯卡夫人自己的住所，只是在窗框上多涂了一点漆，就不再是原来的样子了。当阿切尔摆出谦虚的姿态时，他对自己说，波兰伯爵肯定夺走了她的财产和她的幻想。

The young man had spent an unsatisfactory day.

年轻人度过了不愉快的一天。

He had lunched with the Wellands, hoping afterward to carry off May for a walk in the Park.

他与韦兰夫妇共进午餐，希望随后能带梅去公园散步。

He wanted to have her to himself, to tell her how enchanting she had looked the night before, and how proud he was of her, and to press her to hasten their marriage.

他想拥有她，告诉她前一天晚上她看起来多么迷人，他为她感到多么自豪，并敦促她加快他们的婚姻。

But Mrs. Welland had firmly reminded him that the round of family visits was not half over, and, when he hinted at advancing the date of the wedding, had raised reproachful eye-brows and sighed out: "Twelve dozen of everything--hand-embroidered--"

但韦兰夫人坚决提醒他，家人探望还没有结束，当他暗示要提前举行婚礼时，她责备地扬起了眉毛，叹了口气：“十二打——手工刺绣的——”

Packed in the family landau they rolled from one tribal doorstep to another, and Archer, when the afternoon's round was over, parted from his betrothed with the feeling that he had been shown off like a wild animal cunningly trapped.

他们挤在家里的四轮马车里，从一个部落的家门口滚到另一个部落的家门口，下午的一轮比赛结束后，阿切尔与他的未婚夫告别，感觉自己像一头被狡猾地困住的野兽一样被人炫耀。

He supposed that his readings in anthropology caused him to take such a coarse view of what was after all a simple and natural demonstration of family feeling; but when he remembered that the Wellands did not expect the wedding to take place till the following autumn, and pictured what his life would be till then, a dampness fell upon his spirit.

他认为，他对人类学的阅读使他对这毕竟是简单而自然的家庭感情的表现产生了如此粗俗的看法。但当他想起韦兰夫妇预计婚礼要到第二年秋天才会举行，并想象到那时他的生活会是什么样子时，他的心里一阵潮湿。

"Tomorrow," Mrs. Welland called after him, "we'll do the Chiverses and the Dallases"; and he perceived that she was going through their two families alphabetically, and that they were only in the first quarter of the alphabet.

“明天，”韦兰夫人在他身后喊道，“我们要去奇弗斯和达拉斯。”他察觉到她正在按字母顺序浏览他们两个家庭，而他们只排在字母表的前四分之一。

He had meant to tell May of the Countess Olenska's request--her command, rather--that he should call on her that afternoon; but in the brief moments when they were alone he had had more pressing things to say.

他本想告诉梅，奥兰斯卡伯爵夫人的请求——更确切地说，是她的命令——他应该在那天下午拜访她；但他并没有这么做。但在他们独处的短暂时刻，他有更紧迫的事情要说。

Besides, it struck him as a little absurd to allude to the matter.

此外，他觉得提及此事有点荒谬。

He knew that May most particularly wanted him to be kind to her cousin; was it not that wish which had hastened the announcement of their engagement?

他知道梅特别希望他善待她的表弟。难道正是这个愿望促使他们加速宣布订婚吗？

It gave him an odd sensation to reflect that, but for the Countess's arrival, he might have been, if not still a free man, at least a man less irrevocably pledged.

想到这一点，他有一种奇怪的感觉，如果不是伯爵夫人的到来，他即使不是仍然是一个自由人，至少也可能是一个不再那么不可撤销的承诺的人。

But May had willed it so, and he felt himself somehow relieved of further responsibility--and therefore at liberty, if he chose, to call on her cousin without telling her.

但梅愿意如此，他觉得自己在某种程度上解除了进一步的责任——因此，如果他愿意的话，可以自由地拜访她的表弟而不告诉她。

As he stood on Madame Olenska's threshold curiosity was his uppermost feeling.

当他站在奥兰斯卡夫人的门槛上时，他最大的感觉就是好奇。

He was puzzled by the tone in which she had summoned him; he concluded that she was less simple than she seemed.

他对她召唤他的语气感到困惑。他得出的结论是，她并不像看上去那么简单。

The door was opened by a swarthy foreign-looking maid, with a prominent bosom under a gay neckerchief, whom he vaguely fancied to be Sicilian.

开门的是一位皮肤黝黑、肤色黝黑的外国女仆，围着花哨的围巾，胸部突出，他隐约觉得她是西西里人。

She welcomed him with all her white teeth, and answering his enquiries by a head-shake of incomprehension led him through the narrow hall into a low firelit drawing-room.

她用洁白的牙齿欢迎他，并以不解的摇头回答他的询问，带领他穿过狭窄的大厅，进入一间低矮的、有火光的客厅。

The room was empty, and she left him, for an appreciable time, to wonder whether she had gone to find her mistress, or whether she had not understood what he was there for, and thought it might be to wind the clock--of which he perceived that the only visible specimen had stopped.

房间里空无一人，她让他留了很长一段时间，想知道她是否去找她的情妇，或者她是否不明白他在那里的目的，并认为可能是给钟上发条——他发现唯一可见的样本已经停止了。

He knew that the southern races communicated with each other in the language of pantomime, and was mortified to find her shrugs and smiles so unintelligible.

他知道南方的种族是用哑剧语言交流的，但看到她的耸肩和微笑如此难以理解，他感到羞愧。

At length she returned with a lamp; and Archer, having meanwhile put together a phrase out of Dante and Petrarch, evoked the answer: "La signora e fuori; ma verra subito"; which he took to mean: "She's out--but you'll soon see."

最后她带着一盏灯回来了。与此同时，阿切尔将但丁和彼特拉克的一句话拼凑在一起，得出了答案：“La Signora e fuori；ma verra subito”；他认为这意味着：“她出去了——但你很快就会看到。”

What he saw, meanwhile, with the help of the lamp, was the faded shadowy charm of a room unlike any room he had known.

与此同时，在灯的帮助下，他看到的是一个房间的褪色阴影魅力，不同于他所知道的任何房间。

He knew that the Countess Olenska had brought some of her possessions with her--bits of wreckage, she called them--and these, he supposed, were represented by some small slender tables of dark wood, a delicate little Greek bronze on the chimney-piece, and a stretch of red damask nailed on the discoloured wallpaper behind a couple of Italian-looking pictures in old frames.

他知道奥兰斯卡伯爵夫人带来了她的一些财产——她称之为残骸碎片——他猜想，这些物品的代表是一些细长的黑木桌、壁炉架上的精致的小希腊青铜器、以及在几张意大利风格的旧画框后面的褪色的壁纸上钉着的一段红色锦缎。

Newland Archer prided himself on his knowledge of Italian art.

纽兰·阿切尔对自己对意大利艺术的了解感到自豪。

His boyhood had been saturated with Ruskin, and he had read all the latest books: John Addington Symonds, Vernon Lee's "Euphorion," the essays of P.

他的童年充满了拉斯金的影响，他读过所有最新的书籍：约翰·阿丁顿·西蒙兹、弗农·李的《Euphorion》、P.

G.

G。

Hamerton, and a wonderful new volume called "The Renaissance" by Walter Pater.

哈默顿，以及沃尔特·佩特的一本精彩的新书《文艺复兴》。

He talked easily of Botticelli, and spoke of Fra Angelico with a faint condescension.

他轻松地谈论波提切利，谈论弗拉·安吉利科时带着一丝居高临下的态度。

But these pictures bewildered him, for they were like nothing that he was accustomed to look at (and therefore able to see) when he travelled in Italy; and perhaps, also, his powers of observation were impaired by the oddness of finding himself in this strange empty house, where apparently no one expected him.

但这些照片让他感到困惑，因为它们与他在意大利旅行时习惯看到（因此能够看到）的东西完全不同；这些照片让他感到困惑。或许，他的观察力也因为发现自己置身于这所奇怪的空房子里而变得奇怪，显然没人期待他。

He was sorry that he had not told May Welland of Countess Olenska's request, and a little disturbed by the thought that his betrothed might come in to see her cousin.

他很遗憾没有将奥兰斯卡伯爵夫人的请求告诉梅·韦兰，而且一想到他的未婚夫可能会来看望她的表弟，他就感到有点不安。

What would she think if she found him sitting there with the air of intimacy implied by waiting alone in the dusk at a lady's fireside?

如果她发现他坐在那里，带着一种在黄昏时独自在女士炉边等待的亲密气氛，她会怎么想？

But since he had come he meant to wait; and he sank into a chair and stretched his feet to the logs.

但既然他来了，他就打算等待；他一屁股坐在椅子上，把脚伸到圆木上。

It was odd to have summoned him in that way, and then forgotten him; but Archer felt more curious than mortified.

以这种方式召唤他，然后又忘记了他，这很奇怪。但阿切尔更多的是好奇而不是羞愧。

The atmosphere of the room was so different from any he had ever breathed that self-consciousness vanished in the sense of adventure.

房间里的气氛与他呼吸过的气氛是如此不同，以至于他的不自在感在冒险的感觉中消失了。

He had been before in drawing-rooms hung with red damask, with pictures "of the Italian school"; what struck him was the way in which Medora Manson's shabby hired house, with its blighted background of pampas grass and Rogers statuettes, had, by a turn of the hand, and the skilful use of a few properties, been transformed into something intimate, "foreign," subtly suggestive of old romantic scenes and sentiments.

他以前去过挂着红色锦缎、挂着“意大利学校”图画的客厅。令他震惊的是，梅多拉·曼森（Medora Manson）租来的破旧房子，背景是潘帕斯草和罗杰斯小雕像，经过一手的转动，以及对一些财产的巧妙利用，变成了某种亲密的、“外国的”，巧妙地暗示着古老的浪漫场景和情感。

He tried to analyse the trick, to find a clue to it in the way the chairs and tables were grouped, in the fact that only two Jacqueminot roses (of which nobody ever bought less than a dozen) had been placed in the slender vase at his elbow, and in the vague pervading perfume that was not what one put on handkerchiefs, but rather like the scent of some far-off bazaar, a smell made up of Turkish coffee and ambergris and dried roses.

他试图分析这个把戏，从椅子和桌子的排列方式中找到线索，事实上，他肘部的细长花瓶里只放了两朵雅克米诺玫瑰（从来没有人买过不到一打），而在模糊弥漫的香水中，那不是人们涂在手帕上的香水，而是像某个遥远集市的气味，一种由土耳其咖啡、龙涎香和干玫瑰混合而成的气味。

His mind wandered away to the question of what May's drawing-room would look like.

他的思绪飘到了梅的客厅会是什么样子的问题上。

He knew that Mr. Welland, who was behaving "very handsomely," already had his eye on a newly built house in East Thirty-ninth Street.

他知道表现得“非常英俊”的韦兰先生已经看上了东三十九街的一栋新建的房子。

The neighbourhood was thought remote, and the house was built in a ghastly greenish-yellow stone that the younger architects were beginning to employ as a protest against the brownstone of which the uniform hue coated New York like a cold chocolate sauce; but the plumbing was perfect.

这个街区被认为是偏僻的，房子是用一种可怕的黄绿色石头建造的，年轻的建筑师开始用这种石头来抗议赤褐色砂石，这种赤褐色砂石的统一色调像冷巧克力酱一样覆盖着纽约。但管道很完美。

Archer would have liked to travel, to put off the housing question; but, though the Wellands approved of an extended European honeymoon (perhaps even a winter in Egypt), they were firm as to the need of a house for the returning couple.

阿切尔本来想去旅行，以推迟住房问题。但是，尽管韦兰夫妇同意延长欧洲蜜月（甚至可能在埃及度过一个冬天），但他们坚决认为回国的夫妇需要一套房子。

The young man felt that his fate was sealed: for the rest of his life he would go up every evening between the cast-iron railings of that greenish-yellow doorstep, and pass through a Pompeian vestibule into a hall with a wainscoting of varnished yellow wood.

年轻人觉得自己的命运已成定局：在他的余生中，每天晚上他都会爬上黄绿色门阶的铸铁栏杆之间，穿过庞贝式的前厅，进入一个有漆黄木护墙板的大厅。

But beyond that his imagination could not travel.

但除此之外，他的想象力就无法传播。

He knew the drawing-room above had a bay window, but he could not fancy how May would deal with it.

他知道上面的客厅有一个凸窗，但他无法想象梅会如何处理它。

She submitted cheerfully to the purple satin and yellow tuftings of the Welland drawing-room, to its sham Buhl tables and gilt vitrines full of modern Saxe.

她高兴地接受了韦兰客厅的紫色缎子和黄色簇绒、假布尔桌子和装满现代萨克斯的镀金玻璃柜。

He saw no reason to suppose that she would want anything different in her own house; and his only comfort was to reflect that she would probably let him arrange his library as he pleased--which would be, of course, with "sincere" Eastlake furniture, and the plain new bookcases without glass doors.

他认为没有理由认为她会想要在自己的房子里做任何不同的事情；他唯一的安慰是想到她可能会让他随心所欲地布置他的图书馆——当然，里面会有“真诚的”东湖家具，以及没有玻璃门的朴素的新书柜。

The round-bosomed maid came in, drew the curtains, pushed back a log, and said consolingly: "Verra--verra." When she had gone Archer stood up and began to wander about.

圆胸女仆进来了，拉上窗帘，推开一根圆木，安慰地说：“维拉——维拉。”她走后，阿切尔站了起来，开始四处走动。

Should he wait any longer?

他还需要再等吗？

His position was becoming rather foolish.

他的立场变得相当愚蠢。

Perhaps he had misunderstood Madame Olenska--perhaps she had not invited him after all.

也许他误解了奥兰斯卡夫人——也许她根本没有邀请他。

Down the cobblestones of the quiet street came the ring of a stepper's hoofs; they stopped before the house, and he caught the opening of a carriage door.

安静街道的鹅卵石路上传来踏步者的马蹄声。他们在房子前停下，他看到马车门打开了。

Parting the curtains he looked out into the early dusk.

拉开窗帘，他望向窗外的黄昏。

A street-lamp faced him, and in its light he saw Julius Beaufort's compact English brougham, drawn by a big roan, and the banker descending from it, and helping out Madame Olenska.

他面前有一盏街灯，在灯光下，他看到了朱利叶斯·博福特那辆紧凑的英国马车，由一只大马车拉着，银行家从车上下来，帮助奥兰斯卡夫人。

Beaufort stood, hat in hand, saying something which his companion seemed to negative; then they shook hands, and he jumped into his carriage while she mounted the steps.

博福特站着，手里拿着帽子，说了些什么，而他的同伴似乎对此表示否认。然后他们握手，他跳上马车，而她则走上台阶。

When she entered the room she showed no surprise at seeing Archer there; surprise seemed the emotion that she was least addicted to.

当她走进房间时，看到阿切尔在那里，她并没有表现出任何惊讶。惊讶似乎是她最不沉迷的一种情绪。

"How do you like my funny house?" she asked.

“你喜欢我有趣的房子吗？”她问道。

"To me it's like heaven."

“对我来说，这就像天堂一样。”

As she spoke she untied her little velvet bonnet and tossing it away with her long cloak stood looking at him with meditative eyes.

她一边说话，一边解开天鹅绒小帽子，把它和长斗篷一起扔到一边，站在那里用沉思的目光看着他。

"You've arranged it delightfully," he rejoined, alive to the flatness of the words, but imprisoned in the conventional by his consuming desire to be simple and striking.

“你把它安排得令人愉快，”他回答道，言语平淡，但由于他对简单和引人注目的强烈渴望而被囚禁在传统之中。

"Oh, it's a poor little place.

“哦，这是一个贫穷的小地方。

My relations despise it.

我的亲戚鄙视它。

But at any rate it's less gloomy than the van der Luydens'."

但无论如何，它没有范德卢登家族那么悲观。”

The words gave him an electric shock, for few were the rebellious spirits who would have dared to call the stately home of the van der Luydens gloomy.

这句话让他大吃一惊，因为很少有人敢说范德卢登家族的豪宅是阴暗的。

Those privileged to enter it shivered there, and spoke of it as "handsome." But suddenly he was glad that she had given voice to the general shiver.

那些有幸进入其中的人在那里瑟瑟发抖，并称其为“英俊”。但突然他很高兴她发出了全身颤抖的声音。

"It's delicious--what you've done here," he repeated.

“真好吃——你在这里做的，”他重复道。

"I like the little house," she admitted; "but I suppose what I like is the blessedness of its being here, in my own country and my own town; and then, of being alone in it." She spoke so low that he hardly heard the last phrase; but in his awkwardness he took it up.

“我喜欢这个小房子，”她承认道。 “但我想我喜欢的是这里的幸福，在我自己的国家和我自己的城镇里；然后，独自一人在其中。”她说话声音很低，他几乎没听见最后一句话。但在他的尴尬中，他接起了它。

"You like so much to be alone?"

“你就这么喜欢一个人呆着吗？”

"Yes; as long as my friends keep me from feeling lonely." She sat down near the fire, said: "Nastasia will bring the tea presently," and signed to him to return to his armchair, adding: "I see you've already chosen your corner."

“是的，只要我的朋友不让我感到孤独。”她在火边坐下，说道：“纳斯塔西娅马上就会把茶端来，”然后示意他回到扶手椅上，并补充道：“我看到你已经选好了你的角落。”

Leaning back, she folded her arms behind her head, and looked at the fire under drooping lids.

她向后靠去，双臂抱在脑后，看着下垂的眼睑下的火光。

"This is the hour I like best--don't you?"

“这是我最喜欢的时刻——你呢？”

A proper sense of his dignity caused him to answer: "I was afraid you'd forgotten the hour.

一种适当的尊严感让他回答道：“我担心你忘记了时间。

Beaufort must have been very engrossing."

博福特一定非常引人入胜。”

She looked amused.

她看起来很有趣。

"Why--have you waited long?

“怎么——等很久了？

Mr. Beaufort took me to see a number of houses--since it seems I'm not to be allowed to stay in this one." She appeared to dismiss both Beaufort and himself from her mind, and went on: "I've never been in a city where there seems to be such a feeling against living in _des quartiers excentriques_.

博福特先生带我看了好几栋房子——因为看来我不被允许住在这一栋里。”她似乎把博福特和他自己都从脑海中排除掉了，然后继续说道：“我从来没有去过一个城市，似乎有这样一种反对生活在奇异区的感觉。

What does it matter where one lives?

一个人住在哪里有什么关系呢？

I'm told this street is respectable."

我听说这条街很受人尊敬。”

"It's not fashionable."

“这不时尚。”

"Fashionable!

“时尚！

Do you all think so much of that?

大家都这么想吗？

Why not make one's own fashions?

为什么不做自己的时装呢？

But I suppose I've lived too independently; at any rate, I want to do what you all do--I want to feel cared for and safe."

但我想我生活得太独立了；无论如何，我想做你们所做的事情——我想要感到被关心和安全。”

He was touched, as he had been the evening before when she spoke of her need of guidance.

他很感动，就像前一天晚上她谈到她需要指导时一样。

"That's what your friends want you to feel.

“这就是你的朋友希望你感受到的。

New York's an awfully safe place," he added with a flash of sarcasm.

纽约是一个非常安全的地方，”他带着一丝讽刺补充道。

"Yes, isn't it?

“是啊，不是吗？

One feels that," she cried, missing the mockery.

人们能感觉到这一点，”她喊道，错过了嘲笑。

"Being here is like--like--being taken on a holiday when one has been a good little girl and done all one's lessons."

“来到这里就像——就像——被带去度假，而一个人一直是一个好小女孩，完成了所有的课程。”

The analogy was well meant, but did not altogether please him.

这个比喻是善意的，但他并不完全满意。

He did not mind being flippant about New York, but disliked to hear any one else take the same tone.

他不介意对纽约说轻率的话，但不喜欢听到其他人也采取同样的语气。

He wondered if she did not begin to see what a powerful engine it was, and how nearly it had crushed her.

他想知道她是否没有开始意识到这是一个多么强大的引擎，以及它差点压垮了她。

The Lovell Mingotts' dinner, patched up in extremis out of all sorts of social odds and ends, ought to have taught her the narrowness of her escape; but either she had been all along unaware of having skirted disaster, or else she had lost sight of it in the triumph of the van der Luyden evening.

洛弗尔·明戈特一家的晚餐，在各种社会琐事的绝境中修补，应该让她明白自己的逃脱是多么的渺茫；但要么她一直没有意识到自己已经避开了灾难，要么她在范德卢登之夜的胜利中忽视了它。

Archer inclined to the former theory; he fancied that her New York was still completely undifferentiated, and the conjecture nettled him.

阿彻倾向于前一种理论；他觉得她的纽约仍然完全没有区别，这个猜想让他恼火。

"Last night," he said, "New York laid itself out for you.

“昨晚，”他说，“纽约为你做好了准备。

The van der Luydens do nothing by halves."

范德卢登夫妇做任何事情都不会半途而废。”

"No: how kind they are!

“不：他们多么善良啊！

It was such a nice party.

这是一个非常愉快的聚会。

Every one seems to have such an esteem for them."

每个人似乎都非常尊重他们。”

The terms were hardly adequate; she might have spoken in that way of a tea-party at the dear old Miss Lannings'.

条款还不够充分；她可能会用亲爱的老兰宁斯小姐家里的茶会的方式说话。

"The van der Luydens," said Archer, feeling himself pompous as he spoke, "are the most powerful influence in New York society.

“范德卢登家族，”阿切尔说，说话时感觉自己很自负，“是纽约社会最有影响力的人。

Unfortunately--owing to her health--they receive very seldom."

不幸的是——由于她的健康状况——他们很少收到。”

She unclasped her hands from behind her head, and looked at him meditatively.

她从脑后松开双手，若有所思地看着他。

"Isn't that perhaps the reason?"

“这或许不是原因吧？”

"The reason--?"

「原因——？」

"For their great influence; that they make themselves so rare."

“因为他们的影响力巨大；他们让自己变得如此稀有。”

He coloured a little, stared at her--and suddenly felt the penetration of the remark.

他脸色微红，盯着她——突然感觉到这句话的穿透力。

At a stroke she had pricked the van der Luydens and they collapsed.

她一下子刺伤了范德卢登夫妇，他们就倒下了。

He laughed, and sacrificed them.

他笑了，然后牺牲了他们。

Nastasia brought the tea, with handleless Japanese cups and little covered dishes, placing the tray on a low table.

纳斯塔西娅端来了茶，里面有无柄的日式杯子和带盖的小盘子，托盘放在矮桌上。

"But you'll explain these things to me--you'll tell me all I ought to know," Madame Olenska continued, leaning forward to hand him his cup.

“但是你会向我解释这些事情——你会告诉我我应该知道的一切，”奥兰斯卡夫人继续说道，倾身向前将杯子递给他。

"It's you who are telling me; opening my eyes to things I'd looked at so long that I'd ceased to see them."

“是你告诉我的；让我睁开眼睛，看到那些我看得太久却看不见的东西。”

She detached a small gold cigarette-case from one of her bracelets, held it out to him, and took a cigarette herself.

她从手镯上取下一个小金烟盒，递给他，自己也抽了一支烟。

On the chimney were long spills for lighting them.

烟囱上有长长的烟囱，用来照明。

"Ah, then we can both help each other.

“啊，那我们就互相帮助吧。

But I want help so much more.

但我更需要帮助。

You must tell me just what to do."

你必须告诉我该怎么做。”

It was on the tip of his tongue to reply: "Don't be seen driving about the streets with Beaufort--" but he was being too deeply drawn into the atmosphere of the room, which was her atmosphere, and to give advice of that sort would have been like telling some one who was bargaining for attar-of-roses in Samarkand that one should always be provided with arctics for a New York winter.

他的回答就在舌尖上：“不要被人看到和博福特一起在街上开车——”但他太深地被房间的气氛所吸引，这就是她的气氛，提出这样的建议就像告诉一个在撒马尔罕讨价还价玫瑰油的人，在纽约的冬天应该永远提供北极的东西。

New York seemed much farther off than Samarkand, and if they were indeed to help each other she was rendering what might prove the first of their mutual services by making him look at his native city objectively.

纽约似乎比撒马尔罕遥远得多，如果他们确实要互相帮助，她正在提供的东西可能是他们共同服务的第一个，让他客观地看待他的家乡。

Viewed thus, as through the wrong end of a telescope, it looked disconcertingly small and distant; but then from Samarkand it would.

这样看来，就像从望远镜的错误一端看去一样，它看起来小而遥远，令人不安。但从撒马尔罕就会。

A flame darted from the logs and she bent over the fire, stretching her thin hands so close to it that a faint halo shone about the oval nails.

一团火焰从原木中喷出，她俯身在火上，将她瘦弱的双手伸得离火很近，椭圆形的指甲周围闪烁着淡淡的光晕。

The light touched to russet the rings of dark hair escaping from her braids, and made her pale face paler.

光线将她辫子上的一圈黑发染成了黄褐色，让她苍白的脸变得更加苍白。

"There are plenty of people to tell you what to do," Archer rejoined, obscurely envious of them.

“有很多人可以告诉你该怎么做，”阿切尔回答道，心里隐隐有些羡慕他们。

"Oh--all my aunts?

“噢——所有的阿姨们？

And my dear old Granny?" She considered the idea impartially.

那我亲爱的老奶奶呢？”她公正地考虑了这个想法。

"They're all a little vexed with me for setting up for myself--poor Granny especially.

“他们都对我为自己安排的事情感到有点恼火——尤其是可怜的奶奶。

She wanted to keep me with her; but I had to be free--" He was impressed by this light way of speaking of the formidable Catherine, and moved by the thought of what must have given Madame Olenska this thirst for even the loneliest kind of freedom.

她想让我陪在她身边；但我必须自由——”他对令人敬畏的凯瑟琳的这种轻松的说话方式印象深刻，并为奥兰斯卡夫人对即使是最孤独的自由的渴望所感动。

But the idea of Beaufort gnawed him.

但博福特的想法却折磨着他。

"I think I understand how you feel," he said.

“我想我理解你的感受，”他说。

"Still, your family can advise you; explain differences; show you the way."

“不过，你的家人可以为你提供建议；解释差异；为你指明道路。”

She lifted her thin black eyebrows.

她扬起了细细的黑眉毛。

"Is New York such a labyrinth?

“纽约真是一座迷宫吗？

I thought it so straight up and down--like Fifth Avenue.

我觉得它就像第五大道一样直上直下。

And with all the cross streets numbered!" She seemed to guess his faint disapproval of this, and added, with the rare smile that enchanted her whole face: "If you knew how I like it for just _that_--the straight-up-and-downness, and the big honest labels on everything!"

所有十字路口都编号了！”她似乎猜到了他对此的隐隐不满，然后补充道，脸上带着罕见的微笑：“如果你知道我是多么喜欢它——那种正直和诚实的标签，一切都好！”

He saw his chance.

他看到了机会。

"Everything may be labelled--but everybody is not."

“一切都可能被贴上标签——但不是每个人都被贴上标签。”

"Perhaps.

“也许吧。

I may simplify too much--but you'll warn me if I do." She turned from the fire to look at him.

我可能过于简化了——但如果我这样做的话你会警告我的。”她从火边转过身来看着他。

"There are only two people here who make me feel as if they understood what I mean and could explain things to me: you and Mr. Beaufort."

“这里只有两个人让我觉得他们明白我的意思并且可以向我解释事情：你和博福特先生。”

Archer winced at the joining of the names, and then, with a quick readjustment, understood, sympathised and pitied.

阿切尔在名字的连接上皱起了眉头，然后迅速调整了一下，表示理解、同情和怜悯。

So close to the powers of evil she must have lived that she still breathed more freely in their air.

她一定生活在离邪恶力量如此之近的地方，所以她仍然可以更自由地呼吸它们的空气。

But since she felt that he understood her also, his business would be to make her see Beaufort as he really was, with all he represented--and abhor it.

但既然她觉得他也理解她，他的任务就是让她看到博福特的本来面目，以及他所代表的一切——并且厌恶它。

He answered gently: "I understand.

他温和地回答：“我明白。

But just at first don't let go of your old friends' hands: I mean the older women, your Granny Mingott, Mrs. Welland, Mrs. van der Luyden.

但一开始就不要放开你老朋友的手：我指的是那些年长的妇女，你的明戈特奶奶、韦兰太太、范德卢登太太。

They like and admire you--they want to help you."

他们喜欢并钦佩你——他们想帮助你。”

She shook her head and sighed.

她摇摇头，叹了口气。

"Oh, I know--I know!

“哦，我知道了——我知道了！

But on condition that they don't hear anything unpleasant.

但前提是他们不能听到任何不愉快的声音。

Aunt Welland put it in those very words when I tried....

当我尝试时，韦兰姨妈就这么说了……

Does no one want to know the truth here, Mr. Archer?

阿切尔先生，这里没有人想知道真相吗？

The real loneliness is living among all these kind people who only ask one to pretend!" She lifted her hands to her face, and he saw her thin shoulders shaken by a sob.

真正的孤独是生活在一群只要求一个人假装的善良的人中间！”她举起双手捂住脸，他看到她瘦削的肩膀因抽泣而颤抖。

"Madame Olenska!--Oh, don't, Ellen," he cried, starting up and bending over her.

“奥兰斯卡夫人！——哦，别这样，艾伦，”他叫道，站了起来，弯下腰。

He drew down one of her hands, clasping and chafing it like a child's while he murmured reassuring words; but in a moment she freed herself, and looked up at him with wet lashes.

他拉下她的一只手，像孩子一样紧握、摩擦，同时低声安慰她的话。但很快她就​​挣脱了出来，用湿漉漉的睫毛抬头看着他。

"Does no one cry here, either?

“这里也没有人哭吗？

I suppose there's no need to, in heaven," she said, straightening her loosened braids with a laugh, and bending over the tea-kettle.

我想在天堂里没有必要，”她一边说，一边笑着把松散的辫子拉直，弯下腰去泡茶壶。

It was burnt into his consciousness that he had called her "Ellen"--called her so twice; and that she had not noticed it.

他已经深深地意识到，他曾叫过她“艾伦”——这样叫了她两次。她没有注意到这一点。

Far down the inverted telescope he saw the faint white figure of May Welland--in New York.

在倒置望远镜的下方，他看到了梅·韦兰微弱的白色身影——在纽约。

Suddenly Nastasia put her head in to say something in her rich Italian.

突然，纳斯塔西娅探出头，用她流利的意大利语说了些什么。

Madame Olenska, again with a hand at her hair, uttered an exclamation of assent--a flashing "Gia--gia"--and the Duke of St. Austrey entered, piloting a tremendous black-wigged and red-plumed lady in overflowing furs.

奥兰斯卡夫人再次用手抓着头发，发出了一声同意的感叹——一声闪烁的“吉亚——吉亚”——然后圣奥斯特利公爵走了进来，领着一位戴着黑假发、红羽毛、穿着宽松毛皮大衣的巨大女士。

"My dear Countess, I've brought an old friend of mine to see you--Mrs. Struthers.

“亲爱的伯爵夫人，我带了一位老朋友来见您——斯特拉瑟斯夫人。

She wasn't asked to the party last night, and she wants to know you."

昨晚她没有被邀请参加聚会，她想认识你。”

The Duke beamed on the group, and Madame Olenska advanced with a murmur of welcome toward the queer couple.

公爵微笑着看着这群人，奥兰斯卡夫人向前走去，低声向这对奇怪的夫妇表示欢迎。

She seemed to have no idea how oddly matched they were, nor what a liberty the Duke had taken in bringing his companion--and to do him justice, as Archer perceived, the Duke seemed as unaware of it himself.

她似乎不知道他们的搭配有多么奇怪，也不知道公爵带着他的同伴有多么自由——公平地说，正如阿切尔所认为的，公爵本人似乎也没有意识到这一点。

"Of course I want to know you, my dear," cried Mrs. Struthers in a round rolling voice that matched her bold feathers and her brazen wig.

“我当然想认识你，亲爱的，”斯特拉瑟斯太太大声喊道，声音圆润，与她大胆的羽毛和黄铜假发相配。

"I want to know everybody who's young and interesting and charming.

“我想认识每个年轻、有趣、迷人的人。

And the Duke tells me you like music--didn't you, Duke?

公爵告诉我你喜欢音乐——不是吗，公爵？

You're a pianist yourself, I believe?

我相信你自己也是一名钢琴家吧？

Well, do you want to hear Sarasate play tomorrow evening at my house?

好吧，明天晚上你想在我家听萨拉萨蒂演奏吗？

You know I've something going on every Sunday evening--it's the day when New York doesn't know what to do with itself, and so I say to it: 'Come and be amused.' And the Duke thought you'd be tempted by Sarasate.

你知道我每个周日晚上都会发生一些事情——在这一天，纽约不知道该怎么办，所以我对它说：“来吧，开心一下。”公爵认为你会被萨拉萨蒂所诱惑。

You'll find a number of your friends."

你会找到很多朋友的。”

Madame Olenska's face grew brilliant with pleasure.

奥兰斯卡夫人的脸因喜悦而变得光彩照人。

"How kind!

“多好啊！

How good of the Duke to think of me!" She pushed a chair up to the tea-table and Mrs. Struthers sank into it delectably.

公爵能想到我真是太好了！”她把一把椅子推到茶几旁，斯特拉瑟斯太太愉快地坐进去。

"Of course I shall be too happy to come."

“当然，我会很高兴来的。”

"That's all right, my dear.

“没关系，亲爱的。

And bring your young gentleman with you." Mrs. Struthers extended a hail-fellow hand to Archer.

并带上你的年轻绅士一起来。”斯特拉瑟斯夫人向阿切尔伸出了欢迎的手。

"I can't put a name to you--but I'm sure I've met you--I've met everybody, here, or in Paris or London.

“我无法说出你的名字——但我确信我见过你——我见过这里、巴黎或伦敦的所有人。

Aren't you in diplomacy?

你不是搞外交的吗？

All the diplomatists come to me.

所有的外交官都来找我。

You like music too?

你也喜欢音乐吗？

Duke, you must be sure to bring him."

公爵，你一定要带上他。”

The Duke said "Rather" from the depths of his beard, and Archer withdrew with a stiffly circular bow that made him feel as full of spine as a self-conscious school-boy among careless and unnoticing elders.

公爵从胡须深处发出“相当”的声音，阿切尔僵硬地行了一圈弓，退了出去，这让他感到自己像一个在粗心和不注意的长辈中感到不自在的小学生一样充满脊椎。

He was not sorry for the denouement of his visit: he only wished it had come sooner, and spared him a certain waste of emotion.

他对这次访问的结局并不感到遗憾：他只是希望它来得早一些，以免浪费他的感情。

As he went out into the wintry night, New York again became vast and imminent, and May Welland the loveliest woman in it.

当他走进冬夜时，纽约再次变得广阔而迫在眉睫，梅·韦兰成为其中最可爱的女人。

He turned into his florist's to send her the daily box of lilies-of-the-valley which, to his confusion, he found he had forgotten that morning.

他走进花店，给她送来每日一盒铃兰，令他困惑的是，他发现那天早上他把这盒忘记了。

As he wrote a word on his card and waited for an envelope he glanced about the embowered shop, and his eye lit on a cluster of yellow roses.

当他在卡片上写下一个字并等待信封时，他环视了这家装饰精美的商店，他的目光落在了一簇黄玫瑰上。

He had never seen any as sun-golden before, and his first impulse was to send them to May instead of the lilies.

他以前从未见过如此阳光金色的花，他的第一反应就是把它们送到五月而不是百合花。

But they did not look like her--there was something too rich, too strong, in their fiery beauty.

但她们看起来并不像她——她们火热的美丽中有一种太丰富、太强烈的东西。

In a sudden revulsion of mood, and almost without knowing what he did, he signed to the florist to lay the roses in another long box, and slipped his card into a second envelope, on which he wrote the name of the Countess Olenska; then, just as he was turning away, he drew the card out again, and left the empty envelope on the box.

心情突然变得厌恶，几乎不知道自己做了什么，他示意花店把玫瑰放在另一个长盒子里，然后把他的卡片塞进第二个信封，在上面写下了奥兰斯卡伯爵夫人的名字；然后，正当他转身要走的时候，他又把卡片抽了出来，把空信封留在了盒子上。

"They'll go at once?" he enquired, pointing to the roses.

“他们马上就走吗？”他指着玫瑰问道。

The florist assured him that they would.

花店向他保证他们会的。

The next day he persuaded May to escape for a walk in the Park after luncheon.

第二天，他说服梅午餐后去公园散步。

As was the custom in old-fashioned Episcopalian New York, she usually accompanied her parents to church on Sunday afternoons; but Mrs. Welland condoned her truancy, having that very morning won her over to the necessity of a long engagement, with time to prepare a hand-embroidered trousseau containing the proper number of dozens.

按照老式纽约圣公会的习俗，她通常在周日下午陪父母去教堂。但韦兰夫人原谅了她的逃学，当天早上就让她相信有必要长期订婚，并有时间准备一套手工刺绣的嫁妆，其中包含适当数量的几十件。

The day was delectable.

这一天过得很愉快。

The bare vaulting of trees along the Mall was ceiled with lapis lazuli, and arched above snow that shone like splintered crystals.

沿着林荫大道，光秃秃的树顶上铺满了青金石，树顶上的雪呈拱形，像碎裂的水晶一样闪闪发光。

It was the weather to call out May's radiance, and she burned like a young maple in the frost.

这是唤起五月光芒的天气，她像霜冻中的小枫树一样燃烧。

Archer was proud of the glances turned on her, and the simple joy of possessorship cleared away his underlying perplexities.

阿切尔为她身上的目光感到自豪，而拥有的简单快乐消除了他潜在的困惑。

"It's so delicious--waking every morning to smell lilies-of-the-valley in one's room!" she said.

“真是太美味了——每天早上醒来都能在房间里闻到铃兰的香味！”她说。

"Yesterday they came late.

“昨天他们来晚了。

I hadn't time in the morning--"

我早上没时间——”

"But your remembering each day to send them makes me love them so much more than if you'd given a standing order, and they came every morning on the minute, like one's music-teacher--as I know Gertrude Lefferts's did, for instance, when she and Lawrence were engaged."

“但是你每天都记得寄出它们，这让我比你下达长期订单更爱它们，而且它们每天早上都会准时到来，就像一个人的音乐老师一样——我知道格特鲁德·莱弗茨就是这么做的，例如，当她和劳伦斯订婚时。”

"Ah--they would!" laughed Archer, amused at her keenness.

“啊——他们会的！”阿切尔笑道，被她的热心逗乐了。

He looked sideways at her fruit-like cheek and felt rich and secure enough to add: "When I sent your lilies yesterday afternoon I saw some rather gorgeous yellow roses and packed them off to Madame Olenska.

他侧身看着她水果般的脸颊，感到丰富而安全，于是补充道：“昨天下午我给你送百合花时，我看到了一些相当漂亮的黄玫瑰，就把它们打包给了奥兰斯卡夫人。

Was that right?"

是这样吗？”

"How dear of you!

“多么亲爱的你啊！

Anything of that kind delights her.

任何此类事情都会令她高兴。

It's odd she didn't mention it: she lunched with us today, and spoke of Mr. Beaufort's having sent her wonderful orchids, and cousin Henry van der Luyden a whole hamper of carnations from Skuytercliff.

奇怪的是她没有提到这一点：她今天和我们一起吃午饭，并谈到博福特先生从斯库特克利夫给她送来了美妙的兰花，而表弟亨利·范德卢登则送来了一整篮康乃馨。

She seems so surprised to receive flowers.

她似乎很惊讶收到鲜花。

Don't people send them in Europe?

人们不把它们寄到欧洲吗？

She thinks it such a pretty custom."

她认为这是一个非常漂亮的习俗。”

"Oh, well, no wonder mine were overshadowed by Beaufort's," said Archer irritably.

“哦，好吧，难怪我的比博福特的黯然失色，”阿切尔烦躁地说。

Then he remembered that he had not put a card with the roses, and was vexed at having spoken of them.

然后他想起自己没有在玫瑰花旁边放一张卡片，并为谈论它们而感到恼火。

He wanted to say: "I called on your cousin yesterday," but hesitated.

他想说：“我昨天拜访了你的表弟。”但又犹豫了。

If Madame Olenska had not spoken of his visit it might seem awkward that he should.

如果奥兰斯卡夫人没有提到他的来访，那么他这样做可能会显得很尴尬。

Yet not to do so gave the affair an air of mystery that he disliked.

然而，不这样做却给这件事带来了他不喜欢的神秘气氛。

To shake off the question he began to talk of their own plans, their future, and Mrs. Welland's insistence on a long engagement.

为了摆脱这个问题，他开始谈论他们自己的计划、他们的未来，以及韦兰夫人对长期订婚的坚持。

"If you call it long!

“如果你说它很长的话！

Isabel Chivers and Reggie were engaged for two years: Grace and Thorley for nearly a year and a half.

伊莎贝尔·奇弗斯和雷吉订婚了两年；格蕾丝和索利订婚了近一年半。

Why aren't we very well off as we are?"

为什么我们没有像现在这样过得很好？”

It was the traditional maidenly interrogation, and he felt ashamed of himself for finding it singularly childish.

这是传统的少女审讯，他为自己感到羞愧，因为他觉得这太幼稚了。

No doubt she simply echoed what was said for her; but she was nearing her twenty-second birthday, and he wondered at what age "nice" women began to speak for themselves.

毫无疑问，她只是附和了别人对她所说的话。但她已经快二十二岁生日了，他想知道“好”女人在什么年龄开始为自己说话。

"Never, if we won't let them, I suppose," he mused, and recalled his mad outburst to Mr. Sillerton Jackson: "Women ought to be as free as we are--"

“我想，如果我们不让他们这么做，就永远不会，”他若有所思地说，并回忆起他对西勒顿·杰克逊先生的疯狂爆发：“女人应该像我们一样自由——”

It would presently be his task to take the bandage from this young woman's eyes, and bid her look forth on the world.

他现在的任务就是把这位年轻女子眼睛上的绷带取下来，让她看清这个世界。

But how many generations of the women who had gone to her making had descended bandaged to the family vault?

但是，有多少代由她造就的女性，裹着绷带走进了家族的金库？

He shivered a little, remembering some of the new ideas in his scientific books, and the much-cited instance of the Kentucky cave-fish, which had ceased to develop eyes because they had no use for them.

他有点颤抖，想起了他的科学书中的一些新想法，以及被广泛引用的肯塔基洞穴鱼的例子，这种鱼已经停止发育眼睛，因为它们没有用处。

What if, when he had bidden May Welland to open hers, they could only look out blankly at blankness?

如果当他吩咐梅·韦兰打开她的门时，他们只能茫然地看着外面的空白怎么办？

"We might be much better off.

“我们的情况可能会好得多。

We might be altogether together--we might travel."

我们可能会在一起——我们可能会去旅行。”

Her face lit up.

她的脸亮了起来。

"That would be lovely," she owned: she would love to travel.

“那太好了，”她承认道：她喜欢旅行。

But her mother would not understand their wanting to do things so differently.

但她的母亲不会理解他们想要以如此不同的方式做事。

"As if the mere 'differently' didn't account for it!" the wooer insisted.

“好像仅仅‘不同’并不能解释这一点！”求婚者坚持说。

"Newland!

“纽兰！

You're so original!" she exulted.

你真是原创啊！”她欣喜若狂。

His heart sank, for he saw that he was saying all the things that young men in the same situation were expected to say, and that she was making the answers that instinct and tradition taught her to make--even to the point of calling him original.

他的心沉了下去，因为他看到他所说的都是处于同样情况的年轻人应该说的话，而她正在做出本能和传统教给她的答案——甚至到了称他原创的程度。

"Original!

“原创！

We're all as like each other as those dolls cut out of the same folded paper.

我们彼此都像那些用同一张折叠纸剪出来的娃娃一样。

We're like patterns stencilled on a wall.

我们就像印在墙上的图案。

Can't you and I strike out for ourselves, May?"

你和我就不能为自己奋斗吗，梅？”

He had stopped and faced her in the excitement of their discussion, and her eyes rested on him with a bright unclouded admiration.

在他们兴奋的讨论中，他停下来面对着她，她的目光停留在他身上，眼神中带着明亮、清澈的钦佩。

"Mercy--shall we elope?" she laughed.

“怜悯——我们要私奔吗？”她笑了。

"If you would--"

“如果你愿意——”

"You _do_ love me, Newland!

“你确实爱我，纽兰！

I'm so happy."

我很高兴。”

"But then--why not be happier?"

“但是——为什么不开心一点呢？”

"We can't behave like people in novels, though, can we?"

“但我们不能像小说里的人那样行事，不是吗？”

"Why not--why not--why not?"

“为什么不——为什么不——为什么不呢？”

She looked a little bored by his insistence.

她对他的坚持显得有些厌烦。

She knew very well that they couldn't, but it was troublesome to have to produce a reason.

她很清楚他们不能，但是要拿出理由来却很麻烦。

"I'm not clever enough to argue with you.

“我的聪明才智不足以与你争论。

But that kind of thing is rather--vulgar, isn't it?" she suggested, relieved to have hit on a word that would assuredly extinguish the whole subject.

但这种事情相当——庸俗，不是吗？”她提议道，庆幸自己想到了一个词，肯定能结束整个话题。

"Are you so much afraid, then, of being vulgar?"

“那你就这么害怕自己粗俗吗？”

She was evidently staggered by this.

显然她对此感到震惊。

"Of course I should hate it--so would you," she rejoined, a trifle irritably.

“我当然会讨厌它——你也会的，”她回答道，语气有点烦躁。

He stood silent, beating his stick nervously against his boot-top; and feeling that she had indeed found the right way of closing the discussion, she went on light-heartedly: "Oh, did I tell you that I showed Ellen my ring?

他静静地站着，紧张地用棍子敲打着靴子。感觉自己确实找到了结束讨论的正确方式，她轻松地继续说道：“哦，我有没有告诉过你，我给艾伦看了我的戒指？

She thinks it the most beautiful setting she ever saw.

她认为这是她见过的最美丽的环境。

There's nothing like it in the rue de la Paix, she said.

她说，和平街没有这样的地方。

I do love you, Newland, for being so artistic!"

我真的很爱你，纽兰，因为你太有艺术气息了！”

The next afternoon, as Archer, before dinner, sat smoking sullenly in his study, Janey wandered in on him.

第二天下午，晚餐前，阿切尔闷闷不乐地坐在书房里抽烟，珍妮走进了他。

He had failed to stop at his club on the way up from the office where he exercised the profession of the law in the leisurely manner common to well-to-do New Yorkers of his class.

在从办公室上班的路上，他没有在俱乐部停留，他以同阶层的富裕纽约人常见的悠闲方式从事法律职业。

He was out of spirits and slightly out of temper, and a haunting horror of doing the same thing every day at the same hour besieged his brain.

他精神不振，脾气也有些不好，每天在同一时间做同样的事情，一种难以忘怀的恐惧占据了他的大脑。

"Sameness--sameness!" he muttered, the word running through his head like a persecuting tune as he saw the familiar tall-hatted figures lounging behind the plate-glass; and because he usually dropped in at the club at that hour he had gone home instead.

“一样——一样！”他低声说道，当他看到平板玻璃后面躺着熟悉的戴高帽子的身影时，这个词就像一首迫害性的曲子在他的脑海中闪过。因为他通常在那个时间顺便去俱乐部，所以他就回家了。

He knew not only what they were likely to be talking about, but the part each one would take in the discussion.

他不仅知道他们可能会谈论什么，还知道每个人在讨论中所扮演的角色。

The Duke of course would be their principal theme; though the appearance in Fifth Avenue of a golden-haired lady in a small canary-coloured brougham with a pair of black cobs (for which Beaufort was generally thought responsible) would also doubtless be thoroughly gone into.

公爵当然是他们的主题；不过，在第五大道上出现的一位金发女士，她开着一辆金丝雀色的小马车，带着一对黑色的玉米棒子（人们普遍认为这是博福特造成的），这无疑也会被彻底地研究。

Such "women" (as they were called) were few in New York, those driving their own carriages still fewer, and the appearance of Miss Fanny Ring in Fifth Avenue at the fashionable hour had profoundly agitated society.

这样的“女人”（她们的称呼）在纽约并不多见，驾驶自己的马车的更是少之又少，而范妮·林小姐在时尚时刻出现在第五大道上，引起了社会极大的轰动。

Only the day before, her carriage had passed Mrs. Lovell Mingott's, and the latter had instantly rung the little bell at her elbow and ordered the coachman to drive her home.

就在前一天，她的马车刚刚经过洛弗尔·明戈特太太的车，洛弗尔·明戈特太太立刻按响了她手边的小铃，命令车夫送她回家。

"What if it had happened to Mrs. van der Luyden?" people asked each other with a shudder.

“如果这事发生在范德卢登夫人身上怎么办？”人们战战兢兢地互相问道。

Archer could hear Lawrence Lefferts, at that very hour, holding forth on the disintegration of society.

就在那个时刻，阿切尔能听到劳伦斯·莱弗茨大谈社会的瓦解。

He raised his head irritably when his sister Janey entered, and then quickly bent over his book (Swinburne's "Chastelard"--just out) as if he had not seen her.

当他的妹妹珍妮进来时，他烦躁地抬起头，然后迅速弯下腰看书（斯温伯恩的《查斯特拉德》——刚刚出版），好像没有看到她一样。

She glanced at the writing-table heaped with books, opened a volume of the "Contes Drolatiques," made a wry face over the archaic French, and sighed: "What learned things you read!"

她看了一眼堆满书籍的写字台，打开一本《恋爱故事》，对着古板的法语做了个苦脸，叹了口气：“你读的东西真有学问啊！”

"Well--?" he asked, as she hovered Cassandra-like before him.

“出色地 - ？”当她像卡桑德拉一样盘旋在他面前时，他问道。

"Mother's very angry."

“妈妈很生气。”

"Angry?

“生气了？

With whom?

和谁一起？

About what?"

关于什么？”

"Miss Sophy Jackson has just been here.

“索菲·杰克逊小姐刚刚来过这里。

She brought word that her brother would come in after dinner: she couldn't say very much, because he forbade her to: he wishes to give all the details himself.

她带来消息说她哥哥晚饭后会进来：她不能说太多，因为他禁止她这样做：他希望自己提供所有细节。

He's with cousin Louisa van der Luyden now."

他现在和表弟路易莎·范德卢登在一起。”

"For heaven's sake, my dear girl, try a fresh start.

“看在上帝的份上，我亲爱的女孩，尝试一个新的开始。

It would take an omniscient Deity to know what you're talking about."

需要全知的神才能知道你在说什么。”

"It's not a time to be profane, Newland....

“现在不是亵渎的时候，纽兰……

Mother feels badly enough about your not going to church ..."

妈妈对你不去教堂感到非常难过……”

With a groan he plunged back into his book.

他呻吟了一声，重新投入到书本中。

"_Newland_!

“_纽兰_！

Do listen.

一定要听。

Your friend Madame Olenska was at Mrs. Lemuel Struthers's party last night: she went there with the Duke and Mr. Beaufort."

你的朋友奥兰斯卡夫人昨晚参加了雷米尔·斯特拉瑟斯夫人的聚会：她和公爵以及博福特先生一起去了那里。”

At the last clause of this announcement a senseless anger swelled the young man's breast.

听到这则公告的最后一句，年轻人的胸中涌起一股无谓的愤怒。

To smother it he laughed.

为了压抑它，他笑了。

"Well, what of it?

“嗯，那又怎样？

I knew she meant to."

我知道她是故意的。”

Janey paled and her eyes began to project.

珍妮脸色苍白，眼睛开始突出。

"You knew she meant to--and you didn't try to stop her?

“你知道她想——而你没有试图阻止她？

To warn her?"

警告她？”

"Stop her?

“阻止她？

Warn her?" He laughed again.

警告她？”他又笑了。

"I'm not engaged to be married to the Countess Olenska!" The words had a fantastic sound in his own ears.

“我没有和奥兰斯卡伯爵夫人订婚！”这句话在他耳中听起来很奇妙。

"You're marrying into her family."

“你要嫁到她家了。”

"Oh, family--family!" he jeered.

“噢，家人——家人！”他嘲笑道。

"Newland--don't you care about Family?"

“纽兰——你不关心家人吗？”

"Not a brass farthing."

“一文钱也没有。”

"Nor about what cousin Louisa van der Luyden will think?"

“也不知道路易莎·范德卢登表姐会怎么想？”

"Not the half of one--if she thinks such old maid's rubbish."

“连一半都没有——如果她认为这样的老处女是胡说八道的话。”

"Mother is not an old maid," said his virgin sister with pinched lips.

“母亲不是老处女。”他的处女妹妹抿着嘴唇说道。

He felt like shouting back: "Yes, she is, and so are the van der Luydens, and so we all are, when it comes to being so much as brushed by the wing-tip of Reality." But he saw her long gentle face puckering into tears, and felt ashamed of the useless pain he was inflicting.

他想大声回应：“是的，她是，范德卢顿夫妇也是，我们所有人都是，当谈到被现实的翼尖擦过时。”但他看到她温柔的长脸噙着泪水，为自己造成的无用痛苦感到羞愧。

"Hang Countess Olenska!

“奥兰斯卡伯爵夫人，挂吧！

Don't be a goose, Janey--I'm not her keeper."

别傻了，珍妮——我不是她的守护者。”

"No; but you _did_ ask the Wellands to announce your engagement sooner so that we might all back her up; and if it hadn't been for that cousin Louisa would never have invited her to the dinner for the Duke."

“不；但是你确实要求韦兰一家早点宣布你订婚的消息，这样我们大家就都支持她；如果不是那个表弟，路易莎永远不会邀请她参加公爵的晚宴。”

"Well--what harm was there in inviting her?

“好吧——邀请她有什么坏处呢？

She was the best-looking woman in the room; she made the dinner a little less funereal than the usual van der Luyden banquet."

她是房间里最漂亮的女人。她让晚宴比通常的范德卢登宴会少了一些丧葬气氛。”

"You know cousin Henry asked her to please you: he persuaded cousin Louisa.

“你知道表弟亨利要求她取悦你：他说服了表弟路易莎。

And now they're so upset that they're going back to Skuytercliff tomorrow.

现在他们非常沮丧，明天就要回斯库特克利夫了。

I think, Newland, you'd better come down.

我想，纽兰，你最好下来。

You don't seem to understand how mother feels."

看来你还不明白妈妈的感受。”

In the drawing-room Newland found his mother.

纽兰在客厅找到了他的母亲。

She raised a troubled brow from her needlework to ask: "Has Janey told you?"

她忙着做针线活，皱起眉头问道：“珍妮告诉过你了吗？”

"Yes." He tried to keep his tone as measured as her own.

“是的。”他努力让自己的语气和她的语气一样谨慎。

"But I can't take it very seriously."

“但我不能太认真地对待它。”

"Not the fact of having offended cousin Louisa and cousin Henry?"

“不是因为得罪了表弟路易莎和表弟亨利吗？”

"The fact that they can be offended by such a trifle as Countess Olenska's going to the house of a woman they consider common."

“事实上，他们可能会因为奥兰斯卡伯爵夫人去一个他们认为很普通的女人家里这样的小事而生气。”

"Consider--!"

“考虑 - ！”

"Well, who is; but who has good music, and amuses people on Sunday evenings, when the whole of New York is dying of inanition."

“好吧，是谁；但是谁有好听的音乐，在周日晚上让人们开心，而当时整个纽约都在饥饿中死去。”

"Good music?

“音乐好听吗？

All I know is, there was a woman who got up on a table and sang the things they sing at the places you go to in Paris.

我所知道的是，有一个女人站在桌子上，唱着你去巴黎的地方唱的歌。

There was smoking and champagne."

有吸烟和香槟。”

"Well--that kind of thing happens in other places, and the world still goes on."

“嗯——这种事情在其他地方也会发生，但世界仍然在继续。”

"I don't suppose, dear, you're really defending the French Sunday?"

“我不认为，亲爱的，你真的是在捍卫法国星期日吗？”

"I've heard you often enough, mother, grumble at the English Sunday when we've been in London."

“我们在伦敦的时候，妈妈，我经常听到你对英国星期日抱怨。”

"New York is neither Paris nor London."

“纽约既不是巴黎，也不是伦敦。”

"Oh, no, it's not!" her son groaned.

“噢，不，不是这样的！”她的儿子呻吟着。

"You mean, I suppose, that society here is not as brilliant?

“我想，你的意思是，这里的社会并不那么辉煌？

You're right, I daresay; but we belong here, and people should respect our ways when they come among us.

我敢说你是对的；但我们属于这里，人们来到我们中间时应该尊重我们的生活方式。

Ellen Olenska especially: she came back to get away from the kind of life people lead in brilliant societies."

尤其是艾伦·奥兰斯卡：她回来是为了摆脱人们在辉煌社会中过的那种生活。”

Newland made no answer, and after a moment his mother ventured: "I was going to put on my bonnet and ask you to take me to see cousin Louisa for a moment before dinner." He frowned, and she continued: "I thought you might explain to her what you've just said: that society abroad is different ...

纽兰没有回答，过了一会儿，他的母亲大胆地说：“我要戴上帽子，请你在晚饭前带我去见表弟路易莎一会儿。”他皱起眉头，她继续道：“我想你可以向她解释一下你刚才说的话：国外的社会不一样……

that people are not as particular, and that Madame Olenska may not have realised how we feel about such things.

人们并不那么挑剔，奥兰斯卡夫人可能没有意识到我们对这些事情的感受。

It would be, you know, dear," she added with an innocent adroitness, "in Madame Olenska's interest if you did."

亲爱的，你知道，”她天真机敏地补充道，“如果你这样做的话，这对奥兰斯卡夫人来说是有利的。”

"Dearest mother, I really don't see how we're concerned in the matter.

“最亲爱的妈妈，我真的不明白我们在这件事上有什么关系。

The Duke took Madame Olenska to Mrs. Struthers's--in fact he brought Mrs. Struthers to call on her.

公爵带奥兰斯卡夫人去了斯特拉瑟斯夫人家——事实上，他带斯特拉瑟斯夫人去看望她。

I was there when they came.

他们来的时候我就在场。

If the van der Luydens want to quarrel with anybody, the real culprit is under their own roof."

如果范德卢登家族想要与任何人争吵，真正的罪魁祸首就在他们自己的屋檐下。”

"Quarrel?

“吵架？

Newland, did you ever know of cousin Henry's quarrelling?

纽兰，你知道亨利表弟吵架的事吗？

Besides, the Duke's his guest; and a stranger too.

此外，公爵是他的客人；还有一个陌生人。

Strangers don't discriminate: how should they?

陌生人不会歧视：他们应该如何歧视？

Countess Olenska is a New Yorker, and should have respected the feelings of New York."

奥兰斯卡伯爵夫人是纽约人，应该尊重纽约人的感受。”

"Well, then, if they must have a victim, you have my leave to throw Madame Olenska to them," cried her son, exasperated.

“好吧，那么，如果他们一定要找一个受害者，我允许你把奥兰斯卡夫人扔给他们，”她的儿子愤怒地喊道。

"I don't see myself--or you either--offering ourselves up to expiate her crimes."

“我不认为我自己——或者你——愿意为她赎罪。”

"Oh, of course you see only the Mingott side," his mother answered, in the sensitive tone that was her nearest approach to anger.

“哦，当然你只看到了明戈特的一面，”他的母亲回答道，语气敏感，这是她最接近愤怒的方式。

The sad butler drew back the drawing-room portières and announced: "Mr. Henry van der Luyden."

悲伤的管家拉开客厅门帘，宣布：“亨利·范德卢登先生。”

Mrs. Archer dropped her needle and pushed her chair back with an agitated hand.

阿切尔夫人放下了针，激动地把椅子往后推。

"Another lamp," she cried to the retreating servant, while Janey bent over to straighten her mother's cap.

“再来一盏灯，”她对退开的仆人喊道，而珍妮则弯下腰来整理她母亲的帽子。

Mr. van der Luyden's figure loomed on the threshold, and Newland Archer went forward to greet his cousin.

范德卢登先生的身影出现在门槛上，纽兰·阿切尔上前迎接他的表弟。

"We were just talking about you, sir," he said.

“我们只是在谈论你，先生，”他说。

Mr. van der Luyden seemed overwhelmed by the announcement.

范德卢登先生似乎对这一消息感到不知所措。

He drew off his glove to shake hands with the ladies, and smoothed his tall hat shyly, while Janey pushed an arm-chair forward, and Archer continued: "And the Countess Olenska."

他脱下手套与女士们握手，害羞地抚平他的高帽子，而珍妮则把一张扶手椅向前推了过去，阿切尔继续说道：“还有奥兰斯卡伯爵夫人。”

Mrs. Archer paled.

阿切尔夫人脸色苍白。

"Ah--a charming woman.

「啊——真是个迷人的女人。

I have just been to see her," said Mr. van der Luyden, complacency restored to his brow.

我刚刚去看过她。”范德卢登先生说道，眉宇间恢复了自满。

He sank into the chair, laid his hat and gloves on the floor beside him in the old-fashioned way, and went on: "She has a real gift for arranging flowers.

他一屁股坐在椅子上，以老式的方式把帽子和手套放在身旁的地板上，然后继续说道：“她确实有插花的天赋。

I had sent her a few carnations from Skuytercliff, and I was astonished.

我从斯库特克利夫寄给她几朵康乃馨，我很惊讶。

Instead of massing them in big bunches as our head-gardener does, she had scattered them about loosely, here and there ...

她没有像我们的园丁那样把它们堆成一大堆，而是把它们松散地散落在各处……

I can't say how.

我不能说如何。

The Duke had told me: he said: 'Go and see how cleverly she's arranged her drawing-room.' And she has.

公爵告诉过我：他说：“去看看她把客厅布置得多么巧妙。”她确实做到了。

I should really like to take Louisa to see her, if the neighbourhood were not so--unpleasant."

我真的很想带路易莎去看她，如果邻居不是那么——不愉快的话。”

A dead silence greeted this unusual flow of words from Mr. van der Luyden.

范德卢登先生这番不同寻常的话语引发了一片死寂。

Mrs. Archer drew her embroidery out of the basket into which she had nervously tumbled it, and Newland, leaning against the chimney-place and twisting a humming-bird-feather screen in his hand, saw Janey's gaping countenance lit up by the coming of the second lamp.

阿彻太太从她紧张地把刺绣品扔进的篮子里拿出来，纽兰靠在烟囱的地方，手里扭动着蜂鸟羽毛屏风，看到珍妮张着嘴的脸被第二盏灯的亮起照亮了。

"The fact is," Mr. van der Luyden continued, stroking his long grey leg with a bloodless hand weighed down by the Patroon's great signet-ring, "the fact is, I dropped in to thank her for the very pretty note she wrote me about my flowers; and also--but this is between ourselves, of course--to give her a friendly warning about allowing the Duke to carry her off to parties with him.

“事实是，”范德卢登先生继续说道，用一只被赞助人的大图章戒指压得毫无血色的手抚摸着他的长灰色腿，“事实是，我顺便感谢她给我写了一封关于我的花的非常漂亮的便条；而且——当然，这是我们之间的事——给她一个友好的警告，不要允许公爵带她去参加聚会。

I don't know if you've heard--"

不知道你有没有听说过——”

Mrs. Archer produced an indulgent smile.

阿切尔夫人露出宽容的微笑。

"Has the Duke been carrying her off to parties?"

“公爵带她去参加聚会了吗？”

"You know what these English grandees are.

“你知道这些英国显贵是什么。

They're all alike.

他们都很相似。

Louisa and I are very fond of our cousin--but it's hopeless to expect people who are accustomed to the European courts to trouble themselves about our little republican distinctions.

路易莎和我非常喜欢我们的表弟——但是指望那些习惯了欧洲法院的人为我们的共和政体的小区别而烦恼是不可能的。

The Duke goes where he's amused." Mr. van der Luyden paused, but no one spoke.

公爵去他感兴趣的地方。”范德卢登先生停顿了一下，但没有人说话。

"Yes--it seems he took her with him last night to Mrs. Lemuel Struthers's.

“是的——昨晚他似乎带她去了莱米尔·斯特拉瑟斯太太家。

Sillerton Jackson has just been to us with the foolish story, and Louisa was rather troubled.

西勒顿·杰克逊刚刚向我们讲述了这个愚蠢的故事，路易莎感到相当困扰。

So I thought the shortest way was to go straight to Countess Olenska and explain--by the merest hint, you know--how we feel in New York about certain things.

所以我认为最简单的方法就是直接去找奥兰斯卡伯爵夫人，并通过最简单的暗示来解释我们在纽约对某些事情的感受。

I felt I might, without indelicacy, because the evening she dined with us she rather suggested ...

我觉得我可以，但并不失礼，因为那天晚上她和我们一起吃饭时，她宁愿建议……

rather let me see that she would be grateful for guidance.

相反，让我看到她会很感激指导。

And she _was_."

而她_曾经_。”

Mr. van der Luyden looked about the room with what would have been self-satisfaction on features less purged of the vulgar passions.

范德卢登先生环顾房间，脸上带着一种沾沾自喜的表情，脸上的粗俗激情还没有那么明显。

On his face it became a mild benevolence which Mrs. Archer's countenance dutifully reflected.

他脸上的表情变成了温和的仁慈，阿切尔夫人的脸上尽职尽责地反映出来。

"How kind you both are, dear Henry--always!

“你们俩真是太好了，亲爱的亨利——永远都是！

Newland will particularly appreciate what you have done because of dear May and his new relations."

由于亲爱的梅和他的新亲戚，纽兰将特别感谢你所做的一切。”

She shot an admonitory glance at her son, who said: "Immensely, sir.

她警告地看了儿子一眼，儿子说：“太严重了，先生。

But I was sure you'd like Madame Olenska."

但我确信你会喜欢奥兰斯卡夫人。”

Mr. van der Luyden looked at him with extreme gentleness.

范德鲁登先生极其温柔地看着他。

"I never ask to my house, my dear Newland," he said, "any one whom I do not like.

“亲爱的纽兰，我从不邀请任何我不喜欢的人来我家。

And so I have just told Sillerton Jackson." With a glance at the clock he rose and added: "But Louisa will be waiting.

所以我刚刚告诉了西勒顿·杰克逊。”他看了一眼时钟，站起来补充道：“但是路易莎会等着。

We are dining early, to take the Duke to the Opera."

我们要早点吃饭，带公爵去看歌剧院。”

After the portières had solemnly closed behind their visitor a silence fell upon the Archer family.

门廊在访客身后庄严地关闭后，阿切尔一家陷入了沉默。

"Gracious--how romantic!" at last broke explosively from Janey.

“天哪——多么浪漫啊！”终于与珍妮爆发性地决裂了。

No one knew exactly what inspired her elliptic comments, and her relations had long since given up trying to interpret them.

没有人确切知道是什么激发了她的隐晦言论，而她的亲戚们也早已放弃试图解释这些言论。

Mrs. Archer shook her head with a sigh.

阿切尔夫人叹了口气摇摇头。

"Provided it all turns out for the best," she said, in the tone of one who knows how surely it will not.

“只要一切都是最好的结果，”她说，语气里仿佛知道事情肯定不会那样。

"Newland, you must stay and see Sillerton Jackson when he comes this evening: I really shan't know what to say to him."

“纽兰，今晚西勒顿·杰克逊来时，你必须留下来看看他：我真的不知道该对他说什么。”

"Poor mother!

“可怜的妈妈！

But he won't come--" her son laughed, stooping to kiss away her frown.

但他不会来——”她儿子笑着，弯下腰吻掉她皱起的眉头。

Some two weeks later, Newland Archer, sitting in abstracted idleness in his private compartment of the office of Letterblair, Lamson and Low, attorneys at law, was summoned by the head of the firm.

大约两周后，律师事务所负责人传唤纽兰·阿切尔，他心不在焉地坐在莱特布莱尔、拉姆森和洛律师办公室的私人隔间里。

Old Mr. Letterblair, the accredited legal adviser of three generations of New York gentility, throned behind his mahogany desk in evident perplexity.

老莱特布莱尔先生是纽约三代上流社会公认的法律顾问，他坐在桃花心木办公桌后面，显然很困惑。

As he stroked his close-clipped white whiskers and ran his hand through the rumpled grey locks above his jutting brows, his disrespectful junior partner thought how much he looked like the Family Physician annoyed with a patient whose symptoms refuse to be classified.

当他抚摸着修剪得很紧的白色胡须，用手抚过突出的眉毛上方皱巴巴的灰色头发时，他不尊重的初级伙伴认为他看起来多么像家庭医生对一个症状拒绝分类的病人感到恼火。

"My dear sir--" he always addressed Archer as "sir"--"I have sent for you to go into a little matter; a matter which, for the moment, I prefer not to mention either to Mr. Skipworth or Mr. Redwood." The gentlemen he spoke of were the other senior partners of the firm; for, as was always the case with legal associations of old standing in New York, all the partners named on the office letter-head were long since dead; and Mr. Letterblair, for example, was, professionally speaking, his own grandson.

“亲爱的先生——”他总是称呼阿切尔为“先生”——“我派人来请你处理一件小事；目前我不想向斯基普沃斯先生或雷德伍德先生提起这件事。”他所说的先生们是该公司的其他高级合伙人。因为，正如纽约历史悠久的法律协会的情况一样，办公室抬头纸上列出的所有合伙人都早已去世。例如，从专业角度来说，莱特布莱尔先生就是他自己的孙子。

He leaned back in his chair with a furrowed brow.

他靠在椅子上，皱着眉头。

"For family reasons--" he continued.

“出于家庭原因——”他继续说道。

Archer looked up.

阿切尔抬起头来。

"The Mingott family," said Mr. Letterblair with an explanatory smile and bow.

“明戈特一家，”莱特布莱尔先生微笑着鞠躬说道。

"Mrs. Manson Mingott sent for me yesterday.

“曼森·明戈特夫人昨天派人来找我。

Her grand-daughter the Countess Olenska wishes to sue her husband for divorce.

她的孙女奥兰斯卡伯爵夫人希望起诉丈夫离婚。

Certain papers have been placed in my hands." He paused and drummed on his desk.

某些文件已经放在我手里了。”他停下来，敲着桌子。

"In view of your prospective alliance with the family I should like to consult you--to consider the case with you--before taking any farther steps."

“鉴于你可能与这个家族结盟，在采取任何进一步的措施之前，我想咨询你的意见——与你一起考虑这个案子。”

Archer felt the blood in his temples.

阿切尔感到太阳穴里有血。

He had seen the Countess Olenska only once since his visit to her, and then at the Opera, in the Mingott box.

自从拜访奥兰斯卡伯爵夫人以来，他只见过她一次，然后是在歌剧院的明戈特包厢里。

During this interval she had become a less vivid and importunate image, receding from his foreground as May Welland resumed her rightful place in it.

在此期间，她的形象不再那么生动和纠缠，随着梅·韦兰恢复了她在其中应有的位置，她从他的前景中消失了。

He had not heard her divorce spoken of since Janey's first random allusion to it, and had dismissed the tale as unfounded gossip.

自从珍妮第一次随意提到离婚之后，他就再没有听人提起过她的离婚，并认为这个故事是毫无根据的流言蜚语。

Theoretically, the idea of divorce was almost as distasteful to him as to his mother; and he was annoyed that Mr. Letterblair (no doubt prompted by old Catherine Mingott) should be so evidently planning to draw him into the affair.

理论上，离婚的想法对他来说几乎和他的母亲一样令人反感。他对莱特布莱尔先生（无疑是老凯瑟琳·明戈特的怂恿）如此明显地计划将他卷入这件事感到恼火。

After all, there were plenty of Mingott men for such jobs, and as yet he was not even a Mingott by marriage.

毕竟，从事此类工作的明戈特男人有很多，但到目前为止，他甚至还不是明戈特的姻亲。

He waited for the senior partner to continue.

他等待高级合伙人继续说下去。

Mr. Letterblair unlocked a drawer and drew out a packet.

莱特布莱尔先生打开抽屉，拿出一个包裹。

"If you will run your eye over these papers--"

“如果你仔细看一下这些文件——”

Archer frowned.

阿切尔皱起了眉头。

"I beg your pardon, sir; but just because of the prospective relationship, I should prefer your consulting Mr. Skipworth or Mr. Redwood."

“请您原谅，先生；但由于未来的关系，我更希望您咨询斯基普沃斯先生或雷德伍德先生。”

Mr. Letterblair looked surprised and slightly offended.

莱特布莱尔先生看起来很惊讶，还有些生气。

It was unusual for a junior to reject such an opening.

对于一个后辈来说，拒绝这样的机会是很不寻常的。

He bowed.

他鞠了一躬。

"I respect your scruple, sir; but in this case I believe true delicacy requires you to do as I ask.

“我尊重你的顾忌，先生；但在这种情况下，我相信真正的谨慎要求你按照我的要求去做。

Indeed, the suggestion is not mine but Mrs. Manson Mingott's and her son's.

事实上，这个建议不是我的，而是曼森·明戈特夫人和她儿子的。

I have seen Lovell Mingott; and also Mr. Welland.

我见过洛弗尔·明戈特；还有韦兰先生。

They all named you."

他们都给你起了名字。”

Archer felt his temper rising.

Archer感觉自己的脾气越来越高。

He had been somewhat languidly drifting with events for the last fortnight, and letting May's fair looks and radiant nature obliterate the rather importunate pressure of the Mingott claims.

在过去的两周里，他一直在有些慵懒地随波逐流，让梅的美丽容貌和容光焕发的本性消除了明戈特索赔带来的相当纠缠的压力。

But this behest of old Mrs. Mingott's roused him to a sense of what the clan thought they had the right to exact from a prospective son-in-law; and he chafed at the role.

但明戈特老太太的这一要求让他意识到，家族认为他们有权向未来的女婿索取什么；他们认为自己有权向未来的女婿索取什么。他对这个角色很恼火。

"Her uncles ought to deal with this," he said.

“她的叔叔应该处理这个问题，”他说。

"They have.

“他们有。

The matter has been gone into by the family.

此事已由家人处理。

They are opposed to the Countess's idea; but she is firm, and insists on a legal opinion."

他们反对伯爵夫人的想法；但她态度坚决，坚持要法律意见。”

The young man was silent: he had not opened the packet in his hand.

年轻人沉默了：他手里的包裹还没有打开。

"Does she want to marry again?"

“她还想再嫁吗？”

"I believe it is suggested; but she denies it."

“我相信这是有人建议的，但她否认了。”

"Then--"

“然后——”

"Will you oblige me, Mr. Archer, by first looking through these papers?

“阿切尔先生，您能帮我先看一下这些文件吗？

Afterward, when we have talked the case over, I will give you my opinion."

等我们讨论完这个案子之后，我会给你我的意见。”

Archer withdrew reluctantly with the unwelcome documents.

阿切尔带着不受欢迎的文件不情愿地退出了。

Since their last meeting he had half-unconsciously collaborated with events in ridding himself of the burden of Madame Olenska.

自从他们上次见面后，他就半自觉地配合了事态发展，摆脱了奥兰斯卡夫人的负担。

His hour alone with her by the firelight had drawn them into a momentary intimacy on which the Duke of St. Austrey's intrusion with Mrs. Lemuel Struthers, and the Countess's joyous greeting of them, had rather providentially broken.

他在火光下与她独处的时光使他们陷入了短暂的亲密之中，而圣奥斯特利公爵对莱米尔·斯特拉瑟斯夫人的闯入以及伯爵夫人对他们的欢乐问候却被天意地打破了。

Two days later Archer had assisted at the comedy of her reinstatement in the van der Luydens' favour, and had said to himself, with a touch of tartness, that a lady who knew how to thank all-powerful elderly gentlemen to such good purpose for a bunch of flowers did not need either the private consolations or the public championship of a young man of his small compass.

两天后，阿切尔在范德卢登家族的支持下协助她复职，并略带尖刻地对自己说，一位知道如何感谢全能老绅士送上一束鲜花的善意的女士，不需要私下的安慰，也不需要一个小伙子的公开支持。

To look at the matter in this light simplified his own case and surprisingly furbished up all the dim domestic virtues.

从这个角度来看待这件事简化了他自己的情况，并令人惊讶地刷新了所有暗淡的家庭美德。

He could not picture May Welland, in whatever conceivable emergency, hawking about her private difficulties and lavishing her confidences on strange men; and she had never seemed to him finer or fairer than in the week that followed.

他无法想象梅·韦兰在任何可以想象的紧急情况下，兜售她的私人困难并向陌生男人倾诉她的秘密；在他看来，她从来没有比接下来的一周更美丽、更美丽。

He had even yielded to her wish for a long engagement, since she had found the one disarming answer to his plea for haste.

他甚至满足了她想要长期订婚的愿望，因为她已经找到了对他匆忙恳求的唯一令人解除戒心的答案。

"You know, when it comes to the point, your parents have always let you have your way ever since you were a little girl," he argued; and she had answered, with her clearest look: "Yes; and that's what makes it so hard to refuse the very last thing they'll ever ask of me as a little girl."

“你知道，说到重点，从你还是个小女孩的时候起，你的父母就一直让你为所欲为，”他争辩道。她用最清晰的表情回答道：“是的；这就是为什么当我还是个小女孩时，他们对我提出的最后一件事，我很难拒绝。”

That was the old New York note; that was the kind of answer he would like always to be sure of his wife's making.

那是旧的纽约纸条；他总是希望妻子能做出这样的回答。

If one had habitually breathed the New York air there were times when anything less crystalline seemed stifling.

如果一个人习惯呼吸纽约的空气，有时候，任何不那么清澈的东西都会显得令人窒息。

The papers he had retired to read did not tell him much in fact; but they plunged him into an atmosphere in which he choked and spluttered.

事实上，他退休后阅读的报纸并没有告诉他太多信息。但他们却让他陷入一种窒息、口吐沫沫的气氛中。

They consisted mainly of an exchange of letters between Count Olenski's solicitors and a French legal firm to whom the Countess had applied for the settlement of her financial situation.

它们主要包括奥伦斯基伯爵的律师与一家法国律师事务所之间的信件往来，伯爵夫人曾向该律师事务所申请解决其财务状况。

There was also a short letter from the Count to his wife: after reading it, Newland Archer rose, jammed the papers back into their envelope, and reentered Mr. Letterblair's office.

还有一封伯爵写给他妻子的短信：读完之后，纽兰·阿切尔站起身来，把文件塞回信封里，然后重新走进了莱特布莱尔先生的办公室。

"Here are the letters, sir.

“这是信，先生。

If you wish, I'll see Madame Olenska," he said in a constrained voice.

如果你愿意的话，我可以去见奥兰斯卡夫人。”他用一种压抑的声音说道。

"Thank you--thank you, Mr. Archer.

“谢谢你——谢谢你，阿切尔先生。

Come and dine with me tonight if you're free, and we'll go into the matter afterward: in case you wish to call on our client tomorrow."

如果你今晚有空的话，就来和我一起吃饭吧，我们稍后再讨论这件事：如果你明天想拜访我们的客户的话。”

Newland Archer walked straight home again that afternoon.

那天下午，纽兰·阿切尔再次径直步行回家。

It was a winter evening of transparent clearness, with an innocent young moon above the house-tops; and he wanted to fill his soul's lungs with the pure radiance, and not exchange a word with any one till he and Mr. Letterblair were closeted together after dinner.

那是一个冬日的夜晚，清澈见底，一轮天真的新月挂在屋顶上。他想让自己的灵魂充满纯净的光辉，在晚饭后和莱特布莱尔先生一起关门之前，不与任何人交谈。

It was impossible to decide otherwise than he had done: he must see Madame Olenska himself rather than let her secrets be bared to other eyes.

除了他所做的之外，不可能做出其他决定：他必须亲自见到奥兰斯卡夫人，而不是让她的秘密暴露在别人眼前。

A great wave of compassion had swept away his indifference and impatience: she stood before him as an exposed and pitiful figure, to be saved at all costs from farther wounding herself in her mad plunges against fate.

一股巨大的同情心一扫他的冷漠和不耐烦：她站在他面前，是一个暴露无遗、可怜兮兮的人物，不惜一切代价，要避免在她与命运的疯狂搏斗中进一步受伤。

He remembered what she had told him of Mrs. Welland's request to be spared whatever was "unpleasant" in her history, and winced at the thought that it was perhaps this attitude of mind which kept the New York air so pure.

他记得她告诉过他，韦兰夫人要求不要再经历她历史上任何“不愉快”的事情，想到也许正是这种心态使纽约的空气如此纯净，他不禁皱起了眉头。

"Are we only Pharisees after all?" he wondered, puzzled by the effort to reconcile his instinctive disgust at human vileness with his equally instinctive pity for human frailty.

“我们到底只是法利赛人吗？”他想知道，对如何调和他对人类卑鄙本能的厌恶和对人类脆弱的同样本能的怜悯感到困惑。

For the first time he perceived how elementary his own principles had always been.

他第一次意识到自己的原则一直以来都是多么基本。

He passed for a young man who had not been afraid of risks, and he knew that his secret love-affair with poor silly Mrs. Thorley Rushworth had not been too secret to invest him with a becoming air of adventure.

他被认为是一个不怕风险的年轻人，他知道他与可怜的愚蠢的索利·拉什沃思夫人的秘密恋情并没有太秘密，以至于不能给他带来冒险的气氛。

But Mrs. Rushworth was "that kind of woman"; foolish, vain, clandestine by nature, and far more attracted by the secrecy and peril of the affair than by such charms and qualities as he possessed.

但拉什沃思夫人就是“那种女人”。他生性愚蠢、虚荣、神秘，比起他所拥有的魅力和品质，他更被这件事的秘密和危险所吸引。

When the fact dawned on him it nearly broke his heart, but now it seemed the redeeming feature of the case.

当他意识到这一事实时，他的心几乎碎了，但现在这似乎是这个案子的救赎之处。

The affair, in short, had been of the kind that most of the young men of his age had been through, and emerged from with calm consciences and an undisturbed belief in the abysmal distinction between the women one loved and respected and those one enjoyed--and pitied.

简而言之，他这个年纪的大多数年轻人都经历过这种事情，并且带着平静的良心和平静的信念，相信自己所爱、所尊重的女性与那些所喜爱、所怜悯的女性之间存在着巨大的区别。

In this view they were sedulously abetted by their mothers, aunts and other elderly female relatives, who all shared Mrs. Archer's belief that when "such things happened" it was undoubtedly foolish of the man, but somehow always criminal of the woman.

她们的母亲、阿姨和其他老年女性亲属都怀着这种观点，她们都和阿切尔夫人一样相信，当“发生这样的事情”时，男人无疑是愚蠢的，但不知何故，女人总是犯罪。

All the elderly ladies whom Archer knew regarded any woman who loved imprudently as necessarily unscrupulous and designing, and mere simple-minded man as powerless in her clutches.

阿切尔认识的所有老太太都认为，轻率地爱的女人一定是不择手段、有心计的人，而头脑简单的男人则在她的掌握中无能为力。

The only thing to do was to persuade him, as early as possible, to marry a nice girl, and then trust to her to look after him.

唯一能做的就是尽早说服他娶一个好女孩，然后相信她会照顾他。

In the complicated old European communities, Archer began to guess, love-problems might be less simple and less easily classified.

阿切尔开始猜测，在复杂的旧欧洲社区中，爱情问题可能不那么简单，也更不容易分类。

Rich and idle and ornamental societies must produce many more such situations; and there might even be one in which a woman naturally sensitive and aloof would yet, from the force of circumstances, from sheer defencelessness and loneliness, be drawn into a tie inexcusable by conventional standards.

富裕、闲散和装饰性的社会必然会产生更多这样的情况。甚至可能会有这样一种情况，一个天生敏感和冷漠的女人，可能会因为环境的力量、纯粹的无助和孤独而陷入按照传统标准不可原谅的领带中。

On reaching home he wrote a line to the Countess Olenska, asking at what hour of the next day she could receive him, and despatched it by a messenger-boy, who returned presently with a word to the effect that she was going to Skuytercliff the next morning to stay over Sunday with the van der Luydens, but that he would find her alone that evening after dinner.

回到家后，他给奥兰斯卡伯爵夫人写了一封信，询问她第二天什么时候可以接见他，并由一名信使送去，信使很快就回来了，大意是说她第二天早上要去斯库特克利夫，与范德卢顿一家一起度过周日，但那天晚上晚饭后他会发现她独自一人。

The note was written on a rather untidy half-sheet, without date or address, but her hand was firm and free.

纸条写在一张相当凌乱的半张纸上，没有日期和地址，但她的手却坚定而自由。

He was amused at the idea of her week-ending in the stately solitude of Skuytercliff, but immediately afterward felt that there, of all places, she would most feel the chill of minds rigorously averted from the "unpleasant."

他对她在斯库特克利夫庄严而孤独的地方度过周末的想法感到好笑，但随后他立即感到，在所有地方中，她最能感受到远离“不愉快”的心灵的寒冷。

He was at Mr. Letterblair's punctually at seven, glad of the pretext for excusing himself soon after dinner.

他七点准时来到了莱特布莱尔先生家，很高兴晚餐后不久就可以借口离开。

He had formed his own opinion from the papers entrusted to him, and did not especially want to go into the matter with his senior partner.

他根据委托给他的文件形成了自己的观点，并不想特别与他的高级合伙人讨论此事。

Mr. Letterblair was a widower, and they dined alone, copiously and slowly, in a dark shabby room hung with yellowing prints of "The Death of Chatham" and "The Coronation of Napoleon." On the sideboard, between fluted Sheraton knife-cases, stood a decanter of Haut Brion, and another of the old Lanning port (the gift of a client), which the wastrel Tom Lanning had sold off a year or two before his mysterious and discreditable death in San Francisco--an incident less publicly humiliating to the family than the sale of the cellar.

莱特布莱尔先生是个鳏夫，他们在一间昏暗破旧的房间里独自用餐，丰盛而缓慢，房间里挂着泛黄的《查塔姆之死》和《拿破仑加冕》的版画。餐具柜上，在带凹槽的喜来登刀盒之间，放着一瓶侯伯王葡萄酒和另一瓶老兰宁波特酒（一位客户的礼物），浪费者汤姆·兰宁在旧金山神秘而不光彩的死亡前一两年卖掉了这瓶酒——这一事件比出售酒窖对这个家庭来说不像是公开羞辱。

After a velvety oyster soup came shad and cucumbers, then a young broiled turkey with corn fritters, followed by a canvas-back with currant jelly and a celery mayonnaise.

天鹅绒般的牡蛎汤之后是鲥鱼和黄瓜，然后是烤火鸡配玉米油条，最后是醋栗果冻和芹菜蛋黄酱。

Mr. Letterblair, who lunched on a sandwich and tea, dined deliberately and deeply, and insisted on his guest's doing the same.

莱特布莱尔先生午餐吃的是三明治和茶，他吃得很认真、很深入，并坚持要求他的客人也这样做。

Finally, when the closing rites had been accomplished, the cloth was removed, cigars were lit, and Mr. Letterblair, leaning back in his chair and pushing the port westward, said, spreading his back agreeably to the coal fire behind him: "The whole family are against a divorce.

最后，当结束仪式完成后，布被拿掉，雪茄被点燃，莱特布莱尔先生靠在椅子上，把端口向西推，舒服地把背伸到身后的煤火上说道：“全家人都反对离婚。

And I think rightly."

我认为是对的。”

Archer instantly felt himself on the other side of the argument.

阿切尔立刻感觉自己站在了争论的另一边。

"But why, sir?

“但是为什么呢，先生？

If there ever was a case--"

如果有任何一个案例——”

"Well--what's the use?

“呃——有什么用呢？

_she's_ here--he's there; the Atlantic's between them.

_她_在这里——他在那儿；大西洋在他们之间。

She'll never get back a dollar more of her money than what he's voluntarily returned to her: their damned heathen marriage settlements take precious good care of that.

她拿回的钱永远不会比他自愿返还给她的钱多一美元：他们那该死的异教徒婚姻协议把这一点照顾得很好。

As things go over there, Olenski's acted generously: he might have turned her out without a penny."

随着事情的进展，奥兰斯基表现得很慷慨：他可能会不花一分钱就把她赶出去。”

The young man knew this and was silent.

年轻人知道这一点，沉默了。

"I understand, though," Mr. Letterblair continued, "that she attaches no importance to the money.

“不过，我明白，”莱特布莱尔先生继续说道，“她并不重视钱。

Therefore, as the family say, why not let well enough alone?"

因此，正如家人所说，为什么不让它好起来呢？”

Archer had gone to the house an hour earlier in full agreement with Mr. Letterblair's view; but put into words by this selfish, well-fed and supremely indifferent old man it suddenly became the Pharisaic voice of a society wholly absorbed in barricading itself against the unpleasant.

阿切尔一小时前就到了那所房子，他完全同意莱特布莱尔先生的观点。但用这个自私、衣食无忧、极其冷漠的老人的话来说，它突然变成了一个全神贯注于抵制不愉快的社会的法利赛人的声音。

"I think that's for her to decide."

“我认为这应该由她来决定。”

"H'm--have you considered the consequences if she decides for divorce?"

“嗯——你考虑过如果她决定离婚的话后果吗？”

"You mean the threat in her husband's letter?

“你是指她丈夫信中的威胁吗？

What weight would that carry?

它能承载多少重量？

It's no more than the vague charge of an angry blackguard."

这只不过是一个愤怒的恶棍的含糊指控。”

"Yes; but it might make some unpleasant talk if he really defends the suit."

“是的；但如果他真的为诉讼辩护，可能会引起一些不愉快的谈话。”

"Unpleasant--!" said Archer explosively.

「讨厌——！」阿切尔爆发性地说道。

Mr. Letterblair looked at him from under enquiring eyebrows, and the young man, aware of the uselessness of trying to explain what was in his mind, bowed acquiescently while his senior continued: "Divorce is always unpleasant."

莱特布莱尔先生用询问的眉毛看着他，年轻人意识到试图解释自己的想法是没有用的，所以默认地鞠了一躬，而他的前辈则继续说道：“离婚总是令人不愉快的。”

"You agree with me?" Mr. Letterblair resumed, after a waiting silence.

“你同意我的观点吗？”莱特布莱尔先生在一阵等待的沉默后继续说道。

"Naturally," said Archer.

“当然，”阿切尔说。

"Well, then, I may count on you; the Mingotts may count on you; to use your influence against the idea?"

“那么，我可以指望你；明戈特家族也可以指望你；利用你的影响力来反对这个想法吗？”

Archer hesitated.

阿切尔犹豫了。

"I can't pledge myself till I've seen the Countess Olenska," he said at length.

“在见到奥兰斯卡伯爵夫人之前，我不能保证自己的安全。”他最后说道。

"Mr. Archer, I don't understand you.

“阿切尔先生，我不明白你的意思。

Do you want to marry into a family with a scandalous divorce-suit hanging over it?"

你想嫁入一个离婚案悬而未决的家庭吗？”

"I don't think that has anything to do with the case."

“我不认为这与此案有任何关系。”

Mr. Letterblair put down his glass of port and fixed on his young partner a cautious and apprehensive gaze.

莱特布莱尔先生放下手中的波特酒，用谨慎而忧虑的目光盯着他年轻的伙伴。

Archer understood that he ran the risk of having his mandate withdrawn, and for some obscure reason he disliked the prospect.

阿切尔知道他面临着被撤销授权的风险，但出于某种不明原因，他不喜欢这种前景。

Now that the job had been thrust on him he did not propose to relinquish it; and, to guard against the possibility, he saw that he must reassure the unimaginative old man who was the legal conscience of the Mingotts.

现在这项工作已经交给他了，他并不打算放弃。为了防止这种可能性，他认为自己必须安抚这位缺乏想象力的老人，他是明戈特家族的法律良心。

"You may be sure, sir, that I shan't commit myself till I've reported to you; what I meant was that I'd rather not give an opinion till I've heard what Madame Olenska has to say."

“先生，您可以放心，在向您汇报之前，我不会做出任何承诺；我的意思是，在听完奥兰斯卡夫人所说的之前，我宁愿不发表意见。”

Mr. Letterblair nodded approvingly at an excess of caution worthy of the best New York tradition, and the young man, glancing at his watch, pleaded an engagement and took leave.

莱特布莱尔先生赞许地点点头，他的过度谨慎符合纽约最好的传统，年轻人看了一眼手表，请求订婚并告辞。

XII.

十二．

Old-fashioned New York dined at seven, and the habit of after-dinner calls, though derided in Archer's set, still generally prevailed.

老式的纽约人七点钟吃饭，饭后打电话的习惯虽然在阿切尔的圈子里受到嘲笑，但仍然普遍存在。

As the young man strolled up Fifth Avenue from Waverley Place, the long thoroughfare was deserted but for a group of carriages standing before the Reggie Chiverses' (where there was a dinner for the Duke), and the occasional figure of an elderly gentleman in heavy overcoat and muffler ascending a brownstone doorstep and disappearing into a gas-lit hall.

当年轻人从韦弗利广场沿着第五大道漫步时，这条长长的大道上空无一人，只有雷吉·奇弗斯餐厅（公爵在那里享用晚宴）前停着一队马车，偶尔会看到一位身穿厚重大衣、围着围巾的老绅士走上褐石砌成的门阶，消失在煤气灯照亮的大厅里。

Thus, as Archer crossed Washington Square, he remarked that old Mr. du Lac was calling on his cousins the Dagonets, and turning down the corner of West Tenth Street he saw Mr. Skipworth, of his own firm, obviously bound on a visit to the Miss Lannings.

因此，当阿切尔穿过华盛顿广场时，他说老杜拉克先生正在拜访他的表兄弟达贡内特夫妇，在西第十街的拐角处，他看到自己公司的斯基普沃斯先生显然要去拜访兰宁小姐。

A little farther up Fifth Avenue, Beaufort appeared on his doorstep, darkly projected against a blaze of light, descended to his private brougham, and rolled away to a mysterious and probably unmentionable destination.

沿着第五大道再往前走一点，博福特出现在他的家门口，在明亮的灯光下显得昏暗，他下到他的私人马车上，然后驶向一个神秘的、可能难以启齿的目的地。

It was not an Opera night, and no one was giving a party, so that Beaufort's outing was undoubtedly of a clandestine nature.

这不是歌剧院之夜，也没有人举办派对，因此博福特的外出无疑具有秘密性质。

Archer connected it in his mind with a little house beyond Lexington Avenue in which beribboned window curtains and flower-boxes had recently appeared, and before whose newly painted door the canary-coloured brougham of Miss Fanny Ring was frequently seen to wait.

阿切尔在脑海中把它与列克星敦大道外的一座小房子联系起来，那里最近出现了饰有缎带的窗帘和花箱，人们经常看到范妮·林小姐的金丝雀色马车在新粉刷的门前等候。

Beyond the small and slippery pyramid which composed Mrs. Archer's world lay the almost unmapped quarter inhabited by artists, musicians and "people who wrote." These scattered fragments of humanity had never shown any desire to be amalgamated with the social structure.

在构成阿切尔夫人世界的小而滑的金字塔之外，是艺术家、音乐家和“写作者”居住的几乎没有地图的区域。这些分散的人类碎片从未表现出任何与社会结构融合的愿望。

In spite of odd ways they were said to be, for the most part, quite respectable; but they preferred to keep to themselves.

尽管行为方式有些奇怪，但据说他们在大多数情况下还是相当受人尊敬的。但他们更愿意独来独往。

Medora Manson, in her prosperous days, had inaugurated a "literary salon"; but it had soon died out owing to the reluctance of the literary to frequent it.

梅多拉·曼森（Medora Manson）在她事业蒸蒸日上时，曾创办过“文学沙龙”。但由于文学界不愿经常光顾它，它很快就消失了。

Others had made the same attempt, and there was a household of Blenkers--an intense and voluble mother, and three blowsy daughters who imitated her--where one met Edwin Booth and Patti and William Winter, and the new Shakespearian actor George Rignold, and some of the magazine editors and musical and literary critics.

其他人也做出了同样的尝试，有一个布伦克斯家庭——一位热情而健谈的母亲，以及三个效仿她的活泼女儿——在那里，人们遇到了埃德温·布斯、帕蒂和威廉·温特，还有新的莎士比亚演员乔治·里格诺德，以及一些杂志编辑、音乐和文学评论家。

Mrs. Archer and her group felt a certain timidity concerning these persons.

阿切尔夫人和她的团队对这些人感到某种胆怯。

They were odd, they were uncertain, they had things one didn't know about in the background of their lives and minds.

他们很奇怪，他们不确定，他们的生活和思想背景中有一些人们不知道的事情。

Literature and art were deeply respected in the Archer set, and Mrs. Archer was always at pains to tell her children how much more agreeable and cultivated society had been when it included such figures as Washington Irving, Fitz-Greene Halleck and the poet of "The Culprit Fay." The most celebrated authors of that generation had been "gentlemen"; perhaps the unknown persons who succeeded them had gentlemanly sentiments, but their origin, their appearance, their hair, their intimacy with the stage and the Opera, made any old New York criterion inapplicable to them.

文学和艺术在阿切尔家族中深受尊重，阿切尔夫人总是煞费苦心地告诉她的孩子们，当有华盛顿·欧文、菲茨·格林·哈勒克和《罪魁祸首》的诗人这样的人物出现时，社会变得多么令人愉快和有教养。那一代最著名的作家都是“绅士”。也许继任者的无名人士具有绅士情操，但他们的出身、外表、头发、与舞台和歌剧院的亲密关系，使得任何旧的纽约标准都不再适用于他们。

"When I was a girl," Mrs. Archer used to say, "we knew everybody between the Battery and Canal Street; and only the people one knew had carriages.

“当我还是个小女孩的时候，”阿切尔夫人常说，“我们认识炮台街和运河街之间的每个人；而且只有认识的人才有马车。

It was perfectly easy to place any one then; now one can't tell, and I prefer not to try."

那时放置任何一个人都是非常容易的。现在人们无法判断，我宁愿不尝试。”

Only old Catherine Mingott, with her absence of moral prejudices and almost parvenu indifference to the subtler distinctions, might have bridged the abyss; but she had never opened a book or looked at a picture, and cared for music only because it reminded her of gala nights at the Italiens, in the days of her triumph at the Tuileries.

只有年迈的凯瑟琳·明戈特，她没有道德偏见，而且对细微的区别近乎暴发户般的冷漠，才有可能跨越这个深渊。但她从来没有翻过一本书，也没有看过一幅画，她关心音乐只是因为它让她想起她在杜伊勒里宫凯旋的日子里意大利人的盛大之夜。

Possibly Beaufort, who was her match in daring, would have succeeded in bringing about a fusion; but his grand house and silk-stockinged footmen were an obstacle to informal sociability.

也许博福特在胆识上与她旗鼓相当，能够成功地实现融合。但他的大房子和穿着丝袜的男仆阻碍了非正式的社交活动。

Moreover, he was as illiterate as old Mrs. Mingott, and considered "fellows who wrote" as the mere paid purveyors of rich men's pleasures; and no one rich enough to influence his opinion had ever questioned it.

此外，他和老明戈特太太一样是文盲，并认为“写作的家伙”只不过是富人享乐的付费提供者；没有一个富有到足以影响他的观点的人曾经质疑过这一点。

Newland Archer had been aware of these things ever since he could remember, and had accepted them as part of the structure of his universe.

纽兰·阿切尔从记事起就意识到这些事情，并接受它们作为他的宇宙结构的一部分。

He knew that there were societies where painters and poets and novelists and men of science, and even great actors, were as sought after as Dukes; he had often pictured to himself what it would have been to live in the intimacy of drawing-rooms dominated by the talk of Mérimée (whose "Lettres à une Inconnue" was one of his inseparables), of Thackeray, Browning or William Morris.

他知道，在某些社会中，画家、诗人、小说家、科学家，甚至伟大的演员，都像杜克一样受到追捧。他常常在心里想象，生活在充满梅里美（梅里美的《不寻常的书信》是他不可分割的书信之一）、萨克雷、勃朗宁或威廉·莫里斯的谈话的亲密客厅里会是什么样子。

But such things were inconceivable in New York, and unsettling to think of.

但这样的事情在纽约是不可想象的，而且想想就令人不安。

Archer knew most of the "fellows who wrote," the musicians and the painters: he met them at the Century, or at the little musical and theatrical clubs that were beginning to come into existence.

阿切尔认识大多数“写作的伙伴”、音乐家和画家：他在世纪音乐俱乐部或刚刚开始成立的小型音乐和戏剧俱乐部认识了他们。

He enjoyed them there, and was bored with them at the Blenkers', where they were mingled with fervid and dowdy women who passed them about like captured curiosities; and even after his most exciting talks with Ned Winsett he always came away with the feeling that if his world was small, so was theirs, and that the only way to enlarge either was to reach a stage of manners where they would naturally merge.

他在那里很喜欢她们，而在布伦克家却对她们感到无聊，那里的她们与热情而邋遢的女人混在一起，她们像捕获的好奇心一样绕过她们。即使在与内德·温塞特最激动人心的谈话之后，他总是有这样的感觉：如果他的世界很小，那么他们的世界也很小，而扩大两者的唯一方法就是达到他们自然融合的礼仪阶段。

He was reminded of this by trying to picture the society in which the Countess Olenska had lived and suffered, and also--perhaps--tasted mysterious joys.

当他试图描绘奥兰斯卡伯爵夫人生活和受苦的社会时，他想起了这一点，也许还尝到了神秘的快乐。

He remembered with what amusement she had told him that her grandmother Mingott and the Wellands objected to her living in a "Bohemian" quarter given over to "people who wrote." It was not the peril but the poverty that her family disliked; but that shade escaped her, and she supposed they considered literature compromising.

他有趣地记得她曾告诉他，她的祖母明戈特和韦兰一家反对她住在一个专供“写作者”的“波西米亚”区。她的家人不喜欢的不是危险，而是贫穷。但她没有注意到这种阴影，她认为他们认为文学是妥协的。

She herself had no fears of it, and the books scattered about her drawing-room (a part of the house in which books were usually supposed to be "out of place"), though chiefly works of fiction, had whetted Archer's interest with such new names as those of Paul Bourget, Huysmans, and the Goncourt brothers.

她自己对此并不担心，散落在她客厅里的书（房子的一部分，书通常被认为是“不合时宜的”），虽然主要是小说作品，但用保罗·布尔歇、于斯曼和贡古尔兄弟等新名字激起了阿切尔的兴趣。

Ruminating on these things as he approached her door, he was once more conscious of the curious way in which she reversed his values, and of the need of thinking himself into conditions incredibly different from any that he knew if he were to be of use in her present difficulty.

当他走近她的门时，他沉思着这些事情，他再次意识到她以一种奇怪的方式扭转了他的价值观，并且意识到如果他要在她目前的困难中发挥作用，就需要将自己想象成与他所知道的任何情况都截然不同的情况。

Nastasia opened the door, smiling mysteriously.

娜斯塔西娅打开门，神秘地微笑着。

On the bench in the hall lay a sable-lined overcoat, a folded opera hat of dull silk with a gold J.

大厅的长凳上放着一件貂皮衬里的大衣，一顶折叠的暗丝歌剧帽，上面有金色的“J”字样。

B.

B.

on the lining, and a white silk muffler: there was no mistaking the fact that these costly articles were the property of Julius Beaufort.

衬里和白色丝绸围巾：毫无疑问，这些昂贵的物品是朱利叶斯·博福特的财产。

Archer was angry: so angry that he came near scribbling a word on his card and going away; then he remembered that in writing to Madame Olenska he had been kept by excess of discretion from saying that he wished to see her privately.

阿切尔很生气：气得他差点在卡片上写下一个字，然后就走开。然后他想起，在写给奥兰斯卡夫人的信中，他出于谨慎考虑，没有说他希望私下会见她。

He had therefore no one but himself to blame if she had opened her doors to other visitors; and he entered the drawing-room with the dogged determination to make Beaufort feel himself in the way, and to outstay him.

因此，如果她向其他访客敞开大门，他只能责怪自己。他带着顽强的决心走进客厅，让博福特觉得自己碍事，并比他待得更久。

The banker stood leaning against the mantelshelf, which was draped with an old embroidery held in place by brass candelabra containing church candles of yellowish wax.

银行家靠着壁炉架站着，壁炉架上挂着一件旧刺绣，黄铜烛台固定在里面，烛台上装有教堂的淡黄色蜡蜡烛。

He had thrust his chest out, supporting his shoulders against the mantel and resting his weight on one large patent-leather foot.

他挺起胸膛，把肩膀靠在壁炉架上，把体重放在一只漆皮大脚上。

As Archer entered he was smiling and looking down on his hostess, who sat on a sofa placed at right angles to the chimney.

当阿切尔进来时，他微笑着俯视着坐在与烟囱成直角的沙发上的女主人。

A table banked with flowers formed a screen behind it, and against the orchids and azaleas which the young man recognised as tributes from the Beaufort hot-houses, Madame Olenska sat half-reclined, her head propped on a hand and her wide sleeve leaving the arm bare to the elbow.

一张摆满鲜花的桌子在后面形成了一道屏风，在兰花和杜鹃花的映衬下，年轻人认出这是博福特温室的贡品，奥兰斯卡夫人半斜着坐着，她的头支在一只手上，宽袖让手臂裸露到肘部。

It was usual for ladies who received in the evenings to wear what were called "simple dinner dresses": a close-fitting armour of whale-boned silk, slightly open in the neck, with lace ruffles filling in the crack, and tight sleeves with a flounce uncovering just enough wrist to show an Etruscan gold bracelet or a velvet band.

晚间接待的女士们通常会穿所谓的“简单晚礼服”：一件紧身的鲸骨丝绸盔甲，颈部略微敞开，缝隙中填满蕾丝褶边，紧袖上有荷叶边，露出手腕，刚好露出伊特鲁里亚金手镯或天鹅绒带子。

But Madame Olenska, heedless of tradition, was attired in a long robe of red velvet bordered about the chin and down the front with glossy black fur.

但奥兰斯卡夫人不顾传统，穿着一件红色天鹅绒长袍，下巴处镶着光滑的黑色毛皮。

Archer remembered, on his last visit to Paris, seeing a portrait by the new painter, Carolus Duran, whose pictures were the sensation of the Salon, in which the lady wore one of these bold sheath-like robes with her chin nestling in fur.

阿切尔记得，他上次访问巴黎时，看到了新画家卡洛勒斯·杜兰的一幅肖像画，他的画引起了沙龙的轰动，画中的女士穿着一件大胆的紧身长袍，下巴嵌在毛皮里。

There was something perverse and provocative in the notion of fur worn in the evening in a heated drawing-room, and in the combination of a muffled throat and bare arms; but the effect was undeniably pleasing.

晚上在热气腾腾的客厅里穿皮草的概念，以及低沉的喉咙和裸露的手臂的结合，有一种反常和挑衅的感觉；但不可否认，效果是令人满意的。

"Lord love us--three whole days at Skuytercliff!" Beaufort was saying in his loud sneering voice as Archer entered.

“主啊爱我们——在斯库特克利夫待了整整三天！”当阿切尔进来时，博福特用他冷嘲热讽的声音说道。

"You'd better take all your furs, and a hot-water-bottle."

“你最好带上你所有的毛皮，还有一个热水瓶。”

"Why?

“为什么？

Is the house so cold?" she asked, holding out her left hand to Archer in a way mysteriously suggesting that she expected him to kiss it.

家里这么冷吗？”她一边问​​道，一边向阿切尔伸出左手，神秘地暗示着她期待他亲吻它。

"No; but the missus is," said Beaufort, nodding carelessly to the young man.

“不，但太太是。”博福特漫不经心地向年轻人点点头。

"But I thought her so kind.

“但我觉得她很善良。

She came herself to invite me.

她亲自来邀请我。

Granny says I must certainly go."

奶奶说我一定要去。”

"Granny would, of course.

“奶奶当然愿意。

And I say it's a shame you're going to miss the little oyster supper I'd planned for you at Delmonico's next Sunday, with Campanini and Scalchi and a lot of jolly people."

我想说，很遗憾你会错过我为你计划的下周日在德尔莫尼科餐厅的牡蛎小晚餐，坎帕尼尼、斯卡尔奇和很多快乐的人。”

She looked doubtfully from the banker to Archer.

她疑惑地看看银行家，又看看阿切尔。

"Ah--that does tempt me!

「啊——这确实让我着迷啊！

Except the other evening at Mrs. Struthers's I've not met a single artist since I've been here."

除了那天晚上在斯特拉瑟斯夫人家之外，自从我来到这里之后，我还没有见过任何一位艺术家。”

"What kind of artists?

“什么样的艺术家？

I know one or two painters, very good fellows, that I could bring to see you if you'd allow me," said Archer boldly.

我认识一两个画家，非常好的朋友，如果你允许的话，我可以带他们来见你。”阿切尔大胆地说。

"Painters?

“画家？

Are there painters in New York?" asked Beaufort, in a tone implying that there could be none since he did not buy their pictures; and Madame Olenska said to Archer, with her grave smile: "That would be charming.

纽约有画家吗？”博福特问，语气暗示不可能有，因为他没有买他们的照片；奥兰斯卡夫人严肃地微笑着对阿切尔说：“那真是太迷人了。

But I was really thinking of dramatic artists, singers, actors, musicians.

但我真正想到的是戏剧艺术家、歌手、演员、音乐家。

My husband's house was always full of them."

我丈夫的家里总是挤满了它们。”

She said the words "my husband" as if no sinister associations were connected with them, and in a tone that seemed almost to sigh over the lost delights of her married life.

她说“我的丈夫”这个词时，仿佛没有任何邪恶的联想，语气似乎几乎是在为她婚姻生活中失去的欢乐而叹息。

Archer looked at her perplexedly, wondering if it were lightness or dissimulation that enabled her to touch so easily on the past at the very moment when she was risking her reputation in order to break with it.

阿切尔困惑地看着她，不知道是因为轻松还是掩饰，才让她在冒着名誉风险与过去决裂的那一刻，如此轻易地触及了过去。

"I do think," she went on, addressing both men, "that the _imprévu_ adds to one's enjoyment.

“我确实认为，”她对两个男人继续说道，“‘imprévu’增加了一个人的乐趣。

It's perhaps a mistake to see the same people every day."

每天看到同样的人也许是一个错误。”

"It's confoundedly dull, anyhow; New York is dying of dullness," Beaufort grumbled.

“无论如何，这实在是太无聊了；纽约快要死了，”博福特抱怨道。

"And when I try to liven it up for you, you go back on me.

“当我试图为你活跃气氛时，你却背叛了我。

Come--think better of it!

来吧——好好想想吧！

Sunday is your last chance, for Campanini leaves next week for Baltimore and Philadelphia; and I've a private room, and a Steinway, and they'll sing all night for me."

周日是你最后的机会，因为坎帕尼尼下周将前往巴尔的摩和费城；我有一个私人房间，还有一架施坦威钢琴，他们会整夜为我唱歌。”

"How delicious!

“真好吃啊！

May I think it over, and write to you tomorrow morning?"

我可以考虑一下，明天早上给你写信吗？”

She spoke amiably, yet with the least hint of dismissal in her voice.

她说话的语气和蔼可亲，但语气中却丝毫不带一丝不屑。

Beaufort evidently felt it, and being unused to dismissals, stood staring at her with an obstinate line between his eyes.

博福特显然感觉到了这一点，他不习惯被解雇，站在那儿盯着她，眼角有一条顽固的皱纹。

"Why not now?"

“为什么不现在呢？”

"It's too serious a question to decide at this late hour."

“这个问题太严肃了，无法在这么晚的时间做出决定。”

"Do you call it late?"

“你说很晚吗？”

She returned his glance coolly.

她冷冷地回望他一眼。

"Yes; because I have still to talk business with Mr. Archer for a little while."

“是的；因为我还要和阿切尔先生谈一会儿生意。”

"Ah," Beaufort snapped.

“啊，”博福特厉声说道。

There was no appeal from her tone, and with a slight shrug he recovered his composure, took her hand, which he kissed with a practised air, and calling out from the threshold: "I say, Newland, if you can persuade the Countess to stop in town of course you're included in the supper," left the room with his heavy important step.

她的语气中没有任何吸引力，他轻轻耸了耸肩，恢复了镇静，握住她的手，熟练地吻了一下，然后从门口喊道：“我说，纽兰，如果你能说服伯爵夫人在城里停下来，当然你会被包括在晚餐中，”迈着沉重的重要一步离开了房间。

For a moment Archer fancied that Mr. Letterblair must have told her of his coming; but the irrelevance of her next remark made him change his mind.

有一瞬间，阿切尔觉得莱特布莱尔先生一定是告诉了她他的到来；但他并没有这么做。但她接下来的话无关紧要，让他改变了主意。

"You know painters, then?

“那你认识画家吗？

You live in their milieu?" she asked, her eyes full of interest.

你住在他们的环境里吗？”她问道，眼神充满兴趣。

"Oh, not exactly.

“哦，不完全是。

I don't know that the arts have a milieu here, any of them; they're more like a very thinly settled outskirt."

我不知道艺术在这里有什么环境；它们更像是一个人烟稀少的郊区。”

"But you care for such things?"

“但是你关心这些事情吗？”

"Immensely.

“非常大。

When I'm in Paris or London I never miss an exhibition.

当我在巴黎或伦敦时，我从来不会错过任何展览。

I try to keep up."

我努力跟上。”

She looked down at the tip of the little satin boot that peeped from her long draperies.

她低头看着从长长的窗帘中露出来的小缎子靴子的尖端。

"I used to care immensely too: my life was full of such things.

“我曾经也非常关心：我的生活充满了这样的事情。

But now I want to try not to."

但现在我想尽量不这样做。”

"You want to try not to?"

“你想尝试不这么做吗？”

"Yes: I want to cast off all my old life, to become just like everybody else here."

“是的：我想摆脱我所有的旧生活，变得和这里的其他人一样。”

Archer reddened.

阿彻脸红了。

"You'll never be like everybody else," he said.

“你永远不会像其他人一样，”他说。

She raised her straight eyebrows a little.

她笔直的眉毛微微扬起。

"Ah, don't say that.

“啊，别这么说。

If you knew how I hate to be different!"

如果你知道我多么讨厌与众不同就好了！”

Her face had grown as sombre as a tragic mask.

她的脸色变得阴沉得像一张悲惨的面具。

She leaned forward, clasping her knee in her thin hands, and looking away from him into remote dark distances.

她向前倾身，用瘦弱的双手抱住膝盖，目光从他身上移开，望向遥远的黑暗远方。

"I want to get away from it all," she insisted.

“我想摆脱这一切，”她坚持说。

He waited a moment and cleared his throat.

他等了一会儿，清了清嗓子。

"I know.

“我知道。

Mr. Letterblair has told me."

莱特布莱尔先生已经告诉我了。”

"Ah?"

“啊？”

"That's the reason I've come.

“这就是我来的原因。

He asked me to--you see I'm in the firm."

他要求我——你看我在公司里。”

She looked slightly surprised, and then her eyes brightened.

她神情有些惊讶，随后眼睛就亮了。

"You mean you can manage it for me?

“你的意思是你可以帮我处理？

I can talk to you instead of Mr. Letterblair?

我可以代替莱特布莱尔先生和你说话吗？

Oh, that will be so much easier!"

哦，那会容易得多！”

Her tone touched him, and his confidence grew with his self-satisfaction.

她的语气触动了他，他的自信随着自我满足而增强。

He perceived that she had spoken of business to Beaufort simply to get rid of him; and to have routed Beaufort was something of a triumph.

他看出她跟博福特谈生意只是为了摆脱他。击败博福特是一种胜利。

"I am here to talk about it," he repeated.

“我来这里是为了谈论这件事，”他重复道。

She sat silent, her head still propped by the arm that rested on the back of the sofa.

她静静地坐着，头仍然靠在沙发靠背上的手臂上。

Her face looked pale and extinguished, as if dimmed by the rich red of her dress.

她的脸色显得苍白而黯淡，仿佛被她衣服的鲜红色染得黯淡无光。

She struck Archer, of a sudden, as a pathetic and even pitiful figure.

突然之间，阿切尔觉得她是一个可悲甚至可怜的人物。

"Now we're coming to hard facts," he thought, conscious in himself of the same instinctive recoil that he had so often criticised in his mother and her contemporaries.

“现在我们要面对残酷的事实了，”他想，意识到自己也有同样的本能反应，他经常批评他的母亲和她的同代人。

How little practice he had had in dealing with unusual situations!

他在处理异常情况方面的练习是多么少啊！

Their very vocabulary was unfamiliar to him, and seemed to belong to fiction and the stage.

他们的词汇对他来说是陌生的，似乎属于小说和舞台。

In face of what was coming he felt as awkward and embarrassed as a boy.

面对即将发生的事情，他感到像个男孩一样尴尬和尴尬。

After a pause Madame Olenska broke out with unexpected vehemence: "I want to be free; I want to wipe out all the past."

停顿了一下，奥兰斯卡夫人突然爆发出出乎意料的热情：“我想要自由；我想要抹去所有的过去。”

"I understand that."

“我明白。”

Her face warmed.

她的脸一热。

"Then you'll help me?"

“那你会帮我吗？”

"First--" he hesitated--"perhaps I ought to know a little more."

“首先——”他犹豫着——“也许我应该多了解一点。”

She seemed surprised.

她似乎很惊讶。

"You know about my husband--my life with him?"

“你知道我丈夫的事——我和他在一起的生活吗？”

He made a sign of assent.

他做出了同意的手势。

"Well--then--what more is there?

“好吧——那么——还有什么？

In this country are such things tolerated?

这个国家能容忍这样的事情吗？

I'm a Protestant--our church does not forbid divorce in such cases."

我是一名新教徒——我们的教会并不禁止在这种情况下离婚。”

"Certainly not."

“当然不是。”

They were both silent again, and Archer felt the spectre of Count Olenski's letter grimacing hideously between them.

他们俩又陷入了沉默，阿切尔感觉到奥兰斯基伯爵的信的幽灵在他们之间可怕地作着鬼脸。

The letter filled only half a page, and was just what he had described it to be in speaking of it to Mr. Letterblair: the vague charge of an angry blackguard.

这封信只有半页，正如他向莱特布莱尔先生描述的那样：一个愤怒的恶棍的含糊指控。

But how much truth was behind it?

但这背后又有多少真相呢？

Only Count Olenski's wife could tell.

只有奥伦斯基伯爵的妻子知道。

"I've looked through the papers you gave to Mr. Letterblair," he said at length.

“我已经浏览了你交给莱特布莱尔先生的文件，”他最后说道。

"Well--can there be anything more abominable?"

“呃——还有比这更令人厌恶的事情吗？”

"No."

“不。”

She changed her position slightly, screening her eyes with her lifted hand.

她稍微改变了姿势，抬起手遮住了眼睛。

"Of course you know," Archer continued, "that if your husband chooses to fight the case--as he threatens to--"

“你当然知道，”阿切尔继续说道，“如果你的丈夫选择打官司——正如他威胁的那样——”

"Yes--?"

“是吗——？”

"He can say things--things that might be unpl--might be disagreeable to you: say them publicly, so that they would get about, and harm you even if--"

“他可以说一些事情——那些可能不愉快的事情——可能让你不舒服的事情：公开地说出来，这样他们就会到处走动，伤害你，即使——”

"If--?"

“如果——？”

"I mean: no matter how unfounded they were."

“我的意思是：无论它们多么毫无根据。”

She paused for a long interval; so long that, not wishing to keep his eyes on her shaded face, he had time to imprint on his mind the exact shape of her other hand, the one on her knee, and every detail of the three rings on her fourth and fifth fingers; among which, he noticed, a wedding ring did not appear.

她停顿了很长一段时间。时间太长了，他不想把目光一直盯着她被阴影遮住的脸，所以他有时间在脑海中印下她另一只手的确切形状，放在膝盖上的那只手，以及她第四和第五手指上的三个戒指的每一个细节；他注意到其中没有出现结婚戒指。

"What harm could such accusations, even if he made them publicly, do me here?"

“即使他公开提出这样的指控，对我来说又有什么害处呢？”

It was on his lips to exclaim: "My poor child--far more harm than anywhere else!" Instead, he answered, in a voice that sounded in his ears like Mr. Letterblair's: "New York society is a very small world compared with the one you've lived in.

他脱口而出：“我可怜的孩子——比其他地方受到的伤害要大得多！”相反，他回答道，他的声音听起来就像莱特布莱尔先生的声音：“与你所生活的世界相比，纽约社会是一个非常小的世界。

And it's ruled, in spite of appearances, by a few people with--well, rather old-fashioned ideas."

尽管表面上看，它是由少数持有——呃，相当老式想法的人统治的。”

She said nothing, and he continued: "Our ideas about marriage and divorce are particularly old-fashioned.

她什么也没说，他继续说道：“我们关于结婚和离婚的观念特别守旧。

Our legislation favours divorce--our social customs don't."

我们的立法支持离婚，但我们的社会习俗却不支持。”

"Never?"

“绝不？”

"Well--not if the woman, however injured, however irreproachable, has appearances in the least degree against her, has exposed herself by any unconventional action to--to offensive insinuations--"

“好吧——如果这个女人，无论受到多么严重的伤害，无论多么无懈可击，在外表上至少有一点对她不利，通过任何非常规的行为使自己暴露在——冒犯性的暗示——”

She drooped her head a little lower, and he waited again, intensely hoping for a flash of indignation, or at least a brief cry of denial.

她把头低得更低了，他又等待着，强烈希望看到一丝愤怒，或者至少是一声短暂的否认。

None came.

没有人来。

A little travelling clock ticked purringly at her elbow, and a log broke in two and sent up a shower of sparks.

一只小旅行钟在她的肘部发出咕噜声，一根圆木断成两半，喷出一阵火花。

The whole hushed and brooding room seemed to be waiting silently with Archer.

整个安静而沉思的房间似乎都在静静地等待着Archer。

"Yes," she murmured at length, "that's what my family tell me."

“是的，”她终于低声说道，“我的家人就是这么告诉我的。”

He winced a little.

他微微皱起眉头。

"It's not unnatural--"

“这并不不自然——”

"_Our_ family," she corrected herself; and Archer coloured.

“我们的家人，”她纠正道。和弓箭手的颜色。

"For you'll be my cousin soon," she continued gently.

“因为你很快就会成为我的表弟，”她温柔地继续说道。

"I hope so."

“我希望如此。”

"And you take their view?"

“那你同意他们的观点吗？”

He stood up at this, wandered across the room, stared with void eyes at one of the pictures against the old red damask, and came back irresolutely to her side.

他站起身来，在房间里徘徊，用空洞的眼睛盯着旧红色锦缎衬托下的一张照片，然后犹豫地回到她身边。

How could he say: "Yes, if what your husband hints is true, or if you've no way of disproving it?"

他怎么能说：“是的，如果你丈夫的暗示是真的，或者你没有办法反驳的话？”

"Sincerely--" she interjected, as he was about to speak.

“真诚的——”当他正要说话时，她插话道。

He looked down into the fire.

他低头看着火。

"Sincerely, then--what should you gain that would compensate for the possibility--the certainty--of a lot of beastly talk?"

“真诚地，那么——你应该得到什么来弥补可能——肯定——大量的野蛮言论呢？”

"But my freedom--is that nothing?"

“但是我的自由——那算不了什么吗？”

It flashed across him at that instant that the charge in the letter was true, and that she hoped to marry the partner of her guilt.

那一刻他突然意识到，信中的指控是真实的，她希望嫁给她的罪孽伴侣。

How was he to tell her that, if she really cherished such a plan, the laws of the State were inexorably opposed to it?

他如何告诉她，如果她真的珍视这样的计划，国家法律就会无情地反对它？

The mere suspicion that the thought was in her mind made him feel harshly and impatiently toward her.

仅仅怀疑她脑子里有这个想法，就让他对她感到严厉和不耐烦。

"But aren't you as free as air as it is?" he returned.

“但是你不是像空气一样自由吗？”他回来了。

"Who can touch you?

“谁能碰你？

Mr. Letterblair tells me the financial question has been settled--"

莱特布莱尔先生告诉我财务问题已经解决了——”

"Oh, yes," she said indifferently.

“哦，是的，”她漠然地说。

"Well, then: is it worth while to risk what may be infinitely disagreeable and painful?

“那么，值得冒着无限不愉快和痛苦的风险吗？

Think of the newspapers--their vileness!

想想报纸——它们的卑鄙！

It's all stupid and narrow and unjust--but one can't make over society."

这一切都是愚蠢、狭隘和不公正的——但人们无法改变社会。”

"No," she acquiesced; and her tone was so faint and desolate that he felt a sudden remorse for his own hard thoughts.

“不，”她默许。她的语气是如此的微弱和凄凉，让他突然为自己的刻薄想法感到悔恨。

"The individual, in such cases, is nearly always sacrificed to what is supposed to be the collective interest: people cling to any convention that keeps the family together--protects the children, if there are any," he rambled on, pouring out all the stock phrases that rose to his lips in his intense desire to cover over the ugly reality which her silence seemed to have laid bare.

“在这种情况下，个人几乎总是为了所谓的集体利益而牺牲：人们坚持任何使家庭团结在一起的惯例——保护孩子，如果有的话，”他继续胡言乱语，倾吐出所有出现在嘴边的陈词滥调，因为他强烈希望掩盖她的沉默似乎暴露的丑陋现实。

Since she would not or could not say the one word that would have cleared the air, his wish was not to let her feel that he was trying to probe into her secret.

既然她不会也不能说出能够消除误会的一句话，他的愿望就是不要让她觉得他在试图探寻她的秘密。

Better keep on the surface, in the prudent old New York way, than risk uncovering a wound he could not heal.

最好保持表面，以谨慎的老纽约方式，而不是冒险暴露他无法治愈的伤口。

"It's my business, you know," he went on, "to help you to see these things as the people who are fondest of you see them.

“你知道，这是我的职责，”他继续说道，“帮助你以最喜欢你的人的方式看待这些事情。

The Mingotts, the Wellands, the van der Luydens, all your friends and relations: if I didn't show you honestly how they judge such questions, it wouldn't be fair of me, would it?" He spoke insistently, almost pleading with her in his eagerness to cover up that yawning silence.

明戈特夫妇、韦兰夫妇、范德卢登夫妇，以及你们所有的朋友和亲戚：如果我没有诚实地向你们展示他们如何判断这些问题，那对我来说就不公平，不是吗？”他坚持不懈地说话，几乎是在恳求她，因为他急于掩盖那张哈欠的沉默。

She said slowly: "No; it wouldn't be fair."

她慢慢地说：“不，这不公平。”

The fire had crumbled down to greyness, and one of the lamps made a gurgling appeal for attention.

火已经熄灭，变成了灰色，其中一盏灯发出汩汩作响的声音，引起人们的注意。

Madame Olenska rose, wound it up and returned to the fire, but without resuming her seat.

奥兰斯卡夫人站起身，上紧发条，回到火边，但没有回到座位上。

Her remaining on her feet seemed to signify that there was nothing more for either of them to say, and Archer stood up also.

她站起来，似乎表示两人都没有什么可再说的了，Archer也站了起来。

"Very well; I will do what you wish," she said abruptly.

“很好，我会如你所愿。”她突然说道。

The blood rushed to his forehead; and, taken aback by the suddenness of her surrender, he caught her two hands awkwardly in his.

血涌上了他的额头；他对她突然的投降感到惊讶，笨拙地握住她的两只手。

"I--I do want to help you," he said.

“我——我确实想帮助你，”他说。

"You do help me.

“你确实帮助我。

Good night, my cousin."

晚安，我的表弟。”

He bent and laid his lips on her hands, which were cold and lifeless.

他弯下腰​​，将嘴唇放在她冰冷而毫无生气的手上。

She drew them away, and he turned to the door, found his coat and hat under the faint gas-light of the hall, and plunged out into the winter night bursting with the belated eloquence of the inarticulate.

她把它们拉开，他转身向门口，在大厅微弱的煤气灯下找到了他的外套和帽子，然后一头扎进了冬夜，充满了迟来的口才。

XIII.

十三．

It was a crowded night at Wallack's theatre.

瓦莱克剧院度过了一个拥挤的夜晚。

The play was "The Shaughraun," with Dion Boucicault in the title role and Harry Montague and Ada Dyas as the lovers.

该剧名为《肖格劳恩》，由迪昂·布西科饰演主角，哈里·蒙塔古和艾达·戴亚斯饰演恋人。

The popularity of the admirable English company was at its height, and the Shaughraun always packed the house.

这家令人钦佩的英国公司的知名度达到了顶峰，肖劳恩家族总是座无虚席。

In the galleries the enthusiasm was unreserved; in the stalls and boxes, people smiled a little at the hackneyed sentiments and clap-trap situations, and enjoyed the play as much as the galleries did.

画廊里的热情毫无保留。在摊位和包厢里，人们对陈腐的情绪和拍手陷阱的情况微微一笑，并像画廊一样享受这场演出。

There was one episode, in particular, that held the house from floor to ceiling.

特别是有一集，让整个房子从地板到天花板。

It was that in which Harry Montague, after a sad, almost monosyllabic scene of parting with Miss Dyas, bade her good-bye, and turned to go.

哈利·蒙塔古在与戴亚斯小姐告别的悲伤的、几乎是单音节的场景之后，就是在这个场景中向她告别，然后转身离开的。

The actress, who was standing near the mantelpiece and looking down into the fire, wore a gray cashmere dress without fashionable loopings or trimmings, moulded to her tall figure and flowing in long lines about her feet.

这位女演员站在壁炉架旁，俯视着炉火，她穿着一件灰色羊绒连衣裙，没有时尚的毛圈或饰边，贴合她高挑的身材，脚上的长线条流畅。

Around her neck was a narrow black velvet ribbon with the ends falling down her back.

她的脖子上系着一条细长的黑色天鹅绒丝带，丝带的末端垂落在她的背上。

When her wooer turned from her she rested her arms against the mantel-shelf and bowed her face in her hands.

当她的求爱者转身离开她时，她把双臂靠在壁炉架上，双手低下头。

On the threshold he paused to look at her; then he stole back, lifted one of the ends of velvet ribbon, kissed it, and left the room without her hearing him or changing her attitude.

在门槛上，他停下来看着她。然后他偷偷回来，提起天鹅绒丝带的一端，吻了吻它，然后离开了房间，她没有听到他的声音，也没有改变她的态度。

And on this silent parting the curtain fell.

在这无声的离别中，帷幕落下。

It was always for the sake of that particular scene that Newland Archer went to see "The Shaughraun." He thought the adieux of Montague and Ada Dyas as fine as anything he had ever seen Croisette and Bressant do in Paris, or Madge Robertson and Kendal in London; in its reticence, its dumb sorrow, it moved him more than the most famous histrionic outpourings.

纽兰·阿切尔总是为了那个特定的场景才去看《肖格劳恩》。他认为蒙塔古和艾达·戴亚斯的告别就像他在巴黎见过的克鲁瓦塞特和布雷桑，或者伦敦的玛奇·罗伯逊和肯德尔所做的那样。它的沉默和无声的悲伤，比最著名的戏剧性的倾诉更让他感动。

On the evening in question the little scene acquired an added poignancy by reminding him--he could not have said why--of his leave-taking from Madame Olenska after their confidential talk a week or ten days earlier.

那天晚上，这个小场景让他想起——他无法说出原因——一周或十天前他们的秘密谈话后，他向奥兰斯卡夫人告别，这让他变得更加心酸。

It would have been as difficult to discover any resemblance between the two situations as between the appearance of the persons concerned.

在这两种情况之间发现任何相似之处就像在有关人员的外表之间发现任何相似之处一样困难。

Newland Archer could not pretend to anything approaching the young English actor's romantic good looks, and Miss Dyas was a tall red-haired woman of monumental build whose pale and pleasantly ugly face was utterly unlike Ellen Olenska's vivid countenance.

纽兰·阿切尔无法假装任何接近这位年轻英国演员浪漫美貌的东西，而戴亚斯小姐是一位身材高大、身材魁梧的红发女人，她苍白而令人愉快的丑陋面孔与艾伦·奥兰斯卡生动的面容完全不同。

Nor were Archer and Madame Olenska two lovers parting in heart-broken silence; they were client and lawyer separating after a talk which had given the lawyer the worst possible impression of the client's case.

阿切尔和奥兰斯卡夫人也不是两个在心碎的沉默中分手的恋人。他们是客户和律师，在一次谈话后分居，这给律师带来了对客户案件最坏的印象。

Wherein, then, lay the resemblance that made the young man's heart beat with a kind of retrospective excitement?

那么，到底是哪里的相似之处，让这个年轻人的心因一种回想起来的兴奋而跳动呢？

It seemed to be in Madame Olenska's mysterious faculty of suggesting tragic and moving possibilities outside the daily run of experience.

奥兰斯卡夫人似乎有一种神秘的能力，可以在日常经验之外暗示悲剧性和感人的可能性。

She had hardly ever said a word to him to produce this impression, but it was a part of her, either a projection of her mysterious and outlandish background or of something inherently dramatic, passionate and unusual in herself.

她几乎没有对他说过一句话来产生这种印象，但这是她的一部分，要么是她神秘而古怪的背景的投射，要么是她内在戏剧性、热情和不寻常的东西的投射。

Archer had always been inclined to think that chance and circumstance played a small part in shaping people's lots compared with their innate tendency to have things happen to them.

阿切尔一直倾向于认为，与人们与生俱来的命运倾向相比，机会和环境在塑造人们的命运方面所起的作用很小。

This tendency he had felt from the first in Madame Olenska.

他从一开始就在奥兰斯卡夫人身上感受到了这种倾向。

The quiet, almost passive young woman struck him as exactly the kind of person to whom things were bound to happen, no matter how much she shrank from them and went out of her way to avoid them.

这位安静、几乎被动的年轻女子给他的印象就是那种注定要发生一些事情的人，不管她如何回避这些事情并竭尽全力避免它们。

The exciting fact was her having lived in an atmosphere so thick with drama that her own tendency to provoke it had apparently passed unperceived.

令人兴奋的事实是，她生活在一个充满戏剧性的气氛中，以至于她自己挑起这种气氛的倾向显然没有被察觉。

It was precisely the odd absence of surprise in her that gave him the sense of her having been plucked out of a very maelstrom: the things she took for granted gave the measure of those she had rebelled against.

正是她身上那种奇怪的缺乏惊讶的感觉，让他有一种她被从漩涡中拉出来的感觉：她认为理所当然的事情衡量了她所反抗的事情。

Archer had left her with the conviction that Count Olenski's accusation was not unfounded.

阿切尔让她确信奥兰斯基伯爵的指控并非毫无根据。

The mysterious person who figured in his wife's past as "the secretary" had probably not been unrewarded for his share in her escape.

这位在他妻子的过去中扮演“秘书”的神秘人很可能因参与她的逃跑而得到了回报。

The conditions from which she had fled were intolerable, past speaking of, past believing: she was young, she was frightened, she was desperate--what more natural than that she should be grateful to her rescuer?

她逃离的环境令人难以忍受，难以言说，难以置信：她还年轻，她害怕，她绝望——还有什么比她应该感谢她的救命恩人更自然的呢？

The pity was that her gratitude put her, in the law's eyes and the world's, on a par with her abominable husband.

遗憾的是，她的感激之情使她在法律和世人的眼中与她可恶的丈夫平起平坐。

Archer had made her understand this, as he was bound to do; he had also made her understand that simple-hearted kindly New York, on whose larger charity she had apparently counted, was precisely the place where she could least hope for indulgence.

阿切尔已经让她明白了这一点，他也必须这么做。他还让她明白，心地单纯、善良的纽约，显然是她指望的更大的慈善机构，但恰恰是她最不希望得到纵容的地方。

To have to make this fact plain to her--and to witness her resigned acceptance of it--had been intolerably painful to him.

必须向她坦白这一事实——并见证她放弃接受这一事实——对他来说是难以忍受的痛苦。

He felt himself drawn to her by obscure feelings of jealousy and pity, as if her dumbly-confessed error had put her at his mercy, humbling yet endearing her.

他感到自己被莫名的嫉妒和怜悯所吸引，仿佛她愚蠢地承认的错误让她受到他的摆布，让她谦卑却又可爱。

He was glad it was to him she had revealed her secret, rather than to the cold scrutiny of Mr. Letterblair, or the embarrassed gaze of her family.

他很高兴她向他透露了自己的秘密，而不是面对莱特布莱尔先生冷酷的审视，或者她家人尴尬的目光。

He immediately took it upon himself to assure them both that she had given up her idea of seeking a divorce, basing her decision on the fact that she had understood the uselessness of the proceeding; and with infinite relief they had all turned their eyes from the "unpleasantness" she had spared them.

他立即向他们俩保证，她已经放弃了寻求离婚的想法，她的决定是基于她已经明白诉讼程序毫无用处的事实；他们都把目光从她免遭的“不愉快”上移开，这让他们感到无限的宽慰。

"I was sure Newland would manage it," Mrs. Welland had said proudly of her future son-in-law; and old Mrs. Mingott, who had summoned him for a confidential interview, had congratulated him on his cleverness, and added impatiently: "Silly goose!

“我确信纽兰会处理好这件事，”韦兰夫人自豪地谈到她未来的女婿。老明戈特太太召他来进行一次秘密采访，对他的聪明才智表示祝贺，并不耐烦地补充道：“笨蛋！

I told her myself what nonsense it was.

我亲口告诉她这是胡说八道。

Wanting to pass herself off as Ellen Mingott and an old maid, when she has the luck to be a married woman and a Countess!"

想要冒充艾伦·明戈特和老处女，而她有幸成为已婚妇女和伯爵夫人！”

These incidents had made the memory of his last talk with Madame Olenska so vivid to the young man that as the curtain fell on the parting of the two actors his eyes filled with tears, and he stood up to leave the theatre.

这些事件使年轻人对他与奥兰斯卡夫人最后一次谈话的记忆如此清晰，以至于当幕布落下，两位演员分别时，他的眼里充满了泪水，他站起来离开剧院。

In doing so, he turned to the side of the house behind him, and saw the lady of whom he was thinking seated in a box with the Beauforts, Lawrence Lefferts and one or two other men.

这样做时，他转向身后房子的一侧，看到他想到的那位女士与博福特夫妇、劳伦斯·莱弗茨和另外一两个男人坐在包厢里。

He had not spoken with her alone since their evening together, and had tried to avoid being with her in company; but now their eyes met, and as Mrs. Beaufort recognised him at the same time, and made her languid little gesture of invitation, it was impossible not to go into the box.

自从那天晚上在一起之后，他就没有单独和她说过话，并且尽量避免和她在一起。但现在他们的目光相遇了，当博福特夫人同时认出了他，并做出了慵懒的邀请手势时，不可能不走进包厢。

Beaufort and Lefferts made way for him, and after a few words with Mrs. Beaufort, who always preferred to look beautiful and not have to talk, Archer seated himself behind Madame Olenska.

博福特和莱弗茨给他让了路，博福特夫人一向喜欢外表漂亮，不爱说话，他跟博福特夫人说了几句话后，阿切尔就在奥兰斯卡夫人身后坐下了。

There was no one else in the box but Mr. Sillerton Jackson, who was telling Mrs. Beaufort in a confidential undertone about Mrs. Lemuel Struthers's last Sunday reception (where some people reported that there had been dancing).

包厢里除了西勒顿·杰克逊先生之外没有其他人，他正在秘密地低声向博福特夫人讲述莱米尔·斯特拉瑟斯夫人上周日的招待会（有人报告说那里有跳舞）。

Under cover of this circumstantial narrative, to which Mrs. Beaufort listened with her perfect smile, and her head at just the right angle to be seen in profile from the stalls, Madame Olenska turned and spoke in a low voice.

博福特夫人面带完美的微笑，头的角度正好可以从摊位上看到侧面，在这种旁白的掩护下，奥兰斯卡夫人转过身来，低声说话。

"Do you think," she asked, glancing toward the stage, "he will send her a bunch of yellow roses tomorrow morning?"

“你觉得，”她看向台上，问道，“明天早上他会送她一束黄玫瑰吗？”

Archer reddened, and his heart gave a leap of surprise.

Archer脸一红，心中一惊。

He had called only twice on Madame Olenska, and each time he had sent her a box of yellow roses, and each time without a card.

他只拜访过奥兰斯卡夫人两次，每次都送她一盒黄玫瑰，而且每次都没有带贺卡。

She had never before made any allusion to the flowers, and he supposed she had never thought of him as the sender.

她以前从未提及过这些花，他猜想她从来没有想到过他是送花的人。

Now her sudden recognition of the gift, and her associating it with the tender leave-taking on the stage, filled him with an agitated pleasure.

现在，她突然认出了这份礼物，并将其与舞台上温柔的告别联系在一起，让他充满了激动的喜悦。

"I was thinking of that too--I was going to leave the theatre in order to take the picture away with me," he said.

“我也在想这个——我要离开剧院，以便带走这张照片，”他说。

To his surprise her colour rose, reluctantly and duskily.

令他吃惊的是，她的脸色不情愿地、暗淡地涨了起来。

She looked down at the mother-of-pearl opera-glass in her smoothly gloved hands, and said, after a pause: "What do you do while May is away?"

她低头看着戴着光滑手套的手中的珍珠母歌剧镜，停顿了一下后说道：“梅不在的时候你会做什么？”

"I stick to my work," he answered, faintly annoyed by the question.

“我坚持我的工作，”他回答道，对这个问题感到有点恼火。

In obedience to a long-established habit, the Wellands had left the previous week for St. Augustine, where, out of regard for the supposed susceptibility of Mr. Welland's bronchial tubes, they always spent the latter part of the winter.

按照长期形成的习惯，韦兰一家在前一周动身前往圣奥古斯丁，考虑到韦兰先生的支气管易受影响，他们总是在那里度过冬季的后半段。

Mr. Welland was a mild and silent man, with no opinions but with many habits.

韦兰先生是一个温和而沉默的人，没有什么主见，但有很多习惯。

With these habits none might interfere; and one of them demanded that his wife and daughter should always go with him on his annual journey to the south.

这些习惯无人能干预；其中一人要求他的妻子和女儿永远陪伴他参加每年一次的南方之旅。

To preserve an unbroken domesticity was essential to his peace of mind; he would not have known where his hair-brushes were, or how to provide stamps for his letters, if Mrs. Welland had not been there to tell him.

保持不间断的家庭生活对于他内心的平静至关重要。如果韦兰夫人不在场告诉他，他就不会知道他的发刷在哪里，也不知道如何为他的信贴邮票。

As all the members of the family adored each other, and as Mr. Welland was the central object of their idolatry, it never occurred to his wife and May to let him go to St. Augustine alone; and his sons, who were both in the law, and could not leave New York during the winter, always joined him for Easter and travelled back with him.

由于家里所有的成员都互相崇拜，而且韦兰先生是他们崇拜的中心对象，所以他的妻子和梅从来没有想过让他独自去圣奥古斯丁；因为他的妻子和梅从来没有想过让他独自去圣奥古斯丁。他的儿子们都已结婚，冬天不能离开纽约，但他们总是和他一起过复活节，然后和他一起回去。

It was impossible for Archer to discuss the necessity of May's accompanying her father.

阿切尔不可能讨论梅陪伴父亲的必要性。

The reputation of the Mingotts' family physician was largely based on the attack of pneumonia which Mr. Welland had never had; and his insistence on St. Augustine was therefore inflexible.

明戈特家庭医生的声誉很大程度上是建立在韦兰先生从未患过肺炎的基础上的。因此，他对圣奥古斯丁的坚持是不灵活的。

Originally, it had been intended that May's engagement should not be announced till her return from Florida, and the fact that it had been made known sooner could not be expected to alter Mr. Welland's plans.

最初，梅的订婚消息是在她从佛罗里达州回来后才宣布的，而且提前公布这一事实也不能指望会改变韦兰先生的计划。

Archer would have liked to join the travellers and have a few weeks of sunshine and boating with his betrothed; but he too was bound by custom and conventions.

阿切尔很想加入旅行者的行列，和他的未婚夫一起享受几周的阳光和划船。但他也受到习俗和惯例的约束。

Little arduous as his professional duties were, he would have been convicted of frivolity by the whole Mingott clan if he had suggested asking for a holiday in mid-winter; and he accepted May's departure with the resignation which he perceived would have to be one of the principal constituents of married life.

尽管他的职业职责并不繁重，但如果他建议在仲冬休假，整个明戈特家族都会认为他轻率。他以辞职的方式接受了梅的离开，他认为这是婚姻生活的主要组成部分之一。

He was conscious that Madame Olenska was looking at him under lowered lids.

他意识到奥兰斯卡夫人正在低下眼睑看着他。

"I have done what you wished--what you advised," she said abruptly.

“我已经做了你希望的事——你建议的事，”她突然说道。

"Ah--I'm glad," he returned, embarrassed by her broaching the subject at such a moment.

“啊——我很高兴，”他回答道，因为她在这个时候提出这个话题而感到尴尬。

"I understand--that you were right," she went on a little breathlessly; "but sometimes life is difficult ...

“我明白——你是对的，”她有点气喘吁吁地继续说道。 “但有时生活很困难......

perplexing..."

令人困惑……”

"I know."

“我知道。”

"And I wanted to tell you that I _do_ feel you were right; and that I'm grateful to you," she ended, lifting her opera-glass quickly to her eyes as the door of the box opened and Beaufort's resonant voice broke in on them.

“我想告诉你，我确实觉得你是对的；而且我很感激你，”她最后说道，当包厢的门打开时，博福特洪亮的声音打断了他们。

Archer stood up, and left the box and the theatre.

阿切尔站起身来，离开了包厢和剧院。

Only the day before he had received a letter from May Welland in which, with characteristic candour, she had asked him to "be kind to Ellen" in their absence.

就在前一天，他收到了梅·韦兰的一封信，在信中，她以特有的坦率要求他在他们不在的时候“善待艾伦”。

"She likes you and admires you so much--and you know, though she doesn't show it, she's still very lonely and unhappy.

“她非常喜欢你、钦佩你——你知道，虽然她不表现出来，但她仍然很孤独、不快乐。

I don't think Granny understands her, or uncle Lovell Mingott either; they really think she's much worldlier and fonder of society than she is.

我认为外婆不理解她，洛弗尔·明戈特叔叔也不理解。他们确实认为她比实际情况更世俗、更热爱社交。

And I can quite see that New York must seem dull to her, though the family won't admit it.

我完全可以看出，纽约对她来说肯定显得乏味，尽管家人不承认这一点。

I think she's been used to lots of things we haven't got; wonderful music, and picture shows, and celebrities--artists and authors and all the clever people you admire.

我想她已经习惯了很多我们没有的事情；美妙的音乐、图片表演、名人——艺术家、作家以及所有你钦佩的聪明人。

Granny can't understand her wanting anything but lots of dinners and clothes--but I can see that you're almost the only person in New York who can talk to her about what she really cares for."

奶奶无法理解她除了很多晚餐和衣服之外还想要什么——但我看得出来，你几乎是纽约唯一一个能和她谈论她真正关心什么的人。”

His wise May--how he had loved her for that letter!

他聪明的梅——因为那封信，他是多么爱她啊！

But he had not meant to act on it; he was too busy, to begin with, and he did not care, as an engaged man, to play too conspicuously the part of Madame Olenska's champion.

但他并没有打算付诸行动。首先，他太忙了，作为一个已订婚的男人，他并不在乎过于引人注目地扮演奥兰斯卡夫人的拥护者的角色。

He had an idea that she knew how to take care of herself a good deal better than the ingenuous May imagined.

他觉得她比天真无邪的梅想象的更懂得如何照顾自己。

She had Beaufort at her feet, Mr. van der Luyden hovering above her like a protecting deity, and any number of candidates (Lawrence Lefferts among them) waiting their opportunity in the middle distance.

博福特在她的脚下，范德卢登先生像保护神一样盘旋在她的上方，许多候选人（其中包括劳伦斯·莱弗茨）在中距离等待机会。

Yet he never saw her, or exchanged a word with her, without feeling that, after all, May's ingenuousness almost amounted to a gift of divination.

然而，每次见到她，或与她交谈过一句话，他都会感觉到梅的天真无邪几乎相当于一种占卜的天赋。

Ellen Olenska was lonely and she was unhappy.

埃伦·奥兰斯卡很孤独，她也不快乐。

XIV.

十四。

As he came out into the lobby Archer ran across his friend Ned Winsett, the only one among what Janey called his "clever people" with whom he cared to probe into things a little deeper than the average level of club and chop-house banter.

当他走进大厅时，阿切尔遇到了他的朋友内德·温塞特，他是珍妮所说的“聪明人”中唯一一个他愿意与他探讨比俱乐部和餐馆的平均水平玩笑更深入的事情的人。

He had caught sight, across the house, of Winsett's shabby round-shouldered back, and had once noticed his eyes turned toward the Beaufort box.

他在房子对面看到了温塞特破旧的圆肩背影，并一度注意到他的目光转向博福特包厢。

The two men shook hands, and Winsett proposed a bock at a little German restaurant around the corner.

两人握手，温塞特提议在街角的一家德国小餐馆喝一杯博克。

Archer, who was not in the mood for the kind of talk they were likely to get there, declined on the plea that he had work to do at home; and Winsett said: "Oh, well so have I for that matter, and I'll be the Industrious Apprentice too."

阿切尔没有心情进行他们可能会进行的那种谈话，他以在家有工作要做为由拒绝了。温塞特说：“哦，好吧，我也这么做了，我也将成为勤奋的学徒。”

They strolled along together, and presently Winsett said: "Look here, what I'm really after is the name of the dark lady in that swell box of yours--with the Beauforts, wasn't she?

他们一起散步，过了一会儿，温塞特说道：“听着，我真正想要的是你那个大包厢里那个黑皮肤女士的名字——是博福特家族的，不是吗？

The one your friend Lefferts seems so smitten by."

你的朋友莱弗茨似乎很迷恋那个人。”

Archer, he could not have said why, was slightly annoyed.

Archer说不出为什么，有点恼火。

What the devil did Ned Winsett want with Ellen Olenska's name?

内德·温塞特到底想用艾伦·奥兰斯卡的名字做什么？

And above all, why did he couple it with Lefferts's?

最重要的是，他为什么要把它与莱弗茨的结合起来？

It was unlike Winsett to manifest such curiosity; but after all, Archer remembered, he was a journalist.

温塞特表现出这样的好奇心，这与他不同。但阿切尔记得，他毕竟是一名记者。

"It's not for an interview, I hope?" he laughed.

“我希望这不是为了采访？”他笑了。

"Well--not for the press; just for myself," Winsett rejoined.

“嗯——不是为了媒体；只是为了我自己，”温塞特回答道。

"The fact is she's a neighbour of mine--queer quarter for such a beauty to settle in--and she's been awfully kind to my little boy, who fell down her area chasing his kitten, and gave himself a nasty cut.

“事实上，她是我的邻居——对于这样一个美丽的人来说，住在这里真是太奇怪了——而且她对我的小男孩非常友善，他在追赶小猫时从她家的地方摔下来，被严重割伤了。

She rushed in bareheaded, carrying him in her arms, with his knee all beautifully bandaged, and was so sympathetic and beautiful that my wife was too dazzled to ask her name."

她光着头冲了进来，把他抱在怀里，他的膝盖缠着漂亮的绷带，她的慈悲和美丽让我的妻子眼花缭乱，无法问她的名字。”

A pleasant glow dilated Archer's heart.

令人愉悦的光芒让Archer的心扩张。

There was nothing extraordinary in the tale: any woman would have done as much for a neighbour's child.

这个故事并没有什么特别之处：任何女人都会为邻居的孩子做同样的事情。

But it was just like Ellen, he felt, to have rushed in bareheaded, carrying the boy in her arms, and to have dazzled poor Mrs. Winsett into forgetting to ask who she was.

但他觉得，这就像艾伦一样，光着头冲了进来，怀里抱着男孩，让可怜的温塞特太太眼花缭乱，忘了问她是谁。

"That is the Countess Olenska--a granddaughter of old Mrs. Mingott's."

“那是奥兰斯卡伯爵夫人——明戈特老太太的孙女。”

"Whew--a Countess!" whistled Ned Winsett.

“哇——伯爵夫人！”内德·温塞特吹了一声口哨。

"Well, I didn't know Countesses were so neighbourly.

“嗯，我不知道伯爵夫人这么友善。

Mingotts ain't."

明戈茨不是。”

"They would be, if you'd let them."

“如果你允许的话，他们会的。”

"Ah, well--" It was their old interminable argument as to the obstinate unwillingness of the "clever people" to frequent the fashionable, and both men knew that there was no use in prolonging it.

“啊，好吧——”这是他们老生常谈的无休无止的争论，争论的焦点是“聪明人”顽固地不愿经常接触时尚，两人都知道延长这种争论是没有用的。

"I wonder," Winsett broke off, "how a Countess happens to live in our slum?"

“我想知道，”温塞特打断道，“伯爵夫人怎么会住在我们的贫民窟里？”

"Because she doesn't care a hang about where she lives--or about any of our little social sign-posts," said Archer, with a secret pride in his own picture of her.

“因为她不关心她住在哪里，也不关心我们的任何小社会标志，”阿切尔说，他对自己为她拍的照片感到暗自自豪。

"H'm--been in bigger places, I suppose," the other commented.

“嗯——我想去过更大的地方，”另一个评论道。

"Well, here's my corner."

“嗯，这是我的角落。”

He slouched off across Broadway, and Archer stood looking after him and musing on his last words.

他无精打采地穿过百老汇，阿切尔站在那里看着他，沉思着他的最后一句话。

Ned Winsett had those flashes of penetration; they were the most interesting thing about him, and always made Archer wonder why they had allowed him to accept failure so stolidly at an age when most men are still struggling.

内德·温塞特有着敏锐的洞察力。它们是他最有趣的地方，总是让阿切尔想知道为什么它们让他在大多数男人仍在挣扎的年纪如此冷漠地接受失败。

Archer had known that Winsett had a wife and child, but he had never seen them.

阿切尔知道温塞特有妻子和孩子，但他从未见过他们。

The two men always met at the Century, or at some haunt of journalists and theatrical people, such as the restaurant where Winsett had proposed to go for a bock.

这两个人总是在世纪剧院见面，或者在记者和戏剧界人士常去的地方，比如温塞特提议去喝一杯博克的餐厅。

He had given Archer to understand that his wife was an invalid; which might be true of the poor lady, or might merely mean that she was lacking in social gifts or in evening clothes, or in both.

他让阿切尔明白，他的妻子是个病人。对于这位可怜的女士来说，这可能是真的，或者可能仅仅意味着她缺乏社交天赋或晚礼服，或两者兼而有之。

Winsett himself had a savage abhorrence of social observances: Archer, who dressed in the evening because he thought it cleaner and more comfortable to do so, and who had never stopped to consider that cleanliness and comfort are two of the costliest items in a modest budget, regarded Winsett's attitude as part of the boring "Bohemian" pose that always made fashionable people, who changed their clothes without talking about it, and were not forever harping on the number of servants one kept, seem so much simpler and less self-conscious than the others.

温塞特本人对社会习俗有一种野蛮的厌恶：阿切尔在晚上穿衣服，因为他认为这样做更干净、更舒服，而且他从未停下来考虑清洁和舒适是适度预算中最昂贵的两项，他认为温塞特的态度是无聊的“波西米亚”姿势的一部分，这种姿势总是让时尚人士显得很无聊，他们换衣服时不谈论它，也不会永远喋喋不休地谈论自己保留的仆人的数量。比其他人简单得多，也更不自觉。

Nevertheless, he was always stimulated by Winsett, and whenever he caught sight of the journalist's lean bearded face and melancholy eyes he would rout him out of his corner and carry him off for a long talk.

尽管如此，他总是受到温塞特的刺激，每当他看到记者瘦削的胡须脸和忧郁的眼睛，他就会把他从角落里赶出来，把他带走长篇大论。

Winsett was not a journalist by choice.

温塞特并不是自愿成为记者的。

He was a pure man of letters, untimely born in a world that had no need of letters; but after publishing one volume of brief and exquisite literary appreciations, of which one hundred and twenty copies were sold, thirty given away, and the balance eventually destroyed by the publishers (as per contract) to make room for more marketable material, he had abandoned his real calling, and taken a sub-editorial job on a women's weekly, where fashion-plates and paper patterns alternated with New England love-stories and advertisements of temperance drinks.

他是一个纯粹的文人，生不逢时，生在一个不需要文学的世界；但在出版了一本简短而精致的文学鉴赏集之后，其中一百二十本被售出，三十本被送出，而出版商最终（按照合同）销毁了余额，以便为更适销对路的材料腾出空间，他放弃了自己真正的使命，并在一份妇女周刊上找到了一份副编辑工作，其中时装板和纸样与新英格兰爱情故事和禁酒饮料广告交替出现。

On the subject of "Hearth-fires" (as the paper was called) he was inexhaustibly entertaining; but beneath his fun lurked the sterile bitterness of the still young man who has tried and given up.

关于“炉火”（报纸的名称）这个话题，他总是充满乐趣。但在他的乐趣之下，却隐藏着这个年轻时尝试过又放弃的苦涩。

His conversation always made Archer take the measure of his own life, and feel how little it contained; but Winsett's, after all, contained still less, and though their common fund of intellectual interests and curiosities made their talks exhilarating, their exchange of views usually remained within the limits of a pensive dilettantism.

他的谈话总是让阿切尔衡量自己的生活，并感到自己的生活是多么的少。但温塞特的内容毕竟还少，虽然他们共同的知识兴趣和好奇心使他们的谈话令人兴奋，但他们的意见交换通常仍停留在沉思的业余爱好者的范围内。

"The fact is, life isn't much a fit for either of us," Winsett had once said.

“事实是，生活不太适合我们俩，”温塞特曾经说过。

"I'm down and out; nothing to be done about it.

“我已经穷困潦倒；对此无能为力。

I've got only one ware to produce, and there's no market for it here, and won't be in my time.

我只能生产一种商品，而这里没有市场，而且在我的时代也不会出现。

But you're free and you're well-off.

但你是自由的，而且你很富裕。

Why don't _you_ get into touch?

为什么不联系你呢？

There's only one way to do it: to go into politics."

只有一种方法可以做到这一点：从政。”

Archer threw his head back and laughed.

阿切尔仰起头大笑起来。

There one saw at a flash the unbridgeable difference between men like Winsett and the others--Archer's kind.

人们一下子就看到了温塞特这样的人与其他人——阿切尔那样的人之间存在着不可逾越的区别。

Every one in polite circles knew that, in America, "a gentleman couldn't go into politics." But, since he could hardly put it in that way to Winsett, he answered evasively: "Look at the career of the honest man in American politics!

上流社会的人都知道，在美国，“绅士不能从政”。但是，由于他很难对温塞特这么说，所以他闪烁其词地回答道：“看看美国政治中诚实人的职业生涯！

They don't want us."

他们不想要我们。”

"Who's 'they'?

“‘他们’是谁？

Why don't you all get together and be 'they' yourselves?"

你们为什么不聚集在一起，成为‘他们’自己呢？”

Archer's laugh lingered on his lips in a slightly condescending smile.

Archer的笑声挂在唇边，带着略显居高临下的笑容。

It was useless to prolong the discussion: everybody knew the melancholy fate of the few gentlemen who had risked their clean linen in municipal or state politics in New York.

延长讨论是没有用的：每个人都知道那些在纽约市政或州政治中冒着干净的亚麻布风险的少数绅士的悲惨命运。

The day was past when that sort of thing was possible: the country was in possession of the bosses and the emigrant, and decent people had to fall back on sport or culture.

这种事情可能发生的日子已经过去了：这个国家已经被老板和移民占据了，正派的人们不得不依靠体育或文化。

"Culture!

“文化！

Yes--if we had it!

是的——如果我们有的话！

But there are just a few little local patches, dying out here and there for lack of--well, hoeing and cross-fertilising: the last remnants of the old European tradition that your forebears brought with them.

但当地只有一些小块土地，由于缺乏——嗯，锄地和异花施肥——你们的祖先带来的古老欧洲传统的最后残余，到处都在消失。

But you're in a pitiful little minority: you've got no centre, no competition, no audience.

但你们属于可怜的少数：你们没有中心，没有竞争，没有观众。

You're like the pictures on the walls of a deserted house: 'The Portrait of a Gentleman.' You'll never amount to anything, any of you, till you roll up your sleeves and get right down into the muck.

你就像一座废弃房屋墙上的画：“绅士肖像”。你们任何人，除非卷起袖子，直接跌入泥沼，否则你们永远不会有任何成就。

That, or emigrate ...

那，或者移民...

God!

天啊！

If I could emigrate ..."

如果我能移民的话……”

Archer mentally shrugged his shoulders and turned the conversation back to books, where Winsett, if uncertain, was always interesting.

阿切尔在心里耸了耸肩，把话题转回到书本上，温塞特虽然不确定，但书本上总是很有趣。

Emigrate!

移民吧！

As if a gentleman could abandon his own country!

就好像君子可以抛弃自己的国家一样！

One could no more do that than one could roll up one's sleeves and go down into the muck.

一个人无法做到这一点，就像一个人无法卷起袖子走进淤泥一样。

A gentleman simply stayed at home and abstained.

一位绅士干脆留在家里弃权。

But you couldn't make a man like Winsett see that; and that was why the New York of literary clubs and exotic restaurants, though a first shake made it seem more of a kaleidoscope, turned out, in the end, to be a smaller box, with a more monotonous pattern, than the assembled atoms of Fifth Avenue.

但你无法让温塞特这样的人看到这一点；这就是为什么纽约的文学俱乐部和异国情调的餐馆，虽然第一次震动使它看起来更像一个万花筒，但最终却变成了一个比第五大道聚集的原子更小的盒子，具有更单调的模式。

The next morning Archer scoured the town in vain for more yellow roses.

第二天早上，阿切尔在镇上寻找更多的黄玫瑰，但徒劳无功。

In consequence of this search he arrived late at the office, perceived that his doing so made no difference whatever to any one, and was filled with sudden exasperation at the elaborate futility of his life.

这次搜寻的结果是，他迟到了办公室，意识到自己的这样做对任何人来说都没有任何影响，并突然对自己精心设计的徒劳无功的生活感到愤怒。

Why should he not be, at that moment, on the sands of St. Augustine with May Welland?

在那一刻，他为什么不应该和梅·韦兰一起在圣奥古斯丁的沙滩上呢？

No one was deceived by his pretense of professional activity.

没有人被他假装的专业活动所欺骗。

In old-fashioned legal firms like that of which Mr. Letterblair was the head, and which were mainly engaged in the management of large estates and "conservative" investments, there were always two or three young men, fairly well-off, and without professional ambition, who, for a certain number of hours of each day, sat at their desks accomplishing trivial tasks, or simply reading the newspapers.

在像莱特布莱尔先生所领导的那些主要从事大地产管理和“保守”投资的老式律师事务所里，总有两三个相当富裕、没有职业抱负的年轻人，每天花一定的时间坐在办公桌前做些琐碎的事情，或者只是看报纸。

Though it was supposed to be proper for them to have an occupation, the crude fact of money-making was still regarded as derogatory, and the law, being a profession, was accounted a more gentlemanly pursuit than business.

尽管他们认为有一份职业是正当的，但赚钱的残酷事实仍然被视为贬义，而法律作为一种职业，被认为是比商业更绅士的追求。

But none of these young men had much hope of really advancing in his profession, or any earnest desire to do so; and over many of them the green mould of the perfunctory was already perceptibly spreading.

但这些年轻人中没有一个人对在自己的职业中真正取得进步抱有太大的希望，也没有任何真诚的愿望这样做。在他们中的许多人身上，敷衍的绿色霉菌已经明显蔓延。

It made Archer shiver to think that it might be spreading over him too.

想到这种病可能也在他身上蔓延，阿切尔不寒而栗。

He had, to be sure, other tastes and interests; he spent his vacations in European travel, cultivated the "clever people" May spoke of, and generally tried to "keep up," as he had somewhat wistfully put it to Madame Olenska.

可以肯定的是，他有其他的品味和兴趣。他在欧洲旅行中度过了假期，培养了梅所说的“聪明人”，并且总体上努力“跟上”，正如他有些渴望地对奥兰斯卡夫人所说的那样。

But once he was married, what would become of this narrow margin of life in which his real experiences were lived?

但一旦他结婚了，他真实经历的这段狭窄的生活边缘会变成什么样子呢？

He had seen enough of other young men who had dreamed his dream, though perhaps less ardently, and who had gradually sunk into the placid and luxurious routine of their elders.

他已经看够了其他年轻人，他们也曾梦想过他的梦想，虽然也许不那么热情，但他们已经逐渐陷入了长辈平静而奢华的生活中。

From the office he sent a note by messenger to Madame Olenska, asking if he might call that afternoon, and begging her to let him find a reply at his club; but at the club he found nothing, nor did he receive any letter the following day.

他从办公室给奥兰斯卡夫人发了一封信，询问他是否可以在当天下午打电话，并恳求她让他在俱乐部找到答复；但在俱乐部里他什么也没找到，第二天也没有收到任何信。

This unexpected silence mortified him beyond reason, and though the next morning he saw a glorious cluster of yellow roses behind a florist's window-pane, he left it there.

这种出乎意料的沉默让他感到莫名的羞愧，尽管第二天早上他在一家花店的窗玻璃后面看到了一簇灿烂的黄玫瑰，但他还是把它留在那里了。

It was only on the third morning that he received a line by post from the Countess Olenska.

直到第三天早上，他才收到奥兰斯卡伯爵夫人的来信。

To his surprise it was dated from Skuytercliff, whither the van der Luydens had promptly retreated after putting the Duke on board his steamer.

令他惊讶的是，它是从斯库特克利夫出发的，范德卢登家族在将公爵送上他的轮船后立即撤退到那里。

"I ran away," the writer began abruptly (without the usual preliminaries), "the day after I saw you at the play, and these kind friends have taken me in.

“我逃跑了，”作者突然开始说道（没有通常的开头），“在我在戏剧中见到你的第二天，这些好心的朋友就收留了我。

I wanted to be quiet, and think things over.

我想安静下来，好好想一想。

You were right in telling me how kind they were; I feel myself so safe here.

你告诉我他们是多么友善，这是对的。我觉得自己在这里很安全。

I wish that you were with us." She ended with a conventional "Yours sincerely," and without any allusion to the date of her return.

我希望你和我们在一起。”她以传统的“此致”结束，并没有提及她回来的日期。

The tone of the note surprised the young man.

纸条的语气让年轻人感到惊讶。

What was Madame Olenska running away from, and why did she feel the need to be safe?

奥兰斯卡夫人在逃避什么？为什么她觉得需要安全？

His first thought was of some dark menace from abroad; then he reflected that he did not know her epistolary style, and that it might run to picturesque exaggeration.

他的第一个念头是来自国外的某种黑暗威胁。然后他反思说，他不了解她的书信风格，而且可能会显得夸张。

Women always exaggerated; and moreover she was not wholly at her ease in English, which she often spoke as if she were translating from the French.

女人总是夸张；此外，她说英语也不是很自如，她说英语时常常像是从法语翻译过来的。

"Je me suis évadée--" put in that way, the opening sentence immediately suggested that she might merely have wanted to escape from a boring round of engagements; which was very likely true, for he judged her to be capricious, and easily wearied of the pleasure of the moment.

“Je me suis evadée——”这么一说，开头那句话立刻就表明她可能只是想逃避一场无聊的约会；这很可能是真的，因为他认为她反复无常，而且很容易厌倦当下的快乐。

It amused him to think of the van der Luydens' having carried her off to Skuytercliff on a second visit, and this time for an indefinite period.

想到范德卢登夫妇第二次把她带到斯库特克利夫，而且这次是无限期的，他觉得很有趣。

The doors of Skuytercliff were rarely and grudgingly opened to visitors, and a chilly week-end was the most ever offered to the few thus privileged.

斯库特克利夫的大门很少且不情愿地向游客开放，而寒冷的周末是为少数享有特权的人提供的最多的机会。

But Archer had seen, on his last visit to Paris, the delicious play of Labiche, "Le Voyage de M.

但阿切尔在上次访问巴黎时看过拉比什的精彩戏剧“Le Voyage de M”。

Perrichon," and he remembered M.

佩里雄，”他想起了 M.

Perrichon's dogged and undiscouraged attachment to the young man whom he had pulled out of the glacier.

佩里雄对他从冰川中救出的年轻人有着顽强而坚定的依恋。

The van der Luydens had rescued Madame Olenska from a doom almost as icy; and though there were many other reasons for being attracted to her, Archer knew that beneath them all lay the gentle and obstinate determination to go on rescuing her.

范德卢登夫妇将奥兰斯卡夫人从几乎同样冰冷的厄运中拯救出来。尽管被她吸引的原因有很多，但阿切尔知道，在这些原因的背后，隐藏着继续拯救她的温和而顽强的决心。

He felt a distinct disappointment on learning that she was away; and almost immediately remembered that, only the day before, he had refused an invitation to spend the following Sunday with the Reggie Chiverses at their house on the Hudson, a few miles below Skuytercliff.

当得知她不在时，他感到非常失望。他几乎立即想起，就在前一天，他还拒绝了下周日与雷吉·奇弗斯一家在哈德逊河上的家中度过的邀请，哈德逊河位于斯库特克利夫下方几英里处。

He had had his fill long ago of the noisy friendly parties at Highbank, with coasting, ice-boating, sleighing, long tramps in the snow, and a general flavour of mild flirting and milder practical jokes.

他很久以前就已经厌倦了高岸的喧闹友好聚会，滑行、冰船、雪橇、雪地里的长途跋涉，以及温和的调情和温和的恶作剧的普遍味道。

He had just received a box of new books from his London book-seller, and had preferred the prospect of a quiet Sunday at home with his spoils.

他刚刚从伦敦书商那里收到一盒新书，更希望能在家里度过一个安静的周日，带着他的战利品。

But he now went into the club writing-room, wrote a hurried telegram, and told the servant to send it immediately.

但他现在走进俱乐部的写作室，匆忙写了一封电报，并让仆人立即发送。

He knew that Mrs. Reggie didn't object to her visitors' suddenly changing their minds, and that there was always a room to spare in her elastic house.

他知道雷吉夫人并不反对客人突然改变主意，而且她的弹性房子里总有一个空余的房间。

Newland Archer arrived at the Chiverses' on Friday evening, and on Saturday went conscientiously through all the rites appertaining to a week-end at Highbank.

纽兰·阿切尔于周五晚上抵达奇弗斯家，并于周六认真地完成了与在海班克度周末有关的所有仪式。

In the morning he had a spin in the ice-boat with his hostess and a few of the hardier guests; in the afternoon he "went over the farm" with Reggie, and listened, in the elaborately appointed stables, to long and impressive disquisitions on the horse; after tea he talked in a corner of the firelit hall with a young lady who had professed herself broken-hearted when his engagement was announced, but was now eager to tell him of her own matrimonial hopes; and finally, about midnight, he assisted in putting a gold-fish in one visitor's bed, dressed up a burglar in the bath-room of a nervous aunt, and saw in the small hours by joining in a pillow-fight that ranged from the nurseries to the basement.

早上，他和女主人以及几位比较坚强的客人一起在冰船上旋转。下午，他和雷吉一起“参观了农场”，在精心布置的马厩里聆听关于马的长篇大论，令人印象深刻。喝完茶后，他在火光照亮的大厅的一角与一位年轻女士交谈，这位年轻女士在他宣布订婚时表示自己心碎，但现在却急于告诉他自己的婚姻希望。最后，大约在午夜时分，他协助在一位客人的床上放了一条金鱼，在一位紧张的阿姨的浴室里为一名窃贼装扮，并在凌晨时分参加了一场从托儿所到地下室的枕头大战。

But on Sunday after luncheon he borrowed a cutter, and drove over to Skuytercliff.

但周日午餐后，他借了一把切割机，开车前往斯库特克利夫。

People had always been told that the house at Skuytercliff was an Italian villa.

人们总是被告知斯库特克利夫的房子是一座意大利别墅。

Those who had never been to Italy believed it; so did some who had.

那些从未去过意大利的人都相信这一点。一些曾经做过的人也是如此。

The house had been built by Mr. van der Luyden in his youth, on his return from the "grand tour," and in anticipation of his approaching marriage with Miss Louisa Dagonet.

这座房子是范德卢登先生年轻时建造的，当时他刚刚结束“盛大的旅行”，并期待着他与路易莎·达戈内特小姐即将结婚。

It was a large square wooden structure, with tongued and grooved walls painted pale green and white, a Corinthian portico, and fluted pilasters between the windows.

这是一座大型方形木结构建筑，墙壁上有榫槽，漆成淡绿色和白色，有科林斯式门廊，窗户之间有凹槽壁柱。

From the high ground on which it stood a series of terraces bordered by balustrades and urns descended in the steel-engraving style to a small irregular lake with an asphalt edge overhung by rare weeping conifers.

从它所在的高地上，一系列以栏杆和瓮为界的露台以钢雕风格下降，一直延伸到一个不规则的小湖，湖边有沥青，周围长满了罕见的垂枝针叶树。

To the right and left, the famous weedless lawns studded with "specimen" trees (each of a different variety) rolled away to long ranges of grass crested with elaborate cast-iron ornaments; and below, in a hollow, lay the four-roomed stone house which the first Patroon had built on the land granted him in 1612.

左右两侧是著名的无杂草草坪，草坪上种满了“标本”树（每棵树都有不同的品种），一直延伸到长长的草地，草地上覆盖着精致的铸铁装饰品。下面的一个洼地里，有一座四室石屋，是第一任赞助人在 1612 年授予他的土地上建造的。

Against the uniform sheet of snow and the greyish winter sky the Italian villa loomed up rather grimly; even in summer it kept its distance, and the boldest coleus bed had never ventured nearer than thirty feet from its awful front.

在均匀的积雪和冬日灰暗的天空的映衬下，意大利别墅显得相当阴森。即使在夏天，它也保持着一定的距离，最大胆的锦紫苏床也从未冒险离它可怕的正面超过三十英尺。

Now, as Archer rang the bell, the long tinkle seemed to echo through a mausoleum; and the surprise of the butler who at length responded to the call was as great as though he had been summoned from his final sleep.

现在，当阿切尔按响门铃时，悠长的叮当声似乎在陵墓中回响。终于响应召唤的管家大吃一惊，仿佛他是从最后的睡眠中被召唤出来的。

Happily Archer was of the family, and therefore, irregular though his arrival was, entitled to be informed that the Countess Olenska was out, having driven to afternoon service with Mrs. van der Luyden exactly three quarters of an hour earlier.

幸运的是，阿切尔是这个家庭的一员，因此，虽然他的到来不正常，但他有权获悉奥兰斯卡伯爵夫人外出了，她在三刻钟前与范德卢登夫人一起开车去参加下午的礼拜。

"Mr. van der Luyden," the butler continued, "is in, sir; but my impression is that he is either finishing his nap or else reading yesterday's Evening Post.

“范德卢登先生，”管家继续说道，“先生，在里面；但我的印象是，他要么正在午睡，要么正在读昨天的《晚邮报》。

I heard him say, sir, on his return from church this morning, that he intended to look through the Evening Post after luncheon; if you like, sir, I might go to the library door and listen--"

先生，今天早上他从教堂回来时，我听到他说，他打算在午饭后看看《晚邮报》；但他并没有这样做。如果您愿意，先生，我可以去图书馆门口听听——”

But Archer, thanking him, said that he would go and meet the ladies; and the butler, obviously relieved, closed the door on him majestically.

但阿切尔感谢了他，并说他要去见见女士们。管家显然松了口气，威严地为他关上了门。

A groom took the cutter to the stables, and Archer struck through the park to the high-road.

马夫把切割机开到马厩，阿切尔则穿过公园来到大路上。

The village of Skuytercliff was only a mile and a half away, but he knew that Mrs. van der Luyden never walked, and that he must keep to the road to meet the carriage.

斯库特克利夫村距离这里只有一英里半，但他知道范德卢登夫人从不走路，他必须沿着路去迎接马车。

Presently, however, coming down a foot-path that crossed the highway, he caught sight of a slight figure in a red cloak, with a big dog running ahead.

然而不久，当他沿着一条横穿高速公路的小路走下来时，他看到了一个穿着红色斗篷的瘦小人影，前面有一只大狗在跑。

He hurried forward, and Madame Olenska stopped short with a smile of welcome.

他快步向前走去，奥兰斯卡夫人突然停下来，微笑着表示欢迎。

"Ah, you've come!" she said, and drew her hand from her muff.

“啊，你来了！”她说着，把手从手筒里抽了出来。

The red cloak made her look gay and vivid, like the Ellen Mingott of old days; and he laughed as he took her hand, and answered: "I came to see what you were running away from."

红色的斗篷让她显得欢快而生动，就像昔日的艾伦·明戈特一样。他笑着握住她的手，回答道：“我是来看看你在逃避什么。”

Her face clouded over, but she answered: "Ah, well--you will see, presently."

她的脸色阴沉下来，但她回答道：“啊，好吧——你很快就会看到的。”

The answer puzzled him.

答案让他很困惑。

"Why--do you mean that you've been overtaken?"

“为什么——你的意思是你被追上了？”

She shrugged her shoulders, with a little movement like Nastasia's, and rejoined in a lighter tone: "Shall we walk on?

她耸了耸肩，做了一个像纳斯塔西娅一样的小动作，然后用更轻松的语气重新说道：“我们继续走吧？

I'm so cold after the sermon.

讲道结束后我感到很冷。

And what does it matter, now you're here to protect me?"

现在你来保护我又有什么关系呢？”

The blood rose to his temples and he caught a fold of her cloak.

鲜血涌上他的太阳穴，他抓住了她斗篷的一处褶子。

"Ellen--what is it?

“艾伦——什么事？

You must tell me."

你必须告诉我。”

"Oh, presently--let's run a race first: my feet are freezing to the ground," she cried; and gathering up the cloak she fled away across the snow, the dog leaping about her with challenging barks.

“噢，现在——我们先来赛跑吧：我的脚都快冻僵了，”她喊道。她捡起斗篷，穿过雪地逃走了，那只狗在她身边跳来跳去，发出挑战性的吠声。

For a moment Archer stood watching, his gaze delighted by the flash of the red meteor against the snow; then he started after her, and they met, panting and laughing, at a wicket that led into the park.

阿切尔站在那里观看了一会儿，他的目光因红色流星在雪地上的闪光而感到高兴。然后他开始追赶她，他们在通向公园的检票口相遇，气喘吁吁，大笑着。

She looked up at him and smiled.

她抬头看着他，微笑着。

"I knew you'd come!"

“我就知道你会来！”

"That shows you wanted me to," he returned, with a disproportionate joy in their nonsense.

“这表明你希望我这么做，”他回答道，对他们的胡言乱语感到不成比例的喜悦。

The white glitter of the trees filled the air with its own mysterious brightness, and as they walked on over the snow the ground seemed to sing under their feet.

树木闪烁着白色的光芒，空气中充满了神秘的光芒，当他们在雪地上行走时，大地似乎在他们脚下歌唱。

"Where did you come from?" Madame Olenska asked.

“你从哪里来？”奥兰斯卡夫人问道。

He told her, and added: "It was because I got your note."

他告诉她，并补充道：“这是因为我收到了你的字条。”

After a pause she said, with a just perceptible chill in her voice: "May asked you to take care of me."

停顿了一下，她的声音里带着一丝明显的寒意，说道：“梅请你照顾我。”

"I didn't need any asking."

“我不需要任何询问。”

"You mean--I'm so evidently helpless and defenceless?

“你的意思是——我显然是无助无助的？

What a poor thing you must all think me!

你们一定都认为我是多么可怜的人啊！

But women here seem not--seem never to feel the need: any more than the blessed in heaven."

但这里的女性似乎——似乎从来没有感觉到这种需要：就像天堂里的受祝福的人一样。”

He lowered his voice to ask: "What sort of a need?"

他压低声音问道：“有什么需要？”

"Ah, don't ask me!

“啊，别问我了！

I don't speak your language," she retorted petulantly.

我不会说你们的语言。”她暴躁地反驳道。

The answer smote him like a blow, and he stood still in the path, looking down at her.

这个答案对他来说就像一记重击，他一动不动地站在路上，低头看着她。

"What did I come for, if I don't speak yours?"

“如果我不说你的话，我来干什么？”

"Oh, my friend--!" She laid her hand lightly on his arm, and he pleaded earnestly: "Ellen--why won't you tell me what's happened?"

“哦，我的朋友——！”她把手轻轻放在他的手臂上，他恳切地恳求道：“艾伦——你为什么不告诉我发生了什么事？”

She shrugged again.

她又耸耸肩。

"Does anything ever happen in heaven?"

“天堂里有发生过什么事吗？”

He was silent, and they walked on a few yards without exchanging a word.

他沉默了，他们走了几码，没有说话。

Finally she said: "I will tell you--but where, where, where?

最后她说：“我会告诉你——但是在哪里，在哪里，在哪里？

One can't be alone for a minute in that great seminary of a house, with all the doors wide open, and always a servant bringing tea, or a log for the fire, or the newspaper!

在那座大神学院的房子里，一个人不能独处一分钟，所有的门都敞开着，总是有一个仆人送茶，或生火的木头，或报纸！

Is there nowhere in an American house where one may be by one's self?

美国的房子里没有地方可以让一个人独处吗？

You're so shy, and yet you're so public.

你是如此害羞，却又如此公开。

I always feel as if I were in the convent again--or on the stage, before a dreadfully polite audience that never applauds."

我总感觉自己好像又回到了修道院，或者站在舞台上，面前是一群极其有礼貌但从不鼓掌的观众。”

"Ah, you don't like us!" Archer exclaimed.

“啊，你不喜欢我们！”阿切尔惊呼道。

They were walking past the house of the old Patroon, with its squat walls and small square windows compactly grouped about a central chimney.

他们正走过老赞助人的房子，房子的墙壁很矮，方形的小窗户紧密地排列在中央烟囱的周围。

The shutters stood wide, and through one of the newly-washed windows Archer caught the light of a fire.

百叶窗开得很大，阿切尔透过一扇新洗过的窗户看到了火光。

"Why--the house is open!" he said.

“怎么——房子开门了！”他说。

She stood still.

她站着不动。

"No; only for today, at least.

“不；至少仅限今天。

I wanted to see it, and Mr. van der Luyden had the fire lit and the windows opened, so that we might stop there on the way back from church this morning." She ran up the steps and tried the door.

我想去看看，范德卢登先生点起了火，打开了窗户，这样我们今天早上从教堂回来的路上就可以在那里停下来。”她跑上台阶，尝试开门。

"It's still unlocked--what luck!

“它还没锁——真幸运！

Come in and we can have a quiet talk.

进来吧，我们可以安静地谈谈。

Mrs. van der Luyden has driven over to see her old aunts at Rhinebeck and we shan't be missed at the house for another hour."

范德卢登夫人已经开车去看她在莱茵贝克的老阿姨了，我们在家里再过一个小时就不会再错过了。”

He followed her into the narrow passage.

他跟着她走进狭窄的通道。

His spirits, which had dropped at her last words, rose with an irrational leap.

听到她的最后一句话，他的情绪低落了，但现在却莫名其妙地振奋了起来。

The homely little house stood there, its panels and brasses shining in the firelight, as if magically created to receive them.

那座朴素的小房子矗立在那里，它的镶板和黄铜在火光下闪闪发光，仿佛是为了容纳它们而被神奇地创造出来的。

A big bed of embers still gleamed in the kitchen chimney, under an iron pot hung from an ancient crane.

厨房烟囱里的一大堆余烬仍然闪闪发光，铁锅下面挂着一个古老的起重机。

Rush-bottomed arm-chairs faced each other across the tiled hearth, and rows of Delft plates stood on shelves against the walls.

灯芯草底扶手椅隔着瓷砖壁炉面对面摆放，靠墙的架子上摆着一排排代尔夫特盘子。

Archer stooped over and threw a log upon the embers.

阿切尔弯下腰，把一根木头扔到余烬上。

Madame Olenska, dropping her cloak, sat down in one of the chairs.

奥兰斯卡夫人脱下斗篷，在其中一张椅子上坐下。

Archer leaned against the chimney and looked at her.

阿切尔靠在烟囱上看着她。

"You're laughing now; but when you wrote me you were unhappy," he said.

“你现在在笑；但当你写信给我时，你并不高兴，”他说。

"Yes." She paused.

“是的。”她停了下来。

"But I can't feel unhappy when you're here."

“但有你在，我就不会感到不高兴。”

"I sha'n't be here long," he rejoined, his lips stiffening with the effort to say just so much and no more.

“我不会在这里呆太久，”他回答道，嘴唇僵硬，试图只说这么多，不再再说了。

"No; I know.

“不，我知道。

But I'm improvident: I live in the moment when I'm happy."

但我缺乏远见：我活在快乐的时刻。”

The words stole through him like a temptation, and to close his senses to it he moved away from the hearth and stood gazing out at the black tree-boles against the snow.

这句话像一种诱惑一样偷偷地穿过了他的心，为了让他感觉不到它，他离开了壁炉，站在那儿凝视着雪地上的黑色树干。

But it was as if she too had shifted her place, and he still saw her, between himself and the trees, drooping over the fire with her indolent smile.

但似乎她也换了位置，而他仍然看到她，在他和树木之间，带着懒洋洋的微笑，耷拉在火边。

Archer's heart was beating insubordinately.

Archer的心脏不听使唤地跳动着。

What if it were from him that she had been running away, and if she had waited to tell him so till they were here alone together in this secret room?

如果她是为了躲避他而逃跑，如果她等到他们单独在一起在这个秘密房间里才告诉他怎么办？

"Ellen, if I'm really a help to you--if you really wanted me to come--tell me what's wrong, tell me what it is you're running away from," he insisted.

“艾伦，如果我真的能帮到你——如果你真的想让我来——请告诉我出了什么问题，告诉我你在逃避什么，”他坚持道。

He spoke without shifting his position, without even turning to look at her: if the thing was to happen, it was to happen in this way, with the whole width of the room between them, and his eyes still fixed on the outer snow.

他说话时没有移动位置，甚至没有回头看她：如果事情要发生，就这样发生，他们之间有整个房间，他的眼睛仍然盯着外面的雪。

For a long moment she was silent; and in that moment Archer imagined her, almost heard her, stealing up behind him to throw her light arms about his neck.

她沉默了很长一段时间。就在那一刻，阿切尔想象着她，几乎听到了她的声音，她偷偷走到他身后，用轻柔的手臂搂住他的脖子。

While he waited, soul and body throbbing with the miracle to come, his eyes mechanically received the image of a heavily-coated man with his fur collar turned up who was advancing along the path to the house.

当他等待的时候，灵魂和身体都在为即将到来的奇迹而悸动，他的眼睛机械地看到了一个穿着厚重外套、毛领翻起的男人正沿着通往房子的小路前进的画面。

The man was Julius Beaufort.

这个人就是朱利叶斯·博福特。

"Ah--!" Archer cried, bursting into a laugh.

“啊 - ！”阿切尔哭了，放声大笑。

Madame Olenska had sprung up and moved to his side, slipping her hand into his; but after a glance through the window her face paled and she shrank back.

奥兰斯卡夫人跳了起来，走到他身边，把手伸进他的手里。但透过窗户看了一眼，她脸色苍白，退缩了。

"So that was it?" Archer said derisively.

“所以就这样了？”阿切尔嘲讽的说道。

"I didn't know he was here," Madame Olenska murmured.

“我不知道他在这里，”奥兰斯卡夫人低声说道。

Her hand still clung to Archer's; but he drew away from her, and walking out into the passage threw open the door of the house.

她的手仍然紧握着阿切尔的手。但他却从她身边走开，走进过道，打开了屋门。

"Hallo, Beaufort--this way!

“你好，博福特——这边走！

Madame Olenska was expecting you," he said.

奥兰斯卡夫人正在等你，”他说。

During his journey back to New York the next morning, Archer relived with a fatiguing vividness his last moments at Skuytercliff.

第二天早上，在返回纽约的途中，阿切尔以令人疲惫的生动方式重温了他在斯库特克利夫的最后时刻。

Beaufort, though clearly annoyed at finding him with Madame Olenska, had, as usual, carried off the situation high-handedly.

博福特虽然显然很恼火地发现他和奥兰斯卡夫人在一起，但还是像往常一样，用高压手段解决了这个问题。

His way of ignoring people whose presence inconvenienced him actually gave them, if they were sensitive to it, a feeling of invisibility, of nonexistence.

他忽视那些给他带来不便的人的方式实际上给了他们（如果他们对此敏感的话）一种隐形、不存在的感觉。

Archer, as the three strolled back through the park, was aware of this odd sense of disembodiment; and humbling as it was to his vanity it gave him the ghostly advantage of observing unobserved.

当三人漫步穿过公园时，阿切尔意识到了这种奇怪的脱离身体的感觉。尽管这对他的虚荣心来说是一种谦卑，但它却给了他一种幽灵般的优势，可以不被人注意地观察。

Beaufort had entered the little house with his usual easy assurance; but he could not smile away the vertical line between his eyes.

博福特带着他一贯的轻松自信走进了小房子。但他无法通过微笑消除双眼之间的垂直线。

It was fairly clear that Madame Olenska had not known that he was coming, though her words to Archer had hinted at the possibility; at any rate, she had evidently not told him where she was going when she left New York, and her unexplained departure had exasperated him.

很明显，奥兰斯卡夫人并不知道他会来，尽管她对阿切尔的话暗示了这种可能性。无论如何，她离开纽约时显然没有告诉他她要去哪里，她不明原因的离开激怒了他。

The ostensible reason of his appearance was the discovery, the very night before, of a "perfect little house," not in the market, which was really just the thing for her, but would be snapped up instantly if she didn't take it; and he was loud in mock-reproaches for the dance she had led him in running away just as he had found it.

他出现的表面原因是前一天晚上在市场上发现了一栋“完美的小房子”，这栋房子确实很适合她，但如果她不接受的话，就会立即被抢购一空；他大声地假装责备她在他发现时带他逃跑的舞蹈。

"If only this new dodge for talking along a wire had been a little bit nearer perfection I might have told you all this from town, and been toasting my toes before the club fire at this minute, instead of tramping after you through the snow," he grumbled, disguising a real irritation under the pretence of it; and at this opening Madame Olenska twisted the talk away to the fantastic possibility that they might one day actually converse with each other from street to street, or even--incredible dream!--from one town to another.

“要是这种沿着电线说话的新方法能更接近完美一点就好了，我可能会从城里告诉你这一切，并且此刻在俱乐部的火前烤我的脚趾，而不是在雪地里跟着你，”他抱怨道，在假装中掩饰了真正的恼怒；在这个开头，奥兰斯卡夫人把谈话转向了一种奇妙的可能性，即有一天他们可能真的从一条街走到另一条街，甚至——难以置信的梦想！——从一个城镇到另一个城镇。

This struck from all three allusions to Edgar Poe and Jules Verne, and such platitudes as naturally rise to the lips of the most intelligent when they are talking against time, and dealing with a new invention in which it would seem ingenuous to believe too soon; and the question of the telephone carried them safely back to the big house.

这来自对埃德加·坡和儒勒·凡尔纳的所有三个暗示，这些陈词滥调自然会出现在最聪明的人嘴里，当他们谈论时间，并处理一项新发明时，过早相信似乎是天真的；电话的询问让他们安全回到了大房子。

Mrs. van der Luyden had not yet returned; and Archer took his leave and walked off to fetch the cutter, while Beaufort followed the Countess Olenska indoors.

范德卢登夫人还没有回来。阿切尔告别后走去取刀具，而博福特则跟着奥兰斯卡伯爵夫人进了屋。

It was probable that, little as the van der Luydens encouraged unannounced visits, he could count on being asked to dine, and sent back to the station to catch the nine o'clock train; but more than that he would certainly not get, for it would be inconceivable to his hosts that a gentleman travelling without luggage should wish to spend the night, and distasteful to them to propose it to a person with whom they were on terms of such limited cordiality as Beaufort.

尽管范德卢登夫妇很少鼓励暗访，但他很可能会被请去吃饭，然后被送回车站赶九点钟的火车；不过，他很可能会被请去吃饭，然后被送回车站赶九点钟的火车。但不仅如此，他肯定不会得到更多，因为对于他的东道主来说，一位没有行李旅行的绅士想要过夜是不可思议的，而且他们也不愿意向像博福特这样与他们关系如此有限的热忱的人求婚。

Beaufort knew all this, and must have foreseen it; and his taking the long journey for so small a reward gave the measure of his impatience.

博福特知道这一切，并且一定预见到了这一点。他为了这么小的报酬而长途跋涉，足见他的不耐烦。

He was undeniably in pursuit of the Countess Olenska; and Beaufort had only one object in view in his pursuit of pretty women.

无可否认，他正在追求奥兰斯卡伯爵夫人。博福特追求漂亮女人的目标只有一个。

His dull and childless home had long since palled on him; and in addition to more permanent consolations he was always in quest of amorous adventures in his own set.

他沉闷且没有孩子的家庭早已让他感到厌烦。除了更永久的安慰之外，他总是在自己的圈子里寻求爱情的冒险。

This was the man from whom Madame Olenska was avowedly flying: the question was whether she had fled because his importunities displeased her, or because she did not wholly trust herself to resist them; unless, indeed, all her talk of flight had been a blind, and her departure no more than a manœuvre.

奥兰斯卡夫人公开宣称要逃离这个男人：问题在于，她之所以逃离，是因为他的纠缠让她不高兴，还是因为她不完全相信自己能够抵抗他的纠缠；或者是因为她无法完全相信自己能够抵抗他的纠缠。事实上，除非她所有关于逃跑的言论都是盲目的，而她的离开只不过是一次演习。

Archer did not really believe this.

阿切尔不太相信这一点。

Little as he had actually seen of Madame Olenska, he was beginning to think that he could read her face, and if not her face, her voice; and both had betrayed annoyance, and even dismay, at Beaufort's sudden appearance.

尽管他几乎没有真正见过奥兰斯卡夫人，但他开始认为他能读懂她的脸，即使不是她的脸，也能读懂她的声音。对于博福特的突然出现，两人都表现出了恼怒，甚至沮丧。

But, after all, if this were the case, was it not worse than if she had left New York for the express purpose of meeting him?

但毕竟，如果真是这样，那不是比她为了见他而离开纽约更糟糕吗？

If she had done that, she ceased to be an object of interest, she threw in her lot with the vulgarest of dissemblers: a woman engaged in a love affair with Beaufort "classed" herself irretrievably.

如果她这样做了，她就不再是人们感兴趣的对象，她就会把自己的命运与最粗俗的伪装者联系在一起：一个与博福特陷入爱情的女人无可挽回地“归入”自己的行列。

No, it was worse a thousand times if, judging Beaufort, and probably despising him, she was yet drawn to him by all that gave him an advantage over the other men about her: his habit of two continents and two societies, his familiar association with artists and actors and people generally in the world's eye, and his careless contempt for local prejudices.

不，如果她评判博福特，也许还鄙视他，却被博福特比她身边的其他男人有优势的一切所吸引，那就更糟了一千倍：他习惯于两大洲和两个社会，他与艺术家、演员和世界上普遍关注的人有着熟悉的联系，以及他对当地偏见的漫不经心的蔑视。

Beaufort was vulgar, he was uneducated, he was purse-proud; but the circumstances of his life, and a certain native shrewdness, made him better worth talking to than many men, morally and socially his betters, whose horizon was bounded by the Battery and the Central Park.

博福特很粗俗，没有受过教育，而且很吝啬。但他的生活环境和天生的精明，使他比许多人更值得交谈，在道德上和社会上都比他更好，他们的视野以炮台和中央公园为界。

How should any one coming from a wider world not feel the difference and be attracted by it?

一个来自更广阔世界的人怎么能不感受到这种差异并被它所吸引呢？

Madame Olenska, in a burst of irritation, had said to Archer that he and she did not talk the same language; and the young man knew that in some respects this was true.

奥兰斯卡夫人勃然大怒，对阿切尔说，他和她说的不是同一种语言。年轻人知道在某些方面这是真的。

But Beaufort understood every turn of her dialect, and spoke it fluently: his view of life, his tone, his attitude, were merely a coarser reflection of those revealed in Count Olenski's letter.

但博福特听懂了她方言的每一个变化，而且说得很流利：他的人生观、他的语气、他的态度，只不过是奥伦斯基伯爵信中所揭示的内容的粗略反映。

This might seem to be to his disadvantage with Count Olenski's wife; but Archer was too intelligent to think that a young woman like Ellen Olenska would necessarily recoil from everything that reminded her of her past.

对于奥伦斯基伯爵的妻子来说，这似乎对他不利。但阿切尔太聪明了，他认为像埃伦·奥兰斯卡这样的年轻女子一定会回避所有让她想起过去的事情。

She might believe herself wholly in revolt against it; but what had charmed her in it would still charm her, even though it were against her will.

她可能相信自己完全反抗它；但其中那些令她着迷的东西仍然会令她着迷，尽管这违背了她的意愿。

Thus, with a painful impartiality, did the young man make out the case for Beaufort, and for Beaufort's victim.

就这样，年轻人怀着痛苦的公正态度，为博福特和博福特的受害者阐明了案情。

A longing to enlighten her was strong in him; and there were moments when he imagined that all she asked was to be enlightened.

他内心强烈地渴望启发她。有时他以为她所要求的只是得到启发。

That evening he unpacked his books from London.

那天晚上，他从伦敦打开了书包。

The box was full of things he had been waiting for impatiently; a new volume of Herbert Spencer, another collection of the prolific Alphonse Daudet's brilliant tales, and a novel called "Middlemarch," as to which there had lately been interesting things said in the reviews.

盒子里装满了他焦急等待的东西；赫伯特·斯宾塞的新书、多产的阿尔方斯·都德的另一本精彩故事集，以及一本名为《米德尔马契》的小说，最近评论中提到了一些有趣的事情。

He had declined three dinner invitations in favour of this feast; but though he turned the pages with the sensuous joy of the book-lover, he did not know what he was reading, and one book after another dropped from his hand.

为了参加这场盛宴，他已经拒绝了三份晚宴邀请。尽管他带着爱书者的感官愉悦翻着书页，但他不知道自己在读什么，一本又一本的书从他手中掉落。

Suddenly, among them, he lit on a small volume of verse which he had ordered because the name had attracted him: "The House of Life." He took it up, and found himself plunged in an atmosphere unlike any he had ever breathed in books; so warm, so rich, and yet so ineffably tender, that it gave a new and haunting beauty to the most elementary of human passions.

突然，他在其中看到了一本他订购的小诗集，因为它的名字吸引了他：《生命之家》。他拿起它，发现自己陷入了一种不同于他在书本中呼吸过的气氛中；如此温暖，如此丰富，又如此难以言喻的温柔，它给人类最基本的激情带来了一种新的、令人难以忘怀的美。

All through the night he pursued through those enchanted pages the vision of a woman who had the face of Ellen Olenska; but when he woke the next morning, and looked out at the brownstone houses across the street, and thought of his desk in Mr. Letterblair's office, and the family pew in Grace Church, his hour in the park of Skuytercliff became as far outside the pale of probability as the visions of the night.

整个晚上，他在那些令人着迷的书页中追寻着一个有着艾伦·奥兰斯卡面孔的女人的幻象。但当他第二天早上醒来，望着街对面的褐砂石房屋，想起莱特布莱尔先生办公室里的办公桌和格雷斯教堂里的家人长椅时，他在斯库特克利夫公园的时光就变得像夜晚的幻象一样遥远。

"Mercy, how pale you look, Newland!" Janey commented over the coffee-cups at breakfast; and his mother added: "Newland, dear, I've noticed lately that you've been coughing; I do hope you're not letting yourself be overworked?" For it was the conviction of both ladies that, under the iron despotism of his senior partners, the young man's life was spent in the most exhausting professional labours--and he had never thought it necessary to undeceive them.

“慈悲，你看起来多么苍白啊，纽兰！”早餐时，珍妮对着咖啡杯发表了评论。他的母亲补充道：“纽兰，亲爱的，我最近注意到你一直在咳嗽；我真的希望你不要让自己过度劳累？”因为两位女士都坚信，在他高级合伙人的铁腕专制下，年轻人的一生都在最疲惫的职业劳动中度过——而他从来不认为有必要去欺骗她们。

The next two or three days dragged by heavily.

接下来的两三天，日子过得很艰难。

The taste of the usual was like cinders in his mouth, and there were moments when he felt as if he were being buried alive under his future.

平常的味道在他嘴里就像是煤渣，有时他感觉自己仿佛被活埋在未来之下。

He heard nothing of the Countess Olenska, or of the perfect little house, and though he met Beaufort at the club they merely nodded at each other across the whist-tables.

他没有听说过奥兰斯卡伯爵夫人，也没有听说过这座完美的小房子，尽管他在俱乐部遇见了博福特，但他们只是隔着惠斯特牌桌互相点了点头。

It was not till the fourth evening that he found a note awaiting him on his return home.

直到第四天晚上，他才在回家时发现一张纸条在等着他。

"Come late tomorrow: I must explain to you.

“明天晚点来：我必须向你解释。

Ellen." These were the only words it contained.

艾伦。”这是其中仅有的几个字。

The young man, who was dining out, thrust the note into his pocket, smiling a little at the Frenchness of the "to you." After dinner he went to a play; and it was not until his return home, after midnight, that he drew Madame Olenska's missive out again and re-read it slowly a number of times.

正在外面吃饭的年轻人把纸条塞进口袋里，对“给你”的法语味道微微一笑。晚饭后他去看戏。直到午夜过后回到家，他才把奥兰斯卡夫人的信又拿出来，慢慢地读了好几遍。

There were several ways of answering it, and he gave considerable thought to each one during the watches of an agitated night.

回答这个问题的方法有好几种，在这焦躁不安的夜晚，他对每一种方法都进行了深思熟虑。

That on which, when morning came, he finally decided was to pitch some clothes into a portmanteau and jump on board a boat that was leaving that very afternoon for St. Augustine.

当早晨到来时，他最终决定将一些衣服放入手提包中，然后跳上一艘当天下午离开前往圣奥古斯丁的船。

XVI.

十六．

When Archer walked down the sandy main street of St. Augustine to the house which had been pointed out to him as Mr. Welland's, and saw May Welland standing under a magnolia with the sun in her hair, he wondered why he had waited so long to come.

当阿切尔沿着圣奥古斯丁的沙质主街走到韦兰先生的房子时，看到梅·韦兰站在一棵木兰下，阳光照在她的头发上，他想知道为什么他等了这么久才来。

Here was the truth, here was reality, here was the life that belonged to him; and he, who fancied himself so scornful of arbitrary restraints, had been afraid to break away from his desk because of what people might think of his stealing a holiday!

这是真理，这是现实，这是属于他的生活；他自认为对任意的限制如此蔑视，却一直不敢离开办公桌，因为人们可能会认为他偷了一个假期！

Her first exclamation was: "Newland--has anything happened?" and it occurred to him that it would have been more "feminine" if she had instantly read in his eyes why he had come.

她的第一声惊呼是：“纽兰——发生什么事了吗？”他突然想到，如果她能立即从他的眼神中看出他来的原因，那就更“女性化”了。

But when he answered: "Yes--I found I had to see you," her happy blushes took the chill from her surprise, and he saw how easily he would be forgiven, and how soon even Mr. Letterblair's mild disapproval would be smiled away by a tolerant family.

但当他回答说：“是的——我发现我必须要见你。”她高兴的脸红了，消除了她惊讶中的寒意，他看到自己是多么容易被原谅，而且很快，即使是莱特布莱尔先生温和的反对，也会被一个宽容的家庭一笑置之。

Early as it was, the main street was no place for any but formal greetings, and Archer longed to be alone with May, and to pour out all his tenderness and his impatience.

早些时候，大街上除了正式的问候之外没有任何地方，阿切尔渴望单独和梅在一起，倾吐他所有的温柔和不耐烦。

It still lacked an hour to the late Welland breakfast-time, and instead of asking him to come in she proposed that they should walk out to an old orange-garden beyond the town.

距离韦兰吃早餐的时间还有一个小时，她没有请他进来，而是建议他们步行到镇外的一个古老的橘子园。

She had just been for a row on the river, and the sun that netted the little waves with gold seemed to have caught her in its meshes.

她刚刚在河上划了船，阳光为小浪铺上了金色的网，似乎把她也困在了网中。

Across the warm brown of her cheek her blown hair glittered like silver wire; and her eyes too looked lighter, almost pale in their youthful limpidity.

暖棕色的脸颊上，吹散的头发像银丝一样闪闪发光；她的眼睛也显得更亮，年轻时的清澈几乎是苍白的。

As she walked beside Archer with her long swinging gait her face wore the vacant serenity of a young marble athlete.

当她迈着长长的摇摆步态走在阿切尔身边时，她的脸上带着年轻大理石运动员那种空洞的平静。

To Archer's strained nerves the vision was as soothing as the sight of the blue sky and the lazy river.

对于阿切尔紧张的神经来说，这个景象就像蓝天和漂流河一样令人舒缓。

They sat down on a bench under the orange-trees and he put his arm about her and kissed her.

他们在橘子树下的长凳上坐下，他用手臂搂住她，吻了她。

It was like drinking at a cold spring with the sun on it; but his pressure may have been more vehement than he had intended, for the blood rose to her face and she drew back as if he had startled her.

就像在阳光明媚的情况下喝一口冷泉一样；但他的压力可能比他预想的更猛烈，因为血色涨到了她的脸上，她向后退了一步，好像他吓到了她一样。

"What is it?" he asked, smiling; and she looked at him with surprise, and answered: "Nothing."

“那是什么？”他微笑着问道；她惊讶地看着他，回答道：“没什么。”

A slight embarrassment fell on them, and her hand slipped out of his.

他们感到一阵轻微的尴尬，她的手从他的手里滑了出来。

It was the only time that he had kissed her on the lips except for their fugitive embrace in the Beaufort conservatory, and he saw that she was disturbed, and shaken out of her cool boyish composure.

这是他唯一一次亲吻她的嘴唇，除了他们在博福特音乐学院短暂的拥抱之外，他看到她很不安，从她那冷静的孩子气的镇静中摇了出来。

"Tell me what you do all day," he said, crossing his arms under his tilted-back head, and pushing his hat forward to screen the sun-dazzle.

“告诉我你一整天都在做什么，”他说，双臂交叉在后仰的头下，并将帽子向前推以遮挡刺眼的阳光。

To let her talk about familiar and simple things was the easiest way of carrying on his own independent train of thought; and he sat listening to her simple chronicle of swimming, sailing and riding, varied by an occasional dance at the primitive inn when a man-of-war came in.

让她说一些熟悉的、简单的事情，是最容易延续自己独立思路的方式。他坐着听她简单地讲述游泳、航海和骑马的故事，当一艘战舰进来时，她偶尔会在简陋的旅店里跳舞。

A few pleasant people from Philadelphia and Baltimore were picknicking at the inn, and the Selfridge Merrys had come down for three weeks because Kate Merry had had bronchitis.

一些来自费城和巴尔的摩的友善的人在旅馆里野餐，塞尔弗里奇·梅里一家因为凯特·梅里得了支气管炎而已经待了三个星期。

They were planning to lay out a lawn tennis court on the sands; but no one but Kate and May had racquets, and most of the people had not even heard of the game.

他们计划在沙滩上修建一个草坪网球场；但除了凯特和梅之外，没有人有球拍，大多数人甚至没有听说过这项运动。

All this kept her very busy, and she had not had time to do more than look at the little vellum book that Archer had sent her the week before (the "Sonnets from the Portuguese"); but she was learning by heart "How they brought the Good News from Ghent to Aix," because it was one of the first things he had ever read to her; and it amused her to be able to tell him that Kate Merry had never even heard of a poet called Robert Browning.

所有这一切都让她非常忙碌，除了看看一周前阿切尔寄给她的那本牛皮纸小书（《葡萄牙人的十四行诗》）之外，她没有时间做更多的事情；但她没有时间做更多的事情。但她正在背诵“他们如何将好消息从根特带到艾克斯”，因为这是他读给她听的第一件事；她很高兴能够告诉他凯特·梅里甚至从未听说过一个叫罗伯特·勃朗宁的诗人。

Presently she started up, exclaiming that they would be late for breakfast; and they hurried back to the tumble-down house with its pointless porch and unpruned hedge of plumbago and pink geraniums where the Wellands were installed for the winter.

不久，她惊呼起来，说他们吃早饭要迟到了。他们匆忙回到那栋破旧的房子，那里的门廊毫无意义，还有未经修剪的石墨和粉红色天竺葵树篱，韦兰夫妇就在那里过冬。

Mr. Welland's sensitive domesticity shrank from the discomforts of the slovenly southern hotel, and at immense expense, and in face of almost insuperable difficulties, Mrs. Welland was obliged, year after year, to improvise an establishment partly made up of discontented New York servants and partly drawn from the local African supply.

韦兰先生敏感的家庭生活对邋遢的南方旅馆的不舒适感感到畏缩，韦兰夫人花费巨资，面对几乎无法克服的困难，年复一年，不得不临时搭建一个机构，部分由心怀不满的纽约仆人组成，部分来自当地的非洲供应。

"The doctors want my husband to feel that he is in his own home; otherwise he would be so wretched that the climate would not do him any good," she explained, winter after winter, to the sympathising Philadelphians and Baltimoreans; and Mr. Welland, beaming across a breakfast table miraculously supplied with the most varied delicacies, was presently saying to Archer: "You see, my dear fellow, we camp--we literally camp.

“医生希望我的丈夫觉得他是在自己的家里；否则他会非常痛苦，气候对他没有任何好处，”她一个冬天又一个冬天向同情的费城人和巴尔的摩人解释道；韦兰先生满脸笑容地看着一张奇迹般地摆满了各种美味佳肴的早餐桌，立即对阿切尔说：“你看，我亲爱的朋友，我们露营——我们真的露营。

I tell my wife and May that I want to teach them how to rough it."

我告诉我的妻子和梅，我想教他们如何度过难关。”

Mr. and Mrs. Welland had been as much surprised as their daughter by the young man's sudden arrival; but it had occurred to him to explain that he had felt himself on the verge of a nasty cold, and this seemed to Mr. Welland an all-sufficient reason for abandoning any duty.

对于这个年轻人的突然到来，韦兰夫妇和他们的女儿一样感到惊讶。但他突然想到要解释一下，他感觉自己快要患上重感冒了，在韦兰先生看来，这似乎是放弃任何职责的充分理由。

"You can't be too careful, especially toward spring," he said, heaping his plate with straw-coloured griddle-cakes and drowning them in golden syrup.

“再小心也不为过，尤其是在春天，”他边说边在盘子里堆满了稻草色的煎饼，然后把它们淹没在金色的糖​​浆里。

"If I'd only been as prudent at your age May would have been dancing at the Assemblies now, instead of spending her winters in a wilderness with an old invalid."

“如果我在你这个年纪那么谨慎的话，梅现在就会在议会跳舞，而不是在荒野里和一个年老的病人一起过冬。”

"Oh, but I love it here, Papa; you know I do.

“哦，但我喜欢这里，爸爸；你知道我喜欢。

If only Newland could stay I should like it a thousand times better than New York."

如果纽兰能留下来，我会比纽约更喜欢它一千倍。”

"Newland must stay till he has quite thrown off his cold," said Mrs. Welland indulgently; and the young man laughed, and said he supposed there was such a thing as one's profession.

“纽兰必须留下来，直到他完全摆脱感冒为止。”韦兰太太宽容地说。年轻人笑了，说他认为有职业这样的东西。

He managed, however, after an exchange of telegrams with the firm, to make his cold last a week; and it shed an ironic light on the situation to know that Mr. Letterblair's indulgence was partly due to the satisfactory way in which his brilliant young junior partner had settled the troublesome matter of the Olenski divorce.

然而，在与公司交换电报后，他设法让感冒持续了一周。具有讽刺意味的是，莱特布莱尔先生的纵容部分是由于他才华横溢的年轻初级合伙人以令人满意的方式解决了奥伦斯基离婚的麻烦问题。

Mr. Letterblair had let Mrs. Welland know that Mr. Archer had "rendered an invaluable service" to the whole family, and that old Mrs. Manson Mingott had been particularly pleased; and one day when May had gone for a drive with her father in the only vehicle the place produced Mrs. Welland took occasion to touch on a topic which she always avoided in her daughter's presence.

莱特布莱尔先生让韦兰夫人知道，阿切尔先生为整个家庭“提供了无价的服务”，老曼森·明戈特夫人对此特别高兴。有一天，梅和父亲开着当地生产的唯一一辆车去兜风，韦兰太太趁机谈到了她在女儿面前总是回避的话题。

"I'm afraid Ellen's ideas are not at all like ours.

“恐怕艾伦的想法和我们的完全不一样。

She was barely eighteen when Medora Manson took her back to Europe--you remember the excitement when she appeared in black at her coming-out ball?

当梅多拉·曼森 (Medora Manson) 带她回到欧洲时，她还不到十八岁——你还记得她一身黑衣出现在出柜舞会上时的兴奋吗？

Another of Medora's fads--really this time it was almost prophetic!

梅多拉的另一个时尚——这次真的几乎是预言性的！

That must have been at least twelve years ago; and since then Ellen has never been to America.

那至少是十二年前的事了；从那时起，艾伦就再也没有去过美国。

No wonder she is completely Europeanised."

难怪她完全欧洲化了。”

"But European society is not given to divorce: Countess Olenska thought she would be conforming to American ideas in asking for her freedom." It was the first time that the young man had pronounced her name since he had left Skuytercliff, and he felt the colour rise to his cheek.

“但欧洲社会不允许离婚：奥兰斯卡伯爵夫人认为她要求自由会符合美国的观念。”自从离开斯库特克利夫以来，这是这个年轻人第一次说出她的名字，他感到脸颊泛红。

Mrs. Welland smiled compassionately.

韦兰夫人慈悲地微笑着。

"That is just like the extraordinary things that foreigners invent about us.

“这就像外国人为我们发明的非凡事物一样。

They think we dine at two o'clock and countenance divorce!

他们认为我们两点吃饭就支持离婚！

That is why it seems to me so foolish to entertain them when they come to New York.

这就是为什么在我看来，当他们来到纽约时招待他们是多么愚蠢。

They accept our hospitality, and then they go home and repeat the same stupid stories."

他们接受了我们的款待，然后回家又重复同样的愚蠢故事。”

Archer made no comment on this, and Mrs. Welland continued: "But we do most thoroughly appreciate your persuading Ellen to give up the idea.

阿切尔对此没有发表任何评论，韦兰夫人继续说道：“但我们非常感谢您说服艾伦放弃这个想法。

Her grandmother and her uncle Lovell could do nothing with her; both of them have written that her changing her mind was entirely due to your influence--in fact she said so to her grandmother.

她的祖母和叔叔洛弗尔对她无能为力。他们两人都写道，她改变主意完全是由于你的影响——事实上她是对她的祖母这么说的。

She has an unbounded admiration for you.

她对你有无限的钦佩。

Poor Ellen--she was always a wayward child.

可怜的艾伦——她一直是个任性的孩子。

I wonder what her fate will be?"

我不知道她的命运会怎样？”

"What we've all contrived to make it," he felt like answering.

“这是我们共同努力做到的，”他很想回答。

"If you'd all of you rather she should be Beaufort's mistress than some decent fellow's wife you've certainly gone the right way about it."

“如果你们所有人都希望她成为博福特的情妇，而不是某个正派男人的妻子，那么你们的做法肯定是正确的。”

He wondered what Mrs. Welland would have said if he had uttered the words instead of merely thinking them.

他想知道如果他把这些话说出来而不是仅仅在心里想的话，韦兰夫人会说什么。

He could picture the sudden decomposure of her firm placid features, to which a lifelong mastery over trifles had given an air of factitious authority.

他可以想象她那坚定、平静的面容突然崩溃了，她一生对琐事的掌控赋予了她一种虚假的权威气息。

Traces still lingered on them of a fresh beauty like her daughter's; and he asked himself if May's face was doomed to thicken into the same middle-aged image of invincible innocence.

他们身上还残留着像她女儿一样清新美丽的痕迹。他问自己，梅的脸是否注定会变厚，变成同样的无敌纯真的中年形象。

Ah, no, he did not want May to have that kind of innocence, the innocence that seals the mind against imagination and the heart against experience!

啊，不，他不想让梅有那样的纯真，这种纯真使头脑无法想象，心灵无法经历经验！

"I verily believe," Mrs. Welland continued, "that if the horrible business had come out in the newspapers it would have been my husband's death-blow.

“我坚信，”韦兰夫人继续说道，“如果报纸上报道了这件可怕的事情，那对我丈夫来说将是致命的一击。

I don't know any of the details; I only ask not to, as I told poor Ellen when she tried to talk to me about it.

我不知道任何细节；我只是要求不要这样做，正如当可怜的艾伦试图与我谈论这件事时我告诉她的那样。

Having an invalid to care for, I have to keep my mind bright and happy.

有一个病人需要照顾，我必须保持头脑明亮和快乐。

But Mr. Welland was terribly upset; he had a slight temperature every morning while we were waiting to hear what had been decided.

但韦兰先生非常沮丧。每天早上，当我们等待听到决定的时候，他都会发烧。

It was the horror of his girl's learning that such things were possible--but of course, dear Newland, you felt that too.

他的女儿得知这样的事情是可能的，这让他感到恐惧——当然，亲爱的纽兰，你也有这种感觉。

We all knew that you were thinking of May."

我们都知道你在想梅。”

"I'm always thinking of May," the young man rejoined, rising to cut short the conversation.

“我一直在想着梅，”年轻人回答道，站起来打断了谈话。

He had meant to seize the opportunity of his private talk with Mrs. Welland to urge her to advance the date of his marriage.

他本想利用与韦兰夫人私下谈话的机会，敦促她提前结婚。

But he could think of no arguments that would move her, and with a sense of relief he saw Mr. Welland and May driving up to the door.

但他想不出任何理由可以打动她，当他看到韦兰先生和梅开车到门口时，他松了口气。

His only hope was to plead again with May, and on the day before his departure he walked with her to the ruinous garden of the Spanish Mission.

他唯一的希望就是再次向梅求情，在他出发的前一天，他和她一起走到了西班牙传教所破败的花园。

The background lent itself to allusions to European scenes; and May, who was looking her loveliest under a wide-brimmed hat that cast a shadow of mystery over her too-clear eyes, kindled into eagerness as he spoke of Granada and the Alhambra.

背景暗示了欧洲的场景；梅戴着一顶宽边帽子，看上去非常可爱，她那双清澈的眼睛蒙上了一层神秘的阴影，当他谈到格拉纳达和阿尔罕布拉宫时，她的热情被点燃了。

"We might be seeing it all this spring--even the Easter ceremonies at Seville," he urged, exaggerating his demands in the hope of a larger concession.

“今年春天我们可能会看到这种情况——甚至是塞维利亚的复活节仪式，”他敦促道，夸大了自己的要求，希望能得到更大的让步。

"Easter in Seville?

“塞维利亚的复活节？

And it will be Lent next week!" she laughed.

下周就是四旬斋了！”她笑了。

"Why shouldn't we be married in Lent?" he rejoined; but she looked so shocked that he saw his mistake.

“为什么我们不应该在四旬斋结婚呢？”他重新加入；但她看上去非常震惊，他看出了自己的错误。

"Of course I didn't mean that, dearest; but soon after Easter--so that we could sail at the end of April.

“当然我不是那个意思，亲爱的；但是复活节过后不久——这样我们就可以在四月底启航。

I know I could arrange it at the office."

我知道我可以在办公室安排。”

She smiled dreamily upon the possibility; but he perceived that to dream of it sufficed her.

想到这个可能性，她梦幻般地笑了笑。但他觉得她只要有这样的梦想就足够了。

It was like hearing him read aloud out of his poetry books the beautiful things that could not possibly happen in real life.

就像听到他从诗书中大声朗读现实生活中不可能发生的美好事物一样。

"Oh, do go on, Newland; I do love your descriptions."

“哦，继续说吧，纽兰；我真的很喜欢你的描述。”

"But why should they be only descriptions?

“但为什么它们只是描述呢？

Why shouldn't we make them real?"

我们为什么不让它们成为现实呢？”

"We shall, dearest, of course; next year." Her voice lingered over it.

“我们当然会，亲爱的，明年。”她的声音在上面徘徊。

"Don't you want them to be real sooner?

“你不想让他们早点成为现实吗？

Can't I persuade you to break away now?"

我现在就不能劝你分手吗？”

She bowed her head, vanishing from him under her conniving hat-brim.

她低下头，从他那阴险的帽檐下消失了。

"Why should we dream away another year?

“为什么我们要梦想再过一年呢？

Look at me, dear!

看着我，亲爱的！

Don't you understand how I want you for my wife?"

你难道不明白我多么希望你成为我的妻子吗？”

For a moment she remained motionless; then she raised on him eyes of such despairing clearness that he half-released her waist from his hold.

有一会儿，她一动不动。然后她抬起头来，用一双绝望而清澈的眼睛看着他，他半松开了她的腰。

But suddenly her look changed and deepened inscrutably.

但突然，她的神色一变，变得深不可测。

"I'm not sure if I _do_ understand," she said.

“我不确定我是否理解，”她说。

"Is it--is it because you're not certain of continuing to care for me?"

“是……是因为你不确定是否会继续关心我？”

Archer sprang up from his seat.

阿切尔从座位上跳了起来。

"My God--perhaps--I don't know," he broke out angrily.

“天哪——也许——我不知道，”他愤怒地说道。

May Welland rose also; as they faced each other she seemed to grow in womanly stature and dignity.

梅·韦兰也升起；当他们面对面时，她的女性身材和尊严似乎都在成长。

Both were silent for a moment, as if dismayed by the unforeseen trend of their words: then she said in a low voice: "If that is it--is there some one else?"

两人都沉默了片刻，似乎对自己的言语走向感到沮丧：然后她低声说道：“如果是这样的话——还有其他人吗？”

"Some one else--between you and me?" He echoed her words slowly, as though they were only half-intelligible and he wanted time to repeat the question to himself.

“还有一个人——你和我之间？”他缓慢地重复着她的话，仿佛这些话只是半知半解，他需要时间对自己重复这个问题。

She seemed to catch the uncertainty of his voice, for she went on in a deepening tone: "Let us talk frankly, Newland.

她似乎听出了他声音中的不确定性，用低沉的语气继续说道：“让我们开诚布公地谈谈吧，纽兰。

Sometimes I've felt a difference in you; especially since our engagement has been announced."

有时我能感觉到你的不同；尤其是自从我们宣布订婚以来。”

"Dear--what madness!" he recovered himself to exclaim.

“亲爱的——多么疯狂啊！”他恢复了平静，惊呼道。

She met his protest with a faint smile.

她以淡淡的微笑回应了他的抗议。

"If it is, it won't hurt us to talk about it." She paused, and added, lifting her head with one of her noble movements: "Or even if it's true: why shouldn't we speak of it?

“如果是的话，我们讨论一下也不会有什么坏处。”她停顿了一下，用一种高贵的动作抬起头，补充道：“或者即使这是真的：我们为什么不应该谈论它呢？

You might so easily have made a mistake."

你可能很容易犯错误。”

He lowered his head, staring at the black leaf-pattern on the sunny path at their feet.

他低下头，盯着脚下阳光明媚的小路上黑色的树叶图案。

"Mistakes are always easy to make; but if I had made one of the kind you suggest, is it likely that I should be imploring you to hasten our marriage?"

“错误总是很容易犯的；但如果我犯了你建议的那种错误，我是否应该恳求你加快我们的婚姻？”

She looked downward too, disturbing the pattern with the point of her sunshade while she struggled for expression.

她也低下头，一边用遮阳伞的尖端扰乱了图案，一边努力想表达自己的意思。

"Yes," she said at length.

“是的，”她最后说道。

"You might want--once for all--to settle the question: it's one way."

“你可能想要——一劳永逸地——解决这个问题：这是一种方法。”

Her quiet lucidity startled him, but did not mislead him into thinking her insensible.

她安静的清醒让他吃了一惊，但并没有让他误以为她麻木不仁。

Under her hat-brim he saw the pallor of her profile, and a slight tremor of the nostril above her resolutely steadied lips.

在她的帽檐下，他看到了她苍白的侧脸，以及她坚决镇定的嘴唇上方鼻孔的轻微颤抖。

"Well--?" he questioned, sitting down on the bench, and looking up at her with a frown that he tried to make playful.

“出色地 - ？”他问道，坐在长凳上，抬起头看着她，皱着眉头，试图装出一副玩笑的样子。

She dropped back into her seat and went on: "You mustn't think that a girl knows as little as her parents imagine.

她坐回座位上，继续说道：“你千万不要认为一个女孩知道的事情没有她父母想象的那么少。

One hears and one notices--one has one's feelings and ideas.

一听一觉——一个人有自己的感受和想法。

And of course, long before you told me that you cared for me, I'd known that there was some one else you were interested in; every one was talking about it two years ago at Newport.

当然，早在你告诉我你关心我之前，我就知道你对另外一个人感兴趣；两年前在纽波特，每个人都在谈论这件事。

And once I saw you sitting together on the verandah at a dance--and when she came back into the house her face was sad, and I felt sorry for her; I remembered it afterward, when we were engaged."

有一次我看到你们一起坐在阳台上参加舞会——当她回到屋子时，她的脸很悲伤，我为她感到难过；后来我们订婚的时候我就想起来了。”

Her voice had sunk almost to a whisper, and she sat clasping and unclasping her hands about the handle of her sunshade.

她的声音低得几乎像耳语，她坐着，双手紧握着遮阳伞的把手，又松开。

The young man laid his upon them with a gentle pressure; his heart dilated with an inexpressible relief.

年轻人轻轻地用力压在他们身上。他的心因一种难以形容的宽慰而舒展。

"My dear child--was _that_ it?

“我亲爱的孩子——是这样吗？

If you only knew the truth!"

如果你知道真相就好了！”

She raised her head quickly.

她迅速抬起头。

"Then there is a truth I don't know?"

“那还有一个我不知道的真相？”

He kept his hand over hers.

他把手放在她的手上。

"I meant, the truth about the old story you speak of."

“我的意思是，你所说的那个古老故事的真相。”

"But that's what I want to know, Newland--what I ought to know.

“但这就是我想知道的，纽兰——我应该知道的。

I couldn't have my happiness made out of a wrong--an unfairness--to somebody else.

我不能因为对别人的错误——不公平——而获得幸福。

And I want to believe that it would be the same with you.

我愿意相信你也会有同样的感觉。

What sort of a life could we build on such foundations?"

在这样的基础上我们能建立什么样的生活呢？”

Her face had taken on a look of such tragic courage that he felt like bowing himself down at her feet.

她的脸上呈现出一种悲壮的勇气，让他想跪倒在她的脚下。

"I've wanted to say this for a long time," she went on.

“我想说这句话很久了，”她继续说道。

"I've wanted to tell you that, when two people really love each other, I understand that there may be situations which make it right that they should--should go against public opinion.

“我想告诉你，当两个人真正相爱时，我明白在某些情况下他们应该——应该违背公众舆论。

And if you feel yourself in any way pledged ...

如果你觉得自己以任何方式做出了承诺......

pledged to the person we've spoken of ...

向我们谈到的那个人发誓...

and if there is any way ...

如果有什么办法...

any way in which you can fulfill your pledge ...

任何可以实现你的承诺的方式......

even by her getting a divorce ...

即使她离婚了……

Newland, don't give her up because of me!"

纽兰，不要因为我而放弃她！”

His surprise at discovering that her fears had fastened upon an episode so remote and so completely of the past as his love-affair with Mrs. Thorley Rushworth gave way to wonder at the generosity of her view.

当他发现她的恐惧竟然与他与索利·拉什沃斯夫人的恋情这样遥远而完全的过去的一段插曲有关时，他感到惊讶，但他对她的观点的慷慨感到惊讶。

There was something superhuman in an attitude so recklessly unorthodox, and if other problems had not pressed on him he would have been lost in wonder at the prodigy of the Wellands' daughter urging him to marry his former mistress.

如此鲁莽的非正统态度中有一种超人的感觉，如果没有其他问题压在他身上，他一定会对韦兰夫妇的女儿催促他娶他的前情妇的神童感到惊讶。

But he was still dizzy with the glimpse of the precipice they had skirted, and full of a new awe at the mystery of young-girlhood.

但他仍然对他们所绕过的悬崖感到头晕，并对少女时期的神秘充满了新的敬畏。

For a moment he could not speak; then he said: "There is no pledge--no obligation whatever--of the kind you think.

他一时说不出话来。然后他说：“不存在你所认为的那种承诺，也没有任何义务。

Such cases don't always--present themselves quite as simply as ...

此类案例并不总是像……那样简单地呈现出来。

But that's no matter ...

但这没关系...

I love your generosity, because I feel as you do about those things ...

我喜欢你的慷慨，因为我对这些事情的感受和你一样......

I feel that each case must be judged individually, on its own merits ...

我觉得每个案件都必须根据其本身的优点进行单独判断......

irrespective of stupid conventionalities ...

不顾愚蠢的惯例......

I mean, each woman's right to her liberty--" He pulled himself up, startled by the turn his thoughts had taken, and went on, looking at her with a smile: "Since you understand so many things, dearest, can't you go a little farther, and understand the uselessness of our submitting to another form of the same foolish conventionalities?

我的意思是，每个女人都有自由的权利——”他站了起来，被自己的思绪转变吓了一跳，然后继续微笑着看着她：“亲爱的，既然你了解这么多事情，你就不能走得更远一点，了解我们屈服于同样愚蠢的传统的另一种形式是没有用的吗？

If there's no one and nothing between us, isn't that an argument for marrying quickly, rather than for more delay?"

如果我们之间没有人，什么也没有，这难道不是一种主张尽快结婚而不是拖延结婚的理由吗？”

She flushed with joy and lifted her face to his; as he bent to it he saw that her eyes were full of happy tears.

她高兴得满脸通红，抬起脸对着他。当他弯下腰去时，他看到她的眼睛里充满了幸福的泪水。

But in another moment she seemed to have descended from her womanly eminence to helpless and timorous girlhood; and he understood that her courage and initiative were all for others, and that she had none for herself.

但转眼之间，她似乎从女性的显赫地位下降到了无助而胆怯的少女时代。他也明白，她的勇气和主动性都是为了别人，而没有给自己的。

It was evident that the effort of speaking had been much greater than her studied composure betrayed, and that at his first word of reassurance she had dropped back into the usual, as a too-adventurous child takes refuge in its mother's arms.

显然，说话的努力远远超过了她刻意表现出的镇定，在他的第一句话安慰下，她又恢复了平常的样子，就像一个过于冒险的孩子在母亲的怀抱中寻求庇护。

Archer had no heart to go on pleading with her; he was too much disappointed at the vanishing of the new being who had cast that one deep look at him from her transparent eyes.

阿切尔无心继续哀求她。他对那个用她透明的眼睛深深地看了他一眼的新生命的消失感到太失望了。

May seemed to be aware of his disappointment, but without knowing how to alleviate it; and they stood up and walked silently home.

梅似乎意识到了他的失望，但不知道如何缓解；他们站起来，默默地走回家。

XVII.

十七．

"Your cousin the Countess called on mother while you were away," Janey Archer announced to her brother on the evening of his return.

“你不在的时候，你的表弟伯爵夫人拜访了母亲，”珍妮·阿切尔在哥哥回来的那天晚上向他宣布。

The young man, who was dining alone with his mother and sister, glanced up in surprise and saw Mrs. Archer's gaze demurely bent on her plate.

那个年轻人正和他的母亲和妹妹单独吃饭，他惊讶地抬起头，看到阿切尔夫人的目光端庄地盯着她的盘子。

Mrs. Archer did not regard her seclusion from the world as a reason for being forgotten by it; and Newland guessed that she was slightly annoyed that he should be surprised by Madame Olenska's visit.

阿切尔夫人并不认为她与世隔绝是被世界遗忘的原因；纽兰猜测她对他对奥兰斯卡夫人的来访感到惊讶感到有点恼火。

"She had on a black velvet polonaise with jet buttons, and a tiny green monkey muff; I never saw her so stylishly dressed," Janey continued.

“她穿着一件带有黑色纽扣的黑色天鹅绒波兰舞裙，还有一个绿色的小猴子手笼；我从来没有见过她穿得这么时尚，”珍妮继续说道。

"She came alone, early on Sunday afternoon; luckily the fire was lit in the drawing-room.

“周日下午早些时候，她独自一人来了；幸运的是，客厅里的火已经点着了。

She had one of those new card-cases.

她有一个新的名片盒。

She said she wanted to know us because you'd been so good to her."

她说她想认识我们，因为你对她太好了。”

Newland laughed.

纽兰笑了。

"Madame Olenska always takes that tone about her friends.

“奥兰斯卡夫人总是用这种语气来谈论她的朋友。

She's very happy at being among her own people again."

她很高兴再次与自己的人民在一起。”

"Yes, so she told us," said Mrs. Archer.

“是的，她是这么告诉我们的，”阿切尔夫人说。

"I must say she seems thankful to be here."

“我必须说，她似乎很感激能来到这里。”

"I hope you liked her, mother."

“我希望你喜欢她，妈妈。”

Mrs. Archer drew her lips together.

阿切尔夫人抿紧嘴唇。

"She certainly lays herself out to please, even when she is calling on an old lady."

“她当然会竭尽全力取悦别人，即使她是在拜访一位老太太。”

"Mother doesn't think her simple," Janey interjected, her eyes screwed upon her brother's face.

“妈妈认为她不简单，”珍妮插话道，她的眼睛紧紧盯着哥哥的脸。

"It's just my old-fashioned feeling; dear May is my ideal," said Mrs. Archer.

“这只是我老式的感觉；亲爱的梅是我的理想，”阿切尔夫人说。

"Ah," said her son, "they're not alike."

“啊，”她儿子说，“他们不一样。”

Archer had left St. Augustine charged with many messages for old Mrs. Mingott; and a day or two after his return to town he called on her.

阿切尔让圣奥古斯丁负责给明戈特老太太传达许多信息。回到城里一两天后，他拜访了她。

The old lady received him with unusual warmth; she was grateful to him for persuading the Countess Olenska to give up the idea of a divorce; and when he told her that he had deserted the office without leave, and rushed down to St. Augustine simply because he wanted to see May, she gave an adipose chuckle and patted his knee with her puff-ball hand.

老太太异常热情地接待了他。她很感激他说服了奥兰斯卡伯爵夫人放弃了离婚的念头。当他告诉她，他未经许可就擅自离开办公室，冲到圣奥古斯丁只是因为想见梅时，她咯咯地笑了一声，用她蓬松的手拍了拍他的膝盖。

"Ah, ah--so you kicked over the traces, did you?

“啊啊——所以你踢开了痕迹，是吗？

And I suppose Augusta and Welland pulled long faces, and behaved as if the end of the world had come?

我想奥古斯塔和韦兰都拉长了脸，表现得好像世界末日已经到来了？

But little May--she knew better, I'll be bound?"

但小梅——她更清楚，我会被束缚？”

"I hoped she did; but after all she wouldn't agree to what I'd gone down to ask for."

“我希望她会这么做；但她毕竟不会同意我下去提出的要求。”

"Wouldn't she indeed?

“她真的不会吗？

And what was that?"

那是什么？”

"I wanted to get her to promise that we should be married in April.

“我想让她答应我们应该在四月结婚。

What's the use of our wasting another year?"

我们再浪费一年有什么用呢？”

Mrs. Manson Mingott screwed up her little mouth into a grimace of mimic prudery and twinkled at him through malicious lids.

曼森·明戈特夫人抿起小嘴，做出一副正经的鬼脸，眼皮里充满恶意，对他眨着眼睛。

"'Ask Mamma,' I suppose--the usual story.

“‘问妈妈，’我想——这是常见的故事。

Ah, these Mingotts--all alike!

啊，这些明戈特——全都一样！

Born in a rut, and you can't root 'em out of it.

生来就墨守成规，你无法将其根除。

When I built this house you'd have thought I was moving to California!

当我建造这所房子时，你会以为我要搬到加利福尼亚！

Nobody ever _had_ built above Fortieth Street--no, says I, nor above the Battery either, before Christopher Columbus discovered America.

在克里斯托弗·哥伦布发现美洲之前，从来没有人在第四十街上方建造过建筑——不，我说，也没有在炮台上方建造过建筑。

No, no; not one of them wants to be different; they're as scared of it as the small-pox.

不，不；他们中没有一个人想与众不同；他们像害怕天花一样害怕它。

Ah, my dear Mr. Archer, I thank my stars I'm nothing but a vulgar Spicer; but there's not one of my own children that takes after me but my little Ellen." She broke off, still twinkling at him, and asked, with the casual irrelevance of old age: "Now, why in the world didn't you marry my little Ellen?"

啊，我亲爱的阿切尔先生，我感谢我的星星，我只不过是一个粗俗的斯派塞；但除了我的小艾伦之外，我自己的孩子中没有一个像我。”她停了下来，仍然对他眨着眼睛，用老年时漫不经心的语气问道：“现在，你究竟为什么不嫁给我的小艾伦呢？”

Archer laughed.

阿切尔笑了。

"For one thing, she wasn't there to be married."

“一方面，她不是来结婚的。”

"No--to be sure; more's the pity.

“不——当然；更多的是遗憾。

And now it's too late; her life is finished." She spoke with the cold-blooded complacency of the aged throwing earth into the grave of young hopes.

现在已经太晚了；她的人生已经结束了。”她说话时带着一种冷血的自满情绪，就像老年人把泥土扔进年轻人希望的坟墓里一样。

The young man's heart grew chill, and he said hurriedly: "Can't I persuade you to use your influence with the Wellands, Mrs. Mingott?

年轻人心中一寒，急忙说道：“明戈特夫人，我不能说服你利用你在韦兰兹家族的影响力吗？

I wasn't made for long engagements."

我不适合长时间的约会。”

Old Catherine beamed on him approvingly.

老凯瑟琳赞许地对他微笑。

"No; I can see that.

“不；我看得出来。

You've got a quick eye.

你的眼力真快。

When you were a little boy I've no doubt you liked to be helped first." She threw back her head with a laugh that made her chins ripple like little waves.

当你还是个小男孩的时候，我毫不怀疑你首先喜欢得到帮助。”她仰起头，笑得下巴像小波浪一样荡漾。

"Ah, here's my Ellen now!" she exclaimed, as the portières parted behind her.

“啊，现在是我的艾伦了！”当门帘在她身后分开时，她惊呼道。

Madame Olenska came forward with a smile.

奥兰斯卡夫人微笑着走上前来。

Her face looked vivid and happy, and she held out her hand gaily to Archer while she stooped to her grandmother's kiss.

她的脸看起来生动而快乐，她高兴地向阿切尔伸出手，弯下腰接受祖母的吻。

"I was just saying to him, my dear: 'Now, why didn't you marry my little Ellen?'"

“亲爱的，我只是对他说：‘现在，你为什么不娶我的小艾伦呢？’”

Madame Olenska looked at Archer, still smiling.

奥兰斯卡夫人看着阿切尔，仍然微笑着。

"And what did he answer?"

“他回答了什么？”

"Oh, my darling, I leave you to find that out!

“哦，亲爱的，我让你自己去发现吧！

He's been down to Florida to see his sweetheart."

他去佛罗里达看望他的爱人了。”

"Yes, I know." She still looked at him.

“是的，我知道。”她仍然看着他。

"I went to see your mother, to ask where you'd gone.

“我去找你妈妈，想问问你去哪儿了。

I sent a note that you never answered, and I was afraid you were ill."

我给你发了一张纸条，你却没有回复，我担心你病了。”

He muttered something about leaving unexpectedly, in a great hurry, and having intended to write to her from St. Augustine.

他嘟囔着什么，说他出乎意料地匆忙离开，并打算从圣奥古斯丁给她写信。

"And of course once you were there you never thought of me again!" She continued to beam on him with a gaiety that might have been a studied assumption of indifference.

“当然，一旦你到了那里，你就再也没有想到过我！”她继续对他微笑，脸上洋溢着快乐的笑容，这可能是刻意表现出的冷漠态度。

"If she still needs me, she's determined not to let me see it," he thought, stung by her manner.

“如果她还需要我，她一定不会让我看到的，”他想，被她的态度刺痛了。

He wanted to thank her for having been to see his mother, but under the ancestress's malicious eye he felt himself tongue-tied and constrained.

他本想感谢她来看望自己的母亲，但在老祖宗恶毒的目光下，他却感觉自己张口结舌，束手无策。

"Look at him--in such hot haste to get married that he took French leave and rushed down to implore the silly girl on his knees!

“你看他——急着要结婚，竟然请了法假，冲下来跪下哀求那个傻姑娘！

That's something like a lover--that's the way handsome Bob Spicer carried off my poor mother; and then got tired of her before I was weaned--though they only had to wait eight months for me!

这就像一个情人——这就是英俊的鲍勃·斯派塞夺走我可怜的母亲的方式；然后在我断奶之前就厌倦了她——尽管他们只等了我八个月！

But there--you're not a Spicer, young man; luckily for you and for May.

但你不是斯派塞，年轻人；对你和五月来说都是幸运的。

It's only my poor Ellen that has kept any of their wicked blood; the rest of them are all model Mingotts," cried the old lady scornfully.

只有我可怜的艾伦保留了他们邪恶的血统；其余的都是模范明戈特。”老太太轻蔑地叫道。

Archer was aware that Madame Olenska, who had seated herself at her grandmother's side, was still thoughtfully scrutinising him.

阿切尔意识到坐在祖母身边的奥兰斯卡夫人仍在若有所思地打量着他。

The gaiety had faded from her eyes, and she said with great gentleness: "Surely, Granny, we can persuade them between us to do as he wishes."

她眼中的喜悦消失了，她非常温柔地说：“当然，奶奶，我们可以说服他们按照他的意愿行事。”

Archer rose to go, and as his hand met Madame Olenska's he felt that she was waiting for him to make some allusion to her unanswered letter.

阿切尔起身要走，当他的手碰到奥兰斯卡夫人的手时，他感觉到她正在等他提及她未回复的信。

"When can I see you?" he asked, as she walked with him to the door of the room.

“我什么时候可以见到你？”当她陪着他走向房间门口时，他问道。

"Whenever you like; but it must be soon if you want to see the little house again.

“只要你愿意，什么时候都可以；但如果你想再次看到那栋小房子，就必须很快了。

I am moving next week."

我下周就要搬家了。”

A pang shot through him at the memory of his lamplit hours in the low-studded drawing-room.

想起他在低矮的客厅里点着灯的时光，他感到一阵剧痛。

Few as they had been, they were thick with memories.

尽管数量很少，但它们却充满了回忆。

"Tomorrow evening?"

“明天晚上？”

She nodded.

她点点头。

"Tomorrow; yes; but early.

“明天；是的；但是要早。

I'm going out."

我要出去了。”

The next day was a Sunday, and if she were "going out" on a Sunday evening it could, of course, be only to Mrs. Lemuel Struthers's.

第二天是星期日，如果她要在星期日晚上“出去”，当然，只能去莱米尔·斯特拉瑟斯夫人家。

He felt a slight movement of annoyance, not so much at her going there (for he rather liked her going where she pleased in spite of the van der Luydens), but because it was the kind of house at which she was sure to meet Beaufort, where she must have known beforehand that she would meet him--and where she was probably going for that purpose.

他感到一阵轻微的恼怒，倒不是因为她去那里（因为他更喜欢她去她想去的地方，尽管有范德卢顿一家），而是因为在这种房子里，她一定会见到博福特，她一定事先知道她会在那里见到他——而且她可能会为此目的而去那里。

"Very well; tomorrow evening," he repeated, inwardly resolved that he would not go early, and that by reaching her door late he would either prevent her from going to Mrs. Struthers's, or else arrive after she had started--which, all things considered, would no doubt be the simplest solution.

“很好，明天晚上，”他重复道，心里决定自己不会早去，晚点到她家门口，他要么阻止她去斯特拉瑟斯太太家，要么在她出发后到达——综合考虑，这无疑是最简单的解决办法。

It was only half-past eight, after all, when he rang the bell under the wisteria; not as late as he had intended by half an hour--but a singular restlessness had driven him to her door.

毕竟，当他按响紫藤下的铃时，才八点半。没有像他预计的那样晚了半个小时——但是一种奇异的不安驱使他来到了她的门口。

He reflected, however, that Mrs. Struthers's Sunday evenings were not like a ball, and that her guests, as if to minimise their delinquency, usually went early.

然而，他反思说，斯特拉瑟斯夫人的周日晚上并不像一个舞会，而且她的客人，似乎是为了尽量减少他们的违法行为，通常都早去。

The one thing he had not counted on, in entering Madame Olenska's hall, was to find hats and overcoats there.

他没有想到的一件事是，在进入奥兰斯卡夫人的大厅时，他在那里发现了帽子和大衣。

Why had she bidden him to come early if she was having people to dine?

如果她请人吃饭，为什么要叫他早点来呢？

On a closer inspection of the garments besides which Nastasia was laying his own, his resentment gave way to curiosity.

仔细检查纳斯塔西娅自己穿的衣服后，他的怨恨变成了好奇。

The overcoats were in fact the very strangest he had ever seen under a polite roof; and it took but a glance to assure himself that neither of them belonged to Julius Beaufort.

事实上，这些大衣是他在礼貌的屋顶下见过的最奇怪的。他只看了一眼，就确信他们都不属于朱利叶斯·博福特。

One was a shaggy yellow ulster of "reach-me-down" cut, the other a very old and rusty cloak with a cape--something like what the French called a "Macfarlane." This garment, which appeared to be made for a person of prodigious size, had evidently seen long and hard wear, and its greenish-black folds gave out a moist sawdusty smell suggestive of prolonged sessions against bar-room walls.

一件是一件毛茸茸的黄色羊毛斗篷，剪裁为“reach-me-down”，另一件是一件非常古老、生锈的斗篷，带有斗篷——有点像法国人所说的“麦克法兰”。这件衣服似乎是为身材魁梧的人制作的，显然已经磨损了很长时间，而且它的绿黑色褶皱散发出潮湿的木屑气味，让人想起长时间靠在酒吧房间的墙上。

On it lay a ragged grey scarf and an odd felt hat of semiclerical shape.

上面放着一条破烂的灰色围巾和一顶奇怪的半圆形毡帽。

Archer raised his eyebrows enquiringly at Nastasia, who raised hers in return with a fatalistic "Gia!" as she threw open the drawing-room door.

阿切尔询问地向纳斯塔西娅扬起眉毛，纳斯塔西娅扬起眉毛作为回应，宿命般地“吉亚！”当她推开客厅的门时。

The young man saw at once that his hostess was not in the room; then, with surprise, he discovered another lady standing by the fire.

年轻人立刻发现女主人不在房间里。然后，他惊讶地发现另一位女士站在火边。

This lady, who was long, lean and loosely put together, was clad in raiment intricately looped and fringed, with plaids and stripes and bands of plain colour disposed in a design to which the clue seemed missing.

这位女士身材修长，身材瘦削，衣着宽松，穿着复杂的环形和流苏的衣服，格子、条纹和素色带子的设计似乎缺少线索。

Her hair, which had tried to turn white and only succeeded in fading, was surmounted by a Spanish comb and black lace scarf, and silk mittens, visibly darned, covered her rheumatic hands.

她的头发曾试图变白，但最终没能褪色，头上戴着一把西班牙梳子，戴着黑色蕾丝围巾，明显经过补补的丝绸手套遮住了她患有风湿的双手。

Beside her, in a cloud of cigar-smoke, stood the owners of the two overcoats, both in morning clothes that they had evidently not taken off since morning.

在她旁边，在雪茄烟雾中，站着两件大衣的主人，他们都穿着晨衣，显然从早上就没有脱下来。

In one of the two, Archer, to his surprise, recognised Ned Winsett; the other and older, who was unknown to him, and whose gigantic frame declared him to be the wearer of the "Macfarlane," had a feebly leonine head with crumpled grey hair, and moved his arms with large pawing gestures, as though he were distributing lay blessings to a kneeling multitude.

令阿切尔惊讶的是，在其中的一张中，阿切尔认出了内德·温塞特。另一个年纪较大的人，他不认识，他巨大的身躯表明他是“麦克法兰”的佩戴者，他有一个虚弱的狮子头，灰白的头发皱巴巴的，他用大爪子的姿势移动他的手臂，好像他正在向跪着的群众分发俗气的祝福。

These three persons stood together on the hearth-rug, their eyes fixed on an extraordinarily large bouquet of crimson roses, with a knot of purple pansies at their base, that lay on the sofa where Madame Olenska usually sat.

这三个人一起站在炉边地毯上，眼睛盯着一束特别大的深红色玫瑰花束，花束底部有一结紫色三色堇，这些玫瑰花束放在奥兰斯卡夫人通常坐的沙发上。

"What they must have cost at this season--though of course it's the sentiment one cares about!" the lady was saying in a sighing staccato as Archer came in.

“他们在这个赛季一定付出了代价——当然，人们关心的是情绪！”阿切尔进来时，那位女士断断续续地叹了一口气。

The three turned with surprise at his appearance, and the lady, advancing, held out her hand.

三人惊讶地转过头来，那位女士走上前来，伸出了手。

"Dear Mr. Archer--almost my cousin Newland!" she said.

“亲爱的阿切尔先生——几乎是我的表弟纽兰！”她说。

"I am the Marchioness Manson."

“我是曼森侯爵夫人。”

Archer bowed, and she continued: "My Ellen has taken me in for a few days.

阿切尔鞠了一躬，继续说道：“我的艾伦收留了我几天。

I came from Cuba, where I have been spending the winter with Spanish friends--such delightful distinguished people: the highest nobility of old Castile--how I wish you could know them!

我来自古巴，在那里我和西班牙朋友一起过冬——这些令人愉快的杰出人士：古老卡斯蒂利亚的最高贵族——我多么希望你能认识他们！

But I was called away by our dear great friend here, Dr. Carver.

但我被我们亲爱的好朋友卡弗博士叫走了。

You don't know Dr. Agathon Carver, founder of the Valley of Love Community?"

你不认识爱之谷社区的创始人阿加顿·卡弗博士吗？”

Dr. Carver inclined his leonine head, and the Marchioness continued: "Ah, New York--New York--how little the life of the spirit has reached it!

卡佛博士歪着他狮子般的头，侯爵夫人继续说道：“啊，纽约——纽约——精神生活到达这里的程度是多么的少啊！

But I see you do know Mr. Winsett."

但我看你确实认识温塞特先生。”

"Oh, yes--I reached him some time ago; but not by that route," Winsett said with his dry smile.

“哦，是的——我不久前联系过他；但不是通过那条路，”温塞特干笑着说道。

The Marchioness shook her head reprovingly.

侯爵夫人责备地摇摇头。

"How do you know, Mr. Winsett?

“你怎么知道，温塞特先生？

The spirit bloweth where it listeth."

精神随心所欲地飘扬。”

"List--oh, list!" interjected Dr. Carver in a stentorian murmur.

“清单——哦，清单！”卡弗博士大声低声插话道。

"But do sit down, Mr. Archer.

“但是请坐下，阿切尔先生。

We four have been having a delightful little dinner together, and my child has gone up to dress.

我们四个人一起享用了一顿愉快的小晚餐，我的孩子已经起身穿衣服了。

She expects you; she will be down in a moment.

她期待着你；她一会儿就会下来。

We were just admiring these marvellous flowers, which will surprise her when she reappears."

我们只是在欣赏这些奇妙的花朵，当她再次出现时，这会让她大吃一惊。”

Winsett remained on his feet.

温塞特仍然站着。

"I'm afraid I must be off.

“恐怕我得走了。

Please tell Madame Olenska that we shall all feel lost when she abandons our street.

请告诉奥兰斯卡夫人，当她放弃我们的街道时，我们都会感到失落。

This house has been an oasis."

这所房子一直是一片绿洲。”

"Ah, but she won't abandon _you_.

“啊，但她不会抛弃你。

Poetry and art are the breath of life to her.

诗歌和艺术对她来说是生命的气息。

It _is_ poetry you write, Mr. Winsett?"

这是你写的诗吗，温塞特先生？”

"Well, no; but I sometimes read it," said Winsett, including the group in a general nod and slipping out of the room.

“嗯，不；但我有时会读它，”温塞特说，大家一起点头，然后溜出了房间。

"A caustic spirit--_un peu sauvage_.

“一种刻薄的精神——_un peu sauvage_。

But so witty; Dr. Carver, you _do_ think him witty?"

但又那么机智；卡佛博士，你认为他很机智吗？”

"I never think of wit," said Dr. Carver severely.

“我从来没有想到过机智，”卡弗博士严厉地说。

"Ah--ah--you never think of wit!

“啊——啊——你从来没想过机智！

How merciless he is to us weak mortals, Mr. Archer!

他对我们这些弱小的凡人是多么的无情啊，阿彻先生！

But he lives only in the life of the spirit; and tonight he is mentally preparing the lecture he is to deliver presently at Mrs. Blenker's.

但他只活在精神的生活中；今晚他正在心里准备他即将在布伦克夫人家发表的演讲。

Dr. Carver, would there be time, before you start for the Blenkers' to explain to Mr. Archer your illuminating discovery of the Direct Contact?

卡弗博士，在您前往布伦克夫妇之前，是否有时间向阿切尔先生解释您对直接接触的启发性发现？

But no; I see it is nearly nine o'clock, and we have no right to detain you while so many are waiting for your message."

但没有；我看现在已经快九点了，我们没有权利在这么多人等待你的消息的时候拘留你。”

Dr. Carver looked slightly disappointed at this conclusion, but, having compared his ponderous gold time-piece with Madame Olenska's little travelling-clock, he reluctantly gathered up his mighty limbs for departure.

卡弗博士对这个结论显得有些失望，但是，在比较了他笨重的金钟和奥兰斯卡夫人的小旅行钟后，他不情愿地收拾起强壮的四肢准备离开。

"I shall see you later, dear friend?" he suggested to the Marchioness, who replied with a smile: "As soon as Ellen's carriage comes I will join you; I do hope the lecture won't have begun."

“我稍后会见到你，亲爱的朋友？”他向侯爵夫人建议，侯爵夫人微笑着回答：“艾伦的马车一到，我就去和您会合；我真希望讲座还没有开始。”

Dr. Carver looked thoughtfully at Archer.

卡佛博士若有所思地看着阿切尔。

"Perhaps, if this young gentleman is interested in my experiences, Mrs. Blenker might allow you to bring him with you?"

“也许，如果这位年轻的绅士对我的经历感兴趣，布伦克夫人可能会允许你带他一起去？”

"Oh, dear friend, if it were possible--I am sure she would be too happy.

“哦，亲爱的朋友，如果可以的话——我相信她会非常高兴。

But I fear my Ellen counts on Mr. Archer herself."

但我担心我的艾伦会指望阿切尔先生本人。”

"That," said Dr. Carver, "is unfortunate--but here is my card." He handed it to Archer, who read on it, in Gothic characters:

“那很不幸，”卡弗博士说，“但这是我的名片。”他把它交给阿切尔，阿切尔用哥特字体读了上面的内容：

/c +-----------------------+ | Agathon Carver | | The Valley of Love | | Kittasquattamy, N.

/c +------------------------+ |阿加顿·卡弗 | |爱之谷| |基塔斯夸塔米，N.

Y.

Y。

| +-----------------------+ c/

| +------------------------+ c/

Dr. Carver bowed himself out, and Mrs. Manson, with a sigh that might have been either of regret or relief, again waved Archer to a seat.

卡佛博士退出了，曼森夫人叹了口气，可能是遗憾，也可能是宽慰，再次挥手示意阿切尔坐下。

"Ellen will be down in a moment; and before she comes, I am so glad of this quiet moment with you."

“艾伦一会儿就下来；在她来之前，我很高兴能和你一起度过这个安静的时刻。”

Archer murmured his pleasure at their meeting, and the Marchioness continued, in her low sighing accents: "I know everything, dear Mr. Archer--my child has told me all you have done for her.

阿切尔低声说道，他对他们的会面感到很高兴，侯爵夫人用低沉的叹息口音继续说道：“我知道一切，亲爱的阿切尔先生——我的孩子已经告诉了我你为她所做的一切。

Your wise advice: your courageous firmness--thank heaven it was not too late!"

你明智的建议：你勇敢的坚定——谢天谢地，现在还不算太晚！”

The young man listened with considerable embarrassment.

年轻人听了很尴尬。

Was there any one, he wondered, to whom Madame Olenska had not proclaimed his intervention in her private affairs?

他想知道奥兰斯卡夫人是否曾向谁宣称过他干涉她的私人事务？

"Madame Olenska exaggerates; I simply gave her a legal opinion, as she asked me to."

“奥兰斯卡夫人夸大了；我只是按照她的要求给了她法律意见。”

"Ah, but in doing it--in doing it you were the unconscious instrument of--of--what word have we moderns for Providence, Mr. Archer?" cried the lady, tilting her head on one side and drooping her lids mysteriously.

“啊，但是在做这件事的过程中——在做这件事的过程中，你无意识地成为了——我们现代人用什么词来形容普罗维登斯的工具，阿切尔先生？”那位女士叫道，头偏向一侧，眼皮神秘地垂下。

"Little did you know that at that very moment I was being appealed to: being approached, in fact--from the other side of the Atlantic!"

“你几乎不知道，就在那一刻，我被吸引了：事实上，有人在接近我——来自大西洋的另一边！”

She glanced over her shoulder, as though fearful of being overheard, and then, drawing her chair nearer, and raising a tiny ivory fan to her lips, breathed behind it: "By the Count himself--my poor, mad, foolish Olenski; who asks only to take her back on her own terms."

她回头看了一眼，仿佛害怕被人偷听，然后把椅子拉近一些，把一把象牙小扇子举到唇边，在扇子后面喘着气说：“以伯爵本人名义——我可怜的、疯狂的、愚蠢的奥兰斯基；他只要求按照她自己的条件带她回去。”

"Good God!" Archer exclaimed, springing up.

“天啊！”阿切尔惊呼一声，跳了起来。

"You are horrified?

“你很害怕吗？

Yes, of course; I understand.

是的，当然；我明白了。

I don't defend poor Stanislas, though he has always called me his best friend.

我不会为可怜的斯坦尼斯拉斯辩护，尽管他一直称我为他最好的朋友。

He does not defend himself--he casts himself at her feet: in my person." She tapped her emaciated bosom.

他不为自己辩护——他把自己拜倒在她的脚下：以我的名义。”她拍了拍自己瘦弱的胸部。

"I have his letter here."

“我这里有他的信。”

"A letter?--Has Madame Olenska seen it?" Archer stammered, his brain whirling with the shock of the announcement.

“一封信？——奥兰斯卡夫人看到了吗？”阿切尔结结巴巴，他的大脑因这一消息的震惊而旋转。

The Marchioness Manson shook her head softly.

曼森侯爵夫人轻轻地摇了摇头。

"Time--time; I must have time.

“时间——时间；我必须有时间。

I know my Ellen--haughty, intractable; shall I say, just a shade unforgiving?"

我了解我的艾伦——傲慢、难管；我可以说，只是一点点无情吗？”

"But, good heavens, to forgive is one thing; to go back into that hell--"

“但是，天哪，宽恕是一回事；回到那个地狱——”

"Ah, yes," the Marchioness acquiesced.

“啊，是的，”侯爵夫人默许了。

"So she describes it--my sensitive child!

“她是这么描述的——我敏感的孩子！

But on the material side, Mr. Archer, if one may stoop to consider such things; do you know what she is giving up?

但在物质方面，阿切尔先生，如果有人愿意弯腰考虑一下这些事情的话；你知道她要放弃什么吗？

Those roses there on the sofa--acres like them, under glass and in the open, in his matchless terraced gardens at Nice!

沙发上的那些玫瑰——就像它们一样，在玻璃下、在露天、在尼斯无与伦比的露台花园里！

Jewels--historic pearls: the Sobieski emeralds--sables,--but she cares nothing for all these!

珠宝——历史悠久的珍珠：索别斯基祖母绿——黑貂——但她对所有这些都不在乎！

Art and beauty, those she does care for, she lives for, as I always have; and those also surrounded her.

艺术和美丽，她所关心的，她为之而活的，就像我一直以来的那样；而那些人也包围了她。

Pictures, priceless furniture, music, brilliant conversation--ah, that, my dear young man, if you'll excuse me, is what you've no conception of here!

图片、无价的家具、音乐、精彩的谈话——啊，我亲爱的年轻人，请原谅我，这是你在这里无法想象的！

And she had it all; and the homage of the greatest.

她拥有一切；和最伟大的人的敬意。

She tells me she is not thought handsome in New York--good heavens!

她告诉我在纽约人们并不认为她英俊——天哪！

Her portrait has been painted nine times; the greatest artists in Europe have begged for the privilege.

她的肖像被画了九次；欧洲最伟大的艺术家都请求获得这种特权。

Are these things nothing?

这些东西都不算什么吗？

And the remorse of an adoring husband?"

还有一个深爱的丈夫的悔恨？”

As the Marchioness Manson rose to her climax her face assumed an expression of ecstatic retrospection which would have moved Archer's mirth had he not been numb with amazement.

当曼森侯爵夫人达到高潮时，她的脸上呈现出一种欣喜若狂的回顾表情，如果阿切尔没有因惊讶而麻木的话，这表情一定会感动他。

He would have laughed if any one had foretold to him that his first sight of poor Medora Manson would have been in the guise of a messenger of Satan; but he was in no mood for laughing now, and she seemed to him to come straight out of the hell from which Ellen Olenska had just escaped.

如果有人向他预言，他第一眼看到可怜的梅多拉·曼森时，她会伪装成撒旦的使者，他一定会大笑。但他现在没有心情笑，他觉得她就像是从艾伦·奥兰斯卡刚刚逃离的地狱里走出来的。

"She knows nothing yet--of all this?" he asked abruptly.

“她还不知道——这一切吗？”他突然问道。

Mrs. Manson laid a purple finger on her lips.

曼森夫人将一根紫色的手指放在嘴唇上。

"Nothing directly--but does she suspect?

“没有直接的——但她怀疑吗？

Who can tell?

谁能告诉我？

The truth is, Mr. Archer, I have been waiting to see you.

事实上，阿切尔先生，我一直在等着见你。

From the moment I heard of the firm stand you had taken, and of your influence over her, I hoped it might be possible to count on your support--to convince you ..."

从我听说你采取的坚定立场以及你对她的影响的那一刻起，我就希望能够得到你的支持——说服你……”

"That she ought to go back?

“那她该回去了吗？

I would rather see her dead!" cried the young man violently.

我宁愿看到她死！”年轻人剧烈地叫道。

"Ah," the Marchioness murmured, without visible resentment.

“啊。”侯爵夫人低声说道，没有明显的怨恨。

For a while she sat in her arm-chair, opening and shutting the absurd ivory fan between her mittened fingers; but suddenly she lifted her head and listened.

她在扶手椅上坐了一会儿，用戴着手套的手指打开又合上那把可笑的象牙扇子。但她突然抬起头来听。

"Here she comes," she said in a rapid whisper; and then, pointing to the bouquet on the sofa: "Am I to understand that you prefer _that_, Mr. Archer?

“她来了，”她快速低声说道。然后指着沙发上的花束：“我可以理解为你更喜欢那个吗，阿切尔先生？

After all, marriage is marriage ...

毕竟，婚姻就是婚姻……

and my niece is still a wife..."

我的侄女还是个妻子……”

XVIII.

十八。

"What are you two plotting together, aunt Medora?" Madame Olenska cried as she came into the room.

“梅多拉阿姨，你们两个在一起密谋什么？”奥兰斯卡夫人走进房间时哭了。

She was dressed as if for a ball.

她的打扮就像是去参加舞会一样。

Everything about her shimmered and glimmered softly, as if her dress had been woven out of candle-beams; and she carried her head high, like a pretty woman challenging a roomful of rivals.

她周围的一切都闪烁着柔和的光芒，仿佛她的裙子是用烛光编织而成的。她昂着头，就像一个漂亮的女人在挑战一屋子的对手。

"We were saying, my dear, that here was something beautiful to surprise you with," Mrs. Manson rejoined, rising to her feet and pointing archly to the flowers.

“我们是说，亲爱的，这里有一些美丽的东西可以让你大吃一惊，”曼森夫人回答道，站起来，狡猾地指着花。

Madame Olenska stopped short and looked at the bouquet.

奥兰斯卡夫人突然停了下来，看着花束。

Her colour did not change, but a sort of white radiance of anger ran over her like summer lightning.

她的脸色没有变化，但一种白色的愤怒光芒如夏日闪电般从她身上流过。

"Ah," she exclaimed, in a shrill voice that the young man had never heard, "who is ridiculous enough to send me a bouquet?

“啊，”她用年轻人从未听过的尖锐声音叫道，“谁这么可笑，竟然给我送花束？

Why a bouquet?

为什么是花束？

And why tonight of all nights?

为什么是今晚？

I am not going to a ball; I am not a girl engaged to be married.

我不去参加舞会；我不是一个订婚的女孩。

But some people are always ridiculous."

但有些人总是很可笑。”

She turned back to the door, opened it, and called out: "Nastasia!"

她转回门边，打开门，喊道：“纳斯塔西娅！”

The ubiquitous handmaiden promptly appeared, and Archer heard Madame Olenska say, in an Italian that she seemed to pronounce with intentional deliberateness in order that he might follow it: "Here--throw this into the dustbin!" and then, as Nastasia stared protestingly: "But no--it's not the fault of the poor flowers.

无处不在的女仆很快就出现了，阿切尔听到奥兰斯卡夫人用意大利语说，她的发音似乎是故意的，以便他能跟上：“这里——把这个扔进垃圾箱！”然后，纳斯塔西娅抗议地盯着她：“但是不——这不是可怜的花的错。

Tell the boy to carry them to the house three doors away, the house of Mr. Winsett, the dark gentleman who dined here.

让男孩把它们搬到三扇门外的房子，温塞特先生的房子，温塞特先生就是在这里用餐的那位深色绅士。

His wife is ill--they may give her pleasure ...

他的妻子病了——他们可能会给她带来快乐……

The boy is out, you say?

你说那孩子出去了？

Then, my dear one, run yourself; here, put my cloak over you and fly.

然后，亲爱的，你自己跑吧；来，把我的斗篷披在你身上，然后飞翔。

I want the thing out of the house immediately!

我要立即把那东西赶出家门！

And, as you live, don't say they come from me!"

而且，在你活着的时候，不要说它们是我的！”

She flung her velvet opera cloak over the maid's shoulders and turned back into the drawing-room, shutting the door sharply.

她把天鹅绒歌剧斗篷披在女仆的肩上，转身走进客厅，猛地关上了门。

Her bosom was rising high under its lace, and for a moment Archer thought she was about to cry; but she burst into a laugh instead, and looking from the Marchioness to Archer, asked abruptly: "And you two--have you made friends!"

她的胸部在蕾丝下高高升起，有那么一刻，阿切尔以为她快要哭了。但她却突然大笑起来，目光从侯爵夫人转向阿切尔，突然问道：“你们两个——交到朋友了吗！”

"It's for Mr. Archer to say, darling; he has waited patiently while you were dressing."

“是阿切尔先生说的，亲爱的；你穿衣服的时候他已经耐心地等着了。”

"Yes--I gave you time enough: my hair wouldn't go," Madame Olenska said, raising her hand to the heaped-up curls of her chignon.

“是的——我给了你足够的时间：我的头发不会脱落，”奥兰斯卡夫人说，举起手来抚摸她那堆高高的发髻。

"But that reminds me: I see Dr. Carver is gone, and you'll be late at the Blenkers'.

“但这提醒了我：我看到卡弗博士走了，你在布伦克家就要迟到了。

Mr. Archer, will you put my aunt in the carriage?"

阿切尔先生，您能把我姨妈送上马车吗？”

She followed the Marchioness into the hall, saw her fitted into a miscellaneous heap of overshoes, shawls and tippets, and called from the doorstep: "Mind, the carriage is to be back for me at ten!" Then she returned to the drawing-room, where Archer, on re-entering it, found her standing by the mantelpiece, examining herself in the mirror.

她跟着侯爵夫人走进大厅，看见她穿上了一堆杂七杂八的套鞋、披肩和披肩，就在门口喊道：“注意，马车十点钟回来接我！”然后她回到客厅，阿切尔再次走进去，发现她站在壁炉架旁，对着镜子审视自己。

It was not usual, in New York society, for a lady to address her parlour-maid as "my dear one," and send her out on an errand wrapped in her own opera-cloak; and Archer, through all his deeper feelings, tasted the pleasurable excitement of being in a world where action followed on emotion with such Olympian speed.

在纽约社会，一位女士称呼她的客厅女仆为“我亲爱的”，并派她穿着自己的歌剧斗篷出去办事，这并不常见。阿切尔通过他所有更深刻的感受，尝到了生活在一个以奥林匹斯山般的速度行动追随情感的世界中的令人愉快的兴奋。

Madame Olenska did not move when he came up behind her, and for a second their eyes met in the mirror; then she turned, threw herself into her sofa-corner, and sighed out: "There's time for a cigarette."

当他来到奥兰斯卡夫人身后时，她一动不动，有那么一瞬间，他们的目光在镜子里相遇了。然后她转过身，一屁股坐在沙发角上，叹了口气：“有时间抽支烟了。”

He handed her the box and lit a spill for her; and as the flame flashed up into her face she glanced at him with laughing eyes and said: "What do you think of me in a temper?"

他把盒子递给她，并为她点燃了一点。当火焰冲上她的脸时，她用笑眼看了他一眼，说道：“你觉得我发脾气怎么样？”

Archer paused a moment; then he answered with sudden resolution: "It makes me understand what your aunt has been saying about you."

阿切尔停顿了一下。然后他突然下定决心回答说：“这让我明白了你姨妈对你的评价。”

"I knew she'd been talking about me.

“我知道她一直在谈论我。

Well?"

怎么样？”

"She said you were used to all kinds of things--splendours and amusements and excitements--that we could never hope to give you here."

“她说你已经习惯了各种各样的东西——辉煌、娱乐和兴奋——而我们永远无法指望在这里给你这些东西。”

Madame Olenska smiled faintly into the circle of smoke about her lips.

奥兰斯卡夫人对着嘴唇周围的烟雾微微一笑。

"Medora is incorrigibly romantic.

“梅多拉非常浪漫。

It has made up to her for so many things!"

这已经弥补了她很多事情了！”

Archer hesitated again, and again took his risk.

Archer再次犹豫，再次冒险。

"Is your aunt's romanticism always consistent with accuracy?"

“你姨妈的浪漫主义总是那么准确吗？”

"You mean: does she speak the truth?" Her niece considered.

“你的意思是：她说的是真话吗？”她的侄女想道。

"Well, I'll tell you: in almost everything she says, there's something true and something untrue.

“好吧，我告诉你：在她所说的几乎所有事情中，都有真实的和不真实的。

But why do you ask?

但你为什么要问呢？

What has she been telling you?"

她跟你说了什么？”

He looked away into the fire, and then back at her shining presence.

他把目光移开，看着火光，然后又回头看着她那闪闪发光的存在。

His heart tightened with the thought that this was their last evening by that fireside, and that in a moment the carriage would come to carry her away.

一想到这是他们在炉边的最后一个晚上，马车马上就会来接她走，他的心就揪紧了。

"She says--she pretends that Count Olenski has asked her to persuade you to go back to him."

“她说——她假装奥兰斯基伯爵请她说服你回到他身边。”

Madame Olenska made no answer.

奥兰斯卡夫人没有回答。

She sat motionless, holding her cigarette in her half-lifted hand.

她一动不动地坐着，半举的手上夹着香烟。

The expression of her face had not changed; and Archer remembered that he had before noticed her apparent incapacity for surprise.

她脸上的表情没有变化；阿切尔记得他之前就注意到她明显没有出其不意的能力。

"You knew, then?" he broke out.

“那你就知道了？”他爆发了。

She was silent for so long that the ash dropped from her cigarette.

她沉默了太久，以至于香烟上的烟灰都掉下来了。

She brushed it to the floor.

她把它刷到地板上。

"She has hinted about a letter: poor darling!

“她暗示过一封信：可怜的亲爱的！

Medora's hints--"

梅多拉的提示——”

"Is it at your husband's request that she has arrived here suddenly?"

“她突然来到这里，是应你丈夫的要求吗？”

Madame Olenska seemed to consider this question also.

奥兰斯卡夫人似乎也考虑过这个问题。

"There again: one can't tell.

“再说一遍：人们无法分辨。

She told me she had had a 'spiritual summons,' whatever that is, from Dr. Carver.

她告诉我，她受到了卡弗博士的“精神召唤”，不管那是什么。

I'm afraid she's going to marry Dr. Carver ...

我担心她要嫁给卡佛博士了……

poor Medora, there's always some one she wants to marry.

可怜的梅多拉，她总有一个想结婚的人。

But perhaps the people in Cuba just got tired of her!

但也许古巴人民只是厌倦了她！

I think she was with them as a sort of paid companion.

我认为她和他们在一起是作为一种付费同伴。

Really, I don't know why she came."

真的，我不知道她为什么来。”

"But you do believe she has a letter from your husband?"

“但你相信她有你丈夫的来信吗？”

Again Madame Olenska brooded silently; then she said: "After all, it was to be expected."

奥兰斯卡夫人再次陷入沉思。然后她说：“毕竟，这是意料之中的。”

The young man rose and went to lean against the fireplace.

年轻人站起身来，靠在壁炉边。

A sudden restlessness possessed him, and he was tongue-tied by the sense that their minutes were numbered, and that at any moment he might hear the wheels of the returning carriage.

他突然感到一阵不安，他觉得自己的时间不多了，随时都可能听到返程马车的车轮声，他张口结舌。

"You know that your aunt believes you will go back?"

“你知道你姑姑相信你会回去吗？”

Madame Olenska raised her head quickly.

奥兰斯卡夫人迅速抬起头。

A deep blush rose to her face and spread over her neck and shoulders.

她的脸上泛起了深深的红晕，蔓延到了脖子和肩膀上。

She blushed seldom and painfully, as if it hurt her like a burn.

她很少脸红，而且脸红得很厉害，就像被烧伤一样疼。

"Many cruel things have been believed of me," she said.

“人们相信我有很多残酷的事情，”她说。

"Oh, Ellen--forgive me; I'm a fool and a brute!"

“哦，艾伦——原谅我；我是个傻瓜，也是个畜生！”

She smiled a little.

她微微一笑。

"You are horribly nervous; you have your own troubles.

“你非常紧张；你有你自己的麻烦。

I know you think the Wellands are unreasonable about your marriage, and of course I agree with you.

我知道你认为韦兰夫妇对你的婚姻不合理，我当然同意你的看法。

In Europe people don't understand our long American engagements; I suppose they are not as calm as we are." She pronounced the "we" with a faint emphasis that gave it an ironic sound.

在欧洲，人们不理解我们与美国的长期交往；我想他们不像我们那么冷静。”她用微弱的重音发音“我们”，听起来很讽刺。

Archer felt the irony but did not dare to take it up.

Archer感到讽刺，但又不敢说出口。

After all, she had perhaps purposely deflected the conversation from her own affairs, and after the pain his last words had evidently caused her he felt that all he could do was to follow her lead.

毕竟，她也许是故意把话题从她自己的事情上转移开，而在他最后那句话显然给她带来了痛苦之后，他觉得自己能做的就是听从她的引导。

But the sense of the waning hour made him desperate: he could not bear the thought that a barrier of words should drop between them again.

但时间的流逝让他感到绝望：一想到他们之间的言语障碍将再次消失，他就无法忍受。

"Yes," he said abruptly; "I went south to ask May to marry me after Easter.

“是的，”他突然说道。 “复活节后我去南方向梅求婚。

There's no reason why we shouldn't be married then."

那么我们没有理由不结婚。”

"And May adores you--and yet you couldn't convince her?

“梅很崇拜你——但你却无法说服她？

I thought her too intelligent to be the slave of such absurd superstitions."

我认为她太聪明了，不会成为这种荒谬迷信的奴隶。”

"She _is_ too intelligent--she's not their slave."

“她太聪明了——她不是他们的奴隶。”

Madame Olenska looked at him.

奥兰斯卡夫人看着他。

"Well, then--I don't understand."

“那么——我不明白。”

Archer reddened, and hurried on with a rush.

Archer涨红了脸，快步向前走去。

"We had a frank talk--almost the first.

“我们进行了坦诚的交谈——几乎是第一次。

She thinks my impatience a bad sign."

她认为我的不耐烦是一个坏兆头。”

"Merciful heavens--a bad sign?"

“老天爷——这是一个坏兆头吗？”

"She thinks it means that I can't trust myself to go on caring for her.

“她认为这意味着我不能相信自己能够继续照顾她。

She thinks, in short, I want to marry her at once to get away from some one that I--care for more."

简而言之，她认为我想立即娶她，以摆脱某个我——更关心的人。”

Madame Olenska examined this curiously.

奥兰斯卡夫人好奇地审视着这一点。

"But if she thinks that--why isn't she in a hurry too?"

“但如果她这么想的话——为什么她不也快点呢？”

"Because she's not like that: she's so much nobler.

“因为她不是那样的：她高贵得多。

She insists all the more on the long engagement, to give me time--"

她更加坚持要长期订婚，以便给我时间——”

"Time to give her up for the other woman?"

“是时候为了另一个女人而放弃她了吗？”

"If I want to."

“如果我愿意的话。”

Madame Olenska leaned toward the fire and gazed into it with fixed eyes.

奥兰斯卡夫人靠在火边，目光定定地凝视着它。

Down the quiet street Archer heard the approaching trot of her horses.

沿着安静的街道，阿切尔听到她的马匹的小跑声正在逼近。

"That _is_ noble," she said, with a slight break in her voice.

“那是高尚的，”她说，声音里有轻微的停顿。

"Yes.

“是的。

But it's ridiculous."

但这太荒谬了。”

"Ridiculous?

“可笑？

Because you don't care for any one else?"

就因为你不关心别人吗？”

"Because I don't mean to marry any one else."

“因为我不想嫁给任何人。”

"Ah." There was another long interval.

“啊。”又是一个很长的间隔。

At length she looked up at him and asked: "This other woman--does she love you?"

最后她抬头看着他，问道：“另一个女人——她爱你吗？”

"Oh, there's no other woman; I mean, the person that May was thinking of is--was never--"

“哦，没有其他女人了；我的意思是，梅想到的那个人是——从来没有——”

"Then, why, after all, are you in such haste?"

“那你到底为什么这么着急？”

"There's your carriage," said Archer.

“你的马车来了，”阿切尔说。

She half-rose and looked about her with absent eyes.

她半起身，茫然地环顾四周。

Her fan and gloves lay on the sofa beside her and she picked them up mechanically.

旁边的沙发上放着扇子和手套，她机械地捡了起来。

"Yes; I suppose I must be going."

“是的；我想我必须走了。”

"You're going to Mrs. Struthers's?"

“你要去斯特拉瑟斯太太家吗？”

"Yes." She smiled and added: "I must go where I am invited, or I should be too lonely.

“是的。”她微笑着补充道：“我必须去受邀请的地方，否则我会太孤独。

Why not come with me?"

为什么不跟我来？”

Archer felt that at any cost he must keep her beside him, must make her give him the rest of her evening.

阿切尔觉得无论如何他都必须把她留在身边，必须让她把晚上剩下的时间交给他。

Ignoring her question, he continued to lean against the chimney-piece, his eyes fixed on the hand in which she held her gloves and fan, as if watching to see if he had the power to make her drop them.

他无视她的问题，继续靠在烟囱上，眼睛盯着她拿着手套和扇子的手，似乎在看他是否有能力让她放下它们。

"May guessed the truth," he said.

“梅猜到了真相，”他说。

"There is another woman--but not the one she thinks."

“还有另一个女人——但不是她想象的那样。”

Ellen Olenska made no answer, and did not move.

艾伦·奥兰斯卡没有回答，也没有动。

After a moment he sat down beside her, and, taking her hand, softly unclasped it, so that the gloves and fan fell on the sofa between them.

过了一会儿，他在她身边坐下，拉着她的手，轻轻松开，手套和扇子落在他们之间的沙发上。

She started up, and freeing herself from him moved away to the other side of the hearth.

她跳了起来，挣脱了他的束缚，走到了壁炉的另一边。

"Ah, don't make love to me!

“啊，别跟我做爱！

Too many people have done that," she said, frowning.

太多人都这么做了，”她皱着眉头说道。

Archer, changing colour, stood up also: it was the bitterest rebuke she could have given him.

阿切尔脸色大变，也站了起来：这是她所能给予他的最严厉的斥责。

"I have never made love to you," he said, "and I never shall.

“我从来没有和你做过爱，”他说，“我也永远不会。

But you are the woman I would have married if it had been possible for either of us."

但如果我们俩都可以的话，我会娶你为妻。”

"Possible for either of us?" She looked at him with unfeigned astonishment.

“我们两个都可以吗？”她毫不掩饰地惊讶地看着他。

"And you say that--when it's you who've made it impossible?"

“你这么说——当你让这件事变得不可能的时候？”

He stared at her, groping in a blackness through which a single arrow of light tore its blinding way.

他凝视着她，在黑暗中摸索着，一支光箭划破了黑暗的道路。

"_I've_ made it impossible--?"

“_我_让它变得不可能——？”

"You, you, _you_!" she cried, her lip trembling like a child's on the verge of tears.

“你，你，_你_！”她哭了起来，嘴唇颤抖着，就像一个快要哭出来的孩子。

"Isn't it you who made me give up divorcing--give it up because you showed me how selfish and wicked it was, how one must sacrifice one's self to preserve the dignity of marriage ...

“不是你让我放弃离婚的吗——放弃吧，因为你让我看到了离婚是多么的自私和邪恶，必须牺牲自我才能维护婚姻的尊严……

and to spare one's family the publicity, the scandal?

并让家人免受公众关注和丑闻的困扰？

And because my family was going to be your family--for May's sake and for yours--I did what you told me, what you proved to me that I ought to do.

因为我的家人将成为你的家人——为了梅，也为了你——我做了你告诉我的事，你向我证明了我应该做的事。

Ah," she broke out with a sudden laugh, "I've made no secret of having done it for you!"

啊，”她突然笑了起来，“我毫不掩饰这是为了你！”

She sank down on the sofa again, crouching among the festive ripples of her dress like a stricken masquerader; and the young man stood by the fireplace and continued to gaze at her without moving.

她又瘫倒在沙发上，像一个受了惊吓的化装舞会者一样，蹲在裙子的节日波纹之中。青年站在壁炉旁，一动不动地继续看着她。

"Good God," he groaned.

“天哪，”他呻吟道。

"When I thought--"

“当我想——”

"You thought?"

“你以为？”

"Ah, don't ask me what I thought!"

“啊，别问我怎么想的！”

Still looking at her, he saw the same burning flush creep up her neck to her face.

他仍然看着她，看到同样灼热的红晕从她的脖子爬到脸上。

She sat upright, facing him with a rigid dignity.

她坐直了身子，面对着他，脸上带着一种僵硬的威严。

"I do ask you."

“我确实问你。”

"Well, then: there were things in that letter you asked me to read--"

“那么，你让我读的那封信里有一些内容——”

"My husband's letter?"

“我丈夫的信？”

"Yes."

“是的。”

"I had nothing to fear from that letter: absolutely nothing!

“我对那封信没有什么可担心的：绝对没有！

All I feared was to bring notoriety, scandal, on the family--on you and May."

我所担心的只是给我们的家庭——你和梅带来恶名和丑闻。”

"Good God," he groaned again, bowing his face in his hands.

“天啊，”他再次呻吟着，双手低下头。

The silence that followed lay on them with the weight of things final and irrevocable.

接下来的沉默给他们带来了决定性的、不可挽回的沉重感。

It seemed to Archer to be crushing him down like his own grave-stone; in all the wide future he saw nothing that would ever lift that load from his heart.

在阿切尔看来，这就像压垮他自己的墓碑一样。在广阔的未来里，他看不到任何东西可以减轻他心中的负担。

He did not move from his place, or raise his head from his hands; his hidden eyeballs went on staring into utter darkness.

他没有离开自己的位置，也没有从双手中抬起头。他隐藏的眼球继续凝视着完全的黑暗。

"At least I loved you--" he brought out.

“至少我爱你——”他说道。

On the other side of the hearth, from the sofa-corner where he supposed that she still crouched, he heard a faint stifled crying like a child's.

在壁炉的另一边，从沙发一角，他以为她还蹲着，他听到了一声像孩子一样微弱的、压抑的哭声。

He started up and came to her side.

他站了起来，来到她身边。

"Ellen!

“艾伦！

What madness!

多么疯狂啊！

Why are you crying?

你为什么哭？

Nothing's done that can't be undone.

没有什么事情是无法挽回的。

I'm still free, and you're going to be." He had her in his arms, her face like a wet flower at his lips, and all their vain terrors shrivelling up like ghosts at sunrise.

我仍然是自由的，你也会的。”他把她抱在怀里，她的脸像一朵湿漉漉的花在他的唇边，所有徒劳的恐惧都像日出时的鬼魂一样枯萎。

The one thing that astonished him now was that he should have stood for five minutes arguing with her across the width of the room, when just touching her made everything so simple.

现在让他惊讶的一件事是，他应该站在房间的另一边与她争论五分钟，而只要碰触她，一切就变得如此简单。

She gave him back all his kiss, but after a moment he felt her stiffening in his arms, and she put him aside and stood up.

她回馈给他所有的吻，但过了一会儿，他感觉到她在怀里僵硬了，她把他推到一边站了起来。

"Ah, my poor Newland--I suppose this had to be.

“啊，我可怜的纽兰——我想一定是这样。

But it doesn't in the least alter things," she said, looking down at him in her turn from the hearth.

但这丝毫不会改变事情，”她说，轮到她在壁炉边低头看着他。

"It alters the whole of life for me."

“它改变了我的整个生活。”

"No, no--it mustn't, it can't.

“不，不——不可以，不可以。

You're engaged to May Welland; and I'm married."

你和梅·韦兰订婚了；我已经结婚了。”

He stood up too, flushed and resolute.

他也站了起来，脸色通红，态度坚决。

"Nonsense!

“胡说！

It's too late for that sort of thing.

对于这种事情来说已经太晚了。

We've no right to lie to other people or to ourselves.

我们没有权利对其他人或自己撒谎。

We won't talk of your marriage; but do you see me marrying May after this?"

我们不会谈论你的婚姻；但你认为我在这之后会和梅结婚吗？”

She stood silent, resting her thin elbows on the mantelpiece, her profile reflected in the glass behind her.

她静静地站着，瘦弱的手肘搁在壁炉架上，她的侧影映在身后的玻璃上。

One of the locks of her chignon had become loosened and hung on her neck; she looked haggard and almost old.

她的一缕发髻松了，挂在脖子上。她看起来很憔悴，几乎苍老了。

"I don't see you," she said at length, "putting that question to May.

“我没有看到你，”她最后说道，“把这个问题问给梅。

Do you?"

你是吗？”

He gave a reckless shrug.

他鲁莽地耸耸肩。

"It's too late to do anything else."

“现在做其他事情已经太晚了。”

"You say that because it's the easiest thing to say at this moment--not because it's true.

“你这么说是因为这是目前最容易说的话——而不是因为它是真的。

In reality it's too late to do anything but what we'd both decided on."

事实上，除了我们共同决定的事情之外，现在再做任何事情都已经太晚了。”

"Ah, I don't understand you!"

“啊，我不明白你的意思！”

She forced a pitiful smile that pinched her face instead of smoothing it.

她强挤出一丝可怜兮兮的微笑，但脸上的表情并没有变得平滑，反而变得紧绷起来。

"You don't understand because you haven't yet guessed how you've changed things for me: oh, from the first--long before I knew all you'd done."

“你不明白，因为你还没有猜到你是如何为我改变一切的：哦，从一开始——早在我知道你所做的一切之前。”

"All I'd done?"

“我都做了什么？”

"Yes.

“是的。

I was perfectly unconscious at first that people here were shy of me--that they thought I was a dreadful sort of person.

起初我完全没有意识到这里的人们都害羞——他们认为我是一个可怕的人。

It seems they had even refused to meet me at dinner.

看来他们甚至拒绝在晚餐时见我。

I found that out afterward; and how you'd made your mother go with you to the van der Luydens'; and how you'd insisted on announcing your engagement at the Beaufort ball, so that I might have two families to stand by me instead of one--"

我后来发现了这一点；以及你如何让你的母亲和你一起去范德卢顿家；还有你如何坚持在博福特舞会上宣布订婚，这样我就可以有两个家庭而不是一个家庭支持我——”

At that he broke into a laugh.

这时他突然笑了起来。

"Just imagine," she said, "how stupid and unobservant I was!

“想象一下，”她说，“我是多么愚蠢和不细心！

I knew nothing of all this till Granny blurted it out one day.

我对这一切一无所知，直到有一天奶奶脱口而出。

New York simply meant peace and freedom to me: it was coming home.

纽约对我来说仅仅意味着和平与自由：它就是回家。

And I was so happy at being among my own people that every one I met seemed kind and good, and glad to see me.

我很高兴能和自己的人民在一起，我遇到的每个人都显得友善善良，很高兴见到我。

But from the very beginning," she continued, "I felt there was no one as kind as you; no one who gave me reasons that I understood for doing what at first seemed so hard and--unnecessary.

但从一开始，”她继续说道，“我就觉得没有人像你一样善良；没有人给我提供我理解的理由，让我去做最初看起来如此困难和不必要的事情。

The very good people didn't convince me; I felt they'd never been tempted.

那些非常优秀的人并没有说服我；我觉得他们从来没有受到过诱惑。

But you knew; you understood; you had felt the world outside tugging at one with all its golden hands--and yet you hated the things it asks of one; you hated happiness bought by disloyalty and cruelty and indifference.

但你知道；你明白了；你曾感受到外面的世界用它所有的金手拉扯着你——然而你却讨厌它对你提出的要求；你讨厌用不忠诚、残忍和冷漠换来的幸福。

That was what I'd never known before--and it's better than anything I've known."

这是我以前所不知道的——而且它比我所知道的任何事情都要好。”

She spoke in a low even voice, without tears or visible agitation; and each word, as it dropped from her, fell into his breast like burning lead.

她说话的声音低沉而平稳，没有流泪，也没有明显的激动。她说出的每一个字，都像燃烧的铅一样坠入他的胸膛。

He sat bowed over, his head between his hands, staring at the hearth rug, and at the tip of the satin shoe that showed under her dress.

他低着头坐着，双手抱头，盯着壁炉边的地毯，还有她裙子下露出的缎面鞋尖。

Suddenly he knelt down and kissed the shoe.

突然他跪下来亲吻了鞋子。

She bent over him, laying her hands on his shoulders, and looking at him with eyes so deep that he remained motionless under her gaze.

她弯下腰，双手搭在他的肩膀上，目光深邃地看着他，他在她的注视下一动不动。

"Ah, don't let us undo what you've done!" she cried.

“啊，别让我们撤销你所做的一切！”她哭了。

"I can't go back now to that other way of thinking.

“我现在不能再回到另一种思维方式了。

I can't love you unless I give you up."

除非我放弃你，否则我无法爱你。”

His arms were yearning up to her; but she drew away, and they remained facing each other, divided by the distance that her words had created.

他的双臂渴望拥抱她；但她退开了，他们仍然面对面，被她的话所造成的距离所隔开。

Then, abruptly, his anger overflowed.

紧接着，他的怒火突然爆发了。

"And Beaufort?

“博福特呢？

Is he to replace me?"

他要代替我吗？”

As the words sprang out he was prepared for an answering flare of anger; and he would have welcomed it as fuel for his own.

这句话一出口，他就做好了迎接回应的愤怒的准备。他会欢迎它作为自己的燃料。

But Madame Olenska only grew a shade paler, and stood with her arms hanging down before her, and her head slightly bent, as her way was when she pondered a question.

但奥兰斯卡夫人的脸色只变得苍白了一些，她站着，双臂垂在身前，头微微低着，就像她思考问题时的样子。

"He's waiting for you now at Mrs. Struthers's; why don't you go to him?" Archer sneered.

“他现在在斯特拉瑟斯太太家等你；你为什么不去找他呢？”阿切尔冷笑道。

She turned to ring the bell.

她转身去按门铃。

"I shall not go out this evening; tell the carriage to go and fetch the Signora Marchesa," she said when the maid came.

“今晚我不会出去；让马车去接玛切萨夫人吧。”当女仆到来时，她说道。

After the door had closed again Archer continued to look at her with bitter eyes.

门重新关上后，Archer继续用苦涩的眼神看着她。

"Why this sacrifice?

“为什么要做出这样的牺牲？

Since you tell me that you're lonely I've no right to keep you from your friends."

既然你告诉我你很孤独，我就没有权利让你远离你的朋友。”

She smiled a little under her wet lashes.

她湿漉漉的睫毛下微微一笑。

"I shan't be lonely now.

“我现在不会孤单了。

I _was_ lonely; I _was_ afraid.

我很孤独；我很害怕。

But the emptiness and the darkness are gone; when I turn back into myself now I'm like a child going at night into a room where there's always a light."

但空虚和黑暗都消失了；当我现在变回自己时，我就像一个孩子在夜晚走进一个总是有光的房间。”

Her tone and her look still enveloped her in a soft inaccessibility, and Archer groaned out again: "I don't understand you!"

她的语气和眼神仍然笼罩着一种柔和的难以接近的气氛，Archer再次呻吟道：“我不明白你的意思！”

"Yet you understand May!"

“但你了解梅！”

He reddened under the retort, but kept his eyes on her.

他被反驳得脸红了，但眼睛仍然盯着她。

"May is ready to give me up."

“梅准备放弃我了。”

"What!

“什么！

Three days after you've entreated her on your knees to hasten your marriage?"

三天后你就跪求她加速你们的婚事了？”

"She's refused; that gives me the right--"

“她拒绝了；这给了我权利——”

"Ah, you've taught me what an ugly word that is," she said.

“啊，你告诉我这是一个多么丑陋的词，”她说。

He turned away with a sense of utter weariness.

他带着一种极度疲倦的感觉转过身去。

He felt as though he had been struggling for hours up the face of a steep precipice, and now, just as he had fought his way to the top, his hold had given way and he was pitching down headlong into darkness.

他感觉自己好像已经在陡峭的悬崖上挣扎了几个小时，而现在，正当他奋力爬上悬崖顶时，他的抓地力却被打破了，他一头扎进了黑暗中。

If he could have got her in his arms again he might have swept away her arguments; but she still held him at a distance by something inscrutably aloof in her look and attitude, and by his own awed sense of her sincerity.

如果他能再次把她搂在怀里，他也许就能消除她的争论；但她仍然与他保持着一定的距离，她的神情和态度中透着一种不可思议的冷漠，而且他对她的真诚感到敬畏。

At length he began to plead again.

最后他又开始恳求。

"If we do this now it will be worse afterward--worse for every one--"

“如果我们现在这样做，以后会更糟——对每个人来说都更糟——”

"No--no--no!" she almost screamed, as if he frightened her.

“不——不——不！”她几乎尖叫起来，好像他吓到了她。

At that moment the bell sent a long tinkle through the house.

就在这时，门铃发出一阵长长的叮当声响彻整个屋子。

They had heard no carriage stopping at the door, and they stood motionless, looking at each other with startled eyes.

他们没有听到马车停在门口的声音，他们一动不动地站着，用惊讶的眼神看着对方。

Outside, Nastasia's step crossed the hall, the outer door opened, and a moment later she came in carrying a telegram which she handed to the Countess Olenska.

外面，纳斯塔西娅的脚步穿过大厅，外门打开，过了一会儿，她带着一封电报进来，递给了奥兰斯卡伯爵夫人。

"The lady was very happy at the flowers," Nastasia said, smoothing her apron.

“这位女士对这些花感到非常高兴，”纳斯塔西娅一边说，一边抚平围裙。

"She thought it was her signor marito who had sent them, and she cried a little and said it was a folly."

“她以为是她的马里托先生送来的，她哭了一会儿，说这是愚蠢的。”

Her mistress smiled and took the yellow envelope.

女主人微笑着接过黄色信封。

She tore it open and carried it to the lamp; then, when the door had closed again, she handed the telegram to Archer.

她把它撕开，拿到灯前。然后，当门再次关上时，她把电报递给阿切尔。

It was dated from St. Augustine, and addressed to the Countess Olenska.

它的日期是圣奥古斯丁寄给奥兰斯卡伯爵夫人的。

In it he read: "Granny's telegram successful.

他在信中写道：“奶奶的电报成功了。

Papa and Mamma agree marriage after Easter.

爸爸和妈妈同意在复活节后结婚。

Am telegraphing Newland.

我正在给纽兰发电报。

Am too happy for words and love you dearly.

我太高兴了，无法用言语来表达，并且深深地爱着你。

Your grateful May."

感谢你的梅。”

Half an hour later, when Archer unlocked his own front-door, he found a similar envelope on the hall-table on top of his pile of notes and letters.

半小时后，当阿切尔打开自己的前门时，他在大厅桌子上的一堆纸条和信件上面发现了一个类似的信封。

The message inside the envelope was also from May Welland, and ran as follows: "Parents consent wedding Tuesday after Easter at twelve Grace Church eight bridesmaids please see Rector so happy love May."

信封内的信息也来自梅·韦兰，内容如下：“父母同意复活节后星期二在格雷斯教堂十二点举行婚礼，八位伴娘请见教区长，祝你幸福，爱梅。”

Archer crumpled up the yellow sheet as if the gesture could annihilate the news it contained.

阿切尔把那张黄纸揉皱了，仿佛这个动作就能抹掉其中所包含的消息。

Then he pulled out a small pocket-diary and turned over the pages with trembling fingers; but he did not find what he wanted, and cramming the telegram into his pocket he mounted the stairs.

然后他掏出一本小日记本，用颤抖的手指翻阅着。但他没有找到他想要的东西，于是他把电报塞进口袋里，上了楼梯。

A light was shining through the door of the little hall-room which served Janey as a dressing-room and boudoir, and her brother rapped impatiently on the panel.

简妮作为更衣室和闺房的小大厅的门透进来一盏灯，她哥哥不耐烦地敲击着面板。

The door opened, and his sister stood before him in her immemorial purple flannel dressing-gown, with her hair "on pins." Her face looked pale and apprehensive.

门打开了，他的妹妹站在他面前，穿着她那件古老的紫色法兰绒晨衣，头发“别在别针上”。她的脸色显得苍白而惶恐。

"Newland!

“纽兰！

I hope there's no bad news in that telegram?

我希望那封电报里没有坏消息吧？

I waited on purpose, in case--" (No item of his correspondence was safe from Janey.)

我故意等待，以防万一——”（他的信件中没有一件是对珍妮来说是安全的。）

He took no notice of her question.

他没有注意到她的问题。

"Look here--what day is Easter this year?"

“看这里——今年的复活节是哪一天？”

She looked shocked at such unchristian ignorance.

她对这种非基督徒的无知感到震惊。

"Easter?

“复活节？

Newland!

纽兰！

Why, of course, the first week in April.

为什么，当然是四月的第一周。

Why?"

为什么？”

"The first week?" He turned again to the pages of his diary, calculating rapidly under his breath.

“第一周？”他再次翻开日记本，低声快速计算着。

"The first week, did you say?" He threw back his head with a long laugh.

“你是说第一周？”他仰起头，长长地笑了一声。

"For mercy's sake what's the matter?"

“看在怜悯的份上，有什么事吗？”

"Nothing's the matter, except that I'm going to be married in a month."

“没什么事，只是我一个月后就要结婚了。”

Janey fell upon his neck and pressed him to her purple flannel breast.

珍妮伏在他的脖子上，把他压在她紫色法兰绒的胸前。

"Oh Newland, how wonderful!

“噢，纽兰，多棒啊！

I'm so glad!

我很高兴！

But, dearest, why do you keep on laughing?

但是，亲爱的，你为什么一直笑？

Do hush, or you'll wake Mamma."

安静点，不然你会吵醒妈妈的。”

Book II

第二册

XIX.

十九。

The day was fresh, with a lively spring wind full of dust.

天很清新，带着充满灰尘的春风。

All the old ladies in both families had got out their faded sables and yellowing ermines, and the smell of camphor from the front pews almost smothered the faint spring scent of the lilies banking the altar.

两家的老太太都脱下了褪色的貂皮和发黄的貂皮，前排座位上飘来的樟脑味几乎盖过了祭坛上百合花淡淡的春天香气。

Newland Archer, at a signal from the sexton, had come out of the vestry and placed himself with his best man on the chancel step of Grace Church.

纽兰·阿切尔在教堂司事的示意下，走出教区礼拜室，和他的伴郎一起站在格雷斯教堂的圣坛台阶上。

The signal meant that the brougham bearing the bride and her father was in sight; but there was sure to be a considerable interval of adjustment and consultation in the lobby, where the bridesmaids were already hovering like a cluster of Easter blossoms.

这个信号意味着载着新娘和她父亲的马车就在眼前。但在大厅里肯定会有相当长的调整和协商的时间间隔，伴娘们已经像一簇复活节花朵一样盘旋在大厅里。

During this unavoidable lapse of time the bridegroom, in proof of his eagerness, was expected to expose himself alone to the gaze of the assembled company; and Archer had gone through this formality as resignedly as through all the others which made of a nineteenth century New York wedding a rite that seemed to belong to the dawn of history.

在这不可避免的时间流逝期间，为了证明他的热切，新郎将独自暴露在聚集的公司的目光下；阿切尔和其他所有手续一样，顺从地办理了这个手续，使十九世纪纽约的婚礼成为一种似乎属于历史黎明的仪式。

Everything was equally easy--or equally painful, as one chose to put it--in the path he was committed to tread, and he had obeyed the flurried injunctions of his best man as piously as other bridegrooms had obeyed his own, in the days when he had guided them through the same labyrinth.

在他致力于走的道路上，一切都同样容易——或者同样痛苦，正如人们选择的那样——在他引导他们穿过同一个迷宫的日子里，他虔诚地服从了伴郎匆忙的命令，就像其他新郎服从他自己的命令一样。

So far he was reasonably sure of having fulfilled all his obligations.

到目前为止，他相当确信已经履行了所有义务。

The bridesmaids' eight bouquets of white lilac and lilies-of-the-valley had been sent in due time, as well as the gold and sapphire sleeve-links of the eight ushers and the best man's cat's-eye scarf-pin; Archer had sat up half the night trying to vary the wording of his thanks for the last batch of presents from men friends and ex-lady-loves; the fees for the Bishop and the Rector were safely in the pocket of his best man; his own luggage was already at Mrs. Manson Mingott's, where the wedding-breakfast was to take place, and so were the travelling clothes into which he was to change; and a private compartment had been engaged in the train that was to carry the young couple to their unknown destination--concealment of the spot in which the bridal night was to be spent being one of the most sacred taboos of the prehistoric ritual.

伴娘们的八束白丁香和铃兰已按时送达，八位引座员的金色和蓝宝石袖扣以及伴郎的猫眼围巾别针也已送达。阿切尔熬了半夜，试图改变他对男性朋友和前情人送来的最后一批礼物的感谢的措辞。主教和教区长的费用都安全地落在他的伴郎的口袋里。他自己的行李已经到了曼森·明戈特夫人家，那里将举行婚礼早餐，他要换的旅行服装也已经到了。火车上有一个私人车厢，将把这对年轻夫妇带到他们未知的目的地——隐藏新婚之夜的地点是史前仪式中最神圣的禁忌之一。

"Got the ring all right?" whispered young van der Luyden Newland, who was inexperienced in the duties of a best man, and awed by the weight of his responsibility.

“戒指还好吗？”年轻的范德卢登·纽兰低声说道，他对伴郎的职责缺乏经验，并对自己责任的重量感到敬畏。

Archer made the gesture which he had seen so many bridegrooms make: with his ungloved right hand he felt in the pocket of his dark grey waistcoat, and assured himself that the little gold circlet (engraved inside: _Newland to May, April ——, 187—_) was in its place; then, resuming his former attitude, his tall hat and pearl-grey gloves with black stitchings grasped in his left hand, he stood looking at the door of the church.

阿切尔做了一个他见过很多新郎都会做的动作：他用没戴手套的右手摸了摸深灰色背心的口袋，确信小金圈（里面刻着：_纽兰到五月，四月——，187年——）就位了；然后，他恢复了以前的态度，左手握着高帽子和珍珠灰色的黑色缝线手套，站在那里看着教堂的门口。

Overhead, Handel's March swelled pompously through the imitation stone vaulting, carrying on its waves the faded drift of the many weddings at which, with cheerful indifference, he had stood on the same chancel step watching other brides float up the nave toward other bridegrooms.

头顶上，亨德尔的进行曲在仿石拱顶中隆重地响起，带着许多婚礼的褪色潮流，在这些婚礼上，他以愉快的冷漠态度站在同一个圣坛台阶上，看着其他新娘沿着中殿向其他新郎走去。

"How like a first night at the Opera!" he thought, recognising all the same faces in the same boxes (no, pews), and wondering if, when the Last Trump sounded, Mrs. Selfridge Merry would be there with the same towering ostrich feathers in her bonnet, and Mrs. Beaufort with the same diamond earrings and the same smile--and whether suitable proscenium seats were already prepared for them in another world.

“多么像在歌剧院的第一个晚上啊！”他想，认出同一个包厢里所有同样的面孔（不，是长凳），并想知道，当最后的特朗普吹响时，塞尔弗里奇梅里夫人是否会在那里，帽子上插着同样高耸的鸵鸟羽毛，博福特夫人也戴着同样的钻石耳环和同样的微笑——以及在另一个世界是否已经为他们准备好了合适的舞台座位。

After that there was still time to review, one by one, the familiar countenances in the first rows; the women's sharp with curiosity and excitement, the men's sulky with the obligation of having to put on their frock-coats before luncheon, and fight for food at the wedding-breakfast.

之后还有时间，一一回顾第一排熟悉的面孔；女人们因好奇和兴奋而变得敏锐，男人们因为必须在午餐前穿上礼服而闷闷不乐，并在婚礼早餐时争夺食物。

"Too bad the breakfast is at old Catherine's," the bridegroom could fancy Reggie Chivers saying.

“太糟糕了，早餐是在老凯瑟琳家吃的，”新郎可能会想象雷吉·奇弗斯会说的话。

"But I'm told that Lovell Mingott insisted on its being cooked by his own chef, so it ought to be good if one can only get at it." And he could imagine Sillerton Jackson adding with authority: "My dear fellow, haven't you heard?

“但我听说洛弗尔·明戈特坚持要由他自己的厨师做，所以如果有人能吃到它应该会很好。”他可以想象西勒顿·杰克逊带着权威补充道：“亲爱的朋友，你没听说吗？

It's to be served at small tables, in the new English fashion."

它将以新的英国时尚在小餐桌上供应。”

Archer's eyes lingered a moment on the left-hand pew, where his mother, who had entered the church on Mr. Henry van der Luyden's arm, sat weeping softly under her Chantilly veil, her hands in her grandmother's ermine muff.

阿切尔的目光在左边的长凳上停留了一会儿，他的母亲挽着亨利·范德卢登先生的胳膊进入教堂，坐在尚蒂伊面纱下轻轻哭泣，双手放在祖母的貂皮手笼里。

"Poor Janey!" he thought, looking at his sister, "even by screwing her head around she can see only the people in the few front pews; and they're mostly dowdy Newlands and Dagonets."

“可怜的珍妮！”他看着妹妹，想道，“即使把头转过去，她也只能看到前面几排座位上的人；而且他们大多是邋遢的纽兰和达戈内特人。”

On the hither side of the white ribbon dividing off the seats reserved for the families he saw Beaufort, tall and redfaced, scrutinising the women with his arrogant stare.

在为家人保留的座位之间划分的白丝带的这边，他看到了博福特，身材高大，红着脸，用傲慢的目光审视着女人们。

Beside him sat his wife, all silvery chinchilla and violets; and on the far side of the ribbon, Lawrence Lefferts's sleekly brushed head seemed to mount guard over the invisible deity of "Good Form" who presided at the ceremony.

他旁边坐着他的妻子，全身都是银色的龙猫和紫罗兰色。在丝带的另一边，劳伦斯·莱弗茨 (Lawrence Lefferts) 梳得光滑的头似乎在守护着主持仪式的隐形神“良好的形象”。

Archer wondered how many flaws Lefferts's keen eyes would discover in the ritual of his divinity; then he suddenly recalled that he too had once thought such questions important.

阿切尔想知道莱弗茨敏锐的眼睛会在他的神性仪式中发现多少缺陷；然后他突然想起，他也曾经认为这些问题很重要。

The things that had filled his days seemed now like a nursery parody of life, or like the wrangles of mediaeval schoolmen over metaphysical terms that nobody had ever understood.

充满他生活的事情现在看起来就像是对生活的模仿，或者像中世纪学者们对无人理解的形而上学术语的争论。

A stormy discussion as to whether the wedding presents should be "shown" had darkened the last hours before the wedding; and it seemed inconceivable to Archer that grown-up people should work themselves into a state of agitation over such trifles, and that the matter should have been decided (in the negative) by Mrs. Welland's saying, with indignant tears: "I should as soon turn the reporters loose in my house." Yet there was a time when Archer had had definite and rather aggressive opinions on all such problems, and when everything concerning the manners and customs of his little tribe had seemed to him fraught with world-wide significance.

关于是否应该“展示”结婚礼物的激烈讨论让婚礼前的最后几个小时变得黯淡无光。在阿切尔看来，成年人竟然会因为这样的小事而陷入激动的状态，这似乎是不可想象的，而且这件事应该由韦兰夫人含着愤怒的泪水的话来决定（是否定的）：“我应该尽快让记者们在我家里自由活动。”然而，曾经有一段时间，阿切尔对所有这些问题都有明确的、相当激进的看法，而且在他看来，有关他的小部落的风俗习惯的一切都充满了世界性的意义。

"And all the while, I suppose," he thought, "real people were living somewhere, and real things happening to them ..."

“我想，一直以来，”他想，“真实的人生活在某个地方，真实的事情发生在他们身上……”

"_There they come!_" breathed the best man excitedly; but the bridegroom knew better.

“_他们来了！_”伴郎兴奋地喘息道。但新郎更清楚。

The cautious opening of the door of the church meant only that Mr. Brown the livery-stable keeper (gowned in black in his intermittent character of sexton) was taking a preliminary survey of the scene before marshalling his forces.

教堂的门小心翼翼地打开，只表明马厩管理员布朗先生（在他断断续续的司事角色中穿着黑色长袍）在集结他的部队之前正在对现场进行初步勘察。

The door was softly shut again; then after another interval it swung majestically open, and a murmur ran through the church: "The family!"

门又轻轻地关上了。又过了一会儿，门庄严地打开了，教堂里传出一阵窃窃私语：“一家人！”

Mrs. Welland came first, on the arm of her eldest son.

韦兰夫人挽着她大儿子的胳膊第一个走来。

Her large pink face was appropriately solemn, and her plum-coloured satin with pale blue side-panels, and blue ostrich plumes in a small satin bonnet, met with general approval; but before she had settled herself with a stately rustle in the pew opposite Mrs. Archer's the spectators were craning their necks to see who was coming after her.

她粉红色的大脸显得庄重得体，梅子色的缎子配上淡蓝色的侧板，小缎子帽子上插着蓝色的鸵鸟羽毛，受到了普遍的认可。但在她庄严地坐进阿切尔夫人对面的长椅上之前，观众们都伸长了脖子，想看看是谁在追赶她。

Wild rumours had been abroad the day before to the effect that Mrs. Manson Mingott, in spite of her physical disabilities, had resolved on being present at the ceremony; and the idea was so much in keeping with her sporting character that bets ran high at the clubs as to her being able to walk up the nave and squeeze into a seat.

前一天，国外盛传曼森·明戈特夫人尽管身体残疾，但仍决定出席仪式。这个想法非常符合她的运动性格，以至于俱乐部对她能够走到中殿并挤进座位的赌注很高。

It was known that she had insisted on sending her own carpenter to look into the possibility of taking down the end panel of the front pew, and to measure the space between the seat and the front; but the result had been discouraging, and for one anxious day her family had watched her dallying with the plan of being wheeled up the nave in her enormous Bath chair and sitting enthroned in it at the foot of the chancel.

据了解，她坚持派自己的木匠去研究是否可以拆掉前排座椅的端板，并测量座椅和前排之间的空间；但结果却令人沮丧，在焦虑的一天里，她的家人目睹了她的计划，她坐在巨大的浴椅上，被推到中殿，坐在圣坛脚下。

The idea of this monstrous exposure of her person was so painful to her relations that they could have covered with gold the ingenious person who suddenly discovered that the chair was too wide to pass between the iron uprights of the awning which extended from the church door to the curbstone.

这种将她的身体暴露在外的可怕想法让她的亲戚们感到非常痛苦，以至于他们本可以给这位聪明人盖上金子，因为他突然发现椅子太宽，无法从从教堂门延伸到路边石的遮阳篷的铁立柱之间通过。

The idea of doing away with this awning, and revealing the bride to the mob of dressmakers and newspaper reporters who stood outside fighting to get near the joints of the canvas, exceeded even old Catherine's courage, though for a moment she had weighed the possibility.

去掉这个遮阳篷，把新娘展示给站在外面的一群裁缝和报纸记者，他们争先恐后地靠近画布的接缝，这个想法甚至超出了老凯瑟琳的勇气，尽管她有一段时间权衡了这种可能性。

"Why, they might take a photograph of my child and _put it in the papers_!" Mrs. Welland exclaimed when her mother's last plan was hinted to her; and from this unthinkable indecency the clan recoiled with a collective shudder.

“为什么，他们可能会拍一张我孩子的照片并_把它放在报纸上_！”当她母亲最后的计划被暗示给韦兰夫人时，她惊呼起来。对于这种难以想象的猥亵行为，整个家族集体感到不寒而栗。

The ancestress had had to give in; but her concession was bought only by the promise that the wedding-breakfast should take place under her roof, though (as the Washington Square connection said) with the Wellands' house in easy reach it was hard to have to make a special price with Brown to drive one to the other end of nowhere.

女祖先不得不屈服。但她的让步只是因为承诺婚礼早餐应该在她的屋檐下举行，尽管（正如华盛顿广场的联络人所说）韦兰兹的房子很容易到达，很难与布朗讲一个特殊的价格才能把车开到不知名的另一端。

Though all these transactions had been widely reported by the Jacksons a sporting minority still clung to the belief that old Catherine would appear in church, and there was a distinct lowering of the temperature when she was found to have been replaced by her daughter-in-law.

尽管所有这些交易都被杰克逊一家广泛报道，但体育界的少数派仍然坚信老凯瑟琳会出现在教堂里，当她被发现被儿媳取代时，气氛明显降温。

Mrs. Lovell Mingott had the high colour and glassy stare induced in ladies of her age and habit by the effort of getting into a new dress; but once the disappointment occasioned by her mother-in-law's non-appearance had subsided, it was agreed that her black Chantilly over lilac satin, with a bonnet of Parma violets, formed the happiest contrast to Mrs. Welland's blue and plum-colour.

洛弗尔·明戈特夫人在她这个年龄和习惯的女士中，由于穿上新衣服而费了很大的力气，因此显得肤色鲜艳，目光呆滞。但是，当她婆婆的缺席所带来的失望消退后，大家一致认为，她那顶紫丁香缎子上的黑色尚蒂伊帽子，戴着一顶帕尔马紫罗兰的帽子，与韦兰夫人的蓝色和紫红色形成了最愉快的对比。

Far different was the impression produced by the gaunt and mincing lady who followed on Mr. Mingott's arm, in a wild dishevelment of stripes and fringes and floating scarves; and as this last apparition glided into view Archer's heart contracted and stopped beating.

明戈特先生挽着那位憔悴、装腔作势的女士给人留下的印象则截然不同，她身上的条纹、流苏和飘逸的围巾凌乱不堪。当最后一个幽灵滑入视野时，阿切尔的心脏收缩并停止了跳动。

He had taken it for granted that the Marchioness Manson was still in Washington, where she had gone some four weeks previously with her niece, Madame Olenska.

他理所当然地认为曼森侯爵夫人仍在华盛顿，大约四个星期前她和她的侄女奥兰斯卡夫人去了那里。

It was generally understood that their abrupt departure was due to Madame Olenska's desire to remove her aunt from the baleful eloquence of Dr. Agathon Carver, who had nearly succeeded in enlisting her as a recruit for the Valley of Love; and in the circumstances no one had expected either of the ladies to return for the wedding.

人们普遍认为，他们的突然离开是因为奥兰斯卡夫人希望将她的姨妈从阿加顿·卡弗博士的恶毒口才中解救出来，而阿加顿·卡弗博士几乎成功地将她招募为爱情谷的新兵。在这种情况下，没有人预料到这两位女士会回来参加婚礼。